Fairy mess

Maleficent (2014)

Directed by Robert Stromberg this film stars Angelina Jolie, Sharlto Copley, Elle Fanning and Sam Riley. The story of sleeping beauty is told from the point of view of the antagonist.

There is a lot of interesting stuff in this film but unfortunately it never really follows through, there is no explanation as to why if all ends well that we treat Maleficent as evil in the story. Apparently a lot of the first act was cut and I think that really hampers the film as it seems more interest in story events rather than delving into the characters and explaining their actions, Stefan in particular. I enjoyed Angelina Jolie who does her best but the script and other casting massively let her down in my opinion.

2/5

Pimp problems

The Goddess (1934)

Written and directed by Wu Yonggang this ilm stars Ruan Lingyu and Zhang Zhizhi. A single mother who works as a prostitute struggles to escape the clutches of an abusive pimp.

The plot of this film does a good job of showing the struggles of a sex worker but I am not sure it ever does more than that. Whilst the story is sympathetic to the plight of the protagonist it never really offers any potential answers or reasons for why society acts this way, only how it acts. I enjoyed the film but I would not say it has the style of a Naruse film of which there are many on the same subject.

3/5

Lies on a liar?

The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974)

Directed by Werner Herzog this film inspired by a real story stars Bruno Schleinstein, Walter Ladengast and Brigitee Mira. A young man, unable to speak, who has spent his entire life being raised in a cellar is abandoned in a German town.

It seems that while a lot of the events in this film are depicted historically the film really fails to delve into the most likely explanation that Hauser was a pathological liar. Maybe the film like Hauser himself is disingenuous by choice and while I found parts of the film interesting I am not sure if it goes anywhere interesting. In the lead role Schleinstein might not be to everyone's taste but I think his wooden style probably fits well here.

3/5

Wilted

The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)

Directed by Stephen Chbosky this film based on the director's novel of the same name stars Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller. An awkward boy with no friends starts high school and makes friends with some older kids.

Maybe my expectations were a little too high for this film but I found it to be a fairly average coming of age that trots through a lot of the usual cliché moments. There are actually some really interesting elements to the protagonist and the story but these are revealed way too late in the film for my liking. The cast is pretty good but Paul Rudd seems underused in his supporting role as “the good teacher”.

3/5

No secrets here

In Secret (2013)

Directed by Charlie Stratton this film based on the novel “Therese Raquin” stars Elizabeth Olsen, Tom Felton, Oscar Isaac and Jessica Lange. In 1860s Paris a sexually repressed woman forced into a loveless marriage with her sickly cousin begins an affair with his best friend.

Starting off as a somewhat cliché love story the film moves into a second half which has all the hallmarks of a film noir story. I found the story to be a bit simplistic and obvious at every turn, shoving every little detail in the viewers face was a bit much for me. Jessica Lange gives a good performance in the final act but otherwise there is little of note here.

3/5

Early condemnation

The Mortal Storm (1940)

Directed by Frank Borzage this film based on the novel of the same name stars Margaret Sullivan, James Stewart, Robert Young and Frank Morgan. A well loved professor from a university town finds himself on the wrong side of an increasingly powerful Nazi party.

This is one of the first American films to condemn the anti-Semitism of the Nazis and surprisingly was made at a time when the country was still trying to stay neutral. The plot does a great job of showing the change brought about in Germany and the suffering of one family but does not fully explore the routes of Nazi ideology. There is a great ski sequence and all in all this film is really worth watching.

4/5

More blood and lies

300: Rise of an Empire (2014)

Directed by Noam Murro this sequel based on an unreleased comic stars Sullivan Stapleton and Eva Green. While the 300 Spartans march off to their battle an Athenian war hero attempts to unite Greece for a naval battle against the Persians.

The plot of this film lacks the clear narrative thrust of the original and at times the story seems to wander about all over the place. While the story here is not as good as the original it pretty much serves it's purpose which is an excuse for over the top violence. Noam Murro does a pretty good job of re-capturing the style of Zack Snyder's original but the big problem here is that Sullivan Stapleton just does not have the personality or presence to carry the film like Gerard Butler did in the original. Attempting to cram in an utterly unnecessary and bizarre sex scene does not help matters either.

