Soggy lemons, Tina

Cannon (1964)

Directed by Norman McLaren and Grant Munro this is an animated short film set to simple music. We see various animations of different types moving round to music.

This is a pretty simple animated film that fits in well with the many other experimental animated films Norman McLaren has been involved with. I found the film to be enjoyable but not very deep. The style is fairly whimsical but is at least entertaining.

3/5

Not a nuclear family

Grand Central (2013)

Directed by Rebecca Zlotowski this film stars Tahar Rahim, Lea Seydoux and Denis Menochet. A young Frenchman starts working in hazardous areas at a nuclear power plant and begins an affair with the woman of one of his co-workers.

Taking a fairly simple love triangle story at least the setting of nuclear power station workers is some what unique. While there is not a lot new or original to this film it is still a fairly decent watch. The cast give decent performances but largely the film is unremarkable.

3/5

Strange by name, strange by nature

Doctor Strange (2016)

Directed by Scott Derrickson this film based on the comic character of the same name stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Mads Mikkelsen and Tilda Swinton. An arrogant surgeon suffers terrible injuries to his hands and looks to Eastern spiritualism for a cure.

Visually this film is very good, it takes some of the visuals hinted at in Inception (2010) and uses the world of magic to expand them exponentially. On the downside is the plot which is a bit derivative and like a few of Marvel's recent efforts lacks heart. Also similar to other Marvel films we have a great actress in Rachel McAdams squandered in the role of love interest.

4/5

A boy and his elephant

Bout de Zan Steals an Elephant (1913)

 Directed by Louis Feuillade this film stars Rene Poyen, Jeanne Saint-Bonnet, Renee Carl, Juliette Malherbe and an elephant. A young boy meets an elephant, steals it and gets into various shenanigans with it.

 “Never work with children or animals” is the axiom ignored in both parts in this French short film. There are a few funny moments along the way but this is not the most laugh filled comedy you will ever see. Clearly the elephant is well trained and that makes the film work.

 3/5

Getting into your role

The Stanford Prison Experiment (2015)

Directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez this film based on real events stars Billy Crudup, Michael Angarano, Ezra Miller and Olivia Thirlby. At Stanford University a psychological study is set up to recreate the environment of a prison.

It seems this film sticks largely to events as they happened but does not necessarily put enough emphasis on the criticisms that the experiment has subsequently faced. While this is a well made dramatization I think I would rather have seen a documentary on the subject. There are decent performances and the film does a good job of showing how the researchers themselves became a part of the their own experiment.

3/5

The white stuff

The Connection (2014)

Directed by Cedric Jimenez this film based on real events stars Jean Dujardin, Gilles Lellouche, Celine Sallette and Melanie Doutey. In 1970s Marseille a new magistrate looks to take on organised crime shipping heroine through the city.

More an overview than an in depth study this slick look into to the world of crime is an interesting watch. It seems the film is mostly historically accurate and is entertaining through out. I enjoyed the visuals and the performances.

4/5

Gothic X-Men in 1943, kind of.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016)

Directed by Tim Burton this film based on the novel of the same name stars Asa Butterfield, Eva Green, Ella Purnell, Terence Stamp and Samuel L. Jackson. Following the death of his grandfather a teenage boy from the US travels to Wales to find the children's home his grandfather told him stories of.

Taking a lot of familiar genre elements the setting of this film does a great job of combining them in unique ways to create an interesting world. Unfortunately even at 2 hours the ending of the film feels rushed and seems to gloss over some important things. There is an impressive cast and Tim Burton is a safe pair of hands for this type of film but I think another 30 minutes might have really helped this film.

4/5

Bonding over the tramp

The Bond (1918)

Written & directed by star Charlie Chaplin this film also stars Edna Purviance, Albert Austin and Sydney Chaplin. A collection of sketches look at the different types of bonds between people and promotes the need for the public to buy war bonds.

This is a simple propaganda piece that has a couple of decent gags but is not exactly a highlight of the Chaplin filmography. I enjoyed this short but it's pretty simple and certainly hammers home it's message. A little more humour would have helped but compared to the more questionable propaganda films you can find this is not a bad watch.

3/5

Old time views, not so good.

The Extraordinary Waiter (1902)

Directed by Walter R. Booth this short is also known as “Diner and Waiter Comic”. A thuggish colonialist beats up a non-white waiter.

So this short is not exactly easy viewing for a modern audience due to it's subject matter and one of the actors being in blackface. You can read the film as frustrations at colonial policy but to be honest it just seems racist. It's not even that funny as the slapstick humour doesn't really fill out the film either.

2/5

Idiots attempt murder

Killer Joe (2011)

Directed by William Friedkin this film based on the play of the same name stars Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, Juno Temple, Gina Gershon and Thomas Haden Church. A redneck family from Texas hire a professional killer to get an insurance policy.

This is your typical idiots attempt crime farce that while entertaining is not overly funny. Given the cast there is plenty to keep your attention but not much to surprise you. I expected a little bit more from William Friedkin but this is ultimately a decent effort.

