Loin des Hommes

 Loin des hommes 2014

• Director: David Oelhoffen
• Based on a short story by Albert Camus
• Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Reda Kateb
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Viggo Mortensen – Green Book, The Road, A History of Violence, Hidalgo, Lord of the Rings etc, Carlito’s Way, The Indian Runner, Witness
• Why?  It sounded interesting
• Seen:  30 January 2022 

Algeria 1954. A widowed teacher Daru (Mortensen) in an isolated mountain school is coerced into escorting an accused murder Mohamed (Kateb) to the city for his trial and execution.

This is as grim and harsh as one can expect from something based on a story by Camus. It is well-acted, the almost monochromatic visuals are stark and effective and the drama and tragedy is gripping.

Until is loses its way completely and resorts to unnecessary clichés. A real pity. It was heading towards a strong 4*. Instead: 

2 ½* of 5 *

The Secret Garden

 The Secret Garden 2020

• Director: Marc Munden
• Seen by this director: Utopia
• Based on novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• Cast: Dixie Egerickx, Julie Walters, Colin Firth, Isis Davis, Amir Wilson, Edan Hayhurst
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Julie Walters – Mamma Mia 1&2, Before You Go, The Hollow Crown Henry IV Parts One and Two, Henry V, Harry Potter 1-8, Becoming Jane, Driving Lessons, Wah-Wah, Calendar Girls, Billy Elliot, Titanic Tow, Intimate Relations, Prick Up Your Ears, Educating Rita
• Colin Firth – 1917, Mamma Mia 1&2, Genius, Before I Go to Sleep, The Railway Man, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The King’s Speech, Kick Ass Girls St Trinian’s II, Genova, Then She Found Me, Nannie McPhee, Girl with Pearl Earring, Love Actually, My Life So Far, Shakespeare in Love, Fever Pitch, The English Patient, Pride and Prejudice, Circle of Friends
• Why?  Maggie Smith, only I accidently bought the remake with Julie Walters and Colin Firth so that’s OK.
• Seen:  29 January 2022 

A little girl Mary (Egerickx), an orphan, is sent to her uncle (Firth) on his vast estate on the English moors. The housekeeper (Walters) is brusque and strict. The maid (Davis) is friendly enough but definitely not at Mary’s beck and call. There is a crippled boy, secrets, memories, hidden gardens. It follows the formula. Saccharine warning. Kids might like it. It is a kid’s film after all.

But quite enjoyable. 

3* of 5

 

The Battery

 The Battery 2012

• Director: Jeremy Gardner
• Seen by this director: Spring
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Jeremy Gardner, Adam Cronheim
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Jeremy Gardner – Spring
• Why? It sounded interesting
• Seen: 28 January 2022      

       Two young scruffy American guys wander through forests, across fields, into abandoned houses, avoiding, when possible, or killing, when not, zombies. Fine, zombies are fun.

       It could have been good but it’s not. All these two guys do is bicker and they both lack the slightest spark of charisma. Give me Shaun of the Dead or Zombieland or World War Z or Cockneys vs Zombies any day. 

 2 * of 5

 

Romper Stomper

 Romper Stomper 1992

• Director: Geoffrey Wright
• Seen by this director: Macbeth
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Russell Crowe, Jacqueline McKenzie, Daniel Pollock
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Russell Crowe – The Water Diviner, Winter’s Tale, Man of Steel, Les Misérables, Robin Hood, A Good Year, A Beautiful Mind, Proof of Life, Gladiator
• Jacqueline McKenzie – The Water Diviner, The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
• Why? Russell Crowe
• Seen: 23 January 2022      

       Hando (Crowe) and his gang of Nazi skinheads attack a couple Vietnamese immigrants. Gabe (McKenzie), a pill popping epileptic who rebels violently against her sexually abusive father, catches his eye and she joins the gang.

       Parties and orgies with White Supremacist heavy metal. Reading aloud from Mein Kampf. Violent battles between the immigrants and the Nazis.

       It’s brutal, grim, well done, and well-acted but I’m not sure that the message – hopefully that Nazism and violence are bad – reaches the right people. 

3* of 5.

