Sadly, I fail to agree with the rave reviews given to this film. By taking away everything that made a Bond film unique, we are left with your run-of-the-mill action flick, save for one or two original twists. If I want to watch a gritty action film, I'll watch The Bourne Supermacy or something of that ilk; I don't want to watch Bond without gadgets, Bond without quips, Bond without a sense of fun. Casino Royale is no fun. It's deadly serious. Daniel Craig is a good 007 and there are some witty dialogue exchanges between Bond and Vesper. But moments like this are fleeting. For the rest of the time you could be watching any other action film. Not impressed, and I hope the producers realise that Bond is best when it is DIFFERENT from other action films, not the same.
Reviews
7 Reviews
Mamma Mia!
(2008)
A breath of fresh air
4 March 2009
Firstly, please can the term 'chick-flick' be done away with? This implies any film featuring women or written by women must therefore be Beelzebub's arse poison to any man. What nonsense! We don't call films like Fight Club d*** flicks do we? It's insulting and annoying. Rant over.
Mamma Mia! is the happiest film I've ever seen and always cheers me up. The songs are great the locations stunning; Meryl is brilliant and Amanda as her daughter is really sweet.
Ultimately you'll only dislike this film if you don't like musicals or if you're a complete sour-faced moron who only appreciates films based on comic books or hobgoblins running round after a piece of jewellery.
Enjoy.
Mamma Mia! is the happiest film I've ever seen and always cheers me up. The songs are great the locations stunning; Meryl is brilliant and Amanda as her daughter is really sweet.
Ultimately you'll only dislike this film if you don't like musicals or if you're a complete sour-faced moron who only appreciates films based on comic books or hobgoblins running round after a piece of jewellery.
Enjoy.
Capturing Mary
(2007 TV Movie)
Hauntingly beautiful...and creepy
4 February 2009
Like Shooting the Past and Friends and Crocodiles, Poliakoff creates yet another intriguing dynamic between a man and a woman, and unlike every other television writer, he doesn't fall for the cliché that just because two people of the opposite sex meet that they should then fall in love.
No, his writing is far more interesting, far more subtle, and like his other films the relationship between the two protagonists is captivating. Unlike the other films however, in Capturing Mary it is also very creepy.
I loved the concept of this young woman unable to shake off these horrible stories she has heard, unable to escape from Greville's destructive influence. Yes by the end there are more questions than answers but I think this is a minor flaw in an otherwise brilliant observation of regret, loss, fear and the effect a few moments of your life can have on you forever.
Stunning, haunting, beautiful and eerie, you'll be thinking about this film long after the DVD has stopped.
No, his writing is far more interesting, far more subtle, and like his other films the relationship between the two protagonists is captivating. Unlike the other films however, in Capturing Mary it is also very creepy.
I loved the concept of this young woman unable to shake off these horrible stories she has heard, unable to escape from Greville's destructive influence. Yes by the end there are more questions than answers but I think this is a minor flaw in an otherwise brilliant observation of regret, loss, fear and the effect a few moments of your life can have on you forever.
Stunning, haunting, beautiful and eerie, you'll be thinking about this film long after the DVD has stopped.
The Legend of Zorro
(2005)
Misguided humour and terrorism - no thanks
17 January 2009
Sadly, this film is not a patch on the first. The first had a good storyline, buckets of action complimented by just a dash of humour and plenty of romance.
This lacklustre sequel tries to do the same, but though the action is still there it is weakened by a poor storyline, bad characters and misplaced humour. The bad guy is some religious nut case who I simply loathed - and not in a good way. He was just awful, spouting religious nonsense as if to give the film a modern flavour. A lot of the flaws of this film stem from this idea, the storyline revolves around terrorism in the new US of A and it stinks. I want Spain, I want dusty plains and mountains - the old romantic land of Zorro! As for the humour, it doesn't work by and large. Laughing at Tornado as he necks a beer and smokes a pipe - a gag repeated with Catherine Zetea-Jones - just isn't funny.
This tried too hard to work on all levels and largely fails at them all. It's a swashbuckler but a silly one. Not as bad as Mr and Mrs Smith, thank heaven, but it sails close to the wind. A real shame, as the first Zorro was class.
This lacklustre sequel tries to do the same, but though the action is still there it is weakened by a poor storyline, bad characters and misplaced humour. The bad guy is some religious nut case who I simply loathed - and not in a good way. He was just awful, spouting religious nonsense as if to give the film a modern flavour. A lot of the flaws of this film stem from this idea, the storyline revolves around terrorism in the new US of A and it stinks. I want Spain, I want dusty plains and mountains - the old romantic land of Zorro! As for the humour, it doesn't work by and large. Laughing at Tornado as he necks a beer and smokes a pipe - a gag repeated with Catherine Zetea-Jones - just isn't funny.
