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Reviews
White Heat (1949)
This is James Cagney at his best. If you're a silver screen fan then this is a must-see, and if you don't like gangster movies, this will be the exception.
There is plenty of debate about who was the greatest actor in the history of Hollywood, and while most of the silver-screen fans I know would lean toward Bogart, I've always had a weakness for Cagney.
Although in real life James Francis Cagney Jr. was both charming and sophisticated, he had a unique talent for playing ruthless, implacable thugs, and in White Heat he adds another aspect to the character he plays: Insanity.
This is not just a gangster movie. It is a psychological thriller of epic proportions.
The dialogue is brilliant and witty, the plot is well woven, the effects are convincing, the acting is marvellous and the ending is apocalyptic. If you like any movies from the golden age of Hollywood, then give this one a go.
Robot Holocaust (1987)
There's a silver lining, through each bad movie shining.
All right, there's no way to sugarcoat this. The plot was ridiculous, the premise was ridiculous, the acting was unconscionable, the effects were laughable and all of the outdoor scenes appear to have been filmed in New York's Central Park. That having been said, there was something about this movie that I couldn't walk away from. Maybe it was the atmosphere, or maybe it was the evil super-vixen or the amazon wenches.
Anyway I'm not one to sit on the margins and criticise without pointing out a few redeeming qualities, so here they are.
A violent off-shoot of the women's lib movement is portrayed in a wilderness setting (central park, of course), and all of the masochistic young men out there will be very impressed. Furthermore, some of the scenes in which certain characters lose consciousness are amusingly dramatic (you'll note that I write dramatic, rather than convincing).
All I can say is that some people like B movies and I'm one of them. If you're one of them too, then give it a go. Cheers, Mr Kincaid. This is one for the ages.