Selling My Books on the Streets of Brooklyn 1/29

No luck today. As the orphan sang in Annie: "Tomorrow, tomorrow...."
I came across a terrific obscure film, courtesy of Netflix: The Square (2008, Australian). I hadn't seen anything more than run of the mill in a while. This was my favorite type - a crime story about a man stuck in a downward spiral certain to end badly. David Roberts was brilliant in the lead. I had no recollection of him, although he appeared in the first two Matrix films. His career goes back as far 1967. He did guest spots, probably as a teenager, on Ironside, Sanford and Son and The Waltons. Newcomer Claire Van Der Boom did well as the femme fatale. There was one wrinkle that stood out particularly, involving the dogs of the adulterers. Kudos to screenwriter Matthew Dabner and director Nash Edgerton in only his second time at the helm. His brother Billy had a key role as a thug. On a scale of five: four. I regard very few films as a five. Off the top of my head, they are the first two Godfathers, West Side Story (despite its obvious flaws), Reservoir Dogs and Hero (Jet Li). I am in awe of the work of Zhang Zimou, who directed Hero. His action films are incredible in both depiction and story-telling, and his dramas, such as Raise the Red Lantern, are phenomenal. I don't understand a word of Chinese, but Gong Li's performance in Lantern had my gut in knots. She frequently graces Zimou's work. There is a scene in The Curse of the Golden Flower where the royal family, each member involved in devious plots, is seated at a dinner. The look on Chow Yun Fat's face as he noshes amidst a thick silence had me laughing out loud. Chow gained fame in the over the top action flicks of Hong Kong's John Woo (The Killer and Hard-boiled). The last 20 minutes of the latter takes place in a hospital and includes a shootout in the maternity ward! None of the infants was harmed, of course, and one even saves the day. Both Chow and Woo came west, but with only modest success. Woo's Face-off is a fun action flick that pits Travolta vs. Cage. Chow's American movies have good moments, but none rises above average.
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