What I've Just Watched: Part 3 - The Search for Spock

Glad you liked MOosters University, Don, It seems to be getting a bad reputation  

I never noticed. Is it as bad as what Cars 2 got??

Not that bad but there have been some pretty bad reviews.

Yeah, a lot of critics think that ever since Toy Story 3, Pixar have been missing something...

Drop Zone (1994), directed by John Badham (Saturday Night Fever (1977), Short Circuit (1986) and Stakeout (1987)) this idea was pitched by two professional skydivers Tony Griffin and Guy Manos. The film was originally slated to star Steven Seagal, but he passed on the idea, then it went to Wesley Snipes, who loved the idea. It's a silly, by-the-numbers action film, but it passes for muster while it lasts. U.S. Marshal Pete Nessip (Wesley Snipes) and his brother Terry (Malcolm Jamal-Warner), also a U.S. Marshal, are escorting Earl Leedy (Michael Jeter), a computer wizard by plane to a high security jail, after an attempt is made on Leedy's life. On the flight, the plane is hijacked by former DEA agent Ty Moncrief (Gary Busey), who kidnaps Leedy by skydiving out of the plane, killing Terry in the process. Although Pete is forced to turn in his badge, he swears revenge. But he learns of Moncrief's plan to attack Washington D.C. during a parachute and airshow exhibition, so Pete calls upon skydiver Jessie Crossman (Yancy Butler) to help. It's a very silly film, and it has some good moments, and a lot of the skydiving stunts were done for real when they could be. Not all of it works, but it manages to be fun, brainless entertainment while it lasts. Busey does his bad-guy thing again, and he has fun, but Snipes makes for a charistmatic lead action hero. 3/5



Kingpin (1996), after the success of Dumb and Dumber (1994), Peter and Bobby Farrelly wasted no time in following it up with this sports comedy written by Barry Fanaro and Mort Nathan (TV's The Golden Girls). While it was ignored in cinemas at the time, it's become something of a cult hit, and it's a film with a lot of heart, and a lot of bad taste humour that works brilliantly. In 1979, young bowling prodigy Roy Munson (Woody Harrelson) goes from amateur to professional, beating current champ Ernie McCracken (Bill Murray). McCracken gets his own back by having Munson take part in a hustle that goes wrong, costing Munson his bowling hand. 17 years later, Munson is down and out and his life is going nowhere, but he finds hope in Amish man Ishmael Boorg (Randy Quaid), who he wants to coach. Ishmael refuses, but after learning his Amish community is in financial trouble, Munson tells Ishmael of a bowling tournament in Reno, Nevada with a $1 million prize. They set off across America, with Munson teaching Ishmael along the way. This is the best film the Farrelly's have made so far, it's moving, it has good characters and it has hilarious jokes, such as "milking the bull" and Bill Murray's combover. It's a pity the Farrelly's have decended into bad taste jokes that seem more spiteful than funny, maybe they should look back to Kingpin to reclaim past success. 4.5/5

The Final Cut (2004), written and directed by Omar Naim (Dead Awake (2010)), this is a sci-fi thriller that owes a lot to the work of Phillip K. Dick and even a hint of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty Four. It should have been a good piece of entertainment, but it takes itself too seriously, when something like this could have been fun and exciting, but it descends into conspiracy thriller territory which has all been done before. In the not too distant future, babies implanted with memory chips known as Zoe Implants, developed by the Eye Corporation. When someone with a Zoe Implant dies, their memories have been recorded and their moments can be viewed by their families. But, only the best parts of these people's lives can be seen, Alan Hakman (Robin Williams) is a cutter, who edits the best moments out of people's lives and "makes saints out of criminals". However, when he takes on the life of Charles Bannister (Michael St. John Smith), Hakman's professional life starts to unravel when he discovers that Bannister knows someone from Hakman's past. It should have been a very good thriller, and Williams has the gravitas to pull it off, but it is let down by a formulaic script which has bits and pieces from other sci-fi thrillers, and a pay off that seems to go out with a whimper rather than a bang. It was a good idea for a film, but it deserved to be better. 2.5/5



Ladies in Lavender (2004), the directorial debut of Charles Dance, who also wrote the film, adapted from a short story by William J. Locke, first published in 1908. This period drama is moved forwards to the 1930's, and it's a gentle piece with some lovely performances in it. It's the kind of thing you'd get on TV on Sunday teatimes, but it manages to hold it's own as a piece of cinema, but only just. In 1936, in a small Cornish village by the coast, sisters Ursula (Judi Dench) and Janet Widdington (Maggie Smith) live quiet lives, but their lives change when they find Polish man Andrea (Daniel Brühl) washed up on the beach near their house. Ursula and Janet take him in, and they nurse him back to health. They discover Andrea is a virtuoso violinist, and he shows off his talents to the local villagers, who accept him as one of their own. However, things change when holidaying artist Olga Daniloff (Natascha McElhone), whose brother is a famed violinist, hears Andrea play and promises him a better life, but Ursula and Janet can't let go of their guest. It's a moving and well made drama which has some lovely Cornish locations, and some good performances by Dench and Smith as the sisters. Although the concept of the film might be a bit far fetched, it works well and Dance does well as writer and director, and he should give it another go. 4/5

My Neighbours The Yamadas (1999), from Studio Ghibli, comes something completely different in style and technique to what they'd done before. Based upon the manga Nono-chan by Hisaichi Ishii and written and directed here by Isao Takahata (Grave of the Fireflies (1988), Only Yesterday (1991) and Pom Poko (1994)), this is a different kind of story too, very episodic rather than being a linear story. My Neighbours The Yamadas tells the storys and adventures of the Yamada family, which consist of father Takashi (Tôru Masuoka) and mother Matsuko (Yukiji Asaoka), and their teenage son Noboru (Hayato Isobata) and 5 year old daughter Nonoko (Naomi Uno), plus Matsuko's mother Shige (Masako Araki) and their dog Pochi. The segments covers everyday family life including losing Nonoko in a department store, to Noboru getting his first girlfriend but being embarrassed to tell his family about it. Even though Takashi and Matsuko have the odd row and stuggle to get ahead in life, their love for one another is what keeps the family together. It's a sweet film, and it's odd watercolour art style was animated entirely on computers, and even though it's not as focused as other Studio Ghlibi films, it's one you can make time for, and most of it's themes and episodes ring true, and they'll have all have happened to us at one point or another in our lives. 4/5



