Film Review: CATCH-22 (1970)

Director: Mike Nichols
Writers: Joseph Heller (Novel), Buck Henry (Screenplay)
Running time: 122 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Comedy/War
USA Release date: 24^th June 1970

Watched on Sky+ Saturday 21^st January 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

This is a film I saw many years ago… I didn’t really understand it then and so I thought I’d give it another look (having matured a bit in the meantime). I must say it’s very weird, anarchic at times and has a lot to say politically… it’s also quite compelling. Based on Joseph Heller’s famous novel which, I have to confess, I’ve never read so you’ll be getting my opinion of the film as a stand-alone piece. But enough of my prattling; let’s have a crack at a synopsis before I give you my thoughts.

Whilst flying missions in Italy during World War II, Capt. John Yossarian decides he wants out and tries to get himself certified insane… But there’s a catch… Catch-22 to be precise. I won’t tell you exactly how it works here; but needless to say, it’s a pretty cunning way of keeping the boys flying. We also meet all of his crew and the locals they associate with when not on duty. There are also those who are out for themselves; Col. Cathcart, Maj. Danby and 1st Lt. Milo Minderbinder to name but a few. All this is interspersed with flashbacks to Yossarian’s efforts to help a young airman who is injured on a mission. I really don’t want to say too much, it’s one of those you have to see for yourself to get a grasp of. Also, the Spoiler Police will be selling off all my stuff.

This is an interesting film that has a lot to say about many things; not least war and capitalism. I won’t go into the political questions it raises, but needless to say the point is put across quite forcibly. Decent performances all round, particularly from Alan Arkin as Capt. John Yossarian; he did a first rate job here! Honourable mentions go to; Martin Balsam as Col. Cathcart, Richard Benjamin as Maj. Danby, Art Garfunkel as Capt. Nately, Jack Gilford as Dr. 'Doc' Daneeka, Buck Henry as Lt. Col. Korn, Bob Newhart as Maj. Major Major, Anthony Perkins as Chaplain Capt. A.T. Tappman, Paula Prentiss as Nurse Duckett, Martin Sheen as 1st Lt. Dobbs and Jon Voight as 1st Lt. Milo Minderbinder. Finally a special mention for Orson Welles who played a brilliant cameo as Brig. Gen. Dreedle.

Although I found this film entertaining, I did find it did drag on a bit towards the end. About 20 minutes shorter and it would have been ideal (for me). It’s all very well shot, but I’m afraid it suffers from having the feel of some ‘Frat-house’ comedy which didn’t really endear it to me too much. That aside, I did find parts of it were quite compelling although I did struggle to have much empathy with any of the characters… even the lead. For its day though I thought it was quite groundbreaking and quite an eye-opener (in more ways than one). At the end of the day an interesting adaptation… I’ll have to read the book sometime.

My score: 6.9/10.

IMDb Score: 7.1/10 (based on 10,995 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0065528/

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 87/100 (based on 23 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 62/100 (based on 9,365 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/catch22/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Yossarian: Let me see if I've got this straight: in order to be grounded, I've got to be crazy and I must be crazy to keep flying. But if I ask to be grounded, that means I'm not crazy any more and I have to keep flying.

Yossarian: Is Orr crazy?
Dr. 'Doc' Daneeka: Of course he is. He has to be crazy to keep flying after all his close calls he's had.
Yossarian: Why can't you ground him?
Dr. 'Doc' Daneeka: I can, but first he has to ask me.
Yossarian: That's all he's gotta do to be grounded?
Dr. 'Doc' Daneeka: That's all.
Yossarian: Then you can ground him?
Dr. 'Doc' Daneeka: No. Then I cannot ground him.
Yossarian: Aah!
Dr. 'Doc' Daneeka: There's a CATCH?
Yossarian: A catch?
Dr. 'Doc' Daneeka: Sure. Catch-22. Anyone who wants to get out of combat isn't really crazy, so I can't ground him.
Yossarian: Ok, let me see if I've got this straight. In order to be grounded, I've got to be crazy. And I must be crazy to keep flying. But if I ask to be grounded, that means I'm not crazy anymore, and I have to keep flying.
Dr. 'Doc' Daneeka: You got it, that's Catch-22.
Yossarian: Whoo... That's some catch, that Catch-22.
Dr. 'Doc' Daneeka: It's the best there is.

