The Far Country

 The Far Country 1954

• Director: Anthony Mann
• Seen by this director: El Cid, Cimmaron, The Glen Miller Story, maybe others
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: James Stewart, Ruth Roman, Corinne Calvet, Walter Brennan, John McIntire
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• James Stewart – The Shootist, The Glenn Miller Story, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Greatest Show on Earth, Bell Book and Candle, Vertigo, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Harvey, Rear Window, Rope, maybe others
• Ruth Roman – TV series
• Walter Brenna – Good-bye My Lady, no doubt others
• Why? It’s in the James Stewart box.
• Seen: 24 July 2022      

       Why did I save two westerns for the last in the James Stewart box? I should have seen all the westerns first and saved the good films for last. But there it is.

       Cattle on a river boat? Haven’t we seen that before? And cattle-rustling James Stewart’s piercing mean-looking blue eyes?

       There’s gold, mountains, one rich tough woman (Roman), one sweet and cute and innocent tomboy (Calvet), a lot of shooting, a lot of bad guys including Stewart himself who plays a callous cynical misanthropic loner.

       The mountains are nice.

       People who love westerns love this film. I’m not one of them. Still, for a western, it’s not so bad. 

2½ * of 5.

 

 

The Box

 The Box 2009

• Director: Richard Kelly
• Seen by this director: Donnie Darko
• Based on the story by: Richard Matheson
• Cast: Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, Frank Langella, James Rebhorn, Celia Weston, Holmes Osborne
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Cameron Diaz – Holiday, In Her Shoes, Gangs of New York, Being John Malkovich, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, A Life Less Ordinary, Feeling Minnesota
• James Marsden – X-Men et al, The Butler
• Frank Langella – Frost/Nixon, Good Night and Good Luck, The Ninth Gate, Dave
• James Rebhorn – here and there
• Celia Westin – Far from Heaven, Igby Goes Down, Snow Falling on Cedars, Dead Man Walking, Stars and Bars
• Why? Good reviews (and some very bad, so I’m curious)
• Seen: 23 July 2022      

       Norma (Diaz) and Arthur (Marsden) live a luxurious bourgeois life – Corvette, big house, prestigious jobs.

       A mysterious man with a badly scarred face (Langella) shows up with a box and tells them that if they press the button he will give them a million dollars in cash, but someone unknown to them will die. After some hesitations and misgivings Norma presses it.

       Then it gets weird.

       I’m trying to decide if it’s good weird or bad weird. It’s intriguing, I’ll give it that. It raises the classic question: SPOILER ALERT…

…

…

…

…

-        Are we humans worth saving or should an alien power destroy us?

I find that the film tips onto the good weird side. But why is it always the women?

 

3 ½ * of 5   

 

 

Maudie

 Maudie 2016

• Director: Aisling Walsh
• Based on book: no
• Cast: Sally Hawkins, Ethan Hawke, Zachary Bennett, Gabrielle Rose, Billy MacLellan, Kari Matchett
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Sally Hawkins – The Shape of Water, The Hollow Crown, x + y, Great Expectations, Jane Eyre, Made in Dagenham, Never Let Me Go, An Education, Happy-Go-Lucky, Little Britain, Twenty Thousand Streets under the Sky, Vera Drake
• Ethan Hawke – Stockholm, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, Cymbeline, Before Midnight, Tape, Hamlet, Snow Falling on Cedars, Great Expectations, Gattaca, Before Sunrise, Reality Bites, Waterland, The Dead Poet’s Society
• Why? Hawkins and Hawkes
• Seen: 22 July 2022      

       This film has been praised so highly that I’m almost afraid to watch it. But Hawkins and Hawkes and Nova Scotia – how can it not be good?

       Maud (Hawkins) takes a job as a housekeeper for Everett (Hawkes). Two more socially incompetent people are hard to imagine. Maudie, born with increasingly worsening arthritis is oppressed by her brother (Bennett) and aunt (Rose). Everett is more or less a hermit, misogynist, fish peddler and illiterate to boot. Maudie tries to talk, Everett mutters, slams doors and yells at her. He’s generally abusive but she takes no shit from him, and they sort things out. Maudie may be naïve but she’s sharp and cheeky and has humour. She wins him over.

       And she becomes Canada’s most beloved folk artist.

       True story.

       It’s an unusual role for Hawkes but we know that Hawkins shines playing vulnerable but strong and resilient women. As expected, they’re both perfect. Beautiful scenery too.

       Believe the hype. Don’t miss this one. 

5* of 5   

 

 

Drunkboat

 Drunkboat 2010

• Director: Bob Meyer
• Based on book: no
• Cast: John Malkovich, John Goodman, Jacob Zachar, Dana Delaney
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• John Malkovich – Warm Bodies, Burn After Reading, Changeling, Colour Me Kubrick, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, The Libertine, Johnny English, Being John Malkovich, Mary Reilly, Of Mice and Men
• John Goodman – Atomic Blonde, Kong Skull Island, 10 Cloverfield Lane, Inside Llewyn Davis, Dancing on the Edge, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, The Artist, My First Mister, O Brother Where Art Thou, The Big Lebowski, Barton Fink, Sea of Love, Punchline, Raising Arizona
• Why? Malkovich, I suppose.
• Seen: 21July 2022      

       A drunken uncle (Malkovich), a naïve nephew (Zachar), a con man (Goodman), a leaky boat.

       It’s fun to see Malkovich with hair, thin and wispy but definitely hair. But I’m falling asleep.

       I think they’re aiming for quirky but not getting there. A moment of seriousness lifts it, and Malkovich is always good, but there really isn’t much to it. 

2* of 5   

 

 

Eastern Plays

 Eastern Plays 2009

• Director: Kamen Kalev
• Based on book: no
• Cast: Christo Christov, Ovanes Torosian, Saadet Aksoy
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• None of them
• Why? Possibly good.
• Seen: 20 July 2022      

       This is the first Bulgarian film I’ve ever seen. I wonder what my Bulgarian friend thinks of it. Sometimes we surprise ourselves by agreeing about a film, more often we amiably but decisively disagree. On IMDb viewers are split. Some love it, some hate it.

       Two brothers (Christov and Torosian), one an alcoholic on Methadone, and the other in a Nazi gang.

       I have no idea if this accurately portrays this segment of Bulgarian society, but it brings to mind This Is England, which I barely remember.

       Dreary, dreary. What is it trying to tell us? Something important? Or is it just pretentious? It’s somewhat interesting though. Sometimes I almost like it.

       But only almost. Maybe I’m missing some important point. 

2 ½* of 5

      

 

Walking Across Egypt

 Walking Across Egypt 1999

• Director: Arthur Allan Seidelman
• Based on the novel by: Clyde Edgarton
• Cast: Ellen Burstyn, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, several famous actors who were unrecognisable
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Ellen Burstyn – Interstellar, The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Requiem for a Dream, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, The King of Marvin Gardens, The Last Picture Show
• Why? Ellen Burstyn
• Seen:19 July 2022      

       On no, it starts with a dog. I hope it’s not going to be one of those films. Rural idyll too. That doesn’t bode well either. Nor does Mattie’s (Burstyn) southern drawl and Bible quotes for every occasion.

       I tell you, if I hadn’t seen Requiem for a Dream recently for the second time in which Burstyn is brilliant, I would switch off the DVD now. How she could lower herself to this rubbish I don’t understand.

       Although you almost have to admire the number of clichés and stereotypes they’ve managed to cram into one little film.

       Because Burstyn reveals her acting skill at times and because the film does after all show sympathy for society’s young outcasts, I’ll refrain from giving it 0*.

1* of 5   

 

 

Ghost Ship

 Ghost Ship 2002

• Director: Steve Beck
• Based on book: no
• Cast: Juliana Margulies, Gabriel Byrne, Ron Eldard, Desmond Herrington, Isaiah Washington, Alex Dimitriades, Karl Urban, Emily Browning, Francesca Rettodini
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Juliana Margulies – The Sopranos, The Darwin Awards, Homicide Life on the Streets
• Gabriel Byrne – Hereditary, Quirke, Emotional Arithmetic, Jindabyne, Wah-Wah, Smilla’s Sense of Snow, Dead Man, The Usual Suspects, Little Women, Prince of Jutland, Miller’s Crossing, Gothic, Excalibur
• Ron Eldard – House of Sand and Fog, Homicide Life on the Streets, The Scent of a Woman
• Desmon Herrington – The Dark Knight Rises, Taken, Riding in Cars with Boys, My First Mister
• Isaiah Washington – Blue Caprice, Romeo Must Die, Bulworth, Dead Presidents, Clockers
• Emily Browning – Legend, Summer in February, Ned Kelly
• Why? I don’t remember. Gabriel Byrne maybe.
• Seen: 18 July 2022      

       Murph (Byrne) and his salvage crew go after a strange ship adrift in the Bering Strait. We already know from the intro that the luxury liner passengers were all sliced up by a freak wire. Only a little girl (Browning) survived. Sort of.

