(NOIR) The Blue Dahlia - 1946 ****

'Tamed by a brunette, framed by a blonde, blamed by the cops' (just had to include the wonderful tagline)

I wish reviewers would stop saying that this film is based on the Black Dahlia murder when it isn't. Actually Elizabeth Smart was nick-named the 'Black Dahlia' after a suitor got the name of the film wrong, and it stuck. The Blue Dahlia is a place, not a person. Rant over.

I think this is probably the best of the 3 films I have seen with Lake and Ladd. Lake is astoundingly beautiful, Ladd is tantalisingly handsome, add in some dark scenes, some romance, some murder and you pretty much have this (and any other film noir that you would care to mention).

Ladd returns home from war early only to find that his alcoholic wife has been having an affair with a male friend. *SPOILERS* The wife is murdered the same night, and of course Ladd is the prime suspect (when we all know he didn't do it because he was chatting up Lake at the time).

I love these tense plots where the audience know the truth and the police don't, and there is no proof to save the hero. It keeps you glued to the seat.

Great movie, worth a watch for one of the greatest noir pairings ever.

Puss in Boots - 2011 ****

Before Puss's adventures with Donkey and Shrek, he was having quite a few adventures of his own after teaming up with Humpty Dumpty (an egg of unusual sorts) and Kitty Softpaws. Puss has been searching for Jack and Jill's magic beans his whole life, and so when he meets Kitty and is reunited with Humpty (his long-time friend from the orphanage where they were both raised) they decide to go searching for them, hoping to eventually find the golden goose eggs kept at the top of the beanstalk.

I must say that if it wasn't from Banderas, this film wouldn't be half the success it is. His voice matches the image you have of the cat and he's so perfect for the role. A spanish cat is spot on. The others are great, and there are many humourous moments spoofing well-known adventure films, as well as some very funny parts when we see Puss take full advantage of his 'feline' role.

It's a good story, and very enjoyable, and I don't think any of the other characters from Shrek could have carried a whole film on their shoulders. Puss is the best!!

(NOIR) Night Editor - 1946 ****

I actually enjoyed this noir, despite the fact it was a 'B' movie (going to show yet again that not all 'A' movies are the best.

The movie tells of a police lieutenant named Tony who starts an affair with a beautiful socialite (Janis Carter) behind his wife's back (ironically she is also cheating on her husband). One night they go for a drive to 'lovers lane' to be alone and are startled to see a a man bludgeoning his girlfriend to death. Because of their current situation they cannot report the crime without revealing their affair, and so begins a nerve-wracking journey where the main witness to the crime cannot help solve it without giving himself away.

A very interesting story and very taut and gripping. I liked.

(NOIR) On Dangerous Ground - 1951 **1/2

I was expecting something wonderful from Robert Ryan and Nicholas Ray, but was sadly disappointed with this mediocre offering from 1951. The story of a nasty cop who goes off the rails and then discovers he is a human being after all is nothing original in film noir, and Ida Lupino as a blind and slightly pathetic do-gooder is annoying. About the best thing was the music; not a film you should watch if you are just being introduced to film noir.

(HORROR) Staunton Hill - 2007 ***

Let's see, I found this in the bargain bin at the DVD shop. 'Nuff said? Well actually no, as it wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting it to be. The only thing that really got to me throughout the entire movie was that it was supposed to be set in 1969. This is 1969 of Woodstock, the Manson Murder and free love. These actors looked like they slung on whatever was at the back of their wardrobe and hoped they would merge in. The men had short hair, one of the girls actually had a hoodie(!) and the expressions and clothes in general were pretty rubbish and not of that time at all. It's one of the worst films I've seen in regards to trying to portray an authentic time, as it fails miserably.

That said, I actually quite liked the story. Sure it's been done before but it still came across as pretty gruesome and exciting to me. Plus there was no CGI whatsoever, so instead we got the nasty, bloody mess that gore fans love so much.

Watch it. You might like it just a bit.

Waitress - 2007 ****

Adrienne Shelly's sweet movie was tragically marred by her horrific murder before the film was released. Still, it doesn't stop you really enjoying the movie, and I really liked the story, although watching her act is quite upsetting. Keri Russell plays Jenna, a pie maker married to a disgusting brute of a man who abuses her, physically and mentally every day. Despite all this she doesn't lave,preferring to bide her time and save up enough money to get out one day in the future. The audience I would imagine are more concerned with the 'here and now' of the situation. She discovers (at the worst time possible) that she is pregnant and speaks to her doctor. Sparks fly, and it is all Jenna can do to not pack her whole marriage in. Instead, she makes pies, loads of pies of all flavours and titles, effectively living out her emotions into them as she bakes. She also goes through a variety of emotions regarding the baby and whether she actually wants to keep it or not. It's a sort of magical film, with surreal bits blown in, and actually I found that on the whole it was very humourous. Jenna has two friends at the diner where she works who are quirky and funny, and also very supportive of her. A nice little film, but I didn't agree with Jenna's attitude to her marriage, which seemed to be utterly hopeless. I wanted her to leave.

