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john_howes
Reviews
From Hell (2001)
Reminiscent of the Hammer films of the 60's
An enormously entertaining and atmospheric thriller. It reminded me of some of the better products from Hammer films of the late 50's and 60's. I was surprised to see that it was shot in the Czech Republic and not in England.
The acting is all around excellent with several English actors familiar from Masterpiece Theater. Johnny Depp and Heather Graham do well with British Cockney accents. The movie is entertaining and has a plot or storyline that is literate.
I would like to see more movies like this. Perhaps the terrible events of Sept 11 will lead the Movie companies to avoid making the high pyrotechnic plotless nonsense that has plagued the screen for the last few years.
I thoroughly recommend this movie and hope that it succeeds commercially to allow more movies of this type to be made
Tom's Midnight Garden (1999)
The type of movie that the English excel at making
If you like well done stories such as the Secret Garden this will appeal to you. The cast of mostly unknown actors give excellent performances. This is the type of movie that Britain does well. The actresses playing Hatty are appealing and the settings and production values are outstanding. While primarily a children's film, this production will appeal to all ages. It was not released theatrically in the States but is on several Cable channels. Don't miss it.
Gormenghast (2000)
typical unoriginal sci-fi fantasy
I believe that most sci fi and fantasy is unoriginal storytelling masked by "fantastic " creatures or settings. Gormenghast did nothing to dispell this thought.It borrows heavily from Alice in Wonderland and offers nothing that has not been done before and better. I'm disappointed in both the BBC and PBS for airing it.