As a teenager, I would often take myself off to the cinema after school; part of it was the new found ability to be independent and do things on my own, but mostly it came of a desire to escape into my love of the movies for a couple of hours. Naturally, those movies you see when young are what you will always regard as a ‘golden-age’; my teens covered the late 80’s and early 90’s with the release of such movies as ‘Back to the Future’, ‘The Goonies’, ‘Die Hard’, ‘The Princess Bride’, ‘Beaches’, the list feels endless to me.
Three of the most memorable movies were ‘Big’ (1988), ‘Awakenings’ (1990) and ‘A League of their Own’ (1992); directed by Penny Marshall. Wildly different in theme, these were all brave choices that don’t on paper shout out ‘hit’. All the braver considering that Penny was practically the only successful female director on the scene at that time. Jane Campion and Kathryn Bigelow were just coming into their own but everyone else seemed to disappear after one-hit.
There are no guns, no special effects, no Arnie – these are character-driven stories with fun, passion and empathy: ‘Big’ is the story of a boy who wishes to be grown up; ‘Awakenings’ is based on the true story of Oliver Sacks’ work with catatonic patients in a psychiatric hospital; ‘A League of their Own’ is again, based on a true-life story of the women baseball players who kept the leagues going while the male players were fighting in WWII.
What connects these three very different stories, is Penny Marshall’s ability to put magic into real-life situations. In ‘Big’ the magic is more obvious but is only there to act as the catalyst to enable the story. ‘Awakenings’ is like a modern fairytale where the statues come to life and the magic in ‘League’ comes through the camaraderie of the women breaking down barriers and doing something they love to do rather than something they feel obliged to do.
Being a natural comedian also meant that Penny was able to imbue her movies with a sense of fun; whilst not really comedies, there are some properly funny moments in all three movies, even in ‘Awakenings’. Then on the reverse, all three movies will make most people weep buckets with their delicate depiction of the poignancy of loss (innocence, life, youth).
Credit must also be given for Penny Marshall’s ability to elicit such amazing performances from her actors. Tom Hanks utterly convinces that this grown-man is actually only a little boy; Robin Williams and Robert De Niro go totally against type as they both portray quiet, sensitive, thoughtful characters and who knew Madonna could actually be a really good actress?
With still very few women directors making movies today, Penny Marshall was definitely in a league of her own.
This is a tough one, tough to watch and now tough to write about (this has taken me a long time to write, edit, re-edit etc.). Through a series of cassette tapes (the titular 13), season one reveals why Hannah Baker decides to take her own life. This is a difficult watch by any standard but especially so as the completely avoidable becomes somewhat inevitable. Each episode focuses on one of the people in Hannah’s life who she feels has a part to play in her decision. It would be wrong to say that every one of the 13 are to blame as their actions vary from not malicious, to petty, to mean, to truly terrible but the effect each of them has on Hannah’s life is tangible in varying degrees.
This looks and feels, at first, like any other high school teen drama and there are some delightful, funny, touching moments but this is also, necessarily, a brutal watch. Katherine Langford and Dylan Minnette have great chemistry as Hannah and Clay, they are both incredibly likeable, both flawed and both very complex characters. As the season continues, we begin to understand how complicated life has become.
It was an interesting decision to carry this on for a second season given that apart from a couple of loose ends, the story seemed to have been told and the important conversation had been started. But as with many things, it’s more complicated than that.
For the first few episodes of season two, it felt like they were stretching the story somewhat and the narrative device of having Hannah appear as a ghost throughout seemed contrived but as it continued, it did make more sense.
I think season two enforced the awful finality of a decision, Hannah isn’t a romantic heroine, nor is she making a brave choice. It also shows, where the first season didn’t so much, how the actions of one person can ripple across and impact on so many others. It’s hammered home several times, that there is no future for Hannah, she isn’t coming back, there is no happy ending.
Whilst issues surrounding sexuality are addressed and race to a lesser extent, the focus here is on gender. Some of the different experiences and unique pressures that both young men and women can come under are dealt with and we are shown that either can be ‘bully’ or ‘victim’ and very often can be both.
