cyclonev Reviews

Gideon C.I.D. (1964–1966)

Based on John Creasey novels

[9 July 2003]

The 'Gideon's Way' TV series was based on a series of novels by John Creasey. The series was written/published, under the pseudonym of J J Marrick, between 1955 ('Gideon's Day') and 1976 ('Gideon's Drive'). I picked up another Gideon novel at an op shop (thrift shop) which was written and published after after John Creasey's death but was written by someone else using the pseudonym J J Marrick (it was very poor).

As with the 60s TV series, 'The Baron', John Creasey is again strangely not credited here as at least the creator of the characters.

The Baron (1966–1967)

Based on John Creasey novels

[9 July 2003]

'The Baron' series of novels was written/published between 1937 ('Meet the Baron') and 1979 ('Love for the Baron'), with a total of 47 books in the series. John Creasey also wrote the novels upon which 'Gideon's Way' was based, as well as several hundred other mainly detective novels, under a number of pseudonyms. They are all reprinted now under the authorship of John Creasey (when they ARE reprinted...)

It's curious that he's not credited here for The Baron series, as many of the character names and the basic plot are directly from the novels.

Gideon of Scotland Yard (1958)

Based on novel from series

[9 July 2003]

The novel 'Gideon's Day' was the first in the Gideon series by John Creasey (written under the pseudonym of J J Marric) and was published in 1955. Each book in the series followed 'G G' (George Gideon) through a period of time. Cases that came up during that time were not necessarily solved by the end of the novel: they were kind of a "slice of life" of (Creasey's image of) 50s Scotland Yard.

There are 21 novels in the Gideon series, as written by John Creasey, with the last one published in 1976 (2 years after his death). I did, however, once came across another Gideon novel, written after Creasey's death by another author using the name J J Marric. If you like the Gideon TV series and movie and are interested in the books, make SURE they are by Creasey as anything else is a very poor substitute.

Salute the Toff (1951)

Based on the novel...

[9 July 2003]

Based on 'Salute the Toff' by John Creasey, published in 1941. This was 6th in the series of 'Toff' novels, which were written/published between 1938 ('Introducing the Toff') and 1977 ('The Toff & the Crooked Copper').

Although uncredited on IMDB, Creasey is also the creator of George Gideon of Scotland Yard (the TV series 'Gideon's Way') and John Mannering aka The Baron (TV series 'The Baron).

Erik the Viking (1989)

Classic moments

[6/10 · 30 May 2003]

'Erik' was quite cute and had some absolutely brilliant moments but overall wasn't as tight and consistently funny as I was hoping. There were quite a few sections that seemed to wander along pointlessly; what a pity!

Tim Robbins was fine in a cutesy, little boy way which is, I guess, what he was supposed to be. I couldn't help wishing he had a tad more substance. Cleese's role seemed generally uninspired with only brief moments of genius. It was fun, however, seeing Tim McInnerny pre-Blackadder-"Captain Darling" days and Antony Sher made an excellent "trickster" Loki.

It's possible that the print I rented from my local video shop was a bit more dingy than the original, but the stunning scenery (filmed in Norway, Malta and England) lost its effect.

Despite these negatives, it's certainly worth watching at least once, if only for those inspired moments of comedy it contains.

The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)

Superb dark fairytale

[10/10 · 20 May 2003]

To me, the best Coen brothers' so far. It's a close, close thing however, when I find 99% or so of their work absolutely brilliant. This one seemed to have the perfect balance of black comedy and fantasy. For me, Barton Fink, for example, was almost (just almost) too black. Absolutely brilliant, but it made me feel more sick than anything else. But that's just me. This is perfect. Magic.

Press Gang (1989–1993)

"Your lips are big."

[20 May 2003]

Ah yes - Lynda's classic comeback: the only bad thing she could say about Spike *sigh* And who doesn't remember that eventual declaration: "I vole you."

Oh dear, I'm gushing like everyone else! This, as far as I'm concerned, wasn't a show for "young adults". It could be watched by "young adults", for sure, but the wildly comic and consistently excellent script and acting made it a delight for anyone. I guess I was around 20 when I first caught sight of it. My boyfriend at the time was 32 and he loved it too.

