I've always been jealous of overly talented people. Oh it's not the green eyed monster kind of jealousy, it's that out in the open FUCK YOU kind of jealousy that is reserved for people who are absolute masters of their craft and are completely untouchable. I mean take that phrase "green eyed monster" it's genius, so fuck you Shakespeare.
In the realm of movie scoring there are a few absolute legends who are a cut above the rest. John Williams is such a man and he'll probably never be equalled. Howard Shore is such a man. Hans Zimmer. Alan Silvestri. Jerry Goldsmith. There are others but the guy who gave John Williams the closest run for his money is, for me at least, James Horner.
We all know his body of work and, in particular, his award winning effort for Titanic. That's a movie that is loved and loathed the world over. It was both helped and hindered by Celine Dion's version of "My Heart Will Go On". Helped because it was an enormous success. Hindered because the rest of us fucking despise her glass shattering vocals. That said, the piece of music itself is actually quite beautiful. Here it is on a single piano sans Canada's most annoying exports incessant warbling. Grab your coat heartstrings, you're about to be pulled:
There are other moments in that movie, particularly towards the end where it's just vintage Horner and I think James Cameron deserves credit for putting the differences they built up on Aliens aside and hiring him for Titanic. Horner's majestic Braveheart score was an obvious bridge builder too but we'll get to that soon.
You know at the end of Aliens where Ripley defies gravity by climbing up the airlock and jettisoning the queen out into space? That's some quality cinema right there. Maybe the most pulsating piece of sci fi ever. Watch it without the score and it loses much of its potency. That's not a criticism of the movie. Not at all. I mean Jaws without the cello is way less effective. The greatest movies you'll ever see work because all of the moving parts blend seamlessly together so that you don't even notice any single aspect of it. It all just hits you like a big, beautiful avalanche of perfection and only after multiple viewings can you pick it apart and try to figure out what you love most about it. The reason I bring this up is because even if you're one of the seven people in the known universe who heretofore haven't seen Aliens, you probably do know that music.
It has been used in numerous clips to make lesser movies look better and I have to say in every single case it works. Horner's Aliens score was a famously difficult session. He and Cameron clashed because Horner never really got a full cut of the movie to work with. As a result he was frequently working off the cuff without the benefit of a safety net. Well it worked for him and while his music had to be taliored to fit the movie, it remains a masterpiece of cinematic scoring. Horner used "Gayane" also used in 2001: A Space Odyssey to excellent effect, proving that he wasn't precious about his music and was happy to import genius from other parties. Goldsmith's original Alien score was also tapped into. He worked his ass off and earned the praise he got for it. So lesser movies got the benefit of this music in clips to help sell them to audiences. Some of them aren't bad movies, just lesser. Alien 3 for example...
Simply put, Braveheart is one of the most exquisite movie scores I have ever heard and only Howard Shore's LOTR effort can match it for sheer emotional impact. The use celtic instruments along with Horner's ability to squeeze the very best out of an orchestra produced a score that still knocks me on my ass every single time I hear it. At the time of writing I am listening to For the love of A Princess and I'm not ashamed to say I'm actually holding back tears. Not just because this great, great man is dead but because that piece of music just rips me in two. Braveheart is so much more than one piece of music though. You can pretty much pick out any section of it and be moved to an extreme emotion.
My original Braveheart experience was nearly 20 years ago in the Savoy Cinema in Dublin's fair city. It was sold out. Going into the cinema with my then girlfriend we were caught up in a wave of excitement. We just knew, knew we were going to witness something special. Of course we were not prepared for the brilliance that popped off the screen. It was and remains a fucking masterpiece. As mentioned above the best movies are a perfect marriage of acting, direction, editing etc. and of course scoring. It was an overwhelming experience. I have watched it over and over on VHS, DVD and now a stuning Blu-ray. Over the years the score has just got better and better. It does what all the best music does, it floods your mind with a million memories and it hits you in the feels. I think Mel Gibson deserves the last word here: "[Horner] was a rare artistic genius. He did not merely augment the
image he was presented with, he was able to transcend its matter and
logic and travel straight to the heart and soul with his magical gift
... a gift that truly reflected his own heart and soul. I will miss
him."
