11 films on TV this week that are worth your time

Cold Mountain   Sat   14/7   Watch @ 21.00

For my money, one of the most underrated films of this century so far. A man & woman divided by the American civil war struggle to survive in the hope they will meet again one day. A romantic, action packed &.... just a brilliant film, full of well drawn and likeable characters. Nicole Kidman, Jude Law, Brendan Gleeson & Philip Seymour Hoffman are all on top form but Renee Zellweger owns the film, she's so good in this. I love this film. Obviously.

The Revenant   Sat   14/7   RTE1 @ 21.30

In 1823 a hunter named Hugh Glass was left for dead after both a bear attack and a bitter betrayal. Somehow he managed to survive and he wanted revenge. A ferocious film that's a genuine experience to watch. This is not a movie for the faint of heart it's a superb watch. Leonardo DiCaprio, Domhnall Gleeson, Will Poulter and Tom Hardy are all outstanding. The kind of film HD TV's were built for.

Mississippi Grind   Sat   14/7   BBC2 @ 22.15

Gerry's a broke poker player staring down a losing  streak and when he gets the chance to team up with a younger, better player he jumps at it. Things can only get better right? Anna Borden's drama is a winner, full of great acting and the kind of atmosphere other films can only dream of. The eminently watchable Ben Mendehlson and Ryan Reynolds are both on fire in this.

Changeling   Sun   15/7   TV3 @ 21.00

In 1930's Los Angeles, a Woman's son is kidnapped and months later he's returned to her. But she doesn't recognise him and takes on the might of the LAPD to prove that she's right. A gripping tale of a mother's love and determination in the face of massive corruption and carried by a very convincing performance from Angelina Jolie. This is not an enjoyable movie but it's one that will move you and make you righteously angry.

Hell Or High Water   Sun   15/7   CH4 @ 22.15

Two brothers traverse the state of Texas robbing banks. On their trail are two veteran Texas rangers. It's only a matter of time before their paths cross. This modern take on the western genre from 2016 is a fantastic watch. Gripping, exciting, emotional and extremely topical. Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Jeff Bridges and Gil Bermingham as the leads put in flawless performances.

Event Horizon   Mon   16/7   Syfy @ 21.00

A spacecraft assumed lost in a black hole reappears and when a rescue team boards it they find things have gotten very strange indeed. Paul W. Anderson's horror sci-fi was unfairly maligned on release but it's effective stuff and full of moments that will linger in your dreams long after you finish it. Superb cast in this too including Joely Richardson, Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neill and Jason Isaacs amongst others.

The Fountain   Mon   16/7   TG4 @ 22.30

A film about love and life set in 3 time periods spanning 900 years. Starring Hugh Jackman in 2 different roles. Yes, Jackman has done films other than Wolverine. He is really good in this as is Rachel Weisz, the love of his life who he will do anything for. It sounds a bit bizarre this this is absorbing, unique stuff that will draw you in and best of all, it's only 95 minutes long. You can't bate a nice short film.

Falling Down   Tues   17/7   ITV4 @ 23.35

On a scalding day in Los Angeles a man decides he can't take it anymore and decides to go on a rampage across the city. An elderly detective must figure out what's up. Michael Douglas and Robert Duvall are great in this blisteringly entertaining 1993 thriller where the heat & tension of a city on the edge just pour off the screen. Cracking support from Tuesday Weld, Barbara Hershey and Frederic Forrest all adds to the goodness.

Black Death   Thurs   19/7   The Horror Channel @ 21.00

England is in the grip of the first outbreak of the black death plague and in the midst of all this horror a young monk is sent out into the world to investigate reports of supernatural occurances. A cold and bleak film but an intelligent one filled with interesting themes, nasty moments and fine performances from an excellent cast that includes Eddie Redmayne, Carice Van Houten and Sean Bean 

Run All Night   Thurs   19/7   RTE2 @ 21.35

An Irish mob enforcer kills to protect his son but the death has major repercussions and he soon finds himself running to protect his and his families life through a long New York night. Liam Neeson plays the lead in this very crunchy and very entertaining action film that while hitting all the beats you'd expect still manages to do it all in a fun way. Solid back up from Ed Harris, Common and Joel Kinneman.

Candyman   Fri   20/7   Film4 @ 23.35

The urban legends of Chicago are delved into by a graduate student doing research. She soon finds out that the sins of the past are haunting the present. A truly unsettling tale from the pen of Clive Barker and a rare film that will scare you even during its day time scenes. Virginia Madsen is very effective in the lead and Tony Todd as the title character will give you the creeps big time. 





 

The Wiremen

One of the joys of writing an amateur film blog is the (very) rare occasion when you get to see a film before everyone else. I had the chance this week and it's one of those little things that would give you a lovely little buzz. The film i got to see was called The Wiremen.

The Wiremen is a short animated story from JAM media about the introduction of electricity into rural Ireland. For little Rosie it was a source of wonder and amazement and for others it was unwanted modernity barging it's way into their lives.

This was just lovely. In the space of 9 short minutes we get a tale that's funny, atmospheric, unnerving, touching and still relevant 52 years after it's set. It's a tale of imagination and the excitement we used to feel before the cynicism of adulthood ruined us, innocence and the fear of losing it and how encroaching technology can forever change not only the appearance of a place but also it's mindset. It's an unmistakably Irish story too. Our glorious accents, allusions to Celtic fairytales of old that still abounded in the darkness before the introduction of artificial light and in a very funny scene, a nod to one of the most infamous moments in Irish pop culture history.

It's a beautiful looking story too. The opening scene reminded me a little of Cartoon Saloon films before pleasingly heading off in it's own direction. Eerie, swirling night time scenes filled with menace, lovely character design that will make you laugh at once and shudder later and a final image that's goosebump inducing. On top of all that the voices of Ruth McCabe, Barry Ward and Alisha Weir bring it all to life. Each voice complimenting it's owner perfectly and in a few short sentences building an individual. 

Director Jessica Patterson, writer Paul Cahill and producers Dave Minogue & Richard Gordon have created a modern fairytale. One that pares away unnecessary filler and distills a lovely story down to it's purest essence. It's a joy to watch and hopefully it's one that will find a wide audience.

Screening tomorrow at the Galway Film Fleadh.

Skyscraper

weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Will Sawyer is a security consultant hired to check on the safety specs of the world's tallest building which is on the verge of opening it's doors in Hong Kong. Him and his family are the first inhabitants of the building, his job is going to set him up for life and it's all a world away from his traumatic past as a hostage rescuer in the FBI. What can possibly go wrong?? Well quite a lot as it happens.

Skyscraper is a stupid film. It's filled with glaring, maddening plot holes, moments of intense silliness that will make your eyeballs spin in your head and the kind of plot twists that Ray Charles would see coming from a mile away. It hasn't an original idea in it's head, it very much wears it's influences on it's sleeve and it isn't a patch on any of the bigger and better films it "homages". It's the kind of film I should have hated. So why didn't I. Why is it so entertaining?? Why?

Because it's big dumb fun. The world is a crappy place at the moment and big dumb fun is always welcome. When a film entertains me I'm willing to over look a lot of flaws, and yes, there's a lot of flaws here but fuck it. It made me smile, it made me lean forward in my chair when crazy shit was happening and it made me dizzy during it's many vertiginous action scenes. It was a laugh. It does it's job as a summer blockbuster. It's the very definition of a high concept action film. Dwayne Johnson in a burning skyscraper. Sure what else could you need? Johnson is the reason it works of course. The world's busiest actor ™ once again gives his all in a role that makes the most of his physicality. The crane scene from the trailer that's been much scoffed at in the run up to the film's release works because of him and doesn't seem quite as stupid when seen in context. He's the kind of star who can pull off outlandish moments like this. Anyone else might have an audience rolling in the aisles but he'll keep you rapt. He also manages to inject a touch of sincerity into the film especially in the scenes with his family. He doesn't get credit for it but he's not a bad actor at all.

He isn't the only person deserving praise though. Neve Campbell makes a welcome appearance and this is probably her best showing since Scream 2. She plays Will's wife Sarah and despite what her first scene will make you think she's no damsel in distress. Her role is quite refreshing actually and pretty progressive for a movie like this. Hopefully she makes a comeback off the back of this. No more Scream films though. The rest of the cast doesn't fare too well. Pablo Schreiber is wasted in a buddy role and Noah Taylor plays a very odd part that could have been lifted out of the story without anybody noticing at all. Ng Chin Han as the creator of the building gets very little to do apart from hide in his penthouse panic room and Roland Møller as the euro trash head baddie is as bland as a bowl of porridge.

Euro trash.....euro trash baddies in a skyscraper. Hmmm. Sounds familiar doesn't it. Die Hard of course. There's a lot of Die Hard in the DNA of this film. A lot of The Towering Inferno too. It's all very obvious but then we get nice nods to Orson Welles movies and Bruce Lee's most famous film as well. Updated with 8k technology of course but still. It all makes for a fun stew. Happily the film knows it's limitations too. It winks at the camera at times and whilst not exactly reveling in it's preposterousness, it at least doesn't take itself too seriously. One moment of Johnson patching himself up with duct tape and extolling it's virtues is a pointedly self aware nod at the audience.

If you think you are going to hate this then you probably will. But for anyone looking for a brainless bit of fun, well here you go, and at 100 minutes long it's a rare blockbuster that doesn't overstay it's welcome. You'll have a laugh. You'll be entertained but you'll have forgotten everybody's name the following day. It's a grand bit of escapism that you shouldn't think about too much.

Why are people so shite?

Was in town the other day having a slow browse in CEX and enjoying the air con. Felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around to see Ken, a fella I worked with years ago but who I had fallen out of contact with. With a minute or two we were laughing over silly old stories and decided to go for a pint. I say pint but I mean lucozade cos me and beer don't go well in daylight.

Phil Flannerys was close by so we decided on there. We settled into our old routine of joking, reminiscing and pisstaking. During one particularly funny tale the door opened and another face from the past walked in. A woman named Joanne i'd worked with too. She smiled and said hello and I did the same back and then to my surprise she came over, sat down and kissed Ken. In the years I hadn't seen them they'd gotten married. This was great.  We spent the next hour talking about how things were, had a laugh and a few more drinks.

The  door opened again and another woman walked in. Didn't recognise her this time but she knew Ken and Joanne and so sat down with us. Niceties were exchanged but the atmosphere at the table was different and Joanne was quiet as a mouse. Then I found out why.

"Have ye any kids yet?"
"Why are you drinking 7-up Joanne? Are you pregnant?"
"Why aren't you pregnant?"
"Why haven't ye any kids?"
"Come on Ken, be a man and give her a baby."

All said laughingly with her being the only one laughing.

What a fucking melt. What a nosy wagon. It was clear as day people were uncomfortable. I was fuckin squirming and i was on the periphery of the conversation. Why are people like this? Her lack of cop on was astounding. She left soon after. Turns out she's a distant relation of Joanne's that Joanne can't stand. I wonder why?

I hope she gets a cold sore.

A perfect pairing of sound & vision. Snake in the Eagle's Shadow - Opening credits.

My all time favourite opening credit scene from 1978's Snake In The Eagle's Shadow. Just Chien Fu ( Jackie Chan ) doing his thing to a seriously 70's tune. Jackie is a human weapon and this scene shows off exactly the moves he's famous for. Complete with over exaggerated swooshing sound effects. The music is called Magic Fly and it's from a French electronica band called Space. Full song is here. I've a feeling they may have had an ever so slight influence on Daft Punk. It just compliments the onscreen action perfectly.

This is cheesy as fuck but it's just so cool and it gives you an idea of the fun you're in for when you watch this.. Plus listen for the sample of music near the end. Star Wars fans might find it slightly familiar.



Not only was John William's score ripped off though. The entire credit scene is a "homage" to an earlier film. The intro to 1973's Magnum Force. That funky 70's tune, the deep red background and the glorification of a weapon, this time not a human one. Gotta say I much prefer Jackie's moves. This one comes off like a gun fetish NRA porn clip.



Previous pairings

On Her Majesty's Secret Service
The Untouchables
Airplane!
Dazed And Confused  
Kickboxer                                  
Grosse Point Blank
Mean Streets
Watership Down
Casablanca
Zodiac
Jackie Brown
The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
Deliverance
The Omen
Copland
Buffy The Vampire Slayer
The Mission
Before Sunset
Carlito's Way
A Knight's Tale
Platoon
Before Sunrise
Rushmore
An American Werewolf In London
Dazed And Confused
Boogie Nights
Raging Bull
Almost Famous
Once Upon A Time In The West
Goodfellas

Last Of The Mohicans

How the little moments made The Wire even more amazing.

