Harold Lloyd, The King's Speech and Tarzan's most annoying friend - Reviews #53

You know Harold Lloyd. Dark hair. Glasses. Smart suit. Hanging from a clock. I've been watching a heap of his films of late. Here's some stuff about them.

Harold Lloyd in...

For Heaven's Sake (Sam Taylor, 1926) - Wow. This will take some beating. A genuinely beguiling, hilarious Harold Lloyd comedy about a spoilt millionaire getting involved with a mission, to win the heart of a girl (Jobyna Ralston). I find Lloyd's work pretty variable. This is one of his less ambitious films but - along with The Kid Brother - the best I've encountered, with a touching romance, stunning set pieces and the funniest drunks that side of Frank McHugh. And the Robert Israel score is one of the loveliest things I've ever heard. (4)

Grandma's Boy (Fred C. Newmeyer, 1922) - Reactionary but charming and pastoral Harold Lloyd vehicle. Nearly missteps with a flashback sequence, then pulls it out of the bag, before climaxing in typically exciting fashion. (4)

A Sailor-Made Man (Fred C. Newmeyer, 1921) - Lloyd's first feature, coming in at a trim 47 minutes, isn't as good as Chaplin's (The Kid), but turns out better than Buster's (The Saphead), with neat characterisation, clever sight gags and an exuberant action climax. Pretending you're a cushion and then kicking someone up the bum so they fall into a swimming pool is always going to be funny. Special mention too for the penultimate scene, where Lloyd just can't get a kiss. (3)

Dr. Jack (Fred C. Newmeyer, 1922) - Unwaveringly pleasant Lloyd vehicle, with our hero as an idiosyncratic country doctor trying to save a sensitive, cloistered girl (Mildred Davis) from her fraudulent doctor, who keeps her dosed up and in the dark. Lots of gentle jokes, before a frenetic finale with more than a hint of Keaton's classic short The Goat, released the previous year. (3)

Why Worry? (Fred C. Newmeyer, 1923) - The first half of this much-praised outing is flatly disappointing, with a super set-up - a hypochondriac gets caught up in a revolution - thwarted by a succession of forced gags. Then suddenly the film bursts into life, climaxing with three hysterical fight scenes and some desperately tender, affecting romantic scenes opposite the wonderful Jobyna Ralston - by far the best of Lloyd's leading ladies, with an easy humour and tremendous natural warmth. There's a sublime closing scene too, which is anarchic, absurd and just plain old nice. (3)

The Cat's Paw (Sam Taylor, 1934) - *SPOILERS* Fine fish-out-of-water Lloyd talkie hampered by a notoriously bizarre final act in which he becomes a dictator. Una Merkel is a glorious leading lady. (3)

Movie Crazy (Clyde Bruckman, 1932) - I read a very enthusiastic review of this sound feature, which is what inspired me to dig out the Lloyd box-set in the first place (I bought it when it came out, watched half of the stuff on it, then got sidetracked and stuck it in a cupboard). Ironically, it's one of his weaker features, with its dearth of genuine belly laughs extending to a notably laughless, scoreless finale, which is essentially just a brutal fight. That's not to say the film doesn't offer plenty of enjoyment. Harold remains an engaging hero, Constance Cummings is a likeable and agreeably modern leading lady and there are some funny set-pieces, like our hero accidentally ruining her car, and his famous "magician's coat" sequence. But the Hollywood setting isn't adequately exploited (it hurts a little that there are no gag cameos; sometimes being independent must suck) and the highs just aren't as high as you'd hope, meaning it can't come close to matching Lloyd's silent classics. It would take Preston Sturges to give him the talkie - and the swansong - he deserved, some 16 years later. (3)

Hot Water (Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor, 1924) - Little-seen Harold Lloyd comedy is disappointing, disjointed and stressful rather than funny, at least in its first half. Picks up a bit in the second, with a couple of nice thrill sequences. (2.5)

... and here are the rest of the January reviews:

CINEMA: The King's Speech (Tom Hooper, 2010) - Brilliant stuff. As my girlfriend said: "I thought Colin Firth would be Oscar-worthy, but I didn't know he'd be good as well." And he is. Astonishingly good. The script isn't always faithful to the history, we could have used a little less symbolic Churchill and there's a slightly saggy bit at the end of the first third full of Gambon and Pearce, but for the most part this is stirring, funny and riotously enjoyable, with super support from Bonham Carter, Rush and the ever-underrated Anthony Andrews. (4)



The Last Days of Disco (Whit Stillman, 1998) - I dismissed this somewhat on first viewing, as it can't touch Stillman's other entries in the "doomed bourgeois in love" trilogy, Metropolitan and Barcelona. Also, three of the characters look pretty much identical, which meant I found the plot a little hard to follow. Silly old me. A rewatch reveals it to be a minor classic, with Stillman's typically fine ear for dialogue, another brilliant Eigeman performance and plenty of astute commentary on youth, romance and popular culture. I'll catch it again soon. (3.5)

Let Him Have It (Peter Medak, 1991) - Excellent but virtually unwatchable recounting of the Derek Bentley miscarriage of justice. Powerful, polemical and superbly acted across the board, with Paul Reynolds (Press Gang's Colin) matching Eccleston and veterans Courtenay and Atkins. I'll never watch it again, though, as I still feel bloody dreadful a day after seeing it. (3.5)

Quick Change (Howard Franklin and Bill Murray, 1990) - Considered by everyone to be "the great lost Bill Murray comedy", which I think makes that untrue. It's funny, entertaining and offbeat, with a particularly strong opening 15 and plenty of surprises thereafter, even if it's marginally less compelling than Scorsese's unjustly neglected After Hours, with which it has much in common. (3.5)

The Social Network (David Fincher, 2010) - Not quite great, but fascinating and entertaining, with a strong script and performances. (3.5)



The Night They Raided Minsky's (William Friedkin, 1968) - Not much story, but a dazzling evocation of burlesque in the '20s, with a wonderfully eclectic cast: Jason Robards, Jr., Bert Lahr (the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz), Britt Ekland, Norman Wisdom and Fender from Bilko. (3.5)

Flushed Away (David Bowers and Sam Fell, 2006) - I avoided this first time around, due to the apparently unappealing subject matter (I'm as up for a poo gag as the next man who finds poo really funny, but I wasn't sure I wanted to spend a whole film down the toilet), so it's nice to find that it's actually a really refreshing movie. The animation looks a touch primitive compared to recent ventures and Hugh Jackman is all wrong voicing our toffish protagonist, but Winslet's love interest is appealing, the supporting characters are really funny and the chase sequences are genuinely thrilling. (3)

CINEMA: The Green Hornet (Michel Gondry, 2011) - It seems half-finished, with iffy retro-fitted 3D, extended comic interludes crowbarred in pretty much indiscriminately and a minimal amount of Gondry magic. I really didn't care, as it made me laugh a lot. (2.5)

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright, 2010) - Flashy, memorable and yet still a bit disappointing really, given the fields of lovingly-tended hype surrounding it. There are loads of good things in it (sight gags, non-sequiturs, one-liners - "Your bad is saying 'My bad'"), but it doesn't quite work as a whole - like Igby Goes Down. And Kieran Culkin is the best thing on show - like Igby Goes Down. Wright's uber-stylised direction and cut-to-the-quick editing provides plenty of colour while cramming about eight hours' worth of stuff into just two, and the supporting cast is really strong, but Cera is uncharacteristically annoying (and, no, I don't think that's intentional) and his chemistry with Lucy McClane is non-existent. Added to which, her character isn't developed beyond a cool wardrobe. And most of the music is a bit weak. Sorry. Still quite good though. (2.5)



Atonement (Joe Wright, 2007) - Knightley is surprisingly good, as is the kid, and the Dunkirk sequence is a knockout (Wright is clearly a fine director), but I'm not sure what the point is. Is it clearer in the novel? (2.5)

Starsky & Hutch (Todd Phillips, 2004) - Good fun, with a few big laughs. I'll watch Owen Wilson in anything (except Meet the Little Fockers). Snoop Dogg has quite a high-pitched voice. (2.5)

Con Air (Simon West, 1997) - Vivid characterisations make this OTT actioner a touch better than average, but the last half hour is pretty boring, and capped off with a hideously ill-judged coda. Cusack and Malkovich are really effective, but then they always are. (2.5)

The Queen (Stephen Frears, 2006) - There are impressive things in it - particularly Mirren - but it's overly repetitive and, like so many of the supporting performances, contrives to just miss the target. Peter Morgan can only write one type of film, can't he? And this is no Frost/Nixon. We could probably all live long and happy lives without the stag metaphor. (2.5)



