Awake

 

Awake 2007

• Director: Joby Harold
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Hayden Christensen, Jessica Alba, Terrence Howard, Lena Ohlin
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Hayden Christensen – Jumper, Star Wars, Stephen Glass
• Jessica Alba – Barely Lethal, Fantastic Four, Dark Angel
• Terrence Howard - Many
• Lena Ohlin – Remember Me, The Reader, The United States of Leland, Chocolat, The Ninth Gate, Romeo Is Bleeding, Picassos äventyr
• Why? Decent cast
• Seen: 26 January 2025 

       Clay (Christensen) is super rich, young, white, hotshot zillionaire businessman with a poor but beautiful girlfriend, secretary Sam (Alba) who works for his domineering mother Lilith (Ohlin). Oh yeah, and a bad heart. His friend and doctor Jack (Howard) says he needs a transplant soonest.

       A heart becomes available. On the operating table everything goes wrong, starting with the anaesthetic which leaves him completely paralysed, feeling every pain, hearing every word said. This really happens so that part is OK.

       Otherwise it’s highly unlikely, even within its own framework, and quite nasty, but suspenseful. And my goodness, the twists!

       Lena Ohlin adds a touch of star quality class. 

3* of 5  

 

 

 

Language Lessons

 

Language Lessons 2021

• Director: Natalie Morales
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Natalie Morales, Mark Duplass, voices of Desean Terry and Christine Queseda
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• None of them
• Why? Sounded good
• Seen: 25 January 2025 

       Will (Terry) buys his husband Adam (Duplass) one hundred on-line Spanish lessons with Cariño (Morales) in Costa Rica. The plan is to have a lesson for one hour every Monday morning.

       Only by the following Monday morning, Will is dead, killed in a traffic accident. Adam grieves, Cariño comforts and understands. The on-line video chats become something other than Spanish lessons.

       A simple concept but recognisable in these days since Covid isolation. It’s sad and funny and a lot deeper and more complicated than most feel-good films. The two stars are most appealing. 

4* of 5  

 

 

Paddington in Peru

 

Paddington in Peru 2024

• Director: Dougal Wilson
• Based on the books by Michael Bond
• Cast: Emily Mortimer, Hugh Bonneville, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Olivia Coleman
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• All of them many times, as well as Ben Whishaw, Paddington’s voice, and Imelda Staunton, Aunt Lucy’s voice.
• Why? Who doesn’t love Paddington?
• Seen: 23 January 2025 at the cinema with NM.      

       He’s such a sweet bear, our Paddington, and this time he and the Brown family go to Peru to find Aunt Lucy.

       It would be hard to outdo the first two films and this third one doesn’t. Still, it’s good-hearted and entertaining and it gets better as it goes along.

       I’m glad my young friend NM and I braved the sleet, snow, wind and rain this evening to go to the cinema to see it. 

3 ½ * of 5   

 

 

 

 

Captain Marvel

 

Captain Marvel 2019

• Director: Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck
• Seen by Ryan Fleck: Half Nelson
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Brie Larson, Samuel L Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Jude Law, Annette Bening, Djimon Hounsou, Clark Gregg
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Brie Larson – The Glass Castle, Kong Skull Island, Room, Short Term 12, Scott Pilgrim vs the World
• Ben Mendelsohn - many
• Samuel L Jackson – so many
• Jude Law – many
• Annette Bening – many
• Djimon Hounsou – The Tempest, Blood Diamond, The Island, Constantine, In America, Gladiator, Amistad
• Clark Gregg-  Much Ado about Nothing, Iron Man, Avengers, Thor, 500 Days of Summer, The Human Stain, AI
• Why? Number two in the chronological list, though very recently made
• Seen: 20 January 2025      

       Intergalactic wars, enemies and friends – but who knows the difference? – enter Fury (Jackson), though not yet head of the as yet non-existent Avengers. Not part of the original comic book cast, Carol/Vers (Larson) is a much-needed counter to the super male-dominated rest of the series. Much needed and well done indeed. Larson is perfect and she and Jackson work very well together.

       And there’s cat. Worth a * of its own. Also Jude Law and Annette Bening.

       Very cool. Possibly the best of them all. 

5* of 5 

 PS Now we know why Fury has an eye patch.

 

Captain America the First Avenger

 

Captain America – the First Avenger 2011

• Director: Joe Johnston
• Seen by this director: Hidalgo, Wolfman
• Based on book: no
• Cast: Chris Evans and a lot of others, sorry, can’t be bothered, the film isn’t worth it
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Several of them but not Chris Evans – Many
• Why? The first
• Seen: 19 January 2025      

       For some obscure reason, I’ve decided to watch the Marvel films in chronological (not release) order because there are time gaps in what I’ve seen.

