Evita (5 Stars)

True Stories #21

Name: Eva Peron

Lived: 7 June 1919 – 26 July 1952

Film dates: 1926 to 1952 (death), mostly 1936 to 1952

Film made in 1996

"Evita" is a film that overwhelms me every time I watch it. It does everything right: the music, the emotions, the grand events. Was this the last film to be made with a cast of thousands? 40,000 extras may not be a record, but it's a lot. Modern films use CGI when large crowds are needed. It saves money, but it doesn't look as realistic. "Evita" begins with a large scene, and the effect is breathtaking.

The film is a true rags to riches story. Eva Duarte grew up in a poor family, but after moving to Buenos Aires in 1934 she rapidly climbed the ladder of success. She worked first as a model, then a radio host, then a film star, before she finally met Juan Person, the future President of Argentina. Rather than being a passive first lady, hiding behind her husband, she campaigned for workers' rights and women's rights. This made her popular with the people, or at least the lower classes. The upper classes in Argentina resented her for being an actress, which was an unfavourable career at the time.

The leading male character isn't Juan Peron, it's an unnamed man played by Antonio Banderas. The credits list him as Ché, suggesting that he represents the Argentinian rebel Ché Guevara. When "Evita" was performed on stage, Ché wore army fatigues, further suggesting a connection with Ché Guevara, but Alan Parker chose not to do this; in my opinion correctly. He appears in each scene in different clothing, fitting in with his position. Effectively, he's a different person each time he appears. He's a critical observer among the people. When everyone else is praising Evita, as Eva Peron was known, he points out her failings. He's the voice of reason.

The film is remarkably accurate, considering that it's only a musical. It doesn't tell the complete history of Juan and Eva Peron, but what it does tell is correct. A few years ago I checked for myself. Many characters are shown briefly, less than 30 seconds of screen time each, without being named. The film's credits name them, and you can look them up on Wikipedia.

As an incomplete history, the film isn't the best place to learn about Eva Peron. There are books that will give you many more details. "Evita" the film is meant to entertain, and it's a majestic success.

Success Rate:  + 0.6

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Kill your Darlings (4 Stars)

True Stories #20

Name: Allen Ginsberg

Lived: 3 June 1926 – 5 April 1997

Film dates: 1943 to 1945

Film made in 2013

"Like all lovers and bad people, I am a poet".

This quote from the film is interesting. I noticed today for the first time that the English subtitles are different to the spoken text. In the subtitles the words are "like all lovers and sad people", and this is the quote listed in IMDB's quote section. I can guarantee you, Daniel Radcliffe says "bad people". It seems like he blundered, but I like the quote the way he spoke it.

"Kill your Darlings" is about Allen Ginsberg's formative years at university. He studied Literature at Columbia University, but he was expelled before graduating. (Note: he was re-admitted to Columbia University a year later, after the events of the film).

The main purpose of the film is to show Allen's relationship with his best friend, Lucien Carr. Lucien was a rebel, as far as literature was concerned. He wanted the banned books of the day to become compulsory reading at university. Lucien encouraged Allen to share his rebellion. The problem is, Lucien was a poor student with no writing abilities. He only had good grades because a former university professor, David Kammerer, wrote his essays for him. David and Lucien had been lovers, and now David was stalking him, working as the university janitor so he could be close to him. Lucien rejected his advances as a lover, but he still profited from David's help with his essays.

The film ends with Lucien killing David. Allen writes a defence for Lucien, which Lucien rejects. Then Allen submits the defence as his end of term paper. He's warned that if he doesn't retract the paper he'll be expelled, but he refuses to back down. The problem is that the essay dealt with the subject of homosexuality, which was a taboo subject at university.

Today is the third time that I watched the film. I can't say that it helps me understand Allen Ginsberg any better than I already knew him from his poetry, but it gives me a fascinating insight into American university life in the 1950's. I wish I'd been there. I wouldn't have been a rebel, but I would have enjoyed sitting on the sidelines watching the rebellion.

Success Rate:  - 3.5

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Catch me if you can (4½ Stars)

True Stories #19

Name: Frank Abagnale

Lived: 27 April 1948 – still alive

Film dates: 1963 to 1974

Film made in 2002

From one con man to another. Steve Russell was a master con man, but Frank Abagnale was possibly the greatest con man who ever lived. His expertise was forgery, which he mastered at a young age. By the time he was 17 he'd gained $1.3 million by fraud, and by the time he was 19 it was $4 million. That was the 1960's. Allowing for inflation, you need to multiply those figures by nine.

