#and underrated pacino classic as well

[mangocharmer]

Al Pacino as Johnny - FRANKIE AND JOHNNY (1991)

[ashleygraceworld]

6 Most Underrated Al Pacino Movies

Al Pacino made awesome movies, but some really good ones didn't get enough attention. Here are the 7 underrated gems of Pacino that deserve more love.

From classic movies like The Godfather, Heat, to The Irishman, Al Pacino has been a big deal in the movie world for a long time. He's been in some of the best movies ever, and fans really love him.

But because he's been in so many movies, there are some that didn't get much attention or didn't get praised by critics, even though they're actually pretty good. So, here are some Al Pacino movies that not many people talk about, but you should definitely watch.

1. Donnie Brasko

Even though critics liked it when it came out, not many people talk about the movie "Donnie Brasco" these days. It's about a guy named Donnie who works secretly for the FBI and hangs out with a mafia hitman named Lefty, played by Al Pacino. As time goes on, Donnie becomes really good friends with Lefty, but he has to decide whether to tell on him to the FBI or go against them.

The movie is well-written, well-directed, and Al Pacino does an amazing job playing Lefty. Some folks say it's one of Al Pacino's best but doesn't get enough credit.

2. The Devil's Advocate

"The Devil's Advocate" is a movie where Keanu Reeves plays a lawyer named Kevin Lomax who joins a famous law firm in New York, led by Al Pacino's character, John Milton. The story gets pretty dark and confusing, but overall, it's a well-written movie with great acting. It also teaches us a lesson about how chasing money can make people forget about doing what's right. Even though it has some supernatural stuff, a lot of it is about real-life problems like greed, desire, jealousy, and anger.

3. Insomnia

Insomnia, a movie directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Al Pacino, is often overlooked but deserves more attention. It's about a detective named Will Dormer (played by Al Pacino) who goes to a small town in Alaska to solve the murder of a 17-year-old girl. As he investigates, he starts facing his own inner struggles and has to juggle both the case and his declining mental health. Insomnia is a lesser-known film by Nolan and is a must-see for fans of Al Pacino.

4. The Insider

The Insider is a gripping psychological drama that fans of this genre will really enjoy. Despite getting positive reviews from critics, the movie didn't become a big hit in theaters. It stars Russell Crowe and Al Pacino, who give outstanding performances that make it a must-watch.

The story of The Insider revolves around Jeff Wigand, a former employee of a big tobacco company, who turns to Lowell Bergman, a CBS journalist, to expose the shady practices of the tobacco industry. What follows is a nail-biting and intense series of events, with Wigand facing threats and warnings from the tobacco company. All in all, The Insider is a very well-crafted movie, featuring a standout performance by Al Pacino.

5. Panic In Needle Park

"Panic in Needle Park" is a movie about a guy named Bobby (played by Al Pacino) who's addicted to heroin and lives in an area full of other addicts. One day, he meets Helen, a homeless girl from the same area, and they fall in love.

Unfortunately, Bobby introduces Helen to heroin, and their love story takes a dark turn. They start doing bad things like stealing to get money for drugs. It's a really sad and tough movie to watch, but it's also a great film. Plus, it's the first movie where Al Pacino played the main character.

6. Dog Day Afternoon

Dog Day Afternoon is a really intense movie starring Al Pacino. In the film, Al Pacino's character, Sonny, and his two partners try to rob a bank in Brooklyn. But things go south fast when Sonny gets a call from the police, telling him the bank is surrounded. So, the bank robbery turns into a situation where they're holding people hostage, and Sonny is trying his best to figure out how to get out of there.

Even though the basic idea is simple, the story takes unexpected twists and turns. The movie is well-written, and Al Pacino and the rest of the cast give fantastic performances.

Go ahead and watch these if you haven't and let me know in the comments how you find them!

[thealmightyemprex]

90's Pulp Movie Villains Ranked

SO I am going to be doing a series of rankings ,as I have been marathoing the Pulp superhero trend of the 90's .Why not start with my favorite topic ,the villlains...THis was hard in a sense,because I love all five of these baddies

5.Big Boy Caprice from Dick Tracy

The biggest mob boss in town and arch nemesis to Dick Tracy.I actually though going into this rewatch ,I thought he would be number one ....But looking at the other villains he fell to the wayside.I love how bonkers Al PAcinos performance is and his quirk of messing up qoutes and the makeup looks great but honestly I cant help but feel he is a wannabe of Jack Nicholsons Joker .He is fun though

4.Xander Drax from the Phantom

An evil powerhungry business man who wants to harnass the power of 3 magic skulls .On paper he is the weakest villain,going into this rewatch,I thought I was gonna put him dead last .The problem is the side villains are more intereresting ,like the pirate king Kabai Sengh and Quill who killed the Phantoms father,while Drax is just an evil rich guy ......Thank GOD for Treat Williams performance ,he is taking character description of evil 1930's capitalist and running with it .Not great but he is a ton of fun

3.Neville Sinclair from the Rockateer

A swashbuckling movie star who is actually a Nazi spy trying to get his hands on an experimental jetpack .NOw we get to the really interesting guys .While Big Boy and Drax were fun,theres a bit more to Sinclair .Being a dashing movie star he is charming but his villainy is motivated by a sense of desperation .Timothy Dalton is an actor who feels like he is right of the 1930's and 1940's ,so he is able to nail the deonair side while also being a legit menacing villain

2.Don Rafael Montero from The Mask of Zorro

A Spanish Governor who wishes to take over California ,but the big thing is he stole the daughter of Don Diego De La Vega AKA the original Zorro and had him imprisioned for 20 years .NOw what impresses me about Don Rafael is he couldve been a mustache twirly villain,just a hate sink as we root for Zorro to run him through....But they decided to give him nuanace .Oh he is still a villain who kills and enslaves innocent people ,but he has his own morals ,doesnt want children to see his crimes,and does very much care for his adopted daughter Elena .Stuart Wilson plays him with a sense of dignity and nuance one doesnt often see in a blockbuster bad guy of that era

1. Shiwan Khan from the Shadow

The last descendant of Genghis Khan(I know there are millions of descendants of that guy just roll with it ,its a movie ),Shiwan Khan is a wannabe conqueror who wishes to rule the world using his psychic powers and an atomic bomb.SO while DOn Rafael is a more nuanced villain,Shiwan Khan is a classic supervillain done REALLY well .Like the guys got a simple goal,he wants to rule the world,cause being descended from a great conquerer he wants to be a conqueror himself.A few things make him stand out ,one is John Lones charismatic performance,especially in his scenes with the Shadow .In classic villain fashion he is a dark reflection of the Shadow.....But of the Shadows past .The Shadow used to be a bad dude but has put his sins behind him to fight evil .Basically Shiwan Khan has all the powers of the Shadow and is what the Shadow would be like is he still pursued evil.What I love is Shiwan Khan actually admires the Shadows past and is diappointed he has turned good cause he really wants him to rule with him .He also reminds me of Kilgrave from Jessica Jones in how he uses his mind control powers to convince people to kill themselves who mildly inconvience him .With cool powers ,a good performance and a great dynamic with the hero ,I think Shiwan Khanis one of the most underrated supervillains in superhero movies and best villain of the 90's pulp movies trend

@ariel-seagull-wings @amalthea9 @angelixgutz @theancientvaleofsoulmaking @themousefromfantasyland @the-blue-fairie @scarletblumburtonofeastlondon @princesssarisa @filmcityworld1

[pennyserenade]

Your post about Colin Firth left me wondering what other actors you’d like to see Pedro do projects with… Like who would be your top five maybe?

this is going to be terribly bias, and sometimes not at all based on the people i think he'd work best with as much as it is my personal preference, but here it is:

al pacino. he's probably my favorite actor of all time, and i think if they found the right project for the two of them, they would really, really be great together. they both have a way of acting that seems to posses them - like they don't just act with their voices, but their entire bodies - and i think that would be so neat to see the way they play off each other. i know that they're both big on being on the stage acting too, so if they were in something together, i hope it'd be based on some sort of character driven play. i don't know what sort of dynamic they could have (maybe a mentor/mentee sort of thing? a sunset boulevard thing? an all about eve vibe? i think that all could be great).

ewan mcgregor. i have thought about this one an excessive amount because i absolutely love ewan. the fun thing about ewan is that he will do absolutely anything and his filmography is just so diverse. he's got westerns, musicals, romcoms, war films, period pieces. he's starred in so many films that have become cult classics over time, and i think he really is an actor who is underrated, even despite the fact that he is widely talked about. he's played everything from rockstars to jedis to journalists to christopher fucking robin, and i just think the possibilities are truly endless for what he and pedro could do together. i need someone to find a way to make this happen. if it's gay i'll be even happier

andrew garfield, and i do need that one to be gay. i've written about it here. i think that andrew and pedro both bring a lot of sensitivity and care to their roles and i truly and genuinely believe watching them fall in love would be such a nice experience. i think they could both do it in a way that doesn't come across as reserved or repressed in anyway, and that it could really showcase the beauty of gay love without being rooted in coming out or the fear that comes with that. they're both older actors and i think it'd be really neat to see them play men who know who they are in that way, even if they don't know who they are in any other way.

oscar isaac. i know he has been in a movie with oscar isaac, and i'm not shitting on triple frontier, but i think oscar isaac and pedro pascal deserve to be in a project together that is a little more developed character-wise than that. i regard them as the robert de niro/al pacino combo of today and i want a the godfather for them (preferably they will share a scene though).

bill hader. i think pedro has the ability to be a very funny actor on top of being a very serous one, and i think if he worked with bill hader, something very beautiful might come out of that. i love bill hader a lot, and this is partially because i admire him so much, and i think he and pedro would love each other because they're both films buffs. but! i really do believe that they would work well together and i do love a lot of the stuff bill hader has been in from the skeleton twins to barry to superbad. that project could lean more towards serious or funny and i wouldn't mind either way

also: ethan hawke for extra points, but i think that is happening, so all my dreams are coming true.

