Up in the sky

Went up on the big wheel in Limerick today. Been meaning to do it for years but heights make me extremely queasy so always avoided it until today. The views made it worthwhile but jesus I was fuckin terrified. Time to face that fear though. 

One phobia down.

Next up - Spiders.

Ha, yeah right. I'll leave that one for the next life.

Limerick, you're a lady

Look at Thomond, looking all majestic

The Enable Ireland building looks fair shoddy from up here. Plus, the omnipresent Penney's queue. 

Returning to the cinema

Friday will be my first trip to the pictures in 3 months and oh man alive will I be doing it in style.

The week Ennio Morricone died I'll get to hear his, arguably, most famous soundtrack playing out over Sergio Leone's epic. I saw a Fistful Of Dollars in the Palas cinema in Galway in 2018 and while it's the weakest of the Man With No Name trilogy it was still an amazing experience. So god only knows how awesome it's going to be to see Tuco, Blondie and Angel Eyes on the big screen.

Plus this. This imagine this scene but 1000 times bigger

I'll die and go to film geek heaven after it.

Cant sleep, clown will eat me

Hello Insomnia, my old friend.
You've come to talk to me again.
At this time i should be sleeping.
But you cunt, you have me weeping.
And the sleeplessness is rotting away my brain.
I've gone insane.
I can't enjoy the sound of silence.

I'm rewriting Simon and Garfunkel songs.

Yup. I've gone mad ted.

Ennio Morricone R.I.P.

A brilliant use of music. First as a tension builder and then absolute sadness.

Ennio Morricone died yesterday and it's just a heartbreaking piece of news. His music helped create some of the best movie moments ever and now we'll never get another one. It's just such a huge loss to the world of cinema because there will never be another like him. Those sweeping, uplifting, upsetting masterpieces that lifted bad movies out of the muck and lifted great movies into the sky. You'd know the Ecstasy Of Gold and Harmonica's Theme off by heart but the depth and breadth of his work would still astound you. From The Thing to The Mission. The Untouchables to Four Flies On Grey Velvet. La Cage Aux Folles to Cat Squad. A Fistful Of Dynamite, What Have You Done To Solange?, The Hateful Eight, 1900, The Exorcist II (!!), you could name his work all day and just be in awe of the man. And now he's gone.

The moment new world meets old. Beauty tainted by the horror of what's to come

In 2013 I bought a pair of tickets to see him in play in Royal Hospital Kilmainham in Dublin. A spur of the moment purchase I couldn't afford but goddamn it was Ennio Morricone. When would I get this opportunity again. As the concert approached I realised I really couldn't afford them and sold them for face value to someone on twitter. It's something I regret so much now. A surefire memory of a lifetime wiped out so I could pay my rent on time. This is what I missed.

 

Masterful. 

Arrivederci Ennio. Dormi bene.

The Outpost

"Shit detail is the Agent Orange of today"

The grunts we see onscreen in modern war films are the ones who grew up in an information age. They know the sins of their fathers. They know what they are getting themselves into. They are war literate. The audiences who watch these modern war films are the same. We know what to expect, what tropes and cliches of the genre might appear. Every time a new war film appears we watch it in the hope it will do something new, that it won't fall into the same holes as all the others do. Therefore every single time we leave disappointed.

Afghanistan. 2009. Combat Post Keating. A deathtrap at the base of 3 mountains. A stones throw from Pakistan, right in the middle of bandit country. Built to help community projects and foster friendships with the locals. Manned by 53 soldiers, surrounded by the Taliban, it's a place full of men on the edge. Men like the well liked Captain Benjamin D. Keating (Orlando Bloom), stoic Staff Sergeant Clint Romesha (Scott Eastwood) and the rebellious Specialist Ty Michael Carter (Caleb Landry Jones). Word comes down from the top brass that CPK is to close and while it's inhabitants wait to get somewhere safer, enemy insurgents decide to kill them all before they can leave.

