Animal Kingdom is basically your typical crime drama. A newcomer comes into the “family” and is forced to respond – accept or reject what those around him are doing. On the surface this is exactly what David Michôd’s crime film is, but at the same time it is a gross understatement. Animal Kingdom is an excellent crime drama that stays within its genre, but tells its story very well.

The film begins with J (James Frecheville) moving in with his grandmom (Jacki Weaver) after his mother’s death. He shortly realizes why his mom kept him away from her family. J’s uncles are all deep in the criminal underworld; Craig (Sullivan Stapleton) is a dealer while Baz (Joel Edgerton), Pope (Ben Mendelsohn), and Darren (Luke Ford) specialize in armed robbery. Pope is on the run, and isn’t around much, while Baz is slowing trying to make himself into a legitimate business man. Unwittingly, J is sucked into this world of crime, and soon has two cops (Guy Pearce and Anthony Hayes) trying to get him to testify against his family.

Animal Kingdom looks great; the cinematography and production value are magnificent, especially taking into consideration the film’s relatively low budget. The soundtrack is also excellent, combining some original music such as the opening sequence, and familiar bands like Air Supply.

However, where the film really succeeds is in the characters. With little exposition, we meet every member of the family and quickly learn their part in the family. The story is written in such a skillful way that we are shown, not told, who all these people are. This allows the story to unfold unhindered by background information. However, these characters that drive the story would be nothing without fantastic performances from the entire cast. Every major player is backed by a good to great performance.

Another interesting thing about this movie is the violence. For a film about organized crime, there is very little actual violence. Yes, people are killed, but the movie purposefully holds back from copious fighting in order to keep the effect the same. When someone is murdered in this story, it means something. This is the opposite of the gratuitous violence seen in many recent films (which can be used to good effect if done right) and is a breath of fresh air.

So the story unfolds as an interesting crime drama. The bulk of the film is nothing new to any experienced filmgoer, but the audience is invested in the characters, so we go with them through their tale. If the audience didn’t buy into these characters, the story would have no weight. And, wow, does the end of the movie really resonate. After being what I considered the antithesis to The Godfather, in terms of message, the story is turned on its head and the protagonist is forced to make a choice. I was at first a little disappointed, but then the final moments of the film really bring the story to its logical, satisfying conclusion.

In the end, the themes are what matter. Animal Kingdom is a story that explores family loyalty, revenge, and the consequences of your actions. J is thrust into a very difficult situation and must make a place for himself in the “Animal Kingdom” of the Melbourne underworld.

Animal Kingdom surprised me. I had never heard of the film before I sat down to watch it, and I love going into a movie cold like that. Especially when you don’t know what to expect and a film pleasantly surprises you. Even if you have high expectations, this movie will not dissappoint. It is an excellent film, and while it is not an action-packed summer blockbuster, its a traditional crime drama that has emotional weight and should not be passed over.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

No this isn’t a motel review, this is my list of my favorite Western Films ever. Below you’ll find their posters along with a reason or two of why I like the film or what makes said movie worth watching again and again. When starting a list of the best (IMO) Westerns of all time you can start with one of two actors- John Wayne or Clint Eastwood. I’m going to start with John Wayne in the epic directed by John Ford- The Searchers. You can’t go wrong with John Wayne crossing the United States in search of justice.

Clint Eastwood’s Academy Award winning Unforgiven, like manygreat Westerns, boasts an all-star cast including three Oscar winners Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman and Eastwood himself as well as Oscar nominated Richard Harris. This film, for me, marks the beginning of Eastwood- the great director.

In my life Tombstone is to Westerns what Tommy Boy is to comedies and Terminator 2 is to science fiction. One of the first films I ever purchased with my own money. One of the first live action films I could quote without missing a beat. It also marked the first time the thought crossed my mind, “mustaches are cool and Sam Elliot has the best mustache I’ve ever seen.”

The next three films also hold a special place in my memories. I grew up in a family that didn’t really watch movies so when we did it was a rather memorable event and when my parents actually enjoyed a movie… well, that was “the bee’s knees.” Based on my experience every filmmaker should try to make a movie for adults but safe enough for children as well. That said, ¡Three Amigos! and The Shakiest Gun in the West were two films that my parents watched, with the kids, and laughed at. They also introduced me to the greatness of Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, Martin Short and Don Knotts. Then there was the film that my best friend’s family considered one of their favorites- Blazing Saddles. Again, the wild West is a great place for comedy especially in the hands of Jew from Brooklyn.

