Forbidden Planet review

 Number 565 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 1956 science-fiction film 'Forbidden Planet.'

Commander John Adams (Leslie Nielsen) is leading a mission to the distant world of Altair IV to investigate the missing Bellerophon which disappeared 20 years before. There, he finds Doctor Morbius (Walter Pidgeon) and his daughter Alta (Anne Francis) who were the only survivors of the ill-fated mission.

As you know well by now, I'm not a big science-fiction fan. Too often, I find it's a vehicle for writers to show off how clever they are by writing an over-complicated and convoluted plot. However, Forbidden Planet didn't suffer from that. Instead, it fell into another pitfall which is common in science-fiction: excessive world-building. It prioritised world-building over plot. Any film that does this is likely to be a plodding, boring affair and Forbidden Planet was no exception.

It starts slowly and never really gets going. It doesn't leave second gear. Instead of anything interesting, we're treated to lengthy info-dumps about the Krell - the extinct alien race who once inhabited Altair IV. These ultimately do prove to be relevant to the plot, but they are much longer than they need to be. The more interesting part was seeing the crew-members fight off some invisible, malevolent force, but even this comes to a disappointing and anti-climatic conclusion.

Alta's character was also incredibly annoying. I say "character," but she had no character outside of the men she meets. It was hardly the most progressive portrayal of a woman on-screen. I get this was the 1950's, but Alta was a far-cry away from the feminist women that Katherine Hepburn was well-known for portraying. Instead she was a vapid, insipid irritant devoid of personality. 

She was badly-written. Alta, having never seen a man before, has to be coached on the best ways to be coached on the best ways to act and dress around them. This is even more ironic considering how Anne Francis went onto challenge female stereotypes in the TV series Honey West. She played the lead role in that show - one of the first actresses to do so. She was very much a pioneer of her craft. It's just a shame that she was lumped with such bad characters in the earlier parts of her career.

Yes, Robby the Robot was very cute, but he wasn't enough to save an ultimately boring film that focussed too much on world-building and poorly-written female characters instead of an interesting film.

The Graduate review

Number 263 on the top 1000 films of all time is Mike Nichols' 1967 romantic comedy-drama 'the Graduate.'

Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) is a 21-year-old college graduate with no plans in life. He is seduced into an affair with the older, married Mrs Robinson (Anne Bancroft,) but he soon falls in love with her daughter Elaine (Katherine Ross.)

If this film is best known for anything, it's the excellent soundtrack by Simon and Garfunkel. Taking the unusual move of explicitly including the duo's music, Nichols really helped to raise their image. And the music was used to good effect. The Sound of Silence brilliantly conveyed the alienation that Braddock feels for most of the film. But we also can't forget the inclusion of the wonderful Scarborough Fair.

But there is much more to this film than its soundtrack. If anything, it's a film of alienation and isolation. The lost Mrs Robinson, angry that she sold out her dreams of artistic freedom to have a stable marriage and rich husband, tries to regain control of her life by seducing the younger Benjamin Braddock - another lost character who only loses himself further in his affair with Mrs Robinson. That could one why he starts to fall for Elaine. He is also trying to take back control.

Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft were great in the lead roles, we truly understood and empathised with the loneliness of both characters without ever becoming resentful of them. Anne Bancroft perfectly fit the role of Mrs Robinson, so much so, she was allowed to provide her own wardrobe.

I also enjoyed the ending, which stayed consistent with the theme of uncertainty and alienation. *Spoilers*

Having won Elain back, just as she was about to marry somebody else, we see Ben and Elaine hurry onto a bus and drive off into a sunset. Except it's actually an uncertain future. We see them staring awkwardly at each other, as the Sound of Silence plays.

I also thought the cinematography and camerawork gave the film an air of authenticity. Due to not being able to get permits to shoot on Berkeley Campus, Nichols had to use a range of medium and long shots, meaning that many of the extras we see, were real-life students who didn't know they were being filmed.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Graduate. It was good fun with a memorable soundtrack.

