X Men

X Men 2000

• Director: Bryan Singer
• Based on book: no
• Cast: Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, Halle Berry, Famke Jansson, James Marsden, Anna Paquin, Tyler Mane, Ray Park, Bruce Davison
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Hugh Jackman – Les Misérables, Australia, The Fountain, Kate & Leopold, X Men First Class etc
• Ian McKellan – Vicious, X Men First Class, the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings films, Richard III, Six Degrees of Separation, Cold Comfort Farm, The Ballad of Little Jo, Macbeth
• Patrick Stewart – The Hollow Crown Richard II, Hamlet, Extras, X Men First Class, Star Trek (one of them, I don’t remember which), Excalibur, Hamlet, I Claudius
• Halle Berry – Cloud Atlas, Things We Lost in the Fire, Monster’s Ball, X Men First Class, Bulworth, Jungle Fever
• Femke Jansson – X Men Days of Future Past, The Dead Girl
• James Marsden - X Men Days of Future Past, The Butler
• Anna Paquin - X Men Days of Future Past, The Squid and the Whale, Almost Famous, Amistad, The Piano
• Why? Slightly addicted to the series
• Seen: Once before. Now 4 October 2019      

       We’ve just watched the three prequels. I liked them a lot. Hal less so, but he’s bearing with me.

       This starts with the Auschwitz scene and Magneto as a boy displaying his powers for the first time. Then it jumps to now-ish. Two teenagers in the American South. The girl Marie (Paquin) is a mutant calling herself Rogue.

       Charles (Stewart) and Eric (McKellen) encounter one another at a hearing about what to do about the mutants. Charles still believes in humans. Eric still doesn’t. ‘Still’ because we’ve seen the prequels, otherwise it would be new to us.

       Rogue heads up to Alaska and encounters Wolverine (Jackman). They run into trouble.

       There are a lot of mutants.

       The story is that Eric leads the bad mutants and Charles leads the good mutants and that’s all you need to know really.

       As much as I love Stewart and McKellen I think they’re miscast here. McKellen should be Charles and Stewart should be Eric. And I do miss McAvoy.

       It’s good but I like the prequels better

      

3 * of 5 (Hal agrees, he likes this better than the prequels).

Aelita

Aelita 1924

• Director: Yakov Protazanov
• Based on the book by Alexei Tolstoy
• Cast: Yulia Solntseva, Nikolai Tsereteli, Vera Kuindzhi
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• None of them
• Why? Sci fi classic
• Seen: 29 September 2019

             In 1921 all the radio stations in the world get the same message. Engineer Los is convinced it’s a message from Mars.

       On Mars Queen Aelita is obsessed with observing Earth.

       Young love, mad jealousy, corruption are all woven throughout scenes of deprivation and poverty but also the vitality and optimism of the new Soviet Union. All against a backdrop of the fantastic Martian realm of Aelita.

       It’s all very confusing and the peculiar English of the intertitles only partially explains what’s going on. I do like black and white films and this has its beautiful moments but there are so many side stories and characters that the sci fi aspect almost disappears. Maybe I’m just a 21^st century chauvinist but this just gets sillier and sillier.

       The Soviet Socialist Republic of Mars is cool though. And somewhere there amidst all the chaos it’s quite a radical film. In the end I quite like it.

3* of 5. Maybe even 4. (Hal says 5, or maybe 2 or 3)

PS As a part of cinematic history, and Soviet history, and sci fi history, it’s a must-see.

Darjeeling Limited

Darjeeling Limited 2007

• Director: Wes Anderson
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Amara Karan, Wallace Wolodarsky, Waris Ahluwalia, Irrfan Khan, Anjelica Houston (and Bill Murray and Natalie Portman for 2 seconds but I won’t bother with them here)
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Adrien Brody – Detachment, Cadillac Records, King Kong, The Pianist, Bread and Roses, Liberty Heights
• Owen Wilson – The Royal Tenenbaums
• Jason Schwartzman – Saving Mr Banks, Moonrise Kingdom, Scott Pilgrim vs the World, Rushmore
• Amara Karan – Curry Nam Nam, Doctor Who
• Wallace Wolodarsky – Rushmore 
• Irrfan Khan – The Life of Pi, Slumdog Millionaire, The Namesake
• Anjelica Houston – Seraphim Falls, The Royal Tenenbaums, Ever After, The Grifters, A Handful of Dust, Prizzi’s Honour, Spinal Tap
• Why? Possibly I enjoyed it the first time?
• Seen: Once before. Now 28 September 2019      

       The three American Whitman brothers Peter (Brody), Jack (Schwartzman) and Francis (Wilson) are making a train journey in India. Francis wants them to be loving brothers on a spiritual journey. His brothers are sceptical.

       Oh, no wonder this is weird. It’s Wes Anderson. I’d forgot. I’m not generally keen on Anderson’s films. I kind of liked Rushmore but I didn’t like Moonrise Kingdom at all. This is somewhere in between. Low key absurd, it raises a smile or two, feels sad at times, but now I remember that I didn’t like it as much as I had expected the first time. It’s the same this time. It should have been better. It has all the ingredients, but it doesn’t add up. It’s just a little off.

