Invictus review

Number 957 on the top 1000 films of all time is Clint Eastwood's biographical sports-drama Invictus.

Four years after being released from prison, Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) is elected as president of a South Africa still recovering from Apartheid. However, he believes he can unite the country by helping the South African rugby team, 'the Springboks,' captained by Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon) win the 1995 Rugby World Cup. But this will be easier said than done as for many of the black South Africans, the Springboks still represent the Apartheid.

Invictus marks the third collaboration between Freeman and Eastwood after Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby. I didn't much care for Million Dollar Baby, as I'm not a boxing fan. I'm also not a rugby fan, so I didn't think I would like Invictus, but I did.

Whether I like sport or not, there is no denying that it has the power to unite people across different countries, colours, cultures and creeds. Will this be the case with South Africa? A country that's been ravaged by Apartheid. That's what Invictus explored.

Mandela certainly had a big task on his hands. His goal of uniting his country through rugby is met with cynicism from both his supporters and detractors. And we see this on both the macro and the micro-level, as whites and blacks must work together for the common good. Mandela's black security detail resent having to work with their white counterparts and vice versa. But over time, the the men begin to bond shown through a lovely sequence of the two sides playing a friendly game of rugby each other. 

It certainly helped when you had an actor like Morgan Freeman playing Mandela. He had the same charisma you would expect from any Freeman role. Apparently, he was so convincing that even Mandela's wife had trouble telling the two apart. Freeman was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar ultimately losing to Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart.

However, I don't think that Matt Damon was anything special. Anybody could have played the role of Francois Pienaar. I'm not entirely sure how he got a Best Supporting Oscar nod where he ultimately lost to Christolph Waltz in Inglorious Basterds. Although I did like the scene where Pienaar and the rest of the team visit where Mandela was imprisoned on Robben Island. I've done this trip myself and it was powerful.

*Spoiler alert* South Africa go on to win the 1995 world Rugby World cup just like they do in real life. As one might expect, the ending becomes incredibly cheesy and silly, as their winning moments are played in slow-motion. I couldn't stop laughing as I heard all the rugby players grunting in slow-motion. It was very stupid.

But that doesn't matter as South Africa won the tournament and have since won three more. Has that resulted in a fully unified South Africa? Maybe not, but it's a damn good start.

Capote review

 Number 891 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 2005 biographical-drama Capote.

Truman Capote (Philip Seymour Hoffman) was an American novelist who gained fame after the release of his 1961 book 'Breakfast at Tiffany's.' After the Clutter family are murdered in their Kansas home, Capote becomes fascinated with the case, so much so, he decides to make it the subject of his next book. Together, with his friend and confidante Harper Lee (Catherine Keener,) he begins interviewing the killers Perry Smith (Clifton Collins Jr) and Dick Hicock (Mark Pellegrino.)

As many of you will know by now, I don't care for biopics. I find them overly-long, vague, lacking in tension and bloated e.g The Aviator or Catch me if you Can. But Capote succeeded because instead of telling his life from start to finish, it narrowed in on a very specific part, and, arguably, the most interesting part.

From the off, we are thrust into murky territory as we see our hero Capote coming to form strong relationships with Perry Smith and Dick Hicock, the longer he gets to know them. He begins empathising with them. Although he claims that he just wants to document the facts, the more he investigates, the more there is the chance that he will discover something that could exonerate the pair. Or worse, he may deliberately sabotage the case, so the pair will go free. This conflict kept things moving on nicely. It stopped things from becoming too slow.

Philip Seymour Hoffman won the 2005 Best Actor Oscar for his performance as Truman Capote. It was well-deserved, as unlike his other roles it was wonderfully balanced. We saw many different sides of Capote: the flamboyant party animal, the duplicitous liar keeping the truth from Smith and Hicock, and the quiet, vulnerable man looking for support from his friend Harper Lee.

I have yet to see Hoffman in a role that I haven't liked. Many of the characters he has played have been very sleazy. There is nothing wrong with this; he plays the sleaze well, but I was wondering if he was becoming a one-trick pony. Capote proved this was far from the case.

Catherine Keener was also good as Harper Lee, often acting as Capote's conscience, telling him what he needs to hear, rather than what he wants to hear. Clifton Collins Jr was also good, but I think Mark Pellegrino was thoroughly under-used.

Nonetheless, this film pleasantly surprised me. Who knows? I might become a die-hard biopic fan?

