Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

[Precious Doll]

Family Romance, LLC (2019) Werner Herzog 4/10
The King of Staten Island (2020) Judd Apatow 6/10
Notre Dame (2019) Valerie Donzelli 4/10
The Mystery of Henri Pick (2019) Remi Bezancon 7/10
Little Joe (2019) Jessica Hausner 7/10
Baxter, Vera Baxter (1975) Marguerite Duras 5/10
The Personal History of David Copperfield (2019) Armando Iannucci 6/10
Babyteeth (2020) Shannon Murphy 5/10
The Burnt Orange Heresy (2020) Giuseppe Capotondi 4/10
Only You (2019) Harry Wootliff 5/10
The Old Guard (2020) Gina Prince-Bythewood 1/10
The Portuguese Woman (2019) Rita Azevedo Gomes 5/10
The Invincibles (1994) Dominik Graf 6/10
Happy Birthday (2019) Cedric Kahn 7/10

Repeat viewings

Lust, Caution (2007) Ang Lee 7/10
Good Morning... and Goodbye! (1967) Russ Meyer 6/10

[Precious Doll]

Here's a question, since you've seen The Hunt.

What I've heard is it makes both conservatives and liberals look bad. Can you give me an idea if it actually takes sides or makes both sides look like total asshats?

Makes them both look like asshats, though in some respects the liberals come off looking worse but that is only because they tend to be held up to a higher standard and their motive for their 'game' would I think be considered unacceptable by most fair minded people. It doesn't actually take any sides with the conservatives or liberals per say. The only character that actually does have audience sympathy is Crystal played by Betty Gilpin who is tagged as a deplorable but there is a lot more to that story.

Don't know what Amy Madigan a well known Hollywood liberal is doing in this largely distasteful film. She can't be that hard up for cash surely.

[Reza]

Dark Purpose / L'intrigo (George Marshall & Vittorio Sala, 1964) 5/10

This film can't decide if its one of those typical European travelogues so fashionable during the 1960s (American stars in Salerno) or a gothic melodrama with Hitchcockian overtones of "Rebecca", "Suspicion" and also "Jane Eyre" or a bizzare giallo. A sardonic art appraiser (George Sanders doing his usual sarcastic shtick) and his young protégé (Shirley Jones) arrive in Salerno to evaluate the art collection belonging to a count (Rossano Brazzi). Whenever Brazzi was cast by Hollywood it signalled romance for the American leading lady in the film. Well that's exactly what happens but the screenplay suddenly veers off into mystery territory with the appearance of a violent amnesiac woman who is first identified as Brazzi's disturbed daughter who later claims she is his wife. Secret rooms, a vicious dog and murder become the order of the day at the sea-side villa. Is the charming Brazzi a cad as he is also involved with a gallery owner (Micheline Presle)? An erratic obscure little film which holds interest because of the stars although its a pity Sanders disappears half way through. And a bigger pity that Italy doesn't get a proper look-in despite a few cliff top views of the Mediterranean and a couple of scenes in a square with most of the film shot in the studio.

Blue Sky (Tony Richardson, 1994) 8/10

Jessica Lange's overtly sexual performance is the highlight of Richardson's intimate little drama set during the early 1960s at an army base in Alabama. Loved by her husband (Tommy Lee Jones), a US army engineer assigned to the base after a long series of transfers due to the irrational behaviour of his bipolar wife, he causes a stir with his superior officers when he speaks against nuclear testing and the dangers involved with escaped radiation and possible harm to two cowboys who happened to be in the vicinity. The situation is further aggravated by his wife's emotional unstability and sexual affair with a senior officer (Powers Booth) - their dance at the officer's club, in full view of everyone, is like foreplay with Lange going full throttle as if in a sexual frenzy. This little film had a troubled history. It sat in a bank vault for three years when the studio went bankrupt. It was finally released three years after Richardson had died. The film's dramatic premise involves a coverup by the government when an underground nuclear test releases radioactivity into the atmosphere. This is built around intense domestic upheavel which the couple have managed to ride out through the years as both have a strong bond for each other. She is promiscuous - imagining herself to be a combination of Marilyn Monroe and Brigitte Bardot - but remains loyal to her husband while he in a strange way enjoys the fact that other men are attracted to her. Both Jones and Lange beautifully play off each other as a couple and as doting parents to two teenage girls who seem remarkably well brought up considering the odd interplay between the two adults. The intelligent screenplay - which sort of wavers off into melodrama towards the end - vividly brings to life a time and place in America with its underlying fear of an attack by Cuba. The entire cast is memorable including Carrie Snodgress as Booth's disgusted wife, Chris O'Donnell as his son and Amy Locane as Lange's angry elder daughter. Lange managed to win her second Oscar not only for her vividly audacious performance but also because her competition that year was pretty dismal. This, however, remains one of her most memorable screen roles.

A Month By the Lake (John Irvin, 1995) 5/10

This elegant film has two great things going for it - the stunning location of Lake Como in Italy and the tall, lithe presence of a radiant Vanessa Redgrave. Unfortunately the story, based on the book by H.E. Bates, is rather silly despite the sumptuous trappings the film is surrounded by in its 1930s setting - wonderful production and costume design, a score by Nicola Piovani and gorgeous cinematography by Pasqualino De Santis capturing the town and the lake in all its glory. A spinster (Vanessa Redgrave), a regular visitor at a resort hotel on Lake Como, finds herself to be the only British guest. When she runs into a well-to-do retired Major (Edward Fox) - a bachelor - she slyly throws herself at him without any subtlety. He is at first charmed by her but later gets annoyed when she beats him at a game of tennis. She finds sudden competion in a much younger American woman (Uma Thurman), working as a nanny for an Italian family, who also pursues him out of boredom. The story has the two women playing cat-and-mouse not only with each other but also with the old man who actually thinks the younger woman is interested in him. Thurman looks bored throughout, is badly miscast and gives a bad performance. Redgrave, also pursued by a much younger Italian, is delightful as the lonely old woman with a constant smile and a helping hand wanting desperately to settle down. Her scenes with Fox, as the stiff and very proper but rather dull military man, are charmingly played by the two pros although its all really much ado about nothing. Silly fluff.

