Reviews by SJMJ91

Pan' Labyrinth is one of those extremely bizarre films that sticks the same way all the way through it. The story is very magical, very imaginative and very clever. It is a film with a large meaning to particularly younger children that fairy tales aren't really real. This has a lot of fantastic epic qualities within it. This is a fantastic example of fairy tales for adults just like Lord Of The Rings. It is a powerful story that sees through the eyes of a young girl. Pan's Labyrinth is a very emotional, heartbreaking and yet beautiful film which has fantastic qualities within cinema. Pan's Labyrinth ends in a similar sort of way Darren Aronofsky's The Fountain did.


Ivana Baquero delivers an absolutely outstanding performance as Ofelia. She goes through a lot of rollercoasters in this film which includes the three tasks Pan sets for her, looking after her pregnant mother and being around and obeying her evil stepfather. I remember when Ofelia's mother said to her that fairy tales aren't realy and never have happened and never will happen. So, that makes me question whether Pan, the fairies, the Pale Man, the tasks and the other creatures are just in Ofelia's imagination. Ivana's performance was very powerful and was very heartfelt which can be rare from a child in a film. It is definitely one of my top child female performances. Sergi López brings together one of the coldest film monsters of all time that is Captain Vidal. He kills innocent people for no reason but it is mostly how he kills them which makes Vidal a very dominant and powerful character to watch.


Guillermo Del Toro uses his typical visual style in this film. I think he imagines this film in his head as a similar sort of way Tim Burton did with Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice, Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride. Del Toro's directing was so precise and he wanted the performances from the actors decent enough for his type of film. The script is fantastic. It is very original which makes it a bit like a cult fantasy film.


This is my favourite Del Toro film so far, it is my second favourite film of 2006 after The Departed, it is one of my close favourite fantasy films, it is my favourite foreign language film. It is a film that is almost tied with Sweeney Todd for film with best art direction, the same with best film with best make-up. One of my most treasured films ever! Love it to bits! Always have and always will!

I love this film because it is so dark, so mysterious, so tense and even quite lovely to watch as well. It is a very dark psychological story based on deep thinking mystery and puzzle solving. Rebecca is probably the classic of thrillers before Psycho was released especially because they are both Alfred Hitchcock films. Rebecca is one of those stories that you would get totally gripped with all the way through because the mystery involved and I think that audience wants to know what the effect it would have on the characters which is basically the meaning of the twist involved. It was a twist that I actually was really surprised at. Rebecca is a treasured thriller that can be watched over and over again by all fans of thrillers not only fans of Hitchcock or Laurence Olivier. Rebecca is probably the first psychological thriller. I became deeply impressed with how interesting the story kept getting as it was carrying on until the end. I have to say that Rebecca has one of the greatest film twists of all time.


Laurence Olivier delivers one of his most famous performance ever as George Fortescue Maximilian 'Maxim' de Winter. Maxim is a widower after losing his wife Rebecca in mysterious circumstances. Her death because the main factor of the story. Maxim is a rather mysterious character especially when he is questioned about his ex-wife by his new wife. Olivier was a man who had such extraordinary talents who was always careful of what films he would star in and Rebecca is probably his most famous performance. Joan Fontaine's performance as Mrs. De Winter was even better. We never knew what her first name was but I guess that is really good because Rebecca was Mrs. De Winter once and I think we never knew the second wife's first name because I think that the director wanted the audience to imagine what sort of person Maxim De Winter was with Rebecca even though she's dead by marrying his second wife. The relationship between Mr. and Mrs. De Winter is really tense because there seems like there is going to be a shocking twist involved in the film. Judith Anderson's performance as Mrs. Danvers was absolutely amazing because Anderson showed Danvers' really cold ways with the new Mrs. De Winter. Mrs. Danvers was literally obsessed with Rebecca's beauty and sophistication, and preserves her former bedroom as a shrine, even to the point of seeming to worship Rebecca's handmade underwear and expensive négligée. As one event comes to another in her moments in the film, they become very dangerous and very fearful for Mrs. De Winter. I think Danvers has some slight jealousy over her because Rebecca was his wife before and that the new Mrs. De Winter is earning all of the attention and love from Mr. De Winter. George Sanders was awesome as well.


