Out of the Past / Build My Gallows High (1947 Jacques Tourneur)

As tense a film noir as you'd expect from the director of Cat People (e.g. great scene in Acapulco when Douglas suddenly turns up), in which honest private eye turned garage owner Robert Mitchum is invited to go back to the past by muscle Paul Valentine. Flashback told to girlfriend Virginia Huston relates how former employer and crook Kirk Douglas hired him to locate girlfriend Jane Greer, who skipped with forty K after trying to kill him. Mitchum follows her to Acapulco and falls for her on Nick Musuraca's day-for-night beach, where she claims not to have taken the money...

Great terse, sardonic dialogue (one of the film's major assets) and twisty, inexorable (a word that is just right for noir) story by Geoffrey Homes from his own novel (also the film's alternative title, above), underscored by the prolific Roy Webb, in which the deaf and dumb kid Dickie Moore proves undeniably useful and delivers the film's last great lie.

Also with Rhonda Fleming, Richard Webb, Steve Brodie.

My May 2012 review says that Musuraca shoots San Francisco exteriors like Hopper - I wish I'd read that before this screening as I completely missed it! Good tonal range in exteriors.

I don't really know Greer though she was reteamed with Mitchum in The Big Steal, and in later life appeared in the film's 80s remake Against All Odds, and Twin Peaks. She lies at every turn and is without any redeeming features - our archetypal film noir anti-heroine, in fact.

The Dresser (1983 Peter Yates)

At first sight, an unusual choice for Yates, better known for Bullitt, though one of his early jobs was a theatre manager. He was nominated for this and I'm not quite sure why - though I liked the choice of long shots of the performances from the audience POV. It is a film of Ronald Harwood's adaptation of his own play, with Albert Finney playing a monstrous borderline-nutcase old time theatre actor (based on Sir Donald Wolfit) and Tom Courtenay as his loyal dresser and servant (Harwood's alter ego) in wartime Bradford. 'Sir' is so loud, so volatile, so difficult, so tormented that it's difficult to watch, though Courtenay is a balance of wit, support and common sense (helped by the odd nip of brandy).

Was Finney considered for Dumbledore!

It seems that Sir only stabilises when he's actually started his performance, a frightening commentary on the psychological oddities of the profession.

Eileen Atkins is the stage manager who has loved Sir for many a year, Edward Fox a disrespectful actor.

Nominated for top four awards by both Academys but won none.

Jane Eyre (2011 Cary Yoji Fukunaga)

No, I don't know him either.

Reasonably dull update has downbeat Mia Wasikowska as Jane and Michael Fassbender as Rochester, with Judi Dench, Jamie Bell and - briefly - Sally Hawkins and Holliday Grainger. Mucking about with the structure of the story didn't, I feel, help matters.

I did like Adriano Goldman's photography, especially the candlelit scenes (you know me).

The Tractate Middoth (2013 Mark Gatiss & scr)

Intriguing title based on MR James story, Gatiss' debut as director is most stylish in 35 minute film.

Beautifully shot once again by Steve Lawes, who must be bonking someone senior at the BBC to be getting all the best jobs!

Louise Jameson, John Castle, Eleanor Bron, Sacha Dawan.

Bad Teacher (2011 Jake Kasdan)

Cameron Diaz, Lucy Punch (You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger), Justin Timberlake, Jason Segel.

Sherlock: The Sign of Three (2014 Colm McCarthy)

Enormously enjoyable episode written with real warmth for its characters by Steve Thompson, Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat in which Holmes attends Watson's wedding and recounts various stories in his speech, including a hilarious stag night, and a series of Conan Doyle-ish adventures such as the Poisoning Giant and - the biggest joke of the series - The Elephant in the Room.

Man Friday (1975 Jack Gold)

Robinson Crusoe (Peter O'Toole) 'civilises' Friday (Richard Roundtree) in Adrian Mitchell's overt critique of Colonialism (originally a play).

Legendary editor Anne Coates has fun cutting in reactions of a parrot, and in putting together a most amusing scene where the couple try to fly.

Filmed in Mexico. Most enjoyable.

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962 Tony Richardson)

Young Tom Courtenay embodies the Angry Young Man movement in Alan Sillitoe's story of anti-establishment Nottingham youth. Still impressive, resonant film flashes back from borstal and encounter with warden Michael Redgrave to former life at home with mother Avis Bunnage and family, friend James Bolam and girlfriend Topsy Jane.

Shot realistically by Walter Lassally and put together by the innovative British editor Antony Gibbs, who is clearly influenced by the French New Wave in early scenes of running in the woods, but makes certain sequences ('Jerusalem' song, Skegness slow fade beach scenes, interview with psychiatrist) entirely his own, with a stunningly edited finale which jumps through all of the events of the film and the culminating long distance race that he is supposed to win.

There's also a very early instance of the sound track of the next scene preceding the cut, which is now totally commonplace. Dede Allen, known for this trick, was directly influenced by Gibbs ('Film and Video Editing', Roger Crittenden 1981/1995.)

Young John Thaw is one of the inmates; James Fox is the public school competitor. Scored by John Addison.

