The intrepid reporter genre has almost entirely disappeared. These are the films–around since the 1930s, when newspapers became American cinema’s ideal breeding ground for protagonists (many screenwriters, new to talkies, were former journalists)–where the reporter is investigating a murder or series of murders, ones the police can’t quite seem to solve (the police might even […]
Entries Tagged as 'Colin Friels'
Grievous Bodily Harm (1988, Mark Joffe)
December 5th, 2008 · No Comments
Tagged: Colin Friels· Filmpac Distribution· Mark Joffe· Warwick Hind· ★★½
Dark City (1998, Alex Proyas), the director’s cut
October 17th, 2008 · No Comments
I’m not sure if anything actually goes wrong with Dark City. There’s the significant music problem (Trevor Jones’s score seems more appropriate for a car commercial; it’s missing any subtext or delicacy), but there’s nothing else wrong. The acting is all fantastic–Richard O’Brien gives the best performance, making his evil alien human–and Alex Proyas composes […]
Tagged: Alex Proyas· Colin Friels· David S. Goyer· Kiefer Sutherland· Lem Dobbs· New Line Cinema· Rufus Sewell· William Hurt· ★★★
Ground Zero (1987, Michael Pattinson and Bruce Myles)
October 15th, 2008 · No Comments
Ground Zero opens with a title card attesting to the film’s historical relevance. The intended effect is apparently to convince the viewer of the film’s authenticity and plausibility. So, for a film featuring a cameraman who can outfight spies, Ground Zero is completely plausible until the helicopter shows up. Not the first helicopter, but the […]
Tagged: Avenue Pictures· Bruce Myles· Colin Friels· Donald Pleasence· Jan Sardi· Mac Gudgeon· Michael Pattinson· ★★½
Class Action (1991, Michael Apted)
February 21st, 2008 · No Comments
With Conrad L. Hall shooting it and James Horner (pre–Titanic and fame) scoring, Class Action is great looking and sounding. Apted’s composition is frequently excellent. But it’s a vehicle for Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and it, rather unfortunately, eventually just works on that vehicle level. There’s no real surprises, no real content… just running time with […]
Tagged: 20th Century Fox· Carolyn Shelby· Christopher Ames· Colin Friels· Gene Hackman· Laurence Fishburne· Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio· Michael Apted· Samantha Shad· ★★
Ground Zero (1987, Michael Pattinson and Bruce Myles)
November 23rd, 2007 · No Comments
Until the current administration, I could always take comfort knowing the British probably did more terrible things than the Americans ever could. For instance, they might test atomic bombs in Australia and radiate the aborigines, which is the public service announcement of Ground Zero. It isn’t only a PSA, it’s also a reasonably thrilling thriller […]
Tagged: Bruce Myles· Colin Friels· Donald Pleasence· Jan Sardi· Mac Gudgeon· Michael Pattinson· ★★½
Warm Nights on a Slow Moving Train (1988, Bob Ellis)
February 8th, 2007 · No Comments
Tedious. Tedious is a good word for Warm Nights on a Slow Moving Train. The polite way of saying tedious is deliberate–as in, the filmmakers very surely lay it out, taking their time and making sure they get it right. After fifty minutes of Warm Nights–it’s a ninety-minute film–I finally realized what was so damn […]
Tagged: Bob Ellis· Colin Friels· Denny Lawrence· Wendy Hughes· Western Pacific Films· ★★★
A Good Man in Africa (1994, Bruce Beresford)
September 15th, 2006 · No Comments
A Good Man in Africa is about the British practicing a modified form of the age-old British diplomacy in Africa (duh) in modernity. As such, when I saw John Lithgow’s name in the credits, I did not expect him to be playing a Brit. However, Lithgow does play one and he does so quite poorly. […]
Tagged: Bruce Beresford· Colin Friels· Gramercy Pictures· Louis Gossett Jr.· Sean Connery· William Boyd· ⓏⒺⓇⓄ
