Paris, le Pont-Neuf (1897)
Directed by Louis Lumiere this is an early short film. People walk past a statue in Paris.
This is one of the less busy street scenes from the Lumiere catalogue, not a huge amount going on here. Pretty par for the course as the genre goes. I would have liked to have seen a stand out element but otherwise this is fine.
3/5
Bal d'enfants (1896)
Directed by Louis Lumiere this is an early short film. Ten young girls dance in pairs.
For what it is this is a pretty decent short. There is plenty of action in the shot and the dancing well coordinated. A fun little piece of history.
3/5
Chamonix: Le mauvais pas (1901)
Directed by Auguste and Louis Lumiere this is an early short film. A group of people walk in the mountains.
To modern eyes everyone looks frightfully over dressed for hiking in the mountains. This is a pretty simple short with not a lot to it. We do get action in both the background and then the foreground which does at least show some use of depth which is nice.
3/5
Petit Frere et petite soeur (1897)
Directed by Louis Lumiere this short film stars Marcel and Madeleine Koehler. Two children dance on a sunny day.
Very simple and very human there is not much to this short. We see a very familiar moment of two children playing that ends rather predictably. A nice universal moment.
3/5
Nice, panorama du casino pris d'un bateau (1897)
Directed by Auguste and Louis Lumiere this is an early short film. We see a view of Nice from aboard a boat.
Given the camera is on a boat this is not the steadiest shot in history. As coastlines go I suppose you could say this is a nice one. An average panorama for the period.
3/5
The Reef: Stalked (2022)
Written & directed by Andrew Traucki this spiritual sequel stars Teressa Liane, Ann Truong, Saskia Archer and Kate Lister. Four friends go kayaking in the sea and get stalked by a shark.
Do not expect anything imaginative here, this is your standard low budget shark film. Even the special effects are on the suspect side. There is barely enough plot to fill the run time of this one.
1/5
Two of Us (2019)
Directed by Filippo Meneghetti this film stars Barbara Sukowa and Martine Chevallier. Two older women in a secret relationship find their lives kept apart when one has a stroke.
I love the heart breaking nature of this film, it is the kind of film where you can really wallow in the sadness on show. Never melodramatic this is a touching look at the lives of two people that have had to live in secret for so long. Highly recommend, so well made and acted.
4/5
Lyon: debarquement d'une mouche (1896)
Directed by Auguste & Louis Lumiere this is an early short film. People get off a ship that has come in to port in Lyon.
A parade of passengers pass the camera in this film that runs for just under a minute. Dare I say this one is a bit pedestrian. There is some action from the people passing but this is not the most remarkable Lumiere short.
3/5
Entree d'une noce a l'eglise (1897)
Directed by Auguste & Louis Lumiere this is an early short film. A bride and her father enter a church.
Very simple in terms of content there is not a huge amount to this short. There is some charm to the familiar wedding scene. Pretty average for a film of the period.
3/5
The Eagle Has Landed (1976)
Directed by John Sturges this film based on the novel of the same name stars Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland and Robert Duvall. With WW2 going against them Germans plan to kidnap Churchill.
It has been years since I had seen this one and on rewatching it has lost a little now I am older. The film does not manage to capture the nuances of the character motivations as well as it could, especially when it comes to the “honourable” Germans which is a little uncomfortable. I also think the romance side plot comes off as completely unbelievable. There is definitely something to enjoy in the opening planning sections of the film it just goes off the rails in the final part and loses sight of realism.
3/5
Aisha (2022)
Written & directed by Frank Berry this film stars Letitia Wright and Josh O'Connor. A young woman seeking asylum in Ireland is befriended by a guard at the hostel she lives in.
I really enjoy this look at a life caught in limbo, the film captures what it is like to be trapped in the asylum system. This is a very grounded film that never gets melodramatic despite the emotional subject matter. A really fantastic film on a controversial subject.
4/5
The Phantom of the Open (2021)
Directed by Craig Roberts this film inspired by real events stars Mark Rylance, Sally Hawkins and Rhys Ifans. A man with no golf experience enters the British Open.
This film has all the hallmarks of a certain type of British cinema, based on a true story, feel good and obsession with class. Maurice Flitcroft is an interesting subject for a film however I think the film makers were too interested in shoe horning in the familiar genre staples to actually take a good look at the man. Of major disappointment is Sally Hawkins being relegated to a meek side role yet again when we know she is such an amazing actress.
2/5
9 Bullets (2022)
Written & directed by Gigi Gaston this film stars Lena Headey, Dean Scott Vazquez and Sam Worthington. A burlesque dancer aspiring to be an author tries to protect a boy whose family have been murdered for stealing from a crime boss.
Nothing is good here. The writing is pretty terrible and everything lives or dies on that. Even the most ardent of Lena Headey fans will want to give this one a miss.
1/5
Ambulance (2022)
Directed by Michael Bay this film based on the Danish film of the same name stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Eiza Gonzalez. Two men trying to escape a bank robbery hijack an ambulance with two hostages.
All round disappointing this is one of Michael Bay's weaker efforts. The direction and the editing make it hard to catch dialogue and enjoy the action. What plot there is is pretty stupid in various places as well.
1/5
Berlin: Panoptikum (1896)
Directed by Auguste & Louis Lumiere this is an early short film. We see a street scene from Berlin.
Most of the action takes place in the middle ground making it slightly harder to pick things out than some of the other Lumiere street scenes. There is a decent amount of hustle and bustle going on in shot. An average genre film, not my favourite.
