Rate the Last Film you Watched 2: Electric Boogaloo

[LimeGreenLegend 4,293]

What I Watched This Week #90 (September 17 – 23)

Waxworks  
dir. Paul Leni, Leo Birinski/1924/1h23m 

A writer (William Dieterle) is hired by the owner of a waxwork museum to write stories to accompany his exhibits.  This is the framing device for a horror anthology film with three shorts about evil figures from history, Harun al Raschid (Emil Jannings), Ivan the Terrible (Conrad Veidt) and Jack the Ripper (Werner Krauss).  The fact that these are stories being told by a poet gives them a romanticism and a dream like quality.  The three stories are tied together by a romantic subplot where the writer falls in love with the waxwork owner's daughter Eva (Olga Belajeff).  The first two stories are very good.  The one about al Raschid has amazing set design and the Ivan the Terrible story has a brilliantly chilling ending but unfortunately most of the final story was lost and only six minutes remain.  This obviously makes it feel rushed, but what is there, a brilliantly edited montage of shadowy figures stalking the streets, is pure German expressionism.  The performance of Veidt as Ivan the Terrible is the highlight of the piece, and the film is worth watching for that segment alone.  6.5/10

Viy 
dir. Georgiy Kropachyov, Kostiantyn Yershov/1967/1h17m 

Viy is a folk horror and the first horror film produced in the then Soviet Union.  Leonid Kuravlyov plays Khoma, a student at a seminary who, one night, is attacked by a witch.  He is able to defend himself, killing her in the process.  As she dies she transforms into a beautiful young woman.  A few days later he is hired to watch over the coffin of the daughter of a rich merchant who has recently died for three nights.  When Khoma arrives at the church he discovers that the young woman is the witch, and over the next three nights he is tormented by her to the edge of sanity.  This feels like a dark fairy tale with some genuinely chilling moments, especially the confrontation between Khoma and the witch at the start of the film.  There are also some really good special effects that look somewhat dated now but are still effective.  Kuravlyov is solid in the lead role,  perfectly conveying  Khoma's descent into madness over the three nights.  Entertaining and imaginative, worth checking out if you're looking for something different this Halloween.  8/10 

A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies
dir. Martin Scorsese, Michael Henry Wilson/1995/3h45m 

This epic documentary does exactly what it says on the tin.  Against a black backdrop Martin Scorsese takes us through his personal experience of the movies from the silent era all the way to the early 70's and the start of the New Hollywood movement.  He discusses at length what he considers the three genres of American cinema, westerns, gangster films, and musicals.  He also talks about the role of the director in shaping film history and the different roles directors take such as illusionists or smugglers of subversive ideas and ideologies.  If you're gonna spend nearly four hours listening to someone talk about a subject they need to be informed and enthusiastic, and in that case you couldn't get anyone better than Scorsese.  His love for film and the art of visual storytelling is clear from the outset and you know that he could easily go on for another four hours and I would soak up every word.  Clips from the films that he talks about are shown throughout, but I do wish that there was a caption telling us what they were, but not having that did make me feel like a big smart boy whenever I recognised a film that I had seen.  Your mileage on this will depend on how interested you are in film history, but even if you only have a slight interest I'm sure that you'll be hooked from the start.  9/10

The Blue Angel
dir. Josef von Sternberg/1930/1h48m 

When he tries to catch some of his students in a nightclub, the puritanical Professor Rath (Emil Jannings) catches the performance of cabaret star Lola Lola (Marlene Dietrich) and instantly falls in love.  He is forced to resign in disgrace after spending a night with her, but later marries her and becomes a clown in her touring show.  But years of watching other men lust after her turns him mad with jealousy, and a return to his home town just pushes him over the edge.  This felt a lot like Scarlet Street where you're just watching someone walk willingly to their doom and there's nothing anyone can do about it.  This has a slow start, but the final act where we fully see the consequences of Rath's obsession is shocking, all down to Janning's performance.  He is a pathetic, pitiable shell of a man who doesn't even have the words to describe how he feels so he just starts howling like an animal.  Against this is Dietrich who dominates every shot she's in with her presence.  She struts through the film like she owns the place and the subtle shift in her performance from fun and flirty to cold and callous is masterfully done.  9/10 Lime's Film of the Week!

[LimeGreenLegend 4,293]

I just finished watching Halloween Ends, meaning I have now seen all 13 films in the franchise.  Here is a quick ranking of them all, which is objectively the correct ranking. 

Excellent:
Halloween (1978)
Decent:
Halloween 2 (1981)
Halloween H20
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
Halloween 3: Season of the Witch
Not Very Good:
Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers
Halloween: Resurrection
Halloween (2018)
Halloween Ends
Halloween Kills
No:
Halloween (2007)
Halloween 2 (2009)

Edited October 17, 2023 by LimeGreenLegend

[LimeGreenLegend 4,293]

What I Watched This Week #91 (September 24 – 30)

Shadows
dir. John Cassavetes/1958/1h27m 

Shadows is the directorial debut from John Cassavetes, a hugely influential figure in independent cinema.  It stars Anthony Ray as Tony, a white man in New York who falls in love with Lelia (Lelia Goldoni), a light skinned black woman.  Tony has no idea about her race until he meets her jazz singer brother Hugh (Hugh Hurd) and tensions are immediately apparent.  Inspired by Italian neorealism this is shot on location using a cast of non-professionals and the story was workshopped in an improvisational way, all of which gives the film a real authenticity.  The haphazard handheld camerawork and choppy editing all add to this realism.  This is all tied together with a score by jazz legend Charles Mingus, making this perhaps the ultimate film about the beat generation and a mature look at race relations at the time.  This does feel just a step above a student film, and none of the performances really stand out, but they all feel comfortable on screen because they're not really acting.  Still, this is very ahead of its time and as you watch it you can see the influence it had on American cinema of the 60's.  7.5/10

The Misfits
dir. John Huston/1961/2h5m 

The final film of both Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable, The Misfits is a revisionist western about a group of outcasts trying to make a place for themselves in a world that doesn't care about them.  Monroe is the recently divorced Roslyn who has a chance meeting with old cowboy g*ylord (Gable) and his friend, WW2 vet g*ido (Eli Wallach).  On a whim they decide to move into g*ido's ramshackle home in the desert and turn it into a place they can all live.  A scheme to round up wild horses brings rodeo rider Perce (Montgomery Clift) into the fold, leading to a hard to watch final act where the cruelties of man are exposed and challenged.  This is a sad film, not only because of the knowledge that Monroe and Gable would both be dead within the year, but because of the sheer desperation of these characters, each looking for a new meaning to their lives.  Monroe is amazing here, giving a dramatic performance that shows that she could do more than just comedies and musicals.  Gable is also excellent as the man left behind by change, trying to hide his resentment.  Great support from the rest of the cast, a brilliant script by playwright and Monroe's husband at the time Arthur Miller, and surprisingly restrained direction from Huston round out what makes this a deeply tragic film that also feels like a send off for the genre as a whole.  9/10 Lime's Film of the Week!

