Transit

Transit 2018

• Director: Christian Petzold
• Based on the book by Anna Seghers
• Cast: Franz Rogowski, Paula Beer, Godehard Gieser, Lilien Batman,
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• None of them
• Why? It sounded interesting.
• Seen: 22 October 2023 

       The book was written in 1944 and took place in 1942. I wish the director had put it in that time instead of transporting it to the present, but retaining the setting of occupied France in the story. As it is, it doesn’t make sense. I suppose the point was that refugees still seek to flee oppression but why not instead make a film about refugees today fleeing war and oppression?

       The film is colourful, even though much of it takes place in long queues at embassies and consulates, and it is well acted, though the characters aren’t especially interesting.

       A pity. It could have been good, but isn’t, especially. 

2* of 5  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

The Haunting

 

The Haunting 1963

• Director: Robert Wise
• Seen by this director: The Sound of Music, West Side Story, I Want to Live
• Based on the book by Shirley Jackson
• Cast: Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, Ross Tamblyn
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Julie Harris – Ellen Foster, Gorillas in the Mist, The Voyage of the Damned, Reflections in a Golden Eye, East of Eden, many TV series
• Claire Bloom – The King’s Speech, Doctor Who, Sammy and Rosie Get Laid, The Life and Death of King John, Cymbeline, Hamlet, Charly
• Richard Johnson – The Man Who Knew Infinity, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, Lara Croft Tomb Raider, Lady Jane, Cymbeline, Antony and Cleopatra
• Ross Tamblyn – Django Unchained, Twin Peaks, West Side Story
• Why? It’s a classic, as is the book.
• Seen: Once before. Now 21 October 2023 

       Hill House is a huge gloomy Gothic mansion in New England, known for its hundred-year history of mysterious deaths. Professor Markway (Johnson) now wants to do a scientific experiment to prove the house is haunted. He invites three assistants: Eleanor (Harris) escapes her domineering sister after caring for their demanding ailing mother for years. She is timid and downtrodden, but also brave and feisty. Theo (Bloom) is a mod swinger with experience as a psychic. Luke (Tamblyn) is the money hungry playboy nephew of the current owner of Hill House. He regards all this supernatural stuff as nonsense.

       Artistically and dramatically filmed in black and white, it is a spooky and intelligent character study. 

3 ½ * of 5  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Call to Spy

 

A Call to Spy 2019

• Director: Lydia Dean Pilcher
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Sarah Megan Thomas, Stana Katic, Radhika Apted, Linus Roache, Rossif Sutherland
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Stana Katic – Quantum of Solace
• Linus Roache – Yonkers Joe, The Namesake, Batman Begins, The Forgotten, The Chronicles of Riddick, Beyond Borders, Seaforth
• Why? Possibly interesting
• Seen: 20 October 2023                     

            Women spies, WWII. A most worthy subject, the important roles of women in the fight against the Nazis.

       But it all seems so familiar. I know I haven’t seen this particular film but I’ve read so many books and seen other films of the story of women spies, including an episode of Doctor Who.

       Spy stories, even commendable ones like this, generally bore me. But if you know nothing about this period in history, it’s well worth seeing.

 3* of 5  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any Day Now

 

Any Day Now 2012

• Director: Travis Fine
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Alan Cumming, Garret Dillahunt, Isaac Leyva, Frances Ford
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Alan Cumming – Doctor Who, The Tempest, X-Men, Titus, Romy and Michelle’s High Scholl Reunion, Golden Eye, Circle of Friends
• Garret Dillahunt – Widows, 12 Years a Slave, Winter’s Bone, The Road, Sarah Connor Chronicles, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, No Country for Old Men
• Frances Fisher – Woman in Gold, The Lincoln Lawyer, Jolene, A House of Sand and Fog
• Why? Possibly interesting
• Seen: 19 October 2023                     

             Rudy (Cumming) is a drag queen just barely getting by financially. He enters into a whirlwind romance with Paul (Dillahunt), an uptight district attorney who when the film starts hasn’t left the closet.

