My Top 10: Helena Bonham Carter Films

Helena Bonham Carter has become one of the most versatile female actors from the UK.

It has now been 30 years since her big screen debut. She has worked with many famous directors including Kenneth Branagh, David Fincher, Tom Hooper and most notably Tim Burton.

The London native has also played an integral part in the Harry Potter franchise as she played the psychotic Bellatrix Lestrange.

Out of her 69 films, I have only seen 25 films. I will rank all of the films that I have seen and give a short review for each of my top 10:

25) Planet Of The Apes
24) Alice Through The Looking Glass
23) Terminator Salvation
22) Ocean's 8
21) Great Expectations
20) Alice In Wonderland
19) The Lone Ranger
18) Charlie And The Chocolate Factory
17) Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
16) The Wings Of The Dove
15) Howard's End
14) Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix
13) Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince
12) Cinderella
11) Room With A View

10) Suffragette - Bonham Carter's latest project as she takes the main supportive role in a film about the early feminist movements in the 1910's.

Bonham Carter makes quite an impact in a film that packs a real punch.

A really well told story that manages to make it accessible for everyone to enjoy.

9 Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 - At times, I felt this is better than part 2.

We see Bonham Carter's scary Bellatrix character return, as she is causing Lord Voldemort's in the search for Harry Potter.

It sees Harry begin a race against time to destroy all the Horcruxes that would eventually kill the Dark Lord.

8) Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 - The final part of the Harry Potter franchise that is seen as many peoples favourite.

While Harry, Ron and Hermione are searching for the final items to destroy Voldemort. The Dark Lord and his army march to Hogwarts for one final battle.

It is a terrific thrill ride that perfectly ends what has been a highly successful film series.

7) Wallace & Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit - We see Britain's favourite duo made out of clay in their feature debut.

The dynamic pair set out to discover the mystery behind the numerous sabotage of the gardens in their village that threatens the annual vegetable contest.

As usual, the visuals and comedic style of writing make this highly entertaining and Bonham Carter's voice role as Lady Tottington is a great addition.

6) Corpse Bride - Finally got round to see this Tim Burton animation, and it is definitely Burton's playground where he can stretch his imagination to its fullest.

When a groom practices his wedding vows, a deceased young woman rises from the dead believing that it is her that is to be married.

The characters created our amazing to watch and has a really nice upbeat tone to it.

5) Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street - The first of two Tim Burton features and by far his most gory.

Based on the stage musical, we see a barber return to his shop in London on the search for his daughter and revenge on the man that took his wife.

Bonham Carter plays the neighboring owner of a Pie Shop who decides to help Todd in his sinister plan.

4) Big Fish - Bonham Carter is back with Burton in what I see as his best work in this terrific fantasy adventure.

It sees a dying man re-live stories about his life and tell to his son that has never believed them.

With the feel of a modern fairy tale, it is quite emotional journey that I would watch again and again.

3) Les Miserables - After her efforts in Sweeney Todd, Bonham Carter is in need of her singing vocals again in Tom Hooper's portrayal one of the most loved stage musicals of all-time.

It sees a Frenchman be hunted by a policeman for decade after escaping parole. A series of events during that time changes his life forever.

The way it was shot and sung by everyone involved made this such captivating viewing that the screening that I went to ended with a round of applause, which never happens.

2) The King's Speech - After the success of The Damned United, director Tom Hooper gives us his masterpiece that ended up winning 4 Oscars, including Best Picture.

It tells us the story of King George VI take the throne of the British monarchy during a time when World War II is on the brink.

With the new king having problems with his speech, he hires a therapist with unusual techniques to help with future moments when he needs to make public speeches.

Everything about is just wonderful. The wonderful writing gives us such memorable performances with a surprising amount of comedy.
Plus, the cinematography is quite a spectacle.

We see Bonham Carter plays the wife of the King.

1) Fight Club - David Fincher's iconic psychological drama about an office worker looking for a way to change his life.

He crosses paths with an unusual character where they create an underground fight club that turns into something much more then he originally wanted.

Bonham Carter plays one of the characters our main lead encounters a long the way.

