Reviews

I really wanted to like this film, but it is hard to defend something you are ambivalent about.

Nothing really original, the plot twists were probably pulled out of a hat before the days filming, there are lots of guns, lots of people lying to each other, lots of other films in there. Two slightly dumb, (it's easy in films to make someone tough, edgy, with complex feelings and bad-guy with a good heart qualities, just write them as you'd imagine someone slightly retarded would act) thugs kidnap a pregnant woman, and all hell breaks loose. Probably. Didn't really care. All I knew was I wanted everyone in the film to die.

Oh, and before I forget, it has a contender for THE worst film accent of all time. Step forward Ryan Phillipe (spelling?). Single handedly ruined the film for me with his glass-chewing mongoloid speak. Really, I think it would have been half bearable, but every time he opened his mouth, this inhuman cacophony wail came out instead of actual words. You could write a thesis on how bad it is, and I'm really surprised only a few people have mentioned it. He must have done it for a bet.

There should really be two reviews for this film, one for the plot, and one for the subliminal images and ideas which pervade the story the second time you watch it. I loathe using spoilers and see them as detrimental to the point of a review but to talk about a film like this they would be hard to avoid.

I will concentrate instead on the need for this film to be watched a second time, I really cannot underestimate the difference a second viewing makes, it really is like watching a different film. Odd lines like "Trevor! I need a hand!" take on completely new meaning, scenes such as Christian Bale's Trevor screaming at people who may be plotting against him are simply terrifying when watched with different context.

Brad Anderson excels himself packing the film full of literary references and images, the acting is fantastic, I don't know whether Bale was nominated for any awards, but he should have been and he should have swept the board, becoming so immersed in the character he inspires fear and revulsion as well as pity and empathy, an absolute masterclass.

The first time I saw the film I came away thinking it was a clever psychological thriller. The second time I saw it, having sat through the Route 666 scene, I came away with the distinct feeling that this was a horror film, I was shocked at how my perceptions had changed. The aforementioned scene will probably go overlooked, but is possibly one of the single most disturbing scenes I have ever sat through. Skin-crawling, and we don't need over-the-top violence to shock us when film-making is this clever.

I'd urge everyone to watch it, wait awhile, then watch it again, there aren't many films I re-watch unless for a specific reason, this should be mandatory for everyone.

I read the book, so my reactions to the film would not have been from someone who had no idea what would happen. But, it's pretty obvious from the title what goes on here.

Themes dealt with include repression, small-town life and how it suffocates, the loss of innocence and the corruptive power of sex on teenage minds as represented by stale authoritarian figures. There are no car-chases or explosions. There is a sub-plot about a tree that might get cut down.

Now, the acting. Here's my problem. The direction consists of "stand around and look arty". And that's what happens, Josh Hartnett is particularly guilty of wanting to make love to himself so badly it ruins his character. Trip Fontaine in the book never came off as such an arrogant moron, yes he is arrogant and yes he is a bit of a moron, but Hartnett seems wooden to the point you think he's more of a model than an actor.

It's a good story, there are some subtle, funny lines (mostly taken from the book), and the music gives the whole thing a dreamy, floating on air, this-is-not-really-happening feel. I think my problem, like with Lost in Translation is that people see these films and automatically think they are art because they don't fully understand what is going on, not because it's genuinely hard to fathom what we're supposed to get out of it. "Open to interpretation" is the big cop-out when it comes to explaining or defending something and thats the best thing I could say about this film. For people who think normal multiplex fare is beneath them.

Call it noir, call it a thriller, you could even go as far as classing it as a horror. Whatever, it has pretty much everything.

From the classic narration to a gripping storyline to a wonderful cast, the viewer is is invited to take a look at the underbelly of Hollywood, a seedier side to the hopes and dreams that the machine feeds off. A down-on-his-luck-writer falls under the guidance of an old female silent movie star, then things start going wrong.

You almost feel like a voyeur as you watch the plot unfold, and I cant rate the script higher, Billy Wilder truly was untouchable in his prime.

It's a classic, I'd definitely recommend this to anyone with an interest in films about films, hell, I'd recommend it to just about anyone.

Many people have said how great they found this film, personally it didn't really do it for me.

I thought it was quite sickly actually. Plus points for the special effects; Tim Burton rarely disappoints in that area, but what got me was the obvious way it tried to toy with the viewers emotions, it tried too hard to upset me, and at the end I didn't care, I knew it was manipulating the viewer and I didn't fall for it's narrative tricks. But this isn't about how clever I am, rather, how superficial I found the acting and the writing to be. There were too many clichéd characters, and I suppose that is partly the point of tall tales, but I found it boring.

