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

[Precious Doll]

Palm Beach (2019) Rachel Ward 4/10
Booksmart (2019) Olivia Wild 5/10
Midsommar (2019) Ari Aster 3/10
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019) Chiwetel Ejiofor 4/10
Once Upon a Time in London (2019) Simon Rumley 4/10
Domino (2019) Brian De Palma 3/10
Once Upon a Time...in America (2019) Quentin Tarantino 7/10

Repeat viewings

Away We Go (2009) Sam Mendes 7/10
Tomboy (2011) Celine Sciamma 8/10
The Birth of a Nation (1915) D.W.Griffith 5/10
The Silent Partner (1978) Daryl Duke 7/10
Missing (1982) Costa-Gavras 10/10
Every Man For Himself (1980) Jean-Luc Godard 9/10
Don't Look Now (1973) Nicolas Roeg 9/10
12 Monkeys (1995) Terry Gilliam 8/10

[Big Magilla]

Steel Country / A Dark Place (Simon Fellows, 2019) 6/10

Irish Andrew Scott, who plays Moriarty in "Sherlock", does quite an about-turn here playing an obsessive compulsive small-town American garbage collector. When a child goes missing and is found drowned in a creek he starts an investigation on his own opening up a can of worms with devastating results. The derivative mystery-thriller aspects are merely a means for Scott to show his acting chops. The director creates a foreboding atmosphere of decay and despair in this forgotten corner of America where his "weird" main character functions as the sole voice of reason.

This film takes place deep in Trump country as the 2016 campaign signs clearly indicate. Although it's set in southwest Pennsylvania, it was actually filmed in Georgia. The area of the country where it takes place was not so much "forgotten' as taken for granted by the democrats. The characters in the film, aide from Scott's autistic garbageman, are the types most likely to show up at Trump rallies and intone "lock her up" or whatever mindless, loathsome phrase his cheerleaders are espousing for the day.

It's a surprisingly good film both on and under the surface. The U.S. release title of A Dark Place suits it better than the original title of Streel Country under which it was released in the U.K. and elsewhere before it showed up briefly in U.S. theatres. It's called A Dark Palce in its DVD / Bluray release.

[Reza]

Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino, 2019) 7/10

Time and place - 1969 Los Angeles - is brought vividly to life in Quentin Tarantino's often bloated but delightfully
kitschy paean to Hollywood. The film is bursting at the seams with movie memorabilia and pop culture artifacts which are sure to bring every fanboy to the brink of a massive orgasm. And if it doesn't we all know for sure that Tarantino certainly experienced it while writing and shooting this film. Actual Hollywood personalities interact with the lead fictional characters - a has-been Western tv actor (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his longtime buddy and stunt double (Brad Pitt). An agent (Al Pacino) tries to keep the actor's career going by getting him a role as a villain in a studio western followed by lead roles in four Italian spaghetti westerns. Just on the fringe of this main plot we catch glimpses of actress Sharon Tate (a charming Margot Robbie) cruising around in a car with her husband Roman Polanski, watching one of her own films at the cinema and spending time with her former lover Jay Sebring and close friend Abigail Folger. A brief appearance by Charles Manson and an extended tense sequence set at the ranch where Manson and his gang live sets the dreaded tone for the entire film. With Tarantino at the helm expectations run sky high and the director delivers a spectacularly violent finalè but with a gleefully ironic twist. The film is far too long and drags mercilessly during all of DiCaprio's scenes. Fortunately the laconic Pitt is around to bring the movie to life in every scene he appears - providing loving support to his cranky and spoilt buddy, trading insults and fists with Bruce Lee, interacting with his dog and showing his mettle during the showdown at the end. This should at last put the actor into serious consideration for an Oscar. The film also scores major points for the outstanding production design, costumes and Robert Richardson's cinematography which makes L.A. glow. Too bad about the excessive running time which, if nothing else, at least allowed Tarantino to indulge in all his movie fantasies.

Four Weddings and a Funeral (Mike Newell, 1994) 10/10

Hugh Grant's finest moment on screen - where he first bumbled about in witty style - as the commitment-phobic bachelor who has a hard time getting to the altar although he keeps attending weddings (and one funeral). He is given superb support by a group of delightful actors playing assorted eccentric friends - Simon Callow, Kristin Scott Thomas (superb as the friend who secretly loves him), Charlotte Coleman, John Hannah, Anna Chancellor and James Fleet. His object of desire is the lovely Andie MacDowell who is truly a vision in white. The hilarious screenplay ensures that even the smallest part on screen - played by the likes of Corin Redgrave, Jeremy Kemp, Kenneth Griffith, Elspet Gray, Rowan Atkinson, Rosalie Cruthchly, Sophie Thompson - makes a strong mark. A memorable song score on the soundtrack adds to the fun on screen.

Storm Warning (Stuart Heisler, 1951) 8/10

Hard-hitting Warner Brothers melodrama is one of the rare films from that studio that carries it's bleak mood from start to finish. The screenplay by Richard Brooks is a bitter indictment of the notorious Ku Klux Klan ("hoodlums dressed up in sheets") and even though it does not touch on issues of race - the murdered victim is a white reporter who was about to expose the Klan - the message is rammed home with full force. The small town atmosphere - not the South - is superbly captured. The town remains nameless but reeks of the Mid-West - the film was shot in 1949 and having lived in Indiana (where I once saw a KKK procession) and Ohio during the 1980s I saw no change at all in the look and feel of such little towns with their sensibilities which probably exist even today. A New York model (Ginger Rogers), en-route to a convention, stops to visit her younger married sister (Doris Day) in a small town. She immediately encounters an air of menace with hostile townfolk. Walking down a deserted street she comes upon hooded figures who are beating up a man who is then shot dead. She hides and later discovers that one of the hooded men (Steve Cochran), who shot the man, is married to her pregnant sister. When the D.A. (Ronald Reagan) indicts her to testify in court she pretends she saw nothing. The film goes on to rip-off "A Streetcar Named Desire" with a scene of an attempted rape (Cochran has a strong whiff of Brando) and an over-the-top ending with Ginger Rogers undergoing a frenzied whipping during a massive Klan gathering complete with a burning cross and a tragic shooting. The "message" gets over hammered but this is a potent (and deliciously overheated) little drama with superb dramatic performances by both Ginger Rogers and Doris Day. This film was my first introduction to both actresses when I first saw it 43 years ago and it was only later I caught both in the genre for which they are both remembered so fondly today.

Steel Country / A Dark Place (Simon Fellows, 2019) 6/10

Irish Andrew Scott, who plays Moriarty in "Sherlock", does quite an about-turn here playing an obsessive compulsive small-town American garbage collector. When a child goes missing and is found drowned in a creek he starts an investigation on his own opening up a can of worms with devastating results. The derivative mystery-thriller aspects are merely a means for Scott to show his acting chops. The director creates a foreboding atmosphere of decay and despair in this forgotten corner of America where his "weird" main character functions as the sole voice of reason.

[Reza]

La fortuna di essere donna / What a Woman! (Alessandro Blasetti, 1956) 8/10

Charming fluff coasts along on the incredible chemistry between Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni as they spar relentlessly. A photographer (Marcello Matroianni) snaps a photo of a Rome beauty who happened to be fixing her skirt exposing her legs. To her surprise she finds the photo on the cover of a magazine and threatens to sue. The enormous publicity attracts the attention of a lecherous old married lothario (Charles Boyer), an agent, who wants to sign her as a client so he can sleep with her under the pretext of launching her movie career. But he and other old men clamouring for her attention don't realise that under her simple facade she is a shrewd and tough cookie. Loren, never more beautiful and dressed in stunning outfits, is at her statuesque best - very slim and curvy - as she manoeuvres with sly stealth and ends up getting her man. Elisa Cegani, a favourite of Blasetti, is hilarious as Boyer's sophisticated wife who puts a spanner up her husband just as he is proposing to Loren in a crowded restaurant. The film is Italy's answer to Hollywood's screwball comedies as the rapidfire dialogue between the two stars works itself into a fever pitch. Great fun.

