The Bling Ring - 2013 ***

I'm pretty obsessed with the Bling Ring at the moment. I've been reading up on the true story avidly for some time, watched the film and got the book. I'm not sure what it is about the events that have captured my attention so much, but there appears to be a fine line between the fact that what the group did was illegal, but also that they did something so brazen and gutsy that they have amassed a great deal of admirers. They are in effect, now celebrities in their own right, which is ironic considering the reasons they committed the crimes was down to an obsession with fame and fortune.
They are idolized but hated at the same time. That's what makes the story all the more jaw dropping.
Although the character's names have been changed in the film it's quite obvious who is meant to be who. Emma Watson is the standout character, playing the role of Nikki (based on Alexis Neiers, who I have to say is my 'favourite' member of The Bling Ring). She and her friends live in the affluent area of Calabasas in California. By all accounts they have everything they could want. Except for one thing. They are all celebrity obsessed and fame hungry. One evening, the lead of the group Rebecca (based on Rachel Lee) takes a new friend from school to Paris Hilton's house after finding out that she will be away at an awards ceremony that night. Her friend comments that only Paris Hilton would be stupid enough to leave her house key under the mat. He is correct. They enter the house and in Rebecca's own words "go shopping", making off with money, bags, clothes and alcohol from Paris's house. This triggers off a chain of robberies that lead to the notorious group of 7 being known as the 'Bling Ring'. I am fascinated by what drives these people. I am also fascinated by how easy it is to rob a celebrity's house. The film alone is maybe not outstanding (although it does have a beautiful Sofia Coppola theme and cinematography) but if you put it with the real facts as well as the novel you have one explosive, controversial subject that will go down in the annuals of celebrity for years to come.

Bird on a Wire - 1990 ***

Mel Gibson's ponytail is ridiculous. I thought he was supposed to be a 90s pinup!
When Rick is given a new identity by the FBI witness protection programme, he happens to bump into his ex girlfriend Marianne. She demands that she go on the run with him after finding out that Rick is still in danger from drug addicts about to be released from jail. Some funny moments, and not a bad film, but wasn't anything special.

Blue Jasmine - 2013 ***

I have a soft spot for Woody Allen, and therefore despite this film being slated beyond compare I thought it was okay. Granted it was nothing like 'Midnight in Paris' but that's one of my favourite films directed by him.

Cate Blanchett does an astoundingly good job as a 'fallen' Park Lane society beauty named Jasmine, who flees to her sister Ginger's 'modest' abode in San Francisco after her wealthy husband's sudden death. Here she must contend with (in her eyes) her intellectually inferior sister and her 'loser' of a boyfriend, whilst also trying to come up with a way to make some money so she can pay for an online interior decorating course. Blanchett is at times completely loopy, talking to herself in the street, having constant panic attacks and snobbishly looking down her nose at anyone who is not from her background. There is obvious tension between her and Ginger, and I think Sally Hawkins is an ideal choice. 

As usual, the music is brilliant and the cinematography is on top form. As long as Woody is around directing films I will be gobbling them up.

(HORROR) The Frighteners - 1996 **

'The Frighteners' is a very silly film. You can tell its an early Peter Jackson vehicle which shouldn't be taken very seriously. Michael J Fox plays a widowed architect who develops psychic powers after his wife is killed. This enables him to speak and listen to all the spirits floating around and at first he uses his powers to con people out of money, then has second thoughts when he begins to be haunted by a terrifying mass murderer.
A bit of fun, but there is no way it can be placed in the same annuals as Jackson's masterpieces.

(HORROR) Hell Baby - 2013 ***

Very silly but quite amusing anyway. 'Hell Baby' comes across a bit like a 'Scary Movie' or 'A Haunted House' in the spoof galleries of film. A young couple move in to what they think is a nice house but before long start hearing stories of murders that have been committed in the house. Added to which, the wife is pregnant with what seems to be an unusually large baby, or is it something more sinister?
I couldn't say that there are actually any 'scary' parts, but there are a few jumps here and there, interspersed with typical American humour.
I thought it was quite good, and didn't feel like my time had been completely wasted which is always a bonus.

