Eden Lake

 

Eden Lake 2008

• Director: James Watkins
• Seen by this directior: Woman in Black
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Kelly Reilly, Michael Fassbender, Jack O’Connell
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Kelly Reilly – Flight, Sherlock Holmes, Mrs Henderson Presents, Pride and Prejudice, The Libertine,
• Michael Fassbender – many including Macbeth
• Jack O’Connell – ’71, The Liability, United, This Is England
• Why? Good reviews.
• Seen: 12 June 2018

      

       Steve (Fassbender) and Jenny (Reilly are on a romantic weekend at the beautiful Eden Lake but it’s not as romantic as they had hoped. They have run-ins with a gang of teen-aged thugs which escalate into violence.

       I don’t like films like this. Brutal, nasty, wallowing in sadism just to make a dramatic film. No thanks.

 

2* of 5

 

Better Days

 

Better Days 2019

• Director: Derek Tsang
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Dongyu Zhou, Jackson Yee
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• None of them
• Why? Good reviews.
• Seen: 11 June 2018      

       High school bullying, exam pressure, good girl, cute hoodlum, uneasy romance. Sound familiar? We’ve seen it before. But probably not in China, in Chinese.

       This is more serious than the American versions I’ve seen but it drags a bit at times and it’s too long with too many twists. Still, it’s worth seeing. 

3* of 5

 

 

 

The Princes Diaries 2

 

The Princess Diaries 2 (2004)

• Director: Garry Marshall
• Seen by this director – PD 1, Runaway Bride, Frankie and Johnny, Pretty Woman, Overboard
• Based on the book by Meg Cabot
• Cast: Anne Hathaway, Julie Andrews, Hector Elizondo, Heather Matarazzo, Caroline Goodall, Chris Pine
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Anne Hathaway – many
• Julie Andrews - many
•  Hector Elizondo – PD 1, Runaway Bride, Frankie & Johnny, Pretty Woman, TV series
• Heather Matarazzo – PD 1, Don’t worry He Won’t Get Far on Foot, Welcome to the Dollhouse
• Caroline Goodall - PD 1, A Street Cat Called Bob, Mental, Schindler’s List
• Chris Pine – Wonder Woman, Z for Zachariah, Into the Woods
• Why? Came with the first one
• Seen: 8 June 2024 

       If the first one was bad, what can be expected of this one? Not much, I assume.

       Unbearable is the word that comes to mind. Time to fast-forward.

       It’s bad enough that monarchies still exist in a world that claims to believe in democracy. Do bad films about them have to be made too? 

1 ½ * of 5  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Princess Diaries

 

The Princess Diaries 2001

• Director: Garry Marshall
• Seen by this director – Runaway Bride, Frankie and Johnny, Pretty Woman, Overboard
• Based on the book by Meg Cabot
• Cast: Anne Hathaway, Julie Andrews, Hector Elizondo, Heather Matarazzo, Caroline Goodall, Robert Schwarzman, Erik von Detten
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Anne Hathaway – many
• Julie Andrews - many
• Hector Elizondo – Runaway Bride, Frankie & Johnny, Pretty Woman, TV series
• Heather Matarazzo – Don’t Worry He Won’t Get Far on Foot, Welcome to the Dollhouse
• Caroline Goodall - A Street Cat Called Bob, Mental, Schindler’s List
• Erik von Detten – Dinotopia, Barely Legal
• Why? My friend CW swears it’s a good film despite the dreadful title.
• Seen: 7 June 2024 

       Private high school (of course) in San Francisco, Mia (Hathaway) is a bullied nerd (of course) with a feisty single mom (Gooddall) (of course), an obnoxious know-it-all best friend (Matarazzo) (of course). Mia is in love with the school hunk (van Detten) of couse. So far so bad.

       Her rich grandmother (Andrews) turns out to be the Queen of Genovia, Mia’s late father was Prince and thus Mia is the heir to the throne. Grandma is going to teach her how to be a princess. Mia say – declares – decidedly, emphatically and inequivocally – NO!

       Yeah, right.

       It’s a terrible story with dreadful dialog. It’s only saving grace is a young but occasionally amusing Hathaway.

       Clichés, stereotypes, irritating characters, lame truisms.

       Sorry, CW.                        

 1 ½ * of 5  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Falls

 

International Falls 2019

• Director: Amber McGinnis
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Rachel Harris, Rob Huebel, Matthew Glave, Jessie Sherman
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Rachel Harris – Barely Lethal, Solisten
• Rob Huebel – Barely Lethal
• Why? Need you ask? See below.
• Seen: 4 June 2024 

       How bizarre is this? A film about the town where I was born and raised?! Why in the world would anyone want to make a film about International Falls?!

       Scenes of Smokey the Bear, the paper mill on the Fort Frances (i.e. Canadian) side of Rainy River (there was a falls once, hence the name), the drive on the ice road on Rainy Lake (the island they stopped at even looked like Snow Island which we could see from our living room window), Main Street, and all that, my question remains. Why Int’l Falls? It could have been filmed anywhere. It’s kind of boring, and depressing.

       But then so is International Falls. Which is why I left, as soon as I could, at the age of 16. Sorry, everyone who still lives there and likes it.

       Unlike Int’l Fall, however, the film gets kind of interesting towards the end (not including the embarassingly lame jokes at the very end), and Harris is very good in her role, especially because she’s not wearing make-up. 

3* of 5  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tjenare, Kungen

 

Tjenare Kungen 2005

• Director: Ulf Malmros
• Seen by this director: Min så kallade pappa, Sally
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Josefin Neldén, Cecilia Wallin, Malin Morgan, Johanna Strömberg, Joel Kinnaman, Kjell Bergqvist, Morgan Alling
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:

o   Josefin Neldén – 438 dagar, Gräns, Pojkarna, Min så kallade papa, Simon och ekarna

o   Malin Morgan - Bron, Upp till kamp

o   Joel Kinnaman - The Darkest Hour, Storm

o   Kjell Bergqvist  - Sally, Roseanna

·        Why? Cool title (Hiya, King)

• Seen: 6 June 2024 Happy Swedish National Day

 

       1982. A small town in Sweden. Abra (Neldén) is an aspiring punk rocker. The sexist locals hate punks. The attack her, and when they attack a visiting band she escapes with them to Gothenburg. She and Millan (Wallin) start a punk band.

       The trials and tribulations of punkers who work in a sausage packing factory, get gigs in old people’s homes and weddings, fall in and out of love with more or less worthy guys.

       Predictable but fun.     

 3* of 5  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vinyan

 

Vinyan 2008

• Director: Fabrice du Welz
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Rufus Sewell, Emmanuelle Béart, Petch Osathanugrah
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Rufus Sewell – many including The Taming of the Shrew Re-Told
• Why? Possibly interesting.
• Seen: 3 June 2024 

       A European couple, Paul (Sewell) and Jeanne (Béart), are foreign aid workers living in Thailand. They lose their little boy in a tsunami. Six months later Jeanne is convinced she sees him in a film of a village in Burma. They hire unsavoury characters to take them to that village. What follows is a tangled tale through the jungle.

       It’s listed as a horror movie but mostly it’s low-key with no ghosts or demons. It’s atmospheric and dark = (hard to see) and some of the characters are creepy but it doesn’t capture my interest. It’s more surreal than spooky, which could be good but it lacks depth and focus. It’s more unpleasant than interesting.      

 2* of 5