Films To Watch Before You Die #60 - Boogie Nights (1997)

D.J. Haza presents the next entry in his series of films to watch before you die...

Boogie Nights, 1997.

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.
Starring Mark Wahlberg, Julianne Moore, Burt Reynolds, Don Cheadle, John C. Reilly, Heather Graham and William H. Macy.

Boogie Nights is the story of Dirk Diggler (Wahlberg) and how he and his extremely large penis take the Golden Age of Porn by storm as success brings him everything he dreamed of before he loses it all.

Eddie Adams is a nobody working in a San Fernando Valley nightclub when porn director Jack Horner (Reynolds) discovers him. After and audition that sees Jack watch Adams have sex with Rollergirl (Graham), a roller skate wearing porn starlet, he is thrown into the industry and takes on the screen name Dirk Diggler.

Diggler achieves huge success and stars in a host of action themed porn films with his friends Reed Rothchild (Reilly). As the money rolls in Diggler is able to buy everything he dreamed of – a house, an extensive wardrobe and his prized Chevrolet Corvette. The big movers and shakers of the Golden Age of Porn live the dream as they all revel in each other’s success, but it doesn’t all last. As the drugs get out of control and each of their lives becomes complicated with their own personal issues the dream begins to turn sour. Diggler falls out with Jack and decides on doing his own thing.

As fun turns into addiction and violence Diggler finds himself penniless and turning to prostitution and drugs scams for cash. When a deal goes wrong and Diggler realises he has nowhere to go he reconciles with Jack and attempts to get back to what he does best – making porn films.

Boogie Nights is a film you must see before you die as director Paul Thomas Anderson’s classic take on the porn industry manages to bring sex, violence and drama all together with a clear tongue-in-cheek comedy that shows the story behind the scenes of an industry that on film looks so glamorous. Sex is work for these people and nothing to be prudish about.


D.J. Haza

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Films To Watch Before You Die #59 - Trainspotting (1996)

D.J. Haza presents the next entry in his series of films to watch before you die...

Trainspotting, 1996.

Directed by Danny Boyle.
Starring Ewan McGregor, Jonny Lee Miller, Ewen Bremner, Robert Carlyle, Kevin McKidd and Kelly Macdonald.

Danny Boyle’s stylish and charismatic film adapted from the Irvine Welsh novel of the same name tells the story of a group of heroin addicted friends from an impoverish area of Edinburgh as their lives unfold.

Renton (McGregor), Spud (Bremner), Sick Boy (Miller), Tommy (McKidd) and Begbie (Carlyle) are the friends whose lives are under the microscope as each of them heads down a dark and destructive path of drugs and crime. The story’s main character Renton decides on quitting drugs and after one final hit he locks himself away from the world as he’s gripped by the horrors of withdrawal.

Once finally out the other side he finds his sex drive has returned and during a night out clubbing he pulls Diane (Macdonald), but it’s only when he wakes in the morning he realises she is a 15-year-old schoolgirl living with her parents. Horrified by this discovery he tries to forget about it all, but still remains friends with her.

As Renton lives a clean and sober lifestyle he becomes bored with his life and attempts to find a way out by moving to London and taking on a job. However, his friends catch up with him and trouble isn’t far behind. When they all return to Edinburgh for the funeral of Tommy they manage to come together and pull off a very profitable drug deal. As the celebrate their success they all crash at a hotel, but whilst they sleep Renton has plans of his own and makes off with the cash promising us he’s going to live a different life.

Trainspotting is a film you must see before you die as it’s a rip roaring journey to the depths of drugs abuse and the darkness of the story is illuminated by Boyle’s visionary directing and a killer sound track. The film also offers one of the all time great film monologues as Renton discusses choosing life.


D.J. Haza

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Films To Watch Before You Die #58 - Unforgiven (1992)

D.J. Haza presents the next entry in his series of films to watch before you die...

Unforgiven, 1992.

Directed by Clint Eastwood.
Starring Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, Richard Harris, Jaimz Woolvett and Saul Rubinek.

Unforgiven is the magnificent and dark story of William Munny (Eastwood) returning to his old ways as a gunslinger and taking on one last job in order to feed his young family. The film is one of only three Westerns ever to win the Oscar for Best Picture after Cimarron (1931) and Dances with Wolves (1990).

The story follows Munny as he leaves his new life of farming with his two young children in order to take on the job of killing two cowboys in Big Whiskey, Wyoming. The cowboys took it upon themselves to brutally cut up the face of a prostitute in the town and the other local prostitutes have all banded together and put up money out of their own pockets in order to see justice for their friend. Enough money to turn Munny’s fortunes around.

Munny is approached by the Schofield Kid (Jaimz Woolvett), who wants him to ride along for the job after hearing the tales of old, picturing Munny as a wild and cold-hearted killer. Munny constantly plays down the stories and enlists the help of his old friend and former gunslinger Ned (Freeman). As the three ride towards the town it’s clear the Kid has little or no experience and his eyesight is pretty poor. After arriving in the town and having a run in with the local sheriff, Little Bill (Hackman), the three of them escape to a barn outside of town where they hold up for a few days.

