The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Director: Jonathan Demme
Starring: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scot Glen, Ted Levine
Certificate: 18
Genre: Horror
Awards: Best Actor (Hopkins), Best Actress (Foster), Best Director (Demme), Best Picture, Best Screenplay

In The Silence of the Lambs, CIA agent Clarice Starling (Foster) is trying to track down serial Killer: Buffalo Bill (Levine). She goes on the advice of her boss Jack Crawford (Glen) to ask for help from DR Hannibal Lector (Hopkins) who had met Bill once before.

The Silence of the Lambs is Creepy but not as scary as The Omen or Watership Down .Anthony Hopkins was brilliant as Hannibal and deserved his Oscar as did Jodie Foster.

****Good

The Silence of the Lambs Trailer

The Simpsons Movie (2007)

Director: David Silverman
Starring: Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardly Smith, Albert Brooks
Certificate: PG
Genre: Animation Comedy
Awards: None

The Simpsons movie is about the Simpsons family and their adventure. After Homer Simpson (Castellaneta) dumps a silo of pig poo in lake Springfield, Ross Cargale (Brooks) of the environmental protection agency imprisons the whole town in a giant dome. The family find away out and move to Alaska where they find out that the Government are going to make Springfield into a second Grand Canyon. Now it is up to Homer, Marge (Kavner), Lisa (Smith), Bart (Cartwright) and Maggie to save Springfield.

The Simpsons Movie is a very funny film and has almost a joke a minute. After watching it for the fifth time however, you don't find the jokes funny anymore. I would love to see a Simpsons Movie 2 and hope that there will be one in the near future.

****Good

The Simpsons Movie Trailer

Miss Potter (2006)

Director: Chris Noonan

Starring: Rennee Zellweger, Ewen McGregor, Emily Watson  

Certificate:12

Genre: Romance Historic

Awards: None

Miss Potter is the story of Beatrix Potter (Zellweger) and how she published her books with the help of Norman Warne (McGregor), a man in the publishing business. Beatrix the gets fond of Mr Warne and becomes friends with his sister, Millie (Watson).

Miss Potter is a good film but i think if you don't know who beatrix Potter is you wouldn't be botherd and would not know what is going on.

****Good 

Miss Potter trailer

The Ladykillers (1955)

Director: Alexander Mackendrick
Starring: Alec Guinness, Herbert Lom, Cecil Parker, Peter Sellers, Dannie Green, Katie Johnson
Certificate: U
Genre: Comedy
Awards: None

In The Ladykillers, Professor Marcus (Guinness) has devised a master plan to steal money. he uses An old Lady's (Johnson) rented room for his gang to hide out in while they plot to get the money. The gang includes: the cowardly Major Courtney (Parker), the suspicious mister Harvey (Lom),  the cockney mister Robinson (Sellers) and the brute force of Mister Lawson (Green). When the old lady finds out about the theft the gang decide they must kill her but nobody wants to be the one who does it.

The Ladykillers is hilarious and shows what British films can live up to. It has massive comedy stars in it which go on to be in The pink panther and even starwars.

****Good

The Ladykillers Trailer

True Grit (2010)

Directors: Joel and Ethan Coen
Starring: Jeff Bridges!, Mat Damon, Hailee Steinfield, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper
Certificate: 15
Genre: Western
Awards: None

True Grit is a remake of the film that won John Wayne his only Oscar. The story is that after her  father is shot down by a man named Tom Chaney (Brolin), Mattie Ross (Steinfield) hires the Marchall Rooster Cogburn (Bridges!) to hunt him down. They are joined by a Texas ranger named LaBouf (Damon) and find out that Chaney is part of a gang run by Ned Pepper (Pepper). Together they trsck down Chaney and Mattie tries to avenge her father.

A lot of the story and dialogue is exactly the same to the 1969 version apart from the end which surprises you if you have seen the original. If i compare this film to the other western i can remember seeing all the way through - Once Upon A Time In The West- It does not come close but it is still an enjoyable and sometimes funny film.

