The Beach

Cast: Leonardo Dicaprio, Virginie Ledoyen, Guillaume Canet, Robert Carlyle and Tilda Swinton.

Director: Danny Boyle

Release Date: 2000

Running Time: 1hr 59 minutes

Genre: Adventure

Rating: 15

Synopsis:

Richard travels to Thailand and finds himself in possession of a strange map, rumours state that it leads to a beach paradise, a tropical bliss. Excited and intrigued, he sets out to find it.

Based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Alex Garland. Director Danny Boyle releases one of his best films to date! Backpacker Richard embarks on an adventure to Thailand, in the hope that he can find something different. A lot of people relate to the storyline because of it's adventurous intentions. We all have dreams and desires of travelling the world and finding paradise. One of very few films to be almost identical to the novel, with only one or two changes made. Beautifully narrated by Leonardo Dicaprio, director Danny Boyle really allows audiences to come along for the adventure by allowing us to feel a part of it. Danny Boyle's "Trainspotting" was directed very much in the same way, with Ewan McGregor's character Renton narrating the story.

Leonardo Dicaprio stars as backpacker Richard, a young man in his twenties who is desperate to find something new. On his journey through Thailand he encounters a troubled man named Daffy (Carlyle) who claims to have a map to a secret beach located in the Gulf of Thailand. Little does he know that Daffy has come from this paradise. Soon finding himself in the arms of the map, Richard decides to embark on a quest to find it along with backpapers Etienne and Francoise. Dicaprio delivers an exceptionally good performance as Richard. Rumour has it that Danny Boyle originally wanted Ewan McGregor in the role of Richard. The decision to have an American actor works significantly better. Dicaprio matches the description of Richard in the novel perfectly.

The storyline primarily focuses on the characters relationships. The story begins very innocently as the film goes on the story becomes increasingly more and more darker. The island they have encountered is not the beach they were promised. Running into Thai farmers who own several Cannabis fields, they soon find themselves in serious danger. Author Alex Garland really knew how to build his story, to trap his audience, you really go on an emotional journey with these characters, Richard, Etienne and Francoise soon adapt to their culture, their way of life, forgetting the outside world.

Robert Carlyle's performance as Daffy is magnificent, an incredibly versatile actor and probably these days a very uncredited actor. His character adds great significance to the story, despite Daffy having no more than about twenty minutes of screen time. It was never disclosed in the novel as to why several of the characters had nicknames based on Looney Tunes characters. Is this their way of adding a little bit of normality to their life, reminding them of what could be waiting in the outside world? Supporting actors, Virginie Ledoyen and Guillaume Canet offer good performances, raining in on their French authenticity. Tilda Swinton delivers a very strong performance as beach leader Sal.

At the time of production, Phi Phi Leh Island, did not have the same popularity that it has now. The scenery is absolutely breathtaking. It's unfortunate that the film suffered some controversy after it's release in terms of how bad they left the island after production wrapped. Thankfully mother nature intervened with the devastating tsunami of 2004, it ironically restored the island back to it's natural look. Audiences were led to believe that only a few changes were made by CGI, however in reality a lot of unnatural plant life were added to the beach to make it look more authentic. Wonderfully edited, each scene beautifully flows into the next. The soundtrack should not be overlooked, it brings just as much emotion with it as the characters do. Moby, Leftfield and Unkle all made it into the film. Each song works brilliantly in the scenes in which they are used. Bringing the film to life. It's just as good as the novel. Excellent.

5/5 stars

Addams Family Values

Cast: Raul Julia, Anjelica Houstan, Christina Ricci, Jimmy Workman, Christopher Lloyd and Joan Cusack.

Director: Barry Sonnenfeld

Release Date: 1993

Running Time: 1hr 30 minutes

Genre: Family

Rating: PG

Format: DVD

Synopsis:

The Addams family try to rescue their beloved uncle Fester from his gold-digging new love, a black widow named Debbie.

The Addams family return for the second time, this time however, they must rescue Fester from a gold-digging serial killer named Debbie. Unfortunately, unlike its predecessor, I didn't feel like this had quite as much character as the first. A few years have passed in real time so it only makes sense that Morticia Addams could quite possibly have become pregnant since the ending of the first film and the beginning of this one. Director Barry Sonnenfeld has already set the ball rolling that the storyline is going to be very tongue in cheek from the get go in showing a very slim Morticia Addams, despite her giving birth to her newborn baby Pubert at the beginning of the film.