Maybe he was too greedy. If he'd stopped stealing after his first million he would have had enough money to last the rest of his life, and he probably wouldn't have been caught. That's the trouble with money. If you love money, you can never have enough.

Frank Abagnale left home when he was 16, because he was traumatised by his parents' divorce. He paid for his rent by writing cheques, but he could never stay in one place long, because the cheques bounced and he was evicted. He had the idea to forge cheques issued by banks the other side of the country. In the pre-Internet days this meant that it took weeks for the cheques to be recognised as fakes. In order to cash cheques he needed credibility. He did this by wearing a pilot's uniform. Everyone trusts an airline pilot.

He forged university certificates to become a doctor, and then a lawyer. All the time he was writing cheques. The FBI detected him. Agent Carl Hanratty pursued Frank from one side of the country to the other. A bizarre relationship developed between the two. They had respect for one another, as if they were boxers duelling in the ring. Frank rang Carl every year on 24th December to wish him a Merry Christmas. Wasn't he afraid of having his call traced?

Eventually Frank was arrested in France and imprisoned in very unsanitary conditions. The film doesn't tell the whole story. According to Wikipedia, "At Perpignan he was held nude in a tiny, filthy, lightless cell that he was never allowed to leave. The cell lacked toilet facilities, a mattress, or a blanket, and food and water were strictly limited". Carl had Frank extradited to America so he would be treated better. While in prison in America Carl frequently consulted Frank for help catching other cheque forgers. Frank's assistance was so invaluable that after four years he was released and hired by the FBI. He became the FBI's top expert on cheque forgery.

This is an excellent film directed by Steven Spielberg. As I've said before, Steven Spielberg never makes a bad film. Tom Hanks is a phenomenal actor, and Leonardo DiCaprio also has great talent. They bounce off one another by their contrast between a humourless, uptight FBI agent and a flamboyant young man.

Success Rate:  + 4.8

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Seance (3 Stars)

Amazon Friday #25

Admit it! You thought I'd forgotten about my Amazon Friday feature. No, I still intend to continue with it, despite having suspended it since November. I also want to continue with my Disney Wednesday and Netflix Thursday features. I have an ever growing list of films on Disney Plus that I want to watch, not quite so many on Netflix, but I'm giving priority to my True Stories marathon. I'll just sneak an occasional film in when I have time to watch two films in one day. I'm busy as a full time baby sitter, so it probably won't be too often.

"Seance" is a film about a girl called Camille Meadows who enrols in an exclusive private school for girls, Edelvine Academy. A place has become free after a girl died following a seance. She fell out of her window, and her death was ruled an accident, but was it really suicide, or even murder?

Soon the girls are doing it again. They hold another seance to speak to their dead friend, to ask how she died. After the seance another girl dies. What's wrong with those girls? They don't learn from their mistakes. They continue to hold seances, and after each seance there's another death.

There's nothing original about the film. It's the same sort of supernatural tale that's been told many times before. The director should at least have capitalised on the abundance of pretty girls. Shorter skirts or glimpses of nudity. The nudity wouldn't even have been gratuitous, it would have made sense. The girls all go to bed at night fully clothed, so that when there's a loud noise we don't see anything when they jump out of bed. That's just silly.

"Seance" was heavily promoted at last year's Fantasy Film Festival, but it's gone straight to video. It's destined to be forgotten.

---

Addendum on 29 January 2022:

Within minutes of publishing this post I received a complaint from a friend of mine. It wasn't a comment in this blog, unfortunately. My personal friends usually comment in Facebook. This friend found it offensively sexist that I wanted more nudity in the film. I'll repeat here what I replied to her.

First of all, my words shouldn't be taken at face value. I have a whimsical, irreverent sense of humour. I often make statements that don't express my personal opinion in order to raise a smile from my listeners and/or readers.

In this case, what I said was half true. I don't expect the film to be remade with shorter skirts or bare breasts, but what I wanted to say is that if a film has nothing else going for it, at least it could have a little nudity. Most films that I watch have no nudity, and it doesn't bother me. But they're good films. If a film isn't good, only glimpses of bare breasts can tempt me to watch it again.

And in this case, the lack of nudity was artificial. The girls only went to bed fully clothed in order to avoid nudity. That's not natural. No schoolgirl just takes off her jacket and tie and jumps into bed. That's not natural, unless the room is freezing. A normal girl would put on a nighty, or at the very least strip down to bra and panties. That's what I wanted to see.

