Not many films were viewed this month. There are a couple of films still screening in May that are of interest.
Films discussed this month are:
Penguin Lessons: In 1976, as Argentina descends into violence and chaos, a world-weary English teacher regains his compassion for others thanks to an unlikely friendship with a rescued penguin. For all it covers the Argentinian issues and related chaos and violence, this is pretty much a gentle film about relationships and how they can help mental problems. There is some good character development and contrasts. It made for pleasant watching with moments of tension and humour. We rated it as 3.5/5.
The Correspondent: Award-winning journalist Peter Greste reports on the Arab Spring uprising, becoming entangled in a deadly game of rivalries. Imprisoned for seven years despite his innocence, he survives before release in 2015. Peter Greste was played by Richard Roxburgh whose performance was excellent. A sign of a good performance is when you are not constantly seeing the actor’s character from previous films or series. In “The Correspondent” there was no sign of any earlier characters played by Roxburgh. From a historical perspective, there were some interesting insights as to what was being played out that were not evident to the public at the time. It did though at times seem a bit flat. This was rated as 2.5/5.
Sinners: Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back. The twins were played Michael B Jordan, who did well showing the different characters of each of the twins. It was a vampire film but also showed 1930s issues around Southern black culture. It blended music, vampire attacks, comedy, but most of all music. Music was a main point of the film and possibly made the film. A good film when looking at things like performance, screenplay, even script, all brought together around music, but could not be considered a fun or pleasant film. This was rated as 3.5/5
Some police series screening on television services are “Sherwood”, “Bergerac” and “Chelsea Detective”. “Sherwood” and “Chelsea Detective” are in many ways similar, but contrast as to the communities involved. One was of a poor working class area with many unemployed; the other was set in a more upper class environment. “Bergerac” is in some ways a remake of a police series set on Jersey, but so far the Bergerac character is very different, and his colleagues find him difficult to work with.
A film coming soon is “The Salt Path”. It is a biographical drama based on the experience of a married couple. After receiving a bad health diagnosis and left homeless after legal problems, they embark on the 630-mile (1,010 km) South West Coast Path, the longest uninterrupted path in England, around the coast of Somerset, Devon, Cornwall, and Dorset.
Please note - the Film Discussion Group class will not be running in June and July.
Joy Shirley
May 2025
Films discussed this month are:
Penguin Lessons: In 1976, as Argentina descends into violence and chaos, a world-weary English teacher regains his compassion for others thanks to an unlikely friendship with a rescued penguin. For all it covers the Argentinian issues and related chaos and violence, this is pretty much a gentle film about relationships and how they can help mental problems. There is some good character development and contrasts. It made for pleasant watching with moments of tension and humour. We rated it as 3.5/5.
The Correspondent: Award-winning journalist Peter Greste reports on the Arab Spring uprising, becoming entangled in a deadly game of rivalries. Imprisoned for seven years despite his innocence, he survives before release in 2015. Peter Greste was played by Richard Roxburgh whose performance was excellent. A sign of a good performance is when you are not constantly seeing the actor’s character from previous films or series. In “The Correspondent” there was no sign of any earlier characters played by Roxburgh. From a historical perspective, there were some interesting insights as to what was being played out that were not evident to the public at the time. It did though at times seem a bit flat. This was rated as 2.5/5.
Sinners: Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back. The twins were played Michael B Jordan, who did well showing the different characters of each of the twins. It was a vampire film but also showed 1930s issues around Southern black culture. It blended music, vampire attacks, comedy, but most of all music. Music was a main point of the film and possibly made the film. A good film when looking at things like performance, screenplay, even script, all brought together around music, but could not be considered a fun or pleasant film. This was rated as 3.5/5
Some police series screening on television services are “Sherwood”, “Bergerac” and “Chelsea Detective”. “Sherwood” and “Chelsea Detective” are in many ways similar, but contrast as to the communities involved. One was of a poor working class area with many unemployed; the other was set in a more upper class environment. “Bergerac” is in some ways a remake of a police series set on Jersey, but so far the Bergerac character is very different, and his colleagues find him difficult to work with.
A film coming soon is “The Salt Path”. It is a biographical drama based on the experience of a married couple. After receiving a bad health diagnosis and left homeless after legal problems, they embark on the 630-mile (1,010 km) South West Coast Path, the longest uninterrupted path in England, around the coast of Somerset, Devon, Cornwall, and Dorset.
Please note - the Film Discussion Group class will not be running in June and July.
Joy Shirley
May 2025