The Cat Returns (2002), when Studio Ghibli did Whisper of the Heart (1995), based on Aoi Hiiragi's manga, there were fantasy sequences involving a cat called The Baron, which Hiiragi made into a spin-off manga, which Studio Ghibli picked up to make into a film, which started out life as a theme park ride in Japan, which was abandoned, but they worked on it, and made an enchanting and magical fantasy. This tells the story of teenage school student Haru (Anne Hathaway), who somehow has the ability to communicate with cats, and when she saves one cat from being hit by a truck, Haru ends up on adventure she can't believe. The cat she saved was Prince Lune, Prince of the Cat Kingdom (Andrew Bevis) and his father the Cat King (Tim Curry) expects Haru to marry Lune. Which she's reluctant to do, but she finds help from The Baron (Cary Elwes), who is charismatic and offers to find a way to help. But, Haru soon finds herself turning into a cat, and the Cat King won't take no for an answer from Haru. It's absolutely insane, but it has some wonderful visual details on display, and it's not a very long film either, plus it does owe a big debt of gratitude to Labyrinth (1986) in more than one scene. It might have a reputation as one of Studio Ghibli's lesser works, but it's not, it's an enchanting and amusing adventure, and it's well worth a look. 4/5

RED 2 (2013), it had to happen, after the success of RED (2010), a sequel was ordered immediately, so they employed Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest (1999) and Fun with Dick and Jane (2005) to direct and they spent the next year and a bit working on a plot. It's not as good as the first film, but it does have it's enjoyable moments here and there. Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) and girlfriend Sarah Ross (Mary-Louise Parker) are trying to enjoy a peaceful life, until they're approached by Frank's old colleague Marvin Boggs (John Malkovich), who is convinced there are people following him, and there are. Frank ends up being questioned, only for his interrogators to be killed by Jack Horton (Neal McDonough). Frank, Sarah and Marvin end up on the run, going to Paris, Moscow and London to figure out what's going on. It involves scientist Edward Bailey (Anthony Hopkins) who has been locked up for years, and then Victoria Winslow (Helen Mirren) gets involved as does Katya (Catherine Zeta-Jones) who knows Frank from years ago, much to Sarah's jealousy. It's a very silly action film with over the top action, and it gives Brucie another excuse to kick ass (at least it's better than the last Die Hard) and Malkovich to act crazy again, but it's fun while it lasts. Oh, and the finale at Heathrow was done at Dunsfold Aerodrome, where they film Top Gear. 3.5/5



Only Yesterday (1991), from Studio Ghibli, directed by Isao Takahata (Grave of the Fireflies (1988), Pom Poko (1994) and My Neighbours The Yamadas (1999)) and based on the manga by Hotaru Okamoto and Yuko Tone, this is a very moving and touching animated drama about looking back on ones on life, and mistakes you made, and how each decision was important where you ended up now. It starts in 1982, where Taeko (Miki Imai) works in an office in Tokyo, she's 27 years old and unmarried. But, she's agreed to go out to Yamagata, in the countryside to help with a safflower harvest for her extended family, and just as an excuse to get away from it all. While on her way there on a sleeper train, Taeko reflects on her life as a schoolgirl in 1966, where she went through puberty and discovered crushes. When she gets out into the country, she meets her brother in law's second cousin Toshio (Toshirō Yanagiba), with whom she develops feelings for, and it leads to Taeko making a life changing decision she believes will be for the better. It's a very beautifully made film, and it's well made. It showed Studio Ghibli could make different sorts of films that weren't just for children. However, the mature themes about growing up this one carried has ensured it won't be released in America, however the rest of the world are more fortunate to see this one. 4/5

Apocalypse Now (1979), After the double whammy and Oscar success of the first two Godfather films, Francis Ford Coppola now had the power to make whatever film he wanted to. He chose this loose adaptation of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, only relocated within the madness and horror of the Vietnam War. It is Coppola's masterpiece, a film of such grand ambition and scope that it shows how the pointlessness of war can bring out the darkness in man. It has near-burnt out Special Ops Captain Benjamin L. Willard (Martin Sheen) who is sent on a mission to Cambodia to find Special Forces Colonel Walter E. Kurtz (Marlon Brando) who has gone renegade and insane. Willard is sent on a patrol boat up river with a crew including commander QMC George "Chief" Phillips (Albert Hall), GM3 Lance B. Johnson (Sam Bottoms), GM3 Tyrone Miller (Laurence Fishburne) a.k.a. "Mr. Clean", and EN3 Jay "Chef" Hicks (Frederic Forrest). Along the way they see a Playboy USO show, surfing enthusiast Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore (Robert Duvall) and then onto Kurtz's compound... It's a film about one man's decent into hell and back, and he'll never be the same again, Sheen has never been better, Brando adds mistique to the proceedings and Coppola's epic vision is awe-inspiring. Despite the nightmarish production, it stands as the best war film ever made, look out for Harrison Ford and Dennis Hopper's appearances too. You won't forget this in a hurry. 5/5