The Wire is a masterpiece. If you've watched it you know it. It's a sprawling, labyrinthine story of the city of Baltimore and the people in it. The cast is as big as you'll probably ever see in a TV show but every character brings something to the table. Everyone plays a real part and each role no matter how big or small adds to it's beautiful tapestry created by David Simon and Ed Burns.

To quote Detective Lester Freamon "All the pieces matter."

They do indeed. It wasn't until my third watch of The Wire that I noticed a small piece that mattered a lot. The character of Dee Dee. (Played by Genevieve Hudson-Price, daughter of Richard Price, who writes for the show.)

Apologies for the quality of these pics

She first appears in S3 in Hamsterdam. Her and her friends roll into the free zone to buy an eight-ball of coke. She's fidgety, wary and clearly new to this world. The dealer takes a shine to her but she shuts him down straight away. She may be nervous but she can handle herself.

The next time we see her is in S4. Old Face Andre owns a corner shop that hides a stash house and Dee Dee goes there to buy cigarettes. She's now a prostitute and it's implied her addictions have brought her to this place in her life. She gets on well with Andre and it's obvious she cares for the people in her life even if they don't deserve that care. People like her pimp. She's holding on to her humanity.

The final time we see her is when she's speaking at a narcotics anonymous meeting chaired by Walon, Bubble's sponsor. Here she makes it clear her time working the streets was down to drugs. Life on the streets crushed her but somehow she made it out. Her demons are still there but every day she's fighting them back. She's tough. She'll succeed. She can handle herself. Her first fleeting appearance made that clear. Her final scene is a rare optimistic moment in a mostly pessimistic show.

In 3 simple scenes she's introduced on her way down and we last see her on her way up. She gets just over two minutes of screen time out of over 60 hrs of TV and still manages to get not only a character arc but a redemptive one at that. Dee Dee is a living, breathing character created, endangered and saved in 120 seconds. 

That's the magic of this show. Everyone matters. Everyone adds to the story. Every detail makes a difference. It's constantly rewarding. Similar to the way every season peeled back a new layer of Baltimore, every rewatch reveals a new layer of story and character..

It's just fucking brilliant TV.

The First Purge

America. The near future. Unemployment is at it's highest. The 1% run everything. The 99 have nothing. Suffering is widespread. Race has become a massively divisive issue. The populace is alienated by a government that does nothing for them. So far so familiar. A new political party, the New Founding Fathers of America arises and people vote for them in their droves hoping, praying for something different to the status quo. Nothing changes. The 1% still run everything but now an experiment is in place to relieve frustration and bubbling resentment. A trial run Purge is going to take place and Staten Island is the location. 

During a purge all crime is legal, robbery, assault and even murder. It is hoped that this legal crime spree will let people blow off steam and that the rest of the year will be crime free. If you don't want to take part, you are free to leave but if you want to participate there's money to be made and the amount you make depends on your level of interaction. Nya is an activist who thinks the purge is a horrible idea, Isaiah is her brother who is going to use the purge to right a wrong and Dimitri is Nya's ex and a drug lord who is curious about how the purge will play out.

The Purge franchise is a rare one in that it has improved with every new film released. Usually it's the other way around but by broadening the story and expanding it's scope with each new release the film makers have added unusual depth and biting political commentary to a franchise that would be mired in it's b-movie roots otherwise. It's a dark and timely franchise. Horror thrillers for modern day America. This 4th film is a prequel and brings us back in time to how everything started.

The ridiculously OTT ending aside I quite liked this. There was nothing subtle about it, it's blunt as hell tbh. If the first film was a hammer blow then this one is like getting hit by a freight train. It's a nightmare look at the state of the States that skirts uncomfortably close to truth in place. Trucks full of assault rifle welding men in KKK costume. Black men being murdered by cops. White nationalist imagery. Racial violence everywhere. Killers in long black gestapo jackets. The way black people are viewed by the media. A speech by a politician is basically M.A.G.A. and hints that the only way back is to kill minorities. It's no accident it's set on Staten Island either. New York's forgotten borough, forgotten like the people on it. The main cast is nearly all African American too. Disenfranchised alienated denizens of a ragged housing project. Chosen by the white architects of the Purge who assume they will kick off when given the chance. It's rare Hollywood films are allowed to be this biting and close to the bone and in this political climate films like these are needed.

