Monthly Archives: January 2016

Anita – ur en tonårsflickas dagbok / Anita: Swedish Nymphet (1973) Torgny Wickman, Christina Lindberg, Stellan Skarsgård, Danièle Vlaminck, Drama, Erotic

Anita - ur en tonarsflickas dagbok (Torgny Wickman, 1973)
Anita is a girl of only 16 years, and while she has developed early physically, to a mature woman, she is psychologically completly ruthless. Her relationship the her parents and her friends is very poor and she is regarded with contempt by the people around her, even by the men who so ruthlessly use her. During her troubles she meets Erik, a young psychology student. Gently and carefully he begins to dispell her psychological blocks. In the course of this treatment she reveals to him some of the shocking espisodes of her previous experience and how an inner compulsion forces her into humiliating debauchery in dangerous environments. Erik believes he has the solution to Anita’s problems: to let her move into an artist’s communal experiment, of which he is already a member. The common interest of this collective is largely the performing of classical music. Anita’s prosence in the collective, however, is regarded by some of the other girls as highly provocative.
Read More »

Shamus (1973) Buzz Kulik, Burt Reynolds, Dyan Cannon, John P. Ryan, Action, Comedy, Crime

Shamus (Buzz Kulik, 1973)
New York private eye Shamus McCoy likes girls, drink and gambling, but by the look of his flat business can’t be too hot. So an offer of $10,000 to finds some diamonds stolen in a daring raid with a flame-thrower is too good to miss. His investigations soon get pretty complicated and rather too dangerous. At least along the way he does get to meet Alexis.
Read More »

The Captive Heart (1946) Basil Dearden, Michael Redgrave, Rachel Kempson, Frederick Leister, War, Drama

The Captive Heart (1946)
After the evacuation at Dunkirk, June 1940, some thousands of British prisoners are sent to German P.O.W. camps. One such group includes “Capt. Geoffrey Mitchell,” a concentration-camp escapee who assumed the identity of a dead British officer. To avoid exposure, “Mitchell” must correspond with the dead man’s estranged wife Celia. But eventual exposure seems certain, and the men must find a way to get him out. If he reaches England, though, what will his reception be?
Read More »

Sign of the Pagan (1954) Douglas Sirk, Jeff Chandler, Jack Palance, Ludmilla Tchérina, Biography, Drama, History

Sign of the Pagan (1954)
Roman centurion Marcian is captured by Attila the Hun en route to Constantinople, but escapes. On arrival, he finds the eastern Roman emperor Theodosius plotting with Attila to look the other way while the latter marches against Rome. But Marcian gains the favor of Pulcheria, lovely sister of Theodosius, who favors a united Empire. As Attila marches, things look bleak for the weakened imperial forces. But the conqueror has an awe of the power of the Christians’ God…
Read More »

Je suis le seigneur du château / I’m the King of the Castle (1989) Régis Wargnier, Jean Rochefort, Dominique Blanc, Régis Arpin, Drama, Thriller

Je suis le seigneur du chateau AKA I'm the King of the Castle (1989)
Thomas is the 12-year-old son of a millionaire who lives in a big mansion surrounded by woods in France. When his mother dies, his father hires a widowed maid to take care of everything while he is away. The woman brings her only son, Charles, to live with them and, hopefully, be company to lonesome Thomas. The rich boy and the poor one become enemies from the very first encounter. Moved essentially by jealousy and fear, Thomas decides to turn Charles’ life into a hell on Earth, especially after their parents eventually fall in love. As the title suggests, he wants to make it clear to the invader who is the lord of the castle.
Read More »

The Fall of the House of Usher (1949) Ivan Barnett, Gwen Watford, Kay Tendeter, Irving Steen, Horror

Fall of the House of Usher 1949
A traveller arrives at the Usher mansion to visit his old friend, Roderick Usher. Upon arriving, however, he discovers that Roderick and his sister, Madeline, have been afflicted with a mysterious malady: Roderick’s senses have become painfully acute, while Madeline has become nearly catatonic. That evening, Roderick tells his guest of an old Usher family curse: any time there has been more than one Usher child, all of the siblings have gone insane and died horrible deaths. As the days wear on, the effects of the curse reach their terrifying climax.
Read More »

McLibel (2005) Franny Armstrong, Ken Loach, Helen Steel, Dave Morris, Bruce Alexander, Documentary

McLibel (2005)
McDonald’s loved using the UK libel laws to suppress criticism. Major media organisations like the BBC and The Guardian crumbled and apologised. But then they sued gardener Helen Steel and postman Dave Morris. In the longest trial in English legal history, the “McLibel Two” represented themselves against McDonald’s £10 million legal team. Every aspect of the corporation’s business was cross-examined: from junk food and McJobs, to animal cruelty, environmental damage and advertising to children. Outside the courtroom, Dave brought up his young son alone and Helen supported herself working nights in a bar. McDonald’s tried every trick in the book against them. Legal manoeuvres. A visit from Ronald McDonald. Top executives flying to London for secret settlement negotiations. Even spies. Seven years later, in February 2005, the marathon legal battle finally concluded at the European Court of Human Rights. And the result took everyone by surprise – especially the British Government.
Read More »