Haywire (2012, Steven Soderbergh)

Haywire shows Steven Soderbergh doing what he does best once again; assembling an all star cast and throwing his hat into the ring to take on a well known and often tired genre. His last film Contagion saw him take on the disaster movie in the shape of world wide pandemic, the genre (a loose one at that) was extremely popular in the 70s and with Haywire Soderbergh takes the action back (stylistically not literally) to the same era with this action/revenge yarn. The plot is weak, the action not as frequent as expected but is held together by the presence of its central heroine. 

Mixed martial arts fighter Gina Carano makes her acting debut here after Soderbergh spotted her and became adamant in building a film around her talents. The director's infatuation with his star is clear throughout; doing her own fights and stunt work Soderbergh films her with intense fixation, whether she scales a wall or sprints after a target he is fascinated by Carono's physique and adds no cinematic trickery to heighten her abilities. 

Soderbergh's attention to Carano - the black ops soldier betrayed by her employers - takes away further attention from the cliched and frankly dull story but in this case it doesn't matter if the film merely exists as a pedestal for Carano because she carries the film with no problems. For a film with many underdeveloped areas such as this Carano certainly isn't one of them, she isn't Brando by any means but acting along side seasoned performers like Michael Douglas and Antonio Banderas she isn't below them when facing off. 

The fight sequences are technical but with a rough ferocity adding to the background of its star, Haywire is full of pulsing jazz music giving it a 70s almost edge but when the fists start flailing the music steps back, Soderbergh reminding that this is closer to the real thing rather than a 'cinematic' fight. The highlight of the film comes from a showdown between Carano and Michael Fassbender in a hotel room, emphasising once again how the stars who face off against her (Channing Tatum also impresses) are just as important to these scenes, it's the person taking the punches who needs to convince most, and unlike Carano they don't take punches for a living. Our heroine isn't shown to be invincible, in a brilliant reminder of her mortality she slips and falls from a height winding herself as she crashes to the concrete, limping off crunched over like a wounded animal, a nice touch.

Haywire isn't a great movie by any means but it's sure an enjoyable ride, it never tries to rise above the genre trappings of a B-grade action movie but with Soderbergh's slick direction it's given the visual edge over most. The film succeeds due to its leading lady's ability to hold the screen, given the experienced talent she faces here only Carano makes an impression - a bright future in Hollywood set for sure. Though it doesn't add anything new to the action genre it's not trying to either and with the absence of forced 'girl power' moments that would cheapen the picture Haywire is a success, a perfect saturday night movie after an indulgent takeaway.

The Skin I Live In (Almodovar, 2011)

Pedro Almodovar's most recent film has all the hallmarks we've come to expect from him by now - obsession,gender identity, sex and it's consequences. For some, The Skin I Live In will be viewed as a culmination of all the Spanish auteur's cinematic concerns, the film he's been building up to all along, and one which stands tall next to even his finest work. Others will feel he might have gone a tad too far as he verged over the edge and created a film seemingly more suited to the career of body horror veteran David Cronenberg.

The plot must be discussed but like most Almodovar films explaining too much both spoils the film and denies it the justice it deserves.

We follow disgraced plastic surgeon Robert Ledgard (Antonio Banderas) as he privately works on a fire resilient synthetic skin. He has a beautiful women named Vera locked in a room in his mansion, a room which Robert voyeuristically watches Vera from a far on camera. As usual Almodovar keeps us positively fixated on the developing story but at a distance as well; his reveals of Robert's past and the build up to this bizarre living arrangement come slowly and steadily but the film never lets up in being thrilling. In some respects it doesn't feel quite like an Almodovar film, the director's usual distinctively warm aesthetic seems off quilter and strangely cold; this is due to the clinical nature of the story, everything is so sterile and perfect on the surface yet like the bandages coming off after an operation we are slowly shown the truth of what lies beneath in this macabre tale of love and revenge.

In Bad Education (2004), Volver (2006) and Broken Embraces (2009) Almodovar's films seemed to be channeling Alfred Hitchcock's brand of cinema more and more and with The Skin I Live In it carries on - most notably in the constant use of piercing violins throughout the film's score. The story is purely gothic with doubles at every corner and can be viewed as a bizarre retelling (and meeting) of both Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Hitchcock's own Vertigo (1958). How so? I'd love to divulge more but that would ruin it so we'll leave it there.

Almodovar's early films made in the 80s were playful but also harboured some satirical notions on Spanish culture and the country's relationship with the church. His move into the 90s had him producing darker more provocative material such as Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1990) which also starred Banderas as a deranged man keeping a women captive and provides the closest link to his most recent outing. After the 90s his films became deeper and more melodramatic showcasing extremely emotional material in films such as Volver. With The Skin I Live In Pedro Almodovar has crafted a film that sits most comfortably with his more deranged material of the 90s but has the heightened drama of his most recent offerings to boot, as well as seeing him out of his comfort zone. It isn't an easy film to endure but then what film of Spain's most loved director truly is? However, it is the film of a master and possibly (and we'll have to see about this) the film he'll be remembered for.

For fans of: Vertigo (1958) Eyes Without a Face (1960) Dead Ringers (1988) Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1990)