Bluebeard(1944)
John Carradine stars as Gaston Morrell,a role that was made for him.Morrell murders his wives in cold blood.Based on La Barbe bleue,a French folktale by Charles Perrault. This particular serial killer was a popular villian in both theatre and film.This version from director Edgar G.Ulmer is well worth seeking out.
7.5/10
The Guest (2014) Dan Stevens plays an ex soldier who turns up at the house of a late soldier he was supposedly a friend of, soon violent events and deaths occur.... A rather far fetched but effective thriller with Stevens pretty convincing both with his American accent,the action man scenes and his generally underplayed acting. A pretty good electronic soundtrack too. Also starring Shelia Kelley, Maika Monroe, Brendan Mayer, Leland Oliver, Lance Reddick & Tabatha Shaun. 6.5/10
Father and Son(1936)
Another classic drama from director MacLean Rogers.A man is released from prison and finds himself in a battle to save his son from the man who was responsible for his own conviction.Brilliantly acted by James Mason and Robert Rendell
7.5/10
Ouja:Origin of Evil
Not bad...but I would drop kick little Doris clean the across the f#$king house and that would be the end of the move right there!!!!
7.5/10
Miss Peregrine's Home for Perculiar Children
Enjoyed,but the image of those little twins will forever haunt me! (Quite harrowing really)
8/10 Decent
Sergeant Rutledge(1960) Woody Strode in the title role as a black Cavalry soldier in the 1880s court martailed for the death of his superior officer and that officer's daughter. What could have been a really interesting look at the lot of black soldiers in the 19th century is rather hampered by intermittent attempts at humour and some annoying supporting players. The flashback device for the trial is rather artificial but entertaining and some of the acting excellent particularly Strode & Jeffrey Hunter as his defence counsel. Also starring Constance Towers,Billie Burke,Juano Hernandez,Willis Bouchey,Carleton Young,Judson Pratt & Fred Libby. 6/10
Bridge of Spies (2015)
Tense legal thriller set during the Cold War in the late 1950s. The levels of tension during the negotiation scenes are as apparent as the tension in the conflict itself. Despite the very believable suspense and accurate portrayal of distrust between the various parties, I did find it over predictable at times. That being said, Tom Hanks is solid as an American lawyer and Mark Rylance rightly won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for playing a convicted Russian spy. Any film about the Cold War obviously needs to generate strong tension and a feeling of unease, and it achieves that. I just felt though that the best moments were created by the actors and not necessarily the film's plot. 3/5
Recently:
Batman v Superman - Dawn of Justice (Ultimate Edition)
Didn't bother with this at the flicks as the reviews and general forum feedback everywhere I looked was so poor.
For my 2c I'd say it's a bit disjointed and is far too much of a setup piece for the future DC movies, and as a result left me a bit disappointed. Casting Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor was a baffling choice IMO. Highlights were Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot, and I liked Jeremy Irons' take on Alfred, but these aside, it was poor I thought.
4/10 - wait for TV showing
Jack Reacher - Never go Back
Solid, enjoyable second outing for Cruise as Jack Reacher. There isn't anything here that treads any new ground as modern Hollywood action flicks go, but the writing and general performances of all concerned make this better than most.
Special praise for Cobie Smulders, who looks amazing throughout and is made to run in a tight tee shirt somewhat gratuitously in the early part of the movie!!
6/10 - worth a rental or home stream.
Doctor Strange
Overall I did enjoy this but came away thinking - as with many Marvel movies - this was as much about future outings as it was this movie itself.
Dodgy American accent aside, Benedict Cumberbatch was good as Stephen Strange, and the supporting cast were all well chosen. There is a lot to like in this movie.
Amazing visuals on the big screen and a nice credits scene too. In fact the only thing that bothered me the score. Its by the same guy who did the Star Trek films recently - AND IT IS EXACTLY THE BLOODY SAME! Almost note for note in the main themes - how he has got away with this is amazing!
8/10 - worth cinema fees.
I Robot (2004) Its 2035 in Chicago and a robot hating cop played by Will Smith investigates a death which may have been perpetrated by a robot. Despite some good stuff (superbly filmed, well acted, fairly witty, insights into what makes a being sentient), this film partly blows it because Hollywood insists on their leading man doing loads of action scenes , however far fetched some of them are. Apart of Smith, the standout performances are from Alan Tudyk( quite moving as Sonny the main robot) & Bridget Moynahan as the scientist. Also starring James Cromwell, Bruce Greenwood,Adrian Ricard,Chi McBride, Fiona Hogan & Shia LaBeouf. 6.5/10
The Long Duel(1967)
Ken Annakin's film stars Yul Brynner,terrfiic as the leader of an Indian tribe who rebels in protest to the oppression of his people at the hands of the tyrannical British.With excellent support from Trevor Howard.
7.5/10
^ Have to say as a fan of Asimov novels I did not like "I Robot".
I like Will Smith action movies but I just don't think the two things fitted.
As a curmudgeon, I'd say if somebody in the 1970s Hollywood had decided to make a "proper" adaptation of one of these Robot stories in the manner of Michael Crichton "Andromeda Strain" or "Westworld" (topical reference, kids) or even "Logan's Run" then I imagine they'd have made a much better go of it - and I'm talking about a film adaptation of the proper 1950s novels, not the short stories, like "The Caves of Steel" or "The Naked Sky" which were actually proper detective murder mystery novels where the plot hinged on the nature of the Laws of Robotics and how robots could or might be used as murder weapons, plus the whole subplots about the nature of future society (agaraphobic Earthmen living in over-populated artificial totally enclosed mega-beehive-cities; isolationist off-world colonists living in fear of human contact and only comfortable with robots which would be played up as metaphors for today's contemporary society's fears and prejudices. He went a bit off the rails in the 80s with The Robots of Dawn which strayed a bit more into perv territory with robots as sex toys. What was it with the 80s ? Everyone just went bonkers and it was downhill from there...?).
But you couldn't do it now : in the 1970s pre-Star Wars people would accept a "sci-fi" movie could have a lot of dialogue and exposition ( plot even!) and not be action/CGI based.
Maybe, just maybe you could pull it off as an art-house movie done in the style of 2001 or similar 70s films like aargh I forget the name the one with Bruce Dern on the space station Slient Running ? .
"Moon" with Sam Rockwell followed in this sort of tradition very effectively imo, but I don't really see it setting a trend which is a pity. I'd watch more like it but I assume probably not many others would.
I don't understand why Asimov hasn't fared better in film adaptations.
(The Bicentennial Man really overdosed on the sentimentality)
The End of Eternity would make a brilliant film imo.
(Future society that has acquired time travel capabilities watches over Earth's history and routinely goes back in time to "fix" things they see as leading to future results that are not good. Until one of the technicians doing this falls in love with a woman during one of his missions and realises a "Reality Change" he is asked to do will wipe her from existence....)
^ and there's a plot 21st century Dr Who could be "ripping off" right there. It would be a young actor hearthrob playing William Hartnell-as-young-man prequel. It would be the whole reason the Doctor went on the run from Gallifrey in the first place. It would clean up at the box office with the "Titanic" faction of 21st century Who fandom.
There, that will never happen now because they'd be afraid of being sued for idea-theft.
Phew. Saved !