What I've Just Watched: Part 2

The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972), directed by John Huston and written by John Milius, this is an offbeat western with a black vein of comedy throughout. It has a spirted lead and an all star supporting cast. A lot of people may forget that Huston directed this film, but it's up there with The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) and The Man Who Would Be King (1975) as one of Huston's best films. Set in the wilds of Texas towards the end of the 19th Century, Roy Bean (Paul Newman) is an outlaw who after a lynching takes vengeance on those who robbed him of what money he had and appoints himself as Judge, and anyone who tries to stand in his way gets either shot or hung, and Bean even acquires himself a pet bear from the passing Grizzly Adams (John Huston), and all the while Bean holds a light for the music hall entertainer Lily Langtry (Ava Gardner). But, things change when lawyer Frank Gass (Roddy McDowall) comes to town claiming that the land Bean rules over is owned by Gass, and years later, things comes to a head when Gass wants to destroy Bean's property to get oil. It's a forgotten western which see's Newman play almost against type, and it's actually one of his better performances, with a cast including Ned Beatty, Anthony Perkins, Tab Hunter, Victoria Principal, Jacqueline Bisset and Stacy Keach, It shows the lighter side of the revisionist western, but it has the fingerprints of New Hollywood all over it. 4/5



Anything Else (2003), Woody Allen rides again, but this is actually one of his better recent films. It's a very bittersweet romantic comedy, which is what Woody is best at, after trying different kinds of comedies in recent times, (screwball, crime comedy and slapstick), but this one has a darkish vein in it's blood, but it has a winning charm. It has young aspiring comedy writer Jerry Falk (Jason Biggs) who falls for the ditzy and ever so slightly eccentric Amanda Chase (Christina Ricci), and Falk even goes as far as dumping his current girlfriend just so he can be with Amanda. But, he gets alot more than he bargained for in this difficult and delicate relationship, he seeks advice from psychotic school teacher David Dobel (Woody), who has been his mentor and advice for many years, but Jerry has bigger aspirations in his life. It is a very funny film, and it does have great performances from it's young leads, (playing the roles that Woody and Diane Keaton would have played about 30 years previous), it has some of Woody's best dialogue, and some amusing cameos from the likes of Danny DeVito as Falk's hyperchondriac manager and Stockard Channing as Amanda's overbearing mother. An underrated film this, it deserved to do better. 4/5

Southern Comfort is superb!

I don't want to go to the Deep South after that!!

Vault of Horror (1973), based upon the series of Tales from the Crypt and Shock SuspenStories comics created and written by Al Feldstein and Bill Gaines, and produced by Amicus Productions. This is another anthology horror film like The House That Dripped Blood and Asylum, it manages to be creepy and with a darkly satirical edge. It begins when 5 men in an elevator. Harold Rodgers (Daniel Massey), Arthur Critchit (Terry-Thomas), Sebastian (Curd Jürgens), Maitland (Michael Craig) and Moore (Tom Baker), the elevator passes their floor and they end up in a weird crypt like room which also has the appearance of a gentlemen's club, with drinks and cigars. They pass the time by recalling their recurring nightmares. Rodgers tells one of how he murders his sister Donna (Anna Massey) before being savaged by vampires, Critchit tells of his neat and tidy house being ruined. Sebastian tells of magic tricks he saw in India, and how one proved to be quite deadly. Maitland tells one he has of being buried alive by his double-crossing friend Donna (Anna Massey), and Moore tells of his paintings that when damaged can damage whoever they're of. It's a very spooky film, and it explores different kinds of horrors, and it's a good little ensemble as well. Well made by veteran Roy Ward Baker, it has it's tongue firmly in it's cheek, and it's proud of it as well. 4/5



The Mummy's Shroud (1967), from Hammer, at the peak of their powers at that time, they created this horror-adventure based on a story by Hammer veteran Anthony Hinds and directed by Hammer regular John Gilling (The Plague of the Zombies (1966) and The Reptile (1966)), it should have been a good film, but it ends up being lop-sided and unsure of what it wants to be. In the 1920's, it has a group of explorers looking for the tomb of the boy Pharaoh Kah-To-Bey (Toolsie Persaud), whose backstory is explained in a prologue. The expedition is led by Sir Basil Walden (Andre Morell) and Stanley Preston (John Phillips). They find the tomb of Kah-To-Bey, and his manservant Prem (Dickie Owen) is mummified as well. Even though local Bedouin Hasmid (Roger Delgado) warns them against moving the bodies, they do so. Walden is bitten by a snake, and it drives him to a gibbering wreck while Preston ends up taking the credit for Walden's hard work, much to the anger of his son Paul Preston (David Buck) and Elizabeth (Elizabeth Sellars). But Hasmid resurrects the Mummy of Prem as an act of revenge. It promises so much, but it plods along with it's dull adventure (shot in a quarry in England somewhere) and moments of quite uninspired horror which all comes too little too late. For a Mummy film, it should be more epic, but this reeks of being cheap and nasty. 2/5

