FEBRUARY (pt. ii) (35)
Berkeley Square (Frank Lloyd, 1933)
Unconventional fantasy romantic drama that contains some nice touches of humour and despite some of the support being a little wooden and the whole being overly melodramatic for the first transition in time gradually develops into an effective enough tale albeit one that requires a degree of patience
Bridal Suite (Wilhelm Thiele, 1939)
Pleasant enough romantic comedy that never really hits any highs but is quite amusing in places with a few nice lines and acceptable performances
Bullet Boy (Saul Dibb, 2004)
Urban drama that's quite slow and mostly predictable but remains watchable even though some of the acting isn't the strongest and occasionally the dialogue could be clearer
Diabolik aka Danger: Diabolik (Mario Bava, 1968) +
Light-hearted crime adventure adapted from a comic-strip that's fairly typical of its period and a reasonably fun watch although it would have benefitted from trimming the runtime a little imo
Dark Journey aka The Anxious Years (Victor Saville, 1937) +
WW I mix of espionage and romance with nice performances that's rather slow (though it does burst into action in the closing stages) and a little too convoluted for it's own good imo
Deadly Revenge (Michael Feifer, 2013)
Production-line 'thriller' that's extremely televisual in nature with a score determined to lead the viewer by the scruff of the emotion in a tale where everything is pretty much telegraphed anyway
Gloria (Sebastián Lelio, 2013)
Decent Chilean relationships drama that mixes the serious and the light-hearted quite nicely and though slow in pace maintains interest thanks primarily to a good lead performance
Hardware (Richard Stanley, 1990) +
Modest budget post-apocalyptic sci-thriller that certainly isn't the most polished (or original) film in the world and is easily mocked but personally I thoroughly enjoy it's sleazy aesthetic and despite taking itself a little more seriously than it ought in places once the mayhem begins it's always a joyously fun ride
Harlan County U.S.A. (Barbara Kopple, 1976)
Nicely put together documentary on the coal-miners of the titular county and their struggle to get union representation that unsurprisingly presents a one-sided viewpoint but presents it well and without seeming bias
Hell's Angels (Howard Hughes, Edmund Goulding & James Whale, 1930) +
WW I drama mixing b&w, tinted and colour film that may get somewhat melodramatic in it's closing stages and does suffer occasionally with regards acting but the story is decent enough and it excels with it's aerial work which forms a sizeable part of proceedings
Il portiere di notte [The Night Porter] (Liliana Cavani, 1974)
Odd drama with a plot that imo certainly could have benefitted from a further draft and a central relationship that really should appal but actually manages not to do so thanks primarily to the performances of the two leads and for me even develops into quite a compelling watch in the latter stages
Killing Ground (Damien Power, 2016)
Survival thriller/horror that brings nothing new to the table, being fairly clichéd and predictable, but is generally acted well enough to make it watchable
King Solomon's Mines (Robert Stevenson & Geoffrey Barkas, 1937) +
Decent enough rendition of the classic Henry Rider Haggard adventure that builds slowly but manages to maintain interest throughout and comes alive in the final third though for me Ms. Lee's wandering accent does hurt proceedings
Mamma Mia (Phyllida Lloyd, 2008) +
Musical rom-com that suffers from fitting the story to the lyrics and the singing is truly cringeworthy in places but the enthusiasm of some of the cast lends it a certain charm at times and many of the songs are quite simply classics
Monster (Patty Jenkins, 2003)
Bio-drama with a very good central performance by Ms. Theron as the convicted serial killer and paced reasonably well though the score is a little over-egged in places for my liking
Near Dark (Kathryn Bigelow, 1987)
Lovely blood-sucking horror that employs some nicely presented 'creatures', smart dialogue, decent enough effects and a suitable score to present a generally well paced and thoroughly entertaining tale even if the very climax does feel a little rushed and underwhelming
Night World (Hobart Henley, 1932) +
Low-budget crime/romance drama with a little humour and Busby Berkeley choreographed hoofing that fails to flow all that well in places but is still a reasonably entertaining watch in part at least thanks to Mae Clarke's performance
Noah (Darren Aronofsky, 2014)
Disappointing period adventure that is nicely shot in places but personally I didn't care much for it's individual take on the biblical tale
Olga's Girls (Joseph P. Mawra, 1964) +
