10 films worth your while on TV this week

Wah-Wah   Sat   30/11   TG4 @ 21.15

Ralph is a young boy living in 1960's Swaziland. English rule is crumbling and so is Ralph's family. His mother has a new man and his father is dealing with his own demons. This kinda sorta autobiography of Richard E. Grant's early life is a sentimental watch but also a very interesting look at the last vestiges of a dying way of life. Gabriel Byrne, Miranda Richardson and Nicholas Hoult all do good work.

Keeping Up With The Joneses   Sat   30/11   CH4 @ 23.35

Karen and Jeff live the perfect American suburban life. Tim and Natalie are the new neighbours who wow them with style and friendliness. But all is not what it seems. This 2016 action comedy doesn't do much new but it does it well. Plenty if action and giggles are held together by a game cast that includes Isla Fisher, John Hamm and Zach Galifianakis.

Local Hero   Sun   1/12   Film4 @ 14.30

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.

Bridge Of Spies   Sun   1/12   RTE1 @ 21.30

Cold war intrigue abounds in this gripping drama from Steven Spielberg. An American lawyer hired to deal with a Russian spy finds himself sucked into a negotiation involving a downed U.S. pilot in a Berlin divided in two. Initially slow moving and confusing, but when it settles it turns into both a very entertaining watch and a history lesson. Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance and Amy Ryan are all on fantastic form.

The Program   Sun   1/12   BBC2 @ 23.00

An Irish journalist digs into the background and training regime of famous cyclist Lance Armstrong and what he finds shakes the sporting world to it's core. You know how this one ends but there's plenty here that will surprise you while Armstrong's arrogance will enrage you. Chris O'Dowd does mighty work as David Walsh and Ben Foster is uncanny as sport's most infamous drugs cheat.

The Serpent & The Rainbow   Mon   2/12   The Horror Channel @ 23.00

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 unnerving horror film filled with some very effective sequences. Anyone with claustrophobia should probably give it a miss. Bill Pullman is a solid lead and Zakes Mokae is a seriously ghoulish villain.

Blue Is The Warmest Colour   Wed   4/12   Film4 @ 23.35

In Lille in northern France a girl called Adèle meets woman called Emma. They fall in love. We bare witness to the relationship from beginning to end. This film is famous for some pretty explicit love scenes but there is far more to it than that. It's compelling, multilayered stuff filled with superb acting and spun all around a heartbreaking tale. Léa Seydoux & Adèle Exarchopoulos both give brave, brilliant performances.

The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid    Thur   5/12   TCM @ 16.45

In post civil war America the Cole/Younger gang of outlaws is pardoned by the Missouri legislature. Some want to go straight but the lure of easy money is too much for others. This fine retelling of the oft told tale of Jesse James & his buddies is an authentic and old fashioned watch buoyed by some beautifully realised performances from Robert Duvall, Cliff Robertson & plenty of familiar genre faces.

Letters From Baghdad   Thur   5/12   BBC4 @ Midnight

Documentary time. Gertrude Bell was a british explorer who's trips into the middle east in a volatile post World War 1 era helped shape it into the place it is today. Maybe not the best claim to fame but this is a well fleshed out and engaging look at a person and a time that most don't know about. A voiceover from the always reliable Tilda Swindon does wonder at bringing Gertrude to life.

Sinister   Fri   6/12   The Horror Channel @ 22.45

While researching a serial killer for a new book which may kick-start his failing career a writer discovers a box of home movies. Home movies with a bit of an edge to them. Ethan Hawke always does well when he dips into genre movies and this one is no exception. It's a film that starts off creepy and ends up truly unsettling. A horror hat gets the job done. Juliet Rylance & James Ransone do well in support.

Fave films of the century so far - 2014 - The Raid 2

2012's The Raid was amazing. A blast of fresh air that blew the cobwebs off action cinema. An insanely violent slice of pulp fiction. While watching it you assumed that this was it, the pinnacle, no action flick would ever top it.

Then The Raid 2 was released.

Indonesian supercop Rama has just recovered from the events of the first film when he's asked to go back undercover again. Because literally no one else from the first film survived he's still a credible criminal and he slips back into his old persona with ease. The only problem is part of his assignment involves him being in jail to befriend the son of a corrupt politician. He's promised all sorts when his assignment is over.

Of course both assignment and his life turn to shit rapidly.

It's a brilliant watch and one that's been described as The Godfather part 2 of action cinema. A description that's hard to argue with. Yeah, it's a touch too long at 150 minutes but it just pins you to your seat throughout. The prison riot, a car chase unlike one you've ever seen, that kitchen scene. It keeps topping itself and then we get to the end.

This scene, 11 minutes of mayhem from the latter part of the movie is a slice of the mindblowing action on display throughout. Do not watch this if you are easily offended by violence.

It's something else ain't it. Iko Uwais displaying marital arts chops that would put Bruce and Jackie in the halfpenny place. The sly sense of humour running throughout it as all 3 baddies bite the dust on the edges of their own weapons and the quiet, dignified way the kitchen staff clear out. Gareth Evans' fight choreography that's clear about the geography of the rooms and the positions of the scrappers. Take note Hollywood, shakey cam does not exist in this dojo. The first five minutes whets our appetite. That baseball bat to the mush cleanses our palate and then Rama faces the Assassin (Cecep Arif Rahman, in real life, an English teacher) for the main course. Both fighters square up, show each other a modicum of respect and then tear each other apart. It's amazing action filmmaking and it's why The Raid 2 is my favourite film of 2014.

