Reviews

Yes, I think I will. How such an otherwise shocklingly-bad actor can be so fantastic in this, totally puzzles me. It is quite simply the most brilliant, cool, convincing, scene-stealing performance you will ever see. But that's enough gushing.

It's not just Val though - Russell, Elliot, Biehn, Booth, and even Jason Priestly are all very very good too, the film is beautifully shot, the script is great, score spot-on and it all moves along at a swift, exciting pace.

Of course, paying such a cast must have taken a hefty whack out of the budget, leaving very little money for costumes and the like. Which is the only reason I can find for Michael Rooker's outfit - I'm not sure reusing Chevy Chase's gear from The Three Amigos was such a good idea....

That aside, this is absolutely fantastic. Just buy it.

I honestly believe that with a few script edits this could have been the best film of all time. As it is, it's only absolutely brilliant.

First, it has absolutely THE BEST title sequence ever committed to film: the credits interspersed with short, grim snatches of Ripley's "rape", if you like, by the Alien and the ejection of the escape pod from the Sulaco.

Second, the killing of Hicks, Newt and Bishop is both necessary, and a stroke of genius. They aren't meant to develop relationships with Ripley. She's meant to develop a relationship with them and then lose them. That's the point. The Alien causes death and destruction, it's not meant to be responsible for a long happy ever lasting friendship. The only relationship that really matters is that between Ripley and the Alien. To kill them off so quickly though, is brilliant, even though casting problems are as responsible as anything. But it sets the tone of virtual hopelessness and despair for the rest of the film.

Third, in Alien 3, acting performances matter. Alien was all about suspense, the performances were secondary to this, even if there isn't a bad performance in the whole film. Aliens was all about action, blood n guts machismo - acting ability was totally irrelevant. If you could look hard, fire a gun and occasionally get a bit worried, you were in. Alien 3 is about hopelessness and despair. It needs good convincing performances so that you care about the characters. Thus, when they die, everything seems even more pointless and without hope. But the acting isn't just convincing, it's damn amazing. Weaver is excellent as a more experienced, resigned to death Ripley, Charles Dance brilliantly sombre as Medical Officer Clemens and Ralph Brown puts in his best performance ever as 85 (Forget Withnail and I - it's the most overrated film ever anyway). But Charles S Dutton is absolutely outstanding. Dillon is very slightly reminiscent of Parker from the original, but Dutton stamps all over Yaphet Kotto in big prison boots. The man deserves an Oscar.

Fourth, the funeral/Alien erupting scene with its brilliant script is the best scene I've ever seen in any film, including the Danny Boy scene in Miller's Crossing.

Fifth, the Alien's death is by far the most original of the four films, although I do have a soft spot for that in Aliens.

Sixth, Alien 3 is an absolutely beautiful film visually. I can't fault the photography, special effects and whatever else is involved at all.

Lastly, just as the credits are the best beginning to a film ever, Ripley's death is an immense emotional ending to the trilogy, that puts every single act into perspective and fits the tone of the film perfectly. The Alien should never have been resurrected for a fourth installment because this was the perfect ending.

I can only see two, maybe three, problems with Alien 3. One, there's a couple of really duff lines in there which just don't fit. Two, the toxic waste fire scene is over too quickly, and the deaths are just passed over. One often used criticism of the film is that it is too slow, but not enough is made of this. I know it's in the middle of the film where you want to be speeding up, but it doesn't feel right. Third, Brian Glover's voice. I find it grates. "This is rumour control..." - yuk.

Of course, there's enough great things about Alien 3, that it still gets maximum marks. But if asked to pick a favourite, I'd probably go for Alien viewed in a pitch black room. It's not as well acted, but there are no flaws, the suspense is brillliant and when the lights flash on screen, they flash in your room as well. It's the nearest you'll get to feeling part of a film.

How has this averaged a mark above 6? It's the worst film I've ever had the misfortune to see at the cinema. I can't believe anyone could like such an atrocity.

Was I meant to feel some emotion other than hatred when watching this film? Was it meant to provoke some thought about how I'd react in that situation? Maybe it would have done if the performances weren't so diabolical. Okay, the special effects were pretty, but that means nothing.

The fact is, I wanted the meteorite thing to hit Earth and KILL all of these awful actors! (Robert Duvall could've stayed up in space, alive, his was the only half decent performance)And as for Tea Leoni, she obviously only got the part because she's married to David Duchovny. Never have I seen anyone so utterly terrible at acting. At the risk of slightly spoiling part of the plot, she dies, engulfed by a large tidal wave, and very satisfying it is too!

How anyone can claim this is better than Armageddon is beyond me. Armageddon may not be great, in fact, it's not even that good, but at least it makes some attempt at entertainment. This is absolutely ridiculous, poorly executed, thoroughly unbelievable trash. Every single copy of this film deserves to be put in a large space shuttle and fired into space, never to return. As do its makers. This is a disgrace to filmmaking.

