Showing posts with label crime. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crime. Show all posts
Friday, December 30, 2011
Following - 1998
"You take it away... to show them what they had."
Christopher Nolan (Memento, The Dark Knight) writes and directs this odd, claustrophobic neo-noir film about a seedy young Brit (Jeremy Theobald) who's obsessed with following people -- albeit harmlessly at first. After meeting a like-minded bloke (Alex Haw), the twosome graduate to breaking and entering -- but meet their match in a tough blonde dame (Lucy Russell) who may have dubious plans of her own.
This is Christopher Nolan's directorial debut with a feature-length film. He came up with the idea for the film because he had his home broken into and wondered what the people thought as they went around looking at his belongings.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Catch Me if You Can - 2002
"Ah, people only know what you tell them, Carl."
A true story about Frank Abagnale Jr. who, before his 19th birthday, successfully conned millions of dollars worth of checks as a Pan Am pilot, doctor, and legal prosecutor.
Frank William Abagnale, Jr. (born April 27, 1948) is an American security consultant known for his history as a former confidence trickster, check forger, impostor, and escape artist. He became notorious in the 1960s for passing $2.5 million worth of meticulously forged checks across 26 countries over the course of five years, beginning when he was 16 years old.
In the process, he became one of the most famous impostors ever,[3] claiming to have assumed no fewer than eight separate identities as an airline pilot, a doctor, a U.S. Bureau of Prisons agent, and a lawyer. He escaped from police custody twice (once from a taxiing airliner and once from a U.S. federal penitentiary), before he was 21 years old.[4]
He served fewer than five years in prison before starting to work for the federal government. He is a consultant and lecturer at the academy and field offices for the FBI. He also runs Abagnale & Associates, a financial fraud consultancy company
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
All The President's Men - 1976
"Woodward. Bernstein. You're both on the story. Now don't fuck it up."
The film that launched a thousand journalism school students.
In the run-up to the 1972 elections, Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward covers what seems to be a minor break-in at the Democratic Party National headquarters. He is surprised to find top lawyers already on the defense case, and the discovery of names and addresses of Republican fund organizers on the accused further arouses his suspicions. The editor of the Post is prepared to run with the story and assigns Woodward and Carl Bernstein to it. They find the trail leading higher and higher in the Republican Party, and eventually into the White House itself.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Casino - 1995
Martin Scorsese draws on Nicholas Pileggi's book about Las Vegas in the 1970s and '80s as inspiration for his tale contrasting the city's glamorous exterior with its sordid interior fueled by excess -- and the mob. Against this backdrop, the story chronicles the rise and fall of a casino owner with mob connections (Robert De Niro), his friend and Mafia underboss (Joe Pesci) and an ex-prostitute with expensive taste and a driving will (Sharon Stone).
Thursday, November 10, 2011
SEVEN - 1995
The psychological/thriller, one of my favorite genres and this film delivers. The cinematography and editing only add to the darkness this film conveys. A realistic portrayal of two detective's (Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman) investigation into the undescribable world of a serial killer.
On a desperate hunt for a serial killer (Kevin Spacey), whose crimes are based on the "seven deadly sins" in this dark and haunting film that takes viewers from the tortured remains of one victim to the next, the seasoned Det. Sommerset (Morgan Freeman) researches each sin in an effort to get inside the killer's mind, while his novice partner, Mills (Brad Pitt), scoffs at his efforts to unravel the case.
Andrew Kevin Walker had enormous difficulty getting a studio to buy the rights to his script because he was a complete unknown in Hollywood. Allegedly he put together a list of agents that represented writers that work in the crime and thriller genres, and just called each one up until he got a positive response.
Monday, August 29, 2011
ROPE - 1948
Rope is a 1948 American crime film based on the play Rope (1929) by Patrick Hamilton and adapted by Hume Cronyn (treatment)[2] and Arthur Laurents, directed by Alfred Hitchcock and produced by Sidney Bernstein and Hitchcock as the first of their Transatlantic Pictures productions. Starring James Stewart, John Dall and Farley Granger, it is the first of Hitchcock's Technicolor films, and is notable for taking place in real time and being edited so as to appear as a single continuous shot through the use of long takes.
