Donnie Darko

This is a film about a guy called Donnie. That's about all you can say without starting to get into debate territory. If you've seen it, you'll know why, but if you haven't then you'll just have to accept all my crypticness. Donnie is a little strange, and everyone is aware of this - he takes medication and sees a psychiatrist to try and help him. It's a love story, a science fiction story, a teen story - I think it's just a story: a perfect tale. I recommend it to anyone, whatever sorts of films they like, because it has something of everything in it.
And if you like a good brain-tangler you'll be talking about for days afterwards, this is the film for you! I really enjoyed it, although I began to think it was just strange in the middle, by the end I was really astounded by the complexity of it, which kind of came out of leftfield a bit.

Fight Club

This is a superb film, focussing on Ed Norton's character, who is stuck in something of a rut. Then he meets Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) and he starts to view his life differently. It's not as straightforward a tale as my little synopsis suggests, but I wouldn't want to spoil it for anyone. It's very clever, very well acted and well directed. It looks outside the box. I enjoyed it, although I did see the first half about three times before I saw the second half, and I recommend it highly, as it's thought provoking and must be watched twice, to get all of it.

If you have seen the rest of this website, then it won't be a surprise to you that this is here! I loved the books, and I think these film adaptations are fantastic. Yes, a lot was changed from the book, yes I disagreed with some of the casting choices but overall I don't think anyone could have done a better job. Grima Wormtongue is perfect, Gollum is very well done indeed, all the actors really fulfill their roles - I couldn't ask for more. Great sets, beautiful scenery, all that story without having to read every page...
My favourite character was always Aragorn, and Viggo truly does him justice. Viggo's very male-model handsome normally, but he manages to pull craggy off well. And Stuart Townsend was going to be a BAD choice - seen Queen of the Damned? Sean Bean's portrayal of Boromir actually made me like Boromir; I detested him in the book. It was about time he had a sympathetic turn, and I cried when he died rather than feeling vindicated. The removal of the Crickhollow-Fatty Bolger bit at the beginning is perfectly understandable, it always was a bit long and overinvolved, and they included a lot of the material elsewhere. The removal of Tom Bombadil was also wise, as he didn't serve much purpose except to make the reader understand that not everyone would be corrupted by the Ring. Shame about Glorfindel, but it seems that no one really liked him. It was a shame that Arwen didn't get to frighten the Wraiths off like he did, though. And a big shame she did Frodo's defining moment for him.
I also didn't like Agent Smith as Elrond - he frowns too much and I don't get the impression of Elrond's earth-shattering wisdom, more his deep-seated anger and frustration. Too much eyebrowage I say! He is especially bad in the Two Towers. I'm not convinced by Liv as Arwen either, not because of her acting but because of the decision to do constant close-ups of her. It takes something away from her. Her hair, mostly. There is also the unfortunate matter of Haldir, whom my friends all call Big Gay Elf.
The Return of the King did have too many endings, although all understandable, but it's major diversion from the story that bothered me was the death of Saruman... artistic license went a little mad at that point, although it followed the gist of the book, the film was more comical and gruesome. The Mouth of Sauron was ace though!
So see Lord of the Rings, I say, because it's a good tale from a good set of books and because it's the best fantasy portrayal I've ever seen (and if you don't believe me watch Dungeons and Dragons and the Sword and the Sorcerer).

Moulin Rouge

The Moulin Rouge is an infamous brothel-cum-dancehall in Paris, and the star of the show is the Sparkling Diamond (Nicole Kidman). Ewan McGregor's character falls in love with her, but a Duke has also fallen for her, and has a financial hold over the Moulin Rouge, and therefore over her. It's a love story, and a musical, but the unique thing about it is that the vast majority of the songs are pop songs that already exist. It makes for a nice change because you already know the words and the tune - and who thought Ewan could sing so well?
I love this film, probably because I like songs, but also because it's well directed and acted - the dances are great, although the beginning is very trippy in many ways. The backdrop of the Bohemian Revolution, the two-second cameo by Kylie Minogue, and the fantastic scene where they improvise the plot to a play they haven't written yet all make for a very funny film that's also a real tear-jerker. Funktime even liked it, and he doesn't like 'evil woman' (aka Nicole Kidman) at all.

Now this must be the most underrated movie of all time. It's beautiful. It is set initially in the 1940s, and Tim Robbins plays Andy Dufresne, a banker who is sent to Shawshank prison for killing his wife. The story is narrated by REd (Morgan Freeman), whose voice over is absolutely perfect for the role; slow and warm, understanding and hardy. The film covers Andy's experiences in Shawshank prison over a twenty year period, and is so well put together it's hard to see the seams. Based on the Stephen King story Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, the screenwriter actually took the story and put it into chronological order, then trimmed and tucked it, to make something that is definitely superior to the original.
I could talk about how good this film is for hours. It's not an action film, or a chic flick; it's a good old-fashioned story from start to finish, covering the trials and tribulations of two men struggling to live in a place where they are meant to be forgotten. It also has some of the best quotes in the world and my favourite one by far is:
"You've got to get busy living, or get busy dying."