Lies & Illusions (2009)

Those faithful to my blog will probably have realised that I have become quite a fan of Christian Slater, and I found this, his latest movie to be up to his usual impressive standard.

The movie tells the story of a best-selling writer, Wes Wilson (Christian Slater), who after receiving praise for his book revealing how honesty is the most important thing in a relationship, realises that he doesn’t know the love of his life at all! He makes this discovery following the disappearance of his fiancée Samantha (Sarah Ann Schultz). After she has been missing for a whole year, she is presumed dead, and Wes gains access to all of her possessions, including the contents of her safe deposit box. He also finds out from her lawyer that everything he knew about her life was a lie.

Wes and his new girlfriend Nicole (Christa Campbell) decide to find out the truth, but they’re not the only ones. Samantha’s ruthless ex employers are also after what she has been hiding inside the safe deposit box, and will stop at nothing to get it…

This is quite a tense movie, and full of twists and turns throughout the plot. It is also action packed, and quite reminiscent of Christian Slater’s recent TV drama “My Own Worst Enemy”. There are so many lies to uncover, that you can never be quite sure who to trust (except of course for Wes, the central character). Great movie, but you really need to keep up with the twists along the way!

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

This movie has a very curious tale indeed! Based on the short story by F Scott Fitzgerald, it centres around the implausible life story of a man who is born old and ages backwards. The tale is set against the backdrop of Hurricane Katrina, and told from the viewpoint of a dying woman, Daisy (Cate Blanchett), who is relaying the story to her grown up daughter Caroline. She does this with the help of Benjamin Button’s diaries, chronicling his extraordinary life.

Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt) was born in New Orleans in 1918. From birth he had all the symptoms of old age, for example poor elasticity in the skin, diminished hearing and eyesight etc. His mother died in childbirth, and his distraught father abandoned his son on the steps of a retirement home. The baby was taken in by Queenie (who ran the home) believing he did not have long to live. However, he survived and to everyone’s surprise became more youthful as the years passed.

In 1930, when Benjamin was 12 (although still looked like a very old man) he met 9 year old Daisy, who was to become the true love of his life. However, as the saying goes, the course of true love never runs smoothly, and this was especially true in their case. With one aging forwards, and the other backwards, they only had a brief time in the middle of their lives to be together as lovers.

I found this movie to be extraordinary and very touching, although the plot did seem to slow down in the middle of the film. I also found it visually impressive, with superb acting and direction. This film makes the viewer think too, about the meaning of age, and how relevant this really is in our lives. For Benjamin and Daisy, a few years of happiness together was worth the separation they had to endure before and afterwards. The moral of this story appeared to be to make the most of now, rather than worrying about the future.

All in all, a highly enjoyable and thought provoking movie, a tale for the curious!

Premonition (2007)

Linda Hanson (Sandra Bullock) is a typical housewife and mother. That is until the worst week of her life…

Thursday: While her husband Jim (Julian McMahon) is away on business, Linda drops the children off at school as normal. Later on, she talks to her friend Annie on the phone, then realises she has a message on the answerphone from Jim. He’s talking about something he said to their daughters the other night, which Linda has no memory of. His message is interrupted by him telling her he has a call waiting which he needs to answer.

Following this, Linda receives a visit from the police. The officer informs her that her husband had been killed in a car crash the previous day (Wednesday). She then has to tell her two daughters of the event. At the end of this nightmare of a day, she falls asleep. When she wakes up, she realises that it is now…

Monday: Jim is alive and well! He had not left for his business trip, and events that Linda remembered from the previous day appeared not to have taken place. She begins to believe that his death must have been a bad dream all along, until she wakes up the next day to find that it is…

Saturday: Linda awakes to find an empty glass and a bottle of wine on the bedside table. The bedroom mirror is covered, and there is an empty pill bottle in the sink. The bottle is marked as Lithium, and the doctor’s name on the label is Dr Roth. The pills were prescribed to her, but she had never heard of this doctor! When she goes downstairs, she discovers that today is Jim’s funeral! Is he really dead? In addition to this shock, Linda discovers that her eldest daughter’s face is suddenly covered with cuts, although no one will explain why.