3/5
La Canebiere (1896)
Directed by Auguste & Louis Lumiere this is an early short film. We see a street scene from an intersection in Marseille.
There is plenty going on in this short film as both pedestrians and traffic pass by. A slice of every day life captured on film. Entertaining if a bit mundane in subject matter.
3/5
Peche aux sardines (1896)
Directed by Louis Lumiere this is an early short film. We see fishermen sorting out the catch from their nets.
Very simple in terms of content an execution there is not a huge amount to this short. While the film definitely captures a moment in time it is not exactly a universal one. An okay watch even if not my favourite of the period.
3/5
Poker Face (2022)
Written & directed by star Russell Crowe this film also features Liam Hemsworth, RZA and Elsa Patasky. A rich man with a terminal illness gathers his old school friends together for poker night.
Somewhere underneath it all there is a great film in here trying to get out, unfortunately rather than focus on the pot boiler human drama the film is too interested in flash action moments. It is a real shame Crowe took the easy path with this one. About the only highlight for me was seeing Brooke Satchwell in something for the first time in decades.
2/5
The Man Standing Next (2020)
Directed by Woo Min-ho this film based on real events stars Lee Sung-min, Lee Byung-hun and Kwak Do-won. We follow the final days of the leadership of a dictator in 1970s South Korea.
Clearly we are dealing with controversial subject matter here and I am not sure that the film makes clear the ambiguity in the actions of some of the characters. No doubt this is a gripping watch and a good look at political corruption but I have no idea how historically accurate it is. A good watch if you are not bothered about accuracy.
3/5
Monday (2020)
Directed by Argyris Papadimitropoulos this film stars Sebastian Stan and Denise Gough. Two Americans living in Greece have a one night stand that becomes a relationship.
I suppose you could consider this film something adjacent to the Before trilogy but slightly more messed up. The two protagonists are completely flawed and watching the car crash is part of the draw here. Does not quite live up to the promise of the premise.
3/5
Douche apres le bain (1897)
Directed by Auguste & Louis Lumiere this is an early short film. Four young people throw buckets of water over each other.
No doubt those involved are having fun, there is a decent amount of action on the screen. It is a little hard to make out what is going on as the image quality of this one does not seem to be the best. A human moment if not an overly remarkable one.
3/5
Pont de Westminster (1896)
Directed by Auguste & Louis Lumiere this is an early short film. A shot of Westminster Bridge shows people going about their daily lives.
I like the way this short captures both an iconic location and the mundane life of people who live in the city. One or two people break the 4th wall by looking at the camera however most are unaware of it. A fascinating snapshot of a point in history.
3/5
WarGames (1983)
Directed by John Badham this film stars Matthew Broderick, Ally Sheedy, Dabney Coleman and John Wood. A highschool hacker accidentally ends up playing out a nuclear war with a government computer.
When you scrape all the 80s cheese off this film it actually has something to say about nuclear war and MAD. Unfortunately the film is fairly dated and lacking a little bit in subtlety. A fun watch despite the flaws.
3/5
Depart de cyclistes (1896)
Directed by Louis Lumiere this is an early short film. A number of cyclists whiz past the camera at the start of a race.
To be honest it is hard to tell this is the start of the race, it could be any point from the middle of one. There is a decent amount of action on screen so this is a fairly entertaining short. Seems to survive in decent image quality.
3/5
Retour d'une promenade en mer (1896)
Directed by Augute & Louis Lumiere this is an early short film. A small boat returns to harbour and people climb ashore.
Very simple in terms of content this is a decent watch for a film of the period. There is plenty going on in the frame, more than enough to keep your attention. Seems to have survived in good image quality too.
3/5
Morbius (2022)
Directed by Daniel Espinosa this film based on the character of the same name stars Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona and Jared Harris. A successful doctor with a rare genetic problem searches for a cure.
Largest of all the problems with this film is it just never makes me care at all. I have read a fair amount of Marvel and Morbius is not a character I am familiar with so goodness knows what the general public was thinking coming into this one. Not a “bad” film, just a terribly uninteresting one.
2/5
Spanish Bullfight (1900)
Directed by Louis Lumiere this is an early short film. We see a portion of a bullfight.
I am not one who is much for bullfights and there is not really a lot of action captured here. There is nothing overly dramatic in the less than one minute run time. Everything seems a bit sedate compared to what you are expecting.
2/5
The Immaculate Room (2022)
Written & directed by Mukunda Michael Dewil this film stars Emile Hirsch, Kate Bosworth and Ashley Greene Khoury. A couple agree to spend 50 days in an empty room in an attempt to win $5million.
I think the major issue with this film is that it does not do enough to foreshadow the cracks that will inevitably build between the characters in this set up. There is something to the premise and with some tweaking I think this could be a real pressure cooker of a film however it falls a bit flat here. The attempt to play at a coy ending is also a bit annoying in my opinion.
2/5
Radeau avec baigneurs (1896)
Directed by Louis Lumiere this is an early short film. People jump off a raft into the sea.
There is not much more to this than the synopsis. It is a fairly entertaining short even if there is not a lot of variety to the action. The image quality of the version I saw was not the best.
3/5
Red Rocket (2021)
Directed by Sean Baker this film stars Simon Rex, Bree Elrod and Suzanna Son. A male porn star returns to his small home town in Texas after falling out of interest in the porn industry.
There is always something appealing about watching a character sink lower and lower through their own actions and this film certainly has that. The creepy relationship between the protagonist and a 17 year old girl says more about the porn industry than you would think. Definitely a thought provoking and subtly creepy film.
4/5