Three Chaplin Shorts:

Laughing Gas
dir. Charlie Chaplin/1914/13m 

The Pawnshop
dir. Charlie Chaplin/1916/26m 

Behind the Screen 
dir. Charlie Chaplin/1916/24m 

These three Chaplin shorts are linked by the fact that he plays an assistant at three different jobs, a dentist, a pawn shop and as a prop boy in a movie studio.  Laughing Gas is the weakest of the three as there are so many gags you can pull off in a single location, and Chaplin manages to pull them all off.  The Pawnshop affords him more opportunities for mischief making as various customers come in with all sorts of different objects.  My favourite gag was the guy who brings in a clock to pawn, and in trying to determine its value Chaplin totally disassembles it, is unable to put it back together and so says it's worth nothing.  Behind the Screen is the best of this bunch as it's not only packed full of hilarious gags it also feels personal as Chaplin rails against the studios of the time and their incompetence in his eyes.  It also has an extended pie fight, and who doesn't love those?  He is still to reach his heights as an artist, but these early films of his are all packed full of charm and some of the best slapstick ever. 

Laughing Gas 6/10
The Pawnshop 7/10
Behind the Screen 7.5/10

Desperately Seeking Susan
dir. Susan Seidelman/1985/1h44m 

After a serious case of mistaken identity combined with a heavy dose of amnesia, vanilla suburban housewife Roberta (Rosanna Arquette) is mistaken for the free spirited Susan (Madonna), even by herself.  To make things worse, Susan is being hunted by the mob, who also now think that Roberta is Susan.  This was Madonna's first film and, despite how much I can't stand her, she is really good.  It helps that she's only a supporting role, and her character of a bratty cool girl seems like it was written specifically for her because it feels like if she wasn't a music superstar this is what she'd be like.  The character of Susan reminded me of the lead in Smithereens, an earlier film by the director.  Rosanna Arquette is fantastic in the lead here, and does a brilliant job in a kind of dual role.  This is a fun and funny film with a very cool vibe and a scene of Madonna bopping along to Get Into the Groove.  8.5/10

Towers of Silence
dir. Jamil Dehlavi/1975/54m 

This semi-autobiographical Pakistani drama centres around the clash of cultures between the Muslim and Zoroastrian faiths and the story of the wife of a murdered revolutionary and her young son, who grows up obsessed with death.  The title of the film refers to a Zoroastrian funeral ritual, where bodies are left out on top of towers for vultures to eat.  This is an arthouse film with a very mysterious tone and an almost poetic structure, with the film moving back and forth across time without any signal.  It reminded me a lot of The Colour of Pomegranates in how it feels like a visual poem rather than a narrative.  The black and white photography is gorgeous, but there are some pretty wooden performances in here which do let it down slightly.  A fascinating film about a culture I'd only ever heard of in relation to Freddie Mercury.  8/10

[djw180 7,005]

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005) dir George Lucas.

 

 

This concludes the Star Wars prequel trilogy, and it is pretty much the same mediocre standard as the first two. It is, for me, the best of this trilogy, but that isn't saying a lot. The problems for me, like the previous films, are things like the silly, childish combat droids, and poor characters, most notably in this Hayden Christensen's Anakin. He is just not believable as the future Darth Vader. He does a decent job of playing a psycho, gradually losing his mind, but Vader, in the originals, was always more measured and calculating. Christensen's Anakin Skywalker does not come across as that same character,  even allowing for Vader being older by the time we get to episode IV. The rest of the cast are largely good, Ewen McGregor and Ian McDiarmid hold things together well. The opening and closing scenes are reasonably good. I like the juxtaposition of Anakin becoming Vader as Luke and Leia are born. Some of the action scenes, light sabre duels, etc, go on a little too long for me. Overall the bad nearly out ways the good.

 

I don't usually do half marks, but I have to give this a slightly higher score than the previous one, but I can't give it a whole extra mark. So 5.5 / 10 from me.

 

 

[LimeGreenLegend 4,293]

What I Watched This Week #92 (October 1 – 7)

Grave of the Fireflies
dir. Isao Takahata/1988/1h29m 

In the final months of WW2 teenage Seita (Tsutomu Tatsumi) and his young sister Setsuko (Ayano Shiraishi) are orphaned after an air raid on Kobe.  They stay with their aunt for a short while, but leave after a falling out.  Now homeless, they struggle and ultimately fail to survive.  This is from Japanese animation powerhouse Studio Ghibli, and was released the same year as My Neighbour Totoro, but this is a far cry from the magical, whimsical worlds which they usually create.  This is an unrelentingly realistic and brutal story of the loss of innocence that stands alongside Come and See as one of the best and most horrific anti-war films ever made.  And yet it is still incredibly tender and beautiful, full of love and all too brief moments of hope.  The hand-drawn animation that comes out of Studio Ghibli has always been the best in the world, better even than golden age Disney, and that is evident here.  This film punched me in the f*cking heart and I'm never going to watch it again.  10/10 Lime's Film of the Week!

Wes Anderson's Roald Dahl Short Film Collection:

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
dir. Wes Anderson/2023/40m 

The Swan
dir. Wes Anderson/2023/17m (couldn't find a clip or trailer for this 😞)

The Rat Catcher 
dir. Wes Anderson/2023/17m 

Poison
dir. Wes Anderson/2023/17m 

This collection of short films based on Roald Dahl short stories was recently released on Netflix.  They are directed by Wes Anderson, who has experience working in the world of Dahl having previously made the stop motion adaptation of Fantastic Mr. Fox (which is fantastic).  All four films share a cast – though they don't all appear in all films – including Benedict Cumberbatch, Dev Patel, Richard Ayoade, Ben Kingsley and Ralph Fiennes who plays Dahl himself as well as a few other characters.  Anderson doesn't stray from his style here, with very artificial looking sets that make sure you always know that you are being told a story.  What's really interesting here is how he has chosen to adapt them, with every word coming verbatim from the books and being delivered straight to camera for the most part.  Again, this adds to the feeling of being read a bedtime story, albeit very dark ones.  Poison is the most humorous of the set, but the outburst at the end by Cumberbatch is startlingly abrupt as it reveals the true meaning of the title.  My favourite is The Rat Catcher, where Fiennes plays the titular character who needs a horror film spin off, but they are equally as good.  I gave them all the same score so I'll just rate the entire collection 9/10

Carry On d*ck
dir. Gerald Thomas/1974/1h31m 

The Carry On series returns to historical spoofs in this film about legendary highwayman d*ck Turpin (Sid James) who is terrorising the roads of 18th Century England.  Captain Fancey (Kenneth Williams) is determined to capture him, and enlists the help of local reverend Rev. Flasher, which is actually the alter ego of Turpin himself.  This feels like an early end to the series as it marks the last appearance of James as well as other long serving cast members Hattie Jacques and Barbara Windsor.  I like the return to the historical setting as they always put more effort in to the costumes and sets than their budget would allow, and that's true here.  But you can already imagine the types of jokes you'll be getting here just from the title alone.  Not a bad film but it feels tired.  5/10

The Hunchback of Notre Dame
dir. Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise/1996/1h31m 

This is Disney's version of the classic story of Quasimodo (Tom Hulce), the hunchbacked bell ringer of Notre Dame cathedral, trapped there by his evil guardian Judge Frollo (Tony Jay).  When he secretly leaves to attend a festival he makes his first friend in Esmeralda (Demi Moore), a Romani facing persecution from Frollo.  I was not expecting the fire and brimstone hellish imagery and s*xual overtones in this film, all coming from Frollo, and it goes hard.  There's some real Old Testament sh*t in here.  The streets of Paris and especially the Cathedral itself are all gorgeous to look at, and there is some really dynamic camerawork here, with it swooping all along the city skyline.  The songs are decent, though there are no stand out bangers, but this film is carried on the strength of its visuals and some solid performances from Hulce, Jay and Moore as well as Kevin Kline and Jason Alexander.  7.5/10

