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k-thomas
Reviews
The Ox-Bow Incident (1942)
One of my 10 best Westerns.
I always wanted to see The Ox-Bow Incident. I never it saw it advertised on the TV, but 2 weeks, i noticed it advertised in the website ZAVVI. I bought it and received it 3 days ago and watch it and i was not disappointed. Westerns made at that time, in this case, 1940's, were shoot em up, with the good guys wore clean clothes and clean shaven and the bad guys were wore dirty clothes and wore beards and the end of the film, the bad guys were killed and the guy rode into the sunset with the girl. If you wanted that type of Western, then don"t bother.
A excellent cast, Henry Fonda, Henry Morgen, Dana Andrews, a unknown Anthony Quinn that time and Marc Lawrence who later starred with Quinn the TV Movie, Gotti with Armand Assante.
A story of two Cowboys, Fonda and Morgan arrived in town after a Cattle Drive. They enter into a saloon, ordered a drink, when a man entered the saloon, claiming a popular Cowboy named Kincaid have been killed and Cattle rustled by 3 men. A ex Army Officer gather a Posse. The 2 Cowboys, Fonda and Morgen join the Posse, thinking they could be suspects. They find 3 men sleeping. Some of the Posse are for hanging without a trial while a few, including Fonda an Morgen waiting for the Sheriff, who is out of town. The men say they are innocent.
That the time this Movie were made, a lot of people were hanged, without trial. Henry Fonda, witnessed a lynching, when he was only 14 years of age.
Movies like this, Fury with Spencer Tracy. Later 1958s The Bravados with Gregory Peck, 1968s Hang em High with Clint Eastwood, show, that people don"t think before acting.
10 out of 10.
King of Thieves (2018)
Excelent Movie.
This this the one of best thrillers i have seen in years. I compare this with Films Get Carter, Villain, Robbery and of course The Long Good Friday. The dialogue was excellent. Yes, there was profanity, but unlike American thrillers, where they seem to be looking to get into the Records Books to say the F...K word. The conversations you could hear in the local Pub. It is alway nice to see Tom Courtenay. I don"t believe i have seen Tom Courtenay in humorous role. The rest of the cast,Jim Broadbent, Charlie Cox, Paul Whitehouse and of course Michael Gambon,and Ray Winstone. It nice see Francesca Annis playing Michael Caine"s wife.A must for people who like films with a good story and good acting.
Michiel de Ruyter (2015)
Good film
I was interested in to see this movie Admiral, because i come from Chatham in England. In 1967 on the 300th anniversary of the Battle Of Chatham a Dutch band visit Chatham and tour some our schools. We were taught about the battle. The film itself, i thought was very good. I disagree one reviewer, that us English were portrayed as dumb. It showed that we were arrogant. Our politician Samuel Pepys warned England and not underrated the Dutch. It showed that, the Dutch took a gamble. If they had lost, Holland would be open to invasion by England, France and Germany. It is good that two versions have been made, so younger viewers can watch it. Dutch and English. Nice to see some good actors from Holland. Frank Lammers, Dereck Le Lint, Barry Atsma and of course Rutger Hauer in a small role and English Actor, Charles Dance as King Charles 11. I hope at this movie will be shown at least on English television.
Hell Drivers (1957)
Excellent British Film Noir
Hell Drivers to begin with is a who"s who of unknown actors who became famous in later years. Sean Connery, Patrick McGoohan, Sid James, Gordon Jackson and of course Jill Ireland and first husband David Macullum. Hell drivers is a film made with a tight budget about after WW2,good jobs were few and far between, so at that time men would do any type of work to make a living. Driving ballast was known as piece work, where the more runs you made the more money you got. The black and white cinematography shows just how bleak it was in Britain at that time. It also shows unlike Hollywood movies the type of men you would see every day. I worked at Reeds Papermills and some of my co-workers at the factory behaved just that way. Some were cause, but on the other hand, respectful to women as shown in this film. If you want to look for faults you can find them easy, such as driving loads at such a speed would result in many accidents or deaths. Never any police about and of course the fight scene between Stanley Baker and Patrick Mcgoohan which was for it"s time violent, but tame for to day standards. If this was made today, the fight would be more tough and violent, most probably Martial Arts would be thrown in and of course the language would be more foul. I have noticed a couple of reviews from the States and i can honestly say with all the money Hollywood put into their films, they have also made some buffers. Much as i still enjoy it today, but War Of The worlds with Gene Barry for example, you can see the strings dangling. No if you want to see a good British movie, i recommend Hell Drivers. If Hollywood want to make a remake, i recommend Russell Crowe and David Morse for the Baker and McGoohan roles, an Italian actor for the Herbert Lom role and maybe David Macullum or Sean Connery doing a cameo as Crowes father, although in the Original there was only the Mother.
