100. Big

THE PLOT
After a disappointing night at an amusement park, 12 year-old Josh Baskin makes the simple wish to be “Big” and awakens the next morning as a fully grown adult. Josh soon finds himself in the big city where he quickly finds that everything he dreamed of as 12 year-old isn’t quite as simple for a man in his thirties

WHY I LOVE IT

Big, for the most part is every kid’s dream; the job at the toy store, the game filled apartment, and of course the hot girlfriend who can stay over when ever she likes. It’s simple to see why kids love it and why you loved it when you were their age. Watching it as an adult though, you can see that the real point of the movie is that children should be children and not grow up as fast they wish they could. When I was little I used to think the end of the movie was kind of a downer – I mean he’s leaving all that cool stuff behind right? I wish I could go back in time and tell myself that Josh’s wish being cancelled out is the real dream come true; which of us doesn’t wish they could be a kid again?

TRIVIA
Tom Hanks was the first choice to play Josh Baskin but was unavailable due to scheduling conflicts with the films Dragnet (1987) and Punchline (1988). Robert DeNiro was then offered the lead role, and was rejected because his salary demand ($6 million) was too high. Tom Hanks then became available and accepted the lead role for $2 million.

99. Airplane!

THE PLOT
After some bag fish fells the crew of a passenger airplane only an ex-war pilot with a drinking problem and fear of flying can save the day.

WHY I LOVE IT

The Greatest Spoof of All Time™ is based of the disaster movies of old such as Zero Hour and Airport 1975 and is without a doubt one of the greatest comedies of all time. No matter how dated the joke’s you are still guaranteed plenty of laughs even after multiple viewings. The crucial difference in this spoof movie as compared today’s poor efforts is that it took some very serious movies and made them very funny.

Scary Movie fails as a spoof because although they send up a very popular movie – Scream – The brain trust and plague on society that is the Wayne’s brothers failed to realise that said movie was already a spoof of horror movies. Similarly, most resent titles such Date Movie, Not Another Teen Movie and Superhero Movie cannot seem to grasp that you cannot spoof comedic material. All they achieve is making good comedy into bad comedy.

Airplane! is rightfully single minded in it’s parody and rather that steal the big laughs of other comedies in creates big laughs in making the tense absurd, and the serious silly. Surely that’s what comedy is all about… though, don’t call me Shirley.

TRIVIA

The film's title in Germany was "The Incredible Trip in a Crazy Airplane".

98. Superbad

THE PLOT
Soon to be separated by collage, best friends Seth and Evan are determined to lose their virginity before their senior year ends. With the help of their geek friend Fogal and his fake I.D. they set out to supply the booze for the cool kid’s party, a task that meets with unexpected difficulty.

WHY I LOVE IT
The comedy is excellent and well thought out guy chat full of crass and gross jokes that are not as easy to pull off as they seem. The central protagonists mask their sadness over their impending separation in a casual fained apathy which I think many young men can identify with (we don’t talk about feelings and stuff) . Hill's aggressive and crass Seth is funny but it's Cena's brand of deadpan subdued comedy that is the really hilarious. Lest I forget McLovin; a character sure to be a comedy icon for years to come.

TRIVIA

Writers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg started this script when they were just 13 years old citing the reason as being "we just wanted to see if we could write a movie."

97. The Goonies

THE PLOT
A group of kids calling themselves The Goonies find an ancient treasure map and embark on a quest for treasure to save their homes from a greedy developer. All along their adventure the kids are dogged by bumbling criminals the Fratelli Family who want the treasure for themselves.

WHY I LOVE IT
The definitive kid’s movie of my generation, even the detestable Cory Feldman can't ruin the fun of this adventure classic. Who can help but love Sean Astin's naively determined leader of the pack Mikey, kid genius (and shameless Asian stereotype) Data, The Truffle Shuffle dancing fat kid Chunk and, of course, the hideously deformed but inescapably lovable Sloth.

TRIVIA
Sadly, four years after completing the film John Matuszak who played Sloth died in 1989 from heart failure, allegedly due to his long term use of steroid drugs.

