Noir of the Week

I love the Noir of the Week website. This week they turn the spotlight on the Glass Key, based on a Dashiell Hammett story.
“All of the key components of noir are present in this film: a very definite crisis of patriarchy, strong willed femme fatales and a plot centered around an expose of a political [...]

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So much more than a vampire flick

I’m not a great horror fan but Swedish movie Let the right one in (Låt den rätte komma in, 2008) is an exceptional offering. The film has so many themes – including social alienation, the trials of puberty and adolescence, love, revenge and pedophilia – that you’ll be thinking about it long after you finish [...]

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An interesting Hammer film

This movie shows how you don’t need a big budget to produce exciting, thought-provoking cinema. It was quite subversive for its time, but then it was directed by Joseph Losey.  Senator McCarthy did Britain a favor by forcing Losey to emigrate.
If the movie was very much rooted in its time, it still speaks to us [...]

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Two British black-and-white movie gems

I was too young to see these films at the cinema when they were first released and don’t remember ever having seen them until now. The reviews I read on Cinebeats piqued my interest and I was not disappointed.

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Excellent film blog

I stumbled across a terrific film blog. Kimberley, the lady responsible, is a devotee of 60s and 70s cinema. You can find Cinebeats here.

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Sam Peckinpah

I read an article about Sam Peckinpah, one of my favorite filmmakers, in today’s Independent (you can read it here).  London’s BFI is holding a season of his movies this month and a new documentary is also in the pipeline.

His films are certainly not for the squeamish – his style has been described as  “visceral” [...]

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Christmas movies and other goodies for the festive season

I enjoy watching and listening to a number of personal favorites over the Christmas and New Year period. For the past several years we have managed a Lord of the Rings marathon of the extended versions of the three movies. Be warned: have plenty of food and drink on hand and start early or you’ll [...]

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‘Round Midnight

I watched this movie for the first time over the weekend. I’m no jazz expert but do enjoy certain types of jazz very much. This film is excellent. It has such an authentic feel to it. And plenty of live music. Much more than a biopic (which, essentially, it is). It got me thinking how [...]

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Chinatown – “a state of mind”

On Saturday, I organized a showing of Chinatown, the Roman Polanski movie from 1974. I’m trying to get people interested in forming a local film club as there is precious little worth going to see at the movies here.
Film Noir has been a favorite of mine for as long as I can remember, since I [...]

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Bobby

Recently I watched the film Bobby (read about it here) for a second time. It is a moving but very personal, low-key take on the events of 5 June 1968. For anyone who doesn’t know, this week marks the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Bobby Kennedy. At the time, I had just turned 18. [...]

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