Lawman (1971)
Excellent western
Lawman is without a doubt one the best westerns ever made and on top, it was the first western directed by English director Michael Winner. A group of cowboys, after a long cattle drive arrive in a town called Bannock and get carried away with their drunken celebration and shoot up the town, accidentally killing an old man. The cowboys have no knowledge of the accidental shooting until months later the marshal of bannock Jared Maddox excellently played by Burt Lancaster arrives in the town of Sabbath to arrest them. The marshal of Sabbath Cotton Ryan, played by veteran actor Robert Ryan is unwilling to co-operate as the town relies on the ranchers for their living. Ryan has a reputation of one incident only when years before he outgunned some gunmen in the town of Fort Bliss, but is now week and considered by many in the town of Sabbath as a coward. The top rancher is Vince Bronson excellently played by Lee J Cobb of The Virginian TV series. Bronson is prepared to offer retribution to the old mans family and something for Maddox too, but Maddox will not trade. Lawman is not your traditional shoot em up western with the good guys v the bad guys. It"s an intelligent story of normal hard working honest cowboys letting of steam and being responsible for a tragic death. Maddox is the honest Marshal who's job it is to bring these men in dead or alive. The film shows that Cowboys carry a gun for protection. Snakes and such and sometimes they can get pretty good with it, with enough practice, but a Lawman is a trained killer of men.This is explained in a scene between Burt Lancaster and in his first movie role Richard Jordon, a fine actor who left us too soon. Of course it shows that if a member of your family was killed accidentally or not, you would not accept the apology of the killer or killers and accept a sum of money, unless you have few scruples. It also shows how the towns people will stand up for the ranchers, as they are their main towns source of income. As stated by Lancaster when confronted by them in the saloon while eating his dinner. You want the law, but you want it to stay quiet. What happens some place else is not your concern. This film has a strong supporting cast. J D Cannon of Mcloud fame, Ralph Wait of The Waltons, Robert Duvall, William C Watson and brilliant stage actor Joseph Wiseman who knows Lancasters character from years back regarding another killing. The dialogue is excellent, the showing of how a saloon really looked in them days is very authentic. Very smokey and dirty. Also no fancy gun play such as twirling a pistol, like you see in the old westerns. If you are looking for a John Wayne or Clint Eastwood type western, with the exception of Eastwoods Oscar winning Unforgiven, you will be disappointed, but if you are looking for a western about normal people involved in a tragic situation, then is is the film for you.
Killer Joe (2011)
Sickening rubbish.
This has got to be one of the most disgusting films i have ever seen. If people can call this entertainment is beyond belief and especially from a director like William Friedkin. A young man is heavily in debt to a gangster. He comes up with the idea of hiring a hit-man to kill his own mother because she has a life insurance policy for $50,000. He has heard of a man named Killer Joe, who is also a police officer who will do it for $20,000. An appointment with the killer is made and his fee is $25000, but he can only pay when the policy is cashed. The killer first of all refuses, but changes his mind, because he has the hots for the young mans sister, so he decides to have an affair with the sister until the money is paid. Both his father and daughter are involved in the plot as his father is now living with another woman who is an alcoholic. I won"t spoil the rest of the so called story.1] Would a hit-man announce that he is a police officer? 2.After he pays the hit-man the $25,000, $25,000 is left to be split between his Stepmother, Father, his sister and himself which i $6,166 each. 3] Out of his share, i ask, how much is this heavy debt? After the murder, we are then for the rest of the film, subjected to some of the most sickening violence i have ever seen. Years ago Hollywood complained about the violence in Sam Peckinpah"s movies. My only criticism of Peckinpah was his treatment of women in his films, but the violence towards women in Killer Joe, makes the rape scene in Straw Dogs look like a kissing scene from a Walt Disney film. At least Peckinpah"s films had a story unlike this. I have always been an admire of the work of actor Matthew McConaughey, but how he could act in this is beyond me. It was so sickening i could"nt eat the rest of my dinner, i had to throw it away. Usually these type of roles are given to unknown players, but i suppose bringing in established actors in would bring in more money, but how they could have worked on this i don"t know. Established or not, i wouldn"t work on a film like this for any amount of money. I have given this 1-10, as it is not possible to give it a 0.
