11 Films worth watching on TV this week

True Romance   Sat   30/9   TCM @ 21.00

A love at first sight couple go on the run to Los Angeles with a stolen suitcase in tow and the owners of the suitcase in pursuit. Tony Scott directs Quentin Tarantino's script and the result is one of the most entertaining and quotable films of the 90's. Dark, hilarious, brutal and brilliant with a superb cast led by Christian Slater & Patricia Arquette with amazing support from Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper.

The Edge Of Love   Sat   30/9   BBC2 @ 23.35

An enjoyable tale about the life of Dylan Thomas but told through his relationships with 2 women, his first love Vera Phillips and his wife Caitlin McNamara. A lovely looking period drama set during the blitz in London and later along the pebbly Welsh coast. Great acting from a solid cast is the icing on the cake. Keira Knightley & Matthew Rhys are excellent as Vera & Dylan and Sienna Miller & CiIllian Murphy are good as always in support.

The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three   Sun   1/10   RTE1 @ 00.40

4 men take a subway train hostage in New York City. If their demands aren't met hostages will die. It's up to a transit police lieutenant to sort the mess out. This 1974 film is a perfect little thriller. Well paced, funny, economical, tense, filled with memorable characters and is far superior to the later remake. Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw are brilliant in the lead roles. Well worth staying up for.

The Fighter   Mon   2/10   RTE2 @ 21.00

The true life story of Mickey Ward, a Boston scrapper who worked his way up the ranks of the boxing world in the 1980's. Boxing films are a fave of mine but are always rife with cliche and predictabilty, but when they are this well made and acted who cares. Christian Bale got the award plaudits but Mark Wahlberg is on top form as Mickey and Melissa Leo as their mam is magnificent. Gritty, fun, dark but ultimately uplifting stuff that will make your day.

Jeff, Who Lives At Home   Mon   2/10   TG4 @ 21.30

Jeff is 30 and still living with his mother. His life is a mess. One day he teams up with his brother Pat and things start to change for him. This film directed by the Duplass brothers is another fine example of their lo-fi loveliness. A nice gentle comedy/character study about what makes people tick. Jason Segal in the lead role is perfect and Susan Sarandon and Ed Helms as his mother & brother both hit the spot.

V/H/S   Mon   2/10   The Horror Channel @ 22.45

A group of thieves rob a house and find a VHS tape. On the tape are 5 different tales of terror. This is one for horror fans only. It's pretty disgusting in places and quite hard to watch in others but if you are a fan of the genre you'll be entertained. Each tale is directed by different filmmakers including Adam Wingard, Ti West & Joe Swanberg who have all gone onto bigger films since.

Ice Cold In Alex   Tues   3/10   More 4 @ 10.00

A very entertaining story of a British medical unit trying to get to Alexandria during WW2 with only a massive desert blocking their way. A lovely looking film packed with memorable characters and funny/tense moments. John Mills leads a cast of recognisable English actors and the finale will leave you dying for a tall cold pint of lager. Record this for a rainy Sunday afternoon.

Drums Along The Mohawk   Wed   4/10   Film4 @ 15.00

A pair of newlyweds try to make a life for themselves by the Mohawk rover but threats both internal and external make life difficult for them. This 1939 western from John Ford is a classic of the genre. Exciting, romantic, full of action and all looking beautiful in glorious Technicolor. The cast is superb too. Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert are excellent as always but Edna May Oliver in support steals the show.  

Blue Valentine  Thurs   5/10   Ch4 @ 01.25

A non linear tale about the birth and death of a relationship. Grim and upsetting viewing sprinkled with moments of levity and with acting so good that you'll be totally absorbed. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams play the couple. Gosling is good but Williams is stunning. As with nearly everything she acts in these days she's the best thing onscreen. You just can't take your eyes off her. Highly recommended.

To Have And Have Not   Fri   6/10   TCM @ 15.05

Harry Morgan is a boat captain on Martinique during WW2. Life gets complicated when he falls for an American woman and gets tasked to help the French resistance. Howard Hawks directed this very entertaining film full of suspense, fun and memorable dialogue. Lauren Bacall plays Slim in her film debut and her & Humphrey Bogart are immense together & have amazing chemistry. Plus Walter Brennan is as always, the perfect supporting actor.

