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"I'm Too Sexy" is a 1991 pop hit by British group Right Said Fred. The single hit #1 in seven countries, including Australia, Canada, Ireland, and the United States.

The idea for the song came about when the Fairbrass brothers were running a gym in London where, according to Richard, there was "lots of narcissism and posing". One day, he took his shirt off and started singing "I'm too sexy for my shirt" in front of a mirror as a joke. The band originally recorded it as an indie rock song.

It was rejected by multiple record companies before they played it to radio plugger Guy Holmes. He was initially unimpressed after playing it on his car stereo, but his passengers latched onto the song's "I'm a model, you know what I mean" hook and Holmes asked the band if they could rework it as a dance track.

DJ TommyD, an acquaintance of Richard Fairbrass, programmed electronics around the original vocal, while guitarist Rob Manzoli added a riff borrowed from the Jimi Hendrix song "Third Stone from the Sun".

In the clubs it became a huge overnight hit and everyone imitated their "catwalk" dance as seen on the music video which came out in early 1992.

#I'm Too Sexy #Right Said Fred #1991 #song #Richard Fairbrass #Guy Holmes #1992 #music video #DJ TommyD #single #Rob Manzoli #1990s #Jimi Hendrix #Third Stone from the Sun #catwalk #model #90s

Psychological thrillers are one of my favorites in the “thriller family”. Funny Games, Se7en, Cape Fear, to name a few, all encompass what the term “psychological thriller” sets out to attain: to plant suspense and fear in your brain without an excessive use of gore and blood. Spanish filmmaker, Jorge Dorado, brought us his feature debut with Anna (originally titled Mindscape) starring Mark Strong and Taissa Farmiga as the title character. A psychological thriller with a formidable cast and a pretty interesting plot idea. What could go wrong? Read on to find out!

Anna follows John Washington (Strong), a “memory detective” or glorified psychic, whichever you prefer, working for “Mindscape”. “Mindscape” employs these detectives’s ability to enter people’s minds in order to convict or exonerate them of unsolved crimes. After a bit of a mind/heart meltdown and some time off, John is called back on the job to assist on the case of a rich teenager, Anna (Farmiga), who is either a sociopath guilty of multiple transgressions or just a victim of trauma. After mind melding several times with Anna things slowly start to unravel and she could be much more dangerous than she seems.

Images from ‘Anna’ courtesy of Vertical Entertainment

Anna had so much potential to be the next great psychological thriller but floundered in some of the most important parts. The pacing is incredibly slow, and not even like the good kind of slow; more like the “when is the good stuff going to happen already” slow. Every time things got tense and edge-of-your-seat worthy during flashback scenes they were over just as quick as they began. Taissa Farmiga’s “rebellious, angsty teenager” role has been her calling card since American Horror Story: Murder House hindered my attempt to enjoy her in something new. A little more variety and lotta less flat tone would have taken this movie to another level.

Images from ‘Anna’ courtesy of Vertical Entertainment

We were asked the same questions over and over and by the time we reached the climax of Anna it was so rushed that I kept telling myself “that couldn’t POSSIBLY have been it…there had to be more, right?” Maybe after the credits? No? Well, okay. I feel like the filmmaker spent so much time setting up the story that when the time for an ending came he just closed his eyes and went for it. The high that never reached its peak; a commonplace occurrence for a feature debut.

Images from ‘Anna’ courtesy of Vertical Entertainment

That being said, the flashbacks were shot well and edited as such. I can’t forget the beautiful cinematography from Oscar Faura. I wished I had gotten a little more out of each clip as the morsels they fed us weren’t enough to keep the blood pumping. Despite my grievances with Farmiga’s role, it played very well off of Strong as they engaged in this game of cat and mouse we were watching. Jorge Dorado has some great ideas that, with a little sharpening, could make a great film in the future.

2/5

Anna is currently available on most on demand outlets. It is directed Jorge Dorado and written by Guy Holmes. It stars Mark Strong, Taissa Farmiga, and Brian Cox. It is being released courtesy of Vertical Entertainment.

A mind melding thriller ‘Anna’ – movie review Psychological thrillers are one of my favorites in the "thriller family". Funny Games, Se7en, …