Interestingly, a couple of the cast are shared with ‘Love, Simon’ (Katherine Langford & Miles Heizer) and with that plus the high school setting the themes of bullying, isolation, peer pressure are very similar. This feels like what could have been Simon’s fate had he not had an awesome family and great friends.
This show has come under a lot of flak and I can see that this is an extremely sensitive subject and of course parents especially want to protect their children but not talking about something doesn’t make it go away.
Network
CBC / Netflix
Cast
Dylan Minette, as Clay Jensen Katherine Langford, as Hannah Baker Christian Navarro, as Tony Padillo Alisha Boe, as Jessica Davis Miles Heizer, as Alex Standall Justin Prentice, as Bryce Walker
Someone’s been watching a lot of Hitchcock! I should say that I love Hitchcock movies, as a film student I learnt so much from them and I owe a lot of my appreciation and love of movies to them so this is no bad thing. The music, the framing devices, the dark humour, one overhead shot down an angular staircase in episode 3 especially screamed ‘Vertigo’ to me. The use of music is especially clever, at times the music seems too light or even unnecessarily doom-laden but it really fits with what I feel this show is trying to do. The overall intention here is to wrong foot you, there’s a sense throughout of unease, that something isn’t quite right and this develops very gently over the 10 episodes.
The premise here is that Julia Roberts’ Heidi Bergman (another Hitch ref?) is working as a counsellor at a facility with the aim of easing the transition of US servicemen to deal with life back home – and especially to help them deal with PTSD. Very early on, we can see there are 2 timelines going on here and the transition between now and then is done in a very disconcerting and to me, unique way – that transitional device is also tinkered with a couple of times so for a second or two you’re not 100% sure where you are.
I’ve read some criticisms that the pace is too slow and I guess this story could fit in to a 2 hour movie rather than what amounts to a 10-hour tv show but the pace really allows the plot to develop beautifully. I’ve recently also completed Jack Ryan on Amazon and while both this and that are excellent and in some ways touch on some of the same ideas, they couldn’t be more different in style.
It’s hard to fault anything Julia Roberts does and when you throw in Sissy Spacek (playing Heidi’s mum) you can feel confident this is going to be good. I’ve also heard some say how great it is that Julia isn’t afraid to go plain in a role but honestly, even with a dodgy haircut and no make-up she’s still beautiful. It is funny the distinction people make when it comes to roles for women – beautiful or plain – but if that distinction is ever levelled at a guy, it’s because he’s gone ‘method’, i.e. doing a Brando or DeNiro.
I also really enjoyed seeing Marianne Jean-Baptiste & Dermot Mulroney in two key minor roles having not seen either of them in anything for many years. (not that they haven’t worked, just that I haven’t caught much of it). Stephan James as Walter Cruz is the main client we see with Heidi; I hadn’t see Stephan in anything before but as Walter he is utterly charming. There’s a very real chemistry between him and Heidi that I especially fell for.
Just one note about the trailer below, I hadn’t seen this before watching the show, I chose it solely because it was a TV show with Julia Roberts in it. I’m not sure whether that ignorance added an extra element of enjoyment or not but having watched it now, I think I wouldn’t have been as enjoyably disconcerted as I was – so think about that before you hit play…
Network
Amazon Prime Video
Cast
Julia Roberts, as Heidi Bergman Stephan James, as Walter Cruz Bobby Cannavale, as Colin Belfast Shea Whigham, as Thomas Carrasco
I went into this thinking it’d be a sweet, moving film about a boy and his horse… this isn’t that film.
Charley is played by Charlie Plummer, he lives with his Dad and life is pretty bleak. He gets a job at a racecourse, meets some interesting people and then meets and forms a bond with Lean on Pete the racehorse. Chloe Sevigny and Steve Buscemi as Bonnie and Del are the two main characters he meets at the racecourse, both actors are indy movie staples and rightfully so as they command the screen in their every scene.
Both Charley and Pete are characters that you want the best for. They are both vulnerable, innocent and victims of circumstances not of their making. It becomes clear early on that Pete is no longer in his prime and with an uncertain future for them both, Charley has to make a decision.