The Long Riders   Fri   6/10   TG4 @ 21.35

A unique take on the tale of Jesse James and his gang of outlaws. Not the story, that's very well told but nothing new, it's the casting that makes it stand out. The real life gang was made up of 4 sets of brothers and here they are played by real life brothers. The Carradines, the Keachs, the Quaids & the Guests. It's clever & ensures great chemistry. Walter Hill's film is violent, tense and very underrated. Lovely music from Ry Cooder too.

Star Wars. A lifetime of memories.

I hope I never get sick of this

Star Wars Episode VIII : The Last Jedi is 12 weeks away and I'm unfeasibly excited about it. Far more excited than a 38 year old man should be. 

I've loved Star Wars all my life. To quote someone I know "it feels like a warm cosy blanket wrapped around you when you watch it."

People call them silly and laugh at them and ya of course they are silly but they are a great escape too. 2 hrs where you can sit back and enjoy a bit of space fun and not think about that bill that's scaring you, that mountain of washing that's taunting you or the fact the the world is basically goosed.

It all brings back great memories for me. Some happy and some poignant. Not just memories of the films but the places where I saw them and the people I saw them with. Some of them not even here anymore.

In my head this is worth thousands.

A few things I remember vividly.

Arguing with Peter Tynan in our garden about Episode IV. Him trying to tell me Luke's father was alive and a baddy and me telling him he was wrong and a dope because Luke's Da was dead and was only a worker on a spice freighter. It nearly got violent between us. Or as violent as things can get between a 7 and 9 year old. Our squeaky little voices annoying everyone. Man, did I feel stupid a while later. This was back before the films were released on video, When the only way you could see them was on ITV on Christmas day. It would be a year before I saw the next one. I saw this again when it was re-released in the cinema in the late 90s. It was the first Star Wars film I got to see on the big screen. It was amazing. The trench run at the end. Pure cinema.

Then came the jaw dropping moment when I found out the truth of Luke's parentage In The Empire Strikes Back. I remember turning to my father like "WHHAAAAAA" and he was nodding all serious and trying to pretend he wasn't as surprised as I was. Empire blew me away. Getting to meet Yoda for the first time. The opening battle on Hoth is still my favourite of the entire series. AT-AT's adorned all my school books when I was back in school. And I was intensely jealous because Scott Fairbrother had a model of the Millenium Falcon. Bastard. Plus I really wanted a cape like Lando Calrissian and I'm eternally grateful my Ma wouldn't buy me one. I know Empire is the one that everyone says is the best and you know it probably is but it's not my fave. I got to see this on its re-release too and still have the ticket 20 years later.

The first time I saw Return Of The Jedi was when we borrowed it off our neighbour Gary. The films had just been made available to buy and were a cool £80 each. I treated the tape like gold. I'd been threatened otherwise. I was 10 and I was giddy as hell. The open ended ending of Empire had stressed 9 year old me out. We sat down and watched it. Me and my brother. Parents too. We were enthralled by Jabba The Hutt. Terrified by the Rancor. Bouncing around the room during the forest speeder bike chases. Nearly crying as the emperor tortured Luke. Peering through our fingers as Darth Vader's mask was removed. I get shit for this all the time but Jedi is my all time favourite Star Wars film. I adore it. It always gives me a warm feeling. 

Fast forward 10 years. 

The internet was here. I was in college in Waterford. Mark Stedmond came barrelling towards me on the WIT campus. "HAVE YOU SEEN IT!!!" The trailer for The Phantom Menace was out. It looked amazing. We were so excited, only 6 months of a wait to see it!!!!........................ Jesus it was a crushing disappointment. It still is. It has never grown on me. One great scene near the end just can't save it. I hate it. Midiclorians. Storylines about trade disputes. TRADE DISPUTES!!! Young Anakin and his awfulness. Natalie Portman's appalling performance. It makes me cringe. But importantly it didn't make me lose any love for the original films thankfully. A few years ago I went to see it with my friend Paul when it was re-released. In 3D. I hate 3D. It kills my eyes. I moronically thought maybe it will improve it. It didn't and I ended up with a double headache and a renewed hatred for Jar Jar Pissing Binks. 

