#4- Pulp Fiction (1994) review

Just before the release of Pulp Fiction, Quentin Tarantino wasn’t a big name in the movie industry at that time, like directors such as Martin Scorsese. However, following the release of Pulp Fiction, Tarantino emerged as one of cinema’s greatest writers/directors, all thanks to Pulp Fiction even if Reservoir Dogs was his very first film

Pulp Fiction collectively tells the story of two hitmen, a mob boss, a boxer and the mob bosses’ wife living out their lives and naturally being involved with crime. The great thing about Pulp Fiction is the perfect tying in of every single thing that happened in the film whether it be one of Tarantino’s extremely engaging conversations or just a murder, or a simple joke. 

Unlike other crime films such as The Godfather which is so full of heart, Pulp Fiction is an illustration of what life would be like under crime never showing any hints of emotion even when main characters are tortured as is Butch, in one specific scene. Tarantino was aware that his style and approach towards this now crime masterpiece was unique at the time for various reasons, especially the storytelling which is utter Tarantino brilliance.

When a film does not have heart but more so violence and heavy crime, there needs to be endearing characters spread throughout one of these films for us to really engage and immerse ourselves in such a world where crime is life. Thankfully, Tarantino by this stage had completely mastered how to write not only dialogue but his characters who are some of my all time favorites. Samuel L Jackson plays Jules Winnfield, a foul mouthed hit man and a friend of Vincent Vega, played by John Travolta. The two share incredible chemistry and are an absolute joy whenever they share a moment of screen time. Thankfully, there’s more than a moment! There’s a whole story and a half with the two, which is how Pulp Fiction is told. It is told throughout various stories taking place in different characters’ lives all of which share some necessity to the end of the film, whether it be Jules executing an innocent Brett or whether it be about Butch receiving advice from Marsellus Wallace. Even though ‘The Bonnie Situation’ is my favourite story, I love all three stories equally which is what Tarantino intended and which is what he succeeds at thankfully. However, ‘The Gold Watch’ segment is more engaging than I remember the last time I viewed this film. It is full of humor and is probably the only story that features any emotion depth in any way, yet the film in every way turns out a piece of legend! 

Every single actor does their part perfectly. Jackson and Travolta are the true stars of this film, figuratively and literally. However, the supporting cast consisting of Bruce Willis, Uma Thurman, Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Amanda Plummer and Christopher Walken all do a fantastic job. Even Tarantino himself has a role in the film and whilst this is one of the weaker performances in the film, it still has some great moments. This is where the film truly dominates most of cinema’s films. Not in the story or the acting, or even the direction. But in the dialogue. I am not someone who gets engaged to dialogue to the extent I have in Pulp Fiction, which is quite possibly the most quotable film I’ve ever had the pleasure of viewing. Tarantino is able to perfectly place everyday conversations into a unique crime film in a way that not only is it entertaining but it develops characters and a story. Most of the characters are completely understood from the dialogue they say. Some of my favourite dialogue ever came from Jackson and some other fantastic lines from Travolta and Willis.

This film is one of the most perfectly paced 150 minute films. To think that by the end of this film, I truly wonder what has happened to time completely tells that when one is able to forget about the duration of a film, they are immersed and that is what I was. I was taken into a world full of crime and violence, so empty of peace and happiness which is simply not where I want to ever be but was able to take myself and accept myself into such a world. Everything about Pulp Fiction is utterly perfect and when you add the incredible entertainment factor and the high re-watchability factor that Pulp Fiction has, then you basically find yourself having a timeless masterpiece that is not only Tarantino’s best but one of the all time greats. 

Grade- 10/10 

Most deserved!!!!  

