The Shawshank Redemption

Genre: Drama
Year of release: 1994
Director: Frank Darabont

"Get busy living or get busy dieing"

This was the 4th time I have watched this film and it is still one of my favorites I can not see why rotten tomatoes has given it an 8 out of 10 average rating it makes no sense, however I do not believe imdb to be correct either it is not the number one movie of all time that goes to Citizen Kane followed by the Godfather however this movie should place in top 10 or top 20 IMO.

The Shawshank Redemption is a reasonably new day classic the story follows a young man who pleads not guilty to the murder of his wife and her lover however he gets thrown in prison for two back to back life sentences. In the prison he establishes relationships with his inmates and works on certain projects to keep his mind occupied.

I did not really think about this much until the end but the Shawshank Redemption has no action parts at all, yet I was so enthralled by the movie it was as exciting as an action the whole way through it keeps you interested in the talking scenes on the edge of your seat thinking back on it seems funny that you get so excited over a couple of words I felt the same way in 12 angry men. The characters in this are simply marvelous perfect you love them from start to finish and really feel their emotions as if you knew them personally. The acting is not outstanding however it is very good, doesn't absolutely amaze me because of its acting like Streetcar does. It has a few scenes were the acting even drops to average but it is hard to hold such a almost perfect movie down just because of these few scenes. The story is amazing and very emotional it is truly a piece of art.

These character's are some of the best the warden, red and of course Andy Dufresne we feel every hardship and celebrate every triumph with them and that what makes this movie so great. The movie gets better and better as it goes along, every time the characters are at a low makes the high times feel great. I love watching Andy surprise both me and the other characters in this movie it build the feeling I get every time I see him.

Andy looks very guilty in the beginning however we can start to doubt it as the movie progresses and in the end you really can chose weather he is guilty or not however many things in my mind suggest that he is innocent epically the things Tommy said. Andy's character is good in my mind always caring and wanting to help, he never gets angry and hardly gets sad he just cruises through even jail time "strolling like a man in the park". His character keeps his mind busy with his rock carving, sending letters to build an new library, keeping the guards and even the wardens fiances safe from the Irs and many more things. His character is very smart and before his jail sentence you to be a banker. Andy never losses spirit and his character reminds me of Cold Hand Luke yet more caring about people.

Red is the guy who can get you things, he is basically a normal guy goes through life like a normal person. Red gets changed by Andy he really adds a new level to him, gives him hope and even saves him from taking his life. Red is Andy's best friend and from start to finish I don't think they ever fight. He is discouraged by prison like everybody else yet Andy cheers him up, like everybody else. Red obtains certain items from the outside world and delivers them to inmates at a price, and this is how him and Andy become friends Red gets Andy a number of different items throughout this film including Rita Hayworth.

The Warden is a christian man yet very crocked and deserves to be in the prison more than most of the people in there epically Andy and even Red. He is acted quite well I thought. The warden appears to be a good man at first and it is very cool to see just how bad a man he is.

I love the way this movie ends one of the best most astonishing ending I have seen it uses great flash backs in the end scene to show and point out the things you might have missed at first sight. In conclusion a wonderful classic movie no matter what anybody says it is my favorite and critically a great movie. This is the film that everybody likes, I don't know any one who doesn't

10/10

Cool Hand Luke

Genre: Drama
Year of release: 1967
Director: Stuart Rosenberg

What we've got here ... is great movie. I first watched Cool Hand Luke when I was quite tired and near the end I somehow was struggling to stay awake, I watched it again today and really enjoyed it far more than I did the first time. Cool Hand Luke is quite complex and nobody yet has given me a straight answer to the meaning of all the symbolic connections between Jesus and Luke. Which I actually like makes people do some thinking.

Cool Hand Luke is about a rebel with no purpose, he gets locked up for screwing the heads of parking timers. He goes through his life looking for something wanting to find god but not seeing any signs to base his belief on. The acting in this is suburb a classic performance from Paul Newman epically along with everybody else. The depth of this movie is almost endless making each person decide on what he thinks certain things symbolize however even without picking up on this feature this movie is freaking awesome. Luke's character is one of the best and a person could go absolutely crazy trying to figure him out completely.

Luke is a rebel, he does not seem to care about anything anyone and seems to do what he does with certainty and no plan. I believe the point of this movie is that Luke helped the prisoners with what appears to be a cool hand, almost nothing, just like he did in the game of cards, however "some times nothing can be a real cool hand". He helps the prisoners like how Jesus helped the world, Jesus from the outside appears to be nothing he appears to be the son of a carpenter, but is not, he was born in a stable he turned the world and their expectations upside down e.g the first people to see the King of the world were shepherd's considered especially at the time to be the lowest of the low yet Jesus wanted to prove what is in this world means nothing you can be rags or riches it is all the same and makes no difference in heaven. This theme is similar to Luke's character he shows us that having nothing can be everything and is almost to opposite of what the prisoners were expecting. Luke changes people through his unpredictable actions that go against what people expect, just like Jesus, he said thing that some times people needed to hear but did not want to, just like Jesus. Luke however did not seem to care about the in mates which goes against the idea of him resembling Christ. This is confusing and I can not understand except in the terms that god gave his only son to the world to help them, he was exactly what the people needed but in a prison things are different I believe in this film his uncaring actions were to show that God had sent him into the prison to help the in-mates in the exact way that would help them. If he had been caring and loving towards everybody I do not think that the inmates would have taken to him. They wanted to be liked by Luke because Luke didn't seem to like anybody. Also it separates us from the idea that Luke is Jesus which I do not believe is the point he is simply somebody who is similar to Jesus in the way that he helped others around him and God had sent him in for that purpose, and I think Luke finally sees that by the end. This paragraph probably isn't even right, but its fun to think about.

All the other characters in this movie even without the deep symbolic references were also quite awesome. I loved Dragline and all his bets, he was an enjoyable person who really cared about Luke and was quite humorous in his actions. His personality was cool, not greedy he just loved to make money and gamble with it. Dragline was a true follower to Luke and would always think highly of him like the disciples thought highly of Christ.

The thing I love about Cool Hand Luke is the very easy cool feeling you get when you watch it Luke just lives his life day by day cruising and makes the movie cruise not quite as well as is done in Taxi Driver but close. The story gets to extreme situations it is not like nothing happens but when the story really develops the story still remains nice and easy. It flows through the movie so perfectly.

In conclusion a great movie classic, great acting, awesome acting and possibly another dimension added into each simple flowing scene. Found it cool to see the famous line " What we've got here is failure to communicate ... ect" in Guns N' Roses song Civil War.

8.5-9/10

Night of the living dead

Genre: Horror/Thriller/Action
Year of release: 1968
Director: George A. Romero

My friend raved about this movie for ages and tonight I finally watched it. Not Bad best zombie movie I have seen, however I have not seen many good ones. This gets put up there on my favorite horrors list as the list is not very big only consisting of Psycho, the thing, the decent, dawn of the dead, Halloween, the exorcist and maybe a few more.

Night of the living dead is about well a night with the living dead, recently deceased people are coming back to life due to some radiation thingy ma boby, these zombies have a hunger for human flesh and are causing trouble by killing and eating people. The movie follows Barbara after her brother gets killed by a zombie she finds refuge in an abandoned house out in the middle of nowhere, a few other people join her in this house and they board it up so keep dozens of zombies out. The people do not get along very well and have some problems aside from surviving the night.

To begin with it all seemed very cliche and very average however it gets much much better. I think I did not like the beginning as the girl Barbara was a pretty stupid character and pretty badly acted Johnnie was good and it was pretty cool when he said "there coming to get you" however he was not in it for long and after that Barbara shows she is just one of the overly stupid her character is driving the fucking car straight into a tree. Maybe its just me who doesn't like her however for ages she is depressed and emo very effected by this entire experience she never gets over that there are zombies and that her brother is dead, she never helps and her character just gets annoying every one else was very cool and the movie improved extremely after Ben, Harry and Tom were introduced. This movie has amazing special effects for both its budget and its time and does not go over the top. The horror scenes were also very good more exciting than scary (like the decent which is the only movie I have actually been scared in lol) however that does not make them bad, very good horror scenes.