Torchy Blane.. Playing with Dynamite (Noel M. Smith, 1939) - We wrapped up another series with this one, the final entry in Warner's popular B-movie run of the late 1930s. Blane was the inspiration for Superman's Lois Lane, the name partly drawn from Lola Lane, who played the character in one outing. Glenda Farrell was the only true Blane, though, appearing in seven of the nine entries and getting it supremely, effortlessly right each time. Absent here, Farrell is obviously missed, but Jane Wyman does an unexpectedly strong job of deputising, and Allen Jenkins is very good as her cop boyfriend, replacing Barton McLane. Absent-minded desk sergeant George Guhl is also elsewhere (literally this time), but ever-present Tom Kennedy is back for more as Gahagan, the soft detective with a yen for composing verse. The key for the series was really the performances. The first Blane film, Smart Blonde, benefited from snappy, clever dialogue, but generally the scripts were rushed, meaning the plots were full of holes and the patter erratic. Here, the story is better than usual, with Blane getting slung in jail to befriend gangster's moll Sheila Bromley, though her tactic of getting there - raising 11 false fire alarms - is slightly questionable, and her supposed rivalry with the police evaporates after about 10 minutes. Still, it's tense and enjoyable, with an abrupt ending that works quite well. (2.5)

She Knew All the Answers (Richard Wallace, 1941) - Fun romantic comedy with Franchot Tone, Joan Bennett and such familiar faces as William Tracy (Pepe from The Shop Around the Corner), Thurston Hall, Chester Clute and Billy Benedict in support. Bennett is a showgirl trying to get her boyfriend's stuffy uncle (Tone) to approve of her, so as to free up his mammoth inheritance. He's inheriting money, incidentally, not mammothseses. Instead, Tone takes a bit of a shine to her. The film borrows liberally from Easy Living in its stocks-and-shares subplot - and can't approach the majesty of that cast-iron classic - but it's all very pleasant, and they go to a fair at Coney Island. (2.5)

Dark Alibi (Phil Karlson, 1946) - Unusually well-directed Monogram Chan with an atypically coherent plot. Among the best of the series, then, though still dirt-cheap, with the familiar paucity of scriptwriting class reflected in the cut-price aphorisms. It's worth repeating that these Poverty Row programmers aren't a patch on the Fox films, which are simply wonderful, but fans will probably want to investigate them, once they've worked their way through those earlier classics. (2.5)



I'll Be Yours (William A. Seiter, 1947) - Pretty weak remake of The Good Fairy, with excessive re-writing losing the essence of the original and Tom Drake completely miscast in the Herbert Marshall role. It's one of the final four Deanna Durbin films, which she derided in her 1983 interview with David Shipman. It's perhaps not quite as bad as she made out, but it's streets behind Three Smart Girls or Mad About Music. (2)

Pulp (Mike Hodges, 1972) - A smug, disengaging and often incoherent homage to pulp fiction. There are a few bright moments, a handful of funny in-jokes (that nevertheless betray a certain desperation) and Lizabeth Scott's only movie appearance since 1957, but really it's just a massive disappointment - like a failed version of Gumshoe. (2)

Turner & Hooch (Roger Spottiswoode, 1989) - I saw bits and pieces of this when I was little (I'm 6' 3" now), but thought it deserved a proper go because I read a post on Empire Online raving about it, albeit with the caveat that it had a nostalgic pull. It was alright: Hanks was pretty decent, I'm really not sure about the ending. (2)

Bridget Jones's Diary (Sharon Maguire, 2001) - A zeitgeisty novel becomes undemanding, conventional romantic fare mining the comedy of embarassment. The three leads are all decent, but the script isn't. The Auschwitz joke made me wince. Death camp uniforms, lol. (2)



Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Steven Spielberg, 2008) - Oh dear. Annoying dialogue, action scenes largely shorn of their trademark wonder, a laughably awful plot and a terrible baddie. Even John Hurt's rubbish in it. It makes Temple of Doom look nearly good. Half a mark for the ghost village and old times' sake. (1.5)

"Through the forest I carry the mail/Singing better than a nightingale/As great a lover as postman/And particular friend of the mighty Tarzan."
Tarzan and the Mermaids (Robert Florey, 1948)
*SOME SPOILERS*
The last, and by far the least, of the Weissmuller Tarzans. It's stultifying, truth be told, with a risible storyline utilising a hammy George Zucco, and an inexplicable number of terrible songs (please see above), crooned by John Laurenz. The only brightspots are the snippets of Robert-Florey-does-Robert-Flaherty faux-documentary footage, some decent underwater photography, a bit where loads of stuntmen leap off a cliff and the unexpected octopus duel (it won't be unexpected anymore; sorry). The remaining 61 of the 64 minutes consist of Tarzan swimming and people getting into and out of boats (calling to mind that famous review of They Were Expendable; alas, the similarities end there), as well as those bloody songs. Even Johnny Sheffield and the decent Cheetas had buggered off by this time. RKO's revival of the popular MGM series ultimately created one minor classic of its kind (Desert Mystery), two enjoyable timewasters (Triumphs and Huntress), a pair of iffy, cheesy romps and this dud. (1.5)

The mythology of Tarzan - Reviews #6

Tarzan and the Huntress (Kurt Neumann, 1947) - In 1942, America's biggest film studio MGM scrapped its legendary Tarzan series, with the option being snapped up by the smaller RKO. There, Johnny Weissmuller was to strap on the surprisingly-revealing Hays Code-approved loincloth a further six times. The first couple saw him scrapping with Nazis, with the second - Tarzan's Desert Mystery (1943) - being as good a piece of nonsensical fluff as you're ever likely to find. I was a bit down on films three and four, as they're tired and largely gloomy affairs, but the penultimate entry - Huntress - is a partial return to form. Its major strength is an understanding of the series' in-built mythology and a welcome sense of fun. Like Superman Returns, then, only not as good. As with the first two MGM entries - the patchy Tarzan, The Ape Man and the superb Tarzan and His Mate - Tarzan's jungle paradise is invaded by hunters, a more sensible plotline than we've come to expect from these Sol Lesser yarns. The villainous gang includes former Warner heavy Barton MacLane and the eponymous huntress - Patricia Morison. Though the film is a touch confused about the morality of stealing animals from the jungle (presumably that was how the bulk of its supporting players came to Hollywood), Tarz does ultimately get pretty narked about the whole thing, leading to a series of lively showdowns. He's accompanied once more by Brenda Joyce and Johnny Sheffield, whose Boy is now a man, with a deep, booming voice. Where the film really scores is in its embracing of the Tarzan legend as our hero lets rip not once, but twice, with his famous yell. The first - so unexpected after four films without it - is a euphoric moment that seems to strip away 15 years of typecasting and weight gain from its wonderful star - if only for a few seconds. For all the film's deficiencies, like a messy, jumbled narrative and comedy scenes shoehorned in at apparently indiscriminate junctures, those two scenes are jolts of pure joy. (2.5)

Advice to the Lovelorn - Reviews database

Your host, Rick Burin.

Here's a list of all the films, plays, gigs and TV series reviewed on the blog - along with a few articles - all complete with links. Films are rated from one star (Spice World) to four (The Searchers). I think four is the higher mark.

Often you'll find six or seven (or 30) movies in a single post, so once you get there you may have to scroll down a bit to find what you want... but hopefully that's OK. You might find something else of interest on the way.

ARTICLES

Step 1) Read about the 202 greatest movie performances of all time. Step 2) Disagree strongly.
Bing Crosby's producer Geoff Milne tells us about working with 'The Groaner'.
Buster Keaton shorts special. (And bits and bobs of Buster here.)
We ask the wonderful Christian McKay about playing Orson Welles. Sample quote: "Oh no, not him, he's a fat American."
Some stuff about Claire Danes.
What happened when Deanna Durbin met Jean Renoir.
Have I mentioned how much I like Fairuza Balk?
Musings on the majesty of Frank Borzage.
I hold the Internastional Hayley Mills Film Festival in my house.
Ken Russell reviewed.
Lee Tracy - An introduction to the motormouth '30s comedian, who wrecked his career in an all-new way.
A load of lies about my life.
We watch a pre-release version of John Ford's My Darling Clementine and explain just what was lost by the producer's over-zealous cuts.
My favourite 100 movies, as of August 2011.
Myrna Loy - A profile of the Thin Man star.
Nine things I like about movies.
The Olympic torch passes through Harrogate. Some argumentative stuff about why the Oscars are rubbish.
Comedian Richard Herring tells us why he's grown a "Hitler moustache".
Speaking of Nazis, Rudolf Hess crashlanded in Scotland in '41. We talked to his guard. Main article there, interview transcript here.
The Searchers - 4,000 ill-chosen words on our Western of choice.
Shark Attack 3 is our sole area of expertise. Pity us.
Your host gets a swollen head after being commended in the O2 Media Awards 2010. And 2011.
Terence Davies - An in-depth chat with the great British director.
And a little something we wrote for The Guardian about Warner Bros' blooper reels of the '30s and '40s.

