What I've Just Watched: Part 2

Gangs of New York (2002), a pet project for Martin Scorsese, who had been working on this since the mid 1970's, but could never get the funding. But he did, and he got an all star cast to boot. While the project is an overlong mess, it's still a very good piece of entertainment with some staggering sets and camerawork. New York, 1862. Orphan Amsterdam Vallon (Leonardo DiCaprio) has been in the orphanage for 16 years, after his father Priest Vallon (Liam Neeson), leader of the Irish gang The Dead Rabbits, was killed at the hands of Bill the Butcher (Daniel Day-Lewis), leader of The Natives. In order to bring Bill the Butcher down, Amsterdam has to infiltrate Bill's gang, which he does with the help of Johnny Sirocco (Henry Thomas). But, as Amsterdam plots his revenge on Bill, the more he comes to respect him, but he finds himself falling for pickpocket Jenny Everdeane (Cameron Diaz), who was and still is attracted to Bill. But, tensions are growing within the slums of the city, with more Irish immigrants coming in, it puts politician Boss Tweed (Jim Broadbent), who is in league with Bill, at a disadvantage, and a full blown riot is imminent. Even with a 2 hour 40 minute length, it's a fast and furious film, almost going by a little too fast, with no time to breathe. Even if alot of the acting is hammy, (especially Day-Lewis), and there is a alot of blood. It's a great depiction of early America in all it's blood-soaked glory, and Scorsese has good support from John C. Reilly, Brendan Gleeson, Gary Lewis, David Hemmings and Stephen Graham. 4/5



The Aviator (2004), after the long and troubled production of Gangs of New York (2002), Martin Scorsese could have opted for a smaller film, but he didn't, he went for another historical epic, this time about one of the greatest business magnates of the 20th century, who also happened to make films and fly planes. It's less messy than Scorsese's last film, and it also has a great cast. Howard Hughes (Leonardo DiCaprio), starts off using his families fortune from the Hughes Tool Company to make films, including Hell's Angels (1930), which takes 3 years to make, and all of it is reshot when talkies become the norm, and he becomes romantically involved with Katharine Hepburn (Cate Blanchett). But, his main passion is aviation, and he even buys small airline, Transcontinental & Western Air (TWA), but he soon faces competition from Juan Trippe (Alec Baldwin), chairman of Pan American Airlines, who gets Senator Owen Brewster (Alan Alda), to introduce a bill that would give Pan Am the monopoly on American air travel. Plus, Hughes' behaviour, mostly down to obsessive-compulsive disorder, alienates him from the outside world, plus a near fatal plane crash in Beverly Hills in 1946 worsens him. It's a good biopic spanning 20 years, and showing how he went from a bright young innovator into a unstable and uncomfortable eccentric. Leo gives a good performance, showing maturity and confidence as Hughes, and Scorsese captures the era well with colour and scale, and a cast including Jude Law, Kate Beckinsale, John C. Reilly, Danny Huston and Ian Holm. 4/5

Love both of those films, Aviator especially. The presence of Cate helps

I should have guessed...

Brüno (1st view) - Not as good as Borat, but there was one "interview" that had me in stitches - 4/5*

Nativity! (2009), conceived and directed by theatre director Debbie Isitt, whose play Nasty Neighbours was made into a film by Isitt in 2000, and then followed it with the improvised comedy Confetti (2006), made this light, enjoyable seasonal comedy. It has a good cast, and it's very enjoyable too, and very uplifting too. Set in Coventry, Mr Maddens (Martin Freeman) is a frustrated primary school teacher, who 5 years previously, lost his girlfriend Jennifer Lore (Ashley Jensen) when she moved to Hollywood to become a producer. Every year, the school competes with a local private school to make the best nativity play, the private school's nativity is done by Gordon Shakespeare (Jason Watkins). But, Maddens accidentally lies under pressure saying his ex-girlfriend Jennifer is coming to turn their nativity into a Hollywood film, further encouraged by over-eager classroom assistant Mr. Poppy (Marc Wootton). But, Maddens leads the kids in a massive production and the rumour spreads around the school and city and gets out of control, made worse when Maddens goes to Hollywood to try and talk Jennifer into doing it, with no success. It's a lovely warm film, mostly improvised by the cast, but it works and Freeman is a likeable lead too, and he's aided by a good supporting cast including Pam Ferris, Ricky Tomlinson and Alan Carr. 3.5/5



Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974), during the 1970's, Brian Clemens, creator of The Avengers did two films for Hammer, the first was Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde (1971) and the second film was this one, which originally started out as the 4th Karnstein film after Twins of Evil (1972), but Clemens had other ideas, and it's an unusual Hammer Horror, but it's an enjoyable one. Captain Kronos (Horst Janson) is an ex-army soldier who travels with his hunchback assistant Professor Hieronymus Grost (John Cater) as vampire hunters. They get a message from one of Kronos' old army buddies, Dr. Marcus (John Carson), about an epidemic where young women are being turned into old hags who die. Kronos and Grost conclude that it's the work of a vampire, and even trying to find who is resonsible is harder than it looks, as whoever doing it is very elusive. But, a tip leads Kronos to the the Durward family, with whom Marcus is acquainted with, their son Paul (Shane Briant) seems to have something to hide, and there's very untrustworthy about Paul's sister Sara (Lois Daine), but Kronos thinks there's darker work afoot. It's a very good and effective horror film, and writer/director Clemens has a good deal of imagination on display too, he should have made more like this, maybe Hammer would have survived, plus, it was shelved for 2 years before it was released. Pity, as this could have been a good franchise. 4/5

The Raven (1963), Roger Corman's 5th film adapted from Edgar Allen Poe after House of Usher (1960), The Pit and the Pendulum (1961), The Premature Burial (1962) and Tales of Terror (1962), this is played mainly for laughs with it's stars wonderfully hamming it up to the hilt, but it doesn't outstay it's welcome and it's very entertaining as well. One night, sorcerer Dr. Erasmus Craven (Vincent Price), who has been mourning the death of his wife Lenore (Hazel Court), is visited by a Raven, who is actually a transformed wizard, Dr. Bedlo (Peter Lorre). Craven manages to transform Bedlo back to his old self, and Bedlo explains he was transformed by rival Dr. Scarabus (Boris Karloff). So, they decide to confront Scarabus about this, with Craven's daughter Estelle (Olive Sturgess) and Bedlo's son Rexford (Jack Nicholson) in tow. When they arrive at Scarabus' castle, he claims that Bedlo was drunk and boorish, and they also discover that Scarabus has resurrected Lenore's spirit, and Bedlo is seemingly killed. So, Craven and Scarabus challenge each other do a duel, to see who is more superior. It's a very funny film but it does have the odd cheesy scare. Corman always had great fun making these films, and Price, Lorre and Karloff play extremely well off one another, and it's fun seeing a young Jack Nicholson here too, who holds his own against the greats. 4/5



Ratatouille (2007), Pixar were at a slump after Cars (2006), but they got back on their feet and hit an all time high with this literally delicious animated tale. Originally conceived by Oscar winning animator Jan Pinkava, but Brad Bird, hot off The Incredibles (2004) would later take over. The result is one of Pixar's best films. It tells the tale of rat Remy (Patton Oswalt), who dreams of becoming a chef like his idol, the late Auguste Gusteau (Brad Garrett). He finds himself in Paris, where he comes across Gusteau's old restaurant, here Remy finds himself with inept dishwasher Linguini (Lou Romano), working under nasty head chef Skinner (Ian Holm), who wants to cook, but can't. However, with Remy controlling Linguini like a puppet, using his hair, he can, or rather, they both can. Matters are further complicated when it turns out Linguini is actually Gusteau's illegitimate son, and is entitled to take over the restaurant, as Skinner has been in charge of it since Gusteau's death. Skinner isn't happy at all, and then he discovers who's been controlling Linguini in making delicious food. This is an absolutely hilarious animated film, with flawless animation complimenting a seemless story, voices that match their characters, and an upbeat, warm style that stays throughout the film, kudos to Pixar and director Bird. There was better to come with WALL•E... 5/5