Attack Of The Clones was better. But only just. Me and my friend/housemate Mikey ( Gone now 10 years since May. Fuckin hell where does the time go? ) went to see it in the local Omniplex. We walked into a dark auditorium and I instantly fell up the steps and destroyed myself with a strawberry Mr Frosty. And then someone laughed at me. OH I was like a demon. The film still had the horribleness of Menace but was slightly more fun. The whole cinema erupted when Yoda produced his light sabre. Not a euphemism. It was pretty wicked. Plus the Fetts appeared and they were always going to be good. Also Christopher Lee. He's great.

Revenge Of The Sith was my favourite of the prequels. It was still mithered with the bad acting and desperate overuse of CGI but I loved its darkness. I remember the gasps in the cinema when we realised what was going to happen in the Jedi temple. The cold blooded putting down of Count Dooku. The shock of order 88. The end of Anakin and the beginning of Vader. It was a whole new vibe and it was great. But the old flashes of fun remained too. The cheers when Mace Windu decided to kick ass. Count Grievious and his multi sabre skills. This was the first one I really remember talking about online too. Hearing about bits I missed or didn't understand. It was a whole new world to me for talking about film and I loved it. I remember my boss calling me a nerd for talking about this film. He didn't like it when I agreed and laughed in his stupid cockney face.

Fast forward another 10 years.

I was sitting in class during a course when I saw the first trailer for The Force Awakens. It was amazing. I was riddled with goosebumps. That was it though. I'd ruined far too many films for myself by watching too many trailers and reading too much about them before release. I wanted to go into this one cold. Somehow I succeeded. I saw it opening day. The path outside the cinema was packed and we all rushed in as the doors opened. The sense of anticipation was immense. We'd been burned before but were all cautiously optimistic. Thankfully the film was amazing. The sense of nostalgia during it was overwhelming. I nearly started to cry when Han and Chewie appeared.(I watched it again with my parents on bluray and my mother cheered at this part, a full on whoop). Then again at the end when Rey showed what she was capable of. It felt so good to be watching it. One bloke angrily stormed out after one major scene and that made it all even more enjoyable. God it just rocked. There was a 2 year wait for the story to continue but I didn't care about that. I was high after it.

Rogue One was the first Star Wars spin off. I didn't have the highest of hopes for it but was still mad to see it. It was also my first ever midnight showing so that would be cool. Once again the buzz was mighty. The lights went down and the film was good solid fun. Nicely different to what had come before. I recall the lack of an opening scroll really throwing the crowd. It was a fine film. Until the last 5 minutes when we all realised how it was going to end. I was buzzing. I remember whispering "NO WAY".  The little bit of hair I have left stood on end. A wave of energy surged through the crowd. There were claps and cheers. It was a brilliant way to end the film and a real gift to the fans who had stuck by the series through the good and the bad. It was perfect. 

Now the buzz for Episode VIII is starting to build and I'm getting all those old feelings again and it's just the best. I'm happy out. Plus I get to rewatch all the films in the run up to it. Any excuse eh?

"My precious"

Maze. An Irish film that's well worth a watch.

For such a small country we have an awfully fucked up history. Northern Ireland was a horror show for 30 years. The Troubles. Sectarian violence. Civilian deaths in the thousands. Thousands. On an island with a population of 5 million people. Boggles the mind doesn't it. Belfast was the centre of it all. Belfast in the 80's was a terrifying place. 9 miles outside of the city was an airfield called Long Kesh and there was a prison called Her Majesty's Prison Maze, a detention centre for prisoners involved in the troubles. It's here in 1983 that this film based on a true life tale is set.

In the aftermath of the hunger strikes, Republican prisoners were spread out amongst the H blocks of the Maze prison. They are sharing with loyalist prisoners and tensions are running high. One man sets about planning a break out and his plan involves befriending a prison guard which isn't looked lightly upon my his fellow inmates.

Even if you know the story, this is still a tension packed tale. Nail biting actually. All the tropes of a prison escape film are present and correct but it's all done so well any lack of originality can be forgiven. You just know that no matter how meticulously planned anything is that Murphy's Law will strike and it all adds to the compelling nature of the story. The fact that it's set in Ireland and is about Irish people gives it a personal stake and makes it even more gripping. And the further fact that it's an all Irish cast giving uniformly excellent performances makes it even grippier. Yes I know that's not a word and I don't care.

