Watching late night films

I really like watching films late into the evening ie 1, 2, 3 ish. I don't know if it's a hangup from when I was a kid and was allowed the treat of staying up late to watch a film. Maybe this made a connection that the best films were always on later. It seems the feeling is further heightened or savoured if you have to get up early the next day. You know you shouldn't be staying up late but a good film is a good film.

There is just something about how you feel that you are the only person still up and hence the only that's been taking in the film. A mixture of feeling special but also guilty that you been so ridiculous in staying up that late. It is also great how you can walk into the bedroom (after brushing teeth), collapse on the bed and drift off to sleep while your brain still ticks over the film, savouring it, undistilled from the triviality of any further distractions.

 

The Great Escape 

This film was on TV again recently and as we all know it's a classic war film. Ingenuity, courage, determination etc all with an all star cast and a great score to boot.

For all it's bravado and brilliance, the best story within it is the one about Hendley (James Garner) and Colin (Donald Pleasance). Here was this tall, good looking officer who you'd normally think would be quite selfish and just worried about saving his own neck. Yet I always find it heart-warming that he's the one who looks after and helps get out the near blind Colin even though doing so will slow him down and possibly damage his own chance of evasion.

I love the film but for me this truly sums up the notion of sacrificing, or willing to sacrifice, yourself for another. Very touching.

 

Gunbelts and bandoliers in Western films

Why are the bullets in these appendages always so randomly placed. Surely there must have been some OCD cowboys that liked to have them all neatly arranged. I can understand in the middle of a fight pulling out bullets from anywhere on the belt but with no iPod, psp or even radio to keep you entertained round the campfire you would think that it would be a welcome distraction to maybe cluster them up in one row for when you next needed them.

 

Studios killing the Fantasy genre

Along with Stardust, The Golden Compass and the forthcoming Narnia film, the studios are just killing this film genre. Even by the end of the LOTR trilogy it was beginning to wane. Huge battles but no one of consequence dying and hence no real feeling of tension or peril for the characters.

In the case of Golden Compass when the trailer says "and the fate of the world lies in the hand of a child" you know it will be wank. Narnia was equally woeful. Kids going into battle hardly makes for an epic action packed tussle does it?

 

Best movie explosions

I remember listening to the excellent commentary on Dog Soldiers once and they talked about how in the film Pvt Cooper warns how the shed where they believe the werewolves are hiding will "go up like Zabriskie Point". This was a reference to the explosion in that film and how the makers thought it was one of the best explosions they had seen.

This led to me think of what my favourite film explosions were, so here we go.

Spoilers ahead

Star Trek 3: Search for Spock.

Although a tad weaker than 2 or 4 the film has it moments and especially when Kirk and co commence the self destruct sequence on the Enterprise. They beam off the ship leaving the Klingon boarding party to storm through the ship and onto the bridge. They find it deserted with just a human recording playing. Their leader, played by Christopher Lloyd no less, asks to here the message.

"6, 5, 4, 3"

He starts shouting at them to get out of there but it's too late. Fire and explosions engulf the interior and you cut to an external image to see the bridge (dome in the centre of the saucer) explode into fire and debris. The ship begins to drop away with the bridge flaming away and small secondary explosions going off above it.  

Holes start appearing in the main circular body as the tiles seem to melt away to reveal the fiery structure beneath. As the ship slides out of control closer to the camera the whole saucer explodes in what can only be described as a shattering on the vertical axis. There's just something about the way it 'shatters' and then about half a second later a final explosion just tears it apart. It really is a stunning example of an actual explosion as opposed to something CGI'd. A fitting demise for the Enterprise and probably the best space explosion ever in my opinion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUuaa_XUcs4

Blue Thunder

Another great film this. Some wonderful aerial photography of battling helicopters over the LA skyline that is refreshingly CGI free. Amazing really that they could get away with flying the choppers over LA and film it but I guess things were different then. The film has some cracking action scenes but the very best explosion is at the end. With the helicopter low on gas and the job done of exposing the government conspiracy Murphy sets Blue Thunder down on some railway tracks in front of an oncoming locomotive.

The resulting crash as the engine ploughs through the aircraft is filmed from different angles and shown in slow mo. What makes it so cool, and I don't know if it was done deliberately or just a fortunate coincidence, is how the rotor is slowly spinning around and just as it comes into contact with the locomotive the whole thing explodes. It's one of those explosions where there is a really good debris shower with discernible bits flying in all directions to accompany the fireball. Wicked stuff.

Couldn't find a clip on youtube I'm afraid.

Mouse Hunt

Needless to say this another fantastic little film that has the slapstick of say Home Alone but without the annoying kid and saccharine bullshit. Two likeable characters in Nathan Lane and Lee Evans, an awesome cameo from Christopher Walken and one incredibly cute yet incredibly clever mouse.

The Smuntz brothers (Lane & Lee) are keen to remove said mouse from their house which they hope to sell at auction. They hire an exterminator in the form of Christopher Walken who although gets outsmarted by the mouse drops his big one - the flea bomb. Whilst trying to shoot the mouse with a shotgun Ernie unknowingly levels the barrels against the flea bomb and pulls the trigger.

The resulting explosion is just awesome as the floor beneath them almost 'melts' in an expanding molten radius before shattering and they fall through and into the basement. Just incredible. You wouldn't expect to see something of this quality in a film like this but that's why it's so impressive. I just love the idea of the director, Gore Verbinski of Pirates of the Caribbean fame, asking his FX guys for something a 'little bit special' for his film.

The only clip I could find was on a Punjabi dubbed version I'm afraid. Go 3.20 into the clip and you'll see it though I recommend seeing it properly on a DVD to fully appreciate it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GPCLJV-1fI

Predator

Cracking film, awesome lines, great action, wonderful cast, brilliant soundtrack and outstanding visual effects by Stan Winston. The film has many things going for it but there was one thing I always liked about the explosion at the end.

Dutch has effectively beaten the Predator who has initiated his self destruct, fail safe bomb and has started laughing. Dutch eventually takes the bait that something is going to happen and pegs it through the woods. Behind him you see electricity crackling and energy seeming to discharge into the air. It all then suddenly condenses and contracts into one tiny ball before exploding and white-ing out the screen. The actual explosion is nothing to write home about but it just the effect of it all shrinking to the size of an atom before exploding big style that I really love. Cheap-ish effect but fantastically done.

No clip I'm afraid.

  

Snacking while watching films

I don't like doing this if watching a film at the cinema but when watching at home it's a very powerful temptation. Just like the point I made above, I think it goes back to what I've always done. I know my mum would always watch a film with a cup of coffee and a packet of crisps or some bsicuits and I seem to have followed suit. To me if you are watching a film that you are enjoying it seems just the perfect compliment to it.

