Better Man (5 Stars)

For me it's all about the film. My five star rating isn't meant as an endorsement of Robbie Williams' music. I was aware of his career. My daughter was a fan, and she even called our cat Robbie. I didn't like his music, and I liked the music he made with Take That even less. The only album of his that I liked was his album of cover songs, "Swing when you're winning". He did justice to the old classic songs. I remember listening to the CD a few times and thinking Wow. My daughter thought I was becoming a Robbie Williams fan. Not quite.

"Better Man" wins me over emotionally, from Robbie's humble beginnings in Stoke-On-Trent to the death of his grandmother and his reconciliation with his father. It's a beautiful film, whether you like his music or not.

Success Rate:  - 4.9

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The Testament Of Ann Lee (3 Stars)

I saw trailers for this film when I went to the cinema in the last few weeks. It looked good, so I went to see it today, on opening day. I felt confused, not knowing what the director was trying to say. It was only at the end, when the final credits rolled, that I realised it was a true story. I wish I'd known from the start, because I would have got more from it.

Ann Lee is a woman who was born on 29th February 1736 in Manchester, England. She came from a poor family, and she became a child labourer at the age of 10. She felt religious, so she visited different religious groups. Eventually she remained with the Wardley Group, also known as the Shakers. They were a religious group that had split from the Quakers. The leaders preached that Jesus would return as a woman. Ann had visions that revealed to her that she was the new Messiah.

Ann got married and four children. One died in childbirth, the other three died before they reached the age of one. Her visions told her that sexual intercourse is a sin, and even married couples should refrain. The Shakers became celibate.

In 1774 Ann emigrated to America with her followers. In 1784 she died, and the world didn't end.

Despite my low rating, I need to watch the film again. Knowing the background will help me enjoy it more.

Mean Girls [2024] (3 Stars)

Netflix Thursday #45

Mean Girls (2024) is not a simple remake of the 2004 classic but a film adaptation of the Broadway musical, itself based on Tina Fey's original screenplay. Co-written by Fey and directed by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr, the film attempts to translate the story of Cady Heron and the Plastics into a contemporary, social media saturated high school landscape while embracing the conventions of a modern screen musical.

The most immediate and divisive change is the musical format. Characters now express ambition, jealousy and insecurity through song, often in heightened, stylised sequences that lean heavily into TikTok aesthetics and pop choreography. When the numbers work, particularly those centred on Janis and Damian, they add emotional clarity and a sense of theatrical fun. When they do not, they can feel like interruptions rather than narrative propulsion, breaking the sharp pacing that defined the 2004 film.

The cast is uniformly likeable, with Auli'i Cravalho and Jaquel Spivey emerging as highlights. Their expanded roles benefit from the musical structure, giving them space to develop beyond comic sidekicks. Angourie Rice's Cady is more subdued than Lindsay Lohan's original incarnation, and while this fits the ensemble driven approach of the film, it also blunts the impact of Cady's moral decline and eventual self realisation. Renee Rapp's Regina George is more openly vulnerable, shaped less as a pure antagonist and more as a product of image culture and constant online scrutiny.

Social media is central to the film's worldview. Reputation, popularity and humiliation are no longer confined to the school cafeteria but are instantly broadcast and archived online. This is one of the remake's smarter updates, even if it occasionally feels too eager to signal its relevance rather than letting the satire speak for itself.

Where the film struggles is in its humour. Many of the original's most caustic lines and risky jokes have been softened or removed entirely. The result is a film that is kinder and more inclusive but also less quotable and less sharp. The bite that made Mean Girls a cultural phenomenon has been replaced with a smoother, more agreeable tone.

Ultimately, Mean Girls (2024) works best when viewed on its own terms. It is a glossy, energetic musical that reflects contemporary teen culture with sincerity, even if it lacks the ferocity and precision of its predecessor. It does not replace the 2004 film and does not try to. Instead, it offers a reinterpretation shaped by different priorities, audiences and cultural norms.

Key Differences from Mean Girls (2004)

Musical format

The 2024 film is a full musical, adapted from the Broadway stage version, with characters regularly breaking into song to express internal states and advance the plot.

Social media as a narrative engine

Platforms like TikTok and Instagram play a central role in spreading gossip, enforcing hierarchies and accelerating Regina's rise and fall.

Cady's home life

Cady lives with a single mother rather than two parents, and their relationship is given more narrative emphasis.

