Unofficial Academy Awards Discussion Board

A Successful Calamity (John G. Adolfi, 1932) 6/10 Corny if affecting story about the importance of family-life. A rich financier (George Arliss) returns from Europe after a year to find his much younger wife (Mary Astor), son and daughter entwined in a busy social life with no time for him. To teach...

Women He's Undressed (Gillian Armstrong, 2015) 7/10 Orry-Kelly moves from a small town in Australia to New York in the late 1920s. A talented painter he finds work on Broadway designing sets and costumes while rooming with a cockney - Arthur Leach, an aspiring actor who broke into movies as Cary Gra...

The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (Ryan Murphy, Nelson Cragg, Gwyneth Horder-Payton, Daniel Minahan, Matt Bomer, 2017) 8/10 In 1997 Fashion designer Gianni Versace (Èdgar Ramirez) is shot in cold blood on the doorstep of his Miami mansion by spree killer Andrew Cunanan (Darre...

The Meg (Jon Turtelraub, 2018) 7/10 Ridiculous, cheesy and over-the-top summer popcorn film is yet another "Jaws" ripoff. This time round the screenplay digs up a long extinct predator - the 75 foot Megalodon, a species of shark - which lived 26 million years ago and was a ferocious killin...

The Man Who Wouldn't Talk (Herbert Wilcox, 1958) 5/10 Old fashioned courtroom drama - a scientist (Anthony Quayle) is accused of murdering an agent (Zsa Zsa Gabor) who is posing as his wife while both are on a visit to London to help a spy agency locate a defector. Silly plot is basically an excuse ...

The Secret Scripture (Jim Sheridan, 2017) 5/10 Sheridan's ambitious adaptation of Sebastian Barry's novel (which was shortlisted for the Man Booker prize) comes up short. The sprawling story gets condensed into what is basically picture postcard views of County Kilkenny in Ireland. The plot is a mel...

The Miracle Season (Sean McNamara, 2018) 5/10 When the star volleyball player - Caroline "Line" Found - of an Iowa high school is killed in an accident her best friend rallies the team members to get back into the game so they can win the trophy two years in a row. Sappy, tear inducing spo...

Singapore Woman (Jean Negulesco, 1941) 7/10 Atmospheric B-film set on a rubber plantation in Singapore is a slick romantic melodrama - jinxed woman (Brenda Marshall) comes between a farmer (David Bruce) and his bland fiancé (Virginia Field). Marshall is exceptional as the tough but booze soaked soci...

Nothing Like a Dame (Roger Michell, 2018) 8/10 Four old friends sit around a table in a garden sipping tea and reminiscing about their friendship, careers and husbands. Funny and extremely poignant documentary has four great actresses - all dames - Maggie Smith, Eileen Atkins, Joan Plowright, Judi D...

Sacred Games (Anurag Kashyap & Vikramaditya Motwane, 2018) 10/10 Riveting 8-part adaptation of Vikram Chandra's pulpy thriller novel explores Mumbai's underworld and the corrupt machinations of the city's police force. The plot revolves around a threat received by a Sikh police officer (Saif Ali...

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (Ol Parker, 2018) 6/10 Forced sequel is strictly an excuse for the cast to get together and have a ball singing the songs of Abba on an island in Greece - although the film has been shot in Croatia this time round. Donna (Meryl Streep) is dead so the plot flits between th...

Book Club (Bill Holderman, 2018) 6/10 The lazy screenplay not withstanding - four women of an advanced age get all hot and bothered after reading the trashy "Fifty Shades of Grey" at their book club meeting. The longtime chums are a divorced high-powered judge (Candice Bergen), a recent wi...

Walk Softly, Stranger (Robert Stevenson, 1950) 8/10 Small-time crook and compulsive gambler (Joseph Cotten) ingratiates himself in a small town charming his landlady (the delightful Spring Byington) and a rich, beautiful but handicapped heiress (Alida Valli). The two lonely people form a close bond ...

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Mike Newell, 2018) 8/10 Typical quirky film by Mike Newell starting with its tongue twisting title and encompassing an old fashioned plot which alternates between romance, a mystery and tragedy. Sumptuous production that perfectly captures post-WWII...

Teefa in Trouble (Ahsan Rahim, 2018) 1/10 Extremely painful action comedy with hideously unfunny jokes aimed at the lowest common denominator. A small-time crook (Ali Zafar), from the inner city of Lahore, is hired by a businessman to go to Poland to kidnap the daughter (Maya Ali) of his childhood f...