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

Spider-Man (2002)

Spider-man, spider-man, does what ever a spider can ? I have to admit, i'm immature, im a 17 year old baby, so when I decided to create this blog,.

Spider- man was constantly looming on my mind as one of the first reviews I would of done, so here is the first mildstone, my 5th review, Spider-manDo I really need to explain the synopsis of this film, the story of college nerd Peter Parker, ( Toby Maguire) is biitten by a generically enhanced spider and then all of a sudden... he's Spider-man !
Whilst fighting the bad guys and trying to impress the love of his life, Mary Jane, played by Kirsten Dunsten, he manages to engages into an epic bettle with the green goblin. I must say, Williem Dafoes performance in this film was just epic, your blood just bubbles listening to his scheming plans to capture spider- man.
I love spider-man, its fun and adventerous, its a reall underdog feel good story which captures my mind and im spinning a web of thoughts(no pun intended) in how what it would feel like if i had them powers, what would I do and how would I do it ? one aspect in this film I love in this film is the cameo apperance from Randy 'The Macho Man' Savage, as the wreslter, bonesaw, "OHHHHH YEAHHHHH !" (wrestling fans will know). All in all, when ever im feeling a bit adventourus and happy ill watch this film countless times, i never get bored of this film and with the amazing spider- man coming out this year, you bet ill be first in the que to watch the epic saga continue, or ironically restart as the film is suggested to be a re- write of the very film i have just review, its a funny old life eh ? 7/10 !!!

Tsotsi- "Thug" (2005)

INTERNATIONAL FILM -SOUTH AFRICAN. I love foreign film. I do, I really really do, so its all well and good making reviews about Hollywood blockbusters, but why wouldn't I make reviews on some of the greatest independent films of all time. So I've took it upon myself to watch the South African film Tsotsi
Tsotsi, played by an actor named Presley Chweneyagae, is the story of a 19 year old man who **Spoiler alert ** who accidentally kidnap a young child whilst taking place in an armed robbery of a car. The film, set in the shanty towns in Johannesburg symbolises the difficulty faced by the many black South Africans in life. The opening sequence is the most important aspect of the film as Tsotsi and his gang, Aap, Boston and Butcher are involved in the murder of a man on a train, Boston, being the educated on in the film questions Tsotsi on the murder of the man and why did he do it, " Decency" is the recurring message by Boston in the film which symbolises the dog eat dog style of life in South Africa as Tsotsi is unfazed by this and eventually beats Boston up for his constant arguing.
As the film progresses and the kidnapping takes place, it becomes evident that Tsotsi is attempting to look after the child in any way he can, so he meets a young woman in the shanty town and orders her to feed and bath the child, he then vows to look after the child any means necessary, this includes the murder of his friend Butcher and the robbery of a car to pay for the child's necessities.
The use of Kwaito music shapes the film ion a particular Way- it reflects the harsh urban environment in many ways. More traditional South African music then creates almost spiritual sens of thing at particular times in the film as Tsotsi goes onto a redemption run.
I really don't want to ruin this film you all as its a must watch so I'm not going to give away the ending, so all I can say from here is, this is a real cut throat film, harsh in reality of life in South Africa but could be said that the film does include an ending which can provide hope and faith for a nation at large, on a lighter note I have been in hysterics on certain aspects of this film, my favorite character in this whole film is Aap, his simple minded ways would make you chuckle and when he constantly quotes the word, "s'good s'good", you will be honestly crossing your legs in laughter. On the whole I would happily give this film a 7/10.

Chariots of fire (1981)

So its a Tuesday morning and I'm sat in my college canteen, still sore from last night's Jujitsu lesson and surrounded by a bunch of wannabes and the socially rejected.
So I've decided to review another recent film I've watched and that is the Oscars best picture in 1981- chariots of fire. Not usually a film I'd hold dear in my heart and I was rather jaded in watching this feature, oh how wrong could I have been.
Based on the 1924 Olympics in France, the story is about two British athletes... Eric Liddell, played by Ian  Charleson and Harold Abraham, played by Ben Cross. It must be noted that this film isn't about running, but about representing who they are as a person to the world, Abraham was a proud British Jew who faced anti- Semitism whilst studying in Cambridge, Eric on the other hand was a proud Scott but above that... A proud Christian, his beliefs included not playing sports or training on the Sabbath, which became a huge problem when **spoiler alert** his heat for the 200m dash was on a Sunday. To solve his problem, he ended up taking Lord Lindsay's (Nigel Havers) place in the 400m event on the Thursday. In the end they end up both winning gold in their respective events and were held as Olympic greats.

One known fact about this film is that the Chariots of Fire by Vangelis was specifically composed for this film and the most iconic scene in the film has been re-enacted multiple times in other films and even T.V commercials (the Sun newspaper in the UK especially), we all know it, as we watch the British Olympic team run along the beach in an all white sport kit cover in mud... The nostalgic " do do do do dooo dooo do do do do dooooo" is heard... Bring a tear to any patriotic fan of this film when ever it is heard.
In conclusion, yeah its an alright film.... Its rather long and repetitive, and could be said to be outdated by now, with it being almost 31 years old now but the plot is good and the execution of the characters performance could be highly regarded as great, in truth I am baffled how it won an Oscar in 81' yet Americans (no disrespect) love traditional British tales of power and glory. I would put this film as a low 7/10, maybe a film if you have a lot of time on your hands and feeling all sporty because of the 2012 London Olympics.

