liammurphy1 Reviews

The Delta Force (1986)

Enjoyable Over-the-top Nonsense-Lee Marvin's LAST MOVIE!

[8/10 · 7 May 2005]

Plot:- A couple of Anti-semitic Arabic terrorists decide to hijack a plane full of Americans and divert to Beirut, with the Delta Force in hot pursuit

My view: Yes. I know it's ridiculous,Silly- it has terrible dialogue,ghastly pop music soundtrack (the same 3 cords throughout), terrible acting (especially from Norris) and it's a blatantly Right-Wing pro-Israel anti-Arab- USA is fantastic propaganda-(well it is from golan-globus) But i still like this movie in a SO bad-it's good way, The action scenes are good if highly implausible.

It's good to see former Hollywood Stars whose career's are clearly (sadly) down the pan- including Robert Vaughn,Shelly Winters,Martin Balsam,George Kennedy,Joey Bishop and Lee Marvin sadly in his last movie (he died about a year after the film's release from a Massive Heart Attack at 63) but i'ts not much of a swan song for a great Actor who made his name in such great movies as 'The Big Heat'

Followed by a couple of sequels and a number of even worse spin offs!

My Rating 8/10 (what can I say-It's a guilty Pleasure!)

Coogan's Bluff (1968)

Eastwood & Siegel-Dated? Of Course! but it's still great fun

[8/10 · 25 April 2005]

Coogan's Bluff (1968) (Universal Pictures) Dir:- Donald Siegel Theatrical Rating R/15

Clint Eastwood (Coogan) is a Deputy Sheriff from Arizona who arrives in New York City to extradite a Prisoner back home, but things don't go according to plan when the criminal goes on the run.

Great movie that's wonderfully dated- great 1960's feeling with Hippies and Junkies and ridiculous hairstyles and bars complete with go-go dancers and fantastic names like 'The Pigeon footed orange peel'

I like Clint Eastwood and here he plays a cross between the man with no name and Dirty Harry to great effect wonderful actor J.lee Cobb has a really pleasing role as the New York lieutenant trying to curb Eastwood's Antics

co-starring Don Stroud,Susan Clark and Tisha Sterling

Final Verdict:- Just as good as 'Dirty Harry' and Highly Recommended

Rating:- 8/10 or **** out of *****

The Incredibles (2004)

From the makers of 'Toy Story' 'Finding Nemo' and 'Monster's Inc...

[9/10 · 10 April 2005]

Comes a truly fantastic piece of animation that will appeal to people of all ages.

The Plot:- The Story follows a family of superheros led by Dad- Bob Parr AKA Mr Increible (Voiced by Craig T. Nelson) and Mom- Helen Parr AKA Elastigirl (voiced by Holly Hunter)- they live peaceful lives saving people in danger, but after several huge lawsuits brought against them and other hero's by the people they saved- they and every other superhero are forced underground in witness protection programs to live lives as ordinary people.

15 years or so have past and the Parr's have 3 children- Dash, violet and newborn jack-jack all of who have their own superhuman powers- Bob however gets increasingly bored with living an ordinary life working at an insurance company and so jumps at the chance to play the hero again when he gets a message from a mysterious woman, but he soon puts his life in danger and so it's up to Elastigirl and kids Violet and Dash to the rescue.

Verdict:- absolutely Fantastic!! over the last view years Pixar have done themselves proud- especially with this animated movie that funny and exciting and with characters you really care about

It was a huge Box-office Hit on it's theatrical release and deservedly so.

So How about a sequel?

My Rating 9/10

The Day After Tomorrow (2004)

Far better than 'Van Helsing'

[8/10 · 9 January 2005]

The Day After Tomorrow (2004) Dir:- Roland Emmerich

Contains Mild Spoilers.

Plot:- The Story concerns Climatologist Professor Adrian Hall (Played by Dennis Quaid) who tries to save the World from Global devastation from the Effects of global warming, but instead of rising temperatures - he forcasts Falling temperatures but shouldn't make any difference for about a century or more, But suddenly the Weather changes dramatically Worldwide with hailstones the size of footballs in Asia to devestating Tornados in Los Angeles, Prof. Hall realises the Ice age is coming to the Northern Hemisphere and Coming soon.