I cannot believe how underrated this Alfred Hitchcock film really is. It is a film that is his first American film but is also one of his oldest films. This is the ultimate introduction to seeing psychological thrillers from Hitchcock. Others he has done are Vertigo and Psycho (of the ones I've seen anyway). Hitchcock has created a film that not that many people will have seen which does annoy me a bit but I suppose it might be better like that because Hitchcock's work on Rebecca would have been over the top if it hit the public that much like Psycho did.


To me, Rebecca is like the Alfred Hitchcock debut because as I said it's like an introduction to what he does best. Rebecca is another Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece which makes this Hitchcock's third best film after Rear Window, Vertigo and Psycho. I think this is the only Laurence Olivier film that I've ever seen and this is a performance from him that I was not disappointed in at all. This will probably always be my favourite Laurence Olivier film. 1940 was a great early year for cinema and Rebecca is the second best after Pinocchio. Rebecca is a film that nobody should let go past them because it is absolutely fantastic to watch! Rebecca is one of the greatest psychological thrillers that have ever been made as well as one of the best films of all time.

Gladiator is a mind-blowing epic action film that is perhaps one of the biggest tearjerking films ever. Russell Crowe delivers an outstanding performance as Maximus but Joaquin Phoenix stole the show and plays Commodus perfectly! Ridley Scott's masterpiece which should have gained him a Best Director Oscar which he rightly deserved. Too bad he doesn't make films as good as Gladiator, Alien, Blade Runner and Thelma & Louise anymore.

Before Sweeney Todd was released, Sleepy Hollow was the darkest Tim Burton film. Sleepy Hollow is a film that does look like a horror film but way I see it, it's just a fantasy thriller. A bit like what I could call I Am Legend as well. It is very action-packed but in a more horror-thriller sort of way. Sleepy Hollow is to me one of the most fun films ever despite it's very dark story. It is adapted from a novel that is rather scary, dark and mysterious. There was an animated film about Sleepy Hollow and that one was scarier than the live action adaptation. Sleepy Hollow is really tense because of what the Headless Horseman is capable of and who is going to be his next victim.


Ichabod Crane is Johnny Depp's most heroic character in a Tim Burton film. I loved Johnny's performance as Ichabod Crane because I really was interested in his character. His intentive technology was really cool, bizarre and creative. Ichabod has a past that comes back to haunt him during the Headless Horseman investigation. Christina Ricci was good and hot has Katrina Van Tassel. Michael Gambon was good as Baltus Van Tassel as well. This film has a lot of British actors and actresses in it including Michael Gambon, Miranda Richardson, Ian McDiarmid, Christopher Lee and Richard Griffiths.


Tim Burton has created a dark masterpiece as far as I'm concerned. Sleepy Hollow is the one Tim Burton film we have been waiting a long time for which makes it absolutely typical of Tim to direct a film like this. Because Ed Wood felt more like a comedy, Sleepy Hollow brought fantasy and more seriousness within his films.


Sleepy Hollow is my third favourite Tim Burton film after Sweeney Todd and Edward Scissorhands. It is also my fifth favourite Johnny Depp film after Sweeney Todd, Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl, Edward Scissorhands and Finding Neverland. It is my third favourite Depp-Burton collaboration too after Sweeney Todd and Edward Scissorhands. This is one of my favourite and one of the best films of 1999 which was a great year in cinema. Sleepy Hollow is a masterful mystery film in which not many films are. Sleepy Hollow is an amazing fantasy thriller that I could and have watched over and over again.

