Good Will Hunting review

 Number 159 on the top 1000 films of all time is the drama Good Will Hunting.

Will (Matt Damon) is an undiscovered genius with a troubled past. Instead of putting his genius to good use, he works as a janitor for MIT. That is until Professor Gerald Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgard) recognises his potential and arranges for Will to have counselling with therapist Dr Sean Maguire (Robin Williams.) Ben Affleck co stars as Will's best friend Chuckie and Minnie Driver plays Will's love interest Skylar.

In 1994, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck were struggling to break into the acting industry. They then decided to write and star in their own film. The rest as they say is history. Damon and Affleck went onto win Oscars for writing. Affleck has since gone onto win a Best Director Oscar for Argo. 

Yet the Oscars don't end there as you had the always terrific Robin Williams win Best Supporting Actor for his role as therapist Sean Maguire. Robin Williams is best known for his comedy roles but he is proven that he is equally adept at drama too. In this role, he played to both his comedic and dramatic strengths. One of the film's most famous scenes sees Maguire making Will dissolve into giggles by telling him a story about how his wife used to fart in her sleep. Matt Damon was laughing for real here as was the cameraman evidenced by how the camera shook. What made it so great was how it was unscripted.

Williams also had a great chemistry with Damon as we see Maguire become a mentor for the emotionally damaged Will. The two of them had many tender, heartfelt but also intense scenes together. Both of them were able to easily switch between comedy and drama.

Alas I cannot be so positive about Ben Affleck. I think it is very telling that he has won Oscars for writing and directing but NOT acting. I think this is because he is more wooden than your average tree. Chuckie was not an exception to this rule.

Although this is really just a minor blip in an otherwise very good film. It was funny yet dramatic with one of Robin Williams' finest performances 

Tangled review

Number 434 on the top 1000 films of all time is Disney’s animated fairy-tale film Tangled.

Based on the story of Rapunzel, we see the princess voiced by Mandy Moore kidnapped by the evil Mother Gothel (Donna Murphy) who raises her as her own daughter. Rapunzel knows nothing about her true identity. However, her hair has magical qualities that can heal all wounds and stop the aging process. She is locked away in a remote tower knowing nothing about the outside world. That is until the lovable rogue Flynn (Zachary Levi) stumbles upon her tower and soon changes her life.

Tangled is based on a fairytale, so like many of Disney’s films, it is formulaic. What I saw here was little different to the Disney princess films of old. You have your princess locked away by a parental figure with sinister intentions. She then meets a prince charming initially disguised as a selfish rogue, but who becomes a better person as a result of the princess. Throw in some magic, colourful animation and funny animals for good measure.

Yes, it is all stuff we’ve seen before but when you do it as well as Disney does then who’s complaining. Granted, I don’t think this is one of their best films, but it was certainly an entertaining watch. Rapunzel had a nice mixture of wonderlust, star-eyed naivety, agency and inner strength. This helped to give us a Disney princess for the modern age.

Although Flynn’s arc from selfish coward to unlikely hero was predictable, it was still enjoyable to watch. The villainous Mother Gothel wasn’t quite on the same levels as the likes of Scar, Jafar or the various evil stepmothers, but she had some great lines, especially when she was expressing her thinly-veiled contempt of her supposedly beloved daughter.

There were plenty of funny moments like when Rapunzel goes into the tavern supposedly full of thugs but they are actually full of gentle giants with a share of unrealised dreams.

Compared to some other Disney films, I don’t think the soundtrack was particularly memorable. This was a little disappointing as the music is often the best part of Disney’s films: I’m thinking of the Lion King, Mulan or Aladdin. Even the god-awful Frozen had an inescapable soundtrack. Yet I can’t remember any of the songs from Tangled.

True, I don’t think Tangled brought anything new to the genre. Disney were certainly treading familiar ground when they brought this fairy-tale to life, but when they do it as well as they do, who’s complaining really?

Evil Dead II review

 Number 436 on the top 1000 films of all time is Sam Raimi’s 1987 horror-comedy Evil Dead II.

Ash (Bruce Campbell) and his girlfriend Linda (Denise Bixler) have just arrived at a remote wood cabin for a passionate weekend away together. Instead, they find a mysterious book which turns Linda into a zombie, possesses anything in the vicinity with evil spirits and torments, harasses and terrifies Ash.

I know this was supposed to be a comedy and it was supposed to be silly, but silly comedies only work if they make audiences laugh. Instead they made me roll my eyes and decry the annoying, tedious nature of the film. The dialogue was cheesy, the characterisations were paper-thin and the special effects were pure B-movie.

I’m being generous when I say the characterisations were paper-thin, they were non-existent especially the female characters. It seemed like the actresses had little direction other than to stand around and scream in terror. This all became rather monotonous at a point. They had little to no agency. Even at times when they could have dealt lethal blows to the zombies, they just screeched and snarled.

This is in comparison to Ash who did little else than growl, shout or say cheesy one-liner after cheesy one-liner. He was very much the only character with any agency, but he still had as much depth as the shallow end of a swimming pool. Although other than fighting away arbitrarily possessed objects and people, he really didn’t have much to do.

Not that he had much to do. There was barely any storyline. The film had a basic siege plot as the small band of heroes led by Ash desperately try to defend themselves against the zombies. That’s it. But don’t forget the constant lapses in logic like Ash using a shotgun in one scene but forgetting about it in the next and using an axe. The rest of the film focussed on stupid characters making stupid decisions for no other reason than to fuel the plot. All very frustrating.

As were the special effects. They were so over-the-top, they just bordered on the ridiculous. It all became an endless gorefest at one point.

The less said about the ending the better too. It was like Raimi had taken a leaf out of 2001:Space Odyssey by sending Ash through some time-travelling wormhole into the past where we see a completely bonkers ending that I don’t think even Raimi properly understood. Talk about jumping the shark.

I know this was a comedy and I shouldn’t take it seriously. There was no way I could never take it seriously as a drama/horror film, but there was no way I could never take it seriously as a comedy either.

The Day the Earth Stood still review

Number 437 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 1956 science-fiction film – The Day the Earth Stood Still.

One fateful day in 1951 Washington DC, a mysterious UFO sets down. Out comes an alien called Kantu (Michael Rennie) along with his robot protector Gort. The alien has an important message to tell the people of Earth, but will they listen? Patricia Neal co-starred.

It is safe to say that ‘The Day the Earth Stood Still’ was a sleeper hit. Neal herself thought the film would just be another of these generic flying saucer films that were so popular during the 1950’s. She could barely stop herself from laughing while reading the supposedly clunky dialogue. I’m glad that Neal was wrong, as the Day the Earth Stood Still was a terrific film.

Sure, you could argue that it isn’t the most original or novel especially by modern-day standards. However, in the 1950’s, paranoia and suspicion were rife, as was our wonder for life beyond the stars. We were in the midst of the cold war where there was distrust all around the world. Screenwriter Edmund H North capitalised on these ideas in this low-spectacle, but thoroughly interesting film.

It helped that you had the relatively-unknown Michael Rennie in the lead role. He was deliberately picked because of his low profile at the time. Director Robert Wise didn’t want a recognisable actor as Kantu, because it would have been too distracting. It was a good call, as Rennie gave a calm and measured performance as the alien.

The Day the Earth Stood still also succeeded where most science-fiction films, as it told an interesting story alongside exploring interesting ideas. Plus, at ninety minutes, it was well-paced with nothing feeling rushed or stretched. Kantu wishes to reveal his important message only to the whole world as once. Yet the logistical difficulties of this felt all too painfully real. How do you get the whole world to agree to something? I’m not sure this would be any easier now than it would have been in the 1950’s.

*spoilers*

Kantu finally reveals his message to a select group of scientists. He implores humanity to do what his race has done and employ a group of omnipotent robots to police them. Disobeying the robots would result in instant obliteration. This has led to an obliteration of all lawlessness on his world.

 Kantu finishes by saying that if humanity doesn’t choose this path, then we will lead ourselves into our own extinction. He leaves saying that he waits for humanity’s response. Judging by the state of our world now, I’m doubtful we will be renouncing our evil ways anytime soon.

Up review

 Number 134 on the top 1000 films of all time is Disney Pixar's family drama Up

Carl Frederickson (ken aster) has just lost his wife after decades of being together. Facing the prospect of losing his home too, he resolves to fulfill a lifelong dream of visiting the famous Paradise Falls. He is joined by wilderness explorer Russell (Jordan Nagari) who stows away unknown to Carl.

