Update: 24/09/10

Hey guys. Just an update as to whats going on. In the next few days I should have my next bunch of reviews up, which will not be for the films I previously stated, but The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Zombieland, and Four Lions.

I'm moving into my new flat tomorrow and am catching up my social life so expect them by Monday or Tuesday. Further more I just finished watching Robert Rodriguez's latest exploitation flick, Machete, so will have a feature review for that sometime next week as well.

As far as my first list goes as well, I've done the top 20, and now just sorting the following 80 from a pool of about 500, but I'm working as fast as I can.

And finally as far as film watching goes, I'm looking to regain my 100% status for the IMDB 250 this week when I watch Infernal Affairs, as well as gaining 100% on the AFI 100 Movies list too. So if everything goes to plan, it should be a succesful week.

James

Spotlight: Takeshi Kitano

Like many other oblivious people, I thought Takeshi Kitano was just a Japanese TV personality who drove around in a dodgem, squirting water at people on the final stage of cult TV show, Takeshi’s Castle. Little did I know until watching Hana-Bi, that he is perhaps the most celebrated and charismatic director/writer/actor in Japan today.

His work as a director is beautifully crafted and shot, and shows some of the most imaginative and original film making since David Lynch. On the other side of the spectrum his acting is practically flawless. Similarly to Joe Pesci, Kitano manages to create characters that are chillingly intimidating, but at the same time very funny. Whether it is an exiled Yakuza hit man, a blind Samurai, or a troubled artist, Kitano can do it all.

Brother
Director/writer/actor

One of Kitano’s only part-English Language features, Brother is the story of an exiled Yakuza hard man who moves to LA with his small time criminal brother, and slowly starts to take over the city underworld. Shot in his trademark style, with wide shots and similarly creative photography aplenty, Brother is one of Kitano’s most underrated titles.

The film can be quite testing, and the nonlinear narrative is sporadic, making it hard to follow at times. In general though, Brother is extremely entertaining. Like many other Kitano titles, the film commands the ability to make you laugh one moment, then recoil in shock the next. A compelling blend of cultural clashes and criminal life, with Kitano’s signature violence topping it off, Brother does not disappoint.

Outside of its target audience, Brother may not seem as impressive. Whilst watching with my girlfriend, she was taken aback at the logic behind the Yakuza values of honour and respect, especially the removal of fingers. If you’re a fan of art house and gangster films, especially those of the Oriental persuasion, I cannot recommend it enough.

Rating: 4/5.
Verdict: The good.

Battle Royale
Actor

Set in Japan, where discipline in schools has gone out the window, the government has passed an act which pits a class of school kids against each other on an island. The objective - fight to the death. Having seen plenty of gory and graphic film, I can still say taking into account the visceral nature of the film, as the school kids kill each other off, Battle Royale is one of the most shocking films I’ve ever seen.

Kitano only comprises a minor role in the film, as the teacher of class 4B, and the overseer of the sickening massacre, but once again he really does shine with very little screen time. It is once again his ability make the most bizarre characters seem real with his calm and charismatic appeal, despite the violent and psychotic nature of the character.

There are many underlying themes present, and the film really drives home values such as friendship, loyalty, and trust. In a nutshell, Battle Royale is one of the most critically important foreign films of the last two decades, and delivers a knockout blow of violence and morality.

Rating: 4/5.
Verdict: The good.

Hana-Bi
Director/writer/actor

Kitano plays a police officer whose wife is dying from Cancer. In an effort to spend more time with her, he quits his job, and travels around the Japanese countryside with her. On top of this, his best friend gets shot whilst on the job, and gets put in a wheelchair for life, burdening him with guilt.

It is impossible to describe the surreal and captivating experience of watching Hana-Bi, but providing you’re open to such a complex blend of genres into one film, you’re assured to find a beautiful and bittersweet gem.

