Reviews

What a dreadful and dreary program. 2 Londoners tip up on a farm in rural Somerset to build a massive vanity project. And they want TV company to pay for it. They should go to the Cotswolds and join the rest of their gang of London TV anchors. (To be fair to Clarkson though, at least he appears to be making a really good go of it and has highlighted some of the real issues facing the farming community, as well as making some really entertaining TV). Anyway, I could not care about the Beenys or their project and could not make it to the end of the first episode.

I will keep this brief. This is not what I had hoped for. A serious high budget political thriller.

No, it is a cheesy cliché. Full of misty eyed home of the brave, defenders of freedom nonsense. The acting is standard and Sunderland plays the first incoherent mumbling president I have seen since G W Bush.

I have managed to stay the course for 8 long tortuous episodes. No more.

This will appeal to most flag waving Americans who don't live on the East or West coasts. But its really total garbage seemingly made to try to convince themselves or the rest of the world how misunderstood they are. It is not exciting or intelligent in the slightest but toe curlingly corny.

I loved the other Bourne films. Good stories and a little class to them, interesting and so on. This however had very no class and a story that is merely a vehicle for a sequel and was less than engaging.

I found it hard to put my finger on the problem with this film. It seemed, as with most of Hollywood recently, action film by numbers. It was as if they had allowed the film studies graduate to make this film and he just ticked off boxes that are supposed to equal a good action movie.

There were points I thought I was watching Terminator 2 but 20 years too late and more boring. The chase scenes went on too long. I could go on all night and not really manage to define what was wrong with it. I asked my girlfriend whether she would go to the next one and she said no. We both doubted they would make another after this one. But then, there are always people willing to waste their money being served up lazy films like this.

I was not sure what sort of comedy this was going to be. I have only just seen the first episode and as it turns out it is a little dark, uncomfortable, subtle, at times quirky and pokes fun. I found it amusing, with moments that made me laugh out loud. Some of the characters (particularly the 'Head of Comedy') are well cast and very funny.

There is no canned laughter, the pace is not breakneck, it doesn't feel like the script has been re-written and re-written until people laugh and jokes and gags are not shouted loudly so you cant miss them. This is not spoon-fed comedy TV.

It is very British in style and therefore I suspect it will not be a hit with an American audience. I am, however, looking forward to the next episode.

I was not sure what to expect from this. I have never really been a fan of the series and have never enjoyed the old films. So I would not consider myself a Trek fan. So I went into this film not expecting too much but having seen the trailers was ready to be surprised. And I was. It was a really good, enjoyable, action packed, sometimes funny/tongue in cheek (but not too cheesy) film.

The characters were really well done. Bones and Spock were so similar to the originals you could really appreciate how they were in their younger years compared to the TV series when they appear much older. Except every time I looked at Spock I thought of Sylar from Heros (he has an evil look about him). Simon Pegg was brilliant and very funny. Even Kirk grew on me, rude, arrogant etc. So all in all well done on the cast.

The best bit of the film were the ships and space scenes.

The ships were great with some industrial looking heavy metal, some shiny white sleek ships, lots of lasers and missiles. More like the Star Wars of old I thought.

The camera work with the CGI in the space scenes was much like the scenes from the excellent film Serenity. Looking like they were actually filmed with some shaky cam and out of focus bits. Really dramatic. The cut between the chaos and noise inside the space ships to the total silence, carnage & vastness of the outside shot really adds to the atmosphere. The shot of Enterprise coming out of hyperspace, pulling a hard right turn, all guns blazing while the camera tried to keep up and focus was fantastic.

I am really looking forward to the next instalment. I hope they keep this up.

For years I have been waiting for a decent Nicolas Cage film. Alas I am going to have to wait longer. For the record I think he is fine (Wild at heart, Con Air, Leaving Las Vegas all okay films), it is mainly the scripts of everything else that lets him down.

So this film starts to look pretty promising. I am thinking thriller/horror. The idea behind the discovery of a piece of paper predicting dates, number of victims and co-ordinates of disasters is fabulous. The plane crash was really well done and quite shocking when it first came down.

