rappers-69836 Reviews

Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (1983–2004)

All About The 1st Series...

[8/10 · 31 May 2023]

The first series of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet stands as one of the finest British TV shows of all time. The wonderful characters and script made stars of virtually all of the cast. If I was reviewing just this Series it would be a sure fire 10/10.

You really don't need to watch the subsequent seasons. It pretty much loses all of the conversational humour and the storylines get more preposterous as it rolls on. Series 2 has a flickering of the old magic but after that don't bother. Be grateful you have 11 hours of Series 1 to cherish and rewatch regularly.. This never gets old. Why don't they make TV like this anymore.

Alien (1979)

The Perfect Blend of Sci-Fi & Horror

[10/10 · 24 March 2023]

Ridley Scott's masterpiece. Combining Sci-Fi which was all the rage at the time after the mammoth success of Star Wars, with horror. Monster films were nothing new, but this particular combination was. Dan O'Bannon's story was about isolation and the fear of the unknown. You can feel the character's fear once the Alien is loose on the ship and it starts picking them off one by one. The actual Alien itself is imposing and frightening in it's intelligence and hostilely.

Tom Skerritt is superb as the ship's captain. Calm, level headed and brave when he elects to go into the air shafts alone to hunt the creature. John Hurt as always impeccable, as is Ian Holm. However, this film made a star out of Sigourney Weaver and you can certainly see why. Fascinating actress who can be tough, and soft in equal measure without betraying the character. Ridley Scott's direction is faultless and for a 1979 production the special effects still stand up to this day. Of course being the success it was, the sequels were always bound to arrive. I am surprised it took 7 years for Aliens to come along, and whilst not as good as Alien, was a worthy follow up albeit in a different style. The films that then followed were less commendable.

L.A. Confidential (1997)

Perfect Crime Noir

[10/10 · 3 March 2023]

Didn't want to give it 10/10, but when looking for something I don't like about this film I didn't find anything. Lush direction by Curtis Hanson, and a fantastic script, but most of important of all fantastic performances by all 4 leads. Guy Pearce nails the by the book and incorruptible young policeman, and Spacey as the world weary showbiz detective is delightful. This was Russell Crowe's big break, and my god you can see why. He inhabits the brutish but generally good guy Bud White totally. And then of course there is Kim Basinger. She was great in Batman (1989) but here she provides that little bit of warmth, and calm. Mesmerising performance, and her scenes with Crowe are spellbinding. The action is brutal, and generally excellent. A film you need to concentrate on, but you will be amply rewarded for that.

The Professionals: Old Dog with New Tricks (1978) Season 1, Episode 3

Not The Best EP

[5/10 · 1 March 2023]

Series 1 of The Professionals was wildly inconsistent. It had memorable excellent episodes (Close Quarters, Female Factor, When The Heat Cools Off and, Private Madness...) mixed with low budget clunkers like Look After Annie and Where The Jungle Ends. Old Dogs is closer to the latter. Preposterous plot, little action and Martin Shaw & Lewis Collins yet to grasp their witty, conversational banter that was such a joy. If you're a newbie to The Professionals this is one to skip, along with the already mentioned above.. "Biiilllyyyyy" remains the most annoying moment of the entire show. You'll know what I mean once you've watched.

Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)

Such a Disappointment

[3/10 · 21 December 2022]

When this was announced and most of the cast from the classic original film were reunited in the sequel, you would be expecting more of the same magic that made BHC such a hit in 1984 and a film that still stands up today. You would be wrong. Tony Scott moves in to direct, but rather than the direction it's the ugly script and storyline which makes this such a turkey. Murphy's Axel Foley, was so likeable in the first instalment but here, he is brash, cocksure, arrogant etc, but most of all, not funny at all. Add to that a boring storyline, and stale baddies, the cocktail was bound to fail. The general consensus is that BHC 2 was an inferior, but worthy follow up to the first film, but I would say it is one of the worst sequels I have ever seen, worse than even Another 48 Hours which was bad enough.

