tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-210988692024-03-18T17:53:22.468+00:00Alan in BelfastIn a world where a blog is created every second does the world really need another blog? Well, it's got one.
An irregular set of postings, weaving an intricate pattern around a diverse set of subjects. Comment on culture, technology, politics and the occasional rant about life.
Alan ... in Belfast, Northern IrelandAlan in Belfast (Alan Meban)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04647690758839987063noreply@blogger.comBlogger453125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21098869.post-34270293907261819372024-03-14T23:51:00.001+00:002024-03-14T23:53:51.944+00:00Drive-Away Dolls – lots of heart, soul and pleasure as two friends head south on a road-trip that will change everything (from Friday 15 March)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-aBr2KknUyMJvYQPNE9Yu3dx9mQRT8pAt76TAMAvSi8XVetautUFi1EH33yQXEadBzv_VoGHMxrulX108cTkdk-JpwNxM5cECa6bQ7GGyfvJewmZNESGvluukN2gIQbVI4u4hjpHOmm6KAHOhzhqwy1ou5jCM0i0F5K1CvWOFmYOrBTLb310/s2160/Drive%20Away%20Dolls%201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="2160" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-aBr2KknUyMJvYQPNE9Yu3dx9mQRT8pAt76TAMAvSi8XVetautUFi1EH33yQXEadBzv_VoGHMxrulX108cTkdk-JpwNxM5cECa6bQ7GGyfvJewmZNESGvluukN2gIQbVI4u4hjpHOmm6KAHOhzhqwy1ou5jCM0i0F5K1CvWOFmYOrBTLb310/w400-h200/Drive%20Away%20Dolls%201.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>On the back of a bad breakup, extrovert Jamie joins her more introverted friend Marian on a one-way hire car journey from Philadelphia to Tallahassee in Florida. Due to a misunderstanding, the girls drive away in a car that was intended to be picked by a more criminally minded pair. And so begins a game of cat and mouse down the east coast of the United States, as a couple of violent goons try to recover the ‘gear’ hidden in the boot of the titular <i><b><a href="https://queensfilmtheatre.com/Whats-On/Drive-Away-Dolls">Drive-Away Dolls</a></b></i>.<p></p><p>Jamie (played by Margaret Qualley) has an opinion about everything and isn’t behind the bush about sharing them. Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan) is much more reserved. Her sexuality to date is more intellectual than physical, but Jamie proposes some stop-offs as the pair head south to give Marian the opportunity to take things further. Needless to say, Marian’s quest for authenticity jars with Jamie’s need for experience … right up until the friendship is fundamentally reset.</p><p>Expect comedy beatings, comedy dildos, a comedy dog, incompetent thugs, psychedelic pizza, and the reading of Henry James’ <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3VjRob0">The Europeans</a></i>.<br /></p><p>What works is the film’s sense of humour. Director Ethan Coen (and co-screenwriter Tricia Cooke) allow the characters to have tremendous fun with the simple premise. While there’s plenty of intentionally lecturing dialogue, there are quips that leap off the screen, and even I was provoked to laugh out loud. It’s hard not to fall in love with the lesbian roadtrippers who are full of hope and brio.</p><p>What doesn’t work so well are the interstitial dream sequences, half of which contribute to the backstory or inner thinking of the main characters, while the remainder distracted and bemused me in equal measure. The 84-minute run time is laudably short, but the story nearly trips over itself in its hurry to get to the end, wrapping up far too quickly and much too neatly.</p><p>While there’s strong language, strong sex and a bit of nudity, there’s also a lot of heart, soul and pleasure in this four-wheeled caper.
<a href="https://queensfilmtheatre.com/Whats-On/Drive-Away-Dolls"><i>Drive-Away Dolls</i></a> opens in UK and Irish cinemas on Friday 15 March.</p><p><i>Enjoyed this review? Why not click on the <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/alaninbelfast">Buy Me a Tea</a> button!</i></p>Alan in Belfast (Alan Meban)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04647690758839987063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21098869.post-46100056222181690542024-02-14T17:00:00.003+00:002024-02-14T21:47:21.562+00:00Madame Web – the one about a man with spidery superpowers who takes violent action because he feels threatened by five smart and principled women (cinemas from 14 February)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiptI9l9xbBK0f4zm0Q8qGgPu7s9Brs7iBf-LQnc-I8m_mRsXdW7ZRnzJYT20euGRIZt_YjuCU1eNLGDye9sqBQRZvpQPMcpAonuaEIxSzbos6RNNQ5ELlUzrsGQioQf1sv4JXpQ6z702N2YEx9SxjhilTrXrjpt3sK-_UOu-7IBfFIwjBRB1Q/s1800/Madame%20Web%201.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1800" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiptI9l9xbBK0f4zm0Q8qGgPu7s9Brs7iBf-LQnc-I8m_mRsXdW7ZRnzJYT20euGRIZt_YjuCU1eNLGDye9sqBQRZvpQPMcpAonuaEIxSzbos6RNNQ5ELlUzrsGQioQf1sv4JXpQ6z702N2YEx9SxjhilTrXrjpt3sK-_UOu-7IBfFIwjBRB1Q/w400-h200/Madame%20Web%201.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i><b>Madame Web</b></i>’s multi-threaded plot is fairly knotted and the act of mentally untangling it distracts from enjoying the film.<p></p><p>A pregnant woman searches for an elusive spider in the Peruvian jungle.</p><p>A paramedic (Cassie played by Dakota Johnson) starts to have premonitions after a near-death experience. Her ambulance partner’s name (Adam Scott as Ben Parker) sounds familiar … but wash your mouth and mind out with soap as this is absolutely nothing to do with Spider-Man no siree.</p><p>Three young women (Isabela Merced as Anya, Sydney Sweeney as Julia, Celeste O'Connor as Mattie) don’t realise that a strange man (Tahar Rahim as Ezekiel) is tracking them down.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiooS4RtNvmqPq5Ipnfl2FVPGOYI7BKhC5M9xro4Cf0NquW4j-re9ZXBjjh58QtZIc4MoDGrAOJkr5pkICTstVT3SWat1QNG_dMp9kfP8IWzX8pWDZSNzIuWsZgcMdoKli368B0k0cdTyOx6PX22Wh35J8sFLGw8xaKb0mdxsS7my2hdoj5H2c/s2160/Madame%20Web%203.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="2160" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiooS4RtNvmqPq5Ipnfl2FVPGOYI7BKhC5M9xro4Cf0NquW4j-re9ZXBjjh58QtZIc4MoDGrAOJkr5pkICTstVT3SWat1QNG_dMp9kfP8IWzX8pWDZSNzIuWsZgcMdoKli368B0k0cdTyOx6PX22Wh35J8sFLGw8xaKb0mdxsS7my2hdoj5H2c/w400-h166/Madame%20Web%203.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>The women all share a connection with the paramedic but that’s totally redundant within the plot.<p></p><p>45 minutes into the film, you’ll be asking whether it’s a story about spiders, a story about changing the future through déjà vu, a story about a man with superpowers who takes violent action because he feels threatened by three (actually at least five) smart and principled women, or whether the lovely scene-stealing stray cat who slurps milk will turn out to be really important.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwqUuqVtDWz9_qQ0DcPOet0CsMUydA4NB5DJX50eE-AmqzAu6MSz9ROJS9qGcuBdydkdUWFHQX1ATJUDEjm4DCfx_3eJIpUUhpG8o_X-oASRj1hgzN02kyl7dQHpIklda0ChFUpFkcHbmf0Jdqc99a23oLdGuc23QchjnC27L4svJqMpLuYm0/s1596/Madame%20Web%20math%20t-shirt.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1596" data-original-width="1290" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwqUuqVtDWz9_qQ0DcPOet0CsMUydA4NB5DJX50eE-AmqzAu6MSz9ROJS9qGcuBdydkdUWFHQX1ATJUDEjm4DCfx_3eJIpUUhpG8o_X-oASRj1hgzN02kyl7dQHpIklda0ChFUpFkcHbmf0Jdqc99a23oLdGuc23QchjnC27L4svJqMpLuYm0/s320/Madame%20Web%20math%20t-shirt.jpg" width="259" /></a></div><p>The four parentless stars of the show are well-drawn and interesting characters. Cassie is reluctantly maternal; Anya is rational (and copies of her t-shirt “I eat MATH for breakfast” are <a href="https://amzn.to/4bEyilC">available online</a>!); Maddie is impetuous; Julia is shy and thus wears her name as a necklace in case she doesn’t introduce herself. But the plot weaves a tangled web around their potential to shine. <br /></p><p></p><p>Ultimately, a lot of unacknowledged innocent people die in a bid to save the lives of three young women. Pepsi turns out to be bad for your health.</p><p>Hard to believe that paramedic Ben doesn’t hesitate when asked to swallow Cassie’s tall tale and immediately agrees to look after her young charges. At the end, I must have blinked and missed the moment that Cassie sustained the injuries that transform her sight and mobility before the final scene. It feels like a lot <br /></p><p>The cat and the use of The Cranberries’ song <i>Dream</i> over the credits are the film’s best moments. There’s no end-credit scene … probably for the best that no one extends this miserable arachnoid universe or speaks of it again.</p><p><i>Madame Web</i> is playing in local cinemas from Wednesday 14 February. Is it a tense thriller? Is it a Marvel superhero film? Is it a giant pile of spider poo?</p><p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/s_76M4c4LTo?si=eQxm0hmkQlT128pL" title="YouTube video player" width="400"></iframe> </p><p><i>Enjoyed this review? Why not click on the <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/alaninbelfast">Buy Me a Tea</a> button!</i></p>Alan in Belfast (Alan Meban)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04647690758839987063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21098869.post-78305716290300273732024-02-12T12:48:00.000+00:002024-02-12T12:48:37.604+00:00American Fiction – a misrepresented author fights back against the system and realises that he’s also misrepresenting himself (QFT and other cinemas)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKAPur0J3ciUNQ-bJGzcuD5h2f6_nasPEuiJ8V2He4-L3qM5T8MeoVsyN5TDrjNLwfVOc638s2qbWma_g1V5QoFinqPeuVN9b5JqDNLkt_1Myma79leZIqIwlZ2cpj5J-ke_CAyg17saP0aRMpMNHZ5WlJGkBC4yYbVcVT2x_qF2Cbx5ngu4s/s2160/American%20Fiction%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1338" data-original-width="2160" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKAPur0J3ciUNQ-bJGzcuD5h2f6_nasPEuiJ8V2He4-L3qM5T8MeoVsyN5TDrjNLwfVOc638s2qbWma_g1V5QoFinqPeuVN9b5JqDNLkt_1Myma79leZIqIwlZ2cpj5J-ke_CAyg17saP0aRMpMNHZ5WlJGkBC4yYbVcVT2x_qF2Cbx5ngu4s/w400-h248/American%20Fiction%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i><b><a href="https://queensfilmtheatre.com/Whats-On/American-Fiction">American Fiction</a></b></i> is a well-painted takedown of the tendency to pigeonhole culture and the creatives behind it into simplistic categories without examining the actual art. In this case, middle class, middle of the road academic Dr Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison’s worthy literature is filed under African American Studies rather than its true subject.<p></p><p>Acting out of frustration and spite, he writes a book under a pseudonym that professes to be based on his experience of life as a gangsta who’s on the run from the police and has witnessed serious trouble in his life in the ghetto. It’s made-up poverty-porn with an unhealthy sprinkling of violence, but it excites publishers, publicists, award judges and mass market readers in a way he could only dream of for his true work.</p><p>But success brings its own stress. As the deception grows in scale, Monk is faced with a continuing dilemma of whether to fess up or whether he should run with his unwanted but lucrative success. All the while, drama within his own family adds to the pressure.</p><p>Jeffrey Wright shows versatility as Monk’s mood and body swings between depression, futility, hope and occasionally happiness. Screenwriter and debut director Cord Jefferson wisely makes Monk a failed hero. While Monk is angry about the literary world’s injustice, the author is also faced with the reality that he is a flawed son, partner and colleague. Playing his sister Lisa, Tracee Ellis Ross makes a very positive but all too brief contribution to the film’s setup of the Ellison family dynamic with blunt conversations that wake Monk up to his responsibilities.</p><p>The film’s finale acknowledges that film producers and audiences expect a neat ending that will resolve any remaining threads of uncertainty. In a neat albeit meta device, several conclusions are offered, but – bravely and deliberately – none that quite scratch the itch that the 117 minutes of cinema has created as we watch Monk’s act of absurd revolt.</p><p>The satire at the heart of American Fiction is the cause of great hilarity. It’s also unsettling as you start to wonder whether you’re being played as you sit watching the film. Are you participating in a piece of reductionist art misrepresenting the source work? (I’m off to read Percival Everett’s novel <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3SU6ja5">Erasure</a></i> to understand the translation between the page and the screen.) Who’s making money out of this story of misrepresentation and ill-treatment? All questions that I think the director and original author will be glad to crowd your thoughts with as you watch the film.</p><p><i>American Fiction</i> is playing in <a href="https://queensfilmtheatre.com/Whats-On/American-Fiction">Queen’s Film Theatre until 12 March</a> as well as a limited number of other local cinemas.<br /></p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/yrWBEOLRyIs?si=AADcJtP-tNLVGT5s" title="YouTube video player" width="400"></iframe><p><i>Enjoyed this review? Why not click on the <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/alaninbelfast">Buy Me a Tea</a> button!</i></p>Alan in Belfast (Alan Meban)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04647690758839987063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21098869.post-64351455872581307572024-01-30T01:10:00.004+00:002024-01-30T09:22:20.033+00:00All Of Us Strangers – a very solid soundtrack lights up a frustrating plot about being gay in the 1980s and today<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisnVL_BI8GocHn2sZJy3EN9tLQkbR2-40IjbHr5HCYAT5gxEJ8QGryqm55MMdGr3WdOFlQpUvcKMUfiEDExGeT9Y3I5N1_XJ_l3h0rrjTnDeBhrJ2E0CuRN5yznZ7YRpGpO6ikM82L-TQPCIg4beOm5cFD2qgARtLs9rfyMndx1L5c_2F_udo/s1280/All%20Of%20Us%20Strangers%202.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="1280" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisnVL_BI8GocHn2sZJy3EN9tLQkbR2-40IjbHr5HCYAT5gxEJ8QGryqm55MMdGr3WdOFlQpUvcKMUfiEDExGeT9Y3I5N1_XJ_l3h0rrjTnDeBhrJ2E0CuRN5yznZ7YRpGpO6ikM82L-TQPCIg4beOm5cFD2qgARtLs9rfyMndx1L5c_2F_udo/w400-h200/All%20Of%20Us%20Strangers%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i><b><a href="https://queensfilmtheatre.com/Whats-On/All-of-Us-Strangers">All Of Us Strangers</a></b></i> portrays the isolation of being gay by physically sequestering two men at opposite ends of an otherwise empty new modern apartment block. It’s metaphorically – and we soon discover, metaphysically – rich storyline.<p></p><p>Adam (played by Andrew Scott) is a screenwriter who is flirting with the idea of writing about his parents who died when he was a young child. Three decades later he still feels their loss keenly and seeks connection with them and an opportunity to talk through what’s happened since their car crash. Harry (Paul Mescal) lives closers to the ground. He drinks a lot and makes a pass at Adam, turning up late in the evening at his apartment’s door with a bottle and a proposition. This too plays on Adam’s mind.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDVtbBCvFye6TJ_gHjAGWW08iVeCg3wx7J76yeZxh7lSAnFub8y6o8VK0nR1NH9-rGKhTibBhIuWXnhl-ZeWWv5sVj3yV_7v_Z-d17iVC3TxE0eFpdC6BLDC6Kh16DVnzLCbS8csle_86tjw1WKdyEPbAk4hC7Jpa_Q572wZDNrA_pV0yJJdE/s1737/All%20Of%20Us%20Strangers%203.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1138" data-original-width="1737" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDVtbBCvFye6TJ_gHjAGWW08iVeCg3wx7J76yeZxh7lSAnFub8y6o8VK0nR1NH9-rGKhTibBhIuWXnhl-ZeWWv5sVj3yV_7v_Z-d17iVC3TxE0eFpdC6BLDC6Kh16DVnzLCbS8csle_86tjw1WKdyEPbAk4hC7Jpa_Q572wZDNrA_pV0yJJdE/w400-h263/All%20Of%20Us%20Strangers%203.