Smokey and the Bandit (1977), One of an eventual trilogy, and one of many films it's star Burt Reynolds would make with Hal Needham, (including Hooper (1978), The Cannonball Run (1981) and Stroker Ace (1983)). This became the second highest grossing film of 1977, behind some silly sci-fi saga, but this is better. It begins with Texas dealers Big Enos Burdette (Pat McCormick) and his son, Little Enos (Paul Williams), wanting someone to bring a big shipment of Coors beer all the way from Texas to their theme park in Georgia. They find legendary truck driver Bo "Bandit" Darville (Reynolds), who agrees to do it, he finds help with fellow trucker Cledus "Snowman" Snow (Jerry Reed) who will drive the truck, and Bandit will keep attention off the truck with a back Pontiac Trans Am. They travel to Texarkana, Texas where 400 cases of Coors is waiting, and they set off home. However, they run foul of the law, after Bandit picks up runaway bride Carrie (Sally Field), and they soon have Sheriff Buford T. Justice (Jackie Gleeson) on the Bandit's tail, as his son was to have married Cassie. But, with a fast car, the Bandit wants the shipment to get back to Georgia, and he won't give in. It's a very likeable film with some very funny moments, and even Reynolds is a likeable presence, (many people forget how big he was in the 1970's). There should be more car chase and race films like this now, this set the high water mark for them all. 4/5

Only Yesterday is great. easily the best Ghibli film.

Magic (1978), directed by Richard Attenborough, this was his first Hollywood film written by William Goldman, (adapted from his own 1976 novel). This psychological horror film owes a lot to a segment in the British horror anthology film Dead of Night (1945), but it manages to have an eerie and creepy mood which is very unsettling. It just shows how creepy ventriloquist's dummies can be. Charles "Corky" Withers (Anthony Hopkins) is trying to get into doing professional magic shows, but is struggling badly, however he finally hits the big time when he includes a foul mouthed dummy called Fats into his act, which is a huge success. His agent Ben Greene (Burgess Meredith) is on the verge of getting Corky his own TV show on NBC, but Corky chickens out at the last minute, claiming he's "afraid of success". He hops into a taxi, and drives into the Catskill Mountains, and hides at the home of his old high school crush Peggy Ann Snow (Ann-Margret), and they begin an affair, but Fats seems to have take on a personality of his own, or has he?? It's a very creepy film, and it's a shame Attenborough didn't attempt more films like this, as he was a dab hand at creating a tense mood here, (one reason he made this film was so he could get money to make Gandhi (1982)), but even he did "sell out" with this film, the final result is one of his best films. 4/5



Arrietty (2010), from Studio Ghibli, adapted by Hayao Miyazaki from Mary Norton's 1952 novel The Borrowers, this was the directorial debut of long time Studio Ghibli animator Hiromasa Yonebayashi, who had been part of the team since Princess Mononoke (1997). It's a visually stunning film with some lovely details and a lot of imagination on display, and it's also a good adventure film too. In Japan, a boy called Sho (Tom Holland) has been sent to stay at the house of his Grandmother (Phyllida Law), while Sho awaits to have major heart surgery. When he arrives at Grandmother's house, he see's a cat trying to go for something under a bush, which turns out to be a tiny person, this is Arrietty (Saoirse Ronan), a Borrower who lives under the floorboards of the house with her mother Homily (Olivia Colman) and father Pod (Mark Strong). Homily is always worried that they'll get caught, and she is very over protective of Arrietty, while Pod takes Arrietty on a Borrowing mission to get supplies, but they're caught by Sho, who wants to know more. It manages to be very faithful to the original book, and it manages to be an enchanting film, capturing a lot of detail of the world we can't see. Despite the fact the book has been relocated to Japan, it still somehow retains a very British feeling and sensibility. Studio Ghibli should adapt more books like this. 4/5

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (2013), Aha!! Steve Coogan's tactless creation finally makes the leap to the big screen, 22 years after he first appeared on BBC Radio 4 in On The Hour. It took Coogan and his team nearly a decade to work out what scenario they wanted Partridge to get himself into on the big screen, and they picked the right one here, and it is a very funny and very entertaining comedy. Alan Partridge (Coogan) is the host of Mid-Morning Matters on North Norfolk Digital in Norwich. But, the station is taken over by media conglomerate Shape, who rebrand the station and sack late night Irish DJ Pat Farrell (Colm Meaney), who subsequently returns to the station with a gun and holds the station hostage, and the only person he'll talk to the negotiations is Alan. Reluctant at first, Alan goes in and manages to get some hostages freed, and Alan soon becomes the face of the siege, giving him a lot of publicity and Alan see's it as an opportunity to become famous again, but what Pat doesn't know is that it was Alan who suggested the management sack Pat. TV to film transfers can be tricky, some work and some don't, but this works perfectly. There's a good mix of physical comedy and verbal comedy, with Partridge making his usual social gaffe's perfectly. Plus, it's also a love letter to Norwich and Norfolk, and it has the structure of a Hollywood blockbuster, only smaller. 4/5



Mindhunters (2004), directed by Renny Harlin (Cliffhanger (1993), The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) and Deep Blue Sea (1999)), this thriller was ever so partially inspired by Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians, but while it had potential to be a good thriller, it's let down by cliched, predictable sequences and some very dodgy CGI too, which is a shame considering the talent on board making the film. The film follows a group of Mindhunters, who are FBI agents on a training exercise on a small island off the coast of North Carolina, which has a mock town constructed there. The team consist of instructor Jake Harris (Val Kilmer), Lucas (Jonny Lee Miller), Bobby (Eion Bailey), Vince (Clifton Collins Jr.), Nicole (Patricia Velasquez), Sara (Kathryn Morris), Rafe (Will Kemp), Gabe (LL Cool J) and J.D. (Christian Slater). It's meant to be a routine exercise, it's been done loads of times before, but someone there starts picking them off in inventive and grisly ways, and they discover that it's someone on their team who has been doing it, but who?? This is a film that owe's a lot to what was to come in Saw (2004), but this has all been seen before, and it was done a lot better elsewhere too. Mindhunters was delayed 2 years when it switched distributors during post-production and when Harlin went off to re-film Exorcist: The Beginning (2004), and this got forgotten. Oh, well. 2/5