Farewell, My Lovely
dir. d*ck Richards/1975/1h35m 

This noir film, based on the Raymond Chandler novel, stars Robert Mitchum as grizzled private eye Phillip Marlowe.  He is hired by a bank robber just out of a seven year stretch, Moose Malloy (Jack O'Halloran), to find his sweetheart, who hasn't called him that entire time.  At the same time he's investigating the theft of a rare necklace and crosses paths with femme fatale Helen Grayle (Charlotte Rampling).  This is a great adaptation, especially Mitchum as Marlowe.  He perfectly captures his lethargic cynicism and hard boiled world weariness.  Even though this is in colour it still feels like a classic noir and manages to evoke the sleazy corruption that lurks just below the surface of the city, even in broad daylight.  The supporting cast, which includes Harry Dean Stanton, are all great, and we even get an early sighting of Sylvester Stallone.  8/10

Five Easy Pieces
dir. Bob Rafelson/1970/1h38m 

Jack Nicholson plays Bob Dupea, a man from a rich family who rejected that life and now works in the oil fields and dates waitress Rayette (Karen Black), but he's not much happier there.  When he learns that his father is dying he returns home, with Rayette coming along.  This is a great example of the New Hollywood movement at the time, where happy endings were out of fasion and optimism was for losers.  Dupea is an empty man living in an empty world and there is no way out, you can only keep moving.  Nicholson is excellent in this role, his charm coming across like a shield, but even that doesn't work.  Black is an excellent juxtaposition to that, with her Rayette being content with her lot in life and offering Bob a chance at love and happiness.  But Bob is too far gone by now, and that ending is both inevitable and devastating.  8.5/10

[LimeGreenLegend 4,293]

What I Watched This Week #93 (October 8 – 14)

Bottoms
dir. Emma Seligman/2023/1h32m 

Bottoms is a mix between Fight Club and American Pie but with gay teenage girls.  PJ (Rachel Sennott) and Josie (Ayo Edebiri) are the two biggest losers in school and are desperate to lose their virginities to their hot cheerleader crushes before they graduate.  To that end they start a fight club in the hopes that that will allow them to get up close and personal with the hot girls.  This is an outrageous comedy that is both a parody of and an homage to classic h*rny teen comedies from Porky's through to the aforementioned American Pie.  I was laughing out loud throughout this entire film and was genuinely shocked at the places they go and how far they go there.  This is especially true for the climactic showdown at the big homecoming football game which is just unhinged with how crazy it is.  Even the end credits were fun to watch because it had something that I didn't realise I missed until I saw it, bloopers!  Why did films, particularly comedies, stop putting bloopers over the end credits?  This is the second feature from Emma Seligman after the brilliant Shiva Baby – also starring Rachel Sennott – and it has cemented her as my favourite new filmmaker.  If you're one of those people who thinks that they don't make comedies like they used to then you need to watch this.  And everyone else needs to watch this too.  10/10 Lime's Film of the Week!

The Wolf House 
dir. Cristobal Leon, Joaquin Cocina/2018/1h15m 

The Wolf House is a stop motion film about a young, free spirited girl, Maria (Amalia Kassai) who flees from the colony where she lives into the woods where she takes refuge in a house.  The presence of a big bad wolf outside means that she can't leave, but in the house are two pigs who soon transform into humans.  The three live in peace for a while, but things turn desperate when their food runs out, and Maria starts to see the wolf as a saviour rather than a threat.  This is one of the most uniquely animated films that I've ever seen, using an entire house as a canvas for the stop motion action to unfold.  It's so hard to describe in words that you should just watch the trailer to get an idea of how original this is.  Every single moment is a gorgeous tapestry of sloshing paint and crawling furniture.  What is less obvious is what this film is actually about, the Dignity Colony in Chile during the Pinochet regime.  I won't go into it here but it is harrowing and awful, and the creeping dread that permeates every frame of this film is fully justified.  But even without knowing any of that this is still a powerful and memorable film.  10/10

Two Chaplin Shorts:

His New Profession
dir. Charlie Chaplin/1914/12m 

The Adventurer
dir. Charlie Chaplin/1917/26m 

Two quick Chaplin shorts here, but quite different ones.  His New Profession sees Charlie as a carer for a man with a broken leg confined to a wheelchair.  However, he would rather get drunk then push him around, and it ends in a fight with the police.  The Adventurer is far more ambitious in its scope.  Chaplin plays The Eel, a crook who escapes from police custody leading them on a manhunt.  He then disguises himself as a gentleman and attends a dinner party where he attempts to woo Miss Brown (Edna Purviance), daughter of the local judge.  In just a few years you can see how Chaplin has matured as a filmmaker, attempting more complicated set pieces and putting more emphasis on story and character rather than just gags, which are still there by the bucket load.  He still has a way to go before the genius really emerges, but he's getting closer.

His New Profession 5/10
The Adventurer 7/10

Hercules
dir. Ron Clements, John Musker/1997/1h33m 

After being cursed by Hades (James Woods), Hercules (Tate Donovan) must remain on Earth, only able to take his true place on Mount Olympus when he proves himself a true hero in Disney's dip into Greek mythology.  I love the stylised animation here that is still clearly Disney while still being unique, much in the same way as Sleeping Beauty.  I also love the use of a Greek chorus of soul singers that pop in now and again with a banging tune to keep us up with events.  A similar thing was done in Little Shop of Horrors to great effect.  The whole soundtrack has a gospel/soul flavour to it that really works with the setting.  This is a fun film with some great character design and performances to match, with a supporting cast including Danny DeVito and Rip Torn.  8/10

Don't Look Now
dir. Nicolas Roeg/1973/1h50m 

For the rest of the month I'll only be watching horror/thriller movies, and I'm starting with Don't Look Now in which Donald Sutherland stars as John Baxter, in Venice to restore a church.  When his wife Laura (Julie Christie) has a chance meeting with a blind medium who brings her a message from their recently deceased daughter their relationship starts to fracture.  This is an exploration of grief wrapped up in the mystique of the occult that has an incredible tone to it thanks to the direction, editing and the nonlinear way the story is told, which really ties into the ending.  Sutherland and Christie are great in the lead roles, making a very believable couple, which makes what happens to them even more tragic.  The setting is a real asset here, with the dark, dank Venice streets - the buildings nestled close together almost conspiratorially - making for a really oppressive atmosphere.  9/10

[omarcomin71 3,899]

So I watched Possum. Creepy and a bit disturbing , and I liked it. I enjoyed the fact everything is a bit of a mystery. As the story moves forward the stranger it got. It make sense at the end (sort of) with your imagination filling in the gaps. 
Thanks for the recommendation and subtitles definitely helped. 🙂@LimeGreenLegend 

This scene gave me the chills. 

Edited October 26, 2023 by omarcomin71

[LimeGreenLegend 4,293]

Glad you enjoyed it @omarcomin71.  When I first watched it I was expecting a comedy, because the writer and director had made and starred in a TV show called Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, which is a spoof cheesy horror soap opera set in a hospital that lovingly takes the p*ss out of Stephen King and 80's horror.  It's hilarious and about as far away from Possum as you can get.  

It's only six episodes long and I think it's all on YouTube, definitely worth watching if you want a laugh.

