The Reel Life of Real Life

I like this movie. Navy pilot, Pete Mitchell aka "Maverick", is sent to Miramar Naval Air Station for advanced training. Once inside a jet, he’s daring and fearless. A competition for the award of “Top Gun” aka to be the best of the best, begins which Maverick is intent on winning, vying against Val Kilmer’s character, "Ice". Maverick pursues a romance with civilian consultant, Charlotte Blackwood, while also attempting to determine the mystery behind the death of his father, who was also a very successful and talented navy pilot. I don’t think the characters were developed well enough. I felt sort of disconnected from them all the time. For me, it all felt a bit rushed, and some of the situations were a little clichéd. However, there is certainly plenty of action. In fact the opening scenes immediately throw you into the action. There are some impressive stunts and the special effects are brilliant. I imagine it would have been quite an experience to watch ...

I love this movie. Starring Richard Gere and Debra Winger, it tells the story of Zach Mayo who lives with his alcoholic father since his mother’s death when he was a child. Deciding he wants to make something of himself, he decides to sign up for Naval Officer’s Candidate School with the hopes of attaining his childhood dream of becoming a Navy pilot. However, Zach is cocky and has more to learn than just becoming a navy pilot. But perhaps Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley and Paula, (one of the local girls) can be the ones to turn him into an officer and a gentleman! In ways this film is fairly predictable, really...but you still have to love it. There is quite a bit of focus around the romance between Zach and Paula, pulling the audience along under the pretense of ‘will they-won’t they’...but if you’re not into that kind of thing, it doesn’t dominate the plot line, despite what all the posters suggest. I think it’s supposed to be one of the most realistic portrayals of life...

The scariest film of all time? Hmm...I don’t know about that, but it is by far one of the better ones, and most successful of its genre. Based on the novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty, we have the story of 12 year old Regan MacNeil who lives with her mother, Chris MacNeil, an actress adored by many. Strange things begin to happen, including Regan publically urinating at one of her mother’s house parties. As time goes by, Chris decides to take her daughter to see some doctors, but following extensive examinations and tests, no possible or logic diagnosis can be made for Regan’s self-destructive behaviours. Therefore, as a last resort, the option of having an exorcism is floated. Honestly, the first time I watched it I was bored. Fifty minutes into the movie and all we got was the bed shaking! So by the time we actually got to the “scary” scenes, I wasn’t engaged with the story enough to care about the characters. I was able to understand how it could have gained ...

I really love this movie. Based on Richard Yate’s novel of the same name, and set in the mid 1950s suburban neighbourhood of Revolutionary Road, it tells the story of a young couple with a life that on the outside seems so perfect, but is in fact far from it. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Frank Wheeler, a man who’s spent his years at Knox but wonders if there could be more to life. Played fantastically by Kate Winslet, his wife, April Wheeler, is desperate to escape her mundane lifestyle and hatches a plan to move to Paris where she will get a job instead, but as circumstances change, so does this plan. Kathy Bates also stars as neighbourhood busybody Helen Givings. – It was a real Titanic reunion! Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet’s performances are spectacular. Eleven years after Titanic, it’s a far cry from that romantic tale! There are some dark but powerful scenes. What I like about the film is that we feel for and understand both characters equally so it’s just sad to...

“The Basket Ball Diaries” is based on the autobiography of writer, Jim Carroll, telling of his days as a great high school basketball player and of his gradual descent into drug addiction. Rated 18s the content won’t be everybody’s cup of tea, shall we say...But I think for what the story is about, it’s portrayed extremely well. For this reason, I would say it’s quite possibly an underrated film. We are given a good sense and understanding of the characters before they actually start taking the drugs, so the process is very gradual, which gave so much more impact to the actual descent into the drug usage. We can see clearly where it all went wrong and we feel for the characters because they opened the film with such promise of good lives as they were all very skillful basketball players, but threw it all away. I think it really gets across just how horrible the whole world of drugs actually is in a very realistic and powerful way. What I like about this film too is the...

