Mar 31st 
Kajaki: The True Story*   
(GB 2014)                     
Alchemy/Pukka Films. 108m. ws

In 2006 British paratroops serving in Afghanistan have a fight for survival when they find themselves stranded in a minefield.
Candid, unfussy depiction of real-life events, with slightly unintelligible and mostly foul-mouthed dialogue, but with opening and closing moments of art, and successfully conveying the comradeship of war in extreme situations.

Written by: Tom Williams.
Producers: Paul Katis, Andrew de Lotbiniere.
Director: Paul Katis.
Starring: David Elliot, Mark Stanley, Scott Kyle, Benjamin O'Mahony, Bryan Parry.
Photography: Chris Goodger.
Music: Phoebe Katis.

Mar 27th 
Ghost Ship  
(GB 1952)
Anglo Amalgamated. 74m. bw

A young couple decide to take ownership of an allegedly haunted steamer yacht with a chequered past.
Tame programme filler mystery with none of the suspense of atmosphere of the later Hammer horror series.

w, p, d: Vernon Sewell
s: Dermot Walsh, Hazel Court, Hugh Burden, John Robinson, Hugh Latimer, Joss Ambler, Ian Carmichael
ph: Stanley Grant
m: Eric Spear

Mar 23rd  
Meet Mr Lucifer
(GB 1953) 
Rank/Ealing. 81m. bw

A music hall has-been hurts his head playing the Devil, and meets his real-life counterpart who encourages him to corrupt people through television.
Disappointingly fragmented TV satire lacking Ealing's usual whimsy, with a plot that doesn't really go anywhere, and actors not given enough screen time, including the title character.

w, p: Monja Danischewsky, from the play "Beggar My Neighbour" by Arnold Ridley
d: Anthony Pelissier
s: Stanley Holloway, Jack Watling, Peggy Cummins, Barbara Murray, Joseph Tomelty, Gordon Jackson, Ernest Thesiger, Joan Sims, Kay Kendall, Gilbert Harding
ph: Desmond Dickinson
m: Eric Rogers

Mar 12th  
The Wedding Date 
(US/GB 2004)                       
Universal/Gold Circle. 88m.

A single woman falls for the male escort she has hired for her sister's wedding where her ex-fiancee is best man.
Fairly one-note romantic comedy in the wake of Four Weddings and a Funeral, with most of the comedy cliches in place and some good comedy cameos.

w: Dana Fox, based on the novel "Asking for Trouble" by Elizabeth Young
p: Jessica Bendinger, Paul Brooks, Michelle Chydzik, Nathalie Marciano
d: Clare Kilner
s: Debra Messing, Dermot Mulroney, Amy Adams, Jeremy Sheffield, Jack Davenport, Sarah Parish, Peter Egan
ph: Oliver Curtis
m: Blake Neely

Mar 6th  
Military Wives* (12A)
(Vue Carlisle)

(GB 2019)               
Ingenious/Embankment/42/Tempo. 112m.

Wives and girlfriends at a Yorkshire barracks set up a choir to take their minds off their loved ones stationed in Afghanistan, but ultimately also to honour them.
Formulaic and easily sentimental comedy drama, contrived dramatically as an all-girls rags-to-riches story (from the director of the similar Full Monty), with a moving finale where film and history marry together successfully.

Written by: Rachel Tunnard, Rosanne Flynn.
Producers: Ben Pugh, Piers Tempest, Rory Aitken.
Director: Peter Chelson.
Starring: Kristin Scott-Thomas, Sharon Horgan, Jason Flemyng, Greg Wise, Gaby French, Emma Lowndes.
Photography: Hubert Taczanowski.
Music: Lorne Balfe.