The 50 Word Film Reviews Blog

Yes, the 50 word film reviews now have their own blog. You can find it here. It’s part of the Orble blog network; at the moment I’m republishing a lot of the old ones to keep it updated every day in the hope of slowly creating a readership. But I will be sticking the latest ones up there too and will be posting the highlights here monthly as well.

Feel free to click on a link while you’re there, I get a huge 50% of all ad revenue I’m going to earn my first penny any day now, I just know it!

Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969) Peter Cushing, Freddie Jones, Simon Ward, Veronica Carlson. Dir: Terence Fisher.

Frankenstein blackmails a couple into helping him free a mad colleague. The saga has moved on: the doctor is the monster, and his creation is all too human. A strong plot, with a killer finale, makes up for a lack of scares, though the rape scene is completely out of place.

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Ponyo (2009) Cate Blanchett, Noah Cyrus, Matt Damon, Frankie Jonas, Tina Fey, Liam Neeson. Dir: Hayao Miyazaki

A young fish-girl befriends a young boy and decides that she wants to become human. Another typically dazzling Miyazaki creation, with stunning visuals and a story that is both exciting and touching. The adults are dull as usual and Neeson is miscast – but otherwise the film is irresistible.

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Jindabyne (2007) Gabriel Byrne, Laura Linney, Deborra-Lee Furness, John Howard. Dir: Ray Lawrence

Four men discover a body in the outback but don’t report their discovery until after their trip. A hard to fathom film; it’s a crowded human drama of pain and expected and unexpected consequences, but one which also hints at ghostly, supernatural goings on. Interesting, but not entirely satisfying.

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The Return of Captain Invincible (1983) Alan Arkin, Christopher Lee, Kate Fitzpatrick, Michael Pate. Dir: Philippe Mora

A washed-up alcoholic superhero is called back into service. The cynical superhero film 20 years before it became popular. Uneven in style and tone, with musical numbers that always come as a surprise. But very likeable, with enough material for about 3 films. Worth watching to see Christopher Lee singing.

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Double Take (2010) Alfred Hitcock, Mark Perry, Ron Burrage. Dir: Johan Grimonprez

A thought provoking clips collage featuring Hitchcock meeting himself from the future, US relations with Russia in the 60s and a real Hitchcock impersonator. The theme seems to be how two things of the same cannot exist side by side, one must invariably destroy the other. An interesting curiosity.

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The Perfect Business Partnership...

It's good to see the Savoy brand growing, although strangely the Lettings store doesn't seem to be open that often. Plenty of hot air going through both I imagine.

I saw Archie Bronson Outfit live

I saw Archie Bronson Outfit a week or so ago. Here's the review...

Major delays cause time to stop at Waterloo

I saw Tindersticks live

I saw Tindersticks last week. You can read my review here....