Infernal Affairs
dir. Andrew Lau, Alan Mak

One of the slickest cop thrillers I've seen in a good while, it's perhaps no real surprise that Infernal Affairs has come out of the Hong Kong film industry, as it has the sheened, metallic quality of the city itself. Infernal Affairs has an effectively twisty storyline, involving a police mole in the Triads and his counterpart, a Triad mole in the police. It takes a little while to get hold of the plot, but once you have, it cruises along well. Infernal Affairs' real advantage, however, lies in its two leads. Tony Leung, who never fails to be captivating onscreen, is commanding yet soulful as a police officer floating further adrift in the mob lifestyle. Andy Lau is more straightforward but also brings a pathos to his character a lesser actor could not have managed. The film drifts in the final act, failing to resolve the various story threads totally convincingly (and attempting a totally misguided romantic angle which threatens to ruin the film), but it remains a good-looking, gripping ride with strong characterisation to lift it above the pack.
*** 1/2

Brief reviews of two films recently seen:


John Crowley's decidedly Irish Intermission provided a welcome counterpoint to the sloshy Love Actually, being an intertwining-story drama/comedy far rougher and nastier than its English counterpart. A strong Irish ensemble (including Cillian Murphy, who is operatively the lead, Kelly Macdonald, Colin Farrell, Colm Meany and Shirley Henderson) help animate what is a fairly shoddy screenplay, and it all links together well enough but ends up no more than an entertaining watch. It's not particularly good-looking, dramatic, romantic or funny, but it has its moments and it's nice to see a film made about Irish life today.
***


I usually enjoy the Stiller/Owen movies, and Starsky & Hutch was no exception to the rule. Nice, breezy, at times very funny, and the two leads are great at what they do. Lots of 70s throwbacks, a cool car, Snoop Dogg--fun to be had by all.
***