Film and TV

Blu-ray: Black Joy (1977) Directed by Anthony Summers and released in ‘flares-tastic’ 1977, Black Joy is based on Jamal Ali’s acclaimed stage play ‘Dark Days and Light Nights’ and tells the story of Ben (Trevor Thomas), a naïve Guyanese immigrant who learns the hard way about life on the streets of Brixton. As soon as […]

Blu-ray: Track 29 (1988) Adapted from Dennis Potter’s BBC TV play Schmoedipus, director Nicolas Roeg crafts a disturbing, and at times head scratching, narrative that often keeps you guessing at what is real and what is imagined. Linda (Theresa Russell) is an unhappy, alcoholic, and possibly delusional, housewife whose life changes when Martin (Gary Oldman) […]

Digital & DVD: Blue (2017)  A fantastic companion piece to the previously reviewed ‘Sharkwater Extinction‘, Sparky Pictures release another documentary that makes you take another look at the human race and the way in which we (mis)treat planet Earth. Beginning with more footage of how the shark population is being decimated for the sake of […]

DVD: They Call Her…Cleopatra Wong (1978) What is Cleopatra Wong, I hear you say? Well it’s not what you’d expect…and no, it’s not ‘Cleopatra gone wrong’. It’s a 1978 low budget action/martial arts movie. I was listening to Episode 169 (aptly numbered) of the 60 Minutes With podcast (an S.O.S. show with Dave and Tina) […]

Blu-ray: Who? (1974) Adapted from the novel by Algis Budry, Who? is a mixture of cold war thriller and sci-fi adventure, where the narrative keeps you guessing as to the final outcome right until the end. When acclaimed American scientist Dr. Lucas Martino (Joseph Bova) is involved in a car accident on the East German […]

Blu-ray & DVD: Undercover (1943) Undercover is a fascinating curiosity piece for many reasons, one being that it is the first movie appearance by Stanley Baker as a fresh faced 16 year old schoolboy who wants to help out in the war effort in Yugoslavia. Made by Ealing studios, the movie concentrates on Yugoslav partisans […]

DVD: West of Sunshine (2017) Jim (Damian Hill) is separated from his wife and it is his turn to look after their son Alex (Ty Perham) for the day. Unfortunately, this day is like no other as Jim owes $1500 to a loan shark and has to make payment in full by 5pm. So begins a […]

Blu-ray & DVD: Mary Reilly (1996) Perhaps I should mention that Julia Roberts who plays Mary Reilly was nominated for Worst Actress by the Razzie Awards, and Stephen Frears was nominated for Worst Director…both lost.  However, that should tell you the reader that Roberts performance in Mary Reilly is nothing short of magnificently awful. Reilly […]

Blu-ray: The Big Clock (1948) I love Charles Laughton, he’s one of those actors, I suppose not really known or even in vogue now, that with the slightest twitch of his face, can emote a million feelings. He’s been in so many of my favourite films (Spartacus, Hobson’s Choice amongst many others) and I was […]

Blu-ray, DVD, Digital: No Kidding (1960) David Robinson (*cough* great name *cough* played by Leslie Phillips) and his wife Catherine (Geraldine McKewan) have been left a dilapidated country house by an Aunt in her will. Much to the chagrin of his poor wife, David has left a trail of failed business ideas behind them, and […]