Beyond the Walls (1984)

Academy Awards, USA 1985

Nominated Oscar

Best Foreign Language Film Israel.

Warner Bros.
Directed by Uri Barbash
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(YouTube)

The conflict between Israel and Palestine takes place in the microcosm of a prison in which Jewish and Arab gangs tee off against each other. They take every opportunity to spit, curse, fight, rape and otherwise harass each other under the eye of mostly uninterested prison guards. One of them is a contestant in a national music competition, which keeps them distracted for awhile. However, when the corrupt warden uses murder to pit them against each other, they find common ground in a hunger strike. Violent prison drama filled with repulsive characters leaves no one to root for.

Hedd Wyn (1992)

Academy Awards, USA 1994

Nominated Oscar

Best Foreign Language Film United Kingdom.

S4C (Wales)
Directed by Paul Turner
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(YouTube)

A Welsh farmer, poet and pacifist resists peer pressure to enlist in the English army in WWI. He has love affairs with several women, but seems to be mostly interested in the one who likes his poetry. The draft board finally identifies him and forces his father to choose one of his sons to send to the war. The agonizing decision is made to send the oldest, the poet, who reluctantly agrees. He is sent to the front and participates in one of the bloodiest trench warfare battles. Too much time is spent on his melodramatic love affairs, but the final act more than makes up for it: a mesmerizing mix of Celtic music, poetry and haunting war images.

Give 'em Hell, Harry! (1975)

Academy Awards, USA 1976

Nominated Oscar

Best Actor in a Leading Role James Whitmore

Theatre Television
Directed by Steve Binder
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(YouTube)

James Whitmore channels president Harry S. Truman in this one-man filmed play. He reminisces about war, visits with a former president and his wife, argues with subordinates, attacks Republicans, and tells a lot of jokes. It's all a bit awkward, especially when talking to other people who are not there or laughing at his own jokes, but still entertaining.

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)

Sunrise Blu-ray + Dvd Combo

Academy Awards, USA 1929

Won Oscar	Best Picture, Unique and Artistic Production
	Best Actress in a Leading Role Janet Gaynor For 7th Heaven and Street Angel
	Best Cinematography Charles Rosher Karl Struss
Nominated Oscar	Best Art Direction Rochus Gliese

Fox Film
Directed by F.W. Murnau
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Fox)

A farmer is tempted by a vacationing woman from the city, who convinces him to murder his wife by drowning her in a lake. He prepares for the deed by collecting reeds by which he plans to save himself by floating after capsizing their boat. When he can't go through with it, his wife flees for safety by streetcar to the nearby city. He tries to win her back by gifts and flowers, and she eventually succumbs after they stumble on a wedding ceremony. They encounter a storm during the trip back by boat and he fears his wife is drowned. However, she is found alive and they reconcile. Classic Murnau film incorporates some of his expressionistic touches, but it is not enough to overcome its melodramatic tendencies.

The Criminal Code (1931)

Karloff: Criminal Kind Dvd Collection

Academy Awards, USA 1931

Nominated Oscar

Best Writing, Adaptation Seton I. Miller Fred Niblo Jr.

Columbia Pictures
Directed by Howard Hawks
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Sony)

A young man is sent to prison by a boisterous DA despite evidence pointing to self defense. Years later, the DA is appointed warden of the same prison. Many of the men hold grudges against him leading to a tense atmosphere. He employees a couple of them in his private quarters, including the young man he sent to prison earlier, who falls in love with his daughter, and Karloff, a murderer plotting to kill the prison guard who sent him up. Karloff dominates his scenes but is really just a supporting player. Walter Huston's DA turned warden is not always sympathetic, and the love story which leads to the young prisoner's redemption is underdeveloped. Still, steady direction by the uncredited Hawks makes this prison drama very watchable even today.