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>As he processes his childhood, Adam wonders what his parents would think of him if they knew how he grew up? Would they appreciate his job writing scripts for films? Would they accept him being gay? To explain anything more would be to enter spoiler city. However, it’s important to note that Claire Foy steals the show playing Adam’s mother – you’ll have to ponder whether this is a flashback or some other device – and her moment of saying goodbye finally tipped me over the edge and her heartbreak provided a much-needed emotional connection to the film. Another ending later on was less impactful.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSA5wWy55JVUpRo3Lhz1cq0RRxZlvPO3Dmh9rBeONYSVW039EyBD6HyRBmcnaLz4syFLzR5uRwptpMCgiN8ldKcvkLhBArXyEDxKsW4OBRtHYH82253nQlQDDAk8ufKfzkFlcPyFm0ifIYO38exbqoUPB_f9u-CqxGOJUKALNuX9bzgEgBXzo/s1706/All%20Of%20Us%20Strangers%204.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="798" data-original-width="1706" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSA5wWy55JVUpRo3Lhz1cq0RRxZlvPO3Dmh9rBeONYSVW039EyBD6HyRBmcnaLz4syFLzR5uRwptpMCgiN8ldKcvkLhBArXyEDxKsW4OBRtHYH82253nQlQDDAk8ufKfzkFlcPyFm0ifIYO38exbqoUPB_f9u-CqxGOJUKALNuX9bzgEgBXzo/w400-h188/All%20Of%20Us%20Strangers%204.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Scott and Mescal act their socks off (in several senses). Their characters’ intimacy is believable even before what will forever be thought of as a ‘<i>Saltburn</i>’ moment. They are invested in each other. And the sadness within their characters’ lives is palpable: All Of Us Strangers says something important about what it was like to be gay in the 1980s – Adam’s childhood – and still today. It’s clearly a story that is personal for writer/director Andrew Haigh to explore. However, the structure of the story is a weakness of the film and I think it’s understandable that the Academy Awards skipped over this good-but-struggling-to-be-great film.<p></p><p>Aside from Foy’s performance, the other undeniable joy of <i>All Of Us Strangers</i> is <a href="https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/all-of-us-strangers-soundtrack-songs/">the pitch perfect soundtrack</a>. Pet Shop Boys’ synth-tastic <i>Always On My Mind</i> is the film’s second emotive dip into the band’s 1980s catalogue. But it’s the final number – <i>The Power of Love</i> by Frankie Goes To Hollywood – that heightens the intense feeling of loneliness as the story, and Adam’s love, runs dry.</p><p><i>All Of Us Strangers</i> is <a href="https://queensfilmtheatre.com/Whats-On/All-of-Us-Strangers">playing in Queen’s Film Theatre</a> as well as most other local cinemas. </p><p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZrBil0GrNig?si=5kd2EJOkf2tBzzUo" title="YouTube video player" width="400"></iframe> </p><p><i>Enjoyed this review? Why not click on the <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/alaninbelfast">Buy Me a Tea</a> button!</i></p>Alan in Belfast (Alan Meban)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04647690758839987063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21098869.post-88194046963481492712024-01-29T20:27:00.007+00:002024-02-05T20:36:40.841+00:00The Zone of Interest – are the Commandant’s family really living the dream next door to the Auschwitz concentration camp?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrwWjb_5x11VwIDkxvlXSj0wh-7CW_FqQUu0GMx7fKXz_xBRn4CF0K06sh_jOqz0ya1RGEQcLamqHqlhWdVlJBVHdzmPzXxCvslaWf7Osfo4o2w0bv2agfx7wWnpM4NrQpb-zTswDZgc8C_y6VSjxKExS2P7ltSePY8vlqzazCn4E3goE2_so/s2160/The%20Zone%20of%20Interest%201.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="2160" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrwWjb_5x11VwIDkxvlXSj0wh-7CW_FqQUu0GMx7fKXz_xBRn4CF0K06sh_jOqz0ya1RGEQcLamqHqlhWdVlJBVHdzmPzXxCvslaWf7Osfo4o2w0bv2agfx7wWnpM4NrQpb-zTswDZgc8C_y6VSjxKExS2P7ltSePY8vlqzazCn4E3goE2_so/w400-h200/The%20Zone%20of%20Interest%201.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>The Commandant’s family reside next door to Auschwitz concentration camp. While Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel) spends his time with engineers trying to build ever more efficient methods of killing and burning prisoners in the camp crematoriums, his family enjoy the use of a large garden, an outdoor swimming pool, and the best of clothes taken from Jewish prisoners arriving at the camp. Hedwig Höss (Sandra Hüller) urges him to take the family back on vacation to a spa in Italy. He is noncommittal as he broods over his new orders to leave the comfort of Auschwitz and take over a role closer to Berlin.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkUpBfx-2h2zCXLuZK9Kg35lrWmwBZ7gecKRbiLuTpCicp9q0aPIH7M_J9AMniAaUWNilSSk2xI91uH8f0ZK_Le9cdbSTZJz8b4_Sbhe_4hhhZ39FNJK7oLzRLbu61eK3ZfCBMTkadOkMYtnSFU3IamSozVZisos13VkuIe8JoLGMqV4DIEl8/s983/The%20Zone%20of%20Interest%203.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="760" data-original-width="983" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkUpBfx-2h2zCXLuZK9Kg35lrWmwBZ7gecKRbiLuTpCicp9q0aPIH7M_J9AMniAaUWNilSSk2xI91uH8f0ZK_Le9cdbSTZJz8b4_Sbhe_4hhhZ39FNJK7oLzRLbu61eK3ZfCBMTkadOkMYtnSFU3IamSozVZisos13VkuIe8JoLGMqV4DIEl8/w400-h309/The%20Zone%20of%20Interest%203.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Jonathan Glazer’s <a href="https://queensfilmtheatre.com/Whats-On/The-Zone-of-Interest "><i><b>The Zone of Interest</b></i></a> contrasts domestic bliss – though Hedwig isn’t aware of the female prisoner who visits her husband in his office – with the mostly unseen but always heard horror on the other side of the camp wall. We see smoke billowing out of the tall chimneys that dominate the skyline from the house and garden. Licks of flame light up the night sky. But the ever-present soundscape that betrays the mass killing is the dull drone of machinery, marching and occasional gunfire.<p></p><p>Rudolf is portrayed as a cold fish. His most tender moments come when he says goodbye to the horse that he rides across the road to work each morning. Hedwig is living the high life and doesn’t want to let go of the current perks of being married to the Commandant. The couple’s children don’t have much freedom, and while they’re living in total comfort compared with the prisoners nearby, the camp’s presence and unspoken activity distresses them.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgxw_-sq-MpeOe3-0MPH3hX8KPeWeuB_xBEE-ou5ofvmsv5tQkL2fVtbUYIZK1KWj0LyOrwqhjTJ1PR1ySjyfMT8xldCYXBxfwQVVcWv6wjIpqEgNnvlX07kPlTQgA5VaRvvwaNr74wEtwx7BVXU_wTTANXLevjHDUFXWgkGf6IIvTood_rbQ/s1178/The%20Zone%20of%20Interest%202.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="589" data-original-width="1178" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgxw_-sq-MpeOe3-0MPH3hX8KPeWeuB_xBEE-ou5ofvmsv5tQkL2fVtbUYIZK1KWj0LyOrwqhjTJ1PR1ySjyfMT8xldCYXBxfwQVVcWv6wjIpqEgNnvlX07kPlTQgA5VaRvvwaNr74wEtwx7BVXU_wTTANXLevjHDUFXWgkGf6IIvTood_rbQ/w400-h200/The%20Zone%20of%20Interest%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>The film occasionally escapes the unsettling humdrum home life to watch a young Polish woman from the local town leave apples for the prisoners to find when they’re out working the next day. It’s just about the only act of compassion in the 105-minute film.<p></p><p>The unseen horror is constantly contrasted with the banal life of the high ranking Nazi family. In later scenes, we see Rudolf in his new quieter work environment. Gone are the fumes and the noise of death. But we seem him nearly throw up as he leaves the building late one evening. The audience have been mentally retching for an hour or more at this point.</p><p><i>The Zone of Interest</i> is being screened in <a href="https://www.cineworld.co.uk/films/the-zone-of-interest/ho00010893#/buy-tickets-by-film?in-cinema=117&at=2024-01-29&for-movie=ho00010893&view-mode=list">Cineworld Belfast</a>, <a href="https://www.omniplex.ie/whatson/movie/showtimes/the-zone-of-interest">Omniplex Cinemas</a> and <a href="https://queensfilmtheatre.com/Whats-On/The-Zone-of-Interest ">Queen’s Film Theatre</a>. <br /></p><p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/r-vfg3KkV54?si=RxhFLQ5VCuTFozM2" title="YouTube video player" width="400"></iframe> </p><p><i>Enjoyed this review? Why not click on the <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/alaninbelfast">Buy Me a Tea</a> button!</i></p>Alan in Belfast (Alan Meban)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04647690758839987063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21098869.post-59966278285712261242024-01-29T17:21:00.004+00:002024-01-29T19:11:12.839+00:00The Color Purple – joyful songs sharply contrast with the harrowing life of Celie Harris<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyYCcgZ1mCvqH3T-hEQu4j-xUMYQLnxLtsaIWPD_OuZWJupKRoiAUKO_JDvr-gw6oFPUXgvlAWYs7mfo4dig3VMJIgPR25XbFcpOxBegHuWEWO2W3reOarojlm7d01rVkFTtK0006D9XlWv_nbbCS1WWtbVxhLtcnMAOfegMlBSiY-U_8BgO8/s2060/The%20Color%20Purple%201%20Celie.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1030" data-original-width="2060" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyYCcgZ1mCvqH3T-hEQu4j-xUMYQLnxLtsaIWPD_OuZWJupKRoiAUKO_JDvr-gw6oFPUXgvlAWYs7mfo4dig3VMJIgPR25XbFcpOxBegHuWEWO2W3reOarojlm7d01rVkFTtK0006D9XlWv_nbbCS1WWtbVxhLtcnMAOfegMlBSiY-U_8BgO8/w400-h200/The%20Color%20Purple%201%20Celie.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Musical films are undergoing a renaissance at the box office with <i>Wonka</i> and <i>Mean Girls</i> getting high profile releases in recent months. Blitz Bazawule’s <i><b>The Color Purple</b></i> dives right in with an opening number featuring two sisters singing on the branch of a tree while a man playing a banjo rides past on a horse. Peak musical you may think … and that’s before a piano is played on the back of a horse-drawn carriage!. But it turns out the strumming minstrel will be an important antagonist throughout the next two hours twenty minutes of the film.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbwyRknzF9wdGUn_WMl-zKVzLbPLzlccaQjAPlnfYzkGR9olehsOTV_lcPDEefmdtPcm-XZdcBa6xQJFDfs5W7TT4E9NfadgkHB0vTxKTFk8rQCs_6nMoOral5qHbYT2NlDLOxE0iizssdAX3Yy5_oVS5jQyB8TXgKD8LC3Mpgdd6Dmi-nDtg/s2160/The%20Color%20Purple%204%20Shug.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="2160" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbwyRknzF9wdGUn_WMl-zKVzLbPLzlccaQjAPlnfYzkGR9olehsOTV_lcPDEefmdtPcm-XZdcBa6xQJFDfs5W7TT4E9NfadgkHB0vTxKTFk8rQCs_6nMoOral5qHbYT2NlDLOxE0iizssdAX3Yy5_oVS5jQyB8TXgKD8LC3Mpgdd6Dmi-nDtg/s320/The%20Color%20Purple%204%20Shug.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><i>The Color Purple</i> tracks the life of Celie Harris (played by Phylicia Pearl Mpasi and then Fantasia Barrino) over four decades starting in 1909 Georgia when as a teenager her abusive father forced her into an abusive marriage with a local farmer ‘Mister’ (Colman Domingo). Losing touch with her much-loved sister Nettie takes its toll. The arrival – and swift departure – of feisty daughter-in-law Sofia (Danielle Brooks) brings comfort followed by sadness. The visit of Mister’s old flame Shug (Taraji P. Henson whose character sure knows how to make an entrance) adds the sound of jazz to the neighbourhood but the outbreak of extramarital harmony in the home is fleeting.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl51VnRheRaiP-gNKOZYxJfMwqb1bUNgcxf-A0rIPplxewW52HMbsK6VxsqUJ819A7me9PXXLlvkDgJcNu08NjQ-bdMMZW1qzp6VRNW1xPqqNQP80YiL3GiwAhQ4pwtkkOiTmrpb3aKc_XB8gO1zbVmO7twqwij7hG2Kms6arT-zK1lcAykmc/s2048/The%20Color%20Purple%206%20Sofia.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1106" data-original-width="2048" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl51VnRheRaiP-gNKOZYxJfMwqb1bUNgcxf-A0rIPplxewW52HMbsK6VxsqUJ819A7me9PXXLlvkDgJcNu08NjQ-bdMMZW1qzp6VRNW1xPqqNQP80YiL3GiwAhQ4pwtkkOiTmrpb3aKc_XB8gO1zbVmO7twqwij7hG2Kms6arT-zK1lcAykmc/w400-h216/The%20Color%20Purple%206%20Sofia.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>While Celie’s life is harrowing for the majority of the film, the songs are upbeat and hold the promise that life could be so much better. Large-scale dance routines add a sense of vibrancy to the melancholic story of enslavement, violence and abuse. Ninety minutes in, the fightback begins and the tables are turned as Celie begins to live the life of promise and joy that she deserves.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLQLdQko8ZfxRe1HyHHEnetzaBBi3wq6lnzyUbGtfU_XQAnsILhQdTuBNktAJfDcDc36OzbiyBjTZc4gFYPuGidGNQsNxQL5uG7Bdu35cSgUCwMCclPz4uOsym7F3MvY4f55lpwnzDr8gVFqhhmTKaLrYiqHNh76RqpHZA5_d6co67gQ_iLFg/s1652/The%20Color%20Purple%202%20Mister%20banjo.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1022" data-original-width="1652" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLQLdQko8ZfxRe1HyHHEnetzaBBi3wq6lnzyUbGtfU_XQAnsILhQdTuBNktAJfDcDc36OzbiyBjTZc4gFYPuGidGNQsNxQL5uG7Bdu35cSgUCwMCclPz4uOsym7F3MvY4f55lpwnzDr8gVFqhhmTKaLrYiqHNh76RqpHZA5_d6co67gQ_iLFg/w400-h248/The%20Color%20Purple%202%20Mister%20banjo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Based more on the stage musical than Steven Spielberg’s 1985 film that adapted <a href="https://amzn.to/482mJSg">Alice Walker’s novel</a>, this new version of <i>The Color Purple</i> isn’t full of hummable tunes. It’s a long watch, and perhaps ends with everything too well sewn up. You’ll leave the cinema with a heavy heart, wondering why no one intervened over the first two decades of Celie’s marriage, or the six years of Sofia’s incarceration, and whether the situation is still all too common today. Well worth seeing on the big screen. <p></p><p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/9E1rKYiV3Ew?si=NOneRaESrtilgN9B" title="YouTube video player" width="400"></iframe> </p><p><i>Enjoyed this review? Why not click on the <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/alaninbelfast">Buy Me a Tea</a> button!</i></p>Alan in Belfast (Alan Meban)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04647690758839987063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21098869.post-57724002874394054132024-01-22T23:10:00.002+00:002024-01-22T23:17:30.289+00:00Anyone But You – a smiley solid albeit at times crass romcom that is nearly rescued by a patient koala but is ultimately much ado about nothing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Qmoikks_5dAhWeQJurbEl33pyh_tJK0OIKXmL1g2D3BbsjCS_WLx_L4JqXZXS-oUVSZO93ItTKP34WVZ4ouL6_X6BfoAZv5_EniQeOdCscFzcwmLBxgqmN6fpNv8FHDJY6OozLF-7Py-9KMlUewUKktqRRG65CsgJ1HkRMSTEsYUbihYFjw/s1600/Anyone%20But%20You.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1011" data-original-width="1600" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Qmoikks_5dAhWeQJurbEl33pyh_tJK0OIKXmL1g2D3BbsjCS_WLx_L4JqXZXS-oUVSZO93ItTKP34WVZ4ouL6_X6BfoAZv5_EniQeOdCscFzcwmLBxgqmN6fpNv8FHDJY6OozLF-7Py-9KMlUewUKktqRRG65CsgJ1HkRMSTEsYUbihYFjw/w400-h253/Anyone%20But%20You.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>While the overall construction of <i><b>Anyone But You</b></i> is solid and it’ll make you smile, it’s crying out to be written off as ‘much ado about nothing’ (upon which the story arc is based) and it will never make you cry like Richard Curtis can.</p><p>An ostentatiously wealthy wedding in Sydney with beach-ready guests – most of whom will find at least one opportunity to tip off most or all of their clothes – straight out of any number of Netflix shows set in Cape Cod or The Hamptons, a clumsy bride’s sister, a bloke who is half-scared fully-beefcake, misunderstandings galore, second chances that are blown, a DJ whose deck wasn’t plugged in, a very patient koala, and an unexpected (prosthetic?) anteater that was nowhere near as crude as the unnecessary down blouse shots.<br /></p><p>Last year’s <a href="https://alaninbelfast.blogspot.com/2023/03/rye-lane-surely-best-romcom-of-year-out.html"><i>Rye Lane</i></a> was a cheaper and better romcom! </p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/UtjH6Sk7Gxs?si=PUcClq6BlEA3ZzB3" title="YouTube video player" width="400"></iframe><p><i>Enjoyed this review? Why not click on the <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/alaninbelfast">Buy Me a Tea</a> button!