Ten films that will be on IMDB's next list of the top 1000 films of all time

 I started watching IMDB's original list in 2015. Almost a decade later, I am 620 films deep. I don't know when the original list was released, but presumably 2015, as there is only one film from that year on the list.  Although I don't quite understand why, but there aren't any films from 2014.

In this list I will count down ten films released from 2014 onwards that are so good they will surely appear on IMDB's next iteration of the top 1000 films of all time. As usual, this list is in no other order but chronology.

Whiplash (2014)

Damian Chazelle directed this stunner of a film. Only two years later, he went onto become the youngest winner of the Best Director Oscar. It is no surprise as his depiction of a relationship between a tyrannical music teacher and his student is cinema at its best.

JK Simmons and Miles Teller are brilliant in the lead roles with JK Simmons taking home a much-deserved Best Supporting Actor Oscar. This film is all about a teacher putting his student to be the absolute best whatever the cost. It was a rollercoaster that will leave you with whiplash in more ways than one.

Manchester by the Sea (November 2016)

This isn't the first time I've mentioned this film on one of my listicles. It also appeared on my list of films too traumatic to watch again. It is a damn depressing film. Considering it follows a man coming to terms with losing his family in a house fire, this is no surprise really. It is a poignant if heart-breaking examination of the different ways that we handle grief.

Casey Affleck plays the tragic husband and father in a role that won him an Oscar. This is a powerful if depressing film that would not be out of place on an updated list of the top 1000 films of all time.

Star Wars: Rogue One (December 2016)

It wouldn't be controversial to say that Disney's new saga of Star Wars films have been polarising. But with five films to pick from one of them has to make the list.

That film should be Rogue One: the best out of the bunch. It is a grittier realisation of the Star Wars universe: albeit it still has some comedic elements, but overall, it is much darker. It also takes some brave creative risks that separate it from the other Star Wars films.

Yes, the age-regression CGI looks dodgy, but the Darth Vader sequence at the end was enough to excite even a casual fan like me.

Blackkklansman (August 2018)

It is all too easy to dismiss the United States' obsession with race relations as a perversion. But when you see films like Blackkklansman, you can see the US' troubled relationship with race over the years.

Spike Lee tells the true story of Ron Stallworth (John David Washington) a black cop who infiltrates the KKK in the seventies with the help of his Jewish colleague Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver.) Washington and Driver are both absolutely fantastic in his film that brings new life to a hackneyed conversation - a conversation that was particularly prescient considering the context of Charlottesville.

Green Book (November 2018)

America's examination of race continues in this superlative film. It won the Best Picture Oscar with some arguing it didn't deserve that award. Critics said it was too derivative of older films like Driving Miss Daisy, as well as failing to consult the families of the people it was portraying like Don Shirley.

Yet it is still a much better film than 2005's Crash which engages with similar themes and also controversially won the Best Picture Oscar.

Viggo Mortenson and Mahershala Ali were great in the lead roles with Ali winning a much-deserved Oscar. This is an excellent, feel-good film that shows you there is still hope for everyone.

Joker (October 2019)

It is no secret that I am not a fan of comic book/super hero films. I never have been. But Joker is a far cry from the campy 60's TV shows or the CGI, special-effect heavy films that have dominated so much of the noughties and 2010s.

It is a dark, gritty re-imagining of one of Batman's most compelling villains. Director Todd Philips shows exactly what can happen when people are pushed past their limits in frightening fashion. Joaquin Phoenix earned a long-overdue Oscar for playing the Crown Prince of Crime. But this wans't just a legacy win. He was a true marvel.

El Hoyo (The Platform) (November 2019)

This is a Spanish Netflix release that took the streaming service by storm. Considering how the original IMDB list loves its kooky, science-fiction/dystopian films, I think El Hoyo would fit in perfectly in an updated version of its list.

Goreng wakes up to find himself prisoner in a vertical tower block. The prisoners are fed via floating platform covered in a feast of food that stops at each level for a couple minutes before moving onto the next one. The catch? The food isn't replenished from top to bottom meaning that the upper levels gorge while the lower levels starve.

Beyond the obvious moral message, El Hoyo also hosts a range of interesting characters who all have their own stories to follow.

Help (2021)

This British film stars the incredible actor Stephen Graham, as well as the equally fantastic Jodie Comer. Help was a TV film that follows care worker Sarah (Jodie Comer) as she struggles working in a care home during the pandemic. Stephen Graham plays one of her patients - Tony - a man with early-onset dementia.

I similarly worked in a care home all through Covid so this film hit me hard. I'm not afraid to say it made me cry. It was a gut-wrenching but magnificent piece of film-making.

Boiling Point (January 2022)

Another British film starring Stephen Graham! Here he plays a struggling head chef at a prestigious London restaurant in this one-take Netflix release. This film had an absolutely terrific energy that made it difficult to look away for a second.

It highlights every single element that goes into creating a successful restaurant service from the cooking to the dish-washing to the serving. We quickly understand that every single college is essential. Without them, the whole system collapses. The whole cast is great, but so is writer-director Philip Barantini for creating a set of characters where everybody is interesting.

Everything Everywhere All At Once (March 2022)

The final film I will mention was one of the biggest films of 2022. It received critical acclaim as well as a whole bunch of awards including seven Oscars. It is a powerful film that is funny, tragic, amazing and heart-warming.

This mind-bending science-fiction film follows Chinese-American immigrant Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) as she navigates her family life and the multiverse. The film's surreal, complicated storytelling is certainly not for everyone, but Michelle Yeoh and Key Huy Quan gave performances that earned them well-deserved Oscars. I may argue that Stephanie Hsu deserved the Best Supporting Actress Oscar over her co-star Jamie Lee Curtis, but maybe that's just me.

That's my list. I freely admit that by having spent so many years dogmatically wading through IMDB's original list, I am at least ten years behind on popular films. Have I missed any out? Let me know in the comments below.

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring review

 Number 233 on the top 1000 films of all time is the Korean drama 'Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring.'

The film is set in a Korean Buddhist monastery exploring the relationship between the unnamed apprentice (Kim Young-Min) and his unnamed master (O Yeong-Su.) We see the apprentice grow from a little boy into a man with each stage of his life being reflected in one of the seasons mentioned in the title.

Christ, this was a tedious film. Maybe I'm just not spiritually enlightened, as this film heavily leant on Buddhist imagery. However, most of the allusions and symbology went straight over my head. Cats and roosters feature heavily, but I missed out on their significance.

This was because I was bored senseless. This film was so slow. Very little action happens on-screen. We could have seen the apprentice killing his wife's lover or a mysterious mother falling through the ice, but we don't. That would have only been too interesting.

Instead, we were treated to extensive sequences of men standing around, looking pensive, often in complete silence. We don't even get any music to interest us.  Sure the scenery was pretty, but not pretty enough to make up for such a monotonous film. Yes, you get slow-burners, but this wasn't even alight.

It would have helped if we had an interesting likeable main character to follow, but we didn't. From the start, it is obvious that our novice monk has a few screws loose. As a child, he takes delight by tying rocks to a frog, snake and a fish. When he discovers that he is responsible for the snake and frog later dying, he feels guilty and starts crying. Yet that doesn't excuse that psychotic behaviour. Considering he goes onto kill a man, I'm not being hyperbolic.