 

Cats

 Cats 2019

• Director: Tom Hooper
• Seen by this director: Les Misérables, The King’s Speech, Daniel Deronda
• Based on the poetry of T S Elliot
• Cast: Francesca Howard, James Corden, Judi Dench, Jason Derulo, Idris Elba, Robbie Fairchild, Mette Towley, Daniela Norman, Rebel Wilson, Jennifer Hudson, Ian McKellen, Taylor Swift
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• James Corden – Yesterday, The Lady in the Van, Into the Woods, One Chance, Doctor Who, Starter for 10, All or Nothing, Whatever Happened to Harold Smith?
• Judi Dench – All Is True, Murder on the Orient Express, Victoria & Abdul, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, The Hollow Crown, Bond etc, Hotel Marigold 1&2, Philomena, Vicious, My Week with Marilyn, Jane Eyre, Cranford, Nine, Notes on a Scandal, Mrs Henderson Presents, Ladies in Lavender, The Shipping News, Chocolat, Tea with Mussolini, Shakespeare in Love, Mrs Brown, Hamlet, Henry V, A Handful of Dust, 84 Charing Cross Road, A Room with a View, Macbeth
• Indris Elba – The Mountain Between Us, The Dark Tower, Molly’s Game, 100 Streets, Mandela the Road to Freedom, Prometheus, Pacific Rim, Thor, 28 Weeks Later, The Wire, Crocodile Shoes
• Rebel Wilson – Jojo Rabbit, The Hustle, Absolutely Fabulous the Movie, Pitch Perfect
• Jennifer Hudson – Dream Girls
• Ian McKellen – All Is True, Vicious, The Hobbit etc, X-Men Days of Future Past etc, King Lear, Extras, Richard III, Cold Comfort Farm, The Ballad of Little Jo, Macbeth
• Why? The cast. I love cats. I’m curious about why everyone hates it so much.
• Seen: 22 January 2022      

       Well, there’s Idris Elba, the villain. And Rebel Wilson. And James Corden. And Judi Dench. And Ian McKellen. Oh, and Grizabella is Jennifer Hudson, of course!

       Why don’t people love this? They must be allergic to cats. They’ve certainly never had a cat for a pet.

       The costumes are brilliant. How do they wave their tails and twitch their ears? The staging, the colour, the dancing, the music – I love it!

 4 ½ * of 5.

 

 

 

QEDA

 QEDA 2017

• Director: Mark Kestner
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Carsten Björnlund, Sofia Helin, Marijana Jankovic, Stina Ekblad, Joseph Mawle
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Sofia Helin – The Snowman, Tusenbröder
• Stina Ekblad – Tusenbröder, August Strindberg ett liv, The Tempest (on stage in Stockholm).
• Joseph Mawle: Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, Birdsong, The Awakening, Made in Dagenham, Merlin
• Why? Sci fi. Lots of *
• Seen: 22 January 2022      

       The year is 2095. The Earth is mostly covered in ocean. Time travel is possible but the dangers of disrupting the time vortex are so great that QEDAs are forbidden. But one remains. He returns to 2017 to save the scientific research that will stop the disaster and save his daughter’s life.

       It’s sombre, complex and fascinating. I don’t quite follow all the wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff but that doesn’t matter.

       It’s not every day one sees a Danish sci fi film, but I hope they make more. This one is world-class. 

4 ½ * of 5.

 

The Man Who Knew Too Much

 The Man Who Knew Too Much 1956

• Director: Alfred Hitchcock
• Seen by this director: Torn Curtain, Marnie, The Birds, Psycho, North by Northwest, Vertigo, The Trouble with Harry, Rear Window, Rope, Notorious, Spellbound, Rebecca, Jamaica Inn, The 39 Steps
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: James Stewart, Doris Day, Brenda de Banzie, Bernard Miles, Ralph Truman, Daniel Gélin
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• James Stewart – The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Greatest Show on Earth, Bell Book and Candle, Vertigo, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Rear Window, Harvey, Rope, maybe others
• Doris Day – Midnight Lace, others
• Brenda de Banzie – The Pink Panther
• Why? James Stewart.
• Seen: Probably once before. Now 21 January 2022      

       A bumbling American doctor (Stewart), his wife (Day), a very famous former stage star, spies, assassinations, a kidnapped kid.

       The doctor is a real jerk. There should be a law that James Stewart can only play nice guys. The story is so flimsy it’s almost irritating. I’m just waiting for the big ‘Que sera, sera’ climax. And I don’t even like the song.

       Not even James Stewart can save this lump of a highly overrated film. 

2 * of 5. 

PS Admittedly I’m in a bad mood today. I might be more merciful another time.