Trying to do too much with too little

Free State of Jones (2016)

Directed by Gary Ross this film inspired by real events stars Mattheew McConaughey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mahershala Ali and Keri Russell. During the US Civil War deserters from the Confederate army join escaped slaves in fighting back against the Confederacy.

Mixing fact with fiction it is a little hard to pin down this film and it is not helped by superfluous scenes set nearly 80 years after the fact. While this is not a terrible watch I can see why it failed to connect at the box office despite it's unusual subject matter. Generally the direction and acting are decent but the script probably needed a little more polish.

3/5

To live and work on the river

Douro, Faina Fluvial (1931)

Directed by Manoel de Oliveira this is a silent era documentary. We see life on the Douro river through labour and industry.

Starting out showing a somewhat pre-industrial ideal we see technology and increased hardship seep into the lives of people. Not the deepest documentary in my opinion this is still an interesting watch. Clearly influenced by similar city symphony films this is a decent watch.

3/5

Commanding colour

La Cucaracha (1934)

Directed by Lloyd Corrigan this film stars Steffi Duna, Don Alvarado and Paul Porcasi. A big shot in the entertainment business comes to evaluate a dancer at a small club.

One of the earliest uses of Technicolor this film is a visual treat, making really great use of the new technology. The plot is nothing to write home about but the colours and composition more than make up for that. It seems some of the praise has to go to Robert Edmond Jones who designed the film rather than it all falling on the director but whatever the case I really recommend this film.

4/5

Not peak Elba or Winslet

The Mountain Between Us (2017)

Directed by Hany Abu-Assad this film based on the novel of the same name stars Kate Winsley, Idris Elba and a dog. Following a plane crash in the mountains in winter a journalist and a doctor try to survive.

Mixing a survival story with a love story his film does neither well and just left me disappointed. The plot is far too obviously constructed with both story and character beats so heavy handed as to be off putting. Given the two great actors in the cast I thought this film was a real let down.

2/5

Nice sets, shame about the rest

Uncle Tom's Cabin (1903)

Directed by Edwin S. Porter this film is based on the novel of the same name. A slave refuses to escape with others when given the chance and we follow his fate.

This is not the easiest silent film to follow without prior knowledge of it's source material and it also brings with it the source material's racial baggage as well as adding in some of it's own by using blackface. With all that being said the film actually has some really nice back drops and good production values for such an early film. It's hard to balance out the many negatives against the positive this film has but it is certainly of historical note if nothing else.

3/5

Found and jazz

Trade Tattoo (1937)

Directed by Len Lye this is an experimental short film. Out take footage from documentaries is used to build a swirling, action packed piece.

Exploring editing and manipulating found footage this is a pretty interesting early film. We see a variety of bits of trade or industry jazzed up to give it some real energy. Not the deepest film you will ever see but entertaining none the less.

3/5

A ballet of some type

Ballet Mecanique (1924)

Directed by Dudley Murphy and star Fernand Leger this film also features Kiki of Montparnasse. We see a bunch of weird images, shapes and people set to music.

I like the way that this short is edited to it's score but otherwise this is a bit too abstract for my taste. To my eye there does not appear to be a lot of context or connection between the images. One for those more into experimental cinema.

3/5