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Member	Movie		Comment / Review
alexlincs 4th Jan 2024		The Gnome-Mobile (1967)	I've added an upgraded title screen from the blu ray
Magic Marmalade 3rd Jan 2024		Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)	Rated 6/10 Ketchup with chocolate... (?) Things that don't go well together, although you like them on their own, or each with something else. That's basically what this movie is: Several things that don't sit well together made to do so in an attempt (admirably, perhaps) to create something new... except this misses the mark, and these weird juxtapositions make this movie feel rather... odd. It wants, it seems, to be a "Neo-Noir" in style, look and tone, but frequently uses, by means especially of the narrative framing actual Film-Noir references (It's a bit like Sunset Boulevard in this sense) and this is undermined entirely by comedy element, which undercuts the tone, specifically by opting for the more zany, fizzy whipcrack / wisecrack humour, which rattles along like a attempt at an Aaron Sorkin style script dialogue - it moves fast and is difficult to keep up with, rather producing a mumbling effervescent quality that is almost trance inducing - not good if you also have one of the most convoluted (and preposterous) murder mystery plots out there... (The plot feels like a pastiche / satire of / homage to one of the more credulity stretching episodes of Columbo) ...So it's also trying to tap into the L.A. Confidential / Chinatown mood, but that humour doesn't go well, as I said, and when coupled with the black humour slapstick action elements, makes you think: "What the hell is this movie?" (When they occur - I thought, from the title and poster, this was going to be more in the style of a Lethal Weapon / Bad Boys type of action flick - which it ain't - being a much more pedestrian monotone paced, "talky" movie). It seems also, through the self deprecating, self referential, self undermining script, to be aiming at a higher state of meta-wit, while at the same time apologising for itself as it does so, before finally embracing entirely the elements it is seeking to mock.... It doesn't have the courage of it's convictions. Pick a lane dude! I was almost two thirds of the way through, wondering when it would get to the second act, and realising that there really was none, and this tone continues throughout, coming from nowhere in particular, going nowhere, and taking it's long meandering time getting there. Although the last twenty minutes does pick up the pace slightly, I was already mostly bored by then, and had tuned out, which, given the ludicrous complexity of the absurd plot, made this make no real sense whatsoever. Improbable, and highly unlikely coincidences to allow the finale to happen, even though the narration explicitly mock such Hollywood practices through the first half, and while I understand that may have been Shane Black's intention when writing this, it's not clear if he's doing so with a nod and a wink, perhaps even a wry smile to audience, or if he's just given up on the meta nature of the movie. It does have a couple of points of note though - firstly, Michelle Monaghan is excellent in her role, Val Kilmer gives a fairly understated stoic (Although the character is barely there) performance, and it seems this is where you see an early prototype of the witty, wisecracking Tony Stark character Downey Jr. would go on to patent in Iron Man. But on thing is clear: Shane Black is almost unparalleled as a scriptwriter, but an accomplished director / film-maker, he isn't. (Better to have handed this off to someone else, who could have knocked it into shape) 1 person found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Magic Marmalade 2nd Jan 2024		L.A. Confidential (1997)	Sorry to stir the pot.... but to me, this is also a Christmas movie :)
Magic Marmalade 1st Jan 2024		Edtv (1999)	Rated 7/10 More than meets the eye? I have only just gotten around to watching this, after all these years, and I know exactly the reason why: It's that thing which often occurs in movie world, where a "pair" of movies are released at, or around the same time, concerning the same subject matter, and to the naked eye (according to judgements made about the trailers before having watched them) appear to be essentially the same movie, with two studios evidently racing to get their take on it out first... Armageddon and Deep Impact, or indeed, this, and of course: The Truman Show. (there can be only one! :) As such, that latter pretty much blew this clean out of the water, as a movie about a man who's life becomes the object of national, or global attention through the, then emerging format of dreaded "Reality Television" phenomenon, and how it was poised to fundamentally alter the cultural landscape at that time, as well as distorting the very concept of "reality"... ...Some pretty heavy stuff, and tremendously fertile ground for film-makers to explore in anticipation of those burgeoning events, and perhaps with a ready audience, eager to explore through movies like EdTV and The Truman Show, the possible implications, as well as their own anxieties about what was to come. But I'm disappointed with myself that I didn't give this due attention at the time, as it does have very much it's own story, and concepts to play with, as well as having a lot of key distinctions in the story it tells, and how it tells it: Truman is the subject from birth, and doesn't know he's a participant, Ed is already a grown man, and is entirely conscious of what is happening, having volunteered to be the star of his own show, for one... which show a different facet of the phenomena and tells a different story: How does fame alter "reality", both the reality he experiences as opposed to previously, and how does it, in turn, alter him, and affect those around him? It deals more directly with the issue of the rights of that individual when he pushes back, and has other sub-textual themes equally important (and today, much more prominent than when this was released!): The intelligent and enterprising female TV exec, who creates the show, is marginalised and pushed aside once it becomes successful by the Male TV big boss who assumes the credit. But aside form these weighty concepts, this is very entertaining, and gets more so as it goes... Rob Reiner is great as the overbearing insufferable TV exec, but in particular: Martin Landau as the wheelchair bound step-father has some of the most killer - funny lines in the movie, and he delivers them with razor sharp perfection: "I need a pee... (scoots off to the toilet in mobility scooter) ....wish me luck" :) Solid 7 rating, pushing toward and 8. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
mikewn 1st Jan 2024		Mardi Gras: Made In China (2005)	David Redmond on film... [YouTube Video]
Magic Marmalade 31st Dec 2023		In Time (2011)	Rated 7/10 A solid slice of genuine sci-fi. There is a difference (to me, at least), between "sci-fi", as generally understood, and proper sci-fi... ...The difference lies in the the basic story idea. It's not enough just to have some twinkly flashing lights, a fair piece of action, and some: "kerpow!", "Blam!", or other whizz-bang visual wizardry; You've got to have a good idea, that says something about something that could not otherwise have been said but for the fictional science element, or that the use of which, says it more directly, explicitly, and succinctly than could otherwise have been done. (For this reason, in it's original form, sci-fi was termed as: "speculative fiction") This is happily one of the latter. The truly great concept here is nothing less than: Time is money... literally. This is a world where everyone from birth has a clock installed in their arms, which counts down to zero, and then the clock, and indeed, your life, expires. ...You can trade time, purchase with time, and spend time in exchange with others. From this simple, elegant concept (perhaps not a startling new idea, but certainly excellently conceived and executed here) all the implications of this are played out and explored on the substance of the story, and drama: There are the rich - the very rich - who have time to burn, and then there are the poor, who scrape by on minutes, often living by bouncing from hour to hour, day by day, with barely enough to survive on, and from this, there is a social divide, of time-rich districts, where the millionaires live, and the slums, where the time-poor eek out a living. And so the social commentary, philosophy all naturally flows through he story from this. As one, day, a time rich man, who feels he has lived too long, makes his way to the wrong side of the tracks, and donates, or "gifts" a huge block of time to Justin Timberlake's character, before "timing himself out"... This leaves our Justin in a huge quandary, as he is at once made a target for envy and theft by any means by his contemporaries on the slum in which he lives, but also the rich, from the other district, who want that time back in order to preserve the social order "norms", and the excellent Cillian Murphy's "Time Keeper" (cop) is sent to hunt him down. Justin decides to use the time to escape into the rich district, live a little, and maybe upset the clock a little. Here he meets the big bad millionaire, who basically has all, or most of the time in the world, he falls in with the guy's daughter, and after essentially kidnapping