On top of this catastrophe his son Sam (Jake Gyllenhaal) and friends are in Mortal danger as they attend a contest in New York City as a Devestating Tidal Wave hits the coast and leaves most of the City Under water (seems slightly in poor taste after recent devestating Tsunami in Asia) before the Ice And Snow sets in...

The Acting:- The Acting in this 2004 summer Blcokbuster is actually really good (Much better than Van Helsing) even though we go through all the Disaster movie clichés seen in movies as far back as the Early 1970's Dennis Quaid gives a very convincing under-stated performance as the Prof. Talented and Sexy Young actor Jake Gyllenhaal gives a really good performance - as do many others including Sela Ward as Hall's Wife.

The Special FX:- I've sat through some ghastly efforts in recent years from 2002's Disappointing Bond Movie 'Die Another Day' to Lara Croft to 2004's other Summer Release 'Van Helsing' but the FX here is very good and believable.

My Verdict:- All in all a very good disaster movie a much better film than 'Van Helsing'- Good Acting,Believable Story and Impressive FX

Rting **** out of ***** or 8/10

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life (2003)

Disappointing- but at least we will be spared a second sequel given this flop

[8 January 2005]

I Didn't think much of this sequel- I found it quite boring in parts The plot is pretty much academic- you're just supposed to watch it for the dull globetrotting (though some wonderful locations) that you've seen all before, the boring (though well made) stunts and Angelina Jolie giving us a totally wooden almost robotic performance in her tight shirt (though being 20 and Gay it probably isn't aimed at me)although there were some nice shots of Butler

Jan de Bont did make a Good Film -1994's Bomb on a bus Actioner 'Speed' but has made some turkey's - Speed 2 anyone? a film so bad even Keanu rejected It!.

The First Lara Croft movie wasn't Marvelous but this sequel is poor considering the Talent involved

Not Surprisingly the film pretty much flopped on both sides of the Atlantic- barely making it's Budget Back Worldwide, so I doubt we'll be seeing any new adventures outside of a Video Game anytime soon.

My Rating 6/10 or **1/2 out of *****

They Live (1988)

Hugely Entertaining, Vastly Under-rated

[8/10 · 4 January 2005]

Plot:- 'SPOILERS' A young man out of work Nada (Roddy Piper) travels to the big city and manages to get a job at the local construction site, along the way he notices there are many hoards of Homeless people lining the streets and there seems to be some strange goings on at the local Church, after searching through the building after it's near destruction by the Local Police Force, he finds a big box of sunglasses, he pops one on and starts to see life in a very different way and the city in which he works seems to be inhabited by hideous aliens who disguise themselves as normal human beings

Where did they come from? What do they Want?

Nada tries to find out.

Direction:- I'm a Big Fan of John Carpenter From 'The assault on precinct 13 to Halloween to light-hearted though Box Office Turkey Big Trouble In Little China, and he dosen't disappoint with this.

Acting:- Now not being a great follower of Wrestling I didn't realise Roddy Piper was a Wrestler, he's actually quite a good actor and an Oscar-winner compared to Hulk Hogan- but sadly looking at his IMDb Profile hasn't appeared in anything memorable since.

Co-stars:- Keith David and has made a career playing bit parts in major productions & Meg Foster probably better known for playing Cagney in Cagney and Lacey for just one series before Sharon Gless took over.

The Bottom Line:- If you like Carpenter's Work and have been dismayed at his recent efforts- Don't miss! even if you just like sci-fi that's not too gory that's slightly tongue in cheek you'll enjoy this film very much -I did- and It's 90 minute running time will fly by

Final Verdict:- ***1/2 out of ***** or 8/10

(Just hope and pray that Carpenter does something as good as this in the future instead of rehashing his old classics- never a good sign)

Van Helsing (2004)

I enjoyed it

[7/10 · 26 December 2004]

Yes, I know it's not fantastic and could have been a hell of a lot better, but it's not a bad way to while away 2 hours at Christmas time.