Now that I'm attempting to cut back this must be one of the hardest areas I have to reduce. You've got to have something, a good film almost deserves it. I don't go mad but a glass of milk and a few choccy biscuits can really make a difference.

 

Convenient news articles at the time of blockbuster movie releases

Have you ever noticed how relevant/related news articles always seem to conveniently come out around the release date of a major film?

When Deep Impact and Armageddon came out there seemed a good selection of collision likely asteroid articles, The Day after Tomorrow had a barrage of global warming stuff preceeding it's release and now with Pirates of the Caribbean a week away they've amazingly discovered a huge cache of sunken booty off the Cornish coast. Remarkable.

 

Open helicopter doors in action films

I've always found it amazing in films why soldiers after having survived amazing battles and firefights are happy to then be ferried around in helicopters with the doors wide open and them not strapped down.

All it takes is for the pilot to try to avoid a bird or scratch his arse, tilt the Huey onto it's side and tumbling out they'll come. Granted I'd want to look cool in blood stained fatigues with weapons hanging off me but I think I'd be compelled to pipe up with a "anyone mind if I slide the doors shut?"

 

Would you have let Patrick Swayze ride the final wave in Point Break

Toughie this. He opened Utah's eyes to the real wonder of surfing and also the pleasures of freefall parachuting but he did take his girlfriend hostage and was responsible for the death of Angelo Pappas (what a name). For this I think he needed to be 'taken down' and spend the rest of his life in a cage.

 

The most popular movie hero name - John

Have you ever noticed how many big film heroes are called John. Naturally there are other names but you must admit it would seem that when studio exec's are stuck for a heroic name, John does seem to be the reliable fall back option. I wonder if it's chosen because of it's religious connection or that it's simply a popular male name.

John Matrix, John Spartan, John Cutter, John Dunbar, John J Rambo, John McClane, John Kimble, John Connor, John Mason, John Coffey, John Constantine, John 'Johnny' Utah, Johnny Rico, John (Spartan 117).

I'll be impressed if you can tell me what films they all came from.

 

Sylvester Stallone is braver than George Lucas

I posted this topic on IMDB a few months back. This might sound preposterous but compare the two of them.

George Lucas had millions in the bank, an army of FX guys to create any vision that he had and an army of devoted fans that would accept anything that he put out. Though having directed before he was trying for the first time to direct his baby.

Sly Stallone not as much cash, hardly the same amount of backing or technical support and although a proportionally tiny element of real fans has an army of people wanting him to fail. Though having directed before he was for the first time directing one of his babies.

Instead of pleasing his fans who have grown up with the franchise and despite having enough cash that he could tell any corporate paymaster to go to hell, George Lucas turns out a bland film that is so desperate to pull in younger, new fans that he ultimately disappoints his loyal following and almost tarnishes the memory of the first three. Here’s a guy who didn’t really need it to make a fortune yet the desire for it to be successful and rake in the box office dollars reduced it to worthless, lowest common denominator, forgettable pap.

Sly on the other hand, who could do with it being a big financial hit and pulling in new punters, sticks to what he knows best and gives his fans exactly what they want. Even if it means being flamed by all the chin rubbing, oh so serious liberals. He knows that an R/18 rating will hit it’s grosses but what the hell.

It would have been so easy for Sly to have dumbed it down, made it a PG/13 and tried to appeal to a broader audience. But he didn’t. He knew his audience was 18-35 year old computer game playing males and he gave them exactly what they wanted. BFG’s wreaking untold destruction.

In the end, he had the courage and humility to give his fans what they wanted rather than getting delusions of overblown, pretentious grandeur.

Since this posting I've seen Indy IV and have to say that it just re-inforces my thoughts.

Although Rambo's audience would normally be dismissed as braindead, dribbling imbeciles it was Sly that made a more intense, thought provoking and darker film than others in the series. Displaying an understanding of the character he helped shape and also that his audience has grown up and expects more.

George Lucas on the other hand has produced a film that I'm sure people can't deny is far sillier and less polished than the other three Indy films (even Temple of Doom). It's almost like he believes his audience has regressed to the point where plot and continuity is irrelevant, they've never seen The Mummy or similar films and that 'man on a bike with a ladder' style physical comedy is still considered entertaining.

One director applied some thought and raised his game against sneering derision whilst another simply churned out crap and waited for the box office to roll in.

 

Rambo does for action films what Ong Bak did for martial arts films

What an adrenaline shot this film was and it reminded me how I felt after seeing Ong Bak and Warrior King.

Martial Arts film were becoming boring. PG rated, gravity ignoring, wired-worked, over CGI’d and almost clown like. You went to see a fighting film because you wanted to see fighting. Yet just as the genre was stagnating in its own pomposity, Tony Jaa came along with a brand of refreshing, invigorating martial artistry. Stuff that made you go ‘Wow’ rather than question whether two people could fight on a bamboo branch, scenes that made you think ‘Blimey, that’s gotta hurt’ and images that made you gasp in their ferocity.

Seeing people fight connects to a deep rooted bloodlust and there is no point in denying this, hence when in Warrior King the bad guys kill Tony’s elephant and then stab him you want to see angry, painful retribution. I haven’t come to see him sit down and discuss it over tea, I want violence. I want to see someone technically skilled smashing the sh*t out of a collection of bad guys.

Rambo was the same. Action films nowadays might have some ‘shaky cam’ to add realism and some big explosions but you want to action that shocks you, that gets your heart pounding, that isn’t the formulaic A-team esque ‘explosion to the left, explosion to the right’. You want something that makes you feel like how you felt after the beach scene in Saving Private Ryan. All action films are setting you up for the good guy prevailing over the bad guy but this takes it to the next level.

Whether I’m an imbalanced, psychotic troubled man I don’t know but I do know that I felt physically charged after this film. Not charged to go and hurt someone but feeling that my adrenaline was flowing. I felt alive. A piece of film, like Ong Bak etc, had got a physical reaction from me.

It’s set a new benchmark for conveying the real brutality of war and it will be interesting to see what action films have to do to ‘fire up’ their audience in the future. Either way I certainly think Sly has given it a welcome shot in the arm.

 

Tom Cruise bashing

I can understand people going on about stars like Michael Jackson etc where there are criminal proceedings taking place and everyone is entitled to an opinion but what exactly is it that Tom Cruise has done wrong?

He has suddenly become this hate figure with almost every article you read slating him at every opportunity. Ok so he might be self confident and 'allegedly' controlling but no one forced his wife to marry him and no one is holding her at gunpoint to have his children. I'm sure she knew what he was like before agreeing to marry him and if not she is old enough to face the consequences.

He can't seem to win. If he spends two to three hours talking to his fans at premieres etc he's labelled manipulative and playing the good publicity card (if so easy why doesn't everyone else do it) and if he doesn't spend as long with them he's mean spirited and accused of snubbing his fans.

