On Chesil Beach

Awkward sex scenes are a staple of cinema. Whether intentional or not they turn up on screen fairly regularly. A few horrible examples spring to mind. That horrible Leonard Cohen scored scene in Watchmen, the gobble gobble moment from Gigli, that sweaty monstrosity in Munich that's even more scarring than all the rest of the film's onscreen violence and then there's the virginity losing scenes that turn up in all teen comedies. All moments that make you cringe into a ball. But moments you can laugh at too. Moments you can poke fun at. On Chesil Beach contains a similar moment. But here it's a scene that will make you die a little inside.

It's 1962. Florence Ponting and Edward Mayhew are a newly married couple. They are on their honeymoon in a hotel beside Chesil Beach, a famous shingle beach in Dorset . They are nervous and very tentative around each other. Florence and Edward live in an age where sex is rarely if ever talked about and if it is it's mentioned in very hushed tones behind closed doors. As a result things don't go to plan and repressed past moments come to the fore.

Like the pivotal moment this film is messy. It's a very simple story, boy and girl meet, fall in love and then shit goes sideways but it's flashback structure gives it a fierce disjointed feel and a saggy middle section threatens to kill you with boredom. A spectacularly good lead performance from Saoirse Ronan goes a long way towards salvaging proceedings though. It's 11 years since she blasted onto out screens in Atonement (also written by Ian McEwan) and somehow she just keeps getting better and better. She's become an actress you feel an instant empathy for even when the film around her isn't as good as she is. Billy Howle is great as Edward too. His sadness and frustration is palpable at times, threatening to pour off the screen.

It's a story about the importance of communication and how lack of it can make anything crumble. How nothing good ever comes from repression. How pride can be utterly disastrous. Big weighty themes. It should be an important meaty watch but it's layout just sucks the life out of it all. At moments you just want to shake the characters to get them to talk to each other. It's quite frustrating. In fairness the final quarter of the film is really good, when the film changes pace but at that stage it's just too late. It's slightly annoying too. If this part of the film can move like this why not the rest of the film. I know this is a reflection of how the source material was written though.

In theory it's an awfully sad story. It's set in 1962. One year later the Beatles hit big and young people started letting loose. Big societal changes took place and attitudes started loosening up. Florence and Edward missed out. A year later and their story could have been very different. Some people are just born in the wrong time. 

There's a lot to like here including a couple of fine supporting turns from Anne Marie Duff and Emily Watson. It's a story I wanted to engage with but it's energy sapping structure stops it from happening. Like the titular Chesil Beach it's nice looking but ultimately cold and awkward to get on with.

The Breadwinner

Two of the best Irish films this century were animated features created by Cartoon Saloon, a studio based in Kilkenny. 2009's The Secret Of Kells and 2014's Song Of The Sea. Both were uniquely Irish productions drawing on Celtic history and folklore. They were the kind of stories that enthralled both young and older audiences with a mix of beautiful hand drawn animation and soulful storytelling. 2018 sees the release of their third full length animated feature, The Breadwinner. They've scored again. Three for three. A perfect hat-trick. 

Parvana is a young girl ekeing out an existence in Kabul, Afghanistan, a city under the control of the Taliban and sharia law. Life is miserable for herself and her family and only leavened by the stories her father tells her and the stories she entertains herself and her brother with. Things get even worse when her Da is arrested for the crime of educating his daughters. Because women are not allowed out without a male family member, Parvana has to disguise herself as a boy to do even the simplest of things. Her life changes in an instant.

I loved this. It's a rewarding, imaginative, timely and upsetting look at what life is like for women living under the type of oppressive regime that somehow is still managing to exist in the 21st century. It's a beautiful looking animated film about an ugly story, one packed with stunning imagery and smaller details that give the film a realism and add to it's emotional heft. It's a cartoon with a family friendly certificate but don't let it fool you into thinking you are in for an easy ride. It's horrors are implied rather than shown and psychologically it's quite rough going. It's also tribute to the power of storytelling itself. How stories can empower you, encourage you and keep you going. How we need them in our lives.

An upsetting aspect of the story is how easy Parvana's life becomes when people see her as a boy. No more street harassment. No more fear of sexual assault or beatings. Even being able to buy food or get water from the well becomes just another choir instead of a life threatening task. It's a damning indictment of systemic misogyny and male privilege. It shows just how easy it is to be a man in this world. Parvana's world opens up and she manages to glean some moments of joy when she finds another person in the same situation as her but the implications of it all are just heartbreaking.

It's not all sadness though, there's a lot of humanity and strange beauty in here. Parvana's interactions with her little brother and the epic stories she tells her family and herself draw from middle eastern folklore and add a touch of mysticism to proceedings. Her glee when her first outing as a boy is a success. The opening scenes that tell us about the history of conflict in Afghanistan from Genghis Khan all the way up to the Russian conflict is done economically in a fantastic scrolling moment. The story even finds time to humanise a member of the Taliban. All done with a tragic letter and an interrupted apple peel in a heart rending moment that makes you remember that monsters can be human too. 

