Movies at Home - The Death Of Stalin, To Catch A Thief and Evil Under The Sun

 

I first saw The Death of Stalin at the cinema in 2017 and this is what I said at the time:

This is the blackest comedy you could imagine. Armando Iannucci has mixed the absolute horror of the Stalin era with the comedy of a bickering and back stabbing committee that has to cope with aftermath of the leader's death. And by do they bicker. Absent from the poster above is the superbly creepy head of the secret police played energetically by Simon Russell Beale. His central role is ripe for the laser sharp pen of the writer, as he tries to keep power. The rest of the cast is terrific, especially a late entrance from the hilarious Jason Isaccs as the head of the army, Michael Palin as Molotov and Andrea Riseborough as Stalin's daughter Svetlana. But the film belongs to Iannucci as he produces an amazing satire on the incompetence of political spin, with everyone blaming everyone else, with no thought for the country, only their immediate survival. Brilliant.

It is still that good.

Two films for Alison starting with the Hitchcock mystery To Catch a Thief, complete with obligatory blonde, this time Grace Kelly at her regal best. Cary Grant does his Cary Grant impression, but it is the dialogue between the two that makes the movie. John Michael Hays makes a great job of the screenplay.

I found this adaptation of the Agatha Christie novel Evil Under The Sun to be pretty hammy. It does have an excellent cast that includes a young Maggie Smith, Diana Rigg and James mason. but this time the script lets them down. So much so, the whole thing seemed very dated. But it does have a very colourful Mediterranean setting. Alison enjoyed it a lot more than I did.

Mark Kermode's Secrets of Cinema

BBC Four are running a series of Mark Kermode's Secrets of Cinema. The episodes so far are as follows:

The Rom-Com, The Heist, Coming of Age, Science Fiction, Horror, Oscar Winners, Superheroes, British History Movies, Spies, British Comedy, Pop Music Movies

All have been worth watching, but it is the latest episode that I thought was the best.

POP MUSIC MOVIES

The title sequence at the beginning included such 1950's classics as Blackboard Jungle (Cliff Richard)  Rock Around the Clock (Bill Hayley) and The Girl Can't Help It  and Twenty Flight Rock by Eddie Cochran, These were so popular with the youth of the day mainly because the cinema sound was far louder than hearing songs on the radio or record player. Going back in time, we heard Bessie Smith in 1929's St Louis Blues and Bing Crosby in Holiday Inn. 

 The Pop Star Vehicle

In this segment, Mark looked at such films as A Hard Day's Night (screenplay by Alan Owen, our old neighbour) as a vehicle for The Beatles first film. He compared this fun movie with Elvis in the wooden Viva Las Vegas, and more of his films such as Love Me Tender. 

Pop Biopics

There are a number to choose from, all the way from The Tommy Steele Story, Cliff in Espresso Bongo to Elton John's Rocketman.  They included Sid and Nancy, What's Love Got To Do With It and even Slade in Flame. But (having seen this programme again in June 2023) the best segment was about that superb film Love and Mercy where two actors play Brian Wilson. It is where they show the making of the music that is so superior.

The Rockumentary

Don't Look Back was the D A Pennebaker documentary on Bob Dylan's British tour of 1965. Gimme Shelter was that extraordinary film of The Rolling Stones 1969 US tour that finished at the Altamont Free Concert with all the violence and killing that took place. This Is Spinal Tap is one of Mark's favourite movies (definitely not mine) and although fictional, just had to be included. We see The Band's last gig in The Last Waltz and Anvil, The Story of Anvil. That I have never even heard of and will not rush to track it down. 

Finally the very sad Amy.

When Pop Stars Act

A Star Is Born was traced from Kris Kristopherson and Barbra Streisand to Lada Gaga and Bradley Cooper. Then Whitney Houston in The Bodyguard and Performance with Mick Jagger. There were a few of David Bowie's films discussed but the less said the better. (I preferred his song Cat People in Inglorious Basterds). 

Hits, Misses and Misfits

A very strange section. The Harder They Come is a Jamaican movie with singer Jimmy Cliff. Odd, but the rest were even weirder.

Here Comes The Future

A few word about pop songs in mainstream movies but ignoring such classic modern films such as Baby Driver. I could have suggested a lot more.

The  last in the series so far is:

CULT MOVIES

So Good It's Bad

It was Mark's choice of Cult Movies that made this episode interesting, not that I would ever watch any of them. How can a shoddy low budget movie by Ed Wood be a "watchable failure"? Well, Tim Burton made a biopic of the director with Johnny Depp. Ed Wood's Planet 9 - From Outer Space Mark called "oddly compelling"??? But he also mentions big budget failures such as Howard the Duck and Hudson Hawk. 

