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

[Precious Doll]

Children of the Sea (2019) Ayumu Watanabe 4/10
Capri-Revolution (2018) Mario Martone 4/10
Them That Follow (2019) Britt Poulton & Dan Madison Savage 1/10
Game Night (2018) John Francis Daley & Jonathan Goldstein 6/10
The Dozens (1981) Christine Dall & Randall Concrad 5/10
The Dark at the End of the Street (1981) Jan Egleson 5/10
Anna (2019) Luc Besson 5/10
Hannah (2018) Andrea Pallaoro 4/10
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) J. J. Abrams 5/10
The Art of Racing in the Rain (2019) Simon Curtis 7/10
Slow Dancing in the Big City (1978) John G. Avildsen 2/10
The Two Popes (2019) Fernando Meirelles 1/10
Bride For Sale (1949) William D. Russell 4/10
A Very Curious Girl (1969) Nelly Kaplan 7/10

Repeat viewings

The Seventh Victim (1943) Mark Robson 8/10
Danton (1983) Andrzej Wajda 7/10
A Tale of Springtime (1990) Eric Rohmer 8/10
Inside Moves (1980) Richard Donner 7/10

[Big Magilla]

I thought that The Story of Temple Drake was the most famous pre-Code film aside from the notorious Letty Lynton that had never been released on home video. We may finally see that one after the copyright on the play it was ruled to have stolen from (Dishonored Lady) expires in 2025.

[Precious Doll]

The Story of Drake Temple (1933) Stephen Roberts 7/10

Hmmm. Is that about a temple they had built to honor Temple Drake?

Haha. My bad. Funnily I'd never heard of the film until Criterion released it. Hopefully they will release some more pre-code gems.

[Big Magilla]

The Story of Drake Temple (1933) Stephen Roberts 7/10

Hmmm. Is that about a temple they had built to honor Temple Drake?

[Precious Doll]

Stockholm (2019 Robert Budreau 2/10
Kairos (2019) Paul Barakat 5/10
Where's My Rob Cohn? (2019) Matt Tyrnauer 7/10
Aga (2018) Milko Lazarov 5/10
The Hamdmaid's Tale - Season 3 (2019) Various 6/10
The Kitchen (2019) Andrea Berloff 3/10
Coincoin and the Extra-Humans (2018) Bruno Dumont 6/10
The Story of Drake Temple (1933) Stephen Roberts 7/10
Santiago, Italia (2019) Nanni Moretti 6/10

Repeat viewings

The President's Lady (1953) Henry Levin 7/10
Spetters (1980) Paul Verhoeven 7/10

[Reza]

The Host (Bong Joon Ho, 2006) 6/10

The creature - a mutant fish - has strong echoes of Godzilla, Alien and Jaws. It creates havoc as it runs rampage across Seoul after periodically jumping out of the Han river trampling humans and carrying off many to a secret lair in the sewers. A young school girl is carried off in its jaws. Regurgitated in the monster's bone-strewn lair, she calls her grieving father from her cell phone - triggering his and the rest of the family's wild attempts to find her. The girl's family remarkably resembles the poor family in the director's "Parasite" made many years later - Song Kang-ho plays the father in both films. The screenplay effortlessly balances both terror and comedy as the family makes it their mission to get the monster.

The King of Marvin Gardens (Bob Rafelson, 1972) 9/10

What a shock to see Jack Nicholson looking so young. One forgets he had the bloom of youth too once upon a time. This downbeat, often macabre but vivid film was one of many seminal masterpieces that defined American cinema during the 1970s. A bleak look at the downside of the American dream shot in ghostly Atlantic City with its grey beaches and large derelict hotels before it got its current glitzy makeover. Laszlo Kovac's evocative cinematography goes a long way in creating the eerie mood of this bittersweet story. A tale about two pathetic losers - a depressive late-night radio DJ (Jack Nicholson) visits his seedy, smooth talking (but full of shit) ex-con brother (Bruce Dern) in Atlantic City. Both don't see eye-to-eye but meet up to discuss yet another of the con's over baked quick-rich schemes, this time to invest in a hotel. He finds his brother shacked up with an aging beauty queen (Ellen Burstyn) and her step daughter (Julia Anne Robinson) and despite being scepticle about the plan he too gets intoxicated by his brother's big dreams as they roam the city, cavort with a local gangster (the delightful Scatman Crothers) and his hoods, walk on the beach - Burstyn has a memorable moment as she buries her makeup and false eyelashes in the sand and Rafelson has both Nicholson and Dern sitting, facing each other, on steeds on a beach which is a surreal but memorable image. The film has many offbeat moments - a number of streets are referenced from the board game Monopoly. Seeing Nicholson and Crothers here along with the huge empty old hotel foreshadows their later collaboration in "The Shining". The film ends with unexpected violence which is shocking but totally in keeping with the drift of the screenplay. Interesting to see both Nicholson and Burstyn here just before they would both become huge stars as the decade progressed. This was the second in the informal trilogy of films Rafelson made with Nicholson.