The Americanization of Emily (Arthur Hiller, 1964) 8/10

Sandwiched in between "Mary Poppins" and "The Sound of Music" was this small black romantic comedy in which Julie Andrews briefly laid bare her Goody Two-shoes image - which later got revived again as the years moved along. Paddy Chayefsky's witty and acerbic screenplay (based on the book by Wilfred Bradford Huie) is a scathing critique of the military establishment, war, and its pervasive glorification. A cynical Naval officer (James Garner) works as a "dog robber" which involves pimping for his hypocritical superior officers and providing them booze and other delicacies while stationed in London just before D-Day during WWII. A self proclaimed coward he hopes to keep away from battle enjoying life to the fullest. Life takes a turn when he falls in love with a prim British war widow (Julie Andrews) with whom he clashes over his radical views. On top of that he suddenly finds himself in the thick of battle when a cracked Admiral (Melvyn Douglas) comes up with the crazy idea of one of his men being the first to die on Omaha beach during the Allied landing at Normandy. This hilarious and often poignant anti-war film moves at a fast pace with both Garner and Andrews (whose performance is tinged with adult maturity in contrast to her family-friendly image) creating sexual sparks in this the first of their three popular screen teamings. Joyce Grenfell has a delightful bit as Andrews' dotty mother who is charmed to tears by Garner's unfliching comments about her dead soldier husband and the fake glory of heroism which people have believed through the centuries. Phillip Lathrop's gorgeous Oscar nominated widescreen cinematography is seen to great advantage in particular during a scene at an airport tarmac where the lovers bitterly part as rain pours down on them. Smart intelligent film with humour.

The Lion King (Jon Favreau, 2019) 4/10

The 1994 classic animated film (which I must have seen [and really enjoyed] a 100 times courtesy of my two kids) gets a retread courtesy of CGI which makes all the animals look real. Did this story need a remake? Not really and certainly not with the additional 30 minutes of screen time which really makes the film drag. Otherwise the familiarity of the story and the songs made it a pleasant enough experience. Simba (voiced by Donald Glover), a young lion cub, flees his kingdom after the murder of his father, Mufasa (James Earl Jones returns with his memorable boom-box voice), at the hands of his devious and jealous uncle Scar (voiced blandly by Chiwetel Ejiofor - sadly Jeremy Irons and his deliciously evil voice from the original are sorely missed). After assorted life lessons Simba returns to reclaim his land and confronts his evil uncle who has taken over the kingdom with the help of an army of hyenas. Elton John's memorable song score is still intact but lacks the magic sound of the original performers. The songs just sit here instead of soaring like in the original. Even the Oscar winning "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" sung so memorably by Elton John sounds bland in comparison even though both Donald Glover and Beyoncé give it a go here. Just stick to the original film which still retains its magic.

Torn Curtain (Alfred Hitchcock, 1966) 5/10

This is not one of Hitchcock's good films although he takes a memorably fetishistic delight in presenting in extreme closeup a scene in bed as his two stars, Paul Newman and Julie Andrews, kiss furiously. The last time the director shot an almost similar sequence was between Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman in the classic "Notorious" to much greater success. The rather odd casting of the two stars in this thriller (they have absolutely no chemistry together), the derivative plot and a loud music score all add to the film's failure. An American physicist (Paul Newman) on a lecture tour in Copenhagen ditches his fiancé (Julie Andrews), jumps on a plane to East Berlin and defects. She manages to board the plane and is shocked by her lover's actions. It turns out he is a spy and is on a mission to extract a formula related to a new rocket system from an unsuspecting german scientist. Hitchcock dismissed this film and blamed the studio for saddling him with two expensive stars and a screenplay that had to be constantly worked on during filming. On top of that Newman consistently annoyed the director with his relentless questions about his character's motivations to which Hitchcock famously retorted that the actor's motivation should be the huge salary he was getting and nothing else. Despite all the chaos the director still manages to put his stamp on the film especially in a fight sequence where Newman and a woman struggle to kill a man who is beaten, throttled, stabbed and finally gassed to death in the oven of a kitchen stove as he kicks and twitches in an endless death throe. The irony of the german man's death is horrifying but also a typically wicked Hitchcock touch bordering on the macabre. With this scene he wanted to show just how difficult it was to kill a man unlike how most films made it look easy. The two stars are put through their paces by the "Master of Suspence" as he continuously locks them into dangerous situations, gets them out only to put them back right in to the thick of things. Lila Kedrova, fresh off an Oscar win, has a bizzare cameo - her role seems to have been written in on the spur of the moment as a Polish countess who appears from nowhere just to help the leads in their escape as she gibberishly mutters her lines. Newman goes through the entire film with a glum expression on his face while Andrews, who has a thankless and underwritten part, plays it with a persistent smile. One almost expects her to suddenly start singing. She knew it was a thankless part but took it on just to work with the great director. Overall this is a dull film with a couple of exciting set pieces.

Star of Midnight (Stephen Roberts, 1935) 7/10

Boozing and sleuthing proved very profitable for MGM with "The Thin Man" and before the studio could start churning out sequels the other studios jumped onto the bandwagon too. Thus William Powell got to play variations of his Nick Charles character involved with a murder mystery and cast opposite each studio's leading lady. Here it was RKO studio and Ginger Rogers plays his daffy fiancé trying her best to get him to the altar but the disappearance of a stage actress and a murder interrupt her plans. Both Powell and Rogers sparkle while bickering and Gene Lockhart is droll as their butler. The mystery is finally resolved and the killer found after a convoluted explanation which is really not of importance because the screenplay takes more delight in celebrating the two main eccentric characters.

The Ex-Mrs. Bradford (Stephen Roberts, 1936) 5/10

Stephen Roberts' last film at RKO studio - he died at age 40 - is a rehash of "Star of Midnight" which he made the previous year. Cashing on to the success of MGM's "The Thin Man" the star of that film, William Powell, was regurgitated over and over again by the studios playing a variation of "Nick Charles". Only the character's profession changed - here he is a doctor - and a different leading lady was provided. Myrna Loy's "Nora Charles" got a facelift courtesy of Ginger Rogers followed by Jean Arthur here who here plays the title role. The murder mystery revolves around a dead jockey, a deadly spider, assorted corpses and a denouement that is an almost exact replay of the one in "Star of Midnight". Powell rises above this stock material and is his usual droll self and bickers delightfully with daffy Jean Arthur as his annoying and interfering ex-wife. Providing added comic support are Eric Blore as their butler and James Gleason as a cop. Stale material livened up by the two leads.

L'année sainte / Holy Year (Jean Girault, 1976) 6/10

Jean Gabin's last film is a light hearted, delightful comedy with the star fittingly cast as a convict. Most of his memorable films had him playing theives and gangsters but with a strong code of honour. An old convict (Jean Gabin) and his cell-mate (Jean-Claude Brialy) plan an escape from prison with the old geezer planning to collect a hidden stache of gold buried under a lemon tree next to a church in Rome. Successfully escaping from prison they don the guise of priests and board a flight for Rome. As luck would have it the flight is hijacked by a group of terrorists demanding a ransom of a million dollars and take the flight to Tangiers instead. What they don't realize is the resourceful gruff priest on board who has quite a few tricks up his sleeve. Adding a sense of deja vu to the proceedings is another passenger, an elderly duchess (Danielle Darrieux), who happens to recognise the old priest as her former lover 40 years before. The two stars shine during their brief scenes together. Gabin, who died soon after the film was shot is fabulous as usual and the only reason to watch this very minor film.