La chienne / The Bitch (Jean Renoir, 1931) 10/10

A meek cashier (Michel Simon), constantly mocked by colleagues at work and henpecked at home by his shrewish wife (Magdeleine Bérubet), saves a young woman (Janie Marèse) who is being beaten on the street by a drunk man (Georges Flamant). Sick of his wife, who constantly mocks his hobby of painting, he sets up the woman in an apartment which he decorates with his paintings. Unknown to him she is a prostitute and in love with the drunk man who is her pimp. Their plan to swindle him of his paintings results in a comedy of errors - with seriously dark undertones - which includes the return of his wife's former husband who was assumed to be dead, blackmail, murder and a life-affirming conclusion with an ironic twist. Renoir's second sound film, adapted from a pulp novel by Georges de La Fouchardière, makes innovative use of sound, deep focus cinematography (with the camera in constant motion) and outdoor locations. Bleak and tragic elements are counter-balanced by life's humourous moments in Renoir's savage satire of the bourgeois. The film was banned in America for its frank portrayal of the relationship between a prostitute and her pimp and finally released in 1975. Hollywood remade the film in 1945 - Fritz Lang's "Scarlet Street" - but due to strict censorship the character played by Joan Bennett was not openly referred to as a prostitute and the meek cashier played by Edward G. Robinson meets a totally different end as puritanically dictated by censorship. An interesting bit of off-screen trivia about the Renoir film - star Simon fell in love with his leading lady Marése who in turn fancied Flamant (who in reality was not an actor but a petty criminal the director had chosen to play the part of the pimp). Renoir encouraged his film's leading lady to have an affair with Flamant in order to get the right reactions from Simon while the film was in production. Tragically Marése was killed in a car crash while being driven by Flamant to the film's premiere. Simon was devastated, fainted at the funeral and threatened Renoir with a gun for allowing the actress to frolic with a criminal. The following year both star and director would go on to collaborate on another masterpiece in their next film "Boudu sauvé des eaux".

Romancing the Stone (Robert Zemeckis, 1984) 8/10

Schmaltzy romance novelist (Kathlenn Turner), of the Mills and Boon variety, finds real-life adventure when her kidnapped sister in Colombia needs help. Sharply written screenplay still holds up after all these years with the director taking his action cue from Spielberg's "Raiders" and getting his mousey heroine to find pluck with and without the help of a knight-in-shining-armour (Michael Douglas). Funny action-packed film rests on the incredible chemistry between the two attractive stars, the comic genius of Danny De Vito as a sleazy scumbag and all the expected clichés which strangely still manage to resonate. Despite Turner's sizzling debut in "Body Heat", three years earlier, this is the film that was her start at an incredible run in the movies during the decade.

Greyhound (Aaron Schneider, 2020). 8/10

Old fashioned WWII film highlights the Battle of the Atlantic as convoys of merchant and passenger ships (carrying troops headed for the war-front in Europe) try to avoid the relentless attacks by German U-boats. Although the convoy is protected by military aircrafts most of the way the actual danger lies in the Mid-Atlantic gap area known as "The Black Pit" where the only protection for the convoy is the assigned military vessel escort alone. Based on the 1955 novel "The Good Shepherd" by C. S. Forester, the screenplay (written by star Tom Hanks) focuses on a battleship accompanying the convoy with a senior US Navy Commander (Tom Hanks) on his first war-time assignment. Riveting film uses the claustrophobic environment of the ship's bowels and the upper deck from where the Commander and his crew map out their counter attacks as the U-boats fire torpedos. Overdone CGI effects take over shots of the raging open sea as the film highlights various dramatic sequences - deadly U-boats going in for the kill as they sink merchant ships, a dramatic moment where the battle ship narrowly escapes colliding with one of the very ships it is trying to save from on-coming torpedos and an open battle with a surfaced U-boat. Hanks is very good as the deeply religious man with an estranged wife back home - Elisabeth Shue appears in brief flashbacks - who, despite being "all-at-sea" in his first-time assignment, ferociously responds to every obstacle the war throws his way. The film's exceptional sound design deserves an Oscar.

The Bitter Waters (John Brahm, 1956) 8/10

Short film from television's golden age in a series with episodes by different prominent Hollywood directors. John Brahm directs this adapatation of Henry James' "Louisa Pallant". A confirmed bachelor (George Sanders) on holiday in Europe with his nephew (Robert Vaughn), runs into an old flame (Constance Cummings) who years before dumped him for a richer man. When the nephew falls in love with her daughter certain bitter truths are revealed about the young girl by the regretful mother. Elegantly performed by both Sanders and Cummings with the screenplay capturing flaws in the upper class which was a running theme in all of James' writings.

The First Texan (Byron Haskin, 1956) 5/10

Historical film, made on the cheap, is a by-the-numbers look at Sam Houston (Joel McCrea) who played a major role in getting Texas it's independence from Mexico. The screenplay charts his arrival in San Antonio after resigning as governor of Tennessee and setting up a law practice. He stays away from politics but is asked by President Andrew Jackson to help Texans in their fight against Mexico. After the fall of the Alamo the decisive Battle of San Jacinto wins Texas its place as an independent republic with Houston its first President. The film tacks on a fake love affair with a local Texan (Felicia Farr) although Houston was married but separated from his wife who refused to give him a divorce. He later lived for a number of years and married a Cherokee woman and only when his divorce was granted did he marry a third time at age 47 with a 21-year old woman from Alabama who not only gave him 8 children but also convinced him to be baptized at age 61. Hollywood needs to make a proper film on this man's colourful life.

Sign of the Pagan (Douglas Sirk, 1954) 4/10

Sword and sandal hokum has Jeff Chandler in the lead as a Roman centurion being upstaged by Jack Palance as Attila the Hun. Epic film is strikingly photographed in cinemascope by Russell Metty but Sirk brings nothing new to the genre while the shoddy production design clearly signals the film's low budget. The Roman emperor of the East (Constantinople) wants to break away from Rome and hatches a plan with Attila to help him while allowing the Hun to proceed towards Rome. Meanwhile Chandler tries to stop them in between romancing the Hun's nubile sister (Rita Gam) and a Roman princess (the ballerina Ludmila Tcherina). The Hun's savage demeanor is subdued towards the end when superstition and the "power" of the Christian God puts fear in his soul rendering Palance into a piece of quivering flesh.

The Walking Dead (Michael Curtiz, 1936) 8/10

Stylish horror film with more than a passing resemblance to the star's most famous role in Frankenstein (1932). A gentle, mild-mannered man - an ex-con (Boris Karloff) - is framed for the murder of a judge by racketeers and is sentenced to death by the electric chair. Two medical student witnesses, who know he was innocent, are too late to save him and the man is executed. The students' eccentric teacher, a scientist (Edmund Gwenn), manages to raise him from the dead in his laboratory. Waking up with amnesia he has a strange supernatural aura which makes him recognise the racketeers who framed him and he decides to kill them along with his oily defence attorney (Ricardo Cortez) who is also secretly part of the gang. Curtiz directs this taut programmer like a noir and the chilling and eerie mood is sustained throughout by Hal Mohr's shadowy cinematography as he uses oddly tilted camera angles to create mood. A minor classic with one of Karloff's best roles.

The Shadow of the Cat (John Gilling, 1961) 7/10

Goofy, unusual but very effective horror film from Hammer studios. Tabitha, a cat, is witness to the murder of her rich mistress (Catherine Lacey) by her butler at the instructions of her husband (André Morell). The cat also witnesses the two, along with the cook (Freda Jackson), bury the dead body on the vast grounds of the gothic mansion. The plot takes on a macabre turn when the cat starts stalking the murderers. There is a missing will and when the dead woman's favourite niece (Barbara Shelley) arrives to look after her petrified Uncle she is astonished to see that the occupants of the house are hell-bent on killing the cat. When other greedy relatives arrive the cat, one by one, leads various family members and the staff to their deaths. Despite an avoidance of blood this horror film benefits from the presence of lovely Barbara Shelley - a Hammer regular - and its striking visuals and suspenseful plot. A forgotten little gem.

