My Favorite Movies

"Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free."

Two imprisoned men bond over a number of years, finding solace and eventual redemption through acts of common decency.

REVIEW
It is very hard to think of something bad about this film.The direction is incredible, bringing about highly memorable performances, and a beautifully shot film.

Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman are sensational, carrying this film on their shoulders as if it were the easiest job in the world - a tribute to them as this film must have been an incredibly demanding shoot - it is a long and emotional film.

The development of their friendship is wonderful to watch, as is Andy's gradual assimilation into the prison society - however sad it may well be.

Frank Darabont it seems was the ideal man to take the helm of this movie. Many films in this sort of genre can feel like they are missing something, as if there were sections left on the editing room floor - not this film, everything fits perfectly in to place. This leads to a very long film, (which could perhaps be its only criticism - be warned it is long - though the longer the better for me) but one which sucks you right into the prison world, and keeps you right there until the utterly stunning last shot of the film!

Viewers should be warned that some scenes are of a disturbing nature, dealing with issues that may offend some people. However, this should not put you off seeing this film. It deals with the realities of prison, and in no way glorifies the goings on.

What we must realise however, is that this film is not necessarily about the brutality of prison and the way prison society operates, it is about human connection and interaction, and the indomitable nature of the human spirit. By the last scene we should feel uplifted at what has been achieved - not only by the characters in the story however, but by the film makers!

"Where's Olive?"

A family determined to get their young daughter into the finals of a beauty pageant take a cross-country trip in their VW bus.

REVIEW
Much of "Little Miss Sunshine" shouldn't work, yet almost all of it does.

One of the best ensemble casts in recent memory delivers this outrageous material with a tremendous amount of heart and conviction and, as a result, a screenplay that threatens to stretch the bounds of credibility comes across as believable and achingly poignant. The characters are given such strong motivations for their actions that everything they do and say feels utterly plausible, even when the film itself threatens to teeter into Faulknerian Southern Gothic crossed with National Lampoon's "Vacation." The writers, director and cast stubbornly refuse to allow us any tidy character assessments. Therefore, we see the brittle and harsh side of Toni Collette's otherwise loving mom; the warm, charming and please-like-me vulnerability of Greg Kinnear's otherwise smarmy and nearly intolerable dad; the intellectual pompousness and snobbery that peeks its head through Steve Carell's otherwise emotionally wounded suicide case; and the affectionate patriarch lurking behind the otherwise gruff and offensive exterior of Alan Arkin's grandfather, whose greatest crime may be that he's too honest.

"Little Miss Sunshine" hands over this motley cast of characters and lets us glory in their imperfections, and through doing so helps us feel better about our own. As the movie points out, perfection isn't possible, and the aggressive pressure in American culture to achieve it is only making people miserable about failing at something they never had a chance of succeeding at in the first place. The movie is so warm hearted though, that its ultimate lesson isn't a downer. At the end, this close-knit family realizes that they're proud to be ordinary, and dammit, so am I.

"How much can you know about yourself if you've never been in a fight?"

An office employee and a soap salesman build a global organization to help vent male aggression.

REVIEW
It is rare that a film so brilliant in every possible aspect comes your way, and even rarer that such a film will receive all the recognition it deserves. Some of the most brilliant pieces of cinema ever made will be critically acclaimed, but largely ignored, while other films will be hyped to a ludicrous extent, but pale in comparison to some less widely-seen films. There are, however, exceptions. "Fight Club" is one such exception.

Impossible to fault, David Fincher's apocalyptic satire and social dissection is a masterwork that proved, much to my surprise, to be every bit as brilliant as critics and viewers alike claimed it to be. Edward Norton's acting performance is one feature well and truly worthy of a mention, with his stunning job of the nameless narrator being everything that earlier performances such as "Primal Fear" promised. Yet it would be wrong to single Norton out without recognising the sheer brilliance of the entire supporting cast - Brad Pitt proves the immense extent to which he is wasted in most films, Helena Bonham-Carter is faultless, Meat Loaf Aday astonishes, as does Jared Leto. So many mindblowing performances are almost never seen together in the one film - Fincher could not have done a better job of bringing out the acting potential in each and every member of his cast.

A fertile and brutally perceptive script goes perfectly alongside Fincher's stunning cinematography, present yet wasted in the apparently slightly disappointing "Panic Room". Even the grotesque violence can be forgiven in such a film as this, when acting, direction and scripting are all perfect. I doubt that Hollywood will so brilliantly hit the spot again in the near future - "Fight Club" was a work of rare genius and will, I believe, remain extremely high on my list of films for some time yet.

"One person can change your life forever."

Amelie, an innocent and naive girl in Paris, with her own sense of justice, decides to help those around her and along the way, discovers love.

REVIEW
Possibly the most beautiful film in cinematic history; hats off to whomever the cinematographer was because Paris, despite all its beauty has never looked so magical.

From beginning to end I was mesmerised by just how rich each and every colour was, how strategically placed every filter was and how apt each scene was in putting forth the colours that reflected the feelings being conveyed. Paris became more than just a backdrop, Paris became yet another protagonist for us to fall in love with, yet another protagonist who's narrative became beyond engaging and impossible to resist and yet another protagonist who's arc mattered. It truly is a showcase in all that is great (of what little there is) about the French; overtly indulgent, pompous to an almost unbearable degree but underneath all the bravado ridiculously charming at its inner most core. A stunning achievement in visual mastery.

Juxtaposed with this is the insanely charming lead Audrey Tatou. So lost is she on finding fulfilment for others that she seemingly forgets about finding it for herself. The beauty of the performance and the writing is that whilst she never openly craves it, we, now living vicariously through this most lovable of characters, root for her to become emblazoned with the amorous feelings she so craves for those around her. The perfect example of how the primary protagonist of any feel-good film should be written and performed. Amelie could well claim to have created an archetype; the character that is actually impossible to dislike, but is still as multi-faceted as any character in cinema.

An infinitely charming and infectious piece that manages to warm the very cockles of this most cold of hearts.

"15 years of imprisonment, five days of vengeance"

After being kidnapped and imprisoned for 15 years, Oh Dae-Su is released, only to find that he must find his captor in 5 days.

REVIEW
I thought this was one of the best films I have ever seen, a remarkably imagined and executed tour de force where every scene is a masterpiece. Acting from all three leads was not just good, but tremendous and the direction is unbelievable - visceral, imaginative, original, energetic, and yet sensitive and touching. Special mention has to go to the score - which is one of the best I have ever heard.

This was a movie that was very, very exciting, but even more so, very, very moving. I have yet to see a movie that explores the pointlessness of revenge and the burden of memories and the past so thoughtfully. Personally I enjoyed Kill Bill but whereas that was great, if shallow, fun, this is something else entirely. It is a stunning movie that succeeds both as an action thriller and as a powerful, affecting tragedy.

It is not an easy film to watch besides the frequently brutal violence, it reaches climaxes of extreme emotional intensity. However it established Chanwook Park as a major talent in world cinema.

"You won't know the facts until you've seen the fiction."

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.

REVIEW
Quentin Tarantino's all knowing, self-referential, immensely entertaining slice of contemporary pop-culture is a brilliantly original work, full of various homages and subtle nods to a vast array of television shows and assorted movies. The ingenious structure and style is the work of man obsessed with everything film related and his homages to classic directors such as Douglas Sirk and Jean-Luc Godard are interpliced with more contemporary nods to kung-fu, MTV and media savvy. The ingenious structure derives from the dialogue fuelled narrative, that is bristling with great one-liners and a contemporary hip style and bad ass attitude. Brilliant scene after brilliant scene is dragged out with long takes and tracking shots placing the escapist, media-friendly viewer in the thick of the action, with the overall feeling evoking that of a comic book. The great cast, wonderful characters and unchronological structure packed with twists and turns also promise to keep the viewer entertained through this brilliant piece of 90's cinema.

Quentin Tarantino is a genius. Sick and twisted genius, but a genius, nonetheless.

Collect the best scenes from classical martial arts movies and other great stuff such as Samurai Fiction, Yojimbo, Seven Samurai, Green Hornet, Enter the Dragon, Star Trek, Matrix, Matrix Reloaded, Lone Wolf and the Cub, Battle Royale (take an actor from Battle Royale to play a cute schoolgirl) and countless others. Add some modern twist and use the modern possibilities to make them up to date - and how they should have been done. Give them all respect they deserve. Then, read a pile of comics - manga, Marvel's Japan stuff - and borrow the graphic style from them. And parodize everything in an intelligent way.

Make a story that is a mother of all vengeance stories. Don't take it too seriously - make it a parody as well.

Add Quentin Tarantino to the soup as a main ingredient.

Love every minute of it.

Short description: Intelligent parody of martial arts movies. Best movie that Tarantino has ever made. Do not skip this.

Dwight: "The Valkyrie at my side is shouting and laughing with the pure, hateful, bloodthirsty joy of the slaughter... and so am I."