[Precious Doll]

Young Ahmed (2019) Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne 2/10

Is your problem with this on a dramatic/filmmaking level? Or is it more in line with some of the reservations that some expressed when the concept was announced--that two older white men are telling a story that they don't and can't quite understand?

I like the Dardenne brothers a lot in general, and I'll definitely see this, but this definitely felt like an unusual choice for them. Unless I'm mistaken, this somewhat surprisingly doesn't have distribution in the US yet. IFC has distributed their last several films, but I haven't seen anything about them picking it up.

Dramatic/filmmaking level was my problem. I'm a great believer than anyone can make a film about anything and full credit to the Dardenne brothers for tackling a difficult subject but it simply didn't work. Their neo-realist style wasn't so much the problem as they didn't appear to have an outline or screenplay that tackled the issues the film raises. I don't know how they work screenplay wise but the subject manner needed deeper probing than their usual arm's length approach. The end pay off that is part of their trade mark was simply 'so what'.

I can't recall any film that has dealt with 're-educating' Islamic extremists and I sense the Dardennes were careful not to ruffle any feathers and in the end delivered a very dull, though thankfully very short (84 minutes) film.

Back in the early 1980s there was a Canadian film Ticket to Heaven (1981) and a Canadian/US co-production Split Image (1982) that both dealt with deprogramming members of religious cults. Both films were highly regarded but couldn't get bums on seats if you paid people and have over the decades slipped into obscurity. Both these films were far superior to Young Ahmed but religious cults don't inflame the masses the way that jihad's or right wing extremists are doing around the world now. Which brings me to The Believer (2001) that despite winning the top prize at Sundance had a hard time being seen anywhere for its controversial take on extremists (another film that has slipped into obscurity).

Anyway, prior to Young Ahmed I could count the Dardenne brothers in the small list of filmmakers that had never made a bad film. Flawed ones sure but nothing that I thought was outride bad until now.

I'm not surprised the film is having trouble picking up distribution in some markets - its pretty unmarketable and the mixed/negative response won't help it find an audience. It should receive a DVD release in Oz within about 12 months - the Australian distributor Madman release most of their films on physical media, even the ones that they don't give a general cinema release to, which I doubt this will recieve beyond the French Film Festival next March.

[dws1982]

Young Ahmed (2019) Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne 2/10

Is your problem with this on a dramatic/filmmaking level? Or is it more in line with some of the reservations that some expressed when the concept was announced--that two older white men are telling a story that they don't and can't quite understand?

I like the Dardenne brothers a lot in general, and I'll definitely see this, but this definitely felt like an unusual choice for them. Unless I'm mistaken, this somewhat surprisingly doesn't have distribution in the US yet. IFC has distributed their last several films, but I haven't seen anything about them picking it up.

[Precious Doll]

Each and Every Moment (2018) Nicholas Philbert 6/10
A Brother's Love (2019) Monia Chokri 6/10
The Wild Goose Lake (2019) Yi'nan Diao 4/10
The Trial (2018) Sergey Loznitsa 6/10
We Are Little Zombies (2019) Makoto Nagashisa 4/10
The Unknown Saint (2019) Alaa Eddine Aljem 5/10
Young Ahmed (2019) Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne 2/10
Queen of Hearts (2019) May el-Toukhy 9/10
Mr. Jones (2019) Agnieska Holland 2/10
The Cordillera of Dreams (2019) Patricio Guzman 4/10
It Must Be Heaven (2019) Elia Suleiman 6/10
Fire Will Come (2019) Oliver Laxe 4/10
Ghost Town Anthology (2019) Denis Cote 4/10
Abou Leila (2019) Amin Sidi Boumedine 1/10

[Reza]

Journey Into Fear (Norman Foster & Orson Welles, 1943) 5/10

Orson Welles' third film as director (although he insisted on giving Foster sole credit) is an uninspired spy thriller based on a crackling Eric Ambler novel. Joseph Cotten (in his third consecutive Welles film) stars and also wrote the convoluted screenplay (with Cotten's distracting narration tacked onto the film as an after thought by Welles). The film relies on atmosphere (set in Turkey during the war but shot on claustrophobic sets) created by the great Karl Struss on camera as he bathes the actors with lights and shadows using unusual camera placements. It does not compensate for a lack in suspense involving an American engineer (Joseph Cotten) visiting Turkey with his wife (Ruth Warrick) for a conference and attracting Nazi agents who put a hit on him. Cotten flounders around dodging the assassin and meets an assortment of colourful characters - an exotic nightclub dancer (Delores Del Rio) wearing a cat suit, the monstrous Turkish secret police chief (Orson Welles surprisingly underplaying) who forces him onto a tramp steamer to get away from the killer, a sinister businessman (Everett Sloane), the silent assassin (Jack Moss) and assorted grotesque characters on the ship including a nagging woman (an annoying and disheveled Agnes Moorehead speaking with a french accent). The dialogue throughout is a running commentary on god, war, marriage, death and politics. The film ends with a spectacular set piece in the rain but overall the film comes up short - the studio hacked up the film's running time without Welles' permission while he was away shooting a film in Brazil. The project clearly has Welles' stamp all over it and is worth watching for his familiar flourishes but it sadly disappoints in the end.

Adventure in Diamonds (George Fitzmaurice, 1940) 6/10

Silly fluff is one of Isa Miranda's extremely rare forays into Hollywood. Familiar plot was churned out numerous times with Hollywood changing the leading actors and the location in an attempt to make it seem fresh. It never was of course but the stars usually carried it along. A jewel thief (Isa Miranda) arrives in South Africa and on the plane attracts the attention of an army pilot (George Brent) who tries to make a play for her. She leads him on in an attempt to get a special pass into a diamond mine. She and her lover (John Loder) plan to steal a cache of diamonds. When she is caught and sentenced to prison the Police Commissioner (Nigel Bruce) agrees to release her under the condition that the pilot and she pretend to be a couple to try and entrap another gang of theives. Sparks fly and love rears its head. Miranda is dressed (by Edith Head) and packaged (superbly photographed by Charles Lang getting numerous dramatic closeups) to look like Marlene Dietrich's clone and even sounds like her. The studio publicized her as "the Italian Dietrich". She gives a witty, knowing performance while an aging Brent added one more great leading lady to his exceptional resume of female co-stars. Shot on the Paramount studio lot there is an interesting and detailed sequence explaining how diamonds are mined, sorted and cleaned in a South African factory. Well worth seeing for a glimpse of the exotic Miranda who had become a star during the early 1930s in a film by Max Ophüls but after two movies at Paramount moved to Europe and a more distinguished career in films with such diverse directors as Alfredo Guarini (her husband), Renato Castellani, Réne Clément, Eduardo De Filippo, Luigi Zampa, Max Ophüls, David Lean ("Summertime"), Henri Verneuil, Damiano Damiani, Mauro Bolognini, Anthony Asquith, Vittorio De Sica and Liliana Cavani.

