Thursday 30 August 2018
Peaky Blinders, Season 2 (2014)
The Peaky Blinders looking to expand their operation into London but they upset some powerful people in doing so. Later; with the help of Tommy, Polly steps up her search for her missing son; Tommy initiates his plan to take over the southern racecourses; and with new ally Arthur in tow, the Peaky Blinders make a serious move on London's Eden Club.
Successful continuation and expansion of the gangster saga with some new interesting characters, of which Tom Hardy's Alfie Solomons is especially fascinating; the finale is almost unbearably suspenseful.
Wednesday 29 August 2018
Extinction (2018)
A father has a recurring dream of losing his family. His nightmare turns into reality when the planet is invaded by a force bent on destruction. Fighting for their lives, he comes to realize an unknown strength to keep them safe from harm.
Nicely made and suspenseful allien invasion thriller comes up with an unexpected, but a bit irritating twist in the final moments.
Monday 27 August 2018
Peaky Blinders, Season 1 (2013)
A gangster family epic set in 1919 Birmingham, England; centered on a gang who sew razor blades in the peaks of their caps, and their fierce boss Tommy Shelby.
Excellent gangster drama with meticulous period detail and an impressive cast of characters; very suspenseful and violent. The selection of songs on the soundtrack are an attraction in itself.
Sunday 26 August 2018
The Party (2017)
A woman hosts a party to celebrate her new promotion, but once the guests arrive it becomes clear that not everything is going to go down as smoothly as the red wine.
Closed-room ensemble piece is a cleverly sinister black comedy so well directed and played you nearly miss recognizing the dark humour.
How It Ends (2018)
A desperate man tries to return home to his pregnant fiancée after a mysterious apocalyptic event turns everything to chaos.
More a haunting road movie than doomsday drama, it is intelligently made with atmosphere and good set of characters, but doesn't bother to give any explanation what's really going on.
Friday 24 August 2018
Halloween (1978)
Fifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield to kill again.
Low-budget film is in its simplicity and straightforward direction a near-perfect slasher film, heavy on a dooming atmosphere and, in comparison with similar films, actually low on graphic violence and body count.
Halliwell*: "Single-minded shocker with virtually no plot, just a succession of bloody attacks in semi-darkness. Very well done if you like that kind of thing, though the final suggestion of the supernatural is rather baffling."
Maltin***: "Well-made, with lots of scares, plus in-joke references for film buffs."
Stranger Things, Season 2 (2017)
It's 1984 and the citizens of Hawkins, Indiana are still reeling from the horrors of the demagorgon and the secrets of Hawkins Lab. Will Byers has been rescued from the Upside Down but a bigger, sinister entity still threatens those who survived.
This season holds our interest mainly with its strong cast of characters with the addition of new ones, especially Max and Kali, but the plot and "New" mystery is mainly a rehash from season 1.
Thursday 23 August 2018
Un Flic (1972)
After a shaky first heist, a group of thieves plan an even more elaborate- and more risky- second heist.
A crime drama with style, good performances and some good direction, but slow in pace and not quite suspenseful.
Halliwell (no star): "Glum investigation of betrayal in which atmosphere is all, but not enough to sustain interest."
Maltin**1/2: "Pedestrian melodrama...Delon and Crenna are muscular, Deneuve and the scenery gorgeous."
Tuesday 21 August 2018
La Grande séduction (2003)
A much-needed boost, in the form of a new factory, is promised to the residents of the tiny fishing village St. Marie-La-Mauderne, provided they can lure a doctor to take up full-time residency on the island, so the villagers devise a scheme to make Dr. Christopher Lewis a local.
Mildly entertaining feelgood comedy is nicely made with a colorful cast of characters, but emanates the impression one has seen this all once before.
Maltin**1/2: "Start with LOCAL HERO, throw in a little THE FULLY MONTY, mix with WAKING NED DEVINE and you have the recipe for this harmless comic tale...Filled with the usual assortment of oddballs in this type of film; the setting...is gorgeous."
James Dean (2001)
A biopic about the actor James Dean, whose stardom of the ultimate teenage rebel as well as the premature death made him a legend.
James Franco is excellent in the title role, but otherwise a stifled and cursory account of the actor's life.
Monday 20 August 2018
The Sweeney (2012)
A hardened detective in the Flying Squad of London's Metropolitan police.
Like the TV series it is based on, a tough and politically shady crime thriller; all around professionally made, but targeted to fans of the genre.
Sunday 19 August 2018
The King (2017)
Forty years after the death of Elvis Presley, a musical road trip across America in his 1963 Rolls Royce explores how a country boy lost his authenticity and became a king while his country lost her democracy and became an empire.
Unusual documentary tracing Presley's life with a colourfully mixed collage of statements from film stars, musicians and analysts; the result is both a portrait of the artist as well as a critical comment to his cultural impact.
New acquisition: Die besten Filme, die Sie nie sehen werden
original title: The Greatest Movies You'll Never See: Unseen Masterpieces by the World's Greatest Directors
Amanda Knox (2016)
American exchange student Amanda Knox is convicted and eventually acquitted for the 2007 death of another student in Italy.
Excellent documentary that looks beyond (and behind) the media hysteria avoids the whodunnit perspective, but nevertheless exposes the guilt of some of the major protagonists who fueled the frenzy.
A revealing quote:
Nick Pisa - Freelance Journalist, The Daily Mail: But hey, what are we supposed to do? We are journalists and we are reporting what we are being told. It's not as if I can say "Hold on a minute, I just want to double check that myself in some other way, who knows how, and I'll let my rival get in there first before me, and then, hey, I've lost a scoop." It doesn't work like that, not in the news game.
Saturday 18 August 2018
Friday 17 August 2018
Lady Macbeth (2016)
In 19th-century rural England, a young bride who has been sold into marriage discovers an unstoppable desire within herself as she enters into an affair with a worker on her estate.
Intense adaptation of a Russian novel, transplanted from 19th century Russia to the same period in England, fascinates and irritates with a mesmerizing performance by Florence Pugh.
Orange Is the New Black, Season 1 (2013)
Convicted of a decade old crime of transporting drug money to an ex-girlfriend, a normally law abiding woman is sentenced to a year and a half behind bars to face the reality of how life changing prison can really be.
Unusual women's prison drama carefully creates a miniature society with multiple facets and subs-plots; it is at times suspenseful, endearing, tragic, uplifting, enraging, revealing, humorous - and entertaining.
Tuesday 14 August 2018
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