3/5

Missing something to prove nothing

The Zero Theorem (2013)

Directed by Terry Gilliam this film stars Christoph Waltz, Melanie Thierry, David Thewlis and Lucas Hedges. A man searching for his calling is set to work on an equation proving that everything means nothing.

This film of an existential crisis getting in the way of living life is classic Gilliam material that is darkly comic at times. There is more than a hint of Brazil (1985) about the film and maybe some elements such as the mass surveillance are not explored to their full but this is still a really interesting look at the subject matter of “why?”. As with any Gilliam film the sets are amazing and the world created is a visual feast with more than a nod to where our world may be headed.

5/5

The Pits

Quatermass and the Pit (1967)

Directed by Roy Ward Baker this film based on the television series of the same name stars James Donald, Andrew Keir and Barbara Shelley. Workmen digging at a London underground station find lots of bodies and a strange metal craft from millions of years ago.

This whole film comes off like a cheap knock off of a classic Doctor Who episode but with out an enigmatic Doctor Who to hold the thing together. Character development is pretty much non existent as we plunge into a plot full of hogwash about aliens from Mars. Where the film really falls down though is in the special effects which at times are beyond cheap and really do not hold together.

2/5

Ready to reenter the real world

Healing (2014)

Directed by Craig Monahan this film stars Hugo Weaving, Don Hany, Xavier Samuel and Robert Taylor. At a low security prison in Australia inmates begin working on rehabilitating birds of prey.

There are times when this film threatens to get a bit heavy handed when it comes to comparing the rehabilitation of the birds to that of the prisoners but in general this is a well told story. It may be a bit of a cop out that the criminal pasts of the characters is minimised or the easy route taken with them but it is unlucky that “really bad” criminals would be in a low security prison. Most of the cinematography is not that impressive but there are some really nice shots of the birds in flight.

4/5

Drive shit

Drive Hard (2014)

Directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith this film stars John Cusack and Thomas Jane. A former racing car driver now working as a driving instructor ends up taking part in a bank robbery against his will.

This might not be the worst film I have sat through recently but it is probably not much better. Some of the dialogue and the script in general is pretty weak through out with a plot that offers very little. While the film looks pretty cheaply made I would not say it is bad but some of the budget restrictions show through at times.

2/5

Tiger, tiger

Man of Tai Chi (2013)

Directed by Keanu Reeves this film stars Tiger Chen, Karen Mok, Iko Uwais and it's director. A delivery man that is a student of Tai Chi comes to the attention of a man organising underground fights.

Plenty of times this film skirts being something interesting only to fall short every time and comes across as a script written by someone with only a passing knowledge of it's subject matter. The plot is essentially the battle for a man's soul but it never really goes deep enough and fits the standard rules of screen writing too closely at times. I enjoyed the martial arts sequences but some of them are too long and feel like they are filling out for a lack of story.

3/5

A bullet in a gun

La Souriante Madame Beudet (1923)

Directed by Germaine Dulac this film stars Germaine Dermoz, Alexandre Arquilliere and Jean d'Yd. A woman trapped in a loveless marriage dreams of being free of her husband.

This is a fairly short film and as such there is not a huge amount of plot here so this is a pretty simple story. I did enjoy the ending but really the film is not long enough to fully explore the idea of loveless marriages. What is good here is the use of special effects to show the protagonists desires and dreams which works really well.

4/5

Pimped out murder pram

Shogun Assassin (1980)

Directed Robert Houston this film stars Tomisaburo Wakayama, Akihiro Tomikawa and Kayo Matsuo. An executioner for a crazy Shogun finds himself on the run with his young son after the Shogun kills his wife and has him branded a traitor.

Essentially this is two Japanese films based on “Long Wolf and Cub” re-edited together then dubbed into English. What we are left with here is plenty of action but very little character and not a ton plot that makes much sense. Some of the voice acting is beyond suspect and this mash up is probably best viewed in it's original versions.

2/5

The trials of Kate

The Trials of Cate McCall (2013)

Written and directed by Karen Moncrieff this film stars Kate Beckinsale, Anna Anissimova, Nick Nolte and James Cromwell. A high flying lawyer just out of rehab is forced to work the case of a girl she thinks is guilty of murder.

There is a kernel of an interesting idea here but unfortunately it is wrapped up in a some what unbelievable legal plot that makes the whole film disappointing. I would much rather that the film had focused more on the character arc of the protagonist rather than the legal drama. Kate Beckinsale does her best but I think the script is a let down from the get go.

