Reviews

Enigma is a computer part which scrambles Russian messages, so that America can't understand them. They can only be read by the intended recipient. The Americans know that the Russians are going to transmit a message revealing the plans of five political assassinations they want to carry out.

So they send in former defector Holbeck (Martin Sheen) to grab the scrambler and substitute a false part, so they'll be able to decode the message, and block the assassination attempts.

However, as we listen in on the Americans heads of the spy organisation, we find that they already have the scrambler, and they want Holbeck to try to steal Enigma, only to convince the Russians that they don't already have it. They don't expect Holbeck to succeed. That way the Russians, who had stopped transmitting with Enigma, just in case, will begin transmitting again.

Enigma is in the computer in the office of Dimitri Vasilikov. Somehow Holbeck must gain access, and in order to do that, he must find out when Vasilikov will be out. He sends in his former girlfriend Karen (Brigitte Fossey) to seduce Vasilikov, so that she can look through his papers and find out his scheduled movements. Karen is glad to do it, as they tortured her father, a university professor, to death.

Because we know that it's better for the Americans if Holbeck fails, the movie becomes even more intense as a spy thriller. We find ourselves hoping he can survive against the odds, especially as he uses ingenious methods to beat the Russians at every turn.

But what's this? Are Karen and Vasilikov falling in love? Will Holbeck win Karen back, or will she actually end up with Vasilikov? The romantic twist lifts this spy thriller, already worthy of a ten, even higher, for its originality. The writing, the direction, and the acting all combine to make this new and fascinating twist a compellingly realistic one.

You find yourself at the edge of your seat, gripping your armchair, not only for the excitement of the spy story but for the intensely beautiful romantic love story as well. The two themes are interwoven perfectly, right up to the end. You really want both sides to win. So who does win, in the end? You'll have to see the movie and find out, won't you!

Eight Millimetre is a very disturbing film, yet a very well made film as well. It's the sort of film that everyone really should see, but no-one would blame you if you didn't! The film makes you wonder "How on earth did the censor let them get away with that!", yet, in its own way, its a very strong argument against censorship, because the disturbing turns the story takes are what make the film such a unique and realistic portrayal of a very bad part of life.

Nicholas Cage plays a private investigator who is called upon to investigate a snuff film, which was found in a safe after a wealthy man's death. The question his widow wants to know is - is the man she adored and to whom she was married for forty-five years really the distinguished gentleman she has always believed him to be, or was he a mentally-disturbed pervert who gets kicks out of watching innocent young girls being killed? And, worse still, did he pay for the girl to be killed on film, for his pleasure, when there were no other snuff films available?

In order to find out, the investigator has to get down into the gutter of life, and search through the worst and most perverted porno manufacturing networks he can find. The girl went missing six years ago, and the police haven't got a clue, but there are clues on the film, such as a tattoo on the hand of the masked killer, and a fleeting image of a man in the background watching.

So what exactly is so disturbing about this film? In order to explain properly, I'm going to have to write a SPOILER. So please only read on ONLY (a) if you have already seen the film, or (b) if you are completely sure you're not going to see it, or (c) if you want to know exactly why it's disturbing and don't mind knowing what happens in order to find out. OK? Here we go:

*******WARNING: ******* SPOILER ******* SPOILER *******

The Disturbing Features:

The film is disturbing largely because the investigator is so shocked by what he discovers that he brutally murders the girl's killers, and gets away with it as well. He literally gets down into the same moral gutter that they are in.

Another disturbing feature is that, in order to make himself angry enough to start killing, he cruelly calls the dead girl's mother on the phone, tells her how her daughter was killed, six years ago. When she naturally breaks down into hysterical sobs, crying out "No, no, no! I love my little girl!" it helps him to start the killing, just as he'd hoped.

Another disturbing feature is that he insensitively calls the widow who started the investigation, and blurts out that her husband did indeed commission the film, and paid for the killing, so the elderly widow, unable to cope with the sudden dreadful news, commits suicide.

And yet another disturbing event is that right at the end, he receives a letter from the girl's mother, emphasising that he did the right thing, in murdering her child's killers. So basically, this film is saying "Forget about the police. They'll do nothing for six years or more. If someone has killed a child, the best thing to do is to take the law into your own hands."

Some people on the internet who are concerned with pro-life issues, have been arguing that the message of the film also carries strong implications that those who shoot abortionists may be doing the right thing, the best thing, after all.

"The Faculty" is a great example of the way horror films are made these days. It's well-written and well-directed, but it aims at giving you laughs and entertainment rather than scariness. The ending may be predictable, but it's such fun getting there!

Aliens are infesting humans, beginning with the faculty of a high school. The film opens at a "normal" high school. Kids are bashing each other, teachers are bellowing at the students, students are threatening the teachers, students are throwing things, and the smaller, weaker students are cowering in the toilets, terrified. Everything "normal", right?

But a small group of students, who are all named in the opening of the film, begin to notice some really odd behaviour of several of the teachers. The teachers are being polite, agreeable, even peaceful! The first student to think that they're being taken over by aliens is scoffed at by the others, but it isn't long before the others get a clear demonstration, as the aliens don't stay completely within their respective human bodies.

