Reviews

What was Vincent price doing in rubbish like this?

Easy money obviously.

This is a vile film in every way.

The production values couldn't be lower.

The acting is as bad as it gets.

The depiction of ritual abuse is abominable.

To call this, gratuitous is an understatement.

Vincent ihas very little screen time. He clearly was brought in to bolster credibility and viewing figures.

I love films like the tingler. They are wonderful cheap horror.

Witchfinder General is cheap and horrible This is a true video nasty that is nasty.

It's hard to believe that Vincent wouid appear in garbage like this just for easy money.

Unfortunately that's exactly why his made this awful film.

The only thing Horrifying about this film is the fact that it ever got made.

Well I tried this. I couldn't take too much because everything was so implausible.

The acting is as if it's done by a 10th rate repertory company.

The cockney barrow boy accents are beyond rediculous. There's so much swearing. But one expects that from sky and HBO. That's because they can't be bothered to employ proper writers.

They are also totally incongruous with the location. I know the area where this nonsense is shot.

You'll never hear such a collection of fake accents. They are also around 300 miles out of place.

Then you've got a young person just hanging. Jude is some sort of professional carer who doesn't seem to know what his responsibilities are to himself and the young person.

This was utter garbage.

The locations are beautiful.

Unfortunately they couldn't inspire the actors, writers, directors etc to make anything worthwhile and watchable.

Abysmal.

Do yourself a favour and seek out this film.

It's art-house. Therefore it's strange. Therefore it's original.

Go into this film with an open mind. Forget Leon and that type of film.

Dogman is a cut above Leon.

We live in the era of blandness, mediocrity, remakes, rebadges and a total lack of innovation and originality.

Or do we?

Along comes a film that's the antithesis of everything contemporary.

Along comes a film that gives hope to those who think the film industry is dead.

It takes an old head to makes a film like this.

Dogman is very moving. Its no joker.

Joker is a film so painful that I can't watch again.

Dogman is uplifting. It gives hope.

Does it give faith in the future of the film industry.

Only time will tell.

This is a film I've been in love with since I first saw it on release.

It's an absolute masterpiece.

You've got scenery that is unbelievable.

You've got meryl who is meryl which means she's perfect.

Youve got a film score that's a dream And you've got Robert Redford. Who is out acted buy never ever not the focal point when on screen.

Robert is perfect for the part. He's handsome beyond belief and he's not acted by as far as many would like.

The supporting cast is wonderful.

Who cares about accuracy and authenticity when you've got all of this.

Karen Blixen was a women way ahead of her time in every way.

Out of africa makes me weep in joy and sadness. But the lasting impression of this film is one of awe.

I would expect this series to be made by Channel five. It's that bad.

I don't expect the BBC to make rubbish like this.

What's to like about the series?

Absolutely nothing.

Do people in business actually swear continually these days?

The language in the series is beyond farcical. Any company that employed so many monosyllabic people would be bankrupt in a year.

There's isn't a brain amongst the staff.

The new hr person is so removed from reality that it's terrifies me in case people like her really exist.

Come on, what if I went to work and met someone like that in charge of staff well being.

Then there's the clichéd characters.

The shows producers have taken every stereotype you can think of and put it in this show.

Nobody in the show is remotely realistic.

At least when channel 5 make rubbish it's not at the expense of the British taxpayers.

The only crime in this show is that the UK taxpayers paid for it.

There's zero reason to make a show like this.

The only reason to watch it is to illustrate how not to make a TV series.

The episode is unwatchable. It's not columbo.

I'm working through the series from one to seven.

Patrick Mcgoohan has already shown he can't direct in a previous episode. Identity crisis has all the trademark pretence you see when actors try and direct. You've got the silly close ups, pretentious lighting and camera angles etc etc.

Amazingly Patrick was given another chance to make an awful episode. He did this with alacrity.

What's happened to Columbo here? He's nasty, intolerant and very antithesis of this legendary movie detective.

I always remember when Paul Michael Glaser was allowed to direct episodes of Starkey and Hutch. They were dreadful as Paul did exactly the same things as Patrick did here.

