Mothers’ Instinct: This movie stars Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway. Two A-list actors who have a real following. Chastain has won the Best Actress Oscar, for her work as Tammy Faye Bakker, but I have been disappointed in some of her choices of movies in the recent past. This movie just adds to it. Some of those include Ava, IT Chapter 2, and The Forgiven, which for the most part she is also acting as Producer with her production company. These just haven’t been very strong. They seem to be more independent, smaller budget films which in itself is not an issue but the stories haven’t been very compelling. I have liked Chastain ever since I saw her work in the Mallick film Tree of Life back in 2011. This is a story about two housewives in suburban America in the 60s or so given the attire. Chastain playing Alice, and Hathaway playing her best friend Celine are having a party for Celine. There are husbands and kids and friends gathering at the party. The two are genuinely connected and support one another. Then tragedy strikes.
There is blame and suspicion between the women and a level of discomfort and strain between the two that wasn’t there before. Based on a book by Belgian writer Barbara Abel, unread by me. There are then a series of incidents which creates more drama, suspicion and paranoia. But is it justified? Is there really something sinister going on, and if so then who is telling the truth? Would you believe a spouse who after a tragic event is then telling fantastical stories that seem so out of character. The men are really there for window dressing and don’t add much to the story. I will not delve further into it, but I was mediocre and predictable even when it tries very hard not to be. It’s almost as if there was a desire to take it to a wild extreme that seems implausible. Yes it is Hollywood. But still if there is a full exploration of the bond between these women and what could make it unravel this deals with it superficially. I cannot recommend.
Captain Fantastic: One would be forgiven in thinking that by the title, this movie from 2016 (not sure how it slipped through the cracks for me) was a superhero movie. It isn’t. It is on Netflix and I caught it this past weekend. Starring Viggo Mortensen, who garnered an Oscar nomination for his role, which was definitely merited. He plays Ben Cash, a father of six children who has made the choice with his wife Leslie to get off the grid with the children and live in the remote areas of Washington State, but it just as easily be Alaska. As we open the story, Ben has the children to himself is he is hunting a deer with them. They all have wilderness skills, and he ensures that they are all reading and thinking critically. There are some informative exchanges between the father and children showing the nature of their relationship and their bond. The set up of this tight family informs when something happens which from his face we see that Ben was half expecting it. There are choices to make with the family and he struggles mightily with the dilemma. Ben is torn between his commitment to his wife and her wishes, and the security of his life in the wilderness with his children. Add into that some formidable drama with his Wife’s family.
I feel a lot of the same energy and writing with this story as with the Oscar Winner CODA from 2021. There are real debates on what is in the best interests of the children, and how, if at all, they should be eventually integrating into society. The children run from the eldest son of an age to be applying for College to the very young who are in early primary school. Ben needs to think through his priorities and what is truly important for him and his children. He has a paradox of always telling the truth, and treating each of his children as growing people capable of doing of knowing more than most adults give them credit for, while at the same time with limited means financially a trip to the grocery store becomes an operation involving all of the children. For a man who believes deeply that people are to be judged by their actions it has him re-examine the direction of his life and the leadership of these children. The children are each with their own strengths and attitudes, not just window dressing. They imapct on their father. I found this an engaging and emotional journey with a family who I care about. The one daughter’s explanation of the book Lolita that she is reading was great insight to the father and his family. I felt that interaction showed so much of this teachings. There really hasn’t been a lot of quality films out this year, but this one if you are like me missed it the first time, I think you should check out. By the way, Casey Affleck won the Best Actor for Manchester by the Sea (which I refer to a Misery by the Ocean) and for me I would rather Mortensen had won the award. I am glad that I got to know the Cash family, and I am hopeful that they will do well. I will admit that I was puzzled about where the funds came from for the proposed ending, but I was happy to go with it.
Firebrand: Who knew that there was a Henry VIII period piece released in 2023 with Jude Law and Alicia Vikander? Certainly not me, and I am a fan of the period and the intrigue of that time. Henry VIII was the King of England from 1509 until 1547. He was obsessed with having a male heir and to that end was married no less than six times. He was so committed to this aim that he took on the Catholic church, and made himself his own religion to allow the annullment to his first wife. He was first married to Catharine of Aragon for 24 years (1509-1533), which generally the films and books about the time do not focus on. They show him as impetuous and demanding a child. Later he had two of his wives beheaded (Anne Boelyn and Catherine Howard). This movie focuses on the last marriage to Catherine Parr who he married in 1543 until Henry’s death in 1547. While married, Henry was in France and he had called Catherine his wife the regent (acting in his stead doing the business of government).