By this point, understandably, Linda doesn’t know what to believe. It appears that she is living through the days of this week in a completely random order. Is she really experiencing premonitions, and if so, could this help her prevent her husband’s death?

This is an amazingly well conceived film, although very complicated. It is probably worth seeing more than once to get the full effect, and you need to concentrate and keep a mental note of which day you are currently watching. You will also then need to put this together with the previous and future days shown in the movie to make sense of the week! This is also brilliantly acted by all concerned. Sandra Bullock’s performance in particular was exceptional. This is a great movie, but remember to keep your brain switched on, as this really requires you to pay attention!

White Noise (2005)

White Noise is quite a creepy film, and takes a new twist on the traditional ghost story. The basis for this is EVP (electronic voice phenomenon), which is a commonly held belief that the living can make contact with the dead via static (or white noise) on electronic audio and visual devices. More simply put, by recording static on a radio or VCR for example, it is possible to play back your recording and hear the voices of the dead or see their faces on a television screen. I have personally heard many stories detailing this phenomenon, and a quick search on the internet will undoubtedly reveal many more.

In this particular story, Jonathon Rivers (Michael Keaton) lost his wife Anna (Chandra West) in a freak accident. While dealing with his grief, he is approached by Raymond Price (Ian McNeice) who tells Jonathon that he has been receiving messages from Anna from the other side. Jonathon is sceptical at first, but when he starts receiving calls from Anna’s mobile phone (which he has kept at home – turned off), he decides to find out more.

After hearing Anna’s voice on Raymond’s equipment, Jonathon begins to develop an obsession with EVP. He buys as many recording devices as he can accommodate, and begins staying up all night, desperate to hear more from Anna. He succeeds in recording both voices and images, from others as well as Anna, and realises that this could be his chance to help others as Raymond helped him. However, there are also evil spirits coming through…

Whilst not an accurate portrayal of EVP (as it appeared to be embellished for dramatic effect), I found this movie very intriguing to watch, and it certainly had the capacity to make me jump several times! My only real gripe with this film was that the climax was so dark, that I struggled to see what was going on! Unfortunately, this left me with the feeling that I’d somehow missed the point. However, saying that, I did enjoy (and get) the first 3/4 of the film! This is definitely one for those who love to watch films about things that go bump in the night!

Heathers (1988)

This film has become a teenage cult classic for good reason. It’s a great film! The story is a very black comedy about the pressures of being popular at high school. The story goes something like this…

The most popular clique at Westerberg High school consists of three girls named Heather (hence the title) and their hanger-on Veronica (Winona Ryder). Despite being popular, the three Heathers are bitchy, mean and nasty, even to Veronica. They are Heather Chandler, the leader (Kim Walker), Heather Duke (Shannen Doherty) and Heather McNamara (Lisanne Falk). Veronica realises that her best friends are also her worst enemies.

Things soon change for her when she meets up with another student, Jason Dean, a.k.a. JD (Christian Slater). JD is psychotic to say the least, and conspires with Veronica to kill first Heather Chandler, and then others who JD feels deserve to die. JD appears to have no conscience when it comes to murder, unlike Veronica, who tries to break their relationship off. However, JD is unstoppable…

I must admit, I wasn’t expecting great things from this movie, but found it to be quite addictive – you just have to find out what happens next! The performances from all of the leading actors were stunning, and this draws you into the story. The storyline itself is very quirky and unpredictable, and I found it to be reminiscent of one of Christian Slater’s later movies “Very Bad Things”, which I also loved.

There was only one flaw in this film for me. Without giving too much away, one of the main characters to be murdered, turns up later in the film alive and well for some unexplained reason! I didn’t quite understand how this error could have been missed by everyone involved!

In conclusion though, Heathers is a very enjoyable movie and certainly worth a watch (at least once). I challenge anyone to watch this and be bored!

Untamed Heart (1993) - Movie Review

Although I’ve never been a particular fan of so called “weepies”, I stumbled upon this movie by chance and became engrossed very quickly. The story revolves around the unlikely romance between Caroline (a waitress) and Adam (a busboy), who work in the same diner.

Caroline (Marisa Tomei) whilst being quite confident and outgoing, has always been unlucky in love, although holds out hope of meeting her Mr Right. However, when the story begins, she had never really noticed Adam (Christian Slater), let alone considered dating him.

