Past eyes on the present

 

Where is Anne Frank? (2021)

Written & directed by Ari Folman this film has voices from Emily Carey and Ruby Stokes. Anne Frank's imaginary friend Kitty comes to life and tries to make sense of the modern world.

It would have been very easy for this to be a tasteless film, the subject matter is delicate and fairly well handled. The film does a mostly good job of not getting too melodramatic although it aimed a younger viewers. A decent look at the modern world through the eyes of the past.

3/5

Not the master

 

The Invitation (2022)

Directed by Jessica M. Thompson this film stars Nathalie Emmanuel and Thomas Doherty. A young woman finds out she has family in England and gets invited to a wedding at a stately home.

Being heavily inspired by Dracula means this film is just a bit too familiar the whole way through. It is just too obvious where things are going the whole time. Some of the fire special effects at the end also look a bit cheap which undermines things.

2/5

A long title for a short film

 

Paris, cortege du boeuf gras (char du prince du carnaval) (1897)

Directed by Auguste & Louis Lumiere this is an early short film. We see a float go past in a procession.

The subject of the film is a truly horrifying float which would no doubt make the basis of a good horror movie. Fascinating to see what people made in the past. The last part of the film is a bit of a let down in comparison to the first part.

3/5

President Cena?

 

The Independent (2022)

Directed by Amy Rice this film stars Jodie Turner-Smith, Brian Cox and John Cena. Reporters investigate embezzlement in an up coming presidential election.

Clearly this film wants to be All the Presidents Men or Primary Colors, it falls far short of both. Unfortunately the plot relies on contrivances far too often to get even close to being gripping. I found it pretty hard to take John Cena as a presidential candidate which did not help matters.

2/5

Web of confusion

 

The Girl and the Spider (2021)

Written & directed by Ramon & Silvan Zurcher this film stars Henriette Confurius and Liliane Amuat. A young woman moves flats, helped by her friends and family.

I'll be honest, whatever you are supposed to get from this film I think I missed it. There is some weirdness that never hits or gets explained in a way I understood. File this one under bit of a disappointment.

2/5

Coarse

 

99eme regiment d'infanterie: assuat du portique (1897)

Directed by Auguste & Louis Lumiere this is an early short film. We see soldiers put through their paces with some exercises.

Not great image quality on the version of this that I saw. The shots are static and from a distance so it is hard to pick out details of any of the individuals. Not that great really.

2/5

A B-movie with a D grade

 

Day of the Evil Gun (1968)

Directed by Jerry Thorpe this film stars Glenn Ford and Arthur Kennedy. Two men go in search of a woman and her children that have been kidnapped.

Trotting out a lot of the usual uncomfortable stereotypes about Native Americans this is not a great western. About the only interesting thing here is seeing Harry Dean Stanton pop up in a small part. A very generic b-movie western.

2/5

Of cabbages and robots

 

Brian and Charles (2022)

Directed by Jim Archer this film stars David Earl, Chris Hayward and Louise Brealey. A lonely inventor in Wales builds a robot.

Funny without ever being crass this is a gentle look at an odd man raising a robot. While this might not be the deepest film in history it is pretty entertaining. There is a lot to enjoy here, including the performances.

4/5

Another rich womaniser

 

Lamborghini: The Man Behind the Legend (2022)

Written & directed by Robert Moresco this film based on real events stars Frank Grillo, Gabriel Byrne and Mira Sorvino. We follow the career of Ferruccio Lamborghini from tractor maker to super car maker.

I found this biopic to be pretty lacking, it never really gets to grips with its subject matter and I'm not sure it ever could in only a 90 minute run time. There are some moments where things get overly melodramatic too. Poor execution on an interesting subject matter.

2/5

Children's dance

 

Concours de bebes (1896)

Directed by Auguste & Louis Lumiere this is an early short film. A crowd of small children dance.

There is not a huge amount to this short, it is more kids milling about than actually dancing. The children in the film are a bit young really for dancing. Not the most thrilling of the early Lumiere catalogue.

