Heat (1995)

Director: Michael Mann
Starring: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore, Diane Venora, Amy Brenneman, Natalie Portman
Certificate: 15
Genre: Crime
Awards: None

Neil McCauley and Vincent Hannah are on opposite sides of the law. Set in LA, Heat has the two trying to outplay each other leading to Neil getting away or locked up for good. Neil lives an unattached life which he feels makes him safer. Vincent however has a troubled family that need him more than he knows. However, Neil is the one with the friends.

Heat is a moody, stylised film that people familiar with Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy will find quite familiar. The action is stunning and infatuating while watching two godfathers shooting at each other is incredibly watchable.

****Good

Heat Trailer

The Deer Hunter (1978)

Director: Michael Cimino
Starring: Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Savage, John Cazale, George Dzundza,Meryl Streep, Chuck Aspergren
certificate: 18
Genre: Drama,war
Awards: Best supporting actor (Walken), Best director, Best editing, Best Picture, Best sound

The Deer Hunter is a film about the horrors of the vietnam war and how it affects the people who fought in it. It centres on a group of friends in a small town in America. Michael (De Niro) and Nicky (Waken) are the best friends who join the army with the recently married Steven (Savage). During their service all three are changed by the experiences they go through.

The Deer Hunter is an extremely slow film.  It focuses more on the relationships of the characters more than the war. However, it's acted well and some nail bitingly tense scenes. It packs an emotional punch that will stay with you for quite a while.

****Good

The Deer Hunter Trailer

The King Of Comedy (1983)

Director: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis, Sandra Bernhard
Certificate: PG
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Awards: None

Rupert Pupkin is a man who wants to be the new king of comedy. To get there he starts to stalk his idol - Jerry Langford - to try and get on his show. Not taking hints that all Jerry wants to do is get rid of the guy who keeps bothering him, Rupert begins to believe more and more into his fantasies of being a megastar.

The best thing about TKOC is the ending. We don't know if what happened is true or just another of Rupert's fantasies. It keeps the audience guessing and mulling over the film after the have left the story. The fantasies also show how each of us can be locked to looking at our futures and therefore not looking at our present.

*****Brilliant

The King Of Comedy Trailer

A Clockwork Orange (1971)

Director: Stanley Kubrick
Starring: Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Michael Bates, Warren Clarke, James Marcus
Certificate:18
Genre: Sci Fi, Crime
Awards: None

Futuristic Britain sees mobs of youths terrorising the country with rape and violence. Our character - or humble narrator - is Alex (McDowell). Alex is vicious, violent but has so much charisma that it is hard to hate him. After a botched robbery, Alex is arrested and sentenced to fourteen years in prison. There, he is made a subject of a new treatment which will make him a law abiding citizen. He is let out afterwards but his past won't let him forget so easily.

If A Clockwork Orange was made today, it would be an incredibly dark film where Alex would seem horrific. It would be very depressing. However, Stanley Kubrick is able to give the film a sense of humour while we see everything from Alex's eyes, therefore seeing his perspective of everything. Alex does not seem like the villain of the film - even though he has done immensely villainess things . It just feels as if the world has gone wrong, and during the second half Alex looks so pathetic, you have to feel sorry for him.

There is a lot of Rape and violence here and the film is definitely not for the faint of heart. However, the violence is all stylised with sound effects. The language is apparently quite hard to understand also. I didn't have any problem with it as it is accompanied with visuals which tell you what the characters are talking about.

A Clockwork Orange is an immensely well made film with an infatuating voice over. Malcolm McDowell is so good as Alex that he drowns out all the other characters. Any fan of film needs to see this as it is a milestone of violence in cinema and is just a great film.

*****Brilliant

A Clockwork Orange Trailer

Year One (2009)

Director: Harold Ramis
Starring: Jack Black, Michael Cera, Olivia Wilde, Juno Temple, Vinnie Jones, Christopher Mintz-Passe, David Cross
Certificate: 12
Genre: Comedy
Awards: None

Year One follows two cave men named Zed an Oh who are known as the biggest losers of their tribe. When they are forced to leave after eating from the tree of knowledge they go on a journey through biblical times.

Year One has it's funny moments but it's really just a silly film that could have been done much better. It's definitely not memorable as you can tell by the length of this review.