</i></p>Alan in Belfast (Alan Meban)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04647690758839987063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21098869.post-17716705712182584232024-01-22T13:30:00.001+00:002024-01-22T13:53:21.303+00:00The End We Start From – far-fetched feral film with extraordinary performance from Jodie Comer and the sound department<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigvkrLRS9qlxB-jXpC9pMSvbOa183gGmIEo4UrZClogz_NZlLZZSZKHIMzBxL_Dmmtd3MMCigzbWyn2HFeNMfWqP4D4lAcC_d5nubTu5Ph6yzpgAvCTTPtSvJxLhCf_3BqC9WUcYEdJ-P2M15R6kxNX8vF4Om8rXhaTGQ8uV7f_uGwrbwfi0w/s2160/The%20End%20We%20Start%20From.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="2160" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigvkrLRS9qlxB-jXpC9pMSvbOa183gGmIEo4UrZClogz_NZlLZZSZKHIMzBxL_Dmmtd3MMCigzbWyn2HFeNMfWqP4D4lAcC_d5nubTu5Ph6yzpgAvCTTPtSvJxLhCf_3BqC9WUcYEdJ-P2M15R6kxNX8vF4Om8rXhaTGQ8uV7f_uGwrbwfi0w/w400-h200/The%20End%20We%20Start%20From.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i><b>The End We Start From</b></i> is a far-fetched feral film but much more believable and effective than other movies in the genre like <i><a href="https://alaninbelfast.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-survivalist-extreme-behaviour-in.html">The Survivalist</a></i> and <a href="https://alaninbelfast.blogspot.com/2016/04/couple-in-hole-scots-couple-take-refuge.html"><i>Couple in a Hole</i></a>.<p></p><p>Jodie Comer once again shows extraordinary commitment to a role as waters break in more than one way. Joel Fry captures his character’s poor mental health in words and physicality.</p><p>But the most fulsome credit must go to the composer (Anna Meredith) and sound editor (Jens Rosenlund Petersen) and all the foley artists who created the soundscape ... one that entirely matched the howling gale (Storm Isha) I walked into on the way out of the cinema. And have baby gurgles and moans ever sounded as good as little Zeb (played by 15 fabulous youngsters)?</p><p>A film about resilience and making the least worst decision to survive a while longer in a society and a landscape that has collapsed.</p><iframe width="400" height="225" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/MciSEbkTkXw?si=JxcQ2vHysadTCnQI" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe><p><i>Enjoyed this review? Why not click on the <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/alaninbelfast">Buy Me a Tea</a> button!</i></p>Alan in Belfast (Alan Meban)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04647690758839987063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21098869.post-1493613826590899632024-01-14T18:23:00.000+00:002024-01-14T18:23:34.483+00:00The Beekeeper – phishing scammer suffers digital loss amongst other acts of revenge in this unbeelievable tale<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicrXMBaCnDa-NfDVGmE0vO3-Epep1kxhIgKMpKOFFssGW8odn52lSBUKKA5HPDsLEEG_b8_i79Xd_zPXSgk38SNCL-M3c1V5Frd4DQm1jHsxK5N16oyRw4CWFd057qFu8cjqNqFR32ai3uhyphenhyphenQQdEPIoAiI1F2yNX8UzqorA-lYykAt9ent_GY/s800/The%20Beekeeper%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="800" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicrXMBaCnDa-NfDVGmE0vO3-Epep1kxhIgKMpKOFFssGW8odn52lSBUKKA5HPDsLEEG_b8_i79Xd_zPXSgk38SNCL-M3c1V5Frd4DQm1jHsxK5N16oyRw4CWFd057qFu8cjqNqFR32ai3uhyphenhyphenQQdEPIoAiI1F2yNX8UzqorA-lYykAt9ent_GY/w400-h200/The%20Beekeeper%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>A retired asset from a deniable squad of violent fixers who have agency to keep the US on the straight and narrow abandons his beekeeping and decides to avenge the death of a sweet lady off whom he rents a barn. He works his way through a hive of online scamsters to find that the honey leads to the most well-connected family in the country.<p></p><p><b><i>The Beekeeper</i></b> features a high body count with civilian casualties and plenty of innocent deaths of bumbling law enforcement officers alongside the misbeehaving bad guys – with some darkly comedy moments – as Adam Clay (Jason Statham) goes on a beestly killing rampage.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW3dxKHRDRz8tbnAxybgN-LVhj3CvR-wT9J2kMPQNvVgI4ztuoLe58FB2Jxrb_kPX82LKK_Gb8UZ0Yr3TjVyqekJ85R15OxP4EynmthVCn_DjSK0lMOhFVDRnTghHIbBiS3nyeAu3qPzo_SzfB257s_w4y_CycSBeh0MoPj8cjjdf0uY-y3_0/s1080/The%20Beekeeper%204.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="719" data-original-width="1080" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW3dxKHRDRz8tbnAxybgN-LVhj3CvR-wT9J2kMPQNvVgI4ztuoLe58FB2Jxrb_kPX82LKK_Gb8UZ0Yr3TjVyqekJ85R15OxP4EynmthVCn_DjSK0lMOhFVDRnTghHIbBiS3nyeAu3qPzo_SzfB257s_w4y_CycSBeh0MoPj8cjjdf0uY-y3_0/w400-h266/The%20Beekeeper%204.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Kate Lethbridge-Stewart (Jemma Redgrave playing Jessica Danforth) is no longer the Head of Scientific Research at UNIT and is now in charge of the free world. Grieving Special Agent Parker (Emmy Raver-Lampman) from the Boston FBI is given free rein to pursue her mother’s friend as he cleans up the sticky mess he has uncovered. Jeremy Irons perhaps puts too much effort into his part playing a retired CIA director turned security consultant for a family bees-ness.<br /><p></p><p>While the leaking roof in the Boston FBI office is a great grim detail, nearly everything else about the film is implausible at every turn. A secret organisation relying on green-screen IBM computers and dot matrix printers? The action sequences involve people with bullet proof vests dropping like flies while one scammer suffers a different kind of stinging digital loss.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh56WWDrRvSpRlHlX7Qt6R8c7SY5nlQzufCDEDX6D3zooyUDF1NXU5POYz1VgeQxlwhbgrQ1uaM6qu2FuZSsXJDkbc-EFBIDyQQwddmSeB2-TmUUeaLBb9DHQQLsc7jmah2zsTt8mk7y01Zl_OUpNb3Nblfh3XRMz-yBCRl693xLh9keKejuAk/s1080/The%20Beekeeper%203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="718" data-original-width="1080" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh56WWDrRvSpRlHlX7Qt6R8c7SY5nlQzufCDEDX6D3zooyUDF1NXU5POYz1VgeQxlwhbgrQ1uaM6qu2FuZSsXJDkbc-EFBIDyQQwddmSeB2-TmUUeaLBb9DHQQLsc7jmah2zsTt8mk7y01Zl_OUpNb3Nblfh3XRMz-yBCRl693xLh9keKejuAk/w400-h266/The%20Beekeeper%203.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Jason Statham gives a masterclass in clasping his hands together and talking earnestly into space without any making eye contact with anyone else in the room. It’s a terrible device, but well acted. The second skate-boarding scene eventually justifies the first.<p></p><p><i>The Beekeeper</i> has pun-ridden dialogue that makes characters wax lyrical with lines a Dalek might be expected to deliver. While the Bourne franchise served up plots that were full of shark-jumping, this lower division movie includes enough inventive moments of out of all proportion action to keep your interest.</p><p>The first 20 minutes of <i>The Beekeeper</i> should on the school digital literacy sylla-buzz and broadcast on TV as a warning for people to avoid falling for phishing attacks. There shouldn’t ever be a sequel. Which will save us from sequences using USB drives and frisbees to extract information from corrupt pollenticians or steal Pablo Bee-casso paintings.</p><p><i>Enjoyed this review? Why not click on the <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/alaninbelfast">Buy Me a Tea</a> button!</i></p>Alan in Belfast (Alan Meban)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04647690758839987063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21098869.post-56944245556504190522024-01-01T23:55:00.034+00:002024-01-02T00:23:46.482+00:00Priscilla – an infantilised woman trapped by her adoration of a self-absorbed man? (UK/Irish cinemas from 1 January)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjVEqYEby0K0QeRoJHg7-z6bXZgpkbLojyVj9QDbdZtqZNE4eqJ_QjHi17vNXudKj1JKVvqy3UvNxlPqJGt2P4WoWLY8tM0oKnmFOYVc3Ko4EVubnygmMv8x4Tw8tXbbycjO-p4gGuGGdUp71fj7-cYJB2M9cU6gTI6HSdK0AOgwBuaHnEbm4/s2160/Priscilla%202.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="2160" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjVEqYEby0K0QeRoJHg7-z6bXZgpkbLojyVj9QDbdZtqZNE4eqJ_QjHi17vNXudKj1JKVvqy3UvNxlPqJGt2P4WoWLY8tM0oKnmFOYVc3Ko4EVubnygmMv8x4Tw8tXbbycjO-p4gGuGGdUp71fj7-cYJB2M9cU6gTI6HSdK0AOgwBuaHnEbm4/w400-h200/Priscilla%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Fourteen-year-old Priscilla Beaulieu is introduced to Elvis by one of his military friends. He’s serving with the US military in Germany. Ten years his junior, she’s naïve, shy and besotted. The singer is made out to be homesick – something they have in common – and grieving his mother’s death.<p></p><p>Her mother and stepfather have doubts about the emerging relationship, but miraculously are persuaded to let her to travel to the US to visit Elvis, later agreeing to her shifting her education to the US and be chaperoned, a condition that the film clearly portrays as not being enforced. Soon she’s popping the same pills as her beau and living in Graceland, soaking in the parts of the Presley lifestyle that she’s allowed to enjoy.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0dFKjZ1K7q_0v82EppmN07B7EZFcrS8VAyeqNxuThE8cX9ztF9mB8uQ50Rc50qRNATlMPfh7VModjhJLZheZ6STcstK8WenfT4KJcnqAQ2TTDTOwRYMhcyzSHv5pfDT3kQ2CYLESG3xBgYmDbCernIoGFXXH9QskOwTonaU56OcLpsYjomgU/s1914/Priscilla%203.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1234" data-original-width="1914" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0dFKjZ1K7q_0v82EppmN07B7EZFcrS8VAyeqNxuThE8cX9ztF9mB8uQ50Rc50qRNATlMPfh7VModjhJLZheZ6STcstK8WenfT4KJcnqAQ2TTDTOwRYMhcyzSHv5pfDT3kQ2CYLESG3xBgYmDbCernIoGFXXH9QskOwTonaU56OcLpsYjomgU/w400-h258/Priscilla%203.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>The first hour of the film <i><b>Priscilla</b></i> is full of ‘ick’; the second half has more red flags than an 18-hole golf course.<p></p><p>We’re led to believe – via Priscilla Presley’s autobiography upon which the screenplay is based – that while her flesh was willing, Elvis held back in a spirit of chasteness (something he didn’t extend to other women he met before, during and after moving Priscilla into his home). Physically affectionate but sexually reluctant, Elvis is also increasingly absent, leaving Priscilla – “the only girl I ever love” – nursing a puppy and her maths homework while he makes movies and headlines are written about affectionate liaisons with female co-stars.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSaP3ErxtZYNlrEk5MUhBQPhiVFI44PByptTxJqh_mkUf0qO6BpuZ9rcM9X-EYj-abAHv-ztGUDS7xTNQmDbz8ExBsoWoroRQnGOpETSMUphUVb6GKmApbV6WMJCs1et9epDt6pLVxEn6i9n3xQzz26LM47GNHaTe8oLQtfYXApSnYsH49vCo/s1880/Priscilla%201.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="1880" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSaP3ErxtZYNlrEk5MUhBQPhiVFI44PByptTxJqh_mkUf0qO6BpuZ9rcM9X-EYj-abAHv-ztGUDS7xTNQmDbz8ExBsoWoroRQnGOpETSMUphUVb6GKmApbV6WMJCs1et9epDt6pLVxEn6i9n3xQzz26LM47GNHaTe8oLQtfYXApSnYsH49vCo/w400-h200/Priscilla%201.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>There’s little attempt to dodge the elephant in the room. Elvis may (or may not) have set some physical boundaries, but even that is another aspect of his controlling behaviour, which is accented by being creepy, coercive, dismissive and eventually violent. Infantilised Priscilla is trapped by her love and her total investment in a man who could so readily afford to drop her and move on leaving her with nothing. Fourteen years on from meeting Elvis, the film concludes with a final scene in which she regains control before the soundtrack fades to the terribly apt Dolly Parton’s <i>I Will Always Love You</i> (a song the country star refused to allow Elvis the rights to cover).<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIikIGlRuYhIowZqZGfpEhidQKFxi_SRhIPUmdnlojsRIgz1GBNMfODZWXxXchWNmaMdtKW8DM-LHCdF6JrGiATOjL6WbFoexxTd9gqdz_gVo7fLQahvKvTn9fo3b71ztoQRWgR54zRj9OBFtrnFfdvOGOKHWoiZKyqpGxQUFNYLbucXAnXWc/s1333/Priscilla%204.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="821" data-original-width="1333" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIikIGlRuYhIowZqZGfpEhidQKFxi_SRhIPUmdnlojsRIgz1GBNMfODZWXxXchWNmaMdtKW8DM-LHCdF6JrGiATOjL6WbFoexxTd9gqdz_gVo7fLQahvKvTn9fo3b71ztoQRWgR54zRj9OBFtrnFfdvOGOKHWoiZKyqpGxQUFNYLbucXAnXWc/w400-h246/Priscilla%204.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>The superb Cailee Spaeny captures a real sense of a fragile Priscilla growing up, growing in smarts, learning how to exert agency over small matters (at one stage getting the never seen domineering figure Colonel Tom Parker to lean on Elvis). Yet she is nearly always cuts a lonely figure in the sycophantic crowd that surrounds Elvis, and is frequently undermined by his selfish and self-absorbed interventions.<p></p><p>Jacob Elordi – just a year older than Spaeny in real life – looms large over his petite co-star, visually emphasising the power imbalance lest anyone in the audience forget what was happening. Elordi has the performance moves of Elvis but we never get to hear him sing since rights to use the rock and roll star’s tracks were denied.</p><p>Despite his giant presence on screen – whether exuberant or depressed – director and screenwriter Sofia Coppola ensures that Spaeny/Priscilla always remains the focus of attention. At my opening night screening, the audience was nearly exclusively female, audibly gasping at the treatment of the young girl at the hands of older but not wiser folk around her: so many family and friends have the opportunity to intervene but choose not to.<br /></p><p><i>Priscilla</i> tells a complex domestic story that helpfully introduces the audience to more than just one villain. Coppola questions where innocence begins and ends. She’s happy that Elvis gets the blame for Priscilla’s own hinted at infidelity as what’s left of the relationship spirals out of control. The opening credits list Priscilla Presley as a producer of the film, adding to the sense that this is her cinematic memoir, sometimes tender, nearly always toxic. </p><p><i>Enjoyed this review? Why not click on the <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/alaninbelfast">Buy Me a Tea</a> button!</i></p>Alan in Belfast (Alan Meban)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04647690758839987063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21098869.post-64976726596932638702023-12-12T23:54:00.001+00:002023-12-17T20:56:40.038+00:00The Three Musketeers: Milady – a baffling case of mistaken identity and betrayal amidst a brewing war (QFT from 15 December)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSULrPnJ5x677Ob3SGwWMuo_AKyg1yGsPX65RptocqB8Qaq9KYfwwFtQaF85oAI4T0tpg0q05Glz43ZRdevhrg9RhHCZQ9_UHHxcqvUjzy2CwypIC6ixwXhGxuk-1rDj-_eiDR_2QqTeMGXBIysufb63g5mtoYCSBMhyTsBSnT4Mds3CFwRh8/s2160/Three%20Musketeers%20Milady%204.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="2160" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSULrPnJ5x677Ob3SGwWMuo_AKyg1yGsPX65RptocqB8Qaq9KYfwwFtQaF85oAI4T0tpg0q05Glz43ZRdevhrg9RhHCZQ9_UHHxcqvUjzy2CwypIC6ixwXhGxuk-1rDj-_eiDR_2QqTeMGXBIysufb63g5mtoYCSBMhyTsBSnT4Mds3CFwRh8/w400-h200/Three%20Musketeers%20Milady%204.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>I’m not sure how I missed <i>The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan</i> earlier in the year, but I wish I’d also been able to skip the two-hour sequel <i><b><a href="Enjoyed this review? Why not click on the Buy Me a Tea button!">The Three Musketeers: Milady</a></b></i>. Somewhere amongst the goulash of plot and hard to distinguish characters there’s a story that picks up on a previous triumph of saving the king’s life and sees a series of sword fighters equipped with pistols, muskets and knives try to stop a war, try to find a kidnapped love, and fend off the advances of a mysterious nemesis.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWbilOWU_ztf3CJ7yU8XrOMQXBjAZr8golDFXs6wtpdJwg1ikctMv2ajFv8oJj68JYqWNZVa-4ldMxja7pd56pp7UuKM3wdh9A-RmtPkI9PnPnlDpleoq7e6nT2VJAEhr5sfiD70gJfRhDmKrVO0jeNjGBHAwCdSq5kInZbpshSRak4pAnfho/s2160/Three%20Musketeers%20Milady%201.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1013" data-original-width="2160" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWbilOWU_ztf3CJ7yU8XrOMQXBjAZr8golDFXs6wtpdJwg1ikctMv2ajFv8oJj68JYqWNZVa-4ldMxja7pd56pp7UuKM3wdh9A-RmtPkI9PnPnlDpleoq7e6nT2VJAEhr5sfiD70gJfRhDmKrVO0jeNjGBHAwCdSq5kInZbpshSRak4pAnfho/w400-h188/Three%20Musketeers%20Milady%201.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>The superior fighting and strategic talents of Milady make her the deserving star of the story. Played by a very calm under pressure Eva Green, she runs rings around the men, a chameleon escapologist who always lives to fight another day despite being tied up in a bodice. Disney+ and Pathé are allegedly making a TV spinoff <i>Milady Origins</i>.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5k3DPXPb4CQMpPhlfYDbHwiRLOgDabfhUoYudUH8luVcU_0C0DLGpBRedQ5s9lyEej-2nBpS_szDYJRk5zw3bD28ZGRN9a_9crY6X2V0L1i7fBItG33CFyqXWoPOVRP1CxCVuliHsmwt6Q0-6ROe85d5LWNAF90pJVum2PsPUquNS5e5M0X4/s2160/Three%20Musketeers%20Milady%202.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="2160" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5k3DPXPb4CQMpPhlfYDbHwiRLOgDabfhUoYudUH8luVcU_0C0DLGpBRedQ5s9lyEej-2nBpS_szDYJRk5zw3bD28ZGRN9a_9crY6X2V0L1i7fBItG33CFyqXWoPOVRP1CxCVuliHsmwt6Q0-6ROe85d5LWNAF90pJVum2PsPUquNS5e5M0X4/w400-h266/Three%20Musketeers%20Milady%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Are there just three musketeers? To be honest, without seeing the first part of the film, it felt like the number jumped between two, three, four, and many, many more depending on the scene. They needed badges or Thing 1/2/3 t-shirts.<p></p><p>The sets are lavish, decorated with gold leaf and rich fabrics. The horses behave impeccably. The unerringly cannons never fall short of their doomed target. Comedic moments are left in the hands of just one character whose oafish chat up lines are amazingly successful. Vincent Cassel is barely recognisable playing Athos. Much is made in the media of Porthos (played by Pio Marmaï) being bisexual, but it must only be obvious if you’ve watched the first film.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtBmt6p_ySjBRjjuWwnClJKL0LfGC5o-8JmNJTCkTd3j-al_qJOvIMdqMvdpyG0WSjG_0XD1P_eNEijR0NUoEL7ASzYVJgCXZal49rQdqdNuaPa-RfFKqZWUETr0wVB3lR7q7bQ3n4dEAWPwzby01cJs_7W1Z6v20EMrrwaZAxqmfRZpV1Sgk/s2160/Three%20Musketeers%20Milady%203.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1013" data-original-width="2160" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtBmt6p_ySjBRjjuWwnClJKL0LfGC5o-8JmNJTCkTd3j-al_qJOvIMdqMvdpyG0WSjG_0XD1P_eNEijR0NUoEL7ASzYVJgCXZal49rQdqdNuaPa-RfFKqZWUETr0wVB3lR7q7bQ3n4dEAWPwzby01cJs_7W1Z6v20EMrrwaZAxqmfRZpV1Sgk/w400-h188/Three%20Musketeers%20Milady%203.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>The final scene suggests that the story isn’t quite over and this could conceivably be a trilogy. With the two films shot back-to-back, box office receipts for the first instalment tell a different story: the overall production seems unlikely to wash its face so we may yet be spared any more of this seventeenth century nonsense on the big screen.<p></p><p><i>The Three Musketeers: Milady</i> is being screened in cinemas – including <a href="https://queensfilmtheatre.com/Whats-On/The-Three-Musketeers-Milady">the Queen’s Film Theatre – from Friday 15</a>.</p><p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/co5j9PjNNd0?si=9KDoTiUFFoxHei5t" title="YouTube video player" width="400"></iframe> </p><p><i>Enjoyed this review? Why not click on the <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/alaninbelfast">Buy Me a Tea</a> button!</i></p>Alan in Belfast (Alan Meban)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04647690758839987063noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21098869.post-91014292977802400192023-12-04T16:54:00.000+00:002023-12-04T16:54:17.240+00:00Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget – feathered friends flock to fight for freedom (Netflix from 15 December)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKC8bWoS-1P7lIGueHKm5t2acqgdZOL4iQIA2k12w8NWYkL4A6wOak3XnppDwShw3QLpnqaJemfnDb8H_O3gPKpuqJQ3xZFaDXKKe_YqHllos6TuC3OENlleQrrGceAEVZDFrxz4goe4YQp683AiyGG2Jq1N9A4xRvCRIYZ5g26HBeEFkjgjY/s1973/Chicken%20Run%20Dawn%20Nugget%20CRDOTN%20FAMILY%20PHOTO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="987" data-original-width="1973" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKC8bWoS-1P7lIGueHKm5t2acqgdZOL4iQIA2k12w8NWYkL4A6wOak3XnppDwShw3QLpnqaJemfnDb8H_O3gPKpuqJQ3xZFaDXKKe_YqHllos6TuC3OENlleQrrGceAEVZDFrxz4goe4YQp683AiyGG2Jq1N9A4xRvCRIYZ5g26HBeEFkjgjY/w400-h200/Chicken%20Run%20Dawn%20Nugget%20CRDOTN%20FAMILY%20PHOTO.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>The pesky freedom fighting chickens are back in <i><b><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81223025">Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget</a></b></i>. Following their escape from the clutches of Mrs Tweedy and the farm she ran like a prisoner camp, the chickens are enjoying life on an island overlooking the scene of their torture. Strong-willed Ginger and accident-prone Rocky are happily rearing little Molly, a chip off her parents’ block. All is calm, until human activity is spotted across the water back on the mainland. Ginger calls the community to action – to lie low – spurred on by maternal responsibilities. But Molly’s curiosity spurs her to investigate and before long the feathered crew are breaking into a farm … or is it a chicken-friendly theme park? And who’s the boss behind this new venture?<br /><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBkGNsGaDiTTnFwx5Q0A3sSimqutwmtIpEVwMz8m3E-HqwKf4uuT_ydhUa_j5omT5c9u990oxPfwbqGE-qSz52Utb5JY7NlKcOjcbaNZZmDYd1utwsz-g8sklH3sFomIK44kz6AeXLrQnwWEHdsW956HB6Izy6FVuhRzEepHw3wr_axCp-_CE/s1480/Chicken%20Run%20Dawn%20Nugget%20CRDOTN_ROCKY_AIR_VENT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="833" data-original-width="1480" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBkGNsGaDiTTnFwx5Q0A3sSimqutwmtIpEVwMz8m3E-HqwKf4uuT_ydhUa_j5omT5c9u990oxPfwbqGE-qSz52Utb5JY7NlKcOjcbaNZZmDYd1utwsz-g8sklH3sFomIK44kz6AeXLrQnwWEHdsW956HB6Izy6FVuhRzEepHw3wr_axCp-_CE/w400-h225/Chicken%20Run%20Dawn%20Nugget%20CRDOTN_ROCKY_AIR_VENT.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Watching back the original <i>Chicken Run</i> (<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00d6ns4">BBC One Sunday 10 at 14:00</a>, BBC Three Friday 15 at 19:00, <a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/60001287">or Netflix</a>) it’s clear that the animators and cinematographers went to extraordinary lengths to light the sets and create convincing backgrounds. My copy of <i>Chicken Run</i> was on VHS: a lot has changed since Aardman Animations’ first feature-length was released in 2000. While the characters in <i>Dawn of the Nugget</i> are all still stop motion plasticine figures, much of the background and set is computer generated. The end result gives the production a more modern feel.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPtMzvqMpoASEDG_eEX72xID5joOcrFwYSbIxCT4ULnf3m1S5xkG4RdAExutG9ZtyFVzR_K-zGrTg7lfGwlt2e7tBP-sQwpSMxgpOBVNcmpzamSZRyRggNMc2ESSTIfw1oI8OBdehWhXZlnM29BH6mMiVVlyH6WY3EXcrHEQb7EsrM_G_fpm4/s1958/Chicken%20Run%20Dawn%20Nugget%20CRDOTN_EP_150_RD02150_Molly_Frizzle_Scared.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1101" data-original-width="1958" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPtMzvqMpoASEDG_eEX72xID5joOcrFwYSbIxCT4ULnf3m1S5xkG4RdAExutG9ZtyFVzR_K-zGrTg7lfGwlt2e7tBP-sQwpSMxgpOBVNcmpzamSZRyRggNMc2ESSTIfw1oI8OBdehWhXZlnM29BH6mMiVVlyH6WY3EXcrHEQb7EsrM_G_fpm4/w400-h225/Chicken%20Run%20Dawn%20Nugget%20CRDOTN_EP_150_RD02150_Molly_Frizzle_Scared.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Some of the original voice artists have been replaced (Thandiwe Newton and Zachary Levi taking over Ginger and Rocky from Julia Sawalha and Mel Gibson), but it’s good to hear Jane Horrocks back as the fast-knitting Babs. Fowler still embarks on military reminiscences to any captive audience. The cunning rats – Nick and Fletcher – continue to rescue the chickens from tight situations. And watch out for the new scouse character Frizzle voiced by Josie Sedgwick-Davies.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEish239HfPRhnah-tCRcx0hHwLgdL3kxytanh8n7uhEnpqYXIRDTGSXZ5_bkihyphenhyphen6nR3zMqxoBogVeSRqnqF9lsAu3A4znu_0G8wdvYw2vpid0vV7KgUjQUZueT-Qt1X0_-RrLihGIPhThSG9sYo0yyhFB55MTq2dU_o5VuUK0bC4MACp5B6CA4/s1600/Chicken%20Run%20Dawn%20Nugget%20CR2_PR_Still_Egg_Leg_16_9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEish239HfPRhnah-tCRcx0hHwLgdL3kxytanh8n7uhEnpqYXIRDTGSXZ5_bkihyphenhyphen6nR3zMqxoBogVeSRqnqF9lsAu3A4znu_0G8wdvYw2vpid0vV7KgUjQUZueT-Qt1X0_-RrLihGIPhThSG9sYo0yyhFB55MTq2dU_o5VuUK0bC4MACp5B6CA4/w400-h225/Chicken%20Run%20Dawn%20Nugget%20CR2_PR_Still_Egg_Leg_16_9.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>While the plot is less tight than the original, there are plenty of great one-liners, hare-brained contraptions, and visual gags. Rocky’s ability to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat (and sometimes the reverse) still gives him unfair moments of heroism in contrast with Ginger’s lower key constant stubborn perseverance to protect her offspring. There’s a Mission Impossible-style sequence complete with a suitably orchestrated score, and an explosive finale that could have stolen its storyboard from a Bond film with the villain getting their comeuppance while their lair experiences what SpaceX would call a ‘rapid unscheduled disassembly’.<p></p><p>It may be a cockamamie tale about hens standing up against humans, but <i>Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget</i> is a decent animated sequel that will entertain adults returning to a childhood favourite, and win over a new generation to this tale of feathered fightback. Available to <a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81223025">stream on Netflix from Friday 15 December</a>.</p><p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/_-Kz67kea8Q?si=kowy2TuQbmmSeY_N" title="YouTube video player" width="400"></iframe> </p><p><i>Enjoyed this review? Why not click on the <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/alaninbelfast">Buy Me a Tea</a> button!</i></p>Alan in Belfast (Alan Meban)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04647690758839987063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21098869.post-13538731744296397652023-12-02T16:47:00.002+00:002023-12-02T17:02:33.947+00:00Maestro – the extraordinary portrayal of an extraordinary couple (QFT until 7 December before Netflix release on 20 December)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7hBe9_sBwYNHZW_pKW5NR5jL-JgvG_m2lAdQriU3jrpZVOZ13ccxfflLcJgobVArn3NaL1JkqLUExl8I4Dho4OvmL9iVZ6w8n7bCVV-woGXP_jVSDibi42EUFyruVq74Yo5F6lzUspDAkvRoYEh53TjZz8KROS5_pPDhXZu8woNMcGx4Fu2w/s2160/Maestro%201.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="2160" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7hBe9_sBwYNHZW_pKW5NR5jL-JgvG_m2lAdQriU3jrpZVOZ13ccxfflLcJgobVArn3NaL1JkqLUExl8I4Dho4OvmL9iVZ6w8n7bCVV-woGXP_jVSDibi42EUFyruVq74Yo5F6lzUspDAkvRoYEh53TjZz8KROS5_pPDhXZu8woNMcGx4Fu2w/w400-h200/Maestro%201.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>The act of sitting with a notepad and a pen in hand ready to scribble in the dark already slightly distracts from the normal audience experience. For film previews, the early morning start complete with rush hour traffic and parking frustrations adds commotion to what filmmakers intend to be a relaxing luxury night out in front of the silver screen.<p></p><p>Every now and again, a movie comes along that makes you forget about what else is going on in life. The performances enthral, the storytelling consumes your mental bandwidth, the music captures a mood, and you’re taken to a different place for a couple of hours.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0_gH1_kjGyBOagoSCpUkIbBGAp_nifoq3XY0sxQJW8Sxg_zSGhhxi4DkYKgtbynnfdLz2OU3LjGv5nu7ZVTw9HyCugG0ZoqmGMOAORb1a2ZXRDzSubBGKXbm7NXBPIlggoqGOflJ_kvHNye_Zp3SH_StmiWhHPnUUODdCRmZoZHRyUI5yxxM/s2160/Maestro%202.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="2160" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0_gH1_kjGyBOagoSCpUkIbBGAp_nifoq3XY0sxQJW8Sxg_zSGhhxi4DkYKgtbynnfdLz2OU3LjGv5nu7ZVTw9HyCugG0ZoqmGMOAORb1a2ZXRDzSubBGKXbm7NXBPIlggoqGOflJ_kvHNye_Zp3SH_StmiWhHPnUUODdCRmZoZHRyUI5yxxM/w400-h266/Maestro%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i><b><a href="https://queensfilmtheatre.com/Whats-On/Maestro">Maestro</a></b></i> is one of those films. The word ‘extraordinary’ comes to mind. I don’t attach stars to reviews, but if I did, <i>Maestro</i> would have the maximum number available. Bradley Cooper looms large over the film, a hugely positive influence on its success. He’s playing Leonard Bernstein, as well as directing and credited as co-writer with Josh Singer. While the film’s title and early scenes revolve around the chain-smoking musical genius, the balance changes over time and <i>Maestro</i> becomes as much about the experience of Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan) as her better-known musical husband.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhbSrENqXdS90enFOrDfJfY0fFFVyeorz6-otoFM8LvdsynTG9giTU8D3r6Y0EHHgfZSdrs6NRe7cBjjob_J943M-xFJGUSN4yXiuJ28xMYngkbYF3SPpdjnwRd306pJ5kD9Z-AhIN_o7nUj8E_IblN9pOdgRbI3GY9CqusoggCas05HGM4i8/s2160/Maestro%205.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="2160" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhbSrENqXdS90enFOrDfJfY0fFFVyeorz6-otoFM8LvdsynTG9giTU8D3r6Y0EHHgfZSdrs6NRe7cBjjob_J943M-xFJGUSN4yXiuJ28xMYngkbYF3SPpdjnwRd306pJ5kD9Z-AhIN_o7nUj8E_IblN9pOdgRbI3GY9CqusoggCas05HGM4i8/w400-h266/Maestro%205.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Montealegre is never seen to play second fiddle to Bernstein. She enjoys him, accepts him, and for a long time doesn’t seek to change him. If Cooper’s Bernstein is ebullient and driven, Mulligan’s Montealegre is tolerant and resilient. Over time they become visibly and emotionally out of sync. Bernstein was given huge freedom by his wife but was unable to use it responsibly. Exploring their complex relationship – which they attempted to hide from their children – is one of the main drivers of the film’s appeal.<p></p><p>The next most significant aspect is the music. The vast majority of the soundtrack features pieces written by Bernstein, underscoring dialogue and setting the emotional temperature of scenes. Cooper is seen conducting the London Symphony Orchestra for six enchanting minutes as the flamboyant Bernstein in an incredible scene that precedes a pivotal emotional change in the narrative. Captured live in long takes, there’s a sense of authenticity familiar from Cooper’s earlier performance in <i><a href="https://alaninbelfast.blogspot.com/2018/10/a-star-is-born-fourth-time-lucky-with.html">A Star is Born</a></i>.<br /></p><p>Matthew Libatique’s cinematography captures beautifully lit scenes in black and white, and unfussily switches to colour for later periods. Impossible shots drifting through buildings or switching location mid-pan are never showy demonstrations of special effects, just brave storytelling decisions by editor Michelle Tesoro that pay off. Maestro deserves to win significant awards for the two lead actors and many of the crafts that make the film a success.