Film Reviews by JD

I have yet to see a convincing mime of instrument playing but Forest Whitaker's Sax. synch. was terrible. His acting of a drink and drug dependant musician was as unconvincing and uninteresting as you could possibly imagine for such an otherwise talented actor.

A film biography of a drug addict is a difficult undertaking, it hard to think of how it could have been done better but the result is underwhelming. The jazz tracks are great and a beautiful thing to listen to, it's just the rest that fails.

I thought it was a thought provoking way of showing the Palestine / Israeli conflict. it is shown through the eyes of extremist Palestinians with whom the film tries to provoke you to empathise. It works, these two suicide bombers are both credible as extremists and are likeable with intriguing personalities. The poverty and oppression of the two central characters is well depicted with some interesting indoor scenes. The fantastic wealth in Tel Aviv is contrasting and serves to heighten the tension of the inevitable climax of the film which is done in a memorable way (like the last scene in Black Adder goes forth is memorable).

This is not mainstream and should be avoided if you want the Hollywood formula film. It is however bleakly and simply a satire on the lives of many ordinary workers stuck in crushingly boring jobs. How many in this silent majority?

To those who identify with any of the characters in the plot; it is intensely cathartic. The impermeable dismissive type , the neurotic and the sex obsessed are coping behaviours represented in this pitiful abyss of drudgery.

In the interviews a British film from the same book is mentioned. I wish I could find it; I would enjoy another angle on this black side of life.

This has the machismo of Rocky with moments of contrasting tenderness. This superficial character spends all day body-building and all night hiring prostitutes and snorting cocaine. He is a bad boy hero and not one that draws you to him. The vulnerable scenes were not well acted or directed but made good sense to the plot. The film is a cult classic but didn't really grip me.

Although some of the fill in scenes are a little amateurish (notably Jacque C's grandson's crocodile tears) the underwater stuff is just fantastic. Very interesting information about oceans and measuring change in the fauna. The divers seem to have no concept of fear, yearning, it seems, to be surrounded by hammerheads. Some techy details about diving are thrown in and I would have liked a little more detail, similarly some more about measuring ocean currents. May be not to everyone's taste but then again to be sciencey and popular risks appealing to no one.

Maybe best director in a golden globe (biggest bribe) way. 2 angels hang around unfortunate individuals during the second world war. Some scenes shot in colour most in black and white. Feels like an arty film to be watched having taken industrial amounts of mood altering drugs. Watched sober it is very boring and totally pointless.

This does not have a wordsmith's script like Not going out nor does it have witty banter or comedic characters. Its humour is in its ability to see the absurdity in ordinary family life, to see the pointless stupidity without being depressing and people's humanness without being 2 dimensional. In a very ordinary and British way it is funny.

The portrayal of the life of a boy is so accurate you cannot fail to empathise. The very testing elements of life as they affect a young boy are seldom shown so well (like the endlessly poor attempts to mimic a drunk). It is light hearted and mainly upbeat but the themes are pretty harsh.

This is every bit as good as its predecessors' with the very distinctive feel of the oceans series. The meaningless conversations between Clooney and Pitt are starting to wear thin but the action is original and retains tight suspense. I'm not sure why Al Pacino is not included in the credits. He of course dwarfs the others in acting ability and made a brilliant villan.

Tim Robbins is the most under-rated actor ever. He is superb. The film is about long-term imprisonment and the plot is OK, some of the acting is so-so but Robbins and Freeman are so good it doesn't really matter.

The romance and the tremendously caring bond with his young sister are clearly to give the plot an attraction in a corny and meaningless way. The rest of the plot however is clever, imaginative and memorable. The main characters are well played (except Pierce Brosnan) and interesting. The twist at the end took me completely by surprise.

The style of interview, camera work, editing and direction are very amateur. I thought the content was interesting but a similar film "Into Great Silence" was done with much greater skill.

Just because it helped to change the face of comedy doesn't mean you have to revisit this era. The style is very Narcissistic public school tom foolery. A psychiatrist who has become bored with his job for example could not now be used as the main tenet of humour unless it was done with great finesse. It wasn't then, because it was enough to be done at all. The highlights are the opening animation with the famous German marching band backing and Michael Palin rushing to camera only to say "Its". The good sketches in the official review are not in this DVD.

The format seems very strange. The regular appearance of a solo female singer and a group of 3 singer/guitarists who did not become famous because they were so ordinary. The cabaret acts are also quite average as one might see at a village hall. Generally the highlights for me are the Corbett armchair monologues and the mock adventure serial "Hampton Wick". The sketches were not as good as I remembered and the jokes at the end were much worse. The good bits are 4 star but there are a lot of 2 star bits. The forward skip button will come in handy.

In this era of film making all the actors speak received English and come from good schools. Diction is clear and each shot a great work of art. Even the portrayal of a Dickensian plot reminds me of the original St. Trinian's. The acting from this era can be a little theatrical but John Mills was brilliantly subtle and the plot ran at a good pace. This will definitely not be to every ones taste. But if you habitually drink Earl Grey tea, try this.