Poop Talk (Aaron N. Feldman, 2017) 6/10

A documentary that explores the taboo topic of something every person in the world does - Poop, Shit, Defecate. Famous stand-up comics discuss their own encounters with the "material", some very funny, as each explains what reactions their "shit" jokes have received from their stage audience. The funniest stories involve a midget's encounter in a dark toilet and one where a dog gets the blame for human poop on the floor. Everyone has shit-stories in their lives but many choose to keep them hidden in order to maintain this taboo's aura.

Partir / Leaving (Catherine Corsini, 2009) 8/10

A woman (Kristin Scott Thomas), stuck in a stifling marriage and bored with her idle bourgeois life, has an affair with a handyman (Sergi López) - an illegal Spanish immigrant - who is doing repair work on her house. When she confesses the affair to her supercilious doctor husband (Yvan Attal) and decides to leave him she finds total freedom but it comes at a terrible price. Shades of Madame Bovary and Lady Chatterly, the film also sharply echoes Scott Thomas' own life. The acrimonious breakup involves feelings of anger, revenge, violence, hurt children and devastation. The screenplay, steeped in raw realism, does not take sides with the wife, the husband or her lover, and carries a vague aura of uncertainty about the woman's feelings. One is never certain if she is actually in love or has taken such a drastic step out of lust. Elegant little film is held together by the extraordinary central performance by Kristin Scott Thomas.

L'air de Paris (Marcel Carné, 1954) 8/10

The magical trio, Marcel Carné, Jean Gabin and Arletty (who created the classic "Le jour se leve" 15-years before) return for this story about class difference, boxing and the disappointments marriage can bring through lost chances in life. It was also the last time the two great french stars worked together with a departure for her as she dispenses with her usual glamour and experiments with playing a shrill frump. As the wife of a washed up boxer (Jean Gabin) she is not afraid of voicing her life's disappointments especially her husband's inability to make something of himself. They both run a seedy little gym where he trains young boxers in the hope of creating a star in the ring. Finding promise in a young railroad worker (Roland Lesaffre) he decides to train him much to the anger of his wife who detests the young man saying he will amount to nothing. It starts off well but the young boxer proves irresponsible and drops his training to pursue a floozie (Marie Daems) from a different class to his. While no classic the film has many wonderful moments - the camera roaming through Paris, the comfort of playing a long-married couple between Gabin and Arletty as they bicker sitting in their cramped apartment, a tense and violent boxing sequence, striking cinematography and a wonderful score. This is yet another of Gabin's sublime performances winning him a prize at the Venice film festival.

Booksmart (Olivia Wilde, 2019) 2/10

Wtf are critics raving about this unfunny comedy? Are American high school teenagers actually like the grotesque caricatures as portrayed in this film? Two straight-A students - a loud fat one (Beanie Feldstein) and her best friend, a ditsy lesbian (Kaitlyn Dever), are total misfits in their class who have spent all their time in school being perfect students while looking down at their classmates for being party animals. A day before graduation they are horrified to learn that a number of the derelects are also on their way to Ivy League colleges. Both decide to let their hair down on their last night as high schoolers and cram in years of "fun" at a party hosted by one of the kool kids. After a series of mishaps getting to the party - none of which are remotely funny though the screenplay takes great pains to paint the situations as hilarious via corny jokes - the two finally land there and get to see each other in a true light. The film finally perks up a bit at the party because the screenplay stops trying so hard to be witty and fun. Then the downslide continues towards a predictable ending. Trite film that totally lacks originality as it rehashes bits and pieces from far better teen flicks. Absolute crap.

