Glorious 39

Glorious 39 (2009)

• Director: Stephen Poliakoff
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Romola Garai, Eddie Redmayne, Juno Temple, Toby Regbo, Christopher Lee, Corin Redgrave, Charlie Cox, David Tennant, Bill Nighy, Jeremy Northam, Jenny Agutter, Julie Christie, Hugh Bonneville, Tom Goodman-Hill
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Romola Garai – Suffragette, King Lear, Atonement, Amazing Grace, As You Like It, Inside I’m Dancing, Daniel Deronda
• Eddie Redmayne – Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Jupiter Ascending, The Theory of Everything, Les Misérables, My Week with Marilyn, The Pillars of the Earth, The Other Boleyn Girl, Elizabeth the Golden Age
• Juno Temple – Far from the Madding Crowd, The Dark Knight Rises, St Trinians 2, The Other Boleyn Girl, Atonement, Notes on a Scandal
• Toby Regbo – Treasure Island, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows I
• Christopher Lee – The Hobbit, Dark Shadows, Hugo, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Lord of the Rings, Sleepy Hollow etc
• Charlie Cox – The Theory of Everything, Stone of Destiny, Stardust, Casanova, The Merchant of Venice
• David Tennant – Broadchurch, What We Did on Our Holiday, Doctor Who, Hamlet, Fright Night, The Decoy Bride, United, Secret Smile, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Blackpool, Bright Young Things, Jude, Takin’ over the Asylum
• Bill Nighy – Hotel Marigold 1 & 2, Gideon’s Daughter, The World’s End, About Time, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 1, Doctor Who, The Boat that Rocked, Valkyria, Pirates of the Caribbean, Hot Fuzz, Notes on a Scandal, The Constant Gardener, The Girl in the Café, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Shaun of the Dead, Still Crazy, Auf Wiedersehen Pet, Kiss Me Kate, Longitude
• Jeremy Northam – Creation, Tristram Shandy, Gosford Park, Happy Texas, Amistad, Emma
• Jenny Agutter - Love’s Labour’s Lost, An American Werewolf in London, Romeo and Juliet
• Julie Christie – Finding Neverland, Harry Potter, Hamlet, Heaven Can Wait, Nashville, McCabe and Mrs Miller, The Go-Between, Petulia, Far from the Madding Crowd, Fahrenheit 451, Dr Zhivago, Darling
• Hugh Bonneville – The Hollow Crown, Downton Abbey, Doctor Who, From Time to Time, Lost in Austen, Bonekickers, Man to Man, Daniel Deronda, Notting Hill, Frankenstein
• Tom Goodman-Hill – Humans, The Imitation Game, The Hollow Crown, Case Studies, Hustle, Doctor Who, Gideon’s Daughter, The Office
• Why? The cast
• Seen: 26 May 2019      

       It is the year before the war in a Downton Abbey type estate with an aspiring young film actor Ann (Garai), a young MP Hector (Tennant) who clearly sees Hitler as a threat, loving Pater (Nighy), cheery siblings (Redmayne and Temple), old-fashioned aunt (Christie). And then there’s espionage, a tragic and mysterious death, a kidnapped baby. Suspicion falls on Ann and she is forced to take steps. She becomes involved in politics, the victim of intrigues and betrayal.

       It’s an odd film but suspenseful and well-acted. Of course it is, with this cast. I’m not sure I like it, though.

3* of 5

Star Wars - Rogue One

Rogue One – a Star Wars Story 2016

• Director: Gareth Edwards
• Based on Book: no
• Cast: Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Forest Whitaker, Mads Mikkelsen and a bunch of cameos
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Felicity Jones: The Theory of Everything, The Invisible Woman, Cheerful Weather for the Wedding, Hysteria, Like Crazy, The Tempest, Doctor Who
• Diego Luna: Elysium, Milk, Frida
• Forest Whitaker: Arrival, Last King of Scotland, The Butler, Repo Men, The Great Debaters, Smoke, The Crying Game, Bird, Platoon, Fast Times at Ridgemont High
• Mads Mikkelsen: Casino Royale
• Why bought: Star Wars
• Seen: 24 May 2019

       Do I need to tell you the story? I’m not sure I can. As usual with Star Wars it’s confusing. The Empire is bad, and it has an evil new weapon. Jyn (Jones) is a rebel = good. There are a lot of creatures and fantastic cities and spaceships and planets and things.

