Books to order

84, Charing Cross Road (1987)

Directed by David Jones this film based on the book of the same name stars Anne Bancroft, Anthony Hopkins and Judi Dench. In 1949 an American woman begins corresponding with and buying rare books from a bookshop in London.

This is a gentle film that puts you in mind of the matinee pictures of an earlier era but despite it's gentleness it never succumbs to melodrama. There is some charm and personality to the film which does do a good job of showcasing the different and changing worlds of New York and London in the period it is set in. Anne Bancroft may be the highlight but Anthony Hopkins performance is spot on as always.

3/5

.. justice and the American way

Truth (2015)

Written & directed by James Vanderbilt this film based on real events stars Cate Blanchett, Robert Redford, Topher Grace and Elisabeth Moss. Reporters for CBS look into claims that President Bush skipped out on his National Guard service.

It is interesting to see a press investigation where things go wrong for once but as to what extent the film itself shows the truth there is probably some room for debate. While I found the film enjoyable I am not sure it is overly insightful. There is a good cast who seem a bit underused but otherwise the film is fairly well made.

3/5

The little people

Elstree 1976 (2015)

Written & directed by Jon Spira this documentary was crowd funded. A selection of bit part players and extras from the original Star Wars film are interviewed about their experiences.

This is a fairly interesting but gentle look into the world of those that played the smaller or tiny roles in one of the biggest pop culture films of all time. I enjoyed the film and it's focus on the people rather than the film itself and it provided a fresh take on things. Maybe it would have been nice to see some interviews from crew as well but this is still a good watch.

3/5

Registering

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Directed by the Russo brothers this film has a large cast including Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson and Sebastian Stan. Captain America and Tony Stark fall out over the future of the Avengers, should the remain free or submit to government oversight?

Essentially this is a third Avengers film sneaking in under the radar as a Captain America film and it does attempt to explore the interesting topic of the responsibilities and rights of heroes. Some times the plot does bog down a little bit and the film does feel like it has to go through a check list of story items to get to the conclusion but it is still entertaining. I enjoyed the scale of the film even if the script could have been a little slicker.

3/5

Not the dirty dozen

Suicide Squad (2016)

Written & directed by David Ayer this comic book film stars Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jared Leto and Joel Kinnaman. Some of the biggest villains of the DC universe are forced to work together on a dangerous mission.

No one is ever going to accuse this film of being a great work of art and while the pacing is hit and miss this is a fun film at times. Clearly the script could have done with a bit more work but this is a passable effort. The direction is okay with the action set pieces but some of the performances are a bit patchy.

3/5

Merc with a mouth's movie

Deadpool (2016)

Directed by Tim Miller this film based on the comic of the same name stars Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein and T.J. Miller. Our protagonist falls in love, gets cancer and kills a lot of people.

While the plot of this film is pretty basic it does a job and is constructed in a non linear fashion to keep the audience well entertained. What sells this film is the mix of puerile comedy and self awareness that are refreshing for the genre as well as putting a new twist on things. Ryan Reynolds fits the role really well and for a smaller budget super hero film the special effects are really good.

4/5

How to be selfish

How to be Single (2016)

Directed by Christian Ditter this film stars Dakota Johnson, Rebel Wilson, Alison Bree and Leslie Mann. Four women looking for lust or love live in New York.

Aiming to bring something new to the genre this film very quickly reverts to a lot of the tropes it is trying to subvert. At times this seemed to be just nasty people doing selfish things to each other so that the story could roll around to giving the moral it wants to. I suppose the performances are not too bad but this film was unremarkable in my opinion.

2/5

Turning prison to a profit

A Prophet (2009)

Directed by Jacques Audiard this film stars Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup, Adel Bencherif and Reda Kateb. A 19 year old man is sent to adult prison for the first time and is forced to join a gang connected to the Corsican Mafia.

