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

[Reza]

1917 (Sam Mendes, 2019) 8/10

The film's simple premise is presented via a bravura technique whereby cinematographer Roger Deakins and editor Lee Smith use very long takes to have the entire film appear as one continuous shot. The "gimmick" allows the audience to experience the action on the battlefield just like the characters on screen. During WWI two young British soldiers are sent on a suicidal mission across German lines to stop a British military unit from attacking and walking straight into a trap set for them by the enemy. Time is of the essence and the journey is fraught with danger. Mendes never lets up as he creates spectacular set pieces through which the two young men blindly stumble through fully aware that they could be picked off at anytime by the enemy snipers. Both actors - George MacKay & Dean-Charles Chapman - as the young soldiers give moving performances with their eyes betraying fear at every step trudging through trenches and bunkers, avoiding huge craters filled with filthy water and dead bodies of soldiers, walking fully exposed across vast fields and through bombed out towns and through a raging river. The film's outstanding production design - the terrain of trenches, burning towns - is created with exceptional detail and enhanced by the camerawork of Roger Deakins. The film easily ranks with some of the best war films of all time and provides a rare glimpse into the kind of warfare that no longer exists. Mendes shoots the film like a thriller providing a fresh gravitas to the age-old war formula. Having two unknown actors was an inspired choice as star power does not come in the way of the mission at hand as the two characters blend into the action which is the foremost element of the plot. There are small but vivid parts for Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Strong and Richard Madden playing senior officers. My only quibble with the film is that it begins to drag during the middle - the sequence with the woman and baby could have been omitted - but overall it is an audacious undertaking by a director who should make films more often. Nominated for 10 Oscars it is the frontrunner to win the top prize unless there is a last minute upset by the Tarantino film or the even more audacious South Korean nominee. The film is a must-see.

Black Narcissus (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, 1947) 10/10

The specatcular Himalayan location, Sabu as an Indian prince, a ravishing 18-year old Jean Simmons as a saucy Indian wench with a nose ring, an old batty ayah, five Anglo-Catholic nuns and David Faraar dressed in tiny shorts exposing his legs combine to form the plot of this delirious tale about simmering sexual tension. A young Sister Superior (Deborah Kerr) is given the daunting task of accompanying four nuns from Calcutta to set up a school and infirmary in a ramshackle old building on the edge of a cliff in the far-off Himalayas. The heady mountain atmosphere, the forbidding foreign culture, the past history of their new convent having once been a harem and the arrival of the local General's British agent (David Faraar) put the nuns on edge challenging their religious vows. The presence of the virile man and his conversations, dripping with sexual innuendo, greatly flusters the nuns. While it brings back unwanted memories of a failed affair for the Sister Superior it has a violent effect on Sister Ruth (the superb Kathleen Byron) who goes into a sexual frenzy as if possessed, ripping off her habit, wildly smearing lipstick, coming on to the visiting Agent and feeling extreme jealousy towards her Superior. The film earns its place as a landmark Technicolor production with Jack Cardiff's stunning cinematography rightfully earning raves and an Oscar. This is one of the most beautiful films ever made with each shot dazzling as it captures through exquisite lighting one stunning image after another of the exotic location where the story is set. What is even more amazing is that director Powell shot the entire film in the studio in England using matte effects and model work to create the sets. Deborah Kerr's magnificent performance was the breakout which helped her become a star in Hollywood. Along with an Oscar for its cinematography the film also won for its production design. Stunning film should be seen on the big screen.

Manto (Nandita Das, 2018) 6/10

Atmospheric film covers the tortured, poverty stricken and alcohol-ridden life of writer Sadat Hassan Manto from his early days in India to his life in Pakistan after migration. The short story writer spent most of his short life (he lived only 42 years) fighting obscenity charges against his works (among many bold subjects he also tackled rape and lesbianism) which had the unique ability to hold a mirror to the society which made people highly uncomfortable. This troubled artist is brought hauntingly to life by Nawazuddin Siddiqui who gets totally immersed in the character. Unfortunately the screenplay fails to explore any of the important characters surrounding Manto and comes up short against the Pakistani film version (also called "Manto") made by Sarmad Sultan Khoosat in 2015. That version managed to provide a well rounded view about his life and interspersed it with moments from most of his memorable short stories.

[Precious Doll]

Bombshell (2019) Jay Roach 5/10
The Mend (2014) John Magary 4/10
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019) Joachim Rønning 2/10
A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood (2019) Marielle Heller 4/10

Repeat viewings

Short Cuts (1993) Robert Altman 9/10
Senso (1954) Luchino Visconti 8/10
Victor/Victoria (1982) Blake Edwards 8/10
Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972) Werner Herzog 7/10
The Keep (1983) Michael Mann 8/10
Jesse James (1939) Henry King 7/10
My Girlfriend's Boyfriend (1987) Eric Rohmer 8/10
Next Stop Greenwich Village (1976) Paul Mazursky 7/10
The Return of Frank James (1940) Fritz Lang 7/10

[Reza]

