Rocketman (5 Stars)

True Stories #26

Name: Elton John

Lived: 25 March 1947 – still alive

Film dates: 1955 to 1992

Film made in 2019

Today I'm suffering from writer's block. Maybe you can forgive me, because this is the fifth time I've watched "Rocketman" in three years. Just enjoy a few screenshots from this fantastic film.

Elton John leads his rehab group into the past.

Bernie Taupin is shown here in the late 1960's.

Here he is again in a scene from 1992. I praise the makeup team for making Jamie Bell look 20 years older. Bernie Taupin would have been a teenager in the first photo and in his forties in the second. In real life Jamie Bell was in the middle, aged 32 when he made the film.

I like this surreal scene where Elton John meets his younger self while attempting to kill himself. Most of the film is abstract, which is normal for musicals. Fans of Elton John have criticised the film for showing his songs out of order. For instance, we see him performing "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting" as a teenager, although it wasn't written until ten years later. I don't see any problem with this. The songs have been put in the film to support the mood, not as chronological landmarks.

Okay, so I've written more in this review than I expected. Sometimes I'm like a man on the ledge of a building afraid to jump. All I need is a little push.

Success Rate:  + 2.9

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

The Look of Love (4 Stars)

True Stories #25

Name: Paul Raymond

Lived: 15 November 1925 – 2 March 2008

Film dates: 1956 to 1992

Film made in 2013

I'm biased against Paul Raymond. When I hear his name I always think of him as the man who ruined Mayfair. I mean the men's magazine called Mayfair, not the area in London. Mayfair was the only men's magazine I ever bought. Let me backtrack:

When I lived with my parents my father used to buy men's magazines: Penthouse, Playboy, Men Only, Club, Razzle and Mayfair. He hid them in a box on top of his wardrobe, but I soon found the hiding place and occasionally took a peek. Maybe he didn't buy them; maybe he just borrowed them or swapped them with his friends at work. Probably the latter, because the selection of magazines frequently changed. The old magazines disappeared and new ones arrived in their place. I never asked him. I was about 12 when I started looking at his magazines, and I continued until I was 22.

I divide the magazines into three classes:

1. Playboy and Penthouse were smooth and glamorous. Too American. Not sexy enough.

2. Men Only, Club and Razzle were overtly sexual. Too rough and pornographic.

3. Mayfair was glamorous and discreetly sexual. Perfect for my tastes.

The magazines in the second group were all published by Paul Raymond. I didn't like his style. After I left home at the age of 22 I regularly bought Mayfair. It was the only men's magazine I was interested in. Then, in 1990, Paul Raymond bought Mayfair. Within two months it became a clone of his other magazines. I stopped buying Mayfair. Since then I've never found a magazine to replace it.

Originally, Paul Raymond was known for his musicals and plays that featured nudity. It began very slowly in 1956, but as the laws were relaxed the nudity became more and more explicit. He always insisted that the nudity was tasteful. Based on the evidence of the film, I agree. The problem is that he was ahead of his time. Prudish Britain needed to catch up with him.

The magazines, starting with Men Only in 1971, were more explicit from the start. Paul Raymond also claimed they were tasteful, but I disagree. For me there's nothing tasteful about a naked woman spreading her legs for the camera. That's not what I like.

Those two businesses, the shows and the magazines, are what the public at large knew about him, but he had a third line of business that made him rich. In the late 1950's he began to buy houses in Soho. They were poor quality and cheap, but he predicted their value would rise. He was right. By 1992 his property was valued at £1.5 billion, making him the richest man in Britain.

The film concentrates on Paul Raymond's theatre shows and his magazines. The property business is only mentioned in passing, when he points out to his granddaughter all the houses he owns. We see that he's an immoral man who was unable to remain faithful to any one women. The person he loved most in the world was his daughter Debbie. Was he a good father? In my opinion, No. When he found out that she was taking drugs, in particular cocaine, he made no attempt to stop her. The most disgusting scene in the film is when he gives Debbie cocaine in hospital while she's in labour. It made the birth easier to handle. But at what cost?

