Carrie (1976)

From 1976 from the mind of Stephen King and Brian De Palma comes the high school horror film Carrie. Starring Sissy Spacek as Carrie, Piper Laurie as her religious mother, Amy Irving and Nancy Allen as the girls that torture Carrie and John Travolta as Nancy Allen's boyfriend. The film follows Carrie White as she reaches womanhood and as her mother does not communicate with her in a proper manner when she bleeds for the first time she has no idea what is happening and her school colleagues being unsympathetic tease her you get the first glimpse of the pent up power within Carrie.

Another of the "Horror Classics" that I had not seen I watched this with fairly high expectations and while it was not as bad as I thought or hoped it was going to be I have to say that knowing there is some serious stuff going to happen it is quite tense and you are waiting for the scenes you possibly know about. The tension is quite good and is surely a mark of Brian De Palma as the director, as really this is a very simple story about bullying and what their actions bring them.

This was an excellent film and especially if you are into horror films and enjoy revisiting the "Classics" of this genre then this film is one for you. It also carries the trademark of the "B-Movie" ending which is always good with one final scare, this is a 4 star recommend from me, let me know if you have seen it and what you think of it. 

Pulp Fiction (1994)

Film of 2012 #49

The 1994 film from Quentin Tarantino that launched his career, that launched Uma Thurman and re-launched the career of John Travolta. This film is a genre setting film that showed what Tarantino wanted to show on film and made everybody think about what they could and should see in film. The film is non-linear which must have been quite jarring to see when it came out and it said "people you do not have to do what is expected in film."

The film is a series of vignets that inter link and cross over, you have The Coffee Shop scene, Jules Winnfield played by Samuel L Jackson, Vincent Vega played by John Travolta as gangsters who are going to collect something for Marsellus Wallace played by Ving Rhames. And you have the boxer storyline with Bruce Willis as Butch Coolidge. These storys cross over and you have some excellent smaller parts playe by Amanda Plummer, Tim Roth, Eric Stoltz, Rosanna Arquette and Harvey Keitel as the Wolf the ultimate cool Mofo. There are a lot of the scenes in this film that are iconic for their time from Uma Thurman and John Travolta dancing to the gimp in the shop.

I enjoy this film, I think it is a peice of cinema history and can almost be a landmark for 1994, it is however a very styilized film that will not appeal to everybody I would say that if you want to watch modern classics then this is definetley one that you should watch, I give this a solid 3 star film, worth seeing.

From Paris With Love (2010)

This is the thriller starring John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyer that came from nowhere and nobody saw except me and I am glad that I have seen it. It is the story of Jonathan Rhys Meyer is a young attache in the the office of the US ambassador in Paris who wants to be a spy and ends up working with John Travolta. Shenanigins ensue and there is a roller coaster tour of Paris as they search down the terrorists, this is a thriller there are some cood comedy moments in it and it was a highlight of my year finding this film.

John Travolta really plays crazy well with a bald head and goatee beer and his no nonsense attitude you actually do not like the character which is where you are supposed to be with him and your sympathies lie totally with the Jonatahn Rhys Meyer character and the journey that he goes on.

A 4 star recommend I can see this becoming a film that I will revisit agin in the future a most enjoyable romp through Paris.

Bolt (2008)

Format - BluRay
Date - 21 January 2010

Bolt tells the story a dog who plays a heroic dog in a hit TV show and has some trouble recognizing that he doesn't even have superpowers. This becomes something of a hindrance when he is accidentally shipped from Hollywood to New York City. From there he has to make his way home with the help of a manky old cat and an overweight hamster in a plastic ball. Written by wolf_stoned

Thanks to IMDb for the plot summary.

This story is an animated story of a dog trying to go home to his person, Penny. Now this is a kids film and there are a lot of references I picked up in the story, you have "The Truman Show" elements, Bolt does not know his life is not real. "Homeward Bound" never seen this but it is an animal crossing the country story, unlikely allies. And the final reference I get is "Inspector Gadget" to me it really is paying homage to those cartoons with a slight difference, even in the name of Bolt's person.

I was aware of this film when it came to the cinema, however at the time was not inclined to go and see it. I knew the basic concept without the detail and i am unhappy I missed this, I think that the 3D while not needed is great when viewing animation in the cinema. The film is a riot of comedy with some great lines and some good gags, there is a lot of sentimentality and as a n adult you can predict how it will go, but still a great film.

The voice acting was actually quite subtle I was not aware who the main cast were so it did not draw me out of the film. Bolt is played by John Travolta, but he is simply in the position of saying the lines, at no time did I suspect that it was Travolta's voice. Mittens the cat is voiced by Susie Essman, Rhino is voiced by Mark Walton, Penny is voiced by Miley Cyrus, there are also a couple of other big actors including Malcolm McDowell and Greg Germann. The acting is great, the writing is superior and BluRay quality is sublime to view.

I have to recommend this film, especially if you like animation, it is not as good as say the Incredibles, Monsters Inc or UP, but still a masterclass for children.

I give this 4/5