Elizabeth review

 Number 763 on the top 1000 films of all time is Shekhar Kapur's 1998 biographical period-drama 'Elizabeth.'

The year is 1558, and following the death of Mary I (Kathy Burke) Elizabeth (Cate Blanchett) becomes the queen of England. However, her early days are met with many obstacles, least of all, Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk (Christopher Eccleston) plotting to overthrow her, as well as pressure from her advisors Francis Wolsingham (Geoffrey Rush) and William Cecil (Richard Attenborough) to marry.

For this film, Cate Blanchett was nominated for her first of eight acting Oscars. She ultimately lost out to Gwyneth Paltrow for Shakespeare in Love. Many people thought Blanchett should have won instead. I haven't seen the latter film, so I can't comment, but Blanchett was impressive in this film.

It was a nuanced performance showing the slow transformation from a weak-willed queen into a powerful force of nature. When Mary of Guise stations four thousand French troops in Scotland, Elizabeth allows Norfolk to bully her into sending a conscript army of peasants to stop the French. Of course, they are all massacred.

But by the film's conclusion, she is strong enough to execute all those plotting her downfall. That isn't a spoiler by the way. Like many historical dramas, Elizabeth plays fast and loose with history, but it sticks to the fact that Elizabeth was not overthrown.

Shekhar Kapur intended the final scene of Elizabeth's would-be assassins being put to death to mirror the end of the Godfather where Michael Corleone orders for his enemies to be killed. I would also argue that in some ways Elizabeth's transformation mirrors Michael Corleone's.

Furthermore, I think that Blanchett gave a great performance in an otherwise average film. I have never been a fan of period dramas, and Elizabeth did little to move the needle. I certainly didn't find it that engaging or easy to follow. It wasn't very interesting either.

While the supporting cast were good - it was fun seeing Vincent Cassel in a more comedic role - the narrative didn't match up.

But, as is often the case, with period dramas, Elizabeth just wasn't for me.

Twelve Monkeys review

 Number 252 on the top 1000 films of all time is Terry Gillam's 1995 science-fiction thriller 'Twelve Monkeys.'

Set in a post-apocalypse world where 99% of the world's population has been wiped out by a disease and the remaining 1% are living underground, convict James Cole (Bruce Willis) is sent back in time to gather as much information as possible. He is aided by psychiatrist Dr Kathryn Railly (Madeline Stowe,) as the two of them investigate 'the Army of Twelve Monkeys' who is believed to have released this virus. Brad Pitt co-stars as Jeffrey Goines, the leader of this group. Christopher Plummer also stars as the villainous Dr Leland Goines.

This is Terry Gillam's seventh outing in the director chair having helmed productions including Time Bandits, Jabberwocky and the virtually incomprehensible Brazil. Thankfully, Twelve Monkeys wasn't anywhere near as surreal or convoluted or abstract as Brazil. While that film was weird for the sake of being weird, Twelve Monkeys was a different beast entirely. 

Time travel can prove confusing for all but the most discerning of viewers. Although, maybe I'm just not that observant, but sometimes I do get lost following the different timelines. Despite that, Twelve Monkeys is easy enough to follow. But, more importantly, considering only three years ago, we were all living under the threat of the pandemic, Twelve Monkeys did take on a different meaning. We were all living the apocalyptic nightmare that was being played out in the film: the dystopia, state-control, paranoia was all too real for us. Unfortunately, we didn't have Bruce Willis travelling back in time to save us all.

Twelve Monkeys came out seven years after Bruce Willis established himself as a solid-action star in Die Hard. But I fear that he wasn't able to step out of this huge shadow and into a quieter, dramatic role. I didn't find him very convincing as the lead character of James Cole. He is supposed to be a man embodying a Cassandra complex, but ironically, I found a hard time believing Willis in the role. Maybe he was miscast, but I don't think he carried the drama as well as he carried the action.

However, I thought Brad Pitt was great. He played the mentally unstable Jeffrey Goines who is initially in the same psychiatric institution that Cole is imprisoned in when he is sent back to 1990. He brought such a manic energy to the role that it was impossible not to be engrossed by his character. Christopher Plummer was also very good as his slimy and evil father.

The world of Twelve Monkeys is one that isn't too far from our own reality. It's revealed that the Army of Twelve Monkeys are little more than would-be eco-warriors spreading mischief. However, we only need to look into the shadier origins of the Covid virus to draw parallels with this film. I won't dive into that rabbit-hole now, but Terry Gilliam certainly presented an interesting world which is perhaps too scarily similar to our own.

Inside Man review

 Number 642 on the top 1000 films of all time is Spike Lee's crime-thriller 'Inside Man.'

Dalton Russell (Clive Owen) robs a bank in New York City. Keith Frazer (Denzel Washington) is the NYPD's hostage negotiator sent to deal with Clive. Meanwhile, the bank's owner Mr Case (Christopher Plummer) is harbouring a dark secret in one of the bank's security boxes. He sends fixer Madeline White (Jodie Foster) to stop this box getting into the wrong hands.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. It was a clever take on the heist genre. I have seen a few other heist films on this list that made me wonder whether the genre was dead-and-buried, but that was not the case for Inside Man. It was a refreshing reinvention of the heist genre. But also a far deeper imagining of it.