[Reza]

Long Shot (Jonathan Levine, 2019) 8/10

Oil and water never mix but strangely enough sexy Charlize Theron mixes really well with slobby Seth Rogen in this charming and often hilarious comedy. Usually films with such premises - two complete opposites clashing on a "road trip" - have two men, but here we have a gelling of the opposite sexes who are completely poles apart from each other. A journalist (Seth Rogen) runs into the Secretary of State (Charlize Theron), who happened to be his babysitter years before, and agrees to take on a job as her speech writer on her way to the Presidency. Outrageously unrealistic and predictable premise works like a charm thanks to the great chemistry between the two stars. A screwball rom-com with heart - the underdog (Rogen) competes for her love with the Prime Minister of Canada (Alexander Skarsgård) making the whole plot even more absurd when the screenplay leads towards the expected happy clinch. Theron has never been more alluring and brings back fond memories of the sassy Katharine Hepburn, Jean Arthur and Barbara Stanwyck from all the screwball comedies of the 1930s. Rogen is......well, Rogen. And very funny. Also any film that has Roxette singing "It Must Have Been Love" on the soundtrack as the two leads do a slow dance gets a strong pass from me.

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (David Leitch, 2019) 4/10

Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and Shaw (Jason Statham) are like Laurel and Hardy but on steroids. This action thriller is like a video game - all noise, explosions and CGI augmented digital fight stunts and car chases. It's an energetic but terribly derivative spin-off with our two testosterone-enhanced heroes after a killer virus that has been stolen and which they discover has been implanted in the palm of Shaw's kick-ass sister (Vanessa Kirby) who is a MI6 agent. Hating having to work as a team the two bicker and insult each other non-stop as they race against time to save the girl while in relentless pursuit by a "Black Superman" (Idris Elba) - half man-half indestructable machine - working for an underground military-tech group who want control of the virus. The film is just an excuse to show-off the outlandish action set pieces and they have the perfect man to helm it - David Leitch who was the man behind Keanu Reeve's "John Wick", Charlize Theron's "Atomic Blonde" and the wisecracking Ryan Reynolds' "Deadpool 2". Both Reynolds and Dame Helen Mirren (as Shaw's mother) make cameo appearances. Just sit back, put your mind in neutral mode and either enjoy this wacky nonsense or get bored like I did.

Thérèse Desqueyroux (Georges Franju, 1962) 5/10

Dreary adaptation of François Mauriac's novel is an exercise in patience about a woman (Emmanuelle Riva) trapped in a stifling marriage to a self obsessed bourgeois boor (Philippe Noiret). After failing to poison her unpleasant husband a woman reflects on her life. To avoid a public scandal the husband speaks in her defence in court, gets her released and virtually imprisons her in an isolated lodge, depriving her from meeting their daughter and only allows her the company of unpleasant servants, bottles of wine and ashtrays full of cigarettes which she smokes incessantly. Riva goes through this long film in a trance and somehow managed to win an award at the Venice film festival. The film has outstanding photography by the great Christian Matras.

Big Little Lies (Andrea Arnold, 2019) - Season 2 6/10

The secrets and lies continue for the five friends during this second season along with a whole lot of guilt and healing over the tragic episode when the abusive husband of one of the ladies is pushed to his death by one of them. In addition to the trauma of that episode (which concluded the previous season) the girls have to face a whole lot of other grief - infidelity and the threat of a good marriage unravelling (Reese Witherspoon), bankruptcy and a philandering husband (Laura Dern), memories of an abusive childhood and suppressed hatred for a mother who now lies in a coma in hospital (Zoë Kravitz), the scary and tentative return steps towards a sexual relationship after a vicious rape years before (Shailene Woodley) and the bitter struggle to recover from an abusive marriage and face personal demons (Nicole Kidman) while having to face a court battle with a bitter and vengeful mother-in-law (Meryl Streep) who hopes to take custody of her two sons. This emotional drama, full of hurt and anguish, is played out in picturesque Monterey California with spectacular shots of the ocean and its waves crashing on the beach. The stars do well again as an ensemble with standout performances by a perky (and the always annoying) Witherspoon, the hilariously over-the-top Dern, a weepy Kidman and a sweetly deceptive turn by Streep who uses a wig to completely disappear into her role. The screenplay, along the way, manages to touch on a variety of subjects - a physically abusive marriage, the psychological after effects of trauma suffered during childhood at the hands of an alcoholic parent, the workings of the American judicial system, mental health issues and drugs, sex addiction and most of all the importance of friendship.

Slightly Scarlet (Louis J. Gasnier & Edwin H. Knopf, 1930) 5/10

Gentleman crook (Clive Brook) rushes to Nice after hearing that a nouveau riche American couple (Eugene Pallette & Helen Ware) staying there have a priceless pearl necklace. Also in pursuit of the loot is a lady crook (Evelyn Brent) after she is forced by her sleazy boss (Paul Lukas) to go and switch the real necklace with a fake replica. The two crooks fall in love but complications ensue when the rich couple's daughter (Virginia Bruce) also sets her eyes on the gentleman. Typical 1930s fluff is carried off by a game cast with a plot that was recycled over and over again by every studio.

Sword in the Desert (George Sherman, 1949) 7/10

Topical and rare Hollywood film set just before the State of Israel was created and shot soon afterwards is also strongly anti-British (a plot that lacks nuance and plays upon a one-sided jewish bent while showing the British as strident and unjust) which caused the film to be banned in the United Kingdom. Often heavy handed, it is nevertheless an exciting war film with strong performances. A self-seeking Irish-American freighter Captain (Dana Andrews), for a price, agrees to smuggle European jews (and Holocaust survivors) into British-administered Palestine at the behest of a Jewish partisan (Stephen McNally). The drop is successful but the British patrol gives chase and he along with the refugees manage to make it to a small village where he gets to meet the humane Jewish underground leader (Jeff Chandler who is superb in one of his first big roles) and the pretty woman (Märta Torén) who broadcasts anti-British speeches on the wireless. When the Captain tries to contact his boat via wireless the British catch on, raid the village and later capture the partisans and refugees. The film ends with an action packed, over-the-top (and historically inaccurate) Jewish commando raid on a British military base. Overly sympathetic to the cause of Israeli independence the screenplay also relies on heavy Christian symbolism throughout with an obvious eye towards the Christian-American movie-going public. Chandler's strong performance helped him get an exclusive seven-year contract at the studio.

Midnight Run (Martin Brest, 1988) 9/10

Slick direction and wonderful chemistry between two unlikely stars makes this one of the best and funniest cross-country road movies which makes a rather tired concept seem very fresh. An ex-cop turned bounty hunter (Robert De Niro) is given the task of bringing in a crooked accountant (Charles Grodin) who embezzled millions of dollars from the mob in Vegas and then jumped bail. The hilarious screenplay has the duo journey from New York to Los Angeles via plane, trains and assorted stolen automobiles. Giving chase are the FBI (Yaphet Kotto - very funny as exasperated agent "Alonzo Mosely"), a couple of goofy mob hitmen and another bounty hunter (John Ashton) who is relentlessly fooled by his competitive counterpart who manages to hold on to his bounty. Briskly paced film relies on the interplay between De Niro and Grodin as they bicker, trade insults and save each others' lives as they try and evade their pursuers. De Niro is a revelation with his slow burn reactions and foul mouth (the "F" word is used 119 times) giving what is possibly one of his best screen performances and a rare comedic one. Grodin is equally good as the uptight, calm but sly white-collar criminal who easily manages to get under the skin of his captor with his prying questions probing into his private life. Formulaic film, with dollops of pathos, manages to come up trumps as the two quirky characters go through their paces, including a couple of spectacular action sequences, ending with a scene of genuinely moving intimacy. Great fun and a must-see.

Born to Love (Paul L. Stein, 1931) 3/10

Early talkie is stiffly acted and the lack of a music score makes it very difficult to sit through. An American nurse (Constance Bennett) in London runs into a fellow countryman, an aviator (Joel McCrea), during WWI. They fall in love but have to part when he is called away to the front. Missing in action the bereft woman gets married to the rich disabled British officer (John Kavanagh) who has loved her all along. When her lover suddenly returns events move from bad to worse leading to a divorce followed by a melodramatic ending. The wonderful cast surprisingly emote as if they are wax figures mouthing their lines in a dull monotone. The creaky plot is awash with clichés and even the attractive pairing of star Bennett with the handsome McCrea cannot save this dismal film. The only saving grace is the funny and sarcastic turn by Louise Closser Hale as an old aunt.