The Secret Partner (Basil Dearden, 1961) 5/10

In between Dearden's
controversial social-problem films came this derivative suspense thriller with a twist ending. A wealthy shipping company executive (Stewart Granger) is in the midst of various problems. He is being blackmailed by a seedy dentist (Norman Bird), is framed for a robbery at his office and his elegant wife (Haya Harareet) has left him. He goes on the run to prove his innocence while being pursued by a dogged cop (Bernard Lee) who is on the verge of retirement. The plot smells of deja vu and is full of potholes. Harareet, in her first film after "Ben-Hur", is wasted in a minor role but Lee is memorable as the chain smoking cop. The film's use of unusual locations - the London docks - gives it a bit of a fresh feel.

Out of the Clouds (Basil Dearden, 1950) 6/10

Fascinating look at the workings of Heathrow Airport in London during the 1950s - shot at the actual location and on fairly accurate sets built at Ealing studios. A predecessor to Arthur Hailey's "Airport", the film follows various characters - passengers, ground and air crew - seen on board different flights or in transit at the airport lounge. Elements of documentary mixed with soap opera is the way the screenplay moves using British actors on contract with Ealing studios playing the diverse characters - a pilot (James Robertson Justice) landing a plane in fog, an old rich lady (Marie Lohr) traveling with her prim companion (Esma Cannon), a love triangle between a gambler/smuggler pilot (Anthony Steel), a stewardess (Eunic Gayson) and a senior ground officer (Robert Beatty) and a young jewish couple who meet and fall in love in the transit lounge. Also popping up in brief parts are various British character actors - Sidney James, Isabel Dean, Bernard Lee and Megs Jenkins. The film, shot with full co-operation of the Ministry of Transport, is clearly a marketing project making the world of commercial air travel as attractive as possible. Great pain is taken into showing the airport staff as relentlessly helpful and constantly going beyond the call of duty to help customers along with a tutorial about immigration procedures, customs, visas and how delayed flights are handled. The film moves at a swift pace, is well acted and enjoyable in an antiquated way.

The Halfway House (Basil Dearden & Alberto Cavalcanti, 1944) 6/10

Unusual fantasy attempted by Ealing Studios during the war. A group of diverse characters, going through various traumas in their personal lives, arrive at an isolated Welsh country inn. The inn had been destroyed by Nazi bombs a year before, killing both the owner (Mervyn Johns) and his daughter (Glynis Johns), yet the guests are led to believe that the mysterious inn has been reconstructed and are welcomed by the same owner and his daughter. As the days go by all the guests start seeing their lives changing in subtle ways for the better. A superb cast of character actors - Françoise Rosay, Esmond Knight, Guy Middleton and child actor Sally Ann Howes - accurately reflect the attitudes, values and behaviours of middle-class wartime England.

They Came to a City (Basil Dearden, 1944) 4/10

Static excessively talky version of J. B. Priestley's play was an unusual undertaking by Ealing studios during the 1940s. The whole concept is un-cinematic and comes off strictly like a stage play with the actors mouthing pages of dialogue while standing on a bare set resembling a castle rampart. Nine British characters, representing different strata of society, arrive at a strange structure and look down at a city enveloped in thick mist which represents Utopia. After visiting the place they all have a two-fold reaction with some finding peace and contentment (the ones who previously led difficult lifes) while others reject it outright (the upper class find it's not a place that allows them their personal privilege while an aggressive businessman is appalled that the city provides no means for competition or the accumulation of wealth). The whole concept of the film remains up in the air as we never get to see Utopia and only get to hear vague descriptions by the characters. A fine cast of character actors - John Clements, Googie Withers, Raymond Huntley, Mabel Terry-Lewis - give it a solid go but its all rather tedious.

[OscarGuy]

Here's a question, since you've seen The Hunt.

What I've heard is it makes both conservatives and liberals look bad. Can you give me an idea if it actually takes sides or makes both sides look like total asshats?

[Precious Doll]

The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960) Terence Fisher 4/10
JT LeRoy (2019) Justin Kelly 3/10
Shooting the Mafia (2019) Kim Longinotto 5/10
My Days of Glory (2020) Antoine de Bary 6/10
Oh Mercy! (2019) Arnaud Desplechin 6/10
The Sailor From Gibraltar (1967) Tony Richardson 4/10
Where'd You Go Bernadette (2019) Richard Linklater 5/10
La Belle Epoque (2019) Nicolas Bedos 6/10
The Hunt (2020) Craig Zobel 1/10
Greed (2020) Michael Winterbottom 2/10
Sandra (1965) Luchino Visconti 7/10
Crime and Punishment (1935) Pierre Chenal 4/10

Repeat viewings

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) Sergio Leone 9/10
Mondo Topless (1966) Russ Meyer 7/10
Toni Erdmann (2016) Maren Ade 9/10
Come and See (1985) Elem Klimov 8/10
The Silence of the Lambs (1991) Jonathan Demme 10/10

[Precious Doll]

Love Sarah (2020) Eliza Schroeder 6/10
System Crasher (2019) Nora Fingscheidt 4/10
Wild Mouse (2017) Josef Hader 7/10
A Degree of Murder (1967) Volker Schlondorff 5/10
Shirley (2020) Josephine Decker 5/10
Lazy Susan (2020) Nick Peet 5/10
The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958) Terence Fisher 4/10

Repeat viewings

Crimes of the Heart (1986) Bruce Beresford 10/10
Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens (1979) Russ Meyer 7/10
An Angel at My Table (1990) Jane Campion 7/10
Finders Keepers, Lovers Weepers (1968) Russ Meyer 5/10
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) Tay Garnett 8/10
Vixen (1968) Russ Meyer 10/10
Victim (1961) Basil Dearden 8/10
Britannia Hospital (1982) Lindsay Anderson 5/10
A Place For Annie (1994) John Gray 8/10
Force 10 From Navarone (1978) Guy Hamilton 6/10

[Precious Doll]

Violets Are Blue... (Jack Fisk, 1986) 4/10

A famous photographer (Sissy Spacek) returns on vacation to her family home on the Maryland coast. She runs into her former boyfriend (Kevin Kline), now married, and soon they rekindle their affair. When years before she left town to pursue her dreams he stayed back to run the local newspaper. Lonely and envious of his family she manages to get him a lucrative job at the magazine she works for. Will he leave his suspicious wife (Bonnie Bedelia) and adoring son for her or will he realise what he is about to lose? Tedious soap opera has the two stars frolicking on the beach in between bouts of guilt. The entire premise is dreary as nothing much really happens and once again Bedelia is wasted in an underwritten part in the "nice" wife role. One wishes she had at least thrown an apocalyptic fit when she discovers the affair but even that confrontation is a weak moment. Fisk directs his wife Spacek who is radiant throughout. In comparison Kline seems to be holding back during all the moments of passion as if he was embarrased doing nude scenes with the director's wife. Ralf D. Bode's cinematography of the stunning location is a major plus. A misfire despite the three attractive stars.

