#Kate Nelligan

[gradexmovies]

[esqueletosgays]

WOLF (1994)

Director: Mike Nichols Cinematography: Giuseppe Rotunno

[pop-art-sixties-seventies]

Frank Langella, Kate Nelligan, Dracula, 1979

[lobbycards]

Without a Trace, German lobby card, 1983

[prettynerdieworks]

DRACULA (1979)

[kenro199x]

[musicandoldmovies]

Donald Sutherland (°July 17, 1935 - +June 20, 2024)

In Eye of the Needle with Kate Nelligan

[billiennn]

ℋℴ𝓌 𝒯ℴ ℳ𝒶𝓀ℯ 𝒶𝓃 𝒜𝓂ℯ𝓇𝒾𝒸𝒶𝓃 𝒬𝓊𝒾𝓁𝓉 （1995）

[ad-j]

WATCHLIST 2023: Wolf

[letterboxd-loggd]

Eye of the Needle (1981) Richard Marquand

July 13th 2024

[fatal-instinct]

Disc Laser Cover Fatal Instinct (1993)

[rko-radio-pictures]

[lobbycards]

Without a Trace, German lobby card, 1983

[adamwatchesmovies]

A Wrinkle in Time (2003)

While I didn't enjoy this film, that doesn't mean you won't. No matter what I say, the people involved in this project did it: they actually made a movie. That's something to be applauded. With that established...

Between the 2018 big-budget film adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time and the 2003 made-for-TV version… you’d be better off reading the novel by Madeleine L’Engle. This is the better of the two adaptations but you’ve got to sift through horrendous special effects, unconvincing performances, many plot holes and a frustrating climax to see the source material shine through.

Following the mysterious disappearance of her father (Chris Potter), Meg Murry (Katie Stuart) struggles at school and with her inner thoughts. When three strange women, Mrs. Whatsit (Alfre Woodard), Mrs. Who (Alison Elliot) and Mrs. Which (Kate Nelligan) summon Meg, her telepathic, genius-level little brother Charles Wallace (David Dorfman) and their new friend Calvin O’Keefe (Gregory Smith) are sent on a mission to rescue Dr. Murry. In the process, they oppose an embodiment of evil known as the Black Thing. Though Charles Wallace is the rare person who can stand up to the sinister force, his sister is the one who will play a key role in this battle.

Conceptually, there’s plenty to like. Most YA novel adaptations feature a seemingly ordinary child who is revealed to be anything but ordinary. Here, Charles Wallace is the “chosen one” but he's so young and impressionable his normal sister becomes the more active character. Meg is relatable. She’s filled with self-doubt and feels inadequate compared to her brother. She doesn’t feel pretty is frustrated by a world that doesn’t understand her and is still reeling from her father's disappearance. Katie Stuart is ok in the role. Not spectacular but usually fine.

The troubles begin as soon as the three guardian angels/witches enter. After bringing the children to a fantastical world, Mrs. Whatsit transforms into a winged centaur-like creature. The special effect is so terrible it’s impossible to ignore. I don’t like harping on special effects. Ultimately, the writing, story and performances make a movie. The eye candy is extra but someone should’ve said something. If you're still hesitant to call this take on A Wrinkle in Time bad at this point, just wait. While no other visuals look quite as awful as that nightmare beast, none of what follows looks or feels quite right. The story is rushed and besides Meg, no one receives the characterization needed for you to latch onto and love them. Charles Wallace is bullied by other children because he refuses (at least at the beginning of the film) to speak to anyone outside his family. Why does his mother (Sarah-Jane Redmond) still send him to a normal school? We’re told The Black Thing is a threat to the entire galaxy… but for the most part, the three children battle it on their own? What are the three ladies doing in the meantime? I'm almost certain the four-hour miniseries cut fixes many of these issues. As-is, 124 minutes is far too short for the material. Paradoxically, too much of this film’s plot is dedicated to elements that ultimately lead nowhere and are a waste of time. A planet with Wookie-like creatures and the aforementioned flying beast don’t serve much of a purpose in the grand scheme of things. They certainly don’t give the people watching much of a spectacle.

You can see why someone green-lit this production. There’s a gem of an idea at its core. At one point, our heroes travel to the planet Camazotz, whose people are forced into a conformist society controlled by IT/The Black Thing. Everywhere, there’s a certain rhythmic noise. It’s the bouncing of basketballs, the tapping of fingers on the desk, the footsteps of the people IT subjugates. The evil's suffocating control is brilliantly done. In terms of what you can look forward to, there's little else. A Wrinkle in Time simply isn’t well translated to the screen. The urgency we should be feeling during the climax is absent. This makes you realize how lacklustre the performances are and how thin your patience is getting. If I never hear someone yell “Charles Wallace!” again, it’ll be too soon. You find it hard to care about anything despite the promising beginning.

Most hilariously, the people at Disney Marketing knew they had a hard-sell on their hands, which is why the image of a castle and a pegasus (neither of which appear in the movie) are plastered all over the DVD. Even if you go in with low standards and understand the limitations of a made-for-TV movie, 2003’s A Wrinkle in Time disappoints. (On DVD, December 27, 2019)

[thenightflower]

Love this. Reminds me of this scene with Lucy and Dracula from the 1979 film version of Dracula. Fantastic movie.

Armand and Marius sharing the coffin, I love the warm effect that candle lighting gives :) (Commission)

[kinonostalgie]

Eye of the Needle is a 1981 British spy film directed by Richard Marquand, and starring Donald Sutherland and Kate Nelligan. Written by Stanley Mann, it is based on the 1978 novel of the same title by Ken Follett.

The film is about a German Nazi spy in the United Kingdom during World War II who discovers vital information about the upcoming D-Day invasion and his attempt to return to Germany while he is stranded with a family on the isolated (fictional) Storm Island, off the coast of Scotland.