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Knives Out

In 2017 Rian Johnson directed Star Wars : The Last Jedi. That film took a couple of turns no one expected and the fanboys of the world screamed and wailed in unison when the story they had in their heads didn't match what was onscreen. The internet, of course, exploded. Everyone involved in the film got dog's abuse and the man who started his career with the highly enjoyable Brick realised just how toxic fandom can be. Not unsurprisingly his latest film is not set a long long time ago in a galaxy far far away. He's gone back to his roots. A mystery. A fun one and he's brought along his lucky charm too in the shape of Noah Segan (Trooper Wagner), an actor who's appeared in every one of his films. You've gotta love that kind of loyalty.

Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer), the writer of wildly popular crime novels is 85 years old. Or he was for a couple of hours at least. The patriarch of the family is dead by his own hand and his sons and daughters who've spent their lives leeching off him are concerned with what the future now holds for them. Even more concerning is the suggestion that his death may be suspicious and private eye Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is here to find out just what exactly happened to him & the first person in his sights is Marta Cabrera (Ana De Armas), Harlan's personal caretaker. A woman who cannot lie.

Knives Out is a little slice of joy. A intricately plotted slice. All the pieces matter, every character adds to the fun and every scene deepens the plot. It's starts off relatively clear cut but as the plot gets more and more convoluted it gets more and more enjoyable. It's almost a rare treat these days to watch a film who's main intent is to entertain the audience and not to blind us with CGI. It feels like a throwback to those great Agatha Christie adaptions from the 70's, Death On The Nile & Murder On The Orient Express, with their star studded casts all looking exceedingly dodgy. You might be able to work out the how it's all going to end but there's still lots of fun on the journey to get there.

There's a lovely old fashioned feel about it all but it's still set in a very modern world. SJW & snowflake are thrown around as insults. The Thrombey family stronghold has internet trolls and right wing agenda's roaming it's halls. Rich white privilege rules the roost & Marta Cabrera is there to witness it all. An immigrant from central America who they all claim to see as family but who they know very little about as we find out in a brilliant running gag. They are the 1% looking down on the help and as such we get to have a whale of a time watching their world crumble. The lifestyle to which they've become accustomed is threatened and one scene late in the film sees them all turn very uncivilised very fast in a moment that starts hilarious but turns sinister quickly.

The Thrombey house at Dearborn drive is full of famous faces. Some might even call it overstuffed. For every scene of Jamie Lee Curtis hamming it up there's one of Michael Shannon mostly in shadow. For each Chris Evan's sneer there's Lakeith Stanfield left as a mostly mute witness to proceedings. We'll laugh at Toni Collette aping Gwyneth Paltrow's lifestyle nonsense while wondering why Katherine Langford is even there. Most of the cast do get a wee moment to shine as they backstab the hell out of each other but they're all in the shade of Daniel Craig having a whale of a time as Benoit. Rocking a ridiculously syrupy Southern accent he has a mighty time as a Cajun flavoured Columbo with leaps of detective logic that would put that loveable 70's TV icon to shame ( i really want him to get a spin off). Ana de Armas as Marta has the toughest role in the movie and is the only one not playing her part at volume 11. As such she stands apart from the others and that's how they see her. The other. One of the most telling moments in the film involves her, Don Johnson and a dessert plate. One of many little things that help build the film towards a very enjoyable climax.

Go see this. You will be entertained. Then maybe see it again just to see how well it all fits together. In cinemas everywhere from Friday.

21 Bridges

Average. Mediocre. Ok. Not bad. Not the worst. Ah it's alright, you know yourself. It passes a couple of hours sure. It kills a bit of time. 8 ways to adequately describe 21 Bridges. Adequate, there's another one. 9 ways.

Andre Davis (Chadwick Boseman) is an NYPD supercop. A detective with no qualms about firing back. I.A. don't like him because he's killed 8 bad guys in 9 years. He's someone who can scan a crime scene and work things out in seconds. He's a man haunted by the death of his father, also a cop, in the line of duty. A maverick. A renegade. A walking cliche. One night two men try to rob a drug dealer and in the process of doing so murder seven cops. Andre is called in to solve the crime with the implicit suggestion that he dole out some street justice. The island of Manhattan has a lot of escape routes and the only way Andre can do his job is to seal those routes off and shut down a city. Now him and his partner for the night, Frankie Burns (Sienna Miller), a cop from the same precinct as the dead men, have until sunrise to get their work done.

Sit back and have a think about this film before you watch it. Just using the brief synopsis above see if you can work out what beats it will hit and how it will finish. Yeah? Chances are you've guessed right. Nothing that happens here is a surprise, supposed twists will be seen coming a mile away and bombshell revelations hit with the impact of a kamikaze moth. Even the 21 Bridges of the title don't make any bit of a difference. But that's ok, it makes this almost a comfortable watch, one you can just sit back and zone out too because nowt's going to disturb you here. It's a watch that requires very little effort.

Ya, there's some saucy language and a couple of gory headshots that may upset younger fans of Boseman's Marvel work but anyone who lived through the plethora of cop flicks from the 80's and 90's will have seen this all before and know what to expect. "Oh him, i like him, always plays someone bad, maybe he'll be decent her......oh no, he's dodgy as always." That's the level of laziness on display and there's little to discern this from a million other DTV action movies. Apart from the acting. It's far better than this deserves and as such lifts it from the mire. Boseman is a muscular and driven lead, dripping with sincerity, Miller has fun in a role that would usually be given to a bloke and Taylor Kitsch as bad guy number 2 gives good menace.

