My Name is Khan review

 Number 495 on the top 1000 films of all time is the Indian-produced social drama film 'My Name is Khan.'

Rizwan Khan (Shah Rukh Khan) is an Indian Muslim with severe Asperger's Syndrome. Searching for a better life, he emigrates to San Francisco where he meets the single mother and Hindu, Mandira Rathod (Kajol.) However, in the wake of 9/11 and the rise of Islamaphobic attitudes, Mandira and her son suffer awful discrimination. Rizwan Khan resolves to travel across the US to speak with the president.

I've seen a few Bollywood/Indian films since starting this list, but this is the first time I've seen the Bollywood style in an American setting. It was refreshing to see. There was strong acting especially from the leads which should be no surprise considering they are both stars of Indian cinema having won 22 Filmfare awards. Shak Rukh Khan researched autism extensively and spent long periods of time with them to ensure the most accurate representation of the condition. Sure it might not have been Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man or Priyanka Chopra in Barfi! but Khan played the role with great sensitivity.

My Name is Khan also offered some pertinent social commentary regarding the immigrant, more specifically, Muslim experience in the US. Hatred of the other has always existed. This is as true now as it was twenty years ago as it was two hundred years ago. Humans are unfortunately a tribal society who distrust anybody who doesn't look like them,

Unfortunately, the film's social commentary was almost lost in its melodrama. Indian Cinema loves melodrama and that was certainly the case here. To say that Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's score was over-the-top would be the understatement of the century. It reminded me of bad reality TV trying to manipulate your emotions. Director Karan Johar could have relied on his strong actors or Shibani Bathija's script for that. Similarly, we didn't need the slow-motion, montages or multiple camera angles of the same thing. It was all so unnecessary. At least there wasn't any spontaneous singing and dancing.

I would also agree with some reviewers who said that the film became lost in its own lofty ambitions. The first half of the film was definitely tighter than the second, even if it did spend too much time setting up Rizwan and Mandira's relationship. Indian film critic Vinod Mirani criticised Karan Johar's direction as being meandering and slow-paced through his desire of trying to say too much. 

This is especially true of the film's second half where Rizwan embarks on his journey across the US getting involved in lots of different obstacles along the way, most of which were either resolved too easily - like how he was falsely imprisoned by the FBI or too diversionary from the main plot like how Rizwan befriends a mother and son in Georgia, later protecting them during Hurricane Wilhemina.

My Name is Khan was an admirable film with strong characterisations and good social commentary, but a lot of that was lost in its melodrama.

Atonement review

 Number 483 on the top 1000 films of all time is the romantic tragedy 'Atonement.'

Based on the 2001 Ian Mcewan novel of the same name and set in 1930's England, Atonement tells the story of Cecilia Tallis (Keira Knightley) the oldest sister of the Tallis family and her relationship with the housekeeper's son Robbie Turner (James Mcavoy.) However, when Cecila's younger sister Briony (Saoirse Ronan) confesses that she saw Robbie commit an awful crime, he is sent to prison, ripping apart the family.

In my Finding Neverland review, I said that Kate Winslet is one of those actresses who gets type-cast as upper-class aristocratic English ladies. I would lump Keira Knightley into the same camp. Whether that's Pride and Prejudice, Pirates of the Caribbean or the Imitation Game, she more or less plays the same character. In Atonement, it was more of the same, but Cecilia had a killer emotional depth. As this was a hard-hitting film. 

*Spoilers to follow*

As much of the film harbours on a lie. The young and naive thirteen-year-old Briony, who has her own feelings for Robbie, misconstrues his affections for Cecilia as rape and abuse. Yet things don't stop here. She then believes she witnesses him raping her cousin Lola (Juno Temple.) And this is all the evidence needed to send Robbie to prison for years. Upon realising her mistake, an elderly Briony (Vanessa Redgrave) tries atoning for her mistakes, but it is too little too late. In many ways, she is an unreliable narrator which gave this film a rather devastating dramatic irony.

Briony Tallis was only Saiorse Ronan's third film role, but it was also her breakout role. For Briony Tallis, she received her first of four Oscar nominations. It was well-earned too, as she showed her early promise as an actor. Similarly, this film helped to establish James Mcavoy as a leading man. Although he wasn't Oscar-nominated, he did receive a Bafta nod for Best Supporting Actor.

After Robbie is released from prison, he is drafted into the Second World War where, suffering from an infected wound, he desperately navigates to the beaches of Dunkirk so he can return home to his beloved Cecilia. Some critics argued this made the film unbalanced with a scatter-shot plot. I wouldn't agree though. Having Robbie and Cecilia separated by not only a lie but also war really underlined the tragic plot and the seriousness of Briony's lie, as well as her desperate need to atone for her sins.

