Good Will Hunting review

 Number 159 on the top 1000 films of all time is the drama Good Will Hunting.

Will (Matt Damon) is an undiscovered genius with a troubled past. Instead of putting his genius to good use, he works as a janitor for MIT. That is until Professor Gerald Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgard) recognises his potential and arranges for Will to have counselling with therapist Dr Sean Maguire (Robin Williams.) Ben Affleck co stars as Will's best friend Chuckie and Minnie Driver plays Will's love interest Skylar.

In 1994, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck were struggling to break into the acting industry. They then decided to write and star in their own film. The rest as they say is history. Damon and Affleck went onto win Oscars for writing. Affleck has since gone onto win a Best Director Oscar for Argo. 

Yet the Oscars don't end there as you had the always terrific Robin Williams win Best Supporting Actor for his role as therapist Sean Maguire. Robin Williams is best known for his comedy roles but he is proven that he is equally adept at drama too. In this role, he played to both his comedic and dramatic strengths. One of the film's most famous scenes sees Maguire making Will dissolve into giggles by telling him a story about how his wife used to fart in her sleep. Matt Damon was laughing for real here as was the cameraman evidenced by how the camera shook. What made it so great was how it was unscripted.

Williams also had a great chemistry with Damon as we see Maguire become a mentor for the emotionally damaged Will. The two of them had many tender, heartfelt but also intense scenes together. Both of them were able to easily switch between comedy and drama.

Alas I cannot be so positive about Ben Affleck. I think it is very telling that he has won Oscars for writing and directing but NOT acting. I think this is because he is more wooden than your average tree. Chuckie was not an exception to this rule.

Although this is really just a minor blip in an otherwise very good film. It was funny yet dramatic with one of Robin Williams' finest performances 

Tangled review

Number 434 on the top 1000 films of all time is Disney’s animated fairy-tale film Tangled.

Based on the story of Rapunzel, we see the princess voiced by Mandy Moore kidnapped by the evil Mother Gothel (Donna Murphy) who raises her as her own daughter. Rapunzel knows nothing about her true identity. However, her hair has magical qualities that can heal all wounds and stop the aging process. She is locked away in a remote tower knowing nothing about the outside world. That is until the lovable rogue Flynn (Zachary Levi) stumbles upon her tower and soon changes her life.

Tangled is based on a fairytale, so like many of Disney’s films, it is formulaic. What I saw here was little different to the Disney princess films of old. You have your princess locked away by a parental figure with sinister intentions. She then meets a prince charming initially disguised as a selfish rogue, but who becomes a better person as a result of the princess. Throw in some magic, colourful animation and funny animals for good measure.

Yes, it is all stuff we’ve seen before but when you do it as well as Disney does then who’s complaining. Granted, I don’t think this is one of their best films, but it was certainly an entertaining watch. Rapunzel had a nice mixture of wonderlust, star-eyed naivety, agency and inner strength. This helped to give us a Disney princess for the modern age.

Although Flynn’s arc from selfish coward to unlikely hero was predictable, it was still enjoyable to watch. The villainous Mother Gothel wasn’t quite on the same levels as the likes of Scar, Jafar or the various evil stepmothers, but she had some great lines, especially when she was expressing her thinly-veiled contempt of her supposedly beloved daughter.

There were plenty of funny moments like when Rapunzel goes into the tavern supposedly full of thugs but they are actually full of gentle giants with a share of unrealised dreams.

Compared to some other Disney films, I don’t think the soundtrack was particularly memorable. This was a little disappointing as the music is often the best part of Disney’s films: I’m thinking of the Lion King, Mulan or Aladdin. Even the god-awful Frozen had an inescapable soundtrack. Yet I can’t remember any of the songs from Tangled.

True, I don’t think Tangled brought anything new to the genre. Disney were certainly treading familiar ground when they brought this fairy-tale to life, but when they do it as well as they do, who’s complaining really?

Evil Dead II review

 Number 436 on the top 1000 films of all time is Sam Raimi’s 1987 horror-comedy Evil Dead II.

Ash (Bruce Campbell) and his girlfriend Linda (Denise Bixler) have just arrived at a remote wood cabin for a passionate weekend away together. Instead, they find a mysterious book which turns Linda into a zombie, possesses anything in the vicinity with evil spirits and torments, harasses and terrifies Ash.