Horner has meant so much to so many. Those of us who love music will continue to mourn this loss but, eventually, we will do it in a celebratory way. His body of work is truly wonderful. I'm just going to randomly select a piece from Field of Dreams and put it in the blog here:
I mean, come on! It's just so perfect! Granted, Field of Dreams is one of those movies that allows the score to shine but that too brings pressure. If the score hadn't delivered that movie would have died on it's ass. But it did deliver and this barking mad, yet completely heart wrenching movie is a stonewall classic. "If you write it they will cry".
His body of work featured other successes including Glory, Apollo 13 and A Beautiul Mind. I am loathe to mention Avatar because try as he might, even he couldn't rescue that artificial, emotionally stunted piece of plastic. But, I digress, this man meant the world to me because of the music mentioned here. I think it's fitting that he did the score to A Beautiful Mind because it takes a beautiful mind to craft the wonderful music he gave us. I'll leave you with probably my favourite piece from this amazing man:
I was pointed to an interview with latest Hollywood darling, Chris Pratt, recently where he talks about his love of hunting. My feeling on hunting is very clear. Taking an unsuspecting elk (or any other creature for that matter) down with a high powered rifle is, in a word, disgusting. I was asked if this was going to stop me going to see Jurassic World (haven't seen it yet) to which I laughed uproariously. What Chris Pratt does in his own time is his own fucking business. I don't have to like it, in fact the only thing I do have to like about an actor is what he or she does on the screen. That is all and I genuinely worry about people who feel they know an actor based on the interviews they give and/or the movies they make. So yes I hate that Chris Pratt hunts elk but I've enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy. I've adored Her. I laughed at The Lego Movie. I squeed at Moneyball but I did not care for Zero Dark Thirty and thought Wanted was only okay. This is all I know about Pratt and to the folks who now see him as some kind of hate figure, ask yourself: "have you watched a Woody Allen movie in the past few years? How about Roman Polanski? I'll get to them soon but let's start with the A lister: Tom Cruise
I'd be cheating if I didn't talk about the excellent documentary doing the rounds right now, "Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief". If you've seen this (and you really should) you'll know Tom isn't painted in the best light with talk of phone tapping among other troubling accusations. We've all seen interviews with him displaying an odd "know it all" attitude and we know he thinks depression is bullshit. All of this makes him pretty unpleasant. My own opinion is that he has been brainwashed by this religion but because he is a person of means and stature, he is treated like a god among minions. As a direct result of his belief in this religion he gets absolutely slated by the general public. There's been rumour after rumour about Cruise and with each one his popularity takes a hit. And yet we can't actually substantiate all of these rumours. What is provable is his work ethic (which many of his co actors are on record saying is second to none) and his desire to entertain. On this level the man is untouchable. You just have to decide if his private life is any of your business. I've decided it's none of mine and will continue to enjoy his movies. But, let's look a little closer at how he's perceived.
I've had a few jobs in my time and in all of those places, movies were a strong topic of conversation. "The Cruiser" obviously came up a time or two. Now, try to pay attention because this is about to get complicated: In all the places I've worked Tom initially splits groups into two sections 1. those who enjoy his work and 2. those who "can't fucking stand him". The first group are fans of the actor and have enjoyed most of his movies. The second group are made up of jealous men (no redeeming them, I'm afraid) as well as people who just don't enjoy him or his movies (fair enough taste is taste) Out of the second group though, two more groups emerge.
Let's call them group 2a. and 2b. Still with me? Good. 2a are people who initially said they hated him and everything he's ever been in. Then you start listing off his amazing movies and rock solid performances and they realise that they not only like the movies but accept that he is excellent in them. It always happens!! 2b however are the judge an actor by his private life brigade. "Sure he's into that scientology shite, he must be a nutter". Fair enough, you're Catholic, equally insane, doesn't stop you doing your job does it? Then there's the classic, "Remember he jumped on the couch on Oprah, fucking weird". Again, fair enough, admit it though, you've done a lot worse! Doesn't stop you doing your job.
But people like to kill their idols and the moment he jumped on that couch he lost a lot of his clout and A list power. War of the Worlds came out and, while it did good business $591m on a $132m budget, a lot of people stayed away from it and everything he's done since, the latest being the excellent "Edge of Tomorrow" which made $369m on a $178m budget. What has helped him though is his insatiable appetite to entertain an audience, oftentimes putting himself in real danger to do so. This has endeared him back into the hearts of many with Mission Impossible 4 deservedly making a fuckload of money. I expect MI5 will bring a similar amount of success.
