My Favorite Movies

''Together we will live forever.''

The Fountain is one of the deepest movies I've ever had the pleasure to witness. If you follow it through to its conclusion and are open minded, a deep thinker then it becomes gratifyingly mind-blowing. As for the tree of life and Izzi's book, is it real? Is she the tree? Or maybe Tom and Izzi are both a combined element of the tree in the end, the Tree representing or being their eternal love in essence them.

Guess the main message is accepting death and its hard to lose a loved one. I could watch this film over and over, and still pick up different ideas from it. People will understand this film one day, maybe when were more evolved mentally, we've all closed our minds.

I think to the best of my ability I understand The Fountain now. I accept what other people think because end of the day I'm in awe of something that is unlike most material, that isn't afraid of being hated by a religious or material obsessed public. Always seems whatever card you play, the more stupid people become. The tree she is, he is, entwined in love. Some people think this film is about death or life, that it is sad, the truth is in between, death is the road to awe.

Death as a means of life, falls on deaf ears in todays zombie-like society. All in our little boxes or one track thoughts. We want a movie that has a basic plot, simple characters, that forever keep changing titles but in essence end up all the same. Well I don't want that, thats why Fountain is so special to me because it explores the whole notion of Death, Rebirth and Love, not to mention the difficult process of losing a loved one and how we would do anything to save them. In essence sometimes we can't change something that's destined to happen, which begs for the old acceptance and to let the river run its course which remains the real message. The Fountain is neither stereotypically happy or sad to me, in the end its resolute, a simple Zen-like fable bordering on rebirth and love eternal.

The parts played beautifully by Hugh Jackman and Rachael Weisz and the love they feel for each other is for me genuinely believable. One scene near the end where he is looking at her like an embodiment of memories, of realities where the Queen Isabella and Izzy merge, is wondrous to behold. Which begs me to wonder if the book Izzi writes isn't something made up from her imagination but one where she has remembered a previous life. Queen Isabella being one of he incarnations. Aztec beliefs also strangely mirror Buddhist ideas in a ''Death is the road to Awe'' sacrificial sense, underlining First Father and Rebirth. Which also makes me think the future Tom, is he not Tom at all or the embodiment of First Father. In essence is he First Father?

Darren Aronofsky has a talent for looking at things that I think is so close to my own reflection and thoughts on higher things. Upon reflection Fountain is very similar to Requiem but does it in a more spiritual approach.

Darren's fascination with Mortality has always been there, just go back to Pi with the conversation at that Coffee Shop concerning the Tree Of life. The Fountain will cut Movie Lovers down the middle one half thinking it's cult inducing hippy trash about some bald guy in a bubble and the other half truly seeing it for the deep visual entrancing Journey of one man's struggle with Death, in a race against time to try to save his wife.

A masterpiece of Film Fountain belongs with 2001 and even Requiem for it's higher meaningful depictions. Each time I watch it there's always another piece, another juicy mesmerizing question raised that I didn't see before.

''The man who can wield the power of this sword can summon to him an army more deadly than any that walks this earth. Put aside the ranger. Become who you were born to be. Take the Dimholt Road.''

[In Elvish]

''I give hope to men. I keep none for myself.''

The former Fellowship of the Ring prepare for the final battle for Middle Earth, while Frodo & Sam approach Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring.

Viggo Mortensen: Aragorn

Return of the King asserts itself as the final and best of the Rings Trilogy. I recall seeing it at the cinema and despite my disappointment at Saruman being cut from the theatrical version and others, including certain Witch King scenes plus The Mouth Of Sauron at the Black Gate which I loved in the book. Despite these missing the film had me glued for it's three hour duration from start to finish.

Be it the the amazing conversation between Elrond and Aragorn where he gives him the sword. Although in the book his sword is remade and given to him in Fellowship nevertheless I admit this scene is great cinema and really sells the pure adrenaline and emotion of Aragorn's beginning transformation into a King through his impending fight against Evil, against Sauron.

Like Two Towers we are treated to separated characters, on one side it flicks to Sam, Frodo and Smeagol as they approach Mordor and Mount Doom then back to Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas trekking towards the Paths of the Dead and preparing for battle. But King really is faceted because then we also have all these other pivotal characters Gandalf and Pippin at the White City in all it's magnificence with the maddened Denethor. Theoden and Eomer preparing to help Gondor from the descending armies of darkness. The secretive Eowyn with Merry going to fight even thought they are not permitted too. Return Of the King gives so much detail and luscious fantasy and story before we even come to the battle scenes its a great film. Chuck in the battle at the White City, the final climactic onslaught at the Black Gate and the powerful scene where Sam carries Frodo up Mount Doom showing the powerful bond of friendship and vigor, bravery and compassion, then what you have is not only a film which is great but one that is the definition of what can only be described as close to perfection.

Much to my satisfaction the Extended Version of Return of the King capitalizes on the already perfect theatrical version and dressing it with details sadly missing previously. What we then have are the scenes with Saruman, the Witch King parts and the Mouth of Sauron back in which I mentioned were missing. Also more material from the book to do with Faramir and Pippin, Sam and Frodo's mishaps in Mordor and their disguises as Orcs and Aragorn looking finally into the Palantir to make himself known and seen to Sauron is particularly captivating and effective.

For me a film can never be too long or too short, and rarely when you get a film as incredible as King do you want it to end. I know I didn't, it's magical and mesmerising, be it a moving scene with Ian Mckellan and Billy Boyd preparing for fighting at Minas Tirith or Elijah Wood and Sean Astin struggling with the Ring's evil resonance, this film is pardon the pun very precious.

A true masterpiece from Peter Jackson and his crew and cast fulfill his vision, Howard Shore utilizes the Score and adds to the beauty that is Return of the King.

''You just couldn't let me go could you? This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. You truly are incorruptible aren't you? You won't kill me out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness, and I won't kill you, because you're just too much fun. I think you and I are destined to do this forever.''

