Eye of the tiger

Rocky (1976)

Sylvetser Stallone wrote and stars in this boxing movie made on a small budget and shot in only 28 days that went on to pick up three Oscars as well as spawning five sequels. Rocky is a down on his luck bum that failed as a boxer and collects debts for organised crime when he gets a lucky shot against the heavy weight champion of the world.

While this is mainly known as a boxing film it is mostly about Rocky trying to climb out of the gutter and make something of his meager existence. The plot is a little silly but was inspired by the Ali vs Wepner fight in which an unranked challenger got to fight the current champion. As you might expect from a sports movie and the set up the plot is a little cheesy but not excessively so, this has allowed the film to become one of the definitive of it's genre.

4/5 one of the best of the obvious.

Eventful?

Event Horizon (1997)

Laurence Fishburne and Sam Neill star in this British made sci-fi horror film directed by Paul W. S. Anderson. A rescue crew is sent out to investigate the return of a previously missing experimental ship in space.

This is nominally a sci-fi film as it happens in space and involves space ships but really this is a standard horror film and follows much the pattern you would expect while forwarding the luddite “do not mess with technology you do not understand” message. There are some eerie visuals and dark scenes but despite being fairly well made and with a good cast there is little to elevate this film above it's average plot and subject matter.

3/5 standard space horror.

Little ships

Dunkirk (1958)

We get to see two of the titans of British cinema in this film with Sir John Mills and Sir Richard Attenborough staring as a soldier and civilian respectively, although they share little screen time together. The British expeditionary force is in disarray as France and the low countries fall to the German onslaught in 1940.

Without the sugar coating of some films about World War 2 this film manages to capture the spirit of the times on both sides of the Channel, soldiers attempt to make it home through the chaos and civilians rally round to recover the British Army from the continent. While the failure of the Germans to put pressure on the pocket of British troops around Dunkirk is not covered the film does not stray from history and is a well made effort.

4/5 covers an important part of British military history accurately and entertainingly.

Yesterday's man of tomorrow

Superman (1978)

Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman are the big name support actors on show here as Christopher Reeve stars as the man of steel. Conceived as a two part film project this first part tells the origin of Superman and his initial appearance as a super hero.

Superman is not my favourite comic book hero and in fact he is one of my least favourite, firstly there is the is the problem of his origins as a golden era character leaving him as a fairly one dimensional character at times. There is also the Tarantino question to consider, what does the Clark Kent's persona say about the way that Superman views humanity?

While this is the first part of a two part project when looking at the film on it's own the plot does take a long time to get going. Building up the back story of Superman and adding in Christian metaphors mean it is nearly an hour before we actually see an adult Superman and the actual Lex Luthor caper in the the film feels like it is tacked on the end. Compared to the modern glut of super hero films we have this film does not always show up favourably but is still a good watch, effects that at the time were very impressive are still good but are diminished compared to modern achievements.

4/5 a good start if you remember it is just the first part, if viewing on it's on then it is a weaker film.

Sibling similarities

Brothers (2009)

Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal and Natalie Portman star in this remake of an original Danish film. One brother comes out of jail as another goes to war in Afghanistan leaving behind his wife and young daughters.

While the plot of this film is not especially surprising or original the film is well made, avoiding being overly melodramatic and clichéd. It is interesting to see how the two brothers deal with their differing guilt and how it affects their relationship with others. There are good performances from the cast as you would expect although I still have some trouble seeing Maguire as anything other than a whiny teenage Spiderman.

4/5 a solid effort if not especially remarkable.

Not a straight arrow

Robin Hood (2010)

Ridley Scott directs Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett in this story involving the classic characters Robin Hood and Maid Marian. Departing largely from what you might expect of a Robin Hood film this film could more appropriately have been titled “Robin Hood and the Magna Carter”.

There are enough Robin Hood films knocking about that a departure from the expected plot is not necessarily a bad thing but in this instance I do not think it works especially well. Far too much of the film seems to be taken up by political manoeuvrings and the action set pieces are fairly bland, which is criticism that could apply to the whole film. The characters and events do no feel particularly engaging for the viewer while history is messed about in an effort to create what comes across as an origins story.

3/5 watchable but not worth seeking out.

Dated?

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960)

Albert Finney stars as the angry young man in this adaptation of a novel of the same name. Working all week in a boring factory job the main character spends his time at the weekends boozing and womanising.

The film is mainly about what happens when the protagonists life style catches up with him and serves somewhat as a coming of age tale as there are signs that he has matured and is ready to move on by the end of the film. Despite being over fifty years old now this film is still very relevant today and the situation the protagonist finds himself in is not that different to what many young people experience today.