Bombshell (Jay Roach, 2019) 6/10

The Fox News girls - senior anchors Megyn Kelly (Charlize Theron) and Gretchen Carlson (Nicole Kidman) - blow the whistle on Roger Ailes (John Lithgow), the chairman and CEO of Fox News and Fox Television Stations, calling him out on sexual harassment charges. They were joined by numerous other women who all came out against Ailes forcing Rupert Murdoch (Malcolm McDowell), co-creator of Fox, to fire him. The film comes on the heels of the tv version about the case - " The Loudest Whisper" - with Russell Crowe as Ailes, and is one of the first major films out of Hollywood that deal with the #metoo movement that started after producer Harvey Feinstein was called out by numerous actresses and charged with rape and harassment. The performances get a great deal of help from lots of makeup - prosthetics are used on Theron's face to resemble Kelly while Lithgow is completely transformed to look like the grotequely fat Ailes. Margot Robbie, playing composite character Kayla Pospisil, gives the film's best performance especially during two dramatic scenes - the humiliating and cringeworthy moment where Ailes demands she lift her skirt bit by bit until her panties are exposed and later during a scene talking to her friend on a telephone where she breaks down while confessing she had sex with Ailes in return for an anchor spot. The latter moment rivals the famous "telephone scene" that brought Luise Rainer her first Oscar in 1936 for "The Great Ziegfeld". The screenplay flits restlessly from character to character without letting any one get enough screen time although Theron, as the film's lead, gets more of an arc. Both Theron and Robbie received Oscar nominations as did the film's makeup.

Dark Waters (Todd Haynes, 2019) 7/10

Factual docudrama, shot like a thriller isn't just an attack on corporate greed but is also a frightning exposé of environmental pollution. The story has strong echoes of such films from the past like "Z", "All the President's Men", "Norma Rae", "Silkwood" and "Erin Brockovich" wherein underdogs take on the government or large corporations and expose cover-ups that have resulted in harm to the public. The screenplay, based on the New York Times Magazine article "The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare”, has a corporate lawyer (Mark Ruffalo) take on the most powerful American chemical company after a farmer from his hometown shows him the result of the company dumping chemicals in a stream near his farm - 180 cows dead from tumors. Despite DuPont being his law firm's biggest client he decides to investigate and sues them on behalf of the effected local residents who are shown to be suffering from various diseases including cancer. Ruffalo is joined by a superb group of actors - Anne Hathaway as his supportive but worried wife, Tim Robbins as his smooth boss, Victor Garber as the reptilian chief executive at DuPont and Bill Camp as the hapless old farmer. The scary part is that "Teflon" - a man-made chemical used as a non-reactive, nonstick surface on frying pans and as a coating on wires - is now in the bloodstream of 99% of life on earth and there are still thousands of chemicals which are still unregulated and in continuous use all over the world.

Last Christmas (Paul Feig, 2019) 1/10

A romantic comedy set in a tinsel covered London that has not an iota of romance or comedy. However, what it does have is a lousy screenplay (courtesy of Emma Thompson & Greg Wise) with unappealing characters shouting out their lines. Slovenly Kate (Emilia Clarke), wannabee singer and total fuck-up, works as an elf in a store stuffed with Christmas themed trinkets owned by a grouchy old lady (Michelle Yeoh) who has a heart of gold. Thrown out of numerous friends' homes she has nowhere to go except her immigrant parents' home. Mom (Emma Thompson) is overbearing and speaks with a Slavic accent, Dad is depressed and downtrodden and Sister is a shrill-voiced closeted lesbian. Into her life comes the mysterious and dapper Tom (Henry Golding) who shows empathy for the disaster prone girl although nothing much happens between the two. The film, peppered with songs on the soundtrack by George Michael, has all the ingredients for a perfect rom-com but nothing works. It all seems forced with every scene falling flat. None of the jokes raise a laugh and the chemistry between the lead actors is non-existent. Even the twist at the end seems contrived. A missed opportunity. Henry Goulding, so good in "Crazy Rich Asians", deserves better.

[Reza]

Little Women (Greta Gerwig, 2019) 8/10

Sumptuous adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's novel was a passion project for Greta Gerwig who also adapted it for the screen. For the first time this oft filmed story is told out of sequence as Gerwig's astute screenplay uses the flashback device going continuously back and forth from the present to the past. The story has always been front and center about Jo March (Saoirse Ronan), aspiring writer and spirited tomboy, but Gerwig here ensures that the other three March sisters are also captured on camera with a complete arc - sensible older sister Meg (Emma Watson) who gets married, selfish and spoilt Amy (Florence Pugh), jealous and constantly at odds with Jo and tragic Beth (Eliza Scanlen) the youngest. The girls live with their mother - Marmee (Laura Dern) - while their father is away with the army during the Civil War. Gerwig's detailed screenplay covers all the memorable moments from the novel as the girls interact with their rich and formidable Aunt March (Meryl Streep), Laurie (Timothée Chalamet), the boy next door, his grandfather (Chris Cooper), a tutor (James Norton) and a Professor (Louis Garrel). All these characters pivot around Jo whose coming-of-age as a woman and writer is the main crux of the story. This deeply felt film celebrates the strong bond of family with an emphasis on love and empathy. It is also an inspired choice to film many scenes outdoors using different Massachusetts locations. Superbly acted film with standout performances by Ronan, Chalamet and especially Pugh. Nominated for 6 Oscars - Best film, Ronan, Pugh, Gerwig's screenplay and the film's score and costume design.

