KingBrian1 Reviews

Leprechaun (1992)

A real St Patrick Day's film

[7/10 · 2 May 2017]

Starring Jennifer Anniston and Warwich Davis both well known in the world of cinema, Leprechaun a horror comedy is exactly what St Patrick's Day is all about, evil supernatural beings preying on the innocent to get their gold back.

The Leprechaun is fun, immune to most forms of weaponry and extremely dangerous to cops, adults and selfish people. Enjoy a tale of murder and mayhem as a bit of Ireland comes to a small plot of land in North Dakota.

Cast a Giant Shadow (1966)

Israel's struggle for Independence

[7/10 · 2 May 2017]

The struggle for Isreali Independence as portrayed in media, with all the old favourites playing the cast of characters. Col David Marcus former US military officer is recruited into the Israeli army to help his people build a new future in the post war era.

This movie sheds light on the historic emergence of Israel as a nation among the nations of the world. The focus is primarily aimed at the Jewish/Israeli events that led to their nationhood. The character of David Marcus a proud patriot for Israeli's who build and managed the Israeli army.

Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

A great time piece

[7/10 · 2 May 2017]

This film is a strange yet oddly very engaging work of art. The dialogue although hard to understand at times really makes you connect with the characters in a strong way. Their visceral reactions towards each other and the desperation that you hear in the voices make for interesting characters with interesting backgrounds. You find yourself working out how each of the characters in this piece got to this point in their life. Set in the era of the real estate period in American history so basically 80's onwards to the 00's before finance became coolish at the turn of century, a boring industry full of con artists and aggressive personalities. This film perfectly captures that time and everything about work practiced in those bad old days.

Angels & Demons (2009)

A glimpse into the inner workings of the Vatican's Curia

[8/10 · 2 May 2017]

Not a fan of the Da Vinci series this one is the rare exception. Tom Hanks returns as the Symbolist Robert Langdon to investigate a murder mystery kept secret by the Vatican. This movie delves into the history of Reformation era Europe. The film is a political critic so to speak of Vatican responses or rather reactions to reform and secularism over the centuries.

We get to see Langdon working with Dr Victoria Vetra, a CERN scientist traversing the beautiful city ruins of Rome figuring out yet another disturbing mystery that jeopardizes all of Christianity. We learn of a secret conspiracy in the high echelons of the Catholic Church. The Anti-Christ Papacy is before us and Langdon and Vetra must learn from the texts how to interpret what is playing out in front of them.

Great scenery and it was brilliant to have access to Vatican archives and seeing what the Vatican looks like from all angles. Langdon goes through a Damascene conversion of sorts as he too is no fool to political intriguing that is going on within the Catholic Church and the need for guidance. Guidance offered by Ewan McGregor's role in the film as the caretaker Pope during a period of unease within the Vatican.

Ransom (1996)

A father's descent into madness

[8/10 · 2 May 2017]

In this stirring film Mel Gibson gives us once again a brilliant performance as he sets about to rescue his kidnapped son from Jimmy Shaker played by Gary Sinise. Beloved parents Tom & Kate Mullen's lives are turned upside down after their son is kidnapped and used to blackmail the rich and powerful Tom Mullen. The consequences are a roller coaster of emotional turmoil as the psychological impact forces Tom to take extreme measures to get his son back.

The conflict between the hostage taker and the wealthy billionaire is superbly played out and while the investigators try as they must to save the boy's life, Jimmy is already two steps ahead of him. An unexpected twist occurs when Tom rips up the rule book and relies on his business instincts to beat Jimmy at his own game.

Death, betrayal & vengeance best sum up this film as two worlds collide. Shakers determination to hurt Tom were it matters and Tom's attempt to redeem himself for his past errors in the commercial world leads to an epic encounter between two. All in all a great film and one of Gibson's best.

Rocky (1976)

A Powerful Story

[9/10 · 26 April 2017]

This is Sylvester Stallone's greatest work of art. 70's period piece set in Philadelphia about the strugglers of a down on his luck amateur boxer. One day the Champion of the World Apollo Creed enters his world and gives him an opportunity of his life. Rocky must rise to the occasion, overcome life obstacles fight in the biggest contest in the world against the greatest Boxer of them all. The drab setting of Rocky is somewhat hard to get into at first but as the movie progresses you come to admire Rocky more and more until finally you see him as a cut above the rest with his love Adrian and determination to prove he is a champion. Never quit, never lay down and always aim for the stars is the Rocky story. The fact that it so happens to be a boxing movie and the violent nature of the sport just goes to show how good drama is that people who would normally dislike such a sport can get invested in it.

