Change Your Image
Barton-13
Reviews
Annie Hall (1977)
Hey don't knock masturbation,it's sex with someone I love
Woody Allen has admitted himself in interview that the films of his that the public most adore are the ones that he has been most happy with.Manhattan being one and Annie Hall the other.It's also worth mentioning that Woody refuses to watch his films after they have been completed, and so he has not seen a single frame of Annie Hall since 1977.If he did watch it he would more than likely love as much as we do.It's a sublimely funny dissection of relationships,coming complete with Woodys New York Jewish neuroses,the stammering intellectual that has become his most instantly recognisible routine.Bespectacled and suited,spouting stuttering pratfalls and lightning quick one-liners,Allen has that remarkable quality where it seems as if he is making up the dialogue on the spot.It seems there is no allowance for middle ground with Allen.You either love him unconditionally,reeling off lines of his at every possible moment,or you hate him with just as much passion, scared witless by the paranoid,wittering person he always seems to be.Annie Hall though,is his most accesible film,even to the unconverted,it has some priceless moments,like the annoying guy in the cinema line,spouting pseudo-intellectual philosophies,making Alvy wish for a sock filled with horse manure,and the scene where Alvy sneezes a plate full of cocaine onto the floor.Annie Hall is a deliciously funny film,but filled with Allens usual worries about life,the universe and above all ,black spots on x-rays.
Se7en (1995)
"whats in the box"
Se7en is a film that is gruesome without ever showing violence.It is disturbing without ever being psychological.It provides one of the best endings to a film without ever giving any evidence as to the conclusion.Andrew Kevin Walker delivers a script that is completely devoid of any kind of sentiment,which is at the same time a conforming buddy movie.Morgan Freeman delivers another performance that is so subtle you often forget that its only 'acting'.He is so disaffected by the horrors he sees,a parallel with Brad Pitt,a wet-behind-the-ears rookie(though he'd be loathe to admit it)who is so repulsed by the travesties the two men encounter,that his life is destroyed by his inability to cope with it.Se7en rarely shows graphic violence,instead we are treated to the scenes that follow,the bloody messes and repulsively realistic cadavers-but it still leaves a trace of bile in your throat,and a hollow feeling in your stomach that stays with you for a few days.Andrew Kevin Walker though,is surely messed in the head,for only a mentalist could dream up such horiffic ways to go as to be force-fed spaghetti till you burst,or to be f***ed by a guy with a huge knife on his Johnson.The climax of the film is the high point,both unexpected and perfectly suited to wiping away the confident feeling of resolution that Somerset and Mills had gained,With Kevin Spacey delivering a short performance that pretty much burns a hole in the screen,his cool,restrained psychosis perfectly suited to a killer who would go to such lengths as slicing off the ends of his fingers to avoid leaving fingerprints,and Spacey delivers his lines with such icy assuredness,that his performance,though he only has about ten minutes screen time,is the part that everybody remembers.David Fincher's direction is stylistic and atmospheric,every scene is played out in darkness,except for the scenes with Gwyneth Paltrow,who is the source of light for both men,as they are increasingly drawn into the back alley worlds of darkness.
Clerks (1994)
Kevin Smiths starter for ten.
Mallrats was good.The only problem was that everytime you saw it,it got less funny.Clerks on the other hand, stands up fantastically well to repeat viewings.The writing is glorious,being both intelligent and hilarious,the situations swing from realistic to completely absurd,and despite being made on a hamstring budget(so much so that black and white was a necessity-not a choice)it looks great. Smiths character work is perhaps his forte.While they never really seem to have much depth to them(the films revolve around one key issue-usually a relationship crisis)he makes them innately lovable.(think Mallrats's Brodie,or Chasing Amy's Banky-Jason Lee- A God) The situations that Dante is forced to endure(the egg guy and the chewlies gum guy)are ingenious.The slick patois between Dante and Randle is ingenious,its achingly funny while also wickedly intelligent.(it also gets the point across)Clerks never goes so far as to be unrealistic,staying just this side of the fence of credibility.Even the underdeveloped female characters are well written,and although they are little seen,they form the basis for the story,around which all the other s**t revolves. A special mention for Jay and Silent Bob,for while they are hardly difficult roles to portray,it shows just exactly why Jason Mewes is more at home behind the counter of Smiths comic shop than in front of the camera.Despite being very funny(he's given some cracking dialogue by his friend)the amount of times he stutters and stumbles over his lines is laughable.Still,credit where its due,Mewes does improve vastly over the course of Smiths next films,and by the time of Dogma,(where he's given a lot more to do)his comic talents are impressively honed. Clerks is moving proof of what can be achieved without huge studio backing,acres of custom built sets and huge superstars with inflated ego's(and even bigger cheques to sign.)It is intelligently written, and downright hilarious.Just a shame Mallrats couldnt be as good.
Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Johnny Depp in a Tim Burton film ? You're kidding !
There are few directors in Hollywood that exist entirely(and can translate to the screen)their own private world.Terry Gilliam can do it,and Tim Burton can do't.For ten years burton has been delivering some of the most visually outstanding movies ever created.The majority of them appeal to a darker sensitivity,(Batman,Edward Scissorhands)and while he has never made a truly adults-only film,only Pee-wee Hermans Big Adventure is one specifically "for the kids". Sleepy Hollow is Burtons most beautiful film,and the best looking horror film ever made.Burtons palette is restricted to greyscales and earth tones,and the village of Sleepy Hollow seems to be in perpetual darkness,no matter what the time of day.This dreary creation gives maximum effect to the only harsh colour Burton allows himself--blood red.The death scenes are incredibly extravagant(with Darth Maul standing in for a brilliantly growly,pointy-toothed Christopher Walken in the fight scenes)and while the blood looks very real,and the violence is at times repulsive(see the nasty old witch slicing off a bats head)but it is never really scary,the violence and gore is not explicit,its more cartoon horror than anything else. The casting of Sleepy Hollow is indeed genius.While the background is mostly fleshed out by British stalwarts(Richard Griffiths,Ian McDiarmid,Miranda Richardson)who show little depth,portraying their characters as cariacatures,18th century stereotypes,the two leads are exemplary.Tim Burtons joined-at-the-hip alter ego Johnny Depp brilliantly portrays himself as the cop with inner conflicts,slowly becoming more aware of himself(through a series of misty flashbacks)and his past,and seemingly growing in his obsession to defeat the headless horseman as a way of exorcising his personal demons.Christina Ricci is the scariest looking starlet in America,and perfectly plays what is essentially a dual role-the love interest spilling out of her corset,and the mysterious young girl with a hint of witch to her.A fleeting appearance from one Christopher Lee reinforces the feel that this is a modern day Hammer film(albeit one with a whopping Hollywood budget)and one that despite the rolling heads and the sight of Casper Van Dien donating a little more blood than can be healthy for him(Its no more than he deserves-have you seen Starship Troopers ?)its one that kids shouldnt be denied.Spending a couple of hours on Tim Burtons planet can not be bad for anyone.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
Gilliam.Pure and unadulterated.
Fear and loathing in Las Vegas is a film that only Terry Gilliam could have made.I dont think another director exists with his visual prowess.He has created some of the best looking movies of the last couple of decades,from his terrifying look at New York,a vision of the city that would send Woody Allen catatonic in The Fisher King,to the almost incomprehensible madness in Twelve Monkeys.Now with Fear and Loathing,he takes Johnny Depp on a bender,and all of us along for the ride.Depps acid flashbacks are perfect foil for Gilliams spectacularly distorted view of the world-drugs are indeed a surrealists dream.Depp and Benicio Del Toro,a character we are never properly introduced to,are both fantastic as the drug addled journalists,and the film as a document of Hunter Thompsons visit to Vegas,is both utterly hilarious and ultimately,harrowing.Fear and Loathing is a two hour mind trip,and virtually everything about it blows you away-its like a ticket into a world most of us have not experienced(at least,not us British)and the opportunity to look at Vegas through a junkies point of view is one that should not be passed up on.The best moments in the film come in Gilliams visions of acid flashbacks(something you feel he must have experienced himself to show so perfectly)not only do they look brilliant,but they come complete with hilarious one liners(witness the carousel bar scene,where Depp remarks that he can see "Two women F**king a polar bear")moments like this are heavily sown into Fear and Loathing and come along all the time,and concretes Gilliams reputation as the most outlandish director in Hollywood.
