justwhenyouthoughtitwassafe Reviews

Jack the Ripper (1988)

Then you should have let me shoot him, shouldn't you.

[23 July 2002]

Yeah, this is the best Ripper film yet. It was the one to get me interested in a topic and that proves how effective it is. Okay, there isn't that much gore in it (most of the time we see just the victim's head, with the exception of the Mary Jane Kelly murder scene where there's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it shot of her remains, which really is gruesome.) There is also some great acting to be seen, especially from Michael Caine as the plot thickens, and from Assante.

It also does have you on the edge of your seat as to who the murderer is, and I was glad it was someone who had ben featured in the drama and not some stranger, and all this is made more intriguing as we're told a few times that research has led the writers to the conclusion, although a more likely identity for the killer has been seen since the film was made by the discovery of the diary of 'Jack the Ripper', although this might not be genuine.

The set is quite accurate and famous locatoins such as Mitre Sq. and Millers Court are reproduced identical to photos and drawings of how they were. The music is also quite beaufitul, although to me the title theme and creits were a bit too grand since the whole story seems tot take place in Whitechapel. Still, contrast is always good.

Basically, now the drama is out on DVD, you must see it, a Ripper fan or not, as it's extremely well made, well written and will keep you guessing up to the very end. The set-up at the end is full of suspense and a brillaint way to end such a well-acted film. Enjoy it.

Anything to watch out for: Susan George's cameo as Catherine Eddowes, Armand Assante's makeup as he is transformed into Mr Hyde in his play.

Anything still needing answers: The importance of Jane Seymour's character. Her acting is good and she's very beautiful, but as an old flame to Caine's character and just the artist who draws what the psychic sees after each murder, I felt she didn't quite fit into the plot.

Holby City (1999–2022)

Series 4 shows that Holby isn't as bad as they say

[18 July 2002]

As all the other comments have been made about only Series 1 and 2 and Holby is now near the end of its 4th series, I need to renew them. Of course I have grown up since the last comment I made ('mathewowen') and now realise that Holby City really isn't that realistic when you look at the hard graft and rush that goes on in real hospitals. It's true that a lot of the staff are more like counsellors than medical staff, and it's also true that a lot of the one episode characters (in every episode different patients are featured with their own storylines) come from soaps.

However, Holby City is still watchable stuff, and I think with the two new wards: Maternity and the Children's Ward, every episode is even more different, and there are so many new characters that are, for the most part, well played.

Holby is now viewed as a soap because of its all year round showing, and what with more staff storylines involving affairs and staff becoming patients, it's still good drama. Watch out for some eps where there are some scenes set in Casualty (Holby is a spin off of Casualty) with Casualty characters (likewise in a recent episode Mr Meyer was featured in Casualty being as arrogant as ever).

Okay, some could say that there are more staff storylines as the writers as exhausting the patient storylines. However, there are have been some pretty memorable staff storylines in the past 2 series, such as Mr Meyer being shot, Janice Taylor's (she's the consultant on the children's ward) husband having an affair with Sister Williams, Kath Shaugnessy playing victim to domestic violence, Liam Evans learning to cope with life in a wheelchair, Victoria Merrick being murdered (it was a classic 'whodunnit') and Danny Shaugnessy marrying an illegal immigrant who's first husband turned up though she thought he was dead, to name a few.

And the good thing about Holby City is that the whole set and atmosphere is like a real British hospital. You can almost smell the disinfectant!

Watch Holby City next time it's on and see for yourself. It's good drama.

Jaws: The Revenge (1987)

Great whites roar apparently...

[18 July 2002]

Well, once you realise that a great white shark is actually roaring at you, you know you're watching a bad film. The ending is totally unclear and you basically want it to come quickly. Yeah, the fact that a shark actually follows a woman to the Bahamas, as if guided by some force is pretty darn impossible, and there are some little details that sort of add to the disaster, such as Ellen's flashbacks of her son Sean sitting at that kitchen table playing with his dad, which Ellen didn't actually see according to Jaws 1.

Good points: The music is good, the setting of the Bahamas is beautiful, small things like Ellen's daughter in law's sculpture looking like a shark's face are quite cool, some of the acting is good, some scenes are memorable (like when Jake, Ellen's son's friend who's a stereotypical Caribbean man is in the underwater pod seeking out snails and Jaws sort of pulls up alongside and he goes on his microphone 'Oh god, we've got a big fish down here man'), and the bananaboat scene is good too, although you can spot that the fin racing behind it is just a fin attached to a piece of cardboard, and also there are some tense scenes like Michael being chased around a shipwreck by Jaws.

Bad points: Sharks don't really roar (!), the shark swimming underwater looks the fakest out of all the Jaws films, many things are unclear such as how Jaws dies in the end, the story of a shark having a vendetta against a family is ridiculous, the name 'Hoagie' (Caine's character) is even more ridiculous, Ellen's shoulder pads are even more ridiculous than that, the final scenes are obviously filmed in a swimming pool with high walls as you can see that there are waves bouncing against a wall a few metres from the characters, that has been painted grey with a few clouds here and there, and do you want me to go on?

From Hell (2001)

You won't get bored

[14 July 2002]

I was Ripper enthousiast anyway, but whether you're familiar with the events or not, this film will still grab you. Because it's an 18 (or Restricted Viewing in USA), it can be as graphic as it wants to be, and it is. It's also quite accurate, with small details intact.

The acting is excellent, most of all from Graham and Depp, and while they do develop feelings for each other as you expect, the film doesn't turn into a romance story, which would ruin the atmosphere.

The writing's good, no matter what anyone else tells you, though saying that I'm your average film-goer and look more at the atmosphere and the gory scenes (not to mention how good looking some of the characters are! lol) than studying the script-writing.

As an 18 year old male, From Hell does leave you not speechless as the only movie that did that was Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but thinking about it a lot, and at several points throughout the film, you think of what it'd be like to be in the situation of some of the characters.

London in the late 1800s is recreated beautifully, and the music/sound effects, although suited better to the cinema, are faultless.

One last thing - the ending is a twist, esp. if you're Ripper enthousiasts!