Three husbands 1950

Starring: Emlyn Williams

Three husbands receive letters from a dead friend claiming that he had affairs with each of their wives.

I'm having a bad run of Sunday movies at the moment. Loved the idea of this one, the beginning was good, the ending was excellent, but everything inbetween was just dull chatter, no light or shade and not funny. Such a shame.                         3/10

Romance of a Horse thief 1971

Starring: Yul Bruyner

In a Polish village in 1904 there is dismay when horses are commandeered by Cossacks for service in the Russo-Japanese war.

Yul Bruyner is right up there for me as an actor, genuine screen presence and always puts in a watchable performance. No change here, although he is under-used. Sorry to say that I found the movie a complete bore, an unintersting plot which was neither interesting, dramatic or funny. Don't waste your time with this one.         2/10

Pony soldier 1952

Starring: Tyrone Power

The Mounties settle the hash of Canadian Indian renegades who have been causing trouble on the American border.

Seemingly pretty much made on the cheap, this is mostly set in an Indian settlement  and I didn't find it the most interesting. All a bit formula and nothing memorable.         3/10

Ernest saves Christmas 1988

Starring:  Jim Varney

Santa Claus goes to America to find someone to take over his job.

There seem to be more Christmas movies around this year than ever before so I jumped on the band wagon to watch this one. It had some lovely moment sbut also others that didn't work. I found that Jim Varney massively overacted to such an extent that I never once even raied a smile whilst watching him. On the other hand, Santa Claus and the guy he attempts to recruit gave beautiful straight, underplayed performances which were a delight. Close to being really good but not quite....                                                                                                                           6/10

Hope and glory 1987

Starring: Sarah Miles

Adventures of a small boy and his family dyrung World war 11 in surburban London.

I'm not sure how authentic this was. But fascinating to see and there was something tragic about the matter of fact way that they dealt with death. A really strong plot and good performances, the film lost its way a little as the family moved into the country and the grandfather's performance was way too over the top. Well worth a view though.         8/10

Madness of the heart 1949

Starring: Margaret Lockwood

A blind girl marries a French aristocrat and has to cope with a jealous neighbour

A reasonable effort. Margaret Lockwood plays blind very effectively and is a likeable character. My main issue was that there was just no chemistry between her and her husband, maybe it's a time thing, amybe it was because he was from a well to-do French family, it just made the whole marriage a little unbelievable. Different as a movie though and that's always interesting.      5/10

The Limping man 1953

Starring: Lloyd Bridges

An American leaving his plane at Heathrow sees another passenger shot by a limping man.

After a promising start, this becomes a bit single paced and lacks any real excitement. A reasonable twist about 15 minutes from the end, but the actual finish itself was quite frankly a let out and a huge disappointment. Watch it on Youtube to see what I mean.      4/10

Annapolis 2005

Starring: James Franco

Set against the backdrop of boxing at the Naval Academy, centers on a young man from the wrong side of the tracks whose dream of attending Annapolis becomes a reality.

Basically, a rip off of An officer and a gentleman but I loved it. Basically, it focused on the failings of various recruits and headed towards the 'Brigades' boxing competition. The love interest was a slight irritant as it would never happen, but  you found yourself routing for the characters and it was a reasonable storyline. Predictable but it didn't stop my enjoyment.            8/10

She's out of my league 2008

Starring: Jay Baruchel

An average Joe meets the perfect woman, but his lack of confidence and the influence of his friends and family begin to pick away at the relationship.

Watching a teen movie every now and then is good for keeping you young. I worried that it would be too crude or silly, but I really loved it. Excellent leading performances with amusing back-up rolls. Just left me with a smile on my face.                  9/10

Mac and me 1988

Starring: Christine Ebersole

A family of aliens is inadvertently dumped in California

An unashmed complete rip-off of ET, the aliens even look almost identical. Nice touch having one of the kids in a wheelchair, not something that you see too often. How do grown men in suits run for such huge distances without ever seemingly getting tired? Rubbish but quite good fun.       7/10

Assignnment K 1968

Starring: Stephen Boyd

The European head of a toy firm is also head of a special spy unit.

Lots of spy movies made in the 1960's, this one has interest due to the roles played by actors who subsequently became famous. Not a great script and some very wooden acting, but the locations were easy on the eye and the plot continued to move along with lots of double-crossing. Not a bad effort.   5/10

Son of Robin Hood 1958

Starring: David Hedison

Robin's daughter joins with the Regent's brother to overthrow the Black duke.