2 ½ * of 5 (Hal liked it and gives it a 5)

X Men Apocalypse

X Men: Apocalypse 2016

• Director: Bryan Singer
• Based on book: no
• Cast: James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Rose Byrne, Nicholas Hoult, Evan Peters, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, Oscar Isaac
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• James McAvoy – Victor Frankenstein, X Men First Class, X Men Days of Future Past, Filth, The Last Station, Wanted, Atonement, Becoming Jane, Starter for 10, The Last King of Scotland, Macbeth Re-Told, Inside I’m Dancing, Bright Young Things
• Michael Fassbender – Macbeth, X Men First Class, X Men Days of Future Past, Prometheus, Jane Eyre, Inglourious Basterds, Fish Tank, Hunger
• Jennifer Lawrence – Passengers, Joy, The Hunger Games 1-4, Silver Linings Playbook, X Men First Class, X Men Days of Future Past, Winter’s Bone
• Rose Byrne – 28 Weeks Later, Sunshine, The Dead Girl, X Men First Class
• Nicholas Hoult – Mad Max Fury Road, X Men First Class, X Men Days of Future Past, Jack the Giant Slayer, Wah-Wah, About a Boy, Intimate Relations
• Oscar Isaac – Star Wars the Force Awakens, Ex Machina, Inside Llewyn Davis, Robin Hood
• Evan Peters - X Men First Class
• Why? The others
• Seen: 27 September 2019

             Some years have past since the mutants (X-men and women) went public. Supposed villain Erik (Fassbender) and hero Raven (Lawrence) are in hiding and various mutants are doing various things around the world. Professor Charles (McAvoy) and his school for mutants are thriving. Mystical stuff from ancient Egypt is involved. Charles’s struggle to get Erik on the side of good continues. Apocalypse himself (Isaac) is very bad. He’s going to destroy the earth and everyone on it, take over Charles mind and run everything.

       It’s all quite apocalyptic. Overkill, you might say. But Jean’s (Turner) comment that the third one is always the worst is funny. And Beethoven’s Seventh and Eurythmics’ ‘Sweet Dreams’ – that’s classy!

       As is McAvoy of course.

       There are too many flaws to count but I love it anyway.

      

4* of 5 (Hal was less entertained and gave it a 2 or even a 1.)

X Men Days of Future Past

X Men: Days of Future Past 2014

• Director: Bryan Singer
• Based on book: no
• Cast: Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Halle Berry, Ellen Page, Peter Dinklage, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Hugh Jackman – Les Misérables, Australia, The Fountain, Kate & Leopold, X Men
• James McAvoy – Filth, Wanted, Atonement, Becoming Jane, Starter for 10, Shakespeare Retold Macbeth, Inside I’m Dancing, Bright Young Things, White Teeth
• Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games 1-4, Winter’s Bone
• Michael Fassbender – Macbeth, Prometheus, Jane Eyre, Inglourious Basterds, Fish Tank, Hunger
• Halle Berry – Cloud Atlas, Things We Lost in the Fire, Monster’s Ball, X Men, Bulworth, Jungle Fever
• Ellen Page – Inception, Smart People, Juno
• Peter Dinklage -  Station Agent, Human Nature
• Ian McKellan – Vicious, the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings films, Richard III, Six Degrees of Separation, Cold Comfort Farm, The Ballad of Little Jo, Macbeth
• Patrick Stewart – The Hollow Crown Richard II, Hamlet, Extras, X Men, Star Trek (one of them, I don’t remember which), Excalibur, Hamlet, I Claudius
• Why? Oh, why not? And James McAvoy is in it
• Seen: 30 December 2016      

       Oh, how we love our superheroes and supervillains! News flash, people, if we want the world to be saved we have to do it ourselves, from the enemy who doesn’t have superpowers, just money and great skill in the manipulation of people’s fears, and in many cases vast ignorance.

       But let’s pretend that a) watching movies like this can be inspiring and b) they give us rest and entertainment so that we can regain the energy to take up the fight again.

       Fans of the X Men films would probably not find this as confusing as I do but I do sort of remember the first one so some of it makes a sort of sense. Going back in time, to the 70’s to prevent…etc., meeting all the X men (and women) before they were X.

       Too long! Too long!

       But amusing at times, and dramatic. Inspiring? Not in the least. Entertaining? Somewhat. Have I regained energy so that I can fight the fight tomorrow? Hardly.

       But I like James McAvoy.

      

2 ½ * of 5   

PS We watched it again 20 September 2019, after having seen X Men First Class last week (4*). Now I would raise the rating on this one to 3*. It made more sense having seen First Class but it was still confusing and too long. There’s one left of the trilogy. We’ll watch that next week and then the original X Men. And maybe get some more. They grow on you.