[fuforthought]

Save for the Kara Hui, it’s safe to say not many women got their start in the “shapes” era of kung fu cinema. “Shapes” being the rhythmic style of choreography focusing on exaggerated body...shapes. Well, one woman certainly did and her name is Lily Li. Lily (full name Lily Li Li-Li) began her career in Shaw Brothers films. Although, she didn’t really have big roles. It wasn’t until the late 70′s where she started showing her true talents and, in doing so, she was put in more and more fight scenes. If anyone has seen the classic, Executioners From Shaolin, Lily is the woman that prevents Chen Kuan Tai from spreading her legs. If you’ve seen the film, you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t, yes it’s very rapey. But in a kung fu kind of way. How popular was she? She’s starred in almost double the amount of films Al Pacino has.

I’m not sure why she isn’t recognized more because she had BONKERS fight skills.  She was accepted to a Shaw Brothers actor training course when she was 14 and I’m assuming she learned on screen kung fu that way. She certainly took to it because she’s fought some of the best and often comes out looking superior.

The fight above is from a film called Daggers 8. It’s an underrated little gem and you can currently watch it for free on Prime Video. You lucky ducks. Don’t bother trying to buy it on DVD as you’ll more than likely end up with a shite bootleg version. But yeah...look up some of Lily Li’s stuff if you’re interested (you should be). There aren’t really a lot of her fights on YouTube, unfortunately. But start with her more popular Shaw films and then take a tumble down a rabbit hole.

[cine-sports]

The Devil's Advocate (1997) - The Best Movie You Never Saw

The Devil’s Advocate (1997) – The Best Movie You Never Saw

Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven. Those iconic words come from John Milton’s classic work Paradise Lost. Milton also happens to be the name of Al Pacino’s character in 1997’s horror drama, The Devil’s Advocate. Directed by Taylor Hackford, The Devil’s Advocate is one of the most underrated films in the careers of Pacino and Keanu Reeves as well as an early treat in the careers of both…

[back-and-totheleft]

A Journey Against a Raging Historical Backdrop

If there is anything the year 2020 has shaken into the very fabric of our imperial society, it’s that nothing ever goes according to plan, rarely is anything absolutely assured. While a biological threat has upended not only our nationalist pride as a world hegemony, it no doubt has uprooted many personal obsessions with career paths and lifestyle. That most provocative of American film directors, Oliver Stone, has now released a passionate and absorbing memoir, Chasing the Light: Writing, Directing, and Surviving Platoon, Midnight Express, Scarface, Salvador and the Movie Game, which in its own way, is fully apt for our time. More than any other work of autobiography to be released this summer, Stone’s account of going against the grain and demanding to be allowed to live off his vocation reads like a tonic.

For consumers of cinema, Stone remains a filmmaker eternally divisive. Whether it be his style, and above all, his politics, he inspires admiration and derision. He probably remains best known for his work from the ‘90s, especially the technical masterpiece JFK, which somehow collages every conspiracy theory surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and Natural Born Killers, a visually anarchic satire crystalizing our American obsession with violence and celebrity. Agree with their theses or not, the fact that both films remain instant pop cultural reference points is a testament to their lasting value as art. I dare argue Stone’s 1995 opus Nixon, is a grossly underrated and vital drama unmatched by anything released since when it comes to cinematic political biography. This article could continue on and discuss Stone’s hallucinatory Jim Morrison biopic The Doors or his 1999 football epic Any Given Sunday, written and shot with the spirit of a Roman gladiator.

But Chasing the Light is powerful reading precisely because it is about those years before Stone reached Hollywood prominence. It is a book full of memories, self-doubt, stirring experiences and that ever so hard, grinding need to push oneself towards a stubborn goal. It helps that Stone is a natural born writer, chronicling his early years with a crisp, eloquent prose. But pulsing in nearly every space of subtext is a spirit of surviving by going against the grain. Stone even brushes aside the stale sugarcoating of other Hollywood biographies. He is blunt about sex, the personalities of others, and of course, his political opinions.

As evident in his work, Stone is obsessed with history and its lessons, the way it casts a shadow over our daily lives, whether we notice it or not. His book opens in 1976, as the U.S. celebrates it bicentennial and Stone stares out New York Harbor. Chapter one opens with a line recognizable to any dreamer without immediate resources, “I was coming up on thirty, and I was broke, but I didn’t want to think about that anymore.” The Statue of Liberty, the pomp of American Independence Day, even as the country was reeling from Vietnam, only adds to Stone’s sense of personal limbo. The narrative then shifts to a reverie going back to 1946, when Stone was born to Lou Stone and Jacqueline Goddet. Stone was himself a direct product of history. Lou was in General Eisenhower’s staff as a military man stationed in post-World War II France. Jacqueline was a French upper class girl who fell for the American G.I. fantasy. But like all dreams, the shores of reality provide a hard crash. Stone would be born into privilege, with Lou described as one of the last breed of Wall Street brokers still imbued with a slight sense of morality. He had lost it all before in the crash of 1929, but would lose more again. Sent off to boarding school, it was there that a young Stone would receive a blunt phone call informing him his parents were getting a divorce. In a swerve away from the typical image of 1950s America, Lou and Jacqueline were pretty blunt with young Oliver about their extramarital activities. On top of that, Lou was wallowing in debt.

It is this shattering of the ideal atomic family, white, affluent, basking in the delights of American capitalism, that seems to be the first real catalyst in the formation of Oliver Stone. In 1967, at the eve of turning 21, Stone is on his way to Vietnam after having enlisted. Here the rebel emerges, running from the plasticity and lies of the American privileged class, deciding on his own he wants to taste the real world. Raised in a conservative environment, Stone has little to say about the early cultural shocks of Elvis or the Beats, it simply wasn’t much a part of his world. What he does carry in him to war is a love for Homer, Greek mythology and its potent lessons. A Homeric view of combat, its bloody terror mixed with boredom, the cast of warriors in his platoon, would stay with Stone forever. This literary view sustains him as he returns to a country embroiled in radical cultural change.

If there is a romantic, almost Hemingway tone to the early sections of Chasing the Light, relatable to anyone who has ever felt like running away, even if it means to seek something greater in a tumultuous world, the second half of the book becomes one of the great recent testimonials of the struggling artist. What Stone knows from the beginning is that he is a writer. Words are his vocation. But after penning a failed, hallucinatory novel (later published in 1997 as A Child’s Night Dream), Stone realizes screenwriting is the new literary form of the age, because it is also an age of cinema. Books may never entirely go out of fashion, but the masses consume images, coupled with sound and music. This seemed to Stone, who confesses his mother would play hookie with him to see movies, like a better pathway to express the ideas and memories swirling in his intense psyche.

NYU would be where Stone would attend film school with Martin Scorsese as an instructor described as wonderfully manic and passionate. In the ‘70s a B.A. in had even less job market value than today, and Stone is soon driving cabs to survive, admitting that he wanted to avoid practical jobs as much as possible. Stone’s life reads like those classic, romantic authors of decades past, who would defy the norm, live in poverty and peck at their manuscripts. Stone eventually marries Najwa Sarkis, a Lebanese UN worker serving the Kingdom of Morocco. She provides Stone with a comfortable home as he writes scripts and treatments, and directs his first, low-budget feature, a horror film named Seizure. It fails, playing in a small grindhouse spot as a double bill in New York City. This is when Stone makes that difficult decision of again casting aside comfort, ending the marriage so he can move to Los Angeles with a script in hand based on his Vietnam experiences, Platoon. As Stone boards the plane for L.A., history both political and cultural blaze in the background. Apocalypse Now and The Deer Hunter are some of first cinematic attempts to grapple with Vietnam. Stone admires their scope, but they are obviously grandiose films made by directors who never fought in the war.

When Stone lands in the city of angels with its Hollywood promises, it is Platoon that gets him work. Through talent and stubbornness, Stone comes across as rather the lucky writer. His first major studio assignment, Midnight Express, based on a book by Billy Hayes, who was arrested and imprisoned in Turkey for smuggling hash, is for then emerging British director Alan Parker and becomes a smash hit, winning Stone his first Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. The passages describing the cocaine-fueled ambiance of the Golden Globes before they were a live broadcast show are hilariously decadent, as well as the party atmosphere of late ‘70s Hollywood. Stone vaguely recalls writer Gore Vidal attempting to seduce Mick Jagger at one gathering.

Some of the warmer passages in the book involve Stone meeting his second wife, Elizabeth Cox, a blonde Texan who Stone describes as everything he would have ever wanted in a partner at the time. One gets the feeling of Stone constantly battling between the search for domesticity and his own impulses to go further, experiment and search as a young writer. He wants to be both loved and a libertine. He’s also a collaborative type of partner, giving Elizabeth a speaking role in his second feature, the box office bomb The Hand, which like Seizure, has not aged terribly and retains an eerie psychological force. When acting is not Elizabeth’s calling, Stone hires her as his typist.

Yet even as Stone basks in both the bacchanalia of the times and a loving relationship, developing a dangerous coke habit along the way, he writes every single day and manages to put his stamp on projects that would later be remolded by other filmmakers. Stone includes pages from his early drafts of Conan the Barbarian, which read like a Wagnerian fever dream. There’s still a sting of regret in the way he describes macho director John Milius taking the script and cutting it down to more of a B-movie romp to show off Arnold Schwarzenegger. The colder, by Stone’s observation slower, Brian De Palma would provide a better learning experience however, when Stone is hired to write the enduring cult classic Scarface. The infamously violent update of the 1932 Howard Hawks classic, starring Al Pacino as a Cuban refugee rising in the cartel world of 1980s Miami, would bring Stone into contact with underworld elements. There’s a darkly fun moment where he recounts meeting with Colombian gangsters and then unwisely dropping the name of a certain lawyer.

