glenn-82 Reviews

Ordinary Decent Criminal (2000)

Very Poor!

[2/10 · 6 November 2000]

Well,

First of all, as many reviewers have pointed out - this is a rip off of the Martin Cahill story - first represented by the BBC and by the John Boorman film "The General" - which is a great film and far, far superior to this one.

Speaking as a native British person, the supporting cast to Kevin Spacey was really good in terms of British and Irish acting talent, especially Peter Mullan - but it was totally wasted. The characters were c**p! And as for Kevin Spacey - didn't come across as a loveable rogue but as nothing really substantial or significant.

Not a lot to redeem this film. The best bits are the gags and tricks nicked from the other films it rips off. Compare notes on this film and "The General" - I'd be interested to see what others think.

American Psycho (2000)

Blackest Humour

[8/10 · 6 November 2000]

This film knocked me out. Forget the 1980s subtext - this film is raw and represents, at the heart, the perversion of a human mind and existence by the sheer boredom of having everything - money, success, jobs, women - EXCEPT - respect, and self-respect in particular. Patrick Bateman consumes himself with self loathing and, in the end, is ultimately revealed to be even more empty, vacuous and incapable when the denouement of the film reveals that he does not even have the substance to have done what he fantasises about.

You can speculate endlessly about the artistic, psychological, or otherwise angles - what counts is that THIS FILM HAS SUCH A HIGH IMPACT and pace about it, and such a strong central character that it draws you into fascination and captivation even though its fairly disgusting if you think about it whilst eating your lunch or something like that.

I'd recommend it if you like stuff like Cronenburg. Total quality.