The cast is top notch. The always watchable Tom Vaughn-Lawlor is great in the lead. His character is a tightly wound coil of a man willing to do anything to achieve his goals. Tom is a cracking actor. A real chameleon. There's not a trace of his former roles in his portrayal of Larry. Barry Ward as prison guard Gordon is also very good. You can see the toll his job is taking on him, it's written all over his face. Barry was the lead in Jimmy's Hall a few years ago and was excellent and I hope to see him onscreen a lot more in the coming years.

Maze is the story of two men dedicated to their cause. Two men on either side of the law willing to do what they need to to get their job done. And two men who have given too much of themselves away in the process. It's a story about the dangers of idealism. It's a story about regret. We see the toll it takes on both sides. People losing their soul and their families. Driving the people who love them away and alienating them by putting them in harm's way or spending so much time in prison for your cause that you lose them. Gladly it doesn't force us to take sides either. It's neither a pro or anti Republican film. It just presents us with the facts of what happened and let's us make our own mind up. I've a feeling that the vast majority of the audience will see that the struggle only created sadness and loss.

I thought this was a really good film. It's a bleak watch, but it's gripping and will make you think. It's straight forward stuff but its a story that doesn't need embellishment. It doesn't need unnecessary stylistic flourishes or padding. It's just fine as it is. It speaks for itself.

Go see it if you get the chance. It's a cracking history lesson and a great way to spend an hour and a half. Plus you'll be supporting Irish cinema in the process.

The Unsung heroes of Film & TV part 24. Margo Martindale

Margo Martindale

A warm, lovely and truly excellent actress with a superb presence onscreen who has never really made the big leagues but who deserves to. When she turns up it's a guaranteed "Ah ya, i know her, she's in everything, she's deadly." A real go-to actor for an authority or maternal figure. Likable even when she feeding you a jar of poison laced moonshine. Always a supporting actor in film but has rarely been on the small screen in the last decade. 

She's been the mammy of Dewey Cox and a million dollar baby. She's played a Russian spy embedded in America for decades and been a nun to death row inmates. Been in Russell Crowe action thrillers and Sandra Bullock magical comedies. Been in numerous westerns, Disney family action movies, multi Oscar winning drama's and horror films about killer dwarfs. Crappy John Grisham adaptions. Long running TV shows about Kentuckian cops and Miami based serial killers. Neil Jordan film's about murderers and then the Hannah Montana movie. And she gets a whole short story to herself in Paris Je t'aime. Her career is never boring and when she pops up onscreen you know she'll add a touch of class to proceedings. Check out her career here

Greatest Hits

Justified - Mags Bennett. The big bad of series 2 which also happened to be the best series in the shows run. Lovable and chilling at the same time as the matriarch who will do anything to protect her family.

The Americans - Claudia. KGB handler with a heart of stone in the best show on TV that no one seems to watch. 

Walk Hard : The Dewey Cox Story - Ma Cox, mother of Dewey and utterer of the immortal line "Dewey, you've gone smell blind!"

Million Dollar Baby - Earline. The horrible wagon bastard of a mother to Maggie, the baby of the title. A rare unlikable role.

Previous parts

1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  21  22  23

More under the radar TV that's worth watching.

The long winter nights are rolling in rapidly and it's always good to have a boxset or 7 to watch from beneath a lovely warm blanket. So here's another look at some of the superb TV coming from America that isn't talked about much or that has slipped under the radar. Some of these shows are legally available over here and the others........well ya know yerself. Cough.



You're The Worst  ( 4th seasons, 13 eps each, 4th season in progress )

Boy meets Girl in Los Angeles and they fall for each other. Sort of. Sounds boring doesn't it. Well its not. It's a biting and caustic look at the parts of love stories we never hear about. It's also a stunning look at mental illness in a way that totally creeps up on you.  Aya Cash is amazing in this. The type of show that makes you laugh and then feel bad for laughing. No idea if this is showing over here yet but the FX channel is a good bet.



Hap & Leonard ( 2 seasons, 6 episodes each )

An adaption of the Joe R. Lansdale novels and a highly enjoyable watch. Southern gothic meets modern noir in this 80's set tale of 2 amateur sleuths in East Texas. Fun, easy going, brutal in places, shocking in others and carried by 2 immensely likable performances from Michael K. Williams and James Purefoy. Lovely short seasons as well. Only 6 episodes each so no padding at all.


