g-hbe Reviews

In Harm's Way (1965)

Ridiculous

[3/10 · 5 April 2024]

I'm not going to write a full review of the film here, mainly because I gave up on it after about 20 minutes. What on Earth was a young lady doing in a 60's mini-dress and dancing like that in 1941? In fact the whole thing, including the attitudes of the sailors and their manner of speaking is more 60's than 40's. Of course there are many films which make terrible faux-pas regarding dress, language and props, but this one is so blatant it might seem deliberate. I'm surprised John Wayne didn't speak out about it, but maybe he wasn't aware until it was too late. Sorry I can't write more, but this film isn't worth it.

Wrongfully Accused (1998)

Misses the mark

[5/10 · 9 March 2024]

Oh dear. An attempt to re-create the humour of the Zuckers & Abrahams as seen so well in Police Squad, Airplane and Naked Gun doesn't work here. There are too many gags, most of which are weak and unfunny, and in fact the film would have been better with fewer but better jokes and better writing generally. Attempts to make *everything* funny is always doomed to failure. There were a few moments that had me chortling, but overall I'd give this film a 5 at best. Looking at Leslie's filmography, I see he's done one with title '2001: a Space Travesty' and another called 'Men with Brooms' - maybe they'll be worth a look?

Sweet Smell of Success (1957)

Wow.

[8/10 · 2 March 2024]

We've avoided this film until now as we thought it might be 'unpleasant' viewing. It was, but it was absolutely riveting. Almost everyone is evil, conniving, selfish,brutal and abusive - abusive of power and abusive of those they consider of lesser value than themselves, which is almost everyone. It's filmed in an almost noir style and the appearance of the film itself says a lot. Some films are made in black & white, but this one makes a point of it. It is crisp and very contrasty, and in the exterior night-time scenes the reflections of the club and shop signs bring a certain glamour. As for the story, there is very little to it, just a self-obsessed gossip columnist who wants to break his sister from her jazz musician boyfriend and uses his press agent to do it. Performances from Lancaster and Curtis are brilliant, and everyone else steps up to the mark too. As the credits rolled, we sat in silence before we just said 'wow'. I could watch it again just to spot the finer details.

The Naked Face (1984)

Moore turns up the heat!

[7/10 · 25 February 2024]

Having grown up watching 'The Saint' and The Persuaders as well as his Bond films, I had become accustomed to Roger Moore's rather bland, smooth on-screen personality. Even in films such as 'North Sea Hijack' and 'The Man who haunted Himself' he rarely showed any real emotion. But here he gets angry - properly angry - as he comes up against Rod Steiger's investigating officer who seems from the outset to have something against him and would be quite happy to pin the crimes on him. Elliot Gould does his usual schtick of being a bit wooden but quite appealing, much the same as he played the reporter in 'Capricorn One'. Very entertaining throughout, but I wasn't too impressed with the ending, which almost seemed to appear out of nowhere.

The Fence (IV) (2022)

Neat.

[8/10 · 10 January 2024]

An entertaining little film about the highs and lows (mainly lows) of council estate life in the 80's. Lots of low level, petty dealings going on and some serious violence including the death of a friend from drug use, and when a motorbike goes missing things get more serious. Great 80's vibe and soundtrack and there are some really smart 70's cars on show, including the Ford Escort 2 litre and - right at the end of the film - Gibsy's beautiful green Triumph. Some good lines too, including 'brown bread? I didn't know you were GAY!' Some of the dialogue is difficult to follow due to the actors' mumbled delivery.

A Christmas Story (1983)

A funny and heartwarming story.

[9/10 · 24 December 2023]

We love a good Christmas film here, but this one seems to have passed us by until now. We watched it last night with a bottle of wine and really enjoyed it. Very funny in parts, and with a warm and affectionate atmosphere throughout, it knocks more modern efforts for six. Darren McGavin is on top form as Dad and in fact everyone is just great. I love the way everyone in town tells Ralphie he'll 'shoot his eye out' if he gets the BB gun for Christmas, and he very nearly does! And of coures there are the local trouble-causers who get their just rewards as must always be the case. If you haven't seen this, go get it.

Mission: Impossible (1966–1973)

Clever but variable.