Batman and James Gordon join forces with Gotham's new District Attorney, Harvey Dent, to take on a psychotic bank robber known as The Joker, whilst other forces plot against them, and Joker's crimes grow more and more deadly.

Christian Bale: Bruce Wayne / Batman

Heath Ledger: The Joker

The Dark Knight basically begins from where Batman Begins left us last time. Things have changed and a new maniacal nemesis is at large. Cleverly we are instantly thrown into a ensuing bank robbery with some sharp modern music. The first segments of Dark Knight already firmly establish this is going to be a piece of unrivaled greatness.

When we get onto Batman and his antics we find that he has been imitated by others and his old friend Scarecrow is still up to no good, with shifty dealings. What follows are some brilliant action pieces blended with superb acting, with Actors of class under Nolan's direction being used to perfection.

Christian Bale as the dual identity Bruce & Batman, really shows us he's settled into the role. Giving a deep growling Batman with beast like grating tones and a seemingly unlimited strength and fury. As Bruce Wayne, on the outside to Gotham he's still that rich, complacent playboy who's living the life of luxury and at the same time burdening responsibilities and dark secrets.

Maggie Gyllenhall as Rachel Dawes was for me one of the disappointments of Dark Knight. I'm sorry but she may be a fine actress but she just wasn't attractive enough, her acting isn't question, it was alright, hardly memorable. I reckon they should of stayed with Katie Holmes for this sequel, for then even the people that didn't like her in the role would be happy, considering the outcome at least. I on the one hand wasn't phased when push came to shove and said character was gone from play, in my mind she did start to slow down the film.

Now Heath Ledger playing Joker, what can I say? Partly the huge success and interest has been due to this great Actor's performance being witnessed. After all this is Heath's last film he finished. Going on to his performance as Joker I have to say he is perfection, everytime he's on screen he's mesmerizing, every little thing he does which ranges from the sick depraved to the downright mad. Heath Ledger was a chameleon, a method actor, who had the ability to change, to shape himself into any part he played. Dark Knight is one of the finest examples of this, truly blasting Jack Nicholson's version apart and I guarantee an Oscar for him, or for his memory and in honour of this talent. I loved how immersed Heath had become in the Joker even giving us details to how his face had gotten into it's current state and his abusive childhood and father. Whenever we have a villain there is always a reason to how he got to that point and Nolan uses Heath to get this across effortlessly.
Joker never seized to make me laugh in appreciation despite what could be considered sick antics, I considered genius.
Who else could do a pen trick with someone's head? Dress as a nurse with a silencer in hand and his clownish face glistening? Hide in a body-bag to infiltrate a mob boss's joint? Who else could immortalize Batman's most famous nemesis Joker? Without a doubt Heath Ledger bar none.

Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent/Two Face was a really interesting character. He played this politician extremely well, with all his good intentions and honourable ways, Harvey hides a dark side too. References to his coin are used regularly and help us understand the reasons for his later fascination with chance and luck deciding fate. I think Harvey Dent was covered nicely in this, getting across the whole growing hate he supposedly receives from Batman after he saves him and unfortunately Rachel isn't so lucky. Two-face, Harvey's alter-ego to my mind wasn't really that developed which is understandable given the amount of detail here to cram in and what with the Joker unleashed Nolan still does a top notch job. The effects on his face were breath-taking although I was starting to worry that Dark Knight maybe becoming unrealistic and veering towards more cartoony details in it's villains. But same with Batman Begins the Scarecrow was slightly more comic like and I found the whole realism in both Begins and Dark Knight to be a major achievement to me.

Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon really excelled in his role this time. Not only does Gordon have more to do but he's in this awesome trio of Harvey, Bats and himself working together to save and help Gotham. I'm really pleased Gary Oldman & Heath Ledger got to do a scene together too, not to mention Bale too. The chemistry they all share and the talent rocketed through anything and everything. Nolan cleverly keeps the aspect of Gordon's family being important to him and later we remember this, and it helps us relate to his character when things unravel.

Morgan Freeman & Michael Caine seem to have less to do this time round. With Caine taking most of the first half of the movie while Freeman takes the 2nd half to his chest.

The Dark Knight was everything I expected it to be and it's certainly the dark masterpiece I predicted, but I do get the feeling that it's been overly hyped for what it consists of. See it not just for Heath's performance which is a defining and immortalized, but also see it because Dark Knight is the greatest comic book/graphic novel to movie ever. DC comics & Warner Bros. must be beaming right now with this piece of gold.

Dark Knight really does have the last laugh. An astonishing achievement that really does follow up a masterpiece. Let's face it, a sequel is coming, without the need to get Two-Face to call it for us, we know it's coming Nolan.

Perfection.

''I do not know what strength is in my blood, but I swear to you I will not let the White City fall, nor our people fail.''

''Our people, our people. I would have would have followed you, my brother... my captain... my king.''

''Be at peace, Son of Gondor.''

In a small village in the Shire a young Hobbit named Frodo has been entrusted with an ancient Ring. Now he must embark on an Epic quest to the Cracks of Doom in order to destroy it.

Viggo Mortensen: Aragorn/Strider

Elijah Wood: Frodo

Ian Mckellan: Gandalf

The fellowship is the heaven version and pinnacle milestone of film like Two Towers & Return Of the King which I feel are all one compact vision.

Fellowship has one of the best prologues I have ever seen in in my life. The part where Boromir is dying and Aragorn is comforting him is one of the most emotional and tear inducing scenes for me.

The WETA effects, camera work, editing, sound and Orchestra work by Hoeard Shore are all dripping perfection.

For this piece of work Howard Shore has created and drawn out a truly beautiful soundtrack to accompany the movie visually. In truth, you can listen to the CD alone and experience the movie, just close your eyes. Howard brings all of the epic moments from the movie to life through the art of music.

To tell the story of LOTR, the cast of the movie was required to do much more than just act but had to tell an epic story of human struggles and emotions, ranging from anger to joy to sadness which spanned over 10 years for the cast and crew. The acting in this movie is beautiful, and nearly flawless. The characters are fleshed out and believable, the relationships are hypnotising, and it is as if the audience experiences everything and is part of the ensuing adventure.