Personally I really like him. I think he has screen presence and charisma and I've liked many of his roles, particularly in Rain Man and The Last Samurai. He's entertaining to watch at interviews and he seems very professional in his committment and dedication to a role once he agrees to accept it. Others might not like him and naturally thats ok but the media's continual hounding of him is unfair in my opinion.

 

I really love the film Swingers apart from the final scene

I love this film, love the characters and the intelligence of the writing.

Having been a single guy there is so much truth in what both Mike and Trent say and it's great to see the two interact. Their appreciation of Vegas, Mike’s critique of so many pointless parties etc.

I don't like the end though because Trent is a good friend to Mike and helps get him up and about and out on the scene. Yes he doesn't have a hand in Mike chatting to Heather Graham (though he was responsible for chivvying him to come out that night) and Mike does that all on his own but he is always trying to cheer Mike up, restore his confidence and push him forward. The final scene though plays out like Mike is mocking him and thinking less of him, which I think is a real shame. It's very easy to mock you friends when you have the safety blanket of someone special on the scene but when they aren't there then you really need friends like Trent.

Ok, Trent made himself look silly but the arrogant smugness on Mike's face that he was suddenly so much better than trent was disappointing and something I've seen people do to me. They love being your friend and having fun when they are single but as soon as they meet someone they drop you like a bag of spuds and look down at the whole going out, having fun and interacting with the opposite sex with nothing but contempt.

Although Mike is more intelligent and dryer in wit I think I'd still rather hang with someone like Trent than Mike.

 

The films of John Carpenter

To me there is something special about the films of John Carpenter, well certainly his earlier ones. I know everyone has different tastes but I think his films caught me at just the right age. I am a bit of a geek when it comes to movies but there are very few directors that I single out as having a distinctive style and appeal. I like a lot of James Cameron, Steven Spielberg etc films but there is just something about Carpenter's work.

I don't know if it's because they have a raw, visceral quality about them or if they always seemed to be on telly just as my imagination was beginning to develop. You can see that there was a ground breaking freshness and originality about them. They were shot dark to heighten the fear yet he didn't need to resort to any over-complicated devices to tell a story. Although much copied now John was pushing forward in the horror genre and was adept at generating tension as well as frights. He composed a lot of his own scores which were electronic or piano and suitably eerie as well as memorable. The slow building suspense in The Thing is astonishing as one by one the members are picked off by someone/something within their ranks. The Fog generates a similar feeling of building panic and although it might now look dated, along with some of his other works, it's the very nature of them being dated that makes them so invigorating to me. I'm not doing a very good job of articulating what it is that makes his films special and maybe I'll have to return to this post to describe it better.

His recent films have lost that edginess, the concept or story has not been as fresh and he seems to have resorted to trying to patch up the holes with rap stars, models or cockney tough guys. Ghost on Mars is the epitome of where he has gone wrong. For sight of his real mastery, these are my favourites.

Assault of Precinct 13, The Fog, Escape from New York, The Thing, Big Trouble in Little China, Prince of Darkness (awesome concept) and even They Live.

 

Films you always watch on TV

Do you have a few films that you always end up trying to catch on TV.  You can remember the plot well, know the story but haven't bothered tracking down the DVD and hence will always take the time to watch them on TV.  Like watching them is some kind of comfort blanket, reminding you that films on TV aren't that bad to watch and that sometimes the very notion of watching them on the TV where you can't pause or rewind seems to heighten the enjoyment.

Ones that I always try to watch are:

Blue Thunder, Westworld, Into the Night, Southern Comfort, Running Scared, Black Rain, The Rainmaker and Uncommon Valour.

As the years pass by and my situations have changed these always remain constant reminding me of the first time I saw them and how things have progressed in the interim.

 

My three favourite films

Titanic, Forrest Gump and The Last Samurai

(and I must write the review for The Last Samurai soon)

 

Titanic 10/10

For me, the best film I have ever seen

I know it's not hip to like Titanic. It seems amazing that the film was seen by more people (or at least made more money) than ever before yet almost everyone you speak to either hates it, didn't see it or has little good to say about it.

This is a film that came out six months later than scheduled in dreary December to a wave of negative press, warnings of it being a flop and cries of 'I know the ending'. Yet despite this it went on to remain at the top of the movie going charts for 15 consecutive weeks and rewrote the rules on blockbusters only happening in the summer time. Nearly four months of being the number one viewed film in America and a soundtrack album that sold over 7.5 million copies (making it the biggest selling soundtrack album ever) is pretty impressive for a film that was meant to tank.  

The success wasn't down to teenage girls seeing the film over and over again to drool over Leo as many claim. No it was simply down to the film having universal appeal and an ever spreading word of mouth recommendation.  Young or old, girl or boy, this film could be seen by anyone and it was, encouraging those that hadn't been to the movies for some time to make a return.

Many have said that the actual sinking was watchable but that they didn't like the mushy love story. How else though could James Cameron tell the story? What other vehicle could he use without making a basic documentary. Yes the real story was Titanic but you need a framework to hang it on, you need an emotional or human context to place it within otherwise it might as well be a history/discovery channel special. People moan about the rich/poor divide but again how else could you witness the structure of the ship without this story telling tool. The tale would have been very one sided had they both been rich or both been poor.

Maybe I'm a simple man but I liked both of the characters and that is no easy task for a film maker. To 'buy into' two characters and actually care about them takes a lot and despite all the naysayers there was no reason to dislike them. Some may feel I'm bitter after reading my other views but I'm an old romantic and I still like to see a romance developing between two people or characters that I like. Some dialogue may have been cheesy but blimey, people don't speak in Shakespearean prose every day. The supporting characters are excellent, even those that you might dislike, and you can find yourself spotting even the smallest parts when you see them appear during the film.

The attention to detail within the film is splendid. The craft and care in perfectly re-creating all the interiors and fitting is truly wonderful and again would not be shown were it not for the dynamic of the story. So many things stand out for me with this film; the acting, direction, sets, editing, sound, costumes, it is all simply first class. It even has the intelligence to deal with the whole 'I know what happens, the boat sinks' crowd by accurately showing in complete detail how and why the ship sinks early on in the film. The film's mastery is then making you believe so much in the majesty and magnificence of Titanic and the personal involvement with the characters that when the iceberg appears you hope it will avoid it.

The ships slow demise is then amazingly choreographed through incredible set pieces where the special and visual effects serve the story as opposed to being the story (ie King Kong, Star Wars I to III). The way that Cameron gradually builds the orderly evacuation through to the blind, frenzied panic is so expertly handled and portrayed. I'll never forget the first time I saw those propellers rising out of the water, the way the camera swooped up and over Rose and Jack's head to look down the aft of the ship as she sank straight down into the bubbling water or the devastating shot when the camera pulled back to reveal the mass of struggling, screaming people in the water. This for me was always the real horror of the Titanic disaster, and one that previous films neglected to show, of what happened when 1,500 people hit the water. Even as she sank there was still comfort in the solidity of Titanic but once she had slipped forever beneath the surface then the fear, terror and dawning realization that death was now very close at hand must have been truly horrifying.