At times you get the sense the film wants to be more than it is, that it has something it needs to say. Davis, a black man, angers when he's called a "trigger", a nod towards departmental bigotry. There's scenes of African American men, running terrified from the cops, all of whom want them dead, moments that can't but remind you of the documented and highly publicised scenes of real life violence pouring out of America at the present time. The ways that minorities on the police force, women, people of colour are forced to work harder than others to prove themselves. All things hinted at throughout the film but never followed through on and why would you when there's time for another gunfight or ridiculous chase scene. Ah, what could have been?

21 Bridges is a perfect film for Netflix. Throw it on in the background and talk over it.

Fave Films of the Century So Far - 2013 - Byzantium

Clara (Gemma Arterton) and Eleanor (Saoirse Ronan) are a mother and daughter on the run. They've ended up in a run down coastal town in England and Clara has resorted to desperate means for money. The men after them have been chasing them for 200 years n......wait. 200 years? Oh yes i forgot to mention that mother and daughter are vampires.

Neil Jordan's second sojourn into this genre is rather different to his 1994 mega hit Interview With The Vampire but at the same time they share a couple of similar themes. The way society expects you to act and one big and very unglamorous side of immortality. The horror of seeing people and places grow old and die while you stay the same age.

Below is Eleanor's coming out moment. An essay about her past written for a friend results in her spilling her guts all over the page. Her teacher sees the story and is disturbed & we get a quite different coming out scene than you'd usually see.

The misery of being immortal. The loneliness. The pain clear in her eyes. Her implications towards her teacher (Maria Doyle Kennedy). The moment teach realises the truth. A fantastic 2 minutes in the middle of a full blooded horror in the best sense of the word. A horror that rewrites the rules of the vampire. Fangs are replaced with one sharp piercing finger nail. The transformation involves deserted islands and bloody waterfalls. It's a movie chock full of imagination and striking imagery along side the constant sense of dread and foreboding. Add that to a pair of stunning performances from Gemma Arterton & Saoirse Ronan and you have my favourite film of 2013. It's far from fun but jesus it's good.

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12 films on TV this week that are worth your time

The Departed   Sat   23/11   ITV4 @ 23.00

Two men go undercover. A criminal as a cop in the Boston PD & a cop in the Boston underworld. It doesn't take long for things get very very complicated. Martin Scorsese's 2007 remake of Infernal Affairs isn't one of his best but it's so much fun. Hilarious, brutal, profane, labyrinthine, stylish and exceedingly silly fun. The cast is second to none too with Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Vera Farmiga, Martin Sheen & Jack Nicholson all in mighty form.

Ricki And The Flash   Sun   24/11   RTE1 @ 00.25

Once again Meryl Streep proves she can do no wrong in this tale of Ricki Rendazzo, an ageing  rock singer on a downward career trajectory who returns home to the family she's ignored for far too long to give them a helping hand. Ignore the reviews, yeah it's a touch melodramatic in places but this is lovely, heartwarming stuff buoyed by two superb performances from Streep of course and Kevin Kline.

Before The Winter Chill   Sun   24/11   BBC2 @ 00.40

Lucie is troubled. Her husband Paul is acting weird. He's at the right age for a mid life crisis. She thinks he may be having an affair. Things of course aren't exactly as they seem. They never are. This cutting and satirical look at the lives of the rich and restless is an intriguing and compelling watch and Kristin Scott-Thomas as Lucie is, as always, excellent. Daniel Auteuil does great work too. Keep watching this one through the credits.

Spotlight   Sun   24/11   RTE1 @ 21.30

In 2001 an investigative team of journalists from the Boston Globe newspaper began to investigate catholic church sex abuse cover ups. What they discovered shocked America. Tom McCarthy's 2015 Oscar winner is stunning and rage inducing watch but it's one worth sticking with. The outstanding cast includes Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo, Liev Schreiber and Michael Keaton who all nail their parts.

Paths Of Glory   Mon   25/11   BBC2 @ 00.45

The men of B-company refuse to make a suicidal run at a German hill during World War 1. Their general is embarrassed by his perceived failure and sets out to make someone pay. Stanley Kubrick's masterful anti war film is an enraging watch, one that shows the toll military life can have on humanity even when the fighting is over. Kirk Douglas as Colonel Dax has never been better while George Macready as General Mireau will make you despair.

Frost/Nixon   Mon   25/11   TG4 @ 21.30

Richard Nixon, an ex-president disgraced by a 5 year old scandal. David Frost, Britain's go to TV interviewer. 2 men, 1 room, a camera crew, a legacy to save & a career to make. A film about an interview might sound boring but this is actually an electrifying watch, a clash of ego's par excellence and all hammered into us by some first rate thesping from Frank Langella and Michael Sheen. Kevin Bacon does wonders in back up too.

Ashby   Tues   26/11   Film4 @ 23.25

Ed is a lost and listless teenager. Ashby is an ex-CIA wetwork man with a terminal illness who wants to complete one final task. They make for an unlikely couple of friends. This one's a bit of an overlooked treat, a comedy/drama/thriller that's a lot deeper and funnier than you'd expect it to be. Mickey Rourke as Ashby reminds us why he was such a popular leading man all those years ago and Nat Wolff puts in a grand shift too.

I Am Not A Witch   Thur   28/11   Film4 @ 23.15

In a remote Zambian village a small girl called Shula is accused of witchcraft. The laws are strict and her youth age doesn't matter. It's rare an African film appears on TV and this one is a fine introduction to African cinema & a culture mostly alien to western audiences. It's an unsurprisingly harsh watch about female subjugation but also a very humane one and surprisingly in places it may even make you laugh. Little Maggie Mulubwa is wonderful in the lead role.