While there might but be a ton of new ideas here this is a really good character study of a man rising up the ranks in the crime world. The prison setting has a real air of authenticity to it and the plot is always grounded. I enjoyed the direction which has a few interesting touches to it and all the performances are strong.

4/5

Cow 'ard

The Cow's Husband (1931)

Directed by Dave Fleischer this animated short film stars Bimbo the dog. Our hero stars as a bullfighter who gets more than he bargained for fighting a bull.

This is a pretty simple cartoon that has a fair amount of slapstick comedy. Nothing is overly impressive here but the story and jokes are serviceable. Likewise the animation pretty much on par with that of the period and is unremarkable.

3/5

Egregious ending

Ma Ma (2015)

Written & directed by Julio Medem this film stars Penelope Cruz, Luis Tosar, Asier Etxeandia and Alex Brendemuhl. A woman finds out she has breast cancer and makes friends with a man who lost his wife and daughter in a car accident.

Starting out really well I found the second half of this film to be a disappointment as the characters do some really questionable things without the film raising an eye brow. In the end the film feels a bit overly sentimental which is a shame as it started out as such a good look at a tough subject. There are decent performances from the cast but the script needed some more work in my opinion.

2/5

Shouldn't have bothered

Zoolander 2 (2016)

Directed by and staring Ben Stiller this comedy sequel also features Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell and Penelope Cruz. Ten years after the events of the first film our “hero” has to prove his is a competent father to get his child back.

Having to wait so long for a sequel it is fair to say that this film was not worth the wait. The plot is a half hearted attempt at a satire of The Da Vinci Code or something and makes up for it's lack of content with a parade of unnecessary cameos. I suppose the film is well directed but the comedy is also scrapping the bottom of the barrel at times.

2/5

The after effects of terror

Mumbai Meri Jaan (2008)

Directed by Nishikant Kamat this film stars R. Madhavan, Irrfan Khan, Soha Ali Khan, Paresh Rawal and Kay Kay Menon. We follow several fictional characters through the effects the 2006 Mumbai train bombings have on them.

It is really interesting to see the point of view of a different culture on terrorism and this film does a fairly good job of looking at the reactions to a terrorist attack. I especially liked the character of the journalist used to exploiting tragedy found on the side of the fence but all the characters stories are interesting. Some of the special effects for the attack itself are questionable but otherwise this is a well made film.

4/5

Hateful hula

Betty Boop's Bamboo Isle (1932)

Directed by Dave Fleischer this cartoon has the voice of Mae Questel and music from The Royal Samoans. Bimbo and Betty Boop find themselves on a tropical island.

Oh boy. Despite having a live action introduction from the Royal Samoans this cartoon gets pretty damn racist pretty damn fast. There are stereotypes and black face so it's hard to find anything to praise about this cartoon.

2/5

Love and laughter at the system

Hail, Caesar! (2016)

Written & directed by the Coen brothers this film stars Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Alden Ehrenreich, Ralph Fiennes and Scarlett Johansson. In 1950s Hollywood a studio fixer tries to keep the wheels turning despite being surrounded by clashing eccentrics.

There is a lot to enjoy about this film that mixes both satire of and reverence for the days of the classic Hollywood studio system. While I do not think the plot goes anywhere especially interesting it is always fun and entertaining. I loved a lot of the touches that really capture both the good and the bad of old Hollywood.

3/5

Not evolved

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

Directed by Bryan Singer this comic book sequel stars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence and Oscar Isaac. Awakened after millennia of sleep the first mutant seeks to take control of the world from humans.

Taking one of the classic villains from the comic books this film never really gets to grips with it's antagonists repugnant views on evolution. While this is an enjoyable romp it does repeat a lot of the territory we have seen with these characters before, Magneto in particular. Largely the film is well made but does make a few unnecessary changes to characters from the comics, otherwise it is a fine watch.

3/5

The Force is with me and I am one with the Force

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

Directed by Gareth Edwards this film stars Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Mads Mikkelsen and Donnie Yen. A young woman is forced into help the rebellion on the promise of finding her father.

