Sliver (1993)

Ah yes, back in the early 90's Sharon Stone had the reputation of being Hollywood's dirty star, thanks to 'Basic Instinct' and this. At the time I was a young teen and Stone was notorious for her antics on film, we all talked about her, we all wanted to see her films, Stone was the pinnacle of naughty films we weren't allowed to see.

Apparently the film is based on a novel of the same name and I'm sure the book is much better than this film. Its basically a murder thriller in a tall apartment block. Stone has just moved in, there's a young stud on one floor who fancies her and a middle aged bloke on another who fancies her too. One of them killed the previous owner of Stone's flat (yes in the UK we say flat), choose between the paranoid loony or the enormous peeping tom.

I admit the film does well in hiding who committed the murder (and the other one during the film), you're never really sure which of the two chaps did it right up to the end. Tends to swing from moment to moment, one minute you think its Baldwin, the next its Berenger, nicely done I guess.

The thing is the whole film just feels like its capitalising on Stone's previous massive hit 'Basic Instinct'. If they had another female lead in that role I just don't think it would have attracted the same publicity. After all this was Stone's sex sequel, her second big sexual escapade and boy did they nail that home! I mean the film is reasonably enjoyable but its merely one sex scene after another, once Stone's character meets Baldwin's creepy duck faced character it just becomes one sweaty sex sequence followed by some dialog, then another sweaty sex sequence etc...It does actually feel as though the director is simply giving you a breather from playing with yourself with some boring plot, until the next big tissue inducing sequence (its not that dirty by the way).

Gotta give it to Baldwin, he really does come across as a slimy creepy pervert that you know not to trust. Whether that was good acting or just the way he is I dunno. I quite liked the sub plot revolving around his electronic spying, you know its gonna play into the murder plot because he has cameras in every nook n cranny of this building, kinda obvious what will happen. Berenger is OK as this jealous oddball who breaks into peoples apartments all the time, a bit bland though, kinda plays it safe with his performance, nothing too special. A bit sickening watching both these guys trying to schmaltz their way into Stone's knickers, I wonder if the script is the same as the book?

Stone moans, groans and exposes herself well throughout, nothing more, she does exactly what you expect and its pretty much all she can do. Really it just feels like a quickfire follow through after Stone hit the big time, its very simple in premise and hardly a thriller in any aspect if you ask me. Its not even that sexy really, I don't wanna see Baldwin's sweaty ass! Some nice visuals though, a bit noir-ish I guess, soundtrack is a little haunting also, so not all bad. The films title suits the content perfectly, you really do feel like you need a shower after this sleazy affair.

5.5/10

Disclosure (1994)

The third film in Michael Douglas' sex trilogy, this has always kinda amazed me really seeing as the guy is hardly good looking. Yet I remember this film well upon release, the films poster was raunchy and everybody was talking about the sex scene with Demi Moore. The films main plot was also a big talking point, sexual harassment of a man in the workplace...by a higher grade woman. A concept that was deemed to be impossible and rather un-PC.

In all honesty the film was pretty much sold on that one sex scene. But it wasn't even a sex scene, it was more rough and dirty, clearly made to be scandalous and edgy, and it worked. I can't deny its a sexy sequence especially with Moore's provocative and dominating dialog at the same time...'you just lie back and let me be the boss'. 

This film really brought Moore to my attention. Her dominance and bitchy attitude is incredibly sexy and could easily cause any man a huge moral dilemma, and I guess that is the entire point.

After this scene the plot gets nasty as Moore's real character is exposed and she tries everything in her power to bring Douglas' character down. Its all about lies, accusations, trust and mainly power, who has the power, are women as powerful as men in business? or do they actually have more power? Its an interesting premise which works well and does open your eyes somewhat. Does this happen in reality? to be honest I'm sure it does as in this modern age equality laws for the sexes can easily swing in favour of the female in cases just like this (evidence depending). Bottom line it can/could be very easy for a female in the work place to cause a lot of trouble for a man without the need for immediate hard evidence.

As for the film, I think its very good, it grips you and makes you feel uncomfortable. Personally I felt quite nervous throughout the whole film, it really did make me squirm, kudos to everybody involved for that achievement. I also felt compassion for Douglas' character, I wanted him to succeed and prove himself innocent, the direction and performances are very good and all help in locking you in with the plot. Moore really does the powerful bitch role well, its hard to like her here despite the fact most men would have let her 'rape' them in that one sex scene (I know I would have).

