matt-mccabebrown

Trying the cram a conflict as complicated and divisive as the Vietnam War into a single documentary cannot have been easy. At 10 hours in length, you get the feeling that it could have been double that and still not have covered it all. Whats been made though is comprehensive, remarkable, fascinating, frightening, saddening, humbling and utterly unmissable. This was the first war to be shown in detail live on TV and there is no softening it, nor is there any glamorising of what really was a brutal conflict. This should be part of any world leaders induction package, that they watch this and World at War. It really is that good and that important.

There is no denying that this is a big budget bible story made for the big screen, which takes massive liberties with the 'subject material'. You can therefore, in my opinion, view this as either Biblical Propaganda, or actually a half decent Fantasy movie with the solid actors. Personally I approached this movie that the latter approach. For me its a work of pure fiction and as I have no strong religious beliefs, I have none to offend and so found a good little movie. The cast is solid, with Crowe, being Crowe frankly. All the support players act well enough, but there's not one performance that makes you think, wow! The film looks and sounds good and is clearly well made. So in a nutshell; If you approach this in the same way you would The Hobbit, I think you'll enjoy it, but if you think you're expecting 'god' to show up on screen and heal the world, you'll hate it

There is a great trend of Kids on a mission movies. Just look at Stand By Me, the Goonies and ET and now JJ Abrams has tried to revamp the idea for modern audiences. I say try, because sadly there is absolutely nothing new in this whatsoever. Mysterious attack on a gas station by an unknown force? Check. Quiet lead character lost a love one? Check. Same quiet lead character is in love with a seemingly unavailable girl? Check. Group of misfits? Check? Antagonistic military? Check. Seemingly evil monster, that turns out is actually nice but misunderstood? BIG FAT CHECK. I could go on and on. Filmed in the usual Abrams style (thats either good or very bad) the story in set in the very late seventies and revolves around a group of kids making a zombie movie using the Super 8 camera of the title, but they get more than they bargained for when a train crashes (and my word, what a train crash. Imagine the Fugitive ramped up to eleven) when they are out filming a scene. Its not all bad thou. Yes there are no real surprises, but overall it is well made and well acted, but as a previous reviewer has stated, if you've seen Close Encounters, ET, Cloverfield or The Goonies you know exactly what to expect. What I wanted was a new take on the Goonies. What I got was Cloverfield with kids. The flippin monsters even look the same.

When describing Jim Morrison, Denis Leary famously said 'Do we need a two hour movie about The Doors? I don't think so. I can sum it up for you in five seconds. I'm drunk I'm nobody, I'm drunk I'm famous, I'm drunk I'm ###### dead' Now, I like Denis Leary and have always found him entertaining in both his acting roles and especially his stand up, but on his opinion on the late Jim Morrison I have to strongly disagree. Morrison was a fascinating man and this remarkable little documentary goes some way of capturing the essence of the man. Interlacing sequences for the film HWY: An American Pastoral, which itself is half dream half film, the documentary portrays The Doors in their rightful place as the zeitgeist for revolution. If there is one downside, it is that it concentrates too much time on Morrison, leaving little time for the remaining members of the band. It does however go without saying that without Morrison, The Doors wouldn't have been half the band they were, so maybe that's fair

I'm biased. I love my motorbikes and I love motorbike racing, so realistically this review may be unfair. Compressing the 2010 British Superbike Championships into 90mins, the film manages to keep the pace going, but it does get repetitive, with the races passing at a rate of knots. Its is nicely filmed and uses footage and commentary from the very knowledgeable chaps at Eurosport, which any motorbike fan will enjoy and sadly this is ultimately the film's undoing. There is nothing here that a non bike fan will like. There I've said it. Sorry, but there really isn't. It concentrates on four riders. Tommy Hill, Josh Brooks, Stuart Ellison and Gary Mason. Again if you've followed BSB, you already know the results, but the film does try and give you glimpses of the family behind the scenes to give some idea of what else needs to be done, but realistically, there just isn't enough there. I enjoyed this film, but it is really a season review with some footage of loved ones chucked in for good measure. A true Marmite film, you will either love it or loathe it

