Riding in Cars with Boys

 

Riding in Cars with Boys 2001

• Director: Penny Marshall
• Seen by this director: A League of Their Own, Awakenings
• Based on the book by Beverly D’Onofrio
• Cast: Drew Barrymore, Steve Zahn, Adam Garcia, Brittany Murphy, James Wood, Lorraine Bracco, Rosie Perez, Sara Gilbert, Peter Facinelli
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Drew Barrymore – He’s Just Not That into You, Music and Lyrics, Donnie Darko, Ever After, ET
• Steve Zahn – Sunshine Cleaning, Hamlet, You Have Mail, SubUrbia, Reality Bites
• Adam Garcia – Death on the Nile, Murder on the Orient Express, Flight of the Conchords, Doctor Who, Wilde
• Brittany Murphy – The Dead Girl, 8 Mile, Girl Interrupted, Clueless
• James Wood – Be Cool, Salvador, Videodrome, Eyewitness, Holocaust
• Lorraine Bracco – The Sopranos, The Basketball Diaries
• Rosie Perez – White Men Can’t Jump, Fearless, Night on Earth, Do the Right Thing
• Sara Gilbert – High Fidelity
• Why? I remember liking it.
• Seen: Once before. Now 29 January 2023      

       Bev (Barrymore) gets pregnant at fifteen, marries Ray (Zahn) and complains the rest of the film about how her husband and kid have ruined her life. Both Bev and Barrymore are obnoxious, as is her father (Wood) but Zahn, Bracco, Murphy and Perez make it bearable. It tugs at the heartstrings often enough to make one think it’s a good film, but it’s not. It’s uncomfortably close to being misogynistic; I’m quite sure the opposite was intended but I still don’t like it this time. The ending is sickeningly sweet. 

2* of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Earth to Echo

 

Earth to Echo 2014

• Director: Dave Green
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Teo Halm, Astro, Reese Hartwig, Ella Wahlestedt
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Ella Wahlestedt – Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
• Why? Sci fi
• Seen: 28 January 2023      

       Three boys protest a new motorway coming through their neighbourhood. An alien shows up who needs their help and helps them. Yeah, E.T. and all that. Even considering it was made to entertain little boys, it’s more or less worthless. No charm, no humour (no successful humour in any case), no originality. It gets a * because a girl is finally brought in and she’s smarter than they are.

       And that’s what it gets.      

1* of 5

 

 

 

Death on the Nile

 

·       

Death on the Nile 2022

• Director: Kenneth Branagh
• Seen by this director: All Is True, Murder on the Orient Express, Cinderella, Thor, Sleuth, The Magic Flute, As You Like It, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Hamlet, In the Bleak Midwinter, Frankenstein, Much Ado about Nothing, Peter’s Friends, Dead Again, Henry V
• Based on the novel by Agatha Christie
• Cast: Tom Bateman, Annette Bening, Kenneth Branagh, Russell Brand, Letitia Wright, Sophie Okonedo, Emma Mackey, Armie Hammer, Gal Gadot, Rose Leslie, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Tom Bateman – Murder on the Orient Express, Much Ado about Nothing
• Annette Bening  – Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool, Ginger & Rosa, The Kids Are All Right, Being Julia, Mars Attacks!, Richard III, The Grifters,
• Kenneth Branagh – Tenet, All Is True, Murder on the Orient Express, Dunkirk, Wallander, My Week with Marilyn, The Boat that Rocked, Valkyria, Warm Springs, Harry Potter, Rabbit-Proof Fence, Shackleton, Hoe to Kill Your Neighbour’s Dog, The Wild Wild West, Hamlet, Othello, Frankenstein, Much Ado about Nothing, Swing Kids, Dead Again, Peter’s Friends, Henry V, Fortunes of War
• Russell Brand – The Tempest
• Letitia Wright – Wakanda Forever, Ready Player One, Black Panther, Humans, Doctor Who
• Sophie Okonedo – Wild Rose, Murder on the Orient Express, The Hollow Crown, The Slap, After Earth, Doctor Who, Skin, The Secret Life of Bees, Hotel Rwanda, Dirty Pretty Things, Go Now
• Armie Hammer – On the Basis of Sex, Hotel Mumbai, The Lone Ranger, Social Network
• Gal Gadot – Wonder Woman
• Rose Leslie – Utopia
• Jennifer Saunders - Absolutely Fabulous + Movie
• Dawn French – Little Britain, Harry Potter, David Copperfield, Absolutely Fabulous, The Young Ones
• Why? Branagh
• Seen: 23 January 2023      

       Kenneth Branagh should do Shakespeare. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it every time he does something that isn’t.