2/5

Bullet train-ing day

 

Bullet Train (2022)

Directed by David Leitch this film stars Brad Pitt, Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji and Hiroyuki Sanada. Criminals on a high speed train fight over a case of money.

Mostly this film is just fun, the action is decent but it is the personality which holds this one together. I suspect some of the source material might have been lost in making this a more fun film, the talk of fate and luck is kind of an after thought. Very enjoyable, not sure if it will stand the test of time.

4/5

Nightmare fuel

 

Hereditary (2018)

Written & directed by Ari Aster this film stars Toni Collette, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro and Gabriel Byrne. A family suffers two tragedies and finds itself caught in a nightmare.

It is great to Gabriel Byrne getting good work again, I have always been a fan of his and he has been in too little recently. This film nicely goes from domestic tragedy to full on horror, switching through the gears seamlessly. A really dark and enjoyable film.

4/5

No triumph in sight

 

Arc de Triomphe (1896)

Directed by Auguste & Louis Lumiere this is an early short film. We see the street leading up to the Arc de Triomphe.

While the foreground action in this film is pretty good the actual subject of the film in the distance is nearly impossible to make out. The white of the sky and the monument are basically the same making them indistinguishable. Would be a better short with a different title in my opinion.

2/5

A lesson from Helen Mirren

 

Teaching Mrs. Tingle (1999)

Written & directed by Kevin Williamson this film stars Helen Mirren, Katie Holmes, Barry Watson and Marisa Coughlan. Three high school students hold hostage a bully teacher.

Helen Mirren does her very best to carry this film but does not have much to work with. The script never manages to give us a coherent whole despite some funny moments. Heavy handed use of music does not help matters either.

2/5

Dying in paradise

 

Paradise City (2022)

Directed by Chuck Russell this film stars John Travolta, Bruce Willis, Stephen Dorff, Blake Jenner and Praya Lundberg. A man heads to Hawaii to investigate the death of his bounty hunter father.

There was a time when a Travolta – Willis team up in an action movie would have been mega hype, here it is just sad. This film continues the path of Willis's condition advancing on screen which is sad to see. A disappointing cash in with little effort involved, there are some moments around the native culture of Hawaii that feel exploitative as well.

1/5

Death of history

 

Death Hunt (1981)

Directed by Peter Hunt this film inspired by real events stars Charles Bronson, Lee Marvin, Carl Weathers and Angie Dickinson. In the 1930s a group hunt a man dubbed “the mad trapped” in the Yukon territory.

Not much of the plot comes from historical events, some of the more outlandish moments do but little of the story does. I was pretty hyped to see Marvin and Bronson face off however they actually do very little of it in the film. Somewhat of a disappointment even knowing it was a border line exploitation film.

2/5

Family meal time

 

Repas en famille (1896)

Directed by Auguste & Louis Lumiere this short film stars the Koehler family. Parents and their two children eat at a table outside.

Not a huge amount to this film which would be considered a home video in recent times. There is not a lot of action here even for the period. Certainly a nice family moment for those involved, not that resonant for the rest of us.

2/5

They didn't spend 52 years on the script

 

The Railway Children Return (2022)

Directed by Morgan Matthews this sequel stars Sheridan Smith, Jenny Agutter, Tom Courtenay and some kids. Children from Manchester are evacuated in the countryside in 1944.

I am not sure I have ever seen all of the original Railway Children film so this is not a sequel I spent 52 years waiting for like some have. The plot of this film is predictable, gentle and really lacking in drama. There are even a few inaccuracies that I managed to spot.

2/5

Broken Brokers

 

Body Brokers (2021)

Written & directed by John Swab this film stars Jack Kilmer, Michael Kenneth Williams and Jessica Rothe. A heroin addict goes to treatment in LA and gets a job finding new patients for the industry.

