Sometimes I struggle to get things done. I struggle to keep up to date, I struggle to stay in the know, and I most definitely struggle to embrace many of the hundreds of cinematic 'masterpieces' that have graced the Silver Screen over the past century. But, as I have now found myself only working 4 days a week instead of the intended 6, I have a monday and a tuesday free each week whilst everyone else is stuck in college. So instead of sitting here at the beginning of each week, waiting for the weekend to come, I am going to spend my time catching up on all of these movies that I have somehow avoided watching all these years.

Some will be obvious and classic (Citizen Kane, Brazil etc) whilst others will be modern works. Let's begin.

I had read the rave reviews by the major publications, saw the trailer and contemplated renting it. I never got round to it mainly because I never found myself in the right mood/frame of mind to watch a 'subtitled arthouse flick'. Now, after watching the movie, I realise that my preconceptions of what this movie was were completely inaccurate.

I was lead to believe that City of God was some sort of foreign, visual metaphor on crime. I was surprised to find that in actuality, it's a straight-up gangster flick. With added sincerity.

City of God follows the path of Rocket, a young, aspiring photographer, unable to live the life of crime as so many of his peers do. However, Rocket is not the films main focus - if anything, he is a bit-character, serving mainly as a narrator and providing us with a light of optimism in an otherwise bleak film. City of God is instead based around Li'l Dice, an insecure, homocidal maniac who is hell-bent on taking over the City of God and striking fear into its inhabitants.

What makes this film so compelling is the way in which it takes an unbiased stance on the criminal activity in the City of God. We understand that crime is necessary for these people to survive, and as a result, we actually feel empathy for these hoodlums. Even characters that do not grace the screen for a lengthy period of time, such as Knockout Ned, are worthy of our emotion as an audience.

The Directors must also be commended on creating one of the all-time GREATEST movie villains, Li'l Dice. Here is a character that we want to see dead from the beginning of the film to the very end. He truly is a masterpiece in his own right, and even though he possesses some of the typical villainous traits (bloodthirsty, insecure) he never verges on cliche. Again, this is because of the large amount of humanity that has been injected into him, and whilst never outwardly explaining to us how he became so utterly insane, we somehow understand the twisted logic within his evil decisions.

If you are against the concept of a movie containing 'kids with guns', then City of God is definitely not for you. There are some extremely upsetting/disturbing scenes that become even more hard-hitting when you discover that the territory City of God is shot in is known for its underage criminal activity and even some of the extras used were notorious criminals in that region. There is one particular scene that involved a child making a decision with a gun that was so realistic it made me donate to charity.

But for everyone else that's a little bit more open-minded and unimpressionable, this is a wonderful example of storytelling and cinematography, and I heartily suggest you watch it.

Rating:



9 kids with guns.

After seeing this film ranked highly in multiple lists of 'greatest independent movies ever', I thought I'd give it a shot. Needless to say, I never missed much.

It seems almost wrong to state that a film with Kevin Spacey at the helm remains entirely forgettable. Of course, this is purely my opinion, and I am under the impression that many would furiously oppose me saying that I found The Usual Suspects to be a fun yet throwaway piece of cinema.

It beggars belief that such a film has garnered as much critical acclaim as it has, when a whiff of mediocrity accompanies almost every scene. The setup is regular crime schtick, the protagonists are given barely any characterisation other than 'this one limps', 'this one talks funny' and 'this ones a bit mad'. As for the twist ending? I fail to see how I could be alone in saying that I saw it coming a mile off.

The plot guided itself into a corner multiple times, and any loose ends that you expected to be covered at somepoint during its 106 minute running time remain loose ends until the rolling of the end credits. The characters, whilst interesting in theory, are completely unexplored and any interesting personality quirks (such as Verbal's habit of incessant conversation) are quickly mentioned and then almost instantly forgotten.

The film does have a certain charm to it, as is the case with most low-budget productions, but this charm is overrided by some inexcusable flaws and the unshakable feeling that The Usual Suspects could have been so much better.

Rating:



4 predictable twists.

Originally Posted by butthead aka 216 i havent i refuse to in fact. it triggers my ptsd from yrs ago when i thought my ex's anal beads were those edible candy necklaces

Originally Posted by Dr. Rez Keep it in your pants scottie.

Originally Posted by butthead aka 216 i havent i refuse to in fact. it triggers my ptsd from yrs ago when i thought my ex's anal beads were those edible candy necklaces

Originally Posted by Dr. Rez Keep it in your pants scottie.

As a music fan, I suppose it could be seen as strange that I have only recently watched This Is Spinal Tap from beginning to end. After doing so, however, I find myself a little disappointed.

As a parody of life out on the road, This Is Spinal Tap succeeds on all accounts. It perfectly mimics the egocentric and absent-minded nature of your average rockstar, and its satirical eye gazes over everything from skin tight stage wear to a John/Yoko romance. You can see that the director has carefully thumbed through 'How To Be a Rockstar 101' and decided that he's going to include everything he possibly can.

So, the floppy-haired goons on the stage are, predictably, the butt of all the jokes. This is in no way a bad thing, as the acting all-round is superb (especially considering that Harry Shearer and Michael McKean aren't actually British), and it's a testament to their skills that the characters still remained endearing and likeable despite their idiotic nature.

The comic-timing is also very spot-on, with each of the set-pieces (stonehenge, the pods etc) being allowed enough time to flourish without ever becoming stale.

So, what was it exactly that disappointed me about This Is Spinal Tap? Well, to put it bluntly; I didn't laugh. Whilst I acknowledged that it was a witty and intelligent piece of work, it never generated the belly-rumbling guffaws that I expected it to, and because of this it didn't leave the lasting impression upon me that I expected it to.

By no means does this make it unwatchable, though. It's inability to make me laugh is probably connected to my lack of understanding of the source material, and I can imagine that for a band just starting out on the road this is a definite must-see. However, as I am not an aspiring rockstar, nor do I know any aspiring rockstars, I found myself unable to connect with the numerous jokes thrust upon me.

I'm sure many, if not all of you have at somepoint seen This Is Spinal Tap. However, if you are one of the very few that haven't, I suggest that you do so. You will almost definitely laugh more than I did.

Rating:



6 amps (turned up to 11)

Originally Posted by WolfAtTheDoor The Usual Suspects