Jude Law shows Henry as a man who was in constant pain from his leg. It was an infection that would not heal with the medicine of the day. He was gaining weight and moved from being fairly lucid to being more unstable and eratic. He seemed to have a conspiracy complex of those around him always looking to find ways to hurt him. Law shows this well. He is married to Catherine Parr who was well regarded and genuinely seemed to have affection for the King. Still he was a woman in difficult times, and surrounded by men who wanted power and prestige. Vikander plays Catherine and shows her torment in being married to this unpredictable man. Of course no woman was thought to be ready to rule but she embraces acting as a stpe-mother to Henry’s children including the young Edward and also Mary and Elizabeth (two future queens of England) who are taught some valuable skills. I liked the interaction between the two capable actors. Vikander walks a fine line, especially with power in the balance along with her life. It was no secret about how Henry treated his prior wives, and the children knew it too. I am not clear how historically accurate the ending of this movie is but it is something to ponder. At the very least it is a story that is compelling. I do find more than a little hard to believe but that is alright. I haven’t seen Vikander in a while but it was a welcome sight to watch her work again. I think that Law is a versatile actor who gets better as he ages. If you can find this movie, it is worth checking out.
Sunday night is the Emmy’s, and as I am writing this I don’t know who the winners are. I find it interesting that the Best Drama series is all streaming services. Included in the nominees are: Shogun, 3 Body Problem, Mr and Mrs Smith, Fallout, Slow Horses, The Crown, Gilded Age and Morning Show. I do not get all of these series on my limited list of streaming services. I have seen The Crown, which will be difficult to beat since that series has been completed. And what a series it has been. I do think that the did an excellent job of concluding it. I have also seen 3 Body problem, which I enjoyed and I just finished watching the first season of Shogun, from FX. I think Anna Sawai as Moriko in Shogun wins the Emmy for Best Actress. Stating it for the record here.
Shogun: James Clavell published this book back in 1975. Set in the year 1600, the book is a work loosely based on history, all of which I was not familiar. I am actually was reading the book as my older brother had talked about it previously and I remember him liking it. He has since told me that he prefers other similar books. I am 420 pages into the 1200 page paperback. I also remember that my Mom was deeply entrenched in watching the Richard Chamberlain starring series back in 1980. I have recollection of it being on TV, but no real recollection of what happened and how close to the book that it remained. I then started watching the FX series, and by episode 3 it was surpassing where I had read. The story is one of power and internal civil war among competing regions of Japan after the death of the Taiko (Supreme Leader) who has relegated his powers to a Regent Council of 5 members who will hold power before the very young son of the Taiko comes of age to lead. The intrigue occurs between the regents. One of whom is Lord Toranaga. In the midst of these circumstances, a foreign, unknown ship crashes onto the shores after a perilous journey killimng most of the crew. They come under a Dutch flag but have as their new Captain a young British navigator, which the Japanese call Anjin.
The various parties interract with plenty of drama, lead by the regents but with supporting characters and family members intermingling. All of the language among the Japanes characters are in Japanese with subtitles. This keeps the authenticity high. There is the church, brought in by the previous outworlders Portugese, who have an detailed maps of travelling around South America to reach Japan and China. The Dutch are catching up, and also as enemies of the Portugese on the oceans. The outsiders realize that the Japanese are different from them, but highly focused on loyalty, honour and duty. There is an uneasy relationship between the Christians and the Japanese leaders. Anjin brings a different perspective onto it. The story is about that political battle, but also about the foreigner Anjin and how he becomes a valued member of the Toronaga house, raising in stature and titles much to the chagrin of those in the Toronaga inner circle. There are some surprising plot turns as this moves along. I was engaged, intrigued and surprised. This is well acted, with fully formed characters who have motivations of their own. In yet another series, there are strong women who have substantial contributions to be made, despite the times and and their place in Japanese society. I look forward to seeing more of this.
This has been a very busy week, including three straight days of seeing a film in a theatre. Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The common thread among all of them is that they were sequels. Some original movie I have seen, others I haven’t. Early September in Toronto has been the Toronto International Film Festival since 1976 when it was the Festival of Festivals. I am always excited to walk down these days at King Street where the main theatres are located (Roy Thompson, Royal Alex and Princess of Wales). There is just a buzz and energy in the streets. Actors and actresses are in the city. People who love movies gather and line up to see the over 240 movies over the roughly ten days. Covid put a pause on the activities, but it is fully back. On Thursday I had the opportunity to see a film, which ended up being a total shot in the dark. I had been looking for tickets and the gala prices were on resale were over $350, which is silly for a movie like Andrew Garfield’s We Live in Time, which will be released in a few weeks.
