Stuff

“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” is John Hughes’ 1986 ode to Chicago. Ferris and his chums Cameron and Sloane skip off school for a day to enjoy Chicago. If you’ve ever been to Chicago, you will know why.

The day out includes a visit to America’s best art gallery, the Art Institute.

Matthew Broderick as Ferris breaks the fourth wall throughout, even at the end. There’s a line of thought that Ferris does not really exist, he’s just Cameron’s imagination.

Philip Kaufman’s “The Right Stuff” (1983) takes the Tom Wolfe book and makes a good effort at showing the beginning of the USA manned space missions.

There’s a tremendous cast, wonderful music and it’s reasonably accurate, though there are some major flaws. The only criticism is the over-emphasis on Chuck Yeager and his achievements.

The original “Blade Runner” from 1982 was not a great success when it came out, but has become a classic. It has been revisited by director Ridley Scott on many occasions and there are multiple versions available.

The music by Vangelis is superb. Harrison Ford is OK as Decker but many of the supporting cast are excellent, including Rutger Hauer, William Sanderson and Edward James Olmos.

Just avoid the sequel from 2019.

“Robot And Frank” was a 2012 movie that came and went and did not cause too much of a stir at the cinema. Which is a shame, as it is an interesting little film. It does very occasionally get a showing on tv.

There’s a strong cast. Frank Langella, Susan Sarandon and Liv Tyler for a start.

The story: Frank is a ‘retired’ burglar/petty criminal who lives alone in the country. Frank is always getting into trouble, so his grown up children buy him a robot to look after him and to keep an eye on him, to keep Frank out of trouble. In the meantime, Frank has a ‘thing’ for the lady who runs the library.

If you’re thinking, oh no, another film about robots taking over the world, then it isn’t.

In some ways it’s a buddy movie, as Frank and the robot bond. As the film progresses, we find more about Frank’s world and the story takes a more serious and darker tone.

Langella, of course, is excellent. The robot is a typical movie robot, but it needs to be. Catch it if you can.