ChrisGarrity Reviews

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

One of the greatest films of all time....

[10/10 · 7 November 2000]

Judy Garland plays Dorothy whose safe existence in Kansas in threatened by a hurricane - so she escapes to a new world and meets lots of eerily familiar characters - including the Wicked Witch of the West!

Fantastical musical adventure.

A MUST SEE!

Speed (1994)

This is what happens if you don't pay the police enough!

[8/10 · 6 November 2000]

All Action Picture, Keanu Reeves must save Sandra Bullock from bent ex-cop Dennis Hopper.

Great special effects, and the scene on the speeding bus has entered cinematic history.

Well Worth A Viewing - but be prepared to suspend all rational thought!

Hook (1991)

Spielberg tries to find never never land - but alas fails

[7/10 · 4 November 2000]

The classic childrens story is updated with Robin Williams as Peter Pan, now a Lawyer who must return to Never Never Land.

The problem with the film however is that there are too many American accents in what I always imagined was a typically English story.

D Hoffman is not nearly nasty enough as Captain Hook.

This is one for the younger members of the family, and while the film does have it's moments, overall it was a disappointing effort.

The Goonies (1985)

Brilliant action/comedy/adventure for all the family

[10/10 · 27 October 2000]

Memorable characters created by a young cast & a superb story combine to create a brilliant film.

A young boy and his friends discover a treasure map....and hear a legend of pirate one-eyed willy....but unfortunately the bad guys are after the same treasure...can the boys locate the treasure which would mean his parents won't have to sell their home, does willy exist even after all these years????

'chunky' steals the show!

Falcon's Gold (1982 TV Movie)

Hunt for treasure in South America

[8/10 · 26 October 2000]

A made for tv movie as Simon MacCorkindale goes into South America and must overcome all manner of obstacles (including surprising amount of naked women, for a tv movie) in order to find the treasure he is looking for.

Clash of the Titans (1981)

Fun Family adventure based on Greek Myths and Legends

[10/10 · 25 October 2000]

Laurence Olivier is Zeus watching as his young protege must perform a series of tasks in order to save a Princess.

Medusa with a head full of snakes is an especially fun monster, children will love this film.

its a hit!

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989)

Fun Family Fantasy Adventure

[9/10 · 24 October 2000]

Rick Moranis is a nerd who...guess what....yes thats right shrinks the kids!

Great special effects as the kids try and work there way through the jungle (the back garden) and must somehow find a way of returning to there normal size.

Well worth a watch, especially if you have young children.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)

A Rollercoaster Ride!

[10/10 · 23 October 2000]

Watch this film if only for the opening sequence, which is as good an opening as this genre can provide, whisking Dr Jones out of a Shangai frying-pan into an Indian fire!

Comic book action brought to life in a way that only Spielburg can do!

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958)

Action-Adventure which doesn't look 40 years old!

[9/10 · 21 October 2000]

The fantasy tale of a magic lamp is brilliantly brought to life in this Sinbad film.

Despite a Cyclops, a giant pre-historic bird, and several other monsters (brilliantly made by Ray Harryhausen) the man who steals the film is the Arabian magician Sokurah.

Can Sinbad save the Princess?

Is Sokurah a help or a hinderence to Sinbad finding the ingredients which would save the Princess?

This film is first-class in its story-telling a must see for all the family.

Sirens (1994)

beautiful!

[8/10 · 20 October 2000]

Hugh Grant is the vicar who travels to Australia's outback in the 1930s to meet a controversial artist.

The models played by among others Elle Mcpherson are sublime.

Well worth a viewing

The Eye of Vichy (1993)

Honest look at a shameful past....

[6/10 · 19 October 2000]

French documentary charting Marshall Petain's shameful administration in France during the Second World War.

Excellent documentary, especially if you are studying this period. In French.

Three Men and a Cradle (1985)

3 Men & A Baby filmed as it should have been!

[6/10 · 18 October 2000]

A baby is left on the doorstep by its mother, three sceptical men grow to love the infant, but which is the real father?

A gentle touching comedy, quieter than the American version. Worth a viewing, although because of the language barrier if for no other reason, this film will be deprived a truly mass audience.

Emmanuelle (1974)

Soft porn hits the big screen

[9/10 · 15 October 2000]

Sylvia Kristel is the wife in an 'open relationship' with her husband, this film takes us through her amorous adventures in the Orient, pretty tame by todays standards, although back in an era of censorship, in many countries in the mid-seventies, one can certainly imagine this film raising an eyebrow or two...if little else!

Dead Calm (1989)

film rule number 37: hitchhikers are bad news!

[8/10 · 14 October 2000]

fast paced action-thriller: Zane, Kidman, Niell and hundreds of miles of ocean. This film twists and turns thanks to superb direction by Phillip Noyce.

Zane is the man furiously rowing a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean towards the middle-class couple's idyllic oasis...but they have no choice, right? they have to let him aboard...and what's his story....where did he come from???

Watch this film! its a must-see, you won't be disappointed!

Walkabout (1971)

from a different perspective....life

[7/10 · 14 October 2000]

plot: two english children get lost in the Australian outback...and encounter an aborigine

A young Jenny Agutter is sublime as the older sister, looking after her brother. Her performance alone, as an upper middle class English girl makes this a very watchable if unusual film, which is intelligent, at times sensual and takes you with the children on their voyage of discovery in a new world.