The Big Lebowski (1998)
This aggression will not stand,man
The general consensus is that the Coens best film was Fargo,but they have never been funnier than here,displaying the simple pleasures of doing nothing.Jeff Bridges is The Dude,a bowler who somehow finds himself mixed up with a kidnapping and a toe-a problem he would have dealt with competently had he not had "help" from ex-nam veteran John Goodman,a bowling obsessive who demonstrates to The Dude exactly what happens when "a stranger f*cks you in the ass".The film comes complete with the funniest,drug addled dream sequences you'll ever see,and the requisite sparkling Coen dialogue is there,all the way through the film.Slapstick comedy is mixed with violence,and it never slows down,sustaining the laughs for over two hours.No Coen film would be complete without tragedy though,and it comes with the departure of Donnie,the downtrodden sidekick who barely gets a word in when surrounded by the unflappable Dude and the volatile Walter.Lebowski beat the record previously held by Goodfellas for most "F" words,and you could hardly watch it with your mother,but as a film for the guys(who are'nt interested in Bruckheimer testosterone)it is unbeatable,Coen magic,their best so far,but do they have to use so many cuss words ?
The Matrix (1999)
Brains.Lots of brains.
Keanu Reeves is one of two people,either a model who can remember lines,(despite being unable to speak them convincingly)cast merely for decoration,nothing more than a pretty trained android,interested more in touring with his thrash-band than being a serious actor.OR.One of the finest actors of the decade,merely unfortunate in his continued casting in roles that seem to be himself,thinly veiled,a Woody Allen for the youngsters.The Matrix sees Reeves emerge from the fargo of his last two efforts(Chain Reaction and The Devils Advocate)relatively unscathed,with his lead role in the Wachowskis sophomore effort,this ingenious piece,that is,in its simplest form,an entertaining slice of sci-fi,full of big explosions,big fights,girls(and guys)in leather and revolutionary camera techniques.Probe beneath the surface though,and The Matrix becomes a deeply philosophical film exploring the nature of reality.That the entire world has been constructed to shelter us from the real world,a black,horrific nightmare of an existence(if thats what it can be called)is a high concept,and without the sagely Morpheus alongside to guide us through the confusing first 45 minutes,the plot machinations would surely become too heavy for all but the most astute of filmgoers.Yes,the big explosions(helicopters smashing into skyscrapers)big gun fights and gymnastic fisticuffs are all present and correct,but The Matrix is so much more than that,more than just another shoot-em-up movie.The Wachowskis obviously wanted cool to be of the essence,with virtually the entire cast sporting shades for the whole film(kinda like John Belushi in The Blues Brothers)and with Keanu Reeves on hand to provide the lust aspect(for the ladies)and the not entirely repulsive Carrie-Ann Moss for the guys to ogle,it works very well.The acting is top-notch,but is really inconsequential to the slo-mo karate in Laurence Fishburnes virtual reality dojo,and the climactic shoot out in the hotel lobby.The Matrix is a high concept piece of movie-making,but one that succeeds,in true action style.As Keanu so eloquently puts it:Woah!
Johns (1996)
worth a rental
Chances are if you're reading this,that you've seen the film.Therefore you will know that it is not a movie about toilets.It's not a film that you stumble across,its one that gets recommended to you by a mate. Obviously a mate with good taste.It has a number of things to recommend it,including an early performance from Arquette,which is very good,a directorial debut from the soon-to-be-massive Silver,and Elliot Gould being gay.If you like that kind of thing.Johns is not a pleasant film,it does not re-affirm your faith,but then why should a film about homeless L.A male prostitutes be life affirming ? At times it shocks(Arquette with a condom round his mouth,ready to earn his breakfast)and is commonly unpleasant,but it still finds room for a sensitive humour,particuarly the deranged ramblings of fellow hooker Eli.John has a dream,to spend the first night of his 21st life in a local hotel,and while this dream may seem within easy grasp for the rest of us,for a homeless gigolo,it means putting himself through potentially dangerous situations with his clientele. Watch Johns if you can find a copy,its the one that got away.
