Les Miserables review

 Number 474 on the top 1000 films of all time is Tom Hooper's 2012 epic, period musical 'Les Miserables.'

Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) is a French former convict who has just been paroled after nineteen years in prison. His crime? Stealing a loaf of bread. But policeman Javert (Russell Crowe) refuses to believe he has changed and is determined to send him back to prison. Meanwhile. Valjean reforms and becomes a factor worker. When one of his workers Fantine (Anne Hathaway) dies, Valjean declares to take care of her impoverished daughter Cosette.

Les Mis is what's known as a sung-through musical. Unlike other musicals, which alternate between music and narrative, Les Mis is all but music. It's a bit like Sweeney Todd. And I've learned that I do not care for sung-through musicals. Watching them are a tedious affair. I know now that music is essential to a sung-through musical, but it was overwhelming. There was far too much singing.

I say singing...they were basically singing lines of dialogue. It hardly made for memorable songs. Obviously you have Anne Hathaway's famous I Dreamed a Dream, but the only other notable song was Look Down, which was sang by the convicts at the start of the film, before being later taken up as a protest song.

The film is also over 2 and a half hours long. It could have been far shorter if a lot of the musical numbers had been trimmed. in many cases, the songs became like exposition telling the viewer what was happening instead of showing them. When Javert and Valjean's paths cross after many years, Javert sings 'a thought stirs in my mind,' which was a rather ham-fisted line of dialogue. I also did not need a whole song where Eponine (Samantha Barks) declares her unrequited love for student revolutionary Marius Pontmercy (Eddie Redmayne.) This much was obvious through her longing looks. We did not need a whole song.

As for the performances, they were as good as you would expect from such a star-studded cast, which also included the likes of Amanda Seyfried, Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen. Anne Hathaway deservingly won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar despite having a minimal amount of screentime.

I really did not like this film. It was a melodramatic, over-dramatic affair. And I know it was a sung-through musical, but there was far too much singing.

The Birds review

 Number 510 on the top 1000 films of all time is Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 horror-thriller 'The Birds.'

Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hendren) is a socialite who meets lawyer Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) in a San Francisco bird shop. later, she drives to his home in Bodega Bay where she, him, and the towns people start being attacked by the local bird population.

What struck me most about this film was one of Hitchcock's most intentional decisions. He chose to direct the film without a conventional film score. And with next-to-none incidental music. And this worked brilliantly. It made a scary film even scarier. And this was a scary film. The lack of music made the tension go through the roof. The seeming lack of motive behind the birds' attacks made them even more terrifying.

However, I think the bird attacks being so random- they indiscriminately attack anybody regardless of time or location - proved to be the film's biggest shortcoming. as there is no discernible reason for why they could be attacking although a drunk bargoer speculates it is the end of the world, there is also no strategy for how to defeat them. When the townspeople do meet to discuss the issue, a birdwatcher is sceptical of the attacks, and even more sceptical of any preventative measures. But this lack of plan leads to a sagging of the narrative that culminates in an anti-climatic conclusion. *Spoilers* Melanie, Mitch and his family, drive away into an uncertain future. As nothing is resolved, it's all very unsatisfactory.

The character of Melanie was also unsatisfactory. She was just so useless. the Birds was released in 1963. but Melanie had none of the agency I might expect from the female characters of the time. When she foolishly goes off on her own to investigate strange noises, she discovers a whole room of birds. They attack her, and she doesn't even call for help. How Mitch ever knew she was in there to rescue her was the film's biggest mystery. But I also knew that Hitchcock and Hendren had a less than harmonious relationship behind the scenes, so maybe that was a contributing factor to Melanie's poor writing.

This notwithstanding 'The Birds' is still a very scary horror film. And Hitchcock is damn good at horror films.

Green Street Hooligans review

 Number 767 on the top 1000 films of all time is the British crime-drama 'Green Street Hooligans.'

