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The A-Team: Uncle Buckle-Up (1985)
One strictly for the kids
Yes this is a kid's show, but I was a kid during the original run. Some of the episodes can be enjoyed by adults in some respects. Not this one though. You wonder why George Peppard agreed to some of the scripts and get-ups but this one stripped his dignity down to a new low. The Hannibal as TV and film B movie actor angle was always silly but not to this level.
A kids TV show host is kidnapped due to protesting some Chinese knock off versions of his quality toy dolls. The actor playing the part is probably 5 ft 3 with an inexplicably tall daughter. The second in command bad guy is ridiculously bad and hammy. One of the worst episodes overall.
The A-Team: The Island (1984)
Silly one
Decker and team have never looked so inept, having superior firepower but still allowing the team to escape and even take the young boy out of their hands. The villain is straight out of a bad van Damme movie with his Mad Max gauntlet. Hannibal shadows the two main guys from a foot away then smokes a cigar from the other side of a wall. The ep is set on the island but then BA asks Murdock 'so you did get me here on a plane?! Nice to see Sonny Landham though.
Extinction (2014)
Not bad attempt
After seeing some not too kind reviews I thought I'd give this a try as it was on Sky Movies. Firstly it seems a lot of people here don't know what the definition of FOUND FOOTAGE films is. Just because it is filmed partially on a video-camera from a first person perspective does not mean it falls in that genre. Found footage would be when some undiscovered reels of film are found and the film adventure is set off thereupon. OK?? Anyway although probably 10 minutes too long and with some irritating characters (principally Tim) I have to say I was fairly impressed with the dinosaurs themselves (don't expect T-Rexes) which were a step up from the usual guff offered by Crocosaurus and the like. There are also some poor emissions from the scenes (someone gets killed - we neither see it nor see them getting attacked which is then described by someone else - big cop-out). This obviously was made on a budget but there were a few good Dino moments, such as when a Dino nose nudges Tim. But it does take a heck of a long time to finally see them, nearly an hour in. A few bad bits of dialogue and acting, but on the whole not worth the slating it's got on here.
Harry, un ami qui vous veut du bien (2000)
Hitchcock would have been proud
Michel (Laurent Lucas) is a dedicated family man riding the responsibilities of modern life as he takes his entourage on a family trip. The seemingly perfect life however has started to show cracks - on a sweltering French summer day his air conditioning is packed in, his three children are wearing his patience to breaking point and his wife's ill-thought scorns and put-downs do nothing to alleviate the strain. Couple this with some overbearing parents and a country retreat which is rapidly turning into a money pit and his problems are beginning to snowball more than he appreciates.
Enter Harry (Sergi Lopez) an old acquaintance from school and a memory so distant Michel can barely grasp it. A brief conversation in a rest-stop men's room then outside a few minutes later and Harry is inviting himself and his girlfriend Plum (Sophie Guillemin) to the hideaway, waving away all protest in the spirit of camaraderie. Against better judgment Michel's wife Claire (Mathilde Seigner) rides with the disruptive kids to travel in Harry's super-cooled Mercedes....
On their first evening at the barn it's apparent that Michel's vague memory is not matched by Harry's. He quotes verbatim from Michel's old school-rag poetry and recalls perfect detail of his early female conquests. Eyebrows are raised but Michel is not overly disturbed by Harry's unusual demeanour, or his post-orgasmic rituals in the small hours. More concern is the garish fuschia paint that Michel's parents have lovingly adorned the bathroom with, totally disparate to the rusticity of the remaining structure, as well as their impending visit.
Harry and Plum seem content to want to idle a few days away with their new-found buddies. First things first though, the family motor is in need of attention after leaving Claire stranded the next day and Harry is a man of solutions - and substantial resources. Car trouble? Here's a new one. Enjoy. And although the cash-strapped couple balk at the generosity, Harry is able to justify his actions in his hope to provide a remedy for their immediate difficulties.
Motives soon become a little clearer when Harry expresses disappointment at Michel's abandonment in creative pursuits for want of a family idyll that isn't materialising. He sets about clearing a path for his endeavours, convincing him of his unrealised talent and trying to railroad him back to what Harry sees as his priorities. Harry can see Michel's distractions and recognises they are holding him back at every turn so he sets on a course of solutions once more. He is here to help after all, and if help comprises of dispatching the odd nuisance obstacle, then so be it. What use to Michel (and indeed Harry) is a collection of philistines, dim-wits and bickerers when he could be re-imagining his high school masterpiece 'Les Singes Volantes' ('The Flying Monkeys') and fulfilling years of waylaid promise?
'Harry' has been described as a modern day Hitchcock thriller and in many ways this is a justified belief. Darkly comic and edgy, Harry is reminiscent of the calm calculated protagonists from 'Rope' albeit with a cooler exterior. A satisfyingly uneasy entry in modern French cinema.