Aelita

Aelita 1924

• Director: Yakov Protazanov
• Based on the book by Alexei Tolstoy
• Cast: Yulia Solntseva, Nikolai Tsereteli, Vera Kuindzhi
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• None of them
• Why? Sci fi classic
• Seen: 29 September 2019

             In 1921 all the radio stations in the world get the same message. Engineer Los is convinced it’s a message from Mars.

       On Mars Queen Aelita is obsessed with observing Earth.

       Young love, mad jealousy, corruption are all woven throughout scenes of deprivation and poverty but also the vitality and optimism of the new Soviet Union. All against a backdrop of the fantastic Martian realm of Aelita.

       It’s all very confusing and the peculiar English of the intertitles only partially explains what’s going on. I do like black and white films and this has its beautiful moments but there are so many side stories and characters that the sci fi aspect almost disappears. Maybe I’m just a 21^st century chauvinist but this just gets sillier and sillier.

       The Soviet Socialist Republic of Mars is cool though. And somewhere there amidst all the chaos it’s quite a radical film. In the end I quite like it.

3* of 5. Maybe even 4. (Hal says 5, or maybe 2 or 3)

PS As a part of cinematic history, and Soviet history, and sci fi history, it’s a must-see.

Darjeeling Limited

Darjeeling Limited 2007

• Director: Wes Anderson
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Amara Karan, Wallace Wolodarsky, Waris Ahluwalia, Irrfan Khan, Anjelica Houston (and Bill Murray and Natalie Portman for 2 seconds but I won’t bother with them here)
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Adrien Brody – Detachment, Cadillac Records, King Kong, The Pianist, Bread and Roses, Liberty Heights
• Owen Wilson – The Royal Tenenbaums
• Jason Schwartzman – Saving Mr Banks, Moonrise Kingdom, Scott Pilgrim vs the World, Rushmore
• Amara Karan – Curry Nam Nam, Doctor Who
• Wallace Wolodarsky – Rushmore 
• Irrfan Khan – The Life of Pi, Slumdog Millionaire, The Namesake
• Anjelica Houston – Seraphim Falls, The Royal Tenenbaums, Ever After, The Grifters, A Handful of Dust, Prizzi’s Honour, Spinal Tap
• Why? Possibly I enjoyed it the first time?
• Seen: Once before. Now 28 September 2019      

       The three American Whitman brothers Peter (Brody), Jack (Schwartzman) and Francis (Wilson) are making a train journey in India. Francis wants them to be loving brothers on a spiritual journey. His brothers are sceptical.

       Oh, no wonder this is weird. It’s Wes Anderson. I’d forgot. I’m not generally keen on Anderson’s films. I kind of liked Rushmore but I didn’t like Moonrise Kingdom at all. This is somewhere in between. Low key absurd, it raises a smile or two, feels sad at times, but now I remember that I didn’t like it as much as I had expected the first time. It’s the same this time. It should have been better. It has all the ingredients, but it doesn’t add up. It’s just a little off.

2 ½ * of 5 (Hal liked it and gives it a 5)

X Men Apocalypse

X Men: Apocalypse 2016

• Director: Bryan Singer
• Based on book: no
• Cast: James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Rose Byrne, Nicholas Hoult, Evan Peters, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, Oscar Isaac
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• James McAvoy – Victor Frankenstein, X Men First Class, X Men Days of Future Past, Filth, The Last Station, Wanted, Atonement, Becoming Jane, Starter for 10, The Last King of Scotland, Macbeth Re-Told, Inside I’m Dancing, Bright Young Things
• Michael Fassbender – Macbeth, X Men First Class, X Men Days of Future Past, Prometheus, Jane Eyre, Inglourious Basterds, Fish Tank, Hunger
• Jennifer Lawrence – Passengers, Joy, The Hunger Games 1-4, Silver Linings Playbook, X Men First Class, X Men Days of Future Past, Winter’s Bone
• Rose Byrne – 28 Weeks Later, Sunshine, The Dead Girl, X Men First Class
• Nicholas Hoult – Mad Max Fury Road, X Men First Class, X Men Days of Future Past, Jack the Giant Slayer, Wah-Wah, About a Boy, Intimate Relations
• Oscar Isaac – Star Wars the Force Awakens, Ex Machina, Inside Llewyn Davis, Robin Hood
• Evan Peters - X Men First Class
• Why? The others
• Seen: 27 September 2019

