CINEMANIA:

Michael Clayton (2007, USA, Tony Gilroy)

Ben sez:

John Grisham for exceptionally bleeding hearts.

I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this, picking apart the numerous implausible aspects of the plot. Suffice to highlight that the wonderfully satisfying climax in the hotel lobby when he sets up the bust is utter jive - because he had absolutely no knowledge about who in particular to entrap, who in particular at the pesticide corporation opened the hunting season on the law firm. It is the usual case of the first act being a lot better than act two. It's quite fascinating the way the toy is wound up but watching it walk across the room while it beats a drum is not such a great trick.

The Counterfeiters (2007, Austria, Stefan Ruzowitzky)

Ben sez:

An episode of Hogan's Heros played for dread.

The concentration camp setting is no joke, of course. Yet, TC comes dangerously close to being a typical prisoner of war movie. In this genre, the challenge to defeat the enemy on the battlefield is transposed into the challenge to sabatoge whatever work the prisoners have been enslaved to perform for their enemy.

Elevator to the Gallows (France, 1964, Louis Malle)

Ben sed:

I want to apologize to Louis Malle. This is a case of me being totally ignorant but not letting that stand in the way of me having an opinion. I've been po-poing the guy all these years simply because he made Pretty Baby, which received way too much hype at the time and, of course, featured Brooke Shields, who quickly went on to receive way, way too much hype period.