Jack Reacher, The Impossible and Quartet

Having never read a Jack Reacher book, I went to see the movie with no preconceptions as whether Tom Cruise would be anything like the hero described by Lee Child. What I did see was an actor completely comfortable in the role of this ex-military detective come action hero. Coupled with a decent plot (not sure I would have thought that if I knew the story from the book) and some flashy direction from writer/director Christopher McQuarrie, what we get is popcorn entertainment. The producers added credibility with the addition of some fine actors like Rosamund Pike and Werner Herzog, but unfortunately their dialogue is pretty clunky. It seems to get in the way of the plot. A lot has been said about the diminutive Cruise playing a character apparently described in the book as being very tall. There is one scene, I noticed, in a packed bar that is shot from high level and our Tom seems head and shoulders taller than the rest. How comical was that.

Once "The Impossible" gets past the inevitable drama of the tsunami itself ( which I thought was dealt with in a pretty subtle way, if that expression can apply to such a disaster) the movie is mainly about how difficult it was to locate family members who became split up, and it is from this that the film is so successful. If you didn't know the ending, it would be almost too awful to watch, as things go from bad to worse. Although the screenplay is not the best, this is more than made up for by the superb direction by Juan Antonio Bayona (his movie "The Orphange" was quite superb) and some outstanding acting from Ewan McGregor (in maybe his bets ever role) and Naomi Watts. It has elements of a nerve wracking thriller tied in with a huge human drama. I guess it could not fail to impress.

The cinema on a Wednesday afternoon is usually very quiet, but today Screen 6 was packed for a screening of "Quartet". First of all, what we have is a great screenplay. Ronald Harwood has adapted his own successful stage play and for those of us who missed it in the theatre, what we get is such top quality actors who would never have got together on stage. It is a lighthearted and fairly trivial piece about a retirement home for musicians and singers. Surprising that given their advanced years, nobody dies, but this a pastiche about growing old, but very entertaining none the less. Billy Connolly as Wilf is surprisingly good. I know he gets some of the best lines, but his delivery is quiet and understated. Who would have guessed? Tom Courtney, Pauline Collins and Maggie Smith are great and Michael Gambon revels in his over the top performance. Dustin Hoffman directs with aplomb, but how could he go wrong? The stars are almost eclipsed by the setting. Hedsor House and Park near Taplow, Berks has been beautifully filmed.