To start with the bad clearly this is Disney's first signal of intent when it comes to milking the franchise to death. Most of the characters are not as well fleshed out as they could be and the character arcs could have done with a little more work. It does take the film a bit of a while to get going as well, for some the opening acts will drag a little. Some of the cinematography is a bit dingy at times but in my opinion was not out of place with the tone of the film.

With all that being said there is a ton of stuff to love about this film. Taking the black and white world we are used to in Star Wars this film does an excellent job of adding shades of grey to the universe and that is one of the film's biggest strengths. There is a huge amount of fan service in the film but it works perfectly helping seamlessly tie the film in with Episode IV and never feels indulgent.

This is not a prefect film but what it attempts and pulls off in the end is truly impressive. Few would have the guts to attempt a film like this, especially in the franchise it is apart of. Where the film falls short it can be over looked because where it succeeds it does so in a way no Star Wars film has done since Episode VI.

4/5

Hole-y

Risen (2016)

Directed by Kevin Reynolds this film stars Joseph Fiennes, Tom Felton, Peter Firth and Cliff Curtis. After the crucifixion a Roman officer is given the job of tracking down the body of Jesus when it disappears.

Compared to most religious films this is not a heavy handed or overly preachy film but it does not have a lot of meat to it. The plot offers little new or refreshing and adding in the Roman officer does not really give a different point of view on the usual Christian tale. Some of the acting is a bit suspect which does not help matters either especially when comparing this to the biblical epics of past eras.

2/5

Not stealing art

The Train (1964)

Directed by John Frankenheimer this film stars Burt Lancaster, Paul Scofield and Jeanne Moreau. In 1944 the French resistance attempt to stop the Germans taking a train load of French art back to Germany before Paris falls.

Very loosely inspired by real events this film is more action orientated than anything that happened in real life. The film does at least make some attempt to look at the cost paid by resistance fighters and occupied people which is the film's real saving grace. Mostly the film is well made and it does not show that there was a change of directors early in production.

3/5

Not so special

Midnight Special (2016)

Written & directed by Jeff Nichols this film stars Jaeden Lieberher, Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Kristen Dunst and Adam Driver. Two men attempt to protect a boy with special powers from a cult and the government.

No doubt trying to hit that familiar Spielberg in my opinion this film falls short as it fails to offer any real answers of titbits for speculation. I also found the film to be lacking some key scenes to give the characters any real development. Some of the special effects also came off as a bit cheap to me.

2/5

Never dull

Begone Dull Care (1949)

Directed by Normal McLaren and Evelyn Lambart this short film has music by the Oscar Peterson Trio. We see a sequence of images animated to jazz music.

Much like the other short films of McLaren and Lambart this short does a good job of combining music and abstract animation. The shapes and colours are all scratched or painted by hand and fit well with the music. Beyond the face value of the piece it is harder to see much depth though.

3/5

Wooden woes

Serena (2014)

Directed by Susanne Bier this film based on the novel of the same name stars Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and Rhys Ifans. In the Depression era boy meets girl and they run a logging business together in North Carolina.

Collecting together an impressive cast this film fizzles, failing to offer much of interest. There are changes from the novel which have a big impact on the finale of the film as well which may put off some fans of the book. Jennifer Lawrence is impressive as always but is about the thing that does impress apart from some of the landscape in this film.

2/5

The jilted on the grand tour

Queen (2014)

Directed by Vikas Bahl this film stars Kangana Ranaut, Rajkummar Rao and Lisa Haydon. After getting jilted two days before her wedding a young Indian woman decides to go on her honeymoon to Europe anyway.

Nothing is massively original about this coming of age story but it is a nice twist seeing someone from India come to Europe to “find themselves” as opposed to the other way round which we see so often in Western media. The plot is always fairly safe in terms of the path of our protagonist even if the supporting characters are a bit more out there. I enjoyed the film and the performances but I am not sure it took enough risks for my taste.

