Dragon's Talk

The Oxford Murders

Despite Elijah Wood, this is a very good film.
I really liked all the Alex de la Iglesia films that I've seen and this is no exception. Although I'm used to see Spanish films, set in Spain with Spanish actors, this flick placed in Oxford and with a mix of British, American and Spanish performers, is still loyal to Alex's style.
It's entertaining, clever, surprising and visually great!
I'm not giving it a higher mark because I found a little mistake...
Can you find it?

The Peacemaker

this was a cool movie. Someone else on here made a comment that "a big portion of the movie show US not minding their own business". Now i don't mean to offend any US citizens when i say this, but, um, since when has the US ever minded their own business? Again, no offence intended.

Wong gok hak yau (One Night in Mongkok)

When street violence spirals out of control, a police unit attempts to cope with the situation and track down a hired killer who proves rather more resourceful than the double-crossing contractor who sells him out had counted on. One Night In Mongkok centres around the criminal underbelly of a district in one of the most densely populated areas of Hong Kong. It involves a dash of social commentary in its portrayal of how rural Chinese flock to the bright lights of Hong Kong to escape poverty only to become treated as a disposable commodity by the ruthless criminals who rule there. Its approach will be familiar to any who have seen the likes of Infernal Affairs or City Of God, falling somewhere between the two in plot and execution. The direction is just the right combination of gritty realism and style and the cast are all strong. The usual combination of brutal violence and grey morality all round won't win any awards for originality, but to anyone who enjoys this type of film, it's a fine example.

This Is Spinal Tap

This Is Spinal Tap is a mock documentary and affectionate parody of heavy metal and its fans. To be honest, I suspect you have to be a metal fan to truly "get" it, but if you do, it's utterly hilarious! If you didn't know already it could be easily mistaken for the real thing; much of the dialogue was ad-libbed and it just captures the spirit of rock bands and the music biz perfectly. There are so many hilarious scenes I can't begin to count and it's the perfect movie to watch with a beer and a few like minded friends. Even the songs are comedy gold! I've seen this film over a dozen times and it still cracks me up EVERY time!

The Elephant Man

The Elephant Man tells the true life story of John Merrick, a man dreadfully deformed from birth who was saved from a freak show by a kindly doctor to become the toast of Victorian society. The kind of visual gimmickry you'd expect from David Lynch is glaringly absent from this beautiful biopic, he instead tells the story through atmosphere and sensitive character study. It truly is an acting masterclass, with remarkable performances from some of the best British actors ever to tread the boards but it is John Hurt's deeply moving portrayal of the man himself that rightfully takes centre stage. It shows both the heights of kindness and depths of cruelty the human animal is capable of, and instills real emotion and empathy from the viewer without the kind of cynical manipulation and button pushing that most directors resort to. To my mnd, this is still Lynch's best film and anyone who does not shed a tear during its duration is surely made of stone.

Dead Man's Shoes

This bleak tale of revenge set in a small English town sees Paddy Considine leaving the army and returning home to extract brutal revenge on a group of small time drug dealers who abused his retarded younger brother while he was away. This is an unusual revenge thriller as it often looks more like a slasher flick; Considine is obviously an unstable murderer who has been trained to kill and he systematically executes each of his victims in a very horror film style way. Except in this case his victims are a bunch of unsympathetic scum bags who you can't help feeling probably deserve their fate. In this way the film throws up many mixed emotions as you're never quite sure who you are supposed to be rooting for! But the real kick in the gut is provided by Shane Meadows; he directs very much like a documentary photographer cataloging the grim reality of working class small town life. The actors involved are ugly. They have bad hair and cheap clothes. In other words they look like REAL people, not Hollywood's glamorized, sanitized version of them. As such you feel you are right there in the thick of it, actually witnessing these gruesome events rather than just watching a piece of entertainment. It won't be to everyone's tastes as it's quite a tough movie to sit through because of its extremely grim subject matter, but ultimately it's a very powerful piece of work.

Grosse Pointe Blank

Professional contract killer Martin Blank decides to stop off at his high school reunion while out on a job and rekindles an old flame in the shape of Minnie Driver. Part romantic comedy, part post-Tarantino noir, this is the kind of cinematic hybrid that can sometimes go disastrously wrong (Gigli anyone? Thought not....) but this brilliantly written example is not one of them. The dialogue is witty, snappy and insightful, it has likeable characters played by a great cast headed by John Cusack at his most charming and who shares a real chemistry with his co-star. There are also some great supporting performances by Dan Aykroyd as a rival hitman, Alan Arkin as Blank's unwilling psychiatrist and Joan Cusak as his kind of post-modern old school noir style secretary. Add brisk no nonsense pacing and well handled set pieces and you have a smart and funny black comedy that works on every level.

Funny Games

This was by far,the most disturbing film I've seen in years..an unflinching documentation of a couple of "Leopold & Loeb"-like psychopaths humiliating,terrorizing,and then murdering their victims..the "rewind" scene really f_cks with the vigilante instinct in(presumably) all of us..I cheered,then almost put my fist through the screen.Since Alex DeLarge,I have not seen more loathsome characters on screen..there's no justice,just this inexorable,post-modern evil having its way..something very "clinical" about it(maybe it's those gloves).Sounds weird,but I don't know if I can even call it a movie..it's a flat enactment of nasty reality,so recommending it is tough.This ain't no popcorn movie.If you liked "In The Bedroom","A Clockwork Orange","Cul-De-Sac",then you can probably hack this.