Two Against the World (Archie Mayo, 1932) 5/10

Frivolous society girl (Constance Bennett) - she loves caviar - and an idealistic lawyer (Neil Hamilton) - he prefers beans with ketchup - change their view points about life after falling in love. The film starts off in screwball mode but quickly shifts into a murder melodrama with hysterics in court. Bennett is superb and manages to be sophisticated and hardboiled at the same time as she effortlessly moves this rather tired plot to chug along.

Bought (Archie Mayo, 1931) 7/10

Constance Bennett in this film co-stars for the only time opposite her father, distinguished stage-star Richard Bennett. A superficial girl (Constance Bennett) tries to escape her poverty ridden life by ingratiating herself into society and ends up learning important lessons. Like most rich Hollywood female stars (Bennett was then the highest paid) she enjoyed playing characters from the wrong side of the tracks who either clawed or slept their way to the top by hook or by crook. This Pre-code drama has three men in pursuit of her - a kind elderly man (Richard Bennett) who gifts her books that challenge her mind, a young impoverished writer (Ben Lyon) who loves her and a rich playboy (Ray Milland) who gives her a huge wedding ring but is horrified when he learns she is illegitimate after she discloses that she had made up her exotic family background. A sharply written screenplay and an excellent performance by the star make this rare film a treat to watch although the print quality is sadly atrocious.

Rockabye (George Cukor & George Fitzmaurice, 1932) 5/10

A David O'Selznick production that was proving to be a disaster so Fitzmaurice was fired and George Cukor brought in to fix things. It is still pretty stale material although the two stars (who always had great chemistry) give it a strong try. A famous stage actress (Constance Bennett), from the wrong side of the tracks but now polished and spruced up, decides to take on a new play much to the consternation of her manager (Paul Lukas) who carries a torch for her. He feels the plot hits too close to home resembling her own life which had her testifying at the trial of a former crooked lover (Walter Pidgeon) which caused a scandal resulting in the authorities taking away her adopted child. However, she insists on playing the part and promptly falls in love with the married playwright (Joel McCrea). Bennett gives a lively performance as the sassy but vulnerable actress and is matched on screen by her handsome co-star. Jobyna Howland is a scream as Bennett's vulgar and often drunk mother. Thanks to O'Selznick the production is top notch with superb lighting, costumes and production design. Too bad the screenplay lets it down.

Escape to Glory (John Brahm, 1940) 6/10

Low budget B-movie set on a British freighter bound from Liverpool to New York. A disparate group of passengers - an American flyer (Pat O'Brien), a crooked lawyer (John Halliday), his secretary (Constance Bennett), a criminal (Alan Baxter) intent on killing the lawyer, an old couple and a German scholar - fight to stay alive when Britain declares war and a German U-boat surfaces and attacks the freighter. The Captain retaliates and shoots back as the boat is carrying a shipment of gold. The submarine submerges after damaging the boat which manages to hide in dense fog. Meanwhile someone on board signals the boat's whereabouts to the enemy as the passengers and crew plan a final retaliation. Exciting film is let down by shoddy effects. This began Constance Bennett's decline in Hollywood as she was relegated to B-films and minor supporting roles for the remainder of her career.

I Was an American Spy (Lesley Selander, 1951) 6/10

True story of Claire Phillips (Ann Dvorak), an American, who worked as an entertainer in Manila. She used her club to entertain Japanese troops during the invasion of the Philippines in 1941-42 and secretly provided important information to the American forces. She was one of the leading members of the resistance, smuggling medicines and food supplies to the prisoners at a nearby POW camp. She got her code name - "High Pockets" - because she smuggled messages in her brassiere. Finally caught she was imprisoned and tortured but refused to talk. She was liberated from prison by American troops and was awarded the Medal of Freedom at the recomnendation of General Douglas MacArthur. Low budget B-film is an excellent vehicle for Ann Dvorak and it was her last film before retiring from the screen.

The Lost Squadron (George Archainbaud, 1932) 8/10

Superbly shot aerial sequences and a script that takes savage digs at Hollywood make this one of the good early pre-code films from tinseltown. Three fighter pilots are at a loose end after the end of WWI. When one of them (Robert Armstrong) finds a job as a stunt pilot in Hollywood his two comrades join him to make a living doing what they all know best - flying. Working on a film directed by the tyrannical Von Furst (Erich von Stroheim) they find themselves at the hands of a jealous egomaniac as his wife (Mary Astor), the film's leading lady, was once engaged to one of the pilots (Richard Dix). This was the first film supervised by David O'Selznick at RKO studios after taking over as head of production and is evident in the film's overall look. Herman J. Mankiewicz's acidic dialogue skewers Hollywood with a vengeance. Dix and especially Joel McCrea as the third pilot are very good but it's von Stroheim, playing basically himself, who walks away with the film. He is hilarious dressed in jodphurs and carrying a whip as he struts about barking orders. Entertaining film from Hollywood's golden past.

[Precious Doll]

Diego Maradona (2019) Asif Kapadia 4/10
Breakthrough (2019) Roxann Dawson 2/10
The Public (2019) Emilio Esteverz 4/10
Dear Ex (2018) Chih-Yen Hsu & Hsu Mah Hus 5/10
Frankie (2019) Ira Sachs 2/10
Beanpole (2019) Kantemir Balagov 6/10

Repeat viewings

A Patch of Blue (1965) Guy Green 7/10
Brewster McCloud (1970) Robert Altman 7/10
The Deep End of the Ocean (1999) Ulu Grosbard 7/10
The White Ribbon (2009) Michael Haneke 9/10
Lust in the Dust (1985) Paul Bartel 9/10

[Precious Doll]

Looking for Grace (2016) Sue Brooks 4/10
Crawl (2019) Alexandre Aja 3/10
The Lion King (2019) Jon Favreau 4/10
Your Face (2018) Tai Ling-liang 6/10
Nina Wu (2019) Midi Z 6/10

Repeat viewings

Some Came Running (1958) Vincente Minnelli 8/10
Blue Denim (1959) Philip Dunne 7/10
Peterloo (2018) Mike Leigh 9/10
Europa Europa (1990) Agnieszka Holland 8/10
Autumn Sonata (1978) Ingmar Bergman 8/10
A Woman is a Woman (1961) Jean-Luc Godard 7/10

[Reza]

Meet Danny Wilson (Joseph Pevney, 1952) 6/10

The screenplay has startling similarities to Frank Sinatra's life and came just a year before his movie career was resurrected with an Oscar. On the skids in Hollywood the actor appeared in this B-film with a plot that had more than a few familiar tid bits. Danny Wilson, a cocky runt (Frank Sinatra), and his childhood friend (Alex Nicol) make ends meet by performing in assorted dive joints - he sings and his buddy plays the piano. A chance meeting with a dizzy blonde (Shelley Winters) gets them an introduction to the posh club where she sings. They are both hired by the propreitor (a wonderfully scowling Raymond Burr) who has mob connections. The twosome are a success and Danny becomes a singing sensation. Matters come to a head over love - the shady club owner loves the girl and so does Danny but she loves the piano player which causes the friends to break up. The film is actually quite enjoyable bordering on noir - the sequences with a terrific Raymond Burr, playing the villain, memorably standout - and Sinatra, in great voice, gets to sing 9 songs. Tony Curtis and Jeff Chandler have bit parts.

