Star Wars - Episode IV - A New Hope

Star Wars, 1977

We all know about Star Wars - the global marketing phenomenon that started out with this low budget space opera from 1977. Responsible for launching George Lucas as a successful film-maker (his previous works THX1138 and American Graffiti while critically acclaimed were not commercially successful) as well as introducing Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo and Chewbacca to a legion of unsuspecting children who had never seen anything quite like it.

The plot when it comes right down to it isn't the most cutting edge. Indeed it rarely rises above B-movie level and relies heavily on plotlines from other movies. However Lucas somehow created a movie that became greater than the sum of its parts. While aficionados of the genre will swear that the sequel, The Empire Strikes Back, is the superior movie (and they'd be right), there's a certain charm in the original movie.

Harrison Ford is a standout in his breakthrough role as Han Solo, privateer with a heart of gold. Mark Hamill is constantly annoying as only a 17 year old teenager can - and Alec Guiness was an amalgam of every single mentor in every single coming of age movie of all time. The combination is magic on screen, complemented nicely by the villainous Darth Vader and the pretty Princess Leia.

The other movies in the series are much more complex and deal with more complicated themes, but the original is still fun for a wild two hour ride and imagining you're 7 years old and the fate of the Rebellion hinges on you 'Using the Force'. A modern classic.

8/10

- Umes

Boogie Nights

Boogie Nights, 1997

One of Hollywood's most interesting directors, Paul Thomas Anderson (Magnolia, There Will Be Blood), followed up 1996's Hard Eight with the generous and rich Boogie Nights.

Putting together one of the 90's best ensemble casts, Thomas Anderson uses more than two and a half hours giving us a tour of the porn industry in the 1970's & 80's.

Mark Wahlberg builds on his good work in The Basketball Diaries as Eddie Adams - a likeable teenager who will eventually become one of porn's biggest names - Dirk Diggler.

The cast is jammed with some of Thomas Anderson's favourites - John C Rielly (Chicago), Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Capote) and William H Macy (Fargo) are all superb.

Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda) is well cast as a young man with a head full of dreams, while Burt Reynolds is perfectly porno. Julianne Moore (Hannibal) and Heather Graham (The Hangover) more than hold up their end of the bargain, the former showing her considerable talent.

Throw in the likes of Phillip Baker Hall (Magnolia) and Luis Guzman (Carlito's Way) and it's basically a case of 'you name it, they're in it.

Thomas Anderson's work here is sharp - his tracking shots put you right in the heart of porn's most lavish parties.

You'll enjoy the whole ride but the highlight for me comes late in the piece - an incredibly well shot and acted scene played out to the sounds of Rick Springfield and Jessie's Girl. Movie gold.

It's more than just a big cock.

8/10

Nutbuckle

Arachnophobia

Arachnophobia, 1990

A lot of cool things happened in 1990, I was in prep riding trikes, Essendon and Collingwood duked it out at quarter time in the grand final and a little movie called Arachnophobia hit the big screen.

A particularly nasty spider jumps from South to North America and roots itself silly - producing an army of eight legged monsters.

New in town, Jeff Daniels has to shrug off his own phobia to help stop the spiders before they bite and kill EVERYONE.

As usual - Daniels is pretty likeable and so is this movie. Kiddies - here's a tip - if your mum says you can only hire a PG rated movie - grab this; you'll shit your pants.

8/10 Nutbuckle

The Mist

The Mist, 2007

In stark contrast to the previously reviewed 'The Happening' - The Mist hits the mark in a similar genre.

Director Frank Darabont turns a Stevn King story (with King's help) into an edge of your seat jitter fest.

The population of a small town ends up inside the local supermarket as an eerie looking mist envelops the area. What starts out as a harmless bit of fog turns seriously sinister as all sorts of things spring from the dark.

As you'd expect, chaos starts to rule and the result makes for pretty tense stuff.

The largely unknown Thomas Jane (small bits in Face Off and Magnolia) does a sound job leading the way but this is about the mist, not the acting.

Pretty memorable ending too. Underrated movie.

8/10

Nutbuckle

Tombstone

Tombstone, 1993

Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Bill Paxton and Sam Elliot

Tombstone is the story of legendary law maker Wyatt Earp and the infamous battle of the O.K Coral in Tombstone.

The movie starts with Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell, Backdraft) arriving is Arizona to start a new life with his brothers Virgil (Sam Elliot, Road House) and Morgan (Bill Paxton, A Simple Plan) along with their wives. Wyatt has retired from law enforcement and just wants to settle down and become rich. Also tagging along with Earps is Wyatts good friend John 'Doc' Holliday (Val Kilmer, The Doors) who is a well known gambler and gunfighter.

When the local marshall is killed by the leader of a gang known as the Cowboys Curly Bill Brocius (Powers Booth, Rapid Fire) arguments begin to brew with earps and holliday. Due to the lack of law in Tombstone Virgil becomes town marshall with Morgan as his deputy. With the arguments getting worse with the cowboys Virgil requests the help of Wyatt and Doc Holliday to help him and Morgan disarm 5 Cowboys at the O.K Coral resulting in the infamous gunfight and the death of 4 cowboys.