Battleship Potemkin (1925), directed by Sergei Eisenstein (October: Ten Days That Shook the World (1928), The General Line (1929) and Ivan The Terrible (1944-46)), this silent war film was based on true events that occured in 1905. It is a hard film to watch, but you can see what films it went on to influence and why film critics swear by this film, but that's made it feel less special than it is. The film is told in 5 episodes, 'Men and Maggots', where the crew of the Battleship Potemkin live in squalid conditions and are given rancid food, 'Drama on Deck' shows the crew having lost patience with the conditions, and leading a mutiny against their leader Grigory Vakulinchuk (Aleksandr Antonov). In 'A Dead Man Calls for Justice', the people of Odessa mourn over the death of Vakulinchuk, then in 'The Odessa Staircase', Tsarist soldiers turn on the people of Odessa, causing a bloody massacre. Then in 'The Rendez-Vous with the Squadron', another battleship is sent to intercept the Potemkin, only for both ships to join together in mutiny. The film requires a knowledge of what was going on in Russia at the time, it looks good but it's heavy going and it's not one you can watch again in a hurry. It was banned for nearly 30 years in the UK for "inflammatory subtitles and Bolshevist Propaganda, which just goes to show how paranoid people were against Communism back then. 3/5



[b]The Entertainer (1960), from director Tony Richardson and writer John Osbourne, who helped bring about a British New Wave with Kitchen Sink Drama's, comes this powerful and down-to-earth drama, starring one of the best British actors of the 20th Century, and a very good supporting cast to it's name. Set in Morecambe, Lancashire, it has teacher Jean Rice (Joan Plowright) returning home to her family, her father is Archie Rice (Laurence Olivier), a failing third-rate vaudevillian stage performer, who has troubles at home as well, his father Billy Rice (Roger Livesey), once a very successful vaudeville star, now lives in quiet retirement with Archie's troubled wife Phoebe (Brenda De Banzie), plus Archie has been evading Inland Revenue for 20 years, and things don't look like they're going to get any better and he can only dodge the tax man for so long. Filmed in Morecambe in Lancashire, it's a very powerful film, which tackles a very real situation that has happened to entertainers up and down the country, Olivier gives off a very real and human performance, the scenes of him on stage are brilliant, but melacholic as no-one seems interested in this kind of entertainment anymore. Shakespeare would have killed for a tale like this, and look out for appearances from Daniel Massey, Charles Gray, Thora Hird, Alan Bates and Albert Finney.

Mermaids (1990), directed by Richard Benjamin (The Money Pit (1986), My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988) and Made in America (1993)) and based upon Patty Dann's 1986 novel. This is a sweet comedy-drama which is a film about family, growing pains and coming of age in 60's America. It has a very good cast and it is able to give lessons about life and getting on with it along the way. In 1963, 15 year old Charlotte Flax (Winona Ryder) moves with her mother Rachel (Cher) and younger sister Kate (Christina Ricci) from Texas to the small town of Eastport, Massachusetts. Charlotte is obsessed with Catholicism, and she comes to admire nuns who live in a nearby convent. But, she begins to develop feelings for local church bell-ringer Joe (Michael Schoeffling), while Rachel finds some solace in local shop owner Lou Landsky (Bob Hoskins). After Charlotte has an intimate encounter with Joe that only involves kissing, she tries fasting to repent for her sins, and she manages to convince herself that she's pregnant, even though she's still a virgin. This is a very quirky film, but it has some odd little details throughout, and it manages to be moving and amusing at the same time. Cher was allegedly a nightmare to work with, seeing off 2 other directors before Benjamin came on board, and having Emily Lloyd (originally cast as Charlotte) sacked too. 4/5



The Lone Ranger (2013), based on the 1933 radio serial of the same name created by Fran Striker and George W. Trendle, this new version produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Gore Verbinski, was an attempt to bring this legendary character into the 21st Century, but critics have made this out to be the next Heaven's Gate, but it's not that bad, although it's not without it's problems. In 1933, an aged Tonto (Johnny Depp) tells Lone Ranger fan Will (Mason Cook) how he met the Lone Ranger and their first adventure together. Lawyer John Reid (Armie Hammer) came to Colby, Texas in 1869 to work with his brother, Texas Ranger Dan Reid (James Badge Dale), but Reid got involved with Tonto on the way, then a prisoner. But, after Dan Reid formed a posse with John and others to get notorious outlaw Butch Cavendish (William Fichtner), but they're all killed, apart from John, who is aided by Tonto. So, they decide to team up and get even with Cavendish, who has connections with railroad baron Latham Cole (Tom Wilkinson). It has some fun along the way, but Disney and Bruckheimer made the mistake of spending too much money on this film and hyping it to be another Pirates of the Carribean. It does have it's plus points though, Hammer makes a suitably twittish hero and it has some good train based action sequences. 3.5/5

Something's Gotta Give (2003), written and directed by Nancy Myers (What Women Want (2000), The Holiday (2006) and It's Complicated (2009)), this is a bubbly romantic comedy with a massive cast which gives Jack Nicholson the excuse to lust after young women and Diane Keaton does a funny turn, and manages to steal the film along the way. They're all aided by a smart script and a good supporting cast too. Harry Sanborn (Nicholson) is a music mogul and a serial womaniser who is 63 and dates women under 30. His latest squeeze is Marin Klein (Amanda Peet) and they go to spend a weekend at the seaside house of her mother Erica (Keaton), who manages to walk in. She disapproves of this, but after Harry suffers a heart attack during foreplay with Marin, Dr. Julian Mercer (Reeves) orders Harry to stay nearby for a few days in case of any relapses, which means he has to stay at Erica's house, who isn't happy. But, something sparks off between the two of them, and Erica is amazed at how Harry knows so much about relationships. It's a silly and fluffy romantic comedy, and Nicholson and Keaton bounce off each other perfectly, and there's some wonderfully sharp observations and dialogue along the way. As stated, it might give it's cast the excuse to do the sort of parts they're known for, but they do it so well. 3.5/5