The casting drew together a small group of seasoned veterans, including Lee, McKellan, and Holm, giving the movie a solid backbone of experience and life. The other characters are also played out beautifully, especially that of Sean Bean's. The relationship between he and Mortensen make the story of the movie all the more real. Sean Astin and Boyd also deliver sound performances, but the most unique aspect of the movie is the relationship between Astin and Wood. Seeing the making and the Extended Version, it is much easier to understand, but Astin forged a friendship with Wood during filming, and this was able to make the close bond of the two in Fellowship even more real and powerful.

In conclusion and in essence, Fellowship & LOTR can be credited as many things, because it does something incredibly challenging and does it exceedingly without flaw.
Peter Jackson had to adapt from a series of books, he had to capture Tolkiens unique view of writing material, he had to deliver a vivid and real world full of gritty earthy fantasy, and it required its cast to deliver brilliant performances full of emotion, relationships, and conflicts.

Watch Theatrical or Extended Versions both are perfection.

Masterpiece.

''Say what again. Say what again, motherfucker, say what one more Goddamn time!''

The lives of two mob hit men, a boxer, a gangster's wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.

John Travolta: Vincent Vega

Samuel L. Jackson: Jules Winnfield

Pulp Fiction becomes a bit easier to understand once you realize that it's essentially a black comedy dressed up as a criminal drama. Each of the three main stories begins with a situation that could easily form the subplot of any separate drug comic movie. But something always goes wrong, some small unexpected accident that causes the whole situation to come crashing down, leading the increasingly desperate characters to hilarious conclusions. Tarantino's originality floods from his ability to focus on small details and follow them where they lead, even if they move the story away from conventional plot developments.

Pulp Fiction received its share of acclaim and awards, and deservedly so. But that being said, while seen by most as a good film, Pulp Fiction is not regarded as another old vintage classic, or Pulp Fiction is not ensconced in the pantheon of the greatest of the great Hollywood films of all time. Those are for a reason. As good a cinematic achievement as Pulp Fiction is, the fact is that as a film it plows turf that's just way too coarse for comfort. Over-the-top blood, guts, and brains-blown-out violence. Gritty gutter language. Subject matter dwelling in the underbelly of life that goes way beyond seedy or unseemly. And it's all presented in a very graphic way. Some people really like it that way. Hey, I understand. That's what Tarantino wanted too, right? But the simple fact is that such fare isn't for everyone but I loved. In this way its own intentional and unrelenting coarse nature is what self-selects it out of the greatness category. To achieve greatest of the greats greatness it has to be seen that way across the board, amongst every audience. Pulp Fiction by Tarantino's design isn't intended to appeal to everyone. Cleverly he wants to offend and he wants to shock and good old Tarantino pulls it off, just take a look at that basement scene for one of the best shocks in film I've seen. Also a worry for anyone traveling to the US.

In addition to these layers, Pulp Fiction also has a lot of humor in it, much of it at times when you know you shouldn't laugh but you do, and also out of situations that you wouldn't laugh at usually. I'm sure some of the parts I laughed at were just because I wasn't expecting something to happen, or maybe I just have a morbid mind, but a lot of the humor came out of the violence.

Everyone in the cast had amazing chemistry and bonding with each other, which added believability to a somewhat unbelievable story. The only reason that Pulp Fiction did not get a perfect score is that one scene with Butch and a cab driver went on for a tad too long. Knowing me, though, I'll soon change my mind, but it can still be said that Pulp Fiction is one of the most influential, most adult graphic novel-like movies of the 90's.

''So, you were scared, weren't you Goldie? Somebody wanted you dead and you knew it. Well, I'm gonna find that son of a bitch that killed you, and I'm gonna give him the hard goodbye. Walk down the right back alley in Sin City, and you can find anything.''

A film that explores the dark and miserable town Basin City and tells the story of three different people, all caught up in the violent corruption of the city.

Jessica Alba: Nancy Callahan

How do I describe Sin City? Put in simple terms, the masterpiece Sin City is without a doubt smart, stylish, sexy and sick. It's also violent and funny. Certainly not a film for the whole family, but for those of us who enjoy our movies rated Adult or 18, this flick kicks the head and the gut like a mule, pardon the pun.

Sin City for years was a world that only existed on paper in black and white with splashes of color, but it was enough to make Sin City live and breathe in ways that few others in the medium have ever been able to accomplish. Because Miller's dark, noir overtones painted a very clear, and fully realized visual of every seedy back-alley and strip club, and cheap motel room in the fictional Basin City it became painfully obvious that it was just too visceral a place to ever be real in a way that could be encapsulated on film, or at least we, including Miller himself, thought. We were wrong.

This is THE comic movie we have been waiting for and it does not disappoint from the first overly dramatic voice-over to the last frame of the credit scroll. Telling three tales from Miller's world (The Hard Goodbye, The Big Fat Kill, and That Yellow Bastard) the comic transitions from paper to celluloid flawlessly merge. This is especially incredible for something so over the top and stylized like this that it's almost hard to imagine that these are the actors you've grown to know and love for years. But they are and it all comes together beautifully.

The cast, crew, and artists involved in making this adaptation a reality should be commended for their service to the idea that a true comic book movie can, in fact, be made without making concessions to the masses, without altering the plot or changing the characters, and still manage to retain the feel that the ink on paper had while creating a truly entertaining film. Much of this film's success can be directly contributed to the fantastic casting job which encompasses an incredibly long list of a-list and up and coming celebs plus a few obscure but cult favorites, I'm talking to you Rutger, who pulled off appearing in this and Batman Begins,plus the tag team direction of Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez. Rodriguez should be particularly touted for pushing Miller to finally do this project, and for leading the way to make this the film that Miller always wanted it to be and that Rodriguez knew he could make.

Music is amazing and stylish, Narration perfect, Rosario Dawson & Jessica Alba drool inducing and sexy!

