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redcustard
Reviews
Doctor Who (2005)
He's back, get over it.
I saw the very first screening of the very first episode of Doctor Who as a very young child and have never forgotten it. Growing up in the 60s & 70s my friends and I witnessed every regeneration for the first time, followed by constant repeats which were standard after-school fodder for many years. Surprisingly, with each regeneration The Doctor was different!! And as the years progressed the series did too!! I don't need to attend sci-fi seminars to learn how to appreciate a television show, Doctor Who is a lifelong icon and watching it has always made me feel good. Watching the newest series makes me feel good too. It's different to when I was 3, but then so am I.
Sir Bernard's Stately Homes (1999)
Grrooooooooooovy baby.
This is a very funny show if you like that kind of thing. Not a lot happens really. They are after a golden crisp, no ..... actually it's a potato. I don't know why, but it doesn't really matter all that much. Elton John dies in one episode, but is no great loss. Sir Bernard is incredibly sexy if you're into short, cuddly, balding men, and his off-sider is a total sleaze. In the last episode they find the Golden Potato and bring meaning to the entire series, it's a very moving moment. The episode with the boy scouts was a ripsnorter - very amusing - if you like that kind of thing. If this hasn't whet your appetite to view the show, tell someone who cares.
Andy Pandy (1950)
Unbelievable
Well, what can I say? If you've seen this show you'll certainly know all about it, and if you haven't you ain't likely to now and will never know what you've missed. I don't know whether to be sorry or glad.................... Those in the know will also treasure hallowed memories of the original "The Flowerpot Men". After that, everything went wrong - television turned colour and abominations such as "The Magic Roundabout" and "Kimba the White Lion" infiltrated our screens. Let's face it, that was the beginning of the end for quality television. Anyone who wasn't brought up on shows of this calibre just hasn't lived.
Flower Pot Men (1952)
Unforgettable
Well, what can I say? If you've seen this show you'll certainly know all about it, and if you haven't you ain't likely to now and will never know what you've missed. I don't know whether to be sorry or glad.................... Those in the know will also treasure hallowed memories of the original "Andy Pandy". After that, everything went wrong - television turned colour and abominations such as "The Magic Roundabout" and "Kimba the White Lion" infiltrated our screens. Let's face it, that was the beginning of the end for quality television. Anyone who wasn't brought up on shows of this calibre just hasn't lived.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)
Ripping yarn.
This movie is funny and entertaining if you allow yourself to have fun and be entertained by it. Yes, yes, yes, I could have spent the whole 2 hours or whatever picking faults or bemoaning the fact that various "historical" (?!) characters and events were incorrectly portrayed, but seeing as the said characters and events were all fictional and obviously doing their rip-snorting stuff in a totally different dimension to fact it seems a rather pointless exercise when I could just as easily have been enjoying a good old swash-buckling escapist ripping yarn. Chill out viewers, if you want facts or deeper meaning watch a reputable documentary or read a book - don't look to Hollywood for your education - especially not in history or classic literature of any kind! At least this movie does not pretend to portray history accurately while totally twisting and bastardizing it like many (some recent & very popular) movies have done - it is obviously pure fantasy from start to finish and enjoyable as such. It wasn't a perfect movie but I've yet to see that one, it was certainly not boring, it had some good effects and interesting ideas, there were some nice little one-liners thrown in, and in all it was very entertaining on a Saturday night when we didn't fancy watching anything too heavy, serious or thought-provoking. Perfect for the occasion, and way more enjoyable than the classic tale of "Little Women" we yawned through the week before(- now that WAS a boring movie though possibly very true to the book which I found too dull to finish). So if you're not too pedantic give it a whirl.
Little Women (1994)
Hmmmmm.....
I have never read the book, and seeing this screen version of "Little Women" certainly didn't make me want to. So little happened in such a long space of time, interspersed with cloying images and angst. In short, a boring sentimental supposed tear-jerker which works wonders as a sophoric. What more can I say?
Scrooge (1970)
Only a scrooge would not enjoy this film.
This film evokes a feeling of the true magic of Christmas. If you don't get it, your loss - go back to your glitzy Xmaz tinsel and commercialisation - the rest of us appreciate the simpler things in life, like this movie. This film lifts my spirits every Christmas and I see I am not alone in that - God bless you, every one.
