A Boy Called Dad (2009)

Cautiously RecommendedUKFeature FilmDirector: Brian PercivalWriter: Julie RutterfordCinematographer: David KatznelsonComposers: Srdjan Kurpjel, Marios TakoushisCast: Kyle Ward, Ian Hart, Charlene McKenna, Louise DelamereDespite its clichéd, contrived, and occasionally even downright silly screenplay, this tale of a 14-year-old New Brightonian lad, who has recently become a father, reuniting with his own long absent father, is decidedly watchable...

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Roxy (2010)

Highly RecommendedUSAShort FilmWriter/Director/Cinematographer: Shirley PetchprapaCast: Damien Puckler, Roxy PucklerThere are echoes of J.D. Salinger’s A Perfect Day for Bananafish (1948) in Shirley Petchprapa’s intensely sensual and ethereally beautiful self-financed short film, which wallows in the poetry of the every day, finding the beauty in acts as simple as a man watching television, running a bath, and even just cleaning his teeth, whilst...

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The Black Sheep of Whitehall (1942)

Not RecommendedUKFeature FilmDirectors: Basil Dearden, Will HayWriters: John Dighton, Angus MacPhailCinematographers: Eric Cross, Günther KrampfCast: Will Hay, John Mills, Basil Sydney, Henry Hewitt, Felix Aylmer, Owen Reynolds, Frank CellierClick for revi...

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Mammoth (2009)

RecommendedSweden/Denmark/GermanyFeature FilmOriginal Title: MammutWriter/Director: Lukas MoodyssonCinematographer: Marcel ZyskindComposers: Linus Gierta, Erik Holmquist, Jesper KurlandskyCast: Gael García Bernal, Michelle Williams, Marife Necesito, Sophie Nyweide, Tom McCarthy, Run Srinikornchot, Jan David G. Nicdao, Martin Delos Santos, Maria Esmeralda del Carmen, Perry DizonA games designer travels to Thailand to sign a lucrative contract, and...

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Vinyan (2008)

Highly RecommendedFrance/Belgium/UKFeature FilmDirector: Fabrice Du WelzWriters: Fabrice Du Welz, David Greig, Oliver BlackburnCinematographer: Benoît DebieComposer: François-Eudes ChanfraultCast: Emmanuelle Béart, Rufus Sewell, Petch Osathanugrah, Julie Dreyfus, Amporn PankratokSix months after losing their son in the 2004 tsunami in Thailand, a couple of aid-workers set off into a Burmese jungle, accompanied by a pair of Triads, in the vain hope...

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Back-Room Boy (1942)

RecommendedUKFeature FilmDirector: Herbert MasonWriters: Marriott Edgar, Val Guest, J.O.C. OrtonCinematographer: Jack CoxComposer: Hans MayCast: Arthur Askey, Moore Marriott, Graham Moffatt, Googie Withers, Vera FrancesLike Ask a Policeman (1939), another Gainsborough rip-off of Arthur Ridley's 1923 play The Ghost Train, this Arthur Askey comedy is quite delightful for its first 40 minutes or so, whilst it concentrates on the comedic dexterity of...

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Return to Oz (1985)

RecommendedUSA/UKFeature FilmDirector: Walter MurchWriters: Gill Dennis, Walter Murch, L. Frank BaumCinematographer: David WatkinComposer: David ShireCast: Fairuza Balk, Nicol Williamson, Jean Marsh, Piper Laurie, Matt Clark, Sean Barrett, Denise Bryer, Brian Henson, Lyle Conway, Emma RidleyBased on Baum’s novels The Land of Oz (1904) and Ozma of Oz (1907), which follow on from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), which was loosely adapted as The Wizard...

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