What I've Just Watched Part 4: There And Back Again

Society (1989), directed by Brian Yunza, who had been the producer of Re-Animator (1985) and Dolls (1987)), wanting a piece of the action, Yunza wanted to direct a film, and he found perfect material in a very icky and lurid script by Rick Fry and Woody Keith (Bride of Re-Animator (1989)). The concept and characters in the film were partially based on writer Keith's own family and people he knew in Beverly Hills. It is a dark satire on socialites and the American upper-classes, it has to be seen to be believed, In Beverly Hills, teenager Bill Whitney (Billy Warlock) has always worried that he's different to his parents, his father Jim (Charles Lucia), mother Nan (Connie Danese) and sister Jenny (Patrice Jennings) always seem to socialise and hang around the upper-classes of Los Angeles. Despite this, Billy is very popular at school, and he seems to be a dead cert for class president. But when Jenny's ex boyfriend Blanchard (Tim Bartell) gives Billy a tape containing evidence of Billy's family engaged in an orgy. Billy doesn't believe it, until Blanchard ends up dead, so he and friend Milo (Evan Richards) investigate. It's a very icky and disgusting horror film, with some unbelievable make-up effects by Screaming Mad George, which give a new meaning to body horror. Not even David Cronenberg could have dreamt up something this disgusting, but it's great fun to watch!! 4/5



Inherent Vice (2014), Paul Thomas Anderson returns, and this is a change of tone from his more serious films like Magnolia (1999) and There Will Be Blood (2007). Here, Anderson adapts and directs an adaptation of Thomas Pynchon's 2009 novel. This is the strangest film to come out of Hollywood in a long time, and watching it is like smoking a massive joint and watching the world around you melt. It's an odd atmosphere, but it looks good on screen, even if it is incoherent. In early 1970, pothead private investigator Larry "Doc" Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix) is approached by his ex-girlfriend Shasta Fay Hepworth (Katherine Waterston) for help regarding her new boyfriend Mickey Wolfmann (Eric Roberts), who has allegedly been thrown into an asylum by his wife Sloane (Serena Scott Thomas). Doc investigates, and is thrown into a complex labyrinth of undesirables including the Aryan Brotherhood and Communist cop informant Coy Harlingen (Owen Wilson), predatory dentist Dr. Rudy Blatnoyd (Martin Short) and a mysterious organisation known as the Golden Fang, all the while Doc clashes with Detective Christian F. "Bigfoot" Bjornsen (Josh Brolin), who wants Dox to turn informant. Pynchon's novel is deliberately a tough nut to crack, and to adapt the film, Anderson filtered it through the sensibilities of Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye (1973) and the films of the Zucker Brothers. It's the most peculiar film of the past year, when it's funny, it's funny, but most of the time it's completely insane and it's impossible to follow the plot. But Anderson gets the best out of his cast, and this is one that needs to be seen again, if you can stand it. 4/5

Poetry (1st view) - A woman takes up a poetry class but has twop deal with a of Alzheimer's disease and her grandson who took part in the gang rape of a girl who committed suicide. IMpressive and Yoon Jeong-hee is superb - 4/5*




Mr. Holmes - An elderly Sherlock Holmes has retired to the coast and lives with his housekeeper and her son. Long-retired, losing his memory and having lived his life surrounded by the myth of Holmes created by Watson, he spends his time beekeeping but he wants to write the correct version of the case that would prove to me his last.

The central mystrey might not live up to the best of Holmes but the main performance certainly does. This film was owned by McKellen, superb as both a forgettable, frail Holmes and a much more dapper 50-something Holmes. It'll be a crying shame if he's overlooked come awards season - 4/5*




King Of Devil's Island (1st view) - Bleak drama based on a true story about a prison for youths in Norway and a revolt that ocurred in 1915. Good enough - 3/5*

White Bird In A Blizzard (1st view) - Shailene Woodley plays teenager Kat whose mother (Eva Green) leaves home one day after displaying increasingly erratic behaviour. There's a dreamlike quality to much of the film and Woodley is superb - 4/5*




What We Do In The Shadows (1st view) - 4 vampires sharing a flat in New Zealand are filmed by a documentary crew. Just pips Grand Budapest Hotel as the best Live Action comedy of the decade. A brilliant concept executed to perfection - 5/5





Superman (3rd view) - Been an age since I last saw this and it remains flawed but fun. I'd forgotten just how long it took to get to the Clark Kent/Superman main story of the film. The score remains the very best thing about it - 4/5

Red Sorghum (1st view) - The life of a young woman in a rural Chinese village Second Sino-Japanese War. It certainly looks and sounds lovely but the film never quite lives up to its best moments - 4/5




Metro Manila (1st view) - A poor rice farmer takes his family to Manila and gets a job with an armoured truck company. A much better Asian-based thriller directed by a Brit than The Raid - 4/5*




The Warrior (1st view) - An Indian warrior working a for a warlord attempts to give up the sword but ends up being hunted down. Irrfan Khan is ace as the titular Warrior - 3/5*

Coherence (1st view) - Eight friends at a dinner party experience alternate realities thanks to anomalies caused by a passing comet. Felt a bit like a cross between The Twilight Zone and Primer. Very good indeed - 4/5*

The Devil Rides Out (1968), directed by Terence Fisher (The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) Dracula (1958) and The Mummy (1959)), adapted from Dennis Wheatley's 1934 novel of the same name and adapted by Richard Matheson, (author of I Am Legend (1954) and The Shrinking Man (1956)), this is probabily the best film Hammer Films ever produced, it's a good story and it was a passion project for it's star, who convinced Hammer to make it into a film, and it's still entertaining to watch now. Set in the early 1930's, this tale revolves around a Devil worshipping cult led by Mocata (Charles Gray), and they have Simon (Patrick Mower), who is a young friend of Duke of Richeleau (Christopher Lee), who has an acquired knowledge of the dangers of the dark arts, and he might be as powerful as the Devil himself, with the help of his friend Rex Van Ryn (Leon Greene), Richard Eaton (Paul Eddington) and his wife Peggy (Rosalyn Landor), they use a magic circle to protect themselves from Mocata's black magic attacks, Simon is able to escape and tries to save fellow initiate Tanith Carlisle (Niké Arrighi). This is a very creepy and surprising film, although some of the special effects have dated badly, it's still a great pleasure to watch, and does emit some shocks. It's a high watermark for Hammer, and it's a shame they didn't more films like this. 5/5



The Wicker Man (1973), written by Anthony Shaffer (Frenzy (1972) and Sleuth (1972)), and very loosely inspired by David Pinner's 1967 novel ritual. The Wicker Man is often cited as the Citizen Kane of horror films, and rightfully so. It has a realistic nature, and it's beautifully shot. It was the debut of Robin Hardy, who had got his start in film by making commercials and public information films. It's a breathtakingly dark film, and it does raise questions about the fallibility of Christian faith. Devout Christian and Police Sergeant Neil Howie (Edward Woodward) flies out to the island of Summerisle, which is in the Scottish Hebrides. He's investigating the disappearance of Rowan Morrison (Geraldine Cowper), but no-one on the island knows who she is. Howie is disturbed that the islanders are devout worshippers of pagan Celtic gods, after meeting Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee), Summerisle assures Howie that they are a religious people and murder doesn't happen there. Soon, Howie discovers the truth about Rowan, and the upcoming May Day celebrations. It's a dark film, and it's been sadly truncated over the years no thanks to stupid studio executives who couldn't understand art when they see it. But, some extended prints slipped through the cracks. It's still fascinating to watch and impossible to forget. 5/5

The Pelican Brief (1993), based on John Grisham's 1992 novel, and adapted and directed by Alan J. Pakula, (Klute (1971), The Parallax View (1974) and All the President's Men (1976)). This legal thriller came at a time when Grisham's works seem to be frequent adaptations for a short time. This one is a tense thriller which touches on conspiracy theories, assassinations and shadowy cover-ups. It's an OK film, but it does tend to drag on a bit long. Two Supreme Court justices are assassinated by professional assassin Sam Khamel (Stanley Tucci). In New Orleans, law school student Darby Shaw (Julia Roberts) writes a paper detailing her theories on why they were assassinated. Her paper impresses her tutor and lover Thomas Callahan (Sam Shepard). When Callahan is killed in a car bomb, which Shaw believes was meant for her, she goes into hiding. Meanwhile, Political reporter Gray Grantham (Denzel Washington) hears about the deaths, including that of Callahan, and he tracks down Shaw, and the details in Shaw's paper goes all the way to the top, involving the President (Robert Culp) and the FBI. It's the sort of film you'd expect from a conspiracy legal thriller of this calibre, and as director Pakula is well experienced in films like that, this should have been perfect for him, but it's not, it's good mind you, with good cameos but it falls a bit flat on it's face, but it has good performances. 3/5



Jurassic World (2015), 14 years after Jurassic Park III (2001), producer Steven Spielberg wanted to make another film, and so did Jurassic Park's original author Michael Crichton, who contributed ideas until his death in 2008. Not long after, Jurassic World came to life, directed by Colin Trevorrow (Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)), with story and screenplay by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver (In the Heart of the Sea (2015)), this breathes new life into an old franchise. 22 years after what happened on Isla Nublar in Jurassic Park, it has become a fully functioning and working theme park, complete with hotels and huge attractions. Brothers Zach (Ty Simpkins) and Gray Mitchell (Nick Robinson) are sent there to visit their aunt, Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard), who is the park's operations manager, but she's much to busy to pay attention to her nephews. She's busy overseeing the upcoming attraction, a genetically modified dinosaur known as the Indominus Rex. Meanwhile, Velociraptor trainer Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) is asked to evaluate the Indominus Rex's enclosure, and even he see's problems in it, and that because it's genetically created, it will be a danger to the other dinosaurs and guests. Then the Indominus escapes, or does it?? It's great fun to watch, and it seemed like cashing in when a fourth Jurassic Park film was announced, but director Trevorrow, Spielberg and their team prove everyone wrong, there is still life in the old dinosaur yet... 4/5

Frost/Nixon (2008), Ron Howard takes on Peter Morgan's play depicting the 1977 interviews between a disgraced former President, conducted by a savvy TV journalist. The translation to the big screen might not have worked, but it works. By God, it works to a gripping and exciting extent, it's all down to a brilliant script and an amazing cast at it's heart. Shortly after President Richard Nixon (Frank Langella) resigned in 1974, TV journalist David Frost (Michael Sheen) learnt how many people watched him leave the Presidency, and wishes to interview him. He funds the whole enterprise out of his own pocket, and has help from his research team John Birt (Matthew Macfadyen), Bob Zelnick (Oliver Platt) and James Reston Jr. (Sam Rockwell), even if they are critical at first of Frost's interviewing methods. Even Nixon and his aides refuse to show Frost any mercy, and try to dint his confidence during the tapings. But he isn't beaten yet. It's a very focused piece, where it's best moments come from the verbal sparring in the interviews themselves, the building up to it, (the preperation and the funding of the venture), builds us up for one of the best battles in TV history. Brilliantly recreated by the original cast of Langella and Sheen, who play their parts convincingly, (especially Sheen.) This thoroughly deserved to win more awards, particually Oscars... 5/5



Philomena (2013), directed by Stephen Frears, who has had success on both sides of the Atlantic, makes this true life drama set on both sides of the Atlantic. Based on the 2009 book The Lost Child of Philomena Lee by Martin Sixsmith, this is a touching film which is heartfelt, emotional and with a gentle sense of humour about it's bones, it has a big heart as well and a perfect pairing at it's core. BBC Journalist Martin Sixsmith (Steve Coogan) has just lost his job as a Labour government advisor after an email was taken out of context, looking for something to do, at a party, he hears the story of Philomena Lee (Judi Dench) was put in a convent in Ireland, and she was forced to give up her son for adoption by the nuns. She kept this secret for 50 years, and Martin agrees to write about her story and search for her son. At Roscrea Abbey, where Philomena was held, they find the adoption records were destroyed, but they learn that the children were sold to rich families from America, so they head off to Washington to find out more. It's a very moving film, but it'll leave you cursing at the Catholic Church for doing this to poor women back then. But, at it's heart is Dench as the mother who kept this secret, and Coogan as the embittered Sixsmith, who slowly finds himself warming to Philomena. It's a winner of a film, and well worth a look. 4/5

Rush (2013), directed by Ron Howard and written by Peter Morgan (The Queen (2006) and Frost/Nixon (2008)), this Formula 1 themed biopic tells the story of two racing legends in the 1970's, and how their rivalry brought out the best in one another. It also shows the dangers that go hand in hand with Formula 1. But it's a brilliant film, with some top-notch performances and focused directing. James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl), who first met each other as Formula Three drivers in 1970, but they both make the grade to Formula 1. Hunt makes it through winning races, despite his playboy lifestyle, while Lauda risked everything and bought his way in. Hunt is a cocky so-and-so, and clashes with Lauda's perfectionism and know-it-all attitude on and off the track. But it reaches a head on August 1st 1976 during the German Grand Prix on the Nürburgring, where Lauda has a near-fatal accident, which Hunt feels responsible for, but Lauda returned to the racing six weeks after nearly being killed. It's very well filmed, and Howard and his team didn't have much money to work with, but they do a lot, and Howard gets brilliant performances out of Hemsworth and Brühl, who spark off each other brilliantly. Plus, Howard has great fun with the racing sequences, which are suspenseful and almost operatic in their execution. 4.5/5



Mr. Holmes (2015), based on the 2005 novel A Slight Trick Of The Mind by Mitch Cullin (Tideland), and brought to the screen by director Bill Condon (Gods and Monsters (1998), Dreamgirls (2006) and The Fifth Estate (2013)). This moving and gentle crime mystery sheds a different light on Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, and it imagines Holmes in his twilight years nearing the end of his life. It might be a piece of fan-fiction, but it's well made. In 1947, Sherlock Holmes (Ian McKellen) is 93 years old, and living a quiet life in a Sussex farmhouse near the sea with his housekeeper Mrs. Munro (Laura Linney), and her son Roger (Milo Parker). Holmes' once brilliant memory is fading, and he uses royal jelly, that he gathers from beekeeping, (the one thing he has going for). He has recently returned from Japan, where with help from Matsuda Umezaki (Hiroyuki Sanada), gathered Prickly Ash from Hiroshima, to help Holmes' memory. He wants to write a true account of his final case from nearly 30 years previously, the one case that caused him to retire. It's a lovely film, but one with a lot of layers, but Condon gets the best out of McKellen, who makes a brilliant Holmes, and he gets the mannerisms of old age down perfectly. This is a film that will no doubt come back again come Oscar season, and rightfully so. It shows a different side to Holmes, a believable side and a more human side. 4/5

I loved Mr. Holmes


Jurassic World (1st view) - With plenty of little nods to the original, easily the best in the franchise since the first - 4/5*




300 (2nd view) - Remember when this was a thing? There was a time when you couldn't fire up the internet without by a gif of Butler yelling "This is Sparta" or "Tonight we dine in hell". Not seen it since the cinema and it's just as enjoyable - 4/5

Kingsman: The Secret Service (1st view) - Largely a success and better than the trailers suggested. The tone's a bit all over the place but that's only a problem in a few place. Jackson and Caine are both forgettable but Strong and especially Firth are on top form. Also quite liked Egerton as the new recruit, something I didn't expect. Highlights were the church fight and the exploding transmitters, both cracked me up which perhaps says something disturbing about me. There's a freneticism to the action scenes that's oddly engaging, moreso than the shaky-cam of mamy modern action films - 4/5*

The Hidden Fortress (1st view) - It was good, but could have done with a Death Star. The best Kurosawa film I've seen is still High and Low, which makes me think he's at his best when not dealing with warriors and samurai - 4/5*

Sunflower (1st view) - Marcello Mastroianni feigns insanity in order to prevent him from being sent to fight in North Africa. When he's found out, he instead gets sent to the Russian front. After the war, his wife Sophia Loren tries to find out what happened to him, refusing to believe that he's dead. I've never been a fan of either of the stars but they were both decent here. It's only the second De Sica film I've seen, the other being Bicycle Thieves and without that film's unintentional hilarity, Sunflower is much better - 4/5*

Night of the Eagle (1962), directed by Sidney Hayers, (Circus of Horrors (1960) and Three Hats for Lisa (1966)), adapted from Fritz Leiber's 1943 novel Conjure Wife, with a screenplay by Charles Beaumont (The Masque of the Red Death (1964), Richard Matheson (The Devil Rides Out (1968) and George Baxt (Shadow of the Cat (1961))). This is a spooky horror film about witchcraft and superstition, and the consequences that scorning black magic can have. It's a well crafted and little seen British horror film. Psychology professor Norman Taylor (Peter Wyngarde) has a successful career teaching pupils about beliefs and superstitions. But, one day, he discovers his wife Tansy (Janet Blair) has been practicing black magic, but she says she's only done it to help his career, which has gone really well. Norman is angered by Tansy embracing black arts, and he forces her to burn all of her magical possessions, which she does, but she warns Norman that she will not be responsible for what happens to him next. Indeed, Norman's luck turns for the worse, and it get's worse for him. There's a good amount of talent behind the scenes on this one, and they all work well together, (it was nearly set in America, but it was moved to England. A wise decision). Plus, it also showcases what a talented and underrated actor Peter Wyngarde is. 4/5



Dr. Crippen (1962), directed by Robert Lynn (Postman's Knock (1962) and Killer's Carnival (1966)), and written by Leigh Vance (The Dream Maker (1963) and Voodoo Blood Death (1965)). This true life crime drama sheds light on the Dr. Crippen murder case, and it follows the events, and it lets the view draw it's own conclusions over what really happened, and where Crippen was a murderer or not. It plays it a bit too safe in places, but it's the performances in the film that benefit it. The film begins in 1910, at the trial of Edwardian doctor Hawley Harvey Crippen (Donald Pleasence), who is being tried for the murder of his wife, and his subsequent attempt to flee the country. However in flashbacks, we discover that Crippen's homelife was not all happy. He was a put upon husband, and his wife Belle (Coral Browne) is loud, overbearing and a constant embarrassment to Crippen, they have a boarding house, and she's usually flirting with male lodgers. Crippen finds solace in Ethel Le Neve (Samantha Eggar), and plans to run away with her, but his wife is a stumbling block. It's a well made crime mystery, and it's got some beautiful black and white cinematography by the great Nicolas Roeg. It's not perfect, and new forensic evidence lately shed doubt on whether Crippen really did it. But, it's good to watch. 3.5/5

The Day The Earth Caught Fire (1961), produced, co-written and directed by Val Guest (The Quatermass Xperiment (1955), The Abominable Snowman (1957) and erm... Casino Royale (1966)), this is a science fiction disaster movie that feels very real with it's settings and concept, it still feels relevant even today, even now, it's onto something. Peter Stenning (Edward Judd) is an aspiring reporter at the Daily Express, but his editor Jeff Jefferson (Arthur Christiansen) only gives him menial stories, but Peter has encouragement and support from veteran reporter Bill Maguire (Leo McKern), who gives Peter some assignments to do. One such story Peter comes across is during a visit to the British Met Office, where the Earth's temperatures and weather patterns have been going haywire, and Peter learns that the Soviet Union set off a bomb at the North Pole, and the American's set one off at the South Pole at the same time, and it's knocked the Earth out of orbit and it's now closer to the Sun, and water has started to evaporate and with nasty storms and mists causing destruction, and the government rations water, which causes riots and more chaos. It's like the 2012 (2009) of it's day, only more believable and straight faced, but it's actually quite scary and it was a social comment on the effects of nuclear testing. But, it still stands up over 50 years on, and it's cast are believable and compelling, as is Guest's direction. 4/5



Minions (2015), after the success of both Despicable Me (2010) and Despicable Me 2 (2013), director Pierre Coffin and producer Chris Meledandri decided to do a spin-off featuring the Minions, the yellow pint-sized helpers of Supervillain Gru. It's a prequel which would focus on where they came from, and what they did before they worked for Gru. It's a wonderfully dotty and silly film, with some good jokes, and while the plot is all over the place, it doesn't seem to matter, so are the Minions. Minions have been on Earth since the dawn of time, and they've always looked for an evil master to serve, by 1968, any masters they had are gone, so three Minions. Kevin, Stuart and Bob (all voiced by Coffin) go looking for a master, and they end up in New York, and they hitchhike with Walter and Allison Janney (Michael Keaton and Allison Janney) to Villain-Con in Orlando, where they end up working for evil villainess Scarlet Overkill (Sandra Bullock), who wants the Minions to steal the Crown Jewels from Queen Elizabeth II (Jennifer Saunders), but the Minions mess it up. Sometimes, you need a bit of silliness like this in a world of serious films, and it gives Disney/Pixar a fair run for their money too, as this is proper crowd-pleasing entertainment, and you can't help but laugh at the Minions and their slapstick antics. 4/5

Looking forward to MInions, but don't think I'll get to see it at the cinema.

A Separation (1st view) - Can't say I've seen many (or any) Iranian films. This was excellent - 4/5*




Even The Rain (1st view) - A film crew in Bolivia making a film about Columbus get caught up in protests led by one of the local actors they hire. Not bad at all - 4/5*




Red Dawn (1st view) - Did Red Dawn need as remake? I don't think the world was crying out for one. Saying that, it does manage to be better than the original, but that's not really a hard thing to achieve - 3/5*

If you do see Minions at the cinema, stay until the very end. Anyways...

The Fog (1980), directed by John Carpenter, who at the time had just come off the success of Halloween (1978), here he stuck to the horror genre, and with his co-producing partner Debra Hill, they wrote this horror film inspired by Quentin Lawrence's The Trollenberg Terror (1958), and further inspiration came to the film when Carpenter visited Stonehenge on a visit to England promoting Assault on Precinct 13 (1976), and it was a foggy day. It's an effective low-budget horror chiller. Set in the coastal town of Antonio Bay, California. The town is celebrating it's centenary, but in the run up to the celebrations, a few strange and unexplainable things occur. Local priest Father Malone (Hal Holbrook) finds a journal that his grandfather wrote which he and a few others plundered a passing ship, and gold from the ship was used to build Antonio Bay. On the day of the celebrations, a thick fog engulfs Antonio Bay. Three fisherman are killed, and the townspeople, including DJ Stevie Wayne (Adrienne Barbeau) and hitchhiker Elizabeth Solley (Jamie Lee Curtis) use their wits to survive. Carpenter is able to do a lot with not much money, even though it was a difficult shoot and Carpenter reshot a third of the film when the first cut wasn't scary enough, but it's a testament to the cast and the dark mood that makes the film work. 4/5



Last Action Hero (1993), directed by John McTiernan (Predator (1988) and Die Hard (1988)), this post-modern action comedy is not as bad as you remember it is. It's a very underrated film, it's quite original as well, but it does suffer from a confused plot, but it's a fun action film while it lasts. While it's extremely silly, it's worth it to see Arnie face himself, and is able to make fun of his image, but overall the film is a shocking mess, but it's a memorable and original mess though. It has young Danny Madigan (Austin O'Brien) receiving a magical movie ticket from cinema projectionist Nick (Robert Prosky), which launches Danny straight into Arnold Schwarzenegger's new film, Jack Slater IV, he's place with Slater (Schwarzenegger) into an over-the-top film plot involving drug smuggling and obligatory British baddie Benedict (Charles Dance). But, Benedict ends up getting one half of the magic movie ticket, and he soon finds himself in the real world, where the rules of the film world don't apply. It's not long before Slater and Danny follow him back into the real world. It's a film where logic doesn't apply, and that's both a good thing and a bad thing. John McTiernan keeps the action up, there's alot of very funny humour in the film, and it's got alot of celebrity cameos from the likes of F. Murray Abraham, Art Carney, Ian McKellen, Little Richard and Tina Turner!!

Beware of Mr. Baker (2012), directed by Jay Bulger (Made in Bali (2012)), this documentary was born out of an article entitled The Devil and Mr. Baker that Bulger had written for Rolling Stone magazine. He'd spent time with rock drummer Ginger Baker, best known for Cream, but he'd spent the past few years living on a farm in South Africa where he'd bred horses for polo. Bulger would cover Baker's life and career and other things that came along. It makes for fascinating and shocking viewing. It follows the life of Peter Edward Baker, or Ginger Baker as he's known. He was a jazz drummer who went into rock by way of the rhythm and blues outfit The Graham Bond Organisation. He formed Cream with Jack Bruce and Eric Clapton, but their success was short-lived because of Baker's temper. In the 1970's, Baker went to Nigeria, where he worked with Fela Kuti, where he took up polo, which he loves to this day. However, the money ran out, and he lived in seclusion in Italy for years, then a brief revival in California before the money ran out again and he went to South Africa. The film opens with a non-plussed Baker assaulting director Bulger with his stick and breaking his nose. That's the sort of person we see, he's a grumpy old curmudgeon, but you accept him for that, and he turns out being sort of likable in the end. 4/5



Ted (2012), the directorial debut of Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane, who also co-wrote the film with Family Guy staff writers Wellesley Wild and Alec Sulkin, this is a very rude and hilarious film that has moments in it that you really shouldn't laugh at, but unlike a lot of other bad taste comedies, it has heart and a good sense of nostalgia about it. MacFarlane has successfully proven himself as a director too, and has a good eye for detail too. When John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) was a boy in 1985, he wished his teddy bear would come to life, and the bear Ted (MacFarlane) does indeed come to life, and he instantly becomes a national celebrity, people can't believe it. However, 27 years later, Ted is still around, the celebrity buzz off him has gone, but he's still living with John, getting drunk and smoking from bongs. John meanwhile is seeing office girl Lori Collins (Mila Kunis), who is hard working and very mature. She wants to marry John, but she cannot go ahead with their life because of Ted's antics and John's refusal to let Ted leave, but ultimately, John has to make a difficult decision, and Ted has to make a living for himself, with varying consequences. It's a hilarious film, with some great gags, and the biggest celebrity comeback of 2012!! MacFarlane is able to have fun as director and even acting via mo-cap as Ted, and despite it's rudeness, this one comes out as one of the best films of 2012, and it has a gag rate like Airplane! (spoofed in the film). If one joke doesn't work, don't worry, there'll be one along in a few seconds that will!! 4.5/5

Ted 2 (2015), after the success of Ted (2012), a sequel was inevitable, and writer/director/producer/actor Seth MacFarlane, along with co-writers Wellesley Wild and Alec Sulkin quickly went to work on the plot. By this time, MacFarlane had started work on his next work, A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014), which undid all the good work MacFarlane had done, and the same problems leak badly into Ted 2, which isn't as bad as MacFarlane's last film, but it's not a patch on the original Ted. Ted (MacFarlane) is now married to Tami-Lynn (Jessica Barth), while John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) is now divorced and in a rut. Ted and Tami-Lynn want to have a baby, but since Ted is a toy and Tami-Lynn is infertile, they decide to adopt, which opens up a load of legal problems. The state authorities of Massachusetts decides Ted is not a person, but property. So begins a legal battle to ensure Ted gets the same legal rights as everyone else, and they get help from novice lawyer Samantha Jackson (Amanda Seyfried), who happens to smoke cannabis, much to Ted and John's delight. You can see the direction MacFarlane has tried to take with this one, a slightly more sympathetic, serious direction, but it doesn't work and the jokes aren't as fresh this time, and it relies on repetitive gags, rather like what Family Guy does. Oh, well... 2.5/5



Nebraska (2013), directed by Alexander Payne, (About Schmidt (2002), Sideways (2004) and The Descendants (2011)), this moving road movie feels like it could have come from the early 1970's, and it has DNA of Peter Bogdanovich's The Last Picture Show (1971) and Paper Moon (1973) about it's structure, right down to the stark black and white setting. It shows a world seldom seen on film, but it's absolutely brilliant. When elderly alcoholic Woody Grant (Bruce Dern) receives a letter claiming he's won a $1 million sweepstakes prize, (it's clearly a scam), and Woody is trying to get from Billings, Montana to Lincoln, Nebraska to claim the prize, but his son David (Will Forte) can't talk him out of it, but with Woody's wife Kate (June Squibb) about to lose patience, David agrees to drive Woody to Lincoln, and they stop off on the way in Woody's hometown of Hawthorne, Nebraska. They stop with Woody's brother Ray (Rance Howard) and his family. But after Woody's old business partner Ed Pegram (Stacy Keach) hears of Woody's apparent windfall, he and everyone wants a part of it. This is moving, poignant and funny look at middle America, and how there's some places still lost in time, and how America is moving backwards with the Recession. Dern is brilliant, and he deserves an Oscar for this, and it's a reminder of what a good actor he still is. Payne has a knack for quirky character pieces, and this is his best. 5/5

Only God Forgives (2013), written and directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, (Bronson (2008) and Drive (2011)), this pugilistic, exotic thriller came about after Winding Refn had finished production on Valhalla Rising (2009), he'd envisioned it as a western set in the Far East. After working on Drive, it became easier to get the money together for this risky project. It's a very divisive film, and it's certainly not a film for everyone and it will try your patience, it's cleverly constructed and beautifully filmed. Set in Bancock, Thailand. Julian (Ryan Gosling) is an American expatriate who runs a muay thai club, which is a front for a drug smuggling operation. Julian's older brother Billy (Tom Burke) rapes and kills an underage sex worker, Thai Police Lieutenant Chang (Vithaya Pansringarm) has Billy beaten up, Billy dies from his injuries. Billy and Julian's mother Crystal (Kristin Scott Thomas) arrives in Bancock to identify Billy's body. She want's Julian to go out and find whoever murdered her son, something Julian is reluctant to do, but he's had visions involving Chang. It's a very hard-edged film, and one which is impossible to like or love, but you can admire it for it's technical prowess and visual beauty, and Winding Refn's guts to make a film as nihilistic and colourful as this, not many people can do that. 3.5/5



Magic Mike XXL (2015), after the success of Magic Mike (2012), a sequel was planned. This one would be directed by the original film's producer Gregory Jacobs, (director of Criminal (2004) and Wind Chill (2007)), Magic Mike's original director Steven Soderbergh returned not only as producer, but also cinematographer and editor!! It's not as good as the first film, but it's no massive disaster, there's some very amusing dance routines, and at it's heart, it's a buddy-buddy road movie. 3 years after quitting as a male stripper, Mike Lane (Channing Tatum) is running a furniture business, and he's only just getting by. But, he gets a call from Tarzan (Kevin Nash), who tells them their old boss has moved to Macau, and they're planning one last show to end their stripping careers on a high note. Mike goes along, along with Tarzan, Tito (Adam Rodríguez) and Tobias (Gabriel Iglesias), Richie (Joe Manganiello) and Ken (Matt Bomer) to a stripping convention in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. On the way, they prepare for the show, with help from Rome (Jada Pinkett Smith). It's a daft affair, yet it doesn't have the charm the original film had, the tone is decidedly different for this one, one with a touch of melancholy about it, about growing up and moving on with your life. It could have done with more substance though. 3/5

Juno (2007), directed by Jason Reitman (Thank You For Smoking (2005) and Up In The Air (2009) and the debut of screenwriter Diablo Cody, this was the other pregnancy film of 2007, but while Knocked Up was a mainstream film, this one was the smaller, independent film, and it has more depth and heart to it, not to mention a quirky, offbeat tone. It became a worldwide hit, and it even went on to win an award or three. Oh, and made more money than the other pregnancy film, so it did something right. Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page), is a slighty oddball 16-year-old who becomes pregnant after a one-night stand from friend Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera). After much thought, Juno decides to give away the baby to rich couple Mark and Vanessa Loring, (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner), but as eager and excited as they seem, are they ready for parenthood?? A charming little independent gem, (made for $7.5 million, it made over $230 million worldwide, indeed it's a little film that could...) It's got a wonderful female lead from Page and Reitman brings the best from her and the rest of the cast. Plus, it's got a wonderful tone to it which stays with you long after the film is over, it's got a wonderful soundtrack as well. 4/5



Ant-Man (2015), based on the Marvel comic created in 1962 by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby. This fun comic-book film had been in development since 2006 with Edgar Wright as director, and co-writing the script with Joe Cornish. However, Wright left the film after creative differences with Marvel, he was replaced by Peyton Reed (Bring It On (2000), Down with Love (2003) and Yes Man (2008)), the late replacement could have spelled disaster, but it didn't, the film works really well and it's great fun. Cat burglar Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) has just been released from prison and wants to go straight so he can win back his daughter Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson), but his old cellmate Luis (Michael Peña) offers Lang one last heist. Lang refuses, but he's penniless, so he has to accept, and it involves burgling the house of Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), and breaking into his safe. All he finds is an old suit. But, this suit shrinks Lang to the size of an insect, but gives him more strength. Pym needs Lang to help him get even with former protégé Darren Cross (Corey Stoll). It's great fun, and it's a bit more offbeat than other Marvel comic-book adventures, and it's played for laughs a lot more than the other films. It's well worth it for Paul Rudd's performance, and he was an inspired choice to play Ant-Man. 4/5

Grand Prix (1966), directed by John Frankenheimer (Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), The Manchurian Candidate (1962) and The Train (1964)), this action-drama focuses on the tough world of Formula 1 racing. However, getting it made was a race in itself as director John Sturges and Steve McQueen had a rival project in development called Day of the Champion, but this got off the starting line first and the rival film was cancelled. It's a bit of an overlong soap opera, but it benefits from Super Panavision 70. After an accident at the Monaco Grand Prix where Jordan-BRM teammates Pete Aron (James Garner) and Scott Stoddard (Brian Bedford) collide, and it ends up with Stoddard seriously injured and in hospital. Aron leaves Jordan-BRM for Japanese racing team Yamura owned by Izo Yamura (Toshiro Mifune). Meanwhile, French driver Jean-Pierre Sarti (Yves Montand) is a two-time World Champion, but he's nearing the end of his career, but he has an affair with magazine writer Louise Frederickson (Eva Marie Saint), while Aron sets about rebuilding his career. It's a film which benefits from a lot of split screen, and some fast and furious editing, (most of it overseen by Saul Bass), but the plot is very episodic and melodramatic, but other than that, it's a quite compelling and well put together film. 3.5/5



Camelot (1967), directed by Joshua Logan, (South Pacific (1958) and Paint Your Wagon (1969)), and based on the musical by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe which originated on Broadway in 1960, which in turn was based on T. H. White's 1958 novel The Once and Future King. This is a lavish musical with a brilliant cast, but it's overlong and it could, and should, have been condensed down to something simpler and more focused, but this was what musicals were like back then. Set just before the Dark Ages kicked in, it has King Arthur (Richard Harris) looking back on his life, and how he came to be king. His arranged marriage to Guenevere (Vanessa Redgrave). Arthur looks back to how he formed the Knights of the Round Table, and his friendship with the enigmatic French knight Lancelot (Franco Nero). Guenevere at first, cannot stand Lancelot and his manners, but she soon falls for him, and a love triangle begins between Arthur, Guenevere and Lancelot. Plus, matters are further complicated when Arthur's illegitimate son Mordred (David Hemmings) turns up. It's a good film, just not a classic. It came at a time when musicals were nearly 3 hours long, and they really didn't need to be that long. You could have translated this simply and easily. At half it's length it would have been twice the film. 3/5

The Homesman (1st view) - SPOILERS - Hilary Swank plays Mary Bee Cuddy, a wealthy spinster living in the Nebraska Territory, who offers to transport three women who have been driven to insanity to a safe haven in Iowa. She rescues ex-soldier Tommy Lee Jones from being lynched, on the condition that he help her. Swank is utterly fantastic, Jones too, and there are some nice, little more than cameo, appearances from the likes of John Lithgow, William Fichtner, James Spader, Hailee Steinfeld and Barry Corbin. In the first half at least there's much humour to be found as Swank and Jones trade barbs. There's an unfussiness to Jones's direction, cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto gives us some of the finest visuals of the last year and Marco Beltrami's score is superb. But about two-thirds in something happens that changes the film. It doesn't make it worse, nor necessarily better, it just makes it different, a film with a much deeper melancholy to it, and the film will probably linger in my mind more because of what happened, but I'm also wondering how it would have been had it not happened. This makes no sense at all I know but I'm trying not to spoil. But a really, really good film - 4/5*




The Watch (1st view) - Bad - 2/5*




A Deadly Adoption (1st view) - Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig are a happily married couple who lose their unborn baby following an accident. Five years later, in the hope of adopting a baby they allow Jessica Lowndes to live in their house during her pregnancy, but the young mother is not what she seems. A Lifetime TV movie and one that I'm almost sure is meant to be a sort of parody but it's played so straight, it's hard to tell - 3/5*

The Wolverine: Extended Cut (2nd view) - I'm one of those rare few who enjoys all of the X-Men films to date, including the reviled Origins and The Last Stand. Indeed, The Last Stand is my favourite of the franchise so far (which once led to me being called a dementor of Film Critics. That made me happy) Anyways, The Wolverine is 4th in the series for me. I do find it funny that when this film was released they were already making a sequel that basically wiped it out of existence - 4/5

Pitch Perfect (2nd view) - I've been told I'm like two different people from this film, the Star Wars geek and Beca (how I'm not quite sure, a music loving film hater I am not). When I first saw this I wasn't really expecting much, and thought that the Universal logo with the Beaker-like vocalising would be the best the film had to offer. I was wrong and it's just as much fun a second time around, predictability and all. Still think the Sockapellas should have won - 4/5