Dirty Pretty Things (2002)

This is an odd one, if you told me before watching this film that this film is about two illegal immigrants living in London and experiencing the darker side of the city, I would probably be pretty "meh" over the idea, but I was wrong. Dirty pretty things is an epic film which is far fetched in any euphemistic term, yet truly brilliant. The film is about illegal immigrant, Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor), the start of the film is basically a montage of his life living in London, at day he is a taxi driver, and by night he is a receptionist. At first it almost seems like a documentary with the detail to his personal life, yet the film begins to get interesting when we find out he lives in an apartment with one of the cleaning maids from the hotel and fellow illegal immigrant Senay Gelik (Audrey Tautou). This film highlights there fight to live in the country as they are constant pressures by immigration officers and it soon becomes evident how far people will go to live in Britain. We are known from the start that Okwe is a doctor, yet at the end of the film we only find out why he fled his country for London, he was a Nigerian doctor who was asked by the government to clear away a wrongly killed victim, after he set against the idea, they burnt down his home, killing his wife in the process. This is important in the film as we later discover that there is a large kidney market on the black market in London and the owner of the hotel Juan (Sergei Lopez) is actually conducting such operations on illegal immigrants so that they can access fake passports. As the pressure of immigration is starting to get too much for Okwe and Senay, Senay decides to give Juan a kidney, Okwe was asked previously to become his right hand doctor for such operations yet set against it, but for the woman he loves, he would rather do the operation himself, them someone else, so when they set up the table for the operation, Juan is made an assistant in the operation, what happens is, Okwe gives Juan a beer to show how shaky his hands are, yet in the beer is a sedative and Juan is put to sleep, the film concludes with Juan's kidney being taken and Okwe and Senay running for the border, Senay had dreams of going to America and wanted Okwe to go with her, he can not though as he still has family in Nigeria, the film ends with the two departing in the airport.

I do like this film, its really far fetched yet it does have a great story line to it, really interesting and i say must watch . 7/10

The Bodyguard (1992)

I'm sorry, I tried not to do this, but it was valentines day and this film was on the T.V, so I though it ll keep the girlfriend happy for a while if we watched the romantic 1992 film, The Bodyguard.  Now I know it looks as if I have caught the Whitney Houston fever after the sad passing of the hit singer, yet I am going to be honest and tell yous all that I love this film, I love it love it love it. It has a cheesy narrative, countless flours in continuity and some laughable stunts by good old Kevin Costner, if you've seen this film you will realise that Mr Costner is able to out run a jeep, run at the speed of a bullet, and leap through locked windows. .

Yet despite all the early 90s mistakes, I cant help but love this film. The film is about singer Rachel Marron, (Whitney) and how her entourage  hire a new bodyguard, Frank Farmer, ( Kevin Costner), Simple right ? well the reason why they hired hi is over the fact that Rachel has been sent countless death threats by a mysterious person and Franks job is to protect her at all cost, at first his methods are questioned, my favourite scene in the film is where Frank and the other bodyguard,  Tony ( Mike Starr)  have a fight as Tony attacks Frank for him leaving him at one of Rachel's public appearances as Frank ushers Rachel out instantly after crowd trouble. It is just how smooth Frank is in the film which is just brilliant, far fetched yes, but golden moment, truly. So as the film progresses, it must be known that Rachel's sister, Nicki (Michele Lamar Richards) is also living with Rachel and as the film concludes, it is evident that Nicki hired a hit man to kill Rachel as she was jealous of the attention Rachel gets, almost momentarily after that, Nicki is show dead by the hit man and he escapes the scene, as the film ends,  it is apparent that the hit man was in fact Franks colleague from previous work, Portman, now, the reason why i didn't mention him before hand is simply because he has no real importance in the film too the end of the film, he is seen in a previous scene attempting to make love with Rachel as she pushes him away, he retreats without confrontation so for the majority of the film, there is no clues to who is the hit man.In conclusion, I love it, it has an in debt open insight to the superstar world and the back scene entourages and how they play a vital role, the narrative, although really really cheesy with Whitney running off the plane in the end of the film and runs into his "arm" (all will be revealed)  it catches me and i a gripped by it, if there was ever a film to celebrate a life of Whitney, i would have to say the bodyguard does this, I perfect the fact that they made fictional names for the cast as it just represents that the film is not all about the fame of Whitney to sell the film, there also trying to sell you the romance and love. 8/10, easily.

The Wrestler (2008)

I feel like I have to do this, one thing you must know about me is that wrestling is my love, it truly is, ever since I was a child, from the days of stone cold Steve Austin and the heart break kid Shawn Michaels, to the modern day legends such as Cm Punk, John Cena and Sheamus. But this story isn't about the global superstars of WWE and WCW, this is the story of Randy "The Ram" Robinson (Mickey Rourke), a down and out professional wrestler, once redeemed as a great, yet a faded career led to him constantly popping in and out of independent wrestling productions and odd matches. Mickey Rourkes performance in this film is epic, could easily be mistaken for an old wrestler himself, the way he conducts himself in the ring is amazing, he sells moves better than some of the jobbers in the WWE. As the film progresses, it is evident that he has lost everything, his daughters love, every valuable and friends, his only friend is Cassidy ( Marisa Tomei) a stripper in the local men's club who all in all, is only friends with him the sense that he is nothing more than a client. Randy is happy with the way his life is, until a heart attack forces him to retire and makes him re-asses his values in life, he attempts to salvage a relationship with his daughter and attempt to begin a relationship with Cassidy. Previous to the heart attack, Randy is asked to face a rematch with fellow wrestler, "The Ayatollah" (Ernest Miller), who Randy previously wrestler twenty years ago. Due to the heart attack, he has to cancel the match, yet after failing to connect with his daughter, and being reminded that his is "only a customer" to Cassidy, so he decides to risk his life and put the fight back on. **Spoiler Alert ** as Randy is waiting in the wings for the match, Cassidy runs backstage to try and plead with him to stop the fight, he doesn't listen and goes to the ring anyway, he then talks to the crowd saying that they are his only family he's ever had, this seems to be try in the life of a professional wrestler as they amount of time they spend on the road, they hardly see their family and friends, their only friends are the fans who cheer and boo them. as the match begins, it is evident that the heart attack is taking its toll on Randy, he constantly stops and clutches his chest, as the match is about to end, he goes to the top rope to land his finisher, the ram jam, he looks up to the curtain to see if Cassidy is there, and then he jumps. End of film. I must say, I love the ending, it leaves you in the question, does he live or die, yet if he does or doesn't it doesn't really matter as in truth, wrestling is his life and if he cant wrestle he might as well be dead, so i love the cliffhanger at the end, you can give your own opinion on if he lives or dies, yet i don't feel like it ended because of that. Special features I like about this film is the one the Cameo appearance of WWE superstar R-Truth (Ron Killings)  and the fact that WXW, CZW and ROH are all real wrestling productions which is pretty cool and realistic. I don't particularly like the amount of scenes in the strip club, yeah it identifies hugely the life of a messed up wrestler, yet I almost felt uncomfortable watching this as it evades the narrative of a professional wrestler, finding a relationship.

In conclusion, great great film, I feel that this film reflects a wrestler in particular named Jake "the snake" Roberts as he has had similar problems with families and has found himself in the independent circle, yet you don't have to be a wrestling fan boy, or even know what it is to understand and enjoy this film, its truly a film on how if you believe in something for your whole life, why would you ever give it up, under any circumstances. 8/10

The Road (2009)

Now, I would first like to say that it wasn't my choice to watch this film and if you asked me to watch it again, I would probably choose not to. Don't get me wrong, it is a brilliant film,family and they have been following him for the whole of the journey to the sea, basically a naff Hollywood ending. that's if you watch this film with a heart of stone. The backdrop behind this film is a post apocalyptic tale of simply the name in the film of Man (Viggo Mortensen) and Boy (Kodi Smit- McPhee), real smart idea to name the characters in the film this as Man and Boy as it reflects their stole identity after the death of the Earth, as your name is no longer important, as there is no one to call your name.  The man in the film talks how him and his son are the good guys as they have not resorted to cannibalism in the film and that they both have a fire in their heart. The film is unusual to apocalyptic films as it does not tell you how the earth has died, just the aftermath. Man and Boy are on the search for the coast, they want to see if the sea is blue and if there is any sign of life. On their trails they face some pretty graphic images, as their human race has basically been wiped out, cannibalism is a huge factor in the film, as there are groups patrolling the streets and roads and there is one particular scene where Man and boy crawl into a hatch to only find naked prisoners, starving and deterioration. The film is based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy as there has been known that the book is a lot more graphically detailed tale than the film, yet the film is also very sad and disturbing, as the film end, the Man dies as they reach the beach and leave the child alone. as he is looking out into the ocean, a man approaches him and says he will look after him, the child asks if the Man has a fire in his heart, like he one his father previously explained to him that he must always have a fire in his heart, because that is what the good guys have. He decides to join as it comes apparent that the man has a All in all i honestly was gripped by this, I'm not going to lie, I watched this in film studies with a tear in my eye and so did my teacher which i found rather humorous, yet the film does drive a huge message of why are we hear and it does give you the go ahead to go and live your life to the full. If your a bit of a wimp like me, I would rate this film a 5/10 but what ever doesn't kill you make you stronger kind of fans, I'll give it a 8/10.

Trainspotting (1996)

I've been reluctant to review this film, well, at first I think its a

shocking film, yet its also a very touching one, directed by Danny

Boyle, Trainspotting of the story of the Character Renton (Ewan Mc

Gregor) and his constant battle with drugs, especially heroine. The

film is an adaptation of the Irvine Welsh novel, yet some audiences

who have also read the book would contemplate the book being a more

graphic affair. The film starts with Renton poetically expressing how

there are two types of life, the one with mortgages, DIY,etc. and then

there's the drug route, this is a real platform of which the film

builds on being as the main narrative of the film.  The film is so

wrong on so many moral levels, but I can't help but love this film,

some say this film is all about drugs, but I see more than that I see

the struggle faced by Scottish people in Edinburgh includes implicit

pictures of Scotland and "scottishness".