****Good

True Grit Trailer

Batman Begins (2005)

Director: Christopher Nolan

Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson,  Katie Holmes, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy

Certificate: 12

Genre: Super hero

Awards: none

Batman Begins is the story of how Bruce Wayne became Batman (Bale). With the help from his friend Rachel Dawes (Holmes), his butler Alfred (Caine) and employee Lucius Fox (Freeman), he can become the hero that Gotham city needs. He faces the scarecrow (Murphy) and Henri Ducard (Neeson) who plan to destroy the city. He also meets the police enforcer Jim Gorden (Oldman) and earns a valuable ally

Batman Begins is an amazing film that shows batman is less cheesy than other films have made him. Like all Christopher Nolan films it is a clever film that will leave you thinking.

*****Brilliant

Batman Begins Trailer

Hot Fuzz (2007)

Director: Edgar Wright
Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Jim Broadbent, Timothy Dalton, Paddy Considine,Olivia Coleman, Karl Johnson, Kevin Eldon, Rafe Spall, Bill Bailey, Bill Nighy, Martin Freeman
Certificate: 15
Genre: Action Comedy
Awards: none

Hot fuzz is about Metropolitan policeman: Nicholas Angel (Pegg) who has been moved from London to Sanford after other police get jealous at how good he is. At Sanford he meets policeman: Danny Butterman (Frost) and they uncover the truth about chief Frank Butterman (Broadbent) and Sanford: the safest village in Britain...

Hot Fuzz is very funny but slightly sickening at the same time. It is part of Edgar Wright's Blood & ice cream trilogy which started with Shaun of the dead. I have not seen Shaun of the dead so i can't compare it but after seeing Hot Fuzz I definitely want to see it and the third one coming up.

****Good

Hot Fuzz Trailer

Finding Nemo (2003)

Directors: Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich
Starring:  Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould, Willam Dafoe
Certificate: U
Genre: Animation
Awards: Best Animation

Finding Nemo is a disney and pixar film about a fish called Marlin (Brooks) who's son: Nemo (Gould) is kidnapped by divers so he teams up with a fish with short term memory loss named Dory (DeGeneres) to find him again. Meanwhile Nemo is inside a fish tank with a clever fish named Gill (Dafoe) and plans to escape back into the ocean.

Finding Nemo is a film for the family. It is one of D&P's better films and can easily be watched over and over again (unlike Cars).

****Good

Finding Nemo Trailer

The Prestige (2006)

Director: Christopher Nolan

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johnson, Andy Serkis, David Bowie

Certificate: 12

Genre: Drama

Awards: None

The prestige is about two rival magicians who try to outdo each other in tricks. Robert Angier (Jackman) and Alfred Borden were once friends who were assistants to the same magician and helped Cutter (Caine) backstage. After the death of Roberts wife the two became enemies and tried to beat eachothers tricks in more and more dangerous ways, Even going to the scientists Tesla (Bowie) and Ally (Serkis) for help that includes mass electrical power.

The Prestige is even cleverer than Inception. There is a massive twist in the end and some cool looking magic tricks. For this and Inception Christopher Nolan has become my Favorite director.

*****Brilliant

The Prestige - Trailer

Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

Director: Guillermo Del Toro
Starring: Ivana Baquero, Sergi Lopez, Maribel Verdu, Doug Jones
Certificate: 15
Genre: Fantasy
Awards: Best art direction, Best cinematography, Best Makeup.

Pan's Labyrinth is about a girl called Ofelia (Baquero) who lives in Spain in the time of the civil war. She has to live with the fascist Captain Vidal (Lopez) who is her knew stepfather. She is confronted by a faun (Jones) who tells her if she does 3 tasks she can go to a magical place with her real father and mother. But there is a battle being fought between Captain Vidal and the Spanish resistance, And the Captain's servant- Mercedes (Verdu) - is more than she seems....

I have no idea why the film is called Pan's Labyrinth as the name Pan is not mentioned at all. The film is scary and heart warming at different times. I find the ending sad but other people find it happy. The film is like Inception as it makes you wander about the end.

*****Brilliant

Pan's Labyrinth Trailer