Director Nora Twomey has created an excellent film, an assured and compelling story that will get under your skin and stay there. Saara Chaudry, who voices Parvana nails her part too. You'll genuinely care about this young girl and experience every emotion along with her, whether it be joy, fear, exhilaration or heartbreak. Of course it can't all be perfect. The latter part of the story does feel a bit melodramatic and one moment of tension and release feels rather contrived but they don't take away from the overall quality on display. 

I urge you to go see this if it makes it to a cinema near you. It's a glorious Irish production packed with heart and humanity. Go and support Cartoon Saloon. I cannot wait to see what they and Nora Twomey do next.

11 films worth watching on TV this week

Bend It Like Beckham   Sat   26/5   TG4 @ 22.10

A young Sikh girl shuns the traditional expectations of her strict family and decides to rebel by playing football. Of course she's fantastic at it. Gurinder Chadha's film is a very entertaining one, packed with moments of exhilaration that will thrill you even if you don't care for football. It's also a nice insight into a culture we rarely see on screen. Parminder Nagra is a charming lead and Jonathan Rhys Meyers & Keira Knightley offer fine support.

Rush   Sat   26/5   RTE2 @ 22.30

The story of James Hunt, a flamboyant & hedonistic superstar of Formula One racing in the 1970's and his intense rivalry with Niki Lauda, a man the exact opposite of him. Even if, like me you've no interest in the sport you'll still find this to be a cracking watch, it's funny, very entertaining and the race sequences are a the title says, a rush. Chris Hemsworth in the lead is very good but Daniel Bruhl as Lauda is perfect in his part.

South Park : Bigger, Longer & Uncut   Sat   26/5   Comedy Central @ 23.00

A profanity filled movie causes uproar that leads to a war between American and Canada. And South Park, Colorado is ground zero for it all. The most underrated musical film ever made. Seriously. This feature length film of the TV show is ingenious stuff. Intelligent, profane, hilarious, packed full of digs at censorship, racism, social mores and America itself. Plus it has songs that will stay in your head forever.

The Hunter   Sun   27/5   BBC2 @ 00.30

Red Leaf is an unscrupulous biotech company who need the DNA of a very rare Tasmanian Tiger so they send a skilled & solitary hunter to collect it. Life has a habit of scuppering even the best laid plans though. Willem Dafoe is excellent as the lead in this deep, intelligent, mature and beautiful looking thriller. Frances O'Connor and Sam Neill in back up are good as always. 

Princess Mononoke   Sun   27/5   Film4 @ 01.15

While looking for a cure to a deadly curse, a young warrior becomes caught up in a battle between forest gods and encroaching humanity. An absolutely stunning piece of Japanese animation and a damning indictment of the damage big industry is wrecking on the world's environment. A complex, thrilling, violent and epic movie. If you are looking for an entry point to Japanese cinema you can't go wrong here. 

Gold   Sun   27/5   TV3 @ 22.00

Ray is back in town after a decade and looking to reconcile things with his estranged daughter. But life has moved on in his absence and he's trying too hard. Something is going to give. A charming Irish film set in Dublin about family, morality, ambition and reconnection. David Wilmot is a very entertaining lead and gets superb backing from Kerry Condon, Maisie Williams and James Nesbitt. 

Ghost Dog : The Way Of The Samurai   Tues   29/5   Film4 @ 23.25

A brilliant oddity of a film here. Ghost Dog is a mafia hitman who bases his code of ethics on ancient samurai ways. When a hit goes wrong who must defend himself against is former employers. A unique thriller that just radiates cool. Forrest Whitaker is a superb as Ghost Dog, the cast is a who's who of faces you'll recognise from gangster cinema and the soundtrack is just A1.

Great Expectations   Wed   30/5   BBC2 @ 12.35

A poverty stricken young boy in 19th century England comes into contact with both a criminal and an eccentric old woman and these acquaintances change the course of his life. This 1946 film adapted from Charles Dickens's novel is a masterpiece. A moving and thoughtful look at loss, loneliness, poverty and social mores. Amazing cast too including John Mills, Jean Simmons and Alec Guinness.

The People Under The Stairs   Thurs   31/5   The Horror Channel @ 22.55

Fool, Leroy and Spencer break into their landlord's house to rob him in revenge for being evicted. What they find inside is very far from what they expected. Wes Craven's 1989 horror is a very entertaining affair, both disgustingly bloody and funny as hell but not afraid to shy away from themes of class and patriarchal control. Everett McGill & Ving Rhames play fun parts.

Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?   Fri   1/6   TCM @ 18.20

Two aging sisters live together in their old, rotten Hollywood mansion and wage psychological warfare on each other as their mental and physical health deteriorates. Sounds depressing doesn't it. It's not. It's a stunner packed full of black humour and some of the most extreme sibling rivalry you'll ever see. Bette Davis & Joan Crawford are amazing as the sisters. 