Review: Pan

A film based on Peter Pan is always an exciting prospect.

With many great features such as the wonderful Finding Neverland, the highly enjoyable Hook and the solid Disney version from 1953 and the live-action portrayal in 2003. The Pan film history is one worth watching.

Now we have director Joe Wright, who I have liked his previous work that includes his portrayal Pride & Prejudice and the brilliant Atonement.

His films are usually filmed with drama and wonder. So I was interested to see how we would portray the origins story to the boy that never grew up.

I was going in with slightly low expectations as the film was pushed back from originally being released in the summer, which is not usually a good sign. Also, there were negative reviews coming out from America.

With all that mind, I felt Pan will leave most fans disappointed. I  definitely thought it was the weakest of the Peter Pan films. But it is not a complete disaster.

One thing I loved the most from it was the energy. It is definitely not holding back and everyone involved is going at it full speed. It was really nice to see that it was not playing safe and that it wanted to show brutality of what parts of Neverland can be like. I was pleased to see this and we usually get to see recent family films play safe and not to offend anyone.
However, most people are wanting to expect an enhancement and swash-buckling nature to the tone of the film. We do get in parts, but Wright and his team did not seem make the most of the world in which they have been given.

There are some scary parts which won't make it easy viewing for the kids. But I have always said that a dark element should be in more kids films as I feel kids need to experience fear at an early age.

Most of the performances were very enjoyable to watch. Hugh Jackman chews up the screen beautifully in his pantomime-esque performance of Blackbeard. Lev Miller as Pan proved how much of a talent he is and he managed to hold it together as Peter and gave us a believable character with a strong motive.
One performance was great to watch Garrett Helund's portrayal as a young James Hook. It was a bit over-the-top. But I think that was deliberate as that seem to fit in with the rest of the film.
Rooney Mara gave us a more in-depth feel of Tiger Lilly and was involved in some great fighting scenes.

I'm afraid there was one performance that I hated A LOT. It was Adeel Akhtar's performance as Smee. His attempt of getting the most laughs in the movie failed in my attempt. I think his comedy will suit the kids more. But I felt it to be poorly acted, mis-cast and not amusing in the slightest. You could call it the 'Jar Jar Binks moment'.

Another couple of negatives I really want to mention was the creepy use of two rock songs that were made long after the time period it was set in. It is something that I think nobody will be expecting. I can see what they were trying to do. But the choice of songs used totally caught me off-guard. I think an original piece that would have suited the moment would have been better. That would have kept me in what was a good set of visuals as we began to see the massive scope of this.

Despite all that, I can see Pan getting a few Oscar nominations in the categories of Best Costume and Best Set Design. I was really impressed with those parts of the film

All in all, it is a missed opportunity. It goes at a solid pace with many pleasing visuals, decent action set-pieces and the majority of the performances were entertaining.
However, I do not think it was gripping or entertaining enough to match with the others. I walked out of the theatre just thinking that it was ok. The good stuff was not strong enough. It was just fine. The source material wasn't totally grasped and I wanted to explore more of Neverland, and I can see many others saying that. Saying that reminds me of my review of Oz The Great And Pwerful if that can give you a good comparison.

It is not as good as it could have been. I suggest maybe waiting till it's on TV.

Rating: 6/10

Review: Regression

It is not often that I go and see a film with a horror tone to it.

But as it stars Ethan Hawke and Emma Watson who I am big fans of and that it is directed by Alejandro Amenabar who directed The Others, I felt I should give it go.

I also went into this with little knowledge of what the story was about.

I remember seeing the trailer and still out in the open on what the plot was going to be.

The film began with a little back-story and I was interested with what the subject was and could definitely see the potential in this being an entertaining mystery horror thriller.

The first two-thirds of the film definitely develops well, has me interested and quite tense throughout. Sadly, the final third becomes quite a let-down. It it not terrible from a technical side, it is just the path the story decided to go down. With this being based on true events, I did read about it afterwards to see if this was the right way.
It sort of did. But I think they could have presented better within the film. The blame could very well be because of the first part of the film leading us down something different.

