Reviews by Claudia

This is another outstanding Johnny Depp film that I am really glad that I have seen. It came highly recommended by friends, and I can say that I completely agree that this was a brilliant movie.

It's another flick where Johnny Depp is an inspector, in this case he is Inspector Fredderic Abberline. Abberline is assigned to investigate a series of murders which are all linked to Jack the Ripper. There are some very disturbing parts to this film, but I thought the murders weren't particularly bloody until it was close to the end.

Johnny Depp gave another exceptional performance, every thing he did in this film.. his every movement and every line he spoke was to complete perfection. Heather Graham was one of the more average actors, but still not a completely bad casting choice. Ian Holm was electrifying.. his performance was amazing and he truly gave the whole movie a lot more thrills. There were some other great supporting actors in this, including Robbie Coltrane and Jason Flemyng.

I strongly recommend for anyone to see this, definitely a great watch and an exceptional horror/thriller movie.

This is a sweet, romantic film about Don Juan - the greatest lover of all time. Just that idea of Johnny Depp as Don Juan is perfect in my mind, so I had no doubt that he would again deliver an outstanding performance.

As I have said, this follows the story of Don Juan DeMarco, known for his talent of seducing women. Marlon Brando's character in this is a psychiatrist, who has Don Juan as his patient. The story centres around their sessions together and we learn what the psychiatrist learns about Don Juan's past life. The title character in himself is an excellent idea for a movie like this, and I thought it was great to have a lot of the story told through the words and visions of Don Juan.

Marlon Brando isn't exactly a favourite actor of mine, so for me that was one of it's downsides. Faye Dunaway was pretty average, although she had a small role in this. Overall it is definitely an enjoyable and seductive movie I for one definitely found worth watching. I'd recommend this if you are a Johnny Depp fan, or if you are in the mood for a unique love story.

This has to be one of my favourite films ever, no doubt about that. When I first walked into the cinema to see this, I knew I was going to love it.. but I had no idea I would enjoy this film as much as I did. It had that distinctive Tim Burton 'style' to it. Dark, mysterious, eerie, bloody and humorous. You could call this a mixture of genres.. obviously it is a musical, but it's just as much of a horror movie as it is a comedy.

Johnny Depp is Sweeney Todd.. the demon barber of Fleet Street. A dark character that comes across as a revenge-seeking, sinister person. All you need to know about this plot is that Sweeney Todd was once locked away from his wife and daughter, and came back to London to seek revenge. After his first killing Mrs Lovett, played by Helena Bonham Carter, suggests using the flesh in meat pies. From then the story unfolds in itself, creating some unexpected plot turns and an outstanding end to this masterpiece. Tim Burton directs one of the greatest movies ever made, making it really his own. Another reason to see this is if you absolutely love Tim's style of movies, you will love Sweeney Todd.

Johnny Depp showed yet again how he is one of the best actors of his generation, and has proved to me why he is my all-time favourite actor. This was something completely different for him.. singing. I personally thought he was brilliant, the perfect actor with the perfect voice for Sweeney Todd. Seeing Helena Bonham Carter in this movie has made me admire her a lot more as an actress, she made her character certainly a lot more entertaining than I can imagine anyone else doing. She really made another stand-out performance for me. Alan Rickman was everything you would imagine his character to be, but as for his singing.. I can't really comment because to me it was more like just talking compared to other actors.. but it still blended in well with everything. Sacha Baron Cohen provided a couple of entertaining scenes, while Timothy Spall was as disgusting as you would imagine him to be.

I can't express in words how much I loved this film, but I tried. I would strongly recommend this to anyone, just be prepared that this is a musical. Other than that... enjoy!

"I probably could have saved her if I'd have moved sooner. But I thought it was just another nightmare, like the one I had the night before. There was... there was this guy; he had knives for fingers."

