srb67 Reviews

Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)

Up there with the originals - and Yoda fights!

[17 May 2002]

Brilliant, excellent, as good as all the original 3 movies. Having been a huge fan of Star Wars since my childhood I was a little disappointed by Phantom Menace. Not so Attack of Clones, it had everything - The humor, the action, the special effects, the dramatic plot, the immense sets with thousands of extras, etc. Star Wars fans, go see it as soon as possible.

Yes, perhaps the acting is wooden at times but so were the originals, no-one cared then except critics. Ewan McGregor is far less annoying as Obi Wan, having grown into the part well, and Christiansen portrays Anakin with a lot of maturity, he finds the schizophrenic nature of the character perfectly. C3PO and R2D2 are back with their double act, amusing as ever and Natalie Portman is better than in Phantom too, not as stilted, I felt. Plus Jar-Jar is hardly in it (although he plays a pivotal role in the war).

For the Star Wars fan there are a lot of extra plot points too. I found myself thinking 'Oh I see!', 'So that's why...' and 'I know that name!' all the way through. Very satisfying.

And it's a real treat to see Yoda displaying his skills with a light-sabre at last. Go see it, if you loved the originals then you'll love Attack of the Clones.

Monsoon Wedding (2001)

A feel good movie

[2 May 2002]

Not a masterpiece of cinema, just an excellent feel good movie. This movie combines just the right amount of comedy and drama along with some excellent characters.

It all takes place in the four chaotic and joyous days leading up to an upper-middle class wedding in Northern India. I know very little about Indian culture and really enjoyed seeing the preparations and traditions that these characters were involved in. The mix of languages and the switch between English, Hindi and Punjabi was not difficult to follow and it added a great deal to the flavour and authentic feel of the movie.

Some of the plot lines are a little thin but are so entertaining that it doesn't matter at all. I particularly liked the character of Dubey, the wedding planner, who had some great comic moments.

The movie touches on many different issues, some very serious and others very funny. It's not just a comedy - but a comedy-drama with a touch of Bollywood.

Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984)

Excellent novel, good film.

[15 April 2002]

Greystoke stays close to the first Tarzan novel which makes for a striking contrast between this film and earlier Tarzan flicks.

'Christophe' sticks to his French accent for most of this film, which is a relief as he concentrates on his acting and, for the most part, gets it spot on. His reversion to ape behaviour in moments of emotional stress is funny and touching. Ralph Richardson's potrayal of the Sixth Earl is full of humour and subtlety, only to be expected from a master of the art. Ian Holm, again, a masterful performance. They put Andie MacDowell to shame.

The first half is mainly in the jungle and is fascinating to watch. A huge amount of research about ape behaviour is put to entertaining use. It comes to a close when some amusingly nasty English explorers and a disdainful Belgian appear in the jungle. The second half, when Johnny (Lambert) is introduced to Victorian society touches on what it means to be 'civilized'. He meets his grandfather and is expected to take his place in society but then discovers what society is like.

A great adaptation and an entertaining film.

Fight Club (1999)

Look how many comments there are!

[7 April 2002]

The amount of feeling this movie has created shows what a great piece of art it is. Tyler (Brad Pitt) is wonderfully charismatic and evil. His philosophy strikes a chord with a lot of people, including the movie-goer, which makes the ending all the more powerful.

Excellent movie and you may never look at soap in the same way again.