A little magic

At the Hypnotist's (1897)

Directed by Alice Guy-Blache this is an early short film. We see a man visit a hypnotists and gets some tricks played on him.

Using simple trick photography this is another good example of the early camera trick films. Well made an edited this short shows off some of the things you can achieve in film. Clearly an early experiment but on par with anything else of the era.

3/5

Lost in the web

The Girl in the Spider's Web (2018)

Directed by Fede Alvarez this sequel based on the novel of the same name stars Claire Foy, Sverrir Gudnason and LaKeith Stanfield. Our heroine is hired to steal a computer program from the NSA that can control all the nuclear weapons in the world.

I really did not like this sequel, it takes the series down a spy thriller route that does not feel grounded in reality at all. There is little character depth and it feels like there is a films missing between this one and it's predecessors. I suppose the action sequences are decently made but I was turned off by this film nearly from the start.

2/5

Argento, alcoholism and obsession

Videoman (2018)

Written & directed by Kristian A. Soderstrom this film stars Stefan Sauk, Lena Nilsson and Morgan Alling. A man obsessed with collecting Italian horror films on VHS starts a relationship with an alcoholic woman.

Certainly there is something to this odd Swedish film and it captures maybe a little more of the film obsessive than some of us film fans would like. Maybe a little cheaply made but that just reflects the films the protagonist loves. There is plenty to enjoy for a film fan and the character story holds up for a non film fan too.

3/5

Where babies come from

The Cabbage-Patch Fairy (1896)

Directed by Alice Guy-Blance this is an early short film. A woman helps produce babies from the cabbage patch.

Very simple in terms of what happens on screen it might be a bit of a stretch to call this a true narrative experience. The production values are very decent for the period and the surviving image quality is good too. Not a bad watch but probably not one of the highlights of the early silent period.

3/5

The case for not being

Being Rose (2017)

Directed by Rod McCall this film stars Cybill Shepherd, James Brolin and Pam Grier. A woman diagnosed with a fatal condition goes on a road trip.

Recently I have seen a few amazing films about characters facing their own mortality but sadly this is not one of them. The writing, acting and direction are all pretty bad here so it becomes hard to find anything to enjoy. Perhaps the lowlight of this film is the healthiest looking heroin addict I have ever seen.

1/5

Not full of laughter

Slaughterhouse Rulez (2018)

Directed by Crispian Mills this film stars Asa Butterfield, Finn Cole, Hermoine Corfield, Michael Sheen and Simon Pegg. Fracking at an upper class boarding school leads to the release of monsters.

It takes a really long while for this film to get going but there are finally some funny moments when everything comes to a head. In my opinion the film suffers a little from an identity crisis, unsure if it wants to be a drama or a comedy. Not a bad watch in the end but lacking a little polish.

3/5

Disaster averted

Lost in London (2017)

Written & directed by star Woody Harrelson this film also features Eleanor Matsuura and Owen Wilson. On a night out in London actor Woody Harrelson falls foul of his wife and then the law.

Obviously the biggest part of this film was that it was shot live in one take. As a film experiment this is an impressive achievement but that is probably all the film will ever be remembered for. The autobiographical nature of the film is some what refreshing but nothing special.

4/5