Batman Returns

I have been looking forward to this one. I am a huge batman fan and have loved the Adam West tv series that has been aired on ITV 4 at around 3 pm most days for a while.

Batman with Michael Keaton was very good. Jack Nicholson made an excellent Joker and I was struggling to think of who could make a better villain than Jack Nicholson and the ones from the new series. Danny DeVito as the Penguin is an excellent choice. Everyone has to love Danny DeVito from his roles in Matilda and a few other classics.

So what does this film offer you batman films? Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman which is inevitably better than Halle Berry in the role. Michelle is gorgeous in the role and makes the super tight costume look fabulous. I am not sure if i prefer her to Anne Hathaway but she is still absolutely stunning in the role. Cat woman is incredibly sexy in this film.

I love watching Danny DeVito in a fat suit but it was kinda almost sickening. The costume didn't even really work with the fat suit so some serious wardrobe re-thinking needed to be done.

Overall I actually really liked the film. I am not the biggest fan of Michael Keaton as Batman but he did a good enough job. Danny Elfman writing the music is always fantastic and the shooting of the film was just as brilliant. I can't fault the film for it's ideology and creative methods. I can at times fault their choice of actors but for whatever reason they went with the ones that they went with so let's just leave it at that.

Stranger on a Train.

Again- an episode of NCIS made me desperate to see this film. Hitchcock liked murder and suspense but it is hard to put a value on his movies. I have seen one that wasn't as good as the others and everything else that I have seen has been very good and very enjoyable.

Strangers on a train is about two guys that meet on a train. One guy has this idea to create a perfect murder where they each perform each others murders but the other guy never had any intention of carrying out his side of it- in fact, he wasn't even convince that the man was serious. Of course, this tennis players wife is murdered by the stranger on the train and he is free to marry the woman that he was in love with. The stranger harasses him and in the end is arrested for murder.

Hitchcock's film is a spark of genius. The idea to take something as simple as a train in which to base an entire plot and film around should not be underestimated. Everything about the plan in the film would have been flawless if the tennis player had been willing to commit the other murder.
The black and white film takes away the colour and design that would have really sparked it to life but even without it- sit back and let your own mind fill in the colours and the patterns and you will have something quite wonderful and truly extraordinary. There is nothing complicated about this film. There is, of course, another cut to this version that I believe is slightly more complicated but for whatever reason was not shown when the film was aired and I am very glad that they didn't. What makes this film so wonderful is that it was a simple idea that was held up by a simple character with potentially a complicated psychological background and a young man that wanted to get away from his wife who was apparently expecting his child.

This film shows that there is more to Hitchcock than Psycho. People that really know and appreciate film was also suggest Rear Window and North by Northwest but every Hitchcock film that I have watched has been different in some way and that has made me very happy. I wished that I owned more of his films so that I could compare the James Stewart, Grace Kelly and Carey Grant films with each to try and ascertain if any of his film could be considered the same plot or even be put in the same incontestable category.

2 Fast 2 Furious.

It has now been a couple of years since the passing of Paul Walker and the release of The Fast and The Furious 7. Now I feel that it is an appropriate time to watch some of the films and review them on the blog.

I quite enjoyed 'The Fast and the Furious' and there is of course that great line 'You owe me a ten second car' grunted by Vin Diesel in his hulk like moody voice. The problem that this film was always going to have was the serious lack of Vin Diesel. I know that they tried to make up for it by the addition of Tyresse but as cool as he was it just didn't quite live up to the same quality that we got from Vin Diesel. Nonetheless, this film as a follow on was actually a very good film. They got it right. When making a sequel without most of the previous characters you try not to reference the previous film and move the plot far away from the plot of the previous film.

Paul Walker is actually kinda growing on me. I wasn't convinced by him in the first film and i'm not sure that I am entirely convinced by him now but I am starting to think that by the seventh film it will all be okay and I might be convinced by him. The driving was good but at times a little too flashy. I know that it is a film all about driving but at times it went a little too far with driving in high speed and the driving whilst staring scene.

There are some great things about this film and the plot is actually a lot better than the plot of the first film. The women had much better roles in this film than in the previous film and I hope that they continue to have good and strong roles in the next films.

Tropic Thunder

A film about a book, written by someone who wasn't even there, about some soldiers in the war in Vietnam, with a guy pretending to be a different skin colour and Ben Stiller- who is a truly awful actor.

So what can I say about this film? It was very funny but overall it was a rubbish film. Looking at the cast you would think that it would be a really good film- after all- the Expendables was and are very good films but this film in typical Ben Stiller style had very little plot to it and just emphasised how bad he really is. When you don't have a decent plot or- well- anything then it is hard to make a good movie out of it and no amount of superb actors can turn that around.