Capt. Nately: Don't you have any principles?
Old man in whorehouse: Of course not!
Capt. Nately: No morality?
Old man in whorehouse: I'm a very moral man, and Italy is a very moral country. That's why we will certainly come out on top again if we succeed in being defeated.
Capt. Nately: You talk like a madman.
Old man in whorehouse: But I live like a sane one. I was a fascist when Mussolini was on top. Now that he has been deposed, I am anti-fascist. When the Germans were here, I was fanatically pro-German. Now I'm fanatically pro-American. You'll find no more loyal partisan in all of Italy than myself.
Capt. Nately: You're a shameful opportunist! What you don't understand is that it's better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.
Old man in whorehouse: You have it backwards. It's better to live on your feet than to die on your knees. I know.
Capt. Nately: How do you know?
Old man in whorehouse: Because I am 107-years-old. How old are you?
Capt. Nately: I'll be 20 in January.
Old man in whorehouse: If you live.

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Trailer (Not the official one):

Film Review: WAR HORSE (2011)

Director: Steven Spielberg
Writers (Screenplay): Lee Hall & Richard Curtis
Writer (Novel): Michael Morpurgo
Running time: 146 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 12A

Genre: Drama/History/War
UK Release date: 13^th January 2012

Watched at the cinema Tuesday 17^th January 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

Ever since I first saw ‘Jaws’, ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ and E.T.’ I have been a fan of the work of Steven Spielberg. He is an excellent storyteller and I love the look and feel of his films, particularly those made for a broader audience. After the disappointment I felt after seeing ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’ (I hadn’t seen ‘The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn’ at the time of writing so couldn’t comment on that one), it was with a little trepidation that I entered the cinema to see his latest offering. I shouldn’t have worried; the critics had given it a warm reception and I have to say they were right. With ‘War Horse’ Spielberg hits all the right notes! I will give you my thoughts on it after this brief summary.

We start before the outbreak of World War I, young Albert lives with his parents Ted and Rose on a small farm on Dartmoor (that’s in Devon, England for those that don’t know). Ted has always been a drinker and one day he comes back from the local horse auction with a thoroughbred colt. Rose is not best pleased but Albert promises to break him and that he will even get him to plough their field. This he does, but as war breaks out Ted has to sell the horse, called Joey by the way, to the army. Albert is heartbroken not only because he is losing his beloved horse, but also because he’s too young to volunteer so he can be with him. He vows that they will be together again as they part company. We now follow Joey and his trials and tribulations in the war. He ends up seeing things from both the British and German side and even spends some time in the care of some French civilians. I will not say any more here because I really don’t want to give the game away… or have the Spoiler Police riding after me again.

Beautifully shot with some quite stunning scenes; I really love the cinematography on this one. This is all backed up with a really great score by John Williams, he has collaborated with Spielberg for many years and I think this is one of his finest pieces of work to date. As for performances, well nobody put a foot wrong; Jeremy Irvine did a great job as Albert Narracott, as did Peter Mullan as Ted and Emily Watson as Rose. Also worthy of note were Niels Arestrup as Grandfather, David Thewlis as Lyons, Tom Hiddleston as Captain Nicholls, Benedict Cumberbatch as Maj. Jamie Stewart and Celine Buckens as Emilie. Finally, of course, I cannot end this section without a mention for the horses that portrayed Joey in the movie; they all did a tremendous job, as did their trainers.

Before seeing this film I had talked to several people about it; many of which stated that they couldn’t watch a film like that in the cinema, it would be too upsetting. I admit, yes, there are some upsetting moments in the film, but I didn’t find it all that bad. I may have reacted differently watching it at home alone, but I don’t think that would have affected my enjoyment of it in any way. There are many plusses in this film that outweigh the few minuses; yes, it’s a bit on the sentimental side, but it’s still a beautifully made sprawling epic and well worth a look (IMO)… Recommended.