FILMS

Features (679)

Abbott and Costello in Hollywood (S. Sylvan Simon, 1945) **
Adam's Rib (George Cukor, 1949) ***
The Adjustment Bureau (George Nolfi, 2011) ***1/2
Adventures of Mark Twain, The (Will Vinton, 1985) **1/2
Affectionately Yours (Lloyd Bacon, 1941) **1/2
Ah, Wilderness! (Clarence Brown, 1935) ****
All of Me (Carl Reiner, 1984) **1/2
Along Came Jones (Stuart Heisler, 1945) ****
Amazing Adventure,The (Alfred Zeisler, 1936) **
Amazing Mrs. Holliday, The (Bruce Manning, 1943) **1/2
American History X (Tony Kaye, 1998) ***
Americanisation of Emily, The (Arthur Hiller, 1964) ***1/2
American Tail, An (Don Bluth, 1986) ***
America's Sweethearts (Joe Roth, 2001) ***
American: The Bill Hicks Story (Matt Harlock and Paul Thomas, 2009) **1/2
Analyse This (Harold Ramis, 1999) **
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (Adam McKay, 2004) ***
And So They Were Married (Elliot Nugent, 1936) ***
Angel Doll, The (Alexander Johnston, 2002) **
Angst essen Seele auf (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1974) aka Ali: Fear Eats the Soul ***
Anne of Green Gables (George Nichols, Jr., 1934) ***
Anne of Windy Poplars (Jack Hively, 1940) ***
Anvil: The Story of Anvil (Sacha Gervasi, 2008) ***1/2
Apa (István Szabó, 1966) aka Father **1/2
Artist, The (Michel Hanavicius, 2011) ***1/2
Arthur Christmas 3D (Sarah Smith, 2011) ***1/2
Apartment, The (Billy Wilder, 1960) ****
Après Vous (Pierre Salvadori, 2003) ***1/2
Aristocrats, The (Paul Provenza, 2005) *
Arnacoeur, L' (Pascal Chaumeil, 2010) aka Heartbreaker ***1/2
Arthur (Steve Gordon, 1981) ***
Artists and Models (Frank Tashlin, 1955) **1/2
Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, The (Andrew Dominik, 2007) **1/2
Assassination of Richard Nixon, The (Niels Muller, 2004) **1/2
Atonement (Joe Wright, 2007) **1/2
Attack the Block (Joe Cornish, 2011) ****
Au hasard Balthazar (Robert Bresson, 1966) ***
Avatar: Special Edition (James Cameron, 2010) **
Avengers Assemble 3D (Josh Whedon, 2012) **1/2
Awful Truth, The (Leo McCarey, 1937) ****
Babe: Pig in the City (George Miller, 1998) **1/2
Backbeat (Iain Softley, 1994) **1/2
Bad Santa (Terry Zwigoff, 2003) ***
Bagdad Cafe (Percy Adlon, 1987) **1/2
Bai ga jai (Sammo Hung Kam-Bo, 1981) aka The Prodigal Son ***1/2
Barbary Coast (Howard Hawks, 1935) **1/2
Barcelona (Whit Stillman, 1994) ****
Baxter, The (Michael Showalter, 2005) ***1/2
Beauty and the Boss (Roy Del Ruth, 1932) ***
Bee Movie (Steve Hickner and Simon J. Smith, 2007) ***
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (Sidney Lumet, 2007) ***1/2
Be Kind Rewind (Michel Gondry, 2008) ***
Bell, Book and Candle (Richard Quine, 1958) ***
Belle of New York, The (Charles Walters, 1952) **1/2
Bells Are Ringing (Vincente Minnelli, 1960) ***1/2
Bewitched (Nora Ephron, 2005) **1/2
Big (Penny Marshall, 1988) ***
Big Bounce, The (George Armitage, 2004) **
Big Business (Jim Abrahams, 1988) **
Big Combo, The (Joseph H. Lewis, 1955) ***1/2
Big Easy, The (Jim McBride, 1986) ***1/2
Big Hand for the Little Lady, A (Fielder Cook, 1966) ***
Big Year, The (David Frankel, 2011) **1/2
Black Dahlia, The (Brian DePalma, 2006) **1/2
Black Dynamite (Scott Sanders, 2009) **1/2
Black Pirate, The (Albert Parker, 1926) ****
Black Swan (Darren Aronofsky, 2010) ***
Blessed Event (Roy Del Ruth, 1932) ****
Blue Valentine (Derek Cianfrance, 2010) ****
Bobby Fischer Against the World (Liz Garbus, 2011) ****
Bolt (Byron Howard and Chris Williams, 2008) ***
Borat (Larry Charles, 2006) **1/2
Born to Dance (Roy Del Ruth, 1938) ***
Born Yesterday (George Cukor, 1950) ****
Bourne Supremacy, The (Paul Greengrass, 2004) ***1/2
Bourne Ultimatum, The (Paul Greengrass, 2007) ***1/2
Boy Friend, The (Ken Russell, 1972) ****
Bowfinger (Frank Oz, 1999) **1/2
Boys Town (Norman Taurog, 1938) ***1/2
The Bride Came C.O.D. (William Keighley, 1941) ***
Bridesmaids (Paul Feig, 2011) ***
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (Beeban Kidron, 2004) **
Bridget Jones's Diary (Sharon Maguire, 2001) **
Bridge to Terabithia (Gabor Csupo, 2007) ***1/2
Broadway Melody of 1936 (Roy Del Ruth, 1935) ***
Broadway Melody of 1938 (Roy Del Ruth, 1937) ***
Brothers Solomon, The (Bob Odenkirk, 2007) **1/2
Bruno (Larry Charles, 2009) ***
Buffalo Bill (William A. Wellman, 1944) **
Bulldog Drummond Comes Back (Louis King, 1937) *1/2
Bulldog Drummond Escapes (James P. Hogan, 1937) **1/2
Bulldog Drummond’s Bride (James P. Hogan, 1939) *1/2
Bull Durham (Ron Shelton, 1988) **1/2
‘burbs, The (Joe Dante, 1989) **1/2
Burn! (Gillo Pontecorvo, 1969) **1/2
Cameraman, The (Edward Sedgwick, 1928) ****
Can't Help Singing (Frank Ryan, 1944) ***
Capitalism: A Love Story (Michael Moore, 2009) ***1/2
Cars (John Lasseter and John Ranft, 2006) **1/2
Cars 2 3D (John Lasseter and Brad Lewis, 2011) **1/2
Casino Royale (Martin Campbell, 2006) **1/2
Cassandra’s Dream (Woody Allen, 2007) *
Castle, The (Rob Sitch, 1997) **1/2
Cat and the Canary, The (Radley Metzger, 1978) **
Catch-22 (Mike Nichols, 1970) **1/2
Cat's Paw, The (Sam Taylor, 1934) ***
Château de ma mère, Le (Yves Robert, 1990) aka My Mother's Castle ***1/2
Cheyenne Social Club, The (Gene Kelly, 1970) ***
Chisum (Andrew V. McLaglen, 1970) *1/2
Choristes, Les (Christophe Barratier, 2004) ****
Cinema Paradiso: Director's Cut (Giusseppe Tornatore, 1988) ****
Circus, The (Charles Chaplin, 1928) ***1/2
Cité des enfants perdus, La (Mark Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 1995) aka The City of Lost Children **1/2
City for Conquest (Anatole Litvak, 1940) **1/2
City Hall (Harold Becker, 1996) **
Clerks II (Kevin Smith, 2006) **1/2
Client, The (Joel Schumacher, 1994) **1/2
Close My Eyes (Stephen Poliakoff, 1991) ***
Coach Carter (Thomas Carter, 2005) ***
Con Air (Simon West, 1997) **1/2
Confessions of Boston Blackie (Edward Dmytryk, 1941) ****
Coroner Creek (Ray Enright, 1948) *1/2
Cover Girl (Charles Vidor, 1944) ***
The Cowboy and the Lady (H.C. Potter, 1938) **1/2
Crazy, Stupid, Love (Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, 2011) ***1/2
That was a big screen viewing. Here's the DVD one.
Criminal Lawyer (Christy Cabanne, 1937) ***
Cry of the City (Robert Siodmark, 1948) ***1/2
Damsels in Distress (Whit Stillman, 2011) ****
Dancing at Lughnasa (Pat O'Connor, 1996) **1/2
Dancing Lady (Robert Z. Leonard, 1933) **1/2
Dangerous Money (Terry O. Morse, 1946) **1/2
Dan in Real Life (Peter Hedges, 2007) ***1/2
Daredevil (Mark Steven Johnson, 2003) ***
Dark Alibi (Phil Karlson, 1946) **1/2
Dark Blue (Ron Shelton, 2002) **1/2
Dazed and Confused (Richard Linklater, 1993) ***
De battre mon coeur s'est arrêté (Jacques Audiard, 2005) aka The Beat That My Heart Skipped ***1/2
Deep End (Jerzy Skolimowski, 1970) ****
Desperado (Robert Rodriguez, 1995) **1/2
Desperately Seeking Susan (Susan Seidelman, 1985) ***
Despicable Me (Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, 2010) ***1/2
De vrais mensonges (Pierre Salvadori, 2010) aka Beautiful Lies **
Dimanches de Ville d'Avray, Les (Serge Bourguignon, 1962) aka Sundays and Cybele ****
Dîner de cons, Le (Francis Veber, 1998) ***1/2 NB: Review is only five words long.
Distinguished Gentleman (Jonathan Lynn, 1992) ***
Divorce of Lady X, The (Zoltan Korda, 1938) ***
Docks of New York, The (Josef von Sternberg, 1928) ****
Doctor Takes a Wife, The (Alexander Hall, 1940) ***
Don't Come Knocking (Wim Wenders, 2005) ***
Down with Love (Peyton Reed, 2003) **1/2
Drive (Nicolas Winding Refn, 2011) ***1/2
Dr. Jack (Fred C. Newmeyer, 1922) ***
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick, 1963) ***1/2
Dude Goes West, The (Kurt Neumann, 1948) ***
Dust Factory, The (Eric Small, 2004) ***
Easy A (Will Gluck, 2010) ***1/2
Edison, the Man (Clarence Brown, 1940) ***
Education, An (Lone Scherfig, 2009) ***
Eight Men Out (John Sayles, 1988) ***
Elizabeth (Shekhar Kapur, 1998) *1/2
El Mariachi (Robert Rodriguez, 1992) ***1/2
Enchanted (Kevin Lima, 2007) ****
Enchanted Cottage, The (John Cromwell, 1945) ****
Equilibrium (Kurt Wimmer, 2002) **1/2
Failure to Launch (Tom Dey, 2006) *1/2 Falcon in San Francisco, The (Joseph H. Lewis, 1945) **1/2
Fallen Idol, The (Carol Reed, 1948) ****
Family Stone, The (Thomas Bezucha, 2005) *1/2
Family Way, The (Roy Boulting, 1966) ***