I, The Executioner: With no background, I found a reasonably priced ticket to see the South Korean film, I, The Exectioner. I knew that this movie had been shown at Cannes earlier in the year. Still the director Ryoo Seung-wan and his producer buddy were there with an interpreter. They also mentioned that they added a new vignette post the credits that was never seen before.
The film is a sequel to his 2015 film Veteran, and has the same cast returning. To cateogirize this movie broadly it is a high energy cop/team film where this team, lead by the very good Hwang Jung-min, as a veteran cop and his team try to solve a series of revenge killings. A number of perpetrators of murders who have been perceived publicly as been given too light sentences from the justice system, are then being hunted down and killed (presumably) by a killer who kills them in the same manner as they killed their victims. Social media is well engaged, with an influencer/broadcaster talking about the injustices and egging on someone to do something about it. All the while our team of police investigators have a new boss who wants to make a splash with a high profile case. In the opening sequence, it is like a Bond opening with a set up and then a sting going sideways with chases and fights. It engages the audience straight away.
As the plot unfolds, and the intrigue increases with tracking down potential suspects, there continues to be fights, car chases and mixed martial arts. All the scenes are well done, and with backdrops that would make for challenging filming (like a stone bridge in the middle of a city with a festival going on). The stakes rise for the team as they grapple with more high profile murders and attempted murders. I liked this because it kept my attention from beginning to end. There was some good laughs, some moments where injuries clearly would have occured and would have hurt. Still those involved show tremendous skills in combat and other physical acts. They are also people, notably our main character, who is not a rookie, and he has a wife, a teenage son and young daughters. His demanding job can take time away from all of them.
This movie that I never would have seen anywhere else was a very pleasant surprise. I see that it was picked up for distribution at Cannes which is very good. It deserves an audience. I also now am interested in tracking down the original Veteran from this same group. Well worth tracking down and checking out.
Alien Romulus: I saw this movie on Thursday night with a sparse crowd in the theatre. I have seen all of the Alien movies. I have liked them to varying degrees. There have been nine Alien related films, but I am going to discount the Alien vs Predator films, which means seven films. I will include Prometheus and Alien Covenant in this series though. The first Alien (1979) with Tom Skerritt and Sigourney Weaver and the crew battling the alien remains a sci-fi classic with scenes that were unique for their day. State of the art effects and film effects were used to raise the level of anxiety in the crew and the audience. It was such a success that the sequel in 1986 with the studio choosing James Cameron as opposed to Ridley Scott to direct. Aliens was a smashing success, building on the original premise and ratcheting up the number of alien creatures, but also the personal relationships, notably with Sigorney Weaver (playing Ripley) and a little girl and the humanoid robots (synthetics) who are in both films. We learn more, and we see the arc of Ripley’s character as she takes a more grey vision of those around her, and avoids painting all people and synthetics with the same brush. But that’s background. So what happening with this latest installment? Where did it go wrong? For me, this is the first Alien movie that I left and I was bored.
This film is NOT a continuation of Alien Covenant and the Prometheus direction. Think of it as another unrelated story in the Alien world, where Weyland Industries is the dominant name in space exploration, mining, terra-forming and building worlds. Remember that in Alien the ship Nostromo was a mining space craft returning back to Earth, before being sidetracked in a rescue mission for a distress signal on an unknown planet. Here we have a much younger group of miners in a dreary planet that gets no sunshine at all. These seemingly twenty-somethings don’t like their lot in life, and one has this idea to leave the planet and explore a nearby space ship which has been decommissioned and presumably abandoned and empty. Inside there are some cryogenic pods that would allow these young people to head off to a new and more exciting planet. Early on we see our main protagonist Cailee Spaeny (Rain) and her brotherly companion and we learn that he is a synthetic named Andy (played by David Johnson). He is constantly being picked on.
