For Pain and Glory, Pedro Almodovar has written and directed a semi-biographical movie about a director who has given up. His various ailments give him too much pain. Antonio Banderas has given the performance of his career. He called it the role of his life. It will be a travesty if he doesn't win the Oscar. He is in the picture nearly the whole time and is ably supported by a fantastic cast.
The switches in time work really well. I loved his apartment and how it was furnished. So did those who enter. Almodovar is on top form, it's just a shame we don't get to see all his movies. I have only seen Volver and The Skin i Live In, the latter a superb thriller come melodrama that also starred Banderas. I have already put a Almodovar DVD collection on my Christmas list.
Crawl is a fun B-Movie with a hurricane, flood and aligators. That's about it, however director Alexandra Aja throws in some twists and turns to keep us on the edge of our seats. Not really a horror movie, although you know when a new character appears, things will get nasty.
I didn't know lead actress Kaya Scodelario even though, surprise surprise, she is British. But the star of the film is the set. The construction of the street filled with storm and flood was exceptional. The special effects were great. Terrific on a big screen.
Mrs Lowry and Son is a class two hander. Most of the film takes place in Mrs Lowry's bedroom from where she never moves. Her son Laurie is at her beck and call and does all the cooking and housework. This woman is a dragon, domineering in the worst possible way. Laurie finds refuge in the attic where he paints what he feels.
There is a judicious but important use of backstory in what could easily have been a piece of theatre. Well, that's where director Adrian Noble is best known. He gets superb performances from Vanessa Redgrave and Timothy Spall. There are some interesting points about L S Lowry's art, the use of flake white oil paint to first cover the canvas.
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