mossmamba Reviews

Valley of the Eagles (1951)

If you look closely you can see the woodworm!

[3/10 · 21 March 2005]

A below par British action thriller. I use both words in their broadest terms as what is supposed to be a chase across the Finish mountains turns into a nature film on the lives of the Laplanders for a large length of the film.

The lead characters deliver their lines so woodenly that if you closed your eyes they could be reading out loud from a drawing room in Hampstead Heath, so any attempt at pace is lost, not that there was much of an attempt in the first place.

If anything you have to sympathise with one of the villains, on the grounds that they want to 'get away from it all'.

Only worth while if it is on TV on a wet afternoon, when it is marginally better than watching rain hitting the window.

Sky Pirates (1986)

An exercise in how not to do everything in a film.

[1/10 · 7 January 2005]

There are good films I have seen. There are good films I won't bother watching e.g. Love Story. There are poor films of good books, which is annoying. There are bad films that are so bad that they get a cult following. Then below that there are films that the word bad isn't enough, i.e. There's bad films and there's BAD.

I cannot find a single redeeming factor to this film. It is obvious that this film had a household sized budget, but that is no excuse for poor dialogue hanging plot lines, disjointed direction, poor acting, and the list goes on. It is unfortunate that I cannot give this film a score of 0.

The only way I could recommend this film is to film students as an exercise in how not to do everything in a film.