Friday, 30 March 2018
Queen of Outer Space (1958)
American astronauts are drawn by a mysterious force to the planet Venus, which they find to be inhabited only by beautiful women and their despotic queen.
Thursday, 29 March 2018
Don't Blink - Robert Frank (2015)
Portrait of photographer Robert Frank's life and career, covering the making of his book The Americans, his documentaries featuring friends such as Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac, and a film commissioned by The Rolling Stones.
Extensive, fast-paced portrait of the famous photographer and his life an friends has its best moments when presenting him at home and with his friends.
Prityazhenie (2017)
After an alien ship crash lands onto a Russian city, many who saw it and the occupants start to question their own existence while there are those who demand the aliens leave Earth.
Nicely made variation on The Day the Earth Stood Still, but the teenage is, once again, quite unnerving.
Below (2002)
Strange happenings occur on a WW II submarine.
And the mystery prevails, although there is some fun to be had in this submarine horror thriller.
On renewed viewing: entertaining, but it is a bit unnerving that there is no full resolve to the ongoings.
Maltin**: "Stultifyingly routine WW2 submarine movie that tries to incorporate elements of a whodunit, horror movie, and conspiracy thriller."
Wednesday, 28 March 2018
Black Butterfly (2017)
Outside a mountain town grappling with a series of abductions and murders, a reclusive writer, struggles to start what he hopes will be a career-saving screenplay.
Well-played intense psychological thriller that disappoints with two twist endings - one on top of the other.
Tuesday, 27 March 2018
The Odd Couple (1968)
Two friends try sharing an apartment, but their ideas of housekeeping and lifestyles are as different as night and day.
A classic, if not perfect comedy, an ideal showcase for the two stars, it's still highly entertaining as ever, and way superior to most present day comedies.
On rewatching: Always an entertaining viewing.
Halliwell**: "Straight filming of a funny play which sometimes seems lost on the wide screen, but the performances are fine."
Maltin***: "Lemmon's realistic performance makes character melancholy instead of funny; other surefire comic sequences remain intact."
Splice (2009)
A genetic engineers couple hope to achieve fame by successfully splicing together the DNA of different animals to create new hybrid animals for medical use.
Inventive variation on the Frankenstein theme, this time with a mad scientist couple and a both sexy and menacing creature, manages to touch several serious issues and is still entertaining.
Maltin**1/2: "Intelligently written and well acted, this begins well but becomes too much a standard horror film in the last couple of reels. Excellent effects."
Sunday, 25 March 2018
Hell's Belles (1969)
When hot-headed Dan out-drives the thoroughly vicious Tony in a motorcycle race and wins a brand new bike, he sets in motion a chain of events that includes one blazing gas station and a disastrous rock slide.
Saturday, 24 March 2018
Monster (2003)
A prostitute who survived a brutal and abusive childhood in Michigan becomes a thick-skinned but emotionally damaged adult and serial killer.
Intense serial killer drama, dominated by Charlize Theron's inimitable performance.
Halliwell**: "True life crime story, somewhat doggedly directed, but notable for a remarkable performance by Theron as the abused and abusive killer."
Maltin***: "Theron won an Oscar for her raw, no-holds-barred performance...The film works better as a love story...than as an incisive social commentary. Impressive feature debut for writer-director Jenkins."
Friday, 23 March 2018
The Shape of Water (2017)
At a top secret research facility in the 1960s, a lonely cleaning lady forms a unique relationship with an amphibious creature that is being held in captivity.
A homage to 50s monster movies with an assured sense of style winkingly manages to modernize (and romanticize) the old genre into a work of cinematic art.
The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines (2006)
Librarian-turned-adventurer endeavors to find King Solomon's mines.
OK and harmless TV adventure, a bit in the vein of Indiana Jones.
Thursday, 22 March 2018
The Love Witch (2016)
A modern-day witch uses spells and magic to get men to fall in love with her.
Reminiscent of some Jesús Franco's works in style and occult plot this feminist reworking of an otherwise exploitative genre is entertainingly successful and convinces especially with it's beautiful cinematography and a great central performance by Samantha Robinson.
Wednesday, 21 March 2018
The Beguiled (2017)
The unexpected arrival of a wounded Union soldier at a girls school in Virginia during the American Civil War leads to jealousy and betrayal.
A remake of Don Siegel's movie of the same title with all the good parts left out; the intention of transforming the story into an example of feminine solidarity backfires by omitting all racial, erotic and social subtexts.
Tuesday, 20 March 2018
Get Out (2017)
A young African-American visits his white girlfriend's parents for the weekend, where his simmering uneasiness about their reception of him eventually reaches a boiling point.
A bit reminiscent of The Stepford Wives, the satire seamlessly turns into outright horror; the movie is at its best conveying the ominously 'liberal' white community.
Monday, 19 March 2018
La Mort en direct (1980)
In a future where dying of illness is exceedingly rare, a terminally ill woman becomes a celebrity and a man with camera implants goes to secretly record her for a morbid TV show.
Unusual, but awkward sci-fi satire is right on with its social predictions, but the plot treads along somewhat haphazardly, and there are some memorable scenes of over-acting along the way.
Halliwell**: "Grim fable of media manipulation and sensationalist pressures on popular entertainment that retains its resonance."
Maltin***: "Intelligent sci-fi drama...A biting commentary on media abuse and manipulation, with solid performances, direction."
Saturday, 17 March 2018
Gatti rossi in un labirinto di vetro (1975)
A maniac killer in red cape and hood is killing off American tourists on a tour bus by gouging out thier eyeballs.
Friday, 16 March 2018
Apple Tree Yard (2017)
An eminent scientist caught up in a damaging and compromising lie.
4-part TV mini-series has some excellent performances, but presents itself like a crime mystery artificially drawn into length.
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