Film According to Mr Cinema review: Jacob's Ladder (1990)

Adrian Lyne’s innovative 1990 horror classic “Jacob’s Ladder” really gets under my skin more than any film I’ve seen since the original Japanese “Ringu”. “Jacob’s Ladder” trails Jacob Singer, a veteran of the Vietnam War, who after an odd incident among his platoon is sent home. The film jumps in time between his experiences in ‘Nam and his current life, in which he finds himself being chased and tormented by hellish, demonic creatures intent on murdering Jacob. Soon he is contacted by an old friend, who was in the same squadron as Jacob, and confides in Jacob to seeing similar horrific images and dies soon afterwards; after consulting several other friends from his army division who have all been seeing the same thing, Jacob becomes intent on finding the reason for this.

This film, though, through my description may sound pretty standard fare for a horror movie, is anything but standard. It is truly a very creepy and bizarre film. Jacob’s ladder is truly an unnerving film that is quite unlike anything else I have seen before. The movie was the first to use the patented horror technique of speeding up blurred images to create a scary supernatural effect. For the fact that this film managed to successfully freak me out while managing to fascinate me, I would recommend this movie to most any serious horror fan. If there was anything that bothered me about the film, it would be that it peaked too quickly and lost some level of intensity through that, however this is easily overlookable through the fact that it is an otherwise extraordinary and completely uncanny picture.

Rating: 8.5/10

Film According to Mr Cinema review: "It's a Wonderful Life" 1946

“It’s a Wonderful Life” is Frank Capra’s 1946 immortal pantheon classic. The film focuses on George Bailey (played here wonderfully by James Stewart) who, through a series of events, has decided to kill himself by jumping off a bridge on Christmas Eve, however through the prayers of his friends and family he is visited by his guardian angel: Clarence (portrayed by Henry Travers) who shows George what life would be like for the people in his little town of Bedford Falls if he had never been born.

“It’s a Wonderful Life” is a lovely, lovely film that has truly earnt its title as one of the greatest of all time. This was the first film to make me cry since I was 5 years old. I am not the biggest person on soppy or sentimental movies for the majority of the time, but this film is just such a beautiful piece of work, it was just impossible for me to dislike it. The only criticism I make regarding this film (and it’s a very small one) is that Mary (played by Donna Reed) was put in the position of a weak female stereotype very much reflective chauvinist of attitudes toward females that were very much dominant at the time that this film was made.

Rating: 9/10

Film According to Mr Cinema review: The Silence of the Lambs, 1991

Jonathan Demme’s 1991 thriller classic: “The Silence of the Lambs” has undoubtedly earnt its title as a one of the greatest, most suspenseful movies made in (relatively) recent years. The film trails CIA trainee: Agent Clarice Starling who is required to match wits with the equally insane yet brilliant Dr Hannibal Lecter (Sir Anthony Hopkins) to assist in the persecution of serial killer: Jame “Buffalo Bill” Gumb (Ted Levine) who was based on true life murderer: Ed Gein.

“The Silence of the Lambs” is a perfect mix of general technical filmic excellence, a genuinely gripping and disturbing tale and a completely intense mesmerising and feel about it. I was absolutely captured by the elements of philosophy (what is sanity and how is it measurable), dark thematic tones and the general all round brilliance that seems to have surrounded this picture. If there were one small gripe I had with this film, it’s that some elements could have been further extended upon; just to have an extra quarter of an hour added on to make more of the background story of agent Sterling or Dr Lecter. (although they revealed very little about Buffalo Bill’s past, his character was best left mysterious and menacing) also, have a lookout in this film for a brief cameo by George A. Romero.

Rating: 9/10

Film According to Mr Cinema review: Terror Toons, 2002

“Terror Toons” is Joe Castro’s 2002 straight-to-video horror/comedy b-movie gorefest. In the film, Cindy (Beverly Lynn) receives a DVD sent by Satan himself in the mail while her parents are away for the weekend; she proceeds to watch it, to find that the two homicidal cartoon characters that are on the DVD transport from their television realm into the human realm to wreak surprisingly nasty, bloody havoc. Meanwhile Cindy’s older sister, Candy (Lizzy Borden) is having a house party downstairs with her friends, will she manage to save the day, or will the toons conquer the world.