4/5 a well made effort that is still worth watching today.

A killer comedy?

Keeping Mum (2005)

Kristin Scott Thomas, Rowan Atkinson and Maggie Smith star in this British black comedy. A new housekeeper turns up to solve the problems of a vicars family in a small English village, she has some unusual methods that mostly involve murder.

While black comedies are not always known for being laugh a minute stuff the comedy in this film is at best sparing. Rowan Atkinson is one of best physical comedians this country has produced and he is woeful underused here. Despite being a fairly weak comedy and plot this is not a bad film but does suffer from doing nothing remarkably.

3/5 a bit of a let down given the cast involved.

Wooden

September (1987)

Woody Allen directs a straight up drama staring two of his usual collaborators Mia Farrow and Dianne Wiest. It took two attempts to get this film made, it was filmed then rewritten, recast and reshot before being released.

The plot of the film is fairly simple, Denholm Elliot wants to be with Mia Farrow who wants to be with Sam Waterson who wants to be with Diane Wiest who is married and does not want to upset her good friend Mia Farrow. Basically a bunch of supposedly intelligent people whine about the person they want ignoring them and when finally there is a confrontation everyone goes back to how they were and nothing really changes. The film is meant to be like a play and would probably have faired better on the stage as cinematically it is as uninteresting as it's plot.

2/5 even big Woody Allen fans will probably want to skip this one.

Overlord

Ike: Countdown to D-Day (2004)

Tom Selleck stars without a moustache as Dwight Eisenhower, supreme commander of the allied forces poised to invade mainland Europe in this TV movie. While the English channel is not that wide planning to get 2 million men into occupied Europe was a massive achievement and it is easy to see why someone would want to make a film about the man behind it all.

There are two ways that the film makers could have gone with this project, the first is dealing with the nuts and bolts of planning an executing the most complex military operation ever but just a few key events are touched on. The other way to focus a film would be on the men behind the operation and their characters however this is a poor character study as no mention is made of the close relationship or affair Ike had with a female member of his staff. All in all there is nothing in this film that you could not have picked up without a rudimentary knowledge of history and no insights provided into those behind the events.

2/5 a real lightweight effort.

Making a noise

All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

Based on the German novel of the same name this American adaptation won both best director and best film awards at the Oscars. Some German boys in a class are talked into signing up to fight in the First World War by their teacher and go off to find that life on the front lines is not all they were lead to believe.

This is the original and archetypal anti war film and it really does stand the test of time. While this film was now made 80 years ago the production quality still holds up and the battle sequences are especially impressive given the way modern film makers rely on the crutch of CGI. It is refreshing to see the story told from a German point of view and the plot is much as you would expect, soldiers let down by poor leadership in a pointless war. Some of the acting is a bit hammy for modern standards but is not to such levels that it damages the film.

4/5 a very good first world war film.

Fake

S1m0ne (2002)

Andrew Niccol directs Al Pacino in his second film as a director and the third film he wrote. Tired of working with actors that have silly demands a director uses a digitally created actress that everyone else thinks is a real person.

Compared with Niccol's excellent previous films this effort does come up short but only by the high standards previously set. The characters are not especially engaging, Pacino as the director who ends up hating his creation seems very hard to relate to in what should have been an interesting part. While the film is weak it is not really bad and tells a fairly good story that is well enough made.

3/5 not bad but not worth seeking out either.

Not so childish

Kick Ass (2010)

Matthew Vaughn directs this adaptation of Mark Millar's original comic which features a mainly young cast supported by Nicolas Cage. There are no super heroes but a teenage boy without any powers decides to give being a masked crime fighter a go as too many people allow crimes to be committed without helping the victims.

The first original comic from Millar that was adapted for the screen was Wanted (2008), while Millar has a really interesting and dark take on super heroes and the comic book genre the adaptation of Wanted was an adaptation in name only and the kind of thing that would drive Alan Moore up the wall. Thankfully this film does a massively better job of retaining the dark and cynical world view. Despite the dark elements the film is great fun and is very funny in places, over all it is a very polished effort.

I do have two problems with the film, the first is that the first half or so of the film does spend a little too long getting the plot set up before we get into the action packed finale third. The larger problem I have is with the main characters love interest who seems to have been changed to allow a happier ending and this in part is not really in keeping with the rest of the film but also makes her character fairly unbelievable.

4/5 a really entertaining film with a dark side.

Show trial

Paths of Glory (1957)

Stanley Kubrick directs Kirk Douglas in this anti war film set in WW1. An attack by a French division fails and the general blames the cowardice of his troops, to punish the troops men are selected at “random” to be executed for the failings of the whole division.

