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Reviews
Forbidden Planet (1956)
Marvelous
I was surprised at how a movie could be both cheesy and excellent at the same time. The Frisbee flying saucer was naff beyond comprehension, especially when landing, yet the specially effects when the Krell attacked were awesome for a film that was made over half a century ago! Living in the middle east I saw shades of Islam creep in when JJ Adams suggested Alta should dress more modestly, and as an engineer, was amazed by the imagination used for the 'futuristic' gadgets, and gizmos dreamed up by the props department. All in all, an entertaining hour and a half, my first time seeing Walter Pidgeon and a chance to see Leslie Neilsen as a 'young' man
Flawless (2007)
Dull ... but...
The film dragged on a bit for me.
I was watching and web surfing at the same time - never a good sign.
A reasonable plot but despite a couple of big names it was poorly played out and lacked a little 'oomph' to keep my attention. I'm not looking for a car chase, a shoot out or a joke or two, just something to grab my attention and say "wow, that was good"
Spoiler time: . . Stop reading now . .
Paying 100 million to get 100 million of diamonds back - silly! But the big spoiler ... The REALLY big spoiler ... What a twist at the end - the VERY end!!! Saved it from being a 5 for me :o)
City of Angels (1998)
Beautiful film
This film always brings a tear to my eye. Yes, I'm a guy, I can cook, I clean my own clothes, and no, I'm not gay! This is one of those films when asked to descibe true love fits the bill perfectly. Who else but someone in real love would give up an eternity for "one smell of her hair" I agree with some other posters that Maggie's death was a little lame - I ride a mountain bike and would never dream of 30 seconds eyes closed down a winding mountain road, and would certainly have heard a 10 litre diesel truck from 100 yards away, but guys, play this movie with some chick you're desperate to get to know better and she'll be in your arms crying her eyes out too ;o)
Buster (1988)
Separate fact from fiction
A few of the previous reviewers need to separate fact from fiction. Yes the robbery was nasty, as were most of the perpetrators, but the film itself is merely a semi documentary of man's life after the fact, coming to terms with it.
Phil Collins plays an admiral Buster, and Julie Walters does well as his long suffering wife.
At the end of the day it was an entertaining film with just enough highs and lows, laughs and tears and certainly better made than the other sixties villain flick "The Krays". Do yourself a favour, if somebody ever gives a one star review, look beyond it as they are usually extremely biased.
Soylent Green (1973)
Highly watchable
This movie came to me highly recommended by Matt Groening. Well actually I watched both The Simpsons and Futurama and it gets a mention in both so I figured "what the heck". The film brings home a few "what if's" that make you realise how lucky we are in this day and age where we take simple things like soap and water for granted. Interesting though that in the year 2022 men are still shaving with a single blade safety razor! Nice that Those responsible didn't over load the film with unnecessary special effects, ray guns, etc. Some nice looking 'furniture' once you figure out what that means. Remember, "Tuesday is Soylent Green Day"
Vamp (1986)
What the .....!
What the hell was that!? I sat through it hoping it would get better, and guess what? It did not! The acting was wooden to say the least. The story line totally unbelievable. The effect were cheesy and I guess the budget was non-existent. Possibly the worst movie I've ever wasted my time on. I'm a Grace Jones fan, but from now I'll just listen to her music. She was bad in Bond, and just plain vapid in Vamp.
So, as to the odd bits: You spin round three times in your car and go from daylight downtown rush hour to darkness in Vamp City (nowhere near Vegas)! Who were the albinos? Is that information saved for a potential Vamp II? What was with the sewer scenes - "Oh, it's safe, I've been here before"!!! They find the vampire lair, which just happens to have several drums of kerosene lying around in it! Come on, I'm sure even vampires that are afraid of fire would not be that stupid! There are 5 words to sum up this film: Bad bad bad bad bad!
King Solomon's Mines (1985)
Second Rate
Accept only Indian Jones - all else is a complete waste of time.
