geomac39 Reviews

Dirty (2005)

no hope

[7/10 · 19 May 2007]

there was a review quote " If you liked " Traing Day " then you will like this. No, its way past Training Day in violence. Way past anything I've seen in the gritty reality stakes. A bad part of Los Angeles, where the population, it seems to me, is split between predators and prey.... and even the prey are opportunists who will turn to crime when it suits them. Thats the message of this movie. A corner of Tinseltown where civilisation does not exist, where anarchy rules, where the police are the most powerful criminal gang and will do anything to stay there. Everything's corrupt, except possibly the impotent Internal affairs office. Police officer played by Cuba Gooding Jr says to his partner played by Clifton Collins Jr. " Don't you get it ? there ARE no gangs, we've got rid of them all and WE are the only gang left " A good movie, but one that left a strong feeling of foreboding in me, and a realisation that all of us depend on a very thin veneer of civilisation, which, when overstressed can collapse in ruins.

Trauma (I) (2004)

what the hell?

[4/10 · 16 May 2007]

I watched this all the way through, though I cant pretend I liked it. The overwhelming impression of this movie was confusion. I had zero idea of what the hell was going on. All the effects of a shocker movie were there, the insects,the momentary glimpses of things undetermined, to raise the tension, the creepy caretaker, the muted colouring, the mutilated corpse, flashbacks, the almost abandoned building which was an ex hospital with, handily, a morgue in the basement ! etc etc. For me a movie must have entertainment value, there was none here, the story was nasty all the way through. Acting ? Colin Firth, Mena Suvari... first class as you would expect when you manage to acquire actors of their standing you want to put them in a better vehicle than this movie.

Epoch (2001 TV Movie)

ho hum

[2/10 · 9 May 2007]

I am going to have to stop picking DVD's on their cover graphics, which was the case for EPOCH. This is a comedy ? yes ? must be because I laughed a lot. EPOCH is not just a stereotype, but a STEREOTYPE of a stereotype. Lets see what I can remember..... alien chamber with long threads of vapour inside, check. Entities a copy of the ones from ABYSS, check. Ethereal off key male voices, intermittent kettle drums with the odd bass drum to raise tension, check. Thuggish trigger happy US rangers invading a sovereign nation, check. Incompetent officers at loggerheads, check. A nuclear weapon with red number countdown, check. A scientist trying to defuse such bomb with a Swiss Army knife,check. The artifact collapsing with giant rocks falling down ( Indiana Jones, the Mummy etc. ) Aliens deciding that we are worth saving eventually, check. Last, but not least, a virgin pregnancy. I watched it all the way through ignoring the "turkey meter " warning horn. I don't normally do this so it MUST have some entertainment value which I am unable to fathom. Over to you, folks !

New Tricks (2003–2015)

as close to perfect as you can get

[9/10 · 28 April 2007]

This series just gets better and better. You cant pick who is the better actor, they are all first class. No stereotyping here, all believable, no suspension of reality required.. its just pure entertainment and the fastest hour on the TV. It remains to be seen how far they can extend the series using the same premise. This is quality viewing from the Brits, the way they do it best. Amanda Redman showed us what she was made of in " At Home with the Braithwaites " another show you cant wait to see the next episode ! She has an unconventional beauty that makes her irresistible to watch, at least to THIS viewer. The male part of the cast work so well together, as they should as they are all veterans of the screen.....the show is smooth, seamless, funny and with real non plastic people who do not look all the same unlike in police dramas from the US, which seem to run to a tired formula, tired dialogue.... and is it just me ....but in US dramas when actors leave through a door....why do they inevitably have to turn and say something ??

Primeval (2007–2011)

could have been much better

[2/10 · 28 April 2007]

I watched the first episode only and this is a production in which the CGI animals are the stars. The acting is truly, truly awful, the " professor " says very little and most of the time just stands there with a strange look on his face as if he is suffering from constipation. The other " actors " are much the same with few exceptions. There are holes in the story you could steer a battleship through. OK in a SF movie you have to suspend belief... the problem was the animals were more believable than the actors ! I have seen the people in the cast before in various TV roles, the acting was OK then, so it has to be the writers and directors fault. Its no Dr. Who, thats for sure.... and its no Jurassic Park. BUT..... its a turkey and I am certain it wont get better if this episode is any indication. Finally I had NO idea lady scientists were so glamorous, had blond hair, pouting lips, perfect figures and talked like the lights were on but nobody home. I missed my calling.

The Girls of Pleasure Island (1953)

exotic south sea island story

[6/10 · 8 October 2005]

Saw this when it first came out in 1953 and had teenage crush on Audrey Dalton ever since ! Predictable plot line, but good acting from Leo Genn, sort of like " South Pacific " without the music. Leo spent a lot of his time advising that affairs with the army boys would only lead to heartbreak when the war ended and they all left. A total fairy tale of course, the army engineers had nothing to do except flirt with the girls ( Audreys sisters ). I liked that it was on an actual location ( guessing Hawaii ) and it seemed SO exotic for a lad from freezing Scotland in the context of the period and I saw it a total of four times... the last time in 1955, so this " critique " is from the dim and distant past. I believe audrey is still with us, but sadly, not Leo who was a fine actor indeed