November Film Highlights

Blah, blah, blah, blog and all that.

Rush (2013) Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Brühl, Olivia Wilde, Alexandra Maria Lara, Pierfrancesco Favino. Dir: Ron Howard.

In 70s Formula One, a rivalry begins between German Niki Lauda and Englishman James Hunt. Story gets a little soapy in places, but successfully manages to make both drivers engaging, rounded personalities in their own right, and brings the drama, action and danger of the driving sequences heart-poundingly to life.

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The Blair Witch Project (1999) Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, Joshua Leonard. Dir: Eduardo Sánchez, Daniel Myrick.

The found-footage of three students who went looking for a witch and never came back. May seem tame now, but stands up better than most imitators because it does authenticity better. The characters feel real - they argue and bicker – and also for much of the time, not much happens.

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Nightbirds (1969) Berwick Kaler, Julie Shaw, Elaine Shore. Dir: Andy Milligan.

A girl takes pity on a homeless boy; they begin a passionate but increasingly isolated relationship. Milligan’s often cited as one cinema’s worst writer/directors, but this kitchen-sink drama suggests he had more to offer. Though low budget, there’s a complex psychology demonstrated with a visual aesthetic that compliments the drama.

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Mary Reilly (1996) Julia Roberts, John Malkovich, George Cole, Michael Gambon, Glenn Close. Dir: Stephen Frears.

Housemaid Mary is attracted to her employer, but is not keen on his assistant, Mr Hyde. Interesting take on an old source where someone denied expression is pitted against someone one with no inhibition, simultaneously attracting and repulsing them. Unfortunately, Roberts’s pretty stiff, but also has little to really do.

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Le Week-End (2013) Jim Broadbent, Lindsay Duncan, Jeff Goldblum. Dir: Roger Michell.

An ageing married couple visit Paris in the hope of mending their frayed relationship. The relationship and its contradictions are entirely believable, the leads likeable, and there’s much all-too-true comedy. It has charm and pathos, but moves towards a predictable climax and the ending’s something of a cop-out.

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When the Wind Blows (1986) John Mills, Peggy Ashcroft. Dir: Jimmy Murakami.

An elderly couple do their best to prepare themselves and their home for nuclear war. An innovatively animated comedy that’s fundamentally not funny; the trust the dotty pensioners have in the powers-that-be is tragically misplaced, and their fate a cruel betrayal. The characters are so believably conceived it’s heart-breaking viewing.

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October Film Highlights

There's a blog, I'm sure I've mentioned it.

Hausu (1977) Kimiko Ikegami, Miki Jinbo, Kumiko Oba, Ai Matubara, Mieko Sato, Eriko Tanaka, Masayo Miyako, Yoko Minamida. Dir: Nobuhiko Obayashi.

A Japanese girl and friends go on holiday to her Aunt’s sinister isolated home. You can tell Obayashi directed commercials; this is as naturalistic – and hyper-bonkers. Sort of a live-action Scooby-Doo, but more psychedelic, schizophrenic and bloody. You won’t have seen anything like – whether it’s good or not is debatable.

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The War Game (1963) Michael Aspel, Peter Graham. Dir: Peter Watkins.

Docudrama about Britain’s preparations for nuclear war and what would might happen in the aftermath. Banned by BBC before transmission, this pulls no punches in depicting the horror of nuclear attack and exposing the misleading and inadequate response by government. 50 years on and it’s still horrific and harrowing viewing.

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Ninotchka (1939) Greta Garbo,Melvyn Douglas, Ina Claire, Sig Ruman, Felix Bressart, Alexander Granach. Dir: Ernst Lubitsch.

A die-hard communist official arrives in Paris to raise funds, but a suave American tests her resolve. Surprisingly political and occasionally dark, this even allows the commies to get some decent digs in, though the west naturally does better. Frequently hilarious, despite a moping third act. And Garbo is sensational.

