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It Ends with Us (2024)
It Ends with Us
"Lily" (Blake Lively) is supposed to give an eulogy at her father's funeral, but she can't. Even with her mother (Amy Morton) there and in the full glare of a packed church, she cannot find five good things to say about the man. Quickly we learn - through some flashbacks - just why that is, and just why she's grown up to be a bit of a romantic. Then she encounters neuro-surgeon "Ryle" (Justin Baldoni) and there is instant chemistry. She then opens a long-dreamed of flower shop and a stranger walks in seeking a job. Guess what? She's "Allysa" (Jenny Slate) who just happens to be the sister of her enigmatic stranger. Maybe they can make a go of things? Well a dinner one evening brings her face to face with "Atlas" (Brandon Sklenar) and that takes us back down the path of retrospection as it turns out that in her younger days, she (Isabela Ferrer) has met this vagrant (Alex Neustaedter) and they's had quite an intense relationship until her father (Kevin McKidd) caught them, and - well you can use your imagination. When "Ryle" catches them chatting, he suspects the worst and that proceeds to cause his behaviour to materially change the dynamics as matters take a series of quite unpleasant turns. Now, quite why anyone thought this was a film worth making eluded me. Sure the subject matter is serious, but this plodding drama just takes way too long to get going and then when it might become more compelling it runs out of steam. The camerawork pays far too much superficial attention to the undercooked character of "Lily" and the writing all too often resorts to power-ballad mode when the story becomes potentially more poignant and resonant. We know that the gist of the plot is to underscore not just the effects of domestic violence in the present, but to try and understand the sources so that path need never be taken again, but it's all presented in too shallow a fashion and could easily lose half an hour without impacting on the thrust - such as it is - of the drama. It's disappointing.
Radical (2023)
Radical
"Sergio" (Eugenio Derbez) is a new teacher at a primary school in a run-down Mexican town where his unorthodox teaching methods cause a bit of consternation for the head teacher "Chucho" (Daniel Haddad). There's a curriculum that they are supposed to follow and this school is the very worst in the land. To inspire better results, the teachers are offered bonuses if their pupils can improve, so imagine their chagrin when "Sergio" starts upturning tables and using the school's water reservoir to illustrate the relationship between weight and density. Not only must this teacher galvanise his hitherto indifferent students, but he has to win over his sceptical boss else he's going to end up out of a job! What now ensues is based on a true story and I think could be doing with being shown in classrooms everywhere. Not just because it clearly demonstrates the sheer power an inspirational teacher has to enable young minds, but also to remind kids in better off communities that education (with our without technology) is a thing to be valued. This man offers them a template to teach themselves; to solve problems and develop teamwork skills and to realise that their options are not quite as limited as might have seemed when they started compulsory schooling with precious little interest in any of it. It also asks questions about the rigid nature of repetitive learning and invites us to consider what is or isn't a teacher's place in a community that is historically constrained by perceptions of realism. Can any of these youngsters really aim high and deliver, or is it all pipe dreams? There's a fun dynamic between Derbez and Haddad and the storyline allows us to observe some of the more salient issues that affect these people growing up - poverty, drugs, corruption and family all playing their own decisive part in influencing how education fits into their society. Two hours just flies by, here, and there's plenty of entertainment mingled in with the more serious food for thought. Well worth two hours, I'd say.
Gracie and Pedro: Pets to the Rescue (2024)
Gracie and Pedro: Mission Impossible
It's moving day for the family and with their furniture safely en route to Salt Lake City, the four head to the airport with their beloved pets. "Gracie" is a rather snooty dog and "Pedro" a street-smart cat who are in their cage going through the baggage process at the airport when they have one of their many spats. Next thing, they are tumbling amongst the conveyor belts, and well - they clearly are not getting onto the plane. Now they must try and use their guile, and a few new friends, to find out just how they can make the trip themselves and reunite with their dinner. They don't really like one another but after an altercation with a few savvy airport rats, have to learn to work together else they will end up in the pound - or even worse! Driven on by a pair of tenacious pursuers whom they assume are from the city authorities, off they set on a series of escapades. It's all fairly standard summer family fayre, this film, with decent animation and a couple of principal characters that gradually impart the virtues of inter-reliance, trust and of always keeping your collar on! No, you will not remember watching it afterwards, it's not a story packed with jeopardy or innovation, but there's plenty of action, a little sarcastic wit from the dialogue and some fun in a fairground for the denouement. It probably doesn't need to be seen in a cinema, but it's perfectly watchable.