Inside Man (2006), directed by Spike Lee, who started off making personal films about prejudice and race in America such as Do the Right Thing (1989), Jungle Fever (1991) and Malcolm X (1992). By the new millennium, he found it harder to get his brand of films made, but he got a hit when he decided to do this heist film written by Russell Gewirtz (Righteous Kill (2008)). It's a good thriller, but it requires attention. It begins when a group of workers dressed like painters walk into a bank in Manhattan, and take the customers and employees hostage. It's not long before the police get involved, and Detectives Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington) and Bill Mitchell (Chiwitel Ejiofor) take charge with the negotiations, meanwhile the bank's founder Arthur Case (Christopher Plummer) asks his fixer Madeleine White (Jodie Foster) to ensure the safety of the contents of a safe deposit box in the safe of the bank. The leader of the robbers, Dalton Russell (Clive Owen) has a much more bigger plan in mind, which he believes is the perfect robbery. It does feel a bit like Dog Day Afternoon (1975) at first, but there's a lot more to this film, and nothing is what it seems, and the pay-off, although it takes a while to get it, it well worth it. Lee has assembled a good cast, and he even plays around the the look and feel of the film as it unfolds. 4/5

Alien Nation (1988), directed by Graham Baker (Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981) and Impulse (1984)) and written by Rockne S. O'Bannon (creator of seaQuest DSV and Farscape) and produced by Gale Anne Hurd (The Terminator (1984) and Aliens (1986)), this sci-fi thriller had done the rounds of Hollywood since the early 1980's until Fox picked it up. It's central premise is a good idea, even if it has been done before. In 1991 (), an alien race known as Newcomers came to earth, 300,000 of them in fact, and Earth became their new home, but most of the human population hate them, and a lot of them live in a slum called Slagtown. When Los Angeles Police Detective Matthew Sykes (James Caan) witnesses two Newcomers murdering another Newcomer, Sykes' partner Bill Tuggle (Roger Aaron Brown) is killed in the crossfire. Skyes is even less happy to learn that his new partner is a Newcomer Samuel Francisco (Mandy Patinkin), and they have to investigate a conspiracy involving Newcomer businessman William Harcourt (Terence Stamp) and his goal for power. It's a silly piece of sci-fi hokum, but it does have it's moments, even though it doesn't know whether it wants to be a police buddy film or a police revenge film. It might have spawned a TV series and a load of TV movies, the first film could have been better and it has nothing new to say. 3/5



The Rundown (2003), directed by Peter Berg, this was his first film since his black comedy debut Very Bad Things (1998)), Berg had spent years trying to get his pet project Friday Night Lights made, but to no success, but he picked this one up in the meantime. It's a very silly action-comedy which went through several title changes (it was called Welcome to the Jungle in some countries), before it was released. Bounty Hunter Beck (The Rock) who works for debt collector Walker (William Lucking). Beck wants out of the business, but Walker talks him into doing one last job, to go to Brazil, and find his son Travis (Seann William Scott), who is living in a small mining town. In Brazil, Beck meets mining magnate Mr. Hatcher (Christopher Walken), who has learnt that Travis has come into possession of a gold statue known as "O Gato do Diabo". Hatcher goes after Beck and Travis, but they've been run off the road and in the wild, they get involved with rebel leader Mariana (Rosario Dawson) and Scottish pilot Declan (Ewen Bremner). It's an adventure film that owes a lot to Indiana Jones, but there's too much going on, even if it is well filmed and there is some good screen chemistry between The Rock and Seann William Scott. Berg wanted to do a sequel, but the film wasn't successful enough, but he was able to get Friday Night Lights made. 3/5

Basket Case (1982), written and directed by Frank Henenlotter, (Brain Damage (1988) and Frankenhooker (1990)), this schlocky monster comedy-horror was made for a meagre $33,000. But Henenlotter manages to do so much with so little, and whether the comedy is intentional or not doesn't seem to matter, it's a fun film to watch, even if it is unbelievably gory in places with shocking body horror. Duane Bradley (Kevin Van Hentenryck) was born with a Siamese twin on his side, Belial, who is hideously deformed and only the size of a football. Belial was removed and left for dead, but Duane's kindly aunt (Ruth Neuman) took care of them both. But they're both grown up, and Duane carries Belial around in a wicker basket, and they've checked into a sleazy hotel in New York, which has some very nosey neighbours. It turns out Duane and Belial have vengeance in mind, against the doctors who separated them all those years ago. But, when Duane falls for Sharon (Terri Susan Smith), it sours his relationship with brother Belial, who goes solo. It's a very silly film at heart, but there are parts that are difficult to watch, but it manages to be great fun in the end, and it has a touch of An American Werewolf in London (1981) about it's tone and structure. Henelotter made a few sequels, but they didn't have the charm or the no-budget shocks of the original. 4/5 



Thank You For Smoking (2005), before he made the Oscar-winning success of Juno (2007), Jason Reitman, (Ivan's son), made his name with this biting and smart low-budget political satire about what (maybe) goes on behind the scenes with the government and their relationship with the tobacco industry, and it shows how the gift of the gab can make people believe anything. It has the Academy of Tobacco Studies, a government lobby whose job it is to find any link between smoking and fatal diseases, however the lobby is funded by the tobacco industries. The lobby's Vice President/Chief Spokesman Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart)  'spins' on behalf of cigarettes to try and make them look positive to the public, and goes ahead with a plan to try and make cigarettes look cool in Hollywood, and he wants to remain a positive role model for his 12-year-old son Joey (Cameron Bright). It is a very true to life satire which has a serious message beneath it's surface. Stuff like this might even be going on in real life, so consider it an indictment, especially when we have smoking bans in force now. The film has a brilliant lead from Eckhart, and is complimented by good direction by Reitman, and a good supporting cast from Katie Holmes, Maria Bello, Rob Lowe, William H. Macy, Sam Elliot, Robert Duvall and J.K. Simmons. 4/5

