Reviews by SJMJ91

I have read lots of mixed reviews about Secret Window being a pile of crap and being a really brilliant scary story. This film really surprised me the first time I saw it and it surprised me even more second time round because I had actually forgotten what had happened in the film. Secret Window is a chillingly frightening story that is very dark and is a rather psychological story. After all, Secret Window is a Stephen King novel and he is an expert on writing novels about horror, fantasy and suspense so where can he disappoint with Secret Window? This film left me in great shock because there is a twist that becomes really effective to the story so this film isn't as predictable as you may think it is. Personally, I think this is a really enjoyable film. It is a very scary story but that is what I was expecting anyway because that's what King is amazing at creating.


It was very weird seeing Johnny Depp in a film like this because I don't think I've seen him in a psychological thriller before. His acting as Mort was pretty good to be fair because he is good at playing that charming guy in which Johnny is anyway. Mort is a single man who is about to get divorced and lives with his dog Chico in a cottage near a river in a forest. The location of the house makes it a rather haunting film as well. I read a review once and it said that only Johnny Depp's presence within the film with draw people's attention. I see what they mean but it is an entertaining film after all nothing dead serious worthy of Oscars and Golden Globes etc. Maria Bello has never been a good actress at all to be honest and has never made her characters very realistic and heartfelt but this film didn't make any difference because I couldn't feel any sympathy Amy had for Mort at all. I didn't really like Bello in World Trade Center either. She rather annoyed me in that. Timothy Hutton for some reason made me laugh because he is a real slimeball especially when he and Mort point fists at each other. John Turturro made John Shooter a very mysterious, threatening and terrifying character to cross because he was haunting and stalking Mort for "stealing his story".


The director did a good job I think for entertainment but I wouldn't call David Koepp's directing and script absolutely masterful that deserves to be remembered as a landmark of cinema. I think Frank Darabont would have done a good job at directing Secret Window because he has directed two Stephen King novel adapted films previously: The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. That is something that I would have wished for this film but it was still good enough with David Koepp as director anyway.


Overall, Secret Window is a spine-chilling piece of entertainment that I find slightly underrated. It isn't a masterpiece but it does have one of the best and most underrated film plot twists of all time. Johnny Depp's performance obviously isn't top-notch but is an entertaining performance from Depp which I was expecting anyway. So, lastly it is a film that didn't go over or under my expectations. It hit exactly where I was expecting which is why I really like this film.

At first, I had no interest whatsoever in seeing this film because I didn't like the look of the killer but when I saw it, I was blown away by it! Scream is a horror film that is already a classic even though it was released just over 10 years ago. It is a very suspenseful film that is very jumpy and is very terrifying to watch because of the violence within it. What I loved the most about this film is that the killer plays mind games with the audience as much as the characters within the film because it?s not why he's there, who it is but where he is because it makes you think he?s there but incase he'll catch that someone by surprise which is what he does do in the film. There are a lot of twists and turns involved within the film. I liked the involvement of scary films in this film which are inspired by the killer to do those things to his victims. The main question of the film is: whodunit?


Neve Campbell's performance as Sidney Prescott was absolutely fantastic!! Her performance was a lot like Jamie Lee Curtis's in Halloween. Sidney is a very emotional character because her mum was mysteriously raped and murdered one year before. This has ruined her childhood and made her feel a bit messed up in the head. Skeet Ulrich's performance as Billy Loomis was absolutely fantastic! His character is a very charming one that is very mysterious as well that has a lot of twists and turns. Matthew Lillard was awesome as well as Stu who is Billy's best friend. Courteney Cox's performance was awesome as well!!


Wes Craven made a big name for himself after his horror classic A Nightmare On Elm Street and his work on Scream was absolutely terrific! The opening scene within the film was very powerful and wanted the audience to experience her terror and for us to be prepared of what's coming up in the film. I found the filming of that scene very similar to the 'Here's Johnny!' scene in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining because of the eerie filmmaking and the music too.


