What I've just watched

Silver wrote:

Wallace and Gromit The Curse Of The Were Rabbit 3/5

This was my second view, and it confirmed what I thought the first time, nowhere near as good as the shorts!

Fair enough. I love it to bits, but it isn't as good as The Wrong Trousers or A Close Shave.

Chinatown (1st view) 5/5

Brokeback Mountain (1st view) 3/5

Elizabeth (1st view) 4/5

Silver wrote:

Chinatown (1st view) 5/5

I hate that with a passion. It's good for about 4 minutes then just goes downhill. That's what I think anyway


Elizabeth is great though.

Casino Royale (2006), after the low-point of Die Another Day, the James Bond franchise was given one HELL of a serious reboot, this meant starting it all over from scratch, and getting a new Bond in the form of Daniel Craig. This has Bond earning his 00 status, and then going on his first assignment, being entered in a high stakes game of Texas Hold'em at the Casino Royale in Montenegro, against the sinister terrorist banker Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen). He's working along side the lovely treasury agent Vesper Lynd (Eva Green), Rene Mathis (Giancarlo Giannini) and Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright). Maybe the best Bond of the lot, it's so classy and well-made. Craig makes the role his own on his first outing, portraying an ultra-realistic Bond. It's got wonderful locations, some absolutely brilliant moments of action, and a near unwatchable torture scene!! But, Craig's Bond is a world away from the fantasy of before, and by God, it works!! More please!! 5/5



Beowulf (2007), Robert Zemeckis takes on the Old English poem using the Motion Capture animation technology he previously used on The Polar Express (2004), here, we have Ray Winstone as the titular warrior Beowulf, asked by King Hrothgar (Anthony Hopkins) to rid his land of the monster Grendel (Crispin Glover), and Grendel's Mother (Angelina Jolie). A real visual feast of a feast, and the Mo-Cap animation has improved alot since Zemeckis' last effort, even if the story sags in places, (though it is translated well from the old English by Neil Gaiman and Roger Avery), and is camp as hell, it's violent, scary and suspensful in all the right places, and our Ray makes a good, hunky 7ft warrior!! But, it would be good to see director Zemeckis get back to some live action filmmaking one day!! 4/5



Mirrormask (2004), author Neil Gaiman and artist David McKean create an utterly stunning and weird world in this low-budget oddity. This has young Helena (Stephanie Leonidas), who runs away from the family circus (run by her parents, played by Gina McKee and Rob Brydon) to join real life. But, she soon finds herself in a strange gold-tinted dreamworld, (or is it??) Where people wear masks, and Helena soon finds herself stuck in a power battle between the City of Light and the Land of Shadow. An acquired taste of a film, but it is unlike anything that has ever been created on film, but it gladly retains Gaiman's snappy dialogue and McKean's artwork, but that's it. For die-hard fans only... 4/5



Hero (2002), a beautiful and stunning Chinese martial arts epic from director Zhang Yimou, and presented to western audiences by Quentin Tarantino, (who had the Eastern buzz at that time... ) It has Jet Li as a nameless warrior who goes to the King of Qin (Chen Daoming). Nameless tells the King of his past battles and glories, how he defeated the likes of Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung), Broken Sword (Tony Leung) and Long Sky (Donnie Yen). The King however, thinks differently, believing Nameless to be a fraud, or is Nameless telling the truth. It's a very complex story, but it is visually flawless, featuring action which puts the likes of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Kill Bill to shame. The cinematography is exquisite, bringing out the best in the colours and local imagery, (it certainly brings out the best in China), and the performances are good as well!! It does deserve another viewing... 5/5

The Frighteners 3/5

Breakfast on Pluto (2005), from Irish director Neil Jordan, whose career has been very varied, he once again returns to his roots, and adapts another Patrick McCabe book, (after The Butcher Boy (1997)), and it's as offbeat. The film follows the life and times of Patrick 'Kitten' Braden (Cillian Murphy), who was left at the doorstep of Father Liam (Liam Neeson), and was raised by a foster family, but grows up becoming a transvestite. Once he comes of age, he travels from Ireland to London, looking for his real mother, who allegedly looks like Mitzi Gaynor, but he gets caught up in the troubles in Ireland and the craziness of the 1970's. It's a very peculiar film, but ultimately, it's a very likeable film, and you come to like Kitten by the end of the film, (Cillian looks SO HOT in drag!! ) As well as a witty script, the film is complimented with some good cameos from Bryan Ferry as Mr. Silky String, Stephen Rea as a magician and Brendan Gleeson dressed up as a Womble!! It's an underrated little film, and it captures the era it's set in well too!! 4/5



