Calvary

An Education (2009 Lone Sherfig)

It had been so long since we'd seen Nick Hornby's adaptation of Lynn Barber's memoir that we'd forgotten what happened - which was very refreshing.

Dogfight (1991 Nancy Savoca)

Who? 1963. Nineteen year old Marine en route to Vietnam River Phoenix and buddies Richard Panebianco, Mitchell Whitfield (My Cousin Vinny) and Anthony Clark stop off in San Francisco and organise a 'dogfight' - trying to pick up the least attractive woman they can. River pulls folk singer Lili Taylor. Yes of course we've seen her before. She was in Mystic Pizza, Say Anything, Born of the Fourth of July and Short Cuts. Anyway despite his anger and constant bad language they fall for each other. The two leads are good (River has never not played a scene convincingly) and there's a moving ending - a very long embrace.

Bob Comfort wrote it. Good folk music soundtrack.

The Trouble with Mimi is - as I guessed - a made-up film.

Tim Squyres was supervising sound editor and assistant film editor.

The Lodger (1927 Alfred Hitchcock)

A print originally screened on Channel 4, in the days when they did risky and great things like that, with a good score by Paul Zaza.

This still works very well, has a wonderful fluidity and early evidence of the Master at work, just through different camera set ups and editing. And of course some of those bravura tricks like the glass floor and the quasi-religious almost-lynching ending, and a notable love scene.

Begins exactly the same way Frenzy does forty-five years later - a woman's dead body found by a group of people on the Embankment. Mysterious Ivor Novello rents a room nearby at the home of Marie Ault, Arthur Chesney and their daughter June Tripp (good; billed actually just as 'June'). Her boyfriend, also a detective, Malcolm Keen, become suspicious.. then jealous. Based on a novel by Belloc Lowndes, adapted by Eliot Stannard.

I wondered if Chesney was Edmund Gwenn at one point...'No, too old'. In fact he's his older brother!

An overhead shot of the mother descending the stairs is almost identical to one in Psycho.

Nicely photographed by Baron Ventimiglia in the German Expressionist style. Alma is credited as assistant director. Interesting designs of titles as well. C Wilfred Arnold designed the huge house sets.

Missed Hitch in room full of journalsist. Thought I saw him in mob at end - he bother confirmed and denied it was him.

Those baroque doors in the ball flashback...

Silent Witness (2026) - up to date

Grace of God by Dudi and Jim puts Jack in prison, for Wilder's sake! Yes, he has tried to restrain himself but thinks he has killed Chris Coghill in a street fight and confesses - only after he's been in the squeaky position of investigating his own crime. (We've seen this somewhere else recently - can't think where.)

It all links to crime boss Joplin Sintain and henchman Ben Batt, who we also find in the same prison, where most of the guards seem to have been corrupted by the criminal (I doubt that went down too well at HM Prison and Probation Service). Vinette Robinson (Boiling Point, Sherlock, The A Word) investigates.

IT's a tense one, and leaves Jack angrier then when he went inside.

And finally, out 266th & 7th episodes this year bring us up to date having watched 267.5 hours' worth of the show, just over 11 days. (One episode, Gone Tomorrow, was a single story over an hour and a half.) Actually I tell a lie. iPlayer does not contain the Season 1 story Darkness Visible (episodes 5 & 6), so we'd have to knock those two off.

I like the way they've kept commissioning the same good writers. The series concludes with another pointed statement by Tim Prager, Guilt, which features the innovation of hearing the main characters' inner thoughts, at some length - Tim's gone all philosophical on us. The theme is AI, and if we can't trust what we can see then we can't develop knowledge or find truth. Can't argue with that.

Silent Witness (2026)

The Enemy Within. Tom Prager handles the distressing upsurge in racism. It appears that an Equal Rights activist (Phaldut Sharma) has called for the murder of an innocent man, but we pretty much straight away know he's been deep faked - something which the Team should have guessed as it's happened before (the 'Ndrangheta episode). Jack's started in a new boxing gym, but unfortunately it's peopled by 'Keep our country great' racist thugs. Then more AI causes an attack on the investigating DI Selin Hizli but it's her teacher husband who is killed. Turns out this all originated from a server in Cyprus that's been used by Russians influencing elections.

They catch the culprit for this murder but not the first, nor the gang that assaults Jack. And in that audacious ending - Jack himself has been deep faked - I was thinking 'What? Is there a Part 3??'

Gerard Kearns is the DC who hits on Kit but turns out to be something of a confused person himself. Nikolaos Brahimllari is the friendly one in the gym. George Somner, Chris Reilly, Tom McCall.

Oh, small point. If a lovely neighbour came round with flowers and food when you moved in, don't you think you'd introduce yourselves?

I liked 'There are more canals in Birmingham than in Venice' and where that line of thought leads. A thought provided by the burned out restaurateur who invites them all over for a meal (Bhasker Patel).

The cinematography in this series has gone a bit Netflixy i.e. dark and fuzzy.

Rooster (2026 Bill Lawrence / Mark Tarses)

New Steve Carrell comedy for HBO revolves around University. Carrell is a best selling pulp fiction author who drops in to look after recently separated daughter Charly Clive, finds himself sequestered (the wrong word I know) by college professor Danielle Deadwyler. Brit Phil Dunster is the ex, who's now with Lauren Tsai ("I'm funnier than everyone thinks"). Eccentric Dean is John C McGinley.

An entertaining and amiable show. Carell ends up being a much liked professor and wants to stay on, despite his constant tripping over of political correctness traps. Enjoyable relationship with student Maximo Salas. Amusing policeman who keeps losing his gun, Rory Scovel.

Filmed at the University of the Pacific, California, Stockton Campus. That library I liked was the Hoose Library of Philosophy at the USC (University of Southern California - I would link to their website but it's really boring). 

Would watch more. Despite Q's fraudulent claims it has nothing to do with Brett Goldstein. But Bill Lawrence is the showrunner - perhaps this is the link to Ted Lasso. Littered (for some reason) with eighties music.

Silent Witness (2026)

A downbeat episode about mental health, the homeless and drug addiction, well caught by Vivienne Harvey, Creekwood. And it all goes back to the barbaric practice of Lobotomy procedures, performed in the titular hospital. Some searing information contained here - you can't get a prescription without a fixed address, that one in four kids have been in care - quite staggering.

Good performances from Joe Barber, Lydia Wilson (who we've just seen in About Time), Yasmin Davies, Mark Stobbart, David Webber, Cat Simmons and Chris Gordon.

Simmons and Stobbart

Webber

Barber and Davies

The last moment - Davies now without partner, off her head, dancing the night away on a lonely rooftop - is poignant indeed.

'Monkey dust'? A synthetic stimulant.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005 Andrew Adamson)

A generally faithful adaptation which Disney probably put into production in the wake of the huge global successes of the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings series. (Though I should point out that tell-tale screenplay credit, written by Christopher Markus & Andrew McFeely and Anne Peacock & Andrew Adamson.)

I remember when I first watched it being excited to learn that Tilda Swinton was the White Witch, then being disappointed by her lack of menace; it's a good performance but I felt the same way. The big battle scene at the end is faintly ludicrous and frankly boring; we want Peter 'the magnificent' to despatch the Witch himself. Aslan's voice is all wrong - instead of Liam Neeson we needed James Earl Jones.

There are one or two nice moments of magic (the flames that become characters) but overall this is a little dull. They were right to keep it in period. What I do find exciting though is that The Magician's Nephew is in production, adapted and directed by Greta Gerwig!

Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, James McEvoy, Jim Broadbent. Voices of Ray Winstone, Dawn French, Rupert Everett.

DP Donald McAlpine, composer Harry Gregson-Williams, editors Sim Evan-Jones (also the voice of the wolf) and Jim May.

The Best Silent Witnesses

Divided Loyalties. Niall Leonard. Dead woman and baby. Drugs. 'Stukie'.

The World Cruise. Tony McHale. Auschwitz resurfaces.

The Fall Out. Tony McHale. Multiple vehicle pile up. And a spare arm.

Closed Ranks. Tony McHale, Season 6. Leo's wife and daughter are visiting when a case similar to one of his old ones appears.

Answering Fire. Dusty Hughes. Fire in hotel. Dodgy politician.

Choices. Doug Milburn. Harry befriends kid who's involved in night club drive by shooting.

Cargo. Doug Milburn. Boat of illegals capsize. Infectious disease on board, and little missing girl who Nikki just will not give up on.