The Hallow   Fri   1/6   Film4 @ 23.20

A family moves into a remote Irish village thats surrounded by woods. And in those woods lurks......well you're just going to have to see that for yourselves. A disturbing but very interesting Irish take on the horror genre that's sprinkled with a bit of Celtic mysticism. It starts off slow but you'll have no fingernails by the end. Joseph Mawle and Bojana Novakovic are effective in the lead roles.

Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Remember when you were younger and you were playing Star Wars with your friends. Running around using water pistols or if you were lucky enough to have one, a cap gun, pretending they were laser pistols. Or using bits of wood and doing the whooshing sounds to turn them into light sabres. Then everyone fighting over who was going to be who. The tallest person was Chewie, if there was a girl there they had to be Leia (it was the mid 80's), anyone in black was always going to be Darth Vader and if you were in white, Luke. Secretly though everyone wanted to be Han. Han rocked. The bad boy smuggler. The risk taker. The guy who shot first. The one who said "I know." Everyone's favourite character throughout the trilogy. With the slew of new Star Wars films being released it was only a matter of time before Han got his own film and I'm delighted to say it's great fun. Oh that feels good to say.

Han is a thief and small time hustler on the planet of Corellia. Him and his girlfriend Qi'ra want to escape their dreary existence as fast as possible and almost succeed until Qi'ra is captured at the last minute. Han realises the only way he can get back to her is to make as much money as he can as soon as possible. Along the way he runs into a few people you might just recognise.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. One major issue aside that I'll discuss later it's easily the most fun film we've had so far in the Star Wars universe and it feels like a waft of fresh air after the darkness and grittiness of Rogue One and The Last Jedi. I feared another dark turn during the Oliver-esque opening 15 minutes but those fears were soon allayed when the film turns from a grim social study into a full on heist tale. It's a western in space and the second I realised that I was sold. It feels very much part of the Star Wars universe but it's very much it's own thing as well. Ya we get the callbacks to existing movies but thankfully they are keep to a minimum (apart from......) but one thing I really appreciated was that film's writers being smart enough to realise that they don't have to fit every second of Han's backstory in. It gives the film time to breathe and let's us find out stuff about him that we didn't already know. Let's just say he picked up a lot of life experience on the mean streets of Corellia. But all that said he's still the scruffy nerf herder we all know and love.

During production internet rumours started flying about Alden Ehrenreichs awful portrayal of Han but I'm delighted to say the part fit him like a glove. He allayed all my fears. He's the same cocky, smug, arrogant but charming chap that Harrison Ford played but delightfully he makes the role his own too. It's not a carbon(ite) copy performance thankfully. Donald Glover's portrayal of Lando Calrissian is the same. He makes Lando his own and while not getting as much screen time as you'd expect still gets far more to do than Billy Dee Williams ever did. Chewbecca makes the most of his extended screentime too. Always a fan favourite but rarely got to do much more than howl and fly, here we see what a Wookiie is really capable of, including a moment people have been waiting to see for over 40 years. I love Chewie. Emilia Clarke is good as Qi'ra too and turns out to be far more than the love interest that trailers hinted at. 

I mentioned it was fun right? It's also really funny. Proper belly laugh funny in parts. I never thought I'd hear the word arse in space but I was proved wrong. We get intergalactic blogging, inventive ways that aliens can cheat at card games, the growing bond between Han and Chewie, Paul Bettany as a vicious murdering prick of a villain who can turn on the sympathy in a hilariously condescending manner and Woody Harrelson as a grumpy old pro who has a great way with words. New Droid L3-37 is a scream too and will put unwanted thoughts of man-robot love in your head. The humour, apart from one early scene that will make you groan and roll your eyes has a lovely unforced feeling too. I don't think I've laughed more at a Star Wars film.

But.....but. There's always a but. Like with the other spin off movie Rogue One there's no real tension here. It's a huge downside of a prequel. We know certain characters aren't going to die and we lose a lot of drama and suspense because of that. It tempers the big action packed shoot outs when you aren't worried about the leads. It's the nature of the prequel beast though. My only other issues were the aforementioned sluggish and grim opening scenes and while it was great to see Thandi Newton turn up in this, sadly she's just not in it for long enough. 

Everyone knows the story about original directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller getting replaced with Ron Howard during production and people wouldn't be blamed for expecting a disjointed mess but amazingly it all comes together. The ending is a lot more low key than you'd expect in a Star Wars film and may have been a result of disruption but for me it worked. We've had more than enough massive space battles and exploding enemy bases and it's nice to see things happening among humans at ground level instead. People may piss and moan but I love seeing films in this series do new things.

Some issues aside this is a very entertaining new entry in the Star Wars saga. It's great fun and might just win back some of the people alienated by The Last Jedi. Oh, btw, it's definitely getting a sequel. I'd bet my back teeth on it.

Reeling In The Years cinema style - 1931

1931 was a banner year for cinema. It was the year of the Universal monster and the year Gangster cinema began it's meteoric rise. The year Hollywood realised genre films made money and that cinema audiences loved films that got their pulses racing. The Hays code hadn't come into full effect and so some of the most famous films ever made were just about able to be released intact.

