GOSFORD PARK (2001)

Sir William McCordle is throwing a dinner party/shooting weekend at his massive country estate.  All of the upper class guests gather upstairs, while all of their servants are busy downstairs preparing for the weekend.  The first half of this intriguing film sets up the back stories of all of the characters stories and since there's probably a dozen main characters, there's not a wasted moment or shot.  Every second the overall story is moving forward and getting more and more interesting until there's a double murder!  And I don't mean two people getting murdered, but one character getting murdered twice!!  Who could have possibly done it?  Well, as we learn more about the murder victim, it ends up he was actually such a brutal and dastardly fellow it's probably easier to guess who didn't have a reason for wanting to see him dead.

GOSFORD PARK is a delightful film that is so rich that it can been seen over and over again and still pick up little things you missed before.  One interesting thing the filmmakers did was have the story told from the aspect of the downstairs staff.  So that way we, the viewer, only gets to see what's going on upstairs if there is a service member present.  That's a very clever idea.

An impressive ensemble cast overflowing with talent, a great little whodunnit mystery, beautiful locations and sets, quick pace, GOSFORD PARK is a great film.  The only weak part, to me, was Ryan Phillippe.  He's not bad by any means, but next to such an outstanding cast he just can't hold his own.  From what I've read Jude Law was originally suppose to to be in that role and I agree, he would have been a better choice.

Now I'm in the mood to watch some "Midsomer Murders".

WHORES' GLORY (2011)

"Why do women have to suffer this much?  Isn't there another path for us?"

WHORES' GLORY is the kind of documentary that sticks with you for a very long time.  Honestly, I'll probably remember this film for the rest of my days.  Told without any narration or voice over WHORES' GLORY gives the viewer an intimate look at the lives of prostitutes in three different locations: Bangkok, Thailand, Faridpur, Bangladesh and a Reynosa, Mexico.

The first episode takes place in Thailand at a brothel called Fish Tank where the girls (nearly all of them in their late teens and 20's) sit in a brightly lit room behind a glass wall.  Men pick who they want, pay and then go upstairs for a roll in the hay.  All of the girls seemed pretty happy and upbeat, some even spent their hard earned money on local "bar boys" that as far as I can are just pretty dudes that get paid to party with lonely women.  Very strange.  I wish it had gone further into this cause it whole thing didn't make much sense to me.  I guess they just really like to party.

Next is a very, very depressing brothel in Bangladesh that could double as a set for a horror movie.  Made nearly entirely of concrete and metal doors, the hallways are narrow and labyrinthine filled with sad looking prostitutes (some of them very young and at least one very old), animals, random children and johns.  Most of the prostitutes seem to only be there because there is literally no other place else to go.  Uneducated and penniless they waste their youth spreading their legs for a roof over their heads and food.  Very depressing.

The third and final episode is an enclosed drive through area called La Zona in Mexico where dudes drive around dodging potholes and checking out hookers.  The prostitutes here seem pretty businesslike and generally in a good mood.  A lot of them seem to be older professional whores that go into it like any other job.  With individual living areas, a steady clientele and easy access crack they appear to be happy.

Happy on the outside or not, I did feel sorry for these women.  Most of them seem to have never been given a fair chance in life and ended up as a prostitute solely for the money...although there was that one Mexican chick who seemed to be all about the dick and truly happy.  The majority though, especially in the Bangladesh portion, seemed to have their souls ripped out.

Despite the depressing subject matter, WHORES' GLORY is a beautifully photographed and edited film.  I wasn't too hot over the music, but it was easy enough to ignore.

ROCKY BALBOA (2006)

After the awesome Part IV, the Rocky series lost a lot of steam with that Part V misfire, (sixteen years worth of steam to be exact), but don't worry cause Rocky is back!  Yeah, he might be old as fuck and scruffy as fuck, but when ESPN runs a computer simulation of him in his prime defeating the current boxing champion by a KO, it creates a media buzz and really gets under the skin of the champ.  He ends up setting up a charity exhibition match between him and ancient ass Rocky.

The story sounds crazy, but the film has a sad tone to it right from the beginning when we learn that Adrian died years earlier and Rocky has been in mourning ever since.  Personally, I would liked to have seen a quiet Bergman-ish film that simply focuses on Adrian and Rocky as normal older people enjoying their retirement, instead of ancient Rocky lurching around the boxing ring.  With the history already created around these characters, I think ending the series on a quiet, thoughtful and fight-less note would have been extremely touching if done correctly.

As it is though ROCKY BALBOA is still more of a fitting ending to the Rocky series than ROCKY V...if it truly is the end to the Rocky series.  Unbelievable, but entertaining.

Part 1 - Rocky (1976)
Part 2 - Rocky II (1979)
Part 3 - Rocky III (1982)
Part 4 - Rocky IV (1985)
Part 5 - Rocky V (1990)
Part 7 - Creed (2015)
Part 8 - Creed II (2018)
Part 9 - Creed III