Quote of the Week Review: Goodfellas (1990)

By Ben Hanna

"As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster"

Goodfellas, directed in 1990 by Martin Scorsese is a classic mobster movie containing blood, scores, hits and betrayals. A real in depth look into the highs and lows of being a true mobster during the 50s and 80s.

“I always wanted to be a gangster”, a dream I’d like to think we all share, who wouldn’t want to be a gangster? All the money you could want, having the freedom to do anything but more importantly, having goons run around and do your errands. Martin Scorsese takes the audience on a journey to show us the high life of a gangster. However, not every aspect of life as a mobster was wonderful. We’re also taken into the nitty gritty side of the gangster life, the side that could get you ‘whacked’ if you mention it.

"You're a funny guy": Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta exchange pleasantries.

Martin Scorsese’s use of cinematography is just fantastic, each shot brings a sense of belonging and helps to draw the audience with shots that have a real effect on us as we watch. The way Martin positions the audience throughout the film encourages us to feel sympathy for the main characters. Despite the crimes and vicious nature of a mobster, we feel like crime is okay. Martin Scorsese tells the story by using a narrator which is a nice touch that we don’t see very often. I feel like it really helps to tell the story and keeps the audience engaged with the narrative, this happens from beginning to end.

A big thing for me during Goodfellas is the sound, the classy music and feel good locations help me feel a part of the narrative. There has always been something alluring about the lifestyle of a mobster, getting into exclusive clubs and having connections. My favourite scene is when we’re taken into the back of the nightclub and through the kitchen. It’s taken in one shot that, surprisingly, doesn’t feel like a drag. It makes me feel like Ray Liotta is taking me to dinner rather than Lorraine Bracco. I like that feeling.

The film as a whole was incredible, I was engaged from beginning to end and didn’t manage to stumble upon a dull moment. All of the characters were relatable and I found each of them interesting. For me, this film is definitely one to watch from Martin Scorsese.

Seasonal Reviews: Halloween (1978)

By Sean McDonnell

Here’s the film which became a huge success for John Carpenter. Here’s the film which launched the career of Jamie Lee Curtis. Here’s the film which made the slasher genre a success. Here is one of the greatest horror films ever made!

The narrative is very simple. It tells the tale of Michael Myers, who on Halloween night in 1963 at a mere age of six, murdered his older sister with a kitchen knife. Fifteen years later, he escapes from a psychiatric hospital and returns home, stalking teenager Laurie Strode (Curtis) and her friends. Michael’s psychiatrist Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence) suspects his intentions and follows him home to try prevent him from killing.

Home is where the heart is!

This is a very special film made with pure ambition and passion with a budget of $320,000 and ended up grossing $70 million worldwide. This is because of its originality and style and it ended up being copied in classics such as Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street, satirized in the Scream series and spoofed in the disastrous Scary Movie franchise. The chilling yet beautiful ‘Halloween Theme’, composed perfectly by Carpenter, sets the eerie mood at the beginning with a glowing jack-o-lantern which leads the audience to share Michael’s perspective when he stalks and kills his sister.

Halloween also introduced the cliqué of the morality play often used in slasher horror films. This means any teenager who is sexually active, smokes or who confidently states the AMAZING *sarcasm intended* “I’ll be right back” is at risk of meeting a very tall disturbing looking geezer wearing a William Shatner mask who breathes very very very heavily! 

The cinematography by Dean Cundey is interestingly composed, creating fantastic use of the steadicam to make the camera lens appear as the stalker of the suburbs. The lack of gore is also very effective and instead, Carpenter uses cinematography, lighting and sound to create a frightening atmosphere rather than blood and guts everywhere.

The cast all deliver very naturalistic and charismatic performances. Donald Pleasence brings fear, control and dignity to his role. His character is someone who once cared for Michael but now lacks the ambition because he knows there is no way of getting through to a person who is “purely and simply evil”. Jamie Lee Curtis delivers a fantastic debut as an innocent teenager who tries to escape Michael’s deadly rampage whilst delivering it in a very realistic manner. No wonder why she earned her title and followed her mother’s (Janet Leigh from Psycho) footsteps as a “Scream Queen”.