       With that established I will admit that he’s directed some good non-Shakespeare films, so I will not pre-judge this, even though I don’t enjoy Agatha Christie books.

       I won’t bother with the story. The title says enough. It’s stylish, exuberant, slyly clever, visually beautiful and filled with postcardy, gorgeously tourist sights and a few famous actors.

       On the minus side: the story is boring, there are too many people, the love intrigues are tepid and Branagh, great actor though he is, should not play Poirot.

       On the plus side: it’s just so beautiful and I like Saunders, Wright and Okonedo in their roles.

       But my first sentence stands.      

3* of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Colonia

 

Colonia 2015

• Director: Florian Gallenberger
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Emma Watson, Daniel Brühl, Michael Nyqvist, Richenda Carey
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Emma Watson – Little Women, The Circle, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, My Week with Marilyn, Harry Potter  
• Daniel Brühl – The Cloverfield Paradox, Alone in Berlin, Woman in Gold, Inglourious Basterds, Ladies in Lavender, Good-bye Lenin
• Michael Nyqvist – John Wick, Luftslottet som sprängdes, Flickan som lekte med elden, Män som hatar kvinnor, Den bästa av mödrar, Grabben i graven bredvid, Reuter & Skoog, Tillsammans
• Richenda Carey – Laura Croft Tomb Raider, Whatever Happened to Harold Smith, Photographing Fairies, Jeeves and Wooster
• Why? The cast.
• Seen: 22 January 2023     

       1973. Chile during the coup. British Lena (Watson) and German Daniel (Brühl) are active in the movement supporting Allende. They are arrested and brought to the stadium. Daniel is moved to the feared and mysterious Colonia, an isolated and fanatical religious sect who produces weapons and poison gas for Pinochet’s regime. It is led by Paul Schäfer (Nyqvist). Lena is released from the stadium and travels the length of Chile  to infiltrate the sect and rescue Daniel.

       It’s a cruel, grim, and frightening thriller. Lena and Daniel may be fictional, but Paul Schäfer isn’t. He and Colonia continued until the ending of Pinochet’s dictatorship.

       Watson and Brühl are good as always but Nyquist, dear sweet Michael, playing against character, is completely convincing as the sadistic and perverted sect leader.     

4* of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear White People

 

Dear White People 2014

• Director: Justin Simien
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Tyler James Williams, Tessa Thompson, Kyle Gallner, Teyonah Parris, Brandon P Bell, Brittany Curran, Justin Dobies, Marque Richardson, Dennis Haysbert
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Tessa Thompson – Annihilation, Selma, Veronica Mars
• Kyle Gallner – Beautiful Creatures, Veronica Mars
• Teyonah Parris – Mad Men
• Dennis Haysbert – Good-bye Bafana, Far from Heaven, Heat, Love Field
• Why? Curious
• Seen: 21January 2023      

       Either I’m in the wrong country or the wrong generation or it’s because I didn’t go to a high-status university, but this film says very little to me for the first half or more. It does make some relevant points on racism, as promised, but not nearly as much as I had expected. Most of the characters are irritating, the love stuff is boring as is the first hour. A pity. I had hoped for something a little more sensational.

       I do, however, like Sam (Thompson), the creator of her ‘Dear White People’ pod. It’s worth seeing for her sake. Lionel (Williams) is cool too and the film does pick up so I’m glad I stayed with it.      

