Director Olivier Assayas with novelist Emmanuel Carrere adapted Giuliano da Empoli’s novel that shows the machinations of political evil at work. While a work of fiction, it does tie in with actual events, and the lead character, Vadim Baranov, played by Paul Dano, seems to be more than a little similar to Vladislav Surkov. Dano…
Tag: actual events
TIFF24: The Order dir. Justin Kurzel
Jude Law plays Terry Husk, an FBI agent who is investigating a murder and a series of large bank robberies along the American Northwest. As he digs in, he begins to suspect it’s all tied to a racist terrorist organization that may be planning a big move. Based on actual events, and just as relevant…
TIFF ’23: The Burial
I think every actor wants to do a courtroom drama, to voice their objections, to thunder at a witness during cross-examination, to let that look play across their face that suggests they may have just found a way to win the case. Then, when you throw in the fact that the case you’re bringing to…
The Apollo Murders (2021) – Chris Hadfield
Retired astronaut and national treasure Chris Hadfield delivers a fast-paced thriller with The Apollo Murders. It’s a look at an all too believable reality as the story follows the training, launch, and mission of Apollo 18. It’s made all the more believable because Hadfield not only knows his subject matter, emotionally and technically, using an…
Millennium (1997) – Sense and Antisense, and Monster
Sense and Antisense, written by Chip Johannessen, sends Frank Black (Lance Henriksen) and the Millennium Group in a slightly different direction, when he gets drawn into the search for a missing man, known on the street as Zero (Clarence Williams III), who seems insane, spouting conspiracy theories, and seems to be infected with some sort…
The Adventure’s of Indiana Jones (1992/1993) – Love’s Sweet Song
Indiana Jones (Sean Patrick Flanery) sets out from Mexico on the next leg of his adventure that would see him embroiled in the Great War. Love’s Sweet Song was released on 12 July, 2000 and was cobbled together from two episodes that see Indy travelling to Ireland and then England before heading to War. Ireland,…
The Bounty (1984) – Roger Donaldson
The next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my return to the action genre and my screening of The Pirates of the Caribbean, is The Bounty. This one has everything working for it, a score by Vangelis, an all-star cast including Anthony Hopkins, Mel Gibson, Liam Neeson, Daniel Day-Lewis,…
The Great Escape (1963) – John Sturges
The next stop in the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book sees me back in the war genre, watching one of my all-time favourite WWII films, The Great Escape. Based loosely on actual events there is a lot to love in this film, not only in the movie itself, but for the nostalgia…
Zulu (1964) – Cy Endfield
The next stop in the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of Lawrence of Arabia is the epic, Zulu starring Michael Caine and Stanley Baker. Now, while one could make arguments about themes of British Imperialism and Colonialism running through the film, I saw more fit to see the film…
The Mind Reels 