The result from the deaths at the O.K coral the cowboys fight back causing grief in the earp family. After the attacks on the Earp family Wyatt, Holliday and few loyal companions set out to finish the cow boys once and for all. After the death of Curly Bill the cow boys are now led by Johnny Ringo (Michael Biehn, Navy Seals).

Tombstone ends with Wyatt avenging his family and living happily ever after.

It is always difficult when movies are based around true events. Who knows what really happened at the shoot out at the O.K Coral but I believe Tombstone depicts it perfectly. Russell plays the famous law man very well but the most outstanding role goes to Kilmer as Doc Holliday
8/10

Drowd

The Insider

The Insider, 1999

Michael Mann follows up the razzle dazzle of 1995's Heat with an explosive-free look at Big Tobacco and life inside Amercia's current affairs world.

The prolific Al Pacino plays a Sixty Minutes producer hungry on finding the next great yarn and stumbles across a greying and vulnerable Rusty Crowe.

The boy from Romper Stomper wrestles with whether he should blow the whistle on the Tobacco industry for much of the next two hours.

It's long, intricate and lulls a couple of times but is ultimately worth the effort. Pacino is more subtle than in his previous outing (The Devil's Advocate, 1997) and Rusty looks ready to explode at any minute.

Christopher Plummer and the excellent Phillip Baker Hall are right at home as media types while it's nice to see Vinny Chase's publicist (Debi Mazar) not shrieking obscenities down the phone for once.

At 151 minutes it's no walk in the park but The Insider is worthy of your prolonged concentration.

8/10

Nutbuckle

Under Siege

Under Siege, 1992

A cook and former navy seal Casey Ryback (Steven Segal, Above the Law) works on a US Navy Battleship known as the USS Missouri on its final voyage before becoming part of Naval history. When the ship gets taken over by a rouge CIA Agent William Strannix (Tommy Lee Jones, The Fugitive) and ship excutive officer Commander Krill (Gary Buesy, Point Break).

With the help of the lovely Jordan Tate, also known as Miss July 89 (Erika Eleniak, Baywatch), who appears in a very steamy seen of jumping out of cake in nothing but a very small naval jacket and captains hat, ryback must stop krill and strannix offloading the cargo of naval warheads and save the ship and crew. Lets just say I was a very excited young man when I saw Miss July 89 pop out of the cake

Undersiege has it all gun fights, hand to hand combat and finishing with a classic segal knife fight. If you liked Segal in Above the law, Hard to Kill and Marked for Death you will love him in Under Siege

8/10

Drowd

Face Off

FACE OFF (1997)
(Cage, Travolta, Allen, Nivola)

by the midbus

After spending 138 minutes with Castor Troy and Sean Archer, any red-blooded male could comfortably speak their names in the same breath as Tango & Cash, Lowrie and Burnett or Vega and Winnfield.

This is one of John Woo's best voyages into Hollwood, complete with slow motion doves, extravagant weaponry, tip-top 90s effects and a hard-hitting cast. As Troy, and Archer for that matter, Cage steals the show in his best performance since Stanley Goodspeed in the equally gripping crash-boom feast, The Rock.

Without 'spoiling' the plot, Archer (Travolta, Cage) must get his hands dirty in the criminal world of the comatose'd Troy (Cage, Travolta... are you keeping up?) after a state of the art temporary facial transplant. And wouldn't you know it, comas are a funny thing, Troy wakes up to unleash his wrath upon everything Archer holds dear.

If you're after Woody Allen like dialogue or a Hans Zimmer awe inspiring score, please bypass the collection of $200 and go directly to jail. This is tits out fun, with big guns, great chases, a smooth, reinvigorated Travolta and a tasty script which leaves the punter asking the question: 'There couldn't be Face Off 2, could there?'

I know at least one reviewer out there who hopes so.

'Peach, I could eat a peach for hours'

8/10

Shutter Island

Shutter Island, 2010

This effort from one of the few directors who can be called great in both the 20th and 21st centuries, Martin Scorsese, is a thoroughly enjoyable and superb, if predictable, thriller. Scorsese has combined with the greatest actor of his generation, Leo "My Man" Decaprio and managed to deliver a intriguing story that maintains the fascination of the audience throughout and even managed to stump a few of the less astute paying customers.

Whilst this reviewer wont go into terrible detail with the plot, Shutter Island will not disappoint movie goers who understand the pit falls of adapting a novel for the silver screen. Scorsese must have found it difficult to stump fans of the 2003 best seller and as a result the main reveal towards the end is about as predictable as a packet of twisties. Fortunately it leaves no questions unanswered and one can look forward to the alternate ending options on the Blu Ray release sometime in 2011.

Fans of indie flicks with plot lines concerning teenage angst and unwanted pregnancy need not apply as Shutter Island appeals to the more sophisticated movie goer. With Decaprio at the height of his game and a support cast including the mahatma himself, Ben Kingsley this flick is well worth your $20 (halves in a choc top combo), your $5.95 (twelve months later as a two night new release) and 1/5th of your $12 (as part of five weekly movies package that include at least two movies with sex scenes - the other three movies used as cover for your wanking weekend).

Snap rates it 8/10.