By viewing the title and the poster of this film it seemed like a girly film but when you watch the film it isn't one whatsoever. Little Miss Sunshine is a very clever, original, dramatic and hilarious film with a very powerful message. Little Miss Sunshine teaches us all a lesson and that lesson is that we should always love our family not hate it. What I love the most about Little Miss Sunshine is that all six members of the Hoover family have different personalities and set on a trip all miserable but when a twist occurs they all bond together to form a proper family and all have a change of heart. It is the ultimate determination for the family that bonded them so well. Also, they all finally understood each other. There is a lot of comedy involved with sarcastic jokes and dark comedy. This is a really fun adventure that is deeply experiencing and pleasurable. This film has one of the best ensemble casts ever. All of the performances are just amazing and don't disappoint.


Greg Kinnear was awesome as Richard Hoover. Richard is a Type A personality striving to build a career as a motivational speaker and life coach. He is very strict and is very awkward and difficult towards his daughter Olive and also Dwayne and particularly his brother-in-law Frank. Despite that attitude he has with most of the family, he is rather funny. Toni Collette's performance as Sheryl Hoover was even better than Greg's. Toni brought a lot of power and realistic force to Sheryl's personality. Sheryl is an overworked mother of two children Dwayne and Olive. She argues with her husband Richard quite a lot even though she isn't the one who causes them in the first place. She is just an ordinary mother who just wants what is best for her family. Steve Carell was good as Frank Ginsberg. Frank is a messed-up middle aged man who is a homosexual and is a scholar of French author Proust. He is temporarily living with his family after attempting to commit suicide. Steve was really good but an actor like Robin Williams would have been better. Paul Dano was amazing as Dwayne. He is the son of Sheryl and stepson of Richard. Dano is only 11 years younger than Toni Collette who plays his mother in the film. Dwayne is a Nietzsche-reading teenager who has taken a vow of silence until he can accomplish his dream of becoming a test pilot. Richard's foul-mouthed father is a man who recently got evicted out of a retirement home for snorting heroin. He also temporarily lives with the family having nowhere else to go. He is very close to his seven-year-old granddaughter Olive. Alan Arkin was really good as Edwin. He is very rude and funny but very lovely towards Olive especially by teaching her to dance for the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant. Abigail Breslin's performance is a tie for best child star performance alongside Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense. She was just so cute for the character. On that one scene where she was really crying I thought to myself "Awww bless her". She was an amazing choice for Olive Hoover.


Husband and wife Jonathan Dayton and Valarie Faris directed this film really well with that heartwarming and inspiring feeling to it. It teaches a lot about family and what it really means. The script was an amazing debut from Michael Arndt after earning the Oscar win. The script truly is one of my favourite scripts ever. It is perfect! It's funny, emotional and really clever.


Little Miss Sunshine is my favourite adventure film, my favourite road film and my favourite film of 2006. Little Miss Sunshine truly has one of the best ensemble cast. After Pulp Fiction and The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King this film has one of the best scripts of all time. I think everybody would love this film. It's a masterpiece with a big twist and a powerful and thoughtful message.

I find Taxi Driver to be one of the most powerful films ever made because of the characters and their behaviour. It is like the attitude of some humans at the present time. It is a story of loneliness, slowly falling into madness and a story of different twists and turns that occur for Travis. It is a very heartbreaking film because of Travis's downfall and turning himself into a murderous monster. I would call Travis Bickle Martin Scorsese's most powerful character. I do think that Taxi Driver anlong with The Godfather and A Clockwork Orange are the start of classic crime films. Taxi Driver is the start of the eight Scorsese-De Niro films that have been made so far. This is the best of the collaboration between the two.


