Toy Story 4

Year of Release:  2019
Director:  Josh Cooley
Screenplay:  Andrew Stanton and Stephany Folsom, story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Josh Cooley, Valerie LaPointe, Rashida Jones, Will McCormack, Martin Hynes and Stephany Folsom
Starring:  Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Annie Potts, Tony Hale, Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Madeleine McGraw, Christina Hendricks, Keanu Reeves
Running Time:  96 minutes
Genre:  Animation, comedy

Toys Woody (Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Allen) and their friends have been donated by former owner Andy, to a little girl named Bonnie (McGraw).  Increasingly neglected by Bonnie, Woody still accompanies her on her first day of kindergarten, and watches her fashions some items of garbage, into a bipedal spork that she calls "Forky" (Hale).  Like the other toys, Forky is alive, but believes himself to be trash.  Bonnie and her family head out on a road trip, with Woody constantly trying to stop Forky throwing himself into trash. Separated from Bonnie, her family and their friends, Woody tries to convince Forky of how much Bonnie loves him.  Trailing the family RV through a small town, Woody thinks that his friend Bo Peep (Potts) is in an antique store, however when they enter, they encounter the seemingly friendly Gabby Gabby (Hendricks), who nevertheless has her own agenda.

Released in 1995, the original Toy Story was groundbreaking as the first completely computer-animated feature film, but it was more than just a special effects showcase, being both funny and heartwarming.  Over the years, it has become a beloved franchise for both children and adults .  This outing manages to break the law of diminishing returns, being funny, action packed and surprisingly emotional, as well as being beautifully animated.  Fans of the series will enjoy being reacquainted with familiar characters as well as some delightful new faces.   It sticks to the formula of the previous films where the toys are separated and then have to be rescued by their friends.  Due to the size and fragility of the toys, the ordinary outside world becomes a hostile landscape with danger lurking around every corner.  The film also continues the philosophical themes of the series where the toys have to accept their nature and the transitory nature of their existence, where they invest so much love and loyalty in their owners, only to eventually be discarded as the child grows up.  While it is not as good as Toy Story 2 (1999) this is still a great family film which will appeal to both adults and children. 

Forky and Woody in Toy Story 4

Au revoir les enfants

Year of Release:  1987
Director:  Louis Malle
Screenplay:  Louis Malle
Starring:  Gaspard Manesse, Raphaël Fejtö, Philippe Morier-Genaurd, Francine Ranette
Running Time:  104 minutes
Genre:  Period drama

France, 1944:  The country is occupied by Nazi Germany, and Julien Quentin (Manesse) is a student at a Catholic boarding school in a small town.  The tedium of school life is soon interrupted by the arrival of three new boys, one of whom, the socially awkward Jean Bonnet (Fejtö) is in Julien's class and dormitory.  Jean soon becomes the target of bullying by the other pupils, and he and Julien dislike each other initially.  However, after some time, Julien becomes increasingly fascinated with the bright, but strange, Jean, and the two strike up a tentative but genuine friendship.  Julien eventually learns Jean's secret. His real name is Jean Kippelstein and he, and the other two boys, are Jewish, who have been granted asylum by the strict but compassionate priest who runs the school, to keep them safe from the Nazis.

This is an autobiographical film, detailing events from Louis Malle's own childhood in occupied France.  Julien Quentin stands in for the young Malle.  It's a beautifully made film, with great performances from the young cast.  The realities of the occupation are largely kept away from the students, who live their lives in the school largely protected form the daily realities of Nazis and their collaborators, until it literally knocks on their door.  It shows the banality of evil, and also everyday bravery and compassion in both active and passive resistance.  The conclusion however is quietly devastating.
The film features the film debut of Irène Jacob, who would later star in The Double Life of Veronique (1991) and Three Colours: Red (1994), in a small role as a piano teacher.  It also indirectly influenced Quentin Tarantino, while working as a clerk in a video store a co-worker had trouble pronouncing the title of the film and burst out with "I'm sick of these reservoir dogs!"

Raphaël Fejtö and Gaspard Manesse in Au revoir les enfants 
     

Nashville

Year of Release:  1975
Director:  Robert Altman
Screenplay:  Joan Tewkesbury
Starring:  Ned Beatty, Ronee Blakely, Keith Carradine, Geraldine Chaplin, Henry Gibson, Michael Murphy, Lily Tomlin
Running Time:  160 minutes
Genre: Comedy-drama

This film follows the numerous intersecting stories of a large group of people in Nashville, Tennessee, over a five day period in the run-up to a rally for a populist outsider candidate running for President.  Most of the characters are involved to a greater or lesser extent in the worlds of music or politics.

This is a long, sprawling, epic comedy-drama with about twenty-four main characters, an hour of musical numbers and a multitude of interlocking storylines.  The film was written by Joan Tewkesbury based on her own experiences of visiting Nashville, although as was often the case with Altman, much of the dialogue and many subplots were improvised on set.  The large ensemble cast is impressive, particularly Ronee Blakely as an emotionally fragile singer, Geraldine Chaplin as a chatty BBC Radio reporter, Henry Gibson as a politically ambitious Grand Ole Opry star and Gwen Wells as an ambitious but talentless aspiring singer.  It also features an early appearance by Jeff Goldblum as the silent "Tricycle Man", and Shelley Duvall as an eccentric groupie.  It is a film that is very much a product of it's time.  On the surface it is about Nashville, but really it is about where America was at politically and culturally in 1975, and scarily enough is still quite relevant today.  It does require a lot of attention, and the length, loose structure and lack of a single overarching story may be off-putting to some viewers, but it is very rewarding, which is funny, dramatic and sometimes moving.  It also has a great soundtrack. 

