Fracture

 

Fracture 2007

• Director: Gregory Hoblit
• Seen by this director: TV series
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Ryan Gosling, Rosamund Pike, David Strathairn, Embeth Davidtz, Billy Burke, Cliff Curtis, Fiona Shaw
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Anthony Hopkins – Thor, Proof, Bobby, The Human Stain, Titus, Meet Joe Black, Amistad, The Remains of the Day, Howards End, The Silence of the Lambs, 84 Charing Cross Road, Othello, The Elephant Man, Lion in Winter
• Ryan Gosling – First Man, Blade Runner 2049, La La Land, Crazy Stupid Love, Lars and the Real Girl, Half Nelson, The United States of Leland
• Rosamund Pike – A United Kingdom, What We Did on Our Holiday, Gone Girl, A Long Way Down, The World’s End, Johnny English Reborn, Made in Dagenham, An Education, The Libertine
• David Strathairn – Nomadland, UFO, American Pastoral, Hotel Marigold 2, Tempest, Good Night Good Luck, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, A League of the Their Own, Iceman, Silkwood  
• Embeth Davidtz – Shackleton, Schindler’s List
• Cliff Curtis – Doctor Sleep, Sunshine, The Fountain, Whale Rider, Once Were Warriors, The Piano
• Fiona Shaw – The White King, The Tree of Life, Harry Potter, Doctor Sleep, The Butcher Boy, My Left Foot
• Why? The cast.
• Seen: 30 January 2023      

       Ted (Hopkins) shoots his adulterous wife and ends up in court with the hot shot up-and-coming Willy (Gosling). They’re both arrogant know-it-alls and it becomes a battle of wits and words.

       There are traces of the classic Sleuth which add spice but the story lags from time to time and I doubt that all the legal stuff is correct. However, the acting is as good as one has come to expect from these two and it’s also tense, intense and suspenseful.      

4* of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Riding in Cars with Boys

 

Riding in Cars with Boys 2001

• Director: Penny Marshall
• Seen by this director: A League of Their Own, Awakenings
• Based on the book by Beverly D’Onofrio
• Cast: Drew Barrymore, Steve Zahn, Adam Garcia, Brittany Murphy, James Wood, Lorraine Bracco, Rosie Perez, Sara Gilbert, Peter Facinelli
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Drew Barrymore – He’s Just Not That into You, Music and Lyrics, Donnie Darko, Ever After, ET
• Steve Zahn – Sunshine Cleaning, Hamlet, You Have Mail, SubUrbia, Reality Bites
• Adam Garcia – Death on the Nile, Murder on the Orient Express, Flight of the Conchords, Doctor Who, Wilde
• Brittany Murphy – The Dead Girl, 8 Mile, Girl Interrupted, Clueless
• James Wood – Be Cool, Salvador, Videodrome, Eyewitness, Holocaust
• Lorraine Bracco – The Sopranos, The Basketball Diaries
• Rosie Perez – White Men Can’t Jump, Fearless, Night on Earth, Do the Right Thing
• Sara Gilbert – High Fidelity
• Why? I remember liking it.
• Seen: Once before. Now 29 January 2023      

       Bev (Barrymore) gets pregnant at fifteen, marries Ray (Zahn) and complains the rest of the film about how her husband and kid have ruined her life. Both Bev and Barrymore are obnoxious, as is her father (Wood) but Zahn, Bracco, Murphy and Perez make it bearable. It tugs at the heartstrings often enough to make one think it’s a good film, but it’s not. It’s uncomfortably close to being misogynistic; I’m quite sure the opposite was intended but I still don’t like it this time. The ending is sickeningly sweet. 

2* of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Earth to Echo

 

Earth to Echo 2014

• Director: Dave Green
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Teo Halm, Astro, Reese Hartwig, Ella Wahlestedt
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Ella Wahlestedt – Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
• Why? Sci fi
• Seen: 28 January 2023      

       Three boys protest a new motorway coming through their neighbourhood. An alien shows up who needs their help and helps them. Yeah, E.T. and all that. Even considering it was made to entertain little boys, it’s more or less worthless. No charm, no humour (no successful humour in any case), no originality. It gets a * because a girl is finally brought in and she’s smarter than they are.

       And that’s what it gets.      

1* of 5

 

 

 

Death on the Nile

 

·       

Death on the Nile 2022

• Director: Kenneth Branagh
• Seen by this director: All Is True, Murder on the Orient Express, Cinderella, Thor, Sleuth, The Magic Flute, As You Like It, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Hamlet, In the Bleak Midwinter, Frankenstein, Much Ado about Nothing, Peter’s Friends, Dead Again, Henry V
• Based on the novel by Agatha Christie
• Cast: Tom Bateman, Annette Bening, Kenneth Branagh, Russell Brand, Letitia Wright, Sophie Okonedo, Emma Mackey, Armie Hammer, Gal Gadot, Rose Leslie, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Tom Bateman – Murder on the Orient Express, Much Ado about Nothing
• Annette Bening  – Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool, Ginger & Rosa, The Kids Are All Right, Being Julia, Mars Attacks!, Richard III, The Grifters,
• Kenneth Branagh – Tenet, All Is True, Murder on the Orient Express, Dunkirk, Wallander, My Week with Marilyn, The Boat that Rocked, Valkyria, Warm Springs, Harry Potter, Rabbit-Proof Fence, Shackleton, Hoe to Kill Your Neighbour’s Dog, The Wild Wild West, Hamlet, Othello, Frankenstein, Much Ado about Nothing, Swing Kids, Dead Again, Peter’s Friends, Henry V, Fortunes of War
• Russell Brand – The Tempest
• Letitia Wright – Wakanda Forever, Ready Player One, Black Panther, Humans, Doctor Who
• Sophie Okonedo – Wild Rose, Murder on the Orient Express, The Hollow Crown, The Slap, After Earth, Doctor Who, Skin, The Secret Life of Bees, Hotel Rwanda, Dirty Pretty Things, Go Now
• Armie Hammer – On the Basis of Sex, Hotel Mumbai, The Lone Ranger, Social Network
• Gal Gadot – Wonder Woman
• Rose Leslie – Utopia
• Jennifer Saunders - Absolutely Fabulous + Movie
• Dawn French – Little Britain, Harry Potter, David Copperfield, Absolutely Fabulous, The Young Ones
• Why? Branagh
• Seen: 23 January 2023      