No doubt there are questions to be asked about the darker side of the treatment industry however I am not sure this film does a great job of it. The film rather breezes through the protagonists own addiction and ends up recommending the free 12 step treatment at the end which has its own issues. Not a deep enough handling of the subject matter in my opinion.

2/5

Cruel

 

Spain: Bullfighting (1897)

Directed by Auguste & Louis Lumiere this is an early short film. We see some bullfighting.

Bullfighting is not my idea of fun, in fact it comes across as cruel and unnecessary in my mind. As early films go the framing and level of action are fine, it is just the subject matter that is distasteful. Not one for me.

2/5

Is that you Bergman?

 

Marriage Story (2019)

Written & directed by Noah Baumbach this film stars Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver. An actress and her theatre director husband get a divorce.

You can see the finger prints of Bergman all over this film, Baumbach really steals from the great with this one. I enjoyed the plot, it is a very grounded look at divorce and pretty relatable even if the characters are living a life above that which most can afford. Great performances hold the piece together.

5/5

Not peak performance

 

Savage (2018)

Directed by Siwei Cui this film stars Chang Chen, Ni Ni, Liao Fan and Haung Jue. On an isolated mountain in snowy conditions a police officer hunts down the criminals that killed his partner.

This is a basic crime drama in a remote location. There is some nice scenery but that is not really enough to carry this average plot. Nothing really stands out here about this one.

3/5

Bottom Gun

 

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Directed by Joseph Kosinski this film stars Tom Cruise, Miles Teller and Jennifer Connelly. Running out of chances Maverick gets one last job in the navy, to train a group of pilots for a deadly mission.

The original Top Gun was one of the definitive pieces of 80s cheesy propaganda yet I still love it thanks to the careful guiding hand of Tony Scott which is sorely missing here. This is a paint by numbers effort that tries to get by on nostalgia alone. I could just about stomach it till we get to the silly ending which goes beyond even the generous stretching of believability I was willing to give this film.

2/5

The first viral cat video?

 

Repas des chats (1896)

Directed by Auguste & Louis Lumiere this is an early short film. Three cats jump trying to get food.

If you want to see the great grandfather of all those viral cat videos this is probably it. There is not a huge amount to this one, a simple home video of some cats. Not really remarkable.

2/5

Not worth stewing over

 

Father Stu (2022)

Written & directed by Rosalind Ross this film based on a true story stars Mark Wahlberg, Jacki Weaver and Mel Gibson. A man retires from boxing, chases a Catholic girl and decides to become a priest.

I am never a fan of films with an overt religious agenda and this one is not the worst offender in the category but still qualifies. Just a bit too one note in it is agenda really. It also raises the eye brow slightly to see some of the cast in a film about redemption given what they did in the past themselves, makes the whole thing feel like a vanity exercise.

2/5

More like bronze than gold

 

Big Gold Brick (2022)

Written & directed by Brian Petsos this film stars Emory Cohen, Andy Garcia, Megan Fox and Lucy Hale. A failed writer agrees to write a biography for the man who knocked him over with a car and gave him a brain injury.

There is plenty of bizarre and quirky elements to this film however it never really goes anywhere. You keep waiting for it all to click together and it never does. An enjoyable ride none the less.

3/5

A Roman View

 

Rome, pont Ripetta (1896)

Directed by Auguste & Louis Lumiere this is an early short film. We see a street scene from the city of Rome.

The camera is well positioned to capture traffic on the road turning and passing creating an active scene. Plenty to enjoy in this simple film. A good example of the genre.

3/5

Dear Elizabeth

 

Eat Wheaties! (202)

Directed by Scott Abramovitch this film based on the novel “The Locklear Letters” stars Tony Hale, Paul Walter Hauser, Danielle Brooks and Elisha Cuthbert. A lonely man tries to get in contact with an old college friend, film star Elizabeth Banks.

I really enjoyed this comedic look at loneliness and low self esteem. There is a lot to both laugh at and think about with a look at how we connect in the modern world. I have not read the book this film is based on but I can only assume it does a good job of translating the material to the social media era based on the end result.

4/5