Reviews

I'm old enough to remember seeing the original Top Gun at the cinema in 1986. From a nostalgic point of view, I cant believe 36 years have passed between then and this sequel.

The obvious observation to make is that Top Gun - Maverick is more a homage to the original film and characters than it is a sequel. The opening credits and aircraft carrier scene (with Kenny Logins Danger Zone blaring out) promises a treat but I'm afraid it falls short of expectations.

The major problem is that the wise cracking one liners, over the top egos and amazing soundtrack of the original is replaced here with a paper thin plot, elementary dialogue and minor character development. Even the "mission" itself is something these days that would have been executed with technology and without using fighter planes. Its also really sad to see Maverick and Iceman at the end of the road and the general sense that the young men we once saw playing volleyball are now relics who have become irrelevant. There is too much use of the original as a lead in to the plot points and even having Goose's son as a big part of the story feels more nostalgic than it does necessary. Maverick's rekindled love story with Penny Benjamin at Miramar is tender but convenient, (Still working in the base bar after all these years ?) but the character is entitled to a happy conclusion to his story arc.

As an action blockbuster it is really entertaining and with the cinema experience, the aerial sequences are gripping and very well done. Personally I would have liked to have seen more exterior shots during the action rather than facial closeups, but I suppose that was done to keep the characters identified during the chaotic final attack and dogfight.

All in all, Its a by the numbers follow on which probably should have been made 15 years ago or not all. I'm sure part of my disappointment is how much of a pop culture effect the first one had on my generation and that this is a pale imitation compared to it. Six out of ten might seem generous, but I guess I just don't want to "lose that loving feeling".

Dreamwork's latest offering draws its inspiration from a series of cartoon sketches featured in "Bullwinkle and friends" from the 1950's. Mr Peabody is the smartest being in the world (who just happens to be a dog) and Sherman is his human adopted son.

"Mr Peabody and Sherman" is an enjoyable romp through history as the principal characters time travel their way through the past, by use of Mr Peabody's invention "the WABAC". The main purpose of this invention was to help Sherman learn first hand about the events of history under the protection of his adopted father. Rather predictably, things go wrong when unqualified persons use the WABAC and begin to cause havoc with the space-time continuum. But can the Nobel prize winning canine repair the damage and save the day ?

A sub-plot has Sherman coming up against bullying at school for being super intelligent and mockery for having a dog as an adopted father. When Sherman defends himself, the evil school counsellor "Miss Grunion" (who is clearly jealous of Mr Peabody's intellect and achievements) threatens to take the boy out of his custody. She also further humiliates him by treating him as nothing more than a dog that belongs in the pound.

Most of the characters the time travellers encounter in history are very "Americanised" and "Agamemnon" especially sounds like he belongs in New York rather than Troy.

On one level, this film is a light hearted piece of children's entertainment, but it certainly has something for adults as well. Central to the story is Mr Peabody's genuine love for Sherman and the trials and tribulations of being a good father to him. Its touching to see how far he will go to protect him and educate him properly throughout. The "beautiful boy" montage was especially moving.

A cut above many modern children's movies.

"Intimate with a Stranger" is the kind of film that can only really be described as someones wish fulfilment put onto celluloid. Producer and leading man Mangin turner has invented for himself here an interesting fantasy world where he is a college professor turned Alcoholic Gigolo due to relationship troubles.

Turner does a bit of a "Hank Moody" turn as the frustrated intellectual who is satisfying women in which ever way they ask for, mentally or sexually. Unfortunately he never convinces you that he is anything other than a man on an ego trip in a role that he dreams of playing in real life. Perhaps he did.

Many low budget movies make up for their lack of finance by giving you a central message and sharp dialogue to underpin it. I'm afraid this does neither. The film is filled with talky scenes and where it badly falls down is the lack of credibility in the execution. Fine, he's drinking heavily presumably out of self loathing, but there is no sense of the inner turmoil coming from him or frankly that what he's doing really bothers him at all. The basic premise that he has become a man whore on the back of a rocky relationship, is absurd. If he wanted to sleep around, he could. I don't really think a college professor would go the whole hog and set up a "knocking shop" as way to ease his troubles. At least it gives the leading man an opportunity to strip off for the camera.

All the scenes take place indoors other than a few shots of Miami beach side roads where our hero motorcycles up and down in tight jeans and lays the foundation for his image. The supporting cast is OK, but with any film of this nature, they are given little to work with but their lines.

At the films conclusion, he gets his girlfriend back even though she knows he's been a rent boy (catching him at it in one scene) for some time. The final screen shot of them smiling away is particularly cringe worthy.

Ultimately a disappointment and not a film i would recommend.