Softer dialogue and humour

Several iconic lines and insults from the original have been removed or rewritten to align with contemporary sensibilities.

Revised clique presentation

The cafeteria tour of high school stereotypes is streamlined, with fewer caricatured or racially coded groups.

Regina and Janis backstory

The history between Regina and Janis is reframed to avoid implications present in the original film and to give Janis greater emotional legitimacy.

Talent show sequence

The "Jingle Bell Rock" performance is replaced by a different musical number, and Regina's public humiliation is amplified through social media reaction.

Ending structure

The 2004 film includes brief epilogues showing where characters end up. The 2024 version ends more abruptly at the Spring Fling.

Greater diversity and representation

The cast is more racially diverse, with queer characters written more affirmatively and less as punchlines.

Removal of certain iconic scenes

Moments such as the four way phone call are absent, replaced by texting and online communication.

Success Rate:  + 0.9

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Singing in the Rain (5 Stars)

Singing in the Rain (1952) is one of those rare films whose reputation feels both earned and oddly insufficient; no amount of praise quite captures how effortlessly it works. On the surface it is a light, witty backstage comedy about Hollywood's transition from silent cinema to sound. In practice it becomes something richer; a musical that understands film history, celebrates performance and never forgets that its first duty is to delight.

Gene Kelly's Don Lockwood is a silent star whose carefully manufactured image begins to collapse with the arrival of talking pictures. The plot uses this upheaval as a springboard for satire, romance and bravura musical numbers. What makes the film special is how organically those numbers grow out of character and situation. Songs do not interrupt the story; they are the story, expressing joy, frustration and romantic possibility with a fluency that spoken dialogue could only flatten.

Kelly's famous title number remains the film's defining moment, and for good reason. It is not merely a catchy song paired with athletic dancing; it is cinema at its most expressive, using rain, lamplight and camera movement to externalise happiness. Debbie Reynolds brings warmth and quick intelligence to Kathy Selden, even if her dubbing role is undercut by the irony that her own singing voice was partially replaced. Donald O'Connor's Cosmo Brown almost steals the film outright; his "Make 'Em Laugh" sequence is a masterclass in comic physicality, editing and sheer endurance.

Much of the film's claim to greatness lies in its self awareness. Hollywood is both the subject and the punchline. The studio system is gently mocked, from manufactured romances to technical incompetence, yet there is no bitterness here. The satire is affectionate, suggesting that cinema survives not because it is perfect but because it adapts, improvises and occasionally gets lucky. The film knows its own medium intimately, and that knowledge gives it confidence rather than cynicism.

Many critics claim that Singing in the Rain is the best musical ever filmed. Is this true? The answer depends on what one values. Other contenders excel in different areas; the integrated drama of West Side Story, the emotional sweep of The Sound of Music, the stylised fantasy of The Wizard of Oz. What Singing in the Rain does better than any rival is balance. It blends music, dance, comedy, romance and technical craft so completely that nothing feels strained. There is no sense of prestige chasing, no obvious bid for importance. Its greatness comes from precision and pleasure rather than scale.

If "best" means the musical that most perfectly understands what cinema can do with song and movement, then the case is very strong. It may not be the most ambitious musical ever made, but it's arguably the most complete. More than seventy years on, it still feels fresh, generous and alive; qualities that matter more than grandeur when judging the form at its peak.

Success Rate:  + 0.8

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Cover Girl (5 Stars)

Cover Girl (1944) often gets remembered as a glossy Rita Hayworth vehicle, but its real historical weight lies in what it did for Gene Kelly. More than any of his earlier screen appearances, the film announces Kelly as a major Hollywood star and, crucially, as a new kind of musical performer.

Before Cover Girl, Kelly had appeared in films like For Me and My Gal, but he was still feeling his way into cinema. He came from Broadway, where his athletic style and masculine energy already set him apart, yet Hollywood musicals were dominated by a lighter, more elegant tradition. In Cover Girl, Kelly finally finds material that allows him to fuse dance, character and storytelling into something coherent and modern.

The film is important because it positions Kelly as both romantic lead and creative force. As Rusty Parker's press agent and love interest, he is not simply there to support Hayworth's rise; he embodies a working-class, artistic ideal that contrasts with the artificial glamour of modelling and celebrity. Kelly dances not as an exhibitionist but as a man expressing frustration, joy and desire. This approach would become central to his later work.