After Munny kills one of the cowboys Ned decides on leaving due to his lack of appetitive for this lifestyle anymore and Munny confesses he doesn’t wish to return to his old ways either. However, Munny and the Kid continue on and the Kid kills the second cowboy before confessing he had never killed before and renounces the gunslinger lifestyle. After Munny and the Kid claim their prize they are told that on his way back out of town Ned was captured by Little Bill and tortured to death. Munny sends the Kid back home to deliver Ned’s share to his family and Munny’s to his as he decides he wants vengeance.

As Little Bill is instructing a posse that they need to find Munny and the Kid, Ned’s body is displayed outside the saloon for all to see. Before Little Bill and his guys can leave Munny enters carrying his shotgun and promptly kills several men for decorating their bar with his friend. A bloody gun battle ensues in the saloon and most of Little Bill’s deputies lay dead. Munny wounds Little Bill and orders everyone out of the bar as he puts one final bullet into Little Bill and leaves town.

Unforgiven is an absolute classic of a film and explores the darker side of the Old West as legends are built by whispers and story telling and make it hard for a man to change. William Munny’s arc from simple farmer back to his unflinching and steady-handed gun-slinging ways is brilliant to watch and when he finally arrives back in the saloon to murder everyone in his way it offers one of the greatest scenes in the Western film genre. And for that reason Unforgiven is a film that you must see before you die.


D.J. Haza

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Films To Watch Before You Die #57 - The Usual Suspects (1995)

D.J. Haza presents the next entry in his series of films to watch before you die...

The Usual Suspects, 1995.

Directed by Bryan Singer.
Starring Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Benicio del Toro, Chazz Palminteri, Kevin Pollak, Pete Postlethwaite and Kevin Spacey.

The Usual Suspects is a stylish little neo-noir with a meager $6 million budget and was screened out of competition at Cannes then offered a limited release before it eventually took off. The film went on to earn writer Christopher McQuarrie an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and Kevin Spacey an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

The film centres on the police interrogation of small time conman with a limp, Roger ‘Verbal’ Kint, after he is one of only two people to survive a massacre aboard a boat docked in the Port of Los Angeles. As the police grill him, they get the entire back story of how he and four other criminals were brought together to do several jobs that led them to be working for the infamous and mysterious mob boss Keyser Soze.

The police believe they already know who the real Keyser Soze is and getting Kint to spill the beans on what he has saw should surely be the final nail in the mob boss’s coffin, but Kint doesn’t give them the answers they want. As Kint tells his story and it unravels in flashbacks anyone could be Keyser Soze. The flashbacks tell of how the men were brought together, the jobs they were involved in and then the moment they were made aware they were working for Soze and that they had no choice but to do as he asked.

Finally the men are led to the boat docked at the Port of Los Angeles and instead of finding the cocaine they were told they were looking for they find just one man being guarded. The man has sworn he can identify Soze and one gang plan on selling him to another who are looking for the illustrious mob boss. Kint and the others arrive and all hell breaks loose, as Soze has planned on being there to kill the man who can identify him before finally disappearing for good. Are all the police’s questions answered? Do they know who Keyser Soze is? Can Soze be caught? You will have to watch to find out.

The Usual Suspects is a film you must see before you die as it has one of the most iconic endings in film history as the real identity of Keyser Soze is revealed.


D.J. Haza

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Films To Watch Before You Die #56 - Schindler's List (1993)

D.J. Haza presents the next entry in his series of films to watch before you die...

Schindler's List, 1993.

Directed by Steven Spielberg.
Starring Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley and Ralph Fiennes.

Schindler’s List is Steven Spielberg’s multi award winning World War Two film that tells the story of Oskar Schindler, the German businessman who saved the lives of over a thousand refugees of Polish-Jewish descent during the Holocaust.

The film is rated as one of the greatest ever made and ranks highly on any list of films that must be seen. Its massive award success included Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director and five others, as well as seven BAFTAs and three Golden Globes. The critical success was mirrored at the box office as the film brought in more than $321,000,000 worldwide and has been cited by many filmmakers as close to perfection.

The story follows Schindler (Neeson), a German businessman who arrives in Krakow with plans of becoming a war profiteer. At this time Jewish Poles were being relocated to Krakow ghetto by the German military and held in the area, unable to leave. Schindler, using his Nazi Party membership, military sponsorship and a few bribes, manages to acquire a factory and begins making war mess kits. However, with little or no knowledge on how to actually run this business he hires Itzhak Stern (Kingsley) to help him.

Stern uses his position as an official of Krakow’s Jewish Council to find Jewish businessmen who lend Schindler money for his factory in return for goods produced. Schindler also hires Jewish Poles to work in his factory rather than Catholic Poles, as he only has too pay a pittance to the SS in order to use them. Those that do work in Schindler’s factory are afforded more freedom and are allowed out of the ghetto.

With the factory being a big success Schindler reaps the benefits and praise of the Nazis whilst Stern handles the administrative side of the business. However, he comes to realise that the Nazis are committing unbelievable horrors against the Jewish people and so he falsifies documents deeming more and more people essential to the German war effort. This ensures that as many people as possible avoid being sent to concentration camps or executed as the Nazis order every Jew killed or moved to Auschwitz.