Daniel Barbers disturbing vision of life on a South London Council estate was filmed in and around the Elephant and castle where leading man Michael Caine actually spent his formative years.

As the film's protagonist, the titular "Harry Brown" Caine plays a retired ex-marine who loses his wife to illness in the opening stage of the film. Clinging to his old moral values, disciplined and always wearing a tie, he is an example of the post war generation who are becoming fewer and fewer on the estate. His only enjoyment seems to be having a drink and a game of chess in his local pub with his friend Leonard. When Leonard reacts to the increasing violence on the estate by confronting the gang responsible, he is brutally murdered. Harry is informed by the police of this incident and it hurts him terribly, telling the police that they are powerless to do anything about it. Slowly and almost imperceptibly, Harry snaps and decides that he is going to sort it out the old fashioned way.

It is obvious that this film owes much to Michael Winners "Death Wish" (1974) but this story is so much more bleak and depressing. The young actors who play the gang members are so realistic that they are uncomfortable to watch. The story shows you failings in society at every level and a police division run by a superintendent who is content to put up token resistance and little else. Harry Brown does what most people would like to do deep down inside and take the fight to the criminals.

Michael Caine does a great job of getting the best out of a poor script that doesn't give enough dialogue to flesh out the characters properly. He makes the transition from pensioner to vigilante credibly and without becoming a totally different character. The limited sets add an effective touch of claustrophobia but I found the unrelenting depictions of sleaze and urban decay a bit tough to take. There are some very uncomfortable scenes of drug use and violence also, particularly the climactic shoot out in the pub. The supporting cast are competent enough with Ben Drew standing out in his role as the particularly nasty young scum bag "Noel" . Emily Mortimer as DI Frampton is fairly inert and has only one facial expression and a vague attitude throughout the whole film which puts you off feeling much for her character.

"Harry Brown" is not a pleasant film to watch, but it is certainly an experience which will pull on every one of your your emotions and is impossible to ignore.

This cheesy 80's classic with it's awful continuity, dreadful script, half baked story and wooden acting still rates as one of my favourite films of its kind.

The plot is loosely based around Dolph Lundgren's character "Kenner" setting out for revenge on the Yakuza Oyabun "Yoshida" who killed his parents when he was a child. Years later Kenner is an LA cop and crosses paths once more with Yoshida when he comes to the USA to set up a drugs syndicate.

As you'd expect, you get to watch Dolph and his side kick played by Brandon Lee kicking ass and shooting holes in everything that moves. There are a bevy of good looking, half naked women on display, the most delicious of which is a young Tia Carrere.

My personal favourite in all the filming errors has to be when Kenner sustains a gunshot wound and immediately clasps his shoulder in pain followed by the words ..."Its OK, it went straight through". A moment later the camera views him from the rear and there is no exit wound ! Even better though, a few moments later the camera re-focuses on Kenners naked chest and the bullet wound is no where near his shoulder, its actually in the left lung / heart region ! I don't think he would be in any state to carry on fighting with that injury !!!

Because "Showdown in little Tokyo" refuses to take itself seriously, much in the same mould as John Carpenters "Big trouble in Little china" did, all you have to do is relax and enjoy the total self indulgence that this film allows you !

Great fun. 7 out of 10.

It is a rarity for a film to be completely unsettling and yet unrelentingly gripping.

David Fincher's story takes place in a bleak and constantly raining city (never named) where urban decay and sleaze in all forms are rampant. Coming up to his retirement from the police force is Detective Lieutenant Somerset (Morgan Freeman) who is tasked with breaking in his replacement, Detective Sergeant Mills (Brad Pitt) before leaving. Somerset is world weary, under no illusions about the futility of the daily role he plays and (initially) wants nothing more than to escape the grime and violence of the city. Mills on the other hand is convinced that he is going to make a real difference having voluntarily transferred to this precinct, bringing his wife to the city with him. Before Somerset can move on, a homicide comes in which he and Mills are assigned to investigate. But its only the first of a string of ritual murders that will be committed by a killer who is basing his crimes on the seven deadly sins as depicted in Dante's "The divine comedy".

To begin with, Se7en appears to be a standard "cops on the trail of a killer" story which shouldn't be too difficult for the audience to get comfortable with. But as we descend along with the characters into the merciless, brutal world without hope that they inhabit, you are left reeling at the events that unfold.

The two detectives enjoy an uneasy relationship with no real friendship ever striking up between them. The older Somerset is educated, astute and gives the impression of being emotionally burnt out. Mills, who has no respect for Somersets methodical investigating gets excited at the thought of solving a murder and firmly believes that the good guys will win eventually. The further we get into the action, the might of the evil that they face pushes both men beyond their limits.