Verdict: Crazy.
Mel Gibson
I think it's fair to say that Mel Gibson had it all and completely blew it. I also think it's fair to say he was and remains a very talented actor/director and his transgressions pale in comparison to others on this list who have since been welcomed back into the Hollywood fold. Mel is by no means perfect but he really should have been forgiven by now. Here's what happened: Mel got drunk one night and got pulled over by police for DUI. As disappointing as this was, you could forgive it. However, he then went on a rant against Jews and in that town, well that's pretty fucking hard to come back from. What he said was deplorable but he apologised and paid his dues (that's dues people) and he seemed to be coming back. He made a few a decent movies, The Beaver which nobody went to see. The Edge of Darkness which was a pretty decent thriller and Get the Gringo which is excellent but again, nobody has seen it. Somewhere in there though the wheels came off and not even Mad Max could save himself. He began a relationship with Oksana Grigorieva and they had a child. Soon after she got a restraining order against Mel claiming he assaulted her. Interestingly, she dropped all charges of domestic abuse but she also leaked phone conversations with Mel where he was screaming obscenities down the phone, some of them racist others very threatening. Some experts have come out and claimed these conversations to be fake and severly tampered with. Maybe that's true, maybe it isn't but it was one scandal too many for Mel and he's been on his ass ever since showing up in garbage like Machete Kills and The Expendables 3. Whatever you think about the man, the actor deserves better, much better.
What I really miss though, is his directing. Mel Gibson behind a camera is a genuine force to be reckoned with. The Man Without a Face is an interesting debut, think Dead Poets Society but with some subtlety. He followed that up with the magnificent Braveheart which picked up 5 Oscars including best director. Apocalypto was next and that was an adrenaline filled masterpiece with shot after shot of pure brilliance. Lastly, The Passion of the Christ. Now, anyone who knows me knows I'm not a religious sort but I know good movies and Passion is a good movie. It's absolutely gorgeous to look at and taken as a story, it's extremely watchable. It also made a fucking fortune at the box office. I'd love it if he started funding his own low budget movies because he has a fantastic eye. He could act to save costs too. This is all wishful thinking though. Here's some more: There was once talk of him directing Iron Man 4 which would reunite him with his good friend Robert Downey Jr. Would the director of Braveheart and Apocalypto do a decent job with the material? I believe he would.
Verdict: Crazy. Woody Allen
There's no getting around this, Woody Allen is disgusting. If ever there was a guy to test the "what they do in their own time" arguement, it's Woody Allen. We all know he has made some staggering movies. In his so-called prime he churned out classics like: Sleeper, Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex, Manhattan, Annie Hall, Hannah And Her Sisters. That's literally just a few. The early 90's saw him continue his brilliant run with Husbands and Wives, Manhattan Murder Mystery and Bullet Over Broadway again this is just a taste of his work. There were missteps, of course, but his hit rate versus his output rate is impressive. More recently he's had as much success as failures with Midnight In Paris and Blue Jasmine reminding us of just how great this man can be.
HOWEVER!!!!!! It doesn't matter which way you cut it. Woody Allen married his ex wife's adopted daughter (Soon-Yi). The fact that he never adopted her doesn't really uncreepify this. He and Mia Farrow started their relationship in 1980 and Soon Yi would have been about 8 years old. 12 years later he divorced Farrow (after she found nude photos of her 20 year old daughter that Woody had taken) and married Son-Yi. He was 57. Again, this is fucking gross. Look, I don't pretend to understand the inner workings of us humans but, for me at least, there's just something really messed up here. For all that though, I don't see why this should stop anyone enjoying the man's work. He is a super writer full of wit, intelligence and he too has an eye for a shot. So, sick or crazy? When asked about his scandalous marriage, Allen has stated that "there is no scandal" and "the heart wants what the heart wants". Riiiiight.
Verdict: Sick.