Little Women (Gillian Armstrong, 1994) 6/10

The third big-screen adaptation of the classic Louisa May Alcott novel is the first to be directed by a woman - Gillian Armstrong - who brings a feminist spin to the story. The film, as in the novel, is narrated by Jo March (Winona Ryder) who lovingly describes growing up in post-Civil War America with her three siblings - older sister Meg (Trini Alvarado) and two younger sisters Beth (Claire Danes) and Amy (Kirsten Dunst/Samantha Mathis). While their father is away in the army the girls live with their beloved feminist mother (Susan Sarandon) who encourages her daughters to develop their intellect, humor and moral courage. Armstrong shows via glowing moments the family's trials and tribulations - friendship with the rich boy (Christian Bale) next door which results in pangs of unrequited love, Meg's marriage to an impoverished tutor (Eric Stoltz), Jo's attempts at being a budding writer and move to New York and her acquaintance with a German Professor (Gabriel Byrne), Beth's interest in music and her tragic illness, spoilt Amy's petty jealousies and her life away from home with their bossy, opinionated and rich Aunt March (Mary Wickes) in the hope of finding a rich husband in Paris. The story is a series of vignettes about their hopes, their beliefs and their dreams which don't quite fall into place as planned. The screenplay raises the question of women negotiating society's idea of marriage and their own desire for something more personal and fulfilling. Both Susan Sarandon and a winsome Winona Ryder stand out in the large cast. The film won Oscar nominations for Ryder, Thomas Newman's lovely music score and for the costume design.

Little Women (Mervyn LeRoy, 1949) 5/10

Glossy MGM version of the Louisa May Alcott novel with the character of feisty Jo March front and center and her sisters almost relegated to the sidelines. June Allyson is too old at 31 for the part of 15-year old Jo March but as star at the studio she got the plumb part in this remake. The studio's up and coming starlets get to play sensible older sister Meg (Janet Leigh who was 10 years younger than Allyson) and pretentious Amy (a blonde very mature looking Elizabeth Taylor at age 17) while timid Beth is played by child-star Margaret O'Brien. Straightforward adaptation briskly runs through the book's memorable moments as the four March sisters find their place in the world. The story is an ode to family life on the homefront during the Civil War as the four sisters, living with their mother (Mary Astor who was only 11-years older than Allyson) - dad (Leon Ames) is away fighting the war - experience life's pleasures (love & friendship) and difficulties (petty jealousies and tragedy). MGM went all out with the film's supporting cast from its stable of stars old and new - Lucille Watson as rich and shrill Aunt March, Sir C. Aubrey Smith as a wealthy neighbor, Peter Lawford as Laurie the story's main love interest, Rosanno Brazzi (in his Hollywood debut) as Jo's professor friend, Connie Gilchrist, Elizabeth Patterson, Harry Davenport and Ellen Corby. The film, a huge hit for MGM, won an Oscar for Art Direction and a nomination for its colour cinematography.

Little Women (George Cukor, 1933) 9/10

This classic adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's novel was long considered to be the definitive screen version until the recent one by Greta Gerwig. It also has Katharine Hepburn's celebrated interpretation of Jo March right at the start of her long and illustrious career - she won an Oscar that year but strangely it was for a lesser film - "Morning Glory". Cukor does a fine job bringing to the screen the lives of the four March sisters - sensible Meg (Frances Dee), tomboy Jo (Katharine Hepburn), shy Beth (Jean Parker) and selfish and vain Amy (Joan Bennett) - who live in reduced circumstances with their beloved Marmee (Spring Byington) during the Civil War. The plot covers their hopes, joys and tragedies with Alcott's alter-ego - Jo March - presented with a strong feminist bent, one who shuns marriage and earns money for the family by writing short stories. All the book's memorable characters are brought vividly to life - haughty Aunt March (Edna May Oliver), the rich neighbor Mr Lawrence (Henry Stephenson), his grandson Laurie (Douglas Montgomery) who catches the eye of two March sisters, the tutor Brooke (John Lodge) who marries Meg and the German Professor Bhaer (Paul Lukas) who forms a friendship with Jo. The film is evocative in its New England reconstruction with a moving screenplay perfectly capturing the Victorian strengths of Alcott's novel. It was nominated for 3 Oscars - Best Picture, for Cukor's direction and for the screenplay, which it won.

[Precious Doll]

1917 (2029) Sam Mendes 5/10
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019) Dean DeBlois 4/10
Missing Link (2019) Christ Butler 4/10
Klaus (2019) Sergio Pablos & Carlos Martinez Lopez 4/10

A very tiresome process. I was looking forward to 1917 and apart from the technical marvel there was so little so it.

And though I can't say that any of those Oscar nominated animated films above impressed me they were easier to sit through than Avengers: Endgame which I watched the week before given that it was without a doubt going to get at least one or more technical nominations.

