Ups and downs

 

La Balancoire (1878)

Directed by Emile Reynaud this is a an early short animated film. Two children play on a home made seesaw.

Fun for what it is, very brief. Has some charm to it through the art style. Nicely done for the period.

3/5

Spinner

 

Le Trapeze (1878)

Directed by Emile Reynaud this is an early animated short film. A man spins on a trapeze.

A nice little short with a bit of action to it. The animation works pretty well here. Survives in good quality for the age of the short.

3/5

Rocket time

 

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 (2023)

Directed by James Gunn the whole gang is back for this sequel. Our heroes attempt to save Rocket by stealing from his creator.

There is some heart to this film even if the rest of the film is a bit basic. By this point there is not much new being added to the franchise. Fine for a third entry in a series I suppose.

3/5

Not super

 

Superman (2025)

Written & directed by James Gunn this comic book adaptation stars David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan and Nicholas Hoult. Superman faces off against Lex Luthor.

Compared to other Superman films this one is not as serious and I am not sure it is better for it. The scenes of war in particular come across as a bit weak. All in all rather forgettable.

2/5

Birds in the sky

 

La Charmeuse (1878)

Directed by Emile Reynaud this is an early animated short film. A girl has birds fly around her.

A charming little short without too much to it. The animation just about pulls off the movement. Survives in pretty good quality.

3/5

Jump to it

 

Le Jeu de Corde (1878)

Directed by Emile Reynaud this an early animated short film. A girl jumps a skipping rope.

Not completely smooth when it comes to the animation, still well done for the era. Some decent colours and images. Pretty good for what it is.

3/5

Smoking

 

Le Fumeur (1878)

Directed by Emile Reynaud this is an early animated film. A man smokes a cigar.

I am not a fan of smoking so this is not my favourite subject matter. The cloud of smoke is nicely animated at least. Not the best of Reynaud in my opinion.

2/5

Boom boom boom

 

Zim, Boum, Boum (1878)

Directed by Emile Reynaud this is an early animated film. A man plays the drums.

A decent bit of charm to this short. Sure there is not a lot to this one but it pretty nice for the age of it. Decent image quality.

3/5

No Hoffman or McQueen

 

Les Papillons (1878)

Directed by Emile Reynaud this is an early animated short. Two butterflies fly round a flower.

Compared to some of the other Reynaud animations I have seen this one is a bit too jerky. Too much movement is attempted here for the short run of the film. Not the best.

2/5

We've lost dancing

 

Dancing on the Rope (1878)

Directed by Emile Reynaud this is an early animated film. A woman balances on a rope.

A charming little animation. Well done for the brief clip we get. Survives in good quality.

3/5

Sea, Sun, Sex, Scams

 

Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere (2026)

Directed by Adrian Choa this documentary stars Louis Theroux. Our intrepid investigator tries to get to the heart of the manosphere.

Compared to some other Theroux pieces I am not sure this is as hard hitting as it could be, it rather takes the easy shots at the Manosphere without going as deep as it could. The most interesting parts are the interviews with partners and family members of the content creators, I wish there was more of that. Decent but nothing unexpected.

3/5

Spinning

 

The Magic Rosette (1878)

Directed by Emile Reynaud this is an early short film. A simple coloured pattern spins round.

Lacks a bit of charm compared to some of Reynaud's other shorts. Pretty decent for what it is and the short length. Survives in decent quality.

3/5

Important conversations

 

Mr. Nobody Against Putin (2025)

Directed by David Borenstein and Pavel Talankin this is an Oscar winning documentary. A man working at a school in Russia sees his life and the life of the students change following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

It is incredibly depressing to see the banal oppression come to small town Russia. Everything is so down to earth it makes what is happening even worse. Fantastically made and at great risk to the protagonist.

4/5

Pulling on them strings

 

The Musician Monkey (1878)

Directed by Emile Reynaud this is an early short film. A monkey plays the violin.

A simple little short with some charm to it. The animation is way ahead of its time. Unfortunately the version I saw was rather low resolution.

3/5

So early

 

Les Deux Espiegels (1878)

Directed by Emile Reynaul this is an early animated film. Two girls toss a cat up and down on a blanket.

Really impressive for the era it is from. The art is very cutesy, predicting the sort of animation to come years later. Survives well.

3/5

Can

 

Cancan (1894)

Directed by Georges Demeny this is an early short film. Two women dance.

A nice little short despite how brief it is. I like the outfits which have some character to them. Survives in decent quality.

3/5

Only fan

 

Clin d'eventail (1894)

Directed by Georges Demeny this is an early short film. A woman peaks out from behind a fan.

Not a huge amount to this one and you do not see much of the subjects face. Does manage to have a bit of playfulness about it. Survives in okay quality.