The group of friends embark on their journey to the hobbled space station, not a ship, and it has predictable results. The challenge with this movie is that it offers nothing new to an already vibrant Alien universe. The creatures don’t talk. There is no interaction. They are just very difficult to kill, and once they get a hold of a human host, then really bad things happen. We already know about the babies spawning and extricating themselves from inside a human body from the chest cavity. I was surprised with the quickness by which it takes place here, versus the original when John Hurt’s character had the creature on his face for some time, then it disappeared and he seemed fine, until he wasn’t. The timeline has been enhanced greatly. This young crew doesn’t gain from having space experience, nor a science officer or a crew who knows the ins and outs of the ship. It is the youngest crew in the series, which was likely the goal. Alien has always had strong female characters. Ripley is, and has always been, one of the best of these women. Rain reminds me more of the new Star Wars Rey than Ripley. So young, without the training for taking on a substantive monster creature. Rain is no Ripley. They are lines from earlier Alien movies scattered in this version, but they fall flat. It feels like a movie trying too hard to live up to a movie series with impressive and intimidating pedigree. I wasn’t engaged with this young crew and cast. I knew what would happen with the creature. I learned nothing new. It seemed pointless to send these young people to die in this way. I also wasn’t convinced on the need to deal with the synthetic story as it happened. Those who saw and love the original I suspect will know exactly what I am referring to. It seems the ongoing underlying message is that humans always seem to find a way to mess with an unnatural engineered creature. Apparently there is no effective communication for people to be documenting the horrors of this creature that the Weyland company wishes to bring back to civilization. In short, the connection and story that engages you with the crew and hopes that they can find a way to survive, we just don’t know how, is missing in this latest version. It feels like a money grab, with the hope of introducing the series to a younger audience. I wish that they had surrounded the younger group with a better story, and a means to have a few new aspects of this complex creature. Sadly it was lacking.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice: The original Beetlejuice from 1988 was directed by Tim Burton. It featured a young couple, played by Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin, who lived in this old house on a hill. They die trangically but retain their overall kind disposition and life attitude despite being dead. They are the focal point and when a new family purchases their beloved house. The new family is husband and second-wife (Jeffrey Jones and Catherine O’Hara) with a young goth teenage daughter played by Winona Ryder. The new ghosts struggle with scaring away the step-mother O’Hara who is looking to change everything about this house. Beetlejuice is an underworld smart-ass character who offers his services of the supernatural and human real person exorcism. In the original, Ryder manages to thwart an effort by Beetlejuice to extract a marriage out of her in exchange of assisting with helping the Davis and Baldwin characters. Honestly I have to admit before seeing the sequel that I wasn’t entirely sure that I had seen the original. In the end it didn’t really matter. I think it helps to know the original but not fatal.
In the sequel, Charles Deets has passed on. A wise choice given the real-life complicated life of the actor Jeffrey Jones who played him, given the fact that he was on the Sex Offender list and was sentenced to five years probation back in 2002. The sequel cleverly tells the story of Charles Deets’ death and how Catherine O’Hara will movie forward with the house that she is in. Meanwhile, grown up Winona Ryder (Lydia Deetz) has a daughter of her own and is using her abilities to talk to ghosts. Just not the ghost of her departed husband, and the father of her daughter. Daughter doesn’t believe any aspect of what Mom does on TV and online. They don’t speak very often.
Meanwhile we learn that Beetlejuice in his prior life was married to the beautiful Monica Bellucci. He tells that backstory with the knowledge that she has returned to his world, in an unusual fashion and wants to kill him. She has some unique abilities. Meanwhile, moody daughter hears about her grandfather’s untimely death, as well as engagement of her Mom, Lydia, to her new boyfriend. It is all too much for her, and she bikes off into town, having a meet-cute with a local boy sitting in his treehouse. Ultimately Ryder needs to re-engage with Beetlejuice and his shenanigans in order to address a pressing problem. Michael Keaton clearly enjoys this role. This is a movie for pure entertainment sake. Did I laugh? Yes there were some laughs. I take this as some campy retro fun, much like Stranger Things which ressurected Winona Ryder’s career, and made 1980s music (like Kate Bush) become so popular again. Does this need to be seen in a theatre as opposed to at home? Not really. For those who loves the original, then this is fun to see. I actually don’t feel that the source material is all that strong, and they made the most of this plot. I think that Catherine O’Hara continues to show her genius, and turns what was a villian role in the original into a more sympathetic role in the sequel. Monica Bellucci plays a role that is thankless, with no redeeming character and used as a plot device to give something else for Beetlejuice to deal with. At a time when there hasn’t been much to watch in the theatre, at least Beetlejuice can provide some relief. For Toronto residents of course there is TIFF to enjoy for another week. Enjoy!!
End of summer is here. Man it flew by fast!! In Toronto we have the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition) Air Show all weekend. It’s fun!!
