Government sponsored witches

I Am Not a Witch (2017)

Written & directed by Rungano Nyoni this film stars Maggie Mulubwa and Dyna Mufuni. An orphaned girl in Zambia is accused of being a witch.

This is a completely bizarre film but seemingly based in realistic treatment of supposed witches in some countries in Africa. At times the treatment of witches seems like a metaphor for the treatment of women in a patriarchal society. The clash of modern and ancient leaves you scratching your head.

4/5

I'd seen the sequel first

Tanu Weds Manu (2011)

Directed by Aanand L. Rai this film stars R. Madhavan, Kangana Ranaut and Jimmy Sheirgill. An Indian doctor that has been living in London returns to Delhi and falls in love with a feisty young woman that has no interest in marrying him.

For anyone that has seen at least a few Indian films there are a ton of familiar elements to the plot of this film. The plot works well enough but is nothing special really, this is not the best clash between traditional Indian values and modern views on love that you will find. Enjoyable enough but not worth seeking out.

3/5

Just standing and syncing

Felix Mayol Performs “White Lilacs” (1905)

Directed by Alice Guy-Blache this is an early short film staring Felix Mayol. Felix Mayol lip syncs to a recorded performance.

Another simple lip sync film from Alice Guy-Blache. The film consists of a single, unmoving shot and a star that does not move around the screen much. There is not a lot going on on the screen but this is still a decent example of lip syncing from an early period.

3/5

No heart, metal or otheriwse

Metal Heart (2018)

Directed by Hugh O'Conor this film stars Jordanne Jones, Leah McNamara, Aaron Heffernan and Sean Doyle. Two eighteen year old fraternal twin sisters are left alone for the summer by their parents.

Coming of age drama with nothing to bring to the party. The plot is obvious and pretty mind numbing in places. Unfortunately this is not the best Irish cinema has to offer.

2/5

Wrong focus

3 Generations (2015)

Directed by Gaby Dellal this film stars Elle Fanning, Naomi Watts and Susan Sarandon. After the 16 year old of the family comes out as a transman the older generations struggle to deal with change.

There is a line in the film where the protagonist says “stop making my problems your problems” which kind of sums up the film, I would much rather have seen more about the protagonist and less about the family. I suppose this is not a bad watch but it totally missed the more relevant parts in my opinion. A talented cast but a better script is needed.

3/5

Lost love

Kapurush (1965)

Written & directed by Satyajit Ray this film based on “Janaiko Kapuruser Kahini” stars Soumitra Chatterjee, Madhabi Mukherjee and Haradhan Bandopadhyay. A writer stranded on his journey finds the man he is invited to stay with is married to his long lost love.

Short and simple this film still manages to pack a good punch into simple proceedings. The plot is a classic tale of love and regret that does not over do the sentimentality. I really liked the ending which could be straight out of The Third Man (1949).

4/5

Dance, dance no revolution

Saharet Performs the Bolero (1905)

Directed by Alice Guy-Blache this is an early short film. We see several people perform a dance.

With some nice costumes and set dressing this is a pretty well staged dance piece with colour tinting that really brings the images alive. In terms of being ground breaking cinema there might not be a huge amount going on but this is still a decent watch. As with many of Guy-Blache's films of the period this is just a single, unmoving shot.

3/5

Not quite Marvellous

Captain Marvel (2019)

Directed by Anna Boden & Ryan Gleck this film stars Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn and Jude Law. Struggling with memories she can not reconcile a Kree warrior becomes stranded on Earth and tries to stop a Skrull infiltration.

Adding another solid entry to the MCU this is a good comic book adaptation that contains a lot of elements that should be familiar to comic book fans. The character journey for our protagonist is decent but maybe not the best Marvel has done. I would not say this is the best superhero movie by any stretch of the imagination but it is worth a watch.

3/5

Happy again?

Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi (2018)

Written & directed by Mudassar Aziz this sequel stars Sonakshi Sinha, Jimmy Sheirgill, Jassi Gill and Piyush Mishra. An Indian professor of horticulture travels to China where is is mistaken for another woman of the same name and kidnapped.

This sequel takes the unusual choice of bringing in new main characters and focusing on supporting characters from the original film. There are plenty of crazy events to keep you entertained but not a lot of depth. It also seems the film has a few lines that are not exactly politically correct.

3/5

A simple dance

The Malaguena and the Bullfighter (1905)

Directed by Alice Guy-Blache this is an early short film. We see a woman and a bullfighter dance in front of a building.

There is some nice hand painted colour tinting on this film but otherwise there is not a lot to remark on. This is just a single static shot of two people dancing. The costumes and backdrop are nice but the dance is nothing special.

