De-Lovely

 

De-Lovely 2004

• Director: Irwin Winkler
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Kevin Kline, Ashley Judd, Jonathan Pryce, John Barrowman
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Kevin Kline – many, including A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Hamlet
• Ashley Judd – The Devine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Double Jeopardy, Kiss the Girls, A Time to Kill, Heat, Smoke
• Jonathan Pryce – The Merchant of Venice, Game of Thrones, The White King, Wolf Hall, Woman in Gold, Hysteria, Cranford, Pirates of the Caribbean, Very Annie Mary, Stigmata, Tomorrow Never Dies, Evita, Voyage of the Damned
• John Barrowman – Doctor Who
• Why? music
• Seen:  23 December 2023                 

        The story of Cole Porter (Kline) and his wife Linda (Judd) and his many affairs with men and her constant devotion to her husband and his (imperfect) love for her. It’s all told in flashbacks by an elderly wheelchair-ridden Cole Porter and the angel Gabriel (Pryce).

       It’s boring. It must be admitted that I’m not a great admirer of Cole Porter’s songs. Nor do I much like the man himself, nor Linda, as they are portrayed here. The acting is good, though.

 2½* of 5  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Black Phone

 

Black Phone 2021

• Director: Scott Derrickson
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Ethan Hawke, Jeremy Davies
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Ethan Hawke  – many, including Cymbeline and Hamlet
• Jeremy Davies – Lost, Manderlay, Dogville, Solaris, Saving Private Ryan, Twister
• Why? Ethan Hawke
• Seen:  21 December 2023                 

        Finney (Thames) and Gwen (McGraw) live with their drunken and violent father (Davies). Gwen has dreams about children from the town who have been taken by the Grabber (Hawke). And then Finney goes missing.

       In the cellar where he’s held captive there is a black phone. The Grabber tells him it doesn’t work, and indeed it’s not connected. But it rings, Finney answers and it’s the other missing boys, telling him how to escape, even though they didn’t succeed.

       Meanwhile, Gwen has dreams.

       It’s suspenseful, even scary almost. Thames and McGraw are definitely young actors to keep an eye on.

3½* of 5  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beanpole

 

Beanpole 2019

• Director: Kantemir Belagov
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Viktoria Miroschnicheko, Vasilisa Perelygina
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Neither of them
• Why? Good reviews
• Seen:  20 December 2023                 

        Leningrad, late 1945. The war is over but the devastation and profound trauma continues.

       Ija (Miroschnicheko), called Beanpole because of her extreme height, suffers from periodic blackouts when she just stands and stares. Her friend Masha (Perelygina) from the front suffers from post-battle fatigue. They work in a veterans’ hospital. The city is in ruins, its people are undernourished and despairing, some suicidal.

       The war is over but survival is cruel, the scars are deep.

       Come and See is the strongest war film I’ve ever seen. Beanpole is the strongest post-war film I’ve seen. It’s not a coincidence. Of all the countries that were part of WWII, the Soviet Union suffered the greatest losses. Russia should remember that and leave Ukraine in peace.

 5* of 5  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Relic

 

Relic 2020

• Director: Natalie Erica James
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Robyn Nevin, Emily Mortimer, Bella Heathcote
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Robyn Nevin – Top of the Lake, Matrix etc, The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith
• Emily Mortimer – The Bookshop, The Party, Hugo, Shutter Island, Lars and the Real Girl, Dear Frankie, Bright Young Things, Young Adam, The 51^st State, The Kid, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Notting Hill, Elizabeth
• Bella Heathcote – Dark Shadows
• Why? The cast and good reviews
• Seen:  19 December 2023                 

        When Edna (Nevin) goes missing her daughter Kay (Mortimer) and granddaughter Sam (Heathcote) come to her house near Melbourne to investigate. She does return in a few days but won’t tell them where she has been. Kate believes it’s her increasing dementia but Edna seems more and more frightened and strange noises are heard in the house and the whole film collapses into weirdness.