Mad Max 2: Road Warrior – back in 1982 George Miller released the sequel to his first film in this series set in Australia after an apocalypse. I decided to revisit this film after the most recent Furiosa just released and reviewed by me with Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth. The latest release lacks all of the things that made the Road Warrior movie some compelling and a success that drove the series forward. Mel Gibson is the young star who builds this successful role into super stardom. But what’s the difference? Same director. Many years later in a similar world. For me it’s the human heart and soul of the original. There were a band of people that you cared about. They were keeping their decency and humanity while fighting off the vermin of society, leftovers in an age when violence and might rule the day. The good guys wearing white are introduced after we see Max (the former cop) on the wild highways with chases and explosions. Everyone is seeking petrol which is in limited supply. Max has a dutiful and loyal dog who helps him greatly and early on meets up with a gangly stranger who has a flying helicopter contraption. They aren’t exactly friends as Max makes him a prisoner. Together they see a task, hoping to help the protectors of a refinery who seek new life and hope. The bad guys with two ferocious and merciless leaders just want what they want. The gas, and along with it the power. The intrigue begins along with the humanity in a few forms. The mercenary and loner learns a lesson about being human and having purpose.
The contrast is striking to Furiosa where it seemed the focus was on the crazy stunts and make up while losing any sense of connection. Humungous and his sidekick are played straight and intensely in Road Warrior. Hemsworth have made it a caricature. It is laughable how Hemsworth plays his role which is as disingenuous as the make up and prosthetic nose and chin that he wears. Sometimes it isn’t a good idea to remake what was a success. Having said that Mad Max: Fury Road was a decent episode in the series. There is always another movie to be made and more money to be made at the box office.
Find Me Falling: Netflix has released this romantic comedy starring Harry Connick Jr who plays a worldwide music star who has decided to move to the island of Cyprus. Cyprus is the third largest island in the Meditteranean in the eastern end of the sea close to Turkey, Syria and Greece. The scenery is very similar to Greece. His reasons for choosing this destination become apparent pretty quickly. He has decided to slow down, focus less on his career, and his first step is buying a piece of property which has an enticing cliff, but one that he learns has positives and negatives.
He is introduced to the local grocery store and woman in charge who sends along a pleasant young woman to deliver his purchases to him. Things happen. The reasons for his choosing Cyprus materialize with a history lesson for Harry and a woman on the island. The rest is fairly predictable. There are issues to be addressed and Harry needs to show that he is a changed man. He is hoping that his presence on the island shows that this is the case. Overall, this is a straightforward romantic comedy film set in a pretty location. I like the travel log as I have never been to Cyprus but it looks nice. I don’t need to meet Harry when I am there.
Love Is Blind UK: The Love is Blind franchise began in 2020 in the US has had six seasons. It has spawned eight (!!) international shows including Love is Blind Sweden, Love is Blind Mexico and now UK. I prefer watching where the contestants are speaking English and I don’t need subtitles but I have been told that Love is Blind Japan was very interesting to watch.
This season has 11 episodes and then a still unreleased episode 12 with having the contestants come back together in a reunion show. As in the US, the show puts together 28 singles who are unable to see the members of the opposite sex, but can speak with them in pods. The pods are small rooms with opaque seperators where each one of the dating couple can have a seat and just chat. The couples will continue with dating and chats, and only if they become engaged do they actually meet face to face. Then the next phase of the experiment occurs where the engaged couples head to an exotic beach location to explore their physical connection. Finally they come back to home (in this case London) and meet friends, families and utlimately decide if they want to actuall marry in the last episodes of the show. For the UK, we have six couples who passed the exotic destination test and went to the altar.
Of course this is mind candy. Reality TV with real lives impacted and at stake. I liked this season and those involved generally, because I think that they generally communicated well, and were in the show for the right reasons. A few were a little older, and this is beneficial to the overall feeling. They want to find their match, this is a new idea from the apps and online world which can be very superficial focusing on looks alone. By contrast the idea is these contestants fall for the person, the content of what they say, how they say it and their values. The intrigue happens when a contestant is choosing between more than one person and has to make a choice before ever setting eyes on these people. Of course for dramatic purposes those people have an opportunity to meet those people that they rejected. It all culminates with a dramatic finale with friends and family there, wearing full dress and tuxedo and deciding whether to marry or never see the person again. For me, I was cheering for many of the couples. Others may not seem ready, or have those around them who aren’t ready for them to be married (like a parent). I can say that I was surprised at a few of the end results. I do hope that there are more UK versions with their fun accents and hopefully people wanting to find love rather than their 15 mins of TV time. I think in this genre of dating reality shows that this was one of the better seasons. I have never professed to being immune from watching mindless TV!!
