Recommendations: Ross

"It's Halloween, everyone's entitled to one good scare."


Director: John Carpenter
Starring: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Nancy Kyes, P.J. Soles
Running time: 91 minutes
Country: USA


Holy shit! What an absolutely amazing suspensful, non-stop, scary thrill ride this was! At first I didn't really want to watch Halloween because I am not a big horror fan but after hearing that Jamie Lee Curtis was in it and also a few people have recommended it to me, I decided to see what it was like. I wasn't surprised that it was good because I think that's what most horror films are like. This film really scared me but that is what I loved about this one! Also, what I love the most about horror films is that they never stop. Halloween is one of the early horror films that received a lot of glory and credit. This is no The Exorcist or The Shining but it is still a classic horror film nevertheless. Halloween is the first of a series of horror films that go worst and worst as they go on. I haven't seen all of them but after seeing what most horror franchises are like; for example, the Saw franchise. For these reasons, I am NOT going to watch anymore of the Halloween films (same with the Saw films.


Jamie Lee Curtis made a very famous debut in almost her very first feature film. This is probably the one film that she is most remembered for but I do still love her performances in True Lies and especially the comedy of all time A Fish Called Wanda. Her performance as Laurie Strode was really awesome! She gets herself into a really awkward and very hard situation on Halloween night because she has to babysit Tommy Doyle. The problem that they have is there is serial killer Michael Myers on the loose who is going around killing people. At the beginning of the film we witness Myers as a 6-year-old murder his 15-year-old sister with a kitchen knife. After seeing this moment, it is so gripping you feels like you're in the situation with Laurie especially when Myers starts to stalk her. When you see Michael Myers in a mask, I sort of recall him as an original villain compared to Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre films.


The directing was absolutely awesome! This wouldn't have been good for a director like Stanley Kubrick to direct but it would have been good for someone like M. Night Shyamalan. However, if he directed it I don't think it would have been half as good as it really was. John Carpenter is a genius at directing this masterpiece! This film was perfectly written because I think it wanted the audience to feel chills down their back or for them to keep their eyes open through the film without falling asleep which both things did happen to me when I was watching this film.


Halloween is one of my favourite horror films of all time! It doesn't quite beat The Shining, Saw or 28 Days Later. This is probably the classic horror franchise alongside Nightmare On Elm Street but there is absolutely no chance that I'm going to be watching that! Halloween is a horrific, terrifying, tense, scary, non-stop thrill ride that thrilled me from start to finish as it should thrill everybody who watches this film!

"It's my imagination because I have got a very, very fuelled imagination."


Director: Shane Meadows
Starring: Paddy Considine, Andrew Shim, Vicky McClure, Frank Harper
Running time: 90 minutes
Country: Canada, UK


A Room For Romeo Brass is a good yet flawed film. It is a very firm and interesting story but there were some things in it that were a bit off about it. First the good things were that it was a very personal, affectionate and depressing story that would get you focused on it throughout the whole film. There was a lot of swearing involved but that was a big thing in this film. If there was hardly any it would be a lame film. It would fit with the story. I will give this film credit for being an extremely underrated film that should be watched but on the other hand there were some things that slightly disappointed me. It was mostly because the ending was very flat and I thought there would be more severe consequences but there wasn't all really which left me very slightly disappointed much to a friend of mine's dismay!


Andrew Shim was absolutely fantastic as Romeo Brass. He is a very troubled young man who hasn't had a very good childhood because of his parents seperation and how his father treated the family. Because of this, Romeo turned out to be a very rude and arrogant boy. Paddy Considine delivers a very powerful performance as Morell that was very threatening and dangerous to be around. Considine is an actor who has received praise in only a few of the films he's done. This and Hot Fuzz are his most famous works in my opinion. I did like Considine in The Bourne Ultimatum despite he wasn't in it for a great amount of time. Morell is a man who becomes close friends with young boys Romeo and Gavin after he rescues Romeo from a couple of boys who were beating him up. Morell then starts to turn to Romeo's older sister Ladine who he has "feelings" for. He becomes very obsessed with her and her brother Romeo and his best friend Gavin. I could tell by this because he was around them all the time and wouldn't leave them a moment's peace.


Shane Meadows is a brilliant director. I loved his work on This Is England and I liked his work in this one too. A Room For Romeo Brass is a film that is deeply personal and can be quite hard to watch on occasions. It is more of a drama than a crime film whereas This Is England is more of a crime film than a drama even though that had drama within it.


I do still think Paddy's best performance is Hot Fuzz. Shane Meadows best film is still This Is England. I did love that one a lot! A Room For Romeo Brass is a good film that I enjoyed watching but didn't love. There were some things that I thought were a bit off about this film but apart from that it was a good film that I am glad I watched.

"Here, let me give you one of my cards. Now if you should want to call me, use this number. This other one is the old number."


Director: Henry Koster
Starring: James Stewart, Josephine Hull, Peggy Dow, Charles Drake
Running time: 104 minutes
Country: USA


I was expecting a funny, fun, heartwarming and emotional classic and that is exactly what I got! Harvey was a pleasure to me because it is filled with pure beauty; mostly based on love and friendship. Despite how beautiful it is, it is a really powerful film as far as drama and believability is concerned. I would call Harvey a solid recommendation for a family. I wouldn't call Harvey a fantasy film because the film makes it seem like imaginary friends aren't possible and its one of the few times that sort of thing has happened. However, people who do have imaginary friends is true. It is like a film about a fantasy that is possible.


Harvey is another film where James Stewart delivers a legendary performance. When you see Elwood with Harvey, characters within the film think he is an absolute psycho but really he is a very kind, polite and respectful man. The way Harvey was filmed expressed that feeling about the character. I love James Stewart in heartwarming films as well as tense ones which is why I find him to be one of the most perfect actors that ever lived. He was a real charmer in this one like he was in It's A Wonderful Life. Josephine Hull's performance as Veta Louise Simmons was phenomenal! She was everything: emotional, crazy, funny and kind. Her performance is one of the best supporting actress performances ever!


Henry Koster has caught my attention now after seeing Harvey. I now want to see what more masterpieces he has done. Despite how disturbing the film sounded by reading the plot, Koster makes this film work by making it heartwarming and funny. After only seeing Harvey, I find Henry Koster an extremely underrated director.


Harvey is one of the most beautiful classics that I have ever seen. It is another ultimate film from James Stewart. Harvey is one of the best films of the 1950s as well as of all time. It is filled with love and friendship which is what I love the most about it. Classic!