But why?

Appointment with Danger (1950)

Directed by Lewis Allen this film stars Alan Ladd, Phyllis Calvert and Paul Stewart. A US postal service inspector investigates a murder of one of his peers that a nun is the only witness to.

This is a pretty simple crime drama with plenty of tension but never really explains why the initial murder happened. The plot gets side tracked into being a heist film and kind of forgets its origin. Never the less this is a decent watch that occasionally shoes its age.

3/5

Not smashing

Icebreaker (2016)

Directed by Nikolay Khomeriki this film based on real events stars Pyotr Fyodorov, Sergei Puskepalis and Aleksandr Pal. In 1985 a Russian icebreaker becomes trapped in the ice.

A mix of Soviet era politics and disaster film this is a bit of a tepid effort. On screen events never really rise to a level of high tension that will put you on the edge of your seat. It is hard to say how accurate the film is to real events but the film is at least mildly entertaining.

3/5

Clickety clack

Night Mail (1936)

Directed by Harry Watt and Basil Wright this is a short documentary from the General Post Office film unit. We see how mail travels by train over night from London to Scotland.

Coming in with a hefty reputation this is an interesting watch but the minutiae of the piece may appeal more to those deeply into the details of film construction than your average viewer. As a historical record this is a fascinating piece and the final poem really elevates this narration. There are some nice shots as well as some very human moments captured.

4/5

Bear-able

Paddington (2014)

Directed by Paul King this film based on the character of the same name stars Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Nicole Kidman and the voice of Ben Whishaw. A talking bear from Peru arrives at Paddington station in London and seeks a family to live with.

Enjoyable but simple this is a decent adaptation of a classic children's character. The script has a good hard but the film a little too short to be memorable in my opinion. Thankfully the CGI is well done as the film is some what reliant on that to work.

3/5

Doesn't sit right

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

Written & directed by Martin McDonagh this film stars Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, John Hawkes and Peter Dinklage. A woman puts up three billboards to try and spur the small town police force into working harder on the investigation into the rape and murder of her daughter.

I will be honest I found this film very hard to pin down. There is something that does not sit right about the way this film invokes racism and then brushes away it away as almost a forgotten prop. While there are enjoyable elements to this film the praise that was lavished on it surprises me somewhat.

3/5

Not so famous

The Famous Actress Cicala Formica (1920)

Directed by Lucio D'Ambra this film stars Lia Formia, Umberto Zanuccoli and Riccardo Bertacchini. A rich young woman dreams of being a film actress but various obstacles stand in her way.

To start out with the film spends far too long introducing a huge cast of characters, some of which barely feature in the film. When the plot itself gets going it is fairly average. There is the odd chuckle here and there but for an early film I found this one rather unremarkable.

2/5

Senseless

Terrifier (2017)

Written & directed by Damien Leone this film stars Jenna Kanell, Samatha Scaffidi, David Howard Thornton and Catherine Corcoran. A man dressed up as a clown kills a bunch of people on Halloween.

Missing any sort of plot, motivation or character arcs this is just an excuse to string together a bunch of gore. The fact that no character survives long enough to have any kind of arc means rather than being surprised you just never are about any character. It is easy to see what this film is trying to be but the script is so paper thin it falls far short.

1/5