After Earth

 

After Earth 2013

• Director: M Night Shyamalan
• Seen by this director: Glass, The Happening, The Village, Sixth Sense
• Based on book: no
• Cast: Jaden Smith, Will Smith, Sophie Okonedo, Zoë Kravitz
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Will Smith – Suicide Squad, Winter’s Tale, I Am Legend, Men in Black, Independence Day, Six Degrees of Separation, Wild Wild West
• Sophie Okonedo – The Hollow Crown, The Slap, Doctor Who, Skin, Hotel Rwanda, Dirty Pretty Things, Go Now
• Zoë Kravitz – Mad Max Fury Road, X-Men First Class
• Why? Possibly of interest
• Seen: 25 April 2021      

       A thousand years ago humans escaped a dying Earth and settled on a planet where there are hostile monster aliens. Cypher Raige (Smith Sr) is the heroic leader of the Rangers who protect the humans and their vast and beautiful cities from the monsters, but he has lost contact with his young son Kitai (Smith Jr), who adores him.

       Dad takes Son on a last mission before retiring.

       The ship crashes on a planet and they are the only survivors. The planet is lethally fatal to humans. The planet is Earth.

       The basic idea is good and there are many good ideas along the way. The visuals are good, the father-son relationship a bit banal but nicely done, there is some nail-biting suspense. The ending is a bit abrupt, but the film is better than expected, after all the negative reviews. 

3 * of 5 (Hal says 4* even)

Cadillac Records

 Cadillac Records 2008

• Director: Darnell Martin
• Seen by the director: episodes of Grimm, Homicide Life on the Streets
• Based on book: no
• Cast: Adrien Brody, Cedric the Entertainer, Beyoncé Knowles, Mos Def, Columbus Short, Gabrielle Union, Eamonn Walker, Jeffrey Wright (you notice they’re in alphabetical order, not in order of the importance of their roles, which would be difficult to determine.)
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Adrien Brody – Detachment, Darjeeling Limited, King Kong, The Pianist, Bread and Roses, Liberty Heights, The Thin Red Line
• Cedric the Entertainer – Be Cool, Intolerable Cruelty
• Beyoncé Knowles – Dream Girls
• Mos Def (Yasiin Bey) – Be Kind Rewind, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Monster’s Ball
• Columbus Short – War of the Worlds
• Gabrielle Union – 10 Things I Hate about You, She’s All That
• Eamonn Walker – Rose and Maloney
• Jeffrey Wright – The Hunger Games, Only Lovers Left Alive, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Quantum of Solace, Broken Flowers, Hamlet, Homicide Life on the Street, Presumed Innocent
• Why? The music. The cast.
• Seen: Once before. Now 24 April 2021      

       In the 40s a poor white man Leonard Chess (Brody) starts a record company that changes music history together with musicians like Muddy Waters (Wright), Little Walter (Short), Chuck Berry (Mos Def), Willie Dixon (Cedric the E), Etta James (Knowles), Howlin’ Wolf (Walker).

       It’s the history of how black blues became rock’n’roll. It’s the story of racism in the 50s and 60s.

       And mainly it’s the story of these legendary musicians, their music and the music business, their loves and rivalries, their substance abuse, the male chauvinism, the violence.

       It’s a grim picture. But the music, oh, the music. And those actors – and singers! They do their own singing! – are terrific.      

4 ½ * of 5   

 

Armageddon

 

Armageddon

• Director: Michael Bay
• Seen by this director: The Island
• Based on book: no
• Cast: Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler, Steve Buscemi, Owen Wilson, Michael Clarke Duncan, Peter Stormare, Keith David, Jason Isaacs
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Bruce Willis - Looper, Moonrise Kingdom, Friends, The Siege, Glass, The Fifth Element, The Twelve Monkeys, Billy Bathgate, Pulp Fiction, In Country, Die Hard
• Billy Bob Thornton – Love Actually, Levity, Monster’s Ball, The Man Who Wasn’t There, A Simple Plan, Sling Blade, The Stars Fell on Henrietta,
• Ben Affleck – Gone Girl, He’s Just Not That into You, Daredevil, Dogma, Shakespeare in Love, Good Will Hunting
• Liv Tyler – Ad Astra, The Leftovers, Lonesome Jim, Lord of the Ring etc
• Steve Buscemi – Paris je t’aime, The Sopranos, Romance & Cigarettes, The Island, Big Fish, 28 Days, The Big Lebowski, Kansas City, Fargo, Living in Oblivion, Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Billy Bathgate, Barton Fink, Miller’s Crossing, Mystery Train
• Owen Wilson – Darjeeling Limited, The Royal Tenenbaums
• Michael Clarke Duncan – The Island, Daredevil, The Green Mile, Bulworth
• Peter Stormare – The Zero Theorem, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, The Brothers Grimm, Hitler, Chocolat, Dancer in the Dark, The Big Lebowski, Fargo, Awakenings
• Keith David – Cloud Atlas, Crash, Requiem for a Dream, Dead Presidents, Reality Bites, Stars and Bars, Platoon
• Jason Isaacs – Hotel Mumbai, Case Studies, Harry Potter
• Why? A classic of sorts
• Seen: 23 April 2021      

       Asteroids hitting the Earth and killing us all is one of the things I’m afraid of. It’s out of our control. I hope this is a silly film, so I don’t have to be scared.

       Yeah, it’s pretty stupid. Eighteen days until an asteroid the size of Texas blows the planet into smithereens. The only one who can save us is the male chauvinist, trigger-happy, obnoxious, childish etc etc oil driller Harry (Willis).

       What is this great cast doing in this moronic film? It could have been good but other than the Willis character there is the problem of: all the other puerile characters, all the macho rubbish, all the yippie-hurrah-only-the-USA-can-save-the-world stuff, really feeble unfunny jokes, way too much dead material, way too many action film explosions, embarrassingly bad love scenes ditto father-daughter scenes, 90 % is boring.

       It could have been a good film if it was a different film.

       Can I give this turkey even 1*? Well, the music is good at times, some of the visuals are good, Peter Stormare has fun hamming it up at a cosmonaut. Does that add up to any *?

       Not really.

      ½ * of 5   

 

12 Angry Men

 

12 Angry Men 1957

• Director: Sidney Lumet
• Seen by this director: Running on Empty, Daniel, The Wiz, Dogday Afternoon, Serpico
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Martin Balsam, John Fiedler, Lee J Cobb, E G Marshall, Jack Klugman, Edward Binns, Jack Warden, Henry Fonda, Joseph Sweeney, Ed Begley, George Voskovec, Robert Webber (count ‘em – twelve).
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Martin Balsam – The Octopus, Little Big Man, Catch 22, many TV series
• John Fiedler – TV series
• Lee J Cobb – The Exorcist, McKenna’s Gold, Death of a Salesman, Exodus, The Three Faces of Eve, On the Waterfront
• E G Marshall – Superman II, Billy Jack Goes to Washington, The Caine Mutiny
• Jack Klugman – TV series
• Edward Binns - TV series
• Jack Warden – Bulworth, While You Were Sleeping, The Aviator, Heaven Can Wait, TV series
• Henry Fonda – On Golden Pond, Gideon’s Trumpet, Spencer’s Mountain, The Grapes of Wrath and probably some westerns I don’t remember
• Joseph Sweeney – TV series
• Ed Begley - TV series
• George Voskovec - TV series
• Robert Webber - TV series
• Why? A classic
• Seen: As a child when it came out (I couldn’t have understood it, but I loved it). Now: 18 April 2021      

       Twelve jurors, all men, all white, different classes, must come to a verdict in a murder trial. The accused is a young, vaguely foreign-looking slum kid brought up with a lot of abuse. Most of the jury assume he’s guilty and want to make a quick job of it. The verdict must be unanimous, and a guilty verdict makes the death penalty mandatory.

       Eleven vote guilty. Only Juror 8 (Fonda) is uncertain and wants to discuss it. The others protest, more or less aggressively, more or less angrily. Prejudices abound. But one by one the jurors start thinking again.

       It’s brilliant. Just brilliant. The acting is superlative. I’m almost breathless with admiration. 

5 * of 5 (even though there are no women or people of colour).

