Tales of the Night
Dir: Michel Ocelot
2011
**
Tales of the Night is my first experience of the critically acclaimed animator Michel Ocelot, an artist I've been meaning to catch up with for a while now. The tales are original yet somewhat familiar but to be honest only the one with the little Jamaican boy interested me. The animation is unique, colourful and as simple as it is detailed. It just wasn't to my taste. I can't really fault it other than it's just not my cup of tea but the choice of voices for the English dubbed version are bloody awful which really didn't help. Recommended to Michel Ocelot fans only I would suggest, I'm afraid I found it colourful but rather dull.

Jennifer's body
Dir: Karyn Kusama
2009
*
In Jennifer's body Karyn Kusama relays heavily on cheap titillation in the absence of decent story or performances. Her past career as a music video director is obvious as the film plays like a sting of music videos played back to back with nothing but three characters connecting them. The film is full of puzzling but ultimately pointless scenes that create a sense of suspense right up until the end of the film whereby none of them are explained, the sub-plots are dropped and you realise that the film is ultimately a fraud. If you like looking at Megan Fox as much as Karyn Kusama does then I dare say you'll like it but for everyone else you're out of luck I'm afraid. It's also worth mentioning that this film contains the worst dialogue I've heard in a film for quite some time.

King Kong Lives
Dir: John Guillermin
1986
****
Not to be taken seriously but much like its predecessor, it's seriously entertaining. Okay, the original wasn't great in the classic sense but got by on 'So bad it's good' credentials although not without it's own credit. King Kong Lives is all out B-Movie 'So bad it's fantastic'. Yes, it's badly written, has a terrible story and poor performances but the scenes in which King Kong flirts with his newly found mate are hilarious and make the film worth watching alone. You also have the 'King Kong escapes' scene, the 'King Kong' steps on suburbia' scene, 'King Kong has a heart transplant' scene and my favorite, 'King Kong bites a group of camping red-necks in half' scene. It's B-Movie gold and quite frankly, what is King Kong if not the ultimate B-Movie? People say that producer Dino De Laurentiis was a mad man with unrealistic visions but I totally disagree. All good B-Movies should be played straight and all should give the people what they want. If you want to watch a serious film then a movie about a 100 foot Ape probably isn't for you anyway!

The Big Year
Dir: David Frankel
2011
***
This film is nice. Now, there is nothing wrong with the word nice, it may not be the most exciting adjective in the world but there is nothing wrong with what it represents. Okay, I'll try to go one better, this film is pleasant. I'm not trying to be funny, it's just one of those non-offensive and just down-right nice films that is just pleasant to watch. I know people were disappointment considering the 3 main high energy cast members, each with a unique comedy style but what did people really want to see? Did you really want this to be a 'Goofy', 'Slapstick', or even 'Gross-out' comedy. I certainly didn't and I'm relieved it wasn't. I suppose it's like Birding itself, easy to make fun of but it's actually quite a lovely thing to do. There is nothing wrong with appreciating the simple things in life, if you agree, I recommend this film to you.

The Beaver
Dir: Jodie Foster
2011
*****
As debuts go, Jodie Foster has done pretty well, especially as she co-stars in it too. She could have taken the story and really schmaltzed it up or turned it into an awful physical slap-stick comedy - missing the point entirely. She knew what she was doing and she achieved it, not perfectly but at the required level. I do feel sorry for her though, as this film should and would have done better had it not have been for Mel Gibson's public downfall. I'm not judging this film based on Mr. Gibson's personal views though, I'm basing it on his performance and I have to say, it's one of the greatest performances I've ever seen. I exaggerate not. To do what he did convincingly takes pure talent; it might be overlooked now but I have no doubt that this will be regarded as a future classic - A contemporary Harvey even. It's just a shame then that he is somewhat let down by his younger co-stars who are given far too much screen time considering their (lack of) talent. Ignore them though, Gibson's performance alone rockets this films rating to a 5 star rating.

Death of a Scoundrel
Dir: Charles Martin
1956
*****
Clementi Sabourin is one of cinema's greatest characters and George Sanders makes sure of it in a performance that, in my humble opinion, is just as strong as Orson Welles's Citizen Kane. George Sanders was a classic Hollywood hell raiser, whether it was an act or not, his performances are still unmatched in their effortless superiority. Why isn't Death of a Scoundrel more universally celebrated, I honestly don't know. It could have and should have been a little bit more gritty but a more noir style wouldn't have suited it. Maybe it should have been grander, truth be told another director probably could have given it that extra something but all credit to Charles Martin, his idea was his own and he did a fantastic job. The performances are the important element anyway, George Sanders, Yvonne De Carlo, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Victor Jory and Nancy Gates are all immaqulate in their performances. Serge Rubenstein, whose life the film is based on, may have invented modern crime but George Sanders brought life to it and made it one of the best crime stories of all time. The thinking man's Scarface.

In the City of Sylvia
Dir: José Luis Guerín
2007
**
I like minimalist cinema. When the director, actors and cinematographer etc can tell a story of a thousand words with the subtlest of gestures it can be a wonderful thing. In the City of Sylvia is just a collection of nicely composed scenes starring ex-models. Strasbourg is a beautiful City, so it's hard not to appreciate the films visuals but that is all there is to it. The script is non-existent, I have no problem with that but in this case it is a cop out. There is nothing of quality, depth or intelligence here. No magic, no statement, no thought and for me, no enjoyment. Most importantly though, there is no passion. We are lead to believe that our protagonist is a dreamer, a voyager, a searcher and a lover but stick him in a pair of white underpants and you've got yourself a sub-standard Calvin Klein advert, nothing more.  I admire a nice City, a pretty Girl and good composition but good cinema requires more.