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Reviews
Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988)
Enjoyably silly follow up to a classy original
Hellraiser was an odd ( where exactly was it set - North London or Los Angeles?) but highly original film which managed to retain much of the flavour of Clive Barker's novella. The follow-up is far less successful but still manages to be enjoyably silly and just occasionally - especially during the first third of the film - highly effective. There is throughout a strong element of high camp which prevents the viewer taking proceedings at all seriously and goes some way to helping one overlook the truly dreadful script which is nevertheless delivered with great gusto by Clare Higgins and Kenneth Cranham. The former's character Julia, returns from the dead as a skinless seductress and her resurrection and subsequent 'rehabilitation' are creepily impressive. Once 'human' again she is transformed into a backlit, begowned Hollywood goddess her appearance providing an amusing contrast to her subsequent behaviour. Higgins was obviously encouraged to go way over the top and doesn't disappoint. But there's far too little of Pinhead and his fellow Cenobites and the two heroines spend far too much time charging around in a labyrinth that is one of the most boring representations of Hell you are ever likely to see. But even here there are compensations, especially the truly awesome sight of evil psychiatrist Kenneth Cranham transformed into an entertainingly disgusting lord of hell ( or something ). All in all very silly, but good fun and with just enough of the original Hellraiser about it to be of interest to Clive Barker fans.
A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
dubious comedy which leaves a very nasty taste in the mouth
I used to think I was alone in disliking A Fish Called Wanda but experience has shown that I'm not the only one. Still, the high regard in which it is held continues to mystify me. Any way you look at 'Wanda' it is a nasty, mean-spirited affair which depends for it's laughs on the type of sadism, which, if it appeared in a film which did not pretend to be a comedy, would be roundly denounced and rightly so. Consider: a character suffers from a debilitating speech defect, a circumstance which is deemed a cause of much hilarity. The same character is tormented by a sadist who threatens to kill a beloved pet and there is a running 'joke' about an old lady whose dogs are crushed by falling objects - all regarded as highly amusing. No, call me stuffy but any comedy which has to rely for it's laughs on the foregoing can count me out. And to cap it all, this miserable film doesn't even have the courage of it's own miserable convictions since it bottles out at the last minute and prevents the much put-upon Michael Palin character from taking his just revenge on his tormentor - the one piece of nastiness which would have been thoroughly justified.
Sea of Sand (1958)
An underrated, well-acted, British war genre movie
Sea of Sand ( Desert Patrol ) is seldom mentioned in the context of great British war movies but deserves to be since it is an underrated and well acted example of the genre ( and, incidentally, one of my favourite films ). The movie at one and the same time, conforms to the familiar aspects of the genre but also manages to put a 'spin' on them since the subject matter - the experiences of the volunteer Long-Range Desert Squadron who operated independently far behind enemy lines - allows for characters who are more than familiar war-movie stereotypes.
The cast are uniformally excellent, especially veteran character player Percy Herbert whose death scene is extremely moving. Clashes of class, rank and experience are familiar elements from other films of the genre but are here rendered a little more interesting and unpredictable. Director Guy Green never made his mark but on the evidence of Sea of Sand had plenty of talent and was good at getting the most out of his actors. Simple heroics are eschewed - though heroism is at the core of the film's denouement and anyone who derives pleasure from seeing British acting staples like Michael Craig, John Gregson, Richard Attenborough and Percy Herbert have a treat in store.