Film Reviews by None

Spielberg has broken from the norm with this film and has the courage to depict war as it really is. Previous war films have been heavily sanitised to 'protect' the viewer, and Saving Private Ryan acts as a wake up call to the public, especially to myself and the younger generation, who have never experienced a major conflict in our lifetime. This film acts as an antidote to the traditional John Wayne style war movie. War is not fun, and this film removes the myth that when a soldier is shot, they fall to the floor quietly and lie still. Some of the injuries suffered by the soldiers are truly horrific but the level of violence is not gratuitous and is necessary as it adds to the level of realism.

Many people have argued that this film only portrays the American side of D-Day, neglecting the contribution of the troops from other Allied nations. Whilst this is true, Omaha beach and the areas featured in this film were areas attacked by predominantly American troops, and to feature the entire Normandy area of operations would overly complicate the story. The scene showing Omaha beach after the battle, with the sea flowing red with all the blood spilt, is particularly poignant and brings a lump to the throat of everyone who sees it.

I recently watched this film with my grandfather, who landed on the British 'Gold' beach in one of the first waves ashore on June 6th 1944. He watched the first 20 minutes of the film, which depicts the D-Day landings, with tears in his eyes as the memories of that day flooded back. While he got through that day unharmed, a number of his friends and comrades were not so fortunate. The film transported him back 57 years, and he said that this is the closest you can get to the reality of the landings without actually being in a landing craft and coming under fire.

Saving Private Ryan aptly demonstrates the horror and chaos of battle. After watching this film I found myself with a new found sense of respect for those young men who were thrust into the Hell of World War 2 and still carry those memories as pensioners. Stunning, moving, compelling, and deserving of all the accolades it gets.

This is probably one of the most underated and overlooked comedies ever and its a shame because peep show is quite simply pure genius.

I never saw this on tv but i saw the dvd when it was released and thought id give it a go and WOW within the first couple of minutes of watching it i was in stitches, its the kind of program you can watch ten times and it will still be as funny as the first time you watched it.

I loved the office and until i watched this i thought nothing could ever beat it. If you have a love for comedy then get this dvd it easily ranks up there with the office and alan partridge.

i still cant get over the scene where mark is talking to the careers guidance counciler/therapist watch it and youll know what i mean.

Director Wolfgang Peterson seems to be in such a terrible hurry with Poseidon - everything moves at such a fast pace that the characters - and the viewers - rarely have enough time to stop for a mouthful of air. And while the movie campy fun and as suspenseful as the original 1972 Poseidon Adventure, the film is certainly short and most definitely to the point. However, you really have to suspend disbelief at much of what you see transpiring.

In this remake you see lots of extras die as their world is turned upside down one New Year's Eve, with little warning once the "rogue wave" is sighted and heads towards the doomed luxury liner. Overcome by flooding, shorting electricity and baked by flash fires, the expendable masses yield with barely more than a shocked glimpse, hands clapped over mouths and last-minute hugs with total strangers.

As the Disco and swimming pool, galleys and grand suites and of course the grand ballroom go belly-up, there's the bunch of heroic characters that defy the Captain and decide to head-onward and upward through the waterlogged, overturned ship in feats that call for a deep-sea suspension of disbelief, but no matter, because the delectable Josh Lucas leads this eclectic, mismatched gang, and wouldn't you follow him!

Alas, there's no Shelly Winters-like character in this version. The protagonists all come across, as rather nameless and faceless, blandness is the order of the day here. Kurt Russell plays a devoted father, and the ex-Mayor of New York Richard Dreyfuss is lamenting being dumped by his boyfriend, Josh Lucas is a gambler and I think a fireman - which is why of course he knows the workings of the luxury liner backwards.

Emmy Rossum, Jacinda Barrett, Mia Maestro, Mike Vogel and Kevin Dillon round at the crowd. And they all have remarkably strong lung capacity, considering how long they have to spend underwater! But it doesn't really matter who's who, or who will sink or swim because once the ship flips, character development isn't high on the list of this movie's agenda.

Obviously the special effects are what it's all about and there's tons and tons of rushing water, exploding electrical circuits, people caught in air-conditioning shafts and being burnt to death by sudden fires - it's all big and loud and contains some expert stunt work and superb integration of digital technology.

The direction is mostly crisp and although it all gets a bit repetitious towards the end - it also becomes hard to figure out what is going on - the film mostly works because it steps up its dramatic speed early on, and its pacing never falters. Mike Leonard August 06.

Forget the lastest batch of US sci-drivel, this is a show that doesn't solve all of it's problems with a Matrix-inspired fist-fight or an explosion-of-the-week. The Sliders are actually capable of thinking through their problems, which is a handy skill to have when faced with the challenge of a new world.

Sliders bridges the gap between those time-travel shows with a regular cast (like Quantum Leap, The Time Tunnel, Doctor Who, Seven Days, etc) and more speculative science fiction anthology shows like The Outer Limits and The Twilight Zone. However, that's not to say that the concept of Sliders is unoriginal - quite the opposite.