Schindler bribes a number of Nazi officials in order to keep his Jewish workers from being sent to Auschwitz and certain death. He compiles his list of skilled workers he needs in order to run his factory and goes about getting them saved.

Schindler's List is a film you must see before you die, as it’s an unbelievable true story about how one man saved so many lives. At the end of the war there were less than 4000 Jews left alive in Poland, but due to the work of Oskar Schindler there are now over 6000 Jewish descendants of his factory workers. The film is touching, tragic, heartbreaking, beautiful and a real eye opener.


D.J. Haza

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Films To Watch Before You Die #55 - Bad Boys (1995)

D.J. Haza presents the next entry in his series of films to watch before you die...

Bad Boys, 1995.

Directed by Michael Bay.
Starring Martin Lawrence, Will Smith, Téa Leoni, Joe Pantoliano and Theresa Randle.

Bad Boys is the directorial debut of Michael Bay and since the majority of his films have the same shots recycled over and over again maybe it’s the only one of his films with any visual originality, but is great fun nonetheless.

The film is an action comedy that sees Miami cops Marcus Burnett (Lawrence) and Mike Lowry (Smith) trying to uncover $100 million of heroin stolen from a police vault. The seized drugs need to be recovered within five days or Internal Affairs warn that the narcotics division of the Miami-Dade Police Force will be shut down. When escort Max is hired for a party and takes along her flat mate Julie (Leoni) what is meant to be a good time soon turns bad when French drug lord Fouchet kills the host of the party, ex-cop Eddie, and then Max.

Unsure where to turn Julie tries to contact Max’s friend on the force, Mike Lowry. However, with Lowry unavailable Marcus has to pose as his partner and find the girl before Fouchet gets to her. Needing to put her in a safe place Marcus takes her to Mike’s flat where she hides out with her dogs, who shit on Mike’s expensive rug. Mike and Marcus try to solve the crime and pretend to be each other as well as keep Julie under control in order to recover the drugs and save their own arses.

Bad Boys is full of over the top shootouts, car chases and hilarious quips and banter between the two partners. Bay’s debut was a huge box office success on a modest budget, but received mixed reviews from critics. The film is criticised as recycling old cop film clichés and stealing plenty of characters and plot lines from a range of other cop movies. In all honesty it was never going to win an Oscar and isn’t exactly the most magnificent film ever made, but it is great fun to watch if you want to switch off your brain.

Bad Boys is a film you must see before you die because of the on screen chemistry between Smith and Lawrence is pretty good. Apparently Bay wasn’t entirely happy with the script and the dialogue so allowed his two main actors to improvise. Despite his pitfalls as a director this was a pretty good decision and Smith and Lawrence, who are petty fun in their own rights, managed to bring to life the dialogue and allow for some great on screen fun.


D.J. Haza

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Films To Watch Before You Die #54 - The Hurt Locker (2009)

D.J. Haza presents the next entry in his series of films to watch before you die...

The Hurt Locker, 2009.

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow.
Starring Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Christian Camargo, Evangeline Lilly, Ralph Fiennes, David Morse and Guy Pearce.

The Hurt Locker is the gritty tale of a three-man bomb disposal team in the United States Army during the Iraq War. With every day being possibly their last as they dispose of hidden and improvised bombs around the dangerous streets of Baghdad the three of them need to work closely together. Sergeant J.T. Sanborn and Specialist Owen Eldridge guard their new team leader Sergeant First Class William James as he works to disarm the IEDs.

However, James is a bit of a wild card and a maverick. His reckless actions and who cares attitude make his team nervous and tensions mount. As each of them try to deal with the ordeal of their job and the possibility of being blown to bits every time they leave the base they clash regularly. Each of them want to make it out Iraq in one piece and count down the days until the tour is over, but for James the rush is irreplaceable and normal life just doesn’t cut it for him anymore.

The Hurt Locker is a tense and edge of your seat movie that brings home the constant threat of death that plagues soldiers whose jobs it is to disarm bombs in a war zone. The constant tension is enough to drive any person mad and the strain shows on the soldiers. Although some critics and veterans have condemned the film as not being realistic enough, they have admitted that it does more than most other modern films to bring the reality of war to audiences. The main criticism is that the uniforms, lack of radio communication and bad behaviour of the soldiers would not be found in such situations, but why let the truth get in the way of a good story?

The Hurt Locker is a film you must see before you die because Kathryn Bigelow’s low budget film earned her an Oscar for Best Director and she became the first woman to win in that particular category. With a budget of only $15 million it is the lowest grossing film to ever win the Best Picture Oscar and fought off competition from Bigelow's ex-husband, James Cameron, and his immensely expensive film Avatar. A triumph in my eyes for substance over grossly expensive special effects as it was nominated for 9 Oscars and won 6.


D.J. Haza

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Films To Watch Before You Die #53 - The Matrix (1999)

D.J. Haza presents the next entry in his series of films to watch before you die...

The Matrix, 1999.

Directed by Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski.
Starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving and Joe Pantoliano.

The Matrix is one of the most iconic films in the modern era and itself draws on iconic films and genres of the passed such as Spaghetti Westerns, Hong Kong cinema, dystopian fiction and Japanese animation. The film references several subcultures including cyberpunk and hacking as well as touching upon religion and philosophy.

