I found this film hard enough work, and not very exciting. I don't think the acting was very good from the main actors except Tim Roth was pretty good, he always is. The strongman was played by a real finnish 'world's strongest man' who never acted before this film. He's a physical specimen carved out of wood, but he is also wooden as an actor. His girlfriend has been beaten up by roth, and all our hero can say to her is 'But ..why?' like he's doing a maths problem. Very unemotional! I guess he was supposed to be simple minded. I didn't really care what his fate was. A few good bits, like the hypnotists' show and the bit when the big fellah lifts tim roth up in the boat. But overall if you're expecting anything as good as aguirre or fitzcaraldo you'll be disappointed. 6/10
Reviews
34 Reviews
King Kong
(1933)
Holy Mackerel, what a show!
1 March 2002
I could never tire of this movie, i've seen it so many times and always watch it when it's on tv-in fact i watched it just a week ago! It's one of those films that is rewatchable countless times, like many other 'monster' movies. But this is the best 'monster' movie , it is so well made-it is a masterpiece. Everything is right-the effects,the photography,the score,pacing,continuity. My favourite part would be the big middle chunk on the island. Ann captured-natives dance-a sacrifice to kong-rescue mission-defeat of stegasoraus-swamp adventure-swamp escape-log catastrophe-trex battle-snake creature fight-pterydactil disposal-rescue/escape-kong wrecks village-gas bomb. There is almost no let up in the action in this sequence. I have seen two versions of the film though. One was cut, the other wasn't. Some scenes that were cut: kong pulls a native out of his hut and stomps him into the mud. Brilliant. Also the bits when kong chews a native, and when he chews on a new yorker. And when he throws a woman down from a scraper into the street. Needless cutting in my book. A lot of people complain about the acting. The acting is swell. Robert Armstrong is perfect as the over enthusiastic director who is completely responsible for the deaths of hundreds of innocent people but has absolutely no scruples about it. He provides the silent chuckles of the movie e.g my one line summary is actually what denham says when he sees the savages and their dancing. And Bruce Cabot to Fay Wray: ' hey, i guess i love you!' in a moment of clarity. Overall a smashing film with a great climax. And kong is supposed to have the hots for fay wray too when he plays with her and her clothes
The Band Concert
(1935)
perfection.
21 February 2002
All budding animators should see this one. It is one of the all time great cartoons. The scene when the twister lifts the band up is transcendent. It still awes after all these years. The cartoon starts off in a light way, with donald duck interfering with the band,playing turkey in the straw against their william tell overture. The action is guided by the music, and vice versa-when mickey tries to swat a bee by waving his arms, the band play his instructions,when he gets ice cream down his pants and tries to shake it off, they play some belly dance music. There's great attention to detail in the cartoon, the music script follows the band as they fly about in the storm, when mickey is flying about and passes through a window frame the blind shuts after him. And the music is great and complements the animation perfectly. They shoulda sent this cartoon into space with the other stuff on voyager.
good action flick
14 February 2002
THe opening sequence of battle scenes was the high point and the rest ain't too shabby either, but it does drag in places, there's only so much sword fighting i can take. it starts at bilbos party and goes up to the point where gandalf and boromir are killed, i think it covers the start of book 2.
Music Land
(1935)
awesome masterpiece
14 February 2002
I would rate this in the top 10 short cartoons i've ever seen,totally marvellous stuff. Even if you hate disney films you should see this one. It's got the perfect combination of great animation and music which is the hallmark of the great silly symphonies. The backgrounds are wonderfully rich. It's chock full of action/adventure. Highlight: the moment when the isle of jazz attacks land of symphony, the saxes and trumpets etc blasting out musical notes like missiles, it's something to behold. Available to buy on dvd.(walt disney treasures:silly symphonies). 10/10!!
Mickey's Polo Team
(1936)
chock full of action
17 January 2002
one of the better 1936 mickeys. mm hardly appears in it though, the main player is donald duck as he battles it out with harpo marx, and he swallows the ball and becomes a target for the rest of the players. The laurel and hardy characters are spot on and overall the animation is a treat. Available on dvd now along with all the mm 1935-1938 shorts.
Mickey's Fire Brigade
(1935)
top drawer
17 January 2002
Surely one of the greatest short cartoons ever made. Second for second, this is the most action packed cartoon i've ever seen. Mickey donald and goofy battle a big house fire and rescue clarabelle cow. The opening sequence is the title of the cartoon burning up and it pulls back to reveal the house on fire. The music in these 1935 mickey mouse cartoons is always spot on, adding to the drama. The flames are anthropomorphic ones, i.e they are animated, they run around like kids, they have legs, they grab windows and shut them etc. It's a visual feast of a cartoon,and it clocks in under 8 minutes. It's the kind of thing they don't do anymore, but it is available on dvd with all the colour 1935-1938 mickey mouse cartoons, and these are worth seeing.
