An unsightly masochistic celebration of gruesome violence, or provocative social commentary on the drudgery of the materialistic, consumerist environment in which we are now forced to live? "Fight Club" asks a number of intriguing and openly honest questions about the state of our society, but never offers a clear-cut answer - which is in no way a bad thing. When so many films pass us by after viewing, Fincher"s gutsy thriller sparks an electric mark on topical discussion and leaves a searing scar on the brain; it is in no way conventional and refuses to conform to generic construction, or even a basic morality play. Even if you believe the film is only a showcase for extreme violence wrapped in glossy and deceptive packaging you can"t say it is like anything you expected.
"Fight Club" is now considered a phenomenal cult-hit, mesmerising audiences back in 1999 despite failing to wow a number of critics. It"s all too easy to blame films depicting such grotesque imagery for the rising levels of violence in society, but if you look closer Fincher in no way stamps his approval on the character"s behaviour. He doesn"t quite reprimand it either, but his visceral approach to the highly topical and somewhat sensitive issue means the psychological degeneration of various individuals is imminent. Jack, Tyler and all who join them unleash aggression though this primal method for that ultimate, incomparable high, yet none find solace through such conduct. It is a positive nod to the films true subtext that the screenplay follows such a path; not the unfortunate mistake of a picture attempting glorification of fight and bloodshed.
Brad Pitt delivers a memorable performance, but the show belongs to a Norton. He plays Jack as that sarcastic, irritable bloke you probably know somewhere, and gently turns him into a man searching for feeling in a life of static, of vacuum. In Durden Jack sees everything he desires to be, a man who inspires fear and admiration but mostly acts as a forceful catalyst for change. Norton also boasts an actors dream in his own self-abuse scene before his shocked and bewildered boss. It"s a credit to him and a scene-stealing Helena Bonham Carter that "Fight Club"s razor-sharp script finds just the right tone for some ironic black humour and outwardly hilarious moments.
It is, however, Fincher"s bold and innovative direction for which "Fight Club" will be most revered. He knows how to hint at a secret but always keep it well concealed, and shocking revelations will demand a repeat viewing. Only then can a viewer truly appreciate the seemingly offbeat tangents and moments of expert writing that offer more profound answers, plus the poetic ending that doesn"t sell out on "Fight Club"s deeper philosophies for yet another, ultimate bust-up.
But "Fight Club" is not a masterpiece. Although it is never less than compelling it often borders on the repetitive, and the underlying message is always in danger of being lost in the testosterone-fuelled displays of human brutality that work on levels of pure adrenaline. It remains a gruelling yet unique cinematic experience, and always has plenty to say. Do we criticise the sterility of our society and blame it for the most horrifying human actions, or accept that times have changed and feeling can be found without resorting to bloody violence that disgusts the majority? Ironically, our repulse is founded in instinct too, so the paradox remains an unsolved dilemma, of which "Fight Club" is a stimulating and exhilarating examination.
Jack (Edward Norton) is an office employee bored with his repetitive lifestyle. Through a chance encounter with soap salesman Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) the pair set up an underground "fight club" to deal with repressed male aggression, which soon spirals out of control to become a global organisation.
The Simpsons Movie is like one long episode of the TV series, not that this is a bad thing. The jokes are frequent, and the graphics/animation is a lot better than the usual stuff on the TV episodes.
All in all it's a good film, however to me, it's one of those films where you feel you have already seen the best bits in the trailer. But still definately worth a watch, if not a couple!
Author and screenwriter Lynda La Plante has created and written some of the best dramas to come out of ITV in the past 20 years. In my opinion, Prime Suspect is right there at the top. Not just on top of La Plante"s many well written series, mysteries and characters, but at the top with the best television dramas ever to be made. Of course, Ms La Plante cannot get all the credit for the phenomenal success of this series. Much praise must be given to Dame Helen Mirren, who made the character of Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison so believable, and acted her with the highest degree of acting talent, that we began to appreciate Tennison as a real person. This may sound slightly strange, but the same goes for Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes, David Suchet as Poirot and John Thaw as Inspector Morse. These great actors become their character completely. In this rather stylishly packaged boxset, we get the entire series from 1991 to 2006 featuring (as the box boasts) 15 episodes. Although this may not seem much for a "complete collection" set (considering many American shows have 24 episodes in just one series), it does show that less is more, and by keeping the series to the occasional two-parter ITV avoided diluting the quality. The final few episodes are a co-production between ITV and American corporation WGBH Boston (who also produced Cranford, Bleak House and Lewis). The only criticism I would have with this must own box of truly excellent drama is ITV DVD"s decision to join the two part stories together to make one feature-length episode. This joining results in some episodes reaching a running time of over three hours, which, although top quality throughout, is quite a big ask in terms of sitting down and watching.
