#1 - RESERVOIR DOGS
Stars - Tim Roth, Steve Buscemi, Harvey Keitel, Micheal Madsen, Chris Penn
Director - Quentin Tarantino
Memorable Quote - 'Let me tell you what 'Like a Virgin' is about.'
Review - Well, this was not what I expected. This was BETTER than I expected. It's classic Tarantino to pull something like this off - something so messy that, while it becomes obvious that it is a movie, it actually pulls you in and makes it more real in the process. Mr Blonde, by the way, is the awesome side of crazy, not that he didn't deserve to die or anything - I'm just saying, it makes for good movie plotline. Buscemi is predictably hilarious, and Roth just as good as usual - but I really wish he wasn't so well known for his blood-curdling noises and would therefore stop making them. They make my blood curdle, it's not very comfortable. Still, all that assault of the sense is almost Haneke-esqe. Oh, yeah, talking of Haneke... 3.5/5
#2 - THE WHITE RIBBON (Das weisse Band)
Stars - Christian Freidel, Ernst Jacobi, Maria-Victoria Dragus, Leonard Proxauf
Director - Michael Haneke
Memorable Quote - 'Was ist Tod?' ('What is death?')
Review - I have no idea if the above quote is correctly spelled, by the way. That aside, I have to say that first and foremost this film is BEAUTIFUL. Haneke says in the DVD interview that he was influenced by the work of August Sander (one of his photographs, which is by coincidence my personal favourite photograph of all time, is below the review), and you can certainly see that influence shining through. Each frame of the movie could easily be a photograph in its own right, beautifully composed and toned in strong contrast. The whole piece is shot in black and white, which adds a lot to the feeling of tension and suspense created by the mystery. Also the fact that the ending is left open, a typical Haneke trait, is a stroke of genius. I'm sure everyone that watches it will have a very strong feeling about who they personally think was behind the 'mysterious happenings' and why, so it makes a very good talking point. The one flaw, in my opinion? Casting. Christian Freidel isn't good looking enough to be a main man, and often I was distracted from the storyline or the beauty of the composition by thinking 'My, but that's a bulbous chin' or 'Goodness, what a truly ugly man'. 4.5/5
#3 - LAW ABIDING CITIZEN
Stars - Gerard Butler, Jamie Foxx, Christian Stolte
Director - F. Gary Gray
Memorable Quote - 'If Clyde wants you dead, you're dead.' also, '...Or I kill everyone.'
Review - Once again, a film that fulfills my wish for criminal intelligence! Too often are the bad guys also the dumb guys, but this movie completely reverses that. Not only does it create a mastermind who can seemingly kill anyone from anywhere (sort of like Death Note's Kira), but it also creates an interesting good/evil question, blurring the line beyond recognition and asking us, the audience, to find it again. And the truth is, while you do feel a little for Foxx's clear underdog, you know that Butler's anger is justified. Perhaps not justified enough to allow him to kill a whole parking lot of court officials, but still pretty justified. A satisfying film with what is perhaps a slightly unsatisfying ending, given that you do empathise with Butler - but then, the American dream can't allow a criminal mastermind to reach the end alive, even if he is a victim himself. 4/5
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