In recent years the Western has seen a dramatic drop off from popularity at the local megaplex but a few instant classics have made it to the projector room, the Australian Western The Proposition is one of those films. Again, again if this cast doesn’t make you wanna watch this movie before your next meal then I don’t know what will. The Proposition stars Guy Pearce, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, John Hurt, Emily Watson and was written for the screen by Nick Cave.

Clint Eastwood spits on a dog in The Outlaw Josey Wales.

Once Upon a Time in the West is just one of the many tremendous contributions to the genre made by Sergio Leone. Every aspect of this film is perfect. I’m not using hyperbole. The cast-  Bronson, Robards, Fonda and the beautiful Claudia Cardinale. The visuals, thanks to Leone, and score composed by Ennio Morricone. Watch this movie and just try to refute my claim.

I know many would say Rio Bravo was better but I saw El Dorado first. And I like the name nickname “Mississippi.”

Eastwood, Leone, and Morricone started the sub-genre “Spaghetti Western” with one of the greatest movies of all time- The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. If you haven’t seen this movie, see it now.

I would have thought seeing the spoof (Three Amigos) of a film first would have ruined the viewing of the film being spoofed but The Magnificent Seven is that good. Also I have to mention another Western that didn’t make this list but still holds a place in my heart (yeah, I said that) The White Buffalo (it’s a bison) starring The Magnificent Seven‘s Charles Bronson. If you watch The White Buffalo then you’ll know why I love the film and why I couldn’t put it on this list.

The other modern classic along side The Proposition is The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. This film gave me hope that the genre had not all but been forgotten by Hollywood.

You know you’re watching a Western when a moral decision is at the heart of the story. Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly star in High Noon, I need not say more.

Finally Paul Newman and Robert Redford star in what I call a disco-Western, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Interested? I thought you would be- let me know what you think after you’ve seen it.

I have to mention There Will Be Blood which for some reason unknown to me I have trouble calling a Western. Am I wrong? What are some of your favorite Westerns?

It has been a  cold, cold winter.

Snow has been piled high here in Baltimore since late January and it’s been raining down indiscriminately from the heavens since mid December. Snow shovels have become my ally and stolen parking spaces the bane of my existence, but the promise of spring looks set to melt that all away.

Unless, of course the chill returns and with it more seasonal storms. Thanks to the recent blizzards, we are entering the merry month of March and all of us are still looking over our shoulders, waiting for Jack Frost to give us an icy wedgie.

And when you are there, lodged in your home, with no way to get out, it’s understandable that a bit of stir craziness might set in. What better way to counteract that than with some good old fashioned cinematic madness?

Here’s hoping the rest of the year is smooth sailing from a meteorological standpoint, but if it isn’t, here are ten creepy chillers you can snuggle up with on a cold evening:

30 Days of Night-

Before they were fey emo poets, vampires were not just fearsome entities but walking signposts of death and decay. When you get down to it, what better season for the Nosferatu than winter? The sun is dim, the evenings long and the days short, and with everyone wrapped up tight and shivering, it’s easier to go unnoticed. Lately, we have had a trio of cinematic vampires who have chosen the dreary northern climes to inhabit; Frostbiten, Let the Right One In, and this comic adaptation that sees a tribe of dying vamps lay waste to a town in Alaska during a month of perpetual darkness. The other two films fall out of the range of horror/thriller but 30 Days has the creepy color palette, the perfect menace, and the right setting for a terribly enjoyable action/horror romp. Hartnett isn’t the most believable action hero, but Danny Huston as the head vamp is a baddie with real menace. When the remaining survivors discover a young girl who has been bitten, the creep factor goes through the roof.

Wind Chill-

I never really took inventory of Emily Blunt until I saw this 2006 indie ghost story that casts her as a self absorbed college student who catches a ride home with a guy on campus she doesn’t really know. Then, the two find themselves stranded together on a freezing back road during Christmas break. Sound romantic? It isn’t. In addition to the mounting unease that Blunt feels when she realizes her driving buddy might be a stalker, there’s also the possibility of hypothermia setting in before they are rescued, and the fact that the road they broke-down on is inhabited by a plethora of real ghosts. Blunt really delivers a strong performance and for entire chunks of the movie she is alone, pitted against the supernatural forces of this stretch of highway. There’s a feel of Jack London survival stories in all of the tragic details and in the nature of the ghosts themselves, who are playing out a long forgotten misery that traps all who come that way. It’s not a classic, but it does what it does effectively with a good amount of spookiness.