Violets Are Blue is one strange film. Just as well they didn't give poor Bonnie a scene to throw a tantrum in because as it was she was painted as 'the other woman' & 'the villain' of the piece and she was Kevin Kline's wife???

Also, the film was written by the mother of Maggie G. & Jake G., Naomi Foner. Running on Empty and A Dangerous Woman remain her best cinematic efforts. She received an Oscar nomination for the former.

[Reza]

The Texans (James P. Hogan, 1938) 7/10

Rousing western set in the South right after the Civil War. A feisty young woman (Joan Bennett) smuggles guns for her ex-Confederate boyfriend (Robert Cummings) who wants revenge on the North. Another ex-Confederate soldier (Randolph Scott) wants peace and suggests to the girl that her cattle should be taken up North to be sold as a gesture of peace and to also make money. She resists but is forced to agree when Yankees arrive to charge huge taxes on the cattle. The rest of the film depicts the exciting but dangerous cattle drive through the Rio Grande and Indian territory with the love triangle at its center. Pretty Bennett is miscast but makes a go of it as Scott carries the film on his shoulders. Walter Brennan adds comic relief as he did years later on another cattle drive in Hawks' "Red River". May Robson is delightfully over-the-top as Bennett's old garrulous grandma. The busy screenplay even throws in the Ku Klux Klan. This was one of the films instrumental in making westerns, which had largely been relegated to B-status, fashionable again with studios casting A-list stars.

Hamilton (Thomas Kail, 2020) 6/10

A filmed version of the Broadway musical that won 11 Tony awards. The original cast appears in this "film" version about Alexander Hamilton (Lin Manuel Miranda who wrote the music, lyrics and book) who became aide-de-camp to George Washington during the Revolutionary War in 1776 and later Secretary of the Treasury. The story charts his life, marriage and the various trials in his political life after John Adams becomes the President. American history is presented through music drawing heavily from hip hop, R&B, pop, soul and traditional
style show tunes. The musical also casts non-white actors as the
Founding Fathers and other historical figures giving it a modern "up-to-date" feeling. Spectacular production provides the feel of a theatrical experience with the added bonus of the camera zooming in on close-ups although I found the densely populated story rather dry and hard to follow.

Bullitt (Peter Yates, 1968) 8/10

Classic film with Steve McQueen in one of his iconic parts as tough but cool San Francisco cop - Frank Bullitt - trying to find who killed a witness in his protective custody while stealthily manoeuvring his investigation through a web of double crosses. The film's memorable set piece is the car chase (McQueen in a Ford Mustang chasing the bad guys in a Dodge Charger) through the streets of the city which inspired many directors, including William Friedkin ("The French Connection) and John Woo ("Hard Boiled"). The film's memorable supporting cast play vividly drawn characters - Robert Vaughn as an oily and ambitious politician, Simon Oakland as Bullit's boss and lovely Jacqueline Bisset, at the start of her career, as his chic girlfriend. William Fraker's camera makes San Francisco seem fresh and alive as Lalo Schifrin's jazzy score plays on the soundtrack. The film won an Oscar for its taut editing and a nomination for its sound design - the almost 11-minute car chase is shot without music with only the natural sound of screeching tyres heard. McQueen's "casual" attire in the film - blue turtle neck sweater, a brown tweed jacket with elbow patches and brown suede shoes - received a boost in popularity adding greatly to the actor's personality. Despite his name in the film McQueen doesn't use a gun until the end of the film in one of the actor's most memorable screen moments - which is a screen shot of the star holding his gun.

This Can't Be Love (Anthony Harvey, 1994) 6/10

Charming fluff has Hepburn reuniting with director Harvey after two previous films - "The Lion in Winter" & "Grace Quigley" - and it was her last leading role. Irascible actress (Katharine Hepburn), once a huge star, now lives a retired life with a housekeeper and a chauffeur (Jason Bateman) to keep her company. When her former husband (Anthony Quinn) - they were secretly married for five days during the 1940s - suddenly appears all hell breaks loose. Their once tempestuous relationship carries into the present as he tries to rekindle lost feelings while she wants him to get lost. Silly premise coasts along on the charm of the two stars. The screenplay puts in details from Hepburn's own life while Quinn resurrects his own braggart persona from past movies including a scene where he jumps onto a table and swashbuckles. Will they get back together or will they part forever after she discovers he has an ulterior motive for their reunion? Hepburn is her usual feisty self despite being unsteady on her feet and suffering from skin cancer during the shoot.

Adventure in Manhattan (Edward Ludwig, 1936) 6/10

Smart-ass reporter (Joel McCrea), who can predict crimes, tangles with a daffy actress (Jean Arthur) and a jewel thief (Reginald Owen) in this rather slow moving screwball comedy. The story takes odd detours to get to its climax but scores points whenever McCrea and the gorgeous raspy-voiced Arthur are on screen. McCrea, an underrated actor who spent most of his career as a western star, was equally at ease in sophisticated comedies which mainly came during his first decade as a star. The star couple create sparks along with an amusing Thomas Mitchell as the exasperated newspaper editor. Not top notch screwball but has many amusing bits.

Force of Nature (Michael Polish, 2020) 4/10

This is "Die Hard" set in an apartment complex in Puerto Rico during a category five hurricane. A group of people - an ex-cop (Emile Hirsch), a rookie (Stephanie Cayo), a doctor (Kate Bosworth) and her gravely ill father (Mel Gibson) - find themselves trapped inside a building as a violent gang of thieves try to loot stolen Nazi paintings stored by an old man. Also in this melange is a wounded black man who hides a "pet" that likes to eat 100 lbs of meat. The over cooked plot sounds more fun than it really is as shootouts take place in the dark. Gibson, as an ex-cop on dialyses, makes every moment of his short time on screen count as he cusses non-stop, determined to go out in a blaze of glory instead of being put in a hospital. Potboiler moves at a fast pace but there is nothing here that we haven't seen many, many times in far better films.

Violets Are Blue... (Jack Fisk, 1986) 4/10

A famous photographer (Sissy Spacek) returns on vacation to her family home on the Maryland coast. She runs into her former boyfriend (Kevin Kline), now married, and soon they rekindle their affair. When years before she left town to pursue her dreams he stayed back to run the local newspaper. Lonely and envious of his family she manages to get him a lucrative job at the magazine she works for. Will he leave his suspicious wife (Bonnie Bedelia) and adoring son for her or will he realise what he is about to lose? Tedious soap opera has the two stars frolicking on the beach in between bouts of guilt. The entire premise is dreary as nothing much really happens and once again Bedelia is wasted in an underwritten part in the "nice" wife role. One wishes she had at least thrown an apocalyptic fit when she discovers the affair but even that confrontation is a weak moment. Fisk directs his wife Spacek who is radiant throughout. In comparison Kline seems to be holding back during all the moments of passion as if he was embarrased doing nude scenes with the director's wife. Ralf D. Bode's cinematography of the stunning location is a major plus. A misfire despite the three attractive stars.