Next of Kin (1989)
Enjoyable thriller for a quiet evening at home.
I was never a Patrick Swayze fan, not because of his ability as an actor, but the movies he made. After watching the complete series of North And South, which he made before he became famous, i thought we would be in for some fine films. Next Of Kin in my view was an exception. The usual revenge story line, a member of a family is murdered by the mob and his family want revenge. What i found interesting about Next Of Kin, was the way Bill Paxtons family were portrayed. Not the usual cliché of being eliterite, stupid and being moonshiners. They were portrayed as intelligent human beings not to fool around with. I thought the entire cast played their parts well. Some reviewers criticise Ben Stiller for being miscast as a mobsters son. Well members of the Cosa Nostra do not walk around looking like people with blood dripping fangs and frothing at the mouth, they look like everyone else. Remember what Martin Scosece said in an interview about making Goofellas. A good film to watch on a quiet evening.
Around the World in Eighty Days (1956)
Excellent
This was movie making at it's best. Unlike the movies of today. Fine Acting, Photography, Costumes, Filming, Script and especially the who's who in the movie world doing their cameos. In my view the finest performance came from Robert Newton, who in my view stole the picture. It was reminiscent of his performance as Long John Silver in Treasure Island. Just as devious. Young children of today enjoy this version, even though they have been brought up on the Jackie Chan version, which is far inferior. David Niven himself stated that this was his favorite film and i can see why. I would also imagine that the participants all had a great time.
A true masterpiece.
Killer Elite (2011)
average
I watched this movie for the first time on DVD last night, as a friend of mine was telling me what a great film it was. My expectations were not very high. After watching it, i found that what i was expecting was what i got. We have been bombarded with these action pictures for years now. Loads of violence, blood, explosions. The tough guy actors grunting their lines and pulling faces. Of course a beautiful young lady is thrown into the picture for good measure. Arn't people a little bit tired of this nonsense, because i am. The annoying thing for me about this film, is that it is passed as a true story. Clive Owen is a good actor and i think his talents can be used for better things. His scenes with Jason Straitham were a bit similar to Mel Gibsons Scene in The Expendables 3 with Stallone. Like Gibson with Stallone, he acted Straitham of the screen. Just like Stallone, Straitham can't act for toffee.
Robert De Niro as usual brought a strong presence to the film, as he always does, but he has come down over the years. His performances in the past such as Taxi Driver, The Mission, True Confessions, were outstanding, but then as Charlton Heston once said, why does such a fine actor after he did Goodfellas wanted to keep playing Las Vegas hoods all the time and i Always noticed he was always using the f.. word even in his small cameo in The Good Shepherd. No sorry, this film for me is just something to watch on a rainy day in the living room if you have nothing special to do.