[8/10 · 4 October 2023]

I loved this when it was first shown, but IIRC I drifted away from it as time went on. Some of the plots should have been called 'Mission Ludicrous', such was their improbability. But even then it was a very clever show and the writers deserve credit for thinking up such outlandish stories. The actors also should get some recognition for delivering their talents with a straight face. Despite Steven Hill's general unsuitability for his part, he was very good in some episodes before getting the boot and being replaced by Peter Graves, who is the most remembered leader. Back in the 90's I remember going to the cinema to see a film which had the title 'Mission Impossible' but which was certainly NOT anything to do with the TV series and was a major disappointment. Tom Cruise - are you kidding? Anyway, we recently bought the complete box-set of the TV shows and greatly enjoyed working our way through them, even if some of them made us snigger. I'll give it 8 for sheer nostalgia.

The Persuaders! (1971–1972)

A mixed bag

[6/10 · 30 September 2023]

There had been many excellent ITC series before The Persuaders came along and most of them were entertaining to say the least. And Moore and Curtis exchanging banter together while fending off villains and chasing beautiful women was a pretty good recipe. But something seemed to have changed since the days of Randall & Hopkirk and The Champions. Sure, the two leads and the exotic locations made for 'good telly', but often there were signs of cheapness and penny-pinching. Some of the scenes looked hastily set up and had an air of 'that'll do' about them. Perhaps the best part was the big fat theme tune by none other than John Barry!

The Invaders (1967–1968)

Good but ultimately disappointing

[7/10 · 30 September 2023]

I loved this show when it was first shown here in the UK in the late 60's. The sci-fi plot, the paranoia and Vincent's struggle to be taken seriously kept it on the boil. For a while. But for me, the recipe was repeated too many times, especially in the first season. The second season made more of an effort to move the story on, and Vincent at last began to gather a handful of disciples who were convinced of his story and helped him warn the authorities. Sadly, the show was brought to a premature end, with only a voice-over telling us that David Vincent and his team would remain vigilant, watching out for any return of the enemy. I always had the feeling that there was a third season planned, but that the studio bosses had decided to can it. It's still good to watch even today (we have it on DVD), and it is a good example of all those series we used to enjoy back then.

The Solid Gold Cadillac (1956)

Great fun and lots of heart.

[9/10 · 15 July 2023]

Stuck for something to watch last night, we chose this as Judy Holliday is a reliable and talented actress. I'm glad we did, as it is probably one of her best films. Holliday is her usual cute & lovable self and the rest of the cast is perfectly picked. John Williams was very amusing and he seems to be able to turn his hand to anything. It left us with grins on our faces and wanting more, and we spent several minutes talking about the film and laughing. Maybe the actual 'solid gold Cadillac' was a bit unbelievable, but then the whole film is a fantasy anyway. No hesitation at all in giving this a rare 9.

Rolling Thunder (1977)

Brilliant, raw revenge.

[9/10 · 16 April 2023]

We recently bought this film on Blu Ray and watched it last night with the aid of a bottle of wine. It's in basically two halves. The first is a slow-burn, with our hero (William Devane) returning to his home town with his buddy (Tommy Lee Jones) after spending years in a Vietcong prison camp. He is given a true hero's welcome and receives a new Cadillac and over $2000 raised by the locals. He has trouble settling back into the community and gets pally with a pretty local girl who works at the bar. The film shifts up a gear when a band of thugs invade his home in search of his cash. They also kill his family in cold blood. From this moment the temperature rises steadily as he and his new lady friend go in search of vengeance. It's good stuff in true 70's gritty style. A couple of complaints about the quality of the Blu-Ray release. First of all the print looks pretty poor - rather dull and marked with scratches and specks. I'm not sure it needed a Blu-Ray release at all, standard DVD would have been adequate. Second, the sound quality, especially the dialogue recording. The sound is restricted and the actors' words are difficult to follow, especially in indoor locations where there is the 'room effect'. This is not the fault of the transfer, it would have happened at the time the film was made. The budget was clearly small.

Overall it's a very enjoyable film and one which makes us think about the whole sorry mess of Vietnam and the generation who thought they were doing the right thing only to be treated so shabbily and left to deal with it.