High Plains Drifter - 1973 *

I was expecting to go into 'High Plains Drifter' and be greeted with another fantastic movie like 'The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.' However I was so unimpressed by the movie that it left a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. Eastwood is a cowboy like no other, and in any other film I'm sure he would be exciting and cool. In this however, it was like he was completely uninterested in his own part, half acting, half slouching his way through the film, while scene after scene is shown where people are literally tripping themselves up to be in the same place as him. His manner is really not here nor there, it's not evil, and it's not good, it's just sort of 'medium', 'the gray area' which is totally baffling. It's amazing to see such a prolific actor take such an awfully menial part. Added to which, his directing skills really left a lot to be desired. Remember the gripping countdown of tension in TGTBATU? The way you knew something was going to happen and that when it did it would be monumental? Well there is nothing like that amount of tension here. There is a lot of walking around and long, long shots, but NOTHING HAPPENS. At all. The small amount of tension you get sort of filters off and evaporates. It was dull, far too violent for a Clint Estwood western with uncalled for swearing and pointless scenes that can only have been slotted in to make the male members of the audience sit up in their seats. Added to which there is some teeth-grating music that keeps coming on and off without warning, supposedly attempting to create a scare. It sounds like someone has got a bagpipe stuck in their windpipe. There is nothing to recommend about this movie at all.

(NOIR) Ministry of Fear - 1944 ****

Ray Milland is a really exciting actor. He has that incredibly open and honest face which is so perfect for films like 'Dial M for Murder' where he plays a really horrible character. Thankfully he is playing the hero in this, and very well he does it too.

Stephen Neale has just been released from a mental institution in wartime England during the Blitz. Whilst waiting for a train to London he stumbles upon what looks like an innocent village fete where one of the games is to guess the weight of a cake. A local woman offers to read his palm, and also bizarrely drops into the conversation the amount of the cake which will win him the competition. Stephen takes the cake to leave, but the villagers are having other ideas and try to persuade him to give it back soon after (yes, you guessed it!) Dan Duryea appears and speaks to the fortune teller.

From then on Stephen is fighting for his sanity and his life.

It does seem completely weird when you put it into words, but there is something very frightening about this film. Especially when we are confronted by various people that we really trust who turn out to be evil. Ray Milland is excellent as the thwart and paranoid man who feels like his past maybe catching up with him, but he doesn't understand how. Dan Duryea is yet again excellent in the moderate part that he has been given and really lights up the scene when he appears. The backdrop of the Blitz really adds to the unease and feeling that you should be whispering everything in case you are heard.

(NOIR) Black Angel - 1946 *****

I was utterly gripped by this film noir. June Vincent was excellent as the smouldering wife of a wrongly accused man, who teams up with the husband of the murdered woman to clear her husband's name. Doing so means that everything is at stake, and they have no idea who to trust, and who actually is the real killer. I'm becoming a huge fan of Dan Duryea. I remember a film critic talking about how right he was for film noir a long time ago but at that stage I had never heard of him. Now everytime I see him in one of these films I have to agree. He's shifty, but can be charming, slimy, but totally elegant, and completely a part of shadows and cigarette smoke. He merges in perfectly. He's the standout for this movie, with June Vincent (the cross between Ann Todd and Veronica Lake) and Peter Lorre taking second place. One of the better noirs.

Twisted Nerve - 1969 *****

'Twisted Nerve' in my opinion is a superb film. It is taut, gripping, full of jumps and terrifyingly psychological. After spending so long watching Hayley Mills in her earlier films she was completely unrecognizable as the joint lead in this.

Hywel Bennett plays a young man named Martin who is treated like a child by his mother and ignored by his father. The couple have another son but he is a mongoloid and therefore in a mental institution, (the film makes a big deal at the beginning to reassure viewers that people do not think of mongoloids as insane, it is just for the purpose of the movie). The mother is terrified that Martin will become 'weird' like his brother, and therefore pampers and mothers him to the extent where he retreats into a childish world where he names himself 'Georgie', plays with his toys and speaking like someone with a bit of a problem. The irony! In reality, Martin is an intelligent and manipulative person, who becomes obsessed by Susan (Mills) after she gets him out of a shoplifting scrape and goes to great extremes trying to track her down. When he finally does, it is at her home which she shares with her mother (Billie Whitelaw) and a number of lodgers. Adopting his 'Georgie', Martin hopes to worm his way into her affections, and nothing will stop him...

A brilliant film to see at night with the lights off. The most terrifying thing is Martin's mind which has no limits or boundaries, no matter who ends up hurt.

Chinatown - 1974 ***

I felt the same way about 'Chinatown' that I did about 'L.A.Confidential', which was that I was underwhelmed. Maybe I wasn't in the right mood to watch either and that can put me off watching anything, but I would have thought that a film which boasts tons of top 50 film lists would have pulled me in a bit more. Jack Nicholson is great and I find him a very bizarre actor. He did suit the 1930s get-up, but I was totally unimpressed by Faye Dunaway. Her character was completely non-descript and got on my nerves constantly. I liked the premise of the film, and the seedy, sweaty world which Nicholson seems to inhabit more than his own home, but the story was a bit of a jumble, and I suspect Polanski used a mish-mash of very successful film noirs to help him with the plot. I cannot call this a film noir, because it didn't have those qualities, I would simply call it a crime drama. One thing I did like about the film was how Nicholson lit up every scene he was in. The minute he appears in a room he takes it over so that you are concentrating on him and him alone, that is a pretty powerful trait to have as an actor these days.