This is a movie of vignettes as Charley encounters a variety of people and situations who appear into his life then fairly soon after disappear. Some you are relieved when they go and some you wish would hang around. It really is Charlie Plummer’s movie and he carries Charley’s life as it tangibly weighs heavily upon his too young shoulders.
With many powerful moments in this movie, there’s one that comes as a complete shock and is real punch in the stomach for the viewer, I think I actually exclaimed ‘Oh f***!’. I hope just saying that isn’t a spoiler, though I’m not saying where in the movie and anything about what happens more than the movie shifts completely as a result.
This isn’t a movie with a very wordy script and there’s little in the way of incidental music, but every frame is beautifully composed. It’s to the skill of Andrew Haigh and Charlie Plummer and the choices they make in telling this story that makes this film such a compelling watch.
I don’t want to give the impression that this film is relentlessly bleak, because it isn’t, but it’s certainly no ‘Mamma Mia’.
And again, I have to express my continuing admiration for Andrew Haigh, he excels in the kind of thoughtful, character-driven pieces that cinema requires and that leave you feeling fulfilled and enriched.
Story
Screenplay by Andrew Haigh, based on the novel by Willy Vlautin
Cast
Charlie Plummer, as Charley Thompson Steve Buscemi, as Del Montgomery Travis Fimmel, as Ray Thompson Chloe Sevigny, as Bonnie
Coming very late to ‘Feud’ (2017) from Ryan ‘Glee’ Murphy, I was thankfully saved from a trek across the internet for it by the BBC, I was very keen to get hold of this; Davis, Crawford, Sarandon & Lange, what’s not to love? My formative years were spent watching old movies and most of all my go-to was Bette Davis. She would tear up the screen in ‘All About Eve’, tear me up (emotionally) in ‘Now, Voyager’ and then in her later years come to define the wicked old crone in ‘The Anniversary’ and ‘The Nanny’. Many actors remain the same person throughout their career but Bette Davis adapted beautifully as she aged, never seeming to attempt to remain young and never being afraid to be the grotesque. The only movie I’d seen of Joan Crawford’s happened to be ‘Baby Jane’ (unless you count ‘Mommie Dearest’) which I’d seen a number of times. I also knew of the rivalry that came between these two contemporaries from an autobiography I’d read some 20 years ago about Bette Davis.
Previously, I’d only ever seen Joan Crawford portrayed as a monster and I went into this show with that bias in mind. To begin with, my bias was reaffirmed; Joan comes across as vain, temperamental, manipulative and difficult, whilst Bette is fun, sociable, creative and more intent on doing a good job rather than being seen as the great beauty Joan still thought she was.
I loved the synchronicity between Bette’s animosity with Joan and her later dislike of Faye Dunaway who went on to portray the monstrous version of Joan in ‘Mommie Dearest’; and as with the titular feud, she really never forgot:
I think this clip exemplifies the main difference in perception I have with Bette Davis & Joan Crawford. They both had times when they were truly awful, but with Bette I find it funny and with Joan I’m more disturbed, it seems to be coming from a much darker place.
As the show plays out, the characters deepen and you gain some understanding of Joan’s motives and how she was created through a will to survive an industry that only seems to love its’ stars for 5-10 years then turns them over for the next big thing. You also then see Bette’s dysfunctional life at home, mostly through her relationship with her daughter B.D., and the games she plays at work to manipulate people to propel herself forward at the expense, professionally and emotionally, of her co-star. The skill of this show is that you end up maybe not loving but definitely understanding Joan & Bette; seeing less of the star and more of the person – that’s basically the whole point of factual drama.
The secondary characters are more variably portrayed, not having seen Olivia de Havilland interviewed, I totally get why she may be upset by her Catherine Zeta Jones’s version of her. I felt she came across as being callous and to re-use the word she’s tried to sue FX for maintaining she used about her sister, a bitch. Hedda Hopper (the amazing Judy Davis) and Jack Warner (Stanley Tucci) also seem one-dimensional and unsurprising, I expected both of them to come across that way and I learnt nothing new.