Matt Buckner (Elijah Wood) is a journalism major who was kicked out of Harvard after taking the fall for his cokehead roommate. He goes to London to live with his sister Shannon (Clare Forlani) and her English husband Steve (Marc Warren.) There Matt is befriended by Steve's brother Pete (Charlie Hunnam) who leads the local firm - the Green Street Elite - a gang of football hooligans who support West Ham football club.

If you were wondering what Elijah Wood was doing after LOTR and Charlie Hunmman before he became a transatlantic star in the American tv series Sons of Anarchy, they were starting trouble in London's East End. But, before that, we need to address the huge elephant in the room: Charlie Hunnam. His Cockney accent is regarded as one of the worst in film history, and it was on-par with Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins. It didn't help that Hunnam was saddled with such cumbersome dialogue; it was like he had been directed to recite the Cockney Rhyming Slang dictionary. Do people really talk like that?

You can see Charlie Hunnam's acting potential, but he was so rough around the edges, it's difficult to believe that just three years later, he would go onto star in Sons of Anarchy, where he does a great Californian accent. Speaking of accents, I just read that Clare Forlani who played Shannon is actually English. She does a much better accent than Charlie Hunnam. The actor who plays Matt and Shannon's father - Henry Goodman is also English, with Elijah Wood being the only true American in the cast.

Speaking of Elijah Wood, he was great as the transatlantic fish-out-of-water. At first, he is very out of place, but he soon fits right in with Pete and the rest of their gang, as they clash with the other firms. He isn't a big or threatening presence, but you can clearly see his progression from weak outsider to a force to be reckoned with.

At times, the violence was excessive and over-the-top, but this was still an entertaining film that displayed the loyalty that these gangs have to each other. they take so much identity in where they're from and what football clubs they support. Although I find it difficult to believe that any of the GSE would be able to hold down full-time jobs while being part of the film. What school would want to employ Pete as a PE teacher? His fellow hooligan Dave (Ross McCall) is an airline pilot. Where does he find time to be a hooligan with his busy schedule?

 The story itself is good enough, while being predictable and cheesy. This is no more evidence than the ending which let the film down. *Spoiler alert*

The GSE had a final showdown with long-standing rivals - the Milwall firm 'the NGO.' But Shannon randomly drives down to the fight as well. Inevitably, this draws attention from the Milwall thugs. And Pete has to sacrifice himself to allow Matt to get his sister to safety. This was a silly, illogical contrivance. There's no explanation for how Shannon would know about the fight or where it was, and she had no reason to be there, except to cause unnecessary conflict. If it wasn't for her, Pete would still be alive. And don't get me started on the stupid slow-motion and choral singing.

That notwithstanding, I ultimately did enjoy Green Street. Sure, it was cheesy, but it was also an intense and rapt look at the hooliganism that dominates UK football.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo review

 Number 423 on the top 1000 films of all time is David Fincher's 2011 remake of the Swedish 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.'

Mikhail Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) is a Swedish journalist who has lost everything in a libel case brought against him businessman Hans-Erik Wennerstrom. Businessman Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer) offers him a chance of redemption if Mikhail can solve the forty-year old disappearance of his grandniece Harriet. Mikhail enlists the help of emotionally damaged hacker Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara.)

TGWTDT was the latest offering in the Scandi-noir trend that was dominating the airwaves in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Based on Stieg Larsson's book of the same name, TGWTDT joins the tradition along with Jo Nesbo, Henning Mankell, the Bridge and the Killing. So much of Scandi-noir is rooted in its Scandinavian setting. The mighty mountains, imposing glaciers and remote settings lend themselves well to grisly murders. Frosty temperatures and frostier attitudes all add to the Gothic horror.