The Eisner Award-winning comic series Sin City comes to life in this live-action feature adaptation from director Robert Rodriguez and creator Frank Miller. Interweaving multiple storylines from the series' history, this violent crime noir paints the picture of the ultimate town without pity through the eyes of its roughest characters. There's the street thug Marv (Mickey Rourke), whose desperate quest to find the killer of a prostitute named Goldie (Jaime King) will lead him to the foulest edges of town. Inhabiting many of those areas is Dwight (Clive Owen), a photographer in league with the sordid ladies of Sin City, headed by Gail (Rosario Dawson), who opens up a mess of trouble after tangling with a corrupt cop by the name of Jackie Boy (Benicio Del Toro). Finally, there's Hartigan (Bruce Willis), an ex-cop with a heart problem who's hell-bent on protecting a stripper named Nancy (Jessica Alba). Featuring a who's who supporting cast that includes Elijah Wood, Brittany Murphy, Devon Aoki, and Nick Stahl, Sin City promises to be one of the most direct translations from page to screen of a comic series, with shots and dialogue adapted straight from the original comic's panels. Rodriguez quit the Director's Guild when they refused to let Frank Miller co-direct the film, a deal hashed out after the two collaborators developed and shot the opening scene utilizing a green-screen process to harness the stark, black-and-white look of the books as a litmus test for the rest of the production. Quentin Tarantino was brought in and reportedly paid one dollar to direct an extended scene between Del Toro and Owen that amounts to one issue of The Big Fat Kill miniseries.

Review
Wow. What an amazing movie this was. Movies do not get much cooler than this. This is a prime example of when two great minds come together and collaborate ideas all towards a common goal: making a great film. This movie was so great. The stylized film, The emphasis on colors, and the constant interior monologue really progress the emotions and feeling of every scene of this film. This film has been barely changed from the graphic novels, and it is because of this that this film retains a constant dark, gritty, pulp comic book feel. This movie is a great experience that will blow your mind and keep you thinking about it for a long time after its over. This film is not your standard comic book movie. This is a comic book in its truest form, taken from the pages and thrown on a big screen.

"Seven Total Strangers Team Up For The Perfect Crime. They Don't Know Each Other's Name. But They've Got Each Other's Color"

In 1992, Reservoir Dogs transformed Quentin Tarantino practically overnight from an obscure, unproduced screenwriter and part-time actor to the most influential new filmmaker of the 1990s. The story looks at what happens before and after (but not during) a botched jewelry store robbery organized by Joe Cabot (Lawrence Tierney). Mr. White (Harvey Keitel) is a career criminal who takes a liking to newcomer Mr. Orange (Tim Roth) and enjoys showing him the ropes. Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi) is a weaselly loner obsessed with professionalism. Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen) has just gotten out of jail after taking the rap on a job for Cabot; he's grateful for the work but isn't the same person he used to be. While Mr. Blonde goes nuts during the heist, the thieves are surprised by the sudden arrival of the police, and Mr. Pink is convinced one of their team is a cop. So who's the rat? What do they do about Mr. Blonde? And what do they do with Mr. Orange, who took a bullet in the gut and is slowly bleeding to death? Reservoir Dogs jumps back and forth between pre- and post-robbery events, occasionally putting the narrative on pause to let the characters discuss such topics as the relative importance of tipping, who starred in Get Christie Love!, and what to do when you enter a men's room full of cops carrying a briefcase full of marijuana.

Review
This was Tarantino's first completed film and a great way to kick off a career. The beauty, for me, about Reservoir Dogs is its' simplicity. There is nothing complex about this film whatsoever. It centers around a group of criminals (for the lack of a better word) who have just completed a heist that didn't go quite as planned. After the disastrous job, the ones who made it out, whether it be alive or without being caught, meet up at an abandoned, run-down warehouse to assess the situation.

The film does not go into much detail leaving the viewer's imagination to do most of the work. Tarantino gives us superb dialogue and, of course, the criminals are easy to relate to. The film is bloody, though some violence is implied. Overall, this is an outstanding crime film and very deserving of the high cultural status that reigns over it. If you are one of the few who has not viewed this film, I highly recommend it.

"Revenge is a dish best served cold."

Now that the Bride has killed Vernita Green/"Copperhead" and O-Ren Ishii/"Cottonmouth" and her 'Crazy 88' gang, the "Black Mamba" has only three left on her Death List: Budd/"Sidewinder" (Michael Madsen), Bill's brother; Elle Driver/"California Mountain Snake" (Daryl Hannah), the deadly one-eyed assassin; and, of course, Bill/"Snake Charmer" (David Carradine), her boss, teacher, and lover. However, Bill does possess one thing that keeps the ball in his court: B.B. (Perla Haney-Jardine), the daughter the Bride thought she had lost in her coma. And now, at this point, the Bride knows only one thing: in the end, she will kill Bill.

Review
Kill Bill Volume 2 is the astonishing follow-up to perhaps 2003's best film, Kill Bill Volume 1. Quentin Tarantino once again demonstrates a mastery of dialogue in this homage to the great western and kung fu movies that inspired him from his video clerk days.

Simply, this film is as entertaining as hell. Tarantino unabashedly takes the viewer for a joyride, and the end result is a movie with intense action, tempered with some of the best dialogue I have ever heard.

Some have pointed to this film as inferior to the first volume of Kill Bill: I disagree. Whereas Tarantino is a great action director (the scene in the first film with the crazy 88s is one of my top five favorite battle scenes of all time), he even surpasses this talent in his ability to write witty, intriguing dialogue: and this film really delivers it. One scene in particular, with David Carradine as Bill, near the end, speaking with Uma Thurman's The Bride while he makes a sandwich, is unforgettable and insightfully interesting. There are few points where the film drags, and the movie ultimately creates the impression of a visceral experience.

"Once upon a time in Nazi occupied France..."

In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as "The Basterds" are chosen specifically to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis. The Basterds soon cross paths with a French-Jewish teenage girl who runs a movie theater in Paris which is targeted by the soldiers.

REVIEW
Quentin Tarantino's epic homage to WWII 'men on a mission' films like "The Dirty Dozen" gets his ya-yas out big time in the Herculean task of a revenge fantasy involving the titular band of brothers, a platoon of 8 Jewish American soldiers led by the no- guts, no-glory Lt. Aldo Raine (Pitt, chewing every morsel of cinematic sinew from the bone, in QT's nod to film god Aldo Ray), a Hillbilly from hell, who are out to scalp & kill Nazis while a feverish plan to off the German's military elite - including Hitler ? in a world premiere event at a French occupied cinema run by survivor Shosanna Dreyfus (the beguilingly stoic Laurent), who also wants blood-soaked revenge for the murders of her family by Nazi detective Col. Hans Landa (Waltz, a shoo-in for Best Supporting Actor, as the evil hubris loving baddie here) whose uncanny knack for finding the truth may be his Achilles' heel. Blood-drenched with enough gallows' humor & QT's signature dialogue spewing get the best of the film's intentions in the long run but how can you fault him when this is clearly a valentine to cinema overall. One of the year's best.

"Things fall down. People look up. And when it rains, it pours."

Writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson followed his critical and commercial breakthrough Boogie Nights with this wildly ambitious story of lives intertwining on a single day in California's San Fernando Valley. Earl Partridge (Jason Robards), a successful producer of television game shows, left his wife when she contracted cancer to marry the younger and more beautiful Linda (Julianne Moore). Now, Earl has cancer himself, and Linda spends her day fetching medicines and trying to deal with the imminent death of her husband, whom she has only now come to love. Earl asks his nurse Phil (Philip Seymour Hoffman) to arrange a meeting with his estranged son, Frank Mackey (Tom Cruise), known for his self-help program "Seduce and Destroy," in which he preaches the importance of male sexual prowess; he cared for his mother after Earl left her, and he has no desire to see his father again. Earl's best-known show is hosted by Jimmy Gator (Philip Baker Hall), who also learns that he is dying. Jimmy's show pits bright adults against unusually smart kids; one of Jimmy's child contestants, Stanley (Jeremy Blackman), arrives late for a taping after being left stranded by his father Rick (Michael Bowen), who is supported by his more successful son. Meanwhile, Donnie Smith (William H. Macy), who was a champ on Jimmy's show as a child, is not having as much luck as an adult; he's just lost his job and needs to pay for some expensive dental work. Jimmy wants to reconcile with his estranged and emotionally fragile daughter Claudia (Melora Walters), who despises him and who will become involved with well-meaning police officer Jim Kurring (John C. Reilly), who has been desperately lonely since his divorce three years ago. Magnolia reunites much of the cast and crew of Boogie Nights and features eight original songs by singer/songwriter Aimee Mann and a musical score by Jon Brion.

Review
This is one of the most wonderfully complex and intricate movies I have ever seen. The characters range from some of the most noble I've seen in a movie in a long time to some of the most pitiful. The director is able to simultaneously capture some of the best and worse qualities of human nature. The dialogue and interaction between the characters is certainly among the most 'real' and genuine that I've seen. Also, the film has one of the most unexpected yet brilliant climax in movie history. I mean, I didn't really see it coming. wtf.

Don't miss this one.

"Everyone has one special thing"

The story of a young man's adventures in the Californian pornography industry of the 1970s and 1980s.

