Solaris

 And this week's Friday night movie has been... Solaris!

Original image located here. Accessed 30th May 2025

Here we are folks: The classic 1972 Soviet movie that was intended to be a response to 2001: A Space Odyssey but has since become something of a classic in it's own right. Certainly I knew of this film and I had seen the remake that starred George Clooney so what do I make of this?

It's long that's what. Nearly three hours and it comes across as something of an endurance test, with some pointless scenes and a pace that moves faster than a molasses flood. I will give credit to the director Andrei Tarkovsk for demanding that the audience approach the movie on his own terms but that is still quite a demand.

Still, I will give credit for this movie for it's ideas and the hypnotic approach. And the final scene is indeed one I never saw coming. 

Singin' in the Rain

 And this week's Friday night movie has been... Singin' in the Rain!

Original image located here. Accessed 23rd May 2025

Last year I watched quite a few musicals - more than I would regularly watch in a year (i.e. more than zero). So I may as well go the whole hog and go for the big one. Sure we all know the titular song but what of the movie attached to it?

Have you ever seen the kind of person who can enter a room full of people and, through a combination of personality and charisma, win over everyone in said room with little to no effort? That's what this movie is. The songs are catchy, the dancing sequences are insane, the humour hasn't aged at all, and exuberance just leaps out of the screen. 

Not much else to say except that it seems that this is an eternal classic for a damn good reason. 

The Wrestler

And this week's Friday night movie has been... The Wrestler!

Original image located here. Accessed 16th May 2025

A lot has been said about this movie, with it being the resurrection of Mickey Rourke's career and being one of the best movies of the 2000s. So it therefore becomes difficult to bring something new to the table.
Personally I enjoyed it and think the approach of making this movie comparable to a documentary worked wonders. Rourke is in top form and credit is due to taking wrestling seriously. 

So is this movie the evil cousin of Rocky and Raging Bull? Well that's one way of putting it. But personally I find it fitting that this movie came out the same year as Iron Man: Both movies

• star an actor who had fallen out of favour, 
• delivering a performance that effectively breathes new life to their career 
• in which they play someone who mirrors their personal life.  

But ultimately this wasn't an easy watch so next week I think I might watch something more fun *checks schedule*....Oh hello.....

Kneecap

 And this week's Friday night movie has been... Kneecap!

Original image located here. Accessed 9th May 2025

 Behold: A movie I wouldn't have heard about had it not been for a friend who told me about it.

So what we have here is a bio on Northern Irish hiphop act Kneecap. It has the band members playing themselves and shows their rise to fame along with the trials and tribulations they go through. Standard music bio pic right?

Wrong! Yes this genre can very easily fall into formula but this movie wisely avoids it. Part of what makes it unique is that it frames to band's story alongside that of Northern Irish identity: defying the British and preserving both the language and the culture. 
It also helps that this movie takes the approach of being grimy, anarchic, playful, creative and funny. 
So props to this movie for not only breaking step from formula and running in the opposite direction.

Also, does anyone think that Detective Ellis may join the ranks of cinema's most memorable villains?

Operation Filmmaker

 And this week's Friday night movie has been... Operation Filmmaker!

Original image located here. Accessed 2nd May 2025

Here we are with another documentary that started in direction but ended up in a completely different one.
In 2003 during the War on Iraq, a young man, Muthana Mohmed, was caught on camera lamenting how his aspiring film career had been ruined: First by the then current regime and then by the US Armed Forces. This caught the attention of Liev Schreiber who then sought Muthana out and invited to take part in a film Schrieber was making (Everything is Illuminated) as an intern. 
Surely this is a one-in-a-million success story but this documentary is more about what happened next.

Needless to say it isn't pretty: What follows is Muthana's misadventures navigating the world of filmmaking: He doesn't do the work he is assigned, makes no effort to build connections and network, spends quite a lot of time partying, bounces from film-set to film-set, is warned by his countrymen to not return to Iraq, relies on the goodwill by the people around him, acts entitled, keeps adding to his visa, and tries to get into film school.

Yet at the same time, there is another narrative going on at the same time: that of the people around Muthana. They are relying on the good intentions that got him out of Iraq and are offering no help whatsoever. Indeed, it is telling that, in the last twenty minutes, Muthana turns on the people filming him and lashes out at them. 