Condorman (1st view) - Brilliantly bad. I loved it - 4/5*

Frightmare (1974), conceived, produced and directed by Pete Walker, whose brand of low-budget schlock proved to be remarkably effective, as proven with The Flesh and Blood Show (1972) and House of Whipcord! (1974), this was shot back-to-back with the latter film, and it's equally as nasty and sinister as that was, it makes for uncomfortable viewing, despite a game cast. It tells the story of Dorothy Yates (Sheila Keith), who was convicted in 1957 for having cannibalised 6 people, and she was sent to a mental institution, her husband Edmund (Rupert Davies) was sent down, but was released shortly afterwards, as he faked insanity to be with his wife. It's 17 years later, and Edmund's daughter from a previous marriage Jackie (Deborah Fairfax) suspects that Dorothy is on the verge of a violent relapse, especially after Edmund finds tarot cards hidden, (which were present during the original crimes in 1957), and Edmund and Dorothy's daughter Debbie (Kim Butcher) is going off the rails with her rebellious behaviour, and she's showing signs of what her mother did when she committed the murders all those years ago. It's a very upsetting and unsettling films, with moments that mirror with what was to come in The Driller Killer (1979), (you get the impression Abel Ferarra got ideas from this.) But, it's a very lurid and unsettling horror film, it's surprising that they got away with blood and gore like this even for then. 4/5



The Sorcerers (1967), written and directed by Michael Reeves, whose only other credit before his untimely death in 1969 was Witchfinder General (1968), this is a very surreal and bleak horror thriller that has a brilliant lead performance as well as some odd visuals and a splash of Swinging London about it. The film proves to be quite effective and it get's under your skin as well. Pioneering hypnotist Professor Marcus Montserrat (Boris Karloff) is wanting to try out a new psychic invention he's worked on with his wife Estelle (Catherine Lacey). He finds a naive but willing volunteer in Mike Roscoe (Ian Ogilvy), who is looking for something different, and he finds it in this technique. Marcus and Estelle are able to control him telepathically, and they feel what Mike feels the sensations and thrills he goes through. But Estelle selfishly decides to use Mike for her own personal gain, including stealing a mink scarf and going off joyriding on a motorbike. This erratic behaviour worries Mike's girlfriend Nicole (Elizabeth Ercy) and friend Alan (Victor Henry), but things take a darker turn when Estelle ties Marcus up and takes control of Mike, leading to murders. It's almost like the Scanners of it's day, but it does have some surreal sights, like Karloff in a Wimpy Bar, but he and Lacey give brilliant performances, as does Ogilvy, who is always reliable. It's a good cult horror film, and it's a good timepiece of the 1960's. 4/5

I taped the Sorcerers too! Love Karloff.

It's worth it just to see him in a Wimpy Bar!!

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask (1972), Woody Allen was on a roll after Bananas (1971), and United Artists offered him the chance to adapt a sex manual by Dr. David Reuben. To some, it might have been an impossible request, but Woody saw potential comedy gold in the book, and the result is one of his most absurdly silly films of his career but also one of his funniest as well. It's broken into 7 segments, beginning with a Fool (Woody) seducing a Queen (Lynn Redgrave) with an aphrodisiac, then a segment on sodomy where Dr. Ross (Gene Wilder) falls for a sheep, then an Italian bit where Fabrizio (Woody) gets his wife Gina (Louise Lasser) aroused by having sex in public places. Then there's Sam Musgrave (Lou Jacobi) who is a middle-aged transvestite. There follows a spoof of What's My Line entitled What's My Perversion? where a panel guesses the sexual fantasies and fetishes of certain people. Then a B-Movie horror spoof where Victor (Woody) and Helen (Heather MacRae) see the results of weird sexual experiments by Dr. Bernardo (John Carradine), and finally a segment on ejaculation, where controllers in the brain (Tony Randall and Burt Reynolds) control a session of sexual intercourse, with Woody as a sperm. Some of the segments don't entirely work, and some outstay their welcome more than other's. But, on the whole, it is a very funny and dirty minded sketch revue, it shows the range of Woody's imagination, and how he was game for just about anything, but it is original. 4/5



The Big Boss (1971), produced by Raymond Chow, whose Hong Kong studio Golden Harvest was formed after Chow left the Shaw Brothers studios to go solo, and this was one of Golden Harvest's first major production, and it's a kung fu action film with moments of silly action, bad dubbing and humourous slight gags, and it also helped make an international legend out of it's star. Cheng Chao (Bruce Lee) has traveled from China to the small town of Pak Chong in Thailand to live with his uncle (Chia Ching Tu) and many cousins. He gets a job in an ice factory that makes huge blocks of the stuff. However, things take a bad turn when one of the ice blocks fall off the line and a stash of heroin is found inside, which worries Cheng, but the factory's boss Hsiao Chiun (Tony Liu), who offers Cheng's cousins better jobs, the cousins refuse and they soon end up dead, Cheng get's suspicious, but Chiun keeps him distracted by making him factory foreman, and supplying him with booze and prostitutes, but he learns the man behind it is Chiun's father Hsiao Mi (Yin-chieh Han), known locally as The Big Boss. It is a very silly action film, but it does have a likeable charm about it, and it was very influential, (you can see where QT ripped off parts of it for Kill Bill), but Bruce Lee makes a good action star, and it manages to make for a good timepiece of Hong Kong action. 3,5/5

Water For Elephants (1st view) - 4/5*





Red State (1st view) - Kevin Smith's bes film by far. I've not loved any of his comedies - 4/5*




Limitless (1st view) - Don't do drugs! - 3/5*




Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes (2nd view) - I always like to see how ineffectual the human race can be in film when up against anything remotely out of the ordinary. You get the impression that the dweebs in this film couldn't have stopped worldwide domination by three hamsters in an exercise ball. This is probably the best Apes so far, but I don't really like any of the previous films that much, only the original novel and the TV series standing out until now.

Have you not seen The Muppets yet??

Not yet! I will do soon!

It's won an Oscar, therefore you have to see it.

The Day The Earth Caught Fire (1961), produced, co-written and directed by Val Guest (The Quatermass Xperiment (1955), The Abominable Snowman (1957) and erm... Casino Royale (1966)), this is a science fiction disaster movie that feels very real with it's settings and concept, it still feels relevant even today, even now, it's onto something. Peter Stenning (Edward Judd) is an aspiring reporter at the Daily Express, but his editor Jeff Jefferson (Arthur Christiansen) only gives him menial stories, but Peter has encouragement and support from veteran reporter Bill Maguire (Leo McKern), who gives Peter some assignments to do. One such story Peter comes across is during a visit to the British Met Office, where the Earth's temperatures and weather patterns have been going haywire, and Peter learns that the Soviet Union set off a bomb at the North Pole, and the American's set one off at the South Pole at the same time, and it's knocked the Earth out of orbit and it's now closer to the Sun, and water has started to evaporate and with nasty storms and mists causing destruction, and the government rations water, which causes riots and more chaos. It's like the 2012 (2009) of it's day, only more believable and straight faced, but it's actually quite scare and it was a social comment on the effects of nuclear testing. But, it still stands up over 50 years on, and it's cast are believable and compelling, as is Guest's direction. 4/5



Capricorn One (1977), written and directed by Peter Hyams, this is a very original and very gripping sci-fi thriller that's more science fact than science fiction, if you believe the Apollo Moon Landings were faked. But, this came out at a time when political thrillers like The Parallax View (1974) and All The President's Men (1976) caught the mood of America at the time, this took it in a fantastical direction, and it works. Capricorn One is set to be the first manned rocket to go to Mars, with Colonel Charles Brubaker (James Brolin), Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Peter Willis (Sam Waterston), and Navy Commander John Walker (O. J. Simpson) at the helm, but at the very last minute, it's discovered that there's a problem with the life support system, so the take off goes as planned, but Brubaker, Willis and Walker aren't on board, they're whisked away by Dr. James Kelloway (Hal Holbrook), who explains the situation to them, and announces they're going to fake it. So, they create the surface of Mars in a studio, but NASA technician Elliot Whitter (Robert Walden) finds out, but not before he alerts journalist Robert Caulfield (Elliott Gould) that something might be up. It's a thrilling and exciting film, and Hyams was always an underrated director, and this is one of his best films, and this has appearances from David Huddleston, Karen Black and Telly Savalas flying a crop duster. It's got good moments of action and drama, and sits proud with over conspiracy theory films, even if this is fiction. 4/5



Terms of Endearment (1983), written for the screen, produced and directed by James L. Brooks, who was enjoying success for producing the TV show Taxi, adapted from Larry McMurtry's 1975 novel, this is an emotional and moving drama with high tensions and a gentle amusing wit, you can see why this cleaned up the top awards at the Oscars 18 years ago. It's set over 20 or so years from the 1950's until the 1987's, and it follows the relationship of overbearing matriach Aurora Greenway (Shirley MacLaine) and her daughter Emma (Debra Winger), Aurora is disapproving of her daughter announcing she's to marry college graduate Flap Horton (Jeff Daniels), especially as Emma has just graduated from high school. But, they marry and move from Houston to Des Moines in Iowa, where they have 3 children. However, Aurora spends most of her time not taking any risks, until she gets to know her neighbour, retired astronaut Garrett Breedlove (Jack Nicholson) a bit better, and they start an on-off relationship. Meanwhile, Emma discovers Flap is cheating on her, so she goes off with banker Sam Burns (John Lithgow). It's a soap opera on a grand scale with brilliant performances all round, even the kids in the film act all grown up, and it's got such sharp writing and observations too, and Brooks gets the best out of his cast, it's a shame he doesn't direct more, but it appears How Do You Know (2010) has killed his career. Oh, well... 4.5/5



Point Blank (1967), the first American film of John Boorman, his debut was The Dave Clark Five's pop caper Catch Us If You Can (1965), this was his follow up to that, adapted from The Hunter by Richard Stark, (also filmed as Payback (1999)), this is dark and to the point with some good action set pieces and coming when American cinema took on a new shade of violence, tearing down the old censorship rules and bringing in a new wave, this was one of the pioneering films from that era. Professional crook Walker (Lee Marvin) works with his partner in crime Mal Reese (John Vernon) in stealing money from gambling, and the drop off point is Alcatraz. But, Walker is double crossed and left for dead by Reese, who makes off with Walker's wife Lynne (Sharon Acker). But, Walker lives, and sets about a complex and violent revenge setting out to find Reese with help from the mysterious Yost (Keenan Wynn). But he learns it's more complicated than he imagined, it involves a crime racket known as The Organisation, ran by Brewster (Carroll O'Connor), and Walker gets help from his sister in law Chris (Angie Dickinson). This is a brilliant and violent thriller with Lee Marvin at his best, exuding a natural coolness and mean badass attitude, with some brilliant cinematography by Philip H. Lathrop. This was when Boorman's career well and truly took off, and this is one of his best films as well. 4.5/5

Donald McKinney wrote:

It's won an Oscar, therefore you have to see it.

And it was Figwit that won it!