The famous "Alter Ego" routine is the clearest statement of Kelly's significance. Dancing with his own reflection, Kelly literalises an internal conflict through choreography. It is witty, technically daring and psychologically expressive. No other male dancer in Hollywood at the time was doing anything quite like this. The sequence effectively declares that dance can visualise thought and emotion, not just decorate a song.

Cover Girl also marks Kelly's growing confidence behind the scenes. Although officially co-directed by Charles Vidor, Kelly had significant input into the choreography and conception of his numbers. You can already see the seeds of the integrated musical he would later perfect in On the Town, An American in Paris and Singing in the Rain. Dance is not a pause in the story; it is the story.

For Kelly's career, the film was transformative. It proved he could carry a major studio musical opposite one of Columbia's biggest stars. It also established his screen persona; athletic, earnest, romantic without being foppish. After Cover Girl, Kelly was no longer a promising Broadway import; he was a genuine film star and a creative visionary.

In that sense, Cover Girl is less about fashion magazines and show-business fantasy than it first appears. It is the moment Gene Kelly steps fully into his own, reshaping the Hollywood musical from the inside and setting the direction for the genre's golden age.

Joker Folie à Deux (5 Stars)

Why it surpasses the first film

Joker (2019) was a character study built on grit, alienation and a slow descent into madness. Joker: Folie à Deux keeps that foundation yet pushes the concept into stranger bolder territory. This shift is exactly what makes it a stronger film. Where the first film offered a grim portrait of a man collapsing under the weight of society, the sequel becomes a fever dream shared between two unstable souls. It is more daring, more self aware and far more playful with the idea of cinematic reality.

The most obvious difference is the musical structure. Instead of repeating the grounded aesthetic of the first film, Folie à Deux uses musical sequences as windows into Arthur and Harley’s shared delusion. These scenes are not simple gimmicks; they become expressions of their mental state. The first film showed Arthur imagining an audience that never applauded him; the sequel lets him build entire worlds in song. The musical moments allow the film to explore fantasy, desire and dependency in ways the original could not. This added layer of surrealism gives the sequel more emotional range.

The chemistry between Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga also strengthens the narrative. Phoenix retains his uneasy unpredictability, yet Gaga brings a chaotic vulnerability that reshapes Arthur’s story. She does not imitate past versions of Harley; she invents her own that fits this universe. The dynamic between them has more energy than anything in the first film. It creates tension, tenderness and danger. Their relationship becomes the engine of the plot rather than a simple consequence of Arthur’s actions.

The sequel also feels less burdened by the need to justify itself as a “serious” comic book movie. It allows moments of humour to seep through, then happily undercuts them with dread. The result is more confident and more artistically free. Where the first film sometimes felt restrained by its insistence on realism, Folie à Deux embraces the subjective chaos of its characters. The film shifts tone with purpose; suddenly a scene is menacing, then it becomes operatic, then intimate. This variety makes it richer and more memorable.

Visually the sequel is more expressive. The colour palette is bolder and the cinematography leans into the idea of unreliable perception. Gotham still feels oppressive, yet it also becomes theatrical, almost like a stage for Arthur and Harley’s fantasies. This blend of harshness and fantasy gives the film an identity distinctly separate from the first.

Most importantly the sequel expands the themes. Instead of focusing mainly on systemic neglect it explores shared delusion, co-dependency and the longing to be seen. Arthur’s story becomes larger than a lonely man’s breakdown; it becomes an unsettling duet about two people who find comfort in each other’s madness. It is disturbing, sometimes touching and always compelling.

Joker: Folie à Deux improves on the first film by refusing to repeat it. It is weirder, more emotional and more ambitious. Instead of explaining Arthur Fleck it lets us get lost in the world he creates with Harley. In doing so it becomes a sequel that dares to be different and ends up being more satisfying.

Success Rate:  - 0.9

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Becoming Led Zeppelin (5 Stars)

A documentary about Led Zeppelin? How could I possibly not go to see it!

The film consists of interviews with the three remaining band members (Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones) and recordings of interviews with John Bonham, who died in 1980. There are also extended excerpts of concert recordings.

I know Led Zeppelin's music. I didn't buy any of their albums when I was young, but my school friend David Pace lent them to me. He was an enthusiastic fan of their music. I was less enthusiastic at the time, because I couldn't relate to blues. I was a fan of Black Sabbath, a rock group that had abandoned blues from their second album onwards. I didn't start to like the blues until much later, about 20 years ago. This is when I finally became a Led Zeppelin fan.

