Tár

 

Tár 2022

• Director: Todd Field
• Seen by this director: Little Children, In the Bedroom
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Cate Blanchett, Noémie Merlant, Nina Hoss, Mark Strong
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in
• Cate Blanchett – The House with Clocks in Its Walls, Thor Ragnarök, The Hobbit etc, Cinderella, Hanna, Robin Hood, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Elizabeth 1&2, Hot Fuzz, Babel Little Fish, The Aviator, Coffee & Cigarettes, The Shipping News, The Man Who Cried, Eyes Wide Shut
• Mark Strong – 1917, Stockholm, Before I Go to Sleep, The Imitation Game, Soldier Sailor Tinker Spy, The Eagle, Robin Hood, Sherlock Holmes, Young Victoria, Stardust, Sunshine
• Why? Possibly good
• Seen: 25 August 2024  

As many have noted, Blanchett is brilliant, the film isn’t. Many others have thought both Blanchett and the film are brilliant. Sadly, I don’t. As a lover of classical music I was very much looking forward to seeing this. Indeed, I have saved it until it felt like the right evening. Evidently, this evening isn’t. I’m so disappointed.

It’s said that it gets more interesting towards the end, so I’ll fast forward…

…maybe somewhat more interesting, I suppose, but I don’t like the film. 

2* of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A History of Violence

 

A History of Violence 2005

Director: David Cronenberg

Seen by this director: eXistenZ, The Fly, Videodrome

Based on the graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke

Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, Ed Harris, William Hurt, Ashton Holmes

Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in

Viggo Mortensen – Green Book, Far from Men, The Road, Hidalgo, Lord of the Rings etc, 28 Days, A Perfect Murder, Carlito’s Way, The Indian Runner, Witness

Maria Bello – The Fifth Wave, Prisoners, The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, Secret Window

Ed Harris – Cymbeline, Snow Piercer, Copying Beethoven, Gone Baby Gone, The Human Stain, The Hours, A Beautiful Mind, Pollock, Waking the Dead, The Truman Show, The Rock

William Hurt – Humans, Winter’s Tale, Into the Wild, Sunshine, Smoke, The Accidental Tourist

Why? I remember it as good

Seen: Once before. Now 24 August 2024 

Tom (Mortensen) is a small town regular likeable guy, family man, devout Christian and all that. He’s even keen on hot sex with his lawyer wife Edie (Bello). He becomes the local hero by shooting two bad guys who threaten everyone in his diner. Then two other bad guys come to the diner and address him as Joey, insisting he’s hiding from his past crimes.

It’s suspenseful with a believable (maybe?) story which raises some questions and evokes a real roller coaster of emotions. And wow, is Viggo Mortensen good! 

4 * of 5

 

 

 

 

 

20 Years After

 

20 Years After 2008

• Director: Jim Torres
• Based on novel: no
• Cast: Joshua Leonard, Azura Skye, Diane Salinger, Aaron Hendry, Nathan Baesel, Reg E Cathey
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in
• Joshua Leonard – The Blair Witch Project
• Azura Skye – 28 Days, Grimm, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, EDtv
• Reg E Cathey – Fantastic Four, The Wire, The Machinist, Homicide Life on the Street, American Psycho, What about Bob, Born on the Fourth of July
• Why? Dystopia
• Seen: 23 August 2024 

Nuclear bombs, epidemics, starvation, survivors trying to find each other. Decent set-up, decent characters, slow story. It tries too hard to be profound and existential and fails, but at least it tries. It doesn’t always make a lot of sense and it’s kind of boring, but it’s not as bad as most reviewers rate it. 

2 ½ * of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Glassblower's Children

 

The Glassblower’s Children 1998

• Director: Anders Grönros
• Based on novel by Maria Gripe
• Cast: Stellan Skarsgård, Pernilla August, Thommy Berggren, Lena Granhagen, Jasmine Heikura, Oliver P Peldius, Elin Klinga, Ann-Katrin Palme
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in
• Stellan Skarsgård – many, including Hamlet
• Pernilla August – Star Wars, Britt-Marie var här, Jag är Dina, Hamlet
• Thommy Berggren – Joe Hill, Elvira Madigan
• Why? Skarsgård
• Seen: 22 August 2024 

The most beautiful glass in Småland, magic rings, fortune tellers, talking ravens, missing children, an Emporer and Empress of the Forgotten Castle.

It may be based on a novel by one of Sweden’s more popular authors but I was expecting something realistic. It’s not much of a story. Kids might like it. 