The original play was said to be inspired by the real-life murder of 14-year-old Bobby Franks in 1924 by University of Chicago students Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb.
On a late afternoon, two brilliant young aesthetes, Brandon Shaw (Dall) and Phillip Morgan (Granger), murder a former classmate, David Kentley (Dick Hogan), in their apartment. They commit the crime as an intellectual exercise: they want to prove their superiority by committing the "perfect murder".
After hiding the body in a large antique wooden chest, Brandon and Phillip host a dinner party at the apartment which has a panoramic view of Manhattan's skyline. The guests, unaware of what has happened, include the victim's father Mr. Kentley (Cedric Hardwicke) and aunt Mrs. Atwater (Constance Collier) (his mother is not able to attend). Also there is his fiancee, Janet Walker (Joan Chandler) and her former lover Kenneth Lawrence (Douglas Dick), who was once David's close friend.
The film is one of Hitchcock's most experimental and "one of the most interesting experiments ever attempted by a major director working with big box-office names", abandoning many standard film techniques to allow for the long unbroken scenes. Each shot ran continuously for up to ten minutes without interruption. It was shot on a single set, aside from the opening establishing shot street scene under the credits. Camera moves were carefully planned and there was almost no editing.
The walls of the set were on rollers and could silently be moved out of the way to make way for the camera and then replaced when they were to come back into shot. Prop men constantly had to move the furniture and other props out of the way of the large Technicolor camera, and then ensure they were replaced in the correct location. A team of soundmen and camera operators kept the camera and microphones in constant motion, as the actors kept to a carefully choreographed set of cues
The original play was said to be inspired by the real-life murder of 14-year-old Bobby Franks in 1924 by University of Chicago students Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb.
On a late afternoon, two brilliant young aesthetes, Brandon Shaw (Dall) and Phillip Morgan (Granger), murder a former classmate, David Kentley (Dick Hogan), in their apartment. They commit the crime as an intellectual exercise: they want to prove their superiority by committing the "perfect murder".
After hiding the body in a large antique wooden chest, Brandon and Phillip host a dinner party at the apartment which has a panoramic view of Manhattan's skyline. The guests, unaware of what has happened, include the victim's father Mr. Kentley (Cedric Hardwicke) and aunt Mrs. Atwater (Constance Collier) (his mother is not able to attend). Also there is his fiancee, Janet Walker (Joan Chandler) and her former lover Kenneth Lawrence (Douglas Dick), who was once David's close friend.
The film is one of Hitchcock's most experimental and "one of the most interesting experiments ever attempted by a major director working with big box-office names", abandoning many standard film techniques to allow for the long unbroken scenes. Each shot ran continuously for up to ten minutes without interruption. It was shot on a single set, aside from the opening establishing shot street scene under the credits. Camera moves were carefully planned and there was almost no editing.
The walls of the set were on rollers and could silently be moved out of the way to make way for the camera and then replaced when they were to come back into shot. Prop men constantly had to move the furniture and other props out of the way of the large Technicolor camera, and then ensure they were replaced in the correct location. A team of soundmen and camera operators kept the camera and microphones in constant motion, as the actors kept to a carefully choreographed set of cues
The Fugitive - 1993
The Fugitive is a 1993 American thriller film based on the television series of the same name. The film was directed by Andrew Davis and stars Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones. The film was one of the few movies associated with a television series to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Dr. Richard Kimble, a successful vascular surgeon in Chicago, comes home one night to find his wife, Helen, fatally wounded by a one-armed man, and though he attempts to subdue the killer, the man escapes. The lack of evidence of a break-in, being the beneficiary of Helen's lucrative life insurance and a misunderstood 9-1-1 call led to Kimble being convicted of first-degree murder, for which he is sentenced to death. On his way to death row via bus, the other prisoners attempt an escape that wounds a guard and kills the driver, causing the bus to fall into the path of an oncoming train. Kimble barely escapes the bus's destruction—saving the guard's life by dragging him out of the bus—and flees into the night. Deputy Samuel Gerard and a group of US Marshals arrive, to locate and round up the escaped convicts while the injured are taken to a nearby hospital. Kimble sneaks into the same hospital to treat his wounds and change his appearance. While leaving the hospital, he is recognized by the injured guard, but escapes in an ambulance. Gerard and his team blockade a tunnel through a nearby dam to stop Kimble's escape, but Kimble abandons the vehicle and climbs into the storm water system. Kimble is eventually cornered by Gerard above the outlet of the dam spillway. Kimble dives over the edge and swims downstream, leaving no trail for the Marshals to follow.
