Tears Of the sun (2003 )

'Tears of The sun ' is an engrossing and above average look at modern day soldiers , as navy seallieutenant A.K. Waters ( Bruce Willis ) and crew must choose between duty or humanity to rescue Dr Kendrcks and her companions.

Kendricks an american citizen helps victims of an ongoing civil war at a Catholic mission in a remote village to which Waters and his elite squadron are sent to rescue. Refusing to leave without the rest of the villagers Waters reluctantly agrees to Kendricks demands to escort them all to safety via helicopter lift. Going back on his words, Waters leaves the villagers behind and only takes Kendricks. Refusing to obey strict orders Waters decides to head back and rescue the rest of the distraught villagers by escorting them to the border and hopefully out pursue the army of rebels at there tail.

It is this trek through the perilous and dense jungle where they try to evade their pursuers that really gets you involved. Witnessing at first hand the brutality of the gathering rebel army makes there passage to safety even more compelling. 'Tears Of The Sun ' is an unusually thought full and compelling movie. Basically an action movie yes! But much more than that may suggest at it's most basic level with it's moral dilemmas and humanitarian concerns.

GOOD EGG

THE MUMMY - TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPOROR

Having rather liked the the first two mummy films i was looking forward eagerly for this , the third installment.Sadly it is a great dissapointment.

One could criticize the film on many levels, with it's cheap looking CGI effects, terrible convoluted storyline and some of the most irritating dialogue your likely to hear. Not to mention also the absolute lack of chemistry between the main characters. One major criticism being the replacement of Rachel Weisz by Maria Bello. Such a massive error here, her fake accent and clumsily unconvincing action scenes are to put it mildly, horrid. I get the feeling that Rachel Weisz wisely { no pun intended } gave this whole affair a miss by realizing what a mess it would turn into.

John Hannah fairs slightly better and tries to bring some comedic relief to it all, but ulimately fails to do so. At one point he yells at the mummies ,while attacking them from an aeroplane, calling them bastards... oh dear, how far out of character could you possibly get!

 Brendan Fraser looks and acts decidedly miserable throughout and one gets the impression he wished he were somehere else. Also Frasers son has no charisma whatsoever , he's truly cardboard, dead as a brick , and his romantic epsodes are totally redundant. Jet Li is also far removed from the more menacing Arnold Vosloo.

All in all this seems like a big cash in on the previous two films which were in a different league to what we have here.The film feels and looks like a cheat on the mummy idea as well. None of this properly relates to Egypt which is surely what one thinks of first when it comes to mummies and what we would expect.

ROTTEN EGG

LOST IN SPACE ( Season 3 )

For those that enjoyed the first series of Lost in Space, by the time of the third season, things had taken on a very different tone indeed, and became much more childish and predictable with stock situations being repeated over and over again. As many have qouted as sayng, the Space campiness had irrevocably crept in, and Smith had become an increasingly irritatingly cowardly persona, which was far from the scheming and darker smith as portrayed in the first season, which is by far the most enjoyable especially if you like your science fiction on the more serious side. 

It's sad really , but it's true of most of Irwin Allens shows that they started off very promising, but gradually went down hill, untill the plug was eventually pulled.

The Third season though did have some redeeming factors in that it was a little better than the second series which to my mind contained some of the worst episodes. The third season even did on occasion harken back to the first.

At best most of the acting in lost in space was forgettable except for Jonathan Harris, but there's something very nostalgic about the whole series and somehow demands repeated viewings ,which given it's age, is much more entertaining than many Sci Fi series made today, which although containing  much more expensive special  effects are mostly totally devoid of atmosphere and characters. Lost in Space certainly still has a lot more going for it.

SERIES 1    GOOD EGG

SERIES 2    PAR BOILED

SERIES 3    PAR BOILED

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada ( 2005 )

Tommy Lee Jones desrvedly won the 2005 Cannes Film Festival best actor award for this film , which he also directed. Showing there's more to his talent than acting which has gained him a strong presence in the movies for 35 years.

