Friday, 17 December 2021
The Garden of Allah (1936)
The star-crossed desert romance of a cloistered woman and a renegade monk.
Star-cast melodrama in an Oriental setting is slow-going, and the romance is quite absurd, but it's all photographed in glorious color and beautiful settings.
Halliwell**: "Arty old-fashioned romantic star vehicle; great to look at, and marking a genuine advance in colour photography, but dramatically a bit of a drag."
Maltin**: "Flagrantly silly romance...full of ripe dialogue, beauty shots of Marlene...and some wonderful Technicolor scenery...It just isn't very good."
Wednesday, 15 December 2021
Medium Cool (1969)
A TV news reporter finds himself becoming personally involved in the violence that erupts around the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
Expertly made mixture of fiction and documentary is intended as portrayal and political comment of its time, successfully so; its plot, however, is not particularly relevant or memorable.
Halliwell**: "Stimulating if overlong comment on the quality of life in the sixties, immaculately made and with a rather effective though obvious twist ending."
Maltin****: "Arresting, unique film..."
Sunday, 12 December 2021
The Great Wall (2016)
In ancient China, a group of European mercenaries encounters a secret army that maintains and defends the Great Wall of China against a horde of monstrous creatures.
Big-budget Chinese monster movie in a historic setting is basically action-filled entertainment, but has lots of visual delight, imaginative fight scenes and some good special effects.
Friday, 10 December 2021
Stranger Things, Season 3 (2019)
Summer brings new jobs and budding romance.
But the mood shifts when Dustin's radio picks up a Russian broadcast,
and Will senses something is wrong
The third season ups the ante with a Russian threat and a more complex narrative with parallel subplots plus some good new members of the ensemble (Robin and Erica);as before, highly entertaining.
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