Film Review - Donnie Brasco

Release: 1997
Director: Mike Newell
Starring: Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, Michael Madsen, Anne Heche

Johnny Depp's moustache, heheh. This one of those all-time great crime movies, but with such top 10 competition from the likes of Goodfellas and Usual Suspects, it seems to often be forgotten.

Depp plays a cop in deep deep cover with the mob under the alias of Donnie Brasco, and uses Al Pacino as his "in" to Michael Madsen's organisation. The two form a deep bond, and Pacino treats him like family. He's certainly no Godfather in his film, more just like a lackey, but he has pride.

So deep undercover is he that his wife and children barely know who he is, and he ends up commiting crimes with them and offering ideas how to expand the empire.

There's a real sense of tension throughout the whole film, as one wrong move could see him exposed. I won't spoil the ending, but it's amaaaaazing

8/10

Film Review - Dirty Dancing

Release: 1987
Director: Emile Ardolino
Starring: Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey

A classic and no doubt. Patrick Swa-Hay-Zee as my compatriot Stiggy would say it. Swayze is great in any film he is in. I realise this was a chick flick, but it was still cool.

At a family holiday camp in the 50s, Jennifer Grey plays Baby, a young woman with her family who falls for the camp's dancing instructor, the sexy Swa-Hay-Zee. Grey leaves the holidaymakers part of the camp and experiences another world when she joins the dancers in their off-duty sexy fun time. A bunch of sweaty people doing the most suggestive dancing ever seen, especially for the 50s. It's an awakening for Grey in many ways, and Swa-Hay-Zee teaches her what he knows.

Some rather adult themes in the film, so it's definitely not for the whole family, but it's a very decent chick flick.

The most famous line of the film, "Nobody puts Baby in the corner.." was a real F**K YEAH moment

7/10

Film Review - Dinner For Schmucks

Release: 2010
Director: Jay Roach
Starring: Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, Zach Galifianakis, Jemaine Clement, Stephanie Szostak, David Walliams

Steve Carell is in one of his more zaney roles in this one, and may be too much for some to handle. His performance is meant to make you cringe. I could watch Paul Rudd is anything, no matter how awful.

It has a wonderful supporting cast full of scene stealing, particularly The Hangover's Zach Galifianakis as Carell's psychic nemesis. Jermaine from Flight of the Conchords is particularly amazing.

I cringed the whole way through, but was elated for the final 20 minutes as everything reached it's hilarious conclusion. Not a comedy to simply write off.

6/10

Film Review - Devil

Release: 2010
Director: John Erick Dowdle
Starring: Chris Messina, Caroline Dhavernas, Bokeem Woodbine

Four people are trapped in a lift, one of them is the Devil. One by one they're being murdered.

The static location of the lift was offset well by the maintenance crew and police trying to figure it out and stop it, which prevented it from getting a bit dull.

It was a good thriller and an interestingly fresh concept. I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected I would

7/10

Film Review - Deadline

Release: 2009
Director: Sean McConville
Starring: Brittany Murphy, Thora Birch

Ugh.. I liked Britanny Murphy, and this was one of her final films. Shame it's not good.

It's a supernatural thriller and then it's not, and then it tries to be too clever and it just doesn't work. When a twist doesn't make sense, it's just a slap in the face to anyone who's suspended disbelief and engaged themselves in the plot and characters.

It's nearly a clever thriller, but just poorly executed

5/10

Film Review - Collateral

Release: 2004
Director: Michael Mann
Starring: Tom Cruise, Jaime Foxx

Took me a couple of years to get around to this one, but boy it was class. Tom Cruise is a great villain, and always plays his roles to perfection. Jaime Foxx is a likeable taxi driver who just happens to take on the fair that will change his life, and then another who will potentially end it.

The cinematography is really interesting, and has that 28 Days Later look from being filmed on DV cameras I believe rather than big Hollywood machines, so it more resembles security camera footage and all the more realistic and frightening.

Mann directs great action sequences, and this film is full of them. It also has great suspense, and is best described as an action thriler.

The club scene with the Paul Oakenfold soundtrack was particularly memorable. The song is called Ready Steady Go (Korean Style) and if you listen to it I guarantee it will be stuck in your head.

This had me hooked from start to finish

8/10

Film Review - Chasing Liberty

Release: 2004
Director: Andy Cadiff
Starring: Mandy Moore, Matthew Goode

Mandy Moore is the President's daughter, and so the most well protected girl in the world. All she really wants is her freedom. She is constantly surrounded by secret services, until she runs off with Matthew Goode. Unbeknownst to her, Goode is also secret service and is given the task of protecting her.

The two travel around Europe in a romantic and comedic fashion. The scenes in Venice were particularly good. The main supporting roles are the two secret service agents on their heels trying to bring them in, and it's nice seeing their relationship blossom as a subplot.

A satisfying teen romantic comedy

4/10

Film Review - Changing Lanes

Release: 2002
Director: 
Starring: Samuel L Jackson, Ben Affleck

A film I had not even heard of until my Lovely mentioned it. A good action thriller.

Basic plot is Jackson is a man having an incredibly bad day on the verge of losing everything when Affleck mucks up his day even more. Instead of helping his fellow man, Affleck thinks only of himself and drives off and in doing so he leaves Jackson with the one Affleck needs and nothing left to lose.

Affleck is a bigshot lawyer, and all he needs to win a huge corporate case is with one document. In the confusion of the collision, Afleck left the document at the scene and into Jackson's hands.

The two basically go to war to destroy each other's lives in an ever-escalating fustercluck

I was gripped from beginning to end, and the ending was very satisfying. A surpising gem

7/10

Film Review - Cast Away

Release: 2000
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Tom Hanks

Another film I took little notice of when it came out, but actually thought it was brilliant when I eventually got around to it. This certainly shows why Tom Hanks was Mr Oscars in the 90s. It's a touching tale of love and survival.

Hanks works for FedEx, and is on a plane from Russia to the America ready to get home for Christmas. The plane goes down during a horrendous storm, and Hanks is the sole survivor washed up on an island with a load of parcels as his only equipment.

The desire not only just to live, but to return home to his wife is what keeps him going. To avoid going crazy, he turns a football into his only friend. Eventually he uses the contents of the parcels washed up as a means of escape.

He returns home to find years have gone by, and declared legally dead his wife eventually moved on and remarried. It's a heartbreaking epilogue, but it's beautiful to see how he decides to make it up to those people who never received their parcels.

Films dealing with loss, such as loss of memory, or loss of time, really resonate with me. I was touched to see him crushed by waiting so long to be reunited with his wife only to lose her, and then he survives that too and moves on.

A beautiful film. Well worth it's hype.

8/10

Film Review - Buried

Release: 2010
Director: Rodrigo Cortés
Starring: Ryan Reynolds

Another 'stuck in one place for the whole film' type a la Phonebooth. I like Ryan Reynolds, and he is a great comedy actor. Could he do a serious thriller and be the sole driving point of interest? Turns out yes he can.

It's one man, buried alive in a coffin, in Iraq somewhere, with a mobile phone, and 80 minutes of air.

I'm not sure what the running time of the film is, but it's not a slow or boring film. It's well paced and Reynolds is superb. It's not a film to write home about mind you, it's just a good thriller.

6/10

Film Review - The Story Of Us

Release: 1999
Director: Rob Reiner
Starring: Bruce Willis, Michelle Pfeiffer

An unconventional drama. A married couple reach breaking point after 15 years and separate. While apart they look back on various points of their lives when they were happy, and remember their reoccurring arguments and gripes.

It wasn't well received at the time as it was advertised as a romantic comedy, and comedy it ain't, a tragedy is more like. It's superbly acted, and it feels so real and visceral. The whole is dripping in real emotion. Willis and Pfeiffer come across as very real people, not as characters.

The ending is fantastic, and left me very emotional. It's totally recommended!