Every war platitude gets thrown at you during The Outpost. The rebellious soldier who finds his niche during combat, the waves of faceless enemies who only exist to be gunned and bombed into red mist, soldiers played by well known actors who may as well have bulleyes painted on their chests, characters phoning wives just before battle therefore condemning themselves to death, all the tropes of war movies play out in front of us and the fact that the film is based on a true story doesn't make their use any less brazen or clumsy. I know it feels disrespectful almost to roll your eyes when it's a story involving real life trauma but you'd think a director like Rod Lurie would steer clear of those hoary old chestnuts.

He does know how to create a gunfight though. Here we get thrown right into them, shot with a documentary like realism and in long giddy takes that give us some sense of what being in the middle of a battle must feel like. (hint - its kinda scary) And therein lies the rub, one that has plagued war film since they first appeared. The Outpost takes an anti war stance, taking potshots at military command and their lack of respect for the guys on the ground and by showing us the effects of war on men but it does so by luring us in with exciting, well shot battle scenes. It makes for a confusing, morally odd watch.

The cast does well though, Eastwood as Romesha doing well as a decent man trying his best for his men despite taking orders from top brass who blatantly don't give a fuck about him or them. At times he looks and sounds so much like his famous father that it will lift you right out of the film. Caleb Landry Jones is excellent as Specialist Carter. He's one of those interesting, idiosyncratic actors that can make even the most cliched role into something special and it's his performance, especially in the films final scenes that give the film something approximating a heart. It's a pity the film didn't follow his lead and go for something more unique. As it is it's just another identikit modern war film but to it's credit it does mostly avoid the jingoism the genre is known for.

The Outpost is streaming online now.

Poster Boys

"You matched with my teacher on Tinder and now she's giving me homework through you?..........ARE YOU INSANE??"

"What, what... What's the big deal?"

"You don't get it, she's out to ruin my life!"

"By making sure you're well educated?"

One of many humorous back and forths between uncle and nephew throughout Poster Boys, an entertaining new comedy drama from Irish writer/director Dave Minogue.

Al Clancy (Trevor O'Connell) isn't having the best time of his life. His job's a joke, he's broke, his love-life's D.O.A......wait back, up, went full mid 90's there. Tinder is trolling him, his car is banjaxed and his job delivering posters around Dublin isn't exactly fulfilling. Plus he's on the verge of being kicked out of his gaff by an Irish landlord who says namaste unironically. Things change when his sister wins a ticket to a festival and he's tasked with looking after his nephew Karl (Ryan Minogue-Lee) for the week. Karl isn't an easy child to warm to and a miscommunication leads to them both road tripping around Ireland as Al tries to get his life back on track.

At no point in Poster Boys are you unsure of the finish but the journey's a charming, warm & funny one that isn't afraid of shying away from the darker problems facing young people in modern Irish society. It's a well shot and economic (gotta love a film under 90 minutes) look at a relationship you rarely see onscreen. Uncle and nephew, a whole different dynamic to father and son, one where if you play your cards right you can have a lot of laughs and the story mines plenty of humour from their burgeoning friendship. A drawn on beard, a wake up with a well aimed football, the sadness of not getting a free ice cream, a preference for marshmallows and so on. But thankfully there's more to it than that.

A recurring theme in Irish cinema is its ability to make you laugh seconds before kicking you in the stones. Behind Al's pleasant demeanour you can sense he's far from happy with the way life has turned out and Trevor O'Connell nails that growing sadness and frustration that's become such a common factor in the lives of young Irish men. A chat on a Kilkenny city bridge between Al and an old school friend hitting the nail right on the head, laughs and unspoken lament, more said in the silences than the words, pointing out men's inability to talk about anything other than the opposite sex and pints even when we want to. Karl's a troubled little chap too and the film deftly sketches a backstory that explains why he acts the way he acts. Growing up feeling like an afterthought and always being forgotten plays hell with the psyche and realising that will help you identify with Karl even when he starts doing horrible things. Ryan Minogue-Lee has a way with comic timing that will see him go far.  But it's when they are together and playing off each other that the film really shines with the chemistry created feeling welcomingly genuine.