her in order to make his escape, they turn into a time based Bonnie and Clyde / Robin Hood style duo. A very powerful concept executed with great clarity, who's implications are well explored. I think this movie has kind of drifted from general consciousness over time (sorry time puns are essentially unavoidable here! :) and as I recall, was only really slightly regarded at the time... it generally blended in with a plethora of similar such movies around when this was... (A lot of which, like this, could probably do with some re-appraisal, as many are good on their own right too!) ...Possibly adding to this lack of being taken seriously was the presence of Timberlake and even Seyfried: She the supernaturally beautiful starlet of Mean Girls fame. and he, the ubiquitous boy-band superstar of the time, it may have seemed that this was just a concocted star vehicle movie, rather than the good movie it actually is. (Both are actually pretty good in this, and deserve more credit) Worth your time. 1 person found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Magic Marmalade 27th Dec 2023		Pumpkinhead (1988)	Rated 7/10 This might just be brilliant. This is actually a really impressive slice of American folk-horror, which exceeded all expectations I had, having pretty much brushed it aside at time of release, and filed it away in my brain as another cheap, shoddy, ultra-low budget schlock horror... ...But this has a few points of great distinction, which, although it does seem to be low budget, by any standard, elevate this above it's peers: Firstly, the acting is pretty darn good, given that you usually get Andy and Annie Amateur in this kind of thing, who are so wooden you could carve a totem pole out of their performances, but everyone here seems quite naturalistic, and very good. Secondly, the premise is a great idea, tapping into - as alluded to earlier - that very particular brand of "Folk Horror" that suits the American cultural identity with regards horror: That is, unlike the "old world" European superstitions, which have an age old continuity and provenance of sorts, as we've grown alongside them from time immemorial - there's this thing in American cultural superstions that seems to tap into the idea of something ancient, and pre-dating the arrival of those people who would become Americans, and they have inadvertently "woken up". Here, the father of a child killed in an accident, is driven by grief to invoke some creature who is the spirit of vengeance to exact revenge on the hapless perpetrators... ...But here, it also becomes a great morality tale, as he sees blindness caused by his grief has made him act in error, and so tries to stop the creature he has unleashed - the creature being a living manifestation of his implacable, blind desire for revenge caused by his pain. No good will come of it! Quite slow through the first half, but picks up and moves briskly to it's compelling (and poignant) conclusion. And it's this quality of the story that raises this way above the average low budget horror movie. And finally, the creature, naturally enough, being a Stan Winston project, is breathtakingly good - whether it's animatronic, a dude in a suit, miniatures, or a combination of all three, the naturalistic and organic movement is stunning - especially for a movie of this time. Should not be just a "cult" classic, but a benchmark in movies in general, not just horror - of what can be achieved with scant resources. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
Magic Marmalade 26th Dec 2023		Toys (1992)	Rated 6/10 Levinson's folly. This is a weird, and deeply strange movie, and only half in a good way. I had only vague recollection of it from it's time of release, except my friends and I's (<Is that grammatically correct?), nonplussed, frowny expressions of bemusement, which I think was shared by the whole of the western world... For on the face of it, the cover, the idea, and the presence of Robin Williams in this kind of movie makes you think it's going to be a Willy Wonka style, magical, cautionary tale for kids, regarding the corruption of innocence by the big meanie serious minded military types looking to convert the childlike toy factory inherited by Williams and "sister" into a a more "war toy" oriented concern... (The father looks younger than Williams - his brother, the militarista General, and brother of said father, is Improbably played by Michael Gambon) ...And this topic has, I would assert, hit the mark with it's target audience with the excellent: Small Soldiers, but here, everything seems off, to some degree, to produce a surreal, unsettling hallucinatory "bad cheese" experience of a movie, that isn't for kids at all, and is too perplexing for