Black Swan (2010)

One of the most anticipated films of last year, it follows the beautifully tortuous world of one ballet dancer as she tries to maintain her balance in one of the most pressurized and gruelling industries in the world.

Director Darren Aronofsky is one of the most interesting directors currently on the scene. Having watched his stunning movie The Wrestler (2008) and fallen in love with everything about it, my expectations were extremely high for this follow up.

Natalie Portman plays the talented ballet dancer Nina Sayers, who is on the verge of becoming the newest star in her company’s production of Swan Lake. However, Nina experiences extreme amounts of criticism and pressure from all angles. First of all, her mother who seems to hold an undisguised grudge against her daughter, after she had to give up her career as a dancer to raise Nina. Secondly, the company director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) who constantly harangues Nina for not portraying the black swan perfectly, and who also pushes Nina both professionally and personally. And thirdly, the rest of the company: girls who eagerly compete for the leading role, and who will do anything for success.

However, as the story progresses it becomes clear that not all is what it seems. Nina’s life becomes a confusing regiment of ballet drills, disturbing dreams, and a fellow dancer called Lily (Mila Kunis) who seems determined to scheme against her. The paranoia and hallucinations become more extreme with every development, as the finale approaches.

An expertly made film, one that is uncompromising in its vision and bold in its direction. Aronofsky is unrelenting with his moments of toe-curling horror which contrast well with the film’s cultured context. Portman is astounding in her role, a performance well deserved of its accolades. And both Cassel and Kunis provide excellent support throughout, tackling some extremely difficult scenes with artistic merit.

Not a film for anyone expecting a cheery film about ballet dancing, this is a film delving deep into a troubled mind and a world of anguish. However, if you appreciate filmmaking, directorial brilliance, and amazing performances it is definitely worth a watch.

No 2 on the “List” - COMPLETED

Flight Plan (2005)

Panic Room meets Snakes on a Plane as Jodie Foster has her child stolen whilst aboard a flight from Germany to the U.S.

From the trailers this film intrigued viewers, it has a tense plot, an interesting premise, and a decent cast, but there was a worrying doubt that it would look more like the latter of the films aforementioned. Luckily, this is not the case, Flight Plan is a fast-paced thrilling movie that is full of action and suspense.

The story is of mother bringing the body of her husband back from Berlin for burial. With her is her traumatized daughter who is terrified of everything, especially flying. Once in the air, the mother goes to the bathroom and returns to find her daughter missing. Her pleas to flight staff fall on deaf ears when it is revealed that her daughter is not on the flight’s manifest. And when pilot Sean Bean does some research and discovers that her daughter apparently died with her father, the situation…excuse me…takes off!

A great film that entertains from beginning to end. It does not let off at any point, and Foster is brilliant in her role (albeit very similar to the role she played in Panic Room). The plot is somewhat unbelievable, but they piece it together well.

An enjoyable “journey” for anyone afraid of planes, abduction, bio-terrorism, or ghosts.

Cujo (1983)

At number 28 on my list of films to watch, comes a film based on the Stephen King novel about a rabid dog who terrorizes a small town.

When Cujo, a dog from a nearby farm, contracts rabies from a bat bite, he slowly transforms from a friendly St Bernard, into a demon dog from hell. He kills anyone around him by mauling them to death, and attacks anyone in the nearby vicinity. When an unsuspecting mother and son arrive trying to get their car fixed by the mechanic (who has recently been killed by Cujo), the two end up trapped in their broken down car trying to fend of the ferocious canine.

It is a thriller/horror with a simple story, one which I’m sure would have been really scare in book form, or even watching the film twenty years ago, but now it seems awfully tame. Also, the filming is extremely dated, and does not stand up with modern horror films.

The most impressive part of the film is the dog. Everything is real, there is not CGI, so all the stunts involving the dog were actually performed, giving the film some considerable ammunition. The back story of the family is not really developed in the movie, and the issues about the dad’s business trouble, and the mother’s affair seem relatively undeveloped.

A simple storyline that has failed to impress. With none of the, excuse me for this, “bite” I was expecting, a rather lacklustre start to the 50 Films List.