This film draws heavily on biblical themes and you can certainly see similarities with such films as "The Seventh Seal" (1957). Both films show the price that good men have to pay when they fight evil and the unsettling truth that the rule book goes straight out the window when you are dealing with something so diabolical that it has no boundaries or limits at all.

Se7en shows us a world which has been destroyed by its own sins, a wasteland in which values are minimal. The killer, having nothing but contempt for this world, sees it as his mission to expose the faults and show everyone what they have become. It is a fascinating twist that when the killers motives become clearer, Somerset with his greater understanding actually feels some degree of empathy with him. This is lost on Mills though, whose level of clarity never reaches the same point.

A previous reviewer mentioned that you begin to expect the unexpected whilst watching Se7en and i completely agree. Eventually if you think of the most obvious outcome in any situation and predict that the opposite will happen, it usually does. Even the finale itself became kind of predictable because by then you are conditioned not to have any hope. This is a minor flaw though because the story is so well and so shockingly told.

Director David Fincher didn't pick up another script for 18 months, such was his exhaustion and frustration following the completion of Alien 3. Apparently he agreed to direct se7en after one reading of Andrew Kevin Walkers screenplay because he was drawn to its hard hitting delivery about inhumanity. He stated: "It's psychologically violent. It implies so much, not about why you did but how you did it". For the camera work specially altered film stock was used to make the visuals look as dark and unsettling as possible which is complemented well by Howard Shores music score.

The Most disturbing message that Se7en puts across, is that the fight against evil is destined to be a Pyrrhic victory. But regardless the only thing we can do is fight on whatever the cost. We have no other choice.

"The World is a fine place and worth fighting for." I agree with the second part.

"The Swimmer" is a one of a kind movie, adapted from a John Cheever short story.

The Film opens with the sound of footsteps moving through the woods accompanied by a low eerie music. Occasionally animals and scenes of nature both in daylight and at night come into the cameras focus. The camera moves along looking at trees, a lake and the wildlife clearly representing what someone is seeing as they walk along. Eventually, a man clad only in a pair of black swimming trunks emerges from the woods, skips up to the edge of a suburban swimming pool and dives in. Having swum a couple of lengths he is greeted at one end by the owner of the house holding out a drink and welcoming him to come and join his guests. The Swimmer is Ned Merrill (Burt Lancaster) and it soon becomes apparent that everyone at the house knows him and is happy to see him. He is charming and charismatic with the male guests and flirtatious with the females who obviously find him attractive. The other guests have not seen him for quite some time and when Ned is asked where he has been he evasively states "here and there." When further questioned if he has had a good summer he replies "sure, just great." The guests then begin to look puzzled when he gives answers to further questions that just don't seem to make any sense. They exchange confused looks and clearly know something that we don't. Ned, whilst looking out over the Connecticut valley begins to get an idea that he could swim in stages back to his house by using briefly the pools of several of his neighbours. he boldly announces that today he plans to "swim across the county !"

As Ned visits each house and swims in each pool something more is revealed about his life and how he has behaved towards others in the past. Some people are pleased to see him, others are contemptuous of him and a few downright hate the sight of him.

What becomes clear (SPOILER AHEAD) is that Ned has been away for a long time and re emerges into the life he once knew believing that it is about two years earlier than the present. He appears to have been a high flying Manhattan advertising executive who had the house, the car, the wife and the money but lost it all by living a life of pure selfishness. We are told that he married into the upper middle class and seems to have been given most of the success he enjoyed. At the various different pools he is revealed as a cheating husband, a bad father, a crook and a "fair weather friend". The result of his behaviour was that his wife either kicked him out or he was fired from his job or both.

It is possible that Ned's fall from grace brought about a nervous breakdown which has led to his memory loss and distorted view of reality. He may have even been hospitalised for the period that he is absent from the neighbourhood, but the absence is never explained. It is also unclear what became of his wife and daughters. They might simply have left him, but there are hints that they may actually be dead.

The final scene where Ned eventually arrives "home" and his disillusionment is brought crashing back to reality is a great piece of symbolic storytelling.

Most of "The Swimmer" was shot in 1966 and finally released in 1968. Maybe back then audiences weren't ready to question the themes that are raised. Central to the story is the falseness of the American dream and how if you're not "somebody" you're not only a nobody, but you're also not even welcome. The film "American Beauty" made in 1998 takes the same swipe at society and is a great film in its own right, but "The Swimmer" made thirty years earlier, is so much more effective at exposing the corrupt underbelly of the professional suburban existence.