Through Scarface and other projects, Stone vividly remembers all the characters, some endearing and others downright venal, one encounters along the way of attempting success in this field where creativity and greed are nearly Siamese twins. What is eternally admirable about Stone is that he refuses to sell out. Even when slammed as overly violent or on the nose, preachy and despairing in his work, Stone’s voice is his own. He reserves low-grade acid in his prose for New Yorker critic Pauline Kael, who would write with a condescending, almost pathologically obsessive hatred for Stone’s scripts. And history is always in the background. The loose ‘70s would give way to the ultra-capitalist, hyper nationalist Reagan ‘80s. At one point Stone was even offered the chance to write Top Gun, still seen as a defining example of the post-Vietnam, macho American military movie meant to stir hearts to Uncle Sam’s marching call.

It would be history that would come and save Stone as well. Disappointed in the way the system seems to use writers as nothing more than hired hands, yearning to direct but having burned bridges in his wilder days, Stone puts it all on the line to make an independent war movie about the then raging civil war in El Salvador. Based on the experiences of  wild man journalist Richard Boyle (who provides page after page of colorful anecdotes in the book’s latter half), Stone’s movie stars James Woods as Boyle and Elpidia Carrillo as the young Salvadoran peasant he loves. Outrageous, bloody, with a Hunter S. Thompson tone, Salvador has a making of story as intriguing as the movie. Nothing can stop the hungry director whose time has come. Stone tries to shoot in El Salvador itself amid the war, meeting with fascist military figures with Boyle. When that falls apart the production moves to Mexico as producers sweat over depleting funds. Yet Salvador opens the door for Stone to make his beloved Platoon, casting an unknown Charlie Sheen in the role based on himself. It’s quite the shift from capturing war in Central America to then reliving his memories from Vietnam, in a powerful opus featuring Willem Dafoe and Tom Berenger as well, both embodying figures Stone remembers from his days in combat.

Both Salvador and Platoon not only close the book victoriously, as one becomes a sleeper hit and the other a box office sensation that would win Best Picture and Director Oscars for Stone, they also crystalize the historical obsession that defines his journey. Like few, if any, movies made about Latin America since, Salvador is about a war in which the United States intervened to prevent revolutionary forces from overcoming a local regime and aristocracy firmly beholden to U.S. interests, and Platoon is about Stone having been a young man holding the rifle used by American power to impose its order on the world. He has been an agent of history, which is why it haunts his mind even now with his recent documentaries, the most controversial being a sit-down with Vladimir Putin.

Chasing the Light is like a tonic in these times when the world becomes increasingly unsettled, as if hurtling towards major conflagrations but our movies are now devoid of radical politics or even political passion, with a few exceptions. Great directors who begin with promise then get lured by the bigger system, and they end up contributing to the “Marvel Cinematic Universe.” Agree with him or not, Stone at least celebrates two things in this book we can all agree on: The hard work wanting to write demands, both in commitment and honing of the craft, and the need to engage with the wider world. Film obsessives and Stone’s fans will no doubt eagerly await the next volume, I know I will, when he will surely explore his defining political films. For now, Chasing the Light is a volume to give comfort to wandering talent out there, writing deep into the night, wondering if anyone will ever read it or care.

-Alci Rengifo, “Oliver Stone’s Chasing the Light Chronicles the Great Director’s Journey Against a Raging Historical Backdrop,” Riot Material, Sept 3 2020 [x]

[fashiontrendin-blog]

Surplus Style: Why You Need A Field Jacket This Summer

http://fashion-trendin.com/surplus-style-why-you-need-a-field-jacket-this-summer-2/

Surplus Style: Why You Need A Field Jacket This Summer

What do Robert De Niro, Sylvester Stallone and Al Pacino have in common? Sure, there’s the superior acting pedigree. And yes, they’re all identifiable by surname alone. But more than that, they are known for being unquestionably badass. Why? Well, it’s easy to look badass in a field jacket.

Whether it’s Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver, John Rambo in First Blood or the eponymous undercover cop in Serpico, all three turned to the stone cold menswear classic whenever they wanted to suggest something of a counter-cultural status. And for good reason.

Part of the golden trio of outerwear pieces with obvious military origins – alongside the bomber jacket and the flight jacket – the field jacket has been endlessly re-interpreted since leaving active duty. Eminently functional, as service pieces had to be, the M65 also managed, crucially, to transcend its origins, allowing men to wear it without also slipping into Action Man territory.

It’s hardly surprising, then, that it has – in some variation or other – featured in collections from just about every menswear designer in recent seasons, from Dior to Tom Ford, via streetwear brands the likes of Stussy and Supreme; in every colour and fabric too, from navy wool-cashmere to raw state ecru cotton.

Need more convincing to make this the season to invest? Here’s everything you need to know about the most underrated piece of military menswear, from how it came to be to the best brands to buy from today. And yes, we’re talkin’ to you.

What Is A Field Jacket?

Designed in the 1940s for military purposes, the field jacket is a light to medium weight garment identifiable by its four front bellows pockets. These were intended to aid soldiers in carrying equipment without the need for an obtrusive bag.

Traditionally, the hip-length jacket often, but not always, had epaulettes and a belt or drawstring, which gathered the garment at the waist to both aid heat retention and also help prevent it getting caught on undergrowth. The fact that it flatters your silhouette probably wasn’t especially important to generals.

A similarly utilitarian idea lay behind the military’s decision to upgrade the benchmark design, replacing a button fastening with a zip, and button pocket fastenings with snaps closures a few years later.

Invariably, given the military style of the design, the field jacket came almost exclusively in fabrics the likes of cotton drill, sateen or a nylon-cotton blend – suitably hard-wearing but also neither too warm nor too cool.

The World War II field jacket was the first expression of an ingenious new approach to outfitting soldiers that has shaped clever dressing ever since: the idea of layering up or down according to the climate. The field jacket was light enough to be worn on warmer days over thin layers, loose enough to fit over, for example, down or pile liners when the weather turned nasty.

The Field Jacket Today

“The field jacket is a timeless style, as relevant today as when it was first designed,” says Bosse Myr, head of menswear buying for Selfridges. “It’s essentially a utilitarian design, and yet it works as well dressed up over a shirt and tie as it does dressed down with jeans and plimsolls.”

It’s clear that what has allowed the field to survive is its versatility. That and the fact it still looks just as cool as the day it was issued. “Of course,” adds Nick Gunn, the co-founder of vintage menswear dealers The Vintage Showroom, “the appeal of the field jacket probably also comes from the fact that it’s appeared in so many war movies. It’s a very masculine jacket, and for that reason most men look half decent wearing one. It’s remarkable how relevant the design has remained – a waxed biker jacket is essentially a field jacket design, after all.”

5 Style Tips For Field Jackets

Learn To Layer

The field jacket was required to handle conditions of war, and as such was designed with layering in mind. In summer it works as a showerproof layer over just a T-shirt; for the winter wear it over a down vest or a denim jacket.

Mango Man

Experiment

One of the most redeeming features of the field jacket is that it can be worn in a variety of different ways, with the overall effect changed with a simple styling tweak. “Designers like to balance out the pockets by putting a print on the back,” says Myr. “Pushing the sleeves up also looks good, and I’ve known some people cut the arms off, so it looks more like a vest.”

Mango Man

Dress It Up Or Down

Like a lot of cool jackets, this one also works effortlessly with most of the pieces in the male wardrobe. Team a field jacket with jeans or chinos and plimsolls or chukka boots for a classic casual style, or sub one in for a blazer by throwing it over a shirt and tie. Always keep in mind suitability for the occasion: for work, a version in navy or charcoal wool or dark nylon will work better, as will a more modern style with a slimmer cut.

Mango Man

Accessorise

Attempting to amp up the field jacket’s military associations is a big G.I. no. Instead, use accessories to tone them down. Deploy a bold patterned or polka dot scarf or neckerchief in a complementary or contrasting colour to instantly rise up the style ranks.

Carl Gross

Weight Your Pockets Right

Few things kill the lines of a carefully curated outfit like overstuffed pockets. To prevent distorting the shape of a field jacket, keep heavier items such as your wallet and phone in the lower pockets and lighter, slimmer ones (loose change, keys etc.) in the top pockets. And if that’s not enough, consider investing in a weekend bag.

Aquascutum

Field Notes On The Field Jacket

Know The Difference Between It And A Safari Jacket

Though many flex their fashion knowledge when it comes to the history of menswear, they often trip up when it comes to the field jacket, mistaking it with the safari jacket. “The real essence of a field jacket is that it’s utilitarian, ready for rough and tumble. It’s the Willys Jeep of jackets,” says Nick Ashley, creative director of Private White VC. “A safari jacket just isn’t. It’s more poncey. You need to dress it up.”

Respect The Originals

If you happen upon an early edition M65 with all the trimmings, don’t go carelessly ripping off badges and patches; this history is part of the jacket’s appeal, so revel in the fact you have a true one-off. Or just wait to find a jacket that’s free of the decoration that typically went with it.

Don’t Dress Tonal

Unless you want people to think you’re an extra from Saving Private Ryan, avoid wearing a field jacket in the classic olive tone with a pair of trousers in the same shade; or any trousers that are remotely military-inspired such as cargo trousers. As an easy entry, stick within the classic menswear colour palette of navy, charcoal, tan and black.

Don’t Shy Away From Linen

Military-grade cloth seems like the obvious choice when it comes to a jacket designed for the front line, but it isn’t the only option. “Very heavy linen has historically been used for hunting jackets because it’s tough but breathes well,” says Ashley. “People tend to associate linen with a middle-aged dad style. But they’re wrong.” For winter, consider moleskin, too.

Five Key Field Jacket Brands

Alpha Industries

A long-time producer of clothing for the US military, Alpha Industries still makes a military-grade M65 field jacket (even if the armed forces no longer cop the original). Modern examples are no less equipped for the battles of everyday life, built to be both water and wind resistant, with a button-in liner also available.