Dr. Richard Kimble, a successful vascular surgeon in Chicago, comes home one night to find his wife, Helen, fatally wounded by a one-armed man, and though he attempts to subdue the killer, the man escapes. The lack of evidence of a break-in, being the beneficiary of Helen's lucrative life insurance and a misunderstood 9-1-1 call led to Kimble being convicted of first-degree murder, for which he is sentenced to death. On his way to death row via bus, the other prisoners attempt an escape that wounds a guard and kills the driver, causing the bus to fall into the path of an oncoming train. Kimble barely escapes the bus's destruction—saving the guard's life by dragging him out of the bus—and flees into the night. Deputy Samuel Gerard and a group of US Marshals arrive, to locate and round up the escaped convicts while the injured are taken to a nearby hospital. Kimble sneaks into the same hospital to treat his wounds and change his appearance. While leaving the hospital, he is recognized by the injured guard, but escapes in an ambulance. Gerard and his team blockade a tunnel through a nearby dam to stop Kimble's escape, but Kimble abandons the vehicle and climbs into the storm water system. Kimble is eventually cornered by Gerard above the outlet of the dam spillway. Kimble dives over the edge and swims downstream, leaving no trail for the Marshals to follow.
A Perfect Murder - 1998
A Perfect Murder is a 1998 American thriller film directed by Andrew Davis and starring Michael Douglas, Gwyneth Paltrow and Viggo Mortensen. It is modern a remake of Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 film, Dial M for Murder, though the characters' names are all changed, and over half the plot is completely rewritten and altered. Loosely based on the play by Frederick Knott, the screenplay was written by Patrick Smith Kelly.
Steven Taylor (Michael Douglas) is a Wall Street hedge fund manager. His investments and speculations allow him to live an extravagant upper class lifestyle with his much younger wife, Emily (Gwyneth Paltrow). Unfortunately for Taylor, his investments are unraveling, so he will need his wife's personal fortune to maintain his status and lifestyle.
Emily seems a faithful wife, but, in reality, she is having an affair with a painter, David (Viggo Mortensen), and is considering leaving her husband. Emily thinks she is safe, but Steven knows everything about the affair. He has also been able to uncover David’s past as an ex-convict with a habit of playing con games on rich women.
Steven goes to David's loft, where Emily accidentally left her wedding ring. However, rather than confront the con man or threaten to betray his true identity, Steven instead makes him an offer of $500,000 in cash to murder his wife.
The film received mixed reviews from critics: Stephen Holden of The New York Times called it a "skillfully plotted update of Frederick Knott's play". Roger Ebert wrote "It works like a nasty little machine to keep us involved and disturbed; my attention never strayed".
Steven Taylor (Michael Douglas) is a Wall Street hedge fund manager. His investments and speculations allow him to live an extravagant upper class lifestyle with his much younger wife, Emily (Gwyneth Paltrow). Unfortunately for Taylor, his investments are unraveling, so he will need his wife's personal fortune to maintain his status and lifestyle.
Emily seems a faithful wife, but, in reality, she is having an affair with a painter, David (Viggo Mortensen), and is considering leaving her husband. Emily thinks she is safe, but Steven knows everything about the affair. He has also been able to uncover David’s past as an ex-convict with a habit of playing con games on rich women.
Steven goes to David's loft, where Emily accidentally left her wedding ring. However, rather than confront the con man or threaten to betray his true identity, Steven instead makes him an offer of $500,000 in cash to murder his wife.
The film received mixed reviews from critics: Stephen Holden of The New York Times called it a "skillfully plotted update of Frederick Knott's play". Roger Ebert wrote "It works like a nasty little machine to keep us involved and disturbed; my attention never strayed".
