What I've Just Watched Part 4: There And Back Again

Personal Services (1987), directed by Terry Jones, his first work away from Monty Python, and he'd been offered numerous scripts from Hollywood too (non of which interested him), he chose this loose biopic written by David Leland (Wish You Were Here (1987)), based on the life of Cynthia Payne, the legendary "House of Cyn" madam. It's a very dirty but very funny film for it's day. Single mother Christine Painter (Julie Walters) works as a waitress but also rents out her flat to call girls in order to pay for her son's education. After one client mistaking her for a call girl, Christine along with friend Shirley (Shirley Stelfox) and their "maid" Dolly (Danny Schiller) go into business specialising in kinky fetish roleplays. Before long, Christine and Shirley's private enterprise becomes a success, with regular clients including Wing Commander Morten (Alec McCowen) and Mr. Dunkley (Stephen Lewis). They even move into a large semi-detached house, and this unassuming place in suburbia becomes the "House of Pain", where Cynthia, Shirley and Dolly make all sorts of sexual deviance, but it's not long before the police raid Cynthia's house. It's unbelievable that this is true, but Jones doesn't hold back with the fetishes and stuff Cynthia's clients want. Walters is great as always, and there's some genuinely funny moments in this, the film was delayed due to a legal case involving the real Cynthia Payne. It's a shame Jones didn't direct more films, as he was very talented, and he could have gone on to greater things. 3.5/5

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The Personal History of David Copperfield (2019), written and directed by Armando Iannucci (In The Loop (2009) and The Death of Stalin (2017)), and adapted from Charles Dickens' 1850 book of the same name, this is a very different and more multi-cultural take on the classic tale, and while previous adaptations have been straight faced, this one ups the comedy factor. David Copperfield (Dev Patel) from birth into early adult hood, from living with his mother Clara (Morfydd Clark), who marries the cruel Mr Murdstone (Darren Boyd) who sends David to work in his workhouse. David lodges with the wheeler-dealer Mr. Micawber (Peter Capaldi). After his mother dies, David escapes the workhouse, and tracks down his wealthy aunt Betsey Trotwood (Tilda Swinton) who lives in the country with her lodger, the eccentric Mr Dick (Hugh Laurie). After that, David finds employment as a law clerk working for Mr Wickfield (Benedict Wong) and he wants to marry Wickfield's daughter Agnes (Rosalind Eleazar), but David then encounters the scheming Uriah Heep (Ben Whishaw), who frames David for fraud. Adapting a 600+ page book into a 2 hour film was always going to be tricky, but Iannucci succeeds, by mining the essence of Dickens' book, the language and characters, and while it does fly by a little too fast and furious. But, it's worth it for it's massive cast, Patel makes a great Copperfield, while Capaldi, Swinton, Laurie and Whishaw steal the scenes they're in. 4/5

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The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018), after nearly 30 years of planning, false starts, abandoned productions and lawsuits. Terry Gilliam's long awaited take on Cervantes' fabled book finally comes to cinemas. Has it been worth the wait? Definitely, this film nearly killed Gilliam, and he was determined to make it worth the damn wait, and it's imagination and heart shine through. Disillusioned director Toby Grisoni (Adam Driver) is making a commercial out in Spain, based on Don Quixote. After receiving a DVD of his student film based on Quixote, Toby drives out to the location where he made it, only to find the old man who played Quixote (Jonathan Pryce) now believes he IS Quixote and he thinks Toby is his noble squire Sancho Panza. Despite Toby's efforts to snap Quixote out of this, they end up in trouble with the police, a local immigrant smuggling gang and a nasty Russian oligarch Alexei Miiskin (Jordi Mollà). Toby has troubles of his own, having nearly been caught in a compromising situation with Jacqui (Olga Kurylenko), the wife of Toby's Boss (Stellan Skarsgård), and Toby has trouble with Angelica (Joana Ribeiro), who was in Toby's original film. Despite the low budget this was made on, Gilliam thrives and is able to get the best out of his cast, and has fun along the way, and it's about the power of imagination and an ode to the dreamers who never give up, and find escapism in doing that. It's scrappy and messy, but in the best possible way. You won't see a better film this year. 5/5

