United 93 review

 Number 632 on the top 1000 films of all time is Paul Greengrass' docudrama 'United 93.'

United 93 is based on the true story of the fourth plane that was hijacked during the 9/11 terror attack. The other three planes found their target. The fourth didn't due to the passengers and crew revolting and attempting to take back control resulting in the plane crash-landing which killed everybody on board.

Firstly, I have to salute the heroism of everybody on board the real-life United 93. They showed a bravery that I never could have done. These were people with lives of their own who had no intention on dying that day. But they died as heroes. You might notice that I'm speaking very generally, and, alas, I have to, as Paul Greengrass was similarly vague in his depiction of the passengers. He made the directorial decision to not reveal any of the names of the passengers. This was because he wanted to elevate the group heroism above any individual heroism. Plus aeroplane passengers wouldn't know each other's names. 

True, it probably wouldn't have been very realistic for Tom Burnett (Christian Clemenson) and Mark Bingham (Cheyenne Jackson) to shake hands and say their names for the audience, but I would have gladly suspended my disbelief. Keeping the passengers' identities deliberately vague kept me at arm's length. I felt somewhat detached from their struggles and problems, because I knew so little about them. And it also did a disservice to the actors playing them. I saw some great acting, but because I didn't know the characters' names, I can't match an actor to the character. I only know Christian Clemenson and Cheyenne Jackson, because I looked them up on Wikipedia, but I'm not entirely sure who Tom Burnett and Mark Bingham were.

Otherwise Paul Greengrass made a great film. It was brilliantly paced with handheld-camera helping to keep the tension at a high. I was already familiar with this story, so I knew how it ended, but even if I didn't, I would have been kept on the edge of my seat. I prayed that there would be a happy ending, although I knew it would be impossible. And that's what made this such a good film. It was horribly doomy, but also powerful and touching.

Tom Burnett, Mark Bingham, Todd Beamer, Jeremy Glick and to all the other crew and passengers of United 93, you never knew and I never knew you, but you all died as heroes.

The Birds review

 Number 510 on the top 1000 films of all time is Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 horror-thriller 'The Birds.'

Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hendren) is a socialite who meets lawyer Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) in a San Francisco bird shop. later, she drives to his home in Bodega Bay where she, him, and the towns people start being attacked by the local bird population.

What struck me most about this film was one of Hitchcock's most intentional decisions. He chose to direct the film without a conventional film score. And with next-to-none incidental music. And this worked brilliantly. It made a scary film even scarier. And this was a scary film. The lack of music made the tension go through the roof. The seeming lack of motive behind the birds' attacks made them even more terrifying.

However, I think the bird attacks being so random- they indiscriminately attack anybody regardless of time or location - proved to be the film's biggest shortcoming. as there is no discernible reason for why they could be attacking although a drunk bargoer speculates it is the end of the world, there is also no strategy for how to defeat them. When the townspeople do meet to discuss the issue, a birdwatcher is sceptical of the attacks, and even more sceptical of any preventative measures. But this lack of plan leads to a sagging of the narrative that culminates in an anti-climatic conclusion. *Spoilers* Melanie, Mitch and his family, drive away into an uncertain future. As nothing is resolved, it's all very unsatisfactory.

The character of Melanie was also unsatisfactory. She was just so useless. the Birds was released in 1963. but Melanie had none of the agency I might expect from the female characters of the time. When she foolishly goes off on her own to investigate strange noises, she discovers a whole room of birds. They attack her, and she doesn't even call for help. How Mitch ever knew she was in there to rescue her was the film's biggest mystery. But I also knew that Hitchcock and Hendren had a less than harmonious relationship behind the scenes, so maybe that was a contributing factor to Melanie's poor writing.

This notwithstanding 'The Birds' is still a very scary horror film. And Hitchcock is damn good at horror films.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo review

 Number 423 on the top 1000 films of all time is David Fincher's 2011 remake of the Swedish 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.'