Still as frightening as it was 35 years ago, Halloween is a masterpiece of suspense, terror and fear in a peaceful-appearing yet haunting setting. Simple, intimate and special. This was the film which single-handedly started and helped shape a new genre of horror!

Sean McDonnell is on Twitter, you can follow him @seanmcdonnell_. 

Sean also has his own blog, which you can find here.

Quote of the Week Review: The Usual Suspects (1995)

By Thomas Broome-Jones

"The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist"

I always found it weird that Bryan Singer directed The Usual Suspects, not because I dislike him as a director, just because it's one of my favourite films ever and I always think of Singer as "that guy who directed X-Men". This week's QOTW is a review of a highly intelligently made film with a multi-layered plot and an unforgettable Oscar-winning performance from Kevin Spacey. This film is so good that even Stephen Baldwin wasn't annoying in it.

The complexity of the film's plot is pretty hard to explain without giving away anything so all I'll say is that Kevin Spacey plays Verbal Kint, a con-man with cerebral palsy who is recounting a story of a crime to a police detective that he was witness to. Sounds pretty simple but when you watch it you realize that it's anything but that. The intricacies on the incredible screenplay by Christopher McQaurrie make this a film where you will constantly be guessing, choosing who to believe and by the end you'll just want to go back and watch it all over again to clarify some points that would be impossible to notice the first time around.

The excellent ensemble cast all deliver characters with their own little quirks, aside from Spacey, Benicio Del Toro stands out especially as Fenster. An ethnically ambiguous man who the other characters are constantly asking to repeat himself as his accent is so wonderfully ridiculous that he's virtually impossible to understand. Following this unlikely team in a story told through flashbacks there will be more and more characters added to the story, giving it more and more layers of sophisticated narrative structure.

I'm not going to talk any further as this film is far too fragile to talk about without spoilers and I make a habit out of avoiding the "s" word in my reviews. All I can say is that the story is told with such punchy dialogue and in such an accessible way that your interests will be vested. Combine that with an electrifying performance from Kevin Spacey which netted him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and you've got a winning formula. I have no more to say about it because I don't want to ruin it for you, simply put, watch this film, it's incredible.

















 
Thomas Broome-Jones is on Twitter, you can follow him @TBroomey.

6 Best Onscreen Deaths

By Alex Beighton

I appear to have gone from one extreme to another, the focus of last week's article being love. I have now taken a more cynical approach (I didn't think that was possible) and explored the best and the worst of death scenes on the big screen. Enjoy.

*WARNING, THIS LIST IS LITTERED WITH SPOILERS, IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE FILM, SKIP IT*

*CONTAINS CONTENT OF A VIOLENT/SEXUAL/THREATENING NATURE, IF YOU ARE OFFENDED BY THESE THINGS, DO NOT PROCEED*

6. House of Wax (2005)

As much as House of Wax is known for the masterpiece of cinema that it is *heavy sarcasm implied*, my own personal highlight of the film has to be the death of Paris Hilton’s character, Paige Edwards. There is something oddly satisfying about watching a woman with fewer brain cells than a potato being brutally murdered with a pole through the eye, or is that just me? What I also feel completes this “Oscar worthy” performance is the ripped shirt exposing the bra and the over the top screaming, but then again, it’s not like Paris Hilton to be known for being over sexualised/a bad actress so I feel as if this character was her really stepping out of her comfort zone. 