Miho, Jackie Boy, Nancy, Gail, Manute...Loving all the Character's who come to life next to their comic-book representations. All three stories within Sin City are well knitted together here, will be interesting when the sequel comes out as it is a prequel.

I'd also advise getting hold of the EXTENDED RECUT special edition immediately! Remember in the Cinema, the beginning, the gun Josh uses. It was silenced! Now in this version it's restored to how you saw it in theaters. Each Comic book Story can be seen in order,That Yellow Bastard'', The Hard Goodbye,The Big Fat Girl &The Customer Is Always Right. Gives you the viewer more choice as if your reading the comic. Extra footage really adds more depth to an otherwise perfect adaptation.
Amazing Extended scenes, should be owned by any lover or fan of Sin City.

A Dark Noir Graphic Novel from Frank Millar directed by Robert Rodriguez. Two Geniuses' work i love. Also a mention to Tarantino for that marvelous scene with Dwight & Jackie Boy in the car.

Sin City equals a Graphic Novel masterpiece. Original and noir drenched style.

''My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.''


When a Roman general is betrayed and his family murdered by a corrupt prince, he comes to Rome as a gladiator to seek revenge.

Russell Crowe: Maximus

Joaquin Phoenix: Commodus

Epic, dramatic, heart-wrenching, action packed and dramatic. Ridley Scott's roman historical masterpiece, forget the still good but flawed kingdom of heaven this is the one to watch.

Russel Crowe gives his best performance of his career. The late Richard Harris and Oliver Reed give high performances and a quality that shines timeless etherality. Joaquin Phoenix is an equal cold maddened son who's hunger and thirst for power is a vision to see.

A tale of redemption of a man fighting for good. A cause bigger than himself and to overthrow a tyrant obstructing the birth a republic. Revel in the violence, behold it's beauty and magnificence, wasn't a doubt in my mind that Ridley Scott would reap the rewards of his efforts and win awards galore. People who criticize this film are the same people that ridiculed Blade Runner, Alien, and my message to them is to get stuffed, thats as polite as i can put it.

One of my fave films of all times, one i have watched countless times. Near the beginning in the forests was filmed near my relatives too and I've been. Simply breathtaking scope and settings and the music hits your soul.

I am certainly entertained.

''So much death. What can men do against such reckless hate?''

''Ride out with me. Ride out and meet them.''

''For death and glory.''

''For Rohan. For your people.''

''The Horn of Helm Hammerhand will sound in the deep, one last time!''

Frodo and Sam continue on to Mordor in their mission to destroy the One Ring. Whilst their former companions make new allies and launch an assault on Isengard.

Christopher Lee: Saruman the White

Brad Dourif: Grima Wormtongue

The Two Towers is like Fellowship a triumph that any Tolkien fan, adventure/fantasy or war enthusiast should see.

Acting wise Elijah Wood as Frodo is simply phenomenal, captures the pain that the little soul must be expriencing.
Ian McKellen as Gandalf is excellent again as the newly formed White Wizard, even though he has a much smaller role than before.
Viggo Mortenson as Aragorn was another good choice and you could really experience what he must be going through. John Rys-Davies was really good, his jokes with Legolas refreshing.
Sean Astin fit the description of good old Sam well and also acted out the character perfectly.
Bernard Hill as Theoden, Brad Dourif as Grima, Miranda Otto as Eowyn, Karl Urban as Eomer, David Wenham as Faramir and Liv Tyler as Arwen were all excellent also in their performances. Gollum was really perfect and multi layered. Andy Serkis deserves recognition and praise as well as awards, for the perfect distorted muffled warped voice for Gollum, and an applause to the design team who made the motion capture suit.

Love the Extended Version where Christopher Lee & Brad Dourif are given more screen time they deserve. Director Peter Jackson did another excellent job in this movie along with Howard Shore.

One scene they needed to include in the normal version was the one in the extended edition of the flashback between Faramir, Boromir and Denethor. That scene was really essential to explaining the relationship of Faramir, and his father and brother.

The Battle of Helms Deep was so energized you couldn't tell what was CGI mostly. The battle of Isengard was also well done and when the ents broke the dam and Isengard was flooded.

The cinematography was beautiful and just jaw-dropping gorgeous. Makes me really want to be in New Zealand. Rohan, and Edoras especially were beautiful. Howard Shore's score was again perfection, a character in itself. The Rohan theme song fit the beautiful scenery perfectly.

That scene between Theoden and Aragorn, where the King loses hope and Aragorn gives him the speech, that spark is one of courage and depth to me and another fave part of mine. What with new additional characters and characters with separate paths and Stories The Two Towers was a hard one for Jackson but still turns out to be what we all expect.

A Masterpiece.

1#

Plainview: Are you an angry man, Henry?
Henry Brands: About what?
Plainview: Are you envious? Do you get envious?
Henry Brands: I don't think so. No.
Plainview: I have a competition in me. I want no one else to succeed. I hate most people.
Henry Brands: That part of me is gone... working and not succeeding- all my failures has left me... I just don't... care.
Plainview: Well, if it's in me, it's in you. There are times when I look at people and I see nothing worth liking. I want to earn enough money that I can get away from everyone.
Henry Brands: What will you do about your boy?
Plainview: I don't know. Maybe it will change. Does your sound come back to you? I don't know. Maybe no one knows that. A doctor might not know that.
Henry Brands: Where is his mother?
Plainview: I don't want to talk about those things. I see the worst in people. I don't need to look past seeing them to get all I need. I've built my hatreds up over the years, little by little, Henry... to have you here gives me a second breath. I can't keep doing this on my own with these... people.
[laughs]

