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Reviews
Eragon (2006)
Star Wars anybody?
I did enjoy this film, saw it the cinema on the 16th, the premise was intriguing...until I saw it all pieced together and realised that it had already been done; Star Wars (1977) had this storyline but instead of dragons, riders and sorcerers it had ships, storm troopers and Darth Vadar. Eragon is that little farm boy (just like Luke Skywalker) who lives with his uncle on a desolate farmland (just like Luke Skywalker) and it turns out that he must fight against an evil empire (just like Luke Skywalker) and defeat an evil slave to a king (Darth Vadar and Emperor Palpatine) but I did enjoy it despite the obvious relevance to the classic 70's epic, the dragon was awesome and John Malkovich (despite having a rather small part for such an A-list actor) was convincing as the evil king. I think an 8 is an appropriate rating for a film flooded with deja vu!
Signs (2002)
Genius!
When I went to the cinema to watch Signs in the summer of 2002 I went there with high expectations of an intense, claustrophobic horror and in every way, it delivered. Finally, someone has decided to create an extra-terrestrial invasion movie that doesn't rely on special effects, galactic spaceships that can level cities and fancy hi-tech weaponry but on the reactions of one family. This movie had everything that I could've hoped for, the discreet appearance of the creatures, the claustrophobia it projected, the intense and moving memories of Graham Hess (Mel Gibson) and the determination. This movie never set out to become a blockbuster because in many ways it didn't have to. M. Night Shyamalan delivers to us every time a disturbing look at what could happen; watching Independence Day (1996) I soon realised that about twenty minutes into the movie that this was highly unfeasible (despite loving the movie) and the same for War Of The Worlds (1953/2005) but with Signs it uses accounts that we are familiar with, strange lights in the sky, crop-circles, worldwide confusion, these attributes are perfect and we know them! This is a scary look at perhaps feasible possibilities and has certainly made me think twice about what eyes could be watching us.
As for the performances, Mel Ginson delivers the best performance of his acting career since Braveheart (1995) with the powerful emotion he uses to deflect the death of his wife and the survival of his isomorphic son. Joaquin Phoenix completely alters his character from Gladiator (2000) from a tyrant to a loving uncle who will strive to keep his family from collapsing from panic. All in all, this movie is brilliant and those expecting a bloodbath are going to be disappointed!
The Fog (1980)
One of the best!
John Carpenter as we know can make a film, no doubt about that, but his skills as a writer as well are nothing short of phenomenal. The Fog is a story about an old fishing town called Antonio Bay, swamped with a dark secret that will eventually come back to haunt them...literally. 100 years ago...6 conspirators who disliked the notion of a leper colony only a mile or so away premeditated the death of Blake...a leper himself. Drifting through on an old clipper ship, the lepers were stranded in an opaque fog that unexpectedly rolled in. This fog inadvertently aided the conspirators into crashing their ship into rocks. Taking Blake's gold, Father Malone, an ancestor to a conspirator soon realises that Blake has returned from his watery grave to seek revenge on those who caused his death. Stunning Carpenter film that can certainly be up there as one of the best horror movies ever made, nothing before it has been done like this and it far deserves a better rating than 6 stars...out of ten...******** out of ten!
Mean Machine (2001)
Top class Brit flick!
You simply cannot put this movie down, a great all British cast and a great all British sport, being British and a great lover of Manchester United, i was up for this film and it didn't diasappoint me in the slightest. Vinnie Jones was brilliant as Danny Meehan and Jason Statham as the 'Monk' was simply classic vintage stuff. The match is what the watchers of this film want to see and it is fantastically constructed, just one tip of advice, don't p*** of the 'Monk'
10/10 stars, classic stuff
Tremors (1990)
A total bitch of a b-pic movie, humans -v- worms, wicked!
I thought this movie was fantastic and is my favourite movie of all time. It sees the wit of a small desert town up against the strength, speed, skill and brutality of gigantic underground worms. Local handymen Valentine McKee (Kevin Bacon) and Earl Basset (Fred Ward) discover that they've left it one day to late to leave Perfection Valley as strange, bewildering deaths ocurr. It turns out that giant,underground worms feel a little peckish and fancy a little munch on a remote desert valley. With the help of Rhonda Le Beck (Finn Carter) a seismology student from Bixby and survivalists Burt and Heather Gummer (Michael Gross and Reba MacEntire) a little bunch of worms shouldn't be no problem or have they dug themselves an unescapable trap!