Sunday, 26 December 2021
Abismos de pasión (1954)
A partial retelling of Wuthering Heights in 19th century Mexico.
Wonderfully photographed and directed, this adaptation of the classic novel goes straight to the overheated passions and never lets loose; generally, a mainstream production with occasional Buñuel touches sprinkled in.
Maltin**1/2: "Strikingly directed but talky, overbaked, ultimately unsuccessful version..."
Saturday, 25 December 2021
Phenomena (1985)
A young girl, with an amazing ability to communicate with insects, is transferred to an exclusive Swiss boarding school, where her unusual capability might help solve a string of murders.
A Dario Argento joint: wildly stylish, incoherent plot with a dreamlike atmosphere and lots of imaginative shock moments, and once again another incongruous soundtrack.
Halliwell (no star): "Daft and gruesome horror that lacks style and sense; it has a plethora of murderers, it is never fully explained who did what to whom, its intentions is to disgust rather than shock, and its heavy-metal soundtrack is a frequent distraction."
Maltin***: "Typically stylish, bizarre Argento horror opus whose premise...serves as a framework for some cleverly weird goings-on...Don't say you weren't warned!"
The Underground Railroad (2021)
A young woman named Cora makes an amazing discovery during her attempt to break free from slavery in the deep south.
A harrowing and heart-wrenching epic is a masterfully adapted TV series of the award-winning novel, captured in beautiful imagery with great period detail and with an extraordinarily superb cast; a complex,often brutal, but also magical exploration of black suppression with clear pointers to present-day USA.
Wednesday, 22 December 2021
Hardware (1990)
The head of a cyborg reactivates, rebuilds itself, and goes on a violent rampage in a space marine's girlfriend's apartment.
Good-looking sci-fi thriller despite its low budget is a noteworthy achievement, although there are many derivative elements in its plot and effects.
Halliwell*: "A low-budget science-fiction horror story, filmed in the style of a rock music video."
Maltin**: "Surprisingly well made, but recalls many earlier (and better) films. Heavy violence nearly earned this an X rating, before it was trimmed."
Saturday, 18 December 2021
Planet Outlaws (1953)
A 20th Century pilot named Buck Rogers and his young friend Buddy Wade awake from 500 years in suspended animation to find that the world has been taken over by the outlaw army of Killer Kane.
A feature film made as a compilation out of portions from the Buck Rogers sci-fi serial loses much of the original's dramatic structure and makes the ramshackle special effects appear even sillier.
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