Overall, Scream is one of the best horror films of all time that will stick in your mind for a very long time because it is that suspenseful and it does toy with your mind very easily! Highly recommended!!

Scent Of A Woman is a very emotional story with a huge adventure and a huge impact on self discovery. That is where it is beautiful especially when Frank is driving a car, despite he is blind, he enjoys it and he tries his best to be like everyone else. Also, as he becomes closer to Charlie, he tries to help him and sort of behaves like his father. It is really emotional as Slade becomes close with Charlie, Slade cant seen Charlie and doesnt know what he looks like. Slade becomes quite angry with himself for being the way he is. It becomes from a hard going relationship to a very deep personal relationship. Both Slade and Charlie discover about themselves and they both a change of heart. Charlie goes from being a complete bad ass to a really nice hearted young guy after being with Colonel Slade. Because of Slades bitter attitude, he lost most of his family. He starts to get back with his family and meeting new people and because of this Slade becomes a whole new person again.


Al Pacinos performance is simply outstanding. It was his first and only Academy Award he won and this is probably one of his best that not many people might not have taken into consideration. He is mostly overrated for Godfather trilogy, Dog Day Afternoon, Scarface and Serpico. But in a way it is quite good. I love powerful characters who are very different who behave like normal people now. I love characters who are either retarded, deaf, blind, disabled, deformed etc. For example, Al Pacino as blind man Frank Slade, Dustin Hoffman as autistic Raymond Babbit, John Hurt as John Merrick and more. I mostly love it when characters like that are portrayed by such powerful actors and the greatest actors of all time. As far as the Frank Slade character is concerned, Slade is quite hard on the outside where he has that part of the army within him still but inside he is a really nice man with a big heart. Al Pacino very much deserved his Oscar in this film. Not his best performance though. His best performance is Michael Corleone particularly in The Godfather: Part II. Chris O Donnell delivers another outstanding performance as Charlie Simms. Charlie is a lonely young man who has no family. Chris portrays Charlie with such powerful emotion and with a lot of laughter too. I found it quite funny when he saw that beautiful woman in the restaurant and Pacino danced with her and he was quite shy. He is the one character in the film that made me laugh. He deserved his Golden Globe but should have had an Oscar nomination.


The direction from Martin Brest was really good. I could tell that Pacino and O Donnell needed to do a lot of hard work with all the different actions that were going on. I thought the script was simply outstanding because as I said it is an extremely emotional and powerful script but at the same time it is quite a funny script too. This film can help people with learning about who they really are.


I have only seen three of the five 1992 Academy Award Best Picture nominees and after seeing Scent Of A Woman, Howards End and Unforgiven it is my favourite one of those five so far. It has achieved Al Pacinos most powerful performance but not his most famous performance though. It is one of the best of 1992 and one of Al Pacinos best as I have said repeatedly. The one thing that disappointed me about Scent Of A Woman was that I thought it was a bit too long. Despite of how long it was, it was still a really well written film that deserves its place as one of the most beautiful films based on self discovery and friendship.

Scarface is one of the very early classics that is underrated and not fully appreciated as much as the remake is. The 1930s version of Scarface is different compared to the 1983 remake. The stories were both different but the remake adaptation is cooler and more enjoyable. There were some moments where there was some similarity especially the way Tony treats his sister.

Paul Muni was good as Tony Camonte. He was a real nasty piece of work and a very vicious gangster. The character is based on real-life gangster Al Capone. He was a badass but not as bad as Tony Montana was in the remake. I admit one thing that Paul Muni's portrayal is extremely underrated as well as the whole film.

It is weird because this adaptation is only 1 hour 30 minutes long but remake is 2 hours 50 minutes and that didn't mess up or flaw once. Howard Hawks is a director that I haven't seen any work from apart from this one now. After seeing his filmography, he has done some classics but I haven't seen most of them.