 

X-Men: Dark Phoenix

 

X Men: Dark Phoenix 2019

• Director: Simon Kinberg
• Based on book: no
• Cast: James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, Sophie Turner, Jessica Chastain
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• James McAvoy – X-Men etc, Filth, Split, Glass, Victor Frankenstein, The Last Station, Wanted, Atonement, Becoming Jane, Starter for 10, Last King of Scotland, Shakespeare Retold Macbeth, Inside I’m Dancing, Bright Young Things, White Teeth
• Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games 1-4, Joy, Silver Lining Notebook, Like Crazy, Winter’s Bone
• Michael Fassbender – 12 Years a Slave, Macbeth, X Men etc, Prometheus, Jane Eyre, Inglourious Basterds, Fish Tank, Hunger
• Nicholas Hoult – The Favourite, Mad Mac Fury Road, X-Men etc, Jack the Giant Slayer, Wah-Wah, About a Boy, Intimate Relations
• Sophie Turner – X-Men Apocalypse, The Thirteenth Tale
• Jessica Chastain – Molly’s Game, Snow White Huntsman Winter War, The Martian, Interstellar, Zero Dark Fields, The Help, The Tree of Life, Coriolanus, Take Shelter
• Why? It’s the X-Men
• Seen: 17 April 2021      

       Do you need to know the story? It’s a prequel about how little Jean becomes Dark Phoenix. Or? Actually, I’m confused on the chronological order of the films, not the release dates but the story. I don’t remember what role she played earlier. If she did.

       Never mind. Let’s get on with this one.

       Well, look at that. Aliens and cosmic forces.

       Very dramatic. 

3½ * of 5   

 

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The Abyss

 

The Abyss 1989

• Director: James Cameron
• Seen by this director: Avatar, Titanic, Terminator 2 & 1, Aliens
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrontonio, Michael Biehn, Kimberly Scott
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Ed Harris – Cymbeline, Snowpiercer, Gone Baby Gone, Copying Beethoven, A History of Violence, The Human Stain, The Hours, A Beautiful Mind, Pollock, Glengarry Glen Ross, Swing Shift
• Mary Elizabeth Mastrontonio – The Perfect Storm, My Life So Far, Class Action, The January Man, Scarface
• Michael Biehn – Aliens, Terminator
• Kimberly Scott – The United States of Leland, I Am Sam, Third Rock from the Sun
• Why? A sort of classic nowadays
• Seen: 16 April 2021      

       Remind me never to step into a submarine.

       A nuclear sub with lots of nuclear missiles goes down and a near-by oil rig is coerced into a rescue operation. The crew includes the boss Virgil (Harris) and chief engineer Lindsay (Mastrontonio). They’re divorced and hostile, at least she is, and everyone hates her. But then again, everyone is a male chauvinist pig.

       Wouldn’t it be a huge surprise and completely unpredictable if Virgil and Lindsay are secretly still in love with each other?

       There are Soviet Russians out there feeling threatened, with good reason because the US is prepared to launch a missile because they believe it’s the Russians’ fault. There’s big hurricane too. And, well, well, there are even aliens. Ethereal pastel-coloured ET floaty things.

       It’s chaotic and confusing, slow and detailed, way too long (maybe we shouldn’t have chosen the director’s cut) and packed with clichés. But it’s also exciting and it has a sweet message.

  3 * of 5

 

 

God's Pocket

 

God’s Pocket 2014

• Director: John Slattery
• Also seen by this director: Mad Men
• Based on a book by Pete Dexter
• Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Christina Hendricks, Eddie Marsan, Caleb Landry Jones, John Turturro, Richard Jenkins, Peter Gerety
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Hunger Games, The Invention of Lying, The Boat that Rocked, Cold Mountain, Punch Drunk Love, Almost Famous, Flawless, The Big Lebowski, The Scent of a Woman
• Christina Hendricks – Mad Men, Ginger and Rosa, Detachment, Firefly
• Eddie Marsan – Their Finest, River, Filth, The World’s End, Sherlock Holmes 1&2, Tyrannosaur, Merlin, Heartless, Happy-Go-Lightly, V for Vendetta, Vera Drake, 21 Grams, Gangs of New York
• Caleb Landry Jones – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, X-Men First Class, Breaking Bad
• John Turturro – The Miracle at St Ana, Margo at the Wedding, Romance & Cigarettes, Secret Window, The Man Who Cried, O Brother Where Art Thou?, Cradle Will Rock, The Big Lebowski, Clockers, Barton Fink, Jungle Fever, Miller’s Crossing, Mo’ Better Blues, Do the Right Thing, Desperately Seeking Susan
• Richard Jenkins – The Shape of Water, The Rum Diary, Burn After Reading, The Visitor, Rumour Has It, North Country, Six Feet Under, Snow Falling on Cedars, Sea of Love
• Peter Gerety – Cymbeline, Public Enemies, The Wire, Homicide Life on the Streets
• Why? I don’t remember but the cast is good.
• Seen: 11 April 2021      

       There’s a lot of working-class pride in God’s Pocket but even more clannish neighbourhood pride, gambling, drugs, crime, death, booze and all.