Sunday, August 14, 2011
L.A. Confidential - 1997
L.A. Confidential is a 1997 American film based on James Ellroy's 1990 novel of the same title, the third book in his L.A. Quartet. Both the book and the film tell the story of a group of LAPD officers in the 1950s, and the intersection of police corruption and Hollywood celebrity. The film adaptation was produced and directed by Curtis Hanson and co-written by Hanson and Brian Helgeland.
At the time, Australian actors Guy Pearce and Russell Crowe were relatively unknown in North America, and one of the film's backers, Peter Dennett, was worried about the lack of established stars in the lead roles. However, he supported Hanson's casting decisions and this gave the director the confidence to approach Kevin Spacey, Kim Basinger, and Danny DeVito.
Critically acclaimed, the film holds a 99% rating at Rotten Tomatoes with 82 out of 83 reviews positive and average rating of 8.6 out of 10, as well as an aggregated rating of 90% based on 28 reviews on Metacritic. It was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won two, Basinger for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and Hanson and Helgeland for Best Screenplay - Adapted.
At the time, Australian actors Guy Pearce and Russell Crowe were relatively unknown in North America, and one of the film's backers, Peter Dennett, was worried about the lack of established stars in the lead roles. However, he supported Hanson's casting decisions and this gave the director the confidence to approach Kevin Spacey, Kim Basinger, and Danny DeVito.
Critically acclaimed, the film holds a 99% rating at Rotten Tomatoes with 82 out of 83 reviews positive and average rating of 8.6 out of 10, as well as an aggregated rating of 90% based on 28 reviews on Metacritic. It was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won two, Basinger for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and Hanson and Helgeland for Best Screenplay - Adapted.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
The Grifters - 1990
The Grifters is a 1990 neo-noir film directed by Stephen Frears and produced by Martin Scorsese. It stars John Cusack, Anjelica Huston and Annette Bening and is based upon The Grifters, a pulp novel by Jim Thompson.
Lilly Dillon is a veteran con artist who begins to rethink her life when her son Roy, a small-time grifter, suffers an almost-fatal injury when hit with a thrust from the blunt end of a baseball bat, right after a failed scam.
Lilly works for a bookmaker, Bobo Justus, handling playback at the tracks — that is, betting money to lower the odds of longshots. On her way to La Jolla for the horse races, she stops in Los Angeles to visit Roy, whom she hasn't seen in eight years. She finds him in pain and bleeding internally. When medical assistance finally comes, Lilly confronts the doctor, threatening to have him killed if her son dies.
At the hospital, Lilly meets and takes an instant dislike to Roy's girlfriend, Myra Langtry, who is a few years older than her son. Lilly urges her son to quit the grift, saying he literally doesn't have the stomach for it. Because she leaves late for La Jolla, she misses a race where the winner was paying 70-1. For this mistake, Bobo burns her hand with a cigar.
Myra plays all the angles. She uses her body to persuade her landlord to overlook the rent. She makes a similar offer to a jeweler to get what she wants for a gem she is trying to pawn.
Upon leaving the hospital, Roy takes Myra to La Jolla for the weekend. On the train, she notices him conning a group of sailors in a rigged dice game. Myra reveals to Roy that she is also a grifter and is looking for a new partner for a long-con operation.
The project originated with Martin Scorsese who subsequently brought in Stephen Frears to direct while he produced. Frears had just finished making Dangerous Liaisons and was looking for another project when Scorsese approached him. The British filmmaker was drawn to Thompson's "tough and very stylistic" writing and described it, "as if pulp fiction meets Greek tragedy". Scorsese looked for a screenwriter, and filmmaker Volker Schlöndorff recommended Donald Westlake.
Frears contacted Westlake who agreed to re-read the Thompson novel but, after doing so, turned the project down, citing the story as "too gloomy." Frears then phoned Westlake and convinced him that he saw the story as a positive one, if considered as a story of Lily's drive to survive. Westlake changed his mind and agreed to write the adaptation. Frears was unsuccessful, however, at convincing Westlake to write the script under his pseudonym "Richard Stark," a name he had used to write 20 noir-influenced crime novels from 1962 through 1974. (Stark's name appears in the film, though, on a sign reading "Stark, Coe and Fellows"; Westlake explains in the film's commentary track that he has written novels as Richard Stark, Tucker Coe and "some other fellows.")
