the wolves of willoughby chase (1989)

"If you eat in the kitchen you will talk like a servant."
Gothic tale of Willoughby Chase, the grand but remote home of Sir Willoughby (Jonathan Coy) and Lady Green (Eleanor David) and their daughter Bonnie (Emily Hudson), who is in the care of a scheming governess (Stephanie Beacham) and devious lawyer (Mel Smith).
Atmospheric Children's drama.

you're big boy now (1966)

"Don't eat too much, don't stay out too late, don't go to suspicious places to play cards, and stay away from girls. But most of all, Bernard, try to be happy."
Bernard (Peter Krastner) is a socially awkward young man trying to get away from his over-bearing parents (Geraldine Page & Rip Torn), and chooses go-go dancer Barbara (Elizabeth Hartman) to help him do so.
Breakaway feature after many years under the wing of Roger Corman, shot on location on 42nd Street, this gives a great insight into the area of the time.

a zed and two noughts (1985)

aka Zoo.
"In the land of the legless the one-legged woman is queen."
Twin Brothers (Eric & Brian Deacon) have some very distinctive hobbies, that get stranger when their wives die in a car crash and they become obsessed with the driver (Andrea Ferreol)...
Distinctive art house fare, with even more distinctive music by Michael Nyman.

lunch hour (1961)

"Very nice wine."
A girl (Shirley Anne Field) instigates an affair with a married colleague (Robert Stephens), but are constantly interrupted as they only have lunchtimes in which to meet.
An understated comedy that soon goes off the rails.

midnight at madame tussaud's (1936)

aka Midnight At the Wax Museum.
"He'll never hand over her money!"
Whilst Nicholas Frome (Kim Peacock) plans to releave Carol Cheyne (Lucille Lisle) of her inheritance, Explorer Sir Clive Cheyne (James Carew) plans on spending a night alone in Madame Tussauds Chamber of Horrors for a bet.
Dated melodrama, with very stagey acting.

hannie calder (1971)

"What the hell's this all about?"
Following her rape and the murder of her husband Hannie Calder (Raquel Welch) vows revenge on the gang. In order to do so she hires bounty hunter Thomas Price (Robert Culp) to instruct her in the fine art of killing. Revenge movie, that has just enough twists to make it entertaining, with a fine characterisation from Culp.

don't talk to strange men (1962)

"All alone at then end of the lane."
Jean Painter (Christina Gregg) is a young girl, who dreams of romance. Then one day whilst waiting for a bus, it seems to arrive, when she answers a public telephone that is ringing. She gets into conversation with a suave young man, and as the relationship grows she decides to meet him, but who is this man on the end of the phone, and what is his reason or wanting to meet?
A subdued drama, with the one aim, which it does with aplomb.

the glitterball (1977)

Max (Ben Buckton) finds a tiny ball, which reveals itself to be an alien trying to get back to its mother-ship. so obviously with his new friend Pete (Keith Jayne) he sets about helping. Unfortunately a crook is also after them...
Quirky kids film, that trots along without much thought.

blind date (1959)

aka Chance Meeting.
"I just thought she had gone out for a few seconds."
Jan-Van Rooyer (Hardy Krüger) is found in a woman's apartment by Inspector Morgan (Stanley Baker), who accuses him of murder. Rooyer denies everything, and the detective realizes that there is more to this than he initially thought...
Stagy but well played film noir.

where has poor mickey gone (1964)

"I hearby pronounce you one of us."
Things turn nasty when four lads on a night out are ejected from a nightclub and then decide to assault a courting couple before robbing a magic shop, and terrorise the owner (Warren Mitchell). But then they find out the shopkeeper deals in more than just magic...
Nihilistic, (for the time), thriller, that has a twist in the tale.

vampire buster (1989)

aka Zhuo gui da shi. Ninja Vampire Busters.
"Boo!"
An ancient demon sealed in an urn, is unwittingly released Centuries later, and takes control of a Councilman's body. Luckily there is a priest (Kent Cheng) on hand to try and return the demon to his prison.
The humour (and lack of vampire) detracts slightly from this otherwise entertaining horror.

we are the best (2013)

aka Vi är bäst!.
"We are best!"
Two 12 year old girls (Mira Barkhammar & Mira Grosin) bond over their love of punk music and decide to form a band, ignoring the fact that they cannot play, and have no instruments. Then they hit on the idea or involving another girl (Liv LeMoyne) who is shunned by everyone for being Christian, but she has one thing they don't have, a guitar and the ability to play it.
Fine slice of life drama.

holiday (1957)