True Grit 1969 Review

 Number 885 on the top 1000 films of all time is Henry Hathaway's 1969 Western 'True Grit.'

Mattie Ross (Kim Darby) is a teenage girl living in Yell County, Arkansas when her father is unjustly killed by outlaw Tom Chaney (Jeff Corey,) she enlists federal marshals Rooster Cogburn (John Wayne) and La Boeuf (Glen Campbell) to bring him to justice. Accompanying them on their mission, Mattie soon forms a close relationship with Rooster and La Boeuf.

For a Western film, I quite enjoyed True Grit. This goes for both the original and the 2010 remake. Generally, I find cowboy films tedious and overly-long *cough cough* Sergio Leone, but True Grit was thoroughly watchable.

One reason was because of Mattie Ross. Just like in the remake, she was far from the typical damsel-in-distress cliche that many women of her era were relegated to, so it was very refreshing to have a character with as much agency and pep as Mattie did. She was a feisty female before that was even a thing. I do think it's a shame they gave her a tomboyish appearance though. She's a woman. Let her look like a woman. The Coen Brothers let Hailee Steinfield look feminine. Why not the same for Kim Darby?

True neither John Wayne or Henry Hathaway thought much about Darby's acting abilities, but I think that was more down to her dialogue. Her lines were so verbose and clunky, it was like she was in My Fair lady having elocution lessons with Rex Harrison. Her actions were also rash and impulsive and drove a lot of the film's conflict, but again that's more her writing than Darby's acting.

John Wayne gave a good spin as the irrascible Rooster Cogburn. It was good that he won the Best Actor Oscar. And I did enjoy his performance. He was a very likeable cinnamon swirl. Robert Duvall was also great as minor villain Ned Pepper. If anything he was better than Jeff Corey's rather simplistic performance as Tom Chaney.

Overall, I enjoyed True Grit more than I thought I would. It had John Wayne giving a great lead performance, a fresh spin on the standard female character and had that glorious cinematography that you would expect from a cowboy film.

Minority Report review

 Number 639 on the top 1000 films of all time is Steven Spielberg's 2002 science-fiction action film Minority Report.

Set in 2054, the Precrime police programme has virtually eliminated all pre-meditated murders in Washington DC. Three clairvoyant humans named 'precogs' including Agatha (Samantha Morton) receive psychic impressions of homicides and are able to alert the police who can stop the crimes before they even happen. One of these police is the Precrime police department chief John Anderton (Tom Cruise,) whose six-year-old son was abducted and never found. When DOJ agent Danny Witwur (Colin Farrell) audits the system, Anderton receives the disturbing news that he is about to kill Leo Crow - a man that he has never met. He quickly goes on the run, as the system he has fought to up-hold slowly turns against him.

Generally, I'm not a fan of science-fiction films. I find that they can be overly-intellectual and pretentious, with their writers being more concerned with showing off how clever they are rather than writing a comprehensible film. However, I think Minority Report struck the balance between intelligent social-commentary and thrilling action. It definitely helped that it had Stephen Spielberg directing it. Minority Report had all the excitement of his most famous blockbusters like Jaws, Jurassic Park and Indiana Jones, but also the thoughtfulness like some of his quieter works such as the Colour Purple.

Perhaps it helped that Minority Report spanned multiple genres. It wasn't just science-fiction, but also a psychological thriller. Sometimes science-fiction can be insufferably dull, slow and boring *cough cough* the remake of Solaris, but the chase element kept this film moving along nicely. John Anderton is against the clock to solve the predicted murder of Leo Crow, before the authorities find and punish him. 

Tom Cruise is well-known for his action-roles which made him the perfect fit for John Anderton. Anderton is your cut-and-dry hero - he is a handsome, law-abiding man accused of a crime that he hasn't committed yet. It isn't the most original of characters, but it didn't have to be. And Cruise did it well.

But no actor is a vacuum and Cruise did have a strong supporting cast. You had Farrell as the slimy villain-turned-unlikely ally Danny Witwur, but also Samantha Morton as the lead precog Agatha. As we learn more about her, we learn all about her tragic past and Morton did well in bringing this tragedy to life. Max Von Sydow was particularly menacing as the precrime director Lamar Burgess and Peter Stormare brought a wonderfully chaotic energy to the sleazy Dr. Solomon Eddie.