Deadpool & Wolverine: Those who read me, and know me, know that I am not a big superhero movie guy, and especially I have not been well engaged in the Marvel world. From Iron Man to Avengers to Fantastic 4 , X-Men and lesser lights like Ant Man. I am not even certain that I have watched all of the Wolverine movies. Be that as it may, with an open mind I ventured out to see Deadpool & Wolverine. I have seen the two prior Deadpool movies, enjoying the first and the in-your-face profanity and humour and less so the sequel. I think that Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool has found the proper role for him. As opposed to The Green Lantern. He just embodies it and the earlier moments of this movie has a recap where he calls out the odd premise in terms of dealing with Wolverine, who in his last movie (spoiler alert) managed to save a young lady but sacrificed himself. In short, he’s dead and buried.
So Deadpool is saddled with a task of ressurecting Wolverine. The strange aspect is the whole time travel thing and ,in this instance, another plain of reality which is like a dead zone wasteland. Things end up here that aren’t wanted back in the real world. For the Torontonian it is very funny to see the CN Tower looking like it was dropped from the original Planet of the Apes, half buried in sand. Deadpool is asked to bring back Wolverine, and the rest of the plot doesn’t really need to be further explained. But the real question was whether this was fun and was it necessary? I genuinely laughed out loud a number of times. That itself was saying something, because I don’t necessarily get all the inside jokes. Some of these jokes were from interactions with other characters, like Electra (yes, Jennifer Garner) or Gambit (played by Channing Tatum) that were very funny. I still cannot understand how a playing card can become such a deadly weapon but never mind – hardy the most taxing aspect of reality that affects one’s thougts for this movie. The level of gratuitous violence with blood spurting with endless people falling is a little overwhelming at times. The story of the leader of this void, and how she got here, is an interesting side light. The cameos are fun. Stay in the theatre past the ending credits to catch one last joke. It was funny. I have to admit that seeing Chris Evans not being Captain America, but rather the Human Torch in this Fantastic 4 role is different. In the end, does it all makes sense? Not really. It is a good laugh at times. Yes. Was there an ending where you roll your eyes? Oh yes. So….take this for what it is. It didn’t suck. I could follow it. I had some really good laughs.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society: This was released in 2018, starring Lily James, the now ever-present Glen Powell, along with Matthew Goode and Penelope Wilton from Downton Abbey fame. It is set during WWII, and the aftermath. It is a wartime romantic film, focusing on the James character who is a writer and had exchanged some letters with a person in Guernsey. Guernsey is a small island of 24 square miles off the coast of France, closer to France than England. It is self-governing and not part of the UK although the British government has some financial responsiblity on the island. Guernsey was invaded by the Germans in WWII and occupied. The story focuses on a group of friends who one night during the occupation are stopped by a Nazi patrol and told about what they were doing. They use a made up literary society to try and avoid the Nazis and have an excuse for being out of doors beyond curfew. Although the film is fiction, there are a number of aspects as shown which reflect what happened on the island during the war. The story of this evening is recounted to James.
James as a writer is intriged by the story she is told and travels to the island to meet up with the people involved. Those residents involved that she meets and talks to have their own views and impacts from the war. Before her trip to the island, she is proposed to her by her American boyfriend (Powell) who likes to shower her with flowers. He heads back to the US. James’ character is British. The story unfolds. I won’t get into the details, but ultimately James needs to make some decisions about the story, her life, piecing together the details of what had actually happened and how she should want to have her life continue after the story is finished. Someone will get hurt, they always do. Someone else will find what it is to feel love and others will find new ways in which to direct their lives. Is it believable? Do I care about the people involved? Yes I think so. Despite that it isn’t all that compelling, nor anything worth seeking out. I wish that I had learned more about the occupation and the importance of Guernsey during the War. One would think that it would be very strategic. This is more personal than that involving specific individuals. I can’t recommend this.
First of all, this is my eldest son’s birthday today and I wanted to send a great big shout out to him! It’s a milestone birthday for him and I am a very lucky Dad to have him in my life. He makes me proud every day. Happy Birthday!
A Quiet Place: Day One: In 2018, the original and surprise sci-fi thriller hit A Quiet Place was released. I was a fan of the John Krasinski story, with his direction, along with him acting with his wife in real life Emily Blunt. The premise was a subtle but important turn on the typical alien invader story. In that story the alien creatures were seemingly without weakness, and were roaming freely through the US and in this smaller US farming community. The movie follows a family and three kids struggling through this invasion. The sequeal released in 2020 continued on with the story for Emily Blunt and family.