2/5

A real survivor

Within Our Gates (1920)

Written and directed by Oscar Micheaux this film stars Evelyn Preer, Flo Clements, James D. Ruffin and Jack Chenault. We follow an Africa-American woman over her tribulations of love and prejudice.

You can easily see this film as an African-American response to The Birth of a Nation (1915) and it does a great job of showing the hardships faces in America of that time. The plot shows a variety of African-American characters and how they try to cope with the situation they face as well as the different attitudes between Northern and Southern whites. For a film made with so few resources the film is really well made and it never looks away from the harsh realities of racism.

4/5

No seal of approcal

SEAL Team 8: Behind Enemy Lines (2014)

Directed by Roel Reine this film stars Tom Sizemore, Langley Kirkwood, Tanya van Graan and Lex Sharpnel. An American team of special forces soldiers head into the Congo to rescue a CIA asset from a warlord.

From start to finish this film is filled with stupid and unbelievable rubbish which is probably why it failed to garner a theatrical release. None of the characters seem to have any personality traits or back stories to make them stick out from each other which really does not help matters. You could probably say that some of the explosions are not to bad but most of the action sequences are so far beyond believable that by that point do you really care?

1/5

Look now

Don't Look Now (1973)

Directed by Nicolas Roeg this film based on the short story of the same name stars Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie. A couple struggle to over come the death of their daughter as the husband works on restoring a church in Venice.

This is a real slow burner of a film but is a riveting watch filled with slightly creepy moments that you just can not quite put your finger on what is wrong. The plot is a tale of grief and a relationship slowly slipping apart because of it and the super natural elements added in work well. It is the editing which most makes the film stand out doing a great job of highlighting repeated themes or motifs with all the cross cutting being slightly reminiscent of early Soviet films.

5/5

Empty mind

Scanners (1981)

Written and directed by David Cronenberg this film stars Steven Lack, Patrick McGoohan, Jennifer O'Neill and Michael Ironside. In the near future some people have telepathic powers but struggle to use them as a war breaks out between telepaths and those that would control them.

There are plenty of good hooks in this film but unfortunately we are stuck with a disappointingly bland script. For all the interesting elements the film never goes anywhere thematically or on a character level. Some of the special effects are pretty good and there is one shocking scene near the start but for a nearly 2 hour run time there is not a lot going on here.

3/5

In train-ing

The Great Train Robbery (1903)

Directed by Edwin S. Porter this film stars Alfred C. Abadie, Brocho Billy Anderson, Justus D. Barnes and Walter Cameron. A group of outlaws attempt to rob a train in the old west.

This film is considered to have a lot of historical value but I am not sure it has a much entertainment value any more. Some of the acting and stunts are pretty bad to a modern eye and the story is pretty much just what it says on the tin. As a curiosity into early film I suppose this is a landmark but not something I would recommend watching.

2/5

Nothing to sniff at

Drug War (2013)

Directed by Johnnie To this film stars Sun Honglei, Louis Koo and Huang Yi. In china a drug lord works with the police to stave off the death penalty.

This is a fairly nuts and bolts film about the drug trade in China which does not ever do anything new but is very proficient. Events move a long at a nice pace but there is never really a clock driving the action so it does lack a sense of suspense at times. There is not a lot of action but the film does end in a fairly brutal shoot out which seems less realistic than the investigation that proceeded it.

3/5

Fiennes's finest

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

Written and directed by Wes Anderson this film stars Ralph Fiennes, Tony Revolori and an all star supporting cast. A writer tells a story of how mad cap antics involving a hotel in central Europe in the 1930s.

From start to finish this is a hilarious farce which never lets up and fits in perfectly with the types of worlds that Wes Anderson usually creates. The plot takes place against the decay of society in Europe which while an interesting theme is not explored as fully as I would like. Despite the large cast it is Ralph Fiennes who completely dominates the film with an amazing performance in a role that could never have been played by anyone else.

4/5

Rebel without a budget

El Mariachi (1992)

Written and directed by Robert Rodriguez this film stars Carlos Gallardo, Consuelo Gomez and Peter Marquardt. A case of mistake identity lands a travelling musician in the middle of a crime war between two former partners.