Body of Work. Rhidian Brook, Season 10. Harry and Nikki are starting to get it on when an old flame of Harry's turns up dead.

Schism. Christian Spurrier. A bit far-fetched, but Nikki is kidnapped.

Hippocratic Oath. Tony McHale. Two bodies in one coffin...

Shadows. Dudi Appleton and Jim Keeble. Killing spree at Uni. Season 13.

Bloodline. Dudi Appleton and Jim Keeble again. Harry in The Third Man. 

Death Has No Dominion. Ed Whitmore. 'The wraith'!

And Then I Fell In Love. Timothy Prager. Young girls being groomed. Season 15 finale - Harry's last appearance in one of the toughest to watch.

Then lost its edge a bit, Harry sorely missed.

Perks up from Season 20. Awakening. Dudi Appleton & Jim Keeble. Nikki buried alive in Mexico. 

One Day, Timothy Prager. Abuse in care home. 

Family. Michael Crompton. The Christmas Special! 

Lift Up Your Hearts. Tim Prager again - drug dealing to school kids. And his Seven Times - domestic abuse.

Vanishing Point. Jim and Dudi. Nightmare flight from Mumbai.

I Believe in Love... Tim Prager. After-effects of war.

Silent Witness - towards the end (2025-6)

Season 28 ends on another searing Tim Prager outcry I Believe in Love... Multiple murders in a Syrian restaurant cue DI Karl Collins to be all stroppy. Jack's mate 'Chalky' can't be his Best Man because he's suffered brain damage from boxing... Yes, viewer - take note of that one. 

Then we pick up on clearly disturbed courier Joe Absolom (fabulous), and his mates (who we just know are all ex army, though this is never stated). His ex wife doesn't want him anywhere near her or her daughter. "You and me, Daddy, against the world." Their brain damage is due to repeated use of Howitzer artillery.

I'm not going to blow Tim's fabulous twist, but I will say we end up on a beautifully simple slendered down wedding.

Directed by Tracey Rooney.

Then we open the most recent series with another head-scratcher from Ed Whitmore. The team are relocated to Birmingham, where a random car crash ends in the murder of an innocent victim. How does this relate to a woman who five years ago claims she is being stalked? I didn't work it out but I was wondering about one of the characters... It's called the Disappearance of Alice Hill.

Zita Sattar is is the bull-headed DCI, Mollie Winnard her more rational DI. Jason Done was from Waterloo Road and Levi Brown we know from This Town.

Tea with Mussolini (1999 Franco Zeffirelli)

Based on Zeffirelli's autobiography written by he and John Mortimer; thus the 'Luca' who 'became a painter' is Zeffirelli himself.

The rescue of the betrayed American (Cher), who has been paying the hotels bills for all the ladies, is moving, as is the relief of San Gimignano. (Battle scenes around here are apparently lifted from A Bridge Too Far!)

Joan Plowright, Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Charlie Lucas / Baird Wallace, Lily Tomlin, Massimo Ghini, Paolo Seganti (the bastard), Michael Williams (the consul, married to Judi Dench, died 2001).

The Balla depicted is 'Street Light' from 1909.

Ian Fleming and The Curse of James Bond (2026 Ian Low)

Was that really what it was about? If so that didn't come over very clearly to me. The film is about most aspects of Fleming's life and how it was filtered into his books, all illustrated by a variety of Bond film clips. (The relevance of these is questionable as many of them have no relationship to Fleming. However I admire the editor who went through and found them all. And it's fun to see them.)

Contributors are many, and include William Boyd (who's not in it enough), friends, relatives and various Jamaican dignitaries. Helena Bonham Carter reads extracts. Looks like there's extensive use of a Jamaica tourist information film from the 1960s. Considering they obviously had some Fleming interview footage I'm surprised they didn't make more use of it - perhaps he had nothing very interesting to say.

Really weirdly, there was no writer credited.

Silent Witness - Season 28 (2025)

Broken by Kathrine Smith in one of those ones when you know it isn't the obvious suspect and it turns out we haven't met the true criminal. And it's a shout out against the failings of the legal system, in particular the length of time it is now taking to get to trial.

Barrister Kerrie Hayes goes missing (we told her not to get out of the car) and bits of her body start turning up. Anneika Rose, Tamsin Outhwaite, Preslav Shipkaliev and various others are involved.