The Teckman Mystery (Wendy Toye, 1954) 6/10

Atmospheric Brit Cold War thriller with noir overtones has some lovely outdoor London location work with the cast filmed on actual streets and seen around at a number of prominent places. The central mystery is maintained right to the end. A writer (John Justin) is persuaded by his publisher to switch tracks and write instead a biography of a heroic pilot who died during a test flight. By coincidence he meets the dead man's sister (Margaret Leighton) with whom he develops a close relationship. While doing research on the pilot he discovers there are people not too happy with the idea. His home is ransacked, he finds a dead body and he is attacked and almost kidnapped. When another death takes place made to look like suicide he is told some shocking news by the police which he refuses to believe. Justin plays his role in a jaunty manner creating sparks with Leighton who may or may not be a femme fatale. Had never heard of this film and it was quite a pleasant surprise with a stalwart cast of supporting actors - Roland Culver, Michael Medvin, George Coulouris, Raymond Huntley, Duncan Lamont and Jane Wenham (who was Albert Finney's first wife).

[Reza]

Marriage Story (Noah Baumbach, 2019) 9/10

Lacerating sad look at a couple during the midst of a divorce and child custody battle that takes on a bitter edge full of anger, guilt, disappointment, fear and ultimately full scale venom. They say nobody wins in a case of divorce. Well they are wrong. Lawyers win. Big time. This story involves three specimens who position themselves to win at all cost as they matter-of-factly manipulate the couple who literally find themselves getting into the flow of battle baring their teeth at each other in the process. Representing the man are an endearingly sympathetic if ineffectual old fuddy duddy (an excellent Alan Alda) and a brutal shark-like predator (Ray Liotta also very good) while his wife has on her side a brassy, quick-on-her-feet attorney (Laura Dern). The divorcing couple are an on-the-rise, self-centered New York stage director (Adam Driver) and an actress (Scarlett Johansson) who left her career in films in L.A. and moved to New York after marriage to star in her husband's avant garde plays. After their son is born she finds she has subjugated herself totally to the whims of her selfish spouse neglecting her own career aspirations. Baumbach's superbly nuanced (and suprisingly very funny) screenplay, which has elements of his own bitter divorce from the actor Jennifer Jason Leigh, gives a balanced view of both sides allowing Driver and Johansson to give heartfelt performances perfectly capturing the bruising anguish of their failed relationship. Every actor surrounding the two leads is perfectly cast - Julie Hagerty as Johansson's ditsy mom, Merritt Wever as her quirky sister, Azhy Robertson as the vulnerable and confused son caught between the simmering fury of his parents and Laura Dern who is phenominal and easily walks off with the film with a very funny performance - her monologue about the difference between men and women using God, Mary and Jesus as metaphors is absolutely hilarious and spot-on - a performance that should easily win her a well deserved Oscar. A bittersweet, moving and poignant film is easily one of the year's best.

Gas-Oil (Gilles Grangier, 1955) 6/10

Slow drama that has a nostalgic sense of time and place - rural Central France with its country back roads. Gabin, strong and silent yet again, is a truck driver in debt - has to pay installments on his new vehicle - carries goods across the country, has a young girlfriend (Jeanne Moreau) who is a school teacher and is a well liked and respectable person in the small town he lives. On a dark rainy night, returning from his friend's house, he runs over a man lying in the middle of the road who turns out to be part of a gang of thieves. When the dead man's comrades turn up and start harrassing the driver about loot that is missing things take on a violent turn. Gabin and Moreau have great screen chemistry even if she looks young enough to be his daughter. The screenplay (by Michel Audiard who would go on to write many of Gabin's films) meanders along until the unexpexted jolt at the end which calls on action which strangely foreshadows Spielberg's "Duel".

Case 39 (Christian Alvart, 2009) 4/10

Harried social worker (Renée Zellweger), up to her neck handling 38 cases of child neglect and abuse, is handed yet another file to check out. A withdrawn young girl discloses that her parents want her to go to hell. Acting on her suspicion she, along with a cop (Ian McShane), break into the child's house and find her stuffed into a gas oven. As they get the child out they are both attacked by the parents. Later she gets custody of the child after the parents are locked up. Then the fun begins as the plot recycles the murderous kids from "The Bad Seed" and "The Omen" and we go into formulaic horror mode. The film sat on a shelf for three years before the studio decided to release it and was one of numerous that tanked Zellweger's very promising career - she has of course now made a spectacular comeback thanks to "Judy" for which she is the frontrunner to win the Oscar next year. Bradley Cooper is the child psychologist who has an encounter with a bunch of gross hornets that emerge from within his ears, nostrils and eyes. This delightful film experience was just before "The Hangover" put him on the map. Predictable horror film.

