The Final Programme (1973)

aka The Last Days of Man on Earth

It’s strange that the film industry has ignored Michael Moorcock as much as they have. TFP is the only feature to date based on one of his stories. It has the Jerry Cornelius character played by Jon Finch as a kind of counter-culture, 70s hipster secret agent in a decaying world that’s just days away from destruction. There’s some clever dialogue that I suspect is lifted direct from the source, but for something that’s inherently strange the film is surprisingly dull and flat at times. The structure is too loose for its own good, and the many characters, while fun, aren't given enough time to be anything other than oddities. The jazzy music doesn't help much, because we all know it should’ve been scored by Hawkwind.

2½ puzzling doors out of 5

The Witches (1990)

The Witches is a movie I'd all but forgotten about, and I'm glad that I was recently reminded of it. Based on the Roald Dahl book of the same name, it tells the tale of a boy and his superstitious grandmother who unintentionally encounter a frightening group of witches. The movie alternates between being darkly funny and downright chilling, and features some fabulous puppet work. It's the last film that Jim Henson ever worked on personally, and it makes me long to see what else he might have brought the world. Anjelica Huston gives a masterful performance, and while the child stars aren't incredible actors, they avoid being annoying, which is a feat in of itself. The ending is drastically different than the one in the book, and a lot less effective overall, but the original ending hurt my heart a bit, so I can let it slide.

3.5 unorthodox weight loss methods out of 5.