So I have finally finished watching the Cs. Yet again there has been a trilogy and several true stories thrown in for good measure.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - 7/10
Not to be confused with Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory which is the original, this is the Tim Burton remake. As with any Tim Burton film it's a bit odd, Johnny Depp is in the main role and Helena Bonham-Carter has a role. This is watchable, it's not as good as the original but the story means you do enjoy it. I do have some gripes with it though, the main one being the Oompa-Loompas. They have some great songs, but it is just one actor that's replicated. In the original it's fun due to how they look and how you can tell everyone is slightly different, this just seems a cheap alternative!! I guess this version is a bit of a love or hate for most people, for me it was ok but not a patch on the original
Child's Play - 5/10
So the Child's Play trilogy kicks off with a film that isn't actually very scary and more amusing than anything else. The story is poor but then the film is about a GoodGuy doll that has the soul of an evil murderer and is Ginger. He terrorises Andy his owner and tries to get into his body leading to lots of weird situations. Not very good
Child's Play 2 - 5.5/10
So the evil ginger Chucky is back - after being destroyed last time around. This time Andy is in a foster home and guess what Chucky has tracked him down. Chucky goes all out on the foster family killing both the parents, gets his teacher at school as well and in the end Andy again with some help kills off Chucky. Yet again it's a poor film it's not that scary and the formula is already a little tired
Child's Play 3 - 5.5/10
So it's about 8 years later and Chucky is yet again magically re-created. This time Andy is at Military school so Chucky goes to track him down - though ends up with a new victim - little Tyler - to try and get his soul into his body. This is slightly more gruesome but stops being scary as the formula is exactly the same. Not really much more to it
**A word on the Trilogy** - This is a poor Horror trilogy I think you could easily condense it down into one proper horror film. There is also Bride of Chucky and Seed of Chucky - thank god I don't own them therefore don't have to watch them
Clerks - 5/10
So I love Kevin Smith and his films - they make you laugh, have memorable characters and actually a strong social message behind them. Clerks however doesn't really follow the formula. The concentration on Dante and Randall is fine but there just isn't really much character to them. The film itself doesn't really go anywhere - maybe that's the point highlighting their mundane lives but it isn't really very watchable and misses the usual Kevin Smith humour. Maybe I lost concentration because the film is in black and white I don't know but Clerks misses the mark for me
Coach Carter - 8/10
Basketball coach comes in, takes a bunch of dropout misfits who aways lose and makes them into a successful team. Sounds like a tried and tested formula, but this is based on a true story and has a twist to it. The Coach does it through instilling the team with a work ethic, making them realise the importance of education and locking them out of the gym and not letting them play when they are undefeated because they haven't kept their end of the bargain in attending classes. It is a powerful film and the best I have seen Samuel L Jackson in for a long time. Most importantly you can't help but feel bought into the film and wanting something good to happen at the end of it and see what the kids made of themselves in the future. Really good and highly recommend it if you haven't seen it
Cool Runnings - 7.5/10
"I see pride, I see power..." Find me someone who doesn't love this film or find it highly amusing. "Jamaica we have a bobsleigh team" The film itself tracking the journey of Jamaica to the Winter Olympics is funny, feel good and at the end after they crash out really quite powerful. Now the film is said to be based on a true story but actually the only truth is that Jamaica took part out of nowhere in the Winter Olympics and did crash out. In real life teams accepted them and helped them out, there was no coach that cheated before. But this shouldn't take away from a funny and heart-warming film which has excellent performances in as well as some classic lines. If you want a smile put on your face then watch this
Cry Freedom - 7.5/10
Focusing on the story of the friendship between Steve Biko and a white Liberal journalist Donald Woods in a time of Apartheid in South Africa this film is a true story that never got told. Biko suffers police intimidation, brutality and 'banning' orders that prevent him from being with more than one person at a time yet still manages to inspire other Black South Africans around him to fight for equality. Woods, played excellently by Kevin Kline suffers the same treatment when trying to tell people about Bikos plight. After Biko is murdered by the police (passed off as him going on hunger strike) Woods also recieves a banning order and then the film focuses on his fight to escape South Africa to be able to tell Bikos story of his murder to the wider world. This is a good film but not a great film. It is very slow at the start and I personally would have liked to see more on how Biko came to his position as an inspirational leader of a people - however it really takes off after Biko is murdered and you do find yourself emotionally attached to the film hoping that the story gets told. I already am looking at buying Donald Woods book on Biko as you do find yourself really wanting to know that much more
So that is the Cs over and done with - hopefully I won't take as long to get through the Ds and as always if you agree or disagree with my views on the films then let me know...also if you feel there are any classics that I don't own that I should have (I'm already awaiting the Citizen Kane messages) then let me know
Cheers
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