Yes, his master punishes him tying a rock around him, but that doesn't make him any more likeable. He doesn't get any more likeable when he grows up and falls in love with a woman who arrives at the monastery needing to be cured from a mysterious illness. In the process, he begins a physical relationship with her, breaking his vows in the process. After his master sends her away, our apprentice becomes the world's biggest whinger. He later attempts suicide, but even something as dramatic as this was so boring to watch. It was no more interesting watching his master go a similar route later on.

I'm honestly surprised that I had this much to say about this film. It was so boring that I was shocked that I didn't fall asleep in the first half hour. 

Boiling Point (2022) review

 This 2021 British release is six years too young to appear on IMDB's 2015 edition of the top 1000 films of all time.

Andy (Stephen Graham) is a head chef of a top London restaurant during one busy service. We get a day in the life both he and his team including his sous-chef Carly (Vinette Robinson) and the Maitre-D Beth (Alice Feetham.)

Boiling Point is a one-take film. There aren't any cuts anywhere, as such it has a brilliant energy that keeps the film so engrossing to watch. Day-in-the-life films could have the tendency to be boring or repetitive but that was far from the case here. The action always remained urgent and immediate.

In many ways, it stayed true to what it must be like to work in a kitchen. Thankfully, I never have done, but I have heard the stories. I know that it is a stressful, fast-paced environment. That is especially true of Boiling Point where personalities clash and some big mistakes are made.

Stephen Graham was excellent as the over-stressed head-chef juggling a nasty divorce and his intense job. Meanwhile, he is hiding a dark secret. He is a brilliant actor who is so versatile. This is the same man who plays a gangster in Boardwalk Empire, a soldier in Band of Brothers, a white nationalist in this is England and a prison office in Time.

Yet he can't take all the credit, as there were no weak links in the cast. Boiling Point succeeded b making all its characters interesting. Even though some have more screentime than others, I found myself caring about all of Andy's kitchen brigade from the porters to the pastry chefs.

And we also see the struggles of the front-of-house staff as waitresses Robyn (Aine Rose Daly) and Andrea (Lauryn Ajufo.) have to deal with the rudest (and in Andrea's case) racist customers. For many service staff who deals with these Karens on a daily basis, I'm sure these scenes hit far too close to home. And these customers were Karens to the extreme from telling Andrea how to pour wine and demanding that their roast lamb be cooked well done when it is traditionally served rare.

Meanwhile, there are other customers - or, rather, influencers with ten thousand followers who think they're too good for the restaurant's elegant menu, instead asking for steak and chips. Maitre'D Beth is only too happy to oblige which only puts more stresses on the kitchen. There's so much going on that there is never a dull moment. It's all a pressure cooker waiting to explode.

And that comes in Carly's evisceration of Beth. Both actresses shone especially Alice Feetham who is forced to keep herself from crying despite having her arse handed to her. It's a brilliant little scene.

And that is a perfect way to summarise Boiling Point. Think of it as a ten-course tasting menu where we have a collection of little dishes that wouldn't be much on their own, but come together to create a delicious meal.

El Hoyo (The Platform) November 2019 review

 This 2019 dystopian film is again too modern to feature on IMDB's list of the top 1000 films of all time.

Goreng (Ivan Massague) wakes up one day to find himself in a tower-like holding facility. He and the other inmates are fed once a day via a floating platform that is covered in a banquet of food which stops at each level for a short period of time. The catch? The food isn't replenished between the levels meaning the that inmates above gorge while those below starve.

I think this film would fit perfectly within a new iteration of IMDB's famous list. It is obvious that its audiences love its experimental science-fiction films: you only need to look at entries like Brazil, Cube and Dark City. 

However, El Hoyo, or the Platform, as it is known to international audiences, succeeds where these other films fail is that it finds a way to balance its big ideas with its interesting characters. The theme of greed is the most obvious - if the prisoners only ate what they needed then there would be enough for everyone. Inevitably, that does not happen, as some people can go days or weeks without eating, before they're lucky enough to be randomly assigned to a higher level.

Director Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia also wanted to explore the theme of the distribution of wealth, as well as critiquing capitalism and socialism. Administrator Imoguiri (Antonia San Juan) aims to change the system from within by convincing everybody to only eat what they need and to leave rations for those below. yet her plans are foiled by the selfish desires of the other inmates.

Despite his initial cynicism, Goreng tries to help her achieve her ultimately futile goal. He later meets and helps other characters like Miharu (Alexandra Masangkay) who is looking for her lost child and Baharat (Emilio Buale) who is looking to escape. Every character is interesting, as they all have their own desires and goals.

Ivan Massingue was great as the everyman Goreng who follows a satisfactory hero's arc despite being stuck in a nightmarish reality. Despite being best-known for comedy, he was convincing in a more dramatic role.

Granted things become surreal in the ending, but this was still an intense if harrowing look into a dystopian world. 

Joker (October 2019) Review

 Having come out in October 2019, Todd Philips' Joker is too young to feature on IMDB's top 1000 films of all time, but I am sure it will feature on the next iteration of this list.

Joker provides a re-imagined origin story for the Clown Prince of Crime. It follows Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), a mentally-ill clown and stand-up comedian who goes through a dark journey into becoming the titular Joker. We see his descent into insanity as he navigates the dark underbelly of Gotham City. Robert De Niro and Zazie Beets co-star.

I've never been a fan of superhero films. In the Marvel/DC debate, I pick neither. I tried watching the MCU, but I got bored by the Age of Ultron. I've seen fewer DC films, but that's done little to convince me of joining their side. IMDB obviously disagree with me as the Dark Knight features at number four and you will find the various other superhero films scattered throughout the list.

I had low expectations going into Joker; I thought it would be the usual mess of CGI, gun fights and explosions, but I couldn't have been more wrong. Joker was a masterful psychological thriller exploring what happens when you push a nice man over the edge. It is a far cry from the campy 60's Batman and Robin TV series - tonally closer to the gritty, dark world that Christopher Nolan created in his Dark Knight trilogy.

And just like Heath Ledger, Joaquin Phoenix won a well-deserved Oscar for the role. It was a phenomenal performance, as he brought a scarily-human element to his role. His version of the Joker isn't a gangster or an anarchist, but an everyman who is pushed to his limit. He becomes a symbol for revolution inspiring the down-trodden underclasses to rise up.

Considering Todd Philips is better known for his comedies like the Hangover franchise, it is impressive that he created such an intimate character study which is simultaneously fascinating and terrifying. The Joker could be any one of us. In may ways, he became a mouth piece for our deepest, most-repressed thoughts.

Critics of Joker have said that it is too derivative of previous films such as Martin Scorsesee's Taxi Driver or the King of Comedy - both of which also star Robert De Niro. However, Scorsesee certainly did not pioneer the dark, mysterious loner. I don't think Todd Philips so much ripped off Taxi Driver but was actually inspired by it.

I did touch on Joaquin Phoenix before, but he gave an excellent performance, highlighting why he is one of the most versatile actors working in Hollywood today. You could argue that he should have won an Oscar before now, but Joker was certainly not a legacy win. He earned that award.

Yes, Joker has its critics, but that's only natural. As Frank Sinatra sings throughout the film: "that's life!" 

Star Wars: Rogue One (2016) review

 Set just before the events of Star Wars: A New Hope, Rogue One follows a group of rebels plotting to steal the schematics of the Empire's Death Star in the hopes of finding a fatal weakness. The rebels include renegade Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), Rebel captain and spy, Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), blind warrior monk Chirrut Imwe (Donnie Yen), Chirrut's friend and mercenary Baze Malbus (Jiang Wen) and droid K-2SO (Alan Tudyk).