Transsiberian-

The atmosphere alone in Brad Anderson’s wintry suspense thriller makes it worthy of a place on this list. Anderson, who has channeled unspoken fears before in Session 9 and The Machinist,tells the story of a couple of missionaries (Mortimer and Harrelson) riding a train from China to Moscow, meeting up with a sketchy young couple, and getting involved with murder, international intrigue and a stone-faced Ben Kingsley who looks ready to snap. Mortimer and Harrelson have an odd chemistry as the couple, and Kingsley flip-flops between sinister and benign. All of this helps craft an uneasy sense that we can’t trust anything we see. The desolate, snowy scenery is matched against the cramped, claustrophobic confines of the train to deliver a thriller that moves single-minded about the business of fraying our nerves. Hitchcock would be proud of this one.

Ravenous-

Foreboding and gritty, Ravenous is half thriller, half dark comic farce. All of it is revolting in a thematic way. Guy Pearce and Robert Carlyle play two opposing forces battling it out at a military outpost in the Sierra Nevadas circa 1847. Pearce is Boyd, a disgraced soldier sent to the fort as punishment by his superior, and Carlye is  Colqhoun, a pioneer whose party was lost in the wilderness and went cannibalistic. Colqhoun is the only survivor and he finds he not only has a taste for human flesh, but in keeping with Native American legend, he can absorb his victim’s power. The stage is set for all kinds of dark hi jinks as Carlyle starts eating his way through the outpost, and making converts as he goes. The cinematography is stunning and beautiful and director Bird captures several disconcerting shots of suspicious meat cooking on the stove. A thoughtful and cheerfully gross horror movie that will help curb that winter desire to snack all day.

Misery-

Got cabin fever? Well, no one handles the idea of cabin fever or interior isolation better than Stephen King, who has two titles on this list. There’s even a snowstorm in this one, albeit it mostly serves as a plot device to keep James Caan’s Paul Sheldon in the helpless care of the psychopathic Annie Wilkes, played to passive-aggressive perfection by Kathy Bates. What Annie does to Paul over the course of months he is in her ‘care’ ranges from subversively funny to downright harrowing. If you ever end up house bound as a result of the weather, or have to hole up for an extended period of time with company that isn’t exactly cheerful, just remember Sheldon’s misfortunes and that hot cocoa will taste all the sweeter. To this day, I can’t watch that scene involving the sledgehammer and Caan’s ankles without turning away.

Cold Prey-

A Swedish production and little known here in the US, Cold Prey is one of the best slasher films in recent memory and the arctic setting has almost everything to do with that. A couple of ski buddies head up to a remote and abandoned (aren’t they always?) resort in the mountains and there they find a force bent on dispatching them one by one. I gave up on dead teenager movies ages ago, but the style and suspense of Cold Preyreally works. The snow-capped mountains and ice glaciers are a spectacular canvas upon which to splash a little blood and viscera. The killer, a hulking giant in a snow parka, is a satisfying villain and among the ranks of the hapless youngsters, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal proves she can swing an ice-pick with the best of them. The perfect remedy for that long-distance ski vacation you’ve been planning. The film also has a sequel which manages to be similarly unnerving.

Runaway Train-

Based on a screenplay by the legendary Akira Kurosawa, Runaway Train is an action spectacle that never lets up and what really makes it sing are the performances by Jon Voight and Eric Roberts and the dazzling, snowy landscapes that the train hurtles through as it heads towards it’s destination. Runaway Train has a harsh, near existential quality to it that distinguishes it from other thrillers of the same era. Voight and Roberts, as two prisoners trying to make a getaway, are seemingly up against the whole universe in their bid for freedom. Although there’s much that feels metaphorical, the frozen, craggy wasteland that these men are thrust into pushes reality and consequence front and center. Intelligent, emotional and entertaining, Runaway Train is the perfect popcorn thriller for a cold afternoon.

A Simple Plan-

Quite possibly Sam Raimi’s best movie, and probably one of the most underrated, A Simple Plan captures the melancholy and eerie loneliness that can accompany a long winter. Bill Paxton and Billy Bob Thornton are brothers who stumble upon a bag of money in a downed plane while they are out hunting. With Paxton’s wife Bridget Fonda, playing lady Macbeth, Paxton, Thornton and a family friend conspire to keep the money for themselves and then things begin to go amiss and haywire. A treatise on greed and the dangerous nature of moral compromise, A Simple Plan is heartbreaking in its emotional depiction of a family pulling apart in the face of temptation. Thornton, particularly, is poignant as a man who isn’t terribly bright, but is enough so that he understands how it is exactly that he doesn’t fit in. Paxton is compelling as a good man driven quickly and devastatingly from the path. The shivery scenery casts exactly the right funeral pall for the film’s events. Crows dangle menacingly from an icy tree and Thornton muses contemplatively “They eat dead things. What a weird job to have.”

