The Way I See It
The shipyard painter, political activist and razor-sharp cartoonist Bob Starrett has just written a new book The Way I See It on his eventful life and times. Below we reprint one of his stories and review an essential read
La Boheme
ENO's production of La Boheme is a triumph,
Bullet To The Head (15)
Directed by Walter Hill
Thursday 31 January 2013
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EmailI felt like I had a bullet in the brain after watching Walter Hill's attempt to revive the flagging career of Sly Stallone in this buddy-buddy bad man movie that fails to live up to its comic book inspiration conjured by French writer Matz.
In it, Jimmy Bobo (Stallone) is a New Orleans hit man who is forced to forgo his hatred for the law when he has to team up with cop Taylor Kwon (Sung Kang) to bring down the killers of their respective partners.
From the moment Stallone curls his mouth like a copulating snail and utters his usual drawn-out drawl the tone and the style is set. "This is the story, this is the way it went down," he drones.
Despite their respective need for revenge, the copper insists that he "only wants to take them in."
That obviously proves difficult when the opposition appears unstoppable, even to the proverbial bullet.
Sadly, despite all the action and the occasional smart one-liners, it all looks rather dated despite the incredible filmmaking experience of the 71-year-old Walter Hill who made his name promoting loners who live in the inner-city shadows.
Bullet To The Head has its moments, but they tend to be of the B-movie kind and the 66-year-old Stallone increasingly looks like a caricature of his former self. One for the fans.
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