The Matrix follows Thomas Anderson (Reeves), whose computer name is Neo, as the truth of the world in which he lives is made clear to him by Morpheus (Fishburne). It is revealed that the world in which Neo has been living is in fact a simulated reality that sentient machines have created in order to harvest energy from the humans that they farm. Huge fields of humans lay dormant and wired into this simulated reality in order to keep their minds pacified. Morpheus and his band of rebels live in the real world, but are able to link themselves into The Matrix in order to fight against the machines programs and free people such as Neo.

Morpheus believes that Neo is the chosen one and will be the one to free all mankind of the machines. As Neo embarks on war with the machines he is trained by Morpheus in ways of combating the machines in the simulated world and how the boundaries that Neo realises in reality can be overcome within The Matrix. However, no one has ever battled against Agent Smith (Weaving) and won, with the computer program being able to manipulate the world of The Martix more than anyone else is able to.

As the rebels battle for survival and freedom they fight against the Agents within The Matrix and sentinel machines in the real world. Neo isn’t sure he is the chosen one that Morpheus thinks he is, but maybe that’s just what he needs to think in order to fulfill his destiny?

The Matrix is a film you must see before you die because it helped move forward and popularise ‘bullet time’ visual effects. ‘Bullet time’ is the art of allowing a camera to seemingly spin around a character of event at normal speed whilst the action unfolds in slow motion. Some of the effects used in the film were truly mind blowing at the time and still hold up to modern day effects.


D.J. Haza

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Films To Watch Before You Die #52 - Philadelphia (1993)

D.J. Haza presents the next entry in his series of films to watch before you die...

Philadelphia, 1993.

Directed by Jonathan Demme.
Starring Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Jason Robards, Mary Steenburgen and Antonio Banderas.

Philadelphia is one of the first Hollywood films to deal with the sensitive subject of homosexuality, homophobia and the gay community’s struggle with HIV and AIDS. The film was inspired by the true story of attorney Geoffrey Bowers, who successfully sued the law firm that fired him in one of the first AIDS discrimination cases.

The story follows Andrew Beckett (Hanks), a senior associate at Philadelphia’s largest law firm. Beckett is very capable in the work place, but hides his homosexuality from his employers and work colleagues, despite living with his partner Miguel (Banderas). When Beckett is given a very important case to work on one of the company’s partners notices he has a small lesion on his forehead. Wanting to hide his illness Beckett stays at home in order to try and find a way to hide the lesions, but still finishes his work and ensures the file is in the right hands to move forward.

When the document goes missing and Beckett finds himself in hospital with bowel spasms the company question his ability to work and fire him. Believing that someone had purposely hidden his document in order to instigate his firing due to his sexuality and illness Beckett looks for legal representation in order to sue his former employers. After asking several attorneys to take his case and being told no he turns to personal injury lawyer Joe Miller (Washington). Miller is uncomfortable with the case himself and turns it down, but upon seeing the behaviour of others towards Beckett in public he changes his mind.

As Miller battles to earn justice for Beckett the company argue that he was incompetent. After Beckett falls ill during the case and ends up in hospital the jury votes in favour of Beckett and awards him a vast sum of money for back pay and damages. Beckett falls foul to his illness and on his passing away his family and friends, including Miller and his family, watch home movies of Beckett as a child.

The film was received very well by audiences and critics as it grossed over $200,000,000 worldwide and earned Hanks an Oscar for Best Actor as well as the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the 44th Berlin International Film Festival. Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Streets of Philadelphia’ also won and Oscar for Best Original Song.

Philadelphia is a film you must see before you die as it is an unbelievable story of prejudice, homophobia and the suffering it causes. The film signaled a shift in Hollywood towards realistic portrayals of gay and lesbian people, but still scenes that were too intimate between Hanks and Banderas were cut as the filmmakers held back on the homosexual affection within the film.


D.J. Haza

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Films To Watch Before You Die #51 - The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

D.J. Haza presents the next entry in his series of films to watch before you die...

The Silence of the Lambs, 1991.

Directed by Jonathan Demme.
Starring Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glen and Ted Levine.

The Silence of the Lambs is the chilling cinematic story based on Thomas Harris’ novel of the same name. The film follows Clarice Starling (Foster), a young FBI agent who has to entertain the immensely intelligent cannibal Hannibal Lecter (Hopkins) in order to try and capture another serial killer named ‘Buffalo Bill’.

Starling is pulled from her training in order to interview Lecter in his enclosed cell at the Bureau’s Behavioral Science Unit. The former psychiatrist is himself a serial killer and the FBI believe that he can aid their pursuit of Buffalo Bill, who skins the corpses of his female victims. Lecter’s unnerving and evil demeanor puts Starling on edge to begin with, but through regular visits she begins to get to grips with Lecter and a strange relationship forms between them as Lecter takes an obvious liking to her.

The Silence of the Lambs was a huge hit and its estimated $19,000,000 budget was money well spent as it grossed over $272,000,000 worldwide and earned itself a truck load of awards and a very high approval rating from critics and audiences alike. The film mixes the crime and horror genres to great effect and became only the third film to win the top five Oscar categories. Silence of the Lambs won Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay as well as Demme winning Best Director and Foster Best Actress.

