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penguin2212
Reviews
Midnight in Saint Petersburg (1996)
Wooden performances and a dreadful script
Other reviews speak well of Caine's performance but I found him well below par. To be fair he has a dreadful script, an improbable storyline and no other star to live up to, but he looks just old, tired, (which he probably felt at the time), and miscast and it shows. The Harry Palmer of The Ipcress File fame is no more. Bullet to Beijing is better, quite a bit better, but that is also well below Caine's best. Connery is a nice looking young man, like his dad was, but his acting skills are modest. The stars of this film are the Russians! They give it a touch of authenticity and some can act.
It is not hard to see why Disney dumped both these films. Harry Palmer done in by Bond was the phrase I read at the time. However on a final and slightly positive note: both films make grade B, require little thought and even less imagination. If you have nothing better to do then have a look to see how far the mighty can fall. You will sleep well after wards if you are not asleep before the end!
Erebus: The Aftermath (1988)
A powerful and moving account of a shabby affair
This lengthy docu-drama deals with the cause and aftermath of the Air New Zealand air crash on Mount Erebus in Antarctica in 1978. It pulls few punches and is hard to "put down" so to speak. Frank Finlay as Mr Justice Mahon is quite brilliant and almost all the other members of this essentially New Zealand cast are pretty good too. The drama does not depict either the Air New Zealand management or the New Zealand government of the time in a good light and it is hard to conclude that this position is not correct. However it has undoubtedly made this a controversial production in some circles and it has not been released on video yet. Vested interests might prevail to ensure it is never released which would be a real pity and a loss to legitimate free speech. Copies of the broadcast are hard to come by and should be snapped up if they come your way. This is one of the best docu-dramas of it's type I have ever seen and is frequently re-watched in my home.
A Painful Reminder: Evidence for All Mankind (1985)
The most damning of them all
This is the story of a film that never was. A documentary designed to show the German people the real disgrace and barbarity of their Final Solution, a film that was eventually pulled for political expediency.
It contains some of the most horrific and soul searching scenes one will ever see, some beyond imagination.This is perhaps the most powerful and damning record of what went on in the concentration camps of the Third Reich and requires a strong stomach. It should be seen by anyone who has the slightest doubts about the veracity of the Holocaust. The photography is graphic and the commentary and personal accounts do the subject matter full justice. See it if you can.
Josh Jarman (2004)
No porn, no foul language, just solid Australian comedy from Melbourne
I attended the world premiere at the Melbourne Film Festival on spec and was most pleasantly surprised by this movie. Financed by a philanthropic local and filmed entirely in Melbourne, it is very much a local story. The acting is never less than very good and in a couple of cases it is quite excellent. The quality of picture and sound is well up to the best Hollywood sitcom standards and the whole show ran like clockwork.
Unusually in this age of excess, there is no foul language, brutal violence or pornographic sex. The dialog is full of wit and plays to Australian tastes with some good English rhyming slang, (which is very much part of modern Australian English), and even a taste of Jewish deadpan humor, which should go down well with Melbourne's large Jewish community. I will not give anything away about the story except to say it has a number of hilarious effects and twists that were well received by the enthusiastic audience. I think this film will appeal strongly to the younger set (16 - 45) but there is something for everyone. It should be a hit on the DVD rental market, not just in Australia but I could see good prospects in the UK and the substantial market for British / Australian comedy in America. Try it, its fun.
The Rainbow Warrior (1993)
Increasingly relevant
This has just been released on DVD in Australia in a quite reasonable transfer but without any extras and unfortunately an incomplete cast list. Filmed mostly in Auckland it has a good air of realism and the French in particular are portrayed with a scurrilous and arrogant demeanor as befits the event. Sam Neill is excellent as the Police Chief but Jon Voight is weak in an otherwise more than adequate cast. The coastal and sea photography is good and there only minimal fill shots. As terrorism becomes an increasing issue, this dramatization of a real event shows what lengths states will go to when they feel their legitimate interests are threatened. I enjoyed it as did several of my fiends who viewed it. Recommended.
The Lighthorsemen (1987)
One of Australia' best
This is an excellent film with surely the finest cavalry charge ever filmed. In this movie the horse is King and the care taken to illustrate the vital interaction between these magnificent animals and their riders is great to behold. The acting and direction are good without the need for big names. It has had a number of releases, the best being a 2.35 wide screen laser disc version in the USA. Australia has released a DVD version but it is dreadfully truncated being cut to 1.78 from the vastly more meaningful aspect ratio of the laser disc. On the big screen this film makes a fantastic impact and every effort should be made to see the original wide screen version in this way. Highly recommended.