On Tuesday Maleficent: Mistress of Evil 'drops' so I have that to look forward to

[Reza]

1917 (2029) Sam Mendes 5/10
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019) Dean DeBlois 4/10
Missing Link (2019) Christ Butler 4/10
Klaus (2019) Sergio Pablos & Carlos Martinez Lopez 4/10

[Reza]

England Made Me (Peter Duffell, 1973) 8/10

Graham Greene's novel, set in Sweden, comes to the screen transposed to 1935 Nazi Germany and filmed in Yugoslavia. A ne’er-do-well Englishman (Michael York) gets involved, via his twin sister (Hildegard Neill), with her lover - a ruthless German businessman (an intense Peter Finch) who is masterminding a scam on the stock exchange. While he has no love for the Nazis he uses their dirty tactics to fuel his greed. The story is a well-observed evocation of time, place and mood with two outstanding performances - Michael Hordern as a seedy journalist and Joss Ackland as an executioner.

The Intruder (Guy Hamilton, 1953) 6/10

Almost a memory piece as flashbacks reveal the good life in the army during the war while the present has not been good for some. A retired Colonel (Jack Hawkins in fine form) returns to his posh house in Belgravia to find it being burgled by a young man (Michael Medwin) who holds a gun at him. With a shock he recognises the man who was part of his tank regiment during the war. When he runs off the Colonel visits other members of his unit in order to find him and provide help. The screenplay deals with post-Second World War angst, bravery in war, difficulties in peace as we get to meet via flashbacks different class-ridden "types" played by a superb group of character actors - the simple cockney (George Cole), the slimeball (Dennis Price), a floozie (Susan Shaw) and the upright soldier (Hugh Williams). The film has some striking location shots of 1950s Britain.

The First Wives Club (Hugh Wilson, 1996) 5/10

The three stars are way better than the material they are stuck in. A hit at the boxoffice the film is an ode to the perseverance of women who get dumped by their husbands after years of marriage. When a depressed socialite (Stockard Channing) commits suicide her three college friends reunite after 20 years. All three are going through relationship issues. Elise (Goldie Hawn), an aging botoxed actress, is being sued for alimony by her producer husband (Victor Garber) who has left her for a younger woman (Elizabeth Berkeley). Brenda (Bette Midler) and her son are left to fend for themselves by her husband (Dan Hedaya), a rich electronics merchant who is shacked up with a greedy bimbo (Sarah Jessica Parker). Annie (Diane Keaton), a wimpy doormat, deludes herself that she will reconcile with her husband (Stephen Collins) who is actually having an affair with her therapist (Marcia Gay Harden). Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned so all three decide to take revenge. Farcical comedy is totally predictable but manages a few bitchy laugh-out-loud zingers. All three stars are at the top of their comic game and get able support from a great group of character actors in bit parts - Eileen Heckart as Keaton's brittle mom, Rob Reiner as Hawn's plastic surgeon, Maggie Smith as a gossip columnist and Bronson Pinchot as a decorator. Fitfully amusing.

The Small Voice (Fergus McDonell, 1948) 7/10

American musical star Howard Keel made his film debut in this taut little British thriller. An embittered but successful playwright (James Donald) and his actress wife (Valerie Hobson), contemplating divorce, come upon a car wreck while driving to their isolated country home. They take two of the injured men home and are later joined by a third man (Howard Keel) and two children. It transpires that the three men are on the run from prison with the police in pursuit and the children are survivors of a car crash whom the men found. Tension mounts when one child falls sick and the vicious and unrepentent criminal refuses to allow a doctor to be called. The plucky actress tries to get help and ends up butting heads with the criminal hoping to prick his conscience - "the silent voice" - into doing the right thing by saving the child's life. Keel is superb as the sneering tough guy and lovely Hobson matches him every step of the way as she tries to reason with him while trying to hold her crumbling marriage together. This atmospheric, briskly paced suspense drama was the second of two successful films produced by Anthony Havelock-Allan starring his then wife Valerie Hobson.

Underwater (William Eubank, 2020) 6/10

Slick sci-fi horror-thriller regurgitates by-the-number tropes of the genre harking back to far better films. It does have it's moments though especially a fantastic opening, a great physical performance by Kristen Stewart and a fairly nerve wracking finale. The film's mid-section almost grinds the film to a hault via its repetitive scenes and murky underwater photography where it's difficult to see what is going on. The plot is very familiar. A group of research scientists fight for survival when their almost 7-mile deep ocean floor laboratory begins to cave in. Was it an earthquake or is there some giant disturbed creature striking back? As the film does not have a huge budget the cast is small - plucky mechanical engineer (Kristen Stewart) and grizzled captain (Vincent Cassel) lead a group of five survivors - diversity be damned as the lone black character is the first to meet his maker - through claustrophobic spaces as gory jump-scares permeate the screenplay. Familiar memories of "The Abyss" and the "Alien" franchise are starkly evoked complete with Stewart stripped down to her underwear â la Ripley. During the scenes where the group has to make a mad dash through murky sea water on the ocean floor the director adds tension by shooting Stewart in extreme close-up by putting the camera into her helmet and showing her face from the side with her eyes conveying a feeling of total entrapment. What was most refreshing to see is Stewart trying out every kind of part available out there - from big budget Hollywood films to small indie features to European cinema to now an action thriller. This is strictly a B-film with some good jump scares sandwiched between a few too many slow stretches.

