Beetlejuice
Terminator
Kramer vs Kramer
Planet of the Apes
LA Confidential
Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice isn't actually called Beetlejuice, it's Betelgeuse. Who knew?
My experience of Beetlejuice up to watching this film was him hosting that super-fun monster-rock show at Universal and the awesome kids TV show that used to be on Cartoon Network. I remember my Mum being surprised they made it into a child friendly show.
I can see why now. It's not that graphic but it's one of the strangest films I've ever seen and has a pretty twisted atmosphere about it. The first shock was the couple dying at the beginning and being quite casual about it as they proceeded to severe each others heads and pretend to hang themselves.
I enjoyed it though, once you get into the Tim Burton mindset and accept the oddness of the freaky creatures that are summoned and the madness of Betelgeuse himself it's a fun ride.
Maybe it's just me but I kind of lost track of what level of evil Betelgeuse is. I got the impression he's almost trying to help at the beginning and the other family are the evil ones but by the end scene Betelgeuse is the one both families are trying to stop. S'pose it's kind of a twist.
A more zany entry to the Burton film library but a good one nonetheless. 8
The Terminator
I'm afraid it's going to be another one of those reviews so brace yourself, I didn't love Terminator. But I didn't think it was all that bad either.
I saw it as a special effects film and I think they only really work if the special effects are cutting edge. In a world where CGI can make things look shockingly real it takes you out of the film's atmosphere when the terminator suddenly becomes stop-motion figure and edges towards Sarah Conner at 3 frames per second.
That's the other thing, a lot of innocent people die- like every Sarah Connor that isn't THE Sarah Connor. The Terminator just strolls round to their houses and guns them down and any other character that isn't of full use to him. It's somewhat unsettling due to their deaths being a bit pointless.
The story is clever though and it is constantly exciting even if the action is a bit dated. It has that 80s film-charm where it's clear the pyrotechnics are really there and they're having fun destroying the set.
If I'd seen it in the 80s it'd be higher but as it is I give it a 7.
Kramer Vs. Kramer
Another surprise classic that I knew nothing about til I turned the film on on Sky Movies.
A court battle between Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep over who gets to keep their son didn't sound all that rip-roaring but the journey you go on with the father and son is emotionally powerful and fantastically done.
Dustin Hoffman AKA Mr.Bergstraum from The Simpsons comes across as very likable so when he feels sad you feel sad. When he gets continually knocked back you feel genuine disappointment for him. In the court case I found myself really rooting for him and hating every bit of Meryl Streep.
You know a film has done well when you find yourself caught up in something you wouldn't otherwise be that interested in. Every performance, especially Hoffman's is really great and it's a rare instance of a child actor not being really hate-able. He isn't overly cute and overly innocent he just seems like a genuine kid struggling sometimes to cope with the changes going on.
Glad I put this on the list. I give it a 9.
Planet of the Apes
Rise of The Planet of the Apes is one of my favourite films ever, top 5 anyway. Was interested to see where it all started.
A little disappointingly as it turned out. For the first half hour there are no apes. It's wondering round a mysterious planet everyone already knows is Earth- its a factor that may have spoilt the film for me seeings as the whole film is based on that twist.
When the apes do appear they do almost the exact opposite of Rise of PotA and talk too much. There's not an awful lot going on visually, its just the apes wondering where he's come from for the next hour. The 'get your hands off me' line is pretty great though, similar to Cesar's 'NOOOOOO' in the film's reboot/prequel.
The last half hour of running away turns into just waiting for him to find the ruined Statue of Liberty which seems to just be lying next to the sea for some reason.
If I'd somehow not heard the twist it'd be a different experience. As it is it's as low as a 5 sadly. It's not aged entirely well.
LA Confidential
A film based on the film Seven and the game LA Noire?! Neat!
I am of course trolling, a few people pointed out in my Seven review that LA Noire and Seven are based on LA crime dramas from the 40s/50s. LA Confidential is in the same boat.
An enjoyable film, there were quite a few characters all introduced at once which confused me a bit but once I got my head round who everyone was the case became really intriguing.
I liked basass Russel Crowe and the snitchy other guy. The fact they're forced to work together at the end was a tiny bit cliche but it couldn't happen any other way.
For some reason the scene in the interrogation rooms with the two black guys stood out to me as being particularly well done. Seeing the two witnesses being grilled and cross examined was tense and when Russel Crowe burst in shit really went down. Gotta love my technical film terms there.
Perhaps a little on the long side for me but I liked the ending. I also prefer just a little more action maybe but I still liked it.
A high 7.
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