Lilly Dillon is a veteran con artist who begins to rethink her life when her son Roy, a small-time grifter, suffers an almost-fatal injury when hit with a thrust from the blunt end of a baseball bat, right after a failed scam.
Lilly works for a bookmaker, Bobo Justus, handling playback at the tracks — that is, betting money to lower the odds of longshots. On her way to La Jolla for the horse races, she stops in Los Angeles to visit Roy, whom she hasn't seen in eight years. She finds him in pain and bleeding internally. When medical assistance finally comes, Lilly confronts the doctor, threatening to have him killed if her son dies.
At the hospital, Lilly meets and takes an instant dislike to Roy's girlfriend, Myra Langtry, who is a few years older than her son. Lilly urges her son to quit the grift, saying he literally doesn't have the stomach for it. Because she leaves late for La Jolla, she misses a race where the winner was paying 70-1. For this mistake, Bobo burns her hand with a cigar.
Myra plays all the angles. She uses her body to persuade her landlord to overlook the rent. She makes a similar offer to a jeweler to get what she wants for a gem she is trying to pawn.
Upon leaving the hospital, Roy takes Myra to La Jolla for the weekend. On the train, she notices him conning a group of sailors in a rigged dice game. Myra reveals to Roy that she is also a grifter and is looking for a new partner for a long-con operation.
The project originated with Martin Scorsese who subsequently brought in Stephen Frears to direct while he produced. Frears had just finished making Dangerous Liaisons and was looking for another project when Scorsese approached him. The British filmmaker was drawn to Thompson's "tough and very stylistic" writing and described it, "as if pulp fiction meets Greek tragedy". Scorsese looked for a screenwriter, and filmmaker Volker Schlöndorff recommended Donald Westlake.
Frears contacted Westlake who agreed to re-read the Thompson novel but, after doing so, turned the project down, citing the story as "too gloomy." Frears then phoned Westlake and convinced him that he saw the story as a positive one, if considered as a story of Lily's drive to survive. Westlake changed his mind and agreed to write the adaptation. Frears was unsuccessful, however, at convincing Westlake to write the script under his pseudonym "Richard Stark," a name he had used to write 20 noir-influenced crime novels from 1962 through 1974. (Stark's name appears in the film, though, on a sign reading "Stark, Coe and Fellows"; Westlake explains in the film's commentary track that he has written novels as Richard Stark, Tucker Coe and "some other fellows.")
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Cape Fear - 1991
Cape Fear is a 1991 thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and a remake of the 1962 film of the same name. It stars Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange and Juliette Lewis and features cameos from Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum and Martin Balsam, who all appeared in the 1962 original. The film tells the story of a convicted rapist who seeks vengeance against a former public defender whom he blames for his 14-year imprisonment due to purposefully faulty defense tactics used during his trial.
The film received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor (De Niro) and Best Supporting Actress (Lewis).
Sam Bowden (Nick Nolte) is a former Atlanta public defender who is now in private practice in the quiet town of New Essex, North Carolina. Max Cady (Robert De Niro) is an ex-client whom Bowden had defended 14 years previously in Atlanta. Cady, who was being tried for the rape and battery of a young woman, was illiterate at the time and unable to read a report Bowden had kept hidden from the court, which revealed that the victim was promiscuous. The report might have lightened Cady's sentence or even acquitted him had Bowden brought it to light. Bowden had kept it hidden, contrary to his duty as Cady's defense attorney, because he was appalled by the sheer violence in Cady's crime and wanted him to serve a severe sentence.
