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

[Reza]

Brutti, sporchi e cattivi / Ugly, Dirty & Bad (Ettore Scola, 1976) 9/10

Scola's extraordinary film is an homage to Vittorio De Sica's "Miracolo a Milano" and like it is set in an overcrowded tenement slum. The film opens with an amazing circular shot inside a shack full of countless human beings living in squalor. The owner of the shack is a one-eyed patriarch (Nino Manfredi) who lives with countless children, grandchildren and a wife he beats and refers to as a whore. He sleeps with a gun guarding a packet containing money which his family wants to steal. While waiting for him to die the colorful family meanwhile keep busy doing eclectic jobs in order to survive - one is a beggar and thief, one a male prostitute, a young girl dolls up daily to go get herself photographed for pornographic magazines which her mother proudly displays to the jeering young men in the tenement. Their lives are seen as a contrast to the teeming city just a stone's throw away. Matters come to a head when the old man befriends a prostitute with huge breasts, has his way with her under a billboard and calmly brings her back to the shack hoping to make her part of the extended family. This is the last straw for his enraged wife who plots with the family to kill him but the old man has a few tricks of his own up his sleeve. The intensely grotesque imagery on display is shocking but hilarious and a strong indictment against European society for being comfortable while citizens close to them live like savage animals. Manfredi is magnificent as the slightly deranged drunkard but is matched by every actor around him playing assorted characters each of whom has a life of intense poverty to blame for their weirdness and shocking behaviour. The film's outstanding production design is a revelation. Scola won a well-deserved prize for his direction at the Cannes Film Festival.

Les Aventuriers / The Last Adventure (Robert Enrivo, 1967) 6/10

Three losers - an engineer (Lino Ventura), a pilot (Alain Delon), an artist (Joanna Shimkus) - all fail their individual goals but form a deep friendship. Deciding to go treasure hunting they hire a boat and go deep sea diving off the coast of Africa. When a shady person (Serge Regianni) informs them of actual treasure they manage to find it but then find themselves pursued by gunmen looking for the loot. Slapdash adventure film has the three delightful leads forming a strong bond of friendship which even sudden tragedy does not break. The film memorably uses Fort Boyard, the remains of an old island fort on the Western coast of France, during the film's action packed shootout. The film's success at the boxoffice was due to Delon's star presence although Ventura outacts him and is the soul of the story.

To the Victor (Delmer Daves, 1948) 5/10

Typical Warner Bros intrigue set in post-War Paris. An American war hero turned black marketeer (Dennis Morgan) helps lady in distress (Viveca Lindfors in her Hollywood debut) who is the wife of a collaborator and on the run from men out to kill her. A turbulent romance follows with the two ending up on a battle-strewn Normandy beach. This film has a rather tired and disjointed screenplay by Richard Brooks although the two stars try to make a go of it. Location filming also a plus.

Les Tontons Flingueurs (Georges Lautner, 1963) 3/10

A change of pace for Lino Ventura who, although staying within the crime genre, plays it completely for laughs. A huge success at the boxoffice which I didn't really get. The droll french humour does not translate through the english subtitles. An ex-gangster (Lino Ventura) is summoned to the death-bed of his mentor and gets handed over the criminal empire to be looked after his death which happens soon after. There is an added catch as he is also asked to keep a close eye on his ditsy and nubile daughter. Soon he is upto his neck with problems starting with one of the resentful gang members (Bernard Blier), the shenanigans of the girl and the violent retaliation of a rival criminal gang who have not taken too kindly to his new assignment. Slow, dreary film is totally bereft of laughs which french audiences seemed to find and were apparently much thrilled by.

Dangerous Secrets / Brief Ecstasy (Edmond T. Griéville, 1937) 4/10

Corny B-film is set around a love triangle. An old Professor (Paul Lukas) is visited by an old student (Hugh Williams) who turns out to be the former lover of his much younger wife (Linden Travers). Old fashioned melodrama has a loud score that punctuates every dramatic moment as the young lovers contemplate running away together. The film has a few interesting directorial touches - a superbly edited sequence set in a nightclub when the young couple go on their first outing together which is shot with the couple seated together and the other patrons of the club are superimposed on the couple along with the shadow of a woman who is performing a song. Contrived film has a couple of fiery moments involving the jealous Mrs Danvers-like old maid (Marie Ney), secretly in love with the Professor, who hysterically accuses the young couple of being indiscreet.

The Contract (Bruce Beresford, 2006) 5/10

Despite the pedigree - the two leads and the director - this is a strictly routine chase film. While on a camping trip in the wilderness an ex-cop (John Cusack) and his teenage son come across a handcuffed man (Morgan Freeman) and a dying cop. The man is a deadly hitman who was being taken to prison but who escaped after a car crash. Stuck in an awkward situation they decide to take the crook and deliver him to the cops. Unfortunately for them the crook's four partners are in close pursuit and give chase. Lifeless thriller with the actors merely going through the motions and all the action set-pieces predictable and shot without flair. The film had a troubled shoot with Beresford realizing that the screenplay didn't make much sense and after the film was shut down by the producers, Beresford finished it using his own money. The film's spectacular backdrop is courtesy of Bulgaria where most of the outdoor scenes were shot. Disappointing film although it is a treat to see Freeman play the bad guy.

Sphinx (Franklin J. Schaffner, 1981) 2/10

This big budget thriller comes off like a "Nancy Drew" mystery with silly dialogue and absurd situations. Based on the book by Robin Cook the film was supposed to follow in the success of the writer's previous thriller "Coma" which this film is almost a repeat of with just the location shifting from a hosital in Boston to the ruins of Cairo and Luxor in Egypt. The film's huge budget somehow translated into this tacky looking film. An egyptologist (Lesley-Anne Down) makes a stupendous discovery when she happens to come across clues about a long-lost tomb containing a Pharaoh’s riches. Every possible mystery cliché in the book befalls the spunky heroine as she is chased by murderous men, gets knocked around, falls down dark tunnels and is attacked by bats. Can she trust the men who offer to help - an oily journalist (Maurice Ronet) and an Arab policeman (Frank Langella) with whom she has a fling? The only man worth her time is an old Arab played of all people by Sir John Gielgud - you can almost see the great actor grinning his way to the bank, one of numerous absurd roles he took on in movies for the moolah. It's a small cameo appearance but even in that short time, and despite the ridiculousness of his casting, the actor brings a moment of much needed grandeur to the film. I will avoid mentioning the hilarity of his last moments in the plot. The film gave Lesley-Anne Down her first opportunity to carry a big budget studio production by herself. It was also her last as the film rightfully bombed big time. One of the most beautiful actresses on screen here is reduced to looking ugly thanks to the ridiculous mullet hairstyle she sports. Implausible, convoluted, unrelentingly silly film with sluggish pacing. Schaffner is also to blame as his efforts seemingly only entail to ensure his leading lady screams, jumps, weeps and basically be in hysterics at annoyingly frequent intervals just to remind people they are watching a thriller.

The Victors (Carl Foreman, 1963) 8/10

Sprawling all-star WWII film with a strong anti-war message. The screenplay, adapted from a collection of short stories, is a series of vignettes - interspersed with Pathé-style newsreels both real and fake - as it follows a group of American infantry soldiers moving from Britain in 1942 to the fierce battle during the Italian Campaign to the Normandy invasion and on to occupied Berlin which is under an uneasy peace at the end of the War. Foreman does not depict any battle scenes, only showing a few skirmishes, and instead concentrates on the soldiers forming brief liaisons with local women. A soldier (Vince Edwards) is sympathetic towards a young mother (Rosanna Schiaffino) who misses her husband who is on the African front and could be dead. A Sergeant (Eli Wallach) has a hard time controlling his soldiers from looting and drinking and gets to spend one night in a comfortable bed in the home of a french woman (Jeanne Moreau) who is petrified of the falling bombs. A naive Corporal falls in love with a violinist (Romy Schneider) at a bar but she mocks him by taking up with a sleazy pimp (Michael Callan). Another Corporal (George Peppard) falls in with a chic and sophisticated black marketeer (Melina Mercouri) who urges him to desert and stay on with her. When he refuses she tells him she hopes he dies. A young scared soldier (Peter Fonda) befriends a small dog which his friends kill. When the war ends the jilted Corporal falls in love with a local German girl (Elke Sommer) in the Russian Zone of Berlin. He provides her family with imported goods and looks out for her sister (Senta Berger) who has been sleeping around with Russians. The film's ironic ending has him in a chance encounter with a drunken Russian soldier (Albert Finney) which does not end well. Foreman gives the film a realistic overview showing all the soldiers tired, weary and wondering why they are stuck so far from home fighting a war created by others. The film's most haunting moment is set next to a frozen lake as the group watch a Private being executed for desertion. The film has outstanding production design - a mixture of stunning locations and studio sets - and stark black and white cinematography by Christopher Challis. Forman's film makes strong points about the futility of war in which both victors and the vanquished are losers.

The Great Waltz (Andrew L. Stone, 1972) 5/10

MGM's remake of its own 1938 classic was hilariously ill-timed as it came out when bloated musicals had already proved to be a disaster at the boxoffice. Deciding to make such an old-fashioned film when New Hollywood, with its gritty "real" subjects, had already made a strong inroad was the height of folly for the studio and it was a resounding flop. Actually it is not that bad. The Strauss music is a major plus along with opulent sets and costumes and stunning Vienna locations including scenes set on the Danube unlike the classic version which was shot entirely inside the studio. The plot follows the life of Johann Strauss (Horst Buchholz), the rivalry with his father, Strauss Sr (Nigel Patrick), the relationship with his ambitious mother (Yvonne Mitchell) and his marriage to the much older "Jetty" Treffz (Mary Costa), a celebrated mezzo-soprano who was the mistress of Baron Tedesco (Rosanno Brazzi). Stone's ill-advised direction lets the film down as he presents it like a Broadway musical - the songs are mostly forgettable - but Buccholz is quite good ageing realistically as the film progresses. Mary Costa, the famous operatic soprano, is superb especially when singing. She was nominated for a Golden Globe award

Dernier domicile connu / Last Known Address (José Giovanni, 1970) 6/10

Bleak police procedural about a demoted Paris police inspector (Lino Ventura) who is relegated to a small town and assigned to catch sex offenders in cinemas. He is accompanied by an easy-going rookie (Marlène Jobert) who acts as bait at the theatres. Out of the blue they are assigned to search for a murder witness who has been in hiding for the last five years. The trial of the Mob Boss, suspected of the murder, is upcoming and it is imperative the witness be found. The search becomes dangerous when the Mob henchman appear and beat up the inspector. Through a stroke of luck the witness, a widower, is found but he is accompanied by his small daughter suffering from a chronic liver disease. Traditional setup of the plot gets a fresh kick with Ventura's tough and weary persona and his chemistry with lovely Jobert. The film has strong noir overtones - a scene involving a savage beating suddey creeps up after the plot has been bubbling along - and the ending is appropriately disturbing. Most of the film is shot out on the streets of Paris with Étienne Becker's lovely cinematography capturing both the beauty and seedy aspects of the city.