Up was released in 2009. It was the latest in the long line of successes from the prosperous animation studio. Like many Pixar films before it, Up had that rare ability to have you crying tears of laughter and sadness. 

The elderly Carl Frederickson is an unlikely hero, but that made him no less of an endearing character. His goals of wanting to fulfill an unrealised dream are relatable to all. He forms a touching father-son relationship with the wilderness explorer Russell - made all the more pertinent by Russell's rocky relationship with his own father and Carl's inability to have children with his wife.

Russell's good yet blundering personality provided a lot of the film's humour but also served as a great counterbalance to Carl's grumpy-old-man-ness. There is a lot of heart to back up the humour. We've already spoken about Carl and Russell's touching relationship, but there is also Carl's romance with his childhood sweetheart Ellie. The ten minute montage showing their relationship develop over the decades was more poignant than some whole two-hour films.

Up also has its share of interesting supporting characters from the bird Kevin to the "talking" dog Doug to the villainous Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer.) All of these added something to this film.

And as you would expect from Disney Pixar, the animation was always on-point too. If you haven't seen Up yet, what are you waiting for? It was a brilliant feel-good film that will have you crying tears of laughter and sadness. 

Office Space review

 Number 430 on the top 1000 films of all time is the comedy 'Office Space.'

Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston) is a lowly-paid software engineer who works in a cubicle. Hiss boss Bill Lumbergh (Gary Cole) is a micromanager, and Peter's wife is cheating on him. Aiming to retake control of his life, he hatches a scheme, along with his two colleagues Michael Bolton (David Herman) and Samir Nagheenanajar (Ajay Naidu,) to defraud the company, while also impressing waitress Joanna (Jennifer Aniston. A subplot sees the mousey, oddball employee Milton Waddams (Stephen Root) try and fail to win respect from those around him.

This was an entertaining if not excellent comedy which has since gained cult status. Sure it made me chuckle a few times, but it wasn't pant-wettingly funny. What it did do was use its small $10 million budget to great effect. Out of the cast, Jennifer Aniston was the only A-lister. The rest were either complete unknowns or up-and-comers.

Of course, Ron Livingston and Stephen Root have both gone onto star in the critically acclaimed series Boardwalk Empire. Livingston was good as our protagonist Peter. Through him, we vicariously fulfil a common fantasy of upturning our hum-drum office lives. Have any of us never wished to tell our manager to shut up? Thankfully, my time of working in a corporate office was only short, but I still still had my fair share of annoying micro-managing bosses. Gary Cole filled the role to a tee.

Although a box-office disappointment at the time, Office Space has gone onto garner a big reputation in no small part to the numerous memes of it that now circulate around the internet. Most of these either centre on micro-manager Bill or the timid doormat Milton. Despite only having a small role, Root was one of the best parts of the film.

I understand why Office Space is now a cult comedy. I also understand why it never had any mainstream success. It just wasn't funny enough for that.

Down By Law review

 Number 424 on the top 1000 films of all time is the independent noir comedy 'Down by Law.'

Zack (Tom Waits) a disc jockey and Jack (John Lurie) a pimp, are both set up and sent to jail. There they meet optimistic Italian Bob (Roberto Benigni.) The three of them stage a jailbreak together.

This was a strange film that dallied with the surreal even if it never quite crossed that bridge. The film subverted the odd couple trope by inserting a third member - the insufferably optimistic Bob - Roberto Benigni in his first American film.

Benigni really shone in this film helping to bring a lot of the off-beat comedy to what could have otherwise been quite a dour film. He also served as a foil between the warring Zack and Jack. Neither character liked each other very much, but Bob served as the glue which held the trio together. He has many endearing traits from his joie di vivre, but also his notebook full of English and Italian translations. The role wasn't unlike Benigni's Oscar-winning performance in Life is Beautiful.

Tom Waits is better known as a blues and rock singer, but he brought that same brooding mentality to the role of Zack. Waits also put his trademark deep, gravelly voice to good use. Zack is an angry, bitter man who is resentful toward the world, not unlike Jack in that regard.

As well as eschewing the odd couple trope, Down by Law also minimises the jail break itself in favour of focussing on the begrudging relationship that forms between the three men. As much as they don't want to admit it, they all need each other to survive. All this is captured in black and white, which stripped away any excess and helped to focus the off-beat humour of the film.

Down by Law was certainly an unconventional film that deliberately eschewed established norms, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.

The Ten Commandments review

 Number 422 on the top 1000 films of all time is Cecil B. Demille's 1956 biblical epic 'The Ten Commandments.'

The Ten Commandments dramatises the second book of the bible Exodus. We see Moses (Charlton Heston) change from an Egyptian price into the saviour of the Jewish people. Yul Brynner plays the Egyptian pharaoh Rameses II who clashes with Moses. Such events include the ten plagues, the exodus itself, the parting of the Red Sea and the receiving of the eponymous Ten Commandments.

There is no doubt that the Ten Commandments was a technical marvel upon its release. Although it's certainly outdated by modern standards, I was very impressed by the special effects from the burning bush to the parting of the Red Sea. At the time it was absolutely groundbreaking.

I have also read the bible including the book of Exodus. It is a dense text, but Cecil B Demille did well translating it to the screen. Sure, you can argue, that the almost four-hour runtime is excruciatingly long for today's Tiktok generation, but perhaps the length was necessary to truly convey the full extent of the book of Exodus. Granted it might have been overlong for me, but I think Rhodes managed to hit all the key plot points.

In the lead role, we have Charlton Heston who plays Moses with all the righteous indignation that we would expect from Heston. By righteous indignation, I mean lots of shouting - similarly to Planet of the Apes or Ben-Hur. Yul Brynner was also very good as the villainous Rameses II.

I'm not sure how well the Ten Commandments would appeal to a modern-day audience, but there's no doubt that it was a technically-proficient, Oscar-darling of its time.

Lone Survivor review

 Number 429 on the top 1000 films of all time is the biographical war film 'Lone Survivor.'

Lone Survivor tells the true story of Operation Redwings - an ultimately failed US Navy seal operation to track down the Taliban leader Ahmad Shah. The four-man team consists of Corpsman Marcus Lutrell (Mark Wahlbeg) Lieutenant Mike Murphy (Taylor Kitsch,) Gunner's Mate Danny Dietz (Emile Hirsch) and Sonar Technician Matthew "Axe" Axleson (Ben Foster.)

Like many US films about the Afghan War, it can be all too easy to dismiss them as stylised propaganda. Perhaps Lone Survivor is more nuanced than that, but it was ultimately still style over substance.

It received criticism for prioritising the action sequences over deep characterisations. Although the action sequences are impressive they are overlong and the character work suffered as a result. Upon being discovered i their outpost, the four Navy Seals have to defend themselves against a far bigger Taliban force. Most of the film consisted of an intense firefight and multiple falls from steep ravines - dangerous stunts that ultimately injured a lot of stunt performers.

It also begged belief that all four soldiers survived these falls with only superficial injuries. I know this was based on real life, but it seemed like the seals had some serious levels of plot armour. Maybe it was all the body armour they were wearing? They also did survive multiple bullet wounds - until they didn't. This isn't a spoiler by the way. It's called Lone Survivor for a reason.

Not that the title really means much. After his brothers-in-arms were killed, Marcus Lutrell becomes the eponymous lone survivor, but the characterisations are so paper-thin, this could have been any of the four navy seals. And when you have old, wooden Wahlberg in the lead role, things just became worse.

But Lutrell survives the Taliban militants by being sheltered by local Pashtun villager Muhammed Gulab who goes on to protect him from the Taliban militants. This was a nice way of adding some technicolour to the otherwise black-and-white storytelling of US good, Afghanistan bad. 

I initially thought Gulab was protecting Lutrell because of how the militants killed one of his fellow villagers earlier, but it was actually due to the Pashtun code of honour Pashtunwali where members swear to protect a man from his enemies at all costs.

Again this some nice characteristics - it's just a shame the Navy Seals didn't receive the same treatment. it was also a bit strange that the Pashtun local don't speak English until they're talking with Lutrell and then it's "f**k America" this and "f**k Taliban" that. All very unlikely.

My Left Foot review

 Number 428 on the top 1000 films of all time is Jim Sheridan's biopic: My Left Foot.

My Left Foot tells the true-life story of Christy Brown played by Daniel Day-Lewis. Christy Brown was a man living in 1930's Dublin who has been suffering from severe cerebral palsy since his birth. The only part of his body he can control is his left foot which he uses to become a successful writer and painter.

