You gotta shape up

Themis (1940)

Directed by Dwinell Grant this is an animated short film. Various shapes move round against a background which changes between blue and orange.

This film is pretty much just shapes moving around in various patterns which was not one of the more entertaining examples of this type of film that I have seen. Maybe it was the copy I was watching but at times the image was very dark and it was hard to make out what was happening. No doubt some skill was involved in making this film but it did little for me.

2/5

Jilt and jiltability

Far from the Madding Crowd (2015)

Directed by Thomas Vinterberg this film based on the novel of the same name stars Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts, Michael Sheen and Tom Sturridge. An independent young woman inherits a large farm and ponders which, if any, of three suitors she might marry.

This is the story of a classic British romance where everyone is too constricted to say what they really think about each other and class divides create barriers to true happiness anyway. While this is an enjoyable adaptation at times it is a little predictable and contrived, I found myself sitting waiting for the inevitable conclusion. The direction captures the golden ideal of rural England well with some good locations.

4/5

Let's go for a ride in the desert

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Directed by George Miller this 4^th instalment in the Mad Max franchise stars Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult and Hugh Keays-Byrne. Our wandering hero finds himself helping a woman free a bunch of forced wives from a war lord.

Essentially this film is just one long car chase but it does it with a scale and style that the series just could not manage before thanks to smaller budgets and lack of technology. While there is some character and thematic level to the film the bonkers 80s post-apocalyptic action has never looked this good. There are good performances from the cast but it's the action set pieces that rule the day here.

4/5

The Englishman who went down a mine

Zorba the Greek (1964)

Directed by Michael Cacoyannis this film based on the novel of the same name stars Athony Quinn, Alan Bates, Lila Kedrova and Irene Papas. An uptight English writer heads to Crete to reopen an old mine and acquires the company of an older Greek man who is a bit of a scoundral.

Covering a large range of tones this film does a good job balancing them as it explores the tragedy and joy of human life. At times the story seems like a fairly light hearted tale of a fish out of water but is underscored by a couple of fairly shocking moments of tragedy. While the characters have fairly large flaws in their personality there is always enough charm to keep you watching this film which has more the a little influence from the Italian neo-realist school.

4/5

Fishing is serious business

The Dangers in a Fisherman's Life (1907)

Directed by Juluis Jaenzon this film known as “Fiskerlivets Farer” in Norwegian stars Alma Lund and Henry Hagerup. A woman watches as her husband and son go out fishing in a row boat.

This is a pretty short and simple film but nicely covers the events and emotions of a drowning. It is hard to say a lot about such a simple film but it is historically important as the first film produced in Norway. As a start to an industry this is a pretty decent one and not a bad watch.

3/5

The web of darkness

The Ides of March (2011)

Directed by George Clooney this film based on the play “Farragut North” stars Ryan Gosling, Clooney himself, Philip Symour Hoffman and Evan Rachel Wood. A 30 year old junior campaign manager working for a democrat primary candidate gets caught in the web of politics.

This is a good story about the dirty politics that goes on behind the screen of idealism as our protagonist has his belief in his candidate and the process broken. There is some cross over with Primary Colors (1998) here but this is an enjoyable film in it's own right. A great cast has been assembled here and they all give good performances, even those in smaller, supporting roles.

4/5

Robotic

RoboCop (2014)

Directed by Jose Padilha this reboot stars Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton and Abbie Cornish. In the near future a police officer dying after a bomb attack is used in an experiment to create the first cyborg police officer.

Unfortunately this remake ends up much like it's protagonist with it's personality turned down to almost non existent levels. Never getting to grips with the thematic or sci-fi content the script also fails to connect on an emotional level with the characters. There are plenty of nice set pieces and action but the film never threatens to build on all it's parts and become the film it should be.

3/5

Not so fruitful

Lemon (1969)

Directed by Hollis Frampton this is a short film which stars a lemon. A solitary lemon sits before the camera as a source of light slowly passes from one side to the next.

There is not a lot to this short film beyond being a demonstration of how lighting works. The images are pretty nice but a silent seven minute film is a bit much for this topic. Something a bit more would have been nice really.

2/5

Pitch harder

Pitch Perfect 2 (2015)

Directed by Elizabeth Banks this sequel stars Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow and Hailee Steinfeld. After suffering a wardrobe malfunction during a performance for the President of the USA our heroines have to redeem themselves by winning the world championships.

At times the plot of this film felt a little forced and heading towards over used plot points. Characters seem to get lost in the plot and some of the jokes rely too heavily on lazy stereotyping. The musical numbers are alright but there is too much of an air of phoning in this sequel and trying to hand the franchise off to the only new character added to the group.

3/5

Barely entertaining

Barely Lethal (2015)

Directed by Kyle Newman this film stars Hailee Steinfeld, Sophie Turner, Dove Cameron, Jessica Alba and Sameul L. Jackson. A 16 year old girl who has been raised as a super spy/assassin fakes her own death and runs away to try living a normal high school life.