       Frankly, I’m not keen on Captain America since America has a nasty connotation since Trump came on the scene but I’ll try to suppress my distaste for the sake of the cause.

       Our hero Steve Rogers (Evans) starts out as a scrawny 4F army reject in 1942. A mysterious serum…oh never mind. He becomes a super-hero hunk in a silly costume, but is he a worthy super-hero or just another American macho propaganda machine?

       Well, there is a lot of stars and stripes gung-ho stuff and soldiery army stuff. Assuredly the Nazis and uber-Nazis are worthy villains but…

       It’s my least favourite of the Marvel masterpieces and Evans has about as much charisma as Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man (= 0) but the ending is promising (don’t miss the bit after the credits). Yay, Samuel L Jackson.        

 2* of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Survivor

 

The Survivor 2021

• Director: Barry Levinson
• Seen by this director: Liberty Heights, Sphere, Rain Man, Good Morning Vietnam
• Based on book by Alan Haft
• Cast: Ben Foster, Billy Magnussen, Vicky Krieps, Peter Sarsgaard, Dar Zuzovsky
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Ben Foster – The Mechanic, X-Men, Six Feet Under, Liberty Heights
• Billy Magnussen – No Time to Die, Into the Woods, The Leftovers
• Vicky Krieps – Corsage, Old, Colonia, Hanna
• Peter Sarsgaard – An Education, Elegy, Jarhead, Stephen Glass, Dead Man Walking
• Why? Possibly interesting
• Seen: 18 January 2025      

       Harry Haft (Foster) survives Auschwitz by boxing against other prisoners to entertain the Nazi officers. Those who lose against him are shot.

       After the war, in the US, he boxes to get his name in the paper, hoping that his beloved Leah (Zuzovsky) is alive and will find him. His memories haunt him and other Jews hate him.

       It’s about a boxer so there has to be a lot of boxing in the film, which does not interest me. It’s other parts of the film that are gripping and heavily emotional. Unfortunately it slides too often into the Hallmarkish. A pity.

       True story. Based on.      

 3* of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Howards End

 

Howards End 1992

• Director: James Ivory
• Seen by this director: Surviving Picasso, The Remains of the Day, A Room with a View
• Based on book by E M Forster
• Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, Vanessa Redgrave, Helena Bonham-Carter
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
•  All of them – Many
• Why? The brilliant cast in their younger years
• Seen: Once before. Now 17 January 2025      

       The Wilcoxes are gentlefolk living at Mrs Wilcox’s (Redgrave) childhood home Howards End in rural England at the turn of the last century. Helena (Bonham-Carter), her sister Meg (Thompson) and their brother are being turned out of the house in London where they were born and have lived all their lives.

       Through a series of fateful meetings, Mrs Wilcox, who is very ill, leaves Howards End to Meg but the family, headed by Mr Wilcox (Hopkins) refuse to honour this.

       And so on.

       Romance, class differences, lavish sets and costumes, and oh, the actors! 

4* of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Family and Other Animals

 

My Family and Other Animals 2005

• Director: Sheree Folkson
• Seen by this director: Doctor Who, The Decoy Bride
• Based on book by Gerald Durrell
• Cast: Eugene Simon, Imelda Staunton, Matthew Goode, Russell Tovey
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Eugene Simon – Game of Thrones
• Imelda Staunton – Many
• Matthew Goode – The Guernsey Potato Peel etc, The Crown, Downton Abbey, The Imitation Game, Dancing on the Edge, Cemetery Junction, The Lookout, Copying Beethoven,
• Russell Tovey – Years and Years, The Night Manager, The Lady in the Van, Effie Gray, Pride, Tower Block, Being Human, Doctor Who
• Why? The cast
• Seen: 14 January 2025      

       The Durrell family leave the rainy gloom of London in the 30s and flee to sunny Corfu.

       It starts out whimsical and light-hearted to the point of being annoying. And continues thus. It’s actually unwatchable. I fast-forward it and am tempted to give it 0* but there are a few short glimpses of how good these actors can be as well as very short references to the coming war. So, reluctantly and generously 

2* of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

Suddenly - Underbara älskade

 

Suddenly - Underbara älskade 2006

• Director: Johan Brisinger
• Seen by this director: Änglavakt
• Based on book: no
• Cast: Michael Nyqvist, Anastasios Soulis, Moa Gammel, Philip Zandén
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Michael Nyqvist – Many
• Philip Zandén – 438 dagar, Falsk som vatten
• Why? Michael Nyqvist
• Seen: 13 January 2025      

       Wife and younger son die in a car crash. Nine months later dad Lasse (Nyqvist) overdoses on prescription meds, on purpose or not? Older son Jonas (Soulis), limping since accident, stays with the grandparents for a while but Lasse brings him out to their house in the archipelago of western Sweden, the area where the crash happened.