Upon watching this film, I thought it would be too traumatic to watch again. Akin to The Sea Inside or the Diving Bell and the Butterfly, it would explore the human condition in an inspirational but depressing way. It would raise up your spirits before brutally crushing them. 

However, the film surprised me intensely. Rather than being a soul-crushing, brutally-raw portrayal of Christy Brown's life, it was quite the opposite. This isn't to say that Christy Brown didn't suffer - he suffers immensely, especially during a time where cerebral palsy wasn't a widely recognised condition. Yet he is never a social outcast or pariah.

His family do their best to take care of him with his many siblings becoming his devoted caregivers. Brown also has many friends who are more than happy to include him in all his games. Even though his father played by Ray Macanally struggles with his son's condition, he is also the first to defend him from the teasing of his drinking buddies.

Daniel Day-Lewis won the first of his three acting Oscars for this role. It was a brilliant performance, as Christy Brown was over-flowing with humanity and vulnerability. Yet he was also inspirational. He never lets himself be downtrodden by his condition. True Day-Lewis may have gone a bit far in his method acting - actually having the crew push him around in a wheelchair - but it all paid off as Brown was a three-dimensional, well-rounded character. Just like anybody else, he has his own strengths and flaws.

Day-Lewis wasn't the only Oscar winner. Brenda Fricker also won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for playing Brown's mother Bridget. She was every bit as good as Day-Lewis.

My Left Foot really surprised me as a film. I thought it would be one of the most depressing, hard-going films I would ever watch. I'm happy to admit that I couldn't have been more wrong.

Solaris (1972) review

 Number 250 on the top 1000 films of all time is the Russian science-fiction epic Solaris.

Kris Kelvin (Donatas Banionis) is a psychologist tasked with deciding whether a Soviet Union space station should continue its research. Upon arriving, he realises that something dreadful has happened to the skeleton crew assigned there.

Last year, I watched the 2002 American remake of Solaris starring George Clooney. To be honest, I think watching paint dry would have been more interesting. The remake was so boring that I fell asleep in the first half hour and missed the rest of the film. Things were never quite that bad here, but they weren't far off either.

In making Solaris, director Andrei Tarkovsky wanted to bring more emotional depth back to science fiction believing that films like 2001: A Space Odyssey focussed too much on technical innovation as opposed to interesting characters or a good story. I certainly admire his vision. Too often I find science fiction to be a vehicle for writers to show off how clever they are by exploring big themes, but forgetting to include any interesting characters. There are few science-fiction films I can think of which balance these two ideas well.

However, while I respect Tarkovsky's goal, I think he went too far in the opposite direction. In his aims to make a character-centric narrative, he forgot to include an interesting plot or any big ideas. Solaris reminded me of his 1979 effort Stalker, which was another film that was as dull as dishwater. Too much talking and not enough happening.

I am also doubtful whether Tarkobsky achieved his goal in creating emotional depth or memorable characters. Even as I write this review, I am struggling to remember any of the character's names at all. I had to look up Kelvin's name and I can't remember any other names at all.

I'm sure there are some of you out there who will say that I do not have the necessary brain power to understand science-fiction. Maybe you're right. But when they're as boring as Solaris, do I really want to understand them?

127 Hours review

 Number 619 on the top 1000 films of all time is Danny Boyle's 2010 biographical drama '127 Hours.'

127 Hours tells the true-life story of Aron Ralston (James Franco) - an American canyoneer and adventurer who becomes trapped in Bluejohn Canyon, Utah. If he can't escape, he will die.

This was a film I initially watched over ten years ago before I started writing film reviews. In those dark days rather than writing levelled and fair criticism, I used a silly and arbitrary system of adjectives. Instead of five stars, I described a film as either superlative, awesome, good, meh and shit. 127 Hours was one of the first films I saw that I labelled as superlative. Over ten years later, I think it holds up well to this high praise.

Much of this is down to Danny Boyle's excellent direction. Don't forget that 127 Hours was released in 2010 - just two years after Boyle won the Best Director Oscar for Slumdog Millionaire. 127 Hours contained the same slick and stylistic direction with some great cinematography. Perhaps this was due to the unusual decision of Boyle employing two separate cinematographers, Antony Dod Mantle and Enrique Chediak, who both outdid themselves. Sure, we get the stunning scenery of the Utah landscape, but you would expect to see these in any film. What you wouldn't expect were the excellent extreme close-ups. Once Aron is trapped in the canyon, the camerawork becomes more claustrophobic and intimate. The audience is trapped alongside with him.

Limited by their surroundings, Mantle and Chediak employ a whole host of clever shots from seeing water travel through the inside of Ralston's camelpak tube to a close-up of Ralston spinning the setting wheel on his digital camera. Considering much of the film is spent with Ralston trapped under the boulder, there was every chance the audience could have become bored. But this was far from the case. Despite the limited settings, the action and cinematography remained gripping and creative.

It helped that you had James Franco playing the main character. Primarily known for his comedy work, he turned his hand well to the more dramatic role of Aron Ralston. He did so well that he earned an Oscar nod. Considering that he is the only character on-screen for most of the film, Franco gave an entertaining and nuanced portrayal of Ralston, conveying simultaneously the bravado and arrogance that led to his predicament, as well as his inner fears and vulnerability when he realises the lethal nature of his situation.

Boyle also paced the film well. It is only a short ninety minutes, but it felt so much longer. I'm sure there could have been the temptation to have really drawn out the dramatic tension and Ralston's suffering, thus also drawing out the screentime, but Boyle did well by cutting it short. Anything longer could have been exhausting or gratuitous. If I were to be really nit-picky, I might say we could have used slightly more time expanding on Ralston's life before his incident. We get clips of his family life and his failed relationships like with past girlfriend Rana (Clemence Poesy) but these are nothing more than vignettes. Maybe that was all that was needed though.

I have now seen 127 Hours twice. Yes, it a thrilling, superlative watch, but it was also harrowing and intense. I shall not be watching it again. I'm not strong enough to watch the amputation scene (you know what I mean, this isn't a spoiler) for a third time. All credit to makeup designer Tony Gardner and the Alterian Inc company. They knocked it out of the park here.

But a word of warning for all you budding canyoneers and adventurers out there. One: always tell somebody where you're going and when you expect to be back. Two: do not cheap out on your survival equipment. Aron Ralston paid heavily for those mistakes.

The Sea Inside review

 Number 249 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 2004 Spanish psychological drama 'The Sea Inside.'

The Sea Inside tells the true life story of Ramon Sampredo (Javier Bardem) a man who has been rendered a quadriplegic for the last 28 years. In that time, he has been fighting to be granted the right to euthanise himself.

Films are always a great way to explore taboo subjects and there are few subjects more taboo than euthanasia. The Sea Inside tackled this theme with gravitas and grace. There is a reason it won a whole host of awards both in its native Spain and internationally including the Best International Film Oscar.

Director Alejandro Amenabar, who co-wrote the script with Mateo Gil, tackled the many arguments for and against euthanasia. After 28 years of trying and failing to end his life, Ramon becomes a local celebrity. He has supporters like lawyer Julia (Belen Rueda) and his friend Gene (Clara Segara) who works for an organisation which supports the rights of those who wish to commit euthanasia.

However, he also has his opponents like local radio host Rosa (Lola Duenas) who urges him that life is worth living. This is in contrast to Gene and Julia who insist that the decision whether to live or die should always be Ramon's alone. Despite facing a moralistic minefield, Amenabar and Gil avoided being too preachy in their storytelling.

It helped that they had Javier Bardem in the lead role. He was nominated for a whole host of acting awards including Golden Globes and Critic Choice while also winning the Volpi Cup. Bardem really brought the character of Ramon Sampredo to life imbuing him with a charm and charisma that endeared him to audiences. Barden showed this charisma again only three years later when he won Best Supporting Actor for playing the psychotic hitman Anton Chigurin in No Country for Old Men. Arguably, this was his breakout Hollywood role.

The Sea Inside was a great film that was poignant without being preachy. It also featured a winning performance from Javier Bardem.

The Truman Show review

 Number 303 on the top 1000 films is Peter Weir's psychological comedy-drama 'The Truman Show.'

Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey) is your average, everyday American. Little does he realise that he is actually one of the most famous men in the world. He is unknowingly the star of his very own show, 'The Truman Show.' Secretly filmed since birth in a specially constructed set, Truman is loved worldwide. Yet everybody in his personal life from his wife Meryl (Laura Linney) and his best friend Marlon (Noah Emmerich) is trying to keep him from discovering the truth. Ed Harris co-stars as the show's creator Christof.