One slight problem is that the BFI Blu-Ray shows the film at 1.77:1 when it was clearly shot at 1.66:1, and that's a bit poor.

Marple: Murder Is Easy (2009 Hettie Macdonald)

I'm sorry to say, another poorly directed episode. Hettie Macdonald thinks it's a good idea to obscure as many shots as possible with distracting foreground objects, and throws in several images of nature that seem to be there just for padding and to look pretty.

However we at least have Benedict Cumberbatch to make up for it, one of those actors who just radiates presence. Plus Shirley Henderson, Steve Pemberton, Jemma Redgrave, Sylvia Syms (who was not in A Canterbury Tale, that was Sheila Sim), Anna Chancellor, James Lance, Hugo Speer, David Haig, Russell Tovey.

Stuck in Love (2012 Josh Boone & scr)

Started off rather confusingly as we thought Nat Wolff (Admission) was Logan Lerman, who turns up later.

Story revolves around father Greg Kinnear who is a writer desperately missing his ex wife Jennifer Connelly. Greg's daughter Lily Collins has just been published and son Wolff has fallen in love with high school classmate Liana Liberato.

One of those DVDs on the cover of which are plastered 4 stars and quotes from Daily Mirror, Handbag, Bliss, Star Magazine and other spurious sources (I don't even know what these are) and so are really off-putting, but this is a real charmer.

Also, what's with the cooking of a turkey with a can of beer in it? I hadn't seen that one before.

Ginger & Rosa (2013 Sally Potter & scr)

Elle Fanning and Alice Englert (her feature debut) are excellent as free-thinking friends growing up in 60s nuclear crisis era Britain. The latter falls for the former's independent minded father (a bit of a shit) Alessandro Novola, who has abandoned the mother Christina Hendricks. Timothy Spall, Oliver Platt and Annette Bening play supportive gay friends.

Good jazz score and realistic photography by Robbie Ryan in Panavision.

I wonder why they cast an American and a New Zealander to play two English girls when you would have thought there'd be plenty of homegrown ones available.

Elle is fantastic but overall, I didn't love it.

This Is The End (2013 Seth Rogan & Evan Goldberg)

Well This is the End was not at all what we were expecting. It opens like Seth's in-jokey version of LA Story, bedecked with familiar faces sending themselves up, such as Jason Segel and Michael Cera (it is pronounced 'Sera'), then suddenly becomes a sort of apocalyptic Sean of the Dead (a film Seth must have seen and loved) with a flavour of Buñuel's Exterminating Angel (in which guests at a dinner party find they cannot leave). It's almost like Seth has decided to feature his friend Jay Baruchel in a starring role for a change (he's been in all sorts of things, even in Almost Famous), and involved other friends Jonah Hill (who really was Oscar nominated for Moneyball and is very funny being quite camp), James Franco, Danny McBride (good fun as the nominal baddy) and Craig Robinson, with a welcome cameo from up-for-anything Emma Watson (Emily Blunt, please switch to Emma's agent) - "Hermione stole our stuff!"

Home movie version of Pineapple Express 2 is hilarious, and if you watch Seth's back closely in the scene where Danny and James are threatening to come over each other, you can see him laughing. Lots of references (Rosemary's Baby, The Exorcist  etc)

Jonah's fiery ending exhibits some outstanding stunt work, if it isn't all CGI (I don't think it is).

The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012 Stephen Chbosky & scr / prod)

A bit of a show-off this newbie called Chbosky, who wrote a novel, a screenplay and then produced and directed this little gem, which reminded me in flavour of Almost Famous and has more than a little in common with Rebel Without a Cause, but is in fact rather more serious than both.

Emma Watson is proving she is a major talent (some of her looks break your heart). Logan Lerman is our wallflower and Ezra Miller also impressive as gay friend. Also with Paul Rudd and Joan Cusack.

The only thing that bothers me about films like this is that they won't tell you when they're set, leading to a constant process of analysis and deduction (we assume the early eighties), which is distracting, but otherwise Mr Chbosky, thank you very much.

He's in the capable hands of Andrew Dunn, cinematographer (Precious, Crazy Stupid Love) and it's edited by Mary Jo Markey.

Take This Waltz (2011 Sarah Polley & scr)

Michelle Williams meets Luke Kirby and they develop a mutual attraction; the only problem is, she is married to Seth Rogan, though their relationship is childish and fraught with difficulties of communication. The inevitable happens, though the outcome is...

Good performances from all three (Seth should take more serious roles) in acutely observed character study from Sarah Polley (Away From Her).

Shot in bold colours by Luc Montpellier in Toronto.

Sherlock: The Empty Hearse (2014 Jeremy Lovering)

Martin Freeman is such a good actor. (Benedict too, obviously.)

Sherlock is not dead, and Mark Gatiss has fun presenting us with several (fictitious) scenarios as to why, the most amusing one being where Sherlock ends up kissing Moriarty! (Andrew Scott, who's sadly not in this one). Gatiss himself is Mycroft, Una Stubbs Mrs Hudson, Rupert Graves Inspector Lestrade and Louise Brealey Watson's useful new girlfriend. Has some most entertaining moments e.g. Holmes and Mycroft playing 'Operation'.