The Sphinx (1933)
The Sphinx
Lionel Atwill is "Jerome Breen" - a deaf mute accused of murder on the basis that he was heard speaking at the scene of the crime. When doctors confirm that to have been impossible, he is acquitted - but not everyone believes him. Reporter Theodore Newton ("Jack") determines to get to the bottom of it, and matters take a more immediate turn when his co-worker "Jerry" (Sheila Terry) - on whom he has a bit of a crush - is assigned to write some short articles on the man and becomes infatuated with him. Atwill always did make for a good baddie and here he (and his facial expressions) do their job well - without speaking a word. Coupled with a secret room and a dead piano key as well a police officer (Paul Hurst) who is actually quite effective, despite himself, we have quite a decent little mystery here. The ending isn't the best, to be honest - it's a little as if they just ran out of film so had to wrap it up quickly, but it is still a good hour's entertainment.
Trap (2024)
Trap
Well the best bits of this are most definitely in the trailers! "Cooper" (Josh Hartnett) takes his daughter "Riley" (Ariel Donoghue) to see a "Lady Raven" (Saleka Shyamalan) concert only to find that when they are in the arena, the feds descend on the place like a ton of bricks and thanks to some secret information obtained from the guy who sells the T-shirts, we discover that it's all an elaborate trap to ensnare the "Butcher". As the name suggests, he's a brutal serial-chopper whom they know is at the concert. With the net tightening, we begin realise quickly who the identity of the murderer is and so now have to sit through an increasingly preposterous hundred minutes of cat and mouse with Hayley Mills hoping to catch her man. At times this does generate a bit of menace as he sees the openings to flee being systematically closed in front of him, and with his enthusiastic daughter in tow, his options are increasingly limited but in the end it's all peters out into a rather ridiculous ending that I found rather weak, implausible and disappointingly unoriginal. Hartnett just hasn't the manner to convince as the baddie and there's way too much concert-style material that suggests Miss Shyamalan asked her dad if she could have a film for Christmas. Too long and too feeble, sorry.
I Saw the TV Glow (2024)
I Saw the TV Glow
Told using a verity of storytelling techniques, this is a curious film that certainly has a potent point to make but somehow it just can't get there. It's all about the relationship between two folks on the periphery of society. "Owen" (Ian Foreman then Justice Smith) lives with his parents whilst "Maddy" (Brigette Lundy-Paine) abides with her indifferent mother. She's a few years older than he, and they initially bond over a television show called "Pink Opaque" that she has been watching for a few seasons, but it's on past his 10.15 bedtime. She makes it pretty clear that her sexual interests lie elsewhere but he, not remotely bothered, just wants to see the show. A sleepover starts the ball rolling on their enigmatic friendship that invites us to consider a range of issues surrounding sexual and gender identity, fluidity and the sometimes quite traumatic effects these can have on people emotionally and psychologically ill-equipped to deal with at a young age. The use of the television series is quite an effective conduit for the theme as it uses the super-natural to instil both an element of fear and an element of the ridiculous - especially the ice cream man and the totally non-menacing "Mr. Malevolent" whose purposes and dynamic evolve as the characters do throughout the narrative. Suddenly, she goes AWOL for ten years then returns to his life with questions to ask and to answer, but is she still the same person and are either of them any more at ease with whom they truly are? It has brief moments to lighten the mood, but for the most part it's quite an intense and slowly paced look at two characters that I just didn't feel I knew. I suspect this may resonate intensely with people dealing with gender identification complexities, but for the rest of us it pointed us in the right direction but then more or less abandons us to infill too much of the personalities of "Owen" and "Maddy" to fit our own expectations or aspirations for them. It's as if auteur Jane Schoenbrun has given us the edge of the jigsaw puzzle and left us to do the rest - without there necessarily being a right way to do it. It also has one or two goes at bringing things to a conclusion - or as much of one as we are to actually have, and that didn't really work for me. I didn't need "the end", but what we did get was a bit frail. It is an intriguing piece of cinema at times, but for me it lost it's way.