In 1998, director Peter Weir and screenwriter Andrew Niccol created one of the most relevant films about celebrity culture and reality TV ever. It's as pertinent today as it ever was in the 1990's. Just like most reality TV stars, Truman Burbank has no special talents or skills yet he is beloved by audiences worldwide. It is a great comment on the perverse nature of the parasocial relationships that audiences have with celebrities who don't even know they exist. Weir and Niccol brilliantly hit on the themes of celebrity worship in a way that saw them rightly nominated for a whole host of writing and directing awards including Baftas and Oscars.

However, a film like the Truman Show hinges on the success of its main star and Jim Carrey gave quite possibly one of his best performances. I'm always said that his comedy is over-the-top, but here he was reserved and understated. He was able to channel good physical comedy into the more dramatic role of Truman Burbank. Just like Truman endeared himself to fictional audiences, Jim Carrey endeared himself to real-life ones. But not the Academy though. He was snubbed by them when it came to the Oscars. This is made even more egregious by how Ed Harris was nominated for Christof, but Carrey would have been up against some stiff competition with Tom Hanks for Saving Private Ryan and Roberto Benigni in Life is Beautiful - but at least Carrey won the Golden Globe for the role.

The supporting cast were great too from Laura Linney as Truman's wife Meryl who eventually snaps after the pressure of keeping Truman from discovering the truth becomes too much to Noah Emmerich who played his best friend Marlon. Marlon was always on-hand to help defuse any situations and provide support to his best friend. Last, but not least, we have Ed Harris who excelled as the beret-wearing auteur Christof. Like too many creatives I know, he has a God complex, which Harris conveyed perfectly. After all he does have "Christ" in his name.

The Truman Show was a true triumph. It contained some brilliant social commentary and had a winning performance from Jim Carrey that perfectly blended drama and comedy.

Cabaret Review

 Number 410 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 1972 musical period-drama 'Cabaret.'

Sally Bowles (Liza Minnelli) is a free-spirited cabaret singer in 1931 Berlin. She forms an unlikely friendship with the upright and repressed English teacher Brian Roberts (Michael York.) Meanwhile, the shadow of Nazi Germany looms large overhead.

It's safe to say that Cabaret swept the 1973 Oscars. it was nominated for ten awards and won no less than eight including Best Score, Best Actress for Liza Minnelli and Best Supporting Actor for Joel Grey - who played the compere of Sally's club. It lost the Best Picture award to the second Godfather film.

Strangely, despite his co-stars winning, Michael York wasn't even nominated. To me, this smells like a snub as egregious as Audrey Hepburn and My Fair Lady. You'll nominate Cabaret for virtually every other Oscar going, but NOT Michael York for Best Actor? It doesn't make sense. I'm not sure he would have won - would anybody beat Marlon Brando in the Godfather, but to not even be nominated...

York was very good as the stoically repressed Brian Roberts who was slowly undone by the carefree Sally. I wouldn't describe Brian as a brutish, emotionally shutdown cinnamon swirl, but rather an uptight, stick in the mud. He is also a deeply conflicted man holding a dark secret.

Minnelli was also very good as Sally Bowles embodying the best of Audrey Hepburn's airheaded characters. However, there was more to Sally Bowles than meets the eye. All of this was played against the backdrop of the rise of Nazi Germany. We receive subtle clues, but the early brutalities of the regime were cleverly alluded to rather than being shown outright.

Musicals like Cabaret might not be for everyone - they're not for me, but the Academy certainly loved it. Just not enough to nominate Michael York for an acting Oscar...

The Man from Nowhere review

 Number 417 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 2010 Korean neo-noir action-thriller 'The Man from Nowhere.'

Cha Tae-Sik (Won Bin) is a pawn shop owner with a dark past. When his only friend - the ten year old So-Mi (Sae-Ron Kim) is kidnapped by gangsters, he will stop at nothing to get her back.

If there's one thing I've learned from my experience of watching Korean films is that they do not do anything by half-measures. They go in hard with their use of stylised violence and slick fight choreography. Sure, at times, it's over-the-top and even cheesy, but it's still entertaining enough to watch.

At the heart of our action story we have the psychologically-damaged, former black ops soldier Tae-Sik and his touching relationship with the young, innocent So-Mi. The old cinnamon swirl being undone by the cute kid certainly isn't a new idea, but if done, well, it's certainly entertaining to watch. And it was well done here.

Won Bin gave a measured performance taking Tae-Sik from the darkly mysterious loner to an all-out action here. Similarly, So Mi's relationship with her junkie mother is so damaged that it's understandable seeing her latch onto a father figure like Tae-Sik.

If anything I would say the villains weren't as well-developed as they could have been. Tae-Sik was fighting against a series of gangsters running a lethal organ-harvesting operation. There were quite a few of them and they all blended into one after a while.

Overall, the Man from Nowhere, was exactly what it said on-the-tin - an over-the-top, no holds barred K-Thriller.

Clerks review

 Number 421 on the top 1000 films of all time is Kevin Smith's slice-of-life comedy film 'Clerks.'

Clerks follows a day in the life of best friends supermarket cashier Dante Hicks (Brian O'Halloran) and video shop employee Randal Graves (Jeff Anderson,) as they navigate the challenges, customers and struggles of their own personal lives.

I've been fortunate enough to have never worked a retail job. There is no shortage of stories entailing the horrors of working with the general public. It is for that reason that I failed to properly connect with this film. Not to mention, it just wasn't funny.

I had my first chuckle at minute seventeen, my second at minute twenty-nine and I don't think there was a third. If a comedy film only makes you laugh twice in its ninety-minute run time then it has failed. It didn't help a lot of the humour was immature and juvenile.

It also didn't help that the main characters weren't characters I wanted to laugh with or at. Dante is constantly bemoaning how he wasn't supposed to be working that day, but was called in to cover a colleague's shift. At the film's conclusion, Randal correctly admonishes him on his self-pitying behaviour. Yet by this time I had grown weary of both characters. Randal's immaturity was equally annoying.

If I were to say anything positive, it would be about Kevin Smith's vision. He directed, produced and wrote a critical and commercially successful film for a miniscule budget of $27,000. To cut costs, he filmed in black and white, cast his friends and set the film in the video store where he worked during the day. His efforts worked as the film went onto gross almost $4,000,000. All credit to Kevin Smith.

Clerks was not a film that landed for me. It was funny with annoying, unlikeable characters.

The Chorus review

 Number 415 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 2004 German-French-Swiss musical drama 'The Chorus.'

Clement Mathieu (Gerard Jugnot) is a failed musician and teacher starting at the notorious Fond de l'etang French boarding school for delinquent boys. Once there, he is shocked by the headmaster Rachin's (Francois Berleand) tyrannical methods. To instil some discipline and morale, Mathieu decides to turn the delinquent boys into a choir.

If you look past the predictability and cliche, this was an enjoyable enough film.  It's a film that has been done many times before - arguably better too - especially in Dead Poet's Society. Jugnot was no Robin Williams, but he was certainly charming enough as the bumbling, but well-intentioned teacher turned choirmaster. And Rachin was no nurse Ratched but he made for a slimy and scary villain.

Yet it was difficult to look past the cliche. Mathieu is trying to desperately reach his students, so he turns them into a choir. Without too much arguing they quickly and fall into line. I found this all a bit too convenient. I understand the boys do need to agree to be part of the choir for the film to work, but it's difficult to believe they wouldn't have resisted this idea more at first.

The boys themselves were more underdeveloped in comparison to the adult characters. You had Pierre Morhange (Jean-Baptiste Maunier) who despite being one of the best singers is very badly behaved because of a vague troubled homelife, Pepinot (Maxence Perrin) forever waiting for parents who will never come and the hot-headed Mondian (Gregory Gatignol) whose side purpose is to create conflict rather than being a fully-formed character. Most of the boys felt like rough stretches than proper characters.

The film also felt directionless. I couldn't see the end goal for Mathieu's choir. This wasn't like the Blues Brothers when they were trying to stop their childhood orphanage from being closed down. I thought Mathieu would enter the boys in a singing competition or use them to secure more funding, but other than a showing for an investor, there was little else at stake.

The Chorus was certainly an entertaining film, but only entertaining. It was too predictable to be anything more.

Do the Right Thing review

 Number 409 on the top 1000 films of all time is Spike Lee's coming-of-age comedy-drama 'Do the Right Thing.'

