Being John Malkovich review

 Number 500 on the top 1000 films of all time is the surrealist fantasy-comedy 'Being John Malkovich.'

Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) is a down-and-out puppeteer living in New York City. He is trapped in a loveless marriage with his wife Lotte (Cameron Diaz.) When he finds work as an office-clerk, he stumbles upon a mysterious portal that leads him into the mind of John Malkovich. He discovers that for fifteen minutes a day he can literally be John Malkovich. He and his co-worker Maxine (Catherine Keener) then decide to exploit this by charging people $200 for the experience of 'Being John Malkovich.'

I have watched over 500 films on this list. I have watched comedies, dramas, musicals, romances and horrors. And this has to be one of the weirdest, zaniest, most creative films I have ever seen. It takes a simple concept, which could have easily become tedious, and kept taking it to new levels. The surrealism is what made everything so relatable. In many ways, the film is like a daydream - who hasn't thought about being a celebrity for a day? It's one hell of a vicarious thrill if completely bonkers.

Although could we expect anything less from Spike Jonze? This was the man who went onto the direct the absolutely excellent and similarly creative 'Her.' But what's most impressive is that 'Being John Malkovich' was his directorial debut, as well as the debut of Charlie Kauffman, who penned the script. Kauffman was up for the best Original Screenplay Oscar, but he ultimately lost to Alan Ball and 'American Beauty.' While 'American Beauty' is a good film in its own right, it is pretentious, and not nearly as creative as 'Being John Malkovich.' Kauffman penned a great script that didn't take itself too seriously.

But it only worked because John Malkovich agreed to star in it. Reportedly he only wanted to produce and instead recommended Tom Cruise, but Kauffman was adamant that it had to be Malkovich in the role. When the studio also suggested other actors, Kauffman stuck to his guns. This was a great decision, as the film wouldn't have worked with another actor in the role.

Cameron Diaz also really surprised me. She was virtually unrecognisable as Lotte. I have never rated her much as an actress, but she did the drama well here. And although Craig Schwartz was a slimy toad, John Cusack played the role well. He was intriguing enough to want to keep watching. He was also weak-minded enough to be influenced by the scheming Maxine who was a Lady Macbeth character of sorts. She machinates much of the film's conflict including the scheme to charge people to inhabit John Malkovich's mind.

Being John Malkovich might have been one of the zaniest films ever-made, but it is definitely worth a watch. 

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.