Reviews

Not so long ago, I was involved in a debate to decide what the best film of all time was. Not necessarily my favourite or the most re-watchable, but just the best film. Somehow, after a drink, a few arguments and a lot of contemplation, I singled out The Silence of the Lambs. The question remains though... was I actually onto something?

The Silence of the Lambs follows agent-in-training Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) who is desperate to apprehend the serial killer Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine). To try and help her gain insight into the mind of a psychopath, the aspiring agent must consult the genius, yet sinisterly manipulative psychiatrist turned cannibal, Doctor Hannibal Lector (Anthony Hopkins). From the very first scene, Silence of the Lambs' genius is obvious. During the opening credits, with eerie music displaced on top, the camera follows Clarice, with almost stalker-like intent, as she completes a training course in an initially empty forest. This immediately founds a cruel feeling of fear, dread and unease that continues to build throughout the film... though there are noticeable spikes during any visits to the film's most infamous character.

Hannibal Lector - "A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti."

The Silence of the Lambs is one of three films in history to win the big 5 awards at the Oscars (best picture, actress, actor, screenplay and director) and the reason for those wins is thanks in large part to every and any scene involving Clarice's interaction with the eponymous Hannibal Lector. Imagine, Heat's diner talk, The Dark Knight's interrogation, or The Godfather's meetings. This is the level Silence of the Lamb's interviews are at. With closeups of both characters faces capturing their psychological chess game in exquisite detail, both actors are at the top of their games and refuse to provide respite for their entranced audience. Jodie Foster perfectly encapsulates the intelligent, ambitious yet emotionally delicate Starling who along with Anthony Hopkin's now iconic portrayal of the psychopathic Lector create a pairing so iconic that their interactions have been parodied to no end (references range from The Batman to Stranger Things to even Tom and Jerry).

Hannibal Lector - "And what did you see, Clarice? What did you see?"

Clarice Starling - "Lambs. The lambs were screaming."

Commonly touted alongside Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley as one of the all-time-best movie heroines, Jodie Foster's Clarice Starling is an icon. Whilst this is largely down to the captivating performance at the heart of the film, another crucial reason is how the director (Jonathon Demme) frames our protagonist. Throughout the film, the camera will occasionally position itself in Clarice's point of view. This means that whoever Clarice is talking to (serial killer or otherwise) will often stare directly down the lens and thus directly at the audience. This allows viewers to become a pseudo-psychologist themselves and deduce the intentions and thoughts of multiple characters in Clarice's periphery. Furthermore, this technique also forces audiences to identify with Clarice, as she navigates a case that, due to her age, gender and position, involves all eyes being on her.

Jack Crawford - "Starling, when I told that sheriff we shouldn't talk in front of a woman, that really burned you didn't it? It was just smoke, Starling. I had to get rid of him."

Clarice Starling - "It matters, Mr Crawford. Cops look at you to see how to act. It matters."

Thankfully, to match the astounding performances at the heart of the film, The Silence of the Lambs bolsters a captivating, quick-paced and unbearably suspenseful story spread across a 2-hour runtime. By using the conversations with Hannibal almost like beginnings of a chapter, the film signposts where the story is heading, without giving any of its delicious twists away. This feat is even more impressive as Lector himself is only on screen for 24 minutes and 52 seconds, yet the pacing is so exquisite that his absence is never truly felt. Furthermore, the hunt for Buffalo Bill serves to keep both the audience and Clarice on their toes. By drip-feeding revelations surrounding Bill's psyche and own particular brand of horror, a sense of trepidation, tension and terror is expertly raised throughout the film. This then reaches a crescendo where, after a clever misdirect, Clarice finally confronts Bill in what has to be one of the most suspenseful battles ever put to screen. Does anybody breathe when the lights turn out?

Clarice Starling - "He won't come after me."

Ardelia Mapp - "Oh really?"

Clarice Starling - "He won't. I can't explain it... He - he would consider it rude."

With a haunting score, powerful performances and exquisite pacing, The Silence of the Lambs personifies everything a psychological thriller should be. It is thematically rich, touching on overt and covert sexism, childhood trauma and the philosophy behind serial killers all while brimming with endlessly quotable dialogue, a lightning-fast pace and iconic characters. Honestly, I doubt many could argue with The Silence of the Lambs' status as both a classic for its genre as well as the medium of film as a whole. However, although not everyone may agree with it being the best film of all time, after a rewatch, I'd willingly fight anyone who claims it isn't close.