       Rudy’s neighbour boy Marco (Leyva) has Down’s syndrome, his mother has been arrested for drugs and soliciting. Marco runs away from the family care home. Rudy and Paul take Marco under their wing. They start fighting the legal system to get custody of Marco, and eventually adopt him. Though it is clear that they’re wonderful parents and that Marco wants nothing more than to live with them, this is the 70s.

       It’s a very moving film.

 4* of 5  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Angel (Engelen)

 

The Angel (Engelen) 2009

• Director: Margreth Olin
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Maria Bonnevie, Gunilla Röör, Antti Reini, Benjamin Helstad, Helena Michaelsen, Milla Olin
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Maria Bonnevie – Fenix
• Gunilla Röör - Tusenbröder
• Antti Reini – Tusenbröder, Moln på drift
• Benjamin Helstad – Flykten från Bastöy
• Why? It sounded good.
• Seen: 16 October 2023                     

             Lea (Bonnevie, Olin and Michaelsen) is a heroin addict and the film starts with her visiting her baby who lives with foster parents.

       Flashbacks to her childhood. Her beloved father dies of cancer. Her mother (Röör) marries an abusive drunk (Reini). Lea grows up and meets Henrik (Helstad), has a baby, gets hooked on heroin, becomes a prostitute to pay for her and Henrik’s addiction.

       It’s depressing and sordid and though the acting is good, it doesn’t really delve into the characters. As tragic as it is, it’s almost banal.

3* of 5  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All the King's Men

 

All the King’s Men 2006

• Director: Steven Zaillian
• Based on the book by Robert Penn Warren
• Cast: Sean Penn, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Anthony Hopkins, Mark Ruffalo, Patricia Clarkson, James Gondolfini, Kathy Baker
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Sean Penn – many
• Jude Law – many
• Kate Winslet – many including Hamlet
• Anthony Hopkins – Many including Titus
• Patricia Clarkson – many
•  James Gandolfini – many
• Kathy Baker - many
• Why? The Cast
• Seen: 15 October 2023                     

             Fooled by the great cast. Politics, crooked and otherwise. I almost never like films about politics. This one is sort of based on Huey Long, the radical governor of Louisiana in the 30s, who is actually interesting, but the film isn’t.

       I suppose I’ll watch the rest since I’ve got this far.

 2* of 5  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love Field

 Love Field 1992

• Director: Jonathan Kaplan

o   Seen by this director: The Accused

• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Michelle Pfeiffer, Dennis Haysbert, Stephanie McFadden, Brian Kerwin, Louise Latham
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:

o   Michelle Pfeiffer – many, including A Midsummer Night’s Dream

o   Dennis Haysbert – The Dark Tower, Dear White People, Good-bye Bafana, Far from Heaven, Heat

o   Brian Kerwin – The Help, The Exonerated

o   Jane Louise Latham – Sugarland Express, many series

• ·        Why? I remember it as good.
• Seen: Once before. Now 14 October 2023       

     

       Lurene (Pfeiffer) idolises Jacqueline Kennedy. When the president is assassinated in Lurene’s hometown Dallas she’s determined to go to the funeral. Her husband Ray (Kerwin) forbids her to go.

       She goes. On the Greyhound bus she befriends a black man Paul (Haysbert) and his little girl Jonelle (McFadden). There is a serious misunderstanding involving cops and the FBI that leads to severe complications.

       Lurene is a sweet, friendly, helpful, ignorant and naïve typical dumb blonde of the early 60’s. Only she’s far from dumb and she’s determined. She learns a lot on this pilgrimage, especially about racism and what black people in America face every day.

 4* of 5  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beats

 

Beats 2019

• Director: Brian Welsh
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Cristian Ortega, Lorn Macdonald, Neil Leiper
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Lorn Macdonald – The World’s End
• Neil Leiper – The Angel’s Share
• Why? Possibly interesting
• Seen: 10 October 2023                     

             Two Scottish lads, Johnno (Ortega) and Spanner (Macdonald), love rave music but this is the 90s and rave gatherings have just been outlawed.