Barney's Version (1st view) - Another sadsack loser role for Paul Giamatti, the kind of thing he can probably do in his sleep but he does it so well here. Also of note, Paul Gross back in a mountie uniform - 4/5*

Another Year (1st view) - The more film from Mike Leigh I see, the more I love the man. He's easily in my top three British directors, and I haven't even seen the two films of his that frequently get mentioned as being his best. A stellar cast, beautiful character interaction and an ambiguity over the ending that's way better than that other debatable ending from 2010 - 5/5*





The Tournament (1st view) - Insane action, massive plotholes, great fun - 4/5*

Risky Business (1983), written and directed by Paul Brickman, who before this had written The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training (1977) and Handle with Care (1977), this is a cool, episodic teen comedy-drama with a likeable and engaging lead, who was only 20 when he made the film, and it catapulted him into mega-stardom, where he's more or less remained ever since. Joel Goodson (Tom Cruise) is a high school student who lives in a posh district of Chicago. His father (Nicholas Pryor) wants him to attend Princeton University, and Joel has been taking extracurricular activity at school. However, his father and mother (Janet Carroll) go away on a trip for a few days, leaving Joel all alone in the house. Although Joel's friend Miles (Curtis Armstrong) feels that while Joel is all alone, he needs some companionship, and he hooks Joel up with prostitutes Jackie (Bruce A. Young) and Lana (Rebecca De Mornay). Joel spends the night with Lana, but he ends up falling afoul of Lana's pimp Guido (Joe Pantoliano), and while Joel just wanted to unwind for a few days, things go from one event to the next. It's a fun 80's teen film, like a more adult version of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, but this has a good score by Tangerine Dream throughout. Cruise was young and exuded coolness here, and his career was about to get better and better, this was a sign of better days to come. 4/5



Top Gun (1986), directed by Tony Scott, and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, and inspired by an article in California magazine, this is a cheesy, macho action drama set in the high stakes world of Naval aviators, something that hadn't been on film until now, it became the biggest film of 1986, putting Scott on the map as an A-list director. US Naval Aviator LT Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise) who works on board the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, doing flying exercises, and his offbeat and dangerous maneuvers why flying is why Maverick has earned his nickname. After one very dangerous operation, Maverick and his Radar Intercept Officer Nick "Goose" Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards) are given the offer of a life time, the chance to train with the best of the best at the prestigious Top Gun school at NAS Miramar near San Diego, where he finds himself being taught by Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood (Kelly McGillis), and Maverick's style of flying annoys Lieutenant Commander Rick "Jester" Heatherly (Michael Ironside), and Maverick has competition from star pupil Tom "Iceman" Kasansky (Val Kilmer). It's a loud film, but it has excellent cinematography from the points of view of the jets, and the glossy, sunkissed cinematography Jeffrey L. Kimball adds to the films unashamedly macho feel, it also has a great soundtrack, including Berlin's Take My Breath Away and Kenny Loggin's Danger Zone, plus a supporting cast including Tim Robbins, Meg Ryan and Tom Skerritt. It's a film of the 1980's, and all the better for it. 4/5

Saturday Night Fever (1977), produced by Robert Stigwood, then the king of 70's music films after Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) and Tommy (1975), this was adapted from an article by British rock journalist Nik Cohn entitled 'Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night', (which was mostly made up), this is a gritty drama with some good dancing and a brilliant soundtrack as well. Set in Brooklyn, it focuses on the life of Tony Manero (John Travolta), who during the week, works a dead end job in a paint shop, but on Saturday nights, he rules the dance floor at the local club 2001 Odyssey, where his dancing is acclaimed, and he drinks with his friends Joey (Joseph Cali), Double J. (Paul Pape), Gus (Bruce Ornstein) and Bobby C (Barry Miller). At home, Tony gets flack from his mother (Julie Bovasso) for always being late for tea, while his father (Val Bisoglio) seems to do nothing. Tony has a would-be admirer Annette (Donna Pescow), who wants a physical relationship with Tony, but Tony snubbs her for professional dancer Stephanie Mangano (Karen Lynn Gorney), for a dance competition at the 2001 Odyssey, even though Tony had promised to dance with Annette. It's a gritty drama with a lot of anger directed at women, punctuated with disco songs by the Bee Gees, KC and the Sunshine Band and Walter Murphy. A lot of it is a bit cheesy now, but it's the songs and Travolta's performance as the hot-headed nearly-twentysomething Tony that holds the film together. 3.5/5



Lars and the Real Girl (2007), directed by Craig Gillespie (Mr. Woodcock (2007) and Fright Night (2011)), and written by Nancy Oliver (Six Feet Under and True Blood), this is a very offbeat independent comedy-drama with manages to be heartfelt and heartbreaking at the same time, you won't see another one like this for a while. Lars Lindstrom (Ryan Gosling) is a 27 year old misfit who lives the converted garage of the house he and his brother Gus (Paul Schneider) inherited from their late father. Lars has always found it difficult to communicate with his family, which also includes Gus's wife Karin (Emily Mortimer), and there's Margo (Kelli Garner) at work, who has a friendly liking for Lars, but Lars always manages to shy away from her. Then, out of the blue, a large package turns up for Lars, and Lars suddenly announces he's met a girl over the internet, which pleases Gus and Karin, until they discover the girl in question is a lifesize adult doll that Lars bought from an adult website, he's named the doll Bianca, and moves her around in a wheelchair. Gus and Karin, and indeed the whole town play along with Bianca being in town, which they cope with while Dr. Dagmar (Patricia Clarkson) tries to get to the bottom of why Lars is acting like this. It's a serious comedy which is gentle and moving, with Gosling giving a brilliant performance as the quirky, tormented Lars, but even the Bianca doll manages to become a character in it's own right, giving the film a gentle humour and added poignancy. 4/5

