BRADFORD INTERNATIONAL FILM ASSOCIATES PRESENTS: LIES WE TELL. (2017) REVIEW BY SANDRA HARRIS.

Paolo Sorrentino's Youth Confronts Retirement Face On, Watch UK Trailer

Blu-ray Review - Bad Timing (1980)

Genre:
Psychological Drama
Distributor:
Network
Release Date:
26th January 2015
Rating: 18
Director:
Nicolas Roeg
Cast: Art Garfunkel, Theresa Russell, Harvey Keitel
Buy: Blu-ray - Bad Timing
Bad Timing is a film that marks the end of an extraordinary run of films by director Nicolas Roeg. He made his name being a cinematographer in the 1960s but through a series of films such as Performance, Walkabout, Don’t Look Now, and The Man Who Fell to Earth he became quite arguably the finest British director of the 1970s. The 1980s would become an extremely difficult time for Roeg, but Bad Timing is there among his best.

Art Garfunkel plays the extremely creepy psychoanalyst (but is there really a different kind?) Alex Linden, who is having a very complicated but passion love affair with Milena Flaherty (Theresa Russell) in Vienna. Milena has overdosed in an apparent suicide attempt and a local detective is trying to piece together what happened. The audience also tries to piece it together, as they discover the relationship between Alex and Milena though non-linear flashbacks. Alex is a suspect in some form of foul play and he is forced to come to terms with his motives.

The casting of Art Garfunkel is fascinating; Roeg is a master of getting strong performances out of musicians like David Bowie and Mick Jagger. Garfunkel certainly has an air of a creepy intellectual, which was what Roeg wanted - he was his first and only choice for the role. He also has a strange off-kilter smugness that is reminiscent of Jesse Eisenberg. Garfunkel only did a handful of films and it’s a shame cause he certainly had some ability as an actor.

This was the first major role of Theresa Russell and she brings a rare intensity to her portrayal of the troubled Milena. She would marry and divorce Nicolas Roeg and star in much of his work from Bad Timing onwards. Harvey Keitel also co-stars as the inspector on the case, and despite not even attempting to do an Austrian accent, it is strong early role of his that is not from a Martin Scorsese film.

Overall, Bad Timing is a fascinating, fractured psychosexual thriller which two strong leads. The cinematography by Anthony Richmond is quite gorgeous, it’s a shame he shoots terrible comedies now. The film was extremely controversial on release, with some branding it’s sexual content ‘tasteless’, however it has become a minor classic in the rich career of Nicolas Roeg. The disc contains an interview with Jeremy Thomas, one of the few film producers who continuously takes risks, along with the trailers and deleted scenes.

★★★★
Ian Schultz

Blu-ray Review - The Piano (1993)

Harvey Keitel is THE LAST GODFATHER Korean slapstick comedy

source BeyondHollywood
When a Asian movie has Western actors in their flick there usually unknowns who are acting in every part they can get hoping they will be spotted or there actors who are actually based in that country. You never here about big named actors lets say Harvey Keitel suddenly appears in a Korean movie from Hyung-rae Shim you'll think im taking the piss... How wrong you are!!!! THE LAST GODFATHER is the latest flick from Dragon Wars director Shim which stars Keitel as Don Carini who is about to name his heir and he names Younggu (played by the director Hyung-rae Shim ) his son!!!
The movie has went in the slapstick direction of comedywhich is very rare these days and even the Western actors do look okay in this as well, no crappy CGI as in D-Wars. So think Younggu as a Korean Mr Bean and you'll get the drift, trailer afer the break....

In 1951, Don Carini, the most powerful godfather in the mafia gathers all his followers to announce the heir to the family. The head of each department expects to be crowned the next Don but they hear a shocking story from Don Carini. During his travels in Asia, he fell in love with an Asian woman and bore a son with her. He proceeds to introduce his now grown son Young-gu and announces that he will be the next boss. Bonfante, the betrayer in the outfit, wants Young-gu and the aging Don out. Bonfante and his minions try to sabotage Young-gu’s training and take out the boss. He is relentless to wipe the slate clean and to take over as the new Don. Will this be possible? Can Young-gu become the next boss and lead.