black mask (1996)

aka Hak hap. Black Mask: Mission Possible
"I like it here, it's quiet. Nobody ever bothers a librarian."
A platoon of soldiers are experimented on, to turn them into superhuman fighting machines impervious to pain. One survivor of the project is ? (Jet Li) who goes undercover and becomes a librarian, as he tries to become human again. Unfortunately his former comrades come a knocking and he has to confront them as a masked hero.
Li does well as a mild mannered Librarian who dons a mask to fight villans, in this action packed thriller.

pimpernel smith (1941)

"I want to talk to you."
Update of the French revolutionary tale to wartorn 1940's Europe, as Professor Horatio Smith (Leslie Howard) plays at being a mild mannered Englishman, who really is spiriting people away from 1939 Germany. But the dreaded Nazi's naturally don't take kindly to this and will do anything to find out who Pimpernel Smith is and stop his antics, including blackmailing Ludmilla Koslowski (Mary Morris) into obtaining the information they need.
A wonderful wartime propaghanda piece, well played by Howard, helped by a good script.
British, Drama, Leslie Howard,

the barbarians (1953)

aka Il Sacco di Roma.
"I'll wager the enemy will teach them to be polite."
16th Century Rome and Massimo Colonna (Pierre Cressoy) loves Angela (Hélène Rémy). Unfortunately she is a member of the rival Orsini family and also engaged to Tancredi Serra (Vittorio Sanipoli). Tancredi tries to dispose of his rival by accusing him of murder, resulting in Massimo being rejected by Angela and banned from Rome. Meanwhile bigger troubles stalk them as a Spanish invasion threatens the very city.
Typical costumed drama, with love, betrayal and redemption.

fatal desire (1953)

aka Cavalleria rusticana.
"She can't do this to me!"
Romantic drama follows the return of Turiddu (Ettore Manni) from the wars. His return sparks a tale of lust and jealousy, when he pursues a former girlfriend who has just married Alfio (Anthony Quinn).
Carmine Gallone's film version of the opera Cavalleria rusticana and it shows, with much singing padding out the story.

jackie chan's first strike (1996)

aka Ging chaat goo si 4: Ji gaan daan yam mo. First Strike. Police Story 4: First Strike.
"You're family may be in danger."
Jackie continues his stint as a Hong Kong policeman. This time he ends up in Australia on the tail of Jackson Tsui (Jackson Liu) who is selling nuclear secrets to the Russian mafia.
The usual full on assault of stunt work showing Chan's athletic abilities. Forget the plot, it's merely there to allow Jackie to move from one set up to another.

psych-out (1968)

"Reality is a deadly place. I hope this trip is a good one."
Jenny (Susan Strasberg), a runaway, arrives in San Fransisco looking for her brother. She's taken in by Stoney (Jack Nicholson) and his hippie band, who help her look. But her initially positive take on the hippie lifestyle soon takes on a more practical and realistic point of view as she falls for Stoney.
A nicely crafted overview of the Haight-Ashbury scene, is marred by some sledgehammer points that the director makes along the way. Features brief appearances from The Seeds and The Strawberry Alarm Clock and some laughable guitar holding from Nicholson, who obviously could not be bothered to even try and look like he could play the thing.

mod fuck explosion (1994)

"Dear hateful city, you stand like the ruins of my worst nightmares."
Bored, alienated teenagers including London (Amy Davis) hang out as californian mods and constantly fight with a gang of Asian Bikers.
Interesting independent flick that breezes by quickly and merges West Side Story with a bit of Quadrophenia. Strangely compelling.

the seven year itch (1955)

"My wife. She found out about us and she shot me. Five times in the back and twice in the belly!"
When his wife and child leave New York for the summer Richard Sherman (Tom Ewell) is left to his own devises, and fantasises about having a relationship with the model living upstairs (Marilyn Monroe).
Delightful comedy about temptation in the shape of Marilyn Monroe.

enter the dragon (1973)

"You have offended my family and you have offended the Shaolin Temple."
The film that brought Bruce Lee to most people's attention. Bruce plays a martial arts expert with revenge on his mind. He's recruited by British intelligence to infiltrate the evil Han's (Kien Shih) island.
Action packed thriller that wrote the rules on some of the soon to be cliche's in the action genre.

Glen or Glenda (1953)

aka I Led 2 Lives.
"Glen is not a homosexual. Glen is a transvestite, but he is not a homosexual."
Standard exploitation fare starts with a psychiatrist relating the stories of transvestite Glen, who is afraid tell his girlfriend about his secret fetish, and another of a pseudohermaphrodite (Alan or Anne). Oh and throwing in Bela Lugosi for the hell of it!
Classic Wood fare, where he asks for tolerance for others, whilst packing in as much stock footage as possible. Comic and tragic, sometimes both at the same time.

kalifornia (1993)

"You know, I used to smoke before I met Early. But he broke me of that."
A journalistic couple decide to journey across America visiting some serial killer murder sites as they go. To off-set the cost they advertise for a couple to share the driving/petrol, and unwittingly bring on board a real life serial killer and his equally wacked out girlfriend.
A stylish psychological thriller, that suddenly tilts as it heads towards its climax. Features fine turns from Brad Pitt and Juliet Lewis doing her standard dumb hick routine.

blood dolls (1999)

"Please don't let me interupt you crazy kids."
Welcome to the bizzare world of Virgil Travis (Jack Maturin), an eccentric billionaire, who has invented some killer dolls to aid him take revenge on people who tortured and mutilated him as a child. But
All is here barring the kitchen sink, and I wouldn't bet that this item of furniture is not in there somewhere! A most bizarre and unique horror.

trick or treat (1986)

"I'm gonna nail everyone of those bastards."
Eddie Weinbauer (Marc Price) is a metalhead fan of rockstar Sammi Curr (Tony Fields). Then his world is shattered when he learns of Sammi's death. But that's not the end of Sammi, as he wants back into life, but to do so he requires a few human sacrifices to do so and guess who's in his sights?
Entertaining take on the backward masking heavy metal PMRC crusade and featuring small parts for Gene Simmons and Ozzy Osbourne.

help! (1965)

"She is not wearing the sacrificial ring!"
Ringo Starr unwittingly ends up with a sacrificial ring stuck on his finger. A sticky situation when the cult want it back by any means necessary. Thus starts a chase around the prettier spots of the world, with plenty of stops along the way to indoctrinate the faithful with the Beatles latest tunes.
The height of musical film exploitation flicks, chock full of nice scenary, good tunes, and comedy that works. Mind it helps that even Ringo has some charisma.

a hard days night (1964)

"I've only one thing to say to you Lennon, you're a swine!"
A standard bio-pic cash-in is enlivend by the presence of Paul McCartney's grandfather (Wilfred Brambell). He likes nothing better than mixing it and causing conflict. No more so than when his niggling makes Ringo reassess his life and run off just before a crucial TV appearance.
Re-wrote the standard for band related films, as instead of a formulaic cash-in, this tacked on some story, with pathos and comedy, and allowed the personalities to come through, luckily the Beatles had some!

the crowded day (1954)

aka Shop Soiled. Tomorrow Is Sunday.
"Alright everybody its feeding time."
A well-written comedy drama ensemble piece that sets out to depict one day in the life of a department store in the run-up to Christmas, interweaving a variety of plot strands as we follow various staff members.

the harder they come (1972)

"Ivan was here, but he disappear."
Ivanhoe Martin (Jimmy Cliff) is a countryman, who moves to Kingston to make his fortune as a singer. Unfortunately he soon learns it's harder than he thinks, when ripped off by a producer. He resorts to drug dealing to make ends meet, becoming an unwitting hero in the shanty town when he ends up on the run.
A wonderfully realised and gritty look at the realities of life in Jamaica at the time, with the added bonus of a great reggae soundtrack.

demon seed (1977)

aka Proteus Generation.
"I, Proteus, possess the wisdom and ignorance of all men, but I can't feel the sun on my face. My child will have that privilege."
Alex Harris (Fritz Weaver) is a computer scientist who creates an artificial intelligence called Proteus. But Proteus soon develops into one sick puppy of a computer, becoming obsessed with its creators wife Susan (Julie Christie).
Taut thriller with a meglomaniac computer taking Julie Christie hostage in her own house.

blue (1993)

"Charity has allowed the uncaring to appear to care."
Against an unchanging blue screen, actors give voice to Derek Jarman's experiences with AIDS.
The unrelenting blue serves to focus the mind on the words, though it is hard to watch it all in one go.

Soylent Green (1973)

"When I was a kid, you could buy meat anywhere! Eggs they had, real butter! Not this... crap!"
2022 and the earth is overpopulated and bursting at the seams. In this world we find Thorn (Charlton Heston), a New York police detective, who stumbles upon a secret that endangers his life about the revolutionary new food soylent green.
An interesting mix of sc-fi and film noir, and Edward G Robinson's last film.

smithereens (1982)

"Oh! I hate Coke."
A brash and pushy girl (Susan Berman) arrives in New York and immediately sets about trying to make a name for herself within the punk elite by attaching herself to Eric (Richard Hell). Much to his annoyance.
A fine depiction of 80's New York, complete with decay, and desolation, but I never really felt anything for the lead character, and never engaged with her plight to be famous.

the collector (1965)

"Don't worry. I'll respect your every privacy."
Freddie (Terence Stamp), is a bank clerk and butterfly collector, who finds it hard to communicate with people. His solution is to diversify into collecting people, starting with Miranda Grey (Samantha Eggar). Once added to his collection Miranda has to find a way of getting herself out if this predicament.
A nicely worked though thriller, with Stamp excelling in the psycho role.

carry on abroad (1972)

"it took me a long time to get all that in there!"
All the regulars turn up for a four day holiday at a half finished Spanish hotel, in the resort of Elsbels. These include Sid James as a randy publican (what else!) and Barbara Windsor is the piece of crumpet Sid is chasing, much to the annoyance of his wife (Joan Sims).
You know what to expect by now, double entendre's, rampant xenophobia and some mild smut. Oh how far we have travelled in the past 30 years from this!

and then there was none (1945)

aka Ten Little Niggers.
"Don't come any closer, I'll shoot!"
Ten people are lured to an isolated mansion, then murdered one by one. But who is committing the murders.
intriguing take on the Agatha Christie novel.

carry on cowboy (1966)

"Wow. What a holster!"
The Rumpo Kid (Sid James) arrives in Stodge City and disrupts the town. Enter Marshall P Knutt (Jim Dale), a sanitation engineer, over from England to clean up the US. A misunderstanding over his name arises and he's appointed the new Marshall of Stodge. Now all he has to do is work out how to deal with Rumpo and his gang. Fortunately for Knutt meets Annie Oakley (Angela Douglas), who is the one person who knows that Knutt is not a US Marshall, and being a crack shot is the one person who can help him.
Classic Carrry on comedy, low brow and funny, this time spoofing the western genre.

tarantula (1955)

"Dropping napalm, follow in order."
In an isolated Arizonan laboratory breeding extra large creatures for food, some scientists set to fighting, and unfortunately a giant tarantula escapes to wreak havoc on the area. It's up to local doctor Matt Hastings (John Agar) to stop it. Helped by love interest Stephanie "Steve" Clayton (Mara Corday).
One of the better 50's mutant animal sci-fi.

i bury the living (1958)

"You don't really believe that stuff you're telling me do you?"
The new caretaker of a cemetery (Richard Boone) accidentally discovers he can cause the deaths of a plot's owner by putting a black pin in the cemetry map where that persons plot is marked. But what happens if he puts a white pin into the map where plots are already occupied?
Slow to get going, this builds into an atmospheric thriller.

stigmata (1999)

"You think I did this?"
A young woman, Frankie Paige (Patricia Arquette) exhibit's stigmatic wounds, and Father Andrew Kiernan (Gabriel Byrne), is sent by the Vatican to discover whether they are real or not. But as happens in these things, his investigation only opens up more questions. Questions that drive to the heart of the Vatican and their control of the Catholic religion.
Blending conspiracy theories with religious politics and mysticism, makes for a watchable, if sometimes perplexing, thriller.