It's a pity then that it goes off the rails at the end. The interesting ideas and terrifying imagery of earlier are cast aside when all out war kicks off. Heroes taking on evil in silhouette, CGI blood splatter everywhere, slow motion struts, it's all so overblown. It also begins to revel in the violence that it criticised earlier. Condemning it one moment and showing it's the only answer in the next sends out a very mixed message. It becomes so brutal that it gets offputting. It really earns it's 18 certificate. How it only got a 15 cert in the UK is beyond me. Characters barely introduced earlier in the story pop up again here to be used as cannon fodder and because we don't know them we don't care. 

The cast is mostly unknown. Lex Scott Davis and Joivan Wade as Nya and Isaiah are effective but pushed aside near the end when Y'Ian Noel's Dimitri becomes the main focus. In fairness he looks the part in full on action mode but feels out of place here. Keep an eye on him though, he'll be headlining big action films soon enough. Marisa Tomei as Dr Updale, the woman behind the purge is the only well known actor and feels absolutely wasted. 

This was an interesting addition to the Purge franchise. Broadening and explaining the story while keeping a relatively intimate focus on proceedings. The final third of the story felt like a step backwards though. A rage filled film like this should do something more with itself than fall back into bullet and blood spraying cliche. Hopefully if there's another entry it will concentrate more on the human side and less on pyrotechnics.

10 films on TV this week that are worth your time

Cujo   Sat   7/7   The Horror Channel @ 21.00

A rabid St Bernard dog is terrorising a small Maine town during a heatwave and Donna and her child find themselves trapped and must fight back to survive. One of the better adaptions of a Stephen King novel, this is horror on a low key and intimate scale. Gripping and gruelling stuff that favours tension over gore. Dee Wallace as Donna is a fine lead and sells the story well.

Shooting For Socrates   Sun   8/7   RTE2 @ 00.05

The mid 80's in Belfast weren't the best of times but all football mad 9 year old Tommy can think of its the upcoming 1986 world cup in Mexico. A charming little tale with a great Irish cast including Conleth Hill, Bronagh Gallagher and Richard Dormer all on super form. The kind of film where you know how it will end but the joy is in the journey and the period details.

Three Kings   Sun   8/7   TV3 @ 21.00

During the first Gulf War, a treasure map is found and 3 soldiers decide now is the time for them to cash in. Director David O.Russell might be a twat but this film is one of his best. A modern reimagining of old war westerns with added humour and pyrotechnics with a few genuinely affecting moments thrown in for good measure. George Clooney, Ice Cube and Mark Wahlberg all add to the madness.

McCabe And Mrs Miller   Sun   8/7   TCM @ 23.25

At the start of the 20th century a gambler named McCabe turns up in a mining town and creates a prosperous business with a prostitute named Mrs Miller. All goes well until the town's success attracts the attention of big business. Robert Altman's 1972 revisionist western is one of the best. A sedate, beautiful and intensely atmospheric film with excellent performances from Julie Christie & Warren Beatty.

Mud   Mon   9/7   Film4 @ 18.15

2 young boys ekeing out a tough existence in Arkansas go exploring one day and come across a man on the run. Of course they decide to help him out. Jeff Nichol's film is a cracker, a dreamy, beautiful looking coming of age story. Amazing cast in this too, Tye Sheridan in the lead is excellent but the movie belongs to Matthew McConnaughey in a career best role. Slightly overlong but we'll overlook it this time.

Sisters   Mon   9/7   RTE2 @ 21.00

The home Kate and Maura grew up in is being sold and they are not one bit happy about it. They decide to throw one last party and invite everyone they went to school with 20 years previously. Things get rather wild. An overlong but very funny film that builds the action to a fever pitch at the end. The always hilarious Amy Poehler and Tina Fey are fun as the sisters and get good support from Maya Rudolph, James Brolin and John Cena.

