The Magician's Cavern (1901)
Directed by Georges Melies this is an early short film. A magician does tricks.
A mixture of stage and camera tricks are nicely put together. The spooky stage adds to the ambience. A classic example of Melies at his best.
3/5
The Enchanted Well (1903)
Directed by Georges Melies this is an early short film. The town well is enchanted by an upset witch.
Simple fun here as the well goes bananas on a guy. Mixing together a few special effects for comedic purposes. Pretty good for what it is, solid back drop and action, just ignore the bit where the well wobbles because it is obviously not real.
3/5
The Wonderful Living Fan (1904)
Directed by Georges Melies this is an early short film. A huge magical fan is shown off to a VIP.
A good application of the usual Melies camera tricks and artistry. Not the most unique film, still well done. A fun little film, reflective of the period.
3/5
The Mysterious Retort (1906)
Directed by Georges Melies this is an early short film. When the wizard sleeps the snake will play.
Another in the series of sleeping men and chaos from Melies. The effects are pretty decent for the period and the action is entertaining. A fun little short.
3/5
Thanksgiving (2023)
Directed by Eli Roth this film stars Patrick Dempsey, Nell Verlaque and Addison Rae. After a stamped at a Black Friday sale turns into a tragedy a killer is on the loose looking for revenge.
Starting out with some ideas about a satirical look at Black Friday the film unfortunately never goes anywhere with that. Turning into your standard slasher fare except none of the protagonists are very likeable so it kind of seems like they mostly have their grizzly fates coming. I suppose the gore is well done at least.
2/5
Girl You Know It's True (2023)
Written & directed by Simon Verhoeven this film based on real events stars Tijan Nije, Elan Ben Ali, Matthias Schweighofer and Bella Dayne. The rise and fall of the pop act Milli Vanilli.
An interesting subject matter, were the subjects any more fake than anyone else in the music industry? I am not sure the film fully gets to grips with some of the finer details but this is still a fun look at a piece of pop history. A tragedy to see how people are used and spit out.
4/5
IF (2024)
Written & directed by co-star John Krasinski this film also features Cailey Fleming, Ryan Reynolds, Fiona Shaw and the voice of Steve Carell. A young girl staying with her grandmother while her father has an operation runs into imaginary friends that have been abandoned by their kids.
As films aimed at kids go this one is fine, it is cutesy and pretty obvious where it is going. The twist is rather given away pretty early on. Still decent for what it is.
3/5
The Treasures of Satan (1902)
Directed by Georges Melies this is an early sort film. Treasure is put in a box.
To be honest it is a little hard to tease out what the plot of this short actually is. The on screen action is entertaining but I am not sure it is coherent. Fun and decent camera tricks.
3/5
The Untameable Whiskers (1904)
Directed by Georges Melies this is an early short film. A man grows increasing amounts of hair.
Most unusual about this short is Melies showing off that he can draw. The film builds around a simple camera trick like a lot of Melies films. Pretty fun really.
3/5
Festival of Slaps (2023)
Directed by Abdou Cisse this short film stars Kemi Lofinmakin, Tom Moutchi and Femi Ogunjobi. A young man's life flashes before his eyes thanks to a slap from his mother.
Playing with the viewers expectations this is a nice little look at cultural stereotypes. You never get what you are expecting from this film. Well worth checking out.
3/5
The Living Playing Cards (1905)
Directed by Georges Melies this is an early short film. A man brings giant playing cards to life.
Familiar to other Melies films where drawings come to life. Decent for what it is but nothing unique. The drawings could have been a closer representation of the person to really make this one work.
3/5
Tarot (2024)
Directed by Spenser Cohen & Anna Halberg this film stars Harriet Slater, Adain Bradley and Jacob Batalon. Attractive young people accidentally use a curse tarot deck and start to die one by one.
Nothing is especially new or original here, pretty standard horror film stuff. It is really hard to care about any of the paper thin characters. The death sequences are drawn out because there is literally nothing else in the film.
2/5
Widow Clicquot (2023)
Directed by Thomas Napper this film stars Haley Bennett, Tom Sturridge and Sam Riley. As the Napoleonic wars rage on a young widow takes over her husband's vineyard.
I found this film focuses a bit too much on the protagonists memories of her husband and not enough on the major innovations she made to the wine industry. You will have to really like artsy feelings films to love this one. Not sure it really captures the achievements of the woman the story is based on.
2/5
Dune: Part Two (2024)
Directed by Denis Villeneuve this film stars Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson and Javier Bardem. Living with the Fremen our protagonist has to decide if he should take his place in the prophecy or not.
As enjoyable as this film is it loses some of the surprise the first film had, I am also not sure it goes as deep into Paul's turn as it could. Still a fantastic visual spectacle even though we know what to expect from the series now. A tremendous achievement of cinema.
