Only Murders in the Building - Season 5 (2025 John Hoffman)

Concerning the death of trusty doorman Lester, his involvement with the mob (Bobby Cannavale) and a trio of billionaires who are gambling in the Arconia's basement - these are Logan Lerman, Renee Zellweger and Christoph Waltz. Also new in the building - Beanie Feldstein.

Trespasses (2025 Ailbhe Keogan)

Louise Kennedy's first and only novel adapted by Ailbhe ('Alva') Keogan and directed by Dawn Shadforth running around three hours.

A Catholic barmaid and teacher, played by Lola Petticrew, befriends a Catholic family with Protestant husband. This being the Troubles of 1975 they're extremely unpopular and he is beaten to shit. The little boy is in her class at school; the older brother loves reading but is disillusioned and probably radicalised. And we sense has a crush on the teacher.

Concurrently she meets and falls for older married barrister Tom Cullen, who's Protestant, thus their affair has to remain doubly secret.

So it's 'Romeo and Juliet', in essence, complete with tragic ending. Its sense of place and conflict in frightening times is well caught.

Gillian Anderson is the alcoholic mother (great accent but sometimes indecipherable) and Martin McCann the not great brother. With Lorcan Cranitch.

Lots of familiar seventies songs, and incidental music by David Holmes.

Lola was in She Said, Weinstein scandal thing, Jimmy Nesbitt's daughter in Bloodlands, another Troubles one called Say Nothing last year. Cullen we know from Downton and more recently The Gold, as well as that Vicky McClure bollocks Insomnia.

Big (1988 Penny Marshall)

Well it did not seem like almost ten years ago we last watched it. It was written by Gary Ross and Anne Spielberg (Steven's sister).

The famous duet on the giant piano looks like it was done for real - certainly they are hitting all the right notes. Robert Loggia looks fitter than Hanks. 

Woody's production designer Santo Loquasto designed it, leading to several cries of 'Oh how very Loquasto!' Barry Malkin is the editor, Barry Sonnenfeld the DP.

I was interested to learn that Penny shot Hanks' scenes first with his younger self David Moscow so Hanks could see how he behaved.

High Hopes (1988 Mike Leigh & scr)

If I had to carp I might suggest that Heather Tobias's performance is a little too shrieky and manic - she in fact became upset over the birthday party scene and stormed off, which is why it ends up just on Dore with wild tracks of audio around her - and that Dore herself might have been allowed just one laugh or little smile. (She was in fact only sixty six at the time.)

"Two steaks. Same day. Totally different."

"Your hair's getting longer."
"I had it cut yesterday."

But central to it all and most successful is the relationship between Phil Davis and Ruth Sheen, who's unforgettably good.

And the film is still strong and moving,

Well edited by Jon Gregory with an eye to the performances. Photographed by Roger Pratt. Music by Andrew Dickerson.

Last Train to Christmas (2021 Julian Kemp & scr)

Well, we found this film quite bizarre - almost as if the writer-director was tripping. It does get somewhere in the end, but it's a really strange journey - we're not quite sure what Michael Sheen was doing in it. (He looked older when wearing the long hair extensions of his 'youth'.) The frequent changes of aspect ratio aren't very helpful. The production designer / art director were kept busy.

A man on a train keeps jumping around in time and into alternative versions of his life and that of his brother / cousin, an unrecognisable Cary Elwes from The Princess Bride. An eclectic cast features Nathalie Emmanuel, Katherine Kelly, Phyllis Logan, John Thomson, Danny Ashok, Anna Lundberg, Mia McKenna-Bruce, Sophie Simnett, Robin Askwith and Hayley Mills!

I wouldn't write it off altogether but I would definitely file under 'misfire'.

The Big Parade (1925 King Vidor)

Another silent treat - the restored version for Thames TV, supervised by Kevin Brownlow - with a Carl Davis score - it makes all the difference. And the tinted scenes. (I was sure the blood coming from the head was red - certainly the red cross on a later van particularly stands out (both must have been hand painted).

It takes something like an hour and twenty minutes before we actually get into any warfare - in that sense the film anticipates The Deer Hunter. When the combat scenes come, they must have had the same shocking effect on its audience as did Saving Private Ryan 73 years later.

John Gilbert is capable of overacting, true, but the scenes between him and Renée Adorée are sweet, climaxing in the truly wonderful moment when he's been sent off to fight and she desperately tries to drag the truck from leaving. (Edgar G Ulmer also loved this scene.)

Gilbert's army buddies are Tom O'Brien and Karl Dane.

First rate photography (John Arnold, also The Wind) and editing (Hugh Wynn). Written by Laurence Stallings and Harry Behn.