Buy Now From: £50.00

Belstaff

The British brand’s Roadmaster jacket is, effectively, a field jacket rendered in waxed cotton. Based on the outerwear maker’s legendary Trialmaster jacket worn by Steve McQueen, the four-pocket shape made the style perfect for bikers and those looking for a more rugged take on the design, if that was even possible.

Buy Now: £595.00

Aspesi

Founded by Milanese designer Alberto Aspesi in 1969, versions of the M65 from his eponymous label inevitably have a distinctly Italian feel. Slimmer in cut, but more upscale in materials, they’re often made from a garment dyed, high-density nylon taffeta shell, with a detachable hood. Bellissimo.

Buy Now: £550.00

J.Crew

US preppy fashion retailer J.Crew calls its take on the outerwear model a ‘field mechanic’ jacket, no doubt because of the extra details it has bolted on to the original design. Among them, a partial lining, broad wind flap and a pocket on the sleeve – presumably for your spanners.

Buy Now: £198.00

Mango

Such is the iconic nature of the field jacket that there’s a style for every pocket; and four pockets at that. Versions from Spanish fast fashion giant Mango are often made from a nylon-cotton blend and finished with a quilted inner lining and two internal pockets, making them light and light on the wallet.

Buy Now: £69.99

A History Of Service

The field jacket as we know it today was created in 1943 – dubbed the M-1943 or M43; this was the jacket that shaped the multi-pocketed, olive drab military look that would become instantly recognisable for decades to come. However, the idea for a hardy, multi-functional jacket went back almost a century before then.

The British Army’s efforts against the Boers of South Africa taught them not only that a khaki coloured fabric was more practical than one in bright red, but introduced the many-pocketed front – so useful in the new era of ammo-intensive repeating rifles – that would become the standard issue arrangement of British Army tunics for World War I.

The distinctive style really took shape during the next world war, though. The Office of the Quartermaster General – essentially those charged with coming up with and producing the US Army’s soldiering kit from military haircuts to clothing – set to work to replace it. They came up with a layering system that could be built up or down depending on the weather conditions and key to this was the M43, numbered after the year of its design. It didn’t see action until a year later, as part of the US Army Third Division’s invasion of Italy. Although the battles there would be among the bloodiest of the war, those soldiers lucky enough to be kitted out in the M43 field jacket gave it the thumbs up.

But that was far from the end of the field jacket’s story. The military introduced further small modifications – the use of zips and snaps on the M51 – before the classic that is the M65 came into being, replacing the revere collar with a stand collar, adding a concealed hood, and made in a more robust, mixed fibre fabric.

“[Today] it’s easy to forget what this great jacket design was actually created for, that it was part of the grim business of war,” says Gunn.

[netunleashed-blog]