Burke and Hare - 2010 ** 1/2

Why Isla Fisher is in a film about Scottish body snatching I have no idea, she has one of the worst accents I have ever heard. This film isn't meant to be too much of a 'homage' to the two men, more a general romp around with a few laughs chucked in. Despite being labeled 'outrageously funny' by the Daily Star (hardy a reputable newspaper at that) it really isn't, and although I raised a smile a few times, most of the film was just too silly to be taken seriously.

Detention - 2011 ***

It's getting three stars for total originality because iv never seen anything like this before. It's slasher/comedy/sci fi/ all mixed together, and you are never quite sure which scene will inhabit which. It's a very dry almost black comedy, not a laugh out loud one, its or not scary enough to be a slasher. It's very weird. I can't say I loved it, but hats off to the director for manoeuvring such a fresh idea.

Sightseers - 2011 ** 1/2

What a peculiar film. I haven't seen Alice Lowe since she was in the brilliant 'My Life in Film' with Andrew Scott. This wasn't brilliant. It was just very strange and very slow.
Lowe and Oram play an unhinged couple who go off on a caravan holiday but end up compiling a large body count of people who get on their nerves. It's very dark, and cannot possibly be described as a 'black comedy' because its just not funny. Most of the time it's awkward and embarrassing.
Strange and creepy in my opinion.

Abigail's Party - 1977 ***

I was expecting this to be far funnier than it was. Alison Steadman is great and to be honest there was nothing actually wrong with the characters, it was just such a bleak and awful drama that you finished watching it with a sigh of relief. Mike Leigh isn't exactly known for cheerful and positive playwriting but even so I wasn't expecting to be depressed for the rest of the evening. Abigail's Party is not the actual get together that we see in the film, it's the party of the daughter of one of Beverley's (Steadman) guests that is happening below. It's weird and rather ominous, with a lot of loose ends that don't get resolved and a horrible ending.

Fatal Instinct - 1993 ****

I do love spoofs and parodies and this encapsulates both! Sean Young plays the crazy, bunny boiler femme fatale who becomes obsessed with a lawyer after she has a brief affair with him in the style of 'Fatal Instinct' (which was at it's peak when the film was made). You could actually make a list of every crime/thriller noir that this film makes references to as there are at least 20 in the mix to look out for. Armand Assante is good as the male lead, with a perfect voice for the over-scene narration that was so popular in so many noirs. A funny film, and it tests your knowledge of other famous thriller noirs from cinema history. 

(HORROR) American Mary - 2012 **

One of those films I had been looking forward to seeing for ages, a bit like 'Excision', but it was just a complete disappointment. The lead actress was pretty good, but the story didn't make much sense, and I found some of the characters really disturbing (I think it was due to their awful acting more than anything else). Mary Mason plays a lunatic student who begins specializing in extreme body modification (such as tongue slitting, piercing genitals etc) after feeling disillusioned by the medical world which results in her seeking out thrills in more terrifying was each time.
I wouldn't say the film constitutes 'stylish, artful and darkly funny' at all. Disappointment.

Tucker & Dale VS Evil - 2010 ****1/2

Another surprisingly good film. I found this hilarious and completely unique. Tucker and Dale are 2 slightly odd but very well-meaning guys who go to their vacation home for a restful break but are caught up in the hysteric mania of a group of college friends who believe that they are axe-wielding murderers after they witness the 2 friends rescuing one of their group from a freezing cold lake and taking her back to their cabin. It really is very funny and I laughed out loud a number of times. The acting is great, and over the top in a good way with some very smart one-liners. Watch.

Four Lions - 2010 *** 1/2

With a film as questionable and taboo as this, you really have to try and see the funny side and not offended. Yes of course any act of terrorism is horrific and unforgettable, but this film is trying to put a lighter spin on things, which I suppose to a wider audience could go either way.
Four completely idiotic British jihadists go off to learn how to become professional terrorists, the end goal being them blowing themselves up. Obviously this sort of thing does happen and so it is quite a tender subject, but the film is not in any way trying to insult or degrade the victims of attacks like these, more show how young, dumb and inexperienced terrorists usually are in the lead up to these dreadful incidents and how little they actually know and understand of what they are about to do.
It's funny, so give it a watch, and don't feel guilty.