The film still told me things I didn't know. I knew that Jimmy Page had played with the Yardbirds, but I didn't know that the four musicians (Page, Plant, Jones and Bonham) had gone on tour in 1968 as the Yardbirds. They could have recorded their first album together as the sixth Yardbirds album, but they wanted to make a new start.

Led Zeppelin was originally popular in America. In the interviews they speak about living in two different worlds. They performed to sold out concerts in America, then flew back to England where nobody knew them. It took at least a year for their popularity to pick up in England.

The documentary ends with Led Zeppelin playing at London's Royal Albert Hall on 9th January 1970. This was when they'd truly made it big. This was when they'd become Led Zeppelin.

The cinema was almost full tonight. I assume that most of the people in the audience were hardcore Led Zeppelin fans, but I overheard an interesting conversation on the way out. There were two men, 50-ish, dressed in suits. One said to the other, "The music was so powerful. You're a Led Zeppelin fan, but I don't know them".

Wow! How can anyone go all his life without being aware of Led Zeppelin? I can only imagine that he was a classical music fan or something like that. But whatever the reason, he was overwhelmed by the music. I hope his friend will help him discover their albums over the next few weeks.

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.

Better Man (4½ Stars)

Have you ever had one of those days when you feel you're going to see the wrong film? When I arrived at the cinema today it was packed. The queue was so long that it stretched out of the foyer and into the entrance area. That always warms my heart. I'm happy to see cinemas doing well. Cinema attendances took ages to recover after the Corona pandemic.

But what were the people going to see? At the door where the tickets were checked, almost everyone headed straight on to watch "Nosferatu" on the largest screen downstairs. I was one of a few who went up the stairs to watch "Better Man". In fact, the theatre upstairs was almost empty. There couldn't have been more than twenty of us watching "Better Man". That's understandable. Robbie Williams was a big star in Britain, but only moderately popular abroad. In America he was almost unknown.

Nevertheless, those of us who sat watching "Better Man" were greatly entertained.

It was moving for me to see Robbie's childhood in the streets of Stoke-on-Trent. It was an important city for me in my teenage years, and the scene of one of the most dramatic events of my life. It was the place where I attempted suicide when I was 18. It was something I'd been planning for weeks. I never talked about it to anyone. I always say that people who talk about suicide won't go through with it. It's just a cry for help. There's nothing wrong with that. People who want help shouldn't be ashamed of asking for it.

I took a train to Stoke-on-Trent in the morning. I was careful not to carry anything with me that would identify me. I went onto a hill overlooking the city and swallowed a packet of rat poison, washing it down with lemonade. It had a bitter taste, difficult to swallow. Then I sat watching boys playing football lower on the hill, until I grew tired. Eventually I lay down to sleep, happy in the knowledge that I would never wake up.

But I did wake up. I don't know how long I'd been sleeping. I didn't have a watch with me. The sun was still shining, but it was summer, so it could have been two hours later. I don't know. I didn't feel bad, so I went to the train station and travelled home.

In the evening I was watching television with my mother, as if nothing had happened. Then I developed stomach cramps, so I told her what I'd done. An ambulance came. In hospital my stomach was pumped. I was told that I was very lucky. Lucky? I considered myself unlucky. I was surrounded by people asking me why I'd done it. That was a nightmare. I never told anyone the truth, even when I spent six weeks in a lunatic asylum.

I'd attempted suicide because of my mother. Growing up we'd always been close. She wasn't just a mother, she was my best friend. That changed in my mid teens. She became addicted to alcohol. She was drunk every night when she came home, and it was impossible to talk to her. This broke my heart. I'd lost her. Death was the only way out.

But I survived. Things didn't get better with my mother, but I carried on. Two years later she left my father to live with another man. I felt like she was leaving me, not him. Ironically, she never moved in with the man. They rented a small apartment together, but he got cold feet at the last moment and didn't leave his wife. I still thought about suicide, but I didn't try it again. I was terrified that I'd fail again. The aftermath of a suicide attempt is awful.

One thing though. I never returned to Stoke-on-Trent. I had friends there, but I never visited them again. I've avoided it all my life. It was emotional to see the city today. It gave me a feeling of melancholy.

