Number 139 on the top 1000 films of all time is one of Alfred Hitchcock's earliest films: Rebecca.
Based on Daphne DuMaurier's book, Rebecca follows an unnamed young woman (Joan Fontaine) who is a companion to the snooty Edyth Van Hopper (Florence Bates.) This young woman then falls in love with recent widower George DeWinter (Laurence Olivier.) After a whirlwind marriage, the second "Mrs DeWinter," soon suspects things to be out of place, as she realises that George might not be over the death of his first wife.
Rebecca struck me highly as a great example of film noir. The film began slowly with perhaps too much focus on the set up of the DeWinter's relationship. Obviously this is important to see and to set up, but I feel it was overdone. While it was amusing to see the demanding and bossy Edyth Van Hopper at first, after a while it became a little tedious.
However, once the setup was over, we were left with an interesting murder mystery, as the circumstances surrounding the first Mrs DeWinter's death became suspicious. Laurence Olivier was great as the conflicted Mr DeWinter, even if his character was used as an exposition device at times.
Joan Fontaine was equally good, as the naive, but well-intentioned second Mrs DeWinter. It was difficult not to feel for her, as she felt further out of place in her husband's opulent lifestyle. Yet she also has agency, as when she discovers the truth behind the first Mrs DeWinter's death, she is determined to protect her husband at all costs.
With stylistic angles, a complicated narrative, strong performances and Hitchcock a.k.a the Master of Tension, steering the ship, this is a must-see for fans of the noir genre.
Monday 23 July 2018
Die Hard review
Number 138 on the top 1000 films of all time is the action block-buster Die Hard.
John Mclane (Bruce Willis) is an NYPD, visiting his estranged wife, Holly Gennero-Mclane (Bonnie Bedelia) in LA, wanting nothing more than a quiet Christmas. However, Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) a West German terrorist, has other ideas. He and 11 others invade a soiree held by Holly's work place and takes everybody hostage, with the intention of stealing $67 billion worth of bearer bonds. It is up to John Mclane to save the day.
If you're not a fan of action movies, then I recommend giving Die Hard a miss, because Die Hard is the quintessential action film. It has your lone hero (Mclane) forced to overcome incredible odds (12 terrorists) to save the attractive, but largely useless love interest (Holly.) Throw in a few explosions and shootouts for good measure.
While this might be boring for some, and understandably so, I did really enjoy Die Hard. It was an entertaining and engaging watch. Also two things helped it surpass the average action movie. The first was its self-awareness. There were multiple references to action movies and actions stars like Rambo and Arnold Schwarzenegger. These helped to provide some light-hearted relief.
The second aspect was Alan Rickman. In his debut film role, Rickman served up a great villain in the form of Hans Gruber. The best villains are never the evil cackling, moustache-twirling, let's kill everybody villains. In fact, these villains are usually the most one-dimensional. The far superior ones are the more emotionally controlled, cold and calculating ones with Hans Gruber definitely falling into the latter category. Gruber was utterly ruthless and his sheer emotionless about his heinous acts made him even more frightening. He was a great adversary for John Mclane and Rickman did a great job as Gruber.
Sure you could argue his henchmen were 2D meatheads, but what could you expect from henchmen?
So, while some may scorn Die Hard, as a tedious repetitive action film, I think it was a great watch, with some lovely meta-humour and a masterful performance from Alan Rickman.
John Mclane (Bruce Willis) is an NYPD, visiting his estranged wife, Holly Gennero-Mclane (Bonnie Bedelia) in LA, wanting nothing more than a quiet Christmas. However, Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) a West German terrorist, has other ideas. He and 11 others invade a soiree held by Holly's work place and takes everybody hostage, with the intention of stealing $67 billion worth of bearer bonds. It is up to John Mclane to save the day.
If you're not a fan of action movies, then I recommend giving Die Hard a miss, because Die Hard is the quintessential action film. It has your lone hero (Mclane) forced to overcome incredible odds (12 terrorists) to save the attractive, but largely useless love interest (Holly.) Throw in a few explosions and shootouts for good measure.
While this might be boring for some, and understandably so, I did really enjoy Die Hard. It was an entertaining and engaging watch. Also two things helped it surpass the average action movie. The first was its self-awareness. There were multiple references to action movies and actions stars like Rambo and Arnold Schwarzenegger. These helped to provide some light-hearted relief.
The second aspect was Alan Rickman. In his debut film role, Rickman served up a great villain in the form of Hans Gruber. The best villains are never the evil cackling, moustache-twirling, let's kill everybody villains. In fact, these villains are usually the most one-dimensional. The far superior ones are the more emotionally controlled, cold and calculating ones with Hans Gruber definitely falling into the latter category. Gruber was utterly ruthless and his sheer emotionless about his heinous acts made him even more frightening. He was a great adversary for John Mclane and Rickman did a great job as Gruber.
Sure you could argue his henchmen were 2D meatheads, but what could you expect from henchmen?
So, while some may scorn Die Hard, as a tedious repetitive action film, I think it was a great watch, with some lovely meta-humour and a masterful performance from Alan Rickman.
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