96. Blood Simple

THE PLOT
A bar owner hires a shady Private Investigator to kill his adulterous wife and her lover but nothing quite goes to plan.

WHY I LOVE IT
The Coen Brothers film debut is closer in tone to their latest and critically beloved modern day western No Country for Old Men than their still excellent but somewhat zanier fare like The Big Lebowski or O Brother Where Art Thou? This is a mystery where you know what is going on but none of the characters do. You can’t keep your eyes off the screen the characters stumble on to one deadly misunderstanding after another.

TRIVIA
Frances McDormand’s film debut, McDormand would go on to win Best Actress in the Coen Brothers Fargo 12 years later.

95. Ed Wood

THE PLOT
Based on the life of Edward D. Wood Jnr, a man celebrated as the worst director of all time. This biopic focuses on Wood’s film making, his private life, and in particular his relationship with ageing star of the 30’s Dracula movies Bela Lugosi in the 1950’s.

WHY I LOVE IT
Without a doubt Tim Burton’s best movie to date, no matter how many time’s I see it you can’t help but be captivated by the enduringly positive ill-received, yet cult, director played by the always brilliant Johnny Depp. While Burton’s zany leanings are as ever present as in his other works, here he manages to bring them down to earth and also be genuinely moving, particularly in the scenes with Martin Landau in his Oscar-winning role as Bela Lugosi. This movie could have been easily snide about the long dead director in his truly awful catalogue of films, but so obvious is Burton’s love for the man and his work that his affection can’t help but be contagious.

On a side note, this film also boasts, I believe, one of Bill Murray’s finest and funniest performances, as Wood mainstay Bunny Breckinridge and is a master class in comic subtlety.

TRIVIA

This film cost more to produce than all of Edward D. Wood Jr.'s films put together.

94. The Insider

THE PLOT
After being persuaded by the producer of US TV network CBS show 60 Minutes to break a confidentiality agreement, Jeffrey Wigand, a former head researcher for a tobacco gives an interview regarding development within the company to make cigarettes more addictive. The price of this truth is that Wigand’s life gradually falls apart due to intimidation and family pressures, following which he discovers that the interview will not air due to corporate pressure from the show’s network.

WHY I LOVE IT

So awful are the actions of big business in this film they can only be true. Pacino gives a career best performance as the tenacious and uncompromising producer/reporter, Lowell Bergman and Russell Crowe is mesmerising as man who is slowly falling apart under the strain of doing the right thing. The script and director Michael Mann deliver the potently complex and dull subject as a quick paced and easily digestible tense drama. This is smart cinema at its finest.

TRIVIA

The real Jeffrey Wigand asked for two concessions from the filmmakers: that they change the names of his daughters, and that there be no smoking anywhere in the film. Both requests were granted.

93. Alien

THE PLOT
The crew of the Nostromo, a commercial towing space ship, receives an SOS signal from a nearby planet. When the crew investigate one of their crew is attacked by a creature hatched from an egg found within an alien spacecraft, the man survives but the worst is yet to come.

WHY I LOVE IT
The excellent cast, including Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Yaphet Kotto, Ian Holm and John Hurt is top notch as the scared and tired blur collar space workers who encounter what remains as cinema’s greatest killer. The tension is high even when you know what is coming, the test of an enduring thriller. It’s also amazingly designed by H.R. Giger who created in the alien the most intricate and truly terrifying creatures ever to appear on page or screen.

TRIVIA

Yaphet Kotto (Parker) actually picked fights with Bolaji Badejo who played the Alien, in order to help his onscreen hatred of the creature.

92. Forrest Gump

THE PLOT
Slow but big hearted Forrest Gump runs through life interacting and effecting great events and people in history and changing the lives of those he encounters. No matter how hard he runs though he can never quite reach Jenny, his troubled best friend and love of his life.

