What I've just watched

Jennifer Eight (1st view) - Reasonable thriller with Andy Garcia as an obsessed cop after a serial killer, Uma Thurman as a blind woman who is the only witness - 3/5

Drugstore Cowboy (1st view) - Matt Dillon is excellent, one of he better Gus Van Sant films I've seen - 4/5

Jack The Ripper (1st view) - 1976 film from Jess Franco, starring Klaus Kinski. A mess of a film, but perhaps not helped by the fact I ended up watching the dubbed version, not subtitled - 2/5

Also saw Stanley Kubrick's short film, Day Of The Fight, his first film, a documentary about the 12 hours before boxer Walter Cartier takes to the ring. Not bad - 3/5

Milk (2008), Gus Van Sant has always had one foot in independent films and one foot in the mainstream market. With this passionate biopic, he makes an accessable and powerful film, which showcases an unlikely and likeable hero, someone who stood up for the little people, and who's determination would change the course of history forever. Milk tells the story of Harvey Milk (Sean Penn), a gay activist from New York, who moved west to San Francisco in 1972 with partner Scott Smith (James Franco), and opened a camera shop on Castro Street, a blooming gay district where gay rights activism is frequent. Fed up with all this prejudice towards this minority, Milk decides to run for San Francisco supervisor seat, a position he finally wins in 1977, but he also has to deal with Dan White (Josh Brolin), a conservative who also won a supervisor position in the same year. It's a powerful and heroic film, Harvey Milk was always able to rally people up to fight for what they believed in. Penn gives a brilliant performance in a part you would never have thought he would do, but it shows he's got tremendous range and depth. There's very good support from Brolin, Franco, Emile Hirsch and Diego Luna in this film. Gus Van Sant should carry on with more mainstream films. 4/5



Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969), from Hammer Productions, comes the 5th Frankenstein film in their series of 7. But, this one is significant as it doesn't have a monster as such, and the monster within this film is the creator himself. It's a typical Hammer Horror film, but also a suspenseful one and an exciting one, which is also blessed with a good cast. This one has Baron Victor Frankenstein (Peter Cushing), now on the run from the authorities and living under aliases, getting a job at an insane asylum, and blackmailing a young couple Dr. Karl Holst (Simon Ward) and Anna (Veronica Carlson), who have been stealing medical drugs from the asylum, into using the basement of their house for his experiments. Which regards the mentally ill Dr. Brandt (George Pravda), so that Frankenstein can perform the first brain transplantation ever, as usual nothing goes to plan. It's dated a bit since it was first released, but in terms of production, it's one of the best Hammers for set design, (it looks like they pushed the boat out with this one. ) Cushing shows off an evil streak, and is complimented by a great cast including Thorley Walters, Geoffrey Bayldon and Freddie Jones!! 4/5

Taste The Blood of Dracula (1970), Hammer's take on Dracula rises from the grave yet again. This was the 6th Dracula film created by Hammer films, and it follows straight on from where the previous film ended. It begins when English businessman Weller (Roy Kinnear) discovering Dracula (Christopher Lee) as he dies and then Weller collects his collects his cloak, his ring and his blood, now dried up. We then go to 3 upper-class aristocrats, Hargood (Geoffrey Keen), Paxton (Peter Sallis) and Secker (John Carson), who find excitement in their lives with clandestine visits to a bordello, where they meet one of Dracula's former servants, Lord Courtley (Ralph Bates), offers the men greater pleasures. They are able to buy Dracula's personal effects from Weller, and attempt to resurrect him in a Black Mass. Courtley dies during the ritual, and metamorphasises into Dracula, and he goes after the 3 aristocrats. It's your usual Hammer fare, this is more character driven that the other ones, but even Christopher Lee looks bored throughout, even though this has a good cast, and it makes for good cheesy fun. 3/5



A View To A Kill (1985), the 14th 007 adventure, and it was also Roger Moore's final outing as Bond. By this point, he was too old to be playing James Bond, he was 58 going on 88, and it shows. Plus the film relies too much upon it's humour, and the plot is a rehash of all that went on in Goldfinger (1964). This adventure has Bond diving into the world of microchips and why microchips being developed by British and KGB are the same, it takes him to European industrialist Max Zorin (Christopher Walken), who also rigs horse races so that horses bred by him can win. Bond goes from Paris to San Francisco, and discovers that Zorin is planning to monopolise the microchip market by getting rid of the competition, by causing an earthquake which will sink Silicon Valley, and he can control the market. Can Bond stop him?? By this point, the franchise was starting to look like a bit of a joke again, and this one resembles a bad 80's action film made by Cannon Films. It does have it's moments, but Moore was too old to be doing stuff like this, seeing him lusting over Tanya Roberts and Grace Jones is creepy. Thank heavens Timothy Dalton came along and blew the cobwebs off the franchise!! 2/5

