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Reviews
Hamlet (1996)
Not What I was Expecting...
Still being of school age, and having to learn Shakespeare almost constantly for the last four years (which is very off-putting of any writer, no matter how good), I didn't really expect to enjoy this film when my English teacher put it on; I thought it'd be the typical English lesson movie: bad acting, awfully shot, badly edited and the dreaded awful old dialog, so, as you can tell, I was all but ready to go into a coma from the go. However, I watched and, much to my disturbance, found myself not only paying attention, but actually enjoying the movie too. This production of Hamlet is possibly one of the best drama movies I have seen in a long time- and it really brings to life what I expect Shakespeare wanted his plays to be like (well, with the difference that this is cinema) much better than my English teacher harking over the text ever possibly could. The story is good, the dialog seems to flow with an unexpected grace that is far from boring (though a little hard to keep up with if you aren't used to Shakespeare's language) and even the smallest parts are performed with a skill you wouldn't expect; mainly, perhaps, due to the staggering number of cameos this movie has. Brian Blessed and Charlton Heston are as great as you'd expect these two veterans to be, even in such small parts, but it is Robin Williams as Osric and Billy Crystal as the Gravedigger who really stand out, giving such minor parts an unexpected zest, as well as offering some comic relief amidst the tragedy.
The main stars, of course, are also wonderful. Kenneth Branagh excels as Hamlet, bringing not only the confusion and pain required to the roll, but also a sort of sardonic air which plays beautifully in the comic scenes, making the movie as a whole much more watchable. The other major players are also good, but it is Kenneth Branagh who stands head and shoulders above the rest in the title role.
The set pieces, too, are often quite stunning, giving a refreshing change to the danky old castle corridors we're used to seeing in Shakespeare productions, as well as a real sense of the country around them.
Of course, the movie, taken as a movie in its own right, is not without faults, but no major ones (the pacing is the only real problem I can think of offhand, as well as the prose for anyone not used to, as I said, Shakesperean language) and, especially when compared to the sort of Shakespeare productions I'm used to seeing in class, it really is quite brilliant. It's even made me rethink my previous typical teenager stance on Shakespeare, that his plays are boring (I came to the conclusion it's not the plays that are boring, merely the teachers who recite them in class). If only they made all of his plays into movies such as this one, English students in schools everywhere might have a higher opinion of the Bard.
Overall 7/10
Tremors 4: The Legend Begins (2004)
For a movie with a 4 in the title, it's pretty good!
*SPOILERS*
Tremors 4: the legend begins is, for those of you who haven't realized it yet, a prequel to the entire Tremors franchise, set in the wild west in the mining town of Rejection. When the workers in the mine are killed off in an opening scene massacre, it is up to the sole survivor, the owner of the mine and a gunslinger who goes by the name of 'black hand Kelly' to find whatever it is that killed those people and kill it.
OK, so maybe it doesn't sound dazzlingly original, or even worth the effort, but, thanks mainly to the usual campy humour and special effects of the Tremors movies, it's actually pretty good. At first, it seems like it'll be dire: the opening few minutes are quite terrible, and then the standard bunch of mercenaries set out to investigate the mine (including stock characters from every bad western ever), and you settle in for a wasted evening's viewing. However, when this group is then killed in one fantastic five minute scene (including one of the most amusing on screen human deaths, to my knowledge) by no less than flying graboids, things begin to perk up. Then 'black hand Kelly' turns up and it gets REALLY good. The pace is nice and fast, and the western setting actually ends up adding an extra layer of enjoyment to the movie rather than hindering it (no matter that Burt Gummer isn't in it: Michale Gross is playing his great grandfather). Seriously: if they'd just done ANOTHER Tremors movie set after the AB invasion of Perfection, the joke would be wearing more than slightly thin, but it appears fresher in this 'prequel' setting, as the characters have to try and figure out this new threat for themselves, with no past experience to draw upon.
Admittedly, the dialog is sometimes unintentionally awful, and some of the characters not fully explored enough, but you can forgive this (or, at least I can) and, overall, it does not disrupt the viewing experience for what is actually a very enjoyable movie. It's actually nice to see Michale Gross playing a different character, and the movie is just as fun as you'd expect from the Tremors team. While it'll never be as good as the original (the best, in my, ever so humble, opinion), it's certainly worth the effort and, for the most part, rewarding. Don't be put off by the bad reviews (Tremors 4 seems to be a love/ hate film) and try it, or at least rent it, trust me it's good. Overall: 8/10