Casablanca (1942)

Director: Michael Curtiz
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Heinreid, Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt
Certificate: U
Genre: Romance, war
Awards: Best Director, Best Picture, Best Screenplay

Casablanca has become one of the most classic films of all time. The main character is Rick Blaine (Bogart). Once a freedom fighter, Blaine now looks after himself and only himself, running a bar in Nazi occupied Africa. When his former lover (Bergman), a famous freedom fighter (Heinreid) and a Nazi officer (Veidt) all take interest in his bar, Blaine has to decide whether he is going to help his ex escape with her new lover or to just ignore it all.

Casablanca has some moving scenes - such as the singing scene in the bar - and a quotable dialogue. The acting is superb and the story is enticing enough to make you want to know more. Seeing as this was made while world war two was still going on, it's quite surprising that people still lit this on top 100 lists today. It is simply that good.

****Good

Casablanca Trailer

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

Director: Sergio Leone
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef
Certificate: 15
Genre: Western
Awards: None

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is probably the most famous western there has ever been, and it's not hard to tell why. Unlike some other westerns, this film is packed with action and has a sprinkle of comedy on top. Clint Eastwood's Man with no name is back for his third adventure. This time he is trying to beat the sneaky mexican bandit Tuco (Wallach) and the remorseless Angel Eyes (Van Cleef) to a cemetery that has gold hidden in one of the graves.

I liked all three of the characters in this film which is very rare. Clint Eastwood and Tuco make a good comedy duo while Angel eyes makes a good villain. I would have just liked to see a bit more of him if i could. There are gruesome scenes such as the torture during an orchestra which probably gave Tarantino the idea for the scene in Reservoir Dogs.



Although I prefer Sergio Leone's epic Once Upon A Time In The West, TGTBATG is almost as good and will appeal to more of a demographic. It is a film with great characters, a touch of history (the American Civil war), action and comedy that stops it from becoming dry.

*****Brilliant

The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly Trailer

John Carter (2012)

Director: Andrew Stanton
Starring: Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Willem Dafoe, Mark Strong, Samantha Morton, Dominic West, Ciaran Hinds
Certificate: 12
Genre: Sci Fi, Adventure
Awards: None

John Carter is based off the book A Princess Of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It follows the civil war captain John Carter (Kitsch)who is transported to mars by a special medallion. There he meets a tribe of four armed barbaric aliens called the Thark. He soon earns the trust of their leader Tars Tarkas (Dafoe) and becomes their secret weapon. Carter has other ideas however and after witnessing an air battle, he rescues the princess Dejeh (Collins) of Helium - one of the human cities - and gets her help to transport her back to earth. But Princess Dejeh wants him to help her people fight back against the enemy Sab Than (west), who is being advised by some mysterious monk like person (Strong).

I enjoyed John Carter. The beginning in the west was brilliant and the visuals were great to look at. The story is riddled with cliches, but this is based on the book that created all the cliches in the first place. You can tell what films have taken influence from the book by watching this. Star wars took the speed bike chase and arena fights, Prince Of Persia took the characters and Avatar took the view of the aliens part.

What I found strange about the film was a flashback Carter had while fighting a hoard of aliens. He remembers the death of his family but we never hear anything about it before or after this scene. It just seems out of place.

Overall, John Carter is an enjoyable film, but you will be reminded of other films while watching. But that really just shows how inspiring the original story was.

****Good

John Carter Trailer

The Woman In Black (2012)

Director: James Watkins
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Ciaren Hinds, Janet McTeer
Certificate: 12
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Awards: None

The Woman In Black haunts her old home on an island that can only be reached when the tide is out. When Arthur Kipps - A young widowed lawyer - is sent to do the paperwork on the house so that his firm can sell it. Instead of doing this, he starts to chase noises around the house and children start killing themselves on the main land.

Daniel Radcliffe seems to be doing the Elijah Wood (see Sin City) way of shedding his cast typing by making films that are the complete opposite of Harry Potter. His performance is good, although he just seems too young to be a widow and have a four year old child. Ciaren Hinds is also good as Kipps's friend Sam Daily who has lost his son to The woman in black years before.

This film is scary and it made me jump a few times. The woman in black is someone I would never want to come across and I felt for the characters in the film. It has an ending that you can think of as either good or bad which is a bit different.  Hammer films have made a decent comeback. I look forward to seeing of what they do next.

****Good

The Woman In Black Trailer

Starship Troopers (1997)

Director: Paul Verhoeven
Starring: Casper Van Dien, Denise Richards, Dina Meyer
Certificate: 15
Genre: Sci Fi, Action, war
Awards: None

This Science Fiction war film seems to take a lot of influence from actual wars in history. The story is that the human race (all with american accents) and a bug race from outer space have been at each others throats for ages (the cold war). When the bugs throw an asteroid and kills a city (Pearl Harbour) . This cause outrage on earth and the human race retaliates, leading in a brutal and bloody war.