However, The Silence of the Lambs is a film you must see before you die because Anthony Hopkins' Oscar-winning turn as Hannibal Lecter is one of the all time great performances in cinema. His chillingly evil, yet brilliant Lecter has been voted by American Film Institute as the number one film villain of all time. All that despite Hopkins having just less than 16 minutes of screen time in order to shine.


D.J. Haza

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Films To Watch Before You Die #50 - Black Hawk Down (2001)

D.J. Haza presents the fiftieth entry in his series of films to watch before you die...

Black Hawk Down, 2001.

Directed by Ridley Scott.
Starring Josh Hartnett, Eric Bana, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, William Fichtner, Sam Shepard, Ewen Bremner, Gabriel Casseus, Hugh Dancy, Ioan Gruffudd, Jason Isaacs, Orlando Bloom, Tom Hardy and Matthew Marsden.

Black Hawk Down is the cinematic depiction of the Battle of Mogadishu. As the Americans make a move to capture the Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid one man falls from a helicopter in the middle of the city and severely hurts his back. As Humvees are deployed from the American’s base at Mogadishu airport a Black Hawk helicopter is shot down by an RPG. The Humvees on route to pick up the fallen soldier are sent off track by a range of roadblocks and militia barricades. They become lost in the violent city and suffer heavy casualties.

As some of the American Army Rangers get to the crash site and set up a perimeter another Black Hawk is shot down. With the team heading to help at the crash sites pinned down and engaged in gunfire neither of the crash sites can get much support apart from two snipers being dropped at the second crash site. As both sites are overrun the soldiers at the second site are killed or captured and those at the first site hold on through the night taking heavy fire. Only a few make it back alive.

The film although telling a true story, was not entirely accurate and its critics say it concentrates on the 19 Americans that died and not the Somalis, of up to possibly 2000, who were killed in the battle or the efforts of the Pakistani military who rescued many of the men who made it out. As you can imagine it hasn’t been well received in Somalia.

Black Hawk Down is a fantastic film that you must see before you die as it really brings home the pressure those soldiers found themselves under amidst heavy gunfire and little options. The frenetic directing really gives audiences a point of view of American soldiers caught in close quarters battle and the film was a massive box office success grossing almost $173,000,00.


D.J. Haza

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Films To Watch Before You Die #49 - 127 Hours (2010)

D.J. Haza presents the next entry in his series of films to watch before you die...

127 Hours, 2010.

Directed by Danny Boyle.
Starring James Franco.

Danny Boyle followed up his multi Oscar winning box office smash Slumdog Millionaire with a film that continued his indie roots. I'm sure many offers came flooding in for Boyle to do what he wanted after Slumdog, but he decided to go for a fairly low key film about one man with his arm trapped under a rock.

127 Hours is the true story of Aron Ralston (Franco), who when mountain climbing on his own in the remote Canyonlands National Park without a phone or anyone knowing his whereabouts he managed to get stuck. Whilst climbing through a canyon a rock beneath gives way and he falls into the canyon with the rock landing on his arm and trapping it against the wall.

As Ralston tries anyway possible to free himself he chips away at the rock with a knife, tries to build a pulley to winch the rock up and even tries to cut off his arm with his blunt pen knife. As Ralston fears the worst he begins to ration his food and drink as well as start a video diary on his camcorder. As the days pass by his videos become more and more desperate, he resorts to drinking his own urine and suffers with hallucinations.

On the fifth day Ralston musters the energy to break his own arm and begins to use his blunt penknife to cut through the deteriorating tissue in his arm and when finished takes a photo of the boulder before making his way out. Ralston struggles for several miles before he finds help and is rescued by helicopter.

The film brings to the big screen Ralston’s story first told in his book Between A Rock And A Hard Place. Boyle has told Ralston’s story so accurately that Ralston himself has commented that it is a close to truth as you could get. The film is truly a story of one man’s battle for survival and having the courage to do whatever necessary in order to stay alive. The film earned itself 6 Oscar nominations and was another hit for director Danny Boyle.

127 Hours is a film you must see before you die because the scenes in which Ralston cuts his own arm off are that graphic that during early screenings of the film people were reported to have fainted, needed carrying out of the cinema or been physically sick. Boyle does not spare the audience any of the details and brings the true horror of Ralston’s situation to audiences.


D.J. Haza

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Films To Watch Before You Die #48 - Being John Malkovich (1999)

D.J. Haza presents the next entry in his series of films to watch before you die...

Being John Malkovich, 1999.

Directed by Spike Jonze.
Starring John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener and John Malkovich.

Being John Malkovich is a black comedy-fantasy from the mind of Charlie Kaufman and directed by Spike Jonze. The film received 3 Oscar nominations that included Best Supporting Actress for Catherine Keener, as well as Best Original Screenplay for Kaufman and Best Director for Jonze.

The film follows Craig (Cusack), an unemployed puppeteer who lives with his pet obsessed wife Lotte (Diaz). When Craig is given a job as a clerk on floor 7 ½ of a building in New York the film begins to get really weird. The low ceilings do not allow for a normal person to stand up, but that’s not the weirdest thing. Behind a cabinet in one room Craig comes across a hole, which he crawls through and finds himself in the mind of actor John Malkovich.

