Blu-ray & DVD: The National Health (1973) The National Health intertwines the real life happenings on a male NHS ward where resources are low and death is not uncommon, with a fantasy soap opera world (entitled ‘Nurse Norton’s Affair’) in the same building, which has plush surroundings and everyone is miraculously cured, all wrapped up […]
Blu-ray: Aquarius (2016) Sônia Braga is a tour de force as the central character Clara, the last resident of Aquarius Apartments in Recife Brazil. Her stubborn refusal to sell up and move out brings her into conflict with the planners and developers who want her out of her very desirable beach front property. A running […]
Blu-ray & DVD: The Deadly Affair (1966) Charles Dobbs (James Mason…a man whose voice I could listen to all day) has an innocuous chat with Foreign Office employee Samuel Fennan (Robert Flemying) in a park, but hours later Fennan is found dead after an apparent suicide. Hobbs is not satisfied that is was indeed suicide […]
Blu-ray & DVD: Cops vs Thugs (1975) In 1963 Japan, a fragile peace exists between two rival Yakuza gangs that is overseen by hard boiled cop Kuno (Bunta Sugawara). Kuno is friends with gang leader Kenji (Hiroki Matsukata) and they often share information which is mutually beneficial to help keep the status quo. As you […]
Blu-ray & DVD: A Day In The Death Of Joe Egg (1972) Based on the play by Peter Nichols (who also wrote the screenplay for the movie) A Day In The Death Of Joe Egg tells the story of Bri (Alan Bates) and Sheila (Janet Suzman) who are parents to a severely disabled daughter. Their […]
Blu-ray: My Life As A Courgette (2016) 9 year old ‘Courgette’ (his nickname from his mother) is fatherless and lives in relative squalor with his alcoholic mother. When his solo attempt at amusing himself with empty beer cans that he collected from the litter filled floors goes horribly wrong, it results in the accidental death […]
Blu-ray & DVD: The Reckoning (1970) Michael ‘Mick’ Marler (Nicol Williamson) is one of the top men at Grenville. He’s devious and committed and no one would ever know he’s the son of poor working class Irish immigrants from Liverpool. He has it all; the job, the big car, amazing house, vacuous friends and the […]
Blu-ray & DVD: The Slayer (1982) Troubled artist Kay (Sarah Kendall) suffers with disturbing dreams and visions, which she also incorporates into her artwork. Her husband Eric (Frederick Flynn) decides to take her on holiday to a remote island to relax, along with her brother David (Alan McRae) and his wife, Brooke (Carol Kottenbrook). Once […]
DVD: Tower of London (1939) I reviewed the 1962 version of Tower of London here, and it was interesting to compare and contrast between that Roger Corman version and this 1939 movie directed by Rowland V. Lee. The story is still essentially the same; Prince Richard (Duke of Gloucester) is determined to be crowned King of […]
DVD: Dr. Cyclops (1940) Based on the short story of the same name by Henry Kuttner, Dr. Cyclops tells the story of Dr. Thorkel (Albert Dekker, whose untimely death in 1968 is a story itself!) who has been using radium to shrink animals. With his eyesight failing, he invites 3 fellow scientists to help with […]