Reviews

The first movie to be released at the cinema about the 9/11 attacks was bound to court controversy. Would be it be a Jerry Bruckhiemer flag waving spectacular? I for one thought that United-93 was going to be a terrible film about an event that happened too recently to make a movie about it and about an event where no one knows for sure what actually happened But after reading good reviews for it, I decided to give it a chance. Boy was I in for a surprise.

I'm British but I went through 9/11 too. I didn't lose friends or family, I just watched it on TV and sat shocked and horrified. I think on 9/11 everyone with a heart was an American that day.

Watching the movie, with its familiar images of ordinary life (people waiting to board a plane or aboard the plane itself) and the terrible (the twin towers smoking and the smoke rising from the Pentagon) It cant help but stir up the emotions of that day. Watching the movie forces you to relive that event and also puts you, once the movie hits its climatic and stomach-churning third act, in the shoes of the doomed passengers The first two acts are about the control centres and the reaction from the military. The normal rapid fire speech of aircraft controllers gradually is replaced by sheer panic as no-one knows what to do. The army struggle with Rules of Engagement and with getting enough planes in the air to protect American cities from an unknown and utterly inconceivable plane. An especially chilling moment is when the report of a plane comes in that it was hijacked, minutes after it has already crashed into the WTC The final act is aboard the hijacked United-93. The passengers are shocked and horrified by the four hijackers who take over the plane with plans to hit the capitol building. The shock and violence of this initial attack is horrifying (as it should be) and then the passengers rally and strike back.

The passengers are hard to pick out if you don't know the subject. Tom Burnett and Todd Beamer are there obviously but the rest are harder to be sure about. As an actual movie, United 93 lacks characterisation but I don't feel that this is something that the movie left out by accident but by design. These are real people. Their motivations are to be saved in that awful day.

Some heart-breaking moments exist where the passengers call home to say goodbye. Its hard not to put yourself in the same shoes as those people. What is it you say if you KNOW your about to die? There is also a nice parallel drawn with the prayers of the passengers inter cut with those of the terrorists The final ten minutes see the passengers fight back and "roll" the trolley down the aisles to try and break into the plane. According to the movie, they come very close to the controls but never actually retake the plane. The last gasp desperate struggle to survive is played out with rising speed and tension, the sonic battery of the noise of the terrorists praying and the desperate shouts of the passengers (If we don't do it we'll die) make the last ten minutes a total sensual assault.

The final shot of the movie is totally unforgettable. One of the most explicitly horrifying images I have ever seen in a movie and I'm not sure I will ever forget it.

And that is, I think, the point of this movie. Afterwards I sat there utterly crushed, tears coming silently and coming very close to just sobbing openly. Afterwards I turned to my friend I was with and we hugged in an attempt to recover from that movie and that event and those memories.

But it is important that we do not forget "Whats past is prologue"

I'm 25 years old. Let me start my review by saying that. So this movie is supposed to be the movie for "my generation" I don't think so somehow For me this was one of the most overrated movies ever made. Self indulgent and totally unaffecting, only once was I moved by something that happened on screen. Whilst the acting was good and the soundtrack was very hip, the script was full of self important lines and the whole movie left me wondering why they had bothered.

Don't get me wroung, I see this is a movie with some merit and I also see that for many, this movie has been as affecting as say "Donnie Darko" was to me, but I don't see why. There is nothing behind that awkward smile that Braff wears throughout, the movie has no soul.

Having said that, I realise this is not a popular opinion, but I stand by it that I have seldom heard a movie talked up more and lack this much depth before.

However the scene where Braff talks about his departed mother, about how pure a mothers love can be, was pretty good. But the rest of it, just fell totally flat Biggest letdown since "Cold Mountain"

Forgive the hyperbole but I want to make it very clear how highly I rate this incredible series.

A little background on the series first: Set from the 60's through to that strange decade the 1990's, Our Friends In The North was at the time, a benchmark series for BBC and was the most expensive drama series produced up to then. Featuring hundreds of characters, a huge and talented cast, good production values and a truly unrivalled script and story, OFITN set the benchmark for a dramatic production that only a few other TV projects have ever matched.

The story sees four characters, linked as a circle of friends at first, go about their lives in England and attempt to make sense of the world. All four are different in their own right and more so than the broad brush strokes that first mark them out. Geordie (Daniel Craig) is sensitive, charming and intelligent and a long time friend of both Tosker and Nicky. He is arguably the most vulnerable of the four and his terrible home life causes him to run away to seamy London. Nicky (Chris Eccleston) is brash, opinionated and full of pretencion but is an optimist and has genuine beliefs. he also sees his father a burn-out who doesn't understand that the world is at a crossroads. Nicky makes the most attempts to change the world by varying means, politics, journalism and even terrorism. By the end, Nicky has seen his dreams utterly destroyed.