Peter Bogdanovich called it the finest American made WW1 drama. It was a huge hit for MGM grossing $15m domestically on a budget of $250,000. It stands up pretty well especially in the combat scenes.

Bloody Mama (1970 Roger Corman & prod)

Shelley Winters and her moronic brood blast and murder their way through the Depression. They are played by Don Stroud, Clint Kimbrough, Robert de Niro and Alex Nicol. And they're joined by Bruce Dern and Diane Varsi as a hooker.

It's got a bit of everything really: homosexuality, heroin addiction, incest, male and female rape - it's both slightly queasy and quite funny in places, e.g. final shoot out where a group of spectators settle down to watch.

Despite being blindfolded in most of his scenes, Pat Hingle makes an impression as a kidnap victim. With Pamela Dunlap as the unfortunate swimmer and a small turn from Scatman Crothers.

Corman's direction and editing are undeniably exciting. The film bogs down a bit with the kidnap. And when Stroud hits his mum and takes control, I thought she gave in far too easily - should have machine-gunned him or something. Machine gunning an alligator - I ask you!

Confidently and I'm sure quickly photographed by John Alonzo in Arkansas or somewhere. It was his feature debut. Before that he'd been a nature photographer and bit part TV actor!

An earlier version in 1960 was Ma Barker's Killer Brood they're both based on true people and events, including the picnickers at the final shootout (thus not a comic touch of Corman's as I'd imagines).

Woody Allen double bill: Radio Days (1987) / Match Point (2005)

Radio Days is very funny but also demonstrates how pervasive the radio was in the thirties. It's as much as treat for the eyes as the ears, however, when filtered through the sensibilities of Carlo di Palma photographing Santo Loquasto's amazing sets. (It was one of his three Oscar nominations - the others being for Bullets over Broadway and Zelig. He won the BAFTA.)

Also interesting because it is autobiographical.

Back to Match Point. This time I definitely think the opera to murder doesn't work! For one thing, what relevance are the lyrics? It's distracting. Neat idea. Perhaps would have worked better with a non-singing bit.

A pleasing image; Hitch did something similar (better) in Strangers on a Train

The Trouble with Angels (1966 Ida Lupino)

Hayley's out of contract with Disney and in this teen comedy she's allowed to be at least a little bit naughty - well, lying and smoking! Film  is better then twee animated credits suggest. Rosalind Russell is good as lead nun. With June Harding as Hayley's mate.

Written by Blanche Hanalis from Jane Trahey's novel.

With an atypically jaunty score from Jerry Goldsmith, photographed by Lionel Linden. Columbia. This was the same year as Sky West and Crooked, (filmed just before) so Hayls would have been 19/20 - rather too old for this sort of material.

She enjoyed the difference in working with a female film director.

The Morning Show: Season 4 (2025 Creator Jay Carson)

Er... what now. Deep fakery. Paris Olympics. A mysterious chemical leak cover-up.

Jen's done something weird to her lips - not recently - this isn't News - but she shouldn't have done.

Brings Reece back in from the cold. Finds story of the environmental cover-up. Turns out annoying Chief Exec Marion Cotillard was responsible. How can Billy Crudup turn this to his advantage? Is series three leftover John Hamm involved?

Amusing sub-story - amidst many sub-stories.. or are they all sub-stories? Is there one overarching story?

Anyway. Greta Lee's AI version of herself blows up her career. Very good. Lee from Russian Doll, Past Lives.

Ends up with Reece in jail in Belarus, Jen uniting with Crudup to dish environmental scandal dirt on evil pantomime queen Cotillard to get her release. Even John Hamm has redeemed himself trying to help.

So, good ending but like all these things does seem quite padded.

Lindsay Duncan plays Crudup's ailing mother. (She does still live in the UK, if anyone's interested.)

Instant Family (2018 Sean Anders & coscr)

The screenplay - by Anders and John Morris - isn't great. Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne decide to adopt and get three siblings, the eldest of which is the strong-spirited Isabela Merced (who was also in Rosaline and the not well-rated Cuban reboot of Father of the Bride in 2022). It could have been much meatier and more serious but is let down by an inclination towards silliness, e.g. 'support' group who just laugh at the couple's progress. Why have a dog in the cast if you're not going to use it somehow? And bringing in the Joan Cusack character right at the ned -- why? Courtroom ending will induce vomiting.

Margo Martindale brings some oomph as a no-nonsense grandmother. Whilst Julie Hagerty's maternal grandmother is just wet (she was in Airplane and A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy). Octavia Spencer and Tig Notaro (The Morning Show) are the adoption counsellors.

Anders was one of several writers of the rather more successful We're the Millers in 2013 but otherwise seems to specialise in dumb films and sequels.

All of Foyle's War (2002 - 2015 Anthony Horowitz)

Eight seasons of the brilliant, decent, morally upright and incorruptible detective, crimes complicated by war. They are all reviewed (or jotted) individually - this is really to remind me what we were doing on those Autumn evenings.

Great people pop up from the off: Emily Blunt, Danny Dyer, James McEvoy, Anton Lesser, Roger Allam Laurence Fox, Charles Dance etc.

Have to give a little mention to Guy Henry and Jonathan Coy, both excellent in 'Fifty Ships'. Funnily enough we just saw Coy as Nick's dad in The Hack.

They're running on Netflix, so it's a nice high res image without ads.

'Do you remember all these?' Q asked. 'Yes,' I said, 'just not all of the plot and the outcome'. Which is another way of saying no. But when in 'Bad Blood' I saw sheep, I knew immediately that Sam would be in great danger. (And that Ken Colley was in it.)

Lovely to see Liz Fraser again, in 'Bleak Midwinter', looking great at 77:

One of the later films is dedicated to Jeremy Silberston who directed some of the early ones, died only 56.

It was a bad choice to move the filming to Ireland - Dublin makes for a weird London. The final season was filmed in Liverpool, which made for a much better London.

Took a while to track down Alex Clatworthy as the super-efficient member of the security team, who has the coupon-buster three-in-one shoe.

It was not an Awards favourite. received just one BAFTA nomination for production design; won the Lew Grade award for 'a significant and popular programme' in 2003. Which is mysterious. I would have thought many times over it was award-worthy in writing, acting, direction, production design and cinematography.

I think two of my favourites come right at the end - Sunflower (which has a particularly brilliant twist and final pay off) and the finale Elise, both directed by Andy Hay. It's also depressingly (or presciently) entirely topical in its storylines on anti-Semitism and anti-immigration.

Nobody Wants This - Season 2 (2025 Erin Foster)

Well they liked it enough to get a second series. It's one of those ones where nobody's particularly likeable.

Kristen Bell won't commit to converting, so Adam Brodie loses shot at Head Rabbi. Giving his mother Tovah Feldshuh  more fuel against the shiksa. Luckily (or not) Seth Rogan comes along with another offer.

Meanwhile Justine Lupe like falls for her like therapist (whilst everyone in the audience like choruses No!!!!!) whilst continuing friendship with Timothy Simons, to the umbrage of Jackie Tohn.

We were getting rather humpy with it - who cares if she converts or not? Go and screw Judaism. That sort of thing.

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965 Martin Ritt)

John Le Carre's brilliantly sneaky tale of cold war spy games adapted by Paul Dehn and Guy Trosper.

Richard Burton is suitably grizzled and weary as the spy. Michael Sheen loves this performance because it's all about what isn't on display - what's under the surface. He is definitely a magnetic presence. 

With Claire Bloom, Oskar Werner, Sam Wanamaker, Rupert Davies, Cyril Cusack, Bernard Lee, Peter van Eyck, Michael Hordern, Robert Hardy. Didn't recognise Niall McGuinness, Esmond Knight or Warren Mitchell.

Funnily enough the ending is as bleak as Under the Volcano!

Claire Bloom's affair with Burton was over by then but Elizabeth Taylor was on set to check there was no hanky panky. She and Burton were drinking all day long so he was worse at the end of the day than the beginning - the great speech he gives to Bloom at the end, about the real nature of spies, had to be read off cards that were taped around the car. (By the time he got to Where Eagles Dare he was allegedly drinking four bottles of vodka a day!) And Bloom was sad about this because the Burton she knew had memorised great chunks of Shakespeare.. all of Shakespeare.. it was the drink, she offers by way of an explanation.

Very skilfully shot by Oswald Morris, winning BAFTA, as did Burton (he was Oscar nominated. It was already the fourth of his seven Oscar nominations). Moody score from Sol Kaplan. Edited by Anthony Harvey.

Sleepless in Seattle (1993 Nora Ephron & co-scr)

Q picked this as a salve for Under the Volcano.

'Tiramisu.'
'What's that?'
'You'll find out.'

The way Ross Malinger and Gaby Hoffman shuffle their feet to turn the chair around. The artfully chosen accompanying songs. Meg's 'horse horses horses'. The way Ross and the babysitter are clearly watching something unsuitable on the TV. The voice of Dr. Marsha Fieldstone (Caroline Aaron). 'Hello.' The old lift operator. Hanks' on set grumpiness.

'He's eight.'
'He's good at it.'