Adam’s character is the complete opposite to Caroline, and much more complex. He was orphaned at birth, and grew up in a children’s home run by nuns. Also, he had been born with a severe heart defect. He had been told by one of the nuns that he had been given a baboon’s heart, as his own was too weak for him to survive. As he was such a sick child, he was never allowed to play with other children, and had very limited social interaction of any kind. This led to him growing up to become a painfully shy and awkward young man. He rarely spoke, and kept himself very much to himself. However, he did have very strong feelings for Caroline, but couldn’t bring himself to tell her.

One night, on the way home from work, two men attacked and tried to rape Caroline. Adam, who had been following her home (“to keep her safe”), rescued her. Following this event, the couple began to get to know each other, and she started to bring him out of his shell. They fall deeply in love, although they still have more obstacles to overcome. Adam was still very weak due to his heart defect, and needed a transplant, plus the men who attacked Caroline wanted revenge on the man who stopped them…

Overall, this is a very engaging story, and beautifully acted by everyone involved. In particular, the chemistry between Adam and Caroline was electric. Although there were some elements in Adam’s character which could be considered a bit creepy (for example, following her home and breaking into her house to watch her sleep), it was easy to forgive him as he was never a threat. He simply had no idea how to communicate or interact with other people, including Caroline.

Without giving too much away, this is such a tragic tale (I have heard it likened to “Love Story”), and would melt even the hardest hearts. A big box of tissues is highly recommended while watching this movie!

The Butterfly Effect (2004) - Movie Review

The Butterfly Effect is quite a surreal movie at times, and can be quite confusing. It begs the question “what if you could change events, and undo the mistakes you’ve made in the past?”

Evan Treborn (Ashton Kutcher) has suffered from unexplained blackouts throughout his life, usually during stressful situations. Afterwards, he would have little or no short term memory. When he was a child, the adults around him dismissed this, believing that he was making them up to avoid getting into trouble. At this stage, he began keeping a diary so that he remembered more about what happened to him, in an attempt to find a reason for these blackouts. He grew up with his mother, a single parent, after his father was committed to a psychiatric institution.

When he became an adult, Evan started to read his childhood diaries, and something very strange happened. When reading, he was transported back to the event he was reading about, and was able to relive the traumatic events from his past. Evan soon realised that he could use this ability to change what happened, believing this would make his life (and those around him) better. However, he hadn’t counted on the consequences of changing the past. By improving one thing, he affected and changed something else for the worse. The more determined he became to correct his past mistakes, the more new mistakes he made, which he was determined to put right, but at what cost?

Whilst being a very complicated and at times confusing plot to this film, I found it to be compelling viewing. As a viewer, you really want his next trip to the past to fix all of the problems he has created, and to bring a happy ending to the story. However, there are so many twists in the tale, it is impossible to predict how things will change when he returns to the present. It is never explained how Evan has this ability, only that he seemed to inherit this from his father, which is why he ended up in psychiatric care. At one point, Evan was on the verge of suffering the same fate. This is on the whole a very thought provoking film, although you do need to concentrate in order to keep up with the plot. I would recommend seeing this at least twice to get the full impact, and understand why events change in the way they do due to Evan’s desperation to make things right! Brilliantly written, acted and directed, this movie will keep you guessing right the way from the first scene through to its great ending. Highly recommended.

He Was a Quiet Man (2007) - Movie Review

Although not a widely known film, this one is a must see as it contains such powerful drama, is intensely thought provoking and keeps you (the viewer) on the edge of your seat throughout.

It is the story of Bob Maconel (Christian Slater) who is a very lonely middle aged man, stuck in an incredibly mundane job. He has no respect from his peers or his boss, and is on the verge of a breakdown. Bob fantasises about shooting his boss, and all the others at work that have mistreated him over the years. However, even though he has the loaded gun in his desk, he can’t quite bring himself to do the deed. He tells himself every day that the timing is not quite right, and puts it off until tomorrow.

