mgm-2 Reviews

Donnie Darko (2001)

Maybe I'm too old...

[5/10 · 13 March 2004]

Having read the reviews I expected great things - but it just didn't push my buttons. Maybe I'm too old at 45! It'll probably be just fine for anyone who remembers being a disaffected teenager.

Production values and effects are great. Donnie's English teacher is utterly, utterly gorgeous! And I could have sworn his shrink was Sharon Gless.

The film takes the laws of physics a little far - and some of the scifi touches seem rather familiar.

In all a very professional film which hangs together very well - just not my cup of tea.

Independence Day (1996)

Hokum, but enjoyable hokum

[9/10 · 11 January 2004]

I gave this film a 9 primarily because of Will Smith and secondly because it features a zip drive! Negative points are its less than flattering portrayal of scientists and a scene glorifying handguns. Jeff Goldblum plays Jeff Goldblum as only he can. There are some awesome action scenes as well as some incredibly bad ones. Generally the acting is pretty good.

WarGames (1983)

Rather wonderful piece of history, both of war and computers

[9/10 · 11 January 2004]

Anyone with an appreciation of the history of the microcomputer will love this film - and for anyone else it is well made and entertaining too. Don't expect any realism in the plot itself - it is just entertainment and aimed at American teenagers apparently - its on a similar level to E.T. If you're over 50 you will probably be intensely irritated by the film - mainly because of the way people like yourself are portrayed in it! :-)

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Worthy but dull war pic

[8/10 · 28 January 2001]

Spielberg makes some great films, Schindler's List being one of my all time favourites, but Saving Private Ryan just doesn't do anything for me. The D-Day beach scene was very well done but the rest of the film is just dreary. Spielberg should have read Spike Milligan's war memoirs before making this film.

Chicken Run (2000)

Half hour cartoons should never be stretched to full length

[2/10 · 28 January 2001]

The Wallace and Gromit series were fantastic, this is dull and turgid. The sending up of old war movies is a great idea but it could have been done so much better. I think my biggest argument with this film is that somebody decided to make it a feminist propaganda piece - that's certainly what it feels like.

Force 10 from Navarone (1978)

Better than second rate sequel to a third rate original

[6/10 · 7 February 1999]

As the film started I thought "Oh Dear, here comes another second rate sequel cashing in on the success of its predecesor". It does conform to the usual formula, place a group of people of similar composition to the originals in a contrived situation. This usually results in a mediocre mish-mash. In this case the day is saved by Harrison Ford's class. Sometimes his presence in a film is over-powering (Patriot Games). Here he is more laid back and lends the film an honesty it would otherwise lack.

The Guns of Navarone (1961)

Dark, damp, ham acting, a truly awful film

[4/10 · 7 February 1999]

A great story cannot compensate for awful direction. The screen play and attendant acting was truly dreadful. Everything seemed to take place in the dark. I was reminded of the "Commando" comics I used to read as a child. The on-going suspicion of who was the traitor was I suppose intended to add a cerebral element but it just seemed childish.

I thought "Force 10 from Navarone" was bad but the original was worse.

Hard Target (1993)

Low brow entertainment

[4/10 · 5 February 1999]

Our first view of the villain in this film defines it. This is the most cliche ridden action film I have ever seen. No matter how well directed the stunts are, one cannot appreciate them whilst laughing at the obviousness of it all. Like a Bond film with all the style and humour left out.

What a Crazy World (1963)

Typical Rock 'n' Roll movie, a few year late!

[8/10 · 5 February 1999]

From the plot you would expect a potboiler of a film but its stars bring it to life. Harry H. Corbett (AKA Harold Steptoe) and Joe Brown are such likeable characters that you can't help enjoying the movie. Add a live performance from Freddie and the Dreamers and it just can't lose.

I watched this black and white film thinking it must have been made in 1959 - 1960 and was somewhat surprised to find it was 1963!

Patriot Games (1992)

Having a star actor detracts from the story

[5/10 · 13 January 1999]

I enjoyed the first half of this film but if I hadn't read the book before watching this film I'd have been disappointed that the last half hour seems to consist of a bunch of people aimlessly banging about in a dark house. This was truly awful to watch.

Having read the book, the fact that every scene seems to have been written around Harrison Ford is very irritating. Tasks accomplished by teams of people in both the book and in real life are solely done by Jack Ryan. An important character in the book but not the only one.

Having said that, Harrison Ford does as good a job as anyone could have in portraying Jack Ryan. The actress playing his young daughter is wonderful but the wife character doesn't ring true somehow.

Battle of Britain (1969)

Never mind the acting, feel the atmosphere

[9/10 · 13 January 1999]

The first time I saw this film was at a movie club in the NAAFI of an RAF aerodrome. I hope that didn't colour my opinion too much! To me, it impresses as a technical tour-de-force. Large numbers of German designed aircraft were obtained from Spain (Where they had been in use until the 1960's) for the flying sequences. To any aviation buff the fact that these Messerschmitts and Dorniers had Rolls-Royce Merlins instead of Daimler-Benz engines is painfully obvious but doesn't detract too much from the film.

The portrayal of life on an RAF station in the war seems pretty well done, the acting only seems stilted in the sequences in hotel rooms. All in all, I think the film was a magnificent achievement.