Its a performance driven film and I think everyone nails it. Sutherland as ever is well cast as the boss, never sure whether he is up to something, always looking kinda shifty, a corporate boss who appears friendly on the outside but cold and merciless on the inside. Kudos must also go to Roma Maffia as Douglas' lawyer, I think her performance is the best in the film! Her character knows how to play the game, she gives you the viewer confidence, she relaxes you because you know she knows what she's doing, plus she looks like a lawyer too.

I'm sure many people will be able to relate to situations like this in their own work place. I think the whole atmosphere of taking sides, rumours, the little digs, plotting, wild accusations, betrayal, the private chats with superiors etc...all are created well within the film, its quite grounded and realistic if you ask me.

I think this film ranks highly alongside 'Fatal Attraction', that film exposed the possible flaws in equality between the sexes on the homefront (trust issues), whilst this film exposes it in the workplace. A very good tense legal thriller set completely within the professional world where men supposedly reign supreme. Add some gritty sex, gritty dialog and some fancy visual technology effects (amusingly dated now) and you have a decent drama.

7/10

Sahara (1995)

Remake of the 1943 Bogart film which I haven't seen so I can't compare, but believe it or not its actually a really decent film that boasts some great performances, great location work and a nice overall look of realism with uniforms, weapons and vehicles.

Belushi takes the lead as the American Sgt. Joe Gunn (nice butch name there) and really does well with his role, he's strong decisive and all American as it should be god damn it. He is accompanied by a decent assortment of character actors portraying a selection of allied soldiers from various countries including France, England, Australia and Sudan. Each of the soldiers also come from different regions in each country eg. Yorkshire and London in England.

The film is your classic gung-ho, manly, machine gun totting heroism which could easily be a propaganda tool if you think about it. All the allied soldiers are salt of earth stand up blokes who think nothing of fighting till the bitter end, standing alongside their Sgt.

Yes its a bit overblown and not too realistic as this small bunch of gruff fellas take on a whole German battalion in the middle of the Sahara (within an ancient ruin) simply to halt their progress because the Germans think there is a water filled well there. But the simplistic plot and abundant all American stars n stripes mixed with various nationalities and their own patriotic views as they band together to stop the Nazi war machine is well presented with some exciting boys own type action sequences that would make Indy proud.

With the odds stacked against them I think you can guess this small band of brothers fate, unless you've seen the Bogart version then you already know but do you really think Uncle Sam's boys would fail to stop the Germans here?

7/10

Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

The final showdown for the next generation crew and FINALLY the Romulans get a chance to shine. Thing is they are overshadowed and pushed to the side by the Remans, guess the Romulans had to wait for the reboot.

Sooo here we are again, Earth in danger from an alien race and Picard is also being abused by another alien race, again. First he's assimilated now he's being mentally tortured by his power-crazed clone who wants his blood...literately, some days huh.

I must admit I can't get my head around film responses at times, I've read this was looked upon negatively. Why? its actually a pretty good Trek adventure and possibly the slickest of the next generation films, maybe the best of the four. Certainly better than 'Insurrection' and 'Generations' and much more open for everyone instead of just the Trekkies, which is probably for the best if you think about it.

Plot wise this is total Star Trek, exactly as you would expect with overblown ideas and fantastic notions of sci-fi. It's not original and its not gonna surprise you but at the end of the day it does the job and entertains for the run time.
Hardy is the bad guy dressed in shiny black armour (and am I the only one who forgot all about him being in this?! I was like...hey that's Tom Hardy!), He's bald, he sounds like David Thewlis and he's unpredictable with bouts of sulky anger down to his young age, I presume that was intended. Put simply he was a darn good villain (finally) who was perfectly slimy enough to get under your skin, just what the franchise needed.

The rest of the bad guys all look really decent too. The Reman makeup/prosthetics are excellent in fact, first really good Star Trek aliens I've seen to be truthful. OK they do look like a race of Nosferatu, in fact a bit too close really, almost a complete rip-off, but I must admit they look damn good, highly aggressive and imposing visually, kudos.