             Some years have past since the mutants (X-men and women) went public. Supposed villain Erik (Fassbender) and hero Raven (Lawrence) are in hiding and various mutants are doing various things around the world. Professor Charles (McAvoy) and his school for mutants are thriving. Mystical stuff from ancient Egypt is involved. Charles’s struggle to get Erik on the side of good continues. Apocalypse himself (Isaac) is very bad. He’s going to destroy the earth and everyone on it, take over Charles mind and run everything.

       It’s all quite apocalyptic. Overkill, you might say. But Jean’s (Turner) comment that the third one is always the worst is funny. And Beethoven’s Seventh and Eurythmics’ ‘Sweet Dreams’ – that’s classy!

       As is McAvoy of course.

       There are too many flaws to count but I love it anyway.

      

4* of 5 (Hal was less entertained and gave it a 2 or even a 1.)

X Men Days of Future Past

X Men: Days of Future Past 2014

• Director: Bryan Singer
• Based on book: no
• Cast: Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Halle Berry, Ellen Page, Peter Dinklage, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Hugh Jackman – Les Misérables, Australia, The Fountain, Kate & Leopold, X Men
• James McAvoy – Filth, Wanted, Atonement, Becoming Jane, Starter for 10, Shakespeare Retold Macbeth, Inside I’m Dancing, Bright Young Things, White Teeth
• Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games 1-4, Winter’s Bone
• Michael Fassbender – Macbeth, Prometheus, Jane Eyre, Inglourious Basterds, Fish Tank, Hunger
• Halle Berry – Cloud Atlas, Things We Lost in the Fire, Monster’s Ball, X Men, Bulworth, Jungle Fever
• Ellen Page – Inception, Smart People, Juno
• Peter Dinklage -  Station Agent, Human Nature
• Ian McKellan – Vicious, the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings films, Richard III, Six Degrees of Separation, Cold Comfort Farm, The Ballad of Little Jo, Macbeth
• Patrick Stewart – The Hollow Crown Richard II, Hamlet, Extras, X Men, Star Trek (one of them, I don’t remember which), Excalibur, Hamlet, I Claudius
• Why? Oh, why not? And James McAvoy is in it
• Seen: 30 December 2016      

       Oh, how we love our superheroes and supervillains! News flash, people, if we want the world to be saved we have to do it ourselves, from the enemy who doesn’t have superpowers, just money and great skill in the manipulation of people’s fears, and in many cases vast ignorance.

       But let’s pretend that a) watching movies like this can be inspiring and b) they give us rest and entertainment so that we can regain the energy to take up the fight again.

       Fans of the X Men films would probably not find this as confusing as I do but I do sort of remember the first one so some of it makes a sort of sense. Going back in time, to the 70’s to prevent…etc., meeting all the X men (and women) before they were X.

       Too long! Too long!

       But amusing at times, and dramatic. Inspiring? Not in the least. Entertaining? Somewhat. Have I regained energy so that I can fight the fight tomorrow? Hardly.

       But I like James McAvoy.

      

2 ½ * of 5   

PS We watched it again 20 September 2019, after having seen X Men First Class last week (4*). Now I would raise the rating on this one to 3*. It made more sense having seen First Class but it was still confusing and too long. There’s one left of the trilogy. We’ll watch that next week and then the original X Men. And maybe get some more. They grow on you.

