If you have never seen a Carry On film then you need to sort this out and if you have to pick one apart from Carry on Screaming I cannot think of a better film than Carry on Up the Khyber. Starring all the stalwarts of the Carry On Series you have Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Angela Douglas and Roy Castle. This film is based in British India during the height of the British Empire and some of the locals want to get rid of the British Soldiers lead by the Fearless Kilted Third Foot and Mouth Division.
The Carry On series was a staple of the British Film scene in the 60’s and 70’s and still holds up today. They were some of the first films that took the mickey out of certain stereotypes and other film genres leading to the common spoof film. This film in particular explores the British Stiff Upper lip and also the fact that the British like their tea and do not like to be disturbed in their daily routine.
The Carry On films themselves are from a time, everything is double entendres and cheeky humour but it is a classic series and this film is one of the better examples. The series itself is very much a taste thing and I know many people that just think they are silly and not very good but overall I think they are easy watching and enjoyable especially if you know the references. For Carry on Up the Khyber I give it 7 out of 10.
This horror film from the swinging sixites, follows Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes as a young couple who move to a new apartment. When they meet their new neighbours they discover some strange goings on and when Mia Farrow who play's Rosemary falls preganant she soon becomes paranoid and worried that her neighbours maybe after her baby. Through her panic and half remembered dreams you get a picture of what is happenineg and with her you try to piece together what is actually real and what is imagination.
This film is considered a horror film but as some commentators have said it is more dark thriller with a possible supernatural element, depends how you view the film. I felt tense when watching the film and was eager to get to the end to see how Roman Polanski would end the film, I have to say that the ending blew my mind and I was very happy with the way that story went. Adapted from a book I think I may actually look the book up and give it a go.
This film is hard to rate as I normally only ever give 5 star ratings to films I have seen many times and know I will go back to, or that I have a soft spot for due to more than just the film by itself. I think for the first time I will give a film I have seen for the first time a 5 star recommend. I think that anyone who enjoys the darker side of film should give this film a go and let me know if you enjoyed it as much as I did the first time I saw it.
Film of 2012 #59
The Charlton Heston Sci-Fi classic, sees Charlton Heston crash landing on an unknown planet where humans are the slaves and the planet is ruled by Apes. I have seen this a few times and it is enjoyable enough however Charlton Heston is annoying in this film, he is arrogant and quite unlikeable and having heard a few things about him I do not know if this is supposed to be the character or the actor himself. Anyway one of the big things about this film is the make up effects with Roddy McDowall and Kim Hunter spending the entire film in Ape make up and the effects are quite fantastic.
This film is another film with a message about the equal treatment of animals and other races as the roles are reversed with Humans being the test subjects in experiments that include the dissection of the brain. Also there is a feeling from Heston of the frustration at getting his point across with him not being believed to the point where he is not allowed to defend himself and being treated like an animal. Cornelius and Zira played by Roddy McDowall and Kim Hunter are the liberals of the Ape world fighting for equal rights for humans.
This is a classic film and is worth seeing on many levels from the moral question about humans being treated as equal to the shocking conclusion that leads to other questions about humans on this planet to simply the make effects before CGI. Overall this is a 4 star recommend with a note to it being a classic film worth watching.
Film of 2012 #34
This is a Vietnam propaganda film co-directed by John Wayne, who is also the main star of this film, filmed in 1968 it was filmed at the height of the time when the US public were highly opposed to the war. You can clearly see that the film makers were in support of the soldiers that were fighting. You have the North Vietnamese portrayed as bloodthirsty animals that slaughter men women and children. There are a couple of cases where they are really quite unsubtle, as the audience you are pulled in through the reporter George Beckworth played by David Janssen and he starts the film opposed to the war and at the end you see him sign up based on what he sees while following the Green Berets.
This is not a particularly great film there are several scenes throughout that make you hate the North and love the South and you know that the Americans are doing a great job. They are in a country that they do not really want to be in and at the time I am sure there was some good chest thumping going on and possibly some increase in voluntary sign ups. Out of it's time more than 30 years after the war ended it has lost some of it's impact and to be honest it really is out of place. Like TV serials that can no longer be shown due to the racial words that were seen as acceptable at the time but no longer acceptable. I think that this film should be relegated as a historical look at what Hollywood were doing to support the soldiers in Vietnam.
Overall if you are interested in war films and seeing what they could do with them as propaganda then go for it, if you were looking for a balanced look at the Vietnam war then avoid this. The acting and set pieces are fine if a bit forced and I will give this 2 stars, there is a role for George Takei in the film.
Film of 2012 #31
Some Spoilers
The first Dead film from a master of the genre, that is George A. Romero, If you had asked me before I watched this film I would have told you that I have seen it many times. I have to be honest and say that getting to the end of this film I was surprised. It did not go where I thought it did and then I realised I have seen many of the famous scenes and hear many of the great quotes and I have seen the remake starring Tony Todd right through. So it is now rectified I have seen the original film, it is the story of an outbreak of flesh eating ghoul's, the word zombie is never used in this film. The story starts with us meeting Barbara and her brother Johnny and you follow Barbara until we meet Ben in the farmhouse where the majority of the film takes place.
I have heard that this film is a metaphor for the race struggles of the 1960's and it is strange to see a Black man in form of Duane Jones playing Ben as the lead and the heroic role of the piece at this time in history. And I suppose there is something in the ending but overall I was not lost in a lot of metaphors it was just a good tense horror film that still holds up today as a scary film. And even though people claim that zombies are not scary as they move so slowly they are continuous and they just keep coming and there are always more of them.
This is a good opener to the Dead trilogy but I have to say that Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead are stronger films for me and I would choose to watch them before watching Night again. Overall though it is a film that started a genre and a change in how horror films were made and looked at and it holds up as a classic of it's time. It is a must see for anyone that likes horror films or enjoys film history. This is a 3 star recommend, it has it's flaws but is well worth seeing and due to a mistake at the time it has been in the Public Domain for nearly 40 years so is easy to access.
Film of 2012 #20
No Spoilers
The World War 2 epic film about the Special Forces of Britain lead by Richard Burton and aided by Clint Eastwood as the American along for the ride this film is so much more than you suspect. It starts with the fact that an American General has been captured by the Nazis and is being held in a mountain top castle and the special forces are being dropped in to Germany to facilitate a rescue operation. I will say that I do not want to spoil this film but there is a lot more going on than a simple rescue mission as some of the scenes are a bit unbelievable but this is a film worth watching.
There is a common joke about war films that everybody just speaks with their own accent usually British and this is never an issue and I think that Quinten Tarantino may have picked up on this for his war Film Inglorious Basterds with the Cellar scene and those that have seen that will understand what I am getting at with that reference. This film I think is possibly the worst offender if it is an offence as Clint Eastwood is supposed to be speaking German but has the broadest American accent that there is no way he would get away with it. But I think that this is not the real point of this film it is about the daring escapades of the British thwarting the Germans and showing why we won the war.
This is a solid three start film bordering on a four star but for some of the effects and the accents causing more hilarity than an issue but the film does come in at 2 hours 38 minutes which is far to long but some of the set pieces and some of the reveals are pretty good and well worth a watch.
