Dec 31st 
Road to Perdition**  
(US 2002)
Twentieth Century Fox/Dreamworks. 117m. Panavision

A hitman and his son go on the run from Irish mobsters after feudal in-fighting.
Beautifully visually evoked gangster melodrama, with strong photography and compelling performances from two generations of star actors, although only the first half really compels and convinces.

Written by: David Self, based on the novel by Max Allen Collins, Richard Piers Rayner.
Producers: Richard D. Zanuck, Dean Zanuck, Sam Mendes.
Director: Sam Mendes.
Starring: Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Daniel Craig, Jude Law, Tyler Hoechin, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Stanley Tucci, Ciaran Hinds.
Photography: Conrad Hall.
Music: Thomas Newman

+ Paul Newman's and Conrad Hall's last film, as well as the last film to be shown at Screen One of Colchester's Crouch Street Odeon in 2002

Dec 30th 
Batman Returns*  
(US 1992) 
Warner Bros/Polygram. 126m.

Batman tackles the joint of the Penguin, Catwoman and manipulative businessman Max Shreck.
Noisy set pieces and Gothic grotesque characterisations are the mainstay of this practically plotless second blockbuster in the Batman series. Burton had more control in this one than first time round, and the result is less satisfying, although visually just as imaginative.

Written by: Daniel Waters, Sam Hamm.
Producers: Denise Di Novi, Tim Burton.
Director: Tim Burton.
Starring: Michael Keaton, DannyDe Vito, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Michael Gough, Michael Murphy, Pat Hingle.
Photography: Stefan Czapsky.
Music: Danny Elfman.

Dec 29th   
Night Ferry*   
(GB 1977)
Childrens' Film Foundation/Eady-Barnes. 60m.

Multi-disguised crooks try to smuggle a stolen Egyptian mummy on the Dover night ferry.
Quite capable children's matinee support feature, nostalgic for its use of 1970s Victoria line trains, and the late, much loved Bernard Cribbins in a range of guises.

w: Michael Barnes
p: Greg Younger
d: David Eady
s: Bernard Cribbins, Graham Fletcher, Aubrey Morris, Carole Rousseau, Engin Eshref, Jayne Tottman, Jeremy Bulloch
ph: Jo Jago
m: Harry Robertson

Dec 27th  
The Verdict**  
(US 1982)     
Twentieth Century Fox. 129m.

An drunken ambulance chasing Boston lawyer sees a chance to redeem himself by taking a medical malpractice case into court, against all advice.
Lumet's sobering antidote to Twelve Angry Men: a deliberately gloomy looking legal drama, intricately written, where subtlety of plot and acting are the keynotes.

Written by: David Mamet, based on the novel by Barry Reed.
Producers: David Brown, Richard D. Zanuck.
Director: Sidney Lumet.
Starring: Paul Newman, James Mason, Jack Warden, Charlotte Rampling, Milo O'Shea, Edward Binns, James Handy, Joe Seneca, Wesley Addy, Lindsay Crouse.
Photography: Andrzej Bartkowiak.
Music: Johnny Mandel.

+ Bruce Willis is an extra in the courtroom, at an early stage of his career

                   

Dec 24th 
One Touch of Venus*   
(US 1948)   
Universal-International/Artists Alliance. 82m. bw          

A department store assistant unwittingly brings to life a statue of the Roman goddess of love, who proceeds to fall for him and spreads her influence elsewhere.
Celebrating Ava Gardner's centenary with this fluffy musical comedy with top talent. The comedy element is very laboured (and heavily adjusted from its original), but the actors make it worthwhile.

Written by: Harry Kurnitz, Frank Tashlin, based on the musical by S.J. Perelman, Ogden Nash.
Producers: William A. Seiter, Lester Cowan.
Director: William A. Seiter.
Starring: Robert Walker, Ava Gardner, Dick Hayman, Olga San Juan, Tom Conway, Eve Arden, Sara Allgood, James Flavin.
Photography: Franz Planer.
Music: Ann Ronell, Kurt Weill.