4/5
The Inventor Crazybrains and His Wonderful Airship (1905)
Directed by Georges Melies this is an early short film. A man dreams of the airship he has designed.
Another in the series of dream films from Melies. Done with the usual style and skill you expect from the director. A pretty wondrous effort.
3/5
The Devil in a Convent (1899)
Directed by Georges Melies this is an early short film. The devil attempts to cause problems in a convent.
A fun little mix of setting and camera tricks. The action is pretty good, entertaining and has its funny moments. Very impressive for the time it was made in.
3/5
The Man with the Rubber Head (1901)
Directed by Georges Melies this is an early short film. A man blows up a spare head.
Classic Melies stuff, mixing camera trickery with good staging. A nice little fantasy on the screen. There may not be much depth but there is skill and humour.
3/5
Area Boy (2023)
Directed by Iggy London this film stars Joshua Cameron. A young man moves to a new area with his mother and struggles to find his place in the world.
To be honest this film is just too short at 18 minutes to really explore all the ideas it touches on. I hope this one gets expanded into a full feature at some point. As is it shows promise even if it does not deliver on it.
2/5
There's Something in the Barn (2023)
Directed by Magnus Martens this film stars Martin Starr, Amrita Acharia and Kiran Shah. An American family move to a farm in Norway and upset the barn elf.
Fun for what it is, tolerable if we really have to do Christmas films in November. Once the violence starts up there are some funny moments. Not sure the ending is entirely earned.
3/5
The Astronomer's Dream (1898)
Directed by Georges Melies this is an early short film. An astronomer dreams an bizarre dream.
Impressive for the year it was made this is a good mix of fantasy and camera trickery. The sets and effects are really good. A lot of fun if a bit chaotic.
4/5
The Holdovers (2023)
Directed by Alexander Payne this film stars Paul Giamatti, Da'Vine Joy Randolph and Dominic Sessa. In December 1970 one student is stuck behind at a New England boarding school with the teacher everyone hates.
Somehow both exactly what you expect and not at all what you expect. Enjoyable and touching this is a classic American boarding school film where the characters gradually reveal their true selves. Maybe just a bit too familiar to be great but still thought provoking nonetheless.
4/5
The New Lord of the Village (1908)
Listed as directed by George Melies this was probably directed by the actor Manuel. A village scene.
Another film that only survives as a fragment so impossible to know what is going on. Nice set and costumes. A shame as it seems this was a fun one.
2/5
Sasquatch Sunset (2024)
Directed by David & Nathan Zellner this film stars Riley Keough, Jessie Eisenberg, Christophe Zajac-Denek and Nathan Zellner. We follow a family of Sasquatch as they roam the wilds.
I doubt this film will be for everyone, the lack of dialogue will be off putting for some especially. It was hard for me to pin down exactly what this film is, is it parody, fantasy, faux nature documentary or what? I suppose entertaining and humorous at times.
3/5
Ordinary Angels (2024)
Directed by Jon Gunn this film inspired by real events stars Hilary Swank, Alan Ritchson and Nancy Travis. An alcoholic woman becomes obsessed with helping a widower find money to save his sick daughter.
How did Hilary Swank go from winning an Oscar to staring in a religion pushing drama? As Christian propaganda goes this is not the most egregious you will see but it is still not good. You can even see how things have been changed to make them more dramatic.
2/5
Lee (2023)
Directed by Ellen Kuras this film inspired by real events stars Kate Winslet, Alexander Skarsgard and Andy Samberg. A former model becomes a war photographer.
Taking a fascinating story and an impressive cast this film some how manages to wallow in mediocrity. I found this film to be something of a disappointment despite there being nothing wrong about it. You can see what could have been looming over what is.
3/5
The Prophetess of Thebes (1907)
Directed by Georges Melies this is an early short film. A king demands to know his future.
Existing only in partial form this is still pretty good. You can get the gist of the story from what remains. The setting and costumes are impressive for the period.
3/5
Buncoed Stage Johnnie (1908)
Directed by Georges Melies this is an early short film. A man wants to give flowers to a stage star.
Unfortunately this one only survives as a fragment so it is very hard to tell what is going on. What we do get is two seemingly disconnected scenes without much context. Not worth watching in the state it survives in.
1/5
Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead (2024)
Directed by Wade Allain-Marcus this remake stars simone Joy Jones, Nicole Richie and Donielle Hansley Jr. After their summer baby sitter dies four teens are left to fend for themselves.
I am not sure why this film needed a remake and it fails to capitalise putting a different racial lens on the story. Pretty much everything is predictable and without much effort. Lacks charm, lazy in the end.
2/5
The Haunted Castle (1896)
Directed by Georges Melies this is an early short film. A magician menaces visitors to a castle.
Pretty impressive for the date, involves a number of camera tricks and spooks. Only black spot is you see the set almost fall over at one point. Otherwise a very nice short.
3/5