Robert De Niro gives out a performance for the ages. He truly reveals how twisted people on Earth can become and how much of a different type of person one can be. The Godfather: Part II is Robert's ultimate start after winning his first Oscar in his first nomination. Taxi Driver is the ultimate start to seeing Robert De Niro in a leading role. It is weird at the start because De Niro hadn't played a villain before. I have mixed feelings about Travis being a villain. I think he is a villain because he becomes mad and kills people. However, I think he isn't a villain because he becomes sort of confused with himself of why he is so lonely. In this case, I think I find it similar to Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight apart from that Harvey did it because appears different and dramatic twist occurs. Travis must have certainly been mad enough to cut his hair from ordinary black hair to a black mohawk. But De Niro truly delivers the most powerful performance of his career. Jodie Foster's performance is another outstanding performance that outdid me and blew me away with my expectations because she was only 13 or 14 at the time of the film but she is playing a 12 year old child-prostitute. It must have been hard for Foster because she was only a kid and she was playing a very crude character. This is a performance that she will be remembered for but will be remembered more for The Accused and especially The Silence Of The Lambs.


The directing was really good from Martin Scorsese. He reveals human behavious in his very own way like David Fincher does in Fight Club. Scorsese shows what life can be like and how it can affect a person's life. The writing was very good. It is like the start of awesome cult films. It was written like it was either trying to make a point or making Taxi Driver a cinematic experience that can teach a person what life would be like if you start to ruin it.


In my personal opinion, I think that Taxi Driver is the best film of the 1970s. It is the best of De Niro-Scorsese films. It is Robert De Niros best film and also Martin Scorseses best film too. Love this film. Always have and always will. It is a masterpiece and it is as simple as that.

After watching The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button in the first 3 hours of 2009, Revolutionary Road made an even more special 6 hours of 2009 by watching it straight after it. Revolutionary Road is another masterful suburban drama from Sam Mendes. This film brought together quite a few things from American Beauty like the fallouts between husband and wife, the sceneries behind it and what the plot is in general. This is an emotional drama that has a dark outlook on life. This one is darker than American Beauty because American Beauty is a beautiful story as well as depressing. Revolutionary Road is more dramatic. What I truly love about suburban dramas is that there is both beauty and drama within them.


Leonardo DiCaprio was fantastic as Frank Wheeler. Nobody has ever seen him play a character like Frank who is a man at a job he hates and is a family man. We have previously seen DiCaprio play really different characters in the past where he just lives his own life like Jack Dawson, Billy Costigan, Frank Abagnale Jr. and Danny Archer. Despite how different Frank is compared, he has that some used in DiCaprio because Frank is a rather serious character. Kate Winslet's performance was fabulous as April Wheeler. April is a troubled woman who ends up being an actress much to her dismay. To star a new fresh life, she wants to live in Paris with Frank and their son and daughter. Kate has played that mothering kind of character before like she did in her Oscar nominated performance in Little Children. Kate has truly given the best performance of her career even beating Rose in Titanic. April is mixed up and confused about what she wants. Kate has a huge chance of winning two Oscars in the same year: for Revolutionary Road (Leading Actress) and The Reader (Supporting Actress). It's a damn shame that Kate won the Oscar for The Reader instead of Revolutionary Road. Kathy Bates was good as Mrs. Helen Givings in a possible Oscar worthy performance. Michael Shannon made me laugh in this one because John Givings is such an irritating character. It was great seeing Leonardo and Kate in a film together again.


Sam Mendes' direction was fantastic but was very different compared to American Beauty even though the stories in both are quite similar. This film must have been a life changing experience for Mendes because he worked with his wife Kate Winslet, he worked with one of the most popular partnerships of all time which was in Titanic and now Revolutionary Road. Also, because Kate and Leonardo are almost like best friends in real life. I mean, what a fantastic collaboration: Mendes-DiCaprio-Winslet. There are two masterpieces involving cast (including Kathy Bates) with director and story theme and they are Titanic and American Beauty. Mendes is THE fantastic just like American Beauty was.


This is Kate Winslet's best film so far where she has to finally win an Oscar especially working with her husband. Love DiCaprio in this but love his performance in The Departed the most. Sam Mendes' second best after American Beauty and it's my third favourite film of 2008 behind The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button and The Dark Knight. Revolutionary Road is a re-born suburban drama from Mendes. Loved Mendes before but love his work even more now!!