My score: 8.6/10.

IMDb Score: 7.4/10 (based on 9,616 votes when this review was written).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1568911/

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 78/100 (based on 188 reviews counted at the time of going to press).
Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 76/100 (based on 23,610 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/war_horse/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Albert Narracott: We will be together again.

Major Jamie Stewart: Gentlemen, it is an honor to ride beside you. Make the Kaiser rue the day he crossed swords with us. Let every man do himself, his King, his country, and his fallen comrades proud. Be brave.

Grandfather: Can you imagine flying over a war and you know you can never look down? You have to look forward, or you'll never get home. What could be braver than that?

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site: http://www.warhorsemovie.com/
Trailer:

Film Review: NEVER LET ME GO (2010)

Director: Mark Romanek
Writers: Kazuo Ishiguro (Novel), Alex Garland (Screenplay)
Running time: 100 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 12

Genre: Drama/Romance/Sci-Fi
UK Release date: 11^th February 2011

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 15^th January 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I remember hearing about this film when it came out; I was slightly intrigued by it at first, but then I heard it was a bit of a love story and shelved it for a bit. Well, it resurfaced this week and, despite my reservations I decided to give it a look. You’ll be pleased to know I was pleasantly surprised. Some really great performances are the highlight of this heartbreaking tale set in an alternate reality. I will tell you more after this brief summary.

At an idyllic school called Hailsham in the countryside, three children; Kathy, Tommy and Ruth become friends. From the beginning you can tell there is something odd about this school it is not until one of the teachers, Miss Lucy, tells the students of their purpose that the audience, along with the children, begins to understand. [I will not say here what it is as I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who hasn’t seen the film.] The story is told through the eyes of Kathy  and you can tell that she is attracted to Tommy, but Ruth gets to him first. At the age of eighteen they are allowed to leave and go to live in a place called ‘The Cottages’ with teenagers from other schools. By now Tommy and Ruth have become a couple and they begin to explore the world around them. They hear about something called a ‘deferral’ for couples that are in love [don’t worry, that will make sense when you see the film] and Kathy can’t bare it any longer and leaves to become a carer. She later hears that Tommy and Ruth had broken up. Little does she know but their paths are due to cross again and it is this meeting that will decide their fate. I will not say any more or the Spoiler Police (Alternate Reality Division) will be removing my organs (again).

This film is beautifully made with a great musical score by Rachel Portman, it really captures the mood of the piece. Great cinematography combines with the great British countryside to give the plot the room it needs to breathe. The thing that stands out most though is the performances of the three main characters; Carey Mulligan as Kathy, Andrew Garfield as Tommy and Keira Knightley as Ruth all put in really great performances. I must also give a mention to their young counterparts; Izzy Meikle-Small as Young Kathy, Charlie Rowe as Young Tommy and Ella Purnell as Young Ruth were all excellent also. Honourable mentions go to; Charlotte Rampling as Miss Emily and Sally Hawkins as Miss Lucy.

This is a bit of a heartbreaker of a film, filled with a lot of emotion because the audience are allowed to get to know these characters and become invested in their fate. I have to admit to feeling very sad by the end. It’s beautifully made with great care and so hats off to the filmmakers for making it as enjoyable to watch as it was. As I’ve already said, it’s quite heartbreaking at the end but still well worth a look… Recommended.

My score: 8.3/10.

IMDb Score: 7.2/10 (based on 35,146 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1334260/

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 70/100 (based on 162 reviews counted at the time of going to press).
Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 70/100 (based on 29,621 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/never_let_me_go_2010/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
[first lines]
Kathy: My name is Kathy H. I'm 28 years old. I've been a carer for nine years. And I'm good at my job. My patients always do better than expected, and are hardly ever classified as agitated, even if they're about to make a donation. I'm not trying to boast, but I feel a great sense of pride in what we do. Carers and donors have achieved so much. That said, we aren't machines. In the end it wears you down. I suppose that's why I now spend most of my time not looking forwards, but looking back, to The Cottages and Hailsham, and what happened to us there.

Kathy: It had never occurred to me that our lives, so closely interwoven, could unravel with such speed. If I'd known, maybe I'd have kept tighter hold of them.