Many thoughts here so this might be a bit incoherent.

Firstly, Andy Serkis is a great villain, though when his whole plan is unveiled at the end it does get a bit boring, but he sells the role brilliantly

As a Londoner, I loved seeing my city on the big screen and that sequence in Picadilly Circus is breathtaking and definitely the highlight of the film

Hahaha I love how even in a frozen wasteland Luther refuses to wear anything other than his coat and tie to keep warm!! That's dedication I admire!

Surprisingly nice cinematography at times, very awkward special effects at other times.

Shenk survived!!

Idris Elba lit the screen up even in the most tedious of scenes

Whole community of wanna-be serial killers is a very tired idea done very weakly here which is a shame....but

Hahaha yaaaassss, if Idris Elba can't be James Bond, then John Luther definitely can be!!!

"There are no two words in the English language more harmful than 'good job'"- J K Simmons as Fletcher in the 2014 film Whiplash giving sentiments that would have been shared by his Black Swan counterpart, Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel). Yet to further the comparison that Whiplash is a jazz-based repeat of 2010s Black Swan would be a disservice to both cinematic masterpieces. Both take the theme of "the drive for perfectionism" and run very different courses. Whiplash looks to focus on the bond between a student and their teacher, whilst Black Swan dives down a more introspective route: the relationship between each and every version of yourself.

Natalie Portman stars as the quiet yet committed ballerina Nina who is selected for the lead role in a dramatic, new performance of Swan Lake. Although perfect for the delicate and innocent White Swan, few, including artistic director Leroy, believe she can embody the sensual and beguiling alter-ego, the Black Swan. As Nina struggles to embrace her well-hidden darker side, she is constantly challenged by her over-bearing mother (Barbera Hershey) as well as being threatened by the rivalry from new ballerina Lily (Mila Kunis).

Nina Sayers - "I just want to be perfect"

It is no secret that this is the role that won Portman her Oscar. What a performance! She effortlessly embodies the physicality of a ballerina as well as portraying a character so initially dainty that you feel she could shatter into a thousand pieces at a moments notice. This comes across in her performance alone, regardless if you consider the training completed or the weight she lost for the role. Furthermore, when Nina's darker side comes to the fore, Portman seamlessly navigates every part of Nina's disintegrating psyche. This results in an extremely impressive feat that very early into the film, you stop seeing "Natalie Portman as a ballerina", you just see Nina. And what a character to behold.

Alongside an awe-inspiring performance and some very subtle, yet ingenious uses of special effects, Black Swan's secret weapon comes with its sound design. This is a horror film. A psychological horror, but a horror film nonetheless and the sound design knows it. Whether it is the sound of joints and muscles moving or merely the adjusting of pointe shoes, the sound effects are raised above the ongoing soundtrack and dialogue causing underlying dread for the most mundane of actions.

Thematically, Black Swan is an exceptionally rich film. With the world of ballet as its anchor, the film navigates multiple themes including that of the duality of the societal view of women, the transition from girlhood to womanhood and the effects of abuse and harassment as well as many more. However, the drive for perfection permeates throughout Black Swan, and I would argue that it achieves that lofty claim in the form of its third act. Just wow. Masterfully building on the tension and plot threads laid throughout the film, the third act becomes a crescendo of music, dance and horrifying revelations. Like an astounding episode of TV that has been seasons in the making, the third act is so jaw-droppingly fantastic that as soon as the credits rolled I rewatched the final 30 minutes just to experience it all again. Phenomenal! "I felt it, it was perfect".

You may be cool, but you will never be Jason Momoa holding a gold trident, riding a kraken (voiced by Mary Poppins), surrounded by an army of man-sized piranhas, charging at his half brother, also holding a silver trident, riding a Tylosaurus, surrounded by an army of sharks, all while a war between giant crabs and giant seahorses rages below, with Willem Dafoe watching cool.

A sequel to Ridley Scott's iconic sci-fi horror Alien? Sounds like a recipe for disaster! However, despite everyone, including lead actress Sigourney Weaver, having doubts, James Cameron and a crew of unruly Brits with undying loyalty to Ridley Scott managed to do the impossible and actually pull it off!

Aliens picks up with Sigourney Weaver's 'Ellen Ripley' 57 years after her first encounter with the eponymous Alien. She and her cat 'Jones' are found in hypersleep and immediately the genius of Aliens shines through. With a slideshow of her dead crew playing behind her, Ripley despairs as the upper management of Weyland-Yutani dismiss her claims of a supposed horror-inducing alien being on LV-426 because a colony site (Hadley's Hope) has happily lived on the planet for over twenty years. However, almost inevitably, the colony then ceases contact causing Ripley and a rag-tag group of marines to go to Hadley's Hope and investigate.

