Ladies of the Chorus - 1949

The front row of the Burlesque world.

Anyone can see that this is Marilyn's first major role. There is a hint of her innocent sexuality just wanting to burst through although it will be a few more years until we see the Marilyn that everyone remembers with her pouting lips and half-closed eyes. This movie is her rehearsal for the unforgettable movies she goes on to make. The movie centres around the ladies of the chorus and life behind the scenes. Peggy and her mother Mae dance in the chorus and have constant disagreements about men, Mae believing that none are good enough for her daughter and Pegy wanting to prove her mother wrong. However the crunch comes when Peggy meets a man of high class and falls in love, and has to present herself and her mother to Peggy's fiance's mother who is unaware of their Burlesque background ...
A good vehicle for Marilyn, and let's face it, that's why most people will want to see this movie, but not one of her best.

Rating 3/5

The Happening - 2008

We've seen the signs, now its happening.

Why oh why! I hear you scream when I start to review this movie. Surely I wasn't stupid enough to believe that Mark Wahlberg had suddenly become good at acting? Well actually it wasn't that, more that I love M. Night's work and had heard (wrongly) that this was an amazingly powerful and terrifying film. I cannot tell you how annoyed I am that I gave in and ended up watching this film. The acting was so dreadful that at times I felt like they were putting it on as part of some secret joke. Alas no, they are all just dreadful actors (John Leguizamo excluded, for he seemed the only mildly strong actor in the whole movie) especially Wahlberg's wimpering doe-eyed girlfriend, whose acting is so diabolical that I had to leave the room on more than one occasion or else would have done some serious damage to my computer screen. I cannot believe this film has been accepted so gracefully, have people lost the plot when it comes to watching a decent movie? Obviously acting is not a big deal anymore as long as you can remember your lines and run around a bit on the spot staring wide-eyed at the other actors like you're on cocaine. I'm very disappointed in this offering from this so-called talented director, especially the ridiculous ending. No more Mr M, please!!!

Rating 1.5/5

Stranger than Fiction - 2008

He's not ready to go. Period.

I'll be honest, Wil Ferrell annoys the living daylights out of me. Not in this film though. I have to say this was one of his strongest performances I have seen in a long time. Add Emma Thompson whom I adore and Dustin Hoffman and you have a stellar cast of talent. Harold Crick's life is mundane, lonely and boring, he does everything by routine and leaves nothing to chance. That is until one morning when he wakes up and finds a female voice inside his head narrating his life to him...I can honestly say, that this film is one of the strongest and best that I have seen in a while. I see so many awful films that when a good one comes along it really sticks in my mind and I must say I was thinking about this for a long time after it was over. It stuck in my mind as a weirdly 'Truman Show' type experience but with a satirical poke at the anger after a visit from the dreaded Tax Man. In fact Ferrell was so strong in his part that towards the end I was feeling very compassionate towards him. Dustin Hoffman's role was brilliant as well. Just a really good and strongly focused movie. Recommended.

Rating 4.5/5

Igor - 2008

All men are not created evil.

This little animated film looked ever so promising from reviews and blurb, and so I jumped at the chance to decide for myself exactly how good it was. It delivered well, with a no-brainer storyline and some brilliant effects. Cusack's voice is unmistakable although for me it took nearly the entire movie to work out who it was! I liked the storyline, sort of a 'beauty and the beastish' plot involving some evil scientists and magical transforming German women. Although aimed at younger children I still enjoyed this as much as any other animated films - an enjoyable way to spend a morning.

Rating 3.5/5

Bus Stop - 1956

The woman that made him a man!

