29 July 2024

Grabben i graven bredvid

 

Grabben i graven bredvid (The Guy in the Next Grave) 2002

  • Director: Kjell Sundvall
  • Based on novel by Katarina Mazetti
  • Cast: Michael Nyqvist, Elisabet Carlsson
  • Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in
    • Michael Nyqvist – Colonia, Min så kallade pappa, John Wick, Luftslottet som sprängdes, Flickan som lekte med elden, Män som hatar kvinnor, Tillsammans
  • Why? Michael Nyqvist
  • Seen: Once before. Now 28 July 2024 

If I was a widow who loves books, musik, art, culture in general (which I am) would I leave my life and become a farmer’s wife? Absolutely not. Ever. Not even if the farmer in question is a very sexy and kind and funny and intelligent Michael Nyqvist. I admire and have great respect and gratitude for farmers without whom we would not survive, but I am a city slicker through and through.

That’s why this film gives me the creeps, no matter how much I love Michael Nyqvist. 

2 ½* of 5

 

 

 

E.T.

 

E.T. 1982

  • Director: Stephen Spielberg
  • Seen by this director - many
  • Based on novel: no
  • Cast: Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, Peter Coyote, Dee Wallace, Robert McNaughton
  • Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in
    • Henry Thomas – Doctor Sleep, Gangs of New York
    • Drew Barrymore – He’s Just Not that into You. Music and Lyrics, Riding in Cars with Boys, Donnie Darko, Ella Enchanted
    • Peter Coyote – The 4400, Erin Brockovich, Sphere
  • Why? Curious
  • Seen: At least twice before. Now 27 July 2024 

People love this film for its sweetness. People hate this film for its sweetness. I honestly don’t remember what I thought of it the other times I’ve seen it.

You know the story. Cute alien makes friends with cute Earthling kids. He rides across the starry sky on a bicycle and phones home.

One hour into it and now I know why I don’t remember what I thought of it because I don’t think much of it this time either. It’s OK but it certainly leans towards the too sweet to endure side. It may have been innovative in 1982 but it’s just a paper-thin story with a few mildly humourous scenes and kids with shrill voices. Even with the the cutesy little sister (Barrymore, still irritatingly cutesy), it’s such a boy film. 

2 ½,* possibly 3 if I stretch it, of 5

 

 

Nowhere Boy

Nowhere Boy 2009

  • Director: Sam Taylor-Johnson
  • Based on novel: no
  • Cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Kristin Scott-Thomas, Anne-Marie Duff, David Threlfall, Paul Ritter, David Morrissey, Thomas Brodie-Sangster
  • Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in
    • Aaron Taylor-Johnson – Tenet, The Illusionist
    • Kristin Scott Thomas – many including Richard III
    • David Threlfall – Elizabeth the Golden Age, Hot Fuzz, Sex Chips & Rock’n’Roll, King Lear, Nicholas Nickleby
    • Paul Ritter –Friday Night Dinner, Chernobyl, Their Finest, Wolf Hall, Bletchley Circle, The Hollow Crown,Harry Potter, Quantum of Solace, Son of Rambow, The Girl in the Café, The Libertine, Seaforth
    • Anne-Marie Duff – On Chesil Beach, Suffragette, Before I Go to Sleep, The Last Station, Notes on a Scandal, The Magdalena Sisters
    • David Morrissey – many
    • Thomas Brodie-Sanger – Maze Runner, Wolf Hall, Game of Thrones, Bright Star, Nanny McPhee, Love Actually
  • Why? John Lennon
  • Seen: Once before. 26 July 2024 

It’s a strange feeling to watch a film that when it ends you know exactly what will happen for the next twenty-three years when it really ended. For him. But never, for us.

Seventeen-year-old John is torn between the two women he loves. His dynamic, musical, mentally unstable mother Julia (Duff) who abandoned him when he was five but lavishes love on him now. And his Aunt Mimi (Scott-Tomas in one of her strongest roles), who raised him and loves him deeply but has a cold manner.

Angry, lost, rebellious, he finds escape in rock’n’roll. He meets fifteen-year-old Paul McCartney (Brodie-Sanger, an odd choice, but he manages quite well).

Yes, well, as I said, we know the rest.

The acting is even better than one expects from this splendid cast. 