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Dark City (1997) Rufus Sewell, Keifer Sutherland, Jennifer Connelly, William Hurt, Richard O'Brian, Ian Richardson. Dir: Alex Proyas.

A man wakes up in a strange place, in a strange city, with no memory and a corpse next to him. Dazzling, dense sci-fi neo noir with startling effects and a mighty pace. Beneath the flash the reasoning’s a bit wobbly and plot not water-tight, but quite a ride nevertheless.

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Elysium (2013) Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Alice Braga, Diego Luna, Wagner Moura, William Fichtner. Dir: Neill Blomkamp.

 

A dying man’s only hope is to leave the impoverished Earth and travel to elitist paradise Elysium. Delivers a great deal of action entertainment, but it’s hard to take its political themes seriously with such a frenetic don’t-question-it plot and such cartoonish villains. May have been cut for time too heavily.

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Twisted Nerve (1968) Hywel Bennett, Hayley Mills, Russell Napier, Billie Whitelaw, Frank Finlay, Barry Foster, Timothy West. Dir: Roy Boulting. 

A maladjusted young man pretends to be mentally disabled to get close to a girl. Hardly PC – and the science is ludicrous – but as a psychological thriller it works on a number of disturbing levels, and there’s a strong streak of black humour running through, though a touch uneventful.  

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The Atomic Cafe (1982) Dir: Jayne Loader, Kevin Rafferty, Pierce Rafferty.

A montage of public information films and TV programming about the atomic bomb after Hiroshima. Darkly fascinating and sometimes comic examination of government propaganda and misinformation; hard to distinguish between deliberate lies or simply ignorance, the impression you get is a society ill-prepared for the power it’s unleashed. Sobering stuff.

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August Film Highlights

You can of course visit the blog.

Wadjda (2012) Waad Mohammed, Reem Abdullah, Abdulrahman al-Guhani, Sultan Al Assaf. Dir: Haifaa al-Mansour.

A Saudi Arabian girl is determined to have a bicycle, no matter what convention dictates. A Middle-Eastern Bicycle Thieves. An appealing struggle against adversity and injustice with a feisty heroine you can really get behind. Superbly acted and very funny, but with real tragedy and serious issue at its core.
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Edvard Munch (1974) Geir Westby, Gro Fraas, Johan Halsbog, Lotte Teig, Gro Jarto, Rachel Pedersen. Dir: Peter Watkins.

Life of the famous painter, his upringing, influences and the hostility his work faced. Using his pseudo-documentary style, Watkins presents not a biopic, but a dense expression of the elements that contribute to Munch’s works, from relationships to contemporary society. Fascinating exercise, but occasionally hard to follow and very long.

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Piccadilly (1929) Gilda Gray, Anna May Wong, Jameson Thomas, King Ho Chang. Dir: E.A. Dupont.

A London club dance act is no longer pulling in the punters, so the boss decides to employ something more exotic. A decadent and lavish depiction of Jazz age London. Exquisitely filmed and tinted, it’s surprisingly sensual and admirably disapproving of racism, although story is touch stretched for run time.
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Fear X (2003) John Turturro, James Remar, Deborah Kara Unger, William Allen Young. Dir: Nicolas Winding Refn. 

A security guard obsessively watches CCTV tapes in the hope of finding who killed his wife. Moves between paranoid thriller and more straight-forward conspiracy thriller, as if it can’t quite commit to either, before going completely Lynch at the end. Not without interest, but the story just isn’t that compelling.

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Wolverine (2013) Hugh Jackman, Tao Okamoto, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rila Fukushima, Famke Janssen, Will Yun Lee, Svetlana Khodchenkova, Haruhiko Yamanouchi. Dir: James Mangold.

The destitute hero is lured to Japan by a dying friend with a proposition. Suffers from the same issues as Marvel’s own productions – weak supporting characters and an over-complicated plot that should be interesting, but isn’t. Action keeps it lively through first half, but that too becomes irritating, and repetitive.

