Sudden Fear(1952)
Joan Crawford and Jack Palance star in this chilling nerve jangler directed by David Miller.Palance,whose taught features were the result of plastic surgery from a wartime injury he sustained, is cast as wealthy playwright Crawford's sponging husband, plotting with floozy Gloria Grahame to bump her off.Crawford stumbles on their scheme and her attempt to use her dramatist's skills to try and turn the tables on the unlovely couple lead to a cracking climax.
8/10
Mildred Pierce(1945)
Joan Crawford puts in a blistering performance in this great film directed by Michael Curtiz.She takes the title role of a relentlessly over achieving career woman,suffering as only Crawford can at the hands of lizard like Zachary Scott and her poisonous brat of a daughter Ann Blyth.
8/10
Witness(1985)
Peter Weir's classy thriller has an unusual setting,a farm in an Amish religious community whose inhabitants live lives little changed from those of the Pilgrim Fathers.One of their children has been an inadvertent witness to a murder in Philadelphia and the cop on the lam,Harrison Ford arrives to persuade the boy's widowed mother(Kelly McGillis)to allow him to testify.Weir,who took on the job of directing at short notice skillfully handles the fish out of water scenario as we see a wounded Ford have to hide out at the Amish farm.With Strong performances from Ford and McGillis,the most effective part of the film is her character,a young woman who knows that her desire for Ford cannot be fulfilled.
8.5/10
Great film haven't watched it in years.
Kingdom of the Spiders(1977)
Another film about nature's revenge which came out after the success of Jaws.Pesticides have killed off their normal insect diet,so the tarantulas of Verde Valley begin to attack in large numbers to bring down bigger prey,Humans.A silly premise but under the direction of John Cardos who used real spiders for the majority of the shots,this is a decent and very creepy b-movie.
7/10
Don't think I could watch that I hate spiders
Explorers(1985)
River Phoenix and Ethan Hawke(both in their first film)are two of three boys who build a spaceship that takes them to meet the aliens who sent them the instructions in their dreams.Their time on the alien ship is well done and very funny.Director Joe Dante excells at these weird extravaganzas,with Little Richard wailing on the soundtrack,all is going well until the alien's father shows up.
Great fun.
7.5/10
The Death of Superman Lives,What Happened? (2015)
A brilliantly engaging and fascinating documentary written and directed by Jon Schnepp about the troubled history of the Suprman reboot that was going to be released in 1998.After Kevin Smith left the project because of the ideas Jon Peters demanded to be included in his script(Superman can't fly,Superman must wear black and fight a giant,mechanical spider)directorial duties were handed over to Tim Burton and Nicholas Cage was cast as Superman/Clark Kent.With contributions from other people involved in the production and Superman fans,this is essential viewing for anyone interested in the film that never was.
9/10
Black Sabbath(1963)
Mario Bava's virtuoso direction makes this Italian anthology film a treat.Boris Karloff not only introduces the three stories,but stars in "The Wurdalak" based on a story by Tolstoy.As the loving grandfather who may be a Wurdalak,a vampire who feasts only on those he loves.Karloff is deeply frightening.The other stories are equally scary.A Bava classic.
8.5/10
