parklife7 Reviews

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

Brilliant film

[10/10 · 11 May 2024]

This has to be one of the best sci-fi films ever made .Michael Rennie is simply superb as the understated Klaatu, well spoken and completely unthreatening, just makes out how stupid US forces were seen to be, shoot first etc etc especially in one of the last scenes when the 'dead' Klaatu emerges from the spaceship and the army draw their sidearms! Even the token 'punk kid' is not annoying at all, and actually adds to the story that is being told. This thriller is very atmospheric and is so so so much better than the Keanu Reeves re-boot in which he is just like a block of wood and consequently completely rubbish.

Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? (1973–1974)

The best comedy produced

[10/10 · 5 June 2019]

I am in the process of watching re-runs of this on Yesterday and have always loved it, the comedy is so well observed and it just doesn't seem to date at all. Bob and Terry are characters that we can all identify with, we were one of them back in the day, my brother was certainly Bob and I was Terry! Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais' finest work, and that is saying something!

Licence to Kill (1989)

6.6 stars, are you kidding?

[9/10 · 18 September 2018]

This is my favourite Band film, the character has real depth and there are not the sex scenes loaded with innuendo as others have had. Dalton brings a grim reality to the role, he is beaten up, tied up etc etc bloody face as well where as before the Connery and Moore versions would not have a hair out of place. The fact that Bond is NOT working for MI6 but on his own also lends a different dimension to the film that is refreshing. Benecio Del Toro is an excellent villain despite not being on screen for long and the Sanchez character is just perfect for the film. I say watch this film with an open mind and you may think, as I do. that Dalton was an excellent Bond with an all too short tenure (politics}

Wolf Hall (2015)

Excellent series well worth watching

[9/10 · 11 February 2015]

Having only seen this really from Thomas More's perspective in 'A Man for all Seasons' (a brilliant film) I was intrigued to see it from the 'villain's' point of view which is what Cromwell was in the film. This has been quite an eye opener for me and I am absolutely hooked on the BBC series right now. It got off to a fairly slow start in episode 1 in setting the background for the story but it has just got better and better, the acting from Rylance and Lewis etc is superb and Mark Rylance is not too dissimilar in appearance from Cromwell's actual appearance. Another superb costume drama from the BBC and long may it continue if this is the standard we can expect for future productions.

A Man for All Seasons (1966)

One of the best ever made

[10/10 · 25 August 2014]

What can I say about this masterpiece apart from the fact the acting is exquisite from all concerned but especially Schofield and Hillier, just the scene where he gets her to swear on the bible and her reaction is brilliant, just goes to show how god fearing they were in the 1500's. The casting of Robert Shaw as Henry VIII, the brief appearance of Orson Welles as Wolseley, Nigel Davenport as Norfolk, the incomparable Leo McKern as Cromwell as well as Susan George and Corin Redgrave as her husband is absolutely superb, you can't ever actually imagine anyone playing these parts better, I suppose this is a measure of the films greatness, it cannot be improved upon at all.

To sum up, if you haven't seen this film then WATCH IT!

War of the Worlds (2005)

Hoped for so much more

[1/10 · 25 March 2013]

being a fan of the Gene Barry original imagine my horror at having to watch about half of this offering! Just hard to know where to begin, Cruise character and his 'family' evoke no sympathy at all, in fact you want the Martians to kill them (but saving their clothes into the bargain). The original has the scene where the meteor unscrews from the inside, very well done scene so much tension, unrepeated with this dross where the effects are overdone and just makes the whole thing confusing in the extreme, perhaps SS thinks that this will make the holes in the plot, and there are too many to mention, seem less obvious? But the most amazing thing of all is how people can rate this any more than 2 stars!!! they must be easily pleased.