Although I adore Marilyn in every one of her films I found this one of the stronger due to the brilliant and heart-wrenching performance she delivered. So much of her own life seemed to be evident here that she played her part as though it were real, almost like a mirroring of her own existance and resulted in one of the best performances she has ever managed. Don Murray, as one reviewer on Amazon stated either bowled you over with his performance or made you want to shoot him, I opted to agree with the latter. He really was the most irritatng person in the film by a long shot and I can't believe that Marilyn even managed to act around him without going crazy. That being said, if he hadn't acted in that way, the chemistry between the two of them would have been nothing compared to what it was although I am aware there were many problems between Murray and Monroe off-set. Marilyn really paves the way for other great performances by her role here and proves that she can play more than just a dumb blonde - her life-long ambition.

Rating 4.5/5

The Fearless Vampire Killers - 1967

Who says vampires are no laughing matter?

Unaware of his young and beautiful wife's tragic murder soon before the film was released tothe general public, Roman Polanski decided to cast her in one of the funniest and light-hearted vampire spoofs ever made. Think of every vampire film you have ever seen, then add some hilariously funny characters, such as the hunchback servant who totters about like a loon, and the vampiric cousin with an incredibly funny gay side, of course not forgetting the two main characters - the old, blithering professor who falls asleep everywhere and his timid assistant who cannot escape from any vampire without tripping over his own feet and you have Polanski's best portrayal of a funny vampire film that you have ever seen! One of the reasons this film is such worthwhile watching is that you really can see essences of Cushing, Lee and Lugosi performances in nearly every scene, proving that this film can be a comedy whilst also honouring some of the best vampire talent that we have seen. There is a reason why this film is rated so highly, you just need to watch it to see, make sure you check out the hilarious gay chase scene, it really makes you chuckle.

Rating 4/5

Hammer Horror: Frankenstein must be destroyed - 1969

Your brain will fry...



Peter Cushing, known usually for his downright good characters in the Hammer Horror movies here opts for the anti-good and instead plays a man that could very well be described as mad and mean. Baron Frankenstein's obsession is with a once brilliant doctor who has all of sudden gone mad and been sent to an asylum. By blackmailing an innocent young couple to help him he believes that he can actually cure the madman by replacing his brain with that of another. The only difficulty is getting another brain...

I'm not sure how I felt about seeing Peter Cushing in a part that wasn't good and safe, I have no doubt that he is a very talented actor, however I'm biased towards his other, earlier characters where I feel he fits the roles with greater passion.

Not to say that there aren't many scary scenes in this movie, from opened-brained men on operating tables to hands coming alive under blankets, so there will be plenty of hiding behind a cushion to enjoy!

Rating 2.5/5

Cold Prey - 2006

You'll catch your death.

Something about foreign horror wins me over nearly every time. This gruesome offering from Norway does itself justice in many ways. For one, although I have seen many slasher films set in weird places I have never before seen, this actually was a pretty scary and pretty realistic setting. Some friends who are skiing are forced to take shelter in an abandoned cabin after one of their party obtains a leg injury. For them it is the perfect chance to relax and try to make their friend better, but there is something lurking in the cabin, and it's bloody scary! I jumped more than a few times during this and was more than happy when it was over. The deaths are particularly gruesome and that for me is the perfect slasher movie!

Rating 3.5/5

The Shooting Party - 1985

Nothing can destroy the thrill of the hunt

The Shooting Party came to me because of two very positive reviews. I decided to buy it immediately. I am all for watching films that people I know have reviewed highly but when the film does absolutely nothing for me it puts me off taking any notice of other suggestions. This for me was like watching 'Gosford Park' without the excitment, good acting, or passionate affairs. I for one really enjoyed 'Gosford Park' and also generally love movies that are set in the early 1900s. This movie is supposed to have produced a lot of hype becaue it is set in the autumn before WW1. I just couldn't get to grips with the relationships between the guests or the reaction to the upcoming war. There was something very rigid about the whole thing. Maybe I will watch it again but I see so many films that I will probably find a better one.

Rating 2/5

The Cook, the Thief, his Wife and her Lover - 1989

Lust, Murder, Dessert - Bon Appetit.

