The Lives Of Others (2006) - #199

Empire top 301: #199
IMDb top 250: #54

Rating: 8/10

Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Writers: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Starring: Ulrich Mühe, Sebastian Koch, Martina Gedeck, Ulrich Tukur & Thomas Thieme

"We are the Shield and Sword of the Party"

Stasi Captain Gerd Wiesler (Mühe) is a master interrogator, assigned an operation to spy on playwright  Georg Dreyman (Kock) who lives with his actress partner Christa-Maria Sieland Gedeck), as they are believed to be potential enemies of the GDR regime. The film is set in 1984 focusing on the activities of the Stasi, the German Democratic Republic secret police who are blacklisting artists who go "too far" against the socialist regime in their work. Whilst Georg is visiting his blacklisted friend Jerska, a theatrical director, Wiesler and his team bug his apartment and using an abandoned space on the top floor of the apartment block Wiesler, who lives for his job and the Republic, spends several months listening to his subjects and begins to open his mind to a new way of thinking and changes his views on his known way of life. 

I really didn't know what to expect with this film. I must admit I'm not all that familiar with the GDR and the Stasi operations and I had to pause the movie half way through to go on my iPad and do some research. I thought the movie was going to be an all out thriller in the vein of Baader Meinhof Complex, which I loved, but it was a bit slower paced and more intimate focusing more on a smaller operation against the backdrop of politics and art. The movie is beautifully filmed and von Donnersmarck allows the camera to take in so much to give the viewer more insight into the characters. I particularly love the scene where the camera stops on Wielser showing his turning point in the movie, where that tear falls down his face as Dreyman plays Beethoven's "Appassionata". 

The two male leads in the movie Wiesler and Dreyman are played exceptionally by Ulrich Mühe & Sebastian Kock. The two men couldn't be anymore different, Dreyman is charming and has a bohemian, well read feel to him, whilst Wiesler is staid and grey and by the book. Their differences can be seen in their lives too, from the look of their apartments to the type of company they keep. Mühe is particularly good and goes through every type of emotion beautifully. 

Martina Gedeck's performance as Christa-Maria is equally as impressive as the lead actors, however I was so distracted every time she was topless; she was having to strategically move her arms to cover her nipples. Ulrich Tukur & Thomas Thieme make for excellent villains who are eager for power. The film has some incredibly tense moments and you will be upright during these moments, von Donnersmarck executes these scenes really well. There are plenty of twists and even a few "I never saw that coming" moments too. The movie has a lot of dialogue and therefore a lot of subtitles and the dialogue is important so if you don't speak or understand German you will need to have your brain switched on. This is a superb directorial debut from von Donnersmarck. 

Almost Famous (2000) - #97

Empire top 301: #97
IMDb top 250: -

Rating 9/10

Director: Cameron Crowe
Writers: Cameron Crowe
Starring: Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Anna Paquin, Kate Hudson, Patrick Fugit, Jason Lee & Philip Seymour Hoffman

"And you can tell Rolling Stone magazine that my last words were... I'm on drugs!"

William Miller (Fugit) is a 15 year old aspiring music journalist, who has a rebellious sister who gets him into rock music and a strict conservative mother who thinks rock music is the root of all evil which leads to drugs and promiscuous sex.  After writing a few well received articles William is contacted by the editor of Rolling Stone magazine to write a piece on up and coming band Stillwater, to travel on the road with them and get a story worthy of the front page. Whilst on tour with the band William gets to know head Band Aid (Groupie) Penny Lane (Hudson) and he falls in love with her. 

I have a huge love for music, not just the singers or groups but the songs, the sounds and the lyrics and this is what I get from this movie. Crowe has a love for the MUSIC. The film is a semi-autobiographical look at Crowe's younger years when he travelled with bands like The Who whilst writing for Rolling Stone magazine. Whilst I wasn't born in the 70's from the various documentaries I've seen and books I've read, to me, Crowe has got the feeling, look and sound of the 70's down. The soundtrack is awesome and has my favourite Elton John song "Tiny Dancer" slap bang in the middle of the movie during a great scene, but in every scene there is some amazing song playing in the background. 

The Oscar winning script is superb, it's funny and moving and joyous and sad. Most of the best lines belong to Frances McDormand's overbearing mother Elaine but everybody gets their time to shine with some great dialogue. Frances McDormand does kind of steal the show; her Oscar nominated performance is hilarious and very relatable to anybody who has parent(s) that won't just let them be who THEY want to be. This is not the case for me, but I have friends who have parents like this! 