Far From Heaven (Todd Haynes, 2002) ***1/2
Fei lung maang jeung (Sammo Hung, 1988) aka Dragons Forever
Fellini's Roma (Federico Fellini, 1972) **
Femme est une femme, Une (Jean-Luc Godard, 1961) aka A Woman Is a Woman **1/2
F for Fake (Orson Welles, 1973) **1/2
50/50 (Jonathan Levine, 2011) ***1/2
Fighter, The (David O. Russell, 2010) ***
Fils de l'épicier, Le (Eric Guirado, 2007) aka The Grocer's Son ***
Finding Nemo (Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich, 2003) ***
Fire in Babylon (Stevan Riley, 2010) ***
Five-Year Engagement, The (Nicholas Stoller, 2012) ***
Flickan som lekte med elden: Extended Edition (Niels Arden Oplev, 2009) aka The Girl Who Played with Fire ***1/2
Flirtation Walk (Frank Borzage, 1934) **1/2
Flushed Away (David Bowers and Sam Fell, 2006) ***
Folies Bergère de Paris (Roy Del Ruth, 1935) ***1/2
Forget Paris (Billy Crystal, 1995) **1/2
Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Nicholas Stoller, 2008) **1/2
For Heaven's Sake (Sam Taylor, 1926) ****
For the Love of Mary (Frederick de Cordova, 1948) **1/2
Fort Worth (Edwin L. Marin, 1951) **1/2
Four Christmases (Seth Gordon, 2008) *1/2
Four Faces West (Alfred E. Green, 1948) ***
Four Lions (Chris Morris, 2010) ***1/2
Four's a Crowd (Michael Curtiz, 1938) ***
Fred Claus (David Dobkin, 2007) **
French Line, The (Lloyd Bacon, 1953) *1/2
From Dusk Till Dawn (Robert Rodriguez, 1996) ***1/2
From the Ashes (James Erskine, 2011) ***
Full Monty, The (Peter Cattaneo, 1997) ***
Funny Face (Stanley Donen, 1957) **
Galaxy Quest (Dean Parisot, 1998) ***
Gas Food Lodging (Allison Anders, 1992) ***1/2
Gattopardo, Il (Luchino Visconti, 1963) aka The Leopard ****
George Harrison: Living in the Material World (Martin Scorsese, 2010) **
Ghost Town (David Koepp, 2008) ***
Ghost World (Terry Zwigoff, 2001) ****
Girl Crazy (Norman Taurog, 1943) ****
Give a Girl a Break (Stanley Donen, 1953) ***
Glengarry Glen Ross (David Mamet, 1992) ****
Gloire de mon père, La (Yves Robert, 1990) aka My Father's Glory ****
Glorious 39 (Stephen Poliakoff, 2009) ***
Godfather, The (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972) ****
Godfather Part II, The (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974) ****
Godfather Part III, The (Francis Ford Coppola, 1990) **1/2
Good Girls Go to Paris (Alexander Hall, 1939) **1/2
Good Night, and Good Luck (George Clooney, 2005) ***
Grande seduction, La (Jean Francois Pouilot, 2003) aka Seducing Doctor Lewis ***1/2
Grandma's Boy (Fred C. Newmeyer, 1922) ****
Gran Torino (Clint Eastwood, 2008) **1/2
Great Garrick, The (James Whale, 1937) ***
Greenberg (Noah Baumbach, 2010) ***
Green Hornet, The (Michel Gondry, 2011) **1/2
Gremlins (Joe Dante, 1984) ***1/2
Gremlins 2: The New Batch (Joe Dante, 1990) **1/2
Guard, The (John Michael McDonagh, 2011) ***
Guest Wife (Sam Wood, 1945) **1/2
Gumshoe (Stephen Frears, 1971) ****
Haine, La (Mathieu Kassovitz, 1995) ****
Half Nelson (Ryan Fleck, 2006) ****
Hallelujah I’m a Bum (Lewis Milestone, 1933) ****
Hall Pass (Bobby and Peter Farrelly, 2011) **1/2
Hancock (Peter Berg, 2008) **1/2
Hannah and Her Sisters (Woody Allen, 1986) ****
Happy Feet (George Miller, Warren Coleman and Judy Morris, 2006) *1/2
Hard Candy (David Slade, 2005) ****
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (David Yates, 2011) ***1/2 - with notes on the first seven films
Has Anybody Seen My Gal (Douglas Sirk, 1952) ***
Head (Bob Rafelson, 1968) **1/2
Heathers (Michael Lehmann, 1988) ***
Heaven Can Wait (Ernst Lubitsch, 1943) ****
Hellboy (Guillermo del Toro, 2004) **1/2
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Guillermo del Toro, 2008) **1/2
Hellzapoppin' (H.C. Potter, 1941) ***
Here Comes the Groom (Frank Capra, 1951) ***
He’s Just Not That into You (Ken Kwapis, 2009) **1/2
Hit the Deck (Roy Rowland, 1955) ***
Hoax, The (Lasse Hallström, 2006) ***1/2
Hollywoodland (Allen Coulter, 2006) **1/2
Hot Water (Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor, 1924) **1/2
Houseboat (Melville Shavelson, 1958) ***
House on 92nd Street, The (Henry Hathaway, 1945) **1/2
How Do You Know (James L. Brooks, 2010) ***
How to Train Your Dragon 3D (Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders) ***
Hugo (Martin Scorsese, 2011) ***1/2
Human Comedy, The (Clarence Brown, 1943) ****
Ice Age (Chris Wedge and Carlos Saldanha, 2002) **1/2
Ice Age: The Meltdown (Carlos Saldanha, 2006) ***
Ides of March, The (George Clooney, 2011) ***
Idiocracy (Mike Judge, 2006) ***
I Know Where I'm Going! (Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, 1945) ****
I'll Be Yours (William A. Seiter, 1947) **
I’ll Take Romance (Edward H. Griffith, 1937) **1/2
I Love Trouble (Charles Shyer, 1994) ***
I'm All Right Jack (John Boulting, 1959) **1/2
I Met Him in Paris (Wesley Ruggles, 1937) **1/2
I’m Not There (Todd Haynes, 2007) **1/2
In & Out (Frank Oz, 1997) **
Inception (Christopher Nolan, 2010) ***1/2
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Steven Spielberg, 2008) *1/2
Indiscreet (Stanley Donen, 1958) **
Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, 2009) **1/2
Inside Job (Charles H. Ferguson, 2010) ****
Insider, The (Michael Mann, 1999) ***1/2
Invincible (Ericson Core, 2006) ***1/2
Iron Man (Jon Favreau, 2008) **
Iron Mask, The (Allan Dwan, 1929) ***1/2
Isle of the Dead (Mark Robson, 1945) ***1/2
It Happened Here (Kevin Brownlow and Andrew Mollo, 1966) *** It Happens Every Spring (Lloyd Bacon, 1949) ****
It Happens Every Thursday (Joseph Pevney, 1953) ***1/2
I, the Jury (Harry Essex, 1953) ***1/2
It's a Date (William A. Seiter, 1940) ***
It Should Happen to You (George Cukor, 1954) ****
It's Love I'm After (Archie Mayo, 1937) ****
Jane Eyre (Robert Stevenson, 1943) ***
Jimmy the Gent (Michael Curtiz, 1934) ***1/2
Just Off Broadway (Herbert I. Leeds, 1942) **1/2
Keeper of the Flame (George Cukor, 1942) **1/2
Kick-Ass (Matthew Vaughn, 2010) ***
Kicking and Screaming (Noah Baumbach, 1995) ***1/2
Kicking & Screaming (Jesse Dylan, 2005) *
Kidnappers, The (Philip Leacock, 1953) **1/2
Kids Are All Right, The (Lisa Cholodenko, 2010) ***
Killer Elite, The (Sam Peckinpah, 1975) **
Killer of Sheep (Charles Burnett, 1977) ***1/2
King of the Hill (Steven Soderbergh, 1993) ****
King's Speech, The (Tom Hooper, 2010) ****
King's Thief, The (Robert Z. Leonard, 1955) ***1/2
Knight and Day (James Mangold, 2010) **1/2
Knocked Up (Judd Apatow, 2007) **1/2
Kung Fu Panda (Mark Osborne and John Stevenson, 2008) ***
Kung Fu Panda 2 3D (Jennifer Yuh Nelson, 2011) ***1/2
Kynodontas (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2009) aka Dogtooth ****
Lady Be Good (Norman Z. McLeod, 1941) **1/2
Lady for a Day (Frank Capra, 1933) ****
Lady Godiva Rides Again (Frank Launder, 1951) **
Lady Windermere's Fan (Ernst Lubitsch, 1925) ***
Land of the Lost (Brad Silberling, 2009) **1/2
Larceny, Inc. (Lloyd Bacon, 1942) ***1/2
Lars and the Real Girl (Craig Gillespie, 2007) ***
Last Days of Disco, The (Whit Stillman, 1998) ***1/2
Last Gangster, The (Edward Ludwig, 1937) ***
Last Gentleman, The (Sidney Lanfield, 1934) ***
Last of England, The (Derek Jarman, 1988) **1/2
Låt den rätte komma in (Tomas Alfredson, 2008) aka Let the Right One In ****
L.A. Story (Mick Jackson, 1991) ***
Lawless Street, A (Joseph H. Lewis, 1955) ***1/2
League of Their Own, A (Penny Marshall, 1992) ***
Leap Year (Anand Tucker, 2010) *1/2
Leather Boys, The (Sidney J. Furie, 1964) **
Les enfants du paradis (Marcel Carné, 1945) ****
Let Him Have It (Peter Medak, 1991) ***1/2
Let's Make It Legal (Richard Sale, 1951) **
Letzte Mann, Der (F. W. Murnau, 1924) aka The Last Laugh **
Liliom (Frank Borzage, 1930) *1/2
Lincoln Lawyer, The (Brad Furman, 2011) ***
List of Adrian Messenger, The (John Huston, 1963) **
Little Fugitive (Ray Ashley and Morris Engel, 1953) ****
Little Giant (Roy Del Ruth, 1933) **1/2
Littlest Light on the Christmas Tree, The (Anthony and John Gentile, 2004) ** DTV
Long Gray Line, The (John Ford, 1959) **
Long Kiss Goodnight, The (Renny Harlin, 1996) ***1/2
Lookout, The (Scott Frank, 2007) ****
Love in the Afternoon (Billy Wilder, 1957) ***1/2
Lovely to Look At (Mervyn LeRoy, 1952) ***
Love on the Run (W.S. Van Dyke, 1936) ***
Lucky Star (Frank Borzage, 1928) ****
