Reviews

My general opinion of this movie is along the same lines as most of the others that you can read below and above. My girlfriend and I took this movie out on a whim last week, and were very glad we did; we hadn't heard of it before, but saw that it had a fairly good cast, although the title was crap (in the UK it was released under the name 'Hostile Hostages'). As it was, the story was rather unimpressive; as correctly stated, it was hardly original. There were also one or two bits which were rather annoying, for example, the incompetent cops; what was the point? It just detracted from the rest of the movie. That said, a large part of the dialogue was sparkling, and as far as bickering goes, it was first class. Oh, and the ending was fairly crappy, but you excuse things like that when you've generally enjoyed what you've seen and heard. Overall, not a classic, but well worth the entire 99p we paid to hire it.

This film was going to be shown at a Charity Films night in a hall of residence, but it was Superbowl Sunday, so my girlfriend and I, along with a couple of friends, decided to borrow it instead to see if was as bad as all the reviews I had read said it was. Unfortunately, it was; most of the other reviews here have given plot details, so I won't bother; the only consolation was that what's-his-face was quite good at pretending to be what's-her-name, and that other guy, the one who looked a bit like Nigel Havers, wasn't all that bad. There were a couple of good bits, but I can't remember what they were. Oh, and the baddies were awful. So if you want to see a bad film which does not stretch you at all, see Air Force One. Erm, that's it.

Oh my god, this film is absolutely awful. I recommend it should be watched at all costs. It's inspired and imaginative, in very, very bad taste but ultimately worth the effort. I don't recommend watching it whilst eating your dinner.

I'm not sure- what can I say? I'm sure as hell that the story didn't make any sense, and it just seemed as if they were straining to make a mystery/intrigue sort of film as well as an actioner, and it really didn't work. The action scenes were pretty boring, the situation was contrived (did I mention that already?) and the acting, well, it's best just to leave that out altogether. If only they'd just concentrated on the actual fighting (i.e the good bits) then this could have been made fairly palatable. Anyway, the whole idea was stolen straight from 'The Prisoner'- they even had a great big ball in it, for God's sake. One question still reamins, though- where the hell did they get those mines? I've never seen anything like it.

In Summary:

I do want to like Jean Claude's movies, I just can't.

Mimic started really well, with lots of imagery and an altogether brooding atmosphere. The introduction of the characters was very human, and it was going really well, and there was a notable European influence on the proceedings. Now, I believe this was based on a short story, and it seemed obvious to me that the short story stopped about an hour into the film, because that is where the story became derivative and exactly the same as every other Hollywood movie ie 'How are we going to escape?''I'll go''No, I'll go'I can't go, I'm petrified''I'm injured''Kerpow kersplat'. It was such a disappointing end to a promising start. I would actually rate this film a 9 or 10 if it had been just the first half, but seeing how the second half was barely worthy of a 2, my overall mark has to go down a little accordingly.

In Summary: Nearly quite good.

The old adage of the simplest ideas being the best is once again demonstrated in this, one of the most entertaining films of the early 80's, and almost certainly Jon Landis' best work to date. The script is light and witty, the visuals are great and the atmosphere is top class. Plus there are some great freeze-frame moments to enjoy again and again. Not forgetting, of course, the great transformation scene which still impresses to this day.

In Summary: Top banana

Question: How can we possibly empathise with a group of crims, ex-crims and general good-for-nothings? Answer: Make sure that everythings goes against them. And so it goes, we have a healthy stock of characters you really can't take at all seriously, a plot that really doesn't stand up to too much close scrutiny (but it'll stand up to enough- it got the job done, right?) but action and humour in all the right places, all for a thoroughly engaging flick that stands up to repeat viewing again and again, even if it is just the Mini's scene. Oh, and let us not forget the ending...

In Summary: Bingo

I remember reading somewhere (it was one of the SF periodicals a couple of years back) that 'Dark City' was going to be a TV series. Obviously it isn't, but as a movie, it works incredibly well. I really enjoyed the dialogue, and I loved the mix of 50's nostalgia and 90's freak-outs. I think I need to watch it several times to check that the logic of the plot works (my memory is somewhat hazy), but what I did enjoy about the film was the strong sensation of being asked the question 'So what are you EXPECTING, exactly?'. Am I alone at laughing at the battle scenes? As I was almost completely unfamiliar with the film before I went to see it, a lot of the things took me by surprise, and it really held my attention. I'm not sure classifying it as Sci-Fi is entirely the way to go, but it's the closest we're going to get when we have to put up with absolute rubbish like Armageddon.

I think I need to watch it again. And again. And again.

In Summary: An underrated gem.

I've got to say that this movie truly is a complete piece of trash. I'm not joking, it is. But I love every single minute of it. It's got an atmosphere all of its own, and the worldwide gross of some $200 million really doesn't surprise me. Stylistically, it's an absolute treat, plot-wise, well, they needn't have bothered (and I don't think they did), and the songs have to be heard to be believed, but how many films can claim such a good-time, hard-core audience as this?

In Summary: Oh my God!

I had pretty bad expectations of this film. I'd seen trailers and read reviews, and it left me in a state of thinking 'Why the hell are they sending an astrophysicist to the bottom of the ocean?'. Luckily for me, they resolved that problem in the first few minutes, and from thereon in, I was pretty pleased with how the film turned out. Being unfamiliar with the book (other than its basic theme) I didn't really know what to expect, and the film kept the tension up admirably and kept me guessing to the end. I actually felt that all the main players did a good job, and even though the dialogue did occasionally sway towards being wisecracks, there was enough substance for you to actually care. I'm not sure whether it was quite worthy of the 9 I gave it, but I did feel it was worth more than the 5 point something it was running at when I voted.

In Summary: Very nearly a very good SF movie

I really enjoyed this movie. I know, I know, peddling cliches a little, but at the end of the day, it was the most visually fascinating and interestingly cast movies of all time. Now, people seem to be suggesting that the plot was a bit confused- I seem to be missing that a little, as I found nothing wrong with it. True, it was all a bit Saturday matinee, but it had lots of things going ape at once, and that can't be bad, can it? Plus, for someone like me, it was a case of 'Spot the familiar face', which is always a bit of fun.

In Summary: Bravo

I was intrigued by this movie- it left a lot to be desired in the plot department, and the script was nothing I hadn't heard before, but it was left nicely open ended, and you generally didn't know who was going to die. It's a great movie to go and see with people who haven't seen it before and who are easily scared.

Visually, I didn't think that much of it. It actually reminded me a lot of 2010, actually. One thing that did make it for me, though, was the music, but being a big fan of Orbital, that wasn't surprising.

In Summary: Nice

This is a great little picture- humour, empathy, engaging characters, plot, a neat little script and good performances all round. True, looking back on it, it may seem a little juvenile, but how could the story of a kid and his nutty professor type friend be anything else?

In summary: Top banana

This was quite probably the worst film I have ever seen in my life. The only reason I didn't walk out was because I wanted a lift home. Oh, so you want details? Trust me- no you don't.

In Summary: Worse than physical torture