The plot of this film is fairly simple and does not have a huge amount of depth to it but for what it is it works pretty well. What really draws viewers to the film is that Robert Rodriguez essentially made this film as a one man crew on a micro budget. Given how the film was made it is actually really impressive and one of the key independent films of the 90s.

3/5

A second swing at Mamet

About Last Night (2014)

Directed by Steve Pink this is the second adaptation of the play “Sexual Perversity in Chicago” this time staring Michael Ealy, Joy Bryant, Kevin Hart and Regina Hall. After being introduced by their friends a couple start dating.

Early on this film shows some promise in exploring the way the different sexes approach relationships but that ultimately fizzles for a standard rom-com plot. There are some funny moments but this is not what you would say is a film that is funny through out. I enjoyed the cast but at times it felt like the editing in the scenes was a little too fast around some of the dialogue.

3/5

Fathers, sons, crime and regret

The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)

Directed by Derek Cianfrance this film stars Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes and Ray Liotta. A stunt rider for a travelling circus finds out he has a son then eventually we segue into the story of the policeman son of a judge.

Using an unusual narrative structure this film has cross generational and family scope as it reaches for an epic story of fatherhood but falls slightly short in my opinion. There is plenty to admire here but at times it ends up feeling like three different stories put together rather than one long story. I really enjoyed the first third of the film which is moody and features Ryan Gosling but the later parts drifted and relied a bit too much on coincidence for my taste.

4/5

Geisha parenting problems

Apart From You (1933)

Written and directed by Mikio Naruse this film stars Mitsuko Yoshikawa, Akio Isono and Sumiko Mizukubo. An ageing geisha has a son that is ashamed of her profession and is acting up, one of her younger colleagues try to help him understand.

The plot of this film is pretty average and one of so many from Japan about the sex trade that I have seen lately. You could see this film as a sequel to Every-Night Dreams (1933) but there is not a lot connecting there. There are a couple of moments of directorial flair but not enough to make the film stand out really.

3/5

Dicking about in the the woods

The Kings of Summer (2013)

Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts this film stars Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso, Moises Arias, Erin Moriarty and Nick Offerman. A 15 year old boy struggles to live with his widower farther so runs off to spend the summer living in the woods with two friends.

I am not sure that this film has the best coming of age arc but it does capture something of the universal rite of passage of teenage boys dicking about in the woods. There is plenty to enjoy even if it does feel like the film falls short of greatness. Most of the performances are good but I did feel like some of the montages would be better suited to a music video.

4/5

Back to Neptune

Veronica Mars (2014)

Directed by Rob Thomas this film which is a sequel to the television series of the same name stars Kristen Bell and Jason Dohring. After finishing law school and looking for her first big job our heroine is forced to head back home to help an ex-boyfriend accused of murder.

I have never seen the television series so some of the back story, of which there is an ample amount, was at times a little tough to follow but not too bad over all. The plot of this film is a fairly basic murder mystery which is not especially interesting but the script being littered with pop culture references keeps your attention at least. I found some of the use of voice over from the protagonist to be unneeded but generally the film has few problems in the execution.

3/5

All web, no heart

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

Directed by Marc Webb this comic book based sequel stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx and Dane DeHaan. Our hero deals with problems in his relationship with his girlfriend and an electric based villain.

This is not a bad watch but compared to the Sam Raimi films the script really lacks much heart here. Really there is just too much going on for there to be a clear character arc and I think too often the film gets lost in plot. Good news for the film is there are plenty of big action sequences that work pretty well but as they are mostly CGI do not stand out a huge amount.

3/5

Depression era depression

Every-Night Dreams (1933)

Directed by Mikio Naruse this film stars Sumiko Kurishima, Tatsuo Saito, Teruko Kojima and Jun Arai. A single mother struggles to raise her son and is surprised by the return of his father.

This is a pretty standard tale of poverty and desperation set during Depression-era Japan. The story runs for barely an hour but works pretty well even if it lacks some depth. Where the film does stand out is in some interesting use of camera and editing for key moments in the film which are unusual in a silent film.

3/5

Well ridden

Ride Along (2014)

Directed by Tim Story this film stars Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, Tika Stumpter and Laurence Fishburne. A hard nose police detective takes his would be bungling brother in law on a ride along to discourage him from cop.

Essentially this is a buddy cop film that does not exactly brim with intelligent writing. The plot wanders through the usual cliches without much going for it. There is the occasional moment of humour but it is not enough to carry this weak effort.

2/5