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Certificate: 
Director: Paul Haggis
Release Date: 12 August 2005
Tagline: You think you know who you are. You have no idea.
Main Cast:
Sandra Bullock … Jean Cabot
Don Cheadle … Detective Graham Waters
Matt Dillon … Officer John Ryan
The first thing that struck me about Crash (no pun intended!) was how strikingly similar it is to Magnolia. If you loved that then you’ll love this. Even if you didn’t care much for Magnolia then don’t be put off by it.
Crash follows a series of individuals who are seemingly unconnected. However, as the film goes on, their lives begin to become intertwined. The film is basically about how racism, no matter how overt or subtle it may be, affects not only society as a whole, but us as individuals too. It often makes for uncomfortable viewing, not only for the more reprehensible acts of racism, but also because it makes us think about and question our own prejudices whether they be racially motivated or otherwise.
Crash has a fantastic ensemble cast (just three are listed above) and each and every one is brilliant in their role. A worthy Oscar winning film, and should be regarded as a must see.
Rating: 
Certificate: Originally rated 
Director: Richard Donner
Release Date: 25 June 1976
Tagline: It is the greatest mystery of all because no human being will ever solve it.
Main Cast:
Robert Thorn … Gregory Peck
Lee Remick … Katherine Thorn
Billie Whitelaw … Mrs Baylock
Harvey Stephens … Damien
A true cinematic classic. It’s one of those rare instances when the film is just as good as the book. Even after all these years and several viewings it still has the power to create a real feeling of unease. The scenes at Windsor Safari Park are especially powerful, as the young Damien is taking delight in seeing the animals, but they are somewhat less than delighted to see him, much to his very real disappointment.
It’s this depiction of innocence together with demonic undertones that makes it a very powerful film. This is going to be one of the more ridiculous sounding sentences that I’ve ever written, but here goes! Damien is not aware that he is the Antichrist, and come the ending where his ‘father’ has to murder him, you can’t help but feel for him.
The Omen is a masterpiece, and should be seen by all!
Rating:
Certificate:
Director: Frank LaLoggia
Release Date: 16 June 1989
Tagline: The year is 1962. The place is Willowpoint Falls. Nobody talks about what happened in the school cloakroom 10 years ago. Now, in the dead of night, Frankie Scarlatti is going to find out why.
Main Cast:
Lukas Haas … Frankie Scarlatti
Len Cariou … Phil Terragarossa
Alex Rocco … Angelo ‘Al’ Scarlatti
It’s hard to pigeonhole this film. It’s mostly a thriller, but the ghost story part of it gives it an element of horror, which I really liked. Lukas Haas gives a very good performance and easily carries the film. It’s a very good story and is at times genuinely creepy (I like creepy films – they’re always the best horrors).
It starts off a bit slow, and you’re not quite sure if you are watching the film that was described, but stay with it as it picks up the pace and quickly becomes very engaging.
Lady in White is not a brilliant film as far as thrillers and horrors go, but it is well worth a look.
Rating: 
Certificate:
Director: Christophe Gans
Release Date: 21 April 2006
Tagline: Enjoy your stay.
Main Cast:
Radha Mitchell … Rose Da Silva
Sean Bean … Christopher Da Silva
Laurie Holden … Cybil Bennett
Jodelle Ferland … Sharon / Alessa
Oh dear. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. What an unmitigated pile of drivel this is. It’s an absolute mess of confusing plot which is full of holes, appalling dialogue, atrocious acting and the most utterly ridiculous and pretentious ending you are ever likely to see. It’s also far too long (about 2 hours too long, I’d say).
It ‘borrows’ highly from Asian horror styling (the traditional ‘ghost girls’ as seen in Ringu and The Grudge), Don’t Look Now and cheesey horrors from the 1980s (there’s a scene with the barbed wire that is very reminiscent of the ‘tree rape’ scene from The Evil Dead . The difference here being that the latter was a humorous film).
The main character spends the first half of the film (maybe even more) just running around shouting “Sharon!”. It would have been far better if they had Ozzy Osbourne in the main role ;-D
What the hell was Sean Bean doing in it? Could they not find a mediocre American actor to play the part rather than a mediocre British man? His accent swings from terrible American, to Yorkshire and even, at times, Irish.
On the plus side, the visuals are very atmospheric and the special effects are pretty good. It is for these reasons that it gets more than 0 stars from me. Oh, and there’s the part when all the zombies or whatever they were started shuffling in a little group and I thought the soundtrack was going to break into Michael Jackson’s Thriller…
Silent Hill is yet more proof that video games should never, ever be made into movies.
Rating: 
Certificate:
Director: Juan Antonio Bayona
Release Date: 21 March 2008
Tagline: A tale of love. A story of horror.
Main Cast:
Belén Ruader … Laura
Fernando Cayo … Carlos
Roger Príncep … Simón
What a masterpiece! I was totally blown away by it. I was expecting it to be good, but it surpassed all expectations. I am going to give absolutely nothing away other than it’s the finest ghost story I’ve ever seen (closely follwed by The Others) and you owe it to yourself to see it. Whist I’ve included it in the ‘horror’ category, if you don’t like horror films then don’t let that put you off. There’s a lot of unease and it’s very creepy, but it’s such a thrill!
Rating:
Certificate:
Director: Matt Reeves
Release Date: 1 February 2008
Tagline: Some thing has found us.
Main Cast:
T.J. Miller … Hud
Michael Stahl-David … Rob Hawkins
Jessica Lucas … Lily
The tagline for this film should have been “The Chewits Monster is alive and well and trashing New York” (apologies if you are too young to remember the advert for the rather tasty sweets!). Actually, it’s more of a cross between Godzilla, Alien and the Rancor from Return of the Jedi.