3/5

Time passing with a blur

31/75: Asylum (1975)

Directed by Kurt Kren this is an experimental film from the structural movement. We see a field over a number of days with various parts of the image covered.

This film is not really to my taste and the exploration of the partially covered image did not do much for me. What I did enjoy about the film was it's subject which is a nice country scene shown over a period of time. Not for everyone but some may find this enjoyable.

3/5

Simple crooks lacking narrative hooks

God's Pocket (2014)

Directed by John Slattery this film based on the novel of the same name stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Richard Jekins, Christian Hendricks and John Turturro. A small time crook's step son is killed at work leaving him trying to scrape together the cash for a funeral.

While this film has a great cast the material is not especially impressive, this is kind of a Scorsese lite film. The plot has little of interest to say but does have a couple of cool moments. John Slattery's direction is steady but not remarkable.

3/5

Bird shit

A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (2014)

Written and directed by Roy Andersson this film stars Nisse Vestblom and Holger Andersson. Two men try to sell toy jokes and a bunch of other odd stuff happens.

It could be that I am missing the cultural context for this film but it never connected with me. There is barely a plot connecting the scenes and I found little humour in the film. This is one of the few films I have come close to turning off because I was bored of it.

2/5

A grumpy old man paints

Mr. Turner (2014)

Directed by Mike Leigh this film based on real events stars Timothy Spall, Dorothy Atkinson, Marion Bailey and Paul Jesson. We follow the life of eccentric painter Joseph Mallord William Turner.

Taking various scenes from the life of Turner this film is more of an impression of a man's life rather than a strict biopic. While I enjoyed the film I am not sure it is fully accurate and I am not sure it ever truly enlightened me on it's subject. Clearly the best part of the film is Spall's performance as he grunts and grimaces his way through the film.

3/5

Less in every way

Secret in Their Eyes (2015)

Directed by Billy Ray this remake of the Argentinian film of the same name stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Nicole Kidman and Julia Roberts. Thirteen years after the murder of a teenage girl a former FBI agent returns to the city it happened in claiming to have finally found the killer.

Picking up an all star cast this remake unfortunately ends up being weaker than the original but is still a decent film. I was not a fan of most of the changes and all round this feels like a film that fails to make the most of what it has. Even the direction is weaker in comparison lacking that impressive sequence from the football stadium in the original.

3/5

A broken point

Point Break (2015)

Directed by Ericson Core this remake stars Edgar Ramirez, Luke Bracey, Ray Winstone and Teresa Palmer. A man looking to turn his life around and become an FBI agent is sent undercover to investigate some extreme sports criminals.

Combining an extreme sports highlight reel with an suspect plot this is not the greatest film you are going to ever see. What back story there is relies on mumbo jumbo and things do not always make sense. I enjoyed the action sequences but the direction regularly fails to pull back and use a long shot to show the figures in the landscapes they are in.

2/5

Milking it

Manthan (1976)

Directed by Shyam Benegal this film stars Girish Karnad, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Smita Patil and Naseeruddin Shah. A veterinarian and his team travel to a village in rural India to encourage the locals to set up a milk cooperative.

An early example of crowd funding this film despite being funded by milk farmers themselves shows a balanced narrative rather than being pure propaganda. Showing both the positive and the negative sides of characters the film explores the economic and caste issues with a good amount of depth. There are good performances from the cast and the direction is solid as well.

4/5

Ignored

Exit (2014)

Written & directed by Hsiang Chienn this film stars Shiang-chyi Chen, Ming-hsiang Tung and Ming-Hua Pai. A middle aged woman neglected by all around her finds herself drawn to a hospital patient who is similarly ignored by those around him.

Moving at a glacial pace this film is not for everyone but if you can stand it the slow, considered nature of this film is a good watch. We get to see a woman facing the menopause and how her life around her is breaking down. I enjoyed the performances which are largely wordless as well as the direction which lets events unfold naturally.

5/5