As an insight into behind-the-scenes production of movies and as an historical record of Hollywood during the 1960’s, this is as good as any I’ve seen. Even with all its negative qualities, it still looks glamorous and everything you want it to be. It also leads you to investigating more for yourself. Straight after this, I went to my movie collection and pulled out the DVD of ‘Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte’ that I’d never got round to watching. That one isn’t going down as an all-time fave but it was gloriously over-acted and hammy (not easily going to forget the magnificently fake chopped off hand at the start of the movie). It was also a revelation to see how beautiful Bruce Dern was in his late 20’s.
If ‘Feud’ does nothing else but make you want to watch or re-watch an old movie then it’s done a good job.
Network
FX
Cast
Jessica Lange, as Joan Crawford Susan Sarandon, as Bette Davis Alfred Molina, as Robert Aldrich Judy Davis, as Hedda Hopper Jackie Hoffman, as Marmacita
It’s fitting that this is one of my first pieces given the connection between this website name and a previous iteration of this movie. In this version of ‘A Star is Born’ there’s also a respectful nod to Judy Garland not long after we first meet Lady Gaga’s Ally that shows this version isn’t afraid to embrace its past.
On seeing the trailer some months ago, I was immediately predisposed to thinking that this was going to be incredible. And it is.
This movie almost seems impossible not to be great; it’s the perfect movie for re-imagining with each generation. The love story and the rise and fall of stardom are universal themes and a new version will simply make it relevant for today. It’s also a cautionary tale that Hollywood curiously chooses to retell given that if ever there was a bad guy in this story, the industry that creates and maintains these stars fits perfectly.
The first version in 1937 received seven Oscar nominations, winning one for the story. The second (and the only other version that I’ve seen) added the musical element that its taken on ever since and received 6 nominations. Whilst Judy Garland is undoubtedly why anyone would watch this movie, James Mason is utterly believable as a broken man on a rapid descent from stardom. Judy’s belting out ‘The Man That Got Away’ as she and her band play in a deserted bar is one of the key moments from her incredible career.
But back to 2018…
Bradley Cooper as Jackson and Lady Gaga as Ally feel completely equal in this version where in the Garland/Mason version they hadn’t so much. They both have a huge story, both are beautiful, believable and they both break your heart. I know Gaga divides opinion and I think you’d have a hard time watching this if you really don’t like her. But if you like her even just a little bit, this can’t help but make you love her.
With Bradley Cooper, you’d think there was a risk in letting an actor not known for his singing represent a character who’s meant to be Pearl Jam or Nirvana level famous, but there’s no risk here, he sings like he was born to it. This movie shines when Cooper and Gaga are together on screen creating such chemistry that you miss them when the story temporarily shifts elsewhere. When they both sing on stage, especially for the first time, you see a jaded star rekindle the joy he’d lost in performing next to someone tentatively reaching for that chance to shine having long since given up. It’s incomprehensibly moving.
(I’d recommend watching the clip below after seeing the movie. It isn’t a spoiler but may lessen the impact of the scene)
I was captured at how beautifully this movie is shot with some intensely intimate close ups that reflect the intimacy of the relationship; the view from the back of the stage out to the expanse of the audience giving us some sense of what the performer experiences; the wide open spaces of the Arizona desert that make even a wind farm look beautiful; the yellow sky and the palm trees of Los Angeles – this is how you want America to look in a movie.
The script must be sure to win awards; there’s very natural sense to the characters’ talking to each other, a lot of this is due to the skill of the acting but also to the deftness of the dialogue. I was especially drawn to how you see the two leads get to know each other, as this often seems to be too quickly and clumsily done on screen.
In one of the scenes that shows the negative side of fame, we see Jack bundled into a car after a concert escaping a crowd who seem more like an angry mob than a group of appreciative fans. Then later, we see him in a shop being photographed by a checkout assistant who basically says that she’s powerless to resist the urge to intrude.
Given that this movie is about two singer-songwriters, the music in this film is beautifully composed, written and performed. Some of the songs belie the musical nature of the movie only in that they drive the narrative forward. However, the songs stand alone as instant classics with ‘Shallow’ being the big hitter, to name some of the other songs would be a little spoiler-ish. I’d recommend only listening to the soundtrack after seeing the movie. Apparently, Lady Gaga compiled the album and included a lot of dialogue snippets; there’s a reason the album was released the same day as the movie.
