February Film reviews — Loveless, Den Of Thieves, Last Flag Flying
Loveless
From the Russian writer/director of Leviathan, Loveless is a grim but exceptionally well-told tale, that is supposed to be an analogy of modern-day Russia and its failings but is, in itself, a fascinating drama about a married couple getting torn apart by a divorce, with a young son getting caught in the crossfire with tragic results.
Shot during a Russian winter, capturing its starkly sparse, yet spellbinding beauty, Loveless is a sombre, brutal story of a toxic relationship and one that is made with an unflinching hand and serious intelligence.
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Den Of Thieves
Den Of Thieves is nonsense but relatively entertaining nonsense, based on the factor of how much you can stick Gerard Butler.
It is riddled with cliches but there are some tight enough action scenes and the actors all suit their parts ie roided up dickheads getting on like macho prats. Gerard Butler does his tough guy routine and 50 cent is looking buff, what can I say… It is what it is. Switch the brain off stuff. The ‘kaiser soze’ influenced ending had me chuckling. You’ll kill a couple of hours with it without getting too offended, if you like action thrillers.
Last Flag Flying
While this is most certainly not up there with Richard Linklater’s (Boyhood, A Scanner Darkly) other films of late — mostly due to it being a little hokey, at times, and the humour feeling forced on occasions when the banter is flowing — Last Flag Flying is still well worth a watch. It has a splendid cast on top form and a great anti-war message and premise but doesn’t shy away from the realities, attitudes and strong bonds created when being a part of the military.
