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A Night to Remember (1958)
About Ronald Allen
Just to answer the question from the previous review.. only Kenneth More gets star billing - all of the rest of the cast are listed (in two separate groups) by alphabetical order of surname, and Ronald Allen is first alphabetically in the first group.
More's character Lightoller is portrayed sympathetically in this film, but arguably he made a big mistake in not filling the lifeboats while they were on deck because he feared - erroneously - that the boats might break if completely filled before they were floating. The officer filling the boats on the other side didn't make this mistake.
A great, moving film full of historical detail. I've been watching it via The Internet Archive, which is a great resource for films, TV and audio, as well as books.
The Campaign Against the Climate (2020)
An explanation of how vested interest succeeded in defeating science
This film shows how the petrochemical industry succeeded in using media/sales people to pursuade the public that the greenhouse effect wasn't happening, wasn't significant, or was even a good thing, in spite of the scientific evidence to the contrary, which they were well aware of (at least some of that research was done by scientists they employed). How well they succeded is exemplified by the fact that Myron Ebell - who, before his successes in climate change denial, had worked for the tobacco industry to deny the ill-effects of tobacco - was made head of the US's Environmental Protection Agency by Donald Trump. His smirk when recalling the fact will live with me a long time.
The film did the job well, and for that reason was somewhat depressing. Just one thing bugged me - I wish that someone in the production team had told the narrator how to pronounce "ExxonMobil".
All Fall Down (1962)
One thing gets on my nerves
I enjoyed this film very much. I was interested to find out that Angela Lansbury is actually 15 months younger than Eva Marie Saint. (At the time of writing, they're both still alive - 94 and 95 respectively). One thing bugs me - the principal character's oft-repeated name. If he hadn't been called after an unpleasant disease, perhaps the film would have done better.
Frank Serpico (2017)
Still very relevant
If it's true, the most important thing Serpico says in this documentary comes right at the end:
I remember being invited to a program where cops were honoured from all over the country. I got invited to be a presenter. I said "congratulations! - you got the nation's ten-top cop award". When I went to shake their hands, each one of them gave me a big hug, and they each whispered something in my ear. And what they whispered was: "I gotta talk to ya."
Youth (2015)
Incredible, and incredibly pretentious
This film is about the emotional problems of very, very talented; very, very rich people. It features fake desire, fake spirituality, fake grief, fake love, fake friendship. The script is in English - that is to say, the words spoken are English words, but they seem to have been generated from Italian via free automatic translation. It managed to be both totally incredible and totally predictable. It might be the worst film I've ever seen. It is definitely the most pretentious. The photography is quite pretty.
More lines of text are required... so I'll just say that Michael Caine does not make a convincing conductor, and that some of the musicians involved seemed appropriately embarrassed.
Housewife, 49 (2005)
A film about relationships set in the context of war
The 'plot' of this film is largely determined by the true story of Nella Last - although another reviewer has questioned how accurately the film reflects the content of her letters. The stories of the readers of Nella's letters at Mass Observation must be invented; but I enjoyed the counterpoint of those scenes.
The real story of the film is interpersonal relations - within Nella's family, and with her neighbours. Emotion (love, arrogance, jealousy, cruelty) and lack of emotion are central. The backdrop of the war, and the fear (and actuality) of losing people raise the stakes for those involved. Nella breaks out from being a very timid, downtrodden woman to a more confident, opinionated person by the end of the film.
I think that a lot of subtle jokes based on the mores, culture and politics of Britain at the time will probably have been missed - particularly if you're not from Britain.
I found this film an accurate and moving picture of real people in the context of war. It was very well written and acted.
I must take issue with the last reviewer on one point. It was made very plain that the film was set in Barrow, not London. Bombing raids took place all over Britain in the second world war. Barrow is 290 miles from London.
Meet the Fockers (2004)
reasonably funny film - unacceptable treatment of babies
My summary says it all - I don't understand why it's considered acceptable to cause upset to small children in order to make a film.
Apparently, I'm supposed to add some more words to this review... so I'd like to say how much the location of this film reminded me of that in Cool Hand Luke - probably one of the most moving films ever made about the attempted destruction and ultimate (albeit, tragic) triumph of the human spirit.
Blythe Danner is quite sexy isn't she?
Ben Stiller was good in Tropic Thunder.. Robert Downey Jr. was very good..