Looker

Classic early 80's high-tech thriller with a great electronic score and prophetic about beauty and cosmetic surgery, technology and the power of advertising. Nice girls and a baddy nick-named Moustache Man.

The haunted strangler

Not too cheesy C film from the late 50s with Karloff tormented by his past. Short and fun.

It's always fair weather

Probably one of the last musicals from the Arthur Freed unit at MGM, directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen (and had a big falling out), in cinemascope with a few great numbers and songs, about 3 war buddies meting up 10 years later and learn about themselves during a day. Cyd Charisse only has big number in a boxing room. There is some satyrical comments about TV in a movie from en era that is finishing.

The Black Dahlia

Probably the film with the most producers and executive producers ever, and a bad film too. The art direction is fine, but the acting is terrible and not helped by some very crappy scenes. The plot is convoluted as hell, and it's easy to quickly lose any interest.

Punk: attitude

Very good documentary on punk rock from Don Letts from the early 70's up to Nirvana and sadly the post Nirvana crap. Good interviews and gigs footage.

Paris, je t'aime

Very bad, only a few of the very short films are interesting. I particularly like the Chris Doyle one, they could really happen anywhere. A pointless project.

Sweet bird of youth

Fairly typical Tennessee Williams play fiomed by Richard Brooks in the hot south, with some past family drama, an aging actress who likes to drink, Paul Newman at the center, and some interesting second roles. Very dated and unsurprising but fairly solid entertainment.

The Conformist

The DVD looks great, much better than the print I saw in New York last year, bringing Storaro's superb photography. It is extremely well crafted with great decors and sets, however Bertollucci treats his characters with coldness and the film lacks passion.

An inconvenient truth

A very interesting view (and proof) on global warming. Obviously chiefly aimed at yanks, so not too deep, but ok.

The Fountainhead

Gary Cooper is the uncomprising architect who lives by is high idealistic standards and at the end wins. Based on a apparently very popular book of the 40s, Kind Vidor creates a very stylistic film helped by a great black and white photography by Robert Burks, absolutly stunning. Patricia Neal is actually quite good, Raymond massey is great has the owner of a popular news rag, whose architecture critic is despicable. The script is king of unintentionally funny at time, but the whole thing works very well.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Quite a bad film, witha very annoying structure, wanting to be very oh so clever but completely fails, Downey Jr and Kilmer are ok, but the script, dialogue and direction make it a complete failure.

Free Cinema 3

Wakefield Express directed by Lindsay Anderson follows the process of making a weekly local newspaper from a technical point of iew but also the gathering of stories amongst the local community. Nice Time from Goretta and Tanner is sets at night time on and around a lively Picadilly Circus. The Singing Street was made by an amateur group about children games and songs (and not the best). Finally Every day except Christmas from Anderson is 12 hours or so in a day of people working at Covent Garden. All together real free cinema, not amazing but interesting.

Funeral Parade of Roses

Peter plays Eddie with his drag queen chums in revolutionary Tokyo in the late 6os, some crazy outfits, crazy shots and cool music. Toshio Matsumoto basically films a drugged up version of Oedipus Rex. Visually arresting but a bit repetitive and drags on slightly before the big gory finale.

Dainah la Metisse

Gremillon's second talking picture, butchered by Gaumont from over 90 minutes to approximately 50 minutes, takes place on a cruise liner. There is an amazing ball scene, where the participants wear strange masks. Absolutly stunning, with some funky music, the masks are really odd, and Dainah wears some kind of wicked metal helmet. Charles Vanel is the baddy who tries to abuse Dainah, and hardly speaks. Dainah disappears but there are no clue how. The butchering makes the film even stranger in that sense.

Assassination

Masahiro Shinoda directs in beautiful Scope black & white this fairly complex story in the 19th century between pro-emperor and pro-foreigners, and its quite confusing with lots of flashback, but formally great, with a good score from Toru Takemistu.

Buster Keaton Shorts - Disc 1

Not a great deal of Buster in these, they are all about (and made by) Fatty Arbuckle, except in his first film, the Butcher boy, where is role is quite important, in the other ones Buster in only a minor sidekick. Quite funny still.

Once in a lifetime

New Tork in the mid to late 70s with the New York Cosmos taking the city by storm, almost. A good documentary on the rise (and fall) of soccer in the US. Steve Ross was head of Warner Communications and involved in Atari, and one of the founders of The NY Cosmos, first bringing Pelé then other stars. It eneded up a big party, with sex on planes and clubbing at Studio 54. It's not greatly edited and put together, but full of great anecdotes, good shots of 70s New York and cool music.

Baby Face

Barbara Stanwick is great as usual, this time playing baby face who lives the slums of small town USA to make it big in New York by seducing men (inspired by Nietzche!) and moving fast upwards inside the bank by sleeping her way up, at the end love is stronger than money, but just.

Jane campion early shorts

An Exercise in Discipline: Peel was her first short and got a prize at Cannes, there is not much to it though; Passionless Moments is quirky and funny but the best one and probably Campion's best film is A Girl's Own Story, a fairly disturbing story but very heartfelt, and ends with an 80s style song written by Alex Proyas, no idea what has happened to him.

The Beales of Grey Garden

More madness from Edith and Little Edie, from outtakes Albert Maysles found, a lot is just rambling but wicked clothes and I love the 16mm feel of the film.

Faust

The newly retaured domestic version that Murnau preferred, with lots of different edits. Darkness and light fight as Faust signs a pact with Mephisto. Love wins at the end, but with a tragic ending.

Mulholland Drive

Very lynchian, but maybe too much, I still think it is too long and the last half hour is forced. It would have made a great TV serie if idiots at ABC did believe in it. There are lots of interpretation possibles including soul transfers as explained in the book I am reading now. Some great characters such as the Cowboy and weird movie producers, but a few random ones too.