I hope this explanation is enough to satisfy anyone else who doesn't like what I said. I welcome comments in the box below this post. Let's get a discussion going.

Life (2015 film) (4 Stars)

True Stories #18

Name: Dennis Stock

Lived: 24 July 1928 – 11 January 2010

Film dates: February to March 1955

Film made in 2015

Some other reviews claim that this is a film about James Dean. That's an easy mistake to make. The film is about the relationship between James Dean and the photographer Dennis Stock in the two weeks leading up to the premiere of "East of Eden". We see the relationship through the eyes of Dennis Stock, and he has slightly more screen time, but if you want to know the film's intention you need to ask the director, Anton Corbijn. He started his career as a photographer before he became a film director, and he was fascinated by the iconic photos taken by Stock for Life magazine. He says that he wanted to make a film about how Dennis Stock made the photos.

On the other hand, if I tell a friend I've just watched a film about James Dean he'll smile and nod his head. If I tell him I've watched a film about Dennis Stock he'll have a blank expression and say "Huh? Who's that?"

Were Jimmy (as James Dean liked to call himself) and Dennis friends? That's difficult to say. They spent day and night together for almost two weeks, but after this they didn't meet again before Jimmy's death seven months later. On the other hand, it was more than a business relationship. Jimmy felt that Dennis understood him.

Dennis Stock was a free-lance photographer who did most of his work for Life Magazine. He came from New York, but he lived in Los Angeles, where he specialised in photographing actors. He met James Dean at a wrap party for "East of Eden". At the time he had no idea who James Dean was. He noticed him because he was sitting alone in a corner while everyone else was drinking and socialising. Jimmy didn't fit in. The next day Dennis was invited to a pre-release screening of "East of Eden". He was amazed by the difference between the shy young boy on the sofa and his powerful appearance on screen. Dennis thought that this unknown actor had the potential to become a big star, so he followed him for days, begging him for a photo shoot.

Jimmy wasn't interested in becoming a star. All he wanted to do was make good films. He was an artist. He didn't want to play the games expected from him. When Jack Warner, the head of Warner Brothers, told him what he had to do to become a big star, he just stood with a blank face. Jimmy did what he wanted to. He didn't even show up for the premiere of "East of Eden", because he thought it would be boring.

When Jimmy travelled to New York, Dennis followed him. Two days later Jimmy spontaneously decided to visit his grandparents in Indiana, not telling his manager where he was. Dennis accompanied him, and the two men spent a few days on his grandparents' farm. Dennis managed to photograph Jimmy in his natural environment, where he felt comfortable.

The film has excellent performances by Robert Pattinson as Dennis Stock and Dane DeHaan as James Deam. The viewer is drawn in and feels that he intimately knows both men. If you asked me to name my favourite actors, I probably wouldn't name either of them, but after seeing them together in "Life" I think I should pay more attention to them.

Success Rate:  - 8.3

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I love you, Phillip Morris (4 Stars)

True Stories #17

Name: Steven Russell

Lived: 14 September 1957 – still alive

Film dates: 1966 to 1998, mostly 1990 to 1998

Film made in 2010

Jim Carrey says that it doesn't feel right to play someone in a film who's still alive. If you look at the previous 16 films in my true stories marathon, you'll see that five of them were about people living when the film was made, so it's not so unusual.

Steven Russell supposedly has an IQ of 163. Having a high IQ doesn't necessarily mean you'll have great success in life, as I know from my own experience, but it usually results in the person having extraordinary abilities. In Steven's case, he set a record for escaping from prison four times, including two escapes from maximum security prisons. One of his escapes was by faking his own death. You need to be a genius to do something like that.

Like many geniuses, his high IQ wasn't obvious to those around him. He was a policeman, and he played piano in church. He was happily married, and a good Christian. There was only one dark secret in his life: he was having a gay relationship. That must have been easy to hide, because as a policeman he could always make excuses about being away from home at all hours.

Eventually Steve comes out of the closet. He confesses everything to his wife and leaves her to live with his boyfriend Jimmy in Miami. What I find strange is that his Christian wife so easily accepted his homosexuality. She never divorced him. Maybe it's because divorce was against her Christian beliefs. Nevertheless, she doesn't understand his homosexuality. After Steve's first arrest for fraud she asks a policeman whether homosexuality and stealing go together.

Steven Russell was a con man. That's something he excelled at. Despite never having gone to college, he read the law books in the prison library and was able to pretend to be a lawyer. Is it usual for prison libraries to have so many law books?