Luftslottet som sprängdes: Extended Edition (Niels Arden Oplev, 2009) aka The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest ***
Machete (Robert Rodriguez, 2010) **1/2
Magicians (Andrew O'Connor, 2007) **
Major Barbara (Gabriel Pascal, 1941) ***1/2 A second review, in which I understood it better, got very over-excited and gave it a full **** is here.
Make Way for Tomorrow (Leo McCarey, 1937) ****
Male Animal, The (Elliot Nugent, 1942) ***1/2
Malena (Giuseppe Tornatore, 2000) ***
Mamma Mia! (Phyllida Lloyd, 2008) *
Man, The (Les Mayfield, 2005) *
Manderlay (Lars von Trier, 2005) ***1/2
Manhattan (Woody Allen, 1979) ****
Man on the Eiffel Tower, The (Burgess Meredith, 1949) **
Män som hatar kvinnor (Niels Arden Oplev, 2009) aka The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo **** Extended Edition ****
Marie Antoinette (Sofia Coppola, 2006) *1/2
Mariée était en noir, La (Francois Truffaut, 1968) aka The Bride Wore Black **1/2
Mark of Zorro, The (Fred Niblo, 1920) ***1/2
Mars Attacks! (Tim Burton, 1996) **1/2
MatchMaker, The (Mark Joffe, 1997) **1/2
Me and Orson Welles (Richard Linklater, 2008) ***
Mean Girls (Mark Waters, 2004) ***
Meek's Cutoff (Kelly Reichardt, 2010) **1/2
Megamind (Tom McGrath, 2010) ***
Melancholia (Lars von Trier, 2011) ***
Melvin and Howard (Jonathan Demme, 1980) ***
Menschen am Sonntag (Robert Siodmak and Edgar G. Ulmer, 1929) aka People on Sunday ****
Mépris, Le (Jean-Luc Godard, 1963) **
Mesrine: L'ennemi public n°1 (Jean-François Richet, 2008) aka Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1 ***1/2
Mesrine: L'instinct de mort (Jean-François Richet, 2008) aka Mesrine: Killer Instinct ***
Midnight in Paris (Woody Allen, 2011) ***1/2
Million Dollar Mermaid (Mervyn Le Roy, 1952) **1/2
Mirage (Edward Dymtryk, 1965) ***1/2
Miss Firecracker (Thomas Schlamme, 1989) **1/2
Miss Potter (Chris Noonan, 2006) **1/2
Mogambo (John Ford, 1953) **1/2
Mon meilleur ami (Patrice Leconte, 2006) aka My Best Friend ***
Mona Lisa (Neil Jordan, 1986) ****
Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson, 2012) ***1/2 There's a link to the related animation under 'SHORTS'.
Monsters (Gareth Edwards, 2010) ***1/2
Monstre à Paris, Un (Bibo Bergeron, 2011) aka A Monster in Paris ***
Moon (Duncan Jones, 2009) ****
Moon Is Blue, The (Otto Preminger, 1953) ***
Movie Crazy (Clyde Bruckman, 1932) ***
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (Frank Capra, 1936) ****
Mr. Jealousy (Noah Baumbach, 1997) **1/2
Mr. Nice (Bernard Rose, 2010) **1/2
Mr. Woodcock (Craig Gillespie, 2007) *
My Ain Folk (Bill Douglas, 1973) ***1/2
My Childhood (Bill Douglas, 1972) ****
My Fair Lady (George Cukor, 1964) **1/2
My Father, the Hero (Steve Miner, 1994) *1/2
My Sister Eileen (Alexander Hall, 1942) ***1/2
My Sister Eileen (Richard Quine, 1955) ***1/2
My Super Ex-Girlfriend (Ivan Reitman, 2006) **1/2
Mystery Men (Kinka Usher, 1999) **1/2
My Way Home (Bill Douglas, 1978) ***1/2
My Week with Marilyn (Simon Curtis, 2011) **
My Winnipeg (Guy Maddin, 2007) ***1/2
Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, The (David Zucker, 1988) **1/2
Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear, The (David Zucker, 1991) **
Nanny McPhee (Kirk Jones, 2005) ***
Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (Susanna White, 2010) ****
Never Let Me Go (Mark Romanek, 2010) ****
Never Say Goodbye (James V. Kern, 1946) ***
Never Wave at a WAC (Norman Z. McLeod, 1953) *1/2
New Orleans (Arthur Lubin, 1947) **1/2
Night My Number Came Up, The (Leslie Norman, 1955) ***1/2
Night They Raided Minsky's, The (William Friedkin, 1968) ***1/2
No Direction Home (Martin Scorsese, 2005) ****
Notebook, The (Nick Cassavetes, 2004) ***
Nothing Lasts Forever (Tom Schiller, 1984) ***1/2
Nowhere Boy (Sam Taylor-Wood, 2009) ***
Ocean’s Twelve (Steven Soderberg, 2004) *1/2
Of Human Hearts (Clarence Brown, 1938) ***
Of Time and the City (Terence Davies, 2008) ***
Once Upon a Time in Mexico (Robert Rodriguez, 2003) **
One Dangerous Night (Michael Gordon, 1943) **1/2
One Sunday Afternoon (Stephen Roberts, 1933) ****
One, Two, Three (Billy Wilder, 1961) ****
Only You (Norman Jewison, 1994) **1/2
Opposite Sex, The (David Miller, 1956) **
Other Guys, The (Adam McKay, 2010) ****
Our Town (Sam Wood, 1940) ***
Our Wife (John M. Stahl, 1941) **1/2
Outcast of the Islands (Carol Reed, 1951) ***
Out of Sight (Steven Soderbergh, 1998) ***
Outrageous Fortune (Arthur Hiller, 1987) **1/2
Over the Moon (Thornton Freeland, 1939) **
Pagan Love Song (Robert Alton, 1950) **1/2
Pal Joey (George Sidney, 1957) ***
Panique au village (Stéphane Aubier and Vincent Patar, 2009) aka A Town Called Panic ***1/2
Paper Moon (Peter Bogdanovich, 1973) ****
Parent Trap, The (David Swift, 1961) ***1/2
Park Row (Samuel Fuller, 1952) ***
Parole Officer, The (John Duigan, 2001) **1/2
Partie de campagne (Jean Renoir, 1936) ****
Passport to Suez (Andre de Toth, 1943) **1/2
Paul (Greg Mottola, 2011) **1/2
Perfect Specimen (Michael Curtiz, 1937), The **1/2
Perrier’s Bounty (Ian Fitzgibbon, 2009) **
Perro, El (Carlos Sorin, 2004) aka Bombon: El Perro ***1/2
Personal Property (W.S. Van Dyke II, 1937) ***
Phffft! (Mark Robson, 1954) ***1/2
Piano, The (Jane Campion, 1993) ***
Pickup on South Street (Samuel Fuller, 1953) ****
Picnic (Joshua Logan, 1955) ***
Pineapple Express (David Gordon Green, 2008) **1/2
Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists, The (Peter Lord and Jeff Newitt, 2012) ***1/2
Play Time (Jacques Tati, 1967) *1/2
Ploughman’s Lunch, The (Richard Eyre, 1983) **1/2
Pollyanna (David Swift, 1960) ****
Poseidon Adventure, The (Ronald Neame, 1972) ***1/2
Postino, Il (Michael Radford, 1994) aka The Postman ***1/2
Prestige, The (Christopher Nolan, 2006) ****
Pretty in Pink (John Hughes, 1986) ****
Princess and the Frog, The (Ron Clements and John Musker, 2009) ***
Proposal, The (Anne Fletcher, 2009) **1/2
Proud Valley, The (Pen Tennyson, 1937) **1/2
Public Menace, The (Erle C. Kenton, 1935) ***
Pulp (Mike Hodges, 1972) **
Punch-Drunk Love (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2002) ****
Pushover (Richard Quine, 1954) **1/2
Pygmalion (Anthony Asquith and Leslie Howard, 1938) ****
Quai des Orfèvres (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1947) ****
Quantum of Solace (Marc Forster, 2008) **1/2
Queen, The (Stephen Frears, 2006) **1/2
Queen of Spades, The (Thorold Dickinson, 1949) ****
Quick Change (Howard Franklin and Bill Murray, 1990) ***1/2
Ragtime (Milos Forman, 1981) ***
Rainbow, The (Ken Russell, 1989) **
Rainmaker, The (Francis Ford Coppola, 1997) ***1/2
Rango (Gore Verbinski, 2011) **1/2
Ratatouille (Brad Bird, 2007) ***1/2
Rayon vert, Le (Eric Rohmer, 1986) aka The Green Ray ***
Red Rock West (John Dahl, 1993) ***
Rendez-vous de Paris, Les (Eric Rohmer, 1995) aka Rendezvous in Paris ****
Return of Frank James, The (Fritz Lang, 1940) **1/2
Return to Oz (Walter Murch, 1985) ****
Ride Clear of Diablo (Jesse Hibbs, 1954) ***
Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer, The (Kevin Billington, 1971) ***
River, The (Frank Borzage, 1929) ***1/2
Robin Hood (Allan Dwan, 1922) ****
RoboCop 2 (Irvin Kershner, 1990) *1/2
Role Models (David Wain, 2008) ***1/2
Roman Holiday (William Wyler, 1953) ****
Royal Scandal, A (Otto Preminger, 1945) ***1/2
Run, Fatboy, Run (David Schwimmer, 2007) ***
Run of the Arrow, The (Samuel Fuller, 1957) **1/2
Rush Hour 3 (Brett Ratner, 2007) *1/2
Sailor-Made Man, A (Fred C. Newmeyer, 1921) ***
Sailor of the King (Roy Boulting, 1953) **1/2
Saint's Double Trouble, The (Jack Hively, 1940) **
Sally of the Sawdust (D. W. Griffith, 1925) ***
Sarah Palin – You Betcha! (Nick Broomfield, 2011) ***
The Science of Sleep (Michel Gondry, 2006) ***1/2
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright, 2010) **1/2
Secret of Roan Inish, The (John Sayles, 1994) ****
Semi-Pro (Kent Alterman, 2008) **
Senna (Asif Kapadia, 2010) ***
Separate Lies (Julian Fellowes, 2005) **
Separate Tables (Delbert Mann, 1958) ****
Serendipity (Peter Chelsom, 2001) ***
7th Heaven (Frank Borzage, 1927) ****
Sexy Beast (Jonathan Glazer, 2000) ***1/2
Shadow, The (Russell Mulcahy, 1994) **1/2
Shallow Hal (Bobby and Peter Farrelly, 2001) ***