3/5

Kidding

The Kid (2019)

Directed by Vincent D'Onofrio this film stars Ethan Hawke, Dane DeHaan, Jake Schur and Chris Pratt. After shooting his father for beating his mother to death a boy and his sister go on the run, meeting Billy the Kid.

Co-opting the story of Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett as the back drop for a coming of age story this is a pretty average western. There is nothing really wrong with this film but it trots out too many familiar elements to be that interesting. Too few westerns get made these days but this film will do nothing to bring back the genre.

3/5

Doesn't melt your heart

Ashes in the Snow (2018)

Directed by Marius A. Markevicius this film based on the novel “Between Shades of Gray” stars Bel Powley, Jonah Hauer-King and Lisa Loven Kongsil. In 1941 a teenage girl and her family are sent to a Siberian gulag.

Hitting all the beats you would expect from this grim coming of age story this film some how never connects emotionally. Maybe a little on the short side I am not sure this film adds much new. Decently made and with some nice scenery but a bit forgettable.

3/5

Eastwood is really old now

The Mule (2018)

Directed by star Clint Eastwood this film inspired by real events also features Bradley Cooper, Michael Pena, Laurence Fishburne and Dianne Wiest. An old man seeking to make extra money becomes a drugs mule for a Mexican cartel.

As with any Clint Eastwood film there is a level of polish to the execution of this film but it lacks some depth. The plot is not exactly true to the real events but is still something of an interesting story. In the end this is a fairly middle of the road effort.

3/5

Qui-gon Jinn's dating advise

The Hierarchies of Love (1906)

Directed by Alice Guy-Blache this is an early short film. A pretty maid walking in the park is escorted by a a series of military men of increasing rank.

Essentially “there is always a bigger fish” getting played out in a French park. What we have here is a series of static shots linked together. The plot is easy enough to follow and the joke simple to understand.

3/5

It is art damn it

Nude (2018)

Directed by Ravi Jadhav this film stars Kalyanee Mulay, Chhaya Kadam and Madan Deodhar. After leaving her abusive husband a woman moves to Mumbai and gets a job as a nude model to pay for her son's education.

Taking a look at society's view on nudity and the relationship of nudity to art this is a pretty thought provoking film. The plot is well constructed and never becomes exploitative or obsessed with showing off the female form. Some of the slow shots of the art sequences have an impressive tactile feel to them.

4/5

Truth above all

Satyakam (1969)

Directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee this film based on the novel of the same name stars Dharmendra, Sharmila Tagore and Sanjeev Kumar. Against the backdrop of Indian independence a man who values truth above all struggles to find his place in society.

A little on the long side this is still a fascinating look at Indian disappointment at the failure to deliver on the promises of independence. There are times when the film shows it's age and lower budget but the plot holds up well. With good performances this film really leaves you with something to think about.

4/5

Static singer

Dranem Performs “Five O'Clock Tea” (1905)

Directed by Alice Guy-Blache this film stars Charles Armand Menard dit Dranem. A man on stage sings a song.

Another early lip sync video that does not have a huge amount to the performance. The actor does not move around much, neither does the camera. Certainly some skill in getting the lip syncing right.

3/5

Yet more Shane

Galveston (2018)

Directed by Melanie Laurent this film based on the novel of the same name stars Ben Foster and Elle Fanning. A hit man discovers he has lung cancer then runs off with an escort when set to be murdered up by his boss.

Another entry for my everything is Shane (1953) theory but this story provides a nice little turn on the ending. This may not be as action packed or as fast paced as everyone would like but I really enjoyed this film. Well worth a watch and no surprise the original novel was written by Nic Pizzolatto.

3/5

All the change at once

Venus (2017)

Written & directed by Eisha Marjara this film stars Debargo Sanyal, Jamie Mayers, Zena Darawalla and Pierre-Yves Cardinal. A Canadian transwoman of Indian decent is just starting to come out of the closet as she finds out she has a son she never knew about.

Coming with an interesting premise this film unfortunately only ever scratches the surface of it's subject matter. I would have liked something a bit deeper and hard hitting than the light comedy toe the film has. There are some good performances but the script lacks the weight to have the performances be really great.

3/5

A fantastic triangle

Manmarziyaan (2018)

Directed by Anurag Kashyap this film stars Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal and Abhishek Bachchan. A young woman becomes frustrated with her secret boyfriends unwillingness to propose so agrees to an arranged marriage.

It is rare that a film makes a love triangle work but this film does it excellently, really making you care for the characters and some how gives everyone a decent ending without taking an easy way out. I really enjoyed this film and it would be easy for all the things it does so well to go unnoticed as it avoids the multitude of pitfalls similar films fall into. There are some really good performances from the cast and decent musical interludes.

