King of the Hill

 

King of the Hill 1993

·       Director: Stephen Soderbergh

·       Cast: Jesse Bradford, Jeroen Krabbé, Lisa Eichhorn, Karen Allen, Elizabeth McGovern, Adrien Brody, Amber Benson, Katherine Heigl, Lauren Hill

·       Why? Possibly interesting.

·       Seen: 25 August 2025      

       St Louis 1933. 12-year-old Aaron (Bradford) is left on his own while his mother is in a TB sanatorium and his salesman dad is on the road. His little brother has been sent to relatives. Aaron thrives through gutsiness, wiles, and lies.

       It’s not very interesting and Bradford isn’t very charismatic. 

2* of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Scanner Darkly

 

A Scanner Darkly 2006

·       Director: Richard Linklater

·       Cast: Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, Robert Downey Jr, Woody Harrelson,

·       Why? Good film

·       Seen: Once before. Now 23-24 August 2025      

       Animated but based on the real actors with their real voices. Interesting. Effective. Visually beautiful.

       Addiction to Substance D is rampant in this near-future society. Bob (Reeves) is an undercover cop fighting the drug dealers but he falls victim to the drug himself and loses his identity.

       It’s heart-breaking and very close to a masterpiece. 

5* of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nocturnal Animals

 

Nocturnal Animals 2016

·       Director: Tom Ford

·       Cast: Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Isla Fisher, Ellie Bamber, Armie Hammer, Laura Linney, Michael Sheen

·       Why? The cast

·       Seen: 22 August 2025      

       Susan (Adams) runs an avante-garde gallery, living off her rich business man husband (Hammer). She gets a manuscript from her ex-husband Edward (Gyllenhaal), whom she hasn’t seen for twenty years. It’s the story of Tony (also Gyllenhaal) and his wife and daughter who are run off the road in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere by a gang of thugs.

       As she reads, Susan remembers her marriage to Edward.

       It’s beautiful acting and quite captivating but I don’t really get it. 

3 ½ * of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vice

 

Vice 2018

·       Director: Adam McKay

·       Cast: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Steve Carrell, Sam Rockwell, Lisa Gay Hamilton

·       Why? Christian Bale

·       Seen: 21 August 2025      

       Political films are not my thing but Christian Bale is. Dick Cheney is not a person I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about, nor do I want to. Maybe I should have. He’s a horrible person.

       Great cast. I’m bored to tears, even though it’s scary to see how the US is taken over by the far right. Not as far as today but the stage has been set for a long time. 

2* of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greedy People

 

Greedy People 2024

·       Director: Potsi Ponciroli

·       Cast: Himish Patel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lily James, Uzo Aduba, Tim Blake Nelson

·       Why? Joseph Gordon-Levitt

·       Seen: 20 August 2025      

       Oh. Slapstick. Will (Patel) is on his first day as a small town cop and manages to kill a civilian. He and his loudmouth, loose-and-easy-with-the-law partner Terry (JG-L) find a lot of money and decide to stage it all as a burglary murder.

       From slapstick to deadly serious, if absurd, violence. 

3 ½ * of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

28 Days

 

28 Days 2000

·       Director: Betty Thomas

·       Cast: Sandra Bullock, Viggo Mortensen, Dominic West, Elizabeth Perkins, Azura Skye, Steve Buscemi, Alan Tudyk, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Margo Martindale

·       Why? Sandra Bullock

·       Seen: Once before. Now 19 August 2025      

       Gwen (Bullock) won’t admit she’s an alcoholic but after a series of drunken disasters she’s sent to rehab, instead of jail. She rebels, makes trouble, breaks rules.

       Somewhat predictable but the characters are good and the cast is strong. I just like it. 

4* of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gold Run

 

Gold Run 2022

·       Director: Halvard Braein

·       Cast: Jon Ögarden, Ida Elis Broch, Sven Nordin, Eivind Sander, Morton Svartveit, Anatole Taubman

·       Why? The subject

·       Seen: 18 August 2025      

       1940. The Germans invade Norway.  The government scrambles to destroy and hide documents that will help the Nazis. And the Bank of Norway scrambles to move the country’s gold reserves to keep them out of German hands.

       It’s a decent dramatization of real events. 

3* of 5