       Kenneth Branagh should do Shakespeare. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it every time he does something that isn’t.

       With that established I will admit that he’s directed some good non-Shakespeare films, so I will not pre-judge this, even though I don’t enjoy Agatha Christie books.

       I won’t bother with the story. The title says enough. It’s stylish, exuberant, slyly clever, visually beautiful and filled with postcardy, gorgeously tourist sights and a few famous actors.

       On the minus side: the story is boring, there are too many people, the love intrigues are tepid and Branagh, great actor though he is, should not play Poirot.

       On the plus side: it’s just so beautiful and I like Saunders, Wright and Okonedo in their roles.

       But my first sentence stands.      

3* of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Colonia

 

Colonia 2015

• Director: Florian Gallenberger
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Emma Watson, Daniel Brühl, Michael Nyqvist, Richenda Carey
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Emma Watson – Little Women, The Circle, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, My Week with Marilyn, Harry Potter  
• Daniel Brühl – The Cloverfield Paradox, Alone in Berlin, Woman in Gold, Inglourious Basterds, Ladies in Lavender, Good-bye Lenin
• Michael Nyqvist – John Wick, Luftslottet som sprängdes, Flickan som lekte med elden, Män som hatar kvinnor, Den bästa av mödrar, Grabben i graven bredvid, Reuter & Skoog, Tillsammans
• Richenda Carey – Laura Croft Tomb Raider, Whatever Happened to Harold Smith, Photographing Fairies, Jeeves and Wooster
• Why? The cast.
• Seen: 22 January 2023     

       1973. Chile during the coup. British Lena (Watson) and German Daniel (Brühl) are active in the movement supporting Allende. They are arrested and brought to the stadium. Daniel is moved to the feared and mysterious Colonia, an isolated and fanatical religious sect who produces weapons and poison gas for Pinochet’s regime. It is led by Paul Schäfer (Nyqvist). Lena is released from the stadium and travels the length of Chile  to infiltrate the sect and rescue Daniel.

       It’s a cruel, grim, and frightening thriller. Lena and Daniel may be fictional, but Paul Schäfer isn’t. He and Colonia continued until the ending of Pinochet’s dictatorship.

       Watson and Brühl are good as always but Nyquist, dear sweet Michael, playing against character, is completely convincing as the sadistic and perverted sect leader.     

4* of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear White People

 

Dear White People 2014

• Director: Justin Simien
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Tyler James Williams, Tessa Thompson, Kyle Gallner, Teyonah Parris, Brandon P Bell, Brittany Curran, Justin Dobies, Marque Richardson, Dennis Haysbert
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Tessa Thompson – Annihilation, Selma, Veronica Mars
• Kyle Gallner – Beautiful Creatures, Veronica Mars
• Teyonah Parris – Mad Men
• Dennis Haysbert – Good-bye Bafana, Far from Heaven, Heat, Love Field
• Why? Curious
• Seen: 21January 2023      

       Either I’m in the wrong country or the wrong generation or it’s because I didn’t go to a high-status university, but this film says very little to me for the first half or more. It does make some relevant points on racism, as promised, but not nearly as much as I had expected. Most of the characters are irritating, the love stuff is boring as is the first hour. A pity. I had hoped for something a little more sensational.

       I do, however, like Sam (Thompson), the creator of her ‘Dear White People’ pod. It’s worth seeing for her sake. Lionel (Williams) is cool too and the film does pick up so I’m glad I stayed with it.      

3* of 5

 

 

 

 

 

Everything Everywhere All at Once

 

Everything Everywhere All at Once 2022

• Director: Daniels
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ke Huy Kwan, James Hong, Tallie Medel, Jennie Slate
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Michelle Yeoh – Last Christmas, Sunshine, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Tomorrow Never Dies
• Jamie Lee Curtis – Knives Out, Veronica Mars, A Fish Called Wanda
• James Hong – The Day the Earth Stood Still, Blade Runner, Bound for Glory, many TV series
• Jennie Slate – Venom
• Why? The title and the rave reviews
• Seen: 20 January 2023 

       Evelyn (Yeoh) runs a laundromat with her husband Waymond (Kwan) who is filing for divorce (or maybe she’s filling for divorce). She’s stressed and frazzled, and the laundromat is being audited by an IRS accountant (Curtis). And then Waymond whisks her off to a parallel universe, saying only she can save everything. Only she might not be the right Evelyn. Only she must be because she’s so bad at everything.

       I have never tripped on LSD, but I imagine it might be something like this. And I have seen many weird films, but this could well be the weirdest. But it’s funny. And so refreshing to see a middle-aged non-Caucasian woman star in an absurd adventurous sci fi film. Another plus: Curtis is almost unrecognisable in this, possibly her best role ever.

       Fascinating, fun, wild, ridiculous, imaginative and visually exciting, it’s only minus is that it’s too long.      

4 * of 5