anyone else. So what's up with this movie? Firstly, the prime asset here is, of course, or should have been Williams himself, in this kind of premise, you would have expected him to chew this thing up for dinner, and yet, he is strangely muted, lacking energy and his usual pizazz, leaving the way clear for Gambon to consume the scenery in it's entirety, in a role way too odd, and dark for the setting. The thing you can't escape is the wild contradiction, of, on the one hand, the extraordinarily imaginative, and brilliantly conceived set designs, costumes, and general setups, but rendered in a really cheap, almost 90's tv standard of photography, which feels, when it comes through the screen, like it's in a studio, and artlessly shot, and captured. (Everyone involved in this must have been pulsing with excitement at the premise, script, and the involvement of Williams, and only heightened when they walked on the sets, and saw the eye popping scenery, only to be crushed at what came out the other end.) Then we have a typical weird, spooky, eccentric soundtrack from Tori Amos (the natural choice a film like this?) which is a good thing in her own back yard, but when in the context of this movie seems bizarre in the extreme, and an early-ish Hans Zimmer score that sounds like a hangover from eighties pop synth-ery, and already dated... only occassionaly blossoming into something good. The first half of the movie is slow and, again, I use the word: hallucinatory, in the style of a fever dream or acid trip, and then the finale just degenerates into an attempt at a standard action flick, which only serves to undermine that first half, and it's aims. There are more than a couple of things that would certainly give kids nightmares, especially the toy tanks with robot heads with helmets, and giant, green glowing eyes that move terrifyingly through the darkness (Felt quite perturbed myself! :( And so, having watched it again after all these years, I see now what this movie was, or attempting to be: Not a kids film, in any traditional sense, but aiming more for the rarefied sensibility of a Tim Burton movie, with his off kilter movie making sense, or maybe even a Terry Gilliam movie. In todays currency, you might say that directors like Wes Anderson are what it would be aspiring to achieve... ...The problem is, Barry Levinson, great director and film-maker though he is, just isn't born with that kind of ability, or sensibility, and so, that narrowest of targets, of what you'd be aiming for in a movie like this, which a fraction out either way would make such an odd, and off movie, is only to be ventured on by those rare directors, such as those aforementioned maestros with their specific way of looking at things who know what that target is, as well as how to hit the mark. Barry has bitten off more than he can chew, and wandered onto territory he doesn't understand, and it shows. Better, I think, having conceived of such a promising idea, to have handed it off to one of those other directors, who's name I previously mentioned. Burton or Gilliam would have made this something to behold! (Oddly, the name: Stanley Kubrick comes to mind here too, for me, and had he been asked to make this, it might even have left 2001: A Space Odyssey, in the dust!) But, for all that, I am, in some sense, pleased this exists, as it stands as a testament of a once adventurous, risk taking movie industry, that could, in order to open the door to the possibility of something new and exciting, who's influence may be felt for decades, be experimental, and accept the possibility of what this movie may come to represent: An indulgence, a folly, and a glorious monument to the idea of the spectacular failure. 1 person found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
mikewn 22nd Dec 2023		Nexus Generation: Fans And Filmmakers (2007)	Fans of Blade Runner discuss the lasting impact of the film, the way it has influenced many directors in the last 25 years and show of some of their most prized memorabilia.
henry29 21st Dec 2023		The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes (2023)	Image taken from the Original Film. H.
mikewn 21st Dec 2023		In Search Of Tomorrow (2022)	Preview... [YouTube Video]
mikewn 21st Dec 2023		Joke Man (2023)	Preview... [YouTube Video]
Magic Marmalade 20th Dec 2023		True Romance (1993)	:) Indeed, will have to make a list sometime of my favourite 90s movies! Meantime, enjoy: [YouTube Video]
alexlincs 19th Dec 2023		True Romance (1993)	@Magic Marmalade I couldn't agree more. Tony Scott reels in the pretentiousness that plagues Tarantino's later films. I still think he has the midas touch, but his latest films are just way too long. I also agree it's one of the best 90s films.
