Andrew Ferrier

Trainspotting is from the oh-so-cool Pulp Fiction mold, the late-90s cult film that’s too popular to be a cult. I think this turned me off it first time round, and so I avoided it. But having seen it now, it does have some appeal, despite the largely unpleasant storyline and one genuinely shocking scene. The film walks a tightrope between promoting heroin use as acceptable (although never normal, never glamorous), and showing the downside. But it does have the guts to point out that heroin feels great – 1000 times better than an orgasm can’t be that bad, right? The consensual, liberal attitude of the film has appeal.

Nevertheless, Trainspotting really is a disgusting film – certainly not something to watch during dinner. It’s quite stylistic – a lot of the interior scenes are highly coloured, and there’s a club interior quite obviously stolen from A Clockwork Orange. There’s plenty of comedy, that peaks at a montage of sex scenes with mostly unexpected consequences.

Perversion for Profit is a 1965 anti-porn documentary film. Very little footage is shown apart from the presenter in the studio: George Putnam. His didactic pronouncements, tone of voice, and Brylcreemed presentation would seem hilarious to many today, and this manner is constantly (and justifiably) parodied on TV – The Simpsons perhaps being a good example. Most of the facts Putnam presents are statements of opinion – connected without demonstrating correlation, much less causation. He doesn’t discuss the morality of censorship at all. It’s well worth seeing, though, as an example of propaganda – although less subtle than, say, Triumph of the Will, it’s still crisp, clean filmmaking.

You can download the film for free here (part 1) and here (part 2). There’s also an impressive re-edit here that totally reverses the message.

Some choice quotes from the film beyond the split.

Read the rest of this entry »

This film is about: fine wine, weddings, car crashes, relationships, broken noses, sex, and road trips. It’s an entertaining watch, and an emotional one. You can despise both the main characters and also admire them. Paul Giamatti in particular is good as the neurotic one of the pair.

Sideways is definite entertainment, and the two hours don’t lag. But, ultimately, there’s nothing very demanding for the viewer in it, so it’s probably a once-only deal.

Color of Night is an odd film. It starts off as a dreadful drama. The plot, though quirky, is jumpy and inconsistent – although not challenging. Bruce Willis plays his typical smartass role, totally unsuited to the psychiatrist he is supposed to be. He seems out of place in this movie. We know he can manage atypical roles (Death Becomes Her) but he doesn’t manage them here. Scott Bakula plays another psychologist, a friend of Willis – he portrays a relatively believeable character but gets killed off too quickly. The cop assigned to investigate is an even more camp version of Luis Guzmán. His sympathy for Willis is ridicously non-existent. The therapy group that Willis adopts when Bakula dies is full of parodies of nutcases, not nutcases themselves.

Nevertheless, it somehow held my attention. No, I don’t mean the notorious sex scenes (Willis shows more than I’d prefer and Jane March is such a weird character it’s hard to find her attractive). Perhaps just because it’s one of those films that isn’t indended to be a comedy, but manages it by accident. The twist at the end of the film is laughable – almost so much that I don’t feel bad for not seeing it coming. It’s worth seeing if you have the time, but don’t go out of your way.