Scarface is a very enjoyable classic that is underrated. I think it's because of when it was made and also because most people prefer the remake. Unfortunately, I prefer the remake starring Al Pacino because that is a classic nowadays. I am going to watch more Howard Hawks classics now. Scarface is probably the best and most famous classic gangster film before The Godfather was released which makes it the most famous gangster film of the 1930s. It is a great film-noir film too that I enjoyed. A very enjoyable film that I might watch again in the future.

Saw truly is one of the smartest horror films ever made. One of the reasons why I loved this film was because it was really clever and it didnt screw up at all. It all adapted really well not only to see how scary it is but also to see the extremely psychological side to it to what some human beings on Earth are really like. It is a real teaser because the audience arent sure whether the victims are going to kill themeslves or each other. It shows real horror and a really gut wretching exciting story but unlike some of the horror films today they are just random horrors that arent really thought about properly. They are just randomly thought of but without thinking about a plot. But this unfortunately happens to Saw II, Saw III, Saw IV, Saw V and probably Saw VI. It is a film that I have been told is a really scary horror film but it is a horror film still but I would refer it more of a psychological thriller.


The acting was so crap it made me laugh but that wasnt really the point. It is more about the psychological horror that is used in this film rather than the characters involved. The acting didnt really need to be good in a film like this. This film as I said focused more on the story than the acting and directing involved which made this film a great success.


I thought that the direction was really good because there was a close point of view of living in hell and of the psychological side of things within the film. There were some awesome camera angles that havent really been used that often in a horror film before. The script was so spine chilling and gut wrenching that probably makes you feel a bit sick but makes you feel really good because of its clever storytelling and screenplay.


After seeing this one, I am going to see Saw II but not Saw III, Saw IV, Saw V or Saw VI at all because it will spoil my liking to Saw. I love films like this (psychological thrillers) because they are films that can stay in your mind for a long time and can be films that you would watch again but wouldnt want to watch again for a while like me. Saw is one of those films that a lot of teenagers would watch because of the gore, violence and the horror and that. That is where I find this film extremely overrated but for good reason though: entertainment. As far as I am concerned Saw is a masterpiece of horror films!!

I had no knowledge at all of this film, the director or the actosr within this film so I had no idea of what to expect. The reason why I watched this was because my tutor at my college wanted us to watch it. It is a mixture of live action and stop-motion animation. It is definitely one of the most psychologically disturbing films I have ever seen. It was deeply interesting to start with but when things started changing, it started going silly, cheesy and, to be honest, predictable.


Jan Hartl's performance as Karel was awesome! Him and his wife Bozena are going through a very difficult time because they cannot have a child. To ease his wife's pain, Karel digs up a massive root from their garden and carvs it into the shape of a human baby. When the root baby was presented to Bozena, she starts treating it like a real baby like feeding it, changing it and everything! Veronika Zilková's performance was for me incredibly disturbing yet psychologically awesome! Her type of character has been used in some films and especially used in TV shows in the past.


This film had great direction with lots of fast moving shots. There was stop-motion involved like Otik as it was crying or screaming. That was obviously cheesy but I don't think they actually wanted actual 3D animation within the film. The film was produced by a studio in Prague where I was going to visit.


Overall, Little Otik is an extremely disturbing fantasy horror film that is very hard to watch. Only flaw is that story goes cheesy at it goes on towards the end. Despite that, it was an enjoyable film to watch.

I have given this film a very lucky third viewing because I am a big fan of Quentin Tarantino and I wanted to enjoy his first work that bought him his best film: Pulp Fiction. When I saw Reservoir Dogs for the first and second time, I absolutely despised it! After a third viewing, I suddenly and unexpectedly enjoyed this film. Reservoir Dogs is an extremely violent crime film that had a lot of blood involved that was realistic especially with the ear-cutting. I personally could recognize this film as a film from a college student for some reason. Reservoir Dogs is a cool film for teenagers as well as adults but I don't find it that cool because I think that the film focused more on the violence rather than the characters. I can see why people love this film and I can see why people hate this film too.


Reservoir Dogs has a very wide ensemble cast that have a lot of great actors. One thing that was cool yet pretty weird was that the men were named after a particular colour like "Mr. Pink", "Mr. Brown", "Mr. White" etc. Quentin Tarantino makes an appearance as Mr. Brown. I don't really think that many people noticed that Quentin was playing him because he had never been seen before Reservoir Dogs.Tim Roth's performance was good but he was dying throughout the whole film and his acting in those moments were great! Steve Buscemi was the best in this film. I have to say that he is one great actor! He is a good actor to choose in a violent crime film like Reservoir Dogs and Fargo and then stars in a childrens cartoon film like Monsters, Inc..


Quentin Tarantino's film debut started off well. I think that Pulp Fiction was his ultimate start especially when he earned an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for that film as well as a nomination for Best Director. Seeing Reservoir Dogs was just like watching a film that one single man self-learned to make because of films being Quentin's inspiration and passion. The script by Tarantino was really good. I admit that it isn't the best script he has ever written but it is still a fine accomplishment for him.


Overall, Reservoir Dogs is a cool and gruesome crime film that is one of the most famous film debuts of all time. Not only Reservoir Dogs but also Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown truly shows us the coolest as well as one of the greatest filmmakers of all time.

Requiem For A Dream is a very dark, twisted, depressing and psychological journey that takes you on a path of seeing inside a person's mind when they are struggling in desperation over something. It is something that shows how badly a person can lose their mind but also how it can literally make you feel sick. It is a very heartbreaking story that is really hard to watch especially around the end of the film. This is a film that doesn't have any flaws but I couldn't help but get this strange feeling that there was something off about Requiem For A Dream. Don't get me wrong it is a good film but I think there were some moments in the film that were really dull and pretty boring. I think the thing I liked the most about this film was how the audience were meant to feel about it and what the outcome reaction would be. I think the main purpose of this film is that the film doesn't want us to make this just a film but a life experience that will teach us lessons.


Ellen Burstyn's performance as Sara Goldfarb was absolutely fantastic. I could see all of Sara's torture so to speak with the drug addiction and the hard feelings she has for her son and his girlfriend. The more she becomes addicted to all of these drugs, the harder life becomes for her. Ellen is a very underrated actress with an underrated performance but in my opinion the film is overrated but I don't like it any less because of that. Her performance is a lot like Ewan McGregor's in Trainspotting apart from Trainspotting is a lot better than this.


Darren Aronofsky has always been a director of creating very personal, affectionate and deep films with different plots and different messages. Requiem For A Dream was his most famous film before The Wrestler but both The Wrestler and The Fountain are better than Requiem For A Dream and I am proud yet disappointed to say that. The script is very original because of the layout of the film but it is used from a novel which makes it an adapted script more.


Requiem For A Dream is a good film but became quite boring at times which disappointed me a bit. It is better than Pi but not as good as The Fountain or The Wrestler regarding Darren Aronofsky films. I admit that Requiem For A Dream is one of the most powerful and disturbing films of all time. I've seen this film twice now but after the second viewing of it, I didn't like it as much. If I watch it again in about another 5 years, I think I'll enjoy and appreciate it more.

This is an absolutely brilliant film that is a classic even more in the modern days where people would mostly watch it for James Dean. It is a really fun story that is a classic film for everybody. It is quite funny in a dark way, filled with drama, beautiful romance and even thrilling suspense in some scenes. To me, it feels like a teen film because the story is about a badass teenager. Rebel Without A Cause is a film with a very powerful story that is excellently entertaining. It has a great ending that apparently some film critics hated for some odd reason. I don't see anything wrong with it at all because it becomes effective to Jim and Judy. The two leading actors in this film were in their days legends but both died so tragically. Dean's death and Dean himself reminds me a lot of Heath Ledger.