Panic in Year Zero! (Ray Milland, 1962) 8/10

A nuclear attack devastates Los Angeles, New York, London, Rome and Asia. A family from L.A. - Dad (Ray Milland), Mom (Jean Hagen), Son (Frankie Avalon) & Daughter (Mary Mitchell) - out on a camping trip, witness the flashes of light and gigantic mushroom cloud and decide to play it safe by hiding in a remote cave as the fleeing population starts getting violent towards each other in a frenzy to stay alive. Milland directs this gripping thriller about a terrifying situation which goes from bad to worse when three psychotic thugs arrive, rape the daughter which results in the family retaliating in kind and more. Film depicts a human being's propensity towards savagery when the last ditch effort to survive becomes inevitable. The fake studio setting which substitutes for the countryside cave and its surroundings is a minor distraction as the dramatic screenplay puts the family through one nightmare after another. Low budget film from producer Roger Corman and American International Pictures was a boxoffice hit and one of the best films to depict mankind's moral collapse in the wake of the Cold-War threat. Amazing use of gun power in this film. Teen heart-throb Avalon subsequently appeared in a number of films for the studio.

Una lucertola con la pelle di donna / Lizard in a Woman's Skin (Lucio Fulci, 1971) 6/10

The unhinged daughter (Florinda Bolkan) of a respected attorney (Leo Genn) suffers from vivid hallucinations and disturbing dreams. She sees herself running through a sea of naked human bodies, being chased by a large duck, making love to her comely neighbour (Anita Strindberg) followed by stabbing the woman to death. When the neighbour is found murdered exactly as in the dream, a cop (Stanley Baker) tries to pin the crime on her while her father tries to build a case for her defense. Did she really commit murder or was it done by other suspects - two crazy hippies and her smug husband (Jean Sorel) who is involved in an affair with another woman. Extremely talky film has the predictable blood and gore which was director Fulci's trademark. There is a spectacular sequence set inside a huge derelect church as a man with a knife chases the terrified Bolkan. Fulci also throws in an homage to Hitchcock during this set piece using bats to attack his leading lady. Despite the dubbing the cast is uniformly excellent with nobody playing to the gallery. Bolkan is especially fine and does not overdo the hysteria despite most of her scenes requiring her to be either overwrought or in deadly danger. There is a typical off-kilter score accompanying the mayhem by Ennio Morricone.

Stranger in the House (Pierre Rouve, 1967) 8/10

Murder mystery based on the 1940 novel by Georges Simenon places the story during the 1960s which also provides a look into the clash between different generations and the proverbial British class structure. A once respected barrister (James Mason), now an alcoholic wreck after his wife left him, lives in a decrepit old mansion with his teenage daughter (Geraldine Chaplin). While he ignores his daughter she runs around with a spoilt group of rich friends (and her struggling greek immigrant boyfriend) partying all night and breaking into places for a lark. When they all sneak on board a ship they find a sailor (Bobby Darin) who also joins their group and they all meet in the girl's attic playing games with each other. When the sailor is found shot dead in one of the rooms of the mansion, the girl's boyfriend is accused of the murder. The plot is set up to allow the drunk barrister to rise up, defend the accused and make amends with his estranged daughter. Mason is magnificent as the drunk and his arc in the story is very similar to the one played by Paul Newman years later in Sidney Lumet's "The Verdict". The film is peppered by quirky supporting characters - the boyfriend's ethnic (greek) washer-woman mum (Megs Jenkins), the barrister's adulterous sister (Moira Lister), a boistrous witness (Yootha Joyce). Darin, sticking out like a sore thumb as the victim, seems to be on a James Cagney kick playing the part like a cocky gangster. Director Rouve, who had just recently worked on Antonioni's "Blow-Up", gives the film sort of the same touch during the scenes involving the young actors as they frolic across London adhering to the newly found sexual permissiveness of the swinging 60s. The older members of the cast are presented in a stiff formal manner harking back to the style of the 40s & 50s. The script makes biting observations about British class structure and delves into other areas such as sexual harassment, impotence and homosexuality. An obsure gem that showcases one of Mason's outstanding performances.

Les pianos mécaniques / The Uninhibited (Juan Antonio Bardem, 1965) 8/10

A gregarious lesbian cafe owner (Melina Mercouri), a homosexual art critic (Hardy Krüger) and an alcoholic womanizing writer (James Mason) form an interesting love triangle in the small Spanish coastal town of Cadaqués. The rather melodramatic couplings caused a furor for the fascist Spanish government in Spain and the film was severely censored. Shot in french by the acclaimed Spanish director, Juan Antonio Bardem ( the uncle of current superstar Javier Bardem), the film comes to life in the scenes between Mason and young Didier Haudepin who plays his precocious son and a mischievous observer of the adults busy in their sexual games with each other. Also memorable is Mercouri, once more playing a lifeforce, as the jaded optimist who holds full control over the inhabitants of the town and the men and women who come in and out of her bed. The film ends on a good note as we get to hear her distinctive and delightful throaty laugh. The beauty of the Catalonia countryside and the quaint little town are added pleasures. Georges Delerue's jaunty score accompanies all the adult heavy breathing on show.

Calle Mayor / Main Street (Juan Antonio Bardem, 1956) 9/10

Bittersweet tale about a woman's opression was made at the height of Francoism in Spain. The shooting was disrupted during a student protest rally when Bardem, a communist, was jailed. He had to shift the location shoot from the Northern provincial town of Palencia and so the scenes set in the town square and its surroundings were shot in Logroño. The plot, based on the play by Carlos Arniches, revolves around a nasty prank. A group of idle middle-aged friends decide that as a joke one of them should seduce a spinster. The one who is chosen to be the seducer is Juan (José Suárez), the youngest and best looking of the group. His target is to be 35-year old Isabel (Betsy Blair) who lives with her widowed mother on Calle Mayor. He begins to court her and she is thrilled and falls in love. During a gala dance at the local club she expects him to announce their engagement but he desperately wants to get himself away from the muddle. The film, with its vivid neo-realist trappings, is a scathing attack at small-town prejudice and hypocricy. Betsy Blair, recently divorced from Gene Kelly and under attack by the communist witch hunt in America where she was blacklisted, moved to Europe to continue her career. Under Bardem's direction she gives a sensitive performance not unlike the one in "Marty" for which she was nominated for an Oscar. She would go onto work with Antonioni ("Il grido) before settling down in London when she married the Czech-born director Karel Reisz. The film proved to be a huge stepping stone for José Suaŕez as he became a huge star in Europe.

La venganza / Vengeance (Juan Antonio Bardem, 1958) 8/10

A man (Jorge Mistral) spends 10 years in jail for a murder he did not commit. When he returns to his village his sister (Carmen Sevilla) urges him to seek revenge on the dead man's brother (Raf Vallone) who she suspects snitched to the police and framed him. With no jobs around and to avoid starvation both brother and sister offer to join a group of harvesters who are about to leave for the Po Valley to harvest wheat. The leader of the group of labourers is the very snitch they suspect of the murder. Matters become complicated when the woman starts falling in love with the snitch. This was a highly personal project for Bardem as within the framework of a revenge story the screenplay primarily deals with social criticism of many issues during the Franco regime - strikes, unemployment and especially labour exploitation. Fernando Rey has a small part some years before he became a huge star. The stunning location filming was done on the vast fields of the Spanish province of Castilla-La Mancha. This was the first Spanish film to receive an Academy Award nomination in the Foreign Film category.

[Reza]

La Musica (Marguerite Duras & Paul Seban, 1967) 7/10

Duras directs and adapts her own short two-character play for the screen which is quite a relentless exercise in despair. A long-separated couple arrive in the small provincial town where they once lived in order to pick up their divorce decree. They circle each other and discuss their past revealing incidents that the other was unaware of - she was unfaithful to him and tried to commit suicide while he confesses that he tried to murder her. Through the encounter both realise they have fallen in love with each other again even though they are at present involved with other partners. Both Hossein and Seyrig, looking incredibly chic with her 1930s blonde bob, suffer with great style and sincerity. Since this is Duras we get a lot of arty inflections throughout with the actors photographed against blank walls, walking through corridors or reflected in mirrors. To open up the play Duras introduces a third character - a young hitch-hiker (Julie Dassin) who meets the man at the start as he sits in a café waiting for his wife to arrive. He discusses his life as they wander about the town and this third character appears to be one of the husband's long ago infidelities mentioned in the play which he could be recalling as he waits. It's a sequence that seems totally superfluous and seems added on in order to increase the film's running time. Sacha Vierney's sharply lit black and white cinematography compliments both actors as they bare their souls under the harsh light.

Les cousins / The Cousins (Claude Chabrol, 1959) 8/10

French New Wave drama was Chabrol's second film and which won him the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. The story is a cynical look at french youth revelling in their cruel and callous behaviour. An enigmatic, gregarious but cruel young man (Jean-Claude Brialy) invites his naive provincial cousin (Gerard Blain) to come stay with him in Paris. He introduces the shy young man to his wild friends and exposes him to a life of wild parties. Both are law students and while the hedonist claims he can pass his exam without opening any book the other man works studiously in order to pass his exam and make his mother proud. Matters between the two cousins come to head over a girl leading to the shocking finalé. Chabrol, a true Hitchcock fanatic, used a lot of the Master's tricks and sense of the macabre in his films throughout his career. Chabrol and his collaborator, the great cinematographer Henri Decaë, create visually stunning images with the camera in constant motion during scenes set during an orgy and during the tense moments involving a gun. With the film's success - the first amongst the New Wave directors - Chabrol went on to create many thrillers with almost all having a strong link to Hitchcock's style of film making.