8/10

Film Review - Bride Wars

Release: 2009
Director: Gary Winick
Starring: Ann Hathaway, Kate Hudson

Two best friends are forced to book their weddings on the same day. They go from being the best of friends to bitter rivals.

A nice popcorn sort of comedy. It's by no means a good or great film, but I did enjoy it. It's full of "Oh no she didn'" moments and has a pretty touching climax.

If you enjoy a film with no violence or swearing but will still engage you, this is one to think about

5/10

Film Review - Brick

Release: 2005
Director: Rian Johnson
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lukas Haas, Emilie de Ravin

I think Joseph Gordon-Levitt is brilliant. He was great in Third Rock From The Sun all those years ago, but with several years of great films under his belt (Inception being the biggest and the new Batman on the horizon), he just goes from strength to strength.

I'd never heard of this film and just watched it on a whim, and it was a bit confusing. It's dialogue is very much in the same school as Clockwork Orange, where none of the characters seem to be speaking English, but instead some kind of slang. It's sharp, and you really have to be concentrating to follow everything

Brendan Frye: Your muscle seemed plenty cool putting his fist in my head. I want him out.
The Pin: Looky, soldier...
Brendan Frye: The ape blows or I clam.

This is a murder mystery. Gordon-Levitt's ex turns up dead after a mysterious phonecall where she seems in trouble. He takes it on himself to find out who was behind it and make them pay.

It's all set in a high school, and it's funny how it closely it resembles a mob club in a noir film. He is constantly getting into fights, but it's not a violent film. As the film poster above mentions, it's a detective drama.

It was cool, but I'd have a bit of trouble recommending it

6/10

Film Review - Black Swan

Release: 2010
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Starring: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis

So much hype, I really didn't see the appeal.. I love Natalie Portman, and Aronofsky does some great films, but this film really didn't connect with me in any way.

It was freaky, certainly, and bits made me squirm, yes, but was I moved or inspired? Nope.

The cinematography was good, and it was well acted, but the general premise and twists really didn't do anything for me.

I honestly didn't see what was good about it..


5/10

Film Review - Billy Elliot

Release: 2000
Director: Stephen Daldry
Starring: Jamie Bell, Julie Walters

Another British film I'd written off, but on watching it really understood the hype. I've since become a real fan of Jamie Bell (watch The Eagle, it's class).

Set in a fictional Northern mining town during the coal mining strikes, Billy is a boy brought up in a motherless house by his manly father who wants him to learn boxing. In the same building as the boy's boxing class is a girl's ballet class, and Billy becomes curious. The ballet teacher Julie Walters takes Billy under her wing, and his love of dance comes alive.

He fights to keep his dancing secret, but eventually his father and brother find out. There are some very emotional scenes which all lead towards the father's breakdown and eventual acceptance of Billy's talent. Eventually they get behind Billy and send him to audition in a London Ballet School.

There are some fantastic scenes, one in particular is during a police raid of the town in full riot gear and 70's style beatdowns. The soundtrack of the film is full of T-Rex, and it really works. What a great little film.

8/10 

Film Review - Big Fish

Release: 2003
Director: Tim Burton
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup

I was a big fan of Tim Burton's films, but found his films post-2000 weren't quite the same. I remember when this came out and decided to avoid it as it looked so colourful, but when I got around to watching it, I really enjoyed it.

It's the story of Ewan McGregor's life, told from his deathbed, but massively exaggerated. He paints himself to be a larger than life figure who had many staggering adventures. As the film goes on we question just much of it was really exaggerated at all!

It's a gloriously rich visual feast with some great acting broken up into several bite-sized acts. A very pleasant surprise.


7/10

Film Review - Bicentennial Man

Release: 1999
Director: Chris Columbus
Starring: Robin Williams, Embeth Davidtz, Sam Neill

I remember seeing posters for this on bus shelters when it came out. I was in college at the time, and remembered not really hearing any buzz about the film after. It was quite a few years before I saw it for the first time, and since then I think I've seen it another two times. It's a very enjoyable film exploring what it means to be alive.