I had the DVD of this film in my possession for half a year and now after seeing this film, I cannot believe that I didn't watch it sooner! I knew I was going to like Roman Holiday but I was surprised at how much I did love it. It totally gripped me all the way through in all sorts of different ways. Roman Holiday is a beautiful film that is full of romance, comedy and pure modern day adventure. It is quite tense as well because the princess is a fugitive who everybody is looking for. It is one of those classic romantic-comedies that not many people would watch due to the release year but I think it should be a film that everyone should watch! I was blown away by this film.


Gregory Peck was amazing in this film as Joe Bradley! Peck was a legendary actor who is probably better known for his Oscar winning performance in To Kill A Mockingbird but to be honest I like him more in Roman Holiday. Peck was the perfect pick in my opinion for Bradley because he seemed to have that charming, affectionate and romantic taste which was perfect for the princess. Bradley is an American newspaperman who lives in Rome. He is seeking an exclusive story so by doing so he pretends that he doesn't know the princess's true identity even though he soon discovers. Audrey Hepburn's main role debut began in a huge way with an Oscar win. She is most famous for My Fair Lady and particularly Breakfast At Tiffany's. I think her performance in this one was better than both of those films. It was like a princess playing a princess because that is what Audrey was in those days. In my opinion, Audrey Hepburn and Vivien Leigh were the best actresses of the early/mid 1900s. I just found her totally irresistable in this film.


William Wyler was one of the great directors of all time. Roman Holiday is another legendary film that made him famous. I really love how this film was directed. It was an absolute joy to watch. I am glad that a director like Frank Capra didn't direct this film because it would have been too much like It Happened One Night and Capra has a good talent and bringing delight into films which we saw in that film and also in It's A Wonderful Life. The script was absolutely amazing which was filled with wit and with a lot of delight.


Roman holiday is one of the most delightful films that I have ever watched. It is the best film that I have seen in a while. It blew me away in almost every way. This is in my opinion Audrey Hepburn's best film of the ones that I have seen so far from her; even better than Breakfast At Tiffany's and My Fair Lady. It is Gregory Peck's best film as well of what I have seen so far; even better than To Kill A Mockingbird. Roman Holiday is one of my favourite romantic comedies as well as one of my favourite classics of all time.

I absolutely adored this film!! Finding Neverland is a real-life story but is mixed with fairy tales. I found Finding Neverland to be a very rare family bio-pic. Finding Neverland not only shows the beauty of love but also of using your imagination. It is a big inspiration to me for that basic reason. It wasn't only the characters that made it beautiful for a family but also the way it is filmed. I loved the artistic designs of the neighbourhoods and also the costumes and cinematography as well. Finding Neverland is so magical it's untrue. Out of the 5 Best Picture nominees of 2008, I liked Finding Neverland the best. It is a film about self-discovery in which Barrie learns about himself with Peter Pan. Despite how beautiful the film is, it is quite a heartbreaking film as well. It is a masterpiece that I could watch over and over again.


Johnny Depp rarely stars in family films. I can only think of Finding Neverland, Pirates Of The Caribbean trilogy, Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Edward Scissorhands and the upcoming Alice In Wonderland. Depp almost made J.M. Barrie his own person as well as his own character. I was fascinated by Barrie's work on Peter Pan especially because I love Peter Pan. Depp has portrayed a man who loves being with children which is something Depp has ever done before. Johnny's performance as Barrie reminds me a lot of his performance as Ed Wood because being a maker of entertainment. They are both funny characters. I loved Kate Winslet's performance as Sylvia Llewelyn Davies. She is a single mother of 4 sons Michael, George, Jack and Peter. Barrie comes into their lives at the right time especially after the boys lost their father. Kate's performance was a very heartbreaking and a performance that makes you think about things. Johnny and Kate's performances were different: Kate was deeply emotional and Johnny was serious and funny. Freddie Highmore is one of my favourite child star male actors of this generation. His performance in Finding Neverland was his breakthrough performance before Charlie And The Chocolate Factory. He is better in Finding Neverland than Charlie And The Chocolate Factory. Other cast members Dustin Hoffman, Julie Christie and Radha Mitchell were really good as well.


Marc Forster has been a director of making different kinds of films. His work in Finding Neverland is his finest achievement so far. His directing in Finding Neverland was far better than his lame directing in Quantum Of Solace. Forster isn't a good action film director but Finding Neverland proved him to be a good director for family based stories and could make another go of a bio-pic. The script is written really well about a person who lived just over 70 years ago now. Finding Neverland is without a doubt one of my favourite family films of all time.


This one is the best of the 5 Best Picture nominees in 2004. It is my second favourite film of 2004 after Closer. Finding Neverland is Johnny's fourth best performance after Sweeney Todd, Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl and Edward Scissorhands and it is Kate Winslet's fourth best performance after Revolutionary Road, Titanic and Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind. Finding Neverland is Marc Forster's best work so far and will hopefully always be his finest achievement. Finding Neverland is one of the most heartbreaking films as well as one of the most beautiful, inspiring and magical films ever made.

This film totally blew me away. This is one of the single most powerful films that have ever been made. There are a lot of powerful films that I love but there aren't that many which I could probably watch over and over again. I am glad to say that this is one of them that I could. I knew I needed to have a clear mind of what to expect with this film but it was too horrific to not like. This was a massive anticipation for me because of the dialogue and also because it was a true story and I love bio-pics. I think it has to be one of the hardest films that I have evern watched. I was left speechless at the end of this film which is something that doesn't happen very often to me. It is a film that starts like it is going to have a very dangerous and hard-hitting conclusion especially Brandon's real identity. It is a film that is a rather disturbing experience that is quite good. It is a beautiful film at the same time because it shows love despite of how different a person is. It was made at a great year don't get me wrong but I think they might have filmed it a little too soon after the real-life event occurred. The film was made in 1999 but the the real-life events happened in 1993. It is like World Trade Center and United 93 because a true story is filmed too soon after the real-life event occurred. Boys Don't Cry is another masterpiece that has been made in the best year in cinema of all time: 1999. I think 1999 will always be my favourite year in cinema.


Hilary Swank delivers an absolutely perfect performance as Brandon Teena/Teena Brandon. I think it will always be Swank's best performance. She said herself that playing Brandon was the biggest challenge she's ever had and probably always will have. She earned a lot of great glory after her performance including an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Actress. Despite her Oscar and Golden Globe she did surprise me because there has never been an actress playing a real-life person of the opposite sex in a true story. Chloë Sevigny's performance as Lana was such a powerful performance just like Swank's. There was a lot of commitment Sevigny had to deal with in this one because of the lesbian sex scenes with Hilary Swank and especially having to pretend Hilary Swank and Brandon Teena is a boy but is really a girl biologically. It's weird because to Lana, it is heterosexual love and romance she has with Brandon but to Brandon and to the viewers of the film it is lesbian love.


This has an extremely underrated director. The director's debut was an absolutely mindblowing one. Also, it's underrated because the director is a woman: Kimberley Peirce. She also wrote the script for this masterpiece. I think it's weird because there aren't that many female directors who make such masterpieces of filmmaking. Kimberley Peirce for Boys Don't Cry and Sofia Coppola for Lost In Translation are the only two masterpieces that were made by women. I was blown away by how sexually graphic it was. There was a lot of crude nudity and sexual violence involved too especially with the rape scene.


Boys Don't Cry is one of the best films of 1999. It is Hilary Swank's best performance and probably always will be. Boys Don't Cry is one of the most powerful, gut-retching and mindblowing films that have ever been made. It is a favourite of mine and my review says it all.