Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994 Mike Newell)

Defending Your Life (1991 Albert Brooks & scr)

Zulu (1963 Cy Enfield)

Silent Witness (2018)

This Life (1996

Silent Witness - Season 21 (2018)

Duty of Candour (whatever that means) by Matthew Arlidge. Seemingly random murders are in fact linked to a data theft at a large hospital, a hospital where it just so happens Nikki is receiving counselling for her ongoing PTSD. Dodgy head of hospital Nitin Ganatra is up to something.

Jack has time for a little romance with Kiza Dean, who's investigating, but finally manages to reconcile with Nikki.

The DP is Vanessa Whyte (did some of the Ted Lasso series, A Confession series with Martin Freeman in 2019) and the editor Anna Dick.

A Special Relationship, Graham Mitchell. The murder of a US embassy executive brings them team into contact with government operatives including Michael Landes (Love Soup) and Ellis's Sharon D Clarke. Nikki and he have a thing but he's kidnapped, though for some reason that I didn't comprehend doesn't become a murder victim. A troubled man Jefferson Hall is at the centre of things and there's a quasi-mystical ending where he sees a dead women and hears things he couldn't possibly have heard. Hm.

The Duchess of Duke Street (1976 John Hawkesworth)

Producer Hawkesworth brings his Upstairs Downstairs sensibilities to the BBC, as chef Gemma Jones defies the upper classes for her shot in early twentieth century London.

We seem to have missed the beginning (only the opening episode thankfully) and find herself already having made a good impression with a Major, Michael Culver (Roland's son) and Lord Bryan Coleman, but is pressed into marrying butler Donald Burton so she can be mistressed out to the Prince of Wales, Roger Hammond. That I find a bit much.

Familiar faces in June Brown, John Raply, Doreen mantle, John Welsh.

Silent Witness - Out and In (2017/8)

Dudi Appleton and Jim Keeble were brought in to write the 20th series finale Awakening, which Dudi directed. It's one of those in-a-strange-land ones, and especially being a finale you worry someone's not going to make it.

We're in an extremely dangerous part of Mexico, Sinoloa (actually the Canary Islands!) A former colleague of Nikki's has been killed but there's no body. She was connected to a group trying to reunite families with 30,000 people lost to the cartels. Jack joins her to try and track what happened to her and co-workers who have gone missing, and are present when a horribly tattooed murderer is arrested - can he help them find the missing workers? He's Rick Genest and the tattoos were real - he was something of a celebrity. With Raquel Cassidy, Ben Cura.

Nikki ends up kidnapped and buried alive. Jack goes out of his mind trying to find her. (They have mobile phone contact but she's running out of battery and air.) When he thinks he's failed there's a fade to black - a merciless black which seems to go on forever, like we're going to get the end credits music. But then mercifully we are back on to Nikki... and her escape.

And the farewell message she left on the phone - that the team were like her family - will never be heard. Little nods to Harry (in dialogue) and Leo (quick flashback) were also poignantly placed.

So yes, a good season finale and an onscreen tribute was given to all the people who had worked on the first twenty series. Editor Al Morrow does some good stuff with the missing colleague Elena Saurel.

So in Season 21, episode 1, in which Ed Whitmore plays his usual hand at throwing lots of characters and stories at you, Nikki is off work recovering and Jack's not communicating with her. Q gets it at once - he feels guilty for not saving her, but as she says 'We're still here!'

Nikki is lured back by Alex Macqueen who thinks pathologist Julian Rhind-Tutt may have something to do with the disappearance of his colleague.

A Triple Bill of Silent Witnesses (2017)

Discovery. Ed Whitmore. A woman is knocked off her bike and kidnapped. Does this connect to the family that live next door? And what's this got to do with the death of an ex addict? The solution of  the latter, involving air bags, is ingenious; otherwise I was quite confused throughout.

