Brighton Seagoing Electric Car (1897)
Directed by George Albert Smith this is an early short film. A short snippet of an electric car in the sea.
A fascinating clip of old technology. Sadly the clip is so short you barely get to see the strange vehicle. I wish this one was longer.
3/5
An Interesting Story (1904)
Directed by James Williamson this is an early short film. A man is so engrossed in a book he gets run over by a steam roller.
Mixing two gags here the man also get reinflated after being steam rolled. Pretty funny for a film of the period and could easily be remade with a “kids always on their phones” modern update. The pacing could be a little faster is my only complaint.
3/5
A Very Short Film About Longing (2023)
Directed by Eimear McBride this short film stars Joe Alwyn, Natalia Kostrzewa and Lashay Anderson. A teacher has an affair with a married neighbour while one of his pupils stalks him.
Two tales of longing that are interconnected, it is pretty well done. Enjoyable and evocative especially with the cinematography. Decent if not stellar performances.
4/5
Attack on a China Mission (1900)
Directed by James Williamson this is an early short film. A scene from the Boxer rebellion.
There is a decent amount of action in this short film, especially impressive for the period. Cuts off before we get a complete resolution. Helps to know your history a little to get the context of what is happening.
3/5
The Girl with a Bracelet (2019)
Directed by Stephane Demoustier this remake of the Argentinian film The Accused (2018) stars Melissa Guers. An eighteen year old girl stands trial for the murder of her best friend.
I really like the way this film keeps you on the edge, you never really know what happened even at the end. Having not seen the original I have no idea how the two compare or how closely the film follows how the French legal system works. Certainly thought provoking and tense.
4/5
The Wasp (2024)
Directed by Guillem Morales this film stars Naomie Harris and Natalie Dormer. A woman asks a former school friend to kill her husband.
Starting off as something approaching a farce the film improves a lot once it takes a much darker turn in the second half. With a stronger first half this could be a really good film. Both actresses give good performances, I especially enjoyed Dormer's west country accent.
4/5
It Ends with Us (2024)
Directed by co-star Justin Baldoni this adaptation also stars Blake Lively. Following the death of her father a young woman from Boston opens a flower shop and starts a new romance.
The cheesy romance tone of this film is not set up to deal with the serious subject of domestic violence that arises as the story progresses. I hope this is a bad adaptation because otherwise I can see no reason why the novel on which it was based is so popular. A disappointment of fairly large proportions.
2/5
