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Reviews
What's Good for the Goose (1969)
A great period piece
This film is a great period piece but with a midlife crisis theme still relevant today. Released in 1969, in the period when the new 'permissive society' became relevant and news worthy, an assistant bank manager makes a fool of him self at a banker's conference in Southport as he falls in love with a teenage girl hitch hiker. It has aged much better then the traditional Norman Wisdom gimp movie, although it still has many of the Norman hallmarks - he takes credit for the script and is associate producer. There are parts which can make me cringe but only because, as a bloke in his fifties, I see painful reflections of my own behaviour. Sally Geeson is, as ever, a delightful presence. She quit acting much too soon! Not a truly great picture but sympathetic and, with a great supporting cast of British stalwarts and some good laughs, vastly better than many reviewers would have you believe.
Lost and Delirious (2001)
Amazingly powerful
OK, middle aged guy buys a movie about lesbian school girls. Everybody nods knowingly and they may have correctly judged my motivation in watching it. However, nothing prepared me for the way I felt after watching it and still feel about it now. I won't go into the story or spoilers, because they are sufficiently documented elsewhere here. On the face of it, there's an opportunity to make a genuinely erotic movie. What I saw was a movie about three girls who have, in some way or another, been rejected pushed aside or pressured into making choices which aren't their own. They are growing up and finding their way, not fully understanding the consequences of their own emotions. Those parts which I might have found erotic I found, instead, very tender and beautifully moving. The scene where Tori explains to Paulie that she will never love anyone the way she loves her is the most heart breaking piece of cinema I have ever seen. I get emotional just thinking about it! Piper Perabo gives an astoundingly real and powerful performance as a girl rejected first by her natural mother, then by her adoptive parents and,finally, by the girl she loves. Jessica Pare is convincing as a spoilt girl who sees herself losing all the benefits her family provide if she proves to be in any way less than the trophy daughter they imagine. She is plainly in love with Paulie but fails to see the consequences of her rejection until it's too late. Mischa Barton is also convincing as a young girl confused by her new surroundings but loyal to those who show her friendship. Her dismay when her father fails to arrive for a school event was profoundly touching. In the end,though, it's Piper Perabo who truly stands out. Why was she not nominated for any major award for this? I'd feel pretty aggrieved if I were her! I would have given 10/10 but for the ending. I felt a movie this good deserved something more conclusive and credible. Over all,though,it's not soft porn, not comically erotic, and nothing to watch with friends over beer. It's a beautiful, profoundly affecting film about true love and teenage girls. Anyone who dreads the day when their daughter comes home and says 'Dad, I have something to tell you...' really must watch this. I promise you, it could change your life!
Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957)
Just what a movie should be - almost
The sets are terrible, the acting poor, the writing bizarre, the whole thing looks as cheap as they come. But microwave some popcorn, get in a few root beers, turn out the lights and it's pure entertainment. What else should we ask of a movie? Before suggesting it's the 'worst' movie ever made try the marvellous 'The Killer Shrews', 'The Giant Gila Monster', 'The Giant Leeches' or the influential 'The Creeping Terror'. Don't complain about them - enjoy them for all their simplicity. The people who made these movies loved what they did - they may not have had talent, but they had passion and enthusiasm. Mere lack of a good story, money, actors or props was not going to stop them. Absolute delight.
The Woman in Black (1989)
best ever spook movie
I watched this on TV in 1989 when it was first shown as a traditional ghost story for Christmas. I recorded it on VHS at the time. I still have that recording and must have watched it 30 times. It never gets any less chilling...in fact, the anticipation makes it even more chilling! The atmosphere is brilliant, and each appearance of the ghost is unexpected and genuinely hair raising. The film proves that you don't need slashers, gore or special effects to be a genuinely effective shocker. I have also seen it on stage and have read the original book and, although each differs slightly, I would recommend them all. My daughter, who is 10, is also now a great fan and my old recording is getting worn out. The film seems to have attained some cult status and really should be re-distributed. Nobody has made one to match it since!