Rebellion (2011)

Matthieu Kassovitz needed Rebellion. Long known as the romantic co-lead in Amelie (2001) and the director of the sublime urban teen crime drama La Haine (1995), which gave us Vincent Cassell if for nothing else, his directorial output has been pretty patchy. And that's an understatement.

With Rebellion he puts himself in the spotlight as a director and as an actor more than capable enough to pout and ponder when the camera is on him. It must have been irresistible to keep the focus on him all the time, but Rebellion is far from a desperate attempt at a vanity project. It is a superior war drama, the likes of which we have rarely seen since Platoon (1987).

1953 ... What a Year!

Because I have been busy watching some classics on the big screen, I really did not have time to see anything new at the cinema lately - and honestly, the latest Pirates debacle will take some time to recover from.

Having previously only experienced these films on television screens of varying sizes, they were even more impressive this time around. Surely, despite the convenience home viewing provides, nothing beats seeing a film at the cinema. I could have written reviews or some reflections on these cinematic pilgrimages, but I didn't for a couple of resons:

1. What can I possibly add to what has already been said about Earth, Man with a Movie Camera, Taxi Driver or Apocalypse Now?
2. I am not feeling particularly inspired to write anything that doesn't read like it came out of my left nostril after a heavy night of drinking.