3/5

Scrabble is serious business

The Big Snit (1985)

Directed by Richard Condie this animated short was funded by the National Film Board of Canada. A married couple bicker and a nuclear war breaks out.

Not fully up to the level of other nuclear holocaust based animated film this is still a fairly decent watch. More a light hearted comedy than anything else there are a few decent chuckles. The animation style is decent enough but not great shakes either.

3/5

A cat and his addict

A Street Cat Named Bob (2016)

Directed by Roger Spottiswoode this film based on a true story stars Luke Treadaway, Ruta Gedmintas, Joanne Froggatt and Bob the cat. A homeless drug addict is adopted by a stray cat.

Taking a simplistic and feel good look at the world of drug addiction and homelessness this is not the deepest film you will ever see. Managing at least to stay clear of melodrama and over sentimentality this is not too bad of a watch. There are one or two suspect lines but otherwise the film is fairly well made.

3/5

A Copenhagen crime story

Nordvest (2013)

Directed by Michael Noer this film stars Gustav Dyekjaer Giese, Oscar Dyekjaer Gise, Roland Moller and Lene Maria Christensen. A young man from a poor estate in Copenhagen gets involved in crime to help support his family.

This is a fairly generic crime drama where our young protagonist has events inevitably spiral out of control. While there is not a lot new or original about this film it is decently made. The performances are good but not a huge amount stands out here.

3/5

A film about a woman reading a book

Nocturnal Animals (2016)

Directed by Tom Ford this film based on the novel “Tony and Susan” stars Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal. A gallery owner suffering from rich woman problems reads a novel by her ex-husband about a man whose wife and daughter are murdered.

Doing a surprisingly good job of adapting the novel to the screen this film appears to be fairly faith to it's source material. I though that the two narratives fit together well and did a good job of exploring both the relationship between the characters as well as gender roles. There are good performances from the leads as well as an excellent supporting cast.

4/5

A box office smash

A Railway Collision (1900)

Directed by Walter R. Booth this is an early short film. Two trains meet on the same piece of track leading to an inevitable collision.

With a very short run time there is not much to this film and it is the sort of thing you would find one hundred times over on Youtube these days. Highly successful in it's day this film is not overly impressive not. The model work is not bad but hardly remarkable.

3/5

Not your usual fungal infection

The Girl with All the Gifts (2016)

Directed by Colm McCarthy this film based on the novel of the same name stars Sennia Nanua, Gemma Arterton, Paddy Considine and Glenn Close. Following a fungus based zombie apocalypse at an army base in England experiments are run on children that are human-zombie hybrids.

In a crowded genre it is nice to see this film bringing something slightly different to the plate although it does explore the common sci-fi theme of generational conflict. I enjoyed the film and the story works well, teasing out a creepy scenario into something a bit deeper. There are decent performances from the cast and for the low budget the film looks really good.

4/5

Anything that can go wrong does go wrong

Europa Report (2013)

Directed by Sebastian Cordero this film stars Anamaria Marinca, Michael Nyqvist, Kraolina Wydra, Daniel Wu and Sharlto Copley. We watch recovered footage from a troubled mission to one of the moons of Jupiter.

As is often the case the use of found footage is pretty much a gimmick here and does not really add much to the film. The plot is a semi decent horror space film but it is short on both science and character development. This is an enjoyable but entirely disposable watch.

3/5

Not Genius

Frankie & Alice (2010)

Directed by Geoffrey Sax this film based on true events stars Halle Berry and Stellan Skarsgard. In 1973 a stripper in Los Angeles suffers from undiagnosed mental health problems.

There is scant information on this film so it is hard to say how close it sticks to the events it claims to be based on but what is for certain is that it completely ignores the controversial nature of multiple personality disorder in the psychiatric community. On the surface level this is not necessarily a bad story but it is certainly very conveniently worked out. Halle Berry does her best in the lead role but the climatic revelation scene with switching between personalities does not work very well.

2/5

Another Malick Mess

To the Wonder (2012)

Written & directed by Terrance Malick this film stars Ben Affleck, Olga Kurylenko, Rachel McAdams and Javier Bardem. An American man brings his Ukrainian lover and her daughter to live with him in the US.

Filled with lovely images and great shots this is a very slow journey through the relationship of two people with a priest's crisis of faith tacked on. Very much this is a film of ambience rather than detail which can be off putting as is the glacial pace. Some will love this film but for me it felt like it kept the viewer at arms length from it's characters too much.

3/5

Steve Carell wears a funny nose

Foxcatcher (2014)

Directed by Bennett Miller this film based on a true story stars Steve Carell, Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo. An eccentric multimillionaire recruits a down on his luck Olympic wrestler to start a wrestling team on his estate.

Looking at the world of a bizarre man and the relationship between two brothers this is a pretty interesting film that keeps you watching through out. While the film may fudge some facts it is still a fascinating watch due to the personalities involved. I am not sure the film ever really takes off but it is still a solid study of it's subject matter.