It's definitely not for everyone, it left me cold and wet. Rather like a big fish.

I remember really liking this film when it first came out, but it hasn't aged very well. It seems to be suffocating under the weight of its own lethargy.

Many teen concepts are played out here, the angst, the moving out for the first time, the corporate sellout versus being true to yourself, and for a while, I got sucked in. But now when you look at the film its hard not to see it as some cynical marketing piece, as Bill Hicks once said, they've gone for the "anti-market market". It plays big business and corporations as evil whilst simultaneously being in bed with so called corporations and taking your hard earned cash while they're at it.

Again, some of the characters just need a good slapping, too many emo-kids here, the world isn't fair, yeah, get over it and get a wash while you're at it. Maybe its a bit too kitsch for me, and Americans will get more out of it than other nationalities, but I thought the acting wasn't great, the jokes too few and far between, the direction plodding and the tale itself rather predictable. There are worse films out there though, so don't be afraid of giving it a try, it just seems as empty as the post-modern society it was trying to deconstruct.

Every so often a film comes along that makes Chuck Norris's life's work worthwhile. This is one of those movies.

There's so much wood on the screen you could build yourself a log cabin, then set it on fire to take yourself away from the pain that is this flushable excrement.

The fight scenes are rubbish, the average 6 year old girl could take either of these pansies, the plot is not even remotely funny, and the worst thing is it could have been a good idea but ended up like so many other mid-nineties action flicks, in the fifty pence bin at your local pound-shop.

Don't bother.

Wow. Bad. Avoid.

You'd have to be a fool to even consider, you must have read the reviews and heard the slating, this film has not received an inch of good press since it was released, and is quite possibly one of the best known flops around. Look at the cast in disbelief, even Raoul Julia died soon after, I don't blame him, still, he's in a better place now.

A testament to bad film-making everywhere, you'd be better off putting broken up pieces of bread into your DVD player than touch this worthless rubbish. Marketing executives do not make good producers, this is a disgrace to the Streetfighter name and deserves to be jettisoned into space next time we send someone up there, its crappiness might just save us from a Martian invasion,

Probably one of his lesser known films, it suffers from the same lack of exposure as Salvador in that its actually one of his best.

Written by and starring Eric Bogosian, Talk Radio tells the story of an opinionated radio phone-in host who upsets the wrong kind of listener. The film is important, and has much to say on the issues of free speech and just how free it should be, and you can easily tell that it started life as a stage play. Know what you're getting into before you sit down to watch it and you'll be fine.

There isn't much to the acting really as Bogosian pretty much steals the film, he wrote and is given licence to rant, I couldn't take my eyes off him and that was part of the fascination many of the listeners had; the people who hated him wouldn't turn off in-case they missed something.

Not for everyone, but a very good drama and overall a very good film.

This movie is a little piece of magic.

Thrown together on a shoestring budget, Jon Favreau writes and stars as Pete. He and his merry band of swingers hit the town to hit on women, they go drinking, they spout catchphrases that have entered our language, the banter alone is priceless. The soundtrack and the whole vibe of the film picked up the zeitgeist and it did very well, it fitted snugly into the hip, swing/jazz music market that was on the way up at the time. A perfect photograph of that space in time.

Film buffs will enjoy the in-jokes and references to other films, non-film buffs will enjoy the film because its so damn funny and likable.

Watch this one my friends, the special edition DVD has more extras than your average Biblical epic.

Technically sound as this film is, it has no soul. There's just nothing there, it's like a vacuum, nothing to be learned, the writers, director, nobody has anything to say.

If you like annoying characters who make unbelievably moronic decisions, and utterly ludicrous situations which unfold without even a small attempt to make them feasible, if you enjoy watching famous people mug you, you have found your favourite new film.

Bad, stay away, better romantic comedies out there than this one, I'd say for schoolgirls only, but I wouldn't want to be responsible for poisoning someones mind with this cinematic cancer. Vote with your feet and stay away from pathetic garbage like this.

Awful. Worse than awful. Watching this garbage is bad for your health. Surely the word "acting" cannot have meant anything to anybody involved with this flushable poo.

If you're going to watch it for the special effects don't bother. They are as pathetic as the director. It had Gary Busey in and was still utterly pathetic. Put it this way, if you worked on the film, you wouldn't put it on your CV, you wouldn't even mention it to relatives, or you'd be known as "that guy who helped make Soldier".

I wont even bother trying to explain the story to you, just don't go near it. If you see it in a video shop, hide it so some uneducated fool doesn't pick it up by mistake and proclaim it the best film in the world thus making this Earth a little more dumber.