Mookie (Spike Lee) is an African-American living in a rough Brooklyn neighbourhood. All he wants from life is to make enough money from his pizza delivery job at Sal's pizzeria so he can support his family. However, on an excruciatingly hot day, racial tensions between Sal (Danny Aiello,) and his sons Pino (John Turturro) and Vito (Richard Edson) and the other African-Americans in the neighbourhood including Radio Raheem (Bill Nunn) and Buggin' Out (Giancarlo Esposito) a man who fancies himself the next Malcom X. As a race riot threatens to break out, Mookie is forced to pick a side.

Do the Right Thing is just another film in a long list tackling one of the US' most pertinent issues: race relations. The US is known as the greatest melting pot playing home to people from all over the world. It's only natural that some of those people might not like each other as is the case here.

The deeply racist Vito resent working in an African-American neighbourhood and believes they should be with their own kind. Meanwhile, the African-American community doesn't like that white-owned businesses at the heart of their town. They believe there should be black businesses instead. It's a powder keg waiting to blow.

Another theme that Lee is explores is police brutality - another issue that has plagued the US for decades. Do the Right Thing was dedicated to Eleanor Bumpers, Arthur Miller Jr, Edmund Perry, Yvonne Smallwood, Michael Stewart and Michael Griffith - with the former five having been killed by police and the sixth by a white mob. Only a few years later, Rodney King was beaten and I do not have the necessary computer memory to write the name of every single black person who has been killed by the police in the last twenty-five years, except for one of the most notable: George Floyd.

Spike Lee tackles both of these subjects with his stylistic flair - think bold colours, razor-sharp dialogue and all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. Sure you can argue that he was exploring themes too important not to tackle head-on, but this exploration was incredibly on the nose. One scene has the different characters speaking directly to the camera, as they monologue racist insults about different groups of people. Sure this racism might be accurate, but its depiction was heavy-handed.

This isn't to denigrate the acting of those involved - least of all from Spike Lee as the lead Mookie. Giancarlo Esposito was also good as the political cognizant Buggin Out - it was amazing to think this was the same man who wowed audiences in Breaking Bad. But the standout star had to be Danny Aiello who received a well-earned Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. Initially, Sal is nothing more than hard-working Italian-American who often plays the mediator between his deeply racist son Pino and the black customers. However, not even the good-natured Sal can only keep his demons at bay for so long before he is driven too far on an excruciatingly hot day. Unlike Pino who overly hates blacks, I think Sal was a lot more level-headed, but, like the other characters, he fell victim to the simmering racial tension.

John Turturro was also very good as Vito. He gave a multi-layered performance, as one of the more openly racist characters of the film. It would have been all too easy to have written/portrayed him as a one-dimensional Italian-American "moolie" hating greaseball, but he was more three-dimensional than his.

But I would like to say one thing quickly. Why in these films do you always have the black characters being racist to the East Asian, or in this case, Korean characters? The local supermarket is ran by a Korean couple who are often the subject of racist taunting by the black characters. It was something similar to Menace II Society. Perhaps it was Lee's commitment to realism, but it didn't make his characters very endearing.

However, 'Do the Right Thing,' was a memorable and stylised, if heavy-handed, exploration of two issues that have plagued American society for decades. What was the right thing that Sal and Mookie should have done? Who knows?  

Dogville review

 Number 295 on the top 1000 films of all time is Lars Von Trier's 2003 experimental drama Dogville.

Grace (Nicole Kidman) is a fugitive trying to outrun both the mob and the law. She stumbles into the small mountain town of Dogville, Colorado. At the behest of the town's moral leader Tom Edison Jr (Paul Bettany,) the town's people reluctantly decide to take her in. However, Grace quickly learns that their kindness comes at a steep price. The huge ensemble cast includes Stellan Skarsgaard, Lauren Bacall, Philip Baker Hall, Patricia Clarkson, James Caan with John Hurt providing narration.

Dogville was highly experimental. Was it an experiment that worked? I'm not so sure. Reminiscent of black-box theatre, it was filmed on a minimalist stage-like set. Instead of buildings, there are chalk outlines. Instead of backdrops you have black or white walls. As the name would suggest it was like being in a black box. Although this tradition is common in the theatre, it is rare to see in film. I don't think it translated well.

The minimalism is designed to highlight the story and acting, but it just came across as pretentious. Too much was left to the viewer's imagination. it was like one of those restaurants that gets you took cook the food yourself. This is the chef's job, not the diner's.

Due to the natural limitations of the theatre, the Black Box style works well. But film is a different medium. You can have sets and film on location. There's no reason to have a minimalist style.

What really hurt the film was John Hurt's god-awful narration. It was overly-expository and one of the worse examples of telling, not showing. It was like I was reading a badly-written book with John Hurt telling me the characters were looking around or acting scared or being morally bad - which the characters then repeated. Not faulting John Hurt, of course, but this narration made me roll my eyes.

The film is also divided into nine chapters with title cards denoting when they started. It was like if I wanted to read a book I would have just read a book, not watch a film. When the ninth title said the film would be ending soon, I cheered loudly. This isn't the reaction you want your audience to have.

The dialogue was also eye-roll worthy. Honestly, I don't know how Bettany and Kidman delivered it with a straight faces. One cringe-worthy, innuendo-laden conversation saw Tom Edison Jr telling Grace that you can't plant seeds in the winter. Ew. Much of the dialogue steered toward the more-is-less mindset like I was watching a Shakespearean play.

As you might expect from a Von Trier film, it utilised elements from his own cinematic style of Dogme 54 including the hand-held camerawork. In a different film, this might have made things more intense, but alas it could not save Dogville.

Although the beginning and middle were slow and ponderous, it did build toward an unexpected and thrilling conclusion. The mob finally tracks Grace down to Dogville where we learn the mob boss (James Caan) is her father. Grace ran away from them after being sickened by their violent nature. Yet her father insists that she is hypocritical acting like she is morally better than everybody else when that could be furthest from the truth. 

Having spent much of the film's second act being bullied by the townspeople, she soon realises they're not much different from the mob. At the gentle encouragement of her father, she agrees for all of them, including the children and her would-be lover, Tom, to be shot dead. This was a dark, twist ending that I did not see coming. It also separated Grace from Von Trier's more naive female protagonists in Breaking the Waves or Dancer in the Dark.

Dogville was like a failed science experiment. Maybe it could have worked as a stageplay, but it didn't translate to film. Instead, it was boring, overly-long and just plain pretentious.

The Fall review

 Number 404 on the top 1000 films of all time is the adventure-fantasy film 'The Fall.'

In 1915 Los Angeles, stunt man Roy Walker (Lee Pace) is hospitalised after a stunt gone wrong. In hospital, he forms an unlikely friendship with fellow patient, eight-year-old Romanian girl Alexandria  (Catinca Untaru) who is recovering from a broken arm. He entertains her with a wild and fantasy tale about a rag-tag group of rebels to team up to kill a common enemy, but he has an agenda of his own. 

Although I understand respect director Tarsem's vision, The Fall didn't land for me. This was because of the story-within-a story format. Other films such as the Chinese Wuxia Hero also employ this format, but they only work if the framing story is as interesting as the secondary story.

This was not the case for the Fall, where the secondary story was infinitely more interesting than the framing story of Roy and Alexandria in the hospital. Yes, their relationship was cute and touching, but it didn't quite resonate for me.

*spoilers*

Roy has a dark secret. In exchange for entertaining Alexandria with these stories, he asks her to steal morphine for him. Ostensibly, this is to help him sleep, but he actually intends to commit suicide. His beloved has left him for the actor he was doubling for. Now he now longer wants to live. This was suitably tragic with Pace and Catinca giving good performances, but this framing story lacked the same forward momentum of the supporting story.

It also lacked the same, great visual style. Our B-story sees a range of quirky characters including a masked bandit, a silent Indian warrior, an ex-slave, an Italian explosives expert and Charles Darwin. They all team up to take revenge on a governor who has wronged them all. The fantasy land they inhabited was marked by bold colours and a distinct look - similar to the Chinese Hero film.

I do think this was just a case of a film not working for me, Obviously, The Fall is held in high regard, the IMDB fan base voted it as the 405th best film for a reason, but alas I was not one of those fans.

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days

 Number 403 on the top 1000 films of all time is the Romanian drama '4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days.'

Set in Romania in the waning years of Communism, we are introduced to friends and college roommates Otilla (Anamaria Marinca) and Gabita (Laura Vasilu.) When Gabita has an unexpected pregnancy, she asks her friend to help her obtain an abortion. However, due to Romania's draconian Decree 770 that largely outlawed abortion, this is far easier said than done.

