Change Your Image
andrew-119-97990
Reviews
Code 46 (2003)
Have you any wet paint that needs watching?
I was duped. I have just finished watching this film, or more correctly watching it at normal speed for about forty minutes and then, in desperation, fast forwarding to the end – even in fast-forward the film managed to plod.
I say duped, because having read some of the reviews here, I thought - despite early misgivings - it must get better.
It didn't.
Now being a "Brit", I suppose I should be supporting our own home-grown directing "talent", but loyalty can be stretched too far, and this didn't just stretch it, but snap it clean in two.
At this point I will give a brief outline of the story. It's set in the near future; cloning; empathy virus; love affair between Tim Robbins and Samantha Morton - further details are irrelevant. I don't think I've given away any spoilers – hard to imagine how anyone could with this complete time waster.
The director, must have spent his apprenticeship in Europe, so determined, it seemed, was he to mimic those "oh so deep", slow moving continental movies that intellectual snobs profess to love, but which bore the majority of us simple folk.
I presume they spent much of their budget in seducing Tim Robbins to star – probably with an eye to capturing that all important American audience – yes we may look down on our American cousins, but we still need their money, technology etc.
I cannot, with a clear conscious, recommend this film to anyone. If you do have a spare ninety minutes to fill, please use it more constructively. Have you any wet paint that needs watching?
The Naked Edge (1961)
Good, but the ending is too hurried
There is a stylistic feel to this film, a clever use of dark and light tones and an impressive use of camera angles and close ups which does give more than a nod towards Hitchcock, though perhaps at times it is a little overdone. The story itself is a good one, with a number of clever twists and turns, and the two leads give good solid performances.
I did enjoy this film; the sort I felt could bear more than one watching. Unfortunately, the ending is too obviously hurried in its attempt to tie up all the loose ends, and this, for me, is what lets it down.
Bride of Vengeance (1949)
Love and betrayal sprinkled with humour
I have to admit that for the first five minutes or so of watching this film, I had low expectations - my only reason for persevering being the chance to see the lovely Paulette Goddard. It is loosely based - and I mean loosely - on a period in the life of Lucretia Borgia. A tale of love, betrayal and murder, sprinkled with moments of humour that manages to avoid spoiling the story's overall tone.
Paulette Goddard looks her most alluring self, and she the other leads all perform well. Whilst mostly serious, and at times very moving, the story also has moments of light humour. John Lund in particular handles this dual role very ably. Lund is, to my mind, much underrated. His comic timing is good, delivered in a gentle manner, and perhaps it is this that can sometimes give the impression that he is an acting lightweight.
Macdonald Carey plays Lucretia Borgia's devious brother yet, despite this, he is not entirely unlikeable - as he explains to his sister "We live in times when acts of cruelty are sometimes necessary to survive." It is Raymond Burr who, not for the first time, plays the less sympathetic villain here.
There are, as mentioned early, several moments of comedy, and one which stands out for me features a rather portly lute player, who has been paid by Lund to hide in the garden and sing in his place the same love song nightly to Goddard. Finally deciding to succumb to Lund's romantic gesture, she ventures into the garden, only to discover it is not Lund's dulcet tones that have being regaling her - Goddard's fury and the fearful pleading of this hapless singer are wonderful to behold.
The Enemy Below (1957)
Clichéd ridden dialogue sinks this ship
The battle of wits between a destroyer and Submarine has been depicted in several films, and this one seemed to have all the ingredients to make a tension filled story. But for me it fails at many levels.
The transition of the crew of the US ship, from cynicism - believing their new Captain, (Robert Mitchum) is inexperienced and green - to out and out, ready to die for loyalty, happens far too quickly to add anything meaningful to the story.
Early on, in an attempt to give us some understanding of the background of the two opposing commanders, we see each confiding to a fellow officer. In the case of the US Captain, it is the ship's doctor. But their first scene together, both irritated and bored me at the same time.
Meeting the captain for the first time, the doctor makes friendly conversation with him, by way of welcome. But the entire dialogue between them is all one sided, while the doctor listens with respect and understanding to the captain's history, not once does the captain show the slightest interest in the Doctor.
If the scriptwriter's intention was give us a sympathetic understanding for the captain's motives and ideals, then for me, it failed miserably. He just seemed self-absorbed – not, I feel, a good quality in anyone, let alone the captain of a ship in times of warfare, when keeping up moral should be high on his list of duties.
The captain's story was the usual cliché - while captaining a ship prior to joining the navy, his wife was killed by a German torpedo attack - how many films use the avenging wife's death motive? – So, in his words, "I decided to be at the firing end for a change" - at least that's the gist of what he said.
