The Deer Hunter review

 Number 165 on the top 1000 films of all time is Michael Cimino's 1978 epic Vietnam war film 'the Deer Hunter.'

Michael (Robert De Niro), Nicky (Christopher Walken) and  Steven (John Savage) are three steel workers and happy go-lucky young men who enlist to fight in Vietnam. They are caught by the Viet Cong and are subjected to such brutal torture that each man's life changes forever. Meryl Streep and John Cazale co-star in what very easily could have been just another film about Vietnam.

This film takes a while to get going but when it does, you're in for a hell of a ride. At three hours long, I would argue the film is a little bloated with the first hour seeming to last forever. I found myself constantly wondering when we're going to get to Vietnam. Instead, I was subjected to the three leads and their friends drinking in a bar, an extended marriage scene and, of course, the eponymous deer-hunting scene. Although having said that, the bar scene where the group of friends belt out Frankie Valli's 'Can't Take my Eyes off you,' was a sight to behold. The absolute perfect song for that scene. Reportedly, Michael Cimino had the actors sing along to the actual song rather than a backing track, which is standard film practice. Cimino argued this would increase the realism of the scene which it absolutely did.

The first hour is, of course, the film's set-up: showcasing the normal life of our heroes before they embark on their journey. For us to understand how Vietnam has changed them, we have to understand how they were before, especially Nicky who suffers the worse trauma of the three, but more on that later. Out of all the men, he is one of the first to start dancing and singing to Franki Valli, demonstrating how he is the most jovial and outgoing of the three. Steven is a little shy whereas Michael is already a little hardened. Out of the three he goes through the most profound transformation.

Where this film really kicks into gear is in the controversial Russian Roulette scene, which was a masterpiece of dramatic tension. Prisoner to the Viet Cong, our three heroes are forced to play Russian Roulette, first against the other prisoners and then each other. Steven quickly falls to pieces and is consigned to a watery pit full of rats, leaving behind Michael and Nick as last men standing. De Niro and Walken are both brilliant here - Walken won Best Supporting Actor for his role, which was well-deserved. His fear was palpable.

Michael ups the stakes by adding three bullets into the revolver instead of just one, but this is all part of his plan to escape. And this is when all hell breaks loose. In the film's most thrilling scene, Michael turns the gun on his captors, kills the leader, Nicky grabs another gun and the pair shoot their way to safety. They rescue Steven, despite Michael initially wanting to leave him behind, believing him to only be a liability, and eventually reach safety. But what made this scene so brilliant was how there was no background music. The silence brought the tension to the forefront.

Although all three men escape, they don't all make it home. Michael and Steven return to America where we see how badly the war has changed them. In his escape from Vietnam, Steven is badly hurt and we next see him in rehabilitation after having lost his legs and one arm.  Steven refuses to come home as he no longer feels that he fits in. As for Michael, he is a completely broken man. He spurns his welcome home celebrations and has difficulty reconnecting to his old friends.

He goes deer-hunting again, but is unable to shoot a deer he had been tracking. Stan (John Cazale) snaps after being mocked once too often by Axle (Chuck Aspergen) and threatens to shoot him, but Michael snatches the revolver, removes all but one bullet, holds it to Stan's head and pulls the trigger on an empty chamber. The camaraderie and brotherhood that was present in the first film is now firmly in the past.

And where is Nicky? Steven reveals that somebody has been sending him money. Michael suspects this is Nicky who went AWOL and never returned home from Vietnam. He returns there to find him which is when we see the film's most heartbreaking scene. Nicky, now addicted to heroin, spends his days in a gambling den, playing Russian Roulette and sending his winnings home to Steven. He is now an empty shell of a man - no longer, the young man singing along to Frankie Valli. His eyes are dead and his skin is like chalk. 

Having made him a promise to not leave him behind, Michael desperately tries to convince Nicky to come home, but quickly realises that he is too far gone. Nicky is a dead a man walking and Walken is magnificent. His transformation is the most tragic as he is the only character who has truly transformed, whereas even before Vietnam, Michael is already a bit of a hard nut and Steven is already sensitive which is only exacerbated by their trauma, Nicky has pulled a full 180 from a happy, go-lucky, jovial steel-worker to a hollow man. 