Quantum of Solace (2008), Bond rides again with his 22nd film, or if you're going with the reboot, his 2nd adventure. This time, James Bond (Daniel Craig), continues on from Casino Royale, and is told of a mysterious organisation known as Quantum, and Bond is sent to investigate more about the organisation, which takes him from Italy to Haiti to Austria and Bolivia, and face to face with the ruthless environmentalist Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric). But, he's still in an emotionally fragile state over losing Vesper Lynd, even though she betrayed him and MI6, plus his shoot-first, ask-questions-later attitude doesn't go down well at all with his boss M (Judi Dench). It is a very good film, and this darker, harder edge now suits Bond, (whereas it sadly looked quite out of place 20 years ago in the Timothy Dalton era.) Craig has made the role his, and it'll be interesting to see where he takes Bond next. It's well made, (thanks to director Mark Forster for that one), and it's got some really good moments of action within, and it doesn't last too long either, unlike other Bond films. 4/5

The Frighteners 3/5

The Terminator 5/5

The Holiday 3/5

Silver wrote:

The Frighteners 3/5

Twice in a week?

"I do not like you! You cannot bring your spooks here without my permission! Disappear, scumbag" Always liked the Sergeant.

Er, no for some reason i didn't think i'd posted since i watched it

Deck The Halls (1st view) 3/5

The Polar Express 3/5

Prancer 2/5

A Fistful Of Dollars (1st view) 3/5

Brewster McCloud (1970), After the success of M*A*S*H (1970), Robert Altman quickly moved on, and went one better with this little seen and HUGELY underrated black comedy, which also might even be his best film. Set in Houston, Texas. It tells the story of an oddball, young young recluse called Brewster McCloud (Bud Cort), who lives in an air-raid shelter in the Houston Astrodome, he dreams of flying, and is inventing a contraption so he can fly within the Astrodome. Meanwhile, there's a serial killer stalking Houston, and Lt. Frank Shaft (Michael Murphy) is brought in from San Francisco to investigate these murders, the victims all seem to be splattered with bird droppings, and Brewster ends up as a suspect in this case, is it him?? Or does his mysterious guardian angel Louise (Sally Kellerman) have something to do with them. This is probabily one of the best film of the 1970's, just such an odd little film, and it is very, very funny too. It's quirky and dark, but it's beautifully made. Bud Cort protrays Brewster with an eccentric innocence, and he's trying to realise his dream. It's also got some very quirky cameos in it, like Stacy Keach in make-up as a corrupt and racist old man, Rene Auberjonois as a lecturer turning into a bird, Margaret ('Wicked Witch of the West') Hamilton singing the Star Spangled Banner and Shelley Duvall, in her film debut, getting into a fast and hilarious car chase with Brewster. A sheer pleasure to watch, and you'll never forget the film in a hurry!! 5/5



PEOPLE!! YOU REALLY DO HAVE TO SEE THIS FILM, IT'S ABSOLUTELY CRAZY, BUT IT'S WELL WORTH IT!! IT'S PROBABILY ROBERT ALTMAN'S BEST FILM!!

John Q (4th view) – Denzel Washington’s first film following his Oscar win for Training Day sees him as a father whose insurance policy won’t pay for his sons costly heart transplant. After being given bureaucratic runaround, he takes matter into his own hands and holds a waiting room of people hostage. The film is filled with walking stereotypes; Anne Heche as the cold-hearted hospital boss, James Woods as the sleazy doctor, Ray Liotta the police chief more concerned with his press image than the case at hand. Still, Washington is always good to watch and the presence of Robert Duvall is a bonus. For all its faults this is quite good stuff – 4/5




Eagle Eye (1st view) – Based on an idea by Steven Spielnerg (and produced by him) this thriller see Shia LaBeouf reteam with his Disturbia director, DJ Caruso. LeBeouf is an innocent man framed for being a terrorist, and is soon on the run, teaming up with single mother Michelle Monoghan, aided by a mysterious female caller, and being chased by seemingly every US government agency. It’s one big hi-tech chase film, and its gets more absurd by the minute, with the laws of logic and physics flung out of the window (ramming a metal pole into a computer while soaking wet will, apparently, not harm you in the slightest). Billy Bob Thornton and Michael Chiklis (sorely underused) make an appearance, but this film it to be watched for silly action, not great performances – 3/5




Rio Bravo (1st view) – For the longest time, I was under the impression that I’d seen this film sometime in the past. Turns out I hadn’t and as such it was a pleasant surprise to watch a film that I thought was an enjoyable western and discover a masterpiece. Howard Hawks has long been a favourite director of mine and this is another feather in his cap. It’s also John Wayne’s second best film (after The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, none of his John Ford westerns come close – The Searchers, that means you!!). The plot is simple. John Wayne is the sheriff of Rio Bravo, tasked with looking after a prisoner until a US Marshall comes by in 6 days time. His deputies are an alcoholic (Dean Martin) and an aged cripple (Walter Brennan). Soon after a woman arrives in town (Angie Dickinson) and she strikes up a relationship with Wayne. All the while, accomplices of the prisoner threaten our heroes. That’s pretty much it, and it runs for close to two and a half hours. But the cast all deliver pitch-perfect performances, and the relationships between them all are beautifully developed and played. Martin and Brennan are particularly wonderful, and it’s so refreshing to see a female lead in a western who seems to have a bit of spirit and individuality to her. Dmitri Tiomkin delivers a grand score, Hawks directs with flair and the whole thing is just excellent. The only downside is Ricky Nelson as a young sharpshotter, but even he gets a chance to shine in a great sing-along scene – 5/5




