Bones' Talk

Cape Fear

A lawyer finds his family terrorized by a brutal woman hating sociopath who blames him for sending him to jail for 8 years. Gregory Peck was the perfect casting choice as the morally upstanding husband and father who finds he must question his principles when the law fails to protect them from such a wily and dangerous predator. But it is Mitchum on top form who steals the film and brings a real sense of underlying menace to his character; the scenes he shares with Peck crackle with tension. There's also some strong support from the ever reliable Martin Balsam and Telly Savalas (sporting a full head of hair!) and the family scenes are refreshingly syrup free. With a very memorable score and great showdown featuring a classic closing speech, this is far better than the uncharacteristically crass Martin Scorsese remake.

Them (Ils)

This is a creepy French film reminiscent of The Strangers, scenery comparable to what's used in High(Haute)Tension, and a flavor of it's own giving it an amount of unique suspense.
The film is based on true events, and is something that we all don't expect, but conceive horrific ideas of what may arise from generations on the uprise.

Jekyll and Hyde... Together Again

lol this movie is crazy

Defiance

Defiance is the true story of Jewish brothers Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber who hid from the Nazis in the Belarussian forest, and quickly found themselves with an entire community of fleeing refugees to protect. Edward Zwick has always been fond of telling stories about the triumph of the human spirit, although he has been guilty of over egging the sentimental side of things to get his intended point across. Defiance is no exception, but thanks to some clever writing and a strong central performance by Daniel Craig, this film manages to pull itself back from the brink of schmaltz. When Craig mounted a white steed and gave a very Braveheart speech to his new subjects, I thought "Oh great...here we go again...", but soonafter when the people begin to starve, he promptly pulls out a Luger and puts a bullet in its head, almost as if to say "there's a time and a place for pomp and bluster, but this isn't it"! He shows the conflict between animal instinct and humanity quite nicely, sometimes showing compassion and yes, speech making, but at others dealing with the issues at hand with a ruthless efficiency. Craig and some handsome photography made this film for me, and although it is guilty of emotional button pushing, sometimes those are the button you want to be pushed. Especially when it comes to seeing at least a small victory against the greatest shower of evil bastards ever to walk the Earth.

Eden Lake

argh

The Children

this is a BIG BAG OF POOP!... oh lordie, this has been done to death,. family in the middle of no where, cant get to safety or a hospital cos of the snow, ambulence and police cant reach cos the roads blocked.
Man dies, then lives, then dies AGAIN!...the only thing semi impressive was the acting of thescarey whinning brats whos ages range from around 5 to 9 years old. The adults SUCKED!...dont waste your time on this.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Legendary outlaws Butch and Sundance rob one too many trains and an elite force of lawmen force them to relocate to Bolivia. Yet another of Hollywood's romantic reinterpretations of history featuring outlaws who are lovable rogues who don't want to hurt anyone, George Roy Hill's classic western actually features little in the way of gunplay (although the final shoot out is well worth waiting for). The core of the film is Butch and Sundance's enduring friendship and as such it concentrates far more on warmth and humour than bullets and blood; in fact you have to wait til near the end before a single shot is fired. Often when two major stars are paired up, ego prevails and one-upmanship can ruin any potential on-screen chemistry, but once in a while two stars can strike up chemistry that is pure cinematic gold. This is the case with Newman and Redford (a partnership obviously and consciously aped by Clooney and Pitt in the Ocean's films), and its a shame they didn't make more films together. The dialogue is always witty and fun, and the characters are all very endearing; even the romance with Katharine Ross is refreshingly schmaltz-free and understated, and is all the more charming for it. The only dark cloud on the horizon are the cornball musical interludes which some may find some kitsch enjoyment in, but I personally found them dated and unnecessary. This flaw is minor compared to the hugely entertaining whole and it features one of the best endings ever filmed.

The Way of the Gun

A brilliant film of two criminals portrayed by Benicio Del Toro and Ryan Phillippe who hold a surrogate mother for ransom as they seek an ultimate fortune.
The acting is first rate by Del Toro, Phillippe, and James Caan as the opposing professional hitman, and the "gunplay" scenes are very well executed allowing for optimal suspense.
The end scenes shot in New Mexico are reminiscent of the spaghetti westerns, but differ in a modern, realistic look at the violence that may result from these situations.

