Silence of the Lambs

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....The Silence of the Lambs!

Original image located here. Accessed 30th June 2017

In regards to selecting my Friday night movie, I only have one rule: The question of 'Have I seen this movie before?'. Needless to say, the movies I haven't seen are the ones that get watched. But this one is an intriguing selection: Largely because this movie has been referenced and parodied so many times that coming to the source is a challenge to say the least.

To be honest, there's not a lot else I can say about his movie that hasn't been already said. Yes that may sound like a boring answer but what else can I say? It's tense, disturbing, and it boasts Anthony Hopkins' most unforgettable role. Even if this movie has been parodied to death it still holds some considerable power twenty six years on.
Still, i doubt I've seen a movie with so many close ups XD

Taxi Driver

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....Taxi Driver!

Original image located here. Accessed 23rd June 2017

There's not a lot I can say about this movie that hasn't already been said before: A major step in Martin Scorsese's career, a star-making role for Robert de Niro, Bernard Herrmann's final movie score, and a very unflattering portrayal of New York City.

What I find interesting about this movie however, is it's still relevant some forty-one years later. The main character is a guy, Travis, who is paranoid, lonely, woefully cut off from modern society and has no idea how to interact with anyone else. Thing is, such people still exist only they aren't buying firearms, they're yelling at other people on the internet.
It's quite a demand on me, the viewer, to try and connect with such a character. Travis runs the gauntlet of being pathetic, frightening and strangely sympathetic. He is just like any other socially maladjusted misanthrope that we may have encountered at one stage in our lives in one form or another. So how am i supposed to react? Judging by the eventual fate of Travis by the end of the movie, it seems the movie is just as unclear as I am.
Which is why it succeeds.

Ever After: A Cinderella Story

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....Ever After: A Cinderella Story!

Original image located here. Accessed 16th June 2017

This may seem like an odd choice but I have been intrigued by this movie ever since I first heard of it: A more realistic telling of the Cinderella story? Sounds like an intriguing challenge to me (although why it took me nineteen years to see it is...oh wait we're getting sidetracked here).

But yes, this movie is actually a delight. It works for me in that it takes a story told many times before and treats it as a historical fiction, eschewing much of the magic that is associated with the original tale. I mean why have a fairy godmother when you have Leonardo da Vinci instead?

Also pleasing is the treatment of the stepsisters and the stepmother (Angelica Huston is a standout) as real characters and not being evil for the sake of evil. The Prince and the King (and Queen) also get some substantial screen time and character development that the original story didn't provide.
In fact, now that i think of it, was this the turning point for the Cinderella mythos? Where everyone started treating the other characters as actual characters? Probably not, but I can't stop thinking that....

So in conclusion this movie was a lot of fun and enjoyable for the dateless wond...sorry, hopeless romantics out there

Wonder Woman

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....Wonder Woman!

Original image located here. Accessed 9th June 2017

Yeah it's all right.

Okay seriously, it's a given that DC's attempts to chase Marvel's successes are obvious to the point of painful. And such attempts have divided audiences drastically (ie Man of Steel, Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad). So what do you do when you've got your back to the wall? You knuckle down and make a decent movie, that's what.

So yeah there is a lot going for this movie. And it shows that a lot of effort has been put in the correct previous mistakes: A script with proper structure and plausible dialogue; a distinct lack of drab colors; action scenes that aren't a mess of confusion and blurry shots; And a true understanding of the character.

It's not quite on par with Marvel's finest but it succeeds because it shows DC are putting in effort and learning from their mistakes. Now it remains to be seen if DC can stop themselves from falling back into bad habits....

Return to Oz

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....Return to Oz!

Original image located here. Accessed 2nd June 2017

Said it once and I'll say it again: The Eighties were a surprisingly fertile time for fantasy movies and they look very different to the movies made in a post-Lord of the Rings world. But in the case of Return to Oz, this is the one that has a rotten reputation, being disowned as being nightmare fuel for many a young child and a bastard offspring for a much-beloved family movie.

Me? I thought it was great! Sure I'm speaking from the vantage point of being an adult, but I thought the movie was inventive, creative and the practical effects look great. The sets were something to behold as well.
All of which would be enough to grant a pass from me, but I'm just pleased that, unlike the gazillion adaptations of Wonderful Wizard of Oz, someone decided to go beyond the first book. In a fourteen book series.