I think any established director would be proud of what they’d achieved with this movie, but for Bradley Cooper’s first time in a dual role both behind the camera and in front, this is indeed something special.
Story
Screenplay by Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper & Will Fetters Based on the screenplay of the 1937 film by William A. Wellman, Robert Carson, Dorothy Parker & Alan Campbell
Cast
Bradley Cooper, as Jackson Maine Lady Gaga, as Ally Maine Sam Elliott, as Bobby Maine Andrew Dice Clay, as Lorenzo Campano
As I started to watch the first episode, I couldn’t help but remember with fondness the 1980’s version of ‘Anne of Green Gables’ and what I thought were the definitive Anne (Megan Follows), Marilla (Colleen Dewhurst) and Matthew (Richard Farnsworth). My finger was hovering over the stop button through the first part of the first episode when the new cast didn’t step back 33 years and recreate this show from my childhood.
I’m so glad I didn’t turn away from this. I have to say, by the end of this first episode I was in tears and as I was watching it on the train, I felt a little self-conscious.
The spirit of all the characters I loved is still there but the creators of this show have developed them for the modern age. Huge liberties are taken with the story; though comfortingly familiar elements remain such as Anne getting her friend Diana drunk, dyeing her red hair green and the croup incident. There are at first what seems to be some very anachronistic takes on race, gender and sexuality for a show set over a century ago though on reflection, as previous shows set in this time period depict people in a certain way it demonstrates that portrayals are often based on the time they are made in and not of the time they are reflecting.
I applaud this show for not going down the cutesy line it could have done but instead they tackle some uncomfortable themes. Set in the early 1900s, it would be unrealistic to think an orphan child would have had the happiest of starts in life – there are hints at a very dark past for Anne but I think that only makes it so much more impactful when she finally finds two people to love her and who she can love back.
While all credit goes to our new Anne (Amybeth McNulty) who carries this show perfectly, I have developed a new found love for Geraldine James as Marilla. Her portrayal of a repressed middle aged spinster who very slowly comes alive with the love of the new addition to her family is stunning. Her depiction of heartbreak, longing and ultimately love and joy is beautifully acted.
This show isn’t about reliving the past, it’s about embracing the future. As the title song says, ‘we’re ahead by a century’.
Network
CBC / Netflix
Cast
Amybeth McNulty, as Anne Shirley Geraldine James, as Marilla Cuthbert R.H. Thomson, as Matthew Cuthbert Dalila Bela, as Diana Barry Lucas Jade Zumann, as Gilbert Blythe
Gay movies, or ‘movies on a gay theme’ have a lot of responsibility these days. They can’t just be dramas or romantic comedies, they have to portray a variety of people who just happen to fall in love with folks of their own gender. With a few exceptions, for decades we’ve been the funny best friend, the murder victim (or murderer) or die of an AIDS-related illness. These portrayals exist in real life but so do many others and as the movies released recently go to show, there are as many different stories to tell as there are people.
Not intentionally, we saw four ‘gay’ movies in the space of a couple of weeks and really if this continues, we’ve seen a renaissance in the portrayal of how we’re represented on celluloid and long may it continue.