I did not go a see the film during it's theatrical release during early summer - Because the Critics were Scathing and I don't think it received more than one star in the National Press & My friends who had seen it told me it was utter rubbish.

I won't go into the detail of the plot - why? because there pretty much isn't one, It's just Special effect and special effect after special effect and after a while it does get quite tiresome and much of the effects look really really fake.

It's Directed and Written By Stephen Sommers who gave us 'The Mummy' and 'The Mummy Returns' and I have to say I enjoyed those two much more than this, because it had sympathetic characters and a bit more of a plot. I think it's safe to say if you didn't like 'The Mummy' or it's Sequel you will HATE this film.

Hugh Jackman looks lost under his big hat & plays wolverine all over again.

The Beautiful Kate Beckinsale really deserves better than this.

all in all - It has many Faults (too many to mention) but when all is said and done it's quite watchable if you like lots of noise, bangs and SFX a-plenty,mediocre acting,and terrible dialogue.

My Rating ***1/2 out of *****

The Phantom (1996)

***1/2 out of *****

[12 December 2004]

Billy Zane might be a sexy guy, But he's a pretty awful Actor he has no charisma whatsoever, which is probably why the film flopped Big time at the Box Office.

The film itself is actually very well made and is very enjoyable sort of Indiana Jones-style,with great locations and a realistic 1930's feel - with a different lead Actor probably would have done a lot better.

Co-starring original 'Buffy' Kristy Swanson and Straight to video king Treat Williams and lovely Welsh Actress Catherine-Zeta-Jones before he rise to super-stardom.

7/10

Cold Front (1989)

** out of *****

[12 December 2004]

I Picked this movie up for £1.50 and I'd never heard of it and considering the lack of comments nobody else has either.

It's supposed to be an Action Thriller - it fails on both.

Martin Sheen stars as a Ameican Cop who goes to Vancouver,Canada to work with the Royal Mounted Canadian Police and ends up partnered with Canadian Cop Michael Ontkean, a couple of murders follow- something to do with the KGB or CIA or something, But very little is actually explained in this film, you end up scratching your head and asking yourself 'who's that?' or 'what did he do that for?'.

I just about managed to make it through the 90 minutes of this cheap (it's all filmed in about 1 square mile) pretty rubbish movie. It's slow,Boring and nothing of any interest happens.

Sure- I've seen worse, but let's just say it's not a Film i'll be in a rush to see again

5/10

The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)

Very Good Vincent Price Movie!

[7/10 · 29 November 2004]

I had heard of this movie quite a while ago, but dismissed it as a ghastly 1970's B-Movie. How wrong I was!

Vincent Price Plays Dr.Anton Phibes a man who was presumed dead following a car accident after the Death of his beloved Wife on the operating table. But low and behold Dr. Phibes isn't dead although is terribly scarred and can only speak with the help of a grammaphone, and decides to have revenge on the Doctors he believes Killed his wife.

Price's performance is outstanding - hilarious one minute and scary the next, but thankfully he plays it tongue-in-cheek as do his co-stars Including Joseph Cotten,Terry-Thomas among the Doctors and Peter Jeffrey as the Det. leading the investigation

Don't just dismiss this as a Obscure,awful British B-Movie- It deserves better!

Follwed by a sequel.

My Rating *** out of ***** or 7/10

Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986)

I know it's dated 18 years on but it's still great fun and one of Whoopi's Best. MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!

[30 October 2004]

***1/2 out of *****

Plot:- Whoopi plays Bank Worker Terry Dolittle who while working on her (very dated-It is 1986!) Computer, gets a coded message from an unknown Source, after Decoding the Message, she starts chatting to a man called Jack (Johnathan Pryce) who turns out to be a British Intelligence Spy whose in great danger,Terry tries to help her new friend out - but by doing so puts her own life in danger and bad guy Jeremy Talbot (John Wood) is on her tail.

Will Terry Survive? will Jack make it home in one piece? will there be a Happy Ending? - What do you think? This is Hollywood After all!

