After the Sunset / The Matador / Seraphim Falls

I’m not a fan of the Bond films; I think they were pretty much dead before Bourne put a final nail in the coffin. Pearce Brosnan seems to be one of the least popular Bond’s but I like him a lot. I like him because of the films he made after the Bond role ended.

Two of these films are really great fun and the third one is a classic western.

After the Sunset stars Pierce and Salma Hayek and is an update on To Catch a Thief. It’s fun, sunny and cheerful. Pierce has a real handle on the comedy and while the film is a little lightweight, it’s actually great undemanding fun.

The Matador is another comedy with a more serious edge, and some people had real difficulty accepting Pierce in the role of a rogue hit man on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Again, the film is sharp, funny and cheeky. The comedy really works.

Finally, Seraphim Falls is quite simply one of the best westerns of the last 20 years. These three films are all intelligent, clever entertainment and all three are completely removed from Bond and show Pierce setting out to wash the Bond role out of his hair.

The trailer for Seraphim Falls is below, see it, along with the other two films…


So, 58 films to go…

Matthew Cooper has written for Emmerdale, Eastenders, Hollyoaks and Family Affairs. He was winner of the first ever Lloyds Bank Channel Four Film Challenge and the Oscar Moore Screenplay Prize. His first short film starred a then unknown Ewan McGregor and was picked up by Channel Four when Matthew was 19 years old. He’s been a script writer for hire and filmmaker for hire for over 20 years.