It has the Star Wars feel without the Star Wars characters. No annoying Han (thank you!) or lovelorn Leia (thank you!), no Yoda (a pity) or Darth Vader (a pity) or Chewbacca (RIP) or wimpy Luke (thank you!) or R2D2 and the other one (but a close-enough amusing droid). The main characters are more or less without depth but at least they’re not irritating.

Oh wait, there’s Darth Vader! What’s he doing here? Where is this film in the chronology of the whole thing?

Oh, who cares?

It’s not the most brilliant film ever made but it’s pretty to look at and entertaining enough until the endless battle scenes at the end. Boring!

Gender analysis: Main character Jyn notwithstanding – macho. Totally male. Boring. Oh, look, a female bomber pilot. Too little, too late.

For a while it was worth 2 ½ * but it doesn’t hold up.

1 ½ * of 5.

Still Crazy

Still Crazy 1998

• Director: Brian Gibson
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Stephen Rea, Bill Nighy, Juliet Aubrey, Jimmy Nail, Timothy Spall, Billy Connolly, Helena Bergström, Bruce Robinson, Hans Matheson, Rachel Stirling, Frances Barber
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Stephen Rea – V for Vendetta, The Butcher Boy, Fever Pitch, Michael Collins, Interview with the Vampire, The Crying Game, Life Is Sweet
• Bill Nighy – Hotel Marigold 1 & 2, Gideon’s Daughter, The World’s End, About Time, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 1, Doctor Who, The Boat that Rocked, Valkyria, Pirates of the Caribbean, Hot Fuzz, Notes on a Scandal, The Constant Gardener, The Girl in the Café, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Shaun of the Dead, Auf Wiedersehen Pet, Kiss Me Kate, Longitude
• Juliet Aubrey – The Constant Gardener, Go Now, Middlemarch
• Jimmy Nail – Crocodile Shoes, Evita, Auf Wiedersehen Pet, Spender
• Timothy Spall – Mr Turner, Harry Potter, The King’s Speech, Alice in Wonderland, Sweeney Todd, Auf Wiedersehn Pet, My House in Umbria, Nicholas Nickleby, Love’s Labour Lost, Topsy-Turvy, Our Mutual Friend, Hamlet, Secrets and Lies, Life is Sweet, Gothic, Quadrophenia
• Billy Connelly – What We Did on Our Holiday, Quartet, The X Files I Want to Believe, White Oleander, Third Rock from the Sun, Mrs Brown
• Helena Bergström – Änglagård, Snoken, Blackjack
• Bruce Robinson – Withnail and I, Romeo and Juliet
• Hans Matheson - Sherlock Holmes, Les Misérables
• Rachel Stirling – Their Finest Hour, Bletchley Circle, Doctor Who, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
• Frances Barber – Vicious, Doctor Who, Hustle, Twelfth Night, Prick Up Your Ears
• Why? Bill Nighy et al
• Seen: 18 May 2019

             Rock band Strange Fruit is not at its peak in the 70’s. In fact, it just went defunct. Years go by. Fate wants them to reunite. Not an easy task getting them together again. Or getting them to recreate the panache. Especially since they all still hate each other. Especially since one of them is dead.

       That’s the story.

       It’s quite tragic. And painfully funny. The cast is brilliant, including Sweden’s very own Helena Bergström.

       Don’t you just have to love it?