Sabrina (Billy Wider, 1954) 10/10

Charming Audrey Hepburn, the witty script by Billy Wilder and Ernest Lehman, a platinum blonde William Holden, the extremely offbeat casting of Humphrey Bogart when Wilder's original choice - Cary Grant - refused the part, a jaunty romantic score and Hepburn's iconic costumes for which Edith Head won an Oscar even though Givenchy designed most of them. This heady mix combined to create a perfect romantic comedy. The film was based on Samuel Taylor's Broadway play, "Sabrina Fair", which had been a huge success for Margaret Sullavan, but Paramount cast Audrey Hepburn whose followup film this was right after "Roman Holiday" for which she had won the Oscar. The plot was straight out of Bollywood - young woman (Audrey Hepburn), a chauffeur's daughter, gets involved with both sons of her father's employer. Madly in love with the younger son (William Holden), a much-married loveable cad, she also attracts the attention of the older more sedate brother (Humphrey Bogart). Who will she end up with? Wilder's astute direction prevents it from becoming fluff - there are many small witty moments scattered throughout - and he superbly guides the cast to give their best despite the many problems on set between the three stars. Hepburn, Wilder, the screenplay, production design and cinematography were all nominated for Academy Awards. Edith Head won for the film's costume designs. Classic film is a must-see.

La ragazza e il generale / The Girl and the General (Pasquale Festa Campanile, 1967) 5/10

During WWI an Italian private (Umberto Orsini), separated from his unit, captures an Austrian General (Rod Steiger) who plays a cat-and-mouse game in his attempts to escape. Wandering around the Austro-Italian border they come across a farm girl (Virna Lisa) who joins hands with the private and together they plan to deliver the General to the Italian army in exchange for a reward. Silly comedy-drama has the three characters fighting each other for every morsel of food while the private tries to have his way with the pretty woman. They keep running into and avoiding Austrian and German troops while searching for the Italian lines which appears to be across a dangerous minefield which they attempt to cross along with a donkey. The only surprise in this rather pointless film is a total lack of hamminess in Steiger's performance which is extremely rare.

Le désordre et la nuit / The Night Affair (Gilles Grangier, 1958) 8/10

This film mixes elements of noir from the 1940s and the stylistic movement that emerged in France during the early 1930s known as "poetic realism". The tone here is bolder, sharper and a lot more unforgiving, with characters jaded and in despair more than what one saw in Hollywood noirs. A drug-addicted nightclub singer (Nadja Tiller) is a suspect in a murder case. The cop (Jean Gabin), investigating the case, gets emotionally involved with the suspect after she seduces him and he tries to get her off drugs and capture the drug ring responsible. The film's main set piece is a Parisian nightclub where the star attraction is Hazel Scott, the critically acclaimed Trinidadian-born jazz and classical pianist, singer and actor who gets to sing two songs. Wonder what the politically correct junta today would think about Gabin calling her a "negress"? She is black so that word refers to her colour in french but viewing the scene today that word sounds jarring. Gabin is superb as the old cop involved with a much younger woman - he has great chemistry with Tiller. Danielle Darrieux, as another suspect, is also very good although her part is underwritten. The film is superbly shot by Louis Page and helped in great part by the jazz-influenced soundtrack which creates the wonderful 1950s atmosphere.

Miroir (Raymond Lamy, 1947) 8/10

A much respected businessman (Jean Gabin) by day leads a double life at night when he transforms into a cool-headed, shrewd gangster. He is the model citizen during daytime giving money to the poor, helping nuns restore their cloister and a hero to his son (Daniel Gelin). At night his life revolves around nightclubs and gambling joints as he keeps a tight control on his criminal activities. Eventually his two worlds collide with a spectacular shootout in a cemetary. Gabin gives a charismatic star performance, elegantly dressed, and as with most of his films completely dominates the proceedings. Portrait of a two-faced man is in many ways a lot like the Don Corleone character from "The Godfather". One of many hidden gems from the golden period of French cinema.

La corona negra / Black Crown (Luis Saslavsky, 1951) 10/10

Deliriously over-the-top film noir with enough striking images to populate several melodramas. The intricate plot, based on a short story by Jean Cocteau, uses amnesia as the backdrop to create dazzling imagery via surreal dream sequences - the most vivid scene in the film comes during the hysterical opening set in a desert with a woman (María Félix) trapped between several pairs of waving arms buried in the sand. She is a widow, dressed in black, and found drunk in a cafe by a poor engineer (Rossano Brazzi). He takes her home but she disappears the next morning after getting frightened by a dwarf. She later returns and tells him she has no memory and for some reason her past scares her. The mystery deepens when another man (Vittorio Gassman) suddenly appears and tells her she was his lover while married to her rich husband whose diamonds they planned to steal. He and his friends demand she return the jewels but she cannot remember. It is also discovered that her husband was stabbed to death. Did she kill him or did her lover stab him with a pair of scissors? Dense plot unravels slowly as the woman gradually pieces together her memory. Adding to her confusion are peripheral characters who she comes into contact with - two nuns who appear to know her and two maids who read her future through cards and find themselves perplexed with the outcome which they try to change. The stunningly beautiful Mexican star-diva María Félix - who resembled Hollywood's Linda Darnell - gives a highly emotional performance which is helped in great part by the dramatic use of light and shadow flickering across her face. She makes a formidable femme fatale and gets able support from both her young Italian leading men. One of numerous hidden gems from Mexican cinema and a must-see.

Abenteuer in Wien / Adventures in Vienna (Emil E. Reinert, 1952) 8/10

Post-War Vienna gets another workout after Carol Reed's classic "The Third Man" in this extremely rare Austrian film noir. The unhappy wife (Cornell Borchers) of a possessive and jealous concert pianist (Francis Lederer) plans to run off with her American lover to the United States. A taxi driver (Gustav Fröhlich), who has no identity papers, picks up the American at the train station and while he is helping his ride with his suitcases he returns to his taxi to find the man shot dead by the jealous husband who was following him. Finding himself trapped he decides to take on the identity of the dead man and escape the country. Unfortunately the woman, who was supposed to run off with her lover, identifies him as an imposter. In order to deflect the murder from himself the husband claims to the police that the accused is not in fact an imposter and his own wife is ill and delusional. Realizing the husband's involvement in the murder his wife and the taxi driver plan on catching the flight out of Austria together but are confronted by both the police and the angry husband who are hell bent on stopping them. Superb film uses every noir trope to create atmosphere. The film is mostly shot at night with shadowy lighting adding to the film's menacing atmosphere. This was the first post-war film collaboration between Austria and Hollywood and along with this Austrian version in the German language a second English version was also shot simultaneously. Francis Lederer appeared in both versions as the cunning jealous husband. Here the great German star Gustave Fröhlich is a standout as the accused man who suddenly finds he has a chance at freedom even if it comes at a terrible cost.

Notorious (Alfred Hitchcock, 1946) 10/10

This film asks how far should one be willing to go in defiling oneself personally for the greater good of humanity. As with most of Hitchcock's films there is romance, intrigue, suspense and betrayal but more than that it is about a love triangle in which a woman feels compelled to get married to a man she abhors out of duty to her country even though she loves someone else. A disgraced woman (Ingrid Bergman) - she is the daughter of a Nazi sympathiser convicted of treason - is approached by a U.S. government agent (Cary Grant) to prove her patriotism to the United States by infiltrating her father's former colleagues in Brazil to get information on their activities. She is to approach a wealthy industrialist (Claude Rains) who was also her former lover. As the two spies gear up for the job both fall in love. When her former lover proposes marriage she decides to go for it instead of blowing her cover. The plot turns sinister when she discovers the gang is involved in producing uranium which is kept in wine bottles in the cellar. When her role as a spy gets exposed she is kept prisoner and slowly poisoned by her husband and his domineering mother (Leopoldine Konstantine). The film became famous for two memorable scenes. The two stars embrace and kiss but since censorship did not allow a kiss to last beyond a few seconds on screen the director found a way around it and the "kiss" lasted almost two and a half minutes on screen making it one of the most erotic love scenes in film history. The second memorable scene in the film involves a tracking shot by the camera during a suspense filled moment with an overhead long shot of dozens of guests at a party with the camera swooping down to an extreme close-up on a key in Ingrid Bergman’s hand. This was the first of two screen pairings between Grant and Bergman and they made a sizzling team - he is his usual cool sophisticated self while she plays against type in a role that is basically that of a "call girl" which censors at the time labeled as a "party girl". Suave Claude Rains steals every scene as the sympathetic but mother-fixated Nazi who is dismayed to discover that the woman he loves has betrayed him. The film is superbly photographed by Ted Tetzlaff in crisp black and white and is a rare Hitchcock film where the plot not only has suspense but is basically a story about romance that is almost doomed. Both Claude Rains and Ben Hecht's screenplay were nominated for Academy Awards.

Endless Night (Sidney Gilliat, 1972) 5/10

Agatha Christie often regurgitated important plot points and we get a love triangle and murder seen before in the far more exotic setting of Egypt in "Death on the Nile". Here we get breathtaking shots of the English countryside in Middlesex, on the Isle of Wight and on the Amalfi coast in Italy. A poor chauffeuer (Hywel Bennett) charms a naive but rich American heiress (Hayley Mills), gets married to her and they both build a house in the countryside which was always his dream. Problems arise when her supicious step-mother (Lois Maxwell) and uncle (George Sanders) intervene. Also causing consternation for the husband is his wife's former companion and best friend (Britt Ekland) who unexpectedly arrives. There is the obligatory murder with everyone a suspect including an architect (Per Oscarsson) and an old eccentric soothsayer (Patience Collier) who warned the young couple not to move into their new house as it would bring them bad luck. Psychological thriller - Christie wrote the book in 1971 - is very different to the writer's far more exotic-set murder thrillers which she wrote decades before. It is also jarring to see a nude Britt Ekland during a sex scene in a "wholesome" Christie story but which was probably added with an eye towards the boxoffice during the less permissive 1970s when such scenes became more common place.

