great series!

Fantastic first series, captivating pilot episode had me hooked from the very beginning. I found myself watching the entire season within one weekend! My only criticism would be that first few episodes seem slightly fragmented, all telling a 40/50minute story from start to conclusion without a visible progression of a main storyline. From about episode 5 or 6 onwards though, everything starts to tie in and become a more ongoing and fluent story. The last episode was amazing but also very frustrating as it was"to be continued" so I would reccommend having season 2 close at hand to prevent frustration!!

a film perfectly summed up by the title

this is just bland assembly line nonsense that's passable, watchable entertainment if your in an undermanding mood

In the absence of light, darkness prevails

While some good directors never quite"get it," it took Guillermo Del Toro only one misfire -- the icky, slow-paced"Blade 2" -- to get the whole comic-book adaptation thing right.

In fact, just about everything is right with"Hellboy" -- Del Toro crafted an action blockbuster with a grimy, slimy cult-movie feel and a quirky sense of humor. It's graced with excellent acting, spectacular action scenes, and the trappings of clockpunk and Lovecraftian horror -- not to mention that it stars a six-foot-tall scarlet demon with a soft spot for kittens.

In 1944, young Professor Broom accompanied an army regiment to a remote Scottish island, where the Nazis -- led by Rasputin -- were about to open a portal to another world, and allow the vast tentacled Ogru Jahad (Seven Gods of Chaos) to enter our world. Rasputin and the Nazis were destroyed, but something came through the portal -- a baby demon, whom Broom names Hellboy.

Fast-forward sixty years -- a grown Hellboy (Ron Perlman) and his fishy friend Abe (Doug Jones) are working at a paranormal government agency that specializes in policing the supernatural, with the weirded-out Agent Myers (Rupert Evans) just joining the team. Soon afterwards, Hellboy is called on to kill Sammael the Hellhound -- but it turns out that Sammael can replicate himself indefinitely.

As Hellboy and his team try to hunt down the remaining Sammaels, the dying Professor Broom (John Hurt) finds that a revived Rasputin and his immortal Nazi followers have orchestrated all this. And Rasputin is continuing to pull the strings behind the scenes -- including using Hellboy's love Liz (Selma Blair), a depressed pyrokinetic. And when Hellboy suffers a devastating loss, his journey will take him right back to his roots -- and the potential destruction of the world.

Watching"Hellboy," it's easy to see how Guillermo Del Toro because world-famous for the exquisitely dark"Pan's Labyrinth," and why he's been chosen to direct the forthcoming"Hobbit" movies. This adaptation could have just been another paint-by-numbers comic-book story, but Del Toro gives it the kind of grime, quirk, brains and heart that a lasting cult movie should have.

Part of that cult appeal is"Hellboy's" distinctive look, with Lovecraftian tentacle-gods and some steampunky details. And the action scenes are pretty spectacular -- trains, slimy hellhounds, sword-swinging Nazis with chopped-up faces, giant clock cogs, and a fiery explosion in a mental asylum. And there are some truly spectacular action scenes in a vast underground labyrinth, full of ancient hammers and collapsing bridges. There's just enough action and grossness, without going overboard.

But Del Toro is able to balance out the action with some truly touching moments, such as the aged Broom's final scenes in his firelit study. And there's a lot of dark humor here as well -- and not all of it is Hellboy's dry one-liners. The movie is liberally peppered with dark humor moments ("1945, you mean. Hitler died in '45.""DID he now?"), including some hilariously macabre scenes involving a bad-tempered Russian zombie ("This is Ivan Klimatovich. Say hi, Ivan.""Go that way, Red Monkey!").

Most importantly, Del Toro is able to give his characters little human quirks -- hair plugs, love of cats, and Hellboy sanding down his horns in the morning. Perlman is simply amazing as"Red," whose gruff scarlet exterior hides a kindly, affectionate heart. Not many actors could emote through that many prosthetics (including a very lifelike tail), but Perlman makes it look natural.

