Reviews

One of the reviews on the DVD cover for this film says "Like Hitchcock, only creepier." I have to admit that this, and other comments I've read about the film had me really excited to see it and I was somewhat disappointed by it.

Michael Haneke is certainly no Hitchcock but I don't think he was trying to be. This film is less a thriller and more a study of European class struggles and racial tensions. If the film is read like this it becomes quite a solid and compelling piece of drama.

My favourite part of this film was the production design. The environments really clearly reflected the characters and their lives. Cache is one of those films in which the production design can easily slip under the audience's radar but in which it is actually vital to making the audience feel what they feel and see what they see.

This unmistakably Canadian film is a fantastic first feature effort by Mark A. Lewis. I can't wait to see what he does next. The film features consistently breathtaking framing with a lot of "big sky" that reminds me of Howard Hawks. There is a lot of attention paid to how the audience will relate to the characters through the lens.

The writing is very strong. I recently worked with John Callander on my first short film and he's equally impressive as both actor and writer.

Paul Campbell's performance as Jimmy is terrific. The entire team behind Ill Fated is worth watching closely. I have a feeling that most of them are only at the beginnings of what will be incredible careers.

First, Tilda Swinton was extraordinary as Jadis. She was terrifying yet gorgeous in a way that reminded me a bit of Alice Krige as the Borg Queen. She is an actor with magnificent screen presence which was well-exploited by Adamson. The young talents were all quite good too. Georgie Henley (Lucy) was adorable and William Moseley (Peter) was very strong too.

The photography is terrific. I had to look up Donald McAlpine but I wasn't surprised to find that he also shot Peter Pan and Moulin Rouge which both looked amazing to me. It was just mythic, epic and magical enough to be perfect for the subject matter. I'd very much like to review the BBC's 1988 version because I have a vague idea that Adamson and McAlpine borrowed a couple of shots directly from it which is kind of cool.

I think C.S. Lewis would have been happy with the creature designs and the CG animal characters. They certainly capture the spirit of the words he wrote. It's all about the titanic struggle between the forces of good and evil and in good Christian-fashion, most of what's evil is ugly. Though it's rather obvious what is CG and what isn't they did a good job at making the creatures fit into the world with the actors. Hair and fur are one of the most difficult things to replicate and they had tonnes of it to do here. I think it turned out rather well. A few of the CG shots could have been replaced by puppets or animatronics to give a more realistic look but overall, I was happy with the balance.

The Chronicles of Narnia inspire me. They are collectively one of the greatest volumes ever written in English or any other language and I am thrilled that they are being brought to the silver screen in such a grand fashion. For Andrew Adamson's first live action film this is an incredible achievement. I can't say I loved Shrek but Adamson was clearly as inspired as I by Lewis' writing. It shows in the filmic tribute he has created. Well done.

One final note, the music in the film is wonderful. There seem to have been a few composers involved and they all deserve congratulations. Also, the credits feature a couple of beautiful songs by Imogen Heap and Alanis Morrisette. In a time when I've more or less stopped buying CDs, I can't wait to get my hands on this one.

I don't know how this film managed to slip under my radar until now but I'm very glad I finally discovered it!

So much of the tone, style and imagery of this film has inspired films and television which have been made since. It's certainly a movie designed to mess with ones' mind. This is an intentional device to draw the audience further into the plight of Jacob Singer (Tim Robbins). I don't want to give much away but what you see the first time is never what you will see later.

The FX are genuinely creepy and they aren't that complex. A lot the scariest images and moments in this film are all created in-camera.

The conspiracy elements anticipate the X-Files; especially in relation to the Vietnam War. Tim Robbins gives a convincing performance. He makes Jacob Singer a very likable guy -- the everyman we can relate to and feel for.

The film is rife with Biblical imagery and allusions from the title onwards. There's a lot more to unpack there and I look forward to doing so in future viewings.

I went into this film with high expectations and it didn't disappoint!

Dave McKean is a genius! He has created a film which is an unparalleled amalgam of live action, puppetry, classical and computer generated animation. This is the kind of movie that makes me want to be a filmmaker. McKean is constantly aware of the camera and how best to use it to draw the audience into the world he and Neil Gaiman have created.

The story is a fascinating examination of the self and issues of duality through the lens of the carnivalesque. The film references the mythologies of various cultures to create one of its own. There are some clear links back to Lewis Carroll and Alice's Adventures In Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass and it shares the dark, twisted sense of humour seen in earlier Henson Company films like Labyrinth and Dark Crystal.

The whole film is captivating and visually gorgeous. Within each frame there is so much to see, that, I would guess, even upon dozens of viewings, you'd be seeing new things. The visuals alone would have been enough to make this film nearly perfect but coupled with the frenetic and wacky music it's made even more amazing.

Kudos to McKean and Gaiman for creating a masterpiece that will stand the test of filmic history.

Michael Curtiz has over 170 directing credits, including "The Jazz Singer." Of the films on that list which I have seen, this is my favourite. It's filled with some quite amazing dolly and camera work, the story is fun and the acting is solid.