WHY I LOVE IT
So endearing is Hanks’ portrayal as the dim witted Forrest that like many of the characters’ you can’t help but love him. Forrest is just the right amount of dumb which stops you being frustrated by his constant cheer and childlike recollection of his extraordinary and decidedly charmed life. It’s the movie you watch on holiday weekends and lazy Sunday afternoons, and though the laughs may not be as powerful it’s guaranteed to make you smile.

TRIVIA

Gary Sinise's lower legs were wrapped in a special blue fabric that allowed them to be optically removed from the film by computer later.

91. On the Waterfront

THE PLOT
Would be prize-fight contender and longshoreman Terry Malloy witnesses a murder by underworld thugs working for corrupt union leader Johnny Friendly. After meeting the victim’s sister Terry decides it’s time to stand up for the little man and struggles to take on Friendly and his crew.

WHY I LOVE IT

Brando’s Oscar winning turn as Terry is compelling viewing but the real reason I love this movie is the idea that a man stands up to be counted. Tired of being pushed around and terrorised by the gang land thugs that run the dock union Terry Malloy decides enough is enough. Had this film been made in the 80’s or 90’s Terry might have been envisioned as Bruce Willis gunning though the docks with a hand gun and some one liners, crucially this film show’s that to be a man all you need do is hold your head high and refuse to be bullied.

TRIVIA

Marlon Brando's Oscar for Best Actor was either lost or stolen. The award did show up later when Brando was contacted by a London auction house, intending to sell the item.

The greatest TV show ever has just ended and I'd be shocked if any of you has even heard of it. The Wire was more that your average show. A modern masterpiece, the American crime drama delved so deep into story details and character development, each episode was like reading a chapter of a book.

The creators of the show, a crime reporter for the Baltimore Sun and a former Baltimore P.D. homicide detective and teacher, drew on their own experiences to create the in depth realism of the show.

The Wire started focusing on three institutions:

The Law - Focusing on the newly formed 'Major Crimes Unit' The Law focuses on the struggles of those referred to as 'good police' to make cases in an underfunded, uncaring and often corrupt system. One of the shows central themes is that a cops enemy are not murderers or dealers, but the politicians and higher-ups known as 'The Bosses'.

The Street - This group goes from the corner boys, on the drug corners, all the way up the drug kingpins and suppliers. The street focuses on what is referred to as 'the game', which is essentially the drug trade. The story of the street shows that the black urban poor in Baltimore are born into the attitude that you have to join the game in order to survive.

The Hall - City Hall is, in simplistic terms, the bad guy to The Law's good guys and The Street's anti heroes. The bureaucracy and self interest of those in the mayors office and in the upper echelons of the police force often impede police investigations and, in some cases, even benefit the the drug trade.

To add to the realism of the show many of the actors and contributors to the show are former cops of the Baltimore PD (including a former Commissioner who was indited for misappropriation of funds) and even the criminals portrayed in The Street are former dealers (some of whom were arrested by their now fellow actors).

As the story progresses over five seasons other institutions, such as the school system, the newspaper and the ports, are brought into the story, but, without insulting myself, even the explanations above are too simplistic to do the show real justice.

Do yourself a favour. Buy it. Rent it. Shee-it even steal it if you have to. Just watch it.

Here are some of my favorite scenes featuring some of my favorite characters from the last five years. Also, if you are interested, you can read my review of the first season here.

Omar


Detective McNulty


McNulty and Bunk


Corner Boys


Snoop


Clay Davis


Det. Lester Freamon


Bodie

Brick opens with our hero, high school loner Brendan (3rd Rock’s Joseph Gordon-Levitt), looking on to the lifeless body of former girlfriend Emily (Lost’s Emilie de Ravin). From there we’re taken back to the events that lead to her demise; a panicked phone call to Brendan starts him on the path for failed salvation to revenge as he roughs up and/or infiltrates the high school cliques which lead Emily down the road to her eventual demise with only the school nerd as his back-up.

