Paddington in Peru (4 Stars)

This is the third film in the Paddington series. Can it be considered the final part in a trilogy? Yes and No. It doesn't round off any open threads from the previous films, which is a No. But it goes back to Paddington's origins, which is a Yes. So make your mind up.

Paddington has settled into his new home in London. He even has a British passport, although he has no reason to leave the country. One day he receives a letter from the Home For Retired Bears in Peru, telling him his Aunt Lucy wants to see him. I don't remember her being mentioned in the previous films, but a flashback tells him that she's the bear who rescued him when he fell into a stream as a child. He was separated from his parents, so she brought him up as her own child.

Paddington sets off to visit her with the Brown family. If you don't know who they are, go back and watch the first two films! On arriving in Peru, he's told that Lucy has gone on a journey. This is suspicious, because she's left her glasses behind. Foul play is suspected.

Together with the Reverend Mother who leads the Retirement Home, Paddington and his friends head into the jungle after hiring a boat from a devious sailor.

Olivia Colman looks like the role as Reverend Mother was written for her. I've tagged the film as a musical because she occasionally breaks into song, leading the other nuns to dance around her.

I had difficulty rating the film. The scenery is spectacular. It was filmed in Colombia, not Peru itself, but it looks realistic enough. I can't tell the difference. Can you? Despite frequent slapstick sequences, I didn't find it particularly funny. I glanced sideways and saw that Oliver also didn't laugh much, although he told me later that he'd enjoyed the film.

This was my first visit to the Metropol cinema since it changed owners. It used to belong to the Innenstadt cinemas, but it closed in December 2020 due to the Corona pandemic. It reopened in October 2024 as part of the Traumpalast group. When the cinema closed it wasn't expected to reopen as a cinema, so the building's owner demanded that the seats be removed. This was unfortunate, because it delayed the reopening while new seats were installed. The Traumpalast made the most of it by installing luxurious seats, better than the old seats.

Perfume (5 Stars)

This is the latest film in the Best Of Cinema series. It's unique among the 24 films already shown or announced so far, as the only film that's less than 20 years old. Is that a mistake? Maybe it is, but it's a welcome mistake. It's a brilliant film, and it's already included in my top 100 film list. It's in 94th place at the moment, but I think it should be higher. I'll think it over next time I review my list.

Tonight I spoke with a few people in the cinema, and they'd all seen the film before. I've watched it four times since I started my blog, probably twice before. I wish I'd started my blog in 2003 when I first became a serious film fan. This is the first time I've seen it on the big screen.

One thing I didn't mention in my previous reviews is my shock at French executions in the 18th Century. Most countries used to hang criminals, and I thought that France used the guillotine, but not in this film. Is it historically accurate? The person is bound to a pillar and the executioner hits him with a hammer in eight places on his arms and legs, breaking his bones, after which he's left to die. Is it really necessary that the person should die in such pain, whatever he's done?

I expect to be writing less, if at all, for the next two weeks, because I'm going on holiday: one week in Borkum and one week in Karlsbad, on the northern tip of the Black Forest. I'll be looking after my grandchildren, so I doubt I'll have much time to write.

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No Time To Die (4½ Stars)

Amazon Friday #31

I've finally got round to seeing the latest James Bond film after missing it in the cinema last year. I like the film a lot, and I felt tempted to give it a five star rating, but I changed my mind at the last moment because of one thing: it's not a James Bond film.

I refuse to get into arguments about whether Daniel Craig is a good Bond or not. For me it's all about how the script has been written. Daniel Craig doesn't play the brash, sexist Bond that we've grown to love over the last 60 years. He stands mourning for his lost love, Vesper Lynd. She was a character in Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel, "Casino Royale", a book that was never filmed in the classic James Bond series, 1962 to 2002. It was finally filmed in the rebooted series in 2006.

There's no bad Bond girl. That's not right. James Bond always needs a sexy woman trying to kill him, whether or not she eventually succumbs to his charms. The only real good Bond girl is Ana de Armas as Paloma, but this is spoilt by her not falling into bed with him. Madeleine Swann is a character from a previous film, which is a no-no, as far as James Bond is concerned. His lovers never last from one film to the next, so I wouldn't count her as a Bond girl.

And James Bond as a father? Really? He's always careful that things like that don't happen.