This tried too hard to work on all levels and largely fails at them all. It's a swashbuckler but a silly one. Not as bad as Mr and Mrs Smith, thank heaven, but it sails close to the wind. A real shame, as the first Zorro was class.
The Island
(2005)
Good, shame about the women.
25 October 2008
I'll keep this brief: firstly, this is enjoyable nonsense - good enough to buy on DVD, far, FAR superior to the God-awful Mr and Mrs Smith which promised to be enjoyable nonsense too, but turned out to be utter tripe.
One good line in this film is in response to Lincoln asking Mac who God is: "You know when you close your eyes and wish for something really, really hard? God's the guy that ignores you." Unfortunately there are moments of misogyny in this film which really bug me: Mac's 'joke' about never lending a woman your credit card is so lame he may as well have thrown in a mother-in-law gag while he was at it, and his pretty girlfriend is portrayed as a dum, yapping nuisance who was only there to keep PVC uniform's stashed in her closet and ferry the beer in. In other words she was an interfering nag. Why a lady as pretty as this would shack up with such a useless slimeball is beyond me, but it seems to happen a lot in these kind of 'boys own' American movies.
While talking to Lincoln and Jordon he describes 'some hag trophy wife....' which is rich coming from an ugly nerd like him.
It's been a long time since I've seen a film which so clearly has been written by men aiming for the spotty teenage boy market, and unfortunately their attitude towards women and the juvenile way they are portrayed gets on my nerves.
Other than that, it's a pretty good Saturday night popcorn flick. Just ignore the sexism if you can.
One good line in this film is in response to Lincoln asking Mac who God is: "You know when you close your eyes and wish for something really, really hard? God's the guy that ignores you." Unfortunately there are moments of misogyny in this film which really bug me: Mac's 'joke' about never lending a woman your credit card is so lame he may as well have thrown in a mother-in-law gag while he was at it, and his pretty girlfriend is portrayed as a dum, yapping nuisance who was only there to keep PVC uniform's stashed in her closet and ferry the beer in. In other words she was an interfering nag. Why a lady as pretty as this would shack up with such a useless slimeball is beyond me, but it seems to happen a lot in these kind of 'boys own' American movies.
While talking to Lincoln and Jordon he describes 'some hag trophy wife....' which is rich coming from an ugly nerd like him.
It's been a long time since I've seen a film which so clearly has been written by men aiming for the spotty teenage boy market, and unfortunately their attitude towards women and the juvenile way they are portrayed gets on my nerves.
Other than that, it's a pretty good Saturday night popcorn flick. Just ignore the sexism if you can.
Chris Cross
(1993)
The last great kids drama
17 June 2007
I loved Chris Cross. It was shown here in the UK on children's ITV. I've still got the series on tape. Simon Fenton (Chris) was a cutie - he's an English actor, though you wouldn't know by the American accent. And why Dinah was dubbed English when the actress is American I don't know but they dubbed her very well. Berkely was funny as was the headmaster, whose name escapes me at present! There's also a debut from a young Sarah Alexander in one episode (she of Smack the Pony/Coupling/The Worst Week of my Life fame) - I think it's series 2 where Oliver and Chris have the run of the school to themselves and get invaded by a gang of bikers.
If my school was as lush as this one and as fun, I'd go! They don't make em like this anymore.
If my school was as lush as this one and as fun, I'd go! They don't make em like this anymore.
Stands head and shoulders over every other episode
16 June 2007
Steven Moffatt is a genius. Fact. I have loved his work since Press Gang Oh so many years ago. Sadly this series of Doctor Who hasn't been patchy so much as utterly forgettable, with the exception of a few episodes. 'Blink' is an episode which not only stands out for Doctor Who, but also as one of the best pieces of television I have ever watched.
The writing was razor sharp, the characters lovable and fully-rounded, the plot was tight and gripping, interweaving intrigue with poignancy and humour. Carey Mulligan who plays Sally Sparrow should surely be the Doctor's new assistant as she's caring, intelligent, witty and an attractive companion. You instantly liked this girl.
It was scary in a way which reminded me of the old drama series from my childhood and I loved every minute of it. I will buy the DVD with this episode on even if it does cost £14 for just 4 episodes! An outstanding piece of drama.
The writing was razor sharp, the characters lovable and fully-rounded, the plot was tight and gripping, interweaving intrigue with poignancy and humour. Carey Mulligan who plays Sally Sparrow should surely be the Doctor's new assistant as she's caring, intelligent, witty and an attractive companion. You instantly liked this girl.
It was scary in a way which reminded me of the old drama series from my childhood and I loved every minute of it. I will buy the DVD with this episode on even if it does cost £14 for just 4 episodes! An outstanding piece of drama.
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