Island of Lost Souls

 

Island of Lost Souls 2007

• Director: Nicolaj Arcel
• Seen by this director: The Dark Tower
• Based on book: no
• Cast: Sarah Langebäck Gaarmann, Lucan Munk Billing, Lasse Borg, Anders W Berthelsen, Nikolaj Koperikus
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Anders W Berthelsen – Rose, Ser du månen Daniel
• Why? Danish films are often good
• Seen:  5 November 2024

       Sylvester (Billing) and his sister Lulu (Langebäck Gaarman) have moved with their mother from Copenhagen to a small coastal town in northern Denmark. Sylvester is possessed by Herman (Berthelsen) who died in the 1880s. Lulu, who happens to know a lot about magic, their neighbour boy Oliver (Borg), and Sylvester/Herman take themselves to an island where other possessed souls are trapped.

       Kids might like it but Harry Potter it is not. 

2* of 5

 

 

 

A Haunting in Venice

 

A Haunting in Venice 2023

• Director: Kenneth Branagh
• Seen by this director: essentially everything
• Based on book: by Agatha Christie
• Cast: Kenneth Branagh, Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Dornan, Tina Fey, Kelly Reilly, Jude Hill
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Kenneth Branagh – Essentially everything
• Michelle Yeoh – Everything Everywhere All at Once, Last Christmas, Sunshine, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Tomorrow Never Dies
• Jamie Dornan – Belfast, The Fall
• Kelly Reilly – Sherlock Holmes A Game of Shadows, Sherlock Holmes, Mrs Henderson Presents, The Libertine
• Jude Hill – Belfast
• Why? Branagh
• Seen:  4 November 2024      

       Neither Agatha Christie nor Hercules Poirot are on my list of favourites but Kenneth Branagh is, so here I sit.

       Ghosts, a séance, a murder are the subjects of M Poirot’s (Branagh) sharp eye, piercing questions, keen intellect and a refusal to believe in the supernatural.

       Why Branagh makes these movies, I don’t know. His immense talents should be used on Shakespeare. Still, this one is as visually stunning as all of his films are and he endows even these dull characters with some depth. 

3* of 5

 

 

 

Let the Right One In / Låt den rätte komma in

 

Låt den rätta komma in 2008

• Director: Tomas Alfredson
• Seen by this director: Snömannen, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Ika i rutan
• Based on a book by John Ajvide Lindqvist
• Cast: Kåre Hedebrandt, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar, Ika Nord 
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Kåre Hedebrandt – Äkta människor
• Per Ragnar – Storm, Gustaf IIIs äktenskap
• Ika Nord – Ika i rutan
• Why?  I liked it the first time and I like the book
• Seen:  Once before. Now 3 November 2024 

Young Oskar (Hedebrandt) is bullied at school and spends a lot of his time in the courtyard outside his block of flats in a wintery suburb of Stockholm. Eli (Leandersson) is often there and they become friends.

Only she’s a vampire.

A sweet, sad film about friendship, cruelty, fear, courage. It’s poetic and disturbing and realistic.

Beautiful winter landscapes and good acting are a bonus. 

4* of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Matrix Resurrections

 

Matrix Resurrections 2021

• Director: Lana Wachowski
• Seen by this director: The other Matrix films, Jupiter Ascending, Cloud Atlas
• Based on a book: no
• Cast: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss and many others
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Keanu Reeves – Many 
• Carrie-Anne Moss – Matrix etc, Humans, Unthinkable, Fireflies in the Garden, Disturbia, Snow Cake, Chocolat, Red Planet
• Why?  The others, of course
• Seen:  1-2 November 2024 

To be honest, I haven’t really understood the Matrix films but I like them, and I like Reeves and Moss. Ah, Neo in that coat!

Another reality vs the gaming world. Thomas Anderson/Neo (Reeves) is in therapy to deal with his breakdown after the first three films. Now he’s being coerced into creating a 4^th Matrix Game and he’s being chased/rescued by characters in the game. Or something.