 

Edited October 26, 2023 by LimeGreenLegend

[djw180 7,005]

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) dir Ron Howard

 

 

This was always going to be a difficult film for me to like too much. Han Solo is my favourite Star Wars character and Harrison Ford made that role his own. Not only that but as a teenager I read Brian Daley's Han Solo novels, set before Episode IV. So to me he already had a back story, and this film differs from that, and of course there is no reason why it shouldn't. All that meant this was not a film I was ever bothered about seeing, but as I am watching the entire set of Star Wars films I have now seen it. It's reasonably good, compared to George's Lucas's prequel trilogy, but that it's not hard to be better than those. Alden Ehrenreich is OK in the lead role, but only just. The rest of cast do make up for it though. Woody Harrelson is good, I usually like his films, and Donald Glover too as Lando Calrissian. The basic story is better than the prequel trilogy, the action sequences are nice and do not go on too long. The plot does have a couple of passing similarities to those Han Solo novels – I don't know if that was intentional or not. So judging it on it's own, which is how it should be, an enjoyable watch, without being anything too spectacular.

 

6 / 10

Edited November 1, 2023 by djw180

[LimeGreenLegend 4,293]

What I Watched This Week #94 (October 15 – 21)

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil
dir. Eli Craig/2010/1h29m 

Tucker and Dale (Alan Tudyk, Tyler Labine) are two hillbillies looking to spend a relaxing time in their new cabin in the woods.  A group of obnoxious college kids mistake them for serial killers, and a series of unfortunate accidents doesn't help their case.  This is a fairly decent horror comedy that doesn't skimp on the gore, and is elevated by the performance of Labine as Dale.  He is such a sweet, likeable, bumbling dude and he has great chemistry with both Tudyk and the only sane college kid, Allison (Katrina Bowden).  I really like how the ridiculousness of the situation isn't lost on Tucker and Dale, who just wanted a quiet weekend renovating their cabin.  It does lose steam in the final third, but the setup and the execution of the accidents is well done.  Tudyk makes a great duo with Labine, and I would have been entertained just watching the two of them hang out for ninety minutes.  The rest of the cast are alright, but it's kind of hard to watch them as they are such massive d*uchebags, apart from Allison.  I get that that's the point, and it does make their deaths more satisfying, but it's still annoying as f*ck.  I wouldn't put this up there with something like Shaun of the Dead or Young Frankenstein, but this is still a fun time.  7/10

Errementari: The Blacksmith and the Devil
dir. Paul Urkijo Alijo/2017/1h38m 

In nineteenth century Spain a government inspector, Alfredo (Ramon Agirre), is sent to a small village in search of a blacksmith, Patxi (Kandido Uranga), who is rumoured to have hidden gold that went missing during a recent war.  He is also rumoured to have murdered his wife and child and is in league with the devil.  Only a young girl, Usue (Uma Bracaglia), is brave enough to learn the truth.  This fantasy horror was an absolute treat for me, going in knowing nothing about it.  There is some amazing prosthetic make up work that reminded me of early Guillermo del Toro, the story is full of gripping twists and revelations, and it has one of the most metal endings I've ever seen.  Iron Maiden could write a whole album about what Patxi did after the credits roll.  Uranga is great in the lead, being both intimidating and a protective force, and Bracaglia as the precocious young girl is also really good.  The script is full of surprising humour and has a brisk pace that doesn't let up until the end.  This is also a gorgeous looking film with some really nice shots, some of which are let down a bit by some ropey CGI, but those moments are brief and infrequent.  I only picked this out of the mountains of content on Netflix because the poster looked cool, and I'm glad that I did.  9/10 Lime's Film of the Week!

Halloween Ends
dir. David Gordon Green/2022/1h51m 

The Halloween series comes to a long overdue end with Halloween Ends, and if you've seen my ranking of the series a few posts above this one then you'll know that I don't think much of it.  This isn't as bad as the previous entry Halloween Kills (take a shot anytime someone says “evil dies tonight”), but not by much.  There are a few things that I quite liked here.  Like the opening, which seems to have nothing to do with the plot, but comes back later on with the idea of a successor to Michael Myers.  Also the idea of Michael not being evil himself, but possessed by the spirit of evil, which needs a new host.  I also liked the ending, which mirrors the ending of the original film where we get static shots of Haddonfield in the dark, but here it's in the daylight since Michael/evil has died.  Other than that this is dog food.  Jamie Lee Curtis is pointless here, and I couldn't even tell you about any other characters because they're all so two dimensional.  3.5/10

Halley
dir. Sebastian Hofmann/2012/1h24m 

Alberto (Alberto Trujillo) is a dead man working night security in a 24 hour gym.  Like, literally dead.  He is a corpse that is still walking and talking.  But as he decomposes more and more, so much that make up and perfume can't hide it, he withdraws from the world.  This is a zombie film without any blood, gore or brain eating.  It's more a film about loneliness and the debilitating effects that that can have on a person.  Trujillo is a startling sight.  His emaciated frame reminding me of Christian Bale in The Machinist, nothing but skin and bone.  He is truly sad to behold.  The film is much like the main character, slow and deliberate, conserving energy.  There is minimal dialogue, because he has minimal contact with humanity.  My favourite scene is where he collapses on the street and is taken to the morgue, where he has a conversation with a mortician who may be even lonelier than he is.  Thought provoking and introspective, this will change my perspective next time I watch Night of the Living Dead.  9/10

Horror Express 
dir. Eugenio Martin/1972/1h27m 

Christopher Lee plays Professor Saxton, an archaeologist travelling back to Europe on the Trans-Siberian Express along with his latest find – a humanoid creature frozen in ice who could possibly be the missing link.  Problems arise when the creature awakes and starts boiling people's brains with its laser eyes.  Thankfully his old friend Dr. Wells (Lee's old friend Peter Cushing) is on hand to assist, along with Telly Savalas as the insane Captain Kazan who totally takes over the final third of the film.  This isn't a great film but it is entertaining in its madness.  The setting isn't utilised very well, with the characters running between what feels like three sets, but the performances of the leads makes up for that.  The effect that the monster has on its victims is pretty gruesome, with blood pouring from every orifice, and the look of the creature is pretty well done.  7/10

[LimeGreenLegend 4,293]

Happy Halloween! 

Here are the ten horror recommendations I've posted in the shoutbox over the last ten days, if you're looking for something spooky to watch.  

Possum

Enys Men

House

Peeping Tom

The Feast

Magic

Bubba Ho-Tep

Saint Maud

Censor

In Fabric

[Con 5,719]

It's still early so make sure you also watch, Trick r Treat (2007), it's sneaky good.

[djw180 7,005]

Rogue One (2016) dir Gareth Edwards

 

 

Finally a really good Star Wars prequel. It stands out a so much better than episodes I, II & III. The spaceships and sets feel like the originals. It's hard to describe this in isolation, as a stand alone film, but I do think it works as that and anyone who likes sci-fi but has never watched Star Wars (if any such person exists) ought to enjoy this. The cast is good, mostly relative unknowns but backed up by the occasional established actor like Forest Whittaker. I don't think thy needed the CGI Grand Moff Tarkin, that doesn't add anything for me, they should have let Guy Henry appear on screen. The basic story is great and I love the way it ends at the point immediately before where episode IV will begin. It's just a pity it took another director to achieve something comparable to George Lucas' originals.