So who is the bad guy here? It's unclear that's for sure but that's what makes this documentary so compelling. Uncomfortable viewing? Damn straight but it's hardly dull.

Where Eagles Dare

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Where Eagles Dare!

Original image located here. Accessed 25th April 2025

Should I be watching a war movie on Anzac Day? That's a very good question. Nevertheless, I have been wanting to see this for a long time so now is as good a time as any. I guess.

But no matter: This was gripping stuff, following a commando unit on a rescue mission. Richard Burton is certainly a presence and Clint Eastwood is effectively carrying over his Man With No Name persona into a different setting. The set pieces are great and there's some great actions scenes - not least that nail-biting sequence on the cable car. And there is some intrigue that one wouldn't find in a war movie - surprising but welcome. 

I've heard some comments comparing this to a James Bond movie but hey, whatever works. After all, anyone can come up with a war setting but it takes a visionary to do something different with it.

Tarzan

  And this week's Friday night movie has been... Tarzan!

Original image located here. Accessed 18th April 2025

I never saw Tarzan - or Mulan for that matter - when it was originally in theatres. At that time I was in college and my interests were being directed elsewhere. Furthermore to watch a Disney animated film back then was, in my mind, dismissed as 'kid's stuff'. 
But now, I'm an adult and I see no reason to care any more - especially as I continue to lurch through middle age. In addition, I have heard some good things about Tarzan so maybe it's time to give this a look with fresh eyes. 

So does this count among the Disney Renaissance? I have spoken previously about the post-Renaissance years, which is now recognised as the Experimental years, but is there an overlap between the two? Indeed, one could make the argument that the Experimental years began post-Lion King as those have not had the widespread recognition comparable to Little Mermaid/Beauty and the Beast/Aladdin/Lion King.

All right, enough delaying: This movie was fantastic. It wasn't just the astonishing animation, but a lot of stand out moments: The soundtrack courtesy of one Phil Collins. The theme of family. The gorgeous artwork. But the real star is Jane: She was a great character in her expressive, adorkable, probably-inspired-by-Jane-Goodall glory - helped immeasurably by the voice acting of Minnie Driver. And seeing her relationship with Tarzan progress is one worth following. 

I have heard that Tarzan himself functions as an analogy for people with Autism. Certainly I can see it and yes it does seem plausible, what with him being socially awkward and how he is treated by the people around him. Having said that, maybe I should've watched this during it's original theatre run as it could've helped...

Anywho, this was great stuff and yes, I think this could easily stand amongst Disney's best.

Mr Peabody and Sherman

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Mr Peabody and Sherman!

Original image located here. Accessed 11th April 2025

I watched a lot of Rocky and Bullwinkle when I was a kid. So I was already familiar with these characters and their shtick. Needless to say, I was perplexed to see that someone decided that these two should have their own full-length feature. I mean, is this the type of thing that will sell to the kids of the 2010s, let alone anyone who was a kid in the 1950s?

So it seems that I needn't have worried: This was hilarious with some real laugh-out-loud jokes, snappy dialogue, some clever use of visuals, gags that are anything but archaic, and some actual heart - not to mention various allusions to the source material. It is like that the makers realised that this wasn't that big a property so they had the freedom to do whatever they wanted - and so they ran with that.

Like I said I had no idea who green-lit this but I never would've guessed it produced such a gem. 

The Queen of Versailles

And this week's Friday night movie has been... The Queen of Versailles!

Original image located here. Accessed 4th April 2025

It seems this year that I have been, once a month, watching a documentary, that started in one direction but ended up in a completely different direction. So lets keep that particular train going.

This documentary is a fascinating one as it tells a familiar story: A couple are intent on building their dream house but, due to meddling from the bank, they are forced to abandon this plan and settle for something smaller. So what makes this story different? The couple in question are an excessively wealthy businessman and his trophy wife: David and Jackie Siegel. 

So whilst this documentary starts with their original plan - a monumental mansion inspired by the Palace of Versailles - what happens next has such plans going belly-up with the financial crash of 2008 and these two settling for something lesser.
Now given that the super wealthy are hardly flavour of the month material at the moment, is this documentary condemning or sympathetic? The answer is both. Yes this couple make some poor spending decisions (especially Jackie), yes they have an oblivious approach to their situation, and yes they are effectively living in their own super-wealthy bubble. But at the same time, they are facing a lot of problems that the rest of us will face: limited funds, struggling to pay off debts and longing for a financial breakthrough. 