3/5

Kiss kiss

 

Baisers envoles (1894)

Directed by Georges Demeny this is an early short film. A woman blows a kiss to the camera.

Simple in content, pretty much what it claims to be. Decent image quality for the age of the film. Not that different from some others of the period.

3/5

Connery and Pfeffier, how can you go wrong?

 

The Russia House (1990)

Directed by Fred Schepisi this film based on the novel of the same name stars Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer. A British book publisher is contacted by a Russia who wants to leak nuclear secrets.

Somehow this film manages to pull off having both a happy and melancholy ending which is rather unusual. A nice twisting narrative that looks at the human desire for peace in a system against it. Both well made and well acted with some lovely on location shots in Russia.

4/5

The silent director's favourite subject

 

Serpentine Dance: Loie Fuller (1897)

Directed by Georges Demeny this is an early short film. A woman performs a Serpentine dance.

Similar to many other films of the period down to the hand painted colour tinting. I suppose fine for what it is. Once you have seen one of these you have seen them all.

3/5

More like a peasant

 

King of Thieves (2018)

Directed by James Marsh this film inspired by real events stars Micheal Caine, Jim Broadbent nad Charlie Cox. A bunch of OAP thieves decide to rob a vault over Easter weekend.

Even having an all star cast is some how unable to save this film. The script is as tired as some of the actors in the film. Not really a fan of the way the film tries to make heroes of the protagonist and gloss over the violent past.

1/5

I don't love this

 

I Love You (1891)

Directed by and staring Georges Demeny this is an early short film. A man says “Je vous aime” to the camera.

Unfortunately the image on the is one is pretty degraded and scratched up. Without speaking French it is a little hard to make out what he is saying. Might be one best left in the past.

2/5

it burst

 

Ball Passing Through a Soap Bubble (1904)

Directed by Lucien Georges Bull this is an early short film. A ball passes through a large soap bubble.

Getting a bit late in the day for these sort of short, single shot experiment films this is still fairly entertaining. Interesting to see the slow motion version of how the bubble bursts. Decent image quality.

3/5

Now there's two of them!

 

Cheval Monte, Deux Chevaux Bais Se Suivant au Pas (1899)

Directed by Etienne-Jules Marey and Charles Comte this is an early short film. Two horse riders ride past the camera.

Another nice, simple horse riding film from Marey and friends. Again the image quality is really good for the age of the film. Pretty fun.

3/5

A lady at the canter

 

Bay Horse, Ridden by Therese Rentez, Canter (1899)

Directed by Etienne-Jules Marey and Charles Comte this is an early short film. A woman rides a horse past the camera.

Another nice little horse riding short from Marey and chums. Both the dress of the woman and the canter of the horse add a bit of class to this short. Really good image quality.

3/5

Black horse, white wall

 

Cheval Noir Monte, Galop (1899)

Directed Etienne-Jules Marey this is an early short film. A black horse galops in front of a white washed wall.

As with most films from this director do not expect a huge amount from the content. What there is here is well captured and survives in good quality. Decent little short.

3/5

Do a little dance

 

Inauguration of the Marey Institute (1902)

Directed by Etienne-Jules Marey this is an early short film. People shake a man's hand then he does a jig.

While there may not be a lot of narrative to this one it does have some personality thanks to Marey's impromptu dance. Really impressive image quality for the age. Pretty fun really.

3/5

Up and down the stairs

 

Chien, Caniche Noir Descendant et Monatant Un Escalier (1897)

Directed by Etienne-Jules Marey and Lucien Georges Bull this is an early short film. A dog goes up and down the stairs.

A simple little short that would qualify as a home movie or youtube clip these days. Decent image quality and a bit of personality. Pretty good for what it is.

3/5

Having the trots, 1899 style

 

Bay Horse, Mounted, Trotting (1899)

Directed by Etienne-Jules Marey and Charles Comte this is an early short film. A man rides a horse across the shot.

Really sharp image given the age of the film. Not much more than a seconds long clip of a man on a horse. Pretty decent for what it is.

3/5

Still born

 

Jurassic World Rebirth (2025)

Directed by Gareth Edwards this sequel stars Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali and Rupert Friend. A group set off to get samples of dinosaurs to make medicine from them.

Looks like they could not be bothered to fit a single character arc in this entire film, it has about as much flavour as styrofoam. Some how all wonder has been drive from the franchise. Decent cast but they have literally nothing to work with here.

2/5

Jump around

 

Chien Caniche Noir Sautant (1897)

Directed by Etienne-Jules Marey and Lucien Georges Bull this is an early short film. A man gets his dog to jump up and down.

A fun little short with a fair amount of personality thanks to the man and his pooch. Captures something you could easily see in the park today. Really good image quality for the age of the film.

3/5