November 27th, 2007
Posted by
Ian W |
DVD Viewing Journal, TV Reviews |
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A new, semi-regular (depending on how long it takes me to watch them) series on Mine Was Taller, TV Tomb will take a look at some bygone shows. Ranging from the ‘50s to the modern day with shows from the UK, USA and maybe even further afield, the only criteria for inclusion will be that the series has ended its run and thus been consigned to the “TV Tomb”. First up is an ITV show from the mid-seventies that lasted only one season.
Beasts is a series of six self contained dramas with a horror bent from the pen of Quatermass creator Nigel Neale. I didn’t watch the show when it first aired back in 1976, I was eleven at the time and it was probably shown after my bedtime, so this DVD release from Network was my first exposure to it.
It looks dated in its production values but for the most part the stories still stand up. As with many television dramas of the time is was shot on video tape and on the kind of ‘70s sets that never fooled anyone into believing they were the real thing, so it’s not particularly pleasing on the eye. Some of the acting is a little too broad, having more in common with stage acting than film, but there are some standout performances.
November 26th, 2007
Posted by
Ian W |
DVD Viewing Journal |
3 comments
Katsuhiro Ôtomo’s steampunk epic shows us a past where steam technology…well lets just say it goes way beyond powering ships and trains.
One family, appropriately named Steam, have made a breakthrough in steam power, a breakthrough that has divided father and son and that rift threatens to start a war between two nations. James Ray Steam, the youngest scientific mind in the Steam clan, finds himself caught between his father and his grandfather over how the power should be used. Can the young “Steamboy” stop a war starting between Britain and American?
Packed with great characters and huge action sequences (you’ll see the Crystal Palace destroyed!), Ôtomo’s film is a true anime epic. A visual feast that still finds time to ask moralistic questions such as: what responsibility does a scientist have in how his invention is used? It’s impossible not to see the massive steam tower at the films climax as anything but an allegory for the atomic bomb.
The film isn’t bogged down by such weighty issues though; it’s a fun ride that never lets up, with even the few quieter moments full of such delicious eye candy that you’re never bored. It’s also pretty darn unique; I mean what other anime can you think of where the hero comes from Manchester and rubs shoulders with the likes of Robert Stephenson and Scarlet Ohara? Not to mention referencing Coronation Street.
Steamboy is a masterpiece and deserves a place in any anime fans collection, but it will also appeal to those whose taste doesn’t normally stretch to Japanese animation.
November 25th, 2007
Posted by
Ian W |
DVD Viewing Journal |
no comments
Spacecraft are going missing en route to an orbiting space station, cause unknown, and a ban is put in force stopping all space travel until the matter it resolved. One scientist seems to know more than he lets on; what is he hiding and how does it tie in to an old aborted mission to an alien world that may have been probing Earth for decades?
This East German movie from 1972 lacks the special effects budget and technical expertise of Western movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey or Silent Running and so wisely keeps the effects work to a minimum instead concentrating on character. The result is a very talky film that seems longer than its 80 minute running time but it allows the protagonists to be more fully explored giving the viewer someone to connect with. Space exploration it seems is just like any other job, monotonous and often dull with the men working there wishing they were back on terra firma with their lover or son.
It’s an interesting approach, the opposite of the WOW! factor inherent in the trippy 2001: A Space Odyssey. The ending however is a let down, not in its explanation but because it finishes just as the film was getting really interesting. In fact the end of the film would just have been the start of the second act in an American movie.
No classic but it does have curiosity value for science fiction fans interested in more than just the American view of space exploration.
November 24th, 2007
Posted by
Ian W |
DVD Viewing Journal |
no comments
After killing the final two members of the gang that murdered his father death, Wes Evans (James Mitchum) returns home but finds that home isn’t what it used to be. His girlfriend is now married to a local rancher’s son and there’s a land war going on between her in-laws and another land owner. It’s not long before Evans is drawn into the conflict.