Dracula & Frankenstein were both released this year to critical acclaim. Audiences lapped them up and made stars of the leads of both movies. Lugosi and Karloff did very well from horror films but both ended up typecast, much to their chagrin, for the rest of their careers.

Frankenstein became the biggest earning film of the year with 12 million dollars ensuring horror films would stay in vogue through the 30's.  
  

Gangster cinema pushed it's way into the public consciousness this year too. Public Enemy was the big one. The controversial moment of screen violence where James Cagney's character pushes a grapefruit into his moll's face caused uproar and crowds flocked to see what the fuss was all about. 

Little Caesar, The Maltese Falcon (not the Bogart version) and The Criminal Code also made an impact. Little Caesar made a star out of Edward G.Robinson who would go on to become a stable of crime and film noir cinema.

M gets released. A German masterpiece that puts both Peter Lorre and expressionist film on the map. It's dual themes of horror and organised crime ensure it does well. And because I'm a decent skin I've added the link to the full film here. (I'll let your moral compass decide what to do here) Director Fritz Lang later moved to America and built a successful career than included the crime masterpiece The Big Heat.



Monkey Business & City Lights. Comedy is to the fore in 1931 as well with two comedy classics from the Marx Brothers and Charlie Chaplin getting released. Almost 9 decades later these two are still wowing audiences with City Lights regularly appearing in Top 10 best film ever lists.

Mata Hari. Greta Garbo is once again the female star of the year and this was her most successful film. An erotically charged spy flick that had audiences stampeding to the cinema. When this was re-released a few years later the Hays code was in full effect and a lot of footage was censored and has never been seen since.

The Champ. Wallace Beery, a silent actor who's career crashed and burned when sound films came along made a stunning reappearance in 1931's biggest weepy. Just like the 1979 remake this one had audiences bawling in the aisles and Beery won himself a best actor Oscar for his troubles.

Cimarron becomes the first western to win best picture at the Oscars. Despite the genre's popularity over the years no western wins again for another 60 years until Dances With Wolves in 1991.

Joan Crawford becomes pregnant with Clark Gable's child and the studio forces her to have an abortion to stave off controversy (Gable was married) and so as not to affect their schedule. An early example of woman as a studio asset and not a person. A situation still happening 87 years later.

Born in 1931 were Rita Moreno, James Dean, James Earl Jones, Olympia Dukakis and Robert Duvall. Dean died tragically in a car crash only 24 years later but all the others are still going strong and still gracing our screens, Rita Moreno in fact is killing in on Netflix at the moment with One Day At A Time.

F.W. Murnau passes away. The director of the classic horror Nosferatu and the drama Sunrise passed away in a car crash only days before his new film Tabu opens in cinemas. The aforementioned two films are to this day still thought of as some of the greatest films ever made.

Better Davis and Ida Lupino made their film debuts in 1931 in Bad Sister and The Love Race respectively. Davis became a superstar and stayed so for nearly 6 decades. Lupino though made massive strides besides acting, becoming the first woman working within the studio system to become a producer and director. A true trailblazer paving the way for others.

1930

Fahrenheit 451

HBO has created some of the most amazing television moments ever. Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo in the gladiatorial arena in Rome. The final montage of aging and death from Six Feet Under. Christopher and Paulie lost in New Jersey woods in the Sopranos. Daenerys Targaryen leading a dragon/Dothraki attack on the armies of the Lannisters in Game Of Thrones. Even smaller, quieter moments like Jewel and Doc Cochrane having a dance in Deadwood. Moments that will bury themselves in your head and never leave. Moments that show why HBO are the best in the business. 

Fahrenheit 451 (the temperature at which paper burns) has no moments like this. Nothing even comes close. 

Guy Montag (Michael B.Jordan) is a fireman. He doesn't put out fires though, he starts them and the written word is his fuel. America has taken a dark turn into a totalitarian society and books are banned because the ideas within them could cause individual thinking and stir up unrest. Guy and his co-workers are unthinking automotons who destroy on command. Until one day he meets someone who sets his mind on a different path.

I wanted to like this. The book it's adapted from is a brilliant and intelligent piece of literature written at a time when book burning and censorship were very real threats. Nazi book burnings had only happened 20 years previously and the suppression of the McCarthy era witch hunts were still hanging around. Ray Bradbury's novel latches onto these real fears in a gripping way. This film adaption starts well and builds a futuristic world that tbh, isn't too far off our own one, a scarily realistic future. It taps into the alienation felt by generations raised in an information age and who have had their ideas and thought processes moulded by constant exposure to social media, reality tv and a non stop barrage of rolling news. It also riffs on our very real fears of being constantly spied on by technology and the threat of censorship from the powers that be. It's a very timely film but one disappointedly crushed by dull pacing, boring design and an awful ending.

