Wonderland (2003)

This flick definitely falls into the love-it or hate-it category and I'm afraid I fell in the latter camp.  What we have is Val Kilmer playing the legendary porn star John Holmes once his drug dependency had killed his "career" and his involvement in a messy series of murders in the search for the cash to keep on buying drugs.  That's a pretty downbeat scenario for starters.  Add to that the fact that Val Kilmer, however able an actor he may be, is not that easy to like at the best of times -- and the rest of the somewhat starry cast were equally unlikeable in their roles.  The story is played out from a somewhat "Rashomon" perspective but I frankly didn't care much one way or the other as to the true facts.  I found the film noisy, murky, and generally unappetizing -- which is not really why I enjoy watching movies.

Hidalgo (2004)

Coming off the success of his heart-throb image in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Viggo Mortensen was given the lead in this action yarn which did respectable, if not amazing, box office in the States.  He acquits himself reasonably well too playing the real-life half-Lakota cowboy Frank T. Hopkins; the story which is based on his memoirs probably takes great liberty with the facts of his life, but the tale of a 1000-mile cross-country race over the Arabian sands is the stuff of "boys-own" fantasy.  I couldn't quite work out the logistics of the procedings but that seemed less important than the derring-do.  In particular the relationship Hopkins had with his Spanish mustang was very moving and I am ashamed to say that I thought the horse was the better actor!  I must also comment on the photography; I am not familiar with the cinematographer here, but I thought the landscape was brilliantly presented.  Finally it was great seeing Omar Sharif again (known affectionately in this household as Cairo Fred) playing the Sheikh who sponsored the race.  A little too long but generally worth the time.

Inflight Movies

I don't really think that seeing films on filing-card-sized screens counts as having really seen a movie and mixed with the drifting in and out of sleep that flying encourages, my inflight viewing now seems like a wayward dream.  Of course I shall still make some brief comments but hold final judgment for now.

Mr & Mrs Smith: Very flashily done and yes, Brad and Angelina have some obvious sexual rapport, but the story of married assassins was more amusingly presented in "Prizzi's Honor".

Unleashed: Actually managed to see most of this strange tale of Bob Hoskins raising Jet Li as a fighting dog and it was pretty good and pretty violent.  Li is a great fighter and the action looked OK, even in miniature.

Meet the Fockers: I can see why this was such a box office hit since it is the comedy of embarrassment and pretty low-brow with it.  Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand seem to be having a particularly good time.

The Descent:  I only saw part of this as I drifted in and out of oblivion, but the story of a group of potholing girlfriends looked good scary fun.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: I missed a big chunk towards the end, but what I did manage seemed most imaginatively presented (as befits the cult material.) One quick comment: as I've said elsewhere on this site, I am ever more impressed with the acting ability of the oddly named Mos Def.

29th Street (1991)

This is another movie that seems to have fallen between the cracks as it has never been on British terrestrial TV; it is, however, available on DVD.  It's Christmas Eve 1976 and the draw for the winner of the first New York State lottery.  Anthony LaPaglia is one of the finalists for the six million prize and since he was "born lucky", everyone know that he will win.  Why then is he praying that his number doesn't win and why does he go beserk when it does?  That's the tale that he tells at the police station when arrested.  It's all very heartwarming in a sub-Capra kind of way if you can tolerate the X-rated language of his Italian family headed by Danny Aiello; the amount of cursing has more in common with "Goodfellas".

Just a quick word about LaPaglia -- I shall never forget the first time I saw him in "Betsy's Wedding"; I thought he was brilliant and foresaw a terrific career for him.  He has indeed been noticeably excellent since in a variety of roles, but never as winning as on that first occasion.  He's played so many American parts now that people just about forget that he is Australian.

To my few faithful readers, I am off to the States for a week or so, so there will be no new reviews until the end of the month.  But do check back....

Ragtime (1981)

Based on the sprawling Doctorow novel, .this film begins brilliantly offering the viewer a kaleidoscope of  images from the New York of 1906 mixing real and fictional characters.  So far, so good, but the scriptwriters then choose to focus on a single storyline and we are left with a 155 mintue film about an uppity "nigger" whose new car has been crapped upon -- to put no finer point on it.  There are however many compensations not least of which is the return of James Cagney to the screen after twenty years in his last role as a police commissioner.  The cast is actually all very able and it is interesting to see certain well-known faces in early roles.  The director is Milos Forman and the movie is as professionally mounted as any.  I just wish he had somehow managed to capture the brilliance of the book more broadly.

