Film Recommendation - Dead Man's Shoes

★★★★★★★★★

Excellent [For rating system, see information tab at top of blog]

This film is arguably one of the best revenge films ever made. Released in 2004, Shane Meadows utilises his British roots to create a realistic and gripping story that renders the audience fixated.

A somewhat underrated film, the story follows Richard, a solider returning to his hometown in Middle England to exact revenge on the thugs that bullied his disabled brother. He plays sinister games with the gang before brutally 'executing' them one by one, disguising his psycopathetic nature with vengeance for his brother. 

Dead Man's Shoes owes it's success to two major factors; Shane Meadows directional style being the first. His writing incorporates knowledge of England's gentle rural landscapes with a darker culture beneath - thus creating a rather ironic but beautifully shot film. His style is both perfectionist and realistic, and this is apparent in every aspect of the film. It is the attention to detail that brings each of the characters to life on screen, effortlessly making the audience relate and empathise.

The second successful component within Dead Man's Shoes is the choice of cast. Each one of the characters is perfectly performed, generating a screen ensemble that is exceptionally natural and realistic, which is vital for this type of film. If the characters are not believable, how can the audience relate? 

Dead Man's Shoes - A exceptionally well made, casted and performed film; sinister, gripping and disturbing. Truly one of my favourite films.

Behind The Scenes....

A collection of interesting behind-the-scenes photos from famous and popular films, both past and present. Click the images to enlarge and browse:

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

 

Iron Man

The Dark Knight

 

Pulp Fiction

Jaws

E.T.

 

Star Wars

The Avengers

Inception

Godzilla

Sesame Street

Tron

Alien

Back To The Future: Part III

Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows Part Two

Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows Part One

Superman

Leon: The Professional

The Hunger Games

Rocky

Terminator 2: Judgement Day

The Terminator

The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring

Indiana Jones & The Temple Of Doom

The Muppets 

The Shining

Django Unchained

Titanic

[Classic Film] Number Seven - The Shining

Trailer:

Information:

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★

★

★

★

★

★

★

★

★

★

A Masterpiece Of film [For rating system, see information tab at top of blog]

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Release Date: 23rd May 1980
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Director: Stanley Kubrick
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Writer: Stephen King (Novel)  Stanley Kubrick & Diane Johnson (Screenplay)
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Cast: Jack Nicholson - Shelly Duvall - Danny Lloyd

Famous Quotes

1) 'Here's Johnny!'
2) 'Come play with us Danny'
3) 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy'
4) 'Hi, Lloyd, little slow tonight, isn't it?'
5) 'You son of a bitch! You did this too him, didn't you! How could you! How could you!'
6) 'I'm not going to hurt you...I'm just going to bash your brains in, i'm gonna bash them right the fuck in'
7) 'I'm sorry to disagree with you sir, but you are the caretaker...you have always been the caretaker'

Explanation
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'The Shining' is arguably one of the most famous horror films of all time. Released in 1980, it is an impressionistic take on one of Stephen Kings most successful novels, and is now considered to be one of the corner stones in the history of horror cinema. 

Its Narrative follows a family of three that travel to an isolated hotel for the winter; whilst their psychic son witnesses horrific images from the hotel's past, an evil entity possesses the father and causes him to become violent. 

The film is unconventionally frightening; it is not typically full of suspense, but still very disturbing. As you are watching you find yourself gripped to the unpredictability of the main character and his mental deterioration, as well as chilled by the various surrealistic scenes, usually driven by the son in the family. 

There is very little of a negative nature that can be said about 'The Shining', but three things stand out in particular that make it so effective; Stanley Kubrick's unique 'dreamlike' directional style, A chilling soundtrack and a completely ‘demented’ performance from Jack Nicholson. It is these traits in particular that combine to make the film haunting; a horror that stays with you long after you have watched it, playing on your imagination and lingering in your thoughts. 

The one aspect of the film that is questionable is the performance of Shelly Duvall which is often irritatingly hysterical, even comical on occasion. However this does not affect the overall quality of the film, as this performance could be said to contrast well with that of  the manic Jack Nicholson, and in some ways makes his character more intense and frightening.

'The Shining' - A classic that every film enthusiast must see.  Unique, gripping and haunting. 

Awards
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Oscar Wins:

N/A

Oscar Nominations:

N/A

BAFTA Wins:

N/A

BAFTA Nominations:

N/A

Golden Globe Wins:

N/A

Golden Globe Nominations:

N/A

*The videos used in this post are not mine*

Blog Update

I'm going to be taking a week off to focus on some imminent university assignments, will be back on the 14th of November with my reviews for 'James Bond: Skyfall' & 'Sinister' as well as film recommendation posts, box office stats and film news & trailers.

