Thriller & Mystery > Mirren, Helen Thriller & Mystery

The Long Good Friday

Advantages: Bob Hoskins
Disadvantages: Story

Prior to watching The Long Good Friday, I thought people were actually taking the piss when they said Bob Hoskins played a gangster in one of the most respectable British crime films ever made. "Not Bob Hoskins who played the overweight plumber Mario in the Super Mario Bros. movie?" I said. Apparently so. Urgh. Surprisingly, the once fat, balding, video game protagonist is really quite impressive in his earlier work here. He plays Harold Shand, a ...
...go straight in the late-1970s by redeveloping the old docklands property as a venue for the 1988 Olympic Games. He's an aggressive character, but looks after his crew; his speeches about the country's membership of the European Union are fuelled with intelligence and British pride; he is well groomed and has a beautiful wife that the whole world should respect him. His screen presence is worth the DVD price alone. What a shame that other than Hoskins, ...

andycarrington 25.06.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The Long Good Friday (DVD)

As Clear As Day?

Advantages: A Well Acted and Enjoyable Film
Disadvantages: An abrupt ending

...Redford and Willem Dafoe plus the wonderful Helen Mirren of Prime Suspect fame stared in this interesting film that seems to have passed me by until yesterday in my local supermarket! There in ASDA I paid £3 for this DVD and this with a slightly more expensive bottle of wine made for an enjoyable evening of entertainment. The plot was usual, kidnap and ransom. The setting a pleasant part of the States but mainly confined to - a clearing in a forest ...
...mainly due to the wonderful acting of all who took part and portrayed their characters faultlessly. The slow moving of the film then seemed to be abruptly ended by a rather poor finish which could have been better thought out. However if you, like me ,can get it for £3 in a supermarket - go for it! ...

REC52 05.11.2006 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of The Clearing (DVD)

Lynda La Plante's Jane Tennison

Advantages: Gripping from start to finish
Disadvantages: Only that it ends

...Despite the excellent performances, Prime Suspect would not have gone on to be so successful if it hadn't been for an excellent screenplay. Here, Lynda La Plante excelled herself. She chose a topic that was of political sensitivity at the time - race riots were very recent history at that point and it was clear that the police were still very much (and debatably still are) a very white organisation. Added to this was a gripping story about a young ...
...and enjoyed all of the Prime Suspect series, but for me, this is the one that always sticks in my mind as one of the best from the point of view of the storyline. If you watch any Prime Suspect, then watch this one. Highly recommended. The DVD is available from play.com for £11.99. Running time: 203 minutes Classification: 18 ...

sunmeilan 17.08.2007 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Prime Suspect 2 (DVD)

A twist and a turn and then, oh, some more twisting, please. Than

Advantages: Great acting and good plot
Disadvantages: A few too many drawn out bits

...British 6 part TV series, State of Play is americanised and set in Washington, where a string of events, including a couple of murders, end up reuniting congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) and reporter Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe), friends since their college days. When a researcher working for Collins is murdered, it is linked to another murder and Cal sets about working the story, much to the annoyance of fledgling reporter Della Frye (Rachel ...
...the story twists and turns, and Cal tries to protect his friends at the same time as producing the big story, confusion sets in, not so much for us as viewers, but for the main characters. Conflict between reporters, police and the office of congress, relating to a multi-billion dollar company that also rears its ugly head, there is a brilliant plot here in the making, and the twists really do make it worth watching. I would say the film could have ...

pmcds 27.10.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of State Of Play

Changing The Face Of Police Drama

Advantages: A gripping, often horrific tale.
Disadvantages: Phenomenally over priced.

...up call too. Since 1991 Prime Suspect has become a familiar face on television, sometimes breaking for up to four years between stories it's been Hollywood's most sort after British Drama. With the last ever Prime Suspect just starting production I thought it a fine time to review each story. DCI John Shefford and his DS Bill Otley are investigating the death of a girl, the investigation is going well and they already have their eye on a Prime Suspect. ...
...from a career lull, and Prime Suspect lifted him back into the limelight. Bell had been best received as the lecherous barber in Wish You Were Here. John Bowe who played George Marlow the prime suspect had always been used in comedy roles, and was best known for the sprawling ITV soap families. But with the exception of Mirren another woman steals the show and that's Zoe Wannamaker possibly best know nowadays for her role as Susan in My Family, ...

sghawken 26.03.2006 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Prime Suspect 1 (DVD)