12 Monkeys (1995)

Based on the film 'La Jetée' written by Chris Marker, this film has the stamp of director Terry Gilliam all over it.

James Cole (Bruce Willis) is an underground prisoner in the future (sometime in the 21st century, I don't think the exact year is ever specified). There was a massive worldwide outbreak of a deadly virus at the end of the 20th century, and mankind was all but wiped out.

Sent back in time to a time before the outbreak, Cole is expected to bring back as much evidence as he can, in order to allow scientists to develop a vaccine that will then be able to save the world.

But when he arrives, he is arrested and placed in a mental institution, as everyone thinks he's delusional, claiming to be from the future and being completely disoriented.

His treating physician, Dr. Kathryn Railly (Madeleine Stowe) believes she has seen him somewhere before. While not completely believing his story, she does however feel that something strange is going on.

One of his fellow patients, Jeffrey Goines (Brad Pitt) does believe him, but of course, Jeffrey is crazier than anyone else in the institution, so he isn't much help.

When Cole vanishes from a locked cell in the institution where he was bound and restrained, only to return six years later, Railly thinks maybe there is more to his story than she first thought.

Cole 'kidnaps' Railly and takes her on a road trip to Philadelphia, to track down the genesis of the virus, a group known as 'The Army of the Twelve Monkeys'.

The screenplay by David & Janet Peoples, adapted from Marker's original screenplay, is very well written. As with any film that involves the concept of time travel, there needs to be a certain cleverness to the writing in order to make the events of the film seem real enough to follow, and that is the case here. The characters are all very well written, and clearly defined with plenty of internal and external conflicts.

The music, written by Paul Buckmaster, is well suited to the film. It sounds in parts like a classic Danny Elfman-style score, which is not a criticism of Buckmaster's originality, but rather praise of his ability to lock into the psychological nature of the storyline, and compose music that adds another layer to the strange predicament the characters find themselves in.

Roger Pratt's cinematography is absolutely fantastic, with plenty of use of contrasting light and dark, and plenty of shadow. There are some unconventional camera angles used throughout as well, that again only add to the psychological sense of dread within the story. The camera is distant when it needs to be, but is mostly right in the centre of the action, creating a very unsettling feel for the viewer.

The performances of the cast are varied in their level of effectiveness. The absolutely clear standout is Brad Pitt as an unhinged mental patient, but Madeleine Stowe also does a fabulous job as Cole's doctor. Even when she is his captive, she still manages to stand her ground and give a strong performance, and is never truly a victim in the situation.

Bruce Willis, however, is Bruce Willis throughout, as he has been in any of his other projects; this character doesn't seem to deviate a great deal from any of his others. Mind you, fans of Bruce Willis aren't watching his films because of any incredible acting talent, so that perhaps isn't such a big deal.

Only Terry Gilliam - with his ever-so-slightly twisted mind - could have directed this film, and done such a good job of it, too.

7 out of 10.

Over the Hedge (2006)

Raccoon RJ (Bruce Willis) is always on the hunt for food. He steals the entire store of food from hibernating bear Vincent (Nick Nolte). When Vincent wakes up just in time to see his entire stash of food destroyed by a passing truck, he gives RJ an ultimatum: return his food by the time his hibernation ends in a week, or he will be killed.

Meanwhile, a whole group of foraging creatures are waking up from their own hibernation: turtle Verne (Garry Shandling), squirrel Hammy (Steve Carell), skunk Stella (Wanda Sykes), possums Ozzie (William Shatner) and Heather (Avril Lavigne) and hedgehogs Lou (Eugene Levy) and Penny (Catherine O’Hara). They only have 274 days before the next winter to gather enough food to fill their log that will keep them fed throughout their hibernation.

Hammy remembers somewhere he had left some nuts, and he goes to find them. Instead, he finds that, while they were asleep, a massive hedge has been built in the middle of their habitat. Not only that, but on the other side of that hedge, an enormous housing estate has been built where there used to be forest.

It is at this point that RJ tells this entire ‘family’ of creatures that the humans on the other side of the hedge are not to be feared, but that they have massive stores of food, most of which they don’t eat and end up throwing out.

He tries to recruit them (without telling them the real reason, of course) to get enough food to return to Vincent, to save his own skin.

But it isn’t going to be as simple as that. President of the Housing Association Gladys (Allison Janney) and her cat Tiger (Omid Djalili) are standing in their way.

The script, by Len Blum and Lorne Cameron & David Hoselton and Karey Kirkpatrick, is very clever, and, like a lot of animated films from recent years, is filled with plenty of clever puns and jokes for older viewers such as parents of children made to sit through these films. As I have said before, I think it’s smart of the filmmakers to include these kinds of jokes, knowing that audiences will be made up not only of children, but just as many parents and other adults.

Composer Rupert Gregson-Williams has given us an excellent score that, unlike a lot of other animated films, does not run for the entire length of the film. But when music is used, it is done incredibly well, with just enough ‘accompaniment’ to support what is happening on-screen.

The performances of all the cast are fantastic, in particular Garry Shandling and Wanda Sykes, whose voices are full of so much expression, they fill their respective characters with so much life.

Directors Tim Johnson & Karey Kirkpatrick have done an amazing job in bringing this film to the screen. Even though I have seen this film many times already, I know I will watch it many more times before tiring of it; there is just so much enjoyment to be had on every single viewing.

7 1/2 out of 10.

Glass (2019)

M. Night Shyamalan follows up his 2016 film Split with this film, that is also a sequel to his 2000 film Unbreakable. I suppose you can think of these films together as a trilogy, though I don't think that was necessarily the intention from the beginning, though I do believe he was thinking about this film when he made Split.

Anyway, on with the review for this one. 

The Horde (James McAvoy) is still on the loose following the events of Split. But this time, David Dunn (Bruce Willis), the protagonist from Unbreakable, is hot on his trail. 

He eventually apprehends him, but the two of them find themselves taken into custody by Dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson) and placed under her care in a mental hospital. It is this same hospital that also houses Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson) aka Mr. Glass, also from Unbreakable. 

I won't say any more about what follows, as any of you who have seen an M. Night Shyamalan film before will know it's always full of twists, and this film is no exception. 

Also featured in this film are Anya Taylor-Joy and Spencer Treat Clark, reprising their roles from Split and Unbreakable respectively. 

The most noticeable detail of this film is the cinematography. The camera is always very close-in to the action, at times very unsettling, but it certainly brings you right into the action in a very intimate way. It does take some getting used to, but it definitely works in the film's favour. 

The music is perfect, not too heavy or light at any point, but as Goldilocks might say, just right. Composer West Dylan Thordson definitely earned his paycheck on this one. 

All the cast are fantastic in their roles, but particularly McAvoy. His character is home to even more personalities this time around, yet all are distinctly different, and all portrayed immaculately and without a hint of poking fun at those who really do suffer from such conditions. 

And of course, Shyamalan has his requisite cameo, this one a real treat for those who remember Unbreakable. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this film, in my opinion, the best of the lot. Maybe not Shyamalan's best film, but certainly the best of these three. Well worth the admission price if you're considering it. 

8 1/2 out of 10.