This is a very messy film. It tries to be edgy, scary and full of suspense but fails on all counts. It’s also very unoriginal. It ‘borrows’ elements from many other films that are much better, such as the rats fleeing the danger (seen in 28 Days Later if memory serves), the Alien like creatures, the bridge scene (from War of the Worlds) and, most obvious of all, The Blair Witch Project.
Cloverfield tries to emulate TBWP, but where that film succeeded and this one fails is in the complete lack of growing suspense and tension. In Cloverfield we go from normal to ‘terror’ in about 30 seconds. I wasn’t really a fan of TBWP, but I appreciated its originality. Sadly, there is none to be seen here.
Another of it’s major problems was the fact that none of the characters were engaging or likeable. If you don’t care about the characters then a film is soulless. Personally, I’d have been very happy if they’d all had their heads ripped off.
Also, is it just me or does anyone else think that the collapsing building and subsequent dust cloud is rather tasteless? If I had either been in or lost someone in the 9/11 attack then I wouldn’t be deriving much entertainment from that scene. Don’t tell me that the film is an allegory for 9/11 – it’s not that clever.
What was this creature? Where did it come from? What were the little creatures? Why was this pile of crap commissioned? So many questions, and no answers.
Rating:
Certificate:
Director: Mike Nichols
Release Date: 13 April 1984
Tagline: On November 13, 1974, Karen Silkwood, an employee of a nuclear facility, left to meet with a reporter from the New York Times. She never got there.
Main Cast:
Meryl Streep … Karen Silkwood
Kurt Russell … Drew Stephens
Cher … Dolly Pelliker
Silkwood is based on the true story of Karen Silkwood, a chemical technician at the Kerr-McGee nuclear power plant in Oklahoma, USA who was contaminated with plutonium and died in a car crash in mysterious circumstances.
The acting is very good all round and Meryl Streep is, as usual, brilliant. The film concentrates on just telling the story. It never degenerates into preachy moralising, and does not attempt to provide any answers.
Wikipedia has some very good information on Karen Silkwood, and can be found here:-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Silkwood
Rating:
Certificate:
Director: Danny Boyle
Release Date: 5 April 2007
Tagline: Dark days are coming.
Main Cast:
Cliff Curtis … Searle
Cillian Murphy … Capa
Michelle Yeoh … Corazon
I missed this film when it was on at the cinema and wish I hadn’t. Sunshine is perfect for the big screen. Most films set in space are, but this film has a certain feel to it that makes it especially true. There’s a real sense of isolation and vast expanse that is reminiscent of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The plot is very simple and feels, for the most part, very plausible. I didn’t find myself having to suspend belief to get anything out of it. The acting is very good, and I liked the characters. Although there are traces of the usual stereotypes, it’s not overbearing and cheesy like so many others before it.
The pace of the film worked well. It’s not a typical space action adventure, so unless you like a slow and steady build up, then you may get a little bored. Again, it’s not unlike 2001 in that respect (although there are few films as painfully slow as that!).
It’s not faultless though. There is an inexplicable horror type twist that is totally out of place. There was a perfectly reasonable option open, but the writer/director chose to go down the crazy route. It ends up in a confusing mass of blurred shots and some rather incomprehensible cuts. The last few minutes are ruined as it is a struggle to understand what is going on. Which is a real shame.
I liked it though, and it’s well worth a look.
Rating:
Certificate:
Director: Francis Lawrence
Release Date: 18 March 2005
Tagline: Hell wants him. Heaven won’t take him. Earth needs him.
Main Cast:
Keanu Reeves … John Constantine
Rachel Weisz … Angela Dodson / Isabel Dodson
Shia LaBeouf … Chas Kramer
Tilda Swinton … Gabriel
I’ve never read the comic that Constantine is based on, so I watched this as a purely stand alone film without any preconceived ideas about how it ‘should’ be. In my view, this is how to make a comic book conversion but, as I say, fans of the comic may disagree. The look and feel of the film is classic comic book, full of silent and moody moments.
This is a dark and atmospheric film that draws you in from the first scene. Keanu Reeves is perfect as the ultimate anti-hero John Constantine and gives a great performance that makes us both respect and like him.
Tortured by the fact that, in the eyes of God, he can never make amends for taking his own life and will be damned to spend eternity in Hell, John wages a constant war against the demons that enter the mortal plain in the futile hope that he will be forgiven for his mortal sin and accepted into Heaven.
The plot is simple yet perfect, as you want to spend much of the time just enjoying what you’re watching. The special effects are fantastic and I loved the depiction of Hell.
I’ve not only been inspired to seek out the comics, but I may also sit with my feet in a bowl of water whilst staring at a cat’s face…
Rating:
Certificate:
Director: Brad Anderson
Release Date: 18 March 2005
Tagline: How do you wake up from a nightmare when you’re not asleep?
Main Cast:
Christian Bale … Trevor Resnik
Jennifer Jason Leigh … Stevie
Aitana Sánchez-Gijón … Marie
John Sharian … Ivan
I rented this from LoveFilm and by the time it came up on the list for dispatch I’d forgotten what is was about. Having known that I wouldn’t have picked it if It didn’t look good, I decided to just put it in the player and see what happened. What a great decision that was! Don’t read anything about it beforehand – just watch it!
Christian Bale is absolutely fantastic. The fact that he managed to turn himself in to a living skeleton for the role is a thing to behold in itself. The film is intriguing and engaging from the get go, and slowly starts to turn into one of those ‘headf**k’ films that you find yourself totally immersed in. Despite that though, you don’t at any point start thinking “huh?”; instead you feel sure that there *will* be a satisfactory resolution to it. And indeed there is. As you slowly start to understand what’s happening you get a great sense of enjoyment from the cleverly crafted script.
I shall say no more than this – watch it!
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