5* of 5

Made in Dagenham

Made in Dagenham 2010

• Director: Nigel Cole
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Sally Hawkins, Geraldine James, Bob Hoskins, Daniel Mays, Roger Lloyd Pack, Rosamund Pike, Rupert Graves, Miranda Richardson, John Sessions
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Sally Hawkins – The Shape of Water, The Hollow Crown, Great Expectations, Jane Eyre, Never Let Me Go, An Education, Happy-Go-Lucky, Little Britain, Twenty Thousand Streets under the Sky, Vera Drake
• Geraldine James – Sherlock Holmes Game of Shadows, Sherlock Holmes, Alice in Wonderland, Little Britain, Calendar Girls
• Bob Hoskins – Doomsday, Paris je t’aime, Mrs Henderson Presents, Last Orders, David Copperfield, Felicia’s Journey, Hook, Mona Lisa, Brazil, Othello, Rock Follies
• Daniel Mays – Treasure Island, Victor Frankenstein, Doctor Who, Hustle, Atonement, A Good Year, Vera Drake
• Roger Lloyd Pack – Twelfth Night, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Hustle, What We Did on Our Holiday, Doctor Who, Harry Potter, Prick Up Your Ears
• Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl, What We Did on Our Holiday, A Long Way Down, An Education, The Libertine, Die Another Day
• Rupert Graves – Sherlock, Last Tango in Halifax, Doctor Who, Wallander, V for Vendetta, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Intimate Relations, The Madness of King George, A Handful of Dust, A Room with a View
• Miranda Richardson – Harry Potter, Paris je t’aime, Gideon’s Daughter, Wah-Wah, Absolutely Fabulous, The Hours, Black Adder, Sleepy Hollow, The Crying Game, Enchanted April, Dance with a Stranger
• John Sessions – Legend, Doctor Who, Filth, Sherlock, The Last Station, The Merchant of Venice, Gangs of New York, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Henry V
• Why? Sally Hawkins
• Seen: 17 May 2019

             A hundred and eighty-seven women are employed at the enormous Ford factory in Dagenham – amongst the thousands and thousands of men. The year is 1968. The women’s work has been degraded to ‘unskilled’. They vote unanimously to strike.

       Rita (Hawkins) is chosen to be one of the four union members to meet management. Luckily for the workers, unluckily for the stodgy old in-management’s-pocket union representative, Rita doesn’t keep her mouth shut. Their own shop leader Albert (Hoskins) is proud of her.

       So now Rita finds herself strike leader. And union leader. And it becomes a strike for equal pay for women.

       I love films about radical factory floor unionists defeating conservative union officials and multinational capitalists especially when said radical floor unionists are women and the bad guys are men.

       How could this be anything but one of the best of the genre with this cast?

5* of 5

PS True story

Cactus Flower

13 May 2019

Cactus Flower 1969

• Director: Gene Saks
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Goldie Hawn, Ingrid Bergman, Walter Matthau, Jack Weston, Rick Lenz, Vito Scotti, Irene Hervey, Eve Bruce
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Goldie Hawn – The Banger Sisters, The First Wives Club, Bird on a Wire, Overboard, Swing Shift, Private Benjamin, The Sugarland Express, Laugh-In
• Ingrid Bergman – The Yellow Rolls Royce, Notorious, Spellbound, Gaslight, Casablanca
• Walter Matthau – Grumpy Old Men, JFK, Candy, Charade
• Jack Weston – this and that
• Rick Lenz – various 60’s series
• Vito Scotti – here and there
• Why? Recommended by friend JS
• Seen: 12 May 2019      

       Introducing Goldie Hawn. That’s a bonus.

       Twenty-one-year old Toni (Hawn) is having an affair with a middle-aged married dentist (Matthau), father of three. Ah, except he isn’t and he’s in love with Toni, who starts the film by trying to commit suicide because her married lover stands her up and she’s rescued by handsome young neighbour Igor (Lenz). Complications lead to dentist asking his cool efficient dental nurse Miss Dickinson (Bergman) to pretend to be his wife.

       Based on a Broadway play based on a French play, it all seems to be a lot of trouble for a silly story.

