Film Reviews by CD

A British vampire film with a very strong cast, an innovative and coherent plot and some good seaside scenery and action scenes. However it has a problem with its pacing and the momentum drops considerably at times. The best bits are the more gothic 19th century parts. Definitely worth a watch and nearly 4 stars from me.

I decided to watch this following the recent passing away of Terence Stamp. "The Limey" was I understand a film that the actor rated highly, but I was a bit disappointed. It certainly has sufficient action and enough interesting characters to make it a woithwhile watch, but Stamp's cockney accent seems a bit forced and becomes a slightly irritating distraction. There are also some rather uninformative and repetitive flashbacks, and even some "flash forwards" which occur too often in the film. Peter Fonda is really the more interesting character, deeply flawed but ironically more human than Stamp's character.

I had high expectations as this film has very favourable reviews from the critics. I was disappointed first of all by the music score in the early scenes which in its jaunty fairground style does not match the film at all. Also the plot is very clunky and never really develops beyond the one that becomes apparent in the first 15 minutes of the film. There are several positives - the casting is very good as is the camera work, particularly the evening scenes outside the surgeon's house (with the nightingales singing) and at the cemetry. The mask and the face of the character playing the daughter are memorable as is the sadness behind the whole situation. It's all very french which is fun, with a particularly dingy police office and downbeat gendarmes who seem to make no progress at all on solving the crimes.

I did not enjoy this film although it has good reviews. On the positive side it has high energy and a good cast of actors, but in its combination of Music and Horror there are many more entertaining films. The horror element seems almost grafted on to the end of the film. The characters are quite unlikable and stereotyped. I found myself using the fast forward button quite frequently after the first 20 mins, searching for a plot I could follow. I failed in this, but it would be unfair to take too much from this review as I did not stay the course of the full film - however enough to realise this film is not for me.

Dave Bautista puts in a brilliant performance  within a strong cast.  The film has a great emotional power - much more than the “plot” might suggest.  It is not a horror film but a thoughtful drama that  is engrossing throughout. 

Once the main character reveals himself this turns into an enjoyable albeit violent thriller with little subtlety.  It is rescued by odd moments of humour and some slick action sequences, which compensate for the lack of any clear plot. The soundtrack is also memorable at times and the actors are clearly very much enjoying themselves.  For a more satisfying older style movie in this genre I would recommend “To live and die in LA”, but this is an entertaining way to spend an evening if you want to see justice meted out to bad guys. 

Good casting and acting, and well directed. The momentum is maintained to the end and the ending is uncertain until the last scene. Enjoyable with some good dialogue and action.

Very enjoyable and well directed thriller mostly taking place on a Canadian train. It has a lot of enjoyable elements, some good baddies, interesting diologue and good acting performances from all involved. Hackman brings his special brand of toughness and humour to the scenes.

An interesting film only if you want to see Demi Moore early in her career. The plot is really difficult to believe and the film falls between horror and drama with no really strong roles or characters, despite the effort of the actors. Unfortunately there is little else to distinguish it, such as special effects or the music score.

This film gets great reviews and is artistically acclaimed. The winter backdrop and constant snow sets the scene for a rather grim tale. Even with subtitles I struggled to make much sense of it and found it difficult to watch without the assistance of the fast forward button. I cannot do the film justice in my review as some bits I skipped through, and I am sure that film students will enjoy it far more than I did. For mediaeval epics I would recommend the Ingmar Bergman films, especially "The Seventh Seal" and "The Virgin Spring".

I have seen this film several times and decided to watch it again given the sad recent passing of Gene Hackman.  Unfortunately I found the dialogue and humour very dated and the storyline and action seems wooden and unlikely compared with many more taut action movies of the last 20 years.  Hackman’s acting after being made into a junkie remains brilliant, the baddie is sauve and believable and the French supporting cast are great.  Marseille is occasionally picturesque, grubby and dangerous in a 1970s way. Worth a watch but there are better Hackman films.

This film is lauded by critics and film makers. It has a great cast of actors, a memorable soundtrack, and some stunning camerawork. I found it disappointing though and can think of many other westerns that I prefer including many made in the last 20 years. In this film, the long pauses become tiresome after a while and too many of the actors seem to be caricatures. Charles Bronson plays a harmonica when one would much prefer more dialogue. The plot is not very clear and there are some odd gaps between scenes that disrupt the flow of the action.

I'd forgotten what a good film this was in all respects. Tom Cruise and Gene Hackman are well cast and are in excellent form, and there are great supporting perfomances from a wide array of actors. The film is based on a very good John Grisham novel and the plot is solid with great momentum throughout. Locations are interesting (including the Cayman Islands) and the added bonus is the great jazz influenced music score by Dave Grusin. All in all, a really good watch.

Danny Dyer and the other leads really carry this film which has very little in terms of message or insight about football gangs other than the cameraderie, drugs and alcohol that incite the violence. The scenes are occasionally funny but the overall sense of the film is darkness, nihilism and an absence of any real purpose and meaning other than the violence and not letting down your mates in a skirmish.. Worth a watch if only for Danny Dyer's performance.

This film has some good critical reviews but I could not get into it, in spite of some effort. The 1970s TV format makes it all very tacky, the characters seem to be caricatures and the scenarios quite predictable. I gave up within 30 mins so it would be unfair to judge the whole film on a partial watch, but nothing made an impact on me.