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A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, directed by Marielle Heller (The Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015) and Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018)), and inspired by the 1998 Esquire article "Can You Say ... Hero?" by Tom Junod, this is a very moving and emotional biopic about an American national treasure, and how we can still learn from his kindness and wisdom even now. In 1998, journalist Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys), who cynicism is evident in his writing, is asked by his editor Ellen (Christine Lahti) to write a piece about children's television presenter Fred Rogers (Tom Hanks) in a piece about Heroes. But, Vogel is reluctant as he feels the subject is beneath him. He goes to Pittsburgh to meet Rogers, whose friendly persona on screen Vogel wants to unmask as an act. But, Vogel quickly finds out it isn't an act, Rogers is always like this. But, when Rogers finds out Vogel has trouble in his life, like rebuffing his estranged father Jerry (Chris Cooper), and he's also become a father too with wife Andrea (Susan Kelechi Watson). Rogers wants to help Vogel reconnect with his father and stop him being cynical. It's a film about acceptance and understanding, but without descending into sappiness or schmaltz. Hanks is brilliant as Rogers, and captures his mannerisms and persona down perfectly. It's a film we need right now too, we need to talk rather than keeping things bottled up, we never got Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood over here, but we definitely should have. 4/5

The Lighthouse (2019), co-written and directed by Robert Eggers (The Witch (2015)), this is a dark, low-budget psychological horror film done in black and white and photographed in a nearly square 1.19:1 aspect ratio by Jarin Blaschke. It's a very dark and creepy film, with two engaging leads front and centre, but it's also surreal and disturbing to watch. Sometime in the late 19th Century off the coast of New England, Ephraim Winslow (Robert Pattinson) agrees to a 4 week contract as a lighthouse keeper alongside seasoned professional Thomas Wake (Willem Dafoe). Wake tells Winslow not to go up to the lantern room, as that's his job, and he has Winslow doing most of the taxing work, like whitewashing the lighthouse, refuelling the light and emptying the chamber pots. But, Winslow ends up having bad dreams about a mermaid, and he gets attacked by a one eyed seagull. Then the weather changes, a massive storm hits the island, as a result the relief doesn't come, rations are starting to run low and Winslow demands to know the truth about what Wake does in the lantern room. It's a slow-burning horror film, where it's the mood and atmosphere are what make it scary. Pattinson and Dafoe spark off each other brilliantly as two equally nasty pieces of work, and you can definitely see Pattinson maturing as an actor here. It's mood and tone might test the patience of some, but stick with it, as you won't see another film like this anytime soon. 4/5

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Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), the Monty Python team made their first film with And Now For Something Completely Different (1971), a best-off film where they had no creative control. Now they wanted to do one where they had 100% control, this insane spoof of the Legend of King Arthur, done on a miniscule budget but with a perfect script. King Arthur (Graham Chapman) and his servant Patsy (Terry Gilliam) ride the land of England looking for Knights to join his court at Camelot, eventually they gather together Sir Bedevere (Terry Jones), Sir Launcelot (John Cleese), Sir Galahad (Michael Palin) and Sir Robin (Eric Idle). Then, they are charged by God to find the Holy Grail, which seems like it'll be easy, but Arthur and his Knights soon get more than they bargained for, facing perils like the French Knights, a killer rabbit, The Knights Who Say Ni and the sirens at Castle Anthrax. It was a nightmarish shoot, with directors Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones clashing over the look and tone of the film, bad weather in Scotland and a mutinous cast and crew, but against all the odds, they managed to get a brilliant film made, and a hilarious one too, with surreal humour, brilliant visuals and the best trolling-your-audience ending of all time. 5/5

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Not seen Don Quixote yet but I knew you'd like it!