Ripley - 'You're going out there to destroy them, right? Not to study. Not to bring back, but to wipe them out?'

For an Alien film, it is shocking that no 'Aliens' appear until literally one hour into the carnage. However, this does not matter as, alongside an early and disturbing dream sequence, James Cameron draws out our fear, dread and tension by expertly placing Ripley as our surrogate. The audience is Ripley. We despair at the over-confident marines. We roll our eyes as they show off their muscles and guns. We exude prejudice toward the android 'Bishop' thanks to the actions of his Alien counterpart. As such, exacerbated by a deafening soundtrack that also utilises equally deafening silences, we the audience, alongside Ripley, become the embodiment of fear, dread but also determination upon the return to LV-426.

Hudson - 'Game over man! Game over!'

One risk that comes with having multiple 'aliens' is that the initial threat of the creatures is subdued resulting in them more closely resembling cannon-fodder instead of an actual antagonist. Thankfully Aliens avoids this trope by imbuing an impressive amount of variety to its action. Whether it be a dramatic tank-based escape from the hive, a claustrophobic attack by facehuggers or a firefight followed by a chase through air vents, every action set-piece works to progress the story, increase stakes and force the characters to adapt to new situations. Although the special effects have not aged especially well (particularly any scene involving the shuttle taken to reach LV-426), the set design, puppetry and costume design remain practically flawless. Thus, it allows the intended tension and suspense for these scenes to remain firmly intact.

Newt - 'They mostly come at night... mostly.'

Despite an intriguing story, strong direction from James Cameron and a recognisable brand supporting it, Aliens could have easily fallen into obscurity if not for the strong performances by all involved, multiple iconic lines and a script that is far better than it has any right to be. This all culminates in Sigourney Weaver's Ripley. What. A. Legend. Not only is she intelligent, capable and fierce, she also feels human. Her dread towards returning to LV-426, her quick, logical thinking and her motivation to protect a child all help to make her easily one of the most identifiable characters in all of cinema. Nowhere is this more apparent than when she gears up and descends into the Xenomorph hive to rescue Newt. With no words, Weaver shows fear, composure, intelligence and sheer bloody determination. No wonder she got nominated for best actress! Then, in an almost perfect parallel to Ripley, answering the question we didn't know we had of 'where do the eggs come from?' the Alien Queen is revealed in all her puppet-based glory... and cinema magic was made.

Ripley - 'Get away from her you b***h'

Aliens is a rare type of film. It was not a cash-grab. It respects its predecessor and provides a continuation that feels natural and earned. It delivers a commentary on Vietnam and a brutally accurate depiction of corporate greed all while providing intense thrills, iconic characters, and endlessly quotable lines. Testament to the film's quality is proven as when dated effects do appear, you simply do not care! An achievement I doubt many of today's blockbusters will claim in 35 years' time.

The third entry into Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's Cornetto Trilogy, The World's End is commonly seen as the weakest chapter of the three, usually being overlooked in comparison to its cult classic brothers. Despite this however, The World's End is the one I return to more frequently than the others and initially, it is difficult to see why.

Out of the three, Hot Fuzz is the greater (good) film. All the jokes land, the action is relevant to the story, the characters are iconic, and the plot is intriguing for a first watch and only gets better with each subsequent viewing. Shaun of the Dead is the funniest, with so much parody-based humour mixed with original ideas that even thinking about them puts a smile on my face (ie: The Plan). The World's End doesn't reach the comedic heights of Shaun of the Dead (the fence gag being a huge missed opportunity) and the story involving a robot (sorry err, blank?) invasion while certainly engaging, is wrapped up poorly in my opinion. So, was it naïve to believe that The World's End could match the greatness of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz? Almost definitely. However, it is my belief that The World's End earns its place in the trilogy and deserves to be viewed on parr with its two counterparts.

My first source of reasoning revolves around Edgar Wright, the trilogy's director. What a genius! If you have seen any Edgar Wright film you will know that there are few who can match his energy, pacing and eye for detail, and all of that and more is on full display in The World's End. This is exemplified in a frantic pre-titles montage giving us not only an introduction to our protagonists, but also a summary of the film's events before they have even happened (yes this also happened in Shaun of the Dead, but it's fully realised here with Wright recreating numerous shots from the montage). This level of detail continues throughout the film with everything, from one-off lines, to set designs, to even clothes hinting at what is to come or calling back to something prior. But this is all classic Edgar Wright, so how do we know The World's End is not Starbucksing itself and just copying what came before?

