Pasha's Film Reviews Etc.

8/10 Last year had one of the arguably best books of Agatha Christie MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS being released, boasting a big budget and an impressive acting ensemble. There was a much quieter release of CROOKED HOUSE, about a family whose public profile is threatened by its patriarch's murder, without a doubt committed by one of the family members. Penned by DOWNTON ABBEY’s Julian Fellows, and directed by a Frenchman Gilles Paquet-Brenner, whose speciality is to direct big stars in smaller films, CROOKED HOUSE has all the qualities of a period drama, full of romantic innuendos, Femmes Fatales and soaked in dark Victorian atmosphere. I have been a big fan of Agatha Christie since I was a child. My mother read me THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD when I was only six and everything I learned about plot and character building is from her books. During her career Agatha Christie created a few twists than no one had ever done before her and other authors used

7/10 Based on a real criminal case from 1991, VERONICA is the story of a girl besieged by a demon only she could see, and her desperate efforts to protect her family. Growing up too quickly 16 year old Veronica has to look after her two young sisters and a baby brother. Her father is deceased and her mother is constantly at work, sleeping in late after the night shift. They live in a derelict apartment block, but the apartments are large and oddly shaped, which adds to the creepy settings when the story gets dark. Trying to reach out to her dead father Veronica and her two best friends arrange a séance with a Ouija board. Coinciding with the solar eclipse their game turns dangerous when something “from the other side” seems to slip in to our world. As things start spiralling out of control Veronica tries to do what she does best – keep her family together by any mean possible. But is that new challenge just too hard to bear? The cult director of Spanish horror cinema F

6/10 It’s the 1960s. Elisa Esposito (Sally Hawkins) works night shifts as a cleaner at a secret government facility. She cannot speak because of a childhood trauma, but it does not stop her from having friends: another cleaner – chatty Octavia (Zelda Fuller)  and a gay neighbour Giles (Richard Jenkins). When a strange sea creature enters the facility and is held captive, Elisa can relate to his situation – she is as much of an outsider and a sort of a prisoner in her own skin. When the amphibious man is about to be exectuted Elisa has no other choice but to plan a daring escape. It is time for both of them to break free. But what is the price they’ll have to pay? I can say many wonderful things about the film – the Alexander Desplat score is a marvel, the acting of everyone involved is top notch (Zelda Fuller is a scene stealer) and the cinematography is breathtaking. But however amazing the visuals of THE SHAPE OF WATER are, underneath it all is a very simple story. Don