Sweet and Lowdown

 

Sweet and Lowdown 1999

• Director: Woody Allen
• Seen by this director: Nothing but endless clips of his mysteriously popular films
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Sean Penn, Samantha Morton, Uma Thurman
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Sean Penn – This Must Be the Place, The Tree of Life, Milk, 21 grams, Mystic River, Pauly Shore Is Dead, I Am Sam, Being John Malkovich, Dead Man Walking, Carlito’s Way, Shanghai Surprise, Bad Boys, Fast Times at Ridgemont High
• Samantha Morton – Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Elizabeth the Golden Age, Libertine, In America, Morvern Callar, Under the Skin
• Uma Thurman – Be Cool, Kill Bill 1&2, Hysterical Blindness, Tape, Les Misérables, Gattaca, Beautiful Girls, Pulp Fiction
• Why? The cast.
• Seen: 30 October 2022      

       If I had noticed that this was directed by Woody Allen, I wouldn’t have bought it. The clips I’ve seen from his films have not tempted me to see more. But with the cast, especially Morton, it might be worth giving it a try.

       It’s not. Penn is a thoroughly unlikeable character, Morton is a mute, Thurman is, well, I don’t know, I fell asleep.

       This will be my last Woody Allen film if I can help it, no matter who’s in them. 

1 * of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Superman III

Superman III 1983

• Director: Richard Lester
• Seen by this director: Superman II, Robin and Marion, Petulia, How I Won the War, HELP!, A Hard Day’s Night
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Christopher Reeve, Richard Pryor, Annette O’Toole, Annie Ross, Pamela Stephenson, Robert Vaughn, Margot Kidder, Jackie Cooper
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Christopher Reeve – The Remains of the Day, The Aviator, Superman II and III
• Richard Pryor – Stir Crazy, Lady Sings the Blues, TV series
• Annette O’Toole – 48 Hours
• Robert Vaughn – Hustle, The Towering Inferno, Bullitt, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
• Margot Kidder – Superman I and I1
• Jackie Cooper – something, I’m sure
• Why? Third in the trilogy
• Seen: 29 October 2022      

       Richard Pryor and a long slapstick intro. So that’s what kind of film this is going to be. Stupid story with primitive (maybe not then) computer crime, high school reunions, dreadful love story (Lois Lane is shipped off to the Bermudas in an early scene, Superman turned prankster. What a mean-spirited and pointless film. What an insult to poor Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder. Richard Lester should be ashamed of himself.

       And Superman IV is reported to be even worse. Lucky for me, I don’t have it.      

1 * of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Superman II

 

Superman II 1980

• Director: Richard Lester
• Seen by this director: Robin and Marion, Petulia, How I Won the War, HELP!, A Hard Day’s Night
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman, Ned Beatty, Jackie Cooper, Valerie Perrine, Sarah Douglas, Jack O’Halloran, Susannah York, Terence Stamp
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Christopher Reeve – The Remains of the Day, The Aviator, Superman and Superman III
• Margot Kidder – Superman I and III
• Gene Hackman – The Royal Tenenbaums, The Birdcage, Get Shorty, Geronimo, Class Action, Postcards from the Edge, Mississippi Burning, Reds, Superman I, The Conversation, The Poseidon Adventure, The French Connection, Bonnie and Clyde, Hawaii
• Ned Beatty – Homicide Life on the Streets, Superman
• Jackie Cooper – something, I’m sure
• Susannah York – Happy Birthday Wanda June, They Shoot Horses Don’t They, Oh What a Lovely War, A Man for All Seasons, Tom Jones
• Terence Stamp – Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, A Song for Marion, Valkyria, Wanted, Dead Fish, Full Frontal, Red Planet, Star Wars, The Limey, The Adventures of Priscilla the Queen of the Desert, Far from the Madding Crowd, The Collector, Billy Bud
• Valerie Perrine – Superman, Lenny
• Why? Superman!
• Seen: Once before (maybe). Now 28 October 2022      

Same gang, same story for a while. The story is by the author of The Godfather (!) and directed by the guy who did HELP! and A Hard Day’s Night (!)

I won’t bother with the story. Is the film good? Well, if you liked the first one, you’ll probably like this one too. I did and I do. The deepening relationship between Superman and Lois, who now knows who he is, is rather sweet. And quite dramatic. It’s better than I remember (I don’t really remember it so maybe I haven’t seen it) or expected.      