Best Amazon Prime movies: the best films to stream in July 2018

http://www.internetunleashed.co.uk/?p=5201 Best Amazon Prime movies: the best films to stream in July 2018 - http://www.internetunleashed.co.uk/?p=5201 Amazon Prime's movie selection keeps getting better and better. While it's rival Netflix focuses on original content, newer movies and TV shows (something that Amazon does admirably at too), Amazon does a good job of keeping its movie streaming catalogue loaded up with classics and award-winning flicks. Having said that, there are lots of films in its library that are boring, mediocre and really, really rubbish. The cream is there, but there's a lot to dig through first.That’s why we've done all the hard work for you. We've scoured all of the movies on offer for anything and everything that's worth watching on Amazon Prime.We've collected together more than 100 movies that you can stream on Amazon Video (that’s the movies and TV streaming section of Amazon Prime) right now. Expect a mixture of recent releases and timeless classics, as well as films that are suitable for the whole family.     [Update: Amazon Prime has recently added The Wrestler, Darren Aronofsky's touching and heart-breaking movie about a wrestler (played by Mickey Rourke) who despite being too old and ill for the ring tries to cling onto the success he had decades before. Dark comedy classic Death Becomes Her has also landed on the streaming service, which stars Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn and Bruce Willis.]We all know that streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video can turn an occasional movie-watching hobby into hours (and hours and hours) of endlessly flicking through film options. It's also worth bearing in mind that for every award-winning work of art on Amazon Video, there's lots of B-movie trash that isn't even worth putting on to ease away a Sunday morning hangover.Although we do love the odd guilty pleasure now and again, in this list we’ve created you'll only find the best picks. So let's dive straight in. Get your free 30-day Amazon Prime trial New Entry:  This dark comedy stars Goldie Hawn and Meryl Streep who are on a mission to stay young, beautiful and full of life forever. As you'd expect, that wish comes with pretty disturbing consequences, especially when you're buying a creepy elixir from a witch, played brilliantly by Isabella Rossellini. New Entry: This touching and (and at times heart-breaking) movie from Darren Aronofsky is about a wrestler (played by Mickey Rourke) who despite being too old and ill for the ring tries to cling onto the success he had decades before while trying to rebuild his relationship with his daughter. New Entry: The Mummy Sure Tom Cruise and co. tried to remake the 1999 version of The Mummy, but it just didn't have the cheesy charm of this original. If you haven't seen it already, it's a fun and at times actually quite creepy, classic adventure tale about awakening an ancient Egyptian mummy. Rachel Weisz and Brendan Fraser are kooky and lovable as the lead characters and the sequel, The Mummy 2, isn't half bad either. New Entry: The Theory of Everything Managing to be both beautifully heart-warming and heart-breaking at the same time, this biographical movie follows the early life of theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking. It's been adapted from the book Travelling to Infinity: My Life With Stephen, written by Hawking's ex-wife Jane. It particularly focuses on his time at Cambridge University, his relationship with Jane and his ALS diagnosis.  New Entry: True Romance It's not your standard love story, but True Romance stands up as one of the greatest in Hollywood history. Take two unlikely lovers, a bunch of crooks, drugs, guns and arguably the best script Quentin Tarantino has ever worked on, and you've got a cult classic if ever there was one.When comic book nerd Elvis falls in love with Alabama, the beau of a big time drug dealing pimp, the two have to race across country in an attempt to avoid the mob from whom they've accidentally stolen a suitcase of cocaine from. With violence around every corner, will they ever be free to just enjoy each other's company? Here's our Best Amazon Prime TV ShowsRival check: These are our best movies on Netflix UKAnd here are the best shows on NetflixThe best Netflix sci-fi movies you can stream right nowThe best horror movies you can scare yourself silly with Logan Lucky Brothers Jimmy, played by Channing Tatum, and Clyde, played by Adam Driver, plan to carry out an elaborate robbery during the Charlotte Motor Speedway. It's an action-packed comedy with a stellar cast, alongside Driver and Tatum, Daniel Craig, Hilary Swank, Katie Holmes and Sebastian Stan all star. Steven Soderbergh reportedly came out of retirement in order to direct and distribute Logan Lucky, if you wanted anymore proof it's definitely worth a watch. The Last Stand Arnie plays a small town sheriff on a border town who has to go head-to-head with a fugitive on the run from the FBI. It's not the best movie on offer, but if you like action, one liners and edge-of-yer-seat thrillers then it's one for you.   The Hurt Locker Kathryn Bigelow is one of the best action directors around, so it’s no surprise that The Hurt Locker won her the Best Director award at the Oscars - the first time a women won the accolade. What is surprising, though, is just how nuanced the film is. Given it’s about disposing of bombs, the tension is in the quiet moments, rather than when the explosions start.  Full Metal Jacket Stanley Kubrick's classic take on the Vietnam War follows the journey of Private Joker Davis, from his gruelling training regime all the way to marine status. It looks at the ups, downs, horrors and psychological damage of war. Free Fire Set in Boston in the late '70s, Free Fire is a fantastic, inventive film that mostly takes place in a warehouse. Because of the limited scenario, it's thanks to Ben Wheatley's effortless and stylish direction and the superb ensemble cast - and lots and lots of gun play - that Free Fire never becomes boring. The Man From U.N.C.L.E The Man From U.N.C.L.E is by no means a faithful adaptation of the TV show of the same name (the characters remain but everything else has changed) but it is a super-stylish crime caper from Guy Ritchie. It looks great, thanks to its '60s setting, and the cast are superb. Henry Cavill (a Brit playing an American CIA agent) finally shows the world the charisma he lacks as Superman, while Armie Hammer (an American playing a Russian) is fantastic as Cavill's KGB opposite. Alicia Vikander (a swede playing a German) shows off her funny side, while Elizabeth Debicki (a french woman playing someone who is not French) is great as the villain of the piece. It's a tad overlong and convoluted but a great, underrated watch. Heat Heat is widely regarded as Michael Mann’s best film. And it also has the classic combo of Robert De Niro and Al Pacino at the height of their acting powers. De Niro’s Neil McCauley is planning one last heist before retirement and Pacino’s Lieutenant Hanna has to stop him. A story of two flawed alpha males on each side of the law, their relationship is one of both enmity and respect. This isn’t your average by-the-numbers crime thriller. End of Watch Before David Ayer was assembling a Suicide Squad and creating one of the most abysmal comic-book movies ever, he made this highly original film that’s shot documentary style and focuses on a couple of cops whose job it is to patrol South Central LA and keep the peace. Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña are superb as the pair who risk life and limb to do their job. Given Ayer grew up on streets not dissimilar to what’s being portrayed in the movie, End of Watch is a searing and honest portrayal of an area of America few would dare venture. The Wave Norway isn’t renowned for its disaster movies, but with The Wave and Troll Hunter it is making a decent name for itself. The Wave is about a tsunami that hits the country when a Norwegian fjord collapses. Given the relatively low budget, not much disaster is actually seen. Instead we are let to deal with the individuals who are trying to survive the wave. As disaster movies go, this is one of the more interesting to watch. Get your free 30-day Amazon Prime trial Pawn Sacrifice Tobey Maguire plays American chess legend Bobby Fischer in this dramatic biographical film. It follows the true story of the 1972 World Chess Championship when the troubled genius Fischer battled Soviet Grandmaster Boris Spassky, played by Liev Schreiber. Perfect if you're looking for a gripping Cold War drama.  There Will Be Blood Award-winning US drama There Will Be Blood tells the compelling, chilling and at times very, very emotional tale of a silver miner-turned-oilman desperate to make a fortune during California's oil boom in the late 19th century. Critics loved the movie and Daniel Day-Lewis, who plays the lead role, landed himself a BAFTA, Oscar, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, NYFCC and IFTA Best Actor award for his performance. Wowee!  Last Flag Flying Based on Darryl Ponicsan's book of the same name, Last Flag Flying is Richard Linklater's latest movie starring Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston and Laurence Fishburne. That stellar line-up play three veterans who reunite after one of their sons is killed in the Iraq War.  The Florida Project Indie critical hit The Florida Project is one of the newer films on Amazon Video. It follows a summer in the life of six year-old Moonee, a joy-filled child who lives in a motel just outside Disney World. And the struggles of her mother as she tries to makes ends meet. The film is directed by Sean Baker, one of today’s most interesting indie film-makers. He also made 2015’s Tangerine, a low-budget hit shot entirely using iPhone 5 phones. Borg Vs McEnroe  Perhaps one of the most iconic tennis matches of all time has been immortalized in this drama from director Janus Metz Pedersen starring Sverrir Gudnason as Björn Borg and Shia LaBeouf as John McEnroe. This isn't just about the tennis though, as the drama follows how the legendary duel at Wimbledon affected the men's lives too. A Clockwork Orange We could argue all day about which of Stanley Kubrick’s films is the best. But A Clockwork Orange is up there with 2001: A Space Odyssey, Dr Strangelove and The Shining, no doubt. It’s an adaptation of Stanley Burgess’s novel of the same name. A Clockwork Orange follows Malcolm McDowell’s Alex and his gang of Droogs. They stalk the streets, committing acts of “ultra-violence” and talking in an affected argot. A description like this doesn’t uncover the unsettling and weird appeal of this 1971 classic, though. You’ll have to watch it. Falling Down William Foster is a man falling apart. He’s divorced, fired from his job, a middle-aged white man who feels like a victim of the world. So he takes to the streets with an uzi, terrorising ordinary people. Falling Down was a powerful film in 1993. The current issues of US gun policy and racial division make the movie seem as vital as ever. Michael Douglas plays the lead role, and some consider it to be the best performance of his career. Magnolia You’ll need to set an evening aside for this one. Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1999 Magnolia is a sprawling three-hour epic of the interconnecting lives of disparate people living in the San Fernando valley, Calfornia.Some criticise it for being overlong and melodramatic. But if you can submit to this film you’ll find it powerful and moving, an insight into human nature. “Do not expect subdued taste and restraint, but instead a kind of operatic ecstasy,” said movie reviewing legend Roger Ebert. Goodfellas An unalloyed classic among gangster films, Goodfellas isn’t to be missed. Ray Liotta is Henry Hill, a young man who idolises the gangster lifestyle and rises up through the ranks under the guidance of De Niro’s menacing but charismatic James “The Gent” Conway.There are guns, drugs and the downfall of powerful figures. It’s all laced with black comedy, and director Martin Scorsese's masterful movie-making doesn’t waste any of Goodfella’s two and a half hour run time. Dial M for Murder We're sure you've heard of this one. Dial M for Murder is a Hitchcock classic starring Ray Milland and Grace Kelly. Milland plays a man who suspects that his wife (Grace Kelly) is having an affair and blackmails an old friend to murder her. What follows is a thrilling crime drama that's a true classic.   