Reviews by SJMJ91

Why do people hate this film? The Weather Man is actually one of the smartest, funniest and also one of the most heartbreaking films as well. By seeing the front cover of the DVD and poster of The Weather Man seems like a very bizarre and unique film but it isn't at all to be fair. I really liked this film in almost every aspect but they one thing that was slightly flawed about The Weather Man was that it didn't really have deep involvement regarding the weather and comparing how unpredictable life is just like the weather. I mean, it had that but not that much. The Weather Man teaches about life in a different way like I've ever seen before. This time it's about not being able to predict or guess what your life is going to be like.


Nicolas Cage hasn't delivered a great performance since The Weather Man which is why I think Nicolas Cage hasn't done a great film since then. David Spritz is a middle aged man who is a weather man for the Chicago TV. His personal life is very complicated because he is divorced and has two young children who are in mixed problems of their own. His son Michael is getting himself involved with his counciler but he is a paedophile and that becomes rather hard him David's life. Also, he younger daughter is 12 years old and she smokes and she is very overweight. He always tries his best to fix things but fails most of the time which does become pretty funny but you also feel sorry for him.


Gore Verbinski has tried to create a film that is very new to the films he has done before especially Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl. He does bring the comedy into The Weather Man as he did in Pirates Of The Caribbean. He is really good at creating films for pure entertainment. Verbinski hasn't done that many films but they have been good films which is what Pirates Of The Caribbean trilogy and The Weather Man are.


This is Nicolas Cage's third best film so far after Adaptation and Matchstick Men. I haven't seen his Oscar-winning performance in Leaving Las Vegas just yet but will very soon. Gore Verbinski's best is obviously Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl. The Weather Man is a film that I cannot understand why people hate it which makes it underrated.

Wow! What a great adventure this film really turned out to be. This film has a lot of twists and turns between the characters which affects the whole story. This film was really well made because it is like a mixture of different genres. It has action within it, obviously adventure, quite a bit of drama and it was a rather tense story as well. Films that I can describe similar to The Treasure Of Sierra Madre are Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Dances With Wolves, The Maltese Falcon (which also stars Humphrey Bogart), The Asphalt Jungle and There Will Be Blood. It is similar to those but in different ways. The Treasure Of Sierra Madre is a classic adventure that goes beyond words. It is one of those stories that a lot of people would love because of the beautiful settings and the really adventurous story but some people might not because they either aren't into classics or don't like Humphrey Bogart very much. This is one of those classics that isn't complex and isn't like a political film. It is an epic, action-packed, thrilling adventure with really cool characters like the Indiana Jones quadrilogy. I don't know how to explain this but I would call The Treasure Of Sierra Madre but I wouldn't call it a western. I would because it is a story in the mountains and they're after gold and also because they wear cowboy hats. On the other hand, I wouldn't because it is a story that is set up in a few ways like Dances With Wolves which makes it similar.


Humphrey Bogart delivers another outstanding performance as Fred C. Dobbs with a very powerful and threatening sort of character because all three men were going to use each other to betray each other and earn the gold for him. Walter Huston was definitely the best performance in the whole film as Howard because he was a nice guy but seemed like a bit of trouble because he acts quite sinister in quite a few scenes. They all team together to fight off the bandits when searching for the gold. I really liked Tim Holt as Bob Curtin as well. They all bring a really powerful and deeply interesting three way combination that brings together a series of twists and turns between them.


The son of Walter Huston, John Huston directed this film in a huge and creative way. I think this is probably the earliest film that I have seen where it involves a jungle and gold. The action sequences were a lot like the ones from a film that Akira Kurosawa has done in the past such as The Seven Samurai. It was very solid directing from Huston. Through most of his films that he has done in the past have been a lot like some of his other films especially comparing the themes that Huston uses for the films he does. This film is mostly similar to The Maltese Falcon because of that reason. The script was mixed really with original chemistry between characters, original outcome of what happens and the original way of how a film like this are put together. It is adapted as well because of the story is rather exciting and is from a novel so must be adapted from a novel into a motion picture.