3* of 5

 

 

 

 

 

Everything Everywhere All at Once

 

Everything Everywhere All at Once 2022

• Director: Daniels
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ke Huy Kwan, James Hong, Tallie Medel, Jennie Slate
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Michelle Yeoh – Last Christmas, Sunshine, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Tomorrow Never Dies
• Jamie Lee Curtis – Knives Out, Veronica Mars, A Fish Called Wanda
• James Hong – The Day the Earth Stood Still, Blade Runner, Bound for Glory, many TV series
• Jennie Slate – Venom
• Why? The title and the rave reviews
• Seen: 20 January 2023 

       Evelyn (Yeoh) runs a laundromat with her husband Waymond (Kwan) who is filing for divorce (or maybe she’s filling for divorce). She’s stressed and frazzled, and the laundromat is being audited by an IRS accountant (Curtis). And then Waymond whisks her off to a parallel universe, saying only she can save everything. Only she might not be the right Evelyn. Only she must be because she’s so bad at everything.

       I have never tripped on LSD, but I imagine it might be something like this. And I have seen many weird films, but this could well be the weirdest. But it’s funny. And so refreshing to see a middle-aged non-Caucasian woman star in an absurd adventurous sci fi film. Another plus: Curtis is almost unrecognisable in this, possibly her best role ever.

       Fascinating, fun, wild, ridiculous, imaginative and visually exciting, it’s only minus is that it’s too long.      

4 * of 5

 

 

It's All About Love

 

It’s All about Love 2003

• Director: Thomas Vinterberg
• Seen by this director: Far from the Madding Crowd, Dear Wendy
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Claire Danes, Douglas Henshall, Sean Penn, Mark Strong, Alun Armstrong, Margo Martindale
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Joaquin Phoenix – Joker, Don’t Worry He Won’t Get Far on Foot, Two Lovers, Reservation Road, Walk the Line, Hotel Rwanda, Gladiator
• Claire Danes – Stardust, Terminator 3, The Hours, Igby Goes Down, Les Misérables, Romeo & Julia, To Gillian on her 37^th Birthday, Little Women
• Douglas Henshall – Shetland, South Riding, The Eagle, Collision, Primeval, Angels and Insects
• Sean Penn – This Must Be the Place, The Tree of Life, Milk, The Interpreter, The Assassination of Richard Nixon, 21 Grams, Mystic River, Pauly Shore Is Dead, I Am Sam, Sweet and Lowdown, Dead Man Walking, Carlito’s Way, Shanghai Surprise, Fast Times at Ridgemont High
• Mark Strong – 1917, The Guard, Stockholm, Before I Go to Sleep, The Imitation Game, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Sherlock Holmes, Young Victoria, Sunshine, Fever Pitch
• Alun Armstrong – The Hollow Crown, Millions, David Copperfield, Sleepy Hollow
• Margo Martindale – August Osage County, Beautiful Creatures, Main Street, Paris je t’aime, Million Dollar Baby, The Human Stain, The Hours, 28 Days, Practical Magic, Marvin’s Room, Dead Man Walking, Lorenzo’s Oil
• Why? The cast
• Seen: 19 January 2023      

       John (Phoenix) is meeting his wife Elena (Danes), a world-renowned skater, in NY to sign their divorce papers but mysterious things seem to be happening in her life. Meanwhile, people are dropping dead on the streets from a mysterious heart ailment, so often that the dead bodies are ignored. In Uganda the weather is freezing, and faulty gravity causes people to float away if they’re not tied down. It’s starts snowing at times and in places it shouldn’t snow.

       Elena seems to be threatened by her family so she and John run.

       This is seriously weird. What is going on? But it’s also compelling.

       Don’t expect answers or explanations but I can promise you gripping performances and a story that evokes strong feelings.

      

4* of 5

 

 

 

The Heat

 

The Heat 2013

• Director: Paul Feig
• Seen by this director: Last Christmas
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Sandra Bullock, Melissa McCarthy, Michael McDonald, Jane Curtain, Marlon Wayans, Michael Rapaport
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Sandra Bullock – Gravity, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, The Lake House, Miss Congeniality 1&2, Crash, The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, 28 Days, Practical Magic, While You Were Sleeping, Speed
• Melissa McCarthy – The Life of David Gale
• Jane Curtain – Third Rock from the Sun
• Marlon Wayans – Requiem for a Dream
• Michael Rapaport – Sully, Beautiful Girls, True Romance
• Why? Sandra Bullock
• Seen: 17 January 2023      

       Ashburn (Bullock) is a Special Agent for the FBI and she’s much, much smarter than her male colleagues. They don’t like that. She lives alone, borrowing the neighbour’s cat to cuddle and watch TV with. She’s sent to Boston where Officer Mullins (McCarthy) takes no shit from married men hustling prostitutes, or mouthy drug pushers or anyone else. She dishes it out. Including to Special Agent Ashburn with whom she inevitably and predictably clashes.