       Murph knows the legend. An Italian liner that simply disappeared in 1962. They board the ship, find gold and scary things start happening.

       There are ghosts and it’s a ship. ‘Oh god, you really are a fucking ghost,’ says Epps (Margulies).

       You could say that.

       Far from being a masterpiece, it still has unsuspected merits as a ghost story. Its oddness, for one thing. I probably shouldn’t like it, but I do. Not a whole lot, but it’s worth watching for entertainment. 

2 ½ * of 5   

 

The Glenn Miller Story

 The Glenn Miller Story 1954

• Director: Anthony Mann
• Seen by these directors: El Cid, Cimmaron, maybe others
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: James Stewart, June Allyson, Harry (Henry) Morgan
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• James Stewart – The Shootist, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Greatest Show on Earth, Bell Book and Candle, Vertigo, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Harvey, Rear Window, Rope, maybe others
• June Allyson – Must have seen something
• Harry Morgan – The Shootist, Third Rock from the Sun, M*A*S*H
• Why? It’s in the James Stewart box
• Seen: 17 July 2022      

       According to Leonard Maltin, this is mostly fictitious. That’s OK, it’s the music and Glenn Miller’s sad end that are the point, I assume. And I assume it’s going to be sugary sweet, but the music will be good, and Jimmy Stewart will be Jimmy Stewart, the nice version.

       Two hours later….

       Yepp, that about sums it up. No further comments necessary other than that the sugary sweetness was bearable and the cameos with Louie Armstrong and Gene Krupa deserve a * of their own. 

3 ½ * of 5.

 

 

Time Bandits

 Time Bandits 1981

• Director: Terry Gilliam
• Seen by this director: The Zero Theorem, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, The Brothers Grimm, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Twelve Monkeys, Fisher King, Brazil, Monty Python the Meaning of Life, Monty Python and the Holy Grail
• Based on book: no
• Cast: Oh, I can’t be bothered.
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Most of them
• Why? Monty Python, recommended by friends
• Seen: 16 July 2022      

       Monty Python hasn’t aged with dignity, so my expectations on this aren’t sky high. Still, it should probably be seen, and people love the film. IMDb is positively crawling with 9* and 10*. It’s called ‘deep satire’, ‘family film’, ‘my favourite film of all time.’

       A ruffian gang of dwarves have stolen a time map from God and accidently kidnap a boy. A series of inane escapades through history ensues. Oh, I’m so tired of films made by macho aging juvenile men for boys of all ages with only a token stereotype woman or two tossed in as an afterthought.

       This is utter rubbish.

       Because some of the effects are entertaining not 0* but 

1* of 5   

 

 

Jolene

 Jolene 2008

• Director: Dan Ireland
• Based on the story by E.L. Doctorow
• Cast: Jessica Chastain, Frances Fisher, Rupert Friend, Dermot Mulroney, Chazz Palmenteri, Theresa Russell
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Jessica Chastain – X-Men Dark Phoenix, Molly’s Game, The Martian, Interstellar, Zero Dark Thirty, The Help, The Tree of Life, Coriolanus, Take Shelter
• Frances Fisher – Woman in Gold, The Lincoln Lawyer, The House of Sand and Fog, Titanic, The Stars Fell on Henrietta
• Rupert Friend – Young Victoria, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, The Libertine
• Dermot Mulroney – The Mountain Between Us, August Osage County, Burn After Reading, Zodiac, Undertow, About Schmidt
• Chazz Palmenteri – Legend, Yonkers Joe, The Usual Suspects
• Theresa Russell – Kafka, Insignificance
• Why? It sounded good.
• Seen: 15 July 2022      

       Jolene (Chastain) marries when she is fifteen to get away from abusive foster parents, only to discover that her uncle-in-law is a lech. But she falls in love with him. It ends badly. Ten years of wandering the land, taking up with one lover after another, ensue.

       Chastain is good but it’s very hard to care for Jolene. I would like to see it as a feminist protest against the exploitation and victimisation of women but if that was the aim, it really missed the mark, and I doubt very much if that was the intention. It’s sleazy and full of clichés and I don’t much like it. Or maybe it’s a parody of something. I still don’t much like it. 

2* of 5   

 

Blue Caprice

 

Blue Caprice 2013

• Director: Alexandre Moors
• Based on book: no
• Cast: Isaiah Washington, Tequan Richmond, Tim Blake Nelson, Joey Lauren Adams
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Isaiah Washington – Romeo Must Die, Bulworth, Dead Presidents, Clockers
• Tim Blake Nelson – American Violet, The Darwin Awards, O Brother Where Art Thou, Donnie Brasco
• Why? Possibly good.
• Seen:14 July 2022      

       This is a slow deliberate study of how a divorced man (Washington) and his adopted teen-aged son (Richmond) transform into mass murderers. The gradual build-up of foreboding is an indictment of the American glorification of guns, the country’s history of war and violence, the indifference to madness until it hits too close to home.

       If you’re expecting action, you’ll be disappointed but if you want a depressing but well-done explanation of the inexplicable, this is worth seeing.

       But…depressing. 

3 * of 5   

 

 

Terminal

 Terminal 2018

• Director: Vaughn Stein
• Based on book: no
• Cast: Margot Robbie, Simon Pegg, Dexter Fletcher, Mike Myers, Max Irons, Katarina Cas, Matthew Lewis
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Margot Robbie – The Suicide Squad, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, I Tonya, The Wolf of Wall Street, About Time
• Simon Pegg – Ready Player One, Absolutely Anything, The World’s End, Paul, Hot Fuzz, Doctor Who, Shaun of the Dead, 24 Hour Party People
• Dexter Fletcher – Cockneys vs Zombies, Misfits, Bonekickers, Topsy-Turvey, Jude
• Mike Meyers – Bohemian Rhapsody, Inglourious Basterds
• Max Irons – Woman in Gold
• Matthew Lewis – Harry Potter
• Why? Simon Pegg
• Seen: 13 July 2022      

       A deserted train station in the middle of the night. Bill (Pegg) is waiting for a train but he isn’t going anywhere. The custodian (Meyers) suggests that he go to the all-night café. There he finds the friendly but nosy and astute waitress Annie (Robbie) who tries to figure out how he’s dying because he obviously is.

       What we soon see is that she is an ace assassin, and her plan is to get two rival assassins (Fletcher and Irons) to kill each other so that she can take over from the boss.

       It’s like a British parody of Pulp Fiction without quite so much blood. It’s funny, absurd, surrealistic, stylish, and very entertaining. 

4* of 5   

 

 

Une place sur la terre

Une place sur la terre 2013

• Director: Fabienne Godet
• Based on book: no
• Cast: Benoît Poelvoorde, Ariane Labed, Max Baissette de Malglaive
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Benoît Poelvoorde – Le tour nouveau testament
• Ariane Labed – Before Midnight
• Why? Possibly good
• Seen: 12 July 2022      

       Antoine (Poelvoorde) is a successful and artistic but bored photographer. His best friend is a little boy Matéo (de Malglavie). Antoine photographs his neighbour Elena (Labed) secretly and happens to photograph a suicide attempt. She survives and the three of them become friends.

       It’s a very French film. Nothing much happens, they talk a lot, there are a lot of facial close-ups. It’s boring.

       The fine acting and some emotional build-ups raise the rating to 

2½ * of 5   

 

 

The Broken

 The Broken 2008

• Director: Sean Ellis
• Based on book: no
• Cast: Lena Heady, Richard Jenkins, Melvin Poupaud, Michelle Duncan, Asier Newman, Ulrich Thomsen
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Lena Heady – Fighting with My Family, Terminator the Sarah Connor Chronicles, The Brother Grimm, The Remains of the Day, Waterland
• Richard Jenkins – The Shape of Water, Kong Skull Island, God’s Pocket, The Rum Diary, Burn After Reading, The Visitor, Rumour Has It, North Country, , Six Feet Under, Snow Falling on Cedars, Sea of Love, Silverado
• Michelle Duncan – Bohemian Rhapsody, Case Studies, Lost in Austen, Atonement, Doctor Who, Driving Lessons
• Asier Newman – Glorious 39
• Ulrich Thomsen – Mordecai, Kingdom of Heaven, The World Is Not Enough
• Why? The cast
• Seen: 6 July 2022      

       Dr Gina McVey (Heady) seems to have a doppelganger. One who likes to break mirrors and is living her life. Then she’s in a car crash and….

       Nothing really scary happens but with music, close-ups, hazy quick memory flashes and nightmares the suspense builds up and something really scary is no doubt about to happen sooner or later.

       It’s not a masterpiece and the ending leaves me with a big, ‘Huh?’ but it’s well done and entertaining. 

3 * of 5   

 

 

The Cassandra Crossing

 The Cassandra Crossing 1975

• Director: George P Cosmatos
• Based on book: no
• Cast: Sophia Loren, Richard Harris, Martin Sheen, OJ Simpson, Ingrid Thulin, Ava Gardner, Burt Lancaster, John Philip Law
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Sophia Loren – something I’m sure
• Richard Harris – Harry Potter, Gladiator, Smilla’s Sense of Snow, Camelot
• Martin Sheen – Judas and the Black Messiah, Bobby, Catch Me If You Can, Dead Presidents, JFK, Apocalypse Now
• Ingrid Thulin – Viskningar och rop, Vargtimmen, Tystnaden, Smultronstället
• Ava Gardner – The Night of the Iguana, 7 Days in May, On the Beach, Show Boat
• Burt Lancaster – Field of Dreams, Local Hero, Atlantic City, 1900, 7 Days in May, The Birdman of Alcatraz, Elmer Gantry, The Rainmaker, probably others
• John Philip Law – The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!
• Why? Mixed it up with Miller’s Crossing
• Seen: 5 July 2022      

       A raid on a research hospital in Geneva results in one of the attackers escaping, not knowing he’s carrying an incurable strain of the bubonic plague, developed by the US military as a biological weapon. He stows away on a train headed for Stockholm, spreading it to the other thousand or so passengers. No country they pass through will let them off.

       It’s a political thriller/disaster film so popular in the 70s.  The best aspect is that the Americans are the bad guys for once. The actors’ attempts at speaking Swedish give a lot of unintentional laughs. Other than a few mildly exciting moments, it’s ponderous, poorly scripted, badly acted despite the big names, overloaded with subplots and unlikely characters, like most films of the genre and era. A decent non-feel-good ending (although the main lovers survive of course) and some strong visuals lift it half a *. 

2 ½ * of 5   

 

 

To Die For

 To Die For 1995

• Director: Gus Van Sant
• Seen by this director: Milk, Paris je t’aime, Good Will Hunting, My Own Private Idaho
• Based on the book by Joyce Maynard.
• Cast: Nicole Kidman, Joaquin Phoenix, Matt Dillon, Casey Affleck, Illeana Douglas, Alison Folland, Dan Hedaya, Kurtwood Smith, Wayne Knight
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Nicole Kidman – Top of the Lake, Lion, Genius, Queen of the Desert, Strangerland, Before I Go to Sleep, The Railway Man, Rabbit Hole, Nine, Australia, The Golden Compass, Margot at the Wedding, Fur, Birth, Cold Mountain, The Human Stain, Dogville, The Hours, Birthday Girl, The Others, Moulin Rouge, Eyes Wide Shut, Practical Magic, Billy Bathgate
• Joaquin Phoenix – Joker, Two Lovers, Reservation Road, Walk the Line, Hotel Rwanda, The Village, Gladiator
• Matt Dillon – Crash, Beautiful Girls, Drugstore Cowboy, Rumble Fish
• Casey Affleck – Manchester by the Sea, Interstellar, Gone Baby Gone, Lonesome Jim, Hamlet, Good Will Hunting
• Illeana Douglas – Factory Girl, Six Feet Under, Happy Texas
• Alison Folland – The Happening, Good Will Hunting
• Dan Hedaya and Kurtwood Smith – probably many
• Wayne Knight – Hail Caesar, Third Rock from the Sun
• Why? The cast.
• Seen: 4 July 2022      

       Suzanne (Kidman) murdered her husband Larry (Dillon). Or did she?

       We’re told the story through interviews and flashbacks. Larry’s sister Janice (Douglas) regards her as cold and shallow from the beginning. Suzanne’s father (Smith) regards Larry as beneath her. Larry’s father (Hedaya) wanted him to marry a nice Italian girl. Larry adores her and is proud of her ambition to become a TV journalist. Of the three in her documentary about teen-agers, Lydia (Folland) adores her, Russ (Affleck) lusts after her and James (Phoenix) lusts after and loves her passionately.