4/5

The upside down 1899 style

Upside Down; or, the Human Flies (1899)

Directed by Walter R. Booth this is an early film reputedly featuring the director himself in one of the roles. A group of people walk on the ceiling.

Essentially this film is just one simple camera trick and not much else. Given the time the film was made in it is hard to expect too much from it but compared to some of the other trick films of the era it is a bit empty. Still this is a watchable short if not overly remarkable.

3/5

Failure to ignite

Inferno (2016)

Directed by Ron Howard this film based on the novel of the same name stars Tom Hanks, Felicity Jones, Ben Foster and Omar Sy. Waking up with his memory gone Robert Langon follows another series of puzzles to try to save the world from a plague.

Mixing some interesting ideas about the future of humanity with religious and plague based end times iconography unfortunately this film falls well short. The plot does not entirely make sense and seems to have strayed from it's source material. Even Tom Hanks seems to be phoning in this third instalment in the franchise.

2/5

Right-ish

Mr. Right (2015)

Directed by Paco Cabezas this film stars Anna Kendrick, Sam Rockwell, Tim Roth and RZA. Having just caught her boyfriend cheating and split up with him a woman meets an eccentric hitman.

Neither the most intelligent or original romantic comedy thanks to the films leads this film has just enough personality to carry itself. Sam Rockwell in particular is well cast in his role and combined with Anna Kendrick there is a good screen pairing. While the script could have done with a couple more re-writes this is still a fairly decent effort.

3/5

Movement to music

Ballet Adagio (1972)

Directed by Norman McLaren this short film stars dancers Anna Marie Holmes and David Holmes. We see a couple dancing to Albinoni's Adagio as choreographed by Asaf Messerer.

Highly simple in it's conception this film does a great job of capturing the beauty of human movement. There is little camera work but that just highlights the dance rather than detracting from the film. As someone who knows nothing about dance or ballet in particular I found this a really enjoyable film.

4/5

An empty simulation

The Call Up (2016)

Written & directed by Charles Baker this film stars Max Deacon, Morfydd Clark and Ali Cook. A group of gamers are called up to beta test some new VR game but find the equipment gives them lethal feedback.

Pretty much lacking in all areas this film is based on a fairly weak script that has no personality, character development or much plot. It seems this film is a premise with the rest of the film being very much an after thought. I suppose for a low budget British film the effects are not bad but they are no where near impressive enough to carry this film.

2/5

What a waste

Morgan (2016)

Directed by Luke Scott this film stars Kate Mara, Anya Taylor-Joy, Rose Leslie, Toby Jones, Paul Giamatti, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Michelle Yeoh. Following a violent incident at a research facility a corporate risk assessor is sent to check on a team making a new artificial being.

Taking a good but familiar sci-fi premise this film roundly fails to do anything with it's potential instead preferring simple action and uninspired twist. Most disappointing is the stellar supporting cast largely relegated to the fringes of the film. There are a couple of really nice shots but they are the exception rather than the rule in this highly wasteful film.

3/5  

Shaking with rage

Bullhead (2011)

Directed by Michael R. Roskam this fim stars Matthias Schoenaerts, Jeroen Perceval and Jeanne Dandoy. A Belgian farmer struggles to hold his life together while illegally injecting family cattle when a reminder of the childhood trauma he suffered re-enters his life.

I really enjoyed this film, it does a great job of looking at masculinity and the pressures men suffer under. While meat farming is a slightly unusual setting for a crime story once the plot gets going things work well even if it takes a little while to figure out what is going on. The film is well made but Matthias Schoenaerts is the stand out performer in the lead role as the confused bag of raging testosterone.

4/5

With great power...

Artistic Creation (1901)

Directed by Walter R. Booth this is an early short film. We see an artist draw a woman who comes to life.

This is a simple combination of special effects that works pretty well given the age of the film but is hardly seamless. One of the earliest films on what would become a popular subject this is a decent watch. I am not sure there is much to the film beyond the surface level.

3/5

Norwegian raft lyfe

Kon-Tiki (2012)

Directed by Joachim Ronning & Espen Sandberg this film based on a true story stars Pal Sverre Valheim Hagen, Anders Baasmo Crhistiansen and Agnes Kittelsen. After living in Polynesia for several years a Norwegian man seeks to prove that South Americans discovered Polynesia.

It seems that this film is not totally historically accurate but does still show at least a some what interesting sea voyage. Changes to what really happened seem unnecessary and do not really add to the story. The film is well made and does a good job of capturing life at the mercy of the ocean.

3/5

How a franchise does fall

The Purge: Election Year (2016)

Written & directed by James DeMonaco this film stars Frank Grillo, Elizabeth Mitchell and Mykelti. On the night of the purge in an election year the protections against killing politicians are removed as one candidate campaigns to stop the purge.

In the West Wing television show one character posits “Everyone gets treated stupid in an election year”, this film leaves you thinking that everyone gets treated stupid by Election Year. The script is fairly weak, offering not much new to the franchise in terms of depth and has some suspect dialogue. Lurching from one action set piece to another there is not a lot holding this film together.

2/5