I could hardly bring myself to write a review. I've backdated this post to January 5th, the day I went to the cinema, but I'm writing it a week later. I needed time to overcome myself.

Mufasa: The Lion King (4 Stars)

This is the first time I've gone to the cinema with my grandson Oliver since October. That's a long time. Usually I try to go with him twice a month.

There are a lot of children's films being shown over the Christmas holidays, but he's been busy with other things. What my friends might not know is that the Christmas holidays last longer in Germany than in other countries. Most companies are closed from 23rd December to 6th January. The reason is that the 6th of January is also a national holiday, the Holy Three Kings day, usually called the Epihany in English. It's an important day in Germany, because the skeletons were buried in the Cologne Cathedral after being passed around for centuries.

The shrine is now on an elevated platform behind the altar, and it's become a place for pilgrims to visit. I find it strange. The three kings went to Bethlehem to worship Jesus. Today the kings themselves are worshipped by Catholics, at least in Germany. This isn't right. If the kings were alive today they'd tell us they don't want to be worshipped.

Now to the film. It serves as a prequel to the classic Disney film, "The Lion King". The story seems to repeat the plot. I found the film interesting, but what fascinated me the most was the beautiful imagery. I visit the zoo in Stuttgart frequently (in some months more than others), but the animals looked more beautiful in the film than anything I've seen in the zoo.

Oliver greatly enjoyed the film. That's the most important thing. I need to encourage him to watch the glorious 1994 animated film.

Annette (5 Stars)

I have over 2000 films on DVD and Blu-ray, so I need to organise them. I keep the films I've just watched or intend to watch soon in my bedroom, but my main collection is in the cellar, neatly organised in alphabetical order. I boast that I can walk into the cellar and grab any film I want to watch within 10 seconds, usually much faster. But in October I had a problem. I wanted to watch "Annette", and I couldn't find it anywhere. It wasn't in the cellar, so I hunted for it everywhere. First I looked in all the logical places where I might have mislaid it. Then I looked in all the stupid places. I hunted for weeks. It really annoyed me. Finally I gave up and re-ordered it in Amazon's Black Friday sale. It was cheap, much cheaper than the price I'd originally paid for it, so I was happy, even though it wasn't in stock and I had to wait three weeks to get it.

Then, on the same day the replacement disc arrived, I found the old disc. The trouble with ordering my films alphabetically is that I rely on the system. If I make a mistake in placing the films in my shelves I'm in a mess. That's what happened. I was taking another film from my shelf, and there was "Annette" staring at me, neatly placed between "Aaaaaaaah" and "Abominable Doctor Phibes". I could have kicked myself for my stupidity. It was only five places out of order, but I never noticed it when I was looking for it.

There might be other films out of order, but the problem is that I only discover that a film is misplaced when I want to watch it. There are films that I only watch once in five years or even less. I only discover a mistake when I fail to find a film within 10 seconds. By then it's too late.

I'm really glad that I could watch "Annette" again today. I only gave it an average rating the last two times I watched it. I didn't enjoy the music, and I found the main character (Annette's father) unpleasant. And yet the film stuck in my mind. I was sure I would like it more if I watched it again. And I did. Yes, Annette's father is unpleasant, but that's the whole point of the film. An elegant opera singer falls in love with an obscene, provocative comedian. Opposites attract, we all know that, but can such relationships survive? In "Annette" we see that the relationship is doomed to failure from the beginning.

It's a brilliant film.

Success Rate:  - 5.0

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Wicked (4 Stars)

This film bookends my life as a film fan. The very first film I saw was "The Wizard of Oz". I saw it in the cinema, but obviously not when it was first released. I wasn't born in 1939. I can't remember the exact year when I saw it, but I'm certain it was my first film, because my parents didn't own a television until I was six years old. Yes, I'm old enough to remember the dim, distant days when televisions weren't an item taken for granted. They were very expensive in my youth. My parents always rented a television, because they couldn't afford to buy one.

The correct name of this film is "Wicked Part One". That's what's written on the splash screen. The second part is due to be released next year. The two films serve as a prequel to "The Wizard of Oz".

I don't want to give too many spoilers for the film, but the main theme is that we're invited to have sympathy for the Wicked Witch of the West. She was an outcast all her life because of her skin colour; she was born green. In "Wicked Part One" we see that she uses her magical powers for good. So how did she turn bad? We'll have to wait for Part Two to find out.

