nicksholl Reviews

Making a Murderer (2015–2018)

Kathleen Zellner brings hope...

[10/10 · 24 October 2018]

....don't mess with Avery's new lawyer. Her relentless and intelligent approach leaves no stone unturned and has brought much astounding new evidence to light.

I was impressed by the 2 original lawyers in Part 1, but they come across feeble and impenetrable compared to her.

Exploding to see the corruption finally get unfolded- this show has clearly taken the world by storm, and I pray justice and the truth will be brought to light.

Sudden Death (1995)

Die Hard in an Ice Hockey Stadium

[7/10 · 7 July 2002]

*MILD SPOILERS BELOW*

Like most Van Damme vehicles, the action is hard hitting, the acting lame and the screenplay hilarious ! Most aspects of the story-line have been influenced by earlier hostage thrillers, especially Die Hard, the mother of them all.

Take for example the scene where the foolish FBI decide to take matters into their own hands and send men into the stadium, strictly against the orders of the villain, quite well cast as 'Powers' Boothe. As they all run in from separate doors, their is a man sitting behind several surveillance cameras of the outer stadium, relaying their actions through his walkie-talkie to Boothe. Like the black man in Die Hard with his 'all was quiet on Christmas Eve, except 3 swat team members entering from the front' line.

Some of the action scenes are well crafted, like Van Damme's entrance into the VIP box at the end, but most of the fights have far too many speedy cuts to make them enjoyable, instead they are just ultra-violent. If nothing else, some of Jean-Claude's moments of glory are highly comical, especially his facial expressions, which are completely OTT e.g. after saying 'come and get me' over the phone. Other notable bits of unintentional humour are;

1. Van Damme's ''educated guesses'' at where the bombs could be within the stadium, all of which are inch perfect, naturally.

2.The way in which Van Damme, THE FIREMAN, diffuses all bombs with ease.

3. One scene where the producers must have run out of dosh as it seems they couldn't afford to over-dub sound effects and old Claude has to, hilariously, make them himself with a throaty 'HUUGH'!! (during the 'sharp object up the arm' manoeuvre)

So, all humour apart, this is a better than average flick which will keep you entertained due to its fast pace and moments of genuine tension. Just don't expect something as good as Die Hard, Under Siege, or Speed.

Overall Rating: 7/10

The Cement Garden (1993)

Strange, bizarre, disgusting and perverted at the same time.

[30 January 2002]

*A few spoilers, if you care*

What sort of a man decides to write a book about a death within a family which sparks off a romance between two siblings. Surely only somebody disturbed. Because thats the feeling I got when I watched this weird film. It had no meaning, no moral and certainly nothing to relate to, well unless there are other people out there who feel attracted to their siblings from time to time.

A family who live in an isolated suburb are attempting to cover their weed filled garden with cement, (well all but one who is in the bathroom doing other things!) when the father suffers from a stroke and dies. Being within the first five minutes it's hard to feel truly sorry for the family because you don't know any characters properly yet. The next 110 minutes consists of another death and an ongoing attempt to cover it up.

For this reason I cannot recommend this at all as it is completely boring and will leave you wishing you'd rather not bothered. Some people have compared it to The Shining as it deals with what happens if you left.......alone in isolation, but I see a greater resemblance with Casino Royale to be frank: they're both crap.

P.S - if anybody out there knows why the teenager in the family feels the urge to run outside in the rain 'commando style' half way through then please email me and let me know, its been bothering me for months.

Memento (2000)

LUCKY ME !!

[24 August 2001]

*Warning* One mild spoiler !*

I first heard about this film when it sprung out of nowhere into Jonathon Ross's 'Best Film of the Year' event at number 5. He used the words 'low-budget', and only one scene was shown, and a very badly chosen one at that. (The cafeteria scene with the brilliant Carrie-Ann-Moss) It didn't catch my attention much for these two reasons, hence it was bad marketing.

I then forgot almost instantly about it, until it then, about 6 months later it popped into the IMDB at number 12. (No mean feat when you look what it's up against!) I then saw a better trailer for it, where it showed parts of the first 'reverse scene', where the gun flies backwards into Guy Pearce's hand, and instantly wanted to see it.