Remembrance. Graham Mitchell. A Body is found in the river. It links to another death three years before involving an over-emoting Sarah Smart, who latches onto Nikki. And some angry young men.

Covenant. Richard Davidson. Man and son are tun off the road and killed. Was the man's brother, fresh out of prison, connected? (Lee Ross.) We're led to believe it's a military operation, but the gunman isn't a great shot. Turns out there's a Strangers on the Train back story. and we meet Clarissa's husband, Daniel Weyman, who's an IT expert.

This Happy Breed (1944 David Lean)

 

Alison Leggatt and Guy Verney

The Aeronauts (2019 Tom Harper & co-scr)

He came up with the story; Jack Thorne helped him adapt it.

Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones are a great team. She's as good as he is - probably better. I thought she was award-worthy. Didn't get nominated for anything. The film is unusual in that there's no romantic plot at all.

Splendidly photographed by George Steel in 2.39 on the ground and 1.85: 1 in the air. The main balloon action was filmed in a 100 x 100 foot bluescreen stage with 360 degree lighting. Some of the changes in climate were created with a box filled with smoke in front of the light source. It looks fabulous. Louis Morin is the VFX supervisor (he describes it as the 'department of miracles').

Mark Eckerberg edited. Great sound as well.

The Best of Enemies (2019 Robin Bissell & scr)

Taraji Henson and Sam Rockwell are predictably good as real life characters; Babou Ceesay (We Hunt Together) is charmingly effective as the negotiator.

It had a cinema release but was then pretty much rushed to DVD - though it still hasn't had a Region 2 release - why not??

Good screenplay. Bissell was an associate / executive producer on Pleasantville and Seabiscuit, which may explain Tobey Maguire's role as producer on this. He hasn't managed to do anything since.

Brief Encounter (1945 David Lean)

Ding ding! (As the background fades to black.)

Loved Celia Johnson's inner thoughts.

Never has the torment of unwantedly falling in love been so well expressed.

That Summer! (1979 Harley Cockliss)

Great title!* Fairly dismal film has ex offender Ray Winstone training for Torquay swimming event, befriending Julie Shipley, Tony London and Emily Moore, to the detriment of their careers. His progress hindered by unpleasant Glasgow types. Amusing ending where Winstone, pursued by cops, starts the race late, has time en route to save said Youth, make him confess to police and still win the race!

A key year for Winstone - both Quadrophenia and Scum also came out in 1979.

David Watkin shot it, not that you'd notice in TPTV's rubbish screening.

*Having said that, the best one I could come up with was Offenders and that's hardly brilliant nor helpful in selling the film. Perhaps a line of dialogue from one of the characters? Give the job to ChatGPT and you'll end up with a film called Yeah... Dunno!

Hamlet (1948 Laurence Olivier)

Interesting to hear such well known phrases / titles as 'murder most foul', 'to the manor born' and 'leave her to heaven'.

Strikingly photographed and directed, though some of the tracking / crane shots are somewhat wobbly. George Dickinson's roving camera and strong lighting are a definite feature. Also the writing's good in that it doesn't feel like a series of scenes and acts.

Really more interesting than I thought it would be, though not quite up to Orson Welles's standard.

Love the soliloquies that start out as internal thoughts.

Desdemona's death - most lyrical. The filming of the play-within-the-play most interesting.

Long, though (2 1/2 hours).

Good cast: Jean Simmons, Basil Sydney and Eileen Herlie (king and queen), Felix Aylmer, Norman Wooland (Horatio), Terence Morgan; and Stanley Holloway, Peter Cushing, Anthony Quayle, Patrick Troughton, Harcourt Williams, Esmond Knight, John Laurie.

I think the dialogue between Hamlet and Desdemona "Shall I lie on your lap...Do you think I meant country matters?..That's a fair thought to lie between maid's legs" was meant to be suggestive.

I was all set to go straight into Kozintsev's 1964 version, but the disc was fucked.