5*  of 5

 


  

Willow

 

Willow 1988

  • Director: Ron Howard
  • Seen by this director: many
  • Based on novel: no
  • Cast: Warwick, Davis, Val Kilmer, Jean Marsh, Joanne Whalley
  • Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in
    • Warwick Davis – many
    • Val Kilmer – Snowman, Life’s Too Short, Red Planet, Pollock, Heat, True Romance, The Doors
    • Jean Marsh – Upstairs Dolwnstairs
    • Joanne Whalley –Wolf Hall, Before You Go, The Singing Detective
  • Why? Warwick Davis
  • Seen: 25 July 2024 

The baby is cute, Willow (Davis) has the sweet face of a 12-year-old but is the father of two and must return the baby to her own people but the evil queen (Marsh) must kill her because the prophesy …you get the picture.

Maybe if I was ten years old. The dialog, story and romance bit are at that level, though that might be an insult to ten-year-olds. Kilmer is awful as the macho swordsman/lover. There is zero chemistry between him and Sorsha (Whalley) which is odd since they went on to be married for 12 years.

Davis is OK but otherwise the acting is pathetic. It’s a pity to see Marsh in this lame role.

Not my kind of fim at all. 

1 ½ * of 5

 

A Handful of Dust

 

A Handful of Dust 1988

  • Director: Charles Sturridge
  • Seen by this director: CB Strike, Shackleton, Longitude
  • Based on novel by Evelyn Waugh
  • Cast: Kristin Scott Thomas, James Wilby, Rupert Graves, Anjelica Huston, Judi Dench, Pip Torrens, Beatie Edney, Stephen Fry
  • Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in
    • Kristin Scott Thomas – many including Richard III
    • James Wilby – De-Lovely, Gosford Park, Crocodile Shoes, Howards End, A Room with a View
    • Rupert Graves - many
    • Anjelica Huston – many
    • Judi Dench – many including Shakespeare in Love, Henry V, Hamlet, Macbeth
    • Pip Torrens – The Crown and many others
    • Stephen Fry - many
  • Why? The cast
  • Seen: Once before (maybe). Now 24 July 2024 

I recently started reading the novel by Evelyn Waugh, which had been lying about my bookshelves for years, but the listless life of the British upper classes in the 1920s is boring and irritating, even though the book is meant to be a satire. I couldn’t care less. DNF.

Let’s see if this splendid cast can bring life to these parasites.

Well, the acting is fine but the film is as pointless as the book. I did watch to the end, though. 

2 * of 5

 


 

15 July 2024

The Hunger Games - the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

 

The Hunger Games – the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes 2023

  • Director: Frances Lawrence
  • Seen by this director: The Hunger Games, I Am Legend, Constantine
  • Based on the book by Suzanne Collins
  • Cast: Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Viola Davis, Fionnula Flanagan, Hunter Schafer, Peter Dinklage
  • Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
    • Rachel Zegler – West Side Story 
    • Viola Davis – many
    • Fionnula Flanagan – many
    • Peter Dinklage – many
  • Why? The books and films
  • Seen: 13 July 2024  

Prequel to the Hunger Games. The villain of those films, Coriolanus Snow, played by the late Donald Sutherland, is here a young man. The war between the Capitol and the Districts ended twenty years ago and the Hunger Games have been going on for ten years. Coryo (Blyth) is one of the University students assigned as mentors to the participants. He’s to mentor Lucy Gray (Zegler) from District 12.

The games however are not the whole film. The second half shows how Coryo became the villain of the other films.

It works quite well. 

3½ * of 5

 

 

 

 

Home Movie

 

Home Movie 2008

  • Director: Christopher Denham
  • Based on the book: no
  • Cast: Adrian Pasdar, Cady McLain, Austin Williams, Amber Joy Williams
  • Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
    • None of them
  • Why? Might be fun
  • Seen: 11 July 2024 

Happy family in rural Connecticut. Dad David (Pasdar)) is a Luthern pastor and loves taking home movies. Mom Clare (McLain), a psychiatrist, goes along with it good-naturedly. The twins Jack (A. Austin) and Emily (A.J.Austin) respond sullenly to their loving parents’ enthusiasm. Sullenly, then rebelliously, then violently.

It’s creepily effective for an hour or so but then it turns sadistic with no point or reason. The film is short so they could have developed it into something. As it is, it feels unfinished. 