Dune   Thur   28/11   TCM @ 23.20

The year is 10191. The entire universe is under the control of Emperor Shaddam and the only currency that matters is Spice. A young man name  Paul Atreides wants to shake things up. This David Lynch film is the weirdest blockbuster you'll ever see. Confusing, nonsensical, needlessly bizarre but somehow brilliant and the imagination on display is amazing. Kyle MacLachlan leads one of the most eclectic casts you'll ever see. Get drunk or stoned and enjoy the madness.

Tower Block   Fri   29/11   The Horror Channel @ 21.00

A tower block is due to be demolished. There's a last few residents holding on until the very end. Life is tough and gets tougher when a psychopath with a sniper rifle starts picking them off one at a time. Imagine a John Carpenter style thriller directed by Shane Meadows and you have Tower Block, an brutally efficient and rather gripping slice of energetic fun. Sheridan Smith is a worthy lead but Jack O'Connell's Kurtis is the one you'll remember.

The Water Diviner   Fri   29/11   RTE2 @ 21.30

In the wake of the battle of Gallipoli a man travels to Turkey from Australia to locate his missing sons using  a very special gift of his. This Russell Crowe led tale is an interesting and quite touching watch about a part of World War 1 that is rarely talked about in European history yet affected an entire continent. It's a decent history lesson too. Crowe as always is reliable and gets solid back up from fellow Antipodean actors like Jacqueline Mackenzie & Jai Courtney.

Cosmopolis   Fri   29/11   BBC2 @ 23.45

A young rich man tries to make his way across Manhattan in his limo and finds himself waylaid by numerous people and events during the course of his day. David Cronenberg's film is an unusual tale, even for him, but it's still highly watchable stuff. Odd, depressing in places, funny in others and very very talky. Robert Pattison is top notch in the lead role with good support from Juliette Binoche and Paul Giamatti.

Harriet

In 1994 a biopic of slavery abolitionist Harriet Tubman was heading towards pre production in an unnamed Hollywood studio. Julia Roberts was wanted for the part. Of course Harriet Tubman was black. "It was so long ago. No one is going to know the difference" a studio executive argued. Sweet jesus. So much has changed since then. And on the other hand not much has changed at all.

In 1849 a slave by the name of Araminta Ross tired of a life of bondage and decided to run for her life after a chance of a free existence with her husband was denied to her by her owner. The trip from Dorchester county, Maryland to the city of Philadelphia was a long and dangerous one and she only survived with the help of the underground railway, a collection of free folk and sympathisers who offered food and shelter to fugitives along the way. Eventually arriving in a safe city she sought out the help of the Pennsylvania anti slavery society who documented her time as a slave and set her up with a new life and a new name. She was free but plagued by visions of her family who were still living a life of slavery. So she decided to go back for them.

Imagine the guts that required. A flight from hell followed by a willing return back into the fire. That's why Harriet Tubman is so well remembered 170 years later. The Moses of the southern states. So effective at her work that no one would believe a woman was capable of it. Cynthia Erivo plays the part of Harriet with a fiery conviction and is totally believable in the part. It's just a pity the rest of the film doesn't live up to her performance. There's too much going on, time flies by too fast, Harriet's journey's to the antebellum south have her flitting around like a new world ninja and as such there's little sense of the danger the real Harriet must have been in everytime she went on a mission.

It's a drama made for audiences with a short attention span. One that feels it has to hit the crowd pleasing beats a modern audience needs. As such it takes from a powerful story that demands a bit more reverence than it's shown here. The 12A approach dulls the film's effect too. No one wants misery porn but tiptoeing around the horror of the era doesn't help anyone either. The slavery era was a horrifying time for black people in America. The 2010's are still a horrifying time for black people in America. People need to be reminded of the horror so it doesn't go that way again but sadly sometimes it feels like it's already too late.

All that said it is an effective watch in places. Little moments linger, like running to a safe place for a long awaited hug, terrified of being seen. Small things we all take for granted were grounds for death back then. The happiness of a parent seeing a child they'd assumed gone forever. The feeling of betrayal when a loved one has moved on. A nighttime lake crossing. The postscript ending where we find out what else Harriet was capable of. The glorious way she conveyed messages to her family. Eviro is front and centre in all these little slivers of greatness and makes them her own. The mighty Clarke Peters makes a good showing as her father too & Janelle Monáe is very effective is a small role that shows off the other side of black life in those times of hardship.

Harriet isn't a bad film at all but it just feels like it could have been a lot better. Had director Kasi Lemmons narrowed it's focus to a specific part of Harriet's life instead of trying to cram too much in it could have been something special.

The Rise Of Skywalker - Nerves

This day 4 weeks sees the release of the new Star Wars film.

I'm so excited i feel like im going to bust.

But at the same time i'm kinda nervous.

Will they mess it up? Will they go for too much fan service in an attempt to please the moaners who hated the last film. Will they bring back Ewoks??

How will they deal with the death of Carrie Fisher? Will Leia get a decent send off? Will they recreate her like the godawful abominations of Rogue One ( I loved Rogue One but the CGI Tarkin & Leia sucked ass). Jesus I hope not.

Will Finn actually get something to decent to do this time instead of existing to pad out the middle portion of the film?

Will they bring back Captain Phasma and waste her again?

Will Rey go full Sith Lord?

How will they deal with the return of Emperor Palpatine? Will he actually get to do something or will he be offed like Snoke?