Gimli The Avenger wrote:

Not seen Don Quixote yet but I knew you'd like it!  

I went all the way out to Bradford to see it, just before lockdown kicked in, so I'm pleased about that!

I'll be in the queue for a blu ray release, hopefully a decent one.

Gimli The Avenger wrote:

I'll be in the queue for a blu ray release, hopefully a decent one.

It's out in September.

And Then There Were None (1974), based on Agatha Christie's 1939 novel of the same name, and directed by Peter Collinson, (Up The Junction (1968) and The Italian Job (1969)), this version of Christie's novel is basically a remake of one that writer/producer Harry Alan Towers worked on in 1965, it's got a big international cast, but it's still suspenseful. In Iran, a party of people are flown out to a remote hotel in the desert, they consist of entertainer Michel Raven (Charles Aznavour), actress Ilona Morgan (Stéphane Audran) secretary Vera Clyde (Elke Sommer), policeman Wilhelm Blore (Gert Fröbe), Dr. Armstong (Herbert Lom), businessman Hugh Lombard (Oliver Reed), judge Arthur Cannon (Richard Attenborough), General André Salvé (Adolfo Celi), and servants Elsa Martino (Maria Rohm) and Otto Martino (Alberto de Mendoza), they've all been brought together by the mysterious U.N. Owen (Orson Welles). As it turns out, they've all have skeletons in their closets, and they've all committed various crimes and misdemeanors in the past, then the guests all start being murdered one by one. It's well made, and the locations in Iran are stunning, and while you've seen this sort of thing before in other adaptations, this has a certainly has an odd quality about it, maybe it's the foreign setting. and it has a very dreamlike quality to it and it's worth it to see the big international cast together. 4/5

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The Legend of Hell House (1973), directed by John Hough (Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry (1974) and Escape to Witch Mountain (1975)), and adapted by Richard Matheson from his own 1971 novel. This is a genuinely horrific and creepy film, and it's basically a 1970's variation of those Paranormal Activity films, only done better, with some good horrific moments. Set at Belasco House, which has been haunted by various spirits and is cursed by it's previous owner, who was a notorious murderer. Going to the house are physicist Dr. Lionel Barrett (Clive Revill) and his wife, Ann (Gayle Hunnicutt ), as well as two mediums Florence Tanner (Pamela Franklin) and physical medium Benjamin Franklin Fischer (Roddy McDowall), who was the only survivor of an investigation conducted 20 years before at Belasco House. They're all to spend a week at the house, completely isolated with no outside help, initially Dr. Barrett is scornful of such activity, believing there's an explanation for everything, but then there's a few unexplained activities and the guests start dyings. It's a by the numbers horror film, but it's a well made one and it has good pedigree behind it, with Matheson as writer, and it was produced by former American International head James H. Nicholson, who sadly died while this was in post-production. But, it's got an uncharacteristic electronic soundtrack done by Delia Derbyshire of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. 4/5

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Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020), after the lacklustre critical reception to Suicide Squad (2016), Warner Bros. and DC still went ahead with this spin-off centred around Harley Quinn. directed by Cathy Yan (Dead Pigs (2018)), this is a very female take on the likes of Deadpool (2016)), it's probably the film Suicide Squad should have been. Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) has now split up from the Joker, and she tries to rebuild her life with help from Taiwanese restaurant owner Doc (Dana Lee), but she soon ends up on the wrong side of notorious crime lord Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor), and Harley soon get mixed up with burlesque singer Dinah Lance (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), GCPD Detective Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez), crossbow killer Helena Bertinelli (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and pickpocket Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco). All of whom are connected to Sionis in one way or another, and there's a stash of stolen diamonds that Sionis wants but Cain has swallowed, and Harley is the one who ends up bringing these women together. It's a very daft film, like Suicide Squad, there's so much going on it's hard to keep track at first, but they've lightened the tone, and there was no last minute changes that hurt the quality of the film. There are some good moments throughout and you can tell everyone is having fun. It could have been more focuses and less complicated though. 3/5