       Films about buddy cops who hate each other but end up best buds are usually boring at best, irritating too. So much depends on the characters and the actors.

       Bullock can do this kind of thing with her eyes closed and be good, as she is here. McCarthy, well, she’s irritating. I know she’s supposed to be funny but mostly she’s just mean.

       Some of it is good, though, and it makes some good points and I like both Bullock and her character so for a buddy cop flick it’s quite good.

      

3 ½ * of 5

 

 

 

 

Good Will Hunting

 

Good Will Hunting 1997

• Director: Gus Van Sant
• Seen by this director: Don’t Worry He Won’t Get Far on Foot, Milk, Paris je t’aime, My Own Private Idaho, Drugstore Cowboy
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Stellan Skarsgård, Minnie Driver, Ben Affleck, Casey Affleck
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Matt Damon – The Martian, Interstellar, Elysium, Contagion, True Grit, Invictus, The Informant, The Brothers Grimm, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, The Bourne Identity, Dogma
• Robin Williams – The Butler, House of D, Insomnia, Hamlet, Hook, Dead Again, Awakenings, Dead Poets’ Society, Good Morning Vietnam, The World According to Garp
• Stellan Skarsgård – Mamma Mia 1&2, Melancholia, Thor, Pirates of the Caribbean, King Arthur, Dogville, The Glass House, Dancer in the Dark, Amistad, Good Will Hunting, Breaking the Waves, Hamlet, Den enfaldige mördaren
• Minnie Driver – I Give It a Year, The Phantom of the Opera, Ella Enchanted, Absolutely Fabulous, Return to Me, Grosse Pointe Blank, The Politician’s Wife, Circle of Friends
• Ben Affleck – Gone Girl, Daredevil, Dogma, Shakespeare in Love, Armageddon
• Casey Affleck – Light of My Life, Manchester by the Sea, Interstellar, Gone Baby Gone, Lonesome Jim, Hamlet
• Why? I remember it as good.
• Seen: Once before. Now 16 January 2023      

       Will (Damon) is a school janitor raised in a series of foster and homes now on parole for fighting. He also solves the nearly impossible formulas the math professor Lambeau (Skarsgård) puts on the hall black board, quotes economic textbooks for Harvard show-offs and cites law books in his many court appearances. He has a photogenic memory and is a math and chemistry genius.

       Lambeau keeps him out of jail (this time) by taking him under his wing on two conditions. That he proves he can do the math, and that he see a therapist. The math? Easy. The therapist? Not so easy. Until Lambeau introduces him to an old classmate Sean (Williams).

       It’s an appealing film but it’s too slick. It’s an admirable achievement for the writers Affleck and Damon. I’ve always liked Minnie Driver and I have a little crush on Casey Affleck, especially here where he’s a cute cheeky foul-mouthed kid, and the film is good, at moments even brilliant. But it also has moments of triteness. But they were young.      

4* of 5

 

 

 

Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem

 

Gett – the Trial of Viviane Amsalem 2014

• Director: The Elkabetz siblings
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Ronit Elkabetz, Simon Abkarian, Menashe Noy
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Ronit Elkabetz – The Band’s Visit
• Simon Abkarian – Casino Royale
• Why? Sounded good
• Seen: 10 January 2023                

 Viviane Amsalem (Elkabetz) has been trying for years to be granted a divorce by a religious court of rabbis, evidently the only way to get a divorce, called ‘gett’, in Israel. Her husband (Abkarian) refuses. Patriarchal and fanatical religious oppression has her trapped.

