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Reviews
Dangerous Davies: The Last Detective (1981)
Leslie Thomas
An excellent story by Leslie Thomas gives Bernard Cribbins his best dramatic role since the Railway Children. The cast is perfect and as always Thomas combines strong elements of comedy and pathos without descending into mawkishness. This marvellous film is long overdue for release on video!
Deep Impact (1998)
Excellent FX & cast, terrible score
On the whole a well told tale with some excellent special effects that just about manages to avoid lapsing into over-sentimental hogwash.
Morgan Freeman is superb and is the cornerstone of the movie. Without him the whole thing would have fallen rather flat. Vanessa Redgrave is also wonderful but I'm not sure the little sub-plot she was involved in gelled. Téa Leoni and Robert Duvall are not at their best and like several of the more minor characters seem somewhat mis-cast and unconvincing in the roles they play. Good to see Bruce Weitz again though.
James Horner's music is my main complaint though - must try harder!
Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951)
A must-see for Gardner and Mason fans
There is much to enjoy in this legendary tale. The story is well told and quickly grabs the viewer. I thought the Spanish setting was perfect and the land speed record and bullfighting scenes in the main convincingly shot. The extraordinary use of Technicolor gives the whole picture an almost dream like ethereal look and many scenes have an almost surreal quality. The whole cast are splendid with Ava Gardner particularly spellbinding - I can't think of any actress today who could carry her role as convincingly.
Thunder Rock (1942)
Overlong but some good moments
That this story is an allegory is clear from very early on but the director seems to have wanted to disguise it somehow with unnecessary padding. In doing so he detracts from the overall message and loses his audience a little along the way. Take the opening scenes as an example where a phone call is passed higher and higher through a chain of employees. It's well played, well acted and amusing and of absolutely no relevence whatsoever to the plot. You may as well have had a Donald Duck Cartoon instead and started the film where James Mason lands at the lighthouse.
It achieves some great moments both in and out of it's lighthouse setting, Michael Redgrave is very good but everything just goes on that little bit too long for it's own good.
James Mason stardom puts him near the top of the billing, but he's really only a bit player in this and doesn't make any significant contribution to the overall film.
Howard the Duck (1986)
Roger the Turkey
Unfortunately the adult content in this movie makes it entirely unsuitable for the under fives. The only possible audience who might otherwise derive some enjoyment from it.
There are so many fantastic stories that demand a movie, so many actors dying for an opportunity, so many talented directors without the opportunity so how the hell did they end up with this?
Anyone associated with the making of this movie should hang their head in shame. It does not have a single redeeming quality.
Double Bunk (1961)
Nice English comedy - In the spirit of the early Carry On's
A nice little comedy. The adventures of a young couple who are forced to buy a house boat for somewhere to live.
Not mega budget and no special effects to speak of - just something to make you smile every now and then.
Sid James is his usual self. Liz Fraser is absolutely gorgeous and Irene Handl shows what a real star she was in her all to brief role
Being There (1979)
A great movie and a worthy finale for Sellers great talent
Chance - Being there. This sums up a lot of what I feel this movie meant to Sellers and why he was reported to have said "that's me" with regard to the Chance character. Sellers was a simple man outside of the movies, but people often looked and judged what he said or what he did from their own distorted perspective. This is really a very simple film but it's (in the main) beautifully told and beautifully portrayed. Sellers performance is delightfully balanced and strikes the perfect chord between fool and simpleton. Only the cut of his wardrobe disguising his real origins. In many ways his portrayal is similar to the character he played in "The optimist of Nine Elms", and if you enjoyed this film, you'll enjoy that one to. Had we been spared the out-takes over the closing credits then perhaps Sellers might have beaten Dustin Hoffman to the Oscar for best actor. Melvyn Douglas is superb and this is also one of Shirley MacLaine's finest performances. Highly recommended
A Day to Remember (1953)
Tepid B movie with few virtues
The plot of this movie is summed up very literally by it's title. It's the story of several middle aged but rather naive members of a darts team from a London pub who go on a trip to Bologne and each of whom experience their own little "day to remember". It's all rather poorly executed and several of the performances are really quite dire. There are precious few twists and turns in the plot, and it's all rather predictable - it's only saving grace is an excellent performance by the rather beautiful Odile Versois (who plays Martine) and her smashing little Peugeot. But not one I'd watch again through choice.
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
I never thought I'd see Tom Hanks as Rambo
Without doubt, the opening scenes bring home some of the reality of just what it might have been like to be on the front line in a major assault during the Second World War.
Several individual scenes during the film are also equally well played and directed - all of which makes the John Wayne style gung-ho final reel a bit of a let down and the film as a whole rather less of the inspirational epic that I'd expected.
In a nutshell, if you were hoping for an up to date equivalent of "All Quite on the Western Front" forget it. It's a good action film but in truth really is no more intellectually stimulating than "First Blood".
Death Line (1972)
Feeble offering, but with some saving graces.
Despite some dreadful lighting, a feeble script and the fact that any direction that took place was probably done in the cutting room, this film does have it's virtues. Donald Pleasence is on absolutely splendid form and obviously enjoyed his role - especially the copious supply of tea! Sharon Gurney makes the most of her part and displays a talent that really should have taken her on to better things. Christopher Lee's brief cameo is strange. I got the impression that the director was told halfway through to stick Christopher in somewhere to add his "star quality" as long as it wasn't any longer than 10 minutes because that's all the budget would allow for.
The crumbling state of the London Underground in the 70's is captured for all time including a few bits that are normally hidden from the public and if you ever travelled by tube back then, late at night, you'll know that something just might have been lurking about down there - unfortunately in real life it would have been a lot more scary than this film!
Dead of Night (1945)
Can still make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck!
This is a great film with several moments that are still genuinely spooky fifty plus years on - particularly the two segments directed by Alberto Cavalcanti. Should be compulsory viewing for any would-be horror film director!