I spy with my little eye

The House on 92^nd Street (1945)

Based on real events this film from director Henry Hathaway stars William Eythe, Llyod Nolan and Signe Hasso. With the help of a double agent the FBI look to round up a ring of German spies operating out of New York during WW2.

As with many a film based on real events this film takes it's inspiration from the capture of the Duquesne spy ring but inserts it's own fictional elements. The film is in the style of a semi documentary, it comes across as a recruiting tool for the FBI and a warning to the Soviets at the start of the cold war. Some of the boasts made by the film's narrator about the effectiveness of the FBI do fall short given we now know how well the Soviets penetrated the US during WW2.

2/5

An American director in London

Gideon's Day (1958)

Directed by John Ford this adaptation of the novel of the same name stars Jack Hawkins and Dianne Foster. A high ranking British police officer has a busy when faced with a never ending stream of crimes and incidents to deal with.

You will be hard pushed to find a more unusual entry in John Ford's cannon than a police drama set and filmed in London. Plot-wise the film the film is not much more than the protagonist racing round trying to crisis manage and both shows it's age in some of the attitudes while occasionally stretching believability. The film is well made but the setting does not really lend it self to the type of direction that Ford is best known for.

3/5

The Parisian transformation

Sabrina (1954)

Directed by Billy Wilder this adaptation of the play “Sabrina Fair” stars Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn and William Holden. The chauffeur's daughter has an unrequited crush on the playboy second son of the family her father works for, upon returning from a trip to Paris she gets the boys attention.

This film really fits into what your expectations are of an older romance film and despite having a fairly simple love triangle plot is well made. Casting Bogart as the male lead does seem a little out of place to me but his performance is good and Audrey Hepburn is always excellent as the wide eyed young girl. Despite being a lighter piece than some of Billy Wilder's other films this is still well worth a look for the right occasion.

4/5

The Stake Road

Stake Land (2010)

Directed by Jim Mickle this film stars Nick Damici, Connor Paolo and Danielle Harris. In a world over run by vampires a mysterious vampire hunter and his young side kick travel across America looking for a haven in the north.

Despite being about vampires the spectre that hangs over this film is The Road (2009) which clearly served as a massive influence on the tone and style employed here. There is not really much originality here with this film being a pretty simple combination of obvious inspirations. Like the content of the film the execution is pretty average as well and there is little to recommend this film against a number of entries in what is an increasingly popular genre.

3/5

Days of blunder

Days of Thunder (1990)

Directed by Tony Scott this Jerry Bruckheimer production stars Tom Cruise, Robert Duvall and Nicole Kidman. A maverick young race car driver gets his shot at NASCAR but has to file down his rough edges to become a winner.

Days of Thunder is one of the greatest film titles of all time in my opinion, unfortunately the rest of the film does not really come close to living up to that level. The plot for the film is essentially lifted from Top Gun (1986) with every cliché in the book and when you see Tom Cruise with a story credit during the opening titles that is the most ominous piece of foreshadowing in the whole film. When it comes to the actual racing in the film not much of it actually makes sense despite the film being fairly well made even if there is some suspect dialogue along the way.

2/5

Man child

Arthur (2011)

Directed by Jason Winer this remake stars Russell Brand, Helen Mirren, Jennifer Garner and Greta Gerwig. An heir to a large banking family is a spoilt man child who is told by his mother that he must marry her assistant.

It seems that the plot follows the original film fairly closely but is a pretty good fit for Russell Brand and the film has plenty of humour. Despite being a fairly simple romantic comedy which fits into a number of the usual clichés there is enough charm to keep you entertained. Where the film did lose me was in the final moments it rather undermined itself and the title characters journey by letting him keep his inheritance.

3/5

We are such things

The Tempest (2010)

Director Julie Taymor adapts the classic Shakespeare play The Tempest for the big screen with a large cast including Helen Mirren, Felicity Jones and Djimon Hounsou. Exiled a former duchess uses magic to seek revenge on those who have wronged her.

If any of Shakespeare's plays benefit from modern technology in adaptation then The Tempest is probably it as in this adaptation the magical elements of the play can really be brought to life. Switching the gender of the title role does not have a negative affect, indeed it slightly enhances the back story and Helen Mirren gives a good performance. Strangely for all the positive elements this film has going for it I was left underwhelmed but this is still a decent adaptation.

3/5