Heartbeats x 2

I am totally loving, and can't stop listening to, two very different versions of the same song.

First this is the orginal, by Swedish electronic band The Knife.



Second, this sexily chilled out version by Swedish born José Gonzaléz.



Who does it better?

Mini Review - 'Crazy Heart'

Gosh, I really do not know how to review this as it left me with an over all felling of 'Meh'.
A country music artist suffering from substance abuse which affects the woman in his life - have so heard that song before, so many times that I just really wanted to zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
What stopped me is Jeff Bridges, who is of course wonderful in a role he could have done in his sleep.

Maggie Gyllenhaal is just wasted, and brings nothing particularly special to her character. Her Oscar nom is obviously an apology for her performances in 'Sherry Baby', 'Happy Endings', and 'Secretary'.

Overall not nearly as good as the lead song 'The Weary Kind' would make us think.

Grade - C

Oh how I miss them

Mini Review - 'Un Prophète

I am not a fan of prison films (unless there is loads of homo erotic tension a la 'Oz'). The whole idea of it scares and annoys me. Crimes get committed inside by inmates which are even worse for what they are sentenced for.
Such is the case in Jacques Audiards' hypnotic and socially conscious film.
Malik is sentenced to 6 years for attacking a cop. He is only 19 years old and is relatively naive when it comes to surviving in the prison system. He is confrontational, angry and protective but when the local don comes to him with a proposition that he will have to accept in order to survive, he beings his slippery slope into a criminal world he may have not entered into.

The film is tough to watch, and extremely suspenseful and helmer Audiard keeps the tension going all the while making some extremely well thought out social observations about racism, class and what makes a criminal.

The film is carried my new comer Tahar Rahmin like an old pro. His spiral into becoming a criminal mastermind is riveting to watch and Rahmin manages to inflect such subtle emotions that you never forget the kid he still is. Even while the film drags a little in places he is front and centre capturing your attention throughout.

Probably not a film I will watch again, but definitely one I will never forget.

Grade - B+