The Tomb of Ligeia (1964), Roger Corman's 8th and final Edgar Allen Poe adaptation, and something of a departure for Corman, as all his Poe films had mostly been done in studios. For this one, he headed to Shepperton Studios in England, and he found himself filming on location in the English countryside for this film, and it looks beautiful, it's a dark, strange film too. It begins with the burial of Ligeia (Elizabeth Shepherd), wife of Verden Fell (Vincent Price). For years, Verden remains mournful and withdrawn until he meets Rowena Trevanion (Shepherd again), daughter of Lord Trevanion (Derek Francis) who reminds him of Ligeia. Although Verden has had his back turned on the world for many years, he finds solace in Rowena, and against the odds, he ends up marrying her. But, Verden finds himself vanishing at night, and Rowena finds strange occurances happening in her room, and there's a nasty black cat lurking around causing havoc. Rowena's old flame Christopher Gough (John Westbrook) fears all is not right, and he discovers a wax replica of Ligeia's body in her grave... It's a dark film, with Price quite restrained and withdrawn, Corman got alot of crew members from Hammer to make this one, and it makes a good combination, with a good main location at Castle Acre Priory in Norfolk. 3.5/5



Oliver Twist (2005), Roman Polanski had wanted to do an adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1838 book Oliver Twist for 40 years, and it was only after he won an Oscar for The Pianist (2002) that he was able to make it. The result is a lavish, rich adaptation that brings 19th Century London to vivid life, and it has a good cast under Polanski's direction as well. Young Oliver Twist (Barney Clarke) is an orphan living somewhere in the Midlands, in the workhouse. After daring to ask for more food, he is sent to work for coffin maker Mr. Sowerberry (Michael Heath), but he manages to run away, walking 70 miles to London. There, Oliver meets The Artful Dodger (Harry Eden) who lives with other young pickpockets working for Fagin (Ben Kingsley). After much training, Oliver is wrongfully accused of stealing a hankerchief from the wealthy Mr. Brownlow (Edward Hardwicke), but Brownlow takes him in when he see's Oliver's poor condition. But, this worries Fagin and his crooked associate Bill Sikes (Jamie Foreman), who believe Oliver will grass them to the police, so drastic measures are required, but Bill's lover Nancy (Leanne Rowe) has other ideas. This is a very good adaptation, and Polanski does well with the source material, with a good screenplay by Ronald Harwood, and it's very authentic and real as well. Kingsley's Fagin is like Albert Steptoe, but it works, and Foreman is a brutal Bill Sikes. Polanski should do Dickens again. 4/5

RATATOUILLE!

And I really want to see The Raven. What a cast!


Wise Blood (2nd view) - - Brad Dourif stars as a disillusioned and ambitious veteran who decides to start The Church Of Truth Without Christ. He gives a great performance, supported by the likes of Ned Beatty and Harry Dean Stanton. It's one of director John Huston lesser films though, and can't compete with some of his earlier masterpieces. It also has a great score from Alex North, one composer who often seems to get overlooked these days - 3/5

The Brothers Solomon (1st view) - Pretty bad. Will Arnett has yet to impress me in any film, but was at his worst here - 2/5*

