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The effects in this film were not only good but immensely stylish. The
take-off sequence of Jupiter 2 was breathtaking. Kitbuilders must be salivating over
some of this stuff! Video compilations and the soundtrack of the great original classic series also available. |
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The Classic Lost In Space TV Series!
Lost In Space Gift Set Episodes 4-6(1965) |
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The Truman Show, starring Jim Carrey and Ed Harris, represents a new departure
for Carrey. Moving away from the rubber faced, high energy comedies that made him famous,
he plays the part of Truman Burbank the unwitting star of the world's most popular soap
opera. Truman, chosen at birth, has lived the 30 years of his life up to the opening of
the film in the totally artificial environment of Seahaven, virtually his every moment
watched by millions of viewers around the world via thousands of hidden cameras. Every
other inhabitant of Truman's world is part of the huge cast watched over by the
show’s controllers led by the Svengali like figure of Christof (Harris). |
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The basic premise of Small Soldiers is relatively simple, a toy company makes new action toys incorporating advanced AI combat chips. A delivery of the toys ends up in the hands of young Alan Abernathy (Gregory Smith) who is minding his father’s toy store while the latter is away. They then proceed to run amok and much mayhem ensues involving Alan, his family and Christy Fimple (Kirsten Dunst) and her family (Notably Phil Hartman as her father in his last film role). However, the film proves to be a very superior produce, not only are the effects dazzling, seamlessly mixing the CGI toys with the real environment. More than adequate sums of money spent on the script and excellent performances from both the live actors and those voicing the soldiers and their opponents the Gorgonites. Tommy Lee Jones and Frank Langella are great as Chip Hazard and Archer. With members of the original Dirty Dozen and Spinal Tap providing the voices of the Soldiers and Gorgonites respectively. There is also a brief but excellent cameo from Robert Picardo as a computer scientist. There are numerous film pastiches, quotes and references ranging from the very recent to the classic, so many that multiple viewings are probably required to spot all of them. While the movie is aimed at the younger end of the market there is plenty to keep an adult audience entertained. (Gary) |
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack |
Star Trek: Insurrection The latest in the series of Star Trek movies continues the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the Enterprise, now in its E incarnation. The adventure once again has Jonathan Frakes at the helm as director following on from his success with "First Contact". Unlike it’s immediate predecessor, this film has much more of the feel of one of the two-part episodes of "Next Generation" with Picard and the crew battling against both aliens and the Federation itself to preserve the population of a planet which seems to offer the secret of eternal youth. F. Murray Abraham and Anthony Zerbe provide the main villainy, and it is up to Jean-Luc to stand up to them. While the plot is workmanlike it does not really provide the same spark of "First Contact" and no-one is really up to the standard of Alice Krige as the Borg Queen. However, there is more than sufficient of both action and the Star Trek elements of compassion and moral courage. With top-notch special effects the film is a visual feast. Where the film shines is in the characters, all the cast fit comfortably into their roles and all the crew get their moments to shine. Data particularly has some very humorous scenes. Also, unlike the previous movies, there is much more in the way of side plot and character interaction. As in the series members of the crew have continuing threads of sub-plot which would weave though the main story line -something that has become much more apparent in Deep Space Nine and Voyager. (Watch out for Max Grodénchik’s cameo as "Alien Ensign") It is noticeable in recent Trek that the "squeaky-clean" Federation has been getting a bit tarnished with adversity, expediency and political necessity bending its high ideals. This theme continues in "Insurrection", with Picard and his crew standing for those beliefs in the face of the moral decline of their political masters. While it is not one of the shining lights of the Star Trek canon,
"Insurrection" is by no means a bad film, is eminently watchable and is
certainly superior to the current crop of visual blockbusters whose makers forgot to pay
the scriptwriter. (Gary)
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Now available (USA) in two DVD editions |
THE MUMMY
The Mummy is the latest spin on the character Boris Karloff
first made famous in the 1932 film of the same name. The latest version, while retaining
elements of the classic story is a fast-paced action adventure reminiscent of the
adventures of Indiana Jones. In the lushly-gilded Land of the Pharaohs, the tale of the
love affair between the High Priest Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo) and the Pharaoh's mistress,
and its terrible consequences provide the background. Jump 3000 years and we meet
adventurer and French Foreign Legionnaire Rick O'Connell fighting off hordes of Arabs in
Hamunaptra, the fabled city of the dead, watched by a mysterious group of tribesmen. Three
years later, Egyptologist Evelyn (Rachel Weisz) is presented with a mysterious box by her
shiftless brother Jonathan (John Hannah) containing a map to the lost city. He had stolen
it from O'Connell who is in prison awaiting execution. Once Evelyn and John strike a deal
with the prison governor to free him, the group set out for Hamunaptra. They quickly
discover that a group of Americans guided by O'Connell's former comrade Beni (Kevin J
O'Connor) are also on the same quest. Surviving an attack by bandits, they reach the city
and commence digging. They are attacked by the same tribesmen that were watching O'Connell
on his first visit, who warn them to leave or die. Unsurprisingly, they ignore the warning
and in the course of their investigations release Imhotep. Bent on restoring himself and
resurrecting his former love, Imhotep pursues the characters to Cairo and there is much
death and mayhem before the final climactic battle in Hamunaptra. |
Also
special limited edition collector's set (USA) |
The Matrix Great script, fascinating storyline, award-winning acting, deeply observed character development - these and many other things this movie didn’t have - but hey, that wasn’t why you went to see it! Check your brain at the door, and if you have a hankering for totally awesome state-of-the art special effects, or just like looking at Keanu Reeves’ bod, this may well be the film for you. I sometimes felt it was composed of chunks of other films, as there were sequences which reminded me of scenes in Vertigo, Men in Black, Die Hard, and many others. It was difficult to see if this was a homage, a quiz for action movie buffs or a shortcut due to lack of ideas. But who cares? The effects are ace - people can move at high speed or run up walls in a completely convincing manner, and the monsters are suitably icky. There is some humour, quite a lot of which is intentional, and a love interest so rudimentary that if you don’t like squishy romance you need not be put off. The best performance is undoubtedly from Hugo Weaving as Agent Smith. Ker-reepy! One line will remain with me forever - all I have to do if I need to psych myself up is say "There is no spoon!" It works every time. (Linda) |
 Visit the on-line Star Wars Store! for Books, Music, Calendars and Toys.
