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Le locataire - [The Tenant]
Nadčge Loiseau, 2013
Family
DVR - Filmbox Arthouse


From IMDb:
Nicole is pregnant.
French short (25 mins), later turned into a feature, in which the lead is imo spot-on for her role as a middle-aged grandmother who unexpectedly becomes pregnant again. Never seen the feature version so I can't comment on how they compare but imo this quite nicely balances both drama and humour which makes for a nice enough watch.


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Dead Men Walk
Sam Newfield, 1943
Horror
DVR - Filmbox arthouse


From TMDb:
When a small town doctor buries his twin brother, a practitioner of the black arts, he believes him dead; but subsequent events force him to realize that his brother has, in fact, returned from the dead as a vampire and is seeking revenge on the doctor, who had killed him in self-defense.
Cheap (in every sense) Dracula knock-off that's competently enough made, mostly well enough acted and does manage a little atmosphere at times but there's really nothing out of the ordinary on offer and the climax is somewhat disappointing.





Indián
Balázs Simonyi, 2016
Drama
DVR - Filmbox arthouse


From IMDb:
Dreaming about the Wild West in the 1970s in Eastern Europe is not enough...
Short (30 mins) apparently based on a real character that's watchable but sadly for me doesn't really offer that much of any real interest in its depiction of the son of a dissident Hungarian who dreams of being a Native American.





Mrs Aylwood ne veut pas mourir - [Mrs Aylwood Won't Die]
Johann G. Louis, 2014
Drama, Mystery
DVR - Filmbox Arthouse



From IMDb:
Winter 1969. In an isolated mansion, Susan Aylwood, a former glory of cinema, lives with her housekeeper, the discreet Caroline. Surrounded by her memories, Mrs Aylwood seems to keep a strong hand on her entourage. But what is the terrible truth behind the appearances ?
Decent enough French short (27 mins) that manages to maintain interest and develops quite nicely imo.


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Hatsukoi - [First Love]
Takashi Miike, 2019
Action, Comedy, Crime, Romance
DVD


From IMDb:
A young boxer and a call girl get caught up in a drug-smuggling scheme over the course of one night in Tokyo.
Well enough acted and put together affair that contains Miike's penchants for both violence and absurdity, though both are, for the most part, fairly restrained in this. The tale does feel somewhat overstretched but there are enough touches of humour dotted throughout to help keep it an enjoyable enough watch imo.


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El bruto - [The Brute]
Luis Buńuel, 1953
Drama
DVR - Filmbox Arthouse


From TMDb:
A tough young man, who helps to kick poor people out of their houses, falls in love with a girl. She lives with her father in the building about to be demolished.
A fairly routine tale with no particular surprises in store and none of the director's surrealist touches but the key players give solid enough performances to make it a worthwhile watch.





Photograph
Ritesh Batra, 2019
Drama, Romance
DVR - BBC Four


From TMDb:
A struggling street photographer, pressured to marry by his grandmother, convinces a shy stranger to pose as his fiancée. The pair develops a connection that transforms them in ways that they could not expect.
Hindi offering that doesn't bring anything new to the narrative table, the tale generally walking a fairly well-trodden and predictable path, though it does contain a nice touch of self-awareness right at the very end which at least helped it close on a high. It's a mostly fairly sedate affair, but both central characters are well enough portrayed and it does manage to impart the sense of their relationship gradually growing. Sadly though it also employed a narrative skip in the earlier stages that irked me somewhat, a fantasy sequence didn't particularly sit well in the tale for me and the search for the cola felt somewhat trivialised/rushed.





Jje-jje-han ro-maen-seu - [Petty Romance]
Jeong-hoon Kim, 2010
Comedy, Romance
DVD


From IMDb:
A comic artist and an unemployed sex columnist are trying to work together in order to win a lucrative comic-book competition.
South Korean offering that's unremarkable in terms of story and unfortunately somewhat hit and miss with me in terms of humour, but both leads are quite likeable in their roles and the interplay between the two of them is fun at times. Thankfully it does also develop some heart with the romance whilst the occasional switches to animation are well enough drawn.


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Operation Diplomat
John Guillermin, 1953
Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
DVD


From TMDb:
A physician is forced to operate on a mystery figure under shady circumstances.
Low-budget British affair that manages to maintain interest by moving along at a decent enough clip and proves somewhat enjoyable even if the plot has little to offer that's not been employed before and is best just accepted at face value.





Curse Of The Undead
Edward Dein, 1959
Horror, Western
DVR - TCM


From IMDb:
While a malady is claiming the lives of young women in a Western town, a sinister gunslinger-for-hire Drake Robey is really a vampire, and it's up to Preacher Dan to save the town and girlfriend Dolores Carter.
Cowboy/horror mash-up that's a little clunky in both direction and dialogue at times, which in tandem with mainly b-movie quality acting and a fairly standard 'range-war' storyline makes it mediocre at best as a western. The second half, which leans more into the horror aspect, is an improvement though with some decent enough atmosphere which makes for a far more entertaining watch even if there's still little that's new on offer.





People We Know Are Confused
Tomas Smulkis, 2021
Drama
DVR - Filmbox Arthouse


From IMDb:
Set in Vilnius, a modern city still in search for its relation to the past, three parallel stories with three average people marooned in a state of change, looking to the future with hope, but not letting go of constricting and reassuring fears of their past.
Slow, somewhat arthousey Lithuanian offering that's presented fairly competently for the most part and acted nicely enough but the score is of the type which all too often I find annoying. Unfortunately despite being a tale about humans and relationships much of it felt rather cold and clinical, long tracts at times sans dialogue not really helping me to be much more than a mere observer.