After his release from prison, Cady tracks down Bowden. The ex-con learned to read in prison and even assumed his own defense, unsuccessfully appealing his conviction several times. Cady hints strongly that he has learned about Bowden burying the report, noting that the judge and prosecutor in his case were trying to do right by their jobs but Cady felt betrayed by his own lawyer. Several incidents involving Cady begin to impact the Bowden family, which consists of Sam's wife Leigh (Jessica Lange) and their teenage daughter, Danielle (Juliette Lewis). The family dog, Ben, is mysteriously poisoned. Cady is seen at night perched on the wall just outside the Bowden property limits. Sam attempts to have Cady arrested, but local police lieutenant Elgart (Robert Mitchum) reminds Bowden that there is no evidence Cady has committed any crime.
The film received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor (De Niro) and Best Supporting Actress (Lewis).
Sam Bowden (Nick Nolte) is a former Atlanta public defender who is now in private practice in the quiet town of New Essex, North Carolina. Max Cady (Robert De Niro) is an ex-client whom Bowden had defended 14 years previously in Atlanta. Cady, who was being tried for the rape and battery of a young woman, was illiterate at the time and unable to read a report Bowden had kept hidden from the court, which revealed that the victim was promiscuous. The report might have lightened Cady's sentence or even acquitted him had Bowden brought it to light. Bowden had kept it hidden, contrary to his duty as Cady's defense attorney, because he was appalled by the sheer violence in Cady's crime and wanted him to serve a severe sentence.
After his release from prison, Cady tracks down Bowden. The ex-con learned to read in prison and even assumed his own defense, unsuccessfully appealing his conviction several times. Cady hints strongly that he has learned about Bowden burying the report, noting that the judge and prosecutor in his case were trying to do right by their jobs but Cady felt betrayed by his own lawyer. Several incidents involving Cady begin to impact the Bowden family, which consists of Sam's wife Leigh (Jessica Lange) and their teenage daughter, Danielle (Juliette Lewis). The family dog, Ben, is mysteriously poisoned. Cady is seen at night perched on the wall just outside the Bowden property limits. Sam attempts to have Cady arrested, but local police lieutenant Elgart (Robert Mitchum) reminds Bowden that there is no evidence Cady has committed any crime.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Romeo Is Bleeding - 1993
Do you like a good 'mobster' movie? This is it. Actress Lena Olin is absolutely AMAZING in this film as Mona Demarkov! A must-see.
Romeo Is Bleeding is a darkly comic 1993 crime film starring Gary Oldman and Lena Olin, directed by Peter Medak. The film's title was taken from a song by Tom Waits.
Despite featuring established stars (Oldman had appeared in the starring role of Francis Ford Coppola-directed blockbuster Dracula only a year prior), the film failed to make a significant impact at the box office, and it received a generally unenthusiastic reaction from critics. In recent years, the film has gained a cult following despite its initially lackluster reception.
Jack Grimaldi, a corrupt cop who does favors for the Mafia in exchange for large fees, has a loving wife, Natalie, and an adoring mistress, Sheri. He thinks he has it all, until both the cops and mob are outwitted by a sociopathic Russian mob assassin named Mona Demarkov.
The head of the Italian mob, Don Falcone, orders Jack to deal with Demarkov or face dire consequences. Jack is unable to kill her; she even seduces and makes a fool of him. Falcone, disappointed in Jack's ineptitude, orders one of Jack's toes cut off.
Romeo Is Bleeding is a darkly comic 1993 crime film starring Gary Oldman and Lena Olin, directed by Peter Medak. The film's title was taken from a song by Tom Waits.
Despite featuring established stars (Oldman had appeared in the starring role of Francis Ford Coppola-directed blockbuster Dracula only a year prior), the film failed to make a significant impact at the box office, and it received a generally unenthusiastic reaction from critics. In recent years, the film has gained a cult following despite its initially lackluster reception.
Jack Grimaldi, a corrupt cop who does favors for the Mafia in exchange for large fees, has a loving wife, Natalie, and an adoring mistress, Sheri. He thinks he has it all, until both the cops and mob are outwitted by a sociopathic Russian mob assassin named Mona Demarkov.
The head of the Italian mob, Don Falcone, orders Jack to deal with Demarkov or face dire consequences. Jack is unable to kill her; she even seduces and makes a fool of him. Falcone, disappointed in Jack's ineptitude, orders one of Jack's toes cut off.