The Limit Of (2018)

Pretty pointless

[3/10 · 18 March 2023]

We like quirky slow burners, but this one spent too long meandering about and never really lit the fuse. In the opening scene we see a woman masturbating, for what reason I don't know, as it seemed completely disconnected from the rest of the story. Then for the next 90 minutes we get Laurence O'Fuarain trying to speak his lines without moving his lips, which made following the plot very difficult. In the end, the loans are paid out without any particular drama and the credits roll. We survived until the end, but it felt like a chore than an enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours. Sorry, it's a 3 from me.

Under the Yum Yum Tree (1963)

Passable sex comedy.

[7/10 · 25 December 2022]

I'm not sure that Jack Lemmon was the right choice for the part of the slightly-seedy womanising landlord, as he is more associated with 'Mr decent middle America' types. Maybe Walter Matthau or even Peter Lawford may have been better suited. As for the rest, Carol Lynley is always good for the eyes and here she puts in some very nice touches, and Paul Lynde is good too, although he is slightly toned-down from his usual style. Overall it's an enjoyable watch, not a million miles away from the excellent Doris Day films of the time. The theme song is good too, with James Darren sounding like a young Frank Sinatra.

The Internecine Project (1974)

Suspensful and intriguing.

[8/10 · 10 December 2022]

A British film with a mainline American as its star and solid backup from a range of decent British actors including the excellent Harry Andrews. The plot concerns an American politician (James Coburn) who learns that he's in line for a step up to a much higher-profile job, but needs to clear out the 'skeletons in his closet' before anyone starts looking at his affairs. This means drastic action - even murder - will be necessary. To avoid any traceable direct connection with evil deeds, he persuades others to do the dirty work, but how does he know these people will keep silent? Much of the running time is taken up by the answer to this question. Good performances from all concerned, and the dependable Harry Andrews is (as usual) on top form, although on a couple of occasions he does lay on the garrulous patriot a bit too heavily. Lee Grant is sort-of OK, but she does have one small task to carry out. Definitely worth a watch.

The Avengers: Room Without a View (1966) Season 4, Episode 15

Not the best, but...

[5/10 · 3 December 2022]

Not the best 'Avengers' by a long way, but even the bad ones are good, with generally intriguing plots and good production values. Two things always puzzle me about this episode - is Jeanne Roland (the actress who plays Dr Wadden's wife) dubbed? Every time I see this episode I get the impression there's something a bit odd about the way she speaks her lines, and the sound seems a bit too 'close' as if it was done separately. Secondly, watch the fight scene in the cell block. There's a Philips reel-to-reel tape recorder on the table, but when the fight breaks out it has been replaced by a very crude mock-up. Where the Philips is all curves and grilles, the fake one is a plain white box. Did they not want it damaged or were they wary of it causing injury or what?

The Mind Benders (1963)

Engrossing film, but...

[7/10 · 27 November 2022]

We watched this film last night after not seeing it for about 30 years. It starts off well with a clearly disturbed scientist who kills himself by jumping from a moving train and who is discovered to be carrying one thousand pounds (a lot of money in 1963) in cash. It is suspected he was brainwashed into selling secrets to 'the enemy' while under the influence of a sensory deprivation experiment. Sadly, this plot seems to be swept under the carpet fairly early on and the film becomes a study of human nature and desires as another scientist (Dirk Bogarde in one of his better parts) undergoes a similar process to prove the point. IMO it would have been better to pursue the original story and find out who was behind it, although this may have caused the film to be just another 'spy movie' which were much in vogue at the time. Worth watching though, and there's some fine acting on show especially John Clements as Major Hall. The photography is crisp and good looking throughout.

Split Second (1992)

Cliched, stereotype-ridden junk.

[3/10 · 13 November 2022]

We lasted about 25 minutes before we turned it off. What a collection of comic-book tough-guys (Hauer) and world-weary coppers (Armstrong). The acting was absolutely terrible, almost as if they were reading their lines straight off the page. As for the appearance and direction of the film, it reminded me of a cross between an 80's pop video and and one of those 'Comic Strip Presents' productions such as 'The Bullshitters'. I did entertain the thought that this film may be a spoof of stuff like The Professionals and that the bad acting was deliberate, but somehow I don't think so - it was too bad even for that.

Left Behind (I) (2014)

Middling, derivative thriller.

