Kind Hearts and Coronets
Dir: Robert Hamer
1949
*****
In my opinion Ealing Comedies really took off after the release of Kind Hearts and Coronets. Dennis Price's narration is enough to suck you in from the start, his voice being perfectly pitched and hypnotic. His performance is brilliant although it is Alec Guinness's eight performances that the film is most remembered for, each one being as equally good. Robert Hamer had a short career due to dying relatively young, his films have really stood the test of time but are to this day sadly forgotten. Rectify this people! Kind Hearts and Coronets being the perfect starting point.

I Think We're Alone Now
Dir: Sean Donnelly
2008
**
I think We're Alone Now is an uncomfortable fly-on-the-wall documentary that is hard to watch but impossible to look away from. It's the sensationalist method in which the film is produced that makes and breaks the film. The two people featured are interesting people with very different mental health issues. These mental health issues are touched upon but poorly represented and badly explained. Both Jeff Turner and Kelly McCormick are willing participants but both are taken advantage of in the name of entertainment. 80s pop favorite Tiffany is a good sport but I got the impression she was also taken advantage of somewhat which I'm afraid takes away credibility from the overall package. I'm not sure I'm even comfortable referring to it as a documentary and the issue of stalkers should have been better handled.

High Noon
Dir: Fred Zinnemann
1952
*****
As influential and highly praised High Noon is in the genre, it's never really been copied or imitated, in fact Westerns since have shied away from its overall feel and idea. That's because Westerns represent capitalism. It's mostly why they are full of villains, ownership and an every man for himself attitude. High Noon is a liberal allegory for blacklisting, McCarthy's red-baiting being at the forefront of the swipe. Many top names declined the leading role due to it's political undertones, many didn't get the chance because they were grey listed but it seemed fitting that active liberal Cooper got the part. The fact that John Wayne hated it so much makes me love it even more, it really is the Western for people who don't like Westerns. John Wayne was a fool. Makes you wonder if being un-American is to be American or if being American is un-American. Either way, John Wayne was an ass. Politics aside, the picture is beautiful, with a lighter than usual tint added for maximum effect. What a cast too, it's a who's who of Hollywood's most overlooked actors of the 1950s.

The Rare Breed
Dir: Andrew McLaglen
1966
***
I quite like The Rare Breed as it is an odd but successful combination of shared British and American mannerisms. On one side you have the naive arrogance and charmingly full-hardy attitude of the British elite and the brash stubbornness and blind faith of the old West, neither was ever very good at being told what could and couldn't be done and so they got on and did what ever it is they wanted, regardless. They succeeded too. Also, I really like Maureen O'Hara's sass, Brian Keith over-acting, James Stewart's voice and furry Cows. The overlooked alternative western.

Party Girl
Dir: Nicholas Ray
1958
****
Even in 1958, the style of acting and melodrama in Party Girl was outdated. So too were the dance numbers, the over-reactions and overall look of the film. I think this is intentional, it is Nicholas Ray after all. The characters aren't as two dimensional as they are in many of the older gangster films and there is a very dark undertone to the whole production. Our hero is morally questionable from the start and this plays through the entire film. It's a sugar-coated look at the depths of human empathy, selfishness and moral judgement but it never disguises the fact that this is what it is about. The sugar coating is to lure you in, sweet then sour, what the taste that is left in your mouth is is up to you. Robert Taylor, Cyd Charisse and Lee J Cobb are perfect in their respective performances.

The Exiles
Dir: Kent MacKenzie
1961
****
Watching The Exiles is like watching the death of an ancient culture. What the European settlers and subsequent generations have done to the native American is horrific but the fact that so many of the indigenous people have now turned their backs to their culture is heartbreaking. The Exiles shows the bright lights that lead the youth away from the reservations and the harsh reality that they will never fit in but can never go back. A lost generation in the flesh with dreams of a new America but with traditions in their blood that they will never be able to shake off, a small society at war with themselves. Bleak in content but beautiful visually. An important insight and a slice of modern American history.

Red Sonja
Dir: Richard Fleischer
1985
***
After the success of the Conan films the genre really took off but no film ever matched John Milius passionate Conan. Richard Fleischer directed the sequel, kept Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sandahl Bergman in the production as different characters and hoped everyone would get behind it. It's fun for sure. It also has a big Asian influence about it, Babycart among many other films come to mind. I think that is why it's enjoyable, it's stolen loads of great scenes from other great films; The water creature was from Star Wars for example, just elaborated. To be fair most of Star Wars was stolen, again from Asian films so I guess at best Red Sonja is a good example of fantasy/action film evolution. Lets not take it that seriously though, it's classic 80's fantasy cheese. We all fancied Brigitte Nielsen as Red Sonja, any guy that tells you he didn't is lying.