50 Films I Must Wactch 2011

Dear avid readers,

It is that time of year again where I make a list of 50 films I must watch. This list was born when I was fed up of being in those conversations where people talk about films that I have not seen. So I made a list of a load of films that always seemed to come up, that I had not got round to seeing.

This new list has the same purpose, and has materialized from people's suggestions, my own choices, and those from other top 50 or 100 lists. Over the coming months I will endeavour to watch, and of course review, these films in the hope to expand our collective knowledge of them. ENJOY:

1. Paranormal Activity
2. Black Swan
3. Dances With Wolves
4. The Social Network
5. The English Patient
6. The Passion of the Christ
7. Once Upon a Time In America
8. Aliens
9. Bullitt
10. This Is England
11. The Town
12. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
13. The Hills Have Eyes
14. Requiem For a Dream
15. The Wicker Man
16. Raging Bull
17. The Crying Game
18. The Bridge on the River Kwai
19. Sophie’s Choice
20. Waterwold
21. City Of God
22. Solaris
23. Lord Of War
24. Rosemary’s Baby
25. Rear Window
26. Dawn of the Dead
27. North By Northwest
28. Cujo
29. Metropolis
30. Hostel
31. Mr Smith Goes To Washington
32. Kramer Vs Kramer
33. Rebecca
34. The Killing Fields
35. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
36. The Breakfast Club
37. Trainspotting
38. The Karate Kid
39. Gone With The Wind
40. Chasing Amy
41. The Grapes of Wrath
42. Halloween
43. The Graduate
44. The Evil Dead
45. The Exorcist
46. A Nightmare On Elm Street
47. Ed Wood
48. Ben-Hur
49. Midnight Cowboy
50. The Searchers

The Watchmen (2009)

A cinematic treat based on one of the darkest, and most influential comics of all time.

From director Zack Snyder comes a film that takes the comic-book film genre, and turns the lights off it. The characters are darkly flawed, the city makes Gotham look like Eden, and the story is a complex labyrinth of deceit and corruption.

A group of crime-fighting costume lovers find themselves being hunted by an evil killer, and they must find their pursuer before nuclear war between the USA and the USSR comes to fruition. The film takes place in "modern" America, but one that's whole history has been rewritten. The Watchmen have been their for decades, and changed important events, so now the fate of the world lies in their ability to prevent nuclear war.

The infamous Dr Manhattan, a glowing alien genius is the nuclear deterrent for the Americans, Rorschach is a masked cynic in the Watchmen, Adrian is a business giant, and there are others in the team who are curiously skilled, with extraordinary character profiles. A truly remarkable team of heroes.

The film is an amazing feat of filming prowess that uses modern techniques with vintage effects. The soundtrack is expertly chosen, using some amazing songs from the USA. A vibrancy seems to flow throughout this film, and the colours are part of this impressive collage, which demands a good television set.

Negatives are: it is quite long and a bit complicated, but for the most part it is just an epic film with amazing fight sequences, gripping story telling, and a script worthy of such a treasured graphic novel.

The Hills Have Eyes II (2007)

A sequel, to a remake, of a classic horror film - it was always doomed to fail.

Having watched the first remake quite recently, and enjoying it, it seemed appropriate to watch the follow up film: The Hills Have Eyes II.

It is an unworthy successor to The Hills story and characters, full of unlikeable victims, irrational plot developments, and a script which is downright laughable. The story this time is of a troop of rookie soldiers who go to the infamous sector 16 (the Hills) in order to deliver some equipment to scientists doing work there. Once they arrive, however, there is not a soul in site, apart from a voice over the crackly radio and a light signal in the distance. The troop then split up and go on a search and rescue mission, unaware that it is them who will need rescuing.

Throughout this film, the main characters are annoying. Most viewers will cheer for the disfigured killer beasts of the hills whenever they manage to catch one of these teenage pin-ups and rip their head off. The opening scene, of a woman giving birth to one of these creatures, is particularly gross and scary, but that was as bad as it gets. From then on it was a predictable formula of stupid people doing stupid things, and getting killed as a consequence.

The film lacked the emotional pull that the first remake had with the family. You simply do not care enough about these characters.

Don't waste your time, get a real horror film on the go.