Dancer in the Dark review

 Number 310 on the top 1000 films of all time is Lars von Trier's musical psychological tragedy 'Dancer in the Dark.'

Selma Jezkova (Bjork) is a Czechian immigrant living in the US. Suffering from a degenerative eye condition, that she has passed onto her son, she ekes out a meagre living from her factory job. She is saving up all her money to pay for an operation that will save her son's eyesight. Catherine Deneuve co-stars as Selma's friend Kathy. Peter Stormare plays Selma's love interest Jeff. David Morse and Stellen Skarsgard also star. 

*Spoilers to follow*

I have written a few listicles detailing the films too traumatic to watch again. Dancer in the Dark would be one such film. It is a soul-crushing, gut-wrenching thoroughly depressing film. Part of that was down to tis realism. Trier shot is like a documentary with low-quality cameras and plenty of close-up shots. Trier pioneered a cinematic style called Dogma 95, and even though Dancer in the dark isn't true Dogma 95, it still retains that some authenticity and intimacy.

The performances were also great. I've seen Bjork act before, and probably never will say again, due to the horrific time she had shooting Dancer in the Dark - to say the least, there was no love lost between her and Trier - but she was brilliant in the lead role.

Granted, she was also difficult to work with - often going AWOL, but she brought the tragic Selma to life - a character who despite the best of intentions is treated awfully in life. Like many of the best people in life, she is given an absolute rotten hand.

Nowhere is this more apparent than with David Morse who plays a policeman and Selma's landlord. Having his own money problems, he asks Selma for a loan. When she refuses, he steals the money she ahs been saving for her son's operation. After she finds out a struggle ensues where she accidentally shoots and kills him. Selma is tried and sentenced tod eath.

It is no surprise that she was given the death sentence, because she was given an awful lawyer who made no effort to defend her from a prosecutor played by Zeljko Ivanuk. As a quick sidenote, I have seen Ivanuk play a few roles as a slimy authority figure. He always plays the part well.

But I found it strange how Selma's lawyer never objected to the prosecutor's evisceration of her client. Especially when Kathy and Jeff get Selma's case reopened with an actual competent lawyer who tears apart his predecessor. It was like Trier was openly admitting and criticising his own mistake.

However, Kathy and Jeff's efforts go to waste as Selma refuses to take the lawyer's help when she realises that his fee will be paid out of the money that she was saving for her son's operation. It all seemed like a pointless, unnecessary way to inject conflict.

Speaking of her son, Gene, despite his importance to the plot, he was never anything more than just a plot device.

I also didn't like the musical numbers. Selma loves musicals and even acts in a Sound of Music production. Of course, you can't have Bjork starring in your film without having her sing, but these songs seemed rather strenuous to the plot. Jeff declares that he doesn't like musicals because he finds it strange when people spontaneously break into song and dance. That's what happened here and I agreed it was weird.

Nevertheless, this was still a powerful if heart-breaking film. It's definitely not one I will be watching again in a hurry. Too sad for that.

Death at a Funeral review

 Number 915 on the top 1000 films of all time is the British black-comedy drama 'Death at a Funeral.'

Daniel (Matthew Mcfayden) and Robert (Rupert Graves) are two squabbling brothers attending their father's funeral. They are part of a larger dysfunctional family who have to settle their differences. Peter Dinklage, Ewen Bremner, Alan Tudyk, Peter Vaughn and Keeley Hawes all co-star.

This is an entertaining or not outstanding comedy that encapsulates the pitch-black humour that the UK is so well-known for. It certainly elicited a number of chuckles but it isn't laughing-in-the-aisles funny. Much of the humour comes from the dysfunctional nature of the family - in particularly Uncle Alfie (Peter Vaughn.) He is a wheel-chair bound OAP with a foul mouth.

The vulgar, crude pensioner who doesn't care what anybody thinks is a cliched character, but it's still entertaining to watch. That is especially true when you have Peter Vaughn in the role. There was some proper gross-out humour that would not fly in a Hollywood production.

