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Jack the Ripper (1988)
Great movie - awful science
I have watched this movie several times - the story is great, the acting is great, the casting is great, etc.. It hasn't got anything to do with the original Whitechapel murders, however.
The factual errors in this movie are to numerous to mention - a few webpages have tried counting them all, and I think there are more than 100 major errors in this movie. A lot of the characters are portrayed quite differently from how they actually where, some of the chronology is all wrong, a lot of central evidence has been withheld, some evidence has even been made up, etc.
There is nothing "well balanced" about this, if you're looking for a portrayal of the actual events that took place. Most of this movie is based on a book by Stephen Knight - or one of his fans - a book which has been denounced as totally incorrect and factless by ALL serious Ripper researchers.
Still a great movie, though - can't give it more than 7/10 however, as it claims to be a true story - which it most certainly is not!
Mine kære koner (1943)
Hilarious!
This is probably one of the best Danish comedies of the 1940s and 1950s. Filmed during the war, it features a rare display of Danish crazy comedy which, for some reason, is totally absent in Danish movies from the late 1940s and onwards.
The story is all about an actor, his four ex-wives, their new husbands and a young girl who falls in love with the actor. The ex-wives makes an alliance to 'save' the young girl from their ex-husband, the new husbands makes an alliance because they think their ex-wives are having an affair with their ex-husband, and what the actor and young would-be actress are doing is a whole other matter.
The movie stars some of the finest Danish comedy actors of the 40s and 50s with Helge Kjærulff-Schmidt (husband to one of the ex-wives) as the greatest asset.
'Mine Kære Koner' is highly recommendable and way better than the countless Danish 'family comedies' of the 50s and 60s, which for some reason gets all the mention today.
Plan B (2001)
Disappointed...
The cast looked promising, the storyline seemed to hold some laughs, and I was in the mood for some off-beat Diane Keaton gangster comedy.
Well, there are a few laughs to be had through-out the movie, but most of the time I just thought 'when is something interesting going to happen?' and 'when does Diane stop crying/shouting/babbling hysterically?'. I'm used to watching Diane Keaton playing this type of character, but in this case she really overdid it (may be the Director's fault, who knows). An outright terrible performance is made by Anthony DeSando playing the son/sidekick/whatever of Sorvino's character. The part in itself is exceptionally stupid (very cliché), but DeSando manages to make the character appear so stupid, that it isn't even funny (which I believe it was intended to be).
Bob Balaban (as Keaton's brother), Burt Young (as one of the persons she's asked to kill) and sometimes also Maury Chaykin makes the last half the movie somewhat tolerable, after 40 minutes of Keaton freaking out all the time.
The movie isn't exactly terrible, but it is the worst Diane Keaton-flick I've seen for some time.
Blackadder Back & Forth (1999)
Perfect end to a brilliant show
I've been a huge Blackadder fan for years, but I've only just seen this BA-special now - January 2002. And I must say - I was positively surprised, as I had heard a lot of critical remarks about it.
BA Back and Forth is a brilliant ending to one of the best comedy shows in television history. It wraps it all up beautifully, and fans of the BA series can't help but laugh at the many in-jokes and cliches, despite having heard them a lot of times before.
If you are a fan of Prince/Lord/Butler/Captain Edmund Blackadder and haven't seen this 33-minute special - call your video rental, buy it on DVD or start making a lot of phone calls to the programme managers at your local TV-station!
Scoop (1987)
Excellent adaption of Waugh's novel
This is an excellent screen-adaption of one of British author Evelyn Waugh's most entertaining books. A young man (played very well by Michael Maloney) who writes a weekly newspaper column about British rural life from his family estate, is mistaken for a war correspondent by confused subeditor (Denholm Elliot) and is sent to the suspected action site of Ishmaelia somewhere in Africa. On his journey he meets an elusive man of mystery (Herbert Lom), a stunning German blonde (Renee Soutendijk) an insane Swede and various other strange characters. And nobody seems to know exactly where the war is... Having read the book as well, I must say that this movie adaption resembles the book very well - I don't think Mr. Waugh could have hoped for more.
The Road to Wellville (1994)
Brilliant
I completely fail to understand the low ratings of this movie. I was hooked on it the first time I saw it, and I've watched it 10-15 times since then.
Hilarious situations and perfect play by Cusack and Broderick and especially by old English superstar John Neville. It may be that the movie does not do the book complete justice; but what care I - I haven't read the book. Instead I have discovered The Road to Wellville to be one of the finest comedies ever done.
Bedstemor går amok (1944)
Very funny short movie
This short B/W movie is one of the funniest Danish movies of the 1940s. It combines verbal humour 30 years ahead of its time with Chaplin-inspired slapstick and the twenty-something grandson mixing drinks for his grandmother, with the result that both of them gets quite drunk and goes in search of a lion.. An undiscovered gem of the time. Great acting by Helge Kjærulf Schmidt.
Un tè con Mussolini (1999)
No surprises, but high quality
This is a good movie - no more, no less.
There aren't any surprises, the story is very predictable, but the actors are great, and you keep smiling throughout the movie. There are a lot of fun moments, a few dramatic ones and some are touching.
This is not a great movie, but for entertainment purposes there are few which are better. Good solid work by director Zeffireli and the grand old ladies of acting Maggie Smith, Joan Plowright and Dame Judi Dench in a memorable performance as Arabella.
USA are represented by Cher and Lily Tomlin, who are of course also fine actresses, and do a fine job in this movie.
Motello (1998)
Hitchcock meets Lynch in mediocre movie
Wikke & Rasmussen has been known for 15-20 years for making alternative but intelligent humoristic television. This is a typical Wikke/Rasmussen movie, with Hitchcockish elements in a David Lynch-like setting. The first 45 minutes or so builds up the plot quite good, the next 25 minutes or so stalls a bit, but are somewhat interesting - the ending however, is rather poor and sudden - there is no real intensity in the last scenes of the movie, and the viewer sits back with a feeling that they could have done it a lot better, the material and storyline taken into consideration.
Snake Eyes (1998)
Predictable and entertaining
Having watched the first 30 minutes you know how the rest will be. The special effects and the flashbacks, however, are impressive and makes the movie worthwhile. Cage and Sinise stars as the two main characters with Kevin Dunn as an entertaining sidekick playing a would-be-journalist PPV-presenter. Okay if you need some mindless entertainment..
The Collector (1965)
Scary
I don't remember much of the actual scenes from this movie, but I watched it back in my school days and it made a lasting impression on me as a very intense and scary movie. While I can't actually give an exact resume of the movie, I sure can recommend it.
Jude (1996)
Not THAT good!
Having read the book by Thomas Hardy, I looked forward to seeing this movie. And I was very disappointed. The dramatic end sequence of the book is simply non-existing in the movie, and it generally lacks some nerve. It seems indifferent. If you haven't read the book, you might find it an interesting movie. In that case, watch the movie and read the book afterwards. If you have already read the book, the movie isn't really worth watching.