2½ * of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rose

 

Rose 2022

  • Director: Niels Arden Oplev
  • Seen by this director: Ser du månen Daniel, Män som hatar kvinnor
  • Based on the book: no
  • Cast: Sofie Gråböl, Lena Maria Christensen, Anders W Berthelsen, Sören Malling, Luca Ben Reichardt Coker
  • Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
    • Sofie Gråböl – Fortitude
    • Anders W Berthelsen – Ser du månen Daniel
    • Sören Malling – Drottning Margaretha, Kriget
  • Why? Good reviews
  • Seen: 10 July 2024  

Inger (Gråböl) is hospitalised for schizophrenia. Her sister Ellen (Christensen) and brother-in-law Vagn (Berthelsen) take her with them on a coach trip to Paris where she lived and was happy until her lover left her and she fell ill.

Inger is often frightened and says inappropriate things. One of the other passengers   (Malling) says cruel things about her and demands that she be put off the coach, but his young son Christian (Coker) befriends her.

It has beautiful scenes from Giverny and the Normandy beaches. It is filled with despair, humour, heartbreak, friendship, fear and love. It is one of the most emotional films I’ve seen. 

5* of 5

 

 

 

Schindler's List

 

Schindler’s List 1993

  • Director: Stephen Spielberg
  • Seen by this director: many
  • Based on the book by Thomas Keneally
  • Cast: Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes
  • Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
    • All of them – many 
  • Why? Good film.
  • Seen:  Once before. Now 9 July 20245 July 2024 

How Israel can wage genocide against Gaza after what was done to the Jews in WWII is unfathomable. If this film were about a modern Schindler helping Palestinians and if the Israeli warmongers (far from all of them are), maybe they would see what they are doing and stop the killing.

But now I will watch the film.

So. Current events of 2024 notwithstanding, or maybe even more so because of them, it’s a strong film. Not perfect but very strong. If you haven’t seen it, see it. 

4½ * of 5

 


 

 

Dark Water

Dark Water 2005

  • Director: Walter Salles
  • Seen by this director: Paris je t’aime, The Motorcycle Diaries
  • Based on the book by Koji Suzuki
  • Cast: Jennifer Connelly, Ariel Gade, John C Reilly, Tim Roth, Dougray Scott, Pete Postlethwaite
    • Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
    • Jennifer Connelly – many 
    • John C Reilley – many
    • Tim Roth – many including Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
    • Pete Postlethwaite – many including Romeo and Juliet
  • Why? The cast
  • Seen: 8 July 2024  

Dahlia (Connelly) is in the middle of a nasty divorce. She moves with her little girl Ceci (Gade) into a slummy apartment. There are problems, leaks, troublesome neighbours, ghosts.

It’s a scary movie so it gets scary, but it also very sad. Dahlia is haunted by a traumatic childhood and she has serious economic problems. Her lawyer (Roth) pretends to have a family but is alone and lonely.

The cast is terrific. It’s definitely a cut above most so-called scary films I’ve seen. 

3½ * of 5

 


  

8 July 2024

Entre les mur (The Class)

 

The Class – Entres les murs 2008

  • Director: Laurebt Cantet
  • Based on the book by Francois Bégaudeau
  • Cast: Francois Bégaudeaud and many brilliant amatuers playing themselves
  • Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
    • None of them
  • Why? The subject and the awards
  • Seen: 6 July 2024 

Not quite a documentary, more a re-enacting of Bégaudeau’s book about his time as a French teacher of an eighth grade class in a Parisian suburb. Most of the kids are immigrants or second generation. They’re cheeky, mouthy, funny, resentful, smart. Francois is not a very good teacher, and he’s is very courageous to show this so sincerely and honestly. He’s not afraid to show that he is wrong and makes serious mistakes.

The insight into the French school system is dismaying. Punishment, not praise or encouragement. Saying ’tu’ instead of ’vous’ is a serious infraction (a ridiculous notion to us teachers in Sweden). Respect, lack of respect, meaningless French grammar, struggling to get the kids to express themselves in writing.

It’s not an easy film to watch, but it’s worth the awards. 

4 * of 5

 

Escape from Sobibar

 

Escape from Sobibar 1987

  • Director: Jack Gold
  • Seen by this director: The Merchant of Venice
  • Based on the book by Richard Rashke
  • Cast: Alan Arkin, Joanna Pakula, Rutger Hauer, Jack Shepherd
  • Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
    • Alan Arkin – many 
    • Rutger Hauer – Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, Batman Begins, Bladerunner
    • Jack Shepherd – The Politician’s Husband, The Golden Compass, Tristram Shandy, The Other Boleyn Girl
  • Why? The subject
  • Seen:  5 July 2024  

There’s something about some films from the 80s that seem so false and contrived, especially those with such serious subjects as this one. True story, or at least based on an historical event, the escape in 1943 from the death camp Sobibor in eastern Poland.

