Reviews by Citizen Caine

Magnificent. First off, we have the top British cast of Stanley Baker, Sean Connery, Sid James, Gordon Jackson and David McCallum, (all who happen to be some of my favourite actors), as well as support from such legends as Peggy Cummings, William Hartnell, Herbot Lom, Jill Ireland and Wilfrid Lawson. But none compare to Patrick McGoohan (an upcoming favourite of mine) and his brilliant portrayl of the Irishman, 'Red', who is the driver to beat in a reckless race to see which of the haulage drivers can get the most runs in a day. Accepting the challenge of trying to beat Red, is the ex-con, Stanley Baker, who gives a very heroic and identifiable performance. It's an exciting, tense and brutal film, topped off with emotional scenes, such as the one's with Baker's brother, McCallum, whom Baker feels resposible for an accident involving an armed robbery. The black and white photography is atmospheric, with a great use of British icons, the post box and such.
It's a film which epitomises my love for British filmaking.
Sheer brilliance.

5/5

I'd read poor reviews for this film, but I've had a dvd copy of this for ages - thanks to a War Movie giveaway from the Daily Mail about a year ago. (I don't read that attrocious newspaper by the way). Anyways, I found this film thoroughly entertaining. Dirk Bogarde and Denholm Elliott star as SAS commandos who take part in a joint British-Greek mission to blow up air bases on the island of Rhodes, taken over by the Axis troops. Characterisation in abundance, this was a gripping thriller with some interesting scenes - notably a scene where wine is spilt over an important map, hiding from Italian soldiers (whilst being kicked in the face, naturally) and the almost Hitchcockian scene involving a church bell. The sort of film to watch on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
Great stuff.

4/5

The best adaptation of the novel. Bond and Leiter may have swapped nationalities (and changed fornames) but for the most part Barry Nelson is a very good Bond and he acts the part very well considering the film was broadcast on television, live! Michael Pate is excellent as "Clarence" Leiter, Linda Christian is decent as "Valerie" Mathis, but it's Peter Lorre who stands out as Le Chiffre. There are some very Bondian moments as well, such as Bond kissing Valerie before telling her that he knows she is working for Le Chiffre.
All in all, a good watch.

3/5

A great short film directed by Ahmed Imamovic, showing what can happen in just 10 minutes, through the eyes of a young Bosnian boy and his young family, during the Bosninan war - shot in just one take.
Powerful filmaking. Worth a watch.

4/5

A short by Shane Meadows, who's work I am starting to get into - This Is England is the other film of his I've seen. The entire 39 second production was shot on a mobile phone. This films proves that even with cheap technology and short runtime, something of interest can be created.

4/5

My first viewing of this masterpiece. Acted to perfection by every damn cast member. From the second the film started I was hooked, fully engrossed in the story. Marlon Brando is amazing as Terry Malloy, the former boxer, determined to put an end to the bullying and murder at the waterfront and along the way falls in love with Eide (brilliantly portrayed by Eva Marie Saint), a young woman whose brother was killed by the ruthless Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb). The story is absolutely enthralling.
Incredible.

5/5

Growing up with Lewis Carroll's wonderful stories, and being a big fan of the 1972 film with Peter Sellers, I didn't know what I'd make of Tim Burton's 're-imagining', although Burton himself doesn't like his film to be called such a word. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised, quite impressed even. I love that the film is so colourful and vibrant and much more of a fantasy land. I though it was very clever to include the Jabberwocky, which of course appeared on one of Carroll's more bizzare poems, unrelated to Alice. And Christopher Lee provides it's voice - cool. Mia Wasikowska is rather lovely too as Alice, with great support from Helena Bonham Carter and Anne Hathaway as the red and white queens. I can't make my mind up whether I enjoyed Johnny Depp's portayl of the mad hatter, and his rediculous dance with some sort of techno music, at the end of the film was put in there purely for the kids, like something I'd expect to see in the Shrek franchise. The same goes for Matt Lucas' Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Other than those few criticisms, I loved it. Carroll's wonderland? Or Burton's? Well, actually, cleverly, a bit of both.

4/5

I don't know where to begin. Perhaps nauseating isn't quite the word, but I felt increasingly sick throughout the film. In a good way I guess, as the film itslef is utterly brilliant, even if I couldn't really understand what the hell was going on. Can anyone? Other than the sexual and maternal subtexts, I was lost. But it didn't matter really. It's compelling, but sickening, the chicken carving scene a particular standout for me. Disgusting. Outstanding.

5/5

A lifeless, unengaging, dull and (obviously) heavily biased piece of Vietnam propaganda. It starts off well with the journalists questioning the soldiers about America's involvement in the war, but it soon descends into one unexciting action scene after another with John Wayne in a typical role. I've got to give credit to Raymond St. Jacques, Bruce Cabot, Jim Hutton and David Janssen for trying to inject some life into the film but they are just as forgettable. Poor old George Takei is once again cast simply for being Asian, but he does a decent job of his role as a badass "VC" killer. Alas, he needed more screentime to excell. The child actors are excellent but are undermined by the "this war is all about you" bias.

"I've directed two pictures and I gave the blacks their proper position. I had a black slave in The Alamo, and I had a correct number of blacks in The Green Berets." - A quote which sums up why I've never been a fan of John Wayne.

Awful.

1/5

I've read mixed opinions of this film and was interested in seeing it, so when it was required to be seen as part of a school project, I gave it a go. I don't feel it is as emotionally powerful as it sets out to be. The end is predictable and expected, thus lacking punch. The strengths of the film are the three masterful performances from Clint Eastwood, Hilary Swank and in particular, Morgan Freeman who highly deserved his oscar, in my opinion. But did the film itself deserve best picture? I haven't seen a lot of films from 2004, but it does seem like a weak year. Another criticism would be the inaccuracies that occur during the boxing matches. As far as I am aware, a fighter cannot be hit whilst on the floor, especially not in the face. And yet the film glamorises this on at least two notable occasions. I was surprised that the repertition of the film's main musical riff actually worked and, in it's favour, added a sad spirit to the film's proceedings. Overall then, a mixed bag, but not quite a disappointment, the performances of it's leads alone make it above average.

3/5