Flawless (Michael Radford, 2007) 6/10

Old fashioned heist story is set in 1960s London. With Michael Caine in the lead (the part was created for him) it evokes memories of his cat burglar in "Gambit" and other similar films like "Topkapi" and "How to Sreal a Million". An old janitor (Michael Caine) entices a prim and disgruntled executive (Demi Moore) to join him in stealing diamonds from their workplace where she is a senior member of the management team. Fast paced film relies on the chemistry between the two stars - Caine appears to be having a ball playing this old codger while it was sort of a comeback for Moore. She looks stunning in 1960s fashion as the two navigate through the suspense filled heist. Joss Ackland, speaking with an Afrikaner accent, is memorable as her intimidating boss.

Planet of the Apes (Franklin J. Schaffner, 1968) 9/10

First in a long series of films in the "Apes" franchise both on the big and small screen followed decades later by a remake after which came a reboot and its sequels. Fascinating sci-fi premise, based on a book by Pierre Boule, creates a planet that looks suspiciously like Cappadocia in Turkey on which arrive a trio of astronauts from earth. The survivor (Charlton Heston), to his horror, finds that the planet is ruled by apes while humans have been reduced to mute animal-like beings tormented, hunted and captured by the ruling simians. A semi-nude Heston goes through most of the film chained and degraded as he tries to convince the disbelieving apes of his human intellect. One of the film's many highlights is the first time Heston speaks in front of his captors - "Take your stinking paws off me, you damn dirty ape!" - shocking the apes who have never heard humans speak. Along the way he befriends a mute woman (Linda Harrison) and encounters two allies in sympathetic chimpanzee scientists, the circumspect Cornelius (Roddy McDowall) and the bold and outspoken Zira (Kim Hunter), who believe in him and try to convince their superior orangutan Dr Zaius (Maurice Evans) of his intelligence. The story reflects on and points out problems in our society providing a philosophical point of view on the true nature and character of man as predator and destroyer. Crackling adventure film moves at a brisk pace leading up to a shocking twist ending. The outstanding makeup effects won a special Oscar along with nominations for costume design and Jerry Goldsmith's iconic music score. The film holds up through repeated viewings and is rightfully remembered today as a classic.

Beneath the Planet of the Apes (Ted Post, 1970) 6/10

This sub-standard sequel is almost like a remake during the first half and then explores the shocking revelation of the original. An astronaut, Brent (James Franciscus), crash lands on the planet in search of the missing Taylor (Charlton Heston) who disappeared mysteriously after escaping with the mute girl Nova (Linda Harrison). He comes across the girl who takes him to the ape village where they are imprisoned. The ape scientist, Zira (Kim Hunter), helps them to escape and they end up in a subterranean subway station which happens to be New York after a nuclear war destroyed the world. The silly finalé has them captured by radiation-crazed super humans who have the power to communicate telepathically and worship a nuclear doomsday device. They also find the imprisoned Taylor - Heston was roped in for a few scenes - just when the apes attack. The film lacks the novelty of the original but Hollywood churned out yet more sequels with continuously diminishing returns in terms of plots and thrills.

Escape From the Planet of the Apes (Don Taylor, 1971) 7/10

Just before earth is destroyed by a nuclear explosion the two ape scientists Cornelius (Roddy McDowall) and his pregnant wife Zira (Kim Hunter), manage to escape in a rocket and travel back in time to present-day earth. The screenplay now begins its journey of how roles in the future got reversed with apes ruling over humans. The American government and public fete the two intelligent talking apes and are befriended by two scientists (Bradford Dillman & Natalie Trundy). As they divulge information about their lives in the future an unscrupulous Presidential advisor (Eric Braeden) secretly plans to kill the two apes and their newly born baby in order to change history and mankind's bleak future. Excellent episode in the series evolves into an amusing satire of media and celebrity culminating in tragedy but with a twist as the superior ape baby has been left in the hands of a circus owner (Ricardo Montalban). This allows the series to go onto its increasingly dark future. The film's highlight is the touching relationship between the two apes played with great sweetness by McDowall and Hunter.

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (J. Lee Thompson, 1972) 7/10

The series takes on a violent turn as servitude apes in 1991 California decide to revolt at the behest of Caesar (Roddy McDowall) the son of the intellectual apes Cornelius and Zira. His saviour, the old circus owner (Ricardo Montalban), kills himself while under interrogation to reveal the whereabouts of the talking ape triggering a violent reaction. Caesar, in the employ of an evil and racist Governor (Don Murray in fine despicable form), trains all the apes in servitude to revolt against humans. Sympathetic to his cause is the Governor's black aide - a plot point that turns the film into an allegory in which man's cruelty to beasts becomes symbolic of man's inhumanity to man which remains relevant even today and especially in the United States with its deplorable historic racism towards the black race. Paul Dehn's screenplay was conceived as a take on the American Civil Rights movement of the time and the film, a big hit like every one in the series, was especially popular with black audiences. The final battle against humans ends with a plea for peace, compassion and understanding.