We follow Johnny Rico (Van Dien) who joined the service for his girlfriend Carmen Ibanez (Richards) who becomes a pilot. During training Johnny proves his worth and slowly rises the ranks. The war starts and we are given some interesting action scenes with gore aplenty. The rest plays out any other war film although it's still interesting.

The one thing I would like to see in this film is more of the psychic character (Neil Patrick Harris). He's introduced to us a the start and then only plays a small part near the end of the film. It would have been cool to see him use his powers more during the battle sequences.

****Good

Starship Troopers

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)

Director: Larry Charles
Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Ken Davitan
Certificate: 15
Genre: Comedy, Mockumentry
Awards: None

Borat is one of Sacha Baron Cohen's characters who he dresses up at and pretends to be to the unknowing public. This character is a television presenter from Kazakhstan. He is sent to America to show both countries the others culture. The film takes form of a road trip film with Borat meeting more unsuspecting Americans.

This film is absolutely hilarious. It's not clever or anything, it's just silly -and mostly immature- humour. Baron Cohen and Ken Davitan definitely have balls. They do things that you definitely wouldn't expect - and it's side splitting.  I recommend this to anyone with a sense of humour. It is just outrageous comedy.

*****Brilliant

Borat Trailer

The Artist (2011)

Director: Michel Hazanavicius
Starring: Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo, John Goodman, James Cromwell
Certificate: 12
Genre: Silent, comedy
Awards: Best Costumes, Best Director, Best music, Best Picture, Best Actor (Dujardin)

The Artist has been the most talked about film for the past month and it's easy to see why. It's a silent film which tells the story of silent movie actor, George Valantin (Dujardin).  Once the talkies come in, he is pushed to one side for "fresh meat". This includes Peppy Miller (Bejo), an actress who met Valantin in an accidental encounter. The film focuses on how as Valentin falls, Miller rises and how they try and help each other.

The film is amazingly made. You really feel for the characters and the fact that many silent movie actors such as Charlie Chaplin actually went down this route. The film is full of symbolism, but unlike The Tree Of Life, it's sublime and actually adds to the story at the same time.

So in conclusion, The Artist is wonderfully acted, well directed and funny. You will be entertained and the climax caught me out. Out of the nominees I have seen, this film deserved the awards it got.

*****Brilliant

The Artist Trailer

The Tree Of Life (2011)

Director: Terence Mallick
Starring: Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain, Sean Penn
Certificate: 12
Genre: Drama
Awards: None

Normally in this paragraph I sum up the story of the film I'm reviewing, but The Tree Of Life doesn't really have a story. It shows you the beginning of the world with a range of cinematography and then focuses on one family in the 1950's. The film is also given philosophical voice overs by the mother (Chastain) and the now grown up son (Penn) in modern day.

Critics have poured praise after praise over this film, but if there was a film more slower paced, it hasn't ended yet. The shots of the animals and the beginning of the world are interesting, but they drag on for too long. Brad Pitt is amazing as the strict and scary father and he should be recognised for it, but apart from him there are no characters that really have any feeling to them. Unlike in Stand By Me, you don't care about the children who are given the most screen time. They're bland and boing, and when they do do something - like break a window or shoot each others fingers with air rifles - you just begin disliking them even more.

The Tree Of Life is really an art house film .  It's full of symbolism and lots of pretty shots. It's an experience. If you're into films like that, you'll love this film. But as a film, The Tree Of Life is awful. If you're looking for something entertaining, this is not it.

**Pretty Bad

The Tree of Life Trailer

Disturbia (2007)

Director: D.J Caruso
Starring: Shia LaBeouf, David Morse, Sarah Roemer
Certificate: 15
Genre: Thriller
Awards: None

Disturbia is sort of a modern take of Rear Window. Kale (LaBeouf) is placed under house arrest after he punches one of his teachers. To pass the time, he begins to watch his neighbours. This introduces him to Ashley (Roemer), the girl next door, and together they try and show the world that Mr. Turner (Morse) - another neighbour- is a serial killer.

It's nice to see Shia LaBeouf in a film that isn't bad. He shows here why he gets called to make films by a variety of directors. David Morse is brilliant as the quiet killer who seems at first glance to be like any other next door neighbour. The Matrix's Carrie-Anne Moss also has a small role as Kale's mum.

The film is definitely teen based, with it's comedic moments and it changes tone from an awkward American comedy to thriller (not two genres you would think to put together). The film however, is not scary. It tries to make you jump more than creating an atmosphere like The Omen or The Silence Of The Lambs. Altogether, the film is enjoyable enough.

***Okay

Disturbia Trailer