This is one of my favourite films. What can I say? I absolutely love it. I can watch it again and again and never get tired. It’s just a sweet story. Starring John Travolta, Kirstie Alley and the voice of Bruce Willis, Look Who’s Talking offers a hilarious innovative look at motherhood and romance from baby Mikey’s point of view. There are some very funny moments and humorous lines throughout. In many ways it is, I suppose, a unique kind of fairytale. Mollie (Kirstie Alley) sets out to find the best daddy for Mikey, and...Well, it’s fairly predictable, but you still gotta love it ! I think the music is very well chosen and adds loads to each scene. My favourite scene would have to be the “Walking on Sunshine” scene in which James (John Travolta) is babysitting Mikey and they’re dancing around the apartment and having all kinds of fun. You can’t help but smile. Two sequels were made, “Look Who’s Talking Too” and “Look Who’s Talking Now”, but while I love them too, the...

Paranormal Activity follows the strange and sudden disturbances occurring in the house of young American couple, Micah and Katie. Hoping to catch the unwelcome intruder on camera, Micah very enthusiastically takes on the task of filming their nightly, and day-to-day activities, much to Katie's apprehension. I think this is one of those horror films designed specifically to be watched in the dark. I tried watching the first twenty minutes or so during the day, but I felt myself getting bored from its clichéd perfect-couple-meets-haunted-house-experience. I found by waiting and watching the rest of it when it was actually dark, I was pulled into the story much easier!  It’s a unique aspect to have the whole film done through a home-video style. I really liked that. It made it feel more realistic which served to captivate the audience far more seamlessly. It’s also fairly impressive to be able to have an entire film pretty much revolving around only two characters. I don’...

This is a brilliant film. Based on a true story, the film depicts the life of Frank Abagnale, a con artist who successfully posed as an airline pilot, a doctor, and an attorney...all before his 19 th birthday, as well as cashing more than $2.5 million in fraudulent checks in around 26 countries!  I think it’s the fact that this is based on a true story makes the plot all the more outrageous. It just sounds too farfetched to be true! Directed by Steven Spielberg, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio in the role of Frank Abagnale, and Tom Hanks as the ferociously determined FBI Agent, Carl Hanratty. Both actors are excellent in their roles. Other well-known names such as Christopher Walken, Jennifer Garner, Amy Adams and Martin Sheen also feature. There are some very funny moments. Some brilliant gags. A subtle one in particular that stood out for me was during his time as an airline polite, Frank was called “The James Bond of The Sky”...prompting him to purchase a specific Bon...

I like this film. I think it's good. I felt that as a horror, it’s not so scary, but as a mystery it’s quite gripping. It follows the story of a woman named Marion Crane who steals a large some of money from her employer and stays at a remote motel where she meets the owner, Norman Bates. They exchange pleasant conversation and Norman explains his love of stuffing birds. (Hitchcock liked birds, I reckon). That night however, Marion is brutally murdered – cue the infamous shower scene – and the remainder of the film is her respective friends and relatives getting to the bottom of her murder. It is considered to be Alfred Hitchcock’s best masterpiece. In terms of film techniques, the shower scene is impressive. It’s interesting how amidst all the stabbing, you never actually see any blood because it’s done through a montage of shots. Equally, we only get a quick shot of the stabber’s shadow as they hold up the knife. There is actually no violence as such in this scen...

Here’s a horror film that should have really scared me, because I have Ornithophobia (which is a fear of birds). That’s why I was so eager to see this film because I was certain it would be a sure bet...I was mistaken. I can’t say it’s a bad film...it’s just not a very scary one. I think it’s the lack of music to accompany the scenes. There’s no tension built (I felt); nothing pulling you in, as such. I wonder if Alfred Hitchcock thought the sound of the flapping feathers would suffice on their own. Logic dictates for someone with Ornithophobia, that should work, but ostensibly it did not quite. The story focuses on rich socialite Melanie Daniels, and lawyer Mitch Branner. After meeting in a pet shop, the two end up playing a series of practical jokes on each other; a tit for tat, kind of situation. She pays a visit to Bodega Bay, where Mitch spends the weekends with his mother and younger sister. Soon after her arrival the birds of the area begin acting strangely, attackin...