Ben was a great character acted quite well by Duane Jones his character is brave, smart and certain in his decisions and thoughts. His character helps the most and is the leader of the group in this house, he gets badly into an argument between Harry Copper about weather they should say on the ground level of the house being able to escape if the zombies do get in or lock and board them selves into the basement were they only have to cover one door. It was a good argument and very pondering it would personally drive me crazy this decision epically in these stressful situations.

The disfigurements of the zombies, the skin hanging off their faces and ect was very good. It looked realistic and believable not over the top. It looked quite scary. The scene of the zombies eating the people was very good, scary and disgusting quite gory however not overdone. The stabbing scene with the little girl is worth mentioning as it is scary as gory and looks good.

The action in this film was pretty awesome the scene near the end was exciting and quite thrilling. The hands coming through the house seems used in a lot of movies these days however it was good to see it done properly. As I watched I wanted Ben to make it through and every scene was on the edge of your seat hoping he would.

The zombies in this movie are great not smart not fast not strong but very effective. It makes you think and gives time for horror type moments as the zombies get closer and closer and closer. They could not have been much better however it took me a while to warm up to them. They are not the crappy over the top running smart zombies Hollywood is making right ... now and ... now but the classic style of cool zombies the way they should be done.

In conclusion a great horror movie, great characters great original ending, great effects even if it might be low budget.

8-8.5/10

Lawrence of Arabia

Genre: Drama/War/Adventure
Year of release: 1962
Director: David Lean

This was the second time I have watched Lawrence of Arabia I saw it in a store yesterday and today I decided to re-watch it. It was well worth the $15 that I paid for it I liked it this time much more than I did the last. This movie has some of the best cinematography ever. Also this review makes me want to watch it again http://nothingiswrittenfilm.blogspot.com/2008/07/there-is-only-desert-for-you.html has a few spoilers however.

Lawrence of Arabia is a story about T.C. Lawrence and his role in the fight between Arabia and Turkey. Lawrence is a very deep character and you can make your own decisions about his character. This movie however is quite long and although boring is not the right word it does need the intermission in the middle. The use of shots is amazing and the scenery is spectacular no doubt. David Lean did an excellent job this is the second of his movies that I have scene and I will make it my job to make it not the last. The story is very good going through triumphs and defeats. The character work is some of the greatest in history making you decide what type of man Lawrence is whether good or bad straight or queer I like this it adds a level of depth to the film making you form your own personal opinion. Thinking back on this movie is the best part, thinking of the those wonderful beautiful shots used gives me goosebumps and that review opened my eyes a lot.

Lawrence is quite cocky that is the one thing I am almost certain about his character, the way he speaks and moves gestures is graceful and calming a character that could possibly be homosexual. He is in my opinion not entirely good but to say more than that would take further viewings which I will hopeful do. His character in a way enjoys killing which separates him from the category of good however his character deeply wants to give freedom to Arabia so I don't put him in the category of bad either, however deep down is he only trying to do this for personal gain, just because people think that he can not. Lawrence seems to be happy but deep down I believe him to be very troubled and we see this come out in a part of the movie. His character seems to always want to impress for instance how he puts the flaming match out with his fingers and say "The trick is not minding the pain" although this seems to be a very small and unimportant part in the movie however an extremely awesome part I get the feeling that it is more than just a scene it adds to his character. When you ask the question why did he bother to go through the pain when he could have blown it out, I can not give myself a straight answer I get left with he does it for fun just to play and I believe this to be very true Lawrence has a very strange sense of fun and that is a point carried through the entire movie and also he put the match out in this way so that he could impress make the others go wow, even if it is in such a small way it is worth the pain he likes to do the unpredictable and things that people could not believe to be possible and he strives himself to do these things and we see it all through the movie as well. To add to the character being unique all the other characters, who are also very awesome (even the little characters like his guide in the beginning) are very straight characters, there character are clean in your mind and you don't have too many doubts about what type of people the are, what they will do next and etc. This builds a contrast making Lawrence really stand out and the use of shots also adds to this, the ones that occur often an upward mid shot of his head in the way of the sun making a glowing outline of his head with the blue sky around his head making him look like a god, which sometimes I think that he thinks he is. Lawrence was a hard part to play and Peter O'Toole played him wonderfully.

A lot of the scenes in this movie are very beautiful it makes the desert radiate in the sunlight so that we can feel like Lawrence feels and love the desert. Well I love every scene in the desert and I love this film the more I think about it. The battle scenes in this movie are also very good some of the nice long shots which remind me of the way Kurosawa does some of his battle scenes. The long shots in this are some of the long shots that are the best in the film business and sit up with Kurosawa however they are completely different and hard to compare. The scenes of the desert shaking in the distance the horizon waving in the heat. I remember one scene in which it is simply the bottom half is white with the sand and the top half is a nice blue sky and out of it we see a black dot of a man. This scene is beautiful and the whiteness of the sand contrasting against the light blue of the sky makes for a Mona Lisa piece of artwork through it being so simple yet so beautiful. The scenes of the mountains of sand and the wind sweeping off little pieces of it seems poetic and is enhanced by the strong musical touch.

The music in this movie is very nice and thinking of it makes me give that weird type of excited jump that makes you look like a real idiot when your in public. It adds to the scenes very nicely and the scene I always think of and has stayed in my memory from the first sighting of this movie, is the one in which the camera pans across the city and onto the gigantic guns facing the sea.

The beginning of this movie I really enjoy I like this certain technique that is used were we have Lawrence getting on his motorcycle and driving down the street that is lined with trees we have a very good scene of his face smiling at us as he drivers faster and faster until having to swerve
for some cyclists he then goes off a smallish hill and we watch his motorcycle go into some bushes then we cut to a scene of his motorcycle goggles hanging from a branch. Then we change to a statue of Lawrence on a grave stone in Saint Nicholas Church Graveyard a gigantic building and there are people saying did he deserve to buried in a place like this, and people saying he is a great man. One man in this scene says that he once had the satisfaction of shaking his hand in Ciro but did not know him, I found it cool to see a man walk up to Lawrence just to shake his hand in Ciro, I am not sure if this is him because well it was about 2 and half hours since I saw him last, however I find it interesting. After this scene we go back to see for our selves if he really did deserve to be buried in such respect.

In conclusion a great deep movie that only improves when you think back on it. Best cinematography there is artwork in many of the shots many of which you could frame and put up on a wall. Some of the best change in character and character work 3 hours and 40 minutes of being piratically alone with one character and yet we still know nothing about him. Great music that adds to the excitement great storyline and to make this movie even better its a true story written by T.C Lawrence, this man who survived so many amazing miracles actually died in a motorcycle accident. "A miracle of a film"-Steven Spielberg.

9.5/10

Léon

Genre: Action/Drama
Year of release: 1994
Director: Luc Besson

Hmm, I loved this movie, however it defiantly flawed in some places. This movie really triumphs in some places but can also be rather average in others. This is one of those classic examples of the people loving it and the critics hating it. Gary Oldman is awesome I must say and Jean Reno is pretty good too although everyone else is well, meh.

This movie is about a young girl and a hitman who come together after being neighbors when this young girls family is killed by some crocked policemen after her father some how changes his 100% coke into only 90% whilst this is happening Mathilda is shopping for food, when she comes back her family are dead and she seeks aid from her hitman next door neighbor. Mathilda is then inspired to learn to be a Hitman to seek revenge and Léon teachers her. After a while this 12 year old girl Mathilda falls in love with Léon, does he love her back, you decide.