As with all good robot films, it references Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics. Robin Williams is bought to be a service droid for Sam Neill's family, but quickly demonstrates his own personality and desires. After some investigation, Neill finds that his droid's personality isn't displayed by any of the same model, and its manufacturers believe it to be defective and think Neill is trying to return him. Robo Williams is quite put out that they think something is wrong with him, and goes on a mission to meet others of the same type to see if he really is the only robot with a soul.

Over the course of the film Robo Williams discovers love, human appearance and feelings, and eventually seeks to be recognised as a man. The epilogue of the film is moving, and really explores the human spirit and acceptance of death. Gets me choked up every time.


8/10

Film Review - Bend It Like Beckham

Release: 2002
Director: Gurinder Chadha
Starring: Parminder Nagra , Keira Knightley

Another film I had very low expectations for, but actually found myself really enjoying. The protagonist, Parminder Nagra, is a young Asian girl who wants nothing more to play football, but does so in secret as not to raise the ire of her very traditional parents. She secretly joins a local women's team who are a few good wins away from being watched by American scouts, which is the pinnacle of women's football.

She becomes great friends with Keira Knightley, but soon they come into conflict as they both fancy their football coach. It's got comedy, romance, drama and all the things you would want from a light-hearted but not throw-away family film.

The final act was great, and left me with a smile. A very not-bad British film


6/10

Film Review - Ben-Hur

Release: 1959
Director: William Wyler
Starring: Charlton Heston

Fair play, this was a long film.. So long you have to turn the DVD over in the middle of the film. Seriously, how many films have an intermission?

Length aside (hurr hurr) this was a brilliant classic film. Heston as a Jew isn't the most obvious casting choice, but I'm not fussy. He plays a Jewish prince, Judah Ben-Hur, who gets punished by his Roman childhood friend, and ends up becoming a slave. That one line summary is about an hour of the film by the way.

He somehow survives being a rower on a slave barge for years on pure grit alone, and eventually saves the life of his Roman keeper. The man is shocked by Ben-Hur's compassion and takes him on a servant of his House. Eventually he becomes the Master of the House and returns to his homeland as a Roman noble, ready to face down the man who sent him to his death.

The most famous scene of the film is the final chariot race, and it's a fantastic highly tense sequence. Fairplay it's two and a half hours into the film, and by that point I was well behind Ben-Hur.

The final act of the film involves Jesus, who is being led through the city with his cross over his shoulder. Ben-Hur recognises him as a man who gave him water when he was at his most desperate, and so Ben-Hur tries to help him but is pushed back by the Centurions. The crucifixion scene is moving, and is the primary focus of the film in a way, as Jesus' holiness affects all those in attendance, and even curse Ben-Hur's mother and sister of leprosy. Definitely a time to celebrate the man who died for our sins.

I didn't expect to enjoy the film as much as I did. It was proper class

8/10

Film Review - Avatar

Release: 2009
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez

Another film that was massively hyped on its release that I ignored, plus this was the herald of 3D, which I had and still have zero interest in. I watched the extended Special Edition Bluray version, which was around 3 and a half hours long. To be honest I really enjoyed it.

Cameron created a rich, alien world with lore and history, and made me care about it. It was like somewhere between Dances With Wolves and Fern Gulley. This beautiful forest world is under threat by a greedy human mining company.

A film based entirely on special effects has absolutely no merit to me, which is why the Matrix sequels are a stain on the series. The visual effects in Avatar are stunning, and often breath-taking. I was surprised with how wrapped up I was in this visual feast, and also found myself caring for the plight of the natives.

I'm not sure what sequels could possibly offer (they're making it a trilogy apparently), but I really surprised myself with how enjoyable Avatar was. Impressively most of the technology was developed for the film, so Cameron had basically invented what he wanted in his head and then the technology grew around the idea. Cool beans.

I didn't expect to enjoy it, and you may too

7/10