Will they kill off Chewie? They fuckin better not. Will the Millennium Falcon get trashed? A way of saying goodbye the old before the new is ushered in?

Will Luke return? Could Qui Gon Jinn (this could be cool) make a ghostly appearance? Or, god forbid, Jar Jar.

Will Lando be as cool as ever? He has to be right? No one rocks a cloak like Lando Calrissian.

Will Kylo and Rey get it on? They better not.

There's a lot that could go wrong. But there's a lot that could be amazing too.

I think i'll be optimistic and stick to the light side.

Fave Films of the Century So Far - 2012 - Robot & Frank

The near future. Frank lives alone and his family are worrying about him. Age has come knocking on his door and it's brought dementia as an unwanted guest. Frank's a stubborn aul' boy and he's going nowhere so to help him out his son buys him a robotic helper to do the chores he can't anymore. Frank doesn't like it. He's old school and this robotic interloper is suspicious. Until the day he realises the robot will literally do anything for him. Unlike humans this robot has no moral code. This appeals massively to Frank. Because, in a former life Frank was a cat burglar and a damned good one at that. And now he spies a way back to what he was once best at.

Robot & Frank is an absolute joy. When it came out it instantly went under the radar meaning not many got to see and let alone hear of it. It's a pity because it's one of those beautiful little films that has universal appeal. There's no sex, violence or huge CGI explosions. It's a wonderfully human tale of someone reconnecting with the past in an effort to try and stave off the inexorable march of time and Frank Langella in the lead sells it all perfectly. A veteran with a 56 year acting career behind him. It's a rare lead for him and and even rarer one where he gets to play a nice person. As such he grabs the part with both hands and tucks in.

A perfect 2 minutes that almost could be it's own short story. Frank antsy as hell and Robot (voiced perfectly by Peter Saarsgard) maddeningly calm. We see how easy Robot can take control of Frank's day but the joy of this film is the way Frank regains his own agency and how willing Robot is to help. It's one of the sweetest, quirkiest and funniest films you've never heard of and it's my favourite film of 2012. It's so worth tracking down.

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Le Mans '66

A dirty white Ford GT40 is tearing down a straight. Just in front of him is a pristine red Ferrari P30 P3. The speeds are blistering. Both cars are doing close to 200 miles per hour. The stress on car and body is almost overwhelming. Both drivers have been behind the wheel for hours. Lorenzo Bandini is just ahead but Ken Miles is closing fast. There's a vicious right turn coming. Someone has to give way. If Miles doesn't slow Bandini will have to cut across him. If Bandini doesn't give way Miles won't have room to turn. They are seconds away from an orgy of blood and glass. The bend is rapidly approaching. Ooohhh shit.

The year is 1963 and Lee Iacocca (Jon Bernthal) has a plan to revive the reputation of the Ford motor company. Speed and glamour are the bywords of the day and those words are synonymous with one brand - Ferrari. Vice President Iacocca has a plan. Build a car that can beat Ferrari and one that can do it on a world stage. To bring his dream to life ex racer and Shelby American owner Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) is brought on board. Shelby, a genius when it comes to cars only has one proviso; that an ill tempered Brummie mechanic and journeyman racer by the man of Ken Miles (Christian Bale) comes along for the ride too. Miles though, well he doesn't exactly fit the image Ford are trying to project.

I loved this. It's good ol' fashioned movie making at it's best. The kind of film that had it been made in the 70's it would have had Newman and Redford as the leads, Newman as Miles of course. It's 152 minutes of pure and utter entertainment. Don't worry about the running time at all. It flies by in a wave of thrilling race action, some proper belly laughs and a dash of genuinely affecting moments courtesy of a superb performance from Christian Bale, who's a scream as the ever so slightly eccentric Miles. Bale isn't someone you could accuse of having the warmest screen presence in past films but here he's a revelation. A funny, loving father and husband who dealt with his World War 2 experience but diving headlong into a hobby and turning it into a career. If he doesn't get an Oscar nod at least for this I'll eat my shoe.

Damon has a whale of a time as well in the less showy role of Shelby. As volatile in his own way as Miles but far more capable of keeping it under wraps. He becomes the part and he looks it too. Sometimes in period pieces certain actors just look and sound out of place but not here. His Shelby feels as real and lived in as any part of the beautifully recreated 1960's setting. Ireland's own Caitriona Balfe as Mollie Miles is sadly underused but does get one great moment where we see Ken isn't the only gearhead in the house. The Ford scenes in Detroit have a nice Mad Men feel to them as well and Jon Bernthal and Tracy Letts (so good in Ladybird) have fun as Iacocca and Henry Ford the second while Josh Lucas drips slime as Leo Beebe, the ultimate company man. Like the best panto villains you'll want to hiss everytime him and his agenda rock up on screen.

That agenda, the company agenda is one that Shelby and Miles face off against throughout the film and it's not hard to read all manner of meaning into them. Director James Mangold's (Copland, masterpiece) own filmmaking past and the hassles he's faced with creating his own visions and of course the ever encroaching hold corporations are having on everyday life. It makes a film set more than half a century in the past feel fresh and topical. I'm not a fan of driving sports at all and so was naturally wary going into this but it didn't matter a jot. There's a template here that could be laid over any number of sports and it would still work because for all the flash and speed on show it's really just a human story of people and their passions.

It won't be the the races you remember here in years to come, no, it will be the smaller, more intimate moments that will stick, a husband and wife sharing a beer and a dance amid the machinery, a father and son discussing a crack in the road, a businessman sharing a rare moment of honesty with his boss and two old friends having a much needed tussle in the middle of spilled groceries. Le Mans '66 is a great watch. Don't miss out on this in the cinema. On a huge screen if you can.