THE WILD is a fantastic follow up animation to Madagascar and held our 4yr old grandsons attention for the whole film (along with our own - surprisingly).The storyline is basically father lion (Samson) upsets his young son (Ryan) who then runs away from the zoo that they live in.Ryan goes to sleep in a truck and then eventually ends up in the jungle (the Wild !!) with father and a really funny bunch of fellow zoo friends (giraffe,squirrel,koala and snake) in hot pursuit.The "rescuers" manage to arrive in the same jungle and then battle with various adversaries to rescue Ryan. A thoroughly enjoyable,fun film for ALL ages.
The film is absolutely brilliant. I saw it at the pictures twice and would have gone again! To see Meryl Streep in this kind of role is great. It just shows what a diverse actress she is. Julie Walters is brilliant, as always, and the three guys are good too. I especially liked Stellan Skarsgard. I thought he did a great job. Pierce Brosnan's singing is not as good as the others, but it does not detract from the film or make it any less enjoyable. A definite must-see for anyone, especially mothers and daughters. We've not had a film like this since Grease. I say, lets have more of them! It's funny and uplifting. A definite feel-good film.
Everybody loves a good family film and The Mighty Ducks falls straight into this genre. The film about a pee wee hocky team who is Coached by Gordon Bombay (Emilio Estevez) a lawyer who is addicted to winning, This film released in 1992 was a favorite of mine as a kid as I replayed this so many times that Vhs Wore out, and was thrilled that it had been released as a DVD, even though the DVD offers very little extra features this is still a great DVD. The film is great just to watch and very enjoyable and doesnt get old at all. The Film Portrays a great build of relationship between the hocky team and Gordon Bombay, espacially between Gordon and Charlie Conway (Joshua Jackson, you know the guy from Dawson's Creek) the relationship grows through out the film. Other members in the Hocky team which make this film more enjoyable and hilarious are Greg Goldberg (Shaun Weiss) the GoalKeeper and Lester Averman (Matt Doherty) who is the real jokester of the film. Overall this film is very good and fun to watch. I recommend this to any family who is just looking for a great film to watch with the kids. Highly Recommended!
So much controversy, so much speculation. This film did cause a stir when The Weinstein Company released it last year. In a fictionalised version of the relationship between gay artist Any Warhol and life lover Edie Sedgwick, Director George Hickenlooper shows how the fast rise to fame can have splintering effects. Controversy debates aside, Sienna Miller gives an amazingly touching performance as the socialite doomed to live a life that craved fame and fortune greater than oxygen and health. In Millers eyes we see pain, desire and enjoyment in one kaleidoscope of emotion. This type of top class acting comes in useful when playing such a complex character such as Edie, helping the viewer befriend her as the film goes on. There is no glass division between the audience and characters in this film. We see them in raw clarity. All parts of Edie"s life are handled brilliantly, including her sexual relationship with the mysterious Mr. Billy Quinn (we have reached the controversy) and her harrowingly portrayed heroin addiction (that's the speculation part). Hayden Christensen is bland and unbelievable as Quinn, the harmonica tooting musician, but this is the film's one and only fault, a fault that does little damage to an already glittering array of talent. The bitter sweet ending is perfectly balanced and poignantly acted (another talent of Miller), and once viewed remains etched on your mind. The whole film requires to be viewed more than once, if not only to see the many skills of Sienna, but also to marvel at Guy Pearce's controlled but startling turn as the unpredictable Andy Warhol.