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Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987) Steve Martin, John Candy. Dir: John Hughes. 

A businessman experiences disaster after disaster trying to get home for Thanksgiving. It works because it’s simple and relatable. We get the characters and understand their frustrations. Importantly, Candy and Martin don’t overdo it, knowing it can be just as funny to simmer. A professional work, sadly a rare one.

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July Film Highlights

You can visit the blog is you like. 

Blancanieves (2012) Maribel Verdú, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Ángela Molina, Pere Ponce. Dir: Pablo Berger.

The estranged daughter of a crippled bullfighter is sent to live with him and his cruel new wife. A new silent film retelling of Snow White; a very European marriage of fairy tale and grotesque, celebrating the passionate culture of Spain’s past but without shying away from its cruelty. Sumptuously beautiful and elegantly brought to life.
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Behind the Candelabra (2013) Michael Douglas, Matt Damon, Dan Aykroyd, Rob Lowe, Debbie Reynolds, Scott Bakula. Dir: Steven Soderbergh.

The story of Liberace’s relationship with a young dog trainer, Scott Thorson. Amongst cinema’s most unusual and creepy relationships, yet despite the possessiveness and pseudo-incest, there is something ultimately endearing about this bizarre pairing. Douglas and Damon are both excellent, though Lowe also has a plumb role.

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Hansel & Gretal (2007) Chun Jung-myung, Eun Won-jae, Shim Eun-kyung, Jin Ji-hee. Dir: Yim Pil-Sung.

 

After a car accident, a child leads a man to a strange fairy-tale cottage in the woods. This creepily sugar-sweet world is brilliantly bought to life and the disturbing implications of the childrens' powers linger long after viewing. Adult characters, however, are curiously under-developed and drags badly in the middle.

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A Field in England (2013) Michael Smiley, Reece Shearsmith, Peter Ferdinando, Richard Glover, Ryan Pope. Dir: Ben Wheatley.

English civil war deserters are forced by an alchemist to search for treasure in a field with magic mushrooms. Seriously strange tale of witchcraft and devilry, in the tradition of folk horrors like Satan’s Claw and Whicker Man but hallucinatory. Defies easy explanations, but certain sequences linger long, especially the freak-out.

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The East (2013) Brit Marling, Alexander Skarsgård, Ellen Page, Patricia Clarkson, Toby Kebbell. Dir: Zal Batmanglij.

An undercover operative infiltrates an anti-corporate activist group with an eye-for-an-eye philosophy. Despite hard-hitting pretensions, little better than an average teen movie. Politically and philosophically flimsy, activists are too clichéd and underdrawn and the corporations too diabolical to be taken seriously. Not very engaging, and gets steadily sillier.

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Equus (1977) Richard Burton, Peter Firth, Colin Blakely, Joan Plowright, Eileen Atkins, Jenny Agutter. Dir: Sidney Lumet.

A psychiatrist must treat a boy who has viciously blinded six horses. Some said that Lumet’s adaptation lacked imaginative staging of the play, yet could hardly be called badly done – some sections are electrifying, and not just because of the actors or script, which are both outstanding. Disturbing and enthralling.

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The Invisible Boy (1957) Richard Eyer, Philip Abbott, Diane Brewster, Harold J. Stone. Dir: Hermann Hoffman.

A super-computer tells a boy how to make his own robot. Vehicle for Robbie the Robot from Forbidden Planet, curious mixed-bag, part kid wish-fulfillment but with serious sci-fi pretensions. Weirdly subversive and deadpan in humour for 50s, yet contradictorily frightening and paranoid. Lots of fun though, both intentionally and unintentionally.

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June Film Highlights

I've probably mentioned the blog.
 

My Neighbour Totoro (1988) Dakota Fanning, Elle Fanning, Tim Daly, Lea Salonga, Frank Welker. Dir: Hayao Miyazaki.

