Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

The cornball jokes, and moments of non-horror didn't amount to anything in the path of the most massive plot hole I've ever seen in a movie. And that is: There is no reason for the scientists to create a female version of the monster. None at all. They have no reason and no understanding (beyond, possibly, the morbidly perverse, not mentioned on screen) of what will happen if they do. They just want to and then put them together. Then they do and a building falls down, the end.

That said, the little people in jars special effect was pretty good.

Marnie (1964)

Marnie is a woman who isn't in love with the man she somehow becomes married to. She has deep emotional scars and a severe fractured personality. Her husband sees good in her and tries to uncover the source of her mental illness. He does so, in the end, then kind of wipes his hands of the whole affair, claims everything to be fixed and leaves with his newly healthy wife.

Most of the movie is spent with two thoroughly unlikable leads (and occasionally, her mother) discussing an issue that isn't very interesting to begin with, until it resolves unsatisfactorily. Highly missable

The Barbarian Invasions (2003)

Pseudo-intellectual clap-trap concerning the nature of love, life and death. Where everyone spouts opinions and brief monologues, but nobody ever draws close to a conclusion. Relationships are paper-thin and side-stories (the police man, the lost computer) are tacked-on and also go nowhere.

The film tries its darnedest to be relevant, even going so far as to include footage (and another brief rambling) of the World Trade Center attacks. However as with everything else in this wandering, meandering film, it also suddenly appears, then disappears without comment. As a whole, this is deeply unrewarding and not worth the time.

Gimmie Shelter (1970)

One of the most arresting and intriguing rock documentaries that I have ever been glad to see. At times very close (though never deliberately 'personal') and at times very fly-on-the-wall, Gimmie Shelter does only one thing well: Show very thoroughly what its like to be one of the biggest bands of all time. It does that in spades. What you also get is how frustrating it is for them to try and give something back, to benefit others. Everything is out of their control and things spiral outwards from there.

This couldn't have been done any other way.

The Great Train Robbery (1903)

While most often touted as a historical milestone, this analysis does the film a great injustice. It is entertaining and exciting by today's standards and should be seen as a still excellent short film, rather than treating it as a museum piece for connoisseurs only.

Though nothing exceptional sticks out by today's standards (though, a scene showing a person being bodily thrown off a moving train is still surprisingly effective) it almost crackles with the energy and excitement that the cast/crew must've felt when making the film. It has an unbridled energy that is infective and leaves an indelible impression.

Notorious (1946)

A spy movie at its essence - with a focus entirely on the spying. The deceit, lying and skulking around with little assurance of your own safety. There are no flashy action sequences here, in fact, most of the action takes place off screen. The information uncovered while sleuthing is sent to those who need it, while never being quite enough.

Starting slow, with a lot of bulky relationship building, the payoff comes in the second half when all of the performers revel in the depth of their subtlety, weaving their performanced nuances to create a gripping tapestry of fear and intrigue.

Sunset Blvd. (1950)

For some reason people seem to have a bad relationship with black and white films. There are many explanations as for the root cause of this, but the result is - it's a damn shame. A movie as solidly good as this should not be missed by anyone, for any reason.

At times crushingly sad, at times intriguingly honest, Sunset, for me, spoke less about the Hollywood system than just about companionship itself. Throughout the film that's all anyone yearns for - their individual goals for attaining this are different, but their lofty end goal is the same wholly relatable experience. Highly recommended.

The Apartment (1960)

What could have been another missable farce completely redeems itself by injecting, at just the right moment, a huge dose of reality into itself. There's no other way to describe it - it feels like the filmmakers asked themselves this: "What would happen in a screwball comedy if the character's actions actually had consequences?" And for that, I thank them.

This is a supremely warm, funny film and, the characters - even while the gravitas of their situation sinks in - they carry on with a forced smile, daring themselves to keep things light - and they, in a totally endering way, succeed. Highly recommended.

Five Deadly Venoms (1978)

The only reason I can see that anybody should watch this feature, is to find the source of all the parodies that this has created over the years. Everything here, from the acting to the staging, the set design and even the way its lit, everything conspires to make this feel like you should not be taking it seriously.

Meanwhile, the story itself putters along in the background being completely inconsequential to the film as a whole. The conceit is there just to get these great fighters together, but when they do, even the epic fight sequences feel lacklustre in execution.