The Shawshank Redemption (1994) review

After viewing this film a few times, it is truly a pity to think that The Shawshank Redemption did not carry home any Oscar, even though the film clearly surpasses the greatness of Forrest Gump which managed to take 7 Oscars. With one of the greatest, most realistic and most moving stories, to fantastic acting or amazing characters, The Shawshank Redemption is one of the finest directed films and has sent through a message that has inspired many people. “Hope is always a good thing”

When thinking about films, I generally like to think of an aspect to a film that I do not appreciate even if it is a very slight nit-pick but the Shawshank Redemption is so full of brilliance in every department of great film making that there isn’t one slight thing about the film that I do not like. Even one of my favourite films of all time, Pulp Fiction, the other film in 1994 that should’ve won Oscars has a slight nitpick here and there but upon rewatching this film, it has immediately moved into my top 5 films of all time.

The Shawshank Redemption plays out in a prison called Shawshank where a young man named Andy Dufresne is sent to Shawshank for two life sentences on the account for murdering his wife and her lover. There he forms a bond with a man named Red as the film continues to show Andy’s progress from a timid man into a confident and rather respectable man whilst he attempts to escape Shawshank. 

What is so brilliant about this film is that it is completely free to allow itself to be set up nicely never feeling rushed or slow. It is so brilliant in everyway that, like the late Roger Ebert said, The Shawshank Redemption makes you completely lose track of time and ensures that you forget you are watching a film as the narration, giving by the godly voice of Morgan Freeman makes you feel as if you are one of the men in Shawshank. Featuring one of the greatest screenplays, The Shawshank Redemption is a masterful adaptation off Stephen King’s masterpiece. The pacing is just incredible and the messages that are sent through this film are incredibly powerful, thanks to a fantastic script. Some of the lines, especially ‘Remember Red, hope is always a good thing!” is such a fantastic and such an inspirational line. 

Some films that deal with prison life could come off horrible but The Shawshank Redemption offers a completely realistic and rather dark yet emotional and happy take on prison life. The characters presented have been considered to have done bad stuff in the past but are rather friendly people once you come to know them more. Red and Andy are endearing characters and even minor characters, mainly Brooks, the old librarian are vital to the story and what may be Red’s fate. Brooks was a major character who was portrayed brilliantly as he was able to show what life on the outside is like after serving a lifetime on the inside. The way that this simultaneously linked with Red was superb and the whole sequence regarding Red’s narration of Andy’s escape was done perfectly but the finest scene in the final, in my eyes, was Brooks’ fate. Not only heavily emotional but extremely realistic, this scene provided much pity not just for Brooks but also for others at Shawshank.

Morgan Freeman was absolutely superb as Red, his voice providing such power and emotion to the film. His performance is calm making his character all the more endearing. The chemistry he shared with Tim Robbins was fantastic and Robbins’ gave a fantastic performance showing his dedication to the library, showing his urge to leave and his fear and guilt of his past. The way that both Freeman and Robbins’ portrayed extremely calm characters yet how we could still see their anger and fright was just superb. The rest of the cast did a great job especially Bob Gunton who played the corrupted head of Shawshank, Warden Norton. That scene involving Norton and newcomer, Tommy was just superb. The way that Norton’s face was mainly covered by the dark was extremely symbolic and the entire scene was intense. He displayed what true corruption would be like and is quite possibly, one of the great antagonists ever put to screen. 

Frank Darabont’s directing was utterly fantastic and in many ways, it is no surprise that his film is so well received by critics and users across the world. It remains, one of the all time greatest films and has been placed at #1 on IMDb’s infamous top 250 list for an extremely long time period even though it is definitely not the greatest film ever made. ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ is a movie for anyone aged 15 and up and will demonstrate what true life can be like. An extremely dark at times yet positive film that has timeless re-watchable value. A true masterpiece in my eyes. 

Grade- 10/10 

Fight Club (1999) review

I myself would simply hate having to break the first two rules about Fight Club but it must be done when talking about one of the all-time greatest films. Not only is the story and characters brilliant in this film but so is about every other aspect of the film whether it be the acting, writing, directing, realism or the complexity and layers of the story. What shocks me most about Fight Club is how much I hated it last time that I saw it.

Edward Norton stars in this film as an unnamed narrator whose life has been a struggle since he suffers from insomnia. As a way to discover real pain, Norton begins to attend sessions of testicular cancer and just as he is recovering, once more crosses paths with another imposter named Marla Singer. This causes him to suffer from insomnia once more but when he meets Brad Pitt’s Tyler Durden he comes to start a fight club with him which eventually leads into an underground revolution.

