Film Reviews by Sandy

A charming film which puts Paddington Bear, the innocent abroad into a rather convoluted, but fun story. Paddington, the accident prone bear gets involved in various set pieces - the barber shop being a hilarious example of slapstick. Hugh Grant and the rest of the cast ham everything up to 11 - the film is much more like a panto - and this is no bad thing. Hugh Grant's baddie is fun.

This is a family film which everyone can enjoy. I hope there a more made.

There are three films on this disc. Of the three Finisterre is the strongest. The last is a documentary of the South Bank Centre which is pretty superficial - the BBC has made a better one more recently about the Festival of Great Britain and the restoration work.

Both Finisterre and What have you done today Mervyn Day take nostalgic looks at London life. Finisterre flits around different districts and people tell stories about what London used to be like - or you get a film of a train pulling into a station with some atmospheric music. Both these films pretty much fall into the realm of Psychogeography where fragments of history and current events are blended together. As such, the films work more as atmospheric landscapes rather than traditional movies or documentaries with a firm story to tell you. You feel your way through this movie, and you don't get into the groove, the chances are the movie will leave you cold, or non-plussed.

If you like this style of movie, then Robinson in Space and Swandown are movies in a similar vein which would be worthwhile exploring.

This movie pretty much recycles every science fiction plot under the sun, and then runs out of steam or cash at the end leaving the viewer with a few fragmentary clues about what happened to some characters that you don't really care about anyway.

There's some interesting effects, and the story does get off to a good start - but after the first third, it just loses its way and becomes a fairly hackneyed cliché.

Yes, I can see some kid who hasn't seen a lot of science fiction enjoying this, but to seasoned veterans this does not bring anything new to the pot.

This is a biopic that follows the Norwegian Royal Family as the Nazis invade Norway in 1940. The problem is, is that the events are quite undramatic and the film allows the facts to get in the way of a good story. The result is a rather dry story presented over two hours that could probably be reduced down to a 60 minute documentary. Yes, Norway was invaded, but apart from brilliant special effect in the beginning, the whole story is presented in a matter of fact way. In addition, the acting is pretty wooden through-out. Actors straining to be authentic, rather than organic.

It doesn't help that the title has been mistranslated which does not suit the structure of the movie. A Norwegian audience would know exactly what the king decided, so the film is really about the how, why and the consequences. The mistranslation of the title conceals a vital piece of information from the foreign audience which alters the structure of the movie and understanding of events. There should be no climax when the King makes his choice - the audience should know that already. It isn't a matter of suspense, but rather an examination of why the king took his decision and ramifications for Norway, both then & now.

Yes, the Kon-tiki expedition was a feat of daring archeology that set out to prove that the Peruvians could have sailed to the Pacific Islands. In real life this was a daring adventure - the problem is, as a cinematic adventure, it is about a bunch of guys stuck on a raft in the middle of the ocean without much to say or do. The uneventfulness of their journey is reveal in glorious 1080p 24 frames per second technicolour. A documentary would probably make more sense as the folk involved could describe the obstacles and how they surmounted them. Instead we get a blow by blow account which doesn't reveal much more about the journey apart from the fact that getting stuck out in the ocean for weeks on end is boring.

This is a period drama on a budget. Set in the 1920's - American newly weds arrive on a Greek Island and indulge in lovemaking and swimming off the sea. They come across a wreck from which the wife retrieves an object. As the story progresses she starts to push against the boundaries of the age and starts experimenting with her dressing style and starts exploring her sexuality more - developing more extreme personality and appetites (for the time) as the story develops. Is it some forms of magical realism from the Island, or madness? You'll have to watch the film and judge for yourself. The film doesn't fully explain itself - whilst I don't need a film to explain everything - the end of the film is rather sudden and doesn't really give you much to go on.