Eye in the Sky

Eye in the Sky 2014

• Director: Gavin Hood
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Helen Mirren, Alan Rickman, Aaron Paul, Aisha Takow, Phoebe Fox, Richard McCabe, Jeremy Northam, Monica Dolan, Barkhad Abdi, Iain Glen
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Helen Mirren – Woman in Gold, The Hundred Foot Journey, Brighton Rock, The Tempest, The Last Station, The Queen, Elizabeth, Calendar Girls, The Roman Spring of Mrs Stone, Gosford Park, Some Mother’s Son, The Madness of King George, The Prince of Jutland, Prime Suspect. Mosquito Coast, Cymbeline, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Excalibur, Hamlet, O Lucky Man
• Alan Rickman – The Butler, Harry Potter 1-7, Alice in Wonderland, Sweeney Todd, Snowcake, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Love Actually, Dogma, Sense and Sensibility, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, The January Man, Die Hard
• Aaron Paul – A Long Way Down, Breaking Bad, Veronica Mars, The X Files
• Phoebe Fox – The Hollow Crown
• Richard McCabe – Wallander, Cinderella, The Invisible Woman, Jane Eyre. The Constant Gardener, Notting Hill  
• Jeremy Northam – The Man Who Know Infinity, Glorious 39, Creation, Tristram Shandy, Gosford Park, Happy Texas, Amistad, Emma, Wuthering Heights
• Monica Dolan – Wolf Hall, Pride, King Lear, Topsy-Turvy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream
• Barkhad Abdi – Blade Runner 2049
• Iain Glen – The Hollow Crown, Downton Abbey, Doctor Who, Tara Road, Kingdom of Heaven, Man to Man, Beautiful Creatures
• Why? Mirren and Rickman
• Seen: 22 September 2019      

       Colonel Katherine Powell (Mirren) leads a secret mission against terrorists in Nairobi, Kenya. We follow the various individuals and operations who are watching the movements of the terrorists.

       It is very suspenseful, as well as very complicated, both politically and morally.

       I don’t usually like political/military thrillers, but this is exceptional, with exceptional acting from Mirren, Rickman and Paul down to the smallest roles.

       The film is dedicated to the memory of Alan Rickman.

5* of 5

Brassed Off

Brassed Off 1996

• Director: Mark Herman
• Based on book: no
• Cast: Pete Postlethwaite, Tara Fitzgerald, Ewan McGregor, Stephen Tompkinson, Jim Carter, Philip Jackson, Sue Johnston, Melanie Hill, Stephen Moore
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Pete Postlethwaite – Inception, The Constant Gardener, Shipping News, Amistad, Romeo & Juliet, The Usual Suspects, In the Name of the Father, The Last Mohican, Waterland, Alien 3, Hamlet
• Tara Fitzgerald – Legend, Rose and Maloney, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill but Came Down a Mountain
• Ewan McGregor – American Pastoral, Mortdecai, August Osage County, The Impossible, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, Perfect Sense, The Ghost Writer, The Island, Star Wars, Big Fish, Young Adam, Moulin Rouge, Little Voice, Velvet Goldmine, A Life Less Ordinary, Trainspotting, Shallow Grave
• Stephen Tompkinson – The Taming of the Shrew Retold, Hotel Splendide
• Jim Carter – Downton Abbey, My Week with Marilyn, Cranford, Creation, Out of Season, Modigliani, Ella Enchanted, Bright Young Things, Shakespeare in Love, Keep the Aspidistra Flying, Richard III, The Madness of King George, Frankenstein, Widows
• Philip Jackson – My Week with Marilyn, Frost, Hustle, Little Britain, Little Voice, Hamish Macbeth
• Sue Johnston - Downton Abbey, The Royale Family, Sex Chips and Rock’n’Roll, Frost, Morse
• Melanie Hill – Merlin, United, Stardust, From Hell, Crocodile Shoes, Spender
• Stephen Moore – Doctor Who, The Boat that Rocked, Middlemarch, Rock Follies
• Why? A favourite
• Seen: 3 or 4 times previously. Now 21 September 2019      

       Five stars at least.

       The miners at Grimley Colliery are threatened with the shutdown of the mine. The Grimley Colliery Band will also disappear. There’s no point if there’s no mine. However, the bandleader Danny (Postlethwaite) insists that they carry on and prepare for the National Championship.

       Gloria is a surveyor employed by the company to survey the mine and report on its viability. She is also a flugelhorn player and has inherited her flugelhorn from her grandfather, a miner and legendary member of the band. She is invited to join the band. Young Andy (McGregor), who has been in love with her since they went to school together as children, is smitten anew.

       Oh, the shivers of hearing the band play ‘Orange Juice’!

       Family conflicts, union conflicts, money problems, class conflict, band conflict, love, friendship, illness, struggle in the face of despair. It’s all heart-breaking, even the sort of feel-good ending. The performances of many of Britain’s finest actors are as good as expected but this is Postlethwaite’s film. He’s brilliant.

      

5 * of 5