Legend (1985), after the bleak utopian sci-fi of Alien (1979) and Blade Runner (1982). Director Ridley Scott wanted to go in the opposite direction, into the direction of fantasy, inspired by the films of Disney, and this is what he came up with, and it's a shame he hasn't tried it again. Set in a fantastical land of long ago, it has the Lord of Darkness (Tim Curry), wanting to kill the last two unicorns living in the wild, so that the sun will never shine again. Meanwhile, two young lovers, Jack (Tom Cruise) and Princess Lily (Mia Sara) become involved with the last two unicorns and inadvertently set off a chain of evens where the male unicorn's horn is stolen, and Princess Lily is kidnapped. So, Jack teams up with a fairy, an elf, and two dwarves to rescue the unicorn and Princess Lily before the Lord of Darkness casts the world into eternal darkness. It's such a beautiful film, albiet one with a troubled production history, (a soundstage burnt down, and Jerry Goldsmith's score was replaced by one from Tangerine Dream, Yes frontman Jon Anderson and Bryan Ferry!! ), but it's still well made, and it came at a time when fantasy films really were in vogue, in the pre-CGI world where effects had to be done for real, it looks brilliant. It is a brillantly imagined piece with good performances, an endearing quaintness and Scott's flawless visual eye over proceedings. Oh, and have you noticed how this has unicorns in common with Blade Runner, coincidence?? 5/5



Gothic (1986), Ken Russell turned to horror with this intellectual horror film, based upon a real encounter of real literary figures which occured one night and resulted in the creation of one of the best horror stories of all time. It's not a vintage Ken Russell film, (he was clutching at straws for film financing at this time), but it is a very eerie and excessive visual piece. The film is set at Villa Diodati by Lake Geneva, and it tells the story of Percy Bysshe Shelley (Julian Sands) and his wife Mary Shelley (Natasha Richardson) coming to the estate by the lake to visit Lord Byron (Gabriel Byrne) and Dr John William Polidori (Timothy Spall). During the night of their stay, they had a famous challenge amongst themselves to write a horror story, which would eventually end up with Mary Shelley writing Frankenstein and Polidori writing The Vampyre. This is the kind of excessiveness you would expect from Britain's maddest filmmaker. It is a flawed film, with the expected emphasis on sex and shocking imagery. It does have a weird modern score by Thomas Dolby to it's name, but it's good performances and grand location at Gaddesden Place in Hemel Hempstead make up for any of the film's shortcomings. 3/5

Ok, so now I really want to watch Gothic! But 5 stars for Legend? Nooooo!


Barbershop (1st view) – The serious bits are too preachy, the comedy moments unfunny and it all ends up being very predictable – 2/5

The King (2nd view) – Leisurely pace, great sense of mood, setting and character, a great gothic tale. Intense and compelling with great turns from Gael Garcia Bernal and William Hurt – 4/5

After Hours (2nd view) – Splendid black comedy from Scorcese, probably one of his most light-hearted and underrated films.

The Motorcycle Diaries/ Diarios de motocicleta (2nd view) – Excellent performances from the two leads, beautiful location scenery, a great road film, the kind that makes you want to get up and go on an odyssey yourself. Still think it’s a bit too patchy though, great distances and passages of time are overlooked. Gustavo Santaolalla’s score is amazing – 4/5

The International (1st view) - Effiecient and intelligent globe-trotting thriller. The standout set piece, a shootout in the Guggenheim museum, could well end up being one of the scenes of the year (Always amazes me though, the lengths some films take. Why replicate a well-known building and then practically destroy it and not just use some unknown location?) The fact that’s is has some relevance today – banks making life a misery – is of no difference to me, just all part of the story, and quite a good one it is – 4/5

The Odd Couple (9th view) – Always loved this, easily one of the funniest films I’ve seen. Damn near every line is a winner, the excellent cast zinging them back and forth. The group of poker players is one of the finest little gatherings on screen, but Lemmon and Matthau take the acting honours – 4/5

