Alfie (1966)

Alfie is a 1966 British romantic comedy-drama film directed by Lewis Gilbert and starring Michael Caine. It is an adaptation by Bill Naughton of his own novel and play of the same name. The film was released by Paramount Pictures.


Alfie (Michael Caine)  is a young man from the working classes of London. He is confident, charming, totally self-centered and very successful with the ladies; using them for his immediate pleasure without emotional involvement and leaving a trail of emotional devastation. His callousness toward these women contrasts with the delusion that he causes no harm; he is just teaching life's lessons.

Last seduction

 Last seduction is neo-noire film directed by John Dahl and was released in 1994. However the initial release was on TV as it was rejected by cinemas. 

 Plot:
Looking to escape her unhappy marriage, villainous femme fatale Bridget Gregory (Linda Fiorentino) convinces her husband, Clay (Bill Pullman), to sell cocaine, then steals the profits and runs out on him. She stops in a small town en route to Chicago, where she ensnares her next conquest, insurance man Mike Swale (Peter Berg). After getting a job at his insurance company, Bridget convinces Mike to run a scam -- but things take a deadly turn when she recruits him to help get rid of her husband.

Double Indemnity

Double indemnity is directed by Billy Wilder and is seen to be one of the most successful Film Noire movies to date. The film was produced in 1944.

The plot of the film sees Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray)  gets roped into a murderous scheme when he falls for the sensual Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck), who is intent on killing her husband (Tom Powers) and then liveoff the  accidental death claim. Prompted by the late Mr. Dietrichson's daughter, Lola (Jean Heather), insurance investigator Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson) looks into the case, and gradually begins to uncover the sinister truth.

The Film heavily focuses on the themes Sex,murder and money which is seen in most typical Film Noir films. The use of Phyllis as a Femme Fatale makes the woman character in the film look more dominant and dangerous, this put a spin on most movies at the time where woman was seen to be more vulnerable.  

Cape Fear (1991)

Martin Scorsese's remake of the psychological thriller Cape Fear gained a lot of Box office success making it a instant classic among other pieces that Scorsese created, like Goodfellas that came out a year before.

After serving a lengthy prison sentence for sexual assault, Max Cady (Robert De Niro) comes calling on the man who served him as his public defender, Sam Bowden (Nick Nolte). Max begins to harass Sam and his family as he believed it was Sam's fault for why he went to prison.

I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes the genre of psychological thrillers as the storyline is very immersive and keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Skyfall

After 50 years of Bond the super spy returns in Skyfall, a dazzling explosive film directed by Sam Mendes which sees 007 try to overcome his most difficult challenge yet in typical Bond fashion. Unlike the previous Bond film (Quantum of Solace)  Skyfall stays grounded with a superb plot different from any Bond film that has come before giving a more sensitive side to Bond. However it is Judi Dench after playing her character M for the seventh time which has the biggest part to play in the film becoming the Bond girl to end all Bond girls.

The movie kick starts with a epic chase in the streets of Istanbul with Bond and Eve (Noami Harris) trying to locate the stolen hard drive containing  the names of all MI6 undercover agents. After Bonds near death experience the movie shows him to be less of a super spy but  much older and more damaged both physically and mentally. With M being targeted by a mysterious cyber terrorist Bond is quickly rushed back into action to track him down. Which enters Silva (Javier Bardem) a powerful ex MI6 agent with a personal vendetta against M making him extremely dangerous. Silva is portrayed in the movie to be Bonds alter-ego after being M's right hand man for many years he finds out how worthless he is towards M, he quickly becomes the most challenging villain Bond has ever had to face.

The plot for the movie sees Bond go back to basics like the earlier bond films in the franchise which proves how iconic Bond is and why the franchise has been so successful in the 50 years of 007. Skyfall also used elements of old Bond films by having the Aston martin DB5 from Goldfinger making a guest appearance. The famous 007 soundtrack also crops up throughout the movie showing that Bond will always be some of the most successful movies in history with the greatest music.
 Skyfall was also very successful on release becoming the seventh top grossing film of all time which isn't a bad record for the 23rd Bond film.

   



   

Full Metal Jacket

Stanley Kunbrick's Full metal jacket focuses on the harsh realaties of the Vietnam war and the experiences of new Marine recruits. The film is classed as a anti-war film giving the view of how a persons mentality is changed by War and what effects it has on someones choices. The film is very realistic showing the fatality of War.

The main antagonist is Private joker and shows him going through Marine training to becoming a fully qualififed Marine in the Vietnam War. The first part of the movie sees Private Joker and the other new recruits beginning training, the first scene of the movie shows this brilliantly by having the new recruits hair shaved off. This adds the effect that the recruits are losing their identies and becoming another marine. These training scenes shows the main struggles of the marines and how the army changes them into killers.

Once the movie gets to Vietnam it shows how low the morale is between US troops. Kunbrick also focuses on how loss of friends plays a big part in War, this also adds to the anti-war vibe he is trying to portray. However the movie did get very repetitive in the fighting scenes with a lot of explosions with no direction to them,which slowed the movie down.

I believe that Full Metal Jacket is worth a watch but  gets very repetitive with the first part of the movie (the training scene) being the best part of the movie before most of the plot is lost.

Platoon

Platoon released in 1986 is the first known successful anti-war movie which shows the true destruction of war on both a soldier and the people caught up in conflict.

The movie is set during the Vietnam war and follows a group of US soldiers adapting to the life they're facing in the jungle of Vietnam and the fatalities of war. The main character is Chris (Charlie Sheen) who is a new recruit and adjusting to life as a soldier. The movie mainly focuses on Chris' struggle of trying to keep his morals and not be mentally changed by war, like many of young Americans who went to fight in Vietnam at the time.

Platoon's main focus is trying to show the public the true sense of what war is really like and the realism of what soldiers have to go through, the movie does this well and leaves a lasting effect on the audience showing them the realism of war.

There isn't necessarily a point to point plot to the movie, instead there is a feeling that anything can happen at any moment like the viewer is experiencing the war like they was there.

I would recommend this movie as it shows the true effect of what war has on an invidudal and educate people on what war is really like.