Reviews by Kyle Ellis

All reviews - Movies (990) - TV Shows (126) - DVDs (69) - Books (70) - Music (15) - Games (210)

Mara Jade

Posted : 2 years, 3 months ago on 21 July 2022 07:27 (A review of Mara Jade)

First Appearance: Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn

Of all the female characters in Star Wars Legends, Mara Jade, who was introduced in Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn Trilogy, is undoubtedly the most popular. Trained as the Emperor’s Hand, her final mission for the Empire is to kill Luke Skywalker. But when she first encounters the not-yet-Jedi-master, she realizes they need to work together to survive, and overrides the Emperor’s command. It takes several books for that deep hatred, seeded into her by the worst father figure ever, to turn into love, but eventually she and Luke get married, ending the string of not-as-cool romantic interests in Luke’s storyline. Luke’s storyline.

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6. The Joker

Posted : 2 years, 3 months ago on 21 July 2022 01:35 (A review of The Joker (Heath Ledger))

Appearances: Batman The Movie (1966), [Link removed - login to see] (1989), [Link removed - login to see] (2008), [Link removed - login to see] (2016)

Creators: Jerry Robinson, Bill Finger, Bob Kane

Performers: Cesar Romero, Mark Hamill (voice), Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger, Jared Leto

Defining moment: Most votes specified Ledger’s Oscar-winning take, so we’ll go with his pencil-disappearing “magic trick”. Nasty and deeply unpredictable.

Fascinating fact: Ledger’s Joker never looks at his victims while killing them.

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Hans Gruber

Posted : 2 years, 3 months ago on 21 July 2022 01:33 (A review of Hans Gruber)

Film: [Link removed - login to see]

Played by: Alan Rickman

Distinguishing features: Neatly trimmed beard; the brain of a criminal mastermind; considerable capacity with languages and accents; hand-tailored suits from the same place Arafat gets his.

Sample quote: “It’s Christmas, Theo, it is a time for miracles.”

What we’d get him for Christmas: A landing mat, so he can walk away from that fall.

No man with a beard has brought us more pleasure at Christmas time than Hans Gruber. Not Santa, or even Noel Edmonds. All Alan Rickman’s uber-baddie wants is a Happy Christmas, and $640 million of bearer bonds will go a long way to making that dream a reality. If only there wasn’t a poison pill of a cop running around the Nakatomi Plaza, like some hideous anti-Santa, determined to put ashes and a lump of coal at the bottom of Hans’ stocking. Scientists have discovered that 38.3% of the joy of watching Die Hard comes from Rickman’s deliciously devilish turn as Gruber, the sneering, snide, knowing panto villain who gets most of the best lines, and whom we’re all secretly hoping gets away with it, or at least lives to fight another day. And while convention dictates that Hans’ Christmas Eve comes a cropper on some concrete, McTiernan recognises our bond with Gruber and gives him a small moment of happiness when he finally cracks the safe and is bathed in a beatific glow while Beethoven swells on the soundtrack.

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65. Hans Landa

Posted : 2 years, 3 months ago on 21 July 2022 01:30 (A review of Hans Landa)

Appearance: [Link removed - login to see] (2009)

Creator: Quentin Tarantino

Performer: Christoph Waltz

Defining moment: Landa's cold-blooded cabin monologue to a farmer he suspects of sheltering Jews is a sinister mix of slippery charm, high intellect and outright villainy. As is he.

Fascinating fact: Landa's trademark Calabash Meerschaum pipe offers a subtle link to another famous, but somewhat less malignant, sleuth - Sherlock Holmes.

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7. Kylo Ren

Posted : 2 years, 3 months ago on 21 July 2022 01:28 (A review of Kylo Ren)

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)

Appearing in a film series that also contains the likes of Palpatine and especially Darth Vader is enough to give anyone performance anxiety issues. But Kylo Ren, so well played by Adam Driver, has become so much more complicated than his initial, mocked emo baddie stance might have suggested. In just two short films, he's evolved into a driven, deadly character who knows his path and will do anything to achieve victory. Sure, Vader blew up planets, choked the living snot out of enemies and struck down Obi-Wan, but Kylo "Ben Solo" Ren murdered his own dad in cold blood.

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44. Anton Chigurh

Posted : 2 years, 3 months ago on 21 July 2022 01:27 (A review of Anton Chigurh)

Appearance: [Link removed - login to see] (2007)

Creators: Cormac McCarthy, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Performer: Javier Bardem

Defining moment: The life-or-death coin toss. “Call it, friend-o,” insists Chigurh, impassive as a man counting old Tiger Tokens. You could say he is a fatalist.

Fascinating fact: According to co-star Josh Brolin, Chigurh’s bowl cut had Bardem complaining that he wouldn’t “get laid for three months”.

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9. Voldemort

Posted : 2 years, 3 months ago on 21 July 2022 01:26 (A review of Lord Voldemort)

The Harry Potter series (2001-2011)

Some say Voldemort’s name was inspired by decaying Edgar Allan Poe character M. Valdemar. In reality, though, it was J.K. Rowling’s love of French that resulted in the moniker, meaning “flight of death”. “I needed a name that evokes both power and exoticism,” she said in 2009.