Thanks, 

FilmDebate,

Adam Snowden

[Review] - House At The End Of The Street - 22nd October 2012

★

★

★

★

★

 - Average [For rating system, see the information tab at the top of blog]

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Release Date: 21st September 2012

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Director: Mark Tonderai

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Writers: David Loucka (Screenplay) - Jonathan Mostow (Story)

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Cast: Jennifer Lawrence - Elisabeth Shue - Max Thieriot

Review

After the success of 'The Hunger Games' it is no surprise to see Jennifer Lawrence expanding her filmography. Her latest project: 'House At The End Of  The Street' - a horror film co-starring Max Thieriot and Elisabeth Shue.

The film follows Jennifer Lawrence playing Elisa, a head strong teenager who moves into a new house with her mother (Elisabeth Shue). They soon learn that the neighbouring house has a dark past; the scene of a murder where a young girl killed her parents. Elisa befriends their surviving son (Max Thieriot), and begins to learn that the story is far from over. 

One of the most important criteria that a horror film has to meet if it is to be successful is a unique and unpredictable narrative. If the audience can guess the ending then the enjoyment is removed - with 'House At The End Of The Street', this was addressed effectively. The narrative is well written and keeps the viewer guessing, while it is not particularly unique in storyline, the manner in which the film was written provides a refreshing change from the 'standard' horror structure we have come to expect from modern cinema. Without wishing to spoil the film, it also contains a clever twist at the end. 

In terms of performances, the leading actors deliver. While there is nothing particularly demanding of each role, the actors never the less produce believable and realistic performances. The screen chemistry between Lawrence & Thieriot is particularly effective, which aids the narrative in its unpredictability.

Having said this, 'House At The End Of The Street' does have a significant downfall. As previously mentioned, the narrative of the film is good. However, as the most important objective for any horror film is to do the obvious; scare the audience, unfortunately, in this aspect 'House At The End Of The Street' disappoints. The film simply does not contain enough suspense, and where it does exist the focus is more on the generation of tension than scaring its viewers. Its narrative is driven by the main character, Elisa, and the success of the film partly depends  on the audience having more knowledge of events than this character. Due to this, the film does develop tension, as the audience knows what Elisa does not, but if a horror film uses this trait effectively it must build upon this tension effectively to create fear in order to scare – sadly this is where 'House At The End Of The Street' fails; it simply isn't frightening enough. 

Furthermore, while technical features of  lighting and camera work are acceptable, the film has an issue with sound and music. As it is vital to get this right, particularly in a film of this genre, here the sound used seems almost rushed and constructed in a lacklustre manner thus failing to generate the appropriate atmosphere. 

'House At The End Of The Street' - an acceptable film, but in terms of suspenseful horror, simply not frightening enough. 

[New Trailers] - 12th October 2012

Click the links for the trailers, if you know of any other recent film trailers leave a comment and I will add it to the list:

New Teasers:

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The Canyons

New Trailers: 

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Holy Motors

The Sessions

Gangster Squad

Alex Cross
Flight

Django Unchained

Silent Hill: Revelation 3D

Hitchcock

The Flat

Zero Dark Thirty

The American Scream

[Review] Ted - 3rd October 2012

★

★

★

★

★

★

★ - Good [For rating system, see the information tab at the top of blog]

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Release Date: 1st August 2012
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Director: Seth Macfarlane
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Writers: Seth Macfarlane - Alec Sulkin - Wellesley Wild
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Cast: Mark Wahlberg - Mila Kunis - Seth Macfarlane

Review

The eagerly awaited 'Ted' has finally reached our screens, and the film proves to be a fine addition to Seth Macfarlane's growing list of comic projects.

There is just one thing you need to consider when deciding to go and see 'Ted' - Do you like Macfarlane's comic style? His influence in the film is so obvious that avid fans of 'Family Guy', 'American Dad' or anything else that he has created will enjoy 'Ted' immensely.

The storyline follows John Bennett, who as a child was granted the miracle wish of owning a living teddy bear. Twenty-seven years later, the bear, Ted, remains at his side, but problems begin when John's girlfriend starts to demand more from their relationship.

The narrative structure of the film is simple, it moves in a cause and effect chain that naturally lets the comic scenes and dialogue flow through the characters. The film is not exceptional in its direction, editing, cinematography, sound and music which are all adequate, but one does not look for perfection in these traits for a film like 'Ted', you accept them for what they are provided the film is not badly constructed. 'Ted' it is simply a film made in Seth Macfarlanes inimitable style.

'Ted' did contain one or two obscure scenes that seemed too contrived and perhaps a little ridiculous, however this is to be expected with Macfarlane's influence, one only has to look at 'Family Guy' to notice that he does favour the unusual at times. 

Ultimately it is the clever writing that makes 'Ted' so comical - The dialogue in the film is natural and jokes flow quickly through the characters, resulting in a very good, appealing screen chemistry. As with Macfarlane's animated exploits, the comedy is crude and borders on the controversial but remains unique to his style, independent, and welcomed change from the sea of 'slap-stick' 'scream-at-each-other' comedies that are becoming all too familiar.

As a big Seth Macfarlane fan, I thought 'Ted' was very comical. If you like his style, and Television programs such as 'Family Guy' or 'American Dad' then I would recommend it - I just wouldn't recommend watching it with your Grandparents.