Rocky II (1979)

A Masterclass Movie

[10/10 · 26 April 2017]

Following on from the success of the first film in the series Rocky 2 continues the story and focuses on the theme of handling life after greatness. As Apollo's ego gets the best of him and forces him to pursue Rocky outside the ring to get him back into the ring we see an aimless Rocky looking for work and dealing with the fallout of being a celebrity. This movie improves upon the first with Rocky's trainer Mickey given a greater role in preparing Rocky for the ultimate rematch awaiting. Once again the soundtrack, the emotion and the fight this time bigger and more dangerous combines to create a master class film.

Spider-Man (2002)

Spider-Man Best Ever

[9/10 · 26 April 2017]

Marvel's greatest superhero is given a great film that compliments the talent of Stan Lee. The casting of Tobey Maguire, Williem Dafoe & Kirsten Dunst her best work is a perfect example of Directors picking good celebrities to fill great roles. They all put in memorable performances in this Romance story which was a big part. Peter and Mary Jane was a perfect match together as portrayed, now the material they had to work with the great Spiderman comics helped in creating those characters. Not so the Green Goblin. Dafoe made that character just like Nicolson made the Joker in Tim' Burton's Batman. Instead of a generic bad guy we got a likable schizophrenic who was screwed by the people around in. The film is a comic classic.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

The Star Wars space war Movie

[10/10 · 26 April 2017]

A worthy successor to the Star Wars Franchise has arrived. Gritty & realistic War movie that takes place in the fictional Star Wars universe, you don't have to be a fan of Star Wars to like this movie. Action packed yet full of clever Star Wars references this movie digs deep into the Star Wars mythos to bring us an exciting Space Epic. Dark forces rule the Galaxy and with the absence of the Jedi Order it is up to a band of discontents led by a reluctant heroine to save the Galaxy from the newly built Death Star.

The characters are all shadier than their counterparts in the Original Trilogy. In this era they are all like Han Solo. The visuals are what you would expect from a major blockbuster and once again ILM studios bring back the inventive new creatures that made the 80's installments so great. By having so much of the film set in or around a city it really brings out a war atmosphere that we see so little of in the Originals. This is a real war between two sides that really hate each other. A fact that is underscored by having figures such as Director Krennic, King Organa, Supreme commander Mon Mothma all set the scene and given greater attention than lightsaber battles.

X: First Class (2011)

Finally a Great X-Men Movie

[8/10 · 26 April 2017]

Alongside Days of Future's Past these are the best X-Men films with great music score. All of the characters are given a role and not just Logan, the Professor and Magneto. Seeing Beast is excellent as he is finally given more screen time. This movie gets the X- Men done correctly. Each of the team brought together are allowed to develop. The villain is not the most important part of the story and so does not take away from what is a story ultimately about the X-Men team. Using their powers to solve problems and actually showing scenes in which the X-Men are coming to terms with their abilities. Their actually shown as mutants with human frailties.

Braveheart (1995)

Up Scotland

[7/10 · 26 April 2017]

A stunningly beautiful move that has no historical merit at all Mel Gibson has won the adulation of the world and most importantly the Scots. It captures the honour of the Scots. By today's standards the stereotypes are all in there. The prejudicial Irish, the dastardly English King so if your easily offended stay away from this film. But this film is about landscape, tragedy of lost romance and lots and lots of bloody violence. The action and costumes alone is what makes this film incredible. The movie is a giant re-enactment of ancient Anglo- Scottish rivalry. All Gibson did was point the camera at a beautiful countryside and have fun. So it is a truly exciting film.