This isn't my favourite Humphrey Bogart film because I loved his performance more in Casablanca. John Huston has created a masterpiece that is still a classic even now after 60 years of when it was released and has every reason to be as well. I was very unsure of what my rating was going to be of this film. Whatever rating it is it is a high rating. It might change in the future but will have to see if I watch it again. This is a film that I could describe as higher than "masterpiece" but don't really know any word better than that which shows how good this film really is.

This film was a really good film-noir film. It is a really tense film because of the chemistry between the characters and the way this film is filmed. It made me feel really great because I never realised at first of how awesome this film really is. It is one of those films that is really loved because of its absolutely outstanding cast especially because Orson Welles is in it. This film is about betrayal, corruption, disillusionment and guilt. It has one of those stories that people would really like because of its powerful characters like I do. It is a very complex mystery but it is that for a damn good reason.


Joseph Cottons performance is really good as Holly Martins. His performance makes Martins a really confused and mixed up young man after discovering his old friend Harry Lime is really alive after he pretended his death. He is sort of tortured because he really liked Lime but after the betrayal of Lime, he becomes a different character and becomes confused with his emotional. I liked Alida Valli as Anna Schmidt. She was a confused person aswell particularly the business with Lime. I really liked Orson Welles in this film as Harry Lime because I really liked his cold hearted character towards Martins and the other people he sees in the film. It is very strange but very good that Orson Welles was a really heroic guy like Charles Foster Kane in Citizen Kane. This film shows that he is really at portraying a villain aswell as a hero.


The direction was outstanding from Carol Reed. I have never seen one of her films before but this is a good start for me. There have been a lot of sexist discrimination of how "crap" women are at directing films but I find them just as good as male directors. For example, Sofia Coppola directed Lost In Translation. She may be a crap actress but she is an awesome director. That is another reason why I love this film aswell as Lost In Translation because they are directed by women and have absolutely fantastic ways of directing a film with the different aspects of camera angles and ways of telling the actors what to do in the scenes of the films. The written screenplay was absolutely awesome. I was told once that this film is very different compared to the novel. I am unsure whether that is true. People would say that this film is quite similar to Citizen Kane but I dont think it is anything like it. People would probably say that because it stars Orson Welles in both films but that isnt really the main key point here.


This film is my favourite Orson Welles film so far. I havent seen that many films from him but I will try and watch as many as I can. It is my favourite film-noir film of all time. It is one of the best mystery films of all time. It is one of the best films of 1940s. It is one of the most famous British films of all time but most importantly, it is one of the greatest films of all time. Its a masterpiece! Its as simple as that!!

The Terminal is one of those films that you will either love or hate because of the story and the characters within it. As far as I'm concerned, I absolutely loved The Terminal and I have been criticised of why I love it but I can't help but feel that way about it. It is a really funny, dramatic and love story that is really heartwarming. It is a rather weird film as well because a man ends up stranded at an airport and is forced to live there until he can get to where he wants to go to. This is a film that is just for entertainment particularly for an evening like a Saturday night or something. I don't completely know why I love this film, I just do. This is an extremely underrated work not only from Tom Hanks but from Steven Spielberg and Catherine Zeta-Jones too. I remember watching this on TV on Boxing Day 2007 and it became a real treasured film to me that I enjoyed from start to finish. The Terminal is a film experience that will take you on an adventure beyond any other I've ever seen.


Tom Hanks' performance as Victor Navorski actually surprised me. Obviously Tom is my favourite actor and has delivered top notch performances every time but this one is one that I was predicting I would be disappointed by but I was wrong. He was actually really good. Victor is a middle aged eastern European man who is travelling to New York City but because of his foreign culture and that he doesn't have any rights regarding paper work and he has to stay at the airport until he can become free and can leave the airport. So when there he has to make a living by making himself a little house, a bed and eating at the restaurants in the airport. Hanks' performance is another very different performance but he didn't disappoint me at all. The closest similar character Victor is to any other Tom Hanks character is Chuck Roland in Cast Away because he is stranded as well except that's on an island whereas Victor is inside an airport. I thought his eastern European accent was pretty funny in some moments. I wouldn't call it hilarious but one that has a few light laughs. Catherine Zeta-Jones was good as well as Amelia Warren. Amelia is making her way through the airport by travelling with her lover and when she meets Victor they start to become close to each other and slowly become more than friends as the time gradually goes on. It isn't the best combination in the world and it isn't the worst either.


