Film Reviews by KW

The story of two people who fall in love and the tragic consequences of the that. Excellent performances from the lead actors and the supporting group are also excellent. The raw emotions of the love affair are handled beautifully together with the acceptance of their family's and friends. Not a film for the faint-hearted!

What a let down, the synopsis read as though this could be a great disc to watch. Regretfully that was not the case, very few laughable moments and the cast seemed to be trying their hardest to get the scripts to work, without much avail. My partner claimed I laughed out loud about 3/4 times during the various episodes. I felt sorry for the actors trying to make something of what was obviously not working. I cannot in all honesty recommend this disc unless you want something to help cure insomnia!

I thought the days of the Merchant Ivory classic films were long gone and along comes this gem, with a wonderful script that kept the film moving along allowing one to absorb the changing emotions of the lead characters as their relationship develops. Visually excellent absorbing one into the landscape of Italy and with a Oscar nominated performance from Timothy Chalamet that for me was sublime, and a joy to watch.

Three films covering the issues of a third person entering an existing partnership, and the impact it can have on people and how they react and also how their friends also interact with them. Each film works in its own way but for me they lacked that important ingredient of keeping one glued to the film and a lack of empathy with the characters.

Persuaded by my partner to watch in 3D and was surprised how the film kept moving at a good pace, the acting was excellent and visually 5 star. Wholesome family entertainment.

I really enjoyed this set of vignettes entered around dates, hook ups etc. being made in the coffee houses of Los Angeles and the subsequent follow ons to them. Each one had a story line I could respond / emphasise with and each one was just long enough to get the message it was trying to convey over. It would be hard to pick out one singularly and the army of known gay actors playing their various roles were a joy to watch. My one regret is that at just over 70 minutes it ended too soon.

Interesting film about the massive clearance of German WW2 mines of the beaches of Denmark. The work is entrusted to young German soldiers probably roped into the war during the latter days of it, with the proviso they can go home when all the mines are cleared. A hard nosed sergeant determined to get the job done no matter what, as he has to report to a more senior officer who seems to have got to where he has by hanging onto the shirt tails of his more senior officers. What struck me was the fact that the Danes wanted the beaches cleared at what ever cost, but at the same time seemed to have had little knowledge or understanding of what they were dealing with it!

A very interesting film covering the exposure of the Pentagon Papers, exposing the sham that the US was winning the war in Vietnam when it was not, and the cover ups that various Presidents had previously sanctioned. Added to that the volatility of then President Nixon and his reaction to any adverse press comments you have the perfect mix for an excellent film. Add to that the financial problems of the Washington Post and its potential floatation on the New York Stock Market and you have two central themes to this excellent film. Acting wise the star for me was Meryl Streep as Katherine Graham having been forced to take over running the paper on the death of her husband, manage the flotation and champion her editor Ben Bradlee, an excellent performance from Tom Hanks, in agreeing to publish the papers knowing that the White House will use all their powers to stop them. Add to that the Supreme Court ruling in their favour the perfect denouement to this very watchable film.

Surrounding historical events with slap stick is a very risky business to get right and in part this worked and also failed. My problem was Beria played by Simon Russell Beale, who gave an excellent performance with what poor ammunition he had to work with and in the end I could not care whether he won, lost or vanished. The only thing the film did for me was to wonder if suddenly President Putin died would there be similar machinations in the Kremlin as to who should succeed!

Interesting film about the growing up of MIKU who gets dropped in it by his elder brother and is forced to have to spend the summer with his parents at the their country home and where he meets ELIAS. A friendship develops between the two of them but lurking in the background are issues related to ELIAS and the film then handles MIKU's acceptance of them that ultimately leads to telling his parents of his sexuality. Interesting film in parts, at times I felt it was close to losing its way, but the acting of the cast carried it through. Not a classic but watchable.

One of those films that promises so much but the execution leaves one wondering what was the point. Parts of the film are good, offset by some very tedious moments, not a film I can recommend!

Interesting film covering the the start of the OTTOMAN tragedy of world war one, perhaps with a grain of truth to some of the story line and a lot of fiction.

Remakes of classic films are always a risk and this version highlights the risk. For me the weakest part was the script which could have been more tight and given the actors something to get their teeth into. Try as hard as they could the actors were fighting a lost cause to get anything out of the script and Sir Kenneth's low key performance as Hercule. I hope the final comment at the end of the film' of a Death on the Nile was not an advance notice of another remake!

Concept was fine, the actual film delivered on screen left me feeling that a major opportunity had been missed!

Interesting adaption of Ms Christies Crooked House which kept me guessing until about 80% through when what I thought was a crazy assumption as to the murderer began unravel. Good to look at the, period shots and clothing were spot on, and the cast of well know British actors joined by Glenn Close played their roles to perfection.