C'eravamo tanto amati / We All Loved Each Other So Much (Ettore Scola, 1974) 8/10

Thirty years in the lives of three close friends which is also a lesson in Italian history. Antonio (Nino Manfredi), Nico (Stefana Satta Flores) and Gianni (Vittorio Gassman) bond as leftist partisan soldiers in 1944 during WWII. As the years go by they discover that life as civilians is often full of disillusionment. Antonio is a goofy medical orderly and political activist, Nico is a radical film buff who leaves his wife and child and moves to Rome and Gianni is an opportunistic bourgeois lawyer. Into their lives comes Luciana (Stefania Sandrelli), a ditsy aspiring actress, who is loved at different times by all three friends causing friction between them. Scola's rambling film, with long flashbacks shot in black and white, is also an ode to Italian cinema as we see Luciana play a bit part in "La Dolce Vita" with Federico Fellini and Marcello Mastroianni in cameo appearances as director and star of the film being shot. There are also excerpts shown from "The Bicycle Thief" with a cameo appearance by Vittorio De Sica the director. A funny highlight is Nico seducing Luciana while explaining the editing technique of the "Odessa Steps" sequence from Sergei Eisenstein's "Battleship Potempkin" while they sit on the Spanish Steps. The film is stolen by Giovanna Ralli as Gassman's bird-brained fat wife who transforms into a chic hysteric and Aldo Fabrizi as her crooked industrialist father. Funny but downbeat film shows that despite gaining maturity all three men have basically remained the same - tired and worn out.

[Precious Doll]

I don't have any real for Nolan but have enjoyed some of his previous films notably The Dark Knight & Inception.

I really lost interest during Tenet because the whole damn enterprise becomes too convoluted with all this time travel incorporated into the storyline. I simply couldn't get engaged and that none of the actors have very much to do and the dialogue is tedious, when you can actually understand what is being send made the whole affair an unnecessary chore.

There is a great action set piece around the middle of the film and that is really the only good thing I can say about the film. I'm sure it has been constructed to get people to go back again and pull the pieces together but once was enough for me.

[mlrg]

Tenet (2020) Christopher Nolan 2/10

I’m pretty reluctant in spending money to see this.

How does this movie rank alongside the other Nolan movies Precious? Care to elaborate?

[Precious Doll]

Military Wives (2020) Peter Cattaneo 1/10
Our Mothers (2019) Cesar Diaz 6/10
Breath of Life (2010) David Roux 4/10
Pity (2018) Babis Makridis 4/10
Antigone (2019) Sophie Deraspe 5/10
Bell Canto (2018) Paul Weitz 1/10
Henri (2013) Yolande Moreau 2/10
Dogs (2016) Bogdan Mirica 5/10
Pauline Hanson: Please Explain! (2016) Anna Broninowski 8/10
Corpus Christi (2019) Jan Komasa 7/10
Tenet (2020) Christopher Nolan 2/10
Hanezu (2011) Naomi Kawase 4/10
And Then We Danced (2019) Levan Akin 7/10
Suzaku (1997) Naomi Kawase 5/10
I Am Woman (2020) Unjoo Moon 4/10
You Will Die at Twenty (2019) Amjad Abu Alala 4/10
Assassin(s) (1997) Mathieu Kassovitz 5/10

[Reza]

Appointment With Death (Michael Winner, 1988) 5/10
Thirteen at Dinner (Lou Antonio, 1985) 5/10
Les scélérats / The Wretches (Robert Hossein, 1960) 3/10
Bedevilled (Mitchell Leisen, 1955) 4/10
Voici le temps des assassins... / Deadlier Than the Male (Julien Duvivier, 1956) 8/10
The Captive City (Robert Wise, 1952) 6/10


Chair de poule / Highway Pick-Up (Julien Duvivier, 1963) 9/10

James Hadley Chase's pulp novel, "Come Easy-Go Easy", liberally took several points from James Cain's "The Postman Always Rings Twice" which allows Duvivier ample space to create a dark film noir about the extent to which humans will fall while twisted by greed. Two close friends crack a client's safe but the robbery is bungled when they are discovered. They make a run for it but one (Robert Hossein) is shot and injured by the guard while his friend (Jean Sorel) escapes. After a stint in hospital he manages to escape from the cops while on the way to prison and finds refuge with a kindly old man (Georges Wilson) at his isolated mountain-top gas station where he lives with his much younger wife (Catherine Rouvel). He is asked to stay and help at the café. The woman discovers the man's secret and blackmails and seduces him into opening her husband's safe which contains a huge sum of money. Caught once again while opening the safe the old man is killed during a skirmish with his wife. They bury the body and are planning what to do next when his friend arrives. The relentlessly exciting but downbeat plot leads to a fiery conclusion which involves another seduction, a second murder, followed by a shocking betrayal and an ironic finalé. Hossein, who would become famous for directing and often starring in similar pulp thrillers, is solid as the crook with a conscience. Rouvel is perfect as the icy and selfish femme fatale with no redeeming qualities. Sorel, with his pretty-boy looks, is a revelation as possibly the most immoral character of them all. As in most of his films Duvivier once again exposes the blackness of the human soul as his characters descend into depravity with utter abandon.

The Ice Harvest (Harold Ramis, 2005) 1/10

Hideously unfunny black comedy is badly directed with the entire cast floundering as they get to mouth words from the lousy screenplay written by Robert Benton. A Mob lawyer (John Cusack) and a sleazy pornographer (Billy Bob Thornton) steal money from their boss (Randy Quaid) but discover they can't make a run for it as all the streets are icy during Christmas Eve. Trying to avoid the Mob they run into assorted folks with disastrous results - a double-crossing sexy woman (Connie Nielsen) who runs a strip joint and a drunk friend (Oliver Platt). A promising start devolves into unnecessay subplots with jokes that fall totally flat. And somebody please shoot the very annoying Oliver Platt.

Night Train (John Lynch, 1998) 6/10

Quirky, low-key romance between an ex-con (John Hurt) and a spinster (Brenda Belthyn). He is on the run from crooks he swindled money from and moves into a rooming house belonging to an old lady (Pauline Flanagan) who likes to keep a firm hold on her middle-aged daughter. He likes trains and sets up a miniature set of the Orient Express in his room with tracks running round fields and into and over miniature mountains. When the crooks close in on him he asks the woman to run off with him and they end up on the real Orient Express. This is not quite "Brief Encounter" but the film sort of pays homage to Noel Coward's play with an added bizarre subplot about a cross-dressing neigbour who steals women's clothes off people's laundry lines, dresses up with a wig and makeup. Both Hurt and Blethyn are understated as lonely individuals trying to run away from their past.

Shanghai (Mikael Håfström, 2010) 3/10

Convoluted plot has an American spy (John Cusack) arrive in Shanghai to solve the mystery of a friend's murder on the eve of both the Japanese invasion of Shanghai and the attack on Pearl Harbor. It is 1941 and everyone is pretty antsy - the Chinese, the Japanese, the Nazis - with streets dangerous, violent shootouts in night clubs and the city a simmering pot of immoral barbarity. He is soon involved with the wife (Famke Potente) of a Nazi, falls in love with the sexy wife (Gong Li) of an influential crime lord (Chow Yun-Fat). He also befriends the local Police Captain (Ken Watanabe) who is involved with an opium addict (Rinko Kikuchi) who was the lover of the murdered man. Troubled production was denied a shooting schedule by the Chinese so the production moved to Thailand where spectacular sets were built to resemble the streets of Shanghai. Exotic looking film is let down by the screenplay which lacks tension and crams in far too much plot all of which is presented in a haphazard way. Watanabe, Gong Li and Chow Yun-Fat all go through the motion of playing charismatic characters in a bored and listless manner and Cusack proves yet again that he lacks a leading-man sensibility.

Against All Odds (Taylor Hackford, 1984) 7/10

Glossy, sexy reimagining - it's not really a remake - of the 1947 film noir "Out of the Past". The roles played in the classic by Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer and Kirk Douglas are now embodied by Jeff Bridges, Rachel Ward and James Woods. A gangster (James Woods) hires his friend (Jeff Bridges), a professional football player, to go in search of his girlfriend (Rachel Ward) who has run off. He finds her down in Mexico, they fall in love, she runs off again followed by him being framed for a couple of murders. The film has many memorable moments and characters - a nail-biting car chase between a Porsche 911SC and a Ferrari 308 on Sunset Blvd, the hot and sweaty sexual encounter between Bridges and Ward inside the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza, the femme fatale from the original film, Jane Greer, as Ward's tough-as-nails mother, Richard Widmark as a crooked lawyer and a couple of great songs on the soundtrack - Kid Creole & the Coconuts performing live their hit "My Male Curiosity" and the smash hit Oscar nominated title song by Phil Collins. Pity about the rather murky ending and an overall plot that seems to be paging the shady real estate deals from "Chinatown" but in a rather tired sort of way. Ward is memorable as the sexually charged femme fatale and her pairing opposite a young Bridges creates sparks. The film's spectacular Mexican locations play a great part in creating mood.

Et si on vivait tous ensemble? / And If We All Lived Together? (Stéphane Robelin, 2011) 7/10

This charming, if slight film, explores the theme of ageing and how to live a life of dignity and safety as age eventually descends on everyone. Five old friends have spent a lifetime in and out of each others' lives and have now reached an age which is not kind. Jean (Guy Bedos), an activist and revolutionary long past his active years with impotency part of his life now, lives with his wife Anne (Geraldine Chaplin) in a large luxurious home. Their close friends are Albert (Pierre Richard), suffering from Alzheimers, and his gregarious wife Jeanne (Jane Fonda), who refuses to take any treatment for the cancer she has kept hidden from everyone. Claude (Claude Rich) is a randy widower who suffers a heart attack while on his way to a prostitute. His illness is the catalyst that brings all the friends together and they decide that they should live together under one roof instead of waiting to be put into a home for the elderly. With the help of a young research student (Daniel Brühl) they form a commune and soon long hidden secrets are revealed. The lovely veteran cast - all very famous stars - work together with great affection. This was Fonda's first french film in 40 years and she seamlessly fits into the ensemble while Chaplin, a Brit, was already comfortable acting in the language after over 50 years of starring in Spanish and French films. Nothing much really happens but it's a joy to see these great actors doing what another septuagenarian lot of great stars did in "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" as they face transitions in their lives with varied levels of acceptance.