Doc (Frank Perry, 1971) 6/10

Revisionist western is a far cry from the romanticized view of Marshall Wyatt Earp and his pal 'Doc' Holliday in John Ford's "My Darling Clementine". Shot in Spain this gritty saga of the legendary gunfight at the OK Corral gets down and dirty as the West really was even if this version of the story also remains a myth as were all the other versions that came courtesy of Hollywood. Doc Holliday (Stacy Keach), dying of tuberculosis, hooks up with hard-nosed whore Katie Elder (Faye Dunaway) and both go in search of his friend Wyatt Earp (Harris Yulin) who is standing for election as Tombstone's sheriff. They face resistance from a gang of crooked cowboys which eventually leads to the famous shootout. The screenplay hints at an unexplored "history" between the two friends but doesn't follow through despite the two glancing, touching and caring for each other - there is no love lost between Earp and Katie as they find themselves "sharing" Doc's affections. Women were either virtuous wives or hard-bitten whores in the Old West while the actual "romance" was between the male protagonists as they got their kicks shooting and killing - a special code of conduct that did not include women. Starkly shot film is well acted by the three leads - Dunaway is not afraid to look absolutely filthy with grime all over her face, neck and clothes - while the final gunfight is over in the blink of an eye which apparently was how it was unlike the long drawn battle as shown in other versions.

The Mind Benders (Basil Dearden, 1963) 8/10

The screenplay takes on mind-control experiments - exposing humans to extremely low temperatures and imersing humans into isolation water tanks - which were familiar to some of the special activities of America’s intelligence agencies at the time who also specialized in using drugs like LSD on human beings. When an old professor suddenly commits suicide under bizzare circumstances, a MI5 agent (John Clements) suspects that he may have been leaking secrets to the Russians. His partner (Dirk Bogarde) sets out to prove that the old man was not a traitor but was brainwashed via an experiment, including mental torture, inside an isolation tank of water which rendered his mind to be altered. To prove his theory he agrees to be immersed into the tank allowing interrogators to brainwash him into thinking his beloved wife (Mary Ure) is a tramp. The experiment apparently does not work as he comes out unchanged but a few days later there are scary implications of a conversion not unlike Dr Jekyll into Mr Hyde. Will he go from loving his wife to distaste, then hatred and possibly onto violence merely through suggestion induced by sensory deprivation? Based on a book by James Kennaway these theories so popular at the time were later discarded after similar experiments done on astronauts proved inconclusive on many. The catalyst that brings the man out of his deranged condition rests on a childbirth sequence shown in detail unseen before on screen in such vivid detail and which brought the film an X rating. Both Bogarde and the underrated Ure give superb performances. The film's science-fiction elements here are a precursor to Ken Russell's over-the-top, mind-bending horrific sequences in "Altered States", almost twenty years later. This is yet another one in a series of highly sensational and hard-hitting films made by the team of director Basil Dearden and writer-producer Michael Relph

The Third Visitor (Maurice Elvey, 1951) 4/10

Tiresome and extremely talky murder mystery with a twist ending. Low budget film has a rambling plot - a man of dubious reputation is bludgeoned to death after being visited by assorted individuals who wanted him dead. The cops fiddle around with the case as two couples lie about their movements or knowledge about the dead man. Sonia Dresdel, dripping sarcasm, stands out amongst the cast as a woman who knows more than she has divulged about the case.

This England (David MacDonald, 1941) 6/10

Extremely rare and unashamedly patriotic, this propaganda film was typical of many that were made during WWII. This one features a small village in England during the WWII threat of a Nazi invasion and sees it through four different periods - the Norman invasion, the Spanish Armada, the Napoleonic era and WWII - showing how the working classes and peasants united against all foreign threat. The screenplay focuses on the determination and fortitude of the British as the stories are related by an inhabitant (John Clements) to a visiting American journalist (Constance Cummings). The film's title comes from a speech by John of Gaunt in the play Richard II by William Shakespeare.

Une aussi longue absence / The Long Absence (Henri Colpi, 1961) 8/10

Haunting memory piece about lost love and the horrors of war won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes film festival sharing the top prize with Luis Buñuel's "Viridiana". Deliberately paced film, with a dream-like manner, illustrates how memories can often leave deeper scars than the actual event from which they were derived. Life then becomes an endurance test with only those memories to keep you going. A middle-aged cafe owner (Alida Valli) comes across a wandering tramp (Georges Wilson) and believes he is her husband who was thought dead and missing 16-years before during the war. She discovers he has amnesia and tries her best to revive his memory. The premise may be simplistic but the film explores deeper issues of loss, hope and heartbreak which need to be faced as life goes on. The film and Wilson were both nominated for Bafta awards.

Christine (Pierre Gaspard-Huit, 1958) 8/10

"Liebelei", Arthur Schnitzler 's 1894 play, was made into a film in 1933 by Max Ophüls with Magda Schneider. Her daughter, already a star of German cinema, stars in this remake making her french film debut opposite an upcoming young french actor who would become the "love of her life". Old fashioned romantic film about star crossed lovers - not unlike "Romeo and Juliet" - "almost" echoes the two stars' affair, subsequent engagement, break-up and tragic end (for one of them). During the waning years of the Austro-Hungarian Empire a young Captain (Alain Delon) is involved in an affair with the wife (Micheline Presle) of a Baron (Jean Galland). While she is happy with their on-going complicated relationship he wants to end it. By chance he meets a musician's daughter (Romy Schneider) while out with a fellow soldier and best friend (Jean-Claude Brialy). The young couple hit it off and are soon in love. Matters escalate when he breaks off his affair, the Baron discovers the deceit and challenges him to a duel. Tragic, sentimental romance relys totally on the magnetic chemistry between the two stars who make a lovely couple on screen. Schneider was dubbed as she could not speak french but it does not distract from her charming performance. Delon holds his own opposite both leading ladies - tender and shy opposite Schneider and edgy but familiar with Presle who was always a memorably presence in all her films.

Signore & signori / The Birds, the Bees and the Italians (Pietro Germi, 1966) 10/10

Pietro Germi continues his lacerating but hilarious look at the sexual mores of Italian men although in truth that behaviour is pretty much universal the world over. After broaching the subject in his two previous films - "Divorzio all'italiana" & "Sedotta e abbandonata" - he comes up with three short stories in this frantic farce all set in the city of Treviso. The wicked screenplay goes for the jugular making fun of Italian attitudes toward marriage, divorce, chastity and even love. Germi takes full delight in exposing the hypocricy of the law, the police, the church, the family and the state. Everyone is a target and nothing sacred. The entire cast is game and work at full throttle with many appearing as background characters in all three episodes. The first story is about a doctor treating a patient who says he is impotent but things aren't quite how they seem which the doctor discovers during the savage twist at the end. In the second episode a bank clerk, married to a nagging wife, falls head over heels in love with a sexy cashier (Virna Lisi) at a cafe. Instead of playing it safe with an affair on the quiet he dumps his wife and kids and proclaims to all about his new-found love. Friends, family, the Church, the police, in fact the whole town is outraged. In the third episode a nubile young peasant goes from shop to shop prostituting herself with the owners of the establishments in exchange for clothes, shoes and other goods. All the men are "decent" citizens of the town. When the girl's father sues all the men in court for taking advantage of his minor daughter they are all aghast and have to find a way to get out of the bind. Sharply written sex farce touches on topics that would never be allowed on screen in today's "politically correct" era although the majority of films from Europe then played around with controversial subjects often camouflaged under the guise of farce. Germi was awarded the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival sharing the top honour with Claude Lelouch's romantic drama "Un homme et une femme".

