12 – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)

When he cracked up I cracked up.

Now we’re getting to the good shit.Cuckoos Nest is a movie adaptation of Ken Keseys book of the same name.OFOTCN is great film,Jack Nicholson’s portrayal of Murphy as the slick street tough dude who gets banged up for fighting but then gets transferred to the mental is spot on.There’s a load of familiar faces in the ensemble.For example we have The Penguin,Doc Brown,buddy from The Shining and the dude who plays a ghost in Ghost.De Vito being one of the most convincing mentalists for me.I just remembered i read this a good while back and it was pretty interesting.It’s told through the eyes of the chief and the film is pretty accurate except in the book the chief believes theres a machine in the hospital that opens up and sucks everyone into the cogs while they sleep.When i read this i thought ‘what the fuck?’.Then it took a moment to realise that yeah he is mental,these people are all mental.When you see the film you just see funny and entertaining but you have to realise that yes they are in there for a reason.The last 12 minutes of the film are harrowing.Sad shit.

IMDB RATING      –     8.8
MY RATING     –    8.6
SEEN BEFORE     –    YES
RECOMMEND?     –     YES
OVERALL     – NURSE RATCHED IS A CUNT.GO SEE’BERLIN CALLING’ FOR A 21ST CENTURY VERSION.

46 – The Shining (1980)

Is it racist to think that Scatman Crothers is a black man?Also the titles look like they were made with Windows Movie Maker.

There’s something about The Shining that seems like it’s some sort of psychological experiment on  the human psyche devised by the guys who hire him who are actually scientists.The first 25 minutes gives that vibe anyway.Where to begin with this one?I’ll start with Danny and his ‘imaginary friend’ Tony who lives in his mouth and tells him things.We learn pretty soon into the film that this Tony’s not imaginary but some sort of psychic ability that was brought on when Danny got a clout of his dad a few years back.The Shining is the type of film that deserves a re-watch,maybe not straight away but maybe a couple of years after you first watch.There were parts that i completely over looked or just plain forgot since the last time i saw it.In my mind i thought it was about a guy who went loopy and tried to kill his family.The part where he sells his soul for a drink is a key scene that i forgot about.The camera work and imagery is superb,even the opening scene with the car meandering it’s way up to the hotel is shot super well,really smooth.Anyone else who has seen the film will remember all the other iconic sets ans scenes:like the elevator blood scene,the axe breaking into the bathroom or the maze zoom from above.I noticed that a lot of the same writers/authors works are reoccurring on the list.I think this is the 4th Kubrick film,i know Chaplin is next and that’ll be his 4th,then there’s Stephen King.I’ll wait till the end until i get into that one.

IMDB RATING      –     8.5
MY RATING     –    8.2
SEEN BEFORE     –     YES
RECOMMEND?     –     YES
OVERALL     –  NICHOLSON SOLD ME ON JACKS INSANITY.BANG-ON.

 

52 – The Departed (2006)

Take that, old man.

The departed is based on a Japanese film called Infernal Affairs that was also on the list some time ago.The Departed is one of them films that seems to be almost perfect,for me anyways. We have some excellent casting and Di Capri-Sun gives a descent performance as a cop that has gone so far under cover now doubts who he really is.Leo did a few good films on the trot:Shutter Island,Inception and this.He’s really coming into his own and picking the films right for him.I noticed during the credits that Brad Pitt was one of the producers and found it a bit strange that he wasn’t in it.Maybe he could have played Damons character just as well as him but i don’t know if he could have pulled off the whole Boston thing.The plot isn’t a complex one,a crook has a guy on the inside – a cop and the cops have a guy on the inside pretending to be a crook.And it’s a game of cat and mouse(rat) for each of them to find out who the other is.It’s interesting how each informer is trying to give information to their superiors without being spotted or caught.The final minutes of the film make for some plot twists and there are a few differences here between this version and the Asian one.I noticed a continuity error too,watch when Fitzy hands his ‘cittizins’ envelope to Di Capri-Sun.

IMDB RATING      –     8.4
MY RATING     –    8.6
SEEN BEFORE     –     YES
RECOMMEND?     –     YES
OVERALL     –  SCORSESE NAILS IT.SOUNDTRACK IS BANG ON TOO.