Most of the film takes place in the courtroom at the many, many hearings where Viviane’s lawyer (Noy) tirelessly and skilfully argues in her behalf. But the husband still refuses.

It’s absolutely riveting. 

4 ½ * of 5

 

 

 

 

Last Night in Soho

 

Last Night in Soho 2021

• Director: Edgar Wright
• Seen by this director – The World’s End, Scott Pilgrim vs the World, Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Thomasin McKenzie, Anya Taylor-Joy, Matt Smith, Diana Rigg, Rita Tushingham, Michael Ajao, Pauline McLynn, Terrence Stamp
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Thomasin McKenzie – Jojo Rabbit
• Anya Taylor-Joy – The New Mutants, Glass, Split
• Matt Smith – Doctor Who, Sally Lockhart
• Diana Rigg – Breathe, Doctor Who, Extras, King Lear, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, The Avengers
• Rita Tushingham – Being Julia, Doctor Zhivago, A Taste of Honey
• Michael Ajao – Attack the Block
• Pauline McLynn – Doctor Who, Johnny English Strikes Again
• Terence Stamp – Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, A Song for Marion, Valkyria, Wanted, Dead Fish, Red Planet, Star Wars, The Limey, The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Superman, The Collector, Billy Budd
• Why? London. Sci fi. The Cast
• Seen: 14 January 2023      

       Young Ellie (McKenzie) leaves her gran (Tushingham) in Cornwall to go to London to attend the London School of Design. There she boards in the house of Ms Collins (Rigg) on the top floor in a room which has a magic passage back to the 60s where Sandie (Taylor-Joy) switches places with her through the mirror.

       Sandie wants to be a singer and Jack (Smith) becomes her agent. She’s a bit wild but also determined. Ellie is timid but also determined. Back and forth between Sandie and Ellie, the 60s and the present.

       It’s all exciting and good fun at first but it quickly turns dark and becomes a real horror story. And it works. It’s scary.

       Great 60s music and a good cast with Riggs in her last role and Smith as a pimp which he plays much better than he ever played the Doctor. He is my least favourite of all the modern Doctors but here it works as does the whole film. 

4* of 5

 

 

 

 

West Side Story (Spielberg)

 

West Side Story (Spielberg)

• Director: Stephen Spielberg
• Seen by this director – Ready Player One, BFG, War of the Worlds, Catch Me If You Can, AI, Saving Private Ryan, Amistad, Schindler’s List, Jurassic Park, Hook, The Colour Purple, ET, Close Encounters of the Third Degree, Jaws, Sugarland Express, The Duel
• Based on the play by William Shakespeare
• Cast: Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Rita Moreno, Brian D’Arcy James, Mike Faist, Josh Andés Rivera, Iris Menas
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Ansel Elgort – The Fault in Our Stars
• Rita Moreno – West Side Story, The King and I, Singing in the Rain, TV series
• Brian D’Arcy James – X Men Dark Phoenix, First Man, Molly’s Game
• Why? The original
• Seen: 13 January 2023      

       Bernstein’s original is a real favourite with one major and one minor exception. Richard Beymer is completely wrong for the role of Tony and, while I love her dearly, Natalie Wood was too sweet as Maria and she doesn’t do her own singing. Otherwise I love it and the dancing in unsurpassable.

       How will this one work?

       Two observations: there is more background to the characters and there are more street scenes and more interaction with New Yorkers. Both good.

       It was a bold and risky move on Spielberg’s part to take this on. He’s a brilliant director but several of his films are flops, in my eyes. It was also courageous of the cast to take on these legendary roles.