Weird World Cinema

Mark told us there were some "genuine masterpieces" among these, such as Federico Fellini's 1953 I Vitelloni. Then we were on to the French New Wave films and European "masterpieces" (my word not Mark's) such as The Seventh Seal, Breathless and Daisies. What was fascinating was a piece about Alexandro Jodorowsky's unmade Dune that had a fourteen hour running time! There is a documentary on it's failure. However some stills must have inspired Alien.

Cult Cult Movies

I really didn't want to know about experimental film maker Kenneth Anger and not sure why in this category came The Wicker Man, Midsommar, Suspiria, and Rosemary's Baby, all mainstream movies. But Mark particularly liked the black and white film The Seventh Victim and how one scene must have inspired the shower murder in Psycho. 

Shockers

There were tiny clips from lots and lots of scary movies. Nosferatu was called "the most influential horror of it's era". Mark was interested in all those films that were banned. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was described as the first slasher movie. Next we were treated to what were called Video Nasties. Again there were mainstream movies that fell into the category of shockers such as David Cronenberg's Scanners, Videodrome, and Crash that apparently still banned by Westminster City Council. I'm not sure why Mark didn't mention  Cronenberg's eXistenZ, a cult movie if there was one, especially if it's only me who likes it.

Cult of Camp

Not sure that many of these fell into this category. Joan Crawford winning the Oscar for best actress in Mildred Pierce. Then What Ever Happened To Baby Jane, Nicholas Ray's Johnny Guitar. I will quickly move on, ignoring Andy Warhol and John Waters.

Taboo Breakers

Mark introduced this segment with the words "Just how far can you go". The controversial casting of Freaks, Kubrick on the edge with A Clockwork Orange but why the mainstream Women in Love? Just the naked male wrestling? Ken Russell's Devils was apparently restored to it's uncut version for some limited viewings before it was withdrawn by Warners. But then La Grande Bouffe is definitely a real cult movie, not that I would ever want to watch it.

Future Cults

Mark said it was audiences not film makers who decide what is a cult movie. He does mention Blade Runner 2049 that lost a packet, although I liked it, Sorry To Bother You (not for me) and Parasite even though it won best picture. I would love to see that again on the big screen. 

COMING OF AGE MOVIES

The Soundtrack of Our Lives

This was part 4 of  Coming Of Age Movies and Mark told us how music plays such a big part in growing up. It included the following songs, although the clips were far too short:

From the film "Stand By Me" - Lollipop by The Chordettes. I knew the song so well from 1958,  but I had not known this was the artist.  

"The Blackboard Jungle" featured Rock Around The Clock by Bill Haley and His Comets released in 1954. My uncles had the LP when we visited my grandmother in the summer holidays.

The clip from "Saturday Night Fever" showed a very young John Travolta dancing to The Bee Gees' Night Fever. They should have shown the full song, I didn't realise how amazing it was until I found the scene from the movie on YouTube: Bee Gees - Night Fever (John Travolta) [HD].

"American Graffiti" included a couple of songs: Surfin' Safari by The Beach Boys and Runaway by Dell Shannon. That 1961song played  regularly to my sixteen year old self.

Mark selected The Who's 1965 single Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere from the film Quadrophenia.

It was at  the very beginning of "Donny Darko" that Killing Moon by Echo and The Bunnymen plays. Also on YouTube.

The film "Moonlight" was represented by Hello Stranger by Barbara Lewis from 1963. It was shown alongside "American Graffiti's" Smoke Gets In Your Eyes by The Platters in 1959. Why do I  remember more their Only You (And You Alone). I have now ordered a DVD of the movie.

Not in this section, but two more songs were in this programme:

American Honey (from the film of the same name) by Lady Antebellum (the scene in the van).

Tiny Dancer by Elton John, on the bus from the film "Almost Famous"   ("I have to go home" ...."You are home").

Thanks to Mark Kermode for these choices, and for YouTube for the extended clips. Mark talks about the jukebox in Moonlight and it reminded me of the jukebox in the coffee bar (before they were called cafe's) in Braintree. Especially after delivering the Royal Mail's Christmas post in 1961, (we were let off school) listening to pre-Beatles records from Cliff, The Shadows, Bobby Vee and of course Lonnie Donegan: Have A Drink On Me and Seven Daffodils. These two songs have NOT stood the test of time!

