Four guilty pleasures and a classic

A little obvious, but critics and directors commonly, and somewhat tragically forget that films should be enjoyed. Films should make you laugh, howl, squeal, jump off your seat and change your facebook status. A good film is one you'll find yourself quoting for the week to come, better still, when its become deeply unfashionable but you still can't resist it!
True Whasssssssssssuuuuup style.

With this in mind, I will always defend Snakes on a Plane.

Once, during a class brain storming session in Camberwell we discussed what this accidental masterpiece would have been like as a british comedy; 'Snakes on a train'. We set it on the northern line, the darkest and unholiest of underground routes, and quickly realised it probably would have been a massive fail, as the cold hearted travellers, in true London style, would simply have ignored the Massive, hormone crazed reptiles and carried on reading the Metro.

My next guilty pleasure: Mr Deeds

This was the film which made me realise I laugh like a banshee. Amazing performances by Steve Buschemi and John McEnroe. 5/5

Another unlikely must see: Planet Terror

Look at the poster. I have always loved the combination of red, black and white, but yellow makes the whole thing more brassy, disgusting and brilliant. Tacky, fantastic is Planet Terror. I have been tirelessly promoting this film for a while now but to no avail. I simply don't see what's not to love. An opening scene with Bruce Willis, followed by Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas getting ripped apart by flesh crazed Zombies.

Visually this is a feast of a film. It is also a fountain of beautiful quotes, my personal favourite being, 'YOU FUCKED WITH THE WRONG MEXICAN!'.

Give it a go, you will be very pleasently suprised.

Shouldn't work but it does: Harold and Kumar get the munchies
Ok, I downloaded the wrong poster. But honestly, this is not a stylish, clever or original film. It is however, ridiculously funny. Sometimes, thinking is overated, and for those blissfully mindless times 'Harold and Kumar get the Munchies' is the film for you.

On a more serious note: Curse of the Golden Flower



Words and stills do not do this film justice. It is pure action. From the swishing of the heavy, embroidered gowns to the epic battle scenes and thousands of flying ninjas who weave their way through the sky at night.

As a rule of thumb I like films about dysfunctional families; Tenembaums (tick), Todo Sobre mi Madre (tick), Spirited Away (tick), etc. But Curse of the Golden Flower takes the biscuit.

It tells the tale of Chinese dynsty. A family of power hungry, corrupt, lusty evil characters who trapped in their palace rituals are driven to madness.
I think this my most tense film viewing to date. I wanted to run straight into the screen and save everybody. Yimou Zhong somehow makes his onscreen monsters so vulnerable that they remain human despite the insane plot, unbelievable special effects, and extemely stylised mise-en-scene. Just incredible.

This film will also appeal to anybody who likes the colour gold.