I had heard that the film had gotten a limited release, and being out here in Germany, with an equally limited variety of new films, I thought I wouldn't see it for ages. The next day I noticed that my local rental store was closing down, and at my lunch break, went over there to see what was selling. Hiding in a corner towards the back, was Memento. For 20 Deutsche Mark's ! (6 pounds, 10 dollars) Of course I rushed home to grab some money, and came late back to work, but hey, once you've seen the film, and understand my position, it was worth coming late for.

I watched it once, and was impressed with its originality, and at how clever the middle scenes were, but was somewhat dazed about the end. Only now, after a second viewing, can I say that I understood it all. I know who was good and bad, and who strayed into both categories. Only real brainboxes with IQ's higher than the length of this film would understand it all the first time. Many people will claim to have understood it as they casually walk out of the cinema, but 80% of them will be lying.

I think the point I am trying to get at, is that this is a 'MUST see twice within a month film', for the ultimate viewing pleasure.

Every scene begins a mystery, but then once it has backtracked to familiar ground there is a very strange feeling of satisfaction.

This certainly deserves to be at number one of any top 10 list, see it now, and if you already have, you probably haven't understood it, so see it again.

AND THIS ISN'T FOR ANYBODY WITH SHORT-TERM MEMORY LOSS THEMSELVES !

Edtv (1999)

Where's a morale we haven't heard of before?

[16 July 2001]

At the end of this film, the only thing you can hope to learn is that everybody in America is a pervert, and many want to be famous. Haven't we heard this before?

The story revolves (too much) around Ed, who agrees to be filmed 24-7 by a struggling TV-Cable Company. Surprise surprise, he soon wants out,but would be breaching the contract if he did.This makes way for the bravura ending, which makes this barely worth watching.

There was only one hilarious scene to mention. Woody Harrelson doing 'the chicken dance' !

Rating: 5

Logan's War: Bound by Honor (1998 TV Movie)

Covers well known ground, but still a great hard hitting actioner

[9/10 · 17 May 2001]

I've always been a big fan of Chuck Norris, but when I saw this film about 2 years ago, I was simply blown away by the perfect combination of well choreographed martial-art action, stunt-work, and terrific training sequences. It still fascinates me now.I admit that his other movies have lame stories to exploit, and although there are elements of cheese and corn in this one too, by the end you'll no longer care. (thats if you like action movies)

Although the story is simple, it is dealt with very effectively, in that the young boy, Logan, whose family was killed when he was still a child, goes to live with his uncle Jake(Chuck Norris). Finding out that Jake used to be a world class fighter, he learns how to fight, and after joining the army rangers, the worlds best, then seeks vengeance against the men that murdered his family.

Although Chuck is in his late 50's in this film, he shows off some moves which many men in their prime could never pull off, and you can only applaud when you see how he finishes off a guy in a car at the end.(I'll say no more, except that the stunt is similar to 1978's awful and inferior 'Good Guys Wear Black')

Watch, enjoy and marvel at the brilliance off this film !

The Art of the Needle (1966)

WHY HAS NOBODY SEEN THIS DOCUMENTARY ???

[10/10 · 15 May 2001]

Some things strike me as strange in this world, and one of those is why this classic documentary/film has not been watched, marvelled at, admired, then been voted for on this site.

I realise it is now 35 years old, but it is constantly showing on American channels in the US, but evidently, and sadly, ignored.

Horace Ove is known for his masterful talent at covering aspects of life such as racism, loneliness, and prejudice better than geniuses like Stanley Kubrick or talent like Steven Spielberg, and thats exactly what he manages to portray with style in this feature length documentary, if you can call it that.

I can only feel sorry for the director because his great talent has gone to so much waste during the 60's and 70's, mainly because he never achieved the 'hollywood breakthrough' that other masters like Francis Ford Coppolla or Martin Scorsese did.

But Hollywood doesn't decide whether this man is a genius or not, people like I do, who have studied film to a great level and take a critical look at them in their daily job. This man has taught me lessons in life that nobody else has managed to.

This master stroke of 90 minutes is mainly about one mans struggle to gain respect in his life, a certain Timothy Baldwin, who unfortunately lives in a strongly racist society. It is very emotional, mainly because it is a true story, also covering other members of the Baldwin family's life (no relation to the large family of Hollywood's Baldwins).

Unfortunately, this is a classic that is very hard to get your hands on, but send me a message with your address in it, and I'll send it to anybody who is willing to appreciate this gritty look at someones life, as true and real as it is.