Reviews

"Col. Dax" (Kirk Dougas) is cajoled by "Gen. Broulard" (Adolphe Menjou) into taking his Great War weary regiment on one last mission in occupied France. Frankly, it's little better than a suicide one, but his operational commander "Gen. Mireau" (George Macready) is determined at all costs that they succeed. Let battle commence! Only the French soldiers quickly realise that they are facing a well armed, immovable, German opponent and are either killed or driven back. Desperate to motivate his men, "Mireau" gives an order that is luckily not acted upon and with the mission deemed a failure and many of the men now in the relative safety of their trenches, the general orders a court martial for cowardice of three of the survivors. "Dax" is appalled but a trial there must be... Are the right people being tried and is the outcome a mere formality? I saw a 16mm print of this rather gripping and...

Madness and Patsies Crash Together In Kubrick's Explosive Thunderbolt. Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory is holding up rather well these days, in fact it's as pertinent and relevant as ever. It's 1916 and the French and German armies are in opposing mud trenches, when the French are ordered to undertake a suicidal assault on a German held hill, many of the soldiers are quick to realise it's an impossible order to see through to its conclusion and retreat, something which brings charges of cowardice from the military hierarchy. Someone must take the fall... Withdrawn from circulation in France at one time, unreleased in Spain as well, Paths of Glory is a shattering indictment on military hierarchy. On those General types who watch from afar through telescopic sights as men and boys are led like lambs to the slaughter, then off they go to their dinning rooms to gorge on wine and...

It wasn't just insanity and murder, there was enough of that to go around for everyone. Apocalypse Now is directed by Francis Ford Coppola who also co-adapts the screenplay with John Milius from Heart of Darkness written by Joseph Conrad. It stars Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Laurence Fishburne, Dennis Hopper, Harrison Ford, Frederic Forrest, Sam Bottoms and Albert Hall. Cinematography is by Vittorio Storaro and the music is primarily arranged by Carmine Coppola. The Vietnam War and Captain Benjamin L. Willard (Sheen) is approached by American intelligence to go on a secret assignment: he's to follow the Nung River into the remote Cambodian jungle to find and assassinate Colonel Walter E. Kurtz (Marlon Brando), a member of the US Army Special Forces who has gone insane. One of the most talked and written about films of all time, Apocalypse Now remains to this day a...

*One of the greatest films ever made* The original "Apocalypse Now" is an awe-inspiring masterpiece and is my all-time favorite film. Memorable scenes abound, starting with the mind-blowing opening with Willard (Martin Sheen) having a mental breakdown in his sweltering Saigon hotel room to the tune of The Doors' "The End." Speaking of Sheen, people overlook the fact that he expertly carries the film. His haunting commentary is one of the most effective narrations in cinematic history and hooks the viewer into the nightmare-adventure. I could go on and on about the noteworthy scenes, but I'll resist, except to comment on Col. Kurtz: Was he really insane or actually a bold genius? General Corman informs Willard: "He's out there operating without any decent restraint, totally beyond the pale of any acceptable human conduct. And he is still in the field commanding troops." And, yet, Kurtz...

I think a lot of people who think this film is a classic are deranged, the only memorable scene in the film is when they drop exploding napalm and the guy in the hat says "I love the smell of napalm in the morning", the rest of the film is a completely boring bombshell and it's like the film was high on drugs as there's this one part where people are butchering a cow in the most grotesque way possible... poor cow, now I'm offended by this film. This film is just weird, the characters are not memorable at all not even Marlon Brando's character, the story is non-existent and the ending just sucks. Overall this film is absolutely terrible and I don't care what others think, I did not enjoy this film at all.

Ponderous, meandering epic with a few bright spots. This film is about a soldiers quest to find a renegade and insane Colonel (a bald Brando in an extended cameo) who has hidden himself away in the depths of the jungle and is causing all manner of commotion. Quite what it was - I can't remember, but it was important enough to go down stream in search of him. Sheen's character decides to head down river with his fellow soldiers and seek out the bald lunatic before its too late. Robert Duvall is hilarious as a war immune soldier - especially when a shell explodes near him and he merely gives it a disinterested glance. Amusing! On the whole, though, this is a ponderous trip - the film seems to meander aimlessly with little to keep this viewer interested. - Ian Beale

The worst of the worst Leone Westerns. Leone destroyed the Westerns with his garbage, but the blame goes on to the critics who praised his lack of motivation, lack of inspiration, lack of credibility, lack of entertainment value, lack of strategy, just a total lack. This is the worst of his stupid Westerns. It's the most contrived of his contrived Westerns. It's another "classical Greek hero" story of gods, demigods, and cannon fodder. The more of a homicidal maniac you are, the more of a god you are. Great message. Here, we have a traditional Greek demigod hero who is out for revenge, the usual Hollywood formula. He wants to kill Frank, whose only motivation is sadistic killing, because Fank killed his brother. So, what does our traditional hero do? He kills everyone else but Frank, including men who are trying to kill Frank (Henry Fonda). I told you it was stupid, and that there was no...