Though he's playing a ninetyish old professor, Hurt plays his role with a quiet, powerful sense of goodness. Jones and Evans also do excellent jobs, one as an erudite psychic fish-man ("We lead a charmed life," he observes as cockroaches skitter around him) and an earnest young agent. Selma Blair is the one downside -- she sort of mumbles in a monotone most of the time.

"Hellboy" is one of the best comic-book adaptations that Hollywood has turned out, primarily because of the darker, eerier aesthetic Guillermo Del Toro brings to it. Definitely a must-see.

Detailed Reviews Below - In Summary:

1. Consistent high quality script.
2. Satisfyingly complex plot lines.
3. Great character definition.
4. Super duper acting.
5. Every episode gets you involved by making you think:"What would I do in that position?"
6. Like 24 did - this grips you like a page turning thriller.

GO BUY!!

A fantastic addition to the Terminator mythos

Obviously I can't comment on the DVD itself, as I am writing this 2 months before release. But having seen the entire series on Virgin 1, I would urge any Terminator fan who missed it to grab a copy as soon as you can.

This could have been some awful cash-in, or could have missed the point completely (like the ill-fated 'Flash Gordon' series). But it is actually superb. It is really obvious that the people behind it are fans themselves, respectful of the source material, and yet simply wanting to continue the story in a new direction.

All 3 of the main actors are excellent in their roles - I had absolutely no problem accepting Lana Headey as Sarah Connor - she does a great job of portraying someone with the weight of the world on her shoulders, who nevertheless knows that she can't afford to give up. Thomas Dekker is totally believable as John - trying to come to terms with his 'future hero' persona, whilst still a confused teenager at heart.

And Summer Glau - what can I say? She was fantastic in 'Firefly/Serenity', memorable in 'The 4400', and here she just excels herself. As the protector from the future, she makes a totally believable android - a bit like Arnie in T2, she is basically ruthless, with John having to teach her about compassion and what is acceptable. But better than that, you are never entirely sure whether you should trust her - apart from anything else, she DOESN'T always do what John asks her. And the writers keep on giving little hints that she may have been compromised in some way, which adds a real edge to the whole series.

The series is very exciting, with great action scenes, and the plot neatly intertwines an overall 'arc' with individual stories. Add to this occasional glimpses of the 'future' that they are trying to avoid, and you have something that you really can't afford to miss. The only real down-side is that they only made 9 episodes, because of the US writers' strike, and so it ends without actually resolving anything. But on the strength of what has been made so far, I would hope that a 2nd series would be a no-brainer. And if that is true, you'll want to have boned up on the first series well in advance!

Blood, soap, and man boobs.

When this film first came out I never got the chance to watch it, it was only recently that I was able to enjoy this film.

Edward Norton's portrayal of an insomniac in need of some sort of release was perfectly casted. His mix of vulnerability and neurosis was put across well. Particularly in the initial scenes, where he finds solace in help groups. This was a brilliant dark comedy to start off with, and I was enjoying the film so much that I forgot about the title"Fight Club" - the actual fighting doesn't come into it for a while.

Bonham Carter as Marla Singer is the spanner in Norton's works - knowing that there is another faker in the help groups who is attending without any of the conditions the groups are intended for cheapens the moment for him, as it reminds him of his own dubious ethics for going. Although I must admit that at brief points she seemed to slip out of her American accent into her natural English delivery.

The feel of the film changed as Brad Pitt entered as the enigmatic Tyler Durden - and the film had more energy. The symbolism of Fight Clubs as ways to rebel against the modern world of shallow corporate promotion was fantastic - a way for men to feel human again. Norton's unnamed character works for a huge corporation, and his job is essentially one of calculating the cost of human life to the company, so the metaphor was particularly good in this context.

I don't want to give any spoilers away - so I won't go into any more synopsis - but the when the film ended I liked the twist, but didn't love it. In a way it felt as though it was done for the sake of having one. As if people have come to expect it. I thought the film was clever, but I also felt that it was desperately trying to look clever. I have mixed feelings I suppose, the first part of the film was reminiscent of well written/acted/directed European cinema and well worthy of 5 stars, but the last part of the film seemed to lose focus on the overall message central to the films premise and seemed a bit `3 star'...