This movie wins for me as the action is great and Oldman and Reno have great characters and are great actors. However Natalie Portman as Mathilda and some of the other actors were pretty bad. The love story in this is pretty weird and it is awkward to watch a young girl think she is in love with an oldish man, I like to believe that Léon only loves her in a father type of way as I think it would be wrong and slightly disgusting if it were in a sexual way, I am not sure of Léon feeling however as there are many shots to suggest that he is tempted by her, for me this point does not bring the movie down too much though and hardly matters.

Léon is a great character he is a lonely sort of shy Italian hitman who can not read or talk very well. His character at the same time is very bad ass and the ideas of killing people in this movie are fantastic. Léon has one friend his plant, I thought this to be cool he liked it as it did not ask any questions. I love how Léon struggles to reach out even though he job would suggest he would not be a timid and to him self type of person, so in a way it is breaking a hitman stereotype. Mathilda definite changes Léon. She helps him with his reading and she brings him out of his shell a little. The character change is not bad however it will never compete in the changes of characters like in the Godfather, Schindler's list or the Treasure of Sierra Madre.

Gary Oldman plays Stansfeild a corrupt cop into selling drugs and killing people. His character is awesome a very scary and insane bad guy that would get placed on my list of favorite bad guys. The famous scene in the bathroom was acted out wonderfully and gives you the goosebumps. The way he likes classical music is cool the same way it is cool in A Clockwork Orange however not quite as good as that, the references to the music is quite small in this. The way in which this character took his medication was weird if it is real then it is pretty good, I have my doubts however, you get left with the feeling that they made it like this just to make it look cool, which is stupid. I think it is a good idea to have the character take some sort of medication as he is clearly insane, I just think it unrealistic and over the top that it effects him straightaway and he always cracks his back after taking it.

Mathilda, well she is a child and has it is in a way an excuse to act badly. I don't like Natalie Portman so I have seen hardly any of her movies, she did a better job in this than in Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. Her character was strange a lonely girl who did not care about her parents and sister being killed, but was devastated that they killed her 4 year old brother. It is believable that she did not care about her parents before they were killed as they beat her and did not look like the coolest of parents, its is also believable that she hated her sister who was an exercise freak who hated Mathilda and hogged the t.v however after they were killed I found it strange she did not care at all about them I am not saying I don't believe it at all just I would think that she is still slightly a human being even after all the shit she probably went through. I think her character could have been much better and that it gets a little annoying, I enjoyed her impersonating Madona, Marylin Monroe and Charlie Chaplin and Léon John Wayne was funny.

The action in this is amazing very smart and very exciting. Some people think it is over the top however I say fuck you you are dumb. The action in this is some of the best up there with every thing else like Die Hard. The first action scene of this movie is good however I did not like too much because the acting was bad from everyone except Jean Reno who is not in the scenes very much at all, this scene could have been one of the best scenes in history however just drops bad from the overacting. Brings it back up when Reno is at the end of this scene, that bit kicked ass.

Inconclusion I can see how the critics don't like it and I see how the people love it. Léon is in my opinion one of the best action films ever could have been much better. The acting was good from only Jean Reno and Gary Oldman and some of the small things that happened were over the top also had some strange mistakes. Great movie no classic though.

8/10

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Genre: Adventure/Drama/Western (in someways)
Year of release: 1948
Director: John Huston

I have been wanting to watch this for quite some time now and I must say I still was not disappointed. Every thing about this movie kicks ass. The acting, the story, the morals, the cinematography, the action, the character work, every single scene. How could John Huston make this fucking masterpiece fucking Maltese falcon and the African Queen which I have not watched yet and make a piece of shit like fucking Annie.

This piece of art is about gold and how it changes people it is one of the ultimate stories of greed that just gets better and better every second it goes through. Bogart plays his part very well but surprisingly enough he is only a contender for my favorite character as all the other characters were almost equally as awesome, I loved Howard and his crazy attidude, I am wondering if the Prospector in Toy Story 2 was inspired by Howard as their looks are identicle and they are both prospectors. The story was amazing, the character work was amazing the acting was amazing this movie is amazing.

Acting does not get much better than when its done by Humphrey Bogart he is getting up there with De Niro for me however I have only seen 3 of his movies however he was amazing in all of them. Humprey Bogart's character Fred C. Dobbs starts of as being a reasonable guy he only takes what he needs and is not greedy, we can see this from when the person does not pay him for all his work he then proccedes to beat the shit out of him and take his wallet, we see him lean down and take out the money, then to my surprise with out hesitation or temptation he divides the money up into what he is owed and returns the rest. This really shows how awesome his character is and really made me like Fred instantly. However the whole point of this movie is that gold changes people it is more of curse in the end rather than a blessing in the beginning Dobbs is detirmented that this will not happen to him and I for one believed him I though he was as he said the right type of person to receive a whole lot of gold and would not turn greedy. I tuely believed this but as the story goes along he slowly slips starts to go a little nuts in what I believe to be some of the best character changes of all time better in my opinion to how Oscar Schindler changes although Schindler also did an amazing turn around. This character who starts even to talk to himself really improves this character he is a real rags to riches story it is awesome to watch his character.

Howard was the prospector the leader the one who has gone through the greedy stage before when he had found gold in the past he is not greedy he stays through the whole movie very selfless. The other two on this adventure are almost tag alongs even if they were the ones that invited Howard onto this expidition without howard Curtain and Dobbs would be minning fools gold and probably be dead as well. It was cool to see Howawrd out do Curtain and Dobbs espectations of what he will be like. Dobbs and Curtain thought they would have to carry Howard along as Howard is quite old however Howard always has energy and even out does Dobbs and Curtain in fitness which I found quite amusing. Howard is slighly crazy not insane just his nature is a bit over energetic he is a great character that never once turns greedy. With out Howard holding the team together everything falls apart quite quickley.

Curtain does not seem like a huge character to begin with however he really does become quite big eventually. Curtain is not too gready however we can see slight temptations in him. I very much liked his character by the end always decent never greedy never crazy he is the sane one of the three. Curtain is slighly shy not much but only slightly his character does not speack nearly as much as the other two however he is never really scared just doesn't talk maybe because he does not need to talk. Beautiful.

The story in this is very exciting from start to finish I really got attached to the characters I wanted them to all succed and sell their gold for lots of money and be happy. The story of the gold cursing the beholder really shows strongly as because of the gold they go through many hardships I love the ending very orginal very unexpected and kick ass. The morals are good in this it is the type of movie any one of any age gender or species can enjoy. It is not overly violent however still has some very good action scences a bit like seven samurai.

In conclusion one of the best movies ever imdb is once again wrong even if it is at number 53 it deserves a whole lot more credit should be up there with the Godfather. The story is great, the acting is amazing and the characters and the changes they go through are simple put Godfather type characters.

9.5/10

Brokeback Mountain

Genre: Drama/Romance
Year of release: 2005
Director: Ang Lee

"Ever notice how a woman'll powder her nose before a party starts, and the powder it again when the party's over? Why powder your nose just to go home to bed?"

I believe that all people are born straight, but then again what do I know so I hesitated to watching this movie to be honest, as I like everybody else knew it was a different type of Romance to say the least. This movie is pretty good however sure there are some scene I cringed at but I got over it being a gay movie almost instantly.

Brokeback mountain is about two young men that do a job together. They have to guide some sheep up in Brokeback mountain up in this mountain there is hardly anything to do. These men encounter have a homosexual experience and their lives are both changed forever, for better and for worse. The acting in this movie is quite amazing, Heath Ledger is really astounding and Jake slightly takes it up the ass a bit however still pulls off a pretty astonishing performance. It really makes you wonder how hard some of these scene would have been for each of these men as if I am correct about their sexuality then these scenes may not have felt very natural however even in the hardest of conditions they both show us some very great acting. The story is not bad and its interesting to see something new this movie felt quite original. Its not the chick flick kinda romance made every 5 minutes that Hollywood shits out. In this movie there is really good characters and the work done the way in which these characters evolve is also awesome.

