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davejohnson15
Reviews
Safe Haven (2013)
Hard to translate to a movie
I have read the book as I am a great lover of Nicholas Sparks' stories and consider this book his second best so far - after 'A Walk to Remember'. The book has a very long first half where the two lead characters are developing their relationship. This is fine because Nicolas Sparks makes his characters very three dimensional as he is a very good writer but if you try and put this very important section into a film it can make for a very boring first half. I felt that this was so and my wife also found it very slow even though that part is an essential part of the story. Movies are rarely as good as the books from which they are taken and that is true in this case. I thought that perhaps a little commentary by both characters over the action would have improved it. The important character of Jo is not developed enough either as it makes a very surprising twist at the end of the book. I have the DVD and the book of 'A Walk to Remember' and, again, the book is a lot better but the DVD is also very good. In conclusion I just think that this particular book should not have been made into a movie but he is still my favourite author.
The Sender (1998)
Utter Gung Ho rubbish
This film is typical of what the Americans seem to like - to their shame. Lots of car chases, a very high body count and leading characters possessing an immunity to machine gun bullets whilst making every shot from their handguns hit its target. Also I believe that automatic pistols do need reloading before firing 100 shots. The plot was OK but there were many loopholes. The only thing making this film worth watching is Shelli Lether who is very easy on the eye. Glamour is one thing that the Yanks do well but how many times have we seen immune heroes like Rambo dodging multiple machine gun fire with no damage! 1/10(for Shelli Lether)
Heavy (1995)
One big yawn
This film is without doubt the most boring I have ever seen. I watched it in fast forward a lot of the time because watching paint drying is more interesting. The only reason that I didn't switch off was because I wanted to see the hopefully, happy ending but, that was not to be. This was half expected because I couldn't believe that Cally could ever be remotely interested in someone like Vic. His part must have been really easy to learn as all he did was look and not speak. I found myself shouting 'Say something!' at the TV but all he did was look. The parts where there was not supposed to be any dialogue were really dragged out as well. I understand that the director(?) Mangold has also made 'Kate and Leopold'. That WAS an enjoyable film so perhaps this is just a temporary blip. I hope so.
Day of the Sirens (2002)
What a load of rubbish
This film is pure rubbish. It was very obviously cheaply made with many cardboard characters. An exception to this is the Spanish couple. Sayeed Jaffrey's acting was also good but I wanted to shake him every time I saw him. He was so wimpish. The ending seemed to me to be 'make up time' in order to make it into a full length film. The film was also inconclusive and should have finished as soon as the killer was caught - not go meandering on inventing more killers and killings. Also London would not have come to a stop in this sort of event - let alone with people blocking all the routes out of the city. The film also jumped scenes too much. Very disappointing!
The Affair of the Necklace (2001)
Spoiled by miscasting
This whole film was completely spoiled, for me, by the miscasting of Hilary Swank. She did not even try to speak with an English accent. I know that the action took place in France but everyone else used good English. Perhaps she should speak to Gwyneth Paltrow who, herself, would have been better in the role and can also speak very good English ("Shakespeare in Love"). Hilary Swank did not convince at all in the part although everyone else was very convincing and the film was beautifully shot. A jarring American accent ruined the whole thing - especially in the leading part.
I'll Be There (2003)
Unexpectedly good
My whole family went to see this and we all enjoyed it. We think that it is a shame that it wasn't seen by more people. It was a good light- hearted film and the cast did it credit. I was not expecting such a good performance from Charlotte Church although she was really playing herself. If you don't expect high drama and sit back and relax, you should really enjoy it. I will certainly buy this video when it comes out on general release.
The Others (2001)
Sound Quality
I enjoyed the film very much but it was spoiled, to a certain extent, by certain characters whispering. Nicole Kidman was very bad here and, at the end, I missed what she was saying to the children so I had to guess at the full outcome of the plot. Even by turning up the volume it was very difficult to hear - in fact I found the entire film quite lacking in volume, except for the screams of course. I watched this film on DVD but see no reason to believe that the cinema version would be any better.
All good horror films seem to have to be shot in low light and sometimes I find myself shouting 'Put the light on!' when the person (normally a young lady) is wandering about a house looking for intruders, ghosts etc. This film covered that very well by stating that the children were allergic to light so I had no need to shout in this case. My daughter (35 yrs old) will not watch this film by herself and I see why, as it gripped me very well. N.B. It was not a rifle that Nicole Kidman was carrying but a shotgun!
Sliding Doors (1998)
Gwynneth Paltrow's English accent
I quite enjoyed this film and thought that it was a quite unique plot but I haven't seen the previous one which is supposed to be similar. I must confess, though, that I wondered how it would end and thought that the ending was quite good. It's always nice to see boy and girl embracing in a happy ending so perhaps, in this case, the finish was a bit of an anti-climax. All the leads were good and I would like to say how impressed I am with Gwynneth Paltrow's English accent. I have heard it before - both in 'Shakespeare in love' and in 'Emma'. It is a good upper class accent but it does seem strange that she dropped her 't's, at the end of words, unnecessarily in this film. However, this does happen, even in 'upper class' accents, occasionally, so I will forgive her.