Steve Coogan: The Man Who Thinks He's It
(1998 Video)
iT's a hoot!
18 December 2001
'Laugh or cry, the choice is yours'. These words uttered by Duncan Thickett, the world's worst comedian. Hilarious sketches with partridge the calfs and tony ferrino too.Alan does a great Kate Bush medley at the end. Paul Calf: ' do you know what i hate, people who win the lottery and say it won't change me. Here's a quid, give me your f--in ticket.' Duncan THickett:'A lot of comedians these days do what they call self deprecation, the audience likes that, he doesn't mind havin' a go at himself. So i'm going to try a bit of that. Ahem. I'M A RIGHT C--T ME!! THere we go...see people can identify with that. Well he can(pointing to someone in audience)' Tony Ferrino 'Ah yes, stoke newington, i know it well. I have a villa there..' Pauline Calf: 'did someone drop you on your head when you were a baby?' -friend:'No..' Pauline: ' THey f--kin should have' Excellent!
Big Break
(II) (1990–2002)
the insufferable jim davidson
23 November 2001
Popular tv game show where star snooker players try to win money for normal people. it is hosted by none other than jim davidson, one of the most unfunny comedians of the last 30 years. john virgo, former player and current tv commentator, picks the balls out of the pockets. Awful.
Classic Sleaze for the whole family
1 November 2001
Classic Home invasion feature. David Hess and his partner make a lovable pair of sickos, the intensity never lets up. The main character seems to have eyes in the back of his head, he misses nothing. One of the more extreme films floating about, recommended to fans of the sleaze genre!
Ed Gein
(2000)
excellent!
30 October 2001
This is a no frills , solid study of a madman. Ed Gein was a seminal influence indeed, he was on the scene years before the other american psychos and he is now getting the 'credit' he deserves. Texas chainsaw massacre was based on ed. The acting in this film is top notch especially from the lead. It shows how his family upbringing affected his brain and his mother's influence, so there's loads of flashback, the timeframe is not constant so watch out. One of the best serial killer films so far. 9/10.
Disco Pigs
(2001)
entertainment value of a wet rag
22 October 2001
This is an unusual kind of film sadly it's not very good , i'm sure the actors are good actors but the material was poor. A love story of sorts, but the lovers are both mental. A recipe for disaster. The girl isn't that far gone but the fellah is crackers. A right looney. Then again he's a corkman so not that surprising.
It's an irritating film.
It's an irritating film.
The Book That Wrote Itself
(1999)
original
5 September 2001
These nice little low budget films can often be a lot more enjoyable than the big blockbuster ones. This one is kinda silly, it's got plenty of chuckles. The main character thinks he's got more talent than he has, he is annoying but he does funny things. There's a bit where the main character 'auditions' big name actors/directors for the film of his book. He does this by goin to the venice film festival and asking questions to them at the q/a sessions. For instance he asks george clooney would he ever be interested in appearing in a low budget irish film. So basically this guy has george clooney and chaz palminterry and melanie griffith appear in his film for free! Clever! 7/10
Bad Company
(1972)
reminds us how great 70s films were
3 July 2001
They don't make em like this anymore, a smashing film this. The two leads are excellent and their friends are good too. There are so many great scenes in this film it's untrue! One of my favourite bits is when drew and jake have a big fight in this lady's house, and completely wreck it! It's one of the best fight scenes i've seen. There's humour and tragedy and excitement and tension. a top notch film 10/10
The Killing of America
(1981)
more disturbing than any horror film. a must see.
12 June 2001
This is a very brilliant documentary of the american way. From the very beginning there is a sense of doom. The combination of raw footage and matter of fact narration makes this intense and extremely tense. We are never given a breather, it is non-stop violence and trauma. There is an incredible interview with a serial killer in his jail cell towards the end of the film, a guy who slept with the heads of his female victims. By the end of the film I was very numb - it's really powerful stuff. 10/10
Snatch
(2000)
very funny
20 April 2001
This is a fine follow up to lock stock, its just as good. It's got a similarly convoluted plot, great script and knockout performances, especially the characters brick top, mickey, turkish. Cousin Avi is also very amusing. Brad Pitt shows how versatile he is, displaying his skill at accents. Everything that can go wrong does,leading to some hilarious situations. There's too much good things in this film to list off, you should go and see it. A sample of funny dialogue: 'no sugar for me...i'm sweet enough'
Apocalypse Now
(1979)
complete drivel
8 March 2001
Purports to be about the vietnam war, but it is justa selfindulgent mess. It's all over the shop, totally incoherent mess of a film. And it took about three years to make! It's a waste of money and talent. The plot is as thin as they come. There's a crazy soldier in the jungle, and martin sheen has to kill him. It takes him 2 1/2 hours to even find him! This film's popularity is basically because it is so violent and the bit with the helicopters. This is based on a short, 100 page book. Talk about inserting filler!! 3/10
The Sixth Sense
(1999)
rubbish
7 March 2001
One of the great 'overhyped' films of 99, just like the star wars film was. This one is better than star wars but is still awful. You have this guy played by Bruce Willis, who spends most of the film talking to a little boy. The little boy is the most annoying thing about the film. Even Brucie looks good beside him, which is not an easy thing to do. Anyway the film is just the little boy looking scared and sinister. The acting is terrible. His wife is a nice looking girl, too good for a ruffian like Bruce. Bruce is just about the worst actor there is. There is supposed to be a really suspenseful atmosphere to the film. Cobblers. This film is just a big mess with no atmosphere or funnies. And if you like bad endings you'll love the ending. Overall, i give it 1/10, not 0 because Brucie's wife is nice.(the wife in the film, not demi)
Aliens
(1986)
bang,bang,bang. Lousy.