Safe House (2012), the Hollywood debut of Swedish director Daniel Espinosa (Easy Money (2010)), this is a taut, fast moving, kinetic action thriller, with 2 good leads playing off each other very well in an original location too. But, apart from that, it's all very pedestrian and it's all been done before as well. Cape Town in South Africa, and renegade CIA Agent Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington) has been rouge for well over a decade, and he's just acquired a file from rogue MI6 agent Alec Wade (Liam Cunningham), but Frost soon finds himself being tracked down by assassin Vargas (Fares Fares). On the run, he gives himself up, and goes to a US consulate, where he gives himself up. He's sent to a CIA safe house whose caretaker is rookie agent Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds), with Daniel Kiefer (Robert Patrick) interrogating Frost. But, Vargas and more assassins turn up and kill Kiefer, leaving Frost and Weston to go on the run across Cape Town, and they have to stay ahead of the assassins while CIA operatives David Barlow (Brendan Gleeson) and Catherine Linklater (Vera Farmiga) head from Washington to Cape Town. It's like what the Bourne films had to offer, and there are parallels, as well as sharing a cinematographer and editor, but Washington has a mysterious quality as Frost, while Reynolds gets to kick ass more than he did in Green Lantern. It's exciting while it lasts, but nothing more. 3.5/5



A Fistful of Dynamite (1971), also known as Duck, You Sucker!, Sergio Leone didn't want to do any more westerns after Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), but was lured back for this dark, gothic western, mixing themes and characters from two different revolutions. It's more mature and less blackly comic than the westerns Leone did with Clint Eastwood, indeed this was signs of a maturity in Leone. Mexico in 1913, and bandit Juan Miranda (Rod Steiger) leads his family in raiding stagecoaches, then Juan meets John Mallory (James Coburn), an early Irish Republican on the run after killing two British officers in Dublin. Mallory is an explosives expert, who carries dynamite and a jar of nitro-glycerine, and Miranda see's potential in Mallory, and convinces him to join his gang, to do a raid on the Mesa Verde national bank, but Mallory has his own agenda, having agreed to supply dynamite and explosives to Doctor Villega (Romolo Valli), who is leading a revolutionary attack on the Mexican army. But, Miranda and Mallory end up taking on the Mexican Army as well as the corrupt Governor Don Jaime (Franco Graziosi). It's even more epic than Leone's 4 previous films, and hardly anyone remembers this one, and it was a transition from his westerns into what was to come next in Once Upon A Time In America (1984). But, there's a sense of poignancy and grittiness in this one, showing a changing world and the death of the old west. Steiger and Coburn are brilliant, and Ennio Morricone's score is simply wonderful. 4/5

Night Falls On Manhattan (1997), written and directed by Sidney Lumet, (12 Angry Men (1957), Serpico (1973), Murder on the Orient Express (1974), Dog Day Afternoon (1975) and Network (1976)), and adapted from Robert Daley's 1994 novel Tainted Evidence, this is a gripping legal thriller with some good performances, even though it sank without trace on release, it's got some good merits about it. New York Detectives Liam Casey (Ian Holm) and Joey Allegretto (James Gandolfini) are about to arrest drug dealer Jordan Washington (Shiek Mahmud-Bey), who escapes, wounding Liam. Meanwhile, district attorney Morganstern (Ron Leibman) appoints Sean Casey (Andy García), Liam's son, who has just passed the bar, to prosecute Washington, and proceeds in gathering evidence, although he faces Washington's lawyer Sam Vigoda (Richard Dreyfuss), Vigoda respects how Sean handled the case, even for a novice, and Sean starts a relationship with Vigoda's assistant Peggy Lindstrom (Lena Olin). Meanwhile, Morganstern suffers a heart attack, and Sean runs for District Attorney, but he learns a few truths about what happened on the night Liam was nearly killed by Washington. It's a good moral tale about dealing with what's right and what's legal, García gives a good performance as the novice lawman done good, with good support and a good taut, tight script as well. It benefits from focused camerawork by David Watkin and a good score by Mark Isham. 4/5



Hawk The Slayer (1980), written by Terry Marcel and Harry Robinson, (the former directed it while the latter produced and composed the film), this is a very cheesy swords and sorcery fantasy, done on a shoestring budget as well. Despite a game, spirited cast, it doesn't entirely work and some of it drags as well. Set in some medieval fantasy land, it has the evil Voltan (Jack Palance, hamming it up), killing his own father (Ferdy Mayne) after his father refused to give Voltan the last elven mindstone, before he dies, the father gives the stone and a magic sword to his other son Hawk (John Terry), who avenges to kill Voltan. Some time later, Voltan has attacked warrior Ranulf (W. Morgan Sheppard), who finds shelter in a nun's convent run by Abbess (Annette Crosbie), but Voltan gets there, kidnaps Abbess and holds her to ransom. So, Hawk and Ranulf, along with giant Gort (Bernard Bresslaw), elf Crow (Ray Charleson), dwarf Baldin (Peter O'Farrell), all brought together by a mysterious sorceress (Patricia Quinn) team up to bring down Voltan and save Abbess. It's a very silly fantasy film, done on the cheap, mostly in a wood across the road from Pinewood Studios, the special effects are a bit on the ropey side, and it has a good supporting cast including Shane Briant, Harry Andrews, Patrick Magee and Roy Kinnear. But, a bigger budget might have helped. 2.5/5