The film explores the desperation faced by drug addicts and how they

will score, any means necessary, importantly there is a rather

digression of Renton as there is an scene where he is searching his

own waste to find the drugs he hid up, "there". The film picks the

characters to have different styles and qualities, especially one of

the groups, Begbie, he doesn't take drugs, but he loves to fight and

matches the stereotypical Scottish male of always being arms length

from a knife, towards the end of thee film, Begbie, sick boy, spud and

Renton all deal an gigantic amount of drugs, they sold it off for

sixteen grands, mean each character gets a cut of 4 grand, as the film

ends, Renton decides to run with the money decides to stay a new life

somewhere else, the film ends with the same scenario as the beginning,

yet as he talks about life, he decides to take the hard working, clean
route. On the whole, I find the film more of a warning of the dangers
of drugs, rather than the commercialisation of the addiction, yet but

I can't help but frown throughout the film, don't get me wrong, I love

the realism of the film yet the film does portray such a negative

image that it will leave you thinking about life, about how one bad

turn can ruin your life, take Tommy for example, his life was made, he

never cheated, never taken drugs, he was clean and friendly, yet in

the end, he dies of AIDS by taking drugs as he "wanted to try it".

Life can be unfair, you just can not be a victim. I'm rating it 8/10,

it has some pretty deep aspects of life, yet on the turn of the coin,

me being clean and never taking drugs or smoking, I can not relate to

the current state of affairs this film advertises.... Sorry Critics.

East is east (1999)

A British- Asian film production classic, Ayub Khan-Din decided to create a film reflecting his life as a British- Pakistani boy in Salford in 1970s, Ayub is reflected in the character of Sajid Khan, plated by Jordan Routledge and his 6 other siblings, the narrative is about the life of the 7 children of George Khan, (Om Puri) and how they rebel against the strict ruling of his Pakistani- Muslim ways, The narrative begins with the marriage of his oldest child and as the film progresses, the oldest child gets cold feet and runs away, after that George only regards as having 6 children, disowning and saying that his eldest died.

As the story progresses, George becomes hell bend in trying to raise his children in a traditional Pakistani manner, the children on the other hand regard themselves as British citizens. What I love most about this film is that its got nothing to do with any negative connotations against British Asian people, it has no negatives things about the likes of post 9/11 and 7/7, yet you might think to yourself, well of course Michael, that's quiet a racial slurry, its set in the 70s, yet in truth, Khan has been criticised for not portraying the characters as being more violent and anti British, and his simple reply was, "this is not a story about Pakistani Muslims, its a story about my childhood".
All in all at the end of the film, **Spoiler alert**,  George tries to marry his 3rd and 4th eldest sons off to two, (sorry for my unprofessional slang but) utterly ANGIN women, so they manage to stand up to their father and prove that they are their own people in their own right. The funniest thing about this film is the one liners George comes out with, "you fucking bastard" is on of his favourites which made me chuckle, in reality, I prefer the second film more, (West is west) yet I will also review this film as well so theres something to look forward too. 6/10

Stand By Me (1986)

So I'm sat here, relaxing after a strenuous jujitsu session, and I'm pondering on what film was I'm going to review for tomorrow's post, then realising that it was only this morning in my film class that I was watching one of the greatest coming of age films ever made, based on the Stephen King novella, The Body, Stand by me is the story of a writer , Gordie, reflecting on a adventure he when on with one of his best pals to which he found out had died earlier in the week. Chris was his friends name, played by River Phoenix who unfortunately died at an early age as well, yet he talks about how four friends, the other two being Teddy (Cory Feldman) and Vern ( Jerry O'Connell) go on a hunt to find a dead body after hearing a rumour that a "kid" had been hit by a train.

The four characters all reflect different aspects and traits of a child, Gordie (Wil Wheaton) is seen as the smart, creative genius of the group, Chris is shown as the hard kid, from a poor background and a bad reputation, Teddy is reflected as being the fascistic member of the group, his desperate needs to follow in his dads footsteps of becoming a U.S solider and Vern, is basically, the simple minded chubby kid who just can't help but love.

The plot begins **Spoiler Alert** with the for guys being an immature pair walking to find the dead body, yet as they realised what they are actually doing, their minds form a more serious state and by the end of the film, there is a confrontation between the guys and a gang who also knew about the body. In the end, they decided not to tell the police about the body for a celebrity status, yet instead gave the police an anonymous phone call instead.

Stand By Me is a great film, its a really heart warming comedy which a serious narrative and if your in a childish, nostalgic mood, this is a good watch. 7/10