New York Stories (1989), here's an anthology film, all set within the city of New York, and consisting of 3 short films from 3 of the best directors working at that time. Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola and Woody Allen. It's a novel idea, and it does showcase the beauty and colour of the great city. One is very good, one is OK and one is downright hilarious. First off, we start with Scorsese's Life Lessons, which follows the life of tortured painter Lionel Dobie (Nick Nolte), who paints with music playing loud and is having troubles with his former lover Paulette (Rosanna Arquette), who share the same studio appartment. Coppola's Life Without Zoe, an offbeat fantasy about Zoe (Heather McComb), who lives in a penthouse, and tries to get her seperated parents Claudio (Giancarlo Giannini) and Charlotte (Talia Shire) back together. And then there's Woody Allen's Oedipus Wrecks, a hilarious comedy about lawyer Sheldon Mills (Woody) who has problems with his mother (Mae Questel) affecting his relationship with Lisa (Mia Farrow), when a magic trick makes her vanish, Sheldon's problems are gone, but not for long!! This is a good anthology of films, each one is not too long and look good visually, (cinematography by Néstor Almendros, Vittorio Storaro and Sven Nykvist), Woody's Jewish mother joke is the best of the 3, Coppola's is the weakest for it's weirdness, Scorsese's is blessed with powerful performances. 4/5



Sunshine (2007), Danny Boyle does a science fiction film. But, this is not your average science fiction film, reuniting with Alex Garland after The Beach (2000) and 28 Days Later (2002), they are able to create a thoughtful and suspenseful journey, it's hugely underrated and isn't for everyone, but is well worth a look. Set about 50 years from now, it has our sun dying, and a spaceship with a huge payload bomb on board heading towards the sun to restart it, and bring life back to a dying Earth. It's crew consists of Captain Kaneda (Hiroyuki Sanada), Cassie (Rose Byrne), Trey (Benedict Wong), Searle (Cliff Curtis), Harvey (Troy Garity), Mace (Chris Evans), Corazon (Michelle Yeoh) and Capa (Cillian Murphy), who have lived together for nearly 2 years on this mission. Then they receive a mysterious distress call from the ship from the first failed mission and go to investigate... Inspired by Alien (Boyle's favourite film) and The Wages of Fear, Sunshine makes for a spiritual and an ambient viewing experience, it's visually stunning with some good SFX done on it's lowish budget. It is a thinking man's sci-fi film, different from big budget sci-fi films, but all the better for being different!! 4/5

Ghost Town (1st view) - About 10 minutes into this, the strangest thing happened. I laughed. And the cause of this hilarity was Ricky Gervais. I've never once laughed at him. Not in Stardust or For Your Consideration or Valiant or Night At The Museum, or any of the bits of Extras, The Office or his standup that I've seen. Until a few hours ago the man was a comedy void, but he was actually quite amusing in this. Not the greatest of films but it does have a nice charm, and I'm always happy to see anything with Greg Kinnear - 4/5

We obviously share the same feelings on the Ricky Gervais subject Gimli! I can't stand the guy (darn you in Stardust!) Which has therefore meant that I didn't give this film a second glance when it came out...however, your review is intriguing!! Maybe I should give it a go!

Well, it still takes a while to warm to him, and it doesn't help that his character is generally unlikeable, but I was surprised by how much I liked it.


Cleopatra (2nd view) – It must be about 20 years since I last saw this and I’m surprised by how vividly I could recall some scenes. Probably more famous for its troubled production (which sound fascinating), epic length (though those 4 hours flew by) and Liz Taylor’s 17 zillion costumes than actually being any good. And it probably isn’t that good really, apart from the grandiose visuals. A few months ago I said that it was hard to think of a film that matched The Fall Of The Roman Empire in terms of scale, how grand it looked, but this beats it hands down. Yes, lots of dodgy acting and melodrama, and the dialogue lurches from good to abysmal within seconds, but there’s just something about it all that I loved – 4/5

After Hours (1985), Martin Scorsese's career varied throughout the 1980's, after the huge success of Raging Bull (1980), he had tried for ages to get The Last Temptation of Christ off the ground, but couldn't get the funding, so in the meantime, he took on smaller projects, The King of Comedy (1982), was one of them, and this is another, which is a very underrated film from Scorsese, and one of his only few comedies. This low-budget comedy has computer word processor Paul Hackett (Griffin Dunne), who has the most eventful night of his life. He meets Marcy Franklin (Rosanna Arquette) in a cafe, goes over to her place, meets her flatmate Kiki Bridges (Linda Fiorentino), and afterwards, Paul just can't seem to get home, the subway fare has gone up, he's lost all his money, and he ends up being accused of being a burglar by a group of neighbourhood vigilantes. Coincidences and horrible occurings happen all through the night for Paul, who just wants to go home. The films humour comes out of the bizarreness of the situations, and it's well stages and feels as tight and focused as a stage play. Scorsese stages the action well, and he should do something like this again, it has some good performances to it's name. Oh, and look out for Cheech and Chong as a couple of wheeler-dealers in a van. 4/5