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011), David Fincher takes on Stieg Larsson's crime thriller, a Hollywood adaptation made so soon after the 2009 Swedish version may seem redundant and pointless, but Fincher's version is better filmed, it has a brilliant cast and is dark, gripping and exciting, it's a different breed to the 2009 film, but it makes for uncomfortable but engaging viewing. Stockholm, and disgraced political journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) is employed to investigate a 40 year old mystery for wealthy industrialist Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer), whose niece Harriet went missing in 1966, Henrik believes Harriet was murdered, and it was a member of his family who did it. Blomkvist connects Harriet's disappearance to a series of religious murders around Sweden, but he needs an assistant to be sure. The Vanger's get him Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara), a mysterious goth computer hacker who did a background search on Blomkvist for the Vanger family. Lisbeth heads off across Sweden, checking police records while Blomkvist gets closer and closer into discovering what really happened to Harriet. It's a dark, intriguing murder mystery, with Craig and Mara making a brilliant double act, and it's so refreshing to get a film done with adults in mind for once, only Fincher could do it, and it'll be good to see him make more, as he's done the book justice, giving it the epic scope it deserves. 4.5/5



Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011), the 4th Mission: Impossible film in 15 years, this time with Brad Bird (The Iron Giant, The Incredibles, Ratatouille) making his live action debut with this one, and he shows great confidence with this film, and it's the best of the series, with white-knuckle action sequences and a great cast to boot. The IMF team, led by Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) are framed when the Kremlin in Moscow is blown up in a terrorist bombing. The IMF team are disavowed, but the IMF secretary (Tom Wilkinson) let them escape to find out who is responsible, Hunt has no back-up and little technology, all he has is analyst William Brandt (Jeremy Renner), techno whiz Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) and fellow agent Jane Carter (Paula Patton). They're looking for Cobalt AKA Kurt Hendricks (Michael Nyqvist), who was responsible for the Kremlin bombing. So, Hunt and his team head to Dubai and Mumbai in pursuit of Hendricks and his cronies before they can cause the end of the world with stolen satellite codes that can set off a nuclear missile, but it's not going to be difficult, it's almost impossible, but Hunt and his team won't give in. It's a very good spy action adventure, with some of the best action sequences in years, (Cruise climbing up the Burj Khalifa in Dubai is not for the faint-hearted), but Bird has fun with his first live-action film, and he gets the best from his cast as well and stages the action and drama well too. 4/5

Can't wait to see Dragon Tattoo! Who's the best Lisbeth?

Noomi Rapace was more clean-cut, but there's something about Rooney Mara's Lisbeth that feels more real, more tragic. Mara might have the edge.

I love Rapace's performance. If Mara is as good or better, than it'd one of my all-time favourite female performances!


And kicking off 2012...



Requiem For A Village (1st view) - Directed by David Gladwell, famous as an editor on If... and O, Lucky Man, this film from 1975 sees the groundskeeper of a cemetery in a small rural village reminisce about times gone by. It's an odd film, past and present events running parallel to one another with little story or dialogue in either, But at just ober an hour in length, it doesn't outstay it's welcome - 3/5*

The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960), after tackling Dracula, Frankenstein and the Mummy, Hammer Films turned their attention to an adaptation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. This is a very lavish and gripping horror film, which distanced itself from previous film adaptations, and took liberties with the story in places, but it still works. The marriage of Dr. Henry Jekyll (Paul Massie) is in doubt, his wife Kitty (Dawn Addams) has cheated on Jekyll with his friend Paul Allen (Christopher Lee). Despite the warnings from his colleague Dr. Ernst Littauer (David Kossoff), Jekyll has been experimenting with a potion that he's hoping will expand his mind, but instead, it transforms him into another person entirely, Mr. Hyde, who is young, handsome, cool and charming, everything that Dr. Jekyll isn't. Mr. Hyde makes a friend with Paul, who doesn't realise it's really Dr. Jekyll in his transformed state. But, the potion isn't lasting, and Dr. Jekyll transforms back to his old boring self, but he has to have more of the potion to become Mr. Hyde again, but this has bad consequences, and it leads to murder. It's a very good film, and one of Hammer's best from that era, a lavish film well filmed and with good performances. Lee in particular plays against type as a caddish rogue ala Terry-Thomas. It doesn't use alot of special effects, but it builds a dark mood. 4/5



