Shameless Self Expression

Set in British-occupied Cyprus in the 1950s, Dirk Bogarde stars as Maj. McGuire who gets involved (romantically, despite supposedly having a wife back home in England) with American-Cypriot Susan Strasberg, who is in the country as an archaeology student. She’s staying with relatives, a Cypriot family headed by Joseph Furst. The brooding George Chakiris is also a frequent and shady visitor of the residence. When two soldiers are killed, Strasberg is a witness to the event, but McGuire isn’t convinced by her vague version of events. She must know more than she’s letting on, and so he keeps putting pressure on her. Meanwhile, radically-minded Chakiris is skulking about, highly suspicious of Strasberg and not being very fond of Americans in general. Gregoire Aslan plays a Cypriot rebel, Denholm Elliott is a hard-drinking Brit operative and acquaintance of McGuire, and Nigel Stock is McGuire’s S.O.   Uneven, rather vague 1965 film from director Ralph Thomas ( “Venetian Bird” , “A T...

Essie Davis has been raising her 6 year-old son Noah Wiseman since a tragic car accident took her husband’s life on the day the boy was born. She clearly hasn’t quite recovered from the grief, and not making matters easier is the volatile behaviour of young Wiseman, who doesn’t appear to play well with others. One day he gives her a book to read him at bedtime. This is the book of the film’s title, though Davis claims to have never seen the book before and wonders where the boy got it. As she reads it, she realises the book and the ghastly illustrations accompanying it are anything but appropriate for children. Basically, it concerns a demonic creature lurking in the shadows that wants to kill. Uh, and it’s also a pop-up book for good measure. Yeah. Wiseman is terrified, Davis gets rid of the book and that’s the end of that, she hopes. It’s not...boy is it ever not. Noises, shadows, and sheer terror ensue.   A huge surprise from writer-director Jennifer Kent, this 2014 psycholo...

Set in early 20 th century Germany, a spate of bizarre deaths have spiked during nights with a full moon. The bodies weirdly seem to turn to stone. Inspector Patrick Troughton (and his seriously awesome helmet) suspects young Jeremy Longhurst of the murders after his girlfriend is one of the victims, and Longhurst himself is found dead. Murder-suicide it is, then. Longhurst’s father Michael Goodliffe suspects otherwise, and tries to enlist the help of the local medical examiner, Peter Cushing, who performed the autopsy on Longhurst’s girlfriend. Cushing won’t be drawn further into the matter, however. Eventually Goodliffe’s other son Richard Pasco and his mentor Christopher Lee come to start an investigation of their own. Barbara Shelley plays Cushing’s assistant, whom Pasco takes a fancy to, much to Cushing’s displeasure. Jack Watson plays another employee of Cushing.   One of Hammer’s forgotten monster movies somewhat, this 1964 effort from Terence Fisher ( “Curse of Franken...

The story of a 10 year-old boy (debutant Roman Griffin Davis in the title role) who is a fervent Nazi, and indeed he has Hitler (Taika Waititi) for an imaginary best friend! The plot involves Jojo’s exploits in a branch of the Hitler Youth, and the revelation that a Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie) has been hiding in the walls of the home that Jojo shares with his mother Rosie (Scarlett Johansson). Sam Rockwell and Rebel Wilson play Hitler Youth camp instructors (or in Wilson’s case a bogan Hitler Youth camp instructor), and Stephen Merchant plays a Gestapo agent.   It’s not easy to successfully mix humour and Nazi Germany in cinema. Even Charlie Chaplin’s excellent “The Great Dictator” had those regrettable scenes depicting Jewish ghettos. Chaplin himself apparently later regretted making the film, having not know the true extent of the atrocities being carried out. Roberto Benigni managed to do a terrific job with “Life is Beautiful” where the main character’s use of comedy...