Windy City (1984)

There are some films in my collection that I wonder whether anyone else in Britain has seen.  To the best of my knowledge this one has never been on terrestrial TV or available on either VHS or DVD; my copy came off Sky some 15-16 years ago.  The not-so-starry cast headlines John Shea (who is a ringer for Michael Ontkean), Josh Mostel (son of Zero) and Kate Capshaw (now best-known as Mrs. Spielberg).  Both actors are still active and I think little-known, but they are both nothing short of terrific here.

It's yet another tale of boyhood friendship and dreams as recounted by a struggling writer.  It weaves in and out of the present and ends with one final grand gesture to honour the one who is gravely ill.  The killer ending guarantees tears every time.  Maybe some day it will turn up on television and you'll see what I mean.

The Mark of Zorro (1940)

The Banderas/Zeta-Jones version is pretty good fun for modern sensibilities and the silent version with Douglas Fairbanks is positively groovy, but for me this is the definitive Zorro film.  It does have the advantage of starring the absolutely gorgeous Tyrone Power; his looks began to coarsen later and he died ridiculously young, but in the thirties there was none more beautiful.  He is pretty enough to play the fop as a scarlet pimpernel type when not donning the mask to avenge local evils with his sword.  This is a sumptuous production with a lush score and even a super duel with Hollywood's best swordsman, Basil Rathbone -- although perhaps not as great a fight as his with Errol Flynn in "The Adventures of Robin Hood".  Linda Darnell looks lovely here as Zorro's love interest -- her looks also altered later on.  And we have the wonderful Eugene Palette (last mentioned on these pages in "The Ghost Goes West") as a fat and rebellious priest.  What a blissful way to spend the afternoon. 

Against the Ropes (2004)

I can remember (not that long ago) when I really liked Meg Ryan, but she has not had a hit film for some years and her attempt to broaden her range does not appear to be working.  She has also (to my eye) had some unfortunate facial surgery; what's wrong with growing old gracefully?  Anyhow here she portrays one Jackie Kallan (who appears in a cameo) who was apparently the most successful female fight promoter ever -- although I gather the facts of Kallan's life have been broadly fictionalised.

Now boxing films come just after war movies as the pictures I can happily do without, although I know there have been classics in both genres.  Challenged to prove that she can promote a champion, Kallan finds a streetfighter, well played by Omar Epps.  She enlists a retired trainer, Charles Dutton, who also directed the movie, but they face formidable obstacles from the old boys club in the fight game.  It's a relatively interesting story, if a little predictable, but I'm not convinced that Ryan wasn't miscast.

That Touch of Mink (1962)

The Doris Day professional virgin comedies have held up remarkably well despite being alien to modern mores, especially since she was into her late twenties/early thirties when they were made.  This in itself takes some believing nowadays.  Today's film is probably one of the best in the genre since no one matches Cary Grant when it comes to light, frustrated comedy and the three that she made with Rock Hudson fall into decidedly second place.  Blessed with an Oscar-nominated  witty script, the usual story of the good girl who manages to save her honour until properly married has never been better done.  Gig Young takes the second banana role normally filled by Tony Randall.  How all of these mature actors manage to act like besotted teenagers is a mystery not to be resolved.

Bad Education (2004)

Not as playful as many of his earlier films and the first without any major female characters (as opposed to transvestites), this Pedro Almodovar movie is brilliantly constructed, emotionally devastating, but not really much fun.  Set in 1977 with flashbacks to the Franco years of 1961, this film focuses on sexual abuse by priests, youthful lust between classmates, and the long-term effects and loss of faith on the main characters.  To what extent Almodovar identifies with the central role of the director who receives a visit from a schoolmate he's not seen in sixteen years is a moot point.  From here the picture evolves into a Chinese box of stories within stories and the quest to discover what is real and what is pretense.

The Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal is riveting in three roles as the longlost school friend Ignacio, his transvestite counterpart in the tale within the tale, and as the struggling actor who now calls himself Angel.  Uncredited one can briefly glimpse Almodovar himself as the director's poolman.  A film well worth seeing but not the best of his output to my mind and certainly not one for homophobes.

Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

Yes the original movie, not the Richard Attenborough remake.  Repeat after me: some films should never be remade, even if they are in black and white.  While this is as much a traditional Christmas movie as "It's a Wonderful Life", I felt like having some pre-Christmas feelgood cheer today and believe me, I was smiling thoughout.  I don't suppose that the film is unknown to many of you, but to recap briefly, an Oscar-winning Edmund Gwenn believes that he is Kris Kringle; the State of New York thinks he's a nutter.  Natalie Wood is the little girl who has been told that there is no Santa Claus and very winning she is too.  The romance between her no-nonsense mother played by Maureen O'Hara and the lawyer next door (John Payne) is a little on the draggy side, but the remaining cast of character actors help propel this fantasy to a blissful level.

My Bodyguard (1980)

It's been a while since I last saw this one, but it is still one of the better teenage angst films of its time.  Chris Makepeace (an actor who is still about but who doesn't seem to have gone too far) plays a new boy at his Chicago high school who is picked on by a gang of bullies led by a very young Matt Dillon.  He approaches the most feared boy at the school, Adam Baldwin (not one of the four Baldwin brothers) to protect him; this was Baldwin's first role.  I've seen him in various flicks since and his is another whose career has gone nowhere special, but he is excellent here -- and although just eighteen here he looks bigger and older than all of the other teens. He turns out to be something of a pussycat because of a tragic event in his past, but comes through when befriended by Makepeace.

The latter's grandma is played by Ruth Gordon in slightly ditzier mode than usual, and if you look real fast, you can also spot the young Joan Cusack, Jennifer Beals (uncredited) and George Wendt.  All in all a satisfying concoction.

Head On (2004)

Germany has a large Turkish population many of whom arrived as "guest workers" and who are still treated as outsiders; there have been a remarkable number of German films about them -- and yes, Germany does have a relatively busy film industry.  This particular movie which won a Golden Bear at the Berlin Festival is extremely well-made, well-acted, and consistently absorbing; what it is not is life-affirming.  Meeting at a clinic for suicide failures the 20 year-old heroine bullies the 43 year-old male lead into marrying her solely to escape the restrictions of her hidebound parents and to start enjoying life (which by her definition is screwing around).  She know that they will accept him since he too is Turkish, although he is no bargain by anyone's standards and he is anything but keen to marry her.

What follows is a situation where although the marriage has never been consummated -- they each go their own way in this respect -- they come to realise that they love each other.  But it is too late.  He is jailed for manslaughter and she, now disowned by her family, resettles in  Istanbul.  On his eventual release he finds her, but despite their love too much has happened to give us the ending we want.  This downbeat story is punctuated by a Turkish singer and traditional band performing on the shores of the Bosphorus; this acts as chapter bookmarks interrupting the relentless pace of the tale.

The Shooting Party (1984)

Set in 1913 with World War I looming, this might be a companion piece to Gosford Park set some twenty years later.  Both picture a world that no longer exists, but the prejudices of class are even more apparent here to the extent that many of them feel offensive to the modern mind.  The great James Mason, in his last role, plays host to assorted toffs who have come for the shoot on his estate; a tragic accident occurs which foreshadows the abomination of killing that the following years will bring -- and the end credits mention which of the characters die in the war.  The golden days for these people are fast fading.

The always wonderful John Gielgud has a small role as an anti-hunt protester, but it is Mason who ends his film career with dignity and grace here.

The Aristocrats (2005)

Yes, I must admit that I dragged myself to a cinema to see this new release; I had read so much about it that I was indeed curious.  What can I say?  Firstly any potential viewer needs a high tolerance level for obscenity since this is the main point of the documentary.  For those unfamiliar with the subject matter, the title is the punch line of a joke which begins with someone walking into a talent agent's office to describe their "family act".  Then follows every combination of sexual congress and bodily fluids that the mind can conjure; when the shocked agent asks the act's name, the reply is "The Aristocrats".

Apparently this joke has mythic status amongst professional comics and they play it as jazz, with each comic improvising his own dirty scenario.  The picture covers some 100 comedians telling part of the joke or commenting on it and most of them were unknown to me -- and naturally some were much funnier than others.  But unlike some of the reviews I've read, I did not find myself rolling on the floor or otherwise creasing myself; I smiled or laughed lightly a few times -- that's it.  While I'm glad that I have now seen it, I think it is well out of my system and I very much doubt that I would put myself through a second viewing.