Craig is able to see and feel whatever Malkovich is doing at the time for fifteen minutes before he is ejected and lands on the side of the New Jersey Turnpike. When Craig reveals the portal to his co-worker Maxine (Keener) the pair of them decide to rent its use to other people and make some money. Craig, himself being a puppeteer, begins to find ways of controlling Malkovich and John begins to get paranoid. When John Malkovich enters his own portal he ends up in a world where everyone looks like him and the only words he can utter are ‘Malkovich’.

Being John Malkovich is a film you must see before you die because the story continues with the same madness and randomness that it began with and is well and truly one of the strangest films I have ever seen. Words cannot begin to explain how unbelievably mental this film is and its enjoyment can only be enhanced with alcohol or drugs.


D.J. Haza

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Films To Watch Before You Die #47 - Cinderella Man (2005)

D.J. Haza presents the next entry in his series of films to watch before you die...

Cinderella Man, 2005.

Directed by Ron Howard.
Starring Russell Crowe, Renee Zellweger, Paul Giamatti, Craig Bierko, Bruce McGill and Paddy Considine.

The beautiful story of boxing legend James J. Braddock is brought to the big screen in a fantastic and touching tale set during the American Great Depression. The Irish-American fighter was once a contender, but is forced to give up boxing after badly breaking his hand. With jobs few and far between Braddock’s unable to find regular work as a long shore man and he and his family struggle to make ends meet.

When a last-minute drop out gives Braddock the opportunity to fight and make a little bit of money he comes up against the no. 2 contender in the world. Despite many believing Braddock’s best days are behind him he wins the fight with a knockout. With the possibility of a world title fight against Max Baer the underdog continues to train and fight.

As Braddock earns money he uses some to pay back the government for what was given to him during hard times and not only is he a hero in his neighbourhood, but soon the entire country. As his amazing rags to riches story sweeps the country the sports writer Damon Runyan calls him ‘The Cinderella Man’ and he becomes the person representing the hopes and aspirations of the American people all struggling in the depression. In one of the greatest fights of all time Braddock began as a 10 to 1 underdog, but went on to beat Baer and become the Heavyweight Champion of the World.

Cinderella Man is a stunning true story about one man’s desire to do right by his family and feed their starving mouths anyway he can. From the hardship he suffered he went onto become what he always dreamed of being – the World Champion. Braddock found himself truly at rock bottom and not only took money from the government, but begged those at the boxing commission to spare him any change they had.

Cinderella Man is a film you must see before you die because it is a truly inspirational story of hardship, hopes and aspirations. In times when many feel hard done by and believe they are struggling to make ends meet Braddock’s story sheds a little light on what true poverty looks like and that you can change your situation.


D.J. Haza

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Films To Watch Before You Die #46 - A Fistful of Dollars (1964)

D.J. Haza presents the next entry in his series of films to watch before you die...

A Fistful of Dollars, 1964.

Directed by Sergio Leone.
Starring Clint Eastwood.

A Fistful of Dollars is the first in Sergio Leone’s Spaghetti Western ‘Dollars’ trilogy and introduces us to the ‘Man with No Name’ (Eastwood). On his arrival in a small Mexican border town the Man with No Name is told of the bitter feud between two rival families vying for control. The Rojos are a band of criminals and the Baxters are the law enforcement. The Man with No Name sets about trying to make himself some money out of this feud and begins to play the rival families off against one and other.

When a detachment of Mexican soldiers passes through the town on their way to swap American soldiers the gold for weapons the Rojos massacre the soldiers and steal the gold. The Man with No Name witnesses the heist and hides two of the Mexican soldiers bodies in order to trick the Rojos into thinking two of them had survived. As the Rojos look to find the soldiers and kill them the Baxters look to find them so they can testify against the Rojos and the battle gets bloodier.

Once the Rojos have massacred the Baxters the only person standing between them and control is the Man with No Name. In a final battle he hides a steel chest plate beneath his poncho and goes toe to toe with the Rojos. Once all the bad guys are killed the Man with No Name gets back on his horse and rides out of town.

A Fistful of Dollars is an iconic film and Leone sought to reinvigorate the Western genre in Italy with this being the first of his Spaghetti Westerns. He believed that American Westerns had become preachy, stagnant and had lost American audiences. Leone wanted to take the grammar of Italian film and put it in a Western setting. Despite the authentic Western look to the film it was not shot in America and instead the majority of shooting was done in Spain.

A Fistful of Dollars is a film you must see before you die because it launched the career of Clint Eastwood and he wasn’t even amongst the first ten actors asked to play the role. Initially Leone wanted Henry Fonda to play the Man With No Name, but the money wasn’t available for a major Hollywood star. He then turned to Charles Bronson, who refused as he thought the script was bad. Leone then went through another ten or so actors who all refused for one reason or another. He then turned his attention to Richard Harrison, but he had not had an enjoyable experience working in his previous Western role and so refused.

