A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Alex Kurtzman, “The Mummy” (2017) Somewhere in this hokey action blockbuster film is a story about flawed humans acting for purely selfish reasons and the consequences…
Choo Chang-min “Gwanghae: Wang-i Doen Namja / Masquerade” (2012) Korean actor Lee Byung-hun may be better known for his gunslinger roles in flicks like “The Good, the…
Latin American Films (Spanish language)
Pablo Larraín, “Neruda” (2016) Very loosely based on an episode in Chilean poet-politician Pablo Neruda’s life, when he and his wife Delia were forced to go…
Australian and New Zealand Films
?, “David Bowie Iconic” (2016) From the packaging, I thought this DVD was supposed to be a documentary about the British rock / pop legend but…
Australian and New Zealand Films
Stephen Jodrell, “Tudawali” (1988) Made as a TV movie, “Tudawali” shines a light on the Australia’s first major indigenous film star Robert Tudawali, played outstandingly by…
Jules Dassin, “Topkapi” (1964) His heist film “Rififi” proved to be such a classic that it ended up being spoofed as well as imitated so US…
Todd Solondz, “Dark Horse” (2011) A bleak comedy expressing despair over the human condition, “Dark Horse” revolves around life’s losers, those who for various reasons are…
Ridley Scott, “Alien: Covenant” (2017) British director Ridley Scott must have taken all the criticisms of “Prometheus” to heart as he has delivered a new chapter…
Liza Johnson, “Elvis & Nixon” (2016) Based on an actual incident in which the famous rock singer Elvis Presley turned up unannounced at the White House…
French and French-language Films
Marcel Carné, “The Children of Paradise / Les Enfants du Paradis” (1945) Made under difficult conditions in Vichy France, this sumptuous film is rich in character…