A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Reviews of films from the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales).
Adam Curtis, “All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace (Episode 1: Love and Power)” (2011) A curious and challenging visual essay, the first in a…
British Films, French and French-language Films
Werner Herzog, “Cave of Forgotten Dreams” (2010) In 1994, three speleologists discovered and explored a cave in southern France and found prehistoric paintings apparently dating back…
Chris Cunningham, “Rubber Johnny” (2005) Started small as a commercial based on the idea of a raver’s body morphing into different shapes as he dances, then…
Australian and New Zealand Films, British Films
Paul Campion, “Night of the Hell Hamsters” (2005), “Eel Girl” (2008) Film shorts are a flexible medium for telling particular kinds of stories or expressing ideas…
Carol Reed, “The Third Man” (1949) Here’s an excellent movie character study about the testing of loyalties and trust in a world that’s just come out…
Roman Polanski, “Repulsion” (1965) A good psychological character study of a young woman suffering mental illness and falling apart while alone and isolated in her sister’s apartment, “Repulsion”…
Michael Reeves, “Witchfinder General” (1968) Loosely based on the exploits of the English 17th-century witch-hunters Matthew Hopkins and John Stearne, this movie is a dark low-budget exploration…
Alfred Hitchcock, “Number 17” (1932) It has many of the ingredients of a typical Hitchcock suspense thriller film but “Number 17” is merely a daft and confusing…
Alfred Hitchcock, “Rich and Strange” aka “East of Shanghai” (1931) One of a group of films Hitchcock made in his lean early-1930’s period – the others include…
Alfred Hitchcock, “Waltzes from Vienna” (1934) What’s this? – a musical comedy about Johann Strauss II and his waltz “The Blue Danube” by Alfred Hitchcock? The…