Love vs fear of gossip

All That Heaven Allows (1955)

Directed by Douglas Sirk this film based on the novel of the same name stars Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson. An upper class, middle aged widow falls in love with her gardener.

You could file this film away as just rich people problems but for a melodrama it is a fairly decent watch. The plot might not exactly be riveting but it ticks along nicely with a modicum of social commentary. All in all this is a fairly decent but a little heavy handed film.

3/5

Murder

Fruitvale Station (2013)

Directed by Ryan Coogler this film based on real events stars Michael B. Jordan, Octavia Spencer and Melonie Diaz. We follow the life of a 22 year old African American man on the day leading up to his murder by a policeman.

I really like that this film paints a warts and all portrait of it's main character, making him a man with flaws trying to get his life straight rather than making him a saint. The film is a decent exploration of the plight of young African American men and the tragic fate that we sadly see so many of them face. Generally the film is well made and offers a respectful look at a true story.

4/5

Art and word

Guernica (1950)

Directed by Alain Resnais and Robert Hessens this film is narrated by Maria Casares. A poem about the bombing of Guernica is read over various pieces of art inspired by the tragedy.

Doing a really good job of mixing art and spoken word this film is a haunting look at the biggest crime of the Spanish Civil War. Using art like this might be somewhat unusual but works well here. Even if the film is slightly abstract thanks to it's method it still manages to be very human.

4/5

A clear fixation

ChiPs (2017)

Directed by co-star Dax Shepard this film based on the television show of the same name also stars Michael Pena, Vincent D'Onofrio and Jessica McNamee. Sent undercover to the highway patrol an FBI agent with a sex addiction is partnered with a rookie that used to be in extreme sports.

This is not the highest form of art or necessarily the best piece of nostalgia cinema you will ever see but as a buddy comedy it's not too bad. There are times when the script over relies on gross out humour but for the most part this is a fairly decent comedy. Nothing too much is remarkable here but there are worse ways to spend 90 minutes.

3/5

As bad as you might have expected

Baywatch (2017)

Directed by Seth Gordon this film based on the television show of the same name stars Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron, Alexandra Daddario and Priyanka Chopra. Three new recruits, including an arrogant former Olympic swimmer, join the lifeguard team.

There are moments when this film this it is a parody but those are far too few which unfortunately means we are left with a big pile of stupid. In the end this film is just too bad to be enjoyed, I don't know why they let this film out of the development hell it spent so long trapped in. Some of the cast are not too bad but they have so little to work with there is nothing they can do to save this film.

2/5

The OG backstabbers

Julius Caesar (1909)

Directed by Giovanni Pastrone who also stars in the film this is a short film based on historical events. We follow a short portion of Caesar's life including his return to Rome and death.

Essentially this is a 12 minute short take on the death of Caesar rather than his life story or any depth on him. This is a watchable short but it is a little rudimentary in places. Not great for a short distraction but a decent little distraction.

2/5

And it all went very badly

Frank & Lola (2016)

Written & directed by Matthew Ross this film stars Michael Shannon, Imogen Poots, Michael Nyqvist and Justin Long. A somewhat jealous chef in Las Vegas begins a relationship with an aspiring fashion designer who he later discovers has a troubled past.

Taking some dark turns this is not a light romantic film but is fairly interesting. Both the central characters have some serious flaws which leads to a relationship which is not healthy but some how you still root for. There are decent performances from the cast and the film is generally well made.

3/5