HORROR

This was a repeat of the episode on Horror movies that I cannot remember from before.

The Long Journey

Mark explained now a horror movie can start with something as normal as a road trip. We saw clips from The Shining, Psycho, and even Angel Heart. As Mark put it ; "from a safe world to that which is unnerving". 

The Ominous Atmosphere

These are the warning signs of what might be coming. Friday 13th, Get Out (brilliant) Carnival of Souls and others that I could not watch such as Suspiria. 

The Scary Place

You just know they shouldn't be there, as in Don't and The Haunting.

Sound

We hear how sound has a big part to play in horror movies. This time we see how in Eraserhead and The Orphanage.

The Jump Scare

These are the worst for me. Avoid all these movies at all costs: Cat People, The Exorcist (Parts 1, 2 and 3), and Psycho. However, I can still watch An American Werewolf in Paris .... just.

The Monster

From Dracula to Lon Chaney and Freddie Kruger. We see the amazing body transformation from The Howling (loved that film) and a section on scary clowns. No!

The Savant

Or a sort of saviour, but not quite. The medium in Poltergeist and Van Helsing in Dracula.

The Chase

Excerpts for Night of the Living Dead and the great It Follows.

The Final Girl

 Lots of clips here from Friday 13th (again), the less obvious Red Riding Hood, Nosferatu, and typically Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween. Then in Alice Lowe's  Prevenge, it is the unborn baby who tells he to kill.

The Exorcism

Usually the defeat of the monster(s). But why The Wicker Man? Then the enduring "unresolved open ending". 

This was probably Mark Kermode's favourite genre and he was on top form for this episode.

No Direction Home: Bob Dylan

Sky Arts have the Martin Scorsese documentary for download. No Direction Home: Bob Dylan is the 2005 story of the early years of the singer/songwriter. It is very long (far too long) at 3 hours and 27 minutes. I felt that the first half was an awful mess. Interesting but all over the place. Robert Zimmerman is finding his way as a folk singer, maybe just a Woody Guthrie tribute singer. So why oh why do we have to have these flash forwards to his London tour of 1966 (when he gone electric) that was filmed by D A Pennebaker. There are excerpts from his documentary Don't Look Back scattered through Scorsese's work. 

Crucially, there is the interview with Bob himself that is intriguing. Well, not an interview as such as it is just Bob talking. His recollections of his early days are great, explaining that he was not actually a song writer. There are good clips from the Newport Folk Festivals of 1963, 64, 65 and the appearance there in 1966 when he first went electric. And the fallout from that. 

My favourite piece of the film is when a certain Al Kooper explains his contribution to the recording of Like a Rolling Stone. thought he was going to play the electric guitar on the track until the arrival of top musician Mike Bloomfield. So Al packed up his guitar and was banished to the control room. However, the organ player moved to the piano and Al took the opportunity when no-one was looking to bluff his way to the organ. He had no idea of the arrangement so just listened and came in an eighth behind the band. When the track was replayed, the producer Tom Wilson  turned off the organ, only for Bob to insist that it be turned up. That is why it is the most distinctive instrument on the record. Al went on to join Bob's backing band on his next tours. 

The second half (or second episode as it was shown) is much better. I can remember watching Dylan on a tiny TV in 65 or 66, possibly that BBC concert that was wiped from their precious videotape. On Rotten Tomatoes I liked the article from super reviewer Cameron J which included:

Overall, the lengthy runtime is achieved by such not-so commendable means as some repetition, as well as some excess footage that throws inconsistency in the documentary's focus and renders it ever so occasionally convoluted, a situation made worse by a somewhat uneven pacing.

Snow in January 2021

 

The snow that was forecast for this morning duly arrived. But in the end it was only a poor covering, and already it is melting even though the last few days have been very cold.

Tring Book Club - Fever of the Bone by Val Mc Dermid

 

A book club choice. I do believe the first time we have read a crime thriller. Much more of a police procedural than I imagined. None of the repetitive violence that I thought might be gruesome. There are some pretty obvious set ups along the way, connections that anyone was unlikely to miss.

The story does move forward at a relentless pace, even with some interesting and unexpected diversions into the background of criminal profiler Tony Hill. In the end I was pleasantly surprised how this was a satisfying change from my usual fiction.

PS The general feeling from members of book club at our Zoom meeting last night was less than enthusiastic.