3 ½ * of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thale

 

Thale 2012

• Director: Aleksander Nordaas
• Seen by this director: Lethal Weapon, Omen, many TV series
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Silje Reinåmo, Erlend Nervold, Jon Sigve Skard
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• None of them
• Why? Norwegian
• 28 October 2022      

       Elvis (Nervold) and Leo (Skard) clean up messy corpses in northern Norway. Elvis finds a passage in a shed. At the end of the passage a young woman, Thale (Reinåmo) jumps out of a bathtub filled with murky water, scaring them half to death. Then they find a cassette tape with a Swedish man’s voice to which Thale reacts with fear. It seems she has been used for some kind of research.

       It’s based on the Norwegian folk tale of the hulda. It’s slow and dreamy and mysterious. It doesn’t make a lot of sense but it’s rather creepy. Forests can be creepy, especially Norwegian (and Swedish) forests with huldas and trolls and other supernatural beings live.

       I think Nordaas is suffering from some kind of puerile sex fantasies. But it’s an OK film.      

2½ * of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amistad

 

Amistad 1997

• Director: Steven Spielberg
• Seen by this director: Ready Player One, BFG, War of the Worlds, Catch Me If You Can, AI, Saving Private Ryan, Schindler’s List, Jurassic Park, Hook, The Colour Purple, E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Degree, Jaws, Sugarland Express, The Duel
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Djimon Hounsou, Matthew McConaughey, Anthony Hopkins, Morgan Freeman, Nigel Hawthorn, David Paymer, Pete Postlethwaite, Stellan Skarsgård, Anna Paquin, Chiwetel Ejiofor
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Djimon Hounsou – The Tempest, Blood Diamond, The Island, In America, Gladiator
• Matthew McConaughey – The Gentlemen, The Dark Tower, Interstellar, The Wolf of Wall Street, The Lincoln Lawyer, EDtv, Contact
• Anthony Hopkins – Bobby, Proof, The Human Stain, Titus, Meet Joe Black, Surviving Picasso, Remains of the Day, Howards End, The Silence of the Lambs, 84 Charing Cross Road, Othello, The Elephant Man, Lion in Winter
• Morgan Freeman – Lucy, Transcendence, Batman Trilogy, Invictus, The Magic of Belle Island, Wanted, Gone Baby Gone, Million Dollar Baby, Levity, Nurse Betty, Moll Flanders, Seven, The Shawshank Redemption, Robin Hood, Driving Miss Daisy
• Nigel Hawthorne – Twelfth Night, Richard III, The Madness of King George, The Tempest
• David Paymer – this and that
• Pete Postlethwaite – Inception, The Constant Gardener, The Shipping News, Brassed Off, Romeo & Juliet, In the Name of the Father, The Last of the Mohicans, Waterland, Alien 3, Hamlet
• Stellan Skarsgård - Mamma Mia 1&2, Melancholia, Thor, Pirates of the Caribbean, King Arthur, Dogville, The Glass House, Dancer in the Dark, Amistad, Good Will Hunting, Breaking the Waves, Hamlet, Den enfaldige mördaren
• Anna Paquin – X-Men, Bury My Heart at Broken Knee, The Squid and the Whale, Almost Famous, The Piano
• Chiwetel Ejiofor – Doctor Strange, The Martian, 12 Years a Slave, Dancing on the Edge, 2012, Children of Men, Kinky Boots, Love Actually, Dirty Pretty Things
• Why? The subject.
• Seen:  Once before. Now 27 October 2022      

       1839. A shipload of Africans manage to free themselves, led by Cinque (Hounsou), kill most of the crew and take over the ship. They intend to return to Africa but the two survivors lure them back to the US where they are imprisoned for mutiny and murder.

       Much of the films deals with the legal complexities of the international slave trade of the time. Spain and the US considered it legal. The UK did not. Hounsou and McConaughey shine as Cinque and the defending lawyer, but the acting is excellent throughout.

       It is admirable that Spielberg chose to bring this incident to light but it is far too long and that lowers the rating considerably. That and the fact that the only woman with speaking lines is the 11-year-old Queen of Spain (Paquin). Still, it should be seen.

