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Reviews
The Time Machine (2002)
Too many plot holes
**SPOILERS***
What could have been a faithful adaptation of Wells novel turns into a complete mess save for the gorgeous Samantha Mumba and the painfully underused Jeremy Irons, whos part amounted to little more than a cameo.
The first part of the film works reasonably well as we learn the reason the time machine was built( not the reason in the novel, but plausible nontheless). The advancement of time as seen from the machines cocoon works well, but from then on in it all goes pear shaped. After an all too brief stop in the year 2037 where we learn the ludicrous reason for the downfall of mankind we fast forward 800000 years to a society split into two groups- the peace loving Alia and the Morlocks whose evolutionary cycle has seen them develop into a cross between an extra from Michael Jacksons Thriller and a pitbull terrier( in less than a million years I might add). The Alia( who have kept their human appearance but reverted to living like cavemen), have accepted their lot in life as food for the Morlock,who in turn are governed by this "Uber Morlock", played by Irons- who appears to have ridden off on his own evolutionary bike and came up with a Klingon/Emperor Palpatine cross together with telepathic powers. Oh, and in these 800000 years the only remnants of our society are a holographic library database(which has developed emotion)presumably running on duracell batteries with a million year plus shelf life,a remarkably unworn Brooklyn bridge sign and an unweathered stone shop sign for Tiffanys all of which survived an ice age and the aforementioned 2037 cataclysm.
Time machine has the look of a film which had Freddie Kruger as its cutting editor- its all over the place, jumping from once scene to the next without thought, no character build up and baring only the slightest nod to the original story and instead looks more like the mess of the Planet of the Apes remake.
Hannibal (2001)
Gore and Bore
Silence of the lambs is one of my favourite films because Hopkins portrayal of Hannibal Lector is truly menacing, it has a believable storyline and an edge of the seat ending when Starling finally confronts Buffalo Bill.
Hannibal on the other hand has none of these- the storyline has no clear path and there are too many holes in the plot- such as the fact that being on the FBI`s most wanted list has not stopped him living undisguised for 10 years, even returning to the US to carry on his slayings.
I found the gore in the film to be way over the top and unnecessary- SOTL didnt need excessive amounts of blood letting to be a genuine horror film.
All in all a dull,directionless and unworthy sequal which seems to have been aimed at the Scream crowd rather than your more thinking movie goer
Purely Belter (2000)
good actors, stereotypical acting
****possible spoilers****
Coming from the area and being a lifelong Newcastle United fan i was keen to see this film and how the area would be portrayed.
Of course, as in Billy Elliot the young stars come from broken poverty stricken homes with violent fathers- is this some sort of patern here? If a British film wants an upmarket feel, it`s London and the south east. If it wants poverty and gritty realism, they come north. Although based on a little known novel "the season ticket" much of it was changed to further stereotype the area. I dont go along with " but it puts Newcastle on the map" brigade- yes it puts it on the map but the wrong map as far as i`m concerned. Newcastle has so much more to offer than what is seen here- apart from the best football club in the world. Rant over, what about the film ?
It concerns the story of two young tearaways desperate to raise £1000 for a pair of season ticket for Newcastle United FC, and the lengths they go to get it. Along the way they encounter well meaning social workers, drunken violent fathers, sadistic teachers, runaway sisters ,fall in love and meet Englands best centre forward over the past 10 years in Alan Shearer.
While the two young leads give first rate performances, the story itself is a little hard to believe. Firstly most young kids in the the two leads predicament would have better things to spend £1000 on, especially if they were into thieving and drugs as portrayed here- you never really see these kind of people at the games as they have been priced out of the market( although not to the extent of £500 a season ticket- when the film was made my ticket cost £360). And with the skills these two show( come off it i doubt a Jaguar XK8 is that easy to nick) it would not have taken them more than a week to raise the cash.
There is also a goof at the end of the film - There are no tall residential buildings near the ground and the tower blocks behind the Gallowgate end of the ground have been superimposed onto the film. The tower blocks in Question are actually over a mile away, much further west and the ground is uphill from their position- making viewing impossible. Since the ground was redeveloped it is impossible to see the pitch from ANY nearby building.
Quadrophenia (1979)
Bellboy!
Along with Withnail And I this is one probably my favourite "indie film"-Why? ***POSSIBLE SPOILERS****
I suppose it has to be my love of all the Jam and much of the mod lifestyle which has endured 2 comebacks since 1964 when the Who,The Kinks and the Small Faces kicked it off- in `79 when this film was released and Bands like the Jam, The Merton Parkas and the Lambrettas were big, and again in `95 when Blur and Oasis led the indie music revival which led to this films theatrical re-release.
It is a little dated and there are some great scenes for Goof spotters- the rocker in the Motorhead t-shirt in 1964 along with all the 70`s cars in many scenes- but these add to many peoples love of the film- it was after all an extremely low budget film with an unheard of cast at the time.
