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 WolfAtTheDoor The Usual Suspects

Originally Posted by WolfAtTheDoor I'll have to check it out, I've never really checked anything out by the Coen brothers though I've always thought that if I did, I'd enjoy what they do.

Spirited Away is a film that I have placed high on my 'things to do' list countless times, yet somehow never got around to actually viewing it. Since seeing the above image and being intrigued/disturbed by the faceless, erm, 'No Face', I came to the conclusion that it was a film that I would no doubt enjoy. Fantastical story combined with beautiful artwork; how could it possibly go wrong?

The problem with my preconceptions of Spirited Away is that I have thus far read no negative reviews. It was a crossover sleeper hit, therefore attracting no scathing cynicism or hype backlash, meaning that my expectations for it were horrendously high. Upon viewing it, I am a little disappointed and not nearly as captivated as I assumed I would be.

It begins with a wonderful introduction to the surreal Spirit World, full of charming and imaginative characters that are given just enough screen time to capture our imaginations yet retain their mysteriousness. The artwork is gorgeously detailed, and is one of the best-looking films I have ever seen. The first 40 or so minutes continue in this delightful and charming manner. However, after we are introduced to all the bright characters Spirited Away has to offer, it is revealed that there is very little substance to this stylish adventure.

The plot, for the most part, is completely irrelevant. It only serves as a reasoning behind our hero Sen's meeting of the various inhabitants of the Spirit World. Likewise, Sen is completely irrelevant. She offers nothing new or original to the child-protagonist format, always approaching life with complete selflessness as is the case for most of these young do-gooders. It can be argued that Sen's goal of rescuing her parents and the confusing sub-plot between her and boy-dragon Haku is not what we as viewers are supposed to focus on; that Spirited Away is not about the destination, it is about the journey to reach that destination. This would be completely acceptable if the film continuously paced itself as it did in its first half. But that is not the case, and as Sen's adventure finds itself unable to lead us to any new locations or meet any new characters, the breathtaking creative streak displayed previously simmers down until it is merely a pretty shell of its former self.

In terms of Visuals, Spirited Away could not be improved. It is a glorious sight to behold, and if you can forgive it for its shortcomings as an adventure then your eyes are certainly in for a treat. However, as a story, there are too many plotholes and under-developed characters for Spirited Away to be considered a great movie. It is a flawed, dense, beautiful creation that is perhaps a little too well-loved for its own good.

Rating:



7 cartoon frogs.

Originally Posted by Bulldog I loved this when I first saw it, but after getting over the ending I started seeing all these little mediocrities in it too. Not a film that exactly benefits repeated viewing. Still a good film, but far from a favourite of mine. A much better crime-centred film that Gabriel Byrne's starred in is Miller's Crossing - being a Coens film it's much more character-driven, which always makes a good film for me. Brilliantly written and shot too, and well worth checking out if you haven't already.