100 Streets

100 Streets (2016)

• Director: Jim O’Hanlon
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Idris Elba, Gemma Arterton, Franz Drameh, Charlie Creed-Miles, Kierston Wareing, Tom Cullen, Ken Stott
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Idris Elba – The Mountain Between Us, Molly’s Game, The Dark tower, Pacific Rim, Prometheus, Thor, 28 Weeks Later, The Wire, Crocodile Shoes, Absolutely Fabulous
• Gemma Arterton – Their Finest, The Girl with All the Gifts, Song for Marion, Kick Ass Girls St Trinian’s, The Boat that Rocks, Quantum of Solace, Lost in Austen
• Franz Drameh – River, Edge of Tomorrow, Attack the Block
• Charlie Creed-Miles – Hustle, White Teeth, Nil by Mouth, The Fifth Element
• Kierston Wareing – The Liability, Fish Tank
• Tom Cullen – Orphan Black
• Ken Stott – Fortitude, The Hobbit x3, Casanova, The Girl in the Café, The Boxer, Fever Pitch, Takin’ over the Asylum, The Shallow Grave, King Lear
• Why? Idris and Arterton
• Seen:  29 March 2020

             Max (Elba), a rich and famous ex-rugby champion, and Emily (Arterton), a former actor, are separated, both guilty of adultery. Kingsley (Drameh) is a young ex-con and gang member from the blocks who promises his sister that he’ll never go back to prison but it looks like that’s where he’s heading. George (Creed-Miles) and Kathy (Wareing) want to adopt but snags from his past get in their way. Three dramas taking place in Lodnon within a hundred streets but worlds apart.

       Things go from bad to worse. It’s a very sad film. Please let things work out for these people.  

4 * of 5

Gridlock'd

Gridlock’d (1997)

• Director: Vondie Curtis-Hall
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Tupac Shakur, Tim Roth, Thandie Newton
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Tim Roth – The Liability, To Kill a King, Rob Roy, Pulp Fiction, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
• Thandie Newton – Crash, Beloved, Interview with a Vampire
• Why? Tim Roth, liked it the first time
• Seen:  Once before. Now 28 March 2020      

       Cookie (Newton) OD’s on New Year’s Eve. In panic Stretch (Roth) and Spoon (Shakur) get her to the hospital.

       Flashback to the trio’s friendship. They’re musicians.

       Back to the present. The doctor says she might die. Spoon decides to kick the habit, but the life of a junkie is not easy. Bureaucratic run-arounds, poverty, murderous dealers, angry cops.

       Loads of fun, right? Actually, it is funny, and sad. Roth, Shakur and Newton are solid.

4 * of 5

Destroyer

Destroyer (2018)

• Director: Karyn Kusama
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Nicole Kidman, Toby Kebbell, Tatiana Maslany, Sebastian Stan, Scott McNairy, Jade Pettyjohn, Zach Villa
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Nicole Kidman – Top of the Lake, Genius, Queen of the Desert, Strangerland, Before I Go to Sleep, The Railway Man, Rabbit Hole, Nine, Margo at the Wedding, Fur, The Interpreter, Birth, Cold Mountain, The Human Stain, Dogville, The Hours, Birthday Girl, The Others, Eyes Wide Shut, Moulin Rouge, Practical Magic, Batman Forever, Billy Bathgate
• Toby Kebbell – Macbeth Re-Told
• Tatiana Maslany – Orphan Black, Woman of Gold
• Why? Kidman and Maslany (in a small role)
• Seen:  27 March 2020      

       Erin Bell (Kidman) is a homicide detective who is haunted by an undercover job that went bad sixteen years ago. Then the main villain Silas (Kebbell) returns and she’s out for revenge.

       Kidman is almost unrecognisable in this portrayal of a complex and damaged character. She’s very good. I’m not usually keen on heist films but this goes so much deeper. It’s grim and very well done.

       

4 * of 5

UFO

UFO (2018)

• Director: Ryan Eslinger
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Alex Sharp, Gillian Anderson, David Strathairn, Ella Purnell, Benjamin Beatty
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Gillian Anderson – The X Files, The Fall, Robot Overlords, Great Expectations, Last King of Scotland, Tristram Shandy
• David Strathairn – American Pastoral, Hotel Marigold 2, The Tempest, Good Night and Good Luck, The Sopranos, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, LA Confidential, Doris Claiborne, A League of Their Own, Silkwood
• Ella Purnell – Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Never Let Me Go
• Benjamin Beatty- Hail Caesar!