Miracolo a Milano / Miracle in Milan (Vittorio De Sica, 1951) 9/10

De Sica's charming fantasy is set amongst the inhabitants of a shanty town on a large empty plot of land outside Milan. The film's protagonist is an angelic young orphan found by an old woman in a cabbage patch and raised by her. After she dies and he spends time in an orphanage, Totò (Francesco Golisano),
comes out into the world and finds shelter amongst the homeless who live in cardboard boxes and cement pipes. In time he organises them into a small happy shanty town. When oil is discovered on the land the owner arrives to evict the people. Just as matters turn bleak his mother's ghost arrives and gives him a pigeon which grants everyone a wish turning everyone into a capitalist when they demand fur coats and money. Quirky film was quite ahead of its time with its final moments of fantasy which resemble a number of films by Spielberg. De Sica manages to keep the mood joyful despite the bleakness in everyone's life and which he perpetuates through the ever-smiling character of the orphan. The film and young Golisano were both deservedly nominated for the Bafta award and De Sica was awarded the Grand Prix prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

[Precious Doll]

Wasp Network (2020) Olivier Assayas 2/10
Darkroom (2020) Rosa von Praunheim 4/10
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020) David Dobkin 4/10
Disclosure (2020) Sam Feder 5/10
Distant Journey (1950) Alfred Radok 7/10
Harriet (2019) Kasi Lemmons 4/10
The Taverna (2020) Alkinos Tsilimidos 6/10

Repeat viewings

Farewell My Concubine (1993) Kaige Chen 8/10 (Director's cut i.e. the version shown at Cannes not Harvey's cut)
High Anxiety (1977) Mel Brooks 9/10
Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) Jon Avnet 10/10
Mudhoney (1965) Russ Meyer 7/10
The Bride Wore Black (1968) Francois Truffaut 10/10
A Private Matter (1992) Joan Micklin Silver 9/10
Mississippi Mermaid (1969) Francois Truffaut 8/10

[Mister Tee]

Murder By Contract (Irving Lerner, 1958) 9/10

Stylishly directed B-film was one of Scorsese's favorites. Shot in just seven days this low budget entry packs a wallop despite the derivative plot. A cool-headed, emotionless man (Vince Edwards) is stuck in a low paid job. Wanting to buy a house he decides to make a quick buck as a contract killer for hire. His first few hits are easy but finds himself in a quandry when asked to kill a woman who is about to testify against a Mob boss. The film, using a simple guitar melody on the soundtrack and brightly lit exterior and interior shots by Lucien Ballard, methodically goes about charting the moves of the hitman - interacting with two inept partners, failed attempts to kill the woman and a crucial meeting with a hooker. Vaughn is superb as the intelligent man with a conscience who dislikes guns and women ("they are unpredictable and keep moving"). The violence is all off-screen and the screenplay instead concentrates on the killer's psychology and how he goes about his job in a very precise but nonchalant manner. Cult film is a must-see.

I watched this from TCM's Noir Alley this week. The host noted, like you, that Scorsese has specifically mentioned the film as a big influence, but I couldn't help feeling Tarantino was the one owing a greater debt to it. Hit men procrastinating, dialogue scenes about everything but the actual killings -- it seemed a real template for Travolta/Jackson in Pulp Fiction.

Very interesting film. Vince Edwards was never much of an actor, but is right for this. The actress playing the protected witness is pretty godawful, but the rest of the cast -- especially Herschel Bernardi -- is solid for such a B-picture.

[Reza]

Dreamchild (Gavin Millar, 1985) 8/10

Enigma (Jeannot Szwarc, 1982) 5/10

Rather listless tired Cold War spy thriller with an East German defectee (Martin Sheen) hired by the CIA to go back to East Berlin to steal a scrambler, a communication device, which the Russians possess. They are planning to assassinate five defectees and the device is needed to intercept and stop the killings. He is helped by his former lover (Brigitte Fossey) and relentlessly pursued by a KGB officer (Sam Neill). The film brings nothing new to the genre and basically regurgitates stale ideas and plot points. The excellent cast, including Frank Finlay, Michael Williams, Derek Jacobi, Michel Lonsdale, try their best with the given material.

Sky Riders (Douglas Hickox, 1976) 6/10

A generic plot full of potholes has the wife (a feisty Susannah York) and kids of a rich industrialist (Robert Culp) kidnapped by terrorists and held for ransom. When the cop (Charles Aznavour) in charge of the case spends too much time dilly-dallying, the kidnapped woman's former husband (James Coburn) takes matters into his own hands. The film scores in the second half during the spectacular rescue sequence by a team of professional hang gliders. The film's stunning location is Meteora in Greece (later also used in the Bond film "For Your Eyes Only") with it's towering rock cliffs where the terrorists are holed up in the Varlaam monastary perched on top. The thrilling action scenes are accompanied by Lalo Schifrin's rousing greek-themed score as the laconic Coburn (with his trademark grin) performs his own stunts hanging from a helicopter. A boxoffice flop in America the film was a huge hit abroad. Fun to revisit this after 43 years.

The Wind and the Lion (John Milius, 1975) 7/10

John Milius stages the film like a David Lean epic (some of the battle scenes were shot on locations used in "Lawrence of Arabia") while taking inspiration from films like "Gunga Din", "The Four Feathers" and Rudyard Kipling. Rousing action-adventure takes liberties with history with the kidnapped American man now a widow (Candice Bergen) who is taken with her two children by a gang of Berbers led by their charismatic leader (Sean Connery). This results in an international incident and President Teddy Roosevelt (Brian Keith) decides to use the kidnapping as both political propaganda and to gather votes for re-election rousing the nation towards war and using America's military strength as a new great power. Also getting involved is the ruler of Tangier who is already at odds with the Berber Chief. A twist in the negotiations results in the President gaining respect for the Berbers and so they along with the marines attack the Moroccans who have the Germans on their side. Meanwhile the widow, who initially considered her kidnapper a barbaric lout, begins to warm up to him as do her children. Old fashioned film relies on spectacle and the charming performance of Connery. The actor tried speaking with an Arabic accent but gave up and spoke all his lines with his regular Scottish burr and amusingly manages to seem convincing. Bergen (very wooden here) was a last minute replacement for Faye Dunaway who dropped out - Milius had originally written the part for Julie Christie. The film has outstanding production and costume design and is beautifully shot by Billy Williams. There is great attention to period detail although as usual Hollywood fails to get the Muslim prayer right with the actors going through the motions in a totally incorrect manner. The film was shot in the Spanish towns of Seville, Almeria and Madrid doubling for Tangier and Fez. Nominated for two Oscars - Jerry Goldsmith's memorable score and for the sound design.

