Shameless Self Expression

  The infamous WWII naval battle between the US and Japanese forces gets another cinematic telling here. Ed Skrein plays a gung-ho, cock-sure pilot, with Mandy Moore as his lady love. Patrick Wilson, Luke Evans, Woody Harrelson, and Dennis Quaid turn up as (respectively) Rear Admiral Edwin T. Layton, Commander Wade McClusky, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, and Vice Admiral William 'Bull' Halsey.   Director Roland Emmerich (whose best films are “Universal Soldier” , “Stargate” , and maybe “ID4” ) remakes the 1976 war flick with only marginally less disappointing results. It’s not as bloated and epic-length, the battle scenes are more convincing and engaging, the dialogue isn’t as impenetrably jargon-heavy. However, ultimately this 2019 film is still a fairly two-dimensional experience, just with far fewer big name actors involved. Scripted by Wes Tooke (producer of TV’s “Jean-Claude Van Johnson” ), the characters are largely cardboard cut-outs, with Ed Skrein probably faring best

We’re in the future where the 20 th annual Death Race is to commence, a violent blood sport where drivers get points for running down various pedestrians. The reigning and defending champion is the mysterious Frankenstein (David Carradine) a leather-wearing freak whose name derives from the fact that his frequent crashes have resulted in multiple body part replacements. There’s barely a recognisable human being behind the mask anymore. His chief rival is perpetually angry, Tommy Gun-wielding ‘Machine Gun’ Joe Viterbo. The other racers include Calamity Jane (Mary Woronov), Mathilda the Hun (Roberta Collins), and Nero the Hero (Martin Kove), whilst Simone Griffeth and Louisa Moritz play the navigators for Frankenstein and ‘Machine Gun’ Joe, respectively. Real-life disc jockey ‘The Real’ Don Steele turns up as an excitable TV reporter, with Joyce Jameson having a cameo as another reporter. While the racers are competing, a band of revolutionaries are carrying out plans to ruin the race.

The budding relationship between fashion designer Elyssa Davalos and persistent new suitor Dack Rambo appears to be targeted by powerful sinister forces. Powerful supernatural sinister forces that don’t seem to want the couple to wed, and will do anything to stop it. Richard Lynch stars as the chief evil puppet-master, with Erica Yohn playing Davalos’ boss. Dan O’Herlihy plays a priest, Lelia Goldoni plays a nun, whilst Kim Cattrall and Jenny O’Hara play young mothers.   A while back I got pissed off watching “Rich Man, Poor Man Book II” on DVD because it turned out to be season one of a TV series that left things on a cliffhanger and didn’t come back for a second season. Don’t get me wrong, it was a pale shadow of the first “Rich Man, Poor Man” anyway (though George Gaynes was hilarious as a scumbag), but the ending just ruins the entire experience. Now here’s this 1977 TV movie from director Paul Wendkos (a veteran of TV he also directed “Face of a Fugitive” with Fred MacMurra

Viveik Kalra plays a youngster from Luton, Bedfordshire with Pakistani immigrant parents, who finds a connection to the music and lyrics of Bruce Springsteen, in Thatcher-era England. His strict, serious-minded parents don’t understand his passion for writing (or for Bruce), his peers are more concerned with Britpop, and then there’s the issue of racism that the poor lad has to endure as well during a time of economic recession on top of it all. When he listens to The Boss, he feels he has found someone who understands him, even though they live on different continents. Hayley Atwell plays Kalra’s encouraging English teacher, Dean-Charles Chapman is Kalra’s Brit New Wave-loving best friend, with Rob Brydon as the best friend’s idiot rock ‘n’ roll loving father.   I was worried that this loosely biographical 2019 feelgood film from director Gurinder Chadha and co-writers Sarfraz Manzoor (whose real-life story is loosely translated to the screen here) and Paul Mayeda Berges was going