Mark at the movies no 8

 

Lou(2022)

Netflix 

Plot.

In 1986, on an island in Washington, Lou, a loner living with her dog Jax, goes to the village to buy some supplies. She talks to the sheriff about her arthritis and he tells her a copper bracelet could help her condition. A mother, Hannah, plays hide-and-seek with her young daughter, Vee, outside their home. Lou, her landlady, stops by on her way back home to say the rent is due the next day.

Expecting a large storm, Chris, Hannah's male friend, offers to bring supplies. On his way home, he picks up a hitchhiker who kills him in his van. The hitchhiker cuts power to Hannah's home and while she is outside trying to restore power, he kidnaps Vee and flees with her on foot. Hannah runs to Lou's house, interrupting her suicide attempt, and tells her that Vee is missing. Before they can leave, Lou's truck blows up due to a bomb set by the hitchhiker. Eventually, Hannah and Lou set off tracking him and Vee into the night during the storm.

Hannah informs Lou that the hitchhiker is Vee's father, Philip, a former Green Beret and war criminal she thought was dead. Lou finds and kills Philip's friends on the way, clearly showing she is more than she appears to be. She explains to Hannah she is an ex-CIA field agent of 26 years. Lou and Hannah track Philip and Vee to the beach at Eagle Bay. Lou sends Hannah to the radio for help, while she goes to confront Philip and rescue Vee. After a standoff, it is revealed Philip is Lou's son, who tracked them down after she turned him in and hid them for protection. It is also revealed that Lou abandoned him as a child to avoid blowing her undercover mission in Iran. Philip injures Lou and leaves with Vee, intending to kill all of them together.

Hannah contacts the sheriff, but a call from the United States Marshals Service forces him to stand down, as it is now a federal case. The sheriff goes to Eagle Bay nonetheless, where he finds Lou and gives her a copper bracelet. Meanwhile, Hannah arrives at the lighthouse and manages to get Vee away from Philip. After a scuffle, Hannah injures Philip and flees with Vee. Lou finds the lighthouse filled with explosives and sets them off from a distance, destroying it to signal an approaching CIA helicopter. Lou and Philip fight on the beach until she gains the upper hand and hugs him. She apologizes as a CIA agent fires on them, and both Lou and Philip go under the water's surface.

Later, Hannah and Vee are shown in Lou's house, packed up and ready to leave. After a few questions from CIA agents and a goodbye from the sheriff, they have seen onboard a ferry with Jax, who looks at someone on the upper deck, not fully in frame. The camera shifts to show a woman's arm with a similar scar that Lou had and a copper bracelet, as she watches the three through binoculars.

I like the dynamic of this film as the action hero is a woman and her dog and although you guess pretty quickly the relationship between the bad guy and the main female character it does not spoil the film which flows quickly along, the action is quite good and the bad guy has just the right amount of menace about him.

The little girl is a bit sickly sweet for my tastes but overall it is a worthy watch for a bit of escapism.

Running Time (109 minutes).

Rated (15)

4 out 4 

Mainly for the action and good story.

James Bond (Dr No)

5 October 1962 (United Kingdom).

8 May 1963 (United States).

Plot

John Strangways, the Station Chief of MI6 in Jamaica, is murdered, along with his secretary, by a trio of assassins before his home is ransacked. When news of Strangways' death reaches M, the head of MI6, he assigns intelligence officer James Bond to investigate the matter and determine if it is related to Strangways' cooperation with the CIA on a case involving the disruption of rocket launches from Cape Canaveral by radio jamming. When Bond arrives in Jamaica, he is accosted by a man claiming to be a chauffeur sent to collect him but is an enemy agent sent to kill him. Bond turns the tables on the agent, but before he can interrogate him, the agent kills himself by biting into a cyanide-laced cigarette. After visiting Strangways' house, Bond confronts a boatman with whom Strangways was acquainted. The boatman, named Quarrel, reveals that he is aiding the CIA and introduces Bond to their agent Felix Leiter, who is also investigating Strangways' death.

Bond learns from Felix that the CIA traced the radio jamming signal to Jamaica, (which was a British Colony until 1962) and that Strangways was helping to pinpoint its exact origin. Quarrel reveals that before Strangways died, the pair collected mineral samples from an island called Crab Key, where people are forbidden to go. Upon finding a receipt from a local geologist, Professor R.J. Dent, Bond makes inquiries with him about the samples and Crab Key but is suspicious of his answers when he claims the samples checked out as normal. Following the meeting, Dent travels to Crab Key to meet its reclusive owner, for whom he works, to inform him of Bond's visit. Under strict instructions, Dent attempts to have Bond killed with a tarantula. However, Bond kills the spider and sets a trap for Dent. When the geologist arrives, Bond holds him at gunpoint, revealing that he believed Dent was asked to check Strangways' samples to see if they were radioactive, before killing him.

After checking Quarrel's boat with a Geiger counter, Bond determines that Strangways must have suspected that the radio jamming was coming from Crab Key, and so persuades Quarrel to take him out there. The following day, after arriving, Bond meets Honey Ryder, a shell diver. When armed guards arrive in a boat, Bond and Quarrel take Ryder with them and escape into the swamp. At nightfall, the group encounter a flame tank disguised as a dragon to deter locals, which kills Quarrel. Bond and Ryder are captured and taken to a hidden base, whereupon they are swiftly put into decontamination due to the swamp being contaminated with radioactivity. After being led to private quarters set up for them, they are rendered unconscious with drugged coffee.

Upon awakening, the pair are escorted to dine with the base's owner, Dr Julius No: a Chinese-German criminal scientist who has prosthetic metal hands due to radiation exposure. Bond learns that No was a former member of a Chinese crime organization tong until he stole $10 million in gold and now works for the secret organisation SPECTRE (SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, and Extortion). The radio jamming being conducted by No is being planned to disrupt the Project Mercury space launch at Cape Canaveral using a radio beam, which he states will be a demonstration of SPECTRE's power. When Bond refuses to join SPECTRE, No has Ryder taken away and Bond beaten and imprisoned. However, Bond manages to escape his cell through an air vent and disguises himself as a worker, before infiltrating the base's control centre.

Bond discovers that the radio beam being prepared to disrupt the launch is powered by a nuclear pool reactor, and overloads it as the launch commences. Dr No attempts to stop him, but falls into the reactor pool and is boiled to death. As the base's personnel evacuate, Bond frees Ryder before the two escape the island by boat, moments before the base is destroyed. Felix finds the pair adrift at sea after their boat runs out of fuel, and has them towed to safety by a Royal Navy ship. However, as Ryder passionately kisses him, Bond lets go of the tow rope to embrace her.

The very first film about James Bond 007 starring to many the best actor to play the character Sean Connery.

This franchise is now in its 60 th year and it is pure escapism at its best even though some don't like the portrayal of the female characters in the films.

Watched for the stunts, action, bizarre villains the always double meaning of the names of the female characters and the theme song of the films have become part of music legends.

But like all good things it had to start somewhere this film despite its age, was made the same year I was born, I am 60, and if for some reason you never watched perhaps you were abducted by an alien spaceship I highly recommend you watch it.

Running time(‧ 1h 50m)

Rated (PG)

4 out 4 

The names Bond, James Bond, 007.

 Release Date -June 20, 1975.

Plot

In the New England beach town of Amity Island, a young woman, Chrissie Watkins, goes skinny dipping in the ocean. While treading water, she is attacked and pulled under the water by an unseen force. The next day, her partial remains are found on the shore. The medical examiner concludes that the death was due to a shark attack and leads police chief Martin Brody to close the beaches. Mayor Larry Vaughn persuades him to reverse his decision, fearing that the town's summer economy will be ruined. The coroner tentatively concurs with the mayor's theory that Chrissie was killed in a boating accident. Brody reluctantly accepts their conclusion until the shark kills a young boy, Alex Kintner, in full view of a crowded beach. A bounty is placed on the shark, causing an amateur shark-hunting frenzy, and local professional shark fisherman Quint offers his services for $10,000. Meanwhile, consulting oceanographer Matt Hooper examines Chrissie's remains, and confirms her death was caused by a shark—an unusually large one.

When local fishermen catch a tiger shark, the mayor proclaims that the beach is safe. Mrs Kintner, Alex's mother, confronts Brody and blames him for her son's death. Hooper expresses doubts that the tiger shark is responsible for the attacks, and his suspicions are confirmed when no human remains are found inside its stomach after dissection. Hooper and Brody find a half-sunken vessel while searching the night waters in Hooper's boat. Underwater, Hooper removes a sizable great white shark's tooth from the boat's hull but drops it in fright after discovering the partial corpse of local fisherman Ben Gardner. Vaughn dismisses Brody and Hooper's assertions that a huge great white shark is responsible for the deaths, and refuses to close the beaches, allowing only increased safety precautions. On the Fourth of July weekend, tourists pack the beaches. Following a juvenile prank with a fake shark, the real shark enters a nearby lagoon, killing a boater and causing Brody's oldest son, Michael, to go into shock. Brody then convinces a guilt-ridden Vaughn to hire Quint.

Quint, Brody, and Hooper set out on Quint's boat, the Orca, to hunt the shark. While Brody lays down a chum line, Quint waits for an opportunity to hook the shark. Without warning, it appears behind the boat. Quint, estimating its length at 25 feet (7.6 m) and weight at 3 tonnes (3.0 long tons; 3.3 short tons), harpoons it with a line attached to a flotation barrel, but the shark pulls the barrel underwater and disappears.