A short film examining the phenomenon of the Blackpool summer holiday.
Soundtracked by the best of British trad-jazz, this throws up the various delights that Blackpool has to offer.

it could be you (1957)

"Soon our natural British inhibitions shrank."
A short following a couple of models as they toured Germany after winning a competition.
Of little interest unless you want to see Jackie Collins pre achieving fame as a bonk-buster writer.

department store (1935)

aka Bargain Basement.
"The sight of women fighting in the sales sickens me."
Timothy Bradbury (Garry Marsh) joins Johnson's department store in an undercover capacity to report back to his uncle, the owner, about the management, but is mistaken for a petty criminal fresh out of jail, and is given a porters job. Whilst in this position he starts to learn how the firm is really run.
Cheap but entertaining quickie.

four days (1951)

"He didn't suspect a thing."
Lucienne (Kathleen Byron) is the wife of a businessman (Hugh McDermott), who is neglecting her, so she turns to one of his employees Johnny (Peter Reynolds)...
Melodrama with little to get interested in.

the long haul (1957)

"I can put you back amongst the pigs!"
Desperate for money, truck driver Harry Miller (Victor Mature) falls in with an unsavoury gang. Then makes things worse by getting involved with the big shot's lady, Lynn (Diana Dors).
Passable drama.

the reformation of st jules (1949)

"I must tell you how I came into contact with this fella."
A short gothic thriller as told by the author Algernon Blackwood, with a twist in the tale.
Laid back and rambling.

zodiac (2007)

"What do you want? Time off? A hug?"
Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a cartoonist on a San Franciscan newspaper when the Zodiac killer sends them a letter. Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr.), their crime reporter, follows up, but all roads lead to dead ends. Fours years go by, and the one person who cannot forget is Robert, who doggedly pursues what is now considered a dead case.
Compelling drama, that pulls you into the frustrations of a long term investigation, made more compelling as it is based on real events.

the boy who turned yellow (1972)

"Yellow plague hits London, wow!"
John (Mark Dightam) looses his pet mouse whist on a school trip to the Tower of London. Back at school his inattention due to worry he is sent home, and whilst on underground an accident turning all of the passengers yellow. He then finds out that it is due to the alien Nick (Robert Eddison), who lives on electricity, and shows John that he has newly found powers, which he uses to rescue his mouse...but was it all a dream.
Powell and Pressburger bring their twist to this children's production.

the black camel (1931)

aka Charlie Chan in the Black Camel.
"There is old saying, 'Death is a black camel that kneels unbidden at every gate.' Tonight black camel knelt here."
Beautiful actress Shelah Fane (Dorothy Revier) is stabbed to death after consulting famed psychic Tanaverro (Bela Lugosi). This leads to Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) arriving and clearing up a couple of other cases along the way.
Lugosi sleazes nicely as the clairvoyant, but the films one failing is crow-baring in so many characters, distracting from the main plot.

highlander: endgame (2000)

"Duncan, watch your back."
Kell (Bruce Payne) again threatens the remaining Immortals Connor (Christopher Lambert) and Duncan Macleod (Adrian Paul). So they join forces to finally defeat him.
a re-treating of the story, before bringing it to its conclusion.

the man from nowhere (1975)

"Do you believe this idiotic story?"
Alice (Sarah Hollis Andrews) is orphaned and sent to live with her elderly uncle who she does not know. Whilst journeying to his house, she is confronted by a sinister man, who tells her to leave as she is in danger. Obviously none of the adults believe her story, especially as the sinister man continually confronts her, and tells her to leave...
Gothic horror for kids, thus lacking any sort of scares.

the voice of merrill (1952)

aka Murder Will Out.
"Parker's secretary has been murdered, Jean Bridges."
Alycia Roche (Valarie Hobson) falls for struggling writer Hugh Allan (Edward Underdown). Along with her husband Jonathan (James Robertson Justice) they get involved in the search for the killer of secretary, who had a sideline in blackmail.
Slow to start, but as the net closes, the tension and entertainment value builds, especially when JRJ does his bear with a sore head routine.

laxdale hall (1952)

aka Scotch on the Rocks.
"People in the country need good roads as they need bread itself."
A political delegation is sent to a remote highland village who are refusing to pay their road tax until their one road to the village is repaired. Obviously they think they know better than these back water provincials.
Ealing style comedy, that works well with its David Vs Goliath theme.

lock your door (1949)

"She'd been shaken a bit, but was alright."
Short gothic thriller 'lock your door' as told by the author Algernon Blackwood, laying out his story about a woman who unwittingly spends a night in a haunted house.
What seems like an improvised and rambling tale lacks any atmosphere at all.

