Change Your Image
lesmoyes
Reviews
Terrahawks (1983)
Good all-round entertainment
I have read the other reviews for this series and was quite pleased to note that there were very few criticisms. I suspect that I may have been one of the few who was an adult when I saw these programmes yet still sat through every episode - and looked forward to each new one beforehand. The great thing for me about these 30-minute gems was the fact that the stories were not deep (it was for young kids after all) yet they still worked on both an adult's and a child's level thereby ensuring that dad could sit down and watch this with the kids and be entertained too. Surprisingly nobody seems to have picked up on the clever casting of Windsor Davies who effectively reprised his role as the Sergeant-Major from the BBC sitcom "It Ain't Half Hot Mum". I reckon that for good all-round entertainment this is one of the best things Gerry Anderson ever did.
Sweet November (2001)
Sugar and Spice
I just watched this on satellite and had to see what others' impressions were and was very surprised indeed. Looking at some of the other User Comments one cannot help but wonder if some folks out there are in need of a reality check! Yes the film is full of schmaltzy, sugary sentiment (spiced with a tiny amount of sex). Yes the premise is unrealistic. Yes the characters are not totally credible. This is entertainment - IT'S A MOVIE NOT A DOCUMENTARY!! It's typical romantic escapism. It's one of "those movies" like "Four Weddings & A Funeral" or "Notting Hill" where you either leave the theatre with a silly smile on your face or a tear in your eye. What do some of these amateur reviewers watch movies for? Obviously not enjoyment. Maybe the producers of such films should be a tad more specific when it comes to identifying the genre of movies as it is obvious that a few reviewers here were expecting to see something much more serious. Suspend belief for 2 hours and enjoy the story - or stop watching movies of this type altogether and try other forms of escapism. I liked this film.
By the way, apropos of nothing at all, has anyone else noticed the resemblance between Greg Germann (Vince) and British Prime Minister Tony Blair? (If any Hollywood producers read this review please DON'T make a film around British politicians - there is a limit as to how far one can suspend belief!)
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
Have we reached the Terminus yet?
If you want lots of fighting, special FX, CGI, explosions and noise cleverly cocooned in a contrived script that does not stand up to too much analysis then this film is for you. I personally reckon that, if this is the best that Hollywood can come up with, the Terminator formula has been milked dry; new ideas are just too thin on the ground to make this a serious sequel to the previous two movies. Who is to blame....the screenplay author? The director? Probably both. The inevitable one-liners and certain plot elements reduced this to a very tongue-in-cheek action film. Suspension of belief is what Hollywood movies are mostly about but this came as very much of a personal disappointment after the excellent T2. Okay, so we got eye candy in the form of a female Terminator, the T-X. Gorgeous to look at but hardly credible as a character. T2 cast Robert Patrick as the "latest model" terminator because the plot called for the menace to be manifest through superior technology and ability rather than sheer size and brute force. So T2 has a regular guy-sized bad Terminator and T3 then makes the bad Terminator a woman.
What can we expect next in the inevitable T4? Maybe an infant Terminator - the TOT?
The manner in which T3 ended blatantly left the door open for yet another sequel but this may depend on various factors, not least of which will be Governor Schwarzenegger's busy schedule over the next several years. If they leave it too long they will have to have serious rethink about how to develop the plot to account for Mr Schwarzenegger's advancing years as he is, despite the make-up girls' best efforts, starting to show his advancing years - God he looked old when he delivered that line "I am a machine" - but then he had been in in few fights by then and what we see is supposed to be living human tissue over a metal skeleton.....
If there is going to be a T4 I hope to God they get back to decent scripts otherwise they might as well consign the thing to TV as happened to Star Gate (good film, absolutely dreadful series).
Alternatively knock it on the head altogether as this particular gravy train looks to be approaching the terminus.
The Wraith (1986)
Chewing Gum for the eyes
Although this film was released 17 years before these comments I only saw it for the first time this week on satellite. Noisy, full of the usual OTT action, some mindless violence, a few predictable race scenes and a plot which bore an uncomfortable similarity to Clint Eastwood's "High Plains Drifter". Interestingly the basic premise was once again resurrected (pun intended) in "The Crow" ten years later which just goes to show that you can never tire of a good story. Trouble is - this ain't it. This is the sort of movie you have playing only when your radio's bust and you want some pounding rock music in the background. As for the actual visual element - chewing gum for the eyes.....think about it...
Thir13en Ghosts (2001)
Hellish!
Maybe I've just seen too many of these things but this film for me was one serious ordeal. I sat through this nonsense for the full duration hoping in vain that it would improve. It didn't. The plot had more holes than Swiss cheese and the acting talent here was utterly wasted. Very good special effects admittedly but the whole experience left me feeling that I had just wasted around 90 minutes of my life. The worst good time I've ever had.
Last Action Hero (1993)
The Best Movie Never Made.
Full of good ideas, in-jokes, parodies and action. On the face of it this movie should have been a major hit. Unfortunately the cinema-going public are fickle and demand the entertainment that they have paid their hard-earned dollars and pounds to view.
This film just didn't deliver; the plethora of good ideas just went over the top leaving one wondering, at the end, what one had just watched. Arnold's previous ventures into comedy territory were mildly amusing and, again, relied on a degree of self-parody. They were not major screen hits either though.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is a major box-office star. He is not an actor however.
Neither is he a comedian. The ability to deliver clever one-liners in the heat of a tense action scene does not mean that he can sustain a full comedic role for a couple of solid hours.
For me the best bit of the entire film was the Hamlet scene. This was absolutely brilliant and perhaps this short interlude might be a candidate for the title of "The Best Movie Never Made". Any Hollywood producers reading this?
Despite the public's apparent move away from the "shoot 'em up" action movies there is obviously still quite a lot of demand for that genre so play it straight Mr. Schwarzenegger - it's what your public wants from you and it's what you're best at.
If they want comedy they'll go see an Eddie Murphy flick.