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Pompeii (2014)
Enjoyable claptrap
Cliche ridden and horribly, historically inaccurate but... it looks great and the strong cast look like they are having fun with it. The city is realised well although some areas such as the amphitheatre are made to appear bigger. The way that the gladiators are treated is not realistic as although they were slaves they were also very valuable and hence well cared for and fed. Despite these, and the other inaccuracies, the film is not nearly as bad as some reviews and does not resort to the usual 'hollywood' ending were the good guys all live happily ever after. Still, the question remains, why has no-one made a really good movie about the real dramatic story that is Pompei? Robert Harris even wrote a decent (and accurate) novel about the eruption to base it on. For a good 'Roman' film try The Eagle based on Rosemary Sutcliffe's superb adventure novels.
The Lost City (2022)
Absolute Drivel
What made three very good comic (and dramatic) actors get involved with this piece of rubbish? Trying to be a rehash of The Proposal (without Ryan Reynolds) this poorly scripted piece of nonsense starts without an idea and goes downhill from there. A bit of madcap humour is fine but this gets it all wrong with weird ultra-violence thrown in for laughs (a character's blood and brains scattered across Channing's face!). The movie looks cheap too with poor sets and cgi that are only as convincing as the dreadful script. If you want to waste 90 minutes go sit in a darkened room rather than watch this...
Around the World in 80 Days (2021)
Enjoyable re-imagining of the great Jules Verne novel
Golly - what a lot of people moaning about this adaptation! Yes there are changes to the novel but they are not transgressing it's spirit. Its great to have a thoughtful and proactive passe-partout, and Miss. Fix is a welcome addition appropriate for a 21st century screenplay. The films look great and the production quality is clear. The music is a treat too (Hans Zimmer again!)
In the Good Old Summertime (1949)
In the Good Old Christmas Time?
Based on the earlier comedy (without songs) 'The Shop Around the Corner', I love this film which has one of Judy Garland's most memorable numbers 'I Don't Care'. Van Heflin is there primarily as a straight man for the first half of the movie and as he doesn't dance or sing there could have been better casting in that role. The strangest thing about the movie is its title as it was clearly designed as a feel good Christmas release but has a short sequence at the beginning and a 15 second coda to justify its title - I guess there was some marketing reason for this. Anyway such nonsense is irrelevant as its just a delightful piece of fun.
Designated Survivor (2016)
Good show despite its faults
This show is an entertaining fantasy about what a responsible White House might look like, complete with action story threads, and easily solved moral issues (which of course they can't be). There are lots of mad scenarios and impossibly good or impossibly bad characters, but hey... it's fun. The third series has quite a different tone from the first two as many reviewers have noted, and not in a good way with an overdone 'woke' agenda. The swearing and sex scenes seem very out of place in this type of show and add nothing in driving the plots forward, but it's still watchable and not as bad as some make out.
Christmas in the Highlands (2019)
So terrible it's fun to watch
Everything everyone who gave this movie one star is true, but hey, it's a corny Christmas comedy so sit back, have another mulled wine and giggle. The location is Glamis Castle near Dundee by the way.
The Trollenberg Terror (1958)
Monocular Monster at large!
Atmospheric if a little leaden - the editing of the alpine scenes and the studio scenes is masterful. Nice footage of a Canberra and Storch for aviation buffs. The actors clearly never set foot outside the British studio. When the 'terror' appears you might be disappointed....
Hell Below Zero (1954)
Gruesome scenes of whaling
A run of the mill romantic thriller. Alan Ladd is some kind of Superman beating up the baddies, winning the girls, captaining ships and even killing whales. The whaling scenes are remarkable for their real life depiction of this gruesome activity. The Hammond Innes book the plot is based on was much better. For a better Innes-based film watch Campbell's Kingdom with Dirk Bogarde.
Jet Pilot (1957)
Great Jet Footage - ridiculous story
There is great colour footage of F-86, F-80, B-36 and Bell X aircraft here interspersed with utterly ridiculous lines and a bizarre plot. Typically paper thin film making from Howard Hughes with big stars, high production values and zero aspiration towards making a decent movie. How some reviewers can say Wayne acts well in this film beats me! Janet Leigh is gorgeous though...
Flying with Prudence (1946)
Magic realism in the 1940s
A fun but quite strange information film made to encourage pilots who were used to taking risks in the war to put safety first in peace time. Some good flying shots and a delightful female lead. The pilot needs grounding though!
King Gary (2018)
Top comedy that pokes affectionate fun at its characters
Great writing and performances in this great show, and what is not seen too much these days, really on the ball visual comedy. The two leads are outstanding with a great ensemble cast in support. The first one of the series is the best but the others, and the pilot, which I caught up with after, are also very good. Great soundtrack too, the art of matching the perfect tune to the linking action is well realised here. King of comedy!
The War of the Worlds (2019)
Very poor adaptation
Good its a period setting and some of the design is fair, however, the liberties taken with the story and the chaotic jumps between scenes and periods make this a poor, barely watchable drama. The female lead does her best (and its fine that aspect is brought up to date) but the script is leaden, and it gets worse as the series draws to a welcome end. The previous cinematic versions, though not authentic to the book or period, are both better than this. Sad to see such dross from the BBC.
Another Life (2019)
Preposterous but hey... it's watchable
Yes there are holes all over the place in the script and science, and the effects are pretty cheap... but the willingness to plunder and then morph all the old sci-fi tropes, kill off characters willy-nilly, and a strict adherence to cliffhangers every episode just about makes this series watchable. I'm up to episode six and plan to see it through to the end, although I doubt most of the crew of the Salvare will...