Make no mistake: These people are pretty much awful people who do dumb things and have a limited view of the world. And yet seeing them humbled in such a manner one can't help but feel sense of sympathy.
Maybe not a lot but its there.

The Snow Queen

  And this week's Friday night movie has been... The Snow Queen!

Original image located here. Accessed 28th March 2025

I have thrown plenty of curveballs on this blog but this must be the biggest one yet: A Soviet animated feature from 1957. An odd choice certainly but this film is noteworthy as it famously inspired Japanese anime titan Hayao Miyazaki and remains one of his favourite films.

At first glance one would think this was Frozen's dour Russian cousin but it isn't. Instead it follows the source material very closely.
But really the main selling point of this movie would be the visuals. The art direction is pretty good by itself and the animation quality still holds up decades later. But it is the various animation tricks and techniques that really sell this movie. 
Granted this is more an art movie than a Disney flick but that's what makes it so unique.

Treasure Planet

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Treasure Planet!

Original image located here. Accessed 21st March 2025

And so here we go again with Disney's Post-Renaissance era. That weird period where they eschewed the musicals in favour of doing some more experimental works, with the results being polarising at best. And yet, with the passage of time, some entrants of this period are looked favourably, with some praising them for both the quality and Disney's willingness to take risks.

I do recall when Treasure Planet was originally released, being greeted with both bewilderment and a weak showing at the box office. But in the years since, many people have come around to it. So what do I make of this?

Well, this is an adaptation of Treasure Island so the source material is unbeatable. As such a lot rides on what is done with it. 

And I have to say this movie is indeed inventive: the visuals are stunning, showing every cent of the large budget. The creativity is great and designs are staggering. And it's also pleasing to see a straight-up adventure movie coming from Disney - but given the source material that is expected. 

It is certainly an odd move to reskin Treasure Island in a sci-fi setting but, against the odds, it works. 

Also casting Emma Thompson as Amelia was a master-stroke as she sounds like she's having the time of her life.

Vernon: Florida

 And this week's Friday night movie has been... Vernon Florida!

Original image located here. Accessed 14th March 2025

I am attracted to any movie that has a fascinating backstory behind it and the one attached to this documentary is a doozy.
Documentarian Errol Morris went to Vernon, Florida to do a feature based on a story he heard about how local residents were cutting off body parts for an insurance scam. However this original idea had to be abandoned due to Morris receiving multiple death threats. So, as a Plan B, Morris instead made a documentary about some of the eccentric individuals that make up the town.

 As mentioned above this is exactly what it is: Some residents of a southern town talking about their lives and what they  think. It may sound dull but what makes it compelling isn't just these people's various eccentricities but their own insights thereby conveying their philosophies and experiences. Also noteworthy is that I gather this will be the closest we will ever get to see Southern people on the screen: a rarely seen people showing them as they are and having speak in their own voice. 

So in it's own roundabout way, this is a very human documentary. 
Truly a case of building something out of when one's original plan falls though....

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves!

Original image located here. Accessed 7th March 2025

Well I've been putting this one off long enough. I was reluctant to see this one as I still have the scars from seeing the previous efforts that bore the DnD brand. But I did hear that this latest one was actually really good. Certainly that sounds like an against the odds victory but it was enough to grab my interest.

I guess comparisons with the Guardians of the Galaxy movies are hard to avoid: It's not just the idea of taking an IP that shouldn't work and actually making it work - it's also ramping up the comedy, presenting absurd situation after absurd situation, and having an group of personalities bouncing off one another. However it is the latter that should make this a natural fit as that's what a DnD session is: Multiple players working off on another as they build a narrative. 
And the makers behind this realised this and ran with it. And that I found myself enjoying this a lot confirms the wiseness of such a decision. Certainly I could see various instances that hint towards the mechanics and spirit of DnD but the whole thing was delivered with humour, cast interplay, creativity and action that anyone not familiar with this tentpole of geekiness could get on board. 
Also props to Hugh Grant who looks like he was having a lot of fun.