Bringing up Baby review

 Number 214 on the top 1000 films of all time is Howard Hawks' 1938 screwball comedy 'Bringing up Baby.'

David Huxley (Cary Grant) is a palaeontologist who is aiming to get a million dollar donation for his museum from wealthy benefactor Elizabeth Ransom (May Robson.) He is also shortly due to be married. However, he then meets the scatter-brained heiress Susan Vance (Katherine Hepburn.) Shenanigans and hi-jinks ensue.

Bringing Up Baby was a box-office bomb upon release. It was so bad that it virtually killed off Hepburn's career before she later rebounded. Nonetheless, critics received it for its absurdist humour and bizarre situations. However, I thought it was all a bit ridiculous and not in a good way either. While it started well, it slowly descending into incredulity, as things become more and more outlandish. The "baby" in the title refers to a leopard that was a gift for Elizabeth. Baby escapes and Huxley and Vance have to track it down. Naturally another leopard has escaped from the nearby circus.

Before Susan's dog steals and buries an important bone that Huxley needs to complete his brontosaurus skeleton. They then have to dig holes all over Susan's garden to find the bones. When Huxley and Vance's antics land them in jail, Huxley realises his cell door has been left unlocked, which he soon points out to the police who promptly lock him up again. It's all a bit silly really. And not very funny either.

The same can't be said for Cary Grant. He put his background in Vaudeville to good use, as he shows off his great physical comedy skills. His jumping in the air declaring that he was feeling gay was complete improvisation.

However, I wasn't as convinced by Katherine Hepburn. It was difficult to believe this was the same actress who had won a record four acting Oscars. But she didn't fared so well in the comedy department. Reportedly, she majorly struggled because she was trying too hard to be funny. It didn't help that Vance was a frustrating character. She wasn't a character that matched up with Hepburn's famous strong feminist character. I think she was miscast.

If anything, the air-headed, man-obsessed, scatter-brained Susan Vance would have been a better fit for the other famous Hepburn - Audrey. Susan Vance was not unlike Holly Golightly. Having said that, her imitation of a gangster at the film's conclusion was very well done.

Cary Grant was a comedic talent and Katherine Hepburn was a great actress in her own right, but I don't think this film did either of them justice. 

Y tu Mama Tambien review

 Number 641 on the top 1000 films of all time is Alfonso Cuaron's Mexican road film 'Y tu Mama Tambien.'

Tenoch (Diego Luna) and Julio (Gael Garcia Bernal) are two bored, over-sexed teenagers who meet the older Spanish Luisa (Maribel Verdu) by pure chance. The three of them embark on a road trip to a paradise beach. Cue a coming-of-age drama with a lot of sex.

There have been some who have dubbed Y tu Mama Tambien as a Mexican 'American Pie,' while the two both are coming-of-age stories with a lot of sex, I don't think the comparison is really fair.

Y tu Mama tambien has a lot more depth to it than four boys trying to lose their virginities. It is a story about love and friendship taking an introspective look into adolescence. It made me nostalgic for an adolescence I never had. And that's where Alfonso Cuaron's excellent direction came into play.

Tenoch and Julio are never the punchlines to any jokes. Yes, the film has its funny moments, but it isn't a comedy. Instead of laughing at the characters, we can relate to their innocent ways. Yes, the two are directionless miscreants who go through life with a starry-eyed naivete, but that is what makes them infinitely relatable.

That is until, by chance, they meet Luisa and invite her to a paradise beach that might not even exist. She decides to join them for reasons that aren't immediately clear. This is one of the film's most unrealistic moments. The film was released over twenty years ago, but, even then, what would woman would join two strange teenage boys on some random round trip.

Nonetheless, she acts as a calming force helping to bring the two boys back to reality, all building toward to the ending, where they inevitably lose their innocence in one way or another.

Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal are best friends in real life, which meant their on-screen counterparts have an excellent chemistry. And Maribel Verdu was a great addition to the cast. In many ways she acts a mentor to her co-stars, especially, in the steamier scenes.

And this is definitely one of the steamier films I've seen. Yes, it's a great take on the coming-of-age drama, but not one to watch with your parents.

Boogie Nights review

 Number 431 on the top 1000 films of all time is Paul Thomas Anderson's 1997 period comedy-drama 'Boogie Nights'

Set in 1970's San Fransisco, Boogie Nights follows high-school dropout Eddie Adams (Mark Wahlberg) who is scouted by porn producer Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds.) Eddie Adams soon becomes the biggest pornstar in the business, before it all comes down crashing down. Julianne Moore, Don Cheadle, John C. Reilly and Heather Graham all co-star.