Before I start let me just say that I should have liked this movie, I really should. The remake, which this is the sequel for, was an great little 'leave your brain at the door, sit down and buckle up' movie. This however is just bad and not just in a could have been better, but in a could hardly have been much worse kind of way. I can see what the producer has tried to do. Take a successful movie, copy the format, but don't spend very much money on cast or plot. From what I can tell two members of the original cast, those playing List and K14 (I cant be bothered checking up the actors names) reprise their roles, but add next to nothing to their respective characters. The other characters are almost carbon copies of those from the original film. You have the white shaved head pretty boy (Luke Goss in for Statham), the big black man, the white supremacist, the ice maiden pulling the strings, the craggy weather worn mechanic (Trejo replacing Mcshane), the sexy female prisoner and the Mexican (i assuming here, as his screen time last about 30 seconds as he's introduced and then killed). The plot is dreadful, full of holes but still tries to explain the origin of the original Frankenstein, who dies at the start of the remake. As a result the cars don't turn up in the movie until almost an hour in. This hour is filled with some poor set pieces with lots of slow mo. I would just like to take this moment to let the director know, that in my opinion, slow mo doesn't give the film an element of class or sophistication, but just takes up running time. There are exceptions however, with filmmakers such as John Woo and Peckenpah who use it to accentuates the violence and not use it as some cheap art trick. None of the set pieces have that 'wow' factor seen in the remake when the big artic turns up. The fights are poor and appear clumsy, but this is more a case that the bar has been raised so high with fighters from previous years, that this film really struggles. Plot holes are plenty, my favourite, if that is the right word to use, is how they managed to change a 69 fastback Shelby mustang into a 2009/10 Shelby. Some will argue that they would have got a new one, but they clearly explain that everything they will need is already on the island, but using a '69 so prominently as a plot tool was a massive error. Okay maybe thats a little anal, but it still annoyed me and just don't get me started on the moment a car manages to keep a missle behind like a scene from Top Gun. The acting is pretty grim as well. Luke Goss, who was really rather good in Blade 2, just cannot match Captain Cardboard himself Jason Statham and is throughly unconvincing. Sorry Luke, but that accent was shocking as well. Trejo is well Trejo (take from that what you will) Ving Rhames just phones it in as the mogul in charge, or Ceasar as he calls himself at one point, and what the hell is Sean Bean doing? This man can act, he has proved it time and time again? Here he's playing a crimeboss caught between the loyalty of a friend and the loyalty of his wallet. I though his worst film was the Hitcher, not anymore its not. The sound design is dreadful, worse than Die Hard 4, with many notable moments when the lips don't synch and the sound effects and music appear rehashed from the first film. I could go on and if I were down the pub with you I probably would. If you want 100mins of auto carnage with a stupid story that will leave you content at the end, just re-watch the Statham film, you'd feel much better about yourself.

I had just finished reading an account of life in the gas chambers by a sonderkommando by the name of Filip Muller. I have also seen other documentaries regarding the holocaust including Shoah so I thought I was ready. How wrong could I be? This is quite possibly the scariest, most disgusting, fascinating and horrific film that I have ever seen. About fifteen minutes in I was nearly weeping. We've all heard the stories through the media but nothing can prepare you for the sights you see during the films short duration. To say it packs a punch isn't doing this film justice. As horrific as this film is, is pales in comparison to the actual events bestowed upon those nine million plus executed during the war. The world needs films like this. Everybody should know what happened, the truth, not the watered down pre 21:00 version, but the cold hard naked truth. We must not forget, lest we allow this to be repeated. What sends a chill down my spine is that although I write this sixty years after the fact, this film is as relevant as when it was made. Mass exterminations still plague our planet but still we wait, watch and wait for someone else to deal with it.

I heard about this movie somewhere and it intrigued me. Man designs a bear proof suit. Sounds pretty cool I thought. Found the poster. Saw the suit. Looks pretty cool I thought. Rented the film. Saw the film. What a chump I thought. Don't get me wrong, Mr Troy Hurtubise's dedication to his cause is highly respectable. He has clearly spent vast amounts of his time and money designing and building this suit, which he intended to use to study grizzly bears up close and personal, without fearing for his life. The film is pretty much structured in two halves. In the first half, Troy is pretty much hanging with his family and friends, most of whom seemed as bored of their lives and everyone around them. (The scene in the diner is priceless). Troy shows off his suit with a series of tests and odd stunts. Whilst wearing the suit (The mark VI) he gets his pals to swing huge logs into his chest, beat him up with baseball bats and pool cues. They even shoot the suit at one point. Don't worry even Troy wasn't dumb enough to be inside it at the time. Showing the suit off in an urban environment, its clear that he practically immobile, which makes the second half so funny. When they eventually get to "Grizzly Country" he finds out to his horror that he can't even stand in it on rough ground and keeps falling over. The look of despair on his face would be really sad if it weren't so funny. He spends five days up in the mountains, spends his time talking gibberish, showing off his knives and moaning about the suit. He even shaves with his massive bowie knife like Crocadile Dundee. Troy tries so hard to come across as a mans man. But to me, it just seemed he was trying so hard to escape the monotony of his boring day to day life that he couldn't see the forest for the trees

I really enjoyed this movie. Yes the relationship between Connery and the now Mrs Douglas is a touch on the creepy side, but don't let this fool you. I seem to remember the film getting absolutely panned when it came out, which i think was a little unfair. Its no Du rififi chez les hommes or Heat which are two of the best heist movies ever made, but Entrapment is no Lost in Space (sorry couldn't think of a rubbish heist movie). Nicely paced and not overlong, Entrapment is a nice way to spend an evening losing yourself with a nice cup of tea and a biscuit. Connery and Zeta Jones are supported by the ever dependable Ving Rhames and Will Patton who both appear to be enjoying their parts. In my opinion worth a watch. What have you got to lose???