Second entry in the low-budget sexploitation series centred on the sadist Olga that again is narrated with mediocre acting and a plot that's somewhat flimsy and drags in the second half despite an increase in both titillation and brutality
Olga's House Of Shame (Joseph P. Mawra, 1964)
Third in the sexploitation series centred on the sadist Olga that's once again narrated but this time is badly acted with little discernible plot or budget to speak of leaving it both tawdry and boring with only half-hearted titillation and brutality
Olympia 1. Teil - Fest der Völker [Olympia Pt 1: Festival Of Nations] (Leni Riefenstahl, 1938) +
Documentary centred on the athletics in the '36 Berlin Games that has some beautiful imagery from both the events and overall spectacle and is a worthy chronicle though the prologue while quite nice is a little overly drawn out imo
Olympia 2. Teil - Fest der Schönheit [Olympia Pt 2: Festival Of Beauty] (Leni Riefenstahl, 1938)
Documentary covering primarily sports other than athletics in the '36 Berlin Games that again has some nicely inventive positional camerawork but has far too much ground to cover to truly work as a chronicle though does succeed nicely in places as a tribute to the human form
Point Break (Kathryn Bigelow, 1991) +
Crime thriller that's pretty fun in places with some over-the-top acting and snappy dialogue alongside some nice action sequences but sadly is far less engaging inbetween those moments for me
Secrets & Lies (Mike Leigh, 1996)
Lovely relatable drama that may be somewhat slow of pace but is never boring thanks to the characterisations and those that play them (especially the wonderful Ms. Blethyn)
Shukujo wa nani o wasureta ka [What Did The Lady Forget?] (Yasujirô Ozu, 1937)
Reasonably enjoyable light-hearted drama that's a little slow but has some fairly amusing snippets of dialogue, especially between the three female friends, and is nicely acted
Still Alice (Richard Glatzer & Wash Westmoreland, 2014) +
Human drama that tackles a worthy topic and for the most part is acted well enough but though overly manipulative in the odd place doesn't feel like it hits home hard enough for me, partly because there is too little connection to whom Alice is prior to onset and partly because the frustrations during the decline aren't presented strongly enough imo
Suspiria (Dario Argento, 1977)
Giallo that may not have the best acting in the world but is visually quite stunning (utilising nice sets/locations combined with a beautifully radiant lighting palette), has a score that works well with those visuals and whilst the tale might be a little hokey it builds nicely to a climax
Ten Cents A Dance (Lionel Barrymore & Edward Buzzell, 1931)
Romantic drama with a nice performance from Ms. Stanwyck (though Mr. Owsley is not so good in places) in a tale that would be decent enough but sadly is allowed to go rather flat in the middle
The Fighter (David O. Russell, 2010)
Enjoyable boxing bio-drama in which events outside the ring are given prominence and for the most part works well thanks to some very good performances (especially those in supporting roles)
The Future (Miranda July, 2011)
Drama with fantasy elements that has the odd whimsical moment and obviously wants to impart something but fails to do so thanks to unengaging characters and dialogue that feel artificial coupled with a narrative device that for me doesn't work well
The Hallow (Corin Hardy, 2015)
Horror that's fairly by-the-numbers and suffers from a lack of originality alongside some overacting ultimately leaving it feeling like a mostly unsatisfying watch
The Iron Lady (Phyllida Lloyd, 2011)
Bio-drama with a nice enough performance from Ms. Streep as the lead but for me the fractured narrative with her imagined husband doesn't particularly work that well and there seems very little actual depth to proceedings
The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2015) +
Offbeat social satire mixing comedy and romance that has its moments of amusement and interest, especially when embracing the more absurd aspects, but the bland characterisations do nothing to endear proceedings and the material feels like it's stretched thin and overly drawn out
Wanderlust (David Wain, 2012) +
Formulaic comedy that has the occasional worthwhile moment but for me they are swamped by so much that is either crass, unfunny or shallow
White Slaves Of Chinatown aka Olga's White Slaves (Joseph P. Mawra, 1964)
initial entry in the low-budget sexploitation series centred on the sadist Olga that's mainly narrated in a semi-documentary style which actually helps maintain interest even if the acting is passable at best, the pace slow and the story arc primarily there to facilitate a little nudity and light BDSM
Last edited by Chypmunk; 07-23-19 at 06:18 AM.