Heat Ledger may he rest in peace changed his accent extremely well to a nice Southern voice. The way Heath Ledger walks and talks in this movie suits his character Ennis Del Mar Perfectly. Ennis is a great character, he starts off talking hardly ever in his low and very quite timed voice, his character although slightly bold at times is overall quite shy. He's the type of guy who has his head down and keeps to himself. He changes by the end due to Jack Twist his lover who he can not be with as he is shy about coming out of the closet. Ennis and Jack go up to brokeback mountain every once a while but for both of them it isn't enough.

Jack is not quite as good a character however still quite good. Jack is outgoing and loud he cares less about what people will think and he wants to live with Ennis. Jacks character doesn't change nearly as much as Ennis. Jake did his role very well he made it believable and one part at lake near the end he really shows he is awesome. I extremely loved him in Donnie Darko, I think he did a better job of Donnie as he could not have made his character much better than that but as Jack he still does an amazing job.

The story in this is quite sad watching these two men question their sexuality, both of them still get married and have children however they are both longing for a fuck up the ass. The ending helped to boost this movie up as well I thoroughly enjoyed the end. The movie does not get too boring it keeps you interested and does not feel messy.

I also enjoyed the very simple score sometimes it is best just to get an acoustic guitar and play some hammer-ons and pull offs and be done. It made for quite a good feel to the movie, it gave the slight hint of sadness and also involved the type of more southern sound to it.

In conclusion not a bad film I think Ang Lee has made this film very well I thought it better than both Hulk and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon however i think critics seem to love CTHD much more than I do. If your gay you should like it, if your straight you should like it as well. Good movie worth my 2 hours. Trust me its not 2 hours of sweaty porn, just a love story that is homosexual.

8/10

Ragging Bull

Genre: Drama

Year of release:

Director: Martin Scorsese

"Though I'm no Olivier / I would much rather... And though I'm no Olivier / If he fought Sugar Ray / He would say / That the thing ain't the ring, it's the play. / So give me a... stage / Where this bull here can rage / And though I could fight / I'd much rather recite /... that's entertainment. "

I always hear of people comparing Ragging Bull and Taxi Driver however they are not really the same at all. The acting in both these two movies is about the same fucken awesome, however I like the Taxi Drivers character much more. I believe Taxi Driver to be far superior but Ragging Bull is still an extremely great movie and well worth 2 hours of your time.

Ragging Bull is about Jake La Motta and boxing career the rises and falls of the Ragging Bull and his life when he is not boxing he gets coached by his very cool brother Joey played very nicely with a lot of arrogant swearing by Joe Pesci. Jake has a bit of a temper and at times it affects his relationship with his wife. This movie has got the acting, its got the story, its got the character work, its got the great cinematography, the great fighting scenes however it just doesn't feel as flowing as Taxi Driver did which is why I enjoy Taxi Driver more however that may change over time like it has with many movies.

This is one of the best acting performances ever I think equal if not better than Taxi Driver almost as good as Streetcar, On the Waterfront and Citizen Kane which I consider the best. De Niro shows me again that he his my favorite actor. He does his scene with his wife so well when he is yelling and screaming I love the scene in which he says "Botherin' me about a steak, huh?" Acting does not come much better than this Ragging Bull really comes off as a real person with feelings a short temper and some very bad problems, maybe too many hits to the head. For some reason I love the opening credits with him in the ring just prancing around pratising his shots seems simple yet perfected. The character is almost away angry and often gets very angry at his wife which I don't really like seeing in movies, but that's just me, this is real life.

The cinematography in this movie is outstanding the way that each fight has been done gets you into the fight, is very actiony and has you on the edge of your seat trying to some how help Jake win the fight without moving the camera too much so that you get lost in what is happening like in the Bourne Ultimatum. The way of time travel was very good they went into the future using both home videos and pictures from fights along with the cool music made this movie feel good.

The did the end very well De Niro looks much older and fatter and it is very very believable that it is years in the future after he has stopped boxing. It was cool to see De Niro quote On the Waterfront and recite almost all of that awesome taxi scene.

In conclusion an awesome movie worth the praise the critics give it even if I do not love it quite as much as it obviously deserves. Great movie with piratically every thing perfect just doesn't give off the flow like Taxi Driver does still Scorsese did a wonderful job, like always.

9/10

Streetcar named desire

Genre: Drama/Romance
Year of release: 1951
Director: Elia Kazan

"I am not a Pollack. People from Poland are Poles. They are not Pollacks. But what I am is one hundred percent American. I'm born and raised in the greatest country on this earth and I'm proud of it. And don't you ever call me a Pollack. "

I really wanted to watch this movie after On the Waterfront which also has Marlon Brando and is directed by Elia Kazan. Brando was so amazing in on the waterfront however in this he is even better. This movie kicks ass.

On the waterfront is about a girl Blanche DuBois coming to live with her sister and her awesome husband. Blanche is a bit of a bitch and she is an English teacher which makes her worse, Blanche gets a bit of a hard time from Stanley Kowalski (her brother-in-law).

Streetcar named desire is a very good movie and I can not find any flaws however I am sure there are some. When I first watched this movie I was tired and I thought I was picking up some of the words but I wasn't the scene about one hour ten minutes through I found really boring however the second time I extreamly enjoyed it. Every scene in this movie feels polished and Marlon Brando's acting was the best I think I have ever seen. The story is pretty awesome and the romance is really quite good.

I believe this to be the best movie acting ever, then on the waterfront, then taxi driver, probably one flew over and ect... I believe Brando's acting stands aside from anything I have ever seen. Every scene with him in is simply amazing every scene with Brando in, is exciting every line that comes from his mouth has you on the edge of your seat. The character Stanley Kowalski is a slightly tempured and slightly over reacting husband who is not really a bright person. His english is not good, and he is strongly in love with his wife, I loved seeing that even a few minutes after a fight between him and his wife they would start to miss each other and his wife Stella, who was also very cool, would jump straight back into his arms. Stanley was exactly the oposite of Blanche who although is a bitch is acted out not badly and actually adds to this movie a lot. Blanche and Stanley basically hate each other.

Blanche is very lonely and I felt even a little bit sorry for her at times even if she was a bitch. Blanche talks in very big words her way of speching is very sifisticated as she is an english teacher. Blanche is also very disturbed as she lost a husband at a very young age, she has also just lost the family house out in the country. She doesn't like to talk about how she lost the house and Stanley is suspicious about this. Blanche always seems to say the wrong things, I found it quite funny. Even though she is a complete bitch somebody gets to like her, Stanley's friend Mitch.

In conclusion one of the best movies I have seen a true classic, I am pissed off that it is so low in imdb's top 250 however rotten tomatoes has got it right with 100% with an average rating of 9. Streetcar named desire has the best acting ever.

10/10

Citizen Kane

Genre: Drama

Year of release: 1941

Director: Orson Welles

"Rosebud"

This movie is often critically acclaimed to be the best movie ever made, and if its not the best movie ever its pretty close. I may not have enjoyed this as the best movie ever made, but every thing in it is superior to every other movie I have seen, well ahead of its time. This movie is almost perfect and every scene feels polished and worked on, an attribute I love to see in movies.

Citizen Kane is about a group of newspaper men trying to find out what Charles Foster Kane's last words "rosebud" meant. They go and talk to all the people who knew him and maybe able to help and we go back in time and watch this certain persons memories unfold. I found this technique very effective and it was truly amazing.