I have seen almost seven hundred films on IMDB's 2015 edition of the top 1000 films of all time. Yet this is the first film that I've seen so explicitly address the topic of abortion in such a frank and open way. I'm not even referring to the IMDB list, but films full stop. 

This is because abortion is the epitome of a hot-button issue - probably even more so now due to the US Supreme court overturning Roe Vs Wade in 2022. I suspect this was one major reason why this film was not nominated for the Best International Film Academy Award. I think this snubbing was down to the academy not being ready for this conversation.

Yet this is a conversation that director Christian Mungiu forces you to have whether you want to or not. much of the film consists of long takes where audiences have to watch and engage with the film. There's nowhere else to look.

Gabita makes a number of unwise decisions that imperils both her and Otila. The pair even have to sleep with the abortionist to ensure his cooperation. Naturally, this strains their relationship and we see its disintegration in uncomfortable detail. The long takes focus purely on Otila, as she chastises her friend.

Another long take sees Otila at the world's most awkward family dinner. She's supposed to be celebrating her boyfriend's mother's birthday, but instead they are all blissfully unaware of the inner turmoil she is facing.  With the uncomfortable long take, it's difficult not to feel what Otila must have been feeling at that time.

Arguably, the film's most shocking scene was the thirty-second long take of the aborted feotus, probably shocking due to its rarity on-screen.

4 months also brilliantly addressed the theme of womanhood and femininity. Too many conversations about abortion and women's bodies are made by men. However, there the script is correctly flipped. All of the important relationships take place between women while the male characters are relegated to supporting roles. Otila and Gabita's friendship is always at the centre of the film, as it should be. Both actresses excelled in the lead roles.

4 Months, 3 weeks and 2 days might have been an uncomfortable film to watch, but it was an necessary one too. And without doubt it was unfairly snubbed by the Academy.

Lilya-4-ever review

 Number 402 on the top 1000 films of all time is the Russian tragedy 'Lilya-4-ever.'

Lilya Michailova (Oksana Akinshina) is a sixteen-year-old young woman living in a Communist-era Russian town. When her mother unexpectedly abandons her for a new life and man in the USA, Lilya is lost. She befriends the equally lost and younger Volodya (Artyom Bogucharsky) but it looks like that Lilya's life will improve when she begins a relationship with the mysterious Andrei (Pavel Ponomaryov.) He encourages her to go to Sweden with him, in the promise of a new life together, but upon arrival, she is trafficked into sexual slavery.

Lilya-4-ever has been compared to Lars Von Trier's Dogme 43 movement. The comparisons are plain to see form the tight, claustrophobic camerawork, the lost, naive female characters and the brutally realistic tone. Just like Von Trier's Dancer in the Dark and Breaking the Waves, Lilya-4-ever is a powerful if deeply upsetting film. And its realism is what made it so powerful. Lilya's story is one that undoubtedly happens to so many women everywhere. And it does, as this was based on the tragic true story of Dangoule Rasalaite

Oksana was great as the innocent Lilya - somebody so desperate to escape her awful life that she ignores all the red flags about Andrei that even the far younger Voldymyr can recognise. Lilya is nothing more than a victim, but Oksana played her with a lot of will and determination. She's more than prepared to fight back than necessary.

The best part of the film was her relationship with the younger Voldymyr. Similar to Lilya, he comes from a broken home with an alcoholic father who constantly beats him. He and Lilya form a touching big sister/little brother relationship. She scrapes together whatever money she can get to buy him a basketball, which he carries everywhere with him. Even when his spiteful father punctures it, Volymyr still carries the half-inflated ball. This was just so sad and really highlighted Voldymyr's innocence. Like Lilya, he desperately clings to any escape from his awful life.

*Spoilers*

Voldymyr sees Lilya going to Sweden as a complete betrayal. She is going to a better life leaving him alone and friendless. Once she leaves, he commit suicide. This was all predictably tragic. Yet he continues to appear as an angel and hallucination in Lilya's mind. Complete with angel wings. Okay, I get him being an angel. The kid is so innocent that he wouldn't even hurt a fly. It also makes complete sense that Lilya would imagine her only friend at the more traumatic moments of her life. But actually giving Voldymyr angel wings felt like heavy-handed imagery.

Another criticism would be the film's pacing. In its efforts to dive into the storyline, it skipped over some important set-up. it wasn't made clear why Lilya's mother was so ready to abandon her daughter. Instead we're given hints and snippets. Although, I talked about realism earlier, and this is certainly a realistic thing to happen. Sometimes people, even parents, can walk out of your life with no exploration. it might not be satisfying to watch, but it's painfully true.

As is the horrific sexual treatment that Lilya experiences upon her sexual trafficking. Being forced into prostitution, we bear witness to Lilya's POV, as she has sex with a plethora of creepy scumbags. But these POV shots acted as a mirror to Lilya's awful situation. Just like her, the audience was trapped with no escape.

Finally, I didn't like the film's soundtrack. It was a weird mixture of Eurodance and German industrial rock. Rammstein's Mein Herz Brennt plays during the film's climatic sequence. It felt incredibly out of place. I know that Rammstein was popular in Russia at the time, but I think something softer might have been appropriate.

Nevertheless, Lilya-4-ever was a devastating film that perfectly encapsulated the phrase: all children deserve parents, but not all parents deserve children.

Nine Queens review

 Number 400 on the top 1000 films of all time is the Argentinean crime caper 'Nine Queens.'

Juan (Gaston Pauls) is a small-time con artist who comes to the attention of the older, more experienced Marcos (Ricardo Darin.) The two partner up to scam a wealthy collector into buying counterfeit stamps.

Nine Queens was released in 2000. Four years later, the BBC released the TV series Hustle. The comparisons were plain to see - a group of con artists take down an even more villainous bad guy. Hijinks and plot twists ensue.

Nine Queens can also be favourably compared to the 1973 film The Sting with Gaston Pauls and Ricardo Darin in the roles of Paul Newman and Robert Redford. The two of them were just as charismatic as Newman and Redford with the younger hotshot Juan more than capable of showing the old dog, Marcos, new tricks. Yet sometimes Marcos' experience proves more important especially upon their first meeting where he rescues Juan from a scam gone terribly wrong.

Juan's young arrogance sees him trying to pull the same scam twice in the same place. If it wasn't for Marcos, then Juan would have spent the rest of the film in jail. In films like these, there is usually a romantisation of the criminal main characters. Yes, the stamp collector Esteban Gandolfo (Ignasi Abadal) is a sleaze boy who is constantly harassing Marcos' sister Valeria (Leticia Bredice,) but neither he or Juan are angels. To raise capital, they perform small-time cons; sure it looks stylish and cool, but, for all we know, they're conning innocent people out of their hard-earned money.

Inevitably, problems start to arise in the duo's well-thought out scam and it was entertaining watching things go awry. Their counterfeit stamps are stolen by motorbike thieves who throw them in a river when they think they are worthless. This all culminates in a delightful twist ending, a la Hustle, where the con artists get their just desserts.

Nine Queens was certainly an entertaining film with charismatic performances from its lead actors, but we need to remember not to romanticise con-men. They're just as bad as the supposed criminals they're robbing. 

Breaking the Waves review

 Number 398 on the top 1000 films of all time is Lars Von Trier's 1996 psychological romantic melodrama 'Breaking the Waves.'

Bess Mcneil (Emily Watson) is a Scottish, simple-minded, deeply religious woman living in a small Scottish village. She marries Danish oil worker Jan Nyman (Stellan Skarsgard) - a marriage which is strongly disapproved of by her community and church. When Nyman becomes paralysed after an accident, he requests Bess to continue living her life including having sexual relationships with other men. Bess does so believing that her sexual infidelity is helping Nyman recover.

Would you believe me if I said that this was Emily Watson's debut film role? A film role that led her to receiving a Best Actress Oscar nod? It's the truth. She was impressive as Bess - the naive, innocent woman with undiagnosed mental issues. In her naivety, she continues to sexually debase herself as she erroneously thinks this helping her husband to feel better. 

At first glance you might argue the character isn't very realistic - and I'm sure there are some who would read the character with a feminist lens - but she is living in a backwater Scottish village deeply affected by the recent death of her brother with an oppressive mother who provides little emotional validation. Her church is similarly oppressive, not even allowing women to speak in their services. No doubt this would lead to some mental health problems. Perhaps if she was in the city she could get the hope she needs I think it makes sense that Bess would imprint herself onto her husband - the only person who's ever given her any validation.

