FREEDOM

Passport to Pimlico (1949)

Directed by Henry Cornelius this comedy stars Stanley Holloway, Margaret Rutherford and Barbara Murray. A street in London finds out that it is the last remaining part of the Kingdom of Burgundy and declares independence.

Made by Ealing Studios this film fits into what is considered part of a golden era for comedies produced at the studio. The plot of the film is a bit silly but events with in the plot do provide an interesting nod towards political events of the time such as the Berlin Blockade. What the film does come up short on is jokes in my opinion, while it maybe one clever joke stretched out over 84 minutes it lacks the energy and consistent jokes to really sustain the film.

3/5

9 days to rule them all

Lady Jane (1986)

Directed by Tervor Nunn this historical drama stars Helena Bonham Carter, Cary Elwes and Patrick Stewart. As the young king Edward VI faces a premature death his advisers scheme to put a young girl on the throne to be their puppet.

As with many historical pieces this film matches fact with a large amount of fantasy which sadly undermines the content of the film somewhat. The tale of Lady Jane is pretty interesting in being a young girl used as a pawn but the addition of too much fiction waters down the possibility of getting to grips with the real Jane and events of her 9 day reign. One negative element of the execution of the film is that some of the dialogue does suffer from a fair amount of echo and the sound track is over bearing at times.

2/5

Returned donations

Jesus Henry Christ (2012)

Written and directed by Dennis Lee this is an expansion of his own earlier short film and stars Jason Spevack, Toni Collette and Michael Sheen. The child prodigy son of a single mother wants to find his biological father.

This film does not really break a lot of new ground in terms of content or the subjects it explores and does reach a bit of a predictable conclusion. What the film does have going for it is really good performances from the cast, especially the children which gives the film enough personality and humour to carry the piece. Being a little on the short side does indicate the film could have done with a bit more content but for a piece about characters it is not bad.

3/5

Finger cuffs

Chasing Amy (1997)

Directed by Kevin Smith this film stars Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams and Jason Lee. A comic book writer falls for a girl at a comic book convention only to find out she is a lesbian.

It is a rare romantic comedy that actually has any depth to it but this is one of the best you are likely to come across in a genre that is littered with cynical paint by numbers efforts. A number of themes including sexuality, gender roles and sexual history are explored in a mature fashion while the film manages to remain genuinely funny. Despite this film being shot on a tiny budget you would be hard pressed to realise that from watching it and this film is well worth watching.

4/5

Freedom, man

Easy Rider (1969)

Dennis Hopper directed, wrote and starred in this film along side co-star and was co-writer Peter Fonda. Two hippies on motorbikes travel from California to New Orleans for Mardi Gras.

It is easy to see the Western inspirations for this film and it does a great job of capturing the culture clash in America brought on by the various counter culture movements of the time. Despite only having a small part in the film Jack Nicholson has an excellent cameo that launched his career. Not just relevant for it's content this film helped launch the “New Hollywood” phase which was heavily influenced by the “French New Wave”.

5/5

Lifeless

The Tree of Life (2011)

Directed by Terrence Malick this film stars Brad Pitt, Sean Penn and Jessica Chastain. In 1950s Texas the eldest son has a rocky relationship with his father as he starts to come of age.

This film is beautifully shot and scored but I have some serious problems with it. I like non-linear story telling as much as the next person but this film stretches things too far in my opinion, it seems to take over half an hour to actually get started and despite the universe formation sequence being amazing it is far too long and seems completely out of place. As much as I admire the execution of the film the opening and end of the film are just too far removed from what seems to be the main narrative that it makes large portions of the film seem redundant. Maybe I am missing something but I would suggest that at best this film is an acquired taste which is a real shame as it feels like there is a great film in here somewhere.

2/5

Royal appointment

The Queen (2006)

Directed by Stephen Frears this is the second part of writer Peter Morgan's informal Blair trilogy which stars Helen Mirren and Michael Sheen. Following the death of Princess Diana the monarchy and the government struggle to reflect public opinion.

Being based on real events the best thing about this film is the transformations of Mirren and Sheen giving credible performances as well known public figures. The plot does a good job of showing the personal struggles of Queen Elizabeth but lacks a detailed view of the wider feeling and does not really attempt to explore the complex relationships Diana had with the royal family. This is a good character piece but one does have to wonder how much fabrication there is given the private nature of someone like the Queen.

4/5