I will say that I really liked Tom Cruise in his role. I didn't realise that it was him until his name came up on the credits. For me, he was so different from anything that I have seen him in that I actually enjoyed him in this film. This film can truly be compared to Rebecca Black's 'Friday' because it is a true example of someone with too much money and no real talent thinking that they have talent when they don't and using their money to punish other people. I don't know why Robert Downey Jr or Jack Black agreed to be in this film because it did nothing to help their reputations. Guys like that don't need to make rubbish films because they spend most of their time making good films!

Paris when it Sizzles.

I think that most women have a taste for Audrey Hepburn and I am no exception to that stereotype. Audrey Hepburn is a stunning woman and her films make you feel really relaxed but also awake a desire to dress in a more fashionable style and embrace your inner woman!

Paris when it sizzles is different to any other Hepburn film that I have seen. I do not claim to be an expert on her films but it is not a music and it is not like My Fair Lady or Breakfast At Tiffany's. Paris when it sizzles once again stars William Holden opposite Audrey Hepburn and is about a girl who is hired to type write a man's play script. Different options are explored by the character of William Holden until he settles on a somewhat simple plot and the story unfolds.

Flicking every so often back to the film itself with Audrey Hepburn as Gabrielle Simpson instead of the character 'Gabby' and Richard Benson instead of the liar and thief 'Rick', the film captures you in both fantasy and film 'reality'. As the plot for Benson's script develops, the plot for the film also develops, running parallel to the imaginary script.

This was a more serious film than any of her others that I have seen but I enjoyed it just as much. Paris when it sizzles is the insight into the working and running of all creative minds. When we sit there with our guitars writing music or our laptops writing a story we are so often staring into space, imagining everything that we are writing. The pleasure of being able to share the vision in a way that we can relate to is one f the greatest pleasures that I have ever received. That feeling of getting lost in imagination and then coming back down, reading what has been written and tearing the whole lot up is a feeling that most people can relate to.  When you watch a film for the pleasure of watching a film it should be a film like this. A simple setting with a small cast that produces magic for every member of the audience. It doesn't matter what your day has been like, Paris when it sizzles is a film that you can watch however you feel- alone, with someone, upset, happy- it doesn't matter, you will still enjoy the film.

The Room

One of the most terrible films ever created. No one acts with any passion or emotion, it is all done in a monotone and is super boring.
Eight minutes in for the first sex scene and that tells you that the film is truly terrible. Within half an hour that is at least two sex scenes and as far as i can work no real plot. I wont rant about how terrible it is because other people have in their reviews. I guess that I am wondering how it ended up being constantly screened in the prince Charles cinema in Leicester Square and why so many people actually like this film and go and see it!

I guess that if you watch it with absynth then it probably is tolerable but if you don't then it is just total rubbish. I wont rate it as the worst film that I have ever seen because 2001 A Space Odyssey occupies that spot but i have nothing good to say about this film. Tommy Wiseau looks like he should be fronting the thrash metal band 'Dragonforce' and should never be allowed to play a main character or the romantic hero guy in any film or tv series ever again!
Even his suicide at the end was done poorly. The scene after was fairly crap too. I can't believe how self centered someone can be and why it takes someone's death to suddenly produce some acting from someone! The death should have come sooner because it instantly made it better for half a minute. Denny was the best character in the entire film and that is a very difficult status to achieve in such an aweful movie.

Many better films to come on this blog- sorry I had to do something this rubbish first but my co-workers were constantly encouraging me to watch this rubbish!

Jurassic Park

Spielberg's masterpiece has finally come to the blog. It is a crime that it has taken me twenty years to watch this film. I knew the theme tune- most people know John Williams and what he is famous for but I really didn't know much about the film, then again, I guess that not being a fan of dinosaurs has something to do with it!

This film has been so highly acclaimed over the last twenty odd years that I really had to make an effort to watch it. Spielberg doesn't make bad films and neither does Richard Attenborough. Watching him in this film is a treat. So many high quality actors have died within the last five years and it is a real shame because it seems unlikely that the young pioneers coming through the ranks will ever get close to the level that we are losing because they don't have the same training and appreciation. The stage presence that Richard Attenborough has is a marvel- he can take any film and make it good, just by being in it.

I think that what i probably liked the most was the realist guy who pointed out that nature destroyed dinosaurs and that humans and dinosaurs together in the same world would cause chaos. I know that it is a singular view of looking at it but it was a very logical view that helped to make the film different and reach people with different opinions.

There is so much that I could write on this film but the post would go on for ever. What did you think of Jurassic park?

The Constant Gardener.

Made in 2005, it seems like only a year ago Ralph Fiennes stared in this film and made a really moving, emotive film about trialing drugs in Africa. Although this film could be considered to be a political film it is different to other films such as 12 years a slave or Mandela: A Long walk to Freedom. This isn't about the Apartheid or slavery, it is about big pharmaceutical companies test drugs in Africa because they think that people wont be missed in Africa.

