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LV: Les Poupées Russes (The Russian Dolls, Cédric Klapisch, 2005)
Follow up to L'Auberge Espagnol in which the world's least convincing writer Xavier (Romain Duris) is trying to keep a gig on writing a tv drama and various ghost writing commitments, whilst being stalled on his novel, L'Auberge Espagnol. He runs into William from the first film, who has learned Russian to go after a ballet dancer has met, and is invited to the wedding. Meanwhile the drama needs to be written in English - but he persuades them to employ his housemate from Barcelona and William's sister Wendy (Kelly Reilly) to cowrite it. The two fall in love - but the appearance of a supermodel jeopardises this.
Again, nice camera work and split screen, but Xavier is clearly a git - and I'm not sure we're meant to think that. It's a wonder he's had any success as a writer at all. Apparently women are Russian Dolls and you open each one until you find the right one. Ho hum.
LVI: Ministry of Fear (Fritz Lang, 1944)
Hitchcockian Greene novel, in a noir adaptation - Stephen Neale (Ray Milland) is released from an asylum, and ends up at a late night fair where he is given a cake. He then travels to London, but en route the cake is stolen by someone posing as a blindman. The man is killed, and Neale begins trying to track down why he was given the cake, and someone clearly thinks he still has it. There's an international ring of Nazi spies, obviously, but he might be a murderer, having killed his wife.
Tidy little thriller, in which it is all to easy to assume Milland is dangerous - and to guess who will betray him. It is satisfactory in its twists, mind. I don't recall the novel enough to see where changes have been wrought.
Totals: 56 - [Cinema: 16; DVD: 37; Television: 3]
Follow up to L'Auberge Espagnol in which the world's least convincing writer Xavier (Romain Duris) is trying to keep a gig on writing a tv drama and various ghost writing commitments, whilst being stalled on his novel, L'Auberge Espagnol. He runs into William from the first film, who has learned Russian to go after a ballet dancer has met, and is invited to the wedding. Meanwhile the drama needs to be written in English - but he persuades them to employ his housemate from Barcelona and William's sister Wendy (Kelly Reilly) to cowrite it. The two fall in love - but the appearance of a supermodel jeopardises this.
Again, nice camera work and split screen, but Xavier is clearly a git - and I'm not sure we're meant to think that. It's a wonder he's had any success as a writer at all. Apparently women are Russian Dolls and you open each one until you find the right one. Ho hum.
LVI: Ministry of Fear (Fritz Lang, 1944)
Hitchcockian Greene novel, in a noir adaptation - Stephen Neale (Ray Milland) is released from an asylum, and ends up at a late night fair where he is given a cake. He then travels to London, but en route the cake is stolen by someone posing as a blindman. The man is killed, and Neale begins trying to track down why he was given the cake, and someone clearly thinks he still has it. There's an international ring of Nazi spies, obviously, but he might be a murderer, having killed his wife.
Tidy little thriller, in which it is all to easy to assume Milland is dangerous - and to guess who will betray him. It is satisfactory in its twists, mind. I don't recall the novel enough to see where changes have been wrought.
Totals: 56 - [Cinema: 16; DVD: 37; Television: 3]
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