It attempts to answer all of those 'what if' questions that arise from the exciting theory of travelling to multiple dimensions (crossing the Einstein-Rosen Bridge). It plunders popular culture along the way, with episodes blatantly based on various movies, icons and books (for example, 'The Good the Bad and the Wealthy' and 'Greatfellas' which really speak for themselves) but again, somehow, Sliders injects it's own originality into the mix to create a truly thought-provoking, addictive and original series with characters that work excellently together (solid performances from a great cast as well).

Without referring to popular culture the show simply wouldn't work as well as it does - afterall, part of the magic is wondering what the world might be like, for instance, if Elvis was still alive, or if the allies had lost the second world war, etc. As Quinn Mallory puts it:

"What if you could find brand new worlds, right here on Earth, where anything is possible? Same planet, different dimension."

Only one odd thing is the episode selection screens, as they don't tell you in which order to watch them (assuming you don't use the 'play all' option). This means that, for me (selecting episodes from left to right) the Sliders arrived on a new world dressed in hippy-style clothes, but didn't actually get those clothes until the next episode.

All in all a fantastic show.

I very much enjoyed this movie. It has a feeling of realism to it rarely seen in modern cinema (United 93 is another example). The film focuses around one man and his actions following the explosion of several 'dirty bombs' in LA. He seals himself and another in his home, as instructed over haunting radio messages. The only problem being, his wife is outside and he cannot risk letting her in as she has come into contact with the toxic substance that is literally raining down on the city. The film raises alot of questions about human behaviour during a disaster. I wouldn't recommend this film to everyone, it is slowly paced, low budget, there are no action sequences, no humour, just a very gritty drama. Worth a watch

I have to say I am not an Ashton Kutcher fan and I didn't think this film would be my kind of film. However, this film is a real surprise. It follows Ashton trying to uncover supressed memories from his childhood and is based upon the idea that changing one thing may change everything else for better or worse. It is a fantastic thriller and really keeps you gripped from the beginning. The acting was excellent, much better than expected. This is by no means a tennage thriller, it would definitely appeal to an older audience as well. Everyone I've spoken to said they were really surprised by the film and thought it was great (including men). I highly recommend it!!

Viewed a science fiction film (as some reviewers have) this will appear somewhat lacking to those who require much more plot and essentially more thrills. 2001 is a work of cinematic art that rightly deserves its spot as one of the greatest films ever made. The sheer beauty in the way this film has been constructed and edited is a spectacle that I can only assume was immense on the big screen but also quite startlingly beautiful on the small screen. It appears to me the work of indulgence that is rarely given to directors and as such we see the crossover of artistic imagery with cinematic story telling, not a sure fire way towards commercial success but it succeeds in its balance of the two. The film features some of the most repeated scenes in cinema and some of the most famous; its use of music complimenting imagery is truly inspired.

I don't believe this film will appeal to everyone and certainly not to those expecting a star trek style SF film. However, if you have a love of art and like a story to be left open to interpretation then you will find this about as enjoyable as cinema gets.

I thought I would give this a go, after spotting an advert for it in a well-known UK film magazine. I knew Hollow Man 2 was in production, and as a fan of the first movie I was a little non-plussed to find the sequel getting a Direct-to-DVD release.

So I wasn't really expecting much...

I was pleasantly surprised therefore to find an engaging little movie - very much in the spirit of the first (no brain, no logic, full speed ahead with cardboard characters and a plot straight from the back of a 40-year-old comic). It has many faults - Christian Slater just ain't up to the job any more (but seems to be enjoying himself), a long and overly-talky middle act, some extremely ropey visual effects (though it has to be said that there are many good ones despite the obviously low budget), a blatant re-use of a scene from the original Hollow Man not-very-well-disguised, and a conclusion that felt very rushed - dare I suggest the budget ran out?

On the plus side however the 2-dimensional characters are engaging, there are one or two great jump-out-of-seat moments, tips of the hat to not only the original movie but also HG Wells' novel "The Invisible Man", effective use of music (which is all new - not a rehash of Goldsmiths original) and an overall sense of fun (That's Executive Producer Paul Verhoeven shining through, I think) - despite the nasty moments!

To the people that are slating this saying "It's not as good as the first, really disappointed" etc etc, I simply have to wonder exactly what they were expecting! Shakespeare this ain't...

But to the people who are open-minded enough to give this an honest go, you will get out exactly what you put into it. It's not Shakespeare, but it certainly is Hollow Man.

If this is the future for the Hollow Man franchise (there is the obligatory - but well executed - set-up for a Hollow Man 3), it could be an awful, awful lot worse.

Bring 'em on!!

