Film Reviews by DH

I really enjoyed this, much better than the standard Hollywood fare, with Gyllenhaal giving an excellent portrayal of a thoroughly amoral guy who is just hustling for a buck and finds something that he has a talent for - even it's something that most people would shy away from.

While this was my favourite TV programme when I was 14, time hasn't been kind to it. While the chemistry between David Soul and Paul Michael Glaser holds it all together, the plots are very cartoon like in their simplicity, and of course it all looks very dated, which it is. I'm not sure what today's teenagers would make of it, I guess they would find it pretty tame.

Still, to be fair I have persevered with the series, and while series 2 is very much the same as series 1, I have now started on Series 3 which is a notable leap in quality with better story lines and also able to attract better guests due to it's contemporary popularity -for example Joan Collins is in the first episode of Series 3. It also has the advantage of being so old that I have no recollection of the individual story lines so it like watching for the first time.

It's a shame that the relatively recent film version was so poor and played for laughs, I am convinced that there is still a decent film to be made with the right cast and director.

Finally, this is on DVD only, and the transfer quality is poor, with heavy grain and a soft picture. I assume that it was shot on 16mm, and potentially could be cleaned up and remastered into a decent 1080p Blu Ray transfer if someone was willing to spend the time and the money.I would liken it to the The Professionals, a UK contemporary of Starsky & Hutch, which enjoyed such treatment and resulted in an excellent clean, sharp Blu Ray presentation.

I'm a sucker for an Arnie movie, and although this is a departure from his earlier crash bang wallop type of action film, this is a well produced and acted film that doesn't go over the top.

If you are an F1 fan, which I am, you will really enjoy this, particularly the behind the scenes stuff and interviews. If you are not an F1 fan, you will probably wonder what it's all about.

Although you know the outcome, there is still a good degree of tension, and this is well worth watching - unless you don't like cockney villains, in which case avoid it. The issue of the "mystery" gang member is well handled.

A very watchable film, well casted and with plenty of twists and turns along the way. Good quality Blu Ray transfer as well.

Not a massive Tom Cruise fan, but he usually makes decent films. Probably because he doesn't need the money. But this one, simply awful.

Better than I expected to be honest. OK, it's a bit lightweight, and the plot's a bit silly, but it's well made, Michael Caine is good, and it's overall a feelgood film.

This obviously divides opinion, it is described either as a masterpiece or as dull pretentious twaddle. I would tend towards the latter unfortunately. Loved the original Blade Runner, this attempted to be an update but missed the mark with a nonsensical plot and Ryan Gosling as an unconvincing replicant who has issues relating to women.

Harrison Ford is in it because he had to be, but didn't convince as an older Deckard, he was more in older Hans Solo mode.

To be fair, though, some of the settings are stunning, the CGI is good overall, and the CGI Rachael was excellently done. The music does nod towards the original, but nowhere near as good as Vangelis. The movie is far too long and to be honest I fell asleep about half way through and had to rewatch it to see the end.