       Silly or not, Hawn and Bergman are terrific. Matthau is less so but then his character is meant to be obnoxious. There are some good lines and the details of the sets are brilliantly 60’s. Beatles LPs in the record shop, Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet at the cinema are two examples.

       It’s a gem of a 60’s film, quite ahead of its time. It’s all down to Hawn and the details.

3 ½ * of 5

Treasure Island

13 May 2019

Treasure Island 2011

• Director: Steve Barron
• Based on book by Robert Louis Stevenson
• Cast: Eddie Izzard, Toby Regbo, Rupert Penry-Jones, Daniel Mays, Philip Glenister, Donald Sutherland, Elijah Wood, Shirley Henderson, Nina Sosanya, David Harewood
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Eddie Izzard – Victoria & Abdul, Valkyria, Across the Universe, Romance & Cigarettes, Velvet Goldmine, himself as comedian
• Rupert Penry-Jones – Hilary and Jackie, Cold Lazarus, Absolutely Fabulous, Cold Comfort Farm
• Daniel Mays – Victor Frankenstein, Doctor Who, Hustle, Atonement, A Good Year, Vera Drake
• Philip Glenister – The Hollow Crown, Kingdom of Heaven, Calendar Girls, The Other Boleyn Girl
• Donald Sutherland – Hunger Games etc, The Eagle, Pillars of the Earth, Cold Mountain, JFK, 1900, Klute, Johnny Got His Gun, MASH and many others
• Elijah Wood – The Hobbit etc, Bobby, Paris je t’aime, Everything Is Illuminated, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Ice Storm
• Shirley Henderson – Filth, Life During Wartime, Doctor Who, The Taming of the Shrew (Re-told), Harry Potter, Tristram Shandy, Intermission, Once upon a Time in the Midlands, 24 Hour Party People, Bridget Jones’s Diary, Hamish Macbeth, Trainspotting, Rob Roy
• Nina Sosanya – Last Tango in Halifax, Hustle, Bonekickers, Doctor Who, Much Ado about Nothing (Re-told), Manderlay, Love Actually
• David Harewood – The Night Manager, Hustle, Doctor Who, Blood Diamond, The Merchant of Venice, Babyfather
• Why? Curious, being the book is a classic
• Seen: 11 May 2019 with Hal and YW in our read-book-see-film group      

       If you don’t know the story, Google it. If you haven’t read the book, maybe you should do so.

       The film is certainly starting out with a bang or two. Pirates, thieves, murderers, the lot of them. And then there’s the map. And the parrot. It’s all there.

       It lags a bit in the middle and as YW points out, it’s very male-dominated. Only Jim Hawkin’s (Regbo) mum (Henderson) and Long John Silver’s (Izzard) wife (Sosanya) in small (but well-played) roles that are probably smaller than in the book (I don’t remember, it’s been a while since I read it). It’s hard to keep track of who are the villains and who aren’t (relatively aren’t, that is). It’s too long and fist/sword fights are so boring. A pity. It looked very promising but it’s now whittling away the stars I had been accumulating for it.

       On the other hand, it started with a lot of stars and picked up a couple at the end. So, to my surprise

4* of 5 (from Hal too; YW gave it 3 ½ *)

The Martian

13 May 2019

The Martian 2015

• Director: Ridley Scott
• Based on the novel by Andy Weir
• Cast: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Sean Bean, Kate Mara, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Mackenzie Davis, Donald Glover
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Matt Damon – Interstellar, The Zero Theorem, Elysium, Contagion, True Grit, Invictus, The Informant, The Brothers Grimm, Jersey Girl, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, The Bourne Identity, Dogma, Good Will Hunting
• Jessica Chastain – Huntsman Winter’s War, Interstellar, The Help, The Tree of Life, Coriolanus, Take Shelter, Veronica Mars
• Kristen Wiig – Flight of the Conchords
• Jeff Daniels – Looper, Good Night and Good Luck, The Squid and the Whale, The Hours, Pleasantville, Speed
• Sean Bean – Jupiter Ascending, North Country, The Island, Lord of the Rings etc, Golden Eye, Stormy Monday
• Kata Mara – Fantastic Four, Transcendence, 127 Hours, Stone of Destiny, Brokeback Mountain
• Chiwetel Ejiofor – Dancing on the Edge, 2012, Children of Men, Kinky Boots, Serenity, Love Actually, Dirty Pretty Things
• Mackenzie Davis – Blade Runner 2049, What If
• Why? Hal liked the book, which I haven’t read yet.
• Seen: 11 May 2019       

       A sudden storm on Mars forces the whole crew to abandon the mission. Mark Watney (Damon) is believed to be killed and so is left behind.