Roman Polanski
Back in 2002 or 2003 I sat in front of a movie called The Pianist. It blew my mind. I cried, a lot. I laughed, occasionally. It is a stunning piece of cinema. Afterwards I found out Roman Polanski directed it and I was, for want of a better phrase, weirded out. Oh I still love the movie, it is and will ever be a masterpiece but Roman Polanski has a past. In 1978 he fled America never to return. If he does he will be arrested. Why? Polanski was arrested for raping a 13 year old child (Samantha Geimer) in 1977. He apparently drugged her, raped her and on his arrest there were five charges placed against him. I don't want to go into the details as it is terrifying and anger inducing but it is readily available online if you're curious. Anyway, he immediately stated he was innocent of all charges, however after a plea bargain he accepted guilt to unlawful sexual intercourse. Soon after, he fled to France fearing jail time and has been a fugitive on the run from the USA ever since.
So should he be forgiven? Well, the fact is, since he fled America he has worked with people like Harrison Ford, Johnny Depp, Sigourney Weaver, Ben Kingsley, Ewan McGregor, Christoph Waltz, John C. Reilly, Kate Winslet and Jodi Foster. The amount of star power there is staggering. It is safe to say he has already been forgiven by many in the Hollywood fold. I think he should face the music in America and take his punishment like a man but my opinion is worthless here. For all that, Samantha Geimer has been extremely forgiving. She has spoken openly about the incident and as far as I can see has done her best to play the whole thing down. She does her best to keep emotion out of it but in doing so, she gives a very chilling account of the events. As a result, Polanski is not a guy I actively seek out. It's not that I actively avoid him, I just don't seek him out. Would I knowingly go see a movie of his that appealed to me? As it stands, yes I think I would. I did it about 16 years ago for The Ninth Gate (but I wish I hadn't as it was shite) but I did feel weird going in. Is it completely unreasonable to think I'm supporting a rapist? Perhaps, perhaps not. But the last word must go to Polanski's victim. Here she is talking about The Pianist:
“I believe that Mr. Polanski and his film should be honored according to the quality of the work. What he does for a living and how good he is at it have nothing to do with me or what he did to me. I don’t think it would be fair to take past events into consideration. I think that the academy members should vote for the movies they feel deserve it.”
Verdict: Sick.
So there it is folks. Roman Polanski's victim doesn't think you should avoid his work. That being the case, the next time you decide any movie involving Mel or Tom or Chris Pratt isn't for you because you don't like them as people, maybe take Samantha Geimer's words into consideration and judge the movie on its own merits. Hollywood must also forgive Mel Gibson and they need to do it yesterday. If Polanski can still be hailed as a genius and his movies be considered for awards, Gibson should be afforded the same treatment.
You've all seen Jaws, Alien, Jurassic Park, The Thing etc. You saw these because they are some of the best movies ever made. However, you may have missed one or two gems that you felt looked stupid or were on the fence about and decided against it. Creature features, by their very nature, are a tough sell but the good ones are watchable time and again. Let's get our teeth into it.
Rogue
I have no idea why but there's a running joke in my house where I ask my wife if she wants to watch Rogue. She replies by asking can we make scampi. It's not funny to anyone else, it makes no sense and I honestly forget the origins. But every time I ask if she wants to watch it, I'm always hoping she says yes. Rogue is an absolutely brilliant movie. Set in the Australian outback (and featuring some truly breathtaking scenery) a bunch of tourists become trapped on a tiny island after their boat is attacked by a large, territorial crocodile. Problem is, the water is rising and the island will submerge in a few hours. It takes just the right amount of time to get the cast into this predicament, setting them up as people to root for and, indeed, against. The movie boasts solid performances with Radha Mitchell immediately recognisable and Sam Worthington doing the annoying Aussie thing a little too well. You may also know Michael Vartan in the lead role.
The director's previous movie is Wolf Creek which is a vile movie. I mean that in the best possible way. For what it is, Wolf Creek is very effective but it's just not something I'd ever watch more than once. Rogue, on the other hand, is absolutely the kind of movie I go back to time and time again. Why? Well it's just a shed load of fun. Movies like this are only effective if the characters are watchable and the creature is believable.
The croc itself is a triumph of special fx and clever camera work. They don't oversell the croc in the early part of the movie so you feel spoiled when you see it up close and very personal in some truly memorable scenes. That said, my favourite scene in the movie happens fairly early on and so quickly, it's often missed by audiences. There's a chap at the edge of the island, he's pulled one of the tourists back from the water. The camera turns away from him and that's when we hear a break in the water. The camera speeds back, the man is gone and for just a second or two we see a fucking huge croc tail swimming away. It's so simple but terrifyingly effective.