Actually the bad guys in this film coupled with the nice makeup and regal work/designs on the Romulans completely steal the show from the Enterprise crew. We all know the next gen crew are dull but they pale in comparison to the villainy on screen here, I actually wanted the bad guys to win this, would of been much more interesting.

It was also weak to see they finally got the balls to kill off one of the next gen crew (Data) only to basically have him survive on by introducing an earlier model. I could see that coming miles away, and of course Data conveniently manages to upload all his personal 'data' into the earlier model before he sacrifices himself. So basically Data was killed but low and behold the replica earlier model takes his place complete with all Data's personal memories and attributes, as if he had never left *groan*.

As I said earlier this is easily the best looking of the next gen films, probably all the Trek films. Production values look high with pretty much everything in the film, all sets look quite swish with depth and a solid appearance. Picard and his crew look as boring as ever in their grey uniforms but as I said before both the Romulans and Reman outfits all look superbly crafted and border more on Star Wars quality.

Space sequences look delicious as they tend to in these films but this time the starships look much better than before. It's mainly CGI as usual but clearly much sharper and with some good looking weight to them, still not quite up to Mr Lucas' spaceships but getting close, the cloaking effect still looks a bit dodgy.
Must mention the rather sweet looking cityscape on Romulus at the start of the film, very much on form with another certain popular sci-fi fantasy, dare I say quite Naboo-ish. A big kudos to the death sequence of the Romulan Imperial Senate also at the start. The infection and fast decay shown is some of the best CGI mixed with real-time model work I've seen. These effects really put the film in good stead showcasing a newer sexier Trek offering.

I guess you could say this one film is merely an action film in Star Trek clothes and not exactly what Star Trek is all about. Where has all the exploration gone? the seeking out of new worlds and new civilisations etc...There is definitely more bias towards fighting, death, multiple laser blasting and even the obligatory action film 'car chase' sequence. But its hard to win with Star Trek, either its too flashy and gun-ho, not Trekkie enough for the core fans. Or it's too dull and slow for everyone like some of the older Trek films or its too in depth for non-core fans and more of a Trekkie treat fan film.

It's not very original and is pretty much a cookie cutter production but what do you expect with Star Trek. Plenty of decent action in space and a bit on land with a moon buggy chase, some of the best effects so far (about time), great visual designs throughout with the usual high caliber imagination but maybe it loses the true Star Trek essence along the way?

Entirely predictable to the last minute but ultimately very enjoyable like most of the good Trek adventures. Another good franchise bookend, this time for the next generation crew. It hasn't been as memorable as the classic crew films in my opinion but a valiant effort none the less.

7/10

Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)

The next generation crew steps up to the plate with a third film but does it knock one out of the park? Well not to beat around the bush no it doesn't, its a full strike if you ask me.

I'm not gonna sugar coat it, gotta be cold here. For me this was easily the weakest Trek film so far, even worse than 'Star Trek V'. I know I have used the term 'outstretched TV episode' a few times in previous reviews with Star Trek but this one term really sums up this film to a tee.

Apart from the quite dreadful grey scale shaded tone that accompanies every scene on board the Enterprise which somehow now seems more intrusive than in the previous two films, the plot is utterly non-engaging or even remotely interesting. A planet which harbours immortal regeneration powers that Starfleet and the alien race Son'a wish to keep for themselves whilst at the same time evicting the local hippie population.

Say what now?? Yes that's right, it's basically all about evicting some perfect happy go lucky boring blonde haired blue eyed farm folk off their planet...and that's it. I'm not even sure if there were any bad guys in this! I suppose they were naughty, not really much of a threat though, it was just a few groups fighting amongst themselves really, nothing more.

The whole film is so so utterly pointless and dull for virtually the entire run time! It only kicks into action for a small segment near the finale and even that was very mediocre stuff. Everything looks exactly as it does on the TV show, there is nothing that would make you think this is a big budget movie. The effects are no better! you would think they might be getting better but no, this film actually goes a step backwards.

There is just something about the next generation design, even though these are movies they just can't seem to shake the look and feel of the TV series. The classic crew movies didn't always look tremendous but they were always much better looking than the original show, they always had real silver screen moments. I'm afraid to say this entry has none what so ever.