In cinemas now.

Line Of Duty

"You never think, that's the problem. You're a damn cowboy Frank. I vouched for you"

If you think cliched dialogue such as that is going to be the worst thing about this film well then.....oh boy, you are in for an appalling hour and a half.

Frank Penny, a disillusioned police officer, hasn't enjoyed his job for a long time. He goes through the motions, starting his shift everyday by chatting with a young friend and avoiding responsibility if at all possible. Until the day he's dragged into a foot chase with a suspect who unbeknownst to them has taken a police captain's daughter hostage. Cornered, he's forced to take drastic action and gets suspended from duty as a result. But an event in his past forces him into action alongside an amateur newscaster called Ava (Courtney Eaton) who's leaking of news onto the net throws an entire city into upheaval.

This starts well with a muscular and bruising action setpiece that proves Aaron Eckhart still has what it takes to be a convincing action man at age 51. Then the second, and I mean the second, the film slows it goes downhill rapidly. And then just when you think it can't get any worse it does. It's one of the corniest and confused films you'll see this year with it's mixed messages, bizarre political leanings and the cheesiest climax i've seen in an age. It's 2019, the day of the hero cop film is done or should at least be on hiatus. Line Of Duty treats it's 5-0 like misunderstood martyrs and in an era of documented police brutality everything about this story feels like a massive misjudgement. "I knew there was some bomb ass cops still out there." A face gnawingly cringy line spoken with utter earnestness. Between this and the films putrid (no seriously, you will go red with shame watching it) ending it feels like a very ill judged piece of police propaganda.

But it gets worse.

In an age of fake news and cynical one sided reporting this film treats the mainstream media like bastions of trust while looking at amateur reporters and news bloggers as reckless shit stirrers. In a way it feels like the last stand of the old school against the way of the future. Cops are good, MSM is good, everything else is to be feared. A subplot about a news channel (Dina Meyer in a thankless role as the editor) following the action has the potential to be interesting but takes a horribly smug and self congratulatory turn as the film goes on. Top this with a ridiculous storyline that keeps upping the ante until your eyes are ready to roll out of your head and a bad guy (Ben McKenzie, so good in Southland, so bad in this) who exists to snarl and shoot and nothing else and you have a pretty awful watch.

Lead Aaron Eckhart deserves better than this. For all the film's faults he keeps trying valiantly but every scene he's in with Courtney Eaton is dreadful as their oddly playful banter undercuts the tension everytime. A dozen cops just got gunned down but hey, there's always time for a joke or two. At least the film has the good grace to not try force a romance between them, him being 51 and her 23. That's one tick in the positive column.

With it's hints at Penny's tragic past there was potential here for a look at the darker side of law enforcement and at how news blogging is changing the face of journalism but all that is cast aside for a handful of terrible one liners and escalating stupidity. Do yourself a favour and don't watch this. It's just terrible.

Little Monsters

There's a masturbation joke about 20 minutes into Little Monsters that is breathtaking in it's offensiveness. It's actually hard to believe the film makers were let get away with it and harder to believe they managed to talk an actor into doing it. It's in terrible taste yet it's flat out hilarious. Just like Little Monsters itself.

Dave (Alexander England) is an arsehole. A bitter, twisted fool who's vile personality drove his girlfriend away from him and into the arms of another man. He goes to live with his sister Tess ( Kat Stewart) and her son Felix (Diesel La Torraca), who loves his uncle despite his legion of faults. One day Dave brings Felix to school where he meets and instantly falls for the lovely Miss Caroline (a luminous Lupita Nyong’o). In an attempt to get close to her he volunteers to help out on a school trip to a local zoo. A zoo that just happens to be near an a testing facility that's been overrun with flesh eating zombies. Because of course it is.

Yup, it's yet another zombie film. The most overused monster in film history. But unlike the TV show The Walking Dead and the dozens of sub par Night Of The Living Dead rip offs released in the past two decades this one is actually a high entertaining watch full of proper belly laughs, absurd sight gags and yes, intestines by the metre. Taylor Swift even shows up. Kind of. 

No wait, seriously, come back. 

Hand on heart I haven't enjoyed a zombie film this much since Shaun Of The Dead. Like that this one is full of humour and heart while at the same time laying on the gore this type of film is famous for. Like all the best zombie films it doesn't even try to explain the what's and why's of the attacks, instead it uses them as a catalyst for it's characters actions & changes. TBH, the horror side of things may as well be metaphorical here. Especially to the kids on the school tour. Felix is of course the stand out but some get time to shine and there's plenty of humour to be mined from Dave and Caroline's valiant attempts to shield them from the carnage outside. It does edge towards stupidity at times but hey, it's a film about cannibalistic re-animated corpses, realism doesn't need to be an issue.

One horror trope that gets lovingly played out is that of the despicable man (it's always a bloke) who puts his own welfare above all else. Josh Gad as kid's entertainer Teddy McGiggle has fun in the part of a monster hidden behind the smiles. From the moment he appears you know how his story will goes and....well.....yeah, sue you imagination. Alexander England carries the lion's share of the film on his shoulders and he does a fine job. Before the opening credits are even over you'll despise him but then slowly he sheds his dickhead persona and becomes something almost resembling a nice human being. And that's all down to Miss Caroline. Lupita Nyong’o does lovely work in a slight role, displaying the kind of grace that makes people want to better themselves. Her second horror film of the year mightn't be as powerful as her first (Us) but it's way more entertaining and these days we need entertaining. Badly. It's rare when the words 'sweet' and 'lightness' come to mind after a scary movie.

