Dead Man Down (2013)

Something so seductive about Noomi Rapace. Feral and frail at the same time.

Colin Farrell and Noomi Rapace

At a glance:

R-rated revenge thriller Dead Man Down (2013) is the lousily-titled American debut for director Niels Arden Oplev (Män Som Hatar Kvinnor, 2009) and while it ain't groundbreakin material, a highly committed international cast and several touches of European sophistication maintain a slow-burn seductive mood throughout, even to its predictable Hollywood climax. It's sorta like 21 Grams (2003) with a touch of Taken (2008) and Donnie Brasco (2003), but with unexpected muscle and mayhem, especially towards the end. A better movie than the trailer suggests, though it still died at the box office, you can read.

Bad news on the doorstep:

Most of the plot devices here have been done to death but fortunately our fascination with the characters keep us distracted enough. The chemistry between the lead pair is nicely nuanced and masterfully understated, although I can never care for Farrell's role in any movie. There are run-outs here for F. Murray Abraham, Armand Assante and Isabelle Huppert. More from them would've been satisfyin. Hopefully when the dust has settled after its box office disappointment, the DVD release will come with some extra features and this film can be discovered again.

Perennial wonderment:

What is it about Noomi Rapace that is so mysterious and relentless? Even when she's not wearin a single flake of makeup or when she's playin disfigured characters like the one in this movie, she commands incredible sex appeal. I think she has that kind of feral energy that simply begs for sex, mornin, noon or night. Recommended watchlist - Babycall (2011), Prometheus (2012) and of course the Millennium trilogy.

Reminds me of:

The American (2010) and The Mexican (2001). Everythin Rapace seems to haunt me.

Watch out for:

Wade Barrett, if you're a wrestlin fan. WWE is one of the film producers, so they got a man in. By the way, can anyone let me know what was the French song that was playing on the radio and also at the end credits? Please drop me a note. I really like that song and I can't seem to find out about it anywhere.
[update: The song is Eblouie Par La Nuit by Zaz]

Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?

Flawed but highly enjoyable B-movie. Like the music, like the actors. You could do worse. Hope Oplev gets more Hollywood projects to attach his name to.★★★

Seven Psychopaths (2012)

Will Woody Harrelson ever play a sweet, charming, leading man?

Leggy Olga Kurylenko at the TIFF 2011 premiere.

At a glance:

You will finish writin a screenplay if your screenplay is about the difficulty in writin a screenplay. That's the almost meta-movie that came out of Martin McDonagh's mind (In Bruges, 2008) - a bizarre Tarantinoesque tale generously dipped in dark humour, ostensibly less fun than the recent Killer Joe (2012) but more heart than say, Rubber (2010) or Hit And Run (2012). It's the kind of movie you're dyin to like as soon as you see the poster or watch the trailer. Hymen-thin plottin revolves around three central characters - alcoholic scriptwriter Marty (Colin Farrell), his maligned friend Billy (Sam Rockwell) and an peculiar old guy named Hans (Christopher Walken). The latter two run a small time dognapping syndicate and cowboy mobster Charlie (Woody Harrelson) just happens to have a missin shih tzu. Part of the joy of such a movie is watchin the characters enter, so I'll spare you the mazy ensemble minutiae.

Bad news on the doorstep:

One of many memes on the official Seven Psychopaths Facebook page.

All the scenes cut a pretty picture and if viewed on their own separately, look as if they're from the next Pulp Fiction (1994). Variety's Peter Debruge argues that ironically enough, the McDonagh's "apparent lack of any attempt to make a grand artistic statement could easily make this outing his most accessible project to date". It's definitely easy on the eyes with such a handsome cast - I'm one of those who'd pay good money just to see Christopher Walken walk a dog. However, while this juicy project is not short of energy or violence, its charm pivots on your empathy with the characters; and this is purposefully manipulated to reward and frustrate your expectations at every turn. That is to say, the movie wrote itself to the finishin line, to hell with the audience. 
Perennial wonderment:
Talk about gettin even. Never cared for Colin Farrell but here's somethin interestin for you - apparently Mickey Rourke dropped out of this because he had a problem with the director and Woody Harrelson took his role. In the movie, there's a tombstone with Rourke's name on it. Recently, it was reported that Rourke tweeted about how we shouldn't watch the movie because it's unwatchable and a waste of time. Ha!

Reminds me of:

You know how Machete (2010) was the unlikely end product of a fake Tarantino trailer that was picked up on? I got a feelin one of the stories in the caper could do with one of those. It's the one about a Vietnamese priest.

Harry Dean Stanton

I can't remember if I cried:

When Olga Kurylenko appeared for just the duration of which it takes you to say her name. Cheated! In fact, Kurylenko, Abbie Cornish and Gabourey Sidibe probably had just 10 minutes screen time between them.

Most memorable line:

Next to an inspired five minutes of  Sam Rockwell catharsis near the end, the Gandhi joke in the trailer is the best moment of the movie for me. In fact, it's that tone of humour that permeates throughout the movie.

Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?

It's strange that my wife enjoyed it more than me. I guess I wanted it to be a new spin on The Usual Suspects (1995) or somethin like that. Seven Psychopaths (2012) begs you to go crazy with it but I reckon only half of are willin and a further half of that are able.★★1/2
Bonus material:

You know what the annoying thing is?
Not all seven of the actors are the so-called psychopaths! Sheesh.