Trouble in Store (1953)
Trouble in Store
Margaret Rutherford and Norman Wisdom share top billing here but the former - "Miss Bacon", a rather classy shoplifter, features infrequently. This is really just a showcase for Wisdom. He works in a department store that gets a new boss in "Augustus Freeman" (Jerry Desmonde) with whom he gets off to quite an entertaining, if ropey, start. Hired, then fired, then rehired - we now enjoy a series of set-piece comedy scenarios as poor old "Norman" lurches from fireplace to the fire. Purely by accident, he finds himself embroiled in a cunning plot to relieve the store of it's takings on sale day - but can he and his pal "Peggy" (Moira Lister) thwart the scheme? There are quite a few scenes towards the end that show just how manic department store sales could be, and of just how easily the shrewd could capitalise on the ensuing chaos ("Miss Bacon" certainly knows how). Fans of Wisdom will find this an enjoyable enough family comedy caper that presents humour that is maybe just a bit too predictable, but fun nonetheless.
Az én XX. századom (1989)
My Twentieth Century
Dorota Segda has a go at some entertaining multi-tasking in this enjoyable thriller about the different paths taken by two poverty-stricken orphans whom we first meet trying to sell matches in the depths of a snowy winter in Budapest. They are identical twins "Dóra" and "Lili" who happened to be born just as Thomas Edison demonstrated his first ever light bulb. They are very close until separated - unwillingly - with one embarking on a more privileged life and the other taking a more onerous route to adulthood. Both, though, have one thing in common - they can think on their feet. "Dòra" just loves to fleece the wealthy and dim aristocracy who are enamoured of her charm and beauty; "Lili" on the other hand hates the whole concept of that entitled society and is very ready with a fizzing bomb to bring their whole edifice crashing down. Many years later, the two are unexpectedly reunited on the Orient Express thanks to the enigmatic "Z" (Oleg Yankovskiy) and what ensues is quite a playful exercise in sibling reconciliation via a fairly circuitous route! I thought the delicate imagery had something of the von Sternberg to it. The monochrome camerawork simply loving the vulnerability of Segda's characters one minute, then enticing the mischief from her the next. The dialogue is actually quite sparing, but what there is manages to take a swipe at a society of the have and the have nots as well as those who ply their trade capitalising on the vanity (or hormones) of the would-be sophisticates. On the face of it, the narrative can look a bit of a mess but I thought auteur Ildikó Enyedi managed to knit the threads together quite agreeably.
Inxeba (2017)
The Wound
"Xolani" or just "X" (Nakhane) left his Xhosa tribe to find work in the city, but has now returned as a "caregiver" to help the young men prepare for their impending initiation into manhood. This essentially involves being covered in a white paint and preparing for a circumcision that was as likely to lead to terminal infection as to anything else. He reunites with his married friend "Vija" (Bongile Mantsai) and we quickly discover that's their is an unconventional friendship - and one that is best kept under wraps. That proves much more difficult when one of his initiates - "Kwanda" (Niza Jay) cottons on and it's clear that he can, and will, cause trouble. What follows is a poignantly told story of two men treading on eggshells. They must reconcile their own feelings with their responsibilities to their families, community and culture, and as events begin to spiral out of control it falls to "X" to make some very difficult choices and take some equally drastic action. There isn't loads of dialogue here, the photography and the simplicity of the surroundings do most of the heavy lifting as we observe their drama unfolding against a backdrop of attitudes that can make you wince at times. On the face of it, you could make some value judgments about "Kwanda" but when the context of their societal values is presented to us, that's not quite so simple as us Westerners might expect. This has a very natural feel to it, the characters seem plausible and they do engage. It's worth ninety minutes, for sure.