cross-roads (1955)

aka Crossroads.
"Please don't do anything silly."
Following a car crash Harry Benton (Christpher Lee) returns from the grave to avenge the death of his sister, which he blames on Bernard Maskell (Ferdy Mayne).
Short and obvious horror, but one that plays out well.

home and away (1956)

"I've done it!"
George Knowles (Jack Warner) wins the pools, but whilst they celebrate, his son returns and reveals that it is him and his best mate that have actually won.
Less a comedy than an endurance marathon, with some of the characters grating.

final appointment (1954)

aka The Last Appointment.
"Not my trouble, yours!"
Reporting duo Mike Billings & Jenny Drew (John Bentley & Eleanor Summerfield) investigate a series of unsolved murders and find they are linked to a court-martial case during the war, and set out to protect the last of those involved.
A well paced and efficient detective story.

lake placid 2 (2007)

"What do you think, a 40 foot croc is going to get me?"
The alligator is back, and terrorizing a small New England community. Meanwhile Sheriff James Riley (John Schneider) is being tortured by Fish and Wildlife officer Emma Warner (Sarah Lafleur).
A sequel that seems to have forgotten much of what happened in the first installment! Like the lake being home to a 40 foot gator!

emergency (1962)

"Mummy's coming darling."
A young girl is a victim of a road accident and in dire need of a blood transfusion. Unfortunately she as a rare type and only three people have the same blood. One is a famous footballer, one an atomic scientist on the run for spying, and finally a murderer awaiting execution.
Fraught melodrama, or it wants to be.

ong bak 3 (2010)

aka Ong Bak 3: The Final Battle.
"This rebel will recieve thirteen punishments."
The mighty Tien (Tony Jaa), a mighty Muay Thai Warrior is captured, tortured and left for dead by the evil tyrant Lord Rajaseena. Beaten beyond any recognition, Tian is revived by some villagers and a mystical ritual, and ready for the final battle.
Continuing where ep 2 left off, this is an epic tale, with some epic moves.

the woman in question (1950)

aka Five Angles On Murder.
"Seems funny that he should be so careless about his movements last night."
Astra (Jean Kent) is murdered and the police set about interviewing the five suspects including Bob Baker (Dirk Bogarde), and each paint a different portrait of the doomed fortune teller.
Interesting character study, that treads a similar path to Rashamon.

dead snow 2 (2014)

aka Dead Snow 2: Red Vs Dead. Død snø 2.
"Please don't hurt me. I have two kittens."
Martin (Vegar Hoel) finds himself still on the run from the Nazi zombies that eat his friends in Dead Snow. And furthermore the police don't believe a word of his tale of zombie Nazi's for some reason and brand him a killer. In desperation he goes on the run and enlists the help of the Zombie Squad, and a platoon of dead Russians...
A sequel that ups the gore as well as the laughs.

st trinians 2: the legend of fritton's golf (2009)

"They're back!"
The girl's school are back, but desperate for money, and on learning that the headmistress, Miss Fritton (Rupert Everett) is related to a famous pirate, they go on the hunt for his buried treasure. Unfortunately Lord Pomfrey (David Tennent) and his misogynistic secret society are also after it...
When you thought the first remake was bad, along comes this one to make it look like a masterpiece.

port of escape (1956)

"I saw a murder."
Mitchell & Dinty (John McCallum & Bill Kerr) are sailors docked in London. Unfortunately Dinty is mugged, and when Mitchell comes to his aid the mugger is killed during the ensuing struggle. As is normal in these cases, someone sees just enough to come to the wrong conclusion. In this case, Annie (Googie Withers) sees enough to believe Mitchell is a murderer. Mitchell sees her leave the scene, and pursues her to a boat she lives on with two others, and they take the women hostage as Mitchell tries to persuade them that he acted in self defense.
Claustrophobic drama, that is too convoluted to truly convince.

albert r.n. (1953)

aka Break For Freedom. The Spare Man.
"Poor old Albert."
Albert R. N. is a dummy used to fool the German prison guards, when a prisoner of war escapes, but is there an informer in the camp, and will they reveal their plans?
Classic escape film, mirroring real life events.

the end of the road (1954)

"I didn't ask for anything."
After 50 years working in a factory, Mick-Mack (Finlay Currie) is forced into retirement. Unhappy, he searches for employment, but comes up against ageism, and his family are too wrapped up in their own lives to take much notice of his decent into depression.
Never really develops the drama enough, and such films were washed away shortly after by the kitchen sink drama's.

brandy for the parson (1962)

"You sure."
A couple (James Donald/Jean Lodge) plan a trip in a yacht across the channel to France, but don't count on Tony Rackham (Kenneth more) tagging along and involving them in some brandy smuggling.
Sedate comedy, that never sparks into life.

