Screened by Slimm

Agatha Christie’s Poirot S01E10 The Dream (1989) – 8/10 period murder mystery TV review

Mister Slimm — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:53:39 +0000

Cast / crew
Writer: Agatha Christie
David Suchet: Hercule Poirot
Hugh Fraser: Captain Arthur Hastings
Philip Jackson: Chief Inspector Japp
Pauline Moran: Miss Felicity Lemon
Writer (Dramatisation): Clive Exton
Director: Edward Bennett

Poirot, Agatha Christie’s S01E10 Dream, The (1989)

Benedict Farley, a wealthy businessman (he makes pies), requests the wisdom of Poirot with regard to disturbing dream he keeps having where he commits suicide at 12:28 with a revolver. He asks Poirot if he can be made to kill himself through the suggestion of the dream but Poirot cannot offer any advice due to lack of information. His puzzlement and frustration is joined by professionally dented pride when Farley is found dead the next day. Shot. At 12:28. With a revolver. Meanwhile, Miss Lemon is having trouble with the typewriter.

8/10

Though the nature of the revelation of the dream is immediately transparent to the audience and, it should be noted, to a certain extent by Poirot, the surrounding stuff including Poirot revealing a wild youth that may have permanently damaged some little grey cells (prompting a welcome "I say" from Hastings), the murder method, a clock (another "I say") and a typewriter ("Voila!") keeps the episode more than entertaining enough. And there is the tacit recognition (by Japp) that like super-villains flocking to Gotham, even when it looks like suicide, "where Hercule Poirot is concerned, there arises immediately the suspicion of murder." A lot of fun.

This Poirot, Agatha Christie’s episode contains mild unpleasant scene, mild violence.

Classified PG by BBFC. Parental Guidance.

Links

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Filed under: 08/10 TV review, Agatha Christie, TV

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) – 8/10 science fiction adventure movie

Mister Slimm — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:03:45 +0000

Cast / crew
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Writer: Rick Jaffa
Writer: Amanda Silver
Producer: Peter Chernin
Producer: Dylan Clark
Producer: Rick Jaffa
Producer: Amanda Silver
Senior Visual Effects Supervisor: Joe Letteri
Visual Effects Supervisor: Dan Lemmon
James Franco: Will Rodman
Freida Pinto: Caroline Aranha
John Lithgow: Charles Rodman
Brian Cox: John Landon
Tom Felton: Dodge Landon
David Oyelowo: Steven Jacobs
Andy Serkis: Ape: Caesar

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

After five years of testing his latest anti-Alzheimer’s formula on chimps, scientist Will Rodman is ready to go to the next stage: human trials. Not only does it reverse the affects of Alzheimer’s but, on a normal brain, it increases intelligence. A disastrous presentation to the board, however, leaves him without a project, without credibility, without funding but with a baby chimp, Caesar, who has inherited the formula from it’s mother.

8/10

This is a good movie which hopes that a couple of significant plot holes and Hollywood-isms will be forgiven among the outstanding technical achievement (Andy Serkis and Weta Digital) and compelling coming-of-age story well disguised as a mad scientist / prison escape movie. Having a highly relatable core (Caesar matures into an independent soul and leaves his familial home) gives the movie something solid to build on while Andy Serkis and Weta Digital’s work as Caesar (building on ILM’s Davy Jones in POTC: Dead Man’s Chest) gives the movie endlessly impressive visuals and character. P.S.: I was very happy to see that humankind wasn’t wiped out by Caesar in any way and there isn’t a twist ending.

This movie contains violence.

Classified 12A by BBFC. Persons under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult.

Filed under: 08/10 movie review, Movies

Night at the Museum 2 (2009) – 6/10 family-friendly fantasy adventure movie review

Mister Slimm — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:13:49 +0000

Cast / crew
Director: Shawn Levy
Ben Stiller: Larry Daley
Amy Adams: Amelia Earhart
Owen Wilson: Jedediah
Hank Azaria: Kahmunrah
Christopher Guest: Ivan the Terrible
Alain Chabat: Napoleon
Steve Coogan: Octavius
Ricky Gervais: Dr. McPhee
Bill Hader: General Custer
Jon Bernthal: Al Capone
Robin Williams: Teddy Roosevelt
Producer: Shawn Levy
Producer: Chris Columbus
Producer: Michael Barnathan
Writer: Robert Ben Garant
Writer: Thomas Lennon
Shawn Levy: Infomercial Father
Hank Azaria: Voice of The Thinker and Abe Lincoln

Night at the Museum 2 (2009)

Larry Daley is now running a successful business off the back of a couple of his own inventions when he finds out that the Natural History museum is being refitted and the old exhibits put into permanent storage. He decides that won’t do and sets about restoring his friends to their proper place because that’s how the world works in Hollywood and, no, it doesn’t make any sense but that’s what happens.

