Film Reviews by JD

Having seen the sequels has spoilt me. This is a good film with tons of plot and great action. Cruise is an unsurpassed action hero, but some of the other actors are a little passed their best before date. The helicopter dodging trains in a tunnel is a little unbelievable. The best scene is breaking into the CIA vault. The moment where his sweat runs onto the glasses, the drop sensitive floor inches below, I have seen many times it is a spy drama classic. Nevertheless I could hardly stay still on the sofa. If you haven't seen it recently definitely worth a repeat.

If your thinking of watching all the Lethal Weapon series I would leave 1 and 3 until last, I think they are the best for action and humour. They are also the 2 I remember most clearly from first seeing them. The baddie in this instalment is the baddest. The romantic element is not too sickly and in places is funny and exciting. For feel good there is little to beat it.

A lot of slapstick humour and fantastic car chases, this is a feel good film. There is a romantic angle which I didn't think suited the nature of the film and gratuitous sex. There was a car crash which felt very staged and unrealistic and some other stunts which didn't feel right but the funny bits were great.

Has Mel got it in for the English? In the Patriot he is excellent as the English hater, in Braveheart Mel is again the underdog superhero who is cruelly treated by the English (his hanging, drawing and quartering at the end definitely does not inspire Anglophilia). It is however a detailed account of Scottish rebellion and of 13th century warfare. I would be surprised if anyone over 30 has not seen this film already, but for those who have not, it is a classic.

This is the American Revolution most definitely seen from the point of a nostalgic American. The English are the baddies and some of the English tactics are blood curdling. The fine upstanding Americans come from desperate underdog to supreme superheroes. If you can swallow your pride for a moment however it is a brilliant war film. The attention to detail particularly costume and culture is amazing, the acting superb, the warfare fantastic.

It is not often that such a good series goes past its peak. Don't get me wrong I liked it but the first few are better. Still has lots of great car chases, escapes and humour but some dross as well.

Everything about it is good. The plot is original, not the ransom of a rich man's son but the twists and turns following this. Mel's acting is good, few could transfer the agony so strongly to the viewer. There are several sub-plots each compelling. The bad guy is so well played you cannot stop yourself hating him. Utterly captivating.

In the extras Bono explains that he was standing on the roof of a hotel and wondered what it would be like to jump off. He gave this idea to a screen writer who wanted to start a film with a particular phrase. From this a plot of several mad people sharing a hotel was borne. It is meaningless drivel. There are some very talented actors in it and some very evocative filming but generally it is superficial uninteresting rubbish.

This DVD was badly scratched and I could not watch the second half. I returned it and after waiting a year for it to be cleaned it has been removed from my list.

It started very promisingly although a little dated (70's)I was disappointed not to be able to see the end.

A story of hard working country folk struggling to meet payments. Pitting their lives against a wealthy businessman. The pace is glacial, the plot telescoped and the excitement nil. If you are not careful you will fall asleep.

How many good films have been made about the Vietnam war? Surely enough to put off most producers. This is a particularly human account and dwells on very emotional details. Mel Gibson is of course excellent in this role and wrings every drop of heart ache out of the pain of war. Some pretty graphic bloody bits. The friendly fire third degree burn shot is etched into my psyche. A real tear jerker.

It is difficult to watch a remake without comparing it with the original. If Michael Gambon is the lead in the original I'm afraid you have to be pretty spectacular to survive the comparison. I think Downey is a good Sherlock Holmes and a better Iron man but did not surpass the original singing detective and therefore suffers for it.

1984, a year when Gibson, Hopkins and Daniel Day-Lewis were rising stars, with Edward Fox, Bernard Hill as supporting cast and John Sessions I think has one line. What an incredible display of talent. Liam Neeson is dreadful, clearly he found himself more suited to heroic roles later. The leads however are awesome. The plot is gripping, the depiction of the storms is transfixing. Even the portrayal of disease is utterly believable. The fact of it being true is even more compelling.

The only thing that prevents this being the most fantastic drama series ever is the fairly specific intended audience. It is great for anyone who may be affected by male mid-life issues. It is no light weight froth. If you want a good look at what makes a man fail in his late thirties/early forties set in a gripping drama this is absolutely the best DVD. The cast, the direction, and the intense plot are all faultless.

Clearly it is important to have famous names on the front. But in this case Gervais and Merchant are extremely patronising, irritating and are unwanted intrusions into the trials and inner world of an Englishman abroad. Although Karl Pilkington sometimes lays it on a bit thick, his experience of exotic travel is much more honest than ever previously documented. If he had a few more good days and the prattish Gervais and Mechant were completely edited out, it would be brilliant.