The Tarantella, an Italian Dance (1898)
Directed by William K. L. Dickson this is an early short film. People performing what is presumably a traditional Italian dance.
Unfortunately the remaining film is pretty degraded. What we can see is nice but too much is damaged to full enjoy the film. A shame we have lost a piece of history.
2/5
Place de la Concorde (1897)
Directed by William K. L. Dickson this is an early short film. A static view of a spot in the French capital.
Pretty nicely set up, good foreground and background action. Survives in seemingly good quality. A really good example of the street scene genre.
3/5
Love Hurts (2025)
Directed by Jonathan Eusebio this film stars Ke Huy Quan, Ariana DeBose and Lio Tipton. A real estate agent gets drawn back into his previous criminal life.
The script of this one is just too over written and by the end you just want them to skip to the inevitable conclusion already. Ke Huy Quan does his best knock off Jackie Chan to try and carry the movie. Bit of a weak effort in the end.
2/5
Novocaine (2025)
Directed by Dan Berk & Robert Olsen this film stars Jack Quaid, Amber Midthunder and Ray Nicholson. A man who can not feel pain tries to save his new girlfriend after she is kidnapped by bankrobbers.
I found this film to be too long on both the introduction and ending, trying to stretch out the concept further than it could go. To be honest the whole thing comes off a bit like a first draft. Nice to see Amber Midthunder and Jacob Batalon both getting more work even if they are underused.
2/5
Tapping a Blast Furnace (1899)
Directed by William K. L. Dickson this is an early short film. Work at the Elswick yard.
Because of the angle and distance the camera is set up at it is a bit hard to tell what is going on. Maybe if I was more familiar with ironworking it would be more obvious. Not the best of the period.
2/5
A Blast at the Solvay Quarries (1898)
Directed by William K. L. Dickson this is an early short film. A man directs workers to run away before an explosion at a quarry.
Hollywood loves an explosion, even in 1898. A simple film, fairly well done. Decent framing and image quality.
3/5
People Leo XIII in His Carriage (1898)
Directed by William K. L. Dickson this is an early short film. The Pope rocks up in his carriage.
Nicely framed so the carriage stops in just the right place. Interesting piece of history. Good image quality.
3/5
Scheveningen, Dutch Fishing Boats (1898)
Directed by William K. L. Dickson this is an early short film. Men get off boats at the beach.
A nice little short with an evocative setting. Good image quality, you can really see the power of the sea. Good for what it is.
3/5
Firing the Maxim Gun (1897)
Directed by William K. L. Dickson this is an early short film. Hiram Maxim fires his Maxim gun.
You get a real sense of the power of the weapon from this short film. The shot from behind the weapon works better than I would expect. Pretty cool really.
3/5
Panorama of Grand Harbour, Malta, Showing Battleships, Etc. (1901)
Directed by William K. L. Dickson this is an early short film. We see the harbour at Valletta in Malta.
Unfortunately some damage to the existing film by the looks of it so not the best image quality, some issues in places. Fine for what it is. Probably more of a historical record than entertainment.
2/5
One of Them Days (2025)
Directed by Lawrence Lamont this film stars Keke Palmer and SZA. Two friends have less than a day to get their rent money together or be evicted.
Lots of familiar elements in this film, possibly not done with female leads before. Not a bad effort but lacks much to recommend it on. The script could have done with a bit more content in it.
3/5
A Camp of Zingaree Gypsies (1897)
Directed by William K. L. Dickson this is an early short film. A snippet of life in a Roma camp.
Shows off traditional dress and lifestyle. Obviously hard to get a lot from this given how short it is. Still an interesting slice of history despite the brevity.
3/5
Muna (2023)
Directed by Warda Mohamed this short film stars Kosar Ali and Raha Isse Farah. A teenage daughter of Somali immigrants wants to go on a school trip.
A slightly depressing look at the life of a young woman caught between cultures and places. Manages to do a fair amount with the short run time which is pretty impressive. Not sure it is ground breaking, still interesting.
4/5
Upside Down Boxers (1899)
Directed by William K. L. Dickson this is an early short film. Two men perform upside down boxing.
A fairly silly little short, pretty fun. Good image quality and action. A nice little distraction.
3/5
French Military School Exercise (1897)
Directed by William K. L.Dickson this is an early short film. Men on part of a training course.