       This is the story of his survival, alone on Mars. He has enough in the mission station to keep him alive about a month. Says Mark: ‘Luckily I’m a botanist.’ He starts to grow food.

       Flash to Earth and the political disputes about whether or not to send another mission. Especially when they learn that he’s alive.

       It’s not a profound film and it’s a bit long but it is entertaining. The technology is interesting and the characters likeable. And they play ABBA! I’m not really sure that ‘Waterloo’ is appropriate but… cool. Gloria Gaynor’s ‘I Will Survive’ is more obvious.      

4* of 5

Almost Famous

6 May 2019

Almost Famous 2000

• Director: Cameron Crowe
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Patrick Fugit, Kate Hudson, Zooey Deschanel, Anna Paquin, Philip Seymour Hoffman
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Billy Crudup – Public Enemies, Big Fish, Waking the Dead
• Frances McDormand - Moonrise Kingdom, North Country, The Man Who Wasn’t There, Burn After Reading, Fargo, Palookaville, Barton Fink, Mississippi Is Burning, Raising Arizona, Hill Street Blues
• Patrick Fugit – Gone Girl, White Oleander
• Kate Hudson - Nine
• Zooey Deschanel – 500 Days of Summer, The Happening, The Good Girl
• Anna Paquin – X-Men Days of Future Past, The Squid and the Whale, X-Men, She’s All That, Amistad, Jane Eyre, The Piano
• Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Hunger Games, The Invention of Lying, The Boat that Rocked, Cold Mountain, Punch-drunk Love, Flawless, The Big Lebowski, Twister
• Why? Liked it the first time
• Seen: Once before. Now 5 May 2019      

       It’s the early 70’s and young William (Fugit) aspires to be a rock journalist. His mother (McDormand), an upright university professor with decided views on rock music and commercialism, can’t stop him. Weary and cynical journalist (Hoffman) gives him advice and off he goes.

       Welcome to the world of arena rock, struggling ego-tripping rock musicians, groupies, tours.

       McDormand is brilliant as always, Fugit is appealing, Crudup as a rock start is pretty to look at, Hudson as a groupie is a bit annoying. What do/would kids born in the 21^st century think of this ancient history film? For us there’s a bit of bittersweet nostalgia but the film doesn’t really hold up.

2½* of 5

The Shape of Water

6 May 2019

The Shape of Water 2017

• Director: Guillermo del Toro
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Sally Hawkins, Richard Jenkins, Michael Shannon, Octavia Spencer, Michael Stuhlbarg, Doug Jones
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Sally Hawkins – The Hollow Crown, Great Expectations, Jane Eyre, Never Let Me Go, An Education, Happy-Go-Lucky, Little Britain, Twenty Thousand Streets under the Sky, Vera Drake
• Richard Jenkins – The Rum Diary, Burn After Reading, The Visitor, Rumour Has It, North Country, Six Feet Under, Intolerable Cruelty
• Michael Shannon – Man of Steel, Take Shelter, 8 Mile
• Octavia Spencer – The Help
• Michael Stuhlbarg – Hugo, A Serious Man·       
• Why? Sally Hawkins
• Seen: 3 May 2019

      

       Elisa (Hawkins) lives above a cinema. She loves shoes, brings food to her commercial artist neurotic neighbour Giles (Jenkins) and she’s mute. She works as a cleaner in a scientific facility. Her friend Zelda (Spencer) keeps an eye on her and defends her from bullies.