Battle For the Planet of the Apes (J. Lee Thompson, 1973) 5/10

Last sequel in the series is a rather lackluster film. After New York is decimated by a nuclear explosion a small group of apes and humans co-exist in peace in a nearby village headed by Caesar (Roddy McDowall). When he is told that the archives under the destroyed city hold tapes with recordings of his parents, Cornelius and Zira, he decides to go and look for them. Unfortunately its like heading into a hornet's nest as the radiation-infected human survivors give chase and arrive to destroy their peaceful village. Adding to Caesar's woes is their gorilla General who decides to revolt killing Caesar's son who overhears his plans. Slow film is capped by a battle scene with the attackers resembling a motley version of the freaks from the "Mad Max" films. Adding a touch of gravitas to the proceedings are veteran actors John Huston, as the narrator, and Lew Ayres as keeper of their munitions - both stars in heavy ape makeup. Contrived film appears to have been assembled in an attempt to make one last buck from the franchise and was followed by a 14-episode tv series with Roddy McDowall starring.

[Precious Doll]

True Story of the Kelly Gang (2020) Justin Kurzel 4/10
1917 (2029) Sam Mendes 5/10
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019) Dean DeBlois 4/10
Missing Link (2019) Christ Butler 4/10
Klaus (2019) Sergio Pablos & Carlos Martinez Lopez 4/10
The Victim (2019) Niall MacCormick 6/10
Asya's Happiness (1966) Andrey Konchalovsky 6/10

Repeat viewings

Where the Green Ants Dream (1984) Werner Herzog 9/10
A Summer's Tale (1996) Eric Rohmer 8/10
The Enigma of Kasper Hauser (1974) Werner Herzog 10/10
That Obscure Object of Desire (1977) Luis Bunuel 10/10
Death in Venice (1971) Luchino Visconti 10/10
Autumn Tale (1998) Eric Rohmer 9/10
The Player (1992) Robert Altman 9/10

[Precious Doll]

The Gentlemen (2020) Guy Ritchie 7/10
Biker Fox (2010) Jeremy Lamberton 5/10
Isabel (1968) Paul Almond 4/10
The Act of the Heart (1970) Paul Almond 2/10
Avengers: Endgame (2019) Anthony Russo & Joe Russo 1/10
The Narrow Corner (1933) Alfred E. Green 5/10
The Blue Villa (1995) Dimitri de Clercq & Alain Robbe-Grillet 6/10
The Confessions of Felix Krull (1957) Kurt Hoffmann 8/10
Sweet Hours (1982) Carlos Saura 6/10
Buster and Billie (1974) Daniel Petrie 7/10
Little Monsters (2019) Abe Forsythe 2/10
The Traitor (2019) Marco Bellocchio 7/10

Repeat viewings

A Time to Live and a Time to Die (1985) Hsiao-Hsien Hou 7/10
Even Dwarfs Started Small (1970) Werner Herzog 7/10
The Canyons (2013) Paul Schrader 7/10

[Reza]

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (Marielle Heller, 2019) 4/10

Cloying ode to compassion and kindness. A cynical journalist Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys), with serious Daddy (Chris Cooper) issues, is assigned by his magazine editor (Christine Lahti) to write a piece on television personality Fred Rogers (Tom Hanks), the host of the television series Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. The screenplay, based on Tom Junod's Esquire article, has a predictable arc with every character painted with broad strokes. The journalist makes peace with his dad, becomes a better husband and a loving father to his baby son all after interacting with the twinkly but annoyingly sweet Mr. Rogers. Rhys is very good but Hanks comes off mannered and looking like a waxwork thanks to awful makeup.

Dream Girl (Raaj Shaandilyaa, 2019) 6/10

Ayushman Khurrana became a huge star playing the "everyman" in films which are almost always set in a small-town mileu surrounded by characters who have a strong whiff of reality. These films provide not only a strong part for Khurrana but Bollywood's outstanding catalogue of character actors fit in perfectly playing assorted types instantly recognizable from life. From roles that had him play a sperm donor, to an uneducated man forced into marriage with an overweight woman, to one with a severe case of erectile dysfunction, to one who is horrified to discover his parents are about to become parents yet again in middle age, to one who is forced to deal with his baldness, Khurrana has managed to juggle highly original roles which have also included dead serious dramas where he has played a cop in a social drama and a blind man in a suspense-filled wicked film noir. Here he tackles comedy playing a cross-gender male, a jobless young man who has the ability to mimick a girl's voice. He is lauded by the villagers because ever since childhood he would play the role of the goddess "Sita" on stage in mythological plays. Although fed up with this female act he ends up in a job at a radio station where he has to speak and provide advice to lovelorn listeners in the voice of a female. So "Pooja" is born, becomes a rage and men calling in start to fall in love with "her". Problems ensue when he himself falls in love with a young woman (Nushrat Bharucha ) whose brother is madly in love with "Pooja". Notwithstanding the silly premise and tasteless humour, the performances by the entire cast is spot on especially Khurrana who has a field day with the farcical situations. The screenplay, like most Bollywood films, devolves into melodrama during the second half and suffers from a lack of ingenuity. A huge boxoffice hit the film continues Khurrana on his rising career trajectory which is in sharp contrast to the other male superstars who rely on sappy romantic melodramas or action oriented films where they flex their muscular bodies. Khuraana gets wonderful support by Annu Kapoor as his hapless father in love with and wanting to marry "Pooja", Vijay Raaz as the poetry-spouting cop who woos "Pooja" on the phone and Neela Mulherkar as the whiskey guzzling grandmother.

