Platoon review

 Number 192 on the top 1000 films of all time is Oliver Stone's war film 'Platoon.'

Platoon follows a group of soldiers fighting within the Vietnam War. The main character is the young, liberal Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) who quickly becomes disillusioned. His superior officers, the hot-headed and psychotic Sergeant Barnes (Tom Berenger) and the more enlightened Elias (Willem Dafoe) clash on the best way to lead their troops. Keith David, Forest Whitaker and Johnny Depp all co-star.

Since I started this challenge, I've watched my fair share of Vietnam war films and I don't think that Platoon was anything special. It didn't bring anything new to the table. Sure it was entertaining and watchable. It was frenetic, fast-paced and dramatic, but there wasn't enough to delineate it from some of its contemporaries. I think a lot of that was down to the characterisation. The cast was large and confusing with the different characters not being clearly delineated enough from each other. In fact, the three main characters are really the only ones I can remember with any certainty. The heinous Sergeant Barnes was definitely recognisable, but all of his cronies blended into one. And Willem Dafoe and Charlie Sheen always stand out anywhere. And like with many war films, all of the characters are dressed the same - in uniforms and helmets only serving to make things more confusing.

Furthermore, the characters were all just so unlikeable. Okay, Sergeant Barnes is the villain - he kills a Vietmanese woman in cold blood and later tries to rape two Vietmanese girls - so you would expect him to be nasty. Barnes has plenty of cronies that are just as bad as him. But there really wasn't any likeable characters that you wanted to root for.  Even the protagonist Chris shows signs of instability, at times, blindly shooting at anything in sight. True, at times, he does do the right things like preventing Barnes from raping those girls, but there wasn't anything in him that made me want him to succeed. Part of that was down to Charlie Sheen. Honestly, I don't think he's the greatest actor in the world. 

The platoon's commanding officer was Lieutenant Wolfe (Mark Moses) but he was too young and ineffective to be any good. And another of the sergeants - O'Neil (John C. Mcginley) is a coward and spends most of the battles hiding in the foxholes. Largely, the film is just nasty people doing nasty things. I get it, war changes people. War can turn the best men into monsters. But it doesn't make them the most likeable of characters.

Platoon was certainly watchable enough, but I'm not sure how much I actually enjoyed it. It was just horrible people being horrible to each other.

Monster review

 Number 998 on the top 1000 films of all time is the true crime biopic Monster.

Based on the shocking true story, Monster focusses on Eileen Warnoss (Charlize Theron.) She is a prostitute in Daytona Beach, Florida, who begins a killing spree after her 'John' Vincent Corey (Lee Tergesen) rapes and tries to kill hjer. Warnoss also forms a toxic relationship with the young Selby (Christina Ricci,) a young, gay woman living in a repressive, Christian household.

True Crime is a genre that has always been popular. Over a century later, we are still speculating over the true identity of Jack the Ripper, the movie 'Zodiac' immortalises the Zodiac Killer's crimes and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre was inspired by the crimes of murderer and grave-robber, Ed Gein. However, it is also a genre that's come under a lot of scrutiny. The recent Netflix show about Jeffrey Dahmer was criticised for its romanticisation of Dahmer and for how it retraumatised the families of his victims.

You can argue that, to some extent, Monster romanticises Warnosses' crimes. It initially portrays her as a victim who is taking back her power by killing the man who assaults and rapes her. But, conversely, there is nothing romantic about this tale. In fact, it portrays a brutal and gritty perspective into the reality that many prostitutes face every day. Prostitution is largely illegal in the US and it is theoretically legal in the UK - the act itself is legal, but many of its associated acts are not. Neither brothels nor street side solicitation are legal.

Many prostitutes are desperate - coming from broken households or have addiction issues or a greedy pimp to pay. They have little choice, but to follow their Johns and be driven to a remote area where they could be raped and killed - as is the sad reality for some sex workers. The aforementioned Jack the Ripper targeted prostitutes, as did Peter Sutcliffe. Perhaps if prostitution was fully legalised and regulated, there wouldn't be so many young, lost women losing their lives.

Charlize Theron was outstanding in the role. She won the best Actress Oscar and I completely understand why. I'm inclined to agree with film critic Roger Ebert's assessment of it being one of the greatest performances in the history of cinema. She absolutely embodied Warnoss, portraying the neuroticism and the agitation to a Tee. Warnoss has always maintained that all of her victims tried to help her and she acted in self-defence. Theron brought a lot more nuance than that to the role. She portrays Warnoss as neither a helpless victim or a cold-blooded killer, but a psychologically damaged young woman in desperate search for human connection. She attempts to go legitimate, but due to her past reputation, she's laughed out of every job she applies for. Perhaps if there wasn't such a stigma behind prostitution, Eileen Warnoss' killing spree might have been avoided.

