(19-09-2016 08:35 )*Kal-El* Wrote: [ -> ]White House Down, to sum it up the film it's terrible and silly
To be fair it's also hilarious, which makes it worth watching : eg. the sequence in which the President of the USA tries to shoot down a terrorist's helicopter gunship by using a shoulder mounted rocket launcher aimed through the passenger window of his chauffeur driven presidential limousine whilst careering around the White House lawn in the full glare of the world's media ?
"Passport to Pimlico" - excellent Ealing Studios comedy from 1940s just after the end of most rationing in UK.
Part of series of Ealing films being repeated on Gold.
Surely ripe for a terrible modern remake of this in the wake of "Brexit" ? - Europhobic residents of a corner of central London find they're actually natives of France due to an ancient treaty ? The men from Whitehall heads' spin.
Hilarious satire on immigration and political bureaucracy ensue ? Yes no, I agree, probably not : would be heading straight to the remainder bin with the abortive revival of the Carry On films and remakes of Are You Being Served etc.
(Not sure cheery down-to-earth cockneys would be found in that vicinity of London these days though, you'd probably have to remake it with Made in Chelsea types, and what audience of cinema-goers is going to root for them ?)
(Ignore the terrible Richard E Grant "documentary" with interviews with fading stars like Paul Whitehouse and Al Murray desperately trying to cling to a career by spouting about the Ealing Studios films and how they were inspired/ripped them off etc. Truly woeful. Tells you nothing about the films or how they were made etc)
(19-09-2016 16:45 )M-L-L Wrote: [ -> ] (19-09-2016 08:35 )*Kal-El* Wrote: [ -> ]White House Down, to sum it up the film it's terrible and silly
To be fair it's also hilarious, which makes it worth watching : eg. the sequence in which the President of the USA tries to shoot down a terrorist's helicopter gunship by using a shoulder mounted rocket launcher aimed through the passenger window of his chauffeur driven presidential limousine whilst careering around the White House lawn in the full glare of the world's media ?
For me never found it funny at all just found it dumb, tedious and predictable. The only bit I found funny was how that bad guy died with grenades that was pretty much it lol.
The Quatermass Xperiment (1955) A spaceship crashes to Earth, two men are dead and the third may have brought something back with him... A generally sober British scifi film with a decent storyline and solid performances from Brian Donlevy (presumably to interest the US audiences)as Quatermass & Jack Warner as the Police Inspector. Richard Wordsworth turns in a touching performance as the surviving astronaut and there is effective black and white cinematography. The only weak link is a rather poor performance from Margia Dean as the astronaut's wife.Also starring Lionel Jeffries,Gordon Jackson, Thora Hird & David King-Wood 7/10
Hour Of Decision(1957)
A stylish crime thriller about a newspaper reporter named Joe played by Jeff Marrow, who finds that his wife is the prime suspect in a murder investigation.In the mist of all the overwhelming evidence,paranoia and doubt,he puts all his investigative talents to work in order to prove her innocence.With good support from Hazel Court and Lionel Jeffries.
7/10
White Noise (2005) A bereaved widower played by Michael Keaton, receives audio and visual messages from his dead wife and starts to believe she may have been murdered. Keaton is wasted in this film, which is repetitive and rather dull (too much time looking at screens supposedly showing messages from the dead). I didn't buy the central premise of the film and also the shocks and jolts were inserted in the film for no good reason. There are a couple of scenes involving the loss of relatives which are nicely done perhaps it would have been better as a drama? Also starring Chandra West,Ian McNeice, Deborah Kara Unger & Sarah Strange 4/10
Westworld ( 1973 )
Classic seventies sci fi film shown on sky Atlantic tonight as a prelude to the tv series starting October 4th.
8/10
Akira(1988)
Katsuhiro Otomo adapted his own Manga epic and ushered in an evolutionary style of animation to the west.Set in a Neo Tokyo dystopia,where a secret military project turns a young biker into a telekinetic god.Massive in scope and complex in its themes,the philosophical story remains dense to this day.Akira set the visual standard for feature length animated films and Otomo's staggering hand drawn animation still captures imagination.
8.5/10
Mike Case in : The Big Kiss Off (2013) PI Mike Case played by Les Mahoney tries to find a missing husband. Presumably a tribute or spoof of the classic 40s/50s film noirs this film has a small budget and it shows. Patchy acting, dull scenes, short or long, which go nowhere and attempts at humour that don't work. Mahoney in the lead role puts in a decent performance. Also starring Debra Mayer,Devai Pearce,Dale Shane & Atoy Wilson. 3.5/10
Three Silent Men(1940)
A man that invents a superior weapon with the intent to use it against the allies during the war is seriously injured after a car crash.The surgeon who operates on him to save his life learns of his dastardly plot and faces a race against time to stop the weapon being used.With great performances from Sebastian Shaw and Derrick De Marney.
7.5/10