Drama > 10 GBP to 15 GBP Drama > Parental Guidance

Hazell Hits the Small Screen

Advantages: An interesting and unusual detective series
Disadvantages: Some minor storyline elements are not explained clearly

...first meet the amiable James Hazell as he embarks on his first case, for hard-nosed solicitor Gordon Gregory. Life is looking up for the smooth-talking cockney, with a smart Triumph Stag and a plush rent-free apartment (looking after it for a friend of a friend, currently serving 7 years at Her Majesty's pleasure). Every silver lining has a cloud of course, and the rookie investigator often meets trouble, usually of the violent kind, although his ...
...is an area the streetwise Hazell knows well. There are authentically shabby locations inhabited by equally shabby characters - a motley crew of small-time gangsters, cheats and drunks for the most part. The people supposedly on his side aren't much better. There's cousin Tel, the wheeler dealer of the family, and 'Choc' Minty, a dour dry-humoured Scotsman and former colleague, still a Detective Inspector, who has a habit of appearing just at the ...

raymortim 14.12.2007 · Read full review
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Review of Hazell - The Complete First Series (DVD)

Howards Way Series 2

Advantages: Released on DVD
Disadvantages: Recorded in Mono

Howards way is a drama set in 'Tarrant'. It is all about the ongoings of the Howard family, hence the title Howard's Way. The second season follows on with the story of the Howards and the Mermaid boatyard. The second series kicks off with the Mermaid yard celebrating another sucessful launch while its future hangs in the balance. As the series progresses more revelations are revealed as Tom Howard continues his business at the Mermaid Yard and ...
...results in broken hearts and spilt blood on the beaches and blouses of Tarrant. DVD Extras include audio commentary from 2 of the original cast members, Jan Harvey (Jan Howard) and Stephen Yardley (Ken Masters) Currently series 1 - 4 (of 6) have been released on DVD by 2 entertainment. We await the release dates of Series 5 and 6. ...

leemarples 12.02.2008 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: not helpful
Review of Howards' Way - Series 2 (DVD)

Gone with the wind

Advantages: lavish dated drama with endless detail, finery and spectcle
Disadvantages: too long, over done , too many tricks for the viewer

This epic is big in every sense of the word. It is a blockbuster to end all blockbusters. The light and shade of the intense colour sometimes overwhelms the speeches in each scene. Can you spot where Clark Gable isnt dancing? Can you spot the civil war scene where humans werent used? The film has various effects and tricks to keep you going through the extended viewing time. It is a marathon of eye candy and with every part polished to shine ...

vancouver12 06.05.2007 · Read full review
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Review of Gone With The Wind (Special Edition Box Set) (DVD)

"Nothing escapes me. No one escapes me"

Advantages: Iconic and engaging. Breathtaking performances and direction.
Disadvantages: Its pessimism may leave some bored.

...will surely be familiar with the iconic image of a knight playing chess with the grim reaper with a Swedish beach serving as the backdrop. It's been parodied, referenced and homaged to the point where you'd not be mistaken to think that you've seen the whole film. A notable cinematic salute that springs to mind is that of 'Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey' where the duo have to play off against death with a series of board games; Twister, Battleships ...
...the more impressive considering that it's a fifty plus year old foreign film. Set during the time of the Black Plague (circa 14th century), the narrative focuses on one man: Antonius Block (Max von Sydow). A knight during the crusades, Block and his squire Jöns (Gunnar Björnstrand) return to Sweden to see a land ravaged by death and decay. Block wakes up on a beach disillusioned about the existence of god where he meets death himself (Bengt Ekerot) ...

Markula 24.02.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The Seventh Seal (DVD)

Hotel du Nord

Advantages: Beautifully filmed, poetic, magnificently acted masterpiece of cinema rarely matched today
Disadvantages: Nothing... genuinely nothing

I first saw Hotel du Nord as part of a double bill with a film by Jean Renoir (I forget which - though I think the brilliant Le Crime De Monsieur Lange) and I was frankly going to see the Renoir film and thought, hmmm, I'll just have to sit through Hotel du Nord and grin and bear it. Something about the film just really didn't appeal. Then right from the opening shot that tracks down from the bridge over the canal Saint Martin and along the side ...
...of a soft spot for Hotel du Nord. It is firmly placed in the traditional of French cinema of the thirties. Like his contemporaries, Renoir et al, the director Marcel Carne made films that were considered to be part of the poetic-realism (or at least are now known as) movement that was inspired as much by cinema as Carne being a member of a left wing political party heavily influenced by Communism. It is noticeable in the film, as in Renoir's Le Crime ...

No_name 11.02.2007 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Hotel Du Nord (Subtitled) (DVD)