Poster Boys is screening (link here) at the online Galway Film Fleadh on Tuesday evening. There's a few belly laughs (the Ian Dempsey one is great), an affecting storyline, some fun new Irish faces and confident direction from Minogue in his feature length debut. It's well worth your time.

13 films worth watching on TV this week

It's Complicated   Sat   4/7   RTE1 @ 21.45

Jane and Jake have been divorced for a decade. Jake is remarried. Jane has a new man. So why would they make life hard for themselves and rekindle a lost love? This romcom is a highly enjoyable watch, full of heart and perfect comic timing. Old pro's like Meryl Streep & Alec Baldwin mix with newer faces like John Krasinksi & Lake Bell to fun effect. Plus Steve Martin rocks up. What's not to like.

Glassland   Sat   4/7   TG4 @ 22.05

John is a young Dublin taxi driver struggling with financial problems and his mother who is rapidly drinking herself to death. To earn money to help his mother he finds himself in a very dark place. This 2014 film from Gerard Barrett is a tough, unsettling watch at the darker side of Irish society. It's far from enjoyable but worth watching for some superb acting from Toni Collette, Jack Reynor and Will Poulter.

What Doesn't Kill You   Sun   5/7   BBC1 @ 00.30

Two life long friends from South Boston have been through it all. Drug addiction, crime sprees, new families. One tries to go straight but his loyalty to the other won't let him leave. Cliche abounds in this gritty crime thriller but two fine lead turns from Mark Ruffalo & Ethan Hawke, the palpable chemistry between them and a substantial, genuine feeling script means it will soon sink it's claws into you.

Local Hero   Sun   5/7   Film4 @ 14.35

A representative of a huge American oil company arrives in the far reaches of Scotland looking to buy up an entire village. Small villages have a way of charming visitors though. A  lovely little gem from 1983 full of fun performances, sly asides on the nature of big businesses & small communities and some glorious scenery. Burt Lancaster, Peter Reigert, Jenny Seagrove and a very young Peter Capaldi all add to the mix.

A Knight's Tale   Sun   5/7   RTE1 @ 15.20

An absolute chancer decides to make an name for himself and reinvents himself as a knight and expert jouster. One of the most entertaining films of the 21st century. This is just pure fun. Heath Ledger in the lead rocks and Shannyn Sossamon is lovely as the woman who catches his eye. Add in a killer soundtrack and your have a super way to spend a rainy Sunday. The use of David Bowie's Golden Years is just perfect.

Cowboys & Aliens   Mon   6/7   TG4 @ 21.30

The frontier town of Absolution is ruled by fear but it's populace and the people keepng them down must come together to face off against a threat from the skies. Yes I know it sounds utterly ridiculous and yes let's be honest it is but it's also an entertaining and surprisingly gritty western that despite it's subject matter feels pleasingly old fashioned. Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig, Olivia Wild and Sam Rockwell all add to the fun.

Custody   Mon   6/7   Film4 @ 23.20

Miriam and Antoine are divorced. Antoine is willing to change his life to be closer to his kids and his ex wife but his kids are rather uneasy around him. This 2017 french drama is a tough look at the effect the break up of a marriage can have on the psyche of a child. A watch that starts in a quiet fashion before painfully peeling back it's layers. The acting from Léa Drucker and Denis Ménochet is stunning.

Charley Varrick   Mon   6/7   TCM @ 23.30

After a bloody but successful bank robbery a man and his friend go on the run. Things get scary when they realise they've robbed a mob run bank. One robber wants to lay low but the other......well....he doesn't. Don Siegel's thriller is a classic, a smart and well paced movie that crackles with giddy tension. Walter Matthau, Andy Robinson and a scary Joe Don Baker all do mighty work in a perfect example of 70's crime cinema.

The Reef   Tues   7/7   The Horror Channel @ 00.55

While on his way to deliver a yacht to a buyer in Indonesia a man brings along a group of friends for the trip. While navigating a coral reef they crash and sink and soon realise they aren't the only apex species in the water. A well acted and exceedingly tense take on an age old tale that's filled with actors you won't recognise and therefore won't have any idea who'll make it to the end credits and who won't.