12 Years a Slave (2013)
Mediocre
I must have watched a totally different film to every body else. Solomon Walthop is a free man living in Saratoga. He travels to Washington, where he is known to polite society. He meets up with two Gentlemen, who invite him out to dinner and get him drunk. He is sick everywhere. Next thing, you see him in shackles and in a dungeon. he is beaten and you find out, that he has been kidnapped and sold into slavery. So far i find the film interesting. Then for 1 hour and 50 minutes you watch people being whipped, beaten, hanged and a black slave crying throughout the film. all the white people, with the exception of the slaver Ford and the Canadian Abolishinist, played by Brad Pitt, look as if they are portraying the character Simon Le Green from Uncle Toms Cabin and Pitt who is supposed to be playing a Canadian, sounds more like Patrick Swayze out of North And South, which in my opinion is the best ever depiction of that period. A story like this cannot be told in a couple of hours anyway. A far superior film to this was Amistad by Spielberg, which was also based on a true story. Yes you see whippings, but you see the the taking over of the ship and then the court proceedings. In this film you only know what happened to the bad guys at the end credits. My opinion is this was like a rehash of two other terrible movies based on two very good books, Mandingo and Drum, also with fine actors and actresses. Although this one is better made. Very disappointing.
The Key to Rebecca (1985)
Waste Of Good Acting Talent.
This film is unbelievably bad. I have never been a fan of David Soul and this film, he kills people for the hell of it and speaks that "Ve Have Vays Off Making You talk Accent" just as he did in the film Pentathlon with Dolf Lundgren. You have Cliff Robertson as an English Officer, speaking the Queens English and Robert Culp playing Rommel and quoting lines like "I Vill Eat Ze Blitish For Bleakfast and Ze Blitish Have Defeated Me. How can two fine actors as Cliff Robertson and Robert Culp, who are normally good, act so bad. Fortress in Cairo was far better with a low budget. This story could be remade, with English, German and Arabic actors.
The Buccaneer (1958)
Good old fashioned Saturday Morning Cinema stuff.
If you want to watch an accurate account about The Battle Of New Orleans, then this is not the movie for you. This the type of film i used to watch as a kid at Saturday Morning Cinema. A great cast. Fine Costumes. The pace is reasonable and the colour is excellent. What does impress me is it does not portray the Americans as all squeaky clean and us British as totally evil, unlike Mel Gibsons The Patriot. I find it strange, that there are only a handful of films about both The American War Of Independence and the War Of 1812. Both wars being an important part of both American and British history. This is the type of film, you want to watch on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, when the weather is bad. If a remake would be made, i would as another reviewer said, Anthonio Bandares as Laffitte and maybe Tom Berenger as Jackson. Female interest maybe Nicol Kidman.
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
Laughton's finest performance.
Up until i saw this film for the first time yesterday evening on DVD, i always considered Charles Laughtons best performance was as Grachius in Spartacus, but this was overwhelming. As i have stated in my reviews of other old films, they do not make them like this any more. The humor coming out in Laughtons lines was hysterical, considering the serious storyline. There were fine performances from all the actors. Tyrone Power proved he was not just a swashbuckler, but a fine actor. Marlene Dietrich played the part of Powers wife brilliantly. You might notice a connection with Mutiny on the Bounty. Charles Laughton Played Captain Bligh in the original version and Torin Thatcher, the Prosecution Barrister, played the Captain of the HMS Brittainy in the Marlon Brando remake, but his scene was deleted. A must for anyone who enjoys courtroom dramas.
The Last Days of Pompeii (1984)
Terrific mini-series
A very good fictional story leading up to the destruction of Pompeii. A fine collection of Actors and Actrices portraying the class distinction in the city. The politics and of course the discrimination towards the Christians. What really impressed me was there were no computer effects. Real people were used as extras and the eruption itself is very good. I traveled myself to Pompeii and was surprised at how big it was. If you want to see a true non fiction account of Pompeii, buy the DVD 'The Last Day Of Pompeii, with Tim Piggot Smith. This documentary drama shows how people stood and watched the eruption and then went to their homes to save their valuables and also knelt to pray. Do not bother to watch this latest 3d film Pompeii, as it is just complete rubbish. Excellent entertainment.
North and South (1985)
Excellent Mini series.