The stars:- Yes, I know Whoopi does tend to go OTT in this film with a lot of shouting,screaming and swearing which might put some people off, but this is one of her Best Films, She is a very talented actress and become only the second African-American Woman to win an Oscar but sadly her career started heading south long ago with Flop after flop after flop tarnishing her achievements in 'The Colour Purple' and 'Ghost' and just to prove it by now she has been reduced to appearing in Baby Geniusses 2: Superbabies which is by all accounts one of the worst movies's ever made.

Johnathan Pryce a fellow Welshman and also a very talented Actor is only seen in the last minute of the movie, but his voice is used throughout. Pryce is probably better known as the Bond Bad guy Elliot Carver in 1997's Tomorrow Never Dies, But has done a lot of work on the stage as well as on the Big Screen.

The Co-stars:- Stephen Collins. Carol Kane and Annie Potts and others are great and it really looks as if they're enjoying themselves

The Directing By Penny Marshall (Sister of Garry) is really quite good considering it's her First shot at the job.

This movie wasn't much of a hit on it's original release,but in my view it's one of the better movies from the 1980's & It's one of my favourites.

Last Embrace (1979)

Good movie, with that bloke from Jaws, From the Director of 'The Silence of the Lambs'

[8/10 · 21 October 2004]

This movie was showing at the terribly late time of 12.00am Last Night on BBC1 which is usually reserved for awful Made-for-TV Dramas starring Jane Seymour or Patty Duke, So i'm always wary of staying up late ,usually Realising soon after that I Shouldn't have bothered,

But 'Last Emnrace' a movie that I ashamed to say have never heard of was a very good film and well worth staying up for.

It stars that bloke from Jaws with the big Nose Roy Scheider who plays Harry Hannan a Intelligence agent whoose Wife gets killed in a Restaurant shootout, He very quickly suffers a nervous breakdown a spends a few months in a Mental Hospital. Upon his release he starts to think that somebody is trying to kill him, Could it be his agency who do not want him back? and has a young Woman called Ellie who has just recently moved in to his rented apartment got anything to do with it?

I really Enjoyed this film from 'Silence of the Lambs' Director Johnathan Demme. It has great performances from Scheider,Margolin and Glover with a Cameo From Walken, with a great climax at the Niagra Falls, Hitchcock would have been proud of, but it does seem to go on and on to pad out it's 100mins+ running time, Other than that I have no complaints.

all in all one of the Best Films you've never heard of

A truly underrated Classic (over 25 years old) probably Scheider's Best

My Rating ***1/2 out of ***** or 8/10

Out for a Kill (2003 Video)

Much better than the terrible 'The foreigner'

[16 October 2004]

It's the usual Seagal trashy actioner that once again went straight to DVD. It's not that bad, considering it's from the Director of 'The Foreigner' which came about the same time as this, but it still fails on many points.

1.) The cinematography & Editing is far too flashy for it's own good. 2.) There's very little action- except for Seagal waving his hands about killing 10 people with his fingers. 3.) The Dialogue is awful. 4.) The sound is terribly poor & the music drowns the dialogue

& finally 5.) The American & Hong Kong DEA Agents seemed a very pointless addition to the plot- just walking in and out on every dead body.

These 5 points seem to be in each of Steve's Movies since 'Exit Wounds' and really get on my nerves, But I'm still a Seagal Fan and will continue going to Blockbusters' bottom shelf and renting his latest.

P.S 'Belly of the Beast' which came out after this- is much better!

I'm looking forward to 'Out Of Reach' but my expectations are sadly lowering with each new release

My Rating **1/2 out of ***** or 6/10

Nine to Five (1980)

Very Enjoyable

[7/10 · 10 October 2004]

I know it's a 'chick-flick' but I can't help but like this 1980 Comedy about 3 women played by Jane Fonda,Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton (who also sang the titlesong) who work as secretary's for a mean,horrible,sexist pig (a tailor made role for Dabney Coleman) who decide enough is enough and so plan their revenge.

I've heard of this movie for quite sometime, but didn't watch it because I didn't think it was my cup of tea, How wrong I was, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie from start to finish

The movie is quite dated (all the ladies use typewriters-which have since been turned into antiques by the onset of Computers.

It's well Directed by Colin Higgins who had previously Written and Directed the equally enjoyable Chevy Chase-Goldie Hawn Crime Comedy 'Foul Play'.