JFK (1991)

The ultimate Conspiracy Theory

[7/10 · 26 April 2017]

Director Oliver Stone does it again with another brilliant movie this time the conspiracy of who shot President JFK. The subject matter is already intense and fascinating, so many documentaries about the assassination. What you get with this movie is a mystery. So many people wanted JFK dead and this film brings it all to the fore. The political undertones to this film does have the effect of discouraging the non political to disengage. For those people this movie is boring. For those who appreciate a good mystery like myself the value of describing the participants in the cover up and the shoddy police work that occurred does a great service in showing us a real clear picture of 60's Texas. The drawback which is a feature of Stone's work is the preaching of the protagonist. Aside from that small aspect the film stands on its own as a great thriller. People are free to make up their mind as to whether or not JFK was indeed killed by an inside agent or a mercenary hired Oswald to take the hit. As an intellectual movie that serves to inform the public of the misdeeds of public officials i would say Oliver Stone has provided a valuable contribution to American democracy.

American Gangster (2007)

Great Mob Movie

[9/10 · 26 April 2017]

Denzel Washington puts on one of his best performances in this top class mob movie. Based on a real life African American crime boss, this film succeeds in bringing his story to life. While other crime films focus on the Italian or Irish mafia scene the best being the infamous Godfather Trilogy this movie is highly original in telling the story of a Black Crime family. What's like with almost all truly great mob movies like Goodfellas or Casino is that the character is ambiguous looking out for his family. The times he is living in (70's) with the international dealers he has to deal with shows that the character has to make a living somehow and of course his violent tendencies is a big reveal into the real world of the mob as opposed to the exaggerated or gentlemen approach taken in other mob movies. The movie is full of action, suspense and mystery as the cops try to figure out who is behind the recent drug epidemic. This series foreshadows Breaking Bad which became a major series in the 00s. This movie is up there with the Godfather and Scarface in showing us how the criminal fraternity really operates.

The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998 Video)

A follow up from Greatness

[9/10 · 26 April 2017]

This film follows on from the first and succeeds in creating a memorable sequel. Not easy to do when the first was so good. Despite being released as a TV movie the film concentrates on expanding on the Original. The focus turns to Simba's daughter the Princess Kiara. Like the first film we get interesting villains that are linked to the legacy of Scar by introducing the Outlanders with the menacing threat of Zira and Kovu. Part of the charm of this film is that it is a completely different plot while at the same time the soundtrack remains top quality.

The Lion King (1994)

Disney's Greatest

[26 April 2017]

This epic movie is the pride and joy of Disney. With an epic soundtrack and fine writing and casting the adventures of Sinba the Lion Prince and all his friends and family brings much joy and excitement to universal audiences. The religious significance of the Circle of Life is a core part of this masterpiece. The popularity is down to the message of the film but no film is complete without a villain the cruel and evil Scarface voiced by Jeremy Irons. Is one of the greatest villains ever seen! Not really an intimidating character, rather a master manipulator. Lion King if not the greatest animated movie ever released is among the top 10 greatest movies ever made.

Scarface (1983)

Crime Biopic

[9/10 · 26 April 2017]

The biography of a ruthless Cuban American who emigrates to America and starting at the bottom rises up to become the Kingpin of Florida and the South West Coast. This film is the American dream the brave and bold turned upside down and inside out. Al Pacino is great in this film as Toni. Depending on how you at this character and his achievements he is either a great man who worked hard to become the Kingpin of crime or an unfortunate cook who has a lot of reasons to hate Castro. What is indisputable though is that the viewer finds themselves caught up in his world and rooting for him against the obviously more deranged Cartels who are even worse than him. Worth watching this film just to see the glories final and the soundtrack is perhaps the best in all the mob movies presently out there.

Krampus (I) (2015)

A fairy Tale Horror

[9/10 · 26 April 2017]

The movie should have been made decades early. The Germanic fairy tale of a creature that kills children who don't believe in Santa Claus has all the makings of a horror movie and this film does not disappoint. As someone who is not a fan of gratuitous violence this film is truly a great horror. It combines comedy with freakish sets and monsters. Yet somehow it is not fully a horror but a Christmas Classic for all those people who want to ditch Christmas and embrace the anti Christmas spirit well welcome to the world of the Krampus. The tale itself is frightening but i have to give a lot of credit to the designers of the props and sets in this film. The conclusion is also epic.