This story has had a long life. This film, was based on a play. In 1953, it was re-made as a Vincent Price vehicle, "House of Wax" in 3-D. And in 2005, it was re-made again as a teen slasher. The premise is solidly creepy.

Glenda Farrell is hilarious as the young journalist. Her energy leaps off the screen. I guess audiences of 1933 needed quite a bit of comic relief to make it through the rest of this.

Lionel Atwill's make-up is fantastic. It's no surprise that it was designed by a Westmore: Hollywood's premiere make-up family.

This was shot in a two-colour Technicolor process which makes the entire film rather distinctive and moody. The fantastic film noir lighting adds to it as well.

If you can find this, it's a definite must-see! There are so many images and ideas borrowed from it in later horror films it's interesting to see their origins.

Michael Radford's films get better and better. This one is particularly stunning. He's assembled a first-rate cast and crew and adapted Shakespeare's play beautifully.

The art in this film is incredible. It's almost overwhelming to think about designing and fabricating so many period costumes. The locations and sets are superb. The lighting is gorgeous. It's easy to find yourself completely drawn into the world of 16th century Venice by this film.

Al Pacino is a fantastic Shakespearean actor. There are many who say that Americans cannot do justice to Shakespeare but it's not true. Pacino is a master. He understands that Shakespeare's characters are human and thus, is not intimidated by them. These people are more or less exactly the same as we are today and Pacino does a great job of making Shylock speak to a contemporary audience.

This is not my favourite of Shakespeare's works, but this is certainly one of my favourite Shakespeare films.

I love Bruce Campbell and, though I enjoyed this film, it's not his best work as an actor or director.

Kudos to him for finally getting it made after having to sit on it for 20 years before financing was made available. This film is a fantastic example of what can be done by an independent or alternative filmmaker if they work hard enough at it.

The story is kooky and interesting. It's classic B-movie stuff. But, as others have said, Act One is loooong and somewhat boring. Once it gets to Acts Two and Three it's pretty funny.

The photography is not terribly wonderful and the lighting is often super-flat or non- existent. These are probably functions of the tiny budget. When you have a B-movie story and cast I always find that A-movie art and photography make it more entertaining.

What I enjoyed most about this film is that it's a mini-Hercules & Xena reunion: Joseph LoDuca, Bruce Campbell, Ted Raimi and Tamara Gorski. You get the feeling that those shows, for all their faults, really brought people together.

I look forward to seeing Bruce Campbell's next directing effort.

Tim Burton is a master. The direction in this film is brilliant. Some of the shots he achieved are just unbelievable and the character design is remarkable! There were moments when I had to force myself to remember that I wasn't watching actors. The stop-motion processes have become so much more fluid and human than they were in "Nightmare Before Christmas." I'm still puzzled over how they managed to get those puppets to do some of the things they did. This film represents a giant leap for stop-motion. I'm incredibly excited to see what Burton does next with the medium.

Story-wise, there wasn't too much new ground made. Burton's fascination with "the outsider" is further explored here but there's not a lot in the way of new insights.

Some people have complained that the film is too short. I think that feeling arises because the film is so visually amazing that you can't help but want to see more. 90 minutes is still the average length of a film. I guess we've been spoiled by some really excellent films that are a bit longer in the past few years.

Danny Elfman's music is excellent again, but it's not his best work. The songs are not going become as unforgettable as those from "Nightmare" which, I think, will probably always be Burton's stop-motion masterpiece.

The first time I saw this twisted but wonderful little film I was maybe 12 years old. I remember seeing it on television, probably broadcast as a filler after a feature film or something. It made a significant impression on me then and when I watched it again this week, it made an even greater one.

Canadian director, Alison Maclean, has created a wicked little masterpiece with this film. The way some of the shots in this film linger on dangerous moments proves her mastery of suspense. Without giving anything away, Maclean manages to show just enough of certain things to keep them unsettling and creepy.

The film is about obsession and the problems associated with dwelling on some tiny, nagging thing. The protagonist cannot leave well enough alone and so brings the real horror of the film upon herself.

This is definitely one to watch for a great example of how to create suspense.

From one of Canada's premiere commercial directors comes this fantastic little short. It begins by referencing Julie Taymor's "Titus" with a little boy playing with action figures but where Taymor used the image to make a comment about violence, Franchi extends it into a story about the imagination of a child.

It's a marvelous examination of the power of imagination in the vein of "Alice in Wonderland." With barely two lines of dialogue, the film relies heavily on music and well- crafted images to tell its story. It struck a very personal chord with me; reminding me of a childhood spent listening to classical music and dreaming of worlds inhabited by knights, witches and talking animals.

If you can get your hands on this, it's well-worth watching.

I'm right in the middle on this one (rated 5). Technically, it's a beautiful film full of a lot of intense and great imagery. The script and acting, however, leave a lot to be desired.

The production design borrows a lot from things like Tim Burton's "Sleepy Hollow" and 80s fantasy classics like "Dark Crystal" and "Labyrinth." I was so caught up in watching the images and being drawn into this dark world that the comedy they kept trying to infuse was jarring. In fact, there are a couple of comic relief characters whom I wish could just be eliminated.

I was really looking forward to this film. It had fantastic potential and obviously some very talented artists working on it, but it misses the mark.