All I WATCHED IN 2021 (with reviews)
Picks of the year:
The Silent Partner
The Dead
Ice Cold In Alex
The Grey Fox
Hobson's Choice
Fandango
Pillow Talk
Fort Apache
There Was A Crooked Man
Miranda/Mad About Men
Nowhere To Go
Breaking Away
Kings Of Summer
Manos: Hands Of Fate
The Hi-Lo Country
Ask A Policeman
Guns Of Navarone
Snowball
Ghosts Can't Do It
The Silent Partner
The Dead
Ice Cold In Alex
The Grey Fox
Hobson's Choice
Fandango
Pillow Talk
Fort Apache
There Was A Crooked Man
Miranda/Mad About Men
Nowhere To Go
Breaking Away
Kings Of Summer
Manos: Hands Of Fate
The Hi-Lo Country
Ask A Policeman
Guns Of Navarone
Snowball
Ghosts Can't Do It
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118 titles
- DirectorDaryl DukeCurtis HansonStarsElliott GouldChristopher PlummerSusannah YorkA timid bank teller anticipates a bank robbery and steals the money himself before the crook arrives. When the sadistic crook realizes he's been fooled, he tracks down the teller and engages him in a cat-and-mouse chase for the cash.This is a gem. The laid back, intriguing first half was good enough; the thriller that evolved took it up an unexpected gear.
- DirectorGary RossStarsTobey MaguireJeff DanielsJoan AllenTwo 1990s teenage siblings find themselves transported to a 1950s sitcom where their influence begins to profoundly change that colorless, complacent world.Enjoyed it when i first saw it in about 2009. Now i'm wiser. This is a manipulative reality/time travel film, like BTTF (though not as warm). Some dark undercurrent going on here when you really break it down.
- DirectorJim O'ConnollyStarsPeter VaughanJohn CarsonYvonne RomainA fastidious insurance assessor investigates a potential case of insurance fraud in Brighton and uncovers a murder.3rd viewing. I always remember the beginning and forget the end. Peter Vaughn and 60s Brighton are a combo enough that keeps me returning to this one.
- DirectorGeoff PosnerStarsVictoria WoodJulie WaltersCelia ImrieA spoof of ITV's magazine show This Morning, presented by Sally Cumbernauld (Wood) and Martin Crossthwaite (Preston), with sketches, adverts, an exercise ritual with Polly (Blake, an interview with Alan Rickman and the "four-times a day" soap opera, The Mall, with a special appearance from Mrs Overall.Probably the best of the VW specials. Includes the joyous 'The Mall' (soap opera)
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsAnjelica HustonDonal McCannHelena CarrollGabriel Conroy and wife Gretta attend an early January dinner with friends at the home of his spinster aunts, an evening which results in an epiphany for both of them.2nd viewing and wow. I had no idea just how good this was, how lovingly made. It'll probably be a 10 next time.
- DirectorJ. Lee ThompsonStarsJohn MillsAnthony QuayleSylvia SymsDuring World War II in North Africa, a medical field unit must cross the desert in their ambulance in order to reach the British lines in Alexandria.1st time seeing this on a projector really took it up a level. A solid, fine film.
- DirectorPhillip BorsosStarsRichard FarnsworthJackie BurroughsKen PogueWhen an aging, but gentlemanly stagecoach robber is released from prison, he decides to go to Canada to become a train robber.Finally the restored version. Man alive what a difference that made. Beautiful shots of autumnal canada to the cheiftains soundtrack. Again, this will probably become a 10 next time.
- DirectorGorô MiyazakiStarsSarah BolgerChris NothAnton YelchinA group of Yokohama teens look to save their school's clubhouse from the wrecking ball in preparations for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.A lot of chewing with little nutrition. Didn't really care about anyone in this. Looked great but characters feel remote, like much of studio g.
- DirectorGene WilderStarsGene WilderMadeline KahnMarty FeldmanThe younger brother of the consulting detective tries to steal Sherlock's glory by solving an important case assisted by an eccentric Scotland Yard detective and a lovely but suspicious actress.It's no saddles or young frank, we know that, but this cast being happy idiots in a 1970s-made period setting? I'm in. Memorable moments but a forgettable plot.
- DirectorGeorge MarshallStarsMarlene DietrichJames StewartMischa AuerDeputy sheriff Destry tames the town of Bottle Neck, including saloon singer Frenchy.Better on 2nd viewing. Marlene and Jimmy both loosen up to give good comedy.
- DirectorJames HillStarsShirley Anne FieldRobert StephensKay WalshThe relationship and possible affair between a young designer and a married executive plays out over a series of lunch hours.Is she bizarrely over-reacting? Or is she being emotionally intuitive, seeing to the heart of him as a person? It's different and it does capture something about 'non-starter' relationships. I kinda like it.