<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-hie9qKC9W_n4cJ23wIpBvn8ticDAvyGlUOA0N-TSXjFFT6zXBIWye2MDSk5XRyvJcpvW_2GaS4808J1BAunf7ClixqtAfi5Q33KNPIAIl0W34XEGoUYy3b8KkBq1ksY540Wiu_7iWNWRtnmEIacxOZzWdMyLI5ctGOCz87rt-V8cV__9NnY/s2160/Maestro%204.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1620" data-original-width="2160" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-hie9qKC9W_n4cJ23wIpBvn8ticDAvyGlUOA0N-TSXjFFT6zXBIWye2MDSk5XRyvJcpvW_2GaS4808J1BAunf7ClixqtAfi5Q33KNPIAIl0W34XEGoUYy3b8KkBq1ksY540Wiu_7iWNWRtnmEIacxOZzWdMyLI5ctGOCz87rt-V8cV__9NnY/w400-h300/Maestro%204.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Bernstein had a multi-hyphenated career as a public extrovert performer and a private introvert composer. A great American conductor who brought his vision to old classics. But also someone who wrote new musical theatre (which some deemed not to be “serious”). And a music educator who embraced the power of television.<p></p><p>“I want a lot of things” is a line of dialogue that sums up more than just Bernstein’s creative urges. Cooper conveys a man who was impetuous, last minute, talked over people, had a nervous disposition and took huge risks with how he lived his life. By the end of the film we witness a calmer individual who has learned to sacrifice, to be more loyal (perhaps not ever fully), and to better understand his own strengths and weaknesses. The conclusion is painfully sad.</p><p>Much has been written and opined over Cooper’s use of a prosthetic nose to better mirror Bernstein’s appearance and whether a Jewish actor should have been cast to play Bernstein. I’d sensitively suggest that the slight disguising of Cooper’s own readily recognisable features – it’s pretty subtle and changes to age the conductor from his mid-20s to his early-70s as the film goes on – assists in drawing the audience away from the star actor and thrusts them deeper into the film’s rich story.</p><p><i>Maestro</i> has been given a brief theatrical release by its distributor Netflix before being released on the streaming platform on 20 December. See it in a cinema if you can. A big screen and proper sound system makes such a difference. And if you do watch it at home, turn the volume up loud and set your phone down. You can catch screenings of Maestro at <a href="https://queensfilmtheatre.com/Whats-On/Maestro">the Queen’s Film Theatre until Thursday 7 December</a>.</p><p> <iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/gJP2QblqLA0?si=167mLRCrVXHVQjAI" title="YouTube video player" width="400"></iframe> </p><p><i>Enjoyed this review? Why not click on the <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/alaninbelfast">Buy Me a Tea</a> button!</i></p>Alan in Belfast (Alan Meban)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04647690758839987063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21098869.post-88273804383063021512023-11-22T10:14:00.004+00:002023-11-22T10:43:13.604+00:00The Eternal Daughter – a study in grief, guilt and childlessness (QFT from Friday 24 November)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyBuJ7OWQyGbBaKD4MLfRs4bkx80vNao6c1G2Jn2VHK5iD2Qodas25cKaBlMOXz6cLJw4850IaXr81EkrBM6QjximH6yJ9SrZXp2JUEyeLtDKSHttg2W4sH397v7cyKu4zZgcsGV5AfyYoV_2gpIQ-EN5Huup_JiwMnqtpXP3Kf-9svvIkMp0/s2160/The%20Eternal%20Daughter%201.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="2160" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyBuJ7OWQyGbBaKD4MLfRs4bkx80vNao6c1G2Jn2VHK5iD2Qodas25cKaBlMOXz6cLJw4850IaXr81EkrBM6QjximH6yJ9SrZXp2JUEyeLtDKSHttg2W4sH397v7cyKu4zZgcsGV5AfyYoV_2gpIQ-EN5Huup_JiwMnqtpXP3Kf-9svvIkMp0/w400-h200/The%20Eternal%20Daughter%201.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Julie returns to a sprawling country hall her Mum used to visit. She’s there to write a screenplay about the mother-daughter relationship and mark her Mum’s birthday. Tilda Swinton plays both Julie and elderly mother Rosalind. The former struggles to sleep and is in a constant state of distraction that prevents progress on the new script. The distant latter pops sleeping tables like mints and when she’s not dozing, dredges up fateful memories of previous stays in the venue.<p></p><p><i><b><a href="https://queensfilmtheatre.com/Whats-On/The-Eternal-Daughter">The Eternal Daughter</a></b></i> begins with a taxi winding its way up rural roads through thick fog that is so ever-present on screen that it might be listed in the credits as a cast member. The film settles into its groove of Gothic ghost story, exploring grief, guilt and childlessness. All the while the wind howls, the windows rattle, the building groans, and Louis the dog (Swinton’s own pet) adds warmth (and whimpers) to the lonely scenes.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgNC7o99O8CohcRMmUXk67ugrp9J9QW0piNtrFDecR36aKezjuV3t0eUZOUNkVaLXkcRuRK0I1KZtOuvW41l586ZLwjqJN-81DYOQ3sxdVqQ3xDJfZwcsNkJiJSSbKnM_QlvDC1ZLiN_I9J4xAT8mzRGkklw5N3QE6uDmuMQxm5oZbbLIGf_U/s2160/The%20Eternal%20Daughter%202.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="2160" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgNC7o99O8CohcRMmUXk67ugrp9J9QW0piNtrFDecR36aKezjuV3t0eUZOUNkVaLXkcRuRK0I1KZtOuvW41l586ZLwjqJN-81DYOQ3sxdVqQ3xDJfZwcsNkJiJSSbKnM_QlvDC1ZLiN_I9J4xAT8mzRGkklw5N3QE6uDmuMQxm5oZbbLIGf_U/w400-h266/The%20Eternal%20Daughter%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Joanna Hogg’s film is the latest in the chain of sparse Covid productions that enjoy small casts rattling around vast locations. At times, the warren of corridors and intimidating central staircase visually nudge the movie towards the horror genre. Carly-Sophia Davies is rather brilliant as the belligerent hotel receptionist who excels at customer disservice and seems to be in the middle of her own off-stage personal drama. In the otherwise empty hotel, the night shift is covered by Bill (Joseph Mydell) who shares his perspectives on loss with the morose Julie.<p></p><p>Swinton revels in the two parts written for her by frequent collaborator Hogg. Long stretches of storytelling are devoid of dialogue, with Swinton able to convincingly convey Julie’s emotion and inner turmoil through gestures and movement. We watch as a middle-aged daughter wakes up to how her parent views and judges her life choices, aware that it is now too late to change the outcome.</p><p><i>The Eternal Daughter</i> is being screened at <a href="https://queensfilmtheatre.com/Whats-On/The-Eternal-Daughter">Queen’s Film Theatre from Friday 24 November</a>. Bring a warm jumper or a fleece: all that fog would chill your soul!<br /></p><p> <iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/DHkp1I4tDHQ?si=PwOflqqZ29YtQL-w" title="YouTube video player" width="400"></iframe> </p><p><i>Enjoyed this review? Why not click on the <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/alaninbelfast">Buy Me a Tea</a> button!</i></p>Alan in Belfast (Alan Meban)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04647690758839987063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21098869.post-12291086749026110182023-11-10T18:47:00.001+00:002023-11-17T22:27:36.837+00:00The Last Rifleman – emotionally pitch-perfect with a strong backstory and filled with the kindness of strangers (Sky Cinema) #bff23<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ0gTTM-ROD_K7neLuaUGqeJOeyZ3-WTz5s1qCIGYcJ0p2Mj9XUGs93mHIuSPgQQ3sZPmUN7xlW9QUSsknl-_YtJtcadav3Weu9p63fB2WSo5Ne-w_z2fBHuTrsI8YRO7scg2haYfH4iNJBwevWA7CTWZEn28IisC-u-u6H6zYJOImckA_X7c/s980/The%20Last%20Rifleman%201.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="653" data-original-width="980" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ0gTTM-ROD_K7neLuaUGqeJOeyZ3-WTz5s1qCIGYcJ0p2Mj9XUGs93mHIuSPgQQ3sZPmUN7xlW9QUSsknl-_YtJtcadav3Weu9p63fB2WSo5Ne-w_z2fBHuTrsI8YRO7scg2haYfH4iNJBwevWA7CTWZEn28IisC-u-u6H6zYJOImckA_X7c/w369-h245/The%20Last%20Rifleman%201.jpg" width="369" /></a></div>In 2004, a patient absconded from his English nursing home and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/07/d-day-veteran-france-anniversary-bernard-jordan">travelled across to attend the 70th anniversary D-Day commemorations in Normandy</a>. Bernard Jordan’s escapade inspired <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14124080/">a number of screenplays</a>. One was the debut feature script by Kevin Fitzpatrick which has recently been released as <i><b>The Last Rifleman</b></i>.<p></p><p>This fictionalised reimagining transports the action to Northern Ireland where Artie Crawford (Pierce Brosnan) lives in a care home. When his wife Maggie (Stella McCusker) dies, he decides to take care of some unfinished business and travels to Normandy for the first time to pay his respect to the fallen 2nd Battalion Royal Ulster Rifles.</p><p>There are many reasons why this should not work as a film.</p><p>It could be something akin to a travelling home for Christmas travel disaster movie … of which there are many and I despise them all. It could be relying on stiff-upper lip patriotism – of which I’m not a huge fan – to stimulate emotion. It could be laced with schmaltz and ridicule the actions and difficulties of a plucky nonagenarian. It could resort to pulling emotional heartstrings like a horror film engineering a series of jump scares.</p><p>Despite all those fears, <i>The Last Rifleman works</i>, and works well.</p><p>The script very slowly reveals a devastating backstory that explains Artie’s motivation for travelling. The kindness of strangers – in particular, a series of intergenerational accomplices – rescue him every time he stumbles in his journey. Artie’s confusion at not being able to locate anyone else from his old regiment makes sense like a punch in the gut (he didn’t have the advantage of the film’s title ahead of time). A significant act of remembrance is very sensitively shot.</p><p>And in amongst the seriousness of his quest, there’s a lot of humour with another care home resident (Ian McElhinney) turning into a PR supremo and Tara Lynne O’Neill giving a lot of side-eye, pursed lips, and under-the-breath insults as a member of staff. Clémence Poésy is super as the French mother on the ferry who still has some <i>esprit de la Résistance</i> in her blood.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy31Igakpg83W7fa2LlGUi57lF8DSE-WcUK-v71hj1h64bMJ8d4ijH2gOsFeR5SdVbQdl_GfIKn3ZQSYpLtyzucF6GqkhPm6RV8OxcEQ2mCeTrCIWCXPDn1EYQOjYLXhSGKEFriTVrRpdVsSCkF4yPSklj541-8imZ6G6fGo2TYiP70BI2A_8/s980/The%20Last%20Rifleman%203.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="980" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy31Igakpg83W7fa2LlGUi57lF8DSE-WcUK-v71hj1h64bMJ8d4ijH2gOsFeR5SdVbQdl_GfIKn3ZQSYpLtyzucF6GqkhPm6RV8OxcEQ2mCeTrCIWCXPDn1EYQOjYLXhSGKEFriTVrRpdVsSCkF4yPSklj541-8imZ6G6fGo2TYiP70BI2A_8/w400-h286/The%20Last%20Rifleman%203.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>To be honest, I struggle to place Brosnan’s accent. Born in Drogheda, he also lived in Meath, but playing 92-year-old Artie, he sounds like he’s somewhere between the US, Scotland with a touch of Dublin, delivering lines that are very Bell-fast, so he is. The saving grace is that for long periods, he doesn’t have to say a lot, so instead we learn to track Artie by groans and heavy breathing. (Mamma Mia fans will want to know that at one point Brosnan sings … and it’s not awful this time.)<p></p><p>I cry easily in the cinema, but last night I wept buckets. It was of considerable relief that the person in the next seat had also developed a bit of a sniffle and the lights stayed off during the credits. Early on, Terry Loane’s skillful direction conveys a powerful feeling of grief in Artie’s last moments with his darling Maggie. It defines the measure of the film’s lead character and brands Artie into audience hearts from that point on.</p><p>Watching the gala screening of <i>The Last Rifleman</i> last night as part of Belfast Film Festival and just a few days ahead of Armistice Day, my mind quickly wandered to thinking about war, the conflict in Gaza and Israel, and in Ukraine. At this time of year, I tend to wear a red and a white poppy. It a conversation starter rather than instantly offending people. I want to remember all those who died in wars. I’m not ideological enough to be a pacifist. But I’m never going to be drawn into labelling so-called sides as all good or all bad, morally upright or totally wrong. There are at least some regrettable actions on all sides. There are good people trapped in circumstances from which they cannot or will not escape. Innocent people suffer everywhere. Artie meets a German soldier along the way who says: <i>“It’s a shock to learn you’ve lost the war. It’s a greater shock to discover you’ve been on the wrong side.”</i> For a few minutes, the film pauses and considers that war isn’t simple in a beautifully awkward encounter.</p><p>If I could change one thing, I would drop the final scene which includes real veterans along with the cast. I don’t think I needed to know what happened next after Normandy, though it does allow the pipes to play!</p><p><i>The Last Rifleman</i> is currently showing on Sky Movies Premiere. It looks great on a big cinema screen and it’s a shame there doesn’t seem to be an opportunity for even a limited local release.</p><p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/wt1BD_pGpZc?si=5oJ-lqBYS6-9EIsL" title="YouTube video player" width="400"></iframe> </p><p>Check out my <a href="https://alaninbelfast.blogspot.com/2023/10/previewing-belfast-film-festival.html">other recommendations at Belfast Film Festival </a>which finishes on Saturday 11 November.</p><p><i>Enjoyed this review? Why not click on the <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/alaninbelfast">Buy Me a Tea</a> button!</i>
