Category: 100 Words…

100 Word Review – Strictly Ballroom (1992)

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Directed by Baz Luhrmann (Romeo + Juliet, The Great Gatsby) shows off his style and sense of humour in this wonderful, quirky Australian comedy.

Scott Hastings (Paul Mercurio) is tipped to win the Pan Pacific Ballroom Dancing Championship, until dancing non-regulation steps loses him his dancing partner. With an overbearing mother living through his successes, will he risk dancing his own steps? And if so, will he find someone to dance with him?

This film is dramatic and hilarious. Part-mockumentary, part romantic comedy, full of feather boas, extraordinary hair styles and some toe-tapping tunes. It is guaranteed to make you smile!

100 Word Review – Patema Inverted (2013)

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Winner of the best anime at Edinburgh’s Anime film festival, this film is an absolute delight. 

Patema lives with her family in a series of tunnels deep underground. Exploring deeper and deeper she finds herself in  danger of falling off the world, in a place full of people for whom gravity is inverted.

The visuals in this film are breathtaking and Yasuhiro Yoshiura does a wonderful job of directing what could otherwise be a very confused feature.

Currently only available in Japanese, so not suitable for young children, but it’s definitely a great family film and a beautiful Sci Fi.

100 Word Review – Source Code (2011)

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Duncan Jones second film after Moon, this is a fantastic exploration of what it is that makes us human, our body or our mind.

Colter Stevens wakes up in someone else’s body (Jake Gyllenhaal), tasked by a government agency (headed by Vera Farmiga) to find out who caused a train to explode before he is destroyed in the same explosion.

If you got your head around that sentence there is a good chance you will adore this film. Thought provoking and with as many explosions as you could ask for, this is a wonderful film that I’d recommend to anyone!

100 Word Review – Pretty In Pink (1986)

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John Hughes is, of course, the king of the teen film; this is the jewel in his crown. 

High school student Andie (Molly Ringwald, who else?!) finds herself infatuated with “richy” Blane (Andrew McCarthy) as her childhood friend Duckie (Jon Cryer) vies for her affection.

Silly names aside, all of these characters are endearing in their own way. If on first viewing you find the plot predictable I would remind you that this is the film all other teen flicks are based on.

It has the punchy soundtrack you would expect of the 1980s as well as the fashion sense.

100 Word Review – From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

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I do not like Quentin Tarantino. That said, I think Robert Rodriguez is amazing, and I think his hand in this film really shows.

When the Fuller family (Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis) find their RV high-jacked by notorious criminals (George Clooney, Tarantino) they think that smuggling them across the boarder into Mexico is going to be their biggest problem.

Salma Hayek and Danny Trejo turn up as some very unsavoury characters south of the boarder, and the question becomes will our heroes survive the night?

Part crime flick, part undead, gory nightmare, this is not for the faint of heart.

100 Word Review – Labyrinth (1986)

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Naturally, everything David Bowie does is alright by me, and this is no exception.

Sarah (Jennifer Connolly) wishes away her baby brother to the Goblin King Jareth (David Bowie), and realising her mistake attempts to win him back.

Directed by Jim Henson best known for the Muppets, this psychedelic jaunt into the world of the Goblin King is full of weird and wonderful puppets, mysterious mazes and illogical mind-teasers. It fits perfectly in to the slightly-too-creepy children’s film genre that the 1980s are so well known for.

And incase you wanted a little taste, here’s a song for you:

100 Word Review – Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

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From the makers of Howl’s Moving Castle, comes a fantastic piece of Japanese animation.

Following the eco-theme familiar to Studio Ghibli narratives, this film is about Nausicaä, a pacifist princess, who turns warrior in an attempt to save her planet.

It has Sci Fi for genre fans, including some wonderful creatures not dissimilar to Pokemon, and some epic battles and alien international politics.

As with all Miyazaki’s work, this is beautiful as well as being emotionally meaningful. It sits comfortably within the top 250 films on IMDb. Don’t let the fact you haven’t heard of it stop you from watching it.

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100 Word Review – Pitch Perfect 2 (2015)

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Aca-believe it, the Bellas are back, and this time they are going global!

After an incident involving Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson) and Barack Obama, the Bardon Bellas are thrown off the a cappella circuit. In an attempt to reclaim their title, they head for the ultimate competition, World Champions.

This is Elizabeth Banks’ directorial debut and it is an absolute beauty.

Funny, feisty and feminist, the cast is superb, the songs are great; the film is just fantastic.

No, it’s not as good as the first one, but as far as sequels go, this one’s up there with the greats.

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100 Word Review – Fright Night (2011)

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I haven’t seen the 1985 original, but if it is anything like this, it’s now the top of my to-do list.

Anton Yelchin (Star Trek (2009)) stars as a teenager who realises that his small town is being secretly ravaged by a vampire (Colin Farrell) and goes looking for a vampire hunter to help him.

David Tennant (Doctor Who), Toni Collette (Little Miss Sunshine), Imogen Poots (28 Weeks Later) and Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Superbad) make up the amazing supporting cast of this bizarre and unexpected film.

Although technically a horror, its pocket aces are its sense of comic timing and penchant for the ridiculous.

100 Word Review – Life Is Beautiful (1997)

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Well aware that I sound like a sports commentator, this really is a film of two halves.

Set in Italy in the build-up to WWII, a Jewish man falls in love, starts a family and uses his imagination in an attempt to shield them from the harsh realities.

Roberto Benigni co-wrote, directed and starred in this moving and emotionally draining portrayal of world events on a personal scale. It is at moments hilarious, the first half is full of Chaplin-esque humour. The second half is…

Just watch it. You will laugh, and you will cry.

Here’s Benigni receiving his Oscar: