What I've Just Watched: Part 2

Death Line (1973), also known as Raw Meat, this is a very grisly horror film directed by Gary Sherman (Dead & Buried (1980) and Poltergeist III (1988)), set in a grimy, bleak London and featuring horror that audiences wouldn't see for another year in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, quite how the makers got away with this at the time is anyone's guess. It begins when James Manfred, OBE (James Cossins) is found barely breathing on the stairwell at Russell Square tube station on the London Underground, he's found by American student Alex Campbell (David Ladd) and his girlfriend Patricia Wilson (Sharon Gurney). By the time they've found someone and gone back, Manfred is gone, but his disappearance isn't noticed. It isn't long before Inspector Calhoun (Donald Pleasence) and Detective Sergeant Rogers (Norman Rossington) are on the case investigating Manfred's disappearance. Matters are further complicated when 3 workers on the underground are brutally murdered, but their bodies vanish too, and then Patricia is abducted as well by some strange, deformed person, it's revealed that the Underground has something to hide. This is very grisly and bloody and almost unwatchable in places, when it's revealed what's causing all this, your jaw will drop in absolute horror. While Pleasence hams it up to high-heaven, there's a very quick cameo from Christopher Lee, while Clive Swift (Richard from Keeping Up Appearances) also appears. 4/5



The Boston Strangler (1968), directed by Richard Fleischer (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), Fantastic Voyage (1966) Doctor Dolittle (1967)), this is a dark, brooding true life crime drama that hadn't been done on film before this, but this was when darker films started to seep into Hollywood at that time. This is a film of 2 halves, it begins in 1962, with the deaths of several women in Boston, and how the police go about their inquiries. The case is led by John S. Bottomley (Henry Fonda) and Det. Phil DiNatale (George Kennedy), who narrow the case down to weirdos, transvestites and perverts, and there are some real weirdos they come across, including Eugene T. O'Rourke (William Hickey), but progress is slow and the body count is on the rise, with more women being murdered around Boston, despite repeated local appeals for women to stay safe. But, after one failed murder, (this is where the film's 2nd half begins), involving Dianne Cluny (Sally Kellerman), they find their suspect in Albert DeSalvo (Tony Curtis), a family man who seems to have a split personality. Curtis gives a terrifying performance in the film, and he doesn't even appear for the first hour, but until then, there's some creatively done split screen montages, and Fleischer would explore similiar true-life crime 3 years later with 10 Rillington Place (1971). But, it's amazing they got away with this at the time. 4.5/5

Tony Manero (2008), directed by Pablo Larraín (Fuga (2006) and Post Mortem (2010)), this is a Chilean film which manages to be dark, realistic, unsettling and with a streak of black humour throughout. It's good to see something this original and low-key but ultimately affecting come out of Chile, but it feels real and moving as well. Set in Santiago in 1978, around the time Chile was going through diplomatic problems with General Pinochet in Argentina, this has 52 year old loner Raúl Peralta (Alfredo Castro) who finds solace in watching Saturday Night Fever (1977), which is playing at the local picture house, and he becomes captivated with John Travolta's performance as Tony Manero, so much so, that he's bought a white suit just like the one in the film, and he's applied to go on a local Chilean TV talent show. Raúl lives in the same building as a dance hall ran by Cony (Amparo Noguera), who has a liking for Raúl, despite his violent mood swings and quest for perfecting the dancing as it was done in Saturday Night Fever, sometimes Raúl's violent tendencies come out in full swing, even leading in some cases to murdering people who have somehow rubbed him up the wrong way. Remember that Jasper Carrott joke about the Nutter On The Bus?? Well, Raúl Peralta is the kind of person he's was going on about, it's such an uncomfortable film to watch at times, but it's Castro's engaging, tragic performance which moves the film along, it's done with such honesty and realism, it's a wonder this wasn't a Dogme 95 film, (it's done like one), and it's shows the culture of a country we don't normally see on film. 4/5



A Prophet (2009), directed by Jacques Audiard (A Self Made Hero (1996) and The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005)), this is a raw and realistic French prison film that is engaging from start to finish with brilliant performances and it's a scary look at how organised crime can work even from inside jail, a good look at how the French justice system works, and it's also one of the best prison films ever made. It begins when Malik El Djebena (Tahar Rahim), who is French-Algerian, is sentenced to 6 years in prison for assaulting police officers. He's spent most of his life in and out of young offenders institutions, and now that he's 19, he's going to proper prison. He is beaten up, but he soon finds himself taken in by crime kingpin Cesar Luciani (Niels Arestrup), who leads a gang of Corsican mobsters. Cesar promises Malik protection if he murders Arab informant Reyeb (Hichem Yacoubi), which he does, and he works his way up in Cesar's estimations, and he's even let out on day releases to do crime jobs, but Malik falls in with the rival Arab gang in the prison, and he soon learns more about his own heritage, and what the Corsicans are really up to. This is a powerful and gripping film that manages to be a social statement on the prison system and whether it works and it also manages to be entertaining and exciting as well, it's 155 minute running time flies by, and there's brilliant performances in it, from Rahim as the illiterate Malik who becomes intelligent and murderous to the charismatic and enigmatic Arestrup (who you may remember from War Horse). Thoroughly original and thought provoking. 5/5

I quite want to see Death Line and also 99 Women and The Bloody Judge, despite your negative reviews. If they are that bad I might love them A Prophet was on Film4 twice last week and I missed it!



Carriers (1st view) - It might not have the greatest cast (Chris Pine is quite useless when it comes to emoting) and the checklist of genre cliches it contains is very long indeed, but as far as end-of-the-world/deadly virus films go, this was pretty good. Whenever I see a film like this, I always wouldn't mind living in such an environment. I'm not sure that that says about me - 4/5*




Cannibal Holocaust (1st view) - Maybe it's because I saw the edited version, but by the time the cannibals got to work in this film, I was bored stiff. I'm sure there's subtext and interpretations about society and civilisation and whatnot that didn't stop it being a badly made, poorly acted snoozefest. I wonder if CH II is any better?

It'll be back on before long.

Interiors (1978), after Annie Hall (1977) became Woody Allen's biggest financial hit at the time and then won at the Oscars. United Artists promised Woody complete carte blanche on his next film. Woody made his most daring film to date, a full-blown tribute to his idol Ingmar Bergman, a bleak family drama that's hard to watch, but also with engaging performances. Set in New York and on a beach house on Long Island, this tells the story of three sisters, tortured Renata (Diane Keaton), Flyn (Kristin Griffith), and Joey (Mary Beth Hurt), daughter to wealthy New York lawyer Arthur (E.G. Marshall), who one day, totally out of the blue, announces to his daughters that he's splitting up with their mother Eve (Geraldine Page), partially because she has been showing signs of mental instability. On top of this, the daughters are facing their own marital problems, Renata is in a loveless marriage to Frederick (Richard Jordan), Joey is unable to decide what to do with her life, which tests the patience of everyone, including her boyfriend Michael (Sam Waterston), while Flyn has moved back after trying it out in Hollywood as an actress. It all comes to a head in the family's Long Island beach house. It's a moving and emotionally charged drama, it feels European in it's direction and execution, maybe that's what alienated audiences when it came out, they weren't ready for such a transition from Woody. But here, he was growing up and maturing as a director, whether people were ready or not, his films would never be the same again, for better, for worse. 3.5/5



The Girl Can't Help It (1956), directed by former animation director Frank Tashlin (maybe the Brad Bird/Andrew Stanton of his day), he created a good timepiece of the 1950's, when rock music was topping the charts and a whole new generation was on it's way in, and he responded to this new craze with this light, bubbly and amusing comedy, which has a great soundtrack to it's name. It's got a simple straight-forward plot, which has struggling agent Tom Miller (Tom Ewell), being hired by gangster Marty 'Fats' Murdoch (Edmond O'Brien), whom he knew years earlier, to make a star out of his girlfriend Jerri Jordan (Jayne Mansfield), trouble is, she can't sing and she's more interested in being a housewife, but Murdoch and Miller won't give in, and even Murdoch has written a song that Jerri could put her one big talent to. Director Tashlin used to do cartoons for Warner Bros. and there's parts of this that feel like a live-action cartoon, but it's good witty dialogue and it's well shot, but the main highlights are the musical performances from acts of the day like Little Richard, Eddie Fontaine, Julie London, Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps and Fats Domino, that punctuate the film and look beautiful in Cinemascope and Deluxe. A product of it's time, proud of it, and it'll never date. 4/5

John Carter (2012), 100 years after Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote the first John Carter of Mars book, and umpteen decades of trying to get a film version done, Pixar director Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo (2003) and WALL•E (2008)), took on the project that had flummoxed so many directors and studios in it's wake. It's a good film, but not entirely perfect, you can see where other franchises came from, and it does move by a little too fast as well. It begins in Arizona in 1868, when Virginian Civil War vet John Carter (Taylor Kitsch) is in a cave looking for gold, when he finds himself teleported to Mars, and he finds himself with a group of martian warriors known as the Tharks led by Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe), it's here where Carter learns that he's on Mars, which is known as Barsoom, and that there's a nasty civil war going on between two royal families, the Zodangans and the Heliumites, and a shaky treaty is agreed on if Heliumite princess Dejah Thoris (Lily Collins) marries Zodangan prince Sab Than (Dominic West), plus there's a group of mysterious Holy Therns, led by Matai Shang (Mark Strong), who always appear when there's conflict, and John Carter ends up getting caught right in the middle of it all. A second viewing may be required to take it all in, but it is a brilliant visual feast, and the cast even Kitsch holds his own in the lead role with a likeable charisma without being too gruff. It's good to see a Burroughs creation on screen that isn't Tarzan for a change, and maybe a sequel would help, if it makes enough money. 4/5



The Fisher King (1991), after the nightmare of making The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), and it's subsequent failure, Terry Gilliam needed a change of pace, and he found it in writer Richard LaGravenese's original script. The change of pace would mark a new phase in Gilliam's career, one in America which would be brief but a brilliant glimmer at what Gilliam could do in the studio system he hates, but it is absolutely brilliant. In New York, it has controversial radio DJ Jack Lucas (Jeff Bridges) losing his job on the radio after an off-the-cuff remark led to a massacre in a posh bar. 3 years later, he's down on his luck, working in a run down video rental shop ran by girlfriend Anne (Mercedes Ruehl, whose strong-willed, earthy performance won her an Oscar). Drunk and depressed, Jack considers topping himself, until he's found by eccentric vagrant Parry (Robin Williams), who was a victim of the shooting caused by Jack's remarks. Now wracked with guilt, Jack goes about trying to help him, from getting Parry in a relationship with dream-girl Lydia (Amanda Plummer), and finding the Holy Grail, which is a meagre trophy. Not the first time Gilliam has done a film with the Holy Grail in, but this is a touch and moving comedy-drama, with brilliant performances and some brilliant set pieces, including a jaw-dropping waltz at Grand Central Station, and a scene-stealing cameo by the late, great Michael Jeter. If this was Gilliam selling out to Hollywood, could he do it again please?? He showed such panache and gravitas first time out, it would be great to see him do it again. 5/5

The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines (1st view) - Not quite as much fun as the first in the series. The Indiana Jones similarities comes thick and fast, and at times it manages be more like an Indy film than the last actual Indy film - 3/5*

The Final Destination (1st view) - More gore-filled than the first three I think but a lot less fun. Watching a film shot in 3D on TV looks really, really odd, lots of things near the screen for no obvious reason - 3/5*




Bunraku (1st view) - Visually impressive action film set in a futuristic, gun-free world, but there's little to recommend beyond the look of the film - 2/5*




The Fallen Idol (1st view) - Great thriller which sees Ralph Richardson wrongly suspected of murder - 4/5*

John Carter (1st view) - SLIGHT SPOILERS - I've never read any of the novels in the series this film was based on so I didn't really know what to expect. If this is an accurate adaptation I think it's easy to tell how a lot of science fiction films have borrowed elements from this story, which it something of a shame as it makes this film seem a bit "seen it all before" at times. But still, after a prologue which hurriedly crammed in quite a bit of backstory (FOTR still the best scene-setting of any fantasy type film for me), once the story got going it was very enjoyable. The 3D wasn't great and as always with 3D the action scenes just blurred by, but it was a visual treat but with some heart to it as well. It took well into the second half of the picture before Taylor Kitsch seemed to settle into the role but a good support cast, especially Lynn Collins and Willem Dafoe, helped to make up for that. Big and occasionally bloated, it certainly looks like a film that's deserving of its massive budget and whilst the action may not be all that memorable the imagery certainly is, and there's also a proper sense of this taking place in actual cultures and civilisations, especially when it comes to the splendidly realised Tharks. The ending sets up for sequels nicely and I really would love to see more. More Pixar people to make live action films, please! Need to get my hands on the novel now - 4/5*

Hamlet (2000), in the space of a decade, there had been 3 Hamlet films, Franco Zeffirelli's 1990 version and Kenneth Branagh's 1996 version, and then there was this one to tie in with the new millennium. A weird hotch-potch of ideas which never manages to settle down, despite a game cast who do well with Shakespeare's dialogue. Set in New York in 2000, this has Hamlet (Ethan Hawke), who is here a film student who is working on several experimental pieces, and he's heir to the Denmark Corporation, his mother Gertrude (Diane Venora) marries his late father's brother Claudius (Kyle MacLachlan), who is head of the Denmark Corporation. However, Hamlet is visited one night by the ghost of his father (Sam Shepard), who tells Hamlet he was murdered by his brother Claudius. Although he struggles to believe this at first, Hamlet sets about a complex revenge against his uncle. He starts by making an experimental video called The Mousetrap, which makes Claudius aware that Hamlet knows, so Claudius gets payback by using Hamlet's girlfriend Ophelia (Julia Stiles) as a pawn in this wicked game of revenge. It's a good idea, but you do get the nagging feeling that this was done to cash in on Romeo + Juliet (1996), and it's jumps into video give it an uneasy ambiance. Still, the cast, also including Bill Murray, Liev Schreiber and Jeffrey Wright, manage to hold their own, but only just. 2.5/5



Blithe Spirit (1945), after working with Noël Coward on In Which We Serve (1942) and This Happy Breed (1944), director David Lean continued the collaboration with Coward by adapting his 1941 play of the same name. The result is a magical and hilarious fantasy which might be Lean's best film of that period, and it's got one or two scene stealing performances within. Charles Condomine (Rex Harrison), is writing a book about a criminal psychic, and as part of his research into this subject, he invites local medium Madame Arcati (Margaret Rutherford) to his home to conduct a séance, also in attendance are Charles' wife Ruth (Constance Cummings), his friend Dr. George Bradman (Hugh Wakefield) and his wife Violet (Joyce Carey). The séance is very eventful indeed, but matters are complicated after everyone goes home and Charles finds himself being able to see his late wife Elvira (Kay Hammond), who died years earlier before Charles remarried. Only Charles is able to see Elvira, and it drives Ruth to distraction too, believing Charles has gone made, but it ends up with Madame Arcati trying to find a way to fix this peculiar malady that's occured. It's a very funny film with some terrific dialogue throughout with Rutherford stealing absolutely every scene she's in with her dotty, eccentric turn, and Hammond making a funny turn as the troublesome spirit who's come back. Lean gets the best out of his cast, and it's beautifully shot in such lovely colour as well. 4.5/5

Broadway Danny Rose (1984), while Zelig (1983) was in a long period of post-production, Woody Allen was able to get A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982) and this made in the time to took to finish Zelig. Broadway Danny Rose opened just a few month's after Zelig opened, and it's a hilarious caper comedy from Woody, one that has all the hallmarks of his early, funny films as well. Small time talent manager Danny Rose (Woody) manages acts from a one-legged tap dancer to a ventriloquist with a stammer, but his biggest act is washed-up lounge singer Lou Canova (Nick Apollo Forte) who had some hit records years previously, but never really hit it that big. However, there's a bit of a revival in the sort of music Lou sings, and so his career is on the up once again, and he's getting booked into bigger venues. However, Lou is having an affair with Tina (Mia Farrow), who has connections to the Mafia, so Lou asks Danny to be 'the beard', to make people think Tina is with Danny, not Lou, but Mob boss Vito Rispoli (Paul Greco) gets jealous and has a hit put out on Danny, who ends up on the run with Tina. It's a very silly film but it's a good look at small time fame and some of the acts that go around. Woody gets all the best dialogue here, but Forte, a real lounge singer, is able to hold his own against Woody. The result is one of Woody's funniest films of the 80's. 4.5/5



The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), at the time, this was the second film Woody Allen had made in which he didn't appear, but this was also showing how confident he was as a writer and director. It's a touching and gentle comic fantasy with an original idea at the centre, it's a homage to the cinema of old and the films Woody grew up with as well, it's a joy to watch. Set during the Great Depression in the 1930's, waitress Cecilia (Mia Farrow) gets by in her job and her loveless marriage to the abusive Monk (Danny Aiello). But Cecilia finds solace in going to the cinema, and there's a new film on called The Purple Rose of Cairo which she goes to see again and again, and it gets to the point where one of the characters in the film, Tom Baxter (Jeff Daniels), notices Cecilia, and comes out of the screen to be with her, leaving the characters on screen clueless as to whats happened. While Cecilia and Tom go out together, this strange occurence has the film's producer Raoul Hirsch (Alexander Cohen) and the star of the film Gil Shepherd (Daniels again), who plays Tom Baxter in the film, to come to New Jersey to sort the problem out, but then Cecilia falls for Gil as well. It's a very odd but magical romantic fantasy, cut from similar cloth to what Woody would use to make Midnight in Paris (2011), it's a wonder Woody hasn't tried stuff like this more often, as it brings out a nostalgic side to him that works on film, but it has laughs and poignancy too, like the old classics used to have. 4/5

Donald McKinney wrote:

The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), at the time, this was the second film Woody Allen had made in which he didn't appear, but this was also showing how confident he was as a writer and director. It's a touching and gentle comic fantasy with an original idea at the centre, it's a homage to the cinema of old and the films Woody grew up with as well, it's a joy to watch. Set during the Great Depression in the 1930's, waitress Cecilia (Mia Farrow) gets by in her job and her loveless marriage to the abusive Monk (Danny Aiello). But Cecilia finds solace in going to the cinema, and there's a new film on called The Purple Rose of Cairo which she goes to see again and again, and it gets to the point where one of the characters in the film, Tom Baxter (Jeff Daniels), notices Cecilia, and comes out of the screen to be with her, leaving the characters on screen clueless as to whats happened. While Cecilia and Tom go out together, this strange occurence has the film's producer Raoul Hirsch (Alexander Cohen) and the star of the film Gil Shepherd (Daniels again), who plays Tom Baxter in the film, to come to New Jersey to sort the problem out, but then Cecilia falls for Gil as well. It's a very odd but magical romantic fantasy, cut from similar cloth to what Woody would use to make Midnight in Paris (2011), it's a wonder Woody hasn't tried stuff like this more often, as it brings out a nostalgic side to him that works on film, but it has laughs and poignancy too, like the old classics used to have. 4/5

Masterpiece!!!!!

Whisper Of The Heart (2nd view) - One of the few Ghibli films I like - 3/5*

Max Payne (1st view) - It gets bonus points for its noir-ish story and visuals but it's as forgettable as just about every other video game adaptation - 3/5*

The King (2005), directed by documentarian James Marsh, who did Man on Wire (2008), Red Riding: 1980 (2009) and Project Nim (2011), this is a sparse drama which Marsh co-wrote with producer Milo Addica, (Monster's Ball (2001) and Birth (2004)), but has some realistic and moving performances at the centre, and it has a touch of Badlands about it's person, and it shows you can do so much with so little. It begins when U.S. Navy recruit Elvis Valderez (Gael García Bernal) is discharged from his position, so he heads for the town of Corpus Christi in Texas, which he considers his home. Elvis' first port of call is the church of Pastor David Sandow (William Hurt), whose family includes wife Twyla (Laura Harring), son Paul (Paul Dano) and daughter Malerie (Pell James). David notices Elvis trying to get close to him and his family, but David sends Elvis packing and tells his family to stay away from Elvis. But, it's not long before Elvis starts getting close to Malerie, and they go off on afternoon drives and it's not long before they begin a sexual affair, but when Paul finds out about, and tries to take the matter into his own hands, it all goes wrong. It's a film that has the tone and structure of a Greek tragedy, about getting even for being wronged, Gael García Bernal is a great actor and even handles an American accent well here, and he doesn't have to say much, but his presence says it all, and he holds his own against William Hurt. Marsh is a talent to watch out for. 4/5



The Devils (1971), after Ken Russell hit it big with his controversial dramas Women in Love (1969) and The Music Lovers (1970), he went one step further with this true life tale of an apparent demonic possession in 17th Century France, it was too much for Warner Bros. and censors at the time, and even now, it's still an extreme film and it's in your face and up front with it's sexuality and graphic violence. That's Ken for you. In 1634, Father Urbain Grandier (Oliver Reed) has been placed with temporary custody of the walled city of Loudun after the Governor's death, but he uses his powers to sleep with and later marry Madeleine (Gemma Jones). In Loudun's convent, Sister Jeanne (Vanessa Redgrave) has explicit and blasphemous sexual fantasies about Grandier, but when she learns of Grandier's clandestine marriage, she tells Baron de Laubardemont (Dudley Sutton), who misinterprets the news that Grandier has used witchcraft to bewitch Sister Jeanne and Loudun's convent, and insane religious witch hunter Father Pierre Barre (Michael Gothard) is sent to Loudun to perform an over the top and depraved exorcism of the convent. Ken was lucky to get a film like this made when he did, (you'd have no chance making it now), and it has brilliant performances throughout, especially from Reed proving he was maybe the best British actor of his day, and it has the very best of Ken's visual excesses with excellent set design as well. Truly one of a kind and absolutely brilliant. 5/5



Merantau (2009), now here's a weird rarity, directed by Welsh director Gareth Evans (The Raid (2011), and it introduces two Eastern cultures seldom seen on screen before then. A form of Indonesian martial arts known as Silat Harimau as well as an Indonesian tribe of people known as the Minangkabau and their form of coming of age. Apart from that, it's pretty much a by the numbers action film, but the action is very good. It has young Yuda (Iko Uwais) who is part of the Minangkabau people, and a master at the art of Silat, he leaves his people to go into the big, wide world to gather experience and hope for success, this is known as Merantau. In Jakarta, Yuda is hoping to teach Silat to children in the city, but he ends up sleeping rough when his contacts there are gone, and he ends up with pickpocket Adit (Yusuf Aulia) and his older sister Astri (Sisca Jessica). It turns out Astri is in big trouble with her boss Johni (Alex Abbad), who in turn works for gangster Ratger (Mads Koudal), who is planning on using Astri in his human trafficking ring, and Yuda ends up using his Silat to put a stop to Ratger's plans. It's very silly in places but it does have it's moments of fun and excitement, with some well choreographed action, and despite some dodgy action, (or should that be dodgy dubbing) it manages to hold it's own and lasts well. 3.5/5



Grease 2 (1982), after Grease (1978) was a huge world success, it was inevitable that there would be a sequel, and they'd planned a series of Grease films and a TV series, but it didn't turn out like that, and while this was a debut for one actress, it would nearly kill a career or two upon it's release. It's a bad musical that seems like a cheap cash-in on the original, even if it cost 3 times more to make than the original. It's 1961, and a new year has started at Rydell High School, and the Pink Ladies are now led by Stephanie Zinone (Michelle Pfeiffer), who had a summer relationship with T-Birds leader Johnny Nogerelli (Adrian Zmed), but Stephanie feels their summer fling has since ran cold. Meanwhile, English student Michael Carrington (Maxwell Caulfield) has arrived at the school, and he finds support from former Pink Lady Frenchy (Didi Conn), who now works at Rydell High. But, Michael finds it hard to fit in at Rydell, and gets into the good books of the T-Birds by doing their essays and homework for them, but Michael finds himself smitten with Stephanie, but knows he doesn't have a chance with her, but he creates a biker alter-ego to get close. It doesn't help that this had a troubled production, it was filmed at break-neck speed and it's script wasn't finished until the production had almost wrapped. It shows as well, they put so much time into the dance numbers and songs, (even the songs are half-hearted), and everything else doesn't seem to matter. Pfeiffer's career survived, Caulfield has since been reduced to Casualty and Emmerdale. Everyone involved should have known better. 1.5/5

Want to see The Devils!!

Buy it!!

It's on a very long wish list!

No, it has to be now before it's gone!!

21 Jump Street (2012), based upon the popular crime drama series created by Stephen J. Cannell, this action-comedy take done by Phil Lord and Chris Miller (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009)), might have a Starsky and Hutch (2004) approach, but it's very clever and smart too, with a very likeable lead cast and some very well timed jokes and sharp dialogue as well. It begins when former classmates Morton Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Greg Jenko (Channing Tatum) meet up again 6 years after their school days in police academy. Schmidt was a clever nerd while Jenko was a dim-witted jock, but they help each other get by in the academy, and they're soon on their first assignment, in the cities park. They arrest drug dealer Domingo (DeRay Davis), but they didn't read him his rights correctly, so Schmidt and Jenko are reassigned to a speciality division on 21 Jump Street, in a Korean Church led by Captain Dickson (Ice Cube), who has them go undercover as high school students to stop a deadly drug smuggling ring. They are able to blend in well, but it's not long before Schmidt and Jenko end up doing all the things they were told not to do while undercover. It's a very good action comedy, and it treats it's depiction of high school with respect, unlike what a lot of films do. Hill and Tatum make a brilliant double act, Hill looks brilliant slimmed down and is always hilarious while Tatum shows a brilliant comedic side. It makes for a very entertaining and hilarious film, the best comedy of 2012 so far. 4.5/5



Casino (1995), Martin Scorsese reteamed with his Goodfellas co-writer Nicholas Pileggi, for this true life gangster drama based on the life of Frank Rosenthal, who ran 3 of the biggest casinos in Las Vegas in the 1970's and 80's. Some might say it's Goodfellas in Vegas, but it isn't, it's about the absolute corruption of absolute power, and the downfall everyone faces with organised crime. It's a brilliant film with a great story, brilliant performances and great direction. Sam "Ace" Rothstein (Robert De Niro) is a sports handicapper who has ties with the mob in Chicago, and he's asked to run the Tangiers casino in Las Vegas, and even skims off a little bit of the overhead profits which is then sent back to the mob. Sam's best friend Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci) is sent out to keep an eye on Sam, and protect him, but it's not long before Nicky's erratic, violent behaviour gets him banned from every casino in Las Vegas, so Nicky starts his own gang, and seeks vengeance on everyone who dares to say he's wrong. Meanwhile, Sam falls for prostitute Ginger McKenna (Sharon Stone), whose excessive lifestyle soons leads to a major drink and drug addiction. This is a very compelling and exciting crime drama with a brilliant soundtrack throughout, great period set design by Dante Ferretti and clever camerawork by Robert Richardson, it's a very violent film, very confrontational but it has brilliant performances throughout, and Scorsese makes this a rich, excessive epic that's never boring to watch and always entertaining. 5/5