 

3 ½ (almost 4) * of 5

 

 

 

 

 

Superman

 

Superman 1978

• Director: Richard Donner
• Seen by this director: Lethal Weapon, Omen, many TV series
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Ned Beatty, Jackie Cooper, Glenn Ford, Valerie Perrine, many cameos
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Christopher Reeve – The Remains of the Day, The Aviator, Superman II and III
• Margot Kidder – Superman II and III
• Marlon Brando – Don Juan DeMarco, A Dry White Season, Superman II, Apocalypse Now, The Godfather, Reflections in a Golden Eye, Candy, Mutiny on the Bounty, The Young Lions, Teahouse of the August Moon, On the Waterfront, Julius Caesar, A Streetcar Named Desire
• Gene Hackman – The Royal Tenenbaums, The Birdcage, Get Shorty, Geronimo, Class Action, Postcards from the Edge, Mississippi Burning, Reds, Superman II, The Conversation, The Poseidon Adventure, The French Connection, Bonnie and Clyde, Hawaii
• Ned Beatty – Homicide Life on the Streets
• Jackie Cooper – something, I’m sure
• Glen Ford – something, I’m sure
• Valerie Perrine – Superman II, Lenny
• Why? Superman!
• Seen: Once before (at least). Now 27 October 2022      

       When I was a little kid I’d rush to my grandparents’ (we didn’t have a TV) after school to watch Superman. I grew up but my superhero worship didn’t. Politically I’m against superheroes and saviours. I believe in solidarity and, ‘Onward, comrades!’ But wouldn’t life be dreary without Wolverine, Batman, Doctor Who, Hermione, Harry and Ron, Dark Phoenix, Merlin, T’Challa? And Superman.

       This film is the true story. It must be with all the famous actors. Marlon Brando would never lie.

       Best moment: when Clark Kent (Reeve) has to come out as Superman because Lois Lane (Kidder) is in danger. He looks frantically around for a phone booth to change in but all he finds is one of those modern plexiglass half-booths with no doors.

       That sets the tone, slapstick, silly, hammy. And it’s too long.

       But who can resist the bumbling Clark Kent or the dorky Superman or the cheeky Lois Lane? And so much is so beautifully films. And that ending! He doesn’t even need the TARDIS!

       I still love the X-Men (and Women), Batman, the Doctor(s), the HP trio (not to mention Professor McGonagall), Merlin and the Black Panther but Superman will always have a place in my childish heart.      

3 ½  * of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cast Away

 

Cast Away 2000

• Director: Robert Zemicks
• Seen by this director: Contact, Forrest Gump, Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, I Wanna Hold Your Hand
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Tom Hanks, Helen Hunt
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Tom Hanks – The Circle, Sully, Cloud Atlas, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Catch Me If You Can, Road to Perdition, The Green Mile, You Have Mail, Saving Private Ryan, Forrest Gump, Philadelphia, Sleepless in Seattle, A League of Their Own, Punchline
• Helen Hunt - Then She Found Me, Pay It Forward, As Good As It Gets, Twister, Peggy Sue Got Marries
• Why? I liked it the first time.
• Seen:  Once before. Now 26 October 2022      

       Chuck (Hanks) is a high-pressure Fed Ex coordinator who flies all over the world, often leaving his partner, doctoral student Kelly (Hunt) at a moment’s notice. On Christmas Eve he’s summoned for an urgent flight to Tahiti. He promises to be back by New Year’s Eve.

       His plane crashes. He’s the only survivor and his rubber raft washes up on an uninhabited island.

       Comparisons to Robinson Crusoe are inevitable, and sure, it’s about a guy who survives through wits and know-how, or at least figure-it-out. But Chuck is much more likeable than smug old Robinson, as well as more admirable because of his ineptitude and lack of practical know-how, he continues to survive.

       Hanks gives a fine one-man performance. 

3½ * of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

Big Business

 

Big Business 1988

• Director: Jim Abrahams
• Seen by this director: Ruthless People
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Bette Midler, Lily Tomlin, Fred Ward, Edward Herman, Michele Placido, Michael Gross, Seth Green
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Bette Midler – Then She Found Me, First Wives’ Club, Get Shorty, Ruthless People, The Rose
• Lily Tomlin – A Prairie Home Companion, Orange County, Tea with Mussolini, 9 to 5, Nashville, Laugh-In
• Fred Ward – Swing Shift, Silkwood
• Seth Green – Buffy the Vampire Slayer, To Gillian on her 37^th Birthday
• Why? Midler and Tomlin
• Seen:  26 October 2022      

       Due to circumstances beyond their control, two sets of identical twins are born on the same day in Jupiter Hollow and mixed up by the ditzy nurse.

       One set of Sadie (Midler) and Rose (Tomlin) grow up to be CEOs in NY, the other as down-home folks in Jupiter Hollow. The CEO Sadie wants to shut down the factory in Jupiter Hollow. The down-home Rose is having none of that. She and her Sadie go to NY to protest.

