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Reviews
Blast from the Past (1999)
It's the end of the world ... and I can see it coming
Vaguely enjoyable pap that is saved from the utter predictability of its plot and the sickeningly sweet ending by great performances from the ever-reliable Christopher Walken and Sissy Spacek. The film does in fact start promisingly as a kind of skit or satire on cold war paranoia in America of the early 1960s. The period design of the sets and the costumes capture the age well and Walken and Spacek are outstanding However as the story develops, the romantic comedy between the two main characters (Adam and Eve!)begins to grate.Their relationship has none of the spark a romantic comedy needs and really one couldn't care less about the characters who are two dimensional. In a way it is perfect to watch with mum and dad and it does have some laugh out loud moments. However this film has little soul and is poorly scripted... I winced as Alicia Silverstone's gay best friend counselled Adam: 'You're a nice boy ... now it is time to be a nice man'. Undoubtedly well made, the cliché-ridden plot and at times dubious values (often straight out of the Eisenhower manual for nuclear families) had me cringing and shouting at the screen
Simon and Laura (1955)
Film reflects on the new pretender
Released as TV in the UK began to challenge cinema, Simon and Laura happily confronts the issue involved in the new medium and the celebrity involved. The idea of pretentious actors trapped in a soap opera character is amusingly investigated. Great slice of Brit comedy, directed by the wonderful Muriel Box. The sort of unassuming film that makes you smile. Its cynicism is countered by a playful innocence in its construction. Top stuff Peter Finch, Kay Kendall and Ian Carmichael are warm and funny characters As always with Brit films from this time riddled with class Colour is great too. A real effort to show how superior cinema was to the new medium?