Films / January 15

Night And The City (1950) / Personal Affair (1953) / Monkey Business (1952) / Dante's Peak (1997) / First Man (2018) / Spellbound (1945) / Men In Black International (2019)

Night And The City (1950) Meaty London noir, realized with some bracing, atmospheric visuals as Richard Widmark's desperate dreamer dooms all the characters that he contaminates. The sense of despair and cruelty hangs heavy, with redemption only found through violence and loss.

Personal Affair (1953) A solid cast can't inject a real sense of drama into an initially intriguing setup that loses confidence to follow through with its dark possibilities and resolves with traditional values intact. Ultimately unconvincing and over-talkative, only a few moments persuade.

Monkey Business (1952) Enough laughs to overcome the lack of accumulative energy, even as the plot's narrative builds a delirious momentum. From the opening credits a knowing tone pervades as Cary Grant chases the elixir of youth and gamely regresses to childhood. A giddy Marilyn Monroe shines.

Dante's Peak (1997) Disaster porn that teases for an hour before persecuting its central characters with an unlimited series of deadly situations. Adhering gleefully to genre construction, striking visuals of volcanic desolation alternate with action ramped up to comic absurdity.

First Man (2018) Typically intense and artful from director Damien Chazelle, placing the audience alongside Ryan Gosling's stoic, prototype astronaut to experience the terrifying, claustrophobic and bone-rattling attempts to reach the moon. Though characters and social context lack depth, the action is immersive.

Spellbound (1945) Preposterously plotted and wholly unbelievable, the narrative threads seem as elusive as the dream Ingrid Bergman must decipher in order to clear Gregory Peck's amnesiac of murder. Miklós Rózsa's gorgeous score is alternately as lush and overwrought as the film.

Men In Black International (2019) There's nothing intrinsically wrong with production or performances, just no reason for the film's existence, which limps on the fumes of the original's success. Tessa Thompson is an amiable presence. The narrative grinds to a wearisome stop.