It's in the library that Steven Russell met Phillip Morris, who was presumably interested in other books. It's love at first sight. Phillip was in prison for a minor offence, not returning a rental car. After his release Steven had to escape to be with him.

Phillip Morris was Steven Russell's downfall. Steven escaped repeatedly, but the police could easily arrest him, because they knew he was heading straight to Phillip. If Steven hadn't been in love he'd still be living happily in anonymity somewhere.

After four escapes, the prisons aren't taking any chances. He's been sentenced to life imprisonment (to be precise, 144 years), and he has to spend 23 hours a day in his cell. In his one hour outside his cell he's closely observed. Nobody knows what sort of tricks he'd play next.

My only criticism of the film is that it's too short. The film rushes through his escapes, only showing his faked death in detail. I would have liked to see more.

I'm annoyed by the packaging of the UK Blu-ray. The front cover quotes magazines that call the film "Outrageously funny" and "Hilarious". Did those idiots even bother to watch the film? It's not a comedy. It's a love story. Just because Jim Carrey began his career as a comedian, it doesn't mean that all his films have to be funny.

Success Rate:  - 0.4

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Pleasure (4 Stars)

Sometimes I'm so stupid I could kick myself. I was interested in seeing the film "Pleasure" as soon as I heard about it. There was a premiere in Stuttgart on 15th January with the director and the lead actress. I had a couple of questions I wanted to ask. Then I forgot the date. Duh! I just had to go to a normal screening.

The story is about Linnea, a 19-year-old girl from Sweden who goes to Los Angeles to become a porn star. She thinks it will be easy. That's a delusion that many young people have. How difficult can it be to have sex? And being paid for it? The drop out rate in the first few months is high. Men find that they have difficulty performing when surrounded by bright lights and a director who keeps asking them to stop and start again. Women drop out under the psychological pressure of having to do things they find unpleasant.

That's Linnea's story. I should call her Bella, because her stage name is Bella Cherry. When she arrives her first few sessions run well. Vanilla sex, no problems. But then she gets greedy. She's told about Mark Spiegler, a manager whose girls are considered the elite porn stars in Los Angeles. She asks him to manage her, but he turns her down, saying he only accepts girls with experience with rough sex. She asks her current manager, Mike, to arrange rough sex films for her, but she can't go through with it. After being hit and spat at by two men, she has to stop. Everything is consensual, but at a price. She doesn't receive any money for that day, neither do the two male stars, and the director says he'll never work with her again.

This is the ugliest scene in the film. I have to ask what sort of men get off on watching women be abused. A rape scene is simulated for the camera. I can accept this in films like "I spit on your grave", because the rape is part of a narrative that ultimately leads to revenge. But who wants to watch a film which is Boy-Meets-Girl, Boy-Rapes-Girl, The-End? That's ugly. I seriously doubt the morals of any man who likes films like that. 

Mark Spiegler with his girls

Despite this setback, Bella is still determined to be a Spiegler girl. I shan't tell you how she succeeds. Spoilers! All I'll tell you, because it's relevant to the understanding of the film, is that Bella learns that the only way to become a success in the porn industry is to change sides. You're either abused or an abuser. Bella learns to abuse her fellow porn actresses. That's the film's message. The porn industry is ugly. The only way to stop yourself being torn apart is to tear others apart.

Yes, that's the legendary porn director Axel Braun in this photo. What's special about this film is that apart from the main characters, Bella and a few others, everyone in the film is a genuine person from the porn industry playing himself. I'm a big fan of Axel Braun's films. I bought most of his films when he worked for Vivid Entertainment and Hustler. I stopped buying his films when he started working exclusively for Wicked Pictures. I boycott Wicked's films for reasons I don't want to go into here.

Some of my friends are shocked when I say that I watch porn films. I don't know what shocks them more: that I watch them, or that I openly admit it. I like films, regardless of their genre. If a pornographic film is good, I'll watch and review it. Dr. Axel Braun (he has a PhD in Psychology) makes good films. That doesn't mean that I support the ugly free-for-all in the porn industry. I like to think that Axel doesn't aprove of the practises shown in "Pleasure". That was one of the questions I would have asked at the premiere. I like to think he's better than the others. At least he's never filmed simulated rape scenes, as far as I know.

"Pleasure" isn't a pretty film. It's not even an erotic film. It tells the truth. Even though it's not a documentary, it's as accurate as any documentary. Bella Cherry is a girl like any other in the porn industry.

