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Reviews
Carry on England (1976)
Yes it's terrible, but...
I have just watched this on DVD - one feels obliged having been given the box set - and yes, it's still terrible. Whilst I would in no way wish to defend it, I would take issue with the following earlier comments:
1) Although Sid was a big miss (as were Kenny and Charlie), how would he have improved the film? He wouldn't have improved on Windsor Davies' definitive Sergeant Major, and frankly there wasn't really anything else he could have done. I also think he might well have been losing his edge by then anyway: the performance in Carry On Dick was well below par, in particular contrast to Don't Lose Your Head of which it had many echoes.
2) Peter Butterworth's apparent boredom may have been in character: he was after all being bored constantly by the Brigadier's witticisms. He may equally have been bored with the film, one can't really tell.
3) Major discovery - THERE IS ACTUALLY A FUNNY LINE. It's well hidden and one has to be a certain demographic (ie over 45 and British) to appreciate it fully. Towards the end, as they are running to the gun, one can just pick out Windsor Davies' encouragement: "Sixpence for every one you shoot down. Two bob if it's a German!" One can imagine that being said in reality at the time.
Shame about the preceding 80 minutes though.
Inspector Morse: Death Is Now My Neighbour (1997)
Did the full stop on the writer's keyboard get stuck on auto?
Decent plot twists and performances as always, but the one thing that stands out in this episode is... and once you start to notice the absurd number of unfinished sentences, you can't help... which is unfortunately rather distracting from the rest of... there is of course a place for a character's thoughts to drift off occasionally, but in this episode... You get the point (as it were). It's not so noticeable in other episodes so it's a bit strange the way it is so overdone in this one. It contains the same running themes as other episodes - one has to wonder how anybody gets out of Oxford with a their life, let alone a degree. Anyway, worth watching, try not to let it...
Red Dwarf: Back to Earth (Part Three) (2009)
10 years waiting for a rehashed plot?
I loved the original series. I have to say that this 3 part update was a bit disappointing. The acting and the gags were more or less up to the previous standard, but the plot...well, they admitted it was nicked from Blade Runner (in my view, second only to Perfect Storm as the worst ever film), and it was obviously referencing the despair squid, but there was also a Life on Mars element to it. Sadly, though, nothing really new, and nothing particularly Red Dwarfish about it. A disappointing lack of Holly too, and presumably we're supposed to have forgotten what happened at the end of the previous series. Worth watching but not perhaps as good as it should have been.
The Dark Knight (2008)
Is it really one of the top 10?
There seems to be a lot of hype about this film. As I write it's sitting at #6 with an average rating of 9.0. Honestly, I don't think it's that good. Heath Ledger is fun as the psychopathic side of the joker, but I'm not sure he's any more enjoyable than Jack Nicholson - where, for instance, are the actual jokes? Michael Caine just is NOT Alfred - butlers should speak much more correctly than that, and the cockney boy just doesn't work for me. Christian Bale doesn't seem solid enough as a Bruce Wayne. It's a bit more jolly than the Tim Burton efforts - there is at least daylight this time - and the plot twists and effects are decent, but I don't think they're particularly ground-breaking. All in all I'd say it's watchable, but I don't expect it to hang around in the top 10 for too long.
Amadeus (1984)
Watch and learn
If you want to learn how to act, watch F Murray Abraham in Amadeus. You could not see a better exposition of the art of acting. Every gesture, expression and movement conveys his emotions in infinite detail. You know exactly what's going through his mind, and why. Tom Hulce gives a very good performance, but Abraham is exceptional throughout, and well deserved the Oscar.
The only downside to this film is the director's cut edition - the additional scenes spoil the original thrust of the film, and lengthen it unnecessarily. For preference see the theatrical release.
The Perfect Storm (2000)
Absolute rubbish from start to finish
The most entertaining part of seeing this film was when the fire alarm went off in the cinema and caused an evacuation. The casting is wrong, the performances are dull, the effects unconvincing, and the interpolation (sheer guesswork?) of what happened and what was said are too speculative to be credible. Why does the noise of the storm always abate to nothing when George Clooney is about to say something? Why did we not see the storms brewing, only the waves? Is that a cheaper effect, I wonder?
Perfect Storm? Perfect rubbish!