Followed By not one but TWO TV series based on the film 1982-1983 and 1986-1988 without the Stars and probably suffers as a result

all in all a very enjoyable 1980's Comedy that was a major hit on it's original release 24 years ago.

My Rating ***1/2 out of ***** or 7/10

Cold Creek Manor (2003)

Barely Watchable Film wastes a great cast...

[3/10 · 14 August 2004]

MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!

Dennis Quaid, Sharon Stone and handsome Stephen Dorff deserve much better than this awful piece of celluloid Hell which criminally wastes their talents, The story follows 'The Tilson Family' led by Quaid and Stone (which must be one of their worst movies) and children - Kristen 'Panic Room' Stewart and Newcomer Ryan Wilson who move from The Big City to a creepy old Mansion in the middle of nowhere (don't they always!)and find themselves very unwelcome by the locals, especially by Dale Massie- underrated actor Stephen Dorff who wildly overacts to jack Nicholson proportions

The movie moves at a snail's pace from scene to scene although very little happens, the story is entirely predictable from start to finish, you know Dorff's a crazy nutjob from his first scene and you just wait endlessly for the tedious climax.

all in all a very disappointing movie that British Director Mike Figgis should be ashamed of, No scares, No Thrills, No decent story, No whodunit, just a pointless waste of money, film and time. But how it made $21 million in cinema's is anybody's guess perhaps filmgoers, like myself were misled by the interesting sounding title.

My Rating *1/2 out of ***** or 3/10

Escape Under Pressure (2000)

I've seen worse...

[4 July 2004]

...But not by much! Under Pressure or 'The Cruel Deep' as it's known on my DVD case can be enjoyable if your expectations are quite low,

It stars Rob Lowe (known for this kind of trash before being saved by 'The West Wing') as a Husband whose been neglecting his wife (Larissa Miller) so decides to suprise her on her Greek Holiday with a sexy student, by turning up unannounced on her cruise liner, but low and behold at this very day and this very ship there's a bunch of bad guys led by the obnoxious Brit (aren't we always)played by Harry van Gorkum who are after a priceless Greek statue for a Bill Gates-like Business Tycoon, many explosions and dead bodies later Lowe has to save his wife (who by the happens to be an expert on greek mythology) and the Statue while evading the bad guys, OH.. AND THE SHIP SINKS leaving Rob,Wife and Bad guys a limited amount of time to get out alive.

all in all i've seen worse rubbish than this, and for a Straight to Video release I bought for 50p I can't really complain,

as I said keep your expectations rock-Bottom and you might enjoy!

My Rating **1/2 out of ***** or 6/10

The Peacemaker (1997)

Excellent Thriller though Clooney's Character is utterly repulsive

[4 July 2004]

'The Peacemaker' is an Excellent Thriller.

It's full of Action,Explosions,Dead bad guys and thrills in just about every scene.

While Nicole Kidman might not convince in her role of a top nuclear scientist. Clooney more than convinces as the arrogant,smarmy,gung-ho,U.S.A vs rest of world military man.

The action is well handled by Director Mimi Leder who went on to direct 1998's End of the World Thriller 'Deep Impact'

unfortunatly the movie wasn't the Big Box-Office smash predicted with a fairly small budget of $50M (well-small considering the $160m plus spent on this year's Blockbusters) it made just under $42m in the states and made only $102M Worldwide which is a shame as this is one of the most exciting and thrilling films ever made

well worth watching

My Rating **** out of ***** or 8/10

Belly of the Beast (2003 Video)

One of Seagal's Best!

[7/10 · 24 April 2004]

After renting the abysmal,complicated,confusing,badly acted and edited mess that was 'The Foreigner (2003)' I thought Seagal's career was all but over, So I wasn't expecting much from this movie, and having just shelled out nearly £10 to buy it I was almost sure I'd made a huge mistake, but tonight with nothing on the TV I thought I'd give it a whirl.