***Okay

Year One Trailer

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Director: Joe Johnson
Starring: Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Tommy Lee Jones, Hugo Weaving, Dominic Cooper, Stanley Tucci, Toby Jones
Certificate: 12
Genre: Superhero, War
Awards: None

Captain America: The first Avenger is the origin story for the superhero who will later be part of the Avengers team. During World war two, Steve Rogers (Evans) is unfit to be a soldier but that doesn't stop him from trying. After meeting DR. Erskine,  (Tucci) he is given a chance and becomes a test subject for an experiment to turn him into a super soldier. A nazi sector named Hydra also have this technology which has become the obsession of Johann Schmitt (Weaving).

It's nice to see a superhero in a different setting and world war two has not been done before - although Captain America is now in present day. The supporting cast are all wonderful and tie it to the rest of the Marvel universe well. Overall a good film that will not be remembered due to The Avengers dwarfing the origin stories of both Thor and Captain America.

****Good

Captain America: The First Avenger Trailer

Blade Runner (1982)

Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Daryl Hannah, Edward James Olmos, William Sanderson, Brion James,
Certificate: 15
Genre: Sci Fi, Thriller, Crime
Awards: None

Rick Deckard (Ford) is a retired blade runner - a man who kills humanlike creations called replicants   - who is pulled back into the job when five replicants return to earth where they are banned. His job is to find these replicants and "retire" them. The replicants are on earth to find their creator and demand more life.

The sets for Blade Runner have to be admired for giving the film the right tone even thirty years later. It gives a picture of a perfect dystopia (if dystopia can be called perfect). Everything feels gloomy and it feels like the world as just given up. Although watching the film now the world may seem old fashioned, it does not feel fake.

The first time I saw the film, I was lost and felt like the story did not make much sense. Watching it a second time, I can appreciate what the film was trying to convey. Life and death are welded into the story and the film can be perceived in many different ways.

Ridley Scott has said that he is going to make a Blade Runner 2. I don't really think that this is advisable as it will just point out the flaws in the originals set design due to lack of CGI while making the original story rather redundant.

****Good

Blade Runner Trailer

Darkman (1990)

Director: Sam Raimi
Starring: Liam Neeson, Frances McDormand, Larry Drake, Colin Friels
Certificate: 18
Genre: Superhero, Crime
Awards: None

Darkman's real name is Peyton Westlake (Neeson). When his wife finds out about her boss's secrets, Peyton is attacked by gangsters and is mutilated beyond repair. However, Peyton can use his invention of synthetic skin to wear any face he wants. Now he wants to take revenge of the gangsters who have made him who he is.

Darkman has Sam Raimi's certain style and humour all over it. Although it has a morose atmosphere, the humour makes it seem more surreal - an example is when Peyton gets angry with a stall owner for not giving him a pink elephant. The film is fun and shows Neeson in his early days.

****Good

Darkman Trailer

Kingdom Of Heaven (2005)

Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, Marton Csokas, Edward Norton, Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson, David Thewlis, Liam Neeson
Certificate: 15
Genre: Action, Drama, Historic
Awards: None

Kingdom Of Heaven's opening scenes give a promising introduction to the film. The blacksmith Balian (Bloom) has lost his wife and child. He is approached by the lord Godfrey of Ibelin (Neeson) and is told he is his son. They set off to Jerusalem together but are attacked by soldiers of Balian's village as he killed a priest. Unfortunately Liam Neeson is injured and once he pops his clogs the film goes downhill from there on.

Balian reaches Jerusalem and there he meets a variety of characters all set in a political battle mixed with religion and greed and to be honest it's just boring. Jeremy Irons has little to do as a politician while Marton Csokas's rival is played stupidly over the top.

Kingdom Of Heaven is just boring. There are better films set in epic historic periods such as Gladiator, Troy and even Sparticus. This is just a mess that keeps you wishing Liam Neeson was in the film more.

***Okay

Kingdom of Heaven Trailer

Death Proof (2007)

Director: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Kurt Russell, Zoe Bell, Rosario Dawson, Vanessa Ferlito, Sydney Poiter, Tracie Thoms, Rose McGowan
Certificate: 18
Genre: Thriller
Awards: None

Death Proof was released as half of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's Grindhouse - Two films made in the style of 80's Grindhouse films. Death proof is Tarantino's half and is about a serial killer named Stuntman Mike (Russell) who runs people over in his car.

Maybe it's because I haven't any Grindhouse films before and so the style wasn't really made for my tastes as Death Proof is Tarantino's worst film so far. It is still entertaining and has his witty dialogue but the story isn't that interesting. Grindhouse fans will probably like it but if you are just planning on watching it because you liked Pulp Fiction or Kill Bill, prepare for a disappointment.

***Okay

Death Proof Trailer