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Reviews
Adventure Boyz (2019)
First reviewer - now an additional comment on IMDb
I was the first reviewer of the film for Film and TV Now and it is so pleasing to see so many people warming to the film.
Little I can add to my previous review, except that it deserves it.
Spread the word and please do watch the film when you can - again and again if possible.
Love N' Dancing (2009)
Commendable introduction to West Coast Swing
Having been a West Coast Swing dancer for 5 years in the UK, it was great to finally see this film in a cinema in San Diego across from the annual Swing Diego dance convention. Anticipation has been high for this film over the last year or so, which has been given a limited cinema release. In the UK, it has only been available on satellite through Sky, so it was nice to catch it in a proper cinematic environment.
Devotees of the dance style will have a ball spotting some of their favourite pros in some sequences. The likes of Ronnie Debennetta, Brandi Tobias, Jordan Frisbee, Tatiana Mollmann, Parker Dearborn, Jessica Cox and others who work and teach tirelessly during the calendar year at events both US and Internationally serve as competent supporting players in a movie in the style of STRICTLY BALLROOM.
Tom Malloy plays a former US Swing champion who gives a lecture on disability to a school and reveals his talent to a class of students. A teacher at the school wants to sign up her fiancé for dance lessons, but his devotion to the deal rather than her prompts her to follow through herself.
Robert Iscove, who directed SHE'S ALL THAT (memorable for the prom dance to Fatboy Slim and who has a long history of dance choreography) does admirably and refreshingly the issue of deafness in an individual is sensitively handled. The dance sequences are staged well and the more astute amongst WCS dancers keen to see the style portrayed in cinematic form will not be disappointed.
Hopefully, this will be the start-off point for more films along the same lines.
Conquest of the Earth (1980)
The death knell for GALACTICA - as it was....
Glen Larson claimed that the GALACTICA 1980 cast were better than Hatch and Benedict. Robbie Rist turned up from from his success in BIG JOHN LITTLE JOHN as a diminutive kid scientist and Lorne Greene was relegated to a supporting player of supporting players in this rather bizarre choice of a UK theatrical release.
Utilising footage from EARTHQUAKE during a simulation (which made it onto the trailer in the UK) it was actually the most eventful moment of the film, whose plot consisted of some kind of scientific theory being the key to the future of earth's civilisation.
Surprisingly, there was no evidence of the Cylons truly invading Earth as you might have expected from a race out to exterminate all human life and it was no surprise that the series was short lived until the updated Olmos show.
The Third Man (1949)
Worthy of it's acclaim - and more....
When you watch a so-called classic film for the first time after years of it being 'out there', sometimes you can't really justify why the film became a classic in the first place. Some movies simply become 'of their time' and don't transcend the period all that well. CASABLANCA is a movie that has been regarded by some commentators as the greatest Hollywood film, but compared to films like SINGIN IN THE RAIN and STAR WARS, it has more relevance to the period in which it was shot (1942).
Carol Reed's THE THIRD MAN, according to the DVD sleeve notes on the UK release 2-disc set, has been acclaimed as the 'greatest British film of all time'. I would regard it as a great British film up there with the likes of GET CARTER, THE FULL MONTY and LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, a contrasting film set on natural locations and scripted by one of the all-time great novelists (Graham Greene). Although my cynicism regarding it's acclaim on the sleeve was evident, I can justify at least some of that by how influential this film could have been on films that followed. One can't help wondering whether director Andrew Davis was influenced and inspired by this film when he conceived the FUGITIVE remake, since the sewer sequence in that film is very reminiscent of the climactic chase in this film.
THE THIRD MAN is an early example of good structured storytelling, with sufficient teasing of the audience as Martins (Joseph Cotten) arrives in Vienna to seek out his friend Harry Lime. It is probably one of those films Alfred Hitchcock would have done alongside his other British offerings prior to his Hollywood success, but that does not take anything away from director Reed's skill with the camera and character. Bernard Lee provides an interesting supporting performance which seems to be a trailer to his iconic performances as M in the Bond films from 1962-79, another series that may well have been influenced by THE THIRD MAN in tone and style.