Let's see what happens in the next film. Will it be another reboot? Or will it be a James Bond film without James Bond? It would be interesting to have Nomi return as the new 007, as long as the tables are turned. Lashana Lynch could play a sexist Jane Bond, and each new film would feature Bond Boys that she beds at a whim. I'd like that.

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Perfume (5 Stars)

Dancer's Top Films #80

For me every actor has a signature role. That's one role that defines him, and it's the role that people think of whenever his name is mentioned. If there's an actor who doesn't have a signature role, it's either because I don't know enough of his films or because he hasn't yet made the film with his signature role. To give a few examples:

Arnold Schwarzenegger's signature role is the Terminator.

Bela Lugosi's signature role is Dracula.

Tom Hanks' signature role is Forrest Gump.

Nicolas Cage's signature role is Seth in "City of Angels".

Bruno Ganz's signature role is Adolf Hitler.

Keanu Reeves' signature role is John Wick. This is an interesting one, because I used to think his signature role was Neo in the Matrix films, but I've changed my mind. John Wick expresses more accurately who he is.

Beverly Lynne's signature role is Tanya X.

And Ben Whishaw's signature role is Jean-Baptiste Grenouille in "Perfume". I don't care how many times he plays Q in the James Bond films, he'll always be the brooding serial killer Jean-Baptiste.

I can't write about this film without mentioning Karoline Herfurth, the stunningly beautiful actress who plays the plum seller. It was intended to cast an English or American actress for the role, but after a long fruitless search Karoline was picked, a German actress who had already worked with the director Tom Tykwer.

The film has epic proportions, despite its seemingly banal plot: it's about one man's quest to create the perfect perfume. 5,200 extras were used in the film, and the final orgy scene holds the record for the largest orgy on film, with 750 extras taking part. According to the director's commentary, they had to rehearse a whole week eight hours a day in order to feel comfortable with being naked.

These are just a few of the participants. It wasn't an easy scene to film, because the extras were all packed together in a cramped space. Amusingly, Tom Tykwer says that after making the film a large number of the naked extras still meet on a regular basis to reminisce about the film. Rolling naked in a courtyard with 750 other people must be a unique bonding experience.

Karoline Herfurth also appears naked briefly, though not in the orgy scene. She was already dead, Jean-Baptiste's first victim.

So many naked bodies, and yet Alan Rickman has to keep his clothes on. I bet he wishes he could have been one of the extras.

This is a magnificent film. It doesn't neatly fit any genre. It's a masterpiece.

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Perfume (5 Stars)

Most people know Ben Whishaw for his role as Q in the recent James Bond films, but I can't look at him without remembering him as the cold killer Jean-Baptiste Grenouille in "Perfume". It's a role he plays to perfection. Even though he's a serial killer, we can't help feeling for him and wishing him good fortune in his quest to find the perfect perfume. He's a charismatic psychopath who draws us in and charms us in with his faraway stare.

I can't think of any other film with a plot vaguely like this. Perfume as the motivation for a murder spree is a bizarre concept, but it seems so natural in the context of the film.

Maybe one of the reasons that we can so easily relate to Jean-Baptiste is the vicious brutality of 18th Century France. Torture is the answer to everything. If someone is suspected of a crime, torture him and he'll confess; just make sure you accurately describe what the crime is, or he'll confess to the wrong crime. If someone is sentenced to death, torture him first, just for the fun or it.

The last time I watched this film I claimed that we don't empathise with Jean-Baptiste. I don't know why I wrote that. It's obviously what I thought at the time. Maybe I needed to watch the film a few times for him to grow on me.

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Little Joe (1 Star)

This is the 14th film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

Who's Little Joe? It's not a person, it's a plant. It's been genetically engineered to give a scent that makes people happy. The effects are overwhelming. Previously unpleasant people become kind and loving. Nobody is sad any more. Only Alice, the plant's creator, suspects that there might be harmful side effects.

This is an awful film that drags on from minute to minute. It's so slow moving and exceedingly dull. I resisted the temptation to look at my watch while the film was running, so I thought it lasted more than two hours. I was wrong. It was only 105 minutes, but it seemed much longer.

