Animal Farm (1999)

Of all the various filmed versions of Orwell's dystopian novella, this one might be the most disturbing because of how uncanny valley it is to see this material adapted to live action. Through a combination of real livestock, puppetry and animatronics (courtesy of Jim Henson's Creature Shop), the effect is creepy as fuck, which is appropriate for the allegorical themes contained within. It tones down the political language, but despite the attractive way it's packaged, this is clearly not intended for young audiences. Somewhere in the dark recesses of my psyche, I always tend to conflate this film with The Island of Dr. Moreau.

2½ legs bad out of 5

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994)

More faithful to its esteemed source than most, if not all, other films to date, Branagh's Frankenstein had the potential to be something very special. The first twenty minutes hold the same promise, referencing the social side of 18th Century life, the limitations of medicine, the reasons for Victor's infatuation with creating/sustaining life, and introducing some striking symbolism, but the unevenness that follows the set-up undoes a lot of the good work. He paints the work with broad, grimy strokes when a more delicate touch would have served the layers of feverish obsession and hubris better. The score is often turgid, pushing bombastic heights instead of exploring quiet percipience.
But points awarded for a successful repeated shift of our sympathies, inviting us to question morality in a similar manner to how Victor is forced to do.

3 raw materials out of 5

Kafka (1991)

Soderbergh is a hit and miss director for me. With Kafka he categorically hit. It's not based on any one specific story but is rather an amalgamation of the author's themes. Translating them into film was achieved with occasional canted angles and a beautiful canvas of B+W contrasts courtesy of DoP Walt Lloyd. The deceptively simple depth of field holds within it things that stand out without being pointed out directly - there's a trust that the viewer will know not just where to look but how to look. Influences are plentiful, from Murnau to Lang, Huston, Welles, Reed and even Hitchcock, there's always something interesting to admire (that rooftop!).
Obviously, some knowledge of Kafka's published works will help with placing of references, but it's not necessary to enjoy the film.

4½ internal reverberations out of 5

eXistenZ (1999)

I hope it isn't but it’s possible that the film is Cronenberg’s last full-on venture into the ‘body-horror’ genre that he excelled in. It contains within it many elements that fans of his earlier works will be familiar with, including the weird character names and sharp angled Canadian architecture, as if to say this is where the past ends, I'm moving onto genres new afterwards.
It has a lot in common with Videodrome (1983), not just thematically but in other ways, and as such I’d definitely recommend viewing Videodrome first.
If you expect to find something intriguing but sickening you’ll not be disappointed. How does a rubbery, foetus-like VR game pod with umbilical cords that plug into a bizarre anus in your lower back sound?

4 signs of the times out of 5

NAKED LUNCH [1991]

Director David Cronenberg gets really feckin' weird with Naked Lunch, a hallucinatory erotic comedy(?) inspired by the life & works of post-modern author William S. Burroughs.
Peter Weller is perfect as a man trying to get his life together, only everything that surrounds him will have none of it thus sending him drifting in and out of a drug-induced Kafka-esque miasma that is simultaneously hilarious, wondrous, terrifying and most of all: really really creepy.  Fans expecting an adaptation of the novel, the film takes it's name from, obviously never read the book, as Cronenberg takes from all sorts of sources and creates something all his own.  The wild imagination is what stands out but after the shock of that wears off, you've got a hypnotizing story that dissects the social mechanisms that follow Weller's character into his hallucinated version of Tangier.  It's definitely not for everybody but for those that bite, they will find something fantastic.

4 drips of mugwamp jism out of 5

Dreamchild (1985)

There are many works that presume to continue the Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) story, but Dreamchild is different in that it offers a fictionalised account of the girl for whom the famous tale was created in the first place, Alice Hargreaves (Coral Browne), as she nears her eightieth birthday. It's by Dennis Potter and is primarily in his voice, not Carroll's.