The Lost City of Z Largely overlooked upon its release, The Lost City of Z is in fact a fascinating tale, with Charlie Hunnam playing real-life British explorer Percy Fawcett. At the turn of the 20th century he ventured into the heart of the Amazon, and discovered an unknown, advanced civilisation. It become a great passion, understanding this culture, with Fawcett returning multiple times to demystify a people previously considered "savages", before Fawcett himself mysteriously disappeared. If you're adverse to films starring Robert Pattinson (co-starring here) after his Twilight days, don't let that stop you from giving this wonderful film a go. Jackie Jackie is all about Natalie Portman. Her portrayal of Jackie Kennedy, days after the assassination of her husband and president of the United States John F Kennedy, is a masterclass of acting. She has studied footage of Jackie and got her mannerisms and speech imprint spot on. The film is a stark and intimate look and the former First Lady and is a rollercoaster of emotions. It's endlessly watchable and it's all because of Portman who earned (and subsequently missed out on) a well-deserved Best Actress Oscar nomination. Silence Martin Scorsese has been in the movie business long enough to do whatever he wants. Silence is his him at his most uncompromising. A difficult sell after the fleeting fun that was Wolf of Wall Street, Silence is a meditative, hard-to-watch movie about pilgrimage. Starring Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver as two monks who go on a journey to find a place where Christians are put to extremes to prove their love for god. It's a trying movie and one that takes the utmost concentration. It's not quite the masterpiece Scorsese was seeking, given he's been mulling the story for decades but it's a worthy, if meandering watch. Moonlight Moonlight is stunning film. Split into three parts, the movie charts the life of Chiron, a black man growing up in Miami. It's heartbreaking and uplifting in equal measure and just so happens to be the lowest-ever budgeted movie that has won the Best Picture Oscar. While the acting is superb in all three of the sections - it's the storytelling that really shines and shimmers here. It's captivating, brooding stuff. Manchester By The Sea It's hard not to write about Manchester By The Sea without stepping into spoiler territory so here's the broad strokes: Casey Affleck stars as a Boston janitor who has to take care of his brother's son after his brother dies. What ensues is a heartbreaking movie. Its backdrop is a snowy Manchester in Massachusetts, something that echoes the characters in the movie. This isn't a film that wraps up neatly in a bow in the end - it's much more closer to fractured, complicated business that is real life. Lion Lion sounds like a movie that's been manufactured for awards season but it's much cleverer than that. It's based on the true story of Saroo Brierley, a child from India separated from his family when he was just five years old and adopted by a couple from Tasmania. The story follows Saroo in his younger years then flips to him as an adult on the lookout for his real parents. Dev Patel is brilliant as the adult who goes on a journey to find out his true heritage. While it all sounds a little melodramatic, it really isn't - director Garth Davis  of Top Of The Lake fame manages to make a movie that's not too overly dramatic but really rather moving. I, Daniel Blake Some 40 films into his career, you would expect director Ken Loach's talents to be on the wane but I, Daniel Blake may well be his masterpiece. It's a superb study of the class system in the UK, and what happens when someone tries to be a better person despite bureaucracy stopping them from doing just that. Yes, it's political but Loach doesn't play this part of it up - it just naturally seeps through because of the frustrations the film presents. Essential stuff. The Impossible The Impossible is what Tom Holland was doing before he became Spider-Man, starring in a true tale about the devastating tsunami in Thailand. He is one of three sons of Naomi Watts and Ewen McGregor's characters and part of a compelling character study of what happens to people with natural disasters strike. Director JA Bayona proved he is a talent to look out for with The Impossible. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, which he is helming in 2018, should cement that fact. Room Brie Larson stars in this heartfelt study of human endurance. Larson is Ma. She has been imprisoned in a small shed for years, having to bring up her little boy Jack (a great Jacob Tremblay) in isolation. The film follows their story to the bittersweet end. For a film that’s mostly shot within the confines of a small room, director Lenny Abrahamson manages to eek out pathos in the mundane but it’s the acting of the two leads that’s the real reason to watch the heart-rending movie. Apocalypse Now Apocalypse Now is a rare gem of a movie. Born out of chaos, where leading actors had to be replaced, medical problems blighted the shoot and Marlon Brando went somewhat off piste, it’s a miracle there was any film at all to show for the shoot, let alone one of the greatest movies ever made. Based loosely on Joseph Conrad’s novella Heart of Darkness, the film follows a soldier’s descent into hell as he tries to track down the elusive Colonel Kurtz, a decorated war veteran who has seemingly gone mad. From the amazing visuals, to the sweeping score, to the acting chops of the main cast, Apocalypse Now is a terrifying masterclass in filmmaking. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy John LeCarre’s superb spy novel is given a decent adaptation, thanks to Let Me In director Tomas Alfredson’s measured, careful take on the source material. Gary Oldman is superb as George Smiley, the veteran spy catcher brought out of retirement to find an Russian mole in the ranks of the MI6. Even if you know who the mole is, the way the film unfurls this information is utterly captivating. Spotlight A deserved winner of the Best Film Oscar, Spotlight is a searing look at investigative journalism at its finest - trying to uncover the truth of child abuse within the Catholic church. The film is a true testament to real journalism and throws shade at online clickbait and its erosion of proper investigative news gathering. Oh. The King's Speech Another Oscar winner seemingly grown in a petri dish for the sole purpose to win awards, The King's Speech is one man's struggle to get over a speech impediment and subsequent fear of public speech - it just so happens this man is also the king of England. For all its faults, it tugs on the right strings and is very watchable. The Deer Hunter The Russian roulette scene may be what most people think of when someone chats about Deer Hunter but the movie has so much more to offer. It shows the horrors of war during and after the Vietnam conflict, shining a light on what a situation like that does to a person and their relationships. It's a gruelling but sometimes beautiful watch. Mulholland Drive What started off as a failed TV pilot ended up being one of David Lynch’s most accomplished films. As with any Lynch movie describing the plot won't do Mulholland Drive justice. What starts off as a portrayal of a woman seeking fame in Hollywood ends up being a nightmarish look at the duality of personality and what happens when reality turns into a fever dream. Captain Fantastic It’s great to see Viggo Mortensen back as a leading man and Captain Fantastic suits his eclectic sensibilities down to the ground. It’s a film about a family of homeschooled children who have lived off-grid with their eccentric parents. When their mother dies, they come back to civilisation with a bump. Mortensen is superb as the grizzled patriarch and the casting of the kids is spot on. In a film full of surprises, perhaps the most surprising thing about Captain Fantastic is its writer-director Matt Ross. He plays Gavin Belson in Silicon Valley! Get your free 30-day Amazon Prime trial Interstellar Even when Christopher Nolan missteps, he still manages to hide the stumble with a highly orchestrated dance routine. Interstellar is overblown and weighed down by its own importance but, boy, is it an epic watch. Matthew McConaughey stars as Cooper, a farmer and former test pilot who helps on a mission to save the people of Earth, which is ravaged by lack of land resource. The mission involves going to space and entering a wormhole and exploring a new planet that may have the means for sustaining human life. The film falls in on itself as it nears its conclusion but it’s a bold, measured ride into the unknown with some of the best visuals Nolan has created. Just don’t go expecting a masterpiece, however. The Island The Island may not be new, but it's new to Amazon Prime Video and it's a sci-fi action movie with a fairly smart, interesting plot. Directed and co-produced by Michael Bay, it follows the story of Lincoln Six Echo (played by Ewan McGregor) and Jordan Two Delta (played by Scarlett Johansson), who are trapped on an island for pretty dark and scary reasons. As you can guess, they escape and try to figure out the nature of their existence and why they're been kept captive. Colossal Fancy something a bit offbeat and wacky to watch today? This Anne Hathaway-starring film features an unemployed young writer who finds out she's the reason a giant monster is causing havoc on the other side of the planet. The film also stars Jason Sudeikis and Dan Stevens, and it's ready to watch on Amazon Prime now. Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring  It’s the movie that started two decades of Gollum impressions and Gandalf quotes. The Fellowship of the Ring is the first third of the Lord of the Rings saga, starting in the Shire. It dramatises all the delicious backstory that makes fantasy epics seem so grand.We only get the standard theatrical cut of Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring on Amazon Video, and neither of the two films that followed. But this three-hour cut is worth revisiting. While visual effects have improved a lot since this film’s release, its grand vistas filmed in New Zealand are still quite something to witness. Inception A dream with a dream within a dream. When Inception arrived it did so with a similar impact as The Matrix, a decade earlier. It made you think, but was wrapped around a blockbuster shell that demanded to be seen on the big screen. But, hey, lots of us have big screens in our living rooms these days.Leonardo DiCaprio is a thief who enters people’s subconscious to plant ideas in their minds. But when the border between the dream world and reality has been broken, how can you tell which you’re in? Inception had all the makings of a high-concept hokey mess on paper but Christopher Nolan turned it into one of the best action films of recent decades. Gremlins We know you know Gremlins. This is the film that tells the story of a young man who receives a Furby-like creature as a pet and fails to follow every instruction with regards to its care. What results is an army of destructive, evil Gremlins set on destroying a small town at Christmas. It's a festive classic. Arrival Like aliens and whiteboards? Get you a movie that can do both. Arrival was an astonishing science fiction film, released towards the end of 2016, and making its way to Amazon Prime Video before it's even landed on cable or satellite TV in the UK. Based on the novella 'Stories of Your Life' by Ted Chiang, and directed by Sicario director Denis Villeneuve (whose next task will be the long-awaited sequel to Blade Runner), it's a fantastic film exploring love, loss, communication and the lengths we should all be prepared to go to in order to understand, accept and value the differences between us. Super 8 If you bypassed this sci-fi movie from J.J. Abrams when it was first released in 2011, it's definitely worth watching now. It'll especially appeal to those who really got into Stranger Things, as well as those with a soft spot for classic coming-of-age adventure movies, like E.T. and The Goonies. There's a lot of great character development, mystery, action, sci-fi and, of course, lots of lens flare because it's a J. J. Abrams movie after all. Looper One of the more interesting sci-fi movies of the past decade and a huge reason why director Rian Johnson got the Star Wars: Episode VIII gig. Looper focuses on the timey wimey tale of a bunch of hitmen, whose job it is to send people from the future into the past to kill them. Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are superb in the film, which manages to take complex ideas and boil them down into an entertaining popcorn thriller. Attack The Block Star Wars alumni John Boyega got his first break on this great UK indie, as did newly instated Doctor Who Jodie Whittaker. Attack The Block is the first movie by Joe Cornish - of Adam and Joe fame - and it’s an absolute corker. Aliens have come to earth to wreak havoc and it’s down to a South London gang to make sure their neighbourhood doesn’t become a disaster zone. Full of warm wit and fantastic humour - not to mention some startling special effects - the movie mashes together a number of genres together and has a whole lot of fun doing it. Source Code You wait years for a sci-fi movie that’s influenced by Groundhog Day to come along and then two appear at once. Yes, Source Code has a similar time-repeating plot to Edge of Tomorrow but it’s less bombastic and more thoughtful in its approach. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as the soldier who only has eight minutes to stop a bomber on a busy train, before time resets and he has to do the whole thing again. Duncan Jones does well in the director seat, managing to make a plot device that could grow old rather quick really work. Get your free 30-day Amazon Prime trial Legend It’s by no means a perfect movie, but Legend has two fantastic central performances… both played by Tom Hardy. Hardy is both Ronald and Reggie Kray, the notorious twins that ruled half of London’s underworld in the Sixties. Legend is about their rise and subsequent fall, shot through the lens of Reggie’s relationship with Frances Shea, the ever-brilliant Emily Browning. While Legend doesn’t offer anything different to the, er, legend of the Krays it’s still a brutal and occasionally funny watch. Jackie Brown Quentin Tarantino's 1987 crime thriller is about a stewardess called Jackie Brown who smuggles money from Mexico to L.A. for a big arms dealer. She gets caught, but strikes a deal with the agents to help them bring down her boss in exchange for her going free. Of course there are other plans afoot and a dramatic thriller unfolds about crime, deceit and corruption. It's got all the twists and turns of a Tarantino flick with some stellar acting from Pam Grier, who plays Jackie Brown, as well as Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Keaton.  Swordfish This slick and stylish thriller is about a mystery man who hires a hacker to steal billions from a government bank account. An FBI computer crime specialist is one step ahead and gets involved in the action too. It's got a stellar cast with John Travolta and Hugh Jackman in the lead roles supported by Halle Berry. It's fast-paced, thrilling and full of plenty of twists and turns.  