Still really scary.
“Sister, sister, oh so fair, why is there blood all over your hair?”
Reviewed by Kirsti
Under 5 Words – What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? (1962)
Tag: Drama
100 Word Review – From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
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 – Life Is Beautiful (1997)
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:
100 Word Review – The Philadelphia Story (1940)
As it’s her birthday, today we are going for another classic Katherine Hepburn masterpiece.
Tracy Lord (Hepburn)’s ex-husband (Cary Grant) and a tabloid reported (James Stewart) turn up a few days before her second wedding, making her question what type of woman she is and what type of man she should marry.
Fantastic cast and director George Cukor (My Fair Lady, A Star is Born) aside, the script is a masterpiece which won Donald Ogden Stewart an Oscar for best script. Stewart won Leading Actor.
It was remade in to musical High Society (1956), but it doesn’t compare to the original.
100 Word Review – Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
This is the first film that made me both laugh and cry in equal measure.
When Olive (Abigail Breslin) finds out she is a finalist in a beauty pageant on the other side of the States, her father (Greg Kinnear), mother (Toni Colette), brother (Paul Dano), grandpa (Alan Arkin) and recently suicidal uncle (Steve Carrell) set out on a road trip none of them will forget.
There is not a weak link. By the end of the film you will feel like part of the family. It also features one of the greatest dance sequences ever choreographed. It is sublime.
It’s Not Just For Christmas; It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)
Famously known as one of the most tear inducing Christmas films ever made, I would like to fight for this to be an all-year-round feature.
Starring James Stewart (reason 1 to watch it all year round) as kind-hearted George Bailey, who finds himself out of money and luck, unable to support his family through the festive season. Thinking they would be better off without him, George tries to take his life (reason 2 – not exactly festive). Stopped by an angel called Clarence (Henry Travers), George is shown exactly what the world would be like if he had not been born. As a result, 80% of the film is not set at Christmas (reason3).
Without wanting to give too much away, Frank Capra’s award winning film (reason 4 – it was nominated for 5 Oscars, reason 5 – it’s number 26 in the top 250 films on IMDb) walks us through one man’s life and the ways in which his small acts of kindness rippled across everyone he met.
Released after the Second World War, it unsurprisingly features a lot of patriotism and army references (reason 6). George feels helpless for not being able to fight for his country, but is reassured that his work at home in small town America has held everything together. He is as important as the people who died fighting.
This is not a film about Christmas. This is about the aftermath of the Second World War, the people who were lost during it whose lives were not spent in vain and those who were left behind trying to find meaning after so much devastation.
100 Word Review – Robot & Frank (2012)
This film is the perfect Sci Fi for people who don’t generally like the genre.
Set in the not-so-distant future, Frank (Frank Langella) is a retired jewel thief whose son (James Marsden) gives him a robot designed to look after him.
Susan Sarandon and Liv Tyler also star in this brilliantly made film which is simultaneously funny and tragic in parts. Although the film is set in the future, assisted-living robots are not as futuristic as they seem, making this ultimately a very moving story about the importance of family, the passing of time and the human need for companionship.
100 Word Review – Moon (2009)
I think it is the silence of this film that moves me so completely. Duncan Jones’ debut feature film really does stand out from the crowd.
Sam Rockwell stars as Sam, the man who works on the moon, alone except for his computer GERTY (voiced by Kevin Spacey).
Rockwell is unbeatable in this role. This film rests firmly on his shoulders and he does not disappoint. It’s not surprising that the role was written for him.
For Sci Fi geeks, this film is full of winks and nods to the genres rich history. This may be the perfect Sci Fi.
cinemescope 