The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981), adapted from James M. Cain's 1934 novel, this version of the book was directed by Bob Rafelson and adapted by David Mamet. Unlike the 1946 film version, which was restricted by the Hays Production Code, Rafelson was able to go to places neither the original film nor the book ever did, the result shocked audiences at the time, and it's still powerful now. Set in 1934, this has drifter Frank Chambers (Jack Nicholson), getting a job at a roadside diner in rural California ran by Greek immigrant Nick Papadakis (John Colicos) and his young American wife Cora (Jessica Lange). It's not long before Frank and Cora begin a torrid but very passionate love affair, and Cora wants out of her marriage to Nick, who she does not love. So Frank and Cora think of a way to kill Nick, which is unsuccessful at first but they kill him and stage it to look like a car accident. While there is a bit of tension in court, which is all a rouse by Cora's attorney Katz (Michael Lerner) to get the prosecution off their tail, who think it was a planned murderer, Frank and Cora do get away with it. It's a provocative and dark film noir done for an 80's audience, Rafelson, in his 4th collaboration with Nicholson, weaves a wicked tale of murder and deceit that's well made with good cinematography by Sven Nykvist. It might lack the ending of the book, but it's still worth watching. 4/5



Wolf (1994), directed by Mike Nichols, this is a dark, satirical tale on the werewolf legend, and the legend here is turned upside down, inside out and back to front in this take on it. But, it doesn't quite know what it wants to be, a full out-and-out horror film or a comedy-horror or even a comedy-thriller with some moments of horror, despite a very good and inspired cast. This begins with book publisher Will Randal (Jack Nicholson) driving back from a deal in snowy Vermont, and he runs over what appears to be a wolf, he tries to move it, but it bites him on the hand. Will thinks nothing more of it, despite an injured hand. His company is in the process of being taken over by tycoon Raymond Alden (Christopher Plummer), who replaces Will with his protégé Stewart Swinton (James Spader), and to make matters worse, Will later discovers his wife Charlotte (Kate Nelligan) is having an affair with Stewart. Plus, Will seems to be getting a lot of weird animal instincts, it's almost like he's undergoing some form of transformation, not helped by the fact that he's now seeing Alden's daughter Laura (Michelle Pfeiffer), who knows something is up. It's a werewolf film with a sort of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde twist on the proceedings, Nicholson has fun in this role, but he doesn't ham it up as he probabily would, and it has a brilliant supporting cast including Richard Jenkins, Eileen Atkins, David Hyde Pierce and Prunella Scales. 3.5/5

Tremors (3rd view) - One of the best B-movies ever made - 4/5

Election (1999), directed by Alexander Payne (About Schmidt (2002), Sideways (2004) and The Descendants (2011)), this was adapted from Tom Perrotta's 1998 novel, this is a funny, offbeat comedy-drama with a good independent spirit about it, and featuring much of Payne's style of directing that would be evident in his films to come. Set in Omaha, Nebraska, Jim McAllister (Matthew Broderick) is a frustrated High School teacher who is coming to terms with middle-age, single and alone. At the school, Overachieving student Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon) announces she's to run for student body president, which annoys Jim as he's in charge of organising the school's student government, and that he absolutely cannot stand Tracy, because she's so clever at getting ahead in life, and that she had an affair with Jim's friend and fellow teacher Dave (Mark Harelik), who got the sack while Tracy got away without any punishment. Jim has had enough, and he grooms a rival candidate in Paul Metzler (Chris Klein), who is the star football player with a broken leg, and Jim is determined to see Paul win the student election, even if it means playing dirty. It's a well made indie film, with Broderick giving a very good performance, maybe one of his best since the 80's, while Witherspoon manages to make Tracy Flick both annoying and likable all at once, it has some good set-up's and it shows an honest, small-scale view of high school. 4/5



The Prisoner of Zenda (1979), loosely based upon the adventure classic from 1894 by Anthony Hope, this comedy take on it was adapted by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, and directed by Richard Quine (How to Murder Your Wife (1965)), this is a routine comedy which is just an excuse for it's star to put on silly voices and do sub-Pink Panther slapstick all over again. Set in the European kingdom of Ruritania, the elderly Kind Rudolf IV (Peter Sellers) is killed in a hot air balloon accident, and the heir to the throne is his son Rudolf V (Sellers again), is currently residing in London, so General Sapt (Lionel Jeffries) and his nephew Fritz (Simon Williams) go to London to bring Rudolf home, however, Rudolf finds himself being targeted by an unseen assassin, and they're saved by London cab driver Syd Frewin (Sellers again), who bears an uncanny resemblance to Rudolf. Sapt has an idea, he convinces Sid to come with them to Ruritania, to act as a decoy for Rudolf. But, when Rudolf ends up being kidnapped by his evil half-brother Prince Michael (Jeremy Kemp), Sid ends up reluctantly taking on the role of king. It's a very silly and even for 1979, quite dated comedy-adventure, it's just a Pink Panther film disguised as a historical epic, and even Sellers is on auto-pilot thoughout, despite a cast including Norman Rossington, Elke Sommer, Graham Stark and John Laurie. When it comes to comedy versions of historical novels, Marty Feldman did it better with The Last Remake of Beau Geste (1977) 2.5/5

His & Hers (1st view) - Interesting documentary in which various woman all talk about the men in their lives - husbands, fathers, sons. Each woman is older than the previous person interviews, so from childhood to old age it almost reads like a chronicle of one person's lifetime - 4/5*

Earthstorm (1st view) - This brilliant slice of hokum sees an asteroid collide with the moon, causing a massive, ever-increasing rift that threatens to split the moon in two, an event which will cause the extinction of life on earth. The boffins have a solution though. Send demolitions expert Stephen "Not as well known as Alec or William, but probably more so than Daniel" Baldwin up there to stick it back together. Simples! Literally 11 people seem concerned by all of this and Baldwin acts with all the urgency of someone fixing a leaky tap. It's atrocious and superb, especially the really cheesy homages to the likes of Apollo 13 and Armageddon. You can imagine that with an A-list cast, a name director a special effects that don't look like they've come from a Kinder Egg, this scenario could lend itself to a massive summer blockbuster but chances are it wouldn't be this much fun - 4/5*

The Hunger Games (1st view) - Pretty great. Jennifer Lawrence was better in this than Winter's Bone. Looking forward to trying the book out.