Rules of Engagement (William Friedkin, 2000) 5/10

When the U.S. embassy in Yemen is under sniper attack the Ambassador (Sir Ben Kingsley) and his wife (Anne Archer) are evacuated by marines. When three marines are killed the Commanding Officer (Samuel L. Jackson) orders his troops to fire on the crowds below killing over 80 unarmed civilians including women and children. To deflect negative public opinion over the massacre the U.S. National Security Advisor (Bruce Greenwood) puts the blame on the Commander and pushes for a court martial choosing an over zealous prosecutor (Guy Pearce) to do him in. For his defence the accused requests his friend, a retired marine Colonel (Tommy Lee Jones), whose life he had saved years before in Vietnam. The hysterical court case includes perjury on part of the Ambassador and the deliberate hiding of important video evidence in order to make a scapegoat of the accused. Not withstanding the potholes in the screenplay the film allows both Jones and Jackson to give sincere and forceful performances although all the characters lack depth as the script does not explore their motivations - both Greenwood and Pearce are stuck with playing stock villains with no shading. The film is strictly mainstream entertainment and can be enjoyed on that level but it could have been something great with just a few more tweaks to the screenplay.

Douce violence / Sweet Ecstacy (Max Pécas, 1962) 5/10

Aimless young man gets into bad company - a group of hedonistic rich boys and girls - and has great fun but not without suffering first at their hands in between attempts of trying to seduce the hot babe (Elke Sommer) in their midst. European exploitation film, coming in the wake of Fellini's "La Dolce Vita", springs Elke Sommer in full bitch mode and hot to trot but not willing to give her love. She is the star attraction dancing in tight capris, rolling on the beach in a skimpy bikini, making out topless - a scene quite daring for 1962 - and all tied-up with a rope as part of an initiation joke that turns into a nightmare when the yacht they are on catches fire. Sommer, who would become a star soon after, is clearly being presented here as a clone of Bardot. The flimsy plot is just an excuse to oogle the sexy actress along with plenty of sexual titilation, cheap thrills and violence. The exceptional soundtrack has two great songs by Johnny Hallyday with one written by Charles Aznavour.

La chamade (Alain Cavalier, 1968) 5/10

Cavalier's film, based on the novel by Françoise Sagan, charts the conflicting emotions of a beautiful young woman (Catherine Deneuve) who is blissfully unaware of her shallow existence. Mistress of a much older man (Michel Piccoli) who passionately indulges her, she spends her time very comfortably but without much purpose. When she suddenly falls in love with a man her own age she decides to dump her rich lover and move in with her poor one (Roger Van Hool). Life changes as she has to suddenly open her eyes to the world around her. For a while she sustains her lifestyle by selling her jewels but has to eventually find work. Then she gets pregnant and bored with her new lover. Her former lover pays for an abortion and takes her back, no questions asked. Deneuve is absolutely ravishing, dressed in chic Yves Saint Laurent outfits, but her character is so vapid and self-absorbed that it's difficult to care what happens to her. She acts subservient to both men - one who indulges her no end while the other tries to change her - and one is left wondering if she loves either. It is never made clear what attracts Deneuve to Van Hool who comes off equally vapid. Even sex between them lacks heat. Piccoli is superb and his scenes with Deneuve are full of warmth and the only reason to see this rather dull film.

The Phantom President (Norman Taurog, 1932) 6/10

The original "Yankee Doodle Dandy", George M. Cohan, makes his sound film debut in this musical-comedy playing a double role. This pre-code comedy, with a faux-pas or two, would cause a coronary amongst all the politically correct souls out there today. A Presidential candidate (George M. Cohan) is deemed to have too dull a personality with no sex appeal. His close friends are all in agreement about this. Even the vivacious woman (Claudette Colbert) he loves refuses to marry him. Enter a traveling medicine man / stage performer (also played by George M. Cohan) with a nutty partner (Jimmy Durante) in tow. They perform the tunes of Rogers and Hart - offscreen Cohan was most contemptuous of the songwriters calling them Gilbert & Sullivan - as Cohan performs one number in blackface. Since Al Jolson had recently made a huge success of that the producers probably decided to have a go once again. It is decided that the gregarious charlatan lookalike should be put forward as the candidate for office and if he wins the actual one with the drab personality could then move into the White House. Durante has a couple of hilarious moments but as always overstays his welcome. Cohan has great chemistry with Colbert although he was a pain on and off the set. Funny political satire with a rare chance to see the actual Cohan dance on screen - which James Cagney did so memorably a decade later when he played Cohan on screen.

Blood and Money (John Barr, 2020) 4/10

A former marine and war veteran (Tom Berenger) spends his days hunting deer in an icy wilderness. He is a recovering alcoholic whose daughter died in a car accident while he was driving drunk and is now dying of an ailment as he keeps coughing blood. While on a hunt he inadvertently shoots a woman in the woods and next to her is a bag filled with a million dollars. The film becomes a cat-and-mouse game between him and the victim's four partners who stole the money from a casino. He leads them on a deadly chase through the woods. Berenger was once upon a time a promising leading man during the 1980s but never managed to sustain the highs of that decade. He is still active but in B-grade films like this one and the series of "Sniper" films which he keeps churning out. The film's moral message on greed gives it a slight whiff of the Coen's "Fargo" but the screenplay veers off into stale territory in a plot already done to death in many films before this one.

Swashbuckler (James Goldstone, 1976) 6/10

The pirate film, once a highly successful boxoffice staple from the 1930s through to the 1950s, dwindled during the 1960s and completely petered out in the 1970s. The unexpected success of Richard Lester's Musketeer films resurrected once more the pirate genre although it was to be a one-off moment. The production goes all out bringing forth all the familiar tropes starting with a magnificent ship, the obligatory one-legged pirate, men swinging aboard with swords in their teeth, duels to the death, treasure chests and the evil Governor (Peter Boyle) of Jamaica who imprisons an honest nobleman and evicts his fiery daughter (Geneviève Bujold). She seeks help from a pirate (Robert Shaw) who comes to the town's rescue. While Shaw is certainly no Errol Flynn he makes a go of the part and is actually quite good without being hammy. He creates sparks with lovely Bujold and the highlight is their duel with a sword. Raucous, old-fashioned yarn almost manages to recapture the vim and vigor of the Flynn and Burt Lancaster screen adventures. The action scenes are beautifully shot by Phillip Lathrop accompanied by a lively score by John Addison. Giving excellent support to the two leads are James Earl Jones and Anjelica Huston in one of her early film appearances. The film was not a success but is actually quite a worthy successor to the classics of the genre from Hollywood's golden period.

Shadows in the Sun (Brad Mirman, 2005) 7/10

This film has every cliché under the sun about eccentric writers living in seclusion in sun-dappled rural Italy. And it also has a clichéd romantic subplot. And I thought it was wonderful but then I could even watch ants crawl across the screen as long as they were doing their walking in gorgeous Italy. A callow young book editor (Joshua Jackson) is sent by his boss on a goose chase to Tuscany to try and get a once-great writer (Harvey Keitel) to start writing again and sign with his agency. The problem is that the writer uses his eccentricity and the death of his wife as a facade to hide behind because he is scared of failure. With the young man in town the writer gradually learns to not only open up but teach the uptight young man a thing or two about not being afraid and to follow his heart. They bond. And the younger man finds romance with the writer's lovely daughter (Claire Forlani). Keitel is a hoot whether berating the young man, sunbathing in the nude, getting jailed, crying while sitting at his typewriter or just being an irascible asshole. Forlani is a real looker with her flowing hair and red lips. And the Italian countryside is to die for with equally eccentric local characters - Giancarlo Giannini is a delight as a priest who likes playing gin rummy with the writer. The tiny rural village somewhere near Siena, with its yellow stone cottages and golden sunsets across rolling fields, takes on the role of a character. A simple story about love and life with great heart.

Take Care of My Little Girl (Jean Negulesco, 1951) 5/10

Colorful but rather silly sorority shenanigans with an appealing cast of female stars all too old to be in college. The screenplay scores points for putting forth a serious message about snobbery, hazing and shallowness which sororities hold onto proudly. The rest of the plot has a pretty freshman (Jeanne Crain) being chased by two young men - a steady student on the GI bill (Dale Robertson) and a pretty-boy fraternity snob (Jeffrey Hunter). Jean Peters is the snooty bitch on campus while other students are played by Mitzi Gaynor, Helen Westcott and Natalie Schafer. Glossy Technicolor Fox production was conceived as a vehicle for the studio's younger stars with the Epstein brothers' screenplay throwing in social criticism.

Les bien-aimés / Beloved (Christophe Honoré, 2011) 7/10

The film takes its cue from Jacques Demy as the characters keep breaking out into song. A charming tale about love, sex, laughter and tragedy that goes on way too long. A woman (Ludvine Sagnier) doesn't mind resorting to a little prostitution on the side to make extra bucks. She meets the man of her dreams - a Czech communist - during a trick, marries him but refuses to go back with him to his country. She gets a divorce, gives birth to his daughter and gets married again. Then her ex-husband returns and she wants him back. Time-spanning film has french movie diva Catherine Deneve play the character during the present with her grown-up daughter played by Chiara Mastroianni. The characters all sing their heart out and wander in and out of different time periods running into their younger or older selves in the past and future. Both Deneuve and Mastroianni - mother-daughter in real life - create sparks in their scenes together. Deneuve is a sensual delight as the audaciously romantic woman who has lived life to the fullest and with her own daring rules and has no regrets about her younger self. Miloś Forman plays her ex-husband. The production and costume design maintains a timeless look throughout even though the story's timeline moves through four decades.

Where There's Life (Sidney Lanfield, 1947) 4/10

The American son (Bob Hope) of a European monarch has to be brought across when the old man is shot. A general (Signe Hasso) is sent to bring him while a terrorist (George Coulouris) and his goons are out to kill him. Typical Hope comedy with the star doing his cowardly shtick and romancing Hasso who does an impersonation of Greta Garbo's "Ninotchka". Frantic farce is silly but moves at breakneck pace with a funny William Bendix as a harrassed cop.

