The Reel Life of Real Life

Rating: PG Genre: Comedy, Science Fiction & Fantasy Directed By: Rod Daniel Written By: Matthew Weisman, Jeph Loeb In Theatres: Aug 23, 1985  Runtime: 92 minutes Studio:  Atlantic Summary: Before there was the TV Series there was this little treasure… When secondary school nerd Scott Howard (Michael J. Fox) learns from his father, Harold (James Hampton), that being a werewolf runs in the family, he decides to take advantage of his freakish trait. With his newfound strength and agility, Scott quickly becomes the hero of his school's basketball team while winning over his crush Pamela Wells (Lorie Griffin). As he grows more popular, Scott worries he is being celebrated as a novelty rather than for who he is.     Review: Ey-yey-yey-yey-yey… What can I say about this movie? There are…no words. There were moments I had to ask myself what I was watching. But you know what, at the end of the day, it’s very light-hearted and j...

Rating: PG-13 Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance Directed By: Cameron Crowe Written By: Cameron Crowe Released: December 13 th , 1996 Runtime : 138 minutes Studio : TriStar Pictures Summary: When slick sports agent Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise) has a crisis of conscience, he pens a heartfelt company-wide memo that promptly gets him fired. Desperate to hang on to the athletes that he represents, Jerry starts his own management firm, with only single mother Dorothy Boyd (Renee Zellweger) joining him in his new venture. Banking on their sole client, football player Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.), Jerry and Dorothy begin to fall in love as they struggle to make their business work. Review: This is a great film. Warm, funny, well-rounded; It has something for everyone.  Tom Cruise is a great lead. He embodies the character with wonderful charm and charisma. Opposite him we have Renee Zellweger playing the love interest. Immediately smitten with Jerry ...

Rating: PG-13 Genre: Action, Mystery & Suspense Directed By: Wes Craven Written By: Carl Ellsworth Released: Sept 2 nd , 2005 Runtime: 85 minutes Studio: Dreamworks Summary: In the wake of her grandmother's funeral, hotel manager Lisa Reisert (Rachel McAdams) is waiting to fly back home when she meets charming Jackson Rippner (Cillian Murphy) at check-in. She thinks it luck that they're seated together on the plane, but soon learns otherwise. Jackson hopes to assassinate the head of Homeland Security, but to do so, he needs Lisa to reassign the official's room number at her hotel. As insurance, Jackson has kidnapped Lisa's father (Brian Cox). Review: This came on the TV recently and I unintentionally ended up watching the entire thing. I got really sucked in. It starts off all very innocent (well, this in itself may add to audience’s suspicions) but then the mood shifted in the subtlest way possible and in doing so created chi...

Rating: R:15 Genre: Drama Directed By: Mike Nichols Written By: Patrick Marber Released: January 21 st , 2005 Runtime: 103 minutes Studio: Sony Pictures Summary: Based on a stage play written by Patrick Marber. Alice (Natalie Portman), an American stripper who has moved to London, meets Dan (Jude Law) on the street. While looking at him, a taxi hits her. After taking her to the hospital, Dan begins dating Alice. A year later, Dan -- who has written a novel about Alice -- is bored. He flirts with photographer Anna (Julia Roberts). Pretending to be her in a chat room, he leads dermatologist Larry (Clive Owen) to an accidental meeting with Anna. As the years pass, both relationships disintegrate. Review: This has to be one of the most depressing films I’ve watched in a while. The film itself is not depressing as such, (well?) but the events that take place and the ideas it seems to want to get across are overtly cynical. If you believed everything ...

Rating: R:15 Genre: Drama, Mystery & Suspense Directed By: Christopher Nolan Written By: Christopher Nolan Released: September 5 th , 2000 Runtime: 116 minutes Studio: Newmarket Films Summary: Leonard (Guy Pearce) is tracking down the man who raped and murdered his wife. The difficulty, however, of locating his wife's killer is compounded by the fact that he suffers from a rare, untreatable form of memory loss. Although he can recall details of life before his accident, Leonard cannot remember what happened fifteen minutes ago, where he's going, or why. Review: This is a very complicated film. (As a lot of Christopher Nolan's films are!) Until you know the ending then you realise it maybe wasn’t all that hard to follow after all. Maybe that’s the case with all these kinds of films? It jumps a lot through time, none of the events that take place happen logistically on the timeline. Some events we see twice either from a different ang...

Rating: R:15 Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance Directed By: Charles Shyer Written By: Charles Shyer, Elaine Pope Released: November 5 th , 2004   Runtime: 105 minutes Studio: Paramount Pictures Summary: British-born ladies' man Alfie (Jude Law) exploits his job as a New York City limousine driver to meet and sleep with attractive women -- which infuriates his pseudo-girlfriend Julie (Marisa Tomei), a single mom. His libertine lifestyle is interrupted, however, when his girl-crazy ways end up hurting his best friend, Marlon (Omar Epps). Desperate, Alfie attempts a go at monogamy with the ravishing Nikki (Sienna Miller), but even her good looks aren't enough to keep him out of trouble for long.  Review: This film started off very well. I liked Alfie’s continuously breaking the fourth wall in more or less every shot. Like all films that break the fourth wall it makes the film much more engaging.  However, half way through or so into the ...