[Precious Doll]

A Womb of Their Own (2017) Cyn Lubow 4/10
Knives Out (2019) Rian Johnson 5/10
Frozen II (2019) Chris Buck & Jennifer Lee 4/10
Jonathan Agassi Saved My Life (2018) Tomer Heymann
The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open (2019) Kathleen Hepburn & Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers 4/10
The Good Liar (2019) Bill Condon 4/10
Finding Farideh (2018) Kourosh Ataee & Azadeh Moussavi 6/10
Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator (2019) Eva Orner 1/10
Marriage Story (2019) Noah Baumbach 7/10
The Swallows of Kabul (2019) Zabou Breitman & Eléa Gobbé-Mévellec 6/10
I Lost My Body (2019) Jeremy Clapin 4/10

Repeat viewing

The Nightingale (2019) Jennifer Kent 10/10

[Reza]

A Rainy Day in New York (Woody Allen, 2019) 6/10

Allen's last two films got the A-class treatment befitting a director of his stature - in 2016 his film "Cafe Society" opened the Cannes film festival and in 2017 "Wonder Wheel" was the closing attraction at the New York film festival. His latest has virtually been banned in the United States over the rabid #metoo atmosphere prevailing on his home turf. The hypocricy of it all is appalling considering the alleged accusation against him goes back decades during which he was regularly feted by the film community and won for him yet another Oscar in the interim as well. This is strictly mid-tier Allen as he regurgitates moments from far better films from his past but manages to score points with digs at privilege across generations and especially cuts sharp jibes at journalists who create rumours which the public believe as the gospel truth - shades of his own dilemma. The setting is his beloved New York amongst the elite "white" class he prefers to mingle with on screen. As with most of his plots the main focus is on a nerdy individual - a Manhattan-raised, floppy haired student (Timothée Chalamet), dressed in tweeds, who is at odds with his extremely rich family. When his ditsy, movie buff girlfriend (Elle Fanning), also rich but from (crass) Arizona, gets the opportunity to interview a famous film director they both take a weekend break from college and go to Manhattan. He plans to show her his city, the museums and his beloved Carlyle Hotel with its famous jazz piano bar but they end up spending time apart. She gets to interview the disturbed director (Liev Schreiber) and hob nob with the screenwriter (Jude Law) - whose wife (Rebecca Hall) is two timing him - and an amorous Latin movie star (Diego Luna). All three older men come onto her which she enjoys - a plot point over which American critics have expressed squeamish horror. Meanwhile the nerd ends up wandering the streets, hooks up with an old girlfriend's younger sister (Selena Gomez) and takes a prostitute as his date to a snooty soirée at his parents' home. As with most of Allen's films this too is a travelogue of instantly recognizable New York City spots - Soho, the Upper West Side, a carriage ride through Central Park, Minetta Street, MOMA, assorted hotels (the Pierre, the Plaza Athéne, the Albert and the Carlyle - a detailed view of the Bemelmans Bar and its yellow walls with the artist's famous murals and its hideously patterned red carpet), the Kauffman-Astoria studio and the Delacorte Clock in Central Park. The film is bathed in a glowing light courtesy of Vittorio Storaro's camera with most outdoor scenes shot through perpetual rain. The film's highlight is a devastatingly ascerbic monologue by Cherry Jones as she tells her son a few home truths about her past instantly gaining his admiration. This is by no means a classic but a film that has many moments to cherish by a director who loves movies and has had the grace to continue making movies despite the odds stacked against him.

Rambo: Last Blood (Adrian Grunberg, 2019) 3/10

Sylvester Stallone, in his continued (and feeble) efforts to jump start his waning Hollywood career, keeps turning back to the two stalwarts, his alter egos - "Rocky Balboa" and "John Rambo" as he keeps churning out sequel after sequel. Here we get "Rambo" one last time. Or so Stallone says. After his "adventures" in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Burma the former vet now leads a calm retired life on a ranch in Arizona with horses, his young ward and her grandmother (Adriana Barraza). When the young girl goes looking for her wayward dad in Mexico she is captured by sex traffickers, drugged, maimed and raped. He manages to rescue her with the help of a journalist (Paz Vega) but her death sets up the revenge angle Rambo craves so desperately. This film is just an excuse for the star to dispense with all the sleazy guys - they come in droves looking for him on his ranch - and boy does he dispense them through all manner of violent ways. A booby trapped underground tunnel below his ranch is the nice and cozy Vietnam-like hideaway that is used to play cat and mouse with the Mexicans. Going by their sleaze factor no wonder President Trump wants to put up a wall and keep them out of America. I can just picture the Prez licking his chops as our good ole all-American hero beheads, stabs, shoots and blows up all the bad Mexicans. And the best is saved for the baddest of the bad - stuck to a wooden wall covered by arrows followed by stabbing him with a huge knife and putting his fist inside his chest to pull out his beating heart. So much anger. Unfucking believable. Crappy film has a certain appeal if you like blood and death. Lots of it.