North & South is the best ever Mini Series depicting the story of the American Civil War. Unlike Roots, which was also good, it showed the good and the bad of both sides and also the hypocrisy. It always annoys me when Lincoln is portrayed as a night in shining armor freeing the slaves. North & South shows how Lincoln was quite prepared to allow the South to keep their slaves. Another point was when James Read's character invites Patrick Swayze's character to visit his mill, Swayze notices the squalor the mill workers are living in and states that his Slaves live better than this. Read replies that they are free to leave if they want to. This was also a form of slavery and still happens today. Nice to see the stars of stage and screen of yesteryear in the program. James Stewart, Robert Mitchum, Elizabeth Taylor, Lloyd Bridges, Jean Simmons. The list is endless appearing with up and coming stars of today. Teri Garber, Forrest Whitaker. It is unbelievable. I wish that another series could be made like this about the American War Of Independence. Showing both the American side of the story and the British side. Also with top actors of past and present. I recommend you buy the DVD collection alongside with the sequel, Heaven And Hell, which is also very good.
Appaloosa (2008)
Enjoyable, but a little disappointing.
I found this movie a reasonable enjoyable western, with the usual cliques. A well made film. Fine sets and i was very impressed with the authenticity of the costumes and weapons. My only criticism was the roles played by Mortensen and Irons.Both very fine actors, but this was a buffer for both of them. Viggo Mortensen did not to me come across as a tough guy lawman. I thought Lance Henrickson would have been more suited. When i saw on the credits that Jeremy Irons was to play the bad guy, i thought again another English Actor playing the villain. A bit like Michael Gambon in Open Range, which was a better movie and played by veteran Western Actors, Robert Duvall and Kevin Costner.The problem with Irons was he was playing an American character, but sometimes you could hear his English accent coming through. Ed Harris was flawless. I was impressed by the fact this was his first Western. Not a bad movie, but i was disappointed with Viggo Mortensen and Jeremy Irons, especially as i am a fan of their works. For something to watch for a Saturday evening it is fine, but don't expect a classic.
Pompeii (2014)
What drivel
This is one of the worst films i have ever seen. A rehash of Conan and Gladiator. Good guy Celts are slaughtered by bad guy Romans led by Bad Actor Kiefer Sutherland. A little boy is the lone survivor. Taken to Londonium [ London ] and trained to become a Gladiator. Conan. He is so good, he is sent to Pompeii to fight in the arena. On the way he comes across a damsel in distress and helps her with her wounded horse. Love at first sight. A Roman legion arrives led by guess who? yes bad guy Kiefer Sutherland. Good guy Gladiator wants revenge. Bad guy Kiefer Sutherland has his eye on the damsel in distress, who happens to be the daughter of the headman of Pompeii, but she is in love with good guy Gladiator. Gladiators in Pompeii were the celebrities of the period. Not held in dungeons like in this movie. Also the citizens of Pompeii were Romans themselves,also unlike in this movie. I won't continue with the rest of the story, as i think you should see for yourselves. The acting was terrible, especially by Sutherland. He started with an American accent and then later an English accent. The bad guy characters were like something from an English school Pantomime. As for the disaster itself. Even with the 3d effects, it was not edge of the seat stuff. Unlike Titanic. The story in Titanic was a romance around a disaster, but without the 3d effects, you were glued to the screen. All you see as soon as the eruption comes burning rocks raining down, nothing else. Also it shows people panicking straight away, which is nonsense, because as i was told by the guide, when i visited Pompei, the populace had no idea of what was happening and just stood and watched until the lava started to flow down and even then, they tried to save their belongings. That is why so many perished and also why Versuvius was mistaken for a mountain and there is no word for Vulcanoe in Latin. Also once the smoke connected to to the sky, light pebbles rained down on the city. So for a while, they thought there was no danger. Hollywood has gone downhill in the last 20 years. They blame DVDs for people not going to the cinema, so they make more films in 3d.The standard of acting has gone downhill. There are no stories to their films any more, so they put all these effects in to compensate for this. If you want to see a good DVD about Pompei buy the DVD BBC documentary drama with Tim Piggot Smith called Pompeii The Last Day. On with it is the story about the Colosseum, called Colosseum A Gladiators Story.If you want to see a good fictional story centering around the disaster, get the TV Miniseries The Last Days Of Pompeii starring Lawrence Olivier, Anthony Quayle, Ernest Borgnine, Barbera Carrera and a host of others. I hope i have not bored you with this review, but i don't like to waste money and i am sure you don't.