The Quiller Memorandum (1966), based upon The Berlin Memorandum by Elleston Trevor, adapted by Harold Pinter with Michael Anderson (The Dam Busters (1955), Around the World in Eighty Days (1956) and Logan's Run (1976))as director, this is a gripping and yet slightly offbeat Cold War spy thriller, similar to what the Harry Palmer films were, but this has good intrigue and a good cast to it's name. In West Berlin, British spy Kenneth Lindsay Jones (Herbert Stass) is murdered in a phone box, the British send Quiller (George Segal) as his replacement, Quiller reports to Pol (Alec Guinness), who tells him that there's a plot to bring about a new generation of Nazi's, but this group don't wear uniforms like the Third Reich did, this is something new, orchestrated by a mysterious group known as Phoenix. Quiller starts his investigations, which take him to school teacher Inge Lindt (Senta Berger), whose colleague was arrested as a Nazi war criminal, but it's not long before Quiller finds the leader of Phoenix, the aristocratic Oktober (Max von Sydow), who means brutal harm to Quiller. It's a good spy thriller held together by Segal's likeable performance, with good support from the great Guinness and von Sydow, with cameos from George Sanders and Robert Helpmann. This is a very good Cold War spy thriller, and the icing on the cake is an eerie, tingling score by John Barry. 4/5



The Tamarind Seed (1974), during the early 1970's, Blake Edwards was trying to move away from making comedy films, and branch out into making more dramatic, serious films, and this was one of them, adapted from Evelyn Anthony's 1971 novel, it's a very different kind of spy film, slow-burning and romantic, but it does have it's merits. Judith Farrow (Julie Andrews) works for the British Foreign Office, and takes a holiday in the Carribean. While there, she meets the charming, charismatic Feodor Sverlov (Omar Sharif), who just happens to be a Russian Air Attaché based in Paris, working for General Golitsyn (Oskar Homolka). Indifferent to their backgrounds, they start a gentle and innocent affair, but that's not what it looks like to the British and Soviet Governments. British intelligence officer, Jack Loder (Anthony Quayle) suspects Sverlov is trying to recruit Farrow as a Soviet spy, and even has Farrow's boss Fergus Stephenson (Dan O'Herlihy) spy on Farrow to be sure, but Stephenson's wife Margaret (Sylvia Syms) is having non of it, and after getting wind of it, insists Farrow and Sverlov be left alone. It's a romantic thriller that goes along at a slow and steady pace and it won't be rushed, but it has a good score by John Barry and lovely, colourful camerawork by Freddie Young, and Andrews and Sharif make a good pairing, despite all best intentions, this failed to find a breakout audience, resulting in Edwards returning to comedy with The Return of the Pink Panther (1975). Shame really... 3.5/5

Persepolis (2007), based upon Marjane Satrapi's autobiographical graphic novel, (Satrapi also directed and wrote the film with Vincent Paronnaud), this is a highly original looking and emotionally wraught and darkly funny look at a world we've seldom had a look at before now, it's beautiful looking as well, proving 2D animation can trump computer animation when it's done right. This tells the story of Marjane Satrapi (Chiara Mastroianni), who while in an airport terminal in Paris, looks back on her life growing up in Iran, beginning in Tehran in 1978 when she was 9 years old, and how she wanted to be a Prophet and a fighter like Bruce Lee. However, things in Iran start to change, the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, has been overthrown during a violent and change is coming, which Marjane's father (Sean Penn) believes is for the better, while their Uncle Anouche (Iggy Pop) is released from prison for political crimes, but then Iran goes to pot when the new Islamic Fundamentalist government pose restrictions on Iran, banning rock music that Marjana loves, so she ends up moving to Vienna, but life isn't much better there. It's a very powerful, political story, but it's benefited from some lovely, informative animation that can be quite distressing in places, it's relevant now, as Iran looked brilliant before the Ayatollah got in. This is a one of a kind, also featuring the voices of Catherine Deneuve and Gena Rowlands. 4/5



Micmacs (2009), from Jean-Pierre Jeunet seemed to go all prestigious with Amelie (2001) and A Very Long Engagement (2004), then he made a return to the sort of films he started out making with Marc Caro, with this very offbeat and peculiar satire. It's exciting to see something like this being made, but it's a bit sketchy and episodic as a whole. Bazil (Dany Boon) worked in a video rental shop in Paris, but a shoot-out occuring outside, and he's hit by a stray bullet. Unfortunately, the doctors are unable to remove the bullet from his head, and to top all that, Bazil ends up losing his job and home, and he ends up on the street. But, he finds himself falling in with a peculiar group of scavengers who live inside a trash dump. They include Slammer (Jean-Pierre Marielle), Elastic Girl (Julie Ferrier), Mama Chow (Yolande Moreau), Remington (Omar Sy), Tiny Pete (Michel Crémadès), Calculator (Marie-Julie Baup) and Buster (Dominique Pinon). Bazil learns that the bullet stuck in his head was made by arms dealers Nicolas Thibault De Fenouillet (André Dussollier) and François Marconi (Nicolas Marié), who made a landmine which killed Bazil's father 30 years previously, so Bazil and his new friends plot revenge. It's a very weird film, but it does have Jeunet's usual offbeat visual touches and bright, high-contrast cinematography, but it's overall political message is a bit off-kilter, (much like the characters in the film), you kinda get what it's about, but it's more a sketch film around a wobbly theme, but it works, sort of... 3.5/5

I loved Micmacs. Bonkers.