Of course, I'm not justifying Warnoss' actions, but highlighting the morally grey that Theron exhibited. She kills her first John in self-defence, but her last murder was completely unprovoked. Her last victim did not deserve to die. And this raises more moral questions. Do we ever have the right to take the law into our own hands? Warnoss thinks we do. And Theron just disappeared into the character. She was unrecognisable.

Christina Ricci was great as well. She is best-known for playing kooky, off-the-wall characters, like Wednesday Adams, so it was great to see her play a more human role. Like Eileen, she comes from a troubled background. In search of a strong, adult, role model, she latches herself onto Warnoss. The two of them form a toxic, co-dependant relationship. Selby's life is turned upside down by Warnoss' erratic behaviour. And I think you can argue that Warnoss should have taken more personal accountability and stayed away from Selby. As Selby rightly says, she is being used by Warnoss. Certainly, no romanticisation there.

But this was a great film. It is doomy, hard-going, often traumatic, but with an outstanding, Oscar-worthy performance from Charlize Theron. 

A Time to Kill review

 Number 969 on the top 1000 films of all time is Joel Schumacher's 1996 legal drama 'A Time to Kill.'

Based on John Grisham's book of the same name, A Time to Kill focusses on the relationship between white Mississippi attorney Jake Brigance (Matthew McConaughey) and his black client Carl Lee Hailey (Samuel L. Jackson.) After Carl Lee's ten-year-old daughter Tonya (Rae'ven Larrymore Kelly) is brutally raped and almost murdered by two racist rednecks Billy Ray Cobb (Nicky Katt) and James Willard (Doug Hutchinson.) Carl Lee takes the law into his own hands and shoots them dead. Brigance decides to defend him. He is aided by his old mentor, the alcoholic Lucien Wilbanks (Donald Sutherland) and law student Ellen Roark (Sandra Bullock.) But Brigance is up against stiff competition as district attorney Rufus Buckley (Kevin Spacey) takes up the case for the Cobb family. Billy Ray's brother - Freddie Lee (Kiefer Sutherland) also resurrects the Mississippi KKK chapter to exact his revenge on Carl Lee.

Joel Schumacher is so well-known for almost killing the Batman movie franchise with the abysmal Batman and Robin, it is easy to forget that he has made other films. A Time to Kill is one of these films. It's just as cheesy as Batman and Robin, but it is a million times better. That is a low bar and it's certainly not perfect, but it's watchable enough.

A lot of that is down to the star-studded cast. To be honest, I don't think McConaughey was anything special. Brigance is your classic, intelligent, handsome clear-cut hero - there's not much more to him than that. But I thought Samuel L. Jackson was great. He's so well known for either action roles or over-the-top, eccentric oddball, it was refreshing to see him in a more human role. He played it well conveying a brilliant vulnerability. Carl Lee is an obviously sympathetic character. His daughter is raped and left for dead. She is attacked because she is black. He only did what any father would do. Is that so wrong? 

According to Spacey, it is. Men must not be allowed to take the law into their own hands. Spacey shone, as he always does, playing a slimy lawyer, who only takes the case to build his own public profile. And he does that Southern drawl so damn well. I couldn't help but be reminded of one of Spacey's most famous roles: President Frank Underwood on House of Cards. Kiether Sutherland was also enjoyable as the villainous Freddie Lee Cobb. Hell-bent on revenge, he starts up the local KKK chapter and terrorises everybody involved in the trial. Granted all the roles I've seen Sutherland in are villains/morally dubious, but he does them well.

The only character I was unsure about was Ellen Roark. An ACLU activist and law student, she helps Brigance pro bono, so to speak. Yet she was such a poorly written character. It seemed like Sandra Bullock was only cast because she was hot and not because of her great acting ability. As she doesn't really have a chance to do much except to riffle through cabinets and have sexual tension between her and Brigance. Perhaps her character is there to tempt Brigance into an extra-marital affair and put a strain between Brigance and his wife. But these ideas never came to fruition. An affair between the two is teased, but Brigance always stops himself before things go too far. But this is never something that makes it home to his family. In fact, rather than Roark, it is the KKK leaving burning crosses outside of Brigance's home that drives a wedge between him and his wife. She and her daughter soon leave for their own safety. And so does any potential for narrative tension.

If the intention was to force some sexual tension then it failed dramatically. And if it wasn't then what was the point of the character? Why would you squander Sandra Bullock's acting ability - she is a best actress Oscar winner? Why would you put two young hot people like Mconaughey and Bullock together if they're not going to get it on? Sure, he might need a paralegal, but why does that have to be somebody like Bullock. He character seemed so contrived. Also Bullock was in her thirties while filming - too old to be playing a law student.