[last lines]
Kathy: I come here and imagine that this is the spot where everything I've lost since my childhood is washed out. I tell myself, if that were true, and I waited long enough then a tiny figure would appear on the horizon across the field and gradually get larger until I'd see it was Tommy. He'd wave. And maybe call. I don't know if the fantasy go beyond that, I can't let it. I remind myself I was lucky to have had any time with him at all. What I'm not sure about, is if our lives have been so different from the lives of the people we save. We all complete. Maybe none of us really understand what we've lived through, or feel we've had enough time.

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/neverletmego/
Trailer:

Film Review: LIMITLESS (2011)

Director: Neil Burger
Writers: Leslie Dixon (screenplay), Alan Glynn (novel)
Running time: 105 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Thriller/Sci-Fi/Mystery
UK Release date: 23^rd March 2011

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 15^th January 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

When I read about the concept behind this film I must say I was quite intrigued; a pill that could allow access to the parts of the brain we don’t use? Who could resist? Well it didn’t play at my local cinema and so after quite a long wait it finally appeared in the TV listings this week. It had received a bit of a mixed response from the critics but I thought I’d take the plunge anyway. I’ll give you my thoughts after this brief summary.

Eddie Morra is a struggling writer; he has a contract to write a book but is struggling to find inspiration and motivation. By chance he meets his ex-wife’s brother, Vernon, a former drug dealer; he gives him a pill that changes his life. It’s called NZT and it enables him to think faster than ever; he finishes his book in double quick time. When the effects wear off he decides he has to get more. He goes to see Vernon who he finds dead. Searching his apartment he discovers his stash and steals it. Now he can take it every day he soon realises that writing isn’t for him; stocks and shares are the future. Having had some meteoric success in the stock market, he is now in the spotlight of the big boys. Enter Carl Van Loon, a very successful businessman who takes Eddie under his wing. As a side note, Eddie at this point also gets his girlfriend, Lindy, back. About to broker a major deal; Eddie discovers a disturbing side-effect of the drug… I will leave it there or the Spoiler Police (Illegal Drugs Division) will have me banged up for possession.

A very well made film with some neat CGI and camera work which is used to try and illustrate the effect of the drug on Eddie. I also liked the narration; it gave an insight into his thought processes as events unfolded around him. Decent performances all round; Bradley Cooper did a good job as Eddie Morra, Robert De Niro was great (as ever), although never really stretched as Carl Van Loon and Abbie Cornish was decent, if underused, as Lindy. Andrew Howard did a good job as the Russian moneylender Gennady and there was a nice little part for Anna Friel as Eddie’s ex-wife Melissa.

Quite a slick production with some nice touches; not all of them worked, but it’s still a perfectly watchable Sci-Fi/Thriller. As I’ve already said, I did enjoy some of the camera trickery used to illustrate the effect of the drug, in particular the tunnel-like pan straight into the screen, which worked particularly well. There were a few aspects of the plot that didn’t quite work for me, but over all it’s still pretty enjoyable… Recommended.

My score: 7.4/10.

IMDb Score: 7.3/10 (based on 103,342 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1219289/

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 69/100 (based on 180 reviews counted at the time of going to press).
Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 73/100 (based on 84,511 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/limitless/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
[first lines]
Eddie Morra: Obviously I miscalculated a few things.
Man: [banging door] Eddie! I know you're in there.
Eddie Morra: Why is it that the moment your life exceeds your wildest dreams, the knife appears at your back? Well, I'll tell you one thing... I will never let them touch me.

Eddie Morra: You see that guy? That was me not so long ago. What kind of guy without a drug or alcohol problem looks this way? Only a writer.

Vernon: You know how they say we can only access 20% of our brain?
[Vernon points out the NZT pill on the table]
Vernon: This lets you access all of it.

Carl Van Loon: So, Eddie Morra... And you do know you're a freak? What's your secret?
Eddie Morra: Medication.

Eddie Morra: [parting ways with Carl] You should really be glad about this, because you know, me working for you, you'd end up being my bitch.

