DVD Collectors Online

The China Syndrome, a review by Jon

The China Syndrome
4 out of 5



Jack Lemmon, Jane Fonda and Michael Douglas star in The China Syndrome, a powerful cautionary thriller about the dangers of nuclear energy and the power of television news.

At some point in your regular run-of-the-mill disaster movie, you have put your hands up and admit that it's pretty daft. They take a tiny fact and blow it up too far, but you don't care because it's too much fun. Roland Emmerich reaches this point in under 20 minutes usually! The China Syndrome is powerful right up to the final moments because it stays in the realm of what could happen, not what does. In that sense it isn't even a disaster movie, more the "cautionary thriller" the cover blurb calls it, yet you never get that safety blanket of being bale to dismiss it out-of-hand. It builds up to a tense and even disturbing finale. There are no set-pieces, just a well-told drama with a sobering premise and two-thirds in it's clear it will be more whistle-blower The Insider style than anything else. Visually it isn't ambitious, but Director James Bridges does a great job to keep all the plates spinning, not least in the final emotional roller-coaster sequence. The story is split between a nuclear power plant dealing with a potential accident and the news team that happened to have been there when the control room briefly went nuts.

In retrospect, it's kind of bleak, yet it's also very entertaining while you gnaw on your fingers! It has a cheeky sense of irony in more than one moment. The cast are as dependable as their script and sell the story perfectly. Jack Lemmon is his usual brilliant self as the conflicted shift supervisor who knows something is wrong with the power plant, Jane Fonda is the reporter looking for hard news and Michael Douglas is her hot-headed camera-man. He shows his worth and never feels like a third-wheel between the other two, Oscar nominated, performances.

Between the plant and the news room, there is Fonda's story of trying to prove her worth at the TV station. It's intriguing stuff and dovetails nicely with the other angles. While it reminded me of Network and it is a serious drama, it almost seems unfair to pick out the similarities with Anchorman; the similarities between Kimberley Wells and Veronica Corningstone are impossible to miss as she struggles to be taken seriously against the male anchors (the bellydancing moment is pure Ron Burgundy material!), and only gets the zoo and birthday party assignments! You couldn't make it up.

To it's credit, the film loses nothing for such a comparison. What you'll remember is a well-acted, slow-burning thriller, with a message still relevant and potent today, and a powerful ending. It's no spoiler to say that the credits are silent. Can't think I've seen that before.

(From DCO third annual November Alphabet Marathon - discussion/review/banter thread on November 5th, 2009)

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, a review by Antares

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre





Year: 1948
Film Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures, First National Pictures
Genre: Adventure, Drama
Length: 126 Min.

Director
John Huston (1906)

Writing
John Huston (1906)...Screenplay
B. Traven (1882)...Novel

Producer
Henry Blanke (1901)
Jack L. Warner (1892)

Cinematographer
Ted D. McCord (1900)

Music
Max Steiner (1888)...Music By

StarsReview
       The film Casablanca may have made Humphrey Bogart a star but to me his role as Fred C. Dobbs, the down on his luck drifter who agrees to go in search of gold in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, is his greatest performance. In this one role we get to witness the versatility of his acting prowess as he portrays Dobbs as a troubled individual with a chameleon personality whose mood and mannerisms change like the wind. One moment he is in good cheer as he recounts for his partners how finding gold will not change him personally and the next he is a rambling, quivering mass of paranoia as he believes everyone is out to rob him blind. Bogart walks this fine line with the agility of a skilled tightrope walker, never going so far as to make his character appear a caricature.

       This would be the second time that Bogart worked with director John Huston, and the arrangement must have suited Bogart well as they would make two more classic films together with Key Largo & The African QueenThe African Queen. Yet, one upshot of his role in this film would be the laying of groundwork for his portrayal of another paranoid and delusional character in The Caine Mutiny, Captain Queeg.  

       If you are un-familiar with the film history of Humphrey Bogart, most people will tell you start by watching Casablanca, but The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is all that and more. It could arguably be placed in the top ten films of all time.


Ratings Criterion
5 Stars - The pinnacle of film perfection and excellence.

(From The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) on December 17th, 2009)

My PILOT Marathon, a review by Rich

Spooks - Series 1

1.Thou Shalt Not Kill
An abortion doctor and her daughter are killed by a bomb placed by Mary Kane, an American "pro-life" terrorist. An informant reveals that this is just the tip of the iceberg as 20 bombs have gone missing. Kane has started training more pro-life groups within the UK and is planning more attacks. Meanwhile, Tom struggles with issues of duplicity and juggling two identities



MI5 agents, living a different life every moment, facing a different threat every day. In the dangerous shadow-world of the intelligence community, the enemy is never far away. Hidden. Waiting. Planning. All MI5 have to go on are glimpses and fragments. Our lives depend on them seeing the full picture...

Very impressive pilot, I was blown away with the excellent and techy start, and I thought on the whole all of the characters were promising.
Missing some of the glossy finish of similar US shows like 24, this UK production based on pilot demonstrates solid storyline, dependable acting and a true feeling of topical realism sadly lacking in similar series.
High calibre spy series, certainly worth a few quid investment.
 


(From My PILOT Marathon on September 21st, 2009)