Better Things ( 2 seasons, 10 episodes each, 2nd season in progress )

The story of a voice over actress and her relationship with her 3 daughters and her dotty mother. Do you like your comedies to be funny and full of heart but with a nice edge too? Then this is one for you. Pamela Adlon is pure adorable in this. A little fireball coping with the 10 millions problems her daughters throw at her. I don't think this is showing on any TV stations but Amazon prime streams it.


Atypical ( 1 season, 8 episodes )

This one is available on netflix but I have't heard much buzz about it. It's about a teenager with autism and his attempts to gets a girlfriend and lose his virginity. It's also about the effects his condition have on his family.  A lovely show full of great performances. Keir Gilchrist is excellent in the lead and Jennifer Jason Leigh and Michael Rapaport are perfect as his parents.



The Good Place ( 1 season so far, 15 episodes, season 2 out soon )

A young woman dies and finds herself in a very strange idea of heaven. But then realises quickly she was sent to the wrong place. A genuinely clever and charming comedy that's bizarre, odd, ingenious and crucially hilarious. Kirsten Bell in the lead is brilliant as always and Ted Danson just rocks it. The first season of this just popped up on Netflix too.



The Deuce ( 1 season, only 2 episodes out so far )

The new TV show from David Simon & George Pelecanos who previously collaborated on The Wire & Treme so you know you're in safe hands. Based around a set of characters involved in the sex industry in New York's Time Square in the 70's. It's harsh, grim stuff but the labyrinthine cast is magnificent and their stories are going to be quite compelling based on what I've seen so far. Sky Atlantic should be showing this one soon. James Franco & Maggie Gyllenhall are ace.

iZombie ( 3 seasons so far, 45 episodes )

A zombie show but as far from the hellish boredom of the Walking Dead as you can get. A young woman who works for the Seattle PD coroners office gets bitten during a party and her whole world changes. This is brilliant stuff. Hilarious, gooey, clever as hell and full of awesome characters. Rose McIver, Malcolm Goodwin and Rahul Kohli are all great and create something rare in genre TV, characters you actually care about. RTE started showing this but sadly gave up on it.


Ash Vs The Evil Dead ( 2 seasons, 20 episodes, season 3 coming soon )

The TV show based on the cult film series. I hadn't expected much of this but it has turned into one of the most entertaining and funny 30 min shows on tv. Your enjoyment of it all depends on your ability to deal with blood and guts splashing around the screen but if you're ok with that then you'll love this. Brilliant fun and Bruce Campbell as Ash is on fire with cracking support from Ray Santiago, Dana DeLorenzo and Lucy Lawless. I've no idea if this gets shown over here.



Unreal ( 2 seasons, 20 episodes, 3rd season next year sometime )

A fictional look at the behind the scenes people of a famous reality TV show and the things they are willing to do for ratings. This sounds like it should be awful. But its not. It's cracking stuff.  Shiri Appleby and Constance Zimmer are excellent in the lead roles and the fact that it's set around a dating show means the supporting cast changes regularly keeping everything fresh.

10 films to watch on TV this week

Big Night   Sat   23/9   TG4 @ 21.30

An ailing Italian restaurant run by two brothers gambles its entire future on one big blow out of a night to try and save the business. A lovely little film about passions, sticking to your guns and making your dreams come true that will entertain you and ensure you raid the fridge as soon as it's over. Stanley Tucci and Tony Shalhoub are amazing as the brothers and the chemistry between them is amazing. 

Brighton Rock   Sat   23/9   BBC2 @ 23.00  

A young gang leader murders a man and then marries the only witness to keep her quiet. But people aren't happy about the arrangement. This 2010 adaption of the famous novel is solid stuff and adds it own touch of style to the original story. Sam Riley and Andrea Riseborough are good as the leads but as in everything she appears in, Helen Mirren steals the film from underneath them. 