Citizen Kane is often criticized by the dumb ass's that it is boring it is not boring, however I can see how a retard could think this as there are no Yipe Kia moments nor huge explosion or bat mobiles. It is a drama. If you don't like a movie because it is a drama it is not the movies fault. The acting in it is perfect, up there with Taxi Driver, Orson Welles builds his character perfectly and his speech was awesome. The story line in this is very awesome I love the hard times and the good times Charles Foster Kane gets put through. The Cinematography and the use of the shots is very effective. I love the first scene with Kane saying his last words and the way in which this scene has been shot. To go with the start I also really enjoyed the end. There was however one thing that annoyed me a little and that was one of Kane's wife's, her character wasn't bad just annoying, for example the way in which see talked.

Orson Welles pulls the part off like a legend. He makes you like his character very much and it feels like you are watching a real person. His character is quite bold and has very strong beliefs. He is a very good character and you see him through all his ages from a little child right until and old man where he dies, you get to see his character change through his age the way he changes from being childish when he is young to more serious but still just as awesome.

Each scene feels creative and highly thought out unlike some movies these days that feel like they just make the camera angles up on the spot, I like this aspect of this movie as it keeps me interested and makes the movie feel perfected. Some parts thinking back on make you almost jump up and down they are so well done. The scene at the start were it is snowing and we go up Kane's mountain and into the castle in which he lives to see him in his bed and whisper his last words "rosebud". Then drop the glass ball on the ground and it shatters. This scene could not be any better. I thought this about many of the scene the ending scenes are also like this one with it zooming out from his castle just like it zoomed in on it in the beginning.

Kane's wife the singer was a childish loud mouth that pisses you off. Her voice is very winy and high pitched. Her character I did not like it annoyed me however the acting for her part was not bad and her character did add to the story and added to Kane's character. Maybe the more I watch it the better I will like her.

I always love a movie not being in chronological order it makes people think for them selves work out what order things go in. I loved the way it was done in this. Watching the reporters talk to the older versions of these people who we then meet in the mind of the person being interviewed we see what that person was like back when they knew Kane how they have changed through looks and attitude how they were different when they were young.

In conclusion the more I think about this movie the more I believe it is the best ever made. It is well ahead of its time. Good Job Orson Welles you are awesome.

10/10

Taxi Driver

Genre: Drama
Year of release: 1976
Director: Martin Scorsese

"You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? Then who the hell else are you talking... you talking to me? Well I'm the only one here. Who the fuck do you think you're talking to?

I love Scorsese's movies he is a great director and I must say this is his best. This was the second time I have watched Taxi Driver, the first time was also great. De Niro was born to play Travis Bickle.

This and On the Waterfront are in my opinion the best acted movies of all time. Robert De Niro slips into this role and makes you forget he is Robert De Niro he simply transforms perfectly into Travis Bickle. Martin Scorsese has polished this movie into perfection and every scene shines in perfection as well as the story being pretty cool to go with it.

Travis Bickle is an ex marine, and wants a job where he can work long hours and room around the city. His character is lonely and although not clearly obvious he is mentally unstable Travis feels the need to help a prostitute he believes to be too young.

Taxi Driver's acting will never be forgotten, De Niro makes it look easy. His character comes off as being lonely, desperate, crazy but makes you look closely to see all this his character is obviously awesome.I think everybody can identify with the loneliness that Travis goes through at some point in our lives. I love the scene were he says the line " You talking to me" and I have been saying that since I first saw this movie, about 6 months ago. However unlike On the Waterfront there are no other real scenes that stand out because every scene is so well done that the whole movie stands out. Jodie Foster was also very good, her character was outgoing, loud, and childish because well she is a child in this movie. It is strange watching her when she was so young.

Like many of the greatest movies Taxi Driver is not fast paced it is nice and flowing, the music helps this as well. Travis just does his day to day thing and its exciting. I love the ending of this movie, it makes every Travis accomplished feel worth it.

In Conclusion this is one of the greatest movies of all time through its kick ass acting espically because of Robert De Niro who is now probably my favorite actor, the way in which Martin Scorsese has delivered it, the calm flowing and relaxing way this movie goes through each scene add to by the great score of the Saxophone Solo, makes you think and I love the main character Travis Bickle the whole way through this great film, even if he does make so dumb decisions (taking a girlfriend out to a porno film). Defiantly one of the best movies ever.

10/10

Leben der Anderen, Das (The Lives of Others)

Genre: Drama
Year of release: 2006
Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

This movie is a text book example of a drama, just like silence of the lambs is thriller and die hard is action. I found it very easy to fall asleep with out my proper food and drink, so in the middle of this movie I quickly bought some. After having my trusty bottle of coke at my side I was no longer tired and could stay awake quite easily. Even when I was falling asleep I was still enjoying the movie quite a lot and it was even better when I was fully awake. Great movie.

Lives of others is about the secret police of East Germany back when the Berlin wall was up in 1984 and the surveillance of a certain writer. The man (Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler played nicely by Ulrich Mühe) listening in on all their conversations gets interested in their lives and eventually tries even helping the writer under surveillance.

The Lives of others is much deeper than it appears, at first I did not fully understand why Wiesler would be so interested in their lives why he would go against his sworn duty, but the reason as I soon found out after was quite good and for me boosts the movie up a few points. Sometimes its good for a movie not to fully explain things, makes people think for themselves and even if somebody tells you it gives more meaning to each simple scene that I first thought nothing of.

This movie does not have any action it is merely a talking movie, just to let you know if you have not seen it, it neither has great climaxes either it simply cruises easily. If you do not like dramas then you will not like this movie.

I also enjoyed the ending of this movie. The last scenes made his efforts feel worth it. The director did a good job of this movie, the movie only lacks on it lack of climax however I do not think they could have pulled it off anyway. It a wonderful movie with some some good acting, decent story, and a good amount of depth, the characters were pretty good and the way Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck has made each scene is great.

8.5/10

Once were Warriors

Genre: Drama
Year released:1995
Director: Lee Tamahori

"Cook the man some fucking eggs!"

I live in New Zealand and strangely enough this was the first time I had watched this movie. I heard lots of people talk and recommend this movie, I don't really know why I had not seen this movie earlier. I liked it. GJ New Zealand that what number 4 good movies you have made.

Once were Warriors is about a Maori family living in a Maori neighborhood, this family goes through many hardships, the father has a bad temper to say the least, they live in a dump, have too many parties thrown by the parents while the young children sleep/try to sleep. This movie does have rather good acting, in my opinion, sure it was not any Taxi Driver or On the Waterfront performances but I was really surprised at how well Temuera Morrison acted. The story is also very sad as well as being very violent. I like how the story is very real and relates to real life situations there are people who live like this.

The acting never once bothered me, sorry New Zealand. Temuera Morrison plays Jake the father of this family in trouble, Jake is an alcoholic and is a violent person who seems to communicate with his fists. His blasts of rage were acted out well acted. The other characters although not as worked on except maybe the mother, who I felt sorry for, were not bad either. They all had their problems except Grace who was quite normal in very non normal situations, I believe and anyone who watches this will believe she had a very hard time dealing with this. The two older boys are trying to be strong, though are both troubled they have their anger stored up inside them and are bad at communicating and looking for some thing, their lives are empty. The mother is a good character, she too is addicted drinking and parting. The mother Beth is also acted well Reno Owen did an alright job of her character. Beth is on the verge of leaving Jake, although struggles as she loves the non violent Jake. The kid that lives in the car too was cool.

The violence is quite graphic and intense, I don't really notice the violence in a lot of films, but in this it really stands out. The way these scenes are done is great in a sick way. Jake who is big beating really badly his helpless wife Beth is extreme it might be the way of something so powerful beating up such an innocent women incredibly badly makes me feel every punch. It makes you quite sad and feel so bad for Beth.

In conclusion a very good New Zealand film, that is quite deep through human values of what is right and acceptable and how some times these values slip through who you are around and the things you hold inside you. The acting and overall movie is much better than I expected. This is a movie about a family not a family movie.