Dreamchild (1985)

Set in 1932, Mrs. Alice Hargreaves, the 80-year old Alice that was Lewis Carroll's muse as a girl, has gone to New York to accept an honourary degree on the occasion of his centenary.  Beautifully played by the elegant English actress Coral Browne (then Mrs. Vincent Price), she brings her Victorian sensibilities to the vulgarities of the New World.  She can barely remember her childhood and is too aware of her own mortality, but memories come in flashback and she encounters the characters from her past and from Carroll's tale.  With a literate script by Dennis Potter and creatures from Jim Henson's workshop, this is not a film for everyone; it is, however, a lovely meditation on youth and age.  It is not, however, a film for children since one is made well aware of the attraction young Alice holds for the Rev. Doddson -- and we all know what that is called nowadays.

Knightriders (1981)

George A. Romero doesn't direct only horror movies, but his non-horror output is little-known and hasn't exactly earned a ton of money.  This film could not be more different than his better-known ones and concerns a motley group of motorcyclists who dress as medieval knights and travel about to stage jousts on their bikes.  It's a no-name cast apart from Ed Harris as the leader or "king" of the pack and makeup guru Tom Savini as his co-lead in a challenging "black knight" role.  There is probably no way this movie could have been successful since it is way too long for the rather slim storyline, but it remains sufficiently unusual  that it deserves rediscovery by a larger audience. 

The Calcium Kid (2004)

One of the great mysteries to me of the current movie world is how the not overly-talented Orlando Bloom became an A-list star.  Granted he looked great with blonde hair extensions in the Lord of the Rings films, but without them he is neither particularly gorgeous or noticeably charismatic.  While his fans may well enjoy this little British effort, squeezed between the bigger budget films, if I were he, I would get it wiped from my filmography, since it is squeamishly awful, as only bad British films can be.  He plays a milkman who finds himself as a contender for the middleweight boxing title (he didn't look heavy enough to me).  The supporting cast were uniformly embarrassing and while Bloom retained some likeability, that's it.  As part of proving his wholesome nature, he occasionally chug-a-lugged full pints of milk; I just bet he loved that part of the filming.

Bagdad Cafe (1987)

This is a movie that it is nearly impossible not to like.  Made in English by a German team (in Germany it is known as "Out of Rosenheim"), it stars the decidedly chubby but very likeable Marianne Sagebrecht as a tourist who has stormed off from her husband in the middle of the Mojave Desert; she lands at an isolated greasy spoon cafe and motel run by an angry CCH Pounder who lives there with her strange family; the cafe is frequented by a retired Hollywood scene-painter (a very unusual part for Jack Palance), a tattoo artist,  local indians and various truckers.  Being a typical hausfrau, Sagebrecht sets about tidying the dump up, befriending Pounder's children, posing for Palance in increasingly nude poses, and bringing her own personal and real magic to all.  She even melts Pounder's hard heart and she will certainly capture yours. The photography adds to the joy to be found in this no longer desolate spot.

Pepe le Moko (1936)

This classic French film brought Jean Gabin international fame; it is a poetic take on the American gangster film.  Pepe is a wanted thief who has disappeared into the Casbah where he is safe amongst his peers -- should he ever leave, he risks all.  He meets a kept  bejeweled woman who has been brought to the Casbah to savour the earthy atmosphere and they fall in love.  She doesn't keep one of their assignations when told that he has been killed; he leaves to find her and, betrayed by his regular lover, he meets his fate. Just like now, the film was re-made in Hollywood two years later as "Algiers" with Charles Boyer in the Gabin role, and for my money it is every bit as good. 

Secret Window (2004)

As noted elsewhere in these pages, there have been more dud films adapted from Stephen King stories than successes, although there have been some very, very good ones in the second category.  This is not one of them.  The only thing that stops this movie from being a total waste of time is the acting of its lead, Johnny Depp.  But what a waste of talent.  Anyone who has viewed more than a few tormented author movies, even within King's own works, will guess the "twist" in the tale before the first few reels have finished, and it is only the ever-watchable Depp that keeps one watching.

Possession (1981)

This is a real mongrel of a film and on so many levels deeply unpleasant.  So why, you may ask, have I now watched it three times.  I think the answer is that I am still trying to fathom what exactly is going on.  To deal with the mongrel description first, this movie is a French-German production shot in English by a little seen Ukrainian-born director (Andrzej Zulawski) starring a New Zealander, a very young and thin Sam Neill, and the French actress Isabel Adjani who has barely aged in the intervening years, playing two parts.

The film is set in the still-divided Berlin and when Neill returns to his wife and son after some time away on what we are led to believe is a spy mission, one's first reaction is that this is a happy family.  We then learn that Adjani has been having an affair with a philosophic zen-believer and that she is now verging on hysteria because of a newer affair.  We come to learn that this is with a slimy, octopus-like creature with whom she makes violent love in pursuit of.... -- well that would be telling.  She turns murderous to protect her interest, as in fact does Neill for somewhat dubious reasons.  We are also treated to a very messy, symbolic scene of her miscarrying.  The film may be horrific but it could never be described as a horror film -- that just doesn't cover the intensity.

In his commentary the director says that it is really a love story.  Beats me.

Carnival of Souls (1961/2)

How does a movie that was made in 1961 by a director, Herk Harvey, who never made another feature (his career was in industrial and educational films) and starring an actress, Candace Hilligoss, who only appeared in one other film become a cult classic.  This movie never even had a New York theatrical release until 1989, but it is well-known and well-loved by horror buffs.

The story tells of our heroine who appeared to have drowned with her friends in a motor accident when her car fell off a bridge, but who subsequently rose from the waters to continue her life.  But is she alive?  Sometimes others can see her, but sometimes they can't.  And whose is the spooky face that appears behind the window or in the mirror?  This low-budget film is imaginatively shot and makes the most of its very limited resources.  Once seen it is not forgotten.  Incidentally do avoid the 1998 movie of the same title by Wes Craven; it's just not in the same league.

The Girl Next Door (2004)

Is it possible for a movie to be both sleazy and sweet -- not very likely, but that is the case with this one.  It really shouldn't work given the rather dubious subject matter, but there is a likeable undercurrent.  Emile Hirsch plays a nerdy but high-achieving high school student who is wowed by the good-looker who is house-sitting next door, played by Elisha Cuthbert.  After she catches him watching her undress, she takes him for a ride and gets him to strip naked in the middle of the road as a kind of tit for tat (no pun intended) and then drives off.  It's that sort of movie.  His equally nerdy friends tell him that she is actually a porn actress (who we learn is trying to get out of the business) and the various bits of bad taste follow on.

Needless to say his puppy love for her overcomes all obstacles including financing his college years after he loses the scholarship he has been counting on.  I have no idea what age she was meant to be playing but it just had to be several years older than he, if only in terms of worldly experience; therefore her eager acceptance of his devotion did seem more than a little contrived, although very sweet I suppose.

Tales of Terror (1962)

The cycle of Poe films which Roger Corman produced and directed in the 60's have much to commend them.  One, "Masque of the Red Death", is nearly high art, and all of them benefit from the casting and high production values despite the presumably low-down budget.  This trio of stories does not attempt to be as serious as some and sets out to mix good fun with the minimal scares.  Each story features Vincent Price in full-ham mode and he is joined by Peter Lorre in the second tale and Basil Rathbone in the third.  Some may think it sad that such distinguished actors sunk to taking cheapy parts at the end of their careers, but they do appear to be enjoying themselves and add a touch of class to the procedings.  The middle and longest of the three is "The Black Cat" (or "The cask of Amontillado" to Poe fans) and this one is also the best, with Price and Lorre outdoing each other in the high camp stakes.

Mauvais Sang (1986)

This French film is also known as "The Night is Young" and "Bad Blood" (in the US) and is a flashy riff on the gangster film.  The director Leos Carax has a definite eye for the cinematic and focuses on that rather than on a believable story.  The two main stars are Juliette Binoche and Denis Lavant who also appear together (as different characters) in the director's "Les Amants du Pont Neuf".  The convoluted tale is about two old crooks -- one of whom is played by Michel Piccoli, a strange sort of role for him -- who are being strongarmed by an American gang to steal a serum for an AIDS-like disease (which is sexually transmitted only when the lovers are not in love!)  They recruit Lavant who is the son of a murdered colleague since he is light-fingered (he is also something of a magician) and he falls for Binoche who is Piccoli's moll despite the age difference; he leaves his previous girlfriend, the motorcycle-riding very young Julie Delpy.  I think the best way of viewing this movie is to forget about the story and try to focus on the poetry of the cinematography; otherwise your response might be uncharitable.

Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)

I suppose this qualifies as a "chick flick" but more for those women past the first flush of youth.  Diane Lane who has been around for so long that it is hard to believe that she is still relatively young plays a recently-divorced woman who can't seem to find herself.  On a trip to Italy with a gay tour group (too complicated to explain why since she is straight) she purchases a run-down villa on the spur of the moment.  The rest of the film is taken up with the various traumas of its repair, her attempt to find a new love in the wrong place, and her gradual acceptance by her new community.  Lane is a luminous actress and nearly makes all of this rhubarb bearable -- but I can't imagine what a male viewer could find to like in this farrago.

Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)

This is another classic and little-seen comedy but one that has been re-made several many times with varying degrees of success.  It is perhaps best known under its original title of "Heaven Can Wait", the 1978 version starring Warren Beatty which I, unlike some critics, find a worthy nod to the original film.  In this one our hero is a prizefighter, played by the debonair Robert Montgomery, who a bumbling heavenly messenger, the inimitable Edward Everett Horton, has taken before his time.  Together with his mentor, the unflappable Claude Rains, they must find a new body for the next 50 years as Montgomery's own has been prematurely cremated.  Is this beginning to sound familiar?

The film won Oscars for best original story and screenplay and was nominated in several other categories as well which is something that none of the re-makes can boast.  However the one annoying bit that has always bugged me about this movie is the extremely phony Brooklynese accent that Montgomery uses in his role -- so out of keeping with his screen persona.  Finally I must mention James Gleason, another recognizeable face from films of this period, who plays Montgomery's fight manager with great aplomb and hysteria mixed.

The Ghost Goes West (1935)

The great director Rene Clair made this trifle for Alexander Korda in England between leaving his native France and trying his hand in Hollywood -- and while I am sure that it is remembered with affection by those fortunate enough to have seen it, I doubt that it is well known today since it's not been broadcast for a good twenty years.  Robert Donat plays the dual role of the cowardly 18th century Scottish lothario who is doomed to haunt the family castle until he avenges the family's honour and his impoverished descendent who reluctantly agrees to sell the old homestead to American nouveau riche entrepreneur, Eugene Pallette (one of the 30's unforgettable character actors).  He demolishes it stone by stone to rebuild it in Florida and this is where the fun begins as the ghost finds himself transported as well. It's all a good-natured dig at American pretensions combined with a charming love story, as Palette's daughter is wooed by both of the Donat characters.  Catch it if ever you can.

The Tao of Steve (2000)

I was beginning to wonder if this film would ever receive a television screening, since although I'd heard good things about it, I didn't feel like buying the DVD (and before you ask, I don't rent them). Anyhow it has finally turned up somewhat after the event and was a pleasant enough eighty-odd minutes -- that's about the right length for most films say I.  For those who do not know the story, it is about an under-achieving, overweight ladies man who claims to have found the perfect formula for wooing the ladies into his bed.  It all has to do with keeping an air of mystery and the personification of cool like McQueen and certain other Steves.  He then finds himself falling for someone he had once bedded and forgotten and realises that his rules will not work in this situation.  Unlike our hero, it was an extremely lightweight movie, but likeable enough.

The World Moves On (1934)

The careful reader of this blog will have worked out that I am a big John Ford fan and number many of his films among my favourites.  There are not many of his sound movies that I have not seen (he also made dozens of silent flicks) and this was one that had eluded me previously.  So why am I sad?  Because it was a big fat disappointment and joins "Mogambo" and "Gideon's Day" as the exceptions that prove the rule. Ford's strengths are his emotional manipulation (I'm sure he would have denied this if asked) and his miraculous use of music (only noticeable here in a small way).  This film feels like it was made by a totally detached director and even the two leads, Franchot Tone and Madeleine Carroll, who are often quite likeable, appear to have no real interest in each other.

The story spans over one hundred years and tells of the Southern family who spread their business interests to England, France and Germany and how they face up to the changes in the world, in particular from the early days of World War I through the stockmarket crash of 1929.  After this, where the family had always been foremost, they now seem to think that only another war will save them. The part that I thought well-done, and this was especially prescient in a film made in 1934, was Ford's visualizing the growing threat of the Nazis in Germany, the fascists in Italy, and the marshaling of the communist forces in Russia. 

Wolf Creek (2005)

This may be the last of my FrightFest reviews (or not, depending on what else is going on), but since it will be released mid-month, I thought I'd best make my comments now.  I believe this Australian flick debuted at Sundance where it was the object of a bidding war -- although I'm not sure why since it is reminiscent of a number of other films. It is apparently based on the true story of the so-called Back-packer killer who preyed on travellers in the 90's; this makes me think of another Australian film, "The Cars that Ate Paris", which was made long before the events outlined here.

Anyhow what we have here are two British gals on holiday who have teamed up with an Australian guy whom they fancy for a camping trip to a National Park in the middle of nowhere.  As in so many other movies, their car breaks down and they accept help from a passing backwoodsman.  Big mistake! This seals their fate and despite some red herrings, one just knows that there is not meant to be any sort of happy ending.  In common with many debut films, the director wastes too much time at the start of the movie detailing their carefree existence before getting down to the nitty-gritty business at hand.

Antibodies (2005)

This German policier directed by Christian Alvert is probably a good half an hour too long but otherwise effectively presented.  It concerns the capture of a serial killer who has perversely slaughtered young boys and his fixation with a country cop who has been trying to solve the mystery of the death of a young girl in his parish.  This crime does not fit the killer's pattern, yet is it clear that there is some connection.  What this is and how another tragedy is only closely averted form the nub of the tale.  I can see an American re-make a la "Insomnia" before I can see this movie getting a UK release, not that I think a US-version would be any more acceptable, except to those who avoid subtitles.

Do You Like Hitchcock? (2005)

I will always go to see anything directed by Italian horror maestro Dario Argento, but it has really been a case of diminishing returns in recent years.  This television movie is the first of a series that he has planned for Italian TV, but the only one that he is directing; I understand it has not yet been seen in Italy.  They are not missing too much as it is little better than acceptable television fodder lacking Argento's visual verve; it does have some nudity, but that doesn't make it any better,

The story concerns a film student who thinks he has uncovered a plot to swap murders a la "Strangers on a Train" and who sticks his nose where it doesn't belong.  There is one major McGuffin to distract the know-it-all viewer, but the only real fun for a film buff is identifying the homage to at least half a dozen other Hitchcock thrillers.

Thunderbirds (2004)

This movie did not set the box office alight and was a rare disaster for Working Title. I'm not surprised, since I have not the foggiest idea of its intended audience -- too scary for young children, too mundane for teenagers, and too stupid for adults.  (I think I said much the same about another film on this site -- probably "Cat in the Hat".)  I even doubt if former fans of the TV series of which I was not one would find much to engage them here.  The best I can say is that the colourful front titles were pleasant and that Sir Ben Kingsley can do villain.  The only bit that amused me was seeing the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square with a big sign reading "Bank of London".  Great.

The Light of India (1925)

Just to prove that I really do attempt all sorts of films, I bring you this one which had a command performance royal showing at Windsor Castle in 1926.  The whole film was shot in India with authentic settings, costumes and props under the generous auspices of the Maharajah of Jaipur. It is basically the story of Prince Gautama who became the Buddha.  All his life he was protected from evil, sickness and ugliness, but on finding that such things exist, he cast aside his wealth for a life of poverty and the attempt to bring hope to mankind. Nicely shot but a little slow and primitive, this is about as far as one can travel from the FrightFest weekend.

Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005)

Of all the FrightFest offerings, this was the movie that I most wanted to see since I am unlikely to ever have another opportunity of seeing it in a cinema.  The reason for this is that it was shelved by Warner Brothers as not being scary enough and the powers that be then brought in Renny Harlin, who is little better than a hack-director of late, to rewrite and reshoot the film which was released in 2004 as "Exorcist: The Beginning".  I have not yet had the misfortune to view this one, but I understand it is very poor indeed and it was a complete bomb at the box office.

If Warner Brothers knew what they were doing in the first place, they would never have hired a cerebral talent like Paul Schrader. The film he made may not be super-scary, but it has its moments of terror and is very professionally shot and mounted.  Stellan Skarsgard plays the younger Father Merrin (the Von Sydow character from the original) in the years following World War II when he has lost his faith; he is working on an archeological dig in British East Africa where he meets the satanic presence that will follow him throughout his days.  The movie is out on DVD in North America and hopefully will be available here in due course.  It is certainly worth seeking out.

More FrightFest reviews to follow over the next few days.