And that's why I found the accents so weird. I understand this is an American remake, so I wouldn't expect the actors to be speaking in Swedish, but the accents were inconsistent. Christopher Plummer did well, but Rooney Mara and Robin Wright, who played Mikhail's editor and occasional lover, less so. Daniel Craig didn't bother with one at all. He chose to do this, as the thought it would sound silly otherwise. And it did. Either have all the actors do accents or none of them.

Daniel Craig received star-billing for this well-crafted thriller, but Rooney Mara was the true star. She received a Best Actress nod and it was well-earned. Lisbeth Salander - an emotionally shut down, misanthrope would be a difficult character to play. How do you make her likable without making her annoying? But Rooney Mara brought an excellent amount of vulnerability to the role. And, of course, we have to talk about the horrific scenes where Salander was raped and sodomised. These were brutal, intense scenes and Mara was fantastic.

If I were to criticise the film for anything, it would be the ending. *Spoiler alert* After the main mystery is solved, Plummer rewards Blomkvist by providing him evidence that will help him take down Wennerstrom. However, the evidence proves fruitless. So, Salander helps by hacking him and discovering he is laundering money for organised crime. She then empties his accounts. It was all good, but it seemed like a strange addendum that didn't match the rest of the film. I guess they were bringing everything full circle, but it seemed like Fincher was setting up a second film, rather than finishing this one.

Nevertheless, TGWTDT was an expertly-crafted thriller with a career-high performance from Rooney Mara.

Gosford Park review

 Number 992 on the top 1000 films of all time is Robert Altman's 2001 period drama/murder mystery Gosford Park.

Sir William McCordle (Michael Gambon) is a wealthy industrialist, married to Lady Sylvia (Kristin Scott Thomas) who invites a group of equally wealthy Britons and one American to dine in his country estate. Some of these guests include Sylvia's aunt Constance, Dowager Countess of Trentham) (Maggie Smith,) William's brother-in-law Raymond, Lord Stockbridge (Charles Dance,) film star and William's cousin Ivor Novello (Jeremy Northam) and American film producer Morriss Weissman (Bob Balaban.) However, when one of the party is discovered dead, everybody becomes a suspect. This includes all of the downstairs staff. Richard E. Grant, Kelly Macdonald, Emily Watson, Eileen Atkins and Helen Mirren star as some of the butlers, valets, cooks and housekeepers.

I can totally understand why this film is so low down on this list. It was so boring. When things actually got going, it did start to pick up, but it takes over an hour for things to get going. Prior to anybody being murdered, it was an endless onslaught of rich, pretentious people talking about rich and pretentious things. All of the characters very much blurred into one and it was difficult to distinguish between them all. The cast was far bigger than it had any right to be.

This is a period drama and I bloody hate period dramas, so, no doubt, I do have some bias toward this film. Period dramas have never been something that's interested me. They're full of unrelatable characters with unrelatable problems. And I don't know why they're called dramas. There's nothing dramatic or remotely interesting about them. That criticism very much applies to Gosford Park too.

 Julian Fellowes wrote Gosford Park, so it's no surprise that the film turned out the way it did. He's part of the House of Lords and a member of the British landed gentry. Originally, Downton Abbey, which Julian Fellowes also wrote, was supposed to be a spin-off of Gosford Park, before it became its own show. I haven't watched Downton Abbey and I have no bloody intention to now.

As I said, once somebody actually dies, things become interesting, because we have a mystery to solve. We're treated to Stephen Fry playing the incompetent Inspector Thompson. He really helped to liven up the stuffy atmosphere. But why do we have to wait over an hour to get to this point? By this point, I had almost lost interest in the film. It was all so pretentious.

I really did not care for Gosford Park at all. It was overly-long, boring, pretentious and a sheer waste of the acting talent involved. But I am biased toward period dramas, so maybe that's just me.

American Gangster review

 Number 468 on the top 1000 films of all time is Ridley Scott's 2007 biographical crime film 'American Gangster.'