7.5/10

On the Waterfront

Genre: Drama
Year of release: 1954
Director: Elia Kazan

This is the first time I have watched On the Waterfront and it was less than 5 minutes ago that it finished I did not enjoy this movies as the hard core critics and probably because it was not what I was expecting, if I watched it again I am sure I would enjoy it more.

On the Waterfront is about an ex boxer Terry Malloy doing jobs for his corrupt union bosses on the waterfront. He finds love in the sister of his union bosses last victim who was about to testify against him Edie Doyle. . Marlon Brando was without a doubt awesome, thinking back on this movie some of the lines that Brando says he has done so well for instance "I could a been somebody!" Brando's performances would be a definite contender for the best acting of all time. The story of this is really quite good as well.

Even though Brando was defiantly the best in this movie Lee J. Cobb was also very very good, this is the 2cnd Lee J. Cobb movie i have seen this and 12 angry men like this movie he was very very good but still only 2cnd best, Henry Fonda was a hard act to beat. The simplicity of this movie is quite good and it is quite short at only one hour forty.

Brando in On the Waterfront is defiantly one of the best performances in all time. In my opinion the only other performances that challenge this one is DeNiro in Taxi Driver, Brando's Godfather, Heath Ledger's Joker, Nicholson's R.P. McMurphy. If you haven't seen this movie then you should watch it simply because of the acting. Brando is simply amazing even if he did have to read from cue cards. Some of the final scenes epically are extremely good. I am looking forward "A street car named desire".

This movie is well paced, not fast and not slow. This movie really improved after the famous taxi scene, after this the story starts to get really good. This movie does not have as much action as I expected and I think that is why I did not enjoy it as much as I should have. I am not saying that if I had made it I would have put more action in, I would not change a thing.

In conclusion a great movie with probably the best performance that I have seen, Taxi Driver and this are about even. Great story and RIP Mr Pigeon. RIP Marlon Brando.

9/10

All about Eve

Genre: Drama

Year of release: 1950

Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz



"Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy night!" I just watched this movie a second ago for the first time, I loved it. I had my doubts at first as it looked and sounded like a boring, well acted but dull sort of romance, comedy. All about Eve is not dull, it may not be super fast paced but it is a true classic, it has inspired me to watch more of the older more classic movies that I had first glanced over at the video store because they looked dull or boring. All about Eve can be easily enjoyed by both genders however i wonder if I would enjoy it more if I was a women.

This classic tale tells the story of Eve and her trip from rags to riches, from a theater fanatic who worships a specific actress, Margo (Bette Davis), into an award winning actress winning one of the greatest theater awards for acting that they give out. The acting in this is pretty damn good the thing i love about classics the acting was damn good ... from everyone. Bette Davis was great as Margo, Anne Baxter was great as Eve everyone in this movie was fabulous. This movie was boosted up a lot because of its ending for me at least that is. Also the start was quite good starting from the award ceremony for Eve then taking a still shot as George Sanders and Celeste Holm narrate then working its working its way backwards to explain "All about Eve".

The acting was great, i think people were better at acting back a few years, now days people are so obsessed with making money that they forget to act properly. Bette Davis was very convincing of her character, a childish, loud,mood swinging, tantra throwing actress. I personally liked Bette's character quite a lot, she was hard to figure out and she knew it. Eve Anne Baxter's character was also quite good she is quite and shy however as the story goes evolves to be more like her idol Bette, more confident, speaks louder.

This is the first movie I have seen that has Marilyn Monroe in it I quite enjoy her as she was funny through slightly dim witted attitude "Well, I can't yell "Oh butler!" can I? Maybe somebody's name is Butler". George Sanders was a very good theater critic I liked him right from the start however by the end I liked him a lot more.

I really enjoy narration, well good narration, like in Apocalypse now, Goodfellas, Fight club as it seems to make me more in the mood for the movie, it draws me into the story and makes me forget I am watching a movie. So the narration at the start of this movie I also enjoyed. In the beginning (lol that seems kinda cliche) of All about Eve we begin at the Ceremony for Eve as an actress and the thing I liked was the technique used, in the midst of the narration the film stops still and we a left with just a picture of Eve reaching for her award and we go back to where it all began until we come back to the same picture and we continue from there, once of course we know "All about Eve".

In conclusion a great movie its well acted, good story, great end and beginning, a little bit of humor and deserving of being remembered for another 50 years and another and another untill the end of time.

9.5/10

Bubba Ho-Tep

Genre: Comedy
Year of release:
Director: 2002

Quite good at the start then dies slowly. It took two attempts to watch this movie the first time I watched all the good parts and then fell asleep. In all its not a bad movie but meh. If your a Campbell fan you'll probably enjoy it.

Bubba Ho-tep is a story of two men in a nursing home and the journey they take to defeat the soul eating mummy that has been killing their old friends. One Character (Bruce Campbell) thinks that he is Elvis (or maybe he is, you decide) as an old man with a wart on his pecker and the other main character believes he is or is JFK and has been died black to be saved from assassination, JFK is constantly worried he is about to be killed. Bruce Campbell is quite good in it and makes you wonder if he is actually Elvis or just an impersonator, as well as being quite funny. I enjoyed the first half of this film quite a lot but then like most of the newer movies these days, epically American ones, it goes over the top and stops being funny.

I love both JFK and Elvis their characters were building nicely but then this movie got a bit to carried away into trying to kill this mummy rather than on being funny. Elvis and JFK's were quite humerous epically how JFK is black and a little bit crazy/weird. The old cowboy who had completely lost it was bad ass, however was only in a very small part of the movie. I like it how in a way they have left you the audience to decide if JFK and Elvis's characters are actually who they say they are or if they are just a bit crazy.

In conclusion overall this movie is quite good if you can be bothered, it is worth a watch however it is not the greatest movie of all time. If you are a Campbell fan you should like it.

7/10

Blade Runner

Genre: Sci-Fi, Action

Year of release: 1982

Director: Ridley Scott

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe."

Director's cut/final cut rules. I haven't sceen the original blade runner but i have heard that essential things are not in it. See the director's cut or final cut they are really good and I just love the ending. I waited to watch this movie for a long time it was on my list of movies to watch for ages every time i would go to the video store it would be out of something, when I watched this movie for the first time it did not make to huge of an affect on me, I still decided to buy it and the second viewing for me was out of this world.

Blade runner is set in the future and is about replicants who come back to earth, replicants are man made people who look and act like humans they are ileagal in earth and are to be executed/retired the people with the job of retiring these replicants are called blade runners. Harrison Fords character Rick Deckard who is a great character, has the job of retireing 4 replicants that have come back to earth to get a longer life span, longer that their usual of 4 years. This movie contains my 4th faviorite bad guy Roy Batty(1st Joker, Hanibal, Darth Vader and Norman Bates is pretty close) pretty much just because of one scene right at the end if you have sceen this movie you will know which one. I love Harrison Ford his characters are always so awesome, I love the way ridley scott thinks the future will be like, I love the hidden things that you do not pick up on the first time.

Harrison Ford has always been one of my personal favorites he always seems to pull off the awesome bad ass dude that gets into lots of action and adventure but blade runner is more deep then Star Wars or Indiana Jones, its a very perfectly made film that harrison ford was born to play in. Harrison is not super out-going seeking adventure like he is in Indiana Jones or Star Wars, he is more or less an ordaniary guy...

Ridley Scott is a great director he has made every scene in Blade Runner perfect and necessary each scene adds to the greatness of this film, and the way Ridley Scot sees the future seems very realist things are not going to be fine and dandy I believe the world is going to become more of a shit hole as the future progresses. The world has always been getting progressively worse in my opinion and that trend will probably continue like that and turn in to what Ridley Scott has shown in Blade Runner.

This movie is a must see, however i didnt really like it the first time compared to how much i like it now. 103 on imdb is pathetic, Blade Runner should be a lot higher. In conclusion kick ass. Watch it ... more that once.

