This is England review

 Number 599 on the top 1000 films of all time is Shane Meadows' 2006 British drama 'This is England.'

Shaun (Thomas Thurgoose) is a troubled twelve-year-old boy whose father has recently been killed in the Falklands' War. Bullied at school, he is taken in by a gang of skinheads led by Woody (Joe Gilgun) and his girlfriend Lol (Vicky McClure.) However, everything changes when the gang's volatile and racist member Combo (Stephen Graham) returns from prison.

Directors like Shane Meadows always have difficult jobs when it comes to films like 'This is England.' They can't be seen either out-right condemning or approving of their content; they have to portray an objective reality allowing the viewer to make their own decisions. And that's where Meadows succeeded. Without ever becoming too preachy, he provides a fascinating snapshot into skinhead culture.

But he cannot take all the credit. Much of that should be bestowed on the brilliant Stephen Graham. Before he became a household name, he was playing characters who were espousing the same nationalistic, jingoism that was just as relevant now as it was back in the eighties. And he did it with such nuance. It would be all too easy to play the role as a romping - stomping, red-faced gammon shouting at the top of his lungs, but Graham was smarter than that. He brought many layers to Combo showing his vulnerability. While never condoning them, you understand his actions.

All this was seen through the perspective of twelve-year-old Shaun. This was a clever decision, as it was a stark warning of how easy somebody can be brainwashed by ideology. Thomas Thurgoose was very good in his debut role. While many of his co-stars like Joe Gilgun and Vicky McClure have gone onto bigger and better roles, I can't say the same for Thurgoose, but I'm sure his time will come soon.

Granted, you could argue that there isn't much in the way of plot, but I don't think it was necessary in a slice-of-life film like this. It was a simple snapshot of skinhead culture. And that's all it needed to be. Plus it had the brilliant Stephen Graham as the lead. What more do you want? Just be warned, this is England is way too depressing to watch more than once.

Midnight Run review

 Number 731 on the top 1000 films of all time is the action-comedy Midnight Run.

Jack Walsh (Robert De Niro) is a bounty hunter who has been enlisted to bring accountant Jonathan "The Duke" Mardukas (Charles Grodin) to his bail bondsman Eddie Moscone (Joe Pantoliano.) After embezzling 15 million dollars from mob boss Jimmy Serrano (Dennis Farina,) the Duke then skips out on the bail that Moscone posts for him. But Walsh finds it more difficult to bring back the Duke than he thought, as he has to outrun the FBI, a rival bounty hunter and Serrano himself.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. It was funny, tense, but also very heart-warming. I thought that De Niro and Grodin had a great chemistry. They played off each other well. Their relationship contributed a lot to the film's humour. Grodin is a comedian by trade, so it's no surprise that he was so funny. But De Niro did surprise me. Perhaps I'm so used to him playing grumpy old men or grizzled gangsters that I wouldn't expect him to be funny, but he also had great timing. And he was very charismatic. The relationship between the two contributed greatly to the film's success.

And Joey Pants was great. He brought a great chaotic energy to his panicking bail bondsman of Eddie Moscone.  There were plenty of great gags such as the increasing number of obstacles that Walsh faces in bringing the Duke home. Of course, you would expect things to be anything but easy, it was still entertaining seeing everything play out.

However, beyond all the farcical humour, there is a strong emotional core that ties everything together. Both Walsh and the Duke are highly sympathetic characters. Initially, Walsh is closed-off and withdrawn, but he slowly opens himself up to the Duke, revealing how when he used to be a cop, he was drummed off the force after he refuses to take a bribe from a drug lord like the rest of his department had. This resulted in the breakdown of his marriage, as well as his gloomy outlook on life. Similarly, it's revealed that the Duke robbed Serrano so he could give the money to charitable causes. A naive goal, but an admirable one nonetheless.

Throughout the film, you see Walsh being conflicted by his conscience and by his love of money. Which direction would he take? Believing him to be an inherently good man, the Duke forges a relationship with Walsh hoping that he will let him go. And this tension drove the film along to a satisfying, heartfelt, and not at all, overly-sentimental conclusion.

I thoroughly enjoyed Midnight Run. Give it a watch. I think you will too.

The Sixth Sense review

 Number 190 on the top 1000 films of all time  is the psychological thriller 'The Sixth Sense.'