Standard swashbuckling drama set around Sherwood forest. All the familiar merry men are there but drawing their pension. all reasonably light-hearted and although plot is week, it's a harmless enough jaunt.                  5/10

Charade 1963

Starring: Cary Grant

A Parisienne finds her husband murdered, four strange men are after her, and she is helped by a handsome stranger....But is he hero, spy or murderer?

Such a great cast, I was expecting great things. Sadly, I was disappointed. Okay, I could sit and watch Audrey Hepburn all day long, but the plot never caught my imagination, the characters were uninteresting and I'm afraid the whole thing dragged on way too long.      4/10

Meet Dr Christian 1939

Starring:  Jean Hersholt

A dedicated small-town doctor has no concern for financial reward.

A likeable movie set in a small-town community that turned into a short series of films. Until the last 10 minutes, it was all much ado about nothing and the drama at the end was hardly edge of the seat stuff. But it was easy viewing and I found myself at the end, wanting to watch more from the series.     6/10

The Man behind the gun 1952

Starring: Randolph Scott

A cavalry officer is sent to quell a rebellion and helps to found Los Angeles.

Standard civil war drama, not great acting and the plot is a little confused. But every now and then there are surprising moments of comedy or action that are completely unexpected and make you raise an eyebrow. Interesting for that reason alone.       4/10

Glorifying the American girl 1929

Starring: Mary Eaton

A chorus girl rejects her boy friend for the sake of stardom

Always fascinating to see films this old, more of a review show really. Not my thing but interesting in places.     3/10

Cause for alarm 1951

Starring: Loretta Young

A housewife tries frantically to retrieve a posted letter containing manufactured evidence which may put her on a murder charge.

Takes a little while to get going and is a bit single paced early on, once you get to the meat of the plot, this is not a bad little thriller where you feel the wife's frustration and desperation. Ending leaves you wondering a bit. Not a bad movie and nice and short.        6/10

The Big hit 1998

Starring: Mark Wahlberg

To payoff his second girlfriend's debt, hitman Melvin Smiley undertakes a kidnapping job with his usual associates. In a world of prospective Jewish in-laws and late movie fees, the hitman falls in love with the victim and must settle the score with those out to double-cross him. 

I'm not the biggest fan of black comedies but I actually really enjoyed this one. After a slightly tiresome, shoot-out start, this settled down to be an amusing story with Wahlberg, Lou Diamond Phillips and China Chow all really likeable. A few bits missed the spot but as black comedies go, this was right up there.          6/10

Thicker than water 2005

Starring: Melissa Gilbert


After discovering her late father once married a rodeo queen, an attorney travels into horse country and finds more family.

I love Hallmark movies. The stories are simple, easy to follow and you always end up with a smile on your face. Lindsay Wagner puts in the strongest performance here as an aging cowgirl but all the performers are watchable. Not high drama, not edge of the seat stuff but thoroughly enjoyable.       9/10

Miami Blues 1990

Starring: Alec Baldwin

A dogged policeman follows the trail of a murderous criminal who pretends to be an undercover cop.

Kind of a black comedy / action movie. Alec Baldwin is very watchable although you're never quite sure of his motivation or whether he's just psychotic. Excellent chemistry between him and the lovely Jennifer Jason Leigh with Fred Ward also turning in a good performance.         7/10

Voodoo man 1944

Starring: Bela Lugosi

A mad scientist kidnaps young girls and reduces them to zombies.

Complete nonsense but great fun. A sheriff who looked like he should have been retired for 10 years, 2 goons who were so bad that they were amusing and a bunch of pretty girls walking around in white sheets. What's not to like?     7/10

The man in the white suit

Starring: Alec Guinness

A scientist produces a fabric that never gets dirty and never wears out. Unions and management are equally aghast.

I loved the idea of this story, but it never got going for me. Considering it's billed as a comedy, I only actually laughed once. I'm trying to work out why I didn't engage with the movie and think it's because I didn't ever feel any empathy toward Guinness's character. He was just too cold for me and therefore,  I never found myself routing for him.   4/10

The Bandit of Sherwood forest 1946

Starring: Cornel Wilde

Robin Hood frustrates the Regent who plans to usurp the throne from the boy king.

Basically, son of Robin Hood. But they kept it simple, a plot similar to the original Robin Hood story, all the old familiar characters and all the elements that you want in a good swash-buckler. I really enjoyed it.       8/10

Ladies who do 1963

Starring: Peggy Mount

Charladies form a successful company from tips they salvage from wastepaper baskets.

It's difficult to ever empathise with Peggy Mount and that harsh, booming delivery that she had. Having said that, this was a bit of fun. As implausible as the plot was, it made you smile and it was nice to see Harry H Corbett in his prime and Robert Morley was almost bearable to watch.        7/10

Jeremy 1973

Starring: Robby Benson

A music student falls in love with a ballet dancer.