Mary Poppins Returns (5 Stars)

This was my first cinema visit of 2019. It started the year off with a bang. It's a film that has been a long time in the making. There are eight books in the Mary Poppins series. The first book was adapted into a film in 1964, and this is the second book. At this speed it will be more than 300 years until the series has been completed.

"Mary Poppins Returns" takes place about 20 years after the first film. Michael and Jane Banks were children in the first film, now they're adults. Michael has children of his own, but his wife has died, so his sister Jane is helping him raise the children. They live in the same house where they grew up. At the beginning of the film lawyers come with the information that the house will be repossessed within a week because Michael is three months behind with a loan.

At this point Mary Poppins descends from the sky. She takes her place within the Banks' household as if she had never left. Her priority is the children's well-being. She's aware of the problems with the loan, but she doesn't get involved.

This isn't a film to be enjoyed with your head, it's to be felt with your heart. The visuals are glorious, and there are more animated sequences than in the first film.

Many of the songs from the first film have become classics that have taken their place in British culture, maybe also American culture. People in Britain know the songs by heart. The question I asked myself while sitting in the cinema was whether new classics have been created. It's difficult to decide after only hearing the songs once. My impression of the first half hour was that there was nothing of epic quality, but as the film continued the songs improved. I'm not talking about songs being merely good, I'm talking about songs that will be remembered from generation to generation for the next 50 years and beyond. That's a lot to ask of any songwriter.

The film achieved its highest peaks in the big song and dance musical numbers. There was a Wow effect every time they were in full swing. This is a musical magic that's missing in weaker films like "La La Land". There are more of these scenes than in "Mary Poppins", making "Mary Poppins" a more spectacular film overall.

I love this film. That's all I can say. The rest of 2019's films have a lot to live up to.

The Lobster (4 Stars)

If there's one serious message that can be learnt from this deliciously absurd film, it's that extremism breeds counter-extremism. People who oppose an extreme political movement are in danger that they'll go too far in the other direction. For instance, Fascism arose in Germany after the First World War in order to combat Communism. In modern Germany groups are being founded to protest against racism (which they wrongly call Fascism because they can't tell the difference). These so-called anti-fascist groups are more violent than the ones they're protesting against. It's not just in the heat of the moment, some people even claim that violence against "Fascists" is justified. That shows that they've become incapable of clear reasoning. Extremism breeds counter-extremism.

If I describe the "The Lobster" to you you'll think it's a comedy. It's not. It's not even a dark comedy. It's a satire. It's also a love story.

In the brave new world presented in "The Lobster" it's illegal to be single. Everyone has to have a partner. People who are unattached, whether from choice or accidentally, are sent to a hotel where they have a chance to meet a compatible partner. They have 45 days to hook up with someone. If they're still single at the end of this time they're turned into animals of their own choosing.

Colin Farrell has just been divorced after 12 years of marriage. He's sent to the hotel to find a new partner. In the event of remaining single he chooses to become a lobster. For the first half of the film he plays by the rules, trying to find a partner. In the second half he rebels against the system and joins the counter-extremists, the loners. They live wild in the woods and forbid relationships. Anyone who flirts with another person is punished harshly. Kisses are punished by bodily mutilation.

Does anything stand out in this photo of a dating night at the hotel? Everyone is dressed the same. The women all wear the same flower dresses, while the men are dressed in the same suits and ties. It's a satire of dating rituals. People desperate to find a partner at short notice just see those of the opposite sex as identical candidates, as objects, as means to an end. In order to find the right person the hotel imposes laws of compatibility. Every hotel guest has to name one defining characteristic for himself, and he can hook up with someone who has the same characteristic. One woman's characteristic is beautiful hair – difficult for a man to match – while another's is that she suffers from frequent nosebleeds.

The leader of the loners is the cold and ruthless Léa Seydoux. I use her real name because none of the characters in the film are named. They're anonymous. In the hotel they're referred to by their room numbers.

There's one exception. The dog's name is Bob. It's noticeable that his name is used a lot in the film. He wasn't always a dog. He used to be Colin Farrell's brother. Maybe his name is used so often to tell us that people can only find an identity when they leave the human race? I don't know. That's a question I'd like to ask the director.

I know practically nothing about the director, Yorgos Lanthimos. This was his first English language film after making three films in Greek. I've noticed that one of his films, "The Favourite", is scheduled to be shown at the Stuttgart Whie Nights Festival in January. I'll make sure I don't miss it.

