Alita: Battle Angel

Year of Release:  2019
Director:  Robert Rodriguez
Screenplay:  James Cameron and Laeta Kalogridis, based on the manga series Gunnm (aka Battle Angel Alita) by Yukito Kishiro
Starring:  Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley, Keean Johnson
Running Time:  122 minutes
Genre:  Science-fiction, action, cyberpunk

The year is 2563, three hundred years after a catastrophic war known as "The Fall" decimated Earth. The vast majority of the inhabitants of Earth live in huge decaying metropolises, such as Iron City, while the chosen few ascend to the wealthy floating city of Zalem.  While scouting an Iron City junkyard, cyborg scientist Dr. Dyson Ido (Waltz) discovers a dismembered humanoid cyborg (Salazar).  Ido is able to rebuild and reactivate the cyborg who he dubs "Alita", and who has advanced combat skills but no memory of her true identity or previous life.  As she tries to recover her memories and identity, Alita has to survive in the deadly Iron City, particularly when she discovers that powerful people will stop at nothing to see her dead.

The Japanese manga series Gunnm (known in the West as Battle Angel Alita) was first published in 1990, and had already produced several spin-offs and animated adaptations.  Writer, director and producer James Cameron had been a long time fan of the manga series, and after a long period in development, handed the reins to director Robert Rodriguez. 
I have never read the manga or seen any of the previous adaptations, so I cannot speak to how faithful or not the film is.  It is visually stunning, creating a grimly beautiful new world in Iron City, and incredible, cyborg creatures.  The action is frenetic, spectacular, genuinely exciting, and surprisingly violent.  Despite sometimes cliched dialogue, and a lack of a conclusive ending (it's almost bound to lead to sequels), this is a beguiling and fascinating new world, and Rosa Salazar is brilliant in the title role, being both heartrendingly vulnerable and a ruthlessly efficient warrior.

Rosa Salazar is Alita:  Battle Angel
       

Night of the Living Dead

Year of Release:  1968
Director:  George A. Romero
Screenplay:  John Russo and George A. Romero
Starring:  Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea, Karl Hardman, Marilyn Eastman, Keith Wayne, Judith Ridley, Kyra Schon
Running Time:  96 minutes
Genre:  Horror

Barbara (O'Dea) and her brother Johnny (Russell Streiner) drive out to rural Pennsylvania to lay a wreath on their father's grave.  At the cemetery they are attacked, seemingly at random, by a strange man who kills Johnny and chases Barbara.  Barbara flees to an apparently abandoned farmhouse, where she encounters Ben (Jones), who barricades the doors and windows.  They also meet an angry married couple: Harry (Hardman) and Helen (Eastman) and their injured eleven year old daughter Karen (Schon), and teenagers Tom (Wayne) and Judy (Ridley), who are all hiding in the cellar.  All of them have heard about or experienced strange, random attacks. As the farmhouse comes under siege, it soon turns out that their attackers are the recently deceased who have been returning from the dead and attacking and eating the living, who quickly become "ghouls" themselves.

The "zombie apocalypse" subgenre has become almost ubiquitous in the last fifteen years or so, although it seems to have fallen out of favour somewhat in recent years (despite The Walking Dead (2010 - current) TV series still shuffling on, seemingly forever) there are still plenty of these movies being made and almost every horror movie festival is bound to throw up more than one new example.  But this is really where it all started.  Despite being inspired by the Richard Matheson novel I Am Legend, Night of the Living Dead is probably the first proper zombie apocalypse film, and it is surprising how much was there right from the start:  The small group of survivors being besieged by hordes of the Living Dead, yet having more to fear from each other than from the hungry ghouls.  It also created the modern idea of the zombie, originally a creature in Haitian folklore, as a shuffling, undead cannibal (although the word "zombie" is never mentioned once in the film, where the creatures are termed "ghouls").  The film was made on a very low budget with facilities from his production company, which made TV commercials and industrial films.  It's set in the present day, using mostly found locations, most of it takes place in the house; there are no recognisable faces in the cast, and special effects are kept to a minimum.  The film has definitely dated, and some of the acting isn't great, but it is still powerful, and the grainy, low-budget black-and-white gives it a rawness that still packs a punch.  The fact that Duane Jones, an African-American actor, is the hero of the film, would probably still be remarked on if it was made today, let alone in 1968. 
The film's downbeat conclusion packs just as much of a punch now as it did over fifty years ago. 

They're coming to get you:  Ghouls on the rampage in Night of the Living Dead   

   

If Beale Street Could Talk

Year of Release:  2018
Director:  Barry Jenkins
Screenplay:  Barry Jenkins, based on the novel If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin
Starring:  KiKi Layne, Stephan James, Regina King, Teyonah Parris, Colman Domingo, Brian Tyree Henry, Michael Beach, Emily Rios, Ed Skrein,
Running Time: 118 minutes
Genre:  Drama, romance

New York City, 1970s:  Clementine "Tish" Rivers (Layne) and Alonzo "Fonny" Hunt (James) are a young couple in love.  Fonny is arrested on suspicion of rape, and Tish discovers that she is pregnant with Fonny's baby.  Tish and her family struggle to prove Fonny's innocence before the child is born.

This is a very faithful adaptation of James Baldwin's 1974 novel, and retains the books non-linear structure moving between past and present, with numerous flashbacks depicting Fonny and Tish's relationship.  As with Barry Jenkins' previous film, the award-winning Moonlight (2016), this is a beautiful film, with a real visual poetry which blends with the poetry of Baldwins' prose to create a powerful experience.  The film has some fantastic performances, with the actors frequently filmed straight on looking into the camera and communicating almost more with subtle expressions and glances than with dialogue.  Despite being a lush, powerfully romantic film, it also has the anger and grit of Baldwin's novel.  It's a great film, that will break your heart and make you angry.    

Stephan James and KiKi Layne in If Beale Street Could Talk

All Is True

Year of Release:  2018

Director:  Kenneth Branagh

Screenplay:  Ben Elton

Starring:  Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench, Kathryn Wilder, Lydia Wilson, Ian McKellan

Running Time: 101 minutes  

Genre:  Biography, drama

In 1613, the Globe Theatre burns down due to an accident during a performance of William Shakespeare's play Henry VIII (also known as All Is True).  Retiring from writing, Shakespeare returns home to Stratford-upon-Avon, and his wife Anne (Dench) and daughters Susanna (Wilson) and Judith (Wilder), as well as the memory of his deceased son, Hamnet.

This low-key, melancholy film takes place over the last three years of Shakespeare's life.  It's written by Ben Elton, who is best known for comedy such as the Blackadder series (1986-1989) and Upstart Crow (2016-current), which is also about Shakespeare and covers some of the same territory as All Is True.  However this is completely different in tone, and is definitely not a comedy.  The film deals with the difficulty of being close to a genius, it seems to be that Shakespeare is so used to putting words in characters mouths, he can't really deal with real people who don't always do what he would like them to do.  The acting is great, particularly from Branagh, and there is a short but memorable appearance by Ian McKellan as Henry Wriothesley, the Earl of Southampton, to whom Shakespeare dedicated several sonnets and other poems.  Powerful, and at times deeply moving, this is certainly worth more attention that it has received.

Judi Dench, Kenneth Branagh, Lydia Wilson and Kathryn Wilder in All Is True

         

The Maltese Falcon

Year of Release:  1941
Director:  John Huston
Screenplay:  John Huston, based on the novel The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
Starring:  Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Gladys George, Peter Lorre, Barton McLane, Lee Patrick, Sydney Greenstreet
Running Time:  101 minutes
Genre:  Crime, drama, film noir

San Francisco, 1941:  Tough, wise-cracking, cynical private detective Sam Spade (Bogart) and his partner Miles Archer (Jerome Cowan) are hired by the mysterious Ruth Wonderly (Astor) for what appears to be a routine case, but Archer is killed, and so is the man he is supposed to be investigating.  Under suspicion by the police for at least one of the murders, Sam digs deeper and finds himself embroiled with a group of wealthy and ruthless crooks on the trail of a priceless statuette known as The Maltese Falcon.

 Based on the 1929 novel by Dashiell Hammett, and marking the directorial debut of writer-director John Huston, this is one of the most influential films ever made, and one of the first and best of the "film noir" genre (stylish and bleak crime dramas largely made in the 1940s to 1950s).  It remains one of the great Hollywood thrillers, which still holds up today.  The plot is complex and intriguing, the script is full of memorable, quotable lines, and the cast is perfect. This was the film that really cemented Humphrey Bogart as a bona fide superstar, and there is also Mary Astor as the treacherous femme fatale,  Peter Lorre as a murderous thief and Sydney Greenstreet as the urbane criminal mastermind.

Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, Mary Astor and Sydney Greenstreet investigate The Maltese Falcon

Lift to the Scaffold

Year of Release:  1958
Director:  Louis Malle
Screenplay:  Louis Malle and Roger Nimier, based on the novel Ascenseur pour l'echefaud by Noel Calaf
Starring:  Jeanne Moreau, Maurice Ronet, Georges Poujouly, Yori Bertin, Ivan Petrovich
Running Time:  88 minutes
Genre:  Crime drama

In Paris, arrogant businessman, Julien Tavernier (Ronet) plots with his lover, Florence Carala (Moreau), to kill Florence's husband, who also happens to be Julien's boss.  Julien goes through with the crime, and makes it look like a suicide.  However, as he leaves the office building he realises that he has forgotten a crucial clue, and heads back in to fetch it.  However, the office is shutting down for the weekend, and Julien finds himself trapped in the elevator.  Meanwhile, Julien's car is stolen by small-time crook Louis (Poujouly) and his girlfriend Veronique (Bertin).  Waiting for Julien, Florence sees his car speeding away and catches a glimpse of Veronique, making her think that he has run off with something else, and sets off on her own odyssey through the nighttime streets of Paris. As events spiral out of control, Julien soon ends up the prime suspect in a completely different murder.

This was the debut feature from acclaimed and prolific French filmmaker Louis Malle.  It's a very enjoyable slice of film noir with the grit and style of the early Nouvelle Vague (New Wave) movement.  The film opens with what appears to be a perfect crime, but one small detail is missed, and that one detail triggers a series of accidents, misunderstandings and terrible decisions which results in further murder and disaster for everyone.  Much of the film passes between three simultaneous but separate storylines: Julien, trying to free himself from the elevator; Florence wandering the bars and cafes of Paris to find information about Julien; and the murderous joyride of Louis and Veronique.  The film is beautifully photographed in black-and-white and features a evocative, melancholy score from Jazz legend Miles Davis.

Jeanne Moreau in Lift to the Scaffold
             

Limelight

Year of Release:  1952
Director:  Charles Chaplin
Screenplay:  Charles Chaplin
Starring:  Charles Chaplin, Claire Bloom, Nigel Bruce, Buster Keaton, Sydney Earl Chaplin, Wheeler Dryden, Norman Lloyd
Running Time:  137 minutes
Genre:  Comedy-drama

London, 1914:  Calvero (Chaplin), a once famous comedian who is now a washed up drunk, rescues a young woman, Thereza (Bloom), from suicide.  As he nurses her back to health, Calvero learns that Thereza is an aspiring ballerina.  He helps her regain her confidence to dance again, and in the process finds himself yearning to return to the stage.

This was not Chaplin's last film, but it does feel like a final film.  It heavily references Chaplin's own life and career, the film is set in London, where Chaplin grew up, and takes place in 1914, the year of Chaplin's own debut.  Calvero became famous, like Chaplin, by playing tramp character, and, again like Chaplin, is left behind by a changing world and changing audiences.  Although the film has comedy in it, including a hilarious silent skit between Chaplin and fellow silent comedy legend Buster Keaton, this is essentially a drama.  The film is overlong and feels at times like a filmed play, it also suffers from some quite obvious back projection.  However I feel this is one of Chaplin's best films.  The film is melodramatic, and the speeches may seem naive, but there is real power to it, and it feels very heartfelt.  Certainly by the end, it's hard not to have tears in the eyes.  This is a very personal film and it's rare that you find a film that does feel as if it is a direct message to the audience.  It's a film about success, failure, the possibility of redemption, the power of art and the necessity of facing life and persevering, no matter how painful that may be. 
  

Make 'em laugh: Thereza (Claire Bloom) and Calvero (Charlie Chaplin) in Limelight.