At nightfall, Quint and Hooper drunkenly exchange stories about their assorted scars, and Quint reveals that he survived the attack on the USS Indianapolis. The shark returns unexpectedly, ramming the boat's hull, and disabling the power. The men work through the night, repairing the engine. In the morning, Brody attempts to call the Coast Guard, but Quint, who has become obsessed with killing the shark without outside assistance, smashes the radio. After a long chase, Quint harpoons the shark with another barrel. The line is tied to the stern cleats, but the shark drags the boat backward, swamping the deck and flooding the engine compartment. Quint prepares to sever the line to prevent the transom from being pulled out but the cleats break off, keeping the barrels attached to the shark. Quint heads toward shore to draw the shark into shallower waters, but he overtaxes the damaged engine and it fails.

As the Orca slowly sinks, the trio attempts a riskier approach. Hooper enters the water in a shark-proof cage, intending to lethally inject the shark with strychnine, using a hypodermic spear. The shark attacks the cage, causing Hooper to drop the spear, which sinks and is lost. While the shark thrashes in the tangled remains of the cage, Hooper manages to escape to the seabed. The shark breaks free and leaps onto the boat, devouring Quint in the process. Trapped on the sinking vessel, Brody shoves a pressurized scuba tank into the shark's mouth and climbs onto the crow's nest. He shoots the tank with Quint's rifle, killing the shark with the resulting explosion. Hooper resurfaces and paddles back to Amity Island with Brody, clinging to the remaining barrels.

I remember going to my local cinema in Southend -on-Sea Essex to see this film which I think was a PG on its release but later changed for the one scene where Robert Shaw's character meets a grisly end when dealing with the great white shark in the film.

This is the film that scared people into not swimming in the water by beaches for a short while.

The use of the theme music in the background every time Jaws show up is pure genius, and the acting between the main characters is excellent as we see the mutual disrespect for each other but their hate for the great white shark (Jaws) is stronger.

Even today it still sends a shiver up your spine, yes like all popular films it's had follow-on sequels but this is by far the best Shark film I have ever watched and yet again I highly recommend you go watch it.

Running time(124 minutes).

Rated (12)

4 out 4

You are going to need a bigger boat.

Roald Dahl, s Matilda The Musical

(2022)

Plot

Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical tells the story of an extraordinary girl, with a vivid imagination, who dares to take a stand to change her story with miraculous results.

Exactly like the original none musical Film Matilda, this is about a super bright girl who goes to a prison-like school which is run by a headmistress from hell who is an English hammer-throwing champion who delights in grabbing pupils by their pigtails and twirling them above her head.

If you like anti-authority satire which encourages children to rise against overbearing teachers and parents with musical numbers and great hammed-up acting and a dad who calls his daughter boy then this is the film for you.

Watch for the true stars of this film the all-singing and dancing child actors and the whip-smart lyrics and music by Tim Minchin.

This holds par to the original 1996 adaption Matilda, this film is based on the award-winning stage show

Why not watch the original and the musical to compare, enjoy, laugh, boo at the headmistress and cheer for Matilda.

Running Time (117 minutes)

Rated (PG)

4 out of 4.

(Two wrongs don't make a right.)we are told by our parents.

Amsterdam(2022)

Plot.

A trio of World War I veteran friends—a doctor, a nurse, and a lawyer—become the prime suspects in the murder of US Senator Bill Meekins in 1933,[4] and find themselves enmeshed in one of the most shocking plots in American history.[5]

Cast

A world war soldier Burt Berendsen who works as a shady surgeon performing plastic surgery has himself a glass eye and scarred face.

His army pal Harold Woodman  is now a lawyer hired by the senator's daughter to investigate his suspicious death by they become prime suspects so they ask for help from Margot Robbie(Valerie Voze.)

This is set in 1933 in New York.

Then we go back to 1918 we see the three main characters living in a home in Amsterdam where it was bliss until Burt returns to his heartless marriage and Valerie and Harold embark on a love affair.

This film is loosely based on a true story.

 I am afraid to say like you reading the plot I had not to clue what this film was about, and it was not comedic nor dramatic enough to make it the least engaging.

Its only saving grace is the guest appearances of various other actors during the film.

Running time(134 Minutes)

Rated (12A).

1 out 4

(What hell is going on) my favourite quote about this film.

The Lost King(2022)

Plot.

An amateur historian defies the stodgy academic establishment in her efforts to find King Richard III's remains, which were lost for over 500 years.

The amateur historian Pippa Langley tells people in the archaeological world she has pinpointed the last resting place of King Richard III under a Car park in Leicester.

Pippa swerves bureaucracy obstacles and wins over opponents by offering homemade cake in a Tupperware Box.

I like this film as it shows how a regular person does remarkable things.

It's a tat bit long as it does not have enough flesh or bones of a story and the actors playing the main characters do not stretch themselves in their roles.

But I like the subject matter and felt contented after watching it.

3 out 4 

Running Time(108 minutes)

Rated (12A).

I remember this true story being on the news and how for years the search for Richard III's tomb was like an archaeological holy grail.