Why they let him loose I'll never know as Paul never failed to deliver garbage time after time.

I haven't the heart to give this episode the one star it deserves.

Sometimes actors have too much power and influence. For Peter falk should never have been allowed to have Patrick direct again after the first rubbish he made.

An appalling episode that is totally unwatchable.

This series is almost in two parts.

The first part has really bad acting, scripting and is irritating.

Then from nowhere it recovers and changes. Then we have a really compelling series that you want to continue with.

It wouid be easy to switch off. But there's a case for optimism.

There's some very moving moments most of which come from the excellent Adeel Akhtar. He really is good.

Joanna Lumley looks silly with her facial modifications that some feel the need to indulge in an vain attempt to prevent aging.

Joanna looks awful. Why oh why can't people grow old gracefully!

Overall this is an excellent series that ages better than some of the characters.

Give it a chance and stick it out to the end.

It's really worth it.

Satire or noir?

Mystery or drama?

Character study or social commentary?

Which one?

Actually Shadow of a doubt is all of these in Hitchcocks dark masterpiece This film is so dark, so clever, so subtle that we don't always realise it's dark.

Few films are as clever as this.

Few films are so heavy hitting without ever landing a punch Joseph Cotton is one of my favourite actors. His laid back natural style is perfect for this film.

Teresa is enthralling as we see her innocence transformed into weariness. She ages decades in days.

Uncle Charlie has contempt for the world. It's a joke to him.

Uncle Charlie has the last laugh.

Hitchcock has the last word.

One question remains for myself.

Is Shadow of of a doubt, hitchcocks cruelest joke of all?

Let's be clear Harrison was 80 when the film was made.

How do people expect a man of this age to look?

He's very very fit considering. I'd take his agility now and I'm 19 years his junior.

I love parts 1-3 of the series. Part 4 doesn't count for me.

I expected more of the same with part 5. Instead we get a brilliant nonstop ride through the world It's great fun. Harrison is on top form.

Yes I was surprised he agreed to do the film. You can't turn back time even in indies world Or can they?

Indy is really does manage to do much more than he has any right to do.

The cgi aging is done well too.

Those who comment on Harrison shouid revisit their attitudes when they approach 80 years of age.

This fine is a fine addition.

It's not the embarrment I expected.

Harrison plays his part with the respect and attention I expect from a man of his calibre.

Even at age 80 he's more of a film star than the majority of young actors around today.

They should learn from him as shouid those who disparage him.

This film doesn't try and turn back time.

It actually respects time and age.

A rarity even in so called tolerant times such as these.

I've just watched this and it a very tedious film. I've long thought that but I wanted to give another chance.

The psychology is totally wrong in the film.

As someone who worked in the field for 25 years I can assure you that humans don't react in the way they do in rope.

Yes I know that Hitchcock had to move things along quickly but he's got so many things wrong.

Jimmie starts to suspect way too soon. The killers fall apart too soon. There wasn't a reason for this other than Hitchcock got it wrong.

Mr Kentleys behaviour is way too arrested. He's too fragile for a man of that insight and capacity. He's way too angry without any tangible reason.

Everything is too exaggerated and extreme to be credible.

The thesis behind the film is potentially captivating and enthralling. Unfortunately Hitchcock messes things up with his notoriously inaccurate and tenuous psychology.

Rope isn't the first time he's got things wrong in the psychology department. It wasn't the last.

The film fails for me because the script isn't good enough.

Characters are too shallow and facile. Everyone is dislikeable.

The film should have been played through at a slower pace that's let's us get into each character.

I love the dark philosophy behind the film. The setting up of the scene is stunning with the body location.

Unfortunately Hitchcock doesn't do much else right. Maybe he was held back by the censors. But I somehow doubt it.

I don't see the film as a failed experiment.

I see it as a failure. Full stop.

Hitchcock just didn't put enough thought into it.

And that's not the way he usually worked.

Something tells me that Hitchcock was never comfortable with the film.

Hence the failure.

Keeping faith perfectly illustrates why you shouid never overplay your hand when it comes to TV shows.