Coraline (2009)

Coraline (Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack (Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + DVD))

Academy Awards, USA 2010

Nominated Oscar

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year Henry Selick

Focus Features
Directed by Henry Selick
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray 3D, Universal)

Blue-haired tweener Coraline, neglected by her parents, discovers an "Other World" at the other end of a corridor in her bedroom where doubles of everyone she knows exist, only with button eyes instead of real ones. Her parents are loving, her neighbors young and a friendly cat talks. However, the reality is much more sinister, and she ends up fighting for not only her freedom, but that of her parents and other children living as ghosts. Superbly imaginative adaptation of the Neil Gaman novel, with a creepiness that approaches David Lynch.

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Mad Max: Fury Road /Fury Road Black & Chrome (BD Double Feature) [Blu-ray]

Academy Awards, USA 2016

Won Oscar	Best Achievement in Film Editing Margaret Sixel
	Best Achievement in Costume Design Jenny Beavan
	Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling Lesley Vanderwalt Elka Wardega Damian Martin
	Best Achievement in Sound Mixing Chris Jenkins Gregg Rudloff Ben Osmo
	Best Achievement in Sound Editing Mark A. Mangini David White
	Best Achievement in Production Design Colin Gibson (production design) Lisa Thompson (set decoration)
Nominated Oscar	Best Motion Picture of the Year Doug Mitchell George Miller
	Best Achievement in Directing George Miller
	Best Achievement in Cinematography John Seale
	Best Achievement in Visual Effects Andrew Jackson Tom Wood Dan Oliver Andy Williams

Warner Bros.
Directed by George Miller
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Warner Bros.)

Survivor Max from the ongoing series is being held hostage by a war mongering clan for his blood, which has a healing power. The leader of the clan, a tyrannical warlord, realizes his "five wives" have been kidnapped by a renegade female soldier. He sends his entire army after her, including the captive Max. They engage in epic battles on barren landscapes in souped-up vehicles. It's a loud, noisy film that rarely stops for such things as character or plot. The "five wives" are nothing more than waifish, barely dressed Calvin Klein models. On a technical level, the film is a marvel, and the cinematography in the "black and chrome" version I watched particularly effective; just don't expect anything more than escapist entertainment.

The Secret Land (1948)

Academy Awards, USA 1949

Won Oscar

Best Documentary, Features Orville O. Dull

MGM
no director credited
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(YouTube)

A late 40s expedition to the Antarctic is chronicled by military photographers. Just getting there proves treacherous, with a submarine and several ships imperiled by the ice floes. Eventually they make base on the continent and carry out a wide variety of scientifically exciting, but cinematically boring, experiments. Narrated by Hollywood stars Robert Montgomery, Robert Taylor and Van Heflin, all veterans.

The Challenge... A Tribute to Modern Art (1975)

Academy Awards, USA 1975

Nominated Oscar

Best Documentary, Features Herbert Kline

New Line Cinema
Directed by Herbert Kline
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(YouTube)

Orson Welles hosts and narrates this broad review of "modern art", from Cezanne and his contemporaries to the early 70s when the film was made. It touches briefly on most of the important artists, incorporating interviews and whenever possible. Informative but really a starting point, with too much emphasis on contemporary artists who never made much of an impact.

The Way Back (2010)

The Way Back [Blu-ray]

Academy Awards, USA 2011

Nominated Oscar

Best Achievement in Makeup Edouard F. Henriques Greg Funk Yolanda Toussieng

Image Entertainment
Directed by Peter Weir
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Image Entertainment)

A Polish officer is sent to Siberia by the invading Soviets. He survives in the harsh labor camps with other political prisoners as well as hardened criminals. He joins a group who decides to escape during a snow storm, and then plan on walking thousands of miles south to freedom. They have to overcome harsh physical barriers and changing climates along the way, not to mention the ever present threat of Communists. Improbable story supposed based on a real event is tough sledding. Colin Farell overacts and Ed Harris underacts. Saoirse Ronan elicits sympathy as a young orphan who joins them half way through, but seems like and afterthought. Entertaining, if disappointing, effort from Australian director Weir.