May 30th
Tarzan the Ape Man***
US 1932. MGM. 99m. bw

Ivory hunter's daughter Jane Parker meets Tarzan.
The first established version of the Tarzan legend on film, which despite occasional narrative lapses (Tarzan's origins are never explained) and standard studio product, is still a thoroughly enjoyable yarn, and set its muscular Olympic swimming star off on a popular trail.

Written by: Cyril Hume, Ivor Novello, based on the novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Director: W.S. Van Dyke.
Starring: Johnny Weissmuller, Maureen O'Sullivan, C. Aubrey Smith, Neil Hamilton, Jiggs (as Cheeta), Forrester Harvey, Ivory Williams.
Photography: Harold Rosson, Clyde de Vinna.

Preceded by:
Crossbow*
(Australia 2008. New South Wales Film and Television Office. 14m.; A dysfunctional teenager is traumatized by his promiscuous parents and their drug-pushing friends.; w,d,narr: David Michod; s: Cy Standen, Lisa Chappell, Joel Edgerton, Mirrah Foulkes.)

May 27th

Thor** (12A)

Odeon Colchester

US 2011. Paramount/Marvel. 115m. ws. 3-D

Thor the god of thunder is exiled to present-day Earth but fights his way back to the realm of Asgard to prevent his brother's attempt to usurp the throne.
Quite sustainable comic book adventure with Shakespearean overtones to the mythical element which actually works better than the Earthbound scenes, where the comedy seems clumsily interposed.

Written by: Ashley Edward Miller, Zack Stentz, Don Payne, from a story based on the comic book by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Jack Kirby.
Producer: Kevin Feige.
Director: Kenneth Branagh.
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Tom Hiddleston, Colm Feore, Idris Elba, Clark Gregg, Samuel L. Jackson.
Photography: Haris Zambarloukos.
Music: Patrick Doyle.
Production Design: Bo Welch.

May 20th
Little Caesar**
US 1930. Warner Bros. 80m. bw

The rise and fall of a bullyish Chicago gangster, clearly based on Al Capone, and though a little stagy and encumbered by the Warners' desire to make an earnest social statement, there are still some stunning moments, not least the central performance for which this star became synonymous.

Written by: Francis Faragoh, Robert E. Lee (and others), from the novel by W.R. Burnett.
Producer: Hal B. Wallis.
Director: Mervyn le Roy.
Starring: Edward G. Robinson, Douglas Fairbanks Jnr, Glenda Farrell, George E. Stone, Thomas Jackson, Stanley Fields, Sidney Blackmer, Maurice Black, William Collier Jnr, Ralph Ince.
Photography: Tony Gaudio.
Music: Erno Rapee.

Preceded by:
Hearst Metrotone News (1931)
("Legs" Diamond's Girl Talks After Gunman is Slain.) ["Kiki" Roberts, ex-Follies dancer]

The Hard Guy*
(US 1930. Warner Bros/Vitaphone. 6m. bw; A down-at-heels father contemplates going to criminal lengths to feed his family.; w: Burnet Hurshey, from the play by Betty Ross; d: Arthur Hurley; s: Spencer Tracy, Katherine Alexander.)

Lady Play Your Mandolin**
(US 1931. 7m. bw; Sprightly early Merrie Melodies short.; p: Hugh Harman, Rudolf Ising; anim: Rollin Hamilton, Norm Blackburn; md: Frank Marsales.)

May 9th
Come and See**
USSR 1985. Mosfilm/Belarusfilm. 142m.

In Belorussia in 1943, a boy joins the Partisans whilst the local villages are being ransacked by the Germans.
Searing war drama made to commemorate the 40th anniversary of VE Day, but focusing much more on the atrocities committed by the Nazis. Slow and confusing to begin with, it builds with increasing intensity and horror (although the brief use of stock footage is unnecessary), so that by the end the images more resemble Hieronymus Bosch paintings than warfare.

Written by: Ales Adamovich, Elem Klimov.
Producer: S. Tereschenko.
Director: Elem Klimov.
Starring: Alexei Kravchenko, Olga Mironova, Liubomiras Laucevicius, Vladas Bagdonas, Victor Lorents, Juri Lumiste, and others.
Photography: Alexei Rodionov.
Music: Oleg Yanchenko, Mozart.
Production Design: Viktor Petrov.


Roger Ebert review

May 4th
The Edge of Love**
GB 2007. Capitol Films/BBC Films/Prescience/Rainy Day Films. 110m.

In World War II London, the married poet Dylan Thomas unexpectedly meets up with his childhood sweetheart Vera Phillips, who marries another man, and the resulting menage a quatre nearly has tragic results.
Indulgent period melodrama made as a star vehicle for two celebrity actresses, which distracts from the history, but strongly acted and visually very attractive, capturing some of the essence of Thomas's verse.

Writen by: Sharman MacDonald, based on "Dylan Thomas: A Farm, Two Mansions and a Bungalow" by David N. Thomas, and "Personal Sketch of Vava and Personal Sketch of Papa" by Esther Killick.
Producers: Rebekah Gilbertson, Sarah Radclyffe.
Director: John Maybury.
Starring: Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller, Matthew Rhys (as Thomas), Cillian Murphy, Lisa Stansfield, Richard Dillane, Paul Brooke.
Photography: Jonathan Freeman.
Music: Angelo Badalamenti.

May 4th
The All New Adventures of Laurel and Hardy: For Love or Mummy
US 1998 (straight-to-video release 2004). Coast Entertainment/White Dune/Larry Harmon. 85m.

The grand nephews of Stan and Ollie combat an ancient Pharaoh prophecy to take over the world.
Inevitably misguided but spirited impersonation, which despite the occasional recognisable moment generally treats the lovable duo more as stupid idiots than endearing buffoons, and anachronistically thrusts them into the present day but still wearing their period clothes. Plotwise no worse than most of the original Laurel & Hardy features.

Written by: Jeffrey Pillars, Joseph Dattore.
Producers: Kenneth M. Badish, John Cherry, Larry Harmon, Susan Harmon.
Directors: John Cherry, Larry Harmon.
Starring: Bronson Pinchot, Gailard Sartain, F. Murray Abraham, Susan Danford (uncredited), Philip Godawa, Jeffrey Pillars, Rick Rogers.
Photography: James Robb.
Music: Robert Folk.