Unforgiven   Sun   24/9   RTE2 @ 00.30

A prostitute is attacked in a small frontier town and 3 men are hired to kill the attacker. One of the men is a retired gunslinger who is reluctant to return to his former life. This film, simply put is a masterpiece. It's a story that takes apart the myths of the old west and shows them for what they really were and it's a fitting end to Clint Eastwood's western career. Clint, Morgan Freeman, Frances Fisher, Gene Hackman and Richard Harris are all immense

Ravenous   Sun   24/9   The Horror Channel @ 21.00

In the 19th century a frostbitten stranger turns up at an army fort claiming to be the only survivor of a wagon train that got lost in the mountains. Antonia Bird's darkly comic horror thriller is a ferociously entertaining watch but it might be too much for the more squeamish out there. Cracking cast in this. Robert Carlyle as the stranger is brilliant and Guy Pearce, Jeremy Davies and John Spencer are all on good form.

Falling Down   Sun   24/9   ITV4 @ 22.00 

A man frustrated with modern life loses his mind and starts lashing out at everything he sees as wrong with the world. A dark, funny and ultimately terrifying look at modern day masculinity. Michael Douglas is amazing in the lead role with Robert Duvall in great likable form as the detective in pursuit of him. Solid support from Tuesday Weld, Barbara Hershey and Frederic Forrest is the icing on the cake.

Footsteps In The Fog   Mon   25/9   Film4 @ 13.20

Jean Simmons and Stewart Granger star in this noirish thriller set in early 20th century London about a maid who discovers dodgy things about her employer and decides to blackmail him. Well worth a watch if you are a fan of Hitchcock's films, especially his earlier ones. This is cracking stuff, clever, full of lovely twists and turns and very well acted by both of it's stars.

Goodbye Bafana   Mon   25/9   TG4 @ 21.30

A racist prison guard is tasked with censoring the letters of a political prisoner in 1960's South Africa. The prisoner? Nelson Mandela. This film has been criticised for the liberties it takes with truth but it gives a solid insight into the mindset of both black and white South Africa during Apartheid. It's a tough, anger inducing watch with 2 cracking lead performances from Dennis Haybert and Joseph Fiennes.


Serenity   Wed   27/9   Syfy @ 21.00

The space ship Serenity and its crew find themselves in danger when they realise one of their passengers is quite special. This film is a continuation of the TV show Firefly but it's also a standalone film that can be enjoyed even with no knowledge of the show. Exciting, upsetting, hilarious and brilliantly acted stuff with a super cast. Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk and Jewel Staite all hit the spot.

In A Lonely Place   Thurs   28/9   Film4 @ 13.05

A screenwriter is accused of murder until his neighbour gives him an alibi. But then she begins to have her own doubts. A cracking slice of film noir right here. It's smart and suspenseful with a nicely cynical stuff and full of depth and undertones that were rare for the time. The storyline is compelling and the characters are well formed and realistic. Gloria Grahame and Humphrey Bogart are both excellent. Well worth recording.

Starry Eyes   Fri   29/9   The Horror Channel @ 21.00

A young aspiring actress in Hollywood is willing to go to any lengths to ensure she becomes a star of the silver screen. This is a dark and twisted cautionary tale about the dangers of ambition and greed. It's also a pretty damn great little horror film that will probably leave you horrified when the credits role so be warned. It's nasty. Alex Esso in the lead is very good and someone to look out for in the future. 

Kingsman : The Golden Circle.

One of my favourite film scenes of 2014 depicted a well dressed English gent using guns, knives, flag poles and axes to single handedly decimate a religious hate group akin to the Westboro Baptist church. It was hilariously violent and totally exhilarating. It was without a doubt the highlight of the film it featured in, Kingsman : The Secret Service. It was so good that everything else in the film paled in comparison. Nothing in it's sequel, Kingsman : The Golden Circle can even hold a candle to that scene either. But that doesn't mean there isn't fun to be had.

Eggsy is now a fully fledged member of the Kingsman group of secret agents. Life is good. He's in a steady relationship (that will annoy the people who hated the first film). Work is going well. He's putting everything he learned in training to good use. Until.......ah there's always an until.

If you hated the first, don't bother with this. Nothing in it will change your mind. If you found the first to be a bit of fun nonsense then you should enjoy this. 

It starts brilliantly, with a blazing car chase through the streets of London. Fun, loud and exciting. Then it dies on its arse for the bones of 45 mins with a lull that tries in vain to prop itself up with an influx of star faces. Thankfully the last third of the film regains its sense of fun but it never really recovers from that middle segment.