Adventures of Captain Fabian (William Marshall and Robert Florey, 1951) 1/10

An ambitious french creole maid (Micheline Presle) uses a sea captain (Errol Flynn) to rise up the social ladder in old New Orleans. Trashy film had a tangled production history with Flynn getting into a row with the director and disappearing. His remaining scenes had to be shot with a double. And both Flynn and co-star Vincent Price (as a former lover of the maid who dumps her) sued Marshall for breach of contract and not getting paid. It ended up fine for the director as he got Presle to marry him much to her later regret. Agnes Moorehead, in black face, is embarrasing screeching out her lines as the maid's mother.

Gulabo Sitabo (Shoojit Sircar, 2020) 7/10

Frantic comedy is a battle of wits between the doddering old landlord (Amitabh Bachchan) of a decrepit old mansion in Lucknow and a poor tenant (Ayushman Khurrana) who can only afford to pay a meagre sum as rent. Matters come to a head when it is discovered that the mansion is a heritage site and could bring in big money. The old man's much older wife (Furrukh Jaffar who is magnificent) is the actual owner and he can't wait for her to die so he can take hold of the property. Meanwhile the tenant plots with the government official who has promised everyone who is evicted they will get lodgings in return. When the 95-year old woman gets wind of all the plots in motion she decides to divorce her husband, gift the property to her lover and run off with him. The hilarious screenplay makes full use of the Lucknow milieu with the entire cast spot-on in their portrayal of that culture as they perfectly capture the nuances and rhythm of the urdu language and it's distinct accent. Bachchan, buried under prosthetics and with a stooped gait, gets to play yet another wonderful part. It's truly amazing that at his age he continues to be one of the leading forces on screen in Bollywood. Ayushman matches him every step of the way playing yet another one of his memorable everyman roles which he so comfortably fits into. The two actors are like Tom and Jerry out to get each other. The film's magnificent mansion takes on the role of a prominent third character - huge and imposing with its seedy little damp rooms with cracked and broken down walls, paint peeling off yet exuding a sense of grandeur which can easily be imagined from it's distant past. The cinematography bathes the film in saturated hues highlighting the film's exceptional production design. Another little gem from director Sircar which does not quite reach the heights of his masterpiece "Piku" but is nevertheless great fun. This is the first major Bollywood release of the year that bypassed cinemas due to the Covid crisis and went straight to a streaming platform.

Efter brylluppet / After the Wedding (Susanne Bier, 2006) 7/10

Who knew Bier would come up with a type of film Bollywood once churned out by the truckload - a melodramatic weepie geared to zero in on your tear ducts. When an orphanage in India is threatened with closure a Danish relief worker (Mads Mikkelsen), out of the blue, gets an offer of a donation from a rich industrialist (Rolf Lassgård) in Copenhagen. However, there is a catch. He is asked to come to Denmark in person to meet the benefactor. When he reluctantly goes he finds not only that a huge sum shall be given but also gets coerced into attending the wedding of the rich man's daughter where he also meets his wife (Sidse Babett Knudsen) who turns out to be his ex-girlfriend with whom he had broken up years before under acrimonius circumstances. When the bride (Stine Fischer Christensen) makes an impromptu speech she lets out a bombshell. She is not the rich man's actual daughter but was raised by him when he married her mother who was expecting her at the time. The shock of this and the disclosure of a further condition placed on him regarding the donation puts him in a flux. Intense engaging family drama is well acted with some scenes played dramatically to the gallery as the screenplay plays cat-and-mouse with the audience's tear ducts. Mikkelsen, due to his international stature - memorable as the Bond villain in "Casino Royale" - is the only actor in the film I was familiar with. While he plays it restrained the other members of the cast go all out during intense scenes involving anguish and betrayal as family secrets unravel and come out in the open. The manipulative screenplay gradually reveals events like an onion being peeled layer by layer. This Danish film was nominated for an Oscar in the foreign film category.

After the Wedding (Bart Freundlich, 2019) 5/10

A scene-by-scene remake of Susanne Bier's Danish film with two major changes. The relief worker who works in an Indian orphanage, played by Mads Mikkelsen in the original, gets a gender switch. The character is now essayed by Michelle Williams and the family drama, as played out here, is very restrained without human emotions playing to the gallery making this a rather redundant weepie. An Indian orphanage, in dire straits, is suddenly offered a huge sum of money. The rich benefactor (Julianne Moore) wants to meet in person to discuss the modalities and so the American relief worker finds herself in New York. Invited to her host's daughter's wedding she finds her hidden past resurfacing when she finds herself confronted by an ex-lover (Billy Crudup) and their grown-up daughter who she thought had been given up for adoption at birth. The film is a showcase for two great actresses who are both fine but Freundlich (who is Moore's husband) approaches the story too cautiously. The emotional intensity of the performances by the actors in the original is sorely missed here. Sometimes understatement needs to be avoided and emotions need to be expressed loud and clear especially when the situation not only calls for it but is expected as in real life. This remake lacks heart which is such a shame.

Jawaani Jaaneman (Nitin Kakkar, 2020) 4/10

Fitfully amusing Bollywood remake of the Argentinian comedy "Igualita a mi". A 40-something playboy (Saif Ali Khan), who treats life like one never-ending party, picks up a teenage girl (Alaya Furniturewala) at a club who calmly informs him that he may be her father. Horrified at the thought he is coerced into taking a DNA test which not only comes up positive but also shows the girl is pregnant. Not only is he now a dad but will soon be a grandfather as well. A double whammy. The film uses it's plot to bring a modern subtext to the Indian family which in Bollywood films is usually always white-washed. Using the medium of comedy the screenplay safely plays around with the theme of ageing men pursuing young girls which, despite the cringeworthy aspect of it, is still a very common phenomena the world over. Teenage pregnancy also gets a look-in within the family structure which is treated in a matter of fact manner without anguished cries of shame. A sub-plot dealing with his work place, where he is negotiating a huge real estate deal, comes off less successfully and only seems to serve the plot in order to bring the film up to a certain length. Both actors play off each other in a breezy manner. Saif returns to form - light comedy - after a series of intense but ill-advised attempts at dramatic parts while the young actress, who is Pooja Bedi's daughter and in her film debut, confidently holds herself up against her experienced co-star. Tabu turns up in a thankless but hilarious cameo as the girl's hippie-like mother. There is nothing new here and the rather shallow screenplay does not attempt to go in deep but it does manage to bring on a smile or two.

