Love Songs - I've never really been that impressed by a Christophe Honoré film and this has not changed my view of him. It's probably unfortunate that I watched it so soon after the French Musical season as despite in that genre and with nods to Demy, Honoré is definitely no Demy. Umbrellas works because Demy creates an emotional world we buy into despite the thinness of the plot. Here, as in all of Honoré's film the main feeling I have for the characters is annoyance. And the attempts to land the film in reality jar not with the fantasy elements but the simple things like people walking into each others apartments. There are some good performances, I will say Honoré does get the best from his actors. But I'd skip and (re-)watch Demy. Also I'm not sure exactly how old one of the characters is meant to be, but the talk of school and homework implies below 18, making the relationship between them and Louis Garrel a bit sus.
Inferno - Selfish millionaire Robert Ryan breaks his leg and is left to die in the desert by his wife and her new lover. He has to pull himself to together to survive. No time for nonsense here, everything pretty much stripped to the bone, and for someone that has broken his leg Ryan is awfully agile, but still a nice 80 minutes of escapism. It looks good too with the Technicolor used to show both the desert and Rhonda Fleming (the no good spouse) to best effect.
Vice Squad - neat little police procedural with Edward G Robinson a captain of detectives trying to deal with a number of problems - a dead cop, a gigolo, a possible bank robbery and more - some of these strands coming together. It's no masterpiece but it is one of those 90 minute films that deserves to be better known. Very enjoyable.
Force of Evil - a noir with John Garfield focusing on the damage illegal gambling does. The message comes on a bit too heavy at times but there is enough in the film to keep it going. With plenty of events, lines and still some decent characterisation in 80 minutes.
The Last Witness - Wolfgang Staubte's film about the flaws of the West German legal system. A child has been murdered and not long after the mother is arrested. The father is a well to do business man who is already married and so the system is stacked against the mother. It's not as good as Staubte's excellent The Murders are Amongst Us, about re-building after the war, but it rollicks along at a good pace and has enough to keep you interested.
Highway to Hell - Chad Lowe falls asleep at the wheel and as punishment a Hell Cop takes his girlfriend, Kirsty Swanson (Buffy from the film version of the Vampire Slayer) to hell for Lucifer. I suppose it is a horror although there is nothing in it remotely frightening. It's as cheap as chips, has a daft plot and a pretty ropey script yet it kind of gets away with it. Partly because it plays it straightish and doesn't got for the sort of nudge nudge, wink wink smarts that too many horror comedies do. And partly because despite the budget obviously being tiny it has some imagination which makes up for the lack of money in terms of the films look.