However the last 1/3 or 1/4 of the film was terrible and undid all the good early work as it turned sci-fi (like sci-fi also but please, I think they were hedging their bets on the genre front). Aliens or were they angels?, bunny rabbits, Cage's endless crying and his stupid legs apart stick out the crotch stance whilst endlessly crying really started to grate. I longed for the end and eventually it came. The effect of the earths destruction was actually pretty good.

This gets a 4/10. Its not the worst thing I have seen but I would not see it again and if I had a choice I would ask for my money back.

Hmmm? I am not sure what to make of this film. The one thing I know is that I didn't come out of the cinema feeling satisfied but I didn't just dismiss it as a pile of pap like I did with films like SWAT. I am still mulling it over in my head a day later.

It was clearly well made. Great special effects and loads of atmosphere. The characters were very interesting and the fight scenes were great. The studio had clearly set out to make a quality film and not just to rob us of our hard earned cash.

However the timeline jumped about all over the place and I must admit to getting lost. I could not work out if the Watchmen were heroes, terrorists or vigilantes as the end seemed to justify the means. I could not work out if the government supported the Watchmen or not. The film took along time to tell us where and how the characters came about and still didn't explain properly (where did they get their skills, strength and fighting abilities from?). Which is not so bad but I did spend too much time trying to figure them out as well as trying to concentrate on what was going on in the film.

The soundtrack had some great music but they did seem to have put a CD in the machine and hit the RANDOM button. None of it seemed to fit with the action on screen.

Overall I am just left feeling a little empty from the whole experience and I did find myself looking at my watch a few times towards the end (some of the audience did not wait that long before leaving).

It was a story about the paradox of human nature.........I think.

I will not try and tell you what the film is about as you can read reviews watch trailers etc. I am attempting to suggest who should watch this film.

If you read the book you will probably rate this film badly. If you did not read the book but have little imagination or are an idiot you will probably rate this film badly. If you don't like kids fantasy you will rate this badly and probably should not have watched it anyway. If you are none of these and have a good imagination and like your 'childrens' fantasy stuff a little more testing than the usual Disney type rubbish then this is for you.

Before I went to see the film I had no idea what it was about, who was in it or what kind of reviews it had received. I came out very pleasantly surprised. The characters were good, the acting was good and it was quite a thought provoking film.

The film did try to challenge the usual American film This is A. This is B. A & B do something funny & we all laugh. This is C. C is mean. A & B fight C and win and its all wrapped up in time for bed and repeat for the sequel. However it does have too to a certain extent for a chunk on the American audience that makes all the money for these films.

I would also encourage anyone with kids of 8+ maybe to let them watch this film. It is lots of fun and quite deep in places. I think they will enjoy it.

What a load of garbage. I like Nick Cage, he has done some good stuff (Wild at Heart, Leaving Las Vegas, Raising Arizona) but like all actors there are some stinking turkeys and Cage has had more than his fair share (Vampires Kiss, Gone in 60 Seconds, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, National Treasure and soon National Treasure 2 but that may turn out to be a fine film?). This is another one. The story was pathetic. Not so much for being unrealistic it was just rubbish. I cared not a jot for any of the characters and I never felt they gave a damn about the film they were in. The supporting actors should never work again and the writers should go back to school to learn to write proper sentences of more than 6 words. Nick Cage got beaten up and that was pretty good. However the pain on his face was nothing to do with the beating. It was having to trot out that awful script. Don't worry Nick, I felt your pain too........(problem is I didn't get paid $16 million for it).

The opening scene of the film promised much. The cheap motel, a couple of nasty hoods and plenty of atmosphere. 'Great' I thought. A gritty violent film that would have me thinking about it for the next few days. But no. After the initial hard(ish) hitting opening scene we then meet the blandest, most self righteous, dull family in the whole of small town America in a pointless scene dragged out for 5 mins to fill time. The film descended into what can only be described as a 'Made for TV' movie. The acting was wooden not due to the lack of talent on display but due to the really terrible script and childish screen play. Awful dialogue and terrible characters. I did not feel for any of them. The sex scenes were there to help prop up the film but were a little too over the top.