Magnum Force (1973)

Deadly

[9/10 · 24 January 2015]

This film is a message about anti-authoritarianism, vigilante justice perpetrated by corrupt cops. From the get go the leading officer is "Dirty Harry" from the original film. This guy solves problems by operating outside the law. His contempt for law enforcement blends with his determination to inflict punishment on the cities criminals. His two cop companions one a rookie both killed. He is partly responsible for the deaths of cops in the line of duty due in part due to his reckless behaviour. The death squad traffic cops are the villains of the film riding around the city essentially culling the crime bosses. These fascists are Harry's worst nightmare, descent cops who have turned to murderers in order to serve their own desire to rid the city of its unwanted elements. Finally we come to the deceptive head of the cops. We learn he is the mastermind of the conspiracy. It goes all the way to the top totally undermining the trust of the police force in the city of San Francisco.

The film follows a sequence of events in which the cops are portrayed first as a moral force that is good but this is short lasting as we see the murder rate increasing with their assassinations. Then we see Harry's style of crook catching when he foils a robbery, violent but effective. The cop's intentions become known when they kill a fellow cop and after a brief interlude of gun shooting scenes which would satisfy the National Rifles Association we return to the menace of the cops and Harry's task to find the culprits of his friend's murder. He is too late and faces off against his superior and proceeds to eliminate the traffic cops one by one. Towards the end the idea that he is fighting to stop the corrupt cops disappears and it becomes a straight forward survival movie in which he is fighting to stay alive.

The interesting thing about this movie is that in hindsight it is full of ambiguous characters none of whom are really good. Dirty Harry is more reckless than a good cop. A total of seven cops are killed. Harry personally kills four cops. Nobody complains that the crime bosses were killed at the beginning but all of a sudden at the end the cops become evil when they decide to kill off Harry and his partner. What this movie does demonstrate is that by putting a police force under the spot light secrecy is exposed. This movie is about how not to run a police department. In this way it is a great movie on police brutality and generally the police forces attitudes towards the citizens it serves.

Stand by Me (1986)

Enjoyable Movie

[8/10 · 24 January 2015]

A story told from the perspective of the writer bringing the viewer back to his childhood days to an incident that changed his life. Broadly speaking the movie is a sentimental tale of innocence and adventure featuring four young boys trekking through the backwater of an American town to locate the body of a kid. The only people stopping them are the local thugs.

A tragic story, focusing on the plight of the townspeople while the four young kids are all very funny and daring. Found it a bit slow in parts and the ending was a bit of a drag. I felt it could have been more exciting. Other than this a thoroughly good watch for an evening.

Big Trouble in Little China (1986)

Fun Fantastical Film

[8/10 · 23 December 2014]

Starring Kurt Russell Kim Cattrall and Victor Wong. Action, Suspense, humour and horror all combine to create one really cool movie. I saw this movie a long time ago when I was young and was riveted by it. The non-stop action sequences, the character of Jack Burton an immature action man running around China Town acting like a fool but fighting the good fight. Set in China Town, San Francisco we are taken to a world of Myth and Legend to face the Demonic Spirit of Emperor Lo Pan at his lair in which his gruesome creature and a cohort of minions and sorcerers reside. Jack and his friendly Chinese town people must save their loved ones from his supernatural powers.

讓人賞心悅目

The French Connection (1971)

très bon la connexion française

[9/10 · 22 December 2014]

This film is a conspiracy thriller about smugglers and their plan to import over 20% of pure drugs into the United States from Marseilles. Detectives Popeye and Cloudy are searching the bleak depressing streets of New York in this classic 70's classic. Overall what we have here is a fascinating and well-constructed story detailing the drug trade.

The plotters involve small town crooks Sal and his girlfriend posing as storekeepers to conceal their criminal rackets. Detective Popeye requests extra surveillance from Supervisor Walt Simonson wanting to connect this small operation with mobster Weinstock. Meanwhile as this is going on the real orchestrators on the other side of the Atlantic are busy shipping drugs into the country by using French film maker Henri Devereaux's car. Once in the US a Car buyer working on the orders of Sal purchases the vehicles at the scrap yard to be used to transport the drugs around the city.

With Detectives trailing Sal and now a new player on the scene the unknown Charnier we learn that the drug traffickers are already aware of police presence and a chemist has already tested the validity of the drugs. The two detectives grow frustrated and exasperated by both their inability to trace the drugs to the offenders and Agent Mulderig who is constantly berating an ill-tempered Popeye. Soon they find their smoking gun. An assassins strike leads to a chase across the city followed by a chase between a car and a train.

Determined to catch the drug traffickers they continue their surveillance until and last they cease the car and discover the stash. As the movie ends the cops swoop in on the drug trade while Charnier seemingly escapes leaving Popeye and Cloudy in a whole lot of trouble.

