House of D

 

House of D 2004

• Director: David Duchovny
• Seen by this director: some episodes of The X Files
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Anton Yelchin, Robin Williams, Téa Leoni, Erykah Badu, David Duchovny, Frank Langella, Zelda Williams, Olga Sosnovska, Alice Drummond, Mark Margolis
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Anton Yelchin – Cymbeline, Only Lovers Left Alive, Fright Night, Like Crazy, Terminator Salvation, Taken
• Robin Williams – The Butler, Night Listener, Insomnia, Good Will Hunting, Hamlet, The Bird Cage, Hook, Fisher King, Dead Again, Awakenings, Dead Poets Society, Good Morning Vietnam, The World According to Garp
• Téa Leoni – A League of Their Own
• Erykah Badu – The Cider House Rules
• David Duchovny – Things We Lost in the Fire, Full Frontal, Return to Me, The X Files
• Frank Langella – Frost/Nixon, Good Night and Good Luck, Sweet November, The Ninth Gate, Dave
• Olga Sosnovska – The Leftovers
• Mark Margolis – Breaking Bad, Black Swan, Defiance, Gone Baby Gone, Requiem for a Dream
•  Why? I don’t remember but the cast is good
• Seen: 25 July 2021.      

       David Duchovny wrote and directed the film and plays the part of an American artist in Paris, estranged from his wife and son, who decides to tell them about his past in an attempt at reconciliation.

       In 1973 Tommy (Yelchin), thirteen years old, lives with his newly widowed and depressed mother Katherine (Leoni) in Greenwich Village. His best friend and co-worker, Pappass (R. Williams), is a delivery man and is described by everybody as retarded. House of D refers to a women’s prison under which Tommy and Pappas hide their tips and where Tommy has a shouted and ongoing discussion about life with prisoner Bernadette (Badu).

       It’s a coming-of-age story with a lot of lame sex jokes. The whole film is a bit lame. I expected more from Fox Mulder. It’s fun to see a young Yelchin and Badu’s huge Afro but that’s about it.

       A little drama towards the end lifts it half a * but it’s still too soapy for me. 

2 ½ * of 5

 

 

 

Hamlet (Doran/Tennant) update 2021

 

New update 24 July 2021

Hamlet 2009 (Doran)

See update below. And happy birthday, Shakespeare!

 

• Director: Gregory Doran
• Seen by this director: The Winter’s Tale
• Based on play: by Shakespeare
• Cast: David Tennant, Patrick Stewart, Penny Downie, Oliver Ford Davies, Mariah Gale, Edward Bennett, Peter De Jersey, Sam Alexander, John Woodvine
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in: note: we have seen many films with these actors since then and indeed, it was because of this film that we went looking for more roles played by David Tennant, thus discovering Doctor Who
• David Tennant – Deadwater Fell, Jessica Jones, Broadchurch, What We Did on Our Holiday, Doctor Who, The Politician’s Husband, Fright Night, The Decoy Bride, United, The Catherine Tate Show, St Trinians 2, Glorious 39, Secret Smile, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Blackpool, Bright Young Things, Jude, Takin’ over the Asylum
• Patrick Stewart – The Hollow Crown, Hamlet (BBC), Star Trek, X-Men etc, Extras, Lady Jane, Dune, Excalibur, I Claudius, Antony and Cleopatra
• Penny Downie – Breathe, Downton Abbey, Invictus, The Girl in the Café
• Mariah Gale – Doctor Who, Broadchurch, The Hollow Crown, Measure for Measure
• Oliver Ford Davies – The Deep Blue Sea, Hamlet, Johnny English, Sense and Sensibility, Star Wars, Her Majesty Mrs. Brown, Mrs. Dalloway
• John Woodvine – Hamlet, The Other Boleyn Girl, An American Werewolf in London
• Seen: First time: a couple of years ago. Now: February 17, 2013 Now: 24 July 2021 

  One thing that noted scholar Harold Bloom is right about is that every actor does Hamlet differently. There could hardly be more difference between David Tennant’s performance and the stodgy Laurence Olivier, the earnest Mel Gibson, or the sullen, broody Ethan Hawke.

David Tennant’s Hamlet is frenzied, loony, goofy. And completely convincing. This scrawny Hamlet in jeans, tennis shoes (or barefoot) and ugly (but funny) orange T-shirt with skeleton ribs printed on it is manic and suffering. A brilliant achievement.