Eye in the Sky

Eye in the Sky 2014

• Director: Gavin Hood
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Helen Mirren, Alan Rickman, Aaron Paul, Aisha Takow, Phoebe Fox, Richard McCabe, Jeremy Northam, Monica Dolan, Barkhad Abdi, Iain Glen
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Helen Mirren – Woman in Gold, The Hundred Foot Journey, Brighton Rock, The Tempest, The Last Station, The Queen, Elizabeth, Calendar Girls, The Roman Spring of Mrs Stone, Gosford Park, Some Mother’s Son, The Madness of King George, The Prince of Jutland, Prime Suspect. Mosquito Coast, Cymbeline, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Excalibur, Hamlet, O Lucky Man
• Alan Rickman – The Butler, Harry Potter 1-7, Alice in Wonderland, Sweeney Todd, Snowcake, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Love Actually, Dogma, Sense and Sensibility, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, The January Man, Die Hard
• Aaron Paul – A Long Way Down, Breaking Bad, Veronica Mars, The X Files
• Phoebe Fox – The Hollow Crown
• Richard McCabe – Wallander, Cinderella, The Invisible Woman, Jane Eyre. The Constant Gardener, Notting Hill  
• Jeremy Northam – The Man Who Know Infinity, Glorious 39, Creation, Tristram Shandy, Gosford Park, Happy Texas, Amistad, Emma, Wuthering Heights
• Monica Dolan – Wolf Hall, Pride, King Lear, Topsy-Turvy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream
• Barkhad Abdi – Blade Runner 2049
• Iain Glen – The Hollow Crown, Downton Abbey, Doctor Who, Tara Road, Kingdom of Heaven, Man to Man, Beautiful Creatures
• Why? Mirren and Rickman
• Seen: 22 September 2019      

       Colonel Katherine Powell (Mirren) leads a secret mission against terrorists in Nairobi, Kenya. We follow the various individuals and operations who are watching the movements of the terrorists.

       It is very suspenseful, as well as very complicated, both politically and morally.

       I don’t usually like political/military thrillers, but this is exceptional, with exceptional acting from Mirren, Rickman and Paul down to the smallest roles.

       The film is dedicated to the memory of Alan Rickman.

5* of 5

Brassed Off

Brassed Off 1996

• Director: Mark Herman
• Based on book: no
• Cast: Pete Postlethwaite, Tara Fitzgerald, Ewan McGregor, Stephen Tompkinson, Jim Carter, Philip Jackson, Sue Johnston, Melanie Hill, Stephen Moore
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Pete Postlethwaite – Inception, The Constant Gardener, Shipping News, Amistad, Romeo & Juliet, The Usual Suspects, In the Name of the Father, The Last Mohican, Waterland, Alien 3, Hamlet
• Tara Fitzgerald – Legend, Rose and Maloney, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill but Came Down a Mountain
• Ewan McGregor – American Pastoral, Mortdecai, August Osage County, The Impossible, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, Perfect Sense, The Ghost Writer, The Island, Star Wars, Big Fish, Young Adam, Moulin Rouge, Little Voice, Velvet Goldmine, A Life Less Ordinary, Trainspotting, Shallow Grave
• Stephen Tompkinson – The Taming of the Shrew Retold, Hotel Splendide
• Jim Carter – Downton Abbey, My Week with Marilyn, Cranford, Creation, Out of Season, Modigliani, Ella Enchanted, Bright Young Things, Shakespeare in Love, Keep the Aspidistra Flying, Richard III, The Madness of King George, Frankenstein, Widows
• Philip Jackson – My Week with Marilyn, Frost, Hustle, Little Britain, Little Voice, Hamish Macbeth
• Sue Johnston - Downton Abbey, The Royale Family, Sex Chips and Rock’n’Roll, Frost, Morse
• Melanie Hill – Merlin, United, Stardust, From Hell, Crocodile Shoes, Spender
• Stephen Moore – Doctor Who, The Boat that Rocked, Middlemarch, Rock Follies
• Why? A favourite
• Seen: 3 or 4 times previously. Now 21 September 2019      

       Five stars at least.