The Mosquito Coast (1986), after making Witness (1985), Peter Weir was now Hollywood's new golden boy, and he'd wanted to make this film after The Year of Living Dangerously (1982) but couldn't get the funding, but with his star from Witness on board, it got made and it's an odd but engaging drama that comes across as the best film Werner Herzog never made. Based on the novel by Paul Theroux, this tells the story of Allie Fox (Harrison Ford), a Harvard drop-out who is a brilliant inventor who has created the ability to make ice of fire with a complex machine using chemicals. Allie is sick of America giving in to Japanese consumerism, so he and his family, which include his wife 'Mother' (Helen Mirren) his sons Charlie (River Phoenix), Jerry (Jadrien Steele) and daughters April (Hilary Gordon) and Clover (Rebecca Gordon) leave America for a new life in Belize, and he makes his new home in a remote village right in the middle of the rainforest by a river, it's here that Allie Fox, along with the locals build a huge community with a giant version of his ice machine making ice for the tribes, but things go awry when bandits commandeer their community. It's certainly a different kind of film, and it has Fitzcarraldo's fingerprints all over it, (you could imagine Herzog and Kinski doing this), but Ford plays against type as the eccentric inventor and turns in a brilliant, tragic performance. An underrated film from Weir, who knows how to create atmosphere. 4/5



The Hustler (1961), based upon the 1959 novel of the same name by Walter Tevis, and adapted and directed by Robert Rossen (All the King's Men (1949) and Alexander the Great (1956)), this is a hip and fast drama done in a noirish black and white, and featuring more trick shots than John Virgo. It's a great drama with brilliant performances and a brilliant jazzy soundtrack by Kenyon Hopkins. This film tells the story of small time pool hustler "Fast Eddie" Felson (Paul Newman) who travels the country from Oakland, California with his friend Charlie (Myron McCormick), to take on legendary pool champ Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason), after playing for 25 hours straight, Eddie wins $18,000, but blows it all. As he leaves to head home, he meets alcoholic college girl Sarah Packard (Piper Laurie), who Eddie begins a relationship with. During the showdown with Minnesota, Eddie was introduced to professional gambler Bert Gordon (George C. Scott), who claims he can help Eddie win big, but after hustling the wrong people, Eddie ends up having his thumbs broken, but after they've healed, he's determined to take on Minnesota Fats again. It's a very engaging drama with some brilliant pool action, (Newman and Gleason learnt how to do pool to an almost professional level), but it's like an American equivalent of those Angry Young Men dramas that were coming out of the UK at the time, and Newman just reeks of coolness in this. 4/5



Starter For 10 (2006), based on David Nicholls's 2003 novel, which he adapted for film here, directed by Tom Vaughan (What Happens in Vegas (2008) and Extraordinary Measures (2010)), and produced by Tom Hanks and Sam Mendes. This is a funny, nostalgic comedy-drama with a very good cast that captures it's era well and even shows the growing pains of university years. It's 1985, and Essex boy Brian Jackson (James McAvoy) has just enrolled at Bristol University, he's also good at random general knowledge, and he's also a fan of the Granada TV series University Challenge. As it turns out, he learns that Bristol University has it's own team that have applied to go on University Challenge, led by Patrick Watts (Benedict Cumberbatch), and Brian ends up falling for fellow team mate Alice Harbinson (Alice Eve), even though Brian has also been romantically linking with Jewish activist Rebecca Epstein (Rebecca Hall).Meanwhile, back in his hometown of Southend-on-Sea, Brian is stuggling to keep his rocker friends Tone (James Corden) and Spencer (Dominic Cooper) under control. It's a great coming of age story and McAvoy makes a likeable lead as well. The best parts of it include seeing Charles Dance prance about with nothing on, Catherine Tate as Brian's Mum and Mark Gatiss doing a spot on impression of Bamber Gascoigne, getting his mannerisms down perfectly. 4/5



Blood On Satan's Claw (1971), directed by Piers Haggard (who later did The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu (1980)), and written by Haggard and Robert Wynne-Simmons and produced by Tigon, this is a dark, nihilistic horror film that was a world away from the tongue in cheek blood and gore Hammer were doing. This makes for really uncomfortable viewing with a good cast and a really creepy score by Marc Wilkinson. Set sometime in rural 17th Century England, this begins with plowman Ralph Gower (Barry Andrews) finds a deformed human skull while plowing a field, he tries to tell the local judge (Patrick Wymark) about it, but the Judge passes it over as supernatural nonsense, but then strange things start happening around the village, a lot of the villagers children, including Mark Vespers (Robin Davies) end up getting murdered, at first, seductive local girl Angel Blake (Linda Hayden) tries to pass the blame onto Reverend Fallowfield (Anthony Ainley) who she accuses to trying to seduce and molester. But, it's not long before the Judge finds out that Angel is part of a wicked and evil conspiracy that has to be stopped before more people die. It really is a nasty film, and it's shocking that they got away with stuff like this then, and it truly has some moments that are grisly and near-unwatchable. But, it's worth it to see Michele Dotrice off Some Mothers Do ’Ave ’Em getting all sexually excited over one perverted sequence. This was the 70's equivalent of these nasty horror films you get now. 4/5