The Killing of a Sacred Deer Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos or The Lobster and Dogtooth fame, The Killing of a Sacred Deer is an intense psychological horror movie based on the Greek play Iphigenia at Aulis by Euripides. It follows the story of a successful cardiac surgeon (played by Colin Farrell) who befriends a mysterious teen. As you'd expect from a psychological horror from Lanthimos, this is hardly an easy Sunday afternoon watch. You've been warned. The Handmaiden Describe a movie as erotic and it usually conjures up something that's utterly not sexy like 50 Shades of Grey or the Lego Movie. The Handmaiden, though, is erotic and shimmers as a result. Directed by South Korean's finest, Park Chan-wook, the movie is masterful in its suspense and when sex is shown - and it's a lot of the time - it's used to bolster the characters and the story, rather than for pure titillation. The Handmaiden is yet another new release that's headed to Amazon Prime Video - we're not sure why it keeps getting all these 'just released on Blu-ray' movies but we're happy that it's happening. Shutter Island Nothing is as it seems in Martin Scorsese's chilling Shutter Island. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as a marshal who investigates the disappearance of a patient at Boston's Shutter Island Ashecliffe Hospital. The hospital is one renowned for bizarre experiments on its inmates which ups the freaky ante somewhat. Then things get really scary and a lot more obscure when a hurricane cuts the island off from the mainland. This is definitely a film you will want to watch again, probably straight after you watch it the first time. Munich Steven Spielberg ratchets up the tension to near breaking point in Munich - a wonderful movies that charts the Black September aftermath. The movie follows the assassin's whose job it was to rid the world of those who created the atrocities that saw a number of Israeli athletes killed at the Munich Olympics in 1972. Girl On The Train It's difficult to talk about Girl On The Train without giving a twisty plot point or two away. So, let's just say that Emma Blunt is great in this tense thriller that does justice to the hugely successful book. The only issue we have is the whole plot has been transposed to an American town. We prefer the distinctly British setting. Other than that, prepared to be both shocked and entertained. Hell Or High Water Taylor Sheridan is a man of many talents. Not only has he starred in hit shows such as Sons of Anarchy and Veronica Mars, he's also penned some of the finest thrillers in recent years. First there was the superb Sicario and now Hell Or High Water, for which he was nominated for a Best Screenplay Oscar. It's easy to see why, this is a taut, tense film about two brothers who turn to bank robbery to help their family. Starring Chris Pine, Ben Foster and Jeff Bridges, the film is a fast-paced modern take on the Western. Chloe Director Atom Egoyan is not one to take the conventional route when telling his tales - and Chloe is no different. Starring  Julianne Moore, Amanda Seyfried and Liam Neeson, it’s about a seemingly normal couple who resort to using a sex worker to test the trust in their relationship. This turns out to be a very bad decision. The film is a remake of the superior French drama Nathalie but it’s a decent thriller that manages to walk the line between gratuity and maturity well. 99 Homes This is a devastating film. Based on the true events of what is still a recent economic disaster in the US, 99 Homes is about Andrew Garfield’s Dennis Nash, someone whose home faces foreclosure. To make ends meet he starts working for the real estate company - and the villainous Michael Shannon - that caused him and his family to lose his home. It’s a convoluted but brazen look at what can happen to a person when they are on the brink of losing everything. Fish Tank Andrea Arnold’s second movie was the one that cemented her as one of the UK’s best filmmakers. Fish Tank stars Katie Jarvis and Michael Fassbender as a teenager and the boyfriend of her mother. An uneasy relationship is struck between them both that goes from bad to worse. This is one of Fassbender’s first starring roles and watching it back, it’s easy to see why he’s such a big star now. The Place Beyond The Pines This is most definitely a movie of two halves - in that something significant happens midway through that changes both the pace and tone of the movie considerably. For some, the shift is too much but it really does work. Ryan Gosling plays Luke, a fantastic stunt motorcyclist turned bank robber who’s trying to do the best for his family. Eva Mendes is his estranged partner, while Bradley Cooper crops up as Avery, a good cop that’s trying to make the best out of some terrible situations. Brilliantly acted and expertly told, The Place Beyond The Pines is a powerful movie watching experience. Get your free 30-day Amazon Prime trial Submarine Richard Ayoade has proved over two feature films that he is a director to watch. While The Double was a fascinating Gilliam-esque comedy thriller, his first movie was much more in keeping with the French New Wave, despite being set in the depths of Wales. It’s set in 1980s Swansea and focuses on the relationship between a teenage loner and a girl who seems to share his passion for doom and gloom. Craig Roberts is fantastic as the loner - a role that won him plaudits and the starring role in Amazon Prime’s fantastic TV show Red Oaks. Clueless Is this the perfect film? You wouldn’t notice from Clueless’s bubblegum sheen, but its plot and characters are based on those of Emma by Jane Austen. This is no period piece, mind, but one of the best romantic comedies of all time. Alicia Silverstone is Cher, a pampered teen who gives the new girl in school, Tai, a makeover. She thinks it’s Tai that’s “clueless”, but finds it’s her who needs to re-think her life. That’s the cheesy movie poster version anyway. As usual, Paul Rudd oozes charm, playing Cher’s half brother. And the script is razor-sharp. Few movies hold up to repeat viewings over the years as well as Clueless. Anchorman Not every film on your must-see list needs to be from the IMDb top 250. Anchorman is a deeply silly Will Ferrel vehicle from 2004. He plays chauvinist, incompetent TV anchor Ron Burgundy who starts to fall apart when a female anchor joins his team.    On first sight it seems the pairing of comedy greats Steve Carrell, Ferrel, David Koechner and Paul Rudd that makes Anchorman work. However, just as Spinal Tap skewers something real, elements of Anchorman’s setting in the world of local news TV ring true. Practical Magic Starring Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock as two witch sisters who use their magical powers in a quest to break a curse and find love. A pretty standard romantic comedy elevated by an excellent cast, this is one worth watching if you're in the mood for something light-hearted. Addams Family Values While the first Addams Family was a fun but flawed reboot of the old TV show, Addams Family Values is a subversive gem. Comedy sequels are rarely better than the first movie but what Barry Sonnenfeld did with Values was make it far more twisted than anyone expecting. Whether it's cooking strippers alive (Lurch), various attempts by Wednesday and Pugsley to kill their newly born brethren or the constant references to Morticia and Gomez’s sex life it's a whole lot of ooky fun. Mindhorn A once-famous actor in the '80s tries to resurrect his career in Mindhorn, a superb pastiche of cop shows of old. Julian Barrett is on top form as the titular Mindhorn, whose desperate attempt to become relevant again means he unwittingly finds himself in a murder investigation on the  Richard Thorncroft. Goon As underrated movies go, Goon is pretty much on top of the list. Wrongly brushed aside as another farcical American Pie style movie, because it's got Seann William Scott in it, Goon is much more than that. It's funny, yes, but it's also an affectionate look at the underdog, filled with some pretty big scenes of violence and a number of tender moments too. There's a sequel in the works, which is fantastic news, as Goon is a little-watched gem. The School Of Rock This shouldn't work. Jack Black as a high school teacher teaching kids to play music sounds like it has 'straight to video' written all over it but School of Rock is a whole lot of fun. Director Richard Linklater and writer Mike White take most of the sickly sweet moments  out of the movie and leave a fun, riotous movie that is a brilliant showcase of Jack Black's talents. The film has been a big hit since its launch and has recently been turned into a stage production, sans Jack Black though - he's still raking it in through his movies. Toni Erdmann This is a superb movie. It's so good that a US remake has already been announced. Toni Erdmann is about an estranged father trying to reconnect with his daughter in a rather bizarre way: by pretending to be her boss's life coach.  It's a surreal movie, packed with embarrassing moments and some surprising empathy. Ted Ted shouldn’t work. It’s a comedy about a man and his childhood toy, which just happens to be alive. That man is the normally dour Mark Whalberg, the toy is voiced by Seth MacFarlane and sounds strangely like Peter Griffin in Family Guy. But it does work - it’s occasionally laugh out loud, funny throughout and proves that Whalberg does comedy best when he’s just playing a more earnest version of himself. Unfortunately all of this come untangled in its disappointing sequel, but the original Ted is well worth a watch. Four Lions It’s a shame that Chris Morris doesn’t do more stuff as when his new projects come along they always change the game in some way. Four Lions finds humour in one of the most serious subjects: terrorism. For a film shot in 2010, it’s still surprisingly current. It follows docu-style British jihadists who are trying to conjure up a terror plot. The problem is, they’re idiots. Starring, among others, Riz Ahmed, Four Lions is funny, frank and endlessly controversial. But it’s done in such a way that you can’t help but admire the movie. Moonrise Kingdom Wes Anderson's style is so unique that he’s following some of his director heroes - David Lynch, Stanley Kubrick etc - and becoming an adjective. If a film is Wes-like, then it’s filled with childhood wonder, symmetry and quirk. Moonrise Kingdom is packed with all of this and is about two children who escape from a town in the US, only to be tracked down by a search party. It’s a wonderfully innocent movie drenched in melancholy but funny with it. Bruce Willis, Edward Norton and Bill Murray all star but its real stars are the children - played by Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward. In The Loop It’s a shame that The Thick Of It never hit the big screen. What with Brexit madness and the UK government a mess of contradictions, a movie starring Malcolm Tucker swearing them all into shape is sorely needed. In The Loop is the closest thing we’ve got. It’s a strange movie as it takes strands from The Thick Of It and ports it to the US. This means the film is a hybrid of The Thick of It and the US show Veep. What we do get though is Malcolm Tucker (a never-bettered Peter Capaldi), full of vim and vigor, spinning his way through the choppy waters that is US politics. It’s not perfect, but as satires go it’s one of the most searing. Get your free 30-day Amazon Prime trial Where the Wild Things Are We tend to feel protective when movie producers get their hands on texts from our childhoods. However, Spike Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are captures the wonder and adventure of Maurice Sendak’s children’s book, on which it is based. Max is a young boy who finds himself in the land of the Wild Things. They’re the big furry creatures you’ll have seen if you’ve ever walked down the children’s lit aisle at a bookshop. Max becomes their leader, and the film follows their adventures. Where the Wild Things Are is a little darker than you might expect, earning a PG rating. However, it is also a useful exploration of anger, with greater depth than many a family film.  Rango When Gore Verbinski set sail for The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise everyone thought we would never see him make an indie film again but then came Rango. A brilliant, subversive animation, Rango is an LSD-tinged Western where all the characters are animals or lizards. Johnny Depp plays Rango, a chameleon who leaves his family home and ends up in the strange town of Dirt. Brilliantly, nutty stuff. Your Name A surprise 2016 hit that saw a rare mainstream overseas success for Japanese anime, Your Name is a supernatural high-school-romance-come-body-swap disaster movie. Yep – there's a lot going on here, as a teenage boy and girl find themselves inhabiting each other's bodies, slowly unravelling the mystery surrounding their condition – and that of an awful disaster. J J Abrams of Lost and Star Wars fame is said to be looking into making a live-action version, such was the success of the animation – but it'll take something to top the magnificent original. The Red Turtle Will the magic ever dim at Studio Ghibli? The lyrical animation powerhouse delivers yet again with The Red Turtle, the story of a man shipwrecked on a remote island, inhabited just by turtles, crabs and other critters. What appears a simple story slowly peels back to reveal hidden depths, with Studio Ghibli's inimitable attention to detail in animation remaining the industry benchmark. Batman Beyond - Return of the Joker  Everyone loves it when Batman meets the Joker but this movie does it with a twist. The Batman that meets the joker here is Terry McGinnis, a new Batman mentored by an ageing Bruce Wayne. McGinnis is equipped with new-fangled tech to make sure the Joker and his gang don’t end up running the city, but it also takes some old-school advice from Bruce Wayne to save the day. Superman - Doomsday Based on the controversial Death of Superman storyline, this animated movie is all about Doomsday - the hideous creature that puts an end to Superman. Although it’s faithful to the comic-book series from which it is adapted, it is all a little rushed. But great animation and voice talent - Adam Baldwin is superb as Supes and James Marsters is menacing as Lex Luthor - make this film a must watch, especially if you are annoyed with the treatment of Superman in the recent DC movie universe. Batman - Mask of the Phantasm When people argue about the best Batman, Kevin Conroy’s name never comes