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Star
Wars - The Phantom Menace Is there, I ask myself, much point in writing this review at all? If you are a fan of Star Wars and special effects you will probably already have seen it . If not, I am hardly likely to tempt you to do so. Because that is how one must judge the film, not by any standards relating to plot, script, or performance but according to how Star Wars it all was and how mind-blasting the effects. Of course any follow up can never, whatever the technology, have the same impact as the original, but given that, it is a worthy prequel. Lucas has very wisely (others take note) not attempted to meddle with the formula. From the first moment when the introductory words recede into the distance you just know that however uprated the effects, Lucas know his audience. The effects are not simply excellent - they are a whole lot more - they flood the screen, they come at you like a tidal wave and don’t let up for a moment. This is state of the art delivered in truckloads, not just a feast for the eye but deep pan with a filled crust. Whatever the problems may have been in the past with integrating live actors with CGI creatures, this case can now be marked 'solved'. My only real quarrel with the film is Jar Jar Binks, who I can add to the long list of film characters who I am meant to find amusing but actually find irritating. (this is no criticism of either the voice actor or the superb animation, but rather the concept of the character as endearingly clumsy). At one point in the film, Jar Jar is made into a General, presumably in the vain hope that in leading his army into battle he will he shot by the enemy thus saving everyone else the trouble. The robot armies were spectacular too look at, but dreadful shots and very easily mown down. No wonder they gave up using them in favour of the Stormtroopers. Queen Amidala’s costumes were spectacular and very imaginative - I had anticipated one brilliant costume throughout, but no, she had a new one for each scene - that girl must take forever to get dressed in the morning. The final light sabre duel was awesome. Watching Darth Maul twirl the double ended sabre all I could say was "Coooool!" Millions of kids of all ages will want to do just the same. The music was of the high standard we expect from a John Williams score. It was totally Star Wars in feel, and had a considerable part in creating the atmosphere of each scene.
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| Sleepy Hollow Superb Gothic drama with stunning visuals. The woods were never wilder and even the sheep are spooky. Based fairly loosely on the classic tale this has Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp starchily diffident) as a young Police Constable full of investigative zeal, sent to solve a series of supernatural beheadings. Depp gives a great performance, eye-catchingly twitchy, diving into horrors that have him flinching with terror and disgust. As the romantic interest Christina Ricci's considerable talents are underused. The rest of the cast are excellent, with cameos from some well-known classic artists. Swordplay and fights by the great Ray Park. Tim Burton directed, and one expects and gets strong atmosphere, with each scene lit like a painting of a ghostly fantasy. The pace and the tension never seem to flag. Effects by ILM are all one would hope for. (Linda) |
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| Toy Story 2 If you loved the first one, you'll love this too. It turns out that Woody is a classic toy and very valuable, so he is stolen by a collector as the crowning glory of his collection. He meets the other toys in the collection and this leads him to a moral dilemma - if he stays they will all go to be exhibits in Japan. If he escapes back to Andy he condemns them all to be packed away in crates. Meanwhile his friends are mounting a daring rescue plan. The animation is excellent as one would expect, but the strength of this one, what makes it better than the first is the clever pastiches of film, TV and video games, and the sheer ingenuity of the toys' plans. The toy collector is horribly realistic, the toy repairer an eerie little cameo, and the out-takes shown over the end credits are a hoot. The film even manages to evoke a genuine twinge of sadness as it addresses the question of what happens to toys after the child owner grows up. (Linda - who still has her teddy bear from when she was 2!) |
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The Blair Witch
Project and The Curse of the Blair Witch. If you haven't heard about this film by now it is because you will have spent the last year wandering in remote woodlands without a mobile phone. Some ran screaming from the cinema - some waited eagerly for everyone to die horribly - which were you? The story - teenagers being terrorised by the occult - is hardly new, but the method of production and the whole look of the film is. It intentionally has the look of a home movie so the audience feels very much inside the action, as if the observer is not outside the picture but is another unseen member of the doomed party. Disturbing and memorable. The Curse of the Blair Witch is the convincingly made mock-documentary about the story behind the Project. Stylistically it captures the "Tales of the Unexplained" kind of documentary extremely well. If you loved the film you will definitely want this companion piece. Some, including myself, prefer it to the film! Available from the USA in VHS format. Also there is a boxed set in VHS of the film plus the documentary.
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Gladiator. The
opening scene of battle is one of the most powerful evocations of the Roman war machine
ever brought to screen. It makes the point, vital in the rest of the film, that these are
experienced, hardened men, and no Barbarian horde can stand against them. As Maximus, Russell Crowe is the epitome of anguished heroism, fighting with
both brain and brawn, the man you definitely want on your side in a fight. Joaqin Phoenix
as Commodus doesn't actually make his horse a Senator but looks as though he might do any
moment. Connie Nielsen, as his sister Lucilla suffers in regal elegance, and gives a far
better performance than the script would seem to demand. Oliver Reed in his last film
performance is the only man who could carry off the line about the gay giraffes, and Derek
Jacobi proves that he is still great in a toga after all these years. |