Veronica Guerin - 2003
I love just about EVERYTHING actress Cate Blanchett does. This is another one you may have missed that is based on a true story. A brilliant performance! Have a Cate Blanchett MARATHON MOVIE night and you'll see 'catch my drift'.
Veronica Guerin, nicknamed "Ronnie", and her four siblings were born in Dublin and attended Catholic school where she excelled in athletics. Besides basketball and football, she was a camogie player and a fan of the Manchester United football team. Veronica Guerin's father was an accountant, and she studied accountancy at Trinity College, Dublin. After graduation, her father hired her at his company. When her father died three years later, she changed professions and started a public relations firm, which she ran for seven years. In 1983-4, she served as secretary to the Fianna Fáil group at the New Ireland Forum.
In 1990, she changed careers again, switching to journalism as a reporter with the Sunday Business Post and Sunday Tribune. In 1994, she began to write about criminals for Irish newspaper the Sunday Independent. She used street names or pseudonyms for underworld figures to avoid Irish libel laws. When she began to cover drug dealers, she received numerous death threats.
The first violence against her occurred in October, 1994 when two shots were fired into her home after her story on a murdered drug kingpin was published. Guerin dismissed the "warning". Three months later, she answered her doorbell to a man pointing a revolver at her head. The assailant shot her in the leg. Regardless, she vowed to continue her investigations. Independent Newspapers installed a security system to protect her, and the Garda Síochána (Irish police) gave her a 24-hour escort; however, she did not approve of this, saying that it hampered her work.
On 13 September 1995, convicted criminal John Gilligan attacked her when she confronted him about his lavish lifestyle with no source of income. He later called her at home and threatened to kidnap and rape her son and kill her if she wrote anything about him. Guerin received the International Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists in December, 1995.
This film is the second to be inspired by Guerin's story. Three years earlier, When the Sky Falls centred on the same story, although the names of the real-life characters were changed.
Veronica Guerin, nicknamed "Ronnie", and her four siblings were born in Dublin and attended Catholic school where she excelled in athletics. Besides basketball and football, she was a camogie player and a fan of the Manchester United football team. Veronica Guerin's father was an accountant, and she studied accountancy at Trinity College, Dublin. After graduation, her father hired her at his company. When her father died three years later, she changed professions and started a public relations firm, which she ran for seven years. In 1983-4, she served as secretary to the Fianna Fáil group at the New Ireland Forum.
In 1990, she changed careers again, switching to journalism as a reporter with the Sunday Business Post and Sunday Tribune. In 1994, she began to write about criminals for Irish newspaper the Sunday Independent. She used street names or pseudonyms for underworld figures to avoid Irish libel laws. When she began to cover drug dealers, she received numerous death threats.
The first violence against her occurred in October, 1994 when two shots were fired into her home after her story on a murdered drug kingpin was published. Guerin dismissed the "warning". Three months later, she answered her doorbell to a man pointing a revolver at her head. The assailant shot her in the leg. Regardless, she vowed to continue her investigations. Independent Newspapers installed a security system to protect her, and the Garda Síochána (Irish police) gave her a 24-hour escort; however, she did not approve of this, saying that it hampered her work.
On 13 September 1995, convicted criminal John Gilligan attacked her when she confronted him about his lavish lifestyle with no source of income. He later called her at home and threatened to kidnap and rape her son and kill her if she wrote anything about him. Guerin received the International Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists in December, 1995.
This film is the second to be inspired by Guerin's story. Three years earlier, When the Sky Falls centred on the same story, although the names of the real-life characters were changed.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Die Hard - 1988
"Welcome to the party, pal."
I love action and this film is one of my favorites in that genre. A funny and thrilling battle between the good guys and the bad guys. This was based on a book by Roderick Thorp entitled "Nothing Lasts Forever" - a sequel to another book entitled "The Detective", which in 1968 was made into a film starring Frank Sinatra.
Bruce Willis was the sixth choice for the main character. It originally went to Arnold Schwarzenegger, then Sylvester Stallone, then Burt Reynolds, then Richard Gere, then Harrison Ford, then Mel Gibson before Willis got it.
