All the Queens Men (2001)

During World War II the British army is attempting to retrieve an Enigma machine from Germany. Having failed in previous attempts they decide to send four men undercover to the factory that makes the devices, located in Berlin. Unfortunately the factory is run entirely by women, and they only have men to send.

American army officer O'Rourke (Matt LeBlanc) leads a mismatched team of British Special Services in disguise as women to infiltrate the factory and bring back the decoding device that will end the war. O'Rourke joins British transvestite Tony Parker (Eddie Izzard), genius Johnno (David Birken) and the reluctant Archie (James Cosmo) to infiltrate the factory dressed as women. The team, with the exception of Tony who is a drag performer, must learn the basic skills for completing their mission--like walking in high heels and applying lipstick.

Dropped in the wrong area, the team must first try to find their bearings. Aided by Romy (Nicolette Krebitz), a sympathizer of their cause, they find their way to the factory. The American and his team stumble through the German factory in full drag, barely escaping the clutches of German soldiers, while attempting to complete their important mission. They manage to retrieve the Enigma machine, against the expectations of the British army. Arriving home they find that they were tricked. The British government already had the device but wanted to make the Germans think they were still after it.

This WWII spy movie can't seem to decide what it is. Is it a comedy, drama or espionage film? There's not much humor except for guys wearing dresses. It's like an extended sitcom that picks up nicely at the end and redeems itself a little. The story is fairly simple, with stereotypical wooden characters there to make a point. Matt LeBlanc in the leading role is disappointing, although the supporting cast props him up well, especially Eddie Izzard. Nicolette Krebitz is beautiful to look at and gives a good performance. The voice-over explanation before the film starts is useless, and there are no subtitles during the German language portions of the film. What's frustrating is there are many opportunities for sub-plots that would add to the story but they are not used much, except for the one involving Tony Parker's German male lover. There are some moments of cleverness but the film is quite static and somewhat boring. However, some viewers enjoy this movie. Jörn-Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen, Robert Folk, and Michael Lloyd composed the music score. David Schneider wrote the screenplay from a story by Digby Wolfe, Joseph Manduke, and June Roberts. Stefan Ruzowitzky directed.

46億年の恋 (2006)

Jun Ariyoshi (Ryuhei Matsuda), who works at a gay bar, is sexually assulted by a customer, goes into a frenzy and kills the man. While being transported to a juvenile detention facility, Jun meets another young man Shiro Kazuki (Masanobu Ando), an impressive handsome youth with curious tattoos. The story follows the emotional homoerotic relationship between these two juvenile prisoners. Shiro displays his brute force from the beginning and the timid Jun is attracted to Shiro's intensity and strength. Jun is the only person Shiro opens up to as they accept each other for who they are.

Near the beginning of the film a guard witnesses a murder. One of the young men strangles another prisoner in a common area. As the victim takes his last breath, the assailant cries, "It's Jun". Tears flow down the face of the young man who turns to the guard. It is Jun. The man lying dead on the floor is Shiro. We realize that what seems to be an act of homicide is a consequence of a much more complex past, which is revealed in a story that meanders from the present to the past, and back, to possible futures. A series of flashbacks and fragments of Jun and Shiro's memories are mixed with their yearnings, anxieties and tensions in the world they are imprisoned in. In the end, two detectives solve the murder of Shiro, but the real resolution remains unspoken and hidden in Jun and Shiro's relationship.

Director Miike Takashi offers no easy way to understand his two protagonists, yet a few times he hints that child abuse may be the real crime to condemn. The prison, shown in a brownish yellow atmosphere, is literally the centre stage of this mystery, since many of the scenes strongly resemble a theater play. But the prison also offers a strong metaphor of our modern life, as Miike reminds us in the final scenes. Everyone is a prisoner of everyday life. Miike considers "Big Bang Love: A Juvenile Love Story of 4600 Million Years" his masterpiece, and it is certainly his most intellectually and aesthetically challenging film. Sexual tensions and explosive violence drive the story which delivers some weird and fascinating visuals. Masa Nakamura wrote the screenplay based on the novel "Shônen A erejî" by Ikki Kajiwara and Hisao Maki. "46-okunen no koi" translates as "The Love of 4600 Million Years". In Japanese with English subtitles. The English titles are "Big Bang Love, Juvenile A" and "4.6 Billion Years of Love".