This story has nothing to do with Emily Blunt and her family. It is a prequel set in NYC with all new characters. The primary character here, named Samira, is played by Lupita Nyong’o who is a woman stricken with cancer in a hospice facility. The is alone with her cat, and is down on her life and life in general. Then the unexpected for those in the film happens as images and events very reminiscent of 9-11 takes place throughout the city. Raining down from above come these meteorites which are these blurs as attacking creatures with devastating effect.
Buildings are falling, dust flies, fires begin, explosions occur and people are wiped out. In all of this madness we follow Samira who works to navigate her way to safety. Crawling under trucks, running through dusty streets in clouds of dust with an unseen danger, clearly killing these people around her. In all of this, she inexplicably manages to keep her cat close to her. Of course one has to check reality at the door at times. In this case I thought about the practicalities of trying to film these scenes with an adult cat, without Nyong’o being scratched and bitten to shreds. But in the film, with all the chaos going on around her, she still manages to find her cat. Not just once. There was a moment about halfway through the film when in my head I said “if she finds that cat one more time in all of this, I have to stop the film.” I stopped it. Incredibly!
Having been a fan of the first effort especially, I feel as though this story was a cash grab, taking advantage of the goodwill built up in the earlier films. The first film works especially because of the family angle. Mom, Dad, kids and how they interact. Emily Blunt’s character was also pregnant in the first film, and you just agonize with her as she is about the give birth in the scenes. That isn’t present here, despite the best of intentions in trying to gain sympathy for Samira’s cancer condition and diagnosis. She meets some random people who help her, show humanity and give her hope. From a character who talks to her therapy group about how her life was “shit” then before everything happened. I do think that life in North America in 2024 doesn’t have people generally appreciate just how good things are for us. Life even 100 years ago, let alone 400 years ago would have been. She learns some lessons, but as an audience member it didn’t work for me. So I am not able to recommend this. Unfortunately.
House of the Dragon Season 2: The second season of this series finished last Sunday with the eighth and final episode. Apparently there are two more seasons to go. We get to see the trials and tribulations among the Targaryan family as they battle for the crown of the departed King Viserys. There are two camps, Viserys’ daughter Rhaenyra, who was promised the crown by her father in no uncertain terms, but then the son of Viserys’ second wife Aegon. Aegon is one of a few heirs with Alicent Hightower and Viserys.
But as a season, I don’t think it ends in a way that is Game of Thrones worthy. I know that I will harp on this, but if you are marketing this series, and using the Game of Thrones theme song, then you must expect some comparisons with the original series. This doesn’t have the same families and characters weaving amongst each other (although there are some), nor the number of locations within Westeros and beyond. In this way it seems like GOT Lite. This season also didn’t end with an expected cliff hanger.
This feels more as pieces were being placed on a board and then the movements are going to take place later on. I like some of the placements, with the moves being made on both side of the potential battle (Aegon and family versus Rhaenyra and allies). I also note that the women seem to be more stable leaders than the men, certainly within the Targaryen family where the men and boys show themelves to be power hungry and viscious. The one episode where the dragons battle as I wrote about earlier was excellent. But the last couple of episodes have once again moved into more plot heavy dialogue. I wish that it moved quicker. I wish that there were episodes like the dragon battle episode. It seemed that Game of Thrones was able to build off on one another on multiple fronts. I will continue to watch. I do like the production values. I also generally like the actors, and the performances. But the quality of the story and writing seems more borrowed from Wolf Hall or The Other Boleyn Girl or the Tudors, all having to deal with the Henry VIII. Of course it is not completely this story but there are certainly elements of it.
The Bikeriders: So I was intrigued with this film when I saw that the cast included Tom Hardy, Austin Butler, Michael Shannon and Jodie Comer was being promoted. It is an impressive cast with Hardy, who has done some laudable work although recently nothing memorable (no I can’t say that Venom is something to be proud), but also Austin Butler as Elvis and Comer who was outstanding in Killing Eve. The plot seemed to be a mixture of Sons of Anarchy and Good Fellas. I was hoping for the best.
The plot focuses in a real biker club that happened back in the 1970s in the Midwest. Tom Hardy started as a guy who liked his motorcycle and gathered up some friends to have a motorcycle racing club. He called them the The Vandals of Chicago. They grew in numbers. But I am getting ahead of myself, because the story starts well into the history with the Austin Butler character in a bar and refusing to take off his “colours” (the bike jacket). He was already a member, and he was already married. There is a voiceover where his wife, played by Jodie Comer explains that he was a fiery, independent man who was very loyal to a fault. She talks through her romance with him and her being part of this gang of riders. As it grows it gains members who are not too loyal to the leadership of Hardy nor to its principles.