 

8 / 10

[omarcomin71 3,899]

10 minutes ago, djw180 said:

Rogue One (2016) dir Gareth Edwards

 

 

Finally a really good Star Wars prequel. It stands out a so much better than episodes I, II & III. The spaceships and sets feel like the originals. It's hard to describe this in isolation, as a stand alone film, but I do think it works as that and anyone who likes sci-fi but has never watched Star Wars (if any such person exists) ought to enjoy this. The cast is good, mostly relative unknowns but backed up by the occasional established actor like Forest Whittaker. I don't think thy needed the CGI Grand Moff Tarkin, that doesn't add anything for me, they should have let Guy Henry appear on screen. The basic story is great and I love the way it ends at the point immediately before where episode IV will begin. It's just a pity it took another director to achieve something comparable to George Lucas' originals.

 

8 / 10

I agree far and away the best non-George Lucas, Star Wars film. The television series Andor is also in my opinion the best Star Wars TV series. The story is the prequel to Rouge One and how Cassian Andor gets involved with the rebellion.  

[LimeGreenLegend 4,293]

I'm not a huge Star Wars guy but I also really enjoyed Rogue One, mostly because of Donnie Yen, Riz Ahmed and Ghost Dog Forest Whittaker.  The dead eyed CGI ghosts of Cushing and Fisher were a bit much, but overall an enjoyable film.  

[LimeGreenLegend 4,293]

What I Watched This Week #95 (October 22 – 28)

Raw
dir. Julia Ducournau/2016/1h39m 

Teenage Justine (Garance Marillier) is a vegan from a family of vegan vets and has just started veterinary college herself.  Not long after the beginning of term some hardcore hazing from the older students, including her sister Alexia (Ella Rumpf), starts and she is forced to eat raw meat.  This unleashes a hunger in Justine that takes more and more to satiate.  This is a very stylish film with some excellent moments of body horror and tension as Justine's actions become more and more extreme.  Marillier is great in the lead and has real chemistry with Rumpf, their complicated sisterly relationship taken to the extremes is executed really well with a jaw dropping revelation in the very final frame that goes some way to explaining why they're like that.  Ducournau is excellent at merging shock factor with substance, something she did to even greater effect in her subsequent film Titane – the story of a woman impregnated by a car – and had I seen this first I would probably rate it even higher, but this is still a satisfying bite to eat.  8.5/10

The Halfway House
dir. Basil Dearden/1944/1h35m 

This WW2 film sees a group of strangers converge in a Welsh country inn run by father and daughter Rhys and Gwyneth (real life father and daughter Mervyn and Glynis Johns), but there are some questions that need to be asked about this mysterious inn – why are all of the newspapers a year old? Where is the damage from the bombing raid that was supposed to have burnt the inn down?  And why doesn't Gwyneth cast a shadow?  This is a very interesting film that is much more about the politics of the war that was still raging at the time – especially the question of Ireland's neutrality - than the quite simple ghost story plot.  It is also interesting to compare this with Dearden's earlier WW2 film, The Goose Steps Out, from 1942.  That is a straight up comedy made at a time where the full horrors of the conflict weren't known, but this, made just two years later, is a much more sombre affair, though it does still have a light touch in places.  What I really like about this film is the ending.  Just when things seem the bleakest a ray of hope breaks into the film and it becomes not about the ghosts of war but about people getting a second chance, a nation getting a second chance, and that note of optimism that it ends on was warmly touching.  The end of the war was still a dream rather than reality at this time, and a film like this shows how hard people were willing to hold on to that dream.  7/10

The Beyond
dir. Lucio Fulci/1981/1h28m 

Catriona MacColl plays Liza, who has just inherited a old hotel in Louisiana.  Unfortunately for her it was built over one of the seven gates of hell.  This is a giallo zombie film shot on location that has some great practical effects and fun kills – though as an arachnophobe I could have done without the protracted scene of a man having his face eaten by tarantulas.  It's very much like the original Evil Dead films in that it has it's tongue firmly in it's cheek but still wants to disgust and horrify you with buckets of gore.  This has a hazy, dreamlike quality that seems to slowly envelop the film until it goes totally batsh*t insane by the halfway point.  None of the performances are particularly memorable but everyone gets the job done, and you're not gonna watch a film like this for the acting anyway.  I also very much enjoyed the p*rn movie style score that didn't fit the tone at all but still somehow works.  7.5/10  

The Lair of the White Worm
dir. Ken Russell/1988/1h33m 

In the English countryside archaeologist Angus Flint (Peter Capaldi) digs up a strange skull, which just happens to belong to a Pagan god whose worshippers, including the local nob Lady Sylvia Marsh (Amanda Donohoe), feast on virginal flesh.  This is a f*cking insane film that I still don't believe actually exists.  So many ph*llic symbols.  Dream sequences that would give Lynch a run for his money.  Ancient Roman nun r*pe org*es.  Giant pointy str*p on d*ldo of death.  Capaldi saving the day by playing bagpipes and throwing a grenade (which he keeps in his sporran) at a hell worm.  And in the middle of all this a criminally young Hugh Grant being as charming as usual.  I'm pretty sure that this is a real film and not a fever dream I had.  Don't think I need to say any more.  9/10 Lime's Film of the Week!

The Fog
dir. John Carpenter/1980/1h29m 

A small coastal town in California is about to celebrate its centenary when a foreboding fog slowly drifts in from the sea.  This is very much like Halloween, but now Carpenter doesn't even need a physical figure to embody the forces of evil.  Also like Halloween, this is a film about a town dealing with a trauma from the past.  The first hour of this film is basically building atmosphere and it is masterfully done.  When the fog does finally hit it almost feels anticlimactic because of the amazing job he does at creating tension.  The cast, including mother and daughter Janet Leigh and Jamie Lee Curtis and Adrienne Barbeau all do a fine job, but they are kind of secondary to the tone of the piece.  I wouldn't put this up there with Carpenter's best like The Thing and Escape from New York, but even a mid tier film of his is gonna be entertaining.  7/10

[LimeGreenLegend 4,293]

What I Watched This Week #96 (October 29 – November 4)

The Neon Demon
dir. Nicolas Winding Refn/2016/1h58m 

Sixteen year old wannabe model Jesse (Elle Fanning) moves to Los Angeles where she is consumed by the cold and uncaring world she finds there in this dark psychological horror.  Winding Refn is much like Wes Anderson in that he has found his aesthetic and leans into it more and more with each film.  This is an incredibly stylish, slow moving film with a brooding synth score where nobody talks like an actual human being and moves around like they're detached from reality.  Fanning does a good job in the lead, turning from a wide-eyed innocent outsider into, well, a Winding Refn character.  Keanu Reeves plays a supporting role here as a sinister motel owner and he is also really good, his every movement feeling dangerous.  There's one scene where he breaks into Jesse's room with a knife in the middle of the night that made me so uncomfortable it was unreal.  The problem with this film, which is the same problem as his previous film Only God Forgives, is that everyone is so cold and unemotional that when the very extreme violence breaks out it's hard to care too much, taking away from the impact of those scenes.  My favourite film of his is Bronson from early in his career, with Tom Hardy giving the best performance of his career in the lead role, which he plays very emotionally.  If he was able to capture some of that energy in the characters in his later films then I think they would be more impactful.  As they are they are still very good films, but they leave you feeling empty.  7/10