Minority Report was certainly an entertaining film. I enjoyed watching it as it perfectly balanced the big questions of science-fiction with the edge-of-the-seat action of a psychological thriller.   

The Aviator review

 Number 835 on the top 1000 films of all time is Martin Scorsesee's biographical drama film 'The Aviator.'

'The Aviator' tells the true story of film and aviation titan Howard Hughes (Leonardo Dicaprio) from his childhood to his rise to a successful film producer and pioneer of the aviation industry, all while documenting his later struggles with severe OCD and germaphobia. 'The Aviator' also explores his relationships with famed actresses Katherine Hepburn (Cate Blanchett) and Ava Gardner (Kate Beckinsale.) Rounding out the cast are notable heavyweights like Ian Holm, Alec Baldwin, Jude Law, Gwen Stefani and Willem Dafoe.

I've never been a fan of period-dramas. I find them overly-long, boring and lacking in drama and tension. This also extends to biopics and historical dramas. The Aviator was no exception. Objectively, I can understand why this would be fascinating subject-matter to some audiences. It is effectively about one of the early cinema pioneers. He produced some of the biggest films of the twenties and thirties including Scarface, the Racket and Hell's Angels. In fact, Hell's Angels and its the ground-breaking practices feature heavily within the Aviator.

Leonardo Dicaprio was Leonardo Dicaprio. He was charismatic enough, as the maverick and eccentric film mogul. He did earn the second of six Oscar nods for his portrayal, ultimately losing to Jamie Foxx who played Ray Charles. Honestly, I did think Jamie Foxx gave a better performance. However, where Leo didn't win an Oscar, Cate Blanchett did. She won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Katherine Hepburn. Again, she was good as far as the role went, but I'm not sure whether it was really Oscar-worthy. The portrayal felt very surface-level. Katherine Hepburn features heavily earlier on, before disappearing for much of the second-act to appear at the end as a Deux-ex-machina figure.

I also didn't think much of Kate Beckinsale who was pretty insipid as Ava Gardner or perhaps that's because she didn't have the best material. She didn't have that much to do throughout the film except be the target of Hughes' paranoid delusions.

Don't get me wrong, there were some great sequences in this film: Hughes catastrophically crashing his plane was heart-pounding, edge-of-the-seat stuff, while the portrayal of his declining mental health was well-directed and acted out. Dicaprio and Scorsesee worked extensively with UCLA's Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz aiming to portray OCD and germaphobia as accurately as possible ... although I may argue that Hughes recovered from this nadir a little too easily. Surely, it would take more than just a pep-talk from your old flames. But I guess that's just Hollywood.

The Aviator was entertaining enough, but, personally I don't much care for biopics or period-dramas. And that's more to do with me than any criticism of Scoresee or the Aviator itself.

Stalag 17 review

 Number 202 on the top 1000 films of all time is Billy Wilder's 1953 war-film Stalag-17.

J.J Sefton (William Holden) is just one of six hundred and thirty sergeants being held prisoner in a German WW2 POW camp. He is a cynical, jaded loner who stays apart from the rest of his men. When an escape attempt that leads to two of his fellow prisoners being shot dead, he is quickly suspected of being a collaborator.

Admittedly, I wasn't looking forward to watching this. I thought that because it's a war film, it would be depressing, hard-going and difficult to watch. However, I was surprised to find it had plenty of laughs and light-heartedness. A lot of that was down to William Holden who was great as J.J Sefton. Sefton is your standard wise-cracking smart-arse. He is also enterprising often bartering with his guards for luxuries, as well as improvising a distillery, organising mouse-races for gambling, as well as other activities to keep the other prisoners entertained. Holden played the role well, stopping Sefton from becoming overly-cynical.

Billy wilder has done such a wide array of films over the years from noir to rom-coms to screwball comedies that it was no surprise that Stalag-17 succeeded in the way it did. It had the same off-beat humour as Some Like it Hot but also the drama of Sunset Boulevard.  Originally adapted from a stage-play, Wilder was able to keep that same theatrical feel, while making it suitable for the screen. He made everything bigger and better.

If the film fell down anywhere, it would have been the supporting cast. Although some of them like the German guards were funny in their own right, mostly they all blended into one. I did have trouble distinguishing the different characters. I did get mixed up between Lieutenant James Dunbar (Don Taylor) and security officer Frank Price (Peter Graves.) Other than Sefton, the only other character I really remember is Sefton's loyal, if naive aide Cookie (Gil Stratton) who also narrates the film.