       They all succeed admirably. This is as good as the original, in some ways even better. Elgar and Zelgar are definitely better than Beymer and Wood. I have never reviewed and rated the original but if I were to give it 6* of 7, I would have to give this version 

7 * of 7

 

 

 

 

 

The Guard

The Guard 2011

• Director: McDonagh, John Michael
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle, Fionnula Flanagan, Mark Strong, Rory Keenan, Laurence Kinlan, Liam Cunningham, Wale Ojo
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Brendan Gleeson – Alone in Berlin, Suffragette, Edge of Tomorrow, Harry Potter, Perrier’s Bounty, In Bruges, Breakfast on Pluto, Kingdom of Heaven, Cold Mountain, Gangs of New York, 28 Days Later, AI, My Life So Far, Braveheart
• Don Cheadle – Hotel Rwanda, Crash, The United States of Leland, Mission to Mars, Devil in a Blue Dress
• Fionnula Flanagan – Lost, The Invention of Dying, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, A Mother’s Son
• Mark Strong – 1917, Stockholm, Before I Go to Sleep, The Imitation Game,
  Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Sherlock Holmes, Young Victoria, Sunshine, Fever Pitch
• Rory Keenan – Primeval, Ella Enchanted
• Lauren Kinlan – Breakfast on Pluto, Ned Kelly
• Liam Cunningham – Doctor Who, Merlin, Good Vibrations, Camelot, Perrier’s Bounty, Hunger, The Catherine Tate Show, Breakfast on Pluto, Jude
• Wale Ojo – Johnny English Reborn
• Why? Gleeson and Cheadle
• Seen: 12 January 2023      

       Gerry (Gleeson) is a rural garda with a foul mouth, a dying mother (Flanagan), a racist outlook and a fondness for Disneyland. He has a murder on his hands. Into that steps FBI Special Agent Wendell (Cheadle) hunting down an international drug ring involving Irish drug dealers (Strong, Cunningham et al). Gerry: ‘I thought all drug dealers were black.’ Needless to say, Wendell is not charmed.

       It’s a mishmash story with mishmash characters. It’s humorous at times but it’s really just a crooked-racist-but-lovable (or not) cop, a straight cop-who-comes-to-respect-the-other-one drug heist film. Not the 4* or 5* film I was expecting with this cast but there are enough eccentric characters, smart dialog and melancholy to earn it      

3 ½ * of 5

 

 

 

  

Euphoria

 

Euphoria 2017

• Director: Lisa Langseth
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Alicia Vikander, Eva Green, Charles Dance, Charlotte Rampling, Adrian Lester, Mark Stanley
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Alicia Vikander – Tomb Raider, Ex Machina, Testament of Youth
• Eva Green – Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Dark Shadows, Camelot, Perfect Sense, The Golden Compass, Casino Royale, Kingdom of Heaven
• Charles Dance – Johnny English Strikes Again, Victor Frankenstein, Woman in Gold, The Imitation Game, Merlin, Starter for 10, Gosford Park, Hilary & Jackie, Alien 3
• Charlotte Rampling – Dune, London Spy, Broadchurch, Melancholia, Never Let Me Go, Life During Wartime, Lemming, Great Expectations, A Hard Day’s Night
• Adrian Lester – London Spy, Hustle, Merlin, Bonekickers, Doomsday, Being Human, As You Like It, Day After Tomorrow, Hamlet, Born Romantic, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Primary Colors
• Mark Stanley - Our Kind of Traitor, Star Wars the Force Awakens, Mr Turner 
• Why? Vikander.
• Seen: 10 January 2023      

       Sisters Ines (Vikander) and Emelie (Green) are on holiday together after not seeing each other for several years. They have a rocky relationship. Emilie brings Ines to a mysterious and isolated estate in the middle of a forest where they are welcomed by Marina (Rampling) and Aron (Lester). Ines is horrified to learn that it is an assisted-suicide institution and that Emilie is dying of cancer.

       There are side stories about the other guests but the film as a whole is bizarre and doesn’t quite work. What is very gripping, however, is the tension, suppressed conflicts and memories between the sisters. Both Vikander and Green are outstanding. It might be Green’s best performance so far. 

3 ½ * of 5

 

 

 

 

Predator

 

Predator 1987

• Director: John McTiernan
• Seen by this director: Die Hard
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Arnold Schwarzeneggar, Carl Weathers, Elpidio Carillo
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Arnold Schwarzeneggar – Terminator etc, Batman, The Running Man
• Elpidio Carillo – Bread and Roses, The Brave
• Why? Recommended by a 12-year-old boy encountered at Swecon in a discussion group on the best sci fi films ever.
• Seen: 10 January 2023      

       Ooooooooh, macho! Soldiers, big phallic cigars, offensive sex jokes. Dutch (Schwarzeneggar) and his commandos are dumped into a jungle to rescue a kidnapped cabinet member.

