Panic Room ( 2002 ) and National Lampoon's European Vacation ( 1985 )

What happens when a moron takes a road trip around Europe.

Starring Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Dana Hill and Jason Lively.


Written by John Hughes and Robert Klane,




Directed by Amy Heckerling.






I chose this oldie to watch on New Year's Eve with my family.




It's a fun movie and kept us entertained while we waited for Big Ben to chime in the new year. We all had a good chuckle and I think we all enjoyed it. I don't know what was funnier, the script or the eighties clothes!




A fun way to see in the New Year,




7/10

A house is under attack and there is only one place to hide. A special place.

Starring Jodie Foster, Kristen Stewart and Forest Whitaker.



Written by David Koepp.

Directed by David Fincher.

This starts off really slow!



In fact I'd say the first two thirds of the film are slow and pretty silly. The guys that break into the house are more slapstick than they are sinister. Their various attempts at getting at the two main characters is lame at best and doesn't make for exciting viewing.

However the final third of the film builds up to a decent climax and has enough thrills and spills to satisfy. It's a pity the rest of the film wasn't as entertaining. The acting is decent throughout, especially Jodie Foster, Kirsten Stewart and Forest Whitaker.

It's a shame it took so long to get going. 

7/10

Taxi Driver ( 1976 )

A Vietnam veteran takes a job as a taxi driver and slowly becomes disillusioned                with what he sees on the streets of New York.

Starring Robert De Niro, Cybill Shepherd and Jodie Foster,


Written by Paul Schrader.

Directed by Martin Scorsese.

This gripped me right from the first scene.

A decent script combined with great acting and a wonderful score make this a must watch. The cinematography is excellent and although the plot isn't anything particularly clever or complicated, this movie just sucks you in.

It's dark and disturbing in all the right places and Robert De Niro is at his absolute best.

A real classic. I want to watch this all over again to see what I missed the first time around.

9/10

Oz The Great and Powerful (2013)

                       The Wizard's Journey to Oz.

Starring James Franco, Michelle Williams, Mila Kunis and Rachel Weisz.

Written by Mitchell Kapner, David Lindsay-Abaire, based on the original stories by L.Frank Baum.

Directed by Sam Raimi.

If you want to watch a fun, family film at Christmas you can't really do better than this.

It has all the ingredients to keep you glued to the screen. It's funny, imaginative, well acted and will make you feel warm and fuzzy in all the right places, It tells the story of what happened immediately before Dorothy and Toto arrived on Oz and it is faithful to the original movie.

I also liked how they included the the land of china from the original book by L. Frank Baum. That was a nice touch. This is fun with a capital F. Perfect for Christmas.

9/10

Static ( 2012 )

                 A couple hear a knock at the door in the dead of the night.








Starring Milo Ventimiglia and Sarah Shahi.



Written by Gabriel Cowan, Todd Levin, Andrew Orci and John Suits.




Directed by Todd Levin.







I really liked this one. It's creepy and scary and the plot kept me gripped all the way through.





The acting is good and try as I could I didn't see the twist at the end coming, even though there's a big hint in the opening scenes! It's all been done before of course. A young couple in a creepy house in the middle of nowhere and lots of running and hiding seem to be the staple for a lot of psychological horror movies. I wanted to grab hold of the main male character several times to tell him to stop being so stupid every time he ventured off on his own, because you know something bad is only going to happen. But what would a horror film be without stupid characters!


This is the perfect short movie to curl up on the couch to. Just make sure you turn out the lights and close the curtains to make it even more scary.







An enjoyable 7.5/10.

The Third Man ( 1949 )

A writer travels to post war Vienna to meet an old friend but finds out he's too late.





Starring Joseph Cotten, Orson Welles and Alida Valli.



Written by Graham Greene.



Directed by Carol Reed.







It's about time I watched another old movie so I couldn't resist this when I saw it on the TV listings.




I like it. It's a good twisty story that kept my interest all the way. The acting is good and the whole thing is pretty artistic and stylish. It's pretty dated but once I got into it it didn't really matter. It's was probably well ahead of it's time considering it came out in 1949 and I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't contain any melodramatic romantic mush. It was all about the story. The mystery.





I'm sure I would have loved this if I had been around at the time and watching it for the first time I was transported back in time and I felt like I was there. Oh and I love the background music, pretty quirky stuff.



Enjoyed.






7.5/10

Shutter Island (2010)

         Two cops visit a hospital for the criminally insane to investigate a disappearance.








Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo.


Written by Laeta Kalogridis ( Screenplay). Dennis Lehane (Novel).




Directed by Martin Scorsese.








This is one of the strangest movies I've ever seen.




At first I didn't like it at all. I couldn't stand the annoyingly loud background score and the artyfarty dream sequences. And right from the beginning I couldn't take to Mark Ruffalo's character, there was just something weird about him and his accent that I couldn't put my finger on.



But as the movie goes on it builds up to an amazing and shocking climax. I didn't see it coming although I had a feeling something wasn't quite right! Looking back, this one is one hell of a cleverly constructed script and I'm guessing we have the original novel to thank for that. What started out as an annoying movie actually turned out to be really good and I want to watch it all over again to (without spoiling anything) see what references I missed.





I still think it was a bit too artyfarty at times and that background music was too loud and annoying and there was something about the cinematography that I didn't quite like, but overall I think it actually worked.





9/10

Midnight Run ( 1988 )

And ex cop and an accountant are on the run from the FBI and the Mafia.






Starring Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin.


Written by George Gallo.



Directed by Martin Brest.







If you want a fun and entertaining movie you can't really beat this one.




I liked everything about it. From it's hilarious one liners to the chemistry between the two main characters. There's nothing pretentious about Midnight Run. It doesn't claim to be anything more that an entertaining run around. And at the end of the day that's what a movie should be.