Thankfully in terms of making the film, it pretty solid all-round. The camera work really intensifies every situation, the locations are shown in great detail and the performances are worth mentioning.

Ethan Hawke keeps showing us how good an actor he is and has been for the past 20 years. His leading role kept the film together and also my interest and where this was going. David Thewlis was a great addition. Emma Watson for me was a bit under-whelming. But I think the way her character was directed, I will put the blame elsewhere.
The rest of the acting was perfectly fine, but sadly forgettable.

All in all, it was an interesting subject that engrossed me and made me want to find out more. The movie also does a great job of depicting the people involved.
Despite that, I cannot ignore the disappointing ending. The characters motives decided to completely turn their heads and it made me think "am I watching the same movie?".

After reading more about these events, I feel the ending almost went the right way. However, the director seemed to plant something extra that ended up to be quite unrealistic. I don't know if Amenabar did this to make it easier for the audience, but it seemed unnecessary.

A good mystery horror flick that could have been as great as the directors previous work.

Rating: 7/10

Review: Sicario

After the surprise success of Prisoners two years ago, director Denis Villeneuve has become one of the freshest faces in the business.
His approach to story-telling and unique visual presentation has made any future film he does a must-see for film fans.

Now we have another crime thriller. But this time, we are off to the American/Mexican border in Sicario (the Spanish word for 'hit-man').

I can quite safely that this another edge of your seat extravaganza from this talented director. Filled with a lot of mystery, suspense and outstanding performances, Villeneuve has made another tense thrill ride.
Even though it did not go ways I thought it would, it is still a thoroughly satisfying piece of work by a talented director that needs to be given more opportunities.

As well as directing, the cinematography by Roger Deakins was incredible. Him and Wally Pfister are definitely my favorite cinematographers right now. His work is easily as brilliant as Skyfall, Prisoners and The Shawshank Redemption. Deakins really shows the correct style of cinematography instead of the annoying 'shaky-cam' that does make viewing frustrating.

Another huge positive is the performances. Emily Blunt continues to go from strength to strength in her physical performances and I love everything she does now.
Josh Brolin is solid also. However, it is Benicio Del Toro who steals the show with by far the best performance. His mysterious character really sucks you in and delivers the tension so well. It has honestly been a while since I have seen such a memorable performance by this talented actor.

It is a film that should be seen. However, I was not blown away by it compared to Villeneuve's previous work. It was well-crafted and I can see this contending for a few Oscars such as cinematography, directing and definitely Del Toro for best supporting actor.
It has a combination of elements from Zero Dark Thirty and Traffic. Therefore, I think this will fall under the category of 'everything was well made, but I cannot see myself watching this again'.

Rating: 8/10

Review: Macbeth

Like almost everybody else, I have experienced the tale of Macbeth at school in English. It is definitely the most brutal of Shakespeare's works and I have seen the Roman Polanski version from 1971 which I enjoyed. So I knew what to expect in terms of the story.
With the makers of the film knowing that this story is used in nearly every schools curriculum in the UK, it is definitely not an easy task too make a version that will appeal to a 21st century audience.

The world of Shakespeare is also a tricky thing to promote to a mainstream audience, especially when the makers decide to keep to the source material and use the Shakespearean language that has set the foundations for story-telling that is still evident now.
Even the most educated person still finds it hard to piece all together every bit of Shakespeare's plays. But it is the fragments in each play that people never forget that makes his plays so intriguing.

With Macbeth, we have a story full of ambition, murder and rage that these days would make a great psychological period drama.
What director Justin Kurzel has put onto screen is definitely one that does not hold back on the brutality of the play. From a powerful opening scene to intense character developments that ends with a picturesque final act that every shot looks like a painting.

The atmosphere is definitely visceral and the pacing gives you time to work things out for yourself if you are struggling with the dialogue, which I can see being quite common in cinema screens around the country.

The beautiful scenic landscape of Scotland (filmed in Skye) is used to its fullest. There were also moments during the film of the use of a bright choice of palette which felt quite striking.
What also was captivating was the use of slow-motion that almost reminded of Zack Snyder's 300. However, I think Kurzel over-used it slightly.