Good Morning Babilonia (1987 Paolo and Vittorio Taviani & scr)

Two skilled Italian architects Vincent Spano and Joaquim de Almeida journey to the US to make enough money to buy back their father's building restoration business. After several wrong turns, they end up designing the giant elephant statues for D.W. Griffiths' Intolerance! (He's played by Charles Dance, the father by Omero Antonutti.)

Despite finding love with dancers Greta Scacchi and Desiree Becker, tragedy overtakes with a death in childbirth, and a bleak and quite unexpected World War II finale.

It wasn't quite as good as I was hoping it would be. Written With Antonioni's collaborator Tonino Guerra.

Good music by Nicola Piovani. Photographed by Giuseppe 'Beppe' Lanci (Nostalgia, Caro Diario).

Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man (2026 Tom Harper)

George Steel's digital film was then transferred to celluloid and the re-digitised, leading to the inevitable question - why not just shoot it on film? It looks great, though:

And I was wondering about this amazing shot on Pontcysyllte Aquaduct whether it's actually a brilliant drone shot or CGI:

As revealed by Cillian Murphy here, it's neither: it's actually a non-CGI helicopter shot, which deserves George Steel's crew some kind of award, surely?

Oh yeah, as to the film. Tommy's become a recluse but his sister Sophie Rundle brings him back into action, as his son Barry Keoghan is behaving like a wrongun and discrediting the fine name of the Peaky Blinders. Tim Roth is trying to devalue English currency with millions of pounds of forgeries (a true history lesson). Steve Graham returns for the showdown and old friends Packy Lee, Ned Dennehy and Ian Peck are still around. With Rebecca Ferguson (the Dune films), Jay Lycurgo and Ruby Ashbourne Serkis.

...and it's likely to be something of an audience pleaser for fans of the show (despite that unexpected ending).

Fittingly, Harper directed the first three episodes of the first series of peaky Blinders back in 2013; Steel shoe the whole first series. 

Mark Eckersley cut it. He also cut The Aeronauts, Heart of Stone and Wild Rose, all three directed by Harper and shot by Steel, and also worked on War and Peace back in 2016 (Harper again - we should give it another watch).

Some Kind of Wonderful (1987 Howard Deutch)

Written by John Hughes. Eric Stoltz lusts after lea Thompson but it's his buddy Mary Stuart Masterson that's right for him all along. Craig Sheffer good as totally unlikable over-privileged jerk, Elias Koteas also good as skinhead friend.

"A 1949 Plymouth Fury", I asserted confidently. In fact it's a 1951 Jaguar Mk VII

Jerry Zeismer was first AD on this. He befriended Eric Stoltz, and it was Stoltz that persuaded Jerry to meet Cameron Crowe and work on Say Anything.

The Teacher (2026)

According to IMDB The Teacher wasn't written by anybody. Maybe Channel 5 has its own Chat GPT now that just churns out this crap. Victoria Hamilton is the teacher who allows herself to be pushed around by super-woke troublemaker Alice Grant (couldn't bear to take a screenshot of her smug face!), leading to blackmail, murder and the inevitable blah blah.

Enjoyably bad in 4 x 45 minutes episodes, until last episode, when I just couldn't wait for it to be over. They must known it's bad?

Olly Rhodes (son), Steve Edge (dad), Shak Benjamin (initially cool classmate), Ellis Jupiter (the persecuted 'they').

He's Just Not That Into You (2009 Ken Kwapis)

Some of the women are as much nitwits as the men.

Great cast though are there one or two stories too many? Ginnifer Goodwin, Kevin Connelly, Bradley Cooper, Scarlett Johansson, Baffleck, Jen, Drew Barrymore, Justin Long, Jennifer Connelly, Kris Kristofferson.

Funnily enough Some Kind of Wonderful was referenced, and that's also on my hit list.

We kept interrupting it to chat and accordingly it ended up feeling much longer than it was - though in fact the film does clock in at just under two hours - long for a comedy.