The music score is another strength and factor in this film's power. I suppose a lot of people cannot think of Orson Welles in parody form without that classic theme reverberating in their heads. The late comedian Kenny Everett did such a homage to Welles during his 80's ITV show in England, as non-PC a comedian as you could get back then.
Ultimately though, it is the cohesive whole of all elements that help make THE THIRD MAN one of the true all-time entertainments. Worthy of it's place in cinematic and DVD history.
Live Free or Die Hard (2007)
Best DIE HARD sequel
As with any big franchise, the follow-on films always turn out to be a challenge. It is very rare that a sequel will top the original, but films like ALIENS and GODFATHER PART II are two examples that prove the exception.
DIE HARD 4.0 has had to misfortune of being released when the very genre it's original film inspired and created has evolved to even greater spectacle with little or none of the intelligent dramatic punch that personified the 1988 film. The Bond series reinvented itself throughout the subsequent decades and CASINO ROYALE has paved the way for potential follow-on films.
The fourth film sees John McClane brought in to escort a computer hacker to the FBI after a series of mysterious computer-related explosions kill off some of his ilk. It transpires that a crazed Bill Gates type figure is holding the US and world to ransom by shutting down the computer systems. It's a theme that has already been explored to some degree in SNEAKERS in which the film focused on whether it was the holders of information that control the military and political landscape.
Cue big stunts, visual effects and that trademark humour that is fluid throughout all three films. Whilst the fourth film still lacks some of the punch and some script logistics raise an eyebrow (how on earth did they allow a drunk ex-cop like McClane to hold a pilot's licence - but it is the movies - suspend your disbelief!!) there is still much to enjoy. The climax is right out of BAD BOYS meets TRUE LIES but why complain when this is a sequel to the film that started the modern action genre.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
Better to end in a KINGDOM than on a CRUSADE....
I have never been truly satisfied with any of the RAIDERS sequels, since the original, like most people who saw it, is regarded as near-perfection. I feel a genuine sense of closure with this series, as four films were announced at the outset rather than the rumoured nine films STAR WARS was going to be (although if you count the CLONE WARS DVDs, that makes eight in total)
Spielberg at least has the decency to begin the film with action rather than the prelude of 19 years of back-story, which is what the length of time is and we don't seem to get a sense of Indiana growing old gracefully as well as being on temporary retirement. However, there are moments where the film doesn't have the same kind of zest that personified the first film.
It is pleasing to see that CRYSTAL SKULL, whilst still lacking much of what made the original film a classic, bouncing back with a bang. The opening US base sequence in which Indy has to find a magnetic statue whilst under threat from villainous Russkie Red spy (Cate Blanchett)does pay homage to the earlier films and has sufficient energy to satisfy, but given the immense rumours about plot and story, the film does better than expected.
The trump card is of course seeing Karen Allen returning as Marion Ravenwood, still the best romantic sidekick and lover that Ford ever had, eclipsing Capshaw and Doody. Sadly though she doesn't appear until about half-way through the film, but provides enough to keep the fans happy.
Shia LeBoeuf provides adequate support, but it still worries me that he is being lined up as a successor to Ford on this basis. Blanchett and Ray Winstone do OK, but lack the vicious psychological edge that Paul Freeman and Ronald Lacey kept giving Indy in the first film.
John Williams scores another home-run with a variant on his classic 1981 score.
Better to end it now than with other sequels. Recommended.
Hung fan kui (1995)
Jackie's Chan's real American debut
In his entertaining biography, Jackie Chan made complaints about how his first American film, BATTLE CREEK BRAWL (AKA THE BIG BRAWL in the UK) was handled. Despite the presence of Robert Clouse, the film fared badly and his collaboration with THE EXTERMINATOR's James Glickenhaus in 1985, THE PROTECTOR, co-starred Danny Aiello, compounded his fears by stereotyping his role as an Oriental cop on the streets of New York.