Ex Machina   Tues   7/7   Film4 @ 23.15

Caleb, a young computer programmer is selected to take part in a secret experiment and finds himself working with a piece of ground breaking science. Alex Garland's sci-fi drama is a cracker, one of the best films of 2014. A smart and uneasy tale that will worm it's way into your head and stay for long after this film is over. Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander and Oscar Isaac are spot on in the lead roles.

To Each His Own   Wed   8/7   TCM @ 01.05

Josephine is pregnant. But she's unwed and the Great War is in full flow. To avoid gossip she gives the child up for adoption  but he's never far from her thoughts. A surprisingly direct, for the time, and unsentimental look at the pain and loneliness of giving up a child carried by an Academy Award winning performance from Olivia De Havilland (Whos still with us at the age of 104). Mary Anderson and Roland Culver work well in support.

Boyhood   Thur   9/7   CH4 @ 01.25

A masterpiece a decade in the making. A simple story of a boy and his mother growing up over the course of 10 years. Done over a few days in each year it's a magical experience watching two people grow up and age before your eyes. The story is minimalistic but that's not what the film is about at all. Ellar Coltrane is solid in his debut appearance but Patricia Arquette owns the film with a masterful performance. A truly unique and absorbing movie.

Destry Rides Again   Fri   10/7   TCM @ 09.55

The cattle town of Bottleneck is a shifty spot at the best of times and big man around town, Kent, thinks he runs the show. He didn't prepare for Tom Destry though. A gloriously entertaining slice of western escapism here. James Stewart, as always, does deadly work but Marlene Dietrich as Frenchie the singer steals the show big time. If you like Blazing Saddles her character will seem very familiar. A film to record and watch when you're in bad form.

Best of 2020 so far

2020 won't be remembered as a good year for cinema but we still managed to get some stunners in before the world shut down for the Spring.

Here's my top 10 so far of films that have been released this year. In no particular order.

A Beautiful Day In The Neighbourhood 

A film about the most important lesson you'll ever learn. Be kind & don't be a prick. Tom Hanks is amazing.

Becky 

A teenage girl faces off with neo nazis and violently destroys them. And one of them is played by Paul Blart Mall Cop. Highly and disgustingly entertaining.

Calm With Horses 

Dark and brooding Irish cinema at it's best. Leading man Cosmo Jarvis will blow away in this seaside set crime thriller.

The Invisible Man 

A proper horror reboot. Terrifying and very very topical. Elisabeth Moss nails both terror and inner strength.

Color Out Of Space 

Something weird lands in a garden. It's from space. Everything goes purple. The Thing is homaged. Nicholas Cage gets weirder than ever.

Parasite 

A film that truly deserved best picture. Brilliant. If you haven't seen it watch it without reading anything about it. Ignore film twitter.

Queen & Slim 

A date goes wrong. So so wrong. 2020 America in a nutshell. A superb movie that for some reason a lot of people fobbed off. Baffling.

Dating Amber 

A lovely Irish watch about a gay boy and a gay girl and their plan to avoid school bullying. Lola Petticrew is going to be a star someday.

VFW 

War veterans in a dive bar take on a drug fuelled gang. Its Assault On Precinct 13 meets Cocoon and driven by gloriously gory practical effects.

Waves 

A family deal with growing up and the aftermath of a tragedy. Tender, horrible, beautiful with a superb showing from Kelvin Harrison Jr.

THE WORST OF 2020

Coffee & Kareem 

A film from Netflix that's so bad you'll want to cancel your subscription, go upstairs, scrubs yourself with dettol and a brillo pad and then cry slide down the wall as you try to internalise your shame for having sat through it. This piece of shit doesn't deserve a picture.

Home

Jaysus it's good to be home. Me, the brother, my parents, back together after that cunt of a virus stole a quarter of a year from us. I'm full of shteak and shpuds and I'm about to climb into my bed and watch a film.

