The Movies I Watched in July

Barking in the Dark 2025  6/10 

Battle at Big Rock 2019  6/10 

Die Brieffreundin 2023  6/10 

Chibusa yo eien nare 1955 7/10

La città sconvolta: caccia spietata ai rapitori 1975  5/10 

The Damned 1962  7/10

 

Deutschland im Herbst 1978  6/10 

Enola Holmes 3 2026  5/10 

Fernando di Leo: La morale del genere 2004  5/10

Freud's Last Session 2023  6/10 

Heavy Metal 1981  6/10 

100 Jahre deutscher Rhein 1998  5/10 

I Will Find You 2026  6/10 

In the Hand of Dante 2025  6/10 

Islands 2025  7/10

 

Mille milliards de dollars 1982  7/10

 

Mr. Mercedes Season 2 2018  7/10

 

Mr. Mercedes Season 3 2019  7/10

 

Nachrichten von den Staufern 1977  6/10 

Nachtschicht: Es lebe der Tod 2018  5/10 

Neonröhren des Himmels 1998  5/10 

The Odyssey 2026  7/10

 

Ogin-sama 1962  7/10

 

Onna bakari no yoru 1961  7/10

 

Project Hail Mary 2026  7/10

 

Quatermass II 1955 6/10 

Quatermass 2 1957  6/10 

Quatermass and the Pit 1967  6/10 

The Quatermass Experiment 1953  6/10

The Quatermass Xperiment 1955  6/10 

The Return 2024  7/10

 

Ruten no ôhi 1960  7/10

 

Shipwrecked: Nightmare at Sea 2026  5/10 

The Snake Pit 1948  7/10

Subservience 2024  5/10 

Torment 1986  5/10 

Vivant parmi les vivants 2023  6/10

Vous n'avez encore rien vu 2012  6/10 

The World of Hammer. Episode 7: Sci-Fi 1994  6/10 

Olivia de Havilland

 

My Cousin Rachel (1952)

 

 

A young man plots revenge against the woman he believes murdered his cousin, but his plans are shaken when he comes face to face with the enigmatic beauty.

Superior adaptation of a Daphne Du Maurier,novel has, similar to Rebecca, a mystery about an enigmatic  woman and good Gothic settings and atmosphere as well as a competent cast, although the the ending is somewhat confusing.
 

Halliwell*: "Well-wrought but dramatically unsatisfactory Victorian melodrama from a bestseller; plenty of suspicion but no solution makes Rachel a dull girl."

Maltin***: "Successful filmization of Daphne du Maurier mystery..." 

 

 

The Movies I Watched in July

20,000 Days on Earth 2014  7

Les amants de Montparnasse 1958  7

Beware of Mr. Baker 2012  6
The Book of Eli 2010  6
Cause For Alarm! 1951  6
Crawl 2019  5
Dear Murderer 1947  6
Duran Duran: Unstaged 2014  6
Emma. 2020  6
The Fall 2019  7

Family Romance, LLC 2019  7

First Man 2018  6
Guilty Bystander 1950  6
Halloween 2018  6
Heart of Darkness 1993  6
I am Not a Serial Killer 2016  6
I Called Him Morgan 2016  7

Ida B. Wells: A Passion For Justice 1989  6
L'inconnu du lac 2013  6
Lock Up 1989  6
Malchik russkiy 2019  7

 
The Maidens of Fetish Street 1966  5
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom 2013  6
My Cousin Rachel 1952  7

Numéro deux 1975  6
Primer 2004  6
Shanty Tramp 1967  5
Sicilia! 1999  7

Spring Night Summer Night 1967  7

La tendre ennemie 1936  6
Victor Frankenstein 2015  6

Olivia de Havilland

Gone With the Wind (1939)

A manipulative woman and a roguish man conduct a turbulent romance during the American Civil War and Reconstruction periods.

An epic Hollywood masterpiece showing excellence in all departments (production, casting, storytelling, cinematography) - complete with a disquietening intrinsic and unabashed racism.

Halliwell****: "The only film in history which could be profitably revived for forty years: 'still pure gold', said the Daily Mirror in 1975. Whole books have been written about it: its essential appeal is that of a romantic story with strong characters and an impeccable production. The widescreen version produced in the late sixties ruined its composition and colour, but it is to be hoped that the original negative still survives."

Maltin****: "If not the greatest movie ever made, certainly one of the greatest examples of storytelling on film, maintaining interest for nearly four hours."

The Dark Mirror (1946)

A man is found murdered, with witnesses convinced about the woman they saw leaving his apartment, but it becomes apparent that the woman has a twin, and finding out which one is the killer seems impossible.

The amateur psychology doesn't hurt this well-staged and effective Noir thriller; and Olivia de Havilland in the double role of good sister/bad sister is a treat.

Halliwell**: "Unconvincing but highly absorbing thrilller with all credits plus; the best brand of Hollywood moonshine."

From my vaults: Olivia de Havilland

Bio:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olivia_de_Havilland

Dodge City (1939)

A Texas cattle agent witnesses first hand, the brutal lawlessness of Dodge City and takes the job of sheriff to clean the town up.

Lively and  good-humored Western adventure, typical for the Curtiz-Flynn-De Havilland movie series of the time.

Halliwell ***: "Standard, satisfying big-scale Western with all cliches intact and very enjoable, as is the soft, rich early colour. The story is plainly inspired by the exploits of Wyatt Earp."

Maltin ***: "...entertaining large-scale Western, withh Warner Bros. stock company and the granddaddyof all barroom brawls. The principal inspiration for BLAZING SADDLES."

Libel (1959)

A British nobleman is suspected by an actor, who sees him in a television program about his lovely home, as being an imposter.

Generally well staged and acted courtroom drama with an interesting topic and some surprising plot twists.

The Strawberry Blonde (1941)

A young man is crazy about a 'strawberry blonde' girl, but his "pal" marries her himself and makes his friend the fall guy for his shady dealings.

A wonderful movie, a favourite of mine, but not a comedy as the German TV mag wants us to believe. All done perfectly by everybody involved this is a good-natured moral tale telling us that beauty and wealth do not always bring happiness.

They Died with Their Boots On (1941)

The Hollywood version of Custer's Last Stand.

Lively, exciting and professionally made western turning the historic tragedy into a heroic saga. Errol Flynn/Olivia de Havilland's last collaboration.

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

When Prince John and the Norman Lords begin oppressing the Saxon masses in King Richard's absence, a Saxon lord fights back as the outlaw leader of a rebel guerrilla army.

The swashbuckler to end all swashbucklers! Since then directors have been merely trying to reach the quality of this classic. Perfect in every aspect.

Captain Blood (1935)

An enslaved English doctor and his comrades in chains escape and become pirates.

Another Michael Curtiz-Errol Flynn-Olivia de Havilland Hollywood blockbuster, a classic pirate movie and simply one of my favourites! A movie like this exemplifies in all aspects what cinema was made for.

The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936)

A major countermands orders and attacks to revenge a previous massacre of men, women and children.

They don't make them like this anymore! Historically non quite correct this is basically a love story where a man has to go through a whole war to prove that he's worthy of the woman's love. Lots of fun!