       But is it good weirdness or bad weirdness? I don’t know. I’ll have to see it again in a year or so.

 Maybe 2*, maybe 4*of 5  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lucky

 

Lucky 2017

• Director: John Carroll Lynch
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Harry Dean Stanton, David Lynch, Ron Livingston, Beth Grant, Tom Skerritt, James Darren
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Harry Dean Stanton – This Must Be the Place, The Pledge, The Man Who Cried, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Wild at Heart, Twister, The Last Temptation of Christ, Paris Texas and more
• David Lynch – Twin Peaks, Wild at Heart, Dune, The Elephant Man
• Ron Livingston – Richard Says Good-bye, The Fifth Wave, The Conjuring
• Beth Grant – Little Miss Sunshine, No Country for Old Men, Donnie Darko, Speed, probably others
• Tom Skerritt – Alien, Contact, Steel Magnolias, probably others
• James Darren – The Guns of Navarone, probably others
• Why? Rave reviews
• Seen:  18 December 2023                 

        What people on IMDb rave most about is that Stanton was 90 years old when he made the film and died two weeks before its release.

       Lucky wanders around his little desert town, same routine every day. Though he’s in amazingly good health for his age, he can’t avoid the fact that he’s bound to die soon.

       It’s not a bad film, it’s just not very interesting. Despite the subject – being afraid of encroaching death – it’s not as profound as it thinks it is. It has its moments and yes, Stanton is good in his last role, but it’s actually a bit shallow and boring at times.

 2½ * of 5  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visitors

Visitors 2013

• Director: Godfrey Reggio
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: nameless people and a gorilla
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Nameless people and a gorilla
• Why? Philip Glass music
• Seen:  17 December 2023                 

        There are no subtitles but that’s OK because nobody says anything. Most of the film is a long series of close-ups of human faces (and, oh yes, the gorilla), some completely expressionless, at first, against a black background. Young, old, women, men, all skin shades. Gradually the faces, eyes, seem to be staring at the viewer, then watching something behind the viewer. There are shots of skyscrapers viewed from below against a black sky with fleeting white puffy clouds. There are shots of trees, birds, abandoned amusement parks, and empty lots. It’s all starkly black and white, accompanied by Philip Glass’s minimalistic music.

       It’s like an exhibit of black and white photographs, portraits, only they move. I love black and white photography, I love portraits of people I don’t know. There is no doubt a message her but I don’t care to think about it. I’m just hypnotised by the beauty and the slowness and the subtleties.

       Ah, so that’s what they’re watching!

       Stunning.

 5* of 5 but don’t expect a film, expect an art experience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Antiviral

 

Antiviral 2012

• Director: Brandon Cronenberg (son of David)
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Caleb Landry Jones, Sarah Gadon, Malcom McDowell
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Caleb Landry Jones – Three Billboards outside Ebbing Missouri, Get Out, God’s Pocket, X-Men First Class
• Malcolm McDowell – mostly A Clockwork Orange
• Why? Sci fi
• Seen:  16 December 2023                 

        Syd (Jones) is a viral technician who works for the Lucus Clinic where clients with obsessions for celebrities can be injected with their idol’s diseases so they can share the experience. Syd himself is addicted, suffering from several self-inflicted viruses. He also frequents the butcher shop that sells slabs of meat processed from the cells of celebrities. He becomes roped into the black market and things get dangerous.

       Bizarre? Just a tad, but also a darkly humorous satire on our own society’s obsession with celebrities.

       It’s clever, creepy, disturbing and artistic. Landry Jones gives a fascinating performance.