       Johnno is timid and inhibited. His stepdad seems a decent sort but he’s a police constable. Spanner is cheeky, rebellious, a trouble-maker, with a cruel and criminal brother Fido (Leiper).

       In a desperate attempt to break all the rules and achieve magic, they steal money from Fido and run off to an illegal rave party.

       It’s social realism at its grimmest but it’s also a tender and sometimes humorous portrait of teen angst and the vital role of music for rebellion and identity for every generation.

 4* of 5  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Ring Two

 

The Ring Two 2005

• Director: Hideo Nakata
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Naomi Watts, David Dorfman, Sissy Spacek, Simon Baker
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Naomi Watts – The Ring, The Glass Castle, The Impossible, King Kong, Ned Kelly
• Sissy Spacek – The Help, North Country
• Simon Baker - I Give It a Year, Red Planet
• Why? The Ring
• Seen: 9 October 2023  

             This makes even less sense than the first one but the visuals are so strong, especially those magnificently antlered but nasty stags, that it’s oddly captivating, while the first one was not.

       It’s still not scary though. Just kind of cool.

 2 ½ * of 5  

 

 

 

 

Ruby Jand's Film Blog: The Ring (rubyjandsfilmblog.blogspot.com)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Ring

 

The Ring 2002

• Director: Gore Verbinski
• Seen by this director: The Lone Ranger, Rango, Pirate of the Caribbean, The Weather Man
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, Brian Cox, David Dorfman, Jane Alexander
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Naomi Watts – The Glass Castle, The Impossible, King Kong, Ned Kelly
• Martin Henderson – Everest, Battles in Seattle, Little Fish
• Brian Cox – The X-Men and I’m sure, many others
• Jane Alexander – Terminator Salvation, Fur, Warm Springs, The Cider House Rules, Playing for Time, Kramer vs Kramer
• Why? Who knows?
• Seen: 8 October 2023  

             Journalist Rachel (Watts) is drawn into a report about a video tape which kills the people who watch it. She watches it and has seven days to live. Ditto her ex Noah (Henderson). Ditto her kid Aidan (Dorfman).

       OK, this is a scary movie, but scary movies based on the supernatural don’t scare me. They should, however be interesting. This is, just barely, enough, anyway, so that I watch it to the end.

       Damn, it’s a cliff-hanger and I bought the second one at the same time. Now I have to watch that too.

 2* of 5  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moonlight

 

Moonlight 2016

• Director: Barry Jenkins
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Trevante Rhodes, Alex R Hibbert, Janelle Monáe, Duan Sanderson, Jaden Piner, Ashton Sanders, Jharrel Jerome
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Mahershala Ali – Alita Battle Angel, Green Book, Hidden Figures. The Hunger Games, The Place beyond the Pines, The Predator, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Naomie Harris – No Time to Die, Black and Blue, Our Kind of Traitor, Spectre, Mandela, Skyfall, Small Island, Pirates of the Caribbean, After Sunset, Dinotopia, 28 Days Later, White Teeth
• Trevante Rhodes – The Predator
• Alex R Hibbert – Black Panther
• Janelle Monáe  - Hidden Figures
• Why? Rave reviews
• Seen: 7 October 2023       

       Chiron (Hibbert, Sanders and Rhodes) is bullied at school. Drug dealer Juan (Ali) takes him under his wing to keep him off the corner. Chiron’s mother Paula (Harris) is a drug addict who buys from Juan.

       Chiron in struggling with his sexuality, not wanting to accept that he’s gay. We follow him through his teen years and into adulthood. It’s essentially a coming-of-age story, not my favourite genre. The acting is good but it’s slow-going to the point of being boring at times. My expectations were, of course, sky-high from the hype so it’s no surprise that they couldn’t be met. It’s certainly not bad but it’s not the heart-wrenching masterpiece I thought it would be.            

