Sleeping Dogs

 

Sleeping Dogs

• Director: Adam Cooper
• Based on the book by Noel Streatfield
• Cast: Russell Crowe, Karen Gillan, Marton Csosas, Tommy Flanagan, Thomas M Wright, Harry Greenwood, Pacharo Mzembe
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Russell Crowe – many
• Karen Gillan – Guardians of the Galaxy etc, The Circle, Doctor Who
• Marton Csosas – Loving, Spider-Man, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, Kingdom of Heaven
• Harry Greenwood – The Nightingale
• Why? Russell Crowe
• Seen: 30 March 2025

             Roy Freeman (Crowe) is a former police detective with severe Alzheimer’s who has had experimental neurosurgery. He is contacted by a legal rights organisation who wants him to look into a death row case.

            So how much is he going to remember?

            It’s an interesting concept and Crowe is always good but it’s just a detective story. Not bad but not remarkable. I guessed the twist about halfway through. 

2½ * of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ballet Shoes

 

The Ballet Shoes 2007

• Director: Sandra Goldbacher
• Based on the book by Noel Streatfield
• Cast: Emma Watson, Yasmine Paige, Lucy Boynton, Emilia Fox, Victoria Wood, Richard Griffiths, Marc Warren, Lucy Cohu, Gemma Jones, Harriet Walter, Eileen Atkins
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Most of them - many
• Why? The cast
• Seen:  29 March 2025 

            Through odd circumstances three orphaned girls end up in a London ballet academy in the period between the two world wars.

            With a splendid cast playing a plethora of eccentric characters, the film is much better than expected. 

3½ * of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bird Box

 

Bird Box 2018

• Director: Susanne Bier
• Seen by this director: The Night Manager, Things We Lost in the Fire
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Sandra Bullock, Trevante Rhodes, John Malkovich, Sarah Paulson 
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Sandra Bullock - many
• Trevante Rhodes – Moonlight
• John Malkovich - many
• Sarah Paulson – Run, Glass, 12 Years a Slave, Mud, Down with Love
• Why? Sci fi, Sandra Bullock
• Seen: 28 March 2025 

             It starts with mass suicides in Europe. Meanwhile artist Malorie (Bullock) is pregnant and very not ecstatic about it. Then the bad stuff starts happening in California too. Mass panic. Mass suicide. Mass hallucinations. Malorie is rescued by Tom (Rhodes) and they find shelter in a private home with a motley group of other refugees.

            Six years later Malorie is fleeing in a row boat down a river with two children. They are all blindfolded.

            Back and forth in time. Survival. Conflict. Fear. Distrust. Even a rather nice love story.

            Actually it’s pretty good. Decent story, solid acting, believable characters. 

3½ * of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Smilla's Sense of Snow

 

Smilla’s Sense of Snow 1997

• Director: Bille August
• Seen by this director: Good-bye Bafana, Les Misérables
• Based on the book by Peter Hoeg
• Cast: Julia Ormand, Gabriel Byrne, Vanessa Redgrave, Jim Broadbent, Tom Wilkinson, Richard Harris
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Most of them – many
• Why? The cast and the book
• Seen: Once before. Now 27 March 2025              

       A little Inuit boy from Greenland, living in Copenhagen falls to his death from the roof. Smilla (Ormand), a neighbour, half-Inuit, also from Greenland, doesn’t believe it was an accident. She knows her snow.

      She digs into it and finds much that is suspicious with roots in the mining industry on Greenland.

      A most unusual murder mystery with a terrific main character and a lovely cast. Somewhat unlikely ending but still 

3½ * of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love and Other Drugs

 

Love and Other Drugs 2010

• Director: Edward Zwick
• Seen by this director: Blood Diamond
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Judy Greer, Oliver Platt, Hank Azaria
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• All of them – many
• Why? Gyllenhaal and Hathaway
• Seen:  26 March 2025 

            Jamie (Gyllenhaal) is a charming womaniser who works as a pharmaceutical salesman. He meets young and beautiful Maggie (Hathaway) who has Parkinson’s disease. They have wild frenzied sex. A lot.

            Theoretically I have nothing against a rom com about Parkinson’s or the evils of the pharmaceutical industry. However. These are really obnoxious people. The film isn’t funny or romantic. Nor does it seem to know much about Parkinson’s. Believe me, I know about Parkinson’s. Did they just pull a disease-of-the-week out of a hat?

            There was one minute of accuracy, mild digs at the American health system and a few moments of good acting, therefore 

2* of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stay

Stay 2005

• Director: Marc Forster
• Seen by this director: Christopher Robin, World War Z, Quantum of Solace, Stranger than Fiction, Finding Neverland, Monster’s Ball
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Ewan McGregor, Ryan Gosling, Naomi Watts
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• All of them – many
• Why? The cast
• Seen:  25March 2025  

 

            Sam (McGregor) is a psychiatrist. His girlfriend Lila (Watts) is an artist who once attempted suicide. Henry (Gosling) is a disturbed college student, currently Sam’s reluctant patient.

            The more disturbed Henry becomes, the more Sam questions his own grasp on reality. It seems that Henry can see into the future, and sees dead people. I have a feeling it’s going to end like Sixth Sense – Sam is really Henry and they’re both dead, or something like that.

            Whatever. It’s atmospheric and suspenseful and, of course, well-acted.

 

4* of 5

 

 

 

 

 

  

Fahrenheit 451 (2018)

 

Fahrenheit 451 (2018)

• Director: Ramin Bahrani
• Based on the book by Ray Bradbury
• Cast: Michael B Jordan, Michael Shannon, Lily Singh
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Michael B Jordan – Black Panther 1 & 2, Last Stop Fruitvale Station, The Wire
• Michael Shannon – many
• Why? The original and the book
• Seen:  24 March 2025 

            The original Truffaut film of the 1960s, with Oskar Werner and Julie Christie, is one of the best films I’ve ever seen. It is with some trepidation that I see this but I will try to give it a fair chance.

            The basic story is here. Reading is illegal, books are burnt, book owners hunted down and severely punished. But there is resistance.

            I find myself almost as enthralled as by the Truffaut version. The acting is strong, the visuals, action and tone are appropriate to the 2020s. And frighteningly, it has much more relevance in these dreadful days of Trump and Musk than the 60s version.

            Well done, Ramin Bahrani. 

4* of 5