From start with the assassin disposing of his enemy to finish with detectives storming the abandoned building this movie is at times shocking but very intense and enjoyable to watch. I rate it better than most 007 movies and much more realistic. The Bond movies don't come close in terms of realism. This film reminds me of another great 70's hit Shaft.

très très bon.

The Warriors (1979)

The Night of the Warriors

[9/10 · 20 December 2014]

Alive with the sound of the streets a gang meeting is being held in the Bronx called by Cyrus. Word reaches Coney Island that the truce between the gangs is in place and that gang members are to attend at his behest. Not wanting to disrespect the new gang lord the Warriors decide to journey deep into enemy territory. Cyrus presents his grand plan to unite the gangs all under his leadership. A vicious gang takes him out and blames the assassination on the Warriors. Now they must escape from this urban jungle of gangs and police officers sent to kill them or arrest them.

This movie based on a Greek army that was stuck in Persian territory and is a modern take on a legendary battle. The Warriors must face a number of armed thugs sent by Cyrus's gang seeking retribution. Disseminated through the radio they command and coordinate subordinates to eliminate the Warriors. Facing their own internal problems the Warriors get separated and loose three of their members while also gaining a new female gang member. They eventually ride the train home to freedom but discover their foes have followed them home.

It could be claimed that this movie glorifies gang culture and there is some truth to that argument. It is difficult to excuse the behaviour of the gangs but let's being clear this was set in 1970's New York. This was a very dark period in US history. This film merely depicts an authentic portrayal of gang life. Nothing alluring to gang life is shown in this film. If anything it does a lot better in showing the damaging side of gang culture.

I thought it was a really good movie.

Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

All Cops be like Eddie Murphy in this film

[9/10 · 20 December 2014]

Set in two completely different backgrounds of Detroit and Beverly Hills we see the contrast in law & order, lifestyle and poverty. Starting off as a gritty detectives film focusing on the selling of cigarettes to an undercover officer taking us on a mad high speed chase between the police and a truck driver before finally a little later ending with a death of a close friend. Gradually the film picks up becoming light and funny as we head to the big city of LA. This is where the film becomes recognisable to audiences about a cop Alex Foley stuck in unfamiliar locations meeting people and police officers who are diametrically unlike him.

Alex Foley's purpose for being in town is to track down the killer by looking up a female friend who had also known the deceased. The main character is forced into committing many felonies in his attempts to throw the cops off him who are trying to keep him from discovering the truth about Beverly's Hills most philanthropic individual. Here we find the villain and the architect of his friend's demise Victor Maitland, learn his nefarious ways of avoiding customs, smuggling drugs all under the noses of Beverly Hills Police Department. The movie turns into a straight forward action movie at the end as a full assault on the premises of the Villain leads to a full shoot out and multiple minions are shot.

Critically appraised at the time and rightfully so, this film continues to impress decades after release. As for the music Beverly Hills soundtrack is one of the most memorable songs in movie history.

X2 (2003)

Improvement on the First

[8/10 · 17 December 2014]

A better movie all be it marginally of the first. More characters add up to make it very good and for films like X-Men all there is to it is action. Without the presence of two Shakespearean actors we would only see action and blowing things up scenes. X- Men can deliver great stories that are not confusing and a convoluted story arc which is what happened in X- Men 3.

X- Men, X2, Wolverine & First Class are all fairly good movies hyped by certain quarters. All these X-Men movies were fairly good to begin with but the problem was they had so much more potential. You lose interest because the story was not good enough. Logan being the centre of the X-men universe is not a selling point in my eyes.

Tootsie (1982)

Impressive Movie boosted by the Humour

[8/10 · 17 December 2014]

Dustin Hoffman is Michael Dorsey an unemployed talented actor wasting away being refused acting parts. Tired of his agent failing to get him a part he decides secretly to play the part of a woman Dorothy Michaels in a soap opera. This part brings him fame, applause and admiration from the public. Unfortunately for him balancing all this while keeping it all a secret becomes a strain on his personal life and his relationships with his agent,roommate and girlfriend deteriorate as a result with hilarious consequences.

Was not expecting to like this movie but surprisingly I did. I was encouraged to watch this and I have to say it was really enjoyable.