There is no denying that Star Wars is one of the biggest media franchises in history. The three original films all feature highly on IMDB's list of the top 1000 films of all time with the Empire Strikes Back ranking at 13 and A New Hope at 19. Even the Revenge of the Sith features far lower down on the list. 

But it is difficult to deny that Disney has butchered its attempts at reviving the franchise. Even a casual fan like me can acknowledge that the sequel trilogy are pretty flawed. I am doubtful whether any of their films will appear on an updated version of the aforementioned list that has become my obsession to complete. The only exception would be the anthology film of Rogue One. 

In Rogue One, director Gareth Edwards had the bravery to take the franchise into a darker, unknown territory. For one, it foregoes the opening crawl and transition wipes that has become mainstay of the franchise. Furthermore, the light-hearted whimsy has been substituted for a far starker tonal shift. True, in the Last Jedi, Rian Johnson also tried taking risks, but J.J. Abrams walked most of these back in The Rise of Skywalker. However, the nature of Rogue One meant that nobody could undermine Gareth Edwards' bold direction.

Principally, Rogue One, addresses on of the biggest plot holes that has haunted the original Star Wars films - how could the omnipotent, omniscient Galactic Empire overlook such a vital flaw within their Death Star unless that flaw was disguised as a clever part of sabotage. Cue Mads Mikklesen who stars as Galen Erso - the architect of the Death Star.

He is arguably the biggest name in this film. In line with the previous films, Edwards eschewed casting Hollywood A-listers for lesser-known actors like Diego Luna, Felicity Jones, Donnie Yen and Alan Tudyk. Yet they all brought different elements to their roles especially Donnie Yen who played the blind monk Chirrut Imwe. Again contrasting with the previous films, the Jedi do not play a large role in Rogue One. Alan Tudyk is also great as the comic relief character of K-2SO.

Sure, there are some who would argue that Rogue One is derivative of previous Star Wars films, but I would argue those fans are blinded by nostalgia. In Return of the Jedi, the Galactic Empire are building a second even more powerful Death Star that has the same flaw at the first. And it is doubtful that Galen Erso designed this flaw. If you think about it, it's as stupid as the "somehow Palpatine returned" line.

Another reason why Rogue One is so brave is that is take the bold decision of 

*spoilers alert*

killing all its main characters. The principle cast who we've all grown to love all die at the end of the film. All of them. This would be unusual in any Hollywood film, let alone a Star Wars film. It's certainly a contrast to the cheesy medal ceremony at the end of a New Hope. In fact, the ending of Rogue One is so striking, as it is a rare showcase of the bad guys winning.

Yes, our heroes do get the plans to a CGI'ed Princess Leia, but they all die in the process. That CGI was weird though. It was freaky seeing the deceased Peter Cushion and Carrie Fisher being resurrected by some type of de-aging computer technology. Considering how Star Wars  was so pioneering in its special effects, it is peculiar that the CGI looked so dodgy here.

Anyway, while I don't think that the Force Awaken, the Last Jedi or the Rise of Skywalker would make it onto an updated list of IMDB's top 1000 films, Rogue One surely would even if for the epic Darth Vader sequence at the end. You know the one I mean.

Whiplash (2014) review

 Whiplash was received in 2014. Despite how I started watching IMDB's list of the top 1000 films of all time in 2014, Whiplash did not earn a place. Considering how it received critical acclaim, three Oscars and countless other awards, this was a true mystery.

Whiplash focusses on Andrew Neiman (Miles Teller) an aspiring jazz drummer who comes under the tutelage of the tyrannical Terence Fletcher (JK Simmons) who is determined to make Andrew as good as he can be regardless of the consequences.

Whiplash is an incredible film that is all about how far we'll push ourselves to reach artistic perfection. this notion is no better exemplified than with the brutal Terence Fletcher who takes the idea of the ends justifying the means to a whole new other level. He is a different villain than you typically see in cinema. he isn't a serial killer dressing up as his mother nor is he a giant shark eating everything in its path, but a mere teacher pushing their students to reach their potential by any means necessary. If he pushes a student too far, then that's their problem. They obviously weren't good enough.

He is a one-hundred percent human which is what makes him so scary. That is only elevated by JK Simmons' Oscar-winning performance. Whether on the big or small screen, he is magnificent. Fletcher is an intense role, but Simmons made him one of the most believable and memorable villains of the twenty-first century.

Of course, we can't forget his co-star Miles Teller who was brilliant as Andrew Neiman. Neiman quickly falls under Fletcher's spell, as he is determined to prove himself at any cost. Teller encapsulates the single-minded determination that some people have in achieving their goals. In many cases, he drums until his hands are blistered and bleeding.

Having said that, the film was not perfect. I did not like the ending. *Spoiler alert*

After Fletcher pushes Neiman too far, he rats on him and gets him fired from his job. Later on, they meet again and everything is seemingly fine. Fletcher invites Neiman to perform with his band at the JVC Festival. But this is all a ruse! Fletcher knows that Neiman got him fired. In revenge, he humiliates him by giving him different sheet music to the rest of the band. After a disastrous performance, Neiman storms off stage. But by sabotaging Neiman, Fletcher is sabotaging himself. Surely, this all reflects badly on Fletcher himself? The audience and judges don't know that Neiman was unwittingly playing the wrong music. They don't know that Fletcher was sabotaging him. All they know is that a band leader screwed up by giving his drummer the wrong music.

That aside, Damian Chazelle showed his early promise as a director. He created a thrilling and captivating examination of the complicated relationship between teacher and student. Only a few years later, he would become the youngest recipient of the Best Director Oscar for his film La La Land.

But it all started here. This film was a rollercoaster that will definitely leave you with whiplash (pun intended.)

Frailty review

 Number 963 on the top 1000 films of all time is Bill Paxton's 2001 psychological thriller 'Frailty.'

An adult Adam Meiks (Matthew McConaughey) wanders into an FBI office and confesses to agent Wesley Doyle (Powers Boothe) that his brother Fenton is the mysterious "God's Hand" killer. Afterwards, he recounts how as children, he and Fenton were subjected to their father's (played by Bill Paxton) twisted delusion about how he was on a mission from God to kill demons disguised as normal people.

Spoilers to follow

Frailty marked Bill Paxton's directorial debut. It was certainly creepy and thrilling with a great performance from Matthew  McConaughey, but it was all predicated on a rather flimsy premise. Bill Paxton's character says that he was randomly visited by an angel sending him on a mission to rid the world of its demons.

I found this less than convincing. Yes, he is a single father and widower, but I saw little to suggest that he would just snap like this. His character was missing some much--needed backstory as to why he would become a deluded serial killer. It might have made more sense if he was under a lot of stress, but we can see that he has a happy and healthy relationship with his two sons. Furthermore, there isn't any distinct catalyst that pushes him over the edge. While fixing a car at work, an angel randomly appears in a vision telling him to kill demons and he's all like "yeah, sure thing."

Things remain unconvincing as the story heads toward a conclusion that seemed like it was being too clever for its own good. In my summary, I identified Matthew McCongaughey's character as Adam, but this is only revealed at the film's ending. Hitherto, we were led to believe that he is actually Fenton who is reporting on his brother's murders. As children, their father's madness drives a wedge between the two brothers with Adam becoming his father's disciple and Fenton his opponent.

