100 Words… – Page 4

100 Word Review – The Voices (2015)

February 20, 2016March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Comedy, F-Rated, Romance, ThrillerTagged Anna Kendrick, Comedy, dark, Gemma Arterton, gore, Horror, Marjane Satrapi, Michael R Perry, Romance, Ryan Reynolds, ThrillerLeave a comment

The best word to describe this film is ‘weird’.

Jerry (Ryan Reynolds) is a likeable mentally unstable man working a dead-end job. When he follows the advice of his pets and pursues his office crush (Gemma Arterton) things get dark pretty quickly. And that’s just the beginning.

Written by Michael R. Perry (Paranormal Activity 2) and directed by Marjane Satrapi (Persepolis) it sits on a very stylised fence between horror thriller and quirky comedy.

If you don’t like bloody films, this is not the one for you, but otherwise do watch it. Anna Kendrick costars and Reynolds is magnetic as always.

100 Word Review – Experimenter (2015)

February 19, 2016March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., DramaTagged 1960s, biopic, Drama, Michael Almereyda, Peter Sarsgaard, Stanley MilgramLeave a comment

Whether or not you’ve ever heard of Stanley Milgram, this brilliant biopic is definitely worth your time.

Milgram (Peter Sarsgaard) is a social psychologist whose experiments in the early 1960s may have been decried by some as unethical and immoral are still talked about today and focus on the obedience to deemed authority.

Written and directed by Michael Almereyda (Hamlet (2000), Nadja), it is insightfully told from the perspective of Milgram himself. Rather than a conventional drama, Almereyda uses archive footage, photos as backdrops and breaks the fourth wall regularly.

It is dark, engaging and thought provoking with truly educational elements.

100 Word Review – Hot Girls Wanted (2015)

February 16, 2016February 15, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., F-RatedTagged documentary, Jill Bauer, Netflix, Rona Gradus, SundanceLeave a comment

A note worthy and thoroughly terrifying documentary that follows a group of young women who have been drawn into the sex trade in Los Angeles, studying in startling detail how easy it is for web savvy young millennials to fall into the porn industry.

Directors Jill Bauer and Rona Gradus, both of whom worked on the documentary Sexy Baby back in 2012, were nominated for a Primetime Emmy as well as the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance for this remarkable film.

Insightful, detailed and at times truly brutal, this is not for the easily disgusted. It contains some extremely visceral scenes.

100 Word Review – The Breakfast Club (1985)

February 15, 2016March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., ComedyTagged 1980s, Ally Sheedy, Anthony Michael Hall, Comedy, David Bowie, Emilio Estevez, John Hughes, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, teen1 Comment

THE BREAKFAST CLUB, Judd Nelson, Emilio Estevez, Ally Sheedy, Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, 1985. ©Universal Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

“These children that you spit on as they try to change their worlds,

Are immune to your consultations. They’re quite aware of what they’re going through.” – David Bowie, opening titles

Five high school students bond over a shared Saturday detention as they rebel against the stereotypes they inhabit.

Written and directed by the one and only John Hughes (Home Alone, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Pretty In Pink), this is one of the great teen comedies of the 1980s.

Emilio Estevez, Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy and Anthony Michael Hall are truly wonderful, each standing out in their own right.

100 Word Review – Ghostbusters (1984)

February 13, 2016March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Comedy, Fantasy, Sci FiTagged Comedy, Dan Ackroyd, Fantasy, ghost, Ghostbusters, Harold Ramis, pseudo-science, Rick Moranis, Sci Fi, Sigourney Weaver1 Comment

Written by and starring Dan Ackroyd, Harold Ramis and Rick Moranis, this should be compulsory viewing for everyone over the age of 10. If you haven’t seen it (like Callum), then watch it!

Peter (Bill Murray), Ray (Ackroyd) and Egon (Ramis) stumble upon a method for trapping ghosts and set out to save New York from the spectral fiends who are bombarding the city.