       It’s Midler and Tomlin so it’s not exactly serious. It’s a cheap spin-off of Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors (are the filmmakers even aware of that?) without the dark undertone that his comedies always have, but it has its moments. Both Midler and especially Tomlin are fun to watch. I find it quite funny and enjoyable. 

3 * of 5

 

 

 

 

 

The Butterfly Effect

 

The Butterfly Effect 2004

• Director: Erik Bress and J Mackye Gruber
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Ashton Kutcher, Amy Smart, Melora Walters, Elden Henson, John Patrick Amedori, Irina Gorovaia, Logan Lerman, Eric Stoltz, Callum Keith Rennie, Lorena Gale
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• I didn’t recognise any of them.
• Why? Might be good.
• Seen:  25 October 2022      

       As a kid Evan (Lerman and Schmidt) has blackouts every time something bad happens and then he can’t remember. As an adult (Kutcher) this continues. He asks his mother (Walters) about his father’s (Rennie) mental illness, which seems to be hereditary. When he seeks out old friends to ask them what happened during his blackouts they become upset to the point of violence.

       He discovers that he can go back in his memories and change what happened, but maybe that’s not a good idea.

       OK, so now it’s sci fi. Fine by me.

       Probably if I thought about it, I’d find things wrong with it, but I won’t. I enjoyed it. 

3½ * of 5

 

 

 

 

 

Camino

 

Camino 2008

• Director: Javier Fesser
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Nereo Comacho, Carme Elias, Mariano Venancio, Manuela Vellés,
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• None of them
• Why? I misread the description on IMDb
• Seen:  25 October 2022      

       A young girl, Camino (Comacho) is dying of cancer. Her loving mother (Elias) and sister (Vellés) are fanatical Opus Dei Catholics while her father (Venancio) is loving and less devout.

       Is it anti-religion and offensive, as some viewers on IMDb claim, or beautiful and critical of the Catholic church, as others think?

       Who cares? It’s sugar-sweet and boring.

       Supposedly based on a true story, the girl that it’s about, Alexia González Barros, is going to be sainted by the Catholic Church. That’s offensive. What about all the other kids dying of cancer? Or starvation? Or abuse?

       There are a few moments that can be interpreted as criticism of the mother and sister’s fanaticism which raises the film from 0* to

 1* of 5

 

 

 

 

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

 

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels 1998

• Director: Guy Ritchie
• Seen by this director: The Gentlemen, Sherlock Holmes 1&2
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Jason Flemyng, Dexter Fletcher, Nick Moran, Steven Mackintosh, Sting
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Jason Flemyng – Sunshine on Leith, I Give It a Year, X-Men First Class, Hanna, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Stardust, Layer Cake, From Hell
• Dexter Fletcher – Cockneys vs Zombies, Misfits, Layer Cake, Jude
• Nick Moran – Terminal, Harry Potter
• Steven Mackintosh – Rocketman, Robot Overlords, The Thirteenth Tale, The Other Boleyn Girl, Our Mutual Friend, Twelfth Night, Karaoke, Prick Up Your Ears
• Sting – Stormy Monday, Dune
• Why? Its reputation
• Seen:  24 October 2022      

       Its reputation is that it’s brilliantly hilariously funny. The superlatives know no bounds.

       One gang of small gangsters, another of weed producers, another of, oh, I don’t know, miscellaneous tough guys. Big poker game, big cheating, big debts, big violence.

       It’s compared to Tarantino. I suppose so. Only I like Tarantino, and this does nothing for me at all. It’s just a bunch of really stupid men doing really stupid things. Of the 46 listed in the cast, two are women, very far down on the list. They’re on the screen about three minutes and one of them has no lines.

       That kind of sums it up. It’s a guy film. The worst kind. Just because it’s Cockney doesn’t mean it’s cool. If you want Cockney, see Cockneys vs Zombies. That’s much funnier.

       Because the music is OK, and Sting is in it, and the last minute of the film was mildly humorous, I give it 

1½ * of 5

 

 

 

 

Needful Things

 