Just when it seems that Michael has reached Nicky, he holds the gun to his head and sends the bullet into his skull. Once again the lack of background music highlights Michael's breaking heart, as well as the audience's. 

The Deer Hunter was Michael Cimino's breakthrough as a director and deservedly so, although it takes a while to get going, but when it does it is well worth the watch with some Oscar-worthy performances especially from De Niro and Walken. It's just a shame that Cimino was never able to repeat his early success. 

Natural Born Killers review

 Surprisingly this film isn't on the top 1000 films of all time although considering how controversial it is, perhaps this isn't so surprising. However, it is one of my girlfriend's favourite films so I thought I would give it a watch.

Mickey and Mallory Knox (Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis) are a couple deeply in love. Both having abusive childhoods, they become mass murderers who go on a lethal rampage killing anybody who stands in their way. All the while their actions are glorified by the media, most notably by journalist Wayne Gale (Robert Downey JR) Their rampage culminates in them being arrested and sent to a prison controlled by the maniacal warden Dwight Mckluskey ( Tommy Lee Jones)

Penned by Quentin Tarantino, although he has since disowned the film, and directed by Oliver Stone, NBK is what I lovingly refer to as 'True Romance' on acid.  It is a surreal, abstract and bizarre two-hour rollercoaster with more cuts than you can shake a fist at. And enough filters and visual effects to keep film majors analysing for years. But the film's unique visual style is its greatest strength with every colour scheme and visual composition peeling away another layer of Mickey and Mallory's psychotic mindset. For example, my girlfriend argues that the use of black and white at the beginning signifies how Mickey and Mallory see the world and everybody in it. Some people are good. Some are bad. There is no in-between.

Later, Mickey and Mallory become lost on in the desert while tripping on mushrooms. They encounter a Navajo chief Red Cloud who feeds and shelters them.  As their trip takes a bad turn and Mickey's dark past surfaces, he shoots Red Cloud. Upon fleeing, the couple find themselves surrounded in a field of rattlesnakes, unsure of which are real, and which are hallucinations. An apt metaphor for the paranoia they're feeling.

As I've said earlier, this film is highly controversial due to how its portrayal of ultra-violence has been blamed for numerous copycat killings, most notably, the Columbine High School Massacre which Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris code-named as NBK. But Oliver Stone has argued that those who say this have completely misunderstood the point of the film. Rather he argues the film is a satire of how the mass media glorify serial killers and mass murderers. And this is a theme that Stone absolutely nails.

NBK regularly references cult leader Charles Manson and serial killer Richard Ramirez who both received huge followings upon their incarcerations, even going so far as to marry their fans. Over the decades, Hollywood has displayed a perverse fascination with serial killers, making many films about Jack the Ripper and the Zodiac killer just to name a few. The TV series Criminal Minds draws inspiration from many real-life crime stories. More recently, Tarantino himself depicted Charles Manson and his murderous cult in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Netflix also produced a series about Ted Bundy starring Zach Effron. And let's not forget my favourite film, The Godfather which utterly and totally romanticises and glorifies the Mafia.

But as a society, we have always had this twisted interest in serial killers and mass murderers - seeing how they ick and how they become the way they are.  Nowhere is this more present than in the film's arguably greatest scene which explores Mallory's backstory and how she and Mickey meet. Framed as a campy, 70s sitcom complete with laugh track, we bear witness to Mallory's horrific homelife. Her father (Rodney Dangerfield) who wrote most of his own dialogue, sexually abuses her and is also physically abusive to his wife who allows him to abuse their daughter. Mickey delivers meat to Mallory's family and helps her to kill them. But the sit-com's laugh track is quite obviously a proxy for the audience-cum-armchair therapists who obsess over analysing every single detail of a serial killer's/mass murderer's childhood.

Robert Downey JR also shines as brash, vulgar and sleazy journalist Wayne Gale. This despicable man will do anything to get an interview with Mickey and Mallory as he knows the ratings will go through the roof - even if that means helping them escape from prison during a riot. The violence even excites him as he starts to gain a vicarious thrill through the violence he witnesses. Not to mention, the violence also fuels his massive ego. He starts getting off on all the monstrosities that he sees and even begins participating in it. He is very much a proxy of how the media can manipulate the actions of these depraved killers to turn them into some type of twisted symbol or god. 