       A mysterious tank with a mysterious groaning creature (Jones) is brought to the facility. Top secret. Elisa is fascinated by it.

       Strange and scary things start happening, but daily life goes on with Giles, TV, tap-dancing, pie. And visiting the creature where he is chained in a large vat of water. She brings him eggs, plays music for him, dances, teaches him sign language.

       There are Russian spies involved. This is the early 60’s in Baltimore.

       Elisa witnesses her sadistic boss (Shannon) torturing the creature then planning to kill and vivisect him. She must save him.

       Humour, suspense, weirdness, politics, sci fi and Sally Hawkins, what more could we ask for? Well, a little less romantic fairy-tale would improve it. And a bit less romantic background music. And a bit less caricatured characters. I expected more but it lands on

3* of 5

Victoria & Abdul

29 April 2019

Victoria & Abdul 2017

• Director: Stephen Frears
• Based on book by Shrabani Basu
• Cast: Judi Dench, Ali Fazal, Tim Pigott-Smith, Eddie Izzard, Adeel Akhtar, Michael Gambon, Paul Higgins, Olivia Williams, Fenella Woolgar, Ruth McCabe, Simon Callow
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Judi Dench  –The Hollow Crown, Spectre, Hotel Marigold 2, Vicious, Philomena, Hotel Marigold, My Week with Marilyn, Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides, Jane Eyre, Cranford, Nine, Quantum of Silence, Notes on a Scandal, Casino Royale, Mrs Henderson Presents, Ladies in Lavender, Die Another Day, The Shipping News, Chocolat, The World is Not Enough, Tea with Mussolini, Shakespeare in Love, Tomorrow Never Dies, Mrs Brown, Hamlet, Golden Eye, Middlemarch, Henry V, A Handful of Dust, A Room with a View, Macbeth,
• Tim Pigott-Smith – Jupiter Ascending, Bletchley Circle, Alice in Wonderland, Quantum of Solace, V for Vendetta, Gangs of New York, The Remains of the Day
• Eddie Izzard – Valkyria, Across the Universe, Romance & Cigarettes, Velvet Goldmine
• Adeel Akhtar – Unforgotten, The Night Manager, River
• Michael Gambon – Fortitude, The Hollow Crown, Harry Potter, Quirke, The Quartet, Doctor Who, The King’s Speech, The Book of Eli, Cranford and a lot of others
• Paul Higgins – Case Histories, In the Loop, Red Road, Beautiful Creatures
• Olivia Williams – Hanna, The Ghost Writer, An Education, Tara Road, To Kill a King, Born Romantic, Rushmore
• Fenella Woolgar – Mr Turner, Cheerful Weather for the Wedding, Case Studies, Doctor Who, Wah-Wah, Vera Drake, Bright Young Things
• Ruth McCabe – Philomena, Good Vibrations, Inside I’m Dancing, Intermission, Titanic Town, Circle of Friends, Takin’ Over the Asylum, My Left Foot
• Simon Callow – Doctor Who, Bright Young Things, Shakespeare in Love, Four Weddings and a Funeral, A Room with a View, Amadeus
• Why? Judi Dench, the subject
• Seen: 28 April 2019

      

       Due to circumstances beyond his control young Abdul (Fazal) is brought from his native Agra to the court of the aged and weary Queen Victoria (Dench). He is dazzled and his friend Mohammed (Akhtar) is disgusted by the luxurious absurdity of the British royalty.

       Abdul presents the gift he was brought to England to present. Against all odds the queen notices him, first his handsomeness, then his charm, and she demands that Abdul and Mohammed become her servants. Mohammed has nothing to do, Abdul becomes her constant companion. She is puzzled and enchanted with his ingenuous loquaciousness, his stories of India – its spices, its food, its history, its beauty. She asks him to teach her Indian. He starts teaching her the noble Urdu.

       Her staff and her son are appalled.

       It’s an utterly delightful film. And then it turns sad.

5 * of 5.   