 

Two girls move to the country to be near their hospitalised mother and discover world of incredible creatures. Big warm hug of a movie; celebreates the pleasures and comforts of childhood imagination. Mostly plotless, it creates a feeling of wonder and enchantment and features some of cinema's most adorable creatures.

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Much Ado About Nothing (2012) Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof, Reed Diamond, Nathan Fillion, Clark Gregg, Fran Kranz, Sean Maher, Jillian Morgese. Dir: Joss Whedon.

Beatrice and Benedick are constantly at odds, but can they be made to love each other? Many of Whedon’s favourite performers are given a chance to shine centre-stage in this smart, intimate adaptation that sells both the comedy and the drama, making the story seem remarkably fresh and enduring.
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The Great Gatsby (2013) Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke, Elizabeth Debicki. Dir: Baz Luhrmann.

 

An eccentric millionaire throws extravagant parties in the hope of ensnaring a lost love. On a basic level, Gatsby isn’t a complicated story, and while Lurhman’s razzle-dazzle bravura maintains a dream-like aura through first half, by the second it’s very much just the sum of its parts, and so long.

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Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex But Were Afraid To Ask (1972) Woody Allen, Louise Lasser, John Carradine, Tony Randall, Burt Reynolds, Gene Wilder, Jack Barry, Erin Fleming, Lynn Redgrave, Regis Philbin, Heather MacRae. Dir: Woody Allen.

A series of sketches built around sexual taboos. Amongst the weaker of Allen’s early knock-abouts. Though significantly superior to your average sex comedy, is still very patchy with some very tired material. Certain sequences standout – the Italian segment and Wilder’s Sheep affair – others are less funny than their conception.
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The Haunted House of Horror (1969) Frankie Avalon, Jill Haworth, Dennis Price, Mark Wynter, George Sewell. Dir: Michael Armstrong. 

Bored suspiciously old swinging-London teens visit a haunted house and one of them is murdered. The teenagers are so tediously samey it’s hard to know who’s dead and who isn’t, which is unfortunate because all you want is for irritating bunch to get slaughtered. Alas, hardly anything bloody happens!

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The Iceman (2012) Michael Shannon, Winona Ryder, Chris Evans, Ray Liotta, David Schwimmer. Dir: Ariel Vromen.

The story of John Kuklinski: a family man who was also a prolific mafia hitman. Shannon could pretty much read the phonebook and make it sound frightening. His intensity adds a lot to film that has a nice Scandi-esque cold sheen but is also undeveloped and hard to follow.
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Populaire (2012) Romain Duris, Déborah François, Bérénice Bejo, Shaun Benson. Dir: Régis Roinsard.

 
A manager’s secretary is only good at typing, so he enters her in a competition. Easily overlooked as fluff, this is endearingly old-fashioned, not just in look, but in character-focus and uncynical romanticism. Predictable maybe, and faltering when looking deeper, its wit and charm make it worth ten-dozen bland romcoms.

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May Film Highlights

I might have mentioned the blog before...


Iron Man 3 (2013) Robert Downey, Jr.,Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Ben Kingsley, Jon Favreau. Dir: Shane Black.

Suffering from PTSD, an edgy Stark earns the attention of a terrorist who attacks his home. More dramatically satisfying than previous instalments, but still has too much plot and an ultimately disappointing villain. Real issue is a not-so-surprising third act twist which muddies the point – just what’s the villain after?
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Trance (2013) James McAvoy, Rosario Dawson, Vincent Cassel, Danny Sapani. Dir: Danny Boyle.

An art thief consults a hypnotherapist when he forgets where he’s stashed a painting after a concussion. You know it’s heading for a big twist, and even if you don’t guess it (it’s not that surprising) it’s quite meaningless because the characters are paper-thin and pretty dull. Pleasingly flashy.
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Ghost in the Shell (1995) Atsuko Tanaka, Akio Ōtsuka, Iemasa Kayumi. Dir: Mamoru Oshii.

