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jon-1086
Reviews
Avatar (2009)
Huge spectacle and good message but a little corny
This will probably be remembered as the first vaguely "serious" CGI film and the visuals are absolutely stunning. It probably is worth watching in 3D if you haven't already seen the film.
The acting performances are good, with Sam Worthington and Stephen Lang in particular turning in good efforts.
As a feat of imagination and a serious effort to make a point about environmental catastrophe, it probably succeeds quite well.
The plot is probably the weakest area, both because it is a bit cheesy and the film is too long. It didn't completely grip for me the entire length, especially with the 30 minutes of adverts and trailers beforehand.
I am not sure it justifies the amounts spent. If the studio just spent the money helping indigenous people in real life some people might argue that would be the best way to make a difference. Most of us would say that Hollywood isn't in the aid business and are in the business of (sometimes) making movies.
Leave your cynicism in the foyer and you'll enjoy it.
The Goonies (1985)
Part of growring up in the 80's
I just watched this film for at least the 5th time and it is just a great, funny bit of escapism. It takes me right back to being a kid in the 80's, and almost anyone who grew up then who by some weird twist of fate hasn't seen this should watch it immediately.
There is some great comic acting. I don't know why Corey Feldman hasn't done more - his performance as the wisecracking Mouth really stands out. The scene at the beginning where he shows the maid around the house still makes me laugh.
This is a kids film I am absolutely 100% unashamed to enjoy at the age of 32. If I have kids, I can't wait to watch it with them.
Hollywood gets a lot of stick for churning out dumb movies these days, and it hasn't made family entertainment likes this for a long time. For me, this is Hollywood family entertainment at it's best.
The Brittas Empire (1991)
Underrated but brilliant
If you have never seen the Brittas Empire I wish I was you because I'd love to laugh at it again for the first time. Chris Barrie brilliantly represents the kind of officious but well-meaning twerp that the world is now infested with, believing in the words of his wife that he is the oil that greases the machine, when really he is a big bag of grit. I think you can see his influence elsewhere with Alan Partridge and David Brent just a couple of characters with a bit of Brittas in them.
The other characters are well represented with the permanently afflicted Colin and his pill-popping wife standing out in particular. The episode in which Brittas closes the Leisure Centre in order to find a stolen £5 note and imprisons the near-incontinent Colin in a locker to catch the culprit unawares is a particular favourite.
Some of the later episodes are a bit weaker but the writers on the whole do a good job of thinking up ways for Brittas to inflict misery on the staff and patrons of Whitbury Newtown Leisure Centre.
It is a shame we don't see a lot of Chris Barrie these days as he has obvious talent as a comic actor as well as an impressionist.