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Shaft 2000
I've always meant to watch this, but I never seemed to have the opportunity. I love Samuel L Jackson, and he's very cool in this.
The weird thing is that I had this creepy sense of déjà vu all the way through, and my wife kept looking up from her knitting and saying "I think I've seen this before". When I pointed out Busta Rhymes as the awful comedy sidekick, she said "We've had this conversation before", and I suddenly…
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John Dies at the End 2013
This is quite the mash-up. There are elements of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, although the buddy motif doesn't gel as strongly. It goes a bit Donny Darko in the middle too, but with a better sense of closure. There's a good deal of Army of Darkness, but where Bruce Campbell is phenomenal, this team is merely good.
David Cronenberg seems to have been an influence too - there are strong shades of Naked Lunch, Existenz and The Fly. Some…
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Big Fish 2003
This film is perfect. A great story about a great story teller, well-told.
I usually loathe Tim Burton's films, because I have a terrible reaction to grotesqueness. His usual love of grotesqueness is present in Big Fish, as is Helena Bonham Carter, but don't let that fool you. He is unusually restrained in this beautiful, heart-warming and emotional fantasy.
I don't mind admitting that I had tears rolling down my cheeks at the end. Normally I'm pretty hard to move…
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Naked 1993
Mike Leigh is a genius.
Every performance in this film is extraordinary and star quality. Well... the late arrival of Sandra is a little overplayed and affected, but apart from that, it's the most engaging and truthful piece of art I've seen for ages. That's not to say that it's boring and wanky though. It's hilarious, provocative, raw, uncomfortable and jaw-achingly witty.
The protagonist/anti-hero is the most amusingly sociopathic and cynical philosopher since King Lear's fool. You can't agree with…
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Friends with Kids 2012
Standard, no surprises situation rom com. Horrible characters and cheap emotional manipulation.
I don't think I can watch many more I these without getting angry, but it's not fair to blame this one in particular. It was well made for the genre. If you like that sort of thing.
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Black Death 2011
This is a gritty and bloody tale of 14th century England during the plague. A troup of soldiers recruit a young priest to guide them to a village where it's rumoured that a necromancer has been practising dark arts to keep the plague at bay.
Strong Christian themes, and some nods to the inquisition. Some barbarous behaviour in the name of both God and the devil. I'm honestly unclear as to the intent of the film, but it was definitely…
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Star Trek: Nemesis 2002
Just a slightly longer episode of Star Trek, The Next Generation. It deals with the idea of nature vs nurture but, as usual, forms no conclusions. One of the regular cast members dies near the end, as you'd expect. But then he sort of comes alive again too, as you'd expect.
No surprises. If you like STTNG, you'll like this. I don't.
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Coriolanus 2012
An epic, glorious and powerful adaptation of Shakespeare's account of the legendary Caius Martius.
This version stages the action in modern Rome, and shows bloody war raging through the streets, flashing from first person point of view to Al Jazeera style live TV footage and back again. The action is bloody and brutal, and the direction is solemn. There's a lot of shaky handicam work, and an enormous amount of testosterone.
Ralph Fiennes directs, stars, and oozes machismo all over…
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Romantics Anonymous 2011
A delightful rom-com featuring two charmingly neurotic French chocolate makers. The characters are unrealistic but loveable, and they're developed thoughtfully.
Well worth a watch. You'll shed a tear and laugh out loud. What more could you want?
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Stargate: Continuum 2008
A decent sci fi film, considering it's basically a long episode of a TV serial. I think it would be more meaningful if you've followed the series (I've caught one or two episodes, but was never a big fan).
The plot deals inexpertly with some time travel themes and treads very lightly around the idea of erstwhile friends becoming enemies in an alternative timeline. Paradoxes are introduced, but are treated with a complete lack of intellectual respect. Don't expect any…
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Gor 1988
Poorly directed, horribly shot and disastrously exploitative. This film sucks balls.
I read one or two of the Gor books when I was a teenager. They deal with themes of sadomasochism and sexual power, and celebrate the fantasy of Man's mastery over Woman. They're adolescent, poorly written escapist fantasy set in an alternative reality where modern Earth humans sometimes find themselves transported to an Earth-like world where men are real Men, women are real Women and authors use far too…
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He Was a Quiet Man 2007
Christian Slater, where have you been? It's nice to hear your gorgeous voice again!
This is a deliberately quirky film, with some really nice altered-time effects, loads of weird metaphors and bonkers dialogue, and a rich black sense of humour. It's similar in weirdness to the unmissable Hudsucker Proxy (though obviously not as clever or funny). It's dark and dystopian but has an undercurrent of feel-good sentimentality.
It's superficially about getting revenge on bullies by going postal, but ultimately it's…