This is classed as an erotic thriller. To be honest it fails on both accounts. For a thriller there isn't enough tension or shocks. The story is too simple for it in many ways. A group of people on a boat in the Carribean end up jumping overboard when the boats gets wrecked. Three of them survive and make it to a small island. A couple and a macho servant. Soon the jealously and paranoia creeps in to cause big problems. How or will all three manage to survive on the island together until they are rescued? As for the erotic side the biggest selling point of this is that Kelly Brook gets naked and does a few topless scenes. She does look stunning but all these scenes together last less than a couple of minutes! There a few sex scenes but none of them are that sexy really. The sub plot of a voodoo curse put on them is totally stupid and the movie would be better with out it. You can admire the scenic views of the Carribean and Kelly Brook in her bikkini but this is a poor thriller. A much better film with a similar plot line is Dead Calm which also stars Billy Zane done nearly 20 years ago. I would recommend that over this any day if you like a good thriller. 3/10

I've watched a few Monk episodes on BBC2 but kept missing them (Monk is buried in a Sat afternoon timeslot), so I bought the DVD.

Basically, Adrian Monk is a former San Fran detective who suffers from OCD = Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. He's obsessed by neatness and detail, as well as being phobic to just about everything (germs, heights, etc). Whenever the SF police get really stuck on a case they call on Monk as a consultant, because his obsessive attention to details makes him an unbeatable detective.

Each episode is a form of murder mystery, some of which are filmed in a Columbo-fashion - i.e. We, the Audience know at the beginning who dunnit.

The show is a quirky mix of mystery and humour, with good acting and an excellent chemistry between the main cast, particularly between Tony Shalhoub (Monk) and Bitty Schrab (Sharoun, Monk's nurse and assistant). You'll enjoy trying to spot the little details when Monk does and figure out their meaning. I'm now addicted and am waiting for season 2.

The boxset extras consist of short featurette interviews with the cast and creators of the show, titled: Mr Monk and his origins (4.20), Mr Monk and his OCD (3.01), Mr Monk and his Fellow Sufferers (4.15), Mr Monk and his Emmy Award-Winning Performance (3.55) and Mr Monk and his Partners in Crime (4.35).

The brilliant Lost is back for another season and believe me it does not disapoint. Season 1 left with a great finale and Season 2's even better. Pumped full of suspense and humour (Sawyer is brillant) it's just one of those programmes that leaves you gagging for more and more. I can't wait for Season 3.

This is when Only Fools and Horses really stepped up a gear (1989). The episodes went from 30 minute slots to 50 minutes, and the situations that the two brothers plus their Uncle Albert found themselves in became priceless.

Yuppy Love has Rodney meeting Cassandra for the first time and Del falling over in the wine-bar (yep, it's that one). Danger UXD is about a dodgy consignment of blow-up dolls that fell off the back of Denzil's lorry. Chain Gang has all the regulars (Trigger, Boycie, Mike) plus our three heroes falling for a con-trick from an ex-jeweller. The Unlucky Winner Is... has to be one of the funniest TV comedy moments ever. Rodney wins a trip to Spain by entering a painting competition ("Del, I never entered this competition"), but as the painting was done when he was 14, he has to go skateboarding with the other members of the Groovy Gang while Del and Cassandra pretend to be his doting parents. Sickness and Wealth sees Del become ill through his yuppy lifestyle ("Lunch is for Wimps"), and Elsie Partridge host a seance. And the final episode, Little Problems, has Rodney marrying Cassandra whilst Del gets beaten up by the Driscoll Brothers. The extra twenty minutes per episode suddenly meant the scripts could fit a lot more in. Each episode seems to include far better stories than the half-hour slots we were used to. It didn't get better than this...

When Alien made an unexpected impact in theatres a sequel was clearly predicted. Many critics thought Alien 2 would be a very bad idea but when the film was actually released they quickly changed their minds.

After destroying the alien that killed all of her crew Ellen Ripley, and her cat, begin making the journey back to earth. But the problem is that their craft has gone off course and Ripley has been floating around in space for 53 years! Luckily a team of astronauts find her and bring her to a huge centre where she receives many odd looks from people who do not believe her story about the alien she faced 53 years ago. But when the centre loses contact with a large group of colonists, living on the planet where Ripley's crew first discovered the alien life form, Ripley is forced to return to the planet along with a determind army of troops. Soon terror breaks loose as Ripley and the troops don't discover one alien but hundreds.

This film is completely action packed. James Cameron knows how to write an action movie and the storyline doesn't get stupid at all. There is no bad acting and although the special effects look a bit dodgy now they don't take away any of the experience. The relationship created between Ripley and Newt is also very clever and convincing!

A snobbish woman (Goldie Hawn) berates a carpenter (Kurt Russell) that was hired to build an "Imelda Marcos" type shoe rack for her boat. Of course she does not pay. Later she falls overboard and gets amnesia Naturally the carpenter takes advantage of this in a unique way. At first it it's fun; then love sets in. Will she ever regain her memory and them what? In the meantime what is her hubby up to?

Great plot and well executed.

Very good film I must say, there were some very nasty scenes with the dogs and the bear trap was outstanding. My only moan the ending was a little rushed and could have been better. Apart from that good acting, location, camera work and plot was top draw. Rent this film you will not be disappointed.