Although Three Burials has a rather unmemorable title , the film certainly is VERY memorable.Jones plays Pete Perkins, a laconic, weathered cattle ranch foreman inthe
bordercommunity of Van Horn, Texas. He has formed a closefriendship with Melquiades Estrada (Julio César

Cedillo), a cowboy from Mexico. Meanwhile, Mike Norton (Barry Pepper) and his beautiful if vapid blond wife Lou Ann (January Jones) have just come from Cincinnati to Van Horn, where Mike has a taken a job as a border patrolman. He reports to Dwight Yoakam's hard-nosed Capt. Frank Belmont, who refers to undocumented workers with a racial slur.


Mike and Lou Ann's lives peaked in high school, and the swiftly bored Lou Ann has little to sustain her. Mike is a mindless macho type who pores over Hustler magazine on the job and immediately displays a propensity for excessive violence in capturing illegal immigrants. When
Melquiades spots a fox menacing a herd of sheep he takes aim, and trigger-happy Mike, on duty nearby, returns fire, killing the cowboy.

Pete promised Mel that should Mel die he would see that his body was buried in his village in Mexico. With Pete, a man's word is taken seriously, and acting on a tip, he kidnaps Mike into accompanying him.


Arriaga backs into his story, alternating among its variousstrands, moving between past and present without warning; it's his way of plunging the audience into the lives of the various people who will soon interact in convoluted and unexpected ways.

The trek south of the border, which holds a climactic surprise revealing the depth of Melquiades' yearning for family ties and a life in an idyllic setting close to nature, is crucial in that it forces a
reevaluation of Mike, heretofore easily dismissed as a lethal jerk. The adventures and hardships become a transforming experience for him and reveal Pepper as a young actor of range and depth.

Beautifully photographed throughout , ' Three Burials ' recalls the gritty westerns of Bud Boetticher and there's more than a passing resemblance to Sam Peckinpahs ' Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia ' . Besides Tommy Lee Jones , Brad Pepper turns in a fine performance too. Definitely one to watch!


CRYSTAL EGG

The Condemned ( 2007 )


A choice selection of convicted death row inmates are offered the opportunity to compete in a deadly game on an abandoned island where the winner will win his or her freedom and there sentences dropped.

Becoming part of a reality TV show the 10 condemned killers from all over the world are pitted against each other and ultimately fight to the death to gain there release. Unknown to the prisoners until later on, hidden cameras are placed in obscure places all over the island and there fights filmed and realyed back to the TV team which are camped on the other side of the island.

The condemned is one exceedingly violent film as one might expect. About several leaps ahead of anything Sylvester Stallone or Arnold Schwartznegger appeared in. Unlike those stars however there's no one in this that comes remotely as close. Former WWE wrestler Stone cold Steve Austin as he's known stars as Jack Conrad , yes he's grim and cold and really mean yet not as much so as Vinnie Jones, who here goes way overboard at being overly obnoxious.

What we have here is an an overly preachy tone and a nastiness which is taken to the utmost levels. Having said all this i don't think it's quite as bad as most other reviewers have said it is. There's plenty of action to be had , if somewhat grisly and it,s almost fiendishly enjoyable to see the TV crew get there comeuppance at the hands of McStarley - Vinnie Jones with guns blazing.


HARD BOILED

RESCUE DAWN ( 2007 )

Based on a true story ' Rescue Dawn ' depicts the plight of real life german - american vietnam war survivor Dieter Dengler.Director Werner Herzog here creates a very real and gripping experience who earlier made an excellent documentary on the same topic called 'Little Dieter Needs To Fly', with Dengler reliving his traumatic experence while in the clutches of the enemy.

Unlike most war films Rescue Dawn is a sincere and focused portrait of not only a soldier but also the bonding between fellow prisoners. Cutting out any obligatory love story, flash backs or any political statements which have spoiled many other war movies Rescue Dawn gets right to the point without any extraneous clutter. What we have here is a genuinely moving film which certainly ranks as one of Herzogs finest achievements who remains still one of the most unique directors around. One can't help but feel had this been made by one of hollywoods big guns it would have turned out a lot different.