2* of 5

 

 

 

 

Ambulance

 

Ambulance 2022

• Director: Michael Bay
• Seen by this director: The Island, Armageddon, The Rock
• Based on novel: no
• Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Eiza Gonzalez, Garret Dillahunt, Keir O’Donnell, Jackson White, Olivia Stambouliah, Moses Ingram
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in
• Jake Gyllenhaal - many
• Yahya Abdul-Mateen II – The Greatest Showman
• Eiza González – Alita Battle Angel
• Garret Dillahunt – Where the Crawdads Sing, Widows, 12 Years a Slave, Looper, Any Day Now, Winter’s Bone, The Road, Terminator the Sarah Connors Chronicles, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, No Country for Old Men
• Keir O’Donnell - The Dry, The Runaways
• Why? Might be good.
• Seen: 21 August 2024 

Super big bank robbery, a bunch of cops, a couple of ambulance paramedics, a lot of shooting and car chases.

It’s a mess and one wonders why Gyllenhaal is in it, but he’s actually quite good. It’s exciting at times and clever at times but that’s because it’s a remake of the Danish film Ambulancen. I kind of like it, except for the boring parts. 

3* of 5

 

 

 

 

White Trash (Vit skräp)

 

White Trash (Vit skräp) 2021

• Director: Tobias Nordquist
• Based on novel: no
• Cast: Ola Rapace, Ida Engvoll, Dakota Trancher Williams
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in
• Ola Rapace – Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, Skyfall, Arés, Svinalängorna, Tusenbröder
• Ida Envoll – En man som heter Ove, Bron
• Why? Ola Rapace
• Seen: 13 August 2024 

Sami (Rapace) is a minor, mostly failed, gangster in the 80s, who finds himself in a small town in central Sweden. The local mafia lord takes him on.

I don’t like this kind of film generally but some reviewers compare it to Tarantino, others claim it’s less an action film than a study in social misery, and I like Rapace.

The ratings range from 1* - 10*.

Sami has nightmares about his father’s violent abuse and Kim (Engvoll) wants her son back. So that’s the social misery part. That gives it one of the *s. The other star is because Rapace is good-looking and a decent actor.

Otherwise it’s violent, boring, meaningless, flat and macho. 

2* of 5

 

 

 

Aftersun

 

Aftersun 2022

• Director: Charlotte Wells
• Based on novel: no
• Cast: Paul Mescal, Frankie Corio
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in
• Sadly, neither of them
• Why? Possibly good
• Seen: 11August 2024 

Sophie (Corio), eleven, and her young dad Calum (Mescal) are on holiday in Turkey in 1968. Her single mum is at home in Edinburgh.

Sophie and Calum are having a good time, doing things tourists do on package holidays, and just being together and taking turns with the video camera.

It’s slow, and it slowly becomes clear that Calum is struggling with severe depression.

There are quick flash forwards of Sophie as an adult. These are confusing and add nothing to the story. A pity. It’s otherwise a gripping film. 

3½ * of 5

 

 

 

 

 

Let Him Go

 

Let Him Go 2020

• Director: Thomas Bezucha
• Based on novel by Lanny Watson
• Cast: Diane Lane, Kevin Costner, Kayli Carter, Lesley Manville, Will Britten, Jeffrey Donovan, Booboo Stewart
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in
• Diane Lane – Jumper, The Glass House, The Perfect Storm, Streets of Fire
• Kevin Costner – Molly’s Game, Hidden Figures, Swing Vote, Rumour Has It, The Postman, Waterworld, A Perfect World, Bodyguard, JFK, Robin Hood, Dances with Wolves, Field of Dreams, Bull Durham, Stacy’s Knights
• Lesley Manville – many
• Jeffrey Donovan – Changeling
• Why? Possibly good
• Seen: 10 August 2024 

George (Costner) and Margaret (Lane) live with their grandson and widowed daughter-in-law Lorna (Carter) on a ranch in Montanta.  Lorna remarries. Her husband is abusive and forces her and the boy to return to his family in North Dakota.

Margaret and George go after them and it turns ugly. It’s suspenseful for a while but ends up being one of those films about senseless evil violent people who attack the good and righteous.

Lesley Manville is good but why did she want to be in this unlikely and unpleasant film? 