6/10

Though it replaces the positive message of the first (the past is worth learning about) with a standard selfish Hollywood message (only do a job you love; something commonly spouted by people who have no fiscal necessity to work), this is a fun, energetic family-friendly adventure with, surprisingly, an actually funny scene or two (especially an uncredited Jonah Hill’s Smithsonian security guard versus Ben Stiller).

This movie contains violence.

Classified PG by BBFC. Parental Guidance.

Links

Previous: Night at the Museum

Filed under: 06/10 movie review, Movies

Doctor Who: The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe (2011) – 7/10 WWII period science fiction adventure Christmas special TV review

Mister Slimm — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 21:47:20 +0000

Cast / crew
Matt Smith: The Doctor
Claire Skinner: Madge Arwell
Writer: Steven Moffat
Producer: Marcus Wilson
Director: Farren Blackburn

Doctor Who Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe, The (2011)

World War II: After being helped by Marge Arwell one night, the Doctor offers to return the favour anytime she wishes. When she does call him in, well, nothing the Doctor does ever goes to plan, does it?

7/10

A welcome return to form following the dismal 2011 season finalé which has plenty of energy and connects emotionally. There’s a great start and a lovely finish and there are wonderful concept, character and visual ideas in-, the somewhat predictable, between. Matt Smith is, once more, incredible as the Doctor. He showcases his comic abilities in the spaceman suit, delivers abundant energy in his physicality, machine guns his lines out with pinpoint clarity and then, backed up by Murray Gold’s quality score, cements a viscerally emotive climax. It’s easy to forget that anyone else has ever been the Doctor. That said, it’s disheartening to see planet-wide doom wheeled out once more and one wishes that Doctor Who would deliver some episodes without peril. He doesn’t need it.

Classified PG by BBFC. Parental Guidance.

Links

Filed under: 07/10 TV Review, Doctor Who, TV

Agatha Christie’s Poirot The Clocks (2009) – 7/10 period murder mystery TV review

Mister Slimm — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 01:38:29 +0000

Cast / crew
David Suchet: Hercule Poirot
Writer (Original Novel): Agatha Christie
Writer (Screenplay): Stewart Harcourt
Frances Barber: Merlina Rival
Stephen Boxer: Christopher Mabbutt
Tom Burke: Lt. Colin Race
Phil Daniels: Inspector Hardcastle
Beatie Edney: Mrs Hemmings
Guy Henry: Matthew Waterhouse
Anna Massey: Miss Pebmarsh
Geoffrey Palmer: Vice Admiral Hamling
Tessa Peake-Jones: Val Bland
Ben Righton: Constable Jenkins
Lesley Sharp: Miss Martindale
Abigail Thaw: Rachel Waterhouse
Jason Watkins: Joe Bland
Jaime Winstone: Sheila Webb
Producer: Karen Thrussell
Director: Charles Palmer

Poirot, Agatha Christie’s Clocks, The (2009)

A typist is booked by a blind woman to be at her house at 3:00pm but when she arrives she finds four clocks set to 4:13. And a dead body, of course.

7/10

Good episode of Poirot because it is, however mildly, fun, a quality that is in short supply in the feature-length adaptations. On top of this, the clues, characters and mystery are presented clearly and kept in focus and, while Poirot does keep a clue away from the audience (a marriage certificate), there are enough other clues to the how and who to get us most of the way there if we’re paying attention. The support cast do a good job with Phil Daniels balancing his character delicately and Tom Burke providing a surprisingly welcome romantic element.

This Poirot, Agatha Christie’s episode contains adult dialogue and brief gory violence, graphic fatal car accident.

Classified 12 by BBFC. Suitable only for persons of 12 years and over.

