Not an exact science

Weird Science (1985)

Written and directed by John Hughes this film stars Anthony Michael Hall, Ilan Mitchel-Smith and Kelly LeBrock. Two socially awkward teenage boys manage to create their fantasy woman but things do not turn out exactly as they planned.

This film is not really up there with the rest of John Hughes work but there is still some good stuff in this film. While it may lack humour the film does do a good job highlighting the difference between fantasy and reality as the protagonists have a coming of age weekend. Some of the special effects are a little on the ropey side but otherwise there are some good performances from the cast.

3/5

what's in a story anyway?

Top Secret! (1984)

Directed by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker this film stars Val Kilmer, Lucy Gutteridge, Christopher Villiers and Omar Sharif. An American pop star travels to East Germany for a concert and gets caught up in a spy caper.

While this film may never hit the heights of Airplane! (1980) it is still chock full of jokes with small details in scenes being turned to comic effect. When it comes to the plot it is best not to worry about it too much as does not make a huge amount of sense but serves to keep the action moving. The film is well made and the backwards sequence in the Swedish book shop with Peter Cushing is a particular comic highlight.

4/5

Animation before Pixar

The Land Before Time (1988)

Directed by Don Bluth this animated film uses the voice talents of Gabriel Damon, Candace Hutson, Judith Barsi and Will Ryan. Five young dinosaurs have to learn to work together as they look for a fertile valley and their families.

At the time of release this was a large hit but I am not so sure it has aged very well, especially in comparison to the types of stories that the likes of Pixar are putting out these days. The plot is pretty short and fairly simplistic while being fairly blunt with any morals so is one for the younger children. When it comes to the animation it is not bad but about on par with what you would get on television during the same period.

3/5

East of understanding

The East (2013)

Directed by Zal Batmanglij this film stars Brit Marling, Alexander Skarsgard and Ellen Page. An undercover agent for a private intelligence firm seeks to infiltrate a group of anarchists.

The opening half of this film is a nicely taught thriller that poses some interesting questions about corporate responsibility and modern anarchist groups but it never really goes anywhere. Our group of anarchists are essentially just rich kids playing at revolutionary with questionable morals but while this issue is raised it is never taken to a conclusion. I think the ending was the part of the film that worked least as it was too large of an change for the protagonist that was never foreshadowed.

2/5

Mining bad ideas

The Lone Ranger (2013)

Directed by Gore Verbinski this film based on the classic characters of the same name stars Johny Depp, Armie Hammer, Ruth Wilson, William Fichtner and Tom Wilkinson. An ageing Native American retells the story of the origin of the title hero in the wild west.

Of all the franchises you could pick to reboot this is one of the stranger as no one makes westerns any more and this is not a franchise that is relevant to many modern cinema goers. There is however plenty of room to update a genre filled with problematic elements but unfortunately this film has all the old problems in spades (Native American character player by a white person, Native American massacres trivialised as plot points and female love interests with agency waiting to be saved). I did enjoy some occasional references to Once Upon a Time in the West but otherwise this film just seems to be an excuse to try to launch another franchise around Captain Jack Sparrow but this time in the guise of a Native America.

2/5

Bear-ly watchable

Arctic Flight (1952)

Directed by Lew Landers this film stars Wayne Morris, Lola Albright, Alan Hale Jr. and Carol Thurston. A commercial pilot in the Arctic Circle thinks his passenger might be a Soviet spy rather than the big game hunter he claims to be.

Despite having a short run time the plot of this film takes far too long to get to the actual espionage story and it is over so fast you might miss it if you blink. The script for this film really needed a big rewrite to focus on tension and suspicion, a leaf out of Hitchcock's book would have been a good start. When it comes to the star Wayne Morris comes off as a third rate John Wayne but really no one has much to work with.

2/5

Not so adorable

Adore (2013)

Directed by Anne Fontaine this film based on a short story in “The Grandmothers” stars Naomi Watts, Robin Wright, Ben Mendelsohn and Xavier Samuel. Two middle aged women that have been best friends for life start relationships with each others sons.

The problem with this film is that I am not sure it ever really explores with enough depth why the unusual relationships it depicts happen. This is not what you would call a bad film but it does not seem to be a fully realised story either. Where the film is strong is in transplanting the story to Australia and is shot really well, making excellent use of the landscapes.

3/5