Brick takes high school clichés – The jocks, the stoners, the popular, the geeks and loners – and create and Raymond Chandler-esque world around them based on the drug culture they live in. You won’t hear the valley speak that can be heard from the likes of The OC or even Clueless coming from these kids mouths but rather a complicated double speak the likes of which you’d expect from Bogart or Cagney or any other tough guy noir private eye.

Brendan talks fast and takes his punches as good as he gets them and there is no doubt that Gordon-Levitt(right) is the most accomplished of the young cast. As the would be gumshoe he is able to carry the dialog convincingly and bring the normally shadow filled noir mystery world into the sun drenched streets of America.


VERDICT
Empire Magazine called this film neo-noir – a whole new genre is born of this smart, interesting and intriguing film which places the style, attitude and smart dialogue of the 30’s and 40’s PI Mysteries into a modern day American high school whodunit.

It won’t be for everyone and even those who follow the goings on may not know what the hell these kids are talking about half the time but take my word for it; this film is destined to be a cult hit and you would be missing out something special if you didn’t give it a chance. My favourite film in a long while (aside from Superman Returns).

A man who needs no introduction, Pryor’s unflinching stand up routines were not only hilarious but also brutally honest, focusing on American race relations and his own highly controversial life.

Prior is quoted saying

“I live in racist America and I'm uneducated, yet a lot of people love me and
like what I do, and I can make a living from it. You can't do much better than
that".

Prior’s wife, Jennifer, tells a story of the effect Pryor had on people

"Bigoted rednecks came up to Richard and told him, 'Thank you for opening my
eyes,' because he was so in touch with the truth and only spoke the truth ...
people respond to that”

All I can say about Richard Pryor is that he lived an interesting life, was an interesting man and he made me laugh so hard that I could barley breath.

Read more about the man here

I was deeply saddened this morning to read of the death of John Spencer who will be best known to most as Leo McGarry from The West Wing. To me the West Wing is the finest television show ever to grace our screens and this was due on no small part to John Spencer who brought the character of Leo to life with his skill and enthusiasm for the role.

I have only seen one interview with the man, on which he earnestly talks of his role on The West Wing, his co-stars and the show as a whole, and it is clear to see his excitement in what he is doing and his friendliness just radiates through the screen.

Oddly as I write this I am remembering the Channel 4 adverts in which the stars of the channel 4 shows say a word or phrase relating to an unheard (by the viewer) question. From what has come before in the ad it was clear the question was ‘what is you favourite word’. Spencer’s reply was the last and he simply said that his favourite word was “Hope, I guess. Hope.”

Read more here

For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you... my only son.

Click the sheild.

Rising from the ashes of the ill fated television series Firefly, this film continues the story of Captain Malcolm Reynolds and his rebel crew as they continue to run from the agents of omnipotent Alliance government onboard the titular spacecraft Serenity. From the outset, for those who did not see the series, we learn that the crew of Serenity is harbouring sibling fugitives Simon and River Tam. River was rescued from an Alliance facility by her brother Simon who had discovered that his sister was being subjected to inhumane testing and conditioning to serve the Alliances own ends. Now a highly skilled operative has been tasked to retrieve River at all costs.

Anyone intimately familiar with Writer/Director Joss Whedon’s scripting will not have to be told that the film is a sold piece of story telling. From plot to dialogue you would be hard pressed to find a person more skilled in his craft. Akin to skill of The West Wing creator Arron Sorkin, Whedon draws you into his world through his vivid fully realised characters and quick witted dialogue and has the rare ability to flip the mood of a scene in a seconds notice. For example; in a tense scene when the crew is facing impossible odds it is remarked by one of them that none of them will survive the fight. To this the most hardened killer among them, the mercenary Jayne (Adam Baldwin, below right), remarks meekly “I might…”

My only criticism concerning the film is that from the outset you may feel as if you are watching an extended television episode. Whedon’s direction seemingly graduates from his small screen origins to the big budget director he is destined to become as set pieces become more elaborate and scenes more explosive as the film progresses. Although this was my apprehension during the movie, and that I feel that it will be critiqued by other viewer, I suspect that this evolution may have been Whedon’s plan all along.