Returning to Hong Kong, Chan proceeded to make a series of increasingly popular films internationally, of which POLICE STORY influenced the empty-headed cop thriller TANGO & CASH (watch the opening of that film and you get a direct life from POLICE STORY 1!!) and decided to try again with RUMBLE IN THE BRONX, which happily proved to be a more fortuitous offering, a case of third-time lucky and paved the way for his hugely successful collaboration with Chris Tucker in the RUSH HOUR series.
Chan plays an immigrant to NYC where he stays with his uncle who is about to marry. His uncle owns a corner store and is often under attack from local gangs. Inevitably Chan gets involved in an altercation with some and a local crime lord who is involved with diamond smuggling. A young disabled boy relative is also embroiled in the saga when the diamonds are hidden by his mother in the boy's wheelchair.....
Chan has never been better and despite the atypical dubbing that often mars such films like this, it actually works better for a film of it's type. The plot is mere a line on which to hang great action sequences (the opening fight in the corner store is fantastic) and as with previous Chan HK films, there are outtakes during the end credits.
Shao Lin san shi liu fang (1978)
Funny, energetic and possibly a rival to ENTER THE DRAGON as greatest Kong fu film of all time.....
This is possibly THE GREATEST Kong-fu movie ever made and being a fan of ENTER THE DRAGON and regarding that for years as the best, I took in a screening during a Martial Arts season at the NFT which showed the original language version with subtitles. It's sequel, RETURN TO THE 36TH CHAMBER, works both as a sequel and as an original film in it's own right, as it has the lead actor lampoon his original role.
The plot involves a petty criminal who hides away in a Shaolin Temple on the run and thus begins to learn the various skills that will turn him into a Shaolin Monk. The goal is the 36th Chamber, which participants have to endure a previous 35 to get to with a series of increasingly impossible disciplines. Naturally you can expect what is going to happen, but the payoff of watching San Te emerge from the Temple and take on people in the town nearby is a joy to behold.
Funny in a non-stereotypical way and with much to appeal to a Western audience, do catch the full two-hour version (UK versions were heavily reduced and I hope that the new version gets new screenings at some point.
Fuga dal Bronx (1983)
Bizarre, unnecessary,. futuristic sequel
BRONX WARRIORS was a pretty bad movie to say the least, but BRONX WARRIORS 2, which has clearly been conceived out of optimism rather than anything else, exceeds in sheer badness and dullness. It has a bit more energy and enthusiasm than it's predecessor, but the sheer lack of logistical thought and evidence that it was shot wherever the director could muster a location in the Hudson River are makes it a turkey amongst equals.
A Government corporation sends in flamethrower and machine gun wielding jump-suited soldiers wearing crash helmets to raze a dilapidated area of the Bronx to make way for developments of housing and the residents who are refusing to budge. Led by villainous Henry Silva, they have reckoned without our illustrious hero Trash (Mark Gregory) who, armed with his super-powerful Magnum (so powerful) that he manages to blow up a whole helicopter with six bullets (similar in logistical relish as George Kennedy's flare gun party piece in AIRPORT 80 THE CONCORDE when he directs a guided missile using a flare gun and succeeds!!!) and a war breaks out to decide the future of the Bronx. Where is Acme Realty when you need them!!!?
Another moment to behold is the four or five soldiers who turn up in a clearly rush-hour moment and waltz down subway stairs whilst watched by workers bemused by their suits and thinking they are on their way to a fancy-dress party. Coupled with the music score that personifies many spaghetti offerings like this, it is only worth viewing if you are genuinely in need of a beer-and-curry night in with your girlfriend.
War of the Worlds (2005)
Americanised, but faithful to Wells book
Sci-fi cinema came full circle in 2005 when Steven Spielberg adapted an updated version of HG Wells' classic novel. Although some elements of the original text remain omitted in this version, it is still nonetheless a far superior one than we could have expected.
Things were not helped at the time of it's release by Cruise's public meanderings a la Oprah, but the film still managed to generate sufficient interest and in the hands of a legend in cinema, you cannot expect anything but the extraordinary.