Mention must also be made of the mesmerising soundtrack which has to rate as James Horner's finest work if not one of the very best film scores. So powerful, haunting and moving yet so perfectly matched to the film whether it was highlighting the power and ebullience when Titanic first puts to the sea or the touching music that accompanies the old style sepia news reel at the beginning of the film.

As I've said before I judge films for how memorable they were and how they affected me. No other film has touched me like Titanic. These may be cheesy words but I can think of no better way to describe the feeling. I remember leaving the cinema after my first viewing and being unable to discuss the film with a friend. I saw her to her car and could feel the tears building behind my eyes and my bottom lip beginning to tremble. The merest conversation about it would set me off and I bid her farewell with a simple kiss and a wave. So many images flooded my mind; the old couple on the bed, the mother reading to her two young children, the father telling his tearful daughters that he'd only be gone 'a little while' and the empty star field above the hundred of frozen bodies. I know it sounds crass but it hit the triggers for me and made a deep and lasting connection. Tears followed on the drive home and again when I played the album. I saw it a few more times both for my own enjoyment and to encourage and share with others the spectacle.

I know he is a hard task master but you have to hand it to Cameron for what he did, the sacrifices he made and the film that he created. For the efforts and stress that he went through to secure that the picture was made his way, he certainly deserved his moment of glory and I don't begrudge it for a second. There hadn't been a film like Titanic for years and there won't be for many to come.

It isn't cool to defend Titanic but my enjoyment of this film and the connection that I have with it make it the pinnacle of film making and story telling in my opinion. A perfectly crafted, emotionally involving piece of art, which if by no one else, is most definitely appreciated and enjoyed by this individual.

 

Forrest Gump 10/10

Simply a lovely film and my number 1 until Titanic came along

Yes, I’m a simple guy and love films about the underdog and I guess this is a textbook example of it. Here’s a guy who through being a little bit ‘different’ is devoid of the normal and unpleasant character traits that many of us suffer from.  Many that he encounters try to screw him over yet it is he who comes out on top.

 

Maybe through fate or luck but he doesn’t climb over anyone to get there. He is a nice, genuine guy whose sincerity initially confuses or causes condescending behaviour from those he encounters.  A guy who doesn’t set out to climb huge mountains but gets there by simple hardwork, defending those he loves, being honest and trying to do the right thing. Some cynics could say it was manipulative schlock but to me it’s heartwarming stuff and I love it for that.

 

There are just so many great things about this film.  The opening with the feather and the music is just great and I can just feel myself relaxing into a comfortable frame of mind when it comes on. I love the way he copes with being bullied and you can’t help smiling when those braces come tumbling off and the look on little Forrest’s face when he realizes that he has been freed.  I also enjoy the way he fits into the army so well. No attitude, does exactly what he told and thus is just perfect, the scenes in Vietnam are just excellent with good attention to the sound effects.  The moment when they get ambushed through a decent system is just awesome and I just love seeing Forrest’s heroism in running back into the jungle to retrieve his comrades.  It’s the perfect form of bravery from someone who doesn’t think he is being brave because he just wants to save his best friend. Here again is where the beauty of the film and Forrest’s character shine through. 

 

There is a wonderful simplicity and innocence to his friendship with Bubba.  He doesn’t look down on him or want anything from apart from his friendship.  The way he adores Jenny is equally touching in that he is content, though disappointed, to let her live the life she wants to and simply welcome her back when she returns.

 

Moments that really moved me in the film are when Jenny returns to him and walks across the garden whilst he is mowing the lawn, when Lt Dan comes to his wedding and the smile that the two exchange and when Forrest sees his son for the first time yet is only concerned that is isn’t simple like him.  When he goes and sits down next to him to watch TV and they both tilt their heads at the same brings tears to my eyes even now.

 

It’s a very well made entertaining film with humour, sadness, fantastic acting, great songs from those years as well as a much overlooked film score which is at times sweeping, delicate and moving.  Yes, this might be a Hollywood film and one that cynics could say is purely designed to pull all the heart strings but I for one am a sucker for these if done well.  I loved the characters, engaged with the film and was genuinely lifted by seeing the world through the eyes of Forrest Gump.

 

Serenity   9.5/10

I couldn’t have asked for it to be any better

Wow, what a truly fantastic film this. Granted I was a fan of the short lived Firefly TV series that it originated from and thus my opinion might be biased but I could still see where the casual observer would be able to pick it up and I can't recommend it highly enough.

The SF genre has needed a good shot in the arm after the woeful new star wars trilogy and I'd say this surpasses them in almost every way. There is humour, sadness, great action set pieces and most importantly (though many Hollywood films forget this) excellent, well drawn characters and a cracking story.

The characters are all well rounded to the point where you do feel for them and care for their progress through the adventures; they flirt with good and bad virtues so aren't just your basic cut out, stereotypical figures. Although its science fiction a lot of it is firmly grounded in reality and makes a lot of sense. Set 500 years in the future it shows (quite realistically in my opinion) how the in lying colonies are gleaming and shiny and more under the control of the alliance (universal government) whereas the outer lying colonies are more 'frontier like' in a style more akin to the Wild West. This doesn't slow the action down though and creates a believable universe but still with its share of space battles and space ships. There are many standout characters, numerous dramatic standoffs, plenty of great one liners and a magnetic, fabulous bad guy.

A great story and adventure on its own and a marvellous addition to a genre that has recently lost its lustre.  

 

Lord of the Rings. Fellowship of the Rings   9/10

Something special before it all went so wrong

Let me start by saying that I've never read the books. During my childhood I belonged to the legion that read the works of Tolkien's friend and rival, C S Lewis and the Narnia Chronicles. They got my imaginative juices flowing and I stepped over Tolkien's work. The films came out and I had been aware of Peter Jackson's work but with all the furore and lack of money at the time I held back from seeing it for at least two months. Eventually I watched it, enjoyed it but it didn't set me on fire. My favourite scene, Boromir's last stand, lingered in my mind and over time the desire to see it again grew. The DVD came out and I looked forward to sitting down with my to brother (who had not seen it) to watch again.

Wow ! 2nd time around this thing blew my mind. Whether it was because I then knew the story and could enjoy the characters and appreciate everything else I don't know but it just rocked my world. I was like a love sick pup with a constant smile on my face enjoying every scene. I tell you this tale to qualify my praise and make clear that I wasn't a tolkien fan from the start.