Se7en "Seven"- (1995)

Oh i just had to, how could i be established as a film blogger if i didn't review the modern classic, Se7en. The 1995 David  Fincher film put him on the map as an all time great. The basic plot of the film is the story of two detectives, a Rookie ( Brad Pitt) Detective Mills and a soon to retire Detective Somerset ( Morgan Freeman). Freeman's performance in the film was simply iconic, he comes across as a wise resilient old man who had seen his fair share of crime and criminals, unfortunately, Pitts performance could not be so highly praised,** Spoiler Alert**  in particular one scene were he finds out the murder of his wife, his performance could resemble someone who needs to sneeze rather than be in deep shock, it's quiet humorous to see the crocodile tears pushed out so vigorously by Mills in the film but on the flip of the coin, he is the rookie in the film ( ha ha ha -_-). The two detectives are on the hunt for a serial killer who's motive represent following the acts of the seven deadly sins, the murderer, John Doe would brutally commit acts of murder on civilians who are most viable to committing the seven sins, of: Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Envy, Wrath, Pride and Lust. Kevin spacey an utter all time great and his performance in this as John Doe was simply up there with one of his best works when he says, " Wanting people to listen, you can't just tap them on the shoulder anymore. You have to hit them with a sledgehammer, and then you'll notice you've got their strict attention" the hairs begin to stand on the back of your neck. One important aspect of the film is that there is no known location, or time, or date, only the day of the week is known to the audience which could simply symbolise the thought that these sins taken place in any city any town and any country which has human inhabitant and how we too are committing these sins. ** Spoiler Alert**  towards the end of the

film they arrest John Doe as he walks right into the police station and gives himself up, he confesses that there are still two bodies to be discovered and that he will only go with Detective Mills and Somerset. As they arrived in a deserted desert land, they discover a van in the distance coming towards the three characters, as Somerset drives ahead to check on the van, he discovers that it is a delivery van with a package for Detective Mills, Somerset opens the box to discover that it is the head of Mill's wife. when Mills finds out, John explains that he killed her as he was the one committing the sixth sin of envy, he was envy of the life Mill's lived, the young high school sweetheart he grew up to marry and a baby on the way, that is all that Doe wanted was a simple life. Due to the knowledge that Doe had killed Mill's wife he decides to shoot him repeatedly in anger, committing the seventh sin of Wrath.
. One unknown fact about this film is that the producers of the film wanted to created a more (family friendly) ending to the film so they wanted Mills and Somerset to find John Doe in the Mill's house just about to murder his wife, then they managed to arrest him and they all lived happily ever after. Fincher and Pitt especially were outraged by the though so they threatened to pull the film at the last minute if they didn't get the intended ending, so they ended up with the go ahead.
To conclude, Se7en is an amazing amazing film, it is rather depressing yet a must watch for every film head out there, its smart and cunning in its greatest gloryand has the potential to be known for a long time to come, an unbiased reviewer as myself would give this film a firm 9/10 almost pushing a 10, Instant classic.

Veronica Guerin (2003)

For my first review on my blog (so excited !), I've decided to review a personal favourite of mine, Veronica Guerin. The film is based on the true story of an Irish journalist (Veronica), who was assassinated trying to expose the drug barons and dealers which reeked havoc in Dublin in the 1990s, her assassination lead to further action being taken place in preventing the smuggling of drugs into Ireland, she is now more considered as a saintin the Republic.Now that's the plot over I can't help but praise this Joel Schumacher production (oh by the way he also directed Batman forever, the phantom of the opera and phone booth in case his name rang a bell), the film instantly gripped me from the beginning as **Spoiler alert** the first scene we see is the assassination, its interesting why a non- linear structure was formed for this film but I Rather think it was a nice touch to the film. Veronica is played by Cate Blanchett, its a far cry from the Lord of the rings and the curious case of Benjamin Button but I must compliment her on their versatility in this film, her cockiness portrays the image of Veronica and leaves you in suspense with her subtle but controversial words. In truth the film can be quiet tedium, so you need a lot of self discipline whilst watching, but my main analysis has to be on the last 10 minutes of the film.

Now i was watching this film with my girlfriend at the time and half way through the film we managed to go off course into pointless conversation, as soon as a repeat of the first scene begin, we were in stunned silence as she is shot, fields of athenry is heard and the start of a montage begins, the flick through of the change and impact Veronica's death had Ireland, for the patriotic audience it would leave a tear in you're eye "everyone in the Republic remembers where they were when they herd about the assassination of Veronica Guerin" is the lasting quote which i can remember in the film as the film takes a celtic, old Irish style as the film ends, connotations to this could easily be identified as the  efforts that she had done to create a better Ireland and this film could easily be placed in a modern Republic film.
My Verdict. After watching film now to the point where i have lost count, i have to be baised and say that i love this film, if your in an adventerous educated mind, watch this film, its hard to sink you're teeth into if your not paying full atention so id advise that if your in a happy quicky mood, this is a no no, the ending is rather depressing yet you feel better about yourself, knowing that you have learnt such a complicated story, i would rate the film a 9/10

** This is my first review guys so if its shocking im sorry but if its any good leave a comment and thanks for taking the time to read it !**