       The miners at Grimley Colliery are threatened with the shutdown of the mine. The Grimley Colliery Band will also disappear. There’s no point if there’s no mine. However, the bandleader Danny (Postlethwaite) insists that they carry on and prepare for the National Championship.

       Gloria is a surveyor employed by the company to survey the mine and report on its viability. She is also a flugelhorn player and has inherited her flugelhorn from her grandfather, a miner and legendary member of the band. She is invited to join the band. Young Andy (McGregor), who has been in love with her since they went to school together as children, is smitten anew.

       Oh, the shivers of hearing the band play ‘Orange Juice’!

       Family conflicts, union conflicts, money problems, class conflict, band conflict, love, friendship, illness, struggle in the face of despair. It’s all heart-breaking, even the sort of feel-good ending. The performances of many of Britain’s finest actors are as good as expected but this is Postlethwaite’s film. He’s brilliant.

      

5 * of 5   

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure 1989

• Director: Stephen Herek
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, George Carlin and many others I don’t recognise
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Keanu Reeves – John Wick, The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Lake House, A Scanner Darkly, The Matrix Trilogy, Sweet November, The Gift, Feeling Minnesota, Johnny Mnemonic, Speed, Much Ado about Nothing, My Own Private Idaho, Thumbsucker
• George Carlin – Dogma, Prince of Tides
• Why? I liked it the first time
• Seen: Once before, now 15 September 2019      

       The year 2688. Rufus (Carlin) welcomes us to this great and excellent future and tells us he must travel back in time to help the two young heroes fulfil their mission to save the world and the universe.

       Bill (Winter) and Ted (Reeves) are two very nerdy wannabe rock stars who can’t play their instruments and have zero clue about anything.

       Followers of this blog may have noted that I’m a history teacher and so I take it very seriously that these boys are failing their history class miserably. I applaud the teacher who gives them one last chance in their final history project. If they flunk this, Ted’s father is going to send him to military school in Alaska.

       They definitely need help from the future.

       I love Keanu Reeves. Here he’s wonderfully witless and so sweetly young. The whole film is just so juvenile, so silly, so much laugh-out-loud fun. And wow, isn’t that Clarence Clemons? And extra star for him.

       But really – a phone box for time travel? Isn’t that just a wee bit of Doctor Who plagiarism?

       Oh well, they’ve done their thievery from a brilliant series.

4 * of 5 (Hal can stretch it to 2 ½)

Remember, one of my stars is for Clarence.

X Men First Class

X Men First Class 2011

• Director: Matthew Vaughn
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbinder, Jennifer Lawrence, Kevin Bacon, Rose Byrne, Oliver Platt, January Jones, Nicholas Hoult, Caleb Landry Jones, Lucas Till
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• James McAvoy – Victor Frankenstein, X Men Days of Future Past, Filth, The Last Station, Wanted, Atonement, Becoming Jane, Starter for 10, The Last King of Scotland, Macbeth Re-Told, Inside I’m Dancing, Bright Young Things
• Michael Fassbinder – Macbeth, X Men Days of Future Past, Prometheus, Jane Eyre, Inglourious Basterds, Fish Tank, Hunger
• Jennifer Lawrence – Passengers, Joy, The Hunger Games 1-4, Silver Linings Playbook, Winter’s Bone
• Kevin Bacon – Frost/Nixon, Mystic River, JFK, Tremors, Footloose
• Rose Byrne – 28 Weeks Later, Sunshine, The Dead Girl,
• Oliver Platt – Nine Lives, Ginger and Rosa, 2012, Frost/Nixon, Benny and Joon, Postcards from the Edge, Working Girl, Married to the Mob
• January Jones – Madmen, The Boat that Rocked, Love Actually, Full Frontal, The Glass House
• Nicholas Hoult – Mad Max Fury Road, X Men Days of Future Past, Jack the Giant Slayer, Wah-Wah, About a Boy, Intimate Relations
• Caleb Landry Jones – Three Billboards outside Ebbing Missouri, Breaking Bad, No Country for Old Men
• Lucas Till – X Men Days of Future Past, Walk the Line
• Why? Because
• Seen: 13 September 2019      