EDIT: Do you reckon we should start a third version of this thread? I'm not sure if threads still disappear once they get to big but I don't want to risk it!

I think they automatically start a new one here after so many pages.

Sudden Death (1995), directed by Peter Hyams, (Capricorn One (1977), Outland (1981) and 2010 (1984)), this is a very silly action thriller made around the time it's star was once a bankable name, and before he slipped into straight to video hell. It has it's moments, and it has it's moments of unintentional comic moments, or maybe they are intentional, you just don't know with this film. Darren McCord (Jean-Claude Van Damme) is a fire marshall for the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, once a fireman but he suffered a personal crisis after being unable to save a little girl during a house fire. It's a big night at the arena, as it's the Ice Hockey finals between the Stanley Cup Finals between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Chicago Blackhawks, and U.S. Vice President Daniel Binder (Raymond J. Barry) is in attendance. However things go wrong when the Vice President and his entourage are taken hostage by former government Joshua Foss (Powers Boothe), and he's had the arena packed with explosives which are primed to blow up unless the Vice President wires millions of dollars into a secret account. Guess who gets wind of his evil scheme, and becomes action hero to help out?? It's a very silly action film, it started out as an action spoof, but it went serious when Van Damme came involved, big mistake. It's impossible to take Van Damme seriously, but it does make for a cheesy, entertaining film while it lasts, but it's a shame you don't get action films like this now. 3/5



Cutthroat Island (1995), after making Cliffhanger (1993), director Renny Harlin became Hollywood's new golden boy, and Carolco got him to revive the dated pirate film genre, or at least that's what they wanted. Carolco were in financial freefall at the time, and this and Showgirls (1995) is what killed the once mighty Carolco. Pity really, as it's not that bad, but far from perfect. Set in the 17th Century in Jamaica, it has notorious pirate Morgan Adams (Geena Davis) trying to find her father Black Harry (Harris Yulin), who has been captured by her uncle Dawg (Frank Langella), who is a notorious pirate. Black Harry has one third of a map that leads to treasure, Dawg has another piece of the map. Morgan ends up with con-man and thief William Shaw (Matthew Modine), who was due to be executed, and they team up to find the other pieces of the map, which will lead them to the mysterious, legenary Cutthroat Island. Meanwhile, Dawg is fast on their tail, and so's corrupt British Govenor Ainslee (Patrick Malahide), who wants to bring down the notorious Morgan, but Morgan and William make a tenacious duo. So, this is what pirate films were like before Johnny Depp saved them, this killed Carolco, and nearly killed the careers of Davis and Modine. It does have great production design and action, but it's let down by ropey special effects and a dodgy script. It's a shame really, I bet the producers are still kicking themselves for going with this rather than Paul Verhoeven's Crusade. 2.5/5

I just seem to remember a few long F&G thread went bye bye, and it'd be a shame if that happened to this one. That's why we started this thread. Two years old, can you believe it!


In other news......



The Muppets (1st view) - One of the many reasons why The Muppet Show worked so well was because it was two shows in one. A chaotic, anything-goes sketch show and a mayhem-filled behind-the-scenes sitcom. Add to that the guest star element, and you had the winning formula of wit, humour and craziness that made The Muppet Show one of the very, if not the, best TV shows ever made. One thing that the show didn't have, however, was sentiment. Preaching and life lessons weren't to be found. The Gogolala Jubilee Jugband did not sing songs that made you question your place in the universe. Veterinarian's Hospital did not ponder over what it was to be human, and Pigs in Space very rarely dealt with the concept of togetherness. Nope, it was the Muppet films that brought these issues to the forefront of the Muppet world. It's the nature of the beast that a two hour film needs some kind of plot and emotional hook in the way a 28 minute episode may not, but generally they have been dealt with in an assured manner, minor blips in the recent TV movies notwithstanding.

This latest film probably has the most sentiment of any Muppets films and I generally could have done with it being dialled back a little. As good as Man Or Muppet may be, it's fairly mawkish and the whole central plot strand is kinda cloying (this coming from someone who likes their sappiness in bucketfuls. ie. War Horse) but in the end I came away not caring that it was there. Nor did I mind the awful rap sing from Chris Cooper, the forgettable "Me Party", the fairly pathetic cameos (only Alan Arkin, Jim Parsons and Neil Patrick Harris stood out), the pointless freeze frames during the kidnapping or the fact that any time two humans were together it all got a bit boring. Because whenever the Muppets were on screen, it was absolutely fantastic. There are more bits than I could possibly list that had me grinning/laughing/guffawing like an idiot but a few choice moments include - "In control", Muppet man, Rowlf's return to the group (and how great was it to see more of a role for that loveable dog than he's had in years), Everything Stinks, 80s Robot modem, Beauregard, the fridge, Deadly and Bobo singing Together Again, The Barbershop Quartet, recreating the show titles.

And much more fun than the human cameos was trying to spot all the Muppet ones. Marvin Suggs, Behemoth, Julius Strangepork, the Lunch Monster, Droop, Afghan Hound, Pokey, Wayne and Wanda (I defy anybody who has seen the show to not say that pairing in Sam The Eagle's voice), The Mutations, the Snowths, Bobby Benson's babies, the cactus Quartet. I wish there had been room for more. Reading about all the human cameos that were filmed and cut, I would have much rather there's used that time to add more Muppet cameos.