Not all people will enjoy this film, not least most Americans who apart from having a few Who albums will not have understood the Mod Lifestyle which was a uniquely British affair, and the heavy cockney accents, although there is the odd one still around in the States. However it is still a strong film with a fine lead performance by Phil Daniels as Jimmy- a teenager for whom being a Mod is a way of life from which he doesnt want to escape. He lives for bank holiday trips to Brighton to fight the rockers, he loves the clothes, the music and of course his scooter. To him there is nothing else in life and he hates anybody who is not a part of the scene. His life stars to fall apart when he realises that not all his friends share his philosophy, that there is more to life than Brighton and you still have to work for a living. This brings it home to Jimmy when he quits his job and returns to quiet midweek Brighton to relive his greatest hour as a Mod and sees his hero Ace Face (played by then unknown Sting) working as a Bellboy in a hotel, carrying bags and taking orders from the very people he hates most -Adults, "Bellboy!" screams Jimmy, before stealing Ace`s top of the range scooter. The soundtrack lifts only a few tracks from the Who`s double album, but there are some great songs from Booker T and the MG`s as well as Motowns finest.
I remember visiting Brighton 10 years ago, and seeing some of the locations used. We even screamed "Bellboy! in a hotel lobby thinking it to be the same one used in the film, only to realise most of the hotel`s in Brighton look the same.
Withnail and I (1987)
Like fine wine, it gets better with age
I first saw withnail on TV some three years after it`s first cinema release, vaguely remembering a trailer from it. I watched it,not thinking it would be my cup of tea. The next day almost everyone i spoke to who saw it was raving about it-how come nobody made much a fuss about it on its first release. Its reputation has snowballed ever since- endlessly quoted by both students in bedsit land and lager lads in the pubs. I think the main reason this film is so loved is that you can never tire of watching it, and even thinking about it brings a smile to my face- no other film has this affect. Everything about Withnail is flawless- the farcical comedy, the oscar worthy performances of McGann and Grant, and the tragic poignancy in the final scene as withnail quotes Hamlets sililoquy. A word of warning, once you`ve seen this masterpiece, you`ll watch it again and again
Unbreakable (2000)
very disapointing
I felt i had to write a commenting after finding it rated a 7.4 on the imdb user rating, where we all watching the same film? Normaly my ratings go with the general consensus, but i thought this was the most disapointing film ive seen since "fight club"- another film i didnt understand what the fuss was about.
Some people reckon "unbreakable" is even better than the earlier Shylaman/Willis offering, "6th Sense", but although there are some similarities in the music,cinematography and overall gloominess of both films, as far as enjoyment goes they are worlds apart, so much so that i was tempted too switch it off long before the end, however i knew there had to be a twist in the tale, but even this was a let down.
The film plods along, never goes anywhere and in reality could have been condensed into a half hour episode of the twilight zone.
Heat (1995)
possibly the greatest cops n` robbers flick
20 years after both appearing in(but not at the same time) Godfather11,Di-Niro and Pacino at last appear on screen together, though even this is not until midway through "Heat". What sets this film apart from your run of the mill action flick is the depth of character both leads put into their respective roles, and a strong support from Tom Sizemore and Val Kilmer amongst others. The tension is built up throughout the film as Pacino gets closer to Di-Niro and his crew,and because director Michael Mann puts character before action,the films almost 3 hour run time is riveting throughout. Violent and relentless, this film demands your full attention.
Hollow Man (2000)
goes downhill fast
The possibilities for an invisible man flick are virtually endless, however this film did not explore any of them, and ended up like like all the other cliched monster on the rampage in a enclosed cut off laboratory.
The ending also defies credibility*SPOILERS* It would appear becoming invisible also brings with it superhuman powers as in this space of ten minutes Bacon is banged over the head with a huge crow bar, set on fire with a flame thrower and burnt, electrocuted by high voltage cables, blown up in a huge explosion which rips through the whole complex and with enough force to send a lift shooting up 200 feet, yet still rustles up enough energy to climb a ladder and chase Elisabeth Shue and her boyfriend. Leave your brain if you see this
Planet of the Apes (1968)
All time classic
i recently saw this film for the umpteenth time and it still stands out as one of the top ten movies ever made.For a film made over 30 years ago the special effects and costume design still stand up today,and the soundtrack is compelling( it has been sampled by many modern acts, most notably Portishead). Charlton Heston, for my money is your quintessential leading man, and he needs to be, as for most of the film he is the only human we see speaking . As youve probably already read,he has some fantastic lines."Get your stinking paws off me you damn dirty ape"- his first words to his ape captors. The film also poses questions on ethics,religion and mans ability for self destruction,which as most of you will know becomes evident in the final breathtaking scene. If i have one complaint about the film its the questions it leaves unanswered.Just how did the apes and man swap places?, Was ape city the only inhabited place on the planet? and how did man lose the power of speech?.The four sequels which this film spawned are in my opinion very poor and look extremely dated compared to this masterpiece.I look forward to Tim Burtons update later this year, but although it will obviously have better make up and FX i cant see it matching this 1968 original.9 out of 10
Human Traffic (1999)
brings back memories
One of the better British youth culture films, although no where near as good as Quadrophenia, i found myself remeniscing over my clubbing days which are getting less and less as i get older.I thought HT was quite accurate in the depiction of a typical weekend clubbing for the uk space cadets, especially the after club scenes where they all get stoned, then realise they know so little about the other folk they are chilling out with and start to get paranoid. Some of the music was top notch too, being a drum`n bass man myself.The film also addresses the point that the whole scene they are involved in is somewhat fake, that you have to have other interests as well, otherwise like jimmy in Quadrophenia, you lose all sense of reality. in 30 years time it will be a regarded as an accurate depiction of 90`s uk club culture. 7 out of 10