Joan Cusack stars as gold-digger Debbie Jellinsky. Although Cusack primarily finds herself in comedic roles, it's quite a different role for her to take on. Cusack handles her character excellently and brings a lot of humour and joy to the storyline. Christopher Lloyd returns as Fester Addams, Lloyd is a magnificent character actor and once again proves his worth with wonderful characterisation and facial expressions expressing his warped and goofy personality. Wednesday and Pugsley, now a little bit older, are still full of mischief, however they aren't particularly fond of their little brother Pubert. Ricci and Workman both deliver excellent performances and work well as a sibling team.

Wednesday and Pugsley unexpectedly find themselves at Camp Chippewa. Camp leaders Gary Granger and Becky Martin-Granger were two characters I wasn't particularly fond of. Very tongue-in-cheek, their characters are exceptionally irritating and wonderfully over the top. At times however, they can be unbearable to watch and so some degree suck the humour of the scenes they are present in. I believe this to be a deliberate act by director Barry Sonnenfeld, however I don't think it worked as well as it could have. The first film worked because the characters had a lot of depth and quirkiness. I got the impression this time, that Barry Sonnenfeld thought the more annoying the characters, the better the film would be.

The first film was very vibrant in colour, the cinematography was gorgeous, something which really stood out on Blu-Ray. Sadly, Owen Roizman didn't return as cinematographer for this film. There was a lot of potential for the colours to stand out in this film, that unfortunately was let down due to poor cinematography. The lighting wasn't used to its full potential, making some scenes look lifeless and messy. A lot of the film takes place at Camp Chippewa, so the production design wasn't as exciting as it was in the first. The Addams mansion has changed ever so slightly, unfortunately it looks more like a set than a home. The production side, really let a lot of the film down, it had the potential to be just as detailed and stunning as the first.

Despite being a massive fan of The Addams Family, I was really dissapointed with this film. The storyline is very simple and funny, however the lack of production design really let it down. The performances of the actors is what really makes this film work. A contemporary score adds a nice flare to the film, with the likes of Tag Team's "Addams whoomp" and The Village People "Macho Man", the soundtrack reminds audiences that it's a light hearted family film that should by no means be taken too seriously.

3.5/5 stars

The Addams Family

Cast: Raul Julia, Anjelica Houstan, Christina Ricci, Christopher Lloyd, Jimmy Workman and Dana Ivey.

Director: Barry Sonnenfeld

Release Date: 1991

Running Time: 1hr 39 minutes

Genre: Family

Rating: PG

Format: Blu-Ray

Synopsis:

Con artists plan to fleece an eccentric family using an accomplice who claims to be their long lost uncle.

Based on the quirky cartoon of the same name by Charles Addams. Director Barry Sonnelfeld, brings the eccentric family to life! At first glance if you were to compare it to the original TV show, you would notice a few changes, however these changes have by no means ruined the film. The storyline is essentially all of the episodes from the original show rolled into one. The show was exceptionally simple. In the film, Thing travels through the hallways in an arachnid type fashion. In the show, Thing always remained inside a box and would only be seen on screen delivering post to The Addams family. Director Barry Sonnenfeld has added almost an dark noir element to the film. I can remember being quite shocked when I watched the show for the first time. The film is very dark in comparison. There's a horror esque feel to it.

Wednesday Addams (Ricci) in particular has a very dark sense of humour in the film. In the show,  she was much younger in age and had more innocence to her. Christopher Lloyd shows great depth in his characterisation as Fester Addams. At first glance, it's almost impossible to believe it's the same man that we all loved in "Back to the Future", Lloyd is a wonderful versatile actor, delivering a tremendous performance. Anjelica Houstan stars as Morticia Addams, who also delivers a darker performance than her character in the show. It works. It adds a sense of mystery and excitement to the story. Although the film shows a great deal of humour, it's certainly darker in comparison to the show, which showed a great deal of comedy.

The production design for this film is really quite phenomenal. I love the intricate details that have gone into making the Addams mansion look authentic. It's one of those set designs that you desperately want to explore. I have a confession. I may have seen this more times than I should have. I've even seen it live on stage. It doesn't matter how many times I view it, I manage to notice something different everytime. The attention to detail is really quite incredible. Plenty of things have been crossed over from the show into the movie. I really love that we got to see more of cousin IT, he sadly didn't make that many appearances in the show.

The storyline is very tongue in cheek and for the most part very predictable. It's a magnificent family film, that children of all ages can really love and understand. The special effects are excellent, considering this was made twenty-seven years ago. The effects were very good for their time, Thing especially, looks superb. There are a couple of editing issues, but nothing that should discourage you from enjoying it. Wonderfully directed and beautifully shot, for Sonnenfeld's directorial debut, he's done a magnificent job. A film that has now gone on to be a classic amongst family's. The use of a contemporary soundtrack adds a lovely sense of quirkiness to the storyline. This is one film, you don't want to miss. Perfect for those rainy days.

4/5/5 stars