The time is now. The place is a hall of mirrors under surveillance cameras. Dramatic. Creepy. Atmospheric.

The rest of the cast? Mixed results. Polonius and Laertes (Davies and Bennett) do their jobs, nothing remarkable. Patrick Stewart, again playing Claudius, is a bit of a problem. He’s an excellent actor, of course, but I can’t quite figure out what he’s doing with Claudius.  His villainy is too sneaky, his remorse not convincing enough. But probably (I especially think so after watching the interview in the DVD special feature) Stewart is deliberately and rightly making Claudius a paradox, but it doesn’t quite succeed.

Horatio is a thankless role, maybe the most personality challenged figure in Shakespeare, but De Jersey does well. Horatio is likeable and supportive, and De Jersey makes him so.

Ophelia is well done by Mariah Gale.  A bit too wide-eyed for my tastes and more could have been done with the “O what a noble mind” soliloquy but her interpretation of mad Ophelia is very moving.

Penny Downie is the best Gertrude so far. It’s the closet scene that matters and this Gertrude is a bit too weepy and not angry enough, but she is at least angry and authoritative – she is Queen and a mother, after all – towards Hamlet at times, which is more than can be said of the other Gertrudes I’ve seen.

Not quite a perfect production then. But close enough. Very powerful, very gripping. 

9 ½ * of 10.

 

21 April 2018

Updated  

We’re watching it with our friends EG and EG with whom we have tickets to see Hamlet at the Globe in London in July. 

The first time Hal and I saw this film we said, ‘Oh this David Tennant is good, wonder what else he has done?’ Thus we discovered Doctor Who (we had heard of it but not seen much) and are now devoted Whovians.

 The four of us agree now that this is the best Hamlet film ever, even better than the brilliant but, with repeated viewing flawed Branagh version. My objections above have become milder. Downie’s Gertrude remains the best ever and David Tennant is - words fail me -  unsurpassable.

 This time I’m almost tempted to give it 10* of 10. But small objections so 

9.98* of 10

Update 24 July 2021 – I mostly agree with my previous reactions, but sad to say, I just don’t see Gale as Ophelia. Next week we’ll see Branagh’s version again. Can it retain its original status or will it glide down a little bit further on the list? Tennant and Lester are such superlative Hamlets…

This time I think 9 1/2* of 10.

 

Flickan som lekte med elden/ The girl who played with fire

 

Flickan som lekte med elden 2009

• Director: Daniel Alfredsson
• Based on the novel by Stieg Larsson
• Cast: Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Lena Endre, Peter Andersson, Michalis Koutsogiannakis, Per Oscarsson, Mikael Spreitz, Tanja Lorentzon, Paolo Roberto
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Michael Nyqvist (1960-2017) – John Wick, Män som hatar kvinnor, Luftslottet som sprängdes, Den bästa av mödrar, Grabben i graven bredvid, Reuter & Skoog, Tillsammans
• Noomi Rapace – Stockholm, Unlocked, Rupture, Prometheus, Sherlock Holmes Game of Shadows, Svinalängorna, Män som hatar kvinnor, Luftslottet som sprängdes, Tusenbröder
• Lena Endre – Män som hatar kvinnor, Luftslottet som sprängdes,
• Peter Andersson – Män som hatar kvinnor, Luftslottet som sprängdes, Änglagård
• Michalis Koutsogiannakis – Tusenbröder, Flickan som lekte med elden, Luftslottet som sprängdes, Det nya landet
• Per Oscarsson – Luftslottet som sprängdes, Snoken, Änglagård, Ronja rövardotter, Picassos äventyr, Nybyggarna, Här har du ditt liv
• Mikael Spreitz - Luftslottet som sprängdes
• Tanja Lorentzon - Luftslottet som sprängdes
• Paolo Roberto – mostly in the newspapers re his boxing career and various scandals, which, if true, would be embarrassing for Steig Larsson, were he alive, considering the subject of the film, trafficking.
• Why? The book
• Seen: Once before. Now 23 July 2021      

       Lisbeth Salander (Rapace) has cut all ties with Mikael Blomqvist (Nyqvist), which he regrets and doesn’t understand. When Salander is accused of three murders she goes underground. There are forces, including the secret service, that are determined to crush her to the extent of revealing her past as a psychiatric patient and leaking lies about her to the press. Blomqvist is determined to prove her innocence though she refuses to communicate with him.