I've always been a sucker for a musical. The music was uplifting, even though the lyrics were often shallow. I was happy to see that the cinema was almost full. That's the way cinemas should be.

Joker Folie à Deux (5 Stars)

I didn't think it was necessary to make a second film about the Joker. The first film said it all. Joaquin Phoenix was only prepared to make a sequel if it went in a different direction. That's what I saw today. Maybe the film was too different for critics and the audience, but it's exactly the film that Joaquin wanted to make.

Arthur Fleck, the Joker, is in prison for almost all of the film. Long sequences take part as a courtroom drama. On the whole, courtroom dramas are boring, but this problem was solved by interspersed musical numbers. Some were dreams, while others simply happened without explanation. I've read reviews that say the music was out of place. I disagree entirely. The music gives the film its strength. They also say there's not enough action. They don't get it. It was never intended to be an action film.

DC has further distanced itself from the film. There's no DC logo at the beginning of the film. I find this appropriate. The Joker in the film isn't the same character that we know from the comics or the Batman films. The comics are just a rough inspiration for the film. In the comics the Joker is a master criminal; in the film he's just a confused psychotic man.

The film is still in the cinemas, but initial predictions suggest it will be a box office flop. That would be a tragedy. Joaquin Phoenix won an Oscar for his performance in the first film, and he's just as outstanding in "Folie à Deux". Lady Gaga is an incredible actress, as always. Brendan Gleeson, one of my favourite actors, is brilliant as the abusive hospital orderly Jackie Sullivan. In my opinion, this is a film that everyone needs to see. Hurry, while it's still in the cinemas.

1 Day (4 Stars)

I have a weakness for musicals. There's something special about a film when the characters break into song. Most of all I like full musicals, in which all the dialog is sung, films like "Tommy" and "Evita", but I also like half musicals, in which there's only occasional singing. "1 Day" fits into the latter category.

My friends know that I don't like hip hop music, but somehow the music style fits "1 Day". You wouldn't expect the black residents of Handsworth to be singing heavy metal songs. Although I admit, I did once see a group of black youngsters sitting on the bus listening to "Du Hast" on a phone and singing along. It was surreal.

Birmingham is a segregated city. There are areas which are almost completely white, others which are almost completely black, and others which are almost completely Asian. Handsworth, which is where the film takes place, is almost completely inhabited by black people of Caribbean descent. When I lived in Birmingham I was in Small Heath, an area that was divided between Pakistanis and Somalians. They don't like one another. So much for Moslem unity, they even have separate mosques.

I know Handsworth well. I recognise most of the locations. I also recognise the locations used for filming in the city centre. "1 Day" makes me feel nostalgic. I enjoyed living in Birmingham, but I'm also glad that I'm in Germany now. I wish I had a portal so that I could walk from one country to the other any time I like.

London Road (4 Stars)

How can a film about a serial killer be a psychological thriller? It all depends on how the story is framed. We never see the killer on screen. We hear his name, and we even see the house where he lives, 79 London Road, Ipswich, but we don't see Steve Wright  himself. The film is about the residents of London Road and how they deal with murders taking place in their neighbourhood.

When the killings are first reported, there's an atmosphere of paranoia. The killer could be anyone. Teenage girls ride the bus, asking one another, "Is it him? Is it him? Is it him?" The taxi driver Mark, played by Tom Hardy, talks to his customers in a way that arouses suspicions. He tells them that he's been interested in serial killers ever since he was young, and he describes what the killer must be like: he must be 28 to 35, single or divorced and a loner. These descriptions fit Mark himself, so he's fast to add that it isn't him.

The film is a musical, and the most unique thing about it is that the lyrics weren't written. They're the transcripts of the interviews made with the residents of London Road. This gives the film a stark realism, despite everyone singing and sometimes dancing.

The next door neighbour of Steve Wright is interviewed. How would you react if you found out your next door neighbour was a killer? Admittedly, you would never have been in danger, because he only targeted prostitutes, but it would still have been unsettling. It's possible that the women were killed in his home, but Steve Wright cleverly covered his tracks. The only DNA traces were slight amounts of blood found on the back seat of his car and inside his gloves.