Also, haunting soundtrack seemed appropriate for every scene and never looked out of place. It's eerie sound kept me fixed throughout as this savage tragedy was unfolding.

I'm afraid the one main negative is a big one. The Shakespearean language will put off a lot of the mainstream audience. But as most people should know the story already from school, then you can look beyond that and admire the performances, visuals, cinematography and the haunting soundtrack.

As for the performances, they are so strong and you can see the dedication everyone is putting in to make this film the best it could be.
Michael Fassbender showed real intensity and realism in the Macbeth that I remember. I have been a big fan of Fassbender for quite some right and that performance could get him mentioned during the awards season.
Marion Cotillard as Lady Macbeth was equally impressive. Despite her performance, she seemed somewhat side-lined that in previous versions. I remember reading that people were not sure about this choice of casting. But I had seen of Cotillard's previous work for that important role to be in capable hands. Her character's development gave me another side of Lady Macbeth that really enjoyed seeing.
Adding to that, Sean Harris was by far the best of the supporting roles. His vengeful performance of Macduff gave the character real intensity.

Despite a lot of positives, my overall feeling is that it is nowhere near as psychologic as I remembered the story being. I was not gripped for most of it as like I said the dialogue is really off-putting.
I do admire the choice of using the Shakespearean language. But I think this will down-grade many peoples rating for this feature. Thankfully if you look beyond that, then there is a lot to like.

Kurzel's direction is highly visual and wonderfully pleasing to the eye. It is always great to see something like this on the big screen and gives people the chance to witness something that is usually classified as 'high-brow' material.
But sadly, I can see this being more of a critics film then a hit with the casual cinema-goers.

Rating: 7/10

Review: The Walk

When hearing about the release of this, I had to see it on the opening day.

Not just because Robert Zemeckis (Back To The Future trilogy, Forrest Gump, Who Framed Roger Rabbit) was directing this. It was for the story.

After seeing the 2008 Oscar winning film documentary Man On Wire, it became my favorite film documentary of all-time.
It was utterly engrossing and the way they portrayed this ridiculous achievement that was done by Philippe Petit without anyone's permission made this one of the greatest human moments in the 20th century.

While we are all awaiting for the big finale, the build-up is plodding along nicely. With clever old school style uses of 3D that remind of 2011 film Hugo, we see what drives our main character to do something so ridiculous and why us humans make ourselves do stuff that nobody else would even start thinking about.

I think a lot of people including myself will be divided on the first two-thirds of the film. Some people will be fine with it. But others might have wanted more history of Petit and to understand his ambition for wanting to do this risky stunt.
For me, I was wanting a bit of both. I was interested in what was being portrayed. However there were some moments that felt unnecessary. If they replaced it with a bit more depth to the main character, then I think that would have been ideal for me.

As for the famous walk scene it self that is making everyone attend the cinema for, is in no other way 'heart-in-mouth' stuff. I was really anxious throughout that moment that is rightfully known as the 'art stunt of the century'. My dis-belief was thoroughly suspended and it was one of the most captivating moments I have seen at the cinema this year. That final scene confirmed for me that you either see this in IMAX 3D or you do not see it at all.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt gives us a very charming performance as Petit. Despite the French accent showing signs of Monty Python, it is a consistent accent and you start to warm to it.
I also liked Charlotte Le Bon's performance. I have never seen her before and I enjoyed her screen presence. Ben Kingsley gives us a great under-stated performance that he can probably do in his sleep to be honest.

The Walk makes me forget how good Zemeckis is in merging CGI with live-action. From the feather at the start and end of Forrest Gump to ground-breaking motion-capturing of The Polar Express and A Christmas Carol. Zemeckis has made a well acted, beautifully shot and highly entertaining flick that we all he can consistently do.
Despite the main set-piece that everyone is waiting for being sort of its saving grace for the rest of the film, there is still something interesting things in those first two-thirds.

If you haven't seen Man On Wire, then I think seeing The Walk would be the right thing. If you want to know more, then watch the documentary, as that for me it is superior to the film.
One final thing that I liked Zemeckis did with this feature was giving the World Trade Centre towers a fitting tribute as this iconic stunt gave life and a personality to these buildings, and Zemeckis rightly showed that.

