Change Your Image
P-Mac-2008
Other directors I admire include Steven Spielberg, David Cronenberg, George A. Romero, Tim Burton, Wes Craven, and Peter Jackson.
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
The Reluctant Dragon (1941)
My Favourite Disney Mini Classic!
I enjoyed all the Disney cartoons when I was at a really young age. I used to rent the Mini Classics out of my local video store. As soon as I saw this particular cartoon, I knew that this would be the all-time best in my opinion. It's a fantastic cartoon.
The characters breathe life into the story, and are not what you would expect. If you think the Dragon is going to be a ferocious beast, you're wrong. He's just a shy, fun and flamboyant creature who loves to recite poetry, drink tea and sing songs. He steals each scene. Sir Giles and the Boy are also brilliant supporting characters.
The animation is a sight to see. There is so much detail. It's extraordinary to see a cartoon from the Forties that has amazing colour. It's very good for its time.
The most important thing about this cartoon is the message of not putting people into their anticipated stereotypes. Just because the main character happens to be a dragon doesn't mean he will be ferocious. The same goes for Sir Giles. He is apparently a dragon slayer, yet he is portrayed as an old man with the same interest as the Dragon, which is poetry. He seems like someone who has never slain a dragon before, yet is praised for being something he is not.
I really recommend this. It's warm and funny, and will entertain people of all ages. I'm 16 now, and I am still in love with this film. The Reluctant Dragon is the best of the Walt Disney Mini Classics, and if you want to see it, I can happily tell you that it is now part of the Disney Fables DVD series, paired with Mickey and the Beanstalk.
The Fog (1980)
One of the greatest horror movies ever made!
I saw The Fog when I saw about 12 or 13 (16 now) and it really creeped me out. John Carpenter used the same scare techniques he used for Halloween, rarely showing the ghosts, and using little violence, as well as building the sense of dread with the score. I wouldn't call The Fog a slasher flick. Instead I would call this an interesting ghost story with full of twists and turns, complete with a shock ending!
It's great to see two scream queens (Janet Leigh and Jamie Lee Curtis) in this film, They both deliver brilliant performances, but the film is quietly stolen by Hal Holbrook, who discovers the terrifying truths of Antonia Bay and realises that it is too late to run.
John Carpenter's The Fog is a haunting masterpiece, and is a better film than Halloween in my opinion, although Halloween is one of my favourite films. 26 years on, it still has the power to terrify.
Nachts, wenn Dracula erwacht (1970)
A True Classic!
Jess Franco's adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel is brilliant. It would take 22 years before Coppola made another version of the story, which is as fantastic as Franco's film.
Christopher Lee is astonishing as Dracula (as usual), while Herbert Lom excels as Van Helsing. The rest of the cast, including Maria Rohm as Mina, Soledad Miranda as Lucy and Klaus Kinski as Renfield, are superb.
The film works well because it relies on atmosphere and mood, rather than resorting to gore every few minutes. That's what you rarely see in a horror film these days, which is a shame, as films that use these techniques frighten more.
Christopher Lee is the greatest Count Dracula of all time, probably more famous than Bela Lugosi or Max Schreck, the bald-headed creature of the night in the silent movie Nosferatu: Eine Symphonie des Grauens, also known as Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror.
A marvellous vampire film!