Later in film there is a scene which could be seen as comical. The US captain approaches a crewman - who is lying in bed recovering, having lost all the fingers of one hand – and offers these words of sympathy:
"You'll be going home now. It won't be long before you're back in your old civilian job. What did you do?"
"I was a watchmaker" replies the crewman.
The captain and others around the bed all look uncomfortable. So the captain didn't know is previous occupation? Shouldn't he at least made some enquires beforehand? Again this shows his lack of interest in the people around him – I'm sure, we're supposed to like the captain, it's only because the Captain is played by Robert Mitchum, that I can take to him at all.
The German U-boat commander, Played here by Curt Jurgens, also confides with a fellow officer - he has stopped believing in the war and the political leaders. He fought in the previous war and has almost happy memories of it, and he dislikes the one and only member of his crew who still has loyalty to "der Fuhrer".
Again I found this all a bit boring, contriving yet again to give another potted history in one scene. I'm not saying the film is awful, but its average rating here is, I feel, way above what it deserves.
A depiction of Sea battle that is, in my opinion, head and shoulders above this, is "Run Silent, Run Deep".
5 Steps to Danger (1956)
Good start, awful finish
For the first twenty minutes or so of watching this film, I was quite engrossed in the story - both leads, Ruth Roman and Sterling Hayden, giving good performances throughout.
And then, gradually, as if someone else had taken over the script, the story becomes silly, and it begins when these two cops pull them over - these officers are so incompetent it's comical. Perhaps the director wanted to give us some light relief!
These two bastions of law and order, follow standard police procedure, leaving their keys in the ignition! then cop "A" manages, somehow, to get thrown off the roadside into a ditch by Ruth Roman! so what does cop "B" do faced with an assault on a fellow officer? get out his gun? stay a safe distance from the assailants? radio for assistance? No, he rushes at Ruth Roman, grapples with her - positioning himself helpfully at the edge of the ditch, his partner has just fallen into, so that Sterling can shove him in also.
Now despite the silliness of this scene I was, foolishly, still prepared to fully enjoy the rest of the film - "After all" I told myself "lots of very good, even great films, cut corners to keep the story moving".
From this scene onwards the storyline turned into "The Thirty-nine Steps" - Ruth and Sterling handcuffed together, vital secret to be delivered, East German agents, and respectable, upright citizens who are really spies.
I didn't mind this so much, but when both the CIA and the FBI got involved, why on earth didn't they get take possession of said, secret document? I know they wanted to "out" the spies, but couldn't they have done this afterwards. Perhaps some other IMDb reviewer has the answer, but it's beyond me.
There were many other flaws in this film - the two leads getting married after two days - as other reviewers here, have mentioned, but I won't list them all. This had potential to be a good film, but it just turns into a complicated mess.
I am giving it a generous 5 out of ten, mostly for Ruth Roman who, despite a good performance, can't save this film.
Below (2002)
clever, tension-filled horror story
The setting is the Second World, aboard a US submarine. But this is no war film, rather a clever, tension-filled horror story. Its claustrophobic atmosphere is a perfect setting for this haunted house themed horror. There are elements of "Alien" in that the interior is slightly grimy and the crew are tetchy, uncouth and sometimes unkind to each other – being as they are, at such close quarters. Most of the actors are lesser known stars, adding to the tension – you're not really sure who the good guys are.
The periscope, the crews only view of the sea above, ads to the eerie atmosphere – A battleship looms into regular, horrifying view, seemingly remorseless in its pursuit. Additional creepiness is never seeing the battleship's crew. It appears a living entity, the submarine its prey. Its horrid arsenal of depth charges and hooks never seemed so terrifyingly awful in its usage before.
I will not give away the plot or plots – there are many interweaving elements, seemingly unconnected, and it does get complicated at times. But it does make sense if you watch it more than once - as I had to. Anyway, I think it is a cracking good film and thoroughly recommend it.
Leave Her to Heaven (1945)
Be patient, It's worth it
This is a film that demands a little patience at the beginning - at least it did for me. I expected another, by-the-numbers drama/romance, but it gradually becomes more intriguing as the story unfolds. I love the old black and white noir films, and the glorious Technicolor gives the impression, at first, that this isn't real noir.
Gene Tierney portrays a woman who is warm, loving, vulnerable, jealous and cold-hearted with equal measure, to the extent that it is hard to decide if she is good or bad at times - I felt a degree of sympathy for her actions - the clinging, younger brother annoyed me almost as much as he did her! A minor point: The train carriage, at the beginning, looks luxurious beyond measure - Is first class travel still that good in the States? A crying shame if it isn't.