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Author Archives: Mark
Ask A Policeman 4/5
This is a lot of fun, I’ve liked Will Hay comedies since I first saw them as a boy, and this one is solid, with snappy, amusing dialogue from the shady, but good-hearted, boys. Also with the wonderful Graham Moffatt … Continue reading
Cloverfield 3/5
I’m sure glad I didn’t see this at the cinema, the shakeycam would have been unbearable, I’d have vomited. Watching at home, you can at least avert your eyes and look at something else, which I ended up doing for … Continue reading
King of the Zombies 1.5/5
Rather lame comedy horror from the 1940s that’s not funny or horrific. It also relies on racist stereotyping for its light relief, but the main comic relief does have some comic timing talent, but unfortunately his material is desperately poor. … Continue reading
Repulsion 4/5
One of those movies that represents a primal nightmare, in this case of a single woman who is not comfortable with men. She hates her sister’s boyfriend leaving his razor etc in the bathroom over her things, she hates any … Continue reading
Milius 4/5
Compelling but fun documentary about a guy who writes great, grand dialogue, and was a peer of Spielberg, Lucas and all. Really fun to see what he added to the 70s and 80s moviescape. The world is a better place … Continue reading
The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 2.5/5
Rather childishly written CGI-heavy adventure by Robert Rodriguez. Some of the visuals are cool, some look very dodgy, and it plays like a techno-Oz story. Gets better as it goes.
Masque of the Red Death 4.5/5
I saw this before as a teenager, and thought it was deliberately overwrought and contrived just to fill the running time, and I had that general opinion of Corman’s Poe cycle. However, I watched The Haunted Palace for the first … Continue reading
Miami Vice: Brother’s Keeper 4.5/5
Well, as I watched the first half, I couldn’t help thinking ‘this really isn’t as good as I remember it’. Then we saw Sonny Crockett lived on a yacht. With an alligator called Elvis. Then we saw a judge with … Continue reading
We Are What We Are (2010) 3/5
An everyday story of a dysfunctional family who happen to be ritualistic cannibals… The film has all the elements to work and be great, with nice camerawork, acting and tension, but it’s lack of proper setup or explanation, even through … Continue reading
We Need to Talk about Kevin 4/5
What would it be like to have to raise a kid who is a psychopath? To live among people who vilified you for the actions of your child? To blame yourself, and be in fear that people will confront you … Continue reading
Filth 4/5
Wow, a real tour-de-force with McAvoy as a complete asshole, who we get to see as a tortured, lonely man in this Scottish comedy version of Bad Lieutenant. This film is funny, repulsive, tragic in turns, and it did feel … Continue reading
Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa 3.5/5
Reasonably funny and diverting comedy from the cringe-tastic Alan Partridge, that works well if you watch it in 2 or 3 servings, rather than one sitting – Partridge is definitely a characters that works better in several small doses than … Continue reading
Pygmalion 4.5/5
Terrific movie based on the play by George Bernard Shaw (and later adapted into the musical My Fair Lady), with funny, sad, angry scenes all mixed up together, and a great performance by Wendy Hiller as the brave, put-upon Eliza. … Continue reading
Stridulum aka The Visitor 3.5/5
Completely bananas movie with an impressive cast (John Huston! Shelley Winters! Glen Ford! Franco Nero as Jesus Christ!) and with a young Lance Henrikson, this is a nutty cross between The Omen and the theatrical cut of Highlander 2, with … Continue reading
The Haunting 4/5
Lovely, atmospheric, tense, watchable. Not scary, but mesmeric. It adheres very closely in both story and tone to the Shirley Jackson book it’s based on, even using parts of the beautifully written opening and closing paragraphs of that book in … Continue reading
Super Troopers 3.5/5
This isn’t bust a gut funny and there were long stretches where I didn’t laugh at all, but the characters and their shenanigans are charming and fun, and it’s rather enjoyable, and the third act actually improves its score but … Continue reading
Hitchcock 2.5/5
Whilst we get great performances from Hopkins, Mirren and Johansen, the story is like a final stage heroin junkie – thin, unfocussed and more than a little frustrating at times. Whole sections seemed to be injected into the main narrative … Continue reading
Destry Rides Again 4.5/5
Ridiculously good comedy Western from 1939, with James Stewart as the thoughtful Destry, and Marlene Dietrich showing you why she was such an inspiration for Lilly Von Schtupp in Blazing Saddles. A really well-written, excellently cast and funny oldschool comedy.
Shock Corridor 4/5
Crazy, fun exploitation flick about a reporter faking insanity to investigate a murder in an asylum, but then finding faking madness and being mad are kind of a bit too close to each other for comfort. It also actually says … Continue reading
Riddick 3.5/5
A stripped down Riddick, getting back to basics that works so well, as it did in Pitch Black and was sorely missing in The Chronicles of Riddick. The first half hour was pretty damn good and distinct, with very little … Continue reading
Mark of the Vampire 3/5
This movie reinforces my view that Todd Browning was great at eerie and odd, but pretty terrible at conventional drama. He did it in Dracula, and he does that here. Only his ‘Freaks’ remains a pure masterpiece, because the conventional … Continue reading
Aladdin 4.5/5
This is easily the second most funny Disney movie after The Emperor’s New Groove, but it does feel a little dated with some of Robin Williams topical references – I think everyone will recognise Jack Nicholson for years to come, … Continue reading
Beauty and the Beast 1991 4/5
First Watch! This was a pretty terrific and absorbing Disney, with some great songs/animation combos, and a more resonant story than you often get with Disney. One downside is it did keep making me think of the far-superior La Belle … Continue reading
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason 3.5/5
Whilst not as good as the first movie, this is still pretty entertaining. Some of the side characters who had more depth in the first, and consigned to bit-parts only. It’s helped by the great central performance by Zellwegger, who … Continue reading
The Tingler 3.5/5
A very fun horror movie, and I think in some shots, The Tingler looks pretty good (okay, in others, it looks terrible). I always liked the bath full of bright red blood right in the middle of a black and … Continue reading
The Little Mermaid 3.5/5
A decent Disney entry, with some pretty good songs, a memorable villainess, and some good comedy sequences. I laughed out loud in the bit where Sebastian is confronted with the horror that is the kitchen of a French chef. However, … Continue reading
Damnation Alley 2/5
Wow, how can a movie that opens with world war 3, and then features giant scorpions, killer cockroaches, murderous, rapey irradiated hillbillies and a flood be this boring? And it has Jean Michael Vincent and George Peppard! The only cool … Continue reading
Dial M For Murder 4/5
Pretty damn good procedural murder/detective story from Hitchcock, where the cool, meticulous planner becomes unravelled by little deviations from the plan. The only thing that seems unbelievable is what man in his right mind is tired of being married to … Continue reading
The Rescuers Down Under 3.5/5
Rather charming Disney feature, unusually (at this time) a sequel. The animation seems to be a distinct step up from the late 60s/70s animation style (though many of the Disney’s from this period are classics, despite a basic animation style), … Continue reading
Pontypool 4/5
Ferocious and very original, this shows what someone with talent can do with a small cast, a single set, and an idea seen through to the end. I have to confess I did not follow what was going on in … Continue reading