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This movie is not bad, but just does not work. It has a very good cast Josh Brolin, John Malkovich, Michal Fassbender, Megan Fox, Will Arnett & Michael Shannon. Brolin just grunts through his lines, John Malkovich is good as villain, but he has played this part so many times before. Megan Fox looks stunning as an unlikely 1870s hooker, and is actually good. Fassbender is the standout, you can tell he would be a star. Although his Irish accent sounds fake ( and he is Irish). It is well made, the period setting sets work. The animation opening credits are very well done and inventive. The Johan Hex character feels like an amalgam of the Clint Eastwood western characters from high planes drifter, unforgiven, pale rider. The original Johan Hex character (comic) predates these. Ultimately you have no sympathy for Johan Hex a supernatural dark “Wild Wild West”.

This is a bizarre movie, that only 1970s could produce. It is a musical based on Little Prince story. The plot is that a pilot stranded in the desert encounters a boy from another plant. The boy recounts to the pilot his travels and people/plants/animals he has met. All with skewed perspective on life. In the end the pilot learns life lesson. Watching it I thought about “The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse” which successfully does deliver a life affirming message. So why does it not work, the story is flawed, it is boring, and unimaginative, you never feel invested. It is a musical with no memorable songs. Casting is solid, Richard Kiley as the pilot is good. Steven Warner as the Prince is good and does look other worldly. The best parts are the cameos by Bob Fosse as a snake & Gene Wilder as a fox. I would recommend seeing these cameos. Visually it has its moment, one scene of the Prince walking around a planet is pure Wes Anderson. The film has a very good design and the costumes are good especially the little Prince & the fox. Allot of effort and thought clearly went into this movie but it is flawed. Worth watching as a curiosity but not pleasure.

This is an fantasy film made for adults (it has nudity). The films design is beautiful and stylised and make it memorable, the highly polished armour, The shot of riding through the orchard, the dragons breath fog. Nicol Williamson as merlin is the standout, his scenes with Helen Mirren as are especially good. It has a very good supporting cast, Patrick Stewart, Gabriel Byrne, Corrin Redgrave, Liam Neeson, Ciaran Hinds, Paul Geoffrey. Nigel Terry as King Arthur is a problem. He looks too old at the start to play young Arthur and acts like a stage actor. Cherie Lungi & Nicholas Clay play the lovers Lancelot &Guinevere. They are a beautiful couple but very one dimensional. Helen Mirren is beautiful as the scheming Morgana. The film was made after Boreman failed to finance a version Lord Of The Rings. Some elements of thats design were carried over into this. A classic that still stands the test of time.

I can remember being underwhelmed by this in 80’s and thought I would revisit it. My opinion had not changed. It is a bad example of trying to cash in on the 80’s fantasy film boom and exploit it. It feels like they tried to make a fantasy/sci-fi hybrid to cash. In the 80’s the better fantasy films had good scripts but mostly lacked the budget achieve special effects. Krull has a big budget with a bad script and terrible plot devices; the moving fortress, the throwing star, the flaming hoof fire mares. It is shot on sound stages and looks cheap. There is no chemistry between Ken Marshall & Lynette Anthony. Alun Armstrong & Freddie Jones are good in supporting roles (they are always good). Young Liam Neeson & Robbie Coltrane are in it, in early roles. Neeson was in Excalibur a film made before this and with almost a 1/3rd of the budget and is still good. Lynette Anthony is stunning looking.

If Leni Riefenstahl made a Vietnam war movie. It is basically an updated western of the us Calvary saving homesteaders from the Indians, but set in Vietnam. John Wayne plays John Wayne, at no time do you ever take him serious as a special forces commander. David Jansen plays a cynical journalist character. He plays the same character in the shoes of the fisherman, in the same year. Interesting how he is treated as fake news then gets educated to how it is. The scene with Aldo Ray is especially painful. Jim Hutton is semi comic character who sources/steals equipment. Think James Garner in the great escape.He is so likeable, pity he never got better parts. His adopting the local orphan boy has not aged well. The script was approved by the defence department who cooperated with the production so you know it is not objective. The uniforms and the equipment/tactics are accurate to Vietnam era. At no time do you feel transported to South East Asia. It was filmed in Fort Benning Georgia.To its credit it does show that the Vietnam was unconventional. The good things about this movie, the ballad of the green beret, George Takei & John Wayne. You know what you are going it get, like him or loath him he gives good John Wayne.

I was surprised how good this still is. I loved in the 80’s but I thought it would have aged badly and be full of hacky low hanging fruit jokes. I was wrong it is still such an enjoyable film. The casting elevates this film. They all play it straight except for Lloyd bridges & Stephen Stucker. Leslie Nielsen is a standout in a part that changed his career. Robert Stack is good as the antagonist/authority figure for Robert Hayes. Peter Graves gives an understated performance as the pilot who enjoys gladiator movies. The only weak casting is the leads Robert Hayes & Julie Hagerty. They do have some good scenes especially the Staying Alive dance scene. Hagerty plays her part in whispering monotone voice that captures the long suffering girlfriend perfectly. It does have some hacky low hanging fruit jokes but these are easily forgotten by they good ones. It is a well directed, fast moving moving joke fest. The script and dialogue are excellent. The casting is the standout by having those established actors to play it straight. The 70’s was a decade of disaster movies and this is perfect parody. It is more famous than the movies it parody’s.

