The Remains of the Day

This is based on the novel of the same name by Kazuo Ishiguro.

The story is set between the two world wars at Darlington Hall. Mr. Stevens (Anthony Hopkins) is the butler of the house, serving Lord Darlington (James Fox), who fancies himself a sort of mediator between his home country and Germany. Although a well-intentioned man, Lord Darlington will later be remembered as a friend of Nazi Germany.

The political discussions in the film, however, are merely the backdrop to the story of the servants and workers of the house, mainly Mr. Stevens and the housekeeper Miss Kenton (Emma Thompson), and their relationship...which could have been more than professional, were it not for the distant air of Mr. Stevens, who values his duties and loyalty above all else. Eventually, Miss Kenton leaves the house to marry.

Years later, after receiving a letter from her and after his Lordship has passed away and the house sold to an American congressman (Christopher Reeve, only a few years before his disastrous accident), Mr. Stevens takes a trip to meet with her to possibly arrange for her to come back into service at Darlington Hall.

The cast is impressive, to say the least. Along with the before mentioned Hopkins, Thompson, Fox and Reeve, it also features Hugh Grant and - in minor roles - Ben Chaplin and a young Lena Headly as a shy maid (a far cry from her turn as the scheming Queen Cersei on Game of Thrones).

A wonderful, wonderful film.

9/10

Spider Baby or, The Maddest Story Ever Told

The beginning credits may be reminiscent of 1960's comedies - with a lovely song set to various cartoon images - but, make no mistake, this is not a comedy. It is a disturbed horror film...inbreeding, deserted house, cannibalism and all.

Caretaker Bruno cares for the Merrye children - Elisabeth, Virginia and Ralph - afflicted by an illness that reverts their mental development when they reach the age of 10. So, however old they may appear, mentally they are children. The illness is named after their family, since this is the only group of people that appear to suffer from it - Merrye Syndrome.

Brone cleans up their messes, including games getting out of hand that result in peopel dying. Their situation becomes considerably more difficult when an onslaught of relatives arrives with a lawyer, eyeing the family property. This, unsurprisingly leads to a night of horror for the newcomers.

Mental illness and other afflictions have always been fascinating subjects for the horror genre and, I imagine, will continue to drive the stories of many-a film to come. I'll gladly watch them.

The film has become somewhat of a cult and sports its own 'Official Home' on the web.

3/10

People Like Us

After his estranged father dies, selfish hot shot (with money and possibly pending legal problems) Sam finds out he has a sister he never knew about. He is supposed to get in touch with her and give her and her troubled 11-yr. old son Josh $ 150.000,--. Sam, needing the money and generally upset, wants to keep it for himself but is still curious about this unknown family branch.

He starts stalking her, basically. He worms his way into her life and of course she mistakes his brotherly feelings for something different until he eventually spits out the truth. They clash, she throws him out, takes the money, moves to a new house.

Thanks to precocious little Josh, however, they manage to reconnect and make peace.

...and they all lived happily ever after. You know, just like in real life.

3/10

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer

This film is a quasi biography loosely based on real-life serial killer Henry Lee Lucas, who claimed to be responsible for some 600 murders (he wasn't).

Henry, who spend some time in prison for killing his mother, shares an apartment with Otis, also a former inmate. The story kicks off with Otis' sister Becky coming to stay when trying to get away from her husband.

Actually, the film starts with close ups of dead people, killed in different fashion ever time. The idea behind this is that the crimes are harder to connect if there is no clear modus operandi recognizable (Henry's words).

For a thriller/horror film it is relatively uneventful, with only very few killings on show. The ones we actually see involve Otis, who becomes Henry's sidekick after the two have two prostitutes in the car and one gets a little too loud for Henry's taste and he breaks her neck. Initially, Otis is shocked. He gets over it pretty quickly though and has no qualms about killing along with Henry.

The situation between the siblings is difficult, as they come out of a unloving family (including incest and all). When Henry one day walks in on Otis raping Becky, he kills and dismembers him and throws the remains off a bridge. Becky, convinced that Henry will take her to safety, doesn't make it much longer than her brother.

It is all very bleak and has a distinct 1980's feeling about it. Michael Rooker is great, though.

6/10

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

Normally, I don't like musicals. That is, unless they are either very funny or hilariously ridiculous, which is to say that I like this. Also, it is about 42 minutes short. That helps, too.

Dr. Horrible, aspiring super villain, wants to to join the Evil League of Evil. Unfortunately, when he is in the middle of earning his place by committing a crime he gets stopped by his arch nemesis, Captain Hammer. Not only does Captain Hammer beat him off, he also gets Penny, the girl Dr. Horrible is in love with but was previously too shy to even talk to.

Captain Hammer is quite a tool (pun intended), who is basically in love with himself and only wants Penny because he knows Horrible is in love with her.

Penny's goal is to get the city to donate a building to be used as a homeless shelter. When Hammer gets the mayor to grant the request, he gets lauded as the hero. During the opening (and revelation of a Captain Hammer statue) of the center comes the big showdown between the two rival, from which Dr. Horrible walks away the winner, gaining entry into the Evil League of Evil but losing Penny, who dies in the shoot-out.

5/10

The Interrupters

This documentary shows a year in the streets of Chicago, among some of the desperate youths and the people trying to talk them down when they are about to erupt into violence.

The task the members of the CeaseFire initiative (aka Violence Interrupters) put upon themselves is a heroic one - and a constant uphill battle. Nearly all of them know what it is like to be in these young people's shoes and nearly all of them have done prison time, for crimes varying from hold ups to murder. So when they speak to the kids, they absolutely know what they are talking about. They get right into the middle of arguments that threaten to turn violent and possibly deadly and try to talk sense into everyone involved.

But that is not where the job ends.

They help out and speak at vigils and funerals, using all platforms to transport there message of non violence, telling potential killers to be the bigger person and walk away. The group is respected in the community and kids will listen to them at times. They get in touch with families of murdered youths to mourn with them or provide a shoulder to cry on. They assist with community projects that provide healthy environments for children and are simply there when someone needs to talk.

Such bravery and dedication.

The film was directed by Steve James, who also made the lauded Hoop Dreams, that many people believe was robbed of a best documentary Oscar. This strong piece of film making wasn't even nominated, which raised a lot of eyebrows.

I watched this with a lump in my throat throughout. It ends with a Solomon Burke song, very fittingly called 'Don't Give Up On Me'.

9/10

Film Quote

from Beasts of the Southern Wild