However, Leone did then ask Harrison if he could recommend someone and he mentioned that Eastwood could play a convincing cowboy. The rest, as they say, is history.


D.J. Haza

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Films To Watch Before You Die #45 - The Big Lebowski (1998)

D.J. Haza presents the next entry in his series of films to watch before you die...

The Big Lebowski, 1998.

Directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen.
Starring Jeff Bridges, John Godman, Steve Buscemi, Julianne Moore, John Turturro, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Sam Elliott, David Huddleston, David Thewlis and Tara Reid.

The Big Lebowski is the bizarre, but clever comedy that centres around the mistaken identity of an unemployed LA misfit and bowler Jeff Lebowski, also known as ‘The Dude’.

When The Dude (Bridges) returns home one day to his meager apartment he finds himself roughed up by a gang of men sent to collect money owed to their boss by Lebowski’s wife, but they soon realise they have the wrong guy. Since the men had pissed on The Dude’s rug he is urged by his friend Walter (Goodman) to seek compensation from the Big Lebowski who the men were looking for. His other friend Donny (Buscemi) advises caution.

The aging and wheel-chair bound millionaire Jeffrey Lebowski refuses The Dude’s request, but he takes a rug of his choice from the sprawling mansion anyway and on the way out is introduced to Jeffrey’s nymphomaniac trophy wife Bunny (Reid). When Bunny is later kidnapped Jeffrey hires The Dude to deliver the ransom money, but with his psychotic friend Walter in tow everything goes very wrong as they drop off a dud suitcase filled with Walter’s dirty underwear.

As the story takes a series of strange turns and a variety of people advise, confuse or beat up The Dude the plot thickens and the mystery eventually begins to unravel before The Dude can figure out the truth behind the kidnapping and get back to his slacking ways and bowling tournaments.

The Big Lebowski is a fantastic comedy from the Coen Brothers and oozes with their usual class and dry wit, but it’s the film’s casting that makes it. The Big Lebowski is a film you must see before you die because Bridges, Goodman and Buscemi as The Dude, Walter and Donny are hilarious on screen together and feed off each other brilliantly. Walter’s lack of tolerance towards Donny is the source of much comedy as is The Dude’s general lack of enthusiasm or haste to do anything other than drink White Russians and bowl in his dressing gown.


D.J. Haza

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Films To Watch Before You Die #44 - Chinatown (1974)

D.J. Haza presents the next entry in his series of films to watch before you die...

Chinatown, 1974.

Directed by Roman Polanski.
Starring Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway and John Huston.

Chinatown is Roman Polanski’s classic neo-noir film set in Los Angeles during the California Water Wars of 1937. The multi-layered story full of twists and turns crosses mystery and psychological drama as it unravels itself and it’s lead character.

The story follows Jake (Nicholson), a private investigator hired to perform surveillance on the chief engineer of the LA Department of Water and Power, Hollis Mulwray, by his supposed wife, Evelyn. When Jake catches him with a young woman and the photos hit the front page of the newspaper the next day Jake finds himself confronted by the real Evelyn (Dunaway). Realising he has been duped Jake attempts to figure out the mystery behind the fake Evelyn and his hiring so he can repair his reputation.

As Jake searches for the truth he is dragged into a mysterious conspiracy involving the California water supplies and the shadowy oligarchs using the valuable asset to their own advantages. Jake follows the clues to unravel the story as those aiding him are found murdered along the way and he finds himself in just as much trouble. With the final twists and turns played out in Chinatown justice doesn’t prevail and Jake’s associates pull him away with the final iconic words, ‘Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown’.

Chinatown is a fantastic film full of twists, turns and mystery that is highly regarded as one of the best films of all time. Nominated for eleven Oscars, Roman Polanski’s European vision of LA is a major factor in the film’s success as it showed a more cynical and darker side of the city. Polanski was originally reluctant to return to LA only a few years after his pregnant wife was murdered in their own home above LA by the infamous Manson family.

Chinatown is a film you must see before you die as Robert Towne’s screenplay is regarded by many as one of the best of all time.


D.J. Haza

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Films To Watch Before You Die #43 - TRON: Legacy (2010)

D.J. Haza presents the next entry in his series of films to watch before you die...

TRON: Legacy, 2010.

Directed by Joseph Kosinski.
Starring Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, Michael Sheen and Bruce Boxleitner.

Tron: Legacy is the sequel to the 1982 classic Tron. This time around Kevin Flynn (Bridges) has long since disappeared, but his son Sam (Hedlund) heads to the old arcade where he believes a message has come from his father. When Sam finds a secret room hidden at the back of the arcade he is transported into the digital world of The Grid, where his father is held prisoner.

Sam is tested in a series of computer-based games as the digital world’s ruler, CLU (also Bridges), tries to capture him and his exiled father. Aided by Quorra (Wilde) the three of them fight their way across The Grid with the help of other programs as well as having CLU and his army in pursuit. Not only do they need to get across The Grid to get home, but they also need to stop CLU from invading the real world with his army.

Tron: Legacy is a fantastic visual feast of stunning CGI and animation mixed with live action. The detail and quality of the visuals used in the film are of the highest order and between the original and the latest film is the story of CGI and how it has developed from its humble beginnings. Tron: Legacy is a little lacking in story, but that is more than made up for with awe-inspiring visuals.

