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Psycho (1960)
8.5 Hitchcock's best.
Psycho is a1960 film about a secretary called Marion who steals a large sum of money from her boss. She hides out at a secluded motel just off the motorway. There she meets the awkward owner Norman Bates, who at first seems like just a nervous yet lovable desk clerk but after some failed attempts at flirting with Marion he reveals himself to be a murderer when , in the most iconic scene s
he stabs her to death. After this unexpected turn the film follows Marion's boyfriend Sam and sister Lila as they track down Marion and try to understand and capture Norman Bates.
I loved this movie. Having seen Rear Window before this and finding the first half quite boring, I was expecting this film to be the same : especially as it's not in colour. Never have I been so excited to be wrong. I was incredibly impressed by Psycho. After the first bit of setup and introduction this film had me incredibly invested in the story and atmosphere. I won't delve into too much detail about he plot, but Hitchcock did a very impressive job of making the audience understand and be fully invested in such a complex story. Anthony Perkins performance was the best I have ever seen and the ending monologue by him was eerie, disturbing and exciting. -LK
Gladiator (2000)
8.3 The quintessential modern roman epic of betrayal, war and bloodlust.
Gladiator is a very interesting film as it exceeds so well in some areas such as set design performance and CGI. Yet it fails quite badly with some of the dialogue being too unrealistic and/or too formal for viewers to empathise with the speaker.
Putting dialogue aside this film astounded me. The set design was astonishing : Scott creates such an immersive world around the characters. From the blood soaked battlefields to the sprawling Coliseum, this film is absorbing. Even from a minor set such as Marcus Aurelius' house, the effort Scott clearly put in to set design and production is very evident.
Alongside that both Crowe and Phoenix give very convincing performances that certainly match the quality of the production.
Overall, while the at times the dialogue is a bit lacklustre, the visual dynamics paired with some incredibly convincing performances and a majestic Hanz Zimmer score make it plain to see why this film is held in such high regard.
City Lights (1931)
8.4 A truly timeless masterpiece.
I only chose to watch City Lights to tick it off on a list. From the release date I expected it to be some old fashioned fuddy-duddy "hey watch it mister!" bore. But right from the opening scene my expectations were shattered, When the film opened and I saw Chaplin asleep in the statues hand I actually laughed, audibly! If a film made in 1932 can make a 13 year old laugh in the year 2020, then I think it's safe to say this a truly timeless film.
Palm Springs (2020)
7.0 A very clever rom-com.
I planned to watch Gladiator tonight but I honestly couldn't be bothered as it's around 3 hours and quite heavy. So I remembered that Andy Samberg had a new film out so I thought I'd watch it for the "How I met your mother" , Judd Appatow feel I was looking for. I watched it and was pleasantly surprised at how clever what could've been a very simple rom-com turned out to be.
Intouchables (2011)
Charming but ...top 50 films of all time?
8.0
Intouchables is a film about a young black man who becomes the carer of an older man who is extremely rich.While the plot is relatively simple the film was incredibly charming. It made me laugh multiple times and could also achieve a very melancholy mood. While it told the basic story as best it possibly could I don't believe it deserves to be rated than films like Cinema Paradiso and Casablanca.
The Emoji Movie (2017)
Pure bliss.
Ever sincethat fateful day on July 28th my life has changed eternally .70% of my time awake is devoted to watching this as everything else I do is immensely boring and sad compared to the genius that is ,Emoji.
Whiplash (2014)
The camera movement!THE EDITING!THE MUSIC!!!
Wow, stressful, thrilling, captivating and ultimately satisfying. From the very moment Whiplash begins I was instantly both terrified and gripped by that opening drum solo. Within five minutes of the film I felt I knew everything about Andrew. Unlike Sergio Leone this film uses up every second of its runtime to tell its story. I won't go through the whole plot but musical numbers play a big part in the story , and while people often say "a picture paints a thousand words" I believe a song tells a million. There are many sequences in the film where songs are used to tell the story and I honestly felt I understood what was happening more than if the characters were talking.And nearly as impressive I never noticed when the dialogue stopped and the song begun , it was that seem less. In the final 10 minute crescendo of the film the camera and the editing reach their peak the the camera moved and cut to other shots was nearly as gripping as the music in a way reminiscent of Wes Anderson. This film exceeded my (very high) expectations , as I'm watching it in my challenge to watch the top 50 films on IMDb.
8.5
The Prestige (2006)
8.4 magnificent.
This movie is just magnificent ,every few minutes it had me making theories about the plot "Tesla tricked him!" , "Cutter works for Alfred!" , "he stole the machine!" constantly , this film had me so invested and captivated in what was happening I really felt as if I lived in Victorian London and as if it was my hand that had been shot or that it was me who would never see my daughter again. This film does an incredible job of immersing the viewer. A large component of this movie , and of most of Nolan's , is that there are constant plot twists. Another film with this many twists and ould get convoluted and confusing very quickly but this would does an excellent job of both keeping you guessing and keeping you informed.
Nuovo Cinema Paradiso (1988)
Beautiful ,moving yet uplifting.
Very moving and very good at making the audience feel the emotions they're meant to. While many scenes made me a pang of sadness in my heart (such as Toto not being able to drag Alfredo out of the fire) the overall feel of the film was incredibly uplifting with a smack of melancholy. As well as that there are some absolutely beautiful shots appearing quite often through the feature. I have only seen the theatrical cut but judging by the other reviews I'm glad I did. The ending feels very special as if Alfredo's spirit was spread throughout the town's oeople to say goodbye to Toto.
Rear Window (1954)
Only captivating in the second half.
I went into this movie expecting what I did of Casablanca : a slow , boring ancient movie but just like with Casablanca Rear Window was quite the pleasant surprise. Although the first half can be fairly hard to follow if you don't pay close attention to the dialogue the second half was absolutely captivating. My eyes were glued to the screen as my body twisted into different shapes squealing at Jeff being forced to watch Lisa being beaten. In summation I am glad I paid enough attention in the first half to appreciate the thrill ride that is , Rear Window.