Watch this and then watch it again!







9/10

Cloverfield (2008)

A group of friends in New York set out on a rescue mission but the city is under attack.





Starring Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas, T.J Miller, Michael Stahl-David, Mike Vogel

and Odette Annable.


Written by Drew Goddard.


Directed by Matt Reeves.






This is a movie that I've heard about but never got round to watching.



I wouldn't say it was a truly scary movie, I didn't find it too scary, I didn't even get creeped out even though I watched it alone with the lights out.


But it is really good. It gripped me from the beginning and it's real edge of your seat stuff. It's more exciting and entertaining than it is scary and it's a great twist on the old monster movies. It's like King Kong or Godzilla but an up to date and darker version. You just get to know the main characters enough to keep the whole thing going without getting bogged down with back story. You don't always know what is going on or which character is which but I guess that was intended because of the chaos that develops in the plot.



The whole thing is allegorical of 9/11 just like Godzilla was apparently allegorical of the Hiroshima attacks and even some of the outside shots were based on TV footage from the tragedy. For me this movie worked although it's probably not everybody's cup of tea. The monster was well designed and the cinematography was terrific.




A fun movie.



9/10

West (2013)

A woman escapes East Germany with her child.






Starring Jordis Triebel, Tristan Gobel and Alexander Scheer.


Written by Heide Schwochow (screenplay) and Julia Franck (Novel).



Directed by Christian Schwochow.






I seem to be on a bit of a run of late for watching foreign subtitled films.





This German movie is left of centre, quirky and quite well acted. It's also a good insight into how things were on either side of the Berlin wall post war. It just about kept my interest although it lacks a little excitement. There's not a lot of suspense and it didn't exactly have me on the edge of my seat.



It's interesting but easily forgettable. Not exactly a yawn fest but lacked any real entertainment value.





7/10

Beyond The Hills (2012)

   A girl visits a convent to try and bring her friend home.



  
Starring Cosmina Stratan and Cristina Flutur.


Written by Cristian Mungiu. Inspired by the Non Fiction Novels of Tatiana Niculescu Bran.



Directed by Cristian Mungiu.






This is a dark and disturbing movie that would have been far better if it wasn't so slow paced.



It moves at a snails pace but maybe that's what Cristian Mungiu intended, after all I'm guessing that's how things flow in a convent. The story isn't bad and as far as I could tell ( this was a Romanian movie with English subtitles) the acting was okay without being incredible.

I liked the outside location cinematography but the indoor stuff looked a bit wobbly. This is an arty film and usually I like anything like this but for me this was too slow and bordering on boring. For me it lacked something but I'm not sure what. Maybe the relationship between the two main characters could have been explored more to make this more watchable? We only get a few suggestions of a love affair in the past between them both and so perhaps that's what this movie needed.




It does make you think. It's pretty much an anti religious movie and that's the message that came across clearly at the end.





7/10

The Hangover ( 2009 )

Two days before his wedding a guy goes to Las Vegas for one last blow up.



Starring Zack Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper, Justin Bartha and Ed Helms.


Written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore.



Directed by Todd Phillips.







There's nothing not to love about this. It is hilarious and the perfect thing to watch whilst curled upon on the couch. Get yourself some popcorn and a drink of your choice and enjoy!



It is silly and well acted and it is so good and easy to watch it's almost over as soon as you've pressed play.




If you want to have a giggle without having to think too much, this is perfect. I want to watch it all over again!






10/10

Killer Elite (2011)

A killer for hire is sent on a mission to rescue his old mentor.





Starring Jason Statham, Clive Owen and Robert De Nero.


Screenplay by Matt Sherring. Based on the novel by Ranulph Fiennes.




Directed by Gary McKendry.







This is an average shoot them up action movie.




The action sequences and the cinematography are pretty good. I liked the whole eighties theme and it is convincing. The plot is nothing new. It's an average action movie plot with a few twists and turns towards the end but nothing that hasn't been done before.


The big let down was the acting. The two main leads were unconvincing and pretty wooden but I guess that's quite normal in a lot of action movies of this type. Robert De Niro was completely wasted. For an actor of his talents to appear in this with nothing but a bit part is quite sad. Was he just after a pay day?





An average action flick but instantly forgettable.





7/10

Breaking The Waves (1996)

        A paralyzed man asks his wife to do him one favour. 
                              To find a new lover.





Starring Emily Watson, Stellan Skarsgard and Katrin Cartlidge.


Written by Lars Von Trier, Peter Asmussen and David Pirie.



Directed by Lars Von Trier.







A totally absorbing movie.




I liked everything about it from the unbelievably good acting performance by Emily Watson to the location filming, cinematography and well crafted plot. There's something old school about this one, an old fashioned movie without all the bells and whistles that spoil some films. The haunting remote location filming adds to the emotional, dark and at times, humorous story.

It's a long one and maybe a bit too long and there are a couple of plot holes that don't really ruin this great movie. For example the hospital in the story seems to have only one Doctor who is responsible for life saving surgery and also mental health reviews and probably everything else and the sister of the main female lead seems at times to be the only nurse in the hospital.





But overall this is a big fat ten out of ten for me. A wonderfully emotional roller coaster of a movie that covers everything from love to heartbreak to religious bigotry.


On a sad note I was trying to work out where I'd seen the young woman ( Katrin Cartlidge) who plays the sister in the movie and now I can only guess I remember her from Brookside, which I watched on and off during the eighties. I was shocked and saddened to learn that this talented and beautiful actress died a few years after filming this. Such a shame. I'm sure she would have gone on to achieve a lot more in acting and directing.






10/10