This culminates in Fenton ultimately killing his father rather than continuing to participate in the murders. We assume that his dad uses his dying breath to tell Adam to continue his legacy, which he does to some extent, but it is later revealed that the God's Hand murders are completely unrelated. This made little sense. Why have two different sets of murders? Surely, it was more logical for Adam to only be investigated for the demon killings.

Sure this film was entertaining, if rather joyless, but it was certainly not without its flaws.

Paris, je t'aime

 Number 618 on the top 1000 films of all time is the anthology film 'Paris je T'aime.'

Paris, je t'aime is a collection of eighteen short films all set in Paris and exploring the theme of love. Each film has its own director and cast. Directors include the Coen Brothers, Alfonso Cuaron and Gerald Depardieu. Some cast members include Maggie Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman, Steve Buscemi, Rufus Sewell and Emily Mortimer.

In a film containing eighteen short films, it is inevitable that some would be better than others and that was certainly the case here. However, it didn't always come down to overall quality, but ]how some of the films were structured. Some of them were full stories with a beginning, middle and the end. Others just seemed to have a beginning. They left me asking "is that it?"

The obvious example is director Gurinda Chadha's short film: Quais de Seine where a young man befriends a Muslim woman. The short film centres on the beginning of their friendship and that's where it ends. Obviously, it is only a short film, but I think it could have explored their relationship further.

The same could be said for Le Marais where a Frenchman speaks candidly to a new colleague believing he has found a kindred spirit. This story could have used a bit more foundation to have been truly effective. It had a good middle and ending, but the beginning needed more work.

Out of the eighteen films, I have three favourites: Tuileres by the Coen Brothers which starred Steve Buscemi as an American tourist who breaks the cardinal rule of never looking at somebody on the Paris Metro. It had all the trademark surrealism and humour that we would expect to see from the Coen Brothers. Secondly, there was Alfonso Cuaron's one-take Parc Monceau focussing on the relationship between an older man (Nick Nolte) and younger woman Ludivine Sagnier which was topped off with a clever twist, and the emotionally powerful Place Des Victories where a young mother comes to terms with her son's death.

The nature of an anthology film means that it allows different directors to interpret the theme of love in so many different ways. This led to some truly creative and kooky ideas. No more so than with Quartier de la Madeline which saw Elijah Wood falling in love with a vampire. It was a wonderful exercise in creativity.

Overall, Paris Je T'aime is an entertaining if uneven collection of stories set in the city of love.

Heathers review

 Number 932 on the top 1000 films of all time is the teen black-comedy 'Heathers.'

Veronika (Winona Ryder) is part of a high-school clique consisting of three girls all called Heather: Heather Duke (Shannon Doherty,) Heather McNamara (Lisanne Falk) and Heather Chandler (Kim Walker.) The same time she realises that her friends are ruthless bullies, she falls in love with the mysterious outsider JD (Christian Slater0 who has a plot to kill all the popular kids in school.

How to describe this film? Natural Born Killers set in a high school. But instead of the psychopathic Mickey and Mallory Knox, we have JD and the naive Veronika who he manipulates into being his unwitting accomplice.

In creating this film, director Michael Lehmann wanted to portray a darker side to high-school by turning the standard coming-of-age drama on its head. He certainly succeeded there. JD is a long way from Ferris Bueller. He is a damn sight creepier too although I'm not sure whether that was the character or Christian Slater. Seriously. JD is what I would imagine Klebold or Harris being like...

Although I think a more accurate comparison could be the Moors Murderers or Paul Bernado and Karla Homolka. However, the key difference is that Veronika quickly wisens up to JD's true agenda and decides to confront him.

In Heathers, Winona Rider was urr riding her success in Beetlejuice - a wave she continued riding throughout the nineties. She was good as Veronika who was perhaps the most self-aware character and perhaps the only character who wasn't some distorted stereotype. Christian Slater leaned too heavily into the moody outsider while the football players were overly-simplistic as well as the group of nerds they bullied. Yet, the Heathers knew exactly what they were doing, but they still weren't much more than your standard mean girls.

Heathers is also clever in its dissection of contemporary society - particularly with the romanticisation of suicide. Suicide is a recurring theme and we see how it affects different people in different ways. In some ways, Lehmann satirises this dark theme through his comical approach to it. But despite this satire, it is still treated with the respect it deserves.

Heathers was certainly an effective way to deconstruct the coming-of-age films that directors like Justin James Hughes made famous. It's just a shame that Christian Slater was so damn creepy.

Top ten times the Academy got it wrong

 By now you should that I have some hot takes about the films that appear on IMDB's top 1000 films of all time. You can check out my lists on some of the most overrated films ever.  But the hot takes don't stop there, as I will be counting the top times that the Academy got it wrong whether that's awarding or even nominating a film or an actor or actress. This list is in no order but chronology.

Dances with Wolves (1990)

Number 333 on the top 1000 films is Kevin Costner's epic Western 'Dances with Wolves.' Yet that isn't its only accolade for it also won the 1991 Best Film Oscar.

Yes, you read that correctly. It beat the likes of Goodfellas and Awakenings to win the Academy's most prestigious award. How? This three-hour long film is beyond tedious. Costner's wooden performance did nothing to help matters at all. And to all the critics saying it contains a white saviour complex, I challenge you to stay awake long enough to provide evidence of that. If it were up to me, then I would award the Oscar to Awakenings. Both Robert De Niro and Robin Williams excelled in that.

JFK (1991)

Oliver Stone's epic political thriller ranks 306 on the top 1000 films of all time. It focusses on the investigation following the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

Again, it stars Kevin Costner. Again, it is a three-hour snooze-fest. Thankfully, it didn't receive a Best Picture Oscar, but it was still nominated. Why? It is a bloated, over-long, unfocussed affair that is bursting to the brim with absolutely anything that is related to the Kennedy case. It quite rightly lost to the Silence of the Lambs, but it shouldn't have been in the running in the first place.

The Thin Red Line (1998)

Terrence Malik directed this Vietnam war-film to 694th on the top 1000 films and to a Best Picture nomination. But just like JFK, I am puzzled as to why it was nominated.

It is just plain pretentious. Malik seemed more interested in philosophising and arty camerawork than in telling an interesting story. It's a war film, right? So, why don't we see any war happening?

It is also unfocussed with too many cameos and not enough main characters. It ultimately lost to Shakespeare in Love, but I think its fellow nominee Saving Private Ryan explored the theme of war much more effectively.

Crash (2004)

Paul Haggis' Crash ranks 383rd on the top 1000 films.

Crash won the 2005 Best Picture Oscar. And I am definitely not alone in thinking this was the wrong decision. The concept was admirable - an exploration of race relations in Los Angeles, but the execution left a lot to be desired.

Crash was a contrived, convoluted mess that rushed and over-simplified its key themes and ideas. The far simpler Brokeback Mountain should have won instead. But Hollywood just wasn't brave enough to celebrate a film about two gay cowboys.

Michael Clayton (2007)

Michael Clayton ranks low on the top 1000 films at 977th. It stars George Clooney who plays a fixer un-masking a cover-up at his New York law firm.

Michael Clayton received a number of Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor/Actress. I don't think it deserved any of them.

It was a clinically, cold film which is severely lacking any heart. Although that does make sense since it is about lawyers. George Clooney's lacklustre performance did little to help things.