James Dean delivers in most people's opinion his best performance. Rebel Without A Cause is my first James Dean film and he didn't disappoint at all. Despite Dean had a short career and didn't appear in very many films, he is an actor that will live on forever and so will his films just like Heath Ledger's will. Dean was an actor with a rare talent for a guy at such a young age just like Heath Ledger was. Dean's portrayal of Jim Stark was absolutely fantastic. Jim is a young man who is a trouble maker and gets himself into deep trouble with the police but when they give him another chance and he starts a new school he gets himself into greater trouble. Natalie Wood's tragic death 26 years after Dean's made her a legendary actress. Her performance in Rebel Without A Cause wasn't really a deeply involving character but does have a big affective part in the main character which is probably the point of the character. Judy follows Jim in his hard journey through his path of violence and crime. Dennis Hopper made an appearance as one of the gang members (unsure about the name but he was one of the members.) This film was directed really well because it was a film that attracts teenagers even now because of Dean and also the plot of the film in general.


The director has created a legendary film that will always live on for the rest of cinema. The script is very original with a rather simple story yet with a rather adapted conclusion. Rebel Without A Cause is probably James Dean's most famous performance and I am glad to call this the first film I've seen from him. I don't know whether I will like Giant or East Of Eden more so we'll see. It is one of the best films of the 1950s and one of the best teen films too. It is probably Natalie Wood's most famous and best performance as well. I wouldn't call Rebel Without A Cause one of the greatest films of all time but I would call it one of the most attracted films. It is beautifully entertaining and is quite emotional because seeing Dean and the year it was released was the same year he died on. R.I.P. James Dean.

Ran is a very heartfelt, impactful, experiencing and even quite a shocking motion picture that is made by a legendary filmmaker. Ran is a real epic story that is typical of the language spoken and the same with the settings, cinematography, costumes and make-up within the nation of where it was filmed as well as the epic genre. I was blown away by how good each of those filming qualities was. I think this film is adapted from Shakespeare's famous play King Lear. It isn't a directed adaptation of the play but it is the closest it can be. This film is an epic that it very action-packed and is filled with raw emotion. My DVD I have at home of it is a 12A/PG-13 DVD and I cannot believe it was either a 15/R or 18/R-17 because it was a very gruesome and graphic story. The blood isn't that real but you can just imagine how hard the arrows and the swords hit the people. It is a bit like Sweeney Todd blood but that blood was more realistic. Some unrealistic effects aren't always bad, they can make a film a classic in which Ran definitely is. I loved the action scene where Hidertora's palace and his people were attacked.


The acting was good from Tatsya Nakadai as Hidetora Ichimonji. Hidetora is an aging warlord who after spending his life consolidating his empire, decides to abdicate and divide his Kingdom amongst his three sons Taro, Jiro and Saburo. Hidetora is like a film interpretation of King Lear apart from that King Lear has three daughters not three sons. I have never read the King Lear novel nor seen any film adaptations from the play. The performances were all just awesome that were all typical epic kinds of characters.


Akira Kurosawa was an director who was one of the few experts in the old days where people were classic epic filmmakers. I can only think of Kurosawa and the late David Lean. Kurosawa's determination towards his epic films including Ran was very experiencing. Kurosawa's 39-year wife died during the production of Ran but carried on filming about a day after mourning of her death. Kurosawa's epic style made this one very similar to The Seven Samurai but not as good as that though. The script was good with such powerful and thought-provoking moments because of the heartbreaking betrayal and also of the other events that occur within Ran. Ran is one of the best epic films of the 1980s without a doubt.


It isn't my favourite Akira Kurosawa film. I do still really like The Seven Samurai more. Ran is a film that is mixed into different kinds of genres with the way it was filmed and what kind of qualities it had. It is an absolutely typical film of the nation it is in. The Japanese and Chinese do very similar sorts of films regarding similar sorts of plots and this is one of the best of those films definitely. Ran is probably Akira Kurosawa's most underrated films especially when it is one of his most hardworking motion pictures that he ever did. Kurosawa and Lean are the masters of epic films. Masterpiece!!