Jaws (1975) 8/10

Starring : Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss
Director : Steven Spielberg
Running Time : 119 mins

Following a series of shark attacks, Police Chief Martin Brody (Scheider) suggests that closing the beach on the small island of Amity would be a wise idea, but the local people need to keep the beach open to make money off their fourth of July celebrations, but as the death toll rises, the community are forced to call in professionals to capture and kill the deadly menace.

An all time classic which made the big budget horror a reality, this has stood the test of time as a truely scary movie. The shark never looked that realistic at the best of times, but that doesn't matter when you consider how well crafted this movie truly is. It's just a shame about the terrible sequels really which have done nothing but sully this movies name.

Escape From New York (1981) 8/10

Starring : Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence, Isaac Hayes, Harry Dean Stanton, Adrienne Barbeau
Director : John Carpenter
Running Time : 95 mins

When a plane carrying the president (Pleasance) is shot down in New York, which is now a penal colony, the government call in Snake Plissken (Russell) to go in and attempt to rescue him from the gang who are holding him and a very important tape hostage. Plissken has 23 hours to get back with the president, or a controlled explosive will open up his arteries and kill him!

This is a very well orchestrated movie, without going over the top with ridiculous futuristic nonsense like so many other movies of it's ilk. The action is slow and limited, but that doesn't take out any of the suspense or the impact, plus it's always funny to see a movie that's set in the apparent future, this one being set in 1997!

Die Hard (1988) 10/10

Starring : Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia, De’voreaux White, William Atherton
Director : John McTiernan
Running Time : 126 mins

New York cop John McClane (Willis) finds himself trapped in his wife’s office building during their Christmas party when a group of terrorists lead by the sinister Hans Gruber (Rickman) hold the staff hostage in order to steal $600 million in bonds from the buildings safe, but McClane won’t just lie down and give up as he sets about trying to stop the terrorists before any of the innocent hostages get killed.

This is possibly one of the best action movies ever made, and has stood the test of time almost 20 years after it’s original release. Willis is fantastic as that rare breed of hero who can actually be injured, but still fights on, and Rickman is at his sneering best as Hans Gruber. A definite must see for anyone who enjoys all-action movies.

Once Were Warriors (1994) 8/10

Starring : Rena Owen, Temuera Morrison, Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell, Julian Arahanga, Taungaroa Emile, Cliff Curtis
Director : Lee Tamahori
Running Time : 99 mins

The Heke family have a lot of problems, many stemming from the father, Jake (Morrison), and his group of loutish friends who are a constant presence in the family home. It’s his wife Beth (Owen) who has to keep the family together, but as the eldest son gets involved with street gangs and the younger children are faced with their fathers violence against her, Beth realises that she may not be able to protect her children forever.

This is a very powerful depiction of the different ways in which domestic violence can impact upon and eventually destroy a family. The performances from the cast are strong throughout, and some of the action is cringe worthy to say the least. This is a good film, but definitely not for the faint hearted.

Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1978) 8/10

Starring : Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum, Veronica Cartwright, Leonard Nimoy
Director : Philip Kaufman
Running Time : 111 mins

Matthew Bennell (Sutherland) becomes suspicious of the unusual behaviour of some of his friends, but when he witnesses one of them being cocooned by a strange plant like creature, he realises that aliens are invading and replacing people with emotionless clones of their former selves, and now he doesn’t know who he can trust.

For a remake this was pretty good and in many ways surpasses the original, much in the same way as The Thing did four years later. It’s a shame that someone has decided to make yet another remake of this with Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, as there is littleor no chance that it will be as atmospheric. There were a few odd moments which seemed unnecessary, but this is to be expected with Kaufman’s films, but overall this is a well structured and highly enjoyable film.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) 9/10

Starring : Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara, Jeffrey Jones, Jennifer Grey
Director : John Hughes
Running Time : 99 mins

Ferris Bueller (Broderick) decides to take the day off school, and also forces his friends Cameron Frye (Ruck) and Sloane Peterson (Sara) to join him. When he convinces his parents that he is too sick to go to school his headteacher, Ed Rooney (Jones), knows that he’s up to no good so tries to catch him in the act of skipping school.

This is one of my all time favourite teen comedies, and marks the high point in the career of John Hughes. It’s such a simple idea, but is handles in Hughes’ inimitable way so as to keep the viewer entertained non stop throughout the movie. A definite must see for any child of the 80s, this all time classic should be included in the DVD collection of all 20/30 somethings.

The Thing (1982) 9/10

Starring : Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, TK Carter, David Clennon, Keith David, Richard Dysart
Director : John Carpenter
Running Time : 103 mins

A group of American scientists in the Antarctic take in a stray dog that was being pursued a group of Norwegians in a helicopter, which crashes. But the dog isn’t a dog, it’s a shape-shifting alien which had destroyed the Norwegian base and now plans on killing every on the American base as well!

In my opinion this is one of the best science fiction horrors of all time, only surpassed by the Alien movies. The special effects are absolutely fantastic, and though it’s a pretty basic plot the effects more than make up for it. This is probably the highlight of John Carpenter’s career, and it’s a shame that nothing of his has really been as good since.