Wow, for a film that has had such a big deal made of it since its release 20 years ago I can see why people got all excited, or in my opinion freaked out! Something like this movie has never been done before and I do admire that part of it, but the actual plot seems a bit thin. Basically revolving around a thief who owns a posh and decadent restaurant where only the cream of the crop eat, his long suffering wife who finds relief in an affair with a lover and the cook who cooks the thief's meals while at the same time allowing the wife to enjoy her infidelity in secret.... Confused? I was too!I think this film really needs to be seen more than once, because there are so many tiny details that make a lot of sense that I have not noticed in a first viewing. You may think this film sounds a bit typical, maybe a bit of a predictable storyline, but wait until you see inside the restaurant, see the amazingly weird and mind-boggling costumes courtesy of Jean Paul Gaultier, hear the oddly haunting music, and see the final stomach-churning scene (seriously it will make you want to vomit) and you'll soon realise that this film is something else, the likes of which could only have been matched by a genius (or a very sick man!).

Review 3/5

The Entity - 1981

You can't hide from something you can't see.

To me this film was somewhere between 'The Exorcist' and 'Poltergeist', but not as good. Another movie supposedly based on a true story with an offering of ghostly happenings that doesn't get my vote. Why? Well because the acting was far too over the top, the story seemed to wander without any meaning and the special effects just made me shudder with nervous laughter. Not a film to be recommended to anyone who actually wants to be scared.

Rating 2/4

The Grass is Greener - 1960

If you can't get even, get civilised.

This film is slated so much in reviews as being the one film that Cary Grant 'just isn't Cary Grant in' and I really don't know why. I find it a perfectly pleasant way to spend a few hours. Granted the actual story is quite ridiculous and seems only to take the mick out of upper class Englishmen for keeping a stiff upper lip even in the face of infidelity, but actually the film is a clever and fairly comic trip into life behind those closed doors of the married couples in England. Cary Grant is great, I will never ever critisise anything he acts in, as he is my favourite actor in the world, and Robert Mitchum is surprisingly suited to the par of the brash, arrogant American who steals the heart of Grant's wife Hilary (played prudishly by Deborah Kerr, the weakest of the three). If you are interested in seeing a supposedly 'typical' English scene then the one to look out for is the one with the duel, in fact it is so absurd that this part of the movie does begin to look like a joke, but it soon picks itself up. A good show of a film, with some good acting and enjoyable moments.

Rating 4/5

Singin' In the Rain - 1952

'The silent movie that caused the death of the talkie'

Everyone has heard of this movie. Even people who know nothing of musicals. The songs are legendary, the stars are the same. Gene Kelly shines on the screen as only he knows how as Don Lockwood playing opposite screen sensation Lina Lamont. Debbie Reynolds does a fantastic job as his upbeat and underestimated girlfriend Cathy. The routines are superb including 'Make Em Laugh' (performed by a hilarious Donald O'Connor, who only made a couple of movies and then disappeared from the screen, what a waste!) 'Broadway Rhythm','Moses Supposes' and of course 'Good Mornin' a song nearly as popular as the title tune. The highlight of the movie is of course Gene Kelly performing 'Singin in the Rain' in that feel-good and happy manner we have come to know and love (although in reality he was suffering from a temperature of over 102 at the time of shooting; you wouldn't have a clue!) This and many other surprises is a rare and glorious treat for all fans of musicals. Something that will stay with you forever. Added to which, there are many sly digs at the silent movie business which I have only just understood now after watching many Silent Films, making me admire the film all the more. The transition from silent to talkie really was a risky process and although a film of fiction, I am sure that many of the problems faced in the movie have been come across in real life by real Directors at the end of the 1920s. The birth of the talkie caused the ruin of many stars' careers, all because their accents coud not possibly fit the mould that their silent characters had created, Jean Hagen is on top form here, as the beautiful and sharp-tongued Lina Lamont, who because of her horribly corse Brooklyn accent has to resort to miming her words to Cathy's voice in a bit to save an already failing picture. This movie makes you laugh, makes you cry, makes you sing, and makes you thankful for movies, in short - unforgettable.

Rating 5/5