Dave’s Movie Diary

I revisit Ken Russell’s gloriously bizarre take on the night Mary Shelley came up with Frankenstein , and discover that nearly 40 years on, it’s every bit as strange as I remembered — although I now have a better idea what the hell is going on. Lord Byron, sex, drugs, séances, demons and Julian Sands at full volume… what could possibly go wrong?

Dustin Hoffman is almost unrecognisable in Straight Time , a tough, gritty 1978 film about an ex-con trying to make a life on the straight and narrow — and slowly finding his way back to the only world he really knows.

I revisit Spike Lee’s He Got Game , a film I’ve always had a soft spot for. Denzel is terrific, Ray Allen is a revelation, the music is bloody brilliant and there are some cracking scenes — it’s a really good film, even if a few things stop it from being a great one.

I revisit Proof , a quirky little Australian film from 1991 that I remembered liking but had almost completely forgotten. Hugo Weaving is terrific, Russell Crowe is impossibly young and natural, and Geneviève Picot’s Celia turns out to be far more fascinating — and dangerous — than I remembered.

I revisit this Dutch psychological thriller I hadn’t seen since the early 90s, and discover it’s every bit as unsettling as I remembered. A missing woman, a relentlessly obsessed boyfriend and one of the most chillingly ordinary psychopaths you’re ever likely to meet make this a fascinating film about obsession, madness and the price of finding out the truth.

I can’t believe I somehow missed The Bounty for more than 40 years, especially as an Australian. Anthony Hopkins and Mel Gibson are brilliantly cast, a very young Liam Neeson and Daniel Day-Lewis pop up along the way, and what I expected to be a history lesson turned out to be one hell of an entertaining adventure.

Fernando Rey spends the entire film chasing a woman who keeps changing her face, moving the goalposts and driving him completely mad. I had a great time watching Buñuel mix sexual frustration, dark comedy, obsession and terrorism into one wonderfully strange and captivating film.

I revisit Mike Leigh’s All or Nothing , a tough but brilliantly acted look at a family struggling with money, relationships and just getting through the day. Timothy Spall and Lesley Manville are terrific, and while things get pretty bleak, Leigh manages to find a little hope in the darkness.

I revisit Ken Loach’s gripping political thriller where an investigation into a murder gradually uncovers something much bigger. Brian Cox and Frances McDormand are terrific as two people forced to decide just how far they’re prepared to go to uncover the truth.

I revisit a film that’s every bit as powerful and entertaining as I remembered. Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger are terrific, but it’s the combination of murder mystery, atmosphere and a searing portrait of racial prejudice that makes this 1967 classic still hit hard today.

Three Colours: Red has always been my favourite of Kieślowski’s trilogy, and one of the films I remembered most fondly from the 1990s. With its chance encounters, strange connections and characters whose lives gradually become intertwined, there’s certainly plenty to unpack this time around.

I revisit Kieślowski’s Three Colours: White , a very different beast from Blue — part revenge story, part romantic comedy and part Polish Mr Bean. Karol’s humiliations, mad schemes and increasingly elaborate plan for revenge make this one of the trilogy’s most entertaining and unpredictable films.

I revisit Three Colours: Blue , a film I’ve always admired but never felt particularly close to. Juliette Binoche is terrific as a woman trying to shut the world out after unimaginable loss, and Kieślowski gives us plenty to think about along the way.

I revisit a film I’d completely forgotten despite watching pretty much everything Gary Oldman was doing in the early ’90s. With a ridiculous cast, plenty of sex and violence and one of the craziest characters I’ve come across, this is one seriously bonkers film.

I revisit Outland , Sean Connery’s gritty sci-fi thriller set on a mining colony on Io. It’s got great visuals, a creepy atmosphere and Frances Sternhagen stealing the show — but some seriously hammy dialogue and a villain who’d rather work on his golf game stop it from reaching its potential.

I revisit The Missouri Breaks , a film I remembered as a major disappointment from my VHS days, despite Jack Nicholson and Marlon Brando being in the same movie. Nearly 50 years later, I found some great performances, beautiful scenery and a very strange Brando, but still wondered what the hell Arthur Penn was trying to do with it.

I revisit Eyes of Laura Mars , a film I hadn’t seen for years and remembered very little about. Watching it again took me back to 1978 New York, with Faye Dunaway surrounded by fashion, photographers and some very unsettling images — and I found myself wondering what exactly this film was trying to do.

I revisit this wildly unpredictable 1990 crime comedy featuring an absolutely unhinged Alec Baldwin, a terrific Jennifer Jason Leigh and Fred Ward trying to make sense of the chaos. A bizarre, violent and hugely entertaining ride that’s definitely Thursday-night/Friday-night movie territory.

I revisit this gripping 1991 crime drama about two undercover narcotics cops who become dangerously immersed in the world they’re investigating. Jason Patric and Jennifer Jason Leigh are fantastic, and the film’s raw depiction of addiction, great Texas atmosphere and Eric Clapton soundtrack still hit hard.

I revisit Magnum Force , the second Dirty Harry film, with Clint Eastwood back in San Francisco facing a very different kind of threat. There’s plenty to enjoy in the action, the city and the idea at the heart of the story, but I found myself questioning some of the film’s choices as the story unfolded.

I revisit Agnès Varda’s Vagabond , a grim, strange and incredibly absorbing film about a young woman determined to live completely on her own terms. I found myself fascinated by Mona — her freedom, her stubbornness and the risks that come with living outside everyone else’s rules.

A 1974 action-comedy starring James Caan and Alan Arkin - it’s a wild mix of buddy-cop antics, screwball comedy and spectacular car chases, and I take a look at what worked for me — and what didn’t quite land.

I revisit Bob Rafelson’s Five Easy Pieces , with Jack Nicholson delivering a brilliant performance as a man who seems determined to escape every life he’s ever had. Funny, sad and quietly devastating — a genuine 1970 masterpiece.

I revisit Jafar Panahi’s Crimson Gold , a slow-burning and deeply unsettling Iranian drama about poverty, humiliation and a man pushed to the edge. Hossain Emadeddin gives one of the strangest and most quietly compelling performances I’ve seen.

I revisit Geoffrey Wright’s Metal Skin , a ferocious Australian film packed with cars, violence, emotion and relentless energy. Aden Young is absolutely magnificent as Joe, with Ben Mendelsohn terrific alongside him in a film that throws the kitchen sink at you and never lets up.