London Boulevard

Expectations really can ruin films. I love Ken Bruens books, he is definetely up there as on of my favorite writers. Having read the book before the film i went into it with certain expectations, some where met, others really weren't. If you haven't read the book and like your British gangster films then you won't be disappointed.It has everything the British gangster movie needs to entertain, sex, drugs, violence and cockney accents, what it didn't have was the emotion or the intensity you get from all Bruens books, which is a shame because it could have been great.
        The story centers on Mitchell (Colin Farrell), fresh out of prison from a stretch for GBH he plans to stay clean, in an effort to avoid going back to jail he gets a job working for  a reclusive actress (Keira Kightly), cue your love story. Meanwhile gangland wants Mitchell back, all controlled by Rob Gant (Ray Winstone in a role he could play in his sleep) who begins to pile on the pressure for Mitchell to work for him and out come the handbags, sorry hand guns. The acting is so so with Keira Kightly giving a pretty decent performance but for me the stand out performance came from a relatively minor character, Anna Friel as Mitchells slightly unstable sister Briony, there was just the right amount of playful and crazy to make her character stand out for me. The camera work was good with a few good shots, my personal favorite having the camera look through a peep hole to see a police man grinning holding up his badge, its not original but it looked good. Its directedfor the first time by William Monahan who wrote Kingdom of Heaven and one of my favorite films The Departed. For a first effort at directing its pretty good to be fair but with a Ken Bruen book to work with i'd expecting nothing less. If your into these type of movies your fine but if your not i doubt this one will change your mind.

Dorian Gray

A few weeks ago i brought the book, The Picture Of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, I've never read any of his work before nor did I know much about him. When i started the book (i still haven't finished the book) i found it to be well written with some really interesting ideas. So when my girlfriend came round my place telling me there was a film she wanted to watch i was pleasantly surprised to find that she was talking about 2009 film adaptation Dorian Gray ( it was a pleasant surprise because of the usual filth she has me watching). So leaping at the chance to watch an interesting film rather than some soppy bloody "rom-com" that is neither romantic nor funny i got hold of a copy before she changed her mind. Basically the story is about a young man (funnily enough that'll be Dorian Gray) who arrives in London in the late 1800's, a rather naive young chap and is befriended by two gentlemen. Basil Hallward a talented artist and Lord Henry Wotton a charismatic man with an influential nature. Basil then paints a portrait of Dorian to capture his youth forever, when the painting is finished and the unvieling complete, Dorian admits tht he would give anything to remain as he looked in the picture forever, even his soul. Unkown to him though his flippant remark comes true and from that moment on any adverse effects of the hedonistic lifestyle Lord Wotton preaches transfer to the painting leaving Dorian a fresh faced young man. Alot more happens in the film but I really hate spoilers so i won't go into it in depth. While literay scholars may disagree with me entirely i think it is a story of consquence and an interesting look at a society that was far more ridgid than our own. Directed by Oliver Parker the film flows well i found and London took on the usual dark and dirty look that I have come to expect from films set around that time period. Ben Barnes as Dorian was spot on, he looked every bit as i imagined from the book and did really well with the conflicting aspects of the character (when he was truly a young man living the dream to an old more disillusioned Dorian), one line imparticular encapsulated this perfectly for me, while being questioned about his constant pursuit of pleasure by Wottons daughter Emily (played by Rebbeca Hall) Dorian replys, "there is a vast difference between pleasure and happiness" with such sorrow written over his face it is hard not to feel for the character. Colin Firth played Lord Henry Wotton well, always there was an air of smugness to the character and the way he showed the subtle delight he took in corrupting the young Dorian was perfect, just the right amount of joy and envy to keep you interested in the character progression. Other than that though I didn't find any great performances but everyone was good enough to keep the film going. There are many memorable moments and it should leave you with many things to think about. So if your tempted to watch it you should, after all "the only way to rid yourself of a temptation is to yeild to it".