2 * of 5

 

 

 

UFO Sweden

 

UFO Sweden 2022

• Director: Victor Danell
• Based on novel: no
• Cast: Inez Dahl Torhaug, Jesper Barkselius, Sara Shirpey, Eva Melander, Håkan Ehn, Isabelle Kyed, Mathias Lithner, Niklas Kvarnbo, Jönsson, Oscar Röringe
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in
• Eva Melander – Gräns, Äkta människor, Bron
• Mathias Lithner – Äkta människor, Svinalängorna
• Oscar Röringe – Comedy Queen
• Why? Swedish sci fi
• Seen: 9 August 2024 

Denise (Dahl Torhaug) has been aware of UFOs since childhood because her dad Uno (Röringe) led the UFO Sweden society. Until he was kidnapped by aliens.

Has he now returned?

Swedish nerds are so adorable. I know many of them through Swecon. I’m one of them.

The film is very Swedish, quite clever and more entertaining than expected. Bonus – emotional but no romance! 

3½ * of 5, maybe even 4

 

 

 

 

Blue Valentine

 

Blue Valentine 2010

• Director: Derek Cianfrance
• Seen by this director: The Place Beyond the Pines
• Based on novel: no
• Cast: Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams, Faith Wladyka, John Doman
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in
• Ryan Gosling – many
• Michelle Williams – Venom, Manchester by the Sea, Wonderstruck, My Week with Marilyn, Shutter Island, Brokeback Maountain, Imaginary Heroes, Station Agent, The United States of Leland, A Thousand Acres
• Why? The cast
• Seen: 6 August 2024 

Dean (Gosling) and Cindy (Williams) are married, not necessarily happily. They have a little girl (Wladyka).

It goes back and forth in time showing how they met, fell in left, dealt with their dysfunctional families.

Do they even know what love is? They thought so in the beginning, but now?

It’s very sad. But is it hopeless?

Gosling and Williams are terrific, as always.

4* of 5

 

 

 

 

Maggie

 

Maggie 2015

• Director: Henry Hobson
• Based on novel: no
• Cast: Arnold Schwartzeneggar, Abigail Breslin, Joely Richardson
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in
• Arnold Schwartzeneggar – Terminator et al, The Running Man
• Abigail Breslin – Zombieland 1&2, Little Miss Sunshine
• Joely Richardson – Snowden, Mimzy, Return to Me
• Why? The cast, zombies
• Seen: 7 August 2024 

Teen-aged Maggie (Breslin) has been infected with the epidemic illness that turns its victims into zombies. She should be in quarantine but her dad (Schwartzeneggar) brings her home to the farm. It will be two weeks before the symptoms worsen and Maggie becomes violent and dangerous.

Breslin has been in zombie films before, Zombieland 1&2. Those films are funny. This one is grim. It’s very sad, heavy, and realistic. A little slow and plodding at times maybe, but this isn’t an action thriller. It’s about a widower whose duaghter is dying. 

4* of 5

 

 

 

Amsterdam

 

Amsterdam 2022

• Director: David O Russell
• Seen by this director: Joy, American Hustle, Silver Linings Playbook
• Based on novel: no
• Cast: Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Rock, Michael Shannon, Zoe Saldana, Rami Malek, Robert De Niro
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in
• Christian Bale – many, including Henry V
• Margot Robbie – many
• John David Washington – Tenet, BlacKkKlansman
• Anya Taylor-Joy – Last Night in Soho, The New Mutants, Glass, Split
• Chris Rock – Pauly Shore Is Dead, Nurse Betty, Dogma
• Michael Shannon – Knives Out, The Shape of Water, Take Shelter, The Runaways
• Zoe Saldana - I Kill Giants, Out of the Furnace, The Words, The Terminal, Pirates of the Caribbean
• Rami Malek – No Time to Die, Bohemian Rhapsody, Short Term 12
• Robert De Niro - many
•      Why? The cast
•       Seen: 6 August 2024 

A whimsical romp through WWI and the following decades – the racism, the horrendous injuries and scars, the plots and intrigues. The humour and love, healing and friendship, the art made from the shrapnel picked carefully from the wounds of the injured.

And then murder and fascism in the 30s. Parallells to today? Oh yes.

It has been noted that this is a sprawling chaotic mess of a film and indeed it is but while many therefore dislike it, I like it very much. The brilliant cast are brilliant.

Sort of even based on a true story. 

4 ½ * of 5

 

 

Agnosia

 

Agnosia 2010

• Director: Eugenio Mira
• Based on novel: no
• Cast: Eduardo Noriego, Félix Gómez, Bárbara Goenaga
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in
• None of them
• Why? Possibly interesting
• Seen: 5 August 2024 

Barcelona, the turn of the last century. Joana (Goenaga) suffers a rare malady which makes it impossible for her to interpret and understand what she sees. She is the only one who knows the formula of an industrial secret held by her industrial weapon-making father. Villains are out to get her and steal the secret.

