Shirking responsibility

A Thousand Times Good Night (2013)

Directed by Erik Poppe this film stars Juliette Binoche, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Maria Doyle Kennedy and Lauryn Canny. A war photographer gets injured in a suicide bombing she is at least partly morally responsible for and finds her family struggling to deal with her career.

There is a ton of really interesting and morally ambiguous stuff here which highlights some of the dilemmas facing war photographers. I am not sure the film ever completely gets to grips with the subject matter and at times the resolutions do feel a little too easy, it is not till right at the end that the protagonist has to in part face up to the realities of her actions. The film is excellently shot and as always Juliette Binoche gives an excellent performance.

4/5

A poor imitation of life

The Imitation Game (2014)

Directed by Morten Tyldum this biographical film stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode and Mark Strong. During WW2 a genius mathematician is recruited to help break the top German encryption.

The life of Alan Turing contains many great achievements and terrible treatment by the establishment but sadly instead of telling his story this film wanders far too deeply into fantasy land. By over stating Turing's involvement and achievements as well as changing his personality and adding ridiculous fantasy versions of events the script is a massive disservice to Turing. Benedict Cumberbatch gives a really good performance but when the script is so far off the mark it's a bit of an exercise in futility really.

2/5

Attempts to get it on

L'Age d'Or (1930)

Directed by Luis Bunuel this film stars Gaston Modot, Lya Lys, Caridad de Laberdesque and Max Ernst. A bunch of weird stuff happens and a couple try to have sex.

Buried with in the wandering surrealist dream that is this film is a condemnation religious and class repression of sexual urges. Unfortunately at times the thrust of the film gets lost in the seemingly bizarre and unrelated elements that litter the film. Certainly this film is something you need to have a specific taste for, the rest of us are just left bemused.

3/5

Back from the dead

Only Loves Left Alive (2013)

Written and directed by Jim Jarmusch this film stars Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska and Anton Yelchin. An old vampire living in Detroit and tired of life is visited by the vampire he has been married too for centuries.

While the plot of this film contains many familiar elements it provides a refreshing spin on what could easily have been a cliché story. The central characters muse about humanity, creating art and living for centuries while always holding your attention. All the performances are great and this is probably the best vampire film in a long time.

4/5

Shadow of screenwriter

Cast a Giant Shadow (1966)

Written and directed by Melville Shavelson this film based on a true story stars Kirk Douglas, Senta Berger, Yul Brynner and James Donald. An American military officer heads to Palestine unofficially to help the Jewish state build an army in the months before independence.

Despite being a compelling tale it does seem at times this film succumbs to the usual Hollywood temptations of embellishing in the name of entertainment. While the film is entertaining through out it is heavy handed in places and at times amounts to little more than propaganda. There are some big name cameos that are worth watching out for but given the subject matter this is not an overly remarkable film.

3/5

WW2 up close

The Battle of San Pietro (1945)

Directed by John Huston this documentary was shot in Italy during WW2. Members of the 143^rd Regiment of the 36^th Division of the US army attack a hill top village.

There are various claims about just how close camera men got to fighting during the battle and how real the footage is, whatever the case this documentary shows a the stark horrors of war well. While the narrative is a little dry and more like an army training film at times it still does a good job of showing the viewer what it was like on the ground. Some nice juxtapositions between image and narration help move things along as well.

4/5

First blood on crack

Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)

Directed by the brothers Strause this film stars Steven Pasquale, Reiko Aylesworth and John Ortiz. A small town in the US finds itself as the battleground for a fight between Aliens, Predators and an Alien-Predator hybrid.

There is not a lot of plot to this film and we never get to know any of the character long enough to care about them. We see a parade of stock characters in cliché situations get dispached so rapidly there is never enough time for any character arcs. Most of the action is either cut too fast or shot too dark to be suspenseful so there is not a lot to look forward to here.

2/5