Casper

Cast: Bill Pullman, Christina Ricci, Eric Idle and Cathy Moriarty

Director: Brad Siberling

Release Date: 1995

Running Time: 1hr 40 minutes

Genre: Family/fantasy

Rating: PG

Format: DVD

Synopsis: 

A paranormal investigator and his daughter stay in an abandoned mansion populated by three naughty ghosts and one friendly one. 

Based loosely on the popular animated show of the same name by Harvey Comics. Brad Silberling brings the wonderful story of "Casper" to the big screen! Taking an animated TV series and turning it into a big motion picture is always going to be a challenge. They're never going to be quite the same. Carrigan Crittenden (Moriarty) father has recently passed away, she's very interested to know what's been left in the will for her, Carrigan hopes it's a nice chunk of money, only to find that her father has left her a mansion,Whipstaff Mansion in Maine. The thought of inheriting a mansion doesn't excite her in the slightest, more so when she finds that the building is haunted. What does she do? She brings in a parapsychologist Dr Harvey played fantastically by "Independence Day" star Bill Pullman. Dr Harvey drags along his teenager daughter Kat (Ricci) for the ride too. The mischief and mayhem that soon unravels is excellent.

Christina Ricci's performance as Kat is very genuine and heartfelt, her mother has recently passed away, unlike her father she doesn't believe in ghosts and finds it hard to believe that her mother could still be with her, on top of that she's dealing with starting a new school, making new friends, moving house frantically, all the time, then suddenly she finds herself introduced to Casper, a ghost that haunts Whipstaff Mansion. The animation is incredible, however what's more impressive is that Bill Pullman and Christina Ricci are essentially in some scenes working a one man show. As the animation is added later. It certainly makes their performances even more impressive. Eric Idle is a remarkable actor, a truly incredible character actor that most will probably recognize from "Monty Python", his character is never really explained properly, is he Carrigan's partner? Who knows. His performance really is hilarious, he brings fantastic humour to this movie. Be sure to look out for cameo's from Clint Eastwood, Dan Akroyd and Mel Gibson too!

I love that Brad Siberling created a backstory for Casper, the way in which he died is explained, essentially why he stayed behind instead of passing on. I love the curiosity of not knowing what happened to his uncle's, why did they stay behind? Speaking of uncles, Joe Nipote, Joe Alaskey and Brad Garrett are fantastic as the ghostly trio! Although their characters are animated, the actors work beautifully together and the voice over work bounces back and forth brilliantly creating so much humour, in each scene that they are in. The casting for this movie is just great! A truly talented bunch of people! This is quite an emotional story, it dives into an emotional subject, here's one character who wants essentially nothing more then to be alive again and then the other character who wants her mother to be alive, to comfort her, to comfort her dad. To help her on the passage through adolescence. Your heartstrings will tug a little bit.

The biggest challenge the filmmakers must have faced was taking an animation series and creating a real set that worked alongside the character. The production design is just eye opening. The mansion on it's own is a very impressive set. It adds to the storyline perfectly, there's nooks and cranny's, cobwebs, it's old, it's spooky, I was mostly certainly convinced a ghostly trio haunted Whipstaff Mansion. It's the little things, that make this movie so awesome! There are hints to wonderful movies like The Wizard of Oz, Goldilocks and even Jaws! So much creativity has gone into the production of this movie, I love it! Its magical and fun! Beautifully shot in Rockport, Maine. Cinematographer Dean Cundey has captured the beautiful scenery of Maine, even if its for a limited time in the movie, as most is shot on a sound stage. The special effects are most impressive, the perfect combination of hand made special effects and digital effects are fantastic! The fact that you can't tell the difference is awesome!

Of course with an emotional story, comes an emotional score naturally. Scored beautifully by the late James Horner. It speaks volumes about the storyline, as it should! I don't think they could have found a better composer to write the score. It's great! Casper is a wonderful family film that is perfect for Halloween, perfect for family viewing. It's entertaining, it's fun, it's magical! One of the best movies of the early 90's!

5/5 stars

Poltergeist

Cast: Craig T Nelson, Jobeth Williams, Beatrice Straight and Heather O'Rourke

Director: Tobe Hooper

Release Date: 1982

Running Time: 1hr 54 minutes

Genre: Horror

Rating: PG

Format: DVD

Synopsis: 

A young family are haunted by what they believe to be are several ghosts, at first they seem quite friendly, only moving objects around, bending things, to the amusement of others, however it quickly takes a turn for the worse when their youngest daughter is kidnapped and they begin to terrorize the family.