2#

Plainview: You're not the chosen brother, Eli. It was Paul who was chosen. You see, he found me and told me about your land. You're just a fool.
Eli Sunday: Why are you talking about Paul? Don't say this to me.
Plainview: I did what your brother couldn't. I broke you and I beat you. It was Paul who told me about you. He's the prophet. He's the smart one. He knew what was there and he found me to take it out of the ground, and you know what the funny thing is? Listen... listen... listen... I paid him ten thousand dollars, cash in hand, just like that. He has his own company now. A prosperous little business. Three wells producing. Five thousand dollars a week.
[Eli cries]
Plainview: Stop crying, you sniveling ass! Stop your nonsense. You're just the afterbirth, Eli.
Eli Sunday: No...
Plainview: You slithered out of your mother's filth.
Eli Sunday: No.
Plainview: They should have put you in a glass jar on a mantlepiece. Where were you when Paul was suckling at your mother's teat? Where were you? Who was nursing you, poor Eli- one of Bandy's sows? That land has been had. Nothing you can do about it. It's gone. It's had. You lose.
Eli Sunday: If you would just take this lease, Daniel...
Plainview: Drainage! Drainage, Eli, you boy. Drained dry. I'm so sorry. Here, if you have a milkshake, and I have a milkshake, and I have a straw. There it is, that's a straw, you see? You watching?. And my straw reaches acroooooooss the room, and starts to drink your milkshake... I... drink... your... milkshake!
[sucking sound]
Plainview: I drink it up!
Eli Sunday: Don't bully me, Daniel!
[Daniel roars and throws Eli across the room]
Plainview: Did you think your song and dance and your superstition would help you, Eli? I am the Third Revelation! I am who the Lord has chosen!

Daniel Day-Lewis: Daniel Plainview

Dillon Freasier: H.W. Plainview

A story about family, greed, religion, and oil, centered around a turn-of-the-century prospector in the early days of the business in the dawn of the 1900s onwards.

Can you can compare this to No Country? You could but these two are completely different and unique masterpieces.

I drink you're milk-shake...I drink it up!

Daniel Day Lewis=LEGEND, one of his best performances to date, Oscar should be easy!

Now finally onto my review itself. The whole film begins with a form of genius that i have not seen for an age, that bears similarities to Stanley Kubrick's work and 2001:A Space odyssey. I no of no-one else with this unique link from this film which I've hit the nail on the head.
It begins with no dialogue and hauntingly awesome music that impacted my senses. The effect throughout the film of the music composition and score had the same mesmerizing hold on me.

A scene that stays with me is that touching image of Daniel with his son and the baby looks up and touches his face and bristly mustache his is touching, truly beautiful.
Also was crying at the final montage with his son that will make your heart feel weighty while hitting home, pummeling you into a state of disbelief.

PT Anderson delivers his best work with "There Will Be Blood".

Plainview is a misanthropist who paradoxically seeks companionship even as he loathes mankind in general. His investment in oil is motivated entirely by his desire to earn enough money to escape civilization altogether. He loathes religion, dismissing it as a superstition, and entertains human interaction only when he calculates that it is crucial to his oil mining. Daniel Day-Lewis' ("Gangs of New York",''Last of the Mohican's'' ) gripping portrayal of Plainview cannot be over-estimated or doubted for a second. His willful stage presence lends the film a searing intensity that both counteracts and complements the film's measured pacing.

Yet while the story is certainly rich with detail and subtlety, There Will Be Blood is hardly a film of words as I've said already. At times fifteen full minutes will pass without any dialogue at all. The space that fills these stretches of silence greatly enhances the film's sense of space and desolation. Even when characters do speak, nobody says more than necessary. Words are carefully chosen and tersely delivered, and there is much to be read between the lines.

Instead of leaning on dialogue, much of the film's force comes from its gorgeous cinematography. Meticulously detailed and breathtakingly beautiful, There Will Be Blood is visually arresting from the film's beginning to its conclusion.

Similarly, the score (composed by Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood) greatly accentuates the film's most dramatic moments. Yet while the music itself is impeccable, the way that Anderson employs it is even more impressive. Violins and sparse percussion rise and fall at unexpected moments, carefully cultivating a sense of unease while still managing to feel natural and well considered.

Perhaps the most incredible thing about "There Will Be Blood" is its minimalism as I may have said previously. In spite of its long runtime (which approaches three hours), the film never feels indulgent or overly complex. Anderson slows down the pacing of the film to a deliberate lurch. This might frustrate impatient viewers, but the approach is ultimately makes the film's several climaxes more rewarding and its emotional peaks more stunning.

"There Will Be Blood" is both visceral and cerebral and hits home on all levels, the rare film that combines the raw emotion of our most human instincts with smart, well-conceived film-making techniques. Well fulfills and exceeds even the hype and capable of meeting even your wildest expectations, Anderson's latest is truly a masterpiece of cinema.

''Amélie has a strange feeling of absolute harmony. It's a perfect moment. A soft light, a scent in the air, the quiet murmur of the city. A surge of love, an urge to help mankind overcomes her.''


One person can change your life forever. Amélie is one of these people, and this is her story...

Audrey Tautou: Amélie Poulain

Amélie is the best French film since Love me if you Dare that I have ever had the pleasure of watching.

Artistic, imaginative, visual and extremely clever are but a few ways to describe Amélie.

So what's is Amélie? What is it about I hear you cry?!
Well the answer is simple, it's the gorgeous tale of Amélie Poulain and her dreamy wondrous life. I could certainly relate to her magical, colourful imagination.
Audrey Tautou as Amélie makes the role her own while film maker Jean-Pierre Jeunet hits the nail on the head spinning and weaving one of the best films to come from France I've ever had to have the luxury of seeing and beholding.

I mean the music blends with the colourful imagery much like Amélie's old friend Raymond's artwork. Which brings me to the characters in the film wonderfully fleshed out while we are treated also to some breath taking sequences.

As a director, Jean-Pierre Jeunet has a unique perspective. He seems to make great use of colour, some would assume then to be unnecessary extremes, but for myself it gives Amélie a glossy visual look, whatever the weather's like in the film.
Also he tends to to zoom about with his cameras but again this adds to the way the film sucks you into its own little bizarre world, just as Amelie draws Nico into her heart without them actually meeting.

A few nice special effects polish it off, and there are a few little details that you probably won't see the first couple of times.