The Brothers Grimm (2005)
The Brothers Grimm
Well it is a Terry Gilliam film so was always going to be a bit eccentric - but the idea that the legendary Brothers Grimm were actually grifters was actually quite an fun one. Assemble a couple of A-listers and we should have been flying. Except, well - we are not. Instead of having some amiable horseplay as they fleece the gullible and the unwitting, we find "Jake" (Heath Legder) and "Will" (Matt Damon) in a village where the children have all gone missing. The local grandee "Gen. Delatombe" (Jonathan Pryce) is on to their scamming and decides it's time to get them to prove their worth. Where are the sprogs? Well to save their necks, the not so dynamic duo have to deal with a seriously malevolent and fantastic foe in the "Mirror Queen" (the sparingly used Monica Bellucci) who wants to take over the world kind of thing. What now ensues are a series of typical Gilliam-esque escapades using a mediaeval backdrop to facilitate the borderline slapstick antics of the siblings trying to save their bacon. At times it is quite amusing offering some enjoyable parodies of established fairy tales, and the script does deliver a few entertaining quips as we go along but it seems unsure just who it's for. There's some darkness and good, old-fashioned, evil - but not enough of that. It's as if it was trying to be scary but hadn't quite the courage (to settle for a higher age rating, maybe?). As it is, it falls between two stools leaving us with an undercooked and overlong, slightly repetitious, series of frying pan to fire scenarios that even the engaging Ledger can't spin out for two hours. Damon doesn't really add much and Pryce is just in uniformed ham mode through his brief appearances. If you know the works of the brothers, it will make much more sense and some of it's observations about superstitions and the society in which the peasantry and gentry lived are quite witty, but they are all to often lost in a sea of mediocrity.
The Butterfly Effect (2004)
The Butterfly Effect
"Evan" (Ashton Kutcher) has had a troubled existence thus far in his young life, and is prone to blackouts. These seem to take chunks of his day away from him as he comes back to a consciousness unaware of what has just taken place, or even where he is! He tries to fill in the gaps by writing in his journal what could have happened then miraculously finds himself back at that exact time and place. It's almost as if these memory lapses were just missing pieces of his jigsaw puzzle that he must go and relive, retrospectively, and infill. The thing is, though, he doesn't readily consider the impact that these additional experiences may have on future events. Basically his actions could change the course of history. It's really his beloved "Kayleigh" (Amy Smart) he is determined to keep safe - and that's quite a task as their childhood antics have frequently caused quite a few tragic events and his attempts to reverse these merely seem to create others... Can he square the circle? This is quite a cleverly constructed story that allows Kutcher to prove he's not just a pretty lad. His characterisation of "Evan" gradually develops from someone lost in a sea of confusion to a man whose realisation of his predicament is becoming a little more enabling. The nature of the story allows the film to adopt a loosely linked portmanteau style to it - with each episode in is life introducing different characters and scenarios which, so long as he can access his journal, he can escape from should the dangers (and there are quite a few) threaten to overwhelm him. It's not an easy watch - there's violence and bullying a-plenty, but it's a quirkily presented look at the domino effects of human behaviour that does merit a watch.
Shadow in the Cloud (2020)
Shadow in the Cloud
I had quite high hopes for this - I liked the premiss. A WWII bomber flight has "Maude" (Chloë Grace Moretz) secreted in the lower gun turret. She has a secret cargo - but what could it be...? As they travel, some of the rather asinine crew become suspicious of her, her package and when they begin to see things; when things start to go a bit awry with the plane - then the crew must brace themselves for quite a surprise! Sadly, though - the execution of this isn't up to much. The acting is poor, the special effects straight from an episode of "Stargate" and the score tries very hard to compensate for the lack of menace generated by either cast or director. The story allows itself to get caught up in the relationship issues of the crew, never a great thing with an adventure film and the ending is just plain daft. Sorry - I love my sci-fi, but this is just really disappointing.
