Sileni (English title Lunacy) (2005) - A man's journey to a particularly strange asylum. Directed by Jan Svankmajer this is a frankly bizarre , sometimes infuriating, sometimes compelling surreal movie, including pretty weird animated segments. At two hours, however it is a tad overlong. Starring Jan Triska( a mostly larger than life, charismatic performance), Pavel Liska(very good, too),Anna Geislerova, Martin Huba,Jaroslav Dusek and Pavel Novy. 6/10
Brothers (2010).
Drama featuring Tobey Maguire as Sam Cahill & Jake Gyllenahaal as his younger brother Tommy who have always had a close relationship despite Sam always being perceived the blue-eyed boy & Tommy the black sheep among family members.
And whilst Sam has carved out a successful career as a Marine Tommy cannot hold a job down & is part of the prison's revolving door policy.
On military duty in Afghanistan Sam & his Marine corp go missing & are all presumed dead & to help deal with the grief back home younger brother Tommy helps out Sam's wife Grace (Natalie Portman) & two daughters cope & it isn't long before Tommy & Grace embark on a relationship.Soon after news gets round that Sam isn't actually dead & was held hostage but he somehow managed to flee his captors & is safely back home to his family but family life after such traumatic events was never going to be easy as Sam clearly shows signs he is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD) & Tommy taking Sam's place as the father figure whilst he was away.
Overall this is very well acted film on all parts particularly by Tobey Maguire shaking off the Spiderman tag in such a serious role.A Cleverly written script that discusses the topics of what military personel & their families go the through when loved ones are presumed dead but also PTSD & how families struggle to cope.Great film 8.5/10.
Going in style (2017)
This film is about three retired guys
( Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman & Alan Arkin ) who lose their company pensions when the company they worked for is taken over. Blaming the bank for their misfortune they decide to rob it. Caine & Freeman are highly believable in their roles as usual and the film is on the whole very funny (especially the supermarket shoplifting scene )
Directed by Zach Braff.
8/10
Remember(2015) Auschwitz survivor(Christopher Plummer) is given the job by friend and fellow survivor(Martin Landau) of tracking down the man responsible for the death of their families. Despite a rather far fetched scenario and the odd moment that doesn't quite work, this contains a sympathetic piece of directing by Atom Egoyan which enables to Plummer to give a sublime, subtle performance of a man suffering from dementia. Landau(RIP) has a supporting role but is excellent and its nice to watch the few scenes he has with Plummer. A fine classical soundtrack too. Also starring Henry Czerny,Peter DaCunha, Daniel Kash,Bruno Ganz,Dean Norris(excellent and scary in a couple scenes as a Nazi), Sofia Wells,Jane Spidell,Stefani Kimber & Jurgen Prochnow(very good). 7.5/10
Sweet Smell Of Success(1957)
Director Alexander Mackendrick was known for his dark Ealing comedies so his US debut was a huge change in direction.The story follows Burt Lancaster,in devilishly heel form as an unethical Broadway columnist and his dealings with an unscrupulous press agent played brilliantly by Tony Curtis.The entire tone of the film seems to be scorched in acid as the characters indulge in the most immoral acts of meanness.
8.5/10
War For The Planet of The Apes
I saw this on Tuesday between had so many things going that I haven't had time to put my feet up.
Quite simply the film is a masterpiece and is must see, I like how it started with explaining the previous films. What I found so compelling about the movie is how it was able tell heart felt movie along with mixing humour in just the right amount without it being tedious. How it ties the previous movies in was great, the special effects are outstanding the apes really look real they don't cgi at all and there able to facial express anger, sadness and laughter is simply amazing. Andy Serkis was amazing the guy deserves a award for the work his done along with Toby Kebbell. Just when you think the film is gonna go one way it goes off in another.
This film was able go from sadness to laughter, I shed a tear in places in the movie and was cracking up in laughter especially with a new chracter in the movie who I won't spoil but his really funny not just in what he says but facial expressions and his actions and film has a fitting ending. Not only is a successful reboot which proves it can be done but also a successful trilogy which is rare thing these days. I hightky recommend it, can't wait to see what Matt Reeves does witn The Batman.
9.7/10.
Chinatown(1974)
In a decade that more or less spawned the popcorn flick,Chinatown went in the opposite direction with its twisty plot and dark plot.Following Jack Nicholson as a P.I exposing the dark underbelly of Los Angeles.Finding greed,murder,incest,corruption and paranoia.As usual Nicholson is utterly absorbing to watch.
8.5/10
Good People (2014)
Starting James Franco, Kate Hudson & Tom Wilkinson
Franco & Hudson play a financially pressed American couple starting a new life in London. When their lodger dies, they find £200k of cash that seems to answer their prayers.....needless to say, things are not quite as simple as they seem and they are soon drawn into the world of crime and drugs.
I'd never heard of this film but, to be fair, it was Ok, very watchable despite the typically far fetched climax. All the leads give a decent performance, Kate Hudson as ever just looks perfect, Tom Wilkinson is pretty believable as a weary cop. I caught this on Film4 as part of their crime season. It's not going to win any awards, but worth a watch if you have a few hours spare.
Spiderman: Homecoming
Good for what it was,for me a decent time killer.
7/10
While I'm here I'll point you in the direction of a decent watch (imo)
Phoenix Forgotten.
Doesn't have all the bells and whistles of your Spiderman but for me a more captivating watch.
8/10
The Iceman(2012) The true story of Richard Kuklinski who from working in a mob owned porn film theatre became an 'ice cold' killer, both occupations unknown to his family. On the face of it, this had a potential to be a minor classic, strong performances from Michael Shannon in the title role, Wynona Ryder as his wife, David Schwimmer doing well playing against type as a gangster and Chris Evans as his sometime partner. It is also well shot and his difficult family life is well portrayed. However, the tendency to jump forwards through time periods means the film loses focus a bit and actually the details of the Iceman's killings aren't particularly interesting or original. Also starring Ray Liotta(a rather stereotypical performance),Danny A Abeckaser,John Ventimiglia,James Franco, Stephen Dorff and Robert Davi. 6.5/10