5. Shaun of the Dead (2004)

I am a huge zombie film fan and always have been since first watching 28 Days Later and then Night of the Living Dead, however my favourite zombie film will always be Shaun of the Dead. “The Cornetto Trilogy” has never ceased to make me laugh with unapologetic and ever so British humour until my sides hurt. I feel that this is completely epitomized in the scene where Shaun and Ed fight the zombies in their garden. The one main criticism of zombie films that I always find is that the “normal civilian” dies within 30 seconds whereas the one maniac who for some reason always kept guns and chainsaws in their basement comes into their own and that the rest of the film is based on their antics and one random person who only survived on luck alone. What would happen to the normal pedestrian who may not be a black belt in zombie fighting as soon as the opening credits begin to roll but is tough and willing to survive or at least keep their flesh from being chewed and digested? (Do zombies even have a digestive system?) I feel that this scene perfectly sums up a very English and appropriate response to a zombie attack and I will now forever view records more as weapons instead of musical tools. 

4. Psycho (1960)

There was no way this death could not make my list. This has been the inspiration for every slasher movie since the dawn of time (or 1960 onwards, minor details). Hitchcock is known as the “Master of Suspense” and this scene epitomises how accurate that title is for him. Although in modern times we have been brought up with such films such as the Saw franchise which means we are more surprised when vital organs are actually left inside the body rather than being pulled out right and left on full display to the camera, the scene was revolutionary of its time. Its display of women’s nudity and violence shocked and enthralled audiences alike and will forever be known as “the granddaddy of murder scenes” And on a personal level, screeching violins will now forever haunt me as well as now the bathroom door must remain locked at all times. 

3. Pulp Fiction (1994)

I’ve always been a fan of black comedies and although you may not be able to describe Pulp Fiction as a black comedy, you can most certainly describe my reaction to this scene being “yes I know someone is dead, but why is it so god damn funny?” Between Samuel L. Jackson’s repeated cursing and Travolta’s embarrassed and apologetic nature “I didn’t mean to shoot Marvin in the face man” in my opinion, this is a golden moment in the history of death scenes. And as most of us are aware of Tarantino’s slight over compensation of fake blood, the fact that the car is almost entirely painted by Marvin’s insides is only the bloody cherry on the top of this scene. Not to mention the clear irony in Travolta’s religious ideas before Marvin’s murder, well, more man-slaughter I suppose. 

 

2. Deep Blue Sea (1999)

Samuel L. Jackson has made another appearance on this list for an entirely different reason. Dramatic monologues have always been a clear reccurring theme within cinema; however it’s not often that you get violently eaten by an entirely over animated and unrealistic shark midway through your speech. The shark is genetically engineered to be this super intelligent being, yet it does not have the common courtesy to at least wait until Sammy is done before having to awkwardly twist its jaws around him and shake him about a bit just to re- emphasize the point that yes, he is dead. Frankly shark, that was just rather rude of you. 

1. The Wicker Man (2006)

True, although it is near impossible for me to criticize the realistic and completely believable performances of Nicholas Cage *more heavy sarcasm implied*, this film really takes the cake in bad performances/bad film/bad deaths almost to the point where it’s funny. I can’t quite say I felt the raw pain or emotion behind having BEES STING YOUR ENTIRE FACE by having Nicholas Cage just clearly repeat the lines “my eyes, the bees” with the occasional yell of “ahhhh.” It makes me genuinely sad that Nicholas Cage still has an acting career after this dire performance, as well as the repeated insult of the National Treasure films. But that would start me on a completely different rant that I would find hard to recover from. 

What did you think of this list? Do you agree or disagree with any of my picks? Leave a comment or tweet me your opinion @girls0nfilm. 

From the Vault Reviews: V for Vendetta (2005)

By Sean McDonnell

“Remember, remember, the fifth of November”. This brilliant film based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore, carries its oppressive message that will certainly help us remember the fifth of November.

V for Vendetta is set in a dystopian London which has become a fascist regime led by Adam Sutler (John Hurt). He is faced against V (Hugo Weaving) a freedom fighter wanting revenge on those who disfigured him. A working class girl named Evey (Natalie Portman) becomes caught up in V’s mission for freedom whilst a detective (Stephen Rea) tries to stop V from igniting a revolution.

Dem knives!