       Grim start. Concentration camp WWII, a boy with powers. Switch to a boy in a stately country home who discovers a blue girl in the kitchen and is happy because he’s not the only mutant with unusual powers.

       In other words, the X Men (and Women) as children, and they grow up to become McAvoy, Lawrence et al.

       The bad X Men are on the side of the Russians. The good X Men are on the side of the CIA which just shows that the film doesn’t understand the complexities of political history, although the CIA is not only good here, and the Soviets are not all bad. Charles (McAvoy) puts together his own team of young mutants and off they go.

       The use of the Cold War of the 60’s is both clever and a bit tedious in its James Bondness. But the characters of the young mutants and their training to hone their special powers and themselves are very engaging and make this a strong film. It’s often exciting and the actors are good too. It’s one of the best prequels, ever so much better than the Star Wars prequels.

4 * of 5

Thumbsucker

Thumbsucker

• Director: Mike Mills
• Based on the book by Walter Kirn
• Cast: Lou Taylor Pucci, Tilda Swinton, Keanu Reeves, Vincent D’Onofrio, Kelli Garner, Vince Vaughn
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Lou Taylor Pucci – Spring
• Tilda Swinton – Hail Caesar, The Zero Theorem, Snowpiercer, Only Lovers Left Alive, Moonrise Kingdom, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Michael Clayton, Broken Flowers, Young Adam, Adaption, Beach, Orlando
• Keanu Reeves – John Wick, The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Lake House, A Scanner Darkly, The Matrix Trilogy, Sweet November, The Gift, Feeling Minnesota, Johnny Mnemonic, Speed, Much Ado about Nothing, My Own Private Idaho, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure
• Vincent D’Onofrio – Cadillac Records, Homicide Life on the Street, Men in Black, Feeling Minnesota, Ed Wood, JFK, Full Metal Jacket
• Kelli Garner – Taking Woodstock, Lars and the Real Girl, The Aviator, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• Vince Vaughn – Into the Wild, Pauly Shore Is Dead
• Why? Keanu Reeves
• Seen: 14 September 2019      

       Once again, I have absolutely no idea what this film is about. I’ll soon find out.

       Justin (Pucci) is an insecure nerdy teenager who sucks his thumb. His dad (D’Onofrio) is embarrassed and calls it pathetic. His mother (Swinton) tries to be understanding. His dentist (Reeves) tries to help him understand why and how to stop.

       Medication is suggested. He tries it and feels great. He even succeeds on the debating team, winning prizes.

       But life does not get simpler.

       This film got lots of praise and prizes and the acting is good, especially Pucci and Swinton with Reeves doing a convincing weird on this odd role as a very odd dentist. I should like it, but I find it hard to care about these dysfunctional people. There are no doubt important points made here but it comes off as a bit pretentious.