The Quick And The Dead   Tues   10/7   Alibi @ 21.00

The frontier town of Redemption is hosting a duelling contest and a gunfighter called The Lady wants to take part. She also has a bone to pick with the town's sheriff. Director Sam Raimi's one and only foray into the western genre is as bonkers as you can imagine. Hilarious, brutal and always interesting. Sharon Stone heads a fantastic cast that includes Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe, Leonardo DiCaprio & a host of well known genre faces.

Goon   Wed   11/7   CH4 @ 00.55

Doug is a frustrated but friendly fella who is lethal with his fists and he finally a way to direct his aggression when he ends up playing ice hockey. A funny comedy that manages to be very sweet despite being brutally violent in places. It's a bizarre concoction but it works. Seann William Scott is perfect in the lead role and gets good back up from Alison Pill and Liev Schreiber.

Gallipoli   Thurs   12/7   Film4 @ 18.45

Two Australian men find their youth ripped away from them when they enlist during World War 1 and end up fighting on the battlefields of Gallipoli. One of the finest anti war films ever made, a devastating portrayal of loss of innocence and the absolute futility of war. Mel Gibson and Mark Lee nail the emotional journey young men heading out to certain death go through.

The Last Boy Scout   Fri   13/7   ITV @ 22.45

Joe is an alcoholic private eye with a wife and daughter who hate him. He generally hates life until he finds himself drawn in a conspiracy involving blackmail, car bombs and American football. Tony Scott's 1991 thriller might be a little dated now but it's still a brilliantly entertaining action comedy. Fun turns from Bruce Willis & Damon Wayans are the icing on the cake.

The movie scenes you'd never get tired of - Zombie Flesh Eaters

How many times have we seen people in films get menaced by sharks when they are scuba diving? Loads of times? How many times have we seen people menaced by zombies? A ton of times. Now how many times have we seen someone menaced by a shark and a zombie?? It's a rare one. It's not something you'll ever see in that godawful snoozefest The Walking Dead.

Lucio Fulci's 1979 Italian zombie film is a cult classic and infamous for it's place on the UK video nasty list through the 80's. It has a couple of truly disgusting moments but these days it looks almost quaint compared to things you'd see in tv shows. What it does have is bucket loads of atmosphere that make it a genuinely chilling watch in places and moments of madness like the one in the clip below.

Two New Yorkers investigating a mysterious boating incident on the River Hudson are in the Caribbean on the way to the Island of Matul. They hitch a ride with a couple on a boat and on the way they stop for a bit of underwater exploring and then this happens to one half of the couple. 

Warning - contains a wee bit of nudity and blood



This is one of those film scenes that....well it's hard to believe what you are seeing and afterwards you sit there wondering "How did they do that?" *whispers* It involved a lot of horsemeat and a slow, full shark that just couldn't be arsed to attack anyone. Yes, the shark is 100% real. Health and safety? Pah. The Italian horror film industry was full of moments of guerilla film making like this. This for example was filmed without the director's knowledge and using a fella roped in at the last moment because the original actor didn't turn up. They all went in the water not having a clue what would happen and a bit of movie magic was created.

Yeah I know it's silly and it makes NO sense but it's fun. One thing i love about 70's horror films is that literally anything could happen in them. And Fabio Frizzi's music over the top is just peachy.

Don't worry, no sharks or zombies were hurt during the making of this.

Reeling in the years cinema style. 1933

The year of Kong. The year a Czech actress scandalised cinema. The year one the the funniest films of all time was released. Some all time greats were born. The architect of one of Hollywood's worst scandals died. America was in the grip of The Great Depression and audiences flocked to the movies as a way of escaping reality. Cinema was huge business in 1933 and they even created a new way to watch it.

The biggest film of the year was of course King Kong. It had a seismic impact on the industry and it's still amazing 85 years later. It's still being remade too with the latest version coming out last year. None of them hold a candle to the original though. The movie that made Fay Wray famous and introduced the then 2 year old Empire State Building to the wider world.

Duck Soup starring The Marx Brothers was released. A film that crazily was considered a disappointment but is now rightly seen as an all time great. It's skewered take on politics was controversial at the time and got the film banned in Italy by none other than Benito Mussolini.

Drive In Cinemas were invented. The first one opens in New Jersey and it takes a while but soon enough they became a national obsession. Half of America's future population is conceived at the movies.

