johnners11-707-47855 Reviews

Thunderbirds Are GO (1966)

Get on with it!

[5/10 · 24 June 2020]

I grew up with repeats of Thunderbirds and loved them. I had heard about the two feature-length Thunderbirds films, and decided to give them a go

You can't deny it: the ingenuity of the models and special effects on these Anderson puppet series is phenomenal. However, you can have too much of a good thing, and sadly this film proves it.

Filmed in colour and widescreen, it was no doubt a treat for the cinema-goer of the time who had only seen this programme on the small screen in black and white. But somehow watching a launch ramp moving ever so slowly into place isn't any better in technicolor, and long and detailed launch sequences can drag on even in widescreen.

You come away feeling that they could have done more with the Tracey family characters, and a little less with detailed launch sequences.

I will say that hearing Bob Monkhouse as part of the voice cast was a hoot - his American accent is pretty good, actually!

Father Came Too! (1964)

Pretty average matinee fare

[4/10 · 24 June 2020]

In a loose follow-up to the excellent Fast Lady, Stanley Baxter and James Roberson Justice star in this rather lacklustre British comedy. Technically, it's alright, but somehow it never quite gets going like its predecessor. If you're playing British 1960s comedy film bingo, you'll fill your card up by the end of the film: domineering father-in-law, foot in paint bucket, getting stopped by the police, yokels, dodgy workmen, and lots more. Ronnie Barker is the standout performer as the dodgy local workman. But James Robertson-Justice just seems to be phoning it in on this one, and Stanley Baxter, who later went on to play so many diverse parts, just reprises his comically obstinate Scotsman persona for this film. All in all not a bad film, but not a great one, either.

The Professionals: Old Dog with New Tricks (1978) Season 1, Episode 3

Not the usual standard

[5/10 · 15 September 2019]

Bodie, Doyle and Cowley get involved in a plot to spring the brother of a master criminal. Not before a disturbed young man holds a nurse hostage with a hand grenade down her bra!

The episode was, apparently, one of the first to be filmed in the series. There is a scene where Cowley is explaining to new recruits what CI5 is all about.

It is interesting to note that voice of the actor playing Charlie is dubbed by actor and voiceover supremo Gary Watson, who is not credited.

Top of the World (II) (1997)

Disappointing

[4/10 · 31 August 2019]

This film is like the proverbial curate's egg: good in parts. The three leading actors are superb, and there is plenty of (admittedly sometimes violent) action throughout. But the plot is so generic and you spend the whole movie wondering if this is it, will it get any better. Sadly, It doesn't. The Hoover Dam sequence is exciting, though. Definitely worth it for the leading actors, especially Tia Carrere, and the stunts!

Ricochet (1963)

Just another Edgar Wallace thriller

[4/10 · 8 June 2013]

The good: photography is excellent, especially the scenes at the ice rink, and the performances by the actors is superb.

The not-so-good: the plot is a little confusing and contrived in places, and the lawyer's character comes across as a a rather ineffectual blackmailer, compared to Dudley Foster's character who exudes false charm and greed. However, for me, at least, just he atmosphere and performances make the film very watchable.

The film includes scenes filmed at Stretham Ice Rink, Britain's second-oldest ice rink, opened in 1930, sadly now demolished to make way for yet another Tesco supermarket. One for fans of London landmarks.