Our film fanatic has been to see an American psychological drama, a kids' favourite and a movie called Plane about a plane...
After the disappointment of Brendan Fraser starring in the shelved Batgirl film comes The Whale, a tale of a gay Ohio literature professor called Charlie who can't stop eating. The entire film is set in his dingy apartment, and is often not easy viewing. We learn pretty early in the film that Charlie's on his last legs, and desperate to reconnect with his 17-year-old daughter Ellie (Sadie SInk), who he's not seen for over half of her life since he left her mother.
The fat suit worn by Fraser is huge, and pretty convincing. I should say the title is in part a nod to Charlie's favourite book, Moby Dick, and the issue of morbid obesity is neither sugar coated nor mocked here. The dialogue may get a bit mawkish at times, but my overwhelming sense was one of sadness for the state Fraser's character had let himself descend into.
Standout moments include the moment the regular delivery guy catches a glimpse after daily chats through the letterbox, and Charlie revealing himself to his students on Zoom after claiming his laptop camera was broken. Hong Chau also stands out as his loyal carer who doesn't suffer fools, and this is definitely worth a watch. Brendan Fraser deserves all the plaudits that have come his way, but I don't want to relive the opening scene involving Charlie watching an online blue movie again in a hurry.
A big gear change for my second film this week, with the kids' favourite Puss In Boots : The Last Wish. Just in time for the half term, and after much delay, the kitty first seen about 20 years ago in Shrek 2 is back, and on his last life. It seems he's burned through the first eight with careless abandon, and is now being stalked by death itself. There's a cute chihuahua called Perrito, and even an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Film, which is only helping the film's Box Office takings. It really is exceptionally good.
For starters, it's beautifully animated, and it tackles the tricky subject of accepting death...not easy for any film, but done really beautifully here. The balance of peril and humour is bang on, and Salma Hayek is excellent as the voice of Kitty Softpaws, Puss In Boots' one time love interest. It's hard to believe the original Shrek was released way back in 2001, but this is deserving of its many plaudits, and definitely won't give you fur balls.
Just time to mention Plane. It's a film about a crashed plane, and it's called, er, Plane. Despite this lack of imagination, I thought it was a worthy entry in the Gerard Butler film universe. He's churned out some shockers, but this kept my attention, as it turns out the downed aircraft is in extremely hostile territory, and the crash is really the least of the passengers' worries.
Some of the characters were a bit cliched, like a game of Guess Who in the sky, and be warned some of the violence is pretty pulpy, but it's worth checking in with this one if you get chance.
