Reviews

I have been a huge fan of Midsomer Murders and have the DVDs of almost all of the John Nettles episodes. The latest episode of Midsomer BREAKING THE CHAIN was (in my opinion) one of the worst episodes of this wonderful series I have watched. Even worse than the alien episode shown a couple of weeks ago. Last nights episode about cycle racing seemed to be all talk and quite frankly I lost interest. I didn't guess the murderer but that was probably because I wasn't paying the attention I should have. Gone are the quirky characters and the catchy soundtrack. There seems to be long scenes of talk with a complete absence of any soundtrack. What has happened to the theremin? The wonderful sound this instrument made added tension and anticipation to many scenes when a murder was about to happen. Sadly now gone.

John Barnaby and his wife do not have the same chemistry as Tom and Joyce Barnaby. The new DS Nelson is OK but I am not too impressed with the new young lady pathologist who appears to be a bit too full of herself. I thought the previous lady was better. Sorry Midsomer but perhaps your days are numbered.

I just happened to notice that this film was about to start on "Movies4Men" TV Channel, so I decided to give it a try. I am glad that I did. I really enjoyed this movie about a young German who arrives in London in 1962 as a Russian spy. The film shows in various flashbacks how this young man had ended up in the situation he is now in. The battle scenes of Russian soldiers fighting in the rubble of Berlin against the remnants of German resistance is well handled and the brutality by some of these soldiers against one young girl in particular, is realistic. As an espionage fan I also liked the spy element as well, with some good background 1960's Shadows music. It is well worth seeing should you get the chance to do so.

This film was described as being a violent thriller. There was some violence but sadly very,very.few thrills. It started off OK with a tense card game robbery, but then it just drifted away. There was a lot of rabbit (UK cockney slang for talk)in this movie, and it became very dull and boring. In fact at one point, I didn't really know what they where talking about. Brad Pitt was OK, but I am not sure what the point of the character played by James Gandolfini was, because all he did was talk and talk and talk. (And drink!) The cast of the film where all male, apart from Linara Washington who was on the screen for a couple of minutes playing a prostitute. A boring movie!

Although this is not a memorable film, I found it entertaining. Yul Brynner stars as a CIA man who is told that his son has died in a skiing accident in Austria. He, therefore, heads off to Austria to investigate if it really was an accident or something more sinister. A young Britt Ekland is the female lead who he seeks information from because she was one of the last persons to see his son alive. Various character actors of the time (made in 1967)such as Clive Revill, David Bauer, Ronald Radd and Moira Lister appear and the movie jogs along at a nice pace. There are some lovely location shots of the Austrian Tyrol and Yul does a good job in the lead role. Well worth a look!

The only mildly interesting scene in this film was when being advised how to tell whether a lobster is a male or a female. It is a terribly dull film about an upper middle class English family who go on holiday to the Isles of Scilly where absolutely nothing happens. They invite an artist who paints the scenery whilst spouting twaddle, and a cook who they agonise as to whether she should be allowed to join them at the dinner table. Yes, this is about as interesting as it gets. The father of the family for some reason has decided not to join them on this trip, which was a very wise move indeed, because long before the end of this movie, I had also wished I had kept away. People should watch this film then form their own opinions, mine being that it was a dull and pointless piece of film making. On the other hand, connoisseurs of the awful could revel in it.

This is a Hitchcock film that "Got Away" as it is one of his films that few people seem to be aware of. It starts off OK with a Russian Official, along with his wife and daughter, attempting to defect to the Americans in Copenhagen. The Russian Defector tells the Americans that there is a French Spy ring codenamed "TOPAZ" who are passing NATO secrets to the Russians. He also states that the Russians are shipping materials into Cuba although he doesn't know what these materials are. John Forsythe who plays a CIA man then tells his friend in the French Secret Service who is played by Frederick Stafford. Stafford agrees to go to Cuba to find out what is going on. After his return he then attempts to track down the French spy ring. All this is taking place in 1962. As previously stated, the film starts off OK then chugs along, briefly coming back to life with a long scene in a New York Hotel which is full of Cubans. Finally, however, the film kinda stalls and by the end has sort of fizzled out. An interesting Hitchcock film, but not a memorable one.

I have recently watched this film twice and really enjoyed it. American Scott Glenn is a CIA operative based in Brussels who is asked to go to Bucharest to arrange the escape of his former friend and mentor, who some years earlier had defected to the Russians. This is not a glossy production and the grainy look of the film I think adds to the atmosphere of Eastern European locations. A sprinkling of British actors appear like Eleanor Bron who helps him with his escape plan in Bucharest, and the lovely Cherie Lunghi who is an old girl friend of Glenn's and runs an art gallery in Venice. Leading the chase for Glenn is good old Martin Shaw playing A KGB Colonel. A far cry from The Professionals. I am fond of espionage films and thought this a good spy yarn.

