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About 50 Word Film Reviews
New films, old films, strange films, obscure films....
DDDDDD – Exceptional and unparalleled.
DDDDD – Excellent, a special film.
DDDD – Highly enjoyable, recommended.
DDD – Worth watching, but flawed.
DD – Bland, dull and average.
D – You’ll envy the deaf and blind.
Documentary about Joyce Vincent, whose death in her London flat went undiscovered for 3 years. A film about how well we really know each other. Joyce was sociable, popular, loved, but uncovered evidence points to a disturbing, secretive existence, unknown to friends, that will probably never be uncovered. Deeply upsetting.
(1944) Joel McCrea, Betty Field, Harry Carey, William Demarest. Dir: Preston Sturges.
Review No:489
Biopic about William Morton, who discovered ether as an anaesthetic but had to fight to prove it. A film taken out its creator’s hands (Sturges wouldn’t have permitted such a dull title). Yet the balance between serious drama and farce is uneasy, and fails to drum up much dramatic tension.
(2003) Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould, Willem Dafoe, Geoffrey Rush, Barry Humphries, Stephen Root. Dir: Andrew Stanton.
Review No:488
A fish swims across the ocean to find his missing son, captured by humans. Beautifully rendered heart-warming adventure brought to life with perfect voice casting. Plot relies a little too much on coincidence, but it’s a story that appeals equally to adults and children, and that’s a rare achievement.
(1922) Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis, John T. Prince, Eric Mayne, C. Norman Hammond. Dir: Fred C. Newmeyer.
Review No:487
A doctor’s suspected of inventing a wealthy girl’s illnesses; Dr. Jack goes to investigate. Early Lloyd comedy that’s primitive in places; some dodgy editing and plot goes off on tangents to squeeze in more gags (at one point a monkey just shows up). But heavy on laughs and occasionally hysterical.
(1973) Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, John Beck, Marya Small, Susan Miller. Dir: Woody Allen.
Review No:486
After being frozen, a man wakes up in the 22nd century and is forced to become a revolutionary. Witty spoof of sci-fi conventions with charming Keaton-esque touches. Importantly, begins to discuss relationships and sexual politics, laying the way for Woody’s later movies, but loses the thread before the end.
(2011) Michael Fassbinder, Carey Mulligan, Nicole Beharie, James Badge Dale. Dir: Steve McQueen.
Review No:485
A sex addict faces his demons when his emotionally fragile sister arrives. Effectively shows the dark side of a condition few take seriously. Fassbinder’s sexual hunger masks desperate loneliness, an inability to develop meaningful relationships. Layers it on too thick occasionally, but long unedited sequences give leads chance to impress.
(1985) Fairuza Balk, Nicol Williamson, Jean Marsh, Sean Barrett, Denise Bryer, Brian Henson. Dir: Walter Murch.
Review No:483
Dorothy’s committed to an asylum for believing in Oz, but when she returns, it’s become a ruin. Doomed to failure – you couldn’t do sugar-coated Oz in the 80s, nevertheless, it’s so dark it almost seems like deliberate critique. Yet you can’t deny the intriguing visual power of its nightmarish world.
(1986) Woody Allen, Michael Caine, Mia Farrow, Carrie Fisher, Barbara Hershey, Lloyd Nolan, Maureen O'Sullivan, Max von Sydow, Dianne Wiest. Dir: Woody Allen.
Review No:484
Hannah’s husband falls for her sister, her other sister fickly switches jobs, while her ex-husband has a brush with death. A light, refreshingly mature comedy about relationships that treats all its characters kindly, even in their betrayals. Allen appears in almost separate interludes, pursuing a more overt quest for meaning.
(1966) Donald Pleasence, Françoise Dorléac, Lionel Stander, Jack McGowran. Dir: Roman Polanski.
Review No:482
A meek husband and his tempestuous wife are held hostage by a gangster in their isolated home. A psychological drama in which the couple seem to have dozens of opportunities to overpower their not-too-bright enemy. That’s hardly what the film’s about, but it rather undermines its insights into the psyche.
(1970) James Franciscus, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, Linda Harrison, Charlton Heston. Dir: Ted Post.
Review No:481
A rescue mission arrives, looking for the first crew; meanwhile the apes plan to invade the forbidden zone. Heston’s reluctance to appear means the first half’s spent retreading familiar territory with a dull look-a-like. Later we enter strange territory with a post-apocalyptic bomb-worshipping cult, significantly raising interest. Another startling ending.
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