Billy Crudup and Jason Lee, the central guys in the Stillwater band are both excellent and have some great scenes together, especially the turbulent flight scene which has an hilarious ending. Kate Hudson brings depth to what could have been a really floaty and limiting role, whilst Penny is mostly carefree Hudson brings a lot of vulnerability to it with her emotive eyes and facial expressions; she really does a beautiful job. I adore Fairuza Balk as Sapphire, she really gets that carefree, fun loving character. 

I haven't seen the movie in a while and it was fun to see how many people are in it who are now big stars; Anna Paquin, Jay Baruchel, Jimmy Fallon and Eric Stonestreet to name a few. Almost Famous is a great coming of age story written by someone who really gets music and how it can make you feel and the soundtrack really is AMAZING. 

Rushmore (1998) - #211

Empire top 301: #211
IMDb top 250: -

Rating 7/10

Director: Wes Anderson
Writers: Wes Anderson & Owen Wilson
Starring: Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Olivia Williams, Luke Wilson, Seymour Cassel & Brian Cox

"War does funny things to men."

Max Fischer (Schwartzman) attends Rushmore school, a school he has always wanted to be a part of. He is both Rushmore's most extracurricular and least scholarly student, with his grades slipping due to extracurricular activities Rushmore's Headmaster informs Max that if his grades don't improve he will be expelled. Herman Blume (Murray) is a millionaire industrialist with two children he doesn't like and a wife who has no interest in him. Herman admires Max and the two become friends. Both Max and Herman fall in love with the first grade teacher at Rushmore, recently widowed Rosemary Cross (Williams) and the two fall out trying to win her heart. After Max tries to build an aquarium on the baseball diamond at Rushmore he is expelled and has to attend a public school.

I was really not expecting to enjoy this movie, I've always thought it was going to be one of those 'you have to be in on the joke, to get it' kind of movies. How wrong was I. Rushmore is really really funny. Owen Wilson and Wes Anderson and written some hilarious dialogue; the script is excellent. I particularly liked Magnus's (the scottish kid) dialogue and his put downs of Max were LOL funny. 

Jason Schwartzman is so funny, he delivers all of his lines in a complete deadpan way and this just makes the dialogue even funnier. The character of Max is completely inappropriate but hilarious - "we both have dead people in our families". Not so much now, but in this movie Jason could pass for a young Tom Cruise. Bill Murray is good, but it's a performance I've seen him give countless times before, he's a dab hand at the weathered kind of miserable man and could do it in his sleep. 

Luke Wilson has a short role as Rosemary's friend Pete and he's involved in the extremely funny dinner scene which has some great lines in it. Olivia Williams does widow well, see a well known M. Night Shyamalan film for further details. 

I definitely think this is one of those marmite type films that people will think is hilarious and really love or won't get it and think it's awful. I enjoyed it and it kept me entertained for it's 1hr33min running time, I thought the soundtrack was pretty cool too and I actually loved the stage sets for Max's plays; only wish my school plays had have been like that, people might have actually went to see them.  

United 93 (2006) - #DidntMakeTheListButShouldHave

Empire top 301: -

IMDb top 250: -

Rating 10/10

Director: Paul Greengrass

Writers: Paul Greengrass

Starring: Cheyenne Jackson, Corey Johnson & David Alan Basche

"This is a suicide mission. We have to do something. They are not gonna land this plane." 

United 93 is the story of the fourth plane hijacked on September 11th 2001 during the terrorist attacks against America. United 93 was the only plane hijacked on the day that did not reach it's target. The movie tells from the moment United 93 takes off right through to it's conclusion and also about the other hijacked planes.   

United 93 was one of the films on the list that I was most excited about watching, I'd been threatening to watch it for years and have heard great things but I always put it off. Perhaps it was the subject matter and the fact I knew it was going to be difficult to watch. I am so glad I've finally watched it now, to say I loved it would be an understatement. This movie is superb!!! Paul Greengrass is a master at building up tension and suspense and my heart was pounding throughout and I actually was on the edge of my seat. 

I found myself shocked, sad, terrified, baying for blood during the last forty minutes and ultimately spent when the film finished. It drained me but I loved every minute of it. The events of 9/11 are so shocking and awful it still has the power to sadden me, whenever I see something 9/11 related it takes me back to the day when I saw it happen on the television, it was shocking then, it's still shocking now. 

The acting is exceptional, from everyone! The film is quick paced and frantic and every actor does an outstanding job. During the control room scenes it's hard to believe they're actually actors, they're so good and convincing. The way the movie is filmed also makes it feel very realistic and this really heightens your emotions. The scenes were the passengers phone their loved ones broke me and a few tears were shed, the fact this actually happened only made it worse, it must've have been truly awful. The movie is unflinching and hard to watch but it should be watched, by everyone! 