Mary (Gina McKee) is the adult character, being that she has a tough family to deal with (her brother is disabled) but she makes the most of things. She is Nicky's girlfriend at first but it isn't to last as she has plans that don't include saving the world. Mary has to deal with being a young mother in a crumbling tower-block before her husband makes good of himself. Tosker (Mark Strong) gives the most unsympathetic performance as the rather basic Tosker. He seduces Mary away from Nicky and gets her pregnant. He is hell-bent on his plan to get rich and despite many different methods, A fruit and veg van, real estate and a restaurant, it seems that Tosker is destined to always just fall short of his aims. And in love he also fails to win over Mary as the two contest a loveless marriage.

Over the series it covers myriad issues, from Poverty to Organised Crime and Police Corruption. The entire storyline with the criminal world of London is the most exciting but equally gripping is Mary's struggle to raise her son and make something of herself which she does ably. Nicky goes through a rough ride with his parents but ultimately finds a redemption. Geordie however is almost totally destroyed by following the wrong people the wrong way and ends up in prison. For Geordie, the system has no time for him.

The four lead performances are varied but all very good. Gina McKee gives the best all round performance across the series but Chris Eccleston is typically fiery. Daniel Craig has perhaps the easiest role to play but does it brilliantly. Mark Strong has less to work with but does well with the rather weak Tosker.

The supporting cast is a packed house of likable and hatable and inbetweens. Daniel Webb is great as honest cop DS Ron Conrad, equally David Bradley is superb as grass roots Labour politician Eddie Wells. Malcolm McDowell gives an epic performance as vice kingpin Benny Barret and Tony Haygarth is brilliant as optimistic old cop Roy Johnsen. There really are no poor performances and the whole story passes by like a real life watched in intervals.

The project isn't perfect, but as a piece of evolving art is quite without comparison. Over the 30 years of the story, people come and go, die and are born, grow up and fall apart, love and lose love and all end up being badly hurt by the system and when their beliefs are challenged. Nicky learns that the world is a hard place to change, Mary that she has become a martyr to her family, Geordie that if you fall through the cracks you are left behind and Tosker, perhaps he learns that sometimes it is right to be satisfied with what you have.

The stand out scenes in this epic are many, from young Anthony cox's crazy ride into Geordie's past, to the shocking double cross in London, to the sad collapse of Nicky's father to the beautiful ending where the four share a moment of pathos and are "in the moment" together, perhaps for the last time.

In all of TV history, only HBO's phenomenal Band of Brothers even comes close to this level of excellence. Not to be missed.

10/10

possible spoilers within-

Jim Henson's most intimate and personal story was a commerical failure despite the lavish sets, intricate puppet designs and 5 years in the making. The actual story within is simple but with some nice touches. Set in strange and dark fantasy world, the crystal was cracked one thousand years ago and the ruling race becams two new races, the gentle mystics and the cruel skeses. The skeses ruled with the wounded dark crystal giving them their power. However a prophecy has fortold that a race of small elfin creatures called the Gelflings. Consequently the Skeses sent thier huge crablike soldiers called the Garthim out to anhilate the Gelflings. Jen is the sole survivor and is raised by the mystics untill the triple suns are set to reallign and the crystal must be healed or the skeses will rule forever. Jen sets out with nothing but a flute and his wits (dull as they seem to be) to try and save the world. On his travels he encounters the strange and grumpy Aughra (who is a brilliantly weird character) and the other Gelfling survivor, luckilly a female, called Kira. Whilst Jen has been raised to know about book knowledge and mysticism by the Mystics, Kira was raised by the earthy Podlings who have taught her about animals and plants. So thats the story. What about the movie within? Well its got some strong points and some weak points. I'll start with the weak so that I can end with the strong. First weak point is the doe-eyed heroe's. Jen and Kira are very sweet but lack any edge and dont convince as the heroes, despite thier bravery. And during the story the heroe's have almost no way of combating the evil that exists within the story, making the audience feel totally powerless. The charactersation is weak, most of the characeters are simple black and white. Most have some outreagous quirk that helps identify them, like the strange whimpering from the Chamberlain. The story contains some very dark and disturbing imagery, the podlings being drained by the skeses is horrible, the murderous nature of the skeses is unpleasent, the garthim are very scary and the clifftop battle between the gentle land-striders and the garthim is a scene that I think is too dark for some children (i stil cant watch it now! The sounds of an animal suffering dont make a good kids movie to me) The strong points are also many. The overall look of the movie is very impressive, with a dark fairytail feel that runs through the whole movie. The idea of the duality between the mystics and skeses is brilliant and is the best part of the movie for me. In one scene an evil skeses falls to his death in a pool of fire, but before the audience can cheer his death a mystic is vapourised in response, seeing as they are different halves of the same creature. This is a deep and poignant concept. The strong story lines of sacrifice and love are cliched but well realised and the ending is quite neat. However the way Kira is brought back from the dead is quite annoying.

All in all this is great concept and has several strong points but is not quite the sum of its parts. The story is short and a bit empty, it almost feels like the heroes just wander around, just about suriving untill they stumble across their victory. In all this movie is possibly too dark for a young audience espcially if they are children with a gentle nature. Hwoever for a more mature audience this movie contains some strong movie making and concepts.

6.5/10