10/10

Apocalypse now

Genre: War, Drama, Action

Year of release: 1979

Director: Francis Ford Coppola

War movie fans are in for a damn treat. This movie rules it kicks ass, its the best war movie in the world, beats saving private Ryan by a long shot. Showing the horrors of war. The way people went a little funny in Vietnam. Although this is a long movie it is defiantly worth it and should rank high in your favorite movies.

Wonderful movie about a secret mission in which one man must terminate a crazed commander in the middle of the Vietnam forests, only he is an American ... "It shouldn't have made a difference to me, but it did." The first scene is unbelievably awesome showing a explosion of a forest with the song "this is the end" by the doors. It makes a perfect effect and is a very powerful opener. The narration by main character Captain Benjamin L. Willard played by Martin Sheen improves this movie. The story is great and the work put into the characters is pretty awesome as well. Francis Ford Coppola did a great job of this movie spending many years making it, it was well worth his effort. Martin Sheen was really great in this he acted his part like a true legend.

If will start from the start this films opening scene is at least one of my favorite scenes. The calm music starts as you look at a forest and helicopters smoothly flying past the camera. When the lyrics begin the forest silently explodes and the only sounds left is the doors and the sound of helicopters. The lyrics match this perfectly sing "This is the end" right as the forest explodes. We then start to see Martin sheen face slightly faded into the background upside down lying on a bed thinking of Vietnam we are slowly lead into Willard's apartment were the helicopter noise turns into the sound of the rotating fan blades where Martin narrates his brilliant speech. This scene is true brilliance and make me feel warm inside, it sends a shiver down my spine as I type this. This scene clearly shows there is a god and showed the world through Francis Ford Coppola how to begin a movie.

The acting and characters of this movie is some of the best I have ever seen, even the little characters like Clean and Chief, the Photojournalist, Colonel Walter E. Kurtz, Chef. I found Laurence Fishburne hard to recognize as he is very young, found it quite funny. Marlon Brando is a great actor, his job in the Godfather was unbelievable any one that tries to reenact Marlon Brando is an idiot. Marlon's acting in Apocalypse was very good however he is much better in the Godfather (looking forward to seeing his earlier stuff) Robert Duvall is also quite awesome and very funny. His character Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore is a crazy colonel who likes surfing. His character does kill many Vietnam innocents which is quite extreme , they were commies tho lol.

The whole movie almost leads up to meeting colonel Kurts and practically the whole movie Willard is deciding should i kill this American Colonel who before this incident of going crazy in the jungle with an army tribes people has a perfect record, always top of his class. The way we the audience are lead through Willards thoughts is so beyond awesome its is simply perfect. Every time in this movie where Colonel Willard talks it is amazing.

In conclusion the greatest war movie in the world,Greatly acted by many different characters, best narration in a movie, great plot, great score. Francis Ford Coppola deserves a medal for this movie.

10/10

The Dark Knight

Genre: Action

Year of release:2008

Director: Christopher Nolan

"I believe whatever doesn't kill you simply makes you... stranger. "

Best bad guy fullstop. Heath Ledgers performance is simply perfect. His Joker is both funny, scary, creepy and absolutely awesome. For over a whole year me and the rest of the world waited for this movie. I was not disappointed.

The Dark Knight tells the story of Batman, Harvey Dent and Gordon and their struggles to take down the Joker in his crazy schemes "to watch the world burn." This is a great movie I have now seen all of Christian Bales films and this is his best beating Memento, the Prestige and defiantly Batman Begins. Although the spotlight is stolen by Heath, Aaron Eckhart was also great and Christian Bale did pretty good, many people thought his batman voice was annoying i can see what they mean by that but, meh, I don't care.

Heath Ledger (RIP) just like James Dean did not get to live when he was most popular. Heaths performance suited the Joker so incredibly well. I knew that Christopher Nolan would make a Joker that was realist and believable, it just had to be. The Batman movies that Nolan makes are no joke, Batman is not for kids anymore, the film is dead serious and goes past being just a super hero movie, Batman is not a super hero he is what the city truly needs whether they citizens like it or not. So I knew that the Joker would be a crazy realistic character a whole year before this movie came out. The Dark Knight belongs to Heath performance.

I enjoy the story of this movie, I enjoy watching Batman's reaction to the Jokers outrageous behavior, I enjoyed the whole what will happen next type of thing. In the cinema both times that I have seen it I was on the edge of my seat the first time I got a little sore afterward from sitting in one position for 2 and half hours. The Dark knight is jammed full of great action scenes. The Dark knight brings you to some very great suspenseful moments that have had my eyes glued to the screen.

Although this is a serious movie there are a larger amount of laughs in it then I expected, quite a lot of scene are really funny. The Joker is the main reasons for this through his sick and crazy ways.

The Joker did defiantly steal the spotlight of this movie, however some of the other actors were also very good for instance Aaron Eckhart who played Harvey Dent. Aaron was also quite great in "Thank you for smoking." However after The Dark Knight I hope he will be in a lot more good movies. Christian Bale too was good he creates a bad ass batman that is not concerned with whether he is a hero or not "I like that." Just like in Watchmen (the graphic novel I just read) it makes things more realistic and removes it from the super hero category. Bales voice has been found to be quite annoying, I can see how many people think that, it did not annoy me too badly I was enthralled in this movie too much. I am a fan of Bales' works I love the Prestige, Rescue Dawn, 3:10 to Yuma and more this is his best film.

In conclusion I enjoyed this movie sooooooo much because its my type of movie, it is no God Father, still critically a great movie but there are many others that critically are far superior.

9.5/10

Pi

Genre: Drama, maths

Date of release: 1998

Director: Darren Aronofsky

Good but not like Requiem. I enjoyed this movie a fair amount. I liked how it was confusing and the way in which it was narrated, I was not expecting this movie to live up to Requiem for a dream (another film by Darren Aronofsky) it was about what i expected. Worth watching to fill in time or if you are into maths.

Pi is about a mathematician, Maximillian Cohen, trying to break the stock market, when he is onto a break through his life starts to get into danger. It very clever and i can see the begins of Requiem for a dream in there, with the close ups of drugs getting put into a mouth with exaggerated sound effects. Like all mathematician he starts to go a little crazy. The character was quite good and there was a few good scene which show Cohen's insanity through trying to solve his confusing maths questions. It lost it a bit in the middle started to get a bit messy. I liked the narration done by Cohen.

I think maybe a person that is good at maths might be able to follow the story of this movie better than I did. It felt clever but had me a bit confessed, it didn't help that he was a nut either I just made me more confused at parts, him being crazy was defiantly something that should not change about this movie. It is quite fast paced and short which also did not help.

The character was good the acting was alright nothing special, just alright. He hated other people and did not want to me them he did however have one friend another older retired mathematician who had had a stoke because of his maths.

In the middle of this movie it felt a bit messy there was suspense and then it was killed by weirdness they could have made Cohen fear for his life more. I could not tell if he was scared or just his usual crazy self. My enjoyment dropped quite a lot during the middle of the movie, the end was good, I would have liked it a bit more if they cut of the last minute but it didn't really make any difference.

In conclusion an alright movie worth a watch if ya in the mode but don't get your hopes too high.

7.5/10

Shichinin no samurai (Seven Samurai)

Genre: Drama
Year of release:1954
Director: Akira Kurosawa

My favorite Kurosawa movie. This is what the meaning of good cinema is they don't make many movies like this anymore. This was actually the movie that got me into classic movies, ones that predated the 70s, so I am sooooooooo very thankful Akira Kurosawa if you can read this from heaven (may he RIP). This movie sparked me off into watching other older movies like psycho, vertigo, Lawrence of Arabia, North by northwest, Rushomon, Ran, the Great Fortress, Ikiru, High and Low.

