nathan-1 Reviews

Hellboy (2004)

Lovecraft fans will find interesting...

[14 September 2004]

I've never read any of the HELLBOY comics before, and I went into this movie with an open mind........and when I came out I was pretty impressed. I liked this movie. Sure - there are some corny lines of dialogue, and when Hellyboy gets chucked around, it looks pretty comic-bookish and far fetched, but it's all good! :) Interesting characters too, and I liked the vision of hell as being a dark, empty void...and the seven gods (Ogdru Jahad) were A lot like some of H.P.Lovecraft's creations...I also hear that the director of this movie is deciding whether to make HELLBOY 2 or AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS? I'd go for the latter! He has the potential to do a good job! An entertaining movie, interesting theme (raising a demon to be a good guy) and a lot more...

King Arthur (2004)

Interesting take on the Arthurian legend...

[23 July 2004]

Although a lot of people might me annoyed that the fantasy element of the legend doesn't make it into this film (Merlin ISN'T a proper fireball-castin' wizard here folks!) it's still an entertaining film. Visually attractive, (the snow-fight scene is good), acting is on-par, and the theme is there, and the history in context (as far as I could tell...)

My only major gripe would be that there is too much build up to the battle at the end, which doesn't pay of...I mean, Arthur's speech at the end doesn't work for me...and 7 well-trained knights and bottom-kickin' woads should've found those Saxon savages pretty easy to take out! They weren't really a formidable enemy! But i'm no historian, so I don't know what i'm talking about...

It's a very entertaining film, quite patriotic and should appeal to both guys and gals alike! Recommended...

Peter Pan (2003)

Although there's no Rufio, this is still a magical fairy story...

[7 July 2004]

Sure, it doesn't have the early '90s charm and skateboarding antics of Rufio and the Lost Boys in HOOK, or the comedy from Disney's PETER PAN, but this is still a magical adventure - truely fantastic! I owned many versions of the J.M.Barrie novel as a child, and looking back if only i'd seen this film then! Kids (well, kids with a heart) will be swept away on a magical fantasy adventure (not akin to THE LORD OF THE RINGS, this is a fairy fantasy - no Orcs or Balrogs here!) in Never Never Land - where it's inhabitants never age! There are mermaids, indians, pirates, swordfights, romance and adventure! Watch this film, show it to your kids - I dare you! They'll be swept away! Even if you are an adult, some scenes in this film will move you - such as the ending where (SPOILERS) Peter and Wendy never see each other again...tragic...if you have a heart, this film will move you. Excellent acting, special effects, soundtrack, cinematography, script, etc - it has it all! A fun adventure!

('I DO BELIEVE IN FAIRIES - I DO! I DO!')

Troy (2004)

Interesting GLADIATOR/LORD OF THE RINGS wannabe...

[4 July 2004]

OK, I'll admit it first here: i'm not a big fan of Wolfgang Peterson's films. But, suffice to say that I was dragged into the cinema by by beloved mother and sister (who love Orlando Bloom) to see it.

I can't really describe how I feel about the film, since I have just come home from viewing it, and haven't had time to digest it yet.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised. The set design, cinematography, CGI and tone of the film is brilliant! My only major gripes were that the whole Paris/Helen thing didn't work - most of the time if was really obvious Diane Kruger (no relation of Freddie's?) didn't seem really interested in the movie, there was no way of telling how much her character loved Paris (Orlando Bloom), which I thought was quite important seeing as how this is the whole reason the war started!

Eric Bana was very good in role of Hector, not once did I expect him to go into a rage and turn into the Hulk! Brad Pitt stole the show for me - as Achilles, he provided for me the coolness of Tyler Durden and some cool butt-kickin' Jedi! Interesting character, a good role for Pitt....the love/hate relationship between him and Briseis worked better than the mess that Kruger tried to give...

Big-ups on the CGI though! It's very good, you could tell they were using MASSIVE during the rendering for the battle scenes! Overall the look and tone of the film bears uncanny resemblance to GLADIATOR, and the seige of Troy bears resemblance to the seige of Minas Tirth in THE LORD OF THE RINGS : THE RETURN OF THE KING, but these are only very minor gripes, and obviously Wolfgang Peterson was inspired by them....

To sum it all up : a Hollywood blockbuster based on a Greek legend, pleny of battles, romance, action and drama to keep you interested! Who cares about the minor gripes, I had fun with it!

Shakedown: Return of the Sontarans (1994 Video)

Brilliant low-budget British science fiction!