Do I have any complaints? No, not really. I knew what I was signing on for when I sat in front of this movie and it delivered in spades. Rating: 4/5.
The Relic
This is a movie I tore out to the cinema to see way back in 1997. The studio had spent a few quid on it, they'd thrown in a decent cast and a solid director too. I caught one clip on tv and I was sold. So what is The Relic? It's a monster movie set in the Museum of Natural History in Chicago. A ship has landed in Illinois minus a crew and the creature on board makes it's way to the museum, hungry for the human hypothalamus. It really doesn't matter why. What does matter is the creature itself. Again, the director teases him before finally we get to see him in all his glory. And he is impressive. Here, take a look:
You also get Tom Sizemore doing what Tom Sizemore does, Penelope Ann Miller as the resourceful heroine with Linda Hunt and James Whitmore both welcome additions. It's all completely preposterous of course but that doesn't stop us having a hell of a time. The Relic gets a torrid time from movie experts. Glad I'm just a fan, this is a hoot. 3/5.
Grabbers
This one is close to my heart as it's set in Ireland. Of course you can't have an Irish movie without lots of drinking because we're all raging alcoholics (apparently) and boy oh boy is there some drinking in this movie... Erin Island has been invaded by grabby, bloodsucky aliens and the populace is on the dwindle. The only way to remain immune is to get absolutely hammered drunk. You'd have to feel sorry for the aliens, if they'd landed anywhere else they'd have been exposed to a completely different stereotype and had a much easier time of it.
As before, we get characters to like and creatures to enjoy. Grabbers is tonally similar to Tremors but doesn't quite reach those dizzying heights. It can compete with the likes of James Gunn's Slither though and that ain't nothing. There are various nods and winks to other monster movies, the "Erin Island Welcomes You" sign is great and "get away from him you cunt" a very Irish nod to Aliens. I had nothing but a good time with this movie and fully recommend it: 3.5/5.
The Reef
There is a moment in The Reef where our potential victims are all close together in the water. One of them thinks they see a fin and they all start to panic which, as we know from Jaws is, "like ringing the dinner bell". Armed with only one set of goggles one of the group sticks his face in the water to peer into the blue. Here's what he sees:
It just wouldn't be a creature feature blog without a shark movie. Sadly there aren't that many good ones. You can shove your Sharknado nonsense up your arse! You've all seen Jaws. Deep Blue Sea is also high profile enough to have been consumed (so to speak) which leaves us with Open Water (think The Blair Witch Project in the ocean) or The Reef. I chose The Reef for the scene above. I watched this at home and when this scene happened I took my feet off the floor and put them on the couch. I mean, they were in danger on the floor!
The Reef doesn't try to reinvent the genre but it does a great job of raking up the tension. The plot is very simple: A group of friends head out onto the reef. When their boat capsizes they have a choice. Stay on top of the upside down (and slowly sinking) boat or swim for land. They choose the latter. There's an uncomfortable level of tension in this movie. It's worst nightmare stuff and if you want your nerves shredded, look no further: 3.5/5.
Lake Placid
Written by David E. Kelly so you knew there'd be some half decent one liners. Directed by Steve Miner, a guy who knows his way around a lake setting having done a couple of early Friday the 13th flicks and Dawson's Creek. Cast wise you get Bill Pullman, Brendan Gleeson, Bridget Fonda and Oliver Platt. I could watch Oliver Platt read the phone book because he would make that shit funny. He improves whatever he's in by about 22.3% it's science. His banter with Gleeson is also priceless! Add to that some cracking scenes with Betty White and you've got a hell of a time!
So what's the what here? Black Lake is an absolutely beautiful spot in Maine. Unfortunately for the locals, there's a fucking enormous crocodile living in said lake. The bodies pile up so it's down to Fish and Game expert Jack (Bill Pullman), local law man, Sheriff Keogh (Brendan Gleeson) to find out what's going on. Kelly (Bridget Fonda) is sent to help, the fact that she's a paleontologist renders her mostly useless but that's funny too. It is Oliver Platt who steals the whole show though. He plays eccentric millionaire and croc enthusiast, Hector, and he is wonderful. He always is (to me). The personalities of the four protagonists clash (of course) but as the movie goes along, they start to tolerate and even get to like each other (of course). Does the creature hold up? Bet your ass it does! A great effort by Stan Winston's fx team and some knowing camera work by Steve Miner make for some great sequences.
