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matthew44
Reviews
Tarzan and the Lost City (1998)
Good opportunity wasted
It's a sad opportunity missed that this movie is not a lot better than it is. Some of the production values are high - the costumes and locations all look great, but there are failures. This could have been not just a good movie, but a great movie if it had been given more space, some long lingering panoramas, time to fill out the characters. Instead it is edited so everything is too quick paced like a Disney movie that allows no depth at all.
Van Dien makes a fair effort, though comes across more as a boy in a man's role. Jane March looks pretty, but adds nothing extra to the part. Overall, a watchable effort, but still a good way down the long list of apeman movies.
Gorgo (1961)
One of the best Godzilla genre movies
I think I was aged about eight when I went to the cinema with my cousins one Saturday morning, back in the days when you saw two films for your money - the B movie followed by the main feature. On this occasion I can't even remember what the main feature was because the first movie was Gorgo.
It was my first exposure to giant scaly monster movies and I quickly became a big fan. Watching the movie recently on DVD I was impressed by the relatively high production values for a film of this type. The effects are not bad, certainly not laughable as in many monster movies. There is also a great happy ending for mama and baby Gorgo. Quite a rarity.
This is pure escapism. If you've come home from a hard day at work you don't want to relax in front of the TV watching period drama or thought-provoking message movies. No, you want to see a giant prehistoric behemoth trashing the puny world of men, and Gorgo delivers!
Night at the Museum (2006)
Bizarre
What a strange movie. I'm guessing other reviewers here have not actually been to the Museum of Natural History in New York. I hope no-one goes there just on the strength of seeing this film. They'd be disappointed (although it is a great place to visit). The only thing recognisable is the building itself, everything else in the movie is nothing like the real museum. I mean, it's natural history, right? Why would they have exhibits of ancient Egypt, Romans and cowboys, to say nothing of Atilla the Hun? It was also cheap for the director/producer to think a movie audience won't know the difference between Atilla the Hun and Genghis Khan. Why is Atilla portrayed as a Mongolian warlord in the movie? It's totally bizarre.
Three Days of the Condor (1975)
70s classic
There seems to be quite a divided opinion on this movie. True, it is a kitsch 70s spy thriller which stretches credulity at times, but you have to watch it for what it is, recognising it as the product of it's own time.
The weird thing watching this today is that it seems eerily prophetic, what with its talk of secret schemes to invade the middle east for oil. The location shoot at the World Trade Centre seems to add to this uneasy feeling, all of which would have had no meaning at the time the movie was made. It doesn't offer the viewer answers on a plate, which is something I like in a movie. The script and story credits you with the intelligence to piece things together yourself, while still leaving a few mysteries at the end.
It's hard to pin down exactly. Some parts strike you as being a bit 'low budget' movie, while others are classic. It does have something, despite the flaws. Redford does a good job and carries it; Max Von Sydow is great as the clinical assassin and Faye Dunaway does well to lend credibility to her character who has a slightly awkward place in the story.
Watch it through your 70s glasses. Enjoy the funky soundtrack. Great 70s movie.
Ghost Dance (1983)
Haunting exploration of life's ghosts
This is a wonderful and sadly not very well known movie. I first saw this film 20 years ago and loved it, then again just as much watching it more recently. Pascale Ogier and Leonie Mellinger play two young women who actually represent two contrasting sides of the same character. The movie's exploration of the way we are influenced by 'ghosts' from the past is made more poignant since the tragic early death of beautiful Pascale Ogier, only a year after Ghost Dance was made (The DVD has an interesting interview with Leonie Mellinger who shares her thoughts on this and other aspects of the movie).
Ken McMullen directs in an art-house style that is grainy and down at heel in London and Paris. The experimental soundtrack also adds to the striking visuals. This is one that can be watched again and again, opening up new meaning with each viewing. Thought provoking and hauntingly surreal.