...So, overall I give this film 4 stars. The first half of the film is some of the best Hollywood film I have ever seen. The rest of the film was good too but paled in comparison to such a great beginning. It must be noted though that there are excellent technical moments - there are three occasions where an image is inserted into a single frame in the film resulting in two `flashes' of Brad Pitt and the third really is a flash as we see a penis (this ties-in to a running joke in the film about inserting a frame of porn into kids films)!

She's gonna kill Bill

"Kill Bill" was either a disaster-in-the-making or a one of a kind hit -- a sprawling revenge flick that had to be cut in two and released separately. But director Quentin Tarantino finally gets to show the world his epic salute to homages -- both halves together.

Tragedy strikes the Bride (Uma Thurman) on her wedding day: The Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (DiVAS) attacks and slaughters the guests, the groom, and wounds the very pregnant Bride herself. Her former boss/lover Bill (David Carradine) finishes the bloodbath by shooting the Bride in the head. But despite his efforts, she isn't dead.

A few years later, the Bride wakes to find that she has been in a coma for a few years, and has been being used as a sex toy for rent. After recovering enough to move, the Bride gets a sword sharp enough to"cut God," and goes on a revenge spree against the people who wrecked her life and killed her baby, including Cottonmouth (Vivica A. Fox) and the deadly O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu).

In part one of"Kill Bill," the Bride continues working her way up the list until she gets to Bill himself, with the intent of getting revenge. But a monkey wrench is thrown into the Bride's revenge plans when she learns the truth about her baby and whether it died, and her conflict with Bill...

Don't expect cinematic posturing."Kill Bill" is cinematic pop art, a loving tribute to cheesy martial-arts flicks and westerns. It's pure homage, untainted by typical directing methods and immensely entertaining if you switch off your critical faculties, refrain from asking"How the heck could that happen?"

It also isn't for the weak of stomach; over 450 gallons of fake blood are used in both movies. But the blood usage is more"Monty Python" than"Braveheart"; it's so over-the-top that it's gloriously sick rather than disturbing. So is the violence -- hacking dozens of people down without getting so much as a scrape is impossible, but it's sure fun to watch.

But though the first half is a stylized revengefest, it's not all gore, gouged eyes and severed limbs. The second half of the full movie is more character and dialogue-driven, in between gory killings, and explores the pasts of the DIVAS. Additionally, Tarantino throws some brilliant one-liners like"Those of you lucky enough to have your lives take them with you. However, leave the limbs you've lost. They belong to me now."

Uma Thurman, with her yellow tracksuit and katana, rules the screen as the Bride (name revealed in the second half, but she'll ALWAYS be the Bride). She cuts down people by the dozen, but it's impossible not to appreciate her. And the best supporting performances come from Liu as the ruthless O-Ren, the underrated Chiaki Kuriyama as an evil schoolgirl, and most importantly, Carradine as the quiet, ruthless Bill -- a primo performance.

It's weird, it's creepy, it's brilliant, and somehow it's vastly entertaining. Tarantino's special triumph in"Kill Bill" is to somehow rope his vast store of movie homages into a gory, action-packed storyline, and one that is one big bloody thrill.

Swashbuckling Stuff

Whether you saw the 'Hornblower' series on the TV or not does not matter, these are wonderful to watch for the first time or again and again. Loads of action to please everyone. Well worth investing in.

A Good Movie

I enjoyed this outing from the FF, despite all the bashing it has received. I think it remains true to the spirit of the comic books, and aside from Galactus being a massive black cloud I had no quibbles with any of the plot or the action. It is a great fil to sit down and watch with the kids on a Sunday afternoon, but I also like to watch the two of them back to back with a few tins of beer to make me forget about life as it is and immerse myself in the Marvel Universe of super-powered beings trying to save us all. It's pure escapism and not high art, for goodness sakes. It's a comic book made into a film, and I'm looking forward to the Silver Surfer movie with anticipation. I guess that even in my fifties, I'm still a kid at heart! Let all you doubters go back to Yancy Street where ya came from, or I'll clobber ya!

