Lincoln review

 Number 836 on the top 1000 films of all time is Steven Spielberg's biographical period-drama 'Lincoln.'

The year is 1865. The American Civil War is coming to an end. President Abraham Lincoln (Daniel Day-Lewis) is desperately trying to pass the thirteenth amendment so he can formally abolish slavery. Will he succeed? A sprawling ensemble cast includes Hal Holbrook, David Costabile, Tommy Lee Jones, Sally Field and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

As I'm sure you're sick of hearing by now, I don't like period dramas. They are neither interesting or engaging. their huge casts only serve to complicate or confuse things. And, by their very nature, they're so lacking in conflict, the writers have to really struggle in generating any type of narrative tension. It's not like a thriller where there's a murder to be solved or the will-they, won't they trope, you have in romance films.

Lincoln only cemented this belief further. For me, it was unengaging, uninteresting and difficult to follow. The overly-large cast only made things more confusing. I'm sure it was just me and my short-attention span, but I did struggle in differentiating the different characters after a while.

Daniel Day-Lewis won his third acting Oscar for his role. But I'm going to be controversial and say that I don't think this role was Oscar-worthy. Compared to his magnificent performance in There Will be Blood, his performance here was very average. This is true especially by Day-Lewis standards. Unlike with There Will Be Blood, I don't think I can pinpoint one exact moment where I thought "yes, that's why Day-Lewis won this Oscar. I think Denzel Washington in Flight, who was also Oscar-nominated, was just as good if not better.

Gangs of New York review

 Number 790 on the top 1000 films of all time is Martin Scorsesee's historical crime epic 'Gangs of New York.'

Set in 19th century Manhattan, Amsterdam Vallon (Leonardo Dicaprio) is a man seeking revenge. Sixteen years earlier, his father "Priest" Vallon (Liam Neeson) was killed by fearsome gangster Bill 'the Butcher' Cutting (Daniel Day-Lewis) leader of the xenophobic gang 'the Natives' - one of the many gangs who ruled New York. Amsterdam also grows friendly with attractive pickpocket Jenny Everdeane (Cameron Diaz.) Stephen Graham, Brendan Gleeson and Jimbroadbent all co-star.

Gangs of New York showcased Scorsesee at his absolute best. Based on a true story, he brought characters and a setting that have long been dead to history, back to life again. Everything coalesced to make a thrilling spectacle. The costume design was on-point as the actual set production. Scorsesee had a mile of nineteenth-century New York reproduced on a film set in Rome. He also hired a dialect coach to make sure that all the accents were historically accurate. Dicaprio speaks with a hybrid Irish-American accent and Day-Lewis has a hard New York accent.

And Day-Lewis is a hell of an actor. He might take method acting to an extreme, but it paid off in the finished product. He is scary as the unpredictable Butcher - a character who has lived to forty-seven through terror alone. How does the adage go? Be wary of the old man in the profession where men die young. Day-Lewis really just embodied the character. No wonder he's considered one of the best actors of his generation.

Dicaprio was great as well, taking Amsterdam through an arc of a poor Irish immigrant's son to become the unlikely leader of the resistance movement. He really shone here. The same can't be said for Cameron Diaz who was nothing special in her role. Her character - a former prostitute who suffered an abortion is certainly a tragic one, but one that anybody could have played.

Despite being close to three hours, Gangs of New York never felt over-long. It was masterfully paced and throttled along. Granted, it wasn't perfect. At times, it leant into melodrama with some excessive slow-motion and grandiose music. During the final fight sequence, we see some of our favourite characters die in strange and contrived ways, which I won't spoil here.

Nonetheless, Gangs of a New York is a brilliant film - one of Scorsesee's best. The titular gangs may have once been forgotten, but Scorsesee has ensured that they will be remembered forever more.

There Will Be Blood review

 Number 224 of on the top 1000 films of all time is Paul Thomas Anderson's epic period drama There Will be Blood.

Daniel Day-Lewis plays Daniel Plainview, a prospector turned ruthless oil tycoon in Southern California. Over the course of three decades, we see the rise and fall of his empire, as well as his tempestuous relationship with local preacher Eli Sunday (Paul Dano.)