Kick-Ass 2 (2013), after the success of Kick-Ass (2010), which was a surprise success when released, a sequel was inevitable. Here, the directing reigns were passed to Jeff Wadlow (Cry Wolf (2005) and Never Back Down (2008)), and it manages to be a very fun and extremely entertaining comic book film, full of violence, unbelievable action sequences and some very funny and dark laughs. Dave Lizewski (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) hasn't fought crime as Kick-Ass for a while, but he asks Mindy Macready/Hit-Girl (Chloë Grace Moretz) to keep him fit with training. But, Mindy's guardian Marcus Williams (Morris Chestnut) wants Mindy to lead a normal life, so Dave forms a gang with fellow costumed vigilantes Remember Tommy (Steven Mackintosh and Monica Dolan), Colonel Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey), Night Bitch (Lindy Booth) and Battle Guy (Clark Duke), the latter is really Dave's geeky friend Marty. However, Chris D'Amico (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) swears revenge against Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl for killing his father, so he becomes supervilliant The Motherfucker. It's a sequel which manages to live up to expectations, and it manages to keep to the same sort of scale the first film had with a low budget and some very imaginative action sequences. It might have had negative PR with Jim Carrey washing his hands of the film, but if anything, it shows how destructive violence truly is. 4/5



Dangerous Liaisons (1988), based upon the 1985 play Les liaisons dangereuses written by Christopher Hampton, who did the screenplay here, which in turn was based on the 1782 book of the same name by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, and directed by Stephen Frears (his first Hollywood film), this is a film about mind-games and manipulation, but it has some brilliant performances throughout. In pre-revolutionary France, the Marquise de Merteuil (Glenn Close) may look like a woman of money and power on the outside, but she's really a scheming bitch who can ruin people's reputations. She wants to exact revenge on Cécile de Volanges (Uma Thurman), who her lover ran away with. She calls upon her partner in crime Vicomte de Valmont (John Malkovich) to do it, however he's busy trying to seduce Madame de Tourvel (Michelle Pfeiffer), and initially refuses. But when he learns Cécile's mother Madame de Volanges (Swoosie Kurtz) has warned Tourvel of Valmont's scheming, he decides to do the dirty on all of them, big time. It's a complex film, showing what bastards those in high society in 18th Century France could be, but Frears gets the best from his cast, and despite such grandeur with the lavish cinematography by Philippe Rousselot, it's actually a very focused and tightly done film. It moved Frears from small British films onto Hollywood. 4/5

The Crucible (1996), directed by Nicholas Hytner, (The Madness of King George (1994) and The History Boys (2006)), and written by Arthur Miller, adapted from his own 1953 play, it had been Miller and producer David V. Picker's mission to get a film of it made for years, but no-one would fund it, but they persevered, and they got a top cast on board, and it is a powerful and well made drama. Set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, when 3 girls in the nearby woods Abigail (Winona Ryder), Ruth (Ashley Peldon) and Betty (Rachael Bella), are seen drinking the blood of a recently slaughtered chicken, and Betty and Ruth fall into an unconscious trance. It turns out Abigail had had an affair with John Proctor (Daniel Day-Lewis), and during the ritual, they wished his wife Elizabeth (Joan Allen) would die. John wants to turn focus away from the affair, and puts forwards his servant Mary Warren (Karron Graves) to claim the ritual was a fake. The witch trials are presided over by Judge Thomas Danforth (Paul Scofield), but nothing is what it seems in the trail. It's a tough drama, but it's well written and it has an old world feel to it, Miller and Hytner keep the films mood tense, and it has a cool exterior, and it's aided well by powerful performances from Day-Lewis, Ryder, Allen and Scofield. It's an old fashioned kind of film, and it keeps it's theatrical roots grounded. 4/5



The Dancer Upstairs (2002), directed by John Malkovich, this was written by Nicholas Shakespeare, based on his own 1995 novel of the same name. It was inspired by the Maoist uprising that happened in Peru in the 1980's, the group was known as the Shining Path, but their attempt for power was short lived. Although the film deviates from what really happened during the uprising, it's well made. In an unnamed South American country (maybe Peru), Detective Agustín Rejas (Javier Bardem) is assigned with hunting down the self-styled President Ezequiel (Abel Folk), who is a guerrilla leader hoping to overthrow the country's government. But he's a hard man to find, and Rejas gets distracted by Yolanda (Laura Morante), a ballet teacher who his daughter goes to. But, even though Rejas soon has strong feelings for Yolanda and that he finds solace in her from the hell going on outside, he soon discovers that Yolanda has a secret to hide. One which could compromise Rojas investigations and search, and put his life in danger. Malkovich's directorial debut is done with confidence and a deft hand, it has some good performances, with the actors alternating between English and Spanish. It was this film that helped bring Javier Bardem to international prominence and future Oscar-fame. But, it is well made and it's an old fashioned detective film. 4/5

Havana (1990), directed by Sydney Pollack, (The Way We Were (1973), The Electric Horseman (1979) and Tootsie (1982)), this was Pollack's follow-up to his multi-Oscar winning Out of Africa (1985), but he had struggled to find an ideal follow-up to it, however he found this tale of a gambler set against the backdrop of the Cuban Revolution as one with potential. But it does drag in places, despite good intentions. On Christmas Eve, 1958. Professional gambler Jack Weil (Robert Redford) comes to Havana, Cuba on a boat from Miami with the intentions of gambling, but he's also been asked by Roberta Duran (Lena Olin), to smuggle in U.S. Army Signal Corps radios for the Cuban revolutionaries. Roberta's husband Arturo (Raúl Juliá) is a key figure in the revolution, but he is keeping his agenda very hush-hush, Arturo originally wants Weil to raise money for the revolution through gambling, which Weil refuses to do. He soon finds himself in a game of espionage, where there's a lot of betrayal going on, and he's got a big high stakes poker game planned with Havana's elite. It has good intentions, and a good cast too, but it was a difficult production for all concerned and it shows, despite a good score by Dave Grusin and sun-snogged cinematography by Owen Roizman. But, that doesn't make for a classic film, it feels like the opposite of a passion project, a film made for the sake of it. 3.5/5