Mikhail Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) is a Swedish journalist who has lost everything in a libel case brought against him businessman Hans-Erik Wennerstrom. Businessman Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer) offers him a chance of redemption if Mikhail can solve the forty-year old disappearance of his grandniece Harriet. Mikhail enlists the help of emotionally damaged hacker Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara.)

TGWTDT was the latest offering in the Scandi-noir trend that was dominating the airwaves in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Based on Stieg Larsson's book of the same name, TGWTDT joins the tradition along with Jo Nesbo, Henning Mankell, the Bridge and the Killing. So much of Scandi-noir is rooted in its Scandinavian setting. The mighty mountains, imposing glaciers and remote settings lend themselves well to grisly murders. Frosty temperatures and frostier attitudes all add to the Gothic horror.

And that's why I found the accents so weird. I understand this is an American remake, so I wouldn't expect the actors to be speaking in Swedish, but the accents were inconsistent. Christopher Plummer did well, but Rooney Mara and Robin Wright, who played Mikhail's editor and occasional lover, less so. Daniel Craig didn't bother with one at all. He chose to do this, as the thought it would sound silly otherwise. And it did. Either have all the actors do accents or none of them.

Daniel Craig received star-billing for this well-crafted thriller, but Rooney Mara was the true star. She received a Best Actress nod and it was well-earned. Lisbeth Salander - an emotionally shut down, misanthrope would be a difficult character to play. How do you make her likable without making her annoying? But Rooney Mara brought an excellent amount of vulnerability to the role. And, of course, we have to talk about the horrific scenes where Salander was raped and sodomised. These were brutal, intense scenes and Mara was fantastic.

If I were to criticise the film for anything, it would be the ending. *Spoiler alert* After the main mystery is solved, Plummer rewards Blomkvist by providing him evidence that will help him take down Wennerstrom. However, the evidence proves fruitless. So, Salander helps by hacking him and discovering he is laundering money for organised crime. She then empties his accounts. It was all good, but it seemed like a strange addendum that didn't match the rest of the film. I guess they were bringing everything full circle, but it seemed like Fincher was setting up a second film, rather than finishing this one.

Nevertheless, TGWTDT was an expertly-crafted thriller with a career-high performance from Rooney Mara.

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.

Suspiria review

 Number 851 on the top 1000 films of all time is the Italian 1977 horror film Suspiria.

Suzy Bannion (Jessica Harper) is an American student who enrols in a prestigious ballet school in Germany. However, when staff and students alike start dying, she realises that the school is at the front of a supernatural conspiracy.

As was common for Italian films at the time, all sound was added in post-production. This meant that all the actors were dubbed. To say this was distracting would be a massive understatement. It very much broke the immersive nature of the film. And this also interfered with the sound mixing. At times, the dialogue was too quiet and, at others, the sound effects were too loud. The film opens in a massive storm, noisy enough to drown out the character's speech.

Perhaps I've been spoiled by modern-CGI, but the special effects looked dated. When the deaths do occur, the bodies look more like waxwork models. But technical aspects aside, this was a scary film. The setting of a ballet school was a refreshing change to the haunted houses which is usually par for the course. Suzy progressively gains more agency and becomes more likeable. Granted, while her friend Stephanie is being murdered, Suzy is drugged up and of little use. But she gains enough bravery/stupidity to go into the restricted area of the school and confront the head witch.

I also enjoyed the supernatural element. Slasher movies were popular in the seventies - Suspiria is sandwiched between the Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Halloween. Witches made a nice change to your deranged serial killer. And the film had some genuine scares. Instead of solely using jumpscares, David Argento created a tense and unsettling atmosphere from the word go. The original score performed by Italian progressive rock band Goblin sent the fear factor through the roof.

All in all, I did enjoy, if that's the right word, this 70's horror film. Weird dubbing aside, it had me on the edge of my seat. Will I be watching the 2018 remake? Maybe with my eyes closed.

House of Sand and Fog review

 Number 656 on the top 1000 films of all time is Vadim Perelman's psychological thriller 'House of Sand and Fog.'

