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Secret Agent, a review by Dragonfire

Secret Agent

Novelist Edgar Brodie (John Gielgud) has his death faked by British Intelligence. Giving him a new identity as Richard Ashenden, they persuade him to undertake an espionage commission in Switzerland. Accompanied by beautiful Elsa Carrington (Madeleine Carroll), posing as his wife, and the General (Peter Lorre), an insane professional killer, Brodie/Ashenden becomes embroiled in murder, intrigue and a pursuit through the Swiss Alps.

My Thoughts

This one is interesting, though not one of Hitchcock's best.  The set up is interesting, though it isn't the most logical for British Intelligence to turn an author into a spy on a mission to kill someone.  He had no training in that sort thing, so it seemed rather out of place to me.  Elsa added more believability to the cover, but that was about all she did.  She acted like she was on a fun adventure without any thoughts of the consequences of what was going on.  She seemed to start to feel bad about certain things, but that wasn't fully explored.  Then, even when she knows everything, tries to prevent something ..and even threatens to do something that seemed rather...illogical.  The General was an odd character..very odd.  The movie has an odd mix of humor and more serious moments that doesn't fully work that well. 

My version of this is part of the set with a bunch of the older Hitchcock movies.  The picture and audio quality wasn't that great, and in some parts it was so dark it was hard to tell what was being shown. 

Overall, I thought this one was just average.     I think that is the icon I want.

(From Alfred Hitchcock Marathon on May 14th, 2009)

Dog Soldiers, a review by Jon

Dog Soldiers
4 out of 5



Soldiers on an exercise in Scotland come up against werewolves...

This is a great debut from director Neil Marshall, working from his own superb screenplay that turns unavoidable weaknesses (namely the budget) into strengths. He knows exactly what he can get away with and brings the audience in on the joke. We're scared when we should be scared and laugh when we should too.

The story takes its lead from Predator, with soldiers banter giving way to a mad dash for safety when they're attacked by werewolves, and it becomes more akin to Night of the Living Dead once the survivors are in a deserted farmhouse, complete with suicide missions and the wounded turning into the creatures. The script balances the jokes, the gore and the scares without any awkwardness. Not long into the film there's a Predator camp-fire moment that easily qualifies for all three! A fine cast led by Sean Pertwee and Kevin McKidd find their jobs all the easier for the solid writing. The film relies on McKidd as Cooper, but most of the best lines go to Pertwee's memorable Sergeant. Everyone finds just the right tone, even for some corny jokes ("there is no spoon!").

But good writing and acting aren't enough in a horror film; we need action and gore as well! Marshall does well to disguise his men-in-suit effects, using editing and shadows to create old fashioned scares and proving that CGI is often a crutch for lazy film-makers. There's only a couple of cheap moments and they are normally supported by a well placed scare, like the unfortunate soldier who becomes a kebab or Pertwee's hilarious gut-problems! Within the farmhouse, the creatures stand a few close-ups and some of the imagery is fantastic, especially the moment in a garage.

It really only stumbles in the final act. There's an obvious twist, but in a film like this, second-guessing doesn't matter, but it unexpectedly undoes the good work of a previous scene and it leaves the film feeling laboured for a short-while. However, the final scenes are fantastic building up to a nicely done end. All-in-all, one of the best horrors of recent years and the budget probably couldn't have paid for the catering on disappointments like I Am Legend.  

(From Jon's Marathon of Horror! 2009 on October 18th, 2009)

Angel Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

1. Heartthrob
Original Air Date: 9/24/2001
Even as Angel mourns Buffy's death, he must do battle against a vampire he was friends with back in the 18th century Marseilles - and whose girlfriend he has just killed.

Guest Stars:
Julie Benz
Ron Melendez
Kate Norby
Keith Szarabajka
Matthew James

My Thoughts:
This is a good episode... though I must admit I was expecting more from the first episode of a season. As you can see from the screen cap above... this one does have a flashback... which I normally love on this series.... but while it was good it didn't impress me quite as much as the previous ones all did. This is really an average episode at best.

My Rating:

(From Angel Marathon on March 9th, 2010)