Westworld

Year:  1973

Director:  Michael Crichton

Screenplay:  Michael Crichton

Starring:  Richard Benjamin, Yul Brynner, James Brolin

Running Time:  88 minutes

Genre:  Science-fiction, Western

Welcome to Delos, a state of the art amusement park where, for a mere $1,000 per day, guests can live out their fantasies in one of three different "worlds": Western World (themed on the Wild West), Medieval World or Roman World.   The zones are populated by highly sophisticated robots, which look virtually indistinguishable from humans, and are programmed to allow the guests to live out any adventure or desire that they have.  Of course, the sophisticated computer programming means that the robots will never turn on their human guests and begin slaughtering home.  Nothing can possibly go wrong.  Until everything does.

This was written and directed by author/filmmaker Michael Crichton, who would return to the theme of a futuristic amusement park run amok with his novel Jurassic Park (1990).  The film moves between two friends, Peter Martin (played by Richard Benjamin) a first time visitor to Delos and John Blane (played by James Brolin) who is something of a Delos veteran, and their experiences in Western World as they become targets of a homicidal Gunslinger (played by Yul Brynner); the scientists and technicians in the vast subterranean complex below the theme park, where damaged androids are repaired, and the whole park is monitored; and an obnoxious guest in Medieval World.  It's not really until nearly an hour into the film where the robots completely break down and become murderous, and the story moves fully into thriller territory.  Up until then its is almost a comedy parodying Western tropes.  In it's last half hour the film becomes a genuinely tense chase as the Gunslinger remorselessly hunts down it's prey.  Richard Benjamin is good as the nervous, slightly jittery first time visitor, and James Brolin is charismatic as the relaxed would-be cowboy, but it is Yul Brynner as the deathly pale, blank-faced robot who provides the most iconic performance.  The film is mostly well structured, opening with an advert for Delos, which really gives all the backstory you need, and following Peter and John as they arrive and get to experience Western World.  Meanwhile in Medieval World a would be king (Norman Bartold) spends his time flirting with the Queen (Victoria Shaw) and eyeing up buxom serving wenches.  As this is all going on in the park, in the laboratories and offices below, the technicians are concerned that the robots are displaying more malfunctions and errors than usual.  The problems and malfunctions mount up slowly but steadily, until everything suddenly goes haywire.   The film is certainly showing it's age now.  The special effects and futuristic technology on-screen now look very dated, which is inevitable.  It's not a great film, it moves from light-hearted almost comedy to full science-fiction  action thriller a little too late and too suddenly.  It is good though, it's funny and suspenseful and features some memorable sequences.  

The film was a hit in it's day, and was followed by a sequel, Futureworld (1976), a TV series Beyond Westworld which ran for five episodes in 1980, and the far more successful Westworld TV series which began on HBO in 2016 and has, as of January 2022, run for three seasons with a fourth on the way.

Yul Brynner in Westworld

"The Diabolical Bones" by Bella Ellis

Year of Publication:  2020

Length:  340 pages

Genre:  Mystery

Haworth, December 1845:  Aspiring writers and amateur detectives (or "detectors") Charlotte, Anne and Emily Brontë are shocked when the bones of a child are discovered sealed up inside the walls of the nearby Top Withins Hall.  The prime suspect is immediately assumed to be the brutal Clifton Bradshaw, owner of Top Withins.  However, the Brontë sisters investigate and find themselves plunged into a murky world of occult rituals, human sacrifice, and a horrific orphanage, as they find themselves up against their most dangerous enemy yet.

This is the second in the "Brontë Mysteries" by Bella Ellis (the pen name of author Rowan Coleman), following The Vanished Bride (2019), which reimagine the famous literary sisters as detectives, investigating mysteries in and around the village of Haworth in Yorkshire.  As with its predecessor, The Diabolical Bones has an intriguing story, with an effectively creepy mystery at its centre.  Ellis writes with real skill, keeping the plot moving at a good pace and she has a strong feel for character and location.  Despite obviously being fiction, the book still ties in well with the known facts about the Brontë's lives and personalities, and is written with obvious love for the sisters and their work.  Even for readers unfamiliar with the Brontë's work, it's still a hugely enjoyable period mystery.

  

Nightmare Alley

Year:  2021

Director:  Guillermo del Toro

Screenplay:  Guillermo del Toro and Kim Morgan, based on the novel Nightmare Alley by William Lindsay Gresham

Starring:  Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette, Willem Dafoe, Richard Jenkins, Rooney Mara, Ron Perlman, Mary Steenburgen, David Strathairn

Running Time: 150 minutes

Genre:  Thriller

In 1939, Stanton "Stan" Carlisle (Cooper) is on the run from a shady past when he finds refuge in a travelling carnival, befriending fortune teller Zeena the Seer (Collette), her alcoholic husband (Jenkins), Clem (Dafoe) who runs the carnival's "geek show" and exhibition of "human oddities", and Molly (Mara) whose act consists of her being electrocuted.  Learning the secrets of the inner workings of the carnival, and particularly the tricks behind pretending to be clairvoyant, Stan approaches Molly with a proposition that they work the scam together on wealthier marks.  Two years later, Stan and Molly are successfully working their act for the wealthy elite of New York City, when Stan is approached by Dr. Lilith Ritter (Blanchett), who has her own idea for a scam, but as the stakes are raised to more dangerous levels it becomes increasingly unclear who is playing who.

Guillermo del Toro is probably best known for his work in the horror and fantasy genre, most notably Pan's Labyrinth (2006) and The Shape of Water (2017), this however is not a supernatural or a fantasy film, although it is pretty horrific at times.  This is a modern day film noir, in fact the novel by William Lindsay Gresham has been filmed before in 1947, in the heyday of the film noir.  This film presents a throughly bleak portrait of human nature, almost everyone in the film is working some kind of scheme, or con, although some more innocent than others.  Bradley Cooper is good as the silver tongued charmer who hides very dark secrets and is capable of occasionally lashing out with shocking violence.  Cate Blanchett plays psychologist Lilith Ritter as a classic femme fatale all blood-red lipstick and golden gowns.  Toni Collette plays the smalltime carnival fortune teller who teaches Stan the tricks of the trade.  Rooney Mara plays the innocent, wide-eyed Molly who becomes the conscience of the film and, crucially, the only one perceptive enough to see where they are headed.  Willem Dafoe has a ball as the cruel Clem who keeps a caged man as the sideshow "geek", forcing him to bite the heads off chickens.  The twilight world of the carnival is brilliantly evoked, all mud and dirt and broken-down seedy glamour.  Del Toro is a master of disturbing but beautiful images, and he evokes a cold, bleak world, even New York is wintery streets and palatial but sterile hotel rooms and offices, The film has a complex, twisting plot, punctuated by occasional, brief, shocking bursts of violence.  While it may be too bleak for some viewers, it is a striking latter day film noir, and one of the best new thrillers that I've seen in a long time.         

