Oh-oh, the pilot's dead... So who's going to fly the plane home? Yes it's another variation on the old Airport theme, with a cast of TV movie stars looking either very panicky or firm-jawed in the face of disaster. I'm watching this as I type. It's so deliciously bad I can barely keep my eyes off it! The script is so bad it deserves some kind of award. Kate Jackson comes to the aid of a pregnant woman who wonders if her belt is too tight - never fear, Kate undoes the belt for her! Hurrah! Furthermore, unable to communicate with the pilots or access the cockpit Kate wonders aloud who's flying the plane. Very moving stuff. Tell your friends that they must hunt this film down. It's transcendentally boring!
Reviews
6 Reviews
Where's the video, never mind the mind the DVD?
26 October 2005
I turned 18 in 1987 - and what a year it was!! Cry Freedom, Raising Arizona, Matewan, Tampopo, Radio Days, Broadcast News, The Last Emperor, Empire Of The Sun, Full Metal Jacket, Au Revoir Les Enfants, Babette's Feast, Moonstruck, Pelle The Conqueror, Wings Of Desire.... (and in dear old Blighty)... Withnail And I, Wish You Were Here, Prick Up Your Ears, Blackadder The Third, Hope And Glory, Maurice, A Month In The Country, Personal Services, Porterhouse Blue and...... Will You Love Me Tomorrow.
Following hot on the heels of No Surrender (1985), Edge of Darknes (1985), The Good Father (1985) and The Singing Detective (1986) Whalley, who was a notable figure in the U.K.'s little 80s golden age, was at her very best in this touching, moving drama.
Following hot on the heels of No Surrender (1985), Edge of Darknes (1985), The Good Father (1985) and The Singing Detective (1986) Whalley, who was a notable figure in the U.K.'s little 80s golden age, was at her very best in this touching, moving drama.
The Ear
(1970)
Those were the days....
17 October 2005
Like so many other films made in Eastern Europe in the 60s and 70s, I've longed to see this gem again. Once upon a time, back in the 80s, the UK's Channel 4 used to show all kinds of weird and wonderful films into the early hours, introducing this teenager (now 36) to a new and exciting world of international cinema.
This Czech classic (banned when Dubcek's regime was toppled in '69) concerns Ludvik, a top bureaucrat, and his wife, Anna, coming home one night from a reception to find their home has been bugged (during a period of political purging). The paranoia and sleepless night sets Lunvik and Aanna against each other, and the film finally shows what it took to 'get head' in a Stalinist regime.
This Czech classic (banned when Dubcek's regime was toppled in '69) concerns Ludvik, a top bureaucrat, and his wife, Anna, coming home one night from a reception to find their home has been bugged (during a period of political purging). The paranoia and sleepless night sets Lunvik and Aanna against each other, and the film finally shows what it took to 'get head' in a Stalinist regime.
Death Line
(1972)
A Forgotten Gem
10 May 2002
I have no particular interest in 'genre' movies as a rule - and horror movies least of all. But this is different. 'Anonymous' says this is a good idea let down by poor production values. I disagree. It's a powerful and moving film whose humane vision is heightened by its treatment of the 'monster' as a pitiful creature of circumstance. In the wake of The Wickerman's new-found popularity I'd like to put a word in for this equally good British film of the 1970s. After a construction disaster in 1892 forced successive generations of 'monsters' to live the degraded existence of underground cannibals, the film follows the last surviving male cannibal who survives by abducting passengers from Russell Tube tube station and, er, eating them.
But as the film critic Nigel Floyd suggests, 'the film's great achievement is in eliciting sympathy for a creature whose residual capacity for human feeling [tending to his dying wife] is ultimately more moving than horrifying.' The film was also known as 'Raw Meat' (!).
But as the film critic Nigel Floyd suggests, 'the film's great achievement is in eliciting sympathy for a creature whose residual capacity for human feeling [tending to his dying wife] is ultimately more moving than horrifying.' The film was also known as 'Raw Meat' (!).
Bridget Jones's Diary
(2001)
Final confirmation
5 November 2001
Final confirmation that what passes for cinema in Britain these days is embarassing to the power of ten. This truly dreadful film left me considering a sharp exit from the cinema after only 20 minutes. The howls of laughter that assaulted my eardrums during the film were inexplicable; sweary mary upper middle class twits are not funny. Never were. (Fortunately, having seen The Straight Story I have been reminded why merely watching a movie can be a moving and uplifting experience.) When the inevitable sequel to Bridget Jones is upon us I shall leave the country.
The Straight Story
(1999)
Awesome
5 November 2001
This mesmerising film is one of the most beautifully realised and humane visions I have seen in years. Lynch has surpassed himself. The peformances are outstanding - especially of course 'Alvin' himself. The cinematography alone deserves a medal for services to humanity, and the all-pervading sense of both the value of reconciliation and the enduring nature of love are captured like no other film I have seen so far this century. Flawless.
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