When the film works it really works. The strength of the first was its sense of absurdity and that's still a strength here. People in three pieces suits leaping through the air pulling off perfect headshots. Robotic dogs. People burgers. Electric lassos capable of dismemberment. Explosive aftershave. A flying kick to the face from a musical icon, who by the way is hilarious. Ridiculous baddie lairs. Insane plans for world domination. Seeing the good guys mow down everyone to the sounds of 70's classics never gets old. Plus it gets in a couple of pops at the moron currently leading the western world. 

As with all sequels, everything is bigger. The action, explosions, the story, the knives ^, the locations and unfortunately the running time. Nearly 2 and a half hours. Ridiculous. A lot could have been trimmed here. It's seriously self indulgent in places. The whole middle section is bogged down with unnecessary exposition to try and give the story a depth it doesn't deserve. The much vaunted new characters are wasted. Channing Tatum, Halle Berry and Jeff Bridge's roles are basically glorified cameos. A scene at a music festival will drive the people who hated the first film crazy too. It's weird and it feels like it was put in there purely to court controversy.

Julianne Moore as the big bad is not good in this. In fact she's pretty awful. It's disappointing because she's was always reliable. The aforementioned 3 other big names are totally wasted especially Berry. Pedro Pascal though is good fun. Brings the charm he used to great effect in Narcos and Game Of Thrones. Taron Egerton and Mark Strong are solid too, slipping back into their roles with ease. Strong gets more to do here and has a great John Denver moment.

The law of dimishing returns certainly applies here. It's a sequel with all the good and bad points of a sequel. But there's still entertainment to be had. If you can hack that running time that is. 

A perfect pairing of Sound & Vision part 10. Before Sunrise.

Jesse and Celine are two strangers who meet by chance on a train to Vienna. they get talking, click and decide to spend the day walking around the city. They go browsing in a record store and go to listen to a tune in a booth. And it's here we witness the moment they fall for each other and it's just great. A perfect little moment of cinema. Plus we get to listen to a nice tune as well. Win Win.





And thanks to the loveliness of this moment we got to see them in 2 more films after this. One of which I'll be looking at very soon.

Previous parts

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

mother!

Allegory - a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.

mother! is an allegorical tale. One loaded with metaphor and meaning. I'm glad I watched it but I don't know if I liked it or not. I left the cinema shaking my head and it's still shaking. I'll tell you two things though, it's certainly unique and it's very rare a film like this gets released into multiplex cinemas and on those basis's alone I'd recommend it. Btw the lowercase m in the title isn't a mistake.

Ha. Jaysus. How to talk about this without spoilers? Eek. Was that just a spoiler?

A man and a woman live a solitary life in a house. Husband is an artist suffering from writer's block and Wife is renovating the entire house after it was gutted by a fire.  Another man turns up. And then his wife. And then their two sons and then..................

It's a film that starts off with a whisper and gradually builds to a roar. A hellish, hideous roar. The last 40 minutes of this will live in your head for a while. It reminded me of the fucked up morphine induced dreams I had in hospital a few years back. It's grotesque in places and one scene may make you want to run roaring from the cinema. It builds to a level of intensity that rivals the end scenes of director Darren Aronofsky's previous film Requiem For A Dream. Don't let the earlier pace of the film fool you. You'll be breathless by the end.

This was a two hour long film and I didn't have a clue what was going on until I copped it at around the 1hr 50 minute mark. I'm not complaining mind. I loved that moment of realisation and then retroactively putting the pieces of the jigsaw together. Maybe this makes me a slow fool I dunno. I think I got it anyway. I didn't just ruin a twist either BTW. All the pieces are there, dropped like breadcrumbs and I just missed them until the film literally battered me around the head.  

Jennifer Lawrence is the lead and she's fantastic. Absolutely convincing as a woman fearing for her own sanity. She displays a great physicality too because believe me she gets put through the wringer in this one. I can safely say she'll get another Oscar nomination for this. Javier Bardem is solid as her husband too. Really gets across the egotistical side of an artist well. Ed Harris and especially Michelle Pfeiffer are very good as the visitors and I just loved seeing Michelle back on screen. She's always great and it's been far too long since I saw her in a proper film. Real life Irish brothers and actors Domhnaill and Brian Gleeson turn up in small roles too but make the most of their screen time.