Bare behind bars (1980)

Aka A Prisão
"I'll be back."
A corupt lesbian prison warder oversees a squalid jail chock full of horny prisoners all desperate to escape the clutches of the equally horny guards.
A flimsy excuse to introduce lots of writhing nakedness and intermittent torture.

Blood calls to blood (1968)

aka Sangue Chiama Sangue.
"Who did this to you?"
Sancho (Fernando Sancho) and his gang attack a monastery, stealing some sacred artifacts and killing many of the the monks, including the brother of Andrej (Stephen Forsyth). On hearing his brother's fate Andrej sets about finding Sancho on the trail of revenge.
Plays with all the cliches of the genre without any great effect.

nest of vipers (1969)

aka La Notte dei Serpenti. Night of the Serpent. Nest of Vipers ...Ringo Kill!
"You must pay like all the others, get out!"
Lieutenant Hernandez (Pistilli) hatches a plot with a local bandit, but needs someone to take the fall for it. Between them they pick local drunkard Luke (Luke Askew), but all they see is a drunken bum, not that man he once was...
Story of murder and redemption with an intricate plot, that takes its time to unfold, and is all the better for it.

yesterday's hero (1979)

"Nice work if you can get it."
Rod Turner (Ian McShane) is an over the hill and alcoholic football, but he wants one last crack at stardom. He finds help from ex-girlfriend Cloudy Martin (Suzanne Somers), a pop star who pursuades her partner Clint Simon (Paul Nicholas) to place him with his team.
Never able to develop the dramatic possibilities to make it beyond a typical b-movie.

and the same to you (1959)

"Oh I am most sorry, did I hurt you?"
The new vicar of a parish Rev Mullet (Leo Franklyn) learns that he has to share the church hall with a boxing gym and its canny promoter Wally Burton (William Hartnell). He's under orders to get them out, but his son Dickie (Brian Rix) is convinced he has a talent for boxing and they need money to repair the roof.
Out for the count before it even gets going, despite having Vera Day as the love interest and the comic talents of Syd James and Tommy Cooper.

and the same to you (1959)

"Oh I am most sorry, did I hurt you?"
The new vicar of a parish Rev Mullet (Leo Franklyn) learns that he has to share the church hall with a boxing gym and its canny promoter Wally Burton (William Hartnell). He's under orders to get them out, but his son Dickie (Brian Rix) is convinced he has a talent for boxing and they need money to repair the roof.
Out for the count before it even gets going, despite having Vera Day as the love interest and the comic talents of Syd James and Tommy Cooper.

and the same to you (1959)

"Oh I am most sorry, did I hurt you?"
The new vicar of a parish Rev Mullet (Leo Franklyn) learns that he has to share the church hall with a boxing gym and its canny promoter Wally Burton (William Hartnell). He's under orders to get them out, but his son Dickie (Brian Rix) is convinced he has a talent for boxing and they need money to repair the roof.
Out for the count before it even gets going, despite having Vera Day as the love interest and the comic talents of Syd James and Tommy Cooper.

kiss the bride goodbye (1944)

"We could never be happy together."
Jack Fowler (Jimmy Handley) returns from the war to find his girlfriend Joan (Patricia Medina) is about to get married. She believes that he no longer loves her and has reluctantly moved on, but on hearing of his return she goes to meet him and explain...
Comedy of errors with not enough errors.

the madame gambles (1951)

aka Madame Louise.
"I'm afraid that trade is a little slack."
Madame Louise's, a dressmaking shop managed by Mr Pastry (Richard Hearne), and his assistant (Petula Clark) is taken over by gambler Mr Trout (Garry Marsh) when he wins it in a bet, and needs somewhere to hide. The duo find out that they have six months to repay the debt, or the place is Trouts permanently.
Mildly comic affair, that has one redeeming feature, seeing Petula Clark acting.

time of his life (1956)

"An ex-convict in this house!"
Ex-prisoner Charles Pastry (Richard Hearne) goes to live with his social climbing daughter Lady Florance (Ellen Pollock). Embarrassed about him, she pretends he is an old friend, and tries to keep him hidden. Fortunately his grandchildren are more open minded.
Mildly comic tale with added pathos.

helen keller vs nightwolves (2015)

"You do not have to see or hear to sense love."
A young Helen (Jessie Wiseman) is attacked by wolves, leaving her deaf and blind. But this just spurs her on to rid the town of this plague of wolves...
Comic horror, whose central joke quickly pales.