Jaws (1975)
I'm gonna need a bigger TV
Unfortunately, I am too young to have ever seen Jaws at the cinema. But people who have have assured me that the experience ranks alongside Star Wars or 2001. I have since watched it on a big TV and I have to tell you, the waves become stronger, the soundtrack becomes more ominous and Quint getting bitten in half becomes more horrific. I could almost smell the sea-salt in the room. Its no surprise that this film scared half of New York city witless in the summer of '75, its such a thrill.
Jaws was really the first summer blockbuster, kicking off a trend that is still present today. A film that reminds us of the terrors of the unknown, the fear of an untamed, unleashed primeval force, capable of destroying a whole community. Amity will surely never recover (not for three sequels anyway) from the arrival of a twenty-five foot rubber shark. The fact that the shark itself is so fake looking is immaterial, the abscence of large fish merely heightens the terrible suspense felt.
The performances from the three male leads is exemplary, Scheider, as the hard-bitten New York cop no longer used to dealing with such hysteria that envelopes his peaceful coastal resort,plays Martin Brody close to his chest, calm and regulated until his fear of the sea (and a big fish) overpowers him and he loses it aboard the Orca.
Dreyfuss brings the essential touch of humour to the proceedings, and I doubt that without his smart observations and comical mimicry of Quint that the movie would have been so successful with the younger audience, who would have seen only a shark eating people. And Robert Shaw as Quint, salty sea-dog supreme, a master fisherman, confident in his ability to land the great white. Jaws taps into your irrational fears and brings them to the surface, it dives into your subconscious and makes you realise fears you never even knew you had. Spielbergs relentlessly uncomforting direction will leave you distressed in the ocean the same as Fat Alfred made you disturbed in the shower.
8MM (1999)
Dont get your hopes up.
In the past five years,Nicolas Cage has stabbed John Travolta with a spear,flashed his willy in Meg Ryans shower and drank whiskey off Elisabeth Shues knockers. He has no idea of what convention is,and has made a career out of trashing taboos.So it hardly comes as a surprise that Cage took on this part.For a movie about snuff films-there is relatively little that shocks.The eponymous reel of celluloid contains nothing more than a washed-out flickery murder,that is supposed to be stomach churning.It is not. Cage gives a typically restrained performance as Tom Welles,and is really very good,but the movie lacks the bite that was promised.Its not due to the script,which resonates with standard violence and at times dark humour,maybe instead its down to the direction of Schumacher which is mature enough,but still has a penchant for flair without style,(speeding cars,flaming corpses and lots of knifes)that really destroys the atmosphere that had been created.While its an eternity away from Batman and Robin,for such a black film,its far too colourful. 8MM really falls down with its conclusion,once the truth about the film has been revealed,it loses its direction,and Cage takes on an avenging angel role,hunting down the perpetrators in a series of not-very interesting stalk scenes,complete with requisite dark houses and eerie sound effects,which while effective,its not really the right ending for a movie about snuff.Sevens ending delivered a real shock to the system that left you disturbed.8MM sets out to disturb,and the only ending it can muster is a scooby-doo mask revealing revelation,in which a WCW throwback is unearthed as being no less normal looking than the guy that cuts your hair.
The Exorcist (1973)
A film you wont forget in a hurry.
Re-Releasing films is always a risk for studios.It is impossible for them to gauge the potential success,or potential disaster.Re-Releasing a film banned in Britain for 25 years,and seen only by people lucky enough to be cinema-going in 1973,is a highly dangerous exercise,though one to be praised by the censors. The Exorcist no longer carries the lure of forbidden spice.An official release guarantees it the loss of the thrill,the new generation that are being introduced to it simply do not get it,viewing only on the surface,not realising that its not the fact that a twelve year old girl is capable of masturbating with a crucifix,its WHY she does it that is truly disturbing.The acting in The Exorcist is above and beyond the call of duty for a horror film,with Ellen Burstyn dazzling as the loving mother suffering so much.Desperate,frightened and helpless.Max Von Sydow adds a deft touch of reality and gravitas,and Linda Blair as the child Regan starts her descent with great subtlety.The trick with The Exorcist is the air of realism that surrounds it,and while the special effects have dated somewhat(pea soup)it is what they symbolise that is important.While The Exorcist is no longer considered to be evil,more than just a movie,there are images that disturb(Regan getting a spinal tap for instance)and if you watch it carefully enough,you'll never forget it.