       Swedish summer idyll mixed with the pain of loss and an awkward teen-age infatuation, it’s rather banal but also a gentle and realistic film about grief. Nyqvist, as always, gives a solid performance. 

3* of 5

 

 

 

 

 

Trance

 

Trance 2013

• Director: Danny Boyle
• Seen by this director: Many
• Based on book: no
• Cast: James McAvoy, Rosario Dawson, Vincent Cassel, Danny Sapani
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• James McAvoy – Many
• Vincent Cassel – Black Swan, Derailed, Birthday Girl, Elizabeth
• Rosario Dawson – Zombieland Double Tap, Jessica Jones, Rent, Shattered Glass
• Danny Sapani – Wakanda Forever, Black Panther, The Crown, Misfits, Doctor Who

• Why? James McAvoy and Danny Boyle
• Seen: 12 January 2025      

       Big-time art thefts. Auctions with maximum security. Simon (McAvoy) tells us all about it.

       A Goya selling for millions. Enter Franck (Cassel). Simon is struck on the head. He can’t remember what he did with the painting. Franck is not well pleased.

       They try hypnosis. Enter Elizabeth (Dawson), a renowned psychologist and hypnotist. Complications ensue.

       This is one of those films where you don’t know what’s real and what isn’t. It’s very unlikely but the cast is appealing. Especially, of course, McAvoy. 

3½ * of 5

 

 

 

 

 

Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse

 

Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse 2023

• Director: Jon Watts
• Based on book: no
• Cast: Animated
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Animated, although some of the voices are recognisable.
• Why? Last one, for now.
• Seen: 11 January 2025      

       Gwen’s dear friend Peter Parker has died. Gwen is an angry punk rock drummer with a cop for a dad. Oh, and she’s Spider-Woman. One of them.

       And then, in another Spider-Verse, we have Miles Morales, the only Spidey in this Spider-verse.

       The animation is glorious, the characters loveable, the story sweet and funny and crazy. At times the film is pure genius.

       But too long. 

4* of 5

 

 

 

Ruby Jand's Film Blog: Spiderman 2002

Ruby Jand's Film Blog: Spiderman 2

Ruby Jand's Film Blog: Spiderman 3

 

Ruby Jand's Film Blog: The Amazing Spider-Man

Ruby Jand's Film Blog: The Amazing Spider-Man 2

 

Ruby Jand's Film Blog: Spider-Man Homecoming

Ruby Jand's Film Blog: Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse

 

School of Rock update

 

School of Rock update January 2025

• Director: Richard Linklater
• Based on book: No
• Cast: Jack Black, Joan Cusack, Mike White, Sarah Silverman, Miranda Cosgrove, Joey Gaydos Jr., Rebecca Brown, Aleisha Allen, Robert Tsai, Kevin Alexander Clark, Maryam Hassan, Caitlin Hale
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor/actress in:
• Jack Black – Be Kind Rewind, Margot at the Wedding, The Holiday, Tenacious D, King Kong, High Fidelity, Cradle Will Rock, Mars Attacks!, Dead Man Walking
• Joan Cusack – High Fidelity, Runaway Bride, Cradle Will Rock, Grosse Pont Blank, Corinna Corinna, Working Girl, Married to the Mob
• Mike White – The Good Girl
• Why bought: fun movie
• Seen: Two or three times. This time: May 5, 2013 with Hal and his sister AS 

We didn’t plan on watching this next after High Fidelity but it was chosen by my 75-year-old visiting sister-in-law because it’s one of her favorites. OK by us! It’s been on our see-again-soon shelf for quite awhile.

I’m a sucker for: 1) movies about music, 2) movies about teachers, 3) movies about kids who are losers, get inspired and pull together to achieve the impossible, 4) Jack Black.

The role was created by Mike White who evidently knows Jack Black well. Nobody else could have done the obnoxious slobby loser rock freak with a heart of gold to perfection like Jack Black.

It’s fun to see Joan Cusack as a rigid hung-up school principal who conceals a rock chick beneath her strict gray suit.

The kids are outstanding as poor little rich kids repressed by their overachieving parents turned let-‘em-loose rockers by Jack Black’s iconoclastic teaching methods.

