I have to admit, I have been a bit slack in writing about a film I have watched everyday. So I will try and make up for it now. I just finished watching.......This Must Be The Place.

I really really wanted to love this film as I love Sean Penn and Talking Heads but I found my brain dozing off and my mind wandering at various times throughout the film. It's not that the story is boring, but something about the pace and character just didn't grab me, which is a shame as essentially it is a lovely story shot beautifully in some great locations. Sean Penn is good as Cheyenne, the eccentric retired rock star (with full on Robert Smith hair and makeup) living the comfy life in Dublin with his wife, (played by the brilliant Frances McDormand). But it is evident from the outset that Cheyenne is bored with nothing to do to fill his days and after his father passes away, he busies himself by going to try and track down his father's Nazi humiliator who is hiding in America. Even with this serious subject matter, the film keeps it's laidback tone and humour. Other themes and metaphors are evident throughout the story and it is obvious that by the end Cheyenne will have grown as a person. I think this film will have mixed responses, some people will love it for its individuality while others will hate it. I am in the middle, but if Sean Penn wasn't the star, I might not be so keen.

Sunday night was spent watching...There will be blood....you need 3 hours for this one

I watched 'There Will Be Blood' about a year ago and thought it was amazing but I had missed some scenes and dialogue from domestic interruptions so I was keen to watch it again properly. Second time round, I think it is a true masterpiece. It's gripping from beginning to end and the acting by both Daniel Day Lewis and Paul Dano is stupendous. The soundtrack is disjointed and tense, the opening score will remind some people of 'The Shining', but its evil men and greed in the real world that this film focuses on. It is down to personal interpretation of Daniel Day Lewis' character, some people don't think he loved his son at all and just used him to win people over while others think he did have feelings towards the boy he adopted as his own. I think the latter, while the character is fueled by power and money, I do believe he loved his son in his own sort of way. Sending your child away because he is ill doesn't always mean it isn't in the child's best interest...he did after all set fire to the room while him and his brother were both sleeping.

On Saturday night I watched an oldie but a goodie....Stephen King's Misery

It has been a very long time since I feasted my eyes on this 90's classic. But after coming across it in a '100 films to watch before you die' list I decided to relive the thriller asap. Would you believe it is 22 years old! Admittedly it isn't as chilling as it was back when it was first released as parts are a bit dated now and it doesn't have the pace of contemporary thrillers but Kathy Bates' cock - a - doodie crazy nurse still managed to send shivers down my spine.  Her performance, which won her an oscar is flawless, switching from sweet and innocent to pure evil in a millisecond. Her obsession with fictional writer Paul Sheldon is both realistic and unnerving. Surprisingly the cobbling scene still has the same impact as it did all those years ago. I wanted to turn away when I saw her raising the hammer but had to watch to make sure it was as I remembered. Compared with most horror films involving some sort of torture these days this is small fry but it's Annie's complete disregard to Paul's pleas that makes this scene even more poignant. She truly believes that what she is doing is for Paul's benefit. This is probably James Caan's second best performance after Sonny Corleone. His helplessness is conveyed by his wonderful facial expressions. He is confined to a bed or wheelchair for most of the film and Reiner shoots some of his scenes from the point of view of the trapped writer so you feel his fear the minute Annie charges into the room. Early on, Nice touches of her over excitement making her oblivious to dropping his own urine box on his bed hint at her mental state    The late 80s and early 90s were a haven for edge of your seat thrillers. Some of them don't stand the test of time but I am glad to say this one does. Definitely worth a watch if you haven't seen it for a while. Even though it is a tale of fiction, it did highlight the extent fans will go to to be with the object of their obsession and a lot of celebrities probably upped their security, especially when 'The Bodyguard' came out two years later.

I am a massive fan of films, all eras and all genres so I decided to start writing about each and every film I see. I try to fit in at least 3 a day....only joking, I am going to fit in 1 a day and then write my thoughts about it on here!

First up is.....Rampart....Woody Harrelson's excellent portrayal of a late 90s renegade cop.

I still can't help but picture Woody Harrelson as the hapless goon opposite cooler than school Wesley Snipes in films like 'White Men can't jump' and 'Money Train'.  He usually plays characters that are a bit stupid (he did let his wife sleep with Robert Redford in Indecent Proposal) and the butt of the jokes. Anyone old enough to remember the sitcom 'Cheers' will also know what I am talking about. But even though for the last 15 years he has played a range of diverse and interesting characters in films like 'The Walker' and 'No Country For Old Men' I still can't help but picture him as old woody with his flop of blonde hair and crooked smile. But in Rampart, where he takes center stage as a corrupt cop I see for the first time just what a talented actor he really is.
Woody plays Dave Brown, a bent cop who lives with both his ex wives, who happen to be sisters and his 2 daughters, the eldest which hates him and the younger one who is not really sure what to think of him. After being caught on camera violently beating someone in the street, he goes on a mission to prove what he did wasn't wrong and manages to go further down a downward spiral. The camerawork is very realistic and in your face. Woody is utterly believable as a man struggling against the system, in what he believes is right while trying to hold together an unconventional family who see him for what he really is. Rampart is an engaging and thought provoking film but as with many contemporary films these days, there doesn't seem to be a proper ending. I don't want a complete resolution or that all was forgiven or he went was incarcerated,  but some sort of indication of what is to come would be good.

Anyway, take a look for yourselves!