Whedon’s stellar cowboys bring star making performances to the screen, in particular the films central protagonists Mal Reynolds played by Nathan Fillion(left) and Summer Glau(below right with Chitwetel Ejofor) who plays the mysterious River Tam. Fillion aptly plays a man at odds with himself as Captain Reynolds struggles to maintain his tough cold hearted criminal image against his more natural heroic and moral leanings while graceful Glau (She's been a premier ballerina most of her life) plays the part of the mentally unstable little sister and the unstoppable fighting machine with equal vitality. Also standout and separate from the original cast is the films central villain, The Operative, played by Englishman Chiwetel Ejiofor(right) who brings a suitable detached coolness (he’s the film’s most quotable character) to his role as the efficient hunter and killer.

VERDICT
I’m sure many people (read: those who never watched) will be put off of Serenity when they see it is from the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and spin-off Angel (despite both shows huge critical and commercial success), but if this is the case these people will miss out on a rightful summer blockbuster which has far more intellect, wit, style and heart than any other film they are likely to see this year. Whedon and his cast manage to keep viewers at the edge of their seat, rolling in the isles, standing to cheer and speechless in shock all at once in this soon to be cult classic.

Adapted from the Vertigo Comics graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke the film follows Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) – a small town family man and restaurant owner who’s past comes back to haunt him. Tom becomes an American hero after killing two violent thieves that attempt to rob his restraint and kill his staff. Not long after the incident gangster Carl Fogaty (Ed Harris, right) comes to town convinced Tom is a professional killer that he knows as Joey Cusack.

Violence spreads like a fire through the lives of Tom’s family. Following his heroic act Tom’s teenage son hospitalises the school bully, he and wife Edie’s (Maria Bello) sex life mutates from a mutual loving a sensual act as seen in an early scene to a savage a brutal relief of tension and anger.

Lord of the Rings Mortensen (right) effectively shows the internal turmoil of his transformation from loving husband and father to violent killer. The violence seen in the coffee shop scene acts not only as a path for Tom’s old enemies to follow but also for his own buried character to slowly claw its way to the surface.

Bello (left) is also on top form as a woman trying desperately to keep her family safe and together while she watches in horror as her husband descends deeper into darkness becoming an unrecognisable force of nature.


VERDICT
If you’re looking for an all action guns blazing action film on a Friday night then stay away from this. Cronenberg’s slow burning pace gives A History of Violence a constant feeling of tension which is only ever broken by horrific and savage bloodshed. This film will not be for everyone but if your looking for an intelligent insight into the human relationship with violence this film is what your looking for.

While having a quick glance at the TV listings the other day I noticed that new cop show The Closer was starting on five. Having just completed watching the whole first series which has just rapped in the States I thought I’d give it a quick review.

Staring Kyra Sedgwick (Born on the Forth of July, Phenomenon) the series follows Deputy Police Chief Brenda Johnson a CIA-trained, Atlanta detective who has been brought to Los Angeles to head up the Priority Murder Squad, a special unit of the LAPD that handles sensitive, high-profile murder cases.. Though Johnson has an unbeaten record for closing cases (hence the name) her quirky personality and hard-nosed approach to her job manages to piss a lot of people off, not Least of which is Robbery-Homicide Division’s Captain Taylor played by Robert Gossett (right)

Although things are tough for this woman in the predominantly male LAPD, Johnson manages to rise above not only the petty and petulant aggression of Capt. Taylor and his crony Detective Flynn and even criticism from her own squad to get the job done.

Boasting not only Sedgwick’s great performance, The Closer also has a fantastic supporting cast. Brenda’s chief ally and boss Will Pope (left) played by the great J.K. Simmons (J. Jonah Jamieson in Spider-Man) adds weight to the show and also levity through his conversations with Brenda, whom it is revealed had a messy affair back in Atlanta. Key Players in the Priory Homicide Squad are Det. Lt. Provenza (left) played by G.W. Bailey (most famous as Capt. Harris in Police Academy) and new comer Corey Reynolds who plays Brenda’s right hand man Sgt. Gabriel.