*Happy sigh*

Eurovision Song Contest : The Story Of Fire Saga

24 years ago Father Ted Crilly and Father Dougal Maguire won a staged vote and got to represent Ireland in the Eurovision song contest. A vote that was staged in the hopes they would lose and RTE wouldn't have the foot the bill for yet another song contest they could ill afford. 24 years later Eurovision Song Contest : The Story Of Fire Saga takes the exact same premise and runs it into the ground in a deeply frustrating watch that could have been fun if it's makers hadn't been intent on dragging the life out of every single scene. Oh, and Will Ferrell.....it's time to change up or feck off mate because you haven't been funny in years.

Húsavík, 1974. Two young children hear Abba sing Waterloo at the Eurovision song contest and their destiny is set in motion. 46 years later a tragic accident sends them to Edinburgh to compete in the 2020 contest. Lars Erickssong (Will Ferrell) & Sigrit Ericksdóttir (Rachel McAdams) are Fire Saga and the world is about to experience their magic. The only downside is their stageshow is prone to disaster and the country they are representing has absolutely no faith in them.

Consider the title of this film. Eurovision Song Contest : The Story Of Fire Saga. Way too long, obvious and drawn out. Just like the movie itself. Co-writer Ferrell packs the film with incident, car chases, Americans, a pointless return to Iceland, supernatural stabbings (yes) and a subplot about Sigrit's dalliance with Russian eurovision superstar Alexander Lemtov  (Dan Stevens, hilarious but in a part that could be lifted cleanly from the film without changing the ending whatsoever) and none of it's needed at all. A film like this is selling itself as light, fluffy fun and it ends up weighed down by all of it's extras. The scenes at the 90 minute mark feel like a climax and it's dismaying to find out there's 30 more minutes ahead.

It could have worked. The Eurovision itself is ripe for a pisstake and when the film has it's sights on the contest there's fun to be had. It nails the cheesy sincerity and the bombosity perfectly. A cameo leaden bit of karaoke, dismissive eurotrash dance choreographers ("Are your legs sick? Are your feet sad?), some original songs that seriously sound like the real thing and the aforementioned Dan Stevens giving it welly as a outrageously flamboyant Russian singer. All this hits the spot but then along comes Ferrell and the man-baby hissy fit schtick he's been recycling for the last 15 years and any bit of goodwill created just dissipates. It's time for him to move on to the next stage of his career. We can all see it, why can't he? Pushing things over in a rage just doesn't cut it anymore.

McAdam's deserves better than this. She has the comic timing, the range, she looks the part, her final performance is pretty affecting but Ferrell ruins all her good work. It's starting to sound petty but literally anyone else could have done a better job here. Dan Stevens as Lars and Ferrell as Lemtov would have been a genius decision and with him in the lead we could more easily forgive the many weaker moments in the film. Oh well. At least we get some nice Sigur Ros tunes. Any film set in Iceland has to at least have that.

Eurovision Song Contest : The Story Of Fire Saga is on Netflix now. Watch it when you can finally have your friends over so ye can turn it on, get drunk and leave it playing in the background.

16 films on TV this week carefully chosen to please even the pickiest person

Tremors   Sat   27/6   ITV4 @ 22.00

Giant underground worms attack a small desert town and two very reluctant handymen called Earl and Val lead the townsfolk as they fight back. This is so so much better than it sounds. An affectionate throwback to 1950's creature features that's hilarious, satisfyingly gooey and very inventive. Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward are the lead pair and have a whale of a time doing it. The ropey special effects all add to the charm. A perfect beer and tayto's film.

Dark City   Sun   28/6   TCM @ 01.05

John has woken up in a place he doesn't recognise, his memories have vanished and he's being pursued for a crime he didn't commit. He must now enter a very strange world to solve his problems. A dark, scary, inventive and (at the time) startlingly original slice of sci-fi that will keep you glued to the screen. Rufus Sewell, Kiefer Sutherland, Jennifer Connelly and William Hurt all put in a good shift.