On the plus side. The violence was pretty good with a good level of gore and realism. Great choreography and some slick moves. Ed Harris made a great villain and was a shinning light. He reminded me a little of Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper) in Blue Velvet (but only a little before I get flamed).

Over-all I was disappointed by this film. I would not recommend it unless there is nothing else to watch. It was not the worst film I have ever seen.

A great idea for a film, wasted. Perhaps one day someone will remake it properly. I have given it 6/10 as its not the worst, it is a great story (although done badly) and the violence was good.

Sorry I didn't get this at all. I tried hard but it doesn't seem to have worked out. I struggled with The Office, Fast Show & Little Britain to start with. However watch a few episodes and it all get funnier. NOT so with Catherine Tate. She is desperately trying to come up with a catchphrase for the kids to repeat over and over. That does not lead to real comedy I am afraid. I am not sure how she won awards. The most 1 dimensional stuff I have seen since Cannon & Ball. There does not seem to be a clever script or brilliant use of one liners. It is a constant stream of phrases that I just don't find funny. Its not clever, smutty, cheeky, sweet or frightening. It is however embarrassing and not in a Ricky Gervais way.

I have been watching the box set of all three series. This is a fabulous comedy. Much forgotten in the '100 Best' type programs.

James Hacker (Paul Eddington) is the slightly vague and much bumbling Minister for Administrative Affairs (yikes!!). He is torn between self, country, party and government (civil service). His permanent secretary & Civil servant, Sir Humphrey Appleby (Nigel Hawthorne) spends most of his time trying to stop the minister from actually doing any work or implementing policy as it will mean change, redundancies, effort and actual work. He very cleverly uses the system to prevent the minister's new policies and plans with the result that absolutely nothing ever gets done much to Hackers bemusement and frustration.

The frightening thing about this program is that, even though it is 25ish years old it still rings absolutely true about how the system of government in Britain (and many others as they are mostly based on the British system) work. The only thing that dates this program are the clothes and cars.

If you like cleverly written comedy with subtle asides and jokes then this is for you. If you are interested I politics then this is a fabulous training aid.

A fantastic watch that I would recommend to new viewers and those that have long forgotten about the series.

This film promised much. It had bags of style, great sets and a potentially interesting lead. However after nearly 2 hours I left the cinema without that feeling I have after seeing really good or great films (or even really awful films). That sense that I had just seen something memorable, something revolutionary, so good I would be thinking about it all night and possibly for days to come (or something so bad I feel I have to do a public service and warn people). Those films where you go to work and talk to your colleagues about how great (or awful) they were. As the three of us left the cinema we all felt some disappointment. Eventually one of us decided to ask what the rest thought. It wasn't bad, it wasn't good. It was nothing. It was not even worth thinking about. There was nothing to think about. All style and no substance. We all concluded MEH!

I can sit through pretty much any rubbish Hollywood throws at me. However Sky Captain was one of only 2 films that I begged to be turned off before the end (the other being the 4th Batman film). I think you really have to be into this kind of thing to enjoy it. Camp 1930s adventure. No thanks.

I could not really get into the story line or the characters. It all felt a bit like a school play. It made sense to those involved but meant absolutely nothing to anyone else. The script was slightly below Hollywoods usual low standards however the effects were top notch. As usual with Hollywood films style overtook content.

Not Judes finest hour.

After 10 minutes of sitting in the cinema watching this film I leaned over to my girlfriend and suggested going out to get some food. However I decided I would give the film a chance to pick up. It didn't. This sort of film went out in the 80's. I thought the US audience had matured enough to leave this sort of yeehaa patriotic rubbish alone.

Nothing much happens for the first hour, character building (not that any of the cast had a character) and scene setting. Then the second hour is spent with a big explosion, car chase, shooting, fight scene which is usually great for Arnie and Bruce but not for this lot. That is it. I really wanted the badies to win. And Mr S Jackson has really sold out now (along with his bank adverts.)

I didn't expect the film to be mentally challenging and in that it didn't disappoint. However I also didn't expect it to be physically challenging, but I just wanted to leave.

Spend your time with your loved ones.