Back to the Future
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Michael J Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover
25th anniversary edition out now at cinemas and on DVD
Cert: PG
Rating: 55
The title really confuses you at first, but once you have seen the film it makes sense. It tells the story of Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd), who invents time travel, and a combination of events allows his young friend Marty McFly (Michael J Fox) to do just that - in a DeLorean car. But this leaves Marty facing the question of what happens to the future if you affect the past ...
I don’t think this film would get boring even if you watched it again and again. It is perfect for kids as it sets the imagination soaring. For all of those adults out there who fall asleep during films (like my Mum), this could be a revelation - although you’re pretty much guaranteed to have seen this classic more than once already, of course!
This masterpiece merges the real world and the impossible until you’re not sure how it’s all going to turn out. And while it may be getting on a bit - it was produced in 1985 - it won’t feel “old fashioned” to modern audiences.
Back to the Future is a mind-blowing experience that should not be missed. It’s so well put together that somehow you feel all the emotions, hear every noise and see everything as if you are there.
With amusement and romance and even scares it has everything. It has some of the best special effects out of all the films I’ve ever seen (and I have seen a lot of films) and could possibly be the best overall as well. I am giving this five stars, without doubt.
Joanna Twiddy, 10, Chesham Bois CofE Combined School, Buckinghamshire
Rating: 45
My heart sank a few weeks ago when I saw the cinema posters for Robert Zemeckis’ classic. I was terrified that Universal Studios had gone as crazy as Doc (Christopher Lloyd) and remade Back to the Future.
My fears were soon allayed with the realisation that the denim-clad figure in the posters was still Michael J Fox as Marty McFly. Universal is simply celebrating the 25th anniversary of the timeless time-travelling classic by re-releasing it in cinemas nationwide for a whole new generation to enjoy.
From the opening scene of a room filled with wacky “time-saving” inventions, to when we first see the DeLorean with its flux capacitor, it is clear the audience is in for an adventure-filled time. True, some of the special effects leave a lot to be desired, but technology has moved on somewhat since 1985.
As Marty desperately tries to escape terrorists in what would now be classed as a “sedate speed” car chase, he inadvertently reaches the required speed of 88mph to turn the DeLorean into a time machine.
With hilarious plot twists and turns, Marty bungles his way through his parents’ past, inevitably erasing his own future.
With Marty facing the prospect of being wiped from existence, he tracks down his trusted friend Doc and between them they set about trying to set Marty’s life back on track - and send him back to the future.
The closeness between Lloyd and Fox’s characters is both touching and totally believable. Despite Doc’s total ineptitude as a mad scientist, Marty’s trust and faith in him never wavers.
This film is a must for any DVD collection. While the re-release gives a new generation the opportunity to discover this classic for the first time, it also gives the rest of us the chance to revisit our own cinematic past.
Kerry Willey, Filmclub leader, Yarborough School, Lincoln
Filmclub, a charity supported by Lovefilm, helps to set up after-school film clubs where children watch and discuss a range of films, promoting learning in an informal setting. Each week members of Filmclub will review everything from new releases to cinema classics. Join at www.filmclub.orgregister
FILMCLUB PUPIL REVIEWS
Let the Right One In
Director: Tomas Alfredson
Starring: Kare Hedebrant, Henrik Dahl, Per Ragnar, Lina Leandersson
Out now on DVD
Certificate: 15
Rating: 55
When I saw this was about vampires and had a romantic storyline my thoughts were: “Euuurgh ... not another Twilight”. How very wrong I was - it’s just amazing.
Even though it is subtitled, there is time to follow everything and you still get the emotion from the actors’ performances.
It gets kind of gory and gruesome, however, especially when one character is not invited in and blood comes out of every orifice - and there’s a spontaneous combustion. But what more could you want from a movie?
This was originally a book and the themes were toned down for the movie adaptation, but all the important stuff appears to have been left: Oskar’s at times weak relationship with his mother, how he looks up to his alcoholic father and how he is bullied at school but finally urged to stand up for himself.
Apparently this is being made into a British film - I for one shall be going to see it.
George Doran, 18, Trinity High School and Sixth Form Centre, Redditch
2001: A Space Odyssey
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Starring: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester
Out now on DVD
Certificate: U
Rating: 45
2001 was no doubt amazing when it came out, but now it just comes across as a film made for adults, back in the 1960s. The special effects feel a bit dated.
Kubrick is one of my favourite directors, but he seems to have a passion for telling a story in two hours that could have easily been told in five minutes.
Some of the strange happenings in the film include the repeated use of a black rectangle (perhaps a door) to represent a god or some kind of amazing energy that allows creatures and animals to evolve when they touch it. This is a weird image and when it appears it goes on for a stupid amount of time.
The film is effective in creating an unsettling atmosphere, but it gets boring at times. I would still rate it highly for being fantastic for its time and it is worth seeing just for the bit when the computer sings Daisy, Daisy ...
Frank Waloszek, 13, Porchester School, Bournemouth.