Love Affair (1939)
Love Affair
A classy feature from Leo McCarey, this one. Charles Boyer is a playboy crossing the Atlantic on a luxury liner; he meets and falls in love with Irene Dunne, a talented chanteuse heading to New York. They agree to meet six months later once he has become less of a rake and is able to support them both. On that fateful day, she arrives at the Empire State Building only to be involved in a paralysing car accident of which he - already at the top of the tower - is and remains unaware. It's a gentle, well acted melodrama with a simple, engaging plot and two charismatic leads. The writing is a touch on the sentimental side at times, but it's still a lovely film to watch 80 years after it was made.
Made in Dagenham (2010)
Made in Dagenham
This is quite an interesting retrospective look at the efforts made by ordinary, working women to achieve equal recognition, and payment, for their skills and efforts in 1960's Britain. Set against a backdrop of economic torpor; Sally Hawkins and Geraldine James lead a workmanlike cast of British stalwarts who set about to challenge the Ford Motor Company to pay them fairly for their work. Even with a Labour (socialist) government and the formidable Barbara Castle (Miranda Richardson) as Employment & Productivity Secretary in Harold Wilson's government and initial trade union backing; this proved to be a fairly monumental effort involving hardship and strife - at work at at home - for all concerned. At time, humorous, this is a poignant insight into the battles, frequently between what one might reasonably assume to be those on the same side; and even amongst some working men who did not, themselves, believe women merited pecuniary equality. Bob Hoskins is pretty good as the mischievous shop steward who manages to encourage the women to challenge, and sustain their efforts in the face of establishment opposition with Richard Schiff also good as the US Ford manager brought in to "bust" it all... It's a bit simplistic, but certainly worth a watch.
The Man Who Never Was (1956)
The Man Who Never Was
A bit like "I Was Monty's Double" (1958), this is a clever tale of British counter-espionage based on a true story. An RNVR officer Ewan Montagu (Clifton Webb) hits on the idea of arranging for the body of a senior British officer to be washed up on the shores of Spain complete with a whole set of falsified documents designed to mislead the Nazis into thinking that Greece was a target for invasion from N. Africa and so as to encourage them to divide their forces. A solid British cast of Robert Flemyng, Geoffrey Keen and Laurence Naismith provide the military backbone to the story and Gloria Grahame plays along well when the Nazi's send a slightly oddly cast Stephen Boyd along as an Irishman charged with investigating whether or not the officer and his documents are real. Ronald Neame presents us with a well directed, scripted and scored depiction of a remarkable tale of human ingenuity and the cast deliver a solid and, at times, quite suspenseful wartime drama.
What We Did on Our Holiday (2014)
What We Did on Our Holiday
This is a well written, gently comedic and poignant look at divorce and loss that raises quite a few smiles along the way. David Tennant and Rosamund Pike are a couple with three kids who head to Scotland to meet his father "Geordie" (Sir Billy Connolly) to help celebrate his 75th birthday. It'd be fair to describe the adults in the film as pretty dysfunctional, saving for Connolly and Annette Crosbie ("Doreen") who take a pragmatic, matter of fact view on life, and from whom much of the humour emanates. Grandad takes the kids for a trip to the beach and the plot hits the faintly, but engagingly, ridiculous as they all have to deal with some unexpected consequences. The performances from the three children are good; especially "Lottie" (Emilia Jones) and a strong cast of Scots regulars - Celia Imrie, Ralph Riach and Ron Donachie help us navigate through the selfish behaviour of the squabbling parents tempered by the innocence and common sense of their offspring. It's got some lovely scenic shots from the Gairloch and of the beautiful Wester Ross scenery and well, it's all just a bit different!
Caesar and Cleopatra (1945)
Caesar and Cleopatra
A gloriously spectacular but rather soulless adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's telling of the relationship between Julius Caesar - an engagingly mischievous effort from Claude Rains and the young and ostensibly inexperienced Cleopatra (Vivien Leigh). The story depicts the games he plays with her, and then she - more successfully - with him as their unlikely romance blossoms and an intricate power play takes shape. Cecil Parker and and on-form Flora Robson bring some vitality to the project, but otherwise this features a really rather stilted screenplay and whilst Stewart Granger does his best to inject some action into this verbose theatrical enterprise, it never really exceeds the sum of it's parts. Great to look at though. The costumes and sets are first class but it's not quite got the vigour to carry it all off.
