100 Words… – Page 10

100 Word Review – Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015)

August 27, 2015April 15, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Comedy, DramaTagged cinema, Comedy, Connie Britton, Drama, films, Jesse Andrews, Nick Offerman, Olivia Cooke, RJ Clyer, Thomas MannLeave a comment

This is one of those films that I’ll be talking about for months.

Greg (Thomas Mann) is forced by his mother (Connie Britton) and father (Nick Offerman) to hang out with his classmate Rachel (Olivia Cooke) after they find out she has leukaemia.

RJ Clyer is wonderful as Greg’s fellow filmmaker, the dead-pan Earl of the title.

Funny and moving in a way which is reminiscent of Little Miss Sunshine.

Adapted from the novel by its author Jesse Andrews, it is a wonderful exploration of friendship and loss of innocence splattered with enough filmic references for the most devout cinephile.

100 Word Review – Misery (1990)

August 25, 2015April 15, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Drama, ThrillerTagged Drama, James Caan, Kathy Bates, Oscars, Rob Reiner, Stephen King, Thriller, William Goldman1 Comment

Kathy Bates is extraordinary in this film.

Acclaimed writer Paul Sheldon (James Caan), whose car comes off the road on an isolated highway, is rescued by Annie Wilkes (Bates), his biggest fan.

A wonderful, terrifying thriller about the power of fame and idolisation.

I’ve never been more scared of anyone than I am of Bates in this film. She won an Oscar for her performance. Adapted by William Goldman (The Princess Bride, Marathon Man) from Stephen King’s novel and directed by Rob Reiner (The Princess Bride, This Is Spinal Tap), it’s a story constructed by master storytellers, delivered with perfection.

100 Word Review – Ruby Sparks (2012)

August 24, 2015April 15, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Comedy, Drama, F-Rated, Fantasy, RomanceTagged Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Paul Dano, Romance, Zoe KazanLeave a comment

Calvin (Paul Dano) is a best-selling author going through writers block. Dreaming of the girl of his dreams, he begins writing about her, never imagining that she might step off the page and into his life.

The first film written by and starring the hugely talented Zoe Kazan (In Your Eyes, What If), with a spectacular cast, it is a better version of (500) Days of Summer (2009), showing the dangers of creating an image of a women rather than getting to know the one that is right in front of you.

It is beautiful, magical, terrifying and above all truly heart-felt.

100 Word Review – Lars and The Real Girl (2007)

August 22, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Comedy, DramaTagged Comedy, Drama, Emily Mortimer, family, mental illness, Nancy Oliver, Paul Schneider, Ryan GoslingLeave a comment

One of the best films I have ever seen about coping with mental illness in a loved one.

Lars (Ryan Gosling) is an awkward young man who brings his girlfriend over for dinner with his brother (Paul Schneider) and sister-in-law (Emily Mortimer). She is a sex doll called Bianca, that Lars ordered online and is having a deep and meaningful relationship with.

Writer Nancy Oliver (Six Feet Under, True Blood) was nominated for an Oscar for her work. This film is moving beyond belief, but in a really happy way. It’s touching and subtle and dry and very very human.

100 Word Review – 12 Angry Men (1957)

August 21, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., DramaTagged Drama, Henry Fonda, jury, legal, Sidney Lumet, tense3 Comments

Henry Fonda stars in this moving legal drama.

Based almost entirely in one room, it follows the decision making process of a jury in a murder case and how minds can be changed by one man asking all the right questions.

Directed by Sidney Lumet (Network, Dog Day Afternoon), it was shot with ever increasing focal lengths so that the backdrops appear closer to the actors as the film intensifies, filling an audience with a growing sense of claustrophobia.

Despite the low budget, and losing out on all three Oscar nominations, it currently sits at number 5 on IMDb’s Top 250 films.