Roots (1977)
Excellent miniseries
I first watched Roots when it came out in 1977 and was overwhelmed. Terrific cast of who's who in Hollywood. Well known actors of today, but were unknown then, for example Levar Burton and John Amos and of course old veterans, such as Lorne Greene, Lloyd Bridges, Burl Ives and so on. I could not get used to Doug McClure playing a baddie. Always remembering him as Trampas in The Virginian. Personally i did not think he pulled it of very well. Regarding the bad guys. My criticism of Roots was the way these characters were portrayed. To me, they looked like characters out of an old Hotspur or Victor comic. Also there was not much told regarding the American war of independence. All in all a very good series for young and old. I also recommend the sequel Roots The Next Generation. Kevin Thomas.
Transsiberian (2008)
A slow start, but a good ending.
I found Transiberean very slow for the first forty five minutes, but as soon as Ben Kingsley came on the scene, not only did he steal the show, but livened the film up. Fine performances from Woody Harrelson, Emily Mortimer, Kate Mara and Eduardo Noriega. I was impressed that Woody Harrelson and Emily Mortimer portrayed a young naive American couple and not the usual Hollywood macho stuff that you normally get. For example the film Taken. Highly entertaining, but what if Liam Neesons character was Woody Harrelsons from this film. Also it was nice to see a film without to much swearing. I found this film to be spot on regarding people you can meet on trips abroad. I back packed around Europe when i was in my twenties and later America, China and Thailand in my thirties and the number of times i was approached by people to take packages back to England. I would ask young people today please do not let films like this put you off back packing around the world. It is a great experience. I did find one fault in the movie. On the special features, the director Brad Anderson in his interview stated that he had traveled around Russia and found the people very friendly, yet in this movie they all seemed to be portrayed in a sinister light. All in all good entertainment for the evening. Kevin Thomas.
The Swarm (1978)
Entertaining
I saw this movie at the cinema when it first came out and thought it was great. Now of course i am 34 years older and can see the flaws,but unlike other reviewers i still find it entertaining. This was made during the period of the star studded disaster movies alongside the Agatha Christie movies. The Towering Inferno, Earthquake, The Hindenberg etc etc. The scene with Olivia De Havilland watching helpless as the swarm attack the children at her school is still tear jerking. Some of the dialog of Richard Widmarks, i must admit was over the top and in one instance ludicrous. 'Quote' Now we have one of them in captivity they might come back and we'll be waiting 'Unquote'. The effects were very good. Much better than the computer effects of today, simply because they used real bees. Lots of good actors from the old school, which certain stars of today i won't mention. Ben Johnton, the for mentioned Olivia die Havilland and Richard Widmark, Fred McMurry, Jose Ferrer, Richard Chamberlain and a small cameo from The High Chapparal's Cameron Mitchell. Still an entertaining movie. Make your own minds up if you have never seen it. Kevin Thomas.
The Krays (1990)
Just scratches the surface.
I bought this DVD for just a couple of quid when i was back in England a few years ago and to be honest it's just cheap rubbish. The only reason why i have kept it, is because there is a very good documentary on the special features with interviews with people who were in there gang, plus interviews with Nipper Reid and newspaper journalists who reported their activities at the time. The only thing i liked in the film was seeing old English entertainers like Billie Whitelaw, who gave in my view an over the top performance as their mother Violet, Jimmy Jewell, Steven Berkoff, who was also over the top as Cornell and Tom Bell, who in my opinion gave the only good performance in the film as Jack The Hat. The Kemp brothers were terrible as the main characters. Also one question was the actress playing the singer in their nightclub supposed to be portraying the real singer Barbera Streisand? In this movie they changed the name of the rival gang as Pernell instead of Richardson for some reason. There was no mention of any police investigation, of Lord Boothby, of the threats and intimidation of the newspaper reporters, Frank Mitchell and many others. As stated in one review it looked like the twins were leaders of a gang of teddy boys more than gangsters. A bit like Oliver Reeds character in the 1961 movie Those Were The Dammed. As also stated in a review a 6 hour mini series would be more enjoyable. At the time this movie was made, there were protests about them being released and also a documentary series about Englands underworld was being shown on BBC narrated by Bob Hoskins. What i always remember about the episode of The Krays was when members of their gang were interviewed, they spoke about them as if they were modern day Robin Hoods. Actor and comedian Mike Reid even called them this in a newspaper interview and also stated that they only killed and dealt with their own people. Yet when both of them died, they were all saying how terrible they were. Sorry, but i cannot see the connection between gangsters and the butcher, baker and the candlestick maker. They also extorted money from honest hardworking shopkeepers. This is actually portrayed in a scene with actor Norman Rossington. I got the impression from that documentary, that there were a few people afraid of them being released more than wishing it. As i have stated maybe a miniseries would be fine, but don't portray them or the rival gang as good guys. They certainly were not. Their search for celebrity status got them caught at the end, just like the American villains starting with Jesse & Frank James, John Dillinger and of course Al Capone. Sorry only 4 out of 10. Kevin Thomas.