Much Ado About Nothing (1993), directed by Kenneth Branagh, who had made a name for himself with adapting Shakespeare's Henry V (1989), then he went off to Hollywood to do Dead Again (1991), then returned to England to make the nostalgic Peter's Friends (1992). Here he returned to Shakespeare, adapting his 1598 play, and making it a sunny, cheerful and funny adaptation. At the country estate of Messina, owned by Leonato (Richard Briers). Prince Don Pedro (Denzel Washington), along with Benedick (Branagh) and his brother Claudio (Robert Sean Leonard) come to visit after quashing an uprising led by Don Pedro's half-brother Don John (Keanu Reeves). Claudio has strong feelings for Leonato's daughter Hero (Kate Beckinsale), and Don Pedro arranges a party for them. Benedick has strong feelings for Leonato's niece Beatrice (Emma Thompson), but she proves to be a hard woman to get. But, Don John turns up to ruin everything, but local constable Dogberry (Michael Keaton) is determined to stop Don John. It has a massive all star cast, all set against the back drop of Tuscany. It has some good set pieces, and a lot of misunderstandings with some brilliant performances thrown in. Branagh succeeds here at making Shakespeare look trendy and cool, long before Baz Luhrmann did it with Romeo + Juliet (1996). 4/5

Elysium (2013), written and directed by Neill Blomkamp, whose big screen debut District 9 (2009) became a big sleeper hit a few years before, here creates a big sci-fi epic, with a much bigger budget than Blomkamp's debut. But, it is well made and it's a good idea for a film, it's well executed, and it has some great action sequences, and it could be seen as an indictment for how things might turn out on Earth. It is 2154, and Earth has become a squalid dystopia, while the rich and famous have all moved to a massive space station above Earth called Elysium, where no-one has any diseases and they all live in luxury. Max Da Costa (Matt Damon) is a thief who works in a robot factory, and when he's accidentally exposed to a lethal dose of radiation, and is only given 5 days left to live, he goes to smuggler Spider (Wagner Moura) to get into Elysium. But, it won't be easy, as Elysian Secretary of Defense Jessica Delacourt (Jodie Foster) has her own secret agenda, and Max will have deadly mercenary Kruger (Sharlto Copley) to deal with as well. It's a great space opera, which owes a lot to the sci-fi films of Paul Verhoeven, (he would be proud of this). Blomkamp does well on a larger scale, and he gets the best from his cast as well. There's some great set pieces on display here, and it'll be exciting to see what Blomkamp does next. 4/5



2 Guns (2013), directed by Baltasar Kormákur (101 Reykjavík (2000) and Contraband (2012), and based on the 2007 comic book written by Steven Grant and published by Boom! Studios. This is an action-comedy with owes a great debt to the buddy cop movies of the 1980's. It is old fashioned in it's tone and structure, and while it's leads are a winning combination, the plot is all over the place. Bobby Trench (Denzel Washington) and Michael Stigman (Mark Wahlberg) are two criminals who commit a bank robbery, and make off with $43 million, when they were expecting a fraction of that. But, Stigman betrays Trench, and discovers Trench is an undercover DEA agent, while Stigman is an undercover Naval Intelligence Officer, who takes the money to Commander Quince (James Marsden), who plans to use the money for covert operations. But, the money belonged to corrupt CIA agent Earl (Bill Paxton), who wants his money back, so Trench and Stigman have to team up to retrieve the money, even though it seems impossible. It's fun entertainment while it lasts, even though it has too much going on and it makes it hard to work out what's going on and who's playing against who. But, it manages to have good performances in it and good action, and it has the feel and structure of those great action films that came out of the 1980's. 3.5/5

Best (2000), produced and directed by Mary McGuckian (The Bridge of San Luis Rey (2004)), this was a biopic that she worked on with actor John Lynch, and it took 5 years to bring to the screen, and it had problems along the way, such as financiers backing out and limited time to make it, and it shows. It had the blessing of it's subject when they started, but he was horrified at the final result, and rightfully so. This tells the life story of George Best (Lynch), who was spotted by scout Bob Bishop (Jim Sheridan), who sends news to his boss at Manchester United, Matt Busby (Ian Bannen), who takes on Best. He proves to be a brilliant talent on the field, but off the pitch, he lives the life of luxury. He has a girlfriend Anna (Patsy Kensit) and they are due to marry, but Best, under the influence of drink, goes off with model Eva Haraldsted (Sophie Dahl). There begins his downward spiral, his team mates at Man Utd. turn against him for being unreliable and not turning up for training, and he gets into trouble with the police and the worlds press as well. It could have been a good film, but caught short by the budget, the makers were forced to film most of it on the Isle of Man. Plus, no amount of cameos, here from the likes of Ian Hart, Adrian Lester, Stephen Fry and Roger Daltrey, can hide up the multitude of sins left behind by this cack handed biopic. 1.5/5



The Shawshank Redemption (1994), written and directed by Frank Darabont, and adapted from Stephen King's short story 'Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption', published in his compendium Different Seasons. This prison drama is a masterclass in good acting and it's done with a sensitive touch. It's one of the best King adaptations, and shows there was more to King than just horror works. In 1947, banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is convicted for murdering his wife and her lover, and he's sent to Shawshank State Penitentiary to serve 2 life sentences. It's here that he meets contraband smuggler Ellis "Red" Redding (Morgan Freeman), who is serving a life sentence, but he's able to get Andy anything he needs. Andy soon wins the respect of Warden Samuel Norton (Bob Gunton), after Andy helps the prison guards with their finances, and Norton has Andy work with elderly librarian Brooks Hatlen (James Whitmore), but Andy lives in hope that one day he will leave Shawshank, but Red believes he'll never do it. It's a great drama, one of the best prison dramas ever made, it has some brilliant characters and some brilliant dialogue. It sadly didn't connect with audiences when it came out in cinemas, but thanks to VHS, it became a hit, and it's become of the best loved films of all time, and it's a film which manages to engage everytime. 4.5/5  