Peter Jackson has opened my eyes to this world. I don't know how faithful he's been (and I don't really care) but you can tell from the passion involved and the love heaped on this film that he takes it seriously and is not out to make a fast hollywood buck. I purchased the normal DVD and recently got the extended version which is even more fantastic. I don't feel cheated and owning both is worth every penny. The film itself is great. The characters are rich and full, well written and well acted. I can't really say I have a favourite but Gimli definetly comes out better in the extended version and I am looking forward to seeing his developing friendship with the others and his painfully sweet adoration of Galadriel.

The relationship between Boromir and Aragorn is very well played, again displaying real depth and makes Boromir's sacrifice and Aragorn's renewed faith in man all the more powerful. In fact the film deals with the whole range of human emotions and knowing that they will be developed even more over the course of the next two films just warms your heart. The action scenes are great and with real time invested in the characters you feel all the more tense and involved. The world Jackson has created is lush and wonderful with special effects serving and enhancing but NOT dominating the story. The musical score is perfection, complimenting the film at every turn. Indeed my favourite scene with Boromir owes much of it's brilliance to the beautiful music that accompanies it. In summary this film is a joy to watch and Peter Jackson's direction and story telling is assured and confident.

 

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm   9/10

How Batman should be done

Spoilers Ahead. This has to be the greatest Batman film ever made. It may be a cartoon but sometimes a great story is strong enough however it is delivered and this is a great example of this. It makes all the live action films look painfully silly, particularly the later ones and is truly worth hunting down.

This is what and who Batman should be. Someone who is driven by vengeance, who cannot reconcile love and his obligations to protect, someone who uses physical violence and intelligence, not a plethora of gadgets that he just carries around to bail him out of that one in a million tight spot, to fight crime and restore order.

The animation is good, it’s the only cartoon drawn on black paper to aid in its dark feel, the music score is powerful, dark and brooding, the voice acting is top notch with Batman and Andrea played wonderfully by Kevin Conroy and Dana Delaney although the film is stolen by the Joker who is played by Mark Hamill from star wars fame. He brings something magical to the role, perfectly nailing the mix of being cool, funny, evil and sinister. Like the film, this is the perfect embodiment of who the Joker should be. The story is excellent keeping up with the mystery surrounding the phantasm and also telling Bruce Wayne’s back-story, how he discovered the bat cave, bat car and what drove on his hunger for revenge.

The ending with him standing dejected having lost his love and his foe and the world seemingly in flames is pure poetry. Batman is a character that should have everything but still not be able to obtain the small things that we normal folk hold dear. Someone that carries on his fight alone and doesn’t 'get the girl' every time. We as the audience want to feel a connection to him and I feel I understood more of what was going on in this character then any of the live action versions.

Dog Soldiers   9/10

What a great film

I love films, love being excited or frightened and giving my imagination a full blown work out. I'm patriotic, I love my country but I admit when I heard the concept of Dog Soldiers I thought great idea but what a shame it's not a hollywood film. Being a British film I knew budgets would be tight, special effects minimal and the guns and equipment used would probably date back to almost pre war. How wrong was I, how wondrous was this film. I was excited, I was scared, I laughed and I was thoroughly entertained.

Some have complained it's a rip off of Aliens, predator, jaws etc etc. Who cares ! All fiction can probably be traced back to Shakespeare and Co and all films pretty much follow a central core thats prevalent in most genres so lets stop comparing and just take it as it is. A wonderful film.

I love that it's played straight. Yes there are subtle winks to other films (Evil Dead, Star Trek II, the Matrix) and displays of black gallows humour that although slightly relieve the tension don't damage the film. Brits are renowned for using humour in this way and it's refreshing to see it accurately portrayed. I like that it's trained soldiers being attacked and thus you don't find yourself shouting at the characters to stop having sex in the backroom, going to collect wood with a knackered torch or generally bemoaning their fate. These guys are trained to survive, they improvise others means of defense and just get on with the business at hand. The fact that they try hard to survive makes you want them to even more. We don't have to suffer hours of exposition and bemused soldiers questioning where they come from and why they want to kill them. They are under attack and they employ commonsense ways to protect themselves.

Neil Marshall does wonders with his budget. The uniforms all look real, the guns sound right, we get good explosions and plenty of gore. We don't get to see the werewolves much but with a good script you don't need to. The acting, dialogue and characters are top notch. The sarge and cooper are great but my favourite character has to be Spoon. A tough patriotic lion that just will not give up.

The action scenes really are sensational and prove that you don't need millions of dollars and CGI to create a real feeling of danger. It's great how the actors convey the adrenaline and fear combination during the tense action scenes with swearing and anger which to me seems all the more realistic and how one might actually react in that situation. The last scenes in the film with the characters making a furious last stand are fast paced and adrenaline charged to the point of making you want to jump up and punch the air.

In all a fabulous film, great script, solid acting and direction and it made me proud to see a Brit director be able to deliver all this with a small budget and not allow the country to become labelled that we are only good at producing romantic comedies, period dramas or east end ganster flicks. I pray this film goes on to become a cult, the features packed DVD in february makes lots of money and Neil Marshall gets the chance to play with an even bigger budget one day. (as a footnote Neil Marshall’s next film The Descent was ok but it was nothing against this masterpiece. The script was weak compared to Dog Soldiers)

 

Rocky II   9/10

My favourite Rocky film

God I love this film. The best rocky in my opinion and such a great sequel. It starts exactly where the first one ends. Grabs the audience, as a sequel should, by showing again the fight from Rocky I and then developing the characters further. Whether Apollo frustrated by only just winning, Rocky and Adrian as they marry and have a child or Mickey spending that time with Rocky in the chapel. The tenderness between R and A is just wonderful. Unlike some directors they just keep the romance simple and I just love the innocence of their relationship. Him a lowly boxer, she a dour shop girl but they love each other and that's all the need.

The training sequences are brilliant, making you wanting to punch the air when they've finished. The fight is great, unrealistic maybe but exciting nonetheless. My favourite scene though is right at the end. Everyone slates it but it always brings a genuine tear to my eye. He's beaten Apollo and achieved his dreams but the only thing important to him is showing this to his wife. The emotion of his 'Yo Adrian, I did it' is just wonderful, like a young boy wanting to show off to his mother. Rocky has been through hell but all he wants is his wife to be proud of him. Mesmerising and touching.

 

The Butterfly Effect, Directors Cut   8/10

Surprisingly good, thoughtful and really affected me (spoilers ahead)

I hired out the Butterfly effect a few days ago and was genuinely pleased and surprised by it.   With it starring Ashton 'Dude where's my car' Kutcher and the trailer pushing the ‘he had to go back in time to save the girl he loved’ I thought it would be cheesy bullshit. How wrong was I?

 

The film was great with involving characters, whose child based stories reminded me of many a Stephen King novel. The temptation to change your own or others past experiences when you know you can, must be very great and the hero’s choices highlighted the frailty of the human spirit in thinking it could play god.  The acting was excellent with Ashton really surprising me, the supporting cast uniformly good, the music very eerie and atmospheric and the story not afraid to go in directions that you might not expect.  To see things getting progressively worse for the main character despite his well intentioned efforts made for great tension and the knowledge that the only real solution was his own death very well handled.