Although this small budget Spanish/UK co-production has many faults, there still remain echoes of intrigue and suspense. In Alex De La Iglesia's screen adaptation of Guillermo Martinez's prize winning novel, we are introduced to a different Oxford than the one we see in Inspector Morse. Iglesia doesn't linger on dreamy spires or parchment coloured architecture. Oxford's concinnity has gone, and is replaced by a claustrophobic style of film making, where snappy camera work and an unfathomable plot keep us on our toes. The gravel tones of John Hurt open the film, as he gives a lecture on the relationship between mathematics and truth. His ramblings make little sense, but what is more interesting is how the plot engineers together Elijah "Frodo" Wood and grumpy Hurt. The student/mentor partnership is soon realised, especially when they join forces to hunt down a code obsessed killer. This is when the film is at its strongest, but unfortunately the water turns murky when themes such as madness, homosexuality, personal gain and, above all, maths are introduced. There are very little University scenes, and all the shots of Oxford look grey and dull, making you think to yourself "I'm sure the sun shines more in episodes of "Lewis"". The plot seems to unravel itself as it goes along, making the ending surprising but causing elements of confusion to dampen any potentially stunning revelations.
I love this show. The girls' drama and glamour make for addictive viewing. The Hills is well made and cleverly filmed, and the music they use throughout is chosen to match with the mood of the unfolding story.
There have been rumours of scripting and faked scenes, but personally, even if this were true - I wouldn't care! It seems so real and you get swept up in the Los Angeles life that it doesn't matter.
An ultimate treat for escaping real life - watch as Lauren and her friends Heidi and Audrina go through college, partying, first jobs and boyfriends in the heat of the LA sun.
This is a reality show based around Lauren Conrad and her friends who live in LA. Lauren grew up in Orange County and this series follows her move to the city and her struggle with life, work and love!!
John Singletons's masterpeice begins with background shots of bullet riddled Reagan/Bush 84 posters and fades to children's drawings of their enviroment.
Tre the lead character who the story revolves around is an intelligent boy lacking direction.Furious(Tre's Father) takes up his care and education.
Choices made by the players in their portrayal of residents of South Central Los Angeles result in their convoluted lifestyles.
What stands out most for me is Furious speech on Gentrification,skilfully played by Larry Fishburne.
The lack of employment or further education evident for most of the people portrayed and is a waste of talented lives where so much is possible.
What remains from this movie is a rich tapestry of the most vibrant and at the same time emotive of the choices made throughout the photoplay .10/10
Coming of age drama.
The US president(William Hurt)is attending an anti-terrorism summit in Spain and becomes the target of an assassination attempt.
Shots are fired and bombs detonated in and around the outdoor arena where the leaders & hundreds of onlookers are gathered.
The presidents secret service team lead by agent Barnes(Dennis Quaid) immediately swings into action to try and apprehend the attacker.
We are shown the same events unfolding from several different viewpoints and it soon becomes clear that sinister forces are at work and not all is as it seems.
Plenty of thrills and spills ensue including a memorable car chase scene toward the end of the movie.
Solid performances from main characters Hurt,Quaid and Matthew Fox(Lost) and good supporting roles from Sigourney Weaver & Forrest Whittaker.
Overall- a unique way of telling a story seen from differing 'vantage points'-
A compelling action/thriller which has its fair share of twists & suspense to keep you entertained.
WARNING: This is not a realistic film. Please be aware you may bounce up and down in your seat with glee while watching this.
Based (extremely loosely) on the hugely enjoyable comic book of the same name, Wanted is your basic transformation story of Average Joe into Hard-as-Nails Assassin Joe. James McAvoy plays the aforementioned Joe with great enthusiasm, and is the most inspired piece of casting since Bruce Willis in Death Becomes Her. You utterly believe that such a comedy wimpy underling could be transformed into an uber assassin. His American accent is also flawless (to my English ears, anyway). Angelina Jolie plays his mysteriously sexy sidekick, appropriately named Fox. And her performance is, well, foxy. In that supernaturally foxy way of hers which means you can"t quite believe that she"s a real person and not some computer generated Sprite of Perfection. Morgan Freeman is the head of the assassin group and McAvoy"s mentor. Unfortunately he once again turns in a gently lazy performance; for once it would be nice to see him take a role that actually makes him flex his acting muscles, as opposed to coasting along, keeping himself afloat on his general charisma. If you know the director, Timur Bekmambetov of Nightwatch and Daywatch, you will recognise his visual flair straight away; and you may also spot a couple of familiar faces from his Russian action films; namely Konstantin Khabensky as The Exterminator (sweet man with bomb rats) and Dato Bakhtadze as The Butcher (portly yet rather expert knife fighter). Bekmambetov has a unique, sometimes breathtaking style that has breathed new life into the action genre and given it a sense of crazy, visceral fun rather than the hammy tongue-in-cheek stuff regularly churned out by Hollywood. There is absolutely no pretence whatsoever at realism in this film, which is a good thing. It"s so cheerfully outlandish that it becomes amusing rather than tiresome, while the graphic displays of blood and guts keep it adult rather than cartoonish.