This story shouldn't be boring. It should be gripping and filled with dread. Instead it's just dull. It's always a bad sign when you have to fight the urge to reach for your phone during something. It's filled with ideas that are never explained and it only touches on the hierarchy of control that runs this world. If you've read the book you'll be ok but to the uninitiated viewer there's too much left unexplained. It's not a nice looking film either. I know a dystopian future wouldn't be all sweetness and light but constant gloom and darkness doesn't exactly keep you glued to the screen. It's odd when you find yourself looking forward to the flashes of fire that only serve to destroy. Then there's the ending. That horrible generic ending. Wedged in to give the trailer some action shots. You'll actually cringe.

There is some good in here though. A fleeting mention of the book Native Son is a knowing nod towards this story and how people are shaped by outside influences. Michael B. Jordan gives a muscular performance and does well in giving us a hero we can kind of root for. Michael Shannon does his usual Michael Shannon bad guy thing and that's always worth watching (nice nod to Gary Busey in Lethal Weapon btw) and the world building I mentioned earlier is pretty great too. It's a world that might have benefited from being made into a miniseries instead of a 100 minute film though. Had it's ideas been better explained and had room to breathe it would have been far more satisfying. Fine actors like Martin Donovan and Khandi Alexander play interesting characters who only make fleeting appearances. It's a pity. Oh one more upside. That final shot. Beautiful. It's just not enough though.

Don't bother with this. The 1966 film adaption had it's flaws too but it's far superior to this. Actually just read the book instead. Ahhh lovely books. Books rock.

10 films worth watching on TV this week

The Damned United   Sat   19/5   BBC2 @ 22.35

A biopic of the football manager Brian Clough covering his very short tenure as manager of Leeds United. Even if you aren't a footie fan you'll enjoy this one. Clough makes for a very interesting lead character, a ball of contradiction and very enjoyable to watch. Michael Sheen is superb in the lead role and the supporting cast is a who's who of well known British talent. Plus Colm Meaney who always delivers. 

Tin Cup   Sun   20/5   RTE2 @ 01.05

An ex golfer turned driving range owner is dragged back into his former life when his competitive nature is awakened by a new love interest. One of the most underrated films of the 90's right here. A highly entertaining and charming comedy drama led by 3 charming performances from Kevin Costner, Rene Russo and Don Johnson. It's a bit long but when it's over you may have a new favourite film.

The Heat   Sun   20/5   Film4 @ 21.00

Whilst on the trail of a big time drug dealer an uptight FBI agent gets paired with a Boston cop who couldn't possibly be more different to her. Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy make a fine mismatched pair in this entertaining and profane comedy thriller. It's broad, crude and will offend some but it's well worth a watch.J ane Curtin and the always solid Michael Rapaport are fun in support.

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower   Mon   21/5   Ch4 @ 00.15

Charlie is a young man with mental health issues who struggles to make a connection with his schoolmates in 1980's Pittsburgh. Here's a rare teen movie with actual substance that will stick with you for a long time. A lovely film full of super performances (Logan Lerman, Emma Watson & Ezra Miller especially), characters you'll care about and a lethal soundtrack. One of my favourite films of the past 10 years.

American Psycho   Mon   21/5   TG4 @ 21.30

Patrick Bates has a perfect life. He works on wall street. He has money to burn. He has all the connections. He is also murderously insane. Mary Harron's adaption of Brett Easton Ellis's classic book massively tones down it's violence but keeps it's razor sharp wit and cutting commentary on 1980's America. Christian Bale in the lead role is immense and gets super support from Chloe Sevigny and Reese Witherspoon.

The Serpent And The Rainbow   Mon   21/5   The Horror Channel @ 22.55

In the mid 80's a Harvard doctor travels to Haiti to investigate a report of a man who has come back from the dead. Voodoo and revolution conspire to make his job tricky. From the mind of Wes Craven this is a genuinely scary and unnerving horror film that filled with some very effective sequences. Anyone with claustrophobia should probably give it a miss. Bill Pullman is a fine lead and Zakes Mokae is a seriously ghoulish villain.

Silent Running   Wed   23/5   Film4 @ 11.00

A compelling and intelligent drama from John Carpenter set aboard a spaceship holding what's left of the earth's plant life. When the order comes through to come home one astronaut doesn't take it very well. Bruce Dern is at his best in this and has a brilliant supporting cast of 3 robots. Yes, i know it sounds terrible but it's a remarkable film, both funny and sad.

Jane Got A Gun   Thurs   24/5   Film4 @ 22.40

When her husband finds himself in trouble with a deadly gang of outlaws, a woman has no choice but to ask an old fiance for help. Things get bloody. Much was made of this film's troubled genesis but it's actually a exciting and well made western and much better than it deserved to be. A lot of this is down to Natalie Portman's committed lead performance and a stellar supporting cast including Ewan McGregor and Joel Edgerton.

The Purge   Fri   25/5   E4 @ 21.00

In the near future, for one night a year all crimes are legal, and people use this night to settle all their scores. Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey find themselves and their family under siege. A great original premise that will make you think about what you would do in this situation, convincing acting and some brutal action turn this into a very intriguing and watchable thriller. 

