MovieFest

• Amores Perros, 2000 • 8.5/10 • Oscar winning director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's first feature, nominated for Best Foreign Language Film in 2001, is as gripping and thought-provoking as it is harsh and hard to watch. He takes an unblinking, cynical look at the ways love can hit you like a head-on collision and leave you as emotionally wounded as the victims of his literal car crash are damaged physically. Violence, blood, and gore abound, against both humans and dogs make this flick hard to watch, but the compelling characters, top-notch acting and bloody brilliant direction make the film well worth viewing. I've got to say, I have become a very big fan of his works. In the last two days I watched 'Birdman' and 'Amores Perros,' plus I have already seen the likes of '21 Grams,' 'Babel' and the sensational 'The Revenant' and tbh I love every single one of them. Therefore in my eyes, he really is a fantastic filmmaker and on so m

• Birdman, 2014 • 9.2/10 • Whilst viewing 'Birdman', I spent the first hour or so of the film trying to decipher my emotions and opinions towards it, what I was watching was a weird, yet wonderful work of art. Truly though, 'Birdman' is a technical masterpiece! Throughout the years Michael Keaton has generally been undermined as an actor (despite a few notable roles as Batman, Beetlejuice and Vulture) and has instead faced Hollywood picking more acclaimed and popular actors, 'Birdman' however was his golden ticket to an Oscar win, and he should of won, his performance is absolutely mesmerising. Alejandro González Iñárritu created a truly spectacular character study that arguably featured 2014's strongest acting performances, alongside a well-executed script, booming soundtrack and a monumental achievement with cinematography from Emmanuel Lubezki, where he displays the story through a seemingly single and unbroken sweeping shot. This is the true defini

So, today I thought I would do something different for you guys and gals! Deep down inside we all Love them scenes that make you go oooohh! We might not always be able to bare watching them at that specific moment in time, but, when we do, them images don't leave your mind for a while! Here's 18 that never left my mind!! • • I Spit On Your Grave - Shotgun + Asshole! • Alien (1979) - Chestburster! • Gone Girl - ThroatSlash • Raw - Bikini Wax • Englorious Bastards - Scalping Scene • Black Swan - Cuticle Cutting • Drive - Elevator Stomp • 127 Hours - Cutting His Fucking Arm Off • American History X - Curb Stomping • Antichrist - Snip-Snip • Raid 2 - That last fight though!! • Green Room - Oh God You Know what scene! • Itchi The Killer - Chains!!! • The Passion Of The Christ - Whipping Back!! And the other 100 mins of OUCH! • Kill Bill: Vol 1 - Pretty MUCH everything involving a sword! • Oldboy - Poor Tongue/Squid/Teeth • The Human Centipede - Do I have to even

• Oldboy, 2003 • 9.6/10 • 'Oldboy' is one of the most intense movies you will ever see. Breathtaking, brutal and easily one of the best revenge movies ever made. Every shot is bursting with background detail and wonderful colour. The screenplay is probably one of the best I have ever seen. The acting is amazing, especially Choi as the main protagonist Dae-su Oh. All the actors did great but his performance was powerful, emotional and raw (all you need to do is see the infamous squid scene). I also highly commend Ji-tae Yu, he put in a spectacularly believable performance as the sadistic and very lonely Woo-jin Lee. Chan-wook Park gives this movie a very unique style with his subliminal direction and his extremely intelligent and edgy script. It will leave you guessing right up until the very end whilst simultaneously making you think and question your moral compass! Must see! Thoughts??

• Only God Forgives, 2013 • 7/10 • Everything that added to the appeal and style of 'Drive,' failed with 'Only God Forgives,' the long lingering shots, the long pauses, the silence, tbh it was boring at times, and too stylized with no real substance or depth behind it. There were even times where I was almost begging for the camera just to speed the fu** up! Dont get me wrong, just like Nicholas' other works, it's beautiful, the use of colour, some of the shots, the score, you really can't take that away from him, just like his use of gore, spot on! He created a very dark and gloomy atmosphere in this flick, a little too dark for my liking. It was almost completely devoid of any kind of human emotion, -- not one tear, smile, nervous twitch, nothing, oh, apart from one little outburst. Every actor and actress had the same vague look on their face for the entirety of the film, it really didn't work for me, not to mention the weird, perverted type r

 • Akira, 1988 • 8.5/10 • Katsuhiro Otomo co-wrote the screenplay of Akira and also directed this 1988 adaptation of his much-loved 1980s-era manga (comic book). When it arrived in America, it became a cult classic and introduced our Western audiences to anime, a genre that remains extremely popular to this day. Akira is extraordinarily dense and enormously complicated, and things like story and characters tend to go out the window in favor of cosmic ideas, mysteries, bizarre imagery, and astounding levels of violence. It takes full advantage of the animated medium with its sheer imagination and intensity. Considering I saw this for the first time two days ago, time has not yet dulled the sheer impact of the work, and the level of detail, movement, and fluidity is still highly impressive. It's still essential viewing for anyone who loves anime!