Love Exposure (2008), written and directed by Sion Sono, (Suicide Club (2002), Cold Fish (2010) and Himizu (2011)), this is a true oddity from Japan, a four hour epic about religion, love and family. It's a one of it's kind original, mixing sweet romance, bloody violence, slapstick comedy and family drama. You'll need time to watch this film, and it'll take a while for it to sink in. After the mother of Yu Honda (Takahiro Nishijima) dies, his father Tetsu (Atsuro Watabe) becomes a Catholic Priest, but he goes from jovial to sullen after a destructive affair, and tries to force confessions out of Yu, no matter how trivial or menial they are. So, Yu decides to go and commit since to confess to his father, and he ends up learning the art of tosatsu, which involves taking clandestine pictures of what's up a woman's skirt. This infuriates his father, who see's his son as a pervert, but Yu is never aroused by the photos he takes, but then he meets Yoko Ozawa (Hikari Mitsushima), who he falls in love with, but Yu soon becomes involved with Aya Koike (Sakura Ando) who is part of a weird religious cult, and has violent tendencies. It's a draining but amazing film to watch, you won't forget this one easily, but this is a rich stew with nearly every cinematic genre in the pot. It's epic running time won't be for everyone, but it's certainly in a class of it's own with brilliant direction and likeable performances. One advantage is that Hollywood wouldn't dare remake this, which makes it all the more unique. 4.5/5



Bright Star (2009), written and directed by Jane Campion, this is a very classy and old fashioned period drama set in the time of the great romantic poets. It sits comfortably alongside Campion's other period pieces like The Piano (1993) and The Portrait of a Lady (1996), and it has a good cast and it's good to see someone make a film like this now. Set in Hampstead in 1818, this follows a burgeoning romance that happened between poet John Keats (Ben Whishaw) and seamstress Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish). Fanny met Keats through a family her mother (Kerry Fox) knew, as Keats shared the house with them, along with his best friend, the boorish friend and writing associate Charles Brown (Paul Schneider). Keats and Fanny begin a friendship, which evolves into a relationship, while Fanny is a lot more flirtatious, Keats is more sexually celibate, but Keats maintains a good friendship with the Brawne family, which also include Fanny's younger brother Samuel (Thomas Sangster) and younger sister Toots (Edie Martin), but after a while, Keats' health starts to fail, which puts a strain on their relationship. It's a touching romance, well filmed with a delicate nature and even doing justice to Keats' poetry. While Cornish gives a strong, romantic performance as Fanny, Whishaw is a revelation as Keats, getting under the skin of how a poet works and giving him a near-eccentric personality. 4/5



Benny's Video (1992), written and directed by Austrian director Michael Haneke, who makes social commentaries of troubled, damaged people like in Funny Games (1997) and The Piano Teacher (2001). This is a very lurid, voyeuristic drama which is an indictment of how much violent films and television can rub off on people, with tragic consequences for everyone. Vienna, and teenager Benny (Arno Frisch) has his own camera and editing facilities in his bedroom, he lives with his mother Anna (Angela Winkler) and father Georg (Ulrich Mühe). He does well in school, performing in a choir, and he rents out violent films from his local video store. While Benny's parents are away for one weekend, he meets a girl called Mädchen (Ingrid Stassner) outside the video store, and Benny invites Mädchen back to the apartment where he lives, and after showing her a violent video of a pig being killed with a stun gun, Benny ends up killing Mädchen after a dare with the stun gun that killed the pig. Benny goes about his life as normal, until his parents get back and find out what he's done and how they get involved in trying to prevent Benny from getting done. It's a slow-burning but affecting drama, it's well made seeing as most of it is seen through Benny's camera and videos which rewind and are replayed in agonising slo-mo. It came out around the time in the 1990's when videos were being blamed for kids copying imitable behaviour from violent films, Haneke had his finger on the pulse of the media at that time. 4/5



Naked (1993), Mike Leigh graduated from TV into film with High Hopes (1988) and Life Is Sweet (1990), but for his next film, he was about to go one step further, portraying a nasty, nihilistic and dark, apocalyptic view of England in the early 1990's, and a group of damaged people stuggling to get by in this cruel, unfair world. It's lead male is absolutely brilliant, scary and funny at the same time. The film opens with a violent rape in an alleyway in Manchester, Johnny (David Thewlis) steals a car and goes on the run to London, in particular the district of Dalston which he describes as a "a scrawny, unpretentious area". He goes looking for his ex-girlfriend Louise (Lesley Sharp), who had a relationship with Johnny in Manchester. Johnny, an educated, intelligent man gets by in ranting about everything and anything. Johnny ends up bedding Louise's flatmate Sophie (Katrin Cartlidge), before his egotistical behaviour ends up with him out on the mean streets of London, going around in the night randomly talking to anyone who passes by, some of them even letting Johnny into their homes. While Johnny is out, Sophie is raped by sadistic, Thatcherite landlord Jeremy G. Smart (Greg Cruttwell). This is a side of Mike Leigh that we have seldom seen, All Or Nothing and Vera Drake come quite close to the bleakness that Naked lays out. David Thewlis is compelling and honest, (he won Best Actor at Cannes, with Leigh getting Best Director), this shows a nasty side to London which is sadly true and still is now. 4.5/5