Aug 15
Directed by: Anthony Mann
Treading much of the same historical ground as Gladiator, but with very different intentions, this long movie by Anthony Mann is an occasionally entertaining, but generally plodding, tale of the rivalry between Commodus (Christopher Plummer)and General Livius (Stephen Boyd), favourite and chosen successor of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius (and lover of his daughter, Lucilla). Read more
Directed by: George Gallo
If not exactly hot on the heels of The Social Network, then at least tepidly so, comes Middle Men. In fact it was made earlier than the Facebook story, but did so little box-office business that it escaped most people’s notice. Read more
Directed by: Kevin Macdonald
Marcus Flavius Aquila (Channing Tatum) is a young Roman commander with a big chip on his shoulder: 20 years earlier, his father had been an officer in the Ninth Legion which disappeared in the north of Britain, losing the legion’s precious golden eagle standard in the process. Invalided out of the army after some heroics of his own, Marcus heads north accompanied by a British slave, Esca (Jamie Bell, of Billy Elliot fame), to learn what happened to the legion, recover the eagle and with it his family’s honour. Read more
Directed by: David Michôd
In 1980s Melbourne, seventeen year-old J moves in with his grandmother and her brood of bank-robbing and homicidal sons, when his mother overdoses on heroin (J continues to watch a TV game show as the medics try to revive her). Read more
Directed by: Jee-Woon Kim
Frenetic comic-book violence far-east style, with a plot based on The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, but borrowing from Once Upon A Time In The West, Mad Max 2 and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Read more
Directed by: Kelly Reichardt
A party of settlers (six adults, one child, assorted livestock) take their wagons across 1840s Oregon, led by their eponymous guide, Stephen Meek. We first see them making their way across a river, and this seems like a hardship – the three women are shown wading waist-deep through the water, with bundles held precariously on their heads. But this is the last time they see fresh water in this movie and, as one type of barren landscape gives way to another, we recall the river as a cool, live-giving dream. Read more
This is my place for talking about movies, old and new. Here I will post short reviews and, perhaps, more general stuff about the cinema.
Your comments are most welcome. I’d like to keep this as a place for civilized and courteous discourse – so if anything that I or someone else writes upsets you, please count to ten (or higher, if your irritation requires it) before deciding to post something impolite.
Thank you. Now, please switch off your mobile phones and enjoy the movie.
Linen Theme by The Theme Foundry
Copyright © 2024 . All rights reserved.