I loved the Ipcress File, and enjoyed Funeral In Berlin. Caine's Harry Palmer was cheeky but very effective. In Billion Dollar Brain he's just plain incompetent. Now we all know that Caine can act, but he just phones it in for this one. After a, what can only be described as a very poor attempt at a bond styled credit sequence, Harry is coerced back into British intelligence and is given orders to infiltrate a fascist organisation through an old friend (played by Karl Maldon). It turns out the the organisation is run by a millionaire Texan and a super computer (the Billion Dollar Brain from the title), who are determined to help "free" countries, such at Latvia, from Communism. The elimination of the "invading force" is just plain stupid. Just who, when wanting to invade a country, drives their entire force over frozen lake/river. All the the "good guys" have to to is drop some some bombs, crack the ice and watch all the cars sink to the icy bottom. Which is just what they do. After 100 plus mins the film finished and I realised that I would never get that time back. That thought has haunted me ever since. My only hope is that this review will save others from a similar fate. If you want to watch a good sixties spy movie, hunt down the Ipcress File or just watch a Bond movie. Billion dollar brain is disappointing and fairly stupid.

I was doing some sale shopping searching randomly through an online webs-tore, when i came across Bullet Train. I noticed that it starred Sonny Chiba, an actor who Quentin Tarantino has honoured with a great deal of praise. So I bought it. Thankfully, it was the full 152min R2 version from Optimum (I understand the previous edit was fairly poor, judging by other comments I have read). The picture and sound quality were superb. The the original dialogue sounded crisp throughout, and with the full 2:35 anamorphic widescreen print available, the DVD was a very enjoyable watch. Although Sonny Chiba gets top billing here, he has a glorified cameo appearance throughout, only once venturing away from his chair at about the 2hr 10min mark. This film belongs, and rightfully so to Ken Takakura. He plays the bomber Okita, a role which he plays with such precision and empathy that you want him to get away at the end of the movie. This being an action/thriller movie, we all know he won't. In an ending similar to Bullitt, the final chase takes place on/near an airport runway. The final shot of which is, albeit of a violent act, is beautiful in its execution. Some of the model work is a bit on the dodgy side, but it was made in 1975. As all of the characters are well rounded, we get a rare insight into the bombers gang, which I have never seen in the type of film. We find out how Okita first met he assailants in flashbacks when things start to go pear shaped. Better than Speed (which is still an excellent popcorn movie) but for different reasons. Well worth the time and effort to watch. Just make sure your get the original 152min Japanese language version. It makes all the difference.

I must say this from the start. I am a big Eastwood fan, both as an actor and director. Therefore I may be a little bias in my review. This has to be, one of the greatest looking films ever made. I will so far as to say that some of the scenery is comparable with Laurence of Arabia. It truly is breathtaking. Monument Valley has such vivid warm colours, reds, oranges and yellows. What really helps is these are perfectly juxtaposed against the cold greys and whites of the Eiger itself. The story itself follows a fairly standard theme, IE, a retired assassin is being pulled out of retirement for one last job, because he is the only one capable of performing the said "sanction". The film starts fairly slowly, building up Eastwood's character and his relationship with he "employer" dragon, who I must say is a marvellous creation in terms of creepy good/bad guys. After about an hour into the movie, Eastwood's Character gets into gear and arrives at monument valley and then finally heads off to the Eiger, to climb the mountain and find the assassin. The final hour raced by for me, with the breathtaking scenery framing the story beautifully. With a great support cast and a story that in todays culture of remakes, is nice and original, if only in its setting. A great movie, when it gets going

I watched this last night and throughly enjoyed it. Shot with a similar style and flair to Harlins Deep Blue Sea, the film pushes all the right buttons in all the right places. There is very little original with this film, but each actor does play their parts well. The only real gripe I have, is that when it starts hitting the fan, these highly trained FBI profiler wannabees panic. They seem to forget all that they've learnt making the solution to their problems that much harder. Oh and Johnny Lee Millers accent. Although the "serial killer" idea has been done to death, if you'll excuse the pun, there are some clever moments. The domino scene was a nice surprise. Well executed, but just like in Deep Blue Sea, a major player gets bumped off fairly early. I found this a good pizza Sat evening with your buddies kind of movie. Like I said. Formulaic, but fun

There are many films that people will class as great when good will suffice. Capricorn One is an exception. This truly is a great great film. Filled with believable performances from Elliot Gould, Hal Holbrook and a cornerstone performance from James Brolin, the story follows the events when NASA are forced, for purely economic reasons, to fake a Mars landing. I have been a fan of this film ever since I saw it on TV when I was young. It has remained a film I can come back to again and again and continue to draw new elements. Peter Hyams's use of the "faceless" helecopters as they start to hunt down the escaping astronauts is taught, exciting and very impressive. Filled with great wide shots to show the expanse of desert and great characters (I particularly like the governor, played by David Huddleston, and his exchange at the start of the film with the tour guide) I know that the film is good, not just because I enjoy watching it, but by the fact that every time I see it I cannot help think "What if this is how man walked on the moon all those years ago?"