REVIEW
Paul Thomas Anderson's 1997 film "Boogie Nights" is a breathtaking ride through seven years in the pornographic film industry. This was a huge undertaking for this filmmaker's sophomore foray into picture making, but as seen with his prior effort, "Hard Eight", he has a knack for garnering career-making performances from his actors and for interweaving story lines on par with Robert Altman. He seems also to have no qualms with wearing his influences on his sleeve, as is clear by the often spoken about three minute long opening shot that hearkens back to Scorsese or DePalma.

The film follows the journey of a young man, played by the previously under-appreciated Mark Wahlberg, who yearns for a life beyond his Southern California suburban nowhere. Once he meets up with Burt Reynolds, in the finest performance of his career, and his pseudo-family of skin flick makers and performers, the story is just getting revved up. What follows are two and half hours that wiz by with the deft hand of a filmmaker so attuned to the needs of their story that the frequent subplots and meanderings only add texture and aesthetics to the piece. Though it is basically "42nd Street" with a porn twist, it's surprisingly subdued in its expression of on-screen sex, because the film is about so much more. Although their business is sex and pleasure, it is the variation on the family unit and the hopes and dreams of the characters that are really at the core.

Put simply this is brilliant film-making!

I cannot find a thing wrong with this film - it is an absolutely stunning piece of work. The attention to detail in realising a near future world - the richness of it rendered without a single line of obvious exposition. Brilliant performances from all concerned. The long takes and the stunning set pieces are just beautiful - echoes of Brazil crossed with Channel 4 news. It makes it's political and social points cleanly and succinctly. The best British film since 28 Days Later - and it took a Mexican director to do it - I liked his take on Harry Potter, but this portends so much more, I will be keeping a close eye on any future films directed by Cuaron. Simply brilliant.

"He Came As The Caretaker, But This Hotel Had Its Own Guardians - Who'd Been There A Long Time"



"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" -- or, rather, a homicidal boy in Stanley Kubrick's eerie 1980 adaptation of Stephen King's horror novel. With wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and psychic son Danny (Danny Lloyd) in tow, frustrated writer Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) takes a job as the winter caretaker at the opulently ominous, mountain-locked Overlook Hotel so that he can write in peace. Before the Overlook is vacated for the Torrances, the manager (Barry Nelson) informs Jack that a previous caretaker went crazy and slaughtered his family; Jack thinks it's no problem, but Danny's "shining" hints otherwise. Settling into their routine, Danny cruises through the empty corridors on his Big Wheel and plays in the topiary maze with Wendy, while Jack sets up shop in a cavernous lounge with strict orders not to be disturbed. Danny's alter ego, "Tony," however, starts warning of "redrum" as Danny is plagued by more blood-soaked visions of the past, and a blocked Jack starts visiting the hotel bar for a few visions of his own. Frightened by her husband's behavior and Danny's visit to the forbidding Room 237, Wendy soon discovers what Jack has really been doing in his study all day, and what the hotel has done to Jack.



Review

Holy fishpaste. That's all I can say after watching "The Shining". This is perhaps Kubrick's best work ever, even toppling my previous Kubrick fave 'Full Metal Jacket'.

What I liked about the film is that Stanley Kubrick delved in the evil-ness of one man and what isolation can really do to you. Isolation, loneliness, the sense of not failing and doing and achieving what is given to you no matter what the cost is, it is all here.

So, the film is about this family going up in this hotel located in the most isolated of all places and they are given the task of caretaking the hotel during the winter season. Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) is a former schoolteacher turned writer and he brings his family, little Danny boy, his son and his wife Wendy.

As the months pass, strange things starts to happen, ghosts appear here and there, things start to move on its own and the walls starts to bleed (well, not really but you get my point) but the real kicker is, as the months pass in this shithole of a hotel, good olde Jack starts turning into a nuthouse. The Overlook (the hotel) starts talking to him about stuff and whatnot and it made the screws in his head loosen. And as he flies closer and closer into the cuckoo's nest, his wife and kid cannot be more eager to get the hell out of the place. Little Danny boy starts to "shine" (its this ESP thing where you can see shit you're not supposed to see) and he has this vision of two little girls who was murdered by their father in the hotel (who by the way shits on the well-dwelling, long-haired little girl on so many levels, those two girls are the scariest thing I saw. Ever.)

Wife and kid wants to get the fuck outta there but good old Jacky wants to stay. He wants to fulfill the task given to him and that is to take care of the place no matter what. The Overlook tells good old Jack to "correct" his wife and kid and he must accomplish the "correcting" task no matter what. For those of you who still don't know what "correcting" is, it means "kill those bitches".

So, yeah, good old Jack completely turned into an axe-wielding maniac and goes "Here's Johnny!" on his wife and he starts chasing his family all around the hotel. I will not delve deeper into this part because I want you to watch it on your own. Trust me, you wouldn't want me spoiling the best ending ever. Ever. And if I say the best ending ever I mean the most mind twisting, most mind bending and the most shocking ending you will ever see.

I was like "What the shit? Why is he in the picture? HUH?". I didn't get the ending at first but thanks to the wonders of the internet, I researched what really happened in the end. Now, I understand. It was a hidden twist, a metaphorical twist and a twist of all twists.

I gotta give it to Stanley Kubrick, he has created a horror masterpiece of multiple layers. You think you got it all mapped out until the end but then, once you reach the ending, you realize that the director was going in a different way. You can see, but you don't observe. He puts numerical references, intentional continuities and clues that makes Dan Brown run for his money.

Jack Nicholson on the other hand, gives off one of the creepiest performances ever in cinema history. His villainy factor is in par with Anthony Hopkins and Christopher Lee. To be honest, he is even scarier than the ghosts! He has created a creepy character that will not be forgotten.

So I suggest you get off your high horse and if you have not seen this film, you are missing out a lot. Very truly uberly highly recommended.

"Being the adventures of a young man whose principal interests are rape, ultra-violence and Beethoven."

In future Britain, charismatic delinquent Alex DeLarge is jailed and later volunteers for an experimental aversion therapy developed by the government in an effort to solve society's crime problem... but not all goes to plan.

REVIEW
A Clockwork Orange is exhilarating, perverse and thought provoking all at the same time. A technical achievement from master director Stanley Kubrick, virtuoso and boundary pushing filmmaking at its best. So many memorable shots litter the screen. Alex, played by Malcolm McdDowell, is possibly the most evil, despicable character ever put on screen, but is scarily charming and sympathetic. Kubrick displays his talents by somehow getting us to like and care about this little monster. Its probably because the world around him is equally monstrous and vile, the government willing to bypass a man's will in order to prevent crime, gangs of youths who care not for society. The film is set in a dystopian future, with a post modern look and pop art decoration and costumes. The use of music is commendable, and the opening theme played during the credits is just as disturbing and exciting as the film that follows. The point of the film is that we aren't human if we don't have control over our own desires, that having free will is crucial to society, even if some people want to do nothing but harm others. Its also a comment on human nature, that our will is the source of our evil nature, but again without it we aren't human. A Clockwork Orange is a masterpiece in its highest form.

"In Vietnam The Wind Doesn't Blow It Sucks"

Stanley Kubrick's return to filmmaking after a seven-year hiatus, this film crystallizes the experience of the Vietnam War by concentrating on a group of raw Marine volunteers. Based on Gustav Hasford's novel The Short Timers, the film's first half details the volunteers' harrowing boot-camp training under the profane, power-saw guidance of drill instructor Sgt. Hartman (R. Lee Ermey, a real-life drill instructor whose performance is one of the most terrifyingly realistic on record). Part two takes place in Nam, as seen through the eyes of the now thoroughly indoctrinated marines. Ironically, Full Metal Jacket was filmed almost entirely in England.

Review
'Full Metal Jacket' is about emotions more than anything else. The experiences of the characters are so well sculpted that you become almost another character. Their fear, panic, anger, and sorrow are conveyed to the audience. Kubrick manages to accomplish this through several techniques. Often in the film, characters look directly into the camera when they speak. They're not addressing the audience, but you get the sense that you're being addressed as one of the characters. Secondly, Kubrick keeps his camera down to earth. There are no sweeping panoramas of battlefields such as are found in other war pictures. The film is shot almost entirely at eye level, down with the grunts. This film is an emotional journey that is both painful and thought-provoking.

Being a Kubrick virgin, I didn't know what to expect when I saw this movie. I ended up being hypnotized by the cinematography in this picture. Cruise and Kidman both turned in wonderful performances, and the script was just totally brilliant. This movie made me a Kubrick fan, and I'm now in the process of watching all of his other movies. I suggest you do too.

The abrupt ending with Kidman saying the lines: "I do love you and you know there is something very important we need to do as soon as possible." Then Cruise replies: "What's that?" then she says: "Fuck". That just did it for me. The films premise all wrapped in a word.

"I think I must have one of those faces you can't help believing."

A young woman steals $40,000 from her employer's client, and subsequently encounters a young motel proprietor too long under the domination of his mother.

REVIEW
The granddaddy of all slasher films and serial killers, this Alfred Hitchcock classic defined the post-Cold War horror film for generations to come in this rather simple storyline: bank employee Marion Crane (Leigh) absconds with a client's bankroll and winds up the proverbial fly in the spider's parlor when she winds up in the middle-of- nowhere's Bates Motel, and mama's boy Norman Bates (Perkins in his iconic role) proving to be more than meets the eye. The perfectly edited shower scene (the blade never pierces the flesh!) by Geroge Tomasini, Bernard Herrmann's screeching violins score and the all-together ookie finale are American classics in every sense of the word. Best line: "Mother isn't , what's the term? Herself today".