2 ½ * of 5, maybe 3

The Mist

The Mist 2007

• Director: Frank Darabont
• Based on the novella by Stephen King
• Cast: Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden, Andre Braugher, Toby Jones, William Sadler, Jeffrey DeMunn, Frances Sternhagen, Nathan Gamble
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Thomas Jane – The Thin Red Line, Face/Off, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• Marcia Gay Harden – Into the Wild, The Dead Girl, American Dreamz, Mona Lisa’s Smile, Mystic River, Pollack, Meet Joe Black, First Wives’ Club, Miller’s Crossing
• Laurie Holden – The X Files
• Andre Braugher – Homicide Life on the Street
• Toby Jones – Sherlock, The Hunger Games, The Man Who Knew Infinity, My Week with Marilyn, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Doctor Who, Kick Ass Girls St Trinian’s 2, Creation, Frost/Nixon, Amazing Grace, Infamous, Mrs Henderson Presents, Finding Neverland, Ladies in Lavender,  Hotel Splendide, Ever After, Naked, Orlando and he’s Dobby’s voice
• William Sadler – Fringe, Roswell, The Green Mile, The Shawshank Redemption
• Jeffrey DeMunn – Burn After Reading, The Green Mile, The X Files, The Shawshank Redemption, Hill Street Blues
• Francis Sternhagen – Julie and Julia, Misery, Independence Day
• Nathan Gamble – The Dark Knight
• Why? I liked it the first time
• Seen: Once before. Now 8 September 2019      

       Oh clever, the first scene is a young artist painting what insiders will recognise as a poster for Stephen King’s The Dark Tower. Then a big storm comes, causing great damage to the young family’s house. They see a mist coming across the lake. David (Jane), his son Billy (Gamble) and their cranky neighbour Benton (Braugher) head into town to the supermarket where people are buying up in face of what is clearly some kind of major disaster. The mist surrounds them, and they’re trapped. They panic, then deal, in different ways.

       This is Stephen King, folks. It’s creepy. It’s a study on human psychology in the face of the dangerous and incomprehensible. It looks into darkness. It doesn’t shy away from small town bigots and fanatics. And it has monsters. Really scary monsters.

       The hero David is too macho/handsome/all-wise/brave/generic to be believable or likeable but some of the supporting cast are good. Harden as the Christian fundamentalist. Jones as the supermarket manager. Braugher as the neighbour. Sternhagen as the old woman. Sadler is good and so is Gamble as the kid.

       This is Stephen King. Good vs evil. Stupidity vs reason. Good guys vs bad guys. There are some captivating nuances and it’s well filmed.

       This is Stephen King. Excessive in every way but addicting.

3 ½ * of 5

Legend (Ridley Scott)

Legend (Ridley Scott) 1985

• Director: Ridley Scott
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, Tom Curry, David Bennett, Alice Playton, Annabelle Lanyon, Tina Martin
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Tom Cruise – Edge of Tomorrow, Oblivion, Valkyria, War of the Worlds, Eyes Wide Shut, Interview with a Vampire, Born on the Fourth of July, Rain Man, Cocktail
• David Bennett – The Tin Drum
• Annabelle Lanyon – The Quatermass Conclusion, The Brothers
• Why? Someone recommended it, I don’t remember who
• Seen: 7 September 2019      

       Oh dear, the Lord of Darkness is going to destroy the sun forever. The evil goblins are sent to destroy the unicorns. Enter the lovely human princess Lili (Sara) and the lovely human whatever-he-is – free spirit? – Jack (Cruise) and they frolic together in the forest.

       It’s just a fairy tale – enchantments, fairies, evil, love, riddles. There isn’t much of a story but lots of visual effects. Quite a lot of plagiarism from The Sword in the Stone, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (thought it’s winter), Macbeth, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings.

       It tries hard but Aliens it’s not nor is it Gladiator or Thelma and Louise or any of Scott’s many other good films. Ultimately, it’s trite and boring, not my kind of film at all.

1* of 5 (Hal gives it 2, he thought the story was OK).

A United Kingdom

A United Kingdom 2016

• Director: Amma Asante
• Based on the book by Susan Williams
• Cast: David Oyelowo, Rosamund Pike, Tom Felton, Jack Davenport, Laura Carmichael, Terry Pheto, Abena Ayivor
• David Oyelowo – Interstellar, The Butler, The Help, Small Island, The Nr 1 Ladies Detective Agency, The Last King of Scotland, As You Like It, Derailed
• Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl, What We Did on Our Holiday, A Long Way Down, The World’s End, Made in Dagenham, An Education, The Libertine
• Tom Felton – Harry Potter, Anna and the King
• Jack Davenport – The Boat that Rocked, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Libertine,
• Laura Carmichael – Downton Abbey, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
• Terry Pheto – Good-bye Bafana, Tsotsi
• Why? The subject.
• Seen: 6 September 2019      

       In one of the books I used in my English class there was a text about Seretse Khama and Ruth Williams. I included the text in the required reading. I wish I’d had this film to show my students. It’s based on a true story.

