Roger Kemp Movies

Inspired by Pink Floyd's album of the same name, Pink Floyd: The Wall is a dark, expressionistic musical, told from the point of view of Pink, a depressed rock musician. The film is structured around Pink's reflections on his life, all of which center on the building of "the wall." This wall is a metaphor for psychological isolation, a barrier Pink creates to distance himself from his pain. The foundations for this wall are lain in childhood, with the death of Pink's father leaving him to be raised by an overprotective mother and a repressive school system. He seeks freedom from this world through writing and music. However, even after he achieves success as a rock star, the wall continues to grow, with Pink feeling trapped by fame and wounded by his failed personal relationships. Lost in despair and self-loathing, he attempts to isolate himself from the world entirely. Director Alan Parker approaches this material in a highly stylized manner, mingling animation and dream-like sequences to suggest Pink's perception of the world. These techniques complement the almost constant music, which the film often uses in place of dialogue. Songs include "Another Brick in the Wall" and "Comfortably Numb". ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

Between giving up his super powers, confronting criminals from outer space, and having problems with his girlfriend, it's a bad time to be the Man of Steel in this sequel to the 1978 blockbuster. When terrorists threaten to destroy Paris with a thermonuclear device as they hold reporter Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) hostage, Superman (Christopher Reeve) comes to the rescue and flings the weapon into space. However, its blast outside the earth's orbit awakens Zod (Terence Stamp), Ursa (Sarah Douglas), and Non (Jack O'Halloran), three villains from Superman's home planet of Krypton who were exiled to outer space for their crimes. Zod and his partners arrive on Earth and use their powers in a bid to take over the U.S., and then the world. However, when Lois realizes that mild mannered Clark Kent and Superman are actually the same person, he brings her to his Fortress of Solitude, where his decision to marry Lois costs him his remarkable strength. Without his super powers, how can Superman vanquish Zod and save the world? Gene Hackman, Ned Beatty, Susannah York, and Jackie Cooper return from the first film, which was shot at the same time as parts of the sequel. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This French/Italian effort travelled under the titles Le Jour Et L'Heure, Il Giorno e L'Ora and Viviamo Oggi in Europe. In Great Britain, it was known as Today We Live. No matter the title, the film stars Simone Signoret as a world-weary French aristocrat who finds a purpose in life by joining the World War II Resistance. She is ordered by her fellow undergrounders to hide allied paratrooper Stuart Whitman in her own country estate. At first resenting this intrusion in her life, Signoret falls in love with Whitman, and together they try to escape into Spain. The Day and the Hour was based on a story by Andre Barret. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi