Jan 31st    
The Magic Sword  

(US 1961)                                  

A vengeful wizard kidnaps a princess, but the headstrong son of a rival witch sets out to rescue her.
Clunky and rather nasty fantasy, patterned barely after St. George and the Dragon, more Sorcery than Sword (and rather visually tacky at that), from a director whose oeuvre is usually associated with B-Movie monsters - see Empire of the Ants.

Written, Produced and Directed by: Bert I. Gordon.
Starring: Basil Rathbone, Gary Raymond, Estelle Winwood, Anne Helm, Liam Sullivan, Merritt Stone, Maila Nurmi.
Photography: Paul Vogel, Nicholas Vogel.
Music: Richard Markowitz.

Jan 9th  
The Women              

(US 2008)          

A successfully married woman who learns her husband is having an affair becomes the local gossip.
Vogue magazine style filmmaking, a cosmeticized remake of a 1939 all-female star melodrama, with the occasional good scene or droll moment, but generally the girls are having more fun than the audience is.

Written and Directed by: Diane English, based on the play by Clare Boothe Luce.
Producers: Diane English, Mick Jagger, Bill Johnson, Victoria Permian.
Starring: Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Debra Messing, Jada Pinkett Smith, Eva Mendes, Cloris Leachman, Bette Midler, Carrie Fisher, Debi Mazar, India Ennenga.
Photography: Anastas N. Nichos.
Music: Mark Isham.

+ the only male seen in the entire film is a baby