I watched this film a few nights ago and found it OK, but nothing special. Alexandra Paul plays Stacy a lawyer, who gets a phone call telling her that her sister has been murdered. She then returns to the area where she had been raised and where her sister was killed and keeps meeting various people who she knew in her past. Stacy later finds out that her sister had been advertising herself on Adult Dating sites, therefore, with the help of her friend Lauren, she decides to do the same thing to see if she can find out who the killer is. A dangerous game to play. If you have a couple of hours to spare then give it a look, but do not expect too much.

If this film was going to win an award it would surely be in "The Most Annoying Hairstyle in a Movie" category. An overweight Stephen Baldwin's hair certainly annoyed me from the very start of this film. Anyway, this movie is about some scientists who have discovered something code named "Eruptor", which is a device that supercharges Dark Matter and uses it to change the molecular structure of it's target, thereby eradicating it. Simples! Mr Baldwin sort of ambles through his role as the main man to save the world, helped by his trusted friend and his loyal wife. The special effects are decent and although it is all nonsense, it is worth a watch just to see Mr.Baldwin's hair.

I have watched this film three times and have always found it entertaining. John Wayne was perhaps slightly too old for the part, however, I thought he did a pretty good job as the Dirty Harry type cop who wants to know why is partner was killed. There are shootings and car chases along with warnings by his immediate boss (played by Eddie Albert)to curb his unconventional ways of policing. Of course, The Duke takes no notice and carries on his investigations in his own style. As many reviewers have stated, a stand out scene features Colleen Dewhurst as a somewhat burnt out ex-girlfriend of his partner. For me, it was an enjoyable and entertaining film.

Karel Reisz directed "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning" which people went to see at the cinema in droves, and was enjoyed by many working class folk. Karel Reisz also directed "Morgan: A Suitable Case For Treatment" which far fewer people went to see at the cinema, and I feel was much less appealing to the working class viewer. I suspect that those who did see it and found it a hoot, where most likely to be middle class lefties and students. Because I am neither a middle class lefty or have ever been a student, I didn't find it a hoot at all. In fact I found David Warner's character Morgan, extremely irritating and annoying, him being a grown man acting like a badly behaved child. Although, in todays world grown men acting like badly behaved children are sadly accepted by society and are not deemed to require treatment. The Inbetweeners for example. I watched Morgan again recently, and it was nice to see Irene Handl and Arthur Mullard. I like the nostalgia of 1960's British films (even rubbish ones like this)and enjoyed seeing a youthful fresh faced Vanessa Redgrave. This lady was the reason I took out a short lived subscription of "The Workers Revolutionary Party" newspaper, way back in the early 1970's. I always intended to go to one of their meetings in the hope I might meet her, but never ever got around to attending one. Morgan was certainly not for me. If I have to watch so called slapstick comedy such as this (minus the political stuff) then give me a Norman Wisdom film anytime.

This film was nowhere near as bad a movie as I was expecting after reading several reviews. Yes it did contain sequences from some other movies, however, I still enjoyed watching it. I thought that Traci Lords playing the main part of Agent Amanda Foster was decent and that her partnership with Gary Daniels worked quite well. In parts, I found it to be quite exciting and thought it moved along at a decent pace. Because this was a low budget movie, the special effects where not that great,however,I have seen much worse. If you do not take this film too seriously,then I think that you should(perhaps surprisingly) be entertained.

I recorded this film when it was on TV a few nights ago and rather enjoyed it. It was a movie that I had not known about, but it is the sort of film I would have gone to see at the pictures in the 60's, if I had known of it. Patrick O'Neal is a private eye who has been employed by an Insurance Company to investigate the suspicious sinking of some ships. There is some lively banter between O'Neal and Herbert Lom which I liked, and scenes with O'Neal and Joan Hackett have quite a bit of sparkle about them. The only thing I didn't like was the whistling of the same irritating tune by Lom's henchman. Happily this only happened in the first quarter of the film. All in all, I thought that this was an entertaining film with a good cast and with a neat twist thrown in. A decent little movie.

I recorded this film which I had not heard of before and expected a similar movie to "A Fistful of Dollars" or "The Good,The Bad and The Ugly" but I was in for a surprise as it is more like a "Butch Cassidy & Sundance" film. It is about a group of young bandits who are later joined by a couple of ladies and go around robbing banks and shooting people. The story bounces between serious and farce and contains some pretty good shoot- outs against a group led by Jack Palance who are chasing them. The acting is good although the dubbed voices are obvious, but that is always the case with spaghetti westerns. The big name star Jack Palance should have had no trouble learning his lines for this movie because he probably says no more that half a dozen words and is only seen on screen for probably no more than 7 or 8 minutes (if that!). I quite enjoyed this obscure movie and if you get the chance give it a look.