I saw this film about a month back on YouTube, and knew that I was in for a chortle or two after the first 4 minutes. “Terror Toons” is a very entertaining little schlock-horror movie. If you drop all pretence towards any pretence towards watching an artistically great film at the door, you are more than likely to have a good time watching this film. I certainly enjoyed this film, just because it was a fun little movie with laugh worthy acting, shitty directing and actually, half decent special effects (considering the ultra-low budget). If you want a film that delivers funny one liners, amusing concepts and downright laugh out loud dialogue, you can do worse than “Terror Toons”.

Rating: 7/10

Film According to Mr Cinema review: Eraserhead 1977

Eraserhead is the debut (this is my third debut film in a row, have I just got a thing for debuts?) of the masterful director: Mr David Lynch. The first 30 minutes of the film follow Henry Spencer (portrayed by Jack Nance) as he wanders through a nightmarish, desolated, dirty world and visits his girlfriend, Mary X and her family, Mr and Mrs X and is informed that he is the father of a premature, deformed baby; from this point the film gets more and more surreal and intense, almost as if it were being processed through the mind of a person going insane. This is an almost unbearably intense movie, the gradually crescendo-ing, omnipresent ambient noise in the background, the shadowy, nightmarish atmosphere and the strange characters and situations all add up to an utterly penetrating movie.

This film, for me, is about as close to perfection as a film can get. It completely absorbed me into the world of the movie, which is arguably, the most important aspect of films. I loved the eerie atmospheric feel that was present throughout the entire movie. The shots were composed absolutely beautifully, the lighting, the angles, generally this film was astounding in all the mise en scene aspects. The movie managed to keep me amazed throughout even on second viewing.

Generally, this film is one of the most visually amazing and stimulating I have ever seen, however is not for everyone, seeing as it pretty much completely turns its back on traditional cinematic practice, with the absence of a followable plot after the first 20-30 minutes and the utter intensity that seems to radiate from the movie, however if you are open to watching an experimental, almost expressionistic cult masterpiece, you can’t go much better than David Lynch’s “Eraserhead”.

Rating 10/10

Film According To Mr Cinema review: 'The Producers'

 Mel Brook’s 1968 directing debut: ‘The Producers’ is a side-splitting entry which firmly establishes Brooks’ career as ‘the king of bad taste’. The film follows Max Bialystock (Zero Mostell) and Leo Bloom (Gene Wilder) as they go about releasing the worst play ever written and making more money with a flop than they could ever make with a hit. This film is a comical illustration of how people enjoy entertainment of the lowest standards. This film is entertaining and pretty damn spot on in its portrayal of how money can drive people to sink to ridiculously low levels just to acquire some dosh.

I enjoyed this film for several reasons, the most primary being, simply, that this is just a pretty fucking funny movie. This film is easy to enjoy, and is perfect to sit down and watch for a good chortle. The humour in this movie incorporates a certain amount of lunacy, but still uses wry verbal humour and traditional laugh-out-loud moments. All-in-all, I think that this is one of the funniest movies I’ve seen in a long time, ‘The Producers’ genuinely made me grin like an idiot through and through.

Rating:9/10

Film According to Mr Cinema review: Easy Rider

Easy Rider is Dennis Hopper’s 1969 directing debut. The film follows the story of Wyatt (known as Captain America) and Billy as they ride on their motorbikes to Mardi Gras and observe what had become of America. This movie is a cynical look at American culture and lifestyle; it commentates on the blind hatred radiating from the public towards the “flower children” of the time, the drug culture that the young adults of the day would immerse themselves in and the wreckage of a nation that had fallen to the dogs.

This film is a complete stroke of genius. The plot, the casting, the composition, the execution, everything about this film totally works. The movie is a great entry point into the movie-making sphere. This movie may not appeal to all audiences seeing as it is quite slow and is a dialogue driven piece, meaning that it may not draw the attention of people who like fast paced, action movies; however this film should appeal to anyone who likes a film with plenty of character development and commentary on society. This film is still almost, if not quite as, relevant as the day it was made.

Rating: 9.5/10