Most reviewers seem to regard this as blasphemy to the first three. I like it. It even sort of makes sense, sometimes. The parts I like, I really like. Sadly all the car chases, gun fights and kung fu stuff go on forever and ever and bring the rating down. Still, now I’m keen to see all 4 again. 

4* of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Petite maman

 

Petite maman 2021

• Director: Céline Sciamma
• Based on a book: no
• Cast: Joséphine Sanz, Gabrielle Sanz, Nina Meurisse, Stéphan Varupenne, Margot Abascal
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• None of them
• Why?  Good reviews
• Seen:  30 October 2024 

A little girl’s grandmother dies and she escapes to a fantasy world to deal with the loss. Many viewers have been charmed and delighted by the film. Not me. Sure, childhood is magical and all that, but this just doesn’t move me.

Still, it’s visually artistic and the young actors do a fine job. 

2½ * of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dead Girl

 

The Dead Girl 2006

• Director: Karen Moncrief
• Based on a book: no
• Cast: Toni Collette, Brittany Murphy, Marcia Gay Harden, Piper Laurie, Giovanni Ribisi, Rose Byrne, Mary Steenburgen, Mary Beth Hurt
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Toni Collette – Many 
• Brittany Murphy – 8 Mile, Riding in Cars with Boys, Girl Interrupted, Clueless
• Marcia Gay Harden – Into the Wild, The Mist, American Dreamz, Mona Lisa’s Smile, Mystic River, Pollack, Meet Joe Black
• Piper Laurie – Twin Peaks
• Giovanni Ribisi – Selma, The Rum Diary, Public Enemies, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Cold Mountain, Friends, Lost in Translation, The Gift, The Mod Squad, The X Files
• Rose Byrne – X-Men, I Give It a Year, 28 Weeks Later, Sunshine
• Mary Steenburgen – Many
•   Why?  I remember it as intriguing.
•  Seen:  Once before. Now 29 October 2024 

Arden (Collette), a timid downtrodden daughter to a cruel bedridden mother (Laurie) finds the dead girl.

Rudy (Ribisi), a supermarket employee, seeks out Arden to talk about the dead girl and serial killers.

Leah (Byrne) works at the morgue and falls apart when she suspects that the dead girl is her long-missing sister.

Ruth (Hurt) suspects that her husband is the killer and burns the evidence.

Melora (Harden) is the mother of the dead girl and learns about her daughter’s dark life.

The dead girl (Murphy) struggles to get to her little girl to give her a birthday present but doesn’t make it.

Grim and gripping, carried by a strong cast. 

4 * of 5

 PS I discover that I have reviewed this before, in 2016. I agree with my rating then. 

 

 

 

 

Southland Tales

 

Southland Tales 2006

• Director: Richard Kelly
• Seen by this director: The Box, Donny Darko
• Based on a book: no
• Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Seann William Scott
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Dwayne Johnson – Fighting with my Family
• Sarah Michelle Gellar – Veronica Decides to Die, Buffy
• Seann William Scott – Final Destination
• Why?  Might be fun.
• Seen:  28 October 2024 

A nuclear blast in Texas, terrorism panic in the US, oppressive laws restricting everything, neo-Marxist freedom fighters, a porn star and a hunk with amnesia. For example.

‘Scientists say the future is going to be far more futuristic than predicted.’ Said earnestly by porn star Krysta (Gellar).

The end of the world is nigh.

It makes no sense to me. Either it’s a brilliant avant-garde political masterpiece but I have no idea what’s going on so I can’t give it 5*. Or it’s utter rubbish but it’s kind of funny with odd skewered parallels to our own skewered world and it’s a visual delight so I can’t give it 0*.

I’ll just have to give it 

 

3* of 5. Or maybe 4. Or maybe 2. Or maybe 5. Or maybe 0. But probably 3. Or something like that.