Bodies Bodies Bodies
dir. Halina Reijn/2022/1h34m 

My final horror film of the Halloween season is the modern murder mystery Bodies Bodies Bodies.  When a storm traps a group of twentysomethings in a house during a party they decide to play a murder mystery game, but when one of them turns up dead for real paranoia breaks out in a big way.  This is a really fun film with a fresh take on a classic genre that works for the most part.  The cast is great, particularly Rachel Sennott – who is one of my favourite new actors after seeing her in Shiva Baby and Bottoms, both 10/10 from me – and Lee Pace as her much older new boyfriend who immediately becomes suspect number one.  Pete Davidson and Maria Bakalova – who stole Borat 2 – are also great.  My main issue with the film has to do with the ending, which I won't go into since this is a murder mystery, but I'm not sure if it's genius or stupid.  Maybe it's both.  8.5/10

Carry On Behind
dir. Gerald Thomas/1975/1h30m 

In this twenty-seventh – give me strength I'm nearly done – entry in the Carry On series Kenneth Williams plays archaeologist Roland Crump who is on a dig with Professor Vrooshka (Elke Sommer) next to a caravan site.  This is basically Carry On camping but without the charm of Sid James and Barbara Windsor.  It is a bit funnier than the last few films, but not by much.  Plus it's ruined by the presence of Jack Douglas, who has been getting bigger and bigger parts over the last few entries, and his whole thing seems to be making over the top physical and verbal tics and he may be the most painfully unfunny actor I've ever seen.  I think I hate him.    But thankfully Kenneth Connor, who was my favourite actor in the early run of Carry On films before he left for a while, was there to prop things up a bit.  As far as Carry On films go this is decidedly average, which this late in the series is high praise.  5/10

Now and Then – The Last Beatles Song
dir. Oliver Murray/2023/12m 

This short film briefly covers the recording of Now and Then by Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr using demo tapes recorded by John Lennon shortly before his death, and guitar parts by George Harrison shortly before his.  Twelve minutes is way too short of a film to cover this and as a result everything feels glossed over.  The most interesting part for me was how they used technology created by Peter Jackson and his team for the documentary Get Back to isolate Lennon's vocal from the piano track, which drowned out his voice in the original demo, rendering it usable.  It's also quite emotional seeing the remaining Beatles talk about this being the last time they'll ever get to play with their friends, the kids they grew up with so long ago.  7/10

Mulan
dir. Tony Bancroft, Barry Cook/1998/1h28m 

So that she can take her sick father's place in the Imperial Army protecting China from the invading Huns, Mulan (Ming-Na Wen) disguises herself as a man and finds herself under the command of the stern but fair Captain Shang (BD Wong, but his singing voice is Donny Osmond!).  While she helps her rag-tag troop turn into a Hun fighting machine she also falls for Shang, but how long can she keep her secret hidden?  There is some stunning animation in this film that makes nice subtle use of CGI.  The hoard of Huns pouring down a snowy mountainside still looks epic today, and the transition between the fun of the song A Girl Worth Fighting For to the image of a burnt down village has real emotional heft to it.  Wen and Wong give great performances and have a real chemistry together, and Miguel Ferrer is imposing as villain Shan-Yu, Hun general.  Eddie Murphy appears as Mulan's dragon sidekick Mushu and is fine for the most part, but at times feels like he's just trying to be Robin Williams in Aladdin.  That being said, this is another first rate film from arguably Disney's greatest era.  8/10

Chaplin
dir. Richard Attenborough/1992/2h23m 

Robert Downey Jr. plays Charlie Chaplin in this biopic from Richard Attenborough.  Framed as a conversation between an elderly Chaplin and the editor of his autobiography – a character made up for this film – played by Anthony Hopkins, this covers his entire life from his childhood of Dickensian poverty in London through to his return to Hollywood to accept an honorary Oscar shortly before his death.  I first watched this before I had seen any of Chaplin's films and really liked it.  Now that I'm more familiar with his work I love it.  Downey Jr. has never been better, at times his performance is uncanny in how much of Chaplin's magic he can replicate, although his Cockney accent is a bit dodgy at times the more refined accent of the older Chaplin is perfect.  Attenborough doesn't have a particular style as a director, but he throws in a few flourishes here and there that keeps things fresh like cranking up the speed on a chase scene to replicate the classic silent style.  Although this is a love letter to Chaplin it doesn't shy away from the negative aspects of his character, especially when it comes to his love life which was problematic up until he met his final wife, the love of his life Oona O'Neill (Moira Kelly).  The supporting cast here is vast and full of big names and they are all fantastic, so I won't even bother naming them all, but who really stands out is Geraldine Chaplin, Charlie's daughter, who plays her own grandmother, Charlie's mother Hannah.  She gives an amazing performance that must have been hard for her because Hannah Chaplin was a very troubled woman.  If you've never seen a Chaplin film before then this would be a great starting point because I guarantee that you'll want to dive right in after seeing this because that's exactly what happened to me.  My only negative is that it does get a bit schmaltzy and Oscar-baity, but it does it really f*cking well.  9.5/10 Lime's Film of the Week!

[djw180 7,005]

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) dir George Lucas

One of the most iconic films ever made. Years (decades) ago I would have rated this as the best film ever, and for it's time the special effects and action scenes where spectacular. But I've seen a lot more films now. It is still great though. It was the remastered version I watched. It has the scene where a CGI Jabba the Hut (rather than the large human that was in the scene cut from the original) meets Han Solo in Mos Eisley and the special effects have been sharpened up a bit. This is most obvious in the space battles; in the originals you could make out a slightly differently shaded rectangular background around the space ships. Other than that though It didn't seem that different to the original, and didn't need to be. I still far prefer this sort of action film than many others you get nowadays. The special effects are good, but they don't overshadow the plot and the acting.

 

There is one negative though. Something I first became aware of watching the Kevin Smith (huge Star Wars fan) film Chasing Amy, where one of the characters calls Star Wars racist. And Carl Sagan also pointed out how white the cast is. I noticed that watching it this time, and it hadn't struck me before on the countless other occasions I have watched this. Of course there is James Earl Jones providing Darth Vader's voice and who knows which actors were inside all the Storm Trooper and other costumes, but every single character you can see the face of is white, as far as I can recall. It's of it's time though and certainly not the only the film this can be said of. Just as it had never occurred to me before, it just would not have been noticed by the producers of the film, and they did address this in the other films. But I am knocking a mark off for it.

 

9 / 10

[LimeGreenLegend 4,293]

5 hours ago, djw180 said:

where one of the characters calls Star Wars racist

It's not racist, there's one Black person per trilogy, Lando, Mace Windu and Finn!

[LimeGreenLegend 4,293]

What I Watched This Week #97 (November 5 – 11)

Scrapper
dir. Charlotte Regan/2023/1h24m 

Georgie (Lola Campbell) is a 12 year old girl who is living alone after the death of her mother, making money by selling stolen bikes with her best friend Ali (Alin Uzun).  One day her father Jason (Harris Dickinson), who has been absent her entire life, turns up and tries to forge some kind of relationship with her.  Going into this I was expecting something like the recent Aftersun, another British film about father-daughter relationships, and though a lot of the themes are the same this is a very different film.  The tone is lighter, with some real fun comedic touches which visualise the kids imaginations, and a lot of the scenes, especially between Georgie and Ali, feel improvised and capture the way kids talk to each other.  That authenticity extends to the performance of Dickinson as the father who doesn't know what the f*ck he's doing, and not sure if he even wants to do it.  An inventive, fun and touching debut film that you should all check out.  9/10 Lime's Film of the Week!

