The Bench

 

The Bench (Bänken) 2000

• Director: Per Fly
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Jesper Christensen, Stina Holm Joenson, Sarah Boberg, Lars Brygman
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in
• Jesper Christensen – Spectre, Melancholia, Young Victoria, Quantum of Solace, Casino Royale, Italienska för nybörjare
• Sara Boberg – Bron
• Lars Brygman – Rejseholdet, Smilla’s Sense of Snow
• Why? Good reviews
• Seen: 28 August 2024 

Kaj (Christensen) is a middle-aged, belligerent hostile alcoholic who spends much of his time on a park bench. Liv (Holm Joenson) has left her abusive husband (Brygman) with her little boy and finds a flat which happens to be close to Kaj’s. He also happens to be her father but she was four the last time she saw him.

The actors do a decent job but the story is so unlikely that even fine Danish acting can’t carry it. A disappointment. 

2* of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jacob's Ladder

 

Jacob’s Ladder 1990

• Director: Adrian Lyne
• Seen by this director: Flashdance
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Tim Robbins, Elizabeth Peña, Danny Aiello, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Patricia Kalember, Culkin McCauley
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in
• Tim Robbins – Dark Waters, Thanks for Sharing, Then She Found Me, The Secret Life of Words, The War of the Worlds, Mystic River, Human Nature, High Fidelity, Mission to Mars, Cradle Will Rock, Arlington Road, The Shawshank Redemption, Jungle Fever, Twister, Bull Durham
• Danny Aiello – many
• Pruitt Taylor Vince - many
• Why? Tim Robbins
• Seen: 27 August 2024 

Jake (Robbins), a Vietnam vet now working for the NY post office, suffers from severe nightmares about the war. Then nightmarish things start happening when he’s awake. His past – the war, his ex-wife Sarah (Kalember), his sons, one of who died as a small boy (Macauley), his current girlfriend Jezzy (Peña) – merge with what’s happening now.

A palm-reader tells him that according to his life-line, he’s already dead. Then it emerges that the vets from his unit are experiencing the same things.

It’s a psychological and political thriller that touches deeply, a sad study in despair and dread. Robbins is outstanding. 

 

4 ½ * of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tár

 

Tár 2022

• Director: Todd Field
• Seen by this director: Little Children, In the Bedroom
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Cate Blanchett, Noémie Merlant, Nina Hoss, Mark Strong
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in
• Cate Blanchett – The House with Clocks in Its Walls, Thor Ragnarök, The Hobbit etc, Cinderella, Hanna, Robin Hood, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Elizabeth 1&2, Hot Fuzz, Babel Little Fish, The Aviator, Coffee & Cigarettes, The Shipping News, The Man Who Cried, Eyes Wide Shut
• Mark Strong – 1917, Stockholm, Before I Go to Sleep, The Imitation Game, Soldier Sailor Tinker Spy, The Eagle, Robin Hood, Sherlock Holmes, Young Victoria, Stardust, Sunshine
• Why? Possibly good
• Seen: 25 August 2024  

As many have noted, Blanchett is brilliant, the film isn’t. Many others have thought both Blanchett and the film are brilliant. Sadly, I don’t. As a lover of classical music I was very much looking forward to seeing this. Indeed, I have saved it until it felt like the right evening. Evidently, this evening isn’t. I’m so disappointed.

It’s said that it gets more interesting towards the end, so I’ll fast forward…

…maybe somewhat more interesting, I suppose, but I don’t like the film. 