Bradley Cooper and Rooney Mara in Nightmare Alley

Rebel Without a Cause

Year:  1955

Director:  Nicholas Ray

Screenplay:  Stewart Stern and Irving Schulman, based on a story by Nicholas Ray

Starring:  James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, Jim Backus, Ann Doran, Corey Allen, William Hopper

Running Time:  111 minutes

Genre:  Drama, coming of age

Los Angeles:  Jim Stark (Dean) is the new kid in town, but is already in trouble with the law for drunkenness.  Starting a new school he falls for Judy (Wood), the girlfriend of Buzz (Allen), leader of the local gang, and befriends troubled kid Plato (Mineo).  Buzz violently challenges Jim to a game of "Chicken" which leads to tragic consequences.

James Dean made three feature films before his tragic death in 1955 at the age of 24, shortly before the release of Rebel Without a Cause.  However his legacy and impact on popular culture resonates even to this day, and it is largely due to his role in Rebel Without a Cause.  This is arguably one of the first real teen films, and rather than see the problem of teenager hood  through the eyes of the disapproving adult characters, it is seen through the eyes of the teens, who are treated sympathetically.  Jim Stark is essentially good, compassionate person, who is confused and mixed up by his lecturing mother and well-meaning, but weak-willed father; Judy craves affection from her father who she believes hates her since she turned sixteen and is no longer "Daddy's little girl"; Plato has been abandoned by his wealthy family and is looked after by the family's kindly maid.  Together they form a strange, surrogate family, with Jim and Judy taking on the parental roles, with Plato as their son, it's also pretty obvious that Plato is in love with Jim, who is in love with Judy and possibly Plato as well.  Dean manages to convey a lot of often conflicting emotions at the same time.  The scene where he comes upon his father (Jim Backus), wearing a ludicrously frilly apron, dropping a tray of food for Jim's mother, which he scrambles to pick up, and Jim looks on at him with an expression of mingled contempt, sorrow, love and sympathy.  Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo also give striking performances, and Dennis Hopper appears as one of the gang members.  The film is very dated now, but it is still exciting, and some of the action is still surprisingly strong, such as the knife fight and the "chicken" race.  It may be difficult for some to sympathise with the teenage angst of these materially privileged, suburban, middle-class kids, but it is portrayed convincingly.  Even though a lot of it has dated, elements of it are still effective today, and it is the film that made James Dean a legend.

Ann Doran, James Dean and Jim Backus in Rebel Without a Cause

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

 Year:  1956

Director:  Don Siegel

Screenplay:  Donald Mainwaring, based on the novel The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney

Starring:  Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter, Larry Gates, King Donovan, Carolyn Jones

Running Time:  80 minutes

Genre:  Science-fiction

Dr. Miles Bennell (McCarthy) returns home from a medical convention to the small California town of Santa Mira, where a surprising number of residents seem to be suffering from the delusion that their loved ones have been replaced by near-identical duplicates.  It soon turns out that the delusion is all too real, slowly the townspeople are being replaced by soulless duplicates spawned from large alien seed pods that threaten to take over the world.

Based on a story by writer Jack Finney, Invasion of the Body Snatchers has gone down as one of the classics of science-fiction, and has been remade several times, most notably in 1978, directed by Philip Kaufman and starring Donald Sutherland in the Kevin McCarthy role.  At the heart of it is a genuinely frightening idea, that the people you love are not themselves any more, and that you yourself could lose your identity and humanity.  To make things even worse, the process of takeover is never really depicted.  The duplicates grow out of the alien pods, hence the term "pod-people" which has come to enter pop culture, despite never being spoken in the film.  What happens to the original is never explained, although it is hinted that the original is somehow destroyed.  The film was released at the height of the Cold War and it has divided people over whether it is a left wing or right wing film.  Some people saw it as an allegory for the "Red under every bed" scare, while others saw it as an allegory for the dangers of McCarthyism (Senator Joe McCarthy and his obsession with rooting out Communists - real or imagined).  Director Don Siegel claimed that the film was about insomnia - the pods duplicate the original while they sleep, and Siegel suffered terrible insomnia throughout his life.  Whatever political leanings you have, you can read something into the film to suit yourself, but at it's core it is a science-fiction thriller and the scenes where McCarthy and his girlfriend Dana Wynter are running from the alien townspeople is really suspenseful.  The performances are good, and the script is pretty adult for a science-fiction film of the time, when most sf films seemed to be pitched to children's Saturday matinees, or drive-in double features.    Future director Sam Peckinpah (The Wild Bunch (1968) and Straw Dogs (1971) appears briefly as a meter reader.  Apparently early test audiences found the film's conclusion too downbeat and so an additional prologue and epilogue were shot, which does dilute the tension somewhat at the end, but the scene of a hysterical McCarthy in the middle of a freeway shouting at unheeding traffic as it shoots by him is one of the classic sequences of science-fiction cinema: "They're already here!  They're not human!  They're coming for you!"

It came from the vegetable patch: Dana Wynter, King Donovan, Carolyn Jones and Kevin McCarthy face an Invasion of the Body Snatchers 

Doctor Zhivago

Year:  1965

Director:  David Lean

Screenplay:  Robert Bolt, based on the novel Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak

Starring:  Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Geraldine Chaplin, Rod Steiger, Tom Courtenay, Alec Guinness, Rita Tushingham, Siobhán McKenna, Ralph Richardson

Running Time:  193 minutes, 200 minutes (1992 re-release)

Genre:  Period drama, epic

Against the backdrop of the First World War and the Russian Revolution, married doctor and controversial poet Yuri Zhivago (Sharif) falls in love with seamstresses daughter Lara (Christie), but their romance is threatened by the momentous historical events taking place around them.

This is probably one of the best known films of all time.  Even if you have never seen Doctor Zhivago, you probably have heard of it before.  This is real epic filmmaking, in scope and certainly in length.  British director David Lean had previously directed such popular epics as The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) and Lawrence of Arabia (1962), and he was a master of beautiful, widescreen spectacle.  Moving from cramped, dingy flats, to partial restaurants and grand houses, to gorgeous vistas of snowy fields and forests, the film is always beautiful to look at, and it really needs to be seen on the biggest screen possible, because watching it on television, even a big one, means that some of the impact is lost.  Lean is also good at choreographing the frequent surging crowd scenes, riots and cavalry charges, as well as finding some quiet poetry in the images of nature, and the spectacular sequence in a house that looks as if it is made of ice, it's so frozen.  Incidentally, the novel by Boris Pasternak was banned in the Soviet Union, and so the film could not be shot there, instead it was largely filmed in Spain.  There are some impressive performances: Omar Sharif as the brooding Doctor Zhivago; Julie Christie in her star making role as Lara; Geraldine Chaplin is quite underused as Zhivago's wife, Tonya; Rod Steiger plays the repulsive Komarovsky who wants to seduce Lara; Tom Courtenay is good as Lara's idealistic husband Pasha, who is devoted to the revolution; Alec Guinness plays Zhivago's conflicted half-brother; and Rita Tushingham bookends the film as the woman Guinness is convinced is his niece.  Also in the eclectic cast is notorious Werner Herzog regular Klaus Kinski.  Despite it's reputation as a romance, the love story is the backbone of the narrative but the romantic scenes are surprisingly brief.  The fact that a largely British cast are playing Russian characters strikes a bit of a false note, just due to the accents.  Also the story hinges a lot on coincidence, when people just happen to run into each other which doesn't seem very realistic when Russia is quite a big place.  These are small criticisms though, because this is a great film.  It belongs to a period of epic filmmaking which I don't think exists anymore, for the most part marrying spectacle to real human drama.  Despite it's length, it moves at a lively pace and it is never dull.  It also features a memorable score by Maurice Jarre.  It is one of those films that you definitely need to see at some point, particularly if you ever get the chance to see it in a cinema.