Wild Bill   Fri   25/5   TG4 @ 21.05

Walter Hill's wonderful film about the last days of the legendary Wild Bill Hickok, a man dogged by his reputation all of his life. Set in the infamous mining camp of Deadwood, South Dakota. Jeff Bridges is perfect in the lead role and succeeds in turning Wild Bill into a sympathetic and broken character who was haunted by his past. Ellen Barkin as Calamity Jane is excellent as always. 

The film scenes that never get old - Carlito's Way & pool scene

Carlito Brigante is fresh out of prison and resolved to go straight. He wants to leave his former life behind him. But when your name carries the cache of the street, trouble has a way of finding you.

Carlito meets his little cousin Guajiro to go for a family meal but along the way Guajiro persuades him to come with him on an errand. He knows it's a bad idea but the call of the wild is just too much for him and he acquiesces knowing how much it will mean to his cuz and knowing that the strength of his name will help things go more smoothly. Or so he thinks....



What a fantastic couple of minutes. Director Brian De Palma builds the tension exquisitely cutting between the front and the back of the room. We know something is off. Carlito's knows it too. It's 4 against 1. He's a wise ol' gangster with plenty of experience behind him. His determination to avoid crime means he doesn't have a gun. He's the weakest in the room. The only way out of this is to catch everyone off guard. A bit of pool magic will do the trick. The blood red glow off the bar light is discomfiting. The tempo of the music matching the rocketing heart rates in the room. What's he going to do? Then all of a sudden it's brutal. We see the knife wielding gangster in the background striding across the room like something out of a horror film as Carlito's muscle memory kicks in. Everything is over in 10 seconds. All that's left is smoke and blood. The old gangster is back. He knows what power is. He knows his words are as good as any bullet. This is the moment we realise he's never going to go straight.

A brilliant scene. Exhilarating and ultimately tragic. Carlito has once again tarnished his soul. 

Deadpool 2

One thing Hollywood blockbusters have made very clear over the years is that any action scene, no matter how silly or mundane can be made awesome with the judicious application of AC/DC. There's something about those driving riffs and Brian Johnson's voice that just melds perfectly with any onscreen action. Deadpool knows this and uses Thunderstruck in a scene that both delivers the goods you'd expect whilst ripping the living piss out of itself and genre expectations. It's a perfect moment and a perfect microcosm of the Deadpool franchise.

Wade Wilson aka Deadpool is down in the dumps. His bloodthirsty ways have brought trouble to his doorstep and he's just not feeling that heroic anymore. The X-Men see this and decide to recruit him to give him a reason for being. His first mission brings him into contact with a troubled teen and a time travelling assassin. Can Deadpool find his joie de vivre again?

I thoroughly enjoyed this. It's not all perfect by far but it makes for a very entertaining couple of hours. The early part of the film is rather melodramatic and had me fearing a darker sequel but once we got to the Bond ape-ing opening credits all fears were put to one side. It's just a fun film packed with some comedy gold. The opening 30 seconds mocking one of the most emotional X-Men moments, that aforementioned AC/DC scene, Wade's endearingly odd connection to a new Japanese X-Men member, a couple of really funny cameos, Rob Delaney, a smart phone homage to one of THE best 80's teen comedies and so much more. The gory action from the first is amped up to the Nth degree too. Chainsaws, bisections, too many amputations to count and one particularly cringeworthy scene involving a large arse and a big dab of electricity. Yes this is not a film for the easily offended. The homage to a very famous erotic thriller from the 90's will make you gag.

We're also introduced to X-Force. In the comics they were a more mature audience friendly version of the X-Men. They fit the tone perfectly here. I won't say much more about them aside from saying their first foray into action is......well it's one for the books.  Josh Brolin plays Cable, the time travelling bad(?) guy. He does well and like his role as Thanos in Infinity War he plays a surprisingly complex part. Thanks to him the film feels more substantial than the first. A nuanced big bad is a rare thing in modern comic book films and it's always welcome. His plan and Deadpool's intertwine as the film moves forward and the events that propel them forward strangely brought to mind The Outlaw Josey Wales. Go with me on this. It works to make the film that little bit more muscular. Director David Leitch (John Wick) helps too. His previous experience with action gives the onscreen mayhem a lovely bit of oomph. Ryan Reynolds of course nails the lead. His physicality serves him well and he sells the film's more emotional beats (yup, emotional, seriously) very believably. He's my main issue with the film though.

The only real problem with this was Deadpool himself. Sometimes you'd just wish he would shut the fuck up. I know nonstop quips, injokes and winks to the camera come directly from the comic book but Jesus it gets exhausting at times. The pop culture references come thick and fast and will date the film quickly. Zazie Beetz's as new hero Domino isn't well used either. She's excellent in TV's Atlanta at the moment but feels underserved here. She's great in action and her fight scenes provide some of the films more imaginative moments but every time she opens her mouth to deliver a zinger the result is far more cringe than lol. Beetz's screentime comes at the expense of characters from the original who barely get a glimpse. And let's not even mention TJ Miller. But there's more than enough good here to outweigh the bad. 