I know this was supposed to be a comedy and it was supposed to be silly, but silly comedies only work if they make audiences laugh. Instead they made me roll my eyes and decry the annoying, tedious nature of the film. The dialogue was cheesy, the characterisations were paper-thin and the special effects were pure B-movie.

I’m being generous when I say the characterisations were paper-thin, they were non-existent especially the female characters. It seemed like the actresses had little direction other than to stand around and scream in terror. This all became rather monotonous at a point. They had little to no agency. Even at times when they could have dealt lethal blows to the zombies, they just screeched and snarled.

This is in comparison to Ash who did little else than growl, shout or say cheesy one-liner after cheesy one-liner. He was very much the only character with any agency, but he still had as much depth as the shallow end of a swimming pool. Although other than fighting away arbitrarily possessed objects and people, he really didn’t have much to do.

Not that he had much to do. There was barely any storyline. The film had a basic siege plot as the small band of heroes led by Ash desperately try to defend themselves against the zombies. That’s it. But don’t forget the constant lapses in logic like Ash using a shotgun in one scene but forgetting about it in the next and using an axe. The rest of the film focussed on stupid characters making stupid decisions for no other reason than to fuel the plot. All very frustrating.

As were the special effects. They were so over-the-top, they just bordered on the ridiculous. It all became an endless gorefest at one point.

The less said about the ending the better too. It was like Raimi had taken a leaf out of 2001:Space Odyssey by sending Ash through some time-travelling wormhole into the past where we see a completely bonkers ending that I don’t think even Raimi properly understood. Talk about jumping the shark.

I know this was a comedy and I shouldn’t take it seriously. There was no way I could never take it seriously as a drama/horror film, but there was no way I could never take it seriously as a comedy either.

The Day the Earth Stood still review

Number 437 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 1956 science-fiction film – The Day the Earth Stood Still.

One fateful day in 1951 Washington DC, a mysterious UFO sets down. Out comes an alien called Kantu (Michael Rennie) along with his robot protector Gort. The alien has an important message to tell the people of Earth, but will they listen? Patricia Neal co-starred.

It is safe to say that ‘The Day the Earth Stood Still’ was a sleeper hit. Neal herself thought the film would just be another of these generic flying saucer films that were so popular during the 1950’s. She could barely stop herself from laughing while reading the supposedly clunky dialogue. I’m glad that Neal was wrong, as the Day the Earth Stood Still was a terrific film.

Sure, you could argue that it isn’t the most original or novel especially by modern-day standards. However, in the 1950’s, paranoia and suspicion were rife, as was our wonder for life beyond the stars. We were in the midst of the cold war where there was distrust all around the world. Screenwriter Edmund H North capitalised on these ideas in this low-spectacle, but thoroughly interesting film.

It helped that you had the relatively-unknown Michael Rennie in the lead role. He was deliberately picked because of his low profile at the time. Director Robert Wise didn’t want a recognisable actor as Kantu, because it would have been too distracting. It was a good call, as Rennie gave a calm and measured performance as the alien.

The Day the Earth Stood still also succeeded where most science-fiction films, as it told an interesting story alongside exploring interesting ideas. Plus, at ninety minutes, it was well-paced with nothing feeling rushed or stretched. Kantu wishes to reveal his important message only to the whole world as once. Yet the logistical difficulties of this felt all too painfully real. How do you get the whole world to agree to something? I’m not sure this would be any easier now than it would have been in the 1950’s.

*spoilers*

Kantu finally reveals his message to a select group of scientists. He implores humanity to do what his race has done and employ a group of omnipotent robots to police them. Disobeying the robots would result in instant obliteration. This has led to an obliteration of all lawlessness on his world.

 Kantu finishes by saying that if humanity doesn’t choose this path, then we will lead ourselves into our own extinction. He leaves saying that he waits for humanity’s response. Judging by the state of our world now, I’m doubtful we will be renouncing our evil ways anytime soon.

Up review

 Number 134 on the top 1000 films of all time is Disney Pixar's family drama Up

Carl Frederickson (ken aster) has just lost his wife after decades of being together. Facing the prospect of losing his home too, he resolves to fulfill a lifelong dream of visiting the famous Paradise Falls. He is joined by wilderness explorer Russell (Jordan Nagari) who stows away unknown to Carl.