Donnie Darko (2001)
Donnie Darko
Jake Gyllenhaal is the eponymous teenager who just doesn't really fit in. Ever since he was a young child, he has struggled and it's only "Gretchen" (Jena Malone) who has anything to do with him. It's maybe on the psychiatrists couch that he seems most able to relax - under hypnosis - and under that influence we embark on quite a curious learning curve that follows "Donnie" from childhood through the turbulence of his adolescence. Now his development might not have been helped by the arrival of an aircraft engine through his roof, so his body's self defence mechanisms seem to be seeking solace from his friend "Frank". No, he's not real - well not unless life-sized bunnies have escaped up the looking glass, and when he is told that the world will end in just short of one month's time, then it's time to find his psychological TARDIS - or as near as he can. Why did he survive the accident? Well that's the question that continues to plague him as his torments mount and his frustrations begin to manifest themselves in petty criminality and a testing of his relationship with his only real friend "Gretchen". Now I don't know about you, but until now I'd never thought of bunny rabbits as being the least menacing. Think "Thumper" from "Bambi" (1942) and that's about it. Here, though, auteur Richard Kelly uses the light - well mostly the dark - to create quite a sense of peril as young "Donnie" seems to lose what little grasp of the plot he ever had. It's also quite darkly comical at times, with the rather potent script treading a line between fact and fiction in an engagingly blurred fashion. Gyllenhaal plays the part well, adding a vulnerability to a role that is quite difficult to define and as we progress, well some of our earlier assumptions become just a little more fluid. The haunting Gary Jules version of the Tears For Fears "Mad World" song tops a strong 1980s soundtrack and the whole film has an ethereal eeriness to it that I did quite enjoy.
Call Me by Your Name (2017)
Call Me by Your Name
Amidst some beautiful Italian rusticity, we are introdcued to the "Perlman" family. It's the father (Michael Stuhlbarg) who has employed American "Oliver" (Armie Hammer) to help out with some research, and that involves living-in with his family of wife "Annella" (Amira Casar) and teenage son "Elio" (Timothée Chalamet) at their villa. Initially, they just call him "later" as that's his most often used expression as he takes his leave, but gradually they take to this man who appears to have depths that bely his slightly friendly but diffident attitude. It's the young "Elio" who seems most smitten. He's only seventeen but has a maturity that seems beyond his years as he uses his own substantial polyglot intellect to engage with their visitor. Though he's flirting like mad with his childhood friend "Marzia" (Esther Garrel) it's quite clear that his relationship with "Oliver" is passing the infatuation stage and heading into uncharted territory for both men - and the onlooking parents. With the sun shining, the wine flowing and the swimming tempting, Luca Guadagnino now takes us on a beautifully crafted story that is more than a rite of passage, or a typical "coming of age" drama - it's a love story that I felt at times was joyous and optimistic and yet, ultimately, somewhat cruel. The outwardly confident "Elio" has been raised in a loving and tactile family environment and so finds this emotional exposure he now faces both exhilarating and terrifying, and the sylphlike Chalamet really does deliver that vulnerability - and playfulness - like an experienced hand, whilst Hammer walks a path that I was never quite sure of. Is he just playing games with the young man, does he really care? Is it all just to pass the time during his visit or it it more? The location settings are gorgeous and the combination of a sparing script from James Ivory and some poignantly mixed musical themes ranging from Bach to Giorgio Moroder contribute to an aesthetic that is both ideally sheltering and yet hot-blooded at the same time. This is a film that seems to get better with age, and for just over two hours we are immersed in something that's really quite natural.