This film trumps the 1953 Pal version and makes for a more realistic approach. The cuddly square dance and small-town feeling of that film is ditched for a more urban approach, with dockland worker Ray Ferrell (Cruise) heading home for the weekend to look after his two children on behalf of his ex-wife. His attitude towards his kids is clearly evident in an early scene when in response to his daughter's question as to 'what are we supposed to eat?', is a simple, brusque 'Order!!' Things begin to take shape when lightning bolts repeatedly strike the New Jersey area, prompting the shut down of all electrical good, including his car which his elder son has nicked. Ray immediately grounds him and then follows others to a point at a junction where cracks begin to appear, increasing with intent to suddenly explode and reveal a tripod machine closer in spirit to the book than the manta ray shapes of the 50's version and wasting no time zapping residents. Ray and his children decide to flee with others to a safe haven.....
Spielberg conjures up some memorable sequences to behold and some of the images are haunting to say the least (the train on fire and the river littered with bodies are two such memories that stick in the mind), but the ferry sequence is one of the most suspenseful ever committed to film and evokes memories of JAWS in 1975.
Although not as faithful as one might have expected, this New Millennium version does deliver the goods.
U2 3D (2007)
U2 as they should be - a band on screen
U2's history on film and television is fragmented to say the least.
UNDER A BLOOD RED SKY (1983), they now-immortal performance at Red Rocks was a considerable risk to a band who had everything to lose in light of adverse weather conditions. The result was a dynamic video performance that epitomised their work from BOY through to WAR.
RATTLE AND HUM (1988) was Phil Joanou's foray into U2's evident outgrowth from arena to stadium rock and despite some passable music was not one of their finest moments, providing the kick-start to more creative and left-field thinking.
The extravagance of tours like ZOO TV and POP effectively gave the band a larger-than-life mystical psyche as if to say to the world 'We are U2 - and that is that', so it seemed rather appropriate that they would exploit the IMAX and Digital arenas to their fullest, having utilised such technology in those said tours. The result is their best film to date and a movie that deserves - and dares - to be seen on the big screen. Like CONTROL, you don't have to like or know much about the band to appreciate the impact they have in a way that films like WOODSTOCK (1968) and THE LAST WALTZ (1978) are specialist films of key bands.
There is no surprise to know that all the key hits from three decades of music-craft are here, kicking off with VERTIGO and following through with the likes of NEW YEAR'S DAY, WHERE THE STREETS HAVE NO NAME and ONE. The 3-D enhances the experience at times and as seen on the IMAX screen, there are times when the performances, which are more than you would expect, surpass and explode out of the screen. The effect is substantially more than I expected and then some. A movie that should go and go.
Wedding Crashers (2005)
Above average silliness
WEDDING CRASHERS, like American PIE, is a movie with sufficient charm to undermine the clearly juvenile activities of the lead characters, whose sole purpose at the outset is to bed as many women as possible from the wedding receptions that they gatecrash. A previous generation might have flocked to see similar proceedings in PORKY'S, although there isn't nearly as much nudity in this film, save for the occasional visual near the beginning.
Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson excel as divorce lawyers who welcome Wedding Season with gusto and come up with all manner of ploys and plays in their own 'Wedding Crasher' play-book. Complications start to set in when familiar faces from previous weddings turn up and they have to defer them from going any further.
Even greater problems begin when they crash the Superbowl of weddings, a society function involving the daughter of a top Senator (Christopher Walken, in excellent form) and Wilson finds himself falling for one of the two, Claire (the delectably gorgeous Rachel McAdams), whilst Vaughn has to contend with her 'STAGE 5 CLINGER' sister, Gloria (Isla Fisher, in a brilliant standout performance) and a rather morose brother with an eye for painting with blood. Claire is already engaged to somebody, but Wilson and Vaughn, at the cajoling and convincing of Gloria, head off for a weekend to get to know their respective suitors better.
WEDDING CRASHERS works at it's best when it is screwball and despite the simplistic plot, has sufficient charm and humour to offset the sentiment that creeps in from time to time. McAdams and Fisher offset the performances of Vaughn and Wilson, who bounce off each other with skill and energy. The best alternative during the 2005 release schedule to Anakin and co.
