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MARS ATTACKS! - REVIEW

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Back when Tim Burton films were still awesome and not "just ok", Mars Attacks! came out and gave us a delightful piece of 50's-style sci-fi B movie goodness complete with a stellar cast and Burton's own brand of surreal, nasty wackiness. It's funny to think that Independence Day came out the same year as Mars Attacks! since the latter feels like a complete spoof of Roland Emmerich's disaster cheese-fest. Burton's film takes the clichéd alien invasion formula we've seen in movies like War Of The Worlds , Earth vs The Flying Saucers or The Day The Earth Stood Still and gives it a playful edge. We see our world react to a potential alien encounter stupidly and naively. Rather than fearing the Martians, we're in fact pretty darn welcoming and peaceful about the whole thing. It's a clever take on that plot because in those old movies people are usually terrified of an alien invasion and completely overreact. Here, we only acknowledge how scre

BATMAN - VIDEO REVIEW

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MY TOP 10 BEST BATMAN MOVIE MOMENTS

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Looking back at those Batman movies, I realised that there are several moments I'm always looking forward to. Scenes I always go quiet for and can't wait to see again and again. This is my own personal best-of so feel free to share your own best moments in the comments below ;) 10 CALLING CARD After 10 years of picturing George Clooney sliding down plastic dinosaurs in the infamous Batman & Robin , watching a decent Batman flick was almost overwhelming. So when we got our Joker promise in that final scene and that "you'll never have to" line before The Bat gloriously flies into our faces, it was pretty special. Yes the line is cheesy as hell but... what can I say? I still like it. Batman Begins was half build-up, half Batman and this moment really was the confirmation that this new, intimidating version of the hero was well and truly here to stay and that many more great things were still to come. Good news indeed. 9 TWO FACES TOO FAR T

ABOUT SCHMIDT - REVIEW

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Jack Nicholson is Warren Schmidt, an old dude who goes on a road trip after his wife's death in order to stop his daughter from getting married to a loser, occasionally he writes inappropriate letters to an African child he's never met. Yes, I know, it doesn't sound like THE story of our time but don't be fooled, About Schmidt is one of director Alexander Payne's best and boasts one of Nicholson's best performances. For one thing he's not grinning, laughing maniacally or generally being a nutjob so against-type? I think so. His Warren is an imperfect man of contradictions: mild-mannered and very much an introvert, he's always deep in thought yet doesn't seem to think things through completely, prone to adapting to a certain routine yet impulsive, sweet but a bit tight with his money and occasionally pretty selfish. He's a man of few words but a hell of a lot is going on in his head whether it's complaints about his wife's little ann

BATMAN - REVIEW

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After the catoonish lunacy of the Adam West 60's TV series which had the Dark Knight dancing, surfing, running to crime scenes ON FOOT and stroking his chin repeatedly speaking bat-nonsense and adding the word "bat" before any device, it was definitely time for something a little more, shall we say, edgy? Not that the old series weren't fun: they were great! But as far as comic book heroes go, this one had more potential than the West series could ever produce. So who better to bring out the gothic weirdness and quirky theatrics of The Bat than Beetlejuice maestro Tim Burton? Michael Keaton is the troubled caped crusader, an unlikely choice but one which proved to be surprisingly spot-on: he brings humour and likeability to a character which could easily be bland and "one-note". Of course, the real scene-stealer here is Jack Nicholson's devilish joker who prides himself on being the world's first "homicidal artist" by trashing a museu

THE SHINING - REVIEW

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Why The King didn't appreciate this will always mistify me. Stanley Kubrick's Stephen King adaptation remains one of the best and most genuinely "haunting" (pun intended and instantly regretted) horror films ever made.   Time hasn't been particularly kind to 70's horror films with the likes of The Omen and The Exorcist now feeling dated and hardly impressive in any way. But right on the cusp of the 80's, The Shining still holds up very well, although it's hard to take Danny speaking to his finger too seriously. At the heart of the film is a towering performance by Jack Nicholson, who can do crazy like no other (yes, Nic Cage is a close second) and joyfully cranks up the loon-o-meter to 11. Shelley Duvall was criticised for being too hysterical throughout but, to be honest, anyone not very good with handling stress would be lost in such a huge setting with a psycho husband running loose and such a weird kid...speaking in crazy voic