25th Hour

 

25^th Hour 2002

• Director: Spike Lee
• Seen by the director: BlacKkKlansman, Miracle at St Ana, Clockers, Malcolm X, Jungle Fever, Mo’ Better Blues, Do the Right Thing, She’s Gotta Have It
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Edward Norton, Barry Pepper, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rosario Dawson, Anna Paquin, Brian Cox, Tony Siragusa, Isaiah Whitlock Jr
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Edward Norton – Birdman, Moonrise Kingdom, The Invention of Lying, The Illusionist, Kingdom of Heaven, Frida, Fight Club, American History X
• Barry Pepper – Maze Runner, The Lone Ranger, True Grit, The Green Mile, Saving Private Ryan
• Philip Seymour Hoffman – Hunger Games, God’s Pocket, The Invention of Lying, The Boat that Rocked, Cold Mountain, Punch-Drunk Love, Almost Famous, Flawless, Happiness, The Big Lebowski, Twister, The Scent of a Woman
• Rosario Dawson – Zombieland Double Tap, Daredevil, Rent
• Anna Paquin - X-Men, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Almost Famous, Amistad, The Piano
• Brian Cox – Coriolanus, Zodiac, The X-Men, The Bourne Identity, Rushmore, The Boxer, The Long Kiss Good-Night, Braveheart, Rob Roy, The Prince of Jutland, King Lear
• Tony Siragusa – The Sopranos
• Isaiah Whitlock Jr – BlacKkKlansman, Thanks for Sharing, Detachment, Main Street, Cadillac Records, The Wire, 1408
• Why? The cast and the director
• Seen: 1 August 2023      

       Monty (Norton) is a drug dealer who got caught and tomorrow he’s entering prison for a 7-year sentence. He knows he is a criminal doing something stupid. He’s regretful and scared. He spends his last night contemplating things, hanging out with his two oldest friends Jake (Hoffman), a shy, fumbling English teacher with the hots for a student Mary (Paquin), and Frank (Pepper), an obnoxious, mouthy, macho stockbroker, and his girlfriend Naturelle (Dawson), who might have turned him in.

       It’s confusing with its flashbacks, and very talky, but powerful and compelling. 

4* of 5   

 

Death at a Funeral

 Death at a Funeral 2007

• Director: Frank Oz
• Seen by this director: What about Bob?, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Matthew MacFadyen, Peter Dinklage, Ewen Bremmer, Keeley Hawes, Alan Tudyk, Jane Asher, Kris Marshall, Rupert Graves
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Matthew MacFadyen – Pillars of the Earth, Robin Hood, Frost/Nixon, Pride and Prejudice
• Peter Dinklage – Game of Thrones, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, X-Men, Station Agent, Human Nature, Living in Oblivion
• Ewen Bremmer – Wonder Woman, Trainspotting 1&2, Snowpiercer, Jack the Giant Slayer, Perfect Sense, Hallam Foe, Prince of Jutland, Naked
• Keeley Hawes – The Hollow Crown, High-Rise, The Casual Vacancy, Doctor Who, Macbeth Re-Told, Tristram Shandy, Our Mutual Friend, Cold Lazarus, Karaoke
• Alan Tudyk – Rogue One, Maze Runner, Serenity, I Robot, Firefly, A Knight’s Tale
• Jane Asher – Dancing on the Edge, I Give It a Year, Alfie, The Masque of the Red Death
• Kris Marshall – The Merchant of Venice, Love Actually
• Rupert Graves – Sherlock, Last Tango in Halifax, Doctor Who, Made in Dagenham, V for Vendetta, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Intimate Relations, The Madness of King George, A Room with a View
• Why?  British comedy
• Seen: 21 July 2023      

       Funerals are such a laugh, aren’t they? Especially if nearly everybody is British.

       One of the brothers is a famous author (Graves) and the other (MacFadyen) has a severe inferiority complex. Tudyk was mistakenly given LSD just before the ceremony, there’s a love-sick ex-boyfriend (Bremmer), a mysterious American guest (Dinklage) and…well, it’s British comedy. 

