Anais in Love (2021)
Written & directed by Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet this film stars Anais Demoustier, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi and Denis Podalydes. A young woman looks for love, first with an older man and then with his wife.
It is hard to imagine anything more French than the plot of this film. Thankfully the film does not descend in to parody, it manages to be a pretty entertaining little comedy about love. Sure this is not a riotously funny film but it is enjoyable none the less.
3/5
Constantinople, panorama de la corne d'or (1897)
Directed by Alexandre Promio this is an early short film. We see Constantinople from the back of a moving vessel.
My question for the day is, is it really a panorama if it is not the camera moving but what the camera is on that is moving? This is a nice enough view of the part of Constantinople however all the boats in the foreground rather get in the way. The whole thing looks a bit cluttered really.
3/5
Death of Marat (1897)
Directed by Alexandre Promio and Georges Hatot this is an early short film. A woman murders a man.
Filmed as a single static shot it is a bit hard to tell what is going on here due to the image quality and the distance of the camera from the action. Without much familiarity with French history it is difficult to figure out who the people involved are. Not the best of the early Lumiere catalogue.
2/5
Dead Reckoning (1947)
Directed by John Cromwell this film stars Humphrey Bogard, Lizabeth Scott, Morris Carnovsky and William Prince. A paratrooper investigates the disappearance and death of one of his comrades.
As film noir go this is a very middle of the road one that does nothing new or particularly interesting. The plot just about fills the 90 minute run time without outstaying its welcome. What the film really needs is Lauren Becall instead of her knock off, Lizabeth Scott.
3/5
It Is In Us All (2022)
Written & directed by Antonia Campbell-Hughes this film stars Cosmo Jarvis and Rhys Mannion. A Londoner who has inherited his aunt's house in Donegal is involved in a fatal car accident.
There are some nice shots of the Irish scenery in this film which I really enjoyed. Overall this is one of those independent films that I had a hard time connecting with, I even struggled a bit with some of the dialogue. Certainly I want to see more from Antonia Campbell-Hughes even if this one missed the mark for me.
3/5
The Integrity of Joseph Chambers (2022)
Written & directed by Robert Machoian this film stars Clayne Crawford, Jordana Brewster, Michael Raymond-James and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. An insurance agent goes hunting on his own in the woods.
This is a one of those low key independent films without a lot of action. I did enjoy the film if not as much as the previous Machoian/Crawford collaboration. A thought provoking moral dilemma.
3/5
The Woman King (2022)
Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood this film stars Viola David, Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch and John Boyega. Elite women warriors defend the kingdom of Dahomey from its rivals.
When Hollywood and history combine you are never getting the real deal, this film mixes a very large dose of fiction in with history. If anything this is the Marvel version of history and would serve well as a Black Panther prequel, too much of the unpalatable side of history is omitted in favour of a more super hero approach. Some good performances and a nice bit of representation I just would have preferred something a bit more historical.
2/5