American Gangster (2007), Ridley Scott gets on down with the brothers in Harlem, and turns in a crime drama, set in New York in the 1960's and 70's, based on a true story of a real drugs kingpin whose with a huge empire, and was eventually brought down. It's a suspenseful and visually beautiful gangster film, with a brilliant cast to it's name. With Denzel Washington as Frank Lucas, a gangster who becomes a huge drugs baron, who buys pure heroin, direct from Thailand, smuggling it into America in the coffins of soldiers killed in Vietnam. Meanwhile, cop Richie Roberts, (Russell Crowe), a clean, honest cop is determined to bring down Lucas. Scott does well with this material, giving a dark, grim look to 70's New York, but it does feel convulated in places, but thankfully, Scott had a much better Director's Cut for the DVD. But, the film captures the underbelly of Harlem and the surrounding ghettos brilliantly, along with Washington and Crowe, it's cast also includes appearances, big or small, by Josh Brolin, Chiwetel Ejiofor, RZA, Cuba Gooding Jr., Carla Gugino, Jon Polito and Ted Levine. One of Sir Ridders better recent ones. 4/5

Stealth (2nd view) - I hate the idea of a guilty pleasure. Why feel guilty about something just because everyone else doesn't like it? However, if I did buy into it, than this film would certainly be classed as one for me. It's so far from being good but it is great fun. Explosions and CGI-heavy aerial battles with little time for decent characters or reasonable storytelling, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Also, it manages to avoid the really choppy editing of many modern action films so that you can actually follow the action scenes, however far-fetched they may be. Like I said, bad film, great fun, for me at least - 4/5




Y tu mamá también/And Your Mother Too (1st view) - I was quite a bit disappointed with this. Director Alfonso Cuarón gave us the best film of 2006 with Children Of Men, the only truly good Harry Potter film and The Little Princess is a gem. Stars Maribel Verdú, Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna have all proved themselves as fine actors. Despite all performing well here, the film overall just seemed to be unengaging, it was hard to care about those involved and that's never a good sign. The best aspect was the narration, which frequently told us aspects of the characters that we never see in the film, what happened years before and what will happen in the future, and it's only here that the film really comes to life - 3/5

Bullets Over Broadway (1994), Woody Allen came off the back of his controversial lawsuit with Mia Farrow with a successful comedy, co-written with Douglas McGrath, and featuring an all-star cast, which would eventually be nominated for 7 Oscars and the winner of one for one showstealing performance. It's one of Woody's better recent films. Set in New York in 1928, it has young and eager playwright David Shayne (John Cusack), trying to sell his new play 'God of Our Fathers' around Broadway. With help from his agent Julian Marx (Jack Warden), he finds funding from gangster kingpin Nick Valenti (Joe Viterelli), and they cast alcoholic actress Helen Sinclair (Dianne Wiest, who won the Oscar for this), overweight actor Warner Purcell (Jim Broadbent), and wannabe actress Olive Neal (Jennifer Tilly) whose gangster boyfriend Cheech (Chazz Palminteri), who also works for Valenti, and helps with a bit of input in Shayne's play. It's a very funny film, blessed with some very good performances, Tilly and Wiest stand out, it has a dark edge to it but it's an enjoyable film in the long term. 4/5



The Conversation (1974), after the release of The Godfather (1972), Francis Ford Coppola was able to get a film he'd nurtured for nearly a decade made. A paranoid thriller which came out around the time when America was learning the horrible truths of the Watergate scandal. It's an underrated and nearly-forgotten film, which is just as good as the Godfather films. Set in San Francisco, it has Harry Caul (Gene Hackman), a top surveillance expert, who is highly respected in his profession. However, shortly after recording a coversation between a couple (Cindy Williams and Frederic Forrest), he tries to find out what the conversation between the two meant, and he becomes worried that they might be killed, and he goes out to try and prevent a tragedy from happening. But his own personal anxieties and paranoia get in the way, and lead to an inevitable breakdown. This is a powerful and very realistic thriller. Hackman said this was his favourite film out of all the ones he's done, and he turns in a brilliant performance. Coppola should try making more films like this, and the best thing about the film is the extraordinary, otherworldly sound design by Walter Murch. 4/5