It's not a brilliant film but you'll have a brilliant time watching it. If the first didn't do it for you nothing here will change your mind but you loved the first it will hit the spot big time. Make sure you stay during the credits too. if you thought the jokes in the film were meta......well you just ain't seen nothin' yet.

Mikey. My Friend 11 years gone.

11 years ago this week I got a phone call that changed my life. I was working a 6pm-4am night shift when my phone went off. "Maria, who's Maria.....Maria, Mikey's ex.....why is she ringing me?" I answered only to be told my buddy and room mate had committed suicide earlier that night in the apartment we shared. We'd shared accommodation for nearly a decade and I considered him one of my best friends. A love of films and computer games had bonded us. Now we'd never ever speak again.

The world turned upside down for a moment. I experienced jelly legs for the first time and could feel my heartbeat pounding in my ears. It was a feeling I wouldn't wish on anyone. Maria then informed me that the police were waiting at the flat and someone had to formally identify his body. I walked into my bosses office to ask him for a lift to my flat and in there I collapsed. 

Walking up the steps to the apartment was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. Roper was there. A mutual friend and the man who had alerted police when a text he had received earlier had rang alarm bells. Roper lived in Cork. Far enough away that he wouldn't have made it to Limerick in time. Two gardai outside the bathroom told me to steel myself for what I'd see. I'll spare ye the details but it's an image that will be forever in my head. Back outside a lovely bangarda brought me into the living room and handed me a note that had been left on the table. A suicide note. An actual suicide note. I never thought i'd ever have to read one of those. 

The note painted a picture of an extremely troubled mind. Turmoil I had no idea existed. Being an Irish man meant never talking about your feelings. Keeping your troubles to yourself and letting them gnaw at you until you can't take it anymore. Little did I know that when we were playing 12 hour marathons games of Tiger Woods golf on the PS2 and squirming during Asia extreme movies that he was dying inside. 

In 2018 we're finally reaching a point where it's ok for fellas to share their problems. It's slowly happening more but it's happening and that's the important thing. It's mad that only a decade before it was looked on as a weakness. Something to be compartmentalised and not dealt with. Imagine all the lives would could have been saved and the grief that could have avoided if talking was the norm and not the rare exception throughout the years.

I wish I'd seen the signs. I wish you would have talked to me but I realise you thought you couldn't. 

I miss ya man. 

Breaking In

The 90's were a great time to come of age as a film fan. Video shops on every corner and all of them packed to the gills with thrillers. Home invasion thrillers were especially popular in the 90's. Single White Female, Panic Room (edit, I've been informed this isn't half as old as I thought it was, cheers Moomin), The Hand That Rocks The Cradle, Unlawful Entry and Pacific Heights were five of the biggies. Films about being under threat in the place you feel the safest, your own gaff, there's not much scarier. It's a genre ripe for revisiting 25 years later. A few years back we had The Guest (which rocked) and now this week we have Breaking In.

Shaun (Gabrielle Union) has just lost her estranged father in a rather brutal manner. The time has come to settle his estate so with her two children, Jasmine and Glover, she heads to his house to sort things out. The level of security she finds there intrigues and disturbs her. Then some unexpected visitors make her realise why the house is so protected.

There isn't much here you haven't seen before and the story takes liberally from other earlier films. The set up is hackneyed and creaky, the bad guys are poorly drawn caricatures and if you can't see the ending coming you've never seen a film before but jaysus, somehow, against the odds it all adds up to a pretty enjoyable whole. Mostly this is down to a very committed performance by Gabrielle Union as a fiercely protective mammy who has no issue snapping back when her kids are threatened. Plus seeing scumbags getting battered and punctured with all manner of implements is something that just never gets old. Like horror films, one thing home invasion films do well is flipping our gender expectations. It's great when the hero is a women and it's always satisfying seeing baddies looking surprised when the woman they assumed would be a pushover turns out to be anything but. Here Union joins the ranks of Annabella Sciorra, Jodie Foster, Melanie Griffiths and Maika Monroe and does as well as any of them.

A cracking lead performance can't gloss over everything though. As mentioned earlier it's all very old hat and the story stumbles from one cliche to another in places with some of the characters seemingly created on the back of a match box with a crayon. The bad guys may as well be wearing tops that say "first to die", "bad guy with a conscience" and "evil prick". Evil prick is played by Richard Cabral. Cabral is an interesting actor but one with a look that seemingly dooms him to this type of role in films. In the last few years he's played nuanced roles in TV's American Crime. In those he showed a pretty astonishing range and it annoys me that the role he plays in this film will most likely be the bread and butter of his career.

This month has been an unusually strong month for female lead films. I Feel Pretty,  The Leisure Seeker, Tully and Life Of The Party have preceded this. IFP & LOTP were both saved by the strength of the lead performance and the same is true of this. Gabrielle Union very believable in the part. When the action kicks off she feels scrappy and brutal and real while still feeling maternal. She's a fine actress with a great screen presence who has been hovering around the edges of stardom for a long time. Early roles in teen films like Bring It On had her seemingly ready to take off and then a fun showing in Bad Boys 2 made it look like she had but then sadly her career kinda fizzled out. Hopefully this will put her back on track. Films with black women front and centre are rare and it's a massive pity. Diversity on our screens is always welcome and it's great to see this getting a wide release in Ireland.