Call Me By Your Name
Story
Screenplay by James Ivory, based on the book by Andre Aciman
Cast
Armie Hammer, as Oliver Timothee Chalamet, as Elio Perlman Michael Stuhlbarg, as Samuel Perlman Amira Casar, as Annella Perlman
Director
Luca Guadagnino
Running Time
132 mins
Year
2017
The first one was the much-lauded ‘Call Me By Your Name’, beautifully shot and impeccably scripted, this is delivered as a modern(ish) dream in the sense of a ‘Room With a View’ (unsurprising given the James Ivory connection). This is a film that takes you on a holiday that you can relax and melt in to, nothing massively dramatic or contentious happens and everyone behaves pretty decently towards one another. The bohemian family and environment make it so that it really doesn’t seem to matter what someone’s sexuality is, the only conflict appearing to come from within the individual, or ultimately when the holiday ends and you go back in to the world. This is an important moment in gay cinema as it shows a very different side of itself than has been seen much before, or at least not seen with this level of praise and publicity. I must admit to feeling not very connected with the characters and while I enjoyed the movie, I wasn’t AS moved by it as I’ve found others to be. Maybe as one friend said about my reaction to this movie, I’m heartless…
God’s Own Country
Story
Screenplay by Francis Lee
Cast
Josh O’Connor, as Johnny Saxby Alec Secareanu, as Gheorghe Ionescu Gemma Jones, as Deidre Saxby Ian Hart, as Martin Saxby
Director
Francis Lee
Running Time
104 mins
Year
2017
Next was ‘God’s Own Country’ and what could easily be Britain’s answer to ‘Brokeback Mountain’, though that movie didn’t include someone elbow deep in cow’s bum or two guys rolling round with their pants pulled down in the mud. Josh O’Connor as disaffected farmer Johnny inhabits the role perfectly; his skill as an actor is highlighted even more when you see how he creates characters so far away from Johnny as in ‘The Durrells’. I’m curious to see his take on Prince Charles in the third season of ‘The Crown’. Johnny’s behavior rings true as he punctures his daily grind with random encounters and getting wasted at the pub whenever he can. Who’s he ever going to meet in such a remote location and what prospects does he have other than what he already has. Luckily, and in a pre-Brexit UK (would this story be possible after March 2019?) Romanian worker Gheorghe (Alec Secareanu) enters Johnny’s world and things begin to change. Alec Secareanu is perfect as Gheorghe, seemingly very laid back, quiet but emotionally free – the antithesis of Johnny.
Again, as with ‘Call Me By Your Name’, the relationship of the two leads doesn’t create a huge level of opposition (aside from a nasty encounter down the pub) and it’s more the conflict within Johnny than anything external. Some of the most touching moments in the movie come from Johnny’s relationship with his Dad, two people both uncomfortable in expressing themselves freely.
Weekend
Story
Screenplay by Andrew Haigh
Cast
Tom Cullen, as Russell Chris New, as Glen
Director
Andrew Haigh
Running Time
97 mins
Year
2011
By far, I felt the greatest connection with Weekend by Andrew Haigh; having loved Haigh’s TV show ‘Looking’ (2014-2016), I decided to get this movie on DVD. As an aside, Andrew Haigh certainly seems one to watch having been consistently good in his choices of stories and their execution. The connection I felt with ‘Weekend’ came partly through having spent my formative years away from home at university in the East Midlands but also from being of a similar age (then) and socio-economic background to the two protagonists. The realism of the situations portrayed, the people they meet, the places they go, the feelings they have all came echoing through to me. This would be impossible if it weren’t for an un-romanticized script and two very real performances from Tom Cullen and Chris New. The filming being with pretty basic hand-held cameras also lends itself to a documentary feel and makes it easy for this to become believable.
Love, Simon
Story
Screenplay by Isaac Aptaker & Elizabeth Berger based on ‘Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda’ by Becky Albertalli
Cast
Nick Robinson, as Simon Spier Jennifer Garner, as Emily Spier Josh Duhamel, as Jack Spier Katherine Langford, as Leah Burke
Director
Greg Berlanti
Running Time
110 mins
Year
2018
Lastly, we saw ‘Love, Simon’ in the cinema. I knew director Greg Berlanti from his work as creator of ‘Flash’, ‘Arrow’ & ‘Supergirl’ and was always taken by how these shows would feature gay characters where their sexuality wasn’t that much of a big deal. ‘Love, Simon’ is the 21st Century answer to the John Hughes high-school movies of the 1980s (the look, the poppy soundtrack, the high-school setting, the comedic moments). In the 80’s, it would have been impossible to feature a positive gay character and I think it shows how far society has come that 30 years later we get to see someone like Simon in a mainstream teen movie. Like the other three movies, the conflict is largely from within the main character coming to terms with the fact that they are different; but not only that, they are different in a way that is very easy to hide.
I think this movie is all about that conflicting desire to hide because of the shame bestowed by society and the overpowering urge to be free to live out your own story not set by the terms of others. Again, this is a milestone in cinema where we see gay characters break away from traditional caricatures; for these four movies to come in relatively quick succession is very heartening. The overriding sense that pervades these four movies is one of hope and to quote Harvey Milk, ‘you gotta give them hope’.
Dorothy's Dog 