Bicycle Thieves (1948)

A simple story about the theft of a much-needed bicycle on which Di Sica hangs a portrait of post-war Rome. We are carried through Rome's streets, houses, cafes and bordellos meeting characters made rich or poor depending on who they were prepared to step on.

The ending of the man and boy disappearing into a crowd of people suggests that this is just one of the stories that could have been told.

Original letterboxd review

Amer (2009)

Somehow I forgot to log this at the time. An insane and beautiful homage to the Italian gialli thrillers of the 60s and 70s full of whirling camera-work and lurid, saturated colours. A must watch for horror fans that don't mind a little art-house insanity served with their terror.

Original letterboxd review

Love (2011)

A terrific sci-fi film that examines loneliness, the journey of life and how we touch others. Absolutely loaded with imagery that will give you plenty to think about after the credits have rolled. A must watch film for those bored by the CGI, inane dialogue and weak characterisation and plots of modern science fiction movies.

Original letterboxd review

Event Horizon (1997)

Alien crossed with Hellraiser sci-fi horror. Some nice semi-hard sci-fi toward the beginning. Overall silly but fun.

Original letterboxd review

Conan the Barbarian (2011)

I enjoyed it more the second time around. Jason Momoa was a decent Conan, well better than Arnie anyway! I just don't understand, when they have a huge amount of stories to pluck ideas, places and characters from, why they came up with an original plot. I'm still waiting for the perfect Conan movie but for the time being this is the best of the lot. Please can we have a multi-linguist, intelligent, panther like Conan next time?

Original letterboxd review

Saving Mr. Banks (2013)

Well, that wasn't what I expected. I was expecting a bit of a biog and what I got was a story of forgiveness via the proxy of Walt Disney. Yes the film was manipulative but which films aren't. The flashback sequences worked very well. Tom Hanks was perfect as Disney but Emma Thompson shone as P.L Travers.

Sad, joyfully and light hearted in the right places. Put it this way; my wife has only one film that she has enjoyed watching more than once (Withnail & I) but even she said she'd like to see this again!

Original letterboxd review

La Strada (1954)

Cry, laugh, cry, laugh, cry, laugh. Masina is absolutely fantastic. Some people have said she over-acted; I'm not so sure. To me her performance was that of an actor in a silent film. With so little dialogue she acted with her body and conveyed the emotions required perfectly. What was the film about? The basic idea is that everyone and everything has a purpose and Masina's purpose is to slowly crack Quinn's brutish exterior. Redemption through the acts of another. Terrific film.

Original letterboxd review

Kelly’s Heroes (1970)

A one word review: Oddball!

Original letterboxd review

Face/Off (1997)

Nick Cage playing John Travolta playing Nick Cave! Nick Cage at his most Nick Cagey. What's not to like?

Original letterboxd review

Before Sunrise (1995)

A beautiful, sublime film. Love compressed, by necessity, into a few hours. Hesitant, then more confident, the shared moments, disagreements, laughs and then goodbye. The end was particularly poignant. The places visited by the young couple, once filled with people, magic and love; now empty, ordinary and soulless. Don't tell the wife but I fell a little in love with Julie Delpy.

Original letterboxd review

C’était un rendez-vous (1976)

The following review comes from someone who doesn't particularly like cars.

Merc or Ferrari, it's still a great little film. With the low slung camera you get a real sense of speed even though the car, allegedly, never exceeds 85 mph. No plot, no acting, no dialogue, just a car racing through the Paris streets in the early hours of the morning. Vroom vroom!

Original letterboxd review

16 Blocks (2006)

Managed about 20 minutes before I had to turn it off because of Mos Def's voice. Tried several times since.

Original letterboxd review

Only God Forgives (2013)

A stunningly shot film about revenge and redemption. The use of colour reminded me a lot of Argento's Suspiria. In fact with its minimal plot, beautiful set pieces and static camera work it owes a great deal to Argento. Also the film is dedicated to Jodorowsky and and shows in its shot composition. Winding Refn says screw you to fast cuts, explosive action and inane dialogue and instead gives us an almost serene art-house thriller that's beautifully paced, well acted and only contains dialogue that adds something to the film rather than the constant white-noise we usually get. Loved it!

Original letterboxd review

Mad Max (1979)

Take note Tarantino; this is a grindhouse classic. A near perfect action film with great editing, cinematography and dialogue. The 2.35:1 ratio is perfect for the Australian outback and the wide, straight roads. This and the zoom shots of eyes nod to Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns - in fact Mad Max is very much an Aussie western. Crows cawing precede each action sequence apart from the finale in which a bird of prey appears just as Max seeks revenge. Please watch this film with the original Australian soundtrack as the colloquialisms are fantastic - any film with a kid called sprog is all right in my book.

"They say people don't believe in heroes anymore. Well, damn them! You and me, Max, we're gonna give 'em back their heroes!"

Original letterboxd review

The Notorious Bettie Page (2005)

A pretty decent attempt at a biog of Miss Bettie Page. Yes it focuses on the early part of her career - understandable as the court case is pretty intriguing and a great story to hang her story on.

BTW I became a member of the Bettie Page fan club years back and still have my membership card, photos etc. Sadly this was one of Betties only sources of income in her later years. She always seemed like a real sweetheart.

Oh and Gretchen Mol is excellent.

Original letterboxd review