Season one was quirky and entertaining. It unfolds a a decent pace and keeps you coming back for more.

Then along comes season two. Oh boy, what did they do?

Its almost as if they tore up the style on season one and started again.

Season two drove me up the wall with boredom. To call it slow is to call watching paint dry interesting.

Faith for some reason has taken to wearing a yellow overcoat in the house. Hideous high heels are obligatory of course.

There's just nothing to season two. Nothing at all.

Season one was really good.

It's a story that swings around.

In many ways it's got a certain Noir style.

I had to give up on season two as I like having hair.

When will TV series producers learn to quit whilst they are ahead!

The final season was a bridge too far.

Some films are the sum of their parts.

Others are vehicles for the actors.

Thomas Crown affair is both of these.

You've got perfect music and soundtrack.

Actors are balanced in such a way that you don't always see them.

The story is simple.

The filmmaking and production values are impeccable.

Not every gives Steve McQueen the credit he deserves for his versatility.

Steve was eminently versatile and always comfortable. Did you ever see him uncomfortable?

Faye Dunaway was not graced with such versatility yet she was a very good actress indeed.

Shes the perfect foil for the implacable and bored millionaire.

Is she ahead of him.

Is he really ruffled.

The chemistry between them is maybe amongst the best in cinema history.

You're never quite sure who is ahead.

The Thomas Crown affair is a wonderful achievement.

Nothing is overplayed. Plenty is underplayed though.

From the first seconds of the film starting with the legendary haunting theme you know that this film is special.

Let start with this.

How come this film has such a low rating?

Come on. 6.3. Don't ask me where that came from.

Sure there's artistic licence aplenty. But where would Hollywood be without it?

Michael Douglas is on top form. He was really good in this part of his illustrious career.

Don't say a word is a compelling thriller that keeps you on the roller coaster all the way to the finish Production values are top notch.

I've always found Sean Bean a hard sell whatever he does.

He's actually OK this one as he doesn't have to do that much acting.

New yorks locations are wonderfully shot.

I've always liked this film.

I never get bored of it.

Don't say a word about the low rating.

Don't believe them.

Watch and enjoy.

Chris Nolans is legendary for his innovation and originality. He's made films that nobody else could ever make.

Sadly, he now makes films that any competent director could make.

Oppenheimer is yet another workmanlike film any competent director could have made.

The film gets downright boring. It becomes at tedious chore.

First there was Dunkirk. A play safe, politically correct bore fest with no feel. It was a soap opera.

Tenet is completely awful. To call it a mess is to pay compliment. Have you ever seen fight scenes in a Nolan film where you can see the punches and kicks actually miss.

Tenet is shoddy and dreadful.

Oppenheimer is workmanlike and has no feel. It's a chore to get through the film. Yes its well made. But it's well made rubbish.

It's my view that Christopher Nolan has run out of ideas. He's run out of innovation. He's certainly run out of original ideas.

All directors eventually dry up.

There's even talk of Chris doing James Bond next. Yet more evidence of his descent into the mainstream and mediocrity.

I've got all his films on 4k bluray and bluray. He's one of the greats.

Oppenheimer tells me that he's joined the washed up club.

Maybe he should retire before he sinks any lower into averageness.

To be average for someone like Christopher Nolan must be the ultimate humiliation.

Please quit Chris and leave us with memories of some of the greatest films of all time.

Oppenheimer is great film.

Sadly it's only great at being totally mediocre and lifeless. It's yet another lifeless Nolan soap opera.

Maybe that is why so many seem to like it!

How does a film this wonderful only manage 6.6 on here.

Why are so many reviewers so hateful?

Maybe they don't like the fact that the vast majority of abusers hide in plain sight and are well known in the community. They aren't the stereotyped dirty raincoat types that many wouid rather believe.

As someone who worked with the victims of serious abuse for 25 years, I have some experience in these areas.

The lovely bones is a wonderful film. It's so enriching and tells us so much about life and about death.

Life is fickle. Death is even more so.

There's not a bad performance.

The film making is of the highest quality.

It's worth 10 stars to me.

Maybe those who deride the film don't like the fact that evil lurks in this world in plain sight. And we rarely see it until it shows itself.

