A Year in Film: June 2020

I can’t believe that David and I have watched 16 films in June! That’s a record in this A Year in Film series! Perhaps not having Final Fantasy VII Remake to play has impacted on the number of films watched? I have completed the game platinum style and now eagerly awaiting when the next installment will be, (I won’t hold my breath). I have to say when I finished the game I was a little sad as it was only a fraction of the original story. Though David has been playing his GTA5, we’ve still had many evenings free, hence the high film count, however some films were better than others.

What films have you seen this month?

Alien ✩✩✩

The crew of a spacecraft, Nostromo, intercept a distress signal from a planet and set out to investigate it. However, to their horror, they are attacked by an alien which later invades their ship.

As a creature of horror, the alien is my all time favourite design, facehuggers included. Though made in 1979 the claustrophobic tension on the Nostromo, of its crew awaiting the appearance of a certain alien, makes this film just as watchable today as it was when it was released. Somehow I had only seen clips of this movie. There are many parallels with this film and the more recent offering of Prometheus which is a prequel to the Alien films.

Alien

Aliens

Aliens ✩✩✩

Ellen Ripley is sent back to the planet LV-426 to establish contact with a terraforming colony. Once there, she encounters the Alien Queen and her offspring and has to fight them to survive.

A much more shoot ’em up, action film in relation to its predecessor, Alien. However at two and a half hours long, it felt never ending. A decent venture into the realm of the alien though.

Dawn of the Dead ✩✩✩

Survivors of an epidemic which causes the infected to turn into flesh-eating zombies take refuge in a shopping mall. In addition to battling the undead, they also have to tackle problems from within.

One of the better zombie films made, and one that can be watched time and time again. I’d recommend a watch if you like gore.

Dawn of the Dead

Birdman

Birdman ✩✩✩

Riggan Thomson, a fading cinema superhero, plans to resurrect his career with a passionate Broadway production. However, during rehearsals, his co-star is injured forcing him to hire a new actor.

I’d heard this film being talked about during awards season but hadn’t got round to watching it until now. The film is presented in a continuous shot and is done relatively well. The cast, starring Michael Keaton and Edward Norton are the best things about the movie!

Fences ✩✩

Troy, an African-American man who once longed to be a baseball player, misses the opportunity due to racism. A dejected man, he takes out his frustration on his loved ones and ruins his son’s future.

I had an adverse reaction to Denzel Washington’s character in this film. Yes, the man was disillusioned with life but I found it heinous that he scuppered the future of his son and then expected his wife to clean up after his misdemeanors. Wasn’t my favourite film of Washington.

Fences

Train to Busan

Train to Busan ✩✩✩✩

Seok-woo and his daughter are on a train to Busan on the latter’s birthday to see his wife. However, the journey turns into a nightmare when they are trapped amidst a zombie outbreak in South Korea.

I love this film! It’s one of the best zombie, apocalypse films I’ve seen. Even seeing it a few times, it never gets tired. What is your favourite zombie film?

Hereditary ✩✩

When the matriarch of the Graham family passes away, her daughter and grandchildren begin to unravel cryptic and increasingly terrifying secrets about their ancestry, trying to outrun the sinister fate they have inherited.

I’d had this film recommended to me by a few people. So one afternoon when David was working from home and I was at a loss at what to do I decided to settle down and watch it. I was slightly disappointed with the film. Though there was tension laced throughout the two hours, I wasn’t freaked out or surprised by the ending.

Have you been disappointed in a film you hoped had been better?

Hereditary

White Noise

White Noise ✩✩

An architect’s desire to speak with his wife from beyond the grave becomes an obsession with supernatural repercussions.

This 2005 supernatural film tries to be scary but has very few scares. Not one of the better scary movies made.

What’s your favouite scary movie?

In Time ✩✩✩

In a future where people stop aging at 25, but are engineered to live only one more year, having the means to buy your way out of the situation is a shot at immortal youth. Here, Will Salas finds himself accused of murder and on the run with a hostage – a connection that becomes an important part of the war against the system.

I remember watching this film when it came out in 2011. It shows a rather bleak world of the haves and have nots, with peoples’ time being currency and Timberlake’s character trying to upturn the establishment.

In Time

The men Who Stare at Goats

The Men Who Stare at Goats ✩✩✩

After his wife leaves him, Bob, a newspaper reporter, sets off to Kuwait to cover the ongoing war. He gets more than he bargains for when he meets Lyn Cassady, an ex-U.S. Army Special Forces operator.

A rather strange satire with Ewan McGreggor and George Clooney about the US military’s branching out into psychic abilities and the paranormal. I rather hoped it was a better film than it was.

RV ✩✩

Bob Munro and his dysfunctional family set out on a road trip to the Colorado Rockies. He decides to rent an RV for the vacation but things do not go as planned.

Stuck for something to watch, David clicked on this Robin Williams film from 2006. It was watchable but not of the usual calibre from Williams.

RV

The Interview

The Interview ✩✩

Dave Skylark and his producer Aaron Rapaport run the celebrity tabloid show “Skylark Tonight”. When they land an interview with a surprise fan, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, they are recruited by the CIA to assassinate him.

David follows an airline pilot on YouTube and this was a recommendation from him, thanks Kelsey!! The film stars Seth Rogan and James Franco and follows their OTT satire on US and North Korean politics.