Little, Last Friends and Olive, Again

I would never normally read a long historical novel with a child narrator, but I was captivated by the story of the diminutive Marie Grosholtz with the nickname of Little. The book follows her life from childhood through to early adulthood and is never less than interesting. Occasionally comic, sad, emotional and dangerous. There are some set piece chapters midway which do not move the story on, but are fine nonetheless.

Only towards the end did I realise that what I thought was only a partly dramatised account of late eighteenth century Paris, was in fact a much more like reality. Little proves to be a survivor despite the hardship she faces. She is a finely drawn character who proves to be resilient despite her stature.

The book is punctuated by pencil drawings from our narrator. These add a wonderful perspective to the story, and I was very pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed the book. It was one of the suggestions from Hilary for our next book club read but wasn't chosen. I wish it had been.

The last book in the trilogy that started with "Old Filth" and was followed by "The Man in the Wooden Hat". I loved the first two books, but "Last Friends" is even better. There are devastatingly brilliant switches in time and character, some sixty years apart, but superbly linked. We know most of the people from the first two books, and this gives the author the licence to indulge in their back stories. But it also finds those who are left in old age, and their stories are very emotional. Jane Gardam writes scintillating prose that stirs the soul. Mostly in the third person, but sometimes wanders off into the first. Magical.

Here we have Dulcie, the aged widow of William Wilky (Pastry Willy), at one point head of a new chambers in London. Some of Dulcie's musings are quite extraordinary. The book almost revolves around her in present day as she remembers the old days: Feathers and his wife Betty, Veneering and his short lived marriage to wealthy Elsie after they met in Singapore. (The most beautiful woman in Hong Kong). As the trilogy gets better and better, so does this book, with a surprisingly uplifting final chapter.

I thought this sequel to "Olive Kitteridge" was even better than the original when I wrote "An extraordinary book, if a little depressing. A number of interlocking stories held together by Olive herself, a retired schoolteacher. (In one she is only referred to as Rebecca's teacher). The construction of this book is quite original and works really well. Olive herself is not a nice person, bitter and self righteous, in denial about her relationship with her son Christopher. She must have some endearing qualities for her husband Henry has stuck by her all these years, I never quite worked out why. Elizabeth Strout deserves her Pulitzer Prize. She can create a real sense of emotion in her writing".

There were thirteen stories in the original and here there are thirteen again. And Olive again is the central character in some, peripheral in others. All base in the fictional town of Crosby in Maine. Her husband Henry has died. In the first story called "Arrested" we meet Jack, an angry lonely man. In "Labor" Olive is called on to do something unexpected. "Cleaning" features eleven years old Kayley Callaghan in an outstanding short story. In "Motherless Child" Olive's son Christopher and his family come to stay after a three year absence. A difficult piece to read. We know that Olive can be hard work but does she deserve more respect? It's all in the title.

"Helped" is about Bernie and Suzanne, another even better independent story. In "Light" Olive visits Cindy who may have a terminal illness. So bits about death where brilliant conversations could have been sad but were just superb. "The Walk" is only eight pages but just devastating. In "Pedicure" Olive and Jack go for a car ride and Jack has an unexpected and upsetting encounter. Then in "Exiles" here comes Bob and Jim. You remember Strout's novel "The Burgess Boys"? I read it in 2019 and thought it was marvelous. Set this time in Shirley Falls, their wives, out for a walk, bump into ..... yes, Olive and Jack.

In "The Poet" Olive meets one in a diner. Awesome. "The End of Civil War Days" is a powerful piece about the MacPhersons, Fergus and Ethel, and their grown up daughters Laurie and Lisa. Olive is back in "Heart". When asked if she knows about the camps she typically replies "Of course i do. Do you think I'm an ignorant fool". She just says what she thinks. Then to end we have the emotional "Friend" and a link to one of the author's other books, this time "Amy and Isabelle".

This is just an incredible collection of stories. Highly recommended

LG Smart TV

 

When we bought our new LG TV last year. I had not realised how it was so smart. Because we always watch programmes via the Sky box, there was never any reason to see how the LG programmes worked. That was until the Premier League football was shown on Amazon Prime and BBC I Player. As the picture above shows, there is a bar which lets you choose direct  from the  internet channels such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and recently BBC I Player. The miracles of modern science.

The model we chose was the LG UM7450 PLA as the photo below.