It is - like all the best films - really well edited, by Robert Reitano, who actually doesn't have particularly distinguished credits... but once upon a time, he was the sound editor on Serpico and Night Moves.. yes, he's one of Dede's boys!

Under the Volcano (1984 John Huston)

Did John Huston dislike Mexicans? I'd like to say no, but you can't help the feeling that at the end of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and this, it's the unspeakably vile Mexicans that kill and ruin everything.

A day in the alcohol fuelled life of ex-consul Albert Finney in Mexico, 1938 - he's absolutely brilliant - Oscar but not BAFTA nominated?

It's wonderfully evocative of its place and time - the Day of the Dead, appropriately enough, photographed by Gabriel Figueroa (who'd filmed Huston's Night of the Iguana in 1964) and designed by Gunter Gerszo, who designed Bunuel's first three Mexican films as well as John Ford's The Fugitive (also shot by Figueroa).

It leaves a bitter taste in the mouth but is undeniably powerful and unforgettable. (And, in the early scenes, anyway, really rather funny.) Written by Guy Gallo from Michael Lowry's novel, generally considered unfilmable and packed with literary references which I doubt somehow made it into the film.

With Jacqueline Bisset, Anthony Andrews, Ignacio Lopez Tarso, Katu Jurado (Trapeze, High Noon), James Villiers, Emilio Fernandez.

It was edited by Roberto Silvi, who cut Rory's Way, and before that, the Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, Mississippi Masala, also Wise Blood and The Dead for Huston - Huston didn't seem overly attached to any one editor. Massacre in Rome - with, funnily enough, Richard Burton, was the first film he edited in 1973.

Rubbish of the Year

Too Much. Lena Dunham thing. Did at least finish it.

Etoile. Amy Sherman-Palladino thing about ballet. No! Couldn't get past first episode! Didn't even finish the first episode!

Insomnia. Very daft Vicky McClure thing.

Cold Water and The Guest. Both linked by Eve Myles, who should know better. Both unbelievable rubbish.

Dope Girls. Just couldn't get into it.

Girl Friend. More unbelievable rubbish... but I think audiences realise it is. Certainly the ones on Gogglebox seem to.

Zero Day. Robert de Niro President thing. Just never went further than episode 1.

The Iris Affair. Giant super-computer thing? Who commissions this stuff?

Paradise. Dan Fogelman's gone mad. Or it's just not our thing.

Hostage. Farcical Suranne Jones thing.

Suspicion. Oh yeah - that one. More fucking rubbish.

The Assassin. The Williams Brothers. One episode enough.

The Forsytes. You just know immediately whether something is going to work, Bad script => bad acting.

The Ridges. Really annoying over-edited and filmed in that irritating in-out zoom style that I thought and hoped had gone out of fashion.

Murder Before Evensong. 1980s priest-copper Grantchester rehash. Boring. Matthew Lewis weirdly (intentionally?) evoking Bertie Carvel in Dalgleish.

Borderline (2023 John Forte)

Is there still such a sharp North-South divide? I guess there is, in what seems like an Irish version of The Bridge (which may well have been the inspiration).

Amy de Bhrún is the blunt in-hiding detective from the south, Eoin Macken the church-going alcoholic with murdered dad. Though three separate two-part stories take place, these overarching storylines are what draws them together (and, no doubt, will lead us in to season 2).

With Rachel Petladwala

We quite enjoyed it. 

Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (1987 Todd Haynes & co-scr)

Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story is a 45 minute telling of the superstar's tragic life and death told with Barbie dolls. It's been totally disowned by the Carpenter family and with its unauthorised use of Carpenter material is unreleased and only available on flickery from-VHS YouTube recordings.

And yet even watching this hazy distortion you can see that it not only works, but is actually really quite moving - try listening to 'Rainy days and Mondays get me down' amidst a tale of family and music industry pressure and anorexia and endless laxatives and not be moved.

It was Haynes' college project.

Armistice Day Foyle's War: Enemy Fire (2004 Anthony Horowitz, d Jeremy Silberston)

A perhaps perfect accidentally timed viewing as it incorporates elements from both Wars and neatly parallels the circumstances of burn out in both, the first experienced by John Wood who in WW1 shot himself rather than face any more trench warfare. In the second, Foyle's son Andrew (Julian Ovenden) faces burnout from simply flying too many hazardous missions (all his friends are dead) and he goes AWOL.

This is all set in and around a stately home now hospital for the burn victims being treated by novel saline solution, a real technique developed by Archibald McIndoe (who we know about as Anne Coates worked for him as a nurse). Bill Paterson plays the effervescent surgeon.

The storyline is also as sneaky and snaky as we have come to expect!