Glory !

 

I made a point of sitting through this and watching it properly. I feel a fool for not troubling to see it in the cinema. Like so many of my wiser peers.  I had seen bits and pieces of this aforehand 

One of the best war movies ever made. I think after Gone with the Wind the finest movie about the United States Civil War. Like Gone with the Wind it does not shirk from the ugliness of the war. The raid by contrabands lead by a Southron Jaywalker. The sore feet. The rain, the blood. The screams. The corruption of the Union Army- wether petty by a local quartermarster or more sinster, the wartime governor of a small part of occupied or recovered SC. Who is running bales of cotton and looting mansions

I wonder if the Irish Sgt Mulachy had served in the British Army as he refers to Hindus and such. 

I thought Andre's Braugher's character- Who plays a learned free coloured man. Of which only Boston and perhaps New Orleand might provide  was too informal- with the Colonel and  now I realise that no. That would be the case for a volunteer USCW

The 4 Estate are there, we see newspaper men and journalists and photographers

It is interesting to note now, that  Denzel Washington or Morgan Freedman would play Fredrick Douglas

I did wonder if the mute drummer boy was autistic 

Apparently the flogging is ahistorical 

Still a fine film. I enjoyed it very much 

In Which We Serve

 Celia Johnson saying gangway is truly a strange experience

This is a piece of World War Two propaganda. The story of a Royal Navy ship and it's crew. There experiences- the triumph and disaster. I did wonder if the stock footage reatured real people 

Noel Coward plays Captain D, and does a fine job. I did wonder how much of this is Coward's keen eye I also enjoyed his quiet determined character. I did think of Captain Picard actually. 

Some observations

We have a member of the crew with,  a very strong West Country accent which I don't think exists anymore

The importance of people staying at their post is made clear. We see gunners  nearly submerged staying at their post

I wondered and I hoped the plane strafing the survivors clinging to a raft was exagerated 

The Fishmonger, is your friend. 

A little bit of history

Sinners

 

Oh this is easily the new film, I have enjoyed most this year

It is a Vampire movie set in prohibition era Deep South. The film is not perfect, in fact the final battle is confused. I think the ending was re-edited in post. That said this is a cult classic in the making

It looks beautiful. This is as I have mentioned a period piece, well cut clothes, classic cars, the heroes even carry a lugar. 

The sound track is great. The music is done well here

There is a strong cast. Jack O Connell from Harry Brown, Haile Steinfeld from the Coen brother remake of True Grit. 

So the story is simple two twin brothers, veterans of WW1 and the Chicago underworld buy an old mill somewhere down South. They wish to turn it into a juke- a dance hall. 

There is an dilemma  in the film, the brothers realize that their black clientele is too poor and too dependent on company scrip to pay real money. The characters debate turning people away unless they have real money. If they are too welcoming on opening night- then it will be harder as things go on.

Equally people have come to the juke after working 

Steinfeld plays a white passing girl. 

O'Connell as Remick the vampire steals the spot light. Playing like the devil, and one step ahead of everyone 

Speaking about deals at crossroads we also have the Twins cousin is a guitarist of sublime skill

Who is warned by his father about the Devil

The scenes where a succession of vampires try to get into the juke is well done. Cornbread-the bouncers confusion about what people do it  a nice touch. He ain't human anymore. O'Connell trying to guilt the black folk into letting him

All Human life and death is here. Even that which goes past that. Like the end of prohibition Sinners offers a chance to return to a deeper drink, a drink without the inhibition of race and sex and never have to worry about the morning 

Frankenstein 1931

 

This is rather brief it was not however bad

I note that the Medical School- where Fritz ( Not Igor) steals the brains from is co-ed

The father bringing his dead daughter to the town square- was well done

The scenes with the monster are generally good too. The monster seems a large child, often pathetic and helpless. Terrified of the flame and tormented by Fritz Frankenstein's servant

The finale scene with the monster being trapped and burnt alive in the windmill. I think was well done too

There is I think supposed to be a love triangle between Frankenstein and his fiancé's best friend. In modern parlance it looks like the friend is a simp. 