       It’s about trafficking. Men in power exploiting young prostitutes who are essentially sex slaves and thugs making sure the system works and money is made.

       The film cannot possibly have the complexity of the book, but it is excellent. It’s fun to see Stockholm and real live news reporters that we see (or saw) on the news every week.

  

Lisbeth Salander (Rapace) hur brutit helt med journalist Mikael Blomqvist (Nyqvist), något som han inte förstår och som gör honom ledsen. När Salander anklagas för tre mord går hon underjord. Det finns krafter, inklusive Säpo, som är fast beslutna att krossa henne, så till den grad att de avslöjar hennes förflutna som psykpatient och läcker lögner till pressen. Blomqvist tänker bevisa att hon är oskyldig trots att hon vägrar att svara på hans försök till kommunikation.

Det handlar om trafficking. Män i maktpositioner som utnyttjar unga prostituerade som egentligen är sexslavar och våldsmän som ser till att systemet funkar och att pengar tjänas.

Filmen kan omöjligen visa på bokens komplexitet men den är utmärkt. Det är roligt att se Stockholm och nyhetsuppläsare som finns i verkliga livet och som man ser (eller såg) på TV varje vecka.

 4 ½ * of 5

Britt-Marie var här

Britt-Marie var här 2019

• Director: Tuva Novotny
• Based on the novel by Fredrik Backman.
• Cast: Pernilla August, Peter Haber, Vera Vitali, Lancelot Ncube, Anders Mossling, Malin Levanon, Stella Oyoko Bengtsson
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Pernilla August – Star Wars
• Peter Haber – Män som hatar kvinnor (The Girls with the Dragon Tattoo)
• Why? I love the book.
• Seen: 18 July 2021. 

       Britt-Marie (August) is 63 years old, leaves her unfaithful husband after 40 years of catering to his every need. She is completely and hopeless incompetent in social situations and ends up as a completely hopeless and incompetent football (soccer to you in the US) coach for a raggedy gang of ten-year-olds of various genders and colours in an almost-dead town in Nowhere, Sweden.

       It’s unfair to expect this wonderful book to be translatable into a film. A TV series maybe, with time to develop the complex characters and story, but not a film. It got bad reviews, and sure, it’s far from doing justice to the book.

       But, I will let the book go and judge the film by its own merits.

       And guess what. I’ve fallen in love with the film too. The cast is marvellous, especially August and the kids. 

Britt-Marie (August), 63 år, lämnar sin otrogna man efter att ha betjänt honom i 40 år. Hon är totalt och hopplöst socialt inkompetent and hamnar i en avbefolkat håla i Ingenstans, Sverige som totalt och hopplöst inkompetent fotbollstränare till ett gäng rackarungar av diverse färger och genus.

Det är fel att förvänta sig att denna underbara bok skulle kunna översättas till film. En TV-serie, kanske, med utrymme att utveckla personerna och berättelsen. Den fick dålig kritik och visst, den är långt ifrån att göra boken rättvisa.

Men, men. Jag släpper nu boken och bedömer filmen efter dess egna meriter.

Och, tänk. Jag har blivit kär i filmen också. Skådespelarna är superba, speciellt August och ungarna.

 4* of 5

  

Hamlet (Brook 2002) update 2021

 Update 18 July 2021

Hamlet 2001 (Brook)

• Director: Peter Brook
• Seen by this director: King Lear
• Based on book: by Shakespeare
• Cast: Adrian Lester, Jeffery Kissoon, Natasha Parry, Bruce Myers, Scott Handy, Shantala Shivaligappa, Rohan Siva, Asil Raïs, Yoshi Oïda,
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Adrian Lester – London Spy, Hustle, Merlin, Bone-Kickers, Doomsday, The Day After Tomorrow, As You Like It, Born Romantic, Love’ Labour’s Lost
• Jeffrey Kissoon – Star Wars The Force Awakens, Dirty Pretty Things, Hamlet
• Natasha Perry – Oh What a Lovely War, Romeo and Juliet
• Scott Handy – Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, A Knight’s Tale
• Seen: February 23, 2013

       Peter Brook is known as an outstanding Shakespearean director with his own radical interpretations of the plays, so I was expecting, well, a radical interpretation.

He does make some drastic cuts here and scared me into thinking he’d cut “to be or not to be” because it came almost at the end, but it did come, way out of order like a lot of the other scenes.  But essentially the story and characters are there.  If you had no idea what Hamlet is about, you’d get a fair picture from this production (it’s not so much a movie as filmed theater).