 4* of 5  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Taking Woodstock

 

Taking Woodstock

• Director: Ang Lee
• Seen by this director: The Life of Pi, Brokeback Mountain, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, The Ice Storm, Sense and Sensibility
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Demetri Martin, Henry Goodman, Imelda Staunton, Emile Hirsch, Liev Schreiber, Paul Dano
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Demetri Martin – Contagion, Flight of the Conchords
• Henry Goodman – Their Finest, Genius, London Spy, Woman in Gold, Colour Me Kubrick, Notting Hill, Cold Lazarus, Mary Reilly
• Imelda Staunton – many, including A Midsummer Night’s Dream Re-Told, Shakespeare in Love, Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing
• Emile Hirsch – Once upon a Time in Hollywood, The Darkest Hour, Milk, Into the Wild
• Liev  Schreiber – The Fifth Wave, The Butler, Mental, Salt, Repo Men, The X Men, Defiance, Omen, Kate & Leopold, Hamlet
• Paul Dano - 12 Years a Slave, Prisoners, Looper, Love & Mercy, There Will Be Blood, Little Miss Sunshine
• Why? I remember enjoying it.
• Seen:  Once before. Now 15 December 2023               

       Nerdy Elliot (Martin), aspiring artist and designer, struggles to help his parents (Staunton and Goodman) keep their run-down motel afloat as well as organise culture festivals every summer. In the summer of 1969 he finds himself arranging a hippie festival called 3 Days of Peace and Music. The hippies pour in. His parents rake in the bread. He wanders around in a daze but somehow gets things done. 

    It’s part slapstick comedy, part mockumentary of behind-the-scenes at Woodstock, part cavalcade of eccentric characters.

       It’s kind of sweet that we don’t hear the actual music other than snatches in the background. If you want the music watch Woodstock – 3 days of love and music. If you want everything but the music and seeing the musicians as little ants on the stage way far away, see this.

 4* of 5  

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nina's Journey

 

Nina’s Journey 2005

• Director: Lena Einhorn
• Based on the book by Lena Einhorn
• Cast: Agnieszka Grochowska, Maria Chwalibóg, Andrzej Brzeski, Pawel Iwanicki Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• None of them
• Why? The book
• Seen:  14 December 2023                 

        Young Nina (Grochowska) is forced to move into the Warsaw Ghetto with her family and the struggle to survive the persecution of the Nazis begins.

       It’s not a spoiler to reveal that Nina survived and ended up in Sweden. Lena Einhorn is her daughter and the elderly Nina herself narrates the film in Swedish. This interview alternates with actors portraying the drama and news clips of the time.

       It’s very effective.

 4 ½ * of 5  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Above Suspicion

 

Above Suspicion 2019

• Director: Philip Noyce
• Seen by this director: Gone Baby Gone, Rabbit-Proof Fence
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Emilia Clarke, Jack Huston, Sophie Lowe, Johnny Knoxville
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Emilia Clarke – Last Christmas, Game of Thrones
• Jack Huston – Their Finest, Hail Caesar, American Hustle, Factory Girl
• Why? Possibly good
• Seen:  13 December 2023                 

        A dead-end mining town in Kentucky with closed mines and no future. Susan (Clarke) is a divorced coke-head with two kids and an ex (Knoxville) who sells drugs. An inexperienced but ambitious FBI agent (Huston) talks her into becoming an informer.

       What a dreary film about dreary unsavoury people. British Clarke’s heavy Appalachian accent may sound authentic but that doesn’t make this a good film. Mostly it’s just nasty and boring.

 2* of 5  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love & Mercy

 

Love & Mercy 2014

• Director: Bill Pohlad
• Based on the book by Brian Wilson
• Cast: John Cusack, Paul Dano, Elizabeth Banks, Paul Giamatti, Jake Abel, Kenny Wormald, Brett Davern, Graham Rogers, Bill Camp
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• John Cusack – many
• Paul Dano – 12 Years a Slave, Prisoners, Looper, Taking Woodstock, There Will Be Blood, Little Miss Sunshine
• Elizabeth Banks – The Hunger Games, Pitch Perfect, Seabiscuit, Catch Me If You Can
• Paul Giamatti – 12 Years a Slave, The Last Station, Sideways, Cradle Will Rock, Saving Private Ryan, The Truman Show, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Donnie Brasco
• Jake Abel – I Am Number Four
• Bill Camp - Skin, Molly’s Game, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, 12 Years a Slave, Tamara Drewe, Public Enemies, Reservation Road
• Why? The subject
• Seen:  12 December 2023                 

        ‘Good Vibrations’ was the first Beach Boys song I liked, actively disliking all that California surfing T-bird stuff. I still do, and find it incomprehensible that Pet Sounds is even on Rolling Stone’s list of Best 500 Albums Ever, much less in second place. But Brian Wilson’s life is quite tragic and therefore a good subject for a bio film.

