Film Reviews by CD

This film thoroughly deserves its high ratings. Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott are both excellent in the lead roles and it's great to see James Drury, a star of the Virginian, in a main supporting role. The film is quite philosophical from the vantage point of the seasoned lawmen, but has plenty of action, moving at a steady pace across the 90 mins. The supporting cast in the miner's camp is very good and the finale is well structured although not sure why quite so many people broke cover to be shot!

I enjoyed this movie - the scenery is beautifully shot and the old style hero (Randolph Scott) is convincing. The supporting actors do well and the music score keeps things trotting along nicely. 

This is a very highly rated movie which I felt just about lived up to its rating.  Dean Martin  is excellent and the chemistry between John Wayne, Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson is intriguing.  There is a young and very beautiful Angie Dickinson who falls for Wayne instead of the younger stars! The plot is fairly predictable but Walter Brennan as Stumpy introduces the necessary comedy at times - the baddies are bad enough to deserve what they get but not so bad that they spoil the overall good feeling around the movie.  John Wayne shows his usual grit to great effect.

I enjoyed this film much more than I expected. It seems to receive little critical coverage, but the characters and acting are good and the music at times really excellent. It takes a bit to get used to actors trying to represent legends such as Hendrix and Cream, but here it works well and I found the way the managers and promoters were displayed in the film as an interesting extra angle. I came away with a real desire to listen to more Hendrix music across all eras of his bands, so a good result I think for the fim-makers and for the great man himself.

I had heard of this film as it was showing at the BFI in London last year in a retrospective and was highly rated. It is a truly atmospheric and beautifully acted film with Danny Glover as just one of many superb performances. As an extra bonus, the script is very good as is the music. My only criticism is that the film drags out a bit at the end. There is plenty of menace and growing tension in the film which ends in a key event (I will not spoil things if you have not yet watched the film) - after that there would be a case for a final scene and then the credits to roll. Overall however, highly recommended.

This film seems to have grown in ratings over the years and was recently shown at the British Film Institute again.  To be honest, I was disappointed. I found the characters a bit wooden and the humour and lines in general have not stood the test of time well.  The overall plot is straightforward - a crash in the desert in an aeroplane- and unfortunately despite the efforts of James Stewart and Richard Attenborough it remains not much more interesting than that

The best bits of this film are superb - the sight of the Greek ships in the Aegean, the amazing battle scenes, the attempts to recreate ancient Troy.  The cast is very strong but inevitably the dialogue is limited and you feel many of the actors’ talents are a bit wasted.  Brad Pitt and Peter O’Toole stand out.  Well worth a watch but be ready to skip a few scenes.

This film receives lukewarm reviews but this is the second time I have watched and enjoyed it. The acting is good and the "dark age" post Roman period of the film is interesting. Quite a lot of fighting, some romantic scenes and good overall themes of loyalty and love. I'd recommend it for a cold winter's evening.

I concur with other reviewers in being disappointed with the film, although had only seen a few of the Deadwood TV series many years back. You know you are in for a mixed experience within the first 2 scenes where characters arrive and then are not developed properly in the film. The dialogue is quite interesting with some effort to make it (how one imagines) people might have spoken in the late 19th century. Half way through you realise that this is going towards a predictable conclusion, and you may be tempted to reach for the fast forward button just to make sure.

I enjoyed the late 1960s references and style, and the Hollywood glamour set backdrop. However its a strange and ultimately unsatisfying film, with many themes not coming together. I agree with other reviews that it is unnecessarily violent. Brad Pitt's character is never really developed and that's a real shame as he's probably the most interesting personality in the film. As a positive the chemistry between Pitt and DiCaprio is excellent and kept me watching what was quite a long film to its painful conclusion.

Disc 1: Fantastic performances by James Nesbitt (in the Miller's Tale) and Julie Walters in the Wife of Bath. Plenty of wit and fun in both although the Miller's Tale seemed a long way from what I remembered of Chaucer's original tale.

Less keen on the Knight's Tale but mainly because of the dark rendition of the plot in a modern prison - I am sure that some will like it as a tragedy as it is blessed again by great acting .

I'm looking forward to disc 2!

I really enjoyed this movie which kept me interested till the end. It has a very good combination of great acting, interesting characters and enough action and plot . It splices together two tales in one. You're left wondering what is fictional and what is real, but the ending seems just right. Thoroughly recommended.

Good acting and characterisation - I really liked the film. The sort of situations every parent might go through when universities are being considered, told with humour and sensitivity

The film was much better than I expected from the film critics. Special effects are imaginative and there is humour, ok acting and enough of a story to keep viewers entertained all the way through.

I was impressed by this film - the acting is good and there are some clever directing moments in particular in the stand off between the security guards and the police officers. The landscape is suitably bleak but beautiful.