To me, The Terminal makes it feel like Steven Spielberg is taking a bit of a break from making Oscar winning masterpieces such as Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, E.T. and Indiana Jones. I think The Terminal, Catch Me If You Can, War Of The Worlds and Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull are the modern day Steven Spielberg films that are just for entertainment. Spielberg goes from epic dramas like Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan to a romantic comedy like The Terminal. As I said, The Terminal is Spielberg's most underrated film to date and that he didn't earn very much credit for his work.


This is Steven Spielberg's sixth best film after Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, E.T., Indiana Jones And The Raiders Of The lost Ark and Jaws. The Terminal is Tom Hanks' fifth best performance as well after Forrest Gump, The Green Mile, Saving Private Ryan and Cast Away. This is the latest Tom Hanks-Steven Spielberg collaboration and The Terminal is the second best after Saving Private Ryan. The Terminal is a fun entertaining piece of filmmaking that I absolutely loved from start to finish. To me, it is a masterpiece and I have had people ask me why I say that but can't help but love it. It is a very regular piece of entertainment!!

After seeing The Prince Of Egypt as a child and hearing that it was a remake of The Ten Commandments, I realised that when watching it, it is no remake at all because both have the same story but the way the characters are with each other in each of the films are totally different. I had extremely high expectations for The Ten Commandments because of it being such a classic, all of the Oscar nominations it received and the cast within the film really caught my attention as well. One thing I was worried about were the visual effects but to be honest, they weren't half as cheesy as I was expecting. I mean, the visual effects were very cheesy in Fantastic Voyage but they were absolutely amazing in this one! The costumes, art direction and make-up was absolutely fantastic!


This film stars three legendary actors who really made names for themselves in the 1950s: Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner and Anne Baxter. Charlton Heston's performance as Moses is in my opinion, the best performance of his career because it was the performance that was a breakthrough that expressed filmmakers interest to cast him in their films. For example, his role in Ben-Hur was 3 years after The Ten Commandments and he won the Oscar in that film so I think his performance as Moses was the start of a legendary career. It is also my favourite film starring Heston as well. 1956 was an amazing year for Yul Brynner because he starred in 3 of the 5 Best Picture nominees that year: The Ten Commandments, The King And I (which he won the Best Leading Actor Oscar for) and Anastasia. Yul's performance as Rameses was absolutely brilliant! To be honest, I thought he was as good in this one as Charlton Heston was because Yul really showed what kind of person Rameses really is like the evil and hatred towards Moses and towards the Hebrew slaves. He is probably more famous in The King And I but his performance as Rameses in this film is simply unforgettable. Anne Baxter made a name for herself starring alongside Bette Davis in All About Eve for which she received an Oscar nomination for that film. Her performance as Nefritiri was absolutely awesome as well. She is the love interest of both Moses and Rameses (until Moses marries Sephora in the desert and they have a child together).


Cecil D. DeMille remakes his own creation and in a huge way! The 1956 version that he directed is a lot more of a success than the 1923 version was. The reason for this was probably every single thing about it like the fact it had an amazing cast. The Ten Commandments was one of the earliest and still is one of the most famous epic films of all time. I really loved Cecil's introduction to the film on the DVD because he wanted to tell the audience who was watching it what to expect and how it is made. The script was absolutely fantastic! What I loved about the script of that film was that it had normal English and it had words from the Bible as well which is really good. I figured when watching it that it obviously showed its present reality but tried to prove that the story of Moses is history. The events in the Bible are neither history or myth; they are legend.


Overall, The Ten Commandments is an absolutely outstanding classic biblical film that I really enjoyed from start to finish. I absolutely adore and cherish it as a true classic and landmark of cinema. One of the best films of the 50s and of all time!

