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Reviews
Event Horizon (1997)
Starts well then collapses
This movie starts well mixing sci-fi with elements of occult horror.
The usual post-alien set-up, a ragbag of freaks and wasters forming an unlikely crew of space explorers/scrappers , most of the cast are wooden or just have plain annoying faces.
Fishburne is ok, Sam Neil at this point is in everything and probably the most annoying.
This movie aged very quickly but was average upon first release
The hint of dark and satanic stuff to come is really good but unfortunately the whole thing just falls away into a silly mess of woops and bangs and wet corridors and explosions etc
First half was 8/10 second half was utterly pants
Like many other viewers I would have much preferred a stylish descent into lovecraftian supernatural horror.
Doctor Who: The Leisure Hive: Part One (1980)
Glossy
Final season for Tom Baker but the start of a new team behind the show with a modern techy new look and approach.
We have a brand new title sequence and theme tune. Brand new costume for the cosplay kinkers.
And the story starts with a glorious panoramic shot of Brighton beach that lasts a long time for a Dr who story (ever pressed for time) this feels like we are being indulged. It's luxurious, the anticipation as slowly the TARDIS drifts into shot. Magic
As for the rest of the show, it's really good. There is a definate glossy glitzy new hi-tech feel about this story. The sets, the special effects. It's all about tachyons and stuffs
Thoroughly decent story and acting
And end of episode One is up there with the very best cliffhangers of all time.
7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964)
An epic comedy fantasy
Unlikely to get a screening on most channels this movie is actually a delite.
There may be issues with portrayals of certain characters, that's ok, but really Tony Randall gives a mesmeric performance.
He plays a handful of fantasy characters, all different, all truly magical.
How do you explain this movie?
A magic travelling show visits some mid western American town and changes the lives of everyone in it.
This is an epic tale in the tradition of Sinbad etc with Tony Randall stealing every scene with performances that are truly stunning. Imagine if an Brigadoon went on the road?
The original novel 'the circus of Dr lao' is a fairly impenetrable mytho-fantasy, but this movie adaptation is spot on.
Stand-out scenes are the Appolonia of Tayana fortune reading, and the ecstatic and erotic dance of Pan
If you get the chance...definitely watch this movie.
The Personal History of David Copperfield (2019)
Big on comedy, big on fun
I really liked this version by Iannucci.
He goes for a full-on comedy feel for this adaptation of the Dickens classic.
A much welcome addition to the ranks.
Some good performances by a strong cast.
Stand-out performance has to be Peter Capaldi for his warm and compassionate portrayal of Mr Micawber ( an enduringly popular character).
There are a few grim and challenging scenes, Iannucci handles the early years of abuse inflicted on the young David Copperfield very well.
Great scenery, nice costumes, perfect recreation of the Peggoty house-boat, and lovely recreation of the Betsy Trotwood cottage (the original exists in Broadstairs, Kent, and is a museum well worth a visit)
No too long. Not too grim. Ensemble cast, and thoroughly enjoyable movie.
Werewolf by Night (2022)
Great new direction, old style horror and comedy
This will appeal to any fans of classic horror
Filmed in black and white it has a lovely Ed Wood feel to it
Very gothic with tons of monsters and villains
A short mini-movie , lots of good characters, lots of humour as well (great banter is the number one requirement for me).
Nicely shot. Very atmospheric and a storyline that is simple but fun. A bit like a computer game
I'm not familiar with the comic but can definitely see a series out of this .
Everyone looks really cool in black and white, especially Laura Donnelly.
It has bebe glazer from Frasier in, and she is taking it in turns hammy and scary. A good performance from everyone.
Doctor Who: Robot: Part One (1974)
Tom Baker !!!!
This is the best way to introduce anyone to the classic series.
A gorgeous 4 parter to herald the beginning of the Tom Baker era. It's kid-friendly and features one of the best robot designs of the entire series.
A pastiche of King Kong with a team comprising Tom, Lis Sladen (sarah-jane) and Ian Marter (Harry), the holy trinity.
Plus one of the last appearances of a fully functional UNIT ( the para-military group featuring Brigadier and Sgnt Benton).
