Oct 29th  
What We Do in the Shadows*                    

(NZ 2014)

Mockumentary following three Wellington vampires sharing a house and struggling to get their nightly feed.
Wryly amusing and mildly satirical spoof although it goes nowhere plotwise but quirkily entertains.

Written and Directed by: Jermaine Clement, Taika Waititi.
Producers: Taika Waititi, Chelsea Winstanley, Emanuel Michael.
Starring: Taika Waititi, Jermaine Clement, Jonathan Brugh, Jackie Van Beek, Ben Fransham, Elena Stejko, Karen O'Leary, Mike Minogue.
Photography: Richard Bluck, D.J. Stipsen.
Music: Plan 9, and others.

Oct 29th      
The Mountain Between Us**    
(Kino Lucerna, Prague)

(US/GB/Can 2017)               

A doctor and an engaged female photojournalist charter a private plane which crashes in the snowy uplands, and in the course of their fight for survival they fall in love.
Agreeable survival drama in unsurprisingly breathtaking locations, with a romance that fits in logically with the scheme of the story and the direction avoids any plodding, although no mention is made of the interracial element, and the dog remains remarkably healthy through all the human perils.

w: Chris Waite, J. Mills Goodloe, from the novel by Charles Martin.
d: Hany Abu-Assad.
s: Idris Elba, Kate Winslet, Beau Bridges, Dermot Mulroney.
ph: Mandy Walker

Oct 20th  
More American Graffiti*     

(US 1979)                                             

The collection of California teenagers from American Graffiti try to cope with a more disorderly adult life in around the 1960s and the Vietnam war.
Underrated sequel set innovatively across four separate New Year's Days in different filmic ratios representing the different plights of the various characters. It died a death commercially, perhaps because the sentimentality of the original film and the subsequent success of Happy Days were what America wanted to see more of, rather than darker revisions.

Written and Directed by: Bill Norton.
Producer: Howard Kazanjian.
Starring: Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith, Candy Clark, Ron Howard, Cindy Williams, Anna Bjorn, Richard Bradford, Harrison Ford (uncredited), Will Selzer, Scott Glenn, Mackenzie Phillips.
Photography: Caleb Deschanel.
Music: Various 60s tunes.
Editing: Tina Hirsch.

MORE AMERICAN GRAFFITI. Practically a forgotten sequel, made in between the phenomenal success Lucasfilm's first two Star Wars films, but not without merit including use of different styles of filmmaking including split screen images reminiscent of the 1960s, with one very famous face from the original cast making a brief appearance. Also pictured: Candy Clark and John Lansing.

Oct 17th
Mother! (18) 
(Firstsite, Colchester)                           

(US 2017)

A young couple's idyllic home rapidly becomes a nightmare as soon as they admit strangers in.
Pretentious macabre drama based supposedly on the Creation story (the title character is based around Mother Nature), with stars that distract from the overall point. One of the more extreme mainstream entries in this director's canon.

w,d: Darren Aronofsky
s: Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris, Michelle Pfeiffer, Brian Gleeson, Domhnall Gleeson, Kristen Wiig
ph: Matthew Labatique

MOTHER! If the poster seemed similar to Black Swan (qv), the content of this film was quite something else.

Oct 13th   
Wild Target*                

(GB 2009)       

A professional hitman is assigned to kill a nymphomaniac thief but ends up being her bodyguard.
Variable black comedy which sank almost without trace at the time, but moves along for all its weaknesses, and the amusingly unlikely lovers provide some enjoyment among a notable cast.

Written by: Lucinda Coxon, based on the film "Cible Emouvante (Moving Target)" by Pierre by Salvadori.
Producers: Martin Pope, Michael Rose.
Director: Jonathan Lynn.
Starring: Bill Nighy, Emily Blunt, Rupert Grint, Eileen Atkins, Martin Freeman, Rupert Everett, Gregor Fisher, Rory Kinnear.
Music: David Johnson.
Music: Michael Price.

                 

Oct 11th 
Blade Runner 2049**(15)
(Century Clacton)                                     

(GB/US/Can 2017)

A replicant hunter seeking out older rogue models (including his predecessor) suspects he may actually be human.
An elephant of a sequel to Blade Runner, full of lots to savour (for once, in an extended cut form in its first version) especially for fans of the original, and just as hollow emotionally. Ford's late appearance adds some extra warmth and humanity, while his co-star is saddled with just as thankless a role as Ford's was before.

w: Hampton Fancher, Michael Green
d: Denis Villeneuve
s: Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Ana de Armas, Robin Wright, Jared Leto, Sylvia Hoeks, Mackenzie Davis, Sean Young (semi-digitised), Dave Bautista.
ph: Roger Deakins.
m: Benjamin Wallfisch, Hans Zimmer.
pd: Dennis Gassner.

Oct 9th  
Silver Linings Playbook**   

(US 2012)   

A not fully recovered mental patient is released by his parents from the asylum, and slowly comes to terms with his life after befriending a fellow recovering young widow.
Uncomfortably compelling and absorbing comedy drama (with the laughs fleeting), a modern, more believable variation on One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest full of dysfunctional, broken people, generally very well played.

Written and Directed by: David O. Russell, from the novel by Matthew Quick.
Producers: Donna Digliotti, Bruce Cohen, Jonathan Gordon.
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, Anupam Kher, Chris Tucker, Julia Stiles, John Ortiz, Shea Whigham, Brea Bee.
Photography: Masanobu Takayanagi.
Music: Danny Elfman.

Oct 7th  
Nature of the Beast* (12A) 
(Ipswich Film Theatre)                         

(GB 2017)

Unashamedly celebratory documentary about coalminer and trade unionist turned MP Dennis Skinner, dubbed "the Beast of Bolsover" for his forceful style. Told exclusively from one perspective - mostly his - but with some enjoyable touches and occasional insights into his more sensitive side.

Written and Directed by: Daniel Draper.
Producers: Christine Allanson, Daniel Draper.
Photography: Allan Melia.
Music: Patrick Dineen.