Kick-Ass 2 (2013 Jeff Wadlow & co-w)

Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse.

Not up to original. Though I liked her cutting off the mugger's hand (after warning him).

About Time (2013 Richard Curtis & scr)

Domhnall Gleason, Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy (amazing table tennis scenes), Lydia Wilson (somewhat overwrought Curtis sister type), Lindsay Duncan, Richard Cordery (a Dickensian type, the uncle?), Tom Hollander (fantastic)

Unchallenging, enjoyable time jumping tale leaves us with great philosophy to enjoy every day as much as possible. I'm off to Rome, myself.

Gosford Park (2001)

Altman (Andrew Dunn) slowly zooms in, to mutilayered soundtrack.

Clive Owen and Helen Mirren steal the show. Wily Kelly Macdonald unravels one of the mysteries.

Idea by Altman and Bob Balaban, written up by Julian Fellowes.

Casablanca (1942)

Taking Woodstock (2009 Ang Lee)

Book by Elliot Tiber (his actual alleged experiences) & Tom Monte, adapted by James Schamus into a funny and winning story in which there are no bad guys.

Demetri Martin is the enterprising young man, Imelda Staunton and Henry Goodman the parents, Jonathan Groff the charismatic organiser, Leiv (pronounced 'Leave') Schreiber making impression in drag, Eugene Levy.

Features homage split screens to Woodstock and what I can guess is a quick reference to Godard in a one minute continuous take through a traffic jam.

I'm going to revive 'Far out'. It's so old it sounds new.

Real sting in the ending though with plans of next festival, featuring the Rolling Stones...

Ph. Eric Gautier. Editor Tim Squyres (all the Ang Lees, plus Gosford Park and Syriana).

Catch and Release (2006 Susannah Grant & scr)

She also wrote Erin Brockovich, In Her Shoes and The Soloist.

"Who do you tell your stories to?"
"I guess I keep them to myself."

More stylish editing from our Anne Coates - note bedroom scene (she seems to specialise in these, the romantic!) with its luscious, almost abstract, dissolves. Also a moment of abrupt (what I shall call) French editing, and a jump cut on a joke involving a boy watching television.

Jennifer Garner, Timothy Olyphant, Kevin Smith, Sam Jaeger, Juliette Lewis.

Night Train to Lisbon (2013 Bille August)

Title (of book too) evokes something that isn't there. Story is about betrayal in Facist Lisbon.

Jeremy Irons Mélanie Laurent, Jack Huston, Martina Gedek, Tom Courtenay, Bruno Ganz, Lena Olin, Charlotte Rampling, Christopher Lee.

A largely German production.

Bend it Like Beckham (2002 Gurinder Chadha)

Parminda Nagra and Keira Knightley are the footballers, with Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Archie Panjabi, Juliet Stevenson.

Refreshingly set in Sikh community in Hounslow, film crosses all sorts of sexual, religious and ethnic boundaries most successfully and makes you wish there were more British films this intelligent - and funny. "look how dark you're getting, playing outside."

Two songs too many at the end. Dedicated to the director / co-writer's father.

Silver Linings Playbook (2012 David O. Russell & scr)

Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert de Niro, Jacki Weaver, Chris Tucker (all good) Julia Stiles, John Ortiz, Anupam Kher.

In style, very much hand held and in the room - edited by the great Jay Cassidy (with Crispin Struthers).

Novel Matthew Quick. Last seen

Inspector Morse (1990-1)

Still churning through them, not all as good as each other, some unconvincing supporting performers but some real treats. There's also a growing number of directors who went on to greater things:

The Infernal Serpent, John Madden, scr Alma Cullen.
Really creepy episode with Geoffrey Palmer, Barbara Leigh-Hunt (Frenzy) and Tom Wilkinson.

Driven to Distraction Sandy Johnson, scr. Anthony Minghella
Refreshingly outside academia. Patrick Malahide, Christopher Fulford, David Ryall as a driving instructor who gives Morse lessons!

Masonic Mysteries Danny Boyle, scr Julian Mitchell
Stand-out epsiode in which Morse is framed for murder, imprisoned, has his name blackened and his irreplaceable record collection even more blackened, and held at gunpoint. Great scene of fire in flat with only music - seems to be more use of opera (here, The Magic Flute) from this point on?
Ian McDiarmid (villain).

Second Time Around Adrian Shergold (Dirty Filthy Love etc.), scr. Daniel (not Danny) Boyle.
Oliver Ford Davies, Kenneth Colley (a very familiar face from the sixties on, including several Ken Russells and Juggernaut), Christopher Eccleston, Pat Heywood. Lewis questions Morse's judgement causing frissons when old child murder case is revived.

Friends with Benefits (2011 Will Gluck)

Well written, subversive romcom pretty much falls into its own trap and could have been much more trenchant, though is still lots of fun. Criticism of music making you feel the scene could be replaced by criticism of using pop songs instead of music.

Kunis and Timberlake make a great pair. Also with Richard Jenkins, Woody Harrelson, Patricia Clarkson and Nolan Gould as the accident-prone magician.

Jason Segal is in the truly awful faux romcom, from which there are similarly awful outtakes after the real film's credits.

