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Reviews
World of the Dead: The Zombie Diaries (2011)
bought it, couldn't watch it
I bought this after seeing positive reviews on amazon. I wish I hadn't.
The two leads -philip brody and alix wilton regan- are decent in this but I didn't see any need to replace Victoria Nalder who was the only good actor in the first film.
The problem I have with this is about half the movie is shot in nightvision or infra red or whatever its called. It gives a luminous green negative effect which I find irritating and difficult to watch.
The rest deals with a gang of badly acted rapists (Russell Jones returning from Zombie Diaries 1) which is both unpleasant and badly made. Goke is so poorly realised by Jones that he poses no threat. I felt that the whole interlude was a prurient attempt to pad out the film and provide a focus for the story.
As with other films by these people there's a lot of sexual violence and misogyny which is all a bit unsettling. I didn't enjoy it.
The Hole (2001)
over long but intriguing
The premise of this movie is utterly intriguing and for the most part the story is compelling for its duration.The cast,particularly Thora Birch, all give top notch performances.The final twist is telegraphed a little too much but there are shocks and surprises along the way which defy the viewer to stop paying attention.There are also a couple of genuinely disturbing moments and a couple of very steamy love scenes.The middle section could have been trimmed a little but this is a minor quibble.Highly recommended!
Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001)
unintentionally hilarious
It was inevitable that someone would try to film this hugely popular novel.Unfortunately this film is about as appealing as most Hollywood literary adaptations.Nicholas Cage is a little old to play the romantic lead and his Italian accent defeats any attempt at a credible performance.It's like something from a bad sitcom.Penelope Cruz is stunning as the female star but if she wants to remain the toast of Hollywood she'll have to do better than this.Worst of all Christian bale pops up as a rather effeminate resistance fighter who looks like he's been forced out of hiding because he ran out of moisturiser.Older stars like John Hurt are the best thing in the movie and Irene Papas can convey more with a single look than the three leads together...unfortunately neither are glamorous to be the focus of the movie.That about sums it up...a potentially beautiful story abandoned in favour of glossy visuals and slick production values.A missed oppurtunity!
American Psycho (2000)
a cure for insomnia
This is possibly the worst movie I have ever seen.The plot makes no sense, the production values are sadly lacking compared to what those familiar with the novel would expect and the supporting cast is totally wasted.Reese Witherspoon and samantha mathis get little screen time and Willem Defoe turns up briefly in scenes that seem to bear no relation to the rest of the plot.All this might be excusable If the titular character was credible, but he is not.Christian Bale overacts inexcusably and his American accent is pretty poor.He convinces the audience neither as a psycho nor an American.Mary Harron has dumbed down the novel and the character of Pat Bateman so that the intelligent manipulative sociopath of the novel is replaced by a socially incompetent geek whose escape from prosecution is the result of luck rather than cunning.
Who Dares Wins (1982)
Good fun
This excellent film was obviously inspired by the Iranian embassy siege 2 years earlier, but despite this it comes across as a feature length episode of the TV series The Professionals - probably because so many of the same team worked on it. Lewis Collins performs well as Skellen and despite some hammy performances elsewhere this is a fairly intense film. The script seems painfully slow nowadays and takes a long time to get going but when it does it rates highly. The seige of Skellen's house is well-handled and the fight between Rosalind Lloyd and Ingrid Pitt is perhaps the best scene in the movie. The SAS storming of the embassy is ultimately the reason for the film's existence and it is very exciting. On the basis of this movie Lewis Collins would have made a very good James Bond but sadly it was not to happen..unfortunately it was all downhill from here.