The performances in this film are jaw dropping in my eyes, especially by Ed Norton who perfectly portrays that endearing side to him and makes you like the character. His performance is an absolute gem following the brilliance of him from American History X. He shows his frustrations and hopes perfectly and is able to portray a growing friendship with Tyler Durden. However, Ed Norton is not alone in terms of acting. His brilliant performance is rivalled by Brad Pitt who does an incredible job playing a dangerous yet a likeable man. These two do a fantastic performance and elevate the overall quality of the film. Even others, such as Helena Bonham Carter do a great job in this film. 

The story is brilliant and clever and completely fresh and unique but there is so much more to Fight Club than what many estimate. Whilst people assume it’s a film about fighting, it most certainly isn’t. It is such a deep film that explores the depth of characters and portrays violence, reality and even elements such as psychology absolutely brilliantly. The plot twist in the film is definitely one of the greatest of all time and completely shocked me even after re-watching it. Yet, the plot twist is most necessary to the film and further explores our protagonist’s character. A brilliant and deeply moving story doesn’t mean much if the characters aren’t interesting, thankfully they were!

Tyler Durden is one of the greatest characters of all time and it isn’t too much of a surprise that he is ranked #1 on Empire’s Top 100 movie characters. He is clever, charming and violent yet friendly for the most part. His character and the way he develops throughout the film is incredibly presented, starting off as just an everyday friend and eventually becoming an underground revolutionary leader who becomes all about destruction. Even other characters, such as Marla Singer are fantastic and her relationship with Tyler is perfectly presented in the film. Never does it feel unrealistic or an attempt to appeal to female movie goers but keeps it in perfect context with the film. Other supporting characters, even those such as Meat Loaf’s Bob are great and add quite a lot of emotion to the story. 

David Fincher had a horrible directorial start with Alien³ but was able to start off scrap with Se7en by providing such a dark, gritty yet realistic take on a crime mystery. From there, he was able to provide a similar tone to Fight Club and gave everything from Se7en into Fight Club whether it be the story, writing or directing which were all fantastic in this film. His direction and storytelling is brilliant and the the dialogue is so memorable. However, despite brilliant directing I cannot help but feel that the pacing of the film is relatively slow early on despite the interesting premise and endearing characters. Thankfully, this is a minor issue considering that the ending and overall story by the end makes you completely forget that the film was ever slow.

Fight Club is indeed a masterpiece and it is indeed, now one of my all time favourite films. Whether it’s the characters, story, writing and directing, musical score or the overall complexity and realism of the film, Fight Club is near perfection providing some jaw dropping performances and one of the all time greatest plot twists. 

Grade- 10/10

#6- The Matrix (1999) review

#8- Reservoir Dogs (1992) review

#9- Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) review

Simply said, Terminator 2 is one of the greatest sequels of all time. James Cameron knew exactly what to do with Terminator 2 and that is to get a bigger budget, a deeper and bigger story, more characters, better action sequences and an iconic villain. 

In Terminator 2, Arnold Schwarzenegger plays the T-800 from the original Terminator film whilst Robert Patrick plays the T-1000, the most deadly terminator to ever live....Forget about the T-X..that simply did not happen! Two terminators were sent back in time, one to kill John and one to strike out his mother before John was born. John Connor managed to re-program one of the terminators to save him on this particular moment. 

This is why the story is simply so much bigger in Terminator 2. It is so much more grander, a more visual and technical achievement and features a surprisingly good enough performance by Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose T-800 is still intimidating even if he is the good guy. Robert Patrick does a good job playing the T-1000 and he brings a certain intensity to the film. Linda Hamilton is absolutely terrific in this film as Sarah Connor and Edward Furlong is definitely great at playing her son John, despite some moments where he is rather weak in acting. 