Reeker (1st view) – 5 students find themselves in an abandoned motel in the middle of the desert. It isn’t long before they are being picked off one by one, killed by a mysterious figure whose presence is announced by a sickening smell. It’s quite rare these days to find a horror film in which you care for any of the characters, but this is one such film, and there’s a few decent shocks as well – 4/5




The Living and The Dead (1st view) - Roger Lloyd-Pack (he’ll always be Trigger to me) is having a hard time. As Donald Brocklebank, a lord whose stately home has fallen into disrepair, his wealth almost diminished, he has a schizophrenic teenage son, James, and a terminally ill wife to look after. Leaving the house for a few days in order to try and restore some funds, he calls for a nurse to visit the house, but his son locks her out, wanting to look after his mother himself. Without taking his medication, however, even the smallest tasks become problematic and it isn’t long before things go wrong. It’s really a three person film between Lloyd Pack, Leo Bill as his son and Kate Fahy as his wife, and all deliver fine performances. It’s bleak and depressing though, with quite a few scenes that are highly uncomfortable to watch, and the frequent speeded-up action that accompanies James losing touch with reality are oddly unsettling – 4/5




Magic In The Water (1st view) – Workaholic DJ Mark Harmon takes his two children for a month away to a lakeside resort in British Columbia, a place home to a local legend, a Loch Ness-like creature known as Orky. The film is 17 times less interesting than the synopsis – 2/5




The Hunt For The Unicorn Killer (1st view) – A TV movie that tells the story of Ira Einhorn, an activist who was accused of murdering his former girlfriend and then went on the run for over two decades. A pre-stardom Naomi Watts stars as Holly Maddux, the unfortunate victim of Einhorn’s wrath and Kevin Anderson gives a charismatic performance as Einhorn. The story spans 3 decades, but the runtime of close to 3 hours make you wish it had been pruned, as an awful lot seems to be padding – 3/5




My Blueberry Nights – The English language debut of Chinese director Won Kar-Wai. It’s also the acting debut of singer Norah Jones (Apparently I should have heard of her. I haven’t) She strikes up a friendship with café own Jude Law before embarking on a soul searching journey across America, meeting a drunken cop (David Strathairn), his estranged wife (Rachel Weisz) and a young gambler (Natalie Portman) on the way. It rattles along at a nice pace, looks lovely, and Jones make for an engaging lead, faring well against her co-stars. However, it’s only 90 minutes long and barely a minute goes by without a slow-motion shot of someone gazing wistfully into the distance. There’s so many of them. Without these you’d be left with something about 10 minutes long (well, not quite, but you get the idea). Fewer such scenes and a bit more story would have helped, but this is quite a loveable film overall – 4/5

Gimli the Useless wrote:

Rio Bravo (1st view) – For the longest time, I was under the impression that I’d seen this film sometime in the past. Turns out I hadn’t and as such it was a pleasant surprise to watch a film that I thought was an enjoyable western and discover a masterpiece. Howard Hawks has long been a favourite director of mine and this is another feather in his cap. It’s also John Wayne’s second best film (after The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, none of his John Ford westerns come close – The Searchers, that means you!!). The plot is simple. John Wayne is the sheriff of Rio Bravo, tasked with looking after a prisoner until a US Marshall comes by in 6 days time. His deputies are an alcoholic (Dean Martin) and an aged cripple (Walter Brennan). Soon after a woman arrives in town (Angie Dickinson) and she strikes up a relationship with Wayne. All the while, accomplices of the prisoner threaten our heroes. That’s pretty much it, and it runs for close to two and a half hours. But the cast all deliver pitch-perfect performances, and the relationships between them all are beautifully developed and played. Martin and Brennan are particularly wonderful, and it’s so refreshing to see a female lead in a western who seems to have a bit of spirit and individuality to her. Dmitri Tiomkin delivers a grand score, Hawks directs with flair and the whole thing is just excellent. The only downside is Ricky Nelson as a young sharpshotter, but even he gets a chance to shine in a great sing-along scene – 5/5

Pleased to see you enjoyed this. I remember I first saw it on ITV on New Years Day 5 or 6 years ago and I loved it straigthaway. Walter Brennan as Stumpy is a particular favourite of mine.