[5/10 · 5 November 2022]

This was not at all what I was expecting. I got the impression that an airliner was going to land (or crash) and those on board would emerge to an empty Earth and go about finding clues as to what had happened. Sadly we got a mash-up of religious hardliners, suspected terrorists and a bad-tempered dwarf. Oh, and we also got Nicholas Cage who, despite making about 8 billion movies, has still not realised that you have to open your mouth to speak, otherwise the people watching CAN'T TELL WHAT the EFF YOU ARE DRAWLING ON ABOUT!! Do you know we wasted a bottle of wine on this? Apparently I have to add another 21 characters or IMDB won't let me post...

Greener Grass (2019)

Just irritating.

[3/10 · 6 August 2022]

While I always advocate giving a film some time to develop before forming an opinion, this one had us itching to ditch it by the 20-minute mark. Although there were brief flashes of David Lynch, it just seemed to be weird for the sake of it. Sorry, one for the 'don't bother' pile.

Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction (2012)

'Arty' and uninformative.

[5/10 · 23 July 2022]

As a fan of HDS, I was looking forward to a factual documentary and a celebration of his work, but this collection of clips, old songs and ramblings was deeply irritating. We kept giving it another five minutes to see if it would come up with something interesting, new or informative, but it never did. We gave up after about 30 minutes.

And Soon the Darkness (1970)

Low-key, low budget thriller.

[6/10 · 18 July 2022]

'And soon the Darkness' is a rather over-the-top title for what is a simple 'missing girl' story. The locations are well-chosen and the small village has a well-maintained feeling of being cut off from normal everyday life. Just the odd passing car and the occasional thirsty farmer add to the slightly brooding atmosphere. Overall, it feels more like an expanded episode of 'Tales of Mystery and Imagination' or 'Hammer House of Horror' than a proper cinema release, and this is not surprising as the story was written by Avengers-Meister Brian Clemens and Terry Nation. We also have music by Clemen's regular collaborator Laurie Johnson, and that probably explains why I spent the entire film wondering why it reminded me so much of Series 4 (black & white Emma Peel) of the Avengers and the later 'The Professionals'. The incidental music is *very'* similar! Overall, this film is entertaining and carries a good atmosphere, but lacks the weight to do much else.

D.B. Cooper: Where Are You?! (2022)

Could have been so much better.

[4/10 · 17 July 2022]

Not particularly impressed. We saw a previous 90-minute documentary on this a few years ago and it had far more detail about his jump and a good analysis of what may have happened to him before he hit the ground, also where he may have gone afterwards if he survived. There was also good detail on the hunt for Cooper. I'm afraid this one had very little analysis of the event itself and spent most of its time on the hunt for him. The whole thing had the feel of the many 'Roswell' UFO docs, in which we are treated to a grain of truth which has been embellished over the years by those who are looking for fame or money by telling ever-more ridiculous stories to the camera. There was far too much about the hunter who seems driven mostly by his own ego, far too little about Cooper or his likely fate, and for what it actually told us it could have been half the length.

Interstate 60 (2002)

Unusual, intriguing and funny.

[10/10 · 11 June 2022]

We'd had this film on our watchlist for some time as it sounded good, but somehow we'd never got around to choosing it. I'm glad we eventually did, as it turned out to be one of the most captivating and compelling films I've ever seen. After a slow start in which we are introduced to the various characters who populate the world of Interstate 60, the action takes off and we find ourselves in a world of oddness. The gags are intelligent and sometimes challenging, and the people we meet raise matters that should trouble us all, but it's all wrapped up in a sly, winking humour. We cheered at the end, not only at the outcome but because we felt we had been properly entertained by the writer, director and the fine actors who all seemed to be enjoying something a little different. A rare 10/10 from me.

The Watch (I) (2012)

Entertaining, but aimed at teens.

[7/10 · 18 May 2022]

We found this quite entertaining and the characters were good, but I have to ask who wrote the script - a bunch of schoolboys? Almost every gag was based on d*cks, c*m, big red b*lls, condoms and p*ss. Why? There are plenty of other ways of making gags funny, you know.

The Vanishing (II) (2018)

Could have been better.

[6/10 · 4 May 2022]

A story of greed and mistrust allegedly based on a true story. First of all, please make sure that your actors are speaking clearly. We lost about 80% of the dialogue due to unclear speech. Secondly, the crew are shown to be making voice contact via radio, when the first transmission of speech didn't happen 'til 1906. If they had comms at all it would have been Morse code.

In the end it was passable, but it was hard work sitting there trying to figure out what was going on.