• Why? Sci fi, Gillian Anderson
• Seen:  22 March 2020      

       …unless they come to us first.

       And arrive at the Cincinnati airport.

       It’s explained away as a drone but Derek (Sharp) is a geeky math genius and he figures out that it has to be a UFO. The FBI don’t like that.

       Derek, though he is her most argumentative and disruptive student, turns to his math professor Hendricks (Anderson), also a genius, for help. They know the UFO is coming back soon and time is running out.

       For a slow-moving, low-key film with a lot of math, it’s quite exciting. The characters are engaging and well-played and the existential questions are valid.

       Are we alone in the universe? We can’t possibly be.

      

4½ * of 5

Carmen Jones

Carmen Jones 1954

• Director: Otto Preminger
• Based on the opera by Bizet
• Cast: Dorothy Dandridge, Harry Belafonte, Pearl Bailey, Olga James, Joe Adams, Brock Peters, Diahann Carroll
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Dorothy Dandridge – sadly nothing
• Harry Belafonte – BlackKklansman, Bobby, Swing Vote, Kansas City
• Brock Peters – Ghosts of Mississippi, Star Trek the Undiscovered Country, Soylent Green, The Mod Squad and many other series, To Kill a Mockingbird
• Diahann Carroll – Mo’ Better Blues, Julia
• Why? Harry Belafonte, a classic
• Seen:  21 March 2020      

       Carmen is the opera I know best. I’m not a fan of opera but it’s hard to avoid Carmen completely.

       This film is a good concept. It keeps Bizet’s music, writes quite clever new lyrics, moves the action to the US during WWII and chooses an all-black cast with Belafonte and Dandridge in the leads.

       Clean-cut Joe (Belafonte) is going to train as a pilot and is planning to marry his sweetheart Cindy Lou (James) before leaving but is saddled with transporting femme fatale Carmen Jones (Dandridge) to jail. Guess what happens.

       But what is this? It doesn’t take long to realise that Belafonte isn’t doing his own singing. Why not? His voice is so much better than this! Most of them don’t do their own singing so there goes two or three stars of the rating.

       Being it’s an opera with mostly a silly story and jarring gender stereotypes (as in the original) it doesn’t get top stars anyway. There are some highlights, however. Pearl Bailey is good, it’s fun to see a young Diahann Carroll, the costumes are elegant, there’s a touch of social realism now and then, Dandridge is outstanding, and I’ve been in love with Harry Belafonte since I was five years old. So

      

3* of 5 (Hal says 4)

The Terminator Revisited

The Terminator Revisited

Having recently watched the excellent series Terminator – the Sarah Connor Chronicles and suffering withdrawal symptoms we decided to rewatch the films. Last time was in 2013, or at least that’s when I wrote reviews. We may have watched them again since, I don’t remember. Anyway, we watched the first three this weekend (the fourth one we’ll watch next weekend and the new one when it comes out on DVD). It seems I was harsh in my judgement last time. I gave the first one 3*, the second 3 ½ *, the third only 2 ½* and the fourth 2*. I suppose the ratings are reasonable, but the films gain from their cult status and their nostalgia factor. It is like meeting old friends, eccentric, often ludicrous, sometimes humorous, but always entertaining. General affection for the whole package, including lots of stars for the series, raise the over all rating, at least for the first three, to

4 * of 5

Lemon Tree

Lemon Tree 2008

• Director: Eran Riklis
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Hiam Abbass, Rona Lipaz-Michael, Ali Suliman, Doron Tavory, Tari Copti
• Hiam Abbass – Blade Runner 2019, The Visitor
• Tari Copti – The Band’s Visit
• Why? It sounded interesting
• Seen:  7 March 2020

             Salma (Abbass) can scarcely support herself on her lemon orchard, inherited from her father, which is right on the border between the West Bank and Israel. When the Israeli minister of defence moves into the house literally right on the other side of the barbed wire fence, she received a letter saying the orchard will be chopped down because there is a risk that Palestinian terrorists will hide in it.

       Salma’s battle against the occupation forces of Israel begins.

       One woman’s fight against oppression and injustice should make an outstandingly powerful film but unfortunately it was a bit too low-key to be deeply moving and the tepid love story was unnecessary.

       But it was definitely interesting.

