Hero review

 Number 367 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 2002 wuxia film 'Hero.'

Jet Li stars as the Nameless warrior who is summoned before the king of Qin - one of the seven kingdoms of Ancient China. Nameless foiled three assassination attempts on the king. And the king wants to hear how he did it.

Stylistically, there is no faulting Hero. It was visually gorgeous; a real treat for the eyes. Different sections of the film are broken into different colour schemes - white, blue and the gorgeous red that is considered so lucky in China. The martial art sequences while far from being the most realistic were still spectacularly choregraphed. The use of slow-motion and occasional monochrome added to the striking visuals.

However beautiful Hero looked it wasn't very interesting to watch. I found it very boring. Part of that was down to how it was structured. Much of the film is told in flashback and we're led to believe these flashbacks are not to be trusted. The prime timeline sees Nameless and the king simply talking to each other. There is no forward momentum and very little else going on. And I did struggle in paying attention.

Perhaps I don't have a very long attention span or I'm impatient, as I'm sure there were plenty of deep-rooted metaphors and symbolism which I missed out on.

Although I didn't find Hero particularly interesting, there ids no denying that it is a visually stunning film.

Groundhog Day review

 Number 266 on the top 1000 films of all time is Harold Ramis' 1993 fantasy comedy 'Groundhog Day.'

Phil Connors (Bill Murray) is a journalist reporting the famous Groundhog Day festivities in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvannia when he finds himself trapped in a time loop. Forced to relive the same day over and over, the cynical and irascible Phil has to rethink how he wants to live his life. Andi Macdowell co-stars as Phil's producer and love interest Rita Hanson.

Since its release, Groundhog Day has become a cultural phenomenon with its fans celebrating it every year. It's certainly a satisfying watch as we see Phil complete a nice character arc. We see him start a miserable, grumpy reporter who hates how he has to report nonsense stories like the Groundhog Day into a man who starts to appreciate life more.

Much of this was down to Bill Murray. Harold Ramis was determined to use Murray, as all the other choices seemed too nice. But Murray turned what could have been an unlikeable Phil Connors into a likeable character. Granted he's still a hit of a jerk, but he is a likeable one. Although he is in a very undesirable situation.

Ramis' direction was very good as well. Time-loop films by their very nature can have a tendency to be repetitive, but Ground Hog never felt particularly monotonous. not for me anyway, as for Phil, it was a very different story.

I was a little confused about Andie Macdowell's accent. at times, it was standard American and at others, it reverted to her native Georgian accent. Andie Macdowell specifically asked to do this, but I don't understand why. it was very jarring.

Nevertheless, Groundhog Day was a very enjoyable and creative film with lots of humour and lots of heart.

Elite Squad review

 Number 256 on the top 1000 films of all time is Jose Padilha's Brazillian crime drama 'Elite Squad.'

Captain Nascimento (Wagner Moura) is a police officer in BOPE - an elite squad of police who patrol Rio De Janerio's drug-fuelled favelas. Burned out and with a baby on the way, he is searching for a replacement. And his two best choices are the impulsive Neto (Caio Junqueira) or the more measured and restrained Matias (Andre Ramio.)

Elite Squad reminded me of the fantastic City of God. Both stylistically and content-wise, the two films were very similar. Whereas City of God focussed on the drug dealers that ruled the ghetto, Elite Squad focused on the police who have to catch them. It presented a raw, gritty and unflinching look at a brutal reality. The camera work was intimate with plenty of close-ups that make you feel you're right alongside the characters. No punches are pulled. Nothing is romanticised. We see the ruthlessness of the drug gangs as well as the police who catch them. it is an intense non-stop rollercoaster.

However, I would criticise Elite Squad for its portrayal of Captain Nascimento. Despite being the main character, he felt like a secondary character. Although he narrates, he has very little on-screen presence in the film's first half. This was because he was always intended to be a secondary character with Neto and Matias acting as the protagonists. During post-production, Jose Padilha's realised Wagner Moura's on-screen charisma and edited the film to make him the main character.

This was a major oversight and it showed. His retrospective editing did nothing to help things. Wagner Moura's considerable acting ability largely went to waste. Don't forget this is the man who went onto star as Pablo Escobar in Netflix's series Narcos.

Despite Wagner Moura being completely squandered, Elite Squad was still a great film if a tough watch at times.

The Blind Side review

 Number 587 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 2009 sports drama 'The Blind Side.'