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Spider-Man 2
Following on closely from the first outing (2002) for Tobey Maguire in his red and blue suit, we find him using his now finely honed spidey powers for the good of New Yorkers whilst struggling at school and to hold down a job as a pizza delivery boy. His best pal "Harry" (James Franco) is still grieving for his murdered dad and, of course, his hormones are all over the place when it comes to "MJ" (Kirsten Dunst). He has a paper to write that might look better if he meets "Dr. Octavius" (Alfred Molina) and so when he discovers that he is doing some work for "Harry", a meeting is arranged which leads to a scientific experiment that - well let's just say that the well meaning scientist now turns into something of a metallic maniac! A side effect of this experiment seems to be giving "Spidey" a bit of limp-web syndrome, and he concludes that maybe his new powers have brought him nothing but grief. Should he hang up his lycra? That would please his newspaper boss "Jameson" (JK Simmons) but it would also rob him of much needed cash as his rent is due and poor old Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) is having difficulties with her mortgage. See - he has not his problems to seek! Meantime, the marauding tin machine does a deal with the avenging "Harry" to deliver our hero in return for an element that will provide for an eternal source of energy (or, more likely, destroy the planet) and this puts everyone at risk as the newly christened "Doc. Ock" starts to piece together a puzzle that will expose the true identity of "Spider-Man" and compromise those he loves... It's a bit of a slow start, this one, but once the explosions have started to come, it moves along apace with plenty of action, a minimum of cluttering romance, and some fun one-liners from the more prominent Simmonds as it transpires that his son (Daniel Gillies) is engaged to be married to - well that'd be telling. Maguire is confident holding this together and Sam Raimi uses his visual effects, especially at the end, to complement rather than overwhelm a story that's a sort of superhero equivalent of a coming of age tale. It's a big screen standard with Danny Elfman's recognisable score helping to deliver a solid and entertaining adventure film that might actually be better than the first one.
Self Reliance (2023)
Self Reliance
I did quite like the premiss here, but the joke really did start to wear a bit thin after half an hour. "Tommy" (Jake Johnson) is invited to a secret meeting with two men who offer him the chance of winning $1 million if only he can survive a deadly game for a month. In order to take the prize, he must find a way to stay alive for whilst various hunters try to kill him. His only guarantee of safety is not a church, but being in the close presence of someone else. Innocent civilians are his bullet-proof vest. He assumes he can rely on his family - but they think he's rather lost the plot and that means holing up for thirty days with his nearest and dearest isn't an option. He will have to get out into the real world and make friends. This, of course, leads to new experiences and puts a lot of pressure on this man who isn't really best equipped - for anything, really. What would or wouldn't we do for a life changing sum of money? That's the gist but I found the effort from Johnson just too intense. The humour was way too in your face and his acting over the top as the scenarios began to recycle themselves. There's no jeopardy at all, and it probably didn't help that I'd no idea who Andy Samberg was, either. It's a perfectly watchable vehicle for Johnson if you like your comedy predictable and loud, but otherwise it's all quickly paced but forgettable fayre.
Baisers volés (1968)
Stolen Kisses
At times Jean-Pierre Léaud's "Doinel" character reminded me a little of Charlie Chaplin's "Tramp" as he works his way through this engaging comedy about the lives and loves of a man whom, having just left the army, must adjust to civilian life. Initially, he lucks out as his girlfriend "Christine" (Claude Jade) manages to get her dad (Daniel Ceccaldi) to get him a job. Now a security guard he certainly isn't, so his tenure is short lived but it does introduce him to the intriguing world of the private detective. This leads to a job keeping an eye on the ostensibly upstanding businessman "Georges" (Michael Lonsdale) which in turn sees him meet that man's wife "Fabienne" (Delphine Seyrig) with whom, yep you've guessed... Why would this beautiful and charming woman be married to a shoe salesman? Well as the young man digs deeper, we discover - via a series of increasingly daft scenarios, that "Doinel" is pretty inept at just about everything but that has a charm to it that might just prove surprisingly successful in the least likely of fashions. Léaud is on good form here presenting an amiable buffoon that it's quite easy to like. There's also some enjoyable chemistry between him and both Seyrig and Jade that at times can make you cringe with embarrassment as he struggles to get to grips with his relationships with women. The comedy is plentiful and it's actually quite provocative for the late 1960s. It's a story about sexual awakenings and that elusive sense of self-realisation that I found flew by for a ninety minutes that still works entertainingly now.