       An obnoxious young druggie is obnoxious one time too many and becomes dead. The neighbours react in different ways. That’s about it really. It has moments of absurdity but not enough to carry it.

       The cast is impressive but what dreary people. What a dreary film. It had potential but falls flat.

 2* of 5 (Hal gives it 3*)

 

 

12 Years a Slave

 

12 Years a Slave 2013

• Director: Steve McQueen
• Seen by this director: Widows, Hunger 
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Adepero Oduye, Paul Giamatti, Benedict Cumberbatch, Liza J Bennett, Paul Dano, Michael Fassbinder, Sarah Paulson, Lupito Nyong’o
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Chiwetel Ejiofor – Doctor Strange, Dancing on the Edge, Children of Men, Kinky Boots, Love Actually, Dirty Pretty Things, Amistad
• Adepero Oduye – Widows
• Paul Giamatti – The Last Station, Sideways, Cradle Will Rock, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Donnie Brasco
• Benedict Cumberbatch – Doctor Strange, The Child in Time, Sherlock, Richard III, The Hollow Crown, The Imitation Game, August Osage County, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Small Island, Creation, The Other Boleyn Girl, Atonement, Amazing Grace, Starter for 10, To Kill a King
• Liza J Bennett – The Leftovers
• Paul Dano – Looper, Taking Woodstock, There Will Be Blood, Little Miss Sunshine, The Sopranos
• Michael Fassbender – Macbeth, X Men etc, Prometheus, Jane Eyre, Inglourious Basterds, Fish Tank, Hunger
• Sarah Paulson – Glass
• Lupito Nyong’o – Black Panther, Star Wars The Last Jedi and The Force Awakens
• Brad Pitt - Ad Astra, Once upon a Time in Hollywood, World War Z, The Tree of Life, Inglourious Basterds, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Burn After Reading, Babel, Troy, confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Friends, The Fight Club, Being John Malkovich, Meet Joe Black, Twelve Monkeys, Seven, True Romance, Thelma and Louise
• Why? Chiwetel Ejiofor
• Seen: 10 April 2021

       1841. Solomon Northrop (Ejiofor) is a free black man in Saratoga, a violinist with a wife and two children. He’s offered a well-paid gig in Washington.

       He doesn’t make it home. He’s captured by slave hunters and transported south to be sold.

      The film deserves all its accolades and none of the criticism. My only objection – why didn’t Ejiofor get an Oscar too?

 5 * of 5

 

The Namesake

 

The Namesake 2006

• Director: Mira Nair
• Seen by this director: Hysterical Blindness, Mississippi Masala
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Kal Penn, Tabu, Irrfan Khan, Jacinda Barrett, Zuleikha Robinson, Brooke Smith
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Kal Penn – Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• Tabu – The Life of Pi
• Irrfan Khan – The Life of Pi, Slumdog Millionaire, Darjeeling Limited,
• Jacinda Barrett – The Human Stain
• Zuleikha Robinson – The Merchant of Venice, Hidalgo
• Brooke Smith – Interstellar, In Her Shoes, The Man Who Wasn’t There, Kansas City, The Silence of the Lamb
• Why? Liked it the first time,
• Seen: Once before. Now 9 April 2021

             Marriage is arranged between Ashoke (Khan) and Ashima (Tabu). They leave India for New York where Ashoke is getting his PhD in fibre optics. It is winter and everything is strange for Ashima. Ashoke is kind and loving but he’s often gone.  

       Their first child is born. They call him Gogol after the Russian author. She wants to return to India. Ashoke wants to stay where there are opportunities.

       They stay. Time passes. Gogol and his sister grow up. Gogol doesn’t appreciate being named after a crazy suicidal author.

       It’s not very dramatic but it’s a poignant portrayal of a family caught between India and America.

  4 * of 5

The Bicycle Thief

 

The Bicycle Thief 1948

• Director: Vittorio De Sica
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola, Lianella Carell
• Why? It’s a classic.
• Seen: 4 April 2021.

             Desperate for work in post-war Rome where unemployment is devastatingly high, Antonio (Maggiorani) is offered a job putting up posters for the city. For that he needs a bicycle. His wife Maria (Carell) pawns their bedding so he can get his bicycle out of hawk.

       On his first day of work, his bike is stolen.

       He and his little boy Bruno (Staiola) spend the rest of the film trying to find the thief and/or the bike.

       As always, I like the black and white filming. The social realism of poverty and unemployment is strongly portrayed. At times it moves so slowly that my interest lags but the low-key climax is gripping. 

      

4* of 5

 

Mona Lisa

 

Mona Lisa

• Director: Robert Zemeckis
• Seen by this director: Cast Away, Contact, Forrest Gump, I Wanna Hold Your Hand
• Based on the novel by Gary K Wolf
• Cast: Bob Hoskins, Cathy Tyson, Michael Caine, Robbie Coltrane, Clarke Peters, Kate Hardie, Sammi Davis
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Bob Hoskins – Made in Dagenham, Doomsday, Sparkle, Paris je t’aime, Mrs Henderson Presents, Last Orders, David Copperfield, Felicia’s Journey, Hook, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Brazil, Othello, Rock Follies
• Michael Caine – Interstellar, Batman x 3, Inception, Harry Brown, Flawless, Children of Men, Last Orders, The Cider House Rules, Little Voice, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Sleuth 1972 and 2007, Educating Rita, Gambit, Alfie
• Robbie Coltrane – Harry Potter, From Hell, Henry V, Tutti Frutti, Absolute Beginners
• Clarke Peters – Three Billboards outside Ebbing Missouri, Jessica Jones, London Spy, John Wick, The Wire, Notting Hill
• Katie Hardie – Croupier
• Why? Good film
• Seen: Once a long time ago. Now 3 April 2021.      

       George (Hoskins) is just out of prison. His wife won’t let him see their teen-aged daughter.

       He gets a job from his old gang, chauffeuring a high-class call girl Simone (Tyson) from one luxury hotel to the next. She regards him as an idiot, mostly because he is. An angry idiot.  But they slowly discover that they can help each other. Maybe.

       It’s a sordid and dangerous world. And a very sad one.

       Hoskins is at his best and Tyson is outstanding in her film debut.

 

4 * of 5

 

Rocketman

 

Rocketman 2019

• Director: Dexter Fletcher
• Seen by this director: Sunshine of Leith
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Taron Egerton, Jamie Bell, Richard Madden, Bryce Dallas Howard, Gemma Jones, Steven Mackintosh, Harriet Walter
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Taron Egerton – Legend, Testament of Youth
• Jamie Bell – Skin, Fantastic 4, Filth, Snowpiercer, Jane Eyre, The Eagle, Defiance, Jumper, Hallam Foe, King Kong, Dear Wendy, Undertow, Billy Elliot
• Richard Madden – Cinderella
• Bryce Dallas Howard – The Help, Terminator Salvation, As You Like It, Manderlay
• Gemma Jones – Unforgotten, Last Tango in Halifax, Merlin, Hysteria, Harry Potter, Longitude, Wilde, Sense and Sensibility, The Devils
• Steven Mackintosh – Robot Overlords, The Thirteenth Tale, Underworld etc, Our Mutual Friend, Twelfth Night, Prick Up Your Ears
• Harriet Walter – London Spy, Star Wars the Force Awakens, Simon Schama’s Shakespeare, From Time to Time, Young Victoria, Atonement, Babel, Bright Young Things, Keep the Aspidistras Flying, Sense and Sensibility
• Why? Elton John
• Seen: 2 April 2021

             Elton (Egerton) tells his life story at an AA/NA meeting in the form of a musical. It’s quite a tragic story.  How much is accurate is hard to say but Elton produced it so it tells us what he wants us to believe. This has been difficult for some viewers to swallow but it works for me. There may be just a tad too much self-pity and wallowing in misery but it’s a gripping film. Egerton is a convincing Elton with a great voice and Jamie Bell can do anything, even in long hair.

 

 4 * of 5