What you would see in an American film is Alan Tudyk's character of Simon. Granted, Simon is English with Alan Tudyk doing a passable English accent, but he very much seemed to be based on the over-the-top American comedy that the Yanks seem to love so much. To help calm his nerves about the funeral, his fiancee, and Daniel's cousin, Martha (Daisy Donovan) gives him a valium. Except it isn't a valium, but an experimental hallucinogen.

In his drug-altered state, he knocks open the coffin spilling the family's dead patriarch onto the floor. But, worse, he later strips naked and climbs onto the roof of the building. It was all very over-exaggerated - I think the writers were playing up the hallucinogenic symptoms for comedy purposes, but it all became quite silly.

Yet the film also possessed a lot of heart with the character of Daniel who is struggling to step out of his more successful brother's shadow. Matthew Mcfayden did well bringing some much-needed gravitas to the more farcical proceedings. We definitely needed this sobering contrast especially when Frank (Peter Dinklage) reveals a dark secret about he and Daniel's father. This all culminates when Daniel gives a spontaneous, but heart-felt eulogy about his father.

Death at a Funeral was certainly not the funniest film I've ever seen, but it was definitely charming enough to earn its place on this list.

The Last King of Scotland review

 Number 557 on the top 1000 films of all time is the historical drama 'The Last King of Scotland.'

Nicholas Garrigan (James Mcavoy) is a young Scottish doctor. Looking to make a difference, he travels to Uganda to work in a missionary clinic ran by David Merrit (Adam Katz) and his wife Sarah (Gillian Anderson.) But after a chance encounter, he becomes the personal physician of the Ugandan despot Idi Amin (Forrest Whitaker.)

In terms of dictators, Idi Amin is up there among the rest. He expelled all South Asians from his country, wiped out all political opposition and was responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths. Despite all this, Forrest Whitaker showed a remarkably human side of the tyrant. Without never romanticising his actions, Whitaker made Idi Amin into a watchable character. He had a fascinating arc as we saw him spiral into paranoia and meglomania while remaining incredibly charismatic.

James Mcavoy was equally good as the naive, starry-eyed doctor initially a disciple of Amin, until his tyrannical actions become too much for Garrigan to ignore. The character of Nicholas Garrigan was a nice dismantling of the white saviour archetype. Rather than your average white colonist aiming to pacify, sedate and civilise the savage negro, Garrigan is a destructive force, albert unintentionally. Instead of saving the black characters, he gets many of them killed. *Spoilers*

One of these characters is Amin's third wife Kay (Kerry Washington) whom Nicholas impregnates while the pair are having a secret tryst. He is criticised for being a white man who couldn't resist the mystical trophy of a black woman.

The Last King of Scotland was penned by Peter Morgan who wrote other biopics like the Queen and the Crown. He wrote well knowing the most important sections to focus on. There isn't any spare fat anywhere in this film. I also want to give dues to Gillian Anderson. She was great in the supporting role of Sarah Merrit. Having seen countless dictators come and go, she fails to share Nicholas' wide-eyed optimism for Idi Amin's regime.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Last King of the Scotland. It was a great look into the life of Uganda's ruthless dictator. 

District 9 review

 Number 329 on the top 1000 films of all time is the South African, science fiction action thriller: District 9.

In 1980's South Africa, an alien spaceship appears over Johannesburg. The alien inhabitants, only known by the human moniker of 'Prawn,' are rounded up into a shanty town known as District 9. Thirty years later, humanity has had enough of these aliens, whom they see as nothing more than thieves and liars, and demand their relocation. Heading this up is bureaucrat Wikus Van Der Mer We (Sharlton Copley) who befriends a Prawn called Christopher Johnson who is trying to return home with his son.