"Through his rear window and the eye of his powerful camera he watched a great city tell on itself, expose its cheating ways...and Murder!"

A wheelchair bound photographer spies on his neighbours from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.

REVIEW
"Rear Window" represents Alfred Hitchcock at his most playful. This is Hitchcock's most fully realized comment about the obsession with voyeurism that reared its head repeatedly throughout his ouvre, an obsession not only of his, but one shared by the characters in his films and the audience watching them -- for without the delight that comes in watching other people, who would filmmakers be making films for?

"Rear Window" is a nearly perfect movie: perfectly plotted, perfectly directed, perfectly acted. James Stewart could play characters like this in his sleep, but that fact does not make his performance any less entertaining. Some of the ice melts off of Grace Kelly's facade, and she gives the wittiest and sexiest performance of her career. And who can say enough about Thelma Ritter? A truly unique character actor in the history of cinema, Ritter always played the audience's id, thinking and saying all of the things all of the other characters in the film were too polite or nervous to think and say themselves. She could recite a weather forecast in that sardonic, world-weary monotone of hers, and it would still be funny. Hitchcock was always able to blend suspense, romance and social commentary to varying degrees of success, but almost always better than most other directors could manage. "Rear Window" stands as an example of what happened when he struck a perfect balance between all three.

"War is hell Mr. Thornhill, even when it's a cold one."

A hapless New York advertising executive is mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies, and is pursued across the country while he looks for a way to survive.

REVIEW
Probably no director has made such masterpieces back to back as "Vertigo," this film, and "Psycho." Although a bit long in the tooth, Grant is terrific as a man mistakenly drawn into a game of wits between the CIA and a group of spies. Saint is the ultimate icy blond, Mason makes an urbane villain, and Landau is creepy as Mason's sidekick. The dialog between Grant and Saint is surprisingly risqué for its time. Hitchcock keeps the action moving at a frenetic pace while building the suspense, helped by Hermann's marvelous score. The crop-dusting plane scene is justifiably famous, as is the finale atop Mount Rushmore. A masterful blend of action and comedy.

"You shouldn't keep souvenirs of a killing. You shouldn't have been that sentimental."

A San Francisco detective suffering from acrophobia investigates the strange activities of an old friend's wife, all the while becoming dangerously obsessed with her.

REVIEW
Considered by many to be Hitchcock's masterpiece, "Vertigo" may be tough to warm up to on a first viewing. It's an enigmatic and extremely slow-moving film, and it feels personal in ways that many of Hitchcock's other, more playful movies don't. You get the sense that Hitch is working through his personal demons on screen -- the fetishes and obsessions that played such a major role in so many of his films leading up to "Vertigo" feel like characters in and of themselves here. James Stewart delivers a frightening performance as a man who plunges into a world of weird sexual obsession when a woman with whom he's formed a romantic attachment dies (or seems to). He finds another woman who looks amazingly like the first, and proceeds to force a complete physical makeover on her in an attempt to recreate his former love. Kim Novak plays the two women in her typical icy fashion; for once, her stilted, awkward acting works for a role and comes off as an attribute rather than a liability.

In its new remastered life on DVD, "Vertigo" looks stunning. San Francisco and its surroundings are bathed in ethereal, dream-like lighting, and Hitchcock pays more attention to art direction and the use of color than he ever had previously. Also, there's that amazing swirling Bernard Herrmann score that haunts the film, and accompanies one of the most memorable opening credits sequences ever filmed. There are still a number of other Hitchcock films I would rather watch before "Vertigo," and many others that I would qualify as much more fun, but I can't deny that this one certainly has an allure.

"The power to kill can be just as satisfying as the power to create"

Two young men strangle their "inferior" classmate, hide his body in their apartment, and invite his friends and family to a dinner party as a means to challenge the "perfection" of their crime.

REVIEW
As far as Hitchcock films go Rope is one of his more mellow ones but is still very interesting. Based upon the case Leopold and Loeb, it is about two young friends who strangle a man for just a curious thrill-kill. Afterwards, they put his body in a chest. Expecting guests over to the apartment for a party, one of them thinks it would be a hoot to serve food off the chest with the corpse inside. They proceed with the party while one of the guests (James Stewart) begins to grow suspicious due to the behavior of the two boys. This film is 81 minutes long, and consisting of ten to fifteen minute long takes at a time with out cutting. The camera follows the actors around the apartment throughout the film as they keep up interesting conversations. The ending is quite suspenseful. Definitely a memorable classic and just another reason why Hitchcock is the master!

"I am big! It's the pictures that got small."

A hack screenwriter writes a screenplay for a former silent-film star who has faded into Hollywood obscurity.

REVIEW
"Sunset Boulevard" represents Billy Wilder at his most acidic and ghoulish, but it's a testament to his genius as a film maker that he could create a film as relentlessly bleak and cynical as this one and make it devilishly entertaining (and even quite funny at times) rather than unbearably depressing.

There's a big fat heart at the center of Wilder's bitter pill, and it's one that could be easily missed amid the dark, film-noirish exterior. I think that ultimately "Sunset Boulevard" is about the love of movies. You can tell that Wilder loves movies as much as the sad and decaying film star Norma Desmond, played brilliant by Gloria Swanson. But he understands with an insider's point of view that there's a seedy underside to every business, and that's what he sets out to expose in his film. Movies get made and stars are born, but for every birth there's a death.

I don't know how much of Swanson's performance is acting or her just being herself. If you allow yourself to think about it too long, Wilder's use of her is almost cruel, as making fun of Norma Desmond the character nearly amounts to making fun of Swanson the actress. The whole movie is uncomfortable in that same way--it's like a bunch of Hollywood used-to-be's got together and decided to let themselves be parodied for a greater cause. But the film stops just short of cruelty, because in many ways Norma is the most sympathetic character in the film, and every so often there's a glimpse of the vulnerable human being underneath that ridiculous getup that begs to be loved, and who can't relate to that?

William Holden is perfect in a non-showy role that it would be tempting to pass off as an easy one. But I don't think it is an easy role. Holden has to be responsible for tempering the audience's reaction to Norma--he's the moral conscience of the film, and his steady presence anchors it and keeps it from sailing headlong into camp.

There are so many quotable lines in this film, I don't know where to begin. Imagine this film and "All About Eve" coming out in the same year. It's a movie quote fan's wet dream.

In an eerie bit of prophetic trivia, apparently Gloria Swanson thought this film would signal such a major comeback for her that she began plans to write a stage musical based on the film, starring herself. (She might even have gotten as far as completing it). Of course nothing ever came of it, and Swanson sunk quickly back into obscurity. But she would be vindicated to know that a stage musical did eventually appear, courtesy of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, and it actually does quite a bit of justice to Wilder's film.

"They're making memories tonight!"

An angel helps a compassionate but despairingly frustrated businessman by showing what life would had been like if he never existed.

REVIEW
Perennial Christmas classic about George Bailey (Stewart's best acting performance, one for the time capsule), an idealistic dreamer whose out-of-reach plans for himself are constantly set aside for his family and the town he helped in more ways than one. One of the best films ever made about a man's universal struggle with what he wants and what he does resulting with the immortal question: What would life be like if I were never born? Stewart's performance depicts every emotion superbly and facing suicide shows just what a complex character interpretation he has. His salvation comes in the form of Clarence, his guardian angel still trying to earn his wings, who shows him exactly how things would be had he not existed. Best scene: after Stewart is refused entrance by his mother he races into an intense wide/close-up and the registering of fear, horror and finally understanding that spreads across his face is ultimately moving, chilling and heart-breaking all at once. My favorite moment; if you're not moved by this, you 're simply not human. Dare not to sing along at the end to "Auld Lang Syne" and dare not to cry. Definitely a film ahead of its time (originally a box-office flop and snubbed royally at the Oscars losing largely to the WWII American classic "The Best Years of Our Lives"). Frank Capra's masterpiece was his and Stewart's personal favorite films.

"Two great lovers of the screen in the grandest of romantic comedies !"

A spoiled heiress, running away from her family, is helped by a man who's actually a reporter looking for a story. But then he falls for her...

REVIEW
Admiration for wonderful subtle acting, for the script, the wonderful cast of supporting characters, It is nearly 75 years since this was made, and apart from the previously mentioned bonuses, there is also true Americana to be found, as in the term for "motel" was "auto camp" and a helicopter was called an "auto gyro". The scene on the bus where "the daring young man on his flying trapeze" is sung has to be a classic. Clark and Claudette glow in this. Even though some of it is quite ahead of its time (sharing the room, the famous undershirt scene which caused undershirt sales to drop 50% in the year it was released) the suggestions of hitting her to keep her in line are appalling today. Roscoe Karns as Shapely gives a winning performance and nearly steals the movie.

"I love my babies. Why would I want to push them away from me?"

