The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Epic psychological horror. FBI trainee Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) is bought in create a profile on the serial killer Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine). To do this she needs the help of convicted serial killer and cannibal Dr Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins). 

After Buffalo Bill kidnaps a Senator's daughter, Lecter is offered a deal if he helps. He ends up in a cage in a Tennessee courthouse, he can't escape from there can he? And can they find this Buffalo Bill?

A deliciously dark and gory horror film which has deserved it's various awards and accolades. The two leads give excellent performances, especially Hopkins who gave his character such an air of believable terror and menace.

Tintin and the Blue Oranges (1964)

There have been a number of Tintin movie adaptations, the most well known being animations but this was the second of two live-action Tintin movies made in the 1960s starring Jean-Pierre Talbot as the young reporter. In this original story Professor Calculus (Felix Fernandez) wants to end world hunger. He is sent a blue orange from a fellow scientist Zalamea (Angel Alvarez) but this is stolen by thieves.

Tintin, Captain Haddock (Jean Bouise) and Calculus head to Spain to see Zalamea. Calculus is kidnapped to help Zalamea perfect the blue oranges by an Emir who wants the invention for himself...

It is a light film, fairly fun though sometimes a bit slow. The film includes a little too much silliness and gags which often don't quite work. What does make the film at least a bit enjoyable though are the main characters, Tintin and Haddock really do look like they have come to life from the pages of a comic book. Overall though it is a bit dull which is a bit of a shame considering how great the comics are.

Ooh... You Are Awful (1972)

Dick Emery brings his comedy act to a full-length feature... and it is patchy but very watchable. Dick plays conman Charlie Tully who manages to con a rich Italian out of half a million quid by making him think his son was going to marry Princess Anne! Unfortunately the location of the money is lost to him after his partner Reggie (Ronald Fraser) is killed by gangster Sid Sabbath (Darren Nesbitt).

But then Charlie finds out Reggie had the bank account details detailed onto four young ladies. All Charlie has to do is see their bare bottoms which he accomplishes with various cons and costume changes. To make matters more complicated Sid Sabbath and the Italians are both out to get him...

The humour is a bit dated and sometimes doesn't quite hit the mark any more but this is an enjoyable film. It is often saucy and very silly. Often half-hour TV comedy shows suffer in the transition to a longer format but the story is kept going with enough variety to retain the viewer interest.

Ten Minutes to Live (1932)

A historic piece of early African-American cinema, but unfortunately not very good. A nightclub singer is offered a place in a producer's new film, though all he wants to do really is indulge in some horizontal jogging. Someone else at the club gets a note telling them they will be killed ten minutes later!

The execution is quite poor and feels like a silent movie which was later dubbed with sound (which by 1932 was rather strange). The film actually is two separate stories, the second story is nearly entirely silent. The stories themselves, which take place in the same Harlem night club, are hard to follow at times with the number of cutaways. The film does include a number of music and dance acts and it is best just to enjoy them and the odd arty touch of this film, and not the story.

The New York Ripper (1982)

A grossly over the top slash gore murder horror. A serial killer is killing young women in New York, and not just killing them but mutilating and cutting them to pieces, he also speaks with a "comedy" duck voice. He uses this to taunt grizzle NY detective Williams (Jack Hedley) who is on the case, with the help of psychologist Dr Davis (Paolo Malco).

Fay Majors (Almanta Suska) is the victim who manages to survive, suspicion then falls on a strange man she encountered on the subway (Howard Ross). But there are no shortage of strange people in this depraved film to be honest...

The film is incredibly sleazy and isn't a little misogynist. There is a lot of violence including a rather brutal eye ball slicing scene, and quite a lot of sex too. Mostly though, this film is a bit too weird to take seriously and enjoy. It is quite a spectacle though.