The Sixth Sense (1999)
pfh,who didnt see that one coming ?
The Sixth Sense heralds the arrival of a major new acting talent in the realm of movies,giving an astounding acting debut.Which is strange because he's been around since the end of the 70's.He had a famous wife.You might have heard of him.His name is Bruce. The Sixth Sense is another horror benchmark horror film.While all of the recent post-modern slasher flicks are only interested in scaring its audience,(as well as being witty and having beautiful people chased by psychopaths)this concerns itself with emoting feelings from its viewers.There are scenes(mainly between mother and child)that are genuinely emotional.The Sixth Senses reputation has so far built around the twist at the end.While it is well crafted,depending on how intensely you are watching it,you may(like me and many of my mates)guess it before it comes along. The Sixth Sense is a horror film,delivering moments of subtle creepiness,cringing nastiness(Cole locked in the attic room)but the scariest thing about the film is how good an actor Haley Joel Osment is.The best child actor since Macauley Culkin
gives the best child performance since Anna Paquin in "The Piano".Paquin got an Oscar for her eforts,Osment deserves one.As does Willis for his touching,layered performance as the child shrink unable to forget his past.The fact that The Sixth Sense works is testament to the talent of Bruce Willis,lets hope he can keep up the acting trend,and can continue to survive without the safety nets of big guns,string vests and Alan Rickman.
Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)
Your'e a handsome devil, whats your name ?
A comedy about a hitman may not be the most politically correct of themes, Grosse Pointe Blank is carried out with such style that it works. John Cusack as ubercool assassin Martin Q Blank is brilliant, getting the mix between confused killer and vulnerable human just right.
John Cusack had a hand in writing this, and on reflection, he should probably put pen to paper more often, for Grosse Pointe offers dialogue that Tarantino or Smith would be proud of. The performances are wonderful, and while Cusack, Driver and Ackroyd are brilliant, the support holds its own very competently. Blanks relationship with his shrink Alan Arkin is a high point, and Jeremy Pivens hi-energy performance as Blanks old best friend is very funny.
The films soundtrack is another star. The 80's soundtrack compliments the action perfectly, and blowing up a ulti-mart to "Ace of Spades" is inspired. While its difficult to spot a morale in Grosse Pointe (Your'e too busy enjoying yourself to look that deep) there is one there. Blank was worried about returning to his old home town, frightened that his profession would leave him outside, unable to communicate with his old friends. But from the people he encounters and their reaction to what he does (oh, do you get dental with that ?) he realises that being a professional hitman in this town is no stranger than being a car salesman or an estate agent. Its not what you do, its what you are.
The Shining (1980)
Heeeeeeres Stanley
It would take a 200-page novel to fully explain everything explored in Kubricks The Shining.It would take more than 1000 words to give high enough praise to Jack Nicholson for managing to give a performance that is at once incredibly horrific,and at the same time,darkly comic.Nicholson portrays Jack Torrances slide into madness vey subtly,giving us only clues to the approaching insanity that will lead us through room 237,dead black chefs and doorways in desperate need of carpentry work. Kubrick allows the film to start off excruciatingly slowly,and we get to know the hotel as almost human before it starts to exert itself on the mind of its inhabitants.The cop-out that The Overlook was built-on-an-indian-burial-ground is merely an excuse for the viewer not insightful enough to see the true reason for Torrances decline:isolation,and the paranoia it creates.While Danny can see the past and the future,there is nothing really supernatural going on at the hotel,merely psychological. The film supports the theory that all of Kubricks work is devoid of emotion,there is no happy ending,no moments of tenderness,no fleeting declarations of love,but why should there be ? This is a horror film after all,with all the requisite features:decapitated children,waves of blood,naked women and an axe murderer.What more can you ask.And its all masterfully portrayed by Grandfather Kubrick.
