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This is the kind of film that terms like “nail-biter” and “edge of your seat” were created for. Directed and written by Henri-Georges Clouzot, the film crafts a deviant murder mystery, which puts guilt at the center of the tension. Rumor has it that Alfred Hitchcock missed out on buying the rights to the book this film was based on by mere hours. Cinema isn’t missing out on another great film from the master of suspense, because Clouzot’s work here rightfully earns him the title of France’s Hitchcock.

Christina Delasalle (Véra Clouzot, THE WAGES OF FEAR) is married to Michel (Paul Meurisse), a cruel principal at a private boys’ school that is having an affair with the sexy teacher Nicole Horner (Simone Signoret, SHIP OF FOOLS). Christina knows about the affair and takes sympathy on Nicole when she turns up one morning with a black eye. Eventually, the women decide to murder Michel, ending in them dumping his body in the murky pool at the school. Who will find the body? When will it be found? What questions will be asked when Michel goes missing?
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Twins have been a common theme in horror films and macabre master David Cronenberg tackles the topic here. Elliot and Beverly Mantle (Jeremy Irons, A REVERSAL OF FORTUNE) are identical twin gynecologists. Beverly is the shy, scholarly scientist, who developed a revolutionary surgical instrument when he was a student at college. Elliot is a flashy ladies man, who serves as the public face for Beverly’s work.

One day, actress Claire Niveau (Geneviève Bujold, THE HOUSE OF YES) comes to see Beverly at his office to see if she can get pregnant. During the examination, Elliot switches places with Beverly and seduces Claire. When Elliot gets bored of Claire, he hands her over to Beverly again. Beverly falls in love with Claire, who is quite disturbed when she finds out about Elliot.

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As for the classic horror films, the FRANKENSTEIN series is considered by many as the best. I haven’t seen enough of the classic monster films to say from personal experience, but from having seen the first two films in the series I cannot argue with popular opinion.

The original FRANKENSTEIN sticks out in my mind more clearly than DRACULA or THE MUMMY, because it has less of the stagey performing that hurts many films from the 1930s. It also has the strangely engaging central character — Frankenstein’s monster. In BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, the same things can be said.

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The filmmaking team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger were early adopters of color in their films. Along with THE RED SHOES, this film is a shining example of how color can play a huge role in a picture when used correctly. The intoxicating eroticism of the Himalayan setting is brought brilliantly to life in rich visual splashes. Color works as a mysterious character that haunts every frame of this masterpiece.

Sister Clodagh (Deborah Kerr, THE INNOCENTS) is a snobby and arrogant nun, who is assigned her own mission in the Himalayas with a handful or so of other nuns under her, despite her young age. A prince has given the nuns an old palace where a harem was once housed. The prince pays his people to attend the school there and the nuns are afraid to treat the sick in their hospital because of the fear that the natives will rebel against them if the patient ends up dying. British ex-patriot Mr. Dean (David Farrar, GONE TO EARTH) tries to help the nuns, but he butts heads with Sister Clodagh due to her holier than thou disgust for his frivolous lifestyle. However, Mr. Dean’s sexual appeal is not lost on off-kilter nun Sister Ruth (Kathleen Byron, 1996’s EMMA).

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Mario Bava is considered the granddaddy of Italian horror. He was a cinematographer who began directing at age 46. He was always assigned genre films. He is known for his striking visuals, envelope-pushing violence and gore and a distinctive style with off-kilter humor.

This film begins with a fly committing suicide in a lake. Then we move to a highly dramatic scene of Countess Federica Donati (Isa Miranda, THE NIGHT PORTER) rolling her wheelchair to the window on a rainy night staring out at a boathouse in lament. The music swells as she moves back into the room and then suddenly the music is cut off, a noose is thrown around her neck and she is pushed off her wheelchair to hang herself. This shocking first death is only the tip of the iceberg in what surprises lie within the twisted world of this film.

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For me a comedy needs to do two things — 1) establish a world and keep with it and 2) make me laugh. If a comedy can also make me think and care about the characters, then that’s just gravy. ANCHORMAN is just plain lumpy, mashed potatoes, but I liked the taste of it nonetheless.

When ANCHORMAN works, it’s really funny. When it’s doesn’t, it’s dead silence bad. However, the good really outweighs the bad and it moves on so quickly to a new joke that you forget that the one right before really tanked. Sometimes the joke starts out bad and they just go with it until it works. This is where the talent of the performers is highlighted.

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I struggled with this film throughout. At times it works on your emotions successfully, but undercuts those emotions with characters that are inconsistent.

The story follows Danny (Jet Li, HERO), a savage hitman who has been beaten of his humanity by gangster Bart (Bob Hoskins, MONA LISA). Danny wears a collar that makes him docile, but when Bart removes it Danny becomes a raging, unstoppable killer. As the story progresses, Danny ends up meeting and eventually taken in by blind piano tuner Sam (Morgan Freeman, MILLION DOLLAR BABY), who has a stepdaughter named Victoria (Kerry Condon, NED KELLY). Sam and Victoria make Danny a part of their unusual family. They also go about teaching Danny to readjust to normal society.

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Director Todd Solondz is a director of films that are for an audience with extremely open minds. He is not afraid to push buttons, take chances or offend. He is also very cynical and sarcastic, which to some is off putting.

PALINDROMES is his most experimental film and the film in which he has taken the most chances. At the beginning, he brings back characters from his first movie WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE and then runs them through the wringer for the entire picture.

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This independent film came out of the Sundance Film Festival with a lot of praise, winning a grand and a special jury prize. It went on to win several awards at the Cannes Film Festival. Much of the recognition has deservedly been lumped on writer/director/star Miranda July, who previous to making this film worked as a performance artist. Her film could be categorized as a romantic comedy, but that term undermines its dramatic and intellectual depth.

In a world of growing technology, Christine Jesperson (July) finds it harder and harder to really communicate with other people and develop new relationships. She’s working on a museum art piece during her off hours and operates a taxi service for the elderly to make money. One day while taking a client out to buy shoes, she meets recently divorced shoe salesman Richard Swersey (John Hawkes, THE PERFECT STORM), who has a strange philosophical outlook on life that instantly attracts her to him.

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Director George A. Romero created our modern image of the zombie as the flesh-eating walking undead. NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and DAWN OF THE DEAD are horror classics and DAY OF THE DEAD is very underrated. LAND OF THE DEAD is the beginning in a new cycle of Romero zombie films. For the four films it’s on par with DAY.

The film is set in a post-apocalyptic world where zombies roam the streets of cities while humans hole themselves up in a small community surrounded by water. Rich people live in a huge apartment complex called Fiddler’s Green while the poor people scrounge the abandoned cities for food and luxuries.

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