Does the film have a happy ending? Sort of. I don't want to say too much in order to avoid spoilers, but I'll say this much: Colin Farrell discovers that he can only find true love when he doesn't play by the rules. If he's forced to find a partner he'll find the wrong one, and if he's forbidden to find a partner he won't find anyone. He has to let love take its course and come naturally to him in its own time.

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Spectre (4 Stars)

This is the fourth film in the New Bond series. Like the previous film, "Skyfall", it's directed by Sam Mendes, but it has a completely different feel to it. It's a darker, more depressing film. This is intensified by the cinematography, which uses dull colours, even in daytime scenes. I'm glad that I've watched the Daniel Craig Bond films (almost) back to back, four films in six days. That's the only way to notice subtle changes in style.

Why is "Spectre" darker than the previous films? It's the arrival of Bond's nemesis Blofeld, whose full name is Ernst Stavro Blofeld. He introduces himself as the man who has been making Bond suffer for years; at least for the last four films. We can expect him to continue making Bond suffer for years to come. Does this mean we can expect more dark, depressing Bond films? I hope so. We had 40 years of camp James Bond films, especially in the Roger Moore years, so it's time to try something new.

Blofeld is played by Christoph Waltz. In an interview after the film's release he said that he wasn't satisfied with his performance. It's the mark of a great actor -- or a great anything else -- that he's the biggest critic of his own work. I felt that he played the part admirably, but he must see minor faults that aren't apparent to me. It depends on what he's trying to achieve. Is he attempting to model himself on any one of the past incarnations of Blofeld? In the Classic Bond films he was played by five different actors. For me Donald Pleasance is the version of Blofeld that I most fondly remember. Telly Savalas was so different that he seemed like a different person.

Donald Pleasance was a superbly evil version of Blofeld. Telly Savalas ran around too much, which made him seem comical. Christoph Waltz is somehow creepy as every bad guy that he plays, and that fits the role of Blofeld. I assume that he'll try to be closer to his vision of the role in the next Bond film. When I see him again I'll better understand what he's trying to achieve.

"Spectre" adds something to the character of Blofeld that wasn't in the Classic Bond films or the Ian Fleming novels. Bond and Blofeld are brothers! By adoption, at least. After the death of Bond's family he was adopted by Blofeld's father. At the time Blofeld used his birth name, Franz Oberhauser. He despised his adopted brother so much, feeling jealous of the attention his father gave him, so he killed his father, faked his own death and changed his name. Blofeld is his mother's maiden name, but his new Christian names are random.

There's a subtle irony that my friends missed when I went to watch "Spectre" with them in the cinema two years ago. In the Austin Powers films Dr. Evil, pictured above, is a parody of Blofeld. In the third film, "Goldmember", he reveals that he's really Austin Powers' lost brother. Now "Spectre" has copied this idea from "Goldmember". James Bond influenced Austin Powers, and now Austin Powers is influencing James Bond. I wonder if this crossed the minds of the screenwriters when they were writing the script.

Could Daniel Craig and Christoph Waltz be brothers? Even though the relationship is only by adoption there are certain similarities. Judge for yourself.

Where did the film take me on my virtual holiday today? London, as always, followed by Mexico, Morocco, Italy and Austria. Who needs to fly to other countries when he has a Blu-ray player?

You can skip the rest of this post if you don't speak German. Here's a newspaper report about the death of Blofeld's father. It contains a few errors and examples of poor style that could have been avoided by letting Christoph Waltz, a native Austrian, take a quick look at it. "Tal" and "gebracht" are two separate words that shouldn't have been combined. The word separation is faulty throughout. Probably the text was typed using an English version of MS Word, and the English language word separation algorithm was used. A German would never separate "Obduktionsbericht" as "Obduktionsberi-cht". Also, it's not usual to call the body of a dead person a "Körper". The word "Leiche" would be used. That's sloppy.

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Skyfall (5 Stars)

Until today this was the only James Bond film that I had never seen. My friends already told me before I went to see "Spectre" in 2015 that "Skyfall" was the best Bond film ever. Then I read that "Skyfall" was the biggest box office success of all the Bond films, the seventh most successful film of all time, but even that didn't tempt me to catch up with it.