The ending also seemed too contrived and cheesy. Brigance *spoiler alert* convinces the jury of Carl Ray's innocence, but his method is what troubled me. He effectively tugs at heart strings rather than using the law. He asks the jury to close their eyes and to imagine the rape and attempted murder of Tonya. He ends by saying "imagine if she was white." Obviously race is a presiding issue and Tonya suffered a horrific hate crime, but as, Spacey spends much of the trial protesting, it isn't Tonya's rape that is at issue, but Carl Lee's murder of her rapists. During Brigance's impassioned speech, Spacey doesn't object once, nor does Judge tell the jury to strike it from the record. This was all too difficult to believe.

I also found it troubling that Freddie Lee and the other KKK don't face any proper consequences for their actions. Sure, we see them being quietly confronted by the cops, but nothing more. Freddie Lee left a burning cross outside of Brigance's house, he beats his secretary husband's to death, he tries to shoot Brigance and he kidnaps Roark, takes her to the woods, strips her and leaves her tied to a tree. Yet his actions are effectively brushed under the rug. All I needed was the coppers clasping him in irons and reading him his Miranda rights.

Also there was a mysterious man operating through the film. He warns Brigance's family of the burning cross through a shadowy phone call. But was the person's identity ever revealed? Was it the same man who rescued Roark or was that just a stranger?

So yes, this film is cheesy, unrealistic and relegates Bullock to playing little more than a sex object, but I do think it is well worth a watch. Look past the cheese and you'll find an entertaining and gripping thriller. Just a shame that Schumacher followed this up with Batman and Robin.

K-Pax review

 Number 965 on the top 1000 films of all time is the science-fiction film K-Pax.

Prot (Kevin Spacey) claims to be an alien visiting earth from the planet K-Pax, while manifesting in the form of a human male. Upon his arrival in New York, he is quickly remanded to a psychiatric facility. Where he comes into the care of Dr Mark Powell (Jeff Bridges.) Dr Powell is determined to prove Prot a liar, but he is confronted with increasingly convincing evidence.

Kevin Spacey has undoubtedly become a problematic figure, but there is no denying that he was one hell of an actor. By the time he filmed K-Pax, he had already won acting Oscars for the Usual Suspects and American Beauty. He brought the full force of his acting skills to this role too. As far as aliens go, Prot is a little bit like a Vulcan - observing the customs of humans with a scientific curiousity, and, at times, a quiet exasperation. If Dr Powell asks him whether he has K-Pax equivalent of a human custom, Prot will rationally explain why something like that would be nonsense.

In the hands of a lesser actor, these explanations would sound like rubbish, but Spacey pulls off the awkward dialogue with finesse. And even a bit of humour. For a science-fiction film, there were a lot of jokes and Spacey played them well. As well as making us laugh, he pulled at our heart strings too. To unlock the truth, Dr Powell hypnotises Prot and discovers that Prot - or at least the human form he is assuming - was once known as a man called Robert Porter who worked in an abattoir. His wife and daughter are raped and murdered by a paroled convict. In his grief, Robert kills the murderer. To protect his fragile state of mind, he creates a delusion of being an alien from K-Pax. Spacey was brilliant in these scenes. 

Jeff Bridges was great too - often playing the Dr Bones to Spacey's Spock. And as he becomes more obsessed with the case, his relationship with his family becomes strained. Bridges plays a man caught between two worlds. But like Spacey, he plays the comedy well, often acting as the straight man.

A lot of science-fiction films that deal with big philosophical themes tend to be self-indulgent and pretentious, *cough  cough* 2001: A Space Odyssey, as they try to prove how clever they are. K-Pax was nothing like this. It was a simple and straightforward plot. There wasn't anything pretentious about it. Rather than vaguely answering big questions, it hyper-focussed on what it means to be human.

And was Prot really an alien or a delusional human trying to survive a severe trauma? Like any good science-fiction, it doesn't tell you what to think, but lets you make up your own mind. Personally, I think that Prot and Robert Porter had a symbiotic relationship. Prot needed a human host and Porter needed a reason to not be himself anymore. But what do you think?

The Descendants review

 Number 939 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 2011 comedy-drama 'The Descendants.'

Matt King (George Clooney) is an Hawaii-based attorney. While he is the sole trustee of his family's massive fortune, he has a strained relationship with his wife and children. When his wife is terminally injured in a boating accident, he has to reconnect with his estranged daughters: the older Alex (Shailene Woodley) and the younger Scottie (Amara Miller.) Both girls have troubled pasts.

The Descendants was penned by Nat Faxon, Jim Rash and director Alexander Payne. The former two also wrote and directed the great coming-of-age drama The Way, Way Back. Faxon and Rash produced another entertaining and enjoyable film. Although it had the potential to be morose and whiny, it was light-hearted, but poignant throughout. A lot of that has to do with the film's tone. The film is full of great jokes while also addressing serious topics. Family is the most important theme whether that is Matt's relationship with his estranged children or his relationship with his cousins who have all squandered their inheritance and are desperate for them to sell their land to make them a tidy profit. 