The main bulk of the film deals with Douglas acting as the defence for the soldiers charged with cowardice trying to save them from execution. While superficially the men are being punished for the cowardice of the whole division in reality they are being punished for the poor leadership of the general and this seems to be the main point how the failure of those in power results in hardship for those below them while the general largely gets away unscathed. There is not much more to say about this film other than it is well made if not remarkably so.

4/5 a good early Kubrick effort.

Organised crimes

Road to Perdition (2002)

Tom Hanks, Jude Law and Paul Newman (in one of his final roles) star in this film based on a graphic novel which was inspired by a manga series. Tom Hanks works for the mob as a hit man and enforcer but when his son witnesses a murder they end up on the run from the mob and seeking revenge.

This is the second film directed by Sam Mendes and the direction and cinematography here are amazing, the atmosphere and tone of the film are excellent through out. The plot is simplistic but draws you in and the themes of the consequences of a violent life or violence in general and fathers and sons runs well through out. How the relationships between the main characters is set up works really well to reflect and contrast on each other.

5/5 a must see!

Putting the laughter in slaughter

Clue (1985)

Tim Curry stars in this film inspired by the board game Clue or Cluedo as it is known in the UK. A dinner party is held in a big house for a number of people that have been invited anonymously and murders ensue.

In general board games do not make for obvious inspiration for films but this film works really well thanks to the great performance of Tim Curry as the butler and the script that includes plenty of silliness and humour. The plot only serves nominally as a mystery what the film is really about is the comedy but the three different endings are a good touch. It does feel that there is a slight amount of padding in the middle of the film but it does not hold the film back really.

4/5 very funny dark comedy.

Straight on till morning.

The Straight Story (1999)

David Lynch directs a film based on the true story of Alvin Straight and his journey across Iowa and Wisconsin. Alvin's brother has a stroke and as Alvin is old and his eye sight too bad to get a drivers license he has to drive his lawn tractor cross country to visit him.

For anyone familiar with some of Lynch's more famous films this is a large departure from his usual subject matter but some how manages to be both very real and surreal at the same time. Along the way the old man has various encounters with different people that help round out the plot well. The soundtrack is excellent and really helps balance the ageing and sad but determined nature of the protagonist as does the great scenery on show.

4/5 the best lawn mower road movie of all time!

Excuses are like...

Dear John (2010)

This is an adaptation of a novel of the same name written by Nicholas Sparks who also wrote the novel that was adapted to The Notebook (2004). It is a familiar story of boy meets girl, separation, letter writing and problems.

There a number of the usual elements in this film and the eye of a cynic can see fairly easily how the elements have been calculatingly drawn together to build the plot around the usual formula. While the plot is no great shakes it does manage not to be terrible because of it's predictability, what annoys me about this film is the lazy writing that gives characters easy excuses for their actions. There is no real drama or character conflict because everyone has a magic excuse that mitigates their actions.

3/5 brainless and unoriginal melodrama that will probably appeal to genre fans but is not otherwise worth watching.

I'm Spartacus!

Spartacus (1960)

When Kirk Douglas did not get the lead part in Ben-Hur (1959) he decided to buy up the rights to the book this film is based on and star as Spartacus instead. There was a slightly troubled production history as David Lean turned down the chance to direct and Anthony Mann was fired as director only a week into production to be replaced by a young Stanley Kubrick. There was also a problem with the screen writer who was black listed by Hollywood for being a commie and crediting him under his real name caused some complaints.

This is a romanticised take on the tale of the leader of Spartacus a gladiator slave in Roman times who lead a revolt, there is also a sub plot of political manoeuvrings in Rome by senators in a battle of democracy and corruption verses dictatorship. The plot is decent but somewhat patchy and does diverge both from history and the main subject at times to deal with the aforementioned sub plot.

Largely well made the battle scene where the Roman legions meet the slave army is very impressive as it was made in the days when you could not cheat by using CGI to add twenty thousand men to fill out a scene. There is a great cast including Laurence Olivier, Peter Ustinov (in an Oscar winning performance) and a young Tony Curtis. Some portions of the film do drag and a three hour run time may be a little excessive but on the whole it is well paced.

4/5 a historical epic worth watching but not up there with Kubrick's best.

Decisions

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)

Terry Gilliam always makes interesting films and returns with another offering staring the late Heath Ledger and Christopher Plummer. The good doctor makes a bargain with the devil over who can be the first to win five souls with the doctor's daughter as the prize.

