BigAir Reviews

Mulan (1998)

Very funny, but not Disney's best

[12 March 1999]

I thought this was very funny (the little Dragon voiced by Eddie Murphy is just hilarious), but I thought the story was a bit weak. I know it's just a cartoon, but 30 people against the whole of the Hun army? Riding a horse through an avalanche? Come on....

I also thought the handling of the gender issues in the film were dodgy. It's good to see a strong woman as the heroine, but much less good to see her come home and start deferring to her father again, and falling at the feet of her hunky male commanding officer.

Still though, I enjoyed it a lot more than most of the Hollywood films I've seen this year.

Dobermann (1997)

No plot, no characterisation, but it's so stylish who cares?

[9/10 · 12 March 1999]

There's almost no plot, and very little characterisation in this film, but I still thought it was immensely enjoyable. The action scenes are so stylish they even eclipse Leon in my opinion, and I like the way there's not even any attempt to justify any of the ultraviolent goings on. Sure it's violence for entertainment's sake, but I don't have a problem with that.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

Not as scary as everyone says it is....

[12 March 1999]

Having read everywhere that this was the scariest movie ever made I was scared witless sitting in the cinema waiting for it to start. In fact though, it's really not all that frightening. It's slightly chilling, and some of it is very uncomfortable viewing, but I found all the screaming and dissonant music more annoying than terrifying. I did however think it was pretty funny in places, especially at the end, and it is undoubtedly a very creative and original piece of cinema.

Incidentally, the print I saw at Shaftesbury Avenue in London was very poor. I know it was shot in 1973 on 16mm but it was badly scratched, and the colour was all over the place. In one scene, Marilyn Burns went from blonde to brunette to blonde again in about 10 seconds!

The Little Mermaid (1989)

This is my favourite movie of all time...

[10/10 · 17 December 1998]

I probably never would have seen this movie if my mother hadn't persuaded me to take my little brother to see it. I enjoyed it a lot the first time, but it was only when I saw it again a couple of years later on video I realised just how superb a movie it is. It's not a clever or complex movie, it's not the kind of film which works on an adult level as well as on a children's one. However, three aspects of it make it truly great:

1: The music. 'Under The Sea' richly deserved its Oscar, but 'Part Of Your World' deserved it even more.

2. The animation. Quite simply, it's absolutely gorgeous. The underwater scenes in particular take your breath away.

3. The Story. How can you resist a love story that touching?

I urge anyone with even a touch of sentimentality about them to set their predjudices aside and see this movie.

Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)

It's better than the first one...

[17 December 1998]

I actually quite enjoyed this although I've never been a particularly discerning viewer. I found it pretty exciting and I thought the stunts were very good. Of course it won't tax your brain but then it was never intended to. It does what it sets out to very well.