Transamerica review

 Number 834 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 2005 comedy-drama 'Transamerica'.

Sabrina "Bree" Osborne (Felicity Huffman) is a transwoman in Los Angeles who is soon going to have surgery to fully complete her transition. However, a week beforehand, she discovers that she has a son Toby (Kevin Zegers) who has just been arrested in New York City. He prostitutes himself to feed his drug habit. Bree flies to New York to bail him out of jail with the intention of driving him back to the West Coast.

Can we just discuss the Felicity Huffman shaped elephant in the room. I question whether she was miscast. I don't mean how she as a cis-woman was cast as a trans character - this was the early noughties after all. But I found it strange that a woman, full stop, was playing a trans woman. It would have made more sense to have cast a man in the past. At the very least they wouldn't have needed to worry about a prosthetic penis.

Having said that, Felicity Huffman was good as Bree. She endeared the character with a lot of humanity. But also a lot of resolution. Despite the protestations of her mother, she is sure of who she is and what she wants. And that's to complete her surgery. Yet she is also internally conflicted, determined to keep her true identity to Toby a secret.

Kevin Zegers was equally good as Toby. He is your standard emotionally confused and frustrated teenager. But he is also effectively an orphan who never had any proper parents to take care of him. When he discovers that Bree has lied to him, in more than one way, he initially rejects her, before slowly changing his mind.

I think the two were great together. They had good chemistry, as two people who were just trying their best to make things work. I've heard some who would class this as a road film, which would be an accurate description. Over the long drive back to LA, the two discover a lot about each other.

This was a powerful and sensitive character drama that earned Felicity Huffman her only Oscar nod. Since her involvement in the college admissions scandal, I don't think she'll be getting anymore anytime soon.

Y tu Mama Tambien review

 Number 641 on the top 1000 films of all time is Alfonso Cuaron's Mexican road film 'Y tu Mama Tambien.'

Tenoch (Diego Luna) and Julio (Gael Garcia Bernal) are two bored, over-sexed teenagers who meet the older Spanish Luisa (Maribel Verdu) by pure chance. The three of them embark on a road trip to a paradise beach. Cue a coming-of-age drama with a lot of sex.

There have been some who have dubbed Y tu Mama Tambien as a Mexican 'American Pie,' while the two both are coming-of-age stories with a lot of sex, I don't think the comparison is really fair.

Y tu Mama tambien has a lot more depth to it than four boys trying to lose their virginities. It is a story about love and friendship taking an introspective look into adolescence. It made me nostalgic for an adolescence I never had. And that's where Alfonso Cuaron's excellent direction came into play.

Tenoch and Julio are never the punchlines to any jokes. Yes, the film has its funny moments, but it isn't a comedy. Instead of laughing at the characters, we can relate to their innocent ways. Yes, the two are directionless miscreants who go through life with a starry-eyed naivete, but that is what makes them infinitely relatable.

That is until, by chance, they meet Luisa and invite her to a paradise beach that might not even exist. She decides to join them for reasons that aren't immediately clear. This is one of the film's most unrealistic moments. The film was released over twenty years ago, but, even then, what would woman would join two strange teenage boys on some random round trip.

Nonetheless, she acts as a calming force helping to bring the two boys back to reality, all building toward to the ending, where they inevitably lose their innocence in one way or another.

Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal are best friends in real life, which meant their on-screen counterparts have an excellent chemistry. And Maribel Verdu was a great addition to the cast. In many ways she acts a mentor to her co-stars, especially, in the steamier scenes.

And this is definitely one of the steamier films I've seen. Yes, it's a great take on the coming-of-age drama, but not one to watch with your parents.

Paris, Texas review

 Number 240 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 1984 road film 'Paris, Texas.'

After spending four years roaming the Mojave desert, aimless drifter Travis Henderson (Harry Dean Stanton) is found in Texas. His brother Walt (Dean Stockwell) takes him home to Los Angeles where he and his French wife Anne (Aurore Clement) have been raising Travis' son Hunter (Hunter Carson.) Travis and Hunter then set out on a road trip to find Jane (Nastassja Kinski,) Travis' wife and Hunter's mother.

I have to admit that this film surprised me. I initially thought it would be pretentious and overly-intellectual a la Ingmar Bergman. But despite its arthouse nature, it was very engaging. It was so bright and vibrant with some gorgeous cinematography. I loved all the sweeping shots of the great American landscape. All the colours popped off of the screen. Speaking of colour, red featured very prominently. Why? I'll leave that to the film majors to answer.

True, at two and a half hours, the film is probably longer than it needs to be. There are a lot of silences and forlorn gazing into the desert. Not all of this held my interest. Yet it was always steered back by Harry Dean Stanton's excellent performance. Travis, being initially mute, would not have been an easy character to play. He is a man rendered virtually catatonic by some unexplained trauma. But Stanton slowly transforms him from a vague, lifeless sketch into a living breathing person.

I also very much enjoyed the score. It was sparing and economical with every piece of music playing at the right moment. Perhaps if there had been more music instead of silences, especially with the pivotal conversations toward the end, I may have been more engaged throughout.

I talked about Stanton earlier, but I don't think there was a weak link among the cast. Dean Stockwell plays Travis' sympathetic, but increasingly frustrated brother. And Aurore Clement was equally good as his wife Anne. It's difficult not to feel sorry for the two as Travis and Hunter without telling them. And, finally, Nastassja Kinski was great as Jane. The final reunion between her and Travis was touching and poignant to watch.

Generally, I'm not a fan of arthouse films. They're the territory of cinophiles and film majors, but Paris, Texas surprised me. It's not a very loud film, but it made a hell of a lot of noise.

Road to Perdition review

 Number 544 on the top 1000 films of all time is Sam Mendes' 2002 crime drama 'Road to Perdition.'

Tom Hanks plays Michael Sullivan, a hitman working for Irish-American mob boss John Rooney (Paul Newman) in 1930's Illinois. When Sullivan is out on a hit with Rooney's son, Connor (Daniel Craig,) Sullivan's own son witnesses the killing. Fearing the boy will talk, Connor kills Michael's wife and his own son. Hellbent on revenge, Hanks will stop at nothing to kill Connor. Meanwhile, a silent assassin Harlen Maguire (Jude Law) is tracking down Michael Sullivan.

What I liked most about this film was its understated nature. For a gangster film, it was subtle and quiet. While there were big acts of violence, as we would expect, it was never gratuitous. This was a film that prided itself on its nuanced performances rather than its grandiose spectacles. And there were some great performances.

Tom Hanks always knocks it out of the park. From Saving Private Ryan  to Captain Philips, he has proven time and time again that he is a well-deserving two-time Oscar winner. This was also Paul Newman's last live-action role before his death a few years later. I remember him well from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. And he brought the same gruff charisma to this role. His character is one of conflict. As well as being Connor's father, he is also Michael's spiritual father. He is a man caught between two sons and two worlds and Newman played the role well.

I was less convinced by Law and Craig, but I feel that's more due to their writing rather than their performances. Law's character was too mysterious and under-developed to be of any circumstance. And after making a powerful impact in the film's first half, Craig then completely disappears in the second half. Supposedly, his character goes into hiding, but considering the film is building towards a showdown between he and Michael Sullivan, it was a let-down to not see this showdown playout.

Nonetheless, this was an enjoyable and effective gangster thriller. And I certainly think that Newman went out on a high.