Well one aspect Wright definitively changed was the action. Before Mission Impossible 6, The World's End probably had the greatest fight scene ever... to take place in a bathroom. The action is gritty, fluid and stylised whilst also being used for character development and occasionally comedy (ie: Gary struggling to down a pint during a Blank onslaught but stopping only to protect a friend). Furthermore, with the music keeping time and the camera weaving around individual character skirmishes, it all feels like Wright practising for Baby Driver a few years later. But action isn't everything and besides, Hot Fuzz can arguably rival The World's End's action with its final shootout. So why do I re-watch The World's End more than the other two?

The answers are in the characters. It appears that both Wright and Pegg put in great effort to make each of the 5 musketeers well-rounded and at least somewhat relatable characters. Each have their own mini arcs, with Oliver starting shrewd only to later enjoy himself and life (and then get brutally mulched and replaced). Pete who remains anxious and avoids conflict at all costs, who, upon facing a childhood bully, gets a cathartic and violent release (but is then also brutally mulched and replaced). Then also Steven who finally escapes self-comparisons to Gary and gets the girl of his dreams (and as a bonus, doesn't get mulched!). However, the real stars are Pegg's Gary King (his best performance to date) and Frost's Andy Knightley. The duo is at their most beautiful and heart-breaking best here. This is exemplified with scenes such as Andy, the smartest of the group, risking his life multiple times in an effort to save Gary and show that despite what's happened in the past and present he still cares for him and will follow him to the end of the world to prove that. Then there is Gary who although initially appearing to be a narcissist, ultimately is revealed to be the most human of them all. Throughout the film, he withholds his reasoning for bringing everyone back to Newton Haven until the end where Andy discovers the suicide attempt and stands there in shock as a distraught Gary reveals that the start of his life never happened. That it never got better than that last night as teenagers and any help he received belittled him, effectively causing him to revert back to his youth, relive the past and feel free again - "They told me when to go to bed!".

I must have re-watched The Worlds End at least once a year since 2013. It's not perfect. As stated before, the resolution to the Blank story, while thematically appropriate, feels weak, but regardless the blanks serve well as antagonists and driving forces for our leads. But that criticism does not matter as upon each re-watch I have come to identify more and more with both Andy and Gary. Their relationship feels real. They act as two sides of the same coin, further proven by Gary's revelation which forces you to re-evaluate his actions in a new light. The theme of wanting to relive events in your past is a wish that so many have and through that theme and their bond, The World's End elevates itself to become more emotional, rich and cathartic than the rest of the Cornetto trilogy. As such, over time I hope it gains the appreciation it deserves.

I knew nothing of The Hunt, though I was surprised to have never heard of it. It had gained strong reviews, Mads Mikkelsen was the lead and it had been nominated for many awards including an Oscar. That was all I knew, and I am glad that was all I knew, which is why, though I don't discuss details, I have said the review contains spoilers.

The Hunt is a haunting film. It brutally attacks the very nature of the court of public opinion. Mads Mikkelsen plays Lucas, a nursery carer and father who is accused of a crime the audience knows he did not commit. However, whilst Lucas is the focal point of the film, the actual message of The Hunt lies with the town that shuns, condemns and attacks Lucas for his alledged crimes. Though I obviously cannot speak for anyone, I can guess that most people who have read/ seen a news story of a crime has made a snap decision over whether a suspect is guilty or not. I know I have. I also know I have done so with next to no knowledge of the crime. Yet therein lies the cruel, ultimately human, nature of our judgements.

The Hunt forces viewers to rethink that judgement and does so to full effect. It's further helped with camera work taking a documentary style approach, commonly starting with still frames before zooming in on characters as they react and deliver their lines. This further grounds the film, planting the audience in the seemingly lovely danish community. This is further sold by every actor in the film. This ranges from Mads Mikkelsen himself giving a more heartfelt and emotional performance than he usually provides, to even the child actors who manage to give convincing enough performances to spread doubt into the characters and even the audience.

The Hunt was a surprise. It is an important film and unfortunately an unrecognised one due to it being, for the most part in, danish. However, with a beautiful performance from Mikkelsen, a unique story that has rarely been explored and one of my favourite final scenes i've seen for a while, it is definitely one to look out for.