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Reviews
Toryboy the Movie (2010)
ToryBoy The Political Avengers Superhero!
This first person narrative has hit a new high with this authored piece by Brit Michael Moore / Morgan Spurlock - John Walsh. In face why don't; these guys all get it tighter and be a documentary Avengers team up? I guess the spandex bill for Moore would be high!
Walsh is a "merry sh*t stirrer" according to EMPIRE magazine who rates this film highly and for good reason. In a small UK town called Middlesbrough John Walsh stands for Parliament without any previous experience! If that's not terrifying enough that he may have become part of the government of the UK then the story he uncovers along the way will have you reaching for you passport and immigration papers. The UK is known as the home of the modern democratic model in many people's eyes, how can such blatant corruption go on?? Watch this film and avoid too many of the reviews who give too much away here. Be sure that when you watch this film to the end you will have a new respect and understanding for what you are seeing. Enough to say that I had to go for a walk outside my apartment to cool off. Great work.
Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (1983)
3D that didn't take off......
I'm a big fan of this movie. Not just the cast but also the cheesy 3D FX. I saw this in theaters and thought, wow, this is how all films should be. But why has there not been a blu ray release. I did remember a Leonard Nimony TV special going behind the scenes on this so this would be an ideal DVD extra. Back in the 80's, low-budget sci-fi films such as Battle Beyond the Stars, Ice Pirates, Enemy Mine and The Last Starfighter were everywhere. Enter "Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone" then, and enjoy yet another B movie romp. The plot goes like this. Galaxy-hopping garbage man and all-round regular guy Wolff (Peter Strauss), along with his hot sexbot android companion Chalmers receive a distress signal from a crashed escape pod, which ejected from a destroyed starliner before landing on some rocky, desert planet. Touching down their starship with a view to claiming the reward for the rescue of the three earth girls inside the escape pod, the pair set off across the desert in a rather cool-looking Mad Max type jeep. A fight ensues in which Chalmers is destroyed, so Wolff takes up with a new companion, an orphaned scavenger named Nikki (Molly Ringwald). She guides Wolff through the landscape to the Forbidden Zone, a nightmarish industrial zone of death maze games and other nasties run by former scientist-turned-evil cyborg Overdog (Michael Ironside). The pair, along with sector chief Washington (Ernie Hudson) meet mutants, amazon women and other Mad Max genre locals along the way, and eventually put a plan in place to rescue the ladies.
Monarch (2000)
Monarch back on the throne
Jeez this really is a divisive one. Many of the reviews here show that there are fans of this movie and what can only be described as haters of this movie. Well my score gives my hand away. There is an otherworldlyness quality here that I found quite unsettling. Ideally watched after midnight in darkened room. Not a horror and not really a costume drama in the sense of Downtown Abbey or even The Tudors, this sits in a movie hinterland. The plot is simple and allows for some tension exploitation. Why did this works for me is the real question. The casting of Brits is great from wicked witch actress Jean Marsh to legendary TP McKenna who has played in many an epic picture.
The music hear is like a creeping ivy across the senses. The lighting and the camera-work restrained and seemingly more from an experience hand than a directorial newbie John Walsh. Watching the DVD extras of the remastered film it becomes clear that this was a guerrilla shoot. But rather than opting for a bunch of guys killing each other in the woods or a sub Tarrentino gangster effort, Walsh has really tried to get to grips with the idea of royal celebrity and this little film has a big voice when it comes to something to say.
Why others don't like this film is perhaps more to do with modern tastes and the Game of Thrones hunger for all things shiny and sexy, something this film certainly isn't and it's all the better for it. For now this rough little gem will be sat on its own until either Walsh or someone else decides to add to this damp smelling historical playlette.