We know that bad things happen and we get treated like mushrooms, but most of us probably prefer not to hear the all truth as it maybe too uncomfortable for us to accept. In this film which takes place in Puerto Rico,two young men are shot dead by the police because they where supposed to be terrorists who where planning an attack. In truth, this was not the case and reporter Kate Melendez played by Amy Irving sets out to prove that the two young men had been murdered. Kate who is the sort of Journalist who "Will not drop the case" even if she herself is in danger is played pretty well by Amy, but Lou Diamond Phillips takes the acting honours as Jesus Fuentes the police undercover agent. The film boasts a good cast which includes Robert Duvall, Kevin Spacey and Andy Garcia who sports a huge black beard which almost covers his entire face. I never really felt that the film dragged although there is not a lot of action in it. An interesting movie yes, but not I thought a particularly memorable one.

I had never heard of this film until I watched it recently. A CIA agent played by a young Burt Reynolds is sent to Vietnam (although it was filmed elsewhere) to try to abort an assassination plot against the US ambassador. The film which was made in black and white does have an amateurish feel about it, although Burt, who is not a great actor, does okay. When the film started I didn't think that I would be able to watch it all, however, I did and quite enjoyed it. There is a long chase sequence with Burt doing a lot of running which I thought decent. Although it's not a great film, do if you get the chance try to watch it - if only for curiosity value.

I noticed on the final credits that the mens' hair stylist was Jay Sebring who was sadly one of the Sharon Tate murder victims.

Well if it looks like a turkey, walks like a turkey and gobbles like a turkey, then just like this film, it is a turkey. I wanted to enjoy this film and was very much looking forward to seeing it. I remember the BBC TV series very well and tried not to make comparisons, but I could not help it. The TV series was slow but it had style and atmosphere and suspense. This film version didn't have any of these things. Gary Oldman as George Smiley could just as well have been played by a dummy dressed in a suit. He had no emotion, no energy and just seemed to sit there looking into space. How he ever managed to get a wife with his zero personality is a bigger mystery than who the mole was. No wonder the poor woman sought solace and satisfaction elsewhere. Everything just felt flat and waiting for that spark to get the all thing going, never came. I knew who the mole was from the start after watching the original TV series, however, had I not known I would hardly have been sat on the edge of my seat wanting to know because I would not have cared. We never really got to know anything about the four suspects who all appeared to be incredibly dull. Peter Guillam played by Benedict Cumberbatch was portrayed as a homosexual with funny coloured hair. Dreadful!! I was going to buy the DVD but am glad now that I never got around to doing so.

I will take my hat off to anyone who after watching this film for the first time knew what the hell was going on. I had been wanting to see this film for a long time, so I decided to buy the DVD when it became available. The only thing I can say after viewing it is "What was that all about"? On this first showing I found the plot very difficult to follow and, because I lost interest,do not even know what happened to the damn letter which everyone was looking for.Perhaps it will all become clear if I watch it several times. This is a very talky movie,(which I don't mind) but it does help when you know what they are talking about. Also unlike some other spy movies I have seen, this film lacked tension and atmosphere. I was really looking forward to watching this film, but after doing so I can only feel that it was such a let down.

I saw this film at the cinema when it was originally released and have never ever seen it since. Although I cannot recall a great deal about the film there is one thing I do vividly remember, and that was that the comedy just did not work. The entire film was met with a stony silence that I have never forgotten. It may have been because it was a UK audience who didn't appreciate US humour, but in truth I really don't know why it went down so badly. I hope one day to watch this film again just to see if I can work out why it did not click with the audience. I have not given it a rating because it is such a long time ago since I saw it and remember so little of it.

Joan Fontaine who is the only actor(male or female) to have won an Oscar in a Alfred Hitchcock film, is the lead star in this little Hammer horror movie. She plays Miss Gwen Mayfield who is appointed Headmistress of a small village school after recovering from a nervous breakdown in Africa. Upon taking up her position at the school, which is located in a pretty and charming looking English village, strange and unusual things begin to happen. Idyllic English villages are the perfect backdrop for sinister goings on involving witchcraft and this film delivers accordingly. Although the film is nothing really special, I enjoyed it and have watched it several times. There are quite a few well known British character actors popping up throughout the film playing small parts, such as Leonard Rossiter and Ann Bell. UK soap fans will also spot Rudolph Walker (who plays Patrick in EastEnders)appearing very briefly at the start of the film. You won't get too many shudders watching this movie but I think you will enjoy it.

