September 2015 – cinemescope

100 Word Review – Men In Black (1997)

September 24, 2015April 15, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Comedy, Sci FiTagged Action, adaptation, aliens, Barry Sonnefeld, Comedy, Ed Solomon, family, Lowell Cunningham, Sci Fi, Tommy Lee Jones, Will SmithLeave a comment

As a piece of my childhood I find it hard to be objective about this film. Having said that I’ve never met anyone who disliked it.

After seeing a suspect blink sideways, police officer Jay (Will Smith) is inducted into a top secret organisation that keeps the world safe from aliens who already live on Earth, the Men In Black. Tommy Lee Jones co-stars as MIB stalwart, Kay.

Adapted from Lowell Cunningham’s comic by Ed Solomon (Now You See Me, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure) and directed by Barry Sonnefeld (Wild Wild West, Get Shorty), this film is brilliant fun.

100 Word Review – Amélie (2001)

September 23, 2015April 15, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Comedy, Drama, RomanceTagged Audrey Tautou, Comedy, Drama, French, Jean Pierre Jeaunet, Matthieu Kassovitz, philosophical, quirky, Romance, SubtitlesLeave a comment

Romantic and whimsical in a quintessentially French fashion.

Amélie (Audrey Tautou) lives alone in Paris, working at a local cafe. The death of Princess Diana prompts her to find a hidden treasure in her flat. She starts doing good deeds and standing up for the less fortunate when she meets Nino (Matthieu Kassovitz).

Co-written and directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet (A Very Long Engagement, The City of Lost Children), it is stylishly shot with a truly lovely soundtrack. Quirky, beautiful and funny, it was nominated for five Oscars, including Art Direction and Cinematography, and is currently number 75 on IMDb’s Top 250 films.

100 Word Review – Megamind (2010)

September 22, 2015April 15, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Fantasy, Sci FiTagged animation, Ben Stiller, Brad Pitt, David Cross, family, Fantasy, Jonah Hill, Sci Fi, super heroes, Tina Fey, Tom McGrath, Will Ferrell1 Comment

Don’t underestimate this film. It may not be Despicable Me, but definitely fits into that wheelhouse and is certainly worth a watch.

Megamind (Will Ferrell) is the ultimate super villain; he defeated his arch-nemesis Metro Man (Brad Pitt). But what is a villain with no one to struggle against?

Clearly based on the Superman origin story with an unusual perspective, it highlights everything that is brilliant about super heroes, as well as everything that isn’t.

Directed by Tom McGrath (Madagascar) and co-starring Jonah Hill, David Cross, Ben Stiller and Tina Fey, this film is great fun for all the family.

100 Word Review – Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)

September 21, 2015April 15, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., DramaTagged adaptation, Benicio Del Toro, Drama, drugs, Hunter S Thompson, Johnny Depp, Las Vegas, Terry GilliamLeave a comment

Based on the psychedelic ramblings of Hunter S. Thompson, this was never destined to be a comfortable film to watch.

Journalist Raoul Duke (Johnny Depp) and his psychotic “attorney” Dr Gonzo (Benicio Del Toro) drive to Las Vegas to cover a car race. With a boot full of drugs, what could go wrong.

Having seen this film several times, I’m still not certain how it ends.

Directed by the king of weird, Terry Gilliam (The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Brazil, Twelve Monkeys) this film falls somewhere between a nightmare and a psychotic break. It is also remarkable and incredibly clever.

100 Word Review – The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)

September 20, 2015April 15, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., FantasyTagged Andrew Garfield, Christopher Plummer, Colin Farrell, Fantasy, Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Lily Cole, Terry Gilliam, Tom Waits, Verne Troyer1 Comment

It’s a shame that this film is best known for being Heath Ledger’s last and not for its own merit.

Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) with his daughter (Lily Cole) and the rest of his theatre company (Ledger, Verne Troyer, Andrew Garfield) travel through modern London performing their strange show, ever followed by the mysterious Mr Nick (Tom Waits).

Written and directed by ex-Python Terry Gilliam (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Twelve Monkeys, Brazil), it is coated in his trademark style of combining the mundane and the bizarre to create something magical. Co-starring Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law.

100 Word Review – Insomnia (2002)

September 18, 2015April 15, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Drama, ThrillerTagged Al Pacino, Alaska, Christopher Nolan, crime, Drama, Hilary Swank, Martin Donovan, pyschological, Robin Williams, ThrillerLeave a comment

Psychological crime thrillers don’t come much better than this.