In future Japan, a secret agency of cyborgs must stop a hacker who re-writes people’s minds. Insightful, mind-bending sci-fi that asks questions about who we are and where we’re going. Packs a colossal amount into 82 minutes, but worthwhile if you can keep up with it. Impressive animation and sound.

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The Abominbale Snowman (1957) Peter Cushing, Forrest Tucker, Maureen Connell, Richard Wattis, Robert Brown. Dir: Val Guest.

An ethical doctor joins an unethical expedition to the Himalayas searching for yeti. Considering meagre budget, does decent job of creating a believable mountainside setting, and of making it suspenseful. Alas, not much happens during first hour and the interesting ideas in Nigel ‘Quatermass’ Kneale’s script are not entirely developed.
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Frenzy (1972) Jon Finch, Alec McCowen, Barry Foster, Anna Massey, Barbara Leigh-Hunt. Dir: Alfred Hitchcock.

A struggling divorcee is framed when his ex-wife falls victim to a serial killer. Hitch’s penultimate is soaked in references to his past and old London, while also embracing contemporary sexual explicitness. Has flaws – mis-placed comedy and unsympathetic lead – but proves he still had plenty of tricks up his sleeves.
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Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Benedict Cumberbatch, John Cho, Alice Eve, Simon Pegg, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Peter Weller, Bruce Greenwood, Anton Yelchin. Dir: J.J. Abrams.

 
After an attack on earth, Kirk and crew fly into dangerous territory to catch a terrorist. An action packed sequel that has the moral dimension missing from the first outing. It smartly steal many of the original series’ best ideas although the plot is still overspilling (cryogenic torpedos?)

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The Collector (1965) Terence Stamp, Samantha Eggar. Dir: William Wyler.

A shy butterfly collector kidnaps and imprisons a woman to make him fall in love with her. A little artificial – it’s a stretch that Eggar couldn’t overpower Stamp, but the relationship that develops between them is intriguing, as much about divisions of class and education as it is isolation and sexual obsession.


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April Film Highlights

You can visit the blog if you like...

Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams, Zach Braff, Bill Cobbs, Joey King. Dir: Sam Raimi.

 

An unscrupulous carnival magician is whisked away to the land of Oz and sent to kill a witch. CGI is colourful and sometimes beautiful – but not magic. Lacking in wit and inspiration, this is an expensive but bland runaround, which makes not much sense and is hard to care about.

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The Poseidon Adventure (1972) Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Red Buttons, Carol Lynley, Roddy McDowall, Stella Stevens, Shelley Winters, Jack Albertson, Leslie Nielson. Dir: Ronald Neame.

When a boat capsizes, a group of passengers must band together to survive. Something of a classic, even if the script’s clunky and the characters are hopelessly one-dimensional, veering between irritating and unintentionally hilarious. It’s an impressive production nevertheless, and dramatic enough to keep your attention.

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The Birds (1963) Tippi Hedren, Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette, Suzanne Pleshette. Dir: Alfred Hitchcock.

 

A socialite chases a man to a secluded town where the birds start turning nasty. Effects may have dated, but an impressive technical achievement. And it never makes you giggle, tone’s too serious and arguably the sound’s what’s most frightening. Hitch’s most horrific, psychologically complex and full of unexpected danger.

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In the House (2012) Fabrice Luchini, Ernst Umhauer, Kristin Scott Thomas, Emmanuelle Seigner, Yolande Moreau, Denis Menochet. Dir: François Ozon.

A teacher takes an interest in a student who writes about his visits to a middle-class home. Clever tale about storytelling, its pleasures and pitfalls, and what our subjectivity reveals about us, our needs, desires and envies. A little contrived, but witty, funny and devastating, with ambiguities that’ll prompt discussion.

