First Man (2018)

 

 

A look at the life of the astronaut, Neil Armstrong, and the legendary space mission that led him to become the first man to walk on the Moon on July 20, 1969. 

 

Excellently produced and quite realistic rendition of the first moon landing is fully focused on Neil Armstrong and who he was, very successfully so, enhanced by Gosling's immersive performance, but somehow misses out on giving both the man and the mission any substantial meaning.

Excalibur (1981)

Merlin the magician helps Arthur Pendragon unite the Britons around the Round Table of Camelot, even as dark forces conspire to tear it apart.

From memory: Highly stylish, very well produced and violent presentation of the saga is fascinating to watch, although it's an uneven mixture of mythology and realistic staging.

Halliwell*: "Curiously pointless retelling of a legend with unexplained flashes of realism and bouts of gore alternating with romance and modern wisecracks. Of mainly visual interest."

Maltin***1/2: "Eccentric but spellbinding, sexually rendition of the King Arthur by a stylish filmmaker working at the peak of his powers...Magnificent production values."

Elizabeth Harvest (2018)

A brilliant man marries a beautiful woman and shows her his home, stating that it's all hers - except a room she can't enter. First chance she enters and discovers what might be human cloning. When the husband returns she pays the price.

Beautifully photographed and with a competent cast (Abbey Lee fits the title role very well), but the plot is too messed up to create any suspense or excitemment.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011)

Johnny Blaze, tortured by the Ghost Rider's curse, gets a chance of redemption through protecting the Devil's son, whose father is pursuing him.

Pure trash cinema: silly story, mayhem and a cast of overacting stars.

Maltin BOMB: "Even worse than the 2007 film; the potential for spectacle is trashed by the relatively low budget."

The Woman in Black (2012)

A young lawyer travels to a remote village where he discovers the vengeful ghost of a scorned woman is terrorizing the locals.

Old-fashioned ghost story has good production value, style and atmosphere, but isn't quite suspenseful and offers nothing new to the genre.

On renewed viewing:  what it lacks on plot is well compensated with Goth style and atmosphere.

Maltin**1/2: "Fairly satisfying thriller refreshes familiar ideas but takes an awfully long time to get up to speed. Radcliffe is satisfactory as the increasingly unnerved lead."

Closed Circuit (2013)

A high-profile terrorism case unexpectedly binds together two ex-lovers on the defense team - testing the limits of their loyalties and placing their lives in jeopardy.

Well-produced thriller offers good lead performances, atmosphere and some suspense, but the legal case itself is a bit dubious and the conspiracy unconvincing.

Maltin**: "Unusual premise might have lent itself to a more compelling film but the logistics and complications of the plot keep getting in the way. Film can't decide whether it wants to be an intelligent procedural or a character-driven drama. In the end it doesn't work as either."

The Woman in Black (2012)

A young lawyer travels to a remote village where he discovers the vengeful ghost of a scorned woman is terrorizing the locals.

Old-fashioned ghost story has good production value, style and atmosphere, but isn't quite suspenseful and offers nothing new to the genre.

Maltin**1/2: "Fairly satisfying thriller refreshes familiar ideas but takes an awfully long time to get up to speed. Radcliffe is satisfactory as the increasingly unnerved lead."