Tendre poulet / Dear Detective (Philippe de Broca, 1977) 8/10

Charming froth is a whimsical comedy-thriller with two middle-aged people rekindling their love in the midst of a spate of murders. Former classmates and lovers - a greek professor (Philippe Noiret) and a police inspector (Annie Girardot) - meet again quite unexpectedly when she crashes her car into his bicycle. Love blooms again but a serial killer is on the loose stabbing philandering politicians. Both Noiret and Giradot are delightful and de Broca shoots the film in frantic style with the camera and the cast in constant motion.

Le tonnerre de Dieu / The Thunder of God (Denys de La Patellière, 1965) 6/10

The grand old man of french cinema - Jean Gabin - was still going strong during the 1960s playing leads. The gimmick casting here had Gabin paired on screen with the then hot screen couple from the "Angélique" series of films. An irascible alcoholic misanthrope (Jean Gabin) lives on his vast country estate with his wife (Lili Palmer) and his brood of dogs to whom he is completely devoted. In a bar he takes a shine to a prostitute (Michèle Mercier) holding a terrier and takes her home. When her angry pimp (Robert Hossein) arrives and demands she returns, the old man and his wife defend her when they are all threatened. As with most of the star's films from this period the screenplays allow him to shine playing a bombastic vivid larger than life character. Palmer, in a small part, quietly compliments him as the resigned wife living with a ticking time bomb. Mercier, a sex symbol in the Bardot mode, adds oomph while Hossein adds a strong touch of testosterone to the proceedings. This was the second collaboration of Gabin with director de La Patellière and they would go on to make six films.

[Reza]

Knives Out (Rian Johnson, 2019) 2/10

A boring throwback to the all-star whodunit, this overlong comedy thriller is an ordeal to sit through. An homage to Agatha Christie and the boardgame (and movie) "Clue", the plot has the obligatory dead body in a lavish gothic manor surrounded by a group of suspects and a quirky detective solving the murder â la Hercule Poirot. A famous writer (Christopher Plummer) of mystery novels is found with his throat slit soon after he celebrates his 85th birthday surrounded by his kids (Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon), the kid in-laws (Don Johnson, Riki Lindhome, Toni Collette), grand kids (Chris Evans, Jaeden Martell, Katherine Langford), an old granny, the housekeeper and the old man's nurse/companion (Ana De Armas). The mysterious detective (Daniel Craig) on the case is a throwback to Columbo (prying and annoying) and Poirot (the accent - here southern which Craig hideously massacres) who gets to reveal, via flashbacks, the solution to the mystery which starts off as a suicide but turns into a murder case as the story progresses but at a snail's pace. The long drawn reveal by the detective seems far too pat with every plot hole conveniently falling into place. The screenplay also fails to provide any serious motivation for all the characters - barring two - of wanting to murder the old man, thus woefully underusing many of the actors and in particular the two (has-been) stars - Curtis and Johnson. The script also plays it safe. Instead of taking on a more vicious tone it unfortunately sticks to what is now an American comedy staple of not wishing to offend anyone. Going by the almost unanimous praise received by critics it is especially disappointing to find zero substance in this film. The cast is clearly having a ball playing these despicable characters but the "fun" barely translates on screen for the viewer. The pace drags and the silly antics begin to grate very quickly. The only interesting aspect of the film is that one now looks forward to seeing Ana De Armas (in total drab mode here) transform into her natural sexy self as the next Bond girl in Craig's last outing as James Bond. One wonders what the actor will do post-Bond because going by his hideous performance here his screen career may well be over like a couple of past Bonds - George Lazenby and Timothy Dalton. Avoid this film like the plague and go watch instead some of the early Christie all-star adaptations, the film "Clue" or Neil Simon's delightful parody " Murder By Death".