True Grit (2010)
An entertaining, but pointless remake.
First of all, i would like to say that the performances of all the actors involved were flawless. Especially Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfield and Matt Damon who i must say i preferred to Glenn Campbell in the original, but why waste such top talent in remaking a classic. O.k, they kept to the original book, by starting the film with Mattie telling the story as an old lady, but basically it was almost word for word as the original. The shootout between Coogburn and Ned Pepper was not a patch on the John Wayne film for excitement. Remember Wayne twirling that rifle around one handed. Yes, i know John Wayne had a special handle put on the rifle so he could do that, but as i have stated in some of my other reviews, that was what going to the cinema was all about. Watching something and someone that is larger than life. Also the one thing that was missing, which i think is important in any film was first, a good supporting musical score. In the original, after Mattie was bitten by the snake and Coogburn put her on Blackie the horse and then rode like hell to get her to a doctor, there was a good score by Elmer Bernstein, giving the scene more effect and secondly there was hardly any humor. In the original you had a side story of Coogburn's relationship with his servant Chen Lee and a cat named General Sterling Price. As i have said, as a movie it is good in it's own right but why waste time, talent and money on remakes. Kevin Thomas.
The Undefeated (1969)
Good Old Fashioned Saturday Morning Pictures Stuff
All i can say is that they do not make them like this any more. This was what going to the cinema was all about. Good story,very well made, exciting action and good performances all around. People always play down John Wayne as always wearing the same clothes and gun and even riding the same horse. In my opinion Wayne was a fine entertainer and a good actor. Don't try to compare him with the Oliviers and Burtons in the business. Also the same with Rock Hudson.I never saw a bad performance from him either. As usual in a Wayne picture you had some of his usual crew working with him such as Ben Johnson, Richard Donner and Bruce Cabot. Also notice a very young Jan Michael Vincent. Top marks for The Undefeated. Kevin Thomas.
Danny the Dog (2005)
awful
I have seen some bad films in my time, but this one takes the biscuit. Why such top established actors as Morgan Freeman and Bob Hoskins want to act in such drivel is beyond me. The fact that we were supposed to take this picture seriously amazed me. Personally i think Jackie Chan would have been better. At least we would have had some intentional laughs and maybe enjoyed it. The scene in the swimming pool, was like watching something out of Mad Max, which was good for it's time and still is worth watching today. Three big burly men and a women kicking Jet Li in the ribs while he is down and then still be able to get up and fight. No sorry can't accept. I'm afraid the novelty of martial arts in a movie is now over. It's getting to a point where practically every movie has it now. 1 out of ten is all i can give, simply because you cannot give a zero. Kevin Thomas.
The Curse of King Tut's Tomb (2006)
Highly Enjoyable
I had never heard of this film until i was passing my local tobacconist and saw the DVD was for sale at 4 euro 99 cents. This was a good old fashion adventure film where you did not need to be a PHD to know who were the good guys and who were the bad and you cannot get any better than Malcom Mcdowell to play a baddie. Know way is this a ripoff like another critic has mentioned of the Indiana Jones franchise or of any other movie. It was just an enjoyable adventure yarn with some good effects and some fine performances from the cast. Can we please have more of this type of entertainment, because at this moment i find movies are depressing and boring. Kevin Thomas.