Shot again by Steve Lawes (Death Comes to Pemberley) who's rapidly becoming one of my favourites on TV.

I Wake Up Screaming / Hot Spot (1941 H. Bruce Humberstone)

Before you ask, HBC is not really known as a director of distinction. This by default is his best film. Steve Fisher's source novel looks interesting too.

Early and less well known film noir in which characters amusingly keep breaking into each others' apartments, in story of guy (Victor Mature, an acquired taste) who is suspected of murdering good time gal Carole Landis but who has fallen for her sister Betty Grable, whilst being obsessively hounded by maverick cop Laird Cregar. Flashback tells of Landis' arrival on the scene, and her manipulation of agent Alan Mowbray and newspaperman Allyn Joslin and involvement of hotel clerk Elisha Cook Jr. and cop William Gargan.

Grable, Mature, Joslin, Landis, Mowbray

Features some lovely noiry photography (Edward Cronjager) and an interesting soundtrack that riffs on the 'Somewhere over the Rainbow' melody.

Film is haunted by tragedy - Landis killed herself seven years later, aged 29, and Cregar died of a heart attack three years later aged 31.

To Catch a Thief (1955 Alfred Hitchcock)

Keeps getting better the more you look at it (and colourful south of France locations look brilliant on Blu-Ray). For example, near the beginning is a most interesting car chase shot mainly from a helicopter. The reason for this is that we don't know that Cary Grant's car is being driven by his housekeeper, but Hitch doesn't want us to know that until the moment of pay-off.

More evidence that the James Bond series came from Hitchcock: another fast car driven by woman sequence (it comes from Notorious and ends up in Thunderball) and all the stuff about speedboats and the beach could also be in Thunderball; plus the very way Grant moves and looks is like a Connery blueprint.

The famous shot of Jessie Royce Landis stubbing out her cigarette in an egg is a sign of the director's disgust of this particular food item (interesting then that insurance agent John Williams is treated to a delicious Quiche Lorraine ("Ah yes, I've heard of these")).

Another entertaining collaboration with John Michael Hayes, with some of A team in evidence - Burks, Tomasini - but the music here is by Lyn Murray (real name Lionel Breeze!) and interestingly sounds in arrangement like Herrmann (bassoons, oboes) though the latter's collaboration with Hitch didn't begin until the same year's Trouble with Harry.

One of the most amusing directors' appearances with Grant looking directly at Hitchcock (a moment that used to be lost altogether on cropped TV prints).

Screen cap courtesy DVD Active

The bird is Grace Kelly, should anyone not know, and she did not die on the mountain roads because of her lack of ability behind the wheel but because she suffered a stroke which caused her to lose control. She was Princess Grace for 26 years, at least. I love the shot in the fireworks sequence, when her face is in shadow but her diamond necklace is lit.

Sparkling Cyanide (2003 Tristram Powell)

Firstly, Tristram is not related to Michael Powell. Secondly, it's quite refreshing to have an older couple who are grandparents and working for the Ministry of Defence.

Cast features Pauline Collins, Oliver Ford Davies, James Wilby, Kenneth Cranham, Jonathan Firth, Susan Hampshire.

Otherwise, Agatha Christie update to world of football is not quite successful and I kept falling asleep (though that is another story).

Goodbye Mr Chips (1939 Sam Wood)

The second in our Robert Donat double feature, here winning his Oscar after being beautifully aged by Jack Dawn (apparently, it's not credited; there was no makeup Oscar then). And very good he is too, gradually thawing after meeting charming Greer Garson and teaching a variety of odious schoolboys, the worst of which is played by Terry Kilburn (who somehow manages to age into John Mills!).

Paul 'von' Henreid is a likeable German teacher and Austin Trevor is a headmaster.

Of the writers' own educations, James Hilton (novel) was at Leys School Cambridge, RC Sherriff at Kingston Grammar, and Eric Maschwitz went to Repton School, Derbyshire (Claudine West's place of education unknown at present time), so none of them august public schools like the one here, designed by Alfred Junge at MGM British. Those of us that did experience same sex schools and Latin will find certain reminiscences in the film that may be pleasant or not.

The last shot always makes me want to puke but the rest of the film is both as charming and odious as a schoolboy.

Shot by Freddie Young. Music by Richard Addinsell. Edited by Charles Frend.

The Winslow Boy (1948 Anthony Asquith)

Terence Rattigan's play adapted by he and producer Anatole de Grunwald is the first of our Robert Donat double bill in which he is excellent as a commanding barrister (the best scene is where he cross examines the boy, then announces he is "clearly innocent"); Cedric Hardwicke also great as the father. Defence of accused child against the Admiralty is a time-consuming and costly affair of money and the heart.

With Margaret Leighton, Kathleen Harrison, Basil Radford, Francis L Sullivan, Jack Watling (elder son) and - briefly - Stanley Holloway and Ernest Thesiger.

Feel it drags a bit in the parliamentary stuff.

Shot by Freddie Young, music by William Alwyn.