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site: http://www.iamrogue.com/limitless/fullsite/index.html
Trailer:

Film Review: RESERVOIR DOGS (1992)

Co-Writer/Director: Quentin Tarantino
Writers: Quentin Tarantino & Roger Avary (Background radio dialogue)
Running time: 99 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 18

Genre: Crime/Thriller/Mystery
UK Release date: 15^th January 1993

Watched on Sky+ Saturday 14^th January 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

Lauded by many, despised by a few, it’s been a long time since I saw ‘Reservoir Dogs’ and I have to come clean… I didn’t really rate it first time around. So I thought it was time I gave it another shot since it aired on TV (again) recently. How did it fair this time around? Well I’ll tell you after this brief summary.

A jewellery heist has gone wrong and the perpetrators make their way back to a pre-arranged rendezvous, a warehouse. The cops knew about the robbery and they have a traitor in their midst. To keep themselves anonymous, Joe, the organiser of the heist had given them all names of colours. Mr Brown and Mr Blue were both killed during the heist and Mr Orange is injured. He and Mr White are the first to arrive, soon followed by Mr Pink. Later Mr Blonde turns up with a surprise in the trunk of his car… a cop. They start beating up on the cop trying to find out if he knows who betrayed them, but he knows nothing. Nice Guy Eddie, Joe’s son, turns up next and tells them to move the cars; leaving the psychotic Mr Blonde with the injured Mr Orange and the cop. At this point I’ll leave it or the Spoiler Police (Tarantino Division) will have me making films with scenes stolen from just about every film I’ve ever seen (again).

I must admit I do like the rough style with which this film is made, there seems to be a lot of ad-libbing from the actors and, for the most part, it works pretty well. There are flashbacks telling us how some of the major players got involved in the job and these (to me) are more interesting than some of the stuff going on in the warehouse. As far as performances go, well Harvey Keitel as Mr. White - Larry Dimmick, Tim Roth as Mr. Orange - Freddy Newandyke, Michael Madsen as Mr. Blonde - Vic Vega and Steve Buscemi as Mr. Pink all did an excellent job. Honourable mentions also go to; Chris Penn as Nice Guy Eddie Cabot and Lawrence Tierney as Joe Cabot.

As with many of Tarantino’s works there is an awful lot of dialogue (just see my ‘Favourite Quotes’ section below for a taster). This, I find can be both confusing and distracting if not properly choreographed with what the audience is watching. Two talking heads in a room can get pretty uninteresting after a while and this is what you get in some scenes. There is no incidental music, the only music we here is from the radio that always plays hits from the ‘70’s. For me second time around?... Well I can see some good things in there, but not enough for me to rave about it. I will deem it ‘Recommended’ but only for these good points (about three quarters of the way through… the back-story of Mr. Orange… definitely NOT the torture scene).

My score: 7.8/10.

IMDb Score: 8.4/10 (based on 277,019 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0105236/

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 96/100 (based on 48 reviews counted at the time of going to press).
Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 93/100 (based on 381,822 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/reservoir_dogs/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES: (WARNING: Strong Language)
Nice Guy Eddie: Did you see that, daddy?
Joe: What?
Nice Guy Eddie: That guy got me on the ground and he tried to fuck me.
Mr. Blonde: You wish.
Nice Guy Eddie: Listen, Vic. Whatever you wanna do in the privacy of your own home, go do it. But don't try to fuck me in my father's office - I don't think of you that way. I like you a lot man, but I don't think of you that way.
Mr. Blonde: Eddie, if I was a butt cowboy, I wouldn't even throw you to the posse.
Nice Guy Eddie: Of course not, you'd keep me for yourself, you sick bastard. Four years of fuckin' punks up the ass you'd appreciate a piece of prime rib when you see one.