This definitely won't be an easy watch. There are emotionally upsetting scenes galore, but it is also quite a powerful film with some great performances.

Finding Neverland review

 Number 481 on the top 1000 films of all time is Marc Foster's biopic fantasy drama 'Finding Neverland.'

Finding Neverland tells the true-life story of Scottish children's author JM Barrie (Johnny Depp.) After his latest play flops, he is desperately looking for a new idea. This is when he meets widow and single mother Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (Kate Winslet) - she and her children serve as the inspiration for Barrie's most famous story: Peter Pan. Julie Christie and Dustin Hoffman co-star.

Finding Neverland started slowly, but once it got going it became a touching and surprising story about connection and childhood innocence. I say surprising, because, as a general rule, I'm generally not interested in biopics/period dramas. Neither am I much interested in Peter Pan. I don't know anything of the story outside of the Disney cartoon.

Yet that didn't matter with the ever-impressive Johnny Depp at the helm. Having become better known as a character actor with eccentric and off-beat roles, it was refreshing to see him in one of his most human roles. I'm not sure how much of Finding Neverland was fact and how much was fiction, but it did portray Barrie as a wholly complicated and interesting character. It's no surprise that Depp was Oscar-nominated for the role.

As for Kate Winslet, she was good but I felt that in her early career, she was often typecast as an upper-class aristocratic woman whether that is Sense and Sensibility or Hamlet. True, she does it well and she did well opposite Depp, but it did feel like Llewelyn Davies was just another similar character in a very long list.

Although it tells a story of fantasy and escape with multiple sets and like a pirate's ship or a desert, Marc Foster always kept things firmly grounded in the real by partly how Barrie was inspired by the people or events around him basing Peter Pan on Sylvia's son Peter, Freddy Highmore in an early role.

Overall, I enjoyed Finding Neverland. I wasn't sure whether I would, but it pleasantly surprised me. Now say it with me...I do...I do... I do believe in fairies. 

The Last Emperor review

 Number 482 on the top 1000 films of all time is the epic biographical period-drama 'The Last Emperor.'

The Last Emperor tells the life story of its titular character - Pu Yi, the Last Emperor of China from his childhood where he was played by Richard Vu and then Tiger Tsau to his adolescence where he was played by Wu Tao and all the way to his adulthood, where, played by John Lone, he becomes a political prisoner of the Chinese Communist Party.

Bernado Bertolucci's story about Puyi felt very much like a Chinese version of Laurence of Arabia. The Last Emperor was almost four hours long and it also starred Peter O'Toole who played Pu Yi's Scottish tutor Reginald Johnson. Granted, I had unknowingly watched the extended cut, but I think even the one hundred and sixty-five minute theatrical cut would have still had me struggling to stay awake.

Obviously the academy didn't agree with me as they awarded The Last Emperor nine Oscars including Best Film, Director, production and Costume. The latter two were well-earned. Bertolucci was granted unprecedented access to film in China's Forbidden City and he made brilliant use of this opportunity. The production in this film was absolutely breathtaking especially in the early scenes within the city itself. It's just a shame the story itself wasn't very interesting.

The story is told from the adult Piyu's perspective - now a prisoner of the CCP, as he looks back on his life as China's last emperor. Although this part was interesting, his earlier life was less so. Considering how he was very much just a figurehead with no real power, it's no surprise that he was little more than a spoiled and lazy character, but he also became a tedious one too.

This is a film for true cinophiles. Although it looked great on-screen, the actual story left me cold and in desperate want of my bed.

Empire of the Sun review

 Number 480 on the top 1000 films of all time is Steven Spielberg's epic coming-of-age drama 'Empire of the Sun.'

Jim Graham (Christian Bale) is a young, spoiled English boy living in 1940's Shanghai China. However, after the Japanese invade, he is separated from his parents and sent to an internment camp. There he has to rely on his wits, as well as his relationship with two American hustlers Basie (John Malkovich) and Frank (Joe Pantoliano) as well as his relationship with other prisoners like Dr Rawlins (Nigel Havers) or Mrs Victor (Miranda Richardson) to survive.

Famed film critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel gave a mixed review of the film deciding that despite its potential it seemed like a mishmash of different ideas that never gelled together. I would agree with this assessment. Empire of the Sun struck me as a film where despite having all of the necessary jigsaw puzzles was still unable to put them together in a satisfactory way.

And the film straddled too many genres without ever fitting into one. It's set during World War Two yet its PG-13 rating stopped it from really focussing on the true horrors of the war. Although it's a coming of age drama, Tim's transformation from a naive, pompous schoolboy into a streetwise hustler was largely glossed over. As such, these emotional beats didn't land.