It follows her as she travels to America for the centenary of Carroll's birth. She dislikes the bustle and lack of tact she finds there, but she abhors even more that they want her to give an account of what it’s like to be the fiction.

Her memories of the telling of the story given to her as a child by the author revisit her as an aged woman in the present, brought to life in a different world by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop as twisted representations of buried truths about the complicated relationship between the adult and the child.

3 corner shadows out of 5

From Hell (2001)

A Jack the Ripper story adapted from/inspired by an Alan Moore graphic novel of the same name. It’s flawed but interesting.

The Hughes brothers wanted realism in the environment, but the end result is far from that; it’s a well-lit Whitechapel filled with clean dirt and a stage-like aura, but it works if you think of it as theatre.

There are some memorable flashes of creativity thanks in part to the stylised use of colour. The editing is good and the music is successful in creating and sustaining intrigue and drama.

Johnny Depp is a fine actor but he isn't suited to the role of a Dorset-born Police Inspector, and nor is Heather Graham suited to hers. The illusion of being in London is utterly shattered every time they speak.

2½ alleviations out of 5

A LIFE LESS ORDINARY [1997]

The adorably malicious A Life Less Ordinary is director Danny Boyle's version of a romantic fantasy comedy.
There's guns, headshots, car wrecks, musical numbers, animation, robots, angels and bank robberies, in short, everything that makes a good rom-com.  Unfortunately after you're done taking this fun ride of a road trip you can't help but feel there never really was any point to it all.  No matter it's really just good fun without a lingering aftertaste or really nary an afterthought as well.

3 gravediggers out of 5

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (extended edition) [2001]

They said it couldn't be with much doubt but Peter Jackson & co. brought J.R.R. Tolkien's classic epic fantasy novel The Lord Of The Rings to the screen with smashing success both financially and creatively.
The expanded edition of the first instalment The Fellowship Of Ring is easily the definitive version as it smooths out some of the rough skips and bumps in the original edit.  Fleshing out the vivid characters just a bit more added so much to the rich details Jackson gave the world of Middle Earth and it's inhabitants.   With a perfectly rounded out cast, dazzling special effects, beautifully intricate set design, dizzying photography and a powerful score from Howard Shore the film is a milestone in modern film-making.  At the heart of the razzle dazzle lays a wonderfully woven tale about love, friendship and hope in increasingly dark times set within a world of adventure, fantasy and horror.

5 2nd breakfasts out of 5 

Alien (1979)

Ridley's first influential sci-fi is an ambitious production that's lit more like a horror film. The creeping zooms in dark corridors and ominous environments reinforce the claustrophobic living conditions that influence the crew. It's a cold, distanced experience that forces you to find a connection with the mostly unlikeable protagonists. Once you find it, you feel the fear the same as they do when the terror comes calling.
The themes that would make Cameron's action movie sequel worth watching were birthed here, hiding in the narrative and the performance.
The original 1979 Theatrical Cut is superior to the 2003 Director's Cut.
Let's not forget H.R. Giger, who gave the world the most fascinating alien design I've ever seen. Its appeal is that it's familiar but frightening.

5 meals ruined out of 5

THE AVIATOR [2004]

Martin Scorsese delivers yet another film of delicately crafted shots, extravagant set pieces and noteworthy costumes. The Aviator tells the story of the eccentric film director and aviator Howard Hughes.
Leonardo DiCaprio hands in a wonderful performance as Hughes, as does Cate Blanchett who does a hauntingly believable and spot on performance as Katherine Hepburn. Filled with an entire army of beautiful performances, I'd be hard off to list them all.
Scorsese takes us back to the Golden Age of Hollywood in both the era itself and even in his own filming techniques. It's a beautiful and fascinating film that I was surprised to find I was so enthralled with. My initial reaction to a film about Hughes was "this will be boring" and found that I couldn't be any more wrong.

4 ½ Errol Fuckin Flynn's out of 5