Mr. Orange: What happens if the manager won't give you the diamonds?
Mr. White: When you're dealing with a store like this, they're insured up the ass. They're not supposed to give you any resistance whatsoever. If you get a customer, or an employee, who thinks he's Charles Bronson, take the butt of your gun and smash their nose in. Everybody jumps. He falls down screaming, blood squirts out of his nose, nobody says fucking shit after that. You might get some bitch talk shit to you, but give her a look like you're gonna smash her in the face next, watch her shut the fuck up. Now if it's a manager, that's a different story. Managers know better than to fuck around, so if you get one that's giving you static, he probably thinks he's a real cowboy, so you gotta break that son of a bitch in two. If you wanna know something and he won't tell you, cut off one of his fingers. The little one. Then tell him his thumb's next. After that he'll tell you if he wears ladies underwear. I'm hungry. Let's get a taco.

Mr. Pink: Hey, why am I Mr. Pink?
Joe: Because you're a faggot.
Mr. Pink: Why can't we pick our own colors?
Joe: No way, no way. Tried it once, doesn't work. You got four guys all fighting over who's gonna be Mr. Black, but they don't know each other, so nobody wants to back down. No way. I pick. You're Mr. Pink. Be thankful you're not Mr. Yellow.
Mr. Brown: Yeah, but Mr. Brown is a little too close to Mr. Shit.
Mr. Pink: Mr. Pink sounds like Mr. Pussy. How 'bout if I'm Mr. Purple? That sounds good to me. I'll be Mr. Purple.
Joe: You're not Mr. Purple. Some guy on some other job is Mr. Purple. Your Mr. PINK.
Mr. White: Who cares what your name is?
Mr. Pink: Yeah, that's easy for your to say, you're Mr. White. You have a cool-sounding name. Alright look, if it's no big deal to be Mr. Pink, you wanna trade?
Joe: Hey! NOBODY'S trading with ANYBODY. This ain't a goddamn, fucking city council meeting, you know. Now listen up, Mr. Pink. There's two ways you can go on this job: my way or the highway. Now what's it gonna be, Mr. Pink?
Mr. Pink: Jesus Christ, Joe, fucking forget about it. It's beneath me. I'm Mr. Pink. Let's move on.
Joe: I'll move on when I feel like it... All you guys got the goddamn message?... I'm so goddamn mad, hollering at you guys I can hardly talk. Pssh. Let's go to work.

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Trailer:

Film Review: JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS (1963)

Director: Don Chaffey
Writers (Screenplay): Jan Read & Beverley Cross
Writer (poem “The Argonautica”): Apollonios Rhodios
Running time: 104 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): U

Genre: Action/Adventure/Fantasy
UK Release date: 15^th August 1963

Watched on Sky+ Friday 13^th January 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

This is a film I remember well from my childhood; it seemed whenever there was a wet Sunday afternoon this was on… And as I child I absolutely loved it! Since it was airing again on TV recently I thought I would give it another look now that I’m all growed up. Well, I have to say that, as a film, it hasn’t faired all that well, but the excellent stop-motion effects by Ray Harryhausen are still the best thing about it. I will give you more of my thoughts after this very brief summary.

The Gods of Greece are always meddling in the affairs of man and having wagers with each other about the outcome. Zeus and his wife Hera have one such arrangement concerning a young man called Jason. He has been tasked with travelling to the ends of the Earth in order to retrieve a golden fleece, a prize of the Gods. He commissions a ship, the Argo, and holds games to select the bravest and strongest men in all Greece to join him on this epic adventure. As they set sail Jason knows that Hera will protect them, but he can only call on her a certain number of times… Many adventures bring them to their goal, but a protective king will not give up the fleece without a fight! I will leave it there or the Spoiler Police (Greek Gods Division) will have me fighting Titans (again).

I have to admit I do have a bit of a soft spot for this film; as a child I loved all the action sequences and me and my brother would re-enact them afterwards. Today though, it doesn’t quite hold together as well as it did when I was young. I guess I’ve seen too many films that are better made (effects aside). As far as performances go, well nobody really stood out and so honourable mentions go to; Todd Armstrong as Jason, Nancy Kovack as Medea, Gary Raymond as Acastus, Laurence Naismith as Argos, Niall MacGinnis as Zeus, Michael Gwynn as Hermes, Honor Blackman as Hera and Patrick Troughton as Phineas.

