Cocoon (1985)
CRUMBLIES… Wry schmaltz for crumblies everywhere, with a mighty dash of wish-fulfilment (and the emptiness of eternal life, when you get to thinking about it), a specious romantic sub-plot and … Continue Reading Cocoon (1985)
The Winslow Boy (1948)
CRUMBLIES… This movie is glorious. Better than that – sublime. This is Robert Donat at his most brilliant, combining the cool with the sympathetic. It is the story of the … Continue Reading The Winslow Boy (1948)
Walter Finds a Father (1921)
CRUMBLIES… Silent Steve went rare and British when I asked for some ancient films about fatherhood. He pulled up a comedy short from 1921 that tells the classic (perhaps I … Continue Reading Walter Finds a Father (1921)
Love is Strange (2014)
CRUMBLIES… Lovely, this. A story not a million miles away from Make Way for Tomorrow (1937), it’s a thoroughly modern version. Old gay couple, Ben and George, have been together for … Continue Reading Love is Strange (2014)
Within our Gates (1920)
CRUMBLIES… Wow. Silent Steve blew me out of my assumptions with this one. Ignorance is a terrible thing, eh? Old Jack, for instance, hadn’t even considered that black American directors … Continue Reading Within our Gates (1920)
Dilwale (2015)
CRUMBLIES… Old Jack here has noticed a few themes that run through Bollywood movies. They can be clunky plotted, with coincidence and about-turns hidden in the sumptuous photography, use of … Continue Reading Dilwale (2015)
RED 2 (2013)
CRUMBLES… More fun! More oldsters giving out the comedy and gunfire! Not quite so tight or sympathetic, what with familiarity, but international plotting and a touch of the Cold War. … Continue Reading RED 2 (2013)
Fanaa (2006)
CRUMBLIES… And another winner from Vibrant Vinay! We didn’t even discuss its length, or what it was about. He just looked at me coolly one morning, muttered, “to destroy oneself … Continue Reading Fanaa (2006)
The Count of Monte Cristo (1934)
CRUMBLIES… Now this is the one! I know there have been a load of remakes, and before this version a slew of silents, but of the lot, this version is … Continue Reading The Count of Monte Cristo (1934)
Diving Lucy (1903)
CRUMBLIES… Silent Steve asked me if I had a minute to spare. I did, and we crammed an early – nay, primeval – British comedy short into it. A project … Continue Reading Diving Lucy (1903)
Mama Mia! – Here We Go Again (2018)
CRUMBLIES… I know! We had an outing. Nurse Stabby-Fingers had a rage at us for being miserable a week ago, so we blackmailed her into taking us all to the … Continue Reading Mama Mia! – Here We Go Again (2018)
Duck (2005)
CRUMBLIES… Bum. What a let down. The box cover looked great. The concept looked fascinating, funny and fantastic. The execution…twenty minutes of oddly shot loveliness becomes…no. Just no. Duck. It’s … Continue Reading Duck (2005)
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001)
CRUMBLIES… Sumptuous fun. Vibrant Vinay bounded in one morning, zimmer skidding to a halt on the shagpile, filled with glee at his new DVD. Anjali, his chirpy daughter, had bought … Continue Reading Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001)
Falling Leaves (1912)
CRUMBLIES… Having introduced narrative story-telling to film back in 1896, French producer-director-writer and cracking storyteller, Alice Guy-Blaché developed the form through hundreds more shorts. She married, had kids, moved with … Continue Reading Falling Leaves (1912)
La Fée aux Choux / The Fairy of the Cabbages (1900)
CRUMBLIES… Silent Steve stared at me. I stared at Silent Steve. “Cabbages?” I said. “Yup,” he replied. And so I’m going to share this with you. First, a history lesson. … Continue Reading La Fée aux Choux / The Fairy of the Cabbages (1900)
Rio Lobo (1970)
CRUMBLIES… Old Mrs Jack and old Jack, back in late 1970, wandering the paranoid highs and lows of America, had caught its self-flagellation in Little Big Man (1970). Okay, so that … Continue Reading Rio Lobo (1970)
MOVIE BLETHER - MOVIE REVIEWS FOR YOUR MIDDLE AND... FINAL YEARS 