Film Reviews by Big Bob

The characters are right out of the drawer, and this trundles along with nothing really inspiring. I stuck with it because once you start, you live in hope, and also you want to see everything resolved. The last two episodes are the best ones, so if you stick with things until episode three it's worth seeing it through. If you are familiar with the genre, and have a brain in your head, don't expect any big surprises.

This clearly borrows heavily from The Exorcist and Don't Look Now which were both released a couple of years earlier to great acclaim. This isn't in the same league and is rather disappointing. A few well known faces do their best with their scripts but it is only worth watching if you are a huge fan of the genre, or Joan Collins or Donald Pleasance. Ralph Bates has acquired a dodgy Italian accent for no adequately explored reason, there's no real logic as to why his character needed to be Italian. This film I'm afraid is bit of a duffer.

This film is a bit full of cliches and a bit contrived. Ultimately the first class acting saves this from being a total waste of time. Very much seen though the perspective of 'Cal', a disillusioned former IRA driver who wants 'out' played by John Lynch who is in almost every scene. The usual characters turn up, RUC thugs, IRA thugs, bigots, idiots, and so on.

Not as good as Funeral in Berlin, and not a patch on The Ipcress file. Harry Palmer's run started with a true classic and it seems to be all downhill from there. I had hoped that after the slightly underwhelming Funeral in Berlin, that this would be a return to the greatness of The Ipcress File. Sadly, it is more of a sub-standard Bond-style romp on a par with For Your Eyes Only or one of the cheesier Brosnan offerings. Watchable, but don't plan your evening around it, and certainly don't watch it if it is going to upset you that the Palmer franchise seems to be losing its way.

When the description said it contained news footage from ABC News America, I wasn't expecting that would be all that it would contain. This is an entirely American perspective on the year, and a big waste of time if you were wanting to reminisce on what was going on in the UK in an important year in your life.

This film has a reputation for rather obvious High Noon references, and they are indeed immediately apparent. There is an underlying conspiracy plot in the film, but not a very obscure one, and it is revealed quite quickly.

Having said that, this is quite a well made and enjoyable film. Not particularly complicated to watch and not needing too much concentration, and I enjoyed it for the acting.

One bafflement exists in my mind though. Given Connery's accent and his screen wife's accent, why does their son have a broad American accent when he hasn't yet even been to Earth, let alone the USA?... Miscast.

This is rather an embarrassment to the franchise. It's the script, and surprisingly, the direction that spoils it completely, but the resolution to the storyline at the end is totally out of touch with the spirit of the original films.

I would stop at "The Pink Panther Strikes Again" and avoid the disappointment of the final two films if I were you.

Seeing the cast list and a couple of character actors of good repute included on it, I was hoping for something along the lines of a saucy farce but was totally disappointed.

The characters are unlikeable, the script is crude, the plot is thin and unbelievable. Two plot lines have been mashed together in an unconvincing way, the astrology bit being largely forgotten by the end of the film, and the resolution of the plot is poor. There are lots of naked and semi naked women, but the film is about as erotic as a cheese sandwich, so if that is the sort of thing you are looking for, I suggest be honest with yourself and go straight for the adult films section.

I really wouldn't bother with this one.

I can't decide if this is a story of a woman's power over men or just a cheap excuse for Joan Collins to take her clothes off. Whether it is voyeuristic or not, it is quite a stylish film, but the plot is a bit thin. I quite enjoyed seeing the 1970s fashions, music, and the whole feel of the film brought the era back to me, and of course though it may be a guilty pleasure, the mild nudity has its bonuses. On the whole though, I don't think I will be adding this one back on to my rental list for a re-visit any time soon.

Fabulous cinematography and sweeping landscapes. Excellent acting from Caine and Baker in particular, you really feel the sense of dread and desperation. Brings some of the attitudes of the time to the fore, but also dismisses some preconceptions. A very well made film, and very effective considering CGI etc was not available over 50 years ago.

Don't expect historical accuracy. This is an adventure story. It has many of the usual ingredients, German cannon fodder infantry getting shot in their dozens while the Allied characters never seem to take a hit, beastly Nazis, explosions, people hanging off long drops etc, but this is a very well told little caper. What brings it to life is the excellent acting - especially from Burton (and a lesser extent Eastwood), but the supporting cast (heroes and villains alike) is solid as a rock too. If you want something that has a little bit of plot twist without being too intellectually rigorous, then this is good fun.

A fairly funny and amusing film, it is easy to see why it was given a sequel ("A Shot In The Dark") and then a 1970's revival and then a millennial re-boot. This is possibly not as funny as "A Shot In The Dark" or "The Pink Panther Strikes Again" but certainly it is streets ahead of some of the other films and the cringe-worthy recent re-boot of the franchise.

Some historical dramas really do play havoc with historical detail in order to make good viewing. This one isn't as bad as some, and the historical back story and fears of the establishment and the population in the aftermath of the Civil War are reasonably welll handled. The hanging-drawing-and-quartering scenes are of course not accurately depicted. That would be extremely difficult to do given the brutality and detail of what is involved in that type of execution, so why bother? What we have is a rather curious invention by the director/writers which is rather horrible but gives a false impression. It would have been better to have the sentences read out in court and leave the rest to the imagination. However, if you want to reflect on the precarious state of Britain post-Civil War, and how this might have led to the supplanting of the Stuart monarchy with what was a Dutch takeover by any other name, then it is an entertaining series peppered with the odd bit of salaciousness.

You can see so many influences in this film that were borrowed in later productions. Yul Brynner is fabulous as the robot gunslinger. Some of the story is a little disjointed, and the effects are of their time, but this is top notch 1970s sci-fi. If you like films such as The Stepford Wives (original), Soylent Green, et al. then you will probably enjoy this too.

This is a simple tale of vampires. It has Peter Cushing, George Cole, Kate O'Mara, Ingrid Pitt and a young Madeline Smith. What's not to like if you want something uncomplicated. It is a feast of neck chomping and half naked women. This is ideal watching for an adult Hallowe'en Night. Trying to over-analyse this film is really pointless. It is what it is, pure entertainment.