War (Siddharth Anand, 2019) 7/10

Slick Bollywood thriller takes its cue from Hollywood especially the films of Tom Cruise and comes up with outlandish, thrilling action set pieces. A rookie agent (Tiger Shroff) is assigned to go after his mentor (Hrithik Roshan) who has gone rogue. Notwithstanding the often bizzare plot twists - this is pure masala entertainment after all - the film provides an ample dose of adrenalin rush starting with the casting of the two leads. Star Roshan, who was mentored years before by superstar Jackie Shroff on the set of "Yaadein" in 2001, insisted on casting his son Tiger Shroff as his co-lead. The young actor, one of the current breed of buffed up action stars, proves his worth especially during the opening fight sequence set in a room full of adversaries which he decimates. It may be a great entrance for the young actor but it cannot top the one for Hrithik Roshan who is seen at first in silhouette and then gets the full star treatment emerging from a helicopter as he walks in slow-mo towards the camera with his hair blowing perfectly courtesy of wind machines placed out of range. The "Top Gun" levels of homoeroticism is clearly intended as Tiger Shroff watches his mentor in awe as he walks towards him. The convoluted plot (with a heavy dose of "Face/Off") throws in corny and melodramatic patriotic dialogue - the Indian flag gets a look-in flapping in the wind just above Roshan's scarred but designer-chisled face - a sub-plot about a mother (Soni Razdan), a doomed love affair (sexy Vaani Kapoor who scores in her brief scenes - posing in a bikini on the sea front, matching steps with Roshan on the dance floor (to the song "Ke Ghungroo Toot Gaye") and playing a crucial dramatic scene) - and to keep the sentimental quotient in check the plot also throws in a cute child. They forgot to put in a pet dog but otherwise every Bollywood cliché can be easily ticked off. The film scores with its many action CGI-infused set pieces - death defying stunts on an airborne plane, chases on foot and on motorbikes and hand-to-hand combat. Since both stars are superb dancers they get to match steps to a remix of the classic song "Jai Jai Shivshankar" during a Holi song sequence. The song is used in tribute to Roshan's grandfather, J. Om Prakash, who in 1974 shot this song on Rajesh Khanna and Mumtaz in his classic film "Aap Ki Kasam". Adding to the film's exotic scenic appeal are the use of its superb locations - Bogota, Lapland, Lisbon, Venice, Stockholm, Zurich, Mumbai, Miami, Tblisi, Cali and Ljubljana. Not a perfect film but its great fun.

[Precious Doll]

A Girl Missing (2019) Koji Fukada 7/10
The Report (2019) Scott Z. Burns 6/10
Judy & Punch (2019) Mirrah Foulkes 5/10
American Woman (2019) Jake Scott 6/10
Kursk (2018) Thomas Vinterberg 4/10
The Irishman (2019) Martin Scorsese 7/10
Mrs Lowry and Son (2019) Adrian Noble 5/10
Zoe (2018) Drake Doremus 5/10
Atlantics (2019) Mati Diop 2/10
The Emperor's Naked Army (1987) Kazuo Hara 6/10
Genese (2019) Philippe Lesage 7/10

Repeat viewings

Six of a Kind (1934) Leo McCarey 7/10
Olivia (1951) Jacqueline Audry 8/10

[Big Magilla]

Oops! Sorry for that!

Who's next? Brenda Blethyn? Imelda Staunton?

[Reza]

Reza wrote
Dame Penelope Wilton

Nope, at least not yet anyway.

Penelope Wilton does have some interesting connections, though. She is the niece of Bill Travers and the ex-wife of both Daniel Massey (who divorced her to marry her sister) and Ian Holm.

Magilla she was made a dame in 2016.

[Big Magilla]

Reza wrote
Dame Penelope Wilton

Nope, at least not yet anyway.

Penelope Wilton does have some interesting connections, though. She is the niece of Bill Travers and the ex-wife of both Daniel Massey (who divorced her to marry her sister) and Ian Holm.