The book THE REASON WHY by Cecil Woodham-Smith is a terrific and entertaining read giving a superb insight into Victorian Military life. It tells the story of George Bingham(3rd Earl of Lucan) and James Brudenell (7th Earl of Cardigan) who both played a major part in the tragic CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE. As the film shows, Lucan was in command of the Cavalry Division whilst Cardigan his brother in law commanded the Light Brigade. At the time these appointments where looked upon as being an invitation to disaster because Lucan and Cardigan had a mutual hatred of each other. In short, Lord Lucan would be Lord Cardigan's superior officer and because they did not even speak to each other, it was felt that things would not go too well. The always excellent Harry Andrews plays Lord Lucan and Trevor Howard gives a excellent performance as Lord Cardigan. John Guilgud amusingly plays Lord Raglan who was the Commander-in-Chief of the Army. Not so amusing however, was that Lord Raglan who had spent most of his time behind a desk,had never before commanded an army in the field and was responsible for the four amateurish orders which resulted in the fateful charge. Another player in the disaster was Captain Nolan who handed the final order to Lucan. Nolan was a fanatical cavalry man who was desperate to see the cavalry in action. Nolan is played by David Hemmings. This film gives excellent period detail of Victorian times and also the horrors of war. The film starts with the build up to the Crimean War and highlights the difference in lifestyle between the upper class and the lower class. One minute we are in the middle of a grand dance with ladies and gentlemen in ball gowns/suites and then we are in squalor streets. A fictional love affair between Capt. Nolan (Hemmings) and Clarissa(Vanessa Redgrave) the wife of Capt.Morris who is a friend of Nolan takes place. Eventually war is declared and the rest of the action takes place in the Crimea. The first class soundtrack is by John Addison with the opening rousing main title being belted out by a full chorus of singers. On the LP soundtrack Manfred Mann sing a version of the famous Tennyson poem which I do not think features in the film. There are at various times animations by Richard Williams which I thought worked quite well. I remember Tony Richardson stating that he did not make this film as an epic but more of a social history of its time. Footnote: There was also another cavalry charge which took place in the Crimea and this was THE CHARGE OF THE HEAVY BRIGADE. The Heavies who where commanded by General Scarlett consisted of approx 500 men and they charged at between 3,000 - 4,000 Russian cavalry scattering them. Had the Light Brigade followed up on this charge the result may have been the complete rout of the Russian Cavalry. Sadly this successful action is completely forgotten due to the disaster of the Light Brigade.

If you can ignore the usual faults with Seagal movies then this is an OK action flick. In this one Steve is a fighter pilot and the only man who can recapture s stolen US Stealth aircraft. The aeroplane action scenes where better than I expected them to be after reading some of the reviews of this film, and the acting was I thought OK. There is not so much hand to hand fight scenes in this film as in other Seagal movies which might disappoint some Seagal fans,however, we do have a lesbian scene midway through the film with Steve lurking in the background looking a little like a seedy voyeur. Steve does tend to mumble his lines at times so we are not sure what he has said, but still most Seagal fans should find this a decent movie.

I thought that this was an OK film with the usual violence and action which accompanies all Steven Seagal films. In this one Steve is a former Russian Mafia villain who comes back into town after being invited by his ex-wife to see his daughter get married. However, his return into town is not met with approval from the local Russian Mafia boss whose son is in fact the guy who will be marrying Steve's daughter. Steve's ex-wife is then murdered and his daughter is badly hurt which is the cue for our hero to seek revenge. Fist fights, knife fights and shootings are a plenty as Steve rips apart the bad guys. Although Seagal films are not expensive glossy productions action fans should enjoy this one.

Watching a Steven Seagal film is a bit like going to eat something you know is not really good for you and has passed it's sell by date, but somehow,you still can't resist taking a bite. I am no expert on the film career of Mr.Seagal, but in everyone of his films that I have seen, he appears to play the same person. In this film Steve is transported to Eastern Europe to take on a Russian Drug Dealer called Dimitri and another gang led by a very unpleasant fellow called Costel. Dimitri is supplying drugs to Costel but it soon develops that these two fall out, with very unpleasant consequences to follow. The job for our hero becomes personal when Steve's partner is killed and the usual gun fights and fist fights ensue. In between all the action there was a tender moment between Steve and his girlfriend, however, as Mr.Seagal is not in the first flush of youth he might well be advised in the future to avoid love scenes with topless young women,as it looks a little unattractive. Born to Raise Hell is basically the usual Steven Seagal movie under another name, but nevertheless, I enjoyed it.

Most of the reviews I have given are of films that I saw at the cinema upon its release and have then recently watched again. However, THE LOOKING GLASS WAR is a movie that I never got around to watching at the pictures, therefore, I decided to shell out 3 pounds and buy the DVD. I must say that I am glad I did as I quite enjoyed it. A young Christopher Jones plays a Polish seaman who is recruited by British Intelligence to go into East Germany to check out some missiles in return for being given leave to stay in the UK. The acting was better than I thought it would be and the storyline was OK. I liked the jazzy soundtrack as well. Not a bad film at all and worth the 3 quid I paid.