Carry On Up The Jungle (1970), for the 19th Carry On film, producer Peter Rogers, director Gerald Thomas and writer Talbot Rothwell took on the Tarzan films, and it is a very funny film, using plenty of double-entendres and knob gags, which are apt for this setting, even it it was all done on soundstages, it doesn't spoil the enjoyment. This one, set around the turn of the century, follows an expedition into darkest Africa, it has ornithologist Professor Inigo Tinkle (Frankie Howerd) looking for the legendary Oozlum bird, they're aided by explorer Bill Boosey (Sid James) and African guide Upsidaisi (a blacked up Bernard Bresslaw), also with them are Lady Evelyn Bagley (Joan Sims), who years earlier lost her husband and baby son, and has returned to the area to look for them. They find Lady Bagley's son, now a Jungle Boy (Terry Scott), and they stumble upon the Lost World of Aphrodisia, a land populated by beautiful ladies, ruled by King Tonka (Charles Hawtrey), who just so happens to be Evelyn's husband Walter, but the ladies of Aphrodisia don't want the men of the group to leave... This is another funny addition to the Carry On series, with good humour and smutty dialogue. Frankie is at his camp best, it's a pity he only did two Carry On films, he suited their humour. It's an enjoyable way to pass an hour and a half, and humour like this is needed again today!! 4/5

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (1st view) - A delightfully different festive offering - 4/5*




The Music Box (20th+ view) - A work of brilliance - 5/5

The Guns of Navarone (1961), based upon Alistair MacLean's 1957 novel, and directed by J. Lee Thompson (Cape Fear (1962) Taras Bulba (1962) and erm.. Death Wish 4: The Crackdown (1987)), this is a rousing, suspenseful war film inspired by the Dodecanese Campaign during World War II, it has a brilliant ensemble at it's core. It is 1943, and the Nazi's are trying to bully neutral Turkey into joining the war on their side, and they are planning an attack on 2000 British troops on the island of Leros. A rescue plan by the Royal Navy is near impossible because of 2 big guns on the neighbouring island of Navarone, which can sink a ship. But, Commadore Jensen (James Robertson Justice) assembles a team of men to get onto Navarone, and take down the guns. They are Major Roy Franklin (Anthony Quayle), Captain Keith Mallory (Gregory Peck), Greek Colonel Andrea Stavrou (Anthony Quinn), Corporal Miller (David Niven), Spyros Pappadimos (James Darren) and "Butcher" Brown (Stanley Baker), but it's not going to be easy, especially as there's a big cliff to contend, and that's only the start of it, the island is full of Nazi's. This is a great heroic tale of impossible odds and one shot at victory which could change the outcome of the war. True, it is a little overlong, and it would have been better if it was 20 minutes shorter. But, for the most part, it is a gripping, exciting tale with a great cast. 4/5



Von Ryan's Express (1965), directed by Mark Robson, (The Harder They Fall (1956), Valley of the Dolls (1967) and Earthquake (1974), this is an exciting war adventure. A little far fetched maybe, but it's worth watching, and at the time, it helped get 20th Century Fox back on their feet after what happened with Cleopatra (1963). American pilot Colonel Joseph L. Ryan (Frank Sinatra) is shot down in Fascist Italy, and he's put into a POW camp, ruled with an iron fist by Major Battaglia (Adolfo Celi), as Ryan arrives, he is introduced to British officer Major Eric Fincham (Trevor Howard), but shortly after arriving, the Italian Fascists retreat, and the Nazi's come in, and take the POW's by train to Austria, but Ryan, Fincham and Allied chaplain Captain Costanzo (Edward Mulhare) lead the other prisoners of war who are on the train to take it over and even have Costanzo impersonate German commander Major Von Klemment (Wolfgang Preiss), and they are able to have the train take a new route to neutral Switzerland, where they'll sit out the war, but soon the Nazi's get wind of what's happened and they're in pursuit before long. It's a very good war film, well shot too, with some good action and effects, and a good score by Jerry Goldsmith, while Sinatra and Howard seem to compete each other in the hamming-it-up stakes, it doesn't spoil this great war adventure. 4/5

Two great films!



Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (1st view) - Probably the second best of the series after the third instalment and it has some of the best action scenes of the last year. Very much looking forward to Bird's 1906 now - 4/5*

Bananas (1971), after his directorial debut, Take The Money And Run (1969) was a big success, Woody Allen was given a deal at United Artists that would last another 7 films after this one. This one is a surreal, off the wall comedy with high slapstick that was common in Woody's films of that period, and it still remains funny and offbeat to this day. Fielding Mellish (Woody) is a neurotic product tester for a company that makes inventions such as coffins with headphones inside and a work-place gym. But Fielding wants to get ahead in life, and after meeting social activist Nancy (Louise Lasser), he tries to impress her by joining her cause, regarding the American support of the dictatorship of San Marcos in South America, ran by Gen. Emilio M. Vargas (Carlos Montalban). Even after Nancy leaves Fielding, he goes down there anyways as they had planned, and he soon finds himself with the guerrilla revolutionaries, and joining in their cause to overthrow the dictatorship, which they do, but when revolutionary leader Sanchez (David Ortiz) goes insane, Fielding is appointed leader. It is a very silly film, but it's also hilarious, rarely letting up. Woody was at his best here, showing confidence as actor, writer and director, it's a pity he didn't make more like this, but he matured as a director later on. But, from wheelbarrows full of coleslaw to a young Sylvester Stallone, this comedy has the lot!! 5/5



Observe and Report (2009), written and directed by Jody Hill, whose debut was the silly karate comedy The Foot Fist Way (2006), this is a pitch black comedy that makes for uneasy viewing, but it gives it's star a chance to show a different side, one that put him in good stead for The Green Hornet (2011). Ronnie Barnhardt (Seth Rogen) is head of security at the Forest Ridge Mall, his team are Charles (Jesse Plemons) and Dennis (Michael Peña), and the Yuen twins (John Yuan and Matthew Yuan), Ronnie even has eyes for make-up seller Brandi (Anna Faris). There's been a little problem at the mall, that of an anonymous flasher who has been terrorising women in the car park, but Ronnie is determined to bring him down and to justice. However, he has the little matter of police officer Detective Harrison (Ray Liotta) who wants to take over the case from Ronnie, but Ronnie wants to prove he has the situation in hand, and deal with it. Ronnie even tries to prove himself to Detective Harrison by applying to join the police force, however that fails because Ronnie is bi-polar, but he doesn't let that get in his way of trying to catch the flasher. It's a very dark comedy, the polar-opposite to Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009) that opened a few months previously. But, although it is an uncomfortable kind of funny, it does make a good companion piece to something like The Cable Guy (1996). 3/5

Badlands (1973), the directorial debut of Terrence Malick, who made this murder spree/road movie as his debut, inspired by the murder spree of Charles Starkweather and his girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate, in 1958. But in Malick's hands, it became something else, a dark, poetic crime drama, almost dreamlike and other-worldly. Holly Sargis (Sissy Spacek) is a teenage girl living in a small town in South Dakota, she and her Dad (Warren Oates) had moved there after the death of her mother a few years previously. Holly meets rebellious greaser Kit Carruthers (Martin Sheen), who is 10 years older than she is, but they start a weird friendship which blossoms into a relationship. But Holly's Dad isn't happy about this, and forbids Holly from seeing Kit, and then Kit retaliates by killing Holly's Dad, burning his house down and going on the run. After living in the woods for a short while, they're approached by police who Kit shoots, and they drive from South Dakota and into Montana. They try to survive rough, but it's not going to last forever, especially with the police on their tail, which puts a strain on their already delicate relationship. It's different from all the other crime films, done with an arthouse sensibility and a gentle, philosophical narration by Spacek throughout. You can see in this where Malick eventually went in The Tree of Life (2011), as parts of that mirror this, it's not for everyone, but it's was a brilliant start for Malick. 4.5/5