A fair amount of action as a large group of men tackle an obstacle. Pretty decent image quality for the age of the film. Might lack a bit of personality.
3/5
Battleship Odin Firing All Her Guns (1900)
Directed by William K. L. Dickson this is an early short film. A battleship goes boom boom.
Fairly impressive, probably would have been more so with sound. Image quality and framing are decent. A nice little piece of history.
3/5
Die Alone (2024)
Written & directed by Lowell Dean this film stars Douglas Smith and Carrie-Anne Moss. A man with amnesia looks for his missing girlfriend in a zombie apocalypse.
Essentially this wants to be Memento in a zombie film but comes with too many plot holes and a twist that is a bit too obvious. I can appreciate what the film was going for even if it does fall short. A rare occasion where Frank Grillo does not show up as the bad guy.
2/5
Nosferatu (2024)
Directed by Robert Eggers this remake of a rip off stars Nicholas Hoult, Lilly-Rose Depp, Bill Skarsgard and Willem Dafoe. A vampire seeks control over the life of a young married couple.
Masterfully adapted there is a lot to enjoy here I am just not sure this film is ever more than its source material. I love how well the film brings the classic German expressionism into modern cinema. Really good but maybe just short of great.
4/5
Hiram Maxim and His Quick-firing Gun (1897)
Directed by William K. L. Dickson this is an early short film. The inventor of the Maxim gun demonstrates how it works.
Fascinating to see Maxim himself showing off his weapon. Really good image quality. A piece of history captured on film.
3/5
Fun on a Sand Hill (1899)
Directed by William K. L. Dickson this is an early short film. People play on a sandy hill.
A charming little short of people having fun. There is a nice mix of children and adults enjoying the simple pleasure of sliding down a sandy hill. Good image quality.
3/5
Ten Pickaninnies (1908)
Directed by William K. L. Dickson and William Heise this is an early short film. Three African Americans performing a dance.
Part of the legacy of slavery and racism. Even the image quality of the version I saw was not great. Not worth seeking out in my opinion.
1/5
The Grand Canal, Venice (1898)
Directed by William K. L. Dickson this is an early short film. A shot of the grand canal in Venice.
Not as impressive as some other canal scenes that I have seen from the period. Fine for what it is. Pretty decent image quality.
3/5
Funeral Procession of the Misericordia (1898)
Directed by William K. L. Dickson this is an early short film. A coffin is carried in a procession.
As you might expect not a huge amount to this one. Does what it says on the tin really. Decent image quality.
3/5
Amongst the Wolves (2024)
Directed by Mark O'Connor this film stars Luke McQuillan, Daniel Fee and Aidan Gillen. A homeless former soldier befriends a teenager on the run from a drug dealer.
I thought this film was more interesting when it focused in on the issue of homelessness and less interesting when it brought in the crime element. Standard genre entry that could have been something more. Bit of a waste really.
3/5
Night Call (2024)
Directed by Michiel Blanchart this film stars Jonathan Feltre, Natacha Krief and Jonas Bloquet. A young man finds himself on the wrong side of a crime boss after unwittingly helping rob him.
Familiar crime thriller elements in a decent effort. There is nothing that special here, even any socio-political depth is merely backdrop. Fine for a genre film just do not expect anything more.
3/5
The Sick Municipal Clerk (1899)
Directed by Emile Lauste this is an early short film. A doctor treats a sick man.
This film relies on being able to read the writing on two objects which is in Dutch. Given how it is hard to follow this one it is not one of the better films of the period. Not one I would recommend.
2/5
Doctor Knows What to Do (1899)
Directed by Emile Lauste this is an early short film. A doctor cures a man who appears to be bed ridden.
A simple gag where it is not entirely clear what is going on. I have seen better from the period to be honest. Not my favourite.
2/5
Tollhouse! A Close Shave! (1899)
Directed by Emile Lauste this is an early short film. A man steals a vial from a under a sleeping woman's skirt.
It is a bit hard to work out exactly what the man is up to and there is no Tollhouse in sight. Needs a bit of context really. Image quality is fine for the age of the film.
2/5
Amsterdam's Tourism (1899)
Directed by Emile Lauste this is an early short film. Tourists pose in front of a fountain.
If you know the fountain in question I suppose this might be a more interesting short. The poses of the tourists are weird, do they have some significance to the location? An odd short to be certain without any context.
3/5