Halfway to Hollywood : Diaries 1980-1988 by Michael Palin

 

I actually started this large volume of Michael Palin diaries in July and have dipped into them most evenings. It is a big book, 621 pages in hardback plus photographs. It is quite heavy to handle. At the beginning of the book is a very handy timeline to cover this period of diaries from the first day of 1980 to the 24th September 1988 before he sets out on his expedition "Round the World in 80 Days". So the following notes are those entries that I found particularly interesting.

1980 starts with assisting his great friend Terry Gilliam to write and film "Time Bandits".  Later I did not realise how big Monty Python had been in the USA. "The Life of Brian" had been so successful that the team were in America to film "Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl".

In 1981 Michael Palin was writing "The Missionary" and had found interest from George Harrison's Hand Made Films. Their producer Denis O'Brien plays a large part in Palin's life at this stage. On the 20th July he had finished reading the script but as Palin explains "As I expected, the last thing he wants to do is give any artistic judgement on the script. He talks of it purely from a business point of view. he sounds to have no doubts that it's a commercial reality and he's treating it accordingly." An eight or nine week shoot in March April or May 1982.

It was actually May 1982 that filming began on "The Missionary" with Maggie Smith, David Suchet, Michael Hordern and Trevor Howard. There are some wonderful pieces about each day's filming. On a Sunday, on a rare day at home mid-shoot, he loves the "variety of children and friends .... I do value it so much. How could I want to leave all this?" (for a Hollywood career?). It seemed a very hard few months, with the additional responsibilities of helping to write and act in "Monty Python's Meaning of Life". On Monday 16th August 1982, Palin notes "the sixth week of Python filming - 17th week of filming since the end of March". It became five months solid work on both films.

Because he had written and starred in "The Missionary", he embarks upon a crushing media tour of America to publicise the movie. Then that red letter day on 4th November 1982, staying at the Sherry Netherland Hotel in NYC, and reading the last of the reviews of the film in the next day's New York Times. Another good review. "How on earth can I sleep. Who can I ring. They wont be up in England".

In 1983, with "The Missionary" released in the UK and "Meaning of Life" in the US and UK, Michael Palin reaches his 40th birthday on 5th May. Going for a run on Hampstead Heath he vows to "extricate myself from some of the many commitments in which I have become entangled over the years". But he only has himself  to blame. He really wants to write and it is all these commitments that hinder the process.

Over the last couple of years he became very friendly with Ray Cooper (the percussionist) who was a
trouble shooter for Hand Made Films who produced "The Missionary". They have a day out at Henley in June 1983 when they dine with George Harrison and then on to the latter's house in the evening. (Much later on Saturday 13th August 1988, at Michael's home in the evening, the doorbell goes. "It's George with an envelope with the sleeve notes for the first Travelling Wilbury's album that he wants Michael to look at. In the car are George's wife, children and their friends. They are all invited in.")

There are extracts in the diaries from 1983 that go to show how Palin is so much in demand. Piles of books and scripts are sent to him, requests for TV interviews and appearances on programmes, even a Hamlet in Sheffield. But it is as an actor that is next for Michael. First in Terry Gilliam's "Brazil" and then in Alan Bennett's "A Private Function" with Maggie Smith. They both are the highlights of 1984.

Then in 1985, Palin is writing "East of Ipswich", a very personal project situated in Southwold, home of his mother. I enjoyed reading about the development of the script and it's eventual filming for the BBC in June 1986. He takes on the chairmanship of Transport 2000, which is the least interesting part of his diaries. After "East of Ipswich", he is writing "American Friends" which becomes quite hard work. On 17th September 1986 he is struggling to sleep, struggling to write. "Then my great stand-by, a run. Running can never be anything but positive - that's the joy of it". Palin also thought he would make a good gardener. "Solitary, contemplative, open air sort of life has an attraction for me". Me too.

Although the first draft of "American Friends" was finished in 1987, it was the filming of the huge success that was "A Fish Called Wanda" that was the highlight of that year. Although this was overshadowed by the suicide of his sister Angela after many years of depression. He is reminded of how good a friend is Terry Jones. In the September of 1987, Palin is at the BBC for an initial meeting about their proposal for "Around the World in 80 days".

Then 1988 sees re-writes and meetings for "American Friends" but struggling to find any real interest. And then finally turned down by MGM. But Palin's script for "No 27" is filmed by the BBC. There are previews and press tours of the USA for "Wanda" which becomes a big hit in the States. Filming for "80 Days" starts in England, Michael having a medical and shoots at the Royal Geographical Society. These diaries end with Palin about to embark upon this expedition.