To this day Steve Wright has never admitted his guilt. He committed the five murders shortly after moving to Ipswich, within a space of six weeks, but he's suspected of the murders of up to 15 other women when he lived in Norwich. In May 2024 he was charged with the murder of a 17-year-old girl that took place in 1999. The other cases are still open. As I said, he was a clever man. But everyone makes a mistake eventually. If he hadn't killed the women in Ipswich, he would never have been suspected of the other murders.

Success Rate:  - 13.9

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Die Schule der magischen Tiere 3 (4 Stars)

This is the third film in the series, and the title means "The school of magic animals". It's based on a series of children's books, of which 29 volumes have been published since 2013. Twenty-nine books in eleven years? Wow, someone has been busy!

Unlike the previous two films, most of the action takes place outside the school. In the opening scenes two new magic animals are introduced and given to deserving children, a crocodile and a cat. Both of them can talk, and both are able to turn themselves into unmoving stuffed animals at any time; usually when someone walks into the room who isn't allowed to see them.

The children are planning an event to show their support for the local forest. They don't want the trees to be cut down to make way for a luxury hotel. The trouble is that after months of planning it's announced that the fashion designer Maja Malakara is putting on a fashion show in the local museum. That doesn't matter to most of the class, but the 16-year-old Helena is a moderately successful YouTuber, and she wants to boost her popularity with a live broadcast of her class singing at the show. Can she persuade her classmates to abandon the forest for the sake of her YouTube fame?

I say that Helena is 16, but that's only a guess. The children look and act that age. It's 18 months since the last film was made, and fortunately the actors don't seem to have aged much. They won't stay young for the next 26 films. Make up artists can't work miracles, however good they are.

I've tagged this film as a musical. My definition is that a film is a musical if the main characters burst into song at random during the film. A film isn't a musical if the characters perform a song as part of the story. That's why I say "Rocketman" is a musical, but "Bohemian Rhapsody" isn't. I make the further restriction that a film isn't a musical if the main characters only sing at the end of the film, during or immediately before the credits. That excludes "Slumdog Millionaire". If I remember correctly, there are two scenes in "Die Schule der magischen Tiere 3" in which there are spontaneous musical numbers.

It's a good film. Oliver loved it, and he's already asking when the fourth part will be released. Personally, I don't think it's quite up to the level of the previous film, but I'll decide when I watch it again. It's definitely worth a rewatch.

Die Schule der magischen Tiere 2 (4½ Stars)

Amazon Friday #39

It's the school holidays at the moment, so I'm letting Oliver decide what he wants to watch. He loved "Die Schule der magischen Tiere 2" ("The school of magic animals") when we saw it in the cinema, so he was overjoyed when he saw it was available on Amazon Prime.

The title comes from the habit of an explorer to bring children magic animals once a year. There are only a couple of animals each year, and the animals themselves decide which child it wants to adopt, or rather be adopted by. They're natural animals, such as parrots, penguins or foxes, but what's magic about them is that they can change themselves into stuffed animals whenever necessary. It's often necessary, because wild animals aren't allowed in school. The only person allowed to see the animals in their true form is Miss Cornfield, the explorer's girlfriend. She's in on the secret.

How old are the children? My guess is that they're the 10th class, i.e. 15 and 16. They looked a lot younger in the first film, made two years previously. That's a problem with series of films about children. The actors grow so fast, so their development has to be built into the films. In the case of the Harry Potter films it was done very well. Each film was a new year in school. The magical animal films are a bit more chaotic. Two more sequels have been planned, and if they're not made fast the boys will have beards and the girls will look like old women.

Surprisingly, the film deals with subjects that aren't directly related to the magical animals themselves. A play is being made to celebrate the school's 250th anniversary. The headmaster has written a screenplay about the school's founder, but there are doubts whether he really was the founder. Miss Cornfield knows more than she's willing to tell. There's a mean girls clique that wants to derail the play and make themselves the main actresses, even if they don't have the required acting skills. They have good looks, but that's not all that's needed.

I'm glad Oliver persuaded me to watch the film again. I can hardly wait to see the third instalment in the cinema later this year.

Annette (3 Stars)

Despite only giving this film a three star rating when I watched it in 2021, I decided to buy it on Blu-ray. I can't really explain why. Something about it fascinated me. Adam Driver is the wrong choice for a musical. He's excellent in the spoken scenes as the offensive stand-up comedian Henry McHenry, but when he sings I have to cringe. Marion Cotillard is a better singer.