I am glad someone made this as it is one of my favorite stories to read about, as it is moments like that that inspires humans to do incredible things and Zemeckis made us re-live that moment.

Rating: 8/10

My Top 10: Robert Zemeckis Films

Robert Zemeckis surprisingly does not get mentioned enough compared to others like Spielberg, Hitchcock or even Nolan.
But you certainly know about the films this man has made for over the past 30 years.

From re-defining the time-travel sub-genre, to ground-breaking animations cross-overing into live-action, Zemeckis' works will never be forgotten.

After doing my top 10 list, I can safely my list for this Oscar winner in almost set-in-stone. The only that I have not seen that I think will affect this list will be the 2012 hit, Flight.

So like I said, some of you may not have heard of him. But when you see the list, you will appreciate the work he has made for your enjoyment.

I have all seen of his 21 films apart from a documentary he made in 1999. I'm not counting 1986 film Amazing Stories, as Zemeckis is one of three directors collaborating with that particular project. With that in mind, here is my ranking for all of Zemeckis' films that I have seen, with a short review for each of my top 10:

21) The Witches

20) Pinocchio
19) Here

18) Beowulf
17) Romancing The Stone
16) Death Becomes Her
15) A Christmas Carol
14) Flight
13) I Wanna Hold Your Hand
12) Allied
11) Used Cars

10) The Polar Express - Universally seen as odd, but I find to be a very enjoyable film that was a lot better than I expected.

It is definitely not your bog-standard Christmas film, and I felt it gave Christmas new edge to its history.

The visuals were ground-breaking for its time and I feel that most of it still holds up.

9) What Lies Beneath - I remember getting this a long with the first DVD player my family bought.

I was probably too young to watch this and remember being scared out of my mind.
I still feel it is a good romp with a good amount of scares and great cinematography.

8) Cast Away - A terrific survival story that sees a FedEx worker crash land on a desert island.

Tom Hanks plays the lead wonderfully well and does everything right in how to make a successful survival film.

The theme of a human battling the elements of nature is always a winning recipe.

7) The Walk - Zemeckis' latest work tells the story that is known as 'the artistic crime of the century'. It sees Joseph Gordon-Levitt play wire walker Philippe Petit who realises his dream to walk on a wire between the World Trade Centre towers. It is one probably my favourite story of all-time and is portrayed really well.

The use of 3D is terrific and the walk itself is quite something.

6) Back To The Future Part III - Probably seen as the weakest of the Back To The Future trilogy, and yet it is still a terrific watch.

It is a great homage to the Western genre and ties up the trilogy so beautifully.
Plus, it has all the usual romping action that a Back To The Future can only do.

We see Marty rescure Doc and bringing back home from the year 1885.

5) Who Framed Roger Rabbit - This is one of those films that you never hear a bad word said about it.

Set in a world where toons are living amongst us, a detective is helping a cartoon rabbit in proving his innocence after a murder of the owner of Toon Town.

It is also a great intro to the film-noir genre.

4) Contact - After years of investigating, a doctor find radio proof of intelligent life outside of Earth.

Starring Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey, this is a criminally under-rated and is a wonderful watch.

Zemeckis does that great thing of sending out a simple message, and yet in such a subtle way.

3) Back To The Future Part II - Now that we have gone into the past, Doc and Marty are now off to the future.

But after a character from the future steals the time-machine, it is a race to fix the timeline.

This really the trilogy new depth and is highly gripping to watch.

2) Back To The Future - Seen as one of the most iconic movies not of the 80's, but of all-time. This is also the movie that obviously re-defined the time-travel genre.

When a high-school kid is accidentally sent back to 1955, he must re-unite his parents to safe his life.

This is pure entertainment and will stand the test of time.

1) Forrest Gump - One of only 15 films that I have seen to get the perfect rating score.

It sees a person not known for his intelligence become part of some of the most historic moments in the latter part of the 20th century.

I will forever say that this is the most inspiring film I have ever seen.