Julie Christie and Omar Sharif in Doctor Zhivago

Big Eyes

Year:  2014

Director:  Tim Burton

Screenplay:  Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski

Starring:  Amy Adams, Christoph Waltz, Danny Huston, Jon Polito, Krysten Ritter, Jason Schwartzman, Terence Stamp

Running Time:  106 minutes

Genre:  Drama, comedy, biography

In 1958 aspiring artist Margaret Ulrich (Adams) leaves her husband and travels with her young daughter to San Francisco, where she meets unsuccessful but charismatic painter Walter Keane (Waltz), and they soon get married.  While Walter paints nondescript landscapes, Margaret specialises in pictures of waif-like children with oversized eyes.  As Walter continues to have no success with his own works, he begins to pass off Margaret's work as his own (she signs her paintings simply as "Keane").  The paintings become extremely successful, and Walter becomes something of a celebrity, but Margaret is increasingly dissatisfied at doing all of the work and getting none of the credit.

You may not be familiar with Margaret and Walter Keane and the slightly creepy paintings of sad children with huge eyes (which look now for all the world like the sinister Black Eyed Kids of modern urban legend).  However in the 1960s Walter Keane was a big celebrity, and the paintings were hugely popular.  It turned out of course that the paintings were all the work of his wife, Margaret.  It's a strange and interesting story, and this is an interesting film.  Director Tim Burton and screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski had previously explored the odd fringes of popular culture with Ed Wood (1994), and while this shares the often humorous take and appreciation of kitsch, Big Eyes is not as distinctive or impressive.  In fact it is a surprisingly conventional film from Tim Burton who made his name with bizarre, grotesque and slightly surreal films, the main stylistic element here is that everything seems overly bright and colourful.  Amy Adams gives a muted, nuanced performance as Margaret Keane, but Christoph Waltz goes completely over the top as the charismatic conman Walter Keane, who comes across as something between a gameshow host and a sleazy used car salesman, he constantly talks about his travels throughout France, and it turns out that he spent all of a week there, and when it come to art he has far more confidence than talent.   Together Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz seem to be making two completely different films.  Amy Adams, a drama about a woman trying to find her voice, and Christoph Waltz, a broad comedy about a lovable rogue.  The film is interesting and always entertaining, but it is quite conventional.  It's certainly worth your time, but probably won't linger very long after the end credits have rolled.  

Amy Adams in Big Eyes
   

Belfast

Year: 2001

Director:  Kenneth Branagh

Screenplay:  Kenneth Branagh

Starring:  Caitríona Balfe, Judi Dench, Jamie Dornan, Ciarán Hinds, Colin Morgan, Jude Hill

Running Time:  97 minutes

Genre:  Drama

Belfast, 1969:  Nine year old Buddy (Hill) lives with his family in a close knit working-class Protestant neighbourhood.  One day rioters violently attack the homes of the few Catholic families that live on the street.  Buddy's father (Dornan) who works in England, and is only able to see his family once every two weeks, believes that Belfast is becoming too dangerous and wants the family to emigrate, however Buddy's mother (Balfe) doesn't want to leave her home and also doesn't believe they have the means, due to the family being under severe financial pressure.  As tensions escalate, both at home and on the street, Buddy is also preoccupied with the business of being a nine year old boy, playing football on the streets, reading comics, going to the beloved local cinema, and trying to get the seat next to the prettiest girl in class.

The film opens with colour images of present-day Belfast before moving back in time to a monochrome 1969, telling the story of growing up as The Troubles escalate.  The Troubles have featured in numerous films and television series, from The Crying Game (1992) and In the Name of the Father (1993) to Derry Girls (2018- ).  After the riot at the beginning of the film, the streets are barricaded and soldiers guard the area, also sinister local criminal Billy Clanton (played by Colin Morgan) demands that local residents join in the fighting, either actively or with money.  Buddy's father adamantly refuses to join, and Billy becomes increasingly threatening and violent.  However, the focus of the film is not really the Troubles, but Buddy and his family, in amongst all of the tension they live their lives, argue over money, share jokes, go to the cinema, and the children play in the streets.  The film is very funny, and often extremely moving.  There are fantastic performances from Caitríona Balfe and Jamie Dornan as Buddy's parents, and warm performances from Judi Dench and Ciarán Hinds as Buddy's loving grandparents.  Special mention however has to be given to newcomer Jude Hill who plays Buddy, and gives a wonderful performance.  The film is mostly in crisp black-and-white, however when Buddy goes to the cinema everything bursts into colour, which is a wonderful way of depicting the magic of film.  Kenneth Branagh, who wrote the script based on his own childhood experiences growing up in Belfast, is a prolific, if uneven, director, but he has made some excellent films and this is among his very best.

Caitríona Balfe, Jamie Dornan, Judi Dench, Jude Hill and Lewis McAskie in Belfast

Loving Vincent

Year of Release:  2017

Director:  Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman

Screenplay:  Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman and Jacek Dehnel

Starring:  Douglas Booth, Robert Gulaczyk, Jerome Flynn, Saoirse Ronan, Helen McCrory, Chris O'Dowd, John Sessions, Eleanor Tomlinson, Aidan Turner

Running Time:  95 minutes

Genre:  Animated, biography

In 1891, one year after the death of artist Vincent van Gogh, postman Joseph Roulin (O'Dowd) asks his son, Armand (Booth), to deliver a letter Vincent had written to his brother, Theo. Armand, who disliked Vincent, reluctantly agrees.  Discovering that Theo himself died  six months after Vincent, Armand continues to the town where Vincent spent his last days, in the hope of finding someone who may be able to send the letter to the van Gogh family.  However, as he learns more about Vincent's troubled life and tragic death, Armand's perspective on him begins to change.