I rewatched this and it is still good. It is One of the classic 80’s comedies. Bill Murray & Harold Ramis are a good comic double act. Although Bill Murray does his usual wise cracking schtick, he does have one serious scene that shows he can act. The real star is Warren Oates, he is so good as the bitter Drill instructor. John Larroquette is good as the incompetent captain. His role felt like a Chevy Chase style character. It also stars John Candy, Judge Reinhold, Dave Thomas & Joe Flaherty all good. Fran Ryan has good cameo with Bill Murray. It is an 80’s comedy so it needed attractive love interest, so we have P.J. Soles & Sean Young, as unlikely MPs. Ivan Reitman produced & directed the film. The film is well made and scenes on army camp have scale. The music is by Elmer Bernstein and is memorably. The March theme is so well known and is triumphant. It is an 80’s comedy so it does include nude scenes. A great early 80’s movie.

I recently rewatched this. I remember being underwhelmed by it on its initial release. On rewatching it I can see real positives but it is still has its flaws. John C Reilly is so good in this & that I think is one of the issues he is great and rest of the cast are just going through the motions. Reilly sings & plays guitar in this and plays this part with gusto. The songs are good, and fit each period/artist they are spoofing. The pop star cameos are good, especially the Beatles & Elvis. The late 60s & 70s period is so well captured & funny. His take on Brian Wilson is especially good. You need a knowledge of the artists & bio films to get the satire. This might be its issue satire v comedy. The reffer scene is very good. This felt to like me to an SNL skit, some good scenes & some laboured. Worth watching it to see John C Reilly, he is so good in this. Paul Rudd as John Lennon is good as is the Jane Lynch cameo.

I cannot praise this movie enough. It was not what I expected, in a good way. I should not have been surprised given it’s directed by Sydney Pollock and has a script by John Milius. It stars Robert Redford & Will Greer. The real star of the film are the locations, it was shot entirely on location in Utah. This film really captures the weather, the harsh elements. It is based on an actual mountain man. It is classic tale of a man who loses everything and seeks revenge. This revenge then creates a cycle of counter revenge. It is good to see Redford transition from a clean cut novice to hardened mountain man. The scenes of Redford with his adoptive family are poignant and you feel his suffering. Will Greer (Grandpa Walton) is good as the old timer who teaches Redford’s character. Their scenes together are very enjoyable. A great movie & a great gif

Clint Eastwood directs a spaghetti western. This is a stripped down morality tale about greed, murder, complicit silence & retribution. Clint is good as his stranger persona. The supporting cast (you have see them in so many of his films) are excellent. It has dark comedy moments and Clint has glint in his eye as he humiliates the town. If you were to explain the story most people I feel would say no thanks, but it works. There are plot holes & there is debate about who the stranger is, it is deliberately ambiguous. Eastwood did use a similar protagonist in Pale Rider. I do think this movie highlights Eastwood’s talented directing/production style. Low budget, good supporting cast in all roles, no wasted screen time or dialogue. A very tight film.

A good HBO film covering the production of Citizen Kane. It has an excellent cast of Liev Schreiber, James Cromwell, John Malkovich, Melanie Griffith. Interestingly it was filmed in the uk, that explains allot of uk based actors in supporting roles doing American accents. Ridley & Tony Scott are the executive producers. Liev Schreiber & Malkovich are good in this, the star is James Cromwell. I preferred this movie, to the more recent film Mank. Worth a watch if you like Citizen Kane.

This is a gem of a movie. Reminiscent of the old post war Ealing comedies. It is a gentle comedy that contrasts a big city oil executive caught in the rat race v shrewd islanders trying to bilk a large US oil company. The 2 main characters Peter Riegert & Denis Lawson both envy each other’s lives. Lawson is the local fixer who wants to be part of the rat race. Throw in Burt Lancaster, Fulton McKay & a young Peter Capaldi a you have a strong cast. The film is whimsical and easy going with gentle humour from the local characters. It is Bill Forsyth’s Magnum Opus film. It has one of the best movie sound tracks by Mark Knopfler. The music fits the film perfectly. It is a movie that sucks you in, an easy and enjoyable watch.

I thought I would rewatch this cult classic & it was worth it. The story is interesting & good, covering repressed religion v paganism, the outsider v a closed community. I would not class it as horror film it is more of detective thriller. The film moves very quickly and has some iconic scenes & dialogue. It as a fair share of nudity as you would expect with paganism 😉.The casting is very good Edward Woodward & Christopher Lee are excellent. Christopher Lee’s hair makes an impression. It has a good sound track and could be musical. Such a Pity it was not appreciated on its original release as there is not a definitive version and missing scenes. It is a well deserved cult classic.

Forbidden Planet - 1956

It is 70 years old. I had not watched this since the 80’s & was surprised at how good it still is. On rewatching it you can clearly see the influence it has had on the whole Sci-Fi genre, the most obvious being Star Trek. It was an interesting watch now that we are in the world of A.I. It follows classic exploitation era Sci-fi movie check list. Sexy Female, Square Jawed Hero, A Romance, Wobbling Flying Saucer, Comic Characters (ideally a double act) pseudo science about technology. & a Monster. For all the above the movie still works. The Matt cells are beautiful, you know they are Matt cells but you appreciate them. The cast is strong, especially Walter Pidgeon, Robbie the Robot steals every scene. It has its flaws. The romance, The blaster shots, The wobbling Saucer, the microphone communicator, the uniforms(especially the hats). The crew behaving like horny sailors.

I would recommend watching it. It is an easy fast moving movie. See how many movies & tv shows it has influenced. Also thought provoking now we are in the A.I age.