The Contract ✩✩

A father and his son attempt to bring in an assassin to the authorities, but his dangerous associates have other plans.

Something different from Morgan Freeman who is a baddie in this film, however his onscreen presence doesn’t help with it’s rather pedestrian pace.

The Contract

Creepshow 2

Creepshow 2 ✩

Based on the EC comics of the 1950s, George A.Romero and Stephen King bring 3 tales of terror to the screen.

Oh dear! David just can’t get past the 1980’s when it comes to films. It may have been good for the day but in 2020 it was piss poor!

Radioactive ✩✩✩

A story of the scientific and romantic passions of Marie Sklodowska-Curie (Polish scientist) and Pierre Curie, and the reverberation of their discoveries throughout the 20th century.

I really enjoyed this film on Marie and Pierre Curie’s discovery of radioactive elements Radium and Polonium and of their impact for good or bad on human history.

Radioactive

Hot Air

Hot Air ✩✩✩

The life of the conservative radio host Lionel Macomb is completely turned upside down when his 16-year-old niece Tess suddenly shows up. The teenager questions everything he stands for and what he believes in.

Steve Coogan is an American radio chat show host with strong beliefs but when his niece shows up unexpectedly, it makes him question his life. It wasn’t a bad watch.

Have you seen any films recently that you have enjoyed or disliked? Any recommendations?

Thanks for reading and stay safe!

Christine x

A Year in Books 2018 – October to December

A Year in Books

Sorry this post is a bit late. I’m still trawling through the backlog of planned blogs for the end of 2018!

I aimed to read 40 books by the end of the year, and I can happily say I reached my target, by reading 41. Thanks to Laura at Circle of Pine Trees for creating the challenge. For 2019 I will keep the target at 40, which I think is a manageable figure. Do you fancy joining in?

Below, find reviews of the books I read in the final quarter of 2018. What books have you enjoyed this past year?

The Girl in the Spider’s Web – David Lagercrantz

I enjoyed the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy, so imagine my surprise when I found they had rekindled the series. It may be written by a different author but the same cast of characters feature. Although the plot is a slow burn the narrative soon picks up and races through to the end, leaving the reader breathless. I would have loved more Salander in the story but nonetheless it’s a good start to the continuation of the series.

Have you read the two new sequels? What were your impressions?

The Girl in the Spider’s Web David Lagercrantz

After You

After You – Jojo Moyes

I enjoyed Me Before You and even laughed/cried at the film. So I purchased the sequel After You. However the story was not as good as the original. It followed Louisa Clark coming to terms with life after Will. There was still moments of joviality interlaced with poignancy but it didn’t pack as much punch as the first book. I will probably read the third installment once it comes out in paperback.

Have you seen the film? Do you think it kept true to the novel?

The Comfort of Strangers – Ian McEwan

Why, why, why do I keep doing this to myself? I keep subjecting myself to the dull, banal writing of Ian McEwan! Again I was disappointed in yet another of his novels. I can’t recall much of the plot which I found rather vague. The third person narrative really detracts from the reader caring a jot about the characters and the horrors that happen to them. The plot, a couple holidaying abroad befriend a man who invites them back to his home where they meet his crippled wife. I had heard a radio adaption of this book in the 90’s which I found deeply unsettling. However the book I just found boring.

Perhaps you felt differently?

The Comfort of Strangers

The Road

The Road – Cormac McCarthy

The bad writing just continues I’m afraid with this depressing post apocalyptic novel. A film was also made starring Viggo Mortensen. If the film is anything like the book, then I’ll pass. The plot is of a father and his son travelling a road to the coast after the world has been decimated by some kind of cataclysm. Anguish and misery pour from this novel in floods. Reading scene after scene of human desperation in a ravaged world devoid of food and warmth is hard to stomach. The conclusion leaves the reader unsatisfied and I wonder if the ulterior motive of the author was to depress his audience? I was shocked to read that the book won a Pulitzer Prize!

Maybe you had a different experience of this novel?

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society – Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer

My choice of books were not going well this quarter. I decided to try another book that has been adapted for film and which again I’ve not seen. The issue I had with this novel was not the plot, which was rather twee but the language. I found that it seemed too modern for the 1950’s. The plot, a writer comes from London to Guernsey to research the German Occupation and in the process finds herself among a colourful cast of characters.

Have you read the book? Seen the film?

One Day in December

The Literary and Potato Pie Society

One Day in December – Josie Silver

I really wanted to like this book, I really did. The advertisement for the book kept popping up on my Instagram with rave reviews. So I downloaded a copy. The premise, a girl on a bus makes eye contact with a boy whom she looks haphazardly for over a year until she eventually meets him but there’s a catch. I won’t ruin the plot for you if you enjoy rom-coms but I felt rather bored with the characters and the sugary sweetness of it all.

Perhaps you felt differently if you’ve read this book?

The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye – David Lagercrantz

I seemed to get into this second sequel to the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy much quicker than the first. The characters were more detailed and the story I felt was much better than the first Lagercrantz uptake of the series. Salander featured much more and the plot was fast paced. Its not a patch on the Stieg Larsson originals but I enjoyed it none the less.

Have you read this book? What were your impressions?

I’m struggling to find books for 2019 that really grasp my interest. Have you any suggestions on books you think I would enjoy?

Thanks for visiting and happy reading!

Christine x