Silliness abounds and there's very little here to surprise you but a powerful lead performance make this worth a watch.

A perfect pairing of sound & vision. The bridge ambush from The Untouchables.

What do you get if you cross Brian De Palma's directorial brilliance with Ennio Morricone's musical genius?

You get this scene below.

Eliot Ness and his gang of "untouchable" treasury agents are out to get Al Capone by chipping away at his bootleg alcohol business until they realise they can just arrest him for income tax evasion instead. In this scene they find themselves at the U.S/Canada border to intercept an illegal shipment of Canadian whiskey on it's way into the hands of the Chicago Mob. They are also out to capture Capone's book-keeper recording the transaction.  Working in hand with the Canadian mounted police they are waiting for the exact right time to ambush. Those pesky Mounties have other ideas though.



Morricone's low-key score is just great, letting the tension and suspense slowly build until inevitably things go arseways. Then it becomes GLORIOUS. The moment a gangster film becomes a western for a few minutes. East meets West and the maestro's score evoking dozens of moments of western heroism from past films. Just minutes before this we've seen Capone murder an underling with a baseball bat and moments after this we see an already dead man mutilated with a gun in an effort to coerce a confession. This though is a moment of pure escapism in a film full of darkness. Wish fulfillment at it's finest. It's a scene that brings back the memories of the westerns you used to watch with your parents and grandparents. It's fist in the air stuff. And it's a perfect pairing of sound and music.

Go on. Dig out the film and watch it again. It's still magnificent.

Previous pairings

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

Life Of The Party

Bad news abounds these days. You can't avoid it. It's everywhere. You can hide from it for a couple of hours though. Especially in the cinema. In the dark, absorbed with what's going on on the big screen, no temptation to look at your phone, here you can pretend for a while that the world isn't completely goosed. A good comedy is the best way to take your mind off shitty news. A good comedy with Melissa McCarthy is even better. 

Life Of The Party is a comedy alright. But it's not a very good one.

Deandra has just dropped her daughter Maddie off for her final year of college. She's a protective mammy and even though Maddie is only 20 miles away from home Deandra is still a bit stressed. This stress is compounded when her husband Dan asks for a divorce seconds after they leave the college. The bastard. After a bout of self pity, Deandra decides to shake things up and go back to college to finish her degree which she walked away from 20 years earlier to start a family. The only problem is, she's going back to the same college as her daughter.

Melissa McCarthy is brilliant. She's a warm funny presence in everything I've seen her in. She has superb comic timing and she's not afraid to look silly onscreen. The last few years have seen her rocking in St Vincent, Ghostbusters, Spy, The Heat and Identity Thief. She's had a few bumps along the way too. Namely Tammy, The Boss and now this. All 3 films have been directed by her husband Ben Falcone. It might be time for him and her to keep their personal and working lives separate on the basis of these. Life Of The Party though. It has it's moments but mostly you'll just be watching through your fingers cringing and wishing it was over. It's a 100 minute film that feels too long whilst also feeling like whole lumps of plot and character development are missing, especially involving the supporting cast. McCarthy and Maya Rudolph aside a fine cast is wasted with the story giving great comedic actors like Gillian Jacobs and Stephen Root very little to do but make silly faces. Also despite being obviously set now it feels oddly dated (one cameo will have you checking to see what year it is) leaving you wondering was this an old script that's been dusted off to cash in on McCarthy's fame. 

It's not all bad of course. There's plenty of heart here and the films depiction of a mother/daughter relationship is touching in places and goes in a few unexpected directions. Melissa McCarthy gives her all and saves some of it. Watching her character coming out of her shell and realising her life experience makes others look up to her is fun. And the fact that some campus men find her maturity very very alluring is mined for some comedic gold (a storyline that would be ultra creepy if gender roles were reversed btw). Two McCarthy fronted set pieces will also stick in your memory too. One set to the sounds of the 80's and one brilliant piece of physical comedy that will resonate with anyone who suffers from a fear of public speaking. Maya Rudolph as Deandra's friend Christine is hilarious too. She's not in it much but she steals every scene she appears in.

It's annoying. Two veteran comic actors are on fire in this and nothing around them can compare. You get the sense the writers got lazy and assumed they alone would keep the film afloat and help the audience overlook some pretty glaring flaws. It doesn't work though. Modern audiences need a bit more than that. We'll laugh along but we'll also notice that things that don't work. I mentioned Gillian Jacobs earlier. She was great in the TV shows Community and Love and deserves better than her role here. An entire film could be made about her character and background but here she's just around to meet the film's quirkiness quota. The odd decision to make this film family friendly doesn't work in its favour either. It all feels very very tame and bloodless. There's no need for American Pie style gross out comedy in this but a more adult rating could have pushed it to a funnier place.

A big disappointment and a waste of a superb leading lady's talent. A couple of very funny moments can't save it.