Poltergeist is directed by Tobe Hooper who also brought us the likes of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Invaders from Mars" safe to say I think the man enjoys directing horror movies. It's sad to know that despite it being one of Heather O'Rourke's first movies, it was also one of her last too, as she very sadly died at age 12 from cardiac arrest. Rumor has it that the movie is cursed, as several actors have died in strange ways since the making of the movie, but let's face it, think that's just Hollywood having a bit of fun. Heather O Rourke delivers a very good performance for a child actor, the acting as a whole really isn't too bad, they did very well for the material that they were given at the time. The chemistry between Diane and Robbie is very convincing, they clearly love their family a lot and will do anything to get their little girl back. Tangina is absolutely fantastic, Zelda has put a lot of work into making her character really quirky and enthusiastic, her character is educated and strong willed, Zelda delivers a very funny and convincing performance.

The pace of the film really isn't too bad, your left hanging for a short while, however as a member of the audience your aren't left bored, there's plenty of spooky things that happen before the real action gets going, when it does it flows very nicely and gets straight to the point very quickly. It certainly gets much darker in the second chapter of the film, it becomes apparent what is going on and why Carol Anne has been taken, there is a bit of history behind the home itself and the town as well, and what it's built on. It's really not too bad for a horror film, although the rating does shock me somewhat, considering some of the footage that is used, definitely not for the faint hearted, there are some really gruesome moments. Speaking of gruesome, Hooper didn't rely too much on jump scares to frighten his audience, but more on visual aspects of the characters and the circumstances in which they are thrust upon.

The special effects really aren't too bad, yes they do look a little bit dated, however it works beautifully to the tone of the film too, as much as this is a horror, it's almost a classic cult film now and is probably know for it's awful special effects, there are however some pretty awesome moments involving a few skeletons, and graves near the end of the film, that look absolutely brilliant, the production department definitely went all out in making the skeletons look very authentic, rumor has it, that some of them were actually real to appear more real in the movie, if that doesn't scare you to your wits end, then I don't know what will!

The score is really good and adds to the tone of the film very well, you can almost feel the score telling the story just on it's own, it starts off very uplifting, you've got a very happy family going about their everyday lives when suddenly their daughter is kidnapped into the after life, the score takes a real dark turn, it speaks volumes, alongside the actors and the emotion that they portray through their characters. The MGM Studio Orchestra have done a really fantastic job with the film, without the soundtrack, it wouldn't be much of a horror film.

Scary and thrilling!

5/5 stars

Why do you love movies so much?

So what is it about movies that I find so fascinating? In all honesty I'm not entirely sure. I guess I see them like works of art, at the end of the day, someone is trying to tell a story and hopes that people will love it as much as they do. I've been into movies for as long as I can remember. When I was little it was all about Disney, I must have seen "The Lion King" so many times, in fact we owned it on tape and we wore it out so we ended up buying it on DVD in the end. It's still to this day, one of my all time favourite Disney movies. My brother was always into movies and being that bit older then me, obviously watched more adult films then what I was probably allowed to watch. I can remember convincing my mum into letting me watch "The Beach" when I was 10-11 years old because I had a crush on Leonardo Dicaprio ( my mum kept watch whilst I was watching) but in reality I fell in love with the movie and was educated on drugs, well before my 15th birthday.

I wouldn't really say I have a favourite genre, over the years I've found myself appreciate horror films a lot more, I always say to someone if that film is made well, it should scare the living hell out of me, why? Because that should of been the directors intentions, to scare me, disturb me in some way, don't get me wrong some people are scared more easier then others, but for me personally a horror helps to chill me to my very bones for me to walk away and say that was amazing, I'm gonna have nightmares for weeks now. I love anything as long as it's well made and has a good story. As I mentioned before I am a huge Disney fan. I don't particularly like very violent movies "Reservoir Dogs" being one of them. I can appreciate the work and the acting that went into it though.