Swingers (1996), before Doug Liman turned to action films like The Bourne Identity (2002), Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) and Jumper (2008), he made small little comedies like this one. It's a very slight, amusing film, written by actor Jon Favreau, (before he turned to directing films like Iron Man (2008) and Cowboys and Aliens (2011)), this is a product of it's time. Mike Peters (Favreau) is a struggling comedian from New York who moved to Los Angeles to try his luck at the big time, he's just broken up with his girlfriend and is pining for her. Thankfully, his friend Trent (Vince Vaughn) is on hand to help out, they go to Las Vegas for a night out, but Mike constantly pining for his girlfriend spoils the trip, and when Mike and Trent get back to LA, they find themselves hanging out in clubs and coffee shops with Rob (Ron Livingston), Charles (Alex Desert) and Sue (Patrick Van Horn), and they try to get Mike out of his rut and move on with another woman, who after much trial and error, Mike eventually finds in Lorraine (Heather Graham), who seems to be the perfect match for Mike, but then his ex wants to get back with Mike, (we never see her.) This film seems a little dated even now, but it helped start the career of it's director, and those of Favreau and Vaughn, who all went on to greater things. But, it does have it's moments, it's complimented with a good swing soundtrack and referential humour. 3/5

Jurassic Park (1993), Steven Spielberg had wanted to do Schindler's List (1993) for a decade, but first, he wanted one last gasp at popcorn fun before he went all serious, and he found the perfect idea for a film in Michael Crichton's 1990 sci-fi novel, and it became one of Spielberg's most successful films. It still stands up now, what Jaws was to the 1970's, this was to audiences in the 90's, it's brilliant entertainment and it hasn't aged at all. Billionaire John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) has created Jurassic Park, a theme park on Isla Nublar, off the coast of Costa Rica, it's a theme park where he has brought dinosaurs back to life. He invites along paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and paleobotanist Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), skeptical mathematician Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) and lawyer Donald Gennaro (Martin Ferrero). and they're joined on the island by Hammond's grandchildren Tim (Joseph Mazzello) and Lex Murphy (Ariana Richards). They go into Jurassic Park on a tour, but a storm cuts the tour short, and when the park's computer programmer Dennis Nedry (Wayne Knight) shuts the park down, so he can steal dinosaur embryo's, the dinosaurs turn on the guests with the electric fences not working. It's a brilliant piece of entertainment, suspenseful, scary and above all, fun. Spielberg knew what audiences wanted, and he was on top of his game with this, and he used up-to-the-minute (for then) CGI to bring dinosaurs back to life, and they haven't aged a day, and still look convincing. The dinosaurs are the real stars of the show, convincing and almost with a personality. 1993 was a very good year for Spielberg indeed. 5/5



The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), after a break of a few years, Steven Spielberg returned to directing, and he decided to do another Jurassic Park film, and as soon as Michael Crichton's 1995 book The Lost World, it was picked up immediately for production. It's a darker, moodier film than the first film, and there's more emphasis on the CGI dinosaurs over the characters, something very unlike Spielberg to do. 4 years later, and John Hammond (Richard Attenborough), has lost his company to his scheming nephew Peter Ludlow (Arliss Howard), and Ludlow plans to financially exploit 'Site B' on Isla Sorna, which Hammond used as a breeding ground for the dinosaurs before shipping them to Jurassic Park. Hammond asks Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) to go to Isla Sorna with documentarian Nick Van Owen (Vince Vaughn) and engineer Eddie Carr (Richard Schiff) to meet up with paleontologist Sarah Harding (Julianne Moore), who is Malcolm's on-off girlfriend, to put a stop to Ludlow's moneymaking scheme. Not long after they arrive, they find a group of big game hunters led by Roland Tembo (Pete Postlethwaite), employed by Ludlow, hunting dinosaurs, but it's not long before the dinosaurs turn nasty again. It does have some good moments, like the literal cliffhanger on the truck, and Peter Stormare getting bitten by a pack of Compsognathus, and the T-Rex in San Diego. But, alot of it feels a bit forced, it is darker and quite unpleasant in places, and it doesn't have the level of entertaining fun the first film had, but in terms of special effects, it delivers in spades. 3.5/5