It is the humour though that I love here. It's not quite laugh out loud all the time but there's just a nice whimsical tone about it, interrupted occasionally by an enormous crocodile. And what the devil is wrong with that? Loved it: 4/5.
Frankenfish
Do not be put off by the title. Do not be put off by the terrible reviews. Do not be put off by the fact that it's a SyFy movie. This isn't one of those terrible "mockbusters". This is an honest to goodness decent creature feature. It takes place in Louisiana where folks live on a river. Unfortunately for them, someone has been carrying out experiments on snakefish and created something really nasty. The frankenfish escape into the river and all hell breaks lose. Look, it's not going to win any awards but for those of you with a sense of humour, you will find fun here. The creatures look pretty good, there's some hilarious death scenes and a running product placement joke which never gets old.
I've seen people refer to Frankenfish as a piece of shit and I've seen them refer to it as Tremors in a swamp. The truth lies somewhere in between. Schlock til you drop: 3/5.
Dog Soldiers
I'm assuming you've seen the movie Neil Marshall went on to make after this one: The Descent (the one with the European ending) If not, you need to. But you probably have so I'll carry on. Truth be told you've probably seen Dog Soldiers too. But just in case, this one is a werewolf movie about a military training exercise set in the highlands of Scotland. Of course the place is infested with werewolves and our band of brothers (and a sister) are being hunted. They take shelter in an abandoned house and plan to survive the inevitable werewolf siege. Just think Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13 with werewolves and you're pretty much there. This is a good thing. Fans of Game of Thrones will be happy to see Liam Cunningham in a menacing role. Fans of Rome will be happy to see Kevin McKidd in the lead and fans of Gotham will be happy to see Sean Pertwee stealing the show as a gruff but likeable sergeant.
Like most of the movies on this list the emphasis is on laughs as much as scares and Dog Soldiers delivers plenty of laugh out loud moments. The fact that it's a low budget movie doesn't hurt it. Actually it probably helps it as there's an obvious charm to the movie that many other CGI wolf movies do not have. The director was on fire at the time and I felt he was going to be the next John Carpenter. Why? Well, as mentioned before this movie borrows heavily from Assault on Precinct 13. The next movie he'd make would be The Descent which barring a couple of minutes at the start is an all female cast all of them with trust issues. Carpenter used an all male cast for The Thing and trust was a huge part of that movie. Marshall then went on to make Doomsday which had a huge stink of Escape from New York off of it. Sadly that's where the comparisons end. He hasn't really progressed as a director which is a pity as Dog Soldiers is a cracking little movie that hints at some serious directorial talent and it's well worth a look: 4/5.
The Ghost and the Darkness
Right out of the gate let's just talk about Val Kilmer. I love him. I think he is supremely talented. But like many talented actors (Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Sean Connery and Julia Roberts to name but a few) he cannot do an Irish accent. It is distracting and it will make you laugh. However, The Ghost and the Darkness is a fun diversion. Set in Kenya in 1898, Kilmer plays Col. Jon Patterson and it is his job to build a bridge for the British army so, as the ever brilliant Tom Wilkinson puts it, they can "save Africa from the Africans".
Whatever, let's get to the good stuff. This movie is based on a true story where two lions reportedly killed 135 bridge workers. Now, that may sound like bullshit and it probably is. What is clear though is these lions killed a lot of people and Patterson had a hell of a time dealing with them. The movie deviates heavily from the facts as it tries deperately to be the next Jaws. It ain't Jaws but then again, nothing is or ever will be. Patterson eventually calls in the help of Quint sorry, Remington played by Michael Douglas. There are times in this movie where his hamminess is a joy to behold but I've always found him to be an enjoyable actor anyway.
The lions are also very well done. There's trained lions, CGI and amazing model work used to bring our bloodthirsty friends to life. The fact that this is based on a true story adds some gravity to proceedings and it is effective. Stephen Hopkins is a talented guy. He's obviously watched Jaws a few times and uses the Kenyan savannah as a substitute for the ocean. The lions attack with impunity and while you will scratch your head and wonder how the fuck Patterson got himself into a situation where over 100 people have been killed, you will also enjoy the simple man versus beast aspect here. Look out for Emily Mortimer and Bernard Hill. Both always fun to watch. 3/5.