Visually, Terminator 2 is an amazing achievement in cinema. It features incredible T-1000 special effects that still stand out today. The action sequences in Terminator 2 are more entertaining than they were in the original. Scenes such as the T-1000 chasing John Connor on truck, to Arnold fighting the T-1000 in the mall stand out as amazing. But the greatest stuff in the film comes right at the end, in the last 15 minutes which is full of iconic moments that were beautifully shot and has some incredible suspense. 

Terminator 2 is definitely a more realistic film than the original and features some incredibly emotional sequences throughout the film. The scene where Sarah learns that Miles Dyson is the man who will one day be responsible for building Skynet and thus, destroy mankind is amazing. Her mission to then kill this man is an amazing moment as Sarah herself, was becoming a Terminator. That was a fantastic character arc right there and the themes and questions that this film tackles are absolutely fantastic. Terminator 2 has these type of scenes that make the characters all the more interesting. The best part of the film isn't the action or the effects but instead the fatherly bond that the T-800 grows for John and the T-800 becoming more human throughout the film. This was absolutely brilliant and when it comes to the end of the film, it makes it that much more emotional.
 
In the end, 'Terminator 2' is one of the all time great sequels improving upon every minor weakness by the original and making it a simply grander and more entertaining film! James Cameron certainly did know how to make sequels. 

Grade- 10/10 
 

#12- Goodfellas (1990) review

Martin Scorsese is one of my favorite directors. Robert de Niro is one of my favorite actors. Combine the two, and they've had partnerships in a few of my favorite movies! This is most definitely one of them! 

Goodfellas tells the story of a young wanna be criminal named Henry Hill, played by Ray Liotta. He, and his two buddies, Tommy and Jimmy played respectively by Joe Pesci and Robert de Niro attempt to climb up to the top of the criminal world. Goodfellas, simply isn't a film that can be summed up. The film's story progresses around various events, rather than one story slowly going. Though the general story and idea, Goodfellas has far more to offer and in terms of crime films, it very closely nears Pulp Fiction and The Godfather. 


In terms of writing and directing, Scorsese is a master and Goodfellas is possibly, his masterpiece. Every minute of the film keeps you engaged and the dialogue is sharp, hilarious and often Tarantino like. See, Tarantino's inspiration came from Goodfellas! The characters are fantastic and relatable. Henry has such depth to him and you actually end up feeling for him when he gets put through tough situations. Every character in the film has something about them that ensures that character remains in your mind. Paulie is memorable simply for his intensity yet also his care for Henry throughout the film. Henry's wife is such a likeable character as she is the one like us. 



The story is so engaging, not only because crime is a genre that I love. Scorsese has the ability to throw you into a story and keep you engaged: It is evident with some of his films such as Taxi Driver and Raging Bull. He has a gift that both his characters and the story are so memorable, none more than Goodfellas.

The acting is FANTASTIC! Robert de Niro is unbelievable in his role, as is Ray Liotta but the scene stealer, is Joe Pesci! He was truly hilarious in the film. The scene from the film that I will always remember is the scene in the restaurant where he violently questions Henry, asking why he thinks Tommy is funny! That scene was pure Tarantino style, clearly some inspiration for QT. He makes for a large proportion of the entertainment in the film! 

Overall, Goodfellas is easily the best film of its year and the film itself is one of the best crime films and possibly, Scorsese's very best! Masterfully written and directed, amazingly acted, Goodfellas is such an engaging and entertaining film that still manages to depict cleverly what life as a criminal is like. 

Grade- 10/10

Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) review

 

This film, being the ninth in the installment to the Star Trek franchise suffers in the same way that all the odd numbered Star Trek films have: It's a fail! After the fantastic film that was 'Star Trek: First Contact', the director and writer to decided to create a ninth installment to this franchise that would fail, just to what..keep the pattern going? 

All the bad Star Trek films suffer in the same way. They have bad direction, lousy writing, poor explanation of the plot, uninteresting characters and have extremely uninteresting special effects and cinematography. When we look at the previous installment, there were some fantastic special effects and good action sequences, had great writing and directing and had an interesting plot. This film, is Star Trek: First Contact or even Star Trek: Wrath of Khan done horribly. 

