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Reviews
Plunkett & Macleane (1999)
Strange, but I liked it!
I had to watch this twice before I could make up my mind about it. The first viewing - 21st century dialog and disco music laid over reasonably authentic looking old world visuals - comes as such a surprise, it forces you to abandon everything that you were expecting. Once you have gotten into the open frame of mind that the movie asks for, it's a riot: action by the bucketload and alternately funny and oddly moving as Plunkett and Macleane's partnership changes from a wary 'marriage of convenience' to true friendship. The acting is excellent all round, and Liv Tyler's luscious Rebecca is fun and interesting in herself. One of my very few disappointments was that the last ten or fifteen minutes seemed to be rushed, giving me a slight feeling of, "Huh? Is it finished?" when the titles rolled. Overall, excellent. Probably gives a more filthy, revolting and accurate impression of the 18th century than any official period drama. 8/10
The Mummy (1999)
Fun, fun, fun!
Dracula meets Raiders of the Lost Ark! I have absolutely no idea why The Mummy gets billed as a horror movie, because it isn't frightening for one second - but it isn't meant to be. The walking Egyptian dead idea might have been spine chilling to Karloff's original audiences, but it's plain hammy now. The Mummy guys have taken this revelation and run with it, ending up with a gloriously hammy and lively movie. Brendan Fraser is perfect, a handsome action man who delivers every line with his tongue firmly in his cheek, and Rachel Weisz is ditzy without being too dumb. Oh, and there's the always watchable John Hannah as an added treat, playing the brother who's the central source of comic relief, but who manages to come out as something of a hero himself. For anyone raised on Indiana Jones, this is a pure delight.