Debbie Raymond died of a drug overdose in 1992, at the age of 36, leaving two small children behind. That's where the film ends. That's effectively where Paul Raymond's life ended. He spent the last 16 years of his life in his penthouse suite with the blinds drawn. He was the sad billionaire. Hardly anyone was ever allowed in to see him.

Steve Coogan expertly plays Paul Raymond in a way to make the viewer feel sympathetic with him. But to me he'll always be the man who ruined Mayfair.

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

Ali G Indahouse (5 Stars)

No, this isn't a true story. I've slotted it in between my regular viewing because it's a film I've wanted to rewatch for a long time. I saw it in the cinema when it was first released in 2002. I bought it a year later on DVD, but the picture quality was abysmal. I forget whether I watched the DVD once or twice, but the DVD was so poor that I haven't watched it since 2003. Imagine my surprise when I found out that it's recently been released on Blu-ray. In Germany only! The Germans have good taste.

The film is about a young man from Staines who sees himself as an American-style gangster rapper. There's a humour in this that might not be obvious to people from other countries. Staines is a small, middle-class town just outside London. It's the last possible town where gangland crime is imaginable. Added to this, Ali sees himself as black, which he obviously isn't.

Charles Dance appears as David Carlton, the Chancellor of the Exchequer. This is the title of the British finance minister, who is traditionally also the deputy prime minister. He lives in 11 Downing Street, next door to the prime minister. Political parties aren't named in the film. Carlton only talks about "us" and "the opposition". When the film was made, the Labour Party was in power, but we can't assume that it's a Labour government in the film. It's not relevant, so believe whatever you want to.

What's important to the story is that a by-election is coming up in Staines. That's yet more British political jargon that I have to explain to my readers from other countries. In Britain there's a general election once every five years for the 650 members of parliament. If a member of parliament leaves during the five years, most commonly as a result of death, a new election has to be held for his replacement, which is called a by-election. In Britain, by-election results are usually seen as an important indicator about the popularity of the ruling party.

David Carlton wants his party to lose the by-election in order to force the prime minister to resign, so he can take over the party and the government. He picks Ali G as the party's candidate for Staines, because Ali is so unsuitable that he's sure to lose. Or so he thinks. Ali's unconventional behaviour makes him popular with the locals, so Ali is soon in da house.

On Ali's first day in parliament the Speaker ejects him, because it's not acceptable behaviour to stand up to argue with the leader of the opposition. Nevertheless, Ali's behaviour makes him even more popular with the public, so he's soon allowed back.

Ali G is frequently distracted by the Chancellor's personal secretary, Kate Hedges.

When she crosses and uncrosses her legs, Ali has to take a peak. What man wouldn't?

Even when there are no distractions, Ali can't keep his mind on the job. He daydreams about a beautiful woman with a whip. Bad boy!

Ali G's right hand man is Ricky C, played by Martin Freeman. Does he think he's black as well?

Black or not, he's a good gangster rapper, as he proves in a duet with Ali. Friends who rap together stay together.

When the countries Chad and Burkina Faso threaten to go to war, special envoy Ali G encourages the presidents of the two countries to kiss and be friends. That's a wonderful idea. I'm sure that if Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin shared a passionate kiss they'd never argue again.

Charles Dance in drag? That's a sight I'd rather not see.

It might interest you to know that "Ali G Indahouse" features the first appearance of Borat in a film, four years before he made the film called "Borat".

This film's humour is rude, crude and sexist. In other words, it's brilliant. I hope that it will soon be released on Blu-ray in England or America, but if not, don't worry. The German Blu-ray contains the original English version.

Success Rate:  + 1.4

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

The Founder (4½ Stars)

True Stories #24

Name: Ray Kroc

Lived: 5 October 1902 – 14 January 1984

Film dates: 1954 to 1970

Film made in 2016

I've known Michael Keaton for many years, but I've only recently realised what a great actor he is. I wouldn't say that he's improving. He's always been good. I just took him for granted until now. I'm now at the stage where I want to watch any film he appears in. That's an honour he shares with Jim Carrey, Gemma Arterton and Chloe Grace Moretz. Usually I judge films by their directors, but these are a small group of actors that I always want to watch.

