Uncertainty

 

Uncertainty 2008

• Director: Scott McGeehee and David Siegel
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lynn Collins
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt – Many
• Lynn Collins – Angels Crest, X-Men Wolverine, The Lake House, The Merchant of Venice, Down with Love
• Why? JG-L.
• Seen: 15 June 2018      

       Bobby (JG-L) and Kate (Collins), a young couple in New York, flip a coin and the film splits into two stories à la Sliding Doors. In one they visit her family, in the other they get involved in a mafia murder. The first story is boring, the second ridiculous. Good actors but bad and pointless film. 

2* of 5

 

Richard II RSC

 

Richard II RSC 2013

• Director: Gregory Doran
• Seen by this director: many Shakespeare plays
• Based on Shakespeare
• Cast: David Tennant, Emma Hamilton, Michael Pennington, Nigel Lindsay, Oliver Ford Davies
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• David Tennant – many
• Why? Shakespeare and Tennant
• Seen: 13 June 2018      

       This is the third version I’ve seen in a short time after reading the play again. It’s getting a bit repetitive but I’ve very much looked forward to seeing David Tennant as Richard. Having seen his Hamlet several times I have high expectations.

       Which is unfair because his Hamlet is one of the best performances ever, and also because Richard II is a far less interesting character than Hamlet. All of this I write because I don’t want to write that I’m a little disappointed. He’s a bit melodramatic and it pains me to write that his interpretation is not as gripping as Ben Whishaw’s. Oh, what am I saying? Tennant is excellent, of course he is.

       Otherwise it’s very pompous and trumpety, it goes slowly and is too long. Not a 5* but still 

4* of 5

 

 

 

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