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Victoria & Abdul (2017)
Beautifully filmed, light hearted look at a serious issue
An elderly Queen Victoria battles to keep an affable Indian clerk as her "Munshi", or teacher.
Judy Dench gives another perfect performance as Queen Victoria- the first being 1997's Mrs Brown for which she received an Oscar nomination. Bollywood star Ali Fazal is completely believable as the young foreigner who brings light and laughter back into her life, and Eddie Izzard is amazing as the scheming Bertie, Prince of Wales.
Stephen Frears directs this masterfully with beautiful cinematography, but I found the movie a little unsatisfying in that a very political issue- that of racism and exclusion- was a little downplayed.
I would have liked to have seen how the changes of the Industrial Revolution had contributed to this xenophobia, and how our modern equivalent- whether you want to call it automation, the robot revolution, or just climate change- may be contributing to similar political movements today. Will we be able to explain Brexit, Trump's presidency, and the anti-immigration policies of Australia for instance, better in 100 years than we do now, do you think?
So in summary, a good movie, not great, as it could have been had it been a little braver.
American Made (2017)
Awesome! Tom Cruise's best movie yet
Lured by adventure and bucket loads of cash, a gutsy TWA pilot takes on flight operations for both the CIA and a Columbian drug cartel.
In this pacey action film, Tom Cruise pulls off the ultimate feat of an A List actor- he disappears in the role of Barry Seale, ace pilot, lover of risk, dedicated husband and father, and player of games with some pretty shady people. It's a fun role, but deadly serious, and Cruise gets the tone just right.
The director Doug Liman weaves his magic to recreate the effect of being there- in the naive eighties, in the middle of all the fun of flying and unexpected opportunity, with the cautionary tale of Barry Seal a window into the world of corruption we only only saw glimpses of at the time. My only complaint was that third act dragged a little, but it's a real life story, so what can you do.
Full credit to the excellent Domnhall Gleeson as the CIA spy who lures Barry into the web, he's one to watch in the future.
And kudos to Cruise who apparently did his own stunts. So go see it! Take some popcorn & put some bums on seats!
Mountain (2017)
An immersive meditation on the grandeur and danger of nature
A gifted director and cinematographer film their buddies free climbing El Capitan at Yosemite and the like, accompanied by the sublime arrangements of a world class chamber orchestra.
We were lucky enough to catch this in live performance after skiing for the day in the Australian Alps, and I honestly thought we'd be asleep within ten minutes.... but it was riveting. The director Jennifer Peedom brings a wonderfully poetic sensitivity to put the viewer in the picture, as if you are there... awestruck by the majesty of some of the world's wildest places, and pumped by the adrenaline of the risks of personal conquest.
William Dafoe presents a compelling narrative by travel writer Robert Macfarlane with a gravelly charm, and there, in the background, is Richard Tognetti and the Australian Chamber Orchestra, casting a spell with their beautiful harmonies...when you go and see this at the cinema, if you can bear it, close your eyes during Vivaldi's Four Seasons, and listen to Tognetti's violin soar....you won't be disappointed.
Jasper Jones (2017)
Moving and relevant
When a bookish teenager helps solve a mystery death to avoid his aboriginal friend being blamed, he digs deep to find the courage to sort out the mess of his family and friends' lives.
Set in a rural 1960s town, a young Levi Miller takes a worthy turn at a Mark Twain style hero who, sustained by a childhood wonder about important things like Batman's superpowers, is caught up in a tragedy which uncovers far more about the dark nature of people than any child should know. Toni Collete as a depressed mother and Hugo Weaving as a the town's recluse give the story emotional depth, and director Rachel Perkin brings out the simmering malevolence in an everyday setting.
Based on a contemporary novel, the casual racism and intolerance is particularly relevant to our times. Worth seeing for- Levi Miller & Hugo Weaving. 8/10
The Tree of Life (2011)
What's not to get
There are a handful of truly great directors- Kubrick, Tarkovskiy, and now Terence Malick- who forget about narrative and the audience's need for answers, and make movies that are simply the most amazing visual and emotional meditations on a theme. Let's be honest, on first viewing, The Tree of Life doesn't make any sense, but Kubrick's 2001, a Space Odyssey didn't make any sense, either, along with Tarkovskiy's Solaris. I predict that in a few years the Tree of Life will make it onto everyone's top 100 movies of all time, maybe even top ten... there has to be a place in our hearts I think for directors who make movies about the wonder of cinema, and in Malick's case, the wonder of childhood, and life, and love.