As we watch films and television, over time we get to have particular actors that we like (and dislike). The following are a few of my personal favourites, and why I think they’re good. Peter Cushing was a British actor who starred in over 100 films. He was best known for his work in horror…
Back in the day, television was broadcast live, and in 1954 the BBC aired a television adaptation of “1984”. The screenplay adaptation from Orwell’s novel was done by Nigel Kneale (best known for his creation of the Quatermass character and stories). You can find this version of “1984” on YouTube – the condition isn’t great…
This is a little late, but here’s a Christmas movie I will confess I completely forgot about until just recently. “We’re No Angels” stars Humphrey Bogart, Peter Ustinov, and Aldo Rey. This movie is a comedy about Christmas, though its humour is often wonderfully black. It is purported to take place in the French penal…
I will begin with a disclaimer – I am not pretending my selections are the best Christmas movies, and I really do think this kind of thing is rather subjective anyway. This is a selection of a few movies I really like at Christmas, in no particular order. Enjoy. I want to start with “A…
“Tales from the Crypt” is a British anthology movie comprising five short stories, with a framing story involving five people on a tour of some kind of catacombs, apparently getting separated from their group and coming across a man in a monk’s robes who makes each one of them see a story ostensibly about their…
Based on a short story by Robert Graves, “The Shout” tells the story of a man who (supposedly) has learned a mystical skill from Australian Aborigines, a shout that can kill. I am not familiar with the director (Jerzy Skolimowski) but it does have an excellent cast, headed by John Hurt, Alan Bates and Susannah…
“Overlord” is a war/horror movie based in World War Two. As part of the D Day invasion, paratroopers are sent in behind enemy lines. The group is given the job of destroying a radio tower in a French village. Only a few of them survive the landing, and they soon realise they have run into…
Starring Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Diana Dors, this film starts with three mysterious deaths, where the people involved appear to be murdered but without putting up a fight. The deaths are ruled as suicides, but Police Colonel Bingham (Lee), regards the deaths as suspicious. All three are trustees for a prominent orphanage in Scotland,…
“Gone Baby Gone” is a mystery/whodunnit involving the kidnapping of a little girl. Two private detectives are requested by the child’s aunt to investigate, as they live in a rough neighbourhood and she does not believe people will talk to the police (with some justification). The movie follows the investigation and what happens to the…
“1917” is directed by Sam Mendes and depicts the story of two soldiers in World War One given the dangerous task of taking a message to a regiment that is about to head into a trap. It is a straightforward plot, but the way the story unfolds is just harrowing, breathtaking, brilliant. From the start…
Eclectic Assemblage 