During this film, Captain Picard played by Patrick Stewart, learns that there is a Federation dispute between the Ba'ku and the Son'a. Apparently the Son'a have begun a plot to wipe out the Ba'ku in order to regenerate the city from scrap. Hearing about this, following a malfunction of the often frustrating Data, Captain Picard and his Enterprise must prevent this Federation dispute from being completed. 



The plot to the film was rather difficult for me to follow simply because there wasn't enough explanation of the plot. This film is close to unbearable for me, almost topping Generations in its horribility factor. The characters are extremely uninteresting, even the ones we already know about and the romance plot in this film with Picard and the Ba'ku is extremely stupid and it made me want to grab a phaser and kill myself! The plot itself nearly made me kill myself, it was that frustrating. If these Star Trek odd numbered films do one thing, it is that they nearly make me want to commit suicide- that is all about Star Trek III: Search for Spock.

The special effects were truly bad in my opinion, in this film. First Contact had some great effects and an interesting story. It had fine cinematography but this film throws aside all the great things about First Contact. Apparently this film was the first to use CGI effects but boy, does everything look cheaper than ever before. It is clearly evident that when it comes to an odd numbered Star Trek film, that the director and writer completely ignore everything good about the predecessor. Let us pray that Star Trek: Into Darkness, being the twelth installment can live up to the hype...and the bloody PATTERN



The reason that the New Generations films do not work well, except for First Contact which was something miraculous, is the fact that the characters simply cannot measure about to those of the original crew. They aren't interesting. 

Star Trek: Insurrection is everything horrible about the odd numbered Star Trek films and suffers considerably from lousy writing, bad direction, horrid special effects, uninteresting cinematography and most importantly, a terrible plot. If the plan of the film was to simply follow the pattern of the odd numbered films, then this film certainly did its job but I simply don't understand. 

Grade-3/10 

Only one Star Trek film has received that rating and it was the first one, the 1979 film.

#15- Toy Story 2 (1999) review

Creating a sequel to an animation film had never been successful until Toy Story 2 and even since then, has only been successful in one other film- The third installment of the Toy Story trilogy. So, just prior to the release of this film, audiences would've been anxious and uncertain whether the film would live up to the hype of the original

Not only do I consider Toy Story 2 one of the all time great sequels but I even consider it better than the original. This is how a sequel should be made to an animation film, not how Shrek did it or how any of the other animation films such as The Lion King II have done. 

Woody is one day, mysteriously stolen by a man at a garage sale whilst saving another toy from 'facing the inevitable'. Woody is stolen and comes to learn about his past and how he is a famous and rare sheriff woody doll. It is here that he  meets Bullseye, the horse, Jesse the cowgirl and the Prospector, who are Woody's Roundup Gang as they were also featured on his TV show. Out of curiosity, Wood learns that he is about to be sent to a museum in Japan, where he will indeed by able to prolong the inevitable and where the other toys will also be sent if he is there. Eventually Woody comes to realize that maybe going to Japan may well be the only option but Woody's loyal friends are once more, out there to save him! 


Here is a sequel, much like The Empire Strikes Back which proves that it is not a cash grab but a a necessary installment to a series of films. The fact that the plot is split into two clearly indicates that this is a fresh film. In terms of entertainment, this film has more to offer than the original. Even in terms of emotion, this film may even contain more emotion than the first and the characters are truly put to the test here. The dialogue is clever and witty and works charmingly well, the story is written and directed brilliantly and the new characters, being some of the best of Toy Story, are done fantastically. 



Jesse is the most interesting character of the film and her constant mood swings are what makes her interesting, even if her character is often jerky! When her character is given the flashback sequences involving Emily, there is the emotion of the film right there. In terms of story, Woody is definitely put to the test in terms of prolonging the inevitable, something which his penguin friend Wheezy said was useless as it comes right back at you. Simply the fact that both Woody and Jesse have such an explained past makes them extremely great characters. Jesse's backstory is some of the finest emotional moments of the series, something which Toy Story 3 seems to rip off to some extent with Lotso. 

