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Reviews
The Riff Raff Element (1993)
AT LAST available 20th August 2017 Amazon UK on DVD
At last, at last... available on DVD (at least in the UK) one of the finest comic creations from the BBC. Writer Debbie Horsfield at her peak as far as I'm concerned, and all round performances from the cast. I've always had to rely on dubious copies of this series, so I'm very glad that someone has had the sense to sort out this release. My order is in and so should everyone else who loves quality TV. No spoilers but if you have ever wanted to understand the British class system this is a good as it gets! http://tinyurl.com/yao4pwfy
Mission: Impossible (1988)
Cheap and not a patch on the original series
Although the plot lines are not bad the first episode alone should alert to the cheap production values of the series - filmed in Australia the episode for most of the time is supposed to be in London, and if there was a IMDb prize for the number of location goofs it would win hands down. At least in cold war days you could imagine that a far off East European country was being represented... here the location is just jarring....a red phone box is moved around scenes, the Thames apparently has a modern suspension bridge and one star hotels in London have uniformed members of staff to open doors (I wish).
I laughed my head off at the policeman demanding to see the motorists licence (a la USA) something that just doesn't happen in the UK. A pity that the series was done on the cheap due to the writers strike - it could have been a worthy successor to the original (and on the other hand despite its faults it's still better than the film travesties).
Salt (2010)
Why?
The Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy has a scene where, in order to stay alive while being read Vogon poetry, a member of the audience gnaws his own arm off.
The same idea kept flitting through my mind in the cinema during this pile of drivel....
Why are we subjected to this? It was lazy, predictable and not even a good thriller. The fight scenes are laughable, the plot unbelievable, the acting wooden, the dialogue messy and attention to detail awful.
I hate to think what this cost.
Taken (2008)
One big yawn
That film was obviously sponsored by the 'Americans stay at home for your vacations league' Can you not come up with something more interesting than that?
Apparently my review is too short if I just leave it like that so what can I add:
Stereotyped, one dimensional, implausible, unbelievable, poorly acted, arty farty scenes stuck in to give it some sort of virtue that don't work, plot holes like pot holes and a weirdo teenage actress to boot.
When the door opened at the end I wanted a big set Albanian to blow the hero's head off, but hell no - this is Hollywood for goodness sake.
Signs (2002)
Truly awful
Twilight Zone would have done this better without all the pretentiousness and for a lot less dollars...regardless of the plot holes (what movie doesn't have those?) - the real issue is the turgid nature of the film, designed presumably with some sort of artistic 'intent' but actually creating a flaccid, boring piece of celluloid with a soggy sentimental backstop of lost faith. However truly sincere the director was with the creation the end result lacks impact, pace, logic, plot or believability. What could have been an interesting film is instead lazily put together almost in a touching faith that it would be appreciated. One has to wonder if this would have ended up on the big screen at all if it had not been for the directors previous outings.
Unfaithful (2002)
yawn....
Desperate stuff that with the blood and gore watered down would suit a made for TV wet Wednesday afternoon session. [Sorry, you must provide at least 4 lines in your comment] - But is this waste of celluloid even worth four lines of IMDB's webspace?