O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)

Firstly, the cinematography (or is it Julius Friede and Mike Bellamy's coloring that's to praise?) and the music are the two stand-out attractions of this feature. The story itself is also fairly compelling. It's the individual elements that don't stack up.

For example, the singing women. Sure, anyone intelligent can see what they're supposed to be, but in the context of the film: Why don't they stop singing long enough to say hello? That and the recurring references to hair gel - at no point did this obsession get them in or out of trouble and so felt ridiculously tacked on.

Attack the Gas Station! (1999)

Comprising the events during one night at a gas station during the robbery and occupation by a group of four young hoodlums, Attack moves from scene to scene with a kinetic frenzy that surges through the entire film.

From start to culminating completion, the elements and events introduced one at a time eventually, as they grow increasingly beyond their control, pile up on top of another. Gang comes against rival gang, police come against all gangs, the staff become semi-enamoured with the initial muggers and everyone else is against the teens. Very frenetic and as funny as it is action packed.

Akira (1988)

The problem with the human body is that the jaw can only drop so far. Once its hit its limit, that's all there is to it. If you have any semblance of understanding the work involved in animation, you will realise this very quickly while watching Akira.

While I want to fault my initial viewing of the film on a confusing, multi-faceted plot, I just can't. I feel that it has all the components there to be amazing, but I wasn't ready for how the film doled out its wealth of information and intrigue.

This is definitely one to be revisited.

Singin' in the Rain (1952)

While the movie as a whole was very good, I saw the story as being more interesting than the songs that are supposed to frame or enhance the story - in fact, I would have liked to have seen more of the films main story explored.

The songs themselves - while good as stand-alone pieces - oftentimes didn't fit entirely well (meaning transitions in to or out of) or felt as if they were slotted in in adjunct ways. This is especially notable in the film's climactic Broadway melody sequence, which dragged and had nothing to do with the film as a whole.

The Last Battle (1983)

In a desolate landscape, hand-to-hand combat featuring improvised weapons rules the land. What's more interesting than that is how the film creates its mythos around itself. At first, the hero doesn't speak because he's alone. Then nobody in groups talk to eachother - an unspoken method of tried-and-true actions dictate their behaviour? Then you realise that nobody is talking to anybody and by then, the amazing visuals and curious nature of his quest have drawn you in.

My only criticism is that the ending doesn't wrap things up - or leave things open ended enough - to be truly satisfying.

The Thin Man (1934)

A run-of-the-mill detective film which manages to complicate things about twenty minutes in by introducing several dozen characters while maintaining very little driving force to the plot itself. Soon after, the film pares back to basics with the reluctant detective focusing solely on the case at hand, up until the various threads opened in the first third need to come to a head.

The film itself is competent and remains interesting, if extraordinarily dated - specifically, if you don't find rampant alcoholism and (not so) subtle sexism to be funny, then the jokes are relatively thin on the ground.

The Public Enemy (1931)

While a competent film - about two street hoodlums who grow into a life of crime, especially bootlegging - made more interesting by the fact that it was made during the period that prohibition was in action (in America, at the time). The film itself is simply a run-of-the-mill Gangster film.

During the rise and inevitable fall of the two main characters, we get to see them grow and change, harden up and come into the constant ire of the police. There is an interesting dynamic arc going on with Powers' family which ultimately raises the integrity of the film.

Alien (1979)

While I can safely grant you that the practical effects are mind blowing, the set design is amazing and the mood is kept tense and excitable throughout the film... I can grant you those things.

What I didn't expect in going to see Alien for the first time was the amount of running back and forth down the same corridor for seemingly no reason and the rescuing (again and again) of a cat, once again, with no reason given. Though tense and visually appealing, a lot of the air is taken out of it due to these repetitious and unexplained exercises.

Drugstore Cowboy (1989)

Throughout this film, I spent most of it trying to figure out what it was I was seeing. Was this a love letter to drugs, told from a users point of view, or a condemnation of drugs? Ultimately, it seemed to come down to this: Some people use drugs; that's all.

Winding from one scene to the next, there seems to be no drive to the film except these facts: he uses, police want to catch him. Apart from that, there's remarkably little here and maybe that's because I can't relate to it, but to me it felt uneven and incomplete.