It's a shame as, even though, Christian Bale was playing one of those annoying characters who fuelled the narrative with their own stupidity, he showed early promise of the Oscar-winning actor he would become. Considering this was only his second film role this is saying something. And considering he was acting alongside heavyweights like John Malkovich and Miranda Richardson, this was also saying something big. Not to mention, they played less than satisfactory characters who flitted in and out of the story.

Ultimately, I think this film was wasted potential. I'm always interesting in learning more about the Japanese side of the war, but this film left me cold.

Dirty Harry Review

 Number 479 on the top 1000 films of all time is Don Siegel's 1971 action-thriller 'Dirty Harry.'

Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) is a San Fransican cop who doesn't play by the rules. He's dirty, but he always gets the job done. However, he meets his match with the psychotic and deadly intelligent "Scorpio" killer - Charles Davis (Andrew Robinson.)

Clint Eastwood has remarkable talent.  I am not referring to his directional ability netting him numerous Oscars, but his talent is starring in great films despite always playing the same character. And that character is a grumpy old man regardless of his age or if he is playing a cowboy, boxing coach or cop. Although this is the first film I've seen with Clint Eastwood playing a rogue cop, he wasn't unlike any of the famous cowboy characters who proceeded him. Not to say he wasn't good, but he wasn't different either.

Andrew Robinson was far more convincing as the psychopathic Scorpio killer. Despite being a complete unknown, he play the role so brilliantly that he struggled in escaping the shadow of the character. Thankfully, he did in the nineties, as he went onto have a prominent supporting role in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

It was an interesting dynamic between the two lead actors with Eastwood acting as the old hand and Andrew Robinson, the newcomer, but he held his own well in this slick and punchy thriller. It was another triumph from Don Siegel who gave us another tense and tight film.

Yes, it has Eastwood acting the same as he always does, but don't let that put you off what was a great film with a terrific turn from Andrew Robinson.

Night on Earth review

 Number 478 on the top 1000 films of all time is Jim Jarmusch's comedy-drama anthology 'Night on Earth.'

Night on Earth tells five vignettes of five taxi drivers and their relationships with their passengers all on the same night across five different cities: Los Angeles, New York City, Paris, Rome and Helsinki.

Night on Earth was a charming film that deftly navigated a number of themes including heartbreak, connection and comedy all while getting you to care about its characters in a limited space of time. Across five different short films with all different casts, we get to see what makes us different, but more importantly the same.

The first vignette focusses on LA taxi driver Corky (Wionna Ryder.) Corky is a tomboy and has no great aspirations in life beyond being a taxi driver and a mechanic. This is in contrast with her upper-class passenger, casting director Victoria Snelling (Gena Rowlands.) Despite their differences, they form a certain rapport and understanding by the end of their journey together. Victoria even wants to cast Corky in her latest film, but Corky is happy with her current direction in life. It was a nice little insight into how we work as people. Not everybody has lofty aspirations. Some people are happy with whatever they have and that's okay.

The second vignette is probably the funniest. It follows the relationship between East German immigrant Helmut's (Armin Mueller-Stahl's) first night as a taxi driver in New York. His passenger is the loud-mouthed and obnoxious Yo-Yo (Giancarlo Esposito) who startled at Helmut's seeming incompetence decides to drive the taxi instead. The two characters could not have been more different from each other yet they embodied a brilliant odd-couple relationship. Helmut was endearing and although Yo-Yo was a bit annoying at first, he ended up being likeable too.

Our third vignette takes us to Paris where after an unnamed Ivorian taxi driver (Isaach de Bankole) abruptly turfs out two rude passengers, he accepts a new fare of a blind woman (Beatrice Dalle.) It was a pleasant enough story but largely forgettable compared to the others. Although there were a few moments of humour.

The fourth story set in Rome was probably my least favourite. It focussed on eccentric taxi driver Gino (Roberto Benigni) who after picking up a priest (Paolo Bonecelli,) proceeds to make a toe-curling confession which is almost too much for the priest to bear. Although this story was played for laughs with Benigni largely improvising, I did find it far too zany and over-the-top for my tastes. Benigni was so over-the-top, he became rather annoying.

Thankfully, we had the final Helsinki storyline as a touching palate cleanser. It focusses on Finnish taxi driver Mika (Matti Pellonpaa) who relates his tragic personal history to his drunk passengers. It was bittersweet way of ending the film, but also helped to offset some of the Night on Earth's zanier storylines. It was one of my favourite stories of the five.

Being an anthology film, naturally some of the vignettes were better than others. However, I think the film worked both as a whole and individually. I definitely recommend it.