Reviews
Beyond the Stars (1989)
Good movie poor ending
Quite a nice "people" movie for those who like shows like "Neighbours" (which it slightly resembles. Based slightly on a true story in that some Astronauts did find the transition from life on the "final frontier" to life back home difficult to come to terms with. The boy "hero" was a bit too nieve to be believed but a pleasant chap none the less. Nice main plot (spoiler warning) depicting the ex Astronaut finding a new meaning to life and the boy gaining experience and life skills. (MAJOR SPOILER WARNING). The end of the film showing the discovery and "activation" of an Alien artifact was utterly stupid. I would imagine that the discovery of such an item on the Moon would have done a great deal to revive the "dead" Apollo program which seems to be the old astronauts main grudge in the film. YET HE HIDES IT UNDER HIS GREENHOUSE RATHER THAN WAVES IT IN THE FACE OF THE WORLD! Why ! Worth watching but try to ignore the aliens bit.
Stealth (2005)
Stealth. I don't think so.
The film is called stealth. Why then do the planes rocket around the sky "hypersonically" with afterburners blazing. A heat seeking missiles dream.Also how does the UCAV land vertically. No sign of engine intakes or exhausts. Antigravity? There does not seem to be any jet wash either. As an aside I love what a Royal Navy skipper said when the first Harrier landed oh his carrier. He said "At last a plane that stops then lands. Up till now we have only had planes that land then stop!"
Finally why in the end after the AI unit has proved it can fly the UCAV does the big hero fly it at the end.
Thunderbirds (1965)
Wonderful wonderful Thunderbirds
Thunderbirds was a major part of my childhood. EVERYTHING stopped for Thunderbirds. It did not matter how many times we watched the episodes they remained as fresh as the first viewing. There is a lot of camp humour about the puppets dangling around on their strings but I never noticed that much due to the brilliant idea of never making the characters actually walk. Seriously you watch the TV episodes again you never see anyone put one foot in front of the other. Even the lithe brave Tracys scoot around on little hoverbikes that defy all the laws of physics.
All this did not matter I simply adored EVERYthing about the Thunderbirds series. If I was not watching it I was building Thunderbird craft out of LEGO or sawing the crude wheels of the few Thunderbird toys that were available. Then Captain Scarlet came along and shot down the Thunderbirds. That was quite a good series but it never gripped me as much. Then the years rolled by with only TV21 to keep my appetite for the show nourished until even that with its full colour photos from the show came to an end. Reluctantly I had to leave the Tracy's world and return to my own. AND THEN! The entire series was released on DVD. I had to own it! With trepidation I inserted the first disk . Would the show seem childish and crude against my current diet of StarTrek, Starwars and all the others. Not a bit, as soon as that countdown began once again and the screen was rocked by those explosions I had seen so many times before I was hooked ! Again I was amazed at how fresh and alive the episodes are even after all these years. Even the special effects hold their own in our CGI world. Thunderbirds is an absolute classic. If you have never watched it then I envy you.
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
Not really Star Trek at all
This film was a bigger disappointment than Star Trek the Motionless picture. It was more like Police Academy than anything out of the ST universe. Everything about it was too silly for words. Firstly an alien race turns up and on failing to contact whales for some reason not explained they shrug their shoulders, if they have any, and decide to boil Earths oceans away! From that point the film only gets worse as the crew camp it up around a Los Angeles that seems to have taken loss of its senses! Ridiculous. I nearly walked out before the end! However I did persevere to the final titles seeking some valid conclusion to the plot , in vain. I will concede that this film has some great humour in it possibly to the detriment of the plot but to me its still the worst StarTrek movie of them all. Sorry!
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
StarTrek the Motionless picture
I had such high hopes for this movie being an ardent trekkie. It started superbly with the various crew members assembling to take the new Enterprise (away from Cpt Decker) to investigate the mysterious cloud that was approaching Earth. Terrific stuff. They leave Earth with an ill prepared crew, Spock dramatically joins the ship in deep space and the journey recommences. By now I was on the edge of my seat. The Star Trek movie of my dreams. Then they entered the cloud . . . . .and the action , and the script, and the dialogue ended! To be replaced by endless boring pans through scenery so dark and meaningless as to make the green end-of-reel-umpteen interesting! That cloud penetration sequence seemed to go on FOR EVER! What was the editor thinking about. Eventually the Enterprise reaches the centre to be confronted by V-ger and the action,script and dialogue picks up again to conclude the film in a satisfactory way. Never before have I seen a film that so sorely needed severe editing. Even now when I watch the DVD (Yes it was good enough for me to buy) I usually fast forward through the cloud entry eternity. And I am still amazed at how long it is even on 20X speed. . . Watch it but you can have a long break in the middle without having to stop the film!
Brief Encounter (1945)
Brief Encounter . . . . A meeting with feelings
I have seen this film countless times yet it is always new and fresh whenever I see it. I love the images of fading English orderliness and organised life, social classes and seemly behaviour. Everybody knew their place in the society of the time and did nothing to change it. Outwardly seeming a very comfortable period with people travelling on regular comfortable trains to their regular comfortable jobs in their regular comfortable lives. An age that was dealt a mortal blow in World War One then the Coup De Grace was delivered by the next World War.
A wonderfully atmospheric film full of poignant moments and vistas of Britain coming to the end of yet another hard hard war. Everything in the film looks worn and tired , rather like the heroine herself. The films high spot for me was her panic stricken run through the gloomy station hoping for one last glimpse of her lover! But its most tear-jerking moment is right at the end when her husband welcomes her back after her "daydream".
Wonderful wonderful wonderful. I can never tire of watching it!
Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies (2001)
Ace Combat shattered skies
This is THE most incredible shoot-em-up I have ever played. An earlier commenter remarked about the extremely well designed controls and they are. At low level you do not manoeuvre . . . you THINK maneuvers and the plane jinks in response! The controls are THAT sensitive. Do not get the idea that the various aircraft are difficult to fly. They are not. But they are difficult to fly WELL! Ace combat is the first game where you get an actual impression of speed . Especially when low flying. A milliseconds lapse and you are dead dead dead. The transition from exhilarating flight to savage explosion is shocking to the extreme.
Dog fighting is also incredible. Like the aerial knights of world war one you have to close the distance until you are virtually up his jet-pipe. Missiles are only good for downing rookies! To knock down the aces you need your GUN! The scenery is fantastic too with some great Sci Fi ideas realised. This is the first series of games where I have flown my jet fighter . . ..
Down gigantic tunnels deep within the earth.
Flown around a colossal missile launch complex and attempted to down the missile before it out accelerates me! Explored vast solar energy farms and enormous anti-asteroid -artillery. (triple a in other words.) Absolutely brilliant game. Buy it.
Contact (1997)
One of the few GREAT sf (Not sci-fi) movies
Since seeing the 1st greatest SF movie 2001 I despaired of ever seeing another. Oh the Star Trek ,Star Wars pantheon were fun but this film "Contact" is beautiful, provoking, stunning, scientifically accurate (possibly even the "Machine") and wonderfully crafted. I watched it again recently and enjoyed as much if not more. Instead of being overwhelmed by the SFX the film balances them with involving plot and great acting by all. Great scene where a senator and hordes of troops are trying to stay abreast of the stream of new discoveries pouring into the VLA telescope HQ. Wonderful stuff. I really cannot fault this film at all. See It