Compliance (1st view) - Sandra (Ann Dowd) is the manager of a fast food restaurant gets a phone call from a policeman sayaing that one of the restaurant staff, Rebbeca (Dream Walker) has stolen money from a customer. Saying he's unable to spare any officers, the policeman asks for Sandra's help and says she must search Rebecca's pockets, purse and clothes, and from then on things get steadily worse. It's an impressive but uncomfortable film, made all the more worse because it's true - 4/5*

City Hall (1996), directed by Harold Becker (The Onion Field (1979), Sea of Love (1989) and Mercury Rising (1998)), and written by Kenneth Lipper (The Winter Guest (1997), Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver (1976)), Nicholas Pileggi (Goodfellas (1990)) and Bo Goldman (Scent of a Woman (1992)). This thriller is about political corruption inspired by the real life case of Donald Manes. It's a good thriller to watch with a good cast. New York Mayor John Pappas (Al Pacino) is well liked in the city, but he has grander ambitions, like running for President, and his deputy mayor Kevin Calhoun (John Cusack) hails from Louisiana. Calhoun had always put his career and Pappas first, but his loyalty goes awry after undercover cop Eddie Santos (Nestor Serrano) and mobster Tino Zapatti (Larry Romano) have a gun fight, and 6 year old James Bone (Jaliyl Lynn) is killed in the crossfire. Calhoun discovers a link between the murder and Brooklyn politician Frank Anselmo (Danny Aiello), who has been secretly paying Zapatti's uncle Paul (Tony Franciosa) to smear Santos' name. It's a good thriller, and it's not a million miles away from what was to come in Broken City (2013), only there was a lot more corruption there. Pacino is on autopilot for most of the film, but still good, but it's Cusack who shows gravitas here. He's an honest politician trying to do what is right. 4/5



The Pledge (2001), directed by Sean Penn, his 3rd film as director after The Indian Runner (1991) and The Crossing Guard (1995)), this was based on  Friedrich Dürrenmatt's 1958 novella Das Versprechen: Requiem auf den Kriminalroman. This is a sparse and cold detective film with a difference, it's set in America but it has a European feel to it. But Penn get's some brilliant performances from everyone on board. Jerry Black (Jack Nicholson) has just retired from police work, but just before he's officially retired, he takes on one final case, the murder of a little girl in the woods. The girl's mother Margaret Larsen (Patricia Clarkson) makes Jerry swear on a cross that he'll find the murderer. It seems like they have when they arrest retarded native American Toby Jay Wadenah (Benicio del Toro), and it seems like another case closed. But, Jerry isn't so sure, he doesn't believe Wadenah is the killer, in the meantime he's befriended bartender Lori (Robin Wright Penn) and her daughter Chrissy (Pauline Roberts), who has been visited by a mysterious stranger. This is a film which will require patience, and it's outcome may prove as unsatisfactory to those wanting a straight forward cop film, this is anything but. Nicholson shows a sensitive side he's seldom shown in films before, and it's benefitted by Penn's confident direction and from tight cinematography by Chris Menges. 4/5

Hey Good Lookin' (1982), Ralph Bakshi rides again, this time with this semi-autobiographical animation set in the 1950's. It was meant to have been his follow-up to Coonskin (1975), and the original version mixed live action and animation, but Warner Bros. hated Bakshi's original version, and made him do it all over again, it took 7 years, but the final result is a down and dirty and gritty animated film. Set in Brooklyn 1953, it follows two friends, Vinnie (Richard Romanus) and Crazy Shapiro (David Proval), and their experiences with women, including Vinnie's girlfriend Roz (Tina Bowman) and Shapiro's squeeze Eva (Jesse Welles). They have a gang known as The Stompers and they have run ins with the rival Black gang, The Chaplins. Shapiro's father Solly (Angelo Grisanti) is a detective, and he doesn't like the fact that Shapiro hangs out with The Stompers. After Vinnie strays onto the black part of the local beach, Chaplin's leader Boogaloo Jones (Philip Michael Thomas) sets up the time and date for a rumble that'll determine who will rule the streets of Brooklyn. Bakshi did this as an ode to his youth, summing up the whole atmosphere of the 1950's. There's not much of a plot to this one, but it echoes of films such as Grease, West Side Story and American Graffiti. Although it does have some good animation in places, and a good musical score, even if the songs are 80's re-imaginings of 50's songs. 4/5



Nude Nuns with Big Guns (2010), written and directed by Joseph Guzman (Run! Bitch Run! (2009) and Back Alley Butcher (2014)), this sleazy exploitation film owes a big debt of gratitude to the films of Robert Rodriguez, but it doesn't have the heart or soul of his films. This is a cheapie done for it's title, but it still manages to do quite a bit on a pittance of a budget, it's still a load of cheesy old cobblers though. It begins when Sister Sarah (Asun Ortega) has been taken hostage by a corrupt clergy, led by Mother Magda (Emma Messenger) and Father Carlitos (Perry D'Marco), which instead of helping the needy and poor, makes and distributes heroin, which is cut by nude nuns. However, after Sister Sarah is attacked, she gets her strength from her faith to God, and overcomes her captors and gets hold of a massive arsenal of weapons. Shocked by Sister Sarah's strength, Magda and Carlitos call up motorcycle gang Los Muertos, led by Chavo (David Castro) to find and kill Sister Sarah, but she might already have the upper hand against them. It's a very silly film, made for a meagre $85,000, the film has a very amateurish sheen and it shows, but it's just a bit of brainless fun, even if it does make you feel very unclean afterwards for watching it. It's a long way from being unwatchable rubbish, but it'll do to pass an hour and a half, if you're into stuff like that. 2/5

I guess few films could live up to a title like that!