I cannot recommend this film enough it is outstanding!!! How it never made the top 301 I'll never know!!

The Wizard Of Oz (1939) - #123

Empire top 301: #123

IMDb top 250: #167

Rating 8/10

Director: Victor Fleming

Writers: Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson & Edgar Allan Woolf

Starring: Judy Garland, Margaret Hamilton, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley & Billie Burke

“A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others.”

The Wizard of Oz tells the story of Dorothy Gale (Garland) who is lives with her Uncle Henry and Aunty Em on their farm in Kansas. Dorothy is in trouble with her neighbour Miss Gulch (Hamilton) after her dog Toto gets into her garden, chases her cat and bites her. Miss Gulch arrives at the farm with an order from the town Sheriff to collect Toto so he can be put down. Dorothy runs away with Toto but is convinced to return to the farm after a fortune teller says her Aunty Em is sick. On her return to the farm Dorothy is caught in a tornado, and unable to get inside the storm shelter with the others, she and her house are carried off to the World of Oz where it lands in Munchkin Land and crushes the Wicked Witch of The East. After obtaining her Ruby Slippers Dorothy travels to see The Wizard of Oz in the hopes of returning home and escaping the clutches of The Wicked Witch of The West. 

I watched The Wizard of Oz with my 3 year old, easily distracted Goddaughter and she was mesmorized, such is the power of this movie. From the sepia tone and beautiful Somewhere Over The Rainbow beginning to the technicolor Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead and dancing Munchkins, how could you not be mesmorized? I’ve seen the movie countless times and the shift from sepia to technicolor still amazes me, it’s seemless and still looks amazing.

The movie is dated now and it’s obvious that it was shot on a soundstage and the background is all painted, something I never picked up on when I was younger. But this doesn’t affect the enjoyment of this classic. The songs are absolutely brilliant and I found myself singing along much to the amusement of my Goddaughter. My favourite song is Optimistic Voices, which has a tune that will be stuck in your head for days – “you’re out the woods, you're out
of the dark, you're out of the night”. Somewhere Over The Rainbow has been covered to death, but noone does it like Judy and it’s still the standout of the whole picture.

Judy’s voice is great throughout each number she performs and her acting performance is pretty good too. The performances of each of the cast are very of the time, and quite melodramatic. Margaret Hamilton is perfect as The Wicked Witch of The West, it is a bit of a pantomime performance but it still has the power to frighten as my goddaughter will agree. That shrill voice, terrifying cackle, green face and threats to Dorothy and Toto make for a great and memorable villain. The supporting cast are also excellent especially Ray Bolger as The Scarecrow, Bert Lahr as The Cowardley Lion and Jack Haley as The Tin Man, who sound great on the numbers they perform.

The Wizard of Oz is a classic loved by many, including me and now my Goddaughter!!

It's A Wonderful Life (1946) - #40

Empire top 301: #40
IMDb top 250: #27

Rating 10/10

Director: Frank Capra
Writers: Frank Capra, Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich, Jo Swerling & Philip Van Doren Stern
Starring: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Henry Travers & Thomas Mitchell

"Every time you hear a bell ring, it means that some angel's just got his wings."

In Bedford Falls one Christmas Eve George Bailey (Stewart) has hit rock bottom and contemplating suicide. His family and friends who he has helped all his life, leaving his own dreams behind to do so, pray for him to be ok and for God to look after him. These prayers reach Heaven and George's guardian angel Clarence (Travers) is sent to Earth to save George and in the process earn his wings. Before Clarence is able to help George he must first know his life and head angels Franklin and Joseph show Clarence how George has become the man he has. 

It's a Wonderful Life is the ultimate Christmas movie. It'll make you laugh and cry and just make you feel really happy. It's a story we can all relate to when we're feeling down and don't think our life is what it should be and by the end you start to think how lucky you are, to have what you have! It's a beautifully written movie with great characters you'll love and hate. 

James Stewart gives a superb performance as George, it's probably my favourite performance of his closely followed by Rear Window. The character of George is seen as unlikeable by some people but I don't think that, at times he can be a bit brattish but ultimately Stewart's performance keeps him as our hero and has you rooting for him. Donna Reed is absolutely stunning and I love her in this movie. Lionel Barrymore is excellent as the evil Mr Potter, who'll stop at nothing to destroy George Bailey and even though it's a lovely Christmas movie it's great that he stays completely wicked throughout. 

I watched the black and white Blu Ray version of the movie and it looks gorgeous, it's so well filmed and the transfer is great. If you can, definitely watch it on this format. It's a Wonderful Life is just a wonderful movie and one I try to watch every Christmas. Highly recommend.