Ray Kroc wasn't a pleasant man. "The Founder" makes him sympathetic to the viewer, but that's the result of Michael Keaton's smooth acting. If I'd met the real Raymond Kroc I would probably have been taken in by his charm. He was a charismatic man, but beneath the surface was ruthless greed.

In 1954 Ray Kroc was a travelling salesman. He wasn't poor, but he wasn't rich either. In the words of his wife, their savings went up and down. He had an idea, it worked, so he made money. Then he had another idea, and it didn't work, so he lost money. Then he had a new idea that was successful, so he made money again. It was an endless cycle for him.

Then he saw a small drive-in restaurant called McDonald's in San Bernadino, Texas. It was a family business run by the brothers Dick and Mac McDonald. Ray wanted McDonald's for himself, and he did everything he could to steal the business for himself.

Ray Kroc was a parasite, and like most parasites he seemed pleasant at first. He persuaded the McDonald brothers to expand their operation. "Franchise" was the buzz word. Ray took it upon himself to open new restaurants all across America. He had control over all the new restaurants, while the brothers just had their original restaurant, so Ray grew into a market giant while the brothers remained local tradesmen. It was like a cuckoo growing up in a nest. The time came when he pushed the other birds out of the nest. He forced Dick and Mac out of business shortly after the events of the film.

Ray Kroc had the temerity to call himself the founder of McDonald's. He called one of his restaurants in Illinois the #1 store as a provocation to the McDonald brothers. It's kept this name until today.

If I were a man with strong principles I'd boycott McDonald's after watching this film. I'm not. Besides, if I boycotted every company that was founded by greedy businessmen I'd be naked and starving by now. I have friends in England who boycott Wetherspoons pubs because of the owner's political views, but they're the pubs that sell the cheapest beer, so I don't care what Tim Martin says. McDonald's sells good food for a cheap price, though probably not as good as it was in the 1950's. I don't often visit McDonald's these days, maybe twice a year, but by coincidence I visited McDonald's two days ago before going to see "Licorice Pizza". There was a buy one get one free deal for Big Macs, so I bought two. I only intended to eat one and save the other till later, but it was cold, so I ate both on the bench in front of the cinema.

Michael Keaton's acting is incredible. It's the mark of a good actor that he can make us like a bad guy.

Success Rate:  + 1.4

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

Kill Bill (5 Stars)

Today I watched "Kill Bill" with my friend Alex and his girlfriend Anna. It's always a pleasure to watch films in a group of like-minded film fans.

There's nothing I want to add to my previous reviews, apart from a few words about the film's two four-year-old girls.

Nikki, the daughter of Vernita Green aka Copperhead, is played by Ambrosia Kelley, who was seven years old at the time. She appeared in a few television programmes after "Kill Bill", but her acting career fizzled out in 2012. I haven't been able to find out what she's doing now.

B.B., the Bride's daughter, is played by Perla Haney-Jardine. She was five years old at the time. She's had a more successful acting career, including films like "Spider-Man 3" and "Steve Jobs". I hope to see a lot more of her in the future.

As you can see, some child actors have success that continues into adulthood, others don't. An early start in acting isn't an automatic guarantee for a long career. There's no replacement for talent and hard work.

Success Rate:  + 3.6

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

Licorice Pizza (4 Stars)

This is a film that's difficult to pin down to one genre. The advertising for the film call it a coming-of-age drama, but that's obviously not the case. It has more in common with romantic comedies, although there's a lot more stuffed into it.

The film takes place in Los Angeles in 1973. Gary Valentine is a 15-year-old child actor who's appeared in several prime time television programmes. He falls in love with Alana, a 25-year-old photographer's assistant who visits his school to take photos. She thinks he's too young, but he doesn't give up, and he has enough money to invite her to fine restaurants.

Gary is very precocious, not just in romance but also in business. He forms a company, Fat Bernie's, to sell water beds, a new invention at the time. He goes on to open a pinball arcade, also wildly successful, because it's the first pinball arcade to open after pinball machines are legalised in California.