Nightmare Alley (5 Stars)

This is a wonderful film by Guillermo del Toro, whose last film, "The Shape of Water", won him two Academy Awards for the Best Film and the Best Director. Considering his previous successes, it's amazing that his new film has been so under-promoted. No trailers were shown in the cinema in the weeks leading up to its release. I saw a poster hanging outside the cinema, the one shown above, but del Toro's name wasn't apparent. I didn't know that the film was by him until a friend pointed it out to me. I immediately knew I had to see the film.

"Nightmare Alley" has been described as neo-noir. I don't know what that word means, and I doubt anyone else does. It's just a word thrown about to describe crime films. It was also claimed that "Nightmare Alley" is a remake of the 1947 film with the same name. That's not true. It's the second adaptation of the book called "Nightmare Alley" by William Gresham. The new film isn't in any way based on the old film. Any similarities are the result of having the same source material.

The film begins with Stan Carlisle killing a man. We find out more details as the film continues. Stan goes on the run and joins a carnival. He's fascinated by Zeena, a mind-reader. It seems real, but Stan is told it's all a show perfected by her husband Pete. Stan moves into their house and learns from Pete. He eventually leaves the carnival and sets himself up as a mind-reader.

Stan meets a psychologist, Dr. Lilith Ritter, who sees through his fake readings, but is nevertheless impressed by his talent. Together they devise a scam to get money from rich people in New York. She gives Stan information about them from her therapy sessions which he can use when reading their minds.

For me it was fascinating to hear the tricks of fake psychics. William Gresham must have done a lot of research to find out their secrets.

The film is a slow burner. The suspense slowly builds for more than two hours. We know that Stan's steady rise to the top of his profession will finally result in a fall, but how will it happen? The viewer is left in suspense until the end of the film. It's an excellent film, and I'm glad I didn't miss it.

Prisoners of the Ghostland (4 Stars)

I've been waiting a long time for this film. It should have been released in 2020, but it was delayed by the Corona pandemic. Now I finally have the Blu-ray disc in my hands, almost two years later. It's important enough for me to interrupt my true stories film marathon.

"Prisoners of the Ghostland" was announced as Sion Sono's first English language film. That's stretching it a bit. The film takes place in Japan, and there's a mixture of English and Japanese. I estimate that the languages are evenly distributed. Even Nicolas Cage speaks Japanese in some scenes.

The film takes place in a post-apocalyptic world, or at least a post-apocalyptic Japan. Unlike other post-apocalyptic films, the action takes place soon after the catastrophe. It's not stated how long, but it can't be more than ten years.

The wealthy and relatively healthy people live in a place called Samurai Town. It's ruled by a man called the Governor, who has chosen to model the town on an old wild western town, complete with cowboys and saloons. There's a nearby settlement called the Ghostland, where the poor and physically deformed live. The Governor keeps a harem of young women that he calls his granddaughters. They're actually sex slaves. His favourite slave, Bernice, flees to the Ghostland. The Governor asks an unnamed convicted murderer to fetch her back. As the film progresses this man is given the name Hero.

Nicolas Cage says this is the wildest film he's ever made. Yes, it's wild, but if you take it in the context of post-apocalyptic films it's very normal. It follows the rules for the genre. It's a society that has descended into chaos, with snippets of past cultures thrown together, because nobody understands their context. Religion and superstition are side by side. There are many precedents in film history. While watching it I was reminded of "Mad Max: Fury Road" and "Beneath the Planet of the Apes", although it's most similar to the Axa newspaper strip. I used to have a collection of the Axa cartoons in book form, but it was stolen by Thomas Kuzilla of Dearborn Heights, Michigan.

It's no secret that I don't like post-apocalyptic films. The chaos and the anything-is-possible scenarios disturb me. Nevertheless, Sion Sono has done a good job, making "Prisoners of the Ghostland" a welcome addition to the genre. I'll watch it again soon, probably as soon as I've finished my true stories film marathon.

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Tatort 1187: Das Herz der Schlange (3 Stars)

It's been a long time since I watched "Tatort". I missed the last 186 episodes, but I felt tempted to check another episode today. It's the third episode starring the detectives Leo Hölzer and Adam Schürk.

The episode starts with a woman being found dead in a luxurious apartment. Curiously, the safe is open, but the cash, more than 50,000 Euros, hasn't been removed. Were the thieves looking for something else? The mystery is uncovered as the story continues.

