Bullet Train (5 Stars)

The Japanese Shinkansen, called the Bullet Train in English, is one of the fastest trains in the world. It travels commercially at a speed of 200 miles per hours, and it's reached 275 miles per hour in test runs. It's also one of the safest trains in the world. According to Wikipedia, "Over the Shinkansen's 50-plus-year history, carrying over 10 billion passengers, there has not been a single passenger fatality or injury on board due to derailments or collisions". It's good that the film "Bullet Train" is fictional, because it would have spoilt this spotless record. The train is derailed in Kyoto, not to mention various people being shot, poisoned or stabbed to death by various assassins on the train.

If I were to give a plot summary I'd have to write a review that runs for several pages. So much happens in the two hour run time. The main character is a man codenamed Ladybug. Some reviews incorrectly call him an assassin. If they'd paid attention to the film they would have noticed that he refused to take a gun with him on his mission. He's a professional thief, a snatch and grab guy. He's been hired to steal a briefcase containing the ransom money for the kidnapped son of a Yakuza boss. Two British assassins have freed the son and are bringing him back home, together with the no longer needed ransom money.

Many of the interlocking plots are the result of coincidences. The train from Tokyo to Kyoto is full of assassins intending to carry out different missions. Ladybug, whose real name we're never told, is caught in the middle.

For reasons unknown to me, critics don't like the film. Okay, I say "unknown to me", but I've read their reviews. What I mean is that I don't understand why they haven't been won over by the positive features of the film. The film is chaos, but it's never difficult to understand. The characters are well developed, even the ones who meet an early death. The story is well written, and the action scenes are intense. Seriously, I don't see any reason not to like it. I'm not alone in my opinion, proved by the fact that it was a box office success.

Success Rate:  + 0.8

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

Bullet Train (5 Stars)

Brad Pitt plays a former assassin with the codename Ladybug. He used to be a killer, but now he only accepts jobs where he steals items. He's being paid to steal a briefcase from a bullet train travelling from Tokyo to Kyoto. The problem is that the man carrying the briefcase is an assassin that he met in a previous job. He doesn't remember Ladybug at first, but when he does he also remembers that he has a grudge against him.

But there are other killers on the train. One wants revenge on Ladybug for killing his wife, although Ladybug knows he never did it. In fact, the train journey seems like an assassins' convention. Ladybug might not want to kill anyone, but he's willing to kill in self defence. The film has so many details, too many to go into without giving away spoilers. All I'll say is that this is the best film I've seen this year., so far. The mix of action and comedy is perfect. Japan is shown as a kitsch-ridden caricature. And there's a fast train. What else do you want?

The Lost City (4 Stars)

Today's the first time I've been to the cinema since 10th April. Almost eight weeks without cinema visits. I've missed going to the cinema. Many people are happy sitting at home watching Netflix on their television, or worse still on their laptop, but not me. Seeing films on a big screen is an immersive experience that should be enjoyed as often as possible. My usual goal is twice a week, depending on what's being shown. Today's a special day, the end of my cinema abstinence, so I've planned two films back to back. This is the first.

Loretta Sage (Sandra Bullock) is a widowed romance novelist. She writes action stories that star an adventurer called Dash. A model called Alan Caprison (Channing Tatum) appears on the cover of her books portraying Dash. He accompanies her on a book tour, and she's shocked to find that her readers are more interested in him than the books. Have they only been buying the books for his picture on the cover? Possibly.

After the first stage of the book tour Loretta is kidnapped by a millionaire called Abigail Fairfax, played by Daniel Radcliffe. Yes, I thought Abigail was a woman's name as well. After reading Loretta's latest book, "The Lost City of D", he's recognised that the city described is based on researches carried out by Loretta's late husband, an archaeologist. He sends her to the remote island described in her book to search for hidden treasure.

Alan follows Loretta to the island to rescue her. Loretta's publisher, Beth Hatten (Davine Joy Randolph) also follows her in order to protect her investment. Loretta is her best selling author, even if the books are only being bought for the covers.

The film is a comedy with some slapstick action. A lot of humour is based on Alan Caprison's lack of intelligence, but at least he has a good heart. "The Lost City" isn't funny enough to make me laugh out loud, but it's still enjoyable.

The film's cast at the premiere: Patti Harrison, Daniel Radcliffe, Davine Joy Randolph and Sandra Bullock. Channing Tatum couldn't make it. Daniel (5'4") looks so tiny when he's surrounded by big women wearing high heels to make themselves look even bigger.

A Time To Kill (4 Stars)

This is a courtroom drama made in 1996 by Joel Schumacher. That's a guarantee for quality in itself. As far as I know, he's never made a bad film. His films range from good to brilliant. It's based on a 1989 novel with the same name written by John Grisham.

Unlike most courtroom dramas, most of the action takes place outside of the courtroom. The film lasts two and a half hours, and there's nothing dull or uninteresting about it. It's not just men in suits shouting "Objection" and "Overruled", although that happens as well.