Katyń (Andrzej Wajda, 2007) 5/10

The film depicts the Katyń massacre which was a series of mass executions of Polish officers and intelligentsia carried out by the Soviet Union in 1940. The massacre is named after the Katyn Forest where some of the mass graves were first discovered. The Soviet government suppressed the facts blaming the Germans for carrying out the executions and it was only in 1989 with the fall of communism in Poland that the facts were revealed and acknowledged by Mikhail Gorbachev in 1990. In the film the events of Katyń are revealed through the eyes of the women, the mothers, wives and daughters of the men executed. The story was particularly a personal one for director Wajda whose father was one of those killed. The story follows his incarceration after being taken prisoner by the Soviet Army. He keeps a diary recording everything he sees. His wife and daughter live with his father, a professor, who is deported and later killed in a camp. When news arrives that thousands of soldiers perished at Katyń, his wife (Maja Ostaszewska) holds hope when his name is not amongst the dead. When his diary is later discovered his death is confirmed. However, it was a bitter moment for the Polish people as they were kept in the dark about the Soviet's involvement. Wajda recreates the massacre at the film's end and actual Polish and German newsreels showing the soldiers being shot in the head are also shown. For such a dramatic event in history the film is surprisingly uninvolving lacking in drama until the shocking scenes at the end. It is a haunting finale in what is otherwise a dull drama. The film, with superb production design and extraordinary cinematography by Pawel Edelman, was nominated for an Oscar in the foreign film category.

The Human Stain (Robert Benton, 2003) 6/10

Hopkins is badly miscast but despite that this adaptation of Phillip Roth's acclaimed novel, with elements of greek tragedy, makes for good drama. It explores issues of identity and self-invention in America making strong points about racism that remains rampant even today. A tragic chain of events is set in motion when a Classics Professor (Anthony Hopkins) at a New England college is fired from his job when in class uses the word "spooks". He used the word to mean "ghosts" but is accused of using the word as a racial slur and dismissed. In actual fact the man is black but has passed himself off through most of his adult life as a white-jew, even to his own wife and kids. The reason behind his dismissal also underlines how political correctness can often be twisted by today's generation who seem to have forgotten to view things in context. Losing his job and his wife - who dies of a heart attack - he later forms a friendship with a reclusive writer (Gary Sinise) and starts an affair with an illiterate janitor (Nicole Kidman) who is much younger than him and who is estranged from her psychotic husband (Ed Harris). Hopkins' miscasting becomes glaringly evident during the flashback scenes to his youth where his character is played by Wentworth Miller. The two actors come to the role from completely different planes. The film soars during the scenes between Hopkins and Kidman - two lonely people having gone through much despair in lives coming together and finding solace and sexual comfort together even if it is for a brief moment.

Twilight (Robert Benton, 1998) 8/10

Benton's screenplay retreads tropes from far better neo-noirs but the amazing cast gathered here makes it all seem fresh. The story's leisurely pace works to the film's advantage and moves in perfect rhythm to the aged star and the co-stars he banters with. After bringing back the runaway daughter (Reese Witherspoon) of an actor (Gene Hackman), an ex-cop turned private detective (Paul Newman) moves in with him and his femme fatale actress wife (Susan Darandon) on whom he has a crush. He is allowed to stay on their large estate as one of the family. Two years later the actor, now dying of cancer, asks him to run an errand by delivering an envelope of money to an address. He is attacked by a man (M. Emmett Walsh) who has been shot in the stomach and finds himself in over his head in an old case that involves murder and blackmail. He comes across other characters also involved in the mystery - two blackmailers (Liev Schreiber & Margo Martindale) and three other cops from his past, an old flame (Stockard Channing), a buddy (the charming James Garner) and his former inept partner (Giancarlo Espisito). Newman, at age 73, is still as charismatic as ever as he moves through this Raymond Chandler territory tossing off quips with his co-stars. Piotr Sobocinski's muted cinematography adds to the atmosphere. The film uses the old art deco Hollywood home of 1930s star Dolores Del Rio and her husband Cedric Gibbons as one of the main locations. The film also has an astonishing nude scene featuring Reese Witherspoon in one of her very early films. A very underrated film.

Romeo Akbar Walter (Robbie Grewal, 2019) 2/10

A slow-burn. VERY slow. A spy yarn trying to take on the mantle of a John Le Carre thriller is supposedly based on true events and set just before the Indo-Pak conflict of 1971. An actor (John Abraham) is hired and trained by RAW to go into Pakistan to try and get information about their preparedness for war. Jackie Shroff is the George Smiley-like spymaster. Monotonous film just goes on and on with only the final scenes between the captured spy and his Pakistani torturer (Sikander Kher) that hold interest. Yet another jingoistic chest thumper from Bollywood and equally boring as the similarly themed Raazi (2018). Based partially on events in the life of RAW undercover agent Ravindra Kaushik who died in jail in Pakistan. According to his family the Indian government refused to recognise him and made no effort to help him.

Uri: The Surgical Strike (Aditya Dhar, 2019) 6/10

If nothing else the silly enmity between India and Pakistan over Kashmir has provided Bollywood with enough material to constantly delve into the war genre. With active government and Armed Forces involvement in these productions it also provides a shout-out to patriotism. The plot is a dramatised account of the retaliation to the 2016 Uri attack, following Major Vihaan Singh Shergill (Vicky Kaushal) of the Indian Army, who plays a leading role in the events. Superbly produced film has top notch editing, visual effects, cinematography and sound design and uses its screenplay to provide the main protagonist a jingoistic reason and "josh" - his mother suffers from Alzheimers and his brother-in-law, a Major, dies when a terrorist's grenade blows up - to lead the retaliation. This one-sided narrative has ISI behind the terrorist attacks alternating between fact and fiction with well staged combat sequences. Mercifully there are not too many chest thumping moments as in J. P. Dutta's war films in the past, which for a very long time became de rigueur in every Bollywood war-themed film. Kaushal carries the film with steely determination (he was rewarded with a Filmfare award nomination and the National award) and the film deservedly won many awards in the technical categories.

The Last Days on Mars (Ruairi Robinson, 2013) 6/10

A regurgitation of the old "Jaws", "Alien" & "Ten Little Indians" formula set on Mars. On the last day of a 6-month mission on Mars one crew member discovers a mysterious live bacteria. Before he can contain it he falls into a pit and dies. It's only a matter of time before the bacteria infects the crew members one by one as they turn into zombies and start attacking each other. Who will survive to reach the strip where the spaceship sent from earth to bring them back lands? Space horror-thriller is not without interest even though this particular genre has gone through its fair share of similar stories. The eclectic cast - Liev Schreiber, Elias Koteas, Romola Garai, Olivia Williams - may not be A-list but they give it their all with some good suspenseful moments. The spectaular Wadi Rum in Jordan subs for Mars.

My Life So Far (Hugh Hudson, 1999) 7/10

Set during the 1920s this charming look at a year in the life of the Pettigrew family, living in their family estate Kiloran House in Scotland, is seen through the eyes of the precocious 10-year old son. The plot is a series of vignettes about the various family members - the eccentric and pious father (Colin Firth) who is obsessed with inventions, his lovely wife (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonia), the imperious but loving grandmother (Rosemary Harris), her son (Malcolm McDowell) and his much younger french fiancé (Irène Jacob). Plodding but sincere drama is held together by the ensemble cast and glorious views of the Scottish countryside. Firth is seen in a typically laid-back star turn and young actor Robert Norman is an absolute delight getting into all sorts of mischief including being inquisitive about "prostitution", "lesbians" and "fellatio", words he has picked up from a book in the library. In contrast to his father's interest in the music of Beethoven the child secretly enjoys listening to jazz which his father has described as the "devil's music". Old fashioned film is adapted from the memoirs of Sir Denis Forman, a British television executive, about his random childhood memories.

Black Water: Abyss (Andrew Trauckie, 2020) 2/10

Take a bunch of humans, put them in a confined space and at the mercy of a set of jaws. Age-old formula is utterly wasted in this rehash of a genre which is usually always great fun to sit through. Five friends decide to explore an underground cave but get trapped when water starts rising after a storm. It also happens to be home to a vicious and very hungry crocodile. Most of the film is shot in darkness with only torch lights showing glimpses of the reptile as it goes in for the kill. Only the last scene is played out in bright sunlight as the survivors once again face sudden danger. Dull characters, a lack of tension and a very low budget makes this a slog to sit through.

Summerland (Jessica Swale, 2020) 6/10

A reclusive researcher (Gemma Arterton), living in the Kent countryside - glorious rolling grass fields running off white cliffs - is suddenly asked to take in a young boy (Lucas Bond), an evacuee from bombed out London. The War is on but in far off London, and the crotchety writer is not at all pleased at the prospect of a young boy intruding into her private space. They first clash and then bond as expected and we get to know why the lady is constantly in a cranky mood. Memory flashbacks to the 1920s reveal a failed love affair with a bohemian lifeforce (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), initially full of passion (although very tamely shot), which they are forced to abandon. This part of the plot - a white woman in a lesbian relationship with a black woman - seems tacked on in order to appease the PC brigade. It's now de rigueur to include a gay and a race element into plots. Cliché-laden story is well cast - both Arterton and Bond are very good, and in brief roles there is excellent support by Tom Courtenay (as a school master), Siân Phillips and Penelope Wilton who plays the older version of the Arterton character during the 1970s. The ending comes with a pleasing twist.

Made in Italy (James D'Arcy, 2020) 4/10

Lovely Tuscan locations sadly do not compensate for a listless plot revolving around an estranged father and son both grieving for the dead woman they both loved. Having a real life father-son actor duo play the characters also does not elevate the material. A bohemian artist (Liam Neeson), lost without his wife who died in a car crash, travels with his estranged son (Micheál Richardson) from London to Italy in order to sell a dilapidated countryside villa in Tuscany. As they make repairs to the crumbling estate they try to come to terms with their loss and reconnect. The central idea is clearly a reference to the death of actress Natasha Richardson, Neeson's wife and Micheál Richardson's mother. The son, going through a bitter divorce, befriends a young divorced single mother (Valeria Bilello) who not only playfully flirts with both men but is also a great cook - her risotto is to die for. Predictable film runs its course without any surprises. A tart-tongued Lindsay Duncan, in a blonde pageboy wig, makes a welcome brief appearance as a realtor trying to help them sell the villa. Mawkish tale of grief and healing. Luckily Tuscany, in all its sun-dappled glory, is a sight for sore eyes.

[Precious Doll]

Raggedy Man (1981) Jack Fisk 10/10

Remember how Eric Roberts, after King of the Gypsies and then this, was touted as being the next big leading man? He’s had an astounding number of credits but largely fell off the radar after Runaway Train in 1985, for which he received his sole Academy Award nomination. I seem to remember that he was derailed by a cocaine problem.