Chasing Amy (1997)
is this mainstream ?
Q: Who writes the best movie dialogue at the moment ?
Its a difficult question to answer,but in all conversations regarding it,Kevin Smiths name would be impossible to ignore. The delightful rapport(particuarly between Affleck and Lee)is the highlight of Smiths most mainstream movie.While Chasing Amy will never find a huge audience,it has risen from the near obscurity of its ancestors(Clerks and Mallrats)and is Smiths most sensitive picture to date(I get the feeling that Dogma will not continue this trend)with good performances all round.The fact that Affleck can actually lend depth to a Smith character is testamount to his talent,Adams kisses a woman(need I say more ?)and Lee reprises his role as the funniest man on earth.Possibly the best scene of the movie,though comes in the shape of Jay and Silent Bob,characters of pure genius.You get the feeling from watching Smiths movies that he didnt intend them to be analysed,but when its as good as this,how can we resist ?
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)
"Sequels are,by definition alone,inferior movies".
While Powers 2 is inferior to the original(IMOM will go down as a Komedy Klassic,this will not)it still is very funny. While its almost like admitting to be an immature juvenile to laugh out loud at it,Myers is so charming that after a while you just dont care.Dr Evil is one of the most inspired(literally)characters ever,and face-achingly funny.His scenes with Mini-me(in an underwritten role)are near-perfect,and the scene in which Myers serenades his miniature replica is just one of those moments. While Austin is brilliantly played,(with as much subtlety as a slegehammer)it is Evil who steals the film(remember his post-coital scene with Frau Farbissina ?)and Myers overshadows the hero with the villain. Heather Graham manages to be both wood-inducingly sexy,and while not as overt as her co-stars,is pleasingly funny. Seth Green reprises his role as Scott,Evils wonderfully dysfunctional son,and while the scenes with his dad lack some of the bite they did in the original,Green(and his hair)is still very good. In short,Powers 2 is a guilty pleasure.Excessive use of the word "shag",jokes surrounding Powers drinking from a cup of,well s**t,and a midget being thrown into a metal pole all combine to form a brilliant mother-disgusting movie.
Swimming with Sharks (1994)
Sweet'n low is pink,Equal is blue.Get it ?
I dont often resort to writing just in block capitals to emphasise my point,but BUDDY ACKERMAN IS THE ROLE KEVIN SPACEY WAS BORN TO PLAY.A while ago Empire elected Spacey as the best actor of the 90's.I was uncomfortable with this.(I mean surely they'd overlooked Casper Van Dien)When I read that article I had not seen swimming with sharks.Spacey gives one of the most hurtfully truthful performances I have ever seen,reducing his assistant to a crazy. His continually obscene and degrading taunts of Frank Whaley are sublime,and while they can be funny(If you were in my toilet bowl,I wouldnt bother flushing you)its worth taking a second to wonder just how much of this poor Guy can take,and whether the fact that he turns to revenge is a surprise. Now I'm not saying that cutting Kevin Spaceys tongue open with a sheet of paper is justifiable,but Ackerman should really have seen it coming. While the scathing dialogue is inch-perfect,and Spaceys portrayal is Oscar worthy-the highpoints of the film being his confrontations with his downtrodden assistant-the support is capable of holding their own against Spacey and Whaley.Benicio Del Toro(despite the fact that he only has about five minutes screen time)leaves an impression,and Dawn-Guys girlfriend,the only good thing in his life,and inevitably the catalyst for the shock ending to rival "Seven" and "The Usual suspects"(both starring Spacey-coincidence ?)is both sweet and harsh. "Swimming With Sharks" is the best film you never saw,so go get it.now.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
DAN WAS HERE
I would be hard pressed to name my favourite film of all time.I'd find it difficult to name my top five films of all time. But any discussion on the topic(at least one conducted by people with an ounce of sense)would surely include this film. Two-and-a-half hours of intelligent moviemaking pass in a instant,and not once does it let you lose interest,be it because your'e laughing at a bunch of prisoners sitting drinking beer paid for by a hard-ass warden,or crying at Andy Dufresne getting raped by a big bull queer. The film is at times harsh and unforgiving,(the nameless inmate getting beaten to death comes at you virtualy straight away)but the over riding feeling is that of hope."Hope is a good thing,maybe the best of things".That sentence will appear on every trailer,poster and teaser that you'll ever see for Shawshank,because its the whole damn point.Hope is what makes us free,what drives us to carry on.I dont want to get too philosophical,but "The Shawshank Redemption"is poetry on celluloid,a more majestic piece of moviemaking doesnt exist outside of David Lean. The fact that Tim Robbins And Morgan Freeman were denied Oscars is scandalous,as I doubt that Robbins will ever give a performance as good as this one again(except for Cadillac Man,hes never been better)and Freeman proves once again that age leads to experience,and damn fine acting. "The Shawshank Redemption" finally gives me the oppurtunity to use the word "poignant"in a review,so I'll do so. Poignant.Indeed.
