The Mystery of the Wax Museum - 1933 **

 

'The Wax Museum' is a very disappointing film. It seems to promise it will deliver some good shocks and scares, when actually it does nothing of the sort. Fay Wray, is completely over the top, and Lionel Atwill takes 'pervy old man' to a whole new level.

It obviously revolves itself around 'Phantom of the Opera', 'House of Wax' and other gruesome creature movies, but all in all, it doesn't really work. It's also filmed in a horribly naff half colour, half sepia lens, making everything and everyone seem all the more grotesque. I just didn't find the film enjoyable.

(HORROR) The Washing Machine - 1993 *

 

'The Washing Machine' is a horrible nightmare of a film. It hasn't got much of a story, and the majority of the film is an excuse for lurid sex shots and bad dialogue.

A policeman is on the case after a dismembered man is found in a washing machine and he is linked to his lover and her two sisters. Typical Ruggero Deodato. Bad acting.

More Than a Secretary - 1936 ****

 

A nice bit of fluff from Jean Arthur and George Brent, a film that you can just let wash over you without much need for thinking.

Carol is a beautiful, brainy teacher at a typing school. Uninterested in finding love or trying to start a relationship, she is mortified when Maisie, the worst typist in her class accuses her of being a dried up old maid. Prompted to make a change, Carol quits and goes to work as a secretary for a hunky editor of a health magazine. What starts as a dream scenario descends into a nightmare after Carol is promoted, and Maisie is roped in as the new secretary.

Enjoyable.

All About My Wife - 2012 ****

 

A surprisingly amusing Korean film about what happens when a perfect marriage falls apart at the seams.

A young couple approach their seventh year of marriage, and realise with dread that they don't actually like each other. The husband can't stand the wife's stressing and arguing, and the wife finds her husband's lack of interest in her upsetting.

The husband comes up with the ingenious idea of hiring a Casanova to seduce his wife so that he has an excuse to leave her. The only trouble is, the wife, begins to fall for the Casanova, the Casanova falls for the wife, and the husband realises he does still have feelings for her, but is it too late?

Worth a watch. South Korea isn't one for churning out blockbusters so when one does come along it's worth a see.

Johnny Eager - 1941 ****

 

Oh My! Experiencing Robert Taylor on the big screen sends your heart a-flutter! He has a hint of William Powell, with a smidgen of Clark Gable. What could be better?

Johnny Eager has just been released from jail after a long stint and fools his probation officer into thinking he is a good, clean living taxi driver. In reality, he is the head of a massive crime syndicate which specialises in gambling, and couldn't be more dangerous if he tried.

Things hot up when he meets Liz, a beautiful socialite, little realising that she is the daughter of his arch nemesis and someone he really should be avoiding. As a result, Johnny tries to use Liz in a prank that goes horribly wrong, rendering her on the brink of self destruction.

Turner is so naïve and innocent in this, and Taylor is so gorgeous that they just smoulder on the screen together. Great film.

Separation City - 2009 ****

 

One of those films I love. The type that go unnoticed, sneak under the radar, and then treat you to rather an impressive, emotional experience that you weren't expecting. 'Separation City' is all about love and fidelity, but it's handled in quite a sensitive way which makes it appeal to a wider audience which pleases me.

Simon is a middle aged husband and father of two children who is growing increasingly tired of the lack of sex and excitement in his life. His wife doesn't offer up much interest in him intimately, and this makes him doubt the relationship. So much so in fact, that when he notices Katrien, the wife of a friend of his, he becomes besotted by her, believing that she can offer him something other than the boredom and stability of his current life. This however, is what appeals to her about him, and she refuses to start an affair with him immediately, believing that this will dilute the attraction she feels for him. Katrien is also dealing with her own demons, having found out that her husband is cheating on her, so is in more of an emotional and wounded state than Simon.

Even so, the film revolves around the pair's obsession with each other, and the lengths they go to to fight it, and then to hide it.

Very enjoyable character study.

Mystery Liner - 1934 *

 

A very poor show. 'Mystery Liner' is the complete opposite of what constitutes a good, gripping thriller. It's badly acted, has an almost non-descript storyline. It sounds a lot better than it actually is.

After the captain of an ocean liner goes doo-lally he is taken off duty, although it doesn't stop the strange events from continuing to happen on board. A number of dead bodies appear, and everyone is a suspect, especially considering the liner is being controlled by a special device the government are testing and could be making people insane.

It's a bit of a lame excuse of a film. The plot doesn't fit together and doesn't really make much sense, and the characters don't fit well at all. Bad.

A Deadly Adoption - 2015 ****

 

Few people were less interested in the 'secret' film that Will Ferrell was completing with Kristen Wiig without the public's knowledge than me. So when it was suddenly released I was equally uninterested. However, after deciding I was being a tad harsh and should just give it a go, I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. I do confess to being a bit of a fan of Lifetime movies, especially if you get a really gripping true story, but I doubted much could be done involving Ferrell and Wiig without extreme hysteria. Why would they want to It was hard to know at the beginning whether it was going to be a spoof or dark comedy. Actually, it was neither, and in fact became quite a dark and unsettling thriller.

After suffering a terrible tragedy, Sarah and her husband Robert are feeling helpless over being unable to conceive anymore children. As a result of this, they become fiercely protective over the young daughter they already have and barely let her out of their sight. Five years down the line and Sarah feels that it is time to look into adopting a child, and Robert is having sober after having to deal with his previous alcoholism, which left him a wreck, mentally and physically. Both feel that adopting another child will bring their fractured relationship together, and repair the loss they have experienced. The light at the end of the tunnel comes in the form of a woman named Bridgette whom is coming to the final month of her pregnancy and is keen to find some people to adopt her child when it's born. Sarah and Robert cannot believe their luck, surely this is too good to be true?

Although it's a fairly predictable story, it was still fun to watch and surprisingly well acted by Ferrell (not sure I like Wiig though).

Crimes at the Dark House - 1940 **

 

Tod Slaughter has always been one of those farcical, hammy actors that people remember for all the wrong reasons (a bit like Arthur Askey whom I find hilarious) but he doesn't seem to do himself any favours here, preferring to mince his performance up for all it's worth.

Slaughter appears as a convict who murders a wealthy gentleman and assumes his identity in order to inherit his large and luxurious estate in England. Once he is there, he plans to wed the heiress of the fortune, but when people begin to suspect them, he murders them immediately to keep his secret quiet. I found Slaughter to be too much in this, and the story didn't grip me in the slightest. I do apologise to Wilkie Collins profusely, but assume he would've probably been amazed at how badly his classic novel was converted to film.

 

A Woman of Paris - 1923 ***

 

'A Woman of Paris' was panned by audiences all over, but praised by the critics. No one was really sure how to react to a Chaplin movie that wasn't full of hilarious moments, and people also disliked the fact he was behind the scenes only. This film is certainly not amusing in any way, and has a lot of tragic elements to it, but it's a great thing to see how versatile Chaplin was at acting and directing. Edna Purviance plays a young girl who is jilted by her fiancé at a train station and is heartbroken. She goes to Paris where she meets a handsome man named Pierre and becomes his mistress. But no sooner has this all happened then her old boyfriend resurfaces and she is torn between the two.

Purviance is such a sweetie in this, such an underrated actress whom Charlie Chaplin clearly adored. So much so in fact that when she stopped working for him he kept her on his payroll for the rest of her life. An interesting film to watch.