What I believe makes this film so special is the message, the message being a warning to the dangers of totalitarianism. The film features interesting aspects of a fascist state which would make George Orwell spin in his grave, like the regime listening to citizens conversations in their very own homes and people who are considered “undesirable” such as political prisoners and homosexuals being sent to concentration camps. Speaking of George Orwell, there’s also so many aspects of this film which remind me of my favourite book, Nineteen Eighty-Four, such as Sutler constantly appearing on large screens and as a cult of personality in citizen’s homes which is reminiscent to Big Brother’s image. Coincidentally, John Hurt portrayed Winston Smith in the 1984 film adaptation of Nineteen Eighty-Four. V for Vendetta also features so many 21st Century fears of a totalitarian state such as surveillance, torture, religious hypocrisy and media manipulation.

Apart from this deep message, the screenplay by the Wachowski’s is very well done, providing the audience with a balance of political philosophy and thrilling action. Weaving portrays V brilliantly, making the audience mesmerized by his character’s desperation for total freedom all whilst being a genius in explosives, sword fighting, literature, philosophy and his personal favourite: gardening. In addition, the performances by Portman, Hurt and Rea have a great balance between choice, power and detection.

My only criticism of this film is that I wish it was more like the original graphic novel in terms of its setting, even Alan Moore still refuses to see this film because it misses so much of the graphic novel. Although the film doesn’t explain the year, my guess is that it’s set in the 2020s whilst the original graphic novel is set in the late nineties. Now, I am ashamed to say I still haven’t read V for Vendetta, but I have done my research into why Alan Moore wrote the graphic novel, that being due to the rise of the Conservatives in the eighties. Quoting from his introduction to the graphic novel: “The new riot police wear black visors, as do their horses, and their vans have rotating video cameras mounted on top. The government has expressed a desire to eradicate homosexuality, even as an abstract concept, and one can only speculate as to which minority will be the next legislated against...I don’t like it here anymore.”

Apart from that mere opinion, this is a meaningful film with an important message that is worth watching. Touching, interesting and a very clear warning. 

V for Vendetta is available in the College Library in a 1 disc edition format, it has a 15 certificate.

Sean McDonnell is on Twitter, you can follow him @seanmcdonnell_. 

Sean also has his own blog, which you can find here.

From the Vault Reviews: Memento (2000)

By Thomas Broome-Jones

My personal favourite Christopher Nolan film is chiefly impressive when you compare its ambition to its modest budget. Mr Nolan has been known to be a very visual storyteller and films such as Inception and Batman Begins correlate very well with that point. But they had huge budgets and crews working on them so it's refreshing to see Nolan's earlier work reflect his flair without having to throw money at it until it looks right.

Inked: Pearce must remember things with various tattoos around his body.

The plot to Memento is told in two arcs, the primary one is in colour and is told in chronologically reverse order, the secondary arc is in black-and-white and is told in a linear fashion through narration from the protagonist, played by the sorely underrated Guy Pearce. Pearce is playing a man who has retrograde amnesia, better known as short-term memory loss. He must piece together a mystery as well as remind himself how to properly function through the use of tattoos, notes and Polaroid photographs. The advantage to such unique storytelling coupled with such a unique story means that we're kept in the dark until the very end, I can usually get a rough idea of how a film will end but Memento had me completely hoodwinked.

The sheer excellence of the story is aided by some highly stylized cinematography (in a Nolan film? Who knew?), which really aids the audience in getting more into the mind of this poor man who has to live in a continual loophole of lost memories. Guy Pearce turns in a fantastic performance that further amplifies his versatility as an actor, his performance is filled with maturity and genuine emotion. Not bad when you consider that he made his name as an actor on Neighbours. His performance is so engaging as well as harrowing that you become just as determined as him to find out what he wants to know. You will also find yourself in a sense of despair when he is constantly tricked into doing things that he otherwise wouldn't do due to his 2-3 minute memory span, which is sometimes even a few seconds if he doesn't focus hard enough.