The most radical change that is unfair to Shakespeare is that there is no humor.  Hamlet is an extremely funny play, but this version is not.  Well, I can live with that.

Two other things make this production stand out. One is the international cast.  They are from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds with varying richness of skin color and accents. 

The second thing is the incredible setting. Minimalist props – essentially an empty stage with a few pillows, low tables, oil lamps and in the background sometimes a stairway and door. But the colors! Rich reds, black or white or dark blue clothes, an orange/gold tone in the lighting. The blackness of Hamlet with the whiteness of Horatio against a glowing red background – beautiful!

The acting is mostly superb. Adrian Lester is one of my favorite actors and he does an outstanding Hamlet. Mostly very introspective, quiet, thoughtful with very effective moments of intense anguish and far less violence than most actors in the role. His depth of character is often expressed in very subtle shifts of facial expression. He rivals Helena Bonham-Carter for getting across oceans of emotion with a twitched eyebrow or a millimeter drop of the corner of the mouth.

The rest were good too except for Natasha Parry as Gertrude.  Somehow it didn’t work. Especially in the all-important closet scene Gertrude seemed more annoyed with the whole thing and didn’t really seem to like Hamlet very much. At least she wasn’t the guilt-ridden weepy sexpot of the Olivier school, but more involvement would be good. Parry’s interpretation prevents a full score.

Adrian Lester, the minimalist music, the colors of skin and setting – 100* of 100. Magnifique! The cast generally, 10 of 10.  As a whole 

9 ½ * of 10

PS Update 18 July 2016 - this time I liked Natasha Perry's interpretations very much! The annoyed and reserved attitude towards her mad son was very good indeed! Which should raise the rating to a 10...

PPS Update 17 July 2021 - Again I see Perry’s interpretation as excellent but now find the opening scene and Hamlet’s first monolog as too low-key. Ophelia’s scenes are cut or shortened, giving Shivaligappa less to work with. A pity because she’s very good.

It's still 9 ½ * of 10

Kong Skull Island

 Kong Skull Island 2017

• Director: Jordan Vogt-Roberts
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L Jackson, Brie Larson, John C Reilly, John Goodman, Corey Hawkins, John Ortiz, Tian Jing, Richard Jenkins
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Tom Hiddleston – The Night Manager, High-Rise, Only Lovers Left Alive, The Hollow Crown, The Avengers, The Deep Blue Sea, Thor, Wallander
• Samuel L Jackson – Glass, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, The Hateful Eight, Django Unchained, Avengers, Jumper, 1408, Extras, Star Wars I-III, Kill Bill 2, The Red Violin, Jackie Brown, Long Kiss Goodnight, One Eight Seven, A Time to Kill, Die Hard, Pulp Fiction, True Romance, Johnny Suede, Jungle Fever, Mo’ Better Blues, Sea of Love, Do the Right Thing
• Brie Larson – The Glass Castle, Room, Short Term 12, Scott Pilgrim vs the World
• John C Reilly – A Prairie Home Companion, The Aviator, The Hours, Chicago, Gangs of New York, The Good Girl, The Thin Red Line, Georgia, Dolores Claiborne, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape
• John Goodman - Atomic Blonde, Inside Llewyn Davis, Dancing on the Edge, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, The Artist, My First Mister, O Brother Where Art Thou?,  Barton Fink, Sea of Love, Punchline, Raising Arizona
• Corey Hawkins – BlacKkKlansman
• John Ortiz – Ad Astra, Silver Linings Playbook, Public Enemies, Amistad
• Richard Jenkins - The Shape of Water, Rum Diary, Burn After Reading, The Visitor, Rumour Has It, North Country, Six Feet Under, Intolerable Cruelty
• Why? Hiddleston and Jackson
• Seen: 17 July 2021.      

       Hotshot tracker (Hiddleston), hotshot photographer (Larson) and warmongering Vietnam helicopter pilot (Jackson) join a gang of crackpot scientists and reluctant soldiers to find the mysterious and legendary Skull Island, the last uncharted land on the planet.

       They find it. A few survive, and discover… oops, no spoilers.

       Saturday matinee meets King Kong meets Buffy meets Primeval meets Apocalypse Now… is it just a somewhat exciting adventure story or is there more to it?

       There are a few seconds of moving human (and human/creature) relationships, the 70s music is great, there are a few digs against the Vietnam War, a smidgen of philosophical existentialism and Hiddleston is gorgeous. So, the question is – do I like the film?