Rating: R:15 Genre: Drama Directed By: Gus Van Sant Written By: Ben Affleck, Matt Damon Released: December 5 th , 1997 Runtime: 126 minutes Studio: Miramax Films Summary: Will Hunting (Matt Damon) has a genius-level IQ but chooses to work as a janitor at MIT. When he solves a difficult graduate-level math problem, his talents are discovered by Professor Gerald Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgard), who decides to help the misguided youth reach his potential. When Will is arrested for attacking a police officer, Professor Lambeau makes a deal to get leniency for him if he will get treatment from therapist Sean Maguire (Robin Williams). Review: I absolutely loved this film.  It’s such a touching story with very well rounded characters. While it would be wrong to say there was any great story arc as such, there are little moments, and lots of little things that make up one big thing. Much like life. It’s only when you look back you realise how far y...

Rating: PG-13 Genre: Classics, Comedy, Drama, Romance Directed By : Billy Wilder Written By: Billy Wilder, I.A.L. Diamond Released: June 15 th , 1960   Runtime: 125 minutes Studio: United Artists Summary: Insurance worker C.C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon) lends his Upper West Side apartment to company bosses to use for extramarital affairs. When his manager Mr. Sheldrake (Fred MacMurray) begins using Baxter's apartment in exchange for promoting him, Baxter is disappointed to learn that Sheldrake's mistress is Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine), the elevator girl at work whom Baxter is interested in himself. Soon Baxter must decide between the girl he loves and the advancement of his career.  Review: I really enjoyed this film. It was sweet. I find the premise of the plot that people keep wanting to use Baxter’s apartment a little odd, it’s home, why or how did he end up giving into them all so much? How do they all seem to know or think they can ...

Rating: R:15 Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller Directed By: David F. Sandberg Written By: Gary Dauberman Released: August 11 th , 2017 Runtime: 109 minutes Studio: New Line Cinema Summary: Former toy maker Sam Mullins and his wife, Esther, are happy to welcome a nun and six orphaned girls into their California farmhouse. Years earlier, the couple's 7-year-old daughter Annabelle died in a tragic car accident. Terror soon strikes when one child sneaks into a forbidden room and finds a seemingly innocent doll that appears to have a life of its own. Review: I’d heard very good things about this film since its release which I found intriguing since I heard very little regarding the other films in the Annabelle/Conjuring series. I watched The Conjuring a while ago and honestly didn’t think a whole lot of it, so I was curious to see how this faired. Was it really as good as all the hype seemed to be promising? I decided to give it a go.  It star...

Rating: R:15 Genre: Drama Directed By: James Bridges Written By: James Bridges, Jay McInerney Released: 1 st April, 1988 Runtime: 110 minutes Studio: MGM Home Entertainment Summary: In this adaptation of Jay McInerney's novel, Jamie Conway (Michael J. Fox) moves from small-town Kansas to New York City to work at a magazine. However, a number of things are making him miserable: He would rather be a writer, his wife (Phoebe Cates) has left him and his mother (Dianne Wiest) has recently died. So he takes to partying with his yuppie friend Tad (Kiefer Sutherland), abusing alcohol and cocaine. But he quickly finds himself becoming more and more dependent on drinking and drugs. Review: This is one of my favourite films. I’ve watched it a number of times now. The first time I watched it, I found it so bizarre. I went into it not really knowing what to expect. The fact that it was about a writer struggling with writer’s block and that it starred Mich...

Rating: PG-13 Genre: Horror, Mystery & Suspense Directed By: Alejandro Amenábar Written By: Alejandro Amenábar Released: Nov 2 nd , 2001 Runtime: 105 minutes Studio: Miramax Films Summary:   Grace (Nicole Kidman), the devoutly religious mother of Anne (Alakina Mann) and Nicholas (James Bentley), moves her family to the English coast during World War II. She awaits word on her missing husband while protecting her children from a rare photosensitivity disease that causes the sun to harm them. Anne claims she sees ghosts, Grace initially thinks the new servants are playing tricks but chilling events and visions make her believe something supernatural has occurred. Review: I just watched this again last night for the umpteenth time. I always forget how good it actually is. Without doubt definitely one of the best horror movies I have watched. It gets you right from the start, never gets boring, never wastes too much time on anything and keeps yo...

Rating: R (for strong violence and language, and for sexuality) Genre: Drama, Mystery & Suspense Directed By: Curtis Hanson Written By: Curtis Hanson, Brian Helgeland In Theatres: Sep 19, 1997 Runtime: 138 minutes Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures Summary:  Three policemen, each very different and each with his own motives, tackle the corruption surrounding an unsolved murder at a downtown Los Angeles coffee shop in the early 1950s. Directed by Curtis Hanson, and starring Russel Crowe, Kevin Spacey, Guy Pearce, Danny DeVito and Kim Bassinger. Review:  There are so many big names in this film. And each one plays their part brilliantly. I loved the opening scene. I loved the narration by Danny DeVito, the images of the old movie stars and iconic people to come out of Los Angeles. Russel Crowe looks so young. I barely recognised him. I also really like how each of the three policemen are introduced one by one and then become interconnected. ...