I had high expectations with this film because of it being a film from an odd yet terrific filmmaker. One thing I was a bit worried about was its complete difference compared to the films he has done in the past. When I did see it, I was very disappointed with it because it seemed a very dull, plain and meaningless film. As the film ended, I was so annoyed with it because didnt show what he was setting out to do other than just seeing his brother. Yes, it was very inspiring and courageous travelling across America on a lawnmower and I understand that it was a true story but I just thought that the ending didn't conclude with such beauty and drama.


Richard Farnsworth's performance as Alvin was absolutely brilliant. I think that Farnsworth's performance was pretty much the only thing that was worth watching in this film. Alvin is an aging man who lives with his daughter and soon finds out that his brother is dying. One problem: he hasn't spoken to or even seen his brother for a very long time. He decides to go and see him to spend some last time with his brother to brother. His performance and character is a bit like Chris McCandleless in Into The Wild because they both travel and meet different people during their journey. Sissy Spacek's performance as Alvin's daughter Rose was absolutely awesome as well. She is a very troubled woman due to a past tragedy.


This truly is pretty much the only straight story of the films that David Lynch has done throughout his career. As I have said, The Straight Story being a David Lynch film is the only reason why I expressed interest in this film but unfortunately came out disappointed with it. The script was well written in some ways but towards the end of the film it went really flat and dull. I have to confess that the ending of this film is the most disappointing endings that I think I've ever seen in a film.


Overall, The Straight Story is a disappointing, dull film but had little decent qualities which was the good acting from Farnsworth and Spacek and the good directing from Lynch.

Wow!! What an absolutely outstanding film The Sixth Sense really is. It is a very dark, tense and psychological but not scary masterpiece that blew me away more second time round than first time. I saw this film for the first time in January 2008 and I hadn't seen it since then. It is a film that I am really fond of because it is one of those films that don?t try too hard to be a scary film that people would freak out by and also it didn't try too hard to impress the suspense of the film. It was a very suspensful film anyway because of the very depressing, psychological plot. The Sixth Sense is a film that can sort of play with your mind because it shows how a person can start to lose their mind especially when it is almost impossible to get out of. This film has one of the most powerful endings as well as one of the best twists in cinema history. The twist in this film is the whole film's best quality. It is a haunting film but it isn't a horror film. It's like The Silence Of The Lambs: a psychological thriller rather than a horror.


Bruce Willis' performance as Dr. Malcolm Crowe was a fantastic one. He sort of surprised me in a way because Bruce stars in action/crime films but he was actually fantastic in this film. Malcolm Crowe is a prominent child psychologist but when he returns home one night with his wife and is shot by an former patient of his who broke into the house. It suddenly changes to Crowe becoming close to Cole but all doesn't go to plan and all isn't as it seems. Haley Joel Osment delivers the single most amazing child performance of all time. Most child performances are fantastic but nothing like Osment as Cole Sear. Cole is a 9-year-old young boy who has a lot of deep psychological problems. Osment was the perfect choice because he is a scary lad when he goes a bit mad but he is awesome at playing that innocent young lad like they're possessing over him. Haley cried a lot in this film but even in moments of the film especially the famous "I see dead people" scene when tears weren't coming down his eyes but could see the tears in them. I could see the fright in his eyes which is why Osment's performance is one of the best acting roles of all time. Toni Collette's performance as Lynn Sear was amazing too but doesn't beat Bruce or Haley in this masterpiece. Lynn is worried for her son because of his amazingly bizarre behaviour with those around him and towards her too.


M. Night Shyamalan has created a masterpiece of thrillers. This was one of his very early films in his career and it is his breakthrough film and his most famous film and probably his best ever too because of what I've heard about the others he has done are said to be really crap. M. Night Shyamalan probably didn't expect the critical reaction that the film got including six Oscar nominations: Best Picture 1999, Best Supporting Actor (Haley Joel Osment), Best Supporting Actress (Toni Collette), Best Director, Best Editing and Best Original Screenplay. The script was almost perfect because it was mixed with horror and with tension but it's a funny feeling because I didn't find this film scary. As I said, it's more of a psychological thriller.