A lovely chemistry between the two actors with a perfect music underscore. You realise how well this is being done as when it becomes intimate, you feel like you're intruding. I'd never heard of this before seeing it but it's a really beautiful movie.          9/10

Red sundown 1956

Starring: Rory Calhoun

A gunslinger becomes a deputy and tames a lawless town.

Standard Western with its plot but moved along at a nice pace and I found it very watchable. No surprises, but easy on the eye.       7/10

Horror express 1972

Starring:  Peter Cushing

In 1906 China a fossilized missing link comes to violent life on a train.

My theory that you never get a bad movie on a train was severely tested here. Christopher Lee looked ridiculous and was as wooden as can be, Cushing was marginally better and quite what Terry Savalas was thinking about... This reminded me of the horror films I used to watch late on a Friday night when I was a kid. It fell into the, so bad it became quite good category.      4/10

THe Guardian 2006

Starring: Kevin Costner

A high school swim champion with a troubled past enrolls in the U.S. Coast Guard's "A" School, where legendary rescue swimmer Ben Randall teaches him some hard lessons about loss, love, and self-sacrifice.

I have a theory that no Kevin Costner movie ever comes in at even close to under 2 hours, this was no exception. A bit like Top gun for coastguards. It had some good scenes, the chemistry between Costner & Ashton Kutcher was really good. This worked best during the training scenes, the last hal hour somehow lacked the thrill and excitement of similar movies. Not bad though.       6/10

The Westerner 1940

Starring: Gary Cooper

Judge Roy Bean comes to grief through his love for Lily Langtry.

Sorry to say that I just found this plain dull, really never ignited any interest and no character ever seemed to get animated at any point in the movie.            2/10

The Karate kid Part 11 1986

Starring: Ralph Macchio

Daniel's teacher heads back to Okinawa where his father is gravely ill.

The original Karate kid holds fond memories, this doesn't quite live up to it. It's all a little pointless, the plot and acting is decidedly second rate and the pantomime villain character just gets irritating in the end. Still watchable though.                 6/10

Village at the end of the World 2012

Documentary

Village At The End Of The World is a witty, surprising and ultimately feel good portrait of an isolated village of 59 people and 100 sledge dogs, surviving against the odds.

With the purchase of a new film book, I'm now watching movies more recent than 1991 for the first time. What a wonderful way to start, this documentary moves you in so many ways. Humanity being as close to wild animals in many ways but without brutality, just nature. Stunning photography and absolutely fascinating.                    10/10

I know where I'm going 1945

Starring: Wendy Hiller

A determined girl travels to the Hebrides to marry a wealthy old man, but is stranded on Mull and marries a young naval officer instead.

Lost a bit over time, but harmless viewing with some stunning locations and amusing to hear the clipped tones. The storm scene in the boat was actually quite effective and a loved the old lady who was the radio operator.                  4/10

Five corners 1988

Starring: Jodie Foster

Four old friends meet again when one of them is released from prison.

Well constructed and nicely filmed, this is a deeply shocking movie in many ways. Apart from Jodie Foster, there really isn't one likeable character in the movie, this along with the brutal murder of a penguin and a psychopath's mother, make it difficult to watch. Having said that, it continues to surprise you all the way through.                       6/10

99 River street 1953

Starring: John Payne

A taxi driver becomes involved in a diamond robbery.

Ex prize-fighter come taxi driver gets tied up with criminals. Small time movie and all fairly routine and forgettable.                  4/10         

In cold blood 1967

Starring: Robert Blake

An account of a real life crime in which an entire family was brutally murdered by wandering gunmen.

Harrowing story which was very effective in black and white. For the majority of the story, you never saw the crime committed, you just heard a scream. I thought this was brilliant, sadly in the last 20 mins we were  shown a depiction of the gratuitous violence. Somehow, you couldn't take your eyes off this movie.       7/10

The Kettles on Old Macdonald's farm 1957

The third of the Kettles series that I've seen. They're just good old-fashioned, harmless viewing. This didn't make me laugh quite as much as the others but I still found lots of it amusing. Just lots of slapstick joined together with a fairly loose plot really.         6/10

He walked by night 1948

Starring: Richard Basehart

A burglar becomes a cop-killer and is hunted down by the police.

A little like Criminal minds from the 1940's. Some of the police profiling was interesting, the movie zipped along at a good pace with a convincing villain. Also interesting to see the climax down the LA storm drain tunnels. Quite a good little thriller.             8/10

 

Son of Kong 1933

Starring: Robert Armstrong

After Kong has wrecked New York, producer Carl Denham flies from his creditors and finds more monsters on the old island.