       In 1947 Seretse (Oyelowo) is a law student in London. Ruth (Pike) works in an office. Ruth’s sister Muriel (Carmichael) takes her to a church social for African students. Seretse and Ruth meet, and it’s love at first sight. Jazz and dancing sweeten their relationship but sadly he’s the heir to the throne of Bechuanaland and he must return to his country.

       In the face of racist outrage from both families and countries, they marry and go to Bechuanaland. The love story is more moving than most. The political intrigues are very interesting. They struggle with the poverty and the compact hostility of the British government and the neighbouring African British colonies. Their courage, persistence and ultimate success in defeating British imperialism to establish together the republic of Botswana gives hope. We know it’s possible to build something good from something bad.

       It’s an elegant film with solid acting, including Draco Malfoy in another nasty role that he (Felton) does so well.

       It’s just a bit glossy and feel-good for a full score but well worth

4* of 5

Pleasantville

Pleasantville 1998

• Director: Gary Ross
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Tobey Maguire, Reese Witherspoon, Jeff Daniels, Joan Allen, William H Macy, J T Walsh, Don Knotts, Marc Blucas, Danny Strong,
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Tobey Maguire – The Great Gatsby, Spiderman, The Cider House Rules, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Ice Storm,
• Reese Witherspoon – Wild, Walk the Line, Legally Blonde, Friends
• Jeff Daniels – Looper, Good Night and Good Luck, The Squid and the Whale, The Hours, Speed, Terms of Endearment, Ragtime
• Joan Allen – Face/Off, The Ice Storm, In Country, Peggy Sue Got Married
• William H Macy – Room, Cake, The Lincoln Lawyer, Happy Texas, Fargo, Benny and Joon
• J T Walsh – The X Files, The Client, Red Rock West, Misery, The Grifters, Good Morning Vietnam
• Don Knotts – The Andy Griffith Show and other series
• Mark Blucas – The Jane Austen Book Club, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• Danny Strong – Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Third Rock from the Sun
• Why? I like the film
• Seen: Twice before. Now 1 September 2019      

       The 50’s were – despite all the nostalgia amongst some people my age – terrible.

       David (Maguire) thinks the decade looks great because his decade, the 1990’s, isn’t so cool either. He’s a fanatic follower of the sit com Pleasantville and suddenly he and his sister Jen (Witherspoon) are transported back to the 50’s, transformed into Bud and Mary Sue with the perfect Pleasantville parents (Macy and Allen). They’re horrified but David knows his Pleasantville and goes with the flow. He knows the people after all, and they know him and Mary Sue. Jen is appalled that there is no world outside Pleasantville, the pages in all the books are blank, there are no actual toilets in the soda shop’s ladies’ room, and there is no sex. She starts provoking everyone, trying to poke holes in this very fake, smiley, oh so pleasant black and white world.

       This unchangeable little world starts changing. Drastically.

       All kinds of complications arise. It’s funny and clever and sweet and it even has a message. Humans aren’t meant to be isolated. Change is necessary and good. Racism and the patriarchy are bad. Small towns are terrible. Well, maybe that last one isn’t the real message but I grew up in one, so believe me, they are. (Now all friends of small towns will hate me).

       There are moments of triteness and at times the film swerves annoyingly close to sexism but mostly it stays on track. I didn’t enjoy the 50’s but I certainly enjoy this film, especially Witherspoon. They’re all good.

4* of 5 (Hal gives it 5).