Yellow bug

Bumblebee (2018)

Directed by Travis Knight this prequel stars Hailee Steinfeld, John Cena, Jorge Lendeborg Jr. and the voice of Dylan O'Brien. Bumblebee is sent to Earth to protect it before the Autobots arrive and is adopted by an 18 year old girl.

Prequels always have the problem of a lack of stakes as you know Bumblebee has to survive. At times the plot is a little on the thin side, going over a lot of the same ground as other Transformer films. As a stand alone this is not too bad but there is not a lot to recommend it on in my opinion.

2/5

Own goal

The Keeper (2018)

Directed by Marcus H. Rosenmuller this film based on real events stars David Kross, John Henshaw and Freya Mavor. A German POW in WW2 starts to play for a local team in England as a goal keeper.

Unfortunately the interesting story of Bert Trautmann has the finger prints of screen writing cliches all over it in this film. Too many scenes are too obviously constructed leaving parts of the real story behind. I would love to see a good film on this subject but this one falls well short.

2/5

Links

The Race for the Sausage (1907)

Directed by Alice Guy-Blache this is an early short film. After a dog steals sausages from a butchers havoc ensues.

This is a classic slapstick comedy filled with chaos. There is plenty to laugh at here with set up after set up. A definitive example of an early comedy.

4/5

Not much to say

Charlie Says (2018)

Directed by Mary Harron this film based on real events stars Matt Smith, Hannah Murray, Sosie Bacon. Marianne Rendon and Merritt Wever. A graduate student tries to connect with three women convicted as part of the Manson family murders.

No doubt this film takes a different look at the subject matter but unfortunately quickly falls back into familiar detail of the crimes. I would like to have seen a lot more of the attempts to de-program the girls rather than their crimes. Not badly made but a squandered chance to be something different.

3/5

Children and cabbages

Midwife to the Upper Class (1902)

Directed by Alice Guy-Blache this film stars Germaine Serand and Yvonne Serand. A wealthy couple are assisted in picking out their new baby from the cabbage patch.

The star of this film is the sets and costumes, giving us a wonderful world to look upon. When it comes to the plot there is not much to it, especially for the four minute run time. A fun little watch but more to look at than to think about.

3/5

Love all at the end

Borg vs McEnroe (2017)

Directed by Janux Metz Pedersen this film based on real events stars Sverrir Gudnason, Shia LaBeouf, Stellan Skarsgard and Tuva Novotny. After winning four straight championships in a row at Wimbledon the Swedish player Bjorn Borg faces a new challenge in John McEnroe.

Looking more at Borg than McEnroe this film is some what refreshing in the way it shows nerves and doubt in a top level sports person. The plot is a little predictable but I enjoyed the more human characters. Well made but I would have liked the script to be a little more even handed.

4/5

Cravings in command

Madame's Cravings (1907)

Directed by Alice Guy-Blache this is a short comedy film. A pregnant woman is unable to control her cravings.

Simple in concept and execution this is short film will raise the odd chuckle or two. Not exactly high concept but there is enough here to make this film funny. Nothing much stands out about the direction, we are still just using static shots.

3/5