Tommo_18 Reviews

Shallow Grave (1994)

this film will make you question your outlook on life...

[4 March 2000]

Shallow Grave is a deeply disturbing psychological thriller that leads the viewer through a story of greed, betrayal and desperation, with the main moral of the story being the evils of money, plus a grisly reminder to everyone that things are not always what they seem. For example, your best friends may turn into completely different and hostile people under certain circumstances, as found out by Ewan MacGregor's Alex, who will become the only character the audience can identify with. The plot is similar to "Twin Town" (which of course came later) in that a fairly laid-back and comfortable opening soon turns into a fast-moving and totally unpredictable series of darker and darker twists and turns. The final few minutes are breathtaking as two of the central characters completely lose it, leaving the anti-hero Alex to fight not only for his own life, but for those of ordinary straightforward people in general. There are one two many skeletons in one two many cupboards to give any sense of reality to anything which surrounds him, hence why he becomes more central than anything or anyone else to the film. And the very final twist is just class, no other word for it. Watch out for the brief appearance of "The Wicker Man", which apart from being Scottish, gives a lot to Shallow Grave in terms of daring unexpectedness. All in all then, this film will suck you in and spit you out feeling numb, empty and shaken - but you will want to go back for more I promise.

South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)

great music, (annoying voices but hey)

[3 March 2000]

If you don't like the series you will hate the film. If you do, you will enjoy it. It is as simple and clear cut as that, all the quirks that make the series what it is are out in force, the individual mannerisms of the characters, and the ruthless and hilarious disregard to political correctness. This time it is Canada which bears the brunt of the assault (follow the story and you'll find out why) but gays, blacks, the poor, the disabled and many more don't miss out. The irony is that the group most ridiculed by the whole South Park phenomenon are the white middle-class majority, as subtlely (and not so subtlely) pointed out - "we must blame them [Canada] and cause a fuss before somebody thinks of blaming us".

The film has a wonderful soundtrack of stunning songs, indeed if you can block out the voices and lyrics, Copland and some of the other American greats would have been proud to put their name to some of these, particularly the hoedown-style "Uncle F***er" (yeah really!) and the ensemble "La Resistance". The latter song is very reminiscent, both in terms of the musical dexterity and the expression of impending conflict, of the ensemble "Tonight" from West Side Story. So in short, South Park fans will not be disappointed, and the music for me pushed this film up to "fantastic". The mystery remains however - did Saddam Hussein actually give his permission to be featured?????

Scream 2 (1997)

A great film but no classic

[5 February 1999]

Scream 2 is glossier, sassier, slicker, classier and gorier than the original, but the elements that made Scream such a monumental film are lacking, not suprising as the film itself defines sequels as inferior. The intense and constant self-referencing that made Scream so talked about are exploited to the full, but this becomes irritating after a certain point, and you get the feeling it is all an excuse to give some glory to the whole Hollywood clique (why else would Courteney Cox refer to Jennifer Aniston) and to be honest was not the strongest aspect of the original. What made the original so strong was not so much the shocking nature of the murders but the randomness and unexpectedness of them, and more than anything the guessing game of whodunnit which very few people will have cracked. Scream 2, however, is nowhere near as clever, the murderers turn out to be coincidential characters who never would have been suspected and the final scene which could have been memorable turns into a bit of a farce. In terms of jumpiness, gore and beatiful women, Scream 2 rocks but otherwise it is a bit of a disappointment. The Scream saga will no doubt continue but by definition they will never scale the heights of the Scream itself.

Scream (1996)

very cool film

[24 January 1999]

This film is a landmark film of its genre, and homage to it can most strongly be payed by the certain lacking of subsequent sequels and similar films. The opening scene, with the short-lived Drew Barrymore is a piece of cinematic genius in the terror it creates despite the fact the audience have no affinity with the fated characters. The rest of the film follows in much the same vein, and what makes it scary isn`t the daring level of gore but the finely directed chase scenes and the realistically terrifying actions of the killer who is alarmingly human as opposed to the robotic psychos of Halloween and the like. The film has been rightly noted, with good and bad reviews, for the irony and self-referencing that prevails throughout it, this is in fact more subtle than made out and gives licence for any number of clichés which Wes Cravem is sparing about using in what is a highly originally directed picture. The death of Sydney`s friend Tatum is one to close your eyes (and ears!) for if you have a weak stomach, but as mentioned the violence is never excessive and is very well acted out. Watch out for the tributes to Halloween in particular, from the blatant discussion of it to the more subtle name games "go to the McKenzies....." and of course the clips of it shown during the excellent party sequence. The complements are replayed in Halloween H2O incidentally!. Scream deserves as many points as it can muster in polls, films like this are few and far between.

Twin Town (1997)

this is a good film, and welsh to boot!

[20 January 1999]

Twin Town cannot be mentioned in the same breath as Trainspotting, simply because it is a completely different film, the fact that they are both set in squalid urban surroundings and involve drugs is incidental. Twin Town is basically a sequence of revenge acts between two groups of people linked in all sorts of ways. The Twins to whom the title refers might as well be cardboard cutouts, for the lack of personalities, but you find yourself sympathetic with them despite their debauchery. Likewise the death of the Lewis family (minus the sons) is a very sad moment, despite the fact that they have been portrayed so shallowly. This is the success of the film, the way it manipulates your emotions to leave you genuinely shaken by the violence in the events leading up to the climax, whereas the opening of the film leads you to expect a light-hearted farce. Watching it again it is easy to divide the film into two sections, but very difficult to pin down where the change of pace and mood begins. The humour and irony is superb, particularly the razor sharp sarcasm of Adie. Although a very seedy picture of Wales is presented, this presents a very positive view of the people of Swansea and manages not to be anti-English in the slightest despite the obvious nationalistic feel. The acting is great, and as long as you aren`t expecting anything like Trainspotting and you let the humour wash over you you`ll enjoy this.

The Full Monty (1997)

Utter tripe

[20 January 1999]

I have seen worse, but as far as hyped films go from it`s turgid opening, through the cringingly wooden attempts at character and plot development to the most predictable ending EVER, not to mention a dire and unadvisable choice of soundtrack, i felt cheated and felt like hitting people who were watching it with me and enjoying it. This cannot be spoken of as the "English version of Trainspotting or Twin Town", it would be a national disgrace. The scenario is awful, the characters patronised and as uninteresting as any ever, the acting is one bright spot but even the attempts of a fine cast to brighten it up are wasted by the degradingly inept script. It was also not remotely funny to anyone with a sense of humour able to take in more than toilet humour and self-deprecation, 12 year olds are welcome to it but the hype is one big big cheat on the rest of us. If there`s anyone who hasn`t seen it yet, do yourselves a favour and wash your hair instead.

Airplane! (1980)

comedy that makes you laugh for once

[20 January 1999]

This is just classic and timeless. Like everyone i must have seen this close on 10 times now but the jokes just don`t lose their spark, and each time there is more and more that i didn`t see before. The comedy works by introducing small motifs that are repeated to increasingly hilarious effect, although i can imagine how it could become tiresome if you aren`t in the mood - although for me never. The surreal touches work a treat too, like seeing the captain`s wife in bed with a horse, and the footage when whoever it is is driving to the airport while being attacked by stampedes. The acting and comic timing is an absolute treat, and the merciless attitude to political correctness is razor sharp. All in all i could watch this every night for the rest of my life and die happy.