The Wicker Man (1973) review

 Number 620 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 1973 folk-horror 'The Wicker Man.'

Police sergeant Neil Howie (Edward Woodward) is a devout Christian investigating the disappearance of a little girl on a remote Scottish Isle. There, he is is appalled to find the residents, led by Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee) have rejected Christianity in favour of a dangerous form of paganism.

Horror films generally fall into one of two cliches: over-reliance on jump-scares or over-reliance on gore. Thankfully, director Robin Hardy and writer Anthony Schaffer deftly navigated these cliches. Schaffer deliberately eschewed the latter cliche in favour of a tense, unsettling atmosphere.

From the moment that Neil Howie steps onto the island, it's obvious that somebody isn't quite right. Nobody seems to know who the missing girl is nor do make any effort to help him. Instead they prefer to have sex in public and teach children about phallic symbols in school. And it is all treated as completely normal which is what makes it so scary.

It's normal to everybody, but Howie who is horrified by the debauchery he witnesses. Woodward played the straight man, so to speak, with all the moral indignation that we would expect to see. But I think the true star was Christopher Lee who played the villainous Lord Summerisle.

Lord Summerisle is a cult-leader who has brainwashed the island's residents in happily following his every word even when it crosses ethical boundaries. They blindly follow their pagan beliefs, gaily singing and dancing through the film's most terrifying sequences. Nowhere is this more apparent than the film's chilling conclusion. I won't spoil it here, but this is a horror film, so there's no happily ever after.

As the film was made on a shoestring budget, Lee was more than happy to work for free. This really shows his dedication to his craft.

Folk-horror has made a resurgence with the likes of Midsommar and the Witch, but they all pay homage to the pioneering Wicker Man.

The Last Samurai review

 Number 576 on the top 1000 films of all time is Edward Zwick's period-war drama 'The Last Samurai.'

Captain Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise) is a celebrated American civil-war hero. While his exploits of killing native-Americans has earned him a fiercesome reputation, it has also left him with severe PTSD. Sensing the prospect of future trade deals with Japan, his superiors send him to Japan to train Emperor Meji's (Shichinosuke Nakamara) army, so they can defend themselves against the rebellions led by the eponymous last samurai: Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe) and his men. Billy Connelly, Timothy Spall and Hiroyuki Sanada co-star.

The Last Samurai strongly reminded me of Kevin Costner's 'Dances with Wolves.' Both films star an American protagonist befriending and fighting alongside the enemy they're supposed to be fighting. Both films have the protagonists keep diaries as a narrative device. The difference is that the Last Samurai didn't bore me to the core. It was everything Dances with Wolves should have been.

It helped that the Last Samurai was directed by Edward Zwick who also brought the brilliant film Glory to life. Yes, he did use too much slow-motion at times, but he also presented an entertaining, watchable film that portrayed a country at war with itself. Should Japan modernise with Western traditions, clothing and, most importantly, guns, or should they stay true with their own tradition of the samurai. This is the question Zwick answers. 

It was also refreshing to see Tom Cruise in a different type of role. Yes, this isn't a million miles away from Ethan Hunt in Mission Impossible, but Nathan Algren had more depth than some of Cruise's more action-oriented roles. He is a man looking for redemption. And Cruise brought this tortured soul to life.

But the true star was Ken Watanabe. He received his only Oscar nod for this role. It was well-deserved. I thought he was brilliant as the samurai so desperately clinging onto the honour and tradition that he holds so dear. At times, it was a subtle, delicate performance, at others it was explosive, but it was always entertaining.

The cinematography and world-building was also well-textured and detailed. New Zealand stood in for Japan which explained the gorgeous cinematography.

My main gripe was with Billy Connelly who was doing some weird accent that was a hybrid between Irish and his native Scottish. It was like if they had asked Sean Connery to act with an Irish accent.

Nonetheless, I enjoyed the Last Samurai. Along with Glory, I can count it as another Edward Zwick success.

Big Fish review

 Number 296 on the top 1000 films of all the time is Tim Burton's fantasy-drama 'Big Fish.'

Edward Bloom (Albert Finney) is a man who has always had a story to tell. Sometimes these stories border on the surreal. And sometimes they're difficult to take seriously. As Edward nears the end of his life, his estranged son Will decides to start sitting the fact from the fiction. This is where we see a younger Edward Bloom (Ewan Macgregor) live out these stories.

This is possibly one of the most Burtonesque films I've ever seen. It was pure absurdism, surrealism and just plain weird. However, it wasn't just weirdness for the sake of weirdness. Everything was underpinned by two intertwining themes: relationship between father and son, and the art of storytelling.

As Will delves deeper into his father's life, he discovers weird and wonderful stories. These range from meeting a one-eyed witch who can tell you how you're going to die to befriending a giant who is rampaging around the local community. It doesn't matter whether these stories happened exactly the way they were told, as long as they are still told.

Stories have a wonderful way of uniting people. Nowhere is this more apparent than father and son. Sick of his father's ridiculous stories, son breaks off contact for three years. It's only his father's ailing health that reunites them. But it is Edward Bloom's love of story-telling that helps them to make amends. Bloom helps his son realises the joy which storytelling can bring everybody.

Did Edward Bloom really befriend a giant? Did he run away and join a circus ran by Danny Devito? Probably not. But it doesn't matter as long as we enjoyed the journey. And this was a weird and surreal journey that I certainly enjoyed. 

The King's Speech review

Number 232 on the top 1000 films of all time is Tom Hooper's 2010 biopic 'The King's Speech.'

Based on the real life story, the King's Speech follows the future King George VI trying to overcome his speech impediment. To assist him, his wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) enlists the help of Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush.) Small note, George VI was only a regnal name. George VI's real name was Albert or "Bertie."

Released to critical acclaim, the King's Speech received twelve Oscar nominations and won four including best film and best actor. It is easy to see why. Hooper tackled a sensitive topic with tact and discretion. I think it would have been all too easy to victimise Bertie rather than make him a character to root for. But he wasn't a pitiful protagonist, but an endearing one. His family have no patience for his stammer. His older brother Edward VIII (Guy Pearce) teases him constantly while his father George V (Michael Gambon) thinks he can bully the stammer away.

Colin Firth very much earned his best acting Oscar. Again, it would have been very easy to portray Bertie as a victim. And while he was a victim of his circumstances, he was also a fiercely brave man. Rather than submitting to his stammer, he constantly fights against it and seeks help. Firth brought a real vulnerability and humanity to the role. When Edward VIII abdicates and George VI is thrust into his new position as king, he breaks down proclaiming that he hasn't a king. This was one of my favourite moments of the film.

It did puzzle me a little that the film didn't focus that much on the social context of Edward VIII's abdication. Surely events like these would have impacted greatly on George's character, but then again, these probably weren't relevant enough to include.

Overall this was a great film with Colin Firth earning his best Actor Oscar.