Un Taxi Mauve (Yves Boisset, 1977) 6/10

Rare film with an eclectic cast is shot on stunning Irish countryside locations by Tonino Delli Colli. The screenplay is tediously talky bringing together a group of disparate individuals with severe personal issues. A french novelist (Philippe Noiret), escaping a tragic past, relocates to Ireland. He befriends a young American expatriate (Edward Albert) also escaping a tragedy in his past. When the young man falls in love with the mute daughter / niece (Agostina Belli) of the loud village eccentric (Peter Ustinov) it draws his sexy and arrogant sister (Charlotte Rampling) to Ireland. She is in a loveless marriage to a rich german prince and flirts with the novelist hoping to get pregnant. Secrets are revealed involving death and incest as the characters all circle one another. Observing them all is an old man (Fred Astaire) who drives a purple taxi. Noiret and Edward are both very good, Ustinov shamelessly hams it up, Astaire seems lost in this mix and Belli is beautiful but stiff. A chic Rampling, a perpetual smirk on her lovely face, is a mesmerizing presence and gets all the best lines in the film. She has a memorable nude scene which she carries off with great wit and elegance. The film was shot in both english and french versions of which I saw the latter.

Broadchurch (James Strong & Euros Lyn, 2013) - Season 1 9/10

The small Dorset town of Broadchurch reels under pressure when the body of an 11-year old boy is discovered on the beach. Under a growing media frenzy two detectives - DC Alec Turner (David Tennant) and PC Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman) - investigate the case revealing sinister secrets harboured by many of the town's inhabitants. Riveting police procedural concludes with a shocking denouement.

Broadchurch (James Strong, Mike Barker, Jessica Hobbs & Jonathan Teplitzky, 2015) - Season 2 8/10

When the confessed murderer of an 11-year old boy suddenly pleads not guilty a court trial ensues. A prosecuting attorney (Charlotte Rampling) comes out of retirement to fight the case in court against her former pupil (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) who is the lawyer for the defence. Meanwhile DC Alec Hardy (David Tennant) discovers new evidence in an old unsolved case which involved the murder of a young girl and the mysterious disappearance of her older cousin for which he had been much reviled when the killer was not found. Helping him on the case is PC Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman) who simultaneously has to contend with the battle in court in which she has a personal stake. The television series makes great use of the seaside Dorset location with its imposing cliff and the crashing waves on the beach below. Charlotte Rampling brings a touch of class to the drama with her strong presence and there is a wonderful brief scene inside a cottage room where most of the main characters confront her - the awe on the faces of the actors is clearly visible as they stand in front of a great star.

Broadchurch (Paul Andrew Williams, Daniel Nettheim & Lewis Arnold, 2017) - Season 3 7/10

DI Alec Hardy (David Tennant) and DS Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman) investigate the rape of a middle-aged divorcee (Julie Hesmondhalgh who won a Bafta award) in their Dorset community. During the investigation two older rape cases come to light and it appears there could be a serial rapist on the loose. Chilling, thought provoking drama also links the continuing lives of the characters from the previous two seasons.

When They See Us (Ava DuVernay, 2019) 9/10

Horrific account of the Central Park Five case wherein five teenagers, four African-American and one Hispanic, were wrongfully convicted for the 1989 rape and assault in Central Park of a white female jogger. Led by New York City prosecutor Linda Fairstein (Felicity Huffman) the NYPD, under great pressure to solve the case, forcibly coerce confessions out of the five suspects who were then convicted by a jury. Despite a lack of substantial evidence and conflicting accounts by the boys they all served time in prison until years later the actual criminal finally confessed. DuVernay's powerful and upsetting film uses bright paint strokes to vividly bring to light that the American justice system and the press continue to fail people of colour - black and brown people are presumed guilty at all times, even by White liberals who pretend otherwise. Highly acclaimed film has been nominated for 16 Emmys with 8 cast members singled out for their performances.

Interference (Lothar Mendes & Roy Pomerpy, 1928) 6/10

"Hell hath no fury as a woman scorned". A dying playboy (William Powell), thought missing in action during WWI, returns to London and discreetly attends his own memorial. His vengeful, discarded former mistress (Evelyn Brent) recognises him and makes a play for him. When he again rejects her she blackmails his wife (Doris Kenyon) on charges of bigamy as she is now married to an imminent heart specialist (Clive Brook). When the blackmailer is poisoned suspicion falls on the wife. Paramount studio's first all-talking picture was also the first to feature a plot set in a drawing room setting - the story was based on a play. Despite the static nature of the new sound medium the cast perform their dialogue naturally - with both Brent and Powell standouts as they banter with each other. Doris Kenyon seems stuck in silent cinema mode with exaggerated expressions while Clive Brook is as stiff as a board. Interesting early melodrama is historically important and an excellent showcase for silent movie star Brent who made an easy transition to sound films but was sadly not able to maintain the momentum and was soon relegated to supporting roles in B-features. Powell went on to become a huge star.

[Precious Doll]

Hail Satan? (2019) Penny Lane 7/10
A White, White Day (2019) Hlynur Palmason 4/10
Sunset (2018) Laszalo Nemes 4/10
The White Crow (2019) Ralph Fiennes 4/10

Repeat viewings

L'humanite (1999) Bruno Dumont 9/10
Beat the Devil (1953) John Huston 9/10
The Collector (1965) William Wyler 8/10
Melvin and Howard (1980) Jonathan Demme 9/10
The Other Side of Midnight (1977) Charles Jarrott 7/10

[Reza]

Crawl (Alexandre Aja, 2019) 7/10

This is certainly no classic but it bravely takes on the mantle of "Jaws" and proves to be a fun summer popcorn film complete with hokey dialogue and a number of jump scares. The jaws here belong to a couple of alligators who in true pesky fashion are relentless in their pursuit of a trapped girl and her injured father in the dark recesses of a rapidly flooding basement. The flood is the result of a category 5 hurricane in Florida and the gators are using a large drain pipe to enter the basement of a house - once the flood is in full effect more reptiles appear in the open chomping down on cops and looters - and the trapped father and daughter also have a strained relationship to resolve while fighting for survival. Ignore the familiar clichés and just sit back and enjoy this rollercoaster ride which preys on people's intense fear of getting eaten up alive. The film's claustrophobic setting helps a great deal - the cramped interior of the basement is a marvelous jumble of wires, pillars and other objects that hinder and help the two characters as they try to outwit the devious predators. Briskly paced film is a breath of fresh air compared to the endless series of comic book adaptations that have continued to assault the senses these past few summers.

Splendor (Ettore Scola, 1989) 9/10

Scola's charming film is not only a paean to motion pictures and an homage to movie theaters but it also vividly captures the lives of people living in a small provincial town in Italy. The screenplay mainly revolves around the lives of three people who form a love triangle while running a small cinema called "Splendor". Jordan (Marcello Mastroianni) is the owner of a small cinema which he inherited from his late father. Via flashbacks we see him as a child and how he helped set up a makeshift cinema with a large sheet in the town square on which his father projected films. Eventually moving into a small building the cinema is a huge success. He meets Chantal (Marina Vlady giving a vivacious performance), a french showgirl, and they fall instantly in love and she comes to work for him as an usher. Luigi (Massimo Troisi), a cinephile, visits the cinema initially because he is attracted to the woman and after a brief affair with her takes a job as the projectionist at the cinema. Attendance at the cinema takes a downswing after the advent of television and Jordan brings in strippers to drum up business. The film liberally uses clips from many international films (Truffaut, Bergman, Risi, Fellini, Costa-Gavras, many Italian comedies) conveying the medium's superiority over television but which sadly remains a prisoner to the public's taste. This is very similar to Giuseppe Tornatore's "Cinema Paradiso" which came out the previous year, was a massive hit and somewhat took the edge off this film which unfortunately fell through the cracks. The film is a delightful reminder about the magic of movies and acted to perfection by the superb trio of stars. A must-see.