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Sonic the Hedgehog (2020), based on the popular Sega game, at first, this looked like it was going to be a disaster, as previous computer game adaptations like Super Mario Bros. (1993) and Street Fighter (1994) went awry. But the makers here sweated blood to make this work, even delaying the film after Sonic's first look didn't go down well. Thankfully it works. Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz), is an extraterrestrial blue hedgehog who can run at supersonic speeds, comes to Earth after escaping an army of echidnas. 10 years later, Sonic lives in Green Hills, Montana, but wants to make a friend. He admires the local sheriff Tom Wachowski (James Marsden), but Tom is set to move away to San Francisco. However, when Sonic's speed causes a blackout all across the Pacific Northwest, the Government call in eccentric scientific genius Doctor Robotnik (Jim Carrey) to find the cause of it. Sonic ends up going to Tom for help, and the two end up the run from Robotnik and his robotic army, but all Tom wants is a quiet life and to move away to San Francisco. Sonic takes a page from what made Detective Pikachu a success, being a buddy movie, and fleshes out it's characters. But Jim Carrey absolutely steals the film, doing his mid-90's schitck that made him a megastar, and it works. But, it's a film the whole family can enjoy, it's got some good jokes and set pieces, and this is how video games should be adapted. 4/5

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Greed (2019), written and directed by Michael Winterbottom (24 Hour Party People (2002) and A Cock and Bull Story (2005)), this is a comically dark satire, ever so partially based on Arcadia Group chairman Sir Philip Green and his dodgy financial practices, it's a shocking film that uses a thinly veiled anti-hero to hammer home some shocking truths about business. Sir Richard McCreadie, a self-made billionaire and high-street fashion mogul who rose to power in the 1970's and 80's, taking advantage of tax avoidance and asset stripping. With his 60th Birthday approaching, McCreadie looks to throw a lavish Gladiator themed party on the Greek island of Mykonos. He's just come away from a government hearing which has seriously damaged his reputation, and he's got a documentary film crew led by Nick (David Mitchell), which has revealed a lot about McCreadie than Nick would have liked, such as where McCreadie's money really is and the shocking conditions of the sweatshops where his clothing brands are manufactured, it's all set to come to a head, and it does. It's a very good film, and it scratches the surface of the dodgy practices that people like Green get up to, but it doesn't go deep enough, you see the consequences of McCreadie's asset-stripping and cost-cutting, but it's very fleeting. You get the impression there's a longer cut out there, that goes into more detail and goes under the surface of people like this. 3.5/5

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Parasite (2019), the little South Korean film that could and eventually made history, written, produced and directed by Bong Joon-ho (The Host (2006), Snowpiercer (2013) and Okja (2017)), this is a delicious black comedy that plays like the best episode of Tales of the Unexpected. There's so many twists and turns here, it's infectiously entertaining. The Kim family, father Ki-taek (Song Kang-ho), mother Chung-sook (Jang Hye-jin), daughter Ki-jung (Park So-dam) and son Ki-woo (Choi Woo-shik) live in a small semi-basement apartment in Seoul, and are struggling to make ends meet. After a chance encounter, Ki-woo lies his way into becoming an English tutor for the Park family. Impressed that the Park family have so much money and live in paradise, Ki-woo comes up with a plan so that the Kim family recommends one another as unrelated and highly qualified workers to take over as servants of the Parks. It works, and they work their way into wealth, but the house holds a dark secret, that one of the previous servants knows about. It's a very original film, and it mostly tackles class culture, which seems to be a big issue in South Korea. But, once the big reveal comes into play, the film shifts gear and becomes suspenseful but in a humourous, uncomfortable way. But you can see why it's popular, it's success proves there's audiences for original films and foreign language films too. 5/5

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