2* of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A History of Violence

 

A History of Violence 2005

Director: David Cronenberg

Seen by this director: eXistenZ, The Fly, Videodrome

Based on the graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke

Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, Ed Harris, William Hurt, Ashton Holmes

Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in

Viggo Mortensen – Green Book, Far from Men, The Road, Hidalgo, Lord of the Rings etc, 28 Days, A Perfect Murder, Carlito’s Way, The Indian Runner, Witness

Maria Bello – The Fifth Wave, Prisoners, The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, Secret Window

Ed Harris – Cymbeline, Snow Piercer, Copying Beethoven, Gone Baby Gone, The Human Stain, The Hours, A Beautiful Mind, Pollock, Waking the Dead, The Truman Show, The Rock

William Hurt – Humans, Winter’s Tale, Into the Wild, Sunshine, Smoke, The Accidental Tourist

Why? I remember it as good

Seen: Once before. Now 24 August 2024 

Tom (Mortensen) is a small town regular likeable guy, family man, devout Christian and all that. He’s even keen on hot sex with his lawyer wife Edie (Bello). He becomes the local hero by shooting two bad guys who threaten everyone in his diner. Then two other bad guys come to the diner and address him as Joey, insisting he’s hiding from his past crimes.

It’s suspenseful with a believable (maybe?) story which raises some questions and evokes a real roller coaster of emotions. And wow, is Viggo Mortensen good! 

4 * of 5

 

 

 

 

 

20 Years After

 

20 Years After 2008

• Director: Jim Torres
• Based on novel: no
• Cast: Joshua Leonard, Azura Skye, Diane Salinger, Aaron Hendry, Nathan Baesel, Reg E Cathey
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in
• Joshua Leonard – The Blair Witch Project
• Azura Skye – 28 Days, Grimm, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, EDtv
• Reg E Cathey – Fantastic Four, The Wire, The Machinist, Homicide Life on the Street, American Psycho, What about Bob, Born on the Fourth of July
• Why? Dystopia
• Seen: 23 August 2024 

Nuclear bombs, epidemics, starvation, survivors trying to find each other. Decent set-up, decent characters, slow story. It tries too hard to be profound and existential and fails, but at least it tries. It doesn’t always make a lot of sense and it’s kind of boring, but it’s not as bad as most reviewers rate it. 

2 ½ * of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Glassblower's Children

 

The Glassblower’s Children 1998

• Director: Anders Grönros
• Based on novel by Maria Gripe
• Cast: Stellan Skarsgård, Pernilla August, Thommy Berggren, Lena Granhagen, Jasmine Heikura, Oliver P Peldius, Elin Klinga, Ann-Katrin Palme
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in
• Stellan Skarsgård – many, including Hamlet
• Pernilla August – Star Wars, Britt-Marie var här, Jag är Dina, Hamlet
• Thommy Berggren – Joe Hill, Elvira Madigan
• Why? Skarsgård
• Seen: 22 August 2024 

The most beautiful glass in Småland, magic rings, fortune tellers, talking ravens, missing children, an Emporer and Empress of the Forgotten Castle.

It may be based on a novel by one of Sweden’s more popular authors but I was expecting something realistic. It’s not much of a story. Kids might like it. 

2* of 5

 

 

 

 

Ambulance

 

Ambulance 2022

• Director: Michael Bay
• Seen by this director: The Island, Armageddon, The Rock
• Based on novel: no
• Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Eiza Gonzalez, Garret Dillahunt, Keir O’Donnell, Jackson White, Olivia Stambouliah, Moses Ingram
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in
• Jake Gyllenhaal - many
• Yahya Abdul-Mateen II – The Greatest Showman
• Eiza González – Alita Battle Angel
• Garret Dillahunt – Where the Crawdads Sing, Widows, 12 Years a Slave, Looper, Any Day Now, Winter’s Bone, The Road, Terminator the Sarah Connors Chronicles, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, No Country for Old Men
• Keir O’Donnell - The Dry, The Runaways
• Why? Might be good.
• Seen: 21 August 2024 

Super big bank robbery, a bunch of cops, a couple of ambulance paramedics, a lot of shooting and car chases.

It’s a mess and one wonders why Gyllenhaal is in it, but he’s actually quite good. It’s exciting at times and clever at times but that’s because it’s a remake of the Danish film Ambulancen. I kind of like it, except for the boring parts. 

3* of 5