Saand Ki Aankh / Bullseye (Tushar Hiranandani, 2019) 7/10

Crowd pleasing inspirational true story about female empowerment as two old women challenge patriarchy by picking up the ultimate symbol of masculinity - the gun. Two grandmothers - Chandro (Bhumi Pednekar) & Prakashi (Taapsee Pannu) - in a small village in Uttar Pradesh have spent their entire lives in suppression as wives to over bearing men who rule their household with an iron hand. While the veiled women work in fields and in the house cooking cleaning and producing children, their husbands spend their time sitting around smoking and reading. When by chance they discover sharp shooting skills they enter competitions in secret helped by a local doctor winning medals and money. Their efforts are to enable their grand daughters to follow suit and get government jobs under the sports quota and escape from an oppressed life. Both leading ladies give memorable performances despite being miscast with unconvincing old-age makeup. The screenplay often veers off into melodrama and the film goes on too long but the powerful underlying message at its center - shattering the brutality of patriarchy and the terror of women in villages - is heartfelt and important.

[Reza]

Reza wrote
But it WAS dude. I mean can't one even do some old fashioned oogling anymore? Or is that also politically incorrect now?

I was kidding! Can't I make or a joke without you getting triggered? Or are you too politically correct, lol

Me politically correct? Heavens forbid. Don't want Wes to ever think I'm transforming into an American

[Sabin]

Reza wrote
But it WAS dude. I mean can't one even do some old fashioned oogling anymore? Or is that also politically incorrect now?

I was kidding! Can't I make or a joke without you getting triggered? Or are you too politically correct, lol

[Reza]

Reza wrote
Hustlers (Lorene Scafaria, 2019) 6/10

The year's best screen moment has Jennifer Lopez writhing on the floor in an orgasmic frenzy fondling cash thrown at her by excited men in a bar.

But it WAS dude. I mean can't one even do some old fashioned oogling anymore? Or is that also politically incorrect now?

[Sabin]

Reza wrote
Hustlers (Lorene Scafaria, 2019) 6/10

The year's best screen moment has Jennifer Lopez writhing on the floor in an orgasmic frenzy fondling cash thrown at her by excited men in a bar.

[Reza]

Capricorn One (Peter Hyams, 1978) 5/10

One of numerous paranoid conspiracy theory films from the 1970s. The plot here is based on the director/writer Peter Hyam's suspicion and observation about the Apollo 11 moon landing about which he said, "That was one event of really enormous importance that had almost no witnesses. And the only verification we have . . . came from a TV camera". Taking this as his cue he constructed his screenplay around a fake NASA Mars mission with three pilots (James Brolin, Sam Waterston, O.J. Simpson) coerced into faking their drop onto Mars in a giant hangar after an empty rocket takes off watched by millions on tv. The hoax, perpetuated by the project leader (Hal Holbrook), comes about because the government realises that the mission is doomed from the start so to save face in front of the world (and to continue getting funds for the space project) NASA decides to create the landing followed by saying the astronauts all perished when the rocket exploded upon re-entering the earth's atmosphere. The shit hits the fan when the three astronauts escape and make a run for it. Stranded in the desert the government ruthlessly tracks them down. Meanwhile a suspicious reporter (Elliott Gould), helped by a colleague (Karen Black), attempts to get to the truth. The plot is full of potholes and the initial sense of dread suddenly gives way to humour in the scenes involving Gould and his disbelieving boss (David Doyle). The film ends on a spectacular note with a dizzying chase sequence in the air as two government helicopters give chase to a small plane flown by a foul mouthed pilot (Telly Savalas) who has as his passengers the reporter and one rescued astronaut. In a brief role Brenda Vaccaro is memorable as the chief astronaut's wife. The film takes a tongue-in-cheek approach but falters because it does not maintain enough of a tangible threat. A treat though to see so many stars in one film even if most appear very briefly.

Smuggler's Island (Edward Ludwig, 1951) 2/10

Silly B-movie set in Macao has a lot of scenes with tacky back projection. A diver (Jeff Chandler) is hired by a mysterious woman (Evelyn Keyes) to hunt for sunken treasure which turns out to be a boxload of stolen gold. Her oily husband (Phillip Friend) turns up wanting a share in the loot, there is a climactic chase sequence to Hong Kong across the bay followed by exploding fireworks on the boat. Lifeless film with the actors merely going through the motions.

Mr. Soft Touch (Gordon Douglas & Henry Levin, 1949) 8/10

Underrated Christmas classic starts off in frantic noir mode but devolves into a charming Runyonesque fable with a soft heart. A returning war hero (Glenn Ford) and former nightclub owner is swindled by the mob. He manages to rob them and holes up with the money in a settlement house in San Francisco run by a prim social worker (Evelyn Keyes). He ends up igniting a simmering fire in the lady but not before he imparts a few life lessons to the orphans, provides a Christmas tree and a new piano and helps decorate their gymnasium. Fast paced film has a lot of heart with an added dose of romance, comedy and menace in the mix. Ford, one of the most underrated great stars from Hollywood's golden era, is superb and gets to show his versatility as his character shifts mood according to the nuances in the screenplay. The superb supporting cast - Beulah Bondi, Clara Blandick, John Ireland (as a sinister newspaper crusader), Percy Kilbride, Ted de Corsia - bring their familiar personas to the film enhancing this heartwarming story.