They reach out with tentacles, replicate, and crawl into human's ears, in order to take over control of their brains and bodies, in much the same way as they did in "The Invasion of the Body Snatchers". The students soon work out that the aliens will die and things will return to "normal" if only they can work out which one the queen is, and kill her. But which one is she? And how do they kill her?

The queen doesn't need to infest a body, she can disguise herself as a human body. She's only got one disguise, but it's a good one!

When she does reveal herself, and switches back to her alien body, she's one of the most awesome, amazing monsters you've ever seen in a movie. She's really horrible looking, but in a fascinating way! She'd be worth seeing the whole movie for, just on her own, but the rest of the movie is such great fun as well!

Two very fine actors are worth mentioning. Salma Hayek plays the nurse. She normally plays in movies of great depth, so it's interesting to see her in a light-hearted romp like this one. And Robert Patrick, who was so brilliant as the new improved terminator in Terminator II (1991) does a splendid job in this one as well.

Will our group of heroes be able to find the queen, kill her, and save the planet from alien infestation? Will they be able to get the school back to its "normal" chaos, fighting, and trembling in terror? Who will win, a mere handful of students, or the rapidly multiplying thousands of alien body snatchers? I'm not going to tell you, but it's not because it would be a spoiler. It's because you already know, don't you!

Cube has a great idea for a movie. What if you were to awaken one day in a cube, a prison of cube like rooms in a huge cube, not knowing how you got there, or why you're there, or who made it, or what it's for? Each of the rooms is connected to another by a small door in each of its six sides. And it's a deadly maze, with some of the rooms booby-trapped! It's such an original idea, it deserves a viewing just for that fact alone!

Is the only way out through death? If there is an exit, how do you find it? Needless to say, each of the prisoners combine their skills for survival, and each of them can't survive the booby-traps without the others. For example, the mathematician works out a formula which proves accurate and helps them for a time, but eventually the numbers get so large, no human being could measure them, so they must find another way.

Soon, you begin to recognise, from the discussions and from the type of stresses they're undergoing, that the film is an analogy for life on Earth, for they are asking the fundamental questions that all humans ask about life on Earth.

Is there a way to escape the dangers? How will we recognise the way out when we find it? Who built this prison and why? Is it more dangerous to search for the answers, or should we just stay where we are? How did we get here and where are we going? Is there a higher meaning to it all?

Every room is like another day on this planet, complete with its danger rooms and its safe rooms. And all of us are combining our strengths to survive, and learning valuable lessons along the way.

The film is so perfect in this way, that we can afford to ignore the glaringly obvious mistakes, and just enjoy the ride. For instance, the doors *always* make a noise when they open or close. They can't be opened without it. So why is there no noise of an opening door when the killer is sneaking into the room behind someone?

Another glaring mistake is in the scripting, where the killer speaks as if he's been there a long time, and has become determined to get out, even though he's only just awoken and is supposed to be confused as to where he is!

Such mistakes are completely forgivable, owing to the magnificent effectiveness and originality of the rest of the film. This film thoroughly deserves to be put on your "must-see" list!

Now, there are two more important things that need to be said, but *don't* read on until *after* you've seen the film, because they *will* spoil your enjoyment of this film, OK?

*Here comes the spoiler!*

Another way in which the film resembles life on earth is in it's ending. Only the innocent escape from the cycle of suffering, just like all the wise men of history have told us.

And one fact makes this film soar above its deficiencies! That whole massive cube full of different cube-shaped rooms? It is an illusion - they used only *ONE* cube-shaped room, throughout the filming! That achievement alone deserves dumbstruck jaw-dropping admiration! And another trip to the cinema!

From the moment this film opens, it grabs hold of you and never lets go till the final frame. A woman who we later find out is Katie Griffin, drives to a police station and tells the police that there has been a car crash, and that a woman has been killed. She thinks that her lover, the man she had an affair with for the last eight months, has killed his wife so he could inherit his wife's money, and marry her. She thinks he must have tampered with her car, to make it go off the road.

The wife is not actually dead, but in a coma. Her husband is a writer, and teaches a ten-week writing course. The police confront him and escort him to the hospital. His story is that they never had an affair, that she was just an obsessive student of his, in love with him and making a terrible nuisance of herself. If the car was tampered with to kill the wife, then she would have done it out of jealousy.

Both their stories fit all the known facts. Their descriptions of events differ, but they both talk about the same events. The audience is kept guessing all the way through. Which one of their stories is true? Although many murder mysteries use artificial devices to keep the audience guessing, this brilliantly-written, brilliantly-directed film does it only with utterly believable, appropriate plot and character development.

Near the end, when Katie hands over photos to the detective, the truth is revealed. But although the detective now knows the truth, the audience doesn't actually see what's in those photos until the very satisfying, yet very surprising, end. If you love murder mysteries, and you love good films, this would certainly be one of the best you'll ever see.