Les Miserables review

 Number 474 on the top 1000 films of all time is Tom Hooper's 2012 epic, period musical 'Les Miserables.'

Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) is a French former convict who has just been paroled after nineteen years in prison. His crime? Stealing a loaf of bread. But policeman Javert (Russell Crowe) refuses to believe he has changed and is determined to send him back to prison. Meanwhile. Valjean reforms and becomes a factor worker. When one of his workers Fantine (Anne Hathaway) dies, Valjean declares to take care of her impoverished daughter Cosette.

Les Mis is what's known as a sung-through musical. Unlike other musicals, which alternate between music and narrative, Les Mis is all but music. It's a bit like Sweeney Todd. And I've learned that I do not care for sung-through musicals. Watching them are a tedious affair. I know now that music is essential to a sung-through musical, but it was overwhelming. There was far too much singing.

I say singing...they were basically singing lines of dialogue. It hardly made for memorable songs. Obviously you have Anne Hathaway's famous I Dreamed a Dream, but the only other notable song was Look Down, which was sang by the convicts at the start of the film, before being later taken up as a protest song.

The film is also over 2 and a half hours long. It could have been far shorter if a lot of the musical numbers had been trimmed. in many cases, the songs became like exposition telling the viewer what was happening instead of showing them. When Javert and Valjean's paths cross after many years, Javert sings 'a thought stirs in my mind,' which was a rather ham-fisted line of dialogue. I also did not need a whole song where Eponine (Samantha Barks) declares her unrequited love for student revolutionary Marius Pontmercy (Eddie Redmayne.) This much was obvious through her longing looks. We did not need a whole song.

As for the performances, they were as good as you would expect from such a star-studded cast, which also included the likes of Amanda Seyfried, Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen. Anne Hathaway deservingly won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar despite having a minimal amount of screentime.

I really did not like this film. It was a melodramatic, over-dramatic affair. And I know it was a sung-through musical, but there was far too much singing.

Donnie Brasco review

 Number 517 on the top 1000 films of all time is Mike Newell's 1997 crime-drama 'Donnie Brasco.'

Based on the true story, Donnie Brasco follows FBI agent Joseph Pistone (Johnny Depp) as he infiltrates the New York mob. He assumes the alias of Donnie Brasco and befriends Mafia hitman Benjamin "Lefty" Ruggerio (Al Pacino.) However, as Brasco grows closer with Lefty and the mob, he soon finds his professional and personal lives starting to blur.

Johnny Depp is now so well-known for playing whacky, off-the-wall characters, it's difficult to imagine him as anything else. Edward Scissorhands, Willy Wonka, the Mad Hatter, Captain Jack Sparrow...need I go on? But the eighties and nineties proved what a versatile actor he can be. Donnie Brasco is a character rule by conflict. Deeply unsatisfied with his home life, he throws himself into his undercover work, putting a strain on his already tenuous marriage. And to remain convincing to Lefty and the rest of the mobsters, Brasco has to participate in plenty of criminal activities. This creates its own array of personal dilemmas and Depp plays the conflict well.

Although, I would argue that his relationship with his wife Maggie (Anne Heche) was quite contrived. Their marriage becomes rocky as Brasco's work begins to take over. One second they are fighting and the next they were making up. This seemed forced and unnatural. It was almost like it was what writer Paul Attanasio wanted to happen instead of what should happen. But I did enjoy the little girls who played Brasco's daughters. They only had small parts, but they were played well. They become progressively more quiet, distant and withdrawn, emphasising the impact that Brasco's absent behaviour is having on them.

As for Al Pacino, I've seen him play so many grizzled, old gangsters that this was just another role for him. Don't get me wrong, he does them well, but the role of Lefty wasn't anything special. I was more impressed by Michael Madsen who played the fearsome mob boss Sonny Black. He had such an imposing presence that he was scary in every scene he was in.

Donnie Brasco was certainly an enjoyable film. And it proved that Johnny Depp can play more than the whacky, off-beat characters he's so well-known for.