 

The notion of self sacrifice for friends and loved ones is not one that is explored in most films, especially not a sacrifice that ultimately would never be known by the very people you where trying to save.  I think the bravery of the film makers to explore this   theme needs to be applauded as was the beautiful way that it was handled.  A baby strangling itself could be quite horrific but the acting, emotion and most importantly music involved along with the payoff in seeing what his sacrifice led to was very moving and I for one was left very teary eyed at the whole sentiment behind the scene.  Suicide might not be the right thing but I’m sure others have thought about it and/or wondered what impact your life has had on others and this ending helped ask those questions and prompt those thoughts.

 

For me the directors ending was brave, moving and thought provoking and delivered far more resonance than the sappy, unimaginative Hollywood ending.

 

Crimson Tide     8/10

Cracking entertainment

What a marvellous film. The performances from all the cast especially Hackman and Washington are top rate. The fact that you can't all out route for one of the characters because they could both be right or wrong creates a tense dilema that plays in your own head while the film runs.   Neither is played as the ultimate bad guy, as they both have and make valid points.

The action set pieces are excellent and coupled with the political manouevres taking place on board the drama is suitably strong. I have to say that the film score in this by Hans Zimmer is one of the best and most used pieces ever. I read recently that even Michael Beihn used it on the set of The Rock to motivate him with his delivery of lines when he was playing the SEAL captain.

Good film, excellent direction by the under-rated and overlooked Tony Scott who unfortunately seemed to move onto making films with ridiculously fast editing and way too many ‘fancy’ camera effects instead of concentrating on the film, tense script, cracking film score and an action film that appeals to both your brain and your excitement receivers.

 

Sin City   7.5/10

I really enjoyed it

I walked into this film not expecting a great deal. Thought it would be another Kill Bill that was all style and no substance. A film that with so many actors vying for decent screen time would dilute a story into a glorified pantomime.

What a great surprise so see a film that is refreshingly adult, cool to look at and has involving stories. I wasn't sure how I would get on with the high contrast comic book look to the film but it actually works. The fact that they set the world, its physics, what does and doesn't work from the beginning means that you have a control for your intelligence to lock onto. For instance someone might get shot 10 times and still be alive which although preposterous to begin with seems normal once you become involved with the film. It also sticks to these guidelines so you don't a get a normal fight one minute and then another where the confines of gravity seem to have been forgotten the next.

It's so good to see a film that isn't afraid to be squarely aimed at adults. Women have sex but then are not unrealistically scrambling for the covers to hide their nakedness, the revenge motives are played through to their natural conclusion without characters going soft and the blood is liberally applied to blows and injuries.

Mickey Rourke is sensational. I never used to like him as he was quite arrogant in his early days but falling on hard times and forced to do 'straight to video' b movies seemed to provide him with some humility and allows me to appreciate his craft even more. His story is the best of the three. Bruce Willis is also on top form and the rest of the cast deliver very good performances. Clive Owen was just bearable. I don't rate him as that accomplished an actor and for me it showed and this was the weakest story of the three. But this couldn't dampen the creative flair, the depth of story or sheer brutality of the action. There is plenty of female flesh on show (most of it very nice), a smattering of humour where needed, generous amounts of violence delivered with gusto and crunching sound effects and a good score.

Overall I was   impressed. An enjoyable film that was great to look at as well as being involving and rewarding to watch.

 

Ong-Bak   7.5/10

Holy cow

Forgetting the subtitles, bad acting, naive story and annoying high pitched voices of Thai women (which bring it down on the score) this is remarkable for a low budget film that took nearly four years to make.

Slow build but the fighting towards the end is just incredible. Refreshingly violent after the enjoyable but sanitised martial arts that we see from Jackie Chan. Crunching use of knees and elbows, breaking of bones and amazing acrobatics. All done without CGI or high wire rubbish. The film score that they did for the European release isn’t bad either. Granted it ain’t no Hans Zimmer but it’s better than you would expect and the DVD is chocker full of good extras.

Some stuff is cheesy but the fighting is just so amazingly brutal and inventive that it had me laughing with breathless excitement and gasping in awe. Some of the blows look like they actually hit each other and it really is worth seeking out. I left the cinema charged, like I'd had a shot of adrenaline and drunk about 5 cans of red bull. Fantastic.

 

Prince of Darkness     7.5/10

A return to my kind of horror

This has to be one of my favourite Horror films and one of the best Carpenter films. Granted it isn't flash bang, no guns, no explosions and no sex but like the Thing it makes up for it in slow building tension. It scared me with the slow build up of panic and the belief that the truly horrifying things could happen in a forgotten church in some crummy part of town and that a terrible event could well be on us before we knew it. The fact that it had the intelligence to turn the whole story of christ and satan on it's head and explain that there is no god generated an uncomfortable feeling of helplessness.

The music score is classic carpenter. Slow building, nothing fancy and guaranteed to having you looking over your shoulder. Bravo to Carpenter. Intelligent, entertaining, thought provoking and unnerving horror that is a thankfully far removed from the crash/bank schlock that is Ghosts on Mars.

 

Warrior King     7.5/10

Poor execution but giddying martial artistry

The movie started and in many ways it was quite poor. The acting from some people, the story, some of the dubbing and the way that things had been dreamt up that would look good in a set piece but no explanation given as to why they would be there. You could tell the film wanted to be a western one or at least appeal to the western audience and had it's share of flashy camera movements and quick editing which I did get a little concerned at. I don't mind some of the flashy stuff but I was worried that I might not be able to see some of the fight moves. The story didn't have a lot of cohesion or explanation and was shot on some of the graniest stock I've ever seen, at one point it looked like it had been filmed on a mobile but after a time you didn't really mind. What it had was imagination and energy. It spent a lot of time showcasing the elephants which then paid off near the end and explained why Tony reacted as he did.

It wasn't your staid hollywood film that follows a series of tick boxes and although a little jumbled and chaotic, it was it's energy that dragged you along with it. When the fight scenes started you couldn't help but gasp out loud, maybe put together a little clap or even just quietly mouth obscenities. The fights in Ong Bak are excellent and I did wonder if they could be improved upon and amazingly they were. The first major fight in this bus/tram warehouse had some amazing stunts but still didn't catch fire for me. The next was this continuous four-five minute shot as Tony worked his way up this circular staircase dispatching goons at every opportunity. By the time he got to the top you could see his was completely knackered but it was still amazing.