- DirectorSamuel FullerStarsBarbara StanwyckBarry SullivanDean JaggerShowdown in Arizona between the Bonnell brothers, U.S.Marshals, and Jessica Drummond, the iron-fist rancher who controls the territory.4th? viewing. Memorable moments, looks great, slightly bonkers; Stanwyck gives it class without taking away any of its b movie delights.
- DirectorSimon StoneStarsCarey MulliganRalph FiennesLily JamesAn archaeologist embarks on the historically important excavation of Sutton Hoo in 1938.Does what it says on the tin. Felt like tv but with a few quid extra spent.
- DirectorGeorge PollockStarsMargaret RutherfordArthur KennedyMuriel PavlowWhen Miss Jane Marple reports witnessing a murder through the window of a passing train, the police dismiss her as a dotty spinster when no trace of the crime can be found.Even better on the big screen. Such a good place to be, the Rutherford Miss Marple's.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsWilliam HoldenDon TaylorOtto PremingerAfter two Americans are killed while escaping from a German P.O.W. camp in World War II, the barracks black marketeer, J.J. Sefton, is suspected of being an informer.Couple of squawky characters but overall a steady, dry hunk of bread of a film.
- DirectorGeorge PollockStarsMargaret RutherfordStringer DavisRobert MorleyWhen a wealthy old man appears to have been "frightened to death" by a cat, Miss Jane Marple suspects one of his four relatives, all heirs to his estate, of his murder.This may be my favourite of the four. It even has her clambering up a wall, in the courtyard of the king's head in old amersham.
- DirectorDavid WinklerStarsHarvey KeitelJohnathon SchaechBridget FondaAn eccentric drifter claiming to be Elvis Presley hitches a ride with a young man and they find themselves on an adventurous road trip to Memphis.On paper, this should have been silly. It is. But somehow it also managed to be quite moving. Road movie with allegorical dream element.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsRandolph ScottElla RainesWilliam BishopA group of treasure hunters search for a wagon load of gold, buried years before in Death Valley.Lucky to make a 6. Promising, but i walked away hungry. The best thing is Josh White's cool blues. Better off putting one of his LPs on instead.
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsCharles LaughtonJohn MillsBrenda de BanzieWidower Henry Hobson refuses to let his three daughters get married because he doesn't want to pay settlements, so they'll just have to outsmart him.2nd viewing. Solid, funny and warm. Great performances from Charles Laughton and John Mills. Could be a 9.
- DirectorKevin CostnerStarsKevin CostnerRobert DuvallDiego LunaA former gunslinger is forced to take up arms again when he and his cattle crew are threatened by a corrupt lawman.7th, 8th? viewing. Never fails. Costner and Duvall at their best. Sure to stay in my all time top 10 westerns for life.
- StarsTom BellBrian CroucherJohn JunkinAfter an eight-year stint for a failed bank heist, Frank Ross (Tom Bell, Prime Suspect) returns to his old gangland haunts to find the snitch who sent him to jail. The smooth, streetwise ex-con quickly adjusts to the new attitudes of the disco-tinged '70s but discovers that although neighborhoods change, old grudges never go out of style. Played with steely intelligence by Bell, Ross doesn't hesitate to pull a gun or swing a fist if it suits him. Can he find the rat without falling into the clutches of a ruthless crime boss (Brian Cox, Rise of the Planet of the Apes) or the detective (Norman Rodway, The Bretts) determined to destroy him? Filmed on location in South London, Out depicts a world where gritty pubs, dingy flats, and run-down office buildings teem with high-living mobsters, cash-starved hustlers, and corrupt cops. BAFTA nominee Bell delivers a psychologically complex portrait of a gangster whose inner demons torment him as ferociously as his flesh-and-blood enemies.A peak for Tom Bell and for late 70s UK tv. A 'get carter' style man on a mission story, working his way through the weasels all the way to Mr Big.
- DirectorCharles SturridgeStarsHelena Bonham CarterJudy DavisRupert GravesAfter a rich Edwardian widow impulsively marries a handsome but poor Tuscan dentist and dies in childbirth, her English in-laws try to gain custody of the baby.Period drama that misses the mark. Annoying acting and characters you don't care for. Glad when it ended.
- DirectorKevin ReynoldsStarsKevin CostnerJudd NelsonSam RobardsFive college buddies from the University of Texas circa 1971 embark on a final road trip odyssey across the Mexican border before facing up to uncertain futures, in Vietnam and otherwise.Can't believe i never heard of this before. Coming of age/buddy/road movie with unusual elements such as aeronautics, plus Costner in kinda Jeff Bridges mode. Humourous and worth a rewatch.
- DirectorGarson KaninStarsIrene DunneCary GrantRandolph ScottMissing for seven years and presumed dead, a woman returns home on the day of her husband's second marriage.OK. A poor man's The Awful Truth?
- DirectorBob KeenStarsJean BohtDoug BradleyDaniel BurkeA young boy receives a magical VCR with the power to replay the past and preview the future--and his comfortable middle-class existence is thrown into complete chaos.Naff in many ways, a good concept not quite realised to its fullest but i enjoyed it all the same, just.