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philip.lander
Reviews
That Summer! (1979)
Not only seen it, but was in it !
Made in the Summer of 78 an odd film with a great soundtrack. Meant to be the follow on from 'Scum' A young man (Ray Winstone) leaves prison and travels down to Torquay for work, meets a girl, and enters a swimming race, and that's about it really.
I was living in Torquay when it was made, and with a mate followed the crew around and generally annoyed them while they were filming. Managed to get in a couple of scenes, that's me and Pete standing on the shore throwing stones into the water about half way through, real method stuff! Paid £5 for our troubles. The only time I have ever seen it was on a warm night in 1983, onboard a Frigate in the West Indies, It was projected from a 16mm print onto the hanger doors as we all sat on the flight deck. Worth seeing for the soundtrack, and us on the beach of course.
Ernest Rides Again (1993)
A Truly Awful Film.
This Film Has absolutely no redeeming points, badly acted, badly directed. So bad I can't believe they actually made more than one. If only Jim Varney spent more time acting and less time mugging to camera it might be a little more bearable. You can imagine the director shouting "this scene calls for a number 2 expression Jim!".
The "sitting on the runaway Cannon scene" is painfully predictable, with the very obvious use of stuntmen making the whole thing unwatchable, don't touch it!!!!!!
The Naked Truth (1957)
Terry Thomas and Peter Sellers at their absolute Best
This is a wonderfully English tale of Blackmail, Attempted Murder and various other dirty deeds, Terry Thomas, playing the kind of upper-class Scoundrel that he does so well absolutely classic . And the crooked game-show host superbly underplayed by a pre Hollywood Peter Sellers who is definitely at his peak , The scenes with Kenneth Griffith as his camp disapproving dresser are sheer class (this is the first of the five or six films they made together). The scene where Sellers slides effortlessly into the Irish character demonstrates perfectly his genius.
Dennis Price is wonderfully cast as the smarmy blackmailer who bites off more than he can chew when he attempts to expose the main characters dodgey pasts.
The only flaw for me is Peggy Mount, she just doesn't seem comfortable with the character and never really settles in. But this is a small moan about what is a delightfully entertaining film.
Mute Witness (1995)
A Slightly offbeat and Hugely Enjoyable Film
This Film is Remarkable for many reasons, a minor, but worth noteing one is the story behind Sir Alec Guinness's appearance in the film.
As mentioned before his scenes were shot few years before the main bulk of the film was completed , the Director approached him personaly at a hotel (in Russia?) and literaly begged him to appear.
The great man agreed on two conditions, the first that he was'nt credited at all, and second that his scenes could be shot the next morning in the 15 minutes before he left for the airport, he had no knowledge of the plot or what the script would be and incidently recieved no fee.
The final result pays homage not only to Sir Alec's acting but also to the editing and foresight of the director.
Big Wednesday (1978)
The only Movie About Surfing Worth Seeing!
This is a truly remarkable film in the way it conjures up the whole 1960 Surfing Scene. If only the Beach Boys had allowed their music to be used then it would have been perfection, but as it is its pretty damn near. Watch not only a film but a whole Life.