</p><p></p>Alan in Belfast (Alan Meban)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04647690758839987063noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21098869.post-65343794995853334632023-11-09T10:04:00.000+00:002023-11-09T10:04:37.651+00:00How To Have Sex – lonely in a crowd, with friends but vulnerable, consent that isn’t freely given (Queen’s Film Theatre until 9 November) #bff23<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPHbNcV9t8YLtj4-q-BWo5NopcxZTf5nROQZzJ8TxPjo3VdZ1IiiyayzvbJol2uicFGzGzNBb_YfcLjUFIy_qfb2P0jYLNZ8Tcqg6GyNGH6T5CCWK1UHOKRv42_64Xlurn1T6WUR9_pbXupr93ppivPOliMu92lAV0u4FJCGEpfmnrBsVSqKs/s1920/How%20To%20Have%20Sex%201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1920" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPHbNcV9t8YLtj4-q-BWo5NopcxZTf5nROQZzJ8TxPjo3VdZ1IiiyayzvbJol2uicFGzGzNBb_YfcLjUFIy_qfb2P0jYLNZ8Tcqg6GyNGH6T5CCWK1UHOKRv42_64Xlurn1T6WUR9_pbXupr93ppivPOliMu92lAV0u4FJCGEpfmnrBsVSqKs/w400-h173/How%20To%20Have%20Sex%201.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Three young women celebrate the end of school and distract themselves from looming exam results with a boozy holiday in Malia, Crete. Will it be a rite of passage into adulthood for Tara, Skye and Em? Will it make memories and friendships that will last a lifetime? Or will it be a week with nights that can’t be remembered and encounters that can never be forgotten?<p></p><p>The hectic holiday makers have little time for reflection or relaxation. It’s full-on screaming, smoking and boozing. Drink shots, vomit, more drink, puke, the cycle is unending. When the teenagers’ energy levels eventually wilt, a quick nap and they’re ready to head out for another day of boozy shenanigans. It’s like Skins on vacation, but with a lot more naivety, fewer jokes and even more troubled drama. (Though I was the only person at my screening to laugh out loud at Tara’s gag about the pigs hiding in trees.)</p><p>Mia McKenna-Bruce’s Tara wears an ‘angel’ necklace with more than a whiff of irony. It’s a constant visual reminder that external appearances don’t tell the whole story and there’s more to Tara than the cinema audience and the other holidaymakers realise. Tara’s friends (played by Lara Peake and Enva Lewis) will want her hot take if she hooks up with a boy, but don’t really have her back when it matters.</p><p>The fellas in the next-door apartment are like wolves. They demand attention, shouting and whistling over from one balcony to another. Badger (Shaun Thomas) is extrovert, up for anything, in your face, and unashamed. But it’s the quieter Paddy (Samuel Bottomley) who is the real predator, the kind of guy who has a bedpost that could collapse at any moment due to the notches he’ll have carved in it to record his ghosted ‘conquests’.</p><p>Molly Manning Walker’s feature debut <i><b><a href="https://queensfilmtheatre.com/Whats-On/How-to-Have-Sex">How To Have Sex</a></b></i> is assured and deeply raw. She holds no punches in exposing the complexity of teenage emotions, desires and anxieties. Despite the film’s title – and Skye and Em impelling Tara to have sex for the first time – Walker doesn’t need to expose bits and bobs to tell her story. What she does reveal is even more sensitive. While Tara is sweet on Badger, it’s Paddy who presents an opportunity and a quiet venue. What follows is a case study in how coercion and alcohol affect informed consent. <br /></p><p><i>How To Have Sex</i> starts out with the girls going on holiday to find freedom. But they quickly discover that other people seem to be the ones free to criticise their looks and take advantage of their vulnerability. Despite the swimware, the unspoken demons of body image insecurities are visible. The holiday is stuffed full of moments when characters feel lonely in a crowd. They don’t want to stand out but are uncomfortable just fitting in. Their freedom includes not noticing when a girl doesn’t come back the apartment one evening, left behind on their night out. Petty rivalries emerge even amongst friends. It’s turning into a holiday where they’re free to experience hurt and disappointment, and worse.</p><p>As Tara wanders alone and begins to process what’s happened, a stranger – a Scottish girl staying in a villa – intervenes and looks out for her. It’s a moment of hope and compassion, but also a potentially worrying development in case she too takes advantage of Tara’s situation. Can anyone be trusted in a resort? Faith in humanity is stretched thin by this tale.<br /></p><p>Walker’s film is fictional but very familiar. It is slow to glamorise. While being made to watch <i>How To Have Sex</i> might make parents of teenagers lock away their passports or forget to renew them, screening it to 17 and 18 year – it has a 15 certificate – might jolt them into realising that the dangers their parents and teachers speak of are real. And it might put them on their guard for any preying Paddys out there.</p><p><i>How To Have Sex</i> was <a href="https://belfastfilmfestival.eventive.org/schedule/6523d7fada12280039c53ce5">screened at Belfast Film Festival</a> and is on release at <a href="https://queensfilmtheatre.com/Whats-On/How-to-Have-Sex">Queen’s Film Theatre until Thursday 9 November</a>.<br /></p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/BzUF6AbKcnw?si=eW4Z0rYLToE6NKCu" title="YouTube video player" width="400"></iframe><p>Check out my <a href="https://alaninbelfast.blogspot.com/2023/10/previewing-belfast-film-festival.html">other recommendations at Belfast Film Festival </a>which continues until Saturday 11 November.</p><p><i>Enjoyed this review? Why not click on the <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/alaninbelfast">Buy Me a Tea</a> button!</i>
</p><p></p>Alan in Belfast (Alan Meban)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04647690758839987063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21098869.post-82847190993945200752023-11-08T00:54:00.002+00:002023-11-08T00:54:37.486+00:00Anatomy of a Fall – Did he fall or was he pushed? A jury decides, but so too can the audience. #bff23 (returning to Queen’s Film Theatre from Friday 10 November)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7lZX-h5bHCvONv18ouYz4ZTRU41jKfEKvI3a9SP4pW5fZyUnqGW9PC3JtacOZgNVhFhXNXdp2gyhGa2WfIW_GK1IMrjcdCkVImyrdNWxFNAraBSE-Ks8L8EaEfxSPead-IoJ9ovH1fL_ukHyTVa9EEGe_sQYt06j3Pk7LQ0SN2pYuE7TiVHc/s2160/Anatomy%20of%20a%20Fall%201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="2160" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7lZX-h5bHCvONv18ouYz4ZTRU41jKfEKvI3a9SP4pW5fZyUnqGW9PC3JtacOZgNVhFhXNXdp2gyhGa2WfIW_GK1IMrjcdCkVImyrdNWxFNAraBSE-Ks8L8EaEfxSPead-IoJ9ovH1fL_ukHyTVa9EEGe_sQYt06j3Pk7LQ0SN2pYuE7TiVHc/w400-h200/Anatomy%20of%20a%20Fall%201.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Samuel (Samuel Theis) plunges to his death from the attic window of a snowy chalet. The police identify his wife, Sandra (Sandra Hüller), as their chief suspect, the only person known to be in the house when he fell. The first act of <i><b><a href="https://queensfilmtheatre.com/Whats-On/Anatomy-of-a-Fall">Anatomy of a Fall</a></b></i> – the shortest – covers the lead-up to the fall and the discovery of the body by Daniel (Milo Machado-Graner), their blind son, who was out walking the aforementioned dog, Snoop. We then move onto the investigation, with Sandra employing a one-time flame, Vincent (Swann Arlaud), as her lawyer. He tries to prepare her to defend herself: innocence won’t be enough to overcome the case the police will build.<p></p><p>The third and longest act is set in the courtroom. The camera work becomes much more fluid, with single shots focussed on the witness stand the change point of view as the questions swing from prosecutor to defence lawyer. We see only the important parts, but get a real sense of the difference between hoe UK courts operate and the process in a French court (which it feels much more emotional, and the suspect can be interrogated in the middle of questioning a witness).</p><p><i>Anatomy of a Fall</i> revels in complexity. Sandra is originally German, though lived in London before returning to Grenoble. She speaks English at home with her French husband and multi-lingual son as a compromise, so no one gets to use their home tongue. The dialogue – even courtroom scenes – very naturally flicks between languages as characters reach for the best words to express themselves and answer questions.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiPSatDVQfYZmPwIJzQz-UDLro9ZweabR7pgH8-DgH-b7wVEcfci9FkDM2y6HSL9_pVghLjwANpNncJeivTcmu8tqvEgBmNo9xONqoQ4idAYGq7s3oUTE04-Lz1c0FGWwre5PKK_HoGGh8lmVVCDmyJG06JXqYdRZHTg5abMjMYeCA0Ng3fik/s2160/Anatomy%20of%20a%20Fall%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="2160" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiPSatDVQfYZmPwIJzQz-UDLro9ZweabR7pgH8-DgH-b7wVEcfci9FkDM2y6HSL9_pVghLjwANpNncJeivTcmu8tqvEgBmNo9xONqoQ4idAYGq7s3oUTE04-Lz1c0FGWwre5PKK_HoGGh8lmVVCDmyJG06JXqYdRZHTg5abMjMYeCA0Ng3fik/w400-h198/Anatomy%20of%20a%20Fall%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>While the plot is trundling towards finding a resolution to the question of whether Samuel fell on his own or was pushed, the real drama comes from the drip drip revelations about the state of Samuel and Sandra’s relationship. A recording from Samuel’s phone is played to the courtroom and we get to jump back in time to watch all but the crucial disputed final seconds acted out.<p></p><p>Young Daniel and his testimony are being supposedly being protected from any tampering from his mother. Yet the lad, who insists on sitting in court each day, is getting a crash course in many previously unknown elements of his parents’ dysfunction, and he becomes a crucial determinant in the case’s resolution.</p><p>Director Justine Triet makes Hüller play Sandra as an intensely unlikeable woman. She interrupts, dismisses, undermines, takes what people say and throws it back in their face rather than internalise their criticism. She lacks honesty. And her twisted ways may be infecting the next generation.</p><p>One of the central tenets of Anatomy of a Fall is the question of whether a small number of specific incidents – like those that are delved into in great detail during a court case – can totally misrepresent the wider context of someone’s behaviour and actions. This partly explains why the trial dominates the action.</p><p>As the <i>Anatomy of a Fall</i> credits roll, it’s hard to know whether the trial result was just. Like the jury – and son Daniel – each audience member needs to make their own mind up. The inclusion of a dog as a full member of the family ultimately doesn’t
compensate for the two and a half run time that felt like two and a
half years by the end of Anatomy of a Fall.
Is the 151-minute investment in the characters worth it? I’m not sure I learned anything about Sandra in the final three quarters of an hour that hadn’t already been thoroughly hammered out.</p><p><i>Anatomy of a Fall</i> was screened as part of Belfast Film Festival and will be coming back to the <a href="https://queensfilmtheatre.com/Whats-On/Anatomy-of-a-Fall">Queen’s Film Theatre from Friday 10 November</a>.<br /></p><p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/_MdTMA0PetA?si=A2fTzq3YbfJGE7wb" title="YouTube video player" width="400"></iframe></p><p>Check out my <a href="https://alaninbelfast.blogspot.com/2023/10/previewing-belfast-film-festival.html">other recommendations at Belfast Film Festival </a>which continues until Saturday 11 November.</p><p><i>Enjoyed this review? Why not click on the <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/alaninbelfast">Buy Me a Tea</a> button!</i>
</p>Alan in Belfast (Alan Meban)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04647690758839987063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21098869.post-29610728351973029392023-11-08T00:19:00.000+00:002023-11-08T00:19:01.881+00:00Monster – sometimes it’s a question of what not who in this somewhat frustrating film #bff23<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjplXfoINMYlrF3nxTFmI-javwZd_2eHUOX6IvT9v86e8l_buiidg7yUE4Nayr9V5jED-l2bDT-58rVY496fKN3WEGhU7axjHxs_-WM2iaNb8JkNJG2DXvc-KyW0pMD_49euKjNFIwB6qIKd2zZ4clsdoqfSxCAOzx_K8ULmjwSjlWQzbaSBB8/s1200/Monster%201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjplXfoINMYlrF3nxTFmI-javwZd_2eHUOX6IvT9v86e8l_buiidg7yUE4Nayr9V5jED-l2bDT-58rVY496fKN3WEGhU7axjHxs_-WM2iaNb8JkNJG2DXvc-KyW0pMD_49euKjNFIwB6qIKd2zZ4clsdoqfSxCAOzx_K8ULmjwSjlWQzbaSBB8/w400-h200/Monster%201.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Hirokazu Kore-eda’s episodic film <i><b><a href="https://queensfilmtheatre.com/Whats-On/Monster">Monster</a></b></i> presents a series of glimpses into the same set of events from different perspectives. First time around, it’s clear who the bad guy is. And the authorities in this Japanese school are dragging their feet dealing with him. Yet in the next cycle, the monster has dropped a generation. Now it’s blindingly obvious who is to blame. Third time round, and it’s clear that the eponymous monster is not necessarily a person. The shortlist has grown to include attitudes, imperfect parenting, rumours, and homophobia.<p></p><p>Young Minato (Soya Kurokawa) lives with his Mum Saori (Sakura Ando). Mr Hori (Eita Nagayami) was once lauded as a great teacher. Now the jury is out, and one parent in particular is out to get him. The elementary school principal (Yûko Tanaka) has just returned to school after the death of a grandchild. A fire rages in a building that allegedly contained a hostess-bar. A typhoon ravages a city and causes a landslide. It’s as if end times were around the corner!</p><p>Amidst the mayhem, we see an underground friendship develop outside of the vicious classroom between Minato and another uncool classmate Yori Hoshikawa (Hinata Hiiragi). Yuji Sakamoto’s screenplay exercises control and restraint, leaving few clues early on as to the theme of the film, never mind which aspects of scenes will be important to the plot, or why it will be worth investing 125 minutes in this set of characters.</p><p>The payoff eventually arrives in the final half hour. Better late than never, but the delayed gratification did somewhat tarnish my feelings towards the film and leave me frustrated for long periods. (That might also be a product of the late night screening.) Yet there are other bonuses. Sakura Ando’s portrayal of Minato’s mother is a beautiful picture of patience and grace under pressure. There are moments when Ryuichi Sakamoto’s piano-based score gently fades in, matching the verdant foliage, and adding hope to what at times is a depressing film.</p><p>Tonight’s screening of <i>Monster</i> at Queen’s Film Theatre was sold out. Check out my <a href="https://alaninbelfast.blogspot.com/2023/10/previewing-belfast-film-festival.html">other recommendations at Belfast Film Festival </a>which continues until Saturday 11 November.</p><p><i>Enjoyed this review? Why not click on the <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/alaninbelfast">Buy Me a Tea</a> button!</i>
</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/cOpWDxxiwoE?si=GQwKW6DZy7fmbQTS" title="YouTube video player" width="400"></iframe></p>Alan in Belfast (Alan Meban)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04647690758839987063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21098869.post-38803353426022368992023-11-07T00:24:00.004+00:002023-11-07T00:24:55.143+00:00Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry – a blooming marvellous Georgian feature #bff23<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4l8X2hmEf6oyycDdYJs4r-ADJhhTs1lYB7Ikw9LA8h82CL1ACZ1TyADNRSdadyCuj9L5s_ySn6_XPGyjfjXQiN1Wo1cLderTzHexdDXnma07YXf9J5Zdr4KX2Tsma9H1IVYph5zXpbx-1QOEzDOMyFPHZMrfy3hMYuKsiXRk1ruvJrWP0xMQ/s1504/blackbird-blackbird-blackberry%201.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="846" data-original-width="1504" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4l8X2hmEf6oyycDdYJs4r-ADJhhTs1lYB7Ikw9LA8h82CL1ACZ1TyADNRSdadyCuj9L5s_ySn6_XPGyjfjXQiN1Wo1cLderTzHexdDXnma07YXf9J5Zdr4KX2Tsma9H1IVYph5zXpbx-1QOEzDOMyFPHZMrfy3hMYuKsiXRk1ruvJrWP0xMQ/w400-h225/blackbird-blackbird-blackberry%201.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>The first ten minutes of Elene Naveriani’s <i><b><a href="https://queensfilmtheatre.com/Whats-On/Blackbird-Blackbird-Blackberry">Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry</a></b></i> would make a great short film in their own right. Yet after the opening credits, the exciting narrative expands to fill the guts of two hours with the story of 48-year-old’s coming of age in a rural Georgian village.<p></p><p>Etero (Eka Chavleishvili) runs a shop selling hair and beauty products. She’s a confirmed and notable spinster, comfortable with her solitude, though she’s open negotiate a change to that state if the right person would come along. Her default scowl often communicates more than her words. Just three people freely offer her support and information about life in the outside world: a lesbian couple in a nearby town where she shops for supplies, and a friend’s teenage daughter, Elene. To everyone else, Etero is the uncomfortable butt of their jokes, and condescending women in the village feel free to be rude to her face.</p><p>A near-death experience and the arrival of the wholesale delivery man Murman (Temiko Chichinadze) interrupt her solace. Passion and potentially even romance are injected into her life. Though having cared for two other men in the past – family members both now deceased – she’s wary of being taken for granted. And his wedding band is only the first red flag about his emotional and physical availability.</p><p>In any year, I can count the number of film screenings that revolve around the life of a middle-aged woman on the fingers of one hand. While the stolid nature of the lead actor contributes to the 112-minute run time, <i>Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry</i> keeps delivering a brilliant series of unanticipated scenes which celebrate Etero’s self-reliance and ability to stand on her own two feet.</p><p>In her own way, Etero may end up being the most emancipated and liberated women in the village. If the others truly knew her, they might be jealous. Though there’s a surprise just around the corner that might reset everyone’s expectations.</p><p>Chavleishvili portrays Etero as a middle-aged woman who is body-positive, never shy, even when intimacy suddenly beckons. Naveriani ensures that those scenes are mesmerising yet never sordid. Introducing the screening, Belfast Film Festival’s international programmer Jessica King reminded the QFT audience that the blackberry is the last berry in the forest to ripen. <i>Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry</i> is a sensitive and sweet story, one that questions the assumptions society makes, and critiques the attitudes that insist everyone follows the same path and the same schedule. Hurray for individualism. Hurray for Etero and Georgian cinema.<br /></p><p>Check out my <a href="https://alaninbelfast.blogspot.com/2023/10/previewing-belfast-film-festival.html">other recommendations at Belfast Film Festival </a>which continues until Saturday 11 November.</p><p><i>Enjoyed this review? Why not click on the <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/alaninbelfast">Buy Me a Tea</a> button!</i>