[Reza]

The Irishman (Martin Scorsese, 2019) 8/10

Scorsese returns to his favourite subject in this very long epic about the Mob which vividly captures a time and place in American history. It is also a return to form for Robert De Niro and the film celebrates the actor's reunion on screen with his favourite director. Steve Zaillian's languorous but sharply polished screenplay is an adaptation of Charles Brandt's book "I Heard You Paint Houses" which chronicles the life of Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro), a mafia hit man. Via flashbacks we view his rise from truck driver to gofer to hit man and being the most trusted right-hand man to Sicilian mafioso Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci) and corrupt union overlord Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino). The film really comes alive due to all the colorful peripheral characters surrounding the stars and each stands out vividly. The de-aging CGI is hit and miss - all three stars had their faces transformed to a youthful look for the scenes set during the 1950s and 1960s - but in some shots their faces look deformed with Pesci resembling a hobbit. The film belongs to De Niro who is in almost every scene of this 3 and half hour film and gives an exceptional performance. Pacino is his usual animated self shouting out his lines littered with the trademark F-word. The film is sharply edited, has outstanding production design and a jaunty score by Robbie Robertson - the film's period is superbly evoked by a number of hit songs on the soundtrack. Rodrigo Prieto's exceptional camera work deserves an Oscar. One needs to watch this film more than once to get its full impact. There is far too much going on for the brain to capture in one sitting.

Downton Abbey (Michael Engler, 2019) 7/10

Pleasing big screen version of the long running tv series crams in a lot as the screenplay tries to do justice to the huge ensemble cast playing members of the upstairs and downstairs household. The Earl (Hugh Bonneville) and Lady Grantham (Elizabeth McGovern) play hosts to King George V (Simon Jones) and Queen Mary (Geraldine James) who come for a night to Downton Abbey. The entire household is in a flummox as they prepare for the Royal visit. The busy screenplay throws in everything - an assassination attempt, snobbish royal staff, a revolt and cunning manoeuvring by the downstairs staff, blackmail, secrets involving an illegitimate child, a sudden pregnancy, an unexpected romance, a catfight between the imperious Dowager Countess of Grantham (Dame Maggie Smith) and her estranged cousin (Imelda Staunton) and an amusing faux pas by one of the servants in front of the Royal couple. And since Hollywood is on a perpetual roll on political correctness the lone gay character, butler Thomas Barrow (Robert James-Collier), gets to visit an approximation of a 1920s underground gay bar where he experiences a twirl on the dance floor, a brief jail stint followed by the promise of an affair. Everything AND the kitchen sink. Nostalgic big screen spin-off is exquisitely filmed with even greater production values than the series. And the film would not be complete without the hilarious acidic quips by Dame Maggie who has competition in this department from her long-time adversary played by the equally delightful Dame Penelope Wilton. Great fun revisiting these characters.

Cronaca di un amore / Story of a Love Affair (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1950) 9/10

Antonioni's elegant first film is inspired by James M. Cain's "The Postman Always Rings Twice". The lead role is played by Massimo Girotti, the actor who became a star in the first movie adaptation of that novel filmed by Luchino Visconti as "Ossessione" in 1943. The film drew the wrath of the neo-realists who viewed the film as a celebration of the upper classes as opposed to the working class which the director had championed in all his short films up to that time. It's a love story which is presented as a series of puzzles. It does not go the typical Hollywood route but presents two complex and not very likeable characters passionately in love with each other who share a sordid festering history from their past which is reignited after they meet quite unexpectedly after many years. Paola (Lucia Bosé) is a beautiful socialite and stuck in a boring loveless marriage to a very rich man. She has everything money can buy but there is an empty void in her which keeps her in a listless state of mind. Guido (Massimo Girotti) is her friend from the past who arrives in Milan to warn her that a detective has been inquiring into her past which involved a scandal involving her best friend who fell down a lift shaft and died. The deceased was about to be married to Guido who was also involved with Paola. Both could have saved her but they remained silent. Paola ran away to Milan and after a three month courtship married a rich man. The two now renew their affair with secret trysts in cheap hotel rooms and gradually the penniless man is goaded into a plan to kill the rich husband. As the story progresses we get to view the subtle changes in the characters' motivations as they move through their personal lives. Her life is one of luxury as she shops and socializes with the upper classes in Milan while he has no job and hustles for commissions. Their plan comes through but there is a twist after which Guido realises the selfish motivations of the woman he loves. Antonioni's film is a bleak and bitter comment on modern life which he presents as meaningless, boring and full of angst. Money does not bring happiness, relationships have ulterior motives and old mistakes are repeated. Superbly acted film is helped by the constantly moving camera of Enzo Serafin which follows the actors confined mostly to rooms in hotels, homes or in shops signifying a feeling of entrapment. The characters are trapped through circumstances and stuck in a bubble which is waiting to burst.