Pride of the Marines (Delmer Daves, 1945) 7/10

The Guadalcanal battle sequence is cringeworthy but totally in character as a marine (John Garfield) mows down 200 on-coming "Dirty Yellow Japs". The scene captures the raw emotion and terror of a soldier in battle as fellow marines die next to him and he shoots back in retaliation while cursing hysterically. The screenplay was nominated for an Oscar but I doubt that Hollywood, in these poiltically correct times, would dare to use the words that the actors here shout out to the enemy. The film is the true story of Al Schmid, his amusing courtship with a young girl (Eleanor Parker), joining up as a marine when war is declared - the scene where the characters react to the news on the radio is very real, a mixture of disbelief and nonchalance - most don't even know where Pearl Harbor is - a makeshift engagement at the train station, the battle where he kills 200 enemy soldiers but is blinded by a grenade in a suicide attack. The rest of the film deals with his rehabilitation and rejection of his sweetheart out of pride. The film goes on too long but Garfield is riveting throughout and Parker (let's not forget that sexy voice) is a wonderful smouldering presence as his loving, concerned and steadfast girlfriend. The screenplay also touches on racism against jews in the work place mixed in by the obligatory and cloying patriotism which was necessary during that critical time in history. Garfield rarely made a bad film and was always very good in whatever material he chose always making a strong impression.

[Reza]

Spider-Man: Far From Home (Jon Watts, 2019) 5/10

It doesn't bode too well for a film when it finally perks you up during the closing credits making you instantly revisit your life during the summer of 1982 as you find yourself snapping your fingers and start singing along to The Go-Go's as their hit song "Vacation" starts playing. Along with that magic moment you make a mental note of planning a European vacation ASAP after seeing a number of major cities on the Continent and London get destroyed - a major plot point in the film which is shockingly stale. After the events of "Endgame" we find Peter Parker (Tom Holland) getting back into life but the shadow of Tony Stark / Iron Man looms large in his mind especially when he is summoned by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) to jump into action and save the "world" against inter-dimensional creatures and the mysterious Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) who seemingly provides support. It also doesn't help that the main people in peril are a bunch of his very annoying high school classmates and teachers including the nerdy girl he has a crush on - they are all in Europe together on a school trip when the shit hits the fan. Screaming kids running from danger recalls all those silly slasher films churned out ad nauseum. Holland is a delight throughout but is surrounded by a lazy screenplay which is just not very compelling. The repititious fight sequences are a loud set of flashing effects which also quickly begin to grate. Contrived film is in desperate need of a plot.

Nobody Lives Forever (Jean Negulesco, 1946) 6/10

A con-man (John Garfield), just released from the army, takes time off in Florida spending big bucks he had left with an old lover (Faye Emerson). Meeting up with an old partner (Walter Brennan) he gets involved in a plan with another crook (George Coulouris) to bilk a naive rich lonely widow (Geraldine Fitzgerald) of her millions. When he unexpectedly falls in love with her he decides to drop the con much to the anger of his crooked partner. When the widow is kidnapped a predictable showdown becomes inevitable on a foggy dock where all the characters come together leading to death. Well acted film - Garfield is his usual tough self, Brennan does his drunk schtick and Coulouris is suitably oily but it's lovely Fitzgerald who walks away with the film giving an understated performance. Arthur Edeson works wonders with shadows giving this noir the appropriate dark look.

The Fallen Sparrow (Richard Wallace, 1943) 7/10

Talky, rather vague but exciting WWII espionage thriller with noir overtones. A Spanish war prisoner (John Garfield) escapes and arrives in New York to find himself embroiled up to his neck in Nazi spies. Suffering from paranoid delusions he keeps hearing the shuffling walk of the crippled man who tortured him in prison. The police are sceptical about his story - he never divulged important information during the torture in prison so the Nazis want him alive so they can extract it from him finally. He falls in love with an aristocratic woman (Maureen O'Hara) who has secrets of her own and whose grandfather is host to a group of sinister men including a man in a wheelchair (Walter Slezak) who has more than a passing interest in ancient torture techniques. The plot is convoluted but fast paced and Garfield is superb giving an incredibly detailed performance as the tough but mentally tortured guy who harbours inner demons from the past which visit him on a regular basis. As with all such films made during the war there is a strong propagandistic bent to it with Garfield managing to pull off a number of monologues which are desperate pleas to the American public enforcing the tragedy taking place in Europe.

I Died a Thousand Times (Stuart Heisler, 1955) 7/10

Overlong but gritty remake of Raoul Walsh's "High Sierra" which made Humphrey Bogart into a bonafide star. Roy "Mad Dog" Earle (Jack Palance) is released from jail and upon instructions from his dying crime boss (Lon Chaney Jr.) decides to pull one last jewel heist from a hotel with the assistance of two young punks (Earl Holliman & Lee Marvin). A dance-hall girl (Shelley Winters), moll of one of the punks, falls for Earle while he has eyes only for a pretty young girl (Lori Nelson) with a congenital clubfoot. Obsessed with her he pays for an operation which repairs her foot but she rejects his marriage proposal. Then the heist goes terribly wrong and he goes on the lam with the moll who remains steadfast in her love for him. Palance is electrifying as the seething, short tempered crook who also has a gentle side to him. Winters is equally fine as the lonely woman who clings to him and provides much needed comfort. Cult film noir unfortunately goes on too long but has many memorable moments along with stunning vistas of a vast desert alongside snow capped mountains shot in cinemascope by Ted McCord.

The Breaking Point (Michael Curtiz, 1950) 9/10

Ernest Hemingway's novel "To Have and Have Not" gets a second movie adaptation but this time sticks closely to the text unlike the first (also classic) version by Howard Hawks with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. A sport-fishing boat captain (John Garfield), with a wife (Phyllis Thaxter) and two daughters, gets in over his head during an economic crunch and tries desperately to drum up business to sustain his family. A deal to transport illegal immigrants on his boat ends up with a man getting killed followed by getting blackmailed into being the runaway "driver" for a group of crooks who have pulled off a heist. Curtiz directs the action sequences with a sure hand creating tension and suspense during the scenes set on the boat at sea. Patricia Neal, as a femme fatale, is one of the film's major highlights and all her scenes opposite Garfield have a crackling sexual chemistry as they flirt and banter. This is a terrific remake and was Garfield's own personal favourite of all his performances of this moral man who wrestles with his personal demons but finally reaches his breaking point - something this great actor was sadly facing also in his private life while being hounded by the communist witch-hunt in his country.

He Ran All the Way (John Berry, 1951) 9/10

This claustrophobic little drama was John Garfield's last film - he would die of a heart attack the following year at age 39. Shot under great duress as the star was being relentlessly investigated by Joseph McCarthy and his goons for having once been a member of the communist party. This tension-filled drama revolves around a hostage situation when a naive young girl (Shelley Winters) brings to her parents' (Wallace Ford & Selena Royle) home a stranger (John Garfield) she has met at the community swimming pool. Turns out he is a cop-killer who has stolen a bag full of money the previous day, is on the lam and holds the family hostage. This plot device (screenplay by Dalton Trumbo) was later much imitated in films and on tv. Mostly shot in extreme closeups and in stark black and white by James Wong Howe, the camera captures the fear and unease on each actor's face. Garfield is superb playing this tough but scared and lonely character - his life has been full of rejection which is vividly brought forth in the film's opening moments when he is awakened by his blowsy, alcoholic mother (a wonderful Gladys George) as she berates him and later angrily tells the cops to kill her son. Winters is equally good, completely toning down her usual mannerisms, as the insecure girl who would like a husband and finds herself attracted to the killer even though he is a danger to her family. Despite a tendency towards melodrama the film delivers a hard noir punch. Director Berry, John Garfield and Dalton Trumbo were all victims of the terrible blacklist.

South Sea Sinner (Bruce Humberstone, 1950) 2/10

Shelley Winters is most unconvincing trying to be sultry as a cheap and tawdry torch singer in a saloon on a South Sea island. In fact she is awful. Macdonald Carey is the seaman who returns to the island and not only catches her eye but gets embroiled again in an old case for which he was released for lack of evidence - collaboration with the Japanese during the war. The only entertainment value in this shoddy low budget B-film is seeing the hilarious wardrobe Winters gets to wear and the music of Liberace (in his film debut) as he moves his fingers like lightning on the piano keys. A bad remake of "Seven Sinners" with Marlene Dietrich and John Wayne. Skip this film.

Berlin Express (Jacques Tourneur, 1948) 6/10

Fascinating look at the cities of Frankfurt and Berlin during their postwar devastation. The film is shot almost like a documentary with an annoying narrator solemnly intoning the plot's background. Representatives (Robert Ryan, Robert Coote, Charles Korvin) of the occupying Powers join hands to search for a kidnapped german doctor (Paul Lukas) who has unspecified plans for the unification of his country after the war. Tourneur makes good use of the scenes set on a cramped train which form part of the film's thriller element. Photographed in stark black and white by Lucien Ballard who superbly captures the bleak surroundings of the city as the cast trudge through the rubble. Merle Oberon, who was married to Ballard, plays the french secretary to the disappeared german and although she dispenses with her usual glamour still manages to absurdly parade through the ruins dressed to her teeth wearing Orry-Kelly's designs.

Jungle Heat (Howard W. Koch, 1957) 3/10

Tepid actioner is set on the eve of the Japanese bombings on Hawaii. The island is a secret hotbed of intrigue as Japanese fifth columnists cause unrest amongst the locals on their plantations and in their industries. A local American doctor (Lex Barker) helps quell the situation while a visiting American (Glenn Langan) from the mainland causes havoc with his racist views and violent behaviour. When his sexy wife (Mari Blanchard) takes up with the doctor passions explode in more ways than one. Overbaked melodrama has wonderful location work and the two leads make an attractive pair but this B-film is just plain boring.

The Veils of Bagdad (George Sherman, 1953) 2/10

Boring hokum that weaves Hollywood's usual Arabian Nights fantasy and gives it a twirl by mixing in bouts of swashbuckling with more than a passing resemblance to "Robin Hood". Suleiman the Magnificent sends a trusted agent (Victor Mature) to exotic Bagdad to foil the local Pasha and his impotent Vizier (Guy Rolfe) who are planning an insurrection. Along the way he romances the Vizier's sex-starved wife (Virginia Field) and a sultry dancer (Mari Blanchard) who wants to kill the Vizier in revenge for killing her father. Mature, too old and heavy for the rooftop acrobatics, gets a lean stuntman to do all the action scenes. Silly of Universal studios for bringing in the actor when their own stable of stars had the younger Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis or Jeff Chandler who could have played this part in their sleep. The trouble was all three actors were already playing similar roles for the studio. Adding to the unintentional hilarity are the jarring American accents of the cast. Silly nonsense.

Frenchie (Louis King, 1950) 7/10

Colorful western with a rambunctious Shelley Winters as Frenchie who rides into town and opens up a gambling saloon. Basically a revenge yarn - she is back in town to take revenge from two men who killed her father 15-years before. Her successful business causes strain with the town's women who think she is a brazen hussy and want her to leave. The sheriff (Joel McCrea) watches with amusement as she stands her ground and tussles with his former lover (Marie Windsor) in a hilarious catfight which mistakenly identifies this film as a remake of "Destry Rides Again" where Marlene Dietrich and Una Merkel got into a similar catfight over James Stewart. Enjoyable film has a number of good things going for it - stunning colour cinematography, a witty screenplay, sexy Shelley Winters and the hilarious Elsa Lanchester as Frenchie's partner and confidante. Great fun!

Johnny Stool Pigeon (William Castle, 1949) 5/10

A noir with a social message about the evils of cocaine. US Treasury agent (Howard Duff) gets the help of a convicted criminal (Dan Duryea) to get to the root of a drug ring in Canada. The crook refuses at first but is coerced into becoming a stool pigeon in exchange for an early parole. Infiltrating the gang they get saddled with the ring leader's shabby moll (Shelley Winters) who wants to get away and falls for the agent while the convict shows an interest in her too. Tony Curtis, in one of his early screen appearances, plays a mute killer. Duryea is good, Winters is merely around as a prop and Duff is suitably stoic. An action-packed ending caps an otherwise rather bland film.

Larceny (George Sherman, 1948) 7/10

A con man (John Payne) plans to swindle a war-widow (Joan Caulfield) but falls for her instead. Meanwhile his sleazy partner is suspicious that he is having an affair with his girlfriend (Shelley Winters). In true noir fashion it all ends up in murder. Payne was always good in roles where his characters were caught between good and bad while Duryea is a hoot as the vicious and jealous hood. However, the film is stolen by Winters as the two-timing moll who gets all the film's snappy lines.

The MacKintosh Man (John Huston, 1973) 5/10

Once upon a time spy thrillers were so simple compared to the action packed, effects laden extravaganzas of today. Many, like this one, were also rather dry and in this case certainly not helped by Huston's lifeless direction. Whatever interest the film retains is in the star power generated by Paul Newman as an Australian British intelligence agent - he switches identities twice to an American and later to a Canadian. He is asked by the Home Secretary, MacKintosh (Harry Andrews), and his daughter (Dominique Sanda) to go undercover in prison to get to a Russian agent (Ian Bannen) and expose an important MP (James Mason) who is also suspected of being a communist spy. Whatever little action there is takes place in the beautiful surroundings of Ireland (with the moors of Scotland also blended into the scenes). There is a tepid car chase sequence and the convoluted plot is neatly wrapped up at the predictable climax. It is such a criminal waste to have two good looking leads opposite each other without any scene of them in bed together. Newman is grim throughout, lovely Sanda looks like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car but Mason has fun with his part dripping sarcasm as he intones in his mellifluous voice. One of Huston's many latter day misfires.

Pet Sematary (Kevin Kölsch & Dennis Widmyer, 2019) 4/10

Stephen King's novel gets a second film adaptation. It's a nasty piece using a young kid as a pawn to create horror. A couple (Jason Clarke & Amy Seimetz) move to rural Boston in a house adjacent to a pet cemetary. A little further up the burial ground is the story's pièce de résistance - a graveyard that resurrects dead animals and humans. What starts out as an eerie mystery soon devolves into an all-out slasher film with stabbings, gougings and impalements with poor John Litgow (as a neighbour) getting his Achilles tendon sliced before getting carved like a piece of steak. Fun time at the movies.

Congo Crossing (Joseph Pevney, 1956) 1/10

A bunch of criminals, on the run from the law, converge in a remote African country making use of the country's non-extradition law. It's upto a surveyor (George Nader) to help the just arrived blonde bombshell (Virginia Mayo) whom a killer has targeted for a hit. Even Peter Lorre playing the local police chief cannot save this boring talkathon. Lovely Virginia Mayo is a sight for sore eyes in this mess of a film. And to make matters worse Florida and the botanical gardens of Los Angeles substitute for Africa. The screenplay also forgets the obligatory animal shots although a python is briefly on view to give the production a bit of African flavour. Skip this crappy film.