Yeah. Such a shame because he was so talented. There was also Star 80 and The Pope of Greenwich Village. He has popped up over the years in the odd blockbuster (The Dark Knight - inspired casting) and the indie sleeper hit It's My Party (1996) but I've never even heard of most of the stuff he has made the last couple of decades.

I'm overcome with a touch of melancholy when I watch early Eric Roberts film for what we have missed out on.

[danfrank]

Raggedy Man (1981) Jack Fisk 10/10

Remember how Eric Roberts, after King of the Gypsies and then this, was touted as being the next big leading man? He’s had an astounding number of credits but largely fell off the radar after Runaway Train in 1985, for which he received his sole Academy Award nomination. I seem to remember that he was derailed by a cocaine problem.

[Precious Doll]

A Woman's Revenge (2012) Rita Azevedo Gomes 4/10
Dog Lady (2016) Laura Citarella & Veronica Llinas 6/10
Just 6.5 (2019) Saeed Routsayi 4/10
An Easy Girl (2019) Rebecca Zlotowski 5/10
Occidental (2019) Neil Beloufa 4/10
Wonders in the Suburbs (2020) Jeanne Balibar 4/10
Sicilia (1999) Daniele Huillet & Jean-Marie Staub 5/10
The Kingmaker (2019) Lauren Greenfield 6/10
The Bird (2012) Yves Caumon 4/10

Repeat viewings

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) Sergio Leone 9/10
Town Bloody Hall (1979) Chris Hegedus & D.A. Pennebaker 8/10
The Tenant (1976) Roman Polanski 8/10
The Queen (1968) Frank Simon 7/10
Homicidal (1961) William Castle 8/10
Raggedy Man (1981) Jack Fisk 10/10
North Sea Hijack (1980) Andrew V. McLaglen 6/10

[Precious Doll]

Vitalina Varela (2019) Pedro Costa 6/10
Wet Season (2019) Anthony Chen 7/10
The Hater (2020) Jan Komasa 8/10
Atlantis (2019) Valentyn Vasyanovych 4/10
Hiroshima (1953) Hideo Sekigawa 7/10
Servants (2020) Ivan Ostrochovsky 5/10
The Painted Bird (2019) Vaclav Marhoul 8/10
Peninsula aka Train to Busan 2 (2020) Sang-ho Yeon 2/10
Exit (2020) Visar Morina 4/10
The Phynx (1970) Lee H. Katzin 7/10
Ordinary Love (2019) Lisa Barros D'Sa & Glenn Leyburn 4/10
Cuck (2019) Rob Lambert 3/10
La Llorona (2019) Jayro Bustamante 7/10
Papicha (2019) Mounia Meddour Gens 4/10

[Reza]

5 Against the House (Phil Karlson, 1955) 7/10

Sultry Kim Novak, in her first lead role after three minor parts, is a major highlight in this noir crime caper film. After a night of fun at a casino four army vets are told by a cop that its impossible to rob the place. The brainy one (Kerwin Matthews) comes up with a fool-proof plan to rob the casino but only as a prank to prove that it can be done. The geek (Alvy Moore) and the brawn (Brian Keith) both agree to participate but they need a fourth so they casually include the straight-arrow pal (Guy Madison) who brings along his cabaret-singer girlfriend (Kim Novak). One of the early films to take a look at the psychological toll taken on vets by the war as the brawny pal, who has a hair-trigger temper - the result of suffering combat fatigue - suddenly decides that the robbery is not going to be merely a prank and pulls a gun on his pals to go through with the heist in order to keep the stolen money. Keith is very good as the emotionally scarred vet and Karlson's taut direction keeps the plot moving swiftly despite the talky script. Novak, with her soft voice and sexy tight outfits, is memorable throughout. She became a huge star with her next film ("Picnic") and her "stiff" acting style, for which she was often criticised then, actually works to her advantage when her films are viewed today. She is still around at age 87 - paging the Academy to give her an honorary Oscar.

Ashes of Time (Kar-Wai Wong, 1994) 4/10

This has to be to be one of the most confusing films of all time. I had no idea what was going on from start to finish.....and this was while I was simultaneously reading a summary of the story on Wikipedia. Couldn't keep a track of who's who amongst the actors - everyone from the Hong Kong film industry seems to be in it - Leslie Cheung, Tony Leung ("Little Tony"), Jacky Cheung, Tony Leung Ka Fai ("Big Tony"), Maggie Cheung and Brigitte Lin. Stunning imagery, courtesy of Christopher Doyle's camera, captures spectacular sweeping desert vistas and sword fights. Pity couldn't understand what it was all about.

Fallen Angels (Kar-Wai Wong, 1995) 5/10

Two unconnected stories are shot like a music video - but without the song - in an almost hyperkinetic frenzy. The director is clearly impressed by latter-day Godard as he resorts to quick cutting, slow motion, hand-held shaky camera, wide-angle lenses, fast motion, black and white shots and flashing neon signs, all of which almost made me cross-eyed. The film's two plots are just an excuse to have characters parade around through assorted rooms, across crowded streets and on trains in Hong Kong. The first story involves a hitman and his female "partner" who supplies him with names of people he has to kill while she scrubs his apartment dressed in a mini-skirt and fish net stockings and orgasmically writhes on his bed with a cigarette in her hand. There is also a prostitute in a blonde wig who wanders in and out of the plot with whom the hitman has an affair much to the chagrin of his "partner" who in her infatuation puts out a hit on him. The second story involves a crazy delinquent who escapes prison and forms a friendship with a young girl who cries on his shoulder about her lover who ran off with a blonde woman. Flashy, absurd film is not a complete right-off and manages to hold interest although it's an exhausting ride all the way to the end. The film resembles the director's Chungking Express (1994) in tone and was in fact meant initially to be part of that film.

My Voyage to Italy (Martin Scorsese, 1999) 8/10

Scorsese traces his Italian roots and discusses his love and fascination with movies and in particular Italian cinema. He looks at many classic films, particularly covering the Italian neorealism
period. There is a detailed emphasis on the films of Roberto Rossellini. Other directors mentioned include Vittorio de Sica,
Luchino Visconti, Federico Fellini and Michelangelo Antonioni. Scorsese critiques their important films in great detail as the scenes play out on the screen and we hear his voice on the soundtrack.

The Ship That Died of Shame (Basil Dearden, 1955) 6/10

Three WWII vets (Richard Attenborough, George Baker, Bill Owen) buy back their small gunboat after the war and use their faithful ship to smuggle minor contraband items across the English channel. When they start smuggling more and more sinister items the ship decides to teach them a lesson as the three men get way over their heads with greed. Attenborough has a flashy role as a cocky crook. Based on a novel by Nicholas Monsarrat, the film was an attempt by Ealing to create a noir while showing the stress and steain servicemen went through while trying to adjust to life after the strain of war. Exciting scenes set on the high seas which were probably all shot in a tank in the studio. There are small but vivid roles for Bernard Lee and lovely Virginia McKenna.

[Reza]

Il generale della Rovere (Roberto Rossellini, 1959) 10/10

Rossellini once again explores his countrymen's reactions to the German occupation of Italy during the War. And he again does so by superbly recreating war-torn Italy - this story is set in Genoa - with its bombed-out cityscapes and cramped interiors of homes and prisons, often interspersing real newsreel images which give the film a haunting quality. The story revolves around a petty crook (Vittorio De Sica), always immaculately dressed, who has a distinguished aura about him. It is to De Sica's credit that he makes the character sympathetic allowing the audience to understand why such people did what they did during the War. Survival was the name of the game and it was easy to play both sides if one could. He has a gambling habit and to feed into it swindles his neighbours by giving them false promises about saving family members caught by the Gestapo. He keeps losing at the gambling table and tries to stay one step ahead by conning innocent men and women into giving him more and more money. He is not averse to stealing from one mistress (the ravishing Giovanna Ralli) but is sensitive enough to spare another (Sandra Milo) who genuinely loves him. When he is finally caught after trying to swindle a rich woman (Anne Vernon), his captor - the local German officer (Hannes Messemer) - who is amused by his antics decides to make a bargain with him. Impersonate a dead Italian General who was inadvertently killed by the Germans and go into prison to try and ferret out a Resistance leader from amongst a group of men caught and imprisoned. Will the conman take the bait of a cash settlement and eventual freedom or will he transform from being a collaborator into a hero of the anti-national socialist resistance? Stunning film hinges on the performance of the great De Sica who gives a marvelously nuanced performance. The film won the Golden Lion prize at the Venice film festival and was nominated for an Oscar for its screenplay. One of many classic films to come out of Italy and a must-see.

Wolfen (Michael Wadleigh, 1981) 5/10

After seeing numerous closeup shots of naked dead bodies in this film I realised that all these shots were censored and cut out on VHS when I first saw this film in 1982. A mystery crime-horror story seemed pretty derivative back then as it came after a couple of similarly themed slasher films about werewolves. Watched it again to see what made Albert Finney take on this film - apparently he was first choice of the director and Dustin Hoffman, who desperately wanted the part, was turned down. There appears to be a re-evaluation of this film over the years with its theme of decaying urban areas and Indians and wolves exchanging souls. Well the plot was mumbo jumbo then, just as it remains now, but it does manage to initially create a creepy mood by using an in-camera effect to portray the subjective point of view of a wolf. Former NYPD Captain (Albert Finney) is brought back to investigate the brutal murders of a high profile magnate, his wife and bodyguard. Helping him solve the mystery are a criminal psychologist (Diane Venora) and a coroner (Gregory Hines) who discovers that no weapon was used to kill the victims and in fact jagged teeth were used to rip the bodies apart. The discovery points to werewolves and Native Indians of which one (Edward James Olmos) gets naked, acts like a wolf and stalks the cop. Bordering on camp the film ends rather abruptly although with more spectacular violence and a decapitation. If blood and gore move you then do watch this. Otherwise avoid unless, like me, you are a fan of the star and remain wondering why on earth he took on this film. Also interesting to see Venora, Hines and Olmos so early on in their careers.

Missing Ten Days / Ten Days in Paris (Tim Whelan, 1940) 6/10

Frantic comedy spy-thriller tries to emulate Hitchcock's "The Lady Vanishes" with screwball elements thrown in but comes up short. An English playboy (Rex Harrison) is shot in the head and gets involved in a farcical plot trying to find why he was attacked - the head wound is superficial. Adding to the nutty plot is a blonde babe (Kaaren Verne) and a bunch of spies - led by Leo Genn - who plan to sabotage a train by planting a bomb. Harrison has a lot of fun with the part as he banters with the blonde, plays "William Tell" with a hood and chases the train during the exciting finale.