The story of this film is based around a group of teenagers who all begin to have nightmares about the same person (if you can call him that). They work out that this guy, named Fred Krueger, is out to kill them in their sleep. So we get to watch them in a battle to survive, loosing their friends and trying to stay awake for as long as possible.. because whatever they do, they can't fall asleep.

This is a classic horror movie that has produced one of the most iconic horror villains.. Fred Krueger. You will never forget this freaky, grotesque, disturbing, spine-chilling character after you watch A Nightmare On Elm Street. After finishing watching the movie, I saw part of the extras on the DVD and found out a little about how this character came about in the mind of director and writer Wes Craven. Apparently when he was just 7 years or so old, when he was about to go to sleep he saw a man looking out his window straight at him. He wouldn't look away, and turned to go to the entrance of the building. This freaked Wes out, so that was one of the main elements that came to mind with him about Freddy. That and a series of news stories about reports of people dying in their sleep. I think it is genius for him to come out with something original and unique compared to other horror films from that.

I loved seeing Johnny Depp in this, his first film. I bet no one could have picked up that he would be one of the most successful actors of his generation just from this movie, but obviously he got some attention from it and that's how he's got where he is today. Robert Englund was creeeeepy and terrifying as Freddy Krueger. He was just perfect when you think about it, he made Freddy one of the most iconic movie villains of all time. It was vital for Heather Langenkamp to give a good performance to make this movie watchable. She did alright to say the least. The rest of the cast were the sort of people that I wouldn't choose to watch a movie with them starring in again.

This is one of those must-see movies. See it before you die kind of stuff. So, if you haven't, I'm telling you now to go and see it for yourself!

"Are you smoking this shit so's to escape from reality? Me, I don't need this shit. I am reality. There's the way it ought to be, and there's the way it is. Elias was full of shit. Elias was a crusader. Now, I got no fight... with any man who does what he's told. But when he don't, the machine breaks down. And when the machine breaks down, we break down. And I ain't gonna allow that... in any of you. Not one."

I find it hard sometimes to get into war films, this was one of them. I'm not saying it was bad, I just didn't like it quite as much as some other people did. Maybe if I watch it again sometime I might like it a little more, but for now it leaves me satisfied, nothing more.

The movie is based around a man, Chris Taylor, who has volunteered to fight for his country in the Vietnam War. Only soon after he arrives he struggles to survive, and realises that he is insignificant to the other soldiers as he has not been at the war for as long as they have. A rivalry is soon formed between his two commanding officers, so he soon realises that he is not only battling with his enemy, but with the conflict between the men in his platoon. There were two main reasons I saw this.. one being that it comes highly recommended by some of my friends.. the other that I wanted to see Johnny Depp. If someone only saw this because of Johnny (And I was close to that) then you might be a little disappointed. His role is very small, I found myself looking out for him throughout the whole movie.. waiting to see him, waiting for him to speak. Unfortunately he hardly says anything, but it's still interesting to see a successful actor like him in one of his older movies.

Charlie Sheen as Chris Taylor was someone I am unfamiliar with, so I didn't know what to expect from him. I thought he did a pretty decent job pulling off the main role in this flick. Willem Dafoe I really liked in this.. his character was one of the more like able ones, and he gave a strong performance. One scene I will definitely not forget from him was the shot that is used as the cover.. so convincing and horrifying, that was a very memorable moment for the film. Tom Berenger was great for his role.. creating a very odious character. Johnny Depp was brilliant for his small part, an intense performance from him.

My rating reflects my like of war films.. though this did have a great cast and amazing performances.. war movies like this just aren't my thing. Like I said though, a second viewing might make me change what I think of this film.

"There is a natural order. The way things are meant to be. An order that says that the good guys always win. That you die when it's your time, or you have it coming. That the ending is always happy, if only for someone else."

This was a really fun, enjoyable and entertaining movie to watch. It had it all - action, comedy, guns and some great actors. My kind of movie. So I knew I would love it, and it impressed me more than I thought it would. It's a kidnapping thriller movie with some comedy thrown in with it. A great mixture of genres together, and it came across exceptionally well.