Kathy Nicolo (Jennifer Connelly) is a recovering addict who is evicted from her San Fransisco house by the country office. She maintains the county has made a mistake, but her home is repossessed nonetheless. Moving are the Iranian Behrani family led by patriarch former Colonel Massoud Amir Behrani (Ben Kingsley.) Kathy is determined to get her home back by any means necessary.

This was an intense, psychological thriller that doesn't let up for a minute. It is taut and gripping with a whole host of morally dubious characters. I enjoyed the deep characterisations. No character was simply black or white - they are all complicated with their own troubled pasts. But these complexities are what made them so fascinating to watch.

Kathy is adamant to regain her house and deliberately disobeys her lawyer to directly confront the Behranis. She is a deeply troubled woman whose drug-addled past has estranged her from her family and husband. Her house is the only thing she has left. Conversely, rather than sticking to the past, Massoud Behrani is determined to make a fresh start for his family in the US. He is a proud man who refuses to show any weakness in front of his wife and son.

Ben Kingsley is brilliant in the role taking us through the journey of a broken man trying to start again. having once commanded considerable respect, he is forced to work menial jobs to make ends meet. Kingsley's star was so bright that he even blotted out Jennifer Connelly. This is no disrespect to Connelly, but I don't think her writing was anywhere as compelling as Kingsley's.

She lacked the same agency as Massoud had - much of her battles are fought by her self-styled knight in shining armour - sheriff's deputy Lestor Burden (Ron Eldard.) As the narrative momentum built, Kingsley's story took over. This culminated with Connelly being all but absent in the final act. A failed suicide attempt sees her lose consciousness and, instead, the final confrontation takes place between Massoud and Lester. Jennifer Connelly receives star billing and Kathy is the protagonist, but she is somewhat relegated to a side character.

Also a quick shoutout to Eldard. He was great as the sheriff's deputy Lestor Burnham. You could argue his over-protective nature of Kathy was a little over-the-top - he even leaves his family to start an affair with her. But when everything goes wrong at the end, he is more than happy to pay the price for his crimes. This did help him go through a redemption arc of sorts.

This is a tragic, but a thrilling film. It was a great watch with a masterful performance of Ben Kingsley. it's just a shame that Connelly wasn't afforded the same chance to shine.

Let the Right one in review

 Number 332 on the top top 1000 films of all time is the Swedish, romantic horror 'Let the Right One in.'

Oskar (Kare Hedebrant) is a twelve year-old who is being bullied in school. He also has a troubled home life. One wintry evening, he meets a mysterious child called Eli (Lina Leandersson) who is harbouring a dark secret. Eli is a two-hundred year old vampire who has the form of a twelve-year old child.

This film very much reminded me of Stephen King's Carrie. A troubled child is terribly bullied. They are then aided by supernatural forces to overcome their bullies. Whereas Carrie has special powers, Oskar has unknowingly fallen in love with a vampire. And it s this love story that drives the film. Despite being far from conventional, it was sweet seeing the story unfold.

Oskar meets Eli in a playground while it is snowing. This may seem like a suspicious and an unlikely place to begin a romance, it is believe as we see how isolated Oskar has become. As the film progresses, his and Eli's relationship develops further and even when Eli's true nature is revealed, Oskar isn't scared away. The two of them even use Morse code to secretly communicate with each other.

I also enjoyed how the 'horror' was underplayed. Modern horror film tend to over-rely on tacky CGI or a jumpscare every five seconds. Sure this is scary once or twice, but it becomes very tedious if it's done all the time. Much of the horror in 'Let the Right One in' happens off-camera making it even scarier. The creepy atmosphere is alluded to either with creepy music or clever angles rather than excess gore. And then this makes the on-screen horror moments truly terrifying. Whether this was a character bursting into flames or Eli's eyes bleeding, this film had its genuinely scary moments.

And a quick note on Kare and Lina. Both of them were great in the lead roles. I don't think all the child actors were great especially those bullying Oskar, but the two leads gave good performances.

Overall, I enjoyed this film. It worked as a romance and as a horror. It had some endearing moments, but some truly scary ones too.