The Descendents

29 April 2019

The Descendents 2011

• Director: Alexander Payne
• Based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings
• Cast: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller, Nick Krause, Patricia Hastie
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• George Clooney – Hail Caesar, Gravity, Burn after Reading, Michael Clayton, Good Night and Good Luck, Intolerable Cruelty, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Solaris, The Perfect Storm, O Brother Where Art Thou?, The Thin Red Line
• Why? Good reviews
• Seen: 27 April 2019      

       Liz (Hastie) is in a coma after a boating accident. Her husband Matt (Clooney) is forced to deal with their two daughters, Scottie (Miller) and Alex (Woodley) alone. They’re both behaving badly. He’s also under pressure about selling some very valuable choice property, some of the last virgin Hawaiian land. He is told that Liz is going to die when the machines are switched off, which is obligatory according to her Living Will. It has not been a happy marriage, they are not a happy family.

       Rich, male, privileged, white (well, almost, his grandmother was native Hawaiian) living in paradise, Matt says, ‘Fuck Paradise.’ Yes, of course, rich white etc people suffer from illness, injury, family dysfunction and all that but it’s hard not to reflect that poor and oppressed people suffer even more because they don’t have money, coastline property or connections with powerful people.

       With that said, the acting is good, the concept is interesting enough, though the story is kind of weird and contrived. But the ending is quite satisfactory.

3 ½* of 5

Before Midnight

22 April 2019

Before Midnight 2013

• Director: Richard Linklater
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Ethan Hawke – Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, Cymbeline, Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, Tape, Hamlet, Snow Falling on Cedars, Gattaca, Reality Bites, Waterland, Dead Poets Society
• Julie Delpy – Two Days in New York, Two Days in Paris, Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, Broken Flowers, The Red Film, The White Film
• Why? The other two
• Seen: 21 April 2019

       They’re together now, Jesse (Hawk) and Celine (Delpy). They have twin daughters and are on holiday in Greece. Jesse misses his fourteen-year-old son who lives in America.

       Still talking, but now Jesse talks about his books with three men. He and Celine have friends and now they’re all talking around a dinner table. No more romance, just cynical gender bickering. Then Jesse and Celine wander off on their own and continue talking. Bickering. Even in bed with Celine half-naked they bicker. Shortened love scene becomes hate scene.

       These two have never been likeable. Now they’re almost unbearable. No wonder they’ve ended up hating each other.

       It deals with real relationship problems and domestic life. It’s really depressing so I should like it better than the others which were too soapy. But then this gets soapy too.

       They’re awfully good actors though.

3* of 5

Before Sunset

22 April 2019

Before Sunset 2004

• Director: Richard Linklater
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Ethan Hawke – Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, Cymbeline, Before Sunrise, Tape, Hamlet, Snow Falling on Cedars, Gattaca, Reality Bites, Waterland, Dead Poets Society
• Julie Delpy – Two Days in New York, Two Days in Paris, Before Sunrise Broken Flowers, The Red Film, The White Film
• Why? Second of the trilogy
• Seen: Once before. Now 18 April 2019      

       It was supposed to be six months but now nine years have passed since the two lovers in Before Sunrise, Jesse (Hawk) and Celine (Delpy), meet again in the Shakespeare and Company bookshop in Paris. He has written a book about their previous meeting and is now famous.

       They walk and talk, talk and walk. Just like last time.

       She’s working for an environmental organisation and they talk politics. He’s optimistic, she’s pessimistic. She’s a bit radical, he’s a vaguely ignorant American.

       They walk and talk, they talk and walk. I’m bored.

       Oh look, there’s the Notre Dame. Burnt now, just last week. Well, not all of it. At first it felt like a tragedy but it’s just a church, you know. Beautiful and all, but just think of all the great human needs the restoration money could be used for instead of on a medieval symbol of dictatorial power.

       But I digress. Now they’re talking and riding on a Seine boat. They start baring their souls. Then there’s a long walk up the winding staircase to her flat with close-ups of their faces, and the cat. Don’t forget the cat. Quite artistic.