The insanity of war

Much has been documented about the mental breakdown of Coppola when directing modern war epic Apocalypse now. The amount of material shot (pardon the pun) was enough to make a film running at over at week - but several edits later we are left with a masterpiece of around two and a half hours in length.

Logistically speaking the film was a nightmare to get finished, after late minute recasts, Martin Sheen played the lead role whilst suffering from alcoholism and nearly died of a heart attack. His poor health lead to his own brother stepping in to double for him in many scenes. The script was constantly re-written and the ending was changed several times over in subsequent edits. The film went massively over budget, the sets were wrecked during monsoon season, the helicopters used were actual military ones and had to fly away to do their `day job'. The catalogue of issues dogging this film is too long to list - but the frustration and the pure neuralgia surrounding the film comes through strong, and that cements the film as one of the most realistic films of the Vietnam war, and one of the most haunting war films ever.

Sent on a mission to kill the wonder-kid turned pseudo Jungle-king Kurtz, Willard starts to slowly lose any mental stability he had left - so much so that he can relate to Kurtz's insane philosophy. The journey to find Kurtz is a long one, and one which allows us more than just a glimpse into the human side of war. From pointless deaths, man-made horrors, and manic military leaders (resulting in one of the most famous quotes in film history"I love the smell of Napalm in the morning..."). The imagery is over-the-top, but given the setting it seems natural - almost blasé, that's what this film does so well - it puts you in the war.

Coppola famously said that"my film is not about Vietnam, it is Vietnam" - and to a large extent it is. There are no heroes here, no glamour, just futility. This is more than just a film, it's an experience - sometimes abstract, and often difficult to watch, but it stays with you. You watch this and whether you love it or are indifferent to it, you can accept that we're lucky that this film was finally made.

Inspired a Bollywood Blockbuster

'Magnificent Seven' will always be in my Top 20 list of all time greats. What makes it so special is that as one of the greatest American films of all times, it was inspired by an Japanese all time great; 'Seven Samurai'.To make things even more interesting, the Bollywood all time great , 'Sholay' was in turn inspired by 'Magnificent Seven'.

Of the Magnificent Seven most of the screen time is given to Chris (Brynner), Vin (McQueen) and Chico (Bucholz). While no details are given about the individual pasts of the Magnificent Seven it is fairly clear what there pasts may have been.

1. Chris: A leader, perhaps a former soldier, who has encountered danger before and gained a degree of mastery over his emotions in dangerous situation.

2. Vin: A capable man with a gun, perhaps a one time cowboy. He seems to be comfortable working as a loner but clearly would like to one day settle down.

3. Chico: The youngest of the Seven and most inexperienced. He wants to shed his farming past and attempts through acts of bravado to persuade others and himself that he is a gunfighter at heart.

4. Bernardo (Bronson): A strong solitary man that in many ways resembles Chris although not displaying the desire to lead. In many ways he is the most interesting character. He has made quite a bit of money in the past even though he is now broke. The attention he gives to the local village children and the gift he gives a village girl hint at the idea that while he is good at gunfighting he knows that it is a good family life that is important.

5. Lee (Vaughn): The most difficult character to relate to. He appears to be a gunman who in the past was cocky, arrogant and self assured but now after experiencing life on the run now doubts himself. He wants to do the right thing but finds it difficult to step up to the plate when it's his turn.

6. Britt (Coburn): A loner who is unequaled in a gun or knife fight. A man whose motives remain his own.

7. Harry (Dexter): A good man to have in a fight but one who lets greed cloud his every decision. It would seem that Harry is one of those individuals who is always one step away from gaining riches but somehow never gains them.

The leader of the bandits is Calvera (Walsh) who is not an unlikeable fellow. He appears to believe that it is his job to steal so that he can support himself and his men. For him it is only a job, not unlike the farmers who work the land to provide for their families. He has what can almost be describes as a code of ethics for those who make their living with guns. This code of ethics is evident in the way he treats the Magnificent Seven towards the end of the film. However, given the films ending, this code does not seem to be shared by the Magnificent Seven

Lastly, while many people may view this film as a western action film I think there is quite a bit of underlying humanity and character depth woven into the story. It is these underlying characteristics that distinguish it from the average western action flick and have helped to make this film as popular as it is.

MiniMiuraMadness!!!!

Nothing beats this old British classic, surely no one could possibly hate this. A thriller for anyone, the cars (especially the Lamborghini Miura in the mountains) are just perfect, the highly British comedy, the car chase, the lines: only supposed to blow the ****** doors off, I hope he likes spagetti, well at least look happy you stupid ******* we won didn't we?, try putting your foot down Tony they're really getting rather close, hello Charlie I'm dead, I'll tell you what I got a great idea. This is the best film ever!!!

Quality Sci-fi

A wonderful film that at its heart has a well thought out story, and for the most part does not betray the fact that it was filmed 25 years ago. I've just re-watched it for the first time in ten years and none of the elements that made it so good in the 1980's have really dated at all. Sure there are no mobile phones to assist Sarah Conner, and the stop motion photography near the end betrays the films relatively low budget, but all in all its a roller coaster ride that takes some beating.

The first hour is relentless action with a high degree of tension as well. If by chance you've never seen it before you are really won't be sure who wants to kill Sarah Conner. Of course if you've seen T2 first you may be even more confused....

Schwarzenegger was made for this role, and the idea of him being a cyborg with real flesh is entirely believable. If theres one criticsm of the film its perhaps that they should have dubbed a different voice (a bit like they did with Dave Prowse in Star Wars) when The Terminator speaks.

Credit must go to James Cameron the director, who was responsible for so many quality Action/Sci-fi/Horror films in the 80's and early 90's. Sadly Cameron hasn't maintained that standard and since directing Titanic (which itself wasn't that good and was 10 years ago now) hasn't made another as good as The Terminator.

Surf's up, Space Ponies!

Imagine you live in a city chock full of superheroes, most of whom are mediocre and ineffectual at best, downright dangerous to themselves and others at worst. Your hometown attracts the dregs of the caped wonders, and more than its fair share of neophyte, down-on-their-luck, or just plain desperate super-villains out to prove themselves. Then throw into the mix one big, blue, nigh-invulnerable do-gooder bent on righting all wrongs, protecting the innocent, and bringing criminals to justice! He is The Tick! He is mighty! He's also as dense as concrete baklava and almost certainly incurably insane! He speaks his own internal narration and uses a lot of exclamation marks! Welcome to The City, home of The Tick!

I'm going to say what hordes of other"Tick" fans have said about it: this cartoon, like its comic book precursor and live-action follow-up, is sheer, under-appreciated GENIUS. Oh, sure, the hardcore fans are extremely vocal in their love of this show, but this is a show EVERYONE can enjoy, because it has something for every comedic taste. It's an affectionate (but unflinching) total mockery of superhero, sci-fi, and crime comics. It's surreal and clever enough that fans of"Monty Python" and"The Goon Show" would feel right at home. It's got enough brilliant-but-dire puns in it to keep you groaning throughout. It's got bright colours, cinematic-scale action, and outright silliness for the kiddies, yet has enough throw-away adult humour to keep the grown-ups laughing. And by"adult humour," I mean jokes about relationships, security deposits, careers, psychotherapy, taking your pet capybara to the vet, and suchlike. The voice casting is excellent, the characters are ridiculous and larger-than-life yet also human enough to relate to, the scripts are slices of fried gold, the music (largely jazzy background or cheery instrumentals with a lot of good character themes thrown in) is wonderful, and the intelligence level is high (although not usually in the case of The Tick himself). The design and artwork are distinctive and beautiful with many tributes paid to many art influences (the superheroes and citizens of The City often dine in an establishment straight out of Edward Hopper's"Nighthawks," for example).