Up was released in 2009. It was the latest in the long line of successes from the prosperous animation studio. Like many Pixar films before it, Up had that rare ability to have you crying tears of laughter and sadness. 

The elderly Carl Frederickson is an unlikely hero, but that made him no less of an endearing character. His goals of wanting to fulfill an unrealised dream are relatable to all. He forms a touching father-son relationship with the wilderness explorer Russell - made all the more pertinent by Russell's rocky relationship with his own father and Carl's inability to have children with his wife.

Russell's good yet blundering personality provided a lot of the film's humour but also served as a great counterbalance to Carl's grumpy-old-man-ness. There is a lot of heart to back up the humour. We've already spoken about Carl and Russell's touching relationship, but there is also Carl's romance with his childhood sweetheart Ellie. The ten minute montage showing their relationship develop over the decades was more poignant than some whole two-hour films.

Up also has its share of interesting supporting characters from the bird Kevin to the "talking" dog Doug to the villainous Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer.) All of these added something to this film.

And as you would expect from Disney Pixar, the animation was always on-point too. If you haven't seen Up yet, what are you waiting for? It was a brilliant feel-good film that will have you crying tears of laughter and sadness. 

Office Space review

 Number 430 on the top 1000 films of all time is the comedy 'Office Space.'

Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston) is a lowly-paid software engineer who works in a cubicle. Hiss boss Bill Lumbergh (Gary Cole) is a micromanager, and Peter's wife is cheating on him. Aiming to retake control of his life, he hatches a scheme, along with his two colleagues Michael Bolton (David Herman) and Samir Nagheenanajar (Ajay Naidu,) to defraud the company, while also impressing waitress Joanna (Jennifer Aniston. A subplot sees the mousey, oddball employee Milton Waddams (Stephen Root) try and fail to win respect from those around him.

This was an entertaining if not excellent comedy which has since gained cult status. Sure it made me chuckle a few times, but it wasn't pant-wettingly funny. What it did do was use its small $10 million budget to great effect. Out of the cast, Jennifer Aniston was the only A-lister. The rest were either complete unknowns or up-and-comers.

Of course, Ron Livingston and Stephen Root have both gone onto star in the critically acclaimed series Boardwalk Empire. Livingston was good as our protagonist Peter. Through him, we vicariously fulfil a common fantasy of upturning our hum-drum office lives. Have any of us never wished to tell our manager to shut up? Thankfully, my time of working in a corporate office was only short, but I still still had my fair share of annoying micro-managing bosses. Gary Cole filled the role to a tee.

Although a box-office disappointment at the time, Office Space has gone onto garner a big reputation in no small part to the numerous memes of it that now circulate around the internet. Most of these either centre on micro-manager Bill or the timid doormat Milton. Despite only having a small role, Root was one of the best parts of the film.

I understand why Office Space is now a cult comedy. I also understand why it never had any mainstream success. It just wasn't funny enough for that.

Down By Law review

 Number 424 on the top 1000 films of all time is the independent noir comedy 'Down by Law.'

Zack (Tom Waits) a disc jockey and Jack (John Lurie) a pimp, are both set up and sent to jail. There they meet optimistic Italian Bob (Roberto Benigni.) The three of them stage a jailbreak together.

This was a strange film that dallied with the surreal even if it never quite crossed that bridge. The film subverted the odd couple trope by inserting a third member - the insufferably optimistic Bob - Roberto Benigni in his first American film.

Benigni really shone in this film helping to bring a lot of the off-beat comedy to what could have otherwise been quite a dour film. He also served as a foil between the warring Zack and Jack. Neither character liked each other very much, but Bob served as the glue which held the trio together. He has many endearing traits from his joie di vivre, but also his notebook full of English and Italian translations. The role wasn't unlike Benigni's Oscar-winning performance in Life is Beautiful.

Tom Waits is better known as a blues and rock singer, but he brought that same brooding mentality to the role of Zack. Waits also put his trademark deep, gravelly voice to good use. Zack is an angry, bitter man who is resentful toward the world, not unlike Jack in that regard.

As well as eschewing the odd couple trope, Down by Law also minimises the jail break itself in favour of focussing on the begrudging relationship that forms between the three men. As much as they don't want to admit it, they all need each other to survive. All this is captured in black and white, which stripped away any excess and helped to focus the off-beat humour of the film.

Down by Law was certainly an unconventional film that deliberately eschewed established norms, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.