With a touch of the Hunter Thompsons, Oliver Stone created a quality film about reporter Richard Boyle and his troubles in El Salvador during a civil war that breaks out around him.

Compared to other Stone films, I think this is his best, he has managed to take the true story of Boyle and craft it into a film in which you actually care about the on-screen characters, something he lost later on.

The performances are classic; James Woods, he was clearly on edge and it shows, he produces one of his finest to date. Doc would really have been only a fringe character if it wasn't for the fact he was played by James Belushie in fine form, he fits into the role of the degenerate with ease, he begins as somewhat uptight, but slowly dissolves into the seedy culture of Salvador in contrast to Boyle being ostracised by everyone he deals with.

As with most Stone biopics, there is an element of "you weren't there man!" anger as he unleashed another tirade against the US government and military through this film. You can take that as you like, what I found most fascinating about this film is the similarity to Fear and Loathing, right down to the battered red car they make most of the journey in. I found it fascinating that Boyle could live the kind of story that Thompson made his name creating, the two would make a cracking team, should they not die getting the story, just make it up.

If you're undecided on Olly Stone, but haven't seen this film, give it a try before you decide whether he is an overrated paranoid madman or an impassioned filmmaker with a message in there somewhere if you can get past all the shouting.

This is the film most noirs are judged by. It has a wonderful cast, but they are helped immeasurably by the script. Raymod Chandler was evidently firing on all cylinders when he wrote it, the dialogue sparkles, it really is sharp stuff. You couldn't get this is any other genre, and there's no other words to describe what goes on other than "hard boiled". It's tough stuff, and it's an amazing film.

Essentially we have an insurance salesman here getting embroiled in a sticky situation with a beautiful blonde femme fatale. It goes awry, needless to say, with Eddie G Robinson pulling the strings as an amazing support character, he gives one of his best performances here in my opinion, although the two leads have such magnetic screen presence not one scene in the film drags.

If you like this, I recommend Earnest Hemmingway's The Killers, another classic.

But this is the daddy, Double Indemnity is well worth they hype.

Jack Black vehicle sees the great man munch his way through scenery, characters and all before him.

A one-man show, this is such an uplifting film. No great surprises or huge twists, the story plays out that Black sees an opportunity to earn some money by pretending to be his house mate, he becomes a substitute teacher, and all hell breaks loose as he teaches the kids all about rock n' roll.

A good history lesson for all those watching, it probably had older audience members wistfully remembering about "back in the day", its great to see true rock get appreciation in movies.

Mike White's script is enough, and he passes okay as Black's friend, but it's Black and his performance which makes the thing so damn enjoyable, really, if you need something to cheer you up or put a smile on your face, stick this on, it rocks.

Bad bad bad.

Bog-standard flick, nothing less expected from the Cruiser in this period.

Take the same formula perfected in Top Gun, and apply it here, but with drinks. See also my Days of Thunder review.

Tom is really not good here, taking liberties with the plot is fine, but making it ridiculous is not. The setting is wonderful, and some scenery is great, but the actors still don't look like they're having a good time. No wonder, the "script" contains atrocious line after atrocious line, there are plenty of better buddy/romantic movies out there, don't bother with this trash.

They had no script, it was made up as they shot the film, a fact you can see from many characters looking at pieces of paper cleverly placed around scenes (notably those shot in the pit-lane) so they can remember the dialogue.

The film is bad, it's the repeated formula of the Cruise films which gets me and annoys me. If you've seen Top Gun, and lets face it, who hasn't, there's really no need to waste your time on this trash.

Bruckheimer has a lot to answer for. Everything seems to be made of cardboard, including the actors, the film is so bad it made Nicole Kidman fall in love with Tom Cruise. Also, it's the 80's, it looks garish and cheap, and it is, at the risk of ending this review with a poor car joke, I'd advise even the dumbest of you to steer clear.

Christian Slater does well with a good script in this smart teen-movie. I call it a movie and not a film because there are certain liberties taken, and it never tries to pass itself off as something it isn't, it's good entertainment with a point about free-speech to boot.

Slater plays a nerd, he broadcasts a pirate radio show from home, unbeknown to his family and school, and everyone else who takes offence when listening (namley adults/authority figures who don't "get it"). It takes off when he starts getting noticed, then things spiral out of control.

Not a bad drama, it has an excellent soundtrack, likable characters, and look out for a scene in the library where Slater picks up the book "How to talk dirty and influence people", this is Lenny Bruce's autobiography, and is a must for all culture junkies/comedy fans; Bruce essentially died for opening his mouth, he was hounded by police and the Government because he dared to use swear words in his live act: think about this next time you swear in public and be thankful Lenny died so we can say what we please.

