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Frank's Movie Log

My life at the movies.

  1. A still from Children of Men (2006)

    Children of Men 2006

    B+: 4 stars (out of 5)

    Directed by Alfonso Cuarón. Starring Julianne Moore, Clive Owen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Michael Caine.

    In a dystopian near-future where the last child was born over eighteen years ago, society crumbles. Global refugees flock to London, one of the few functioning cities. Hoping for sanctuary, they find interment camps. Militant groups demanding better refugee treatment execute bombings and clash with government forces. Clive Owen plays a bureaucrat swept into the conflict via his estranged ex wife. Continue reading...

    Watched on 10 Jul, 2021
    • A still from Hard Eight (1996)

      Hard Eight 1996

      A-: 5 stars (out of 5)

      Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Starring Philip Baker Hall, John C. Reilly, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Samuel L. Jackson.

      Paul Thomas Anderson’s feature debut. Philip Baker Hall plays a professional gambler who takes a young man played by John C. Reilly under his wing. As the story unfolds, we meet a casino waitress played by Gwyneth Paltrow and a hustling security guard played by Samuel Jackson. Continue reading...

    • A still from Wrath of Man (2021)

      Wrath of Man 2021

      B-: 4 stars (out of 5)

      Directed by Guy Ritchie. Starring Jason Statham, Holt McCallany, Josh Hartnett, and Rocci Williams.

      Jason Statham plays an enigmatic loner who joins an armored car service and displays uncanny skills while thwarting an attempted robbery. The twisty script features plot holes big enough to drive said armored car through but with Statham leading this combination of heist and revenge flick, they prove easy enough to ignore. Continue reading...

      Watched on 08 Jul, 2021
      • A still from Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016)

        Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping 2016

        B: 4 stars (out of 5)

        Directed by Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer. Starring Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, Akiva Schaffer, and Sarah Silverman.

        A contemporary This is Spinal Tap. Andy Samberg plays Conner4Real, a pop star riding high on the eve of his much-anticipated sophomore release. The standard fall-from-grace-then-redemption plot follows, but the script’s biting commentary on celebrity culture and Connor’s catchy, hilarious, and often outrageous songs prove entertaining.

        Watched on 03 Jul, 2021
        • A still from Suspiria (2018)

          Suspiria 2018

          D+: 2 stars (out of 5)

          Directed by Luca Guadagnino. Starring Chloë Grace Moretz, Tilda Swinton, Doris Hick, and Malgorzata Bela.

          Ambitious. How else to describe a film that analogizes dancing to spell-casting and a coven of witches to the Red Army Faction. I appreciate that ambition, and the influences director Luca Guadagnino brings to bear. But the result didn’t thrill me. Continue reading...

          Watched on 02 Jul, 2021
          • A still from Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971)

            Four Flies on Grey Velvet 1971

            D+: 2 stars (out of 5)

            Directed by Dario Argento. Starring Michael Brandon, Mimsy Farmer, Jean-Pierre Marielle, and Aldo Bufi Landi.

            Writer-director Dario Argento’s third entry in his “Animal Trilogy” behind The Bird with the Crystal Plumage and The Cat o’ Nine Tails. Michael Brandon plays a drummer in a successful rock band. One night after rehearsal, he confronts a stalker and commits manslaughter. His crime goes undiscovered by police, but another stalker threatens first to expose him, then to kill him. Continue reading...

          • A still from Phantom of the Paradise (1974)

            Phantom of the Paradise 1974

            B: 4 stars (out of 5)

            Directed by Brian De Palma. Starring Paul Williams, William Finley, Jessica Harper, and Gerrit Graham.

            It’s not a musical. The Andrew Lloyd Webber version is a musical. This Phantom of the Opera adaptation plays as a black comedy, transplanting the classic tale from the world of opera to glam rock with Faustian touches. And it’s terrific. Continue reading...

          • A still from Smiles of a Summer Night (1955)

            Smiles of a Summer Night 1955

            C+: 3 stars (out of 5)

            Directed by Ingmar Bergman. Starring Ulla Jacobsson, Eva Dahlbeck, Harriet Andersson, and Margit Carlqvist.

            Entertaining albeit frustrating comedy-drama period-piece from writer-director Ingmar Bergman. Continue reading...

          • A still from The Sea Bat (1930)

            The Sea Bat 1930

            D: 2 stars (out of 5)

            Directed by Lionel Barrymore and Wesley Ruggles. Starring Raquel Torres, Charles Bickford, Nils Asther, and George F. Marion.

            Revisited on Watch TCM. The higher resolution did nothing to improve the film.

          • A still from Violent Playground (1958)

            Violent Playground 1958

            B-: 4 stars (out of 5)

            Directed by Basil Dearden. Starring Stanley Baker, Anne Heywood, David McCallum, and Peter Cushing.

            A stacked cast and vivid location photography elevate this story of juvenile delinquency. Stanley Baker makes a strong case for Watchlist inclusion as a Liverpool detective volun-told to take over as Juvenile Liaison Officer. David McCallum plays the requisite troubled youth. Peter Cushing turns up as the local priest. The Liverpool photography puts you on the streets of the Beatles hometown a few years before they broke big. Baker and McCallum ensure you’re never bored. The script avoids soapbox soliloquies and rations the melodramatics. A pleasant surprise.

          Pagination

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