Hana-Bi is a brilliant encapsulation of Kitano’s style and ability, and is a perfect blend of drama, violence, love, and black comedy. Whether it be his masterful and artistic direction, his poetic and ingenious writing, or his career defining performance, Hana-Bi showcases Kitano’s talents perfectly. An absolute must see, and a severely underrated masterpiece.

Rating: 5/5.
Verdict: The good.

Hope you’ve enjoyed the reviews, and a brief highlight of one of today’s most prolific directors. I’ll have some more reviews up next week of American Graffiti, Four Lions, and whatever my girlfriend decides to get from Blockbuster.

James

Reviews: Shane, MASH, and Repo Men

An eclectic bunch of films to say the least. I've picked out what I believe to be a good mix, as I didn't want you all to think I was going soft with the handful of 5 star reviews I've recently given out.

In the coming weeks, I've officially decided on my first list, which will be posted soon, with another bunch of reviews dedicated one of my favourite directors/actors of all time, the irrepressible and ever cool, Takeshi Kitano. But for now, here's some more reviews.

Shane
Upon recently watching Pale Rider, I subsequently found out it was based upon Shane, which until then, I hadn't really heard of. I enjoyed Pale Rider albeit some poor acting and a slightly uneventful middle, so I was eager to watch the film Clint Eastwood had based his unofficial remake around.

The stranger coming into town is one of the most popular stories of all time, especially in the Western genre, and Shane is one of the most successful in accomplishing this to a high standard. The main character, Shane, roles into town and moves in with a family who warm up to him very quickly, as he takes on the local gang of bandits.

My favourite aspect of the film was the actual character of Shane. Everyone loves a good character, and when acted and created well, they make a film come alive. This is coupled with the relationships he shares with the other characters, particularly the son in the family, which make the film quite beautiful to watch, being able to manipulate the tension and excitement relatively easily.

Shane isn’t just a film for Western fans, and is far more accessible than most, due to its familiar but not stale plot, as well as a likable set of characters, and some stunning photography. Shane isn’t as good as some of the Leone greats, but is a very much underrated classic.

Rating: 4/5.
Verdict: The good.

MASH
I’ve heard a lot of things about MASH, but it doesn’t seem to have as much of a following in the UK as it does in the States. Based on a book, with a TV series that followed it, MASH is definitely one of the most successful American franchises of all time.

The film itself revolves around life in a US army hospital camp in Vietnam, and the arrival of two troublesome soldiers Hawkeye and Trapper. The film has a unique structure, in that you can tell it’s directly transferred from a book, and consists of several chapters. Unlike Tarantino, the chapters aren’t explicitly stated, but as a viewer you can tell they’re there. There is also no direct objective to the story, and it is instead comprised of bite size chunks of life.

The film is a bizarre American version of a Carry On film, but not quite as funny. Maybe it was a case of the film not aging well, but I felt it was disjointed and poorly put together. MASH is a film that belongs in the era it was set in, and does not transfer well to today. Interesting characters and structure, but disappointing.

Rating: 3/5.
Verdict: The average.

Repo Men
This is what happens when you let your girlfriend’s sister take charge of picking the films. I’d been called into work for the graveyard shift when I was supposed to be stopping over, and they all went for a trip down to Blockbuster to pick out a few films. Due to my absence, they very kindly offered to watch Repo Men the next night with me. I’d have been better off going back into work for 90 minutes.

The film didn’t start off to badly. Relatively intelligent discussion, what seemed to be an interesting protagonist, and a nice bloody scene that I don’t recommend watching with your dinner. Sadly the film goes downhill from here, and it becomes predictable, boring, and poor performances take over. This is not helped by the ending, which believe me will make you wish you hadn’t watched it. There are too many clichés to count, and the story is severely flawed, with little justification for the events that take place.

The only redeemable qualities are Forrest Whitaker, who puts on the best performance of the movie as a dedicated but stoic killer, and the elaborate locations and sets. If you want to see a good post modern film, give Children of Men a watch. Repo Men just doesn’t cut it.

