#1 - IN BRUGES
Stars - Colin Farrel, Ralph Fiennes, Brendon Gleeson, Clémence Poésy
Director - Martin McDonagh
Memorable Quote - 'Ken, I grew up in Dublin. I love Dublin. If I grew up on a farm, and was retarded, Bruges might impress me but I didn't, so it doesn't.'
Review - This film is fantastic both as a comedy and as an action/tension movie. Some moments are pure writing genius - the fat Americans, the dwarf who thinks Farrel doesn't know karate, the blinding with blanks, the fairytale comments - and, best of all, the repeated use of the 'little boy' sequence. All of the characters and their relationships are believable and executed with perfection. Kind of reminds me of RocknRolla, although of course this came first. There's really not a lot I can criticize about the entire thing, to be perfectly honest - it is enjoyable in every part, and you really get attached to the characters so that the final sequence is tense and emotional. A barrel of laughs, also. A very clear 5/5
#2 - SHUTTER ISLAND
Stars - Leonardo diCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams
Director - Martin Scorsese
Memorable Quote - 'Which would be worse, to live as a monster, or to die as a good man?'
Review - Goodness me - isn't it nice when hype surrounds something that is actually worthy of it? This is a nice little work from Scorsese. The storyline is well executed by the way in which it pulls you in and explains and re-explains itself. DiCaprio is, of course, excellent, a true representative of his form, and the supporting cast are also perfect, including the eerily calm Kingsley. The flashbacks sustain the suspense and keep the attention of the viewer with their mystery, particularly as they build up more details and add in other characters. This makes you the lead character instead of the audience, because you have to try and work out whose version of events is the truth. And the ending? Well, interestingly, the line listed above as the memorable quote was not taken from the book, and it is arguably the most important moment of the whole thing. From it, one could infer - and, though it is not my favourite ending, reluctantly, I must infer - that he has come to terms with his crime and rejected his delusion, but cannot bear to live with the memory any longer, and so he pretends to still be under the spell of his own delusion in order to secure the lobotomy. Definitely worth a rewatch in order to catch all the details. 5/5
#3 - ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST
Stars - Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, Louise Fletcher, Christopher Lloyd, Brad Dourif
Director - Milos Forman
Memorable Quote - 'What do you think you are, for Chrissake, crazy or somethin'? Well you're not! You're not! You're no crazier than the average asshole out walkin' around on the streets and that's it.'
Review - Aha, what a classic! Jack Nicholson didn't earn his reputation by taking rubbish roles and performing them badly. No, he got it with films like this one - a perfectly intriguing character play, with an underdog story, a social commentary, and a psychological exploration to boot. What more could you ask for? The plot is both heart warming and heart breaking, as we watch McMurphy come up stronger and stronger each time, cheering on his friends, climaxing in his almost-escape and the mental liberation of Billy Bibbit. Of course, then comes along Nurse Ratched to put the bars back across the window and across Billy, and his death combined with McMurphy's reduction to vegetable status is a double whammy that brings the movie away from the previous excellent humour to a cold, hard dose of reality. If anyone ever thought that treatment of mental patients in the past has been entirely fair and justified, there's this movie and the one above to prove them wrong. The highlight is probably the moment that they go out for a fishing trip, pretending to be professors, and also the moment that Chief first speaks. What a legend, Chief! Well, well. Something not easily forgotten once watched, that's for sure. 5/5
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