Now I've finally seen it for myself. It's an amazing film, especially in contrast to the relatively weak "Quantum of Solace". Maybe it's because of the arrival of a new director, Sam Mendes? I don't know. Whatever the reason is, "Skyfall" stands out as a classic. At the moment of writing this I'm still trying to think if there's any justification for giving it less than five stars.

Q and Moneypenny are back, after I complained about their absence in the last two films. However, they're completely different characters, even if they share the same names. In the Classic Bond films Q was an inventor who supplied James Bond with the most adventurous and infeasible gadgets. The new Q only gives Bond a gun and a radio. When Bond looks disappointed, Q's reply is "Were you expecting an exploding pen? We don't really go in for that any more".

James Bond makes remarks about Q's youth. The actor Ben Whishaw was actually 31 when the film was made, but it's true, he hardly looks a day over 20. Rather than being a seasoned old man like Desmond Llewelyn he's MI6's whizz kid.

In the Classic Bond films Miss Moneypenny's first name was never stated. She worked as M's secretary. It was an often repeated joke that she had a crush on Bond, and he flirted with her on every visit, but whatever promises Bond might have made to take her on a date never came to fruition. Miss Moneypenny always looked plain, in comparison to the sexy girls that he bedded in each film. Please don't accuse me of judging women by their looks, I'm just telling you how Bond judged women. If Miss Moneypenny had worn a short skirt and thigh high boots Bond would have wanted her.

In "Skyfall" we're told that her first name is Eve, which isn't much of a deviation from Classic Bond, but just look at her! When I first heard that Naomie Harris had been cast as Miss Moneypenny I shook my head and said "No, no, no. She's much too beautiful to be Miss Moneypenny". James Bond wouldn't have ignored her for 50 years if she'd looked so hot, even without the thigh high boots. That's what I thought in 2012, and it was one of the many reasons I didn't go to the cinema to watch "Skyfall". I think differently now. She's not the same Moneypenny, she's a new character with the same name. She can't just type, she's a field agent who is an expert sniper. She says in the film that she's applied for a desk job as M's secretary, though I find that a bit difficult to believe. Field agent to secretary seems too big a descent.

There's one small detail in the film which I consider significant. James Bond's Aston Martin is fetched out of storage, only to be destroyed a few scenes later. Sam Mendes wanted to emphasise that the old Bond is gone and a new Bond has stepped into his shoes.

In my review of "Tracks" last month I explained that I don't need to go on holiday, because films take me around the world. The best way to enjoy an instant cinematic holiday is to watch a James Bond film. All of his films jump from one country to another. "Casino Royale" took me to London, Italy, the Bahamas and Montenegro. "Quantum of Solace" took me to London, Italy, Austria and Bolivia (although the Bolivian scenes were actually shot in Chile). Today I used "Skyfall" to visit London yet again, followed by Istanbul, Shanghai and finally the most beautiful country on Earth: Scotland! Skyfall is the name of the Bond family estate in the Western Highlands. This estate is fictional, but the location is Glen Etive, a few miles south of Glencoe. The area between Fort William and Glencoe is the most attractive part of Scotland. Some people prefer Skye, and I admit that Skye is beautiful, but I contend that the people who prefer Skye have never spent time walking through the mountains and valleys of Glencoe. I have visited the area many times.

Here are a few screenshots from the film to show what I mean.

I could have posted 50 screenshots from the film, but these pictures should be enough to show what the Scottish scenery is like. Glen Etive is a wonderful place to visit, but a difficult place to live. It's a long walk to the next supermarket.

But now I've finally decided. Five stars is the rating the film deserves.

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A Hologram for the King (4 Stars)

Tom Hanks gets lost in translation.

He plays Alan Clay, a salesman attempting to sell a high-tech holographic conference system to the King of Saudi Arabia. When he arrives in the city where the king is supposed to live he finds that only one building has been completed, and the king hasn't visited for over 18 months. His frustration turns to rage as he realises that he can't find anyone to help him.

This is an excellent film about a man visiting a country so foreign that it could be another planet. The justaposition of middle eastern and western cultures often seems absurd, especially Alan's journey through Mecca. Friends of mine who have worked in Saudi Arabia have verified that the attitude towards alcohol is accurate. If you ask for alcohol you're told it's forbidden, but if you don't ask you find that it's offered to you when you least expect it.

