The Admirable Crichton (aka Paradise Lagoon) (1957)

In 1902, a yacht of British aristocrats and their two servants vacationing in the South Seas runs afoul of a storm and they must abandon ship. Eventually, they are marooned on an uninhabited desert island and it's the butler (Kenneth More) who has the ability and the fortitude to take over and save them from starvation. In the two years they are on the island, the class system is reversed with the butler the leader and aristocrats the workers. J.M. Barrie's satirical comedy of manners on the English class system is both amusing and poignant and director Lewis Gilbert (ALFIE) handles the balance artfully. What seems like a Utopia on the island is just another class system and when/if they are rescued, will they have learned anything or will they retreat to their established positions? The Bermuda locations are indeed a paradise and lovingly photographed by Wilkie Cooper (JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS). With Diane Cilento, Sally Ann Howes, Cecil Parker and Martita Hunt. Previously filmed in 1919 by Cecil B. DeMille under the title MALE AND FEMALE.

La Ley Del Deseo (aka Law Of Desire) (1987)

A film director (Eusebio Poncela) casually picks up a handsome young man (Antonio Banderas) and what should have been a one night stand turns deadly when the young man turns out to be a homicidal, obsessive psychotic who will do anything (including murder) to completely possess the director. The director must also deal with his neurotic transgender sister (Carmen Maura) who is raising her niece to be a good Catholic girl. Yes, it's that wild and wacky Pedro Almodovar up to his tricks again. Almodovar's melodrama examines the insanity that desire (it's sure not love) drives us to and the consequences of that follow when we are unable to harness our unbridled emotions. The film is pretty dramatic for the most part until the absurd ending when it becomes a comedy in spite of itself (or I could be wrong, perhaps Almodovar intended it). But then again, the entire film is absurd but who said love is logical? Whatever its flaws, as with most of Almodovar's films, it's riveting. His unique vision is like no one else's and when even not at his best, Almodovar remains more fascinating than most hacks when they do everything right. Maura, no surprise, commands the screen whenever she appears. With Rossy De Palma.

The Big Circus (1959)

A struggling circus owner (Victor Mature) takes out a large loan from a bank in order to save his circus but the loan comes with conditions. A bank accountant (Red Buttons) and a press agent (Rhonda Fleming) are assigned to the circus to watch out for the bank's interest but they are the least of Mature's worries. There's a saboteur right under his nose trying to destroy the circus. Directed by Joseph M. Newman, this is a retread of Cecil B. DeMille's THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH but I like it better than that bloated best picture Oscar winner. It's not burdened down with lengthy globs of time devoted to tedious circus acts that drag the movie down and there's none of that droning and pretentious DeMille narration telling us how noble circus people are. This one moves along swiftly giving us just enough glimpses of the circus to whet our appetite without making it into a documentary. With Vincent Price (wasted as the circus ringmaster), Gilbert Roland, Kathryn Grant, Peter Lorre, David Nelson and Adele Mara.

The Player (1992)

A young Hollywood producer (Tim Robbins) is receiving threatening postcards from an unknown writer, one of many whose scripts he had rejected. He confronts the writer (Vincent D'Onofrio) he suspects of sending the postcards and accidentally kills him but disguises it to look like a robbery gone bad. Shortly thereafter, he begins receiving threatening postcards again. Based on the novel by Michael Tolkin and directed by the great Robert Altman, this dark and wicked satire is one of the better movies about Hollywood. It may not be SUNSET BOULEVARD and SINGIN' IN THE RAIN but it's more than good enough. The screenplay is outrageous enough to bring a grin to your face but still enough of the truth to sting. Altman manages to get stabs in without being bitter. The opening tracking shot with no cuts whatsoever lasting almost 8 minutes is Altman's homage to Welles' TOUCH OF EVIL which is openly referenced in the film. The cast includes Whoopi Goldberg, Greta Scacchi, , Peter Gallagher, Lyle Lovett, Dina Merrill, Dean Stockwell, Richard E. Grant, Brion James and Gina Gershon. And a mass of actors and celebrities playing themselves including Julia Roberts, Bruce Willis, Susan Sarandon, Nick Nolte, Anjelica Huston, Burt Reynolds, Karen Black, Harry Belafonte, Cher, James Coburn, John Cusack, Jack Lemmon, Lily Tomlin, Scott Glenn, Robert Wagner, Peter Falk, Jill St. John, Teri Garr, Elliott Gould, Jeff Goldblum, Andie MacDowell, Rod Steiger, Mimi Rogers, Felicia Farr, Steve Allen, Marlee Matlin, Joel Grey, Jayne Meadows and Louise Fletcher.

Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (2007)

Taking place in the last two years of his life, the film's prolonged title says it all. The story of the killing of Jesse James (Brad Pitt) by Robert Ford (Casey Affleck). Based on the 1983 novel by Ron Hansen and superbly directed by Andrew Dominik (who also did the screenplay), this is one of the great American westerns. It's not your standard shoot 'em up western, in fact, we see only one robbery by the James gang during its 2 hours, 40 minutes running time. The film examines the complex and conflicted relationship between Jesse James and the man who would eventually shoot him in the back. Ford's almost childlike hero worship of James which slowly dissolves into something fearful and sinister and what seems like James' eventual resignation to his fate. Dominik takes his time to let the story unfold and there's an elegiac mood and tone that infuses the film. Pitt as James gives what may be his best performance yet but the film belongs to Casey Affleck as Robert Ford. Affleck is a limited actor but he fits the role like a snug glove. The cinematography by Roger Deakins is stunning, each frame like a postcard lifted from an 1880s photo album and there's a somber but perfect score courtesy of Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. With Mary Louise Parker, Sam Rockwell, Jeremy Renner, Sam Shepard, Zooey Deschanel, Michael Parks, Alison Elliott, James Carville and Paul Schneider.

Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938)

While in France, a surly American millionaire (Gary Cooper) falls head over heels for the daughter (Claudette Colbert) of a penniless French aristocrat (Edward Everett Horton). He proposes, she accepts but on the eve of their wedding, she discovers he's been married seven times before! Based on the play LA HUITIEME FEMME DE BARBE BLEUE by Alfred Savoir and directed by Ernst Lubitsch (THE SMILING LIEUTENANT). The pedigree to this one is pretty good. In addition to the great Lubitsch, the script is by Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett with Cooper and Colbert in the leads but a promising start that anticipates a witty, sophisticated comedy with that Lubitsch touch runs out of steam about halfway through the picture. Once Cooper and Colbert get married it becomes a tiresome exercise with Colbert holding on to her virginity while Cooper deploys several attempts to consummate the marriage. Colbert is charming but Cooper is very awkward here. The large supporting cast is good though including David Niven who has one good scene, Franklin Pangborn, Warren Hymer (very good as a punch drunk prizefighter), Leon Ames and Elizabeth Patterson.

Mirage (1965)

Shortly after a New York skyscraper has a blackout, a world famous humanitarian (Walter Abel) plunges to his death from the 24th floor and an accountant (Gregory Peck) on the same floor emerges from his office with amnesia. A beautiful woman (Diane Baker) he meets on the stairs knows him but he doesn't remember her and she disappears as suddenly as she appeared and people he doesn't know keep pointing guns at him and demanding information so in desperation he hires a detective (Walter Matthau) to help him find his identity. This modest B&W Hitchcockian (but without Hitchcock's subtext) thriller is a first rate suspenser. Directed by Edward Dmytryk (CROSSFIRE) with a clever screenplay by Peter Stone who wrote the marvelous CHARADE two years earlier, the film moves swiftly along which is a good thing as it doesn't give us the time to dwell on some minor loopholes. Peck did the amnesia thing with Hitchcock 20 years earlier in SPELLBOUND but this time he's more relaxed in front of the camera. It's the kind of film where you might forget the details as months go by but still remember the compelling feeling you got. A nice score by Quincy Jones. With Kevin McCarthy, Jack Weston, George Kennedy, Leif Erickson, Anne Seymour and Robert H. Harris.

On The Double (1961)

The British army recruits an American G.I. (Danny Kaye) with a talent for mimicry to impersonate a British General (Danny Kaye). But they don't tell him the reason for it: the General is an assassination target for Nazi spies. Directed by Melville Shavelson (HOUSEBOAT). This isn't the first time Kaye has played multiple roles (think SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY or ON THE RIVIERA) and the situation is rife with comic possibilities. Alas, the film doesn't take advantage of them. Indeed, Kaye seems rather lacklustre here with the manic craziness that earmarks his brand of humor appearing only occasionally. The one genuine comedic highlight is a formal party where a cat steals Kaye's contact lens and Kaye is forced to interact without being able to see. That sequence also includes a very amusing Margaret Rutherford as Kaye's belligerent whisky drinking Aunt and a funny Highland Fling which Kaye attempts to participate in. Other than that, it's hit and miss, mostly miss and the last half hour really drags. Plus, I didn't find the "Oh, those crazy, nutty Nazis" caricatures very amusing but then I never quite got that whole Hogan's Heroes comic Nazis thing. With Dana Wynter as Kaye's wife, Diana Dors as Kaye's mistress, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Jesse White and Gregory Walcott.