Links

Filed under: 07/10 TV Review, Agatha Christie, TV

Green Lantern (2011) – 2/10 superhero movie review

Mister Slimm — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:58:19 +0000

Cast / crew
Director: Martin Campbell
Writer (Screenplay) Based upon characters appearing in comic books publisherd by DC Comics: Greg Berlanti
Writer (Screenplay) Based upon characters appearing in comic books publisherd by DC Comics: Michael Green
Writer (Screenplay) Based upon characters appearing in comic books publisherd by DC Comics: Marc Guggenheim
Writer (Screenplay) Based upon characters appearing in comic books publisherd by DC Comics: Michael Goldenberg
Writer (Story) Based upon characters appearing in comic books publisherd by DC Comics: Michael Green
Writer (Story) Based upon characters appearing in comic books publisherd by DC Comics: Marc Guggenheim
Producer: Donald DeLine
Producer: Greg Berlanti
Ryan Reynolds: Hal Jordan / Green Lantern
Blake Lively: Carol Ferris
Peter Sarsgaard: Hector Hammond
Mark Strong: Sinestro
Angela Bassett: Doctor Waller
Temuera Morrison: Abin Sur
Jay O. Sanders: Carl Ferris
Jon Tenney: Martin Jordan
Taika Waititi: Tom Kalmaku
Tim Robbins: Hammond

Green Lantern (2011)

Ace but immature fighter pilot Hal Jordan is chosen by the ring of a dying Green Lantern – a corps of inter-galactic beings tasked with safeguarding the universe – to be his successor. Jordan is the first human to be chosen but both he and other Green Lanterns feel that the ring must have made a mistake.

2/10

Impressively bland super-hero adventure which makes all the mistakes typical of the genre (no plot coherence, no convincing characters, no understandable motivation, no recognisable or rational human beings anywhere to be seen) but doesn’t have any of the benefits (imaginative, thrilling, spectacular action, heroic acts, evil being punched in the twirled moustache). The dismal, genuinely depressing, mid-credits epilogue takes an entire star off the rating thanks to undoing the only thing the movie did that was against expectation: that Mark Strong was not the villain. Obviously, it still takes an awful lot of money, effort and skill to make even a bad movie. You do wonder how much more effort it takes to make a good one.

This movie contains extremely unpleasant scenes, extreme fantasy violence.

Classified 12A by BBFC. Persons under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult.

Filed under: 02/10 movie review, Movies

G-Force (2009) – 6/10 fantasy action adventure movie review

Mister Slimm — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 22:00:41 +0000

Cast / crew
Director: Hoyt H. Yeatman, Jr.
Writer: Cormac Wibberley
Writer: Marianne Wibberley
Writer (Original Story): Hoyt Yeatman IV
Writer (Original Story): David P.I. James
Producer: Jerry Bruckheimer
Executive Producer: David P.I. James
Bill Nighy: Saber
Will Arnett: Kip Killian
Zach Galifianakis: Ben
Nicolas Cage: Speckles
Sam Rockwell: Darwin
Jon Favreau: Hurley
Penélope Cruz: Juarez
Steve Buscemi: Bucky
Tracy Morgan: Blaster

G-Force (2009)

The FBI are about to shut down G-Force, a team of genetically-engineered guinea pigs, and to avoid the axe, they decide to run their first live mission and prove how useful they can be.

6/10

This is a reasonably fun, furiously-paced action movie with unexpectedly expensive-looking special effects. It simply never seems to be a movie warranting such investment (Box Office Mojo reports a $150 million production budget) as the script is weak and lifeless. It feels like someone took a typical bottom-shelf action script and swapped human characters for guinea pigs and called it a day. As it is, the special effects are absolutely the best thing about the movie and help bring the quality voice-work of Nicolas Cage, Steve Buscemi and Jon Favreau to life.

This movie contains scenes of peril.

Classified PG by BBFC. Parental Guidance.

Filed under: 06/10 movie review, Jerry Bruckheimer, Movies

The Young Victoria (2008) – 8/10 romantic epic movie review

Mister Slimm — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 13:19:57 +0000

Cast / crew
Director: Jean-Marc Vallée
Writer: Julian Fellowes
Producer: Graham King
Producer: Martin Scorsese
Producer: Tim Headington
Producer: Sarah Ferguson
Emily Blunt: Queen Victoria
Rupert Friend: Prince Albert
Paul Bettany: Lord Melbourne
Miranda Richardson: Duchess of Kent
Jim Broadbent: King William
Thomas Kretschmann: King Leopold
Mark Strong: Sir John Conroy
Jesper Christensen: Baron Stockmar
Harriet Walter: Queen Adelaide

Young Victoria, The (2008)

Victoria will be the next Queen of England but as she hasn’t turned eighteen yet, she is seen as an easy target for manipulation and control. Various parties seek to gain influence over her: one by force, one by charm and one by love.