Cavalcade wins best picture and best director (Frank Lloyd) at the Oscars continuing the Academy's love of big ensemble dramas.

Katherine Hepburn won her first Academy award for Morning Glory but not her last. She's still the only actor to win 4 Oscars.  1933, 1968, 1969 and 1982. A record that might never be beaten now that Daniel Day Lewis has retired.

Best actor is won by Charles Laughton for his portrayal of the King in The Private Life Of Henry The 8th. The first non American film to win an award. This is a film well worth digging out to watch.

Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle dies. The man to blame for one of the biggest scandals in Hollywood history. After 3 trials in 1921 and 1922 he was acquitted of the rape and manslaughter of an actress called Virginia Rappe. Like certain other modern day sex scandals the victim had her reputation ruined and Roscoe walked away free. Thankfully his career went off the rails soon afterwards.

Hedy (not Headley) Lamarr brings nudity to mainstream cinema screen in the Czechoslovakian film Ecstasy. Not only did her breasts traumatise audiences but they were also treated to non pornographic cinema's first ever sex scene and female orgasm. Shocking! Suffice to say it did not turn up on America screens. In 1940 it finally made it across the ocean in a version so truncated it made little sense.

The Hollywood version of Ireland hits screens with of Peg O'My Heart getting a release.  There was an earlier film in 1922 but this was the first sound version. A quaint little film but a hard watch due to star Marion Davies unique take on an Irish accent. Things aren't much better 83 years later.

Some big names were born this year too including director John Boorman and actors Michael Caine, Jayne Mansfield, Gene Wilder, Jean Paul Belmondo and Joan Collins. Caine is still working away and putting in excellent performances while Collins is happy to rip the piss out of her diva image in TV ads. Both 85 years young with no intention of fading away.

A handful of very big names made their film debuts this year too and 5 pretty huge careers were born, some lasting over 5 decades.

From left to right

Orson Welles - Twelfth Night
Lucille Ball - The Bowery
Errol Flynn - In The Wake Of The Bounty
Dame Peggy Ashcroft - The Wandering Jew
Fred Astaire -  Dancing Lady

Finally a film from 1933 to watch.

Tarzan The Fearless. A genuinely impressive and entertaining movie. As always, the legality of watching movies on youtube is murky so it's up to you if you want to click play or not. I'm just providing the link and turning my back....



Previous years 

1932
1931
1930

The next big action hero

Dwayne Johnson's new film Skyscraper is out next week. It looks like huge silly summer fun. A big bastard beating the living shit out of a shower of dodgy types as his world falls down around him. A return to the big action blockbuster that used to abound before comic book films took over the world. The kings of 80's and 90's action films were Arnie and Stallone. Others like Van Damme and Seagal tried but never came close to these two. Sly and Arnie were never the best actors but their charisma and presence won them a massive army of fans and their action films rarely let us down. Of the two Arnie was always my fave. He was just funnier and his films always seemed that little bit more entertaining. Stallone was definitely the better actor but Arnie would make you grin.

Sadly there's no big action star these days who lives up to him. Or is there?

Jason Statham

The Stath could be a contender. His action movies are getting bigger and sillier and his forthcoming blockbuster Meg could be the one that pushes him into the stratosphere. His turn in Spy proved he has the comedy chops and we all know he can convincingly kick people's heads in. Plus he's worked with the big boys in The Expendables trilogy.

Terry Crews

Like The Stath, Terry sharpened his action teeth in the Expendables trilogy but he seems to do most of his work these days in comedy on TV. He's hilarious in Brooklyn 99 but I'd love to see him get his own action film. Have you seen the size of him? He could take on 3 armies before sitting down to his rice krispies.

Maggie Q

There's no reason the next big action star has to be a bloke and Maggie Q could fill the role perfectly. Her role in the tv series Nikita shows she has it takes to be an action hero and unlike others in the list she can actually emote. Plus roles in the Mission Impossible, Divergant and Die Hard franchises always look good on a CV.

 Scott Adkins

Scott is an English actor, a trained martial artist and probably one of the most experienced action movie actors on this list. He's shown blistering form in the Undisputed & Ninja film franchises and occasionally pops up in A list stuff too like American Assassin, Zero Dark Thirty and the Bourne Ultimatum. He's a terrible actor though but like....since when has that ever stopped anyone.