While the money is obviously a bonus for Dalton, he is more interested in the artistry of creating the perfect bank robbery. And that made him an engaging character to watch. He and Denzel Washington were very good together as they play a deadly cat-and-mouse game. I find Denzel Washington very hit-and-miss, but he was very engaging as the maverick, rough-around-the-edges cop Frazer.

Yet underpinning this all is Mr Case and the mystery he was trying so hard to hide. *Spoiler alert* 

It's revealed that during WW2 he collaborated with the Nazis trading high-profile Jews in exchange for diamonds. It's a dark secret that he does not want coming to light. It added another layer of intrigue to this film.

While Owen and Washington were good together, I was less convinced by Washington and Foster. Both Frazer and Madeline were a similarly cat-and-mouse relationship, but thought there scenes were more on-the-nose with less imprecise dialogue.

And I know that Spike Lee's trademark is the dolly-tracking shot making it look like the MC is on a travellator, but I always thinks it looks a bit silly. I was also very confused as to why the theme tune was some late 80's Bollywood song. It was very out of place.

But these are minor criticisms of what was a very good film.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo review

 Number 423 on the top 1000 films of all time is David Fincher's 2011 remake of the Swedish 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.'

Mikhail Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) is a Swedish journalist who has lost everything in a libel case brought against him businessman Hans-Erik Wennerstrom. Businessman Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer) offers him a chance of redemption if Mikhail can solve the forty-year old disappearance of his grandniece Harriet. Mikhail enlists the help of emotionally damaged hacker Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara.)

TGWTDT was the latest offering in the Scandi-noir trend that was dominating the airwaves in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Based on Stieg Larsson's book of the same name, TGWTDT joins the tradition along with Jo Nesbo, Henning Mankell, the Bridge and the Killing. So much of Scandi-noir is rooted in its Scandinavian setting. The mighty mountains, imposing glaciers and remote settings lend themselves well to grisly murders. Frosty temperatures and frostier attitudes all add to the Gothic horror.

And that's why I found the accents so weird. I understand this is an American remake, so I wouldn't expect the actors to be speaking in Swedish, but the accents were inconsistent. Christopher Plummer did well, but Rooney Mara and Robin Wright, who played Mikhail's editor and occasional lover, less so. Daniel Craig didn't bother with one at all. He chose to do this, as the thought it would sound silly otherwise. And it did. Either have all the actors do accents or none of them.

Daniel Craig received star-billing for this well-crafted thriller, but Rooney Mara was the true star. She received a Best Actress nod and it was well-earned. Lisbeth Salander - an emotionally shut down, misanthrope would be a difficult character to play. How do you make her likable without making her annoying? But Rooney Mara brought an excellent amount of vulnerability to the role. And, of course, we have to talk about the horrific scenes where Salander was raped and sodomised. These were brutal, intense scenes and Mara was fantastic.

If I were to criticise the film for anything, it would be the ending. *Spoiler alert* After the main mystery is solved, Plummer rewards Blomkvist by providing him evidence that will help him take down Wennerstrom. However, the evidence proves fruitless. So, Salander helps by hacking him and discovering he is laundering money for organised crime. She then empties his accounts. It was all good, but it seemed like a strange addendum that didn't match the rest of the film. I guess they were bringing everything full circle, but it seemed like Fincher was setting up a second film, rather than finishing this one.

Nevertheless, TGWTDT was an expertly-crafted thriller with a career-high performance from Rooney Mara.

Hugo review

 Number 698 on the top 1000 films of all time is Martin Scorsesee's 2011 historical drama 'Hugo.'

Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) is an orphan who lives in the clocktower of the Parisian Gare Montparnasse railway station. Before his father (Jude Law) died in a fire, the two of them were restoring an automaton that they found in the back of a museum. In honour of his dad, Hugo resolves to finish fixing the robot by stealing parts notably from cantankerous toyshop owner Georges (Ben Kingsley,) while being aided by Georges' goddaughter Isabelle (Chloe Grace Moretz) and librarian Monsieur Labisse (Christopher Lee.) Meanwhile, Hugo has to avoid being caught by station inspector Gustave Daste (Sacha Baron Cohen) who will send him to the orphanage.

If you had told me this was a Martin Scorsesee film, I would never have believed you. There's no mafia, no profuse use of the F word, no Leonardo Dicaprio and no Robert De Niro. Yet Scorsesee has still lovingly crafted a creative, engrossing story with lovely visuals and a great cinematography. At the end of the day, he is a film director and lover of film, so it's no surprise that he took to this film with such ardent fervour. And film is at the heart of Hugo. Upon fixing the automaton, Hugo stumbles upon a mystery that goes all the way back to the birth of cinema, tying together elements like the Lumiere Brothers, Georges Meliet and the famous film 'A Trip to the Moon.'