Secondly, Adam's father is found dead, while Adam himself has disappeared. Adam is the main suspect in the murder, so he gives himself up after a few days. This creates a dilemma for Leo. They're not just colleagues, they're childhood friends, so he refuses to believe that Adam is guilty.

The only thing that connects the two murders is that someone spied on both of them. An unknown man has hacked security cameras in both houses. He's recorded both murders.

I'll stop there. It's a confusing story. I can understand the problem. After 1186 episodes the screenwriters feel the need to write something new. The plot stretches credibility. If a science fiction film is difficult to believe, I accept it, but a detective story should be straight forward.

Another problem is the episode's sound quality. It's not the recording quality itself, it's because the characters speak unclearly. Some are worse than others. In a big budget television series the viewer expects more.

"Tatort" is Germany's most expensive TV series, probably the world's most expensive. The individual episodes usually cost about two million Euros each, but some episodes cost as much as six million Euros. The exact money spent is unknown, because the records for the early episodes have been lost, but it's estimated that the complete cost so far is over two billion Euros. After 51 years the series shows no sign of coming to an end, so the price is steadily rising, year by year.

Eddie the Eagle (5 Stars)

True Stories #16

Name: Michael Edwards

Lived: 5 December 1963 – still alive

Film dates: 1973 to 1988, mostly 1987 to 1988

Film made in 2016

Anything is possible if you don't give up.

Michael Edwards, usually called Eddie Edwards, had a dream from his childhood on. He wanted to be in the Olympic Games. For a young boy with no sporting abilities, this was a crazy dream. As he grew older he still didn't show any talent. He tried out sport after sport and failed at everything he did. There were always people much better at him. Finally, in 1987, he had an inspiration. He decided to learn ski jumping, because it was a sport that nobody in Britain practised. If he became a ski jumper nobody would be better than him, so he'd have to be picked for the British Olympics team.

Eddie travelled to Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Germany to learn how to jump. He was mocked by the experienced jumpers who were in Garmisch-Partenkirchen to prepare for the Olympics. Only the retired jumper Bronson Peary took him seriously and agreed to train him.

At his first contest Eddie set a new British record of 34 meters for a jump from a 70 meter slope. That might sound good, but it was only possible because of the lack of competition in Britain. The contest's winner jumped 110 meters. Eddie visited the Olympic Committee and demanded to be entered into the Olympic Games as the British champion. They told him that in order to qualify for the Olympic Games he would have to jump 61 meters. After hard training he managed this distance a few months later.

At the Olympic Games in Calgary Eddie finished last, but his eccentric victory celebration won him the nickname Eddie the Eagle. He spontaneously decided to enter the event for the 90 meter jump, which he had never attempted before. Bronson doubted Eddie would survive the jump, but he knew he couldn't talk him out of it. Eddie set a new British record of 71.5 meters from the 90 meter slope, but he finished last again.

Eddie returned home to a hero's welcome. The rules for qualifying for the Olympic Games were subsequently changed to stop anyone like Eddie ever taking part again.

This is a magnificently uplifting film with excellent performances by Taron Egerton as Eddie and Hugh Jackman as Bronson Peary. The actress Iris Berben also appears as the barkeeper Petra in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

Success Rate:  + 0.0

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The 51st State (5 Stars)

I've interrupted my series of true stories because of sad news that I heard today. The singer Meat Loaf, real name Marvin Lee Aday, died yesterday at the age of 74. The cause of death hasn't yet been disclosed. He's best known as a singer, but he's also appeared in 45 films, so I decided to watch one of his films to remember him. I have two of his films in my collection, but I'll only be watching "The 51st State", because it's one of my favourite films. No, it isn't in my top 100 film list, but it ought to be.

I used one of his early photos to head this post, not a screenshot from the film, because he plays a character with a scarred face.

This is what he looks like in the film. Not a very typical look for him.

Meat Loaf's first album was "Bat out of Hell", released in 1977. I bought it after hearing the title track played on the radio. I loved it immediately, but I admit that it wasn't Meat Loaf's singing that attracted me. It was the searing guitar played by Todd Rundgren. Todd produced his first album, and as I've mentioned before, Todd Rundgren wasn't a normal record producer. He effectively took over the albums he produced, giving them his own sound. If you look at the credits of "Bat out of Hell" you'll see that the other musicians are Roger Powell (synthesizers), John Wilcox (drums) and Kasim Sulton (bass guitar). This was the complete line up of Todd's band Utopia. "Bat out of Hell" could be considered a Utopia album with a guest singer.