Hustlers (Lorene Scafaria, 2019) 6/10

The year's best screen moment has Jennifer Lopez writhing on the floor in an orgasmic frenzy fondling cash thrown at her by excited men in a bar. The scene appears to be an homage to Ann-Margret's sexy moment covered in baked beans and tomato sauce in Ken Russell's "Tommy". The film, based on a New York magazine article, has a group of former strippers and pole dancers banding together to drug and rob their Wall Street clients. A shout out to female empowerment as sexist men get shafted. Walking through this Scorsese-like exposé is Lopez in all her movie goddess glory. The camera loves her and she knows it. More than a performance its the effect she has on screen dressed in 6-inch stilletos under a fur coat or pole dancing wearing a thong as she bounces her ass towards leering spectators. She easily steals the show from all her co-stars all of whom are very good too. The main plot is bookended by an interview between a journalist (Julia Stiles) and a former stripper (Constance Wu) about her relationship with her former friend and mentor (Jennifer Lopez) who led the con and made them rich. They may be con artists but they treat it just like any job going about their lives - some as single mothers raising kids - and making a living. The story gets repetitive but Lopez makes it worth sitting through.

Cousin cousine (Jean-Charles Tacchella, 1975) 6/10

Charming wisp of a film has the same dreamy quality as the classic "A Man and a Woman" by Claude Lelouche and also seems to have inspired Mike Newell's "Four Weddings and a Funeral" which came almost 20 years later. There are weddings and a funeral in this film too with love taking center stage. At a family wedding a man (Guy Marchand) and a woman (Marie-France Pisier) sneak off from the celebrations for a quickie in the flower beds. Meanwhile back at the wedding their spouses (Victor Lanoux & Marie-Christine Barrault) meet, dance, become friends and fall in love. The affair is conducted amidst the lives of their extended family members - uncles, cousins, siblings, children - whose chaotic lives we see during assorted celebrations and a funeral. Both Lanoux and Barrault are luminous as the lovers stuck with mismatched spouses but determined to make hay come rain or shine. A surprise boxoffice hit the film was nominated for 3 Oscars - best foreign film, screenplay and Barrault for best actress. The Hollywood remake ("Cousins") with Isabella Rossellini and Ted Danson was even better.

Profondo rosso / Deep Red (Dario Argento, 1975) 9/10

Argento's stylish thriller is far from the usual gialo schlock. Visually stunning film takes its cue from Antonioni's "Blow-Up" and the director's masterstroke here is in using the protagonist of that film to play the lead here. A British pianist (David Hemmings), working in Rome (although the film is mostly shot on the streets of Turin), witnesses the gruesome murder of a psychic and soon finds himself trying to stay one step ahead of the murderer as various people end up being killed. Helping him along the way is a wisecracking journalist (Daria Nicolodi). With Argento at the helm the victims die in terribly painful and inventive ways - burnt by scalding water, heads being bashed against corners of tables or fireplaces, necks slashed, heads chopped off. It is all played out in an operatic fashion with each murder punctuated by loud piercing music. Argento also uses sound in inventive ways to create dread as the camera moves sinuously through interiors of large buildings tracking characters who are either searching for someone or are being followed through shadows. Argento even throws in an homage to Edward Hopper in a scene where Hemmings walks past a bar exactly like the one in the artist's famous painting "Nighthawks". Riveting film has a hallucinatory quality with many unforgetable stark setpieces and surreal images. One of the all-time great horror films and a must-see.

The Lighthouse (Robert Eggers, 2019) 5/10

The film scores high points for its tableau of striking images shot in exquisite black and white by Jarin Blaschke. Scenes of crashing angry waves on a desolate windswept rocky island, wild seagulls flapping in the sky around a tall gothic lighthouse inside which a dull hysterical drama plays out between two men as they slowly descend into madness. This two-hander plays like an absurdist play. Two lighthouse keepers, a grumpy old geezer (Willem Dafoe) and a rookie (Robert Pattinson), get severe isolation blues when they find themselves trapped on an island due to a severe storm causing them to get drunk, hallucinate and finally attack each other. Both actors have a field day playing their parts at fever pitch as every cliché of the genre hurls across the screen with unbridled glee. Arty pretentious film quickly loses steam as the relentless shouting between both characters begins to grate on the nerves.

Casino Royale (Martin Campbell, 2006) 6/10

Overrated Bond film was Daniel Craig's introduction as James Bond. He brings to the part great charm and the character's nasty streak, a trait which was straight from the novels of Ian Fleming and long missing in the films since the era of Sean Connery. This reboot turns Bond into a human being again and it is refreshing to see the plot totally dispense with high-tech gimmicks - the opening chase on foot is breathtaking and inventive. Unfortunately the plot is too convoluted and does not flow, the villain - Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) - too dour and Bond's chemistry with Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) is almost non existent. Gone is Bond's sexist attitude which plays to the modern sensibility of political correctness but dispensing with the Bond girl's curves is a sacrilege from which the film fails to recover. All the women in the film are beautiful but totally sexless. Luckily "M" keeps popping up to liven up the proceedings helped in great part by the tart-tongued playing of Dame Judi Dench. The screenplay retains the memorable torture scene from the novel where a naked Bond gets his testicles whacked by Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre but it was a major disappointment that they dispensed with the iconic Bond theme which really set the tone for the series.