I am not a professional film critic, I did train to be an actor for three years though, I don't know what it was about it that I loved, telling a story maybe? I think I just enjoyed performing, after a while, I stopped enjoying it, I don't really miss it. My real passion is in movies. In terms of movies that I buy, they have to be films, that I would watch over and over again, otherwise I'd just walk away thinking it was good, but would never purchase it. Believe me there have been lots of movies like that.

My ratings:

1/5 - Awful/Hated it
2/5 - Didn't like
3/5 - Good/Liked it
4/5 - Really good
5/5 - Amazing, loved it

The Mask

Cast: Jim Carrey, Cameron Diaz, Peter Riegert, Peter Greene and Amy Yasbeck

Director: Chuck Russell

Release date: 1994

Running Time: 1hr 41 minutes

Genre: Comedy

Rating: PG-13

Format: Blu-Ray

Synopsis: 

Stanley Ipkiss (Jim Carrey) is a very nice bank clerk, sometimes a little bit too nice, to the point he becomes a bit of a pushover when it comes to confrontations. One day after a bad night he finds a mask that resembles Loki the norse night god of mischief, once he puts on the mask he becomes his inner self a crazy wild romantic!

Based very loosely on the comic book series of the sane name by Dark Horse Comics, Chuck Russell delivers a fantastically entertaining film. Jim Carrey is fabulous as Stanley Ipkiss. Stanley is a really nice guy, he wants to please everyone, he's also has a strong obsession with cartoons. Jim's characterisation in this film is something else. The transition that he's able to show between Stanley and "The Mask" is amazing! You honestly wouldn't believe it's the same man. His character is a lot of fun and brilliantly entertaining. Nothing is going right for Stanley until he finds the Mask when all of a sudden he gets handed everything to him on a plate, including ladies! We're introduced to a very young Cameron Diaz as Tina Carlyle,  bad guy Dorian (Peter Green's) girlfriend. Tina aspires to be a nightclub singer, however she finds herself quickly taken in by the wrong crowd. Peter Green is great as Dorian, he's the ultimate comic book bad guy. His character gets very interesting through out the film.

The storyline is very well written and wonderfully entertaining, Russell has done a terrific job directing, it has a real feel good vibe to it. This film was not intended to be taking seriously. It's all about the fun! Stanley's alternate ego is a cartoon in his own right. Carrey is wonderfully flamboyant and is really able to show cartoonish characteristics as The Mask. He's absolutely hilarious. Cameron Diaz's role isn't massive, however she still delivers a very sexy performance as Tina. Her relationship with The Mask is great, they both share really good chemistry on screen together. There is a fantastic dance sequence between the both of them. The scene is really bouncy and fun.

Beautifully shot with excellent use of colour! Director of photography John R. Leonetti has done a wonderful job in creating a colourful and entertaining film. The special effects are absolutely brilliant, especially in how The Mask is captured on screen. Fantastic visual effects by Industrial Light and Magic and Digital Domain. Awesome moments where The Mask's eyes are seen popping, body popping and amazing dance sequences. Excellent use of colour and bright lighting really adds to the tone of the film, making it really feel good and creating a great comic book vibe. The costume department have worked really hard on this film especially with The Mask's wardrobe, he's wearing something different in every single scene. It's colourful and flamboyant just like Carrey's character.

Of course this film wouldn't be complete without a wonderful score. The Irish Film Orchestra have done a magnificent job with the score to this film, not only have they managed to make the soundtrack fun and uplifting, they've managed to give it quite a dark side, particularly when Dorian and his gangsters are on screen. I love the use of Jazz and swing too, especially when Carrey and Diaz are seen dancing at the cocobama club. Fun and entertaining. The Mask is not too be taken too seriously.

Wacky, fun and highly entertaining!

5/5 stars

John Wick

Cast: Keanu Reeves, Alfie Allen and William Dafoe

Director: Chad Stahelski and David Leitch

Release Date: 2014

Running Time: 1hr 41 minutes

Genre: Action/Crime

Rating: R

Synopsis: 

An-ex hitman comes out of retirement to track down the gangsters that took everything from him.