Gina Carino

Like Scott, Gina is a trained fighter who has done her fair share of movies too. She's slightly more convincing in the acting department though. Slightly. A lead role in Haywire showed how convincingly she did her thing and supporting roles in Deadpool and Fast And Furious 6 showed her fun side too. Sadly she seems to have disappeared from big films of late but all it takes is one cracker to put her on top.

Iko Uwais.

The Indonesian star of The Raid 1 & 2 and Headshot is simply amazing on screen. The type of talent that has to be seen to be believed. His small stature belies an enormous talent and out of everyone in this list, he's the one you'd least want to have to deal with. The language barrier may be an issue but it never stopped fellow Asian actors Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan becoming superstars. Keep an eye out for him in the new Mark Wahlberg film Mile 22. 

Gerard Butler

Gerard's been doing the action movie thing for over a decade now. He does it well. He's funny, he can act, he can be a vicious fucker too. But he badly needs a new agent because he stars in some amount of shite. Gods Of Egypt (above) is the kind of bad movie that only appears once in a generation for example. That said he rocked it in 300, Law Abiding Citizen, Olympus Has Fallen and Den of Thieves. He's a contender.

Dwayne Johnson

Dwayne is probably the best contender to wear the next big action hero crown. He just needs that one big film to turn him into a megastar. The Fast and Furious movies and Jumanji 2 were massively successful but they were ensemble movies and not a vehicle for him. He needs to play a character like Rambo/Rocky/The Terminator, a character people will automatically think of when they hear his name. His next film Skyscraper looks fun but i don't think it will be the film that will do that. Fingers crossed for the future.

So, who do you think the next action megastar will be?

Adrift

I do like a good survival thriller. There's something very primal about watching a person fighting for their life against the forces of mother nature. It makes you realise just how insignificant and puny people really are. A true life survival tale is good too though the tension is nearly always tempered by the fact that you know the person has to survive at the end otherwise how would we know what happened. Adrift is one such true life tale and you'll get far more out of it if you go into knowing as little as possible about the real situation.

Tami Oldham was a young woman from San Diego without an anchor to the world. She'd been travelling aimlessly around the world since the age of 18 and in 1983 she eventually found herself in Tahiti. Here she met sailor Richard Sharp and the two fell in love. Neither had any intention of returning home until an offer to sail a boat across the Pacific to California gave them the opportunity to travel together and make some solid cash. Then Hurricane Raymond struck.

I liked this. It's nothing we haven't seen before but what's done is done well. Two excellent performances from Shailene Woodley and Sam Claflin suck us into the story and the chemistry between them really makes you want to see them make the end credits. Making an audience care about film characters is a tough thing to do and any film that can do that has won half the battle already. It's especially important here because these two characters are onscreen alone for the vast majority of the film. Woodley is a super actress. She has a lovely expressive smile that inspires empathy straight away. Scenes of her struggling at sea will have you struggling to catch your breath and willing her on. It's her film and she carries it with ease. Claflin's Richard is sidelined throughout and Woodley is called on to put in a very physical performance and does it convincingly.

It's a frustratingly told story though. Cutting back and forth between the couple's first meeting and burgeoning relationship and then 5 months ahead to the aftermath of the Hurricane. Just when you are settling in with one timeline it cuts back to the other and this cutting increases in frequency as we near the end of the film. I wished they'd actually left the hurricane scenes to our imagination because as convincingly as it's portrayed, it keeps getting in the way of a more interesting story of survival. There's something about the thought of floating and trying to survive in the middle of a calm ocean with all the darkness beneath that is just terrifying. Far scarier than any storm.

Director Baltasar Kormákur is a dab hand at the aul survival flicks after this and Everest. He has a good eye too and in places this is a beautiful looking film and a fine advertisement for the Pacific Islands. Sunset's the colour of "beet dyed pomegranete" and "sizzling salmon ketchup", deserted atolls and craggy river ravines will give the most settled of us a serious case of wanderlust. That is until we remember what the film is about and realise that we are probably better off living vicariously in the cinema.

This is a grand way to spend an hour and a half. It's a pity about the annoying structure of the film but a very committed and fiercely likable performance from Shailene Woodley makes it worth your while.