Needful Things 1993

• Director: Fraser C Heston
• Based on the book by Stephen King.
• Cast: Max von Sydow, Ed Harris, Bonnie Bedelia, Amanda Plummer, JT Walsh,
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Max von Sydow – Star Wars, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Robin Hood, Shutter Island, Emotional Arithmetic, Snow Falling on Cedars, The World’s End, Awakenings, Hiroshima Out of the Ashes, Dune, Never Say Never Again, Nybyggarna, Utvandrarna, Skammen, Vargtimmen, Här har du ditt liv, Hawaii, Det sjunde inseglet
• Ed Harris – Cymbeline, Snow Piercer, Cleaner, Gone Baby Gone, Copying Beethoven, A History of Violence, The Human Stain, The Hours, A Beautiful Mind, Pollock, Glengarry Glen Ross
• Bonnie Bedelia – Anywhere but Here, Presumed Innocent, Die Hard, They Shoot Horses Don’t They?
• Amanda Plummer – The Hunger Games, 45 RPM, My Life without Me, Dead Girl, Pulp Fiction, Fisher King, Hotel New Hampshire, Daniel
• JT Walsh – Pleasantville, Sling Blade, Red Rock West, Lethal Weapon, The Grifters, Good Morning Vietnam
• Why? Might be good.
• Seen:  23 October 2022

             A new shop called Needful Things opens in a coastal town in Maine, causing all kinds of curiosity in the townspeople.

       The proprietor is the elegant Mr Leland Gaunt (von Sydow) who seems to find exactly what everyone most desires and sells it to them for a small price. Oh yes, and a small favour.

       Like all of Stephen King’s books, the film is populated by odd characters, like timid formerly abused young widow Nettie (Plummer) as well as down-home folks like the Sheriff Alan (Harris) and his café-owning fianceé Polly (Bedelia).

       Mr Gaunt is very good indeed at pitting the townspeople against each other. That’s his job after all. He’s Satan.

       Good old Stephen King. 

       I haven’t read the book, so I don’t know if the film does it justice but as a film on its own it’s entertaining enough. But what does Satan have against Caste Rock, Maine? 

2 ½ * of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Secret

 

In Secret 2013

• Director: Charlie Stratton
• Based on the book by Émile Zola
• Cast: Elizabeth Olsen, Tom Felton, Jessica Lange, Oscar Isaac, Shirley Henderson, Matt Lucas, Mackenzie Crook
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Tom Felton – A United Kingdom, Harry Potter, Anna and the King
• Jessica Lange – Broken Flower, Big Fish, Titus, A Thousand Acres, Rob Roy, Frances, Tootsie
• Oscar Isaac – Dune, Star Wars, Annihilation, X-Men Apocalypse, Ex Machina, Inside Llewyn Davis, Robin Hood
• Shirley Henderson – Trainspotting 2, Filth, Life During Wartime, Doctor Who, The Taming of the Shrew Re-Told, Harry Potter, Tristram Shandy, Intermission, Doctor Sleep, Once Upon a Time in the Midlands, 24 Hour Party People, Hamish Macbeth, Trainspotting, Rob Roy
• Matt Lucas – Doctor Who, Little Britain, Shaun of the Dead
• Mackenzie Crook – Cheerful Weather for the Wedding, Merlin, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Brothers Grimm, Finding Neverland, The Merchant of Venice, The Office, Still Crazy
• Why? The book and the cast
• Seen:  23 October 2022      

       Therèse (Olsen) is raised in France by her aunt Raquin (Lange). Her cousin Camille (Felton) is a sickly boy and becomes a sickly man. They marry and the three move to Paris.

       Therèse longs for carnal passion but Camille is indifferent. One evening he brings home from work a former neighbour Laurent (Isaac), an arrogant and sensual artist. He and Therèse don’t waste any time.

       He comes to her on his lunch breaks and on Thursday evenings they eye each other across the table with Aunt’s domino playing friends (Henderson, Lucas, Crook).

       Soon it’s not enough. Their obsession with each other needs more.

       It’s a classic novel. If you haven’t read it, do. The cast does an admirable job playing roles that are unusual for them. The film is almost worthy of the book, although I don’t remember if the book ends this way.

 4* of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hidalgo

 

Hidalgo 2004

• Director: Joe Johnston
• Seen by this director: October Sky
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Omar Sharif, Zuleikha Robinson, Louise Lombard, Adam Alexi-Mall, Saïd Taghmaoui, Silas Carson, Harsh Nayyar, JK Simmons, Adoni Maropis, Peter Mensah, Joshua Wolf Colman, Floyd Red Crow Westerman, Elizabeth Berridge
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Viggo Mortensen – Green Book, Far from Men, The Road, A History of Violence, Lord of the Rings etc, 28 Days, Carlito’s Way, The Indian Runner, Witness
• Omar Sharif – Funny Girl, Doctor Zhivago, The Yellow Rolls Royce, Lawrence of Arabia
• Zuleikha Robinson – The Namesake, The Merchant of Venice,
• Saïd Taghmaoui – Wonder Woman, Lost, Hideous Kinky
• Silas Carson – Unforgotten, Hustle, Star Wars III, Fever Pitch, Cold Lazarus
• JK Simmons – La La Land, Whiplash, The Words, Burn After Reading, Juno, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, The Cider House Rules
• Joshua Wolf Colman – Terminator the Sarah Connor Chronicles
• Floyd Red Crow Westerman – Swing Vote, Dharma and Greg, The X Files, Dances with Wolves
• Elizabeth Berridge – Amadeus
• Why? Mortensen and the horses.
• Seen:  Once before. Now 22 October 2022      

       This starts out as a Western but turns into an Eastern.