Then we're obviously excited to see the names of Dudi Appleton and Jim Keeble come up for Vanishing Point, which begins in Mumbai, and then follows Nikki's progress on a nightmare flight back to the UK. Gershwyn Eustache Jr is a helpful air steward, Nikkita Chadha also on deck. Paul Hilton is the dodgy businessman, Jo Hartley the nurse, Steve Oram the first victim and Sunetra Sarker a Home Office official. It's an exciting ride, though somewhat questionable (why did Hartley need to poison herself?)

I would have liked to see Nikki and the nice steward arriving back in London OK and her introducing him to Jack.

Jack's looking more and more like Mr. Incredible. Emilia Fox is an exec producer - and has been since 2020.

They All Laughed (1981 Peter Bogdanovich & scr)

 

"So long, Daddy!"

It's also a love letter to New York.

I know the music performances were all live takes, but I guess they had to dub all the street scenes.

Manchester by the Sea (2016 Kenneth Lonergan & scr)

Brilliantly written by Lonergan. Judicious use of flashbacks. The key sequence is amazing - the solicitor's office, where he learns he has to be the guardian of his nephew, cross cut against the awful accidental death of his children, all to the Albinoni - great editing here too by Jennifer Lame (she won the Oscar for Oppenheimer; also Baumbach films).

Why he doesn't want to go back there. The arseholes in the bar. The kids in the hockey team who know the truth. The way Lucas Hedges' mother has turned out - really weird. The shock when he's not being prosecuted. The blossoms you start seeing near the end. The photos we never see. Good subtle nuanced stuff.

Scene where Casey Affleck bumps into ex-wife Michelle Williams will have you in bits. Well, it did me, anyway. Good film. Photographed by (male) Jody Lee Lipes.

Last Woman on Earth (1960 Roger Corman)

A film Corman shot in Puerto Rico (for tax reasons) on the back of Battle for Blood Island, of note for being written by Robert Towne, who for reasons of economy also acts (under the name of Edward Wain!) Betsy Jones-Moreland and Antony Carbone are the other two last people alive, who all end up squabbling and trying to kill each other. It's only OK, and the very faded print combined with the 1960 decor make it strangely quaint.

Opens up at a live cock fight - only there's no cocks fighting. There are in the trailer so I'm assuming my print is cut, though I also read there are various versions as apparently Monte Hellman reworked the film for a longer TV screening.

It had quite a long shooting schedule for Corman - two weeks. He then had a week left and made the classic Creature from the Haunted Sea!

In Bruges (2008 Martin McDonagh & scr)

McDonagh's a bloody good writer. Cast is exemplary. Jon Gregory's editing notable.

About Time (2013 Richard Curtis & scr)

We accidentally did a Margot Robbie double bill. Richard Curtis has fun playing games with time, Bill Nighy has fun playing ping pong without a ball. Curtis's film is sweet.

Wuthering Heights (2026 Emerald Fennell & scr)

So, the controversial and audience-dividing Fennell Version. I can't really comment on how it relates to the book, except there's obviously more sex in the film; and also I doubt that Heathcliffe's treatment of Isabella is as brutal. But who cares anyway - the film's the film. And as such it is artistic and interesting. The slightly artificial looking sets give it a sort of fairy tale effect, like Cuaron's A Little Princess did. Linus Sandgren's photography is of course stunning and Vic Boydell's editing is amongst her best work (particularly liked that flash forward-back thing she does to take us into the wedding; also her montage of secret encounters between the couple; and the way she uses scarring to takes us into the later time period of the story.) The cast is capable - Margot Robbie, Jacob Elordi, Martin Clunes, Hong Chau, Shazad Latif and Alison Oliver.

I think my problem with it is the same as with 'Anna Karenina' - it's just not a very interesting story. Had it not been for the artistry involved, I think I would have been a little bit bored. (In fact to be honest, I think I was getting a little bit bored towards the end. It's 130 minutes.)

Linus shot on 35mm Kodak film, using VistaVision for the wide and landscape shots (for the detail). He tried to use natural fire and candlelight wherever possible. The production designer was Suzie Davies, Jacqueline Durran designed the costumes, music was by Anthony Willis, with songs by Charli XCX.