Ôdishon (1999)
Slow-burning, but the climax ranks amongst the most discomforting I have ever experienced.
As a film fan of 30 years now, there are particular moments that stick in the mind rather than the cohesive whole.
Takashi Miike's AUDITION is a case in point. When this film played at a screening at the UK Frightfest some years back, the host Alan Jones told us that you had to stick with it for the ending.....and it was a movie that is redeemed by this, as the first 90 minutes or so are particularly average.
A widowed husband is persuaded by his son to audition various women as a suitable potential successor to his dead wife. One of them is particularly enticing and he decides to pursue her, but her seemingly cold demeanour hides dark secrets and nature, which takes a decidedly vicious turn during the gut-inducing climax, when body parts get an unfair trial by fire and fantasy and reality begins to blur......
The general reaction was a mix of bemusement and repulsion and it is a pity that the rest of the film lacked a soul, but this is not for the faint-hearted.
Apocalypse domani (1980)
One of the best cannibal movies - and possibly better than expected.....
Although Ruggero Deodato's CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST takes the title of ultimate cannibal movie, CANNIBAL APOCALYPSE is a pretty good addition and takes the movie in new directions. John Saxon is pretty good as well, as a Vietnam veteran who experiences life with cannibals and finds when he returns home that he can't resist a taste for flesh.
Italian favourite John Morghem turns up as worthy support and although he comes off no worse in this than he did in HOUSE ON THE EDGE THE PARK or CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD, he provides sterling support to Saxon as their predicament gets worse and worse.
Some memorable moments of horror punctuate a rather neat-stylish film that is elevated above other Italian Zombie flicks and give the film an air of sophistication rarely achieved.
Day of the Dead 2: Contagium (2005)
Fun, silly zombie pseudo-sequel
At one point during the screening of DAY OF THE DEAD 2 - CONTAGIUM during the Frightfest, one of the female characters asks 'What is happening to us?', to which the person sitting next to me said very quietly 'your ******* career's going down the pan!!'
A mysterious container is found by a mental patient in the grounds of an institution and this makes other patients jealous. During a small fight between two of them, the container unlocks releasing a mysterious gas into the air. This causes one or two patients to understandably get queasy and creates an appetite for something other than what's on their daily menu. Cue the inevitable as madness and paranoia set in....
I actually enjoyed this film despite it's silliness. The gore and general ineptitude of the characters helps lend an air of so-bad it's good attitude towards it and the effects are pretty passable. Lots of laughs, both intentional and unintentional and a curry-and-beer movie if ever there was one.
The Wild Bunch (1969)
Perception changes as you grow older
THE WILD BUNCH is a movie that transcends it's controversial release and initial critical and public attacks and in light of the violence that we often see on our streets today becomes a more potent statement of age and change.
Is the world becoming a necessarily more violent place, or are there elements at work in it meaning to make it the way it should be? Are violent-at-heart individuals a product of their context or do they become so through their experiences? The band of renegade soldiers, led by ageing veteran Pike Bishop (William Holden) show dignity even in violence, but things to get hairy during a gigantic shoot-out and botched up stand-off whilst robbing a bank. Bystanders are shot and all hell break loose against the pursuers trying to claim credit for wrongful shootings. The robbery proves futile, as they have merely stolen bags of washers. Bishop decides to consider disbanding the gang, called 'The Wild Bunch', but also reminds his cohorts that there should be loyalty. They head off to Mexico for wine, women and song and are cajoled into robbing a train with weapons that revolutionaries are in need of using, but their sense of time catching up them and the net closing in them from the USA leads to the inevitable...
THE WILD BUNCH has the look of earlier Westerns with a late 60's attitude to violence that some were probably not ready for at that time. As time goes on, the film becomes less violent by today's standards when film-makers have the desire to push the envelope that much further. What would Peckinpah make of today's epics like HOSTEL and ICHI THE KILLER is anybody's guess.