Rachel Weisz is the figure of empowerment in this film. She is the woman that stands alone and attempts to stop what is happening. Tracing it all the way back to her own country she is killed for trying to blackmail them after realising that she has no other alternatives. There are not many people who realise the true meaning of- sometimes the only way to change something is to make a stand but Tessa was the character that showed how to really do that. Yes, she dies and so she is not in the entire movie in the same way that Ralph Fiennes is but even so, it is the character of Tessa who is driving Justin (Fiennes) to uncover the truth and to get the last laugh.

Ralph Fiennes once again plays the gentlemen but he ends up being more than that. The character of Justin is one that is always calm, devoted and loving but very much a diplomat. What I liked most about his character is that he never loses control and tries to become someone that he isn't. The devotion to his wife is shown in the end when he is also murdered in Africa. Instead of killing himself or running away he just makes sure that the truth is discovered and waits for death to arrive. The way in which his last few scenes are shot are the most powerful and moving scenes from the entire film and one of the best film portrayal of love that I have watched.

Supporting them are Pete Postlethwaite, Billy Nighy and Danny Huston (to name a few). Bill Nighy is typical himself in this film and doesn't have much of a part in it. Danny Huston is a tough character to crack and probably comes out the best in the film. The way that his character was written deserves credit as it is extremely clever writing. Pete Postlethwaite had a south african accent to be admired. For the most part the supporting characters feature very little in this film as the bulk of it is about Fiennes and Weisz. This film is one of the best love stories ever written. The strength, character and devotion of love have been written and performed in a way like no other and I personally feel that this film should have won every single award up for grabs- for performance, for supporting cast for writing, for filming- it was worth everything.

Mission Impossible

I remember watching this film when I was eight and I really only remembered a few clips from the film. I couldn't really process the entire thing and work out the motives etc but now it all makes sense to me.

Seeing Tom Cruise in this reminds me very much of his role in 'Minority Report' and 'Jack Reacher'. Some actors play the same kind of role in every film and it works out well for them- afteral, Stallone and Schwarzenegger managed to make a very successful career out of only acting as themselves in every film that they made. I think that in order to judge his performance you have to keep in mind that you have probably seen it somewhere before else in a previous film. What you can say about Cruise is that he delivers the performance that you were expecting from him.

So what did I think of the film? I couldn't make up my mind about it. I was suspicious of Vanessa Redgrave from start to finish and also of Jean Reno- there was just something about their character that seemed off. The best double acting characters are those that keep you in the dark until their moment of glory and neither of these characters managed to do that. I wont blame the actors, they played their parts admirably but their characters were written and for all purposes created badly.

It is always going to be a classic for some lines that have been taken and improved in just about every other spy film created after Mission Impossible. 'A freak accident were a helicopter lost control and lost altitude, flying into a tunnel and then crashing with a train- fortunately no one was hurt'. That is a classic line that should never be forgotten- it's one for all film students- guys- don't ever write unbelievable stuff like that!

I've got the others on my list because I want to see all of them. The film's still do really well when they bring one back to the cinemas or decide to bring out a new one and without seeing the others I am struggling to work out why that is.

Over and out- next up is probably Rain Man or American Pie.

Ant-Man

This film is the reason why Paul Rudd should not make any more crappy, disgusting romantic comedies.
This film is something a little different from the classic avengers films that have played such a huge part of the marvel universe. Marvel have made some truly awful films (The Fantastic Four, Thor 2: The Dark World) and yet some truly brilliant films (Avengers Assemble, Captain America) and this falls in to the later category. This is the first superhero film outside of the avengers and their individual films that mentions anything about the avengers in the film and tries to link the film with the marvel universe without a short clip at the end to prove it. The links and even the appearances of some of the avengers make this film a really great film.

I loved it- I found it funny and also clever and well thought out. I am really impressed with the way that they made this film and looking forward to them making more of these films. Bring on the next series of marvel universe films!

Happy New Year and all that Jazz!

Yes- it's a new year.

Yes- this means more films.

No- the list isn't complete.

No- I haven't quite finished studying so there aren't going to be many films over the next two weeks or so.

Yes- i watched one today but it was a hilarious film that you would expect to watch on youtube by the same people that did team america or family guy because it was hilarious but a comedy dubbed version of an old martial arts film. This film was called Kung Pow.

I can't rate it on martial arts as it was kinda a piss take from start to finish and they were clearly just mucking around with it so i have to find something else. Comedy? It just didn't stop being funny but it wasn't clever funny, it was more drunken humour that every now and then if we heard someone just spilling out before 10 pm we would think that they were high as a kite. My favourite scene has to be the scene with the cow fight because it was absolutely priceless but there was nothing of particular quality to mention.

I feel like i have to go and watch a real film to post about to really kick start 2016 but you might have to wait a few days or a week for it depending on how much work i get done.

Over and out.