It's not a film for everyone. A lot of people will see it as pretentious toss and that may well be the case but my god it's compellingly pretentious toss. Others will hate it and that's understandable too. The slow beginning, ponderous silences and unexplained happenings will annoy some people and the insane turns in the final third of the movie will horrify others. But if you are sick of blockbuster fare and CGI cartoons and are looking for something very different go see it. Be patient though. And don't be easily distressed.

You know what? After all that I think i liked it. Don't ever want to see it again though.

American Assassin

American Assassin is a ridiculous film. Rife with stupidity, unpleasantness, xenophobia, jingoism, characters doing totally illogical things, horrible dialogue, mind boggling plot holes and an ending that will drop your jaw at its silliness. But you know what? I quite enjoyed it.

Mitch Rapp is living his best life until it gets snatched away from him in the blink of an eye. He wants revenge and his training regimen catches the eye of the CIA. Soon he finds himself in a covert task force who's job is to kill the bad men of the world.

In spite of its many many faults I liked this. Ok no, like is a strong word. I enjoyed it. It's a throwback to the films I and many others my age grew up on and still go back to occasionally. It's good to see the spirit of 80's and 90's action still lives on. I enjoyed it the same way I enjoy Commando and Universal Soldier and True Lies. It's silliness brought a smile to my face. It's no holds barred approach to bloodletting satisfied my inner teenage gorehound. It's no nonsense approach to problem solving ie shoot em in the head and let god sort them out, appealed to the Chuck Norris/Steven Seagal fanboy inside of me. It's a piece of utterly adolescent wish fulfillment and for that I enjoyed it. 

But not enough to totally overlook it's faults.

It's insanely stupid in places. The big climax. So....many....questions. So many fucking questions that I can't go into with spoiling anything so I'll say one word. Idiotic. It also does something that should have been left in the 80's and 90's. The whole MIDDLE EASTERN FOREIGNERS = BAD thing. These days that just leaves a bad taste in everyone's mouth. It's crass and it's a trope that needs to be dropped. Thankfully the identity of the main baddie of the film slightly softens that edge of the film but still.  Also the fact that baddies still insist on telling their plans to the good guys when they should be just shooting them. The fact that bad lads can't shoot for shit. The absolutely pointless dog scene that should have had 'Deleted Scene' written all over it. That good guys can climb 5 floors up the side of a building with no equipment. The idea that huge government agencies will hire people because they have a good feeling about them. I could go on all day. It's also quite unpleasant in places. I've no problem with violent action but torture scenes kill me. This film contains a couple of them. One very gratuitous in nature and one that left me feeling quite oddly towards a main character. You'll know it when you see it. It felt wrong and too nasty. Other things were the groan inducing dialogue but thinking about it that actually added to the 80's/90's vibe.

There's a lot of bad, but there's still plenty of fun to be had. Michael Keaton as the Mr Miyagi of the film is great fun. He's always dependable and gets to display some of the madness he became famous for in his 1980's films. One scene late in the film made me retch and laugh at the same time. Dylan O'Brien as the main character Mitch wasn't bad either. His baby face made me doubt his believability at first but once the action kicked off he displayed a nicely gritty edge that made him that bit more convincing. UK martial artist Scott Adkins appears briefly too. He's convincingly gruff and briary and I hope some day he gets a big break. He deserves it. Saana Lathan and Shiva Negar add a welcome respite from all the testosterone on display. Negar especially does well with a convincing physicality and adds a much needed touch of warmth to the film. It's also quite Bond-ish in its globetrotting. From lovely sandy beaches of the Basque country to the streets of Rome and Tripoli to the glorious vast woodlands of middle America. It's all quite competently directed by Michael Cuesta. He's not a director who goes in for the silly shaky cam of the Bourne films. The action is well shot and easy to make out. Always a plus. I also mentioned the film's crunchiness earlier. This is a film that is not afraid to make you wince. Ooofffff. It earns it's 18 certificate in the first 3 minutes and doesn't stop. I admire a film that isn't afraid to tone itself down to appeal to a wider audience. Apart from the torture stuff. Me not like.

Look, here it is. Don't bother going if you are looking for meaning or anything deeper than a knife wound ( loads of those in this, eeek). But if you're looking for a silly way to pass a couple of hours this will do you fine.