SiSi-3 Reviews

Simpatico (1999)

Rather predictable and disappointing

[4/10 · 19 November 1999]

I saw this at the London Film Festival and although it is a slick and nicely shot film, the story is rather too predictable and, at times, dull. There should be a great deal of tension building as the story unravels but there is little because it is obvious how things are going to happen.

The only person to come out of this with any credit is Catherine Keener who plays a vastly different role to others that I have seen this year while the other main actors only seem to go through the motions.

It is not an awful film by any stretch but is just maddeningly ordinary.

Whatever Happened to Harold Smith? (1999)

Do not see this awful film

[1/10 · 15 November 1999]

I had the opportunity of seeing this film at the London Film Festival and as I grew up in the 1970s, it seemed like an interesting premise.

Sadly, 'Whatever Happened to Harold Smith' is another in a long line of British cinema disasters and is destined to be lambasted by the critics and ignored by the public.

The makers of this film are so lazy that they feel that stringing together a bunch of cultural references around a shallow and uninteresting story and adding a big soundtrack is enough for a surefire success. Well, despite the ridiculously sycophantic applause of Saturday night's audience, the release in February or March will illustrate that this is simply not good enough.

The performances are passable although Stephen Fry does little more than play himself and the lead actor is so inconsequential that I can barely remember his performance.

However, it is the cultural references that really grate - these include a car painted like Starsky and Hutch's, not one but two examples of Hai Karate adverts, a ridiculous take off of the opening of Saturday Night Fever and a variety of newsreaders from the period clearly appearing 20 years too old. It's remarkable that they didn't manage to squeeze spangles in somewhere.

However, the single worst thing about this film is the way that it portrays punks as criminals or deadbeats. Having been a disaffected youth into this music myself, I don't recognise these characters at all and this moral line on a little rebellion leaves a very nasty taste indeed.

Solas (1999)

Profoundly moving

[9/10 · 15 November 1999]

Before showing this film at the London Film Festival, the producer introduced it and thanked Mike Leigh for being an inspiration. Mike Leigh was in the audience and described it as 'profoundly moving'. I can add little more to this.

Parting Shots (1998)

A terrible terrible waste of everyone's time and effort

[23 June 1999]

Michael Winner's Parting Shots is a quite appalling, unfunny 'comedy' with the worst acting performance that you are ever likely to see. For those who think Keanu Reeves is wooden, have a look at this and see what you think of Chris Rea.

I won't go into the plot because it is so hackneyed but instead, I'll make a few observations. Firstly, the 'twist' is laughable and we guessed it during the first act. Next, the concept of a 'gun pub' is frankly laughable - the police refer to a pub in the film by saying 'that's a gun pub, isn't it'. If they knew this, why haven't they closed it down. Obviously this leads to our hero (a man with one facial expression) being able to walk into a pub and literally say that he wants to buy a gun - I don't think so.

In fact, the role of the police beggars belief - at one point, about forty arrive to arrest the perpetrator of the murders. He tells the guy in charge that it wasn't him and then evades them all by slipping out the back. If our police really were this useless, there would be mass anarchy on the streets.

Finally, it is a sad final film for Oliver Reed (who clearly looks ill). He surely deserves much better despite wasting a lot of his career. Don't be tempted by the fact that the likes of John Cleese and Ben Kingsley are in this either - Cleese reprises his role from the Sainsbury's ads while Kingsley clearly couldn't care.

Thankfully, I didn't part with any money to watch it.