It’s so obviously a gang of actors speaking lines of stilted, unrealistic dialog. They’re all well-fed, clean and healthy. Instead of doom and danger it has an air of Hogan’s Heroes about it. No doubt unintentional but nevertheless.

It’s a worthy subject, a laudable attempt. It shows an aspect of the Holocaust that I hadn’t known about. If you can endure the amateurish productions, bad acting and glossy Hollywood romantics, it’s worth seeing. 

2 ½ * of 5

 


The Edge of Heaven

 

The Edge of Heaven

  • Director: Fatih Aken
  • Seen by this director: Head On
  • Based on the book: no
  • Cast: Baki Davrak, Tuncel Kurtiz, Nursel Köser, Nurgül Yesilcay, Patrycia Ziolowska, Hannah Schygulla
  • Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
    • Hannah Schygulla – Dead Again
    • Why? It sounded good.
    • Seen: 3 July 2024      

       Nejat (Davrak) is in Istanbul looking for Ayten (Yesilcay), daughter of his father Ali’s (Kurtiz) dead companion Yeter (Köse). Ayten is in Bremen looking for her mother Yeter. Ayten meets Lotte (Ziolkowska) and they become lovers. Ayten is deported back to Turkey and imprisoned for political activities. Lotte goes to Istanbul to look for her. Lotte’s mother (Schygulla) goes to Istanbul to look for Lotte and meets Nejat.

       Their paths all cross, or don’t cross.

       The film has great potential and it has won many awards. The acting is very good but it’s too contrived to be completely credible. 

3½ * of 5.

 

 

 

The Dark Is Rising

The Dark Is Rising

  • Director: David L Cunningham
  • Based on the book by Susan Cooper
  • Cast: Alexander Ludwig, Ian McShane, Christopher Eccleston, Frances Conroy, James Cosmo
  • Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
    • Alexander Ludwig – The Hunger Games
    • Ian McShane – Game of Thrones, John Wick, Jack the Giant Slayer, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Pillars of the Earth, Case 39
    • Christopher Eccleston – The Leftovers, Doctor Who, Legend, Fortitude, A Song for Marion, 28 Days Later, The Others, eXistenZ, Elizabeth, Jude, Shallow Grave
    • Frances Conroy – Joker, Shelter, Six Feet Under, Broken Flowers, Sleepless in Seattle, Billy Bathgate
    • James Cosmo - many
  • Why? It’s included in a double DVD
  • Seen: 1 July 2024      

       Harry Potter it isn’t but it sure is a wannabe. The books it’s based on came long before HP but this film borrows (ahem) so many images and ideas from the films that it’s a wonder they weren’t sued for plagiarism.

       The main problem is that they chose Alexander Ludwig, who has zero charisma, to play the teen-age hero Will, an American kid relocated with his American family to an English village. Maybe so people wouldn’t mix it up with HP.

       No risk.

       This film is charmless, humourless and pointless. The book is no doubt better, Susan Cooper is a good author. She must hate the film.

       The presence of Frances Conroy and several good British actors, especially Christopher Eccleston lift it somewhat but what were they thinking? The kitten gives it ½ * 

1 ½ * of 5.

 

  

1 July 2024

The World's End update 2024

 The World’s End 2013 update 2024

  • Director: Edgar Wright
  • Based on novel: no
  • Cast: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, Eddy Marsan, Rosamund Pike, Pierce Brosnan, David Bradley, Michael Smiley, Mark Heap, Bill Nighy (voice)
  • Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in: I’ve seen them all in many more films since this
    • Simon Pegg  – Shaun of the Dead, 24 Hour Party People
    • Nick Frost – The Boat that Rocked, Kinky Boots, Shaun of the Dead
    • Martin Freeman – Breaking and Entering, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Shaun of the Dead, Love Actually, Black Books
    • Paddy Considine – My Summer of Love, In America, 24 Hour Party People, Born Romantic
    • Eddy Marsan – Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Merlin (voice of Manticore), Sherlock Holmes, Happy Go Lucky, V for Vendetta, Vera Drake, 21 Grams, Gangs of New York
    • Rosamund Pike – An Education, The Libertine
    • Pierce Brosnan - The Ghost Writer, Mamma Mia, Seraphim Falls, Dante’s Peak, Mars Attacks!, GoldenEye
    • David Bradley – the Harry Potter films, Another Year, Our Mutual Friend, Prick Up Your Ears
    • Michael Smiley – The Other Boleyn Girl, Much Ado About Nothing (retold)
    • Mark Heap – Friday Night Dinner, Good Omens (radio, so voice only), Stardust, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, About a Boy
    • Bill Nighy –  it was only his voice and to tell the truth I didn’t recognise it so I won’t include a list of his film here
  • Why?  The title
  • Seen:  March 7, 2015 and now 30 June 2024

