British Movie Reviews »
LD 50 Lethal Dose (2003) Movie Review
For about 30 minutes, one almost believed “Lethal Dose” was going to become something great. Alas, an uninteresting Act 1 and a laughably absurd (not to mention wholly clich’d) Act 3 ruined the day....
Read More »
Shaun of the Dead (2003) Movie Review
Who knew the Brits cared about making anything other than quirky romantic comedies, quirky gangster comedies, and quirky period comedies? Apparently there’s more to the British movie industry than yet another — and yet...
Read More »
I Capture the Castle (2003) Movie Review
It’s probably just as well that the English film “I Capture the Castle” never states what time period its story is taking place in. The film, about an eccentric family that themselves itself living...
Read More »
Johnny English (2004) Movie Review
To be perfectly honest, I don’t know why spy parodies aren’t as funny as they should be. After all, when you’re freed of the responsibility of coming up with a half-decent plot, shouldn’t your...
Read More »
Alone (2001) Movie Review
I am reasonably certain there was a good movie in the British Serial Killer film “Alone”, but the final product is, alas, not so good. Even if you could survive first-time director Philip Claydon’s...
Read More »
Ghost Rig (aka The Devil’s Tattoo, 2001) Movie Review
The British horror film “Ghost Rig”, essentially a Last Stand in a Haunted House movie set on an oil rig, immediately peaks my attention. Not because it’s an outstanding horror flick, but because of...
Read More »
Birthday Girl (2001) Movie Review
I don’t think I’m ruining anything by saying that Nicole Kidman (“The Others”) stars in “Birthday Girl” as a Russian mail-order bride who turns out to be one part of a 3-person con operation....
Read More »
Princess of Thieves (2001) Movie Review
It’s unfathomable that I wouldn’t like “Princess of Thieves”. It has everything I’ve come to appreciate — it’s a period movie, it has swords and horses, knights and battles, the Robin Hood legend, and...
Read More »
Deathwatch (2002) Movie Review
As further proof of the sad state of horror films nowadays, I give you the British movie “Deathwatch” and the recently reviewed Spanish/U.S. collaboration “Darkness”. Two films, made by very competent directors using super...
Read More »
28 Days Later (2002) Movie Review
My reaction to Danny Boyle’s “28 Days Later” would probably be a lot more positive if I hadn’t just finished watching Tom Savini’s 1990 remake of George Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead”. I...
Read More »
Bravo Two Zero (1999) Movie Review
There have been surprisingly few movies made about the 1991 Gulf War. My guess is because there’s not an engaging villain, largely due to Saddam Hussein’s mythical “5th Largest Army in the World” crumbling...
Read More »
The Bunker (2001) Movie Review
I’ve always been more than a little perplexed by movies that require an exclusively American cast to use a “foreign” accent even if the entire movie is in English. I’ve always thought, “Well, if...
Read More »
Bend it Like Beckham (2002) Movie Review
It’s no surprise that “Bend It Like Beckham” is coming to American theaters sometime later this year after a successful run in its native England. It’s one of those “feel good” hits that will...
Read More »
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) Movie Review
I won’t try to hide the fact that I find the whole “Harry Potter” franchise to be a tad underwhelming, if not just a little bit too juvenile in most of the things it...
Read More »
About a Boy (2002) Movie Review
I believe the reason “About a Boy” is so good is because it’s hard to peg the movie into any (or any couple of) categories. It’s not exactly a Comedy, since there’s very little...
Read More »
Mean Machine (2003) Movie Review
The British Sports in Prison movie “Mean Machine” is a remake of the American Sports in Prison film “The Longest Yard,” about convicts who uses a game of football to get back at their...
Read More »
Gangster No. 1 (2004) Movie Review
There is something insanely enjoyable about Paul McGuigan’s English crime film “Gangster No. 1.” Aside from the rather oddball title, the movie brings a fresh perspective to the Rise and Fall of the Gangster...
Read More »
Intimacy (2001) Movie Review
“Intimacy” is the kind of film that you never see being made in America. This could be for a number of reasons, from the average American’s belief that anything with vast amounts of nudity...
Read More »
Long Time Dead (2002) Movie Review
Besides being incredibly lacking in originality, scares, or even those small guilty pleasures I always manage to find in any Slasher film, the new British Slasher flick “Long Time Dead” doesn’t even have the...
Read More »
Dog Soldiers (2002) Movie Review
The new British Werewolves Attack film Dog Soldiers is most interesting for fans of American horror films who have ever entertained this thought: “Gee, I wonder how other countries would approach these [insert film...
Read More »