It starts with the classic regeneration scene from the mighty Jon Pertwee to Baker and becomes a lovely adventure with a cool robot and a mad scientific death cult threatening the Earth.
Tom starts at a ferocious pace, is his usual mesmerising self, and within a short while we've pretty much accepted him as the new Doctor. To play the Doctor requires a certain something special but to top the mighty Pertwee requires a force of nature that is hard to comprehend.
As stated above, this is a perfect serial to introduce a new comer to whether they are 4 or 40, it's just lovely and fun.
Emily (2022)
7 stars but only 3 without the mask scene
This film is all about the 'mask scene'.
A seemingly straight-forward corset romance is elevated by a scary gothic horror scene that lasts about 5 mins
The biopic suddenly promises to turn into a ghostly fantasy....but doesn't.
So it's worth noting that without it this film would be just a lovely looking , artistically pleasing Victorian romance with nothing much to it.
Mackey is really great in the starring role but sadly she (or a stand-in) is compelled to undress for the inevitable nude scene. I was very disappointed with this, coming from a female director. There was no need for it whatsoever.
But the mask scene is stunning, you won't forget it in a hurry.
The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)
Grim, depressing, pointless waste of talent and idea
Started out great, gritty and funny.
Quickly descended into a depressing directionless and miserable mess.
Violent and with no resolution whatsoever. The story falls away. Rushed and ultimately worthless as a movie.
The hype surrounding this was totally unjustified and actually all you are left with is a feeling of Irish stereotypes and tropes of brutality and stupidity set in a picturesque timeless background.
As stated above this started out well, it was funny, Colin was on top form and the role of the sister seemed to be going somewhere..and then...nothing.
Just violence and no sense that the writer/director had any idea how to end it.
Jaws 2 (1978)
The best sequel
A solid plot, the original cast return (minus Dreyfus) and give great performances especially Schieder and his wife Lorraine Gary, both really go for it and dont seem sulky at all (no one wanted to reprise their roles).
The evil mayor returns and is joined by a even eviler councillor-type, both in denial but it's not tacky it's really well played out.
The expansive orchestral soundtrack is good, the photography is arty and intelligent.
Some of the memorable scenes from the franchise are in this one. The speedboat, the grainy photo, the killer whale, the observation tower drama etc.
The movie is in two parts quite like the original .
The first part on land is packed with atmosphere and incident. The second is on the water and still full of excitement and drama
Dispute the initial disappointment from audiences ( how could that be otherwise after the mesmerising original movie?) this sequel stands up and is highly recommended.
Prince of Darkness (1987)
Quite weird, scary, and 80's
One of my favourite films but definitely an 80's nostalgia thing.
It has a really interesting idea, ancient green liquid that has some kind of energy source in it? A scientific team is despatched to investigate.
My fave films tend to be 'base under seige' stories (whether it's Jaws in Amity , the Thing in the Arctic or classic haunted house tales). Prince of Darkness places the team of investigators in an old church curiously situated right in the middle of a grim urban inner city dump.
The cast is quite poor but again very 80's-style. The obvious star is Donald Pleasance who gives a terrific performance as the haunted priest. It's worth noting this film would be fairly forgettable without him.
The other aspects that lift the film are the supernatural elements including the now legendary dream sequences which DJ Shadow sampled in one of his albums in the 90's.
The cameo by Alice Cooper is the worst part of the movie.
This film is lots of tacky fun overall.
Exterminate All the Brutes (2021)
Stunning, brave, emotional, masterpiece
Two of my favourite histories are Trouillot's and Lindquist's.
Peck weaves together the seminal works of those two and Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz to create a truly compelling and deeply disturbing history of African slavery at the hands of European and American monsters.
If you like this documentary you should definitely read Trouillot's 'silencing the past'
Lindquist's 'the history of bombing'
And Howard W French 'born in blackness'
Sobering stuff
Power and the production of history is challenged and turned upside down. The enlightenment and modern capitalism were forged in the plantations of Jamaica and Haiti off the blood and suffering of entirely innocent human beings selected for a life of pain because of the colour of their skin.
Hopefully this isn't a spoiler for anybody.