Everything That Dies, Some Day Comes Back

It’s fascinating of course to watch this 2011 Stephen Soderbergh film about a global pandemic to see how prescient it was. For starters the fictional virus originates in a Chinese market where live animals are sold. And the film gets a lot of technical detail right apparently, and even references R0 at one point. On the other hand instead of lockdowns it imagines whole cities being isolated, leading to breakdowns in law and order. And the speed with which a vaccine is created and the way it is proved safe are not credible but that's understandable given that the reality of how a vaccine is developed and tested is not that riveting.  Which brings us to the main issue here, which is that a pandemic is not in itself necessarily make for good drama. This film tries to solve this problem by focusing on half a dozen or so individuals, and so how much you enjoy this film hinges on how satisfying you find their stories. The one I was most into was that of Kate Winslett who goes to Minneapo...

I had seen this back in the day, and enjoyed it, but I had completely forgotten just how tremendous it is.  No self-respecting list of great romcoms would be complete without it. I'm not the biggest fan of the director Ang Lee, but he does well here.  But the film really belongs to Emma Thompson, who gives a magnificently understated performance as Elinor Dashwood, and who won an Oscar for her screenplay, adapted from the Austen novel.   All through the film Elinor has to suppress her real feelings, so that when at the climax of the film she breaks down into uncontrollable sobbing when she realises that she is, miracle of all miracles, able to marry the man she loves, I found myself responding in like fashion.  It is a hugely cathartic moment that is somewhat unexpected in an Austen adaptation. I might even get round to reading the novel, if only to see what changes Thompson made. The rest of the cast is well-nigh perfect, from Kate Winslett as Elinor's younger ...

It's a long time since I've watched a film quite as intense as this one, which is weird given that when all's said and done it's just about an IT guy, and there are no life-and-death issues at stake. We spend the entire running time with Jobs, just before product launch presentations at three key points in his career.  In each one he has to handle  people who are important to him in either his personal or professional life.  They all seem to want something from him, which he can't or won't provide.  This tight and repetitive structure makes for a claustrophobic and gripping  viewing experience. It also makes for a very wordy film, just one damn conversation after another.  Fortunately the words are provided by Aaron Sorkin. We know that Sorkin can deliver witty and sparkling dialogue.  Here though that wouldn't work, given that Jobs is portrayed as an uncompromising pain-in-the-arse.  Sorkin rises to the challenge.  T he screenplay is a maste...