Dennis's Reviews

Irritating from the first frame and switched off before half-way.

A classic example of superb film making. Spellbinding to the unnerving end. Great performances from all, especially Gregory Peck. A story that will have you thinking more than ever considering today's medical/cloning advancements.

If you've read the book…forget it! If you haven't…still forget it.

This is a movie you would like to hate due to the horrific and gory torture scenes, but, the very reason for this is more frightening and brings up the question of the obsession with the internet and its offering of anonymous viewing of sex, violence and sometimes death. Gripping till the end…which could have been better.

I was expecting so much from this obscure Connery movie, and now I realise why it's obscure. Terrible direction. In fact I wasn't sure if I should be looking at this as a comedy. What a waste of Connery's talent and of such an historic event.

Okay movie with some good performances, especially Viggo Mortensen. Naomi Watts character was pretty shallow and sometimes annoying. Somehow, I felt it just didn't hit the spot.

This film is proof that fact can be more thrilling than fiction. Based on a true event, knowing the end does not fill the void of knowing how the end is reached, and how those waiting in hope handle the stress and cultural differences. Strong performances from all, especially Jolie.

One of the few films that remain faithful to the book, this time by the master of suspense Stephen King. The ultimate simple story that turns ugly and grips you right from the beginning to the end. Superb character created by Kathy Bates as Annie and a controlled, bed-ridden performance by James Caan.

Yawn! Effects are good, but so what, we're used to that by now. But this film falls deeply into the usual trap of all the budget spent on effects and not on scripting. Will Smith overacts and fills time with some past roles. And if there was one more shot of the howling, wide mouthed villain I was going to scream. Why do American's continually need to smash something when they get angry?

Robert Altman is a great director and normally a good director of actors, but I'm not sure if he had much control over the over-acting of Kenneth Branagh. But apart from that, a reasonable thriller. Make sure you have waterproof clothes on when watching though.

This thriller still holds up and is one of my favorite movies. Being Spielberg's first feature, it shows his talent, but also gives glimpses of an unfortunate trait he is to dwell on in later movies – the cliched stupid actions of the characters. For example, why would anyone do that, do this or walk backwards into a dark room. Luckily, Duel has only a smattering of this.

There's something very commercial about this arthouse film. Not the style or the creative direction, but the surreal nature of the story and the decadence of high society if left to their own resources. I'd love to see this made again today with how our upper society has evolved (or is that dissolved?) but that's not taking anything away from a favorite film maker. Worth watching, but be patient.