I still can't quite give it top mark. Maybe I will on a second watch, but it was supremely good fun and perfect a lot of the time. Restaging the Muppet Show itself was something of a genius idea, and I think like all Muppet movies it works best if thought off as Muppets making a movie and not a movie about The Muppets, which this was anyway in my mind despite reading a number of comments that it isn't. So, pretty much awesome. Their best since Christmas Carol, and probably the third best Muppet film overall. Now if their next film could be a feature length edition of the Muppet Show, that would be fantastic in more ways than are possible - 4.9999/5*





Also, why wasn't Small Fry up for the best Animated Short Oscar? It was awesome!!!!

I knew Small Fry would win your approval!! Plus, good to hear you liked The Muppets...

Hush (2009), written and directed by Mark Tonderai, who back in the 1990's was a DJ on Radio 1 before he turned into TV production, made this cautionary horror/thriller for £1 million, and even though it was done for peanuts, it's remarkably effective, the sad thing is that hardly anyone went to see it upon release, and it's up there with other horror films out and about these days. It begins on the M1, somewhere in the Midlands, with young couple Zakes (William Ash) and Beth (Christine Bottomley), who are on a late night drive as Zakes goes into service stations on the motorway, putting posters up in the toilets. While driving up, they're cut up by a trucker, and Zakes spots a woman caged up in the back of the truck for a split second. He tries to tell the police, but he's unable to get the number plate. After Zakes tries to get a closer look, he and Beth have an argument, and she walks out at one of the service stations, and says she'll make her own way home. But, then Beth mysteriously disappears, and the truck that Zakes saw is at the service station, so he follows it, with devastating consequences where nothing is what it seems. It's well made for a low budget thriller, and manages to get alot out of a well worn movie genre, (think Duel, but with plenty of stop offs...) It has a lot of twists and turns, and Tonderai is certainly a talent to look out for. 3.5/5



The Million Pound Note (1953), directed by Ronald Neame, (Tunes of Glory (1960), The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969) and The Poseidon Adventure (1972)), and based upon a short story by Mark Twain. This is a charming and funny British film with a good American lead, it's a wonder Ealing never picked up on this one, as it's up their street. Set in London in 1903, it has American Henry Adams (Gregory Peck), who accidentally got stranded in England after a boating incident, wandering the streets penniless and unable to get home or find work. But, he chances upon rich, eccentric brothers Oliver (Ronald Squire) and Roderick Montpelier (Wilfrid Hyde-White), who have been able to convince the Bank of England to issue a one million pound banknote. They give it to Henry in an envelope, (unawares of the contents), as the brothers have a wager, believing Henry will be able to get by with it without actually having to spend it. Henry gets a shock when he learns how much was in the envelope, and he is mistaken for an eccentric millionaire, and he mingles with aristocracy, falling for heiress Portia Lansdowne (Jane Griffiths), but then the note goes missing... It's a fun, exciting morality tale, with Peck very likable as the poor American done good, and it has some good moments of comedy and thrills along the way. It's a wonder no-one has tried to remake this one, as it's the sort of story Hollywood would kill to do in a contemporary setting, but this has a unique and quirky charm. 4/5



99 Women (1969), directed by Jess Franco, whose brand of low-budget horror was always able to attract respectable actors. But, sometimes he just made low-budget, sleazy trash, that also attracted a name or two, and this is one of those films. It's badly edited and even more badly dubbed as well. Set in a woman's prison on an unnamed island, it begins when new inmate Marie (Maria Rohm) arrives at the prison and is stripped of her name and is given the number 99, the prison is ran by the sadistic lesbian warden Thelma Diaz (Mercedes McCambridge) and the leering, perverse Governor Santos (Herbert Lom) and submits the female prisoners to torture, rape and lesbianism. However, the Ministry of Justice has Diaz replaced by the kindly and more diplomatic Leonie Caroll (Maria Schell) who disagrees strongly with Diaz and Santos' methods of torture and abuse, and even begins with trying to seek parole for Marie, but when that goes nowhere fast, Marie along with Natalie (Luciana Paluzzi) and Zoie (Rosalba Neri) escape, with prison guards and male prisoners in hot pursuit. This sort of thing was done much better in Black Mama, White Mama (1973), this is just dull and plodding, and the sexuality, when it comes, is just sickening and softcore at best. Franco's work was cheap and nasty at best, and this is the nastiest of them all. 1/5



The Bloody Judge (1970), Jess Franco was wanting to move away from making the Fu Manchu films that made his name in the late 1960's, and he envisioned this dark, brooding character piece with the star of the Fu Manchu films in mind. It essentially a rehash of Witchfinder General, with much the same as what Franco has done before, with Lee saving the film whenever he appears. During the reign of King James II in 1685, the titular judge is Judge George Jeffries (Christopher Lee), who was given absolute power and free reign by the King to go through the land and punish and execute punish traitors to the crown, including witches. The trails were extremely unfair with no evidence to the contrary being offered. However, things are complicated when Jeffries' champion Lord Wessex (Leo Genn), learns that his son Harry (Hans Hass Jr.) is intending to marry Mary Gray (Maria Rohm), whose sister Alicia (Margaret Lee) was executed by Jeffries on suspicion of witchcraft. Plus, there's a revolution on the uprising when James II flees the throne, and William of Orange from Holland ascends to the throne, and he has Jeffries in his sights. It's not really a horror film, it's a very gory and perverse historical drama done with a grindhouse sensibility. Lee gives a very spirited performance as the evil Judge Jeffries, but he vanishes for half of the film, kinda bookending it, but it made a change from him doing Dracula. 2/5