Downfall (2nd view) - Bruno Ganz is fantastic, the standout of a great cast. Excellent film - 4/5

The Penalty (1st view) - Lon Chaney stars in this silent crime film. He stars as Blizzard, a crime lord whose legs were amputated as a child and he seek revenge on doctor who operated. Chaney's good, but the film doesn't live up to its premise - 3/5*

An American in Paris (1st view) - Not the best of musicals - too few memorable songs or dance routines - but still highly enjoyable - 4/5*

Das Boot (1st view) - SPOILERS - I did, many years ago, see the theatrical cut and liked it a lot, but this was the uncut version, and it's an entirely different film. A bit of a slow start to be honest but it picked up and the last three hours are brilliantly tense and claustrophobic, and then it's all rounded off by the most depressing ending I've seen in ages. Wxcellent and it's probably very easily in my top 150 now - 5/5*

Here's a fact about Das Boot, they did the submarine pen scenes at the end in La Rochelle. Spielberg borrowed the submarines and sets for Raiders of the Lost Ark!! Anyways...

Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde (1971), in the early 1970's, Avengers creator Brian Clemens worked for Hammer, and he came up with a new twist on the tale of Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. At the time, people thought his idea was a joke, but it became a film, and the result is one of Hammer's best films of that period, inventive, gory and lavish. Dr. Henry Jekyll (Ralph Bates) is researching into making an elixir of life, which will prolong human life. His associate Professor Robertson (Gerald Sim) is skeptical of his initial tests, but Jekyll then discovers he can change the sex of a fly, he tries the potion upon himself, turning into a woman (Martine Beswick), who he names Mrs. Hyde. When he changes back into a male, Dr. Jekyll finds his experiments have captured the attention of his neighbours, Howard Spencer (Lewis Fiander) and his sister Susan (Susan Brodrick), who are intrigued by Jekyll's 'sister'. But, in order to stay as a female for longer, Jekyll needs female organs, but when his suppliers Burke (Ivor Dean) and Hare (Tony Calvin) are killed, Jekyll himself turns to murder in order to get what he wants, and not just in his usual guise. It's a suspenseful, clever horror film. The first transformation is brilliantly done for it's day, and it's well shot too. Bates is a good tortured soul while Bestwick's Hyde is a devilish minx. This Hammer film is up there with The Devil Rides Out (1968) and Vampire Circus (1972). 4.5/5



Dude, Where's My Car? (2000), from a time when they used to make childish comedies like this, directed by Danny Leiner (Harold & Kumar Get the Munchies (2004)), this comes across as being something like The Hangover (2009), only alot more childish and immature, with gags and dialogue being repeated. Jesse Montgomery III (Ashton Kutcher) and Chester Greenburg (Seann William Scott) are two stoner slackers who wake up one morning with no idea what they've done the night before, but they find their kitchen full of chocolate pudding, and loads of messages on their answering machine from their twin girlfriends Wilma (Marla Sokoloff) and Wanda (Jennifer Garner), as it's their one-year anniversary is that day, and to top it all off, Jesse's car has gone missing, (hence the title being said alot.) They retrace their steps, asking fellow stoner Nelson (David Herman), and then they discover a plot involving a weird UFO cult led by Zoltan (Hal Sparks), a transsexual stripper (Teressa Tunney), a group of leather-clad women (Mitzi Martin, Nichole M. Hiltz, Linda Kim, Mia Trudeau, and Kim Marie Johnson), but it brings them no nearer to finding Jesse's car. This is a very dumb comedy, and not in a good way, while it did predate The Hangover, it doesn't have the sleek structure that did. In fact, this is done with a very amateurish sheen, and if it weren't for Kutcher and Scott's camaraderie together, it would be totally abysmal. 2/5