The best fights though were the ones where he was upset. Then he was fighting angry and you could see the rage coming through in his fighting. There are so many martial arts films where the hero talks about his combat skills only being a form of defense and he seems to just parry blows and push others away. In this one though, and certainly at the end fight which seems to last for about 15 minutes, he fought annoyed and intent on causing some serious damage. This is the kind of fighting I've always wanted to see. A fighter who has had something taken from him and is so enraged he wants to take it out on everyone else. Tony goes through this troop of bad guys snapping arms, knees and any other bones he can think of in mind boggling, wonderful style. The moves are breathtaking and so inventive. I couldn't stop giggling in a mixture of shock and awe. He really gave the impression that he was dangerous and you felt like you wouldn't want to enter his body zone for fear of coming out with a dislocated shoulder and your arm broken in three places. The film even managed to inject some x-ray style footage of bones breaking and snapping.

You've got to hand it to the main lead. He researched the ancient art of Muay Thai for Ong Bak and in this film even went some way to invent a new style which related to the elephants (ie breaking, stomping etc). He is incredibly athletic, creative and does possess some emotional range. When he is torn apart by the death of those close to him you can really see it and the rage that the sorrow creates is unleashed in a wave of bone crunching fury. I hope he goes from strength to strength, getting more fame and bigger budgets. One can only hope that a hollywood studio doesn't get hold of him and water down his style and impact to the insipid level that it did with Jet Li in Lethal Weapon 4. Considering this is only his second major film (take a look at Chan, Li and Van Damme's early films) I think he has a very promising future and one that he richly deserves.

Such an entertaining film. When I left the cinema I felt exactly like I had after Ong Bak. Tingling, breathless and light headed from what I'd seen. Ok the makers might have chucked just about everything in the film to push it along but in a way I respect them for doing their utmost to entertain the audience. Like I said before in this age of sanitised films where studios are wary of taking chances and want to put everything into the trailer this was a really welcome blast of exuberant film-making that dazzled, enthralled and exilarated me.

 

Batman Begins   6.5/10

Starts well with intelligence and invention but then descends

It had some original stuff that displayed intelligence and thought with regards to his suit, car and weaponry. It did try to dwell on Bruce a lot more and convey some of his darkness but I found towards the end it became very Hollywood-ised. Sometimes filmmakers try to over complicate things and this was a good example.

I don't know why they can't have a simple bad guy with a simple plan, why do they have to be so elaborate a plot leaving a growing feeling of inevitability that by the end there will be some big explosions, building destruction, lots of flashing lights and Batman will prevail.

The inability of seeing the fighting was immensely frustrating. I don't think I saw him actually land a single punch. It seems a fight scene would be imminent and the makers would speed up the camera, ramp up the bass on the sound, scatter the scene with crunching thuds and smacks but then forget to actually choreograph a fight. Maybe believing that if we heard the thuds and saw some activity on the screen that the audience would imagine the rest and think 'wow, what a scene'. I'd much rather have two or three clearly thrown punches or kicks than 1-2 minutes of whirling cape, bangs and crashes and people falling to the ground.

It's a shame that they re-launch the franchise in a blaze of 'this is going to be darker and different' which it certainly starts off doing before descending a little bit into Hollywood banality. Why not have the courage to really shake things up, have the bravery to maybe end it badly (taking T3's lead) or just not conform to the normal formula.

Showed promise, had some clever stuff and made more of an effort than some in the franchise but still nothing to rival Batman:Mask of the Phantasm as the best batman ever made in my opinion.

 

Star Wars. Episode 3, Revenge of the Sith     6/10

OK but style over substance

Revenge of the Sith Umm, I went in with low expectations, thinking that if there can be just one or two really decent scenes then I will be happy. Did it succeed? Some bits are good. It's genuinely darker, yoda has one or two good moments, some of the fight scenes are OK and Hayden Christianson does have more presence. In the 'night of the long knives' scenes I felt some connection, things where going wrong and you felt the drama and Darth getting angry at the end was an impressive display but overall I think it's a classic example of style over substance, selling the sizzle rather than the sausage itself.

The battle scenes are un-involving. The droids are totally useless, cannon fodder incapable of shooting anything or anyone and uttering cheesy 'uh oh's', so you don't care for them and knowing the clones are all the same and become storm troopers you don't care for them either hence the battles are devoid of any excitement because you really couldn't care less who wins and to be fair the outcome never seems to have any impact on the story. Plenty of lasers, explosions and spinning ships but in the end it's just bangs and flashes and seems almost irrelevant.

R2-D2 seems cool at one moment and the next screaming like a hyperactive child, Sam Jackson corrupts the screen with his presence, you expect him to start shouting and quoting the bible and to be honest isn't good enough an actor to pull it off. You don't feel anything for anakin and padme's relationship. There doesn't seem to be any love or spark between them, although concerned over her future anakin isn't interested in what his loved one says and seems to turn on her remarkably quickly at the end. The lightsaber battles just seem a blur of flashing light, yes they are going fast but so fast you can't actually see any of the moves unlike maybe the scenes in phantom menace or return of the Jedi.

What is it with George as well that he feels his audience has zero patience and thus every scene needs to be only 1-2 minutes long before we have another elaborate cut to the next scene and some of these scenes are so unnecessary and seem constructed purely to show off some new monster or cityscape. It's like he doesn't have the confidence in his written material so he has to pad out every scene with endless flash bangs to divert your attention from what is being said. He also doesn't have the confidence in his actors, instead of them trying to act angry or show love the scenes need clunky dialogue to telegraph the message to the youngest viewer. "Your thoughts betray you young Jedi" my thoughts? Who needs thoughts when every line is so explanatory that it leaves nothing to the imagination or interpretation. The good thing about the first 3 is the arc of the characters, most of them remained and you saw them through the course of the trilogy. In this it seems George needs to create a neatly disposable bad guy for every episode.

I don't know maybe the whole reason was to highlight how good chapters 4-6 where but coming out of this all I wanted to do was to watch the other 3 and take more attention of Darth Vader.

 

Star Wars. Episode II, Attack of the Clones   4/10

Dreadful, laughable, oh dear!

AOTC was just dreadful. I loved the first three Star Wars, grew up with them, had a crush on Leia, even loved the Imperial march music with the 20th century fox film montage that you would get at the beginning of all the videos so i went in looking forward to it. Watched the Phantom Menance at the pictures and found it laughable and clumsy but thought hey as crap as it was, bar Darth Maul, let's give it a go and waited for AOTC. Oh dear, oh dear how can people who love film possibly defend this nonsense. The dialogue is as clunky as hell. Instead of trying to show us that Anakin still loves Amidala through acting and character development Lucas thinks 'Oh no, I haven't got time for that lets just get him to say it on the way up in the elevator. Bish bosh, job done, we can get on with the next chessy action scene. The emotion and sincerety in the love story is pathetic. As much as I wanted it to work it was just cheese city.