A couple who is expecting their first child travel around the U.S. in order to find a perfect place to start their family. Along the way, they have misadventures and find fresh connections with an assortment of relatives and old friends who just might help them discover "home" on their own terms for the first time.

REVIEW
Winning comedy/drama with Krasinski & Rudolph ? perfectly cast ? as a young couple of intellectuals whose impending birth of their first child has them navel gazing and wondering the best avenue of raising them by going on a road trip visiting family and friends, discovering there are no easy short-cuts and plenty of pit-falls along the bumpy ride into the heart's wonderings. The sharply funny and smart screenplay by writers Dave Eggers & Vendela Vida provide many moments for the protagonists to mingle with some odd and perhaps bleak outlets to parenthood and life in general. Director Sam Mendes wisely lets the comic cards fall where they may with his gifted leads and inspired ensemble. One of the year's best films and one of the best on relationships in general.

Lester Burnham: "I had always heard your entire life flashes in front of your eyes the second before you die. First of all, that one second isn't a second at all, it stretches on forever, like an ocean of time... For me, it was lying on my back at Boy Scout camp, watching falling stars... And yellow leaves, from the maple trees, that lined my street... Or my grandmother's hands, and the way her skin seemed like paper... And the first time I saw my cousin Tony's brand new Firebird... And Janie... And Janie... And... Carolyn. I guess I could be pretty pissed off about what happened to me... but it's hard to stay mad, when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst... And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain and I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life... You have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm sure. But don't worry... you will someday."

Lester Burnham is suffering a mid-life crisis that affects the lives of his family, which is made up of his super bitch of a wife Carolyn and rebelling daughter Jane, who hates him. Carolyn is a real estate agent, a little too wrapped up in her job, who takes on an affair with business rival Buddy Kane. Meanwhile Jane seems to fall in love with Ricky Fitts, the strange boy next door, who is a drug dealer/documentarian and lives under a roof governed by a very strict marine father and a speechless mother. Lester's mid-life crisis causes him to drastically change his life around when he quits his job and works at a fast food restaurant. He starts working out to gain the attention of Angela, a friend of Jane's, who brags about her sexual exploits every weekend. Lives change and not for the best.

American Beauty may (and should) go down as the most unparrallelled movie of its time. This movie, which could not be more difficult to explain to one who hasn't seen it, grapples the viewer from the first instance. This film succeeds not only because of the unbelievable script, but because the fact that when the film ends, you DO acknowledge the performances of the film (Benning is unbelievable), but seem to put individual performances aside to the movie itself. Few movies place you in the surreal-yet-too-real environment that this film seems to put you in. Watching this movie, you will become immersed in this family and what occurs to them, despite the fact that they seem to be the most ordinary family a mind could imagine. Whether or not Spacey deserved the Oscar should be irrelevant - the story behind this movie should be remembered for ages.

"Every man fights his own way."

A young man gets a crash course in the madness of war in this fact-based drama from director Sam Mendes. Anthony "Swoff" Swofford (Jake Gyllenhaal) decides to join the Marines, just like his father and his father before him, and signs on just in time to be sent to Iraq to fight in the Gulf War in 1991. After experiencing the rigors of boot camp, Swofford and his pal Troy (Peter Sarsgaard) are trained to be snipers, and under the leadership of Sgt. Sykes (Jamie Foxx) and Lt. Col. Kazinski (Chris Cooper), the two land in the middle of a desert where they're up against an enemy they can't always see under a blazing sun with hours of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror. Swofford, Troy, and their fellow soldiers rely on the wits, their sense of humor, and their friendship of their brothers in arms to deal with a situation that doesn't much resemble what they saw on television at home. Jarhead was based on the memoirs of the real-life Anthony Swofford, who did serve as a sniper in the 1991 Gulf War; the title comes from military slang for a Marine enlistee.

Review
Jarhead can be described in one word : Incredible. An absolutely intense and horrifying look at what being a soldier is all about. This is not anti-American, or anti-war, it's just an amazing look at one man's life during wartime. Gyllenhaal is absolutely perfect as Swofford, as are Foxx (Staff Sargeant), and Saarsgard (Troy). Certain scenes make you laugh, others cringe, others cry, and others just sit there mouth open and staring. The film is a complete immersion into the life of a soldier while they are still young, in love, and scared. A definite must see for anyone who wants to see from a new perspective, or have a wonderful time at the movies.

What a way to start a day. I saw this in a typically sun shiny morning and I can tell you if you are up for a depressing yet wonderful film to jumpstart your day, I suggest Road to Perdition.

The film is about a mob gangster Michael Sullivan who was betrayed by his boss bceause his son, Michael Jr inadvertently witnesses a murder. So, to tie all loose ends, mob boss John Rooney decides to kill his loyal right-hand man. But when Connor Rooney, John Rooney's son, mercilessly kills his family (only his older son Michael Jr surviving), he decides to go on a vendetta to avenge his family's death.

The story is not your typical gangster film. There's no police cops to arrest mob bosses here nor drug cartels for that matter. The story is focused on Michael Sullivan's revenge on the people who betrayed him. Sam Mendes and the writers managed to excellently blend a father-and-child story angle in a gangster themed story.

The performances were great. Tom Hanks as usual delivers, Jude Law unexpectedly sent chills down to my ancestors as a creepy looking psychopath/photographer. Paul Newman as the aging mob boss was great as well. One minute you hate him for betraying his loyal right-hand man, the next minute you don't want him to die soaking wet.

Daniel Craig, before James Bond, portrayed an annoying scheming mischievous son to a mob boss. He had it coming to him. Yes, he was spot on with his performance too.

The best scene in the entire film would probably be when Michael Sullivan ambushed John Rooney and his mob thugs drenched in rain. Sam Mendes did this slow-mo shot when Michael was shooting them with a machine gun in a distant house and the thugs were like dropping like flies and John was by the car, with his head down realizing his grim fate. Michael killed all of them except John. So, he approached him with gun in his hand, John turns to him, almost into tears and utters what probably is the best line of the film: "I'm glad its you". Michael with a sad look then shoots him down.

That scene will stay in my head forever. It was emotional, sad, depressing and it almost wanna make you cry but somehow you feel that the Michael character is doing the right thing. Very poetic scene to be remembered for ages.

"How do you break free without breaking apart?"

Titanic shipmates Kathy Bates, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Kate Winslet step onboard for director Sam Mendes' tale of suburban malaise in 1950s-era Connecticut. Adapted from the classic 1961 novel by author Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road tells the tale of a young Connecticut couple whose once-idealistic relationship steadily deteriorates into a ceaseless cycle of petty jealousy and bickering as they strive to retain their independence in the conformity-obsessed world of picket fences and perfectly manicured lawns. Ever since they first met, Frank (DiCaprio) and April (Winslet) saw themselves as special and different. They strive to form their relationship around higher ideals, though upon moving into their new home on Revolutionary Road, the defiant couple pledges never to be confined by the social conventions of the era. As time passes, however, Frank and April gradually become the very thing that they both feared most -- a typical suburban family complete with abandoned dreams and faded hopes. Frank loses his nerve after taking a comfortable job with a reliable salary, and April morphs into an unsatisfied homemaker desperate for passion and excitement. But April's independent spirit hasn't been suffocated just yet, and when she hatches a plan to head for Paris, her need to escape at all costs stands in direct contrast to Frank's desire to hold on to what they already have.

Review
Sam Mendes handles a very difficult and complex subject with commanding fashion. This film is about relationships, egos, insecurity, problems a couple faces in everyday life. The story is not something that will inspire you or make you feel good but it will make you think and show you a different aspect about relationship. The film's screenplay is good, if not great but what makes this film a memorable piece of art are the two lead actors and the director's sensibility about the subject. Talking about actors, it is time Leo gets the well deserved accolades, he delivers one of his career best performance. He takes this movie to another level and this film shows why Kate Winslet is one of the best actress of our generation. They effortlessly make this movie a treat to watch. It doesn't matter whether it will get an Oscar or a golden globe but it will be one film one will remember in days to come. Sam, I am waiting for your next.

"Hope comes with letting go."

A woman who lost her husband in a random act of violence and a heroin addict who was a lifelong friend of the dearly departed discover that the beloved husband and friend's unfortunate passing is actually a blessing in disguise in Open Hearts director Susanne Bier's Dogme-style drama. When her husband (David Duchovny) was killed, Audrey Burke (Halle Berry) didn't think she would be able to summon the strength to carry on. Jerry Sunborne (Benicio Del Toro) is a heroin addict who was one of the recently deceased's oldest friends in life, but as a result of his addiction Jerry has lost everything that ever mattered to him. When Audrey discovers that Jerry is the one man who could help her move beyond the dire cycle of grieving that she has fallen into, her offer for him to move in with the family provides the addict with just the incentive he needed to finally get his life back in order.

Review
I do have a thing for modern rough dramas. To me this belongs in the same category as 21 Grams, Crash, Babel and (the under-appreciated) 187. We have Halle Berry, Benicio del Toro and David Duchovny enjoying being part of this. It's very dark, but still with a sense of hope, that everything will turn out OK, that the characters will eventually find a new meaning in life - whilst not ever forgetting the dark days and the darkness. Halle Berry really gets to show off her skills in this one, haven't thought of her as a great actor before but this is a very strong delivery. Benicio... well.. is he ever bad? David, very steady.