I wasn't as enthusiastic over Meat Loaf's second album, "Dead Ringer". It wasn't too bad, but it wasn't a Utopia album. Added to that, Meat Loaf's voice was less powerful. His third album, "Midnight at the Lost and Found", was a disappointment to me. After that I stopped following his music and didn't buy his following albums.

It wasn't until the early 2000's that I rediscovered his music. I heard some very good songs, and I found out they were taken from "Bat out of Hell 2", released in 1993. It was a very good album, despite not being produced by Todd Rundgren. It contained several moving ballads. I checked out his other albums, and it's my personal opinion that his second to fifth albums should be forgotten. They were below par, but his sixth album, "Bat out of Hell 2", was a masterpiece, almost up to the quality of "Bat out of Hell". After that all his albums were good. They seemed to be getting heavier from album to album, and his voice had regained its old power.

Summing up his albums, "Eight out of twelve ain't bad".

I don't want to write anything about "The 51st State" today, except to say that it's a brilliant British gangster film. It has similarities with Guy Ritchie's films "Snatch" and "Lock, Stock and two Smoking Barrels".

This afternoon I listened to "Bat out of Hell 2". It's late now, but I'll listen to "Bat out of Hell" before I go to bed. I'll listen to some of his other albums over the weekend.

Success Rate:  - 1.9

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Bohemian Rhapsody (4½ Stars)

True Stories #15

Name: Freddie Mercury

Lived: 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991

Film dates: 1970 to 1985

Film made in 2018

I just sat staring at my computer for ten minutes, trying to decide whether I should increase my previous rating to five stars. I finally decided to leave it at four and a half. My main reason for leaning towards a top rating is my sentimental attachment to Queen. The film's music is fantastic, but the film isn't perfect. Almost perfect, but not quite.

Initially the film should have been about the group. That was the wish of Queen's guitarist Brian May. Eventually it was decided to make a film about Freddie Mercury. That was the correct choice, in my opinion, but maybe the screenwriter and director went too far. Apart from Freddie himself, the characters of the band members aren't developed. We see Brian May's rebellion against Freddie's attitude, but little else. Roger Taylor loves his car. John Deacon just appears out of nowhere and only contributes a few lines of dialogue. John's hair style changes frequently over the film's 15 years, but Brian and Roger always look the same.

Queen is a band that's part of a generation. Their music is well known to everyone who lived from the 1970's to the 1990's, and to most people who were born later. They're the best known rock group of the late 20th Century. They had a series of hit singles, which couldn't be said of other rock bands like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. Queen was a rock band, but with a lighter sound that appealed to fans of pop music.

The film spends a long time showing the development and recording of the song "Bohemian Rhapsody". It's interesting to see that it was slammed by music critics when it was released as a single. Fans loved it. It was Queen's first #1 single in the UK.

The film isn't just about Freddie Mercury's music. It's about his sexual odyssey. He didn't realise until relatively late in his life – the late 1970's? – that he was homosexual. It's possible that his strict religious upbringing suppressed his feelings when he was younger. Nevertheless, his emotions and his sexuality were separate. He loved his girlfriend Mary Austin and always called her the love of his life, but his sexual desires were for men. That's a tragic position for a man to be in.

I regret that the full 20-minute Live Aid performance is only available as a deleted scene on the Blu-ray disc. The film itself only shows a shortened 11-minute version. The Live Aid performance shows the actor Rami Malek at the peak of his acting abilities. You could even think that Freddie Mercury has come back to life.

Freddie's premature death at the age of 45 was a tragedy. He was diagnosed with AIDS when it was still a barely understood new disease. There were still years of songs left to be written. Queen carried on without him, but they were never the same.

Success Rate:  + 16.1

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Bronson (4½ Stars)

True Stories #14

Name: Charles Bronson

Lived: 6 December 1952 – still alive

Film dates: 1953 to 2000 (approx), mostly 1974 to 2000

Film made in 2008

The film is a true story about Michael Peterson, who later changed his name to Charles Bronson. He was born in 1952 in Luton, and his main goal in life was to become famous. He couldn't sing, he couldn't act, and even as a criminal he was a failure. In 1974 he committed his first crime, robbing a post office. He stole £26.18, for which he was sentenced to seven years in prison. 48 years later he's still in prison, having spent over 30 years in solitary confinement. The British press has labelled him Britain's most violent prisoner. During his time in prison he's not only beat up guards on a regular basis. He's taken prison staff as hostages and set buildings on fire. After having his photo on the front page of British newspapers and being the subject of this film, he's achieved the fame he's always wanted.

