Shameless Self Expression

Set in 1989 as the Berlin Wall is set to crumble, Charlize Theron stars as an MI6 agent tasked with retrieving an important list of undercover agents wanted by interested parties in both the East and West. She’s also got a side mission of identifying and rubbing out a supposed double agent. James McAvoy plays a scuzzy-looking British Intelligence officer in Berlin, Sofie Boutella plays Theron’s love interest (and a novice agent in her own right), John Goodman is a CIA bigwig, James Faulkner is the head of MI6, with Toby Jones his number two. This should’ve been right up my alley.   An 80s-infused spy actioner with a smokin’ hot lesbian protagonist from the co-director of “John Wick” . How on Earth did this one end up a bit disappointing? Directed by David Leitch (who also gave us “Deadpool 2” and “Hobbs & Shaw” ) and scripted by Kurt Johnstad (“300” , “Act of Valour” ), this adaptation of a graphic novel series contains a frankly boring plot and a really disjointed structu...

Angry, college-educated black man Johnny (Billy Dee Williams) becomes embittered and enraged and radicalised, joining the black revolutionary movement. D’Urville Martin plays one of his revolutionary pals, Raymond St. Jacques plays his intense revolutionary mentor, Nate Esformes is a Jewish shop owner, and R.G. Armstrong plays the ineffectual father of Johnny’s white girlfriend. Sam Gilman has a very brief role as a wise old white dude.   Sometimes interesting but extremely disjointed 1972 social activist blaxploitation flick from writer-director Oscar Williams ( “Five on the Black Hand Side” , writer of “Black Belt Jones” and “Truck Turner” ) is never as successful as you want it to be. Star Billy Dee Williams must’ve seen something in it or at least the play it’s based on because although he’s not listed among the credited producers (which include co-star D’Urville Martin and an uncredited Roger Corman), the film comes from ‘Billy Dee Williams Enterprises’. The future Lando ...

British Major Stewart Granger recruits a bunch of criminals for a dangerous assignment to rescue an Italian General currently imprisoned by the Nazis in occupied Yugoslavia. Raf Vallone plays the brains of the bunch, Mickey Rooney is a pugnacious IRA explosives expert, Henry Silva a cold-blooded assassin, Edd Byrnes an expert forger whilst William Campbell is essentially a huckster and thief. They will each have full pardons on completion of the mission should any survive.   Director Roger Corman ( “Little Shop of Horrors” , “The Tomb of Ligeia” , “Masque of the Red Death” ) and screenwriter R. Wright Campbell ( “Masque of the Red Death” , “Hells Angels on Wheels” ) give us a pretty solid 1964 B-movie blend of “The Dirty Dozen” and “The Guns of Navarone” here. As you’d expect from the very economic Roger Corman (mostly known as a prolific, penny-pinching producer – brother Gene has that duty here), the film gets off and running fairly quick after the literally explosive openi...

Several years after aliens invaded Earth and a large population of its inhabitants capitulated to them, a resistance seems to be emerging. There is talk of a political assassination, and police commander John Goodman is investigating matters. Vera Farmiga plays a literal Jane Doe, Alan Ruck is a former teacher, D.B. Sweeney (remember him?) and a rather gaunt-looking Kevin J. O’Connor play two of Goodman’s cohorts.   The reviews for this 2019 alien invasion film from director Rupert Wyatt ( “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” , the not-bad remake of “The Gambler” ) and co-writer Erica Beeney ( “The Battle of Shaker Heights” ) have been pretty poor. I hadn’t heard a good word said about it, but from the moment I saw the aliens I knew that at the very least this film had gotten one thing right. The budget limitations on the FX are evident (thankfully the aliens are largely seen in darkness and scarcely), but I admire any alien invasion film that gives us alien creatures who don’t loo...

Set in prehistoric times, John Richardson gets banished from his tribe and ends up joining a new tribe where he falls for cavegirl Raquel Welch. However, these are harsh times for the earliest of humans, the entire world seems to offer all kinds of dangerous threats and fearsome beasts. Other cavepersons are played by Martine Beswick, Robert Brown, and Percy Herbert.   All these prehistoric films tend to be a bit same-y to me, this iconic 1966 one comes from Hammer Studios and director Don Chaffey ( “Jason and the Argonauts” , “The Fourth Wish” , “The Man Upstairs” ). Its iconic status seems largely confined to star Raquel Welch donning a fur bikini, and it’s an objectively pleasant sight for sure. For me the film has limited appeal, and actually most of that appeal comes from the fun stop-motion FX work by the master Ray Harryhausen ( “Jason and the Argonauts” , “Clash of the Titans” ). The human story and characters didn’t grab me, but every now and then a stop-motion creatur...