kirk-78 Reviews

The Adventure Game (1980–1986)

Challenging fun galactic adventure game

[3 May 2004]

The adventure game was one of my favourite programmes as a child. Set somewhere in the galaxy, the contestants had to solve problems to earn credits (known as drogma or something like that). The game had these plants that the contestants interacted with and at the end they had to navigate from one side of the vortex to the other side. I wish they would bring it back but the BBC had a habit of doing away with good programmes and replacing them with crap (eg the chess programme "The master game" and "The adventure game").

I don't know what it is, but TV programs back in the early to mid 80's were so much more interesting and stimulating than what we have today.

Wrestling Ernest Hemingway (1993)

A truly wonderful and touching experience.

[10/10 · 29 January 2004]

(Possible spoiler)

This movie is fantastic. Richard Harris is in great form and Robert Duvall is superb, I would not have known he was playing the part if I hadn't seen the credits. This movie is reflective in nature and rambles along at a sedate pace. The ending is very sad when Frank is found dead and it brought tears to my eyes. I cannot understand why it was a box office flop. Anyone who dislikes this movie needs their head examined, that's all I can say. A truly wonderful and touching film...

Contact (1997)

Good movie, disappointed with the ending however

[8/10 · 7 January 2004]

(Possible Spoilers)

Apart from the ending, I quite like this movie. It is realistic in many ways in that we are most likely to make contact with Extra-terrestrials via signals received from space.

The acting is pretty good, especially from McConaughey.

I did not however like the ending to this movie. When Ellie travels to Vega or wherever in that travelling device, the aliens don't even show themselves. Instead we just see an image of her father on some blurry beach. I was very disappointed in this. The aliens think that she can't handle her seeing them as they really are? Give me a break. Also, they don't even give her something to prove that she has really travelled there, and when she comes back to Earth, nobody believes her and she is ridiculed. There are unanswered questions like when the next person is supposed to travel. All the aliens can tell her is that is has always been done this way. Basically, we learn very little from this movie at the end. Perhaps a sequel would be a good idea where someone travels to Vega and stays there for a period to learn.

Also, the fact that Ellie was initially rejected for the mission because she wasn't a religious person was a little unrealistic. The mission was to travel to meet aliens, not God.

To summarise, I enjoyed this movie apart from the ending which I thought was a cop out.

Enemy Mine (1985)

Great sci-fi movie with superb soundtrack.

[9/10 · 7 January 2004]

(Possible spoilers)

I really like this movie. The story of a human and drac whose planets are at war with one another, becoming stranded on a strange planet in the Fyrine system, initially hostile to one another but eventually developing a friendship.

Jerry the drac becomes pregnant and gives birth to Zammis. Sadly Jerry dies in the process and Willis is left to bring the child up. Dennis Quaid and Lou Gossett Jr are super in this movie.

The movie depicts the pirate humans in a bad way, using the drac people as slaves for mining. One day Zammis strays away from home and is captured by the human prirates. Willis rescues Zammis in the final scenes and liberates the drac slaves too, and I would assume bringing peace between earth and the drac homeworld.

The music of Maurice Jarre (and Orchestras) that features in this movie is excellent, expecially at the end of the movie where Willis visits the holy council and the immortal words ... "And when, in the fullness of time, Zammis visited the holy council, the name of Willis Davidge was added to the line of Jeriba"

Black Rain (1989)

I've seen this movie several times and enjoy it always

[10/10 · 5 January 2004]

WARNING - POSSIBLE SPOILERS!

I've seen this movie several times and enjoy it always. I am sad that Yusaku Matsuda who played Sato in the movie died not long after this movie was released. His protrayal of the young arrogant gangster challenging the traditional ways of the Japanese mob (Yakuza) was great.

Possibly the character Nick (Michael Douglas) could have been a little more sensitive and slightly less brash to traditional japanese customs and sensibility. I like the character Charlie (Andy Garcia) who is more respectful and polite to Mas and other Japanese hosts. It was shame that his character was killed off so relatively early in the film.

My favourite moment is at the end where Nick is leaving and gives Mas (Ken Takakura) a present containing the plate bar thing used for forging money. We find that Nick does have decency and honesty after all. This is quite a touching moment.

The visual effects are great, capturing the ambience of Japanese city life. The moody dark rainy settings with lots of bright neon lights did remind me of Bladerunner.

Some reviewers are very critical of this movie which is a shame. I enjoyed it very much and would recommend it.