       Kind of a soapy ending though.

3 (almost)* of 5

Monty Python's Life of Brian

15 April 2019

Monty Python’s Life of Brian 1979

• Director: Terry Jones
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Terence Bayler, Carol Cleveland, Gwen Taylor, Sue Jones-Davies
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Most of them – In various Monty Python productions
• John Cleese – The Day the Earth Stood Still, Die Another Day and other Bond films, Harry Potter, Third Rock from the Sun, Frankenstein, A Fish Called Wanda, Clockwise, Silverado, The Taming of the Shrew, Fawlty Towers
• Michael Palin – A Fish Called Wanda, Brazil
• Terence Baylor – Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Remains of the Day, Brazil, Upstairs Downstairs, The Brothers, Macbeth
• Sue Jones-Davies – Rock Follies
• Why? Well, it’s a must-have, isn’t it?
• Seen: Several times. Now 14 April with EG, EG, LR, AB and Hal in our history film group.      

       What could be better to see a week before Easter? The true story…

       If you only know the story of the other guy, you really must see this.

       Monty Python in Jerusalem, AD 33, Saturday afternoon. Bumbling, good-hearted Brian gets involved with one of the many Jewish rebel groups and ends up hanging on a cross. Parodies, digs at everybody, insanely funny sketches, hilarious as only Monty Python can be. Only better. It’s the best this gang has ever done.

       And honestly, when Eric Idle starts singing on the cross, every one of us, spontaneously and without previous consultation, starts singing along.

       We all had minor objections to bits of the film, but our ratings landed on

4* (2 of us) or 5* (4 of us) of 5

PS Remember! The Swedes must be kept separate from the Welsh!

Man to Man

15 April 2019

Man to Man 2005

• Director: Régi Wargnier
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Joseph Fiennes, Kristin Scott Thomas, Iain Glen, Hugh Bonneville, Lomama Baseki, Cécile Bayiha, Flora Montgomery, Patrick Mofokeng
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Joseph Fiennes – Strangerland, Good-bye Bafana, The Darwin Awards, The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare in Love, Elizabeth
• Kristin Scott Thomas – The Invisible Woman, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, Contre toi, Ell s’appelait Sarah, Nowhere Boy, The Other Boleyn Girl, Il y a longtemps que je t’aime, Keeping Mum, Gosford Park, The English Patient, Angels and Insects, Richard III, Four Weddings and a Funeral, A Handful of Dust
• Iain Glen – The Hollow Crown, Downton Abbey, Doctor Who, Tara Road, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
• Hugh Bonneville – Breathe, The Hollow Crown, Downton Abbey, Doctor Who, From Time to Time, Lost in Austen, Bonekickers, Daniel Deronda, Notting Hill, Tomorrow Never Dies, Frankenstein
• Flora Montgomery – Quirke, Endeavour
• Patrick Mofokeng - Invictus
• Why? The cast
• Seen: 13 April 2019.

       Central Africa 1870. Dr Dodd (Fiennes) and Madame Van Den Ende (Scott Thomas) capture and abduct two pygmies and transport them to Scotland. She is a merchant of exotic animals, he is a scientist searching for the Missing Link, which he believes the Pigmies to be.

       Once in Scotland in the castle of scientist Alexander Auchinleck (Glen) the study begins, together with Fraser McBride (Bonneville). The two prisoners, Toko and Likola, are kept in a large locked cage. They rebel against their captivity in any way they can – hunger strikes, passivity, violence.  Two of the three scientists conclude that the pigmies are between apes and humans. Dr Dodd slowly realises they are as human as all of them.

       The workers fear the prisoners and claim they are witches and have caused all sorts of bad luck. They want the prisoners dead. Instead Toko and Likola use subterfuge and escape.

       There are loads of paradoxes here and the basic question is who are the savages here, who are the most intelligent? Some reviewers have called the film racist. It is not. It is a film about racism. It is fascinating, well-acted by all, exciting, and based on a true story.

5 * of 5