       So, is Suzanne with the little-girl voice and big blue eyes sweet and innocent and thick, or manipulative and ruthless?

       It’s called a black comedy but it’s not so funny. It’s kind of creepy.

       The cast is excellent and carry this bizarre story with bravura, especially Folland and Phoenix, but Kidman is outstanding, as usual, in this odd but compelling film. 

3 ½ * of 5   

 

The Lookout

 The Lookout 2007

• Director: Scott Frank
• Based on book: no
• Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeff Daniels, Matthew Goode, Isla Fisher, Segio Di Zio
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt – Knives Out, Looper, The Dark Knight Rises Again, Inception, 500 Days of Summer, The Miracle at St Ana, Brick, Third Rock from the Sun, Ten Things I Hate about You
• Jeff Daniels – Looper, Infamous, Good Night and Good Luck, The Squid and the Whale, The Hours, Pleasantville, Speed, Terms of Endearment
• Matthew Goode – The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Downton Abbey, The Imitation Game, Dancing on the Edge, Copying Beethoven
• Isla Fisher – The Great Gatsby
• Why? Good film
• Seen: Once before. Now 3 July 2022      

       On prom night Chris (JG-L) kills two of his classmates and is brain damaged through reckless driving. Four years later he is still trying to learn how to read, keep track of time, open tins, stop crying, make coffee, remember the word for tomato, behave acceptably in social situations.

       He works as a night cleaner in a bank, which is why he is exploited by slippery ex-con Gary (Goode) into a plan to rob the bank. His main role is the be their lookout. Chris’s roommate and friend, blind Lewis (Daniels) suspects something is wrong but does nothing until it is too late.

       It’s far from just a heist film. It’s exciting, yes, but it’s also a character study of a kid who once had a golden future and now visits the sight of the accident every day with his haunting memories, a young man carrying a card to explain to strangers that he has several mental disabilities.

       Joseph Gordon-Levitt gives a strong performance. 

4* of 5   

 

Mon Roi

 Mon Roi 2015

• Director: Maïwenn
• Based on book: no
• Cast: Vincent Cassel, Emmanuelle Bercot, Louis Garrel,
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Vincent Cassel – Black Swan, Derailed, Birthday Girl, Elizabeth
• Why? Possibly good.
• Seen: 2 July 2022      

       Tony (Bercot) is in a five-week rehab program for a severely injured knee. While there she reminisces about her stormy marriage to Georgio (Cassel).

       The film got rave reviews. I really don’t understand why. Neither Tony nor Georgio are at all likeable. It’s both boring and enervating. I realise that there are couples like this but what’s the point of suffering through a film about it? I wouldn’t want these people as my friends. The film is just not interesting, and it goes on forever.

       Bercot and Cassel are very good in their roles, but they are such irritating characters! 

2* of 5   

 

 

Star Trek First Contact

 Star Trek First Contact 1996

• Director: Jonathan Frakes
• Seen by this director: Several episodes of Roswell
• Based on book: no
• Cast: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, Levar Burton, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, Alfre Woodard, James Cromwell, Alice Krige
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Patrick Stewart - The Hollow Crown Richard II, Hamlet, Extras, X Men First Class, Star Trek, Excalibur, Hamlet, I Claudius
• Jonathan Frakes – Third Rock from the Sun, Star Trek Generations,
• Brent Spiner – Star Trek Generations, The Aviator, I Am Sam, Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, Corrina Corrina, TV series
• Alfre Woodard – 12 Years a Slave, American Violet, Bopha!
• James Cromwell – Becoming Jane, The Queen, Sic Feet Under, I Robot, Angels in America, The Green Mile, Snow Falling on Cedars, Romeo Is Bleeding, TV series
• Why? Still trying to become a Trekkie
• Seen: 1 July 2022      

       The Borg are attacking. Captain Picard (Stewart) was once their prisoner and is now deemed unfit to lead the defence. He and the crew defy direct orders and the Starship Enterprise heads off for Earth.

       There’s time travel, lots of explosions, beam-me-ups and beam-me-downs. It’s often amusing – the Borgs are ‘definitely not Swedish’ – exciting at times, a bit boring now and then, but the very strong ending lifts it.

 3 ½ * of 5