This film is completely confused about it's audience as it oscillates between being attempting the humour of a high school film and the style of a pilot of Disney show in the vein of Hannah Montana or something similar. The script often seems to forget the protagonist has the skills of a super spy/assassin and encourages some of the worst of teenage behaviour. It is hard to find much to praise in this film but I guess the highlight for me was Steve-O having a cameo.

2/5

Speed and soul

Northern Soul (2014)

Written & directed by Elaine Constantine this film stars Josh Whitehouse, Elliot James Langridge, Antonia Thomas and Steve Coogan. In the North of England in the 1970s a young man develops an interest in American soul music and amphetamines.

While this film really captures a great level of energy during the musical sequences the script seems to lack some depth. There is no real exploration of the music that inspires the characters, the drug use or the racism of the period. In the end this is an enjoyable coming of age tale but it fails to be much more than that.

3/5

Burn, burn, burn, the house of fire.

 Fire! (1901)

Directed by James Williamson this is an early film with an unknown cast. With a building set ablaze firemen attempt to rescue the inhabitants.

The plot of this short film is very simple but for an early film has some nice action sequences. While it may seem a little rudimentary to modern viewers it is easy to imagine how this was ground breaking at the time. For the finale of the film a man jumping out of a window provides the highlight of the piece.

3/5  

The snake that eats it's own tail

Predestination (2014)

Directed by Michael & Peter Spierig this film based on the short story “All You Zombies” stars Ethan Hawke and Sarah Snook. A man working for the time police is on the trail of a terrorist bomber in the 1970s.

This is an interestingly constructed time travel film that manages to build up a central paradox without creating a mess. On the downside I am not sure the film goes far enough in exploring the ideas of identity, what would cause the creation of a paradox like this and the big reveal does tip it's hand a little early in my opinion. There is a lot to enjoy here and there are some good performances, especially from Sarah Snook.

4/5

Any other film please

Any Day (2015)

Written & directed by Rustam Branaman this film also known as “fighting demons” stars Sean Bean, Kate Walsh, Eva Longoria and Tom Arnold. Released from prison twelve years after killing a man in a drunken rage an ex-boxer tries to rebuild his life.

Featuring a highly contrived plot this film ham-fistedly rams home a beyond simplistic theistic message. I was really disappointed with nearly ever area of this film which comes off as a television special at best. The writing and direction lack any kind of subtlety and sadly some of the performances aren't great either.

1/5  

Don't dick around all summer

The Grasshopper and the Ant (1913)

Directed by Wladyslaw Starewicz this is an animated film based on one of Aesop's fables. During the summer the grasshopper has fun while the ant works but come winter the grasshopper is screwed.

This is a pretty simple tale as you would expect from one of Aesop's fables and the moral is easy to grasp. I found the story easy to follow and the animation pretty clear. Some of the image quality is not amazing but for a film this old that is not surprising.

3/5

Weak escapism

Escape Plan (2013)

Directed by Mijael Hafstrom this film stars Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Caviezel and Vinnie Jones. A prison security expert is sent to a top secret CIA prison to try and break out to check if it is secure but he has been set up so there is no safety net.

For a film that finally pairs Stallone and Arnie in the lead of a film this is a bit of a limp effort that just rumbles through the required beats. There is not much character depth or many moral dilemmas faced by our protagonist but the film does do just about enough to keep you entertained. Most of the action sequences are not bad but really this pairing deserved something better.

3/5

Silly seven

Furious 7 (2015)

Directed by James Wan this film stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez and Kurt Russell. Following on from the last film the brother of the last antagonist seeks revenge on our heroes.

Nearly all sense of reality and proportion are gone from the series by this point with ridiculous set piece action sequences being the name of the game now. The less thought about what happens on screen the better and the only part with an emotion to the film is the final 4^th wall breaking tribute to to the late Paul Walker from his cast mates. If you just want to see crazy action then this is not a bad film but it is getting to the point where it's impossible to take anything in this series serious now.

3/5

Building up Britain

Out of the Rubble (2016)

Directed by Penny Woolcock this documentary makes use of archive footage. From the bombed out landscapes of Britain at the end of WW2 to modern London we look at urban building in Britain.

In just 15 minutes this documentary manages to give a really good exploration of 50 years of urban planning. As with nearly every film class issues are a major focus of the film with race considered to an extent too. The archive footage is well selected and the film does a great job of covering so much in so little time.

4/5

Gone girl, gone shit

Return to Sender (2015)

Directed by Fouad Mikati this film stars Rosamund Pike, Nick Nolte and Shiloh Fernandez. After being raped in her own home a nurse starts visiting the man who attacker her in prison.

Inevitably this film is going to get some comparisons to Gone Girl (2014) due to having Pike in both and it could really do without those comparisons because this film is weak enough without being put up next to a good film. The plot is not great, a pretty poor treatment of the subject matter, that tries to take a Takashi Miike turn at the end that it does not pull off. It is hard to find much to praise here and I would advise just skipping this one as it deals with a serious subject matter badly.

2/5

Mall Cop Harder

Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 (2015)

Directed by Andy Fickman this film stars Kevin James, Neal McDonough, Raini Rodriguez and Daniella Alonso. Our hero heads to Las Vegas with his daughter for a convention while thieves plan to rob the hotel of it's art collection.