This Beautiful Fantastic   Sun   28/6   BBC2 @ 15.00

Now for a nice sunday afternoon movie. Bella's a wannabe writer struggling to finish her book for children. Her OCD and an awkward rental condition are making things awkward though. If you've seen the French film Amelie you might sense a similar vibe here but since when is that a bad thing. A light, enjoyable slice of whimsy. Jessica Findlay Brown, Tom Wilkinson and Ireland's own Andrew Scott all do well here.

The Mountain Between Us   Sun   28/6   CH4 @ 21.00

A man and a woman in a rush hire a private plane that crashes smack bang in the middle of the Rocky mountains when the pilot has an ill timed stroke. No one knows where they are and they haven't a clue what to do. This is as melodramatic as movies get but there's a lot of joy in watching Kate Winslet and Idris Elba battling against everything mother nature can throw at them. Plus the scenery is absolutely magnificent.

28 Days Later   Mon   29/6   TG4 @ 21.30

A man wakes up from a coma only to discover his hospital is deserted and London outside is quiet. A bit too quiet. Danny Boyle's 2002 horror film is the real deal. A genuinely unnerving and terrifying experience and that will get under your skin and live in your head when your lights go out at night. Cillian Murphy is an ace lead and Naomie Harris and Brendan Gleeson are both powerful as back up. Not for the squeamish. Seriously

Mad Max   Mon   29/6   ITV @ 22.00

Australia. The future. A lawless place. Policeman Max Rockatansky finds this out the hard way when tragedy strikes on a desolate roadside. So he becomes wrath. The first in the infamous series is a low key affair compared to later entries but there's a gritty charm here, along with a darkly comic sense of humour. A look at what Mel Gibson could do back before he become one of Hollywood's biggest dickheads.

Shame   Mon   29/6   Film4 @ 23.40

Brandon loves the ride more than most. His carefully curated life revolves around it. Everything he does is geared towards it. Until one day his sister turns up and rightly throws his life out of whack. Steve McQueen's psychological drama stirred up controversy with its frank depiction of sex addiction but it's a dark, compelling and masterfully acted film too. Michael Fassbender literally bares his soul and Carey Mulligan works wonders.

Dunkirk   Wed   1/7   RTE1 @ 21.35

Hitler has England beaten back to the coast of France. With their backs to the water there's nothing to do but wait to be rescued. Will the cavalry arrive on time? Christopher Nolan's 2017 war film is a bit of a stunner, a tale both epic and intimate about terrified young men and the people coming to save their skins. Cillian Murphy, Barry Keoghan, Mark Rylance and Harry Styles amongst many others all play their parts well.

Hellboy 2 : The Golden Army   Wed   1/7   Comedy Central @ 22.45

When a pact between humanity and mythical creatures is broken, chaos threatens to reign and it's up to Hellboy and his buddies to sort things out. You don't have to have seen the first film to enjoy this lovingly crafted bit of escapism. Guillermo Del Toro's comic book film so full of imagination and action that you just won't want it to finish. Ron Perlman as Hellboy rocks and Selma Blair, John Hurt & Doug Jones give superb backup.

Black Mother   Thur   2/7   Film4 @ 01.30

Jamaica, a country rich in culture and chock full of contradiction. As beautiful in places as it is ugly in others. This documentary about the country and it's people is a brilliant watch and one that thankfully takes a sweeping look at all the inhabitants within, from sex workers to prayer men, adults and kids alike are photographed in close up and we get a look at who makes the place tick. A unique and enthralling watch.

Red State   Thur   2/7   The Horror Channel @ 02.35

Three young eejits fall afoul of a fundamentalist cult of rednecks when they get tricked by an online invitation teasing naughtiness. Kevin Smith's first foray into thriller territory doesn't have the courage of it's convictions at the end but the journey is up to that point is a darkly humorous one laced with some surprisingly gritty edges. John Goodman, Melissa Leo & especially genre fave Michael Parks all have a good time in a film that definitely doesn't sit on the political fence.

Touching The Void   Thur   2/7   CH4 @ 22.00

Two young climbers, Simon and Joe are in Peru to scale a mountain. On the way down Joe breaks his leg and Simon is forced by Joe to leave him lest he die himself. Joe has no intention of going out easy though. Based on an amazing true story this docu-drama is gruelling throughout but the strength of human spirit on display here will leave you buzzing come the end. Wrap up warm when you watch this one.