       After much scrolling in IMDb’s reviews there was not a single one that granted less than 7* and the vast majority were 10*. ‘Best action/sci fi film ever’ and ‘Perfect film’. Etc etc etc ad nauseum. Even the critics adored it, some lauding it as a psychological Vietnam allegory.

       According to me? So far 0*. Maybe the alien, if it ever shows up, will be interesting. Maybe the token woman will be more than a pretty face and do something. If so, the film might acquire a * or two.

       Sigourney, where are you when we need you? Maybe all the reviewers are 12-year-old boys and they’ll grow out of it. We can always hope.

       I’m not a 12-year-old boy and this is BORING! But since I’ve now watched the whole thing without fast-forwarding I suppose I can give it 

1* of 5

 

 

 

 

Veronica Decides to Die

Veronica Decides to Die 2009

• Director: Emily Young
• Based on the novel by Paulo Coelho
• Cast: Sarah Michelle Geller, David Thewlis, Melissa Leo, Jonathan Tucker
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Sarah Michelle Gellar – Buffy
• David Thewlis – Wonder Woman, Legend, Macbeth, The Theory of Everything, Harry Potter, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, Omen, Kingdom of Heaven,  Dinotopia, Whatever Happened to Harold Smith?, The Big Lebowski, Naked, Life Is Sweet
• Melissa Leo – Snowden, Prisoners, London Has Fallen, Oblivion, Welcome to the Rileys, Frozen River, Homicide Life on the Street, The Ballad of Little Jo
• Why? Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Thewlis
• Seen: 9 January 2023      

       Veronica (Gellar) decides she would rather die than live a life in a bleak meaningless insane world and downs vast amounts of booze and pills. Someone discovers her in time and she ends up in an expensive private care home Villette. Dr Blake (Thewlis) informs her that the overdose has caused heart damage and an aneurism in her brain and she has at most months to live.

       After this decent start the film loses steam. Gellar gives a good performance, Thewlis and Leo are always good, but the film isn’t very interesting and the twist is just too feel-good to be endured.

       I haven’t read the book so I can’t compare. I’ve only read The Alchemist by Coelho and found it highly over-rated so I’m not tempted to read this.

       One little highlight was a few seconds of the Swedish song ‘Vem vet nte du vem vet inte jag’ by Lisa Ekdahl which was hugely popular in the 80’s (if I remember correctly). That doesn’t help the film though. 

2* of 5

 

  

The New Mutants

 

The New Mutants 2020

• Director: Josh Boone
• Seen by this director: The Fault in Our Stars
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Blu Hunt, Maisie Williams, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Heaton, Alice Braga, Henrique Zaga, Adam Beach
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Maisie Williams – Mary Shelley, Doctor Who
• Anya Taylor-Joy – Glass, Split
• Alice Braga – The Suicide Squad, Elysium, I Am Legend
• Adam Beach – The Suicide Squad, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Smoke Signals
• Why? Might be good
• Seen: 7 January 2023      

       Everyone on the reservation dies except for Dani (Hunt) who is rescued by her father (Beach). She escapes but collapses. When she comes to she is in an institution for young mutants with developing powers. Ilyana (Taylor-Joy) is mean and racist, Roberto (Zaga) is rich and sexist, Sam (Heaton) is nice, Rehn (Williams) is kind and befriends Dani. Dr Reyes (Braga) watches over them all, teaches them to develop and control their powers and disciplines them harshly though treats them lovingly.

       Dani doesn’t know what her power is yet, but when the other mutants start suffering visitations by their horrible past experiences, they start blaming Dani, saying her power is to invade their minds,

       The film got many hatefully bad reviews on IMDb, claiming bad acting, bad writing, bad story, bad everything. I say, bad judgment. I like it! Connections to the X-men, sure, but that is not a bad thing. The characters are good, the story is good, the acting is good, the writing is at least as good as in many other films of this kind. I truly do not understand the viciousness of the bad reviews. What’s your problem, people? 

4* of 5