What Bob doesn’t know is that the man in the next cubicle, by the name of Ralf Coleman is experiencing the exact same feelings, but has enough confidence to act. One day he stands up and shoots several people dead. One survives, Vanessa Parks (Elisha Cuthbert), although to Coleman’s dismay she is one of the few in the office liked by everyone, including himself. He realises that he has shot her by accident, assuming she was someone else. Bob (still with his gun in his desk), shoots and kills the gunman, and instantly becomes a hero. Suddenly, the press are clambering to get his story, and he is given a promotion at work. His new title is “Vice President of Creative Thinking”. He is also given Vanessa’s big office with a window (which he has always wanted) and company car, as he is told that she wouldn’t be coming back to work.

At the insistence of his boss, Bob goes to visit Vanessa in the hospital, only to discover that she is paralysed from the neck down, with little chance of recovery. At first she is simply angry to be alive, and then comes up with a plan. As she knows Bob to be a compassionate man, and she has no one else, she asks him to help her commit suicide. As far as she is concerned, her life is already over, and she wants Bob to help her finish what Coleman started. Bob reluctantly agrees, and on her release from hospital, they go for a meal together, and decide to spend some time doing things they had never done before. Until that is, she is ready to die…

While this may sound like a tragic and even depressing story, there is so much more to it than this. There are so many twists and turns in this story, and you as a viewer feel so much for the main characters, Bob in particular, as his soul is laid bare. It is also amazingly well acted, with such well defined and complex characters, you begin to yearn for a happy ending. However, each glimmer of hope for this is dashed with the introduction of yet another plot twist.

Fans of Christian Slater’s work may expect him to play the sexy male lead in this film as usual, however this is not the case. For this film he was given a complete change of image. He had bad teeth, ugly glasses and receding hair. In fact he shaved (and even plucked out) his own hair to give the impression that he was balding for the role. His performance is probably the best he has ever done, and he totally became Bob Maconel, proving just how talented he really is as an actor. This film has inspired me to watch more of his movies, although it’s hard to believe that this particular performance can be topped.

In short, if you appreciate a good drama, you must see this film. I’ve heard it to be similar in some ways to “Falling Down” (another on my mental list to watch)., and is such an emotional rollercoaster to watch. You’ll probably need a lie down to recover afterwards!

"Frances" (1982) - Movie Review

Although you may be forgiven for not having heard of this film, let alone watching it, Frances has gained critical acclaim around the world, with several award nominations. This included two Oscar nominations for both Jessica Lange as Best actress and Kim Stanley for Best Supporting Actress. The film was based on the true & turbulent, and disturbing life story of the actress Frances Farmer. Although some of the events depicted in Frances were apocryphal, this is still an amazingly dramatic and powerful movie, leaving the viewer with much to think about regarding human nature.

Born in Seattle, Washington, Frances always had a rebellious side. This showed early on in her life when she won an essay writing competition in high school. Her subject was the death of God. This was incredibly unpopular in small town America in the 1930’s.

Frances was determined to follow her dream and become an actress. However, despite appearing in several movies, she very quickly became disillusioned with fame and the Hollywood scene, where her looks were more sought after than her acting talents. Very soon Frances was classed as uncooperative due to her outspoken nature, and resisted every attempt by the studio to force her to conform, and become the classic movie star. She then turned to stage acting with mixed reviews, in the hopes of becoming seen as a serious actress. By all accounts, the real Frances Farmer was actually a very good actress, and it is a shame that she wasn't taken as seriously as she hoped.

However, her temperamental nature got her into more and more trouble, leading to a number of arrests for abuse and disorderly conduct. This in turn led to her committal to various psychiatric institutions. By today's standards, her behaviour would have been dismissed as "normal" for a celebrity!

The saddest part of this movie is that although abusive at times, Frances was certainly not insane. Her frustrations and the reasons behind it were all too clear. It is quite possible to put yourself in her position and understand her behaviour, even justify it. The psychiatric treatments she was given seemed only to force her to conform to what was then “normal” behaviour, instead of to cure her of some psychosis.

Jessica Lange in particular stood out in Frances, although this was brilliantly acted by everyone involved. Whether or not this tells the whole truth about Frances Farmer’s life, as a piece of dramatic fiction alone this is one of the most poignant films I have ever watched, and even stands up today to question how we view and judge celebrities. This is certainly worth seeing as it works on many levels, and is truly a classic film.