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Born Free
James Hill, 1966
Adventure, Drama, Family
DVR - Film4


From TMDb:
At a national park in Kenya, English game warden George Adamson and his wife, Joy, care for three orphaned lion cubs. After the two larger lions are shipped off to a zoo in the Netherlands, the smallest of the three, Elsa, stays with the couple. When Elsa is blamed for causing an elephant stampede in the nearby village, head warden John Kendall demands the young lion either be trained to survive in the wilds of the Serengeti or be sent to a zoo.
Childhood favourite that's isn't particularly remarkable in terms of either acting (from the humans) or presentation but as an animal lover the reality-based tale is naturally of interest and the animal sequences are well enough managed. Whilst the bond that forms between Elsa and the Adamsons never fails to impact the softie that I am emotionally in the latter stages, thankfully there's also enough moments of humour within to make it a pretty easy watch.


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Convento
Jarred Alterman, 2010
Documentary
DVR - Filmbox Arthouse


From TMDb:
A Dutch family left Holland to transform a 400 year old monastery into a home, artist's workshop, and nature preserve. Filmed entirely in remote village in Portugal, Convento bends the rigid structure of documentary filmmaking, blurring the lines of information and surrealism Featuring the renowned kinetic artist Christiaan Zwanikken and his family.
Relatively short (50 mins) documentary that's nicely enough put together and features contributions from all three remaining family members (mother and two sons) but, without doubt for me, it's the son Christiaan and his kinetic art that manages to generate most interest and makes it worth a watch.





Sword Fishing
De Leon Anthony, 1939
Adventure, Documentary
DVD

Oddball ten-minute 'sports' short about sea-fishing with a bow & arrow that thankfully has enough of a sense of humour to help a subject matter I wouldn't generally be particularly interested in.




The Film Fan
Robert Clampett, 1939
Animation, Comedy, Family
DVD

Porky Pig short (7 mins) that doesn't have a great deal of story but does have enough amusing moments including plenty of written puns.





Kristopher Kolumbus Jr.
Robert Clampett, 1939
Animation, Comedy, Family
DVD

Porky Pig short (8 mins) retelling the discovery of the Americas that sadly doesn't really make enough fun with its subject, leaving it a little disappointing.

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Hollywood Daffy
Fritz Freleng & Hawley Pratt, 1946
Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family
DVD

Daffy Duck short (7 mins) that's fairly enjoyable with its celebrity takes and general cat & mouse (or duck & security guard in this case) antics.

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Sea Fever
Neasa Hardiman, 2019
Drama, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
DVR - Film4


From IMDb:
The crew of a West of Ireland trawler—marooned at sea—struggle for their lives against a growing parasite in their water supply.
Lacks any real originality but the premise is still an interesting one if managed well enough, sadly though outside of the occasional piece of gore and managing a pervading sense of dread at times proceedings fail to really deliver much else. The story becomes predictable, the underwater effects are rather weak (and at one point quite laughable) whilst one of the accents employed unfortunately grated more and more with me as the fillum went on. At least they chose a decent song for the end credits though


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Lethal Weapon
Richard Donner, 1987
Action, Crime, Thriller
DVR - TCM


From TMDb:
Veteran buttoned-down LAPD detective Roger Murtaugh is partnered with unhinged cop Martin Riggs, who -- distraught after his wife's death -- has a death wish and takes unnecessary risks with criminals at every turn. The odd couple embark on their first homicide investigation as partners, involving a young woman known to Murtaugh with ties to a drug and prostitution ring.
Didn't much care for this when it came out, which is odd as it really ought to have been something that was in my wheelhouse - the idea is ok, I quite like both lead actors, Shane Black would go on to write Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Richard Donner directed The Omen. Thankfully, despite the presentation of the character introductions setting my teeth on edge, some pretty weak peripheral acting and the dialogue still feeling scripted in places, I appear to be more appreciative of it now as those faults are most noticeable in the earlier stages and what follows is generally a fairly enjoyable offering that has actually aged far better than I feared it might have.


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Lethal Weapon 2
Richard Donner, 1989
Action, Crime, Thriller
DVR - TCM


From IMDb:
Riggs and Murtaugh are on the trail of South African diplomats who are using their immunity to engage in criminal activities.
Plays up the comedic aspects more than the original, which does diminish the story a little but as it's a fairly run-of-the-mill one to begin with it doesn't feel like it matters that much and the second half tones down that playfulness anyway. On the plus side the writing is generally stronger, it benefits from an already established relationship between the leads and Patsy Kensit's role is thankfully not that large - leaving it a decent enough follow up to the original imo.





Lethal Weapon 3
Richard Donner, 1992
Action, Crime, Thriller
DVR - TCM


From IMDb:
Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh pursue a former LAPD officer who uses his knowledge of police procedure and policies to steal and sell confiscated guns and ammunition to local street gangs.
Weaker entry in the franchise imo with a story that feels somewhat padded (the love interest, some of the aftermath of the shooting) and for me Joe Pesci's character is just as (deliberately) annoying as in the preceding film but at least in that one he's a necessary component. The film is still a mix of the light-hearted and action which keeps it watchable but unfortunately it also feels more like it's simply going through the motions.