James Mitchum looks a lot like his dad but it soon becomes clear that charisma isn’t a genetic trait. In a supporting role he’d be fine but he lacks the presence of a leading man, this makes Wes Evans a rather dull character and, as the film is centred round him, it makes for a rather dull film.
Dull it may be but it is of some historical significance as the first western from director Sergio Corbucci who would go on to make one of the landmark spaghetti westerns, Django, within a couple of years. Here he shares directing duties with Alfredo Antonini aka Albert Band who would become known for producing schlock horror films as well as “producing” Charles Band who would carry on the family tradition of low budget horror.
There’s none of the flair that Corbucci would bring to his later westerns and none of the graphic violence either, instead we get a pedestrian tale that feels more like a second rate American B western with only the bad dubbing showing its true origin. Even the music, something which would become such an integral part of the spaghetti western phenomenon, is here distinctly lacking. Gianni Ferrio’s score is often inappropriately upbeat, ruining the mood of key scenes.
November 23rd, 2007
Posted by
Ian W |
DVD Viewing Journal |
no comments
When one of there number is murdered at a party in a local haunted house a group of trendy young things, led by Frankie Avalon, decide that instead of doing the logical thing and calling the police they’ll cover up the crime to avoid drawing unwanted attention to themselves.
Who is the killer? Is it the ghost who supposedly haunts the house? Or is it one of the partygoers? And can the viewer stay awake long enough to find out? The answer to the latter question is yes, but only just.
The films production was a mess, with director/writer Michael Armstrong removed from the project before it was completed. The final result is a thriller trying to be a horror film and succeeding as neither. Armstrong shot about a third of the finished film, so he’s not without blame, and much of his dialogue is far too of its period to be anything but a joke now.
There’s plenty of ketchup thrown around during a couple of murders and you can kill the time between deaths by playing “spot the TV star” with Richard O’Sullivan and George Sewell, among others, making an appearance. Sewell’s part as a jealous sugar daddy is just padding and adds absolutely nothing to the finished film. Likewise Dennis Prices’ police inspector is there just to add a recognisable name to the credits, with Price on the downward spiral that would lead to Jess Franco crap like Devil’s Island Lovers.
November 22nd, 2007
Posted by
Ian W |
DVD Viewing Journal |
no comments
Powell and Loy are as witty and charming as they were in the first Thin Man film and they get good support from a very young James Stewart but the script doesn’t have quite the sparkle of the earlier film and at almost two hours it’s a little long.
This time the intrepid pair investigate the murder of Nora’s cousin, Selma’s husband. As with the first film the sleuthing takes a backseat to the repartee between the pair and Powell in particular is on fine form: “Come on, let’s get something to eat. I’m thirsty.”
Stewart is impressive, particularly late on, in an unusual part for him. In fact the films biggest fault is too much of Asta, the dog, and not enough Jimmy.
It’s a fun two hours and it left me looking forward to meeting probably the most inebriated detective in the history of cinema and his lovely wife again soon.
November 19th, 2007
Posted by
Ian W |
DVD Viewing Journal |
no comments
This movie spin off from the long running Final Fantasy game series is doubtless essential viewing for fans of the games but for everyone else it’s almost completely incomprehensible. Characters pop up without explanation and the film assumes the viewer will already have knowledge of the protagonist’s relationships and motivations. It’s a bit like watching Return of the Jedi having never seen Star Wars or The Empire Strikes Back.
Visually though the film is a treat, with some of the best computer generated animation I’ve ever seen. The design work is unique and the battle scenes spectacular, although there are only so many sword fights you can watch before it gets repetitive, and without the grounding in the mythology and characters it’s hard to really care about anyone.
In fact the final half hour feels like you’re watching someone else play a visually impressive video game. It’s “big fight, followed by motor cycle chase, followed by big fight” structure is like the levels in a game, it feels like you should be hitting “save” at the end of every big action sequence.