Magic Marmalade 19th Dec 2023		True Romance (1993)	Rated 10/10 "You're so cool... You're so cool... You're so cool..." I think this is actually one of my favourite "Tarantino" movies now, definitely my favourite Tony Scott movie, and certainly one of the top ten nineties movies for me. I've watched it so many times since release, and it just keeps getting better every time. Of course, at least half of this would be "cancelled" according to today's standards of social acceptability, especially the sublime Walken / Hopper scene, but that's where the authenticity of the characters lies. Not sure if this is one that Tarantino has now "disowned" (not being 100% him), but I believe he is still pretty pissed about Natural Born Killers, in any case, far be it for me to advise a movie making God on movie taste, but he would be dead wrong on both counts. For his brilliant, and uniquely Tarantino style, shone through the prism of Scott and Stone's (respective) directorial, and movie making talents offers something unique, and a more magical mixture than he alone could achieve, in this case. I know he wanted the story structure for this to be different, in order to leave questions that are only later, more progressively revealed as the movie goes on, but this linear structure works just fine for me. Following Clarence and Alabama (Slater and Arquette) as they meet, and fall in love after a whirlwind "Romance" (Clarence aptly Surnamed: Worley) and marriage, which opens a mafia / drug world / gangland sized can of worms, before venturing off on on a road trip / scam / gambit, and meeting a brilliant array of characters along the way, is an absolutely exhilarating ride, and a joy to behold. And as well as the hauntingly memorable theme by Hans Zimmer, which sweetens the the whole affair, there's an excellent Chris Isaak tune on the end credits to send you away happy: Two Hearts. (This song is now burned into the most difficult to reach parts of my brain at present, having watched it again! :) A stunner... And a must see. 1 person found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
mikewn 18th Dec 2023		Nick And Nicky (2023)	Preview... [YouTube Video]
mikewn 18th Dec 2023		The Activated Man (2023)	Preview... [YouTube Video]
mikewn 18th Dec 2023		Ouija Witch (2023)	Preview... [YouTube Video]
mikewn 18th Dec 2023		DC Down (2023)	Preview... [YouTube Video]
mikewn 18th Dec 2023		No Vacancy (2022)	Preview... [YouTube Video]
mikewn 18th Dec 2023		Rain Beau's End (2020)	Preview... [YouTube Video]
mikewn 18th Dec 2023		5th Borough (2020)	Preview... [YouTube Video]
mikewn 18th Dec 2023		Axcellerator (2020)	Preview...[YouTube Video]
mikewn 18th Dec 2023		Mea Culpa (2018)	Preview... [YouTube Video]
mikewn 17th Dec 2023		In Vino (2017)	Preview... [YouTube Video]
mikewn 17th Dec 2023		Confidence Game (2016)	Preview... [YouTube Video]
mikewn 17th Dec 2023		Videola (2016)	Preview... [YouTube Video]
mikewn 17th Dec 2023		The Networker (2015)	Preview... [YouTube Video]
Magic Marmalade 17th Dec 2023		No Retreat, No Surrender (1986)	Rated 3/10 Oh dear God! I remember seeing this when very young and thinking it was the most awesome movie ever! ...Bruce Lee, JCVD, and incredible fight choreography. Sadly not. Having found it again on DVD, and smiled at the prospect of watching it again after all these years, I watched mostly from the off, open mouthed at just how awful this is. Van Damme is only in it about three minutes at the start, and the final ten minute finale, giving a truly terrible performance (other than the fighting) as the broadest, identikit cold war Russian evil terminator type adversary, the acting by absolutely everyone is cringeworthy to an unfathomable degree, things happen for no reason I can figure in the story, such as the sensei at the beginning turns out to be the kids father... eh? he moves half way up the country, then suddenly makes friend instantly, who is a break0dancer for some reason, whom also has a fat shamed nemesis for reasons that are never explained, he acquires a girlfriend / love interest out of the clear blue sky, with precisely zero introduction, the Bruce Lee spirit thing is brief and vague at best, it's choppy in the edit, dialogue is awful, script... worse, and is truly stunningly awful. There are two things, however, that did make me laugh out loud: Firstly, he brings a wrapped present to this "girlfriend" that seems more than casually handled, and turns out to have a live rabbit, as a gift inside (Seriously, I was in tears of laughter at this! ...Secondly, imagine if you will, a "training montage", where our young protagonist is stretched between a bench and another piece of park furniture, suspended between each by only his neck at one end, and his ankles at the other, and he is bending at the waist, then straightening thus... which would be impressive on it's own, except for the fact that his new chum is sat where his intimate parts are, so this rhythmic bending and straightening, and therefore lifting of said chum around his... er... pivot, is quite possibly the most hilariously suggestive spectacle a human could witness :D - I almost died of laughter at this! The fight scenes are comedically sped up too. All of which makes for perhaps the most spectacularly bad movie I have possibly ever seen. You may have to watch it just to bear witness to just how terrible it really is. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
mikewn 17th Dec 2023		Crazy Town (2013)	Preview... [YouTube Video]

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