Really, I could go on and on, exploring in minute detail -- episode by episode -- why you should buy this set. But just trust me on this:"The Tick" is pure cartoon bliss. As The Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs At Midnight says in one of the episodes, they're makin' gravy without the lumps. Which is good. The complete and utter lack of DVD Extras does nothing to detract from the content, although it would've been nice to get a soundtrack disc as well; the music's that good! I found only one actual problem with this set: the transfer to DVD wasn't perfect; there are a few spots where the image pixellates, but over the course of 12+ hours of viewing, it's a rare occurrence, and you'll be too hung up on humming the catchy big-band scat theme tune to notice. All together now: Dub DWEE dat-da-da DWEE DOW...!

Fantastic!

I'm amazed this series didn't get as much exposure as the Sopranos. The acting is universally terrific, the plot is great, dialogue totally convincing, sets and production excellent. Ian McShane and Timothy Olyphant are stand-out stars, but everybody does a wonderful job.

Action, Pure & Simple

These films have certainly been panned over the years, especially the last two films. But usaully the critics doing the panning have no interest or knowledge of the action film genre. Ok so they are not going to win any oscars for their acting or scripts but for slam bang action pure & simple you cant go wrong. They are certainly alot better than the rubbish Seagel and Van Damme churn out. They are also well filmed. The helicopter attack on the village and the Afgan horsemen charging the Russian army in Rambo 3 are two scenes in particular that come to mind. So if you want an afternoon(or evening)of great action these are the movies for you!

I Am Legend, 2 disc edition.

This film is 'I Am Legend' in name only, it bears very little relation to the book of the same name. This aside, it is a fairly good movie with post apocalyptic themes and a storyline that will keep you interested for the 96 minutes duration. Will Smith plays the role of the relationship starved army medical researcher well. You really feel for him when he talks to mannequins and at his relationship with his dog. The action is pretty good, although the computer graphics left a lot to be desired, both the various animals and the 'dark seekers' seemed very dated compared to other computer graphics films. This is an OK film, that should keep you watching until the end. As long as you don't expect a faithful rendering of the book you should be fine. Watch it with an open mind and you'll get what it sets out to be, an action film that shows another side of Will's acting and how one copes on his own in a world where everyone else is dead! The extras on the second disc are OK, but nowhere near as extensive as other films out there. A solid three star film.

NOT BAD

Judge Dredd is based on one of the most popular characters from the UK's 2000 AD comics. It is set in the 22nd Century, when most of the Earth has been turned into a desolate wasteland known as the"Cursed Earth" and most humans live in highly concentrated cities, walled off from the rest of the world. Society is fairly anarchic, except there for a class of humans, known as"judges", who act as cop, judge, jury and executioner all rolled into one. Sylvester Stallone is the titular judge. He's notorious among the other judges, the general citizenry and the other judges for upholding the law in a harsh way. The film primarily tells the story arc from the comics known as"The Return of Rico", and concerns a plot to get Dredd into trouble while overthrowing what's left of the existing"order".

This is a great action/sci-fi film with a tone reminiscent of Demolition Man (1993), Total Recall (1990), The Fifth Element (1997), Blade Runner (1982) and similar films. If you like Stallone, gloomy futuristic production design and/or intense action films, Judge Dredd should be a rewarding experience for you, as long as you're not a purist who is coming to the film by way of an intricate familiarity with the 2000 AD comics.

The source material caused a slight problem for me, too, but not because I'm a purist. Rather, Judge Dredd suffers a bit from a flaw that plagues many films based on comic books--writers Michael De Luca, William Wisher Jr. and Steven E. de Souza had an extensive, pre-existent mythology (as is necessary when creating a complete, new world) on which to build their work, and they tried to incorporate a bit too much of it. Because of this, we're introduced to a large cast of characters fulfilling functions that we're not familiar with (in the details, at least), and we're regularly faced with new lingo, new cultural concepts, new technology, and so on, often with just a couple lines of dialogue. If you want to understand the details, you really have to pay close attention. But on the other hand, the general arc of the story is relatively simple, and you don't have to know every detail to enjoy it.

