New acquisition: Sight & Sound

 

The Hunger (1983)

 

A love triangle develops between a beautiful yet dangerous vampire (Catherine Deneuve), her cellist companion (David Bowie), and a gerontologist (Susan Sarandon).

From memory: Extremely stylish vampire tale is more focused on visuals and (erotic) atmosphere than on a convincing story; in the end it all appear s pretentious and quite silly.

Halliwell (no star): Absurd attempt to update Dracula with lashings of sex, rock music and flashy photography. An ordeal."

Maltin*1/2: "Kinky trash masquerading as a horror film...Bowie's quite good as Deneuve's companion...with an aging scene that's the film's highlight. As for the rest, beware, unless seeing Deneuve and Sarandon in bed together is your idea of a good time." 

 

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)

A young FBI agent disappears while investigating a murder miles from Twin Peaks that may be related to the future murder of Laura Palmer; the last week of the life of Laura Palmer is chronicled.

Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo (1981)

A bored, aimless 14-year-old girl falls into the drug scene in Berlin in the 1970s after attending 'The Sound', a modern new disco.

Good and very realistic chronicle of a descent into drug addiction is bleak and intense, has an excellent cast of young actors, but it is at its best depicting West Berlin of that time, especially the life and atmosphere around the Bahnhof Zoo.

Halliwell*: "Slick melodrama hoked up from 'true' confessions with excellent background detail."

Maltin**1/2: "Grim, gruesome account...Well meaning but uneven..."

Zoolander (2001)

At the end of his career, a clueless fashion model is brainwashed to kill the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Deliberately silly, but actually entertaining spoof with lots of stars cameos; the cast seem to be enjoying the show.

Halliwell*: "Energetic farce that aims to be a satire on pop culture, but is too toothless for the task."

Maltin**1/2: "Clever comedy...Funny gags, satiric ideas, eye-popping production design, and celebrity cameos...make this fun for a while, but it can't sustain an entire film."

The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)

A humanoid alien comes to Earth to get water for his dying planet, and he starts a high technology company to get the billions of dollars he needs to build a return spacecraft.

Highly idiosyncratic science fiction tale with lots of pretension; wonderfully produced and photographed, with quite a few memorable scenes, but rather difficult to follow.

Halliwell*: "A weird piece of intellectual science fiction made weirder by longueurs of all varieties: obscure narrative, voyeuristic sex, pop music and metaphysics. Not an easy film or a likeable one, despite its great technical skill."

Maltin***1/2: "Highly original, fabulously photographed adaptation of Walter Tevis' classic fantasy novel is riveting for the first two-thirds, goes downhill toward the end. Still tops of its kind."