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mdiffey
Reviews
The Vice (1999)
Excellent, but may have outstayed its welcome
When The Vice first started being shown on TV, it was one of a number of quality drama serials produced by ITV, along with programmes such as McCallum and Kavanagh QC. However, as the drama output of ITV has gone rapidly down hill, it may appear to be time to call an end to this fine series.
*Possible spoilers*
To be honest, the series has been struggling since Marc Warren was killed off in series 2, as his character really helped to make the show. It was just about able to survive after that thanks to the superb performances of Ken Stott in the lead role. His acting really was first class- immensely believable and extremely powerful.
However, with Stott now out of the show, there doesn't really seem much need to carry on for much longer. While David Harewood is undoubtedly a very fine actor, I don't think he has the support required to continue to make the series a success. Which really is a shame, as The Vice is one of the high points of British TV drama over the last few years.
If you can track down any of the early episodes, do so, but it appears as if the most recent series may be a series too far.
Solid Geometry (2002)
Sorry?
Oh dear. What exactly was this all supposed to be about? Just because something doesn't make sense doesn't automatically make it profound (or even interesting.)
While this may have worked as a short story, this production was frankly terrible- the acting was amazingly stilted and the dialogue just amateurish. Ewan McGregor can certainly do better, and everyone concerned should forget about this as soon as possible.
1 out of 10
Batman Returns (1992)
The best of the bunch
For anyone who claims that this film doesn't live up to the original, I strongly advise them to actually go back and watch that film- then be shocked by the desperately slow pace, complete lack of action and unengaging character interaction. While Batman Returns is by no means a perfect film, it must be remembered that this was a major summer blockbuster- and as such, it is surprising just how dark the whole thing is.
Keaton is excellent, although slightly underused- De Vito does just about as much as he can to invest the Penguin with some sort of character- Pfeiffer just about convinces- and Christopher Walken is as sinister as ever. The action set-pieces are completely overblown, but fantastically exciting, and the slightly downbeat ending perfectly complements the legend of the Dark Knight.
In retrospect, the Batman series as a whole has never been anywhere near to approaching greatness (the least said about the last two films, the better), but at least Burton did make a great Batman movie. If Darren Aronofsky is going to re-invent the series, he'd do well to look at this film before the others.
The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)
Absolutely magical
I'm a massive fan of the Coen Brothers, Miller's Crossing and The Big Lebowski being two of my all time favourite films. As such, when I got round to watching The Hudsucker Proxy on video is was expecting it to be a well made film, if not quite up to the heights of those other films considering its poor box office.
Having seen the film I was delighted to admit that I (and most of the filmgoing public) were spectacularly wrong. To put it simply, The Hudsucker Proxy is an exceptional movie, and even stands out in relation to the other Coen Brothers' films. There's just so much to like in this film. Tim Robbins' performance is great, as is Jennifer Jason Leigh. Paul Newman is also a stand out.
However, these performances would be for nothing if it wasn't for the marvellous script- witness the boardroom scenes in which the directors discuss how many floors it was that Mr Hudsucker fell ("not including the mezzanine") or the scene in which they interrogate Norville about his new invention. The script is also responsible for the fantastic line "Y'know, for kids!" which means nothing if you haven't seen the movie but now always makes me laugh whenever I think of it.
A few days after seeing this, I also saw Fargo on video. What I find difficult to believe is that Fargo won Oscars and was highly popular while The Hudsucker Proxy passed by relatively unnoticed (personally, I think Fargo is one of the weaker Coen Brothers' films). If you're put off by the fact that you've never heard of The Hudsucker Proxy, don't be. This is an absolutely fantastic film and I can't stress enough how much I would recommend it. If you see a copy, buy it. This is film making at its finest.
Victory (1981)
Football + War = Masterpiece!
Despite being universally derided by everyone I know, I still believe that Escape To Victory is possibly the greatest feelgood movie ever made. For anyone who has a passion for football this is an absolute must see, if just for a chance to see legends such as Bobby Moore and Pele playing in the same team.
However, while the football is marvellous, the drama is on a similar level. Everyone always goes on about this film being cheesy, but I really believe it has some great dramatic moments: Caine telling Stallone "I won't be responsible for your death", the tragedy of the Eastern European prisoners, and of course the performance of Max von Sydow.
He really does make the film what it is with a hugely dignified portrayal of a man who has no interest in the war going on around him. When he tells Caine "if all the nations of the world could solve their problems on the football field, wouldn't that be something?", it may be a hugely naive (and slightly corny) sentiment, but you honestly believe that he means it.
There are some minus points, however; it's clear that Stallone has never played as a goalkeeper before (I should know because it's my position), some of the lines delivered by the footballers do sound enormously false (a problem similar to that with the musicians in The Blues Brothers, another classic), and many of the British and German officers are incredibly caricatured. Also, as a war movie it's about as far removed from the terrible reality of war as it's possible to get.
However, to state that Escape to Victory is unrealistic is to miss the point entirely. It's pure escapism. As such, it can lay claim to being one of the few specifically male-oriented feelgood movies around.
In conclusion, it surely deserves to be regarded as something of a modern classic.