mrslimm Reviews

Superman (1978)

Superlative action adventure. Even 25 years on, this is the greatest superhero movie ever made and, yes, you will believe a man can fly.

[10/10 · 21 November 2005]

This is a very fast moving film with an often amusing and witty script with still impressive special effects (especially a helicopter atop a skyscraper scene and a horribly claustrophobic earthquake / burying alive sequence) and flawless performances from all the lead actors.

Gene Hackman is suitably assured and memorably hiss-able as the bad guy Lex Luthor while Marlon Brando provides a fittingly masterful and natural performance as Superman's biological father, Jor-El. Margot Kidder makes an unusual heroine who is a little more self-assured than the stereotypical female lead in adventure movies. She probably has the best scream of any damsel in distress but is not as physically beautiful as many other Hollywood actresses of the time. Christopher Reeve is, without doubt, the best Superman ever, blending his invulnerable macho charisma with the almost inept and wimpish Clark Kent to brilliant and humorous effect. He IS Superman. Christopher Reeve actually looks as well as acts different while playing his alter egos and makes the entire outlandish premise just that little bit more believable.

The turmoil Superman feels within is expressed neatly during the film and we see that, even if it looks like we have everything (perfection in Superman's case but it could just as easily be money or anything) we will still want what is free to all of us, love and affection from someone dear to us.

Special effects range from very good to brilliant and simply add to the film. Some clever moments include Superman rescuing Lois from a helicopter disaster atop a skyscraper, Superman dissuading a thief from making his escape, a scene where Superman flies off and, apparently without a cut, walks back in the door as Clark Kent and a frighteningly realistic and claustrophobic earthquake scene.

The music score is another memorable and stirring piece of music from master movie composer John Williams. The music is also completely fitting and is the final piece in the jigsaw.

Credit must also go to the director, Richard Donner ("Lethal Weapon" Series, "Maverick (1994)" who manages to maintain a relentless pace throughout, piling on the action and humour right through to the memorable climax. Astonishingly, when this movie became successful, he was fired from completing Superman II (partially filmed at the same time as this first movie until financial support dried up). Director Richard Lester ("The Three Musketeers (1973)") was brought in to complete the filming of the second part of the Superman story. However, in Lester's hands the series went from perfect (this film) to acceptable (Superman II) to dreadful (Superman III).

Harvey (1950)

"Oh, so pleasant."

[10/10 · 15 March 2004]

"Years ago, my mother used to say to me, she'd say: 'In this world, Elwood,' she always used to call me Elwood. 'In this world, Elwood, you must be oh, so smart or oh, so pleasant.' Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. And you can quote me." - Elwood P. Dowd (James Stewart)

And, though you suspect James Stewart was never anything less than thoroughly pleasant, that quote from this completely bewitching movie, sums up perfectly the career of James Stewart and this movie in particular. It is one of those rare, rare movies that, when one has watched it, makes you want to try harder to be a nicer, better person. I recommend 'pleasant,' also. And I recommend this movie.

Captain Hareblower (1954)

A good gag is always a good gag.

[9/10 · 29 November 2003]

Short and wonderfully sweet. Every gag is timed and animated to perfection and there is even a good punchline (usually a cartoon short's most obvious problem). This is essentially a re-animated version of 1947's Buccaneer Bunny but the gags are timed even better.

The Iron Giant (1999)

A delightful surprise, this is one of the best animated films ever made and is as good as anything put out by the House of Mouse.

[9/10 · 19 April 2003]

Warner Brothers' only previous half-way decent full-length animated film was [Space Jam - a animation / live-action mix that saw Warners' greatest stars (Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, etc.) team up with the world's highest-paid sports superstar Michael Jordan to entertaining though easily criticisable effect. Aside from this their efforts have been somewhat useless. Content for a long time to release other peoples animated movies such as [Thumbelina] and [The Pebble and the Penguin] (go on, have you seen them?) they decided, on the strength of [Space Jam]'s success, to reopen their famous theatrical animation department in the hope that they could recreate the legendary success of their 50's short cartoons with full-length animated features. Their first effort, [The Magic Sword: Quest for Camelot], boasted as many words in the title as there were famous names in the voice cast but, sadly, boasted almost nothing else. Except that there were almost as many words in the title as there were people who went to the cinema to see it.

So, it is somewhat of a surprise to find Warner Brother's Feature Animation department releasing this upon an unsuspecting movie world, for this is the finest animated feature-length film to be released that has nothing to do with the mighty Disney studios (as of February 2000 and, it should be noted, that the key animators on this movie are all ex-Disney). Forget DreamWorks' glossy but botched [Prince of Egypt], forget Steven Spielberg's over-rated executive-produced [An American Tail], forget the excellent [Antz], forget even [Toy Story] and [Toy Story 2] (both co-financed and released by Disney anyway). The Iron Giant is cinema's finest non-Disney animated feature length film. It is a real shame that so few people saw it. Here's hoping that the home video market will discover this real gem.

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

This is Leone's last and best ever Western. Therefore, it is the best western ever made.

[10/10 · 6 April 2003]

'I wouldn't say when you've seen one Western you've seen the lot; but when you've seen the lot you get the feeling you've seen one.' Katharine Whitehorn Sunday Best (1976)

The traditional accusation is that Once upon a Time in the West offers nothing new to the genre but merely replays highlights from his previous classic Western movies. This is, however, a simple evaluation demonstrating a simple prejudice against the director or the genre. It is not a true evaluation of the film itself which is a stunning melodrama filmed in breathtaking manner, garnished with stars (including Claudia Cardinale, Henry Fonda, Jason Robards, Charles Bronson, Keenan Wynn and Western movie favourite Jack Elam) and, to top it all off perfectly, one of the greatest film scores ever written from Ennio Morricone.