"Bronson" is filmed in a surreal style. Charles Bronson is standing on a stage telling his life story to a barely visible audience, which laughs and applauds every time he says something spectacular. He's an entertainer. He's a clown. He's the star of the Charles Bronson Show. The use of classical music makes it obvious that the director Nicolas Winding Refn is imitating "Clockwork Orange". That's not a criticism. He does it well.

Tom Hardy puts on an outstanding performance as Charles Bronson. The highest praise came from Bronson himself. After seeing the film he said, "I honestly believe nobody on the planet could play me as Tom did. He is more like me than I am". Obviously, Tom Hardy had a great deal of respect for the man he was playing. Is it possible to respect Britain's most violent prisoner? Bronson's incarceration puts the whole prison system in question. He's spent years beating up prison guards because they're keeping him locked up. If he were released he'd stop beating them up. In fact, he wouldn't beat anyone up. While on the outside Bronson was a polite, well-spoken person. If the prisons want the violence to stop, they should release him. It's as simple as that.

Success Rate:  + 8.0

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Angela's Ashes (5 Stars)

True Stories #13

Name: Frank McCourt

Lived: 19 August 1930 – 19 July 2009

Film dates: 1935 to 1949

Film made in 1997

In 1996 the Irish American author Frank McCourt wrote an autobiography of his early years in Ireland. It was hugely popular with critics and the general public. Notably, it started a new literature genre: the misery memoir. Despite the happy ending – Frank returning to America – the autobiography is a string of one unhappy event after another. In fact, the situations and events that he portrays are so miserable that he was accused of exaggerating his childhood misery. He denied these accusations.

I haven't read the book, but I've read a brief summary, and it seems like the film closely follows the book, with the exception of a blunder at the end. Frank McCourt returned to America in 1949, but a calendar on the wall of the travel agent where he buys his ticket says it's 1946. Yes, I'm pedantic enough to notice things like that!

The film begins in Brooklyn, New York. Frank is the oldest of five children. The misery begins almost immediately. Three minutes into the film Frank's sister Margaret dies. His father leaves the apartment to go on a drinking binge. His mother Angela suffers from depression and can't get out of bed. The remaining children have no food and run around the house naked and hungry. This is the impetus for the family to return to Ireland, where Angela's family can help to take care of them.

They move into a house in Limerick where the ground floor is flooded after every rainfall. Frank's twin brothers die within the next 20 minutes of the film. The whole of the film shows the family fighting with hunger and poverty. It also shows Frank's religious development. He grows up as a strict Catholic, the same as all young boys in Ireland in the first half of the 20th Century. He does many things that he knows to be wrong, but he feels guilty and regrets them.

One of Frank's reasons to feel guilt is that he paid Peter Dooley for the privilege of peeking through the window when his sisters were taking a bath. Only a shilling. What a bargain!

It's only today that I realised this is part of the misery story. Frank visited Peter's house with two friends and paid to see the girls, but the first boy to look through the window made a noise, and they were chased off. Frank never got to see the naked breasts. Poor Frank paid for nothing.

Something that's dreadful is the Irish bigotry. Frank's father comes from Northern Ireland, or as they call it, "the North of Ireland". He's a Catholic, but they still criticise him for his place of origin. They repeatedly refer to him as a Protestant, even though he was a Catholic who had fought for the IRA. (Note: in the film nobody believes that he'd been in the IRA, but recently uncovered records reveal that it's true). The idea that all northern Irish are Protestants is bigotry, nothing less.

That's not to say that Frank's father was a good man. He was an alcoholic all his life. However hungry his family was, he spent the little money that he had on beer and whiskey. This put young Frank in a dilemma. He loved his father, but he hated his father's drinking.

Frank's father walked out on a Christmas Day and never came back. The autobiography was named after his mother, but the main emphasis of the film is Frank's relationship with his father. I can understand how a son can love his father regardless of his faults. My own father was a very complicated man. In most ways he was a very good man, but he was emotionally cold. This coldness hurt me a lot when I was growing up, but now that he's dead I only think about his positive traits.

The three Franks

The film is excellent. There are stunning performances by Robert Carlyle and Emily Watson as the parents, as well as the three actors who play the part of Frank McCourt. I don't understand why the film wasn't a box office success, especially after the book's commercial success.

Success Rate:  - 1.9

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