It's a great plot with something of a twist towards the end. Two criminals (Ryan Phillippe, Benicio Del Toro) kidnap a woman who is being paid to be a surrogate mother by a powerful 'gangster'. When they find out who he is, they demand $15mil for the woman. But things begin to get hectic and chaotic as this leads to gun fights and a struggle to stay alive. New sides are formed and it becomes unclear who the enemies and allies really are, and what they are fighting for.

Ryan Phillippe was brilliant! Although his character as well as Benicio Del Toro's were criminals, they were still like able in the movie. I am beginning to really like Benicio Del Toro in movies like this, he is just incredible! Juliette Lewis is pregnant for most of this flick, but that doesn't stop her from giving a fantastic performance. Taye Diggs was also another great actor in this, as well as appearances from people like Geoffrey Lewis and James Caan. I can give two thumbs up to the whole cast for this!

It really couldn't have been much better, all the gun sequences were brilliant and action-packed. I would put it under action, but this also had quite a lot of funny scenes, I found myself loving the comedy in this just as much as the action. I highly recommend this to anyone who is in the mood for some great entertainment throughout the whole film.

"Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?"

Believe it or not, they actually tried to incorporate a message into this.. but for me it just didn't come out like it was expected to. I don't understand how they can have this so called 'comedy' and expect to have a message like this come through. A lot of people are saying, and I completely agree, that this is nothing like Bruce Almighty. That movie I actually laughed out loud at, a lot of times.. the only funny jokes in this I just smiled at. Nothing outrageously funny like some people would expect from Steve Carell. It's like a more biblical version, though the story has no similarities. I even noticed that Steve Carell's character, Evan Baxter, was quite a lot different than we see in Bruce Almighty. So I found myself comparing this to Bruce Almighty, maybe not such a great idea.

It's actually quite a funny, yet stupid idea for the plot. Evan Baxter moves to a new town, leaving his career as a News Reporter. He becomes a congressman when he movies to his new house with his wife and three kids. It's not long after they movie that Evan is approached by God, who suggests that Evan builds an Ark in preparation for a flood. First Evan thinks it's all a joke, but soon two of every animal start to follow him to work and everywhere he goes.. and he works out that in order to get rid of them he must build the ark. Apparently, it's also a great way for his family to bond building it together... And so Evan Baxter becomes Noah.

Steve Carell was no where near as funny as you'd expect.. not that it's completely his fault. The script gave him only a few chances to make his part entertaining. I would have liked to see Morgan Freeman in more of this flick, he was great for his 'small' part. Lauren Graham was worse than average, unconvincing and made some scenes with her character seem just.. stupid. Wanda Sykes and Jonah Hill were some of the more interesting characters, Jonah made me smile the most out of anyone in this.

So this was a slightly less than average film.. if you do see this, don't expect to see anything like Bruce Almighty.

"....I have reached the end of your book and... there are so many things that I need to ask you. Sometimes I'm afraid of what you might tell me. Sometimes I'm afraid that you'll tell me that this is not a work of fiction. I can only hope that the answers will come to me in my sleep. I hope that when the world comes to an end, I can breathe a sigh of relief, because there will be so much to look forward to."

Donnie Darko is a modern masterpiece of a film, when I started watching it I expected it to be good, but no where near as great as it turned out to be. It is dark, humorous, Intriguing and captivating from the moment it starts until it's mysterious end. It is completely original and creative, it blends all of the elements that I would want to see in a movie and does it magnificently well. It's just visually stunning and dazzling to watch, the setting was perfect for this to take place and it seems as though everyone who watches this will get something special out of this movie. Again, the story is completely unique and different from just any average film. It's compelling and interesting to see such a story in a movie, there are so many possibilities and outcomes that it can produce in your mind, it's like an illusion. The ending was more than just a twist, it changed the whole film. It was shown brilliantly what the outcome of the movie is, I had to sit and contemplate for a while after the credits had finished to completely understand what I had just seen. The song 'Mad World' playing at the end finished the movie off perfectly. In fact, I loved how the whole soundtrack fitted in with the movie..