       Frank Hopkins (Mortensen), son of a white father and a Sioux mother, is sickened by the Wounded Knee massacre and has to drink himself into a stupor to endure performing in the Buffalo Bill (Simmons) Western show on his mustang Hidalgo, famed for never having lost a long-distance race.

       When he is challenged by the Sheik (Sharif), owner of the finest Arabian racehorse in the world, to take part in the thousand-year-old three-thousand-mile race across the Arabian desert, the prize money beckons. Off he goes and the film becomes an Eastern.

       It’s a great adventure story with evil villains, both western and eastern, a beautiful princess Jazira (Robinson) who is a horse expert, a beautiful British horse owner (Lombard) who will stop at nothing to win the race, impossible odds, murderous sandstorms, deadly thirst…

       Gorgeously filmed and exciting, it’s well worth seeing this second time. And probably a third. 

4* of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Catch That Kid

 

Catch That Kid 2004

• Director: Bart Freundlich
• Seen by this director: The Theory of Everything
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Kristen Stewart, Sam Robards, Jennifer Beals, Corbin Bleu, Max Thieriot, John Carroll Lynch, Michael Des Barres
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Kristen Stewart – Certain Women, Clouds over Sils Maria, The Runaways, Welcome to the Rileys, Twilight, Jumper, Into the Wild, Fierce People, Undertow, Panic Room
• Sam Robards – AI, American Beauty, Beautiful Girls, The Ballad of Little Jo
• Jennifer Beals – The Book of Eli, The Feast of All Saints, The Last Days of Disco, Devil in a Blue Dress, Flash Dance
• Corbin Bleu – Galaxy Quest
• Max Thieriot – Jumper
• John Carroll Lynch – Shutter Island, Things We Lost in the Fire, Zodiac, The Good Girl, Anywhere but Here, A Thousand Acres, Face-Off, Feeling Minnesota, Fargo, Beautiful Girls, Grumpy Old Men
• Michael des Barres – TV series
• Why? Maybe good.
• Seen:  21 October 2022      

       After the grim Red Riding Trilogy, I need something lightweight. I assume that this is guaranteed lightweight.

       Maddy (Stewart) is a façade climber with an overworked IT security expert mother (Beals) and an ex-mountain climber dad (Robards). Her friends (Bleu and Thieriot) are go-cart enthusiasts.

       When her dad becomes paralysed from an old injury the family needs $250,000 to take him to Denmark for surgery. The mean and nasty bank director (Des Barres) won’t give her mother a loan, so, obviously, the only solution is for the kids to rob the bank.

       It’s a remake of the Danish Klatretösen. If I had known that I probably wouldn’t have bothered. American remakes are usually worthless. Exception: Insomnia. There are probably others. This is not one of them. It’s definitely not grim so that’s a relief. Because it’s mildly amusing, because the very young Stewart reminds me slightly of Hermione, and because a young girl is the hero, I’ll give it 

2 ½ * of 5

 

Red Riding 1983

 

Red Riding 1983

• Director: Anand Tucker
• Seen by this director: Hilary and Jackie
• Based on the book by David Peace
• Cast: David Morrissey, Shaun Dooley, Peter Mullan, Robert Sheehan, Jim Carter, Michelle Dockery, Mark Addy, Daniel Mays
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• David Morrissey – The Hollow Crown, South Riding, Nowhere Boy, Red Riding 1974 & 1980, Doctor Who, The Other Boleyn Girl, Derailed, Blackpool, Born Romantic, Hilary & Jackie, Our Mutual Friend, Waterland
• Peter Mullan – Sunshine on Leith, The Liability, Tyrannosaur, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I, Red Riding 1974 & 1980, Stone of Destiny, Boy A, Children of Men, Young Adam, The Magdalene Sisters, My Name Is Joe, Trainspotting, Shallow Graves, Riff-Raff
• Shaun Dooley – Doctor Who, Broadchurch, Misfits, The Woman in Black, The Awakening, South Riding, Hustle, Red Riding 1980
• Robert Sheehan – Mortal Engines, Fortitude, Misfits, Red Riding 1974& 1980
• Jim Carter – My Week with Marilyn, Cranford, Creation, Red Riding 1980, The Golden Compass, Downton Abbey, Out of Season, Modigliani, Ella Enchanted, Bright Young Things, Dinotopia, Shakespeare in Love, Keep the Aspidistras Flying, Brassed Off, Richard III, The Madness of King George, The Singing Detective
• Michelle Dockery – The Gentlemen, Downton Abbey, The Hollow Crown, The Turn of the Screw, Cranford, Red Riding 1974
• Mark Addy – Downton Abbey, Doctor Who, Robin Hood, A Knight’s Tale, The Full Monty  
• Daniel Mays – 1917, Fisherman’s Friends, Rogue One, Victor Frankenstein, Doctor Who, Made in Dagenham, Hustle, Red Rising 1974, Atonement, A Good Year, Vera Drake, All or Nothing
• Why? Third film in the trilogy
• Seen:  21 October 2022

             It is now 1983 and the Yorkshire police are still corrupt (I wonder what the Yorkshire police think of this trilogy). It’s the same cast – minus the ones killed off in the first two, although some pop up in flashbacks.

       Again, little girls are going missing and the guilt of Michael (Mays), now serving time for murder in the first film, is brought into doubt.

       So, which of these crooked cops have been killing kids? We’ve already seen that they’ve killed witnesses. But one of them has developed a conscience.

       It’s like The Wire. Excellent production, superior acting. Praised to the skies by one and all. Except me. I find them both…interesting but boring. Maybe I need to see The Wire as well as the Red Riding Trilogy again someday. But for now, this film gets

 3* of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Red Riding 1980

 

Red Riding 1980

• Director: James Marsh
• Seen by this director: The Theory of Everything
• Based on the book by David Peace
• Cast: Paddy Considine, Maxine Peake, Ron Cook, Shaun Harris, Lesley Sharp, Peter Mullan, Robert Sheehan, Shaun Dooley, Julia Ford, and many other greats who only played small rolls (David Morrisey, Jim Carter, James Fox, David Calder, Warren Clarke, Eddie Marsan)
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Paddy Considine – Journeyman, The Girl with All the Gifts, Macbeth, Pride, The World’s End, Hot Fuzz, My Summer of Love, 24 Hour People, Born Romantic
• Robert Sheehan – Mortal Engines, Fortitude, Misfits, Red Riding 1974
• Maxine Peake – A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Theory of Everything, The Hollow Crown  
• Ron Cook – Hot Fuzz, Doctor Who, The Merchant of Venice, 24 Hour Party People, Chocolat, Topsy-Turvey, Secrets and Lies, The Singing Detective, Richard III, Henry VI Parts 1,2,3, The Merry Wives of Windsor
• Shaun Harris – Macbeth, Prometheus, Brighton Rock, 24 Hour Party People.
• Lesley Sharp – Cranford, Doctor Who, Vera Drake, From Hell, Great Expectations, The Full Monty, Naked.
• Peter Mullan – Sunshine on Leith, The Liability, Tyrannosaur, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I, Red Riding 1974, Stone of Destiny, Boy A, Children of Men, Young Adam, The Magdalene Sisters, My Name Is Joe, Trainspotting, Shallow Graves, Riff-Raff
• Shaun Dooley – Doctor Who, Broadchurch, Misfits, The Woman in Black, The Awakening, South Riding, Hustle
• Julia Ford – Misfits, Being Human, Dinotopia
• Why? Second Part of trilogy
• Seen:  20 October 2022      

       In the last four years twelve women have been murdered by the Yorkshire Ripper. Is the thirteenth murdered woman also his victim?

       Detective Peter Hunter (Considine) is brought in from the Manchester police force to lead the investigation.

       The beginning is slow and confusing. I don’t usually like police procedural films, or corrupt cop films, but I like Considine so I will persevere.

       There is tension and drama, emotional moments too. The acting is, of course, as good as we expect from British actors, but I miss the youthful passion that Andrew Garfield’s character Eddie brought to the trilogy’s first film. 