Vice Versa (1948)
excellent and very watchable
Very entertaining - in a silly kind of way. Anthony Newley knocks most other child actors into a cocked hat, and Roger Livesey is very endearing: neither overplay their parts as so often happens in this kind of yarn. If you appreciate light-hearted vintage English comedy you will surely enjoy this one - I thought it superb - but don't watch it if your movies need to be in colour or have relevance to something as it's just a bit of pure fun. This said it holds the attention throughout due to it's fast-paced antics and great characterisations. Hope it's out on DVD somewhere as would love to own a copy.
The Sweetest Thing (2002)
Never have so many been bored by so little of anything.
Someone lent us this movie because they thought we might enjoy it. We didn't. But there's always a bright side, I caught up with some reading and sewed a button on while it was on so the time wasn't completely wasted, and more to the point it didn't cost us anything - if it had we'd have demanded our money back.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
Half-empty or half-full?
I have read the books twice and enjoyed the experience, have seen both movies several times and enjoyed that experience too. For me neither reading a book or watching a film is necessarily a passive experience, to get the most out of some things in life you have to allow your imagination (if you have one) to immerse itself in the thing as a whole and just let it flow. This story does that, it is a grand journey to take if you allow it be, or else it is a tedious trek with stones in your shoes if you prefer things that way. The films live up to that vision and are beautifully made, well-acted and visually stunning, and capture the spirit of the books as well as is possible with film - or, if you prefer it, long poncy movies with not enough obvious entertainment value and/or (gasp shock horror} not absolutely perfect in every miniscule detail. The choice is yours, but I can't help feeling a bit sorry for all those in group 2. To the rest of you: bloody brilliant, eh?
Monsters, Inc. (2001)
Fantastic
I very much enjoyed this movie, and would like to thank Pixar for making a movie that would appeal to all age groups, not just the kids. My whole family enjoys this movie and I would recommend it to anyone who has a heart. The end is so sad...
Goodbye, Mr. Chips (2002)
Hello again, Mr Chips - welcome back.
This is a modern adaptation of a much-loved and revered story - it will understandably be compared by some to the classic 1939 film and found wanting on the basis of sentimentality and familiarity etc. However time has moved on and when I first saw this new production advertised I looked forward to seeing the story dramatised in a fresh new light, combined with the trepidation that the producers might really stuff up and ruin the whole thing as sometimes happens with classic tales (we all know that feeling, don't we?). Hooray, no disappointment here: Martin Clunes was a wonderful, believable Mr Chips; all other acting was superb; and this film was deeply moving and incredibly uplifting in age-old Mr Chips fashion. My only complaint is that it was all over too quickly but even so the difficulties of portraying an eventful lifetime in under two hours were handled well. If the epic tale of Mr Chipping is one you've revered since childhood, don't be afraid to watch this film: you won't be disappointed.
The Hound of the Baskervilles (2002)
One big flush.
What a load of rubbish this film is. I don't know why it was called "The Hound of the Baskervilles" as it bore little resemblance to the well-known story of that name, nor why the main characters were named Holmes and Watson because they could just as easily have been called Jones and Bloggs and be done with it - they had nothing in common with the well-developed written characters of Holmes and Watson at all. As for the storyline: dull, dull, dull. Instead of the brooding gothic horror we might reasonably expect, we are subjected to a barrage of flashy sensationalised melodrama. Yet here's the most unbelievable bit - read this and weep: given the opportunity to cast Richard E. Grant as potentially the most electrifying Sherlock Holmes in decades, our bumbling Watson of a casting director elects to cast him in the role of the villain, thus relegating the characterisation of Holmes to the usual mediocrity we have sadly come to expect. Not Richard Roxburgh's fault, I am sure he did his best in dire circumstances, but he does not have the physical characteristics or personality to play Sherlock Holmes - few people do, and Richard E. Grant is possibly one of them. The opportunity was there and they totally blew it. Why, oh why, oh why don't producers of Sherlock Holmes films do their research, i.e. read all the books and gain a true perception of those two incredibly well developed and documented characters, Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. And if they don't want to do that, why do they even bother? In short, this film sucks.
Titanic (1997)
brief
If you enjoyed this movie, good for you. If you thought it was a load of schmaltz and special effects and were bored speechless, try watching "A Night To Remember" (1958) - it's actually about the sinking of the RMS Titanic, and not a fanciful fairy tale. The choice is your's.......................