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no2-10
Nice things people say about me:
"You just strike me as a pervert is all Notes" - Spike [eek] [laugh]
"Oh, THAT degenerate" - DC [giveup]
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Hell Boats (1970)
Understated and Sensitive
Superficially it's a war drama of the tiny motor torpedo boats which did much unsung work in WW2, but the naval battles merely provide an exciting story in which an even more special romantic drama is wrapped up. The difficult love triangle involves the stuffy, awkward Brit and his unhappy wife, complicated by the arrival of the flamboyant American. The three play their parts beautifully as the tension rises; husband suspects wife, she is agonisingly torn between the two, lover tries to win her over.
Additionally there is an element of professional respect between the officers, which only serves to frustrate their base instincts, as the competent yet uncertain Brit tries to hold onto both a command and a wife he knows he doesn't deserve, and the daring yet sensitive American (a divorcée?) starts to see some semblance of bravery fighting to break out from the Brit's inhibited facade. Very like real life, the path of love does not run true, and the result is thus more realistic than one would expect from a movie. The madcap plans to outwit the enemy mimic perhaps, the deceptions played out in the romance.
This may not be a totally memorable film, but it has some finely understated beauty, which quietly avoids using hackneyed stereotypes, and mawkish efforts at pathos.
War of the Worlds (2005)
Billion Dollar B-movie?
Not a bad piece of lightweight frippery if you put your brain in neutral and don't expect too much. The original WOTW was supposed to be a production nightmare and if Spielberg had tried to stay very true to the plot, this would have been the same. Mind you, a lot of the characters, (and the plot!) seem woefully under-developed. Probably the biggest budget B-Movie ever made! The baddies are good (but strangely reminiscent of those in Independence Day!), the little kid is good, Tim Robbins does a fine cameo as bonkers bloke in the basement. Cruise was hardly right for the part, but I liked the bit where, short of parenting skills, he "sings" a duff "lullaby". For me, the main disappointment was the tripod legs appeared too 'organic' and wobbily; the HG Wells originals were a much more sinister, mechanical affair. Still pretty good though, liked the trombones, and the bit near the start with the SUV *punt!* made me laugh! This film passes the time, but if it left you feeling desperate for good old-fashioned hunker-down-with-popcorn Sci-Fi, check out any number of 50s B-movies. It came from Outer Space, the Blob, Robinson Crusoe on Mars, the list is endless, they're all a lot more fun, and will give you a radioactive glow for days!