Goodbye RICS

 

This month I decided not to renew my subscription for the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. I had been a retired member for fourteen years and didn't see any point in paying fees for the next how many years. It might have been different if I was still a member of the old Institute of Quantity Surveyors. However the IQS membership having voted against joining the RICS, on a second ballot in 1983 changed their minds. So despite having personally voted against the merger twice, I was duly elected as a Professional Associate of the RICS on 1st March 1983. 

I was therefore a member of the IQS from 1963 to 1983 including fourteen years as an Associate. And then another twenty three years with the RICS including seventeen years as a fellow, and those last fourteen years as a retired member. So I have been paying subscriptions for over fifty seven years. If only the IQS had kept their independent status. There is little room in the RICS for those whose whole career has been in the employ of major building contractors.

And now they have made the news for unwelcome reasons. A report by accountants BDO warned that the body was at risk of "unidentified fraud, misappropriation of funds and misreporting of financial performance". Watch this space.

Dear Mr Roberts

Ref: 0066455

Thank you for your recent communication in relation to the resignation of your RICS membership.

I can confirm that your resignation from membership is now complete.
 
I hope you found your membership of value and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you on behalf of RICS for your contribution to the surveying profession, and for your time as a member.
 
As an organisation, we continually look to develop the level of service we offer. To help improve the services, please click onto the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RICSresignation. The link will guide you to a short survey in relation to your resignation. Your views will provide a valuable insight into professionals' needs, priorities and views on how the organisation is performing. Therefore, all feedback is appreciated.
 
Did you know that as a former member of RICS, you and your family are still eligible to receive the support and services provided by LionHeart, the benevolent fund for RICS members and their families? Find out more about how LionHeart can support you at www.lionheart.org.uk. Telephone: 0800 009 2960 or 0121 289 3300
 
If you decide at any time in the future you wish to return to membership, please visit: www.rics.org/readmissions and complete the applicable readmission application form. 

I wish you every success for the future.

Kind regards

Andra Lefter

MEMBERSHIP SUPPORT, RICS 

t +44 2476 868 555  w rics.org

 

Movies at Home - Rififi, The Mummy, Knives Out and Paris Je Taime

 

The 1955 French crime film Rififi, superbly directed by the black listed American Jules Dassin, paved the way for the making of heist movies for years to come. The actual jewel robbery, that involves breaking through a concrete floor and the intricacies of cutting open a steel safe, is like a silent movie. It takes hours over a whole night and it's daylight before the crooks emerge. I loved the exceptional exterior shots of Paris in winter, the photography and digital restoration is excellent. 

However, the aftermath gets very violent as everything goes pear shaped. One reviewer said it "turns moralistic and sour in the last half as thieves fall out". 

I saw The Mummy with Tom Cruise at the cinema in 2017 and thought it was a suitable film for Alison to see.  This is what I said at the time: 

I cannot remember Tom Cruise trying to play the lovable rogue. In future he should steer clear of any such role. He is so unconvincing, you laugh with embarrassment, not at the wit. The story and the action sequences are fine, but the dialogue is awful. And Russell Crowe. Well!

Another movie I had seen at the cinema. Taking advantage of my month's free trial of Amazon Prime, I picked this for our Saturday night film. Alison enjoyed it.

An American cinematic whodunit with an Agatha Christie type cast brought together following the death of patriarch Christopher Plummer. Much more of a whodunit  than a howdunit. I guessed that early on and I'm notorious for never doing that. Daniel Craig is the private investigator whose southern accent lapses more than once. Rian Johnson deserves great credit for both writing and directing.

I think I must have seen Paris, Je Taime sometime in the past but I cannot remember when. There are eighteen very short dramas, each in a separate district in the city and each by a different director. But it was when the film visited "Tuileries" that I knew I had seen it before. Joel and Ethan Coen's segment only takes place on the platform of the metro station. The full list of the pieces is:

Montmartre

Quais De seine

Le Marais (director Gus Van Sant)

Tuileries (directors Joel and Ethan Coen)

Loin du 16e 

Porte de Choisy

Bastille

Place de Victoires (starring Juliette Binoch)

Tour Eiffel

Parc Monceau (director Alfonso Cuaron)

Quartier des Enfants Rouge (starring Maggie Gyllenhal) 

Place de Fetes

Pigalle (starring Bob Hoskins and Fanny Ardant)

Quartier de la Madeleine

Pere Lachaise (director Wes Craven)

Faubourg Saint-Denis (starring Natalie Portman)

Quartier Latin

14e arrondissement 

Then the montage at the end is spectacular. I love this film.