 

Five middle-aged lads return to their hometown to complete the twelve-pub round they had never managed to complete as teenagers.  The last pub is the World’s End. Four of these men are somewhat successful, with jobs and families. The fifth, Gary King, is still the drunken, lost, wild, free spirit that he always was.

It starts out rather calmly.  But they soon discover that their hometown has been taken over by blue-blooded (literally blue) robots.

And the fun begins.

It’s quite an endearing film really.  Like Shaun of the Dead it’s ridiculous but I find myself clutching the arms of my chair in the excitement and caring what happens to these poor sods.

And the human race, while I’m at it.

 

3* of 5 

Now, 2024:

 4* of 5

Hot Fuzz update 2024

 



Hot Fuzz 2007 update 2024

 

  • Director: Edgar Wright
  • Based on novel: no
  • Cast: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, Bill Nighy, Billie Whitelaw, Peter Wight, Bill Bailey, Timothy Dalton, Jim Broadbent, Rafe Spall, Karl Johnson, Ron Cook, David Bradley
  • Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in: (I’ve seen them all in many more films since writing this)
    • Simon Pegg – Shaun of the Dead, 24 Hour Party People, The World’s End
    • Nick Frost – The Boat that Rocked, Kinky Boots, Shaun of the Dead, The World’s End,
    • Martin Freeman – Fargo, Breaking and Entering, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Shaun of the Dead, Love Actually, Black Books, the World’s End
    • Paddy Considine – My Summer of Love, In America, 24 Hour Party People, Born Romantic, The World’s End
    • Bill Bailey – Hustle, Black Books
    • Billie Whitelaw – Wasn’t she in Sex, Chips and Rock’n’Roll?
    • Bill Nighy –  The Second Best Exotic Hotel Marigold, The Best Exotic Hotel Marigold The Harry Potter, Love Actually, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Girl in the Café, The Boat that Rocked, Shaun of the Dead, The Constant Gardener, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Auf Wiedersehn Pet, Kiss Me Kate, Longitude, Fairy Tale a True Story
    • Timothy Dalton – The Tourist, The Lion in Winter, The Living Daylights
    • Jim Broadbent – the Harry Potter films, Filth, Another Year, The Young Victoria, Vera Drake, Gangs of New York, Moulin Rouge, Bridget Jones’s Diary, Topsy- Turvy, Little Voice, Smilla’s Sense of Snow, Richard III, The Crying Game, Enchanted April, Life Is Sweet, Black Adder, Brazil
    • Rafe Spall – The Life of Pi, Prometheus, A Good Tear, Shaun of the Dead
    • Karl Johnson – Mr Turner, The Deep Blue Sea, Merlin, Copying Beethoven, Prick Up Your Ears, The Tempest
    • Ron Cook – The Merchant of Venice, The Other Boleyn Girl, 24 Hour Party People, Chocolat, Topsy-Turvy, Secrets and Lies, Black Adder, Richard III, Henry VI Parts 1, 2 and 3, The Merry Wives of Windsor
    • David Bradley - Another Year, Harry Potter, Nicholas Nickleby, Our Mutual Friend, Prick Up Your Ears, A Family at War
  • Why?  Simon Pegg and Nick Frost and the rest
  • Seen: 11 July 2015 and now 29 June 2024 

       You never know what to expect from this gang but you can count on weird humour.

       Supercop Simon Pegg makes all of his London colleagues look bad so he’s transferred to a lovely village in…the country! Oh horrors! I can definitely commiserate with him in this.

       He arrives. He’s a stickler for rules and regulations. This extremely village-y village is not. They are friendly, gossipy and a bit stupid.

       But oh! What lurks below the idyllic surface?

       Murder most foul.  At last a case for the very capable sergeant. But other crimes, the indifference, downright hostility and ridicule of some of his colleagues, interfere.

       Until the Grim Reaper strikes again. And again.

       It’s a spoof, yes, but it’s funny and quite exciting. The cast is so appealing that it’s even touching at times.

       I’ve always known that village life is bad for you. 

3* of 5 first time

4* of 5 second time