The ensemble cast were all very good together. Asa Butterfield has grown up a little from his leading role in the Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. Ben Kingsley is always great regardless of whatever he is in and Sacha Baron Cohen brought a frenetic energy and mischief to his role. The only one I was less sure about was Chloe Grace Moretz. As an American, she obviously had to put on a British accent, but it sounded very put on. Maybe because it was the stereotypical posh accent that Americans do whenever they're playing British characters.

Nevertheless, this was a very entertaining film. It was creative with a great cast and it serves as proof that Scorsesee can do a lot more than just mob films.

The Deer Hunter review

 Number 165 on the top 1000 films of all time is Michael Cimino's 1978 epic Vietnam war film 'the Deer Hunter.'

Michael (Robert De Niro), Nicky (Christopher Walken) and  Steven (John Savage) are three steel workers and happy go-lucky young men who enlist to fight in Vietnam. They are caught by the Viet Cong and are subjected to such brutal torture that each man's life changes forever. Meryl Streep and John Cazale co-star in what very easily could have been just another film about Vietnam.

This film takes a while to get going but when it does, you're in for a hell of a ride. At three hours long, I would argue the film is a little bloated with the first hour seeming to last forever. I found myself constantly wondering when we're going to get to Vietnam. Instead, I was subjected to the three leads and their friends drinking in a bar, an extended marriage scene and, of course, the eponymous deer-hunting scene. Although having said that, the bar scene where the group of friends belt out Frankie Valli's 'Can't Take my Eyes off you,' was a sight to behold. The absolute perfect song for that scene. Reportedly, Michael Cimino had the actors sing along to the actual song rather than a backing track, which is standard film practice. Cimino argued this would increase the realism of the scene which it absolutely did.

The first hour is, of course, the film's set-up: showcasing the normal life of our heroes before they embark on their journey. For us to understand how Vietnam has changed them, we have to understand how they were before, especially Nicky who suffers the worse trauma of the three, but more on that later. Out of all the men, he is one of the first to start dancing and singing to Franki Valli, demonstrating how he is the most jovial and outgoing of the three. Steven is a little shy whereas Michael is already a little hardened. Out of the three he goes through the most profound transformation.

Where this film really kicks into gear is in the controversial Russian Roulette scene, which was a masterpiece of dramatic tension. Prisoner to the Viet Cong, our three heroes are forced to play Russian Roulette, first against the other prisoners and then each other. Steven quickly falls to pieces and is consigned to a watery pit full of rats, leaving behind Michael and Nick as last men standing. De Niro and Walken are both brilliant here - Walken won Best Supporting Actor for his role, which was well-deserved. His fear was palpable.

Michael ups the stakes by adding three bullets into the revolver instead of just one, but this is all part of his plan to escape. And this is when all hell breaks loose. In the film's most thrilling scene, Michael turns the gun on his captors, kills the leader, Nicky grabs another gun and the pair shoot their way to safety. They rescue Steven, despite Michael initially wanting to leave him behind, believing him to only be a liability, and eventually reach safety. But what made this scene so brilliant was how there was no background music. The silence brought the tension to the forefront.

Although all three men escape, they don't all make it home. Michael and Steven return to America where we see how badly the war has changed them. In his escape from Vietnam, Steven is badly hurt and we next see him in rehabilitation after having lost his legs and one arm.  Steven refuses to come home as he no longer feels that he fits in. As for Michael, he is a completely broken man. He spurns his welcome home celebrations and has difficulty reconnecting to his old friends.

He goes deer-hunting again, but is unable to shoot a deer he had been tracking. Stan (John Cazale) snaps after being mocked once too often by Axle (Chuck Aspergen) and threatens to shoot him, but Michael snatches the revolver, removes all but one bullet, holds it to Stan's head and pulls the trigger on an empty chamber. The camaraderie and brotherhood that was present in the first film is now firmly in the past.

And where is Nicky? Steven reveals that somebody has been sending him money. Michael suspects this is Nicky who went AWOL and never returned home from Vietnam. He returns there to find him which is when we see the film's most heartbreaking scene. Nicky, now addicted to heroin, spends his days in a gambling den, playing Russian Roulette and sending his winnings home to Steven. He is now an empty shell of a man - no longer, the young man singing along to Frankie Valli. His eyes are dead and his skin is like chalk. 

Having made him a promise to not leave him behind, Michael desperately tries to convince Nicky to come home, but quickly realises that he is too far gone. Nicky is a dead a man walking and Walken is magnificent. His transformation is the most tragic as he is the only character who has truly transformed, whereas even before Vietnam, Michael is already a bit of a hard nut and Steven is already sensitive which is only exacerbated by their trauma, Nicky has pulled a full 180 from a happy, go-lucky, jovial steel-worker to a hollow man. 

Just when it seems that Michael has reached Nicky, he holds the gun to his head and sends the bullet into his skull. Once again the lack of background music highlights Michael's breaking heart, as well as the audience's. 

The Deer Hunter was Michael Cimino's breakthrough as a director and deservedly so, although it takes a while to get going, but when it does it is well worth the watch with some Oscar-worthy performances especially from De Niro and Walken. It's just a shame that Cimino was never able to repeat his early success.