What this film is best known for is the death of Ledger during filming and the actors that fill in for him in the imagination scenes do so seamlessly. If you have seen any of Gilliam's previous films you should be familiar with the themes of imagination that he often explores and they are the foundation of this movie. There is a really interesting marriage of Parnassus's old world show and how it fits in with the modern world that the film takes place in.

What the film seems to be about is the choice people have to make between their imagination and vices which is dramatised by the choice between Parnassus and the devil people in the imaginarium have to make. For Gilliam it is very clear that his personal devil is represented by a smarmy Hollywood executive which is not surprising given the battles he has had in the past. There is something very Blake about the way that people seem to be picking between imagination/innocence and vices/experience. To grow up the daughter has to reject her father and choose the devil and her sexuality?

4/5 worth watching like all Gilliam's work.

Action fueled?

Sea of Sand (1958)

Richard Attenborough features this British war film about the Long Range Desert Group and their behind the line raids in North Africa. On the eve of the battle of El Alamein a patrol is sent deep into the desert to take out an enemy fuel depot.

This film has pretty much everything you might expect with clash of styles between the leading officers, desert hardships and Attenborough as a less than respectful Trooper. While there are few surprises there are not many heavy clichés either providing another solid entry into the genre if not particularly tense or action filled. The general thrust of the piece is self sacrifice for the greater good.

3/5 a fairly average effort.

Floater

The Man Who Never Was (1956)

In War War Two following the successful conclusion of the fighting in North Africa for the Allies the next clear target was an Allied invasion of Scilly, to weaken the defences of Scilly a deception operation was launched called Operation Mincemeat was launched and this film tells the story of that operation.

Based on a book written by one of the men behind the real life Operation Mincemeat the plot sticks fairly close to history for the opening two thirds of the film but adds in an unnecessary fictitious third act where the Germans send a spy to England to verify the deception operation. While the film does a good job of telling us how the deception was carried out the addition of fictitious elements mean we can draw few conclusions about the real people behind such a scheme.

3/5 a decent diversion but nothing more than that.

Tending the flock

The Shepherd of the Hills (1941)

Henry Hathaway directs John Wayne in this western about a family of moon shiners living in the mountains. John Wayne tries to romance the heroine but she is not having any of it while he is still swearing to hunt down and kill his father for abandoning him and his mother while she was sick and dying.

Beyond the basic plot of the returning father there is a pretty heavy Christian allegory going on here with shepherds, a blind woman being cured and a general theme of forgiveness. Despite the heavy allegorical content there is not a huge amount to comment on this film one way or another, it is suitably well made but not outstandingly so.

3/5 not bad but no great shakes either.

Ex-patriots

Charade (1963)

Audrey Hepburn is the damsel in distress in this comedy thriller which co-stars Cary Grant. Following the murder of her husband Hepburn is menaced by his partners in crime who want to know what he did with all the money they stole during WW2.

While you will find it very hard to guess what happened to the money everyone is looking for the rest of the plot does play out as you will probably come to expect despite Cary Grant's character having more aliases than you can shake a stick at. Given the film's light hearted tone it is hard to take it too seriously and it does provide decent entertainment for it's two hour run time without feeling like the plot drags. The comedic elements to this film while nothing to write home about do help round out the movie and paper of the cracks of a fairly simple affair.

4/5 a good genre film but not much more than that.

Land of pure imagination

Finding Neverland (2004)

Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet star in this film about the creation of Peter Pan that is “inspired” by real events. A struggling play writer befriends a widow and her four sons, their games and adventures end up inspiring a new play we know as Peter Pan.

The film focus on the ideas of imagination, innocence and growing up as the boys deal with having lost their father and their mother's illness. Excellently well made the narrative switches seamlessly between family drama and adventures of the imagination. It is very hard to find anything wrong with this film but what stops it being truly great is that it fails somewhat seriously in it's duty as dramatisation of historical events, it seems that rather large liberties have been taken with history and as such which a very good and thought provoking piece it does feel like history has been cheated in favour of sentimental story telling.

4/5 very worth watching but not to be taken literally.

Ways of making you talk

Unthinkable (2010)

This films wants us to consider if the use of torture is ever justified as Samuel L. Jackson and Carrie-Anne Moss try to get Michael Sheen to tell them where he put three nuclear bombs. Naturally the bad guy is a Muslim but presumably the film makers thought by making him a white American that converted to Islam they will not get accused of pandering to stereotypes.

Having seen that a film has been released direct to DVD you always worry about the quality but the execution of the film is acceptable if not remarkable. As a moral discussion about the use of torture the film does manage to stay fairly impartial without really bringing anything strikingly new to the table. There is no evidence to suggest that torture is an effective or reliable method of getting someone to give up information and the film does pretty much duck this issue so does make itself some what superfluous in my opinion.