Dr Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) is a child psychologist whose latest patient is the nine-year-old Cole Sear (Haley Joe Osment.) However, Cole is deeply troubled by his ability to see and speak with the dead.

This film kicked off M. Night Shyamalan's directing career and it's easy to understand why. He created a movie that uses atmosphere to scare its audiences. What Shymalan does so well is keeping the scares subtle and understated. There isn't any gratuitous gore or overused jumpscares, so when do we get scares, they're all the more effective. The film opens with one of Dr Crowe's patients shooting him in the stomach before blowing his brains out. yet the camera pans away and we only hear the gunshot. When Cole is around a classmate's house for a birthday party, he is scared of a particularly locked cupboard. We don't see what's inside it, but we hear a terrified voice screaming not to be put in the dark. Another of the ghosts that Cole sees has been shot in the head, but we don't see the violence itself; only the bloody wound in the back of his head. These allusions were far more powerful than seeing any outright violence.

Shymalan also brought a touch of tragedy to the horror. Cole's sixth sense leads to him being a social outcast while Dr Crowe has a difficult relationship with his wife. The two find a kindred spirit together. Willis and Osment were great opposite each other. In fact, Willis is so well-known for his action man roles, you would think he is little more than a big slab of meat. But this meat can act, and act well. Osment, at eleven-years-old, was equally good. No surprise that he was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar.

Toni Collette who played his mother also deserves some praise. She plays a woman under the incredible stress of raising her son by herself. On top of this, he also has a sixth sense that drives a stake between her and Cole. This all culminates in a tearful climax. Collette was also worthy of the Best Supporting Actress nod.

And, although, I won't spoil it here, the ending twist has to be one of the best in movie history, perhaps only second to Old Boy.

Although Shymalan might never have been able to replicate his early success, the Sixth Sense proved that he is a brilliant director who can craft a simultaneously tragic, but scary film.

Bound review

 Number 862 on the top 1000 films of all time is the Wachowski sisters' directorial debut and neo-noir crime-thriller 'Bound.'

Violet (Jennifer Tilly) is the girlfriend to the violent and unpredictable money launderer to the mob Caesar (Joe Pantoliano) and is sick of being in the life. She starts a clandestine affair with ex-con and neighbour Corky (Gina Gershon.) The two start plotting to rip off Caesar and the mob and then cut and run.

What the Wachowskis did with Bound was take a genre that's had its heyday - noir - and injected some new life into it. They did this through Violet and Corky's lesbian relationship. Reportedly, the Wachoskis struggled in finding an interested studio and actresses, but they stuck to the guns and I'm glad they did, instead of giving the more conventional route of a straight relationship. Putting a lesbian love affair front-and-centre was a brave choice for the nineties, but it worked well. Representation in mainstream media is such a buzzword in modern cinema, but Bound, showed that when representation is done right, it's great to watch. Gay women can do everything straight men can do.

It would have been all too easy to have a man in Violet's place, convincing his lover to help him flee the mob. But this gender-bending helped to subvert a clever cliche. I also enjoyed how Violet and Corky were both equals. In the noir films of old, it would be the male hero doing all the exciting stuff, while the woman stood by and looked pretty. yet as much of a badass Corky is, Violet was every bit her equal.

It is Violet who kicks the story into gear. When things go wrong, it is she who stays calm and doesn't panic. And when Caesar figures out their plan, it is she who manipulates things to her advantage. And it is Violet, not Corky, who *spoiler alert* kills Caesar, successfully completing their heist.

Conversely, the tough-as-nails, closed-off Carly has a chance to display her more sensitive side - and all credit to Gina Gershon who took what could have been just another emotionally closed-off woman and made her a character in her own right. Jennifer Tilly was also great as a femme fatale type role.

I've been speaking at length about the female leads, but I have to mention Joe Pantoliano. In his debut lead role, he played the slimy and manipulative Caesar to a tee. Pantoliano has a penchant for playing memorable villains whether that's in on the Sopranos or Memento or the Matrix. He's a great actor. So is Christopher Meloni who gave a memorable performance as secondary villain, fellow mobster and Caesar's rival 'Johnny.' He provided a lot of dark comic relief.

I thoroughly enjoyed this neo-noir thriller. It was gripping throughout, maybe not always the most believable, but it was a hell of a ride.