Overall, I did enjoy Stalag-17. It was an entertaining war film with a great turn by William Holden.

Babel review

 Number 833 on the top 1000 films of all time is the Alejandro Gonzalez-Inarritu's psychological drama Babel.

Babel spans four separate yet inter-locking narratives across the US, Mexico, Morocco and Japan. Chieko Wataya (Rinko Kikuchi) is a deaf-and-dumb Japanese teenage girl who has a strained relationship with her father Yasujiro (Koji Yakusho.) Yasujiro, while hunting in Morocco bequeaths his rifle to his guide who in turn sells it to goatherder Abdullah, whose goats are being attacked by jackals. He sends his two sons Yusuf (Boubker Ait El Caid) and Ahemd (Said Tarchani) to tend to the herd with the new rifle.

Tragedy strikes when the two boys fire at a tour bus containing married couple Richard (Brad Pitt) and Susan (Cate Blanchett.) Having marital problems, they travel to Morocco leaving their children in the care of their Mexican nanny Amelia (Adriana Barraza.) When the two are unable to return in time for Amelia to attend her nephew's wedding in Mexico, she goes anyway, taking the children with her.

This is definitely one of the more depressing films I've seen on this list. It was a downbeat, bittersweet, yet powerful tale about the consequences of us not communicating with each other. The title 'Babel' is an obvious reference to the Tower of Babel. Angry at humans for trying to construct a tower to reach heaven, God made it that so none of them could no longer speak the same language.

But poor Chieko could not speak at all. Rendered deaf and dumb from the trauma of discovering her mother's dead body, she struggles in relating to the outside world. Rinko Kikachi was very good at portraying a young lady trying and failing to find any type of connection. She was a relatable character. At one point or another, I'm sure we've all felt like we haven't fit in somewhere. Although her narrative is the least-connected to the rest of the plot it was one of the most powerful.

From here, we go to Morocco. The young and immature boys Ahmed and Yussuf being eager to try the range of the rifle, nonchalantly fire at a tour bus. When they realise they may have killed somebody, the two orchestrate a web of lies, which only leads to more tragedy.

Enter Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. Blanchett plays Susan who was subsequently shot by Yussuf. She was good in what little she had to do, but she was largely under-used. Brad Pitt impressed me though. Instead of being the suave action hero, he was a grieving husband trying to fix his marriage. It was the most mature I have ever seen him.

Finally, we've come to poor Amelia who makes one innocent mistake with disastrous consequences. Adriana Barraza was great in the role rightly earning an Oscar nod. It clear that Amelia is a loving, empathetic woman who never wanted any harm to come to her words, yet that's exactly what happened. I do find it strange that neither Adriana Barraza or Rinko Kikachi didn't receive star billing yet their male co-stars did. These two were just as integral to the plot as Brad Pitt or Koji Yashuko.

Multi-narratives with ensemble casts can often be difficult to follow, but Inarritu did a good job in navigating the various complexities. It was a good idea to pick four different countries with four different cultures and languages. That certainly gave each section a distinctive look.

Along with Amores Perros and 21 Grams, Babel is part of Initarru's death trilogy. Although all three films make use of the hyperlink narrative structure, I do think Babel does it the best. I would also argue it's the best of the three. With the film's central theme being communication, I will end on a pertinent quotation by Stephen Hawking:

"For millions of years, mankind lived just like the animals, but then something happened that unleashed the power of our imaginations: we learned to talk....It doesn't have to be like this. All we need to do is make sure we keep talking."

House of Flying Daggers review

 Number 748 on the top 1000 films of all time is the Wuxia romance film 'House of Flying Daggers.'

At the end of China's Tang Dynasty, there is a power vacuum. Within that vacuum, multiple groups are vying for power. One of these is the House of Flying Daggers who are battling against the corrupt Fengtian government. Leo (Andy Lau) and Jin (Takeshi Kaneshiro) are tasked with finding and killing the mysterious leader of this group. To aid him, Jin pretends to befriend Mei (Zhang Ziyi,) the blind daughter of the leader, to gain her trust, all while being pursued by government forces. But then the two fall in love and everything changes.

There is no denying that House of Flying Daggers is a technically beautiful film. From the cinematography to the choreography to the colour palate to the gorgeous original score, it was a sensory feast. Yes, the martial art sequences do push your suspension of disbelief, but that's all part of the fun. Considering it was directed by Zhang Yimou who also directed Hero, this should come as no surprise. Hero was also a visually stunning film. 

Of course it helped when you have an actress as talented as Zhang Ziyi. As well as acting she is an accomplished singer and dancer which helped her execute a brilliant dance sequence at the film's beginning.

It's just a shame that the actual storyline couldn't match the technical heights. House of Flying Daggers was intended to be more of a romance than a wuxia film, but it failed in both regards. It doesn't count as a romance and it shouldn't have been marketed as such. By convention, romances should end with the love interests having a happy ever after or a happy for now. *Spoiler alert* That doesn't happen at all. 

And as it was a romance, you would expect it to be interesting, but the love story was so dull. Rather than solely being between Mei and Jin, Leo is also involved. He was previously engaged with Leo and has loved her for years. But when she falls in love with Jin after only three days, Leo becomes dangerously jealous. Cue a rather tepid love-triangle that culminates in a cheesy, unsatisfying conclusion. 

*More spoilers* 

It is later revealed that Mei was only pretending to be blind. But this also subplot confused me, as it was frustratingly inconsistent. At times Mei seemed to have perfect eyesight, but at others she was stumbling and fumbling around. It's implied that she has extra-sharp, super-human senses, hence why she can survive elaborate fight scenes without drawing blood. Having said that, most of the characters had some very strong plot-armour. And that added to the dullness. There was no tension or stakes as these characters seemed virtually indestructible. 

I would have much preferred to have watched a film about the different factions warring for power in the Tsang dynasty. Hell, I would have enjoyed watching the House of Flying Daggers battling against the corrupt government. Instead, I got a boring, tepid love story set against a visually stunning backdrop.

The Fifth Element Review

 Number 669 on the top 1000 films of all time is Luc Besson's 1997 science-fiction action film 'The Fifth Element.'

Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis) is a former army major and now taxi driver in 23rd century Earth. He receives an unexpected fare when Leeloo (Milla Jovovich) falls through the roof of his cab. It is revealed that she is the fifth element needed to safeguard the survival of the human race against an evil alien entity hell-bent on destroying the Earth. It's up to Dallas to bring her and the four other elements together before the planet is attacked. Ian Holm, Gary Oldman and Chris Tucker all co-star.

Luc Besson had a very specific vision when he created The Fifth Element. Rather than emulating the dingy, techno-dystopias of Blade Runner, he wanted a bright, vibrant and colourful world. That's why The Fifth Element has such eye-popping visuals and off-beat humour. In many ways, it seemed like a low-budget, science-fiction B-movie. Even for the 90's the special effects didn't look great. 

Rather than being depressing and downbeat, everything was over-the-top. And that's why I didn't like the film very much. Bruce Willis was just Bruce Willis. Korben Dallas was not unlike John Mclane - just another wise-cracking ex-military guy who becomes an unlikely hero. He certainly didn't bring anything other than a cheesy energy to the part. I don't think he had much chemistry with Milla Jovovich. 

And if we're talking about cheesiness, let's mention Chris Tucker. His performance has been divisive to say the least. Some critics liked him others hated him. I am in the latter category. He was so over-the-top to be completely annoying. Every time he was on screen I rolled my eyes. His character was just ridiculously loud and obnoxious. I guess he was supposed to be a comic relief character of sorts, but I didn't find him very funny.

I was also very disappointed with Gary Oldman. He played the film's villain Jean-Baptise Emanuel Zorg - an industrialist pawn working for the entity that wants to destroy Earth. But Oldman wasn't particularly villainous or scary or malevolent. He had no threat to his character. Perhaps that was because of how he spoke with a rather inconsistent Southern American drawl or he was just as over-the-top as Chris Tucker. It was very difficult to take Zorg seriously as a villain. His performance was a far cry from his excellent effort in Leon: the Professional - also directed by Luc Besson.

The film's saving grace was Milla Jovovich who was very charming as the eponymous fifth element Leeloo. She brought a great chaotic energy to the role, as well as a lot of humour. And unlike Chris Tucker, she was actually funny.

Overall, I wasn't impressed by the Fifth Element. From its b-film visuals to its over-the-top performances, it wasn't for me at all.