I really didn't care for this film at all. It was long, tedious and repetitive. I understand it was about the Golden Age of Porn, so it would make sense that it looked like a seventies' porno. Unfortunately, it also had the acting and writing of a porn as well.

Much of this criticism is levied at Mark Wahlberg who was less than convincing as the main character. Granted Eddie Adams was never the most likeable protagonist, being obnoxious and arrogant, even before his career crashes and he gets hooked on drugs. But Wahlberg was not believable in the role. Even in the more emotional scenes, he resembled a crying tree.

The film's first half is slow and meandering where nothing happens. We get little hints of the lives these people live: fellow performer (Julianne Moore) has an estranged relationship with her children, porn producer Little Bill (William H. Macy) is being publicly cuckholded by his wife, but these segments were never taken seriously enough for me to care that much about. Little Bill's constant cuckholdry is largely played for laughs.

It is only in the film's second half, which explores the decline of the Golden-Age of porn in the eighties do things actually become interesting. We see how the negative stigma behind porn is affecting character's lives. Now a faded has-been, Eddie has become a coke addict, Buck Swope (Don Cheadle) is denied a business loan, because of his connections to the industry, and in one of the film's most shocking scenes, tired of being a cuck, Little Bill kills his wife and then himself in a murder-suicide. This was far more interesting, but I had almost lost interest at this point.

One thing I certainly did like was the soundtrack. Set firmly in the disco era, it featured some absolute classics of the time. Overall, I didn't like Boogie Nights. It was slow and boring. And I did not like Mark Wahlberg. In fact, I have yet to see him in anything I've liked. Boogie Nights was not the exception to the rule.

The Breakfast Club review

 Number 376 on the top 1000 films of all time is John Hughes' coming-of-age comedy-drama 'The Breakfast Club.'

The Breakfast Club tells the story of five high school students from different cliques spending one Saturday in detention. Claire Standish (Molly Ringwald) is the popular, spoiled princess, Brian Johnson (Anthony Michael Hall) is an over-worked nerd, Andrew (Emilio Estevez) is an athlete and wrestler, Alison Reynolds (Ally Sheedy) is a quiet outsider and John Bender (Judd Nelson) is the rebellious delinquent. Over the Saturday, the five teenagers realise they have more in common then they first realised.

It's safe to say that the Breakfast Club has become a cult classic. A favourite of eighties' kids, I was expecting a lot, but I was left cold. It's labelled as a comedy, but it didn't make me laugh very much. In fact, it was fifteen minutes before I even cracked a smile. Perhaps that's because the beginning was slow. We're introduced to our main characters as they take their places for detention. Hardly riveting stuff. And the lack of background music made things even duller.

The cast themselves were boring. I understand that each character was supposed to resemble a different high school stereotype - the cheerleader, the nerd, the jock, the goth and the bad boy, and then as the story progresses, we see that they're more than the labels that society has imposed onto them. But it didn't help they were all so insipid  to begin with. The only interesting character was the delinquent John Bender whose behaviour is attributed to his abusive home life, which helped to give his character a bit of depth. And Judd Nelson did inject some much-needed life and energy into proceedings.

He is an agent of chaos throughout the film, harassing Claire, fighting with Andrew and convincing an unwilling Brian to smuggle in his weed. All of this culminates in an overly-sentimental conclusion where the characters reflect on how they've become such good friends in the space of a day. And as the movie ends, Allison and Andrew get together as do Claire and John, which seemed like a weird, contrived way to pair everybody off.

Is the Breakfast Club a bad film? No. But is it the 376th best of all time? I'm not so sure about that.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower review

 Number 237 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 2012 coming-of-age drama - The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

Charlie (Logan Lerman) is a socially awkward high school student struggling to fit in. He is soon befriended by the gregarious Patrick (Ezra Miller) his vivacious stepsister Sam (Emma Watson) and the rest of their friend group. But Charlie starts becoming attracted to Sam which threatens to tear the group apart.

Let's face it. This was very much the Ezra Miller show. He brought a flamboyance and energy to the role, which may have bordered on over-the-top at times. But he also injected a shot of life into what could have been just another teen-drama. And Charlie was very much another generic teen protagonist. His character wasn't anywhere near as interesting or engaging as Patrick.