      

3 ½ * of 5

Bohemian Rhapsody

Bohemian Rhapsody 2018

• Director: Bryan Singer
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy, Joe Mazzello, Aidan Gillen, Allen Leech, Tom Hollander, Aaron McCusker, Meneka Das, Ace Bhatti
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Rami Malek – Short Term 12
• Lucy Boynton – Murder on the Orient Express, Sing Street, Endeavour
• Gwilym Lee – The Hollow Crown, The Tourist
• Ben Hardy – X-Men Apocalypse
• Aidan Gillen – Maze Runner, Sing Street, The Dark Knight Rises, The Wire, Some Mother’s Son, Circle of Friends
• Allen Leech – Downton Abbey, The Imitation Game, From Time to Time
• Tom Hollander – Breathe, The Night Manager, The Invisible Woman, About Time, Hanna, Gracie, The Soloist, In the Loop, Valkyrie, Elizabeth the Golden Age, Pirates of the Caribbean, Rabbit Fever, A Good Year, The Darwin Awards, Pride and Prejudice, The Libertine, Gosford Park
• Aaron McCusker – Fortitude
• Meneka Das – Another Year, The Girl in the Café
• Why? Queen
• Seen: 6 March 2020

        In 1970 Freddy is Farroukh Bulsare and his dad is not pleased that he is out every night. He is almost turned down by his first band because of his teeth. He’s soon running things and they call themselves Queen. He’s called Freddy Mercury. They’re soon on BBC, the US charts and a US tour.

       Freddy is engaged to the love of his life Mary (Boynton) but then there’s the men. It’s Mary who realises he’s gay.

       We know the story. Freddy Mercury died thirty years ago. How is that even possible?

       He lives.

5 * of 5 (Hal says 5+.)

Vénus Noir

Vénus Noir (2010)

• Director: Abdellatif Kechiche
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Yahima Torres, Andre Jacobs, Olivier Gourmet, Elina Löwensohn,
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Andre Jacobs – Invictus, Good-bye Bafana
• Elina Löwensohn – Un long dimanche de fiancailles, Schindler’s List
• Why? It sounded interesting
• Seen:  29 February-1 March 2020      

       Saartji Baartman (Torres) is a young South African woman in 19^th century Europe, exploited by white men. She is coerced into playing an enslaved savage on stage for avid audiences. She drinks to suppress the feelings of degradation.

       It’s a long, detailed film and very painful to see, but it was immeasurably more painful for her to live this life. It is based on the life of a real person.

       Torres is sensational.

       If a film like this can be rated, it can only be given

5 * of 5

Born on the Fourth of July

Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

• Director: Oliver Stone
• Based on the book by Ron Kovic
• Cast: Tom Cruise, Bryan Larkin, Raymond J Barry, Caroline Kava, Kyra Sedgwick, Frank Whaley, Jerry Levine, Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Lily Taylor
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Tom Cruise – Edge of Tomorrow, Oblivion, Valkyria, War of the Worlds, A Few Good Men, Rain Man, Cocktail
• Bryan Larkin – Edward Scissorhands
• Raymond J Barry – The X Files, Dead Man Walking, Insignificance, The Good-bye Girl
• Frank Whaley – School of Rock, Pulp Fiction, Swing Kids, The Doors, Field of Dreams, Ironweed
• Tom Berenger – Inception, Eddie and the Cruisers, Looking for Mr Goodbar
• Willem Dafoe – Murder on the Orient Express, John Wick, Mr Bean’s Holiday, Paris je t’aime, American Dreamz, Manderlay, The Aviator, Once upon a Time in Mexico, American Psycho, eXistenZ, Lulu on the Bridge, The English Patient, Wild at Heart, Cry-Baby, Born on the Fourth of July, Mississippi Is Burning, The Last Temptation of Christ, Platoon, Streets of Fire
• Lily Taylor – Public Enemies, Six Feet Under, High Fidelity, A Slipping-Down Life, I Shot Andy Warhol, The Addiction, Arizona Dream
• Why? Anti-war
• Seen: Once or twice before. Now 28 February 2020      

       Patriotism, religion, machoism, fanatical sports, military glorification all pressure Ron Kovik (Cruise) into joining the US Marines and going to Vietnam.

       War, he discovers, is hell. He comes home in a wheelchair, for life. Still patriotic, proud of the war, and bitter over the protesters.

       But his old girlfriend Donna (Sedgwick) is active in the movement. He goes to a demonstration with her and witnesses police brutality. He starts to see things differently. It tears him apart.

       He becomes one of the leaders of the Veterans against the War movement. He writes a book. Bruce Springsteen reads it. The film is made.

       It’s all history.

       ‘What is war good for? Absolutely nothing.’ Edwin Starr.

4½ * of 5