I almost gave the film a five star rating, but I found the scenes with the cancerous lump on Alan's back distasteful. If that doesn't bother you you'll love the film.

Perfume (4½ Stars)

Following the death of Alan Rickman yesterday I've decided to watch two of his films. He doesn't appear on screen until halfway through the film, but from that moment on he takes his rightful position dominating the film with his Shakespearian acting. This is in part due to the relative vacuum around the film's main character, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, played by Ben Whishaw. This is, as far as I can see, deliberate. Jean-Baptiste is a man like no other who has ever been born, so no attempts are made to help us empathise with him.

The film takes place in France in the 18th Century, in the years before the Revolution. It was a time of great poverty for the masses, while the small ruling elite lived in luxurious excesses. Jean-Baptiste was born in the fish market of Paris. His mother had no intention of keeping the baby, so he was sent to an orphanage. At the age of eight he was sold to a tannery, where boys had a short life expectancy in the unsanitary working environment.

But as I already mentioned above, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille was like no other man. He was gifted with a sense of smell that was phenomenal. He could accurately recognise people and objects by their smell, even at long distances. On the other hand, he had no emotions at all. He was incapable of feeling love, and he didn't even have feelings of lust. For him the only thing that mattered was being able to smell the most beautiful of scents.

If Jean-Baptiste had been content with smelling what was around him he could have lived his life in happiness and anonymity. This changed when he met the beautiful red-haired plum seller, played by Karoline Herfurth. First he was intoxicated by her smell, but then he accidentally killed her, and he was fascinated to realise that immediately after her death she smelt even sweeter. He revelled in this odour, but it faded after a few minutes.

This leads to a life-long obsession. He wants to find a way to preserve the scent of a dying woman. He begins an apprenticeship as a perfumer to learn how to preserve smells. After mastering this skill he sets out to create the ultimate perfume by mixing the scents of 13 dead women. This brings him into conflict with the wealthy nobleman Antoine Richis, played by Alan Rickman, because he needs his daughter for the perfume.

Why does Jean-Baptiste have such an obsession with red-haired girls? Do they really smell better than anyone else? I don't know, because my sense of smell isn't as well developed as his. However, my eyesight is good enough to verify that both Karoline Herfurth and Rachel Hurd-Wood are stunningly beautiful. I'm sure my readers will agree with me.

The Danish Girl (3 Stars)

Usually when I review a film based on a true story I only write briefly about the film, concentrating on the facts behind it. I've decided not to do it in this case, because the film differs so greatly from what really happened in aspects vital to the story. If I wrote about the real Einar Wegener aka Lili Elbe it would be a totally different person to the one portrayed in the film. The film isn't to blame for the alteration of the facts. It's based on a best-selling novel by David Ebershoff, written in 2000, which fictionalises the events and their background. It's best that I avoid complications by treating the film as a work of fiction and only write about what it tells us.

Einar Wegener and his wife Gerda were both painters living in Denmark in 1920's. He was a successful landscape artist, considered by many to be Denmark's greatest living artist. She painted portraits of women and was less successful. When a model failed to turn up to be painted, Gerda asked Einar to dress up in women's clothing to take her place. Einar enjoyed the experience, and Gerda encouraged him to go out with her as a woman for a game. This game got out of control when Einar, calling himself Lili, began to flirt with a man at a dinner party.

Things became increasingly complicated. When dressed as a woman, Lili spoke of Einar in the third person, as if it were someone else. Similarly, when dressed as a man he spoke of Lili as a different person that he wanted to let out to play. This coincided with Gerda finally becoming successful, because her paintings of Lili were her best work ever.

After a few years Einar felt that it was time to abandon his male character and fully become Lili. To do this he went to Dresden for surgery to have his male organs removed and replaced by female organs. He chose the family name Elbe, the name of the river that flows through Dresden. The operation made him visually a woman, but it wasn't enough for him. He wanted to be able to have a baby, so he returned for a second operation that he didn't survive.