The Fighter (2010)

David O'Russell's biographical sports-drama ranks in as 408th on the top 1000 films.

This film follows the lives of two boxing brothers played by Mark Wahlburg and Christian Bale. Melissa Leo plays their mother and she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. Although she was good, I would argue her co-star Amy Adams, who was also nominated, was even better. Amy Adams should have won instead.

She was the one redeeming feature in a film that I didn't care for at all.

Argo (October 2012) 

Ben Affleck's directed this biographical history thriller to the 445th place on the top 1000 films, as well as the Best Film Oscar.

Don't get me wrong. This is a fine film, but is it really Oscar-worthy? Is it better than its fellow nominees like Django Unchained, Life of Pi, Silver Linings Playbook or Zero Dark Thirty. I'm not sure about that. Sure, it's thrilling enough, but then the tension dissipates in an overly-sentimental conclusion.

And while Ben Affleck is a good director, he is a rather wooden actor. Argo definitely would have been better if it had a different performer in the lead role.

Lincoln (November 2012)

Steven Spielberg's biographical drama ranks as 836th on the top 1000 list. It also netted Daniel Day-Lewis his third Best Actor Oscar win.

I haven't seen My Left Foot, but I can attest that he was magnificent in There will be Blood. Does the same magnificence transfer over into Lincoln? I'm not so sure. It certainly doesn't help that the film is 150 minutes long with a massive cast. 

Daniel Day-Lewis stars as Abraham Lincoln, but I'm really not sure that his performance was Oscar-worthy. It lacked the same depth that I've seen in his other roles. I would have much rather seen Denzel Washington win his third Oscar for Flight, but we know that the Academy loves a biopic.

Captain Phillips (2013)

Paul Greenglass' Captain Phillips ranks as 302nd on the top 1000 films.

Tom Hanks stars as the eponymous Captain Phillips - a shipping captain taken prisoner by Somali prisoners.

Captain Phillips was nominated for a number of Oscars including Best Film, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor, but not Best Actor. It was a brilliant performance, so why wasn't Tom Hanks nominated. This has to be one of the most egregious snubs in Oscar history. In Captain Phillips, Tom Hanks plays an everyman who becomes an unlikely hero. The Academy loves a biopic, so why wasn't Hanks nominated?

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

Being released in 2022, EEAAO is seven years too late to feature on the 2015 edition of the top 1000 films of all time. However, it still swept the Oscars winning Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Screen, Best Editing and Best Supporting Actress.

I take issue with the Best Supporting Actress win. Jamie Lee-Curtis won this Oscar for the role of IRS inspector Deirdre Beaubeidre. While Michelle Yeoh and Key Huy Quan were well-deserving of their Oscar-wins, I can't say the same for Jamie Lee-Curtis. She was good, but definitely not Oscar-worthy. It didn't have the depth I would expect to see from an Oscar performance. I would argue that her co-star Stephanie Hsu, who was also nominated for the same role, should have won the award instead.

Have I missed out anything? Gone with the Wind? Shakespeare in Love? Tommy Lee Jones in the Fugitive? Don't worry. A second list will be coming soon enough. 

Lars and the Real Girl review

 Number 927 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 2007 comedy-drama 'Lars and the Real Girl.'

Lars Lindstrom (Ryan Gosling) is a socially awkward, but kind-hearted man in a small American town. He lives in the garage of the house owned by his brother Gus (Paul Sneider) and his wife Karin (Emily Mortimer.) The intensely lonely Lars then starts a romantic, but asexual relationship with a sex doll called Bianca.

This was one of the kookiest films I've seen in a while. On paper, it certainly sounds dubious. A socially awkward single man has a relationship with a sex doll. He has to be some type of pervert, right? This film is just going to be an exercise in cruelty mocking him. 

Yet it was a charming and strangely touching affair. In some ways it reminded me of Spike Jonze's Her which also explored similar themes of human connection. It certainly helped that you had Ryan Gosling in the lead role. He was charismatic enough to make Lars an intensely likeable character. The whole town rallies around him and his relationship with Bianca. I guess it helped they cast a dreamboat like Ryan Gosling. If they had cast somebody like Danny Devito it would have been a very different film. Sorry, Danny, but it's true.

However, Ryan has much more to offer than his good looks. He is also incredibly funny which helped to add some much-needed whimsy into this affair. But he cannot take all the credit. Both Paul Sneider and Emily Mortimer were good as Lars' family who while thoroughly confused by Lars' actions are determined to help support him however they can. Mortimer certainly showed a lot more charisma here than in Match Point.

Patricia Clarkson also shines in supporting role as she plays a doctor who gives regular treatments to Bianca, but who is secretly diagnosing and analysing Lars. She played a compassionate and caring character. These are the best types of doctors to have.

Everything culminates in a bittersweet conclusion which I won't spoil here, but we see Lars go through some real character growth. It was a satisfactory arc and a way to bring the story to a good ending. His emotional journey was correct.

Like I say this is one of the strangest films I've seen in a while, but it definitely worked. It had the correct tone. Instead of being a  gross-out comedy, it was treated with real heart and care. And it was certainly a creative idea. No wonder it received an Oscar nod for Best Original Screenplay. 

Cube (1997) review

 Number 922 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 1997 Canadian science-fiction thriller 'Cube.'

A group of strangers wake up to find themselves trapped in a prison of cubed-shaped rooms. They aim to escape while avoiding deadly booby-traps. The group includes cop Quentin (Maurice Dean Wint,) office worker Worth (David Hewlett), mathematician Leaven (Nicole de Boer), doctor Holloway (Nicky Guadagni), escape artist Rennes (Wayne Robson) and the autistic Kazan ( Andrew Miller).

I often find that science-fiction walks a fine line between prioritising its big ideas over its characters or its characters over its big ideas. However, Cube failed on both fronts. It was certainly entertaining, if a creepy affair, but there was probably a reason that it ranks so low on this list of films.

The concept is intriguing, but the execution is not. We learn that Worth helped to design the cube, but he doesn't know the true meaning behind his actions. He theorises that the cube's original purpose has been forgotten and they were placed inside it to justify its use. This unsatisfactory payoff flies in the face of Quentin's idea that they were all put there for a reason. This would be a more satisfying answer. Another answers could be that all the characters were falsely imprisoned for crimes they did not commit. 

Compare this is to the Saw films where the characters are trapped in a series of hellish games as punishment for taking their lives for granted. This specific reason does give you some reason to care about the characters. The same doesn't quite happen here.

As it stood, the characters were all unlikeable in their own ways. Quentin is an autocratic bully, Worth is a pessimistic nihilist, Leaven cries at every obstacle while Holloway is overly-righteous and Rennes is arrogant. Even Kazan seems more like a loose sketch of an autistic character rather than a character in his own right.

It didn't help that the dialogue was incredibly on the nose. Nowhere is this more true than with Quentin. I get it. He's in a claustrophobic environment consumed by paranoia as he desperately tries to escape and avoid being killed by deadly booby-traps. I can understand why he becomes the film's villain, but did we need the constant reminders of everybody's function and purposes? Maurice de Wint's delivery was also over-the-top. I could have done without his incessant gruff demeanour and shouting.

As the film progresses, he becomes more antagonistic while Worth and Leaven go through more of a hero's arc - I did find myself warming to them as the film progressed. Considering the film was made on a small budget with unknown actors and a handful of sets, it certainly could have been a lot worse. It also could have been a lot better.