[10/10 · 20 May 2004]

This is one of my all-time favourite DOCTOR WHO spin-off from Reeltime Pictures. It's quite low budget (being released straight-to-video in 1996) but stars famous actors from BLAKE'S 7, EASTENDERS and DOCTOR WHO. I'm sure many of you will remember the Sontarans from DOCTOR WHO, they appeared in four stories over two decades (the '70s and '80s) and even in an episode of JIM'LL FIX IT in 1986. The film also (of course) features the Sontarans arch-enemies - the Rutans! The plot is thus: a space yacht called 'Tiger Moth' has a stowaway on board - a Rutan spy who knows the Sontaran's secrets. A Sontaran battle group board the yacht, hold it's crew prisoners and search the ship for the Rutan. Captain Lisa Deranne (Jan Chappell) doesn't trust them, and so with some of the rest of her crew seek a way to get both the Sontarans and the Rutan off their ship... Some very good model work/FX of the spaceships from DREAMWATCH and REELTIME and some amazing costumes and masks add a lot of great atmosphere to the story. The entire movie was filmed on board a boat in London's docklands (the H.M.S Belfast), making a suitable location for the inside of a spaceship. Perhaps one of the best scenes for me is where the crew are fixing the ship's solar sales through the use of a holographic operating system - interesting idea, it's hard to describe but you'll see what I mean. More science fiction script writers should invent that kind of stuff in their stories - heck, even George Lucas couldn't come up with that kind of brilliant idea! (Well done, Terrance Dicks!) I think this film is now very hard to find, I got mine on VHS (PAL) back when it was released in 1996, but who knows, maybe Reeltime Pictures will release it on DVD one day...?? Summary: An amazing, flawless, low-budget British science fiction drama - hey, it's got Sontarans in it, so what could be wrong? Acting not quite in-line sometimes, but still an amazing film...

The Fog (1980)

wow! great film...

[4 May 2004]

A superbly crafted film. John Carpenter really had me scared! The story is divided between two main heroines that never meet (Jamie Lee Curtis' character and the other female DJ in the lighthouse) but it's still tense and scary at times. Some of you have quoted saying it's in the same tone as Hitchcock or Poe, but i'd have to say Lovecraft as there are refernces to places such as 'Arkham' in the film, and the town is sort-of based on Innsmouth. Carpenter MUST have read at least one H.P.Lovecraft story before he set out to direct this amazing film! The ghost lepers were pretty scary - you never see their faces, just their glowing red eyes or their mangled skeletal hands! And the scene at the end where all the characters meet the priest, hide in the church and make a final defence/stand against the fog ghosts reminded me of Sam Rami's THE EVIL DEAD or the British cult DOG SOLDIERS. I'm surprised this film doesn't rank as one of horror's greats, it truley deserves it! I would highly recommend this, along with some hot, sweet popcorn and soda for a great night in!!!

One Million Years B.C. (1966)

great stuff...

[3 May 2004]

Although the concept of this movie may be interesting, if it wasn't for Raquel Welch's curvy figure in a fluffy bikini and Ray Harryhausen's AWESOME special effects, then most people probably wouldn't see much appealing about this movie. Harryhausen's dinosaurs look fabulous, it puts Jurassic Park and all those other GCI beasts to shame! This is how I want my monsters to be in films, animated via stop-motion. Imagine what LOTR would've looked like if Peter Jackson had used a stop-motion puppet instead of CGI for the Cave Troll! (PJ is a big Harryhausen fan too...)

Alas, for me this isn't the greatest work Harryhausen has done (that has to go to 'Jason and the Argonaughts') but it's still canny viewing. The plot is (at times) very slow, so unless you actually care about the war between the shell/rock people, you'll probably get bored quickly...

aaaawwgghhh - but that CGI pherodyctal (flying dino-bird) looked fab! PJ should've used that in LOTR for the Fell Beasts!!

Well, it's still great viewing, rent the DVD, get some popcorn...and enjoy the view!

To End All Wars (2001)

wow!

[25 April 2004]

I was expecting just another 'Rambo' or 'Platoon' but instead got a 'Schindler's List' or 'The Pianist'. At the start of the film, I was all for Robert Carlyle to go on a rampage and kill the POW guards (or 'nips' as they are referred to in this film, and were during WW2). But as the story progresses, it turns into a story of self-sacrifice with Christian ethics. I must say, during the crucifixion scene, I shed a tear (which is VERY rare for me, and even more so since this is a low-budget film). This film is very moving, at times it can be hard viewing, but if this film does not move you then you have no soul - it's worth watching!!! Some of you might feel revenge, or (like me) forgiveness after watching it. The end message of the film is to test the viewer and ask them a question: Can you forgive your enemey and love and help them like a friend, no matter how much hurt and pain they cause you and your loved ones and to forgive them? I would highly recommend anyone with a human soul to watch this film, but if you like all the CGI, blood-for-fun, violence and drama of 'Saving Private Ryan' then you're not welcome here...