Dengler is played by Christian Bale who having crashed must try to survive and look out for any means of rescue, which is cut short when captured by a group of Vietnamese. Staying true to his morals he refuses to sign a paper discrediting his fellow americans and is therefore abused, tortured and psychlogically victimized.

Eventually Dengler is sent to a makeshift camp where he meets four other prisoners and forms a close relationship with POW Duane Martin played by 'Steve Zahn'.Conditions in the camp are horrific but Hertzog treats them matter of factly and they are not overdone, as in most other peoples hands they would have been.With there feet Manacled to boards and hands handcuffed the prisoners can only roam the guarded camp by day; at night it is impossible, and this is where Dieter finds a way to pick the handcuffs with a nail he secretly procures.

With food being scarce for not only the prisoners but the guards also, conditions get worse and Dieter hatches a plot to escape.The escape is a success and Dieter finally manages to escape by waving down a passing helicopter but his buddy Duane is unfortanately killed.These final secenes are very moving!

Excellent performances here by the two main leads 'Christian Bale ' and ' Steve Zahn '
makes for a must see film.Hertzog turns in a fantastic movie here and it gets my highest accolade the CRYSTAL EGG award.

20,000 Leagues Under The Sea

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I've never actually read Jules Verne's original story but this film has always been a favourite of mine. It was made when Disney, in the 50's, were branching out into more live - action films rather than animation.The combination of adventure and science fiction are splendidly realised here and James Mason makes for an excellent Captain Nemo.Production costs were very high for the time and no expense spared to give the tale a very lavish cinematic treatment.Disney hired Richard Fliescher as director, who has made several excellent films such as ' The Armoured Car Robbery ' and ' The Narrow Margin ' etc. Under his reins Fleischer mounts ' 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea ' as a really spectacular film. Cinemascope and the Technicolor process with beautiful underwater photography are a sight to behold and the special effects stand up very well by todays standards.As i mentioned earlier ' James Mason ' makes for an excellent brooding ' Captain Nemo ' and ' Kirk Douglas ' too as just an ordinary seaman who is full of charm and charisma, bringing some wonderfully entertaining humor and even one or two
songs.....that IS him singing by the way! Whereas ' Paul Lukas ' as Professor Aronax and Peter Lorre as his apprentice seem just a little miscast.Minor quibbles here though! One blooper to look out for by the way is in the scene near the end when water is filling up the submarine, Kirk Douglas begins fighting with a member of the crew to escape. As Douglas hits him his false sideburn falls off and flies across the screen.

So Climb aboard the Nautilus ... and plunge into a strange undersea world of spellbinding adventure . Join shipwrecked survivors taken captive by the mysterious Captain Nemo ,who wavers between genius and madness, as he launches a deadly crusade across the seven seas while exposing his evil plan to destroy the whole world? Believe me you won't be dissapointed!

GOOD EGG

Wages Of Fear [1953]

Quite simply one of the best adventure movies ever made .This film creates unbearable tension as two truckloads carrying nitro journey along 300 miles of rough latin american terrain in order to put out an oilfield fire.It's a fantastic study of courage and endurance and really takes off when the lorrys set off on there trip...we really become involved with the four main characters along the route of there dangerous journey.

All performances are excellent and made ' Yves Montand' an international star. Particularly outstanding too is ' Charles Varnel ' who incidentally appeared in over 200 films i understand. I won't give away much else except to say the ending is completely ironic if a little predictable.

Winning top prizes at both Cannes and Berlin this really is a must see. Expertly Directed by ' Henri- George's Clouzot '...definitely his best film alongsde ' les Diaboliques ' . Excellent DVD transfer in Black & White.....no extra's apart from the original trailer....but who needs them really when you get a film as great as this!

In English and French with subtitles Direction Henri Georges Clouzot Screenplay Clouzot / Jerome Geronimi Starring Yves Montand Charles Varnel Jo Vera Clouzot Folco Lulli Peter Van Eyck

CRYSTAL EGG