Quatermass and the Pit (1967)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Quatermass and the Pit (1967) – R. W. Baker

Heady blend of science fiction and horror from Nigel Kneale (screenwriter) courtesy of Hammer films (after a run as a BBC TV series).   A treasured VHS tape now replaced by blu-ray looks a lot better but art direction and top notch special effects were never the focus of this flick.  Instead, the superb plot links a possible spaceship dug up at a tube station being renovated with tales of Satan and malevolent ghosts across the centuries, suggesting a possible influence on human mob behaviour, suggestibility, and even evil itself. Prof. Quatermass conflicts with the military who think the spaceship is an unexploded bomb and won’t listen to the possibility of genetic experimentation (prophetic for 1967). Lots of echoes of these themes in other later films and in culture itself.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

The Hobbit:  The Desolation of Smaug (2013) – P. Jackson

A childhood favourite (now preserved at Mom’s house in a green leather-bound volume with runic lettering) called to me and I left the house to see some 3D (good for depth of field, if not for the eyes/head/stomach).  Having been unexpectedly pleased with and drawn into An Unexpected Journey (on home video), I thought Desolation of Smaug would be a fine holiday spellbinder and so it was. Of course, we pick up the story in the middle (after a somewhat disorienting prologue) and we know we will leave it before the end (being the middle part of the trilogy), so this must be borne in mind. That said, with less clear reminders of reading time long past, the film plays as a spectacle, full of orc-killing action, distant NZ mountainscapes, more dizzying 3D fighting, wise old Ian McKellen, a faint echoing of world wars, the darkest evil somehow forged in a ring (that is trotted out somewhat less frequently), and a talking dragon in the form of Benedict Cumberbatch (or is it BC in the form of a dragon?). A roller coaster ride, no doubt, with enchanting visuals (a true alternate reality unfolding before you) and one peak after another. Those who say this second chapter is better than the first may be adrenalin junkies … but how can they (we) go cold turkey for another 12 months?

Police Story (1985)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Police Story (1985) – J. Chan

In America in the early 90s, Jackie Chan was an underground cult figure.  His 1970s movies were available in badly dubbed, incomprehensibly edited versions that nevertheless retained some charm and great kung fu skills (especially Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow or Drunken Master).  But Jackie was changing, directing his own movies and continuing to do his own stunts even as they became more dangerous and spectacular.  In the 80s, with Project A (a period pirate movie) and this film, a modern crime thriller, Jackie reached a new level integrating his comedy and action into blockbusters.  And he never looked back.  Of course, Police Story is far from slick and the comedy is pretty low-rent.  But the editing is pretty great and shows an understanding of the pacing needed for action.  The set-piece stunts include cars driving through a shanty town and Jackie sliding down a pole strewn with lights through a three-story shopping mall.  However, the small scale action and Jackie’s little touches (which display incredible acrobat skill) make the movie.  Here, he is a cop protecting a secret witness before the trial of a gang boss; he gets framed, kicked off the force, and then single-handedly gets the bad guys. As if, the plot mattered!

A Christmas Carol (1951)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

A Christmas Carol (1951) – B. D. Hurst

Alastair Sim is Ebenezer Scrooge in this noirish but largely faithful retelling of Dickens’ novella.  I granted an extra ½ star to this for the nostalgic pleasure it provides – this is my Dad’s favourite Christmas film.  But it moved so quickly and contained so many evocative scenes of the 1840s that I soon moved beyond just connecting with my own childhood to enjoying the movie on its own terms. Sim’s performance verges on caricature at times but he is still very moving as the bitter man who believes all humanity is selfish – until he is visited by the Spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet-To-Come.  Things become dark enough that the final scenes of renewal may bring a tear to your eye.

Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) -- R. Hamer

Key Ealing Comedy starring Dennis Price as a young man whose mother was disinherited from her noble family (because she married an Italian man below her station) and who seeks revenge.  At the start of the film, there are 12 people ahead of him in the line of succession to the Dukedom and by the time he hatches his plan, only 8, all played by Alec Guiness (including in drag).  You can guess what is plan is, as the film begins with Price in the death house waiting to be hanged the next morning.  This makes for a delicious, very understated, probably subversive black comedy. There are some hints that the main character is gay (as was apparently the director) and the film is set during the time of Oscar Wilde, but I never noticed such things until they were pointed out.  Why don't they make them like this anymore?

The Glass Key (1942)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

The Glass Key (1942) -- S. Heisler
Dashiell Hammett's novels seemed readymade for the screen and helped to kickstart the film noir genre. In The Glass Key, Alan Ladd is the hard boiled but loyal friend/sidekick/henchman to the corrupt but frank and direct political boss Paul Madvig (played superbly by Brian Donlevy). Madvig makes a deal with the Reform Party for the upcoming election which angers his mob connections (run by Joseph Calleia). So, trouble ensues and Madvig's sister, and the son and daughter of the Reform Party candidate get ensnared. The latter is played by Veronica Lake, making this one of the classic Ladd-Lake pairings (but unlike Bogart and Bacall, they really didn't like each other). Ladd's character Ed Beaumont is the classic Hammett figure, smart, independent, able to play both sides off each other, willing to look bad/deceitful/disloyal (and take a beating) but for the right end - of course, he ties up everything with a bow.

Some Came Running (1958)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Some Came Running (1958) -- V. Minnelli

I haven't read James Jones' novel, so it is hard to know if this is faithful. I mention this because the film seemed unpredictable (a good thing) although it vaguely follows the traditions of melodrama. Sinatra is here as a disoriented writer - he doesn't know what he wants (having just returned from some war - is it really supposed to be 1948, as suggested at one point?). He returns to his smalltown hometown, sees his self-absorbed noveau riche brother Arthur Kennedy, starts boozing and gambling with Dean Martin, tries to force himself on repressed creative writing teacher Martha Hyer but makes more of a natural fit with ditzy tramp Shirley MacLaine. Vincente Minelli shoots it in widescreen but this doesn't become eye-popping until the climactic finale which like every scene in this film seems to come out of the blue, more or less like life itself.

Baisers Voles (Stolen Kisses) (1968)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Baisers Voles (Stolen Kisses) (1968) -- F. Truffaut

Truffaut continues the adventures of Antoine Doinel (and, by implication, his own fictionalized life story) that began with the 400 Blows.  Jean-Pierre Leaud (the same actor) is now in his twenties and returns here as a charming somewhat hapless guy who pursues his girl, Christine, and takes on various unsuccessful jobs (night watchman, TV repairman).  The centerpiece of the film involves his career as a private detective investigating why no one loves Michael Lonsdale's shoestore owner (by Lonsdale's request) and falling in love/lust with Lonsdale's wife (Dephine Seyrig). Truffaut's easygoing style is marked by a number of beautiful shots and fun sequences (the letter travelling the pneumatic tubes, various montages); he manages to  capture an affectionate tone that must be hard to create in reality (since we see it so rarely).

Le Boucher (1970)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Le Boucher (1970) -- C. Chabrol

I'm persuaded that there is more than meets the eye in this Hitchcockian film from Claude Chabrol. For some reason, there is ominous music in some scenes between the Butcher and the Schoolmistress, even when nothing disturbing seems to be going on. They seem to be courting, after meeting at a wedding -- until she stops him cold by indicating that she has forsaken love and romance due to a 10-year-old heartbreak. Yes, he is a rather morose character, always talking about the horrors he saw during a 15 year tour of duty in Algeria and Indochina. When grisly murders start to occur, the Butcher is our only suspect. Does the Schoolmistress think so too? There are suggestions that she does, but she doesn't turn him in. So, deeper, below the surface, Chabrol is interrogating this odd relationship between two types, possibly suggesting strong mutual influences -- the withholding or desire for sex seems important -- even on the murders. But even if there is nothing here but dimestore psychology, the beautiful environs of the Dordogne region of France are splendid to look at.

Ratcatcher (1999)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Ratcatcher (1999) -- L. Ramsey

Seemingly cut from the Ken Loach cloth of UK social realism, with a gritty hard look at a Glasglow tenement slum during a garbarge strike in the mid-70s, but then you start getting these "enhanced" emotional moments that feel more poetic (as reality can sometimes be, but the camera can highlight and hone in on).  Some of these moments are dire and distressing, as you would imagine this social and physical environment might facilitate, but others are more elevating and touching.  The focus is a young boy, not quite coming of age, but dealing as best he can with the accidental (and self-wrought) fortunes and misfortunes that come his way.  The Scottish accents are near impossible to understand but the feelings are evoked nevertheless.  Moving, but always with that knot in the pit of your stomach.