</p><p></p>Alan in Belfast (Alan Meban)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04647690758839987063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21098869.post-44256382184915727672023-11-06T23:25:00.004+00:002023-11-07T00:33:05.573+00:00Silent Roar – from where does your hope come? #bff23<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeENFEfDUXFbHAgE347AIXFhlMZS_sNCDnmIcaj7sQ0P6FEtJZUFY4OxPBm3FhLL74xGwWKMFG9TNAlQMk9xQ3yHPWpFIXRDMkPrCVLFbXdDrnVqWnyRf76l7p1aAlYG0UCou-hMpgp8TD1PoSpU3n9gOvv7ErrrXzYPJqEHDuz-dPRnb827g/s1600/Silent%20Roar%201.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeENFEfDUXFbHAgE347AIXFhlMZS_sNCDnmIcaj7sQ0P6FEtJZUFY4OxPBm3FhLL74xGwWKMFG9TNAlQMk9xQ3yHPWpFIXRDMkPrCVLFbXdDrnVqWnyRf76l7p1aAlYG0UCou-hMpgp8TD1PoSpU3n9gOvv7ErrrXzYPJqEHDuz-dPRnb827g/w400-h225/Silent%20Roar%201.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>This year’s Belfast Film Festival certainly <a href="http://alaninbelfast.blogspot.com/2023/11/viva-communion-two-thoughtful-short.html">isn’t afraid to explore faith and spirituality</a>. <i><b><a href="https://queensfilmtheatre.com/Whats-On/Silent-Roar">Silent Roar</a></b></i> calls out false spirituality and false hope as it explores a young lad’s grief after his father was lost at sea.<p></p><p>Set in the Outer Hebrides, Dondo (Louis McCartney, <i>Hope Street</i>/BBC) is at one with the water, surfing and searching in the waves off the shoreline. He is convinced by an inner belief – and recurring visions – that his father will return. The level of Dondo’s distress is painful to watch; his confidence on the water only matched by his belief that his father isn’t dead. While he’s falling behind at school, classmate Sas (Ella Lily Hyland, <i>Fifteen Love</i>/Prime Video) effortlessly excels at her studies, winding up the staff, and attracting the eye of young men she has no interest in.</p><p>McCartney shines with his moody demeanour and consistently expresses an otherworldliness on screen, what one character describes as being ‘touched’. (While McCartney can surf in real life, there are moments when his island’s accent is a little less convincing.) Hyland delivers a bewitching naughtiness, with comic timing, good eyebrow action, and a warm persona.</p><p>The new minister played by Mark Lockyer is a wild-haired firebrand with a past, and his waterproof gift encourages Dondo to explore faith with the fervour of a new recruit. Jesus (Swiss) makes an appearance. So do a trio of other-earthly surfers. Silent Roar is both blasphemous and spiritually accurate, though the Virgin Mary statues adorning the home of Sas’ straightlaced mother (Fiona Bell) feels out of place with the Calvinist free church. The unaccompanied Gaelic psalm singing is an unexpected aural treat.</p><p><i>Silent Roar</i> is simultaneously funny and disturbing. That’s a fine line to tread, but writer/director Johnny Barrington mostly manages to keep his debut feature on a secure course amid the absurdity of the plot.</p><p>Hannah Peel’s soundtrack with its sustained brass and playful percussion is unexpected but fitting, and the final credit song <i>Let It Go</i> aptly wraps up the emotion of the film. Jon Frank’s underwater shots melds with Ruben Woodin Dechamps’ cinematography in what must have been blustery and challenging conditions. Taff Williamson must surely win an award for the most lurid colour combination for a school uniform: a yellow and pink school tie, twinned with banana-coloured shirts and blouses. (To be honest, it grew on me as the school term progressed.)</p><p>Filmed on the Isle of Lewis, I’d love to be a fly on the wall at a local screening. <i>Silent Roar</i> celebrates island life, recognises that piety can be shallow, and acknowledges that grief is unpredictable. And it’s going to further stoke the fire under the career prospects of Hyland and McCartney. One to catch when it gets a wider release next year.</p><p>Check out my <a href="https://alaninbelfast.blogspot.com/2023/10/previewing-belfast-film-festival.html">other recommendations at Belfast Film Festival </a>which continues until Saturday 11 November.</p><p><i>Enjoyed this review? Why not click on the <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/alaninbelfast">Buy Me a Tea</a> button!</i>
</p><p></p>Alan in Belfast (Alan Meban)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04647690758839987063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21098869.post-56228487587064990522023-11-05T23:13:00.002+00:002023-11-05T23:13:36.373+00:00VIVA & Communion – two thoughtful short independent films showcased at Belfast Film Festival #bff23<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR5slmKDT_miRfOIXs83ucHerV09HVfhDxWFKLKyuacBrhOpVnpv3Fmncrm_2Nurdpam_vAMUQECJgvH-K2N3TpfRYDIb6A7Kt09lE1OqfzJO81gN2j25ExmAkE4uMvZh9Z1DIYSyKy3yOqLfR4ogzRI-IXs_0xAKrSYpxYsPPhQMLfsP7uj8/s3240/VIVA%20Communion.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1620" data-original-width="3240" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR5slmKDT_miRfOIXs83ucHerV09HVfhDxWFKLKyuacBrhOpVnpv3Fmncrm_2Nurdpam_vAMUQECJgvH-K2N3TpfRYDIb6A7Kt09lE1OqfzJO81gN2j25ExmAkE4uMvZh9Z1DIYSyKy3yOqLfR4ogzRI-IXs_0xAKrSYpxYsPPhQMLfsP7uj8/w400-h200/VIVA%20Communion.png" width="400" /></a></div>Two of the NI Independents short films caught my eye in <a href="https://belfastfilmfestival.org/whats-on">the Belfast Film Festival programme</a>. They were screened this afternoon in the Strand Arts Centre.<p></p><p>Marie Clare Cushinan’s <b><i>VIVA</i></b> imagines a world twenty years hence where old people trade their life for a final year of holiday, exploring places that were special to them. Nicole and Justin (Kate O’Toole and Lalor Roddy) have made this decision, leaving their house and wealth to daughter Ellie (Sara Dylan) and avoiding its use for care home costs.</p><p>A final ‘departure day’ dinner party with Ellie, her husband Jack (Richard Clements) and good friend Tony (Bosco Hogan) reveals that their somewhat clinical last goodbye is a trade-off between certainty and an unpredictable old age. Around the table there is lots of laughter, warmth and love, as well as some regrets and differences of opinion. Nicole and Justin see the environmental benefit of their euthanasia, while Tony sees their unburdening as social suicide. Meanwhile, Ellie’s lip begins to curl, and husband Jack adds a frisson of tetchiness.</p><p>While dialogue is mostly absent from the second half, the strong storytelling continues under Michael Mormecha and TRÚ’s beautiful soundtrack. Even without the framing device of the <i>Cards Against Humanity</i> game, <i>VIVA</i> is a warm and intelligent contribution to the growing debate over euthanasia, asking whether we fear an unknown future more than we want to embrace what life throws at us.</p><p>Séan Coyle’s <i><b>Communion</b></i> weaves together the death of a local man, the last days of a woman in a hospice, and the looming closure of the local Catholic Church. Parish priest Father Owens (Steven Jess) finds parallels between his imperfect home life as a child and thirty-something Aoife’s experience of marriage and death. His sensitive response to her confession opens a door for Aoife (Sadhbh Larkin Coyle) to rebuild her faith.</p><p>Meanwhile, his flock may be diminishing in size, but Fr Owens tends to them all with diligence, patiently sitting by the bedside of Grainne (Maria Connolly). Great performances from Coyle, Jess and Connolly enrich the pathos and empathy.</p><p>While all around is in decline, <i>Communion</i> demonstrates how faith can heal – even in death – and how God ultimately is bigger than buildings and can overcome any crisis our lives can muster.</p><p>Check out my <a href="https://alaninbelfast.blogspot.com/2023/10/previewing-belfast-film-festival.html">other recommendations at Belfast Film Festival </a>which continues until Saturday 11 November.</p><p> <i>Enjoyed these reviews? Why not click on the <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/alaninbelfast">Buy Me a Tea</a> button!</i>
</p>Alan in Belfast (Alan Meban)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04647690758839987063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21098869.post-46402864685754398412023-09-27T08:30:00.000+01:002023-09-27T08:30:00.155+01:00The Old Oak – exploring why empathy has been replaced with self-interest and whether communities have more to gain together than lose apart (Queen’s Film Theatre from Friday 29 September)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLBPG7XLb79NA6f5FgDoYqxgTq6aSMwR6yoV5P3cUu5MWV1JGM_Bah4Q7gdpG-xsy99sVc_35p6lksWJkKsxcqNaQaxJwFx5CGxwojIWWyvaQQUZMEdxy6_ZkSdc418Ae9KGVGpptUeaL5LO4PX4XLiBuCa5B4p3nsqhi765tL7CjwQ6MCBbE/s1200/The%20Old%20Oak%201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLBPG7XLb79NA6f5FgDoYqxgTq6aSMwR6yoV5P3cUu5MWV1JGM_Bah4Q7gdpG-xsy99sVc_35p6lksWJkKsxcqNaQaxJwFx5CGxwojIWWyvaQQUZMEdxy6_ZkSdc418Ae9KGVGpptUeaL5LO4PX4XLiBuCa5B4p3nsqhi765tL7CjwQ6MCBbE/w400-h200/The%20Old%20Oak%201.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Screenwriter Paul Laverty and director Ken Loach are back with <a href="https://queensfilmtheatre.com/Whats-On/The-Old-Oak"><i><b>The Old Oak</b></i></a>, the completion of a trilogy of films based in the north-east of England (<i><a href="https://alaninbelfast.blogspot.com/2016/10/i-daniel-blake-holding-mirror-up-to-uks.htmland">I, Daniel Blake</a></i> and <i>Sorry We Missed You</i>). The film’s title refers to the one remaining pub in a coastal village near Durham. The area is run down. Public services are strained. Richer councils in the south of England are buying up cheap properties in the area and bussing people seeking asylum to live there. The local NHS is struggling. Long term residents are non-plussed with the changes. New arrivals feel unwelcome and misunderstood. Everyone feels disenfranchised and unloved.<p></p><p>A family that fled the conflict in Syria and has spent years living in a refugee camp moves into the village. Their arrival is accompanied by confrontation. Pub landlord TJ Ballantyne (Dave Turner) uses his van to help newcomers settle into the area. Ebla Mari plays Yara, the eldest daughter of a Syrian family and a young woman whose experiences of life and loss have given her a confidence that jars with the regulars in TJ’s bar who are spoiling for a fight.</p><p>Driving into Belfast, on the way to the cinema I passed <a href="https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/belfast-news/belfast-business-owner-relocate-shop-27734450">the Donegall Road grocers that was set on fire in a suspected hate crime last weekend</a> ahead of its opening. Graffiti on the shutters reads: “Local Houses An[d] Shops Only!!” Sentiment that is studied in Loach’s latest film.<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTVb1nglbuYnN6G-cNjURTN1ts9RS4Bu0jsTdd1zmD8oYX6Vn0PrFkK7zi8E2r4vcYA2gQ9pYm4hdfjxqvO6Dc6eesGZ3Pt1rsy0Rr0vqfZUC7huL5MHGEVvpXQwZWzl_8LHaYMIk0bLIoojMFIjRUi6WBJ26Zv6YxfRImZGAkge6OK1o9ml0/s1200/The%20Old%20Oak%203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTVb1nglbuYnN6G-cNjURTN1ts9RS4Bu0jsTdd1zmD8oYX6Vn0PrFkK7zi8E2r4vcYA2gQ9pYm4hdfjxqvO6Dc6eesGZ3Pt1rsy0Rr0vqfZUC7huL5MHGEVvpXQwZWzl_8LHaYMIk0bLIoojMFIjRUi6WBJ26Zv6YxfRImZGAkge6OK1o9ml0/w400-h225/The%20Old%20Oak%203.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Against this backdrop of despair and frustration, <i>The Old Oak</i> finds parallels from the miners’ strike (1984/5) and asks whether everyone has more to gain from acts of solidarity than attacking and further fragmenting a dying community. Have the lessons of the past been forgotten? Do the lessons of the past apply to the future?<p></p><p>There’s nothing one dimensional about this portrayal of English nationalism, working class communities, or people seeking asylum and safety. A lot of time is given to getting under the surface of the hurts that have long been carried since the strike. Backstories are explored across key cast members. The on-screen racism stems from both acts of commission and omission. For a variety of reasons, empathy has been replaced with self-interest. Layers of hurry and poverty abound like the rings in the trunk of an old tree.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKnj57a5hKboCTB5EN6OQULfQu--NjJAXiguiVDxmNQkd50Y3M1LdKEKhZuFhKYmaFx3AdW2ptXuphaIrDWllsqjPdSiLkDv6z2Xof4Asd3PrdUiJChz5dWTcogAZu79JuCfQhMmM2N93ZTBnY14HX0OjXQ2TB7QykuzNGeHhweNjaVmZ6sbE/s828/The%20Old%20Oak%204.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="550" data-original-width="828" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKnj57a5hKboCTB5EN6OQULfQu--NjJAXiguiVDxmNQkd50Y3M1LdKEKhZuFhKYmaFx3AdW2ptXuphaIrDWllsqjPdSiLkDv6z2Xof4Asd3PrdUiJChz5dWTcogAZu79JuCfQhMmM2N93ZTBnY14HX0OjXQ2TB7QykuzNGeHhweNjaVmZ6sbE/w400-h266/The%20Old%20Oak%204.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>The dialogue is rich and uncompromising. At a Q&A following a Queen’s Film Theatre screening, Paul Laverty explained his research process. Casting local voices adds to the feeling of authenticity. At times, the delivery of lines is less smooth than a Hollywood blockbuster. But it works in this film’s favour as a reminder that while the plot is fictional, its genesis is in the communities being portrayed.</p><p>Hugh Odling-Smee remarked at the Q&A, there’s a complete absence of the state in the film. Authority figures are nowhere to be seen. They have retracted. We see people trying to live with hope rather than die in despair. We see women who realise that they are all hanging on by their fingertips and have more to gain together than lose apart.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9bgaUrz29EkasdLTddQ4S1HetoU1WJ6gR8MFRMxu5clq_F1tuM9UfDs58xI9icBdSJ66-cnBKBXD2xgoR2cVFfMgEzKW5y_0NcISpHUTBPtsS1n8elp80YuZk0MxP6iY6asP8kL_EOKhy1vOEkuCZKZL2SZxgDfnUuGEOVfqJVLCfnxi9gbE/s2048/The%20Old%20Oak%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9bgaUrz29EkasdLTddQ4S1HetoU1WJ6gR8MFRMxu5clq_F1tuM9UfDs58xI9icBdSJ66-cnBKBXD2xgoR2cVFfMgEzKW5y_0NcISpHUTBPtsS1n8elp80YuZk0MxP6iY6asP8kL_EOKhy1vOEkuCZKZL2SZxgDfnUuGEOVfqJVLCfnxi9gbE/w400-h266/The%20Old%20Oak%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>No film by Loach is an easy watch. The multiple tragedies that drive the central cast are heartbreaking to watch. Recent government decisions on the fate of the HS2 railway that would have brought high speed rail services as far north as Leeds – still 80 miles short of Durham – must also be seen to play into the disconnect between London and the English regions. I suspect that Ken Loach’s film may be dismissed by some as simple moralising or as a do-gooders charter for <i>letsgetalongism</i> in the face of local pressures. But the realism of the voices in <i>The Old Oak</i> makes it hard to pretend that this is just a fictional fairytale that shouldn’t challenge how the dis-United Kingdom is operating and behaving, locally and nationally.