The Sixth Sense, Scream and The Silence Of The Lambs are the best thrillers of the 90s and that is a fact. The Sixth Sense is a haunting thriller that I absolutely loved from start to finish and was blown away by it by more viewings of the film. The Sixth Sense is another reason why 1999 is my favourite year in film. I now have seven 5-star 1999 films. Haley Joel Osment's performance is the best child performance of all time and it totally deserves to be. The Sixth Sense is a very disturbing psychological thriller that is an absolute masterpiece and is one of its kind and can hardly be compared to anything else. January

The Shawshank Redemption truly is one of the biggest modern day classics. This is a film that I think everybody loves for what it is. This film is about friendship, fear, freedom and most of all hope. This film teaches that life is never easy and we have to fight to achieve what we want or need. It is a film such a big heart and is a film with such inspiration; it fills people's hearts really high with joy as well as affectionate drama. I love this film to bits but it is one of the most overrated films of all time because I feel too many people love it. The Shawshank Redemption is adapted from a novel of the same name by Stephen King who is in my opinion the best novelist of all time. I loved the way Shawshank Redemption sends its message not only through watching the film but also the taglines of the film. This is probably the feel-good film of the 1990s along with Forrest Gump and amongst others.


I do like Tim Robbins as an actor but he is a better director. His performance as Andy Dufresne was good but not amazing because I couldn't really see Andy's really desperate measures to earn his freedom like I could Red's. Andy went through a lot before and in prison. Andy was a banker who was wrongly charged with the murder of his wife and lover. When Andy goes inside Shawshank and starts to become very close friends with red, Andy became a victim of sexual and physical abuse at the hands of a gang called the Sisters especially by Boggs who is their leader. Andy overcomes that and makes a big name for himself inside Shawshank. Tim was a good choice but not the best for Andy. I loved Morgan Freeman's performance as Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding because I could feel the love, kind-hearted nature and the desperation to be free within Red. Morgan is an actor who always LOOKS like Morgan Freeman and acts like Morgan Freeman because he acts all sorts of different characters but always looks the same. His performance would have been more of a supporting role is Robbins performance was worthy of an Oscar nomination or win.


Frank Darabont's directing big hit debut of The Shawshank Redemption wasn't a big hit in those days but nowadays it really is a remarkable direction with such force, light, power and even beauty that you could almost cry at literally. Darabont made The Shawshank Redemption a one-of-a-kind phenomenon that truly is worthwhile just like The Green Mile. The Shawshank Redemption is an unforgettable masterpiece that is dramatic, beautiful and even quite tense on occasions.


1994 was an unbelievable year for cinema and this is one of the best but I did prefer Forrest Gump, Pulp Fiction and Léon: The Professional. Tim Robbins' best performance is still his Oscar winning one in Mystic River. Morgan Freeman's performance in The Shawshank Redemption is the best performance of his career and will always be hopefully. This isn't my favourite Stephen King novel. I love The Green Mile and The Shining more, it is one of the top prison films and a close inspiration to me. Frank Darabont's work is still better in The Green Mile but in The Shawshank Redemption, it is a great debut. It doesn't match Orson Welles or Sam Mendes as far as best debuts are concerned but it isn't far from that position. The Shawshank Redemption is a film that is just too irresistible to not love.

When I first saw The Seven Samurai I didn't fully appreciate it for some reason. I guess it was because it was one of the very first foreign films that I had seen. Now after seeing more foreign films, I watched it again and realised how much of a classic it really is. The Seven Samurai is one of the early epic adventures yet it is one of the most different because it being in black-and-white and is filmed in a quite extraordinary way. I was blown away by this film! It made me laugh, it made me feel sorry for the characters and most importantly, it kept me gripped to it from start to finish. Every single moment of this film was perfect! The Seven Samurai worked out really well because of its very simple plot which only seems like 90 minutes worthy, when you watch it you notice that there is more to notice and there is more that they need to do to be able to defend themselves.