Ned Kelly

Story of the impoverished Irish immigrant Kelly family living in Australia in the latter part of the 19th century. Bushranger Ned Kelly(Heath Ledger) is wrongfully accused and imprisoned of stealing a horse, but emerges a few years later with his mother and siblings in which he makes money as a bare-knuckle boxer. After Ned and his mother are unjustly charged with murder, Ned Kelly is determined to avenge his family's name and strike back against his people's oppressors.
Ledger's portrayal of the Jesse James-esque Kelly is quite brilliant as he and his gang become the invincible "outlaws" of the Outback. Ned Kelly becomes a legend/hero, and still is to this day for his valor, and keen insight into justice so often ignored by so called authority figures.

Punisher: War Zone

Great piece of over the top violence and gore. I enjoyed the Thomas Jane Punisher more, but this still was a good action pic. I liked how it stayed to the orignal origin of having Castees family wiped out by the mob after witnessing a mob hit. Stevenson played a much darker and forbidding Punisher than Jane, and West did a great job with the pyschotic Jigsaw Overall good story..plenty of action for my taste buds..Interesting to see if the continue this franchise...2 thumbs up...Recommend for Punisher and action fans!

The Ninth Gate

Johnny Depp portrays a rare book dealer in search of the last two copies of a book said to be written by the devil himself. The cinematography and acting is brilliant, and Polanski never fails to let you know you're watching one of his unique pieces.
This film is quite creepy as it draws pictures in ways that your imagination needs to define.

Slumdog Millionaire

"Slumdog" Jamal who grew up on the streets of Bombay is at the brink of winning the grand prize of India's version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire when is is "questioned" by the police suspecting fraud. Danny Boyle's latest and highly acclaimed project has a lot of the energy that marked his debut. The clever structure of the film uses his explanations on how he knew the answers to fill in the background of what life is like for the most impoverished members of Indian society, brutalized in religious riots, either ignored or harassed by the authorities and exploited by criminals. In this way it's like a more light-hearted and less violent version of City Of God and has a lot of the power and grittiness of that film. Some of the more disturbing aspects of what these kids go through was made more so by the fact that I watched this film in the company of an Indian who assured me that these practices actually do go on (and in fact were even toned down for the film version). The entire cast are excellent, even the youngest of the children playing younger versions of the protagonists, and the mix of comedy, action and drama is balanced perfectly. Unfortunately the film's strength and depth of character falters during the last reel. Blaming walloping great plot contrivances on "fate" just seemed lazy, and the crowd (and Academy) pleasing ending felt kind of hollow to me, marring what otherwise was an excellent film. The rest of it is definitely strong enough to warrant viewing though, and for me this is easily Boyle's best work since Trainspotting.

Rope

Two upper class intellectuals plan the "perfect" murder of an old school friend for the sheer thrill of it and hold a dinner party for his friends and family with the corpse hidden within the room. Rope is most famous for its "one shot" conceit as the story takes place entirely within the same room, Hitchcock concealing (albeit somewhat clumsily) the cuts between reels. I feel however that is the least interesting aspect of the film, as the ideas expressed within, the sharp dialogue and Hitch's usual ability to crank up the tension are the real reason why it works. Hitchcock plays with the audience, placing us in the room with characters, they and their conversations even being demoted to off-screen from time to time as he constantly reminds us of the foul deed that could be discovered at any moment. When recreating the murder, he uses nothing as crude as flashbacks; he entices the audience to relive it through vicarious imagination. The story is told entirely through the verbal sparring of the party guests, Jimmy Stewart being the perfect casting choice as their old schoolmaster who begins to suspect something is afoot, his image as Capra's morally upstanding man of the people is given a different spin within this macabre situation. Here, he is the cynical misanthropist shown the logical conclusion of his contempt for "inferior" humanity and the concluding speech when faced with his grim discovery is electrifying. Hitchcock made a few anti-Nazi propaganda pieces for the war effort, and this contempt for intellectual arrogance and self-superiority and its inferred fascistic overtones echoes the sentiment of those films. This strong moral message and taut story telling make for a gripping thriller that although a little stagy, still packs a thought provoking punch.

High Tension (Switchblade Romance)

Two students don't know what awaits them as they head to a remote country family home to study for upcoming exams. Horror ensues as a psychopathic "stranger" forces their way into the home as night falls.
This film does indeed have a twist that adds to the ascending tension in a unique tale of terror.