In a last ditch attempt to rid my databanks of the five films that make up the rest of my holiday/illness viewing I have decided to do one article under the banner of “Of Lesser Interest”.

In the run up to Inglourious Basterds I decided to take in a viewing of Reservoir Dogs, having realised that I hadn’t actually seen it since the days of Kill Bill’s initial release. I was surprised by just how fleeting the whole film felt, and just how fresh it is. The Tim Roth monologue is an impressive piece of cinema, and incredibly effective to this day. In spite of seeing the film innumerable times, and regardless of my thoughts towards Tarantino these days it still really impressed.

Whilst in Paris I caught the Tony Scott remake of The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, as well as the original film via iTunes rental service. Of the two I preferred the original film, with the characterisation being a lot more complete. The remake wasn’t terrible though, it was simply average, with Denzel Washington and John Travolta both putting in acceptable performances (although the latter does tend to verge a little too far over the top at times), yet neither manage to capture the sheer class that Matthau and Shaw exhibit.

I took in a screening of James Gray’s The Yards a few days ago. Having been a fan of his We Own The Night this is a film that I had intended on getting around to much sooner, alas it was the anticipation of Two Lovers, his most recent collaboration with Joaquin Phoenix that inspired this screening. I shall give Two Lovers a spin over the next few days, but if its in the same league as their previous collaborations (as I’m assured it is) I shall no doubt praise it highly.

I’m working on a project involving what I have deemed Cockaigne cinema at the moment, that is to say that I’m looking at dystopian future-based science fiction, so with that the intention I had a look at the recent blu-ray release of Alex Proyas’ Dark City. Having never seen the film before I was surprised by just how much I enjoyed it, and just how similar it is to Von Trier’s The Element of Crime. Its a story that spiral’s into a genuinely epic tale, with a twist that to claim see coming is simply not true. It really reminded me of Kathryn Bigelow’s Strange Days, a film I hope to take a fresh look at later this week, in advance of this weekend’s The Hurt Locker.

I feel that its a major shame that I’ve had to resort to compiling these flicks into basic looks, but I  need to move on to pastures new, and with those five pieces hanging over my head it was proving difficult to do so. Dark City and The Yards will garner deeper pieces eventually though, as both deserve it.