There is no denying that we are a tribal species. We are afraid of the unknown and sometimes that fear can turn into anger, as an us vs them mentality takes over. This is a theme that's been tackled many times before, but nothing about District 9 felt cliched or hackneyed. Having the "other," so to speak, being an insectoid alien was a refreshing way of engaging with this time.

District 9 is a very obvious allegory of South African apartheid. And the metaphor helped to keep the message pertinent. Wikus was a likeable protagonist starting off as a hapless, ineffectual bureaucrat and becoming an unlikely hero. After being exposed to a mysterious alien liquid, he begins mutating into one of them. This brings him to the attention of the shadowy MNU - a weapons technology who want to dissect him. They believe he holds the answer to helping humans to operate the alien weaponry. Vikus escapes and later connects with Christopher Johnson.

Sharlton Copley was very good considering that he had no formal acting experience. This was even more impressive considering that he improvised most of his dialogue. I did enjoy how he didn't fulfil a reluctant or even unlikely hero archetype. At many times he isn't heroic but cowardly. He helps Christopher Johnson, not out of altruism, but for the purely selfish reason of wanting to be transformed back into a human. But this flaw made him classically human. And he overcomes this flaw to become a hero.

And although the Prawns were little more than CGI animations they felt real. Just like humans, they weren't all the same. Some like Christopher Johnson were only trying to protect their family while others were criminals and miscreants. And the fact that we learn nothing about them except for how humans perceive them only makes them the more empathetic. You realise that there is more to them than meets the eye.

If the film falls down anywhere, it would be with the villains who were generic and superficial. The head mercenary Colonel Koobus (David James) was little more than your shouty, run-of-the-mill bad guy. He evens falls into the classic "I'm going to monologue before I kill the hero instead of killing him" cliche, which results in the Prawns catching and dismembering him. And Nigerian crime lord Obesadnjo (Eugene Wanagwa Khumbanyiwa) wasn't developed enough to be menacing. I also don't understand why Wikus would still love his wife after she betrays him to her father, who is the managing director of MNU, but I guess love is blind.

Ultimately, this was a great film. I enjoyed it immensely. It was a brilliant morality tale in how our own hatred and fear of the 'other' can tear us apart.

3:10 to Yuma review

 Number 489 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 2007 remake of the Western action 3:10 to Yuma.

Christian Bale plays Dan Evans, a down-on-his-luck ranchers and family man. With steadily mounting debts, he decides to risk everything and earn a big reward by bringing outlaw Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) to justice. Gretchen Mol, Ben Foster, Peter Fonda and Alan Tudyk all co-star.

Since starting this challenge, I've watched my fair share of Westerns and I can safely say that I don't care for cowboy films. Cowboys and gunfights have never been something that's interested me and, as such, I was pretty bored throughout this film. This isn't a valid criticism, but more personal preference. Obviously it has to be good, otherwise it wouldn't be on this list, but it wasn't for me.

As I wasn't interested in this film, I wasn't particularly invested in any of the characters. Yes, they do have arcs and they show some growth, but I don't think it was enough. Throughout the film, we're led to believe that Daniel wants to deliver Ben Wade to the law, so he can collect the reward and pay off his debts. Admirable motivation for sure. But at the end, it's revealed that all he wants is to make his sons proud of him. Yet I think that this happened too late for it to have any input. And I don't think it's very credible.

Yes it's established early on that he has a rocky relationship with his son William (Logan Lerman) but that doesn't stop him from accompanying his dad on his mission. The two of them fight side by side on multiple occasions.

Ben Wade's arc was a bit more interesting. he's quickly established as a ruthless outlaw - brutally robbing an armoured stagecoach and killing all but one of the Pinkerton guards. Wade later kills another man in his sleep, but as he and Daniel grow a burgeoning respect, Wade starts to reform his ways. In the end, he voluntarily goes to prison so that Daniel's family can have the reward money. Characters are never wholly good or bad.