What a Surprise! It kept me on the edge of my seat from start till finish even though it had a unoriginal storyline (Very similar to Arnie's 'Commando (1985)' - Seagal's a Ex-CIA Agent whose daughter Jessica just happens to be kidnapped along with her best friend Sara who is a daughter of a U.S Senator by a group of violent rebels, so Steve goes in guns blazing along with buddy turned Monk Sunti to save the day - against the advice of CIA Agent Leon Washington who wants to handle it in his own way.

The movie has a coherrent plot,plenty of action,good acting,nice locations and a moderate sized Budget ($18m)

Everything you want in a Action Flick!

Avoid Seagal's earlier effort as mentioned above and go straight to this picture My Rating *** out of *****

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

Wonderful,Though darker in tone than the first - Possible spoilers!

[11 April 2004]

Yes! Harry Potter is back in this - the first sequel to 'The Sorcerer's Stone'. If you haven't read the book then the plot goes as follows- Harry is just about to start his second year at Hogwarts when he is visited by Dobby The House Elf (Voiced by Toby Jones) who warns Potter that terrible things are about to happen at the School, Harry joined by returning pals Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) decide not to listen to Dobby's advice and therefore go to begin their second year. But once they arrive strange things start to happen as students are petrified and turned to stone by an unknown enemy. The Chamber of Secrets has been opened and the monster that lurks within has been set free - But by whom? This is one of the best Children's films since the golden age of Disney, and will appeal to Grown Ups as well as little'uns, with a fantastic supporting cast that includes:- retuning stars Maggie Smith,Robbie Coltrane,Richard Harris in one of his last roles (he sadly died before the film was released) and newcomer to the series good English chappy Kenneth Branagh as the new Teacher of the Dark Arts. It is essentially a Kids film but there are darker scenes that might scare toddlers such as the Giant spiders in the wood.

I've enjoyed this movie as much if not more than the original and it's such a nice change from the usual sex,swearing and violence that seem to dominate today's films

My Rating ****1/2 out of *****

My Family (2000–2011)

Well worth watching..

[4 April 2004]

It's a damn sight better than recent BBC Sitcoms we've had to endure over the last few years like, My Hero, The Savages, Office Gossip, Mad about Alice, Adrian Mole, Trevor's world of Sport,Revolver, Doctors and Nurses, The Crouches and many other dreadful series' that never made it past the first season and of the nine shows i've listed above only one made it to a 2nd series thus far - the criminally unfunny and unbelivable Ardal O' Hanlon Veichle 'My Hero' which seems to go on forever. 'My Family' is a simple comedy about Dentist Ben Harper (Robert Lindsay) his wife Tour Guide Susan (Zoe 'son of Sam' Wanamaker) and their long suffering family :- Geek Michael, Bimbo Janey and weirdo Nick.

It's into it's 5th Series now and it's starting to get repetetive with the writers seemingly struggling to come up with a credible situation, and the Canned laughter getting more and more noticeable, and the jokes getting thinner and thinner. But i'd still prefer a new series of this rather than put up with more of BBC's badly thought out idea of Comedy

Rating for series 1-3 **** out of ***** at present *** out of *****

No Escape (1994)

Very underrated Entertainment

[29 March 2004]

Soldier Ray (Goodfellas) Liotta is sent to Prison for shooting one of his commanding officers in the year 2022- but it's no ordinary Prison, they send if to a deserted Island where bad ass criminals are taken and left alone to fend for themselves FOR EVER. When he arrives he realises there are two tribes one a violent and sadistic one known as the 'Outsiders' led by Marek (a great performance from British Actor Stuart Wilson and a Peaceful, loving and tight-knit community run by 'The Father' (a tailor made role for Lance Henriksen) who would live the rest of their lives in Peace and Harmony if it wasn't for Marek and his dirty,Ugly band of bad asses. Liotta needs to find his way off the Island which is 200 miles from the nearest coastline and is constantly watched by The Warden who will kill anyone who attempts to get off as well have having to fight with the good guys against the Outsiders who are becoming more and more fierce with each attack, This is a very well made Sci-fi actioner from Martin Campbell who has since made 007's Goldeneye (1995), The Mask of Zorro (1998) and Vertical Limit (2000) and is currently working on the Zorro Sequel due out Next Year. There are also plenty of faces to spot for British Viewers including Jack Shepherd (Yes! Wycliffe himself) who is suprisingly good the as the village mechanic who has tried for years to build a contraption to get them off the island, and The late Don Henderson who stars as the resident beer Maker.