3 * of 5  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My One and Only

 

My One and Only 2009

• Director: Richard Loncraine
• Seen by this director: My House in Umbria, Richard III
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Rene Zellweger, Logan Lerman, Mark Rendall, Kevin Bacon, Nick Stahl
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Rene Zellweger – many.
• Logan Lerman – The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Butterfly Effect, The Painted House, Riding in Cars with Boys
• Mark Rendall – Stockholm
• Kevin Bacon – Crazy Stupid Love, The X-Men, Frost/Nixon, Mystic River, JFK, Footloose
• Nick Stahl  - Terminator
• Why? Zellweger
• Seen: 6 October 2023  

             Anne (Zellweger) is no longer as young as she once was. When she finds her husband, bandleader Dan (Bacon), in bed with one of his singers, she packs her bags, fetches her sons from school and takes off. Her plan is to find a new husband with money. She’s disappointed time and again but she hides the hurt with her sweet Southern Bell smile and undiminished optimism.

       This is the 50s, with all its despicable treatment of women. It’s loosely based on actor George Hamilton’s teen-age years. It’s not great but Zellweger can play anything and does this role very well indeed.

 3½ * of 5   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mug (Twarz)

 

Mug (Twarz) 2018

• Director: Malgorzata Szumowska
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Mateusz Kosciukiewicz, Agnieszka Podsiadlik, Malgorzata, Gorol
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• None of them
• Why? Awards
• Seen: 5 October 2023  

             Jacek (Kosciukiewicz) is a welder, employed on a project to construct the largest Jesus statue in the world (it really exists), has long hair, listens to heavy metal and lives with his ultra-Catholic family on a farm in Poland. He is severely injured and hideously disfigured in a work accident. He’s given a face-transplant but remains blind in one eye and unable to speak clearly enough to be understood. His fiancée (Gorol) leaves him, his mother believes he’s possessed by the previous owner of the face and everyone in the village shuns him.

       It’s called a comedy. Could’ve fooled me. It’s depressing. Absurd with deserved pokes at the Catholic Church and family greed, but depressing.

 2 ½ * of 5  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the Rain

 

After the Rain 1999

Director: Ross Kettle

• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Ariyon Bakare, Paul Bettany, Louise Lombard
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Paul Bettany – many.
• Ariyon Bakare – Life, Doctor Who, Jupiter Ascending, Dancing on the Edge
• Louise Lombard – Grim, Hidalgo
• Why? The subject
• Seen: 4 October 2023  

          Apartheid, South Africa, the 80s. Stephanus (Bettany) is an Afrikaaner soldier who was raised to defend ‘us’ from ‘them, to hate and despise ‘them.’ His girlfriend Emma (Lombard) is a dancer, who, when Steph is on a three-month mission defending the apartheid from black rebels, befriends the light man at the theatre, Vusi (Bakare). Friendship between whites and blacks is dangerous.

       Steph starts to hate the killing and see the rebels as humans. He deserts and heads home.

       Good acting and a complex triangle in a volatile racist society make this a strong and important film.

 4½ * of 5  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Running on Empty

 

Running on Empty 1988

• Director: Sidney Lumet
• Seen by this director: Daniel, The Wiz, Dog Day Afternoon, Serpico, 12 Angry Men
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: River Phoenix, Christine Lahti, Judd Hirsch, Martha Plimpton, Ed Crowley, L M Kit Carson, Lynn Thigpen, Marcia Jean Kurtz
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• River Phoenix – My Own Private Idaho, Mosquito Coast, Stand by Me
• Christine Lahti – Yonkers Joe, Revenge of a Middle-Aged Woman, Out of the Ashes, The Pilot’s Wife, Leaving Normal, Housekeeping, And Justice for All
• Judd Hirsch – This Must Be the Place, A Beautiful Mind, Ordinary People
• Martha Plimpton – Beautiful Girls, I Shot Andy Warhol, Stanley and Iris, Mosquito Coast
• Why? Good film
• Seen: Once before. Now:  2 October 2023             

             Annie (Lahti) and Artie (Hirsch) have been wanted by the FBI since 1971 when they bombed a napalm and military research facility. They have two sons, Danny (Phoenix) and Harry (Carson). Every two months or so the Feds get close and they flee to another town with the help of their radical underground friends, change their names, get anonymous jobs and get involved in human rights movements.

