BAS/NL Reviews

Lost in Siberia (1991)

Hard but realistic movie about a man whose send to prison in Siberia

[14 September 2003]

Hard but realistic movie about an English researcher who goes innocent to the prison camps during Stalin. Professionally made on location in Russia, good acting, and made on a grand scale. Shows how horrible and idiotic the regime under Stalin was. Out of a 10 point rating : 8

Innocent Blood (1992)

Good combination of horror and black comedy.

[6 September 1999]

Good, successful combination of horror and black comedy. Nicely situated in a snow covered New York. Has the same humorous elements as Landis with his American werewolf in London. Watch out for the appearances of several horror-movie directors like Sam Raimi (slaughterhouse).

Career Opportunities (1991)

Sometimes good but overall a very average movie.

[6 September 1999]

Sometimes funny, sometimes gripping, sometimes there are good dialogues between Whaley and Connelly but overall a very average movie of the director who made The Breakfast club.

Connelly has much talent but she doesn't get the chance to do some good acting due to a very boring story.

Blood Relations (1988)

Sometimes a really scary movie.

[6 September 1999]

An average horror movie with excellent shots, that sometimes really scares you. If you pay good attention is the plot not really so surprising. The whole film takes place in one house, and has a 19th century baroque sphere.

Slaughter High (1986)

Very boring and stupid slasher movie.

[6 September 1999]

Very boring and idiotic slasher movie about a bunch of students on a university ( the building looks more than an old factory ) who are slaughtered by one by one by a maniac.

The whole movie is stupid, ridiculous, and a total waste of time.

However there's one scene in the movie that's worth watching. Five students throw their "like s**t" tasting beer in a garbage container where just one of their friends is slaughtered, one of them says: 'I would die for a good beer'. And of course he's next !

When the Light Comes (1998)

A young girl spends a winter with a trapper

[30 August 1999]

A young girl spends a winter with a trapper in a cold and dark Spitzbergen, in the far north 900 km of the North Pole not many films are shot. In this uninhabited desert temperatures drop easily to -50 degrees celcius in winter. The film begins that a young girl leaves for Spitzbergen, to spend a winter with a trapper.

This isn't really a 'vacation', especially when spending a whole winter here, you must know how to survive here. The girl in the movie leaves without knowing anything about how these trappers overwinter here. ( normally 6-8 trappers overwinter each year ). Authorities in Longyearbyen are very touchy about people who come here on their own ( you will have to carry a weapon, high insurances, etc.. ).

What the film is really about is the relation between the girl from Amsterdam and the Norwegian trapper. The great differences between the young girl and the older and shy trapper leads to many troubles. Over the whole the movie is quite average, but the great filming locations and the effort of director Coninx to make a romantic movie here ( apart from another film about polar bears ) makes this film very special.

Stalingrad (1993)

Stalingrad 1943, a whole army lost in the Russian winter

[17 June 1999]

Great movie from the producers of das Boot. Impressing war movie, very hard, and no happy endings. Hitler's war machine was stopped here, after a second 'blitzkrieg' in russia, and the whole 6th army was lost. This film is a very realistic story about a group of soldiers trapped in a very terrifying nightmare.

Police Academy 6: City Under Siege (1989)

Unbelieveble, another one!

[30 January 1999]

I've seen the first police acadamy several years back. it wasn't a good movie but the quality of the film series seemed to drop with every successor and has reached a final depth-point in part 6, this film is only for people who were angry that part 5 didn't get an oscar. One of worst movies I've ever seen.

Dogfight (1991)

A good special movie.

[24 January 1999]

Original movie with Phoenix who's drafted for Vietnam and Taylor as the 'ugly' and shy waitress with a special character. Good acting performances of Phoenix and Taylor, a good example how war can change people, if you are looking for a movie about Vietnam you will be disappointed the part in Vietnam lasts only one minute.

The Breakfast Club (1985)

Nice 80's style 'teen' movie.

[24 January 1999]

Hughes "masterpiece about 5 teens in turmoil" doesn't bore at all however the whole movie finds place in the school library. Nelson is good as the criminal, Sheedy is credible as the shy 'weird' girl. Ringwald ( in '85 a very promising actress, is today wrongful an very underestimated actress ) is in her second big role very good as the rich, spoiled girl. The film is a combination of humour, drama and a little bit of 'action', sometimes too sentimental but the film is far above the average of the 80's teen movies.

Independence Day (1996)

Aliens are coming and they aren't friendly!

[4 October 1998]

SF-movie from Roland Emmerich, who we know from the weak SF-movie Moon 44 and the even worser Universal soldier ( a sort of Robo'flop'). Stargate was great and it has much in common with ID4, you could say it's from the same 'formula',very good special effects, good acting and directing but a weak story ( like Twister ). ID4 has very incredible story ok it's still a SF-movie but Will Smith stepping into a alien aircraft which had been worked on for 40 years without result in how to fly the thing and he flies it perfectly in 10 minutes is a little over the limit. Further are there many 'holes' in the movie things that just don't match and Jeff Goldblum must be gigantic smart to know how earth must be saved in 10 minutes! This film is very patriotic with the president of the US ( who served in the gulf war as fighter pilot ) fighting with normal pilots in the battle against the aliens. It sometimes almost looks like a propagandist movie from the US army. And the whole movie is for me to soft, with the brave president and his quite little daughter, the nice black woman and his lovely little boy, the old man who makes jokes, the weird professor who knows from the beginning how the earth must be saved, and the old alcoholic flyer from who you know hours before the end of the novie that he will save the planet and will give his life, and the 'sturdy' airforce pilot ( Will Smith ). Why not a movie in the sphere of Aliens or The Crow or Alien 3

Movies with a dark sphere, hard, no 'happy endings' no romantic additions just like a SF-Horror movie should be. This film could have been great, but maybe all I am saying is all nonsense it is after all a pleasant movie to watch on your video on a cold rainy evening when you have nothing else to do. Rating ( out of 10 ) : 7.

Zombie High (1987)

Students act strange after brain operation.

[4 October 1998]

This film is according to me not only about zombies it is actually made by them. Unbelievbly stupid, boring, sick movie, made by and directed by zombies.

Grey Knight (1993)

A beast attacks soldiers in the civil war

[7/10 · 13 September 1998]

What could have been a good horror-movie is infected by a often to weird and confusing story. The acting is good, the filming locations are beautiful. The film also has a special 'supernatural' sphere, the supernatural elements in the movie are in a good way connected to the story. The function of the narrator of the story is good. It's a pity that the story is a such a mess, but watching the movie is certainly recomended.