Anthropoid (2016)
Anthropoid
This is a competent remake of the 1975 "Operation Daybreak" film that tells the story of the assassination of Hitler's Czech leader Reinhard Heydrich. It's fair to say that this man was a pretty ghastly individual, behind much of the Nazi's policies of extermination and answerable only to Himmler and the Führer in the grand scheme of things. "Kubis" (Jamie Dornan) and "Gabcik" (Cillian Murphy) have been sent by the government in exile in London to kill this relatively poorly protected man, but their arrival causes considerable consternation amongst the local resistance. They fear, all too realistically, the impact that any attempt on Heydrich's life will have on the local population. Entire villages are likely to be wiped out and wholesale slaughter will certainly ensue. Their question is: is this just one act too far or is it just the message they want to send to prove they are not yet under the SS jackboot. It's a well crafted if a little slow iteration of this story of courage and I wasn't really sold on the two lead performances. They are adequate enough but somehow the sense of menace isn't as developed or palpable as with the frankly much more potent version from the mid 1970s. The conclusion is history, so there's not much room for Sean Ellis to manoeuvre, but he does manage to use a solid supporting cast to capture the determination of a population that realises more - and greater - sacrifices must be made if they are to regain their freedom. The film looks great, plenty of attention to detail and some fine Prague photography but it is just a little sterile for me. Worth a watch, though - just not great.
Borderlands (2024)
Borderlands
Oh come on - it's not that bad! True, there isn't an original thought in it's hundred minute duration and it does look like a very poor relation to a video-game, but it's "Mad Max" meets "Buck Rogers" vibe just about entertained me. It's all about "Lilith" (Cate Blanchett) who is a renowned bounty hunter charged by gazillionaire "Atlas" (Edgar Ramirez) with finding his kidnapped daughter "Tina" (Ariana Greenblatt). Thing is, she's already been rescued by "Roland" (Kevin Hart) and is in no great rush to return to the loving arms of daddy. Whilst trying to track her down, "Lilith" encounters the true star of the film - the robot "Claptrap", a sarcastic pile of scrap who decides to help out whether she likes it or not, so off they go a-child-hunting. Yep - it proceeds exactly as you'd expect, except for the frankly bamboozling contribution of Jamie Lee Curtis (and her red glasses) who does look like she's enjoying herself on set but, like Blanchett, is just a complete fish out of water as the banal dialogue and set-piece combat scenes pass the entire project into the hands of the CGI developers. This is nothing at all special or memorable, just a predictable action enterprise that takes "Robot Wars" to the desert, but if you aim low and take it in the spirit it's clearly intended then it's a perfectly watchable summer adventure.
Cashback (2006)
Cashback
Hmmm. I'm not sure that Sean Ellis's 2004 short film really needed expanding upon, but at least he did manage to reunite Sean Biggerstaff and Emelia Fox to tell this extended tale of "Ben". He's an art student who has recently been dumped by his girlfriend and finds himself unable to sleep. His solution - a night time job in a supermarket where he has an opportunity to ogle a variety of beautiful women. Then something miraculous happens. No - not a wet dream, he discovers that by cracking his fingers he can freeze time. All of the customers in his shop becomes statuesque. Now this is just too good an opportunity for our frustrated sketcher, so he wanders around finding the prettiest then exposes their breasts or their butts so he can draw them. Meantime, back in the real world his love life is going from bad to worse; his best mate "Sean" (Sean Higgins) isn't proving much use and his colleagues at work just love a lame prank to wind up the boss "Jenkins" (Stuart Goodwin) who just happens to be the elder brother of the guy his girlfriend dumped him for. Now there might be two schools of thought about this being either a darkly comedic look at art and artistry, or just a prurient exercise in excessive female (only) nudity. I'm not sure I cared though because I found this film to be glacially paced and just plain dull. The narration, provided by the nondescript Biggerstaff vacillated from the self-indulgent to the downright boring and the writing makes no effort to ingratiate this introspectively hormonal voyeur with anyone watching. It's not erotic, it's not sexy - it's remarkably sterile.