8/10

This is a lovely movie, crisp and beautiful; a fairy tale based on truth. It doesn’t make the usual mistake of trying to make the Royal’s just like us with ordinary problems; Victoria’s life brings with it entirely other problems from Mark Strong’s puppy-kicking villain through being (initially) callously manipulated to balancing the role of Queen and wife. Even though we will never have these issues, we do recognise them and understand their challenges and they are interesting, especially when presented as elegantly and economically as this.

This movie contains mild adult dialogue and a mild gory and unpleasant scene, violence and mild sexuality.

Classified PG by BBFC. Parental Guidance.

Filed under: 08/10 movie review, Movies

The Hunter (1980) – 7/10 biopic action Steve McQueen movie review

Mister Slimm — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 12:10:30 +0000

Cast / crew
Producer: Mort Engelberg
Director: Buzz Kulik
Steve McQueen: Papa Thorson
Eli Wallach: Ritchie Blumenthal
Kathryn Harrold: Dotty
LeVar Burton: Tommy Price
Ben Johnson: Sheriff Strong
Writer (Screenplay): Ted Leighton
Writer (Screenplay): Peter Hyams
Ralph Thorson: Bartender
Christopher Keane: Mike
Writer (Original Book) Based upon the life of: Christopher Keane
Writer (Original Book) Based upon the life of: Ralph Thorson

Hunter, The (1980)

Ralph Papa Thorson is a bounty hunter who retrieves criminals who have skipped bail. Some are easier to catch than others but one former target has just been released from prison and wants to kill the man who put him there.

7/10

While easily criticised for a lack of characters arcs and genuinely having no story (every twenty minutes Papa Thorson goes and catches a new unrelated baddie; that’s his job), this is an entertaining enough, attention-keeping production with some useful action scenes and Steve McQueen rather brilliantly subverting his reputation by running out of puff during action scenes and running into everything during driving scenes.

This movie contains mild swear words and brief graphic violence, melee violence and sensuality.

Filed under: 07/10 movie review, Movies, Steve McQueen

The Golden Compass (2007) 2/10 fantasy adventure movie review

Mister Slimm — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:10:08 +0000

Cast / crew
Director: Chris Weitz
Writer (Screenplay): Chris Weitz
Writer (Original Book) Northern Lights: Philip Pullman
Producer: Deborah Forte
Producer: Bill Carraro
Nicole Kidman: Mrs Coulter
Dakota Blue Richards: Lyra
Sam Elliott: Lee Scoresby
Eva Green: Serafina Pekkala
Christopher Lee: First High Councilor
Tom Courtenay: Farder Coram
Derek Jacobi: Magisterial Emissary
Ian McKellen: The Voice of Iorek Byrnison
Ian McShane: The Voice of Ragnar Sturlusson
Freddie Highmore: The Voice of Pantalaimon
Kathy Bates: The Voice of Hester
Kristin Scott Thomas: The Voice of Stelmaria
Daniel Craig: Lord Asriel

Golden Compass, The (2007)

After been given a unique Alethiometer (a device which tells the truth) and told to keep it secret, Lyra finds herself the target of people who want the device for themselves. So, she whips it out at every opportunity and reads it using, not the symbols on its circumference and applying logic and insight, but by doing an pretty gold CG whoosh effect because audiences are idiots.

2/10

It’s really quite surprising just how unconvincing this fantasy adventure is. The operation of the Golden Compass and just about every plot point, conversation and character interaction doesn’t make sense. Then, at the end of the movie, you realise that it was supposed to be all about rescuing this boy and not about any of the things you thought it was about. It doesn’t help that the acting from unlikable lead Dakota Blue Richards is wooden and disdainful. The single extra star is for an unexpectedly awesome climax to Ian McKellen’s big fight scene (SPOILER he rips the lower jaw off Ian McShane – they’re bears, by the way).

This movie contains brief graphic fantasy violence, other fantasy violence.

Classified PG by BBFC. Parental Guidance.

Links

The Golden Compass game review

Filed under: 02/10 movie review, Movies