Having said that, Ben Wade's right hand man Charlie Prince (Ben Foster) was pretty evil. In a hell-bent mission to rescue his boss, Charlie executes surrendering federal Marshals and shoots a man in the back. This unwavering loyalty was by far the most interesting part of the film and I wish they explored that further. I don't think they properly addressed why Charlie was so loyal.

While Western afficionados might love this film, it wasn't for me in the slightest.

The Princess Bride review

 Number 176 on the top 1000 films of all time is Rob Reiner's fantasy drama 'The Princess Bride. Although this film is on the aforementioned list, that's not why I'm reviewing it. It recently appeared on my top ten movie list so I will give my thoughts here.

A young boy (Fred Savage) is sick and tucked up in bed. To cheer him up, his grandfather (Peter Falk) reads him the book ' The Princess Bride.' The book tells the story of the true love between Westley (Cary Elwes) and Buttercup (Robin Wright) who have been separated by fate. When Westley seemingly dies, Buttercup becomes engaged to Prince Humperdink (Chris Sarandon) but she is then kidnapped before the wedding can take place. Mandy Patinkin, Andre the Giant, Wallace Shawn and Billy Crystal all co-star.

This film has always been one of my favourites so I wondered whether it was blind nostalgia that influenced me to add it to my top ten list. However, upon a recent rewatch, it most definitely holds up. Firstly, it is hilarious. I must have seen it a hundred times, but it still had me in fits of giggles. Sure at times it was cheesy and unbelievable but by the same admission it's supposed to be. It's a fantasy fairy-tale after all. Further, the meta-narrative helps to combat some of the cheesiness whenever things get too lovey-dovey between Westley and Buttercup, we always cut back tot he grandson pleading that he doesn't have to hear the kissing scene.

We see the metaness continue with the subversion of traditional fairy tale tropes. Our supposed Prince Charming seemingly dies soon into the film, the ginormous Fezzik turns out to be a gentle giant rather than a mindless killing machine and even the albino who tortures Westley just has a frog in his throat. We might also expect Westley and Prince Humperdink to fight to the death but instead Westley outbluffs the prince and spareshis life. In fact, the big climatic scene takes place between Inigo Matoya and Count Rugen which I'll come to in a moment. 

And these subversions is what made this film so fun to watch. Although Buttercup did fall a little too neatly inoto the damsel in distress trope. other than screaming and getting into trouble, she was pretty useless. She wasn't exactly and Ellen Ripley or sarah O'Connor.

But the Princess Bride also had real heart. And I don't mean the cheesy true love story between Westley and Buttercup. Rather I am speaking about the Inigo Montoya subplot where the Spaniard is on a quest to avenge his father's killer - the villainous Count Rugen who was played brilliant by Christopher Guest. Guest was just the perfect amount of stone-cold severity.

The film climaxes with Inigo duelling Rugen where the former finally gains his revenge. Reportedly Mandy Painkin's father died of cancer shortly before filming. Patinkin took the role of Inigo as he connected with the character. When he kills Rugen, he imagined, he was killing the cancer that killed his father. This led to one of the film's most badass lines: "I want my father back, you son of a bitch."

    The music was also great Every composition matched up perfectly with its corresponding scene. in Westley and Inigo's duel, the music punctuates fight choreography brilliantly. The same goes for Inigo and Rugen's duel.

   Finally I have to acknowledge the amazing supporting cast who stole every scene they were in. We've already talked about Andre the Giant who stopped Fezzik from being sheer comic relief. Wallace Shawn was also great as the villainous Vizzini. He was delightfully over the top without being pantomimy. And of course we have Billy Crystal and Carol Kane who provided some of the film's funniest scenes as Miracle Max and his wife Valerie. reportedly, director Rob Reiner had to leave the set when filming as his laughter kept ruining the takes.

This film is a timeless classic that has stood up for over three decades. It's hilarious with real heart and iconic dialogue. I shall end on one of the film's most recognisable lines: "hello. My name is Inigo Montoya.You killed my father. Prepare to die."