The Dark Knight

Being a bit of a latecomer when it comes to The Dark Knight, this film was always going to be about the hype. It's a tall order to live up to the expectation generated by the most anticipated film of the year directed by one of my favourite directors containing a performance lauded over by all and sundry.
Basically, it had a HELL of a lot to live up to. And no, it did not disappoint. Much. I loved Batman Begins, particularly its examination of the psychology of Bruce Wayne/Batman. Unfortunately this is pretty much absent from The Dark Knight; it's The Joker's show all the way, and Ledger tiptoes the line between playfulness and psychosis perfectly. His character is obviously designed to strike a cord with western audiences as a villain with no agenda, fear of death or capture, no objective other than chaos is clearly the ultimate "terrorist". I just wish there had been more dialogue between he and Bale, rather than The Joker making observations while Batman wordlessly pounded on him. But absolutely every other aspect of the film is pretty much flawless; the action, the effects, the performances, all spot on. The script is brilliantly written and I was glad to see it didn't follow the usual pattern of "we're all super-baddies so let's all join up to fight the hero", instead Two Face being a far more believable by-product of The Joker's manipulations. I still prefer the stylistic approach of Sin City, but it's still easily one of the best superhero films ever made.
On second viewing, I watched it right after Batman Begins and they fit together seamlessly to the point they could easily be seen as one complete story. This rectifies all the problems I had with it on the characterisation front. My one gripe is with the flag waving speech Gary Oldman makes right at the end that left me a little cold, but otherwise it's pretty much perfect.

Taken

at first i wasn't sure if i wanted to see this one, thought it might've been a load of bull, but i went on a whim, and was pleasently surprised. liam neeson has also been one of my favourites, cos he has that very rare gift of being able to act. there was some pretty cool action sequences, and a good storyline which kinda remiinded me a bit of Proof of Life. Though what happened to the girl that he helped? the one that had his daughter's jacket. she disappeared.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford is a bit of a mouthful, but it's titled perfectly. The script is extremely literary and the title is deeply ironic and highlights the fact that real life bears little resemblance to the simplistic interpretation of events that "legends" present. In fact it was Ford's disillusionment in his dealings with the man compared to his childhood hero worship that probably contributed greatly to the resulting killing; that and his own wish to be revered as a "hero" himself. The cinematography is simply beautiful, the film resembling a period photograph come to life. The train robbery scene is one of the most visually stunning pieces of cinema I've ever seen. The performances are also top notch, particularly Brad Pitt whose intense and intimidating interpretation of James once again proves that given quality material he can more than deliver the goods. True, it's rather slow moving and talky, but as such it's a completely different take on one of the most oft filmed stories in cinema, and also one of the best.

Wanted

Office Space meets Fight Club meets Shoot 'Em Up. this movie is ludicrous, humorous and cool from beginning to end.

The Beast

This is a terrific movie. Starring William Petersen (Gil Grissom - CSI) and based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same title, it is about a small island community off the coast of Washington State that is terrorised by a giant squid. Not as bloody as Jaws, but still good to watch.

Planet Terror (Grindhouse Presents: Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror)

A deadly plague that turns the populace into flesh eating mutants is released into the atmosphere and a band of misfits join together to fight their way to safety. Robert Rodriguez' pastiche of seventies and eighties style schlock horror seemed like a real breath of fresh air to me. The fact that two of its greatest exponents, Sam Raimi and Peter Jackson have been heading further and further down the overlong, sterile, technology orientated road of mainstream cinema makes it all the more ironic. Tarantino and Rodriguez seem to be headed completely in the opposite direction, concentrating on entertainment rather than ego, and in this film they deliver just the right blend of tongue in cheek humour, knowing homage and outrageous gore, the likes of which I haven't seen since Evil Dead 2. It's half John Carpenter and half George Romero, but manages to ape the films of their hey days to such an extent it surpasses anything either of them has done for a couple of decades. The cast overact their cinematic stereotypes to just the right degree, and the gore is amusingly ridiculous in a similar way to Return Of The Living Dead, itself a tongue in cheek semi-sequel to Romero's original zombie film. It'll never change your world, but that's hardly the point. 100% proof pure entertainment.

The Dark Knight

Now this film is just perfect.
The first thing to mention is Heath Ledger performance. Lots of my friends had mentioned this before, saying how great he was and so on an so forth. But I guess that no description can really explain the brilliance of his acting. He's by far, the best joker ever. Just marvellous.
Another one, is.... thanks God!!! Thanks Nolan, or whoever is responsible for that!!! thanks for getting Katie Holmes out!!! Thank you so so much.
And finally.. what can I say? I love Christian Bale as Batman (the best-looking Bruce Wayne in the history). The effects, the action scenes, the funny parts, the script, the visuals in general... everything is nothing but great. Flawless.

Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story

this is a terrific movie that tells the true life story of a young girl who grows up on the streets of NYC, and just trying to survive everyday life. A very inspiring tale.

Sweet Smell of Success

This pitch black hearted noir was something of a flop on its release, and it's not difficult to see why. Not through lack of quality, but rather the fact that its unrelenting cynicism and bleak outlook is certainly not for the faint hearted. Tony Curtis turns in easily his best performance as Sidney Falco, an obsequious press agent who is perfectly willing to sell his soul to get on top, and Burt Lancaster is similarly superb, brilliantly cast against type as a cold-hearted tyrant (even describing an attack on his character as an attack on his country, the cry of despots throughout the ages) who controls all around him through contemptible manipulation. The core of the film is the creepily ambiguous relationship between he and his sister; at one point he refers to her "apron strings", an allusion to motherhood, but he also keeps a portrait on his desk as one would a spouse or lover... It is unusual in that instead of fists and bullets, all the damage is done through words and insinuations; the razor sharp dialogue is amongst the best ever written for the screen, and the magnificent photography represents the city streets as blackly as the protagonists' hearts. The package is completed by a soundtrack of fantastic contemporary jazz and the overall result is one of the pinnacles of film noir.