I can't say that this script doesn't play on Clint Eastwood's "Man with No Name" (which Sergio Leone also directed), but it's not important. If you're a spaghetti western fan, this film is a step up. The idea of putting Fonda in a bad guy role, and casting Bronson as anti-hero was a little shocking at first. At the end, I see how it worked to film's advantage by making all the characters more complex, ambiguous and real. If you were a Clint Eastwood, you'll love this film.

With apologies (not really) to fans who disagree, this is truly a classic western. I read a criticism that some scenes run long with agonizingly lengthy close-ups, but I found the cinematography intriguing. Those shots divulge nearly as much into the characters' personalities as a wad of dialogue from older traditional westerns. Sometimes in a spaghetti western I find myself thinking, aw, why did that innocent person have to die, but innocents did die in the old west, I imagine. I am sure there was a lot of senseless violence then, just as there is now. And Bronson seemed like an odd choice as hero to me, though who can question a director who had the instinct to make perennial good guy Henry Fonda the ultimate villain? He didn't suck in this role, did he? And at least we get some back story with the harmonica playing Bronson character, unlike with old Blondie from Leone's The Good The...

All what you can expect from a western.

The Matrix completely changed the landscape of special effects, world-building, and cinematography, cementing itself in the halls of cinema glory as one of the most innovative films of all time. I remember watching this movie for the first time as a 9-year-old and having my mind blown wide open! After rewatching it almost 25 years later, this movie is still a groundbreaking and breathtaking masterpiece. It’s hard to believe The Matrix came out in 1999 with the quality of effects and production it showcases that still hold up in many ways to modern films. But it’s more than the effects. The cinematography serves as the eyes of the audience with clever angles and shots, putting the viewer right in the middle of the action. The editing, sound, and visual effects all won Oscars. The fight choreography was as cutting edge as John Wick was in 2014 with its gun-fu. The Matrix created a...

You had me the moment you stopped Trinity in mod air, spun the camera around her, and then let her deliver that vicious kick. And that was at the start of the film. That was the best opening ever. That was, when it was 1999 and you saw it in the theater for the first time, the "WOW" moment that you can only assume is what the people who were old enough to see A New Hope felt in the theaters back in 1977. From the start it was just mind blowingly cool... and then the soundtrack kick serious butt, and the plot, the plot was just pure science fiction fun! And it held it, the look, the sci-fi fun, the absolute stylized coolness through out the movie to one of the coolest climaxes of any 90s film. It set the high water mark for sci-fi action. It was one of those movies that re-defined a genre.

It was around 2001 that I first watched this film and recently giving it another go, ever since, doesn't change the fact for me that this movie is an timeless piece of filmaking. From the characters to the striking and thought-provoking story, it basically has everything to make an action film a 10/10 in a book.

The Martix is a great example of a movie that will live for ever or a very log time. The story and concept are out of this world. Keanu Reeves plays his role with utter brilliance, the cast was very well put together and the graphics are still to this day amazing. All in all one of the best movies of all time.

Evangelion: Shinji is completely useless and whimpers for 90 minutes straight If you thought the series' ending was bad... This is somehow even worse! I think Shinji is depressed and hates his father... we can't really know for sure from the 100 times he told us that. I wish they really pushed the message one more time to be sure. Quality "deep" writing and peak anime story telling!

Ace! 'Sunset Boulevard' is a splendid flick from 1950. I will note that I found the middle to be ever so slightly less interesting than the beginning and ending, though even so overall I most definitely enjoyed watching it. Love the dialogue, the score is excellent too. William Holden and Gloria Swanson are tremendous together onscreen, in what is a supremely well told story.

"Gillis" (William Holden) is a down-at-heel script writer who is struggling to keep his head above water. Not having had any successes for a while, his car is about to be repossessed and his erstwhile boss "Sheldrake" (Fred Clark) has nothing for him. On the run from the pursuing repo men, he turns his car into the drive of a decaying old mansion. Hiding his car in the garage, he is mistaken by the house's owner for an undertaker - she has a small matter that needs attending too! Realising her error she demands he leave, but not before he mentions what he does for a living. She has a script. Hundreds of pages of script - and she offers him a job, champagne and caviar if he will edit and refine it so "Norma Desmond" (Gloria Swanson), a retired former silent movie star, can present it to her favourite director Cecil B DeMille and restart her glorious career. Initially just seeing dollar...

One of the great films of Hollywood's golden age. This movie is really special. Not only does it show us a lot about the world of Hollywood during its golden age, but it also reveals a lot about the actors' egos, vanities and their titanic struggles to preserve their careers and stay in the limelight. Brilliantly directed by Billy Wilder, it is considered by many to be one of the great movie classics, combining entertainment, artistic value and cultural relevance. In 1951, it won three Oscars (Best Screenplay, Best Art Direction in a Black and White Film, Best Comic Film Soundtrack) and could perfectly have won one more, for Best Actress. But awards like these are never completely fair, especially in years so fertile for good films. Starting with the iconic scene of the dead man in the pool, the film intrigues us, and curiosity grips us, as the film shows how it all happened,...

A classic for the must to be seen list. Gloria Swanson is magnificent.

Funny and moving for a difficult topic to talk about. François Cluzet and Omar Sy perform amazingly well although the rest of the cast is also very good.