Films

Reviews on the latest films, films you should watch and where to watch them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have spent many a “chilled” evening and a delicate morning after the night before plagued with movie blank, when it is just too much effort to think of a film to watch. I mean who can be bothered to search through millions of films on hundreds of different websites just to all disagree on a film?

 So here we have compiled a list of possible films to watch or just to help you get your own creative juices flowing.

 

 The Godfather (1972)

Description: The story begins as “Don” Vito Corleone, the head of a New York Mafia “family”, oversees his daughter’s wedding. His beloved son Michael has just come home from the war, but does not intend to become part of his father’s business. Through Michael’s life the nature of the family business becomes clear. The business of the family is just like the head of the family, kind and benevolent to those who give respect, but given to ruthless violence whenever anything stands against the good of the family. Don Vito lives his life in the way of the old country, but times are changing and some don’t want to follow the old ways and look out for community and “family”. An up and coming rival of the Corleone family wants to start selling drugs inNew York, and needs the Don’s influence to further his plan. The clash of the Don’s fading old world values and the new ways will demand a terrible price, especially from Michael, all for the sake of the family.

Fight Club (1999)

Description: You’re young. You have an easy, well-paid desk job. You have a condo, Swedish furniture, artistic coffee tables and a fridge full of condiments. Yet you feel emotionally and spiritually empty. You eventually find comfort in going to support groups for leukemia and cancer victims when there’s nothing wrong with you until they’re hijacked from you by another faker. Then you meet Tyler Durden, a man that shows you that not only can you live without material needs but that self-destruction, the collapse of society and making dynamite from soap might not be such a bad idea either

Inception (2010)

Description: Dom Cobb is a skilled thief, the absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction, stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state, when the mind is at its most vulnerable. Cobb’s rare ability has made him a coveted player in this treacherous new world of corporate espionage.

The Dark Knight (2008)

Batman and Gordon find alliance with a newly appointed DA Harvey Dent to stop a vicious killer with a warped sense of humor known only as The Joker, a threat to both the good, and the evil ofGothamCity.

Forrest Gump (1994)

Description: The title character leads viewers through an accidental travelogue of American social history from the early 1960s through the present in this revisionist fable.Vietnam, desegregation, Watergate and more are presented from the perspective of Hanks’ lovably slow-witted character as he finds himself embroiled in situations he can’t quite comprehend.

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Description: Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison for the murders of his wife and her lover in the late 1940s. However, only Andy knows that he didn’t commit the crimes. Sent to Shawshank Prison to do hard time, Andy–a taciturn banker in the outside world–has to learn to get by in the brutal, cutthroat confines of prison life. His quiet strength slowly earns the respect of his fellow inmates–most notably, Red (Morgan Freeman)–and even much of the prison staff. But Andy’s seemingly stoic acceptance of his unjust imprisonment hides a fierce determination for freedom.

 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Description: When a large black monolith is found beneath the surface of the moon, the reaction immediately is that it was intentionally buried. When the point of origin is confirmed as Jupiter, an expedition is sent in hopes of finding the source. When Dr.David Bowman discovers faults in the expeditionary space craft’s communications system, he discovers more than he ever wanted to know.

Pulp Fiction (1994)

Description: Jules Winnfield and Vincent Vega are two hitmen who are out to retrieve a suitcase stolen from their employer, mob boss Marsellus Wallace. Wallace has also asked Vincent to take his wife Mia out a few days later when Wallace himself will be out of town. Butch Coolidge is an aging boxer who is paid by Wallace to lose his next fight. The lives of these seemingly unrelated people are woven together comprising of a series of funny, bizarre and uncalled-for incidents.

A ClockworkOrange (1971)

In a futuristicBritain, a gang of teenagers go on the rampage every night, beating and raping helpless victims. After one of the boys quells an uprising in the gang, they knock him out and leave him for the police to find. He agrees to try “aversion therapy” to shorten his jail sentence.

Stalker (1979)

Description: Near a gray and unnamed city is the Zone, an alien place guarded by barbed wire and soldiers. Over his wife’s numerous objections, a man rises in the dead of night: he’s a stalker, one of a handful who have the mental gifts (and who risk imprisonment) to lead people into the Zone to the Room, a place where one’s secret hopes come true. That night, he takes two people into the Zone: a popular writer who is burned out, cynical, and questioning his genius; and a quiet scientist more concerned about his knapsack than the journey. In the deserted Zone, the approach to the Room must be indirect. As they draw near, the rules seem to change and the stalker faces a crisis.

Back to the Future (1985)

Description: The future for teenager Marty McFly is not shaping up well. His family is dysfunctional, his schoolteacher, Mr Strickland, is out to get him, his music is just too loud and the rest of the world doesn’t care. Only with his girlfriend, Jennifer Parker and local eccentric scientist, Dr Emmet Brown does he find the encouragement and excitement that he needs. Then, one of Doc Brown’s experiments goes slightly wrong and Marty gets caught up in a race to set it and his future right again. “When this baby hits 88 miles per hour you’re gonna see some serious shit.”

American Beauty (1999)

Description: Lester and Carolyn Burnham are on the outside, a perfect husband and wife, in a perfect house, in a perfect neighborhood. But inside, Lester is slipping deeper and deeper into a hopeless depression. He finally snaps when he becomes infatuated with one of his daughters friends. Meanwhile, his daughter Jane is developing a happy friendship with a shy boy-next-door named Ricky who lives with a homophobic father.