I'll readily admit that I'm not a fan of period dramas. Generally, I find them slow and boring. I'm just not interested enough in their subject matter. And There Will be Blood  was no exception. This is no disrespect to Mr Day-Lewis. There is no doubt that Plainview is a despicable character. After his adopted son is deafened by an explosion, Plainview sends him to a special school to save him the trouble of raising him. He also cheats the Sundays out of their land and refuses to allow Eli to bless his new wells. 

Despite this he is still a very charismatic character to watch. I wouldn't necessarily say I wanted him to achieve his goals, but I was intrigued to see what would happen. And this was down to Day-Lewis' strong portrayal. He gave a character who could have easily been a stereotypical, moustache-twirling panto villain, a humanity and moral greyness.

I just wish Anderson had this in a shorter amount of time. At times, there is a lot of talking and the pacing was slow. I'm not sure we needed to spend as long as we did on Plainview's fake brother Henry (Kevin J O'Connor.) But maybe that ties in well into the central idea behind the film: it doesn't matter how rich you are if you're the only one enjoying the wealth. Plainview turns his son against him and kills the fraudster impersonating his brother. I wasn't entirely clear on the motivations of the fraudster, but presumably it was to steal Plainview's money.

The film climaxes with Plainview's rivalry with Eli bubbling over into a fall-on confrontation. Plainview beats Eli to death and the film ends with Plainview sitting alone in his massive mansion, a somewhat obvious metaphor for how the pursuit of wealth can leave you lonely.

I did want to enjoy this film more than I did. Day-Lewis truly earned his second Oscar win, but the pacing could have been faster with far less shots of the desert landscape. But hey, maybe that's just me. As I've said, I'm just not a fan of period dramas.

In the Name of the Father review

Number 205 on the top 1000 films of all time is Jim Sheridan's 1993 biopic In the Name of the Father. 

Based on the true story of Gerry Conlon and the Guildford Four, we see the lovable rogue Gerry Conlon, a Belfastian who along with three others are falsely imprisoned when the IRA bomb a pub in Guildford.

Would you believe that this is my very first Daniel Day-Lewis film? He plays Gerry Conlon, taking him on a great character arc from workshy layabout to charismatic hero. From humble beginnings stealing lead from the roofs of houses in Belfast, we see him evolve into a brave leader prepared to stand up for what's right.

And why is that? Because he and his friends have been horrifically betrayed by the British criminal justice system. Bullied into signing a false confession, by policemen keen to cut corners to secure a quick win, he is sentenced to life in prison.

But that isn't all. Conlon's family are also imprisoned under the erroneous idea that they're a support network for the IRA. This includes Conlon's father, Giuseppe, (Pete Poselthwaite.) Poselthwaite is always a formidable actor and he played very well off Day-Lewis, as the film explores their dysfunctional relationship. Giuseppe is a straight, hard-working bookkeeper, in contrast to his immature son, and he quickly disapproves of Gerry's growing relationship with IRA prisoner and true bomber of the pub, Joe McAndrew. But when Giuseppe dies in prison, in the midst of mounting an appeal, Gerry takes up his cause. Although this was somewhat predictable, it was still tragic.

Aided by the solicitor Gareth Pierce (Emma Thompson,) Conlon secures freedom for his friends. And Emma Thompson gave a great performance. The as she fought for her clients was plain to see. I also loved Trevor Jones' musical score. In the final scene after Conlon has secured his freedom, we hear Irish pipes play in the background. This was a small, but powerful touch.

If I were to criticise the film for anything, I would have liked to have seen more of a focus on the rest of the Guildford Four: Paul Hill (John Lynch,) Paddy Armstrong (Mark Sheppard) and Carole Richardson (Beatie Edney.) But I guess Gerry Conlon was always the focus. And of course Jim Sheridan was playing fast and loose with history to produce a powerful if doomy film.

And why was this Pete Poselthwaite's only Oscar-nominated performance? He was a fine actor and he deserved a few more Oscar nods. 

And you maybe wondering whether the true perpetrators for the Guildford pub bombing were ever arrested? No, despite McAndrew openly confessing that he did it, as God forbid the police admit they made a mistake. And were any police officers every punished for hiding evidence, obtaining confessions under duress that led to the false imprisonment of the Guildford Four? No. I am disappointed but not surprised.