Chappie, Still Alice and Suite Francais

I don't know what writer/director Neill Blomkamp was thinking about. He has been on a steady descent after the superb District 9 with a so-so Elysium and now a howler in Chappie. We have seen AI robots before and although this one was kind of cute, the story, was awful. Whatever possessed Blomkamp to pitch Chappie in with a bunch of criminals I have no idea. Originality? It had all the usual high tech stuff we expect from the director, lots of explosions etc. But this time he added frantic editing and sound, coupled with an dreadful script. There is one underlying sensible story about teaching the young, but this is lost amidst a collection of unlikable characters and a cast who only just turned up. Disappointing to say the least.

I was in two minds whether I wanted to see a film like Still Alice where the main character has Alzheimer's Disease. But Julianne Moore's Oscar winning performance encouraged me to go. And I'm so glad I did. What could have been a hard slog turned out to be a tender, well written family drama and yes, that wonderful contribution from Moore. It seemed strange that as well as being sad, it was also quite uplifting in parts. The story was very well constructed, although Alice doesn't get as angry and frustrated as I would have imagined. Kirsten Stewart as her daughter would have also been terrific if it wasn't for some of her garbled delivery. Alec Baldwin is less than convincing as the unsympathetic husband. But the script is really good and although it was a low budget drama, the immersion in a dark cinema and a big screen would have been definitely preferable to watching on TV. That I must remember.

Suite Francais is no classic, but is a reasonably well told adaptation of  Irene Nemirovsky's book about her experiences in a small French town under German occupation in early WW2. The script is fine but we do have all the usual suspects, collaborators and resistance fighters and those just trying to survive. The relationship between lonely wife Michelle Williams and her resident officer Matthias Schoenaerts is never entirely convincing but her ferocious  mother-in-law played by Kristin Scott Thomas is a constant threat. The direction and cinematography are excellent, and the scenery and colours of a French summer make for a visual treat. I enjoyed it.