And then it's too late.

Let me ask you this question.

Is it possible to like a TV series where every one of its main characters are completely dislikeable?

You would think not.

Here it comes.

However.

Tin star is actually a lot of fun and enjoyable. It's not for the faint hearted or PC.

Tin star is a collection of psychopaths who murder murder and then murder some more.

Even worse. They enjoy it.

Tin star is wild. It lurches from post to pillar. You never feel engaged because psychopaths are impossible to engage with.

Rarely will you see this much violence outside of a Tarrantino film.

Personally I loved the series. Many times I laughed out loud at Mr Oranges comments and wild behaviour.

Tin star is an acquired taste.

I aquired the taste for it.

Should I feel guilty?

Pychopaths feel no guilt.

Finally. The empathy arrived.

First there was Get Carter.

Then there was Harry Brown.

Both sides of the same coin.

But both very different.

One things unites them though.

No Oscar nomination.

You've got Micheal Caine here in absolutely stunning form playing the marine. The elite killing machines who never forget their trade no matter how hard they want to.

Humans don't have the luxury of choosing what they forget and what they remember. Unless ill health steps in then everything is stored.

Harry Brown's desperately wants to forget.

Here wad have an almost perfect film from start to finish.

It's not quite a one man show.

Not quite.

Michael deserved an Oscar for Harry brown.

Maybe he should have got one for Get Carter.

These aren't the sort of films that win Oscars.

Mores the pity.

What's so disturbing about this film?

Is it because of the film itself of is it because it accurately depicts the world we and the majority of people in countries like the USA and UK?

Sadly the world is even more like this film now than it was then.

I see so many of the characters seen in this film in the real world. They live inside insular worlds where money and status is God.

Community is dead in this film.

Just as it is in the real world.

The production values of this film are of the highest standard.

It's a masterpiece of direction and acting.

Maybe It's disturbing because it shows the world as it is and there's absolutely nothing we can do about it.

Its disturbing for me because there's absolutely nothing I can do about the selfish world we live in.

Sadly American Beauty isn't just a film.

American beauty is our present. Heaven help us for the future.

This is a film that I now find painful to watch. I used to love this film but after watching today it really has dated so badly.

The padding is so obvious. Mel Brookes parts always weren't good. His ego couldn't allow him not to be in his films. Unfortunately his talents were off screen rather than on.

The parts Richard Pryor wrote are obvious and still funny.

There's a schism between the Pryor parts and Brookes. They've always been there but even more obvious today.

It's not the vocabulary that makes the film dated, it's just about everything.

Yes there are some very funny parts. But they makes less than 20% of the film.

It was always a weakness to only have Gene in the film for less than an hour. He carries the film when he's on screen. When he isn't then it's interminable.

I feel such a traitor by saying these things. Sadly this is a film that just isn't that funny anymore.

So what makes this movie perfect and magical?

Is the sum greater than the parts?

Is it down to Paul and Robert?

No. Its down to prefect balance, chemistry, feel and timing.

Everything is in unison. There's no weak links.

Films such as this are absolute rarity.

I've been watching it for over 50 years and never get bored.

How can you get bored when it's this good.

This is the film that made Robert a superstar. It cemented Paul as one of the all time greats into the bargain.

I never want this film to end.

Bit when it's over there's the sadness of the ending and the fact its over.

I watch this film time after time.

A film for those who like films.

Let's be clear from the start. I'm a massive Bob Hope fan. I'm also aware that there are those who don't share my appreciation.

Such people will mark his films down just for the sake of it.

They got me covered is a marvelous romp with the gags coming fast and faster.

Bob was rarely faster.

Bob was rarely funnier.

It's a familiar story with Bob playing Richard Hannay. The 39 steps provided the perfect template for all sorts of films.

I laugh and laugh at this film even after over 50 years of watching.

Bob always had the best gag writers and those production values clearly show here.

Of course you're supposed to see some gags way ahead. It's that kind of humour.

Bob wasn't often better than in this wonderful comedy.

A film for people who like comedies. Just make sure you're up to speed.