Shoulder Arms
dir. Charlie Chaplin/1918/36m 

Shoulder Arms is Chaplin's WWI film in which he stars as an awkward and clumsy soldier who becomes a hero after going on a mission behind enemy lines disguised as a tree.  His longest film to date, this shows Chaplin's skill at telling an extended story with gags, particularly about the awful conditions in the trenches.  There's one extended sequence in which Chaplin tries to get some sleep in a flooded trench that is both hilarious and also pretty true to the conditions in which they had to live and fight.  It reminded me of Blackadder Goes Forth in many ways, finding humour in the most miserable and hellish of circumstances.  This is also thought to be the first war film that wasn't a serious drama, controversial at the time but common nowadays.  If you don't laugh you'll cry.  7.5/10

Nimona  
dir. Tony Quane, Nick Bruno/2023/1h42m 

Riz Ahmed is Ballister Boldheart, a knight in a techno futuristic medieval fantasy world, framed for a crime he didn't commit, who has to team up with the shape-shifting Nimona (Chloe Grace Moretz) to prove his innocence.  This is a film that took me a while to warm too.  At first I found the character of Nimona to be overly annoying with a really forced feeling “edginess” to her that had me rolling my eyes at some points.  Once we get some development to her she becomes much more sympathetic, and there are a few scenes, especially in the final act, that were genuinely touching.  The animation style also took me a while to appreciate.  There are times where it looks like a PS3 cutscene from one of those TellTale Walking Dead games, then there are moments where it is gorgeous.  If this brilliantly imaginative world were animated in a tradition hand-drawn way then it would look incredible.  That said, by the end I was fully invested in the story, and I would like to see more of this world, I just love that mix of castles and sci-fi sh*t.  8/10

Apples
dir. Christos Nikou/2020/1h31m 

Aris (Aris Servetalis) lives in a world where a mysterious pandemic gives people sudden amnesia, where those who are unidentified or unclaimed by relatives are sent on a programme intended to develop new identities.  One day he becomes one of those people and is put on that course, sent out to perform strange and arbitrary tasks which he has to record with a Polaroid camera.  He meets another person trying to form an identity, Anna (Sofia Georgovassili), and the two form a relationship, but if you don't know who you are how can you get to know anyone?  Being an absurdist Greek drama made me instantly compare this to Yorgos Lanthimos, perhaps unfairly, as this has a much different style.  This is less purposefully stilted and awkward, even though there are moments of extreme stilted awkwardness.  Servetalis is great in the lead, very passive, almost mechanical, this is a man detached from life and you know it's not just because of the amnesia.  The brilliant ending just leaving me feeling sad for him.  8.5/10

Carry On England
dir. Gerald Thomas/1976/1h29m 

England, 1940, and Captain S. Melly (Kenneth Connor) has just taken charge of a new mixed s*x base where all of the soldiers are more interested in getting off with one another than performing drills.  Kenneth Connor does all of the heavy lifting here, along with Windsor Davies as his right hand man Sgt. Major Bloomer.  There are a few laughs dotted throughout, but for this most part this is tired, boring and cheap.  Only three left to go now.  I can't f*cking wait for this to be over.  3.5/10

[LimeGreenLegend 4,293]

What I Watched This Week #98 (November 12 – 18)

Tarzan
dir. Kevin Lima, Chris Buck/1999/1h28m 

Disney's take on Edgar Rice Burrough's classic story of a child raised by apes stars Tony Goldwyn as Tarzan and Minnie Driver as Jane, daughter of an explorer who is the first human Tarzan has ever seen, so of course he falls madly in love with her straight away.  The antagonist comes in the form of great white hunter Clayton, played by the always brilliant Brian Blessed.  The standout thing about this film is the speed and fluidity of the animation as we swing through the trees with Tarzan.  I also like the characterisation of Tarzan here as a quiet, thoughtful person and not just a Neanderthal like ape man.  The only negative I have is the fact that all of the songs are sung by Phil Collins, and I f*cking hate Phil Collins.  I don't know why they didn't just have the characters sing the songs like literally every other Disney film.  That aside, this is a fantastic adaptation that blends traditional and some CG animation seamlessly to tell a classic adventure story.  9/10

Summer with Monika
dir. Ingmar Bergman/1953/1h38m 

Ingmar Bergman's tale of young love stars Harriet Andersson and Lars Ekborg as Monika and Harry, two teenagers who fall madly in love with each other over an idyllic summer.  But when Monika falls pregnant the realities and responsibilities of life hit them hard.  At first this feels unlike any other Bergman film I've seen in its lightness and carefree attitude, matching that of the main characters.  But slowly he starts to turn the screws on these happy kids and the weight of his dramatic gaze gets heavier and heavier until, at the end, all we have left of that perfect summer are memories.  The photography here is gorgeous, in the beginning it is bathed in sunlight, the shadows coming later until they consume the frame.  8.5/10

The Killer
dir. David Fincher/2023/1h58m 

The latest film from the director of Fight Club stars Michael Fassbender as a methodical assassin who has to take on his employers after he botches his latest hit and becomes a loose end.  This is another film where the tone and style matches the main character, with this being less flashy than some of Fincher's other films.  This is a quiet, patient, methodical film where every camera movement is precise and purposeful.  This does have the effect of leaving you cold to the main character, in a way that feels like a Nicolas Winding Refn film, but the cold intensity of Fassbender's performance keeps you invested.  The deliberate nature of the film also makes the sudden bursts of violence even more shocking.  Like Tarzan, my main problem with this film comes from the fact that the soundtrack is pretty much entirely made up of The Smiths – being the favourite band of the main character – and I f*cking hate The Smiths.  8/10

French Cancan
dir. Jean Renoir/1955/1h42m 

Jean Gabin stars as a theatre impresario in 19th century Paris who opens up the now legendary Moulin Rouge and brings the Cancan dance back in fashion.  He is also a womaniser who is juggling the affections of his two main attractions, belly dancer Nini (Francoise Arnoul) and rising star Lola (Maria Felix).  This is a stunningly vibrant film bursting with colour and movement and life that just radiates out from the screen.  In many ways it reminded me of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg with its use of colour that's almost overwhelming.  The performances are all great.  Gabin is sympathetic even at his worst and you really share his triumph when the club finally opens.  And what an opening, with a glorious extended sequence where we finally see the full performance of the French Cancan.  This is one of those films that just leaves you smiling.  9/10 Lime's Film of the Week!

A Haunting in Venice  
dir. Kenneth Branagh/2023/1h44m 

The third of Kenneth Branagh's Poirot adaptations – based on Hallowe'en Party – sees him returning as the legendary Belgian detective, this time living in self-imposed exile in Venice.  But on Halloween he is tempted to attend a party thrown by opera singer Rowena Drake (Kelly Reilly) in order to expose medium Joyce Reynolds (Michelle Yeoh) as a scam.  But when bodies start appearing and unexplained happenings take place Poirot has to work his little grey cells harder then ever before to solve the mystery.  This feels very different to the previous two adaptations by Branagh, Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile, in that it really leans into the setting and tone.  This film is bathed in shadows and is full of angled framing which really distorts our, and Poirot's, sense of reality.  This is also less glossy than the previous films, and doesn't boast a star-studded cast, but again that is to its benefit.  I've been really enjoying these films and hope Branagh makes more in the future.  8/10

[djw180 7,005]

Star Wars Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) dir Irvin Kershner

 

 

This was always my favourite of the 3 originals. I love the whole Han-Leia thing and the semi-tragic ending. Maybe technically it not quite as good as episode IV. The special effects, even in the Special Edition, are not quite as good. You can tell the Tauntauns were filmed with stop-motion and in the battle scene on Hoth the snow speeders do stand out a bit from the background. But that is comparing to modern day CGI effects and at the time it came out the special effects were outstanding.

