Redeemer is supposed to be about a lifer with an untapped talent for writing being encouraged to write to the sister of his victim – and winning her support for his release after years of staunch opposition. And, yes, he does write a letter to her. A one-page letter. On big paper, it must be said, but even Hemingway might struggle to turn 20 years of bitterness on its head in one page. What this is really about is a marginally unethical teacher gaining the release of his prize student through persistent, harassing behaviour. The end justifies the means, it seems. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on December 25th, 2010 at 7:35 pm. Updated on December 25th, 2010 at 7:35 pm.
Also known as ‘Seabo‘, this Earl Owensby vehicle is set in North Carolina in 1957. Owensby produced the film, and is also cast in the lead role as Seabo, a Native American ‘halfbreed’ who is a tracker, bounty hunter and a wronged and supposedly enigmatic prisoner. Owensby, it seems, appeared in 11 films as an actor… and produced every one. If that doesn’t tell you something, nothing will. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on December 18th, 2010 at 10:50 pm. Updated on December 18th, 2010 at 10:50 pm.
This is a rare beast: a non-prison movie with a corrections officer in the main role. And a delightfully warm, humorous beast it is, too, corrections officer notwithstanding. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on December 13th, 2010 at 9:24 pm. Updated on December 13th, 2010 at 9:24 pm.
I’d read the reverential, slightly fawning reviews and was looking forward to seeing this arty ‘throwback’ (Steve Balderson’s contemporary tale filmed in the manner of a noirish 50s black-and-whiter) with great anticipation. Sadly, I found that it not only failed to live up to the hype, but is not a patch on the Women in Prison films of the 50s, the style of which it seems to try to recreate. If you like the period, watch Women’s Prison (1955), Girls in Prison (1956) or the British Yield to the Night (1956) instead, is my tip. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on December 4th, 2010 at 10:34 pm. Updated on August 11th, 2013 at 12:03 pm.
Lockdown is a prison movie for traditionalists – murders, stabbings, drug use, drug deals, racial tension, rapes, crooked guards… and in the middle of it all, a good, innocent man struggling to survive. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on November 26th, 2010 at 9:55 pm. Updated on March 6th, 2016 at 5:06 pm.
Untamed youth? These youth are so tame that after working as virtual slaves in the hot sun all day and then being fed dog food, their collective response is to spend all night dancing to a rock ‘n’ roll jukebox. In a very untamed fashion, of course. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on November 20th, 2010 at 10:25 pm. Updated on November 20th, 2010 at 10:25 pm.
Undoubtedly, the most extraordinary thing about this movie is that it is not nearly as fanciful as it seems; it’s pretty much a true story. Much has been made of its relatively matter-of-fact treatment of what is a love story involving two gay prisoners, and of the supposed risks Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor took by playing gay men. Well, kissing. But for a lover of prison films, the film’s standout feature is the total absence of these openly gay prisoners being stood over for sex by other prisoners, or of them being bullied or humiliated by guards. That sort of thing may happen, rarely, in real life, but never, never, you would think, in a prison movie. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on November 15th, 2010 at 8:30 pm. Updated on November 15th, 2010 at 8:31 pm.
“From the creator of Police Academy“, trumpets the blurb on my DVD. I’m not sure if it’s true (the DVD cover manages to get every other detail wrong, including all the names of the film’s characters), but – sadly – it might as well be. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on November 4th, 2010 at 7:10 pm. Updated on November 4th, 2010 at 7:10 pm.
You know that uncomfortable feeling where you think that you may have entirely misunderstood a movie? If I were told that the critically-acclaimed 9 Souls is an allegorical tale about the last nine of the Japanese dynasties and I missed the point, I wouldn’t be surprised. Or I could be told that each of the nine characters represents one of Koichi Hanada’s ‘Nine Politicians who Ruined Japan’, all of whom I remain blissfully unaware – and all I could offer up is, “Oh.” It’s long, quirky, confounding and ultimately a rather bleak film. Unless it’s not. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on November 2nd, 2010 at 11:01 pm. Updated on November 3rd, 2010 at 2:50 pm.
The French have something of a history of making high quality, gritty prison films – the magnificent Le Trou (1960) and the more celebrated Un Prophète (2009) as just two examples. This might not be in the same league, but it’s gritty and authentic and has the classic prison movie feel. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on November 2nd, 2010 at 8:21 pm. Updated on November 2nd, 2010 at 8:25 pm.