It’s completely unbelievable, filled with clichés, by-the-numbers predictable, and he didn’t ask Katie (Rebecca Brown), the bassist, to play a solo over the rolling credits (all the others got to). 

But it’s great fun.  And it’s obvious that they’re all having a ball making the movie.  That carries them a long way. 

3 ½ * of 5

 

Update 9 January 2025

All of the above. When the world and reality are just too much to endure, a Jack Black film can make life bearable, and what better than School of Rock? This time

 

4* of 5

 

In My Country

 

In My Country 2004

• Director: John Boorman
• Seen by this director: Hope and Glory, Excalibur
• Based on book by Antjie Krog
• Cast: Samuel L Jackson, Juliette Binoche, Brendan Gleeson, Menzi Ngubane
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Samuel L Jackson – Many
• Juliette Binoche – Many
• Brendan Gleeson - Many
• Why? Samuel L Jackson and Juliette Binoche
• Seen: 7 January 2025      

       South Africa 1995. Anna (Binoche) is a poet, covering the Truth and Reconciliation Hearings with radio reports. Langston (Jackson) is a reporter for the Washington Post.

       They clash immediately. Langston doesn’t believe in reconciliation. Anna does.

       The politics of racism in South Africa and the US are powerfully presented as are the testimonies of the atrocities of apartheid.

       It would be better without the love story but Jackson and Binoche look good together. 

4* of 5

 

 

 

 

 

Wilbur Wants to Kill HImself

 

Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself 2002

• Director: Lone Scherfig
• Seen by this director: Their Finest, An Education
• Based on book: no
• Cast: Jamie Sives, Adrian Rawlins, Shirley Henderson, Lisa McKinlay, Mads Mikkelsen, Julia Davis
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Jamie Sivers - Chernobyl, Wild Rose, Game of Thrones, Last Chance Harvey, Hallam Foe, Doctor Who
• Adrian Rawlins - Chernobyl, Darkest Hour, Harry Potter, Misfits, Doctor Who, Breaking the Waves
• Shirley Henderson – Many
• Mads Mikkelsen – Many
• Julia Davis – Fighting with My Family, Cemetery Junction, Love Actually
• Why? Mads Mikkelsen and Shirley Henderson
• Seen: 1 January 2025      

       Wilbur (Sives) tries to kill himself. Again. His brother Harbour (Rawlins) saves him. Again. Wilbur resents that. Again. He’s sullen and unresponsive in group therapy.

       The brothers have inherited a nearly defunct bookshop. Alice (Henderson), a single mum, comes in to sell books she’s found at the hospital where she works as a cleaner.

       The British are so good at these sad loser heavy tragi-comic films with superb actors doing quirky characters. Evidently the Danes are too. 

4* of 5

 

 

 

 

Metropolis

 

Metropolis 1927

• Director: Fritz Lang
• Based on book: no
• Cast: Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, Gustav Fröhlich
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• None of them
• Why? A classic
• Seen: Once before. Now 5 January 2025      

       Considered by many to be the first sci fi masterpiece. It is indeed visually stunning in black and white. The story is an odd mix of romantic love, class conflict, workers’ revolt, Christian imagery and evil scientist and robot with the result of a confusing muddled and banal message. Another big weakness is that’s it’s far too long. It is no doubt of interest to cineastes and film historians, however. 

2½ * of 5

 

 

 

Spider-Man No Way Home

 

Spider-Man No Way Home 2021

• Director: Jon Watts
• Based on book: no
• Cast: Tom Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jamie Foxx, Andrew Garfield, Toby Maguire, Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, Zendaya
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• See earlier lists
• Why? Last one (one Multiverse left)
• Seen: 4 January 2025      

       Enter Doctor Strange (Cumberbatch). It seems I’ve missed things from other Marvel films. Also – never mind why or how – other characters from the earlier films reappear. Multiverse, you know.

       I know this is an action film but frankly, there’s too much of it here and it’s not very interesting. The emotional stuff is good though, and it’s lovely to see the real Spider-Man, Andrew Garfield, again. 

3½ * of 5

 

 

 

Ruby Jand's Film Blog: Spiderman 2002

Ruby Jand's Film Blog: Spiderman 2

Ruby Jand's Film Blog: Spiderman 3

 

Ruby Jand's Film Blog: The Amazing Spider-Man

Ruby Jand's Film Blog: The Amazing Spider-Man 2

 

Ruby Jand's Film Blog: Spider-Man Homecoming

Ruby Jand's Film Blog: Spider-Man Far from Home

 

 

Sinister

 

Sinister 2012

• Director: Scott Derrickson
• Seen by this director: The Black Phone, Doctor Strange, The Day the Earth Stood Still
• Based on book: no
• Cast: Ethan Hawke, Juliet Rylance, James Ransone, Fred Thompson, Michael Hall D’Addario, Clare Foley
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Ethan Hawke – Many
• Why? Ethan Hawke
• Seen: 3 January 2025      

       Ellison (Hawke), a writer of true crime books, moves his wife and two children to the scene of his new book about a missing girl. The local sheriff dislikes his books and tells him to leave things alone. Better yet, just leave.