Little Monsters is a horror comedy that's heavy on the comedy and light on the horror but there's still enough crunch to please the gorehounds. It's a rare modern zombie film that wouldn't make George A.Romero turn over in his grave. 

In selected cinemas this week and on Sky Movies now.

11 films on TV this week that are worth your time

Mad Max : Fury Road   Sat   16/11   RTE2 @ 21.40

In a post apocalyptic Australia a drifter joins up with a gang of women on the run from an evil master. Tom Hardy & Charlize Theron lead the cast as Max Rockatansky and Imperator Furiosa in one of the best action films of the 21st century. Seriously. Hardy does his usual grumbly thing while Theron steals the film from under him. The title may be Mad Max but the women own this film. Give it a go. It will wow you.

Bonnie And Clyde   Sun   17/11   RTE1 @ 00.15

Bonnie's a waitress who gets whisked off her feet by a criminal called Clyde. Before long their exploits have them at the attention of police everywhere. Arthur Penn's crime classic may be 52 years old this year but it still has the power to shock in places. It's a great watch with super performances from Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty. Watch it to see the point old Hollywood gave way to the new.

The Fury   Sun   17/11   Film4 @ 01.30

When his son is kidnapped by terrorists intent on exploiting his psychic powers, a former CIA agent goes to get him back. Brian De Palma's 1978 sci-fi/horror is a demented affair. A vicious but entertaining watch that contains the best ever bad guy death scene. Even 40 years later it will still take your breath away. Kirk Douglas is in full on tough guy mode and gets good back up from Amy Irving and John Cassavetes.

From Here To Eternity   Sun   17/11   BBC2 @ 14.25

1941. Hawaii. Pre-Pearl Harbor. A soldier called Robert Lee is finding life in the army tough. His sergeant Milton is having a tough time too, and her name is Karen. This is Hollywood melodrama at it's best. Packed full of mighty performances from Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, Montgomery Clift & Frank Sinatra amongst others and laden with scenes and dialogue you'll recognise even if you haven't seen it before.

A Fistful Of Dynamite   Sun   17/11   ITV4 @ 21.15

During the revolution of 1910 an IRA member is recruited by a Mexican bandito to rob a bank but he has other ideas. Rod Steiger and James Coburn are loads of fun in this at times hilarious and gorgeous looking western from the master, Sergio Leone. It's very very different to his more well known films but its still really worth a watch. A couple of scenes from this were filmed in Toner's on Baggot Street in Dublin. See if you spot them.

The Stanford Prison Experiment   Mon   18/11   TG4 @ 21.30

California. The early 70's. 24 university students take part in an experiment. Some are prisoners. Some are prison guards. Some take it all very very seriously. Yes i now it's all been debunked these days but this is an intense and unsettling look at the privilege that comes with the smallest bit of power. A fine cast is populated by early showings from loads of up and comers like Ezra Miller, Thomas Mann and Tye Sheridan.

Sicilian Ghost Story   Tues   19/11   Film4 @ 01.30

Guiseppe has gone missing and Luna, a young teenage girl with feelings for him decides to look for him herself. The world she enters on her journey is a dark and unsettling place. Despite the troubling subject matter this is a beautiful looking and satisfying watch that will remind you of Guillermo Del Toro's adult fairytales. Julia Jedlikowska who plays Luna is a powerful lead

12 Monkeys   Tues   19/11   Syfy @ 21.00

A convicted criminal is sent back in time to gather information to help stop a plague that has decimated the future. But he gets sent back further than he should have been. Terry Gilliam's time thriller is stunningly bonkers and utterly puzzling with an ending that will have you drawing diagrams to understand it all. Bruce Willis is at his best in the lead but Brad Pitt steals the film as a psychiatric patient he meets on his travels.

45 Years   Thurs   21/11   CH4 @ 01.55

Just as they are about to celebrate their 45th anniversary a couple receive a piece of news that rattles the foundations of their relationship. Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay are fantastic in this deeply humane film that will make you rethink your ideas about how other people perceive you. Watching these two old pro's getting to grips with a meaty and mature story is a compelling way to spend a couple of hours.

Miss Sloane   Thurs   21/11   Film4 @ 21.00

Elizabeth Slaone is a Washington DC lobbyist who's respected and feared in equal measure. While taking on the most important case of her career and she realises she's more vulnerable than she thinks. Jessica Chastain is excellent in this nuanced and dialogue driven look at the les visible side of the political world. Solid support from Alison Pill, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Mark Strong rounds things off nicely.

The Howling   Fri   22/11   The Horror Channel @ 00.55

After a traumatic incident a reporter goes to a mountain resort to relax and recover and here she discovers things are far from normal. An 80's horror classic that starts off creepy and ends up terrifying. Dee Wallace is a brilliant lead and the film is an absolute treat for film fans as it's packed full of injokes and famous faces from genre films. Plus Rick Baker's special effects rival any CGI you see in modern movies.

Fave Films of the Century So Far - 2011 - The Grey

A plane full of oil rig workers crashes in the wilds of Alaska. The ones who die are the lucky ones as the survivors are left to cope with plummeting temperatures, lack of phone coverage and a hungry pack of wolves picking them off one by one. Luckily for them they have John Ottway to protect them from the wild animals, outside and in.

The Wild sounds like a direct to video film from the 80's. There's no denying it. But to avoid it is to avoid a masterpiece. A profound, complex, beautiful movie that's so much better than the "It's Taken, but with Wolves" film it was sold as.