So many of the actors who started off in this, eg Julia, Dexter Fletcher (ok, he was in the Elephant Man as a kiddie, but surely this was his first romantic (!) adult role?), Gabrielle Anwar, Paul Reynolds (I) have gone on to... I can't say greater things necessarily, but many other excellent things at least.

I'm just desperately sad that my videos of PG, incomplete to begin with, have self-destructed over the years. I wish the ABC (Australia) would repeat the whole dang lot of it but knowing them it's gone for good.

About Adam (2000)

"Oh my god. Those women - those stupid women." - Laura

[4/10 · 19 May 2003]

I guess from my reaction to many a romantic comedy, some may think I'm male. Actually I'm a heterosexual female who enjoys ORIGINAL romantic comedy, but I also have half a brain and expect some degree of intelligence from films.

The Laura character summed this film up pretty thoroughly for me. She is an English actor, meaning that two of the main characters, including of course THE main female lead, were not Irish. I can't be bothered repeating why this is extremely sad - it's been said so many times - but the marketing machine behind most movies will not change it's mind about shoving Americans (or Brits) into the leads in "foreign" films, no matter how much people complain. They want the bucks, you know, and a famous names DOES mean more bums on seats. Sad but true.

I found this film uninspired. There were perhaps 2 or 3 genuinely amusing and surprising lines. The characters were pretty much laughable, in a bad way. Adam's justification for his machiavellian behaviour I found ridiculous and unconvincing. This guy is not altruistic - that much should have been patently obvious to anyone with a brain half the size of an ant's b**ls.

I hung on to the end. Lord knows why as I tend to advise: if you don't like a movie, turn it off. Maybe I'm feeling rather masochistic today or maybe I kept hoping something was going to happen to make it worth my while. It didn't.

That said, if you don't care about intelligent scripts or whether a movie rehashes themes/styles/plots that have been done better elsewhere many a time and if you like fluffy, pointless romantic comedy no matter what, then watch and enjoy! 4/10

Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)

Surprisingly worth watching

[7/10 · 18 May 2003]

From the hype surrounding its release, I expected very little of BJD. I'm not generally a fan of mainstream films, especially romantic comedies; I'm not even going to mention the term "chick flick" (oops!) as I find it (the term & most of the movies described as such) utterly offensive.

Anyhoo, a friend got this out on DVD and I found it fairly consistently amusing. It wasn't offensively soppy, the characters, while still pretty stereotypical if you are used to more realistic, non-mainstream cinema, were at least slightly less commonly used stereotypes and there were a fair few laughs to be had for someone who expects at least a modicum of wit and intelligence from a comedy script.

I can't, in general, stand Mr Grant, and Colin Firth has been so typecast of late as a terribly "nice" fellow without much substance; Firth played true to type - I too found myself wishing Bridget would tell him to p*** off, she was so much better than him despite her human frailties - but Hugh Grant was surprisingly not bad. I find him much more believable as an a***hole than his usual nice guy characters.

To sum up, you'll probably love it if you're a mainstream romantic comedy fan and you might even like it if you're not. 7/10

Endgame (2000 TV Movie)

dark, grim, ugly, fascinating

[10/10 · 18 May 2003]

One of the best from the series The Complete Beckett. Gambon is dreadful and brilliant. I found myself utterly riveted. As the TV ads here said when the full series was shown recently, many will find Beckett pointless. A fortunate few will find him brilliant. Thank heavens this series was made.

Death in Brunswick (1990)

BLACK comedy, folks (and a very good one too)

[7/10 · 18 May 2003]

I enjoyed DIB and don't have much to add to the other positive reviews posted, however I just had to comment on the couple of reviews questioning whether it was a comedy. If you don't understand and enjoy BLACK comedy then don't watch a black comedy and expect to enjoy it! Surely the title should give you a pretty good clue as to whether you're going to like it or not. If you find the idea of death/grim subjects innately unfunny then switch off!

I find it tremendously sad, but not surprising, that there are so many people in the world who can't find something funny unless it's "clean" and "nice". What a loss for them. Oh well, all the more for the rest of us!