Rating: 2/5.
Verdict: The bad.

That’s it for now, but more to follow soon.

Dean

Back to Business!

I can safely say this has been the busiest and most stressful few weeks of my life. Way too many things have gone wrong recently, but they’re starting to look up again now. I won’t go into all of them, but your laptop dying 3 days before a deadline date, taking one of your 3000 word essays with it, is not a situation I would advise getting yourself into.

On the flip side I doubt I’ll ever have motivation issues again.

But now it’s all over, I’ve got everything handed in, had a great night out with the Newcastle University English society, and only have one exam on June 1st to deal with. Result.

The coming week is going to see plenty of film watching, with a Godfather marathon planned (with subsequent reviews of all 3 films) planned for Wednesday, and a trip to the Tyneside Cinema to see a free screening of Run Lola Run.

I was going to review a bunch of films I watched a while ago, but so much stuff has passed through my head since then, I’m going to do a bunch of others instead. So yeah, sorry for all the delays, but everything is back on track now.

Dean

iCheckMovies.com

Gonna post some reviews later on tonight, but I though I'd just highlight the site I'm using to go through the various movie lists.

www.icheckmovies.com.

It's a great little site, and has all the essential lists you'll ever need, from IMDB, to Academy Award Winners, to Best at the Box Office, it's safe to say the coverage is pretty comprehensive. The site operates like a checklist, and you tick movies off as you go once you've created your free account. From there you can browse through the various lists, search by film, and interact with other users, which you can be matched to in accordance to film compatibility.

What's more is you get awarded with trophies for seeing a certain percentage of each list, ranging from bronze to platinum, giving you that extra feeling of satisfaction for reaching various milestones. The interface is very simple, and although it can run a little slow at times, for film geeks, it really is the ideal site.

Dean

All systems go.

I was hoping to have another bunch of reviews done by now, but I've been held up by English Language essays on metaphysics (don't ask), and last minute packing for the trip back up to Newcastle on Saturday. Bit crazy at the moment!

I'm aiming to have reviews for Benjamin Button, Rosemary's Baby, Prom Night, and Magnolia done by Sunday. Monday at the latest.

You might think it strange Prom Night is sitting comfortably between two cinematic masterpieces, but the only reasons I'm reviewing it are a) to make sure people avoid it like the plague, and b) I haven't decided yet, but it's been a very good week for movies, and everything is likely to get 5 stars, so I thought some variation might be nice.

So yeah - sorry for the delay!

Dean

Shutter Island, Harvey, The Grave of Fireflies, I Robot

Shutter Island

Martin Scorsese is one of the most consistently brilliant film makers ever. The majority of his previous films are considered classics, and he is heralded as 'the master of the mob movie'. This is why I was so anxious to see his latest epic, Shutter Island.

Moving away from the gangster genre, Shutter Island is a gripping thriller, revolving around two federal marshals (DiCaprio & Ruffalo) trying to track down an escaped mental patient from an isolated prison facility for the criminally insane. Needless to say it's not just as simple as that, and the story contains more than a few twists and turns along the way.

The plot is very intricate, with plenty of contingencies and detail, but also took me two viewings and a bit of reading to fully understand. It requires your full attention, and the ability to think back to various events in the past of DiCaprio's character in order to be fully appreciated. It could almost be described as a psychological jigsaw, and will stick in your mind long after the credits have rolled.

The film itself has an extremely well created foreboding atmosphere, helping to sustain the dark nature of the story. But in something that I have rarely seen as of late, this is maintained successfully from start to finish. From the opening scene of the island ferry emerging slowly from a thick aura of fog to the sound of its sombre horn, to the shot that closes the film, we are kept on the very edge of our seats in this surreal nightmare.