From the opening moments when the spiky contraption appears out of nowhere to bringing down the roof of a cave with a pistol is utter nonsense. Wagner started to grate after a while. The acting was wooden and the 'special' effects abysmal - you could make out where the green screen was used while Richard Caberline is hanging over the crocodile pit, and climbing out of the molten pit those chains should have been red hot. The huge cooking pot was banal, the upside down guys ridiculous. Jumping out of a perfectly serviceable plane on the premise that "It Might Blow" (but no more than the film!) It was just all wrong. Add to this the tenet that the (raw) diamonds belong to the mountain and yet they still take two lumps of perfectly cut crystal and throw in the seemingly invincible Dogati and you have the worst rip-off movie ever made.
Moontrap (1988)
Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeese
What the heck was that! To quote from a few other reviews:
"the cinematography is good" Do what!? maybe it was the awful copy I saw but the camera work was shaky to say the least. "I really thought the special effects were outstanding" You must have seen a different film to me. When the orbiter is attacked you could almost picture the string being cut on the model!
Leigh Lombardi gets naked
"strangely humorous", yes I smiled openly at how far fetched things got.
Leigh Lombardi gets her kit off
"You just can't help but watch all of "Moontrap"." Must agree wholeheartedly here, I carried on watching in case it got better - it didn't!
Leigh Lombardi disrobed
"Cheesy", Yes, you got that right, it's cheesier than a cheesy thing made out of 100% solid Cheddar!
Leigh Lombardi in the buff
what a waste of 92 minutes of my life - still, I put the laundry on and sorted my socks so my time wasn't entirely wasted.
By the way, did I mention - Leigh Lombardi? Hence 2* and not 1*
Over the Hill (1992)
Driveabout
I wanted to write about this for several reasons. First and foremost was that IMDb has helped me in the past so it's time to put back in. Second was that it is based in Australia, where I've visited a few times and third, a granny in a supercharged hot rod! If you can get through the first five minutes it's not a bad film. I took an instant dislike to all the characters, including Alma, but as the movie unfolded you start to warm to her. Her Yuppie daughter is also instantly dislikeable, along with her politician husband. Dutch was a surprise to me. The retired dentist's two close encounters with Alma added a little light relief to the story, not surprising since he starred in Britain's "Yes Minister" and I hardly recognised him sporting a pony tail and all. There were a few scenes that didn't seem to fit and would have been happy to have them edited out, particularly the one with the Aboriginie women and her 'revelation', or 'trip' or whatever was going on. Also in the 'finger pointing scene' towards the end of the film the acting deteriorated so badly, I thought maybe they'd changed directors on some such. There are shades of Mad Max (the first episode) thrown in for good measure, as well as a love interest or two. To sum up, in Australia the Aboriginies go on 'walkabout' (now there was a good film) to discover themselves, well Alma does it in her orange '59 Bel-Air. Would I watch it again? I doubt it. Not my genre, but to start the ball rolling on this movie I sacrificed an night without sci-fi and enjoyed it.
Pretty in Pink (1986)
Pretty Movie
I spent my formative years in the 80's and vaguely remember this flick the first time around. So it was that almost 20 years after first seeing it I sat down to relive those 80's memories and reflect on the time in between. It is billed as a comedy but it's not exactly a side splitter. Romance, OK boy meets girl, boy loses girl due to peer pressure, boy gets girl back by admitting his mistake - standard formula. What I do love about this movie though is the soundtrack - there are some classic 80's tracks here :o) This is one of those movies where I'd love to see the alternative ending where Ducky gets the girl. As I sat through all Ducky's failed advances it reminded me of a recent 'chase' of mine. Seems I'm destined to always be a Ducky!
P.S. For those who watched 'Not Another Teen Movie' you'll get why Molly Ringwald was in it!
National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)
Ho-Hum
I remember renting this when it was first out and I was still a spotty teenager. Now over 25 years later I have recently cleared out my company's video library and I thought I'd give it another go. I seem to recall it was a lot funnier the first time around, but as I sat there, supping a brew-ski as a middle-aged, but young at heart, single again guy, it hit me that I had hardly even chuckled at this classic college movie. It wasn't that the acting was bad even though several of the cast went on to greater things (Belushi R.I.P.), or even that I knew the story line, lame though it was, it just wasn't the laugh a minute I recalled from my youth. Ah well, on to the next movie.