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The Aristocats (1970) Phil Harris, Eva Gabor, Liz English, Gary Dubin, Scatman Crothers, Dean Clark, Sterling Holloway, Roddy Maude-Roxby. Dir: Wolfgang Reitherman.

A cat and her kittens are kidnapped but find help from a streetwise tom cat. Admittedly rather slight, and pilfers liberally from past successes, but it’s so adorable you can’t help but love it. The characters are irresistible, the music infectious and the animation gorgeously rendered.

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Side Effects (2013) Jude Law, Rooney Mara, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Channing Tatum, Vinessa Shaw. Dir: Stephen Soderburgh.

 

A suicidally depressed woman experiences a shocking side effect from her new medication. Gets less interesting as its plot twists and turns; what starts as a drama examining a culture of industry-driven pill-popping turns slowly into a big-reveal, plot-twist thriller. Perfectly watchable, but less than the sum of its parts.

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Vengeance is Mine (1979) Ken Ogata, Mayumi Ogawa, Rentaro Mikuni, Mitsuko Baisho. Dir: Shohei Imamura.

After murdering his superior, an office-worker goes on the run, murdering and thieving as he sees fit. Deliberately avoids easy answers; history, society, upbringing and religion –they’re suggested, but none really explains Enokizu’s evil. Presumably that’s the point. Occasionally beautiful but mostly bleak and intentionally troubling viewing.

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March Film Highlights

Go ahead and visit the blog if you have time...

Robot & Frank (2012) Frank Langella, Susan Sarandon, Peter Sarsgaard, James Marsden, Liv Tyler. Dir: Jake Schreier.

A forgetful retired burglar is forced to accept a robot carer, but finds different ways to use him…Superbly written bittersweet drama, a story that perfectly balances comedy and melancholy, unexpectedly moving from one to the other without ever over-doing it. Langella never better as the ageing rogue approaching senility.

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Psycho (1960) Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin, Martin Balsam. Dir: Alfred Hitchcock.

A woman on the run arrives at an isolated motel run by a shy man and his domineering mother. Probably the greatest murder in cinema history, and a censorship watershed. Time’s reduced its ability to surprise or shock, but suspense and dark humour still resonate, as does Perkins singular performance.

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Mama (2013) Jessica Chastain, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Megan Charpentier, Isabelle Nélisse, Daniel Kash. Dir: Andrés Muschietti.

Feral children are found in woodland and returned to relatives, but something comes with them. It’s good Hollywood’s investing in horror, but Mama’s the same old cheap tricks recycled. There are stylish flourishes, lush cinematography and strong cast, but it’s wasted on a padded, undercooked script with a ridiculous conclusion.

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The Cooler (2003) William H. Macy, Alec Baldwin, Maria Bello, Shawn Hatosy, Ron Livingston, Arthur J. Nascarella. Dir: Wayne Kramer.

A man so unlucky a casino employs him to ruin player’s luck has a sudden change of fortune. Witty shaggy-dog story that occasionally loses its way amongst sub-plots but retains focus on three damaged characters who, better or worse, only have each other. Terrific leads and refreshingly glamour-less look at Vegas.

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Lincoln (2012) Daniel Day-Lewis, Tommy Lee Jones, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, Hal Holbrook, John Hawkes, Walton Goggins. Dir: Steven Spielberg.

If Lincoln’s to pass is to end slavery, he must pass the bill before civil war ends. Spielberg manages for the most part to not over-egg what’s obviously a momentous story (shame about the score) creating a riveting political drama, with top supporting cast, and plenty of revealing character moments.

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Bonnie Scotland (1935) Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, June Lang, William Janney, Anne Grey, Vernon Steele, Jimmy Finlayson. Dir: James W. Horne.

The boys travel to Scotland to claim Stan’s inheritance, but end up accidentally joining the army. Another L&H film that oddly has them tangentally follow other characters’ plot, but fortunately this times they keep main focus. First half is undeniably better, though second does build to an unusually ambitious finale.

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