When it's at it's best this film is focused on Kevin James's physical comedy but there is not really enough of that to carry this film. The plot is forced to say the least and not all of the humour works. There is a fairly decent performance from Kevin James but otherwise this film is not much to write home about.

2/5

Trapped by events

Prisoners (2013)

Directed by Denis Villeneuve this film stars Hugh Jackman, Jack Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Maria Bello, Terrence Howard, Melissa Leo and Paul Dano. On Thanksgiving two young girls disappear and the father of one resolves to do anything necessary to find her.

For most of this film this is a really impressively taught thriller filled with dread and ominous foreboding of what is to come but the ending does stray a little into gimmicky serial killer territory. As an exploration of how far people will go and the darkness of the human soul the film works pretty well. There are some really good performances from all the lead cast and the direction holds an excellent atmosphere through out.

4/5

Not a game show

Blinkity Blank (1955)

Directed by Norman McLaren this animated short film has music from Maurice Blackman. Coloured dots on black film dance around in various shapes and figures.

Progressing from his earlier film Hen Hop (1942) this is a continuation of and improvement on the same style of animation. The images fit the music well and the pictures are fairly entertaining. Even if there is no real narrative this short is worth a watch.

3/5

Armless?

One-Armed Swordsman (1967)

Directed by Chang Cheh this film stars Jimmy Wang, Angela Pan and Lisa Chiao Chiao. A kung fu student is hated by his peers for being the son of a servant and loses his sword arm to his master's daugther when she has a fit of rage at being beaten in combat by him.

Slightly surprising is how this film takes a stance against the violent lifestyle as well as the cycle of honour and revenge which dominate the way of martial arts. Mostly this is an average martial arts film but the theme of the piece runs as a nice undercurrent. The acting is decent as are the fight sequences.

4/5

The promise of tomorrow

Tomorrowland (2015)

Directed by Bard Bird this film inspired by part of the Disney theme parks stars George Clooney, Britt Robertson, Raffey Cassidy and Hugh Laurie. The daughter of a NASA engineer is given a pin that shows the promise of a magical land known as Tomorrowland.

I found this film surprisingly enjoyable, while it's not perfect and the final act in particular has a bit of a wobble there is a lot to enjoy here. The plot looks at some of the ideas of how we think about the future affects us (although the ending is a little simplistic) and some of the character stories were especially well done. Probably the best part of the film is the performance by Rafffey Cassidy who really stands out, giving a great performance for her age.

4/5

Hot Fuzz 1903 style

A Daring Daylight Burglary (1903)

Directed by Frank Mottershaw this short film stars local actors and firefighters from Sheffield. A boy spots a man breaking into a house and runs off to get the police.

This is a simplistic chase film from the very early days of cinema. While there is not much depth or complexity to this film it does what it sets out to do keeping the viewer entertained. Some of the image quality may not be amazing but it is not surprising for the age of the film.

3/5

Going nowhere

Just Before I Go (2015)

Directed by Courtney Cox this film stars Seann William Scott, Olivia Thirlby, Garret Dillahunt, Kate Walsh and Kyle Gallner. After his wife leaves him for another man our protagonist returns home to settle some scores then top himself.

The tone of this film is all over the shop and it's actually hard to have any sympathy for the protagonist at all as at times he seems to be completely oblivious to his actions. About the only decent part of the script is the nephew struggling with his sexuality and that might have been a better focus instead. Some of the cast do their best but there are parts of the story that are left annoyingly unresolved as the story plods on to the next part.

2/5

non-thriller

The Boy Next Door (2015)

Directed by Rob Cohen this film stars Jennifer Lopez, Ryan Guzman, John Corbett and Kristin Chenoweth. A school teacher who is separated from her husband has a one night stand with the 19 year old living next door and things go wrong.

Being about as subtle as getting smashed in the head with the brick makes it hard to enjoy much in this film. Unfortunately the script is not great and is more a paint by numbers than exploring anything of interest. It also does not help that the so called “boy” is played by someone nearly 30 years old.

2/5

Seven shades of shit

Seventh Son (2014)

Directed by Sergei Bodrov this film based on the novel “The Spook's Apprentice” stars Jeff Bridges, Julianne Moore, Ben Barnes and Alicia Vikander. The last knight of an old order picks up a new apprentice after the death of his last one to help him defeat the evil witches.

For some reason Hollywood is pretty terrible at fantasy and this is another poor genre effort. The plot of this film is rushed, the characters not deep enough and really the script needed a major overhaul. There is a really good cast but they are largely wasted and Jeff Bridges appears to be doing a bad impression of his own performance in True Grit (2010).

2/5

Shaping up to not be much

Visual Variations on Noguchi (1945)

Directed by Marie Menken this short film explores the sculptures of Isamu Noguchi. We explore various strangely shaped sculptures with the accompaniment of jarring sounds and words.

Clearly this is an experimental film that will not be to the tastes of everyone. I found it very hard to pick anything out of the content beyond the superficial. Maybe genre fans will get more from this than I did but on it's on I found this one a bit impenetrable.

2/5