She Knew All the Answers (Richard Wallace, 1941) **1/2
Shepherd of the Hills, The (Henry Hathaway, 1941) ****
Sherlock Holmes (Guy Ritchie, 2009) **1/2
She Wouldn't Say Yes (Alexander Hall, 1945) **
Shopgirl (Anand Tucker, 2005) **1/2
Shorts (Robert Rodriguez, 2009) **
Show People (King Vidor, 1928) ***1/2
Shrek (Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, 2001) **1/2
Shutter Island (Martin Scorsese, 2010) **
Silk Stockings (Rouben Mamoulian, 1957) ***
Sirène du Mississipi, La (Francois Truffaut, 1969) aka Mississippi Mermaid ***
Sirens (John Duigan, 1993) **1/2
Sir Henry at Rawlinson End (Steve Roberts, 1980) ***1/2
Sixteen Candles (John Hughes, 1984) ***
Skeletons (Nick Whitfield, 2010) ***1/2 Slumdog Millionaire (Danny Boyle, 2008) ****
Small Town Girl (László Kardos, 1953) ***1/2
Smart Blonde (Frank McDonald, 1937) ***1/2
Smart Woman (Gregory La Cava, 1931) ****
Social Network, The (David Fincher, 2010) ***1/2
Solid Gold Cadillac, The (Richard Quine, 1956) ***
Sons and Lovers (Jack Cardiff, 1962) ***
Source Code (Duncan Jones, 2011) ***1/2
South of St. Louis (Ray Enright, 1949) **
Speedy (Ted Wilde, 1928) **1/2
Spellbinder, The (Jack Hively, 1939) **
Spider-Man 2 (Sam Raimi, 2004) ***1/2
Spider-Man 3 (Sam Raimi, 2007) **1/2
Spiral Staircase, The (Robert Siodmak, 1945) ***
Spy Kids (Robert Rodriguez, 2001) ****
Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams (Robert Rodriguez, 2002) ****
Spy Kids 3: Game Over (Robert Rodriguez, 2003) *1/2
Stardust (Matthew Vaughn, 2007) ***1/2
Star Is Born, A (William A. Wellman, 1937) ****
Starlift (Roy Del Ruth, 1951) **1/2
Starsky & Hutch (Todd Phillips, 2004) **1/2
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (George Lucas, 2005) **1/2
Station Agent, The (Thomas McCarthy, 2003) ****
Station West (Sidney Lanfield, 1948) ***1/2
Step Brothers (Adam McKay, 2008) **
Stranger Than Fiction (Marc Forster, 2006) ***
Street Angel (Frank Borzage, 1928) ****
Strong Man, The (Frank Capra, 1926) **1/2
Submarine (Richard Ayoade, 2010) ****
Summer Magic (James Neilson, 1963) ***
Summertime (David Lean, 1955) ***
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (F.W. Murnau, 1927) **** Sunshine Cleaning (Christine Jeffs, 2008) ***1/2
Super (James Gunn, 2010) ***
Super 8 (J.J. Abrams, 2011) **
Superman II (Richard Lester, 1980) **1/2
Sure Thing, The (Rob Reiner, 1985) ***1/2
Sweet and Lowdown (Woody Allen, 1999) ****
Sweet Hereafter, The (Atom Egoyan, 1997) ***
Sylvia Scarlett (George Cukor, 1935) **1/2
Synecdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufman, 2008) ****
Tabloid (Errol Morris, 2010) ****
Tabu: A Story of the South Seas (F. W. Murnau and Robert Flaherty, 1931) ***
Tagebuch einer Verlorenen(G.W. Pabst, 1929) aka Diary of a Lost Girl
Talk of the Town, The (George Stevens, 1942) ****
Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby (Adam McKay, 2006) **
Tall Stranger, The (Thomas Carr, 1957) **1/2
Tammy and the Bachelor (Joseph Pevney, 1957) ***
Tangled (Nathan Greno and Byron Howard, 2010) **1/2
Tao of Steve, The (Jenniphr Goodman, 2000) ***1/2
Tarzan and the Amazons (Kurt Neumann, 1945) **
Tarzan and the Huntress (Kurt Neumann, 1947) **1/2
Tarzan and the Leopard Woman (Kurt Neumann, 1946) **
Tarzan and the Mermaids (Robert Florey, 1948) *1/2
Taxi! (Roy Del Ruth, 1932) **1/2
Teacher's Pet (George Seaton, 1958) ***
Tea for Two (David Butler, 1950) **
Team America: World Police (Trey Parker, 2004) ****
Tell No Tales (Leslie Fenton, 1939) ***
Thank Your Lucky Stars (David Butler, 1943) ****
That Darn Cat! (Robert Stevenson, 1965) **
That's the Spirit (Charles Lamont, 1945) ****
Thieves Like Us (Robert Altman, 1974) ****
Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (Gary Fleder, 1995) ***
30 Minutes or Less (Ruben Fleischer, 2011) ***
36 Quai des Orfevres (Oliver Marchal, 2004) **1/2
This Thing Called Love (Alexander Hall, 1941) ***
Thor (Kenneth Branagh, 2011) ***
Three Caballeros, The (Norman Ferguson, 1944) *1/2
Three Musketeers, The (Fred Niblo, 1921) ***
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (Tomas Alfredson, 2011) ***
Thorn in the Heart, The (Michel Gondry, 2009) **
Thousands Cheer (George Sidney, 1943) **1/2
Three Coins in the Fountain (Jean Negulesco, 1954) **
Three Loves Has Nancy (Richard Thorpe, 1938) **1/2
Three Men on a Horse (Mervyn LeRoy (uncredited), 1936) ****
Tiger Bay (J. Lee Thompson, 1959) ****
Time to Kill (Herbert I. Leeds, 1942) ***1/2
Time to Kill, A (Joel Schumacher, 1996) ***
Tin Men (Barry Levinson, 1987) ***1/2
Tin Pan Alley (Walter Lang, 1940) ***
Tirez sur le pianiste (Francois Truffaut, 1960) aka Shoot the Piano Player ****
Tom, Dick and Harry (Garson Kanin, 1941) ***1/2
Tomorrow at Seven (Ray Enright, 1933) **1/2
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down a Dream (Peter Bogdanovich, 2007) ****
Tonight or Never (Mervyn LeRoy, 1931) ***
Topaz (Alfred Hitchcock, 1969) **1/2
Torchy Blane.. Playing with Dynamite (Noel M. Smith, 1939) **1/2
Topkapi (Jules Dassin, 1964) ***1/2
Torrid Zone (William Keighley, 1940) ***1/2
Touch of Class, A (Melvin Frank, 1973) *
Toy Story (John Lasseter, 1995) ***1/2
Toy Story 2 (John Lasseter and Ash Brannon, 1998) ***1/2
Toy Story 3 (Lee Unkrich, 2010) ****
Tramp, Tramp, Tramp (Harry Edwards, 1926) **1/2
Treatment, The (Oren Rudavsky, 2006) ***
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Elia Kazan, 1945) ****
Tree of Life, The (Terrence Malick, 2011) ***1/2
Trois Couleurs: Blanc (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1994) aka Three Colours White *** Tropic Thunder (Ben Stiller, 2008) **1/2
Trouble in Paradise (Ernst Lubitsch, 1932) ****
Truth About Cats & Dogs, The (Michael Lehmann, 1996) ***
Tune in Tomorrow... (Jon Amiel, 1990) **
Turner & Hooch (Roger Spottiswoode, 1989) **
24 Hour Party People (Michael Winterbottom, 2002) ***
Twentieth Century (Howard Hawks, 1934) ****
21 Jump Street (Phil Lord and Chris Miller, 2012) ***1/2
Twilight (Robert Benton, 1998) **1/2
2 Days in Paris (Julie Delpy, 2007) ***1/2
Two Guys from Milwaukee (David Butler, 1946) ***1/2
Two Way Stretch (Robert Day, 1960) **
Up in the Air (Jason Reitman, 2009) ***1/2
Underworld (Josef von Sternberg, 1927) ***1/2
Upside Down: The Creation Records Story (Danny O'Connor, 2010) **1/2
U Turn (Oliver Stone, 2007) ***
Valmont (Milos Forman, 1987) ***1/2
Vie rêvée des anges (Erick Zonca, 1998), La aka The Dreamlife of Angels ****
Visitor, The (Thomas McCarthy, 2007) ****
Vozvrashchenie (Andrei Zvyagintsev, 2003) aka The Return ***1/2
Wah-Wah (Richard E. Grant, 2005) ***1/2
Waiting for Guffman (Christopher Guest, 1996) **1/2
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (Jake Kasdan, 2007) ***1/2
Walk the Line (James Mangold, 2005) ***
WALL-E (Andrew Stanton, 2008) ***1/2
The War Lord (Franklin J. Schaffner, 1965) ***
We Need to Talk About Kevin (Lynne Ramsay, 2011) ****
We're Not Married (Edmund Goulding, 1952) **1/2
Wet Hot American Summer (David Wain, 2001) ***
What About Bob? (Frank Oz, 1991) *1/2
Whatever Works (Woody Allen, 2009) **1/2
When in Rome (Mark Steven Johnson, 2010) **
While You Were Sleeping (Jon Turteltaub, 1995) ***1/2
Why Worry? (Fred C. Newmeyer, 1923) ***
William + Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (Baz Luhrmann, 1996) ***
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (Frank Tashlin, 1957) ***1/2
Wimbledon (Richard Loncraine, 2004) **
Winter's Bone (Debra Granik, 2010) ****
Win Win (Thomas McCarthy, 2011) ***1/2
Withnail & I (Bruce Robinson, 1987) ****
Without a Clue (Thom Eberhardt, 1988) *1/2
Woman in Hiding (Michael Gordon, 1950) **1/2
Women in Love (Ken Russell, 1969) ***
Working Girl (Mike Nichols, 1988) **1/2
Wrestler, The (Darren Aronofsky, 2008) ***
X-Men (Bryan Singer, 2000) ***
X-Men: First Class (Matthew Vaughn, 2011) ***
X-Men: The Last Stand (Brett Ratner, 2006) **
X2 (Bryan Singer, 2003) ****
Young Master, The (Jackie Chan, 1980) ****
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (Woody Allen, 2010) **
Young in Heart, The (Richard Wallace, 1938) ****
Young Tom Edison (Norman Taurog, 1940) ****
Zazie dans le métro (Louis Malle, 1960) ***
Ziegfeld Follies (Various directors, 1945) ***
Zodiac (David Fincher, 2007) ***1/2
Zoolander (Ben Stiller, 2001) **1/2