Watson truly earned her Oscar nomination, as she conveyed the devastation of the character. Bess Mcneil is a character to be truly pitied and it is all too easy to feel sorry for her especially as her misguided sexual escapades lead to her excommunication and eventual exile of her community. She might have done, subjectively, bad things, but she isn't a bad person. She strongly reminded me of Bjork's similarly tragic character in Von Trier's later film Dancer in the Dark. Considering this was the third in Von Trier's Golden Heart trilogy that makes sense. 

Bess might be a morally good character, but can we say the same thing about Jan? Yes, he has been paralysed in a dreadful work accident, but other characters are quick to point out his own debasement - manipulating his wife into prostituting herself for his own voyeuristic pleasure. Skarsgard was great as the morally duplicitous Jan - does he really have his wife's best interests at hearts or is he just using her?

Something else to consider is that this film is a melodrama. It's not supposed to be 100% realistic - spectacle and emotional gravitas are prioritised over an airtight story or believable characters. This magic realism continued all the way to the film's conclusion, which, for me, pushed my suspension of disbelief a little too far. But I'll leave you to make up your own mind. 

But, for certain, it was an emotional film. It was deeply sad seeing the tragedies growing ever greater and greater. It was awful seeing the physical, mental and sexual violence continuously inflicted on Bess - a character who deserved a lot more than she ever received out of life.

This was Von Trier's first film after having founded the avant-garde Dogme - 95 cinema movement with fellow Danish film maker Thomas Vinterberg. Granted 'Breaking the Waves' doesn't adhere that closely to its principles, but the use of handheld camera and low lighting created a claustrophobic and uncomfortably intimate atmosphere. You learn more than you would like about these characters - not that you have any choice in the matter. There's no looking away, which was very much the point of the film.

Sure, you can argue that Breaking the Waves is over-the-top, unbelievable with unrealistic characters, but I think that was supposed to be the point of the film. It's melodrama - not always the most believable, but definitely entertaining if not downright tragic. And Emily Watson was terrific in her debut role.

Children of Men review

 Number 390 on the top 1000 films of all time is Alfonso Cuaron's 2006 dystopian thriller 'Children of Men.'

Based on P.D James' book of the same name, Children of Men is set in a slightly futuristic London where humanity has become infertile and can no longer have children. This plus an influx of refugees and asylum seekers to the UK has led the country to the brink of collapse. Enter former activist turned civil servant Theo Farron (Clive Farron) who is tasked in helping refugee Kee (Clare-Hope Ashitey) in escaping the chaos. Julianne Moore co-stars as Farron's estranged wife and activist leader Julian while Michael Caine plays former journalist Jasper Palmer. Chiwetel Eijofar, Pam Ferris and Charlie Hunnam all co-star.

Infertility has always been a theme that's interested audiences and readers. What happens if we can no longer reproduce? Margaret Atwood first tried answering that question in her 1985 book 'The Handmaid's Tale,' which was recently adapted into a TV series that enraptured the world. Arguably, she was just laying the groundwork for P.D James and later Alfonso Cuaron.

In Children of Men, Cuaron portrayed a hellish future. This is far away from the techno-dystopia of Blade-Runner. If anything, Cuaron wanted to show an anti-Blade Runner. And he succeeds. The London he shows is dirty, despotic and completely hopeless. It doesn't look all that different from our own. Children of Men is set in 2027 - only 2 years on from when I'm writing this review - 21 years on from the making of the film and 35 from when the film was set. This is not a long-distant future, but it's in the here and now. Refugees are rounded up, caged, deported, some shot on sight. That's still happening in parts of the world as we speak. The similarities are scarily real.

Cuaron's use of cinematography and tracking-shots all contributed to this film's success. The film is well-known for its use of multiple one-take tracking shots that raised the tension to a fever pitch. I think we can all remember the film's most famous scene of Farron and the other Fishes desperately trying to outrun the bandits on the road. Another particularly famous scene comes during the film's climatic fight scene - another one-take scene, where the camera is splattered with blood. Cuaron wanted to reshoot it, but cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki insisted they leave it in. It was a great decision and one of many that contributed to Lubezki's well-earned Oscar nomination for Best Cinematography.

Speaking of Oscars, Children of Men was nominated for three: Cinematography as we mentioned, editing and adapted screenplay. There were no acting nominations. I question if this was a bit of an oversight. I've only seen Clive Owen in a few films, but they've generally been supporting or villainous roles. This is the first time I've seen as a leading man and he was good. He held the screen well, as he showed Farron's transformation from hapless bureaucrat to unlikely hero - am I the only one who cheered when he absolutely clobbered the corrupt prison guard Sid? Although I also found it annoying that Farron didn't pick up a stray gun when he had a chance - it would have been nice to have seen him personally kill the other villains of the film.

Speaking of villains, Chiwetel Eijofar filled this role well. As the de-facto leader of the activist group Fishes, he's desperate for the violence and killing to stop, but could you argue that his quest for justice has clouded his own moral compass. He will stop at nothing to achieve his goals even if that means he has to break the rules. I think Eijofar showed the conflict well, proving why he went onto be Oscar-nominated down the line. Similarly, you had Charlie Hunnam as a tertiary antagonist - his role was small, but still memorable. He played Patric - an activist whose cousin dies in an ill-thought out operation.

*Spoilers ahead* But let's give some love to the women as well. Granted Julianne Moore only has a small role due to her character's early shock death, but she was also good as was Pam Ferris. Ferris' turn as former midwife turned activist and martyr was a far cry from her villainous role as Trunchball in Matilda. A very versatile actress. And I even enjoyed Michael Caine as the ageing hippy and journalist Jasper Palmer.

If I were to criticise the film for anything, I think it could have been slightly longer. At 110 minutes, it's slightly shy of the two-hour mark and I think we could have used more time to explore more of the backstory of the world - especially with the 'Fishes' activist organisation. We quickly learn that they are behind Julian's death in a shady plot to use Kee's baby as a political symbol. Patric and his cousin spearhead this operation but his cousin is killed in the process. This sends Patric into a revenge arc which is never fully fleshed out.

Similarly, we never really find out how Kee became pregnant or what caused the infertility crisis in the first place. But I think much of this was down to Cuaron and his deliberate choice to eschew any explanations. He doesn't like exposition or backstory instead allowing audiences to come to their own conclusions.

My conclusion? This was a great film that left me wanting so much more. Time to read the book!

Miller's Crossing review

 Number 391 on the top 1000 films of all time is the Coen Brothers' 1990 neo-noir gangster film Miller's Crossing.

Set in prohibition-era America, Miller's Crossing follows Tom Reagan (Gabriel Byrne) right-hand man to Irish mobster Leo O'Bannon (Albert Finney) as O'Bannon wars with rival Italian gangster Johnny Casper (Jon Polito.) Reagan desperately tries to stay alive as he plays off the two sides against each other. Marcia Gay Harden and John Turturro co-star.

Miller's Crossing comes quite early in the Coen Brothers' career - being only the third film they made. As such, I would argue it was one of their more straightforward films. Unlike their later efforts of the Big Lebowski, Fargo and Oh Brother, where art thou, there was far less off-the-beat humour and far less surrealism. This made it an enjoyable and engaging gangster flick made at a time where they had some stiff competition from the likes of Goodfellas, Carlito's Way and Casino. The 90's was a hell of a time for gangster films for sure.

Yet what separated Miller's Crossing was not only the prohibition setting but its also strong cast. A highlight among them was Jon Polito who brought a brilliant, maverick energy to Caspar. It was the perfect balance to veteran English actor Albert Finney who gave a calm and measured performance as the far older Leo O'Bannon. John Turturro was also great as bookie Bernie Bernbaum. He soon makes an enemy of Caspar by continuously skimming off his match-fixing winnings. It looks like Bernbaum is nothing more than a greedy schnook, but he proves himself to be cleverer than meets the eye.

And nowhere is this more true than with our protagonist Tom Reagan. Although he begins as a close ally of O'Bannon, he soon realises that he has to play both sides if he has any chance of surviving this growing mob-war. In 2009, the Guardian labelled Gabriel Byrne one of the best actors to have never received an Oscar nomination (but bear in mind this article is years out of date) and he was good in this film. It's a fair comment as Byrne plays the man caught between two sides very well. And a quick shoutout to Marcia Gay Harden who would go onto prove why she later went onto win a Best Supporting Actress Oscar.

Although it might have lacked some of the surreal humour that the Coen Brothers are so well-known for, it still had the same stylistic flair they're so well-known for. The dialogue was sharp and snappy and its cinematography and style have been emulated well in future decades. Did the scenes in the titular Miller's Crossing remind anybody of a certain episode of the Sopranos?