This film is not for everyone, and requires your undivided attention, but if you can sit it out, and process every bit of detail, the pay off can be very rewarding. With another good performance from DiCaprio, as well as great support from Ruffalo and Kingsley, this is definitely not one to be missed by film fans, and one of the best film plots we'll see this year.

Rating: 4/5.

Verdict: The good.

Harvey

I love James Stewart. I really do. I have yet to see a poor performance from him, and this may well be his most lovable and charming character to date yet. He plays the role of Elwood, a kindly and polite man with a taste for alcohol, who has an imaginary 6'3" white rabbit as a best friend. While this seems to inflict more trouble than good on the unsuspecting public and his hapless family, we are kept smiling throughout his various encounters, and the relationships he establishes.

In my opinion this is one of the finest, and light hearted comedies ever to grace the silver screen, and a bench mark for feel good films since. With a good story, great performances, and more laughs and smiles than you can count, I don't see how you could possibly want anything more from a comedy.

Rating: 4/5.

Verdict: The good.

The Grave of Fireflies

This is the most depressing film I have ever seen. That doesn't mean it's bad by any stretch of the imagination, but if you need cheering up, don't watch this - seriously. Revolving around the lives of Seita, and his younger sister Setsuko during the Japanese war, we see the hardships they endure, from death, to starvation, to destruction, and how their relationship grows stronger.

In comparison to other war films, which focus on the action war, this is much more poetic, and offers a refreshing and original change for those who appreciate love and beauty. While the film does have it's moments, it is almost exclusively based on the events outside the fighting. I doubt I will ever watch this film again, as I don't want to spoil its magic, but I highly recommend this to anyone who wants an insight into the harsh and sad realities of war.

Rating: 4/5.

Verdict: The good.

I, Robot

As far as blockbusters go, this is definitely one of the better ones we've seen in the last few years. With a good blend of sci-fi and action, a witty script and a good concept, this is an enjoyable and visual cinematic experience, which isn't meant to be taken too seriously. That being said, the film does touch up moral concepts and has a nice philosophical dimension to it, which is perhaps what sets it apart from the rest of the big budget explosion-fests.

However some elements do remain the same. Product placement. This film has lots of it. Audi and Converse are the main offenders, and there are still elements of the blockbuster with various bit of discomfited plot, and the fact the best performance of the film goes to the robot, with Will Smith comprising his usual role of Will Smith, not Del Spooner. But overall this is an enjoyable film, and provides an uplifting change from the usual Hollywood cannon fodder.

Rating: 4/5.

Verdict: The good.

So that's it. My first set of new reviews done. Hopefully they're better than previous attempts, and any feedback or disagreement (or agreement :]) would be appreciated it. As I've mentioned before as well, they all received a rating of 4, which may seem a little boring, but whilst I'm watching the IMDB top 250, expect more of the same. I'll try and mix it up though. Thanks for reading.

Dean

Back from the dead.

Don't you just hate it when you have absolutely nothing to do, and then all of a sudden you get avalanched with work? Well that's exactly what happened to me half way through my last semester, and the reason why my blog has been brutally neglected for the last 6 months.

But it has it's upsides too. Have you ever wrote something, forgot about it, found it a while later, and then thought 'this isn't as good as I thought it was?' Well that's kind of what happened here, so I've decided to pick it back up again, and start from fresh.

Instead of being awkward, and rating things out of 10 with decimals, I'm going to do it out of 5. Much simpler, and I won't get into arguments with myself as to whether something deserves at 7.7 or a 7.8. I'm also going to do a feature film for each blog post, and then 3 other films with a brief review as well. The verdict system is staying put though, and each will receive a verdict of either 'the good', 'the bad' or 'the average'.

As promised initially as well, I will be keeping tabs on how I'm getting along on with my quest to complete the IMDB top 250, and do a top 20 list each month on stuff like quotes, actors, directors etc.

So yeah, I'm back, and regular blogging has been resumed.

Dean

IMDB: 211/250.