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Film Reviews

The Blue Lamp

P.C. George Dixon (Warner) a long-serving traditional "copper" who is due to retire shortly, takes a new recruit, Andy Mitchell (Hanley), under his aegis, introducing him to the easy-going night beat. Dixon is a classic Ealing 'ordinary' hero, but also anachronistic, unprepared and unable to answer the violence of Tom Riley (Bogarde). Called to the scene of a robbery at a local cinema, Dixon finds himself face-to-face with Riley, a desperate youth armed with a revolver. Dixon initially tries to talk Riley into surrendering the weapon, but Riley panics and fires. Dixon walks to his own death almost uncomprehending. Dixon is taken to hospital, but dies some hours later. The ending is another Ealing quirk, with ordinary decent society, including 'professional' criminals used to violence, banding together to track down and catch the murderer, who is trapped in the crowd at White City greyhound track in west London. To Andy Mitchell falls the honour of arresting Riley.

The Devil

During the Prussian army's invasion to Poland in 1793, a young Polish nobleman Jakub is saved from the imprisonment by a stranger who wants in return to obtain a list of Jakub's fellow conspirators. Following his mysterious saviour across the country, Jakub sees the overall chaos and moral corruption including his father's death and his girlfriend's betrayal. Being apparently demented by what he has seen, he commits a number of seemingly motiveless and gory killings.

Johns

It's the day before Christmas, the day before John's 21st birthday. He's a prostitute on Santa Monica Blvd in L.A., and he wants to spend that night and the next day at the posh Park Plaza Hotel. He's ripped off a local drug dealer to pay the bill, but as he's sleeping that morning, someone steals his shoes right off his feet, with the money in them. Meanwhile, Donner, a lad new to the streets, wants John to leave the city with him for Camelot, a theme park in Branson, MO, where they'll work as lifeguards. John spends the day trying to hustle the money for the hotel, avoid Jimmy the Warlock, keep his girl friend placated, and figure out how to deal with Donner's friendship.

Raffles

Man about town and First Class cricketer A.J. Raffles keeps himself solvent with daring robberies. Meeting Gwen from his schooldays and falling in love all over again, he spends the weekend with her parents, Lord and Lady Melrose. A necklace presents an irresistible temptation, but also in attendance is Scotland Yard's finest, finally on the trail.

Closed Note

Kae Horii (Erika Sawajiri) moves into her new flat in an undisclosed area of Kyoto. While unpacking her belongings, she discovers a hidden compartment behind a inconspicuous mirror. In that compartment, Kae finds a notebook, that turns out to be a diary belonging to the previous tenant. Later that evening Kae starts to read the diary. The writer of the diary is Ibuki Mano (Yuko Takeuchi), a young lady about to embark on her first year as an elementary school teacher. Ibuki is also in love with a man named Takashi, who may or may not hold similar feelings for Ibuki. The diary immediately resonates with Kae, as she plans to become an elementary school teacher herself. Ibuki’s experiences also works as an inspirational instructional guide for Kae’s own personal life. Kae is also in love with an aloof illustrator/artist (Yusuke Iseya), who may or may not hold similar feelings for Kae.

Camarón: When Flamenco Became Legend

The movie will cover the life of Camarón de la Isla (Jaenada), the legendary Spanish flamenco cantaor, from his beginning until his death. It tells around the relationships Camarón de la Isla struck up with people such as his wife La Chispa (Sánchez) and guitarists Paco de Lucía, Tomatito and Paco Cepero. Written by Joseklo

Sherlock Holmes: Incident at Victoria Falls

King Edward ask Sherlock Holmes to perform one more task before his retirement: to safeguard the Star of Africa on a trip to Cape Town. Soon the fabled jewel is stolen and several people end up being murdered.

Midnight Dancers

Brothers Joel (Alex Del Rosario), Dennis (Grandong Cervantes) and Sonny (Lawrence David) work together as dancers at a low-rent gay bar in downtown Manila, in the Philippines. Despite his mother's pleas, Sonny decides to quit college to work full-time at the bar, while Dennis has moved beyond dancing into prostitution at the urging of the manipulative club manager. Joel, the eldest, tries to balance his secret gay life with his socially respectable role as a husband and father.

Monsignor

The vows of an ambitious young American priest are tested during World War II. Not only does Father John Flaherty get involved with the black market to raise money for the Vatican, he also falls in love with a young French nun.

Time Lapse

Three friends discover a mysterious machine that takes pictures 24 hours into the future and conspire to use it for personal gain, until disturbing and dangerous images begin to develop.

Jungle Woman

Paula the ape woman (Acquanetta) is alive and well, and running around a creepy old sanitarium run by the kindly Dr. Fletcher (J. Carrol Naish), also reverting to her true gorilla form every once in a while to kill somebody.

The House of Light

This plodding piece of cinematic ambiguity finds a married couple engaged in boring conversation in a window as scenery changes behind them. When they manage to talk about love, some of the tedium is lifted in the wake of their amorous verbiage. This black and white effort from Jean Pierre Lefebvre depends on symbolic impressionism rather than plot.

Flesh and Blood

A convict hiding in Chinatown assumes the identity of a cripple to track down a businessman who framed him 15 years previously. He discovers that his daughter has fallen in love with the businessman's son.

Tickets

A train travels across Italy toward Rome. On board is a professor who daydreams a conversation with a love that never was, a family of Albanian refugees who switch trains and steal a ticket, three brash Scottish soccer fans en route to a match, and a complaining widow traveling to a memorial service for her late husband who's accompanied by a community-service volunteer who's assisting her. Interactions among these Europeans turn on class and nationalism, courtesy and rudeness, and opportunities for kindness.

Music Land

Musical instruments are the stars of a romantic fable set in the Land of Symphony and the Isle of Jazz, two islands separated by the Sea of Discord. The violin princess and the saxophone prince fall in love, but must meet secretly in order to avoid the wrath of their parents, the Symphony queen and the Jazz king. The queen finds the boy saxophone on her island, attempting to woo her daughter. She has him locked in the metronome, but the young lover manages to send a note - in fact, several musical notes on sheet music - that conveys the message that he has been imprisoned. The Isle of Jazz declares war by blasting musical notes across the sea. The only thing that can bring peace and harmony to the Sea of Discord is love.

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