Bullshot Crummond (1983)

Just super

[8/10 · 18 May 2003]

Very much along the lines of Ripping Yarns, so essential viewing if that's your kind of thing. The cast by itself should give you a fair idea of whether you'll like it. Unashamedly "dated"; I never find that term valid as criticism - surely any film/programme that so strongly represented its era that morons have to call it "dated" isn't necessarily a bad thing? Don't be disturbed by the moronic female lead - the actor playing her co-wrote the script and, remember, it is satire!

Ra ra ra!!

Cecil B. Demented (2000)

Oh well...

[2/10 · 14 May 2003]

I didn't take this too seriously, and I looked forward to it. It was occasionally inspired and had hilarious moments - brief, brief moments - but mostly was plodding. I add my 'aye' to all who questioned Melanie Griffiths ability in this film - I found her painful and less than useless. There are obviously some roles she can carry off with some sort of style (I'm not a big fan of hers in general), but this isn't one of them. I guess she could have MEANT to look like a brain damaged alien dropped down in the middle of (relatively) real people but for me it didn't work.

That said, if you love totally, consciously, trashy films, completely anarchic plot lines and very, very, very few production values, if any (I like plenty of "cheap" films, but most have an ounce of some sort of style) maybe you'll be one of the DeMented lovers. Otherwise, you might want to give it a miss.

Chocolat (2000)

Nice

[7/10 · 12 May 2003]

It's hard to say anything else! The message of this movie is extremely straight forward and is made clear in the first few minutes. Nothing really comes along to enrich that message; everything potters along quite pleasantly to the obvious ending.

I didn't find this dislikeable (apart from the irritating accents - the m'sieurs and madames etc were pretty objectionable, until I kind of mentally blocked them out, but the worst was probably the American kiddies in the Sunday School who had no ability/made no attempt to sound the least bit French) but I didn't find it superb either. There are so many other films that have done this kind of thing better.

The sudden and quite absurd changes in personality that some of the characters underwent didn't seem to me to make sense in the context of the film. If it had been a bit more bizarre in general these unreal plot devices may well have been more believable.

My best recommendation for this film would be, if the mild sex scenes were removed, as a kind of slightly more mature 'Madeline' for kids, or perhaps young teenagers. If you like films that are quite pretty, quite innocuous and potter along in a friendly manner, this one's certainly for you!

The Impostors (1998)

Brilliant

[10/10 · 12 May 2003]

Maybe it is because I'm a fan of "screwball" comedies, although I abhor that word. I'd prefer to say I'm a fan of intelligent, absurdist, fun, fast-paced comedies, and this fits the bill perfectly. Every line is a gem, every facial expression telling. Highlights: "Happy" Franks - Johnny Ray was never this good!, the mood exercises, the perverse Prussian, the spy's "girlfriend" on the radio.. heck, there's just too much to mention. Mr Tucci, do it again!!

Breakfast of Champions (1999)

If you're not a Vonnegut fan...

[9/10 · 12 May 2003]

...most likely, don't watch it (unless you're an intelligent, sensitive fan of bizarrity/absurdist humour who somehow or other hasn't managed to come across Vonnegut yet). From the majority of reviews here I'd say anyone who doesn't know and appreciate Vonnegut will be going "What the h***?!?" along with the rest of them. Sad, but true. For Vonnegut fans, watch it - absolutely. This is the best you're ever going to see Bruce Willis, I reckon.. I found it pretty darned incredible that he was able to put in a performance I didn't totally cringe at. Not bad at all, and certainly brings to the screen the magic of the story. 8/10

Bob Roberts (1992)

Painful

[9/10 · 12 May 2003]

Excellent. Dreadfully, horrifically real. Having spent quite some time in the US, I was stunned at the highly violent and offensive extreme right-wing media that is so prevalent there. For those reviewers who have claimed there is no right wing bias in the US media, you are either maliciously telling untruths or you are incredibly blind to reality. I heard a right wing CHRISTIAN station announcer stating that any woman who commits adultery (not man, mind you) should be killed. Seriously. This wasn't an isolated instance of such offensive statements, just an example of what I saw and heard. I didn't find this movie funny, because it's all so terribly true.