There is a bit of accent distraction here. The little girl, her father and several of the locals have Dixie or Country accents. I also noted that Frankenstein's old mentor had a strange accent. It sounded Welsh to me, but the actor is of German stock

There is one very pretty maid, in the final scenes. I wonder did she catch the director's eye like she did mine

Top Secret

 

Val Kilmer certainly had star quality, here he plays an action hero, and does a pretty good job as a singer. 

I understand now why the girls in UNC had such a crush on him, 

Maybe I should watch , Kilmer  play Jim Morrison in the Doors. 

Anyway. There is a lot less sex than the Kentucky Fried Movie 

This film spoofs war films, Spy films and beach blanket movies. Oh and the Blue Lagoon. Yeah admit to owning a DVD of that 

Oh, the young antagonist, who was washed up on the desert iisland   is the actor who plays a colonel in Sharpe's Siege. 

The person playing the German General also played a General in War and Remembrance

Jeremy Kemp - Wikipedia

The French language jokes for resistance members are great

I enjoyed it. Silly jokes, like this isn't the Howard Johnson. 

The Revenant

 

This reminded me of the Thin Red Line. Another Period piece, set during war-where the human beings are often in the background to the wildlife and the scenery

I remember well seeing the cinematography abandoned Mission. The tumbledown ruin on a white snowscape and the bright colours of a painting of the last judgement 

It is a cold clear, crisp wonder we watch,

The story is set in the Dakota territory sometime between the war of 1812 and the USCW. In flash back we see shako wearing US soldiers burning out Pawnee villagers. An Indian chief wishing to avenge the abduction of his daughter attacks American trappers. One of the party, the chief guide is attacked by a bear. His son is killed and he is left for dead by a rival. 

This film is a story of two parents out for revenge, and revenge is a dish best served cold. There are moments of triumph, Glass escaping the raiders, Glass surviving the fall. It is a long defeat though 

There is a lot of dialogue in Pawnee here

The bear attack on Glass-is terrifyingly well done. I note that it is established that Glass had strayed to close to cubs resting in a nest. The sheer size and weight of the beast was conveyed well (Glass is the trapper played by Leo )

There is one scene which made raise an eyebrow- the scene where Leo rides his horse of a cliff, and survives by the horse and a fir tree breaking his fall

I enjoyed this film much less than the Wolf of Wall Street. I found it empty, like the winter in the Dakota there is so little here. Glass was married to a Pawnee and was made a widower by the army of his nation. His mixed race son- A pawnee with an American father is told to be silent, until he is murdered. 

A pity because I think the setting is interesting and with more exposition, and time we could have had a better film

I will not rewatch this

The Prestige

 This was something of a late booking. I was looking after my father last night. I got back later than I intended. I noticed that The Prestige was due to leave Amazon Prime, and I thought why not

It is fine. I wasn't really as engaged in this as I should be

The film looks beautiful, even a Victorian prison looks clean

The cast is great. Bale, Johansson, Caine, and Hugh Jackman oh and Piper Perabo 

Oh and lots of famous faces- Gill from Frasier, and Morgan Sheppard

I see reading this that Rodger Rees, who stars in this film passed away in 2015. I am sorry to learn this. Having very much enjoyed his performances here, in The West Wing, and as Robin Concord in Cheers

This is a film of surprising accents. Christian Bale plays a Londoner- and he sounds odd. I don't know if that is because I hear London accents daily. A young and luminous Scarlet Johansson plays his assistant

Again  Scarlett doing a British accent Which surprised me. Her accent was not bad

This is a story of a feud between 2 century stage magicians - though really it is a steam punk fantasy. We even see Bowie play Tesla -doing a Croatian accent

I should give it more time. I wonder if it will be remembered more fondly that Nolan's Batman in the future