It's hard to translate into words how much I loved Amélie .
Like being next to a Monet, or a Da Vinci, watching as he effortlessly splashes vibrant colours and shades across his canvas.
I had this strange but fantastic feeling of being inside the mind of Amélie, seeing so much in the dazzling imagination she viewed life with, and wanting to stay with her much longer than the two hour duration of Amélie.

It was just so refreshing to watch a movie where your fantasy realms are realized in fantastic detail.

Amélie is simply a story of imagination, of love, of dreams, of life.
What other movie offers a gnome on holiday, a photo booth mystery, a bizarre childhood, a clever trail to reclaim an album...none I tell you! This Amélie truly is a masterpiece and I cannot stress it enough.

And what's most wonderful of all, I'm still smiling from the experience.

''Without you, today's emotions would be the scurf of yesterday's.''

''Me? I've had so many names. Old names that only the wind and the trees can pronounce. I am the mountain, the forest and the earth. I am... I am a faun. Your most humble servant, Your Highness.''

In the fascist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.

Ivana Baquero: Ofelia

Sergi López: Captain Vidal

Breath-taking. Simply breath taking, Pan's Labyrinth is without a doubt one of my fave films ever that captures the imagination and historical sides perfectly.

Amazing how it switches between fantasy and reality, and how the two merge together throughout, also liked how her step-father played by Sergi Lopez is depicted as this evil, fascist soldier.
His story is wonderful, detailed and he truly is what you may consider to be an evil man. He does some cold stuff that really has to be marveled at.
Ivana Baquero as Opheila is wonderful and a rising star, her sweetness and innocence couldn't be better portrayed by anyone.
Doug Jones really plays the creatures well with his body and movements, his roles in films such as Hellboy, Fantastic Four 2 are a rival to even Andy Serkis and his Gollum or King Kong.

The faun and the pale man are very impressive. Definitely one of Tel Toro's best films for sure. Such a powerful and visual yet brutal fantasy tale depicting fantasy mixed with reality both as harsh as each other!

The Spanish language is so similar to English in my mind having done it at college, you can hear how the same it is when you read the subtitles and compare.

Gripping and violent, loving yet tough, a girls journey who gets to her rightful place yet encounters death, despair, tragedy and the gritty truths of life and its harshness.

This isn't just a fantasy film but a war and historical one too. The music too is haunting and mesmerizing and will stay with you. A perfect merging that Guillermo Del Toro proves to me that he is one of the best imaginative directors out there.

A benchmark and huge Success in filming, richly deserved it's Oscars was hoping it would win best foreign film but you tend to lose faith in the voting sometimes at the Oscars. Although 3 Oscar wins did please me considerably.

A masterpiece which i love...

''A long time ago, in the underground realm, where there are no lies or pain, there lived a Princess who dreamed of the human world. She dreamed of blue skies, soft breeze, and sunshine. One day, eluding her keepers, the Princess escaped. Once outside, the brightness blinded her and erased every trace of the past from her memory. She forgot who she was and where she came from. Her body suffered cold, sickness, and pain. Eventually, she died. However, her father, the King, always knew that the Princess' soul would return, perhaps in another body, in another place, at another time. And he would wait for her, until he drew his last breath, until the world stopped turning...''

''Whatever happens tomorrow, or for the rest of my life, I'm happy now... because I love you.''

An obnoxious weatherman finds himself living the same day over and over again.

Bill Murray: Phil Connors

Andie MacDowell: Rita

One of my favourite films ever. Funny and you learn from it, Bill Murray is a comic genius as well as a phenomenal actor , amazing how he transforms and conveys his transformation, into a completely different person through the films repeated day.

His evolution and change of character is so endearing to watch. Andie MacDowell also shows good charisma and acting alongside Bill, with her role also in Four Weddings & A Funeral shows her penchant and comfort in Romantic comedies.

Ultimately love conquers all, how if one day could be perfected that true love is at the heart.
If any of us had the chance to change everything you end up with something so perfect. It's magical and at the same time an escape, escapism from the grim reality of everyday life and it shows how the simple act of being a good person can go out and touch so many lives.

Groundhog Day remains to this day a film that everyone can relate to, that if we could have another chance to make one day perfect is what life is all about. Because in life we don't get this luxury but it is one that Hog gives us a vision into.

A Masterpiece which I have watched countless times.

Filby: Which three books would you have taken?

This is my ultimate classic! Watched this countless times when i was a boy! The air headed Eloi and there passive nature, and the creepy Morlocks.
I love the way when he uses the time machine everything around grows and dies, changes, warps and the mannequin in the window with her changing fashions, so clever.

Incredible music score and direction.

Rod Taylor is amazingly charismatic and dashing as the main protoganist.

The lady (Yvette Mimeux) is so stunning. Original is so damn perfect and beautifully made its still good even today.

Would recommend to any intellectual guys/ladies out there. Which three books would you take? At the time when this came out all the Religious people thought the bible would be one, don't be ridiculous! Laughable! That would have dire consequences, if it was me i know what id take.

It would be a book that portrays the good of mankind and its morals and empathy, philosophy and Plato. Show emotion for all its good sides and glory, always do the best thing.

The Eloi remind me of little children innocent and needing guidance. The young are so receptive and ideas flow through like water into the sea from a flowing river ending its journey.

I think H.G wells hit the nail on the head with the Morlocks and a big stab at the industrial revolution and what mankind could become if we went the wrong way forward. An emotionless hungry race with ugly machinery void of morals(like a group of cannibals/animals), still i love how the two races are the same but one has been trapped underground while the other living on the surface, two different paths altering them entirely.

The dusty books too totally disregarded by the Eloi the climactic, recorded singing rings telling the sad tale.

Worth watching time and time again! This film had no need of a remake nothing could surpass this!. Thought id put the plot in too for a secondary look at this brilliant adaptation :

Plot: After scoring popular hits with When Worlds Collide and The War of the Worlds, special-effects pioneer George Pal returned to the visionary fiction of H.G. Wells to produce and direct this science-fiction classic from 1960.

