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“This ain’t no technological breakdown”
Honoring British rock legend Chris Rea, I recall 1989: a 16-year-old student in Paisley, wrestling with the guilt of spending my living grant on “The Road to Hell” vinyl. Purchased for £5.99 at Woolworths, it became the defining soundtrack of my university years. Thirty-five years later, the joy remains. RIP.
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Clear and Present Danger (1994)
The 3rd outing in the Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan series, sees Harrison Ford reprising the role for the second (and his last time). Ryan dealt with the Russians in the first one outing, under the sea with the Hunt for Red October and then we had him fighting the Irish in Patriot Games. Here we have him after the drug lords in Columbia after the Presidents close friend is murdered under suspicious…
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The Last Boy Scout (1991)
Bruce Willis after 2 Die Hard movies takes on another over-the-top action movie but this time as down and out detective, Joe, working in LA. He is hired to look after a stripper the girlfriend of ex LA football player, Jimmy Dix, played by Damon Wayans. She gets murdered and Jimmy and Joe team up in an unlikely pairing to track down the culprit only to uncover a world of corruption…
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Kelly’s Heroes (1970)
I honestly don’t know where to start with what is one of my all time favourites. For me that means a movie I can watch many times and still get something out of it and not be bored. The caper heist is always a wonderful genre to play with and gives a wonderful romantic view of the world of the master criminal. Be it Pink Panther, or as far as…
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Bridge of Spies (2015)
Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks are back to tell a true story from the 1950′s era when the cold war was at its height in America’s paranoia around the nuclear arms race and communism. A Russian spy, Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance) is arrested by the FBI in New York and is interrogated but refuses to give up anything. He is a soldier caught in by the other side in a war and…
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School for Scoundrels (1960)
I am a sucker for old British black and white comedies. They reigned supreme from around 1945 to 1965 and gave us some classic actors such as Alec Guinness, Alistair Sim, Terry Thomas and Norman Wisdom. The story lines where woefully simple and one dimensional and served as a perfect remedy for a young boy, who is off school sick, lying on the couch and being forced to watch whatever…
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Back to the Future Part II (1989)
The date is 21st October 2015 and of course it is Back to the Future day. The day Doc and Marty travel forward to fix his children who have managed to screw things up that a little help from our time traveling duo. So it is very fitting that we watch this movie on this very iconic day, following on from my earlier Back to the Future outing. So…
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Shanghai Noon (2000)
Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson team up together in this comedy western to rescue the kidnapped Chinese princess played by the beautiful Lucy Liu. With Chan not knowing any English, or anything about the West is your classic fish out of water setup. Not dissimilar to the usual Crocodile Dundee story. Chan plays pretty much the exact same role in all these types of movies, the humble, karate/kung fu fighting side kick who…
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Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015)
When will I learn? How much pain should one go through before I realize that Adam Sandler movies, no matter the format, should be avoided at all costs? Though in my defense I wasn’t aware this one was voiced and written by him. This movie was at the request of my 9 year old who found the first one funny and wanted to see the second one. Just to be…
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Ghostbusters (1984)
31 years ago one of the best logos in the world burst into our lives. Originally designed by Dan Aykroyd it has become as iconic as the movie to which it is attached to. If you haven’t seen Ghostbusters, then one has to ask to which rock you have been living under and at what point are you planning to join the rest of the human race? Following 3 university professors…
the leg-end that is, Alan Williamson.
For over 20 years, I’ve shared my thoughts whenever the muse strikes. It’s unpredictable, honest, unedited, and occasionally witty. I’m living the best years of my life, working harder than ever, and enjoying every second.
Alan Williamson 