Watch the scene below. It's haunting.

 

A mesmerising three minutes.  A man (James Badge Dale, vastly underrated) being gently guided through the end of his life, experiencing all 5 stages of grief in minutes, denial, anger, bargaining, depression and finally acceptance. Ottway helps while exorcising the demons of his own sad past.

For my money its the best acting Liam Neeson has ever done. It's the best scene of 2011 and it's in the best film of 2011. A tense, terrifying, melancholic thriller in the best sense of the word.

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Midway

December 7th. 1941. Hawaii. The Japanese attack Pearl Harbo(u)r and decimate the US naval fleet. Intelligence Officer Edwin T. Layton (Patrick Wilson) warned this would happen but no one listened and now the United States is no longer a neutral country in World War 2. It's time to strike back. Tokyo is bombed and Japan are angered. In retaliation they take control of the Coral Sea in an attempt to cut off US access to Australia and the Philippines. They also plan to assume control of the Midway Islands. With a base there they'd be in striking distance of the US west coast. Layton figures this out and the US strikes first, led in the skies by the fierce Richard Best (Ed Skrein).

Ed Skrein, the lead of Midway is an English actor with an American accent so bad it would hurt your teeth. His character's name is Dick Best, making him sound more like an egotistical porn star than a heroic pilot. Aaron Eckhart appears and then vanishes like a fart in the wind. There's CGI here so unfinished that it stands out a mile. You know who's going to die the moment they appear onscreen and talk about their wife or how it's their last day before they go home. The film is full of Chekov's gun moments that you know will be revisited later in the film. Even for a true story it's painfully predictable in places and well... there's a million and one things you could laugh at during this.

And yet I kinda liked it. It's has an old fashioned feel about it that you rarely get anymore in War movies. There's no attempt to make things gritty, there's no graphic violence and very little profanity, none of the usual postmodern touches you'd expect in a new war film, even one based in the past. It's dogfights are exciting and easy to follow (a rarity in these days of shakycam). There's a fun cameo from one John Ford. It's sincere in it's depiction of men at work on both sides of the battle and best of all it spends time with the enemy as well. We get to see how they tick, how they act under pressure. It's a rare war film that depicts adversaries as anything other than faceless avatars and it felt surprising and refreshing to see it in an American production.

But because it's an American production it's chock full of the usual cliches you'd expect to see. The aforementioned predictable deaths, ultra near misses and gung-ho bravado are all ladled on thick. It's a Summer blockbuster dumped in a November release slot with very little advertising which suggests a lack of confidence on the behalf of distributors. It's odd because far worse films have gotten bigger releases this year. It's a passion project from director Roland Emmerich, a film he's been trying to get off the ground for years. Best known for his big 90's and early 00's disaster films he's a king of bombast but here he keeps the outrageous action to a minimum. Most of what we see is kept within the realms of possibility out of respect to a true story and maybe that's what's making people & makers wary; that this might be more of a history lesson than a piece of entertainment. It was both for me btw, the Pacific theatre is something i knew very little about.

A game cast do well. Mostly. Skrein, once you can get past the accent fits the hero mold well. Wilson is solid as always in a part that honestly requires very little of him and old pro's like Dennis Quaid, Woody Harrelson, Mark Rolston and Jake Weber keep things grounded. Which is good because the younger supporting cast of lesser known faces basically blend into one. On the Japanese side Tadanobu Asano (best known over here as Kakihara from Ichi The Killer) stands out as Rear Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi, a man of true honor, one who doesn't make the mistake of underestimating his enemy. I wish we'd got to spend more time with him and less with the amorphous blob. Mandy Moore as the main face of the wives at home unsurprisingly gets short shrift. The women in these stories always do, in roles consisting of tears and anguished faces.

Midway is better than it looks in the trailers but don't go to this expecting depth or subtlely or anything beyond broad characterisation. What there is is dogfights and aerial acrobatics, old fashioned heroics and a history lesson about a part of war rarely mentioned over here. In cinemas now.

Fave Films of the Century So Far - 2010 - Four Lions

Only Chris Morris would make a comedy about suicide bombers. Yup. A comedy about suicide bombers. A comedy about four British muslims make a pact to detonate themselves at the London City Marathon.

Only Chris Morris could make this hilarious and then ultimately tragic.

Omar (Riz Ahmed), Waj (Kayvan Novak), Faisal (Adeel Akhtar)  and Barry (Nigel Lindsay) are 4 radicalised British men who decide to make a stand against British imperialism. Omar and Waj travel to an Al-Qaeda affiliated training camp in Pakistan to find out what they are made of. This happens.

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Coming home with their heads between their legs they decide to strike fear in the heart of the nation. Things don't go to plan.

It sounds like it's in awfully bad taste doesn't it. But it's not. By humanising these wannabe terrorists, depicting them as complex individuals with rich inner lives and loves Chris Morris turns it into a tragic and in places genuinely upsetting watch. At the same time he doesn't let them away with anything. They are willing participants while not being fully aware of the effects of their actions and here he uses his platform to take pot shots at the evil, hypocrisy and idiocy of religious fundamentalism, how it prays on the weak willed by promising them everything and giving them nothing. But it's never anti Islamic at all as it takes a warm, empathic look at a complex way of life. 

Then Chris Morris makes it funny. Somehow, some way he does it. The juxtaposition of stupidity and danger. Suicide bombers in cartoon costumes. There's so much humour in here, pitch black comedy and full on belly laughs. It shouldn't work at all but it does, brilliantly. Without a doubt my favourite film of 2010.

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