Superman Returns (2006)
A lost opportunity
I have never awaited a film in recent years with more anticipation than I did with SUPERMAN RETURNS. Given the potential of modern CGI coupled with the tradition of Richard Donner's original classic update, I was hooked on seeing this film and for about the first hour or so of the film, including the shuttle rescue and just after, I was enthralled.
Then, the film stalled.
SUPERMAN RETURNS represents as lost an opportunity for a blinding sequel as anything before. I was saddened that quotes and feelings used in the original film were recycled for this so-called 'official third SUPERMAN' film that the enthusiasm that built from the outset was diluted at the climax.
Brandon Routh and Kate Bosworth handle their roles with gusto and charisma that they almost achieve the not-so-mean feat of eclipsing Reeve and Kidder and Kevin Spacey, who is actually the film's best thing, does brilliantly as Lex Luthor. But it is the general feeling of lack of genuine imagination that makes SUPERMAN RETURNS less of a triumph than say BATMAN BEGINS was. Christopher Nolan re-imagined the Dark Knight's vision far more effectively and maintained a sense of realism that was sadly lacking in SUPERMAN RETURNS. The ground was covered in SUPERMAN - THE MOVIE and I was expecting a much more creative plot about a rematch between Supie and Luthor, as well as an advancement on the relationship between Supie and Lois.
On the plus side, the f-x sequences are worth watching. The shuttle sequence is up there with the helicopter crash in the original film and the Metropolis look is pure comic-book bliss to witness. John Ottman also handles the musical chores with respect and incorporates John Williams' theme with effortless precision.
Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (1980)
If only.....
SUPERMAN II - THE RICHARD DONNER CUT passes muster and is as good as the theatrical cut released in cinemas. Despite the disclaimer at the beginning of the DVD that the film that some footage was based on screen tests, the transfer and editing of these into this version are a considerable improvement.
One clear omission from this version is the Paris sequence. Donner cleverly uses Superman's throwing of the missile into space as the catalyst for the release of the three villains and the opening scene after the credits of the Daily Planet in which Lois suspects that Clark is you-know-who is one of the funny moments that would have stopped the audience if kept in the 1980 release.
The other surprising thing is how much of this version is the same as the Lester cut. Many of the key sequences shot with the first film are here and it is clear that Donner has more credit than he originally got for the efforts on show. Another happy restoration is the original Slitscan credit style as in the first compared with the jerky style of Lester's version.
Aside from that, the way Superman gets his powers back and how he causes Lois to lose all memory of her knowing his true identity as Clark is slightly different, but no less enjoyable for that.
A great evening's viewing.
Atonement (2007)
Disappointing and cold.
ATONEMENT has received it's fair share of acclaim and awards over the last few months, but I am sadly not one of it's fans. Granted, the book is one of the most sought-after reads in recent years and was bound to become a contender for the big-screen, but the result doesn't quite pan out as well as it should.
Before I continue, I must stress that Keira Knightley, James McAvoy and Joe Wright are immensely talented individuals who deserve their success and should go onto more success and awards in time, but on this occasion, I have to be honest and say that ATONEMENT is not one of their best works.
Having not read the book, but reliably informed that it is not a straightforward read and plays out a lot of information in the minds of the characters (a think, not tell mentality), factors like this were always going to be a major concern. Irrespective of whether one reads a book or not, when it comes to adapting it for the big-screen, the audience and their impression have to be clear in the mind of the film-makers.
The problem is that there is not enough emotional involvement with the three main characters and I increasingly as the film progressed felt that the movie was stalling. Cecilia and Briony both come across as spoilt socialites and the actual crime is not sufficiently fleshed out to carry the story through. When James McAvoy's character goes off to Dunkirk (in an admittedly spectacular sequence that seems strangely out of place) there is no realisation amongst his fellow soldiers of the crime he has been accused of, bearing in mind that military folk are a bit more uncompromising than some.
Possibly the most galling thing for me was that just at the time when the film seems to get going, the climax of the film then says that the last 20 minutes on screen didn't happen. I felt robbed of it's emotional core and like other films that have done that (THE SIXTH SENSE) this is the biggest sin any film-maker can commit.