The camera-work I didn't reflect much on, but there was nothing annoying stealing focus from the plot, which is perfect, the story is more important than anything.

Eli: "I always wanted to be a Tenenbaum."

Royal: "Me too, me too."

Director Wes Anderson and his longtime friend and writing partner Owen Wilson follow up Bottle Rocket (1996) and Rushmore (1998) with this similarly offbeat comedy about a dysfunctional family reunion. Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman) was a successful attorney who had three children with his wife Etheline (Anjelica Huston), an archaeologist. Each of the Tenenbaum kids was a precocious genius: Chas (Ben Stiller) made a killing as a child investor. Richie (Luke Wilson) was a junior tennis champ and three-time U.S. Nationals winner. The adopted Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow) was a playwright who won a 50,000-dollar Braverman Grant in the ninth grade. When Royal abruptly left his family, however, it was the beginning of two decades of betrayal and failure that would scar the Tenenbaums for life. Their past resentments are bitterly held against Royal when he suddenly reappears, claiming to have six weeks to live and a desire to reconnect with his family. Typically, Royal's story is a sham, but his presence and sincere desire for absolution soon have a profound effect on the Tenenbaums, who are each dealing with thwarted desires and relationships. Among them are Richie's lifelong love for Margot, who's unhappily married to Raleigh St.Clair (Bill Murray) and Etheline's eccentric engagement to Henry Sherman (Danny Glover), who wishes to marry her.

I like this movie a lot. I thought overall that it was a well-directed film. I enjoyed it thoroughly; it is full of extremely poignant scenes. The black comedy is quite appropriate and not overly gross or gratuitous. The writing is well thought out and the punch lines are right on cue. The conceptualization was well planned and quite brilliantly executed. I highly recommend it for fans of the genre, as well as people just looking to have a good laugh to cure the ills. A bittersweet story of life, its tragedies, and how it can become a comedy of errors and mishaps.

Wes Anderson is one of the most innovative directors who ever walked on this planet. His follow up film to 2001's 'The Royal Tenenbaums' - 'The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou' was a blast. Bill Murray plays Steve Zissou, a world renowned oceanographer who, after his dear friend Esteban gets eaten by the mythical Jaguar shark, sets sail and attempts to hunt and destroy (with a dynamite) the creature who killed his partner.

I admit I was a bit disappointed with this film. Maybe because I really loved this film way before I even saw it and expected this one to be real, real good. Like Second Coming good. I'd say not Wes Anderson's best film (I rated Darjeeling and Royal Tenenbaums a five) but it sure holds out on its own. You find yourself laughing at one point and then the next minute, you find yourself crying, which is rather odd because this film is 90% black humor.

The star studded cast that includes Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett, Angelica Huston and Willem Dafoe were so hilarious. Now, that's versatility, most of these actors can be found in serious dramatic roles and it was such a treat watching them do a comedy. The character Klaus Daimler played by Willem Dafoe was so hilarious I was laughing with my guts out everytime he's on screen.

'Life Aquatic' is admittedly an odd film with odd characters. But its the odd that makes this film a gem.

4/5

When I watched Wes Anderson's "Darjeeling Limited", what made it so amazing was that it was a hysterical comedy that didn't crack a single joke. The film had a very serious plot about three brothers who take a bonding trip across India, but the tale of the three lovable, but flawed brothers is filled with events that are when viewed alone, appear serious but are, when put into context, hysterical. The acting is also fabulous. Owen Wilson and Adrien Brody are as good as usual, but the one who surprised me was Jason Schwartzman. His kind, but romantically challenged role is both touching, and funny. I highly recommend it to anyone who liked such films as "Little Miss Sunshine", and also from Wes Anderson, "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou".

PS. Look for an early cameo by Bill Murray!

PS. Highly recommended.

"She was my Rushmore"

The king of Rushmore prep school is put on academic probation.

REVIEW
Hilarious comedy a la `Ferris Bueller's Day Off' as written by John Cheever: enterprising young Schwartzman (in a memorable acting debut; son of Talia Shire) as Max Fischer, a prep school student at the titular institution ? whose ambitions are only mired by his lack of decent marks, with even higher set goals in wooing a second grade teacher played by the sexy Williams. But it is Murray who (rightfully) steals the film as a rich philanthropist who befriends Schwartzman only to betray him by also falling for his love-to-be, with a truly funny turn pulling out all the stops including slapstick falls and a great scene of depression in action at a family poolside party (one for the archives). Written by Owen Wilson and Wes Anderson (who also directed and both teamed up for their freshman gem, `Bottle Rocket') the film is smartly executed and makes even a sometimes unlikable character an empathetic symbol of adolescent anomie. Brilliant filmmaking of the high order and Murray was robbed of a justifiable Oscar nomination for supporting actor !

"A homespun murder story."

Jerry Lundegaard's inept crime falls apart due to his and his henchmen's bungling and the persistent police work of pregnant Marge Gunderson.

REVIEW
Dark comic undertones and excellent character actor performances dominate this richly macabre crime story gone awry flick by the Coen brothers(Joel and Ethan) involving pathetic used car salesman Macy so hard up for money and respect (not necessarily in that order) that he hires a pair of dim-witted thugs to kidnap his wife for ransom from his father-in-law's vast wealth in a plot-line that unravels with nice little twists and snags. McDormand (Best Actress) is perfect as a pregnant Midwestern sheriff on the case with a no-nonsense and homespun effect with her tactics of crime solving. Great cinematography by Roger A. Deakins accentuates the bleak winterscape of unearthed uneasiness. Nominated for Best Supporting Actor Macy, Best Director, Best Cinematography and Academy Award winner for Best Original Screenplay.

"Father of a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife and I shall have my vengeance in this life or the next"

A man robbed of his name and his dignity strives to win them back, and gain the freedom of his people, in this epic historical drama from director Ridley Scott. In the year 180, the death of emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) throws the Roman Empire into chaos. Maximus (Russell Crowe) is one of the Roman army's most capable and trusted generals and a key advisor to the emperor. As Marcus' devious son Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) ascends to the throne, Maximus is set to be executed. He escapes, but is captured by slave traders. Renamed Spaniard and forced to become a gladiator, Maximus must battle to the death with other men for the amusement of paying audiences. His battle skills serve him well, and he becomes one of the most famous and admired men to fight in the Colosseum. Determined to avenge himself against the man who took away his freedom and laid waste to his family, Maximus believes that he can use his fame and skill in the ring to avenge the loss of his family and former glory. As the gladiator begins to challenge his rule, Commodus decides to put his own fighting mettle to the test by squaring off with Maximus in a battle to the death. Gladiator also features Derek Jacobi, Connie Nielsen, Djimon Hounsou, and Oliver Reed, who died of a heart attack midway through production.

Review
This film is a very ingenious screenplay of a man's loyalty, suffering, courage and emotions. Gladiator is a 2000 historical action/drama film directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix. Crowe portrays the loyal General Maximus Decimus Meridius, who is betrayed when the Emperor's ambitious son Commodus (Phoenix) murders his father and seizes the throne. Reduced to slavery, Maximus rises through the ranks of the gladiatorial arena to avenge the murder of his family and his Emperor. While Gladiator was criticized by historians for its historical inaccuracies, its epic scope and intense battle scenes won praise. The film's success may have helped to revive the historical epic genre, with subsequent films such as Troy, Alexander, and Kingdom of Heaven, the last of which was also directed by Scott.

"He is afraid. He is totally alone. He is 3 million light years from home."

Henry Thomas plays Elliott, a young boy living with his single mother (Dee Wallace), his older brother Michael (Robert MacNaughton), and his younger sister Gertie (Drew Barrymore). Elliott often seems lonely and out of sorts, lost in his own world. One day, while looking for something in the back yard, he senses something mysterious in the woods watching him. And he's right: an alien spacecraft on a scientific mission mistakenly left behind an aging botanist who isn't sure how to get home. Eventually Elliott puts his fears aside and makes contact with the "little squashy guy," perhaps the least threatening alien invader ever to hit a movie screen. As Elliott tries to keep the alien under wraps and help him figure out a way to get home, he discovers that the creature can communicate with him telepathically. Soon they begin to learn from each other, and Elliott becomes braver and less threatened by life. E.T. rigs up a communication device from junk he finds around the house, but no one knows if he'll be rescued before a group of government scientists gets hold of him.

Review
ET is a true classic and definitely one of the greatest family movie ever made. Scratch that, ET is the best family movie ever. ET is a kids movie yes but ET also brings the kid out the adults. It captures that piece of your childhood where times are dire and where special bonds develop in difficult times. A touching and heart warming film that will make you cry, it will make you laugh and if you're an adult, will bring you back to that nostalgic place where the most special of things happened to you for the first time.

What makes ET a more memorable piece of work is the astounding and epic scoring of John Williams. He knew where to put the symphony and then strikes if the mood is right. Add to that an almost flawless direction by Spielberg, and quite possibly one of the best movie he's ever done, ET is one memorable piece of work. You can't afford to miss this one.

"What would you do if you were accused of a murder, you had not committed... yet?"