Pump Up The Volume was one from my teenage years, but its still worth a watch.

Woody Allen did all but direct this film, which is why it sometimes misses lists of his best films, the truth is he had moved on to another project while it was still a stage show, and such is his desire to create, he didn't want to go back too directing. Realising it is too good a piece of work not to direct, Herbert Ross takes up the reigns, and it becomes a clever, interesting experience; to see Woody playing the fool, so bad at dating, but directed by not-Woody.

He seems to be slightly freer on-screen here, as if the directing shackles have been lifted and he can concentrate on his performance, the slapstick edge makes it seem like a cross between Annie Hall and Sleeper; it's really funny, and it would make a good film for couples to watch, such is the spectacular ineptitude of Woody's characters.

In short, he dates women, and a vision of Humphrey Bogart dispenses advice on how he (Bogart) would handle the situation, helping him along the way, it makes for brilliant viewing. Woody's sometime comic partner Tony Roberts plays the straight guy so well, he's very funny himself just doing nothing, they seem to feed off each other. Diane Keaton is gorgeous as always, it's a great addition to the Woody Allen catalogue.

Slapstick combined with razor sharp dialogue.

The film is pure magic, its my favourite comedy and I think it is in my top three Allen films of all time.

See it if you like the Marx brothers, Woody is all of them rolled into one in this film, it's utter genius. Woody also plays the jazz music which scores the film, and you know you're in for a treat when hearing the first few bars makes you smile. There aren't many comedies out there which could top this in terms of low budget, gags-per-second ratio, music, and sheer quality.

If a film could save your life (as in Hannah and her sisters), it's this one.

Woody Allen's homage to the city he loves, and it's no surprise if the way he shows it to us is the way he sees it, it truly is amazing.

The film is shot in black and white, and has George Gershwin's music flowing through most of it.

It's very funny, Allen is an older guy going through a crisis, he is dating the gorgeous 17 year old Mariel Hemmingway when he meets Diane Keaton's Anti-Annie Hall, a brash, pretentious snob who he becomes obsessed by, a series of very funny events with even funnier dialogue ensues. There are some incredibly perceptive moments, and there is an almost tragic feel to certain parts of the film, it is undoubtedly one of Allen's finest works and if you're a fan, chances are you'll have already seen it. If you let it, the film will play with your emotions much like the characters in it play with each other, and I don't want to give anything away, but it is one of Woody's most uplifting pictures, you'll come away with a renewed feeling of hope and an itching desire to walk into the picture and into this New York.

Genius.

Shot in something like 6 days, it's a little-known first-class film noir. It's dark, brooding, pessimistic, dangerous, and it draws you in only to smack you in the face when you least expect it.

The short running time only adds to the feeling of nausea as you watch the lead character spiral out of control. Al Roberts is hitchhiking to see his girlfriend on the other side of the country, needless to say, when something goes wrong, the consequences of his actions deepen the mire he finds himself in with every turn. It moves so fast and the characters are so vivid it's criminal that this film hasn't got the recognition it deserves. The rain, Roberts growing beard, Ann Savage, the bars, the shadows, the close-ups, it's a pure classic. Yes, they don't make 'em like they used to.

Compulsive viewing.

Certainly not for those weak of stomach, the end has to be seen to be believed. It's not a particularly well known film, which is a shame, the directorial debut of Yuzna, it makes for uneasy viewing. Cheap, with frighteningly catchy music which underplays the horror with classical violins and piano's, it's a film which you will not forget after watching.

It starts off all "90210", cheesy dialogue, rich kids and perfect bodies everywhere, this is a clever ploy on the part of the director/writer, but I think it has been lost on many people that he intends it to feel glossy, but with a horribly sick undertone. Suddenly the slickness of the characters becomes ironic when you eventually find out the truth of what is going on.

Basically a class tale, it's all about, well, fitting in. The rich are shape-shifting mutants who feed off the poor people, literally, and the only way to beat them is to pull their heads out of their asses.

Surprisingly, this is not a documentary.

I enjoyed this, it's different. The plot is non-linear, but that doesn't really matter. It contains scenes that may disturb, but for one reason or another, I forgot to be disturbed. The acting is very good, I don't think I'd ever seen a Billy Crudup film before, and came away with a new name to search for. The soundtrack is excellent, the humour is odd, but it's the supporting cast which make the film; the cameo's are all spot on. I dislike Denis Leary, but he's good here, I wasn't a particularly big fan of JB Jack Black either, but he shines here and I saw him in a new light.

Low budget, sure, more films could do with the charm of this one, it tries to do something different, and I think it's a winner.