tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1137730880076755122.post2930082936546972810..comments2024-03-08T03:14:02.855+11:00Comments on This Island Rod: London Boulevard (2010)Roderick Heathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08107539379079558068noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1137730880076755122.post-19278494743318909892011-11-08T02:19:48.705+11:002011-11-08T02:19:48.705+11:00Can't argue with any of that, Stephen, and whi...Can't argue with any of that, Stephen, and whilst I didn't think of the <i>Mona Lisa</i> likeness, it smacks me in the face now. Truth be told, it desperately needed to tie together the sense of danger, both physical and emotional, with the same skill and intricacy as the Jordan film, but the plot strands just never properly connect for that to happen, never mind that it doesn't build that film's sense of warped passion. Farrell just reacts, when Winstone drops hints of threatening Knightley, with regulation rage. But yes, Farrell's character is interesting, because, as his memorable if perhaps over-literalising speech to Winstone goes, he doesn't want to be a gangster, but if he's forced to be one he'll commit to the role with unswerving finality, and that's a disparity I'd've loved to see explored with more depth. But Monahan can't finally decide just which of the three or four movies he's making is the best. I haven't read Bruen's novel so I don't know how many of the problems come from the source material.Roderick Heathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08107539379079558068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1137730880076755122.post-21866716441803719272011-11-07T23:59:33.381+11:002011-11-07T23:59:33.381+11:00Haven't seen this one yet but your plot summar...Haven't seen this one yet but your plot summary suggests three or four story approaches fighting it out with none of them winning, just making for an unholy scramble at the end. <br /><br />A pity, because if Monahan had been able to fix on a strong through-line the Colin Farrell character sounds like an interesting one around which to build a movie. But maybe we've already been there in Neil Jordan's MONA LISA.Stephen Gallagherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05280419153030490653noreply@blogger.com