The story carries on but for me it was a weak effort. I wouldn’t think that succession of the leader is an important as one might think. I also wouldn’t think that Comer who, knowing fully what she was get into, would be so surprised at how things end up turning out for her. The same could be said for Hardy, who mumbles through mostly of his lines, and doesn’t really show himself to be full of leadership material. But maybe that’s the point – from a guy who who came from humble wants and beginnings to leading a very large multiple city gang. In the end I feel as though this was an opportunity missed. This cast deserved a better story with people who were more than typecast thugs.
Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1: Kevin Costner won the Oscar for directing back in 1990 with Dances with Wolves. It seems like he enjoys spending more time on horses and in nature. The success of Yellowstone has allowed him more time and a place of power to do another western project it would seem. This is the effort.
The story is set in multiple states at the end of the 1800s. The west is being explored and populated by immigrants. There are advertisements in the easter coastal cities to encourage a move the wild wild west. Land and opportunity for those who are willing to work for it. Of course there are the indigenous tribes who have populated the lands for many generations. Although the concept of ownership of the land is different they have experienced those immigrants and their armies who take without offering anything. So there are conflicts with innocents who deserve better. From various States we move to a smaller community conflict with a revenge story with two brothers. It is somewhat similar to Unforgiven.
So where does Costner fit into all this? He is an individual who seems to have a primary focus on gold mining. He makes money here and there, and gets targeted by the local lady of the evening who sees him as a potential Sugar Daddy. Things happen and Costner ends up getting involved more deeply than he was hoping. His path changes and he takes on different responsibilities freely. The bad brothers who confront Costner’s character are laughably evil with a predictable outcome. Costner plays the bad ass “man with no name” alright, but not on par with Clint Eastwood.
The challenge of course with all this is that this is slow moving with not enough development of the characters or the underlying stories. This is part one, with factions including the indigenous populations, the army, the ranchers and individuals just trying to make their way in life. The foundation is laid here but for me I wanted to see more development of the characters. I won’t be anxious to catch the second episode, but one can hope that it addresses a story that is balanced and fair to how things happened as opposed to the versions that we have been privy to for many years.
Twisters: In 1996, Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt starred in the original movie Twister, when a couple of competing groups of “storm chasers” were looking to better understand deadly tornadoes in the america midwest, and notably Oklahoma. Paxton and Hunt were former spouses, but then apart as they did the work of driving a caravan of trucks around looking for the storms. Now in 2024, a whole new cast of characters, unrelated to the original are coming to a theatre near you.
Featuring Mr Everything in film (not named Chalamet) Glen Powell, and also Daisy Edgar-Jones (previously in the forgettable Where the Crawdads Sing) and Anthony Ramos they play another grouping of individuals who is looking for how to understand and counteract the deadly effects of the storms. In present day, without addressing global warming (apparently on purpose to avoid being political) there is a record setting number of tornadoes popping up in Oklahoma and threatening the residents. But before the present day we have a flashback to Daisy (playing Kate Carter) who has a gift for anticipating where storms will go has an experience which has shaped her and those around her.
Performances for the most part are serviceable. Powell plays the handsome cad. Daisy the person with skills who has had an emotional setback looks to find a way to recover and find a new path. Then there is Ramos who also has had to deal with trauma and moving forward in his own way. The supporting cast doesn’t have a Phillip Seymour Hoffman nor an Alan Ruck or Carey Elwes.
For me, there were a number of predictable plot elements that take place, but for me it didn’t take away from the enjoyment of the film. Of course, like the original Twister, one has to check your realism somewhat at the door. For example, I don’t think for a moment that a pick up truck that has anchored itself into ashphalt would be able to stay in put within the fury of a tornado. I say this because of the force of the winds, that in the original movie was lifting up 18-wheelers and leveling buildings would have little difficulty with the pick up, but aldo add in the fact that all sorts of rocks and debris are within the high winds and swirling around like a hail of bullets. There are other times where rain or hail while in others there is none. Go figure. As for the humans, there are scenes with the impressive computer graphics with humans trying to keep themselves safe in extreme environments. It isn’t entirely believable. But notwithstanding that, I still enjoyed this. It was entertaining, despite some of the predictable twists. The twists were not entirely predictable, but in the end I cared about the people. There were some impressive scenes for the big screen and some fun music too. This was more enjoyable than most of the theatre films that I have seen, so that says something. Another good friend of mine saw this and didn’t like it at all. He felt that it was stupid and belonged on the Hallmark Channel. So not everyone will feel entertained by it. So, watch with an open mind and see how you feel if you choose to go.
Mondays With Robbie 