7 March 2001
Typical Hollywood muck, all guns and monster effects. No good acting or script. No surprise that Cameron went on to make that little gem, 'Titanic'. This one is a bit better than that, but still it's rubbish. There's a load of aliens running around the place, and the soldiers have to kill them. There you go. Made loads of money, so they kept on making them. Aagh! 2/10
part3 of this embarrassment
7 March 2001
Warning: Spoilers
One of the worst films of all time, this was released to an unsuspecting public in 1983. I saw it then when i was 10. I actually loved it back then but i was only ten. It's atrocious. You have these guys messing about with a giant slug. It would make you sick it's disgusting. Loads of violence for all the family to enjoy, like peoples arms being chopped off.lovely. The acting is terrible. The script is terrible. Then you have this stupid 'space wars' battle and they blow up a big spaceship.Wow. Finally there is a huge battle between teddybears and mechanical duck things. Amazing. Note my irony. Anyway it all ends happily (oops,spoiler). More bucks for uncle lucas. No wonder he vanished after this film. 0/10
The Blues Brothers
(1980)
Terrible stuff. Lousy music.
7 March 2001
What is all this muck about blues? You have two fat guys driving around the place, being chased by hundreds of police cars- and they can't even catch them. Then they go to some bars and play blues music, one of the worst forms of music along with country. This film has a huge cult following. But it is boring and lasts TWO AND A HALF HOURS for charley's sake! Barely a giggle in sight. 3/10
sci-fi nonsense
7 March 2001
This film started the terrible star trek motion picture series. It is a joke. William Shatner is one of the worst thespians in the galaxy, alongside david hasselhoff and keanu reeves. The look on his face when he is reunited with the enterprise is so sickeningly sentimental it would make you ill. The film is ultra boring, we wait ages for anything to happen. Gorgeous looking android is the only saving grace. Robert Wise directed this pap. He should know better, he did some awesome films in his time. Not this clunker though. 2/10
Alien
(1979)
hahaha. so bad it's funny
7 March 2001
Can't believe how popular this film is. This is just because alien2 made megabucks. There is no story, and the acting is pretty bad. The only good bit is the bit when the monster jumps out of the guy. And that bit isn't that good either. This 'spawned' a load sequels, which are all just as terrible. 2/10
Thru the Mirror
(1936)
a classic mickey mouse cartoon
8 February 2001
This was made in the golden age of Disney animation (1935-1940). It involves mickey's adventures as he goes 'thru' the mirror and enters a world where inanimate objects are alive. there are many impressive bits. for example the scene where mickey eats a nut and is transformed in size is brilliantly done. there is a lot of dancing in the cartoon, mickey dances with a top hat and a pair of gloves and does a dance routine with some playing cards, and then there is a busby berkley type dance thing involving the cards. the climax involves mickey being chased by hundreds of cards and it is fantastic. you have to hand it to the artists who worked on this, it is a great cartoon. other superior mickey mouse cartoons include: the band concert(1935); mickey's garden(1935); clock cleaners(1937); moving day(1936); the sorcerer's apprentice (from fantasia (1940) ).
Accelerator
(2000)
revenge of the scangers.pretty good.
26 January 2001
Bunch of dublin scangers and their belfast scanger pals have a race from belfast to dublin , whoever gets to the pope's cross in the phoenix park first wins all the money (i think it's 1200 quid). We meet some interesting characters-wacker, who is the tough guy of the dublin gang and is an illiterate psychopath; crunchie, whose diet consists of nothing but crunchie bars (talk about product placement); anto who is a mellow myopic geek and is the most lovable of the characters; And Johnny T from belfast who is in a spot of trouble with the provos and wants to move to Barcelona. There isn't too much 'racing' in the film, it's more concerned with what happens to each car separately. Backed up by pounding factory beat type music and a spot of easy listening for anto of course. On the whole-deadly!Rapidd!! Leave your brain at your gaff and enjoy the ride 7/10
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