The Shining-

The granddaddy classic of all isolated paranoid thrillers involving winter, Kubrick’s The Shining deviates significantly from the events of King’s book, but it is terrifying and scary nonetheless. Kubrick makes the Overlook a most menacing antagonist through long angle shots, still frames, and tracking scenes that capture the disquieting and the unsettling with no particular fanfare. When evil blossoms in such a potentially mundane scenario, everything becomes charged with fear very quickly. Images of swirling snow, and gently falling flakes have the same effect upon our psyche, and I don’t think there has ever been a more perfect use of interior/exterior contrast where setting is concerned. Forget all of that though, and you still have the main attraction; Jack going crazy and stalking his wife and child with an axe through the art deco halls of the Overlook. The ultimate family dysfunction winter madness medley, this one gets me every time.

The Thing-

This is it, the most distressing and sneaky piece of cold weather paranoia I have ever laid eyes on. John Carpenter designs a foreboding atmosphere with this Antarctic base camp and the star ship long frozen in the snow. It adopts all of the functions of the original Howard Hawks movie but it skews more closely to the short story “Who Goes There?” when it comes the shape-shifting identity of the monster. Kurt Russell testing the blood with fire to determine who among the crew isn’t what he appears to be is spine-tingling tension at its very best. The gooey fx that include a head on spindly spider legs, mutated husky dogs, and Wilford Brimley trying to eat his coworkers are still neat all these years later. I also appreciate the way the weather conditions are presented as merciless and dangerous, and don’t take a side seat once the alien terror shows up. There are few horror movies that work as well as The Thing and fewer still that stick with us when they are over.

How about you? Is there a particular movie that evokes the icy dread of winter? Any titles I missed that help reinforce that feeling of unease when the white stuff starts falling? Share with us below!

Director Tom Hooper (John Adams, The Damned United) has been working on a period drama that focuses on the father of Queen Elizabeth II, King George VI.

The film will follow George as “he reluctantly assumes the throne after his brother, Edward, abdicates. Considered unfit to rule and cursed with a nervous stammer, the unprepared monarch turns to an unorthodox speech therapist, Lionel Logue. The two men form an unlikely friendship as King George finds his voice and leads the country into war against the Nazis.”

Currently filming for a 2010 release, The King’s Speech has been written by David Seidler, who has scripted a range of things, from Tucker: The Man and His Dream to The King and I.

Colin Firth has already signed onto the cast as King George VI, along with Geoffrey Rush, who will play Logue. Now being added to the cast are Helena Bonham Carter (Alice in Wonderland, Fight Club) as Queen Elizabeth, alongside Jennifer Ehle, Guy Pearce, Derek Jacobi, Timothy Spall and Michael Gambon.

Let’s hope The Weinstein Co. doesn’t ruin the release of this film, as the cast has plenty of potential under a director like Hooper.

Kathryn Bigelow is one of Hollywood’s best talents. Never heard of her? Well surely one has seen her films as she’s done Point Break, Near Dark, and K-19: The Widowmaker. As far as female directors go, there’s something that separates Bigelow from the rest of the pack in that she can construct a good film. Yes, I know, the sex card comes out but truth is film is a male dominated world and there hasn’t been one female director to make a splash like Kathryn Bigelow. The woman just knows how to get the very best out of her films and in some cases can elevate the material she’s given to make it work. After a seven year absence Bigelow returns with The Hurt Locker, a film where there’s not enough good words in the English Dictionary to praise such a wonderful, great, and incredible piece of filmmaking it is.

Much is made of the film’s setting during the Iraqi war and while some may wish the political side of this was dipped into a little bit more, Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal are smart to keep the focus on the characters and story at hand. Where films like The Kingdom would try to make political statements over defining it’s characters, The Hurt Locker is too concerned with letting us get to know Sgt. William James (Jeremy Renner) Sgt. JT Sanborn (Anthony Mackie), and Specialist Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty). Their dynamic works in that each represents a face of war with James being the hot-headed, war junkie, Sanborn represents the most level-headed of the group, and Eldridge is someone who really shouldn’t be there to begin with. The film doesn’t tell us any of it though as Bigelow expects us to watch the characters actions rather than have a five minute dialogue scene on their feelings.