Miller's Crossing might have been one of the Coen Brother's earliest films before we really knew what they had to say as film-makers, but it was certainly an enjoyable enough effort. And they showed why, like Marcia Gay Harden, they went onto win Oscars of their own.

The Outlaw Josey Wales review

 Number 395 on the top 1000 films of all time is Clint Eastwood's 1976 Revisionist Western 'The Outlaw Josey Wales.'

Josey Wales (Clint Eastwood) is a Missouri farmer whose family were murdered by the ruthless Union Captain Terrill (Bill Mckinney.) He joins a group of Confederate bushwackers to get revenge, but after the Civil War ends, they surrender to the union. All except for Wales who continues his quest for revenge. He is joined by ageing Cherokee Lone Watie (Chief Dan George) and pilgrim love interest Laura Lee (Sondra Locke.)

I've always been of the opinion that Eastwood is a better director than an actor. He won Oscars for directing both Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby. He has also directed critically acclaimed films like Invictus, Letters from Iwo Jima, Gran Torino and Changeling. However, the Outlaw Josey Wales was one of his weaker efforts. While by no means terrible, it was strangely structured and badly-paced.

Initially, it seemed like this would be a straight-forward revenge story with Wales exacting vengeance on the killer of his family. Wales is aided by a rag-tag band of rebels. It was all building to an exciting climax, but then the tension dissipated.

In the film's third act, it seemed like Wales had completely forgotten about his quest for revenge and was more interested in setting up house with his new found family - Cherokee Lone Watie, Navajo Little Moonlight (Geraldine Keams) and pilgrim Laura Lee and her grandmother along with a couple of others. It was a sure fire way to stop the pace dead at a time you think it would be heating up. 

There were glimpses of a secondary villain with a Comanche tribe, but our roguish cowboy quickly makes peace in an anti-climatic, and ultimately, inconsequential fashion. The Comanche played little role in the rest of the film.

Just when it looked like Wales might get his happily ever after, he's tracked down by Terrill and his goonies. The battle begins. But this climatic moment felt more like an afterthought, as if Eastwood had just remembered about his villain.

As I said earlier, he is a better director than actor. In his later films, he plays a grumpy old man. In his earlier films, he plays the antihero lone cowboy. Josey Wales was pretty similar to Eastwood's other roles as the Man with No Name in the Dollars trilogy. Not the best range from Eastwood.

During film, Eastwood and Locke began an illicit relationship while both of them were still in nominal marriages. But this off-screen chemistry didn't translate to the screen, as Laura Lee as much use as a wet blanket and had all the charisma of a stale ham sandwich. True, she joined the final fight, but she never felt like a suitable love interest for Eastwood. If anything, I think he would have been better suited to Little Moonlight whom he rescued from some unscrupulous men. She was more fun, interesting and gritty than Lee.

Despite these criticisms, The Outlaw Josey Wales was certainly an enjoyable enough film. It just isn't anywhere near as good as Eastwood's later films. That's a shame, as Eastwood is a great director. He's won two Oscars for a reason.

My Fair Lady review

 Number 393 on the top 1000 films of all time is George Cukor's 1964 musical comedy-drama 'My Fair Lady.'

Based on George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion, My Fair lady follows Cockney flower-seller Eliza Dolittle (Audrey Hepburn.) Wanting to improve her spoken-English and prospects in life, she employs noted phoneticist Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison) to help her speak more like a lady. An unlikely friendship occurs. Stanley Holloway co-stars as Eliza's father and Gladys Cooper plays Henry's mother.

My Fair Lady swept the awards season being nominated for almost forty awards and winning no less than twenty-four. This included eight Oscars with Rex Harrison winning the Best Actor, George Cukor winning Best Director and the film itself winning Best Picture. Stanley Holloway and Gladys Cooper were also nominated for Best Supporting Actor and Actress.

If you think Audrey Hepburn was conspicuous by her absence, you'd be right. She wasn't nominated at all. This snubbing was considered egregious at the time and even more so now. Some argued it was resentment of how she replaced Julie Andrews who famously played Dolittle in the stage play. Others said it was because of how Hepburn's singing which was largely dubbed by Marni Nixon, despite how Hepburn expected to do much of the singing herself.

I found it strange how you can nominate My Fair Lady for practically every Oscar going, but you don't nominate Hepburn. As a Londoner, I found her Cockney accent exaggerated, borderline cartoonish, but she was certainly charming enough as the flower-seller. True, Eliza was the same air-headed, scatter-brained character that proves there is more to her than meets the eye that Hepburn always plays, but she does play the role well.

Rex Harrison was also good as the male lead despite how he spoke rather than sung most of his songs. He also played Henry Higgins in the stage play winning the Tony award. Despite his initial reluctance of working with Audrey Hepburn, the two of them were good together. Their relationship was central to the film, but it was enjoyable watching them develop from begrudging allies into something closer to lovers.

Mr Fair Lady also won Oscars for Best Costume, Art Direction and Cinematography and these were well-earned. It is set in 1912 London and it looked great on-screen.

This final criticism will sound silly considering how it was a musical and it won an Oscar for Best Original score, but there was too much singing. This heavily slowed down the pace, bloating out the film to almost three hours long. True some songs have become absolute classics like "Wouldn't it Be Loverly" and "Get me to the Church on Time," but most of them seemed like vehicles to deliver ham-fisted exposition.

Yes, there was too much singing, it was too long and Audrey Hepburn was the recipient of one of the biggest Oscar snubs ever, but my Fair lady was an enjoyable enough film. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm getting married in the morning, ding dong, the bells are going to chime... 

Fight Club review

 Number 10 on the top 1000 films of all time is David Fincher's psychological thriller 'Fight Club.'

Edward Norton plays an unnamed white-collar worker and insomniac. Alienated from life and everybody around him, he forges a relationship with the mysterious and hedonistic soap salesman Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt.) The two of them form an underground fighting club which soon grows into something much bigger and more dangerous than either of them could ever expect. Helena Bonham Carter co-stars as the love interest of both male characters - Marla Singer.

Say the first two rules of Fight Club with me: You do not talk about Fight Club. Sorry, Mr Durden, but I will be breaking those rules straight away. As this film is probably David Fincher's most famous outing. based on Chuck Palahniuk's book of the same name, Fincher perfectly dialled into the alienation of Generation X. To paraphrase Tyler Durden, they are a generation without purpose. They had no war to fight, no great depression to suffer through, no collective identity - they are a group of men looking for meaning in a meaningless world. They are a dead people who find feeling in beating each other up.

Yet this film is so much more than just men fighting with each other. Regardless of what the ill-advised marketing campaign would have you believe. There is so much societal and political commentary from how we are constantly bombarded with advertising, which is more relevant now than it was in 1999, to the role of men in the modern world. Long gone are the days where men were the providers and builders of society.

I also hadn't realised how darkly comic the film was until I rewatched it. Much of this black humour comes in the film's initial act, when the narrator, in desperate efforts to find connection, attends a number of support groups including a testicular cancer support group. Here he meets Robert Paulsen - Meatloaf hidden under a massive fatsuit and prosthetic bitch tits. Due to Paulsen's cancer, he has quite literally become emasculated. He is just another lost man in an ocean of lost men.

Nobody is more lost than insomniac narrator played by Ed Norton in one of his most recognisable roles. Norton contributed greatly to the film's humour with his deadpan narration constantly conveying his cynicism about life. Even more recognisable was Brad Pitt who brought the enigmatic, anarchist Tyler Durden to life. By modern standards, you could argue Durden's nihilistic dialogue about the uselessness of the modern man is cheesy. In the hands of a lesser actor they would have been laughable, but Pitt was so convincing in the role that his words sounded almost philosophical. To some real audiences, they were a beacon inspiring real-life fight clubs all over the US.

Norton and Pitt also had a great chemistry. They balanced each other out in so many ways despite being complete opposites. This makes sense considering the film's twist ending, which I won't spoil here.

The setting was just as ambiguous as our narrator. Like how he is supposed to be an everyman, the setting could have been any run-down city full of disenfranchised men. The dull colour palate only added to the overall sense of alienation.

Lastly let's talk about Helena Bonham Carter who brought some fresh air to a sombre film. Marla Singer who, in retrospect was one of the first manic pixie dream girls, seems a hybrid of Durden and the narrator. She has all the narrator's cynicism, but also Durden's toxic hedonism. The three of them together were a toxic triangle.

If you don't know a lot about Fight Club, you might just write it off as a silly man film about sad men fighting each other because they can't properly process their emotions, but don't write it off too quickly. There is far more to this film than meets the eye.