Wells's imaginative tale of time travel was published in 1895 and the movie is set in approximately the same period with Rod Taylor as a scientist whose magnificent time machine allows him to leap backward and forward in the annals of history.

His adventures take him far into the future, where a meek and ineffectual race known as the Eloi have been forced to hide from the brutally monstrous Morlocks.

As Taylor tests his daring invention, Oscar-winning special effects show us what the scientist sees: a cavalcade of sights and sounds as he races through time at varying speeds, from lava flows of ancient earth to the rise and fall of a towering future metropolis.

''Hold me.''

''I can't''

Mesmerizing and compelling. Loved it and still do, makes me tingle with its moving film locations, icy ways and haunting music. Emotional. Masterful.

Johnny Depp is really outstanding in his role as Edward Scissorhands. A unique creation from the imaginative mind of Burton. A breakthrough partnership Depp-burton they just click.

Winona Ryder is very lovely in this, sweet and beautiful, definately one of her best and earlier roles in film.

Dianne West as the Avon Lady mum cracks me up big time, shes awesome.

Anthony Micheal Hall he's just a pain in this with the bugger role he has! Makes you loathe him so he does a good job.

Putting Vincent Price in there too as Edward's creator that was perfection.

Loved the town, its weird people and the boxy sameness with gaudy colours.

There is some breath taking scenery in this, and who actually does the hedge shapes? There wonderful.

A classic film, moving, visual, epic magnitude, very stimulating and very artistic fires off all emotions. Seen countless times.

Watching it with Rachael again really was special and it makes me so sad yet so happy.

Cant wait to see the new Sweeney Todd film on the 21st of december,definately been too long since Sleepy Hollow and Edward Scissorhands.

Sweeney Todd: The history of the world, my pet...
Mrs. Lovett: Oh, Mr. Todd! Oh, Mr. Todd! Leave it to me!
Sweeney Todd: Is learn forgiveness and try to forget!
Mrs. Lovett: By the sea, Mr. Todd we'll be comfy-cozy / By the sea, Mr. Todd, where there's no one nosy!
Sweeney Todd: And life is for the alive, my dear / So let's keep living it
Mrs. Lovett: [both] Just keep living it! Really living it - !

Based on the hit Broadway musical which tells the infamous story of Benjamin Barker, a.k.a Sweeney Todd, who sets up a barber shop down in London which is the basis for a sinister partnership with his fellow tenant, Mrs. Lovett.

Johnny Depp : Sweeney Todd/Benjamin Barker. Plays a maddened tortured soul well. Some good singing and vocal work, Depp focuses on the psychological factors of the character in subtle nuances, giving one of the greatest performances he's done. A true achievement that lives up to the excellence of the entire movie's feel and vibe.

Helena Bonham Carter : Mrs. Lovett. Remarkable her range and vibrant singing she breathes life into her character. Helena Bonham Carter was the best surprise; her vocals were sugary sweet and amazing, her acting was perfect, and Helena herself is quite stunning despite her unsavory disposition and dark look.

Alan Rickman : Judge Turpin. Villainous, a bad man with an addiction to young ladies. Liked the part where he sings pretty women with Depp and the part where he sentences a boy.

Timothy Spall : Beadle Bamford. A typical sidekick role. Slightly the reverse of Rickman and more caricatured cartoon like in his villainy.

Sacha Baron Cohen : Signor Adolfo Pirelli. More of an extended cameo by Sacha, the Italian Sham.

Jamie Campbell Bower : Anthony Hope. Gives a really solid performance for a young actor.

Laura Michelle Kelly : Beggar Woman.

Jayne Wisener : Johanna

Ed Sanders : Toby. Loved the song he does with Helena.

It opens like your typical Burton film is supposed to and that got me excited.
After seeing this hyped up offering from my fave Tim Burton. His style and colouring with dark rich blacks, greys and whites I've missed since the days of Sleepy Hollow. Some people may find the singing irritating but i loved the range and the story told through such a medium.

Loved the scene with Toby and Mrs Lovett, singing i will take care of you and the bit of Mrs Lovettt's dream with Todd on the beach and together in a colourful fantasy.

Those songs Not while I'm around, Johanna, and Pretty Women are ones i liked alot and made me emotional in different ways.

The gore was satisfyingly good, the score beautiful. Music top notch. The plot on the other hand was like a drafted plot of a soap opera on TV, with lashings of originality. The deaths strangely systematic yet comical to the song of Johanna.

A horror musical that leaves you waiting for an ending, or conclusion, that has a major twist near it's climax yet offers a paradox in the film. What was the point?

Is revenge worth it?

Maybe a beautiful death is...

''I was staring through the cage of those meticulous ink strokes - at an absolute beauty.''


The incredible story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, told in flashback mode by Antonio Salieri - now confined to an insane asylum.

F. Murray Abraham: Antonio Salieri

Tom Hulce: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Simply Beautiful, musical and a genius study of two men. One hell bent on destroying the other in a haze of jealousy.

Amadeus is a masterpiece of music and a haunting tragic story of Mozart with a complex duality to his character.
F. Murray Abraham as Antonio Salieri is fascinating as the man who idolizes Mozart, who burns with jealousy at him, at a talent and creativity he can never possess or muster. We first see him in his old age in a squalid state of madness and memory, in the confines of an asylum.
His pain is wonderfully conveyed, there's a blur between who you feel for, the jealousy burning in his eyes, i love it!
He refers to Mozart as a creature, a plague upon the world and his life, a misery with his talent he inflicts, his talent that should of been Antonio Salieris, but is denied by the obnoxious yet inspirational faceted Mozart.
Antonio Salieri is the mirror reflection of Mozart twisted in the shadows, unlike Mozart's crazy unpractical way Antonio is humble, craving the very thing Mozart possesses, what he takes for granted and uses for his own benefit.
He admires him from afar and later helps him to write when he falls ill. Them writing a masterpiece is a wonder to behold.

''I heard the music of true forgiveness filling the theater, conferring on all who sat there, perfect absolution. God was singing through this little man to all the world, unstoppable, making my defeat more bitter with every passing bar.''


