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Never Take Sweets from a Stranger (1960)
Astonishing
I came across this truly brilliant film on the best film channel around Talking Pictures ( they have small budgets but big knowledge )
As it is a Hammer film you kinda expect a bit of schlock and sensationalism but that couldn't be further from the truth ,this is hard hitting and bloody scary .
The characters are a bit stiff upper lip and of the time but in some ways that adds to the unexpected power and brilliant direction , without doubt an under rated great British film .
The sheer casualness of the way the girls relate the allegations against the old man ( incredibly terrifying perfomance ) sucks you into a false flag this is brutal and incredibly brave film making .
Without spoiling it I was rooted to the spot by the ending .
Please check it out worth 100 Save the cinemas.
Dandelion Dead (1994)
Terrific
A top notch ITV production
The writer Michael Chaplin delivers a crisp , subtle and brilliant screenplay , Mike Hodges directs with understated menace but also a lot of charm .
The period detail is spot on , the atmosphere gripping but stifling .
Michael Kitchen is fabulous , Sarah Miles , venomous , David Thewlis is excellent in a very early role and Lesley Sharp delivers as a bit of a strumpet .
The details of the case are very accurately portrayed and the ending is very unusual and quite ambiguous .
ITV drama has recently returned to this top level of quality with programmes like Anne and Stonehouse .
Number Seventeen (1932)
Odd but good
It felt like Hitchcock was exploding with creative ideas and he threw them all at this oddity , both in terms of cinematography and lighting .
I loved it , the dialogue was so witty and dark , to the reviewer who complained about "Stop here for dainty teas ", it was what they used to call a JOKE , the coach being hijacked at high speed couldn't possibly stop at the dainty tea house !
Leon M Lion is bonkers but brilliant , apparently Hitchcock didn't get on with him , but it is his film .
The train sets are badly models and detract but the lighting , atmosphere and dialogue mean this early Hitchcock is worth a look .
Last Night in Soho (2021)
So bad
British film makers always complain about a lack of finance , this turkey had a fortune spent on it and is unwatchable .
It starts as twee as George and Mildred , then becomes Social commentary , then a musical , then a horror , then a slasher film and ends as twee as Never the twain . Good soundtrack though .
The money spent on the 60s Soho set was well realised , Matt Smith was good, but the rest , John's dialogue was written for a 10 year old and he delivered it like a 10year old .
Too much money meant it tried to cover all genres but ended up not working on any level , not scary , not thrilling , not funny
I will guarantee it will lose money.
Stonehouse (2023)
Brilliant
ITV is on a roll with high quality dramas after the excellent Anne ,comes this gem .
The direction has a knowing and crisp feel , the script is truthful but very witty , the musical score superb .
The acting is fabulous , every member is good but standout is Macfadyen , whose lugubrious and dishevelled charm , (his voluminous hair seemed to have a life of its own ) ,captures the essence of an old school charmer who can't see his terrible behaviour for what it really is . The politics of the time were captured really well , Harold Wilson was spot on .
ITV deserve a lot of credit for putting together great creative teams and let's hope they continue with this level of quality .
Hounded (2022)
Say it ain't so Joe
Is this a horror film like the Wicker man - no
Is this a social commentary like Kes- no
Is this a comedy like Dumb and Dumber -no
Is this a dire British movie like , Save the cinema , How to please a woman , Twist , Greed , Peter's friends , - Oh Yes
What could have been a biting satire on British class wars is let down by A complete lack of atmosphere , awful plodding writing ,terrible casting , the burglars are bizarrely more annoying than the toffs , I wasn't rooting for them to get away I was hoping the chav girl ( so bad a performance )got caught a lot sooner .
Apparently it took £27 at the box office.
Pistol (2022)
Johnny come home
How to turn the story of the most incendiary , exciting British punk band into a dreary Play for today .
A K-tel version of their story , Johnny Rotten is seemingly played by Lope de Aguirre , Mclaren ,Jesus wept ! Not one character is believable .
He could be wrong , he could be right , I know what I think .
Theatre of Blood (1973)
Bonkers
A mad triumphant barnstormer from a great bygone era of British films .
Vincent Price is magnificent , Ian Hendry plays Peregrine Devlin (but channels Ian Hendry ) , Robert Morley in a camp70s performance has his beloved pet dogs served to him in a pie.
Critics savage the great actor ( in his mind ) Lionheart so he offs them all in the style of killings in Shakespeare .
A must watch.
How to Please a Woman (2022)
How to please a woman ?
Don't take her to see this godawful film .
Sally Phillips is so clunky , wooden and cringingly terrible she makes Amy Turtle look like Greta Garbo
From Breaker Morant to this , god help Australia.
Save the Cinema (2022)
excruciating
Yet another godawful ,predictable and dreary British film rehashing the plucky underdog vs big business storyline .
This features a performance from Adeel Akhtar that is so bad it is like something out of Mind Your language ( I would imagine that wasn't their intention )
Ticks every pc box and has taken a gigantic $58,000 at the box office , tommy gofigure .
Will BBC films / Sky cinema /C4 ever make a good film again.
Pig (2021)
Odd but not terrible
Somebody steals Eustace Conway's truffle pig. So he mumbles a lot , goes a bit radio rental and heads for the big city where he does very badly at Diners ( fight ) Club but then a very mean Paul Hollywood doesn't put him through on Bake-off .
The End.
Anne (2022)
Remarkable
An enormous , heart-breaking and complicated story is told with brilliant writing in a concise , clear and moving way .
The cast are magnificently understated , the superb music score adds tension , and the Direction is taut and emotional .
This film will deserve awards but it's greatest award is that it does Justice to the narrative for the families involved
I urge everyone to watch and discover the REAL story about Hillsborough .
The Big Operator (1959)
The half-brother of On the Waterfront
This a fabulous film .
A brutal ,dark depiction of Mob graft in the 1950s it has a career best performance from Mickey Rooney , as a horrific and nasty union boss ( yes really ) and excellent support from Steve Cochran and Mamie van Doren.
The opening scene has Charlie Chaplin Jrs character thrown in the back of a mixing cement truck and the portrayal of mob violence doesn't hold back .
Ray Danton as the main crim is so cool he could be in Blue Rondo A La Turk and the soundtrack by Van Alexander is terrific .
This is the darker half-brother of On the Waterfront but should be far better known.
House of Strangers (1949)
Fabulous
What an undiscovered gem , it is the Godfather and Succession rolled into one .
Edward G Robinson gives his usual powerhouse performance but the star of the film is Richard Conte ( so overlooked as a great actor )with smouldering support from Susan Heyward .
Joseph Mankiewicz's film crackles with energy and atmosphere , the dialogue is sharp and sassy and the noir lighting moody and mean .
All in all a noir gem , that is a must watch.
Shankly: Nature's Fire (2017)
Aye son !
I wouldn't say this film was average , I would say it was bloody groovy !
James Cagney was his hero and I think this film shows him in a similar vein of greatness , a joyful tribute to a football manager who was CAF .
Almost Liverpool 8 (2021)
lovely
From the use of the brilliant Mike Hart song Almost Liverpool 8 on the opening credits . This is a lovely warm portrait of an area misunderstood and much maligned but now experiencing a renaissance .
Dan Draper has a strong vision and manages to fashion very good films on tiny budgets and is someone to keep an eye on.
Angel on My Shoulder (1946)
Bonkers morality play
A superb film with a bonkers storyline made believable by a consummate performance from Claude Rains and excellent sparring with Paul Muni .
The hell scenes are like something straight out of a Divine video .
There is a real bite and wit to the script directed with great vision by Archie Mayo ( underrated because of a mad name ?)
Well worth checking out I saw it on the great Talking pictures channel which has far better films than Sky cinema.
Man on a Tightrope (1953)
Fabulous
Imagine Tom Waits directed a feature film , a massively underrated gem , it could've been a contender . Great performance from Fredric March and a supporting cast of oddballs . The atmosphere crackles . The cinematography is gorgeous , the slow facial shots spellbinding .
Deserves better than the obscurity it currently has .
The Founder (2016)
Fantastic
Disclaimer
I have been in Mcdonalds around 5 times in my life and am not a fan of their product but found this film completely fascinating .
Hollywood used to tell amazing stories that you didn't know in an entertaining and enjoyable way , without lecturing their audience about woke crap , this film is a throwback to that much missed era .
How was Michael Keaton overlooked for an Oscar , his performance is a Tour de force , even though you know what an empire Mcdonalds will become you find yourself rooting for him .
A great film.
Cuba and the Cameraman (2017)
Fantastic
A superb documentary that is informative , challenging and emotional . It is filled with as much warmth as the Cuban people he portrays , it is not a propaganda piece he expertly shows the optimism and hope through the decades to the weary realization of the people .
Can anyone argue Luis is not better off under capitalism than socialism ?
I was surprised to find Castro (especially early on ) as very likeable but Alpert shows the other side of the coin as well , you have to see this charm to understand how he took such a grip of the country .
Havana is a magical , beguiling city and this film captures its exciting and optimistic heart .
A must see .
Twist (2021)
Beyond bad
Imagine heads of sky cinema sitting down and hothousing this film .
We want parkour , graffiti, a cool art heist storyline and a fluid gender vibe , which leads to a performance from lena headey that was so terrifying it reminded me of Father Dougal .
This film is beyond bad and yet another dire British film
Villains (2019)
Psycho meets the league of Gentlemen
This starts off like a normal Hollywood film , annoying young couple rob a petrol station and run out of petrol fleeing and then hole up in a weird house .
With the arrival of the homeowners the film takes off , with a nuanced and brilliant performance from Kyra Sedgwick and an incredible turn from Jeffrey Donovan , this Tubbs and Edward are not "Good hearted " but with a whip smart script you laugh even in some dark places .
A surprising and very good film
Greed (2019)
As funny as Tony Ferrino
With the notable exception of early Alan Partridge has Steve Coogan ever been funny ?
With regards to this execrable film ,Michael Winterbottom should take the most blame , a big budget has been spent on this potshot at the enormous ., bloated target of Phillip Green and it misses by a mile .
The cast dial in performances that really stretch them , David Mitchell is a geeky journalist , Isla Fisher a vacuous beauty , Ollie Locke an effeminate posh fella , Tim Key a hapless sidekick and incredibly Steve Coogan is a self-obsessed wretch .
It makes Citizen Smith look like Citizen Kane
Dead Man's Shoes (2004)
Terrific
The greatest British film since Get Carter .
All the performances are excellent , Paddy Considine conveys menace and vulnerability with ease , the support cast are magical especially Gary Stretch in a career defining role .
The brilliant soundtrack enhances the movie , a rare quality these days .
Truly great films like Get Carter , The Wicker Man and Shane are appreciated to a greater extent the more you watch them , I never tire of watching this great film .
Out of hundreds of godawful productions The British film industry can once in a blue moon produce a masterpiece .
Midsommer (2003)
Blimey
It's like The Wicker Man , except it's the worst film I have ever seen and The Wicker Man is a great film .