Contact

 

Contact 1997

• Director: Robery Zemeckis
• Seen by this directior: The Walk, Flight, Cast Away, Forrest Gump, Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Romancing the Stone, I Wanna Hold Your Hand
• Based on the book by Carl Sagan
• Cast: Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt, Jena Malone, David Morse, William Fichtner
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:

o   Jodie Foster – many

o   Matthew McConaughey – many

o   Tom Skerritt – Lucky, Smoke Signals, Alien

o   John Hurt – many

o   Jena Malone – The Hunger Games, The Soloist, Into the Wild, Cold Mountain, The United States of Leland, Donnie Darko, Ellen Foster

o   David Morse - many

o   William Fichtner - many

• Why? I liked it the first time.
• Seen: Once before. Now 21 June 2024      

       Oh, I wish they would contact us in my lifetime! Meanwhile, I must be satisfied with sci fi.

       Of which this is one of the best.

       Astronomer Ellie (Foster), after years of listening and being mocked by nearly everyone, picks up signals from outer space. Not only that, but with instructions on how to build a craft for humans to come for a visit.

       It’s not only a great story based on the novel by one of my heroes Carl Sagan, but there is a subtle dig at male dominance and power games as well as the kind of deep discussions about religion vs science that I have with my religious friends.

       Such an intelligent and gripping film. 

5* of 5

 

 

The Way Way Back

 

The Way Way Back 2013

• Director: Nat Faxon and Jim Rash
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Steve Carrel, Toni Colette, Allison Janney, Sam Rockwell, Liam James
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Steve Carrel, Toni Colette, Allison Janney, Sam Rockwell – many
• Liam James – 2012, Things We Lost in the Fire
• Why? Toni Collette
• Seen: 21 June 2024      

       Cringe. Nerdy teenager Duncan (James) and his divorced mother Pam (Collette) are spending the summer with her unbearable but rich boyfriend Trent (Carrell) in his wealthy seaside villa with a Water Wizz Park nearby, and flirty drunken neighbours. Hell on earth.

       I’m so tired of coming of age rich white American films. Despite the clichés and sexist jokes, though, the good acting make it possible to endure. But no where near the rave review ratings. 

3* of 5

 

 

 

 

Watchmen

 

Watchmen 2009

• Director: Zak Snyder
• Seen by this directior: Man of Steel, Dawn of the Dead
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Jackie Earle Haley, Patrick Wilson, Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Jackie Lee Haley – Aelita Battle Angel, The Dark Tower, Robocop, Lincoln, Dark Shadows, Shutter Island
• Patrick Wilson – The Conjuring, Prometheus, The Ledge, Phantom of the Opera, Angels in America
• Billy Crudup – Public Enemies, Big Fish, Almost Famous, Waking the Dead
• Matthew Goode – The Guernsey Literature and Potato Peel Pie Society, The Crown, The Imitation Game, Belle, Dancing on the Edge, Cemetery Junction, Copying Beethoven
• Why? Rave reviews
• Seen: 19 June 2018      

       With all the hysterically positive reviews on IMDb I was expecting a lot, especially since I usually like super hero films. I’m trying very hard to get into this but it’s not happening. It pretends to be profound and serious but I find it pretentious and boring. Maybe I can fast forward to something interesting.

       Nope. 

1 ½ * of 5

 

A Somewhat Gentle Man

 

A Somewhat Gentle Man 2010

• Director: Hans Petter Moland
• Seen by this director: Ut och stjäla häster, Flaskpost från P, The Beautiful Country, Aberdeen
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Stellan Skarsgård, Björn Floberg, Jorunn Kjellsby, Jannike Kruse, Jan Gunnar Röise
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Stellan Skarsgård – many including Hamlet
• Björn Floberg – Drottning Margareta, Ut och stjäla häster, Shackleton, Insomnia
• Jan Gunnar Röise – Ut och stjäla hästar, Hawaii Oslo
• Why? Stellan Skarsgård
• Seen: 17 June 2018      

       Ulrik (Skarsgård) is released from a Norwegian prison after twelve years for murder. Is he going to go straight? Maybe, maybe not. Sort of, not really. It’s very low-key, which Skarsgård does so very well. Quirky characters, quirky story.

       A somewhat gentle film. 

3 ½ * of 5

 

 

 

Sweet Charity

 

Sweet Charity 1969

• Director: Bob Fosse
• Seen by this director: Lenny Bruce, Cabaret
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Shirley MacLaine, John MacMartin, Ricardo Montalban, Sammy Davis Jr, Chita Rivera, Paula Kelly
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Shirley MacLaine – Many Jeremy Renner – 28 Weeks Later, North Country
• John McMartin – Who’s that Girl
• Ricardo Montalban – probably something
• Sammy David Jr – TV mostly
• Chita Rivera – Chicago
• Paula Kelly – Soylent Green
• Why? A top favourite
• Seen: Many times. Now 16 June 2024      

       Sometimes you just need to see again a beloved oft-seen film. This is such an evening. The first time I saw Sweet Charity was at the cinema in 1969 when it came out. I have loved it ever since. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen it, but the last time was before I started this blog, thus no review. It’s high time to change that.

       If you don’t know the story, check it out on IMDb then go to YouTube for ‘Hey Big Spender’, ‘If They Could See Me Now’, ‘Rhythm of Life’… Better yet, see the film. 

5* of 5

 

 

 

 

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