       I kind of do. Yay, Kong. 

3 ½ * of 5

 PS – to those of you who absolutely hated this film: c’mon! Lighten up! It’s not meant to be Shakespeare.

 

 

The Parent Trap

 The Parent Trap 1961

• Director: David Swift
• Seen by this director: Pollyanna
• Based on the book by Erich Kästner
• Cast: Hayley Mills, Brian Keith, Maureen O’Hara, Una Merkel, Leo G Carroll
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Hayley Mills – The Family Way, The Trouble with Angels, The Truth about Spring, The Moon-spinners, The Chalk Garden, In Search of the Castaways, Whistle Down the Wind, Pollyanna, Tiger Bay
• Brian Keith – Reflections in a Golden Eye, The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming, TV series
• Maureen O’Hara – The Hunchback of Notre Dame
• Leo G Carroll – The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
• Why? Childhood favourite
• Seen: Once, possibly twice before. Now 10 July, 2021      

       Sharon and Susan (Mills) are identical twins who were separated by divorcing parents when they were one. They meet at summer camp and are shocked. It’s hate at first sight but they figure things out and start conniving to get their parents back together.

       I loved this film when it came out. Hayley Mills was my idol. I’ve recently re-watched Pollyanna (as good as ever) and In Search of the Castaways (entertaining). How has this one aged?

       Well, one strike against it. They’re all filthy rich. Strike two: The voices of all the women are annoyingly shrill. Strike three: irritating 60s gender stereotypes.

       But this isn’t a baseball game so three strikes don’t end anything. The flaws are outweighed by the humour and Mills’s sensational acting. 

3 ½ * of 5

 

Atomic Blonde

 Atomic Blonde 2017

• Director: David Leitch
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, John Goodman, Toby Jones, Eddie Marsan, Sofia Boutella, Bill Skarsgård
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Charlize Theron – Snow White the Huntsman Winter’s War, Mad Max Fury Road, Prometheus, The Road, Battle in Seattle, North Country, Monster, Sweet November, Cider House Rules, The Astronaut’s Wife
• James McAvoy – X-Men etc, Glass, Split, Victor Frankenstein, Filth, The Last Station, Wanted, Atonement, Becoming Jane, Wanted, Starter for 10, The Last King of Scotland, Macbeth Re-Told, Inside I’m Dancing, Bright Young Things, White Teeth
• John Goodman – Inside Llewyn Davis, Dancing on the Edge, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, The Artist, My First Mister, O Brother Where Art Thou?,  Barton Fink, Sea of Love, Punchline, Raising Arizona
• Toby Jones – The Snowman, The Hunger Games, The Man Who Knew Infinity, My Week with Marilyn, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, St Trinian’s 2, Creation, Frost/Nixon, The Mist, Amazing Grace, Infamous, Mrs Henderson Presents, Finding Neverland, Ladies in Lavender, Hotel Splendide, Joan d’Arc, Naked, Orlando
• Eddie Marsan – The Gentlemen, Their Finest, River, God’s Pocket, River, Filth, The World’s End, Sherlock Holmes 1&2, Tyrannosaur, Merlin, Heartless, Happy-Go-Lightly, V for Vendetta, Vera Drake, 21 Grams, Gangs of New York
• Bill Skarsågård – Simon och ekarna, I rymden finns inga känslor
• Why? James McAvoy.
• Seen: 2 July 2021.      

       Berlin 1989. The Wall etc. This is not a completely true story.

       I don’t generally like spy films, but I do like James McAvoy and Eddie Marsan. Charlize Theron isn’t bad either and here she looks like Debbie Harry in very classy spy clothing. All the clothes are cool as is the music and the visuals. Too bad the story is boring, and McAvoy and Theron are unsavoury types. But the film picks up in the second half and ends up being quite intelligent. OK, OK from 2* it pulls itself up to a reluctant

 

3 ½ * of 5

 

The Dark Side of the Sun

 The Dark Side of the Sun 1998

• Director: Bozidar Nicolik
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Guy Boyd, Brad Pitt, Cheryl Pollak
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Guy Boyd – various TV series
• Brad Pitt – Ad Astra, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, 12 Years a Slave, World War Z, The Tree of Life, Inglourious Basterds, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Burn After Reading, Babel, Troy, Fight Club, Being John Malkovich, Meet Joe Black, The Twelve Monkeys, Seven, True Romance, Johnny Suede, Thelma and Louise
• Why? Brad Pitt
• Seen: 4 July 2021.      