The inevitable sequel. Not up to the original, but it is short and quite a laugh with the monster not bad for its day.                    4/10

Night of the juggler 1980

Starring: James Brolin

A new Yorker relentlessly pursues the kidnapper of his daughter.

Certainly never boring, the pace and action never ease and James Brolin's character must have the stamina of a marathon runner. Not a great advert for New York, apart from a couple of exceptions, I wouldn't want to spend more than 10 seconds in the company of any of the characters major or minor from this movie.                                     7/10

Bird of paradise 1932

Starring: Joel McCrea

An adventurer on a South sea island marries a native girl and causes trouble.

Apart from the beginning and end, Joem McCrea is the only one speaking English. So you here a lot of quite possible made up foreign language and suitable south-sea, occasionally dramatic music. Having said that it was amusing enough, a sort of Tarzan who speaks the perfect Queen's English.      6/10

Prisoner of war 1954

Starring: Ronald Reagan

Life in a communist prison camp in Korea

Not sure how factual this was or whether it was propaganda. What it was, even after 6o years, was hard-hitting. Some of the torture methods used were simply barbaric and whatever the circumstances, no human being should ever treat another like this. Interesting, thought-provoking and just made me a little angry.         6/10

The Odd couple 1968

Starring: Jack Lemmon

A fussy divorse-shocked newswriter moves in with his sloppy sportscaster friend, and they get on each other's nerves.

I'm not the greatest fan of Lemmon or Matthau or to that matter Neil Simon. So I wasn't expecting much from this movie. But being contrary, I found myself loving it. Some of the throwaway lines were hilarious and the two leads complemented each other perfectly. The four poker friends were great and you really felt they were all comfortable in each others company and had known each other for years. Finally, the Pigeon sisters were wonderful and utterly hilarious. This will teach me to pre-judge a movie!   8/10

I'd climb the highest mountain 1951

Starring: Susan Hayward

A Methodist preacher and his wife face the problems of life in a remote part of North Georgia

Pleasant enough viewing with likeable characters. The problem was, they were all likeable, there wasn't really any light and shade and I felt the movie could have been a little more hard-hitting in places. It copped out rather as an ending and you never felt that you'd got a full-rounded story. Having said that, it was easy viewing.     5/10

Odette 1950

Starring: Anna Neagle

A Frenchwoman with an English husband spies for the French resistance, is caught and tortured.

Well acted by Anna Neagle with an endearing performance also by Peter Ustinov. Occasionally, this movie hit the mark but I found the pace too slow and it lacked a required despiration and build up of tension.       4/10

Golden earrings 1947

Starring: Ray Milland

A British intelligence officer is helped by a gypsy to sneak a poison gas formula out of Nazi Germany

A mixture of drama and comedy. Ray Milland is dashing and Marlene Dietrich  makes the most of her every moment on screen, she also has the most gorgeous pair of eyes I ever remember seeing. This is just a little bit different and forgetting the fact that the plot is slightly daft, I loved it!
My one criticism, starting the movie in the future removes the element of suspense as you know that Milland's character will come out alive.            8/10

Go for broke 1951

Starring: Van Johnson

World war 2 exploits of Japanese-American soldiers.

Has a semi-documentary element to it as well as being a routine action war movie. The uniqueness of this outfit gives the movie interest and it is presented with a certain lightness that made it likeable.     5/10

 

The Stars look down 1939

Starring: Michael Redgrave

The son of a coal miner struggles to become an MP.

Every now and then I bump into one of these gritty, British, working class dramas. The movie drifted along somewhat with some drama at the beginning and an excellent last 25 minutes. If anything, it needed to be longer, as storylines and relationships were worked on but not built up sufficiently to give the movie additional impact.     5/10

The Man who haunted himself 1970

Starring: Roger Moore

After recovering from a road accident, a staid businessman finds that he has an evil doppelganger who steals his wife and job.

Despite the daft premise, a truely awful performance by Pelham's lover, a bizarre performance by his doctor and a tune that ran through the film that I'll be humming for days, I actually rather enjoyed this. Moore in his prime playing a different kind of role.           9/10

Africa screams 1949

Starring: Abbott & Costello

Two dumbells go on safari with a treasure map

I've always been a bit of a fan of Abbott & Costello. This was one of their better movies for me, a tight plot and although this made me smile, rather than laugh out loud and occasionally the gags went on just a little too long, this was an enjoyable start to Sunday mornings in 2014.      7/10