Tron: Legacy is also a film you must see before you die because it has a stunning original soundtrack composed by French electronic music duo Daft Punk. The soundtrack is so well suited to the digital world of The Grid and in one scene played out in a nightclub Daft Punk even make a cameo as the club’s DJs.


D.J. Haza

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Films To Watch Before You Die #42 - Apocalypse Now (1979)

D.J. Haza presents the next entry in his series of films to watch before you die...

Apocalypse Now, 1979.

Directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
Starring Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Dennis Hopper, Laurence Fishburne, Sam Bottoms, Frederic Forrest and Harrison Ford.

Apocalypse Now is Francis Ford Coppola’s epic tale of the Vietnamese War. The story follows US Army Special Operations Officer Captain Benjamin L. Willard (Sheen) as he is sent into the Cambodian jungle to track down and kill the presumed insane Special Forces Colonel Walter E. Kurtz (Brando).

As Willard and his small crew make their way through the remote jungle and passed many dangerous areas they meet with a variety of interesting characters. When being escorted to the opening of the Nung River by air cavalry attack helicopters controlled by Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore (Duvall) they witness several of Kilgore’s men surfing amidst enemy fire.

As Willard navigates his way upstream he encounters a tiger, reaches a supply depot and watches a USO featuring Playboy Playmates. He and his crew also mistakenly kill all civilians aboard a boat and are fired upon by unseen enemies in the trees as some of them are killed.

When Willard finally reaches the Buddhist temple that serves as Kurtz’s camp he comes across a hoard of people who follow the crazed and philosophical soldier. After being tied, bound and lectured on Kurt’s theories of war, humanity and civilisation Willard is asked to tell Kurtz’s son all about him once he is gone. When Willard butchers Kurtz with a machete his final words are, ‘the horror… the horror’.

Apocalypse Now has become an iconic film that is hailed by many as one of the greatest films of all time and a masterpiece of New Hollywood cinema. The film is rated highly in all of the major movie polls and Kilgore’s speech, ‘I love the smell of napalm in the morning’, is amongst the greatest move quotes of all time.

Apocalypse Now is a film you must see before you die because it is one of the greatest films of all time and on so many occasions it almost didn’t happen as the production of the film was hit with so many set backs. Within a few days of shooting in Manila, using Harvey Keitel in the role of Willard, Coppola was unhappy and retuned to Los Angeles. He soon replaced Keitel with Sheen. Typhoon Olga then destroyed several expensive sets and shooting was shut down for several weeks. They also employed a host of bodyguards to keep watch over the sets and locations, but still one day the entire payroll was stolen.

When Brando eventually arrived to film his parts he was well over weight and Coppola had to shoot only his face, dress him in black and use stand ins for any full length shots of his character Kurtz. Two years after filming began Coppola returned to the Philippines to shoot more for the film and in doing so Sheen had a heart attack and had to struggle for a quarter of a mile in order to get help. So many times the film came close to disaster and the rumours are that the ending changed several times as Coppola struggled to find its conclusion. Never the less, what resulted was a masterpiece.


D.J. Haza

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Films To Watch Before You Die #41 - Revolutionary Road (2008)

D.J. Haza presents the next entry in his series of films to watch before you die...

Revolutionary Road, 2008.

Directed by Sam Mendes.
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Michael Shannon, Richard Easton and Kathy Bates.

Revolutionary Road is based upon Richard Yates’ 1961 novel of the same name and stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet as a couple struggling with the tedium of their average 1950’s lives as they watch their dreams slip away from them.

Frank (DiCaprio) and April (Winslet) settle into their suburban home on Revolutionary Road in 1955 and raise their young family. To their friends and family they appear the perfect couple. However, with April having failed at carving out a career as an actress and Frank hating the monotony of his job the pair become frustrated with their lives. Both wanting to make a change they begin to plan a move to Paris in hope of rediscovering a life they once dreamed of and things begin to look up.

With the thought of Paris and a weight lifted off Frank’s shoulder, he turns in a sarcastic piece of work, which to his surprise his bosses love and he is offered a promotion. April becomes pregnant with their third child and discusses the option of abortion with Frank, who is livid at the thought and begins to think that Paris is an unrealistic dream. The following day Frank accepts his promotion and attempts to come to terms with the life he has.

Soon after April cheats on Frank and he in return admits to cheating with the secretary in his office. When one of their dinner guests, John (Shannon), bluntly points out how Frank and April are holding each other back and destroying each other’s hopes and dreams emotions boil over. Frank spends the night drinking himself into a state, but when he awakes the next morning he finds April cheery and full of life. The pair have a normal conversation before Frank leaves for work. Once he has left April prepares to self-administer an abortion.

Revolutionary Road is a film about two people who have reached a point in their lives where they realise that their hopes and dreams are out of reach and they are doomed to suffer in mediocrity. As each of them struggles to come to terms with the life they have found themselves leading they begin to resent each other and harbour destructive emotions towards each other and themselves.

Revolutionary Road is film you must see before you die because it is a beautifully tragic story that highlights the cracks in what appears is a perfect suburban middle class life.


D.J. Haza

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