This Is Where I Leave You

 

This Is Where I Leave You 2014

• Director: Shawn Levy
• Based on book by Jonathan Tropper
• Cast: Jason Bateman, Tina Frey, Jane Fonda, Adam Driver, Rose Byrne, Corey Stroll, Kathryn Hahn, Connie Britton, Timothy Olyphant
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Jason Bateman – The Invention of Lying, Juno
• Tina Frey – A Haunting in Venice
• Jane Fonda – Many
• Adam Driver – Many
• Rose Byrne – X-Men, I Give It a Year, The Place Beyond the Pines, 28 Weeks Later, Sunshine, The Dead Girl
• Kathryn Hahn – The Visit, Captain Fantastic, Tomorrowland a World Beyond, Mimzy, The Holiday
• Connie Britton – Promising Young Woman
• Timothy Olyphant – Amsterdam, Once upon a Time in Hollywood, Snowden, I Am Number 4, Go, Ellen Foster, A Life Less Ordinary
• Why? Might be good. Interesting cast
• Seen:  12 November 2024      

       Dad was a Jewish atheist whose dying wish was that his wife (Fonda) and four grown children sit shiva for the traditional seven days.

       It’s a motley crew, otherwise there wouldn’t be a film. It’s pretty standard stuff – well-to-do white middle class American family but it’s quite a good mix of comedy and dysfunctional family drama with some decent acting.

       I like it more than I expected to. 

4* of 5

 

Spiderman 2002

 

Spiderman 2002

• Director: Sam Raimi
• Seen by this director: Drag Me to Hell, The Gift, A Simple Plan
• Based on book: no
• Cast: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Willem Dafoe, James Franco, Cliff Robertson, Rosemary Harris
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Tobey Maguire – The Great Gatsby, Seabiscuit, Wonder Boys, The Cider House Rules, Pleasantville, The Ice Storm
• Kirsten Dunst – Many
• Willem Dafoe – Many
• Why? Oh why not?
• Seen:  9 November 2024, possibly once before.      

       If you live on the planet Earth there’s a good chance that you know this story. Peter Parker (Maguire) is a science genius, a geek, constantly bullied by his high school classmates. Then he’s bitten by a spider and becomes Spiderman, the superhero who fights the good fight against all kinds of evil forces. And gets the girl (Dunst) but turns her down to fight the good fight etc.

       Spiderman has never been my favourite superhero. Contrary to many others’ opinion. I don’t think Maguire is right for the part. As a geek, OK. But as a superhero? Not so much. Nor do I like Dunst as the wimpy, vampy, damsel in distress. All the characters feel like, well, comic book characters. This film is simply in the same league as the Christian Bale Batman films, the whole X Men package, Iron Man, Terminator…Them I love. This one is OK but no more. I know Andrew Garfield is much better, I’ve seen part of one of his. Tom Holland I haven’t seen.

       But I will. I’ve bought them all. 

2* of 5

 

 

 

 

The Visit

 

The Visit 2015

• Director: M Night Shyamalan
• Seen by this director: many
• Based on book: no
• Cast: Olivia DeJonge, Ed Oxenbould, Deanna Dunagan, Peter McRobbie, Kathryn Hahn
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Olivia DeJonge – Elvis
• Deanna Dunagan – Unforgettable
• Peter McRobbie – Lincoln, 16 Blocks, Brokeback Mountain
• Kathryn Hahn – Captain Fantastic, Tomorrowland a World Beyond, Mimzy, The Holiday
• Why? The director
• Seen:  8 November 2024      

       Becca (DeJonge) and Tyler (Oxenbould) visit their grandparents (Dunagan and McRobbie) they have never met because their mother (Hahn) has been estranged from her parents for years. Becca is making a documentary film of the visit.

       At first they have a great time but things get weird quickly. This is M Night Shyamalan after all. It’s more sad than scary though as we see the results of dementia and paranoia in the grandparents.

       And then it gets scary. 

3 ½ * of 5

 

 

 

Honeydripper

 

Honeydripper 2007

• Director: John Sayles
• Based on book: no
• Cast: Danny Glover, LisaGay Hamilton, Yaya DaCosta, Charles S Dutton, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Gary Clark Jr, Mary Steenbergen
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Danny Glover – Many
• LisaGay Hamilton – Ad Astra, Take Shelter, The Soloist, Swing Vote, Beloved Jackie Browne, The Twelve Monkeys
• Charles S Dutton – Many
• Vondie Curtis-Hall –Cymbeline, Gridlock’d, Romeo and Juliet, Mystery Train
• Gary Clark Jr - Elvis
• Mary Steenburgen – The Help, Sunshine State, I Am Sam, Philadelphia, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape
• Why? Music, Danny Glover
• Seen:  Once before. Now 7 November 2024      

       Alabama 1950. Ty (Glover) owns a club called the Honeydripper just outside the small town of Harmony. He has serious money problems and his debts are about to lose him the place. But he’s booked the popular radio star, electric guitar-playing Guitar Sam and plans on making a lot of money.

       Only Guitar Sam doesn’t show. Ty is ruined.

       Only a young wandering musician, Sonny () who has built his own electric guitar, has wandered into Harmony. Nobody knows what Guitar Sam looks like. What if Sonny…?

       There are a lot of side stories here, most of them interesting. The main story, the birth of the electric guitar in rhythm and blues and rock and roll is lovely. 

4* of 5

 

 

Call Jane

 

Call Jane 2022

• Director: Phyllis Naghy
• Based on a true story: yes
• Cast: Elizabeth Banks, Sigourney Weaver, Kate Mara, Chris Messina, Wunmi Mosaku, Cory Michael Smith, Grace Edwards
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Elizabeth Banks – The Hunger Games, Pitch Perfect, Sea Biscuit, Catch Me If You Can, Spider Man
• Sigourney Weaver - Many
• Kate Mara – The Martian, Transcendence, 127 Hours, Iron Man, Stone of Destiny
• Chris Messina – Argo
• Wunmi Mosaku – Philomena, Dancing on the Edge
• Why? The subject
• Seen:  6 November 2024      

       An appropriate film to watch on this day of catastrophe, when the disastrous election of Donald Trump further restricts the rights of women and many others.

       1968. Joy (Banks) is pregnant and is told by her doctor that a newly discovered heart condition is life-threatening if the pregnancy continues. The hospital refuses to grant her an abortion. In despair, she sees a poster at the bus stop. ‘Call Jane.’

       She does.

       Jane is a group of feminist women, led by Virginia (Weaver), running an illegal abortion clinic.

       It’s very dramatic and well-acted. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to this again. No matter what, the struggle continues. 

 

4* of 5

 

 

 

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