       Alternating between young Brian (Dano) and middle-aged Brian (Cusack) we follow his struggle with mental illness, fellow band members’ resistance to his new music, drug abuse, alcoholism, his dad’s physical and mental torture, his manipulative imprisoning psychiatrist.

       The film is disjointed but at moments the portrait of Wilson’s torment and genius is gripping. Both Dano and Cusack are terrific.

 3 ½ * of 5  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Devil's Bride

 

Devil’s Bride 2016

• Director: Saara Cantell
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Tuula Eloranta, Magnus Krepper, Elin Petersdottir, Claes Malmberg, Antti Reini, Lauri Tanskanen
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Magnus Krepper – Bron, Milleniumtrilogin, Tusenbröder
• Engelen, Tusen bröder, Mannen utan mine, Moln på drift
• Why? Possibly interesting
• Seen:  11 December 2023                 

        Åland, the Finnish/Swedish island in the Baltic, 17^th century. Anna (Eloranta), a romantic 17-year-old lady’s maid, falls in love with a married man. It all leads to accusations of black magic.

       Based on the last executions of women accused of witchcraft in Finland, it’s a grim film about the oppression of Finnish women by Swedish priests and lawmen. Seven women were executed for witchcraft on Åland in 1668.

 

3 ½ * of 5  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An Unfinished Life

 

An Unfinished Life 2005

• Director: Lasse Hallström
• Seen by this director: The Hundred-Foot Journey, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, Casanova, The Shipping News, Chocolat, The Cider House Rules, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Mitt liv som hund
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Jennifer Lopez, Robert Redford, Morgan Freeman, Damian Lewis, Josh Lucas, Camryn Manheim, Becca Gardner
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Jennifer Lopez – Maid in Manhattan, Selena
• Robert Redford – Out of Africa, The Sting, Jeremiah Johnson, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Barefoot in the Park, Inside Daisy Clover
• Morgan Freeman – many
• Damian Lewis – Once upon a Time in Hollywood, Our Kind of Traitor, Wolf Hall, Queen of the Desert, Much Ado about Nothing Re-Told
• Josh Lucas – The Lincoln Lawyer, Undertow, A Beautiful Mind, American Psycho
• Camryn Manheim – no doubt something
• Why? Hallström
• Seen:  As I start watching this, I realise that I’ve seen this before. Now:10 December 2023          

        Jean (Diaz) leaves her abusive boyfriend (Lewis) with her daughter Griff (Gardner) and with no other option they go to Wyoming to stay with Jean’s father-in-law Einar (Redford), who makes it very clear that they are not welcome. They stay anyway. Einar’s ranch partner Mitch (Freeman) is invalided after being mauled by a bear. Einar takes care of him.

       OK. Wyoming ranch, grumpy old men who love each other like brothers, a bear, an abused woman, a feisty girl, dead sons, a cute sheriff and Lasse Hallström. It’s got all the ingredients. Without remembering what I thought of it the first time (I only remember Redford and Freeman sitting on the veranda) I’m predicting 3* - not bad but more down-home rural American and feel-good than I like.

       Nope. I was wrong. It’s waaaay too down-home American rural and feel-good than I like. Sorry, Lasse.

