Film Reviews by JD

It starts very serenely with long shots of rural scenes. The scenes become more urban and squalid. Although these are very different and interesting insights into a very foreign culture it is not dramatic or relaxing or entertaining. The filming is pretty amateur and there is no obvious direction. It slowly falls apart and after 30 minutes I could watch no more.

This is a film diary of the conflicts at the West Bank as seen from the Palestinian view. It is completely one sided but it is essentially an autobiography on film. It is very difficult not to feel deeply sympathetic and sincerely moved by the plight of the olive growing peasant farmers who spend their lives under the cosh of the Israeli police who injure many of his friends during their unarmed protests and eventually kill one. The footage is very inflammatory and it I find it impossible not to remember it with emotion.

I found this so compelling that I bought the album. The film is strangely unfocussed on the music much more on the myth and legend of a lesser known folk singer. It is a genre between biography, documentary and detective. The songs are only played in short segments. I don't know if this is to maintain a mystery, avoid paying royalties or because as I discovered, they are very repetitive, almost hypnotically monotone and initially tedious. I urge you to keep with it because it is very simple music but the mood can be very melancholy.

This slow and simple documentary, detailing the lives of a few ordinary citizens of Sienna, in the build up to the greatest event of the City's year, the market place bare back horse race, is utterly serene. The pace is incredibly slow but in an interesting way. The real characters of these ordinary people are laid open to show the genuine beauty of the medieval city and its inhabitants, the race being the dramatic and intense end after the serenity of the build up.

It is probably much better if you have ever been to Sienna.

A moving account of Leonardo's life and achievements. Particularly interesting were the constructions of his inventions from the drawings. This was also the most annoying bit as certain modifications were made, a tail put on the hang-glider, holes moved on the float above a diver to allow breathing at depth and his parachute was said to be unstable but a volunteer used one though details of the descent were a little shrouded. His working conditions were well portrayed and considering it was all 500 years ago there is great detail. The American surgeon commentator rubbed me up the wrong way but essentially they all gave a believable and interesting viewpoints.

If you are more likely to read the home news in a newspaper than foreign news this series will be more interesting than the similar one on the Universe. Somehow it is closer to home to hear how robots on Mars have shown their sunrise than the red dwarfs at the edge of the universe. The style of presentation was not to my taste. Prof. Cox is interesting and clearly a brainy geezer but the way the swirling computer graphics are repeated endlessly is boring and the layout of each chapter unimaginative. How we apparently know so much is unexplained, possibly because it is monstrously difficult.

A fascinating account of astrophysics filled with amazingly large numbers. The pace varies from slow computer graphics of artists impressions of colliding universes for example to some descriptions of universes that are difficult to digest. This episodic variation is soporific and I often found myself rewinding back to where I fell asleep. Very educational and humbling.

There are some glorious moments, Rimmer pushing the other hologram in front of a car was such a good scene (it was the build up that makes it) but generally it feels like a tidying up episode. Lister's romantic dreams etc. There were a few things I didn't appreciate until I watched the bonus disc (which was pretty good) but maybe I would have got them if I had watched it twice. Generally funny but not very polished.

Personally I think series 10 is the best of Red Dwarf. There is an obvious gap since previous stuff. They haven't aged as much as you would expect but still no one can resist the ageing process. The plots are good the character interactions even better and I don't remember it being this funny. Transporting Jesus through time was inspired.

Seeing an entire DVD of bloopers / out-takes / errors is a bit too much. They are funny and I laughed out loud at several but even with some amusing comparing by Kryten it was too much. May be they should have had Harry Hill do it, no that would have spoilt it completely.

Monty Halls may be no accomplished presenter but he clearly loves the Great Barrier Reef. There is some truly awesome wildlife footage. There is a mollusc which creeps up on fish and swallows them while they appear to offer no resistance. The poor sea cucumber has its back passage used as a refuge for eel like creatures. There are plenty of the more beautiful aspects such as the multi coloured fluorescence under UV light but it is the great camera work showing an entire episode rather than disjointed clips. How sharks seek and kill turtles. Not just the kill but how they act socially and that they know there will be plenty even though it is only for 1 day. I loved it and watched it twice.

A bunch of astrophysicists explain lots of fun things about the universe. The chance of alien life. The chance of knowing about alien life. The weather on Jupiter's moons. How windy are other planets. What to fear. Why a solar flare could change the course of history. There are lots of clips of artists impressions of what planetary collisions might have looked like. These are repeated incessantly. Some rather amateur films of things being burnt to explain the effect of 800 degrees centigrade. On the one hand it is done with great enthusiasm by people who seem genuinely interested and knowledgeable. On the other it is stretched out too far, the same concept repeated over and over using the same graphics. This can be said of most Horizon episodes. Would have been a 5 star if it had been condensed into 1 episode.

Beautifully scripted screen play. There is never a moment when you can guess the rest of the plot. The main plot is imaginative and original. There are of course emotional entanglements but they are sufficiently different to prevent it being corny. This is a multi-genre film. Mainly drama, some action, some fantasy and a bit of romantic comedy. Willis and Jackson are both of course awesome despite the very potentially clear characters which could be hammed up but which they give much greater depth. It is a bit of a "blokes" plot, superhero comics, Dad and son bonding and american football but I don't think it is exclusive in its appeal.

If you are going to see these monasteries or have a special interest Byzantine religion then you will probably find this interesting. For anyone with a general interest in history hoping to chance upon a documentary to capture the imagination, stay clear. The narration is delivered with a limp and languid drawl in which I found it utterly impossible to maintain concentration. The photography is beautiful but a bit disconnected.

Noomi Rapace has got a lot to live up to since "The Girl.." trilogy. I think she is an outstanding actress (do you have to say actor?) and is entirely convincing and entertaining, but the film is poor generally relying on mucus covered C.G.s to revolt and shock. The space shock scenes have not changed since Alien and I would suggest that if you can't improve on them, do it differently. The plot is broken and uninteresting with too much straining of incredulity. The slimy monster up the nose trick I have seen so many times (men in black is the best) recently I think it should be banned except for satirical or comic purposes. Ultimately pointless and unoriginal.