Based on a short story by the late Philip K. Dick, this science fiction-thriller reflects the writer's familiar preoccupation with themes of concealed identity and mind control. Tom Cruise stars as John Anderton, a Washington, D.C. detective in the year 2054. Anderton works for "Precrime," a special unit of the police department that arrests murderers before they have committed the actual crime. Precrime bases its work on the visions of three psychics or "precogs" whose prophecies of future events are never in error. When Anderton discovers that he has been identified as the future killer of a man he's never met, he is forced to become a fugitive from his own colleagues as he tries to uncover the mystery of the victim-to-be's identity. When he kidnaps Agatha (Samantha Morton), one of the precogs, he begins to formulate a theory about a possible frame-up from within his own department.

Review
"Minority Report" is a film for the ages, one to stand along with "Close Encounters" in terms of intelligence and one to stand alongside "Indiana Jones" in terms of pure fun. It's the kind of movie that only Steven Spielberg could make in its adventure, thrills, and intelligence and yet its something completely new and different for film's most prolific director. Overall, a masterpiece. And performances (notably Cruise and Samantha Morton) that are to die for.

"An Adventure 65 Million Years In The Making"

Steven Spielberg's phenomenally successful sci-fi adventure thriller is graced by state-of-the-art special effects from the team of Stan Winston, Phil Tippett and Michael Lantieri from George Lucas's Industrial Light & Magic. The film follows two dinosaur experts -- Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Dr. Ellie Sattler Laura Dern) -- as they are invited by eccentric millionaire John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) to preview his new amusement park on an island off Costa Rica. By cloning DNA harvested from pre-historic insects, Hammond has been able to create living dinosaurs for his new Jurassic Park, an immense animal preserve housing real brachiosaurs, dilophosaurs, triceratops, velociraptors, and a Tyrannosaur Rex. Accompanied by cynical scientist Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), who is obsessed with chaos theory, and Hammond's two grandchildren (Ariana Richards and Joseph Mazzello), they are sent on a tour through Hammond's new resort in computer controlled touring cars. But as a tropical storm hits the island, knocking out the power supply, and an unscrupulous employee (Wayne Knight) sabotages the system so that he can smuggle dinosaur embryos out of the park, the dinosaurs start to rage out of control. Grant then has to bring Hammond's grandchildren back to safety as the group is pursued by the gigantic man-eating beasts.

Review
Jurassic Park is not an intelligent film that comments seriously about cloning and the dangers of human tampering with movie nature, though the themes are bought up occasionally in the film. The film IS however, a thrilling ride of the lines of man vs monsters. Special effects are superb: the dinosaurs are living, breathing creatures that still convince 15 years later. Director Spielberg superbly handles the action and Crichton's script skillfully builds up the tension before heading into all out action, thrills and scares. Less successfully are the performances from the human cast with Sam Neil and Laura Dern in particular phoning in their performances while Joe Mazzello's uncanny ability keep surviving after several normally fatal situations, is a tad ridiculous to say the least. However these are relatively minor flaws, because whether on the big screen, or on video, Jurassic Park delivers amply as a thrilling blockbuster.

"In the Last Great Invasion of the Last Great War, The Greatest Danger for Eight Men was Saving... One."

Steven Spielberg directed this powerful, realistic re-creation of WWII's D-day invasion and the immediate aftermath. The story opens with a prologue in which a veteran brings his family to the American cemetery at Normandy, and a flashback then joins Capt. John Miller (Tom Hanks) and GIs in a landing craft making the June 6, 1944, approach to Omaha Beach to face devastating German artillery fire. This mass slaughter of American soldiers is depicted in a compelling, unforgettable 24-minute sequence. Miller's men slowly move forward to finally take a concrete pillbox. On the beach littered with bodies is one with the name "Ryan" stenciled on his backpack. Army Chief of Staff Gen. George C. Marshall (Harve Presnell), learning that three Ryan brothers from the same family have all been killed in a single week, requests that the surviving brother, Pvt. James Ryan (Matt Damon), be located and brought back to the United States. Capt. Miller gets the assignment, and he chooses a translator, Cpl. Upham (Jeremy Davis), skilled in language but not in combat, to join his squad of right-hand man Sgt. Horvath (Tom Sizemore), plus privates Mellish (Adam Goldberg), Medic Wade (Giovanni Ribisi), cynical Reiben (Edward Burns) from Brooklyn, Italian-American Caparzo (Vin Diesel), and religious Southerner Jackson (Barry Pepper), an ace sharpshooter who calls on the Lord while taking aim. Having previously experienced action in Italy and North Africa, the close-knit squad sets out through areas still thick with Nazis. After they lose one man in a skirmish at a bombed village, some in the group begin to question the logic of losing more lives to save a single soldier. The film's historical consultant is Stephen E. Ambrose, and the incident is based on a true occurance in Ambrose's 1994 bestseller D-Day: June 6, 1944.

Review
By far the best war film I have ever seen. The D-Day opening sequence was very real and it showed us the hell that the soldiers went through that day. Great director Steven Spielberg and a great cast. Tom Hanks almost won an Oscar for his performance but was beaten by Roberto Benigni.

The story is not that of the whole invasion but it tells us the bravery of a group of soldiers trying to bring back a soldier behind enemy lines. Tom Hanks is great as the group Captain Miller. Support cast was outstanding. Especially the Sniper guy, Jackson. Everytime he owns a German, he's like saying a line from the Bible which is really cool. He is a killer but he still loves the Guy Upstairs. The ending was heart-wrenching. Those guys were so brave that they are willing to sacrifice their lives for one man. That was their dilemma throughout the whole film, they risked their lives so a hundred or a thousand people may live but in this one, they are risking their lives so a man can live. And still, they didn't back down.

Great dialogue, great cast, great director, great ending, great visual effects. In this movie, everything is great.

"You're gonna need a bigger boat."

When a gigantic great white shark begins to menace the small island community of Amity, a police chief, a marine scientist and grizzled fisherman set out to stop it.

REVIEW
One of the most successful and terrifying American classics that single-handedly coined the phrase "blockbuster" and did for swimming what "Psycho" did for taking a shower. Picturesque summer resort community Amity Beach is suddenly turned into a great white shark's feeding buffet with only source of reason Sheriff Martin Brody (Scheider) wanting to close down the beach prior to the profitable Fourth of July with the aid of shark scientist Matt Hooper (Dreyfuss) and salty shark hunter Quint (Shaw) on one of cinema's most memorable journeys into fear. Masterfully directed by a young punk named Steven Spielberg in his big-screen sophomoric turn helming the first of many successes in Hollywood. Based on Peter Benchley's best-seller, the storyline hooks you from its horrifying opening moments to its breath-taking finale of pure adrenalined, visceral terror. Oscar-winning and memorable soundtrack ("dumdumdumdum") by John Williams and production design Academy Award recipient for its genuinely scary and realistic shark nicknamed "Bruce" by the film's crew after Spielberg's lawyer. Classic line: "You're gonna need a bigger boat" by Scheider with a Pall-Mall doing a mad, dry-lipped jig on his close encounter for the very first time with the shark.

A great film. Raiders set the precedent for the other two films, which are also milestones. I think what made this film work was the action of course, but also the fact that an all-american Indiana Jones was doing his part in WWII, fighting the Nazis the best he could. The Nazi war machine's collapse at the end (by the hands of God) makes for some memorable scenes.

A true Hollywood classic. "Raiders of the Lost Ark" is one to be remembered forever.

This Indiana Jones movie is simply the most superior action movie ever made. It moves so quickly through the plot that it is exciting just to try and keep up. Around every corner is a surprise and a new twist to the plot. For example, the unexpected scenes underneath the library and the ensuing boat chase are a real treat. In addition, the movie's opening is intriguing, as we are privileged to see a young version of Indy doing what he does best - recovering artifacts. And the ending couldn't get any better as well.

5 out of 5.

Ben Stone (Seth Rogen): "You know what movie I just saw again the other day, which is bleeping, like, mind-blowing and I haven't seen it since it came out is Munich."

Jay (Jay Baruchel): "Oh, Munich!"

Jonah (Jonah Hill): "Oh, man, Munich fucking rules."

Jay: "Munich is awesome!"

Ben: "That movie was Eric Bana kicking fucking ass! Through every movie with Jews, we're the ones getting killed. Munich flips it on its ear. We're capping motherfuckers."

Jonah: "Not only killing but bleeping, like, taking names."

An excerpt from the film "Knocked Up" pretty much sums it up for me. Munich fucking rules. That's that. No questions asked.

When a group of Palestinians killed a bunch of Israelis in the 1972 Munich Olympics, the Israeli version of CIA - Mossad assigns the son of a war hero, Avner and four more people to hunt down and assassinate 11 people who had a hand in the Munich massacre. Avner is portrayed by Eric Bana. He played the role perfectly. He is the ultimate choice for the role of Avner. His emotions are so surreal it scares you.

The script is fantastic. I sometimes have problems with lengthy movies because sometimes its just two and a half hour of chock-full dialogues and the boredom sets in. But in Munich, I wanted more. The dialogues are there and at the same time the action is also present. Every hit they take is breath taking, like literally it will take your breath away. Its like going for a dip in an ocean and there's a shark behind you and you're scared as hell, that's the feeling that I felt every time they kill someone. Ciaran Hinds, Mathieu Kassovitz, Daniel Craig, Hanns Zischler, Ayelet Zurer and Geoffrey Rush co-stars and every each one of them were A-okay for me.