Is there anyone she can trust?

It’s very confusing an unintersteing. It tries to be a thriller, a period piece and a love story but it fails at all of them.

It’s quite visually pleasing though, all mysterious and chiaroscuro. 

2* of 5

 

 

Assault on Precinct 13

 

Assault on Precinct 13 (2005)

• Director: Jean-Francois Richet
• Based on novel: no
• Cast: Ethan Hawke, Laurence Fishburne, Gabriel Byrne, Maria Bello, Drea DeMateo, John Leguizamo, Brian Dennehy, Ja Rule, Aisha Hinds
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in
• Ethan Hawke: Many, including Hamlet
• Laurence Fishburne: Many, including Othello
• Gabriel Byrne: Many
• Maria Bello: The Fifth Wave, The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, The Jane Austen Book Club, A History of Violence, Secret Window
• Drea DeMateo: The Sopranos
• John Leguizamo: John Wick, Cymbeline, The Lincoln Lawyer, The Miracle at Santa Ana, Moulin Rouge, Romeo and Juliet, Carlito’s Way
• Brian Dennehy: Many
• Ja Rule: Pauly Shore Is Dead
• Aisha Hinds: Beyond Lights
• Why? The cast.
• Seen: 4 August 2024 

New Year’s Eve in Detroit during a blizzard. Trapped in Precinct 13 are traumatised cop Jake (Hawke), his psychologist (Bello), his colleague (Dennehy), the office secretary Iris (DeMateo), the drug warlord Bishop (Fishburne), and a few other crooks. Surrounding the precinct are a bunch of bent cops led by Byrne), determined to kill them all to prevent them from revealing their nefarious ways.

It’s evidently a re-make, not as good as the original according to many, but I’ve not seen it so I don’t have to bother comparing. Obviously things don’t go well. There’s danger and action and shooting. The two women are sexy and scantily clad, the guys are all macho, except one of the prisoners who is a woman and macho. Standard stuff.

It’s OK. I like the blizzard best. The cast deserves a better film. 

2* of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thor - Ragnarok

 

 

Thor – Ragnarök

• Director: Taika Waititi
• Seen by this director: Jojo Rabbit, What We Do in the Shadows, Boy, Flight of the Conchords,Eagle vs Shark
• Based on novel: no
• Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba, Cate Blanchett, Mark Ruffalo, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Anthony Hopkins, Benedict Cumberbatch
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in
• All of them in many, including lots of Shakespeare
• Why? Hiddleston and Elba
• Seen: 3 August 2024  

Loki (Hiddleston) will always be my favourite. He’s just so adorable. This film is funnier than I remember the others being. I even enjoy Doctor Strange’s brief appearance and even Jeff Goldblum is funny.

The villain of the story is Hela (Blanchett), Odin’s (Hopkins) first-born, elder sister to Loki and Thor (Hemsworth). Goddess of Death. Heavy stuff. There’s a lot more to it but that’s enough.

It’s great fun. 

4* of 5

 

 

 

 

 

UtØye

 

 

UtØye 2018

• Director: Erik Poppe
• Seen by this director: Hawaii Oslo
• Based on novel: no
• Cast: Andrea Berntzen, Alexander Holmen, Solveig KolØen Birkeland
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in
• None of them
• Why? I remember that horrible day.
• Seen: 2 August 2024 

2011. 22 July. The horror of that day stays with us. A 32-year-old Neo-Nazi murders 77 young socialists at a summer camp on a Norwegian island.

A fictional film based on the memories of the survivors.

’We’re on an island, the safest place in the world.’ Says Kaja (Berntzen) on her mobile to her mother who is worried because of the bomb that exploded in Oslo earlier that day. But the kids at the camp are worried too. The mother of one of the campers works in the government building that was bombed.

But they’re on UtØye to have fun, promote world peace and argue politics.

Then the shooting starts.

They panic, they try to hide – there’s nowhere to hide, they run, they huddle down behind rocks, under trees. They have no idea what is happening but they hear the shooting and the screams. They see the bodies.

If the film is 90 minutes of excruciating suspense, imagine – no, it’s impossible – the terror these kids felt for the 70 minutes the shooting went on before rescue comes.

Seventy-seven were killed, hundreds seriously injured. The killer Anders Behring Breivik (not named in the film) said in court, according to the closing credits, that this was just a prelude to what would happen if the socialists didn’t change their politics, and that he would do it again.

Right wing extremism and violence is growing and spreading to this day. 

5* of 5