Wednesday 17 August 2016

Narry Borman Has Moved to Instagram

Narry B, in classic NB style, has moved to Instagram.

Writing a full blog post is too time consuming for this old hound.

Instagram me out:

narryborman


Friday 19 February 2016

Secrets in Their Eyes / El Secreto en Sus Ojos

Dir: Juan Jose Campanella
Starring: Ricardo Darin, Soledad Vilamil

You've gotta love a bit of Darin. He's a cool chap and a good actor. He worked extensively with Campanella, and Secrets is one of their most well-reputed works. And NB has to admit he was impressed. The core story is a bit raw, but it pulls off that mystery thriller vibe with great plumpness.

There are few strange directions; the character of the drunk Sandoval is a bit inconsistent, and the final scene is unnecessarily uplifting. But otherwise its a solid film that pulls off multiple jumps in time with great plumpness, and that clearly had some influence of True Detective in terms of tone.

Rating: Good

Thursday 18 February 2016

Umbrellas of Cherbourg / Les Parapluies de Cherbourg

Dir: Jacques Demy
Music: Michel Legrand
Starring: Neno Castelnuovo, Catherine Deneueveueve

Yes, yes, yes! Narry B finally has another musical to add to his list of two "NB approved musicals."

There are so many reasons why Cherbourg works well: Legrand's excellent score, the fact that the plot and the lyrics are not overly-dramatic despite being serious, and, above all, the amazing wallpaper.

Great wallpaper
One of the key features of Cherbourg is that the lyrics are almost like a film script that is sung as a coincidence. So it comes across as some kind of bizarro world where everyone sings instead of talks. Which is a very different thing to singing little rhymes and then breaking into talking for no reason.

Beyond just the lovable artistry of this film, there is also a powerful message about love, life and umbrellas. Truly, this is a masterpiece of the genre.

Did I mention it has great wallpaper too?

Rating: Paraplui-tastic

Wednesday 17 February 2016

Pollock

Dir: Ed Harris
Starring: Ed Harris

Listen up Ed Harris: Biopics should not try to cover too much time! It's impossible to condense a man's life into two hours, much less something so full of energy and creativity as Jackson Pollock. What you end up with is a watery unengaging film that doesn't bring you any closer to the artist.

It's a fatal flaw for a biopic, but Ed Harris made it.

Conversely, it's well made in terms of costumes and sets, etc., and it's well acted and well cast. But the overriding feeling is one of dilution and flimsiness.

Rating: Ed Harris

Tuesday 16 February 2016

Zoolander 2

Dir: Ben Stiller
Starring: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson

NB is mystified as to how Hollywood manages to become ever more commercial. Product placement and pointless celebrity cameos make a lot of modern films feel like propaganda tools more than works of ART. Jurassic World had some of the clumsiest product placement Narry has ever seen. But Zoolander 2 is right up there with it. It also falls foul of that "introducing a celebrity is funny in itself" schmuck that bears no weight whatsoever. Admittedly, Keifer Sufferland is pretty funny, but the rest of the celeb cameos are really misguided; especially Sting's pointless appearance. Boo! Boooooo!

There are some gags that work quite well, as you would expect from a "comedy film." But there's also a lot of self-referential, painfully commercial, woefully unfunny elements that will ensure that Zoolander 2 does not hold up well over time.

Rating: 6/12

Saturday 13 February 2016

Sanjuro

Mifune looking quite cool... and
strangely akin to NB's brother in law
Dir: Kurosawa
Starring: Mifune... AND Nakadai!!

WhaWhaaaa? Kurosawa and Mifune... and Nakadai all together?!! How can you go wrong? You can't! This is a classic of Japanese samurai films, one of Kurosawa's finest works (it's among his "tighter," more compact works) and features great performances by both Mifune and Nakadai (as if that needed saying).

One of the things NB loves about Japanese cinema is, like Japanese comedy, the way it builds up, delivering its punchline at the end, although maybe "bloodline" would be a more apposite word in this case. Not that Sanjuro is an overly violent film... but the final scene is so incredible in its intensity that NB had to watch the scene twice.

Rating: Great!

Friday 12 February 2016

Miracle Mile

Dir: Steve De Jarnatt
Starring: The feller from ER, and a (no offense) quite repugnant lady

NB watched this stinker cos he had heard it was an underrated gem of 80s sci-fi. Admittedly, the scene in the diner is rather good as the tension builds up, and no one is sure whether to believe what's happening. But then it goes all mushy. And for what? The guy from ER is in love with a really rather repugnant looking lady (I'm sure she's lovely and I'm sure she looked a lot better without that awful haircut). The worst is that they kiss. That's one on-screen frenchy I do not want to see again.

Rating: Bad