Homocide detective Will Dormer (Al Pacino) is sent with his partner (Martin Donovan) to investigate a murder in a small town in Alaska. Trapped in the perpetual daylight of an Alaskan summer and growing tensions, insomnia sets in…

Co-starring Hilary Swank and Robbin Williams and directed by the one and only Christopher Nolan (Memento, Inception, Interstellar), this film is tense beyond belief. It’s exhausting in the best possible way, placing you squarely in Will Dormer’s shoes.

Pacino and Williams are mesmerising, Swank’s sublime and Nolan’s clearly doing what he does best.

100 Word Review – Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)

September 15, 2015April 15, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., FantasyTagged Anne Rice, Antonio Banderas, Brad Pitt, Bram Stoker, Christian Slater, Fantasy, Horror, Kirsten Dunst, Neil Jordan, Thandie Newton, Tom Cruise, VampiresLeave a comment

Despite the fact that Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt both play vampires in this film, it is actually really good.

Daniel (Christian Slater) interviews Louis (Pitt), who tells him a tale of loneliness, betrayal and blood. His story starts in the 1700s, when he first became a vampire.

Adapted by Anne Rice (Queen of the Damned, Exit to Eden) from her own novel and directed by Neil Jordan (The Crying Game, Byzantium), it’s a brilliant example of modern vampires who are true outsiders looking in, in the vain of Bram Stoker, rather than glittery misunderstood heart-throbs who monopolise our screens.

100 Word Review – The Sound of Music (1965)

September 14, 2015April 15, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., RomanceTagged Austria, Charmain Carr, Christopher Plummer, Debbie Turner, Duane Chase, Heather Menzies-Urich, Julie Andrews, Kym Karath, Musical, Nicholas Hammond, Oscars, Robert Wise, RomanceLeave a comment

Let’s start with the obvious; if you don’t like musicals you won’t like this film.

Set during the run up to Nazi Germany’s occupation of Austria, Sister Maria (Julie Andrews) leaves her convent to act as governess to a widower’s (Christopher Plummer) seven children (Charmain Carr, Heather Menzies-Urich, Nicholas Hammond, Duane Chase, Debbie Turner and Kym Karath).

Based on the stage musical and directed by Robert Wise (West Side Story), it won five Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director.

It’s a beautifully made film that you’ll be able to sing along to parts the first time you watch it.

100 Word Review – The Goonies (1985)

September 13, 2015April 15, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Action, Comedy, FantasyTagged 1980s, Action, adventure, Chris Columbus, Comedy, Corey Feldman, family, Fantasy, Jeff Cohen, Jonathan Ke Quan, Josh Brolin, Kerri Green, Martha Plimpton, Richard Donner, Sean Astin, Steven SpielbergLeave a comment

Hey you guys!

I watched this for the first time last night and was blown away!

Set in a time before parents worried about their children disappearing on bikes into the sunset, a groups of kids (Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Corey Feldman, Jeff Cohen, Kerri Green, Martha Plimpton and Jonathan Ke Quan) seek a pirates treasure while being pursued by escaped criminals.

Screenplay by Chris Columbus (Gremlins), directed by Richard Donner (Lethal Weapon) with Steven Spielberg responsible for the story, it’s everything you’d hope for from an 80’s family action adventure film.

You’ll laugh, jump and quote it for days!

100 Word Review – Benny & Joon (1993)

September 12, 2015April 15, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Comedy, Drama, RomanceTagged Aiden Quinn, Buster Keaton, Comedy, Drama, Johnny Depp, Julianne Moore, Mary Stuart Masterson, mental illness, Oliver Platt, RomanceLeave a comment

This might be my favourite Johnny Depp film.

Joon (Mary Stuart Masterson) is mentally unwell. Her father Benny (Aiden Quinn) struggles to protect her the way he feels he should. Then they meet Sam (Johnny Depp), an awkward man with an obsession for silent stars like Buster Keaton.

Masterson is wonderful as the emotionally delicate Joon who is fighting for whatever independence she can get.

This film is perfect. It takes a sensitive and dark subject matter and normalises it, adding in the quirks we would expect from any Rom Com. Look out for co-stars Oliver Platt and Julianne Moore.