There’s no face villain in The Hurt Locker as it’s antagonist comes from an unlikely place. The movie takes a Taxi Driver mentality and presents it’s lead as it’s adversary. That’s really high praise, but that’s the first film that came to mind when . Sgt. James is off in his own world, operating on his terms. One may ignorantly argue that he’s essentially a rogue cop, and while that mentality does apply, the film shows a scene where a higher officer (David Morse) praises James for his efforts rather chew him out. Bigelow takes the time to make you get invested in James before showing what a crazy son of a bitch he truly is. Renner though, is flawless and will be made a leading man after this film. He’s utterly believable as a man who craves war and only has a passion for it. There’s a scene towards the end of the film where Renner perfectly delivers his final lines that sends a chill down one’s spine. They also paint him as a racist, evidenced when James pins Sanborn down and sticks a knife to his throat. No lines are shared to give an indication, just the actions of Renner.

If there’s a “hero” in here, a Johnny Utah if you will, it is Anthony Mackie’s Sanborn. This character could have easily gone the way of the tired “I hate you but will eventually respect you” stereotype but Mackie elevates him past that. He’s the character the audience attaches themselves to and sees things through his eyes. Should he “accidentally” kill James? Maybe, and Mackie’s ice cold delivery tricks the audience into thinking he might. While the film allows these two opposites to attract, it never fully establishes whether or not they “respect” each other by the end. Mackie seems to play him towards no, even when both James and Sanborn discuss what happens in the heat of war. Mackie’s never overdoing it or coming off weak, but just as a man who’s had enough. He needs to be just as great as Renner, and thankfully for the human race he’s perfect.

Balancing both Sanborn and James out is Eldridge, who represents the young minds who shouldn’t be in war. Bigelow shows him playing Gears of War flawlessly only to show how unstable Eldridge is two minutes later. In combat, real combat, the specialist isn’t so special as he’s nervous and jittery on missions. Eldridge is even paired with a colonel (played expertly by Christian Camargo) to evaluate his status. He finds some form of solace in the colonel, but even then he never feels right at home in Iraq. Geraghty dazzles to create a perfectly unstable character. He knows Owen doesn’t belong and gives him every reason to not be there. When he tells James “Fuck you,” there’s real conviction behind it that Geraghty doesn’t fumble.

Bigelow’s direction reigns supreme as she again proves she can do action better than most anyone working today. Pretty much, she just ran down the line and slapped the taste out of most directors touting their big action sequences for the summer. The Hurt Locker establishes itself with its opening sequence and never looks back. It’s an explosive opening, and gives off the impression things are going to go tits up at every turn. Alas they don’t as Bigelow performs like a magician, creating the illusion they will. Anytime James walks to disarm a bomb one is on the edge of their seat, gasping for air. The action doesn’t need a building to blow up or have fifty guys be mowed down by gunfire. Instead, the viewers are treated to action that relies on James disarming a bomb and making its audience wondering if he’s going to die.

Yet that isn’t where Bigelow takes folks like Michael Bay or Len Wiseman out behind the woodshed. This can all be summed up by two words: sniper battle. In one of the film’s best sequences, our trio and a group of mercenaries led by Ralph Fiennes are holed up in a trench as a terrorist sniper picks them off. There’s one, possibly two shots from the enemy point of view while the rest of the time one is anticipating the final blow. Nothing blows up and there’s no close-ups of any of the deaths. When the final blow does indeed come, Bigelow chooses to show a bullet shell bouncing off the sand in slow motion, much more effective than showing a dismembered body. Even after the bullets are done flying and Capri Sun comes into the picture, we linger in just a little longer to see Eldridge get his moment to shine. Like the rest of the film, one is biting their nails and shaking with a mix of tension and that feeling of awesome. They should, as it’s most likely the best action sequence of this year and last year.

Mark Boal’s script never makes us forget about the men in the middle of the mayhem however. As mentioned before, The Hurt Locker is too concerned with putting it’s story and characters first to add in any political mumbo jumbo that plagues every other Iraqi war film. One could place this story in any other war and you’d still come away with the same result. Iraq is just a background and Boal understands this, as does Bigelow. She shoots the picture very aggressively, being subtle with when and where the shaky cam is placed. She also knows where it doesn’t belong and perfectly frames her shots, particularly a scene with James at the end of the film. Bottom line, if a female is going to win the Best Director Oscar, now’s a perfect time.

The Hurt Locker is simply a product of what happens when all the great elements of filmmaking come together. It’s the closest thing to a perfect film we’ll likely get and absolutely lives up and surpasses all the praise it’s been getting. Kathryn Bigelow marks her return and let’s hope she’s back to stay. She’s helped by Boal’s tight script and some spectacular performances by it’s leads. Bigelow anchors the ship to make it rise head and shoulders above everything else that’s come out, or likely, will come out. The film is just pure greatness from the opening frame to its last, which right now makes it one of, if not the best film of the year.

Rating: ★★★★★