So many memorable stuff do happen in this film. Some absolutely classical lines and scenes such as the toys driving the car, the scene in the airport and plane, the scenes early on and Jesse's backstory truly make for one of the greatest animation films, right up there with the other two installments of the Toy Story trilogy. In fact, these three films should be tied for the best animation film of all time, each having a place in my top 25. To make Toy Story all the better for me, I have no nostalgic feelings towards it!  

Grade- 10/10 

#16- Toy Story (1995) review

To think that by 1995, CGI was such an infestation amongst all action movies simply for the sake of being able to avoid the use of practical effects. No one would have believed that the first film, to be entirely made out of CGI would be a kids animation film about toys! 

Woody and his group of toys belong to a young boy named Andy, and upon his birthday, the toys anxiously await to see if they may get replaced by any new toys and thus, never get played with ever again. These toys find a Buzz Lightyear model to be the newest toy and all love it, except for the sherrif Woody, voiced by Tom Hanks. Woody's attempts to get ahead of Buzz for Andy's favorite spot accidentally causes an attack by Woody to knock Buzz out a window, and as Andy reluctantly takes Woody to the shops, Buzz seeks revenge on the sheriff. But both toys are eventually captured by Andy's neighbour, Sid, a young boy who loves destroying toys and are taken to his house! As Andy is moving houses in a few days, it becomes a battle against time! 

Toy Story is quite possibly, the greatest animation of all time. Not only is this the most revolutionary animation film, for the beginning of 3D Animation films and the beginning of one of the great studios, Pixar, but Toy Story is the perfect animation film. Basically flawless, Toy Story is far more depth than what the premise may make the film sound. The characters are the film's biggest strength. Each character, whether the toys or humans, are utterly fantastic. Every single toy in this film is such a great and likeable character! A lot of the credit goes to the fantastic cast, made up of Tom Hanks as Woody, Tim Allen as Buzz and several others, including John Ratzenberg, who would later become the man in every Pixar film. The writing is flawless with each character receiving the perfect amount of detail and attention. The love put into this project astounds me and the level of success that this film achieved stuns me even to this day! 

When talking about Toy Story, some may consider it corny or stupid, or even use words like retarded, saying that it is a film about a bunch of times. That is as much of an understatement as saying that The Lord of the Rings is a bunch of long films about a bunch of rings! What could so easily have come off as horrible, something laughable, something ridiculous, is actually a very heartwarming and serious film. Not only appealing to children, but Toy Story could possibly have more for the adults and teenagers, with many adult jokes and dealing with more mature themes. 

 

The animation effects in the film are mostly great but considering that this is indeed the first full 3D animated film, I can let it pass. Some of the effects are definitely poor, including the textures given to all the humans and the dog, who looks by far, the worst thing in the film. Even the way that the humans move is often laughable but thankfully, the animation only looks poor only with the humans and not with the toys. In fact, the texture given to the humans looks vaguely similar to the texture of the toys! Aside from some of the outdated effects, Toy Story is absolutely flawless in every aspect. 




One of the best things about the film is the Buzz and Woody friendship and how it grows throughout this dangerous adventure. The way that Tim Allen and Tom Hanks worked together was fantastic and the writing and direction was great, making sure the friendship became a believable one. Despite knowing that the two will always be friends by the end, there comes the "lowest point" of the film where that thought is completely blown off mind. In fact, there are a few scenes that display heavy emotion with Buzz and Woody. There was a moment in this film that stands out to me and that is when Buzz and Woody are in Sid's house and Woody manages to talk to the other toys, only for them to betray him. The final shot with Slinky, the dog, and his quick glance at Woody was actually, emotional. Even the smallest of stuff worked in the film and worked to the best. 



To think that in order to revolutionalise all animation films to come, all that needed to be done was to create some toys and a couple of bad situations, can shock some people! Toy Story is the definition of all animated films, and easily the best there is. Flawless from start to finish, Toy Story is a mind dazzling film with an amazing cast, story and characters. Even most of the effects, despite nearing 20 years of age, still look amazing. 

Grade- 10/10