The songs aren't particularly well written. "We love each other so much" is an important song for the plot – no spoilers! – but it's so trite that I can't enjoy it.

I still find the film average after second viewing, but I can't help feeling I'm missing something. I'm sure that I'll watch it again. Preferably I want to watch it with a friend so that we can exchange thoughts.

Success Rate:  - 5.0

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London Road (4 Stars)

Sometimes I watch a film which I have trouble rating. Usually it's a film which is different, and this is a very different film. It's a musical that's based on the serial killer Steve Wright, who killed five prostitutes in Ipswich in 2006. It's not completely original to make a musical about a true story, but this musical is unique because the songs weren't written. The screenwriter took the texts of original interviews with people in Ipswich, and these texts were sung in parlando. During the final credits the interview tapes are played, and we can recognise the words from the film's songs.

Another thing that's unusual is that we never see Steve Wright, neither before nor after he's arrested. All we see are the residents of London Road and the surrounding area.

And it's a Christmas movie!

The film begins in the quiet cul-de-sac, London Road. It's becoming a popular street for working girls, as they're euphemistically called. The local residents don't like them, and they shout abuse at them, but their attitude changes when they start to die. Their naked bodies are found nearby.

The early scenes show the road in a state of paranoia. Everyone suspects everyone else. If a man looks in any way creepy, he's a suspect. Everyone is scared, but my naive reaction is "Why?" The killer is only targeting prostitutes, so nobody else is in danger. The police give advice on what to do to stay safe, such as not going out alone or late at night. One of the residents puts my thoughts into words. The advice the police should be giving is "Don't be a prostitute and get into cars with strange men".

Steve Wright is arrested on 19th December 2006. He lives at 79 London Road. The residents are gripped by a lynch mob mentality. They don't care about the trial, he's already guilty in their eyes. As the trial drags on they're scared that he'll be found innocent. That's a twisted attitude. If a person is found innocent of murder, the reason is that he really is innocent. The residents of London Road had the attitude that they already knew he was guilty, so if the jury pronounced him innocent they would have failed.

The film doesn't really have a lead actor or actress. The scenes switch rapidly from one person to another. Olivia Colman has slightly more screen time than anyone else. Tom Hardy is prominent on the posters, but that was only to lure people into the cinemas. He appears in the film for less than five minutes as a taxi driver who was interviewed as a potential suspect. "London Road" was released in 2015, the same year that "Mad Max Fury Road" and "The Revenant" were in the cinemas. The hype didn't work. The film was a box office flop, despite positive reviews by the critics.

I wanted to buy the film on Blu-ray, but I waited in vain for a Blu-ray release. After all this time it's only been released on DVD. I don't understand the studios. I've finally given up and bought it on DVD. I'm sure I'll watch it again soon, to decide whether I really like it or not.

Success Rate:  - 13.9

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Evita (5 Stars)

I'm continuing my top 100 films with "Evita", which is currently in 45th place. It's a film that hits me hard emotionally every time I watch it. The story is framed between the two funerals, of Eva Peron's father and Eva herself. This gives the film a gloomy nature, even if there are happy moments.

Eva genuinely loved Juan Peron. I don't doubt that. He wasn't like the many men she'd had before. She was attracted to him because he loved Argentina. They both loved Argentina. Was their love for Argentina genuine? That's a difficult question to answer. They wanted to do good for the country, but they were corrupted by wealth and power. In her early years Eva spoke out against the middle and upper classes, but as the president's wife she adorned herself with diamonds and opulent clothing. She said it was what the people wanted to see, but this was a poor excuse. It's what Eva wanted to see in the mirror.

Juan Peron comes off lightly in the film. Apart from his suppression of the press, we don't see him acting badly. It's mentioned twice that he modelled himself on Mussolini, but we don't see much of this in the film. "Evita" is a film about Eva Peron; if we want to know about Juan Peron we have to read the history books.

I wouldn't say that I feel attracted to Eva Peron or the way Madonna portrays her. There's too much in her life that's negative. She slept her way to the top, and once she was at the peak she pretended to be a saint. The film shows her collapsing when taking communion in church, as if God is striking her down.

What I'm attracted to is the film's atmosphere and its dramatic backdrops. 40,000 extras were used, which isn't a record, but it was probably the last ever film that was made with thousands of extras. Nowadays computer software creates large crowd scenes for a much lower price.

Success Rate:  + 0.6

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