9 / 10

[LimeGreenLegend 4,293]

What I Watched This Week #99 (November 19 – 25)

Oppenheimer
dir. Christopher Nolan/2023/3h 

Cillian Murphy stars as J. Robert Oppenheimer in this biopic of the man who led the development of the atomic bomb.  The film is split into two strands, fusion and fission, one detailing the creation of the bomb all leading up to the Trinity test near to the end WWII and one about his security hearing in the mid 50's where his links to communism were used against him. Rather than giving us this story in a linear way we are instead constantly skipping between the two timelines, something very typical of Nolan, and this keeps the film from feeling like a bog standard biopic or documentary.  Also typical of Nolan is his terrible way of writing and presenting relationships.  The weakest parts of this film are the ones about his personal relationships, especially the one he had with communist psychiatrist Jean Tatlock (Florence Pugh).  There is absolutely no spark or warmth between them at all.  Robert Downey Jr. is excellent as Oppenheimer's chief antagonist Lewis Strauss, finally getting a chance to act after fifteen years playing the same character, and Matt Damon is also very good as General Groves, head of the Manhattan Project.  Despite all my problems with Nolan as a storyteller, what he has always done better than nearly everyone else is visual spectacle, and Oppenheimer delivers on this front.  The entire sequence leading up to the Trinity test is spectacular, and all of the images of atomic sparks and writhing b*lls of fire engulfing the planet – all achieved without CGI – is worth the price of admission alone.  7/10

Fantasia 2000
dir. James Algar, Don Hahn, Gaetan Brizzi, Paul Brizzi, Eric Goldberg, Hendel Butoy, Francis Glebas, Pixote Hunt/1999/1h14m 

Nearly 60 years after the original, Fantasia returns just in time for the new millennium and marks the end of Disney's Renaissance era.  Like the original, this consists of several animated shorts set to various pieces of classical music with a short introduction before each one.  In this film we learn Walt Disney's original intention for Fantasia, that it would always be evolving, new segments replacing old ones every few years, and it's in that spirit that the classic segment The Sorcerer's Apprentice starring Mickey Mouse returns for this film and it's just as magical as it was in 1942.  Joining this piece are the likes of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 which is set to an abstract animation of geometric butterflies, Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance over the story of Noah's Ark starring Donald and Daisy Duck and the best short in the whole film, Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue which is the soundtrack for a depression era story of some New Yorkers trying to make a better life for themselves.  This is animated in the style of 30's caricaturist Al Hirschfeld and feels so un-Disney like, but it still fits in this film perfectly.  It's hard to go wrong with this formula, great music over great animation.  I don't know why Disney don't do one of these every ten years or so, it just seems like easy money.  They should've had one out this year to celebrate 100 years of Disney, and each segment could have represented a different era of the company.  Maybe the kids don't like classical music these days, but I do.  9/10

That's Carry On!
dir. Gerald Thomas/1977/1h35m

(no trailer for this so here's a compilation of Kenneth Williams clips from Carry On films) 

To celebrate twenty years of Carry On this compilation film was released which features the best bits from all 28 films in the series.  Presenting are series favourites Kenneth Williams and Barbara Windsor who are holed up (ohh matron) in a projection room with nothing but a bunch of film cannisters, a picnic basket and their brilliant chemistry (the two were close friends in real life).  There's no real thought put into the order of the clips, it's mostly just chronological, but the great thing about a compilation film is that you can cherry pick only the good stuff, making this a surprisingly fun watch after the slog through the last few entries.  It was nice to get a reminder of the early films in the series and actors who only appeared in a few entries like Bob Monkhouse, Leslie Philips and Harry H. Corbett.  A fun trip down memory lane that should have been the last Carry On.  6/10

Monsieur Verdoux
dir. Charlie Chaplin/1947/2h4m 

Charlie Chaplin's first film in seven years was something of a departure for the beloved comedian, the post-war realisation of just how f*cked up humanity is having a huge effect on him.  The result is a film in which he plays a cold, calculating serial killer, the Monsieur Verdoux of the title.  Based on a story by Orson Welles, which was based on a true story, Verdoux is an unemployed banker who needs money to take care of his sick wife and young child.  To that end he seduces and marries a number of rich, lonely women under several aliases, then murders them and pockets all the money.  This is a much darker comedy than I was expecting, and while there are laughs – the scene where he mistakenly thinks he's poisoned himself is hilarious – this feels like a cynical drama more than anything.  This is comedy as a weapon, a pointed attack on the upper classes and capitalism and how it makes monsters of men.  The first time we see Verdoux he is tending his garden while a furnace behind him churns thick black smoke out of a chimney, this just two years after the end of WWII.  He is not f*cking about here.  Every time I watch a Chaplin film I haven't seen before I'm reminded of why he's the f*cking best.  9.5/10 Lime's Film of the Week!

The Rutles: All You Need is Cash
dir. Eric Idle, Gary Weis/1978/1h16m 

All You Need is Cash is a mockumentary about the most influential band to ever live, the pre-fab four, The Rutles.  Spoofing the career of The Beatles, from their early days playing the Cavern Club through to their breakup, this is a very silly film, which isn't surprising seeing as it's from former Python Eric Idle, who also stars as the McCartney of the group Dirk McQuickly.  This is a star studded affair with cameos from the likes of Bill Murray, John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd as well as musicians Mick Jagger, Ron Wood and Paul Simon.  But what really makes this film work is that the other members of The Rutles are played by musicians, and their songs are actually really good, if you're not paying attention you would think they were genuine Beatles songs.  This is like the British Spinal Tap, and every bit as good as that film.  9/10

[djw180 7,005]

The X-Files (1998) dir Rob Bowman

 

 

 

Feature length film of the long running TV series that fits between series 5 & 6 – and if you want to follow the complete underlying story you do need to include this. Apparently creator, Chris Carter, wanted to continue just with feature films, but Fox (TV station, not the character agent Mulder) would not let the TV series end. It adds explanation to the whole alien-abduction vs alien-abduction-as-a-cover-story-for-international-conspiracy plot line. It's reasonably good without being outstanding. I think would stand on its own, but that is hard for me to be sure about as I am in the process of re-watching the TV series. It does justice to the 2hr run time and uses that to expand the plot more than a couple of 45 min TV episodes would. The production quality is higher, and it features Martin Landau in a support role.

6 / 10

 

Star Wars Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983) dir Richard Marquand.

 

This was the first Star Wars I saw at the cinema. Of the 3 originals it was always my least favourite, but not by that much and it's still a great film. Watching it now I do find the Ewoks are a bit too cute to be taken seriously. The remastered version seems to have added unnecessary extra non-human creatures – this was always the most species-varied episode of the originals, so did not need that for me. It does wrap the story up nicely and I really like Vader-Anakin's redemption.

8 / 10

 

Edited December 10, 2023 by djw180

[djw180 7,005]

 

not sure what is going on, it won't let me post what I wanted to?

 

Anyway, you may be able to guess which film I was reviewing. 6.5 / 10. Will see if I can post my proper review later.

Edited December 17, 2023 by djw180