spud_head Reviews

Children of Men (2006)

Same old Sci-fi rubbish! Should have been directed by Terry Gilliam!

[6/10 · 29 January 2008]

*** Contains Spoilers!!! *** Don't get me wrong - I love Sci-fi - but this is just such an uninspired film and it could have been so much better.

Magic? Fantasy? There is none. All I felt at the end of the film is a sense of relief that it's over - as for the main character he's nodded off as well! There were some good moments - the war scenes particularly - but the cinematography was just soooooooo uninspiring, the characters shallow and as usual in crap sci-fi the 'history-why-did-this-happen?' pieces stuck in at predictable junctures throughout the film.

If you want to make good Sci-fi, leave it in the hands of a true fantasy director like Terry Gilliam. Compare Twelve Monkeys with Children of Men - there's just no comparison!

Now, if only they'd cast Bruce Willis, turned the aperture on the camera down a few notches, added some Ridley Scott skyline filters, a decent script and made it look a bit more like it wasn't filmed this year down Docklands somewhere - then it might not have been quite such a crap movie.

There have been some truly God-awful Sci-fi movies out over the last few years - take 'The Island' as one example - it's no wonder the genre takes such a beating.

Also, I can't believe the rating on this movie is so high - what are people thinking of?

Edge of Darkness (1985)

Gritty, Dark, Wonderful.

[18 October 2004]

A classic piece of 80's BBC thriller/drama (thrillerama?)! Bob Peck as the gritty, p*ssed off cop who's just lost his daughter and wants to find out why - Joe Don Baker as the CIA dude who doesn't give a f***, and an upper class civil servant - Charles Kay - who's got his own agenda ("GET ME PENDLETON!!!").

The filming is superb - excellent settings, and probably the first and most thrilling scene of computer espionage I've ever seen. It may not have a cast of thousands, but you get the feeling of vast scale - and very confined spaces.

This is one thriller you'll keep thinking about and coming back to for many many years. Absolutely awesome.

Private Schulz (1981)

Hilarious!

[18 October 2004]

>Yes folks,this is a sitcom about the inmates of a concentration camp.It is possibly the most repulsive show ever made.

What on earth is this man talking about? It's like Escape to Victory for forgers - only it's intentionally funny!

The late Michael Elphick puts in a suitably sheepish role as the luckless Schultz, while Peter Richardson comes out as the real star - most of the time a ruthless, goose-stepping, selfish b*stard! Just when you think everything is going right for Schultz, the Nazis turn up, he gets bonked on the head, nearly drowned in a fjord or blown to smithereens! Classic!

Great watching, and I hope it comes out on DVD! My VHS recording is starting to look a bit tatty!

Bright Young Things (2003)

Starts well, but trails off to poo

[2 February 2004]

Bright Young Things starts promisingly enough, with some interesting camerawork and some perky dialogue etc.

It's well acted, nicely produced and directed, but somehow devoid of any real depth or interest. So by the time the 'adapted' ending comes around you really have had enough and would rather be snorting copious amounts of nose candy rather than be subjected to more ... blandness.

Kudos to Stephen Fry for his achievement but I'm sure he has better to offer. I particularly dislike the ending, and couldn't help thinking that the scene was going to rapidly turn into a blaze with all those dodgy looking candles. Just me, I guess... It seemed a bit too, well, rushed right at the end, and I suppose money constraints or whatever led the film makers to think that any old hump backed bridge in England will look like any old hump backed bridge in France. Anyway, minor niggles... ...overall, 6/10.

Nicholas Nickleby (2002)

Great looking film with a great supporting cast

[21 November 2003]

let down however by some really terrible wooden acting from the lead - Charles Hunman. I mean , WTF? We're talking more wood than Pinocchio!

The sets look great, it's superbly filmed, and is really heartwarming but... it's just sooo spoiled by the lead! Someone like Ewan McGregor would have given an infinitely more convincing, heartfelt and interesting choice.

Disappointing.