Be warned, however, that if you are a fan of the original comic book you will barely recognise the film; think of it as "inspired by" rather than "adapted from". Despite this, the creator of the comic book has given the film an enthusiastic thumbs up; it"s good to see he"s not precious about his work and can appreciate a re-imagining. This is perhaps a bit of a shame, since the comic book storyline had some elements to it that could have added a far more interesting dimension to the film. This is, however, a small complaint. What the film wants to do, it does brilliantly; it"s a high octane blood-drenched froth of guts and guns. The best action movie for years.
Minder on the Orient Express is Fantastic, it is one of the best and funiest films i have ever seen it's a typical Minder but some how even better, it is very unexpected!
The film of a life time, it never gets boring!
This is a really effective and easy to follow DVD
After doing it about 5 times I know all the moves really well.
If your not so fit you can build up to more difficulty.
If you are quite fit this will get your heart racing.
After one month of doing it about 2-3 times a week I would really see the differance in my shape - my arms, stomach, legs and bum were really toned and in addition my fitness level was
massively improved, I went from going bright red and needing a drink every five mins to doing this workout all the way through without stopping and then going for a 3 mile job. I have all of the Rosemary Conley DVDs and this is the easiest and most effective. It also has terrific music - go for it
Happiness,Terri Fletcher has life in the palm of her hands. She's got a great family, a best friend , a part in the choir and a brother who loves her.Plus shes just sent off to be a part of a music program in la.However her Dad disapproves so her brother gets in an argument with him and gets grounded. So when Terri gives him concert tickets they have to sneak out ,the concert was great but on the way home they get in to an accident and she survives but he doesn't .
She blames herself and has hit rock bottom.
Sadness, since her brother died she hasn't been able to put her heart into anything.She learns that she's been acccepted into the music program but has to be persuaded to go as she has to lie to her dad to get there.
Once she is there she has to battle to keep her placement as she falls behind. Will it all be too much for her ?
This dvd is so moving and fabulous at the same time it really is original and fun .
Mode is so fabulously chic and so high fashion,when someone like Betty, a Queens girl with braces,glasses and fizzy hair comes for an assistants position and gets the job the high class fashionistas from Mode are not happy.Especially when she makes a big splash at mode. Will the magazine be the same again?
i loved every moment of the muppets christmas carol.the muppets take the the story about evil scrooge and the 3 ghosts who haunt him in to a funny and enjoyable movie plus its excelllent for all ages.this film is definatly one of the best i seen .
I have thoroughly enjoyed all the seasons of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps. Like the others this is another hilariously fantastic season of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps but i think this is by far the best season in my opinion.
Gavin and Stacey has to be one of the best comedies to come out of the 21st century by far. All the characters being fully three dimentional and each of them having factors about them that we love, and can relate to, which is a factor that makes this comedy a step above the rest.
Two completely different worlds colliding through two friends forming a relationship really gives the opportunity for some classic moments and one liners. Brilliantly written by James Corden (Fat friends) and Ruth Jones (Fat Friends, Little Britain) each episode brings a smile to your face and forces you to sit and watch the whole series.
A well known and loved cast brings this series to life which includes Matthew Horne (Catherine Tate) Joanna Page (love actually) Alison Steadman (Fat Friends) Larry Lamb (Essex Boys)and Rob Brydon (The way we live now). This is a fantastic comedy and is a highly recommended purchase.
Another time traveling animation from the series that never quits. The collector maniac Ash Ketchup and his faithful companion Pikachu travel to yet another town to battle yet more new pokemon. Who seem to be more powerful than the last ones they battled and yet they look remarkably familiar to pokemon in the other nine films. Although some minor changes in appearance to try and distract any children watching.
The plot is pretty familiar and just as weak. With the town being in danger and only Ash and his pikachu (and any one else who happens to tagging along with them) to save the world. Team rocket also appear which pointless to the plot. I mean they've tried in the lat nine films to catch rare pokemon and failed averytime. Are these the sort of role models we want for our children? I think not.
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