       Young American Rick (Pitt) has a rare skin disease which makes it lethal for him to be exposed to any kind of light. He wears black leather (wouldn’t white be better? Covering everything, including his head and face. He and his extremely wealthy parents are in Yugoslavia under the care of a healer after many other cures in other countries have proven useless.

       He meets Frances (Pollak) and falls in love. He decides that he refuses to live behind his mask, he wants to live a normal life, even if it’s only for a few days. A little snag is that Frances falls in love with the masked man, not with cute and charming Rick.

       It’s an early role for Brad Pitt and it’s clear that he’s going to be a strong actor in years to come. The film itself tries too hard to be sweet and cool and tragic. 

2 ½ * of 5

 

Hamlet (Kline) update

 

Hamlet 1990 (Kline) updated 3 July 2021

• Director: Kevin Kline
• Based on book: by Shakespeare
• Cast: Kevin Kline, Peter Francis James, Dana Ivey, Brian Murray, Josef Sommer, Michael Cumpsty, Diane Venora, Philip Goodwin
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Kevin Kline – A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like It, A Prairie Home Companion, The Emperor’s Club, Life As a House, The Wild Wild West, The Ice Storm, Dave, The January Man, A Fished Called Wanda, Silverado, Sophie’s Choice
• Dana Ivey – The Help, Sleepless in Seattle, The Color Purple
• Diane Venora - Romeo and Juliet, Surviving Picasso, Heat, Bird, Ironweed, Hamlet (Almereyda 2000)
• Josef Sommer – The Family Man, Witness, Moonlight and Valentino
• Seen: February 24, 2013  

This is a theatrical production in the best sense of the word, and the worst.

In the best sense, it’s straightforward Shakespeare. It plays the play. The setting is simple, stark, effective, handsome.

The acting is at times brilliant. Ophelia in her flower monolog brought tears to my eyes. In a row of very good Ophelias, Diane Venora is the best. Likewise, Polonius (Josef Sommer). The play starts to lift when he starts talking.

Which brings us to the theatrical problems.  The first two scenes are stiff with essentially everybody, Kevin Kline included, reading Shakespeare’s lines instead of talking like people really do. They are self-conscious – “ohmigod, I’m doing Shakespeare!”

But after the slow start the play really lifts and everybody has powerful moments. Kevin Kline displays his vast acting talents best in his mad moments and in his confrontations with Ophelia in the “Get thee to a nunnery” scene.

As usual Claudius and Gertrude aren’t as good as one would wish. These are difficult roles but so important to get right.  Ivey and Murray don’t, though they have their moments too.

A sincere, honest effort, mostly successful. 

8 ½ * of 10.

Update 3 July 2021 – nothing to add or change. I agree with myself, but I might not rate it this high. More a 4* of 5, but that’s sort of the same thing.

Get Out

 

Get Out 2017

Director: Jordan Peel

• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Catherine Keener, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landry Jones, Marcus Henderson, Betty Gabriel, LaKeith Stanfield, Lil Rel Howery
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Daniel Kaluuya – Widows, Black Panther, The Fades, Johnny English Reborn, Doctor Who
• Catherine Keener – Enough Said, The Soloist, Genova, Into the Wild, Full Frontal, Being John Malkovich, Living in Oblivion, Johnny Suede
• Bradley Whitford – The Darkest Minds, Kate & Leopold, Philadelphia, Robocop 3, The Scent of a Woman
• Caleb Landry Jones – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, God’s Pocket, X Men First Class, Breaking Bad, No Country for Old Men
• Marcus Henderson –Whiplash, Django Unchained
• LaKeith Stanfield – Knives Out, Short Term 12
• Why? Sounded interesting.
• Seen: 2 July 2021.      

       Chris (Kaluuya) is going to meet his white girlfriend Rosie’s (Williams) parents for the first time and is a little concerned that they don’t know he’s black. She assures him that they aren’t racist.  When they arrive, they and their other guests bend over backwards to assure him that they admire and envy black people. But the family’s black servants regard him in a way that he finds odd. It’s all a bit… creepy. I thought this was a comedy.

       It’s not a comedy. It a warped kind of scary movie. I can’t decide how much I like it but Kaluuya is very good. 

3 * of 5 (Hal doesn’t like it and gives it 2*.)