The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

The British government and the Soviet government agree to work together to find out what happened to their submarines which have disappeared without a trace. To this end, each country sends their best agent. Britain send 007 James Bond (Roger Moore) while Russia sends Agent XXX (Barbara Bach). When XXX finds out Bond was responsible for her lover's death, she vows to kill him after the mission is accomplished. The tenth film in the Bond franchise was an enormous success both critically and financially and remains a favorite to this day. Moore's third outing as Bond proved successful as he finally managed to find his own rhythm which hadn't quite in his previous outings. Visually, this is probably the best looking Bond ever. The Ken Adams sets are stunning and they're handsomely shot by Claude Renoir (THE RIVER). Alas, there's still that chintzy Marvin Hamlisch score to contend with. It's still somewhat derivative of the other Bonds, however, especially the tanker finale which is a redoing of the spectacular YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE volcano finale. It's good, so why don't I like it better? It just seems overblown but it's not as if some of the other Bonds aren't. Directed by Lewis Gilbert. With Curt Jurgens as billionaire villain with visions of world domination, Caroline Munro, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell, George Baker, Desmond Llewelyn and Richard Kiel as the tiresome "Jaws" who's afford way too much screen time and, alas, is allowed to return in the next installment.

Miral (2010)

Spanning from 1947 through the early 1990s, the film follows three Palestinian women: Hind (Hiam Abbass) who opens a school for Palestinian war orphans, Nadia (Yasmine Al Massri) who comes from a history of sexual abuse by her stepfather and Fatima (Ruba Blal), a nurse who becomes radicalized into a terrorist. But these stories are merely the backstories of the film's main character Miral (Freida Pinto) so we can see the history that formed her circumstances. Based on the autobiographical book by Rula Jebreal and directed by Julian Schnabel (DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY). Like his previous three films, MIRAL is based on a true story. In a way, this might make a good double bill with Otto Preminger's EXODUS (1960) since both films look at their "side" in a singular way. Torn between between the injustices of Israel toward her fellow Palestinians and a desire for peace, Miral must carve out her own way of dealing with the conflict. The film is not anti-Israel though some may look at it that way. In her meatiest role to date, Pinto proves she's just not pretty face but has the range of a real actress. She does quite well considering her character is too dry to elicit much interest. With Vanessa Redgrave, Willem Dafoe, Omar Metwally and in the film's best performance, Alexander Siddig as Miral's father.

Les Voleurs (aka Thieves) (1996)

A cop (Daniel Auteuil), who is the black sheep in a family of professional criminals and treated as an outsider, becomes romantically involved with an unstable petty thief (Laurence Cote), the sister of his brother's (Didier Bezace) punk partner (Benoit Magimel). But he must share her with her philosophy teacher (Catherine Deneuve), who is also her lover. Directed by Andre Techine, the film is fragmented and moves through out various periods, not chronologically, through the characters messy lives. It's a character piece, an excellent one at that, more concerned with the psychological and emotional (or lack of it) landscape of its characters than the police thriller aspect of it. It's slightly overlong but there's so much richness to it that it justifies its length. The striking images are by cinematographer Jeanne Lapoirie (8 FEMMES) and the minimal but effective score by Philippe Sarde (TESS). With Ivan Desny and Julien Riviere as the wise beyond his years 10 year old who seems destined to carry on in the family business.

The Passionate Friends (1949)

On her way to Switzerland for a holiday, a married woman (Ann Todd) recollects a New Year's Eve party nine years earlier when she rekindled a romance with her former lover (Trevor Howard). Her husband (Claude Rains) forgives her indiscretion but forbids her to ever see him again. So, guess who she meets in Switzerland? Based on the novel by H.G. Wells, this is one of David Lean's romance films of which BRIEF ENCOUNTER and SUMMERTIME are better known but this one fits in snugly in between. It's not as satisfying predominantly because the central character of the wife is rather selfish and narcissistic. She loves Howard in a way she doesn't love her husband but she loves the money and security of the lifestyle Rains can provide her with. Meanwhile, she's only giving the two men in her life only half of herself and frankly, both men deserve better. Fortunately, Ann Todd is quite good here and does a more than credible job of displaying the contradictory mental state of her character. Guy Green did the cinematography with some lovely French mountains and lakes standing in for Switzerland and Richard Addinsell did the overactive score. With Wilfrid Hyde-White.