Never a dull moment to be had, Memento is powerful in its eclectic blend of unorthodox storytelling and human psychology. You will be eager to know what happens next and you'll be blown away by the film's thrilling conclusion which is so cleverly executed that you'll have to re-watch it again and again as more and more theories on what's actually going on become apparent. Forget The Dark Knight, in my mind, this is Christopher Nolan's best film.

Memento is available in the College Library in a 1 disc edition format, it has a 15 certificate.

Thomas Broome-Jones is on Twitter, you can follow him @TBroomey.

From the Vault Reviews: Heat (1995)

By Thomas Broome-Jones

Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, arguably the two most respected crime film actors of all-time. Between them are the likes of The Godfather, Goodfellas, Scarface, Raging Bull, Taxi Driver and countless other American classics. It's a surprise, then, that the first time they ever appeared on screen together wasn't until 1995 in Michael Mann's heist thriller classic, Heat. Whilst the two actors had previously appeared in The Godfather Part 2 together, their arcs were in completely different time periods so they never crossed paths. So, Heat has a lot to live up to if it is the great meeting of two behemoths of film, and it very much does.

Two legends collide: Pacino and De Niro share the screen for the first time ever.

The story is a simple one that sees Pacino's gruff cop Lt. Vincent Hanna go up against De Niro's master career criminal Neil McCauley in an epic game of cat and mouse. The two characters share an amicable respect for one another and note that they are highly similar to one another with the only real difference being their chosen paths. Naturally, the two actors have dynamite chemistry, the mutual respect and conflict is really felt between these two characters and for most of the film I actually found myself rooting for the supposed bad guy in McCauley. But this film isn't just a near 3-hour drama piece of Al Pacino and Robert De Niro exchanging compliments and anecdotes with one another, although admittedly I'd probably watch that. This is a thriller, where action is at the forefront, the only reason why Michael Mann was able to include such strong character development was the run-time, although it didn't feel like 3 hours to me. The film was so fast-paced and brimming with energy that before I knew it it had ended.

Obviously the most famous moment of this film which I can't really not talk about is the breathtaking action sequence at the end which is one of the finest examples of editing and sound mixing that I've ever witnessed in my life. Without giving away spoilers, all I can say is that an intense shoot-out between McCauley's crew and the police goes on for what seems like forever. You hear every bullet fired, see every window smash and, most impressively, you actually SEE the reloads! For far too long has it been that characters in action films have a seemingly endless supply of ammunition, don't be expecting such cliches from Heat. This is one of the most sophisticated action films ever made and the final action sequence is a testament to that.

Gorgeously shot with fantastic direction from Michael Mann, as always. A real tale of life is created here, the story is told like an epic, with big, bold, tough characters on a quest to destroy one another without destroying themselves. But Pacino and De Niro manage to create characters that seem so human, they talk like we do, they have dreams, they eat, sleep, have lovers, have dysfunction. They're believable is what they are, half of that comes down to the brilliance of the actors and the other half is the strength on the screenplay, also written by Michael Mann, with dialogue that's realistic and rough-around-the-edges instead of smooth and uber cool , as is unfortunately the case with most of these flicks. Heat is definitely a recommended watch, for me it's up there with Die Hard, Leon, The Terminator and Aliens as one of the best action films ever made.

Heat is available in the College Library in a 2 disc special edition format which includes 11 additional scenes and 5 making-of documentary featurettes: True Crime: Recalling the real-life Chicago cop and criminal whose exploits inspired the film, Crime Stories: The screenplay's 20-year history and how the film finally got green-lit, Into the Fire: Filming in L.A., how the cast trained for their roles, shooting the climactic downtown heist and post-production, Pacino and De Niro: Anatomy of this historic on-screen showdown and Return to the scene of the crime: Revisiting the film's real-life L.A. locations 10 years later, it has a 15 certificate.

Thomas Broome-Jones is on Twitter, you can follow him @TBroomey.