It seems as though everything is now fully CGI here, I'm not a fan of computer generated effects and I think this is a good example why. The only thing that looks good and realistic in this film are the space panoramas, nebulae, planets etc...which is exactly what CGI is good at. Starships can be done well but here they are no better than their TV counterparts, satisfactory at best. There are still the age-old issues of dodgy bluescreen going on but now they also have the added downside of completely fake CGI sequences on top.

So apart from the dreadful plot and god awful CGI are there any plus points? I guess F. Murray Abraham does add a sprinkle of class onto the proceedings, its just a shame he does completely nothing of interest for the whole film. The alien race he portrays (Son'a) are such a generic concept with little to no imagination in design, their faces are simply plain grey just like all the uniforms of the Enterprise cre...zzzzz.

So the film ticks along with tonnes of dialog including so much space jargon I felt completely bewildered and detached. I'm sure this one film has more Trek technical mumbo jumbo speeches than any other, by the end of the film I had actually lost how or what they were all supposed to be doing.

Add to this some really vomit-inducing romance with Picard, really hokey sets, really fake plastic looking props, hokey fights and the very annoying practically perfect farm civilisation in their typically 'I'm a goodie' beige/white loose fit garments. Yeah I know its a Star Trek film and you come to expect this kinda stuff but by this point I think certain aspects of this really should be better.
The classic Trek crew were loved for their quirky comedic like adventures and Shatner's fluffy fist fights. The next generation crew just can't pull that off, they are too serious and too dull basically. For me they can't get away with the charming nonsense that the classic crew got away with.

This film lacks punch and energy, its a complete non-entity and in my opinion will only please Trekkies. For fans it basically has all you need as its pretty much a very long TV episode so you can't go wrong. For neutral non-fan folk it will be a slow arduous slog through some heavy dialog that will probably leave you dizzy whilst offering no reward at the end.

3/10

Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

Second film (or sequel?) for the next generation crew and this time there is no hint of the classic crew what so ever, its all new now baby.

So this next Trek rumble is a lot more straight forward plot wise and probably has the most action seen for awhile. Quite simply the Borg are on the rampage and out to assimilate pretty much everyone they can, namely all of Starfleet. This goes a little pear shaped for them so they jump through time to assimilate the entire Earth...the naughty rascals. Is time travel a regular function for everyone in the Trek universe? handy if so.

I liked this film for the simplicity of everything and the fact you get some basic action mixed with some genuine tension along with the insecurity of not knowing what may happen, seeing as its the Borg. Bottom line there are plenty of deaths or assimilation's (close enough), a decent baddie, some good back story to Earth's future and plenty of phaser action.
Its not exactly a top notch sci-fi action flick lets be honest here, this is no Die Hard in space. Visually most things still have that TV show quality only on a slightly grander scale. Everything looks a bit plastic amongst the obvious plastic sets.

Effects again are more CGI based than models unfortunately. The space battle against the big Borg cube ship thing at the start actually looks like a videogame sequence, obvious CGI without weight or depth. I know this is still only 96 but geez you'd think they could do better, compare this to Star Wars! The deadly Borg look quite decent with some good facial makeup but their cyborg body armour, weapons and general body attachments do look pretty rubbery and plastic.

I really don't know who decided to put silly little flashing lights all over the shop, it just makes everything look so childish and fake. Data again suffers with this indignity, when his android under layers are revealed it just appears to be bare grey plastic with stupid flashing fairy lights all over, so very crap looking.

As for the bad guys I do like them, space zombies if you will, lets face it that's what they are really. Part robotic and part organic space zombies from the planet Romero. I do like the Borg as they do actually come across as creepy plus they manage to add real tension and dread to a Star Trek film. Can't really over look the fact they are a mixture of various ideas from various other sci-fi/horror films all pieced together ('Hellraiser' springs to mind). Plus the fact that they transform whole areas into cold dead robotic hives that visually appear the same as the Borg themselves kinda copies ideas used in 'Aliens' but hey ho.

Apart from that the Borg are quite a cool creation and do actually add a genuine threat to the Star Trek universe. Yet at the same time they kinda don't fit in the Trek universe, they're almost too cold, calculated and merciless for the family friendly franchise. Not sure I ever really liked the design of their ship (I guess its a ship), why is it merely a large cube? what's the deal with that? On a final note why are they called Borg? are they Swedish?

