Oh, you're right. The devil has come to Tsavo. Look at me, I am the devil. The Ghost and the Darkness is directed by Stephen Hopkins and written by William Goldman. It stars Val Kilmer, Michael Douglas, Tom Wilkinson, John Kani, Bernard Hill, Brian McCardie and Emily Mortimer. Music is by Jerry Goldsmith and cinematography by Vilmos Zsigmond. Tsavo, Kenya and a bridge engineer teams up with an experienced professional hunter to hunt for two lions that have been attacking local construction workers. As is often the case, one should seek out the real stories that are involved in this retelling of the real instances involving the Tsavo Lions The story itself is awash with mysticism, the lions (Ghost and Darkness) act as some sort of supernatural beings, who we are told are offing the native folk purely for pleasure. There's an odd juxtaposition with this, in that in the midst of colonialism and macho posturing, the hunters of felines are forgivable because they are defenders of mankind - even though we know that man hunts the great feline beasts for fun regardless of this particular situation. Various stereotypes fil out the screenplay, though not as to be insulting, but you feel that the pic as first envisaged would have had more to say on political frontage and period turmoil. It basically all ends up as a creature feature, two great white hunters facing town the monstrous enemy as their very lives become perilous by the hour. The attack sequences are nicely staged, wonderfully primal in fact, ensuring that what the pic lacks in intelligent narrative worth it makes up for with thrills and genuine nervy suspense. So with Zsigmond providing some lovely African postcard lensing, and Goldsmith adding music that powerfully bounces around the locales, the tech credits are ensuring our eyes and ears are suitably stoked. One key character's story arc is stupidly given short shrift, annoyingly so and coming off like someone ran out of time to either write or perform something else, and the uneven feel to it all tends to gnaw away at the enjoyment factor. Yet in spite of the flaws and unfulfilled promise there's a nice old fashioned feel to it, something that seems to have engaged the movie loving public more than it does the pro critics. Interesting that. 6.5/10
I loved this movie when I got to see it when it was first released. Based on a true story (in fact the only part that was made up for is the lions' den scene), this movie breathes Africa due to the incredible cinematography of Vilmos Zsigmond. Africa is as bright and as amazing in this film as it is in person. There is no CGI, only real, trained lions and real effects. Set during the European colonialisation of Africa, we focus on the British need to complete a railway bridge across a small river which is complicated by 2 lions who seem to hunt for fun, not just food. Even now, 25 years after it was made I still love this movie. And even knowing its plot by heart, I still clench a little and hold my breath a bit - the tension during the climatic scenes is that good. All of the leads give good performances, but Michael Douglas is the stand out with his grizzled big-game hunter persona mixed with the "action-man" persona that he honed in his 1980s films like Romancing the Stone. The only part that falls short is the underwhelming score by Goldsmith which just reeks of missed opportunities - there is no real leitmotifs or even hints of adventure or Africa. But that aside, this is a great movie looking into an incredible story in one of lesser known parts of the massive African continent. This is a movie who's story stays with you, much like Africa itself does. I love this movie.
The movie's plot is based on the true story of a group of young computer hackers from Hannover, Germany. In the late 1980s the orphaned Karl Koch invests his heritage in a flat and a home computer. At first he dials up to bulletin boards to discuss conspiracy theories inspired by his favorite novel, R.A. Wilson's "Illuminatus", but soon he and his friend David start breaking into government and military computers. Pepe, one of Karl's rather criminal acquaintances senses that there is money in computer cracking - he travels to east Berlin and tries to contact the KGB.
Movie Star Rating : 6.8 Read More
A struggling actress tries to help a friend prove his innocence when he's accused of murdering the husband of a high-society entertainer.
Movie Star Rating : 6.7 Read More
Justin Quayle is a low-level British diplomat who has always gone about his work very quietly, not causing any problems. But after his radical wife Tessa is killed he becomes determined to find out why, thrusting himself into the middle of a very dangerous conspiracy.
Movie Star Rating : 7 Read More
Lara Croft is tasked by MI6 to find the mythological Pandora's Box, an object from ancient legends which supposedly contains one of the deadliest plagues on Earth, before evil Nobel Prize-winning scientist turned bioterrorist Jonathan Reiss can get his hands on it. Lara ventures to an underwater temple in search of a magical luminous orb, the key to finding Pandora's Box, but after securing it, it is promptly stolen by the villainous leader of a Chinese crime syndicate who in turn plans to sell the orb to Reiss. Lara must recover the box before evil mastermind Reiss uses it to construct a weapon of catastrophic capabilities.
Movie Star Rating : 5.7 Read More
While doing a friend a favor and searching for a runaway teenager, a police detective stumbles upon a bizarre band of criminals about to pull off a bank robbery.
Movie Star Rating : 5.3 Read More
After proving himself on the field of battle in the French and Indian War, Benjamin Martin wants nothing more to do with such things, preferring the simple life of a farmer. But when his son Gabriel enlists in the army to defend their new nation, America, against the British, Benjamin reluctantly returns to his old life to protect his son.
Movie Star Rating : 7.2 Read More
From T.C. Christensen, director of the sensational pioneer film, 17 Miracles, comes the heroic true story of a simple man who was called to do the work of angels. Ephraim’s Rescue relates the story of Ephraim Hanks: a rescuer of the Martin Handcart company. Follow Ephraim as his adventures lead him to join the LDS Church and ultimately to one of the most heroic rescues in American history. With a unique desire to help and strengthen others, Ephraim learns that each choice we make can prepare us for what lies ahead. He discovers, through it all, that decisions determine destiny.
Movie Star Rating : 5.7 Read More
A Russian teenager, living in London, dies during childbirth but leaves clues to a midwife in her journal, that could tie her child to a rape involving a violent Russian mob family.
Movie Star Rating : 7.4 Read More
Then the spirit of Jack the Ripper seems to be very much alive in 1960s London as a series of brutal slayings by the Monster of London City has Scotland Yard baffled. In a macabre coincidence, a new play about the famous murderer is about to become a major West End hit... and the leading man is rapidly becoming the prime suspect!
Movie Star Rating : 4.4 Read More
This story starts in 1980 in Paris as the memories of Andrei Borodin, a Soviet agent, take the action back to 1943 during the Teheran meetings of Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill. A high-ranking Nazi officer developed a plan to assassinate the three world leaders in order to undermine the Allied forces. He commissioned the German agent Max Richard to carry out his plan, but it failed miserably due to the quick action and thinking of Andrei. While in Teheran, Andrei met a French woman, Marie Louni, living in the city and they had a brief but intense affair. Nearly four decades later, the Nazi officer has been captured - but not for long. Freed by terrorists, the officer is hunting down the German agent who failed to carry out the planned assassinations. Max lives at Françoise, a young French woman, who hides him.
Movie Star Rating : 6.6 Read More
One year after their incredible adventures in the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Peter, Edmund, Lucy and Susan Pevensie return to Narnia to aid a young prince whose life has been threatened by the evil King Miraz. Now, with the help of a colorful cast of new characters, including Trufflehunter the badger and Nikabrik the dwarf, the Pevensie clan embarks on an incredible quest to ensure that Narnia is returned to its rightful heir.
Movie Star Rating : 6.6 Read More
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