Hitman over the movies haven't always had the best success however "John Wick" was a very pleasant find! John (Reeves) is a retired hitman, all he has is his dog and possessions that once belonged to his wife. After he is attacked, he soon comes back out retirement. Reeves performances is most certainly one of his best. He makes a very good hitman, I must say! Keanu Reeves was an excellent choice, he's perfect for the role, Reeves naturally has some mystery to him, John too is very mysterious, keeping to himself. It adds this wonderful quality to him as a hitman, you never know what he's thinking. Alfie Allen's performance was a very pleasant surprise. His character Iosef is extremely manipulative and cocky, little does he know the power that John really has over him! Allen's performance is very good, although he doesn't have the biggest of roles!

At first glance the storyline may appear quite brutal however the excitement and suspense that unfolds is excellent! Stuntman Chris Stahelski directs the film beautifully, not to mention he's the perfect person to ask when it comes to performing stunts.

The choreography in this film is absolutely incredible, easily some of the best fight scenes I've ever seen. This film really does put a lot of action movies to shame. It's been beautifully shot, each frame and scene looks perfect. The lighting is just right and the fight sequences work beautifully alongside the bad ass soundtrack. The movie is action packed from beginning to end, both directors have worked really hard at ensuring their audience doesn't get bored at any moment and believe me you don't. The costume design is brilliant, the make up looks awesome, you'd have every right to believe that Keanu Reeves could easily be John Wick, he's performance is so convincing, he really looks the part. The set design is fantastic, I love the use of dark colours, it really emphasizes the violence and sinister morals that comes with this movie. Highly entertaining and extremeness thrilling. An absolute must have for any action fan!

5/5 stars

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Cast: Gene Wilder, Jack Albertson, Peter Ostrum, Julie Dawn Cole, Denise Nickerson and Paris Themmen.

Director: Mel Stuart

Release Date: 1971

Running Time:  1hr 40 minutes

Genre: Family/Musical

Rating: G

Format: Blu-Ray

Synopsis:

Willy Wonka a famous candy maker remains secret in his factory for years, when suddenly golden tickets begin to appear in his famous chocolate bars on stores all over the world, people around the world go in search of a ticket in the hope to win a tour and a lifetime supply of chocolate from Willy Wonka!

This movie is a film adaption of the brilliant children's story "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" by hit author Roal Dahl. If you have young children they are probably very familiar with the story. This is an absolute classic! Starring Gene Wilder as the wonderful and flamboyant Willy Wonka. I honestly think what is so appealing about this film is the story in which it's told. Mel Stuart has taken a beautiful story that everyone can probably relate to in one way or another and brought it to life. For a movie that was produced in 1971, it still to this day looks absolutely stunning!

Gene Wilder was the perfect choice to play Willy Wonka in my opinion. Jack Albertson is equally as fantastic as Grandpa Joe. His characterization is fantastic, his character is kind and lovable and cares deeply about Charlie. I love their relationship on screen, the chemistry between them is really good and very convincing. I love the characters in this film, Verruca Salt played by the wonderful Julie Dawn Cole, she's incredibly irritating and annoying, but she's perfect! It's exactly how I'd see someone in that role. She's spoilt rotten and the filmmakers made it clear to the audience. Violet Beauregarde, in some ways equally as irritating as Verruca with  a serious obsession with chewing gum. Peter Ostrum is absolutely fantastic as Charlie, he's sweet and innocent and wants a ticket more then everyone else. Peter sadly didn't continue acting after making this movie, but for what it's worth, I think he was perfect as Charlie, I feel like a lot of people will relate to his character and sympathize with him. I love the characterization between each of the children, Mike TeeVee and Augustus Gloop being the other two.

For a film adaption this movie is really very good, I don't think you can go wrong with a film that anyone can watch, and based on a book that anyone can read, children, grandparents, parents, anyone. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory captures the imaginations of everyone that watches it. It's been really well edited and beautifully shot. The humour in this movie is great too, especially coming from Charlie's school teacher near the beginning of the film. The scene in which Charlie finds his golden ticket is magical and heartwarming.

The set design in this film is quite astonishing, before we've even got to the factory, there's some pretty amazing sets, including an old fashioned sweet shop where Charlie finds his golden ticket. It's exactly how I'd picture a old sweet shop and in some ways wished shops looked more like that these days. There's so much to look at the whole time, did anyone else, desperatly want to know what other sweets were available in that shop? I particularly love the candy canes, that are on the front of the bar. You can't have a sweet shop without candy canes! The cinematography is really fantastic, I love how in the opening shot, we see chocolate being made in a factory, it just adds to the magic of the film.