(HORROR) Excision - 2012 ***

One of the weirdest, most disturbing films I have seen for a long time. Annalynne McCord is amazing in this black comedy as a mentally unstable teenager named Pauline who lives with her parents and has aspirations of becoming a doctor. In her spare time she picks her scabs, plays with dead animals and dreams about cutting people up. Her make-up is very freaky and you would never believe that it was the same beautiful actress from 90210. Things take a horrible turn when her sister who is already ill, becomes much worse and Pauline really loses the plot. Bizarre and slightly terrifying.

I Hope they Serve Beer in Hell - 2009 *

Oh dear. When will they learn to not make comedies out of bestselling books. Apparently the book is hilarious, which is a good thing really because the film is not. If anything, it was very depressing and doesn't portray men in a good light at all. They are either totally sex-crazed to the point where they want to sleep with anything that moves or they have a massive problem with women full stop and slag them off mercilessly at every opportunity. Not exactly a comedy. Just a worrying journey into what happens when you drink too much beer and let your 'friends' organise your stag night.

Lesbian Vampire Killers - 2009 ***

With a film title like that you can't really be going into this expecting to take any of it seriously. I actually thought it was quite funny, and thought Matthew Horne was good. James Corden really irritates me however so that was a bit of a downside and you can tell he is playing almost the identical character type that he always plays. Either that or that's his actual personality. The pair decide to go hiking in (of all places) Norwich in a forest. While they are there they encounter creepy locals, foreign women and a load of lesbian vampires who seem to have popped up from nowhere just to give the male viewers an eyeful. I noticed one of the women played 'Elena' in Peep Show. 

A bit of a joke, fine for easy watching. 

Thank You For Smoking - 2005 *

For a film with such a good cast (oh and look, there's Katie Holmes again equally as riveting) this was a surprisingly bad film. A bit like 'I Heart Huckabees' which I hated, this was a mess of a film, with Aaron Eckhart trying to be everything he wasn't. He works for the tobacco industry and the whole film is based around him trying to make out that tobacco is good for the nation. He comes up with numbers and statistics to show that this is the case and even goes on talk shows head to head with Lung Cancer specialists etc, so confident is he that his choice is correct. In my opinion (as a non-smoker) a pointless and uninteresting film. Even smokers will be bored.

Teaching Mrs Tingle - 1999 *

Not a black comedy, as comedy implies that it's supposed to be funny. But it's not, and none of these people can act. Even sweet little Katie Holmes is ridiculously overcast in this bizarre film about revenge on a teacher by 3 students who all despise her. Helen Mirren shouldn't have lent herself to this shocker. It's hideously bad.

Weekend At Bernie's - 1989 *****

Remember that episode of 'Friends' when Rachel is asked what her mates think her favorite film is and she says 'Dangerous Liaisons', and then when they ask he what a real favorite film is she smirks and says 'Weekend at Bernie's' because it's thought of as a naughty pleasure? Well i'm going to go out on a limb here and say that I think this is one of the funniest films I have seen in AGES and I had a number of seriously uncontrollable laughing fits throughout.
Two guys are invited to Bernie their boss's house in Hampton Island for the weekend. They believe they are going because he is pleased with their work, he in fact wants to kills them because they have unearthed a serious mistake in his financial documents. However he is not aware that a mafia boss is actually out to kill HIM and so starts a chain of hysterically funny events where the 2 guys, after finding him dead, have to pretend that Bernie is alive in every situation possible so as not to arouse suspicion, much to the confusion of the hit man who was sure he had killed him! It's just brilliant, and very original. I'm going to track down the sequel.

Sunshine Cleaning - 2009 ***

Let's get one thing straight. Amy Adams is never going to be on my top list of favourite actresses. In fact, I find pretty much everything she is in infuriating to the extreme. What nailed this film for me was Emily Blunt who IS one of my top actresses. She is funny, raw, gritty and natural and I think if she hadn't been in this film it would have been a bit of a disaster. The story is a bit bizarre - 2 sisters start up their own cleaning company which specialises in cleaning up crime scenes of recently deceased people. Throughout the various jobs they learn about themselves, their relationship and their family.
One of those films a bit like 'Little Miss Sunshine' where the audience goes on a mental journey with the characters. Worth one watch.