3/5 not bad but not earth shattering either.

Out of the fog

Shutter Island (2010)

Adapted from the novel of the same name this is the fourth collaboration between Scorsese and DiCaprio. Two US Marshals are called in to investigate the disappearance of a female patient from a prison for the criminally insane which is in a remote island.

This is a well executed psychological thriller that employs a number of familiar techniques but manages not to stretch into the realms of cliché. The ship coming out of the fog in the opening sequence is a particularly nice piece of film making and an important metaphor for what is happening to the protagonist. As you would expect from those involved there is a high level of acting and film making on show here but this film does fall short of greatness as it is limited by the genre conventions it is paying tribute to and a plot lacking ambiguity.

With out going too far into spoiler land I will say that I think the plot does tip it's hand too early and I think that better results could have been achieved by taking a less conclusive line. Having said that I do like the final scene and the open ended possibility of the protagonists final remarks.

Well worth watching 4/5

A cunning fox?

The Desert Fox (1951)

James Mason stars as Rommel in Henry Hathaway's biopic about Rommel's fall from grace. Starting with the battle of El Alamein we are shown how Rommel goes from being Hitler's favourite general to being given the option of suicide or execution for treason in 1944.

As a film this is not the greatest entertainment you will get from a war biopic, most of the story might as well have been staged as a play as there is little action and mostly revolves around conversations between Rommel and various other people. What action sequences that are included are largely recycled news footage from WW2.

When it comes to the historical content of the film I have a few major issues. To start with you have to be aware of the propaganda machine surrounding Rommel, his adversaries talked him up to promote their victories against him or mitigate for defeats against him and with the coming cold war and eventual rearmament of West Germany it was necessary to find decent role models for the new army. While Rommel was not a war criminal like many of his peers the film does not focus on the fact that he was happy to ride on the coat tails of the Nazis when things were going well and only in the face of impending defeat dallied over taking any meaningful stance against them.

2/5 weak in history and entertainment.

Booze cruise

Ice-cold in Alex (1958)

J. Lee Thompson directs John Mills and Anthony Quayle in this classic British film set in war time North Africa. Mills tries to get his ambulance from Tobruk back to Alexandria as the German advance threatens to over take them.

There are some slightly dodgy accents on show, especially from Quayle who plays a South African officer that may or may not be a German spy. There is plenty of tension as the group try to cross mine fields, the Qattara Depression and deal with a potential spy in their midst as well as the lead characters drink problem. On the whole this is a well made effort that provides good entertainment but does stay clear of having any serious depth to the film.

Worth watching 4/5

Snow jokes

Snow Day (2000)

This kids comedy film is about the glorious days when school is cancelled due to heavy snow fall and tells the story of what happens to the different members of one family on a snow day. Picking up an easy pay cheque are such people as Chevy Chase, Pan Grier and Iggy Pop.

While there are several threads to the story the main one is the oldest son trying to get with the hottest girl at school when surprise, surprise he should really be with his plain looking best friend. Another equally poor element is the mother is a workaholic and has to learn that her place is playing with the youngest son rather than getting silly ideas about working, who knew the 50s were over? What might have made an entertaining comedy is the daughters battle with the local snow plough man to try and stop his work so school is cancelled for a second day but sadly this is relegated to second place in the story and not especially fleshed out.

2/5 predictable and not really funny.

The long road of revolution

Doctor Zhivago (1965)

David Lean is best known for his epics and this is the third he made and also his third collaboration with actor Alec Guinness. Adapted from the novel of the same name this is the age old story of one man trying to balance being in love with two women while the Russian revolution kicks off in the back ground.

Shot in Spain, Finland and Canada as Russia was off limits for obvious reasons there are some outstanding backdrops and jaw dropping sequences. While the film explores the ideas of individualism and how a revolution can be hijacked we do have to wonder if the main character is so self interested is he indeed part of the problem that caused the revolution rather than a hero who stands against crushing Bolshevik homogenisation.

The main criticism of the film is always going to be that it tries to do too much and even with cutting some elements of the novel still comes in at a whopping 197 minutes in length, while the main subject of the film is supposed to be the romance between Omar Sharif and Julie Christie it takes them a full 2 hours to get together. Some times you just have to accept that a novel can do more than a single film ever can without ending up with a crazy run time but this does remain a very good film. Despite it's length the film is well paced and does not drag.

Certainly worth watching and a solid addition to Lean's cannon but it does require a time commitment! 4/5