I’ll cut to the chase here, the effects were brilliant in their day, brilliant when I was a kid and they have stood the test of time well… I still think they’re great! The problem I have is with the narrative, far too much is taken as read and I think the writers found it far too easy to us the ‘gods’ to get them out of a situation. For me, there are islands if brilliance in a sea of mediocrity I’m afraid. It seems to drag on and that is never a good sign. I have given it a half decent score, but that’s mainly for the groundbreaking effects, for which I’ll deem it recommended.

My score: 6.8/10.

IMDb Score: 7.3/10 (based on 9,262 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0057197/

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 96/100 (based on 26 reviews counted at the time of going to press).
Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 71/100 (based on 20,999 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1010939-jason_and_the_argonauts/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Zeus: If I had to punish *every* blasphemy, I would have *no followers*!

Phineas: Zeus, I was a sinner. I've never tried to deny it. But I didn't sin every day. Why then do you punish me *every day*?

Argos: Pray to the gods, Jason!
Jason: The gods of Greece are cruel! In time, all men shall learn to live without them.

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Trailer:

Film Review: A MAN APART (2003)

Director: F. Gary Gray
Writers: Christian Gudegast & Paul Scheuring
Running time: 109 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 18

Genre: Action/Adventure/Drama
UK Release date: 4^th April 2003

Watched on Sky+ Wednesday 11^th January 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

This is maybe not one of the films I would have chosen; however, on recommendation (you know who you are) I decided to give it a chance. There’s nothing earth shattering about it I’m afraid, just another run of the mill Action/Adventure with plenty of plot twists and an enormous body count. The Mexican drug cartels are the bad guys this time and a rough-tough DEA agent and his partner are the good guys. I’ll tell you what I thought after this brief summary.

A group of DEA agents have been allowed into Mexico to participate in the arrest of one of the drug cartel’s top men, Memo Lucero. Amongst the agents are Sean Vetter and his partner, Demetrius Hicks. The take down goes well and Lucero ends up in a US jail. At this point a character named ‘Diablo’ makes himself known; taking over parts of Lucero’s operation and killing his people. Eventually the ‘Diablo’ cartel turns their attention to Sean; attacks his house and kills his wife. Seeking revenge, Sean visits Lucero in jail; he cannot initially help him, but when his own wife is killed, things change. Can Sean and Demetrius track down who is behind ‘Diablo’? To do so they will have to sometimes stray outside the law! I won’t say any more or the Spoiler Police (DEA division) will have my badge (again).

Quite well made though I did find the action scenes a little confusing at times. Decent performances all round, although I felt nobody was really stretched; and so honourable mentions go to; Vin Diesel as Sean Vetter, Larenz Tate as Demetrius Hicks, Timothy Olyphant, woefully underused, as Hollywood Jack and Geno Silva as Memo Lucero.

Many films have been made on this subject before and there have been many films of this genre. The hard thing to do is to make a film of this type that doesn’t fall into cliché. Unfortunately this one does, and it suffers for it. A much better film of this type (IMO) would be Tony Scott’s ‘Man on Fire’ (2004). I guess I can sum it up by saying ‘it does what it says on the tin’, this film is what it is and, although a little too cliché for my liking, is still worth a look if this is your kind of thing.

My score: 5.9/10.

IMDb Score: 5.8/10 (based on 19,342 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0266465/

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 11/100 (based on 130 reviews counted at the time of going to press).
Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 40/100 (based on 82,184 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/man_apart/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Sean: They call us down here. They take away our weapons? They expect us to go into a building full of drunken cartel gunmen unarmed? I mean, that isn't fun.
Ty Frost: You're not gettin' paid to have fun. Good luck, gentlemen.

Sean: I like this car.
Hollywood Jack: Hey, nice truck.
Sean: Thanks.
Hollywood Jack: In fact, I was thinking about trading this one in for, like, seven of those.

Sean: Ah... Let me get your license and registration, please.
Hollywood Jack: May I um... ask what I did?
Sean: Yeah, your mud flaps. You got no mud flaps on this.
Hollywood Jack: It's a fuckin' Porsche.
Sean: Well you won't have to worry about it when you trade it in for the truck.

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site: http://www.newline.com/properties/manaparta.html
Trailer: