the iceman (2012)

"Who are you kidding, you are going to end up just like me!"
Richard Kuklinski (Michael Shannon), only has feelings for three people, his wife (Winona Ryder) and his daughters, but even this is too much for his employer Roy Demeo (Ray Liotta), who uses him as his friendly neighborhood hit-man. But when Roy retires Richard, and bans him from working in his chosen career, Richard starts to wonder how is he will now clothe and feed is family, and whether he should go freelance?
An engrossing story, well made, that draws you in through Kuklinski's family relationships, who know nothing of his job.

charlie chan at the wax museum (1940)

"I won't forget it, whilst I'm alive."
A convicted crime boss (Marc Lawrence) escapes, but not before threatening Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler), who was instrumental in his conviction. He hot foots it to a hideout underneath Dr Cream's House of Wax, where Dr Cream (Henry Gordon) performs plastic surgery. Then the good Dr arrives at the police HQ with a proposition for Charlie, a radio broadcast from the Wax museum...
Atmospheric whodunnit, but one that doesn't stay long in the memory, being rather formulaic.

sherlock holmes: terror by night (1946)

"What are YOU doing on this train? Where are YOU going?"
When the Star of Rhodesia diamond is stolen and its owners son murdered, Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) sets out to discover which of the passengers is responsible. Is it the mysterious Vivian Vedder (Renee Godfrey), Prof. Kilbane (Frederick Worlock), Sands (Skelton Knaggs), or Dr. Watson's old army chum Major Duncan-Bleek (Alan Mowbray)?
A film that quickly cuts to the chase, providing a entertaining whodunnit.

sherlock holmes faces death (1943)

"This place is positively ghoulish."
Dr Watson (Nigel Bruce) is working at a convalescent home for traumatised army officers. When his assistant (Arthur Margetson) is stabbed, Watson calls on Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone), unfortunately, by the time Holmes arrives the owner of the manor house is already dead...
The forth in the Universal series forsakes Holmes fighting the Nazi's, reverting to the tried and tested murder mysteries that brought him fame. What they give us is an entertaining thriller with Gothic overtones.

charlie chan in black magic (1944)

aka Meeting at Midnight. Black Magic.
"I heard he died Mr. Chan."
Francis Chan (Frances Chan) is at a seance when a man is murdered, and naturally her father Charlie (Sidney Toler) is anxious to get to the bottom of the crime. Whilst Charlie set about finding the killer, Birmingham (Mantan Moreland) provides the comedy, as he lives in fear of the spirits let loose.
The interesting opening scenes are soon overwhelmed by a stilted script, leading us into a rather routine comedy thriller, lacking much of both.

charlie chan in the secret service (1944)

aka Charlie Chan in Honolulu.
"Detective without curiosity is like glass eye at keyhole - no good."
Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) becomes an agent for the U.S. government, and is assigned to investigate the death of an weapons inventor. Whilst number three son Tommy (Benson Fong) and daughter Iris (Marianne Quon) tag along.
The first in the series to feature Mantan Moreland as Birmingham, in this formulaic whodunnit, but one that has some entertaining characters.

the devil's backbone (2001)

aka El espinazo del diablo.
"Many of you will die."
The Spanish Civil war is nearing its conclusion, and a socialist orphanage awaits its inevitable fate. But whilst the people who run it worry about the soldiers, the orphans are aware that there is a ghost stalking the building. Who is it, and what does it want? Unfortunately they eventually find out that there are worse things in life than ghosts.
Wonderfully creeping horror that explores the political wounds of Spain as much as it offers chills.