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)

Fantastic action! SUPERB A+++

[21 April 2004]

A very entertaining piece of adventure/fantasy/pulp action. Based on a comic book series (as alot of action films are) you may or may not like this film. If sci-fi/adventure doesn't appeal to you stay away - this film is not for you!! Having read '20000 Leagues Under the Sea' , 'Dr. Jekell/Mr. Hyde' I instantly recoginsed some of the characters from famous pieces of literarture (like Moriaity). I'm surprised this didn't do better at the cinema, it's FAR better than 'Pirates of the Caribbean' , but then again it's a VERY British Patriotic film, and since I AM British that's probably why I like it, and probably why the media doesn't. Set in an alternate universe, where tanks were invented 30 years earlier, victorians have machine guns, etc - the MI5 gather the most heroic and talented men (and a woman) from all around the British Empire to prevent world war I from happening. It's sort of like DC's Justice League America, but British and set in the victorian times. CGI ain't TOO great, but that's the beauty of it - was the 1933 King Kong realistic? - no. It left more to the imagination. The acting in superb, I love the cheesy one-liners, and the sets/costumes were pretty bravo too :P I recommend this to anyone who likes period action films or Science Fiction in general...

The Godfather (1972)

dull, uninspiring...

[16 April 2004]

Sorry, but after all the hype between LOTR_vs_Godfather debate, I decided to check this film out. Being a huge fan of LOTR for many years, I wanted to see it from THEIR perspective. But I was expecting SO much more - what did I get? An uninspiring 'epic'. Where was the storytelling? Where was the superb direction. And I know what i'm talking about when it comes to GOOD films (A Clockwork Orange, The Pianist, The Great Escape, The Elephant Man, The Evil Dead and any Ray Harryhausen masterpiece...) and this doesn't do it for me. Don't get me wrong, I love gangstar films - but not this one. Sorry, this isn't the 'greatest' movie of all time. Go rent SPY KIDZ II or something... I can't understand how this compares and tops the movie list...everyone i've spoken too (apart from my mate Justin) hates this film. If it was THAT good, everyone would own it on DVD which they don't ... go figure...

Old School (2003)

pretty funny...

[12 March 2004]

A very funny film! Nothing special, but it achieves what it set out to do - entertain! Stiffler's mullet (a white trash horse abuser), the BJ teacher and Blue are the funniest! Not for kids though, it's strictly 18s only here!!! B++ very amusing movie!!! The colleage dean is so annoying that you'll want to actually hit someone like that in real life!! My brother borrowed this film for me, and I have to thank him as it was very funny, but again it's not really my type of film which is why i'll only give it a B++! Sorry guys :P It won't win any Oscars, but it's worth watching--- or better yet, see RETURN OF THE KING!!!

The Return of the King (1980 TV Movie)

Fun, but don't show to kids who ain't read the books...

[1 February 2004]

Very fun, visualy accurate to the books (Mordor, Gondor, etc look pretty good); most of the characters are cute and charming; but most people who haven't read the books will find the plot hard to follow, but with Peter Jackson's version out, it won't matter... Most people will find the songs chessy, but personally I think that orc-marching song ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

Awesome!

[10/10 · 19 January 2004]

Peter Jackson works magic! For all of you who whined about the plot changes from the books; remember this: Tolkien created LotR as a mythology, and it was his aim that someone would one day re-write it and pass it down to new generations (part of the 'mythical process') and that is what Jackson has done - continued the mythical process! The trilogy on the whole is awesome; a MUST see!!!

The Lord of the Rings (1978)

Superb!

[10/10 · 19 January 2004]

Amazing! Bakshi's vision of Middle Earth surpasses Jackson's in many ways; and if you looking for an adaption the sticks close to the books, watch this! The rotoscoping looks awesome, the use of colour is a real piece of eye candy!!

Nosferatu (1922)

amazing!

[19 January 2004]

A truly dark film! It's silent, and I LOVE IT. It doesn't need dialogue because the music and the eerie black and white backdrops (the boat where the vamp. awakes for one!) say it all! A must-see for any horror film veterans alike!