There's so much to look at all the time, the factory itself is something else, wow, what a set! It's like something out of a dream, it's one of those awesome moments where you wish you could jump into the TV and walk around. Giant gummy bears, giant lollipops, giant candy canes that come in all sorts of different colours, flowers that look like teacups, there is so much, I absolutely love the creativity and hard work that went into making the factory look truly awesome. Did I mention a chocolate waterfall? There's a great deal of colour. I love how the song lyrics come up on screen during a couple of songs, that is definitely something you don't see anymore. Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newly have done a wonderful job with the score, you'll find yourself singing along to songs like "Pure Imagination" and "I've got a golden ticket" the soundtrack adds to this movie wonderfully and adds even more magic. I'd highly recommend this film to people of all ages, be sure to have a chocolate bar or some sweets on stand by too, because I can guarantee after watching this film, you'll be craving some.

Heartwarming, entertaining and fun!

5/5 stars

Romancing the stone

Romancing the stone

Cast: Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny Devito and Zack Norman.

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Release Date: 1984

Genre: Action/Comedy

Running Time: 1hr 46 minutes

Rating: PG

Format: Blu-Ray

Synopsis: 

Romancing the stone, a classic from 1984! I always stumble across quite a few people who have never seen this movie, which surprises me because it's such a big hit! Directed by Robert Zemeckis, it's no surprise really that it did so well at the box office in 1984.

Joan Wilder (Kathleen Turner) is a romance novelist in New York, whilst finishing one of her books, she receives a treasure map in the mail from her recently murdered brother-in-law, in the mean time, her sister Elaine has been kidnapped in Columbia and the two criminals believed to be the killer demand Joan travels to Columbia to exchange the map for her sister, however things quickly take a turn for the worse and she ends up lost in the jungle where she meets Jack Colton (Michael Douglas) and let's just say that it all unravels from there.

This is an absolute classic! Starring Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas, two stars we sadly don't see much of anymore, however Michael Douglas has started to make a comeback as he starred in the hit Marvel film "Ant Man" that was released early last year. I believe Robert Zemeckis made this movie just before he started on "Back to the Future" starring Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd. Needless to say, I think he did a pretty good job with this film. He's not one for directing much these days, however his latest film did prove to be a big hit with the younger audiences in "The Polar Express" personally I think he's a fantastic director, I've enjoyed most of his films over the years.

I love that we see into Kathleen Turner's character Joan Wilder quite a bit, especially at the beginning, obviously we've gathered she's a romance novelist, this movie however is so much more then that. This is a real adventure that takes us all the way over to the Colombian Jungles, where she meets Jack (Douglas), who to be honest we're never entirely sure what he's doing there in the first place. Travelling perhaps? In search of his long lost treasure? We are however introduced to his character in a pretty interesting manner.

Danny Devito has a pretty interesting role in this movie. He's absolutely fantastic and shows a lot of character. He's absolutely hilarious and the car he drives in this movie is equally as amusing. I love the chemistry between Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner, it's not necessarily love at first sight though. It's not made clear why Joan Wilder's sister's husband was murdered in the first place. Don't worry folks that wasn't a spoiler.

The cinematography really isn't too bad either, rumour has it, despite this movie being set in Columbia, it was actually filmed in Mexico, due to real life kidnappings going on in Columbia at the time. In all honesty I was convinced it could have been the Colombian Jungles. The set design is really good, most of it being set in the jungle. There are some pretty cool set designs/prop designs if you would prefer to call it that, of a plane that has come down, where the two characters hide one night and a bridge that is practically falling apart. In terms of filming it's nothing special really, I wouldn't necessarily say there are any fancy camera angles  or close ups, but none the less it's still brilliantly filmed.

The talented Alan Silvestri got hold of the chance to compose this soundtrack and he did a fantastic job. Particularly the opening and closing credits, it's a really nice soundtrack with a wonderful 80's feel to it. Rumor has it, Eddy Grant was set to do a song in it, but it was never shown in the movie or the soundtrack. Not too sure what happened there, but either way Alan did a magnificent job with the score. It's one of those scores that once you've heard it, you find yourself humming the tune.

I'd recommend this film to anyone that is a huge Robert Zemeckis fan who enjoys a bit of action and humour all tied into one. This is a classic film, that isn't too be missed.

4 1/2 stars out of 5!