Burt Lancaster played many memorable roles and was certainly in much more enjoyable movies, but I think he does his finest acting in "The Swimmer." He is perfect as the arrogant yet vulnerable and bemused Ned who cant work out whats going on. The movie does appear dated today and the musical score is very sixties, but any serious film fan should definitely see this at least once. It really is unforgettable.

This is one of those films that you cant help walking away from without being touched in some way. All of the central themes to adult life are explored and exposed by a very good cast. Friendship, love, pain, the past holding back who we could be in the present, acceptance (or not) of our place in society.

"Good Will Hunting" is the story of Will Hunting played by Matt Damon. He is a young man who is a mathematical genius but has no formal education and who is so traumatised by his past that he will not allow himself to be the man he could with his talents. Will works as a Janitor, but chose the Massachusetts institute of technology (the finest mathematical institution in America as we are told) as the place to work in order to be close to an outlet for his brilliance. Early on in the story, the resident Maths guru Professor Gerry Lambeau sets a problem for his students to solve which should take the whole semester for the average mind. When this problem is solved and written on the faculty blackboard the very next morning, he sets another that took him personally two years to solve. The following day he is conversing with a colleague when he witnesses Will writing down the perfect solution on the blackboard again. The Professor realises he has a genius hiding in his midst.

When Will is later involved in a fight, he is eventually given the choice between a short prison term or working with the Professor on a daily basis and also attending psychiatric therapy sessions. Will chooses the latter but uses the therapy sessions as a chance to mock the Psychiatrists assigned to him and show off his knowledge. When no one else will work with him, Professor Lambeau turns to his old room mate at college, Sean MacGuire (played by Robin Williams on Oscar winning form.) who manages to reach the boy emotionally and start to repair the damage that has been done to him.

It is widely known that Matt Damon and Ben Affleck co wrote the screen play as a reaction to their slow progress in establishing Hollywood careers. It is a testament to their talent as writers that they came up with so many touching scenes and passages of dialogue. In particular, Williams monologue to Damon when sat on the park bench is sublime. Wills relationship with "Skylar" (played by Minnie Driver) is perfectly believable and as the story unfolds the viewer can see the change in Wills character from the cocky kid, pushing everyone away, to the young man who understands who he could be with the right encouragement.

There are very few flaws to be found in this film, largely because the story is so well told and Robin Williams performance is worth the entry price alone. It is a genuinely touching experience which relates to so many people and is easy to empathise with in real life. The characters are richly written and they are all interdependent in the telling of the proceedings. You really care what happens to these people.

I could "nick pick" and draw attention to the psychiatrist scenes in Robert Redfords "Ordinary People" (1980) which bear close resemblance to the ones in "Good Will Hunting" but I think Damon and Affleck just took the bar up another notch with their interpretation of the Doctor / Patient working relationship.

All in all an uplifting and worthwhile movie going experience which will stay with you long after you leave the cinema.

The first time I became aware of "Open Water" was driving home one night in 2003 stuck in the usual traffic jam when i noticed a huge bill board advertising the movie. "Blair witch meets Jaws !" was the slogan above an image of two petrified characters in the ocean with a large shark fin in front of them. Being a big fan of Jaws and having been impressed by the Blair witch project I decided I would see it when released. I was further intrigued when i read the premise for the story. After I finished college i spent some time in, among other places, Cairns, Australia where I have family. There was a great deal of talk about the Outer Edge and the peace core workers Tom and Eileen Lonergan who had disappeared. Armed with all the details I had learnt from the locals in Cairns two years before Open Water was released, this became a must see for me.

Unfortunately it was a huge disappointment. The movie omitted most of the interesting elements of the real story. You are presented with two unlikable characters who we are given no background to and very little reason to care about what happens to them. More than half of the screen time is devoted to watching the two of them bob up and down in the Ocean.

I have read many reviews here that state how fantastic this piece of independent cinema is. I'm afraid I disagree. It is a boring, uninteresting and inaccurate piece of movie making. I have done some diving myself and there are many inaccuracies in the Ocean scenes. To name a couple, sharks do not tend to have the courtesy to wait until you are actually dead before they start consuming you and trying to drown yourself in a wet suit is damn near impossible.

This movie would have been so much more interesting if they had incorporated some of the real story into the drama. Did they fake their own deaths? Were their diaries an indication that this was done deliberately? Was the divers message slate with a plea for help genuine or a hoax? Sadly, none of this is included.

The real genius of the production was the marketing team that Lions gate films employed to promote the film. The advertising campaign was vast and guaranteed that public interest would be sufficient to make a profit on their investment.

When the credits rolled and the lights came up the night i saw this movie, I heard one man behind me shout "Is that it?" which drew great laughter from the rest of the audience. That was the most entertaining part of the whole experience.