       The boys enrol in new schools, make new superficial friends. They’re used to it, they’ve been doing it all their lives. But Danny is growing up. He’s tired of his parents’ restrictions, of not having roots, of leaving his friends, of being secretive.

       When Danny, a talented musician, having learnt from Annie, a former Julliard student, has an opportunity to go to Julliard, everything is at risk of falling apart.

       This film is good on many levels. Phoenix and Lahti were nominated for many awards, as was the film itself.

 4½ * of 5  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Machinist

 

• The Machinist 2004
• Director:  Brad Anderson
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Christian Bale, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Aitana Sánches-Gijón, John Sharian, Lawrence Gilliard Jr, Reg E Cathey, Anna Massey
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Christian Bale – American Hustle, Out of the Furnace, Batman 1-3, Public Enemies, Terminator Salvation, The Prestige, Equilibrium, American Psycho, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Velvet Goldmine, Little Women, Prince of Jutland, Swing Kids, Henry V
• Jennifer Jason Leigh – Annihilation, Good Time, The Hateful Eight, Margo at the Wedding, Road to Perdition, eXistenZ, A Thousand Acres, Georgia, Fast Times at Ridgemont High
• Aitana Sánches-Gijón – Back Woods
• Lawrence Gilliard Jr – The Wire, Homicide Life of the Street
• Anna Massey – Angels & Insects, Impromptu, and various series
• Why? Christian Bale
• Seen: 1 October 2023  

             The only thing I know about this film is that Bale starved himself for the role.

       Trevor (Bale) is indeed a machinist and he is indeed emaciated. It starts with him rolling up a corpse in a carpet and dumping it in the harbour. If that happens before what follows or if the whole film is a flashback is not immediately clear.

       In any case, Trevor is messed up. He hasn’t slept in a year, he continues to lose weight, he loses his job. Is he crazy and hallucinating? Or is someone out to get him?

       It’s a dark and suspenseful psychological thriller at least as good as any Hitchcock and it’s also a tragic tale of a nice guy fighting for his sanity. Or…?

       Bale is brilliant, but then he usually is.

 4 * of 5  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roma

 

Roma 2018

• Director: Alfonso Cuarón
• Seen by this director: Gravity, Children of Men, Paris je t’aime, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkatran
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Yalitza Aparicio, Marina De Tavira
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• None of them
• Why? Good reviews
• Seen: 30 September 2023                 

             Cleo (Aparicio) is a maid for a bourgeois family in Mexico. The kids love her, the mother (De Tavia) is usually kind to her, the husband leaves the family. Cleo gets pregnant with her rubbish boyfriend.

       It’s very long and very slow. Frankly, the first half is boring. The second half is somewhat more interesting but it’s far from the masterpiece many reviewers found it to be. The black and white filming is effective and I respect that it’s a labour of love.

 3* of 5  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Veil

 

The Veil 2016

• Director:  Phil Joanou
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Jessica Alba, Thomas Jane, Lily Rabe, Aleksa Palladino, Reid Scott, Ivy George
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Jessica Alba – Dark Angel
• Reid Scott – Venom, Black and Blue
• Thomas Jane – The Predator, The Mist
• Aleksa Palladino – The Sopranos, Manny & Lo
• Ivy George – Big Little Lies
• Why? Possibly interesting
• Seen: 28 September 2023                 

             Twenty-five years ago a religious cult called the Veil committed mass suicide. Only 5-year-old Sarah (George) survived. Now a young woman (Rabe) she is approached by Maggie (Alba), a student filmmaker and daughter of one of the FBI agents who discovered the bodies and later committed suicide. Maggie wants to make a film about it and try to make sense of what happened. Sarah goes back to the Veil with Maggie and her crew and of course eerie, then horrible, things happen.

       It’s atmospheric and handsomely filmed in almost black and white but it’s very slow and doesn’t have much substance. It would have been more interesting if it had been about one of the real mass suicide/murder cults.

       Watchable but not as good as it could have been.

 2 ½ * of 5