Gary romps through a string of comical situations as the film progresses. Alana is put off by Gary because she wants to do good in the world, while Gary's only interest is in making money.

What's the director's intention? That's difficult to say. Maybe he's already given an interview somewhere. It seems like a nostalgia trip to the 1970's, but why has he made such an unpleasant young boy the lead character? If I were his father I'd want to slap him.

Strangely, the film doesn't treat the age difference in the relationship as a scandal. Nobody wags a finger at Alana and accuses her of cradle snatching. That surprises me, because Americans are usually very critical of adults dating someone who's underage. It isn't actually dating, because Alana is resisting his advances, but they still go everywhere together, which certainly looks like datingto everyone around them.

This is one of the favourites to win the Best Film Oscar at this year's Academy Awards. It's certainly a very good film, but I've already made my own top 10 list for 2021, and my vote for best film would be "The Suicide Squad".

Into the Wild (4½ Stars)

True Stories #23

Name: Chris McCandless

Lived: 12 February 1968 – 18 August 1992

Film dates: 1990 to 1992 (death)

Film made in 2007

Was Chris McCandless a genius or a madman? Most people would say the latter. I'm sure his family and friends thought he was mad. I'm in a small minority of those who respect what Chris did in the last two years of his life, even though I would never have attempted to imitate him.

In 1990 Chris graduated from Emory with a BSc in History and Anthropology. He told his parents we was planning to study Law at Harvard next. It's unclear whether he really intended to do this or was just telling a lie to keep his parents happy. He never went to Harvard. He didn't even return home with his parents. He remained on campus to finish his affairs, and then he drove due west, the opposite direction of his home. He abandoned his car at the side of Lake Mead in Arizona, removing the license plates to make the car harder to trace. He burnt his drivers license and his social security card, and he changed his name to Alexander Supertramp.

As far as possible, Alex (to use his new name) tried to live without money, but sometimes he needed to buy things, such as a kayak, so he took temporary jobs, such as a farm worker. His dream was to travel to Alaska and live in the wild, with nobody around him, but he made a very roundabout trip. He zigzagged across the USA, sleeping on freight trains, and finally rowed illegally into Mexico.

Several people have attempted to draw maps of his travels, and they don't all agree with one another. This is the map that I consider to be the most accurate, based on the film. I hope it's not too confusing.

Wherever Alex went he made friends. They were good friends who genuinely liked him, but he didn't treat them well. He didn't like to say goodbye, so he slipped away in the middle of the night.

Wayne was Alex's boss on the farm.

Mads was a Danish hippy camping on the banks of the Colorado.

Rainey was a hippy who travelled around the USA in the comfort of a mobile home. Alex could have learnt from him.

Tracy was the girl who could have been Alex's big love. Alex resisted her advances because she was only 16.

Leonard Knight was a man who lives in the desert preaching God's word to the hippy community at Slab City. In the film he plays himself.

This is Salvation Mountain, built and decorated by Leonard in his earlier years.

Of all the friends that Alex made, the closest was Ron Franz, an elderly leather worker. Ron loved Alex like a son and put him up for weeks, but Alex still attempted to leave his house in the middle of the night. Luckily Ron was a light sleeper. He insisted on driving Alex the next 100 miles of his journey to Alaska. Alex promised to visit Ron when he returned. But he never came back.

On arriving in Alaska Alex moved into an abandoned bus, which he called the magic bus. He lived from hunting wild animals. It was paradise for him. After nine weeks he intended to return to civilisation, but his path was blocked by a river which had grown wider because of the melting snow. Due to the lack of wild animals (and possibly the fact that he'd run out of bullets) he had to resort to eating berries. He poisoned himself and died after 113 days in Alaska.

Is "Into the Wild" an inspiration to coming generations to follow Chris McCandless into isolation, or a warning to stay at home in comfort? I don't think it will convince anyone to change his mind. The film will only reinforce the views someone already has. The only lesson that I would draw from it is to be more careful. If you really must do something as crazy as abandoning civilisation, make sure you have a Plan B in case things don't work out. You need a safety net.

Success Rate:  + 0.8

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

Ed Wood (5 Stars)

True Stories #22

Name: Ed Wood

Lived: 10 October 1924 – 10 December 1978

Film dates: 1953 to 1957

Film made in 1994

Yesterday I watched "Mulholland Drive", a film about Hollywood. It's more than just a film that takes place in Hollywood. Today's film is the true story of Edward D. Wood Junior's prime years in which he made his most famous three films: "Glen or Glenda", "Bride of the Monster" and "Plan 9 From Outer Space". Those are three films I need to watch again soon, maybe early next month after finishing my true stories marathon. The reason why I mentioned "Mulholland Drive" is because "Ed Wood" also takes place in Hollywood, and the location is significant.

"This town, it chews you up, then spits you out".

Tragically, those words are spoken by Bela Lugosi, one of the best actors of the mid 20th Century. He was an icon. Even today, when you mention Dracula, Bela Lugosi's face is the one most people think of.

The film "Ed Wood" is just as much about Bela Lugosi as about Ed Wood himself. The two men meet in 1953, and we see Bela die in 1956 during the filming of "Plan 9 From Outer Space". The film was completed with a double who looked very little like him. The double was younger, taller and had no hair.

"Ed Wood" is directed by Tim Burton and filmed in glorious black and white. It's appropriate. I'd hate to see the film any other way. The film gives the impression that Ed misused Bela by talking him into a film without telling him what it was about. I'm curious to know whether that 's true or not. Ed's first film with Bela was "Glen or Glenda", a film about a transvestite who was struggling to find the courage to come out. All he told Bela was that it was a film about people having two sides, like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

"Glen or Glenda" was a thinly disguised autobiography. Ed himself was a transvestite, a secret that he even withheld from the woman he lived with. I can understand his difficulties. Today people are enlightened, but in the 1950's it was an enormous scandal to be a transvestite.

Ed's girlfriend Dolores accepted his transvestism, but it still disturbed her. Eventually she walked out on him, accusing him of gathering misfits around himself who unquestioningly accepted whatever he did.

Was Ed Wood successful as a director? That depends on your definition of success. His films were rejected by critics and made hardly any money at the box office. In his later years (not shown in the film) he gave up making films and descended into alcoholism. He died in poverty. However, his films have gained cult status after his death. The first film I ever bought on videotape was "Plan 9 From Outer Space". It's a case of a man's success not coming until after his death.

Success Rate:  - 3.1

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

Mulholland Drive (5 Stars)

I run a meetup group in Stuttgart called the Stuttgart Cinema Club. As of today, it has 2384 members. That might sound like a lot, but look what happened today. "Mulholland Drive" was shown in the cinema today, one day only, to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Apart from simply posting the film for a meetup and relying on the automated messages, I wrote to all the members telling them that this is a special event and it'll be years before they can see "Mulholland Drive" in the cinema again. So how many people came? Three! Only three people for a masterpiece of cinema like "Mulholland Drive"? I have to ask why they're even members of the group. It's true, I don't expect everybody to come. Some people don't like David Lynch, some people might not have had time today. There are lots of reasonable excuses. But I expected a 1% turnout at the very least. 23 people wouldn't have been a good turnout, in my eyes, but I would have grudgingly accepted it. But three? Sometimes I despair!

"Mulholland Drive" is a film about Los Angeles, or to be precise, a film about Hollywood. Los Angeles is the City of Dreams for some and a City of Nightmares for others. "Mulholland Drive" shows the latter. When hundreds of people are competing for a few jobs in the film industry, you don't know who you can trust.

Most fans of David Lynch's films say that "Mulholland Drive" is his best film. I personally prefer "Lost Highway", which is my favourite film. Many critics call "Mulholland Drive" one of the best films ever made. When the BBC made a poll of 177 respected film critics in 2016, "Mulholland Drive" was voted the best film of the 21st Century. Click here to read the BBC's list.

I didn't include "Mulholland Drive" in my own top 100 film list. That was a mistake that I'll rectify when I (eventually) publish my revised top 100 list.

Today's film was described as being a new 4K transfer from the original negatives, supervised by David Lynch himself. That means a new 4K disc can be expected soon.

Success Rate:  - 0.7

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