Seven Samurai is the great story of a group of farmers finding out their village is to be attacked by bandits as soon as the crops have ripened. These farmers on the verge of suicide and hire samurai to protect their village. Seven Samurai is the original Magnificent Seven. Kikuchiyo or Thirteen as I call him played by the awesome Toshirô Mifune is the greatest character in this film his ruthless, crazy and uncaring attitude makes him one of the best characters of all time. Seven Samurai is a Kurosawa masterpiece. It is smart, has great characters, great war strategies, great Kurosawa long shots, a great story, funny and although 3 hours long manages to keep you on the edge of your seat even in a simple talking scene.

Toshirô Mifune is a very awesome character who wants to be one of the farmers samurai but is not allowed, although this does not stop him. He is quite childishly funny at times and makes you laugh a little bit throughout this movie. His character is daring and brave, he does not seem to frightened easily. Thirteen has a very awesome jump which is quite funny to watch. He is not the greatest in war strategies but seems to do well in warfare regardless. He my favorite character but all of the other characters are also very enjoyable.

Although this movie is over three hours long it manages to keep you interested and on the edge of your seat through its wonderfully acting, the cleverness involved, Kurosawa directing and the story is quite interesting. It does not take long for you to start to care about each individual character. It did take me a second viewing to completely see the full power this movie truly has. Now when I watch it every word seems perfect and it makes you feel happy. Seven Samurai is crafted by the hands of a genius and is preformed by some of the best actors epically Toshirô Mifune. From the minute you start this journey to the minute you finish it you are drawn into the movie as if you are there felling their pains and triumphs. Seven Samurai although is not a comedy is quite funny and I have quite a few laughs many of which are directed towards thirteen.

In conclusion an awesome movie worthy of every critics praise. Seven Samurai is one of the best movies I have ever seen. It contains a very kick ass acting, an awesome storyline, some of the best characters which will make you laugh and cry(not that i cry at movies ,of course not.), cool score, and very very well made gj Akira :). If you have not seen this movie you should watch it now.
11/10

2001: a space odyssey

Genre: Sci-fi, Drama

Date released: 1968

Director: Stanley Kubrick (the best)

Wow.

The first time I watched this it did not appeal to me too greatly, however the second and now the third time was simply an experience my level of england skills can not express. This is Stanley Kubrick's best movie that I have seen, i love A Clockwork Orange however this movie is far superior. This would be in my opinion critically one of the best movies maybe lower than the Godfather and I have yet to see Citizen Kane and about equal with Seven Samurai. I believe imdb to be very wrong about this movie. 2001: a space odyssey is also one of my personal favorites.

This movie show the development of man through the ages due to alien contact using monoliths. It adventures through three parts the dawn of man, thousands of years later at the moon and a trip to Jupiter with a cool as computer named Hal. I believe this movie is not suppose to be fully understood epically the first time round and that is the genius. The story seems simple and easy going however there more to the simple scenes then I originally thought. 2001 is a fantastically smart movie with certain future aspects that are so awesome. The music is beautiful and sets a perfect scene for space it makes you relax and watch space move slowly and calmly floating on nothingness.

The acting in 2001 is really good however there is not much words spoken throughout the film. The acting in this movie is not what makes it great, it is the ideas the complicity and the thrill of trying to figure out this movie.

What I love about this movie is that you never see the aliens, they are not like that. The aliens are study the humans and the less of them you see the better as it lets you create a almost personal opinion of the movie that could be completely different to the next persons yet still correct. The way the Kubrick has made each scene so easy going, when really it is quite complicated is genius. I have my opinions of what this movie is about but there always seems to be a deeper meaning to this movie that is unlocked each additional time you watch it.

Kubrick ideas that he put into this movie are really cool, his future that he has created in 2001, which is now the past seem smart and creative. For instance the sticky shoes that the people were on space flights so that they move more efficiently and easily, the way they eat through straws, and then watching how 18 months later both those two things have complete change, because of the new advancements.

The originality of this movie really sets it aside from any other movie I have seen. This is one of the reasons I like it so much. I can not think of a movie that is remotely the same as the legendary film 2001: a space odyssey. The ending is really a spectacular masterpiece. The way in which the aliens are not trying to kill everybody but simply study and learn from us humans and the ways that they can advance ours knowledge so easily.

I am a personal fan of Kubrick epically 2001, a clockwork orange, Dr strangelove, full metal jacket, the shinning, Spartacus and eyes wide shut was alright as well. I am looking forward to watching paths of glory, Bary Lyndon and the killing. Kubrick is my favorite director and this is my favorite one of his movies.

In conclusion 2001 is awesome through its originality and cleaver ideas along with its great story and awesome ending. Watch this movie or i karate chop your grandma!

10/10

One flew over the Cuckoo's nest

Genre: Drama
Year of release:1975
Director: Milos Forman

"You're not an idiot. Huh! You're not a goddamn looney now, boy. You're a fisherman!"

One of the best performances by Jack Nicholson. Jack pulls his character off so incredibly well it is worth seeing just for that, this movie reassures me that he is defiantly one of the best actors. When I first watched this movie as per usual I did not see the brilliance in it. The second time was great.

Placed in a mental institution R.P. McMurphy after serving a while in prison R.P. is either crazy or is not and you have to decide. He tries helping people in this institution for instance a mute Indian, know as Chief, to play basketball and various other acts of in my opinion goodness and gives the staff of the hospital a bit of a hard time not that they didn't deserve it. The characters in One flew over the Cuckoo's nest are some of the best I have seen in the end I loved everybody epically McMurphy and Chief. Nurse Mildred Ratched was well played her character was an over controlling (bad word) Louise Fletcher acted the part perfectly.

R.P. McMurphy is one of the best characters of all time a classic character, he is bold, loud, funny and possibly, its up to you truly crazy. But this amazing character would not have been pulled off by anybody, they had to get the living legend Jack Nicholson. Jack played this role very well he held the character on the line of insanity, but at the same time made you think he was a very normal guy, one that well we all know somebody that acts very similarly to R.P. This made the movie better because it means we can all relate to this movie more. R.P. was not a nut he had not completely lost it. I liked how his character helped people like the way he help Chief and Billy and Martini (first time that I thoroughly enjoyed DeVito except maybe L.A confidential) R.P. helped basically every one, this to made you relate more to the movie as he was not some random nut that hates the world, he acts like a nice person one that you or I could meet on a normal day.

Chiefs character was very cool, I love seeing characters develop through a movie. I enjoyed watching him slightly come out of his box, start playing basketball and getting more involved in what was happening around him. Martini was also very good, quite a funny character who would always be on R.P.s side. Who would think DeVito could possibly be cool.

Nurse Ratched was wonderfully played by Louise Fletcher, she was the stereo typical mental institution nurse, very calm and spoke clearly and very softly no matter what the situation. Nurse Ratched to had problems, Ratched was a complete control freak and that would be why she has taken a job like being a nurse in a mental institution. She pushes everyone around and try to control every thing she gets away with because these people are mentally ill, not big enough in their character to stand up to her, even R.P. has a hard time doing this. After a while I hated her just like she was suppose to be hated I could feel the pain of the patients that had to be under her. I wanted to strangle her after a few things that she said and how she said them always so calmly add to the frustration, it seemed almost like she was teasing the patients.

What makes this movie better is it underlying messages which i will learn more about in further research and watching it is basically about politics, Chief could not speak because at the time Native Indians had no voice in politics, the nurse is the government trying to control us all and McMurphy is trying to set us free.

In conclusion this poetic, powerful drama was mint.Some of the worlds greatest characters and the greatest acting by everyone in the cast epically Louise Fletcher and Jack Nicholson. A great and quite deep movie. I have yet to have purchased it but hopefully it will not be long. I am looking forward to watching Amadeus and some of Milos Forman's other pieces of artwork.

9/10