Lo squartatore di New York (1982)
Fulci does Argento (WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS)
When you have an established reputation as a director, irrespective of genre, you will always find that there will be people who will label you whatever happens.
Lucio Fulci had established himself as a director of gory horror by the time he directed NEW YORK RIPPER. Although it's reputation as a nasty piece of work is at times clear with it's blatant misogynistic approach to murdering women, this is no less a problem in more respective Italian Giallos like SUSPIRIA and TENEBRAE.Indeed, having finally secured a UK DVD cut version of the film recently, I sat down with interest and some anticipation as to what all the fuss was about.
NEW YORK RIPPER is a surprisingly passable movie by Fulci standards. The lack of logistics in his other films, particularly in THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY where past and present seemingly have no boundaries, are a major bone of contention, but the payoffs in a lot of his films are always worth a look (the spike through the eye in ZOMBIE, the climax of THE BEYOND, the opening of HOUSE)Here, the convention of a thriller type setting works wonders and you at least get a sense that Fulci was trying to create a worthwhile European thriller.
A man is walking his dog and whilst playing with a stick which is chucked into a bush near the Hudson River, the dog goes in to retrieve it and brings out a severed hand which he presents to the bemused and shocked man. This is about a familiar trademark Fulci moment, but then the film switches into TENEBRAE mode with a killer doing a duck impression and taunting the police detective in charge of the case and leaving clues for him to find. The motive of the film is apparent towards the end of the film is pretty commonplace for this type of thriller.
So, on balance, nowhere near as controversial as it was made out by British censors in 1983 and a worthwhile addition to the Fulci catalogue.
Rocky Balboa (2006)
It's as if ROCKY II - V never happened
I first encountered Rocky Balboa in 1982 in ROCKY III and have to admit that on my first experience, I was over-enthused in a cinema with a bunch of people who were wondering why this then 13-year old was cheering him on and causing his then group of friends to recoil with embarrassment at the sight.
Not much has changed when I have been watching any of the films and I have repeatedly enjoyed Stallone in these films, albeit limited by the structure of the underdog out to make good in life. However, as time went on, the concept had become a little tiresome to the point in ROCKY V where he was relegated to a street brawl against somebody he trained who rebelled against him.
ROCKY BALBOA brought a tear to my eye, firstly in sentiment and knowing that this was the last of a film series that I grew up with and secondly because it is as good a sequel, if not better than the previous four committed to film. Stallone did a brilliant job of maintaining conventions as well as reintroducing old favourites from the very first film (Spider Rico, Marie from the corner) and building the relationships on all fronts, so that it looks like a more consistent sequel, rather than playing it out against the inevitable boxing ring climax, which here as before is compelling and coupled with Bill Conti's competent score. What is also good is that at those moments when you seemingly think the film is going to switch to where it usually does, Stallone throws a few emotional curves that get you in the solar plexus.
Rocky is now a restaurateur, widowed and runs a respectable place named after his late wife, Adrian. He reminisces about his life with her to an ever-irritated Paulie (Burt Young, as good as ever) and his life in the ring to customers. His son is not too happy either, avoiding time with him, but when Rocky turns up at his workplace, his fame overshadows his son's desire to make his way in the world.
Things turn interesting when a sports programme stages a computer bout between Rocky and the current world heavyweight Champion, Mason Dixon (hee-hee - what a name!!) and based on the data given, Balboa emerges on top. Promoters are ready to capitalise on the bandwagon, much to Rocky's reluctance and chagrin, but a deal is placed and a fight date is set. Naturally the reaction of Paulie and Rocky Jr is one of bemusement and anger, but with encouragement of Marie, who he meets by chance working in the same bar he used to hang out in three decades earlier, who says simply 'It's how this looks to you', the fight is on.....
ROCKY BALBOA is a poignant reminder of Stallone's moment of glory at the Academy Awards when he battled Ali on stage and the moment that the film beat ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN and NETWORK. It is a continued inspiration to those who only live on dreams and hope. What a way to end the series.