Mutant Chronicles (1st view) - In 2707, Timothy Jane and Ron Perlman lead an attack on an ancient underground machine
that has the ability to turn people into mutants. I;m sure there's a good film hiding about in here somewhere, but it's lost in beneath bad performances, cringeworthy dialogue, computer game effects and general awfulness. In short, it's reasonably good fun if you're in the right frame of mind - 3/5

Duplicity- 7/10 (breezy if confusing)
Lesbo Vampire Killers- 5,6/10... amusing nonsense, nothing more but not as bad as imagined

Barbershop 2: Back in Business (1st view)- After the poor first instalment, this was a surprisingly enjoyable improvement - 3/5

Murder at the Gallop (1963), the second in a series of Miss Marple films produced by MGM during the 1960's, starring the inimitable Margaret Rutherford as Agatha Christie's super sleuth. This one is based upon Christie's After the Funeral (a Poirot book), it's a short film, as not as good as the other films, but it makes for an enjoyable hour or so. Whilst collecting for charity, Miss Jane Marple (Rutherford) and her companion Mr. Stringer (Stringer Davis) witness the death of the wealthy old Mr. Enderby (Finlay Currie), who appears to have been "frightened to death by a cat." Marple suspects foul play, much to the chagrin of Inspector Craddock (Charles 'Bud' Tingwell). Marple goes undercover at boarding house and riding school The Gallop, where Enderby's relatives have gathered at to hear the reading of the will. Miss Marple suspects that one of the family members may have murdered Old Enderby, and then more deaths occur. It's a low-key affair, but an enjoyable film, it doesn't outstay it's welcome, and it's blessed with Rutherford's show-stealing performance as Marple, brilliant dialogue and appearences from Robert Morley and Flora Robson. 3/5



Beowulf (2007), Robert Zemeckis takes on the Old English poem using the Motion Capture animation technology he previously used on The Polar Express (2004), here, we have Ray Winstone as the titular warrior Beowulf, asked by King Hrothgar (Anthony Hopkins) to rid his land of the monster Grendel (Crispin Glover), and Grendel's Mother (Angelina Jolie). A real visual feast of a feast, and the Mo-Cap animation has improved alot since Zemeckis' last effort, even if the story sags in places, (though it is translated well from the old English by Neil Gaiman and Roger Avery), and is camp as hell, it's violent, scary and suspensful in all the right places, and our Ray makes a good, hunky 7ft warrior!! But, it would be good to see director Zemeckis get back to some live action filmmaking one day!! 4/5

Persepolis (1st view) – Beautiful, poignant and often very funny. I haven’t seen that many foreign animations but this is certainly one of the best. The black and white works a treat, one of those films that just wouldn’t be the same in colour, and the animation style, a bit Saturday morning ‘toon-ish at first, helps as well. Very good – 4/5




Gods and Generals (1st view) – Clocking in at a little over three and a half hours, this tells the story of the American Civil war, focussing on General “Stonewall” Jackson, played by Stephen Lang, The ever excellent Robert Duvall also appears. It’s quite serious and sombre with its long speeches and prayers, I don’t think I can recall a film quite so austere. You get the impression though that it is slightly more accurate, or at least trying to be, than most such films, and the recreations of battles is impressive. There’s a rumoured 6 hour version that has yet to be released, I’d love to see that – 4/5

Murder Ahoy (1964), the fourth and final film in a short yet sweet series of British Miss Marple films produced by MGM during the early 1960's. But, unlike the previous 3 Miss Marple films, this one was an original story, rather than being based upon one of Agatha Christie's original books, as a result, it doesn't work as well as the previous 3 films, but it's enjoyable enough. It has Miss Jane Marple (Margaret Rutherford, wonderful as always), now a trustee of a Navy training vessel, however, one of fellow trustees mysteriously "snuffs" it after his box of snuff was poisoned. Once again, Miss Marple is on the case. It takes her on board the ship she is trustee for, much to the annoyance of the uptight Captain Rhumstone (Lionel Jeffries), but no sooner than Miss Marple is on board the ship, more murders occur, and her faithful companion Jim Stringer (Stringer Davis) and Inspector Craddock (Charles 'Bud' Tingwell) help out. It's a weaker entry to the series, but it is by no means a bad film, it loosely adapts plots and pointers from Christie's other books. Rutherford is as perfect as always, and there is good support from William Mervyn, Francis Matthews, Nicholas Parsons and Derek Nimmo!! 3/5