Greed (1924)

If I opened a thesaurus and listed, instead of a review, a hundred and one superlatives, that alone would be insufficient in conveying to you how absolutely fantastic this film is and how urgently you need to see it. If you have any interest in drama, romance, intrigue and interpersonal politics, this film has this and so much more in spades.

Immaculate from the most fleeting shot to the sweeping action sequences (always so tightly controlled due to limitations at the time) Greed is as close to a perfectly gripping tale from start to finish that you could ever hope for.

M (1931)

Can enough praise be heaped upon this? Firstly from the way the detectives meticulously pick over crime scenes (with notable the absence of fingerprinting or DNA) through to the hysteria and invasion of privacy in the name of "good" - the way it, not 'mirrors,' but still creepily echoes what still happens today - is mesmerising.

Then there's the way you see the crimes take place, then affect practically everyone but the killer. We hardly see him at all, let alone hear a word from him until almost the very end. The film is spectacularly put together, expertly done and very, very gripping.

Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

Released in 1942 and with a "patriotic sounding" name like that, I callously avoided this, fearing it was a run-of-the-mill "buy war bonds" positive emotion sweller. Turns out I couldn't be farther from the truth. What this is, in actual fact, is a fleshed out biofilm about a composer... which, for different reasons, happens to turn into a positive emotion sweller.

What stands out for me is Cagney's performance especially at the very end, turning his charm on himself and keeping himself feeling good. Which, not to sound nostalgic, but films nowdays could use a bit more of.

Buffalo '66 (1998)

Firstly, an admission: This is boring - unless you enjoy how its shot. Its long scenes drag and rarely feel like they're moving towards any form of conclusion and a lot of the time, as viewer, you're wondering why it is that you're watching these two people doing what they're doing. That's true.

What is more true, however, is that the film is so ultimately and satisfactorily worth it. The seemingly pointless, irredeemable characters and the meandering adventure they go on, unfolds in the back of your mind as the events of the final scenes play out and everything, simply, makes sense.

12 Angry Men (1957)

One should be careful when picking out this film for viewing, because there is a nearly identical 1997 remake with Tony Danza in it, and its not quite as good.

What makes both versions so good (more so the original black and white version, for its cinematography) is the way that the heat, the rain and everything that happens in that one confined space is framed so well and delivered, visually, so eloquently and poetically while the drama bubbles on in the background as we learn what happens and watch the "events" silently on the screen in our minds. Masterfully done.

Häxan (1922)

Often billed as a horror film, this in actual fact (at least during the one time I saw it) comes across as more of a documentary than a genre piece. Though, one should remember that "documentary" was a slightly nebulous term back then and as such this "history of witchcraft" involves reenactments and full body costumes in order to bring the historical events to life. This, what we would now consider 'unique' approach to the documentary gives it an involving feel, welcoming you into the events it depicts which lends it more a 'horror' theme than would otherwise, typically suit it.

Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker are names synonymous with the violent crime spree, and it seems that nowdays, people largely associate them with this film than with their real life counterparts. Which is a shame for the couple, but a coup for the film which really does live up to the hype.

Ultimately, though, what happens is that while you wait for what you know is coming - their final stand-off - you get to experience several days in the life of some truly care-free people.

Which, ultimately, I think, people should remember the film for that - their spirit - than for their demise.

Night of the Hunter (1955)

Although this is most often remembered for the "good" vs. "evil" struggle that has been parodied and referenced hundreds of times since, the one part of this darkly gripping film that sticks with me is a relatively simple shot - one of the "Hunter" outside the house as the mother sees him from within the house. It's a shot filled with tension that sums up what the rest of the film is like - taught and gripping throughout.

Meanwhile, the look of the film steals most of the remaining attention - the composition of shots is above par here. Well worth price of admission.

A Voyage to the Moon (1902)

This is one not seen for its acting (heavens, no) or its story (practicable, but not notable) but it is most interestingly seen with the eyes of someone wondering how they pulled off what they did. Your mind constantly reels from wondering what parts are models, paintings, cardboard or wooden props and how they decided, ultimately to use what they used.

The production is also extravagant with up to 40 or so people in shot - and in costume - at any one time. The spectacle of what you're seeing is more interesting - surpassing even so - than what you're supposed to be experiencing.