The Thomas Crown Affair (Norman Jewison, 1968) 8/10

Slick caper film manages to overcome its flashy 1960s trappings - rather annoying multi-screen images and other camera and editing techniques by the brilliant Haskel Wexler and Hal Ashby - and comes up with a delightful cat-and-mouse chase between a suave and lonely bank executive (Steve McQueen) who manages to swindle $2 million in cash but is relentlessly pursued by an insurance investigator (Faye Dunaway) who thinks like a thief and instantly suspects her prey. What she does not anticipate is falling in love with him. The premise is old hat but Jewison brings a fresh approach to it helped in great part by the dazzling sexual chemistry between the two stars. McQueen, a huge but reclusive star, comes alive opposite Dunaway who was given the part after the director saw rushes of "Bonnie and Clyde" which had not come out when this was filming. McQueen would kid his leading lady by calling her "Done Fade-Away" unaware that she would become an overnight sensation and a fashion icon that summer.
Theodora Van Runkle designed her iconic costumes as Bonnie and was again hired to create Dunaway's 29 outfits. She takes 1960s fashion to another level here making the star look breathtakingly beautiful dressed in outrageously chic dresses and hats. McQueen's sunglasses by "Persol" also became a huge trendsetting image and adding to all the glamour were the cars used in the film - the Meyers Manx dune buggy and the red Ferrari driven by Dunaway and referred to as "one of those red Italian things". The film also owes a lot to the scene of the two stars playing a game of chess - a classic moment of seduction which oozes sex. Michel Legrand was nominated for an Oscar for the memorable score and won for the haunting title song. Reportedly this was McQueen's personal favourite of all the films he made and also one of Dunaway's happiest movie making experiences.

Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar (Sam Yates, 2019) 4/10

When you run out of any Agatha Christie mystery to adapt - they have all been filmed, some numerous times - you keep her spirit alive by coming up with plots where the writer herself turns detective. Recently divorced and struggling to get away from writing mystery novels, Agatha Christie (Lyndsey Marshall), tries to unsucessfully get a romantic novel published. Invited by a friend to an archaeological dig in Iraq she arrives at the villa where a group of guests have just discovered a poisoned monkey. It is soon followed by a spate of murders, stolen artifacts and the discovery of the world's biggest oil field. She also runs into the charming and much younger archaeologist, Max Mallowan (Jonah Hauer-King), with him she has sex on the floor of a store room filled with artifacts just as someone plants a lit dynamite to kill them. Fiction with elements of truth as Christie did actually fall in love with Mallowan and he eventually became her second husband although its not confirmed if they actually did make out that first time on the floor of a store room. Slow but atmospheric murder-mystery has good location work with Malta substituting for Iraq.

Stranger on Horseback (Jacques Tourneur, 1955) 5/10

Despite the pedigree involved - Tourneur, Louis L'Amour, Joel McCrea - this is a minor Western bringing nothing fresh to the genre. However, one can't really fault the iconic McCrea as he is always memorable. A circuit judge (Joel McCrea) rides into a small town which he notices is run by a local land baron (John McIntire). The man's spoilt, trigger-happy son (Kevin McCarthy) has supposedly killed a newcomer in town claiming self defence. The judge discovers evidence and puts the young man in jail angering his father. With the sheriff on his side he has to deal with a sleazy lawyer (John Carradine) and the old man's feisty whip-wielding , gun-toting niece (Czech-Mexican star Miroslava in one her last films - she committed suicide) who tries to seduce him into releasing the prisoner. The film's abrupt end involving a confusing shoot out also doesn't help. Rare film was out of circulation for years and is filmed in the weird Ansco colour process making the images look smudged.

Murder By Contract (Irving Lerner, 1958) 9/10

Stylishly directed B-film was one of Scorsese's favorites. Shot in just seven days this low budget entry packs a wallop despite the derivative plot. A cool-headed, emotionless man (Vince Edwards) is stuck in a low paid job. Wanting to buy a house he decides to make a quick buck as a contract killer for hire. His first few hits are easy but finds himself in a quandry when asked to kill a woman who is about to testify against a Mob boss. The film, using a simple guitar melody on the soundtrack and brightly lit exterior and interior shots by Lucien Ballard, methodically goes about charting the moves of the hitman - interacting with two inept partners, failed attempts to kill the woman and a crucial meeting with a hooker. Vaughn is superb as the intelligent man with a conscience who dislikes guns and women ("they are unpredictable and keep moving"). The violence is all off-screen and the screenplay instead concentrates on the killer's psychology and how he goes about his job in a very precise but nonchalant manner. Cult film is a must-see.

Mozambique / Operazione Zanzibar (Robert Lynn, 1964) 5/10

Shoddy B-film has wonderful atmosphere and an interesting cast. Shot on location in Mozambique we get to see a lot of the countryside including an exciting finale above spectacular Victoria Falls and on a bridge in Zambia. A cop (Paul Hubschmid) saves an out of work pilot (Steve Cochran) from a jail sentence if he agrees to go to East Africa for a job. On arrival he finds his new boss dead and the man's seductive widow (Hildegard Knef) without a shred of grief. Along the way he hooks up with a fellow passenger, a singer (Vivi Bach), who has been assigned a job at a local club. Drug smuggling, kidnapping, sinister Arabs, assorted murders make up the plot all of which are portrayed in an extremely lazy way full of potholes. The action scenes are ineptly staged while the blonde singer swims in a river, makes passionate love with the pilot and manages to retain her giant-sized coiffure without a single hair out of place. Cochran tries to go the James Bond route but has no flair and looks too old. This was his last film as he was found dead on his yacht off Guatemala with his all-female crew spooked until they docked. Kneff is totally wasted as a femme fatale although she is magnificent singing two songs in her signature smoky voice. An oddity but not without complete interest.

[Precious Doll]

Waves (2019) Trey Edward Shults 8/10
The Assistant (2020) Kitty Green 5/10
Proxima (2019) Alice Wioncour 4/10
Tonio (2016) Paula Van der Oest 4/10

Repeat viewings

L'Atalante (1934) Jean Vigo 8/10
GoodFellas (1990) Martin Scorsese 7/10
Zero For Conduct (1933) Jean Vigo 7/10
Common Law Cabin (1967) Russ Meyer 8/10
Reversal of Fortune (1990) Barbet Schroeder 9/10
Destry Rides Again (1939) George Marshall 7/10
Crash (1996) David Cronenberg 10/10
Magic (1978) Richard Attenborough 7/10
Lorna (1964) Russ Meyer 5/10
Ordinary People (1980) Robert Redford 4/10

[Precious Doll]

Da 5 Bloods (2020) Spike Lee 2/10

That bad? Haven’t seen it yet

In all fairness I am probably in the minority in my feelings towards the film. I wanted to like it and watched it with high expectations but found it nothing more than a pretty B-Grade action film with some political dressing that didn't compliment each other. Spike Lee has always been hit and miss with me and this is definitely a miss.

[mlrg]

Da 5 Bloods (2020) Spike Lee 2/10

That bad? Haven’t seen it yet

[Precious Doll]

Da 5 Bloods (2020) Spike Lee 2/10
My Little Sister (2020) Stéphanie Chuat & Véronique Reymond 4/10
Bad Education (2020) Cory Finley 8/10
Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (2019) Kevin Smith 4/10
Charter (2020) Amanda Kernell 4/10
A Perfectly Normal Family (2020) Malou Reymann 5/10
Angel of Mine (2019) Kim Farrant 4/10
Zana (2019) Antoneta Kastrati 4/10

Repeat viewings

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947) Joseph L. Mankiewicz 10/10
Brand Upon the Brain! (2006) Guy Maddin 8/10
Diner (1982) Barry Levison 7/10
Damage (1992) Louis Malle 7/10
Cherry, Harry & Raquel (1969) Russ Meyer 7/10
The Poseidon Adventure (1972) Ronald Neame 8/10