Part of this was down to Logan Lerman's uncharismatic portrayal, but also the character himself. Charlie is supposed to be quiet and introverted, but neither of these qualities made him particularly interesting. True, his awkwardness is down to his troubled backstory - he suffers PTSD from *spoilers* having been molested by his aunt as a child. However, he was still eclipsed by Patrick.

Patrick is openly gay and is secretly dating Brad (Johnny Simmon) the high school quarterback. It is a secret as Brad is still closeted for fear of repercussions from his homophobic father and friends. This drama felt far more immediate and engaging than Charlie's storyline.

As for Emma Watson, her portrayal of Sam was so tepid and generic, that she was quite a boring character. And it's strange, as I generally think that Emma Watson is quite melodramatic. But I'm probably biased as I don't like her that much.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower isn't an inherently bad film. It is funny, touching and balances relatable themes with deep-rooted issues. However, Logan Lerman was overshadowed by Ezra Miller who stole the show.

The Way Way back review

 Number 856 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 2013 coming-of-age drama 'The Way Way back.'

Duncan (Liam James) is an introverted fourteen-year-old who is holidaying in Massachussetts with his mother Pam (Toni Collette) and her boyfriend Trent (Steve Carrell.) In a water park, he meets the fun-loving, hedonistic Owen (Sam Rockwell) who encourages Duncan to come out of his shell.

I think it was Sam Rockwell that gave this film its place on the best 1000 films of all time. It was a good film, but without Rockwell I think it wouldn't have been anything particularly memorable. He provided a shot of adrenaline with a chaotic energy. But it was that chaotic energy that made him so great to watch. Unlike many of the other characters, he was authentic and genuine. There was no facade and no lies. 

This is in contrast to the lying cheat who was Trent. Despite pretending otherwise, Trent obviously had no interest in Duncan as a stepson - the film opens with Trent rating his confidence as 3/10. And he spends much of the film belittling Duncan while spoiling his own daughter Steph (Zoe Levin.) But, most importantly, he is also cheating on Pam with his friend Joan (Amanda Peet.) It was interesting to see Carrell in a villainous role as usually he plays the comic lead. But I think he did well in the part. He certainly encapsulated the disinterested, suburban father burdened with a son from another marriage. 

Considering his background, it's no wonder that Duncan has retreated so much into himself. I think Liam James was good in his role. Characters like Duncan run the risk of being portrayed as either the weird kid or as a petulant brat, but Liam brought the role to life. He made Duncan a sympathetic character and seeing his journey from a shy, retiring teenager to a young man able to stand up to Trent was entertaining to watch. A lot of that was down to Owen's influence. Unlike Trent, he is the father that Duncan never had. He helps Duncan to grow and mature. And a quick shoutout to Jim Rash who played Owen's neurotic colleague Lewis. He was one of the funniest actors in this film, perhaps even funnier than Owen himself.

All in all, I did enjoy this coming-of-age drama. The water park was a great setting. And Rockwell gave a great performance, but Liam James was brilliant as well. It was entertaining watching Duncan's journey, but I particularly liked Steve Carrell's turn as a villain.

His Girl Friday review

 Number 260 on the top 1000 films of all time is Howard Hawks' 1940 screwball comedy 'His Girl Friday.'

Walter Burns (Cary Grant) is a newspaper editor who is about to lose his top journalist and ex-wife Hildy Johnson (Rosalind Russell) to another man. To win her back, he convinces her to cover one more story with him - the case of murderer Earl Williams (John Qualen.)

Something interesting happened when I explained this film to my girlfriend. She didn't know what I meant by a screwball comedy. And that's when I realised that like film-noir, screwball comedies are a film genre that has been left behind in the Golden Age of Hollywood. I was trying to think of modern-day examples of screwball comedies and I couldn't. And I think that's because they don't make comedies quite like these anymore.

Modern-day comedy, for the most part, have an over-reliance on crude double entendre or crass, over-the-top physical comedy. Of course there are exceptions, but that is generally the rule. They lack all the subtlety and nuance of screwball films like The Apartment, Some Like it Hot or even His Girl Friday. His Girl Friday balances farcical situations and understated physical comedy well. So that Hily and Walter can gain a scoop in the story, they hide Williams in a rolltop desk which leads to a bunch of great gags. One of the best is to emphasise how the desk is empty Walter bangs on it. Unfortunately, Williams bangs back and is discovered.

You could argue that Walter isn't the most likeable of protagonists. He very much manipulates his wife into staying with him and mystifyingly his ploys work - by the film's end, Walter and Hildy reconcile and agree to remarry. But then again this is a screwball comedy - effectively a reworked love story and a love story always needs to have a happy ending.