The film takes place in Canton, a small town in Mississippi. Two white supremacists rape a 10-year-old black girl. They hang her and leave her for dead, but the branch snaps and she manages to get home. She's able to identify the men, and one of her shoes is found in their truck, so they're arrested.

The girl's father, Carl Lee Hailey, visits the lawyer Jake Brigance and tells him that he doesn't expect justice to be done because it's a white man's world. In a similar case, when four white men had raped a black girl, the men were acquitted. Carl asks Jake to defend him if he deals with the matter himself, but Jake tells him not to do anything stupid. Carl doesn't take the advice. A few days later the rapists are in court requesting bail, and Carl bursts in, shooting them both dead.

Now Carl is on trial for murder, facing the death penalty. Jake says his normal fee would be $15,000 but he accepts $900, which is all of Carl's life savings. His defence strategy is based on claiming Carl was insane at the time of the murder. The Ku Klux Klan gets involved, burning down Jake's house and kidnapping his secretary. There are riots outside the court room, so the National Guard is called in. There are various other sub-plots, which I shan't go into here.

Parts of the film are very difficult for me to understand as a non-American. Is the Ku Klux Klan really allowed to march openly in the street the day after burning a cross in someone's lawn? Maybe it's because it can't be proved it was really them who burnt the cross? Can't the law deal with criminals like that?

I also find it difficult to understand the attitudes of the all-white members of the jury. Why does the colour of the accused person play a role? As I've already said elsewhere in this blog, I don't understand racism. I'm not saying that I'm against racism, what I'm saying is that to me racism is so ridiculously stupid that I don't understand how anyone can possibly be a racist. It doesn't make sense to me. I can argue with people about politics, and I can discuss religion and philosophy for hours on end, but if someone's a racist I don't know what to say to him. I can't credit him with enough intelligence to understand the words coming out of my mouth.

But the biggest problem I have with the film is the way the American legal system is portrayed. Carl was defended by pleading insanity. Was it really so insane? If someone raped my daughter and I expected the person to go unpunished, it's a natural reaction to want to get revenge. If Carl was insane, then I'm insane as well, and so are many other parents.

I'm not saying that vigilante justice is correct. Carl took the law into his own hands. He committed murder, so he's guilty. In a private conversation the judge said he would give Carl a 20 year prison sentence if he pleaded guilty. I would have accepted that sentence. Carl didn't regret what he did. It was a premeditated act, and if he'd failed to kill the rapists he would have tried again. Guilty is guilty, and it's unjust to use legal tricks to get him acquitted.

The film has a star studded cast. I could go through the actors one by one, praising their performances, starting with Samuel L. Jackson as Carl Lee Hailey. He's an uneducated man, but not unintelligent. He makes philosophical statements that dumbfound his lawyer.

Patrick McGoohan excels as Judge Noose. Is that name meant as a joke? He plays the role very subtly, displaying his motivation more through what he doesn't say than what he says. He presents himself as impartial, but we can see that his sympathies lie with the town's white people.

This is a film that I'd like to discuss with my friends. If you've seen it, please leave me a comment telling me what you think of it.

Success Rate:  + 1.8

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

Ocean's 8 (4 Stars)

Debbie Ocean, the younger sister of Danny Ocean from the Ocean's Trilogy, is released after spending five years in prison for art fraud. She's spent this time meticulously planning an extravagant jewel robbery in her head. All she needs to do is find a team to help her. She assembles a team of six women with different skills around herself. It's only women, because she doesn't trust men. It was a man who snitched on her and got her thrown into prison. The eighth woman is added late in the film.

The target is a diamong necklace worth $150 million that's been locked in a vault at Cartier in New York for 50 years. They manipulate the host of the yearly Met Gala event into borrowing the necklace to wear at the event. She's accompanied at all times by two armed security guards, but Debbie has everything planned.

This is a very good film about suave and manipulative women who manage to keep their cool while fighting against overwhelming odds. The film takes time to introduce all the characters, and by the middle of the film we're rooting for them and hoping they'll be successful. Sandra Bullock is excellent as the criminal mastermind who doesn't actually take part in the robbery; she just stands back and watches as her team do their jobs.

Gravity (3½ Stars)

George Clooney and Sandra Bullock are two astronauts working to repair a space station. Their space shuttle is destroyed by flying debris, and they're left floating in space looking for an alternative way to return to Earth.

Sometimes a film is difficult to judge. This is one of them. It has spectacular special effects, but it's like fairground candy floss (called cotton candy in America); you pay your money and get something big in your hand, but when you put it in your mouth it shrivels up to nothing. It's all style and no substance. I was recommended this film by a friend who said that it has must-see 3D effects. I agree with this, despite my usual disinterest with 3D films. It's a film worth seeing in the cinema, but I wouldn't want to watch it at home.

---

P.S. When I got home I watched an episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation". Now that is real science fiction action!