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
If you go down in the woods today.
Its not very often that a movie renders me speechless. Its not very often that a film forces me to leave the landing light on when I go to bed. Its not very often that a film with as much hype and circulation as this one received lives up to it. In,short,its not very often that a film like The Blair Witch Project comes along. I have no intention of spoiling it for you so read on. Wonderfully avoiding the slasher movie requisite gore,and sidestepping the in cheek tomfoolery of the post-modern irony showcases that have sprung up,(mostly from the pen of Kevin Williamson)The Blair Witch Project delivers its finest shocks by creeping up on you unawares and whispering in your ear,delivering images that stay with you days after the movies finished. The fact that the three actors(documentary-makers)really were sent into the Burkitsville woods with no script,no directorial tuition,and dwindling food rations every day,with no idea what was going to happen to them,only heightens your fear of the dark after viewing,because their fear is real,their growing paranoia real,their fumbling-in the-dark-for-the-sleeping-bag-zipper is real. The Blair Witch project is a shattering movie,but one that,unfortunately will probably disappear as quickly as it leapt into the spotlight,its downfall will be the fact that people just arent affected by films as much as they used to be,they just dont care.
Goodfellas (1990)
"Finest Ganster movie ever made"
Joe Pesci's incredibly terrifying psychopath.Tommy De Vitos relentless intimidation elevated pub quotation games to new heights.Scorsese's Goodfellas is possibly the finest gangster movie ever made. Liotta puts across just enough charm to make him the anti-hero for the early 90's. De Niro gives one of the most menacing performances of his career, and Lorraine Bracco wonderfully contradicts the downtrodden, housebound view of the gangsters moll that we have come to accept, her vendetta against her husbands girlfriend a joy. The steadicam shot is often regarded as the high point of the movie, but for its entire two-and-a-half-hour running time, moments like that come along all the time, the whole film a visual feast. The trick with Goodfellas is its searing honesty, Scorsese shys away from nothing, showing graphic violence in all of its beautiful brutality, and switching the upbeat, often lighthearted first half of the movie with the coke-induced paranoia of the second act is masterfully done. The dialogue is superb, supplying film buffs with line after line to quote to unenlightened friends and relatives, and,just in case you wanted to know-the "F" word is used 246 times.
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
a destructive comedy,or a mortifying tragedy ? Or both ?
Kubricks finest(in my opinion) is a funny fish.The first hour is a comedy,all be it one that you're ashamed to laugh at.The gunnery sargeants endless humiliation of Private Pyle is sickeningly hilarious,and like Kubricks "The Shining" you often find you have to berate yourself for chuckling. But how can the first half,littered with Hartmans beautifully obscene taunts(I bet you could suck a golf ball through a hose pipe)be part of the same film that contains such a horiffic depiction of the Vietnam war,old pals being separated by a snipers bullet ? From the first scene with the unknowing privates being inducted to living hell,to some of the same men trooping across a blood drenched wasteland,singing(bizarrely)the theme to the mickey mouse club,the film refuses to let go. True,its a film of two halves,but neither is inferior.