Shorts (73)

Adventures of Andre and Wally B, The (Alvy Ray Smith, 1984) **
Allez-Oop (Charles Lamont, 1934) **
Banana (Kyle Balda and Samuel Tourneux, 2010) ***1/2
The Battle of Midway (John Ford, 1941) ***
Boat, The (Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, 1921) ***1/2
Bottle Rocket (Wes Anderson, 1992) ***
Boundin' (Bud Luckey and Roger Gould, 2003) ***1/2
BURN-E (Angus MacLane, 2008) *** DTV
Butcher Boy, The (Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, 1917) **1/2
The additional scenes shot for A Canterbury Tale (Michael Powell, 1944)
Cinderella (Lotte Reiniger, 1922) ***
Convict 13 (Buster Keaton and Edward F. Cline, 1920) ***
Cops (Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, 1922) ****
Cupid Takes a Holiday (William Watson, 1938) **
Curious Contests (Pete Smith, 1950) **1/2
Chump Champ, The (Tex Avery, 1950) ***
Day & Night (Teddy Newton, 2010) ***
Fall Guy, The (Pete Smith, 1955) **1/2
Falling Hare (Robert Clampett, 1943) **
Few Moments With Eddie Cantor, A (Lee DeForest, 1923) ***
Field and Scream (Tex Avery, 1955) ***1/2
Film (Alan Schneider, 1965) **1/2
Food and Magic (Jean Negulesco, 1943) **1/2
For the Birds (Ralph Eggleston, 2000) ***
Frozen North, The (Buster Keaton and Eddie Cline, 1922) **1/2
Geri's Game (Jan Pinkava, 1997) ***
Goat, The (Buster Keaton and Malcolm St. Clair, 1921) **** And there's a second review here.
Gold Ghost (Charles Lamont, 1934) **1/2
Grand Slam Opera (Buster Keaton and Charles Lamont, 1936) ***1/2
Hard Luck (Buster Keaton and Edward F. Cline, 1921) ***1/2
Haunted House, The (Buster Keaton and Edward F. Cline, 1921) ***
Hollywood - The Second Step (Felix E. Feist, 1936) **
Home Makeover (Kyle Balda and Samuel Tourneux, 2010) ***
Jack-Jack Attack (Brad Bird, 2005) ***
John Wayne and Chisum (Elliot Geisinger and Ronald Saland, 1970) *1/2
Knick Knack (John Lasseter, 1989/2003) ***1/2
Lifted (Gary Rydstrom, 2006) ****
Luxo, Jr. (John Lasseter, 1986) **1/2
Mater and the Ghostlight (John Lasseter and Dan Scanlon, 2006) **
Mike's New Car (Pete Docter and Roger Gould, 2002) ***
Moonrise Kingdom animation (Various, 2012) ***1/2 My Wife's Relations (Buster Keaton, 1922) ***1/2
Neighbors (Buster Keaton and Edward F. Cline, 1921) ***1/2
One Froggy Evening (Chuck Jones, 1955) ***1/2
One Man Band (Mark Andrews and Andrew Jimenez, 2005) ***
Orientation Day (Kyle Balda and Samuel Tourneux, 2010) ***1/2
Our Gang Follies of 1936 (Gus Meins, 1935) ***
Paleface, The (Buster Keaton, 1922) ***
Pink Phink (Friz Freleng and Hawley Pratt, 1964) ***
Pirate Party on Catalina Isle (Charles "Buddy" Rogers, 1935) ** Play House, The (Buster Keaton, 1921) ***
Presto (Doug Sweetland, 2008) ****
Railrodder, The (Gerald Potterton, 1965) ***
Red's Dream (John Lasseter, 1987) ***
Reducing (Pete Smith, 1952) *1/2
Rhapsody in Black and Blue, A (Aubrey Scotto, 1932) ***1/2
Rough House, The (Roscoe Arbuckle, 1917) **
Scarecrow, The (Buster Keaton and Edward F. Cline, 1920) ***
Sleepy Time Possum (Robert McKimson, 1951) *1/2
So You Want to Be a Bachelor (Richard L. Bare, 1951) *1/2
So You Want to Wear the Pants (Richard L. Bare, 1952) *1/2
Spring Offensive (Humphrey Jennings, 1940) ***
S.S. Ionian (Humphrey Jennings, 1939) **1/2
Stadtstreicher, Der (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1966) **1/2
Stolen Jools, The (William C. McGann, 1931) **
Symphony in Black: A Rhapsody of Negro Life (Fred Waller, 1935) ***
Terrier-Stricken (Chuck Jones, 1952) **
That's the Spirit (Roy Mack, 1933) **1/2
Three Cheers for the Girls (Jean Negulesco, 1943) ***
Tin Toy (John Lasseter, 1988) ***
2:20 (Jason Wingard, 2011) **
United States Navy Band, The (Jean Negulesco, 1943) *1/2
A vintage newsreel about the Hollywood Canteen. With no sound. *1/2
Whistle (Duncan Jones, 2002) *1/2