The Borg queen is a nice touch to the faceless enemy that does come across as an interesting character, not just a cyborg on auto pilot. She also has some really good prosthetic makeup on the face and chest regions, looks that bit more realistic than the other drones.

A definite improvement over the last rather dull film, a basic story which is more savage and quite dark in places, although not too extreme of course. I did notice this is another film where actually having some knowledge of a previous TV episode/s is slightly required. They got away with it for 'Star Trek II' and I believe they got away with it for this film also, but seeing that particular episode would appear to help when watching this film.

6/10

Star Trek Generations (1994)

A new film, a new generation and the beginning of a newer franchise. I don't like these shorter one word film titles though.

The film kicks off with the handing over of the Enterprise from Kirk to a new younger crew. You half expected the next generation crew to be at the handover but not so. Shatner looks uncomfortable in this sequence (in my opinion), it does seem as if he would be quite happy to carry on being the immortal space legend Kirk. It seems like a painful break for him and the original cast members that join him...Doohan and Koenig.

The same could be said for myself as a viewer, I've never been a Trekkie but I have always enjoyed the original cast. This new film starts off well and in familiar territory with the beloved Kirk Scotty and Chekov under pressure, but it quickly falls flat as we hesitantly hand over to the new duller greyer crew.

The problem with the new generation is quite simply the new crew, Jesus they are bland! So very boring, the only character I think has some interest is Worf. A Klingon male that has joined Starfleet and worked up the ranks, could almost be seen as a turncoat to his Klingon people, interesting.

Other characters in the film are all rather meek and uninteresting. McDowell's character isn't really very threatening and fails to crank up the tension when on screen, hardly a villain to remember. I must also admit I always hated Goldberg in Star Trek, she just seemed to big a name to have involved plus she really doesn't fit this type of genre if you ask me.

Other personal issues I have with this film and the new crew is the character of Data. A tremendously annoying character that looks like a makeup mistake, terrible effects when we do see his innards and whose humorous moments are rather forced and cringeworthy. His whole development during this film are along the same lines as Kryten from British sci-fi comedy 'Red Dwarf'...yet not as good I might add. Of course my opinions are personal preference within the Star Trek universe.

Anyway the plot is pretty dull frankly, an odd choice of adventure, at least up until the Nexus takes Picard whilst part of the Enterprise crashes (film highlight borrowed from 'Star Trek III' perhaps?). Things do get a little more interesting then especially as we get Kirk back. Still many questions arise during these sequences. What exactly is the Nexus? An afterlife of some kind? Where does it come from? How does it work? etc...How come Picard can see and talk to Guinan? And how come Kirk had only just arrived there despite him entering the Nexus 78 years prior? Lastly, how come they can both simply decide to leave the Nexus to where ever they wish?

Maybe I missed these points I dunno but luckily it doesn't detract from the fun of having Kirk and Picard double up in a pretty cool franchise generation cross over. Alas they still decide to kill off Kirk which I think is a mistake because he and his classic crew got a bloody good send off in Star Trek VI. Seeing as he gets killed here you tend to think the character would deserve yet another royal send off with a big military funeral attended by all previous characters in a special episode or another film. Seems an anti-climax to just leave it at this after all that has gone before.

As for the effects well of course they look sharper and bolder but most of the shots were CGI created with only a few models used. For me this is a shame and adds to the shiny plastic fake look of the film just like its TV counterpart, models always look better. The whole film did feel very much like an outstretched TV episode, more so than previous film offerings if you ask me. Like I said the plot is thin and could easily have been a simple episode (seeing as the effects aren't exactly much different). There really was no big silver screen stand out moment, the space battle against the Klingon sisters was quite good but that's all you get.

Overall I think this was a disappointing start for the next generation of Star Trek films. I admit it was always gonna be a hard sell to me as I never followed Star Trek after the original crew and never liked the next gen cast/crew. Despite that its still a very mediocre entry with a lot of dialog which could almost be construed as time wasting of sorts.

Seeing Kirk and Picard together was damn good I have to say. Seeing the Shat back in action in the finale despite weight and age really puts a smile on your face, Trek fan or not. Let's not forget it was a three-way battle including McDowell, that's a pretty awesome trio of legends duking it out right there folks. Just a shame the rest of the film didn't live up to the action and excitement in the finale. It took the inclusion of Shatner to bring that excitement I might add, that tells you something.

5/10