Reviews

One of the truly great sci-fiction films and modern film directors should pay heed to Robert Wise's masterful touches. From the dramatic opening to the sermon at the end, it is compelling viewing. That true British gent , Michael Rennie was the perfect man for Klaatu and the underrated Patricia Neal( remember her Oscar role in Hud?), wife of Roald Dahl was superb as the leading lady. There are messages and lessons to be learned nowadays from this classic- and it just goes to show that even if the film is bereft of fantastic special effects ( like STAR WARS etc)it still compels the viewer to imagine hard. The flying saucer sequence at the beginning does looks realistic on landing in the park. Definitely in my top 3 sci fi films of all time with ALIENS and APOLLO 13 but i shall not disclose my number 1 ! Klaatu barada nikto!!

Wow- yet another gem from the BBC after the brilliant Spooks and clearly taking a page from classic American sci fiction/police dramas. Simm looks perfect as the archetypal time travelling hero( he would have a good DR WHO!) and i cant believe that the viewing population would watch trash like reality TV shows featuring under sexed models with false noses and ex basketball junkie criminals. This already has my diary fixed for Monday evenings at 9pm and it is great to relive my past when i was at school- roll on Bowie, Slade ,The Glitterband and The Sweet- the age of glamorous rock bands, The SWeeney and Cortinas. A cracker! And will the BBC continue their great dramas in the months to come as there is very little on terrestrial TV to stimulate the cortices of my brain. I cant wait for the next episode- will Sam Tyler be remembered like Sam Beckett in Quantum Leap?

King Kong was my first experience of fantasy stop motion animation adventure and i was only 7 years old. It terrified me that much i had nightmares for weeks but it left an indelible mark on my life's love for movies and adventure. Lord of the Rings comes a very close second for modern day movie making at its best and the link here is that Peter Jackson has agreed to resurrect Kong. How can this be possible? True Andy Serkis did an excellent job as Gollum but we don't want Kong to get carried away with to much pathos and overdo the sentimental interplay with the heroine Ann Darrow. Cooper and Schoedsack kept a tight rein for the time allocated in 1933 and there was more action than amorous by- play. I sincerely pray that Jackson and indeed Serkis whom i admire anyway as a capable character actor, can do the same as 72 years ago and not only thrill the audience but keep over-sentimentality and excess humor out of the equation and pay homage to Willis "Obie" O'Brien's work.Fingers crossed but i have my doubts!

It is by far the best monster movie ever made, beating the special effects of Jurassic Park and Lord of the Rings. It is going to be a giant ape-like challenge for Jacko to resurrect this great icon of the 20th century. Why chose Pianist hero Adrian Brody to play action man Jack Driscoll? Surely somebody more credible like Matt Damon or even Christian Bale would have proved more than a worthy adversary for Kong. And Jack Black as impresario Denham?- worth a try considering the original star Robert Armstrong's character was so deluded in providing the 8th wonder of the world! Let's hope Black doesn't spoil the fun by too many wise cracks. Homage should be paid in detail to the original classic-bring on the dinosaurs,the rampage of Kong against the village, the destruction of New York and the demise of the beast. I sincerely hope Jacko's gamble pays off.

OK so I'm a big kid at heart according to my wife- I have recently purchased the JOnny Quest first series on DVD- what quality! Even my young son is hooked on it- Great music, superb animation design which looks good on DVD, fantastic extras including a Jonny Quest TV ad on sneakers- wow never knew that. Overall a highly enjoyable package and well worth the £ 29 i paid for this on Region 1( not available in UK yet so i had to order from the USA!)- SO THE EVENINGS are now spent watching Monster in the MOnastery or the Lizard men,instead of a chardonnay with the missus- how sad am I? OR how excited can one get> Jonny Quest undoubtedly is the best animation adventure ever made!

An absolute belter of a B movie and super special effects for its day.Having seen it on The Sci-fi Channel here recently and introducing the concept of classic B movies to my son, we have agreed that there should be remakes of these brilliant sci-fi films of the 50s, with all the FX quality nowadays. OK Eight Legged Freaks was fun and thats all- but this is serious stuff. Perhaps Roalnd Emmerich should take a bow and grab the bull by the horns.When will the DVD be released? With THEM in my collection ,Tarantula would make an excellent addition to all sci-fi buffs and movie lovers alike.John Agar( Mr Shirley Temple) makes a useful hero and our Clint- well no one else can shoot napalm like him!

this was good fun but not as brash and original as The Full Monty.There are Oscar rumours already flowing for this one= best not be too hasty here as Monty only got one amidst the Titanic furore. Still it was good to see the great Helen Mirren do her thing.