Black Rain is an absolutely gorgeous movie to look at. And for the most part it's highly entertaining and well acted - the guy playing Sato is brilliantly menacing. But occasionally, very occasionally, it descends into either complete predictability or downright cheesiness. A motorbike chase, well, that's a surprise! And that award ceremony right near the end - why? It's totally irrelevant, feel good factor nonsense - the sort of stuff you get with bog standard action movies. And this is not bog standard, and not really an action movie. Certainly underrated and deserving of a better audience than it has received, but ultimately let down by a few lapses in quality.

From Russia With Love is the only truly good Bond film. Dr No. didn't really work for me, and from Goldfinger onwards, the series deteriorates into vaguely entertaining, special effect centered, innuendo laden, no brain required stuff.

For most people, these characteristics are synonymous with Bond. But watch From Russia With Love and you'll see it needn't have been like that. This is a classy film which is brilliantly acted, not like the pantomime farce of the Roger Moore era.

There are no comedy henchmen here, only one gadget, and that's a briefcase - hardly stunning, and restrained innuendo in comparison with something like Moonraker ("I think he's attempting re-entry sir").

The film does have a nice comic side, but is really carried by the acting of Connery and Robert Shaw as silent, but deadly Red Grant. Shaw doesn't even speak for half the film and is still fantastic and both are brilliant in conveying a sense of unspoken, grudging respect for the other (something the pair repeat in Robin and Marian). You sense that Grant is Bond's real nemesis, forget Blofeld, and I also feel that the film portrays Bond as genuinely vulnerable - he's not a virtually indestructable comic book-esque hero like in later films, but a real person. In fact, although Bond triumphs in the end, Grant has the moral victory.

And then there's Rosa Klebb. She's so convincingly scary and evil, that she should have the cat stroking duties as head of SPECTRE.

In short, don't view this as a Bond film, because that degrades it. View it as a piece of brilliantly acted action / thriller drama. Because that's what it is. Top notch!

This could have been brilliant. As it is, it's just damn good.A superb tale of friendship, loyalty and trust, Sean Penn and Gary Oldman are both absolutely fantastic, giving, for my money,the best performances of their careers. In fact, there's not a bad performance here.

It's beautifully shot, the music is absolutely spot-on and it has that rare ability to get to you deep inside.

It's just that the final scene is absolutely terrible. First, there's a huge slow motion overload, which for me, just doesn't fit. Second, without spoiling the ending, let's just say that Frankie's (Ed Harris)marksmanship leaves a lot to be desired, which for a mob boss is absolutely ridiculous. This is the main problem. Up and until this moment the film has been a perfect example of believable, gritty realism. Then it just throws everything away with a badly thought out, unbelievable climax.

10/10 down to an 8/10 just like that.

I heard that this film was bad and so when a mate rented it on video, I had to watch it out of sheer curiosity. I wish I hadn't. I was bored after about three minutes, but for some reason continued watching in the hope that it may just get better. It didn't.

The acting is very bad, the plot is extremely bad, but the script is quite simply the worst thing I've ever had the misfortune to hear in my entire life. Didn't anybody read it before production?

It's very difficult to express in words just how awful this film is. Lets just say I'd rather have extensive root canal surgery than watch this again. It gives the filmmaking profession a very bad name. Worst bit - Steed lifts the head off some important dead bloke dressed as a giant teddy bear and says "Alas poor teddy, I knew him well". OH.MY.GOD.

This should be the worst film I've ever seen. It isn't. Just. This goes to due a very low budget horror film called Sewage Baby, which somehow manages to be even more tedious and badly acted. This too was rented by the same mate with the same bad taste.

I've tried to think of something nice to say about this film, and the best I could come up with is that the electronic wasp scene probably sounds very good on a good home cinema system. Anyway, don't let curiosity get the better of you. DO NOT WATCH THIS FILM EVER!

Good sci-fi is immensely difficult to write, hence the amount of total trash that is constantly produced. When something this good is cancelled, while stuff so inferior remains, something is definitely wrong. Take the best elements of Trek and mix it with the war genre and you get the idea - only it's far better than that. Not many TV series manage to get you to really care about the characters like the best films do, but this manages it in style. Except for the character of West - highly irritating and keeps going on about his missing bird - SHUT UP! But then nothing is perfect. This nearly was and deserved far better.

Supremely witty, immensely beautiful, astonishingly clever, brutally violent and quite frankly, inspiring, this is by far the Coen brothers best movie. Brilliant performances by all, but particularly Jon Polito and J.E. Freeman - this is a far better gangster movie than your bog standard Italian Mob flick. And its been said before, but hey, who cares, the Danny Boy scene is genius. The best film that most people haven't heard of ever.