3* of 5

Red Riding 1974

 

Red Riding 1974 (2009)

• Director: Julian Jarrold
• Seen by this director: Becoming Jane, Kinky Boots, White Teeth, Great Expectations
• Based on the book by David Peace
• Cast: Andrew Garfield, Robert Sheehan, Jennifer Hennessy, and many other greats who only played small rolls (David Morrisey, John Henshaw, Anthony Flanagan, Warren Clarke, Mary Jo Randle, Michelle Dockery, Eddie Marsan, Daniel Mays)
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Andrew Garfield – Under the Silver Lake, Breathe, Hacksaw Ridge, Social Network, Never Let Me Go, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Boy A, Doctor Who
• Robert Sheehan – Mortal Engines, Fortitude, Misfits
• Jennifer Hennessy – Doctor Who, Marchlands, South Riding
• Why? Many good actors in the trilogy
• Seen:  19 October 2022      

       Eddie Danford (Garfield) is an ambitious young journalist who is investigating the series of abductions and murders of young girls in York in 1974. Not only does he not get help from the police, but his boss wants him to stop looking. He doesn’t. The police don’t like that.

       It’s complex and it’s hard to keep all the characters straight but the story pulls me in. Garfield’s strong performance in the role of the troubled and confused young man is the main reason that the film works as well as it does, but there’s a slew of top-notch British actors here and they all do a fine job.

       It’s not a pretty picture of Yorkshire here but it’s a helluva film. 

4* of 5

 PS Andrew Garfield is always good but he’s best in his British roles.

 

 

Pomegranates and Myrrh

 

Pomegranates and Myrrh 2008

• Director: Najwa Najjar
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Yasmine al Massri, Ashraf Farah, Ali Suliman, Hiam Abbass, Samia Kuzmoz
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Ali Suliman – Idol, Lemon Tree
• Hiam Abbass – Blade Runner 2019, Lemon Tree
• Why? Rave reviews
• Seen:  8 October 2022      

       Zaid (Farah), an olive farmer, and Kamar (al Massri) a dancer, are newlyweds. When he’s imprisoned by Israeli soldiers after they’ve confiscated his family’s olive orchard, she visits him in prison, deals with the lawyer, follows his instructions for the olive harvest and eventually goes back to dancing, becoming friends with the troupe’s new choreographer, the handsome and wealthy Kais (Suliman).

       Through the daily lives of these individuals, we see how they are worn down by the harassment and violence of the Israeli system and occupation of Palestine. It’s interesting and artistic, but too low-key to be as gripping as it could have been, but it’s well worth seeing.

 3 ½ * of 5

 

 

How to Lose Friends and Alienate People

 

How to Lose Friends and Alienate People 2008

• Director: Robert B Weide
• Based on the book by Toby Young
• Cast: Simon Pegg, Kirsten Dunst, Megan Fox, Danny Huston, Gillian Anderson, Bill Patterson, Jeff Bridges, many cameos
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Simon Pegg – Terminal, Star Wars, Absolutely Anything, The World’s End, Paul, Hot Fuzz, Doctor Who, Shaun of the Dead24 Hour Party People
• Kirsten Dunst – Melancholia, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Mona Lisa’s Smile, Levity, Virgin Suicides, Little Women
• Danny Huston – The Professor, Wonder Woman, The Congress, The Conspirator, Edge of Darkness, X-Men Origins Wolverine, Children of Men, The Constant Gardener, The Aviator, 21 Grams
• Gillian Anderson – UFO, The Fall, Robot Overlords, Johnny English Reborn, Last King of Scotland, Bleak House, Tristram Shandy, The X Files
• Bill Patterson – Unforgotten, High-Rise, Doctor Who, A Midsummer Night’s Dream Re-Told, Kingdom of Heaven, Bright Young Things, Hilary & Jackie, Richard III, The Singing Detective
• Jeff Bridges – True Grit, The Men Who Stare at Goats, Sea Biscuit, The Big Lebowski, Fisher King, The Fabulous Baker Boys, King Kong, The Last Picture Show
• Why? Simon Pegg
• Seen:  17 October 2022      

       Sidney Young (Pegg) is a celebrity correspondent and gets to hang out with all the stars.

       It wasn’t always like that. A year ago, he had to go to extremes just to crash award events and after parties. Like smuggling in a pig, which actually gets him a job with a big magazine in New York.    

       Sidney does his best to be obnoxious, misogynistic, and arrogant by pretending to think he’s being suave, cool, witty and sexy, knowing he turns everyone off.

       It’s probably a spoof of the media industry, the celebrity circus. It’s probably a true picture of the media industry, the celebrity circus.

       It’s all quite silly but it has its humorous, and its serious, moments. It’s always fun to see Simon Pegg, but Shaun of the Dead it isn’t. 

3* of 5