Jake Gyllenhaal's performance was so convincing and just brilliant, I wouldn't have expected something like that from him. He certainly pulled off the title role better than anyone I could imagine, the truly made the movie unforgettable. After seeing him as Donnie Darko I have a completely different view of him as an actor, that's just another reason that I'm glad I saw this.

Overall this is a must see movie, I should have seen is sooner. If you haven't already, see it now. Right now. Yes now!

Normally I wouldn't pick up a documentary from the video store, but I had heard some great things about Lost In La Mancha.. oh and of course I have to see every Johnny Depp movie. So knowing that I haven't watched many documentaries, and that the ones I had seen I didn't particularly like, I had some doubts about this. But I found it really, really interesting and entertaining to watch.

It follows the production and making of Terry Gilliam's film 'The Man Who Killed Don Quixote'. Everything that can go wrong does go wrong, every disaster that is possible happens, and we get to watch it all. The terrible weather, the actors late arrival, Jean Rochefort becoming ill... it goes on. But this is really enjoyable to watch. Sure, there were some times where I really felt for Terry Gilliam during this unlikely process of making the movie.. but there are things I just had to laugh at and realised it was a disaster, nothing can change that, so you might as well enjoy watching what happened. It's a real shame because with a cast like that and from the footage we see in this documentary, it looks like a great film.

After watching this I had a look at the special features disc, and watched the interview with Johnny Depp. The first thing he said about Gilliam is that he is insane, and I agree with him. Johnny also said, and I agree, that it's a compliment, Terry Gilliam is insane and so wonderful. He has his own vision of how his films should be, and he does all he can to make them appear on the big screen. He must be one of the most unfortunate directors ever, during this documentary we find out his reputation of being 'crazy' and some of the other makings of his movies becoming a bit of a disaster too.

So if you are interested at all in film making and producing, I recommend you see this. Hopefully you will get something out of it as well as watching this entertaining documentary for some fun and entertainment.

It wasn't what I expected, to say the least. Actually I really didn't know what to expect from this, I really didn't know much about this other than Will Smith was in it and it had something to do with him being the last man on earth? (You can tell I only had a quick look at the advertising poster). But for me this was definitely worth seeing, sure, it could have been a little better, but it was satisfying enough to see.

Okay, so I've never read the book, what this was about and what happens was a mystery to me. This didn't really make me want to read the book, as interesting as this is.. I just don't have any interest in reading it. This flick was full of suspense and scenes where I was on the edge of my seat. It had lots of sudden moments and movements where I jumped a bit at the start, but towards the end I got used to the fact that it's the films basis. When everything is quiet you just have that feeling that any second a zombie is going to jump out and scream in front of the camera. So it is quite obvious when it will happen, but still sudden. For the first part of the movie I could tell what it was going to be like, not that it's a bad thing. Things started to kick up after maybe the first half an hour or so, so I started to enjoy watching it more then. It also had some humour to it, believe it or not. It wasn't a main element to the film but there's a few things you can notice that you could give a small laugh or smile, nothing outrageously funny unless you find Will Smith getting attacked by mutants hilarious.

Will Smith was superb, there was a particular scene that was just extremely emotional and powerful from him. He made it so real and believable, that was the strength it needed so I'm glad he pulled it off. As you could imagine, with him being the 'last man on earth', there aren't really any other actors I can mention. Oh, the zombies were good, two thumbs up to the animation! Ahem.. Oh yes there was Alice Braga, who wasn't very like-able to me. And of course Sam, the dog; great work.

So If this appeals to you, then I really recommend you see this. It's something different to other releases and still manages to get a great audience and be a success.