 2* of 5  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Angela's Ashes

 

Angela’s Ashes 1999

• Director: Alan Parker
• Seen by this director: The Life of David Gale, Evita, The Commitments, Mississippi Is Burning, Fame, Midnight Express
• Based on the book by Frank McCourt
• Cast: Emily Watson, Robert Carlyle
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Emily Watson – Chernobyl, Genius, Everest, Testament of Youth, The Theory of Everything, The Book Thief, The Politician’s Husband, Cemetery Junction, Fireflies in the Garden, Wah-Wah, Equilibrium, Punch-Drunk Love, Gosford Park, Cradle Will Rock, Hilary & Jackie, The Boxer, Breaking the Waves
• Robert Carlyle – Yesterday, Trainspotting 1&2, Stargate Universe, Stone of Destiny, 28 Weeks Later, Flood, Dead Fish, Black and White, Once upon a Time in the Midlands, The 51^st State, The Full Monty, Hamish Macbeth, Carla’s Song, Go Now, Riff-Raff
• Why? The cast
• Seen:  8 December 2023                   

        When the book was all the rage I was unimpressed but I like Carlyle and Watson so maybe I’ll like the film better.

       Relentless poverty plagues the McCourt family in the town of Limerick, Ireland, in the 1930s. Unemployment, alcoholism, fanatical and tedious Catholicism don’t help.

       Grim and well-acted, it is still boring and somewhat superficial. It moves me as little as the book did.

 2 ½ * of 5  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I Am You/ In Her Skin/ Missing

 

I Am You – In Her Skin – Missing 2009

• Director: Simone North
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Guy Pearce, Miranda Otto, Ruth Bradley, Sam Neill, Khan Chittenden
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Guy Pearce – Mary Queen of Scots, Genius, Prometheus, The King’s Speech, The Road, Factory Girl, A Slipping-Down Life, The Adventures of Pricilla Queen of the Desert
• Miranda Otto – Lord of the Rings etc
• Ruth Bradley – Humans, The Fall, Primeval
• Sam Neill – many
• Why? Possibly good.
• Seen:  9 December 2023                   

        A 15-year-old Australian girl goes missing and her parents (Pearce and Otto) know immediately that something bad has happened. The police are slow to react.

       Switch to Caroline (Bradley), a mentally disturbed young woman who once babysat the missing girl. Their parents are all friends.

       Switch to the missing girl and what happens.

       Switch to the police hunt.

       Based on a true story, it’s well made with good actors.

 3* of 5  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fanny's Journey

 

Fanny’s Journey 2016

• Director: Lola Doillon
• Based on the book by Fanny Ben-Ami
• Cast: Léonie Souchaud and many wonderful child actors
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Sadly, none of them yet.
• Why? The subject
• Seen:  7 December 2023                   

        Thirteen-year-old Fanny (Souchaud) and her two little sisters flee with a group of Jewish children from one place to another as the Nazis take over more and more of France. The adults helping them are betrayed by other adults and are forced to abandon them and Fanny finds herself the leader. Through train stations and meadows, up and down mountains, through forests, they face hunger, fear, capture and danger. The smaller children can hardly keep up. They complain, and cry and whine. They also burst out in childish laughter and play.

       It’s a wonderful film, these young actors are phenomenal.

 5* of 5  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Flowers of War

 

The Flowers of War 2011

• Director: Yimou Zhang
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Christian Bale, Ni Ni, Xinye Zhang
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Christian Bale – many, including Henry V
• Why? Christian Bale
• Seen:  6 December 2023                   

        In 1937 Japan invaded China, conquering the city of Nanking, a war crime which is now known as the Rape of Nanking.

       In the film a drunken American mercenary (Bale) takes refuge in a cathedral with a group of school girls and a group of luxury prostitutes. Japanese soldiers storm the cathedral.

       Almost universally adored by IMDb reviewers, it is scorned by such as Roger Ebert and Walter Addiego of the San Francisco Chronicle. For good reason. Why, they ask, must the hero be a white America who conveniently transforms from a vulgar buffoon into a sacrificial hero? Why, I ask, must there be a sentimental romance and clichéd hookers with hearts of gold? Why is it so heavily melodramatic when it could have been so much more gripping without the glamour and slapstick humour? Bale does what he can with the role but it’s far from his best and the film as a whole is a disappointment. The actual history of this war deserves better.

 2* of 5