I must admit, I'm a little puzzled as to why this film was omitted from the top 1000 films of all-time list as it is well-deserving of a place. Its memorable visual style and nuanced exploration of complicated themes makes it very compelling and entertaining to watch. But then again, equally controversial films such as a Clockwork Orange have made the list, so who knows why one film is okay and the other one isn't. Perhaps it's not the ultra-violence that bothered audiences but more how Stone argues that through our own glorification and fascination of real-life ultra-violence, we are indirectly responsible for its creation and continuation.

Into the Wild review

 Number 144 on the top 1000 films of all time is Sean Penn's 2007 biopic Into the Wild.

Into the Wild tells the real-life story of Christopher Mccandless (Emile Hirsch), a recent college graduate. Disillusioned with city and capitalist life, he donates his life savings, cuts up his credits cards, adopts the moniker 'Alexander Supertramp' and backpacks around the US before finally going to Alaska to live off the land. Along the way, he meets a number of people who change how he thinks about life.

One reason why I think Into the Wild made this list was because of the universability of its themes. Christopher is one of many confused and jaded young people who go backpacking in attempts to 'find themselves. In 2019, I volunteered on a French farm and my host told me that he had deliberately moved to the countryside because he was sick of the cut-throat nature of the city.

While backpacking, Christopher finds himself in LA and staying at a homeless shelter. Already fearing he's becoming corrupted by city life, he hits the road without even staying the night. But these are themes and ideas I've seen in my everyday life. I've heard many people say they would like to pull a Henry David Thoreau and live in a hand-built log cabin in the woods.

And while Christopher idolises Thoreau and is regularly quoting him, he is far cry from being an ace survivalist/woodsman or a relatable protagonist ... at least for me anyway. I have head some people criticise him as being arrogant or naive for believing he could live off the land especially in a land as unforgiving as Alaska. And it was his arrogance that did make him a little unlikable. Sure it's all well and good having books on Alaska's flora and fauna and receiving crash courses on how to hunt and prepare game, but book knowledge can only take you so far. At some point, you need practice and experience before throwing yourself into the deep end. Although I definitely wouldn't fare much better.

But this arrogance also obscures Chris' motivations for leaving his home in the first place. It is revealed that he and sister were the product of an illegitimate relationship making them bastard children and the object of resentment for his father who is also abusive. However, I don't think this was portrayed clearly enough and I think more could have been done to demonstrate their fractious relationship. Not to mention, Chris comes from quite a privileged background and arguably he has little to be unhappy about. Having said that, just because some people have it worse doesn't therefore then invalidate Chris' experience.

This was a tragic film, but because of Chris' cloudy motivations, I was feeling less sad sympathy for him and more for the people he met and left behind along his way. There's the ageing hippie couple Rainey (Brian H. Dierker) and Jan (Catherine Keener) who has a fractious relationship with her estranged son from another marriage. This turmoil has ate away with her relationship with Rainey. But Chris helps to rekindle their love for each other and learns about family along the way.

Next you have teenage singer Tracy (Kristen Stewart) who forms an unrequited attraction for Chris. Finally, we come to the always wonderful Hal Holbrook as Ron Franz. He is an ageing veteran who lost his wife and son to a drunk driver. Now he spends his days pottering in his leather workshop as he is too afraid to face the real world. In perhaps the most heart-breaking film of the film, fearing his family name will die with him, he asks whether he can adopt Christ as his grandson. Christ replies that they'll discuss this upon his return.

While this was a powerful film with relatable themes, which sometimes broke my heart, I think this was more down to Sean Penn's writing of the suppoting characters, rather than of Christopher Mccandless himself.

Kill Bill Volume 2 Review

 Number 324 on the top 1000 films of all time is Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill Volume 2.

This is another film I'm watching out of order as it happens to be one of my girlfriend's favourite films. Beside I watched the first part out of order, so it only made sense that I do the same here.