While not achieving much success in his short life, Vincent van Gogh is now recognised as one of the greatest artists of all time.  In this film, the main character Armand is trying to find someone to deliver a letter to,  In doing so he meets a number of Van Gogh's acquaintances, friends and enemies who tell him about the great man's life and personality, and episodes from Vincent's life are depicted in flashback.  The film itself was in production for six years, and employed a team of 125 artists to render each one of it's 65,000 frames as an oil painting on canvas using the same techniques that Van Gogh himself used, and using Van Gogh's paintings as models for each scene and character.  The result is an astonishing achievement, making Van Gogh's art live and breathe.  The film employed a technique called "rotoscoping" in which rather than just supplying the voices for the characters, the actors performed their scenes as if it was live action, and then the artists painted over each frame.  It makes for a striking and slightly disorientating fusion of animation and live action.  At times the film seems unsure as to whether the main focus is Armand's quest or Van Gogh's life, as it begins to become almost a mystery story in it's second half, as Armand becomes convinced that there is more to Van Gogh's death than meets the eye, which threatens to make the film less interesting, as Vincent's friend, Marguerite (played by Saoirse Ronan) says in the film: "You want to know so. much about his death, but what do you know of his life?"  And of course life must always be far more interesting than death.  However, the film dies ultimately manage to pull back from this, and it is a powerful and beautiful experience.

Douglas Booth in Loving Vincent
  

The Living Daylights

Year of Release:  1987

Director:  John Glen

Screenplay:  Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson, based on the short story "The Living Daylights" by Ian Fleming

Starring:  Timothy Dalton, Maryam d'Abo, Joe Don Baker, Art Malik, John Rhys-Davis, Jeroen Krabbé

Running Time:  130 minutes

Genre:  Action, adventure, spy

British secret agent James Bond (Dalton) successfully engineers the escape of a Soviet defector (Krabbé) to the West.  However shortly afterwards, the defector is apparently kidnapped by the KGB from a secret safe house in Britain.  Bond is assigned to find him and bring him back, however the defection and the kidnapping turn out to be more complex than at first appears, and Bond finds himself trapped in a complex web of treachery involving arms deals, diamonds and drugs, in a chase that leads from London, to Bratislava, to Vienna, to Tangiers and to the deserts of Afghanistan.

This is the fifteenth film in the James Bond series and the first of two films to star Timothy Dalton as 007.  A fan of the original Ian Fleming books, Dalton had intended to make his Bond closer to the literary source, as a sometimes ruthless, serious, damaged and more realistic character, which came as a surprise after the more lighthearted, comedic approach of his predecessor in the role, Roger Moore.  This may be why Dalton has always been poorly regarded by fans of the Bond films.  It's true that his approach was a shock after the Moore period, and he lacked the charisma of Sean Connery.  However, Dalton really wasn't bad in the role.  The problem was the films themselves.  The Living Daylights starts as a straightforward spy thriller, before becoming more and more ridiculous as it goes along, and the plot becomes ever more confusing.  The main villain, an American arms dealer played by Joe Don Baker, comes across as a petulant childish character who plays with toy soldiers and whose lair is a tricked-out army museum, although the henchman, a muscular assassin called Necros (Andreas Wisniewski), who has a talent for impersonating voices and prefers to strangle people to death with his Walkman does make an impression.  Maryam d'Abo plays Kara, a cellist who is swept up by Bond's adventure and later swept up by Bond.  She starts off as an interesting, ambivalent character whose loyalties are uncertain, but who is always sympathetic, but by the end she has become the typical "Bond girl" who doesn't really have much to do except tag along with Bond.  There are some good set pieces, with the standout being a chase with Bond and Kara in a gadget-packed Aston Martin, which ends up with them using a cello case for a sledge.  The theme song, by Norwegian pop group A-ha, isn't bad.  This is far from being the best Bond film, but it is nowhere near the worst either.  It's entertaining, and does have some really good parts.  The problem is that it doesn't hang together and feels like several different stories shoved into one.  It's too humourless to be funny, but too ridiculous to be really serious.

"Oh, James!" Timothy Dalton and Maryam d'Abo in The Living Daylights
 

The Phantom of the Opera

Year of Release:  1925

Director:  Rupert Julian

Screenplay:  Walter Anthony, Elliott J. Clawson, Bernard McConville,  Frank M. McCormack, Tom Reed, Raymond L. Schrock, Jasper Spearing, Richard Wallace, based on the novel The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

Starring:  Lon Chaney, Mary Philbin, Norman Kerry

Running Time:  107 minutes (re-edited version 93 minutes)

Genre:  Horror

Christine Daaé (Philbin) is the new up and coming star at the glittering Paris Opera House.  Her sweetheart Raoul (Kerry) wants her to give up performing and marry him.  However Christine refuses to abandon her career.  Meanwhile the opera house is full of rumours about a mysterious phantom haunting the corridors and cellars of the building.  The Phantom (Chaney) turns out to be all too real, as he develops a dangerous obsession with Christine.

Gaston Leroux's horror novel The Phantom of the Opera was first published as a serial in a Parisian newspaper in 1909, before appearing in book form in 1910.  Since then it has been adapted to the screen and stage numerous times, perhaps most famously as the 1986 Andrew Lloyd Webber stage musical, however this 1920s silent film could be the most iconic.  Silent films tend to present some problems modern audiences, not just with outdated content, but the nature of the medium and how they have been preserved.  Since many of these films are now out of copyright they are often available in several different versions, more on that later, as well as the use of title cards to tell story and dialogue and the often exaggerated acting styles.  The Phantom of the Opera is full of florid performances, some daft comic relief moments involving a bunch of people falling down trap doors and then being shot up again like circus clowns, odd choices such as characters raising their hands like they want to ask a question in order to avoid attacks by the Phantom and a fairly weak performance by Norman Kerry as the rather dull Raoul.  However Lon Chaney gives one of the most iconic performances in horror cinema, the famous makeup for the disfigured Phantom was famously devised and applied by Chaney himself, and the famous unmasking sequence is still startling even now, and at the time cinema ushers were advised to keep smelling salts on hand for moviegoers fainting at the sight of the Phantom's visage.  You'll probably be okay to do without the smelling salts, but it's still a powerful image.  Chaney's performance is more than just makeup.  He makes the Phantom into a fully fledged character, terrifying but also sympathetic.  The scene where he learns of what he sees as Christine's betrayal, perched on a gargoyle, shrouded in his billowing red cape is actually very moving.  Mary Philbin is effective as Christine, and there is real power in her scenes in the Phantom's layer.  The film has a real epic feel, with the scenes of the grand staircase and the auditorium of the Opera House having real grandeur, and the catacombs and cellars, including an underground lake (which apparently actually exists under the Paris Opera House, although these days it is used more by trainee firefighters than disfigured, lovelorn classical music aficionados).  The film exists in various different cuts.  There was the 1925 original version which runs to 107 minutes, and a re-edited version made in 1929, with alternate takes of many scenes which was originally released as a partial sound film, where cinemas were supplied with discs containing music and partial dialogue, as opposed to laying as. silent film with a live musical accompaniment.  There are several different versions of the both cuts of the film of varying quality.  I saw the 1929 which had been remastered.  As was fairly common practice in the silent era certain scenes shot in black-and-white were tinted various colours to provide atmosphere, additionally The Phantom of the Opera features a sequence at a Masked Ball, which is shot in early Technicolor and features a terrifying appearance by the Phantom disguised as the "Red Death".  While it is certainly not without it's flaws, this film is a classic of horror cinema and one of the high points of silent Hollywood.

Lon Chaney is The Phantom of the Opera

  

  

Gaslight

Year of Release:  1940

Director:  Thorold Dickinson

Screenplay:  A. R. Rawlinson and Bridget Boland, based on the stage play Gas Light by Patrick Hamilton

Starring:  Anton Walbrook, Diana Wynyard, Frank Pettingell

Running Time:  85 minutes

Genre:  Drama, thriller

In Victorian London a newly married couple, Paul (Walbrook) and Bella Mallon (Wynyard), move into a house where twenty years earlier an elderly woman was brutally murdered by an unknown robber.  Before long, Bella begins to notice small objects going missing, strange sounds in an empty upstairs room, and the light in the gas lamps flickering strangely.  Her husband also begins to act increasingly cold and harsh towards her.  Bella begins to worry that she is losing her mind.  The truth however is even more sinister.

You've probably read or heard the term "gaslighting" which refers to someone manipulating another person to make them doubt their perception of reality, and the term comes from the title of the 1938 play Gas Light and the two film versions, the 1940 British film which we are concerned with here, and the 1944 American film directed by George Cukor and starring Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer and Joseph Cotton.   The central story concerns an evil husband manipulating his wife into making her think that she is going mad.  This isn't a spoiler, it's revealed pretty much from the outset that that is what he is doing.  While the 1940 version isn't as well known as the 1944 film, it is a pretty good little thriller.  Anton Walbrook gives a great villainous performance as the cruel husband, either silkily persuasive or hissing venom at his long-suffering wife, even if there are times when you half expect him to start twirling his moustache, he's so gleefully wicked.  The wide-eyed Diana Wynyard is impressive as the tormented Bella, even if there are times you wish she was less quietly passive, however the scene where she turns the tables on him is wonderfully suspenseful.  Frank Pettingell plays the happily pleased with himself former policeman turned stable owner who decides to conduct a private investigation into Mallon.  The film is creaky by today's standards, but it is suspenseful and exciting and, despite being very obviously studio bound, the lighting and camera work is effective.  The story moves at a quick pace, the dialogue is well-written.  Anton Walbrook makes a memorable villain and Diana Wynyard is affecting as the manipulated Bella.  

 

Separation

Year of Release:  1968 (produced 1967)

Director:  Jack Bond

Screenplay:  Jane Arden

Starring:  Jane Arden, David de Keyser, Ann Lynn, Iain Quarrier, Terence De Marney

Running Time:  93 minutes

Genre:  Experimental drama

London:  Jane (Arden) is married, but carrying on an affair with a younger man (Quarrier).  As her marriage collapses, scenes from her past, present and potential future are revealed along with her dreams and fantasies.

Written by and starring Welsh poet, actress, scriptwriter and director Jane Arden, and directed by her then partner Jack Bond, this experimental film portrays the inner life of a woman in a series of fragmented scenes.  Largely shot in crisp monochrome, interspersed with brief surreal dream sequences in vivid colour, this demands a lot from the viewer.  The dialogue is often enigmatic, with phrases frequently being repeated throughout the film in various permutations.  This is is in many ways a product of the Swinging Sixties, with the Procol Harum soundtrack, trips along Portobello Road and meals at a cool restaurant where the clientele includes Michael York, and James Bond composer John Barry and Jane Birkin are sent packing by the police before they can even get out of their car.  However the blandly pretty suburban streets, brutalist high rises, sterile offices and swimming baths have not aged, neither has it's bleak presentation of marital and mental breakdown.  The film is visually striking with inventive camera work, and memorable imagery, but it's Jane Arden who is the most compelling thing about the film.  It is something of a feminist film depicting a woman's mental landscape.  This is a challenging and often disturbing film, but there are frequent flashes of surreal humour.  Arden and Bond would collaborate on two subsequent films The Other Side of the Underneath (1972) and Anti-Clock (1979).

Iain Quarrier, Jane Arden and David de Keyser in Separation

Scream (2022)

 Year of Release:  2022

Director:    Matt Bettinelli-Oplin and Tyler Gillett

Screenplay:  James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick, based on characters created by Kevin Williamson

Starring:    David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Jack Quaid, Dylan Minnette, Mason Gooding, Jasmin Savoy Brown,  Mikey Madison, Sonia Ben Ammar, Marley Shelton

Running Time:  114 minutes

Genre:  Horror

In the small town of Woodsboro teenager Tara (Ortega) is brutally attacked in her home, by a knife-wielding assailant dressed in a Ghostface mask.  The mask and manner of the attack harkens back to a series of murders committed in Woodsboro twenty five years earlier, which were quickly immortalised in the popular Stab horror films.  Tara's sister Sam (Barrera) and her boyfriend Richie (Quaid) return to Woodsboro to help her, but it soon becomes apparent that the attacker hasn't finished yet , and as the body count rises, Sam begins to believe that she is the one the killer is most interested in targeting.

The original Wes Craven directed Scream was released in 1996 to massive critical and popular acclaim.  At a pretty bleak time for horror films Scream managed to work as a horror film while also commenting on and poking fun at them,  the characters were aware of horror films and the "rules" that they work by.  Just as Scream commented on horror films, Scream 2 (1997) dealt with the rules of sequels, Scream 3 (2000) dealt with the rules of trilogies, Scream 4 (2011) examined the rules of franchises and now Scream (2022), or Scream 5 if you prefer, examines what the film terms  "re-quels", which are those films that work partly as sequels and partly as reboots, they acknowledge the existence of previous instalments, and bring back fan favourite characters, while focusing on new characters (think Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) for a textbook example),  Another element that set the Scream franchise apart from other slasher films was that the survivors, rather than the killers, were who would return for each film.  While the killer, or killers, would wear the same Ghostface costume in each film, their identities were different each time around.  However the tormented Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), ambitious tabled TV reporter Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) and small-town cop Dewey Riley (David Arquette) would return for every film.  While the new Scream follows many of the same key plot beats as the original, it is different enough to feel fresh.   It is fun and nostalgic to see the familiar faces reprise the same roles again, even if the reminder of the passage of time is a little less welcome, but the new characters are engaging.  While you may be able to guess some of the revelations before the end, there is still enough surprises to keep it intriguing.  The films does target such contemporary issues as reboots and toxic fandom, as well as the so-called "elevated horror", but even if it isn't as funny as the original, it is fun, and there are enough gruesome slayings to satisfy fans.

Ghostface return in Scream

Live and Let Die

Year of Release:  1973

Director:  Guy Hamilton

Screenplay:  Tom Mankiewicz, based on the novel Live and Let Die by Ian Fleming

Starring:  Roger Moore, Jane Seymour, Yaphet Kotto

Running Time:  121 minutes

Genre:  Action, adventure, spy

British secret agent James Bond (Moore) is assigned to investigate the deaths of three agents, and finds himself embroiled in a world of gangsters and voodoo curses as he attempts to stop a powerful drug dealer's plot to flood America with free heroin.

This is the eighth film in the evergreen James Bond series, and the first of seven films to feature Roger Moore as Bond.  Unlike his beloved predecessor in the role Sean Connery, and even George Lazenby, Roger Moore never really came across as a bruiser, but he did have charm, and a nice line in laconic humour, and it was in the Moore period where the James Bond films became increasingly bizarre, and seemed to be played more and more for laughs.  Live and Let Die is one of those films which I enjoyed watching as a child on Saturday evenings or during the Christmas holidays, when for years it seemed a Bond film was as much part of the festive TV schedules as Carols from Kings or The Snowman.  However, watching it as an adult, it is hard to ignore it's flaws.  For one thing, it doesn't really feel much like a Bond movie, at times feeling like an odd parody of a "blaxploitation" film, particularly in the scenes set in Harlem.  Yaphet Kotto was a good actor but, as drug lord Katanga aka Mr. Big, he comes across more as an irritated businessman, and his sidekick Tee Hee (Julius W. Harris) with a pincer-topped artificial arm, just isn't as impressive as some of the previous outlandish villains.  However, Geoffrey Holder is striking as voodoo priest Baron Samedi, and is one of the most memorable aspects of the film, although he has too little screen time.  Jane Seymour is very good as the psychic Solitaire, who reads the tarot cards for Katanga, and whose psychic powers seem to depend on her remaining a virgin.  Needless to say, they don't last very long once Bond appears.  Moore himself is suave enough, but never really seems to be bothered by anything that happens to him or anyone around him.  His treatment of Solitaire, effectively tricking her into bed, is pretty cruel, even by Bond's standards.  There are also strange apparently supernatural elements, Solitaire seems to be largely accepted as being genuinely psychic and Baron Samedi seems to come back from the dead.  Looked at now, the film feels really dated, and probably wouldn't [ass muster with modern viewers.  Also, lest we forget, the film's low point comes with the annoying comic relief Louisiana sheriff (Clifton James).  The film does have it's moments though, the opening theme song by Paul McCartney and Wings is pretty good, and there are some great action scenes, particularly the speedboat chase which is still pretty exciting.  

James Bond (Roger Moore) and Solitaire (Jane Seymour) in Live and Let Die

On Her Majesty's Secret Service

 Year of Release:  1969

Director:  Peter R. Hunt

Screenplay:  Richard Maibaum, with additional dialogue by Simon Raven, based on the novel On Her Majesty's Secret Service by Ian Fleming

Starring:  George Lazenby, Diana Rigg, Telly Savalas, Bernard Lee, Gabriele Ferzetti, Ilse Steppat

Running Time:  141 minutes

Genre:  Action, adventure, spy

British secret agent James Bond (Lazenby) puts his career on the line as he pursues criminal mastermind Blofeld (Savalas) who is preparing his latest diabolical plan to hold the world to ransom from his remote lair in the Swiss Alps.  Meanwhile, Bond unexpectedly falls in love with the alluring but troubled Tracy (Rigg).

This is the sixth film in the popular James Bond series, and the first without Sean Connery in the lead role, although Connery would return for the next instalment, Diamonds Are Forever (1971).  The producers seemed nervous about recasting the lead role and went to great lengths to persuade the audience that, yes, they were watching a Bond film:  At the end of the film's prologue, Lazenby looks straight at camera and quips "This never happened to the other fellow", the opening titles feature clips from previous Bond films, and in one scene Bond goes through some of his old gadgets.   However this does ring some changes with the traditional Bond formula, for one thing although there is the regular elaborate opening title sequence there is no theme song, although the Louis Armstrong song "We Have All the Time in the World" features prominently throughout the film; also, unlike most Bond films, it sticks very closely to the Ian Fleming novel, which means it has less humour and none of the usual gadgets. I think that fans disliked the recasting of James Bond, as well as the downbeat tone of the film, which culminates in a genuinely shocking ending.  However, I also think that a lot if the things that fans had disliked, have helped the film grow in stature in more recent years, with the downbeat and slightly more realistic (for a Bond film) tone helping it age better than many of the others, particularly in the more gritty Danial Craig era.

This was the one and only time that Australian model turned actor George Lazenby would play the role of James Bond, and he lacks the lethal charisma of Connery, but has a kind of boyish charm, and Lazenby's Bond has a kind of diffident and unsure quality, I don't know how much of that was Lazenby himself - after all it's his first acting role and he is taking over one of the biggest roles in film - but it gives Bond a vulnerability that makes for a more interesting character.  However, his performance is as uneven at times as his English accent, and he does sometimes come across as bland, but when he is at his best he gives a good performance, and his acting in the climax is genuinely affecting.  it's a pity that Lazenby didn't do more Bonds because, on this evidence, as his acting ability and confidence grew he could have really done some interesting things with the character.  Diana Rigg was previously best know for her iconic role as Emma Peel in the spy series The Avengers (1961-1969), which by the way has nothing to do with the Marvel Comics characters, and she makes her first appearance attempting suicide by walking into the ocean, only to be saved by Bond.  Tracy has a darkness and a strong personality that isn't often seen in the "Bond girls".  Bond initially courts her in order to use her father's wealth and resources to track down Blofeld, but he does eventually fall in love with her for real.  Diana Rigg gives a very good performance, dominating every scene that she is in.  As Blofeld, Telly Savalas is okay but he doesn't have the silkily menacing quality that Donald Pleasance had in You Only Live Twice (1967).  Joanna Lumley and future children's TV presenter Jenny Hanley are among the army of brainwashed women in Blofeld's lair.

There are some really enjoyable action set-pieces, particularly the climatic ski chase through the Alps, which also makes for a glamorous location.  While it is not without it's flaws, it is an impressive entry in the series.

Diana Rigg and George Lazenby in On Her Majesty's Secret Service

Raw

Year of Release:  2016

Director:  Julia Ducournau

Screenplay:  Julia Ducournau

Starring:  Garance Marillier, Ella Rumpf, Rabah Naït Oufella, Laurent Lucas

Running Time:  99 minutes

Genre:  Horror

Lifelong vegetarian Justine (Marillier) starts her first term at a veterinary school.  During a hazing ritual, Justine succumbs to peer pressure and eats some meat for the first time.  Shortly afterwards, she develops bizarre physical symptoms, and a disturbing craving for raw meat.  

This disturbing twist on the cannibal horror genre marked the feature debut from French writer/director Julia Ducournau.  This mixes college drama with a deeply unsettling horror element.  I have seem many horror films, and even I winced from the screen in some parts.  The thing is that the violence looks real, it's not over the top gore, it looks intimate and painful.  Garance Marillier is wonderful as Justine, moving from wide-eyed innocent to self-hating cannibal without ever losing the audience's sympathy.  Ella Rumpf plays Alex, Justine's older sister, who guides her into the cannibal world.  Rabah Naït Oufella plays Justine's gay friend, who she develops a disturbing fixation for.  as the virginal Justine develops her obsession with flesh, so she becomes increasingly fixated on sex, which really does work.  The grim tone is leavened by some very dark humour.  The film is very well made, and well performed, but the overwhelmingly bleak tale makes it difficult to like, although there is much to admire.

Garance Marillier in Raw

"The Mayor of Casterbridge" by Thomas Hardy

 Year of Publication:  1886

Length:  310 pages

Genre:  Fiction

"The woman is no good to me.  Who'll have her?"

Unemployed farmworker Michael Henchard gets drunk at a country fair and impulsively sells his wife, Susan, and baby daughter to the highest bidder.  Eighteen years later, Susan and her daughter, Elizabeth Jane, track Henchard down, only to find that he is the richest and most powerful man in the town of Casterbridge.  Henchard is keen to make amends, but his attempts to make things right, coupled with his unchanged impulsiveness, lead to tragic consequences.   

Like the other Thomas Hardy novels, this is set in his fictional county of Wessex in the south-west of England.  It';s a beautifully written novel, with a real feeling for the rhythms of life among the rural poor and has a real sense of time and place.  The story is packed with incident, the story was originally serialised, and Hardy himself felt that too much stuff happens in the story, due to the need to provide incidents for each instalment.  The book works with it's powerful characters, particularly with the antihero Michael Henchard, who does a lot of really horrible things, but is almost redeemed due to the fact that he destroys himself and everything around him, but there is humanity there.  Henchard is his own worse enemy.  Things look up for the other characters in the novel when they dissociate themselves form Henchard, and he torpedoes every chance for happiness that he has, due to his pride, jealousy and greed.  For a classic novel, this is a real page-turner, if ultimately deeply tragic.   

Casino Royale

 Year of Release:  1967

Director:  John Huston, Ken Hughes, Robert Parrish, Joe McGrath, Val Guest

Screenplay:  Wolf Mankowitz, John Law, Michael Sayers, based on the novel Casino Royale by Ian Fleming

Starring:  David Niven, Peter Sellers, Ursula Address, Joanna Pettet, Orson Welles, Woody Allen, Deborah Kerr

Running Time:  131 minutes

Genre:  Comedy

Legendary British spy, Sir James Bond (Niven), is dragged out of retirement when British spies begin being systematically eliminated by SMERSH.

This sprawling, self-indulgent mess of a film has no less than five credited directors.  Whereas Ian Fleming's source novel, which first introduced the British super-spy James Bond to the world,  was a taut thriller, the adaptation is barely comprehensible and has only the most passing occasional similarity to the novel.  This is a huge big budget film with an all-star cast, including Hollywood names such as William Holden, George Raft and Charles Boyer, British comedians Ronnie Corbett, Chic Murray and Bernard Cribbins, French New Wave icon Jean-Paul Belmondo, and uncredited appearances from Peter O'Toole and racing driver Stirling Moss.  By the late 1960s, the Bond films were moving further away from Fleming's novels and introducing more comic elements, although they wouldn't become full self-parody until the Roger Moore films of the 1970s.  However this film spoofs Bond mercilessly, everything being played for broad comedy.  It looks like several different films shoved together, and it is a complete mess, at times it looks good, particularly the German expressionist design  of the Berlin spy school, at other times it looks really shoddy.  It manages to shove in UFOs, Frankenstein's monster, cowboys, and a sequence in Heaven among other things.  The climax is a complete mess.  David Niven, who in fact was Fleming's own choice to play Bond, provides some class to proceedings.  Peter Sellers is mostly quite good as the gambler posing as Bond, although he does occasionally fall back on his vaguely offensive funny accent routines.  Woody Allen is Woody Allen, enough said.  Orson Welles just about keeps his dignity as Le Chiffre, the gambler who bankrolls SMERSH.  Ursula Address, the original Bond girl from Dr. No (1962), seems to be having fun as the sinister spy who seduces Sellers.  The film introduces the idea of James Bond, and the 007 number being a code, and hints that the James Bond in the official series is a separate person using the same code name and number, and it does have some gags at the expense of the official Bond films (Sir James:  "Since when did secret agent become synonymous with sex maniac?  Speaking of which, how is my namesake?"). This film does feature about six different James Bonds (maybe something for Eon to consider, since it seems that everyone with an Equity card seems to be named, or has been named, as a possible Bond.  Or maybe it's best not to give them ideas).  Perhaps the best thing about the film is the music written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David and performed by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, and Dusty Springfield who sings "The Look of Love", which became a big hit.  I did laugh during the film, but it was kind of a laugh of disbelief, because I kept thinking that it was not going to get any more ridiculous or nonsensical, and yet it always did.  This is very much a product of it's time, and to put it mildly, it has aged very badly, and some elements are quite roblematic, so be warned.

A far more faithful adaptation of Casino Royale was released in 2006 starring Daniel Craig, Eva Green and Mads Mikkelsen.  Whatever you do, don't get the two films confused!

David Niven as Sir James Bond and Barbara Bouchet as Miss Moneypenny in Casino Royale

Sleepwalkers

Year of Release:  1992

Director:  Mick Garris

Screenplay:  Stephen King

Starring:  Brian Krause, Alice Krige, Mädchen Amick

Running Time:  91 minutes

Genre:  Horror

Teenage Charles Brady (Krause) and his mother Mary (Krige) move into the small town of Travis, Indiana, where Charles quickly attracts the attention of local girl Tanya (Amick).  However, Charles and Mary share a disturbing secret:  They are "Sleepwalkers", nomadic, shapeshifting vampiric creatures who feed off the life-force of virgins, and whose only weakness is the scratch of a cat.  Tanya is their latest target.

Full disclosure, I am a big Stephen King fan.  I have read most of his books, and seen most of the film adaptations, and this film was promoted as the first film that King had written exclusively for the screen.  There is the seed of what could have been a dark, scary, sexy horror film, but it quickly falls apart.  The Sleepwalkers are an interesting idea for a monster, and the incestuous relationship between Charles and Mary is disturbing even for a horror film, but it quickly falls apart into a ridiculous, campy mess.   There is very little suspense here, we know what the Sleepwalkers are right before the film even begins, with a short text prologue, and know within the first couple of minutes that Charles and Mary are Sleepwalkers.  They also are not particularly good at keeping themselves hidden.  Charles basically tells Tanya everything she needs to know about Sleepwalkers, including how to defeat them, in a helpful short story he reads to the class, and, after killing a predatory teacher, Charles almost immediately goes straight out and has a car race with the first cop he finds, during the course of which he shows the cop his monstrous true face.  It also turns out that the Sleepwalkers shapeshifting powers, extend to their cars, which they can make invisible (however heroic cat Clovis can see through the disguise  in red-tinted "cat-vision"), and even change them into completely new cars, which would probably save them a fortune when they fancy an upgrade.    Brian Krause is kind of bland as Charles, Alice Krige gives the best performance as Mary half-crazed with hunger and love for her son, Mädchen Amick, who was very good in Twin Peaks (1989-1991), at times seems to act as if she is in a broad comedy.  Ron Perlman pops up briefly as an obnoxious state trooper.  One of the fun things for horror fans with this film is the opportunity to play "spot the director" because it is littered with cameos including King himself, Clive Barker, Tobe Hooper, John Landis and Joe Dante, there is even an uncredited appearance by Mark Hamill.  Not much happens for much of the film, the murder of the teacher has absolutely no relevance to anything that happens later and just seems to be in there to liven up a dull midsection of the film.  I got the feeling that Stephen King seemed to be getting bored with his own script as the second half just falls apart with explosions, rubbery monsters and wisecracks.  In one scene towards the end, Mary kills a cop with a corn of the cob and makes a Schwarzenegger style wisecrack that seems completely out of character.  A word of warning, while cats are the heroes here, the Sleepwalkers kill many cats, albeit offscreen.  In fact the premise of a heroic cat battling a monster that is trying to steal a girl's life-force is very similar to a plot point in the film Cat's Eye (1985), which was also written by King.  Mick Garris, a veteran of horror TV in the 1980s, does his best to inject some life into the proceedings.  The were-cat monsters that are the Sleepwalkers true form are pretty good, but the film's use of CGI really dates it, which is of course not the fault of the filmmakers.  Bad or outdated practical or model effects can have a goofy to old-fashioned charm, but bad or outdated CGI just looks bad.  You can have fun with it if you are in the mood for a cheesy '90s horror film, or if you feel that your life isn't complete until you have seen and read everything with Stephen King's name on it, but otherwise it is best avoided.   

Brian Krause in Sleepwalkers

Licorice Pizza

 Year of Release:  2021

Director:  Paul Thomas Anderson

Screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson

Starring:  Alana Haim, Cooper Hoffman, Sean Penn, Tom Waits, Bradley Cooper, Benny Safdie

Running Time:  133 minutes

Genre:  comedy drama

San Fernando Valley, 1973:  15 year old high school student Gary Valentine (Hoffman) balances a successful career as a child actor with a number of entrepreneurial schemes.  One day he meets 25 year old photographer's assistant Alana Kane (Haim) and becomes instantly smitten with her.  Alana, however, is intrigued by Gary's chutzpah but considers him far too young for him.  Despite this the two forge a tentative friendship.

Paul Thomas Anderson is arguably one of the most important American filmmakers working today, as well as one of the most infuriating, but with Licorice Pizza, a tender, romantic comedy drama set in early '70s Los Angeles based on part on Anderson's own youthful experiences as well as those of his friend, producer and actor Gary Goetzman.  Cooper Hoffman, who is the some of the late, great actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, who appeared in several Anderson films, makes his film debut as Gary, and delivers a great performance making Gary romantic, infuriating, admirable and funny, often all at the same time.  Alana Haim, of the rock band Haim, pretty much steals the movie as Alana Kane, and, as with Hoffman, this was her debut film.  The way their relationship plays out is fascinating and moving.  Despite being a teenager, Gary appears more self-confident and assured, he is a fairly successful actor and he is always coming up with money-making schemes.  He walks into his favourite restaurant, and basically owns the place.   Despite being ten years older, Alana works a miserable job, where her boss slaps her butt as she walks by him, and doesn't really know what she wants from life.  She is also more idealistic than the cynical Gary.  The film features Sean Penn, as a self-obsessed ageing actor based on William Holden, Tom Waits, sounding more than ever like an elderly Dalek, as a drunk director, Bradley Cooper delivers a hilarious performance as real-life producer Jon Peters, and Benny Safdie, one half of the filmmaking Safdie Brothers (directors of Good Time (2017) and Uncut Gems (2919)) plays real-life politician Joel Wachs.  Alana Haim's two sisters and Haim bandmates Danielle and Este turn up as Alana Kane's sisters, along with their parents, Moti and Donna. Incidentally Anderson directed several of Haim's music videos, and Donna Haim was Anderson's art teacher at school.  This is not really a plot based film.  At times it feels more like a tour through a photo album of the sights and sounds of the period.  The fact is that this never gets wearying.  It may at times feel too loose, there are lots of interesting elements that don't really go anywhere, but such is life.  At the end of the film I was left so invested in the characters and their lives that I wanted more, and there can be no higher praise for a film than that.  It has a great seventies soundtrack too.

Cooper Hoffman and Alana Haim in Licorice Pizza
    

The Tragedy of Macbeth

Year of Release:  2021

Director:  Joel Coen

Screenplay: Joel Coen, based on the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Starring:  Denzel Washington, Frances McDormand, Bertie Carvel, Alex Hassell, Corey Hawkins, Harry Melling, Brendan Gleeson, Kathryn Hunter

Running Time: 105 minutes

Genre:  Drama, thriller, horror

After distinguishing himself in battle, the Scottish Lord Macbeth (Washington) encounters three witches (Hunter) who inform him that he is destined to become King of Scotland.  With the help of his ambitious wife (McDormand), Macbeth embarks on a treacherous and violent campaign to fulfil his destiny.

Directed by Joel Coen, working for the first time without his brother Ethan, this is a striking adaptation of one of Shakespeare's most popular plays.  Sticking closely to the text, the film is shot entirely on soundstages in crisp black-and-white, with stylised sets, turning it into a surreal nightmare.  Denzel Washington turns in a fantastic performance as Macbeth, charismatic and noble to begin with, before descending into murderous paranoia, while also conveying his guilt, self-torment and world-weariness.  Frances McDormand turns in a brittle, icy Lady Macbeth, who seems too turn into a living ghost as she falls apart.  Coen directs with assurance and imagination, making this version of the oft-told tale genuinely distinctive, particularly casting Kathryn Hunter as all three of the witches, she turns on a remarkable physical performance, sometimes seeming to portray the three characters in one body, while at other times, the other two witches appear as shadows or reflections beside her.  This is a superb addition to Shakespearean cinema.

 Macbeth (Denzel Washington) and Banquo (Bertie Carvel) in The Tragedy of Macbeth