Thieves Like Us (1974), after the successes of M*A*S*H (1970), McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971) and The Long Goodbye (1973), director Robert Altman took on an adaptation of Edward Anderson's 1937 crime novel of the same name, which was previously adapted as They Live by Night (1948). Whilst there were some who unfairly compared it to Bonnie and Clyde (1967), it is a very stylish and thoughtful period crime drama. Set in Mississippi in the 1930's, the film follows 3 escaped convicts, Bowie (Keith Carradine), Chicamaw (John Schuck) and T-Dub (Bert Remsen), and embark on a spree of robbing banks in the area. Bowie, the youngest of the 3 crooks, falls for Keechie (Shelley Duvall), who lives at one of the gangs hide-outs. However, after one bank robbery goes horribly wrong, it puts all of their lives in danger, especially the lives of our two young lovers. It's an underrated film from Altman, but his stamp of improvised but detailed direction is placed all over this film, it captures the era well, using the radio throughout to give the film a sense of date and time. Carradine and Duvall are wonderful as Bowie and Keechie, and it is a powerful but quirky film, well worth a look. 4/5

Custer Of The West (1st view) – Robert Shaw stars as George Custer in this film that follows Custer from the end of the civil war to the battle of the Little Bighorn. I’m not all that clued up on the man but it’s quite obvious that this is quite inaccurate, and in trying to portray him as a hero as well as the plight of the Native Americans, the film crams in too much without ever fully exploring either. Impressively staged though, and Robert Ryan provides nice support – 3/5




In The Mood For Love (1st view) – My main problem with this is the same flaw I found with the only other Wong Kar-wai film I’ve seen, My Blueberry Nights. Take away half the shots of people gazing wistfully into the distance and it’d barely be an hour long. Still, such shots do help to convey the mood of loneliness and obsession, it looks beautiful and both Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung are fantastic – 4/5




Bright Young Things (1st view) – Stephen Fry’s directorial debut. Not a bad film but one of those that I simply didn’t care for at all. Plot-wise and character-wise, I never really cared for what was coming next. Peter O’Toole’s small turn was the best thing about it – 2/5




2046 (1st view) – Sequel to In The Mood For Love. Not it’s equal, it’s less heartfelt and the futuristic subplot is distracting, but Tony Leung is just as good as before.

M*A*S*H (1970), this was a little low-budget war film that caused a big revolution. It put it's director, Robert Altman, who came from doing low-budget films and TV, it would make stars out of it's cast, who were then all unknowns. Most famously, it would have a spin-off TV series which ran from 1972 to 1983. It's dated a bit since it's release, but it still feels relevent now. Set during the Korean War, and based upon a book by Richard Hooker, M*A*S*H stands for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, and it follows the exploits of 3 doctors working in this unit. Captain "Hawkeye" Pierce (Donald Sutherland), Captain "Duke" Forrest (Tom Skerritt) and Captain "Trapper" McIntyre (Elliot Gould), they arrive to the horrors of the casualties of war, and they use humour and an anti-establishment stance to prevent from going mad from the horrors around them, whether it be going to Tokyo to operate on a congressman's son or the arrival of Major "Hot Lips" Houlihan (Sally Kellerman), stirs things up. It is a powerful film, but it does have a dark edge to it. It does have good performances, but it says alot more about America in Vietnam than the Korean war, still Altman went on to better things with Brewster McCloud (1970), Nashville (1975) and Short Cuts (1993). 3/5



Grizzly Man (2005), Werner Herzog has always found time to do documentaries between his films, and this is one of them, exploring the life of bear enthusiast Timothy Treadwell, which makes for compelling viewing, both upsetting and enthralling to watch, but it shows wild grizzly bears in their natural habitat, and Treadwell is just as wild, but he paid the price for getting so close to the animals he loved. Treadwell spent 13 Summers living in the wilds of the Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska. He would live in the wilderness amongst the bears, although he was warned that they would harm him, he continued to do it, filming his expeditions on camcorder as he went along, but tragedy struck in October 2003, when Treadwell and his girlfriend Amie Huguenard were killed by grizzly bears. His life is told from a selection of the 100 hours of video footage Treadwell shot, and interviews with Treadwell's close family and friends by Herzog. It is a fascinating film about a boy who accidentally grew into a man, he was a man of lost ideals and broken dreams, but he loved bears, and he chose to live with them. It is a sad story of a true eccentric. You can't help but feel for what he believes in, but you can tell he's hurting inside. Herzog paints an amazing picture of a remarkable and tortured soul. 4/5