Based on a true story, the Blind Side follows Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron) - a quiet, timid African-American from a dysfunctional background. With next to no prospects or family, he is taken in by the Tuohy family led by matriarch Leigh-Anne (Sandra Bullock) who nurtures him into becoming a star quarterback in American football.

The Blind Side has received its fair share of backlash. Least of all from the real-life Michael Oher. He recently claimed that rather than being adopted by the Tuohys as the film claims, they actually tricked him into signing a conservatorship meaning that the Tuohys rather than him received the residuals from this film.

This is irrelevant to the Blind Side as a film. What is relevant is Michael Oher's further criticism. In his 2012 autobiography, he criticises how the film portrays him as a simpleton. I don't know the true story, but I would agree with this characterisation. It did seem overly-simplistic. Michael Oher is from the ghetto. It seems unlikely that such a quiet, docile man could come from such a tough environment, although not impossible.

It seemed like a borderline caricature. I'm surprised that the film-makers didn't go so far as to give him a hick, country accent. And I think it would have been more interesting to see some hardcase ghetto kid soften up as he realises the opportunities that are available to him.

This was a shame, because otherwise I did enjoy the Blind Side. Jae Head was a highlight as SJ - the youngest child of the Tuohy's family. And despite being in a supporting role, Kathy Bates shone as always. Although the film centred on American Football, it was still accessible to a Brit like me. Sandra Bullock won the Best Actress Oscar. She did well and I certainly don't think she should have to return it like some say. She's an actress playing a part. She didn't know about any of this controversy when she took on the role.

It was just disappointing that the Blind Sale could falter so much in its portrayal of its central character.

Moulin Rouge! review

Number 612 on the top 1000 films of all time is the jukebox musical romantic drama Moulin Rouge!

Christian (Ewan Macgregor) is a poet and romantic who wants to become a bohemian revolutionary. He moves to Paris' Montmarte District where he falls in love with Satine (Nicole Kidman) who is the star burlesque performer in the Moulin Rouge! But the course of true love never did run smooth.

Moulin Rouge was pure chaotic energy. It was bright, vibrant, colourful; a total spectacle. It won Oscars for Best Production and Best Costume design which was no surprise. To say it was a treat for the eyes would be an understatement. It would be easy to dismiss Moulin Rouge as style over substance.

In many ways it is, jumping from shoe-horned song to shoe-horned song with the thinnest of storylines connecting everything. But I also think that was the point. Burlesque and Cabaret are genres which are all about excess. They're all about putting on a show and being over-the-top. They're theatrical. And that's all part of the fun.

I admit that after a while the film's novelty wore off, but I still don't think it's fair to criticise the film for its very nature. What I was less keen on was Ewan Macgregor's singing voice. Obviously he isn't known as a singer, and I'm tone-death, but Ewan's singing voice bordered on screeching. His acting was fine, but his singing grated on me.

Moulin Rouge was a highly entertaining film. It had great visual flair. Was it more style than substance? Absolutely. But it was definitely a film that you won't forget in a hurry.

Philadelphia review

 Number 611 on the top 1000 films of all time is the legal drama 'Philadelphia.'

Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks) is an up-and-coming lawyer in Philadelphia. He is dismissed from his law firm. When it is revealed that he is gay and has aids, he is fired from his law firm. Believing he has been the victim of anti-gay discrimination, he sues his previous employer enlisting the help of fellow lawyer Joe Miller (Denzel Washington.)

This was a brave film about, even now, a sensitive subject matter. In the 90's, there was a huge stigma around being gay and an even bigger one around aids. Homosexual discrimination, like what Beckett suffers from, was never far away.

Tom Hanks played the part well. He treated it with the utmost sensitivity. He also acknowledged that in today's world, he as a straight man would never be cast in such a role, but he still did it justice. He was well-deserving of his Oscar win. And that's saying something as he was up against Daniel Day-Lewis in Name of the Father and Liam Neeson in Schindler's List. Beckett's humanity is most evident when he is seen enjoying his famous opera - a scene so touching that it makes Miller question his own prejudices.

Miller freely admits that he doesn't like gay people, but he slowly realises that he shouldn't be so quick to judge people. Denzel Washington played the conflicted Miller well. This type of deep character work is what Washington does best like in Glory. He's far better here than in any big blockbuster.

Ultimately, the legal scenes is what let the film down. And this was strange considering it is a legal drama. But many of the courtroom scenes, particularly near the end, felt rushed and under-developed.

That notwithstanding, I did very much enjoy Philadelphia. It was a brave film with great performances from its two leads.

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.