While it is astonishing in hindsight to note that this masterpiece from one of cinema's most talented directors was not even nominated for the Best Picture Oscar (the dreary and inexplicably popular musical [Oliver!] won), it borders on criminal that Morricone's incredible score was not nominated either (it was won by [The Lion in Winter]). As seems typical of masterpieces, they simply are not appreciated in their own time but masterpiece this is.

Given that Leone also directed all three of the 'Dollars' trilogy ([A Fistful of Dollars], [For a Few Dollars More] and [The Good, the Bad and the Ugly]), it is truly remarkable that this movie proved to be even better. There are very few films that can claim to be the greatest Western of all time and this is one of the strongest contenders. I would probably shortlist [For a Few Dollars More], [The Good, the Bad and the Ugly], [High Noon], [The Magnificent Seven] and [The Shootist] in the search for the best Western of all time. Leone also directed the first two of that list and the star of this movie, Charles Bronson, also appeared in [The Magnificent Seven]. However, Once Upon a Time in the West is, in my opinion, even better than all those films.

The Peacekeeper (1997)

Really entertaining and rather exciting action thriller, better than pseudo-namesake [The Peacemaker].

[6/10 · 16 April 2002]

The first thing that strikes you about the movie is the similarity of the title to the big-budget DreamWorks SKG debut movie [The Peacemaker] (starring George Clooney and Nicole Kidman and directed by Mimi Leder). Frequently movies with such cheap and obvious cash-in aspirations turn out to be: cheap, obvious and, of course, rubbish. This movie is a jolly exception. Don't be put off by Dolph Lundgren being in it, he isn't enough to undermine the movies good points.

High among those good points is the swift and exciting direction which is never better than during the spectacular roof-top car chase which occurs within the first twenty minutes. This chase is so good it could quite comfortably fit into a Bond movie featuring, as it does, eye-popping stunts, edge-of-the-seat excitement and ridiculous spectacle. While it does veer wildly into the improbable it never feels impossible and this aspect, for any action sequence, is of paramount importance. It is interesting to note that two key aspects of this chase sequence - the roof-top nature and the escape by getting out of the car just before it crashes through a parapet and down to the ground - also popped up in the same year's Bond adventure [Tomorrow Never Dies] (the motorcycle chase in Bangkok occurs partly over rooftops, the remote-controlled BMW car park chase ends by Bond getting out of the car just before it crashes through a parapet and down to the ground).

Another good point is the script. It's not consistently good but it is rather better than normal for a film that is not shown theatrically (it received it's UK premiere on Sky television not at cinemas). There are frequent one-liners which help push up the entertainment value while Roy Scheider and Michael Sarrazin share an unusual and thought-provoking plot line. Rather than demanding money and a plane to an extradition-free country, the usual demands of a nutball who has control of nuclear weapons in America (see [Broken Arrow]), betrayed Saddam Hussein-assassin Doug Murphy (Michael Sarrazin) turns up surprisingly alive though he was bombed by 'friendly fire'. His demands are for the President (Roy Scheider, the entire twilight of his career looks like it is going to be a series of DTV presidents) to commit suicide - to sacrifice his life for his country just as Murphy had (even though he had little choice about it and he survived) - on national television to stop a nuclear bomb going off in Washington D.C.

However, where this really scores over its pseudo-namesake [The Peacemaker] is that this movie accomplishes almost all it set out to, it is about as good as it could possibly be.

Ironside (1967 TV Movie)

Excruciating.

[1/10 · 2 February 2002]

Excruciating pilot episode that, somehow, spawned a successful internationally syndicated television show.

Raymond Burr is cheerless. The plotting is baffling. The writing is astonishingly bad. The acting is mundane.

Watching this makes you want to be shot, instead of Ironside.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

A love or hate it experience, underappreciated by many

[9/10 · 20 November 2001]

To be brutally honest, there are not that many films that fall into the love-it-or-hate-it category, but this is definitely one of the few.

Master director Robert Wise (he also did The Sound of Music, The Haunting (original), Somebody Up There Likes Me, The Day the Earth Stood Still and the very popular West Side Story) managed to deliver an almost unique big-budget science-fiction masterpiece that raises the topics of God, evolution, creation and the universe and how we fit in with them relatively speaking.

Many people say that it is a boring film, that nothing happens. That is, of course, a blasé generalisation made by people who fall into the 'hate-it' category mentioned previously. Those who fall into the 'love-it' category (and I am one) would claim that it holds your interest effortlessly and rewards the more-than-casual viewer.

What cannot be denied is that it is a wonderful audio-visual experience. Jerry Goldsmith's score is arguably the finest he has ever written, making it one of the all-time best film scores. He combines pompous majesty with delightful love themes and aggressive bombast in such a manner that few composers ever achieve. Director Robert Wise makes superlative use of this most critical component. As he does of his stunning visual effects which gave the science-fiction movie genre (just shook up by the success and style of Star Wars) back a more composed and respectful stance. Wise proved that Star Wars wasn't the only way to make a space-set movie and was rewarded by solid box-office, technical Oscar nominations and the knowledge that his foundation was built upon to produce a long-running movie franchise (about to hit it's tenth entry in 2002) and several TV series.

The fact that Paramount has since over-milked this particular cash cow does not diminish the wonder of the original film version. If you are in two minds about whether to see this movie, wondering whether you will like it or not, think no more. No review will be able to let you know what to expect or whether it is 'your sort of film'. I urge you to watch it and then decide whether you love-it or hate-it.