Green Room   Fri   3/7   Film4 @ 01.35

A young punk band's night descends into chaos when they unwittingly play a gig at a neo-nazi club and stumble upon the aftermath of a crime. The late and much missed Anton Yelchin headlines this blisteringly violent thriller from director Jeremy Saulnier. It's tough going but stick with it. Blackly funny, excruciatingly brutal and a frightening insight into a scary American subculture. There's great backup from Patrick Stewart and Imogen Poots too.

Senna   Fri   3/7   TG4 @ 22.15

A stunner of a documentary about the life and death in 1994 of the famous Formula One driver Ayrton Senna. Even if like me you couldn't give a flying fig about the sport you'll still find yourself gripped by this absorbing, dramatic and tense story. It paints a gripping portrait of a driven charismatic chap and even though you know how it will end you'll still find yourself hoping for a different outcome.

3.10 To Yuma   Fri   3/7   BBC1 @ 22.45

Infamous outlaw Ben Wade has been captured and is to be taken to Yuma by train to be hanged. Rancher Dan Evans needs money so takes a job escorting Ben to his death. Ben is a cute hoor though. This 2007 remake of the classic western of the same name is more bombastic and over the top than the original but a trio of fine performances from Christian Bale, Russell Crowe and Ben Foster save the day.

Borg Vs McEnroe   Fri   3/7   BBC2 @ 23.20

The year is 1980. The venue is Wimbledon. Bjorn Borg is king of the tennis world. 1980 could be his 5th consecutive victory. But a fiery American named John McEnroe is making waves. It's a little cheesy but this is an entertaining look at a sporting rivalry that captured the imagination of the world, a film that you'll have fun with even if you don't like the sport its about. Sverrir Gudnason and Shia LaBeouf both do mighty work in the lead roles.

If you've found this any good you might give it an aul retweet. Sound.

Hammer

Two men search a cornfield for a body. The man who left it there is panicked, confused, totally disorientated. He's not sure where he is. A dog barks. Could it have picked up a scent? They follow the sound. It's no body though. It's a snake. A snake eating it's own tail. Ouroboros. Eternity, the circle of life, continuity. It's one hell of a blunt metaphor in the middle of a film about the cyclical nature of violence.

Chris Davis (Mark O'Brien) has fucked up big time. A double cross has gone sideways and now he's on the run, his girlfriend has a bullet in her and his ex partner Adams is out for his hide. The only person he has left to turn to is his father Stephen (Will Patton). Chris's lifestyle has estranged them but that special father/son bond is a tough one to break.

Hammer is one of the 100's of indie thrillers that pop up every year on streaming platforms. Usually dull, always terribly acted by a cast you've never heard of. These are the films you'll never see in the cinema, films you'll skip by on Netflix and not give a second glance at. This one is worth a shot though. It's short, brutish and not terribly original but the central pairing of Will Patton and Mark O'Brien and the believable chemistry created between them gives this movie a zing you wouldn't expect.

Patton has always been a reliable presence onscreen, rarely carrying a movie but always good in support. Here we get to see what he can really do as a father willing to do anything for his son and it's the kind of work that would make you wish Hollywood had given him a proper chance as a leading man. He's the kind of actor, and he does it well here, who can change your opinion on something with one well delivered word. But he's at his best here when he doesn't have to talk, one disappointed look at his son giving us a wealth of history in seconds.

O'Brien as Chris nails his part too. That sweaty desperation of a person who knows his days are numbered, his terror palpable, run down and scruffy but far more capable than people seem to think. A nerve-wracking pawn shop scene stands out, marking him as one to watch in the future. Hammer keeps up this level of tension throughout it's 82 minute running time and shows up larger scale productions for the pad fests they tend to be. It's a story of violence begeting violence and how it effects everyone and everything it touches and that's it, no subplots or extraneous fluff. 

A lean and economic cautionary tale from director Christian Sparkes. One that's well worth your while.