NYPD cop John McClane's (Bruce Willis) plan to reconcile with his estranged wife, Holly (Bonnie Bedelia), is thrown for a serious loop when minutes after he arrives at her office, the entire building is overtaken by a group of pitiless terrorists. With little help from the LAPD, wisecracking McClane sets out to single-handedly rescue the hostages and bring the bad guys down. This classic John McTiernan actioner launched Willis into superstardom.
Monday, May 23, 2011
The Usual Suspects - 1995
"The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist."
"Keaton always said, "I don't believe in God, but I'm afraid of him." Well I believe in God, and the only thing that scares me is Keyser Soze." Verbal
"Who is Keyser Soze?" Find out in one of my favorite twisted plot films with an amazing cast. Shot on a budget of $6 million over a period of 35 days this movie is a must see.
When five unacquainted scalawags are hauled into a police station to appear in a criminal lineup, they decide to pull off a heist together. The plan gets complicated, however, when they intermix with an underworld kingpin named Keyser Söze. Gabriel Byrne, Benicio Del Toro, Kevin Pollak, Stephen Baldwin and Oscar-winner Kevin Spacey star in this intricately plotted, critically acclaimed thriller that won another Oscar for Best Screenplay.
Christopher McQuarrie's inspiration for the character of Keyser Soze was a real-life murderer by the name of John List, who murdered his family and then disappeared for 17 years.
Kevin Spacey had to read the script twice when he first received it to make sure he fully understood it.
All the actors were encouraged to ad lib perplexed reactions to Benicio Del Toro's oddball vocal stylings.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Run Lola Run - 1998
Run Lola Run (German: Lola rennt, literally Lola Runs) is a 1998 German crime thriller film written and directed by Tom Tykwer and starring Franka Potente as Lola and Moritz Bleibtreu as Manni. The story follows a woman who needs to obtain 100,000 German marks in 20 minutes to save her boyfriend's life. The film depicts three scenarios that make it seem like you're watching three different versions of the same film.
In his review of the film, Roger Ebert noted how the film's structure was very similar to that of a video game. Ebert mentioned the kinetic style of the film and commented that the "heroine is like the avatar in a video game -- Lara Croft made flesh." The narrative itself evokes the typical video game. Just like a character in a video game, Lola dies once and sees Manni die once before figuring out how to "beat the level." The opening of the film sets the film up as a game, albeit a football game, however the point remains. Just like somebody who must replay a level in a video game and learn from their mistakes, Lola is given several more chances to successfully complete her mission.
Throughout the film, Lola bumps into people, talks to them, or simply passes them by, and the sound of a camera flash warming up can be heard. Their resulting futures are then conveyed in a series of still frames. The futures are widely divergent from encounter to encounter. In one scenario, a woman whom Lola accidentally bumps into remains poor and kidnaps an unattended baby after her child was taken away by social workers. In another scenario the woman wins the lottery and becomes rich. In the third scenario, the woman experiences a religious conversion. The sound of the camera flash warming up is repeated a final time at the end of the film, when Lola smiles at Manni's question about what's in her bag.
In his review of the film, Roger Ebert noted how the film's structure was very similar to that of a video game. Ebert mentioned the kinetic style of the film and commented that the "heroine is like the avatar in a video game -- Lara Croft made flesh." The narrative itself evokes the typical video game. Just like a character in a video game, Lola dies once and sees Manni die once before figuring out how to "beat the level." The opening of the film sets the film up as a game, albeit a football game, however the point remains. Just like somebody who must replay a level in a video game and learn from their mistakes, Lola is given several more chances to successfully complete her mission.
Throughout the film, Lola bumps into people, talks to them, or simply passes them by, and the sound of a camera flash warming up can be heard. Their resulting futures are then conveyed in a series of still frames. The futures are widely divergent from encounter to encounter. In one scenario, a woman whom Lola accidentally bumps into remains poor and kidnaps an unattended baby after her child was taken away by social workers. In another scenario the woman wins the lottery and becomes rich. In the third scenario, the woman experiences a religious conversion. The sound of the camera flash warming up is repeated a final time at the end of the film, when Lola smiles at Manni's question about what's in her bag.
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