Takashi Shimura was awesome as Kambei Shimada who is the leader of the samurais within the village. I find him to be like the leader of the whole village not only due to the situation they are in but in general. He seemed like a very powerful man who would do anything to stop the bandits terrorizing their village and stealing their food. Toshiro Mifune was amazing as Kikuchiyo. He made me laugh in this one because he is the wanna-be samurai but he is drunk quite regularly and causes a lot of problems but he does make himself useful by helping the villagers.


Akira Kurosawa was a legendary director who had a very rare talent who can make films in his own way. It is one of those extremely rare films that have very simple plots but have a long running time that actually works. Most of the time the running time of the film overlaps the simple plot of other films. This was the first Kurosawa film that I saw and I think it is his most famous film which makes me think that it could always be my favourite Kurosawa film. This film took a lot of hard work for the directing of the film and especially the screenplay.


Overall, The Seven Samurai is an ultimate classic that is probably known as the most famous foreign language film of all time and it is! I look forward to watching more Akira Kurosawa films. In my opinion, I find Kurosawa to be the best non-English/American filmmaker ever. The Seven Samurai is now one of my all-time favourite classics as well as one of my favourite films of all time.

This film really inspired me because obviously it is quite a disturbing film but it is really a beautiful film to that people can look at in different ways. I think the main inspiration for me of this film was that Ada used her piano to express herself and to show her beautiful colours but after she loves it so much, it sort of takes over her life. It made me feel really tense because of Adas affair with Baines and also more about Adas daughter Flora aswell. I think the one thing that I loved so much about this film was that everything about it was so powerful. What can I say? The acting was absolutely outstanding from the whole cast.


Holly Hunter delivers an absolutely phenomenonal performance as Ada McGrath. Her performance really inspired me an awful lot because her performance and her win of the Oscar proved an absolutely huge and also very true key point. That key point is: Acting isnt just words. Ada McGarth is a mute woman who does not speak at all. It is Hollys facial expressions and the emotions that she uses in this film that earned her the Oscar win. Holly was really good and really clever at sign language which was another excellent point of her performance in this film. Her performance is one of my new all time favourite leading actress performance of all time because it truly shows what acting really is. Also, Holly shows us something that not many actors have shown with their characters and that is to believe in the actor with the character and to try and believe that the character and actor is a real person. Harvey Keitel's performance as George Baines was another very powerful performance in this film but I have to say that Keitel made Baines like a total pervert and that he was using her for sex and first but then he truly fell in love with her. I liked Sam Niell in this film but I have never seen him play any character like this before. He made Alisdair Stewart a really powerful, emotional and quite sick and cold character to come across. I loved Anna Paquins performance too as Flora McGarth. Her character was very powerful, emotional and very clever character too because of being able to speak for her mother from sign language to actual English. She is like an interpreter so to speak. Anna's voice was totally different in The Piano compared to her real life voice. Flora is like a real hero because she tries to help her mother not only because of her not speaking and her having trouble with her husband but mostly because she is one of the very few close people to Ada who appreciate Adas love for her piano which makes Anna Paquins performance one of the best young actor/actress performances of all time.


I loved everything about the direction from Jane Campion because this film was really well filmed and adapted together to make a masterpiece. The writing of this film also makes it a masterpiece too because of the heartbreaking, touching and drastic lines that are spoken by the characters (apart from Ada). This film shows that female directors aswell as male directors can make excellent films too. Another brilliantly filmed masterpiece from a female director was Lost In Translation which was directed by awesome director but crap actress Sofia Coppola. I havent seen any of Jane Campion's other films before but I need to now. This film is a typical romantic film because there is a lot of love between the characters. This is Titanic like film as far as the romance is concerned. It is like a romantic-period and period-drama film.


I would probably say that probably is Holly Hunters best performance even though this is the only live action film I have seen her in. I have never heard her actually speak in a live action film after only seeing The Piano and The Incredibles. After seeing Anna Paquin in the X-Men trilogy, I have to say that this is probably her best film too. I dont think anything at all disappointed me with this film because everything about it was simply superb. I can only finish my review by saying that this film is a masterpiece and was a third of the five nominees of Best Picture 1993 that are all masterpieces including The Fugitive and Schindlers List aswell as The Piano.