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Reviews
The Clan of the Cave Bear (1986)
Excellent imagined history, good story as well, star superb
I agree with the first reviewer that this is an excellent film and I also enjoyed the book. I have always found the epoch it is set in fascinating and this film makes a good stab at suggesting how life might have been. It strikes me as reasonably credible anthropologically and its message about the value of human intelligence and initiative is positive and valid. Primitivism is not idealised but shown as what it is - a set of obstacles. It's also in the great and good tradition of entertaining Hollywood films about prehistory starring babes, e.g. 2000 Years B.C. Another interesting aspect of these films is the approach to language, and I like the subtitle solution. I should mention that the cast are good as well as Daryll Hannah. A fine film on a challenging subject.
The Thing (1982)
Not just one of the best horror films but one of the greatest films of all time.
I will try not to repeat the points made in the many excellent reviews above, but on viewing this over the last few years I have come to regard it as a truly outstanding film, certainly a classic and arguably deserving a position in the pantheon of greatest films of all time. The original was also fine, but like Shakespeare, Carpenter and his colleagues have taken an existing plot to a new level. There are no weaknesses in cinematography, acting, effects, human drama or science fiction concept. There is a certain amount of shock effect, but an impressive feature is the additional horror produced by the concept of the predicament of the ice station crew and by extension, humanity. The obvious comparison is with "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", and I would be hard put to insert a credit card between them.
The Landlord (1970)
Great Film
Lee Grant -- worth seeing film just for her beauty and her acting. Bridges is great as usual. In fact there is no weak member of the cast. Besides these points, a superb film with fearless, sinewy dialogue allied to sensitive exploration of issues. Visually good too. There are some typical and welcome 60s-70s art and music characteristics such as the use of reversed tape sound. The film has great scope, dealing with the business world as well as interracial relationships. It is also side-splitting in places, e.g. the fancy dress Meningitis ball -- note the father dressed up as Patton. Another little touch is the chauffeur removing the hub caps when Lee Grant stops by the tenement. Lee Grant has hilarious nightmare racial fantasies lasting a second or so that add to the fun. In its cinema verite view of society it could be compared to Altman's work but has more pace.
Impromptu (1991)
A masterpiece
I want to add my voice to those who rate this as among the best films ever made. The writer seems to deserve a bit more credit. The whole script is like one of the wonderful, rich piano pieces by Chopin or Liszt -- loaded with details that the actors and director have exploited to the full. Judy Davis is exactly the actress for this part. Her public and intimate scenes are both magnificent. For the first time I realise that she is on the same level as Emma Thompson. Hugh Grant and the others, right down to the bit parts, are all perfect or as near as one can expect. A fine film about art which recognizes the most important thing about art, that it is a reflection of life. On selecting it on TV I suppose I expected a more limited, tear-jerking sort of film and what is now termed a chick-flick -- instead, I found a masterpiece.
Faultline (2004)
Faultline
This film is one of those turkeys that is enjoyable because you can predict things and watch the worthy efforts of some good actors to make the best of it. It looks like very low budget stuff -- one of the funniest bits is the first earth tremor, with actor reactions and camera shake working overtime. We see the hero and a friend perched on the edge of a cliff in their SUV, but only in close shot, because it cost too much to build a post-earthquake set. There is also a wearisome personal subplot that makes Invasion seem fast-moving. I am not rating it because these turkeys with redeeming features are so hard to rate if like me you sympathise with the production problems on low budget.