The Pledge (I) (2001)

Nicholson Is On Top Form

[8/10 · 14 December 2022]

On repeated viewing The Pledge is certainly not perfect. The script, certainly early on, adds cliché upon cliché. Retiring cop, who takes one more case, and doesn't want to let it go etc etc. It is wonderfully filmed by Sean Penn that is true, although the music and landscape shots almost seem like padding at times to what is quite a slight storyline. Jack Nicholson is superb, in one of his best performances. Understated and charming. It's a while since I've seen him play a role like that. I loved the ending, and the build up to it, but I can see why it left a bad taste in other viewer's minds. It should of been much more successful than it was however, and I am sure it will be rightly praised as the years go by.

Minder: The Bounty Hunter (1979) Season 1, Episode 5

1st Episode Filmed

[8/10 · 28 September 2022]

Watching this today, I only found out after that it was the first ever Minder actually filmed. The only real tell-tale sign of that is Waterman hasn't quite got into the Terry character yet. His private detective role seems slightly off, , but that could also be down to the writing. It's still fantastically entertaining. Many think Series 1 is the best,. True, the stories never got as gritty again, but a lot of the humour between the characters hadn't quite fully formed yet. No sign of Chisholm & Jones and Dave sparingly used. It definitely got better.. Also, The Winchester doesn't look as it should!

Purple Rain (1984)

Gets Across The Line In The End

[7/10 · 25 May 2022]

To separate the musical performances on the First Avenue stage in Purple Rain to the story / acting is not easy to do. It is all about the struggle to be the best group in this Minneapolis club. It starts with a bang with Let's Go Crazy by our man Prince (one of his most popular songs) and high energy funk from The Time. However the story, and acting certainly for the first hour is not great at all. It's hard to find much sympathy in The Kid (Prince's character) who is distant with his bandmates, and treats his new girlfriend Apollonia coldly. Morris Day try's to bring a bit of comedy to his role as The Time's leader, and The Kid's nemesis, but the jokes fall flat, and are misogynistic even for 1984. Despite this, the last 30 minutes of Purple Rain is electrifying, when you gain a little more sympathy for Prince's character, and the closing performances, and the emotional scenes prior to that almost make you forget the first hour.

First Blood (1982)

Stallone Classic

[10/10 · 28 September 2021]

Stallone likes a sequel, and both the Rocky and Rambo franchises although entertaining, do diminish the quality of the original films. Rocky won the Best Picture award, and was lauded as a masterpiece. First Blood did not win any awards but is every bit as good as Rocky. It's a lean, atmospheric film, with Stallone expertly playing Rambo. He is unlucky and dealt a bad hand, as he enters a small American town, but he's unstable and dangerous at the same time, and it's this balance which makes the picture so enthralling. Although you route for Rambo, you wouldn't want to run into him. Brian Dennehy gives a superb performance as the Sheriff chasing him, and Richard Crenna. Lends ample support as Rambo's former Colonel.

Vigil (2021– )

Letdown

[4/10 · 27 September 2021]

Some of the tension created on the submarine was excellent, but Martin Compston was.ridiculously underused. Story became more contrived and silly as the episodes ticked by. Suzanne Jones and Rose Leslie gave us possibly the most irritating lead characters in television history.. Adam Jones and Patterson Joseph (both terrific) try their best, and are the only reason to actually watch this.

The Outsiders (1976–1977)

Strange, Original, Spellbinding Television

[9/10 · 30 April 2021]

I remember seeing some episodes of this Australian 1970s TV series in the UK in the late 80's, and have since managed to track down the series via bootlegs recently . The stories are unique, with strange outback characters and stunning scenery. It's not watered down television, with Pete and Charlie running into some seriously dodgy people on their travels. Travesty that it never went past one series, and even worse that it's never had a DVD release.