The Bride (Uma Thurman) is still seeking revenge on her former boss Bill (David Carradine) and the last surviving member of her elite unit Elle ( Daryl Hannah)

As some of you may remember, I wasn't a fan of the Kill volume 1. I declared it was more of a homage to martial arts films as opposed to a film in its own right. I understand that was the point, but I do think That Tarantino took it too far. Thankfully Volume Two was far more straight forward. Brilliantly choregraphed, but arguably extraneous fight scenes gave way to more conventional storytelling. And a hell of a lot dialogue. As far as Tarantino films go, there was an an awful lot of talking which slowed the pace down to a crawl.

   I understand that this is another hallmark of Tarantino and while it was entertaining to see Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield talk about what they call cheese burgers in France or why Mr Pink doesn't tip, but the dialogue in kill Bill felt stilted and very on the nose. This was especially the case near the film's climax which should have been but most dramatic part, but I was struggling to stay awake. I fell asleep and my girlfriend had to tell me how it ended.

   That being said there were some great, albeit ridiculous sequences of the Bride being trained by martial art master Pai Mei (Gordon Liu) This was a wonderfully choregraphed sequence that was very entertaining to watch. The fight brutal fight scene between the Bride and Elle was also thrilling to watch.

And I would be remiss not to compliment Uma Thurman as the Bridge. She gave the role a depth and humanity that otherwise might have been lost. Even when she was squishing Elle's plucked-out eye underneath her foot. Seriously, Tarantino, did we really need a close-up of that?

True Romance review

 Number 344 on the top 1000 films of all time is Tony Scott's romantic crime drama True Romance.

I am watching this film out of order as I recently saw it in the roof-top cinema in Peckham, South London.

Penned by Quentin Tarantino, True Romance tells the romance of Clarence and Alabama. Clarence (Christian Slater,) a comic book store worker is unknowingly set up with call girl Alabama (Patricia Arquette.) A whirlwind romance and shotgun marriage later. Clarence confronts Alabama's pimp, Drexel (Gary Oldman) and unwittingly steals 500k of Drexel's coke. However, the coke actually belong to the mob. And they want it back. Val Kilmer, Christopher Walken, Brad Pitt, Samuel L. Jackson and James Gandolfini round out the supporting cast.

    Released in 1993, this was one of Tarantino's earliest ventures and, arguably, one of his most original. I've been critical of Tarantino's latest film - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood for being more of a homage than an actual movie - a similar criticism I also reserved for Kill Bill Volume 1. Yet that wasn't the case here. A quick pace and plenty of plot twists keep this film hurtling toward its thrilling conclusion.

    One such plot twist is Samuel L' Jackson's quick demise. Upon meeting Drexel, he mocks him relentlessly before Drexel blows him away. Plus a pre-Soprano James Gandolfini was utterly menacing as mobster Virgil. Sure you could argue that the fight scene with Alabama burdened on the ridiculous, but it was also great to see such a brilliant performance from Gandolfini.

Tarantino and Tony Scott also paced this film well. There aren't any too many dialogue scenes and there are plenty of comedic scenes the keep the content light. most of these were due to Brad Pitt's character of stoner Floyd. Reportedly, he improvised most of his dialogue which worked to great effect. Especially when he is interrogated by the ominous Gandolfini.

   This film climaxes in classic Tarantino fashion. Clarence meets a hot-shot movie exec to offload the coke in the hopes of fleeing the country with Alabama. However, the dead broker has flipped and is wearing a wire. On top of that, the mobsters have tracked down Clarence. Cue a massive shootout between the cops, the mobsters and the exec's security guards. Cue blood, bullets and everybody dying except for our heroes Clarence and Alabama. Although Clarence does dance with death for a second.

Reportedly Tarantino originally wanted to kill Clarence but Tony Scott convinced him otherwise. I think that's the better decision. The film is called True Romance and in a very twisted way it is a romance - the two loves Clarence and Alabama will do anything for each other - even kill. Seeing them walk into the sunset was more effective than seeing Alabama cry over Clarence's gravestone.

Again you can argue that the violent conclusion is gratuitous which is is. But by the same admission, it's also classic Tarantino. if you're not into that then you shouldn't be watching a Tarantino film. Especially this one. But if you want to watch Tarantino at his best, True Romance is the film for you.