       The film has its creepy moments but most of it is done in the dark so it’s hard to see what’s going on. The story is interesting enough, though, and the family dynamics are well done, so it’s worth seeing if you’re into the whole scary movie thing. Which I’m not but I like Ethan Hawke.      

2 ½ * of 5

 

 

 

 

 

We Don't Live Here Anymore

  

We Don’t Live Here Anymore 2004

• Director: John Curran
• Seen by this director: Tracks
• Based on book: no
• Cast: Mark Ruffalo, Laura Dern, Naomi Watts, Peter Krause
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Mark Ruffalo – Many
• Laura Dern – Many
• Naomi Watts – Many
• Peter Krause – Six Feet Under, The Truman Show, Third Rock from the Sun
• Why? Good cast
• Seen: 2 January 2025      

       Two married couples. All best friends. Adultery. Not a subject that interests me. Can the cast make it work?

       Nope.

       Boring. Tiresome. Meaningless. Why are these good actors playing these sad, vindictive, unlikeable people in this unpleasant film? 

2* of 5

 

 

 

 

Love Sarah

 

Love Sarah

• Director: Eliza Schroeder
• Based on book: no
• Cast: Celia Imrie, Shannon Tarbet, Shelley Conn, Rupert Penry-Jones, Bill Paterson
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Celia Imrie – Many
• Bill Paterson – Many
• Why? London
• Seen: 1 January 2025      

       Sarah is about to open a bakery in London with her best friend Isabella (Conn), only she’s killed in a traffic accident. All seems lost but Sarah’s daughter Clarissa (Tarbet) talks Isabella into going ahead with it with the financial support of Sarah’s mother Mimi (Imrie) and super-baker Matthew (Penry-Jones), an old flame of Sarah’s.      

       Of course it’s sugary sweet (it’s about a bakery after all), feel-good, predictable romantic nonsense. But pleasant enough for the year’s first film. 

2 ½ * of 5

 

 

 

 

MirrorMask

 

MirrorMask 2005

• Director: Dave McKean
• Based on the story by Neil Gaiman
• Cast: Stephanie Leonidas, Jason Berry, Rob Brydon, Gina McKee
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Gina McKee – Line of Duty, Atonement, Notting Hill, Naked
• Why? Neil Gaiman
• Seen: 30 December 2024.      

       Helena (Leonidas) works in her parents’ circus. Unlike most kids who want to run away to the circus, she wants to live a normal life. She and her mum Joanne (McKee) fight about it a lot. Then her mum ends up in the hospital.

       Helena is transported to a very strange dream world where she is given the mission to find the MirrorMask to save the World of Light from destruction by the World of Dark.

       It’s more whimsy and fanciful artwork than story but that’s quite enough to make this a remarkable film. Neil Gaiman is behind it, after all. 

4* of 5

 

 

 

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

 

Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead 2007

• Director: Sidney Lumet
• Seen by this director: Gloria, Running on Empty, Daniel, Dog Day Afternoon, Serpico, 12 Angry Men
• Based on book: no
• Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, Marisa Tomei, Michael Shannon, Amy Ryan
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Philip Seymour Hoffman – Many
• Ethan Hawke – Many
• Marisa Tomei – Many
• Albert Finney - Many
• Michael Shannon – Amsterdam, Knives Out, The Shape of Water, Man of Steel, Mud, Take Shelter, The Runaways, 8 Mile
• Amy Ryan – Beau Is Afraid, Birdman, The Wire, Dan in Real Life, Gone Baby Gone, I’ll Fly Away
• Why? Good cast
• Seen: 29 December 2024.      

       Big brother Andy (Hoffman) talks little brother Hank (Hawkes) into robbing their parents’ jewellery shop in order to solve their pressing financial problems. He promises it will be OK. Insurance will cover all losses and nobody will get hurt. What could possibly go wrong?

       Everything, obviously. But this is not a comedy like most heist films. It’s hardly even a heist film, more of a character study. The trouble is, the characters are unlikeable and not even very interesting.

       The cast does what it can but especially Marisa Tomei deserves a much better role.

       What a dreary film. 

2* of 5