The acting of the two main characters is nothing short of phenomenal, worthy of Oscar nominations. It's almost that time again, isn't it? Eddie Redmayne ably manages to portray both a man and a woman, as well as the indecisiveness of someone living a double life. Alicia Vikander perfectly portrays the dilemma of a woman slowly losing the man she loves as he disappears into an abyss.

As I see it, the film was made with an agenda. It's intended to show the acceptability of people choosing their own gender, whether merely by dressing up as the opposite gender or undergoing gender alteration surgery. If I remember the correct words, Einar says of his operation, "God made me a woman. The doctor is curing me of the sickness that makes me look like a man". That's a highly political statement. It denies that a person undergoing a sex change operation is changing himself, it says that the person is being cured of something that was wrong in the first place.

Einar Wegener

Gerda Wegener

If you're wondering why I've rated this film so low, it's because it tramples on the truth in order to deliver its political message. I'll briefly describe the main deviations from the real characters.

Einar Wegener was not born a man. He was a hermaphrodite born with the traits of both genders. One of the complications in his second operation was that when the surgeon wanted to insert female reproductive organs, ovaries were found already present in his body.

Gerda Wegener was a lesbian and preferred her husband to dress as a woman.

Einar and Gerda lived in Paris much earlier than the film suggests, before the first World War. While in Paris, a city where nobody knew them, they lived as lesbian lovers.

In the Heart of the Sea (4 Stars)

This is the true story that inspired the famous American novel "Moby Dick". Following the style of 10th Century novellas, it begins in 1850, but most of the story takes place in 1820.

The author Herman Melville visits an inn owned by Thomas Nickerson (Brendan Gleeson), the last remaining survivor of the Essex, a whaleship that was lost at sea. Nickerson has never told the story of the ship to anyone, so Melville offers him a large bribe. Not even this can persuade Nickerson, racked by guilt over what happened, but Nickerson's wife insists that he should take the money.

In 1820 the Essex sailed to sea to kill whales for oil. At that time whales were the soul source of the oil that was used for home and street lighting. The most experienced sailor was Owen Chase (Christ Hemsworth), but another man, George Pollard, was picked as captain because of his family connections. That was the journey's first mistake. When lives are at stake an inexperienced man shouldn't be put in charge.

After mishaps on the voyage the Essex finally finds a large school of whales, but their attempts to kill a large white whale lead to their ship being sunk, hundreds of miles from land. They escape in lifeboats, but the whale follows them. When the food runs out the men have to resort to desperate measures to survive, including cannibalism.

This is a visually spectacular film. There are first class performances by all the actors, but Brendan Gleeson stands head and shoulders above the rest.

Spectre (4 Stars)

James Bond films are a British tradition. They're as British as tea and scones and Doctor Who. The comparison with Doctor Who is the closest. Both have been running for the same length of time, James Bond first appearing on the screen in 1962, Doctor Who in 1963. The Doctor has his companions, James Bond has his Bond girls. The excitement over who will be the next Bond is just as rousing as who will be the next Doctor. The difference is that the Doctor has a regeneration to explain why he always stays young; with James Bond it just happens. Ah, the magic of cinema!

While the Doctor Who series always builds on what has gone before, all the previous episodes being considered canon, the James Bond film series has slipped a reboot on us that we hardly noticed. The first 20 films (or 21, if we include "Never say never again") progress steadily from film to film, the main connecting factor gluing the films together being Desmond Llewelyn as Q.

When Daniel Craig became the 6th James Bond in 2006 he wasn't just a new actor, he was a new Bond in a new era. "Casino Royale" (2006) shows him at the beginning of his career. The following films, leading up to "Spectre" itself, have slowly built up to the existence of a secret organisation and its mysterious leader, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, mirroring the development in the first seven films from 1962 to 1971.

I shan't say anything else about the plot today's film. I have a lot of thoughts and ideas that I'll share in private with my friends who have seen it already, but I don't want to give away spoilers. As far as the character himself goes, it's a return to vintage Bond. He's the suave, debonair lady's man. Lea Seydoux, who plays the latest Bond girl, Dr. Madeleine Swan, recognises who she's dealing with. "There are two James Bonds", she aptly tells him. One is the perfect gentleman who treats a woman like a queen. The other is the misogynist who casts his lover off as soon as he finds someone better. No Bond girl has ever been kept from one film to the next, he always needs new flesh to keep him happy.