<p></p><p><i>The Old Oak</i> is being screened in the <a href="https://queensfilmtheatre.com/Whats-On/The-Old-Oak ">Queen’s Film Theatre from Friday 29 September</a>.<br /></p><p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Fwb0c5zqsyM?si=qgdyWHokCY1a8_RL" title="YouTube video player" width="400"></iframe> </p><p><i>Enjoyed this review? Why not click on the <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/alaninbelfast">Buy Me a Tea</a> button!</i></p>Alan in Belfast (Alan Meban)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04647690758839987063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21098869.post-73125182160129261292023-09-16T13:53:00.001+01:002023-09-24T19:38:46.637+01:00Brother – a melancholic masterpiece about identity and brokenness (Queen’s Film Theatre until Thursday 21 September)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0A6LRh14mrYKw7i2Ccsmx4WRHDzY7oQJCrxk4JOx2iPQo8TTyDJYz2bvZW8c1DXOC0JCKYt4P8r3XMhSwdDEKz81ni06PYlvNKgWaMKBuqbEdgV3TWeauG0AV9PY9v5ByIUAW6rLdIgp6UkaiaF0-8eHWvMFpZWegtvBc2OyLQK0vCaB7X0M/s2048/Brother%20pylons.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="2048" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0A6LRh14mrYKw7i2Ccsmx4WRHDzY7oQJCrxk4JOx2iPQo8TTyDJYz2bvZW8c1DXOC0JCKYt4P8r3XMhSwdDEKz81ni06PYlvNKgWaMKBuqbEdgV3TWeauG0AV9PY9v5ByIUAW6rLdIgp6UkaiaF0-8eHWvMFpZWegtvBc2OyLQK0vCaB7X0M/w400-h200/Brother%20pylons.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Francis might get beaten black and blue and experience prejudice from all and sundry on the street, but the most hurtful attacks are probably from the mouth of his mother. An immigrant from the Caribbean, Ruth has worked hard to bring her two sons up in Scarborough, a district of Toronto.<p></p><p>Clement Virgo’s <i><b><a href="https://queensfilmtheatre.com/Whats-On/Brother">Brother</a></b></i> is no cookie-cutter exploration of identity and insecurity. It flicks between timelines with great confidence that the script and the actors will keep the audience connected with the picture that’s building up of the relationships and lives being portrayed. Switching between younger and older actors playing the same characters is often jarring. The casting and direction in <i>Brother</i> makes it seamless.</p><p>Francis (played by young Jacob Williams/older Aaron Pierre) excels as the outwardly confident older sibling. He has the talent to become a music producer, but few of the opportunities. He dotes on his mum (Marsha Stephanie Blake), acts as protector of younger Michael (David Odion/Lamar Johnson), and resents being infantilised at home.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFsKYEz_ysc3O0iBGMxAiXFflXQ3QCbnNvqSuvewO-6BUnWgll_iKtom9DtkcaaPgAyZ4dM46T7ZLXCwM86FQMPMQvQ56UEFMMlbsjY98dUhLGeDXe9-B8ZdrbuBJSjIZuXsR5-sS07s0euSxGn4PNFCZQpSlm2GO9OwMTjjY905r6by07lF0/s676/brother%20group.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="676" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFsKYEz_ysc3O0iBGMxAiXFflXQ3QCbnNvqSuvewO-6BUnWgll_iKtom9DtkcaaPgAyZ4dM46T7ZLXCwM86FQMPMQvQ56UEFMMlbsjY98dUhLGeDXe9-B8ZdrbuBJSjIZuXsR5-sS07s0euSxGn4PNFCZQpSlm2GO9OwMTjjY905r6by07lF0/w400-h225/brother%20group.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Into this tight single parent home steps Aisha (Delia Lisette Chambers/Kiana Madeira), the daughter of a local shop owner and the apple of Michael’s eye. She grows up and becomes a peripatetic programmer who escapes the confines of the claustrophobic world of Scarborough and eventually returns to it with an outsider’s perspective. Her patience with Michael is almost serene as he struggles to make sense of loss and shrugs off her love and care. The late arrival of Francis’ boyfriend Jelly (Lovell Adams-Gray) into the narrative adds to the audience’s understanding of what actually matters to the fraught matriarch.<p></p><p>The cinematography is distinctive with a great reveal during the opening scene – don’t try this at home – as the brothers climb up an electric pylon, accompanied with the ominous high voltage hum (an ongoing metaphor for the struggle to rise up and get on in life). It’s quickly followed by a beautifully executed standing on the wrong side of the road waiting for someone to get off a bus shot.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS5eUABFXI9r0Cj8klkCbXIG7JRV7729ZByxQlMbsRI0qu1TWEHjyYFOkoKGkH8IsBCGiSZOSCZBA9EP3pvrTeFXsqPK58ODJUwz6MmudzqVGs4Ot_abhpR7SsqX_Xjbx6tSlPKP-_tEcwPqPaRZLaf4hGd-nvzkPd-C0WTOULNd2M5PpRV3E/s2048/Brother%20car.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="2048" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS5eUABFXI9r0Cj8klkCbXIG7JRV7729ZByxQlMbsRI0qu1TWEHjyYFOkoKGkH8IsBCGiSZOSCZBA9EP3pvrTeFXsqPK58ODJUwz6MmudzqVGs4Ot_abhpR7SsqX_Xjbx6tSlPKP-_tEcwPqPaRZLaf4hGd-nvzkPd-C0WTOULNd2M5PpRV3E/w400-h211/Brother%20car.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>The soundtrack becomes increasingly important to the plot, but songs like Curtis Mayfield’s <i>We the People Who Are Darker Than Blue</i> set the mood and explain the circumstances. The dialogue is stripped back. There are long dramatic silences in the family apartment that work on-screen despite being unnatural and unrealistic. The audience are treated like adults, expected to watch and feel what’s happening and what’s being thought rather than being spoon fed.<p></p><p><i>Brother</i> is a melancholic masterpiece, upsetting and disturbing, a story of tormented souls that have been broken to such an extent that the warm love of angels like Aisha and Jelly isn’t really sufficient to heal the wounds. The film’s final lament by Nina Simone – Ne me quitte pas / Do not leave me – cements the tragedy.</p><p><i>Brother</i> is being screened at <a href="https://queensfilmtheatre.com/Whats-On/Brother">Queen’s Film Theatre until Thursday 21 September</a>.<br /></p><p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/SpsANtdxWBc?si=1_ShsnWF7HyMc-h8" title="YouTube video player" width="400"></iframe> </p><p><i>Enjoyed this review? Why not click on the <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/alaninbelfast">Buy Me a Tea</a> button!</i></p>Alan in Belfast (Alan Meban)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04647690758839987063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21098869.post-29259968912488969872023-08-31T21:00:00.035+01:002023-09-24T19:39:04.370+01:00Passages – from ecstasy to emptiness (QFT until 7 September)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm4-D7S8xXAVHfpReGNsUfiaeOy33P3Y2tnR_Cbv0iOFrMWRK_-P3SZrkAY_pSTGsULz6RrdlSsVtafKYwTw4aNmXbSWgqZICCthuRf1VVQG96kb0UtM20jbG3yRi_VNxiODySQAlVb3lTtjMawSLPLC773zpPZVEldvwU-LhcocDvawZcmmQ/s1280/Passages%201.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm4-D7S8xXAVHfpReGNsUfiaeOy33P3Y2tnR_Cbv0iOFrMWRK_-P3SZrkAY_pSTGsULz6RrdlSsVtafKYwTw4aNmXbSWgqZICCthuRf1VVQG96kb0UtM20jbG3yRi_VNxiODySQAlVb3lTtjMawSLPLC773zpPZVEldvwU-LhcocDvawZcmmQ/w400-h225/Passages%201.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><i><b><a href="https://queensfilmtheatre.com/Whats-On/Passages">Passages</a></b></i> is a relatively dark drama directed by Ira Sachs and co-written with Mauricio Zacharias. Tomas (Franz Rogowski) is on a high having wrapped filming on his latest project. Partner Martin (Ben Whishaw) rolls – somewhat grimly – with the punches that come for free with his tumultuous relationship. “We’ll be fine” he asserts in what feels like famous last words near the start of the film.<p></p><p>From the moment Adèle Exarchopoulos appears on-screen as Agathe it’s clear what will happen next. Her smouldering eyes, her dancing shoulders, all signal that Tomas is about to jump onto an unfaithful helter-skelter – a passionate, sweaty and noisy affair – that will disorientate his so-called loyalties. What is the nature of a healthy relationship? What constitutes an unhealthy coupling?<br /></p><p><i>Passages</i> starts out as a study of an obnoxious, egotistical man who is in love with himself more than his existing husband or his new mistress. Two thirds of the way through we linger in a bedroom with Agathe, lying on her mattress alone, listening to Tomas fighting and then canoodling with someone in the room next door. And despite spoilerific circumstances that I’ll not divulge in the review, in that moment she comes to terms with what had passed as a relationship and takes back control.<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo0uAlHUyDyMx-2ebezT7tg7BaiLnUzLlyI98C6VJgxh2i_X05As1TglJA6IoyO_jM5GpX0JTZorI_--4C_M7fUzzWUYmnTozlhXpJpsx_gHNvpISuRPi2QA9tGAxcVSb-Tc8JkGguXC5LJwGifnFYwzzGhSkqYHjDtcVXU_oaJvXCnybw1hk/s1920/Passages%202.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo0uAlHUyDyMx-2ebezT7tg7BaiLnUzLlyI98C6VJgxh2i_X05As1TglJA6IoyO_jM5GpX0JTZorI_--4C_M7fUzzWUYmnTozlhXpJpsx_gHNvpISuRPi2QA9tGAxcVSb-Tc8JkGguXC5LJwGifnFYwzzGhSkqYHjDtcVXU_oaJvXCnybw1hk/w400-h225/Passages%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>The film’s name offers little hint at meaning, although the font used in the opening credits should be credited for being so gorgeous. This Parisian tale could easily be retitled “Starting again: Déjà vu”. While Tomas may be the dominant bottom of the couple, Ben Whishaw’s peachy bottom is perhaps the dominant takeaway of the 92-minute movie – men are objectified much more obviously than women in this French cinematic delight – with wiggling and jiggling and thrusting that helps earn the film its 18 certificate and adds a flutter of mystery in that moment about what Martin might do next.<p></p><p>The tone is grim, yet some of the more incidental characters offer light relief. Agathe’s mother (Caroline Chaniolleau) asks some pertinent questions over a meal that upset Tomas. Erwan Kepoa Falé plays an author, Amad, who no longer wants to write more novels now the freedom of his anonymity has been evaporated by his debut success (a great topic to explore in a spinoff). That’s not the only thing Amad reveals by the end of the film.</p><p><i>Passages</i> finishes with Tomas back on his bicycle, riding through the streets of Paris at speed. His facial expression is beautifully enigmatic: heartbroken, self-reflective, content, or even liberated. Each audience member can decide for themselves. And audiences will also have to decide whether – or how – the story could have been told without such strong sex scenes. <i>Passages</i> is being screened at the <a href="https://queensfilmtheatre.com/Whats-On/Passages">Queen’s Film Theatre until Thursday 7 September</a>.<br /></p><p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/m5Kr38lovJc?si=t1uaOsHOkU8TR97N" title="YouTube video player" width="400"></iframe> </p><p><i>Enjoyed this review? Why not click on the <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/alaninbelfast">Buy Me a Tea</a> button!</i></p>Alan in Belfast (Alan Meban)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04647690758839987063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21098869.post-30780311437864136182023-08-28T13:16:00.002+01:002023-09-24T19:39:25.725+01:00Scrapper – joy and grief, resilience and second chances (QFT until Thursday 31 August)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZwSQxSThpV48VVUSfbeZ9_szdxIA9yz4N3j-ca45uQHfvHp2NBS4kVKzC5q2EVYyHHT9yJuAX_DcBD1U82XrWCkbznvUWFLmS0AXyM7h51TyFbTe81K4lLuTwDqW2EkqtKqDa1Kj1PMwE5Q7Y9O_r4sWm2vg88f5aLWz_2RWI9FNPAoVOF_c/s2500/Scrapper%202.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1249" data-original-width="2500" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZwSQxSThpV48VVUSfbeZ9_szdxIA9yz4N3j-ca45uQHfvHp2NBS4kVKzC5q2EVYyHHT9yJuAX_DcBD1U82XrWCkbznvUWFLmS0AXyM7h51TyFbTe81K4lLuTwDqW2EkqtKqDa1Kj1PMwE5Q7Y9O_r4sWm2vg88f5aLWz_2RWI9FNPAoVOF_c/w400-h200/Scrapper%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Georgie’s dad disappeared a long time ago and now her Mum has died. But this is a feisty 12-year-old survivor (Lola Campbell) who raises enough money by wheeling and dealing to keep up rent payments and fools the authorities into thinking she’s living with her uncle. Georgie isn’t living in squalor, but death has brought about a loss of innocence. Best mate Ali (Alin Uzun) is her partner in crime. But then her father reappears and her almost Enid Blyton-like existence is disrupted.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGKMJkKBaqvHiypthaNv1o2uvowNVYdASU0Xnf98vldsT1q0Wy3inxO5QTjsVpIphlDQzFQ21nY9kjzZx6KeuZklJIGbbU7Fj243KKGCA0EOyBW_OXw_jnWT_tY1rNreXyYlfe_r0wclOvlJzQ4M5_t4Y4hI_NEl12UBdvbHaRebM3Xm10bkM/s1280/scrapper%203.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGKMJkKBaqvHiypthaNv1o2uvowNVYdASU0Xnf98vldsT1q0Wy3inxO5QTjsVpIphlDQzFQ21nY9kjzZx6KeuZklJIGbbU7Fj243KKGCA0EOyBW_OXw_jnWT_tY1rNreXyYlfe_r0wclOvlJzQ4M5_t4Y4hI_NEl12UBdvbHaRebM3Xm10bkM/w400-h225/scrapper%203.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i><b><a href="https://queensfilmtheatre.com/Whats-On/Scrapper">Scrapper</a></b></i> is Charlotte Regan’s confident – and at times quirky – feature debut. The audience are never asked to feel sorry for Georgie. While the cloud of grief hangs overhead, her attitude is filled with life and resilience. The main action breaks off for stylised inserts which imagine what other children, teachers and social workers might be thinking about Georgie. (Her situation is far-fetched but that won’t spoil the story.) Keys, doors and locks are a recurring theme of the film. There’s also a sense of escapism, of the immaturity of a young mind amid all the adulting she faces.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqEbrhX6VWHS9qZFRA6davlZ_jpT2NAZHo1imIwzFQ_vcbVdmmce9totNF7UNMRZsmA3d3rtVz7iwfhaOtGSXZATvMYTc5EVo4LnbEq5icGZFX1-3YdCD8Rg9sunkuD8FFL09gJwU4qvJmPYX5_yoFyI8C6Hh6KqdBqwbrgK8XvqJe5xHsigw/s2048/scrapper%204.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqEbrhX6VWHS9qZFRA6davlZ_jpT2NAZHo1imIwzFQ_vcbVdmmce9totNF7UNMRZsmA3d3rtVz7iwfhaOtGSXZATvMYTc5EVo4LnbEq5icGZFX1-3YdCD8Rg9sunkuD8FFL09gJwU4qvJmPYX5_yoFyI8C6Hh6KqdBqwbrgK8XvqJe5xHsigw/w400-h300/scrapper%204.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>When Jason (Harris Dickinson) jumps over the back fence and a father figure reenters Georgie’s life, it’s clear he’s the man child and she’s the grown up. His appearance somewhat unsatisfactorily crowds Ali out of the script for much of the second half. Parent and child travel go on a journey – an actual rather than purely metaphorical trip – and Jason slowly melts Georgie’s hardened heart, and she lets him glimpse inside her fertile imagination. The possibility that Jason will once again disappear into the night – Ibiza is his hideaway of choice – looms over the latter stages of the film.<p></p><p><i>Aftersun</i> and <i><a href="https://alaninbelfast.blogspot.com/2020/09/rocks-newcomers-impress-in-great.html">Rocks</a></i> are two other films which deal well with rekindling a relationship with an estranged parent and the death of a parent respectively. <i>Scrapper</i> could have been a grey, depressed tale of solitude, a foundling abandoned by family. Instead, Regan writes and directs a hope-filled 84-minutes of cinema that opens up the process of grieving by creating a vital character who refuses to be defined by sorrow (or any number of other labels that could be attached to Georgie). <i>Scrapper</i> is being screened in <a href="https://queensfilmtheatre.com/Whats-On/Scrapper">Queen’s Film Theatre until Thursday 31 August</a>.<br /></p><p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/slyUJ1_eK4E?si=VL3zyL3uuOsYVSFA" title="YouTube video player" width="400"></iframe></p><p><i>Enjoyed this review? Why not click on the <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/alaninbelfast">Buy Me a Tea</a> button!</i></p>Alan in Belfast (Alan Meban)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04647690758839987063noreply@blogger.com0