Lucas's attempts to explain Anakin's inner torment over his mother where equally tortuous. If he cared about her so much why didn't he do anything earlier ? in fact why was he so happy to leave her in the arms of slavery back in Phantom. Surely Liam Neeson could have sorted something being an all powerful jedi. But no Anakin arrives after six weeks of her being tortured and just as he rescues her she dies. Lucas still might have saved it if he had used this opportunity to show Anakin's rage ( and maybe a little depth of character) when wiping out the village but no this was lost so we were left with a confusing plot, hilarious factory production line set piece that looked like it belonged in Sonic the Hedgehog or Crash Bandicoot, Yoda bouncing around like Kermit on speed, the virtual extermination of the jedi intercut with annoying and unfunny C3PO titbits which just killed any sense of real tension and some of the most dodgy, cheesy, 'flash gordon like' fade in and fade outs between scenes that I have ever seen.

The legacy of Star Wars has been ruined by Lucas's greed and one can only hope that he realises before the third one that although a great visionary he is a piss poor director and should pass it on to someone else pronto. One also wonders if everyone who raves about it so much want it so desperately to be good that they will stomach any old tosh that is served up. Shame on George for turning out this rubbish and shame on his fans for massaging his ego and letting him think that what he's doing is any good.

 

King Arthur   3/10

Boring and uninspiring

Lame fights, cardboard characters with ray winstone bellowing all the time and ioan grufford looking moody, a complete absence of tension or reality with guinevere battling saxons on a frozen lake wearing an off the shoulder chiffon number while everyone around wears sheepskins rugs, the usual 'tennage mutant ninja turtles' approach of having one with double swords, one with sworded knuckledusters, one with a big sword etc, an assortment of tired clichéd arthur on horseback in front of fire, arthur on horseback covered in snow, a dreadful saxon king who sounds like a texan, appalling formulaic uninteresting battles and a woefully uninteresting script.

It had more holes than a connect four board, more cheese than the cheddar gorge and less imagination than an e-sure advert. It truly is utter pants.

 

Flight of the Phoenix (2004) 3/10

Very poor

What a shockingly bad film this was. I tried to give it some slack and enjoyed the crash. I even tried to overlook the first time the plane was completely 'sanded' in and they managed to dig the whole plane out (though the audience didn't see this) but when the guy disappeared after taking a piss 10 feet from the plane, tripped on a rock that wasn't there and then fell down and incline that also wasn't there it began to fall apart.

Things blowing up for no reason, no one getting the raging arse with some short arsed little hitler, impromptu rocks appearing when they are creeping up on the nomads, dennis quad getting an attack of totally unexplained and not dwelt on shakes, nomads who although keeping an eye on the plane only decide to attack when it's taking off and the final totally suspense free flight which if you were aware of the title was hardly unexpected. How cheesy was the 'oh no have they crashed into the valley floor, no they pull up at the last minute and then bank to the right into the setting sun. Does the director not assume that the audience might have seen other action/dramas and thus think that he might have to raise his game when it comes to the end.

What a tiresome, over blown piece of trash. Like not one of the crew would have pushed Giovanni Ribisi off the plane after he made all the rest beg for his help.

 

Blade III   2.5/10

Utter trash

Are they making a film or trying to promote the related album. The music was even more intrusive and annoying than romeo must die. Every time someone went for a walk, bought some groceries or scratched their arse we would get a loud, pointless burst of either techno or rap that served no other purpose than to aid sales of the related album.

I've never seen a more shameless display of product placement than with abigail's continual usage of the ipod, downloading tracks etc when she was having fights. How she managed to beat anyone up mind you when she couldn't hear anything was beyond me.

The weapons were crap, either CGI creations that looked ridiculous (the UV arc !) or toy ray guns bought from Toys R Us that where obviously painted grey to hide the loud yellow plastic flashing muzzle. A wise cracking sidekick whose cracks aren't wise or amusing and trys hard to out swear a guy ritchie film in the belief that it's funny (which occasionally it can be when handled right) which it wasn't A bad guy who is pumped up to be the ultimate badass but then runs away from blade, an annoying blind woman, a young girl that won't die, a first time director displaying every type of camera moves (quick close ups, stop motion shots of shadows moving over buildings, night time fly bys of soaring skysrapers, slow mo shots of characters walking) tired over-loud fight scenes with little or no invention, poor acting from the secondary bad guy played by a p*ss poor wrestler and oh...............the list goes on.

What a travesty compared to the brilliance of blade 2 and this from the same guy who wrote the other two films but thought he would try a hand at the directing game. Don't bother.

 

Movie list

Ok here is a list of my movies. This seems a little geeky but I assure you I'm not one. Yes I love films but these aren't all stored in airtight cupboards in alphabetical order, I do not attend conventions, speak any movie languages (ie Klingon, Elvish), have any film costumes, attend drama classes or collect signatures.  

I just enjoy talking and sharing the experience of movies with people. I will over the course of the next century attempt to post my thoughts on each of these films but until then here is the simple list in no particular order (see a geek would arrange them by date or something)

• Starship Troopers
• Tremors 2
• Evil Dead III : Army of Darkness
• Terminator 2
• Terminator 3
• Dawn of the Dead : Directors cut (2004 remake)
• Aliens
• Seven
• Tomorrow Never Dies
• Rapid Fire
• Remember the Titans
• Dragon : The Bruce Lee Story
• The Green Mile
• Red Dawn
• Speed
• Vampyres
• Bad Boys I & II
• Michael Jackson : History Vol II
• The Rock
• Saving Private Ryan
• The Elephant Man
• The Matrix
• Crimson Tide
• The Thing
• Saw
• Swingers
• Platoon
• Proof of Life
• Thin Red Line
• U-571
• The Last Samurai
• Spiando Marino
• American Psycho
• Dog Soldiers
• Blade II
• Quantum Leap : Series I, II & III
• Dreamscape
• Hard Boiled
• Team America : World Police
• Jaws
• Iron Giant
• The Shawshank Redemption
• Ong Bak
• Warrior King
• Hitch
• Serenity
• Firefly : The Complete Series
• Titantic
• Fellowship of the Ring : EE
• The Two Towers : EE
• The Incredibles
• Star Trek II : The Wrath of Khan
• Star Trek III : The Search for Spock
• Star Trek IV : The Journey Home
• Rain Man
• National Lampoons : Animal House
• The Animatrix
• Way of the Gun
• The Changeling
• American History X
• Carlito's Way
• Prince of Darkness
• The Butterfly Effect : Directors Cut
• Kiss of the Dragon
• Batman : Mask of the Phantasm
• The Magnificent Seven
• The Bridge
• Transformers
• 300
• Leon
• Into the night
• Seabiscuit
• Tom & Jerry classic collection vol 1
• Mission Impossible III
• Quantum Leap. Seasons 1 - 4
• Rambo Box set (4 films)
• The Mist
• Shadow of the Moon
• The Kingdom
• High Risk
• The Lost Empire
• Air Guitar Nation
• Mousehunt
• Brotherhood