Dec 22nd  
Blonde*     
(US 2022)
Netflix/Plan B. 166m. bw/colour

The girl who grows up to become Marilyn Monroe suffers through her life from serial abuse by men.
Squalid and highly speculative faction, seemingly made to promote the #MeToo movement, capturing none of Marilyn's wit or humour, but with a hard working star performance.

Written and Dircted by: Andrew Dominik.
Producers: Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Tracey Landen, Scott Robertson.
Starring: Ana de Armas, Adrien Brody, Bobby Cannavale, Julianne Nicholson, Xavier Samuel, Evan Williams, Toby Huss/.
Photography: Chayse Irvin.
Music: Nick Cave, Warren Ellis.

BLONDE. Ana de Armas "channels" Marilyn Monroe. Nice resemblance, shame about the script.

Dec 19th  
Zero Dark Thirty**  
(US 2012)
Columbia/First Light/Annapurna. 157m.

The hunt for Osama Bin Laden, instigated by a persevering female CIA agent over the course of 8 years.
Any film connected with September 11th curiously resembles a typical fictional terrorist action thriller, and this one is no exception, with two hours of half-coherent dialogue, sadistic torture scenes and occasional striking moments of sudden violence, and as little American understanding of the environment or culture as the principal characters in the film - but the tense last hour charting the actual commando mission is worth the wait.

Written by: Mark Boal.
Producers: Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Megan Ellison.
Director: Kathryn Bigelow.
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Jennifer Ehle, Joel Edgerton, Chris Pratt, Kyle Chandler, Mark Strong, Edgar Ramirez, Stephen Dillane, James Gandolfini.
Photography: Greig Fraser.
Music: Alexandra Desplat.
Editing: Dylan Tichenor, William Goldenberg.

+ the screenplay was originally written as the failed hunt for Osama Bin Laden, then completely revised once history took over

Dec 13th  
The Kidnappers**  
(GB 1953)
Rank/Group Film. 93m. bw

In early 20th century Nova Scotia, a Scottish farmer comes to terms with the Dutch settlers after his two grandsons unwittingly abduct a baby from them. Quietly entertaining drama with the feel of a Western (but without the gunfighting), with slightly unconvincing child playing but a good all-round ensemble. 

w: Neil Paterson, from his novel
p: Sergei Nolbandov, Leslie Parkyn
d: Philip Leacock
s: Duncan MacRae, Jon Whiteley, Vincent Winter, Adrienne Corri, Jean Anderson, Theodore Bikel, Francis de Wolff
ph: Eric Cross
m: Bruce Montgomery

Preceded by:
Love at First Sight**
(GB 2010. Spellbound Films. 12m,; Romance in a retirement home, with a poignant twist.; w: Julian Unthank; d: Michael Davies; s: John Hurst, Phyllida Law; ph: Ian Salvage; m: Mark Russell.)

THE KIDNAPPERS (1953). Among the last programme of films to be shown at the old Empire (aka. Vaudeville) Cinema in Mersea Road, Colchester in 1959 (Cinema photo: L. Reid)

Dec 8th  
The Ruling Class*
(GB 1972)
Avco Embassy/Keep Films. 155m.

The sole heir to the Gurney estate is a paranoid schizophrenic who thinks he is Jesus Christ; his scheming family try to bring him back to normal health, but the result is worse.
Overstated satire with lots of red-headed performances, and a star unwisely let loose. Fashionable fantasia song and dance interludes and zestful handling punctuate the two and a half hours' duration, although the characters and the situations are never really engaging.

Written by: Peter Barnes, from his play.
Producers: Jules Buck, Jack Hawkins.
Director: Peter Medak.
Starring: Peter O'Toole, Arthur Lowe, Alastair Sim, Coral Browne, William Mervyn, James Villiers, Harry Andrews, Carolyn Seymour, Michael Bryant, Graham Crowden, Nigel Green, Kay Walsh, Patsy Byrne.
Photography: Ken Hodges.
Music: John Cameron.