Dune (1984)

 

In the distant future, a man appears who may be the prophet that a long-suffering galaxy has been waiting for.

Visually compelling and with imaginative styling as you'd expect from the director, the plot has been overloaded so that the sci-fi epic seems more summarized than actually adapted.

On re-watching: Still good to look at, but the narrative is simply not convincing nor much coherent either.

Halliwell (no star): "A basically simple space fiction plot is immensely complicated by a welter of characters who are not properly introduced and who indeed are mostly irrelevant. The result, which cost nearly 50 million dollars, is inaudible, invisible (because of dim lighting) and unentertaining: a disaster of the very first order."

Maltin*1/2: "Elephantine adaptation...You know you're in trouble when film's opening narration...is completely incomprehensible! Visually imaginative, well cast, but joyless and oppressive - not to mention long. For devotees of Herbert's novel only." 

 

The House with a Clock in Its Walls (2018)

 

A young orphan named Lewis Barnavelt aids his magical uncle in locating a clock with the power to bring about the end of the world.

Gore master Eli Roth directs a PG-rated film and, indeed it's very PG: an enjoyable, but made-for-children Gothic adventure in a spooky fantasy house; Jack Black and Cate Blanchett seemed to have had fun with their roles. 

 

The Staggering Girl (2019)

 

 

Francesca, an Italian-American writer who lives in New York and must return to Rome to retrieve her aging mother. 

 

Sumptuous art house short with lots of Valentino Haute Couture to admire actually utilizes its stellar cast to tell a compelling woman's story.

The Trigger Effect (1996)

A blackout leaves those affected to consider what is necessary, what is legal, and what is questionable, in order to survive in a predatory environment.

Moralizing doomsday tale has a good premise exploring the effects of a catastrophe on human society, but, despite serviceable performances, it is unsatisfactorily uneven and inconsequential.

Maltin**1/2: "Maddeningly uneven apocalyptic thriller...Intended as an examination of contemporary insensitivity and alienation, and how society might unravel in the wake of such a catastrophe, but falls apart after a solid start.The finale is especially incongruous."

The Librarian: Quest for the Spear (2004)

A caretaker beneath a metropolitan library protects magical artifacts from those who would use them to do evil.

Lively and humorous adventure; nothing extraordinary, but good-natured TV entertainment.

Twin Peaks (2017)

25 years after Laura Palmer's murder, Special Agent Dale Cooper, who investigated the case, heads out on an odyssey that returns him to the Washington town.

Ingenious continuation of the Twin Peaks surpasses the previous seasons by aesthetic cohesion, plot development and the sheer magic and mystery of its tale, a TV Gesamtkunstwerk. That said, episode 8, "Gotta Light?", is a work of art in itself.

 

Blue Velvet (1986)

The discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of psychopathic criminals who have kidnapped her child.

Need I explain? When it was released I watched it 3 times in a row, I was completely overwhelmed, Lynch exceeded my expectations. An instant classic!

On renewed viewing: David Lynch's masterpiece still mesmerizes with its idiosyncratic and sinister, but spot-on vision of Americana.

Halliwell***: "Bizarrely stylish exercise by the director of The Elephant Man, popular at the box-office."

Maltin**: "Terminally weird, though flamboyantly original film...A highly individual look at the bizarre elements just behind the facade of a picture-perfect American town. Too audacious to be easily dismissed, but too strange to be easily enjoyed...yet this was one of the most critically acclaimed movies of 1986!"

Blue Velvet (1986)

The discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of psychopathic criminals who have kidnapped her child.

Blue Velvet (1986)

(Italian movie poster by Esciotti) 

The discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of psychopathic criminals who have kidnapped her child.

Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding (2011)

An uptight NYC lawyer takes her two teenagers to her hippie mother's farmhouse upstate for a family vacation.

Despite some good performances this lowbrow and only slightly humorous dramedy never misses a cliche; with hippies and squares like these, no wonder punk was a necessity.

Maltin**!/2: "Amiable fluff...Superficial and predictable, to be sure, but pleasant enough to watch given the cast and the lovely setting."