Unfortunately the film bombed on both sides of the Atlantic taking a measly $15m in the states and a pathetic £500,000 here in the UK on it's original release 10 years ago but don't let that put you off it's very well acted with plenty of action and Drama.

My Rating:- **** out of *****

Skeletons in the Closet (2001 Video)

Entertaining Low budget movie!

[8/10 · 28 March 2004]

Even though this film had such a small budget $1.5m (it really shows at times) it was a very suspenseful and very well acted by B-MOVIE king Treat Williams and fading star Linda Hamilton a good if underused performance (she just seems to pop in and out of the movie) The best performance in the movie has to go to gorgeous Johnathan Jackson who really deserves to be a bigger star on this role alone. The story surrounds the strained relationship between father and son (Williams & Jackson). Jackson is a very weird kid and his father gets very paranoid about his behavior. Is Jackson a serial killing teenager? what happened to his mother? did Treat kill her?

you'll have to watch to find out

persevere with this Indie- you'll be rewarded

My vote 8/10 (really worth the £2.99 i paid for it)

Judge Dredd (1995)

An undeserved flop!

[28 March 2004]

Why? Because it's one of Sylvester Stallone's best movie but sadly it has become one of his biggest flops alongside 1991's stop or my mom will shoot!.

Judge Dredd is an excellent sci-fi movie with plenty of action, explosions and shootouts.

The story's about a dystopian future where the law is dished out by a group of judges. Sly's Dredd is the most respected and experienced street judge but is framed and sentenced to life without parole at a penal colony when his prison ship is attacked and crashes giving Dredd the chance to escape and with a fellow convict (Great comic relief Rob Schneider who wisecracks his way through the movie) to clear his name.

Great supporting stars including Diana Lane as Sly's love interest, Armand Assante, Jurgen Prochnow & Max von Sydow.

The movie's a visual treat with fantastic special FX which most of the film's $90m budget seems to have gone on and at just over 90 mins dosen't outstay it's welcome, So why was it a flop I hear you say? Because the comic book geeks this movie was primarily made for thought it didn't follow the Comic Books as much as they'd like, and being a 18 or 'R' Certificate most teenagers who would have flocked to see it would not have been allowed.

Could have been a great franchise with many exciting sequels but due to this totally unfair Flop the studios didn't bother

If you liked Blade-Runner, Arnie's Total-Recall and willis's The Fifth Element, You'll love this

My Rating 9/10

The Executioner (1975)

Poor directing and editing make this nigh on unwatchable

[3/10 · 23 March 2004]

Don't listen to the other comments - Permission to kill has got to be one of the WORST films ever made, The directing from Frankel is appaling, The story is needlessly complicated and confusing, and the actors (especially Bogarde) look like they'd rather be somewhere else, but above all absolutely NOTHING happens, There's no one Iota of tension this is mainly down to the editing of Ernest Walter, the movie is chopped to pieces are we are left with Boring after boring scene when nothing of interest happens. With a title like 'Permission to kill' I was expecting a top-class spy thriller in the vein of Bond, But the producers forgot to add any action or suspense leaving this one of the most pointless movies ever made, Ok it's nice to see the Austrian landscape and classic film stars such as Dirk Bogarde and Ava Gardner and a young pre-bond Dalton, but this waste of celluloid sadly wastes everybody's time and talent

My vote 3/10

Puppet Master II (1990 Video)

They're Back!

[10 March 2004]

This sequel to the original puppet master is very well made - Ok so the acting is pretty atrocious but other than that it's a fun way to spend 90 minutes in the company of the killer marianettes, this time they resurrect their master - Toulon so they can live forever. Just at that momment a bunch of terrible actors with worse hairstyles arrive at the notorious Hotel to investigate paranormal goings on.

They of course get fried,drilled and stabbed by the little monsters in search of brain fluid.

Great toungue in cheek sequel

my vote 8/10