A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
British Films, French and French-language Films
Christian Volckman, “Paris 2054: Renaissance” (2006) A glossy animated style of minimal black-and-white presentation, emphasising detail, mood and atmosphere in a future Paris governed by corporations…
Noboru Iguchi, “RoboGeisha” (2009) For a film about two sisters and their love-hate relationship, “RoboGeisha” offers more than just the usual floods of tears, emotional declamations…
Italian and Italian-language Films, North American Films
Ubaldo B Ragona and Sidney Salkow, “The Last Man on Earth” (1964) Over 50 years since it was made, this cheaply made horror film has clearly…
British Films, North American Films
Nicholas Roeg, “The Man Who Fell to Earth” (1976) For a film with hardly much plot and maybe too much soft-core pornography, “The Man who Fell…
Duncan Jones, “Whistle” (2002) “Moon” director Duncan Jones’ first feature is a 29-minute short that initially looks bland and banal, and moves slowly in its first…
Duncan Jones, “Moon” (2009) Like father, like son, no? … decades ago David Bowie sang songs of doomed astronaut Major Tom and in 2009 son Duncan…
Volker Schlöndorff, “The Handmaid’s Tale” (1990) Based on the dystopian novel by Canadian writer Margaret Atwood, “The Handmaid’s Tale” as realised by Volker Schlöndorff is a…
Neil Blomkamp, “District 9” (2009) The inspiration for this science fiction film arises from a context in which racial segregation and exploitation informed the basis for…
Alex Garland, “Ex_Machina” (2015) At first glance, Alex Garland’s directorial debut flim “Ex Machina” looks like the total triumph of style over substance but like its…
German and German-language Films
Fritz Lang, “Metropolis (reconstructed + restored)” (1928) I’ve had the opportunity to see “Metropolis” (which I reviewed some years ago) again in its reconstructed and restored…