Saturday 27 November 2021
No Sex Last Night (1996)
French Artist Sophie Calle and American Photographer Greg Shephard's autobiographical account of their road trip across America.
Up close and personal dissection of a relationship, told from both sides, is more experiment than a documentary, and although thoroughly sincere with all its adversities, it creates a strong notion that most of the story has remained untold.
Friday 26 November 2021
Archive (2020)
2038: George Almore is working on a true human-equivalent AI. His latest prototype is almost ready. This sensitive phase is also the riskiest. Especially as he has a goal that must be hidden at all costs.
Good sci-fi drama adds some news aspects to the AI genre plus a twist ending, competent (small) cast and well-produced special effects.
Voyagers (2021)
A crew of astronauts on a multi-generational mission descend into paranoia and madness, not knowing what is real or not.
Well-made, with a good cast and appropriate special effects and some suspense in the finale, this is not much more than a Lord of the Flies variation in outer space.
Wednesday 24 November 2021
The Border (1982)
A corrupt border Agent decides to clean up his act when an impoverished woman's baby is put up for sale on the black market.
Adequate thriller is tough and suspenseful exposing police corruption and the downfalls of lower middle-class American life; once again, Jack Nicholson delivers a strong performance.
Halliwell (no star): "A rather solemn elaboration on a well-worn theme,with nothing very memorable except its excesses."
Maltin**1/2: "Cast and story-line beg for Sam Peckinpah in his prime; mildly interesting, but never really takes off."
Saturday 20 November 2021
The Suspect (1944)
An unhappily married man begins a flirtation with a younger woman. When his wife threatens to ruin her, he decides to take action.
Strong moralistic melodrama with a superb Charles Laughton in the title role is nicely set and photographed in turn of the century London.
Halliwell*: "Efficient studio-bound suspenser with theatrically effective acting."
Maltin***1/2: "Superb Hitchcock-like thriller..."
Friday 19 November 2021
Framing Britney Spears (2021)
Her rise was a global phenomenon. Her downfall was a cruel national sport. People close to Britney Spears and lawyers tied to her conservatorship now reassess her career as she battles her father in court over who should control her life.
Less a documentary but rather a well-presented polemic on the star's obviously dubious and scandalous legal incapacitation does it's best with the limited information it can come forward with; it also portrays and criticizes the media treatment she received during her career.
Thursday 18 November 2021
Things Heard & Seen (2021)
An artist relocates to the Hudson Valley and begins to suspect that her marriage has a sinister darkness, one that rivals her new home's history.
This TV thriller would have turned out much better concentrating on the toxic marriage, but the makers decided to pin on a silly, superfluous supernatural tale on top of it.
Monday 15 November 2021
Hausu (1977)
A schoolgirl and six of her classmates travel to her aunt's country home, which turns out to be haunted.
Madcap, wildly imaginative variation of the haunted house genre is a fascinating, but very even experience which ultimately doesn't make much sense in its narrative.
Friday 12 November 2021
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.
Wednesday 10 November 2021
Batoru rowaiaru (2000)
In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill each other under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.
Intense, violent and thrilling sci-fi satire never lets go of its fast-moving narrative full of twists, but also manages to transport a political, pacifist message.
Halliwell**: "Bracing, violent, blackly humorous satire on the bleaker aspects of modern society that manages to be more than merely an excuse for a killing spree."
Maltin***: "Unexpectedly convincing and involving, this tense, energetic, and very serious movie...Though violent, it is clearly opposed to violence and to war."
Tuesday 9 November 2021
S.O.S. Iceberg (1933)
An Arctic expedition searches for a party of adventurers that went missing a year ago.
Semi-documentary adventure drama has a fairly conventional narrative, but is spectacular in its dramatic scenes of Arctic dangers, all photographed on location.
Halliwell*: "At the time this was a spectacular semi-documentary, but it did no business."
Maltin***: "Vivid drama with many hair-raising scenes, shot on locations...filled with striking images...American version...is substantially different. It opens with entirely different exposition and features much more dialogue, until the climax."
The Rocket Man (1954)
An orphan zaps his town with a spaceman's ray gun that makes people tell the truth.
Mildly amusing, well-intentioned sci-fi comedy is aimed for a young audience, but also has a political message for adults.
Halliwell (no star): "Elementary fantasy with amusing moments."
Maltin**: "Campy fantasy..."
Friday 5 November 2021
The Trollenberg Terror (1958)
A series of decapitations on a Swiss mountainside appear to be connected to a mysterious radioactive cloud.
Mediocre, slightly risible sci-fi horror drama was obviously made on a low budget; still, there are some entertaining moments.
Halliwell (no star): "Tolerable low-budget sci-fi from a BBC serial."
Maltin**: "OK, if predictable, tale...Hampered by low-grade special effects."
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