Seven (Se7en) (1995)

Description: This thriller portrays the exploits of a deranged serial-killer. His twisted agenda involves choosing seven victims who represent egregious examples of transgressions of each of the Seven Deadly Sins. He then views himself as akin to the Sword of God, handing out horrific punishment to these sinners. Two cops, an experienced veteran of the streets who is about to retire and the ambitious young homicide detective hired to replace him, team up to capture the perpetrator of these gruesome killings. Unfortunately, they too become ensnared in his diabolical plan…

Donnie Darko (2001)

Description: October 2nd, 1988: Just another ordinary day in Donnie Darko’s teen-aged existence. He’s taken his medication, watched Dukakis and Bush debate, and had dinner with the family. Then comes an outrageous accident. Out of the blue, a 2,000 pound jet engine plummets from the sky and crashes into Donnie’s bedroom, obliterating it. Luckily, Donnie isn’t in bed. Or is it luck? As Donnie begins to explore what it means to still be alive, and in short order to be in love, he uncovers secrets of the universe that give him a tempting power to alter time and destiny.

The Departed (2006)

Two men from opposite sides of the law are undercover within the Massachusetts State Police and the Irish mafia, but violence and bloodshed boil when discoveries are made, and the moles are dispatched to find out their enemy’s identities

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)

Description: McMurphy, a man with several assault convictions to his name, finds himself in jail once again. This time, the charge is statutory rape when it turns out that his girlfriend had lied about being eighteen, and was, in fact, fifteen (or, as McMurphy puts it, “fifteen going on thirty-five”). Rather than spend his time in jail, he convinces the guards that he’s crazy enough to need psychiatric care and is sent to a hospital. He fits in frighteningly well, and his different point of view actually begins to cause some of the patients to progress. Nurse Ratched becomes his personal cross to bear as his resistance to the hospital routine gets on her nerves.

The Usual Suspects (1995)

Description: This is a film about five men who are hauled into the New York police station because a crime was committed and they are the usual suspects. They all agree to do a job together for a little revenge. However, little do they know that someone else has the strings and that they are all the puppets–all because each of them crossed the wrong person at the wrong time. After the big job, 27 people are dead, and there are two survivors. But the question is…who’s the one controlling everything?

The Shining (1980)

Description: Jack Torrance becomes the caretaker of the Overlook Hotel up in the secluded mountains of Colorado. Jack, being a family man, takes his wife and son to the hotel to keep him company throughout the long and isolated nights. During their stay strange things occur when Jack’s son Danny sees gruesome images powered by a force called “The Shining” and Jack is heavily affected by this. Along with writer’s block and the demons of the hotel haunting him Jack has a complete mental breakdown and the situation takes a sinister turn for the worse.

Léon: The Professional (Léon) (1994)

Description: Luc Besson made his American directorial debut with this stylized thriller about a French hit man (Jean Reno) who takes in an American girl (Natalie Portman) being pursued by a corrupt killer cop (Gary Oldman). Oldman is a little more unhinged than he should be, but there is something genuinely irresistible about the story line and the relationship between Reno and Portman. Rather than cave in to the cookie-cutter look and feel of American action pictures, Besson brings a bit of his glossy style from French hits La Femme Nikita and Subway to the production, and the results are refreshing even if the bullets and explosions are awfully familiar.

Seven Samurai (Shichinin no samurai) (1954)

A veteran samurai, who has fallen on hard times, answers a village’s request for protection from bandits. He gathers 6 other samurai to help him, and they teach the townspeople how to defend themselves, and they supply the samurai with three small meals a day. The film culminates in a giant battle when 40 bandits attack the village.

The Last House on the Left (2009)

After kidnapping and brutally assaulting two young women, a gang led by a prison escapee unknowingly finds refuge at a vacation home belonging the parents of one of the victims — a mother and father who devise an increasingly gruesome series of revenge tactics.

City of God (2002)

Two boys growing up in a violent neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro take different paths: one becomes a photographer, the other a drug dealer.

La Haine (1995)

Abdel, a local hoodlum, is hospitalized after a riot, where a policeman lost his gun. His friend Vinz finds it and claims he will kill a cop if Abdel dies.

Gomorrah (2008)

An inside look at Italy’s modern-day crime families.

Bad Lieutenant (2009)

Bad Lieutenant should really be on this list twice, once for Abel Ferrara’s original starring Harvey Keitel and once for Werner Herzog’s Nic Cage version. We’ve gone with Herzog here, since Ferrara is represented elsewhere on the list with King Of New York. And also because Herzog’s version has a dancing soul. And gave us Nic Cage’s best performance in years. And stars Alvin ‘Xzibit’ Joiner as a man called Big Fate. Finally, it also has the advantage of not featuring an extended Harvey Keitel full-frontal.

The big Lebowski (1998)

The film that prompted the of founding of a religious organization, Dudeism, dedicated to living life according to the teachings of The Dude, its all about weed, slacking and having a really nice rug that ties the room together.

A Prophet (2009)

A young Arab man is sent to a French prison where he becomes a mafia kingpin.

Fear and loathing in Las Vegas (1998)

An oddball journalist and his psychopathic lawyer travel to Las Vegas for a series of psychadelic escapades.

King of New York (1990)

A former drug lord returns from prison determined to wipe out all his competition and distribute the profits of his operations to New York’s poor and lower classes in this stylish and ultra violent modern twist on Robin Hood.

 The Harder They Come(1972)

Wishing to become a successful Reggae singer, a young Jamaican man finds himself tied to corrupt record producers and drug pushers.

 Reservoir Dogs (1992)

After a simple jewelery heist goes terribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant.

 Animal House (1978)

At a 1962 College, Dean Vernon Wormer is determined to expel the entire Delta Tau Chi Fraternity, but those troublemakers have other plans for him.

 Dazed and Confused (1993)

The adventures of incoming high school and junior high students on the last day of school, in May of 1976.

 Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)

A story of a group of California teenagers who enjoy malls, sex and rock n’ roll.