TV (41)

Bored to Death: Season 2 (2011) ***1/2
Charlie Brooker's 2011 Wipe (2010) ***
Community: Season 1 (2009-10) ****
Community: Season 2 (2010-11) ****
Downton Abbey: Series 2 (written by Julian Fellowes, 2011) **1/2
Downton Abbey Christmas Special 2011 (written by Julian Fellowes, 2011) **1/2
Edge of Darkness (1985) ****
Elgar: Portrait of a Composer (Ken Russell, 1962) ***
Evacuees, The (Alan Parker, 1975) ***1/2
Freaks and Geeks (1999-2000) ****
Hawking (2004) **1/2
Homeland: Season 1 (2011) ***1/2
Hour, The: Season 1 (2011) ***
Iceman Cometh, The (Sidney Lumet, 1960) ****
Jekyll (written by Steven Moffat, 2007) ***1/2
Johnny Cash! – The Man, His World, His Music (Robert Elfstrom, 1969) ***1/2
Life's Too Short: Season 1 (2011) **
Millennium (Niels Arden Oplev, 2009) ***1/2
Mill on the Floss, The (Graham Theakston, 1997) **
My So-Called Life (1994) ****
Our Friends in the North (Simon Cellan-Jones, 1996) ****
Parks and Recreation: Season 2 (2009-10) ****
Parks and Recreation: Season 3 (2011) ****
Party Down: Season 1 (Rob Thomas, 2009) ****
Party Down: Season 2 (Rob Thomas, 2010) ****
Paul Merton's Birth of Hollywood (Paul Merton, 2011) ***
TV round-up, including Sherlock, Spaced, Coupling, Press Gang (Series 3 to 5) and The Glittering Prizes.
Pushing Daisies: Seasons 1 and 2 (2007-9) ****
Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia (Paul McGuigan, 2012) ****
Sherlock: Series 1 (2010) ***1/2
Sherlock: Series 2 (2012) ****
Silent Partner, The (George Marshall, 1955) ***
30 Rock: Season 1 (2007-8) ***
30 Rock: Season 2 (2007-8) **1/2
Terriers (2010) **** Timmy's Christmas Surprise (Jackie Cockle, 2011) ***
Veronica Mars: Seasons 1-3 (created by Rob Thomas, 2004-7) ****, ****, ***1/2
Wonderfalls (created by Bryan Fuller and Todd Holland, 2004) ***1/2

LIVE MUSIC/COMEDY/THEATRE (18)

Comedy: Richard Herring at Harrogate Theatre - March 1, 2010
Music: Suede at the Royal Albert Hall - March 24, 2010
Theatre review: The 39 Steps at York Theatre Royal - April 4, 2010
Theatre: Debbie Reynolds, Alive and Fabulous at Leeds Grand Theatre - April 24, 2010
Music: Bob Dylan at the Hop Farm Festival - July 3, 2010 (also includes Ray Davies, Mumford & Sons and Seasick Steve).
Theatre: Alan Bennett at the Royal Hall, Harrogate - July 25, 2010
Comedy: Josie Long at Harrogate Theatre - October 12, 2010
Comedy: Jeremy Hardy at Harrogate Theatre - October 19, 2010
Comedy: Ardal O'Hanlon at Harrogate Theatre - October 22, 2010
Music: Kate Rusby at the Royal Hall, Harrogate - December 10, 2010
Comedy: Richard Herring at Harrogate Theatre - March 7, 2011
Theatre: Tom Courtenay in Pretending to Be Me at Harrogate Theatre - Sunday, March 20, 2011
Music: Thea Gilmore at Fibbers, York - April 3, 2011
Music: Suede performing the classic album Suede at Brixton Academy - May 19, 2011
Music: Suede performing the classic album Dog Man Star at Brixton Academy - May 20, 2011
Music: Emmylou Harris at The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester - May 30, 2011
Music: Ruth Notman at The Old Ship Inn, Lowdham - September 14, 2011
Comedy: Josie Long at Harrogate Theatre - January 27, 2012
Music: Tom Petty at the Royal Albert Hall - June 18, 2012
Music: The Stone Roses at Heaton Park, Manchester - June 29, 2012

BOOKS (1)

Ava Gardner: Love Is Nothing by Lee Server ***