100 Word Review – In The Loop (2009)

August 20, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Comedy, DramaTagged Armando Iannucci, Chris Addison, Comedy, Drama, James Gandolfini, Peter Capaldi, political, satire, Tom HollanderLeave a comment

This is a political satire to end all political satires.

MP Simon Foster (Tom Hollander) with his assistant Toby (Chris Addison) and spin doctor Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi) head state-side as representatives of the British Parliament in an attempt to ensure another war doesn’t start.

Co-written and directed by the marvellous Armando Iannucci (Alan Partridge, Veep), and co-starring James Gandolfini, this could not help but be a masterpiece of dry-wit and comedic filmmaking.

It has the feel of a fly-on-the-wall documentary, which ties in with the “funny because it’s true” sensibility of the script perfectly. It is also endlessly quotable.

100 Word Review – Starship Troopers (1997)

August 19, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Sci FiTagged adaptation, dystopian, Edward Neumeier, Neil Patrick Harris, Paul Verhoeven, Robert A Heinlein, satire, Sci Fi, violence, war1 Comment

This is glorious in both its satire and its exploding giant bug aliens.

Set in a militaristic dystopian future, Earth is at war with a race of bug aliens. A group of friends work their way through the ranks in the hopes of destroying the alien threat.

Adapted from Robert A Heinlein’s novel by Edward Neumeier (Robocop) and directed by Paul Verhoeven (Total Recall, Robocop), upon its initial release the satire was missed by many who criticised it as a glorification of war.

It achieves the perfect balance between violence and politics, showing one up by use of the other.

100 Word Review – The Skeleton Twins (2014)

August 18, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Comedy, DramaTagged Bill Hader, Comedy, Craig Johnson, Drama, Kristen Wiig, Luke Wilson, Mark Heyman, siblings, twins, Ty BurrellLeave a comment

From writer and director Craig Johnson (True Adolescents) and co-writer Mark Heyman (Black Swan, The Wrestler), comes this bitter-sweet drama about the strength of shared childhoods and sibling bonds.

Milo (Bill Hader) a failed actor, attempts suicide. His estranged twin sister Maggie (Kristen Wiig) gets the call as she is on the verge of doing the same. Forced back into each others lives after 10 years apart, they rediscover each other, themselves and just try to survive.

Co starring the equally wonderful Luke Wilson and Ty Burrell, this is a quirky moving film with moments of comedy, karma and catharsis.

100 Word Review – Girl Most Likely (2012)

August 17, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Comedy, Drama, F-Rated, RomanceTagged Annette Bening, Christopher Fitzgerald, Comedy, Darren Criss, Drama, Kristen Wiig, Matt Dillon, Netflix, quirky, RomanceLeave a comment

Currently available on Netflix, this such an underrated film.

Imogene (Kristen Wiig), a failing playwright, moves back in with her mother (Annette Bening), younger brother (Christopher Fitzgerald) in New Jersey after her career and relationship end up on the rocks.

Darren Criss and Matt Dillon are wonderful as the two strange men who are also living under her mother’s roof.

This film is an emotionally-tangled subtle masterpiece. It’s funny, quirky and moving. While everyone involved is fantastic, Wiig and Criss are a delight, but Dillon steals the show, with a performance I am talking about months after first seeing it.

100 Word Review – Blackfish (2013)

August 16, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Action, F-RatedTagged Dawn Brancheau, documentary, Gabriela Cowperthwaite, orca, SeaWorld, TilikumLeave a comment

In 2010, Dawn Brancheau, a senior trainer at SeaWorld, died in an orca tank.

Her body was recovered drowned, scalped and dismembered.

This is the first documentary written and directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, and examines the true cost of orca captivity. Focusing on the actions of SeaWorld, much of the narrative is built around Tilikum, SeaWorld’s infamous bull orca who is known to be responsible for two trainer deaths.

Complete with interviews with previous trainers at SeaWorld, as well as experts in natural orca behaviour and eye-witnesses, archive footage and courtroom transcripts, they construct an argument almost impossible to argue with.