But despite these pressures, he is never a self-suffering protagonist. He always tries to do the right thing and, while, he has every right to be mad at the driver of the boat who injured his wife, he always chooses to take the high road. He is also an honest character - constantly despairing about how to connect with his children. Even when Alex reveals that Matt's wife was having an affair with an estate agent called Brian (Matthew Lilliard), explaining some of the resentment between the two, Matt just wants to give Brian a chance to say goodbye.

George Clooney was great as Matt King. He made the attorney sympathetic without making him pathetic. In fact, it's his hope and optimism that makes him such an endearing character to watch. He also had a great chemistry with Shailene Woodley and Amara Miller who played his daughters. It was lovely watching these three characters become a family again. Woodley and Miller were great as well. Granted both of them start as spoiled brats, but they both develop into strong, young women especially Alex. Woodley gave the character a wonderful vulnerability and she held her own against Clooney. She would have been only twenty in this role and she's since gone onto have a great career.

Nat Faxon, Alexander Payne and Jim Rash won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for this film, and it's easy to see why. Within the Descendants, they crafted an enjoyable, funny, and, at times, tragic story, that is never self-pitying or morose.

Black Dynamite review

 Number 938 on the top 1000 films of all time is this parody of 1970's Blaxpolitation genre: Black Dynamite.

Black Dynamite (Michael Jai White) is a former CIA agent and Kung Fu Master. After his brother is killed by a shady organisation, Black Dynamite soon discovers a deeper conspiracy.

There is a fair share of bad parodies out there, but Black Dynamite is not one of them. While I'm not particularly familiar with the Blaxploitation genre, I've watched my fair share of 70's films, and black Dynamite lampooned these tropes wonderfully from the vivid colour scheme to the massive hair to the main character's name being sung out at pivotal moments to the silly kung-fu sequences.

Instead of being a string of bad jokes and inane, pop culture references, Scott Sanders', Byron Minns' and Michael Jai White's, who wrote as well as starred, script produced some genuine laughs. I loved the boom mic appearing in shots or the characters reading out their stage directions. But my favourite gag was the spoofing of the insta-love that happened between Black Dynamite and his love interest Gloria Gray (Salli Richardson.) Over the course of a few minutes and a walk in the park, they are enamoured with one another. As far as film cliches go, this can be one of the worst. It was great to see it parodied here.

Sure you can argue that the plot is absurd. Black Dynamite's quest for the truth takes him all the way from Kung-Fu island to the White House - and the characters are all racial stereotypes, but that's supposed to be the point. Inevitably, not all the jokes land and some of them are crude and vulgar, but nevertheless, this is a brilliant comedy that will have you rolling in the aisles.   

Master and Commander: Far Side of the World review

 Number 917 on top 1000 films of all time is the period-drama Master and Commander: Far Side of the World.

Captain "Lucky Jack" Aubrey (Russell Crowe) and Dr Stephen Matinue (Paul Bettany) are stationed on the HMS Surprise during the onset of the Napoleonic Wars. They are tasked with hunting down and catching the feared French frigate, the Acheron. But Jack's dedication to his duty soon turns to arrogance, as he is determined to catch this ship at all costs. In doing so, he endangers the lives of his whole crew.

I've never been a fan of period dramas. That's usually because there's a lack of stakes. I'm not saying I need gunfights and explosions, but a sense of life and death helps to add some drama. Obviously, the stakes aren't the same in a period drama, and, as such, they're not always very exciting to watch.

At times, I felt the same about Master and Commander. Although, it is Lucky Jim's brashness that is putting the crew into danger, how much danger are they actually in? Nobody of any significance dies until the final act. The exception that proves the rule is Captain of the Mizzentop, William Warley (Joseph Morgan) who is thrown overboard in a storm. Caught between saving his crew member or his ship, Jack saves the ship. Yet he doesn't face any consequences from this action. In fact, Will's death is attributed to Midshipman Hollam (Lee Ingleby) who is ostracised by the crew as a Jonah. He later commits suicide. Perhaps the characterising as Jack was "lucky" was a mistake. He and his crew too easily overcome all their obstacles.

This isn't to deride Russell Crowe's performance. I've not always spoken too fondly of Crowe - I think he is quite wooden at times, but he was good here. His accent was certainly more consistent than some of his other films.

Honestly, the stakes felt higher with Paul Bettany's character of Dr Steven Maturin. He had something to lose. A scientist, first and foremost, he has the opportunity to study the animals of the Galapagos islands. But despite multiple promises from Lucky Jack, he never gets the chance. This puts their friendship to the ultimate test. Both actors worked well together with Bettany being a calming presence to Crowe's megalomania.

Although this film was watchable, it wasn't really for me. The two leads gave good performances, but I'm just not a fan of period dramas.