Interesting more than enjoyable, the film does show what’s now possible with computer animation and during one big action sequence, featuring a very big beastie, I was struck by how good a Godzilla film would be if animated in this style. Now that’s a film I’d really like to see…
November 18th, 2007
Posted by
Ian W |
DVD Viewing Journal |
no comments
The Jacket takes that hoary old SF chestnut, time travel, dispenses with the usual preoccupations of such tales - the how, the why and the potential ramifications - and instead gives us a love story.
A brain damaged Gulf War vet gets framed for murder and becomes an inmate at the Alpine Grove mental institution. Pretty soon one of the doctors is using him to test an experimental treatment that consists of doping him up, putting him in a straight jacket, and then sticking him in a morgue drawer for a few hours. Instead of feeling like he’s gone back to the womb as intended, he finds himself several years in the future. It sounds completely nuts, and as a piece of serious science fiction I suppose it is, but this isn’t a film concerned with SF conventions, it’s a film about damaged people, finding love and purpose.
Adding to the unorthodox nature of the film is Adrien Brody as the time travelling mental patient. Brody isn’t your typical leading man, he doesn’t have matinee idol looks like Brad Pitt, he looks like a regular guy and he brings that feeling to a character facing extreme experiences. He manages to keep a film about time travel via morgue drawer “real” with a performance that’s powerfully emotional yet never resort to histrionics.
November 18th, 2007
Posted by
Ian W |
DVD Viewing Journal |
no comments
Westerns don’t need to be epics or even period pieces to be classics, as this contemporary tale of a cowboy in a world that’s moved on without him shows.
When John W. “Jack” Burns (Kirk Douglas) learns that an old friend has been sent to prison for trying to help illegal Mexican immigrants he gets himself arrested in order to see him. Failing to persuade him to break jail, Burns goes on the run alone, with Sheriff Morey Johnson (Walter Matthau) leading the hunt.
David Miller’s paean to a disappearing way of life, and to the freedom that went with it, is a superior piece of filmmaking. Everyone involved is at the top of the game, both in front and behind the camera, and the resulting film is a minor classic.
Burns must rank among Douglas’ finest performances. A true free spirit, with no home or steady job, Burns goes where the mood takes him and Douglas makes this carefree wanderer real. Through his eyes we see how the world is changing, full of fences and signs, rules and regulations. It’s become a world in which men like Jack Burns are obsolete, a world that, if you don’t move with it, will run right over you.
The part of Sheriff Johnson is tailor made for Walter Matthau, his hangdog features fitting the character to a T. Johnson, one feels, not only has some admiration for his quarry but also sympathy with his plight. His job is as predictable as the dog he watches from his office window everyday, and you sense that part of him relishes the change of pace, while another regrets the inevitable outcome.
November 16th, 2007
Posted by
Ian W |
DVD Viewing Journal |
no comments
I have to admit I didn’t know much about The Mothman Prophecies when I bought it. I knew it wasn’t an updating of the Peter Cushing “classic” The Blood Beast Terror, but rather some sort of supernatural thriller that starred Richard Gere and was supposed to be based on “true events.” What led to my purchasing the DVD though was that it cost £2 which was exactly the amount I had left to spend after trading some DVDs at the local CEX store.
The “Mothman” of the title is a harbinger of doom and residents of Point Pleasant have started seeing the creature with alarming regularity. What widowed journalist John Klein has to figure out is just what impending disaster awaits the town.
The film doesn’t really deliver on the scare front but just about works as a supernatural thriller. Its only really spooky moments being a couple of phone calls between Klein and the apparently omniscient Indrid Cole (the name the mothman uses).
Spinning a thirty minute Twilight Zone plot into a two hour movie means that far too little happens for the bulk of the running time. When things finally kick of at the end the film owes as much to Irwin Allen disaster movies as any horror film, although the final punch line adds a nice twist to the tale.