Monpti (Helmut Käutner, 1957) 9/10

Bittersweet romance between a destitute Hungarian artist (Horst Buccholz) and a rich Parisian girl (Romy Schneider) which eventually reveals their sweet relationship to be based on lies. Ironic tale is narrated on screen by Käutner himself (playing a bistro customer) as he contrasts their friendship and affair with that of a superficial romance between an older couple. Tragedy ensues when the two stories literally collide. Buccholz and Schneider, then Germany's biggest young stars, are dazzling together as they bicker, make love and dream of a life together. The cinematographer, Heinz Pehlke, uses different techniques to convey the mood of the film, including using a concealed camera to capture the sights and sounds of stunning Paris with an emphasis on the Luxembourg gardens in the Latin Quarter as one of its main locations. Sad yet exhilarating film is one of Käutner's most memorable films.

Mädchenjahre einer Königin / The Story of Vickie (Ernst Marischka, 1954) 8/10

A year before Romy Schneider became a star playing Empress Elisabeth of Austria in the famous "Sissi" trilogy, she played the young Queen Victoria in this historical film. The first half follows history - Vickie (Romy Schneider) becomes Queen of England at the young age of 18, tries to break free from her domineering mother (Christl Mardayn) who is under the influence of a wily lover, grows closer to her companion, the Baroness Lehzen (Magda Schneider), and gets tutored in diplomacy by her loyal Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne (Karl Ludwig Diehl), who also tries to find a suitable husband for her. The film's second half evolves into a charming fairy tale with Victoria falling head over heels in love with a handsome German man (Adrian Hoven) she meets at a tavern in Dover while traveling incognito to France. Kitschy fluff is just as irresistible and charming as the "Sissi" films with Schneider an absolutely radiant presence. Sumptuously produced film with lovely sets and costumes which were duplicated by the same team in the trilogy which also had the added pleasure of many scenes shot on lovely Austrian locations. The film is shot in stunning colour by Bruno Mondi.

Flaming Feather (Ray Enright, 1952) 6/10

A mysterious outlaw in cahoots with Indians causes mayhem for Arizona settlers. A rugged rancher (Sterling Hayden) comes to the rescue aided and abetted by two pretty women (Barbara Rush & Arleen Whelen). An exciting shootout takes place during the finale which is set up on the Montezuma Castle Pueblo cliff dwellings in Arizona. Colorful western holds interest but is no classic.

China Sky (Ray Enright, 1945) 7/10

Pearl Buck's story, like many of the China-themed films out of Hollywood before and during the War, treats its characters as typical self-efacing subservient types with caucasians playing orientals. This low budget film was no different but it was RKO studio's attempt to portray through the plot America's friendship for China during its occupation under Japan. What makes the film work is the central conflict of two love triangles amidst the war. An American missionary doctor (Randolph Scott) and a female counterpart (Ruth Warrick) both work in a hill-top country hospital he has built for a Chinese village. After a trip abroad he returns with a socialite wife (Ellen Drew) who immediately clashes with her husband's assistance who she rightly suspects of being secretly in love with him. This bitter love triangle is played out against constant Japanese aerial bombings while a disgruntled Japanese-Korean doctor (Phillip Ahn) secretly tries to help a captured Japanese Colonel (Richard Loo) after discovering that the Chinese nurse (Carol Thurston) he loves has fallen for the local insurgent leader (Anthony Quinn). Scott, taking a break from Westerns, plays the heroic doctor although its lovely Warrick who shines as the dedicated doctor secretly in love. Her scenes opposite a perpetually jealous Ellen Drew provide more sparks than the numerous battle scenes. Quinn, who played every manner of nationality during the first two decades of his career, is again typecast but manages to bring fiery shades to the part. Both Quinn and Thurston, courtesy of the Hollywood makeup department, make convincing Chinese characters who also surprisingly speak without putting on a pidgin sing-song lilt which Hollywood liked to indulge its ethnic characters with at the time. Interesting little film with enough melodrama to overcome its clichés.

Era notte a Roma / Blackout in Rome (Roberto Rossellini, 1960) 6/10

Rossellini returns to the war genre, many years after the classic films Roma città aperta (1945), Paisan (1946) and his most recent one Il generale Della Rovere (1959), with this rather plodding if atmospheric film. Three escaped allied prisoners - an American (Peter Baldwin), an Englishman (Leo Genn) and a Russian (Sergey Bondarchuk) - hide from the fascists and go in search of their displaced units. A beautiful young woman (Giovanna Ralli), impersonating a nun but actually a spirited black marketeer, comes to their rescue and hides them in her attic at a great cost to her life. The film is shot like the director's early neorealist films using real sets and naturalistic techniques to lend the film an almost documentary feel. A lot of the film also borrows from wartime melodramas of Hollywood and Britain with sinister villains and dramatic moments of espionage. The screenplay also makes points on how Italians took their time to resist the fascists. Unfortunately the pace of the film is deadly as it goes on and on. Giovanna Ralli is a superb presence - fiery, vivacious and forceful - like a young Anna Magnani.

Adventure in Iraq (D. Ross Lederman, 1943) 4/10

Campy programmer is a remake of the old George Arliss chestnut, "The Green Goddess". Three Americans (John Loder, Ruth Ford, Warren Douglas) are forced to land their plane in Iraq and find themselves prisoners of a British-educated Sheik (Paul Cavanagh). The story, based on a play, this time round is set in an Arabian Nights setting with Cavanagh alternating between wearing a turban, flowing robes and a dinner jacket. Since the film was made during WWII a pro-Nazi angle is thrown into the plot with Anti-British and Anti-Arab sentiments running through it making this the only Hollywood production not shown outside America. Rather tired plot is kept lively by Cavanagh's crisp delivery.

Halls of Montezuma (Lewis Milestone, 1951) 6/10

One of numerous anti-War films by Milestone showing the terrible toll war takes on soldiers as fatigue, fear and disillusionment takes over. A battalion of weary U.S. marines land on a Japanese-held island in the Pacific. Their mission is to take the Japanese prisoners in order to interrogate them into revealing their strategic position from where rockets are being launched. The marines are a close-knit group having served together at Guadalcanal but the war is now taking a toll on them all. A tough Colonel (Richard Boone) spearheads the mission and the men are led by a Lieutenant (Richard Widmark) suffering from psychological migranes. Gritty film uses actual film of combat footage from the Pacific War which is integrated into the film. The cast is rounded up by many actors who were at the start of their careers and would go on to become stars of varying degrees - Jack Palance, Robert Wagner, Jack Webb, Neville Brand, Karl Malden and Martin Milner. The film, later used as a recruitment for marines, is less about war and more a study of the psychological effects battle has on the human spirit.

When Willie Comes Marching Home (John Ford, 1950) 8/10

This Americana with a comic bent is Ford's unjustly neglected mini-masterpiece. Willie (Dan Dailey) is the first man from small-town Virginia to enlist when the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. Unfortunately he gets a home posting as a shooting instructor much to the consternation of his town, including his irritated dad (the hilarious William Demarest), who had initially given him a huge send-off thinking he is going to war. Two years of begging for overseas combat and by chance he finds himself on a plane heading for Europe. As luck would have it the crew bails over England while he is asleep and when he finally bails out it's over German-occupied France and into the hands of a group of Resistance fighters headed by gorgeous Corinne Calvet in a low-cut dress. The film suddenly switches gears to an intense WWII drama with the discovery of a German rocket, close calls with soldiers, a dramatic escape in an inebriated state all the way home but not before he unexpectedly finds himself made a war hero after all. Very funny story was nominated for an Oscar with Dailey - who also gets to sing - simply marvelous in a slapstick role. Ford shot the European sequence on Santa Catalina island.

The Trouble With Women (Sidney Lanfield, 1947) 3/10

Weak combo of Hawks' "Bringing Up Baby" and "His Girl Friday". A wily newspaper editor (Brian Donlevy) springs his star reporter (Teresa Wright) onto a befuddled professor (Ray Milland) who has written psychology textbooks with controversial views about women. The silly plot alternates between two settings - a newspaper office and a university classroom - and has Wright arguing with Milland over his views about wife beating and his recently written book called "The Subjugation of Women". Terrible film - not only because of the sexist plot - sat on a shelf in the studio for two years before being finally released. This film proves that frantic acting, as in the two Hawks film it superficially resembles, does not always result in a comedy classic. Wright comes off better than Milland who seems uncomfortable with the screwball elements of the plot.

Count the Hours! (Don Siegel, 1953) 6/10

A lawyer (Macdonald Carey) races against time to save a man (John Craven) from the gallows. Disturbed to see his wife (Teresa Wright) being browbeaten by the cops he confesses to the murders to get them off her back. When the actual murderer arrives on the scene it proves difficult for the lawyer to find proof. Neat little suspense film is one of Don Siegel's earlier films.

[Precious Doll]

I’m glad to see you liked Moffie, Precious. I’m looking forward to seeing it whenever I can find it!

It's out on Blu Ray in the UK - though the disc is Region B locked. I actually suspect it will turn up locally at the September Gay & Lesbian film festival in September here. Because the festival is so popular they have two every year: February & September. I didn't go to anything at the February festival as I was pre-occupied the unfolding pandemic and am now kicking myself for missing Monsoon.

[danfrank]

I’m glad to see you liked Moffie, Precious. I’m looking forward to seeing it whenever I can find it!

[Precious Doll]

The Bare Necessity (2019) Erwan Le Duc 4/10
Hunted (1952) Charles Crichton 6/10
Fragile as the World (2001) Rita Azevedo Gomes 4/10
While at War (2019) Alejandro Amenabar 6/10
Deerskin (2019) Quentin Dupieux 4/10
Mrs. Fang (2017) Bing Wang 5/10
The Postcard Killings (2020) Danis Tanovic 2/10
State Funeral (2019) Sergey Loznitsa 6/10
Moffie (2020) Oliver Hermanus 8/10

Repeat viewings

Strait-Jacket (1964) William Castle 4/10
Viva Maria ! (1965) Louis Malle 6/10
13 Frightened Girls (1963) William Castle 6/10
The Virgin Suicides (1999) Sofia Coppola 8/10
Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964) Robert Aldrich 6/10