The Lady Lies (Hobart Henley, 1929) 5/10

Stiff early talkie with a static camera capturing the cast emoting as if on stage. A widower (Walter Huston), with two doting children, falls in love with a shopgirl (Claudette Colbert) causing shock waves for his brother who poisons the children's minds. The class structure gets a workout with the two leads in splendid natural form. Like all stage actors they adapted quickly to the film medium and became stars.

Maléfices / Sorcery / Where the Truth Lies (Henri Decoin, 1962) 6/10

Atmospheric noir goes through its paces with a plot about African sorcery in rural France. A vet (Jean-Marc Bory) visits a mysterious woman (Juliette Gréco) to check on her pet cheetah and falls passionately in love / under her spell - she lived in Africa so knows a thing or two about magic and her paintings and a statue appear to have powers. The jealous woman wills his wife (Liselotte Pulver) to fall sick. However, things are really not as they seem with a twist in the plot followed by an unexpected ending. The film's most memorable set piece is the film's location - the island of Noirmoutier in France with the Passage de Gois which is a road built on a natural sand bank leading to the island that gets flooded twice a day by the tide. The film opens with an aerial shot of the over 4km narrow road leading upto the island with the sea on either side and which plays an important part during the shocking denouement

The Black Scorpion (Edward Ludwig, 1957) 5/10

One of many films during the 1950s that preyed on human fear of insects. Here the scorpion gets a spin and to make the situation more fearful the plot has a nest of them and all gigantic in size. A combination of stop-motion animation and stock footage (from RKO's classic "King Kong" no less) creates the "monsters" causing havoc on a small Mexican town. A volcano eruption opens up a huge crevasse allowing giant scorpions to invade from caves deep inside the earth and cause mayhem in the countryside - animals and humans are stung, a train is derailed and a helicopter is tossed about. A geologist (Richard Denning who was earlier in another horror flick - "Creature From the Black Lagoon") teams up with the locals to try and come up with a solution to combat the dreaded monsters with a showdown in a huge stadium. Corny film has a certain kitsch appeal and is really not bad at all once you get involved in the plot. A giant worm and a huge spider also make appearances along with a spunky damsel (Mara Corday) - a rancher whose cattle go missing - who provides the love interest.

Riso amaro / Bitter Rice (Giuseppe De Santis, 1949) 10/10

The film that put statuesque 19-year old Italian bombshell Silvana Mangano on the map and for a time made fat thighs very much in vogue. The iconic image of her standing knee deep in a rice paddy with naked thighs and ample bust jutting out caused an uproar helping the film to huge boxoffice and notoriety when the film was condemned in the U.S. for being obscene. The film touches on a number of genres. The screenplay (by De Santis, Mario Monicelli and others) of this Italian neorealist film uses a noir plot at its center with strong underlying social commentary about the conditions of migrant workers in rice paddies in the Po valley. It is also a biting attack on American capitalism as eroding traditional Italian values. Added to this mix is a healthy dose of sex and steamy melodrama. A petty crook (Vittorio Gassman) and his partner / lover (Doris Dowling) hope to escape the cops by mingling with a train load of female migrant workers off to the rice paddies. He grabs hold of a sexy peasant woman (Silvana Mangano) dancing alone and twirls her around but then makes a run for it telling his partner to get onto the train. The two women get to know one another talk about the robbery and the crook who they both feel attracted to. The overseer, a discharged soldier (Raf Vallone), is attracted to the sexy peasant but she rebuffs him. Later when the crook returns he gets involved in a plot to steal the rice which leads to a melodramatic standoff between the two women both holding guns which ends up in a murder and a suicide. There is a strong sexual current running throughout the film - Gassman and Mangano have an erotic moment on the dance floor as she sways her hips and lifts her skirt moving to the beat of the music. Later he whips her with a stick as she hysterically writhes against a tree laughing and crying, falling down after which he has his way with her. Excessive to say the least. The film is replete with striking images helped in great part by the elegant camera movements of Otello Martelli who uses glorious tracking and crane shots across and above the rice fields. The sexist camera also zooms in on the women's cleavage and legs as they bend down in the fields or catches them in the barracks dressed in their undergarments. Santis' film is a mixture of various styles ranging from Italian realism to Mexican epics to American crime movies. Superb film is one of the great classics of Italian cinema and a must-see.