Raising Arizona (1987)

Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter, Trey Wilson, John Goodman
Certificate: 12
Genre: Comedy, Crime
Awards: None

Raising Arizona is an off the wall comedy about a criminal played by Nicholas Cage who marries a cop (Holly Hunter). When they find out they can't have children, they decide to steal one from the owner of a large supermarket chain.  When they get him however, they do not get what they expected.

Sometimes the film is completely random and just goes completely bizarre, but that's what makes the film funny. The whole story is just completely stupid and unrealistic, but also hilarious and sweet at times. Definitely one of the weirdest comedies I've ever seen.

****Good

Raising Arizona Trailer

28 days later (2002)

Director: Danny Boyle
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston, Brendan Gleeson
Certificate: 18
Genre: Horror
Awards: None

Great Britain has been infected by a virus that turns people into flesh eating fiends and only a handful of survivors are left. Jim (Murphy) has ben unconscious for a long time, and he wakes up to this post apocalyptic nightmare with no idea what is going on. He soon meets other survivors in the form of the cynical Selena (Harris) and the taxi driver Frank (Gleeson) and his daughter.  When they hear a broadcast from Major Henry West (Eccleston) promising the cure, they set off to join the broadcasters in hope of protection.

28 Days Later is brilliantly shot to show how empty and different London seems when almost everyone is dead or infected. The atmosphere is eerie and depressing and gives it a feeling of immense tension. All of the actors perform wonderfully and have very different characteristics you can emphasise with.

The only problem I have with the film is that sometimes the characters do things that I don't think people would do in a zombie apocalypse, such as taking valium to get to sleep and entering a dark, uninviting building to get some cheeseburgers.

Overall, this is a pretty scary film with gore aplenty. I enjoyed it a lot, and I'm not that into horror movies.

*****Brilliant

28 Days Later Trailer

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Director: Henry Selick
Starring: Danny Elfman, Chris Saradon, Catherine O'Hara
Certificate: PG
Genre: Musical, Animation, Horror, Fantasy
Awards: None

The Nightmare Before Christmas is a animaed film similar to the look of Coraline. The Hero of the film - Jack Skellington (Elfman (Singing)/ Saradon)- is the of Halloween, but he is bored of scaring people every year. When he finds a mysterious land called Christmas Town, he decides to get into the festive mood and take over christmas.

Most of the film dialogue is sung by Elfman and the other characters. The animation gives the film an eeriness that I don't think had been seen before. Other Characters such as the boogieman are also a joy to watch and the halloween styled christmas is a very original story. This is a very enjoyable film... If you can stand musicals.

****Good

The Nightmare Before Christmas Trailer

Rio (2011)

Director: Carlos Saldanha
Starring: Jesse Eisenburg, Anne Hathaway, Jemaine Clement
Certificate: U
Genre: Animation, adventure, comedy
Awards: None

Blu (Eisenburg) is a blue bird, and the last male of his species. When he taken to meet the female Jewel (Hathaway) to bring back the special blue birds, they are kidnapped by bird smugglers and their pet bird Nigel (Clement). They escape with help of some friends but must now break the chain that attaches them. Oh, and Blu can't fly.

Rio has some good bits, but it seems to be me about the music than anything else, and I don't like the music. The villain is the best character and he seems down right ruthless. This isn't the best animated film of the year, but it could have done worse. At least people went to see it unlike Cars 2.

***Okay

Rio Trailer

Toy Story 2 (1999)

Directors: John Lassester, Ash  Brannon, Lee Unkrich
Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack
Certificate: U
Genre: Animation, adventure, comedy
Awards: None















Toy Story 2 returns to Woody (Hanks), Buzz (Allen) and the other toys. But when Woody is stolen by a toy shop owner who wants to sell him to a Japanese museum, the toys try everything to get him back.

Toy Story 2 ups the game from the original with more characters and a better villain.  The story is different  enough as well to keep the audience engaged. If you haven't seen this film then you must have been living with the moon people for the last twelve years. A definite recommendation.

****Good

Toy Story 2 Trailer

Ip Man (2008)

Director: Wilpson Yip
Starring: Donnie Yen, Ka Tung Lam, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi
Certificate: 15
Genre: Kung Fu, Biopic, action
Awards: None















Ip Man (Yen) is one of the greatest kung-fu masters of all time. After his home is taken over by Japan in world war 2, he learns how to work his way through poverty. But he soon begins to gain interest by the Japanese General Miura (Ikeuchi) who is a big fan of karate.

Ip Man is the best Kung Fu film I have seen. It has some humour and a good story. The martial arts are on epic proportions but still seem realistic (unlike Hero). It has emotion and is incredibly enjoyable.

*****Brilliant

IP Man Trailer

Life Of Brian (1979)

Director; Terry Jones
Starring: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin
Certificate: 15
Genre: Comedy
Awards: None















Life Of Brian is the second film by the Monty Python gang. This time following the adventures of Brian (Chapman),  who is mistaken for the messiah in the time of christ.

Life Of Brian is a hilarious film. Chapman's brian is a loveable victim and Cleese's characters are definitely the most funny.  The subject matter may be controversial, but that just makes it more funny, as nobody else does comedy on the life of christ.

*****Brilliant

Monty Python: The Life of Brian Trailer

Spartacus (1960)

Director: Stanley Kubrick
Starring: Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, Peter Ustinov
Certificate: PG
Genre: Historic
Awards: Best supporting actor (Ustinov),  Best art direction, Best cinematography, Best costume design















The story of Spartacus has been told by lots of different films, but this is definitely the most famous. Spartacus is played by Kirk Douglas. He was born a slave, but was later bought by the Roman Lentulus Batiatus (Ustinov) to become a gladiator at his school. There, Spartacus meets Varinia (Simmons), a beautiful slave girl who he falls in love with. Spartacus unites the slaves in an attempt to escape Italy entirely, But the Roman General Marcus Crasuss (Olivier) is intend on crushing the rebellion.

Spartacus is a really long film. and the love scenes are cheesy and boring, but this is to be expected from a film this old. It's really before my time so I didn't really get into it. It's still a good film, but it is really slow.

***Okay

Spartacus Trailer

Immortals (2011)

Director: Tarsem Singh
Starring: Henry Cavill, Mickey Rourke, Freida Pinto, John Hurt
Certificate: 15
Genre: Myth, action, fantasy
Awards: None

Immortals takes the tale of Theseus (Cavill) and the Minotour, and injects it with steroids. Theseus starts off as a slave who is being influenced by the gods to become a great warrior. The gods need him to stop an evil King (Rourke) from releasing evil gods with a magic bow. On his way he meets an Oracle (Pinto) who basicly tells him that the bow must stay hidden. When Theseus gets the bow however, she seems to change tack entirly and says he can use the bow to bring down the king. What?

I don't think the plot for immortals makes sense. Why is Mickey Rourke trying to release the bad gods? He knows they're going to kill all of mankind. It seems he's only doing it to annoy the gods. He kills so many of his own men, It's a wonder he has any left?

The film has some good parts, such as the battle with the minotour. The roar in the beginning chilled my blood. The fight scenes are shown in a slow-mo way that would make Zack Snyder proud and Mickey Rourke plays a very sinister bad guy. Altogether, I think they made this film a bit too mad.

***Okay

Immortals Trailer