Based on the true story of Harlem crime kingpin and drug lord Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) American Gangster explores how this once lowly crook rose to become of the biggest drug traffickers in US History, as well Newark Detective's Richie Roberts' (Russell Crowe) efforts to catch him.

Ridley Scott really likes his overlong films, doesn't he? Black Hawk Down was far longer than it needed to be, and the same could definitely be said for American Gangster which burgeoned on three hours. It was bloated and could have been excised. The obvious example would be Richie Roberts' storyline. He is supposed to be the only honest cop in a department of crooked cops like corrupt NYPD detective Nick Trupo (Josh Brolin) who regularly accepts bribes and robs criminals of their drugs only to go on and sell them himself. 

Richie is also locked in a bitter divorce battle with his ex-wife. Although he is straight in his work, he is not in his personal life. As we learn, he is a serial womaniser. This was a massive subplot which didn't deserve the amount of screentime we spent on it. I really couldn't have cared less. Richie's wife Laurie (Carla Gugino) was little more than a scorned woman. And due to Richie being so straight, he wasn't the most interesting character to watch. We like maverick detectives who aren't corrupt, but they play by their own set of rules. This is what sets them apart from every other police officer out there. And this subplot also did a disservice to Russell Crowe who is a good actor.

If we didn't spend so much time on this subplot, I would have enjoyed American Gangster much more than I did. Frank Lucas was the superior and more interesting character. It was fascinating seeing his journey from his former boss' driver and bodyguard to, effectively, the Harlem Pablo Escobar. Although the historicity of the film's events have been questioned, it's amazing to see how he cut out the middle-man and dealt directly with heroin producers in South-East Asia. He smuggled the drugs back into the country by putting them in the coffins of American soldiers returning home from Vietnam.

Ultimately, I would say this is a good film. It just didn't need to spend so much time on Richie Roberts. 

Catch me if you Can review

 Number 371 on the top 1000 films of all time is Steven Spielberg's biographical comedy-drama 'Catch me if you Can.'

Based on a true story, Frank Abagnale Jr (Leonardo Dicaprio) was one of the most successful con-men and check forgers in history. All before his 19th birthday, he claimed to pose as a Pan-Am pilot, a doctor and a lawyer. Tom Hanks plays Carl Hanratty - the FBI agent tasked with tracking him down. Christopher Walken plays Frank Abagnale Sr and Amy Adams stars as Frank's girlfriend and later wife Brenda Strong.

This is a film that left very little impression on me. And that's surprising considering that it has serious star power. For one it's directed by Steven Spielberg. But it also stars Leonardo Dicaprio and Tom Hanks. By 2002, Spielberg had already built up a pretty impressive resume with hard-hitting dramas like Schindler's List or the Color Purple, but arguably he was best known for his blockbusters like Jaws, Indiana Jones or Jurassic Park. And in comparison, Catch me if you Can just fell flat. There was never the same sense of dramatic tension or immediacy. 

Perhaps that's through the way the story was structured. The film opens with Carl Hanratty arriving in a Marseille prison to collect Frank Abagnale Jr in order to extradite him back to the US to face punishment. I guess anybody who knows the true story would already know how everything ends, but for viewers like me, it felt like they were unnecessarily giving the game away. Any narrative tension had immediately dissipated, because we know that somewhere down the line Carl does catch Frank. Considering how brash and brazen Frank's schemes become, it only makes sense that he would be caught, but it would have been more exciting if there was a possibility that Frank might escape. I know that the thrill is in the chase and not the capture, but the chase wasn't that thrilling.

And none of the lead cast were that electrifying either. Dicaprio, Walken and Tom Hanks have four acting Oscars between them. Amy Adams has been nominated for six Oscars. We all know that they're great actors, but I wouldn't say any of them particularly shone. It just seemed like they were all just turning up, even Dicaprio wasn't as good as I thought he would be.

Catch me if you Can is by no means a bad film or one of the worst films I've seen on this list, but it wasn't nearly as memorable as I thought it would be.