All over the top

My All American (2015)

Written & directed by Angelo Pizzo this film based on real events stars Finn Wittrock, Sarah Bolger and Aaron Eckhart. Deemed too short to play football a young man gets his chance to play for the University of Texas.

Unfortunately what could be a serious story is given the full cheese treatment which is a real shame given the life of it's protagonist. The film also overlooks the way college football uses the dreams and health of young men as a money making scheme with scant reward for the players. While the cast do their best the script is weak and made worse when the direction and score run ham fisted over the piece.

2/5

Losing the magic

Sorcerer (1977)

Directed by William Friedkin this remake/re-adptation of “The Wages of Fear” stars Roy Scheider, Bruno Cremer, Francisco Rabal and Amidou. Four down on their luck foreigners in South America take on a dangerous job for an oil company.

Despite having the lauded skill of William Friedkin behind this film it some how manages to lose a lot of the depth and character of the first adaptation. Plenty of the source material is still there but unfortunately this film always feels like a poor relation in comparison to it's predecessor. Mostly I wish we would have gotten to see the version of this film with Steve McQueen in the lead role.

3/5

The confusion of viewers

The Games of Angels (1964)

Directed by Walerian Borowczyk this animated short film has music by Bernard Parmegiani. We see a series of abstract images from a stark setting.

I'll be honest that this one maybe a little too abstract for me but it certainly seems to be some sort of portrayal of the Holocaust. It might not be to my taste but there is certainly something memorable in the odd images. Not for everyone but not a terrible watch either.

3/5

The price of reputation

The Wages of Fear (1953)

Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot this film based on the novel of the same name stars Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Folco Lulli and Peter van Eyck. Foreigners in a small South American town desperate for work take on a dangerous job.

It takes this film a while to get going and I'll be honest that given it's reputation I expected a bit more from it. There are some decent suspense sequences but they are not amazing to modern eyes. The plot does some what work as a metaphor for the human endeavour but is not overly deep. Generally the film is well made and holds your attention.

4/5

Lock, stock and one smoking sword

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017)

Directed by Guy Ritchie this film stars Charlie Hunnam, Astrid Berges-Frisbey, Djimon Hounsou, Aidan Gillen and Jude Law. After having his parents murdered by his uncle the future King Arthur grows up in London leading a criminal gang.

Essentially this is King Arthur recast as a cockney wide boy and to be honest I think Guy Ritchie is the only person in the world that wanted this version of the story. Our protagonist is pretty unlikeable and has zero character growth. There is far too much lore stuffed into this film over story telling leading to an over reliance on montage sequences to get through all the material.

2/5

Obvious Sam

The Further Adventures of Uncle Sam (1970)

Directed by Dale Case and Robert Mitchell this is an animated short film. Uncle Sam is called into action to save Lady Liberty from the evil industrial-capitalists.

Subtle is not the word I would use for this criticism of modern America. While a fairly decent cartoon everything is just a little too much on the nose here, it would have been nice to see a version of this that wasn't made with a sledge hammer. The animation is nothing remarkable for the era but does it's job.

3/5

Monarchy, democracy and war

The King's Choice (2016)

Directed by Erik Poppe this film based on real events stars Jesper Christensen, Anders Baasmo Christiansen, Karl Markovics and Tuva Schuttler. We see the dilemma placed on the King of Norway as his country is invaded by Nazi Germany in 1940.

Taking a somewhat dry subject this film does a really good job of humanising leaders in a time of crisis. What the film does well is make a national crisis a personal one, showing the dignity and class of it's protagonist. While clearly this film is pushing an agenda it is well made and restrained rather than a bombastic celebration of monarchy.

4/5