Given the disposition that Stallone has as Judge Dredd in the film, he may as well have walked out of Kurt Wimmer's film Equilibrium (2002). Dredd initially goes about his business almost robotically; he only cares about enforcing the law. When he's recruited by a higher-up, Chief Justice Fargo (Max von Sydow), to teach ethics (which is quite an ironic idea when you see Dredd's behavior in the opening scene), he tells the students that being a judge basically means giving up one's life to the law. He says that one cannot have friends, for example--never mind that other judges, like Judge Hershey (Diane Lane) try to have social lives outside of work. Dredd later tells Hershey that he did have a friend at one point, but he had to judge him. Sending a friend to prison or killing him (we're not told exactly how Dredd judged him, although we find out later) isn't exactly the best way to encourage a healthy social life.

So the subtext of the story, and Dredd's character arc, becomes that through a number of hardships, he finally learns something about ethics for himself--just in time to deal with a potentially shattering bit of information about his personal identity. He ends up accompanied by a man, Herman Ferguson (Rob Schneider, in a role meant primarily as comic relief, although more generously, he's an ironic emotional facilitator), whom he had just judged harshly, even though Ferguson wasn't really doing anything wrong on his first day out of prison. Together they have to go to a figurative hell (The Cursed Earth) to deal with figurative"demons" (a famed band of rogue cannibals who live in the tough environment) and back again to reach their fulfillment.

Like many recent sci-fi stories set in the future, Judge Dredd has a pessimistic view of where technology and social conventions are leading humans. As the story has it, at one point, we had built massive, relatively unstoppable robot warriors, and one of the highlights of the film is when the villain finds one and puts it back into service. It's as much fun to watch the gadgetry as it is to watch the action sequences, and the computer generated"landscapes" throughout the film are spellbinding, with their sly jabs at various changes and similarities to present locations and cultures. The whole concept of the judges and their hierarchical structure is fascinating, even if some apparent inconsistencies (such as why judges are not summarily dealt with in the same manner that other citizens are) are never explained in the film.

The performances are good, even if a few actors barely get enough screen time (like Lane and Joan Chen, who plays semi-villain Ilsa), and the premise is captivating. It's too bad this film gets unduly knocked by purists and those misguidedly looking for detail realism in the genre. Judge Dredd is severely underrated. It deserves a first look or a second chance.

Brilliant! Far better than Series 1!

If you saw Primeval Series 1, you'll already know what the show is about-creatures from the past and future coming through anomolies to cause havoc upon our world. However, Series 2 takes the show to new extremes; more action packed, funnier, more emotional. However, the only problems are; the fact that the series consists of only 7 episodes, and the fact that the DVDs lack all 'next time' trailers, 'previously' and the episode 6 cliffhanger, unlike series 1 did. But, anyway, well worth your money. BUY IT!

Good adaption of book

A very faithful adaption of the book by Paul Brickhill conveying Douglas Bader's spirit and determination in the face of adversity. In an era when anti-biotics and modern intensive care treatment simply didn't exist - the loss of both legs after a flying accident mean't once the surgeon had done his best - it was up to you - with the help of some supportive nursing - to survive - or not. Bader nearly did not.

The later part of the movie includes some"good for the period" special effects of the Battle of Britian using a mix of real footage, model shots and actual combat footage. If you want to see Nicholson VC's actual footage of the wingless and tailess Dornier crashing onto Victoria Station after he rammed it in 1940 - it is included. Purists will spot the odd Spitfire being shot down by another Spitfire. Made with the co-operation of the RAF the Hurricanes were presumably dug out of mothballs as they had not flown in over 10 years when the movie was made. The Spitfires are post-war marks - presumably as they were easily available and jar the eye when flown in"1940". However if you don't care about this sort of nit-pick - it certainly doesn't detract from the movie.

The film also perpetuates and explains Bader's"Big Wing" tactic and his selling of it to Leigh-Mallory - commander of 12 Group. Post war analysis showed that the tactic was deeply flawed and led to overclaims and made the wings themselves subject to succesful attacks by the German defending forces through 1941. Indeed Bader is shot down during one of his own sweeps over France in 1941 - and his plane's end follows the view of the witnesses rather than his own rememberance of the event.

In the genre of 1950's war movies - this one stands above the crowd for its portrayal of Bader and is worth a look.