Those two words sum up the Death Eater Supreme nicely. Exotic, because he’s a chilling mix of man and snake, slit-nosed and cold-blooded. Powerful, because his command of dark magic is so complete he can fly without a broomstick. You sense his presence in every shadow on screen. Whatever his name means, there’s a reason no-one dares say it.

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A real tearjerker!

Posted : 2 years, 3 months ago on 21 July 2022 11:15 (A review of Bambi)

Bambi is short, but I don't care, because so was Dumbo, which is also very sad but beautiful, however I have always preferred Bambi despite the fact I could really empathise with Dumbo. Bambi is a gem, and overshadowed slightly by the flawless Beauty and the Beast and the stunning Lion King. This classic is right up there with the greats, and was coincidentally Walt Disney's personal favourite. The animation is unparallelled. Those shots of the forest at the beginning were just extraordinary, and it was so colourful and stylised. Another plus was the orchestral score which was so beautiful, that alone reduced me to tears. It matched the animation beautifully, which seldom happens in animation. The characters were both funny and touching, and the story simple and timeless. I laughed so much at Thumper, when he was teaching Bambi to speak. Bambi was great to watch too and so adorable, and I was among the majority who cried when his mother died, because this film was so educational thanks to her. The animals as adolescents aren't quite as appealing as when they were children, but Bambi and Faline's romance was one of the character highlights. The best aspect for me, was that they made the enemy so mysterious. We hear about them, and see what they do, but we don't see them face to face. That is what made the characters so appealing to the audience. This is one of the few films, where you care for everybody you are introduced to. In conclusion, a funny and ever-touching underrated classic. 10/10. Bethany Cox

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Outstanding!

Posted : 2 years, 3 months ago on 21 July 2022 11:06 (A review of The Princess Bride)

Princess Bride is something that is really special. It is well designed, well directed and well acted. Rob Reiner is a very good director indeed, directing films like Stand By Me and all that. The film itself is beautiful, with lovely sets and costumes, matched with a funny and touching script, not to mention quotable. The story was simple, but very well-developed, with a few surprises here and there. As for the acting, it is superb. Cary Elwes is a very charismatic lead as Westley, and Robin Wright gives a very spirited performance as Princess Buttercup. Chris Sarandon is a little annoying, but he has some delicious throw-away lines, so you warm to him, especially when Westley insults him at the end. Wallace Shawn, Andre the Giant and Christopher Guest(who bares a mere resemblance to Tim Curry's Cardinal Richelieu) were very good too, as is an unrecognisable Billy Crystal. And Mandy Patinkin is deliciously hammy as the man who wishes to avenge his father's death by killing his six-fingered murderer. But what impressed me most were the funny interruptions with the grandfather(played wonderfully by Colombo's Peter Falk)and his sick grandson(Fred Savage). All in all, an original and funny movie that is a must see. 9.5/10 Bethany Cox.

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Flesh-less

Posted : 2 years, 3 months ago on 18 July 2022 11:42 (A review of Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh)

Really like the original 'Candyman', itself a well done adaptation of Clive Barker's excellent source material. Find it well-made and genuinely scary with great performances from Tony Todd (terrifying) and Virginia Madsen (in a difficult role) and a goosebump-inducing score from Phillip Glass. My only real problem with 'Candyman' has always been the for my tastes tacky ending, maybe a little bias as "open"/"it's not over yet" endings can not be my cup of tea.

A type of ending that gave way for two follow-ups, of which 'Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh' is the first (the other being the straight to video 'Candyman Day of the Dead'). Sadly, for me and it seems many people, both are nowhere near as good with almost all the components executed the complete opposite to how they were executed in 'Candyman'. Unlike the first, don't consider either sequel good films, with 'Farewell to the Flesh' being the lesser of two evils, and don't really see much reason as to why they were made.

Lets get the good things out of the way. Liked the colourful and creepy back-drop. The score does induce a few goosebumps, even if it is derivative.

It was great to have Todd back, cannot imagine anybody else as the titular character and Todd still evokes imposing chills which is more than his somewhat wanting material deserves.

However, the rest of the acting is mediocre at best and most of it downright bad. Madsen is sorely missed here, Kelly Rowan lacks the charisma and bite to carry the film or that's how it came over to me. The characters are uninteresting and unrootable, with motivations that are either vague or illogical (both at times too). There is nothing thought-provoking about the script either, the flow is long-winded and never natural and a lot of it descends into facepalm-inducing cheese. Was really surprised that it was directed by Bill Condon, he has done some good films (particularly 'Kinsey' and even more so 'Gods and Monsters'), but there is next to none of the flair, assurance or fluency those later films had, detected an inexperienced feel throughout here.

Despite the setting coming over well, it was a surprise to find that 'Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh' was not straight to video because it could easily have passed for it with its elsewhere under-budgeted production values. The story is the biggest problem, the complete lack of risks and originality (basically one big re-hash with derivative elements) further adds to the constant feeling felt throughout the film "why does this exist?" Furthermore there is no tension, suspense or dread, killed by a deadeningly sluggish pace and everything being so predictable. Not only does it feel watered/dumbed down because of this lack of atmosphere, but the over-reliance of cheap-looking gore gives the film a cynical, mean-spirited edge and cheapens the atmosphere.

Concluding, even with the over-reliance of gore there is very little flesh (meaning substance or atmosphere) on display. 3/10 Bethany Cox

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