VERDICT
Despite great performances from the cast and from Sedgwick, Simmons and Bailey in particular The Closer just can’t compete with superior shows of the same genre. Lacking the grit and grime of The Shield, another cop show set in L.A., failing to acknowledge the extent of internal police politics can have on major cases, as shown in The Wire. At the moment The Closer is best viewed when no other shows are on, but, all it needs are a few minor tweaks to gain an extra star.

I recently signed up for the Amazon.co.uk rental service after seeing that it allows you to rent box sets as well as regular new releases. You get six DVD’s a month and for my first 6 I choose to rent the complete first series of crime drama The Wire.


Inspired by Executive Producer David Simon’s two books, Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets and The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighbourhood, The Wire follows both the police and a major drug operation within the city of Baltimore.


On the cop’s side the focus is on hard drinking, soon to be divorced, Jimmy McNulty (right) played by Dominic West. Despite his love for self-destruction McNulty is what is referred to as “good police” and does the job in order to right the wrongs. If only it were that simple. The Wire’s major plus point is its realism, and in reality police forces are interested in their figures and statistics staying on top and their individual political agendas.


Frustrated by this bureaucracy McNulty surpasses the sacred chain-of-command and visits a friendly Judge in order to start a major case against drug kingpins Avon Barksdale and Stringer Bell(left). In doing this McNulty manages to make powerful enemies within the department, including his vindictive boss Bill Rawls.


From the dealers side the story follows recently demoted drug lieutenant D’Angelo Barksdale (right), nephew of boss Avon. When you first meet D’Angelo he is beating a murder charge after his uncle intimates a witness in the case. When the same witness if found dead days later D’Angelo is overcome with remorse. The interesting thing about this character is that is a smart young man who is in the wrong business, but the business is all he knows. Uncle Avon (left) offered him a good paying job as a dealer and a killer and where he comes from that is a prominent position of power.


VERDICT
The Wire is in my mind the finest television show of it’s kind ever written. Playing out like a televised novel no charicter out of the twenty plus cast members is ignored. Gritty, realistic and eye opening the show rejects the concept of good vs. evil a shows a world where circumstance and desire drive the people that inhabit it.

The first thing that concerns me about reviewing WE3 is how to assure you that the premise is not as ridiculous as it looks.

Sure I could tell you that the Washington Post (They that took down Nixon) called it "Realistic and Relevant." But this is my review not theirs.

The story revolves around three animals, a dog, a cat and a rabbit all have which been cyberneticly enhanced to become next generation weapons. As one character explains: -

"Our rabbit biorg was designed and trained to deliver mines… think of the dog as
a small tank, the cat, a lethal stealth machine"

As I said – it might sound beyond possibility but in reality scientists have already began this kind of research and have even developed remote controlled rats which utilises the rats neurological system.

Aside from the sci-fi aspect Morrison (in my opinion a truly gifted writer with what seems to be a boundless imagination) states that his inspiration for the story was The Incredible Journey – the classic Disney film. In the movie two dogs and a cat trying to find their way back home after being lost. Though the goal is the same in this tale the story that unfolds is a terrifying and explosive battle between the animals and their former masters.

After several successful missions in the field the men in charge of Project WE3 have decided that the time has come to fully utilise the new technology using animals bred for combat rather than the strays that make up WE3. Upon learning of their intended ‘decommission’ the animals’ only ally within the project, their trainer Dr. Roseanne Berry, sets them free. The army soon throws everything they’ve got at WE3 hoping to contain and execute the confused and deadly creatures before they can reach a populated area.

The action is incredible and with Morrison’s writing and Quitely’s stunning detail you can almost feel every slash, bullet and explosion on the page. Most unexpectedly Morrison also finds believable voices for our heroes giving the reader a connection and true empathy and sympathy for them.

VERDICT
WE3 might not be a reality any time in the near future but with a little suspension of belief you’ll find yourself enjoying an action packed, ultra violent, fascinating and oddly touching story.