4 * of 5   

 

The Nice Guys

 

The Nice Guys 2016

• Director: Shane Black
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Angourie Rice, Matt Bomer, Margret Qualley, Yaya Da Costa, Keith David, Lois Smith, Daisy Tahan
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Russell Crowe – The Water Diviner, Winter’s Tale, Man of Steel, Les Misérables, Robin Hood, A Good Year, A Beautiful Mind, Gladiator, Romper Stomper
• Ryan Gosling – First Man, Blade Runner 2049, La La Land, Crazy Stupid Love, Drive, Lars and the Real Girl, Half Nelson
• Why? Crowe and Gosling
• Seen: 20 July 2023      

       The thing is, I really like Crowe and Gosling. The other thing is, I don’t usually like this kind of PI film. The third thing is that I’m on my 4^th beer of the afternoon so it’s not absolutely certain that this will be an intellectually astute review.

       It seems that they’re looking for Amelia and Misty Mountain. Don’t ask me why. It’s LA or Vegas, which doesn’t help. I’m not fond of either place, though to be fair, I’ve never been there. But the very concept.

       The bits I get are rather amusing, though.

       Oops. A long Messenger chat with a very dear friend has sort of disrupted my understanding of what’s going on in the film but never mind. All things considered, I think I sort of like it so let’s say 

3* of 5   

 

 

 

Ghosts of Mars

 Ghosts of Mars 2001

• Director: John Carpenter
• Seen by the director: Flykten from NY
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Natasha Henstridge, Ice Cube, Pam Grier, Jason Statham, Clea DuVall, Joanna Cassidy
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Ice Cube – Boys n the Hood
• Pam Grier – The Feast of All Saints, Jackie Brown, Mars Attacks!
• Jason Statham – Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
• Clea DuVall – Zodiac, 21 Grams, Giel Interrupted, The Astronaut’s Wife, A Slipping-Down Life, Life During Wartime
• Joanna Cassidy - Six Feet Under, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Blade Runner
• Why?  Sci fi
• Seen: 19 July 2023      

       There’s something bad happening to the colonists on Mars. Something is turning people into evil bloody killers, death metal freaks with a fondness for chopping people’s heads off and sticking them on poles. Evidently the colonists have reawakened the original Martians – some kind of organism – when they started terraforming the planet.

       It is probably meant as an action parody and it is amusing at times. If it weren’t for the obnoxious and unnecessary sexist and racist stereotypes it might have been good. Sort of. 

2* of 5   

 

 

 

Unthinkable

 Unthinkable 2010

• Director: Gregor Jordan
• Seen by the director: Ned Kelly, Two Hands
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Samuel L Jackson, Carrie Ann Moss, Michael Sheen, Stephen Root, Martin Donavan
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Samuel L Jackson – The Hateful Eight, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Django Unchained, Jumper, 1408, Star Wars, Kill Bill, Changing Lanes, The Red Violin, Jackie Brown, The Long Kiss Goodnight, True Romance, Jurassic Park, Pulp Fiction, Jungle Fever, Mo’ Better Blues, Sea of Love, Do the Right Thing
• Carrie Ann Moss – Humans, Fireflies in the Garden, Disturbia, Snow Cake, Matrix etc, Chocolat, Red Planet
• Michael Sheen – Passengers, Far from the Madding Crowd, Frost/Nixon, The Queen, Kingdom of Heaven, Bright Young Things,Wilde, Mary Reilly, Othello
• Martin Donovan – Tenet, Big Little Lies, Ant Man, The United States of Leland, Insomia
• Why? The cast
• Seen: 18 July 2023      

       Yusuf (Sheen) has converted to Islam and placed three atom bombs in three American cities. He’s also ex- US military so he knows what he’s doing.

       He’s captured and tortured, with the blessing of the top brass by H (Jackson). FBI agent Brody (Moss) is ordered to witness and assist him and to interrogate Yusuf.

       The three lead actors are very good. The film deals with many moral questions and does not shy away from the complexity of what we call terrorism these days. It’s very suspenseful. Points are made. I’m not exactly sure which ones are valid and the more I think about it the less I think the film itself is valid. It seems to claim that torture is acceptable in certain situations and it’s only natural to resort to it when needed.

       Not so. 

3* of 5   

 

 

Wah-Wah

 

Wah-Wah 2005

• Director: Richard E Grant
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Nicholas Hoult, Miranda Richardson, Emily Watson, Gabriel Byrne, Julie Walters, Celia Imre, Julian Wadham, Fenella Woolgar, John Matshikiza
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Nicholas Hoult – X-Men, The Favourite, Mad Max Fury Road, Jack the Giant Slayer, Wallander, About a Boy, Intimate Relations
• Miranda Richardson - Testament of Youth, Harry Potter, Made in Dagenham, Young Victoria, Paris je t’aime, Gideon’s Daughter, Phantom of the Opera, The Hours, Black Adder, The Crying Game, An Enchanted April, Dance with a Stranger  
• Emily Watson – Chernobyl, Little Women, Everest, Testament of Youth, The Theory of Everything, The Book Thief, The Politician’s Husband, Cemetery Junction, Fireflies in the Garden, Equilibrium, Punch-Drunk Love, Gosford Park, The Luzhin Defense, Cradle Will Rock, Hilary & Jackie, The Boxer, Breaking the Waves
• Gabriel Byrne – Hereditary, Quirke, Emotional Arithmetic, Jindabyne, Ghost Ship, Stigmata, Smilla’s Sense of Snow, Dead Man, The Usual Suspects, Little Women, Prince of Jutland, Gothic
• Julie Walters – Mamma Mia 1&2, Before You Go, The Hollow Crown Henry IV Parts One and Two, Henry V, Harry Potter 1-8, Becoming Jane, Driving Lessons, Secret Garden, Calendar Girls, Billy Elliot, Titanic Tow, Intimate Relations, Prick Up Your Ears, Educating Rita
• Celia Imrie – Mamma Mia, Absolutely Fabulous, Hotel Marigold 1&2, What We Did on Our Holiday, The Love Punch, Doctor Who, Cranford, The Calendar Girls, Daniel Deronda, Hilary & Jackie, Frankenstein
• Julian Wadham – The Casual Vacancy, Cheerful Weather for the Wedding, Keep the Aspidistra Flying, The English Patient, The Madness of King George, Middlemarch
• Fenella Woolgar – Victoria & Abdul, Mr Turner, Cheerful Weather for the Wedding, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, Doctor Who, Bright Young Things
• John Matshikiza – Beyond Borders, Cry Freedom, The Singing Detective
• Why? The cast
• Seen: Once before. Now 17 July 2023      

       Ralph (Hoult) is growing up in Swaziland, witnessing the toxic end to his parents’ marriage. He is heartbroken when his mother (Richardson) leaves, but he tries to comfort his drunken father (Byrne).

       The white ladies of the colony flock to comfort him, especially Auntie Gwen (Walters), whose husband the mother has run off with.

       One holiday, upon return home, Ralph finds that his father has married mouthy kind-hearted former air hostess Ruby (Watson). At first, he is horrified but when Ruby stirs things up by being disrespectful of the snooty white upper class, he warms to her.

       With the background of Swaziland’s independence and the glossed over racism of the white colonists, this is really the autobiographical explanation of how Richard E Grant got into the theatre. 

4 * of 5   

 

The Girl Next Door

 

The Girl Next Door 2007

• Director: Gregory Wilson
• Based on the book by Jack Ketchum
• Cast: Blythe Auffarth, Blanche Baker, Daniel Manche
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• None of them
• Why? Possibly interesting
• Seen: 17 July 2023      

       Summer 1958. Small town America. David (Manche) is about 12. His mother is a pretty housewife who wears pretty dresses and pearl necklaces and lipstick every day (mine certainly didn’t). He and the neighbour kids play, quite roughly together.

       Two recently orphaned girls, Meg (Auffarth) and her sister move in with their Aunt Ruth (Baker), a sweet-talking sarcastic sadist who gives her sons and the neighbour kids beer and cigs and beats her nieces. The abuse escalates. David witnesses this but is too cowardly to protest or tell an adult until it is too late.

       Supposedly based on a true story, it seems to like the sadism too much. We know this sort of thing happens but why was the film made? To stop it from happening again? I doubt it.

 2 ½ * of 5