iansalmond Reviews

Watership Down (1978)

Incredibly powerful film

[9/10 · 26 January 2022]

I saw this in the cinema aged 8. At that age I loved the atmospheric animation and was drawn in to the dark storyline. There had to be a happy ending though right??

The truth is, a lot of all of that is lost on a child - it was enjoyable if not fully understandable at that age.

As an adult I cannot watch the ending without crying like a child - how does that work?!

I often wonder (hope?) that that is what the end might me like - the man upstairs (black rabbit) taps you on the shoulder and tells you that everything's going to be ok, the ride's over - time to get off and let someone else have a go...

The Prestige (2006)

Incredibly gripping film

[9/10 · 26 January 2022]

I loved this film. Incredibly atmospheric. Great acting. Great plot. The kind of film that makes you immediately want to rewatch it to make sure you'd properly 'got it'. I've always been a bit slow on the uptake generally, so I had to enjoy rewatching it a number of times to be happy that I had finally 'got it'!

For those that say the film has a weak ending I couldn't disagree more - Hugh Jackman effectively 'dies' every night of his performance, reliving his beloved wife's death purely in order to get 'The Prestige'...

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

The power of cinema

[10/10 · 3 May 2021]

Watch this film once and it will leave a lasting impression on you. Watch it a few times more and it will be indelibly imprinted on your soul forever! Such is the power of cinema when it is harnessed in such an incredible way. Pretty much everything has already been said about this film by previous reviewers so I won't rehash it all. However, just 10 seconds or so of one scene - the final three way gunfight(The trio) - sums it up for me: Blondie is already waiting, gun at the ready in the middle, Angel Eyes slowly struts like a peacock towards him. He stops as he comes by Tuco and looks at him, Tuco looks back at him and VERY slowly removes his gun from his pocket with a wry smile as if to say "someone's going to die here, but I'm in anyway". Angel eyes just looks back at him and almost imperceptibly acknowledges this and walks on in to the 'arena', but you can see there is a mutual respect between them. Not a word spoken, as if to prove beyond any doubt that cinema is a visual medium!

All this and I've only ever seen this film on dvd!!

Mad Max (1979)

Action!

[8/10 · 1 May 2021]

A petrolhead's film if ever there was one - the stunts are a treat to watch and a time capsule in themselves now. Who hasn't dreamt of going head to head with another car or going 'peg to peg' on their Kawasaki Z1000 whilst at top speed (over an indicated 130mph if you look) lying flat on the tank with their feet on pillion pegs?!!

More than anything though is the feeling you get at the end of the film - the end credits cut in suddenly with that mournful pulsating music leaving you hungry for more.

You realise, rather guiltily, that you've been in something of a trance for the last ten minutes or so and are addicted to Max's bloody revenge!

Bagpuss (1974)

Opening/end credits

[8/10 · 1 May 2021]

Like so many films, tv series, cartoons, more or less anything you can think of, your abiding impression/memory is often of the beginning/ending - Star Wars, Independence Day, Mad Max, anyone? In this regard Bagpuss is at the very forefront. Oliver Postgate's soothing tones lull you into a false sense of security and then from out of nowhere he hits you with "but Emily loved him" - enough to draw a tear from this 50 year old father of three's eye - absolute genius.