The beginning is genius yet gutting and in a way amusing:
Father Vogler: Oh, that's charming! I'm sorry, I didn't know you wrote that.
Salieri: I didn't. That was Mozart.


Tom Hulce as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a wonder to behold, a genius in music but his character, his laugh, his mannerisms are a vast contrast to his intellectual artistic musical vision. He's got controversial ideas that he pulls off much to the disgust of Antonio Salieri.
Arrogant, childish and very rash in his way, which wasn't my image of Mozart yet shows a talent for musical genius isn't everything.
Tom Hulce I've seen in other films before but this is the best ever performance I've seen him achieve, latest film i saw him in was Stranger Than Fiction, so he's still around in acting terms.

The costumes perfect, the beautiful ornate locations shown in all their splendor, all effortlessly combined in a dazzling array of bewitchment and enlightenment.

Us the audience begin to formulate what will happen and how plotting from madness and hatred begins to surface.

When the souls of the music leap forth from the pages, when genius turns to betrayal and madness you know you have a masterpiece of grandeur and wonderment.

Amadeus is a legendary masterpiece of epic proportions.

''Your merciful God...rather than let a mediocity...Share in the smallest part of his glory. He killed Mozart. And kept me alive to torture. 32 years of torture. 32 years...of slowly watching myself become extinct! My music growing fainter, all the time fainter till no one plays at all. And his...''

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

''Darth Vader: I've been waiting for you, Obi-Wan. We meet again, at last. The circle is now complete. When I left you, I was but the learner; now *I* am the master.
Obi-Wan: Only a master of evil, Darth.''
[lightsabers clash]



Two droids, C3PO and R2-D2, acquire valuable data from a princess in the form of a Hologram message, then proceed by escaping in a pod to a mysterious planet called Tattooine.
After getting captured by Jawas they come to be in possession of Luke Skywalker. And thus they proceed to meet Obi-wan, Han Solo and Chewbacca.
A quest to save a princess from an evil Empire, it's minion Sith Darth Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin aboard the menacing Death Star.

Mark Hamill: Luke Skywalker. What happened to him after Star Wars? He plays Luke with a bratty innocence to begin with, later with moldings of a hero.

Harrison Ford: Han Solo. The roguish, charismatic Solo played by Ford is another iconic and legendary role for Harrison. As soon as he's on screen he adds life and humour with his witty, yet sometimes sarcastic one liners. The one that all the boys wanted to be.

Carrie Fisher: Princess Leia Organa. The most memorable role i know of for Fisher and also iconic.

Peter Cushing: Grand Moff Tarkin. Supposedly didn't fart in this film but was wearing slippers due to boots being uncomfortable. A veteran actor who was a fine addition.

Alec Guinness: Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi. He plays Obi-Wan brilliantly, although Alec did think like most of the other cast that this was a flop. How they were wrong. Annoyingly popular, Alec's other roles to me still define him. This just stuck in people's minds more due to the big franchise that blew up in the public.

Anthony Daniels: C-3PO. The Camp droid.

Kenny Baker: R2-D2. The droid resembling a bin. Plus cute functioning beeping noises to communicate.

Peter Mayhew: Chewbacca. The walking carpet, the huge chewy.

David Prowse: Darth Vader. The guy who was in the suit. Farmer prowse. ''Aye Want those plans! ooo Arrr''

James Earl Jones: Darth Vader (voice). There couldn't really be any questioning Jame's voice which gelled the whole Darth Vader into iconic villain along with the appearance for me.

Phil Brown: Uncle Owen.

Shelagh Fraser: Aunt Beru

Jack Purvis: Chief Jawa

Alex McCrindle: General Dodonna

Eddie Byrne: General Willard

This film was such a phenomenon mainly due to the fact there was nothing quite like it. It has adventure, imagination, escapism, vibrant characters, a plot that flows.

John Williams can do no wrong with the now iconic score, George Lucas certainly struck gold with this!

There's so many memorable scenes in this that they all blur together. Loved the Greedo/Han Solo shooting part and how that all later escalated into who shot first. Loved Obi-Wan's wiseness, Han Solo's comic relief, Leia's stand off attitude & Luke's rookie like freshness.
The droids were funny characters, Darth Vader certainly a presence straight from his first appearance he looks a menace. Black, foreboding and insanely tall.

It's got a heart and a human quality, that the new prequels lack, as well as striking visuals and that for me is where it counts. If you can capture a child or anyone's imagination and inspire them then,you have hit the nail on the head with the film.

Star Wars without a doubt is that film.

Mouth watering to know Empire Strikes Back would soon follow...

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

Yoda: Ready are you? What know you of ready? For eight hundred years have I trained Jedi. My own counsel will I keep on who is to be trained. A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind. This
one a long time have I watched. All his life has he looked away... to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was. Hmm? What he was doing. Hmph. Adventure. Heh. Excitement. Heh. A Jedi craves not these things. You are reckless.



While Luke takes advanced Jedi training from Yoda, his friends are relentlessly pursued by Darth Vader as part of his plan to capture Luke.

Mark Hamill: Luke Skywalker. Mark fully embraces his role and warms to it, the whole movie sees him transition into a hero yet not quite a ready one.

Harrison Ford: Han Solo. He's funny and charismatic again emulating that magic formula. ''Nerf Herder!'' or ''Scruffy looking'', lines and script that cracks me up. He gets the best ones.

Carrie Fisher: Princess Leia. Carrie does well. Solo and Leia's relationship evolving is heart-felt.
Leia: ''I love you'' Solo: ''I know''
Magic.

Billy Dee Williams: Lando Calrissian. He's a fine addition, remember seeing him in Batman also later as Harvey Dent. His character is very similar to the roguish Han Solo.

Anthony Daniels: C-3PO. The camp droid back with his chum R2.

David Prowse: Darth Vader. Brilliant gestures. Plus the guy that does the swordplay amazing. The final revelation is still chilling. Dampened by the new prequels but still quite an impact.

Peter Mayhew: Chewbacca. Like the part where he's got 3