up. But it really really should. He’s been voice acting as Batman for a number of years and one of the best ways to hear his dark, dulcet tones is by watching Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. This animated movie pitched Batman against another masked vigilante - one that wants to bring Gotham City to justice. If that wasn’t enough, The Joker makes an appearance too. The film is a must for those who grew up on Burton’s Batman and had their faith restored with Chris Nolan’s interpretation. If it wasn’t animated, Mask of the Phantasm would be hailed as one of the best Batman movies. It’s certainly the best Batman animated movie. Bridge to Terabithia This isn’t the film that was advertised but it is still a great children’s movie. When it was promoted back in 2007, you would be forgiven that this is a fantasy epic. While there are those elements, they only make for a section of the movie. The rest is a sad, gripping tale about the relationship between two school friends who deal with the darkness in their lives by creating the imaginary world of Terabithia. Son of Rambow One of the most endearing coming-of-age movies you are likely to see, Son of Rambow is about two children growing up in the ’80s who are obsessed with Rambo. So much, they decide to make their own version of the movie with the help of their friends. What ensues is a fun, inventive film about the magic of childhood friendship and imagination. Directed by music video supremo Garth Jennings, Son of Rambow is a trio of love letters: one to the Eighties, one to home videos and the other to the cartoon violence that was born out of an era where Stallone, Schwarzenegger and Willis ruled the box office. Get your free 30-day Amazon Prime trial Lost In Translation Lost in Translation is a superb, dreamlike movie that wonderfully captures feeling of alienation and loneliness you can feel in a city you don’t belong in. The city in question is Tokyo, the lonely people are Bill Murray as an ageing actor and Scarlett Johansson as a college graduate left to her own devices by her photographer husband. The chemistry between Murray and Johansson is electric, both endearing and hilarious, as is the soundtrack and the way the film slowly creeps up on you in an wonderful way. Gone with the Wind Today your best chances of seeing a film that pushes past the three hour mark are from Bollywood epics or ultra-slow art house films. But 1939’s Gone With the Wind is a four hour romance story. When Harry Met Sally this is not.Our lead is Scarlett O’Hara, a name so famous you’d swear it was the actor (Vivien Leigh), not the character. Gone with the Wind follows her life, around the time of the US civil war, on a plantation in Georgia. And, supplying the romance, her knotted affairs with Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard) and Rhett Butler (Clark Gable). Its portrayal of slavery and the deep south may jar for the modern viewer, but this remains a classic watch. Before Sunrise Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise is a simple, beautiful romantic movie about an American man who meets a French woman and they spent the whole night walking around the city together. Because they both don't think they'll see each other again, they end up sharing a lot about their lives, their fears and everything in-between. But it turns out they do see each other again (erm, spoiler alert?) because Linklater followed the movie up with two others, Before Sunset and Before Midnight. The Big Sick Loosely based of the real lives of the film's stars, Emily V Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani play an interracial couple who have to deal with Emily becoming ill and how cultural differences affect the couple. The film has been nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards 2018, but it's already on Amazon Prime ahead of this year's big ceremony. Vicky Cristina Barcelona Woody Allen managed to assemble a cracking ensemble for Vicky Cristina Barcelona. The film is a fun look at friends Vicky Cristina (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) as they travel to Barcelona and meet a mysterious artist, played by Javier Bardem. It’s all sex and sultriness until his unhinged ex-wife appears. She’s played by Penelope Cruz with such magnetism that you are drawn to her and kind of forget the rest of the characters. It’s not Allen at his best but even his ‘good enough’ films are a cut above most. Blue Valentine There’s a deep, maddening love portrayed in Blue Valentine that is so powerful it ends up being destructive. With that in mind, this isn’t the movie to put on if you don’t want you and your loved one to question your own relationship. It’s a brutal, raw movie that focuses on the relationship between married couple Dean and Cindy, played by Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams respectively. They are two people in love, pushed apart by circumstance. The story flits back and forth in time, so with each tender moment you get anguish. Powerful stuff. Carol Todd Haynes is one of the world's most fascinating directors, who loves to mine different eras for inspiration. While he courted the ’70s with Velvet Goldmine and I’m Not There, it is perhaps the ’50s where he has managed to use the tensions of the era to create superb character dramas. Carol is just that, a romantic tale between two women - Rooney Mara is the clerk that falls in love with Cate Blanchett’s character who is unhappy in a marriage of convenience. The anxieties and problems Haynes highlights in his earlier movie Safe are back with Carol. In this movie, though, everything has been given a more sumptuous sheen. Knight of Cups Thank goodness we live in an era where Terrence Malick is back and making movies on a regular basis. Knight of Cups is as dreamlike and fractured as you have come to expect from the revered director. As with all his movies, it’s clear he shot way more footage and didn’t decide on what film he was making until he hit the edit suite, but that’s part of its charm. Here we see Christian Bale as Rick, a writer who flits between Vegas and LA with six different women. Vegas is perfect Territory for Malick, a desert of neon suits his filmmaking style. While the supporting cast Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman and Freida Pinto all add gravitas to the film. Once Writer-director John Carney’s debut is a low-budget joy that’s since been turned into a very successful play. The plot is slight: a busker and immigrant spend a week in Dublin falling in love and making music together. But it’s the songs that make the movie. Each one is a gem, sprinkled throughout the movie to give it a musical quality. Carney’s latest Sing Street is well worth a watch, too. Get your free 30-day Amazon Prime trial Amy The Amy documentary is a hard watch, one that will have you fighting back tears. The talent on show is blighted by the talent that is thrown away. The doc showcases Amy Winehouse in her early years, using archive footage of the star that shows just how much of a talent she was. There are talking heads with her family - including her husband - as well as good friends of hers. Dark Days This documentary may have gained prominence thanks to its DJ Shadow soundtrack, but it’s the subject matter that makes Dark Days such a must watch. Shot and directed by Marc Singer, Dark Days shines a light on those who live in underground tunnels under New York. Criminally, this was Singer’s only foray into documentary filmmaking but at least he created a classic. Gimme Danger Jim Jarmusch uses music in his movies to fine effect, so it makes complete sense that he is the one to helm a documentary about The Stooges and their enigmatic frontman, Iggy Pop. The Stooges may not have hit the heights of, say, The Rolling Stones but they’re an important piece of the rock puzzle. This doc does well to uncover what made the band tick, complete with recent talking heads with members of the band. The Beatles: Eight Days A Week A-list director Ron Howard took a break from feature-filmmaking to direct this documentary about the most famous band ever. It’s a slick production, meshing old interviews, archive footage and new interviews with the surviving members together to create a vivid look at a band in their pomp to their rather sour end. Man on Wire Forget the rather disappointing 3D movie and instead focus on this riveting documentary about a French high-wire artist who decides to one day scale one of the towers World Trade Center and walk across to the other one using just a tightrope. It’s utterly absorbing Man on Wire features an in-depth interview with the person that did the stunt, Philippe Petit. The way he tells the story of how he got past security to walk the Twin Towers is as engrossing as any heist movie. Marley Bob Marley’s music is as strong today as when it was released back in the ‘70s. His politics are as strong as they are now, his protest songs have lost none of their vibrancy. Which is why Marley is such a brilliant watch. It tells the tale of how Marley brought his music to the masses, his love of football and his life living in both London and Jamaica - all of which are brought brilliantly to life by interviews with friends and family and archive footage. Get your free 30-day Amazon Prime trial Kill List Director Ben Wheatley adds the right amount of realism and menace to Kill List - a film that is never quite what it seems. On the face of it, it’s a kitchen sink drama about a hitman and his latest assignment to kill three people but as the story unravels so does the hitman’s life (played in earnest by the brilliant Neil Maskell). It flirts at being a family drama, teases you that it’s a crime saga then hits you with the most relentless horror that you’ll be watching the end behind your hands. Great stuff. The Faculty This teen horror flick comes straight from the minds of the Scream and Scream 2 creators, so expect nerds, jocks and lots of teen drama with plenty of gore and frights thrown in for good measure. But in our books there's something a bit different about The Faculty that makes it a not-so-guilty guilty pleasure. Whether it's the compelling cast (with Elijah Wood, Josh Hartnett and Famke Janssen), dark yet ridiculous tone or parasitic creatures from another planet, it's a fun flick for the weekend.  Constantine You can rarely go wrong with an action horror starring Keanu Reeves and Constantine is one such movie. Reeves takes up the role of John Constantine, a man who can see half-breed angels and demons who stalk the Earth disguised as humans. Driven to attempt suicide by his visions, Constantine is returned to the land of the living and must use his gift to protect humanity an earn his place in Heaven.   The Shining We know what you're thinking. Why has The Shining only just arrived on Amazon Prime Video? Well, worry not. Stanley Kubrick's classic movie about family, isolation and plenty of unnerving, bloody horror is now available to stream on Amazon Prime. The film is a true classic for a whole host of reasons, from Kubrick's ambitious film-making to spectacular performances from the cast and a score that makes your skin tingle. It's always worthy of a re-watch, just go and check all the doors and windows are locked first before you really get stuck in. Train To Busan South Korea has slowly but surely marked itself out as a country that's producing some fantastic filmmakers. Interestingly, two of the best movies from South Korean directors of recent times have been based on trains - Joon-ho Bong's Snowpiercer (which criminally never got a UK release) and Sang-ho Yeon’s Train To Busan. Train To Busan is a brilliant zombie horror movie. By having most of the action take place on a train, we see what it's like when a zombie epidemic takes hold in close confines, complete with cloying claustrophobia. It's part action movie, part love story, all character study, showing that a situation such as a freaking zombie outbreak can bring out the best and the very worst in people. Hell House LLC Well this was unexpected. The name Hell House LLC doesn't exactly scream 'must watch' but despite its rather Grindhouse-esque title, this is a brilliant slice of horror. The plot is simple: a group of friends who create haunted house experiences for Halloween find a house to convert that's seemingly filled with real-life ghosts. The movie is their footage spliced together, with police reports and the like. The found footage genre is rather stagnant now but Hell House manages to breathe new life into it, mustering up some genuine scares that will have even the most hardened horror fans watching from behind their fingers. Its final scenes don't quite match what went before it (or make much sense) but this is one of the best horror films to come out in years. Sinister Sinister is that rare horror film: it has brains, A-listers and is still really scary. Ethan Hawke is a true crime writer. After finding a box of what he thinks is footage of murders committed by a serial killer, things start to go very bad in his life. Director Scott Derrickson may have recently made the more family friendly Doctor Strange, but with Sinister he proves that he is just as adept at garnering scares as he is guiding the Marvel universe. Pontypool A low-budget chiller that takes place in a small town in Ontario, Canada (bet you can’t guess its name) and follows the exploits of a talk radio team who are reporting on strange goings on in the town. It’s essentially a movie about zombies but distilled through the eyes of a small, yet vocal, group of people. Its budget may well be small but its ambition is big and that’s what makes Pontypool such a fun watch. I Saw the Devil This serial killer cat-and-mouse movie is one of the most visceral around. Starring Old Boy’s Min-Sik Choy as the killer, the film is graphic in its content - Its tale of revenge is uncompromising - but is a fantastic watch. It’s also one of the best movies from director Jee-woon Kim who has a platinum line-up of films, including A Tale of Two Sisters, A Bittersweet Life and to a lesser extent his sole US movie, The Last Stand. Get your free 30-day Amazon Prime trial Source link