Tuesday, 29 December 2020
Rememory (2017)
An amateur sleuth steals a machine that can extract, record and
play the memories of another person, and uses the device to try and
solve the mysterious death of the man who invented it.
Intelligent sci-fi drama explores memory and its pitfalls slowly and skillfully revealing truth of a harrowing incident.
Knives Out (2019)
A detective investigates the death of a patriarch of an eccentric, combative family.
Agatha Christie-like crime mystery, complete with a large cast of stars with little chance to show their talents, is nicely set and mildly entertaining, although the Trump-era allusions are so slight that they are hardly noticeable.
Monday, 28 December 2020
I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020)
Full of misgivings, a young woman travels with her new boyfriend to his
parents' secluded farm. Upon arriving, she comes to question everything
she thought she knew about him, and herself.
Beautiful photography and set pieces, stellar performances and an increasingly surreal plot make this film an intriguing watch, although it asks more question than giving answers, and the ending is a bit disappointing.
Saturday, 26 December 2020
Away (2020)
An American astronaut struggles with leaving her husband and daughter behind to embark on a dangerous mission with an international space crew.
Good, well-made TV sci-fi entertainment with an excellent cast does deliver suspense and some psychological drama - but you'll need to skip the science involved and: NASA would never put together this motley crew onto such a mission.
Friday, 25 December 2020
The Iron Giant (1999)
A young boy befriends a giant robot from outer space that a paranoid government agent wants to destroy.
Wonderfully crafted animation feature creates a nostalgic as well as ironic view of 50s Cold War hysteria and presents a quite contemporary pacifist message.
Halliwell***: "Set at a time of Cold War and nuclear paranoia and the beginnings of space exploration, this is an engaging, well-animated fable of pacifism and self-realisation that should find a ready audience among adults as well as children."
Maltin***: "Striking and original animated feature gently pokes fun at 1950s paranoia (and sci-fi movies)...That writer-director Bird and his animators can bring such feeling to a metallic character is just one of this film's triumphs."
Thelma (2017)
A confused religious girl tries to deny her feelings for a female friend who's in love with her. This causes her suppressed subconsciously-controlled psychokinetic powers to reemerge with devastating results.
Intense and atmospheric supernatural thriller is more psychological drama than horror with some good disturbing scenes and a great lead performance by Eili Harboe.
Thursday, 24 December 2020
Charlotte et Véronique, ou Tous les garçons s'appellent Patrick (1959)
Two French college girls each meet a boy named Patrick and quickly realize that it is less a coincidence then they think.
A nicely executed tale (written by Rohmer) convinces with its light touch and witty dialogues.
Wednesday, 23 December 2020
Emerald Cities (1983)
A young woman leaves her boozy father behind to seek her fortune in San Francisco.
Madcap off-kilter independent black comedy genuinely encapsulates the absurdist apocalyptic sense of its time - plus the music.
Sunday, 20 December 2020
Hot Thrills and Warm Chills (1967)
Three women who haven't seen each other for years meet at a motel to
talk about what they've done since they were together, and also to plan a
heist of the King of Sex's crown during the upcoming Mardi Gras
carnival.
Hilariously
inadequate and very cheaply made sexploitation with barely a plot and
no talent to be found here - except for Perez Prado's contribution to the soundtrack.
Saturday, 19 December 2020
Salt and Fire (2016)
A scientist blames the head of a large company for an ecological
disaster in South America. But when a volcano begins to show signs of
erupting, they must unite to avoid a disaster.
Despite an interesting cast (including physicist Lawrence Krauss!) and admittedly great landscape cinematography this Werner Herzog adventure disappoints with lame performances and a pretentious, uninspired plot with a failed message.
Friday, 18 December 2020
The Straw Man (1953)
An insurance investigator investigates murderer on Death Row, insured by his company.
OK, but other mediocre crime mystery doesn't create much suspense despite a promising premise.
C'era una volta il West (1968)
A mysterious stranger with a harmonica joins forces with a notorious
desperado to protect a beautiful widow from a ruthless assassin working
for the railroad.
A masterpiece Western that elevates the genre onto a level of pure myth; it is immaculately composed like an opera with leitmotifs for each main protagonist, beautifully photographed in John Ford territory and full of memorable scenes, both humorous and vicious - and Henry Fonda's first appearance in the movie is a genuine shock.
Halliwell***: "Immensely long and convoluted epic Western marking its director's collaboration with an American studio and his desire to make serious statements about something or other. Beautifully made and very violent."
Halliwell***: "Immensely long and convoluted epic Western marking its director's collaboration with an American studio and his desire to make serious statements about something or other. Beautifully made and very violent."
Maltin***1/2: "Sergio Leone's follow-up to his "Dollars" trilogy is languid, operatic masterpiece...Fonda (brilliantly cast as one of the coldest villains in screen history). Exciting, funny, and reverent, with now-classic score by Ennio Morricone; not to be missed."
Tuesday, 15 December 2020
Celebrating Bird: The Triumph of Charlie Parker (1989)
A biography of the American jazz musician focusing on his life and style of music.
Good, solid portray of one of jazz' most seminal musicians gives lots of detail and avoids the usual idolatry.
Sunday, 13 December 2020
Germania anno zero (1948)
A young German boy faces the problems of the tough life in the immediate post WWII Berlin.
Filmed among the ruins of post WWII Berlin and with a remarkable cast of German actors this film presents a realistic, albeit devastatingly bleak and tragic view of life after the catastrophe of war.
Halliwell*: "Both realistic and pessimistic, this depressing film has a savage power of its own but totally fails to be constructive."
Maltin***1/2: "Shattering neorealist masterpiece...Heartbreaking story of a childhood tragically, irrevocably tainted, with a devastating finale."
Maltin***1/2: "Shattering neorealist masterpiece...Heartbreaking story of a childhood tragically, irrevocably tainted, with a devastating finale."
Saturday, 12 December 2020
Friday, 11 December 2020
Die Sinfonie der Ungewissheit (2018)
Set on the grounds of Hamburg's famous DESY, Claudia Lehmann embarks on a
philosophical journey together with her PhD supervisor Gerhard Mack,
one of Germany's most prolific and transboundary physicists.
More focused on the scientist, who is indeed a fascinating personality, than on the actual science this documentary presents an intimate porrtrait and some great music in its making.
Thursday, 10 December 2020
The Night Stalker (1972)
An abrasive Las Vegas newspaper reporter investigates a series of murders committed by a vampire.
Above-average, unusual TV crime mystery stuns with its supernatural topic.
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