Ronee Blakely, Allen Garfield, Henry Gibson and Barbara Baxley welcome you to Nashville   
 

 

"Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982" by Cho Nam-Joo

Year of Publication:  2016
 Translator:  Jamie Chung
Number of Pages:  163
Genre:  fiction

Meet Kim Jiyoung, an ordinary woman living in South Korea with a husband and young daughter.  However Kim Jiyoung is exhibiting strange behaviour, adopting the personalities of women she has met in her life.  We flash back to her earliest years and see her life marked with constant everyday sexism and institutional misogyny.

A short but powerful book exploring everyday sexism and misogyny in modern-day Korea, but there is enough in here to resonate with women throughout the world.  Kim Jiyoung is born into a family that wanted a son instead of a daughter; she is tormented by a male classmate but is told that she should be flattered; she is threatened at a bus stop and made to feel that she is the problem; she is constantly overlooked for promotion at work; she gives up her life and career for motherhood and domesticity.  All of this is presented in stark, pitiless prose, bolstered by statistics from a variety of sources.
This book was a sensation on it's first publication in Korea, and was gifted to South Korea's president, Moon Jae-in. 
An important and powerful book, this will resonate with female readers, and should make male readers think about how we should be better.

The Invisible Man

Year of Release:  2020
Director:  Leigh Whannell
Screenplay:  Leigh Whannell, based on the novel The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells
Starring:  Elisabeth Moss, Aldis Hodge, Storm Reid, Harriet Dyer, Michael Dorman, Oliver Jackson-Cohen
Running Time:  124 minutes
Genre:  Science-fiction, horror, thriller

Cecilia Kass (Moss) escapes from her abusive, manipulative partner, scientist Adrian Griffin (Jackson-Cohen), and tries to start a new life.  When she learns that Griffin has killed himself, she finally feels able to move on.  Shortly afterwards, strange things start happening.  Cecilia soon becomes convinced that Griffin is not only still alive, but that he has somehow become invisible and is still tormenting her.

This was originally set up as part of Universal Studios' "Dark Universe" strand of inter-connected films based around their beloved classic monsters series.  However, after The Mummy (2017) flopped with audiences and critics, the "Dark Universe" was abandoned, and The Invisible Man has been retooled as a separate stand-alone film.  If you are a fan of the famous H.G. Wells novel or the 1933 James Whale film, then be warned that this film has little to nothing to do with either, aside form the central premise of a scientist named Griffin who becomes invisible.  The focus of the film is on Cecilia and how the invisible Griffin basically gaslights her. It starts slowly, but it is atmospheric, and there are some really good scares, with the camera taking Griffin's point of view and showing Cecilia often in the distance, framed in doorways, windows or hallways.  there are some effective, and well-staged action sequences that are pretty exciting.  Elisabeth Moss gives a strong performance as the terrorised Cecilia, and she has strong support from Aldis Hodge, as her policeman friend who aids her, and Storm Reid as his teenage daughter.  More of a thriller than a straightforward horror film, this is a classy slice of suspense, with some contemporary relevance.

Elisabeth Moss and, possibly, The Invisible Man 

This Sporting Life

Year of Release:  1963
Director:  Lindsay Anderson
Screenplay:  David Storey, based on the novel This Sporting Life by David Storey
Starring:  Richard Harris, Rachel Roberts, Alan Badel, William Hartnell
Running Time:  134 minutes
Genre:  Drama

Set in the English town of Wakefield, the film concerns Frank Machin (Harris), an angry coal miner, whose natural aggression leads to him being recruited by the local rugby league club, and he soon becomes something of a local hero.  However Machin's violent streak causes havoc with his life off the playing field, particularly in his turbulent relationship with brittle widow Margaret (Roberts), who also happens to be his landlady.

This is a raw and powerful film, which marked the feature film debut of director Lindsay Anderson and the first starring role for Richard Harris.  Based on the prize-winning novel by former rugby league player David Storey, who also wrote the screenplay, this is part of the so-called "kitchen sink" films of the 1950s and 60s, which attempted social realism, tackling the lives of ordinary, working-class Britons, with cynical, disillusioned "angry young men" protagonists and tackling topics that for the time were quite controversial.  The film is notable for the visceral rugby scenes, in which Anderson gets his camera right among the player, and uses a fast paced editing style and some slow-motion sequences.  Richard Harris turns in a fantastic performance as the brutal Frank Machin, a burly, angry man ready to lash out at a moment's notice, physically or verbally, even in his quieter moments the threat of violence is never far away.  It's an innate part of him, that serves him well as a rugby player, and makes him a star, but which poisons everyone and everything around him.  Rachel Roberts gives a heartbreaking performance as the damaged Margaret, grieving for her husband and bringing up two children on her own, she views Machin with a mix of fear and contempt, even if she cares about him, she can't allow herself to open up to him.  The cast also includes the first Doctor Who William Hartnell, as a seedy talent scout.

Rachel Roberts and Richard Harris in This Sporting Life