My Monday

Grave Of The Fireflies (1st view) 5/5

The Core (1st view) 3/5

Volcano 4/5

Little Miss Sunshine (2006), a loveable low-budget family comedy-drama which wowed critics and audiences, and would have later success at the Oscars. The film begins in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and we meet the Hoover family, who learn that their daughter Olive (Abigail Breslin) has been given the chance to compete in the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant in Redondo Beach, California. Her family consists of failed motivational speaker Richard (Greg Kinnear), frazzled wife Sheryl (Toni Collette), her suicidal gay Proust scholar brother Frank (Steve Carell), the mute, Nietzsche-reading son Dwayne (Paul Dano), and the foul-mouthed grandad Edwin (Alan Arkin, who won an Oscar for his scene-stealing part). They all know how much the contest means to Olive, so they all decide to drive in a battered Volkswagen T2 Microbus, 800 miles to the contest. Heartache and hilarity follows. A very funny film indeed, but this is one with a heart as well, it captures what most dysfunctional families are like, and brings out humour even in the most blackest situations, and Olive's performance at the end is jaw-droppingly hilarious!! It's small scale, but filled with big laughs and great performances all round!! 4/5



Dogma (1999), from Kevin Smith, comes this controversial but very funny and clever satire on religion, and the state of Catholicism, and he makes a point, sort of. It has abortion clinic worker Bethany Sloane (Linda Fiorentino), is given a task by angel and voice-of-god Metatron, (Alan Rickman), he wants her to stop two fallen angels Bartleby (Ben Affleck) and Loki (Matt Damon) from getting back into heaven by entering a church in Red Bank, New Jersey, that's celebrating its Jubilee as part of the Catholic Dogma, entering the church, their sins would be forgiven, and they'd be allowed back into Heaven. On this quest, Bethany is helped by two 'prophets' Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith). Plus, they're also helped out by 13th apostle Rufus (Chris Rock) and muse Serendipity (Salma Hayek). It is a very funny film, and one of Smith's best films, complete with his trademark foul-mouthed dialogue but it's certainly not anti-Catholic, it pokes fun at the loopholes within the religion, but it isn't nasty about it. Plus, the film has cameos from Jason Lee as Azarel, Janeane Garofalo as Bethany's co-worker Liz, Bud Cort as John Doe Jersey, the late, great George Carlin as Cardinal Glick and Alanis Morissette as God!! What's not to like?? 4/5

Recount (1st view) 4/5

Blood Simple (1984), this is where it all began for cinema's greatest filmmaking siblings, Joel and Ethan Coen. A modern, noirish thriller set deep in the heart of Texas, involving murder and money, rather like a certain Oscar-winning film they would make over 20 years later!! This one has bar-owner Julian Marty (Dan Hedaya), who finds out that his wife Abby (Frances McDormand) is cheating on him with Ray (John Getz). In a fit of jealous rage, Marty hires private detective Loren Visser (M. Emmet Walsh) to kill his wife and her lover, but it turns out Visser has his own agenda planned out, and things get very complicated from there on out. Made for a meagre $1.5 million, this is perhaps the greatest film debut of any director in cinema history, because it feels professional, and from looking at it, you'd think they'd made films long before this one. It's a complex but gripping thriller which set a standard for Coen's films, it's very offbeat but it was the start of one of the best careers in cinema, since the Coen's started making films, the world hasn't been the same since!! 5/5



Barton Fink (1991), The Coen Brothers had a bout of Writer's Block whilst they wrote Miller's Crossing, so they wrote a film based on that experience of being blocked creatively, and this is the result. Set in 1941, it has playwright Barton Fink (John Turturro) making a successful debut on Broadway with his play Bare Ruined Choirs. He is given an offer to go to Hollywood to write for Hollywood mogul Jack Lipnick (Michael Lerner) of Capitol Pictures. Lipnick wants Fink to write a Wallace Beery B-movie wrestling film. However, he is staying at the eerie and decrepit Hotel Earle, and he becomes friends with his next door neighbour Charlie Meadows (John Goodman). However, Barton can't seem to get started on this seemingly simple idea of a film, he feels closed in by his surroundings and nothing is what it seems. This is one of the Coen's weirder offerings, but it is a horror film disguised as a satire on the Hollywood system of old. It's mostly metaphorical, the Hotel Earle is really hell, Barton has sold his soul to the devil, he's gone to hell, but he won't accept that, because he doesn't listen to anyone else. Oh, and the peeling wallpaper is as weird as they come. But, it's an exceptional piece which captures it's era well, and the Coen's capture that "Barton Fink feeling" perfectly, whatever it is. 4/5

Prancer Returns (1st view) 3/5

The Christmas Star (1st view) 2/5

A Time To Kill (1st view) 4/5

Dogma (1st view) 3/5

12 Angry Men (1st view) 5/5