Death at a Funeral review

 Number 915 on the top 1000 films of all time is the British black-comedy drama 'Death at a Funeral.'

Daniel (Matthew Mcfayden) and Robert (Rupert Graves) are two squabbling brothers attending their father's funeral. They are part of a larger dysfunctional family who have to settle their differences. Peter Dinklage, Ewen Bremner, Alan Tudyk, Peter Vaughn and Keeley Hawes all co-star.

This is an entertaining or not outstanding comedy that encapsulates the pitch-black humour that the UK is so well-known for. It certainly elicited a number of chuckles but it isn't laughing-in-the-aisles funny. Much of the humour comes from the dysfunctional nature of the family - in particularly Uncle Alfie (Peter Vaughn.) He is a wheel-chair bound OAP with a foul mouth.

The vulgar, crude pensioner who doesn't care what anybody thinks is a cliched character, but it's still entertaining to watch. That is especially true when you have Peter Vaughn in the role. There was some proper gross-out humour that would not fly in a Hollywood production.

What you would see in an American film is Alan Tudyk's character of Simon. Granted, Simon is English with Alan Tudyk doing a passable English accent, but he very much seemed to be based on the over-the-top American comedy that the Yanks seem to love so much. To help calm his nerves about the funeral, his fiancee, and Daniel's cousin, Martha (Daisy Donovan) gives him a valium. Except it isn't a valium, but an experimental hallucinogen.

In his drug-altered state, he knocks open the coffin spilling the family's dead patriarch onto the floor. But, worse, he later strips naked and climbs onto the roof of the building. It was all very over-exaggerated - I think the writers were playing up the hallucinogenic symptoms for comedy purposes, but it all became quite silly.

Yet the film also possessed a lot of heart with the character of Daniel who is struggling to step out of his more successful brother's shadow. Matthew Mcfayden did well bringing some much-needed gravitas to the more farcical proceedings. We definitely needed this sobering contrast especially when Frank (Peter Dinklage) reveals a dark secret about he and Daniel's father. This all culminates when Daniel gives a spontaneous, but heart-felt eulogy about his father.

Death at a Funeral was certainly not the funniest film I've ever seen, but it was definitely charming enough to earn its place on this list.

A Bridge too Far review

 Number 886 on the top 1000 films of all time is Richard Attenborough's 1977 epic war film 'A Bridge too Far.'

A Bridge too Far tells the true story of the Second World War operation Market Garden - an ambitious, if ultimately failed, attempt of the allies to create a salient in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands. The large ensemble cast includes James Caan, Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, Gene Hackman, Robert Redford and Maximilan Schell. 

Would it be fair to say that this film goes a "bridge too far?" At three hours long, some would probably have that judgement. It is a fair judgement to make. However, I think that compared to most three-hour long films it is paced incredibly well. Compared to some three-hour films, *cough cough* Gone with the Wind, it was engrossing from start to finish. 

Anybody who knows military history knows that Operation Market Garden was a massive failure that extended the war by another seven or eight months, yet it was still interesting seeing how the Allies' overconfidence proved to be their ultimate downfall.

One common flaw I find in war films with large ensemble casts is that the characters become indistinguishable from one another. They are all soldiers dressed in the same uniforms so they all look the same. things can become confusing after a while, but that wasn't the case here.

I think that was because the three-hour run time gave the film the time it needed to breathe. We didn't get any rushed character development. Instead, each character was given the time they deserved. And that allowed the actors to do the best they could. Also, let's talk about the incredible cast. There were no less than seven Oscar winners including Anthony Hopkins, Sean Connery, Michael Caine and Gene Hackman. And there wasn't a weak link in the cast. Gene Hackman was particularly good as the cynical and jaded Polish Major General Sosabowski - we just won't talk about his accent.

Only six years Richard Attenborough won an Oscar for directing Gandhi, but A Bridge Too Far displayed his early promise as one of the best film-directors of his generation. Contrary to many film critics, I quite enjoyed A Bridge too Far. I didn't find it too long or lacking at all.

Much Ado about Nothing (1993) review

 Number 858 on the top 1000 films of all time is Kenneth Branagh's 1993 adaptation of William Shakespeare's play 'Much Ado about Nothing.'

Don Pedro (Denzel Washington) and his noblemen Benedick and (Kenneth Branagh) Claudio (Robert Sean Leonard) are visiting their friend Leonato (Richard Briers) in Messina Sicily, after having crushed a rebellion by Pedro's half-brother Don John (Keanu Reeves.) In Messina, Pedro acts as match-maker, deciding to match Benedick and Leonato's niece Beatrice (Emma Thompson) who both seemingly hate each other. He also decides to match Claudio with Leonato's daughter Hero (Kate Beckinsale.)

Much ado about nothing is the best way to describe this film. It was beyond tedious. Granted, I'm not a Shakespeare fan, so I'm no doubt ignorant of the play's cultural significance. Call me a philistine, but I don't think that Shakespeare translates well to the big screen. At least not in its current form.

With Hamlet, Branagh ripped the dialogue straight from the folios. No doubt he did something similar here, as the dialogue was so expository. And it just went on and on. It was so verbose it was like the characters were reciting the dictionary. Plus Branagh and Thompson monologuing endlessly bored me beyond belief. This might have been okay for the 1500's, but not in 2024. Not even in 1993 when this was released. I'm not saying that I need gunfights and explosions, but I need more drama than Benedick trying and failing to figure out how a deck chair works.

Plus, this dialogue made the film so slow. It crawls toward a conclusion that I couldn't have cared less about - probably because I didn't care about the characters. Maybe if I was seeing it on stage, it would be different. But as I didn't care about the characters, I wasn't at all engrossed in the conflict. I say conflict, but a will they/won't they between either an annoying couple or a soppy one hardly makes the biggest stakes int he world.

It didn't help that Keanu Reeves was positively awful as Don John. True, as the villain, he doesn't really do much. He does some scheming in the shadows, promptly disappears, only to be caught and smirk at the camera at the end of the film. But Reeves never looked comfortable with the Shakespearean dialogue. No wonder he got a Razzie nomination.

I'm sure there are some Harold Bloom types out there ready to denounce me as a philistine, but this film was really much ado about nothing.

Transamerica review

 Number 834 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 2005 comedy-drama 'Transamerica'.

Sabrina "Bree" Osborne (Felicity Huffman) is a transwoman in Los Angeles who is soon going to have surgery to fully complete her transition. However, a week beforehand, she discovers that she has a son Toby (Kevin Zegers) who has just been arrested in New York City. He prostitutes himself to feed his drug habit. Bree flies to New York to bail him out of jail with the intention of driving him back to the West Coast.

Can we just discuss the Felicity Huffman shaped elephant in the room. I question whether she was miscast. I don't mean how she as a cis-woman was cast as a trans character - this was the early noughties after all. But I found it strange that a woman, full stop, was playing a trans woman. It would have made more sense to have cast a man in the past. At the very least they wouldn't have needed to worry about a prosthetic penis.

Having said that, Felicity Huffman was good as Bree. She endeared the character with a lot of humanity. But also a lot of resolution. Despite the protestations of her mother, she is sure of who she is and what she wants. And that's to complete her surgery. Yet she is also internally conflicted, determined to keep her true identity to Toby a secret.