Touch of Evil (1958 Orson Welles)

Restored version of incredibly atmospheric thriller about police corruption on Mexican-American border town opens with the famous, amazing four minute tracking shot, and it's a pleasure to see it unobscured by credits.

Some of its style seems to anticipate Soy Cuba

Very wonderfully shot by Russell Metty, having fun with a crane - this is perhaps why he wasn't shooting Tarnished Angels for Sirk. Love the silhouette of the acid thrower just before the attack.

The very nervy night porter is none other than Dennis Weaver! Joseph Calleia, Ray Collins, Charlton Heston (who stupidly completely deserts his wife Janet Leigh on their honeymoon), Marlene Dietrich (as world weary as you can get), Orson Welles himself (a portrait of degeneration) and the great Akim Tamiroff.

One of the best last lines in cinema: "What does it matter what you say about people?" In Marlene's own words: "I think I was terrific in that. I think I never said a line as well as the last line in that movie...Wasn't I good there? I don't know why I said it so well. And I looked so good in that dark wig. It was Elizabeth Taylor's..." (Peter Bogdonovich, Who the Hell's in it?, 2005 ed. p.377.)

Planes Trains and Automobiles (1987 John Hughes)

Opinion divided in this house over Hughes, though film is not without its Slythian charms. The end is nauseating.

Is that a DX7 on the soundtrack? Do you remember when it was feared the Linn drum would put drummers out of business?

The relationship of Martin and Candy comes over very much like a marriage.

The Fortune Cookie / Meet Whiplash Willie (1966 Billy Wilder)

Not top drawer Wilder but still has much to offer, notice parallel action of men with cigars.  Matthau wins Oscar as ambulance chasing lawyer, Lemmon the party 'injured' by Ron Rich ('Boom Boom Jackson'), with Judi West and Cliff Osmond.

Great mournful score by André Previn.

Love the subtlety of the lens through the blind visible in the long shots.

Lemmon great as usual. Scene where he's having fingers tested - "Sharp...Dull" - is hilarious.

Alice (1990 Woody Allen & scr)

Deeper than it might appear, Allen's fantasy follows effects on bored uptown housewife Mia Farrow of seeing Chinese doctor Keye Luke, who gives her various potions inducing invisibility, attractiveness etc. Joe Mantagna is the object of her desire, William Hurt the unfaithful husband, and it's shot with customary glamour by Carlo di Palma.

Any Human Heart (2010 Michael Samuels)

Artfully adapted from his own wonderful novel by William Boyd, who we had never heard of before. A whole life, made up by good luck and bad luck, weaving real characters (Fleming, Duke of Windsor, Harry Oates) into fiction. Humane, funny, tragic, life-affirming, one of the really great television productions, winning BAFTA for best drama serial, though amazingly, Boyd didn't even get a nod.

"Everything's changed now. Everything's real. Our summer is over."
"Get your passport and go. And try not to fuck anyone on the way."
"He's a C.A.U.C."

 

Jim Broadbent, Matthew Macfadyen (his best work), Hayley Atwell, Sam Claflin (who was then annoying in White Heat), Ed Stoppard (who was then annoying in Upstairs Downstairs), Samuel West, Holliday Grainger ("I like to drink gin after I fuck, and then I feel like fucking again"), Tom Hollander, Gillian Anderson, Kim Cattrall, Julian Rhind-Tutt.

The way that Broadbent becomes Macfadyen is superb, a testament as much as anything to the former's art.

One of those films (originally broadcast in four episodes) in which everything works perfectly: acting, music (Dan Jones Appropriate Adult, Criminal Justice, won BAFTA), photography (Wojciech Szepel Tess of the Durbevilles, White Girl, with lots of interesting compositions and shallow focus - Freya's lips through the wine glass), editing (Tim Murrell Gun Rush, My Boy Jack, Clapham Junction, Marples, lately crap-looking horror, though he did contribute to the excellent Parade's End) set and costume design etc. (Also sound, for example, when it disappears.) In fact what is extremely odd about this is that these contributing technicians didn't immediately get propelled into the spotlight. Murrell's editing alone is superb. It's as good as it was the first two times (15 December 2010 and 25 March 2012), which is always pleasing. And it is endlessly inventive, viz. calling dog Bowser after dog food!

And stakeout vandals are not just his best friend but his doctor also! This, where other films are running out of steam.

I also love the fact that the psychiatrist is doodling. "Sex or money?"

Makes me sincerely wish that The New Confessions would be adapted by the same team.

I Confess (1953 Alfred Hitchcock)

Intriguing plot focuses on priest (Montgomery Clift) being unable to reveal identity of killer (O.E. Hasse aka Otto Keller), and involvement with married woman (Anne Baxter). Karl Malden is the detective and Dolly Haas the killer's wife in typically well-cast film, written by George Tabori and William Archibald from Paul Anthelme's 1902 play.

Set in Quebec, shot by Burks, scored by Tiomkin.

Nice little touches, e.g. chefs' tall white hats over a murder victim, juror's comb-over, vicar's bicycle which keeps falling over.

Usual interesting set-ups, low angles, tilts (especially churches) and long shots (finale).