A Grand Spectacle

Without a doubt this is proof that Peter Jackson is better than George Lucas!!!!

Peter Jackson meets the biggest baddest ape on celluloid. This has got to be undoubtedly the most affectionate and emotionally charged retelling of the 1933 classic thus far, more in league with Edward Scissorhands than with a traditional monster movie. The high levels of emotional connection between Naomi Watts' Anne Darrow and Andy Serkis' Kong operates on a such a simplistic though effective level of intimacy that it only make the tragedy of the his death almost unbearable. If you don't feel like crying when the planes come flying at him with guns ablaze while Watts desperately begs them to stop, then you have no emotions. Another hit for one of this century's premier young auteurs.

This film has now become renowned for it's blunt and uncompromising portrayal of the carnage that was operation overlord. Where as Enemy At the Gates takes viewers into the paranoia and solitude of sniping in an urban environment, Saving Private Ryan delivers the same break neck pace that we have come to expect from modern war films and the story is at times dramatised to the point of unrealistic in its stark opinions of good and evil. Despite this, it takes a brave soul to challenge the American romanticism of war and (whilst being largely over rated and over pretentious) Spielberg deserves credit for cutting the crap and finally telling it like it is.

One of the many reasons that I'm glad I don't live in 19th Century NYC. Dynamite performances from both Leo DiCaprio and Daniel Day Lewis, wonderfully detailed set design and a viciously gritty revenge narrative. The opening battle between Lewis' natives and Liam Neeson's immagrants has a level of graphic atrocity matched only by Gladiator and Saving Private Ryan, to which Gangs of New York easily eaquals.

Undoubtedly Oliver Stone's best film. Nuff Said!

Worth seeing just to witness the grandeur and uncompromising brutality of the opening skirmish.

When it was recommended that I consider watching Akira Kurasawa's samurai classic The Seven Samurai, I had no idea that I would find myself having redefine the term 'epic'. Clocking in at just under three and a half hours, I found myself unable to view Seven Samurai in only one sitting. A shame considering the emmaculate caliber of the film's overall nature. Those in the know will not need an introduction to the work of Kurasawa, however, he can be best summed up as the Hitchcock/Kubrick of Japanese culture and The Seven Samurai is testament to all that is Japan's blood-soaked heritage of cruelty, deception and mistrust. The counter-balance for these plot points comes in the form of the chivalrous main character played by Takashi Shimura, who exhibits bushido not as an oppressive display of dominance but as a way of promoting inner piece and refusing to react with any more aggression than necessary even when provoked. The undoubted best character however is Toshiro Mifune's farmer's son turned warrior Kukiyo. Easily misleading behind his seemingly burly beard, Toshiro acts provides a lighter aspect to the proceedings through a performance catering more towards the vein of a court jester than a serious killing machine with his gangly, bouncy and irreverent physical presence. These are just some of the numorous interconnected story-lines and relationship which meander through Seven Samurai and create a flavor which is still largely unrivalled by many large budget Hollywood epics today. After witnessing the greatness of Kurasawa with my own eyes, I am now a definate fan and look forward to persuing many of his other works in the future, particularly Ran.

Never before has any film ever tried to portray Adolf Hitler as anything more than a monsterous villain...until now. The Downfall's main strength is it's ability to present the opinion that the Fuhrer was in fact desperately troubled. The logic behind his refusal to abandon the Nazi regime suggested through this film is quite thought provoking and offers insght into the man behind the madness. Be warned however, three and a half hours is a lot of subtitles to wade through.

I love anything by Tarantino. It was a bold move for QT to dump his trademark snappy dialogue in favor of bloody rivers and action, but if any one can do it, it's him. Also loved the anime bit in the centre.

A decent enough epic that, whilst not historically accurate, definately reflects the boisterous and violent nature of the Celts Gibson's solliloquy is iconic, and was certainly riffed on by Aragorn in Return of the King. Freedom!