Director Steven Spielberg made an absolute masterpiece. Every little thing is perfect, the acting, the music, cinematography, editing every little bit is well planned and well executed.

This film is not black propaganda. Its an epic tale of vengeance, loyalty, betrayal and paranoia.

"We are not alone"

A line worker, after a encounter with UFO's, feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen.

REVIEW
An average guy suddenly finds himself as a "chosen" disciple of something he doesn't understand and sacrifices everything he has in order to find out what it all means. It's the ultimate story of mankind - what will you do, what are you willing to go through in order to find meaning in your life?

The special effects dazzle, but the story holds up underneath. The disintegration of Neary's family life is staggering - the only inner stability he has is when he stops trying to stifle his borderline psychotic impulses to try and fit into his role in his family. We find out what kind of woman he married, what kind of children he has been raising, what kind of employer he has. The ending is revelatory because it shows that none of these things matter when he follows his instinct.

"Lies. Betrayal. Sacrifice. How far will you take it?"

Legendary director Martin Scorsese takes the helm for this tale of questionable loyalties and blurring identities set in the South Boston organized crime scene and inspired by the wildly popular 2002 Hong Kong crime film Infernal Affairs. As the police force attempts to reign in the increasingly powerful Irish mafia, authorities are faced with the prospect of sending in an undercover agent or seeing their already frail grip on the criminal underworld slip even further. Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a young cop looking to make a name for himself in the world of law enforcement. Collin Sullivan (Matt Damon) is a street-smart criminal who has successfully infiltrated the police department with the sole intention of reporting their every move to ruthless syndicate head Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). When Costigan is assigned the task of working his way into Costello's tightly guarded inner circle, Sullivan is faced with the responsibility of rooting out the informer before things get out of hand. With the stakes constantly rising and time quickly running out for the undercover cop and his criminal counterpart, each man must work feverishly to reveal his counterpart before his identity is exposed by the other. Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin, and Ray Winstone co-star, and writer William Monahan adapts a screenplay originally penned by Alan Mak and Felix Chong.

Review
Let's get one thing straight, Martin Scorsese is a genius. Goodfellas, move over. Gritty, dramatic, suspenseful, all-around awesome. Everything was well acted. Great cast, though, anything with Nicholson is unbelievable. I can't say enough great things about this movie. The twisted nature of the story is what binds it together and keeps you begging for more. From the superb shots of Boston to Alec Baldwin's witty and hilarious lines. My favorite being to Matt Damon... "You want a cigarette? What you don't smoke? What are you, a health nut? Alright, go fuck yourself." All done monotonously and dry. Just a superb move through and through, and though, it clocks in at 2 1/2 hours, the time seems to fly by as the story just draws you in deeper and deeper. Definitely one of, if not the best, movie I have seen in some odd years.

"America Was Born In The Streets."

The violent rise of gangland power in New York City at a time of massive political corruption and the city's evolution into a cultural melting pot set the stage for this lavish historical epic, which director Martin Scorsese finally brought to the screen almost 30 years after he first began to plan the project. In 1846, as waves of Irish immigrants poured into the New York neighborhood of Five Points, a number of citizens of British and Dutch heritage who were born in the United States began making an open display of their resentment toward the new arrivals. William Cutting (Daniel Day-Lewis), better known as "Bill the Butcher" for his deadly skill with a knife, bands his fellow "Native Americans" into a gang to take on the Irish immigrants; the immigrants in turn form a gang of their own, "The Dead Rabbits," organized by Priest Vallon (Liam Neeson). After an especially bloody clash between the Natives and the Rabbits leaves Vallon dead, his son goes missing; the boy ends up in a brutal reform school before returning to the Five Points in 1862 as Amsterdam (Leonardo DiCaprio). Now a strapping adult who has learned how to fight, Amsterdam has come to seek vengeance against Bill the Butcher, whose underworld control of the Five Points through violence and intimidation dovetails with the open corruption of New York politician "Boss" Tweed (Jim Broadbent). Amsterdam gradually penetrates Bill the Butcher's inner circle, and he soon becomes his trusted assistant. Amsterdam also finds himself falling for Jenny Everdeane (Cameron Diaz), a beautiful but street-smart thief who was once involved with Bill. Amsterdam is learning a great deal from Bill, but before he can turn the tables on the man who killed his father, Amsterdam's true identity is exposed, even though he has concealed it from nearly everyone, including Jenny.

Review
I've seen the movie yesterday along with Inside Man and Saw. Though a tad bit long, it never ceases to impress me. Martin Scorsese brings us yet one of his masterpieces and slaps it in our faces and tells us that he is one of the greatest directors in Hollywood. With the recent success of his latest direction 'The Departed', Martin Scorsese is one of the greatest director there ever was.

OK, so the is basically about Amsterdam Vallon (Leonardo DiCaprio) who returns to Five Points section to avenge the death of his father 'Priest' Vallon (Liam Neeson) who was slain by Bill "The Butcher" Cutting (Daniel Day-Lewis) sixteen years ago in an all-out territorial war in Five Points between the Native Americans led by Bill The Butcher and the Irish immigrants led by 'Priest' Vallon who calls themselves the "Dead Rabbits". Unfortunately they lost. So, it was goodbye to the Irish immigrants and hello to their new local leader Bill The Butcher. Amsterdam, witnessing the death of his father tries to escape, goes underground and hides the knife that took his father's life before he was caught and was taken in a place called "Hellgate". Now, 16 years had passed and we see a corrupt, impoverished and an already dying Five Points. All the people there must pay to Bill The Butcher for the pleasures he gives them. A local political sect called the Tammany Hall lead by Boss Tweed can't do nothing against Bill The Butcher's influential and massive power that's griping Five Points.

So, Amsterdam, knowing that he can't match Bill's influence and power that he's got befriends him and Bill in exchange takes him under his wing and thinks of him as his own son. Their bond has gotten stronger when an attempt to kill Bill The Butcher was foiled by Amsterdam only wounding Bill in the shoulder and makes it less-lethal. This makes Amsterdam realize that his plan to kill Bill The Butcher is slowly fading away as his respect and devotion to him grows. But he didn't let the respect and devotion devour him. On one particular celebration, the day the Dead Rabbits died along with 'Priest Vallon, Amsterdam finally plans to kill Bill The Butcher in front of the public while celebrating the death of his honorable father. But, Johnny, a friend of Amsterdam betrays him just because he didn't get the girl of his dreams, Jenny Everdeane (Cameron Diaz) who has fallen in love with Amsterdam. He tells Bill Amsterdam's real identity just before the celebration starts. So, this makes him aware that Amsterdam is trying to kill him that night. So, Amsterdam's plan failed and he was the one that was stabbed in the abdomen. Bill tortures him and left him to die. Thanks to Jenny, who took care of him while he's suffering the wounds that he got courtesy of Bill. When Amsterdam is up and running, he resurrects the name the Dead Rabbit and declares an all-out war to the Native Americans. It didn't go as planned because of the Draft Riots that put New York in a state of calamity. One thing led to another and Amsterdam ended up stabbing Bill The Butcher and eventually killing him.

The cast was great. Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis and Cameron Diaz leads an all-star cast. They portray their respective roles with finesse and excellence. Daniel Day-Lewis, along with his New Yorker accent was the best villain I've seen since Saruman of Lord of the Rings. He portrays Bill "The Butcher" Cutting with elegance and he goes with the flow. Its the first time I've seen him act and he was darn good. Too bad he died. Cameron Diaz was the one who should've died. LOl.

Great sound score too. Whoever supervised the music was top-notch. The mood was just right there. And the song "The Hands That Built America" by U2, though I'm not American, was one of my favorites. Its not the title, its the message. America today owes something to the people who built their country for what it is right now.

"On every street in every city, there's a nobody who dreams of being a somebody."

A mentally unstable Vietnam war veteran works as nighttime taxi driver in a city whose perceived decadence and sleaze feeds his urge to violently lash out, attempting to save a teenage prostitute in the process.

REVIEW
Travis Bickle remains one of the most iconic figures in cinema. His psychotic nature, profound intolerance and insomnia, are chillingly portrayed by a wired De Niro at the top of his game. While his role as the mercurial and masochistic Jake La Motta (Raging Bull) remains his finest hour, De Niro's performance is memorable. The reality of a New York with a hot underbelly is very much realised, and it gives substance to Travis' constant alienation from his immediate civilisation. The first person narrative structure allows us all to be immersed with Travis' unnerving state of mind. He is 'God's lonely man'.

Scorsese's camera-work is especially riveting during the height of Travis' psychosis. When Travis has a gun in his hands, the camera becomes frighteningly close to the action, continuing this first person perspective that the film has from the start. Scorsese's distressing back seat cameo is a feat in itself. Paul Schrader's script smacks with attention to detail and palpable tension at every turn but it would never have been as effective without Herrmanns haunting score. It beautifully adapts to different moments in the film, evoking a whole range of emotions.