4/5

Not exactly the Keystone

The O'Mers in “The Bircklayer”

Directed by Alice Guy-Blache this is a short comedy film. Bricklayers are interrupted by the police and chaos ensues.

Essentially this is a simple slapstick comedy with not much to the plot. There are plenty of physical comedy gags littered through out the film. The film is composed of just a single static shot but is still a fun watch.

3/5

Scrambled

303 Squadron (2018)

Directed by Wieslaw Saniewski and Denis Delic this film based on real events stars Maciej Zakoscielny, Piotr Adamczyk and Krzysztof Kwiatkowski. During the Battle of Britain fighter pilots from Poland join the RAF.

Unfortunately this is not the film that the Polish pilots depicted deserve. The script is flimsy at best, with some parts that make no sense and I doubt is very accurate. When it comes to the action sequences clearly this film was made on a low budget and you can even spot the bits that are cut from Battle of Britain (1969).

1/5

Needs a pair of scissors

Nachom-ia Kumpasar (2014)

Directed by Bardroy Barretto this film inspired by real events stars Vijay Maurya and Palomi Ghosh. In 1960s Goa a young woman joins a jazz band and falls in love with the trumpet player.

You could easily cut 30 minutes to an hour out of this film without losing much, the plot heavily focuses on the love story that is not that original. I would really like to have seen more of how the Goan musical culture interacted with Indian cinema rather than the central story. For all the plaudits this film seems to have I found it to be a rather weak effort.

2/5

Syncing 1905 style

Felix Mayol Performs “The Trottins' Polka” (1905)

Directed by Alice Guy-Blache this film stars Felix Mayol. A man lip syncs to a performance of a song.

Very simple in terms of content, this is just another film of a stage act. Just a single shot but getting the lip syncing right is never easy. Decently made but not overly remarkable.

3/5

A familiar problem

The Cleaning Lady (2018)

Directed by Jon Knautz this film stars Alexis Kendra, Rachel Alig and Stelio Savante. A woman having an affair with a married man tries to distract herself by befriending her cleaning lady who is disfigured by facial burns.

Familiar horror genre stuff here that goes down the disappointing route of once again using someone who looks different to be bad. This film was based on a short film by the director and it does not completely stretch out to fill a feature length that well. I would not really recommend this one.

2/5

Not what was promised

Anna and the Apocalypse (2017)

Directed by John McPhail this film stars Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming Marli Siu and Sarah Swire. In small Scottish town teenagers in their final year of school find out the zombie apocalypse is here.

Billed as Shaun of the Dead inspired this is more High School musical and frankly a disappointment. Both the plot and the musical numbers are very bland, there is really nothing too original here. At times it feels like the musical numbers are just included to pad out the film and make up for the lack of plot.

2/5

Left me standoffish

The Standoff at Sparrow Creek (2018)

Written & directed by Henry Dunham this film stars James Badge Dale, Brian Geraghty and Patrick Fischler. Texans in a militia believe one of their number is responsible for a mass murder at a police funeral and try to find the culprit.

There is clearly skill in the dialogue and the tense set up of this film but I am really not sure what the plot is ultimately trying to say. In the end I felt a little bit uncomfortable that the same type of yahoos that are depicted in this film might find the plot supporting their anti police sentiment. I will be interested to see what Dunham makes next but this film is not without a major misstep in my opinion.

2/5

Another dance

The Tango (1905)

Directed by Alice Guy-Blache this is an early short film. A woman dances a tango on stage.

There is not much to this short but it does have colour tinting to it which is nice. It is hard to find much to say about a single shot of a woman dancing on the stage but for what it is this is a decent film. Not really much to write home about otherwise.

2/5

Independence vs tradition

Veere Di Wedding (2018)

Directed by Shashanka Ghosh this film stars Kareena Kapoor Khan, Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania. Ten years after high school four friends reunited for a wedding.

Covering the familiar subject of traditional Indian values butting up against modern women's desires for an independent life there is not a lot new to the set up. There are some elements where the film pushes boundaries in talking about female sexuality but the plot still hits the same romantic comedy notes. Decently made but probably not one worth seeking out.

3/5

Yesterday's tomorrow

The House of Tomorrow (2017)

Directed by Peter Livolsi this film based on the novel of the same name stars Asa Butterfield, Alex Wolff, Nick Offerman and Ellen Burstyn. A teenager living an isolated life with his grandmother, who is obsessed with Buckminster Fuller, makes a new friend.

Covering familiar coming of age ground this is a solid entry into the genre. There is not a ton of original stuff here but some decent performances from the young cast carry the film. Punk music and futurism might be odd bedfellows but end up going together well.

3/5