Tuesday 31 October 2017
Au fond des bois (2010)
Following the arrival of a deaf and mute vagrant, a young woman, Josephine, disappears from her family estate and follows him deep into the woods even though she seems to be disgusted by him.
Due to the multiple rape scenes hard to take drama (based on a true story) explores quite ambiguously questions of sexual assault and dependency and complacency.
Monday 30 October 2017
Crimson Peak (2015)
In the aftermath of a family tragedy, an aspiring author is torn between love for her childhood friend and the temptation of a mysterious outsider.
Sumptuously staged ghost story with a plot and atmosphere reminiscent of Rebecca with an accurate cast; watchable as a homage to the genre which offers nothing new.
Saturday 28 October 2017
The Good Lie (2014)
A group of Sudanese refugees given the chance to resettle in America arrive in Kansas City, Missouri, where their encounter with an employment agency counselor forever changes all of their lives.
Likable, touching and at times humorous refugee story wins authenticity with its cast of actual refugees, but is slightly flawed by some simplifications to an otherwise complex topic.
Deepwater Horizon (2016)
A dramatization of the disaster back in April 2010, when the offshore drilling rig called the Deepwater Horizon created a giant explosion, which created the worst oil spill in American history.
Excellently staged catastrophe drama that manages to combine action and thrills with a political invective to those repsonisble for an ecological disaster.
Friday 27 October 2017
Rocketship X-M (1950)
An astronaut crew on their way to the Moon are unexpectedly propelled by gravitational forces and end up on Mars instead.
Thursday 26 October 2017
King Kong (1976)
A petroleum exploration expedition comes to an isolated island and encounters a colossal giant gorilla.
Superfluous remake of the beloved classic isn't too bad, but dumbs down the original's charming qualities - basically it's a highly expensive B picture.
Halliwell (no star): "Semi-spoof remake with added sexual overtones; though launched on a massive wave of publicity, it lacks both the charm and the technical resources of its predecessor."
Maltin*1/2: "Addle-brained remake...has great potential but dispels all the mythic, larger-than-life qualities of the original with idiotic characters and campy approach. highly touted special effects...run hot-and-cold..."
The Samaritan (2012)
After twenty years in prison, a man is finished with the grifter's life, but his past is proving to be a stubborn companion.
The story is really nothing new, so all kinds of twists and angles were built into the plot; otherwise an OK thriller with a good cast.
Maltin**: "Grim, serious crime film features good acting, but it's nothing new."
Tuesday 24 October 2017
Fire on the Amazon (1993)
When a well-known environmental researcher is murdered in the Amazon jungle, an arrogant photojournalist joins forces with a beautiful young activist to find out who is responsible.
God-awful eco thriller in which the hero is a pansy and the most disagreeable character in the plot, all performances are subterranean and the story itself is hopelessly contrived.
Halliwell (no star): "Feeble ecological thriller with an unconvincing romance between its two leads; the performances are wooden."
Maltin**: "Well-intentioned "save the rainforest" story, marred by appallingly reckless and hostile behavior of photojournalist Sheffer, whose stupidity should have had him blown away very early in the film. Contrived romance with activist Bullock is no more believable."
Zodiac (2007)
In the late 1960s/early 1970s, a San Francisco cartoonist becomes an amateur detective obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac Killer, an unidentified individual who terrorizes Northern California with a killing spree.
Unusually long, but suspenseful investigation not just of a mysterious killer, but also the obsessions it caused to three men involved with the case.
On rewatching: remarkable how subtle and intense the 70s settings are created; and the performances all around are excellent.
Maltin***1/2: "Riveting drama...Focus more on the manhunt than the crimes and shows how this frustrating case consumed the lives of reporters and detectives alike...Superbly made on every level,with meticulous re-creations of the 70s..."
Sunday 22 October 2017
A Street Cat Named Bob (2016)
The true feel good story of how James Bowen, a busker and recovering drug addict, had his life transformed when he met a stray ginger cat.
Likable melodrama is a bit lightweight concerning the more serious topics it touches; that said, Bob the Cat is the true star of the show.
Saturday 21 October 2017
Allied (2016)
In 1942, a Canadian intelligence officer in North Africa encounters a female French Resistance fighter on a deadly mission behind enemy lines, and when they reunite in London, their relationship is tested by the pressures of war.
Old-fashioned WWII espionage romance drama has a good cast and production value, but doesn't quite convince as it only partially reveals its mystery.
La figlia di Frankenstein (1971)
When Dr. Frankenstein is killed by a monster he created, his daughter and his lab assistant Marshall continue his experiments.
Friday 20 October 2017
Child 44 (2015)
A disgraced member of the Russian military police investigates a series of child murders during the Stalin-era Soviet Union.
An interesting topic is spoilt by an overladen plot with a cop on the run from the government and at the same time investigating a suppressed serial killer murder series, romance and personal intrigues included.
Gods and Monsters (1998)
The last days of the life of famed and disgraced film director James Whale.
Carefully staged period drama with an excellent cast and some lovable details, but a bit lighthearted considering the topic.
Halliwell**: "Enjoyable, if fictional, account of the last days of a director who reinvented himself in America as a middle-class Englishman and a master of horror; if the material is sometimes a little thin, the acting carries it through."
Maltin***1/2: "Exceptional (if entirely fictional) character study of film director James Whale...An exquisite rendering of time and place, with a superb performance by McKellen, matched by Fraser...and Redgrave...A quiet, deliberately paced film; beautifully rendered, with a unique blend of flashback and hallucination."
Thursday 19 October 2017
The Mating Urge (1959)
An exploitation pot-boiler, posing as an anthropology art-film, depicts strange love-rites in strange lands.
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