Kevin Zegers was equally good as Toby. He is your standard emotionally confused and frustrated teenager. But he is also effectively an orphan who never had any proper parents to take care of him. When he discovers that Bree has lied to him, in more than one way, he initially rejects her, before slowly changing his mind.

I think the two were great together. They had good chemistry, as two people who were just trying their best to make things work. I've heard some who would class this as a road film, which would be an accurate description. Over the long drive back to LA, the two discover a lot about each other.

This was a powerful and sensitive character drama that earned Felicity Huffman her only Oscar nod. Since her involvement in the college admissions scandal, I don't think she'll be getting anymore anytime soon.

The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert review

 Number 826 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 1994 Australian road-comedy film 'the Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert.'

Adam "Felicia" Whitely (Guy Pearce) and Anthony "Mitzi" Belrose (Hugo Weaving) are two drag queens in Sydney Australia. Joined by their transsexual friend Bernadette (Terrence Stamp,) the three embark on an epic road trip to Alice Springs under the promise of a new show. They travel in a bus they name Priscilla. Along the way they discover new things about themselves and each other.

This was a quiet, but powerful film about a topic that you wouldn't have often seen in 1990's cinema. This and Philadelphia are the only 90's films that I can think of that so brilliantly tackle the theme of LGBTQ+ identity. In fact, Priscilla was lauded for its positive portrayal of the LGBTQ+ community. It would have been all too easy to have mischaracterised the characters as either gross cartoons or helpless victims, but Felicia, Mitzi and Bernadette are neither.

They are all fully fleshed-out humans with their own flaws and imperfections. Yes, they have all experienced traumatic events yet they stay positive. This is no more evident than with Adam who gets his own back on his abusive uncle by trapping his ping pongs in a bath drain. Far from being a victim, he has lots of agency. And when he adopts his Felicia persona, he becomes larger-than-life. Yes, he is obnoxious and annoying, but that's supposed to be the point. He is unapologetically himself.

This contrasts with the transsexual Bernadette who is more reserved and cynical about life. But like everybody else she is just looking for acceptance which she eventually finds in her love interest of Bob. Terrence Stamp was excellent in the role.

Mitzi is somewhere in-between the two, often acting as a mediator to their quarrelsome ways. If anything it showed the versatility of Hugo Weaving. A few years later, he would go onto play the bad guy in the Matrix and then the elf-lord Elrond in the Lord of the Rings. The same can be said for Guy Pearce who has played a range of characters.

Along the way, the trio experience horrific trans/homophobic abuse - again these themes were tackled with care and sensitivity. But there was also plenty of laughs to stop things getting too dour like with Bob's mail-order Filipina wife. And, of course, the costumes were just brilliant. No wonder it won the best Costume Design Oscar.

I did enjoy Priscilla. If I were to describe it in three words, it would be "absolutely fabulous, darling." 

The Proposition review

 Number 824 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 2005 Australian Western 'The Proposition.'

Charlie Burns (Guy Pearce) is the leader of a group of outlaws in 1880's Australia. After a gunfight with the police leaves all but he and his younger brother Mike (Richard Wilson) dead, Captain Stanley (Ray Winston) makes Charlie a proposition. Bring his older brother Arthur (Danny Huston) to justice or watch his younger brother Mike be executed.

This is an Australian film, filmed in Queensland, directed by Brisbanian John Hillcoat, written by singer and fellow Aussie Nick Cave and starring Geelong actor Guy Pearce. Just so we're clear, this film was set in Australia, directed by an Australian, written by an Australian and starring an Australian, so why did none of the principle cast have Australian accents? Guy Pearce and Danny Huston are Irish, for some reason. Meanwhile, Ray Winston, Emily Watson and John Hurt all use their native English accents.

The Western is such an Australian genre that it was a brave stylistic choice to relocate it to Australia even though there is no reason why it shouldn't work. However, this was a countermanded by the lack of Australian accents. It was a weird choice that didn't make sense.

However, the film's true weakness was its pacing. Some scenes dragged while others were rushed. The Proposition had some serious sagging middle-part syndrome. Charlie agrees to Captain Stanley's proposition and he goes to search for Arthur. Arthur finds him first and any narrative momentum just stops. Instead, the two exchange barbs, as we are introduced to the interchangeable members of Arthur's gang. 

The two then break Mike out of prison which is where Hillcoat started overcompensating for the sluggish middle with a rushed prison-break. The slow parts were too slow and the fast parts were too fast.

It didn't help that the actors lacked chemistry with one another. I had a hard time believing that Ray Winston and Emily Watson were husband and wife. Richard Wilson isn't afforded a single scene with Danny Huston. Plus, in his scenes, with Guy Pearce, he did little else but cry and whimper. That was it. We didn't get to see the two act like brothers.

Granted the Proposition had some gorgeous cinematography - it failed as a subversion of the Western genre with its cowboys and Indians being transplanted to Australia. It was mired by weird accents and poor pacing. 

Ne Le dis a personne (Tell no one) review

 Number 753 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 2006 French adaptation of Harlan Coben's thriller of the same name.

Dr Alexandre Beck (Francois Cluzet) is a paediatrician in Paris who is slowly recovering from the murder of his wife eight years prior. However, when he discovers that his wife might actually be alive, he is hurtled into a dangerous and mysterious world.

This is the second adaptation of Harlan Coben's work that I have seen after Netflix's Safe. The two both have a doctor protagonist investigating the disappearance of a loved on. Both adaptations are incredibly complicated I wonder if it's fair to describe Coben as one of those crime writers who's too clever for their own good.

Don't get me wrong - I did enjoy Ne le dis a personne, as much as I understood it. And I'm not just talking about the fast-spoken French, but the complicated plot line that often took precedence over the characters especially the female characters.

Beck has a number of different women in his life from his sister to his sister-in-law to his lawyer, but they all blended into one with no distinguishable features. I also found it unlikely that a middle-class doctor like Beck would have an unexpected friend/ally in the local gangster Bruno who feels indebted to Beck after he treated his haemophiliac son. Whenever Beck is in trouble Bruno is the deux ex machina come to save the day. Honour among thieves, I guess?

I think I just about understood everything by the end of this fast-paced crime thriller. Perhaps convoluted, overly-complicated plots is just the nature of the genre and I best get used to it.

Mud review

 Number 814 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 2012 coming-of-age drama 'Mud.'

Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and Neckbone (Jacob Lofland) are two teenage boys living in rural Arkansas. Upon finding a seemingly abandoned boat, they then meet its owner Mud (Matthew Mcconaughey) a fugitive hiding here after killing a man. The two boys agree to help Mud escape, as well as reunite him with his lost love Juniper (Reese Witherspoon). Michael Shannon, Paul Sparks and Ray Mckinnon all co-star.

This was an impressive film. It was probably one of the best depictions of a lost innocence that I have seen since Stand by Me. Ellis and Neckbone are instantly likeable. Sure, they are innocent and naive like many teenagers, but it's obvious that they are still good kids. Ellis is always ready to stand up for what's right even if that backfires on him.

I also think Mud avoided the pitfalls of many other coming-of-age dramas. Its protagonists aren't cocky little jerks like the Breakfast Club or annoying chipmunk-voiced pre-teens *cough cough* like the Goonies, but it also avoided the cliche of its teenage protagonists having neglectful parents. Ellis' father played by Ray Mckinnon and Neckbone's uncle Galen (Michael Shannon) are by no means perfect, but they're not down-and-out and baddies either. This is what made them human.

