derek917 Reviews

Ford v Ferrari (2019)

Motor racing movie that should appeal to many.

[8/10 · 13 April 2020]

Although based on the true events leading up to, and during, the 1966 Le Mans 24 hour race, there are quite a few inaccuracies in the story told here. For most people though, this is an enjoyable movie as Bale and Damon are on top form. Motor racing fans will love the racing scenes with good close up action featuring legendary Fords, Ferraris, and Porsches. At around two and a half hours, the overall pace should have been a bit faster, after all it is about racing! As always, many reviews here on IMDB make interesting reading, just don't believe the very negative ones.

Instrument of War (2017)

Based on true events. Violin strings and heartstrings.

[7/10 · 10 April 2020]

This film obviously isn't a big budget Hollywood blockbuster, but I was pleasantly surprised how much it held my attention. It's not up there with The Great Escape, but still a decent WWII movie. All sides suffer during a war and that certainly comes across.The 'instrument' referred to in the title is a violin, so this movie would appeal to anyone who plays one. The acting is okay and the script could have been better. A sincere attempt at showing life in a prisoner of war camp under Nazi rule. Worth a watch.

Le Mans (1971)

Race car fans will love it, everyone else won't.

[9/10 · 4 July 2015]

If you love motor racing you will appreciate this movie. 1970's France, the legendary Porsche 917, actor/genuine racer Steve McQueen, great on board footage, atmospheric night scenes, etc. This movie was a very personal project for Steve McQueen. He had his own production company and was executive producer. He wanted to bring the realism of racing to the big screen. There was no love story, no sub-plot, numerous problems behind the scenes, and it ran over budget. But I believe he succeeded in what he set out to achieve, to make the definitive car racing movie. This movie may not have been a big box office hit in 1971, but it has a cult following and, 45 years after it was made, a documentary movie about it was made called Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans.

Noah (2014)

Awful, more Middle-Earth than Old Testament! Forgive them.

[1/10 · 3 August 2014]

A few words of advice for movie writers, directors, producers and actors: If you are going to make a film based on a book, (especially one of the biggest selling books ever!), give people what they want! Stick to the original story! This weird abstract nonsense by Darren Aronofsky made me think he had lost the plot, literally!, and made it up as he went along! He is obviously a Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings) wannabe, but this was supposed to be about characters from the Old Testament, not Middle-earth! Imagine how Tolkien fans would feel if Noah showed up in the Shire with the Transformers to help in The Hobbit. If you want a reasonably good example of how the Bible can be translated onto the screen, watch Son of God, starring Diogo Morgado, or the excellent Emmy nominated mini-series The Bible. Please forgive the makers of this movie, they didn't know what they were doing! On the positive side, many of the reviews here are quite funny and make great reading!