A brilliantly 80s film, with as many daft one-liners as you can shake a stick at and wonderful soundtrack. It’s funny, perhaps scary for younger children, but also downright wonderful. Sigourney Weaver is simply sublime, as always.

100 Word Review – Sisters (2015)

February 12, 2016March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Comedy, F-Rated, RomanceTagged Amy Poehler, Comedy, Paula Pell, Romance, Tina FeyLeave a comment

Amy Poehler (Inside Out, Mean Girls) and Tine Fey (Megamind, Mean Girls) reunite with writer Paula Pell (Saturday Night Live) in this wonderful and ridiculous comedy.

Two sisters (Poehler and Fey) attempt to recreate their youth by throwing the ultimate house party. The problem is they aren’t as young as they used to be, and neither are their friends.

The cast is full of “O it’s that guy from that thing” faces which makes the whole film feel like you’re watching a group of friends have a great time. Not the world’s greatest comedy, but certainly good for a laugh.

100 Word Review – Zoolander (2001)

February 11, 2016March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., ComedyTagged Ben Stiller, Christine Taylor, Comedy, cult, Justin Theroux, Milla Jovovich, Owen Wilson, Will FerrellLeave a comment

This film is really really ridiculously good looking.

Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson star as Derek and Hansel, rival male models. Little do they know that they are pawns in an industry corrupted by power and political greed.

Christine Taylor, Will Ferrell and Milla Jovovich co-star in this ridiculous comedy. Directed by Stiller and co-written by him, it has some truly brilliant cameos and is almost worth watching just for that. It is also endlessly quotable to the point where it has become a true cult classic. If you plan on watching the sequel, make sure to see this first.

100 Word Review – Seven Psychopaths (2012)

February 10, 2016March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Comedy, DramaTagged Abbie Cornish, Action, Christopher Walken, Colin Farrell, Comedy, dark, Drama, Martin McDonagh, Michael Pitt, Sam Rockwell, Tom Waits, violence, Woody HarrelsonLeave a comment

If I tell you this was written and directed by Martin McDonagh of In Bruges fame, that may give you a little bit of an idea of what to expect.

Starting Sam Rockwell, Colin Farrell, Woody Harrelson, Christopher Walken, Tom Waits, Abbie Cornish and Michael Pitt, it sits somewhere between comedy and killing spree.

Set in the criminal underbelly of LA and following a struggling screenwriter (Farrell) in a search , it is as bat shit crazy as you could hope for. Expect violence and dark humour from the outset and it

The moral? Don’t mess with a man’s shih tzu.

100 Word Review – Secretary (2002)

February 8, 2016March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Drama, F-Rated, RomanceTagged adaptation, BDSM, Drama, Erin Cressida Wilson, James Spader, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Mary Gaitskill, RomanceLeave a comment

Adapted from Mary Gaitskill’s short story by Erin Cressida Wilson (Men Women and Children, The Girl on the Train), this film has accrued the kind of cult acclaim that Fifty Shades could only dream of.

Lee (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is a troubled young lady with self-harming tendencies when she starts working at a small law firm for the demanding Mr. Grey (James Spader).

With strong themes of sexuality and BDSM, this film is dark and erotic and really human. It’s not for the squeamish or the faint of heart, but it is beautifully, stylishly done and the two leads are perfection.

100 Word Review – Zoolander 2 (2016)

February 7, 2016March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., ComedyTagged Action, Ben Stiller, Comedy, Justin Theroux, Kristen Wiig, Owen Wilson, Penelope Cruz, Will Ferrell1 Comment

Fifteen years after the original, blue steel is back.

Written by Justin Theroux and co-written and directed by Ben Stiller (the team behind Tropic Thunder), Zoolander (Stiller) and Hansel (Owen Wilson) are once more involved in an international terror plot. All of the old characters are back with some new faces (Kristen Wiig and Penelope Cruz) and some truly bizarre and unexpected cameos.

I don’t want to give anything away but if you enjoyed the first you will find this one really, really ridiculously good looking. If you haven’t seen Zoolander, I’d imagine you would find it a little baffling.