The real baddie was Carver (Paul sparks) the brother of the man that Mud killed. Sparks was great in a villainous role - in many ways, he was the opposite of the caring Mud.

Mud's characters, in many ways, heralded a transition for Mcconaughey - away from the romcoms he was best known for and into the more dramatic roles that he is best-known for now. It was in 2013 that he won his best-acting Oscar for the Dallas Buyers Club. He's just as good there as he is in Mud.

The cinematography was also spectacular. It conveyed the isolation and remoteness of the small world that our characters live in. In many ways, it is like its own eco-system where Ellis and Neckbone can enjoy their adolescences. Sheridan and Lofland were great in the lead roles displaying a maturity and a great chemistry with one another.

If I were to criticise the film for anything, it would be the inclusion of Reese Witherspoon. It seemed like the only direction she received was to stand around and look pretty. She's won an Oscar. She could have done something more than that. Otherwise, this was an excellent coming-of-age drama that I enjoyed immensely. 

Buffalo '66 review

 Number 815 on the top 1000 films of all time is Vincent Gallo's 1998 independent-drama 'Buffalo '66.'

Billy Brown (Vincent Gallo) has just been released after a five-year prison sentence. He kidnaps tap dancer Layla (Christina Ricci) and coerces him into pretending to be his wife while they have dinner with his parents. The two form an unlikely relationship.

This was a strange film. It was surreal in both its subject matter and visual style yet it kind of worked. Despite the hokey plotline, it was still quite entertaining. 

This was despite how Billy and Layla's relationship was completely absurd. Maybe the 90's was a simpler time, because if a man snatched a girl off the street in 2024 and asked her to pretend to be his wife, he would get a kick in the crotch and a face full of pepper spray. Maybe he would form a twisted connection to her, but there's no way she would reciprocate his feelings.

But that's exactly what happens in Buffalo '66 even though it doesn't make any sense. It's not like Billy Brown is a hoodlum with a heart of gold. He kidnaps Layla and is constantly rude and abusive to her. He is controlling, coercing and a borderline bully. It didn't help that the two lacked chemistry - probably due to how Ricci and Gallo clashed behind the scenes. Although Ricci was good, it seemed like Gallo was playing every East-Coast Italian-American mob stereotype ever. Considering he worked for the mob as a kid this all makes sense.

This criticism notwithstanding, the film's surrealism is what made it watchable. This was no more present than the famous family dinner scene where Layla sees how dysfunctional Billy's parents are - played by Angelica Huston and Ben Gazarra. His mum can't remember that her son has a chocolate addiction. His dad is more interested in Layla than his wife. This gave the film a lot of off-the-wall humour.

I'm really not sure what to make of Buffalo '66. The storyline was complete nonsense. And the leads had no chemistry yet it was still entertaining and memorable.

Menace II Society review

  Number 807 on the top 1000 films of all time is the Hughes' brother 1993 teen-crime drama Menace II Society.

Caine Lawson (Tyrin Turner) and Kevin "O-Dog" Anderson" (Larenz Tate) are two boys growing up in the rough streets of Crenshaw, Los Angeles. Together they need to navigate the dangerous life of gang violence and drugs.

To any budding film-makers out there, I'll give you some unsolicited advice. Don't do what the Hughes Brothers did and have your two main characters shoot to death an innocent Korean couple who are just running their shop. It isn't a great way to get me to care about your characters. It's not like it was an accident or the boys felt guilty; on the contrast, O-Dog constantly boasts about his crime.

It was a bad start and things only got worse from there. Menace II Society offered a superficial surface look at a deeply-nuanced issue. It's difficult not to draw comparisons to the the 1991 Boyz n the Hood which has similar subject matter.

The main comparison is one of quality. Whereas Boyz n the Hood was good, Menace II Society was not. Tonally, it was all wrong. The Hughes Brothers, wanting to contrast with the hopeful Boyz n the Hood, were aiming for a more nihilistic tone. Yet, I detected little nihilism. It wasn't like the characters were bitterly resigned to their situations; they were embracing them. O-Dog constantly shows the CCTV footage of him shooting the Korean couple to anybody who's interested. Again, why am I supposed to care about or like this character?

The dialogue was also incredibly ham-fisted. I was rolling my eyes so much that at point they got stuck in my skull. It reminded me of Green Street Hooligans where Charlie Hunnum had to recite the Cockney rhyming dictionary.

It didn't help that the actors didn't believe what they were saying either. All round, the acting wasn't great. I want to say something about Jada Pinkett Smith who debuted in this film, but Will doesn't like it when his wife's name is in other people's mouths.

I didn't like this film at all. The characters were horrible, the dialogue was corny and there was nothing nihilistic about it.

Of Mice and Men (1992) review

 Number 730 on the top 1000 films of all time us Gary Sinise's 1992 drama 'Of Mice and Men.;

Based on John Steinbeck's story of the same name, we watch George (Gary Sinise) and his intellectually disabled friend Lenny (John Malkovich) try to find work during America's great depression. They then find work on a Californian ranch.

The reputation of this film precedes it. Many English school children study it for their GCSEs. I've never read it, but I knew the story and the ending. However, this didn't make things any less tragic. Where Gary Sinise succeeded was by taking a well-known story and distilling it to its base elements. Naturally, things were changed, but the core story remained the same.

It can't be easy both directing and starting in the same film, but Gary Sinise succeeded there too. George had to play a fine balancing line between looking after the emotionally immature and fragile Lenny, but also appeasing his new employer, more, in particularly, his nasty son Curly (Ray Walston.) The film also looked great, as Sinise captured the remote Californian landscape.

But I think the true star was John Malkovich who played Lenny with a great vulnerability and a great humanity. In many ways, Lenny was a gentle giant who didn't know his own strength.

I already knew how his story ended, but that didn't make it any less sad to see on-screen. And that was down to Malkovich's performance and Sinise's direction.

The Counterfeiters review

 Number 606 on the top 1000 films of all time is the German historical war drama 'The Counterfeiters.'

This film is based on the true-story of Operation Bernhard. During the Second World War, the Nazi's had a plan to destabilise the British economy by flooding it with fake currency. To achieve this goal, they coerced Jews into helping them - the chief among these is renowned counterfeiter Salomon "Sally" Sorowitsch (Karl Markovics.)

The Counterfeiters won the 2007 Best Foreign Language film Oscar. I can see why. It is a quiet, but powerful story about the lengths that people will do to stay alive. Sally is just one of a group of Jews exploiting their skills to save their own lives.

Plenty of questions are raised about the morality of what the counterfeiters are doing, least of all from former Nazi dissident Adolf Burger (August Diehl) who is the first to point out the relative luxury that they are living in - in comparison to the Jews not lucky enough to be in their positions.

Sally's office is at the back of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. We often get chilly reminders of how he and the other Jews are in a special type of bubble - far enough away to be protected by the Nazis, but close enough to hear how the rest of their people are being massacred. It was a clever juxtaposition which reminded us that horror was never far away.

The different prisoners all have their own reasons to submitting to the Nazi demands yet they all felt human and believable. This is especially true of Sally who very much eschewed your standard hero archetype. Despite Burger's many attempts to spur him into rebelling, he stubbornly refuses. He's more interested in his own self-preservation. Considering his circumstances, who can blame him?

I do think that the film could have used an extra ten or fifteen minutes to wrap up the ending, as everything was rushed. Otherwise, this was a quietly powerful about a little-known part of the Second World War.