More Roadies

Great episodes: 'The City Whose Name Must Not be Spoken' - great idea - and how the curse is lifted. The Who concert story is of course true. Writer Hannah Friedman.

Then the super moon in Denver. (David Rosen)
'I'm 90% sure she asked me to see the super moon. Well, 80%.'
'How stoned are you?'
'70%.'

And Double D falling for Janine - but she's there with revenge on her mind. (Cameron and Tom Kapinos.) And Mike Finger.

'I'm not sitting in a tub of butter'.
'I operate very well in these post-coital waters.'

And - Dead Sex - TV show. You have to have sex in nine days otherwise...

Roadies (2016 Cameron Crowe)

We're hooked three episodes in through quintessential Cameron material - though 2 was written by Winnie Holzman it's got Cameron all over it. Luke Wilson has a half finished dream house and likes young women, Carla Gugino is married to another tour producer, Imogen Poots is our cool skateboarding rigger who we know isn't going to leave at the end of 1, Rafe Spall the money man with touch issues.

With Keisha Castle-Hughes (sound mixer - 'You don't know how many times I've been asked "Where's the sound guy?"'), Colson Baker aka Machine Gun Kelly (adopted as baby-sitter), Peter Cambor (pretends to have English accent), Branscombe Richmond (prophetic security guy) Finesse Mitchell and Ron White (Phil).

Three really gets into its stride with a classic Cameron line (forgotten it now), a tripped out Rainn Wilson and a kinetic performance from Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham.

Cluny Brown (1946 Ernst Lubitsch)

A delightful film, written by Samuel Hoffenstein and Elizabeth Reinhardt, from Margery Sharp's novel. Flavoursome Charles Boyer and delightful Jennifer Jones star, and your supporting cast includes Reginald Gardiner (The Man Who Came to Dinner) and Sara Allgood, Peter Lawford, Helen Walker (Brewster's Millions, Nightmare Alley), Reginald Owen, C Aubrey Smith, Richard Haydn, Una O'Conner (effectively playing his mother as a series of coughs), Ernest Cossart (butler), Billy Brown (plumber) and what looks like Pal as the collie.

There's some good, repeated, well timed jokes - one in true Lubitsch style revolving around doors. All shot with the shiny precision of Joe LaShelle.

It's a Fox picture and no Westmores were involved in the production.

The Wedding Planner (2001 Adam Shankman)

The Wedding Planner has a good twist a third through - otherwise it's not especially well written. Jennifer Lopez OK as titular character, Matthew McConaughey better as romantic lead, Judy Greer (Jeff Who Lives at Home, The Descendants, 27 Dresses, Elizabethtown, What Women Want) good as uptight planner, Bridgette Wilson-Sampras is fiancee and Justin Chambers an annoying Italian. (And it's not just his character that's annoying - his accent seems to be frequently located in the West German side of Israel. His father, played by Alex Rocco - GF's Moe Green of all people - has an even worse Italian accent.)

So the twist aside, it's frighteningly predictable. Shot in widescreen by Julio Macat.

20th Century Women (2016 Mike Mills & scr)

Mills made Beginners and this has some of the same visual flair, e.g. in the old photos (though there's no talking dog this time). Annette Bening is an annoying single mother who feels her son Lucas Jade Zumann isn't growing up properly balanced - the irony is that he is. His friend Elle Fanning keeps sneaking in to stay the night. Meanwhile the house is shared by two lodgers - Greta Gerwig as a nutty photographer (who turns him on to feminism) and Billy Crudup as a creative handyman.

There's some neat stuff going on in the music which regularly counterpoints old classics (Rudy Vallee's version of 'As Time Goes By', for example) against late seventies punk (recognised almost none of this). And a Voice of God type narration which knows how the future is going to pan out.

I wasn't sure about Bening's performance but she does come over as properly annoying. The kid is good. (I wish she's stop calling him 'kid'.)

Not sure, overall. Seemed a bit slow? Nevertheless, Oscar-nominated original screenplay (Manchester By the Sea won).

She's Funny That Way (2014 Peter B)

Essentially one of those French sex farces, written by Louise Stratten and Peter - and why not? We need more films that reference Lubitsch. It is very well acted all round and old-fashioned funny. Robbie Collin of the Telegraph liked it - he was about the only one.

"I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls." A true line that could have been written specifically for the delightful Imogen Poots.

Film boasts a ridiculous number of producers. Who needs that many? What did they all do - carry the shopping?

It was a bit of a  flop. Released in the US for three weeks it grossed $111k. Worldwide $5m - $1m of which was in Russia???

Pax Wassermann edited most of the film and Nick Moore did some additional work on it.

'You don't joke in therapy'

They All Laughed (1981 Peter Bogdanovich)

No, no - it wasn't at all annoying that the DVD wouldn't play the last quarter of the film that we really weren't enjoying much. In fact we'd have been better off watching Royal Ascot all day long.

If Q reads this please can she order another copy prontissimo.

Avanti (1972 Billy Wilder)

It was inevitable. In a great film you've seen over and over, and can quote and tell the background stories, it's always a pleasure when you spot something new. In the opening scene on the plane when the pilots are alerted that two men are in the toilet, one, then another, then another come out to have a look. Who's flying the plane?

Jack and Juliet are a dream team. I particularly like her reaction shots as they're driving through Ischia (or wherever they are).

Also should mention lower down the cast list Gianfranco Barra (as Bruno), Franco Angrisano (chief negotiating Trotta), Guidarino Guidi (Maitre d' - 'Can I have the apple peeled for you?'), Giacomo Rizzo (barman) and Harry Ray (Dr. Fleischmann - makeup artist on many things including The Odd Couple, How To Murder Your Wife, Kotch, The April Fools, The Apartment and this!)

It's also a text book example of how to choose shot sizes to great effect e.g. morgue scene.

Is this from the upper floor of the Grand Hotel Vittoria Exclesior?

My Week With Marilyn (2011 Simon Curtis)

Well written by Adrian Hodges and based on Colin Clark's actual memoir, the film is sadder and sweeter than I remembered. Michele Williams really is fantastic, and it exposes some of the truth behind the Marilyn myth ('Shall I give them her?' she whispers to Eddie before doing the MM bit to Windsor Palace staff - the scene here with Derek Jacobi is wonderful.)

Should it have been shot in widesceen (Ben Smithard)?

Michele and Kenneth were Oscar and BAFTA nominated and she won the Golden Globe.

With Julia Ormond, Judi Dench, Dominic Cooper, Michael Kitchen, Zoe Wanamaker, Philip Jackson, Emma Watson (perfect), Toby Jones, Jim Carter (I know - who's not in the film?), Geraldine Somerville (for two seconds), Pip Torrens. Good makeup and hair - Marc Pilchard - OK, Pilcher.

I would have loved to have written this - Clark himself died in 2002 at 70 and thus didn't live to see it.

Mona Lisa (1986 Neil Jordan)

Well written film by Jordan and David Leland often had me thinking of the prince in shining armour coming to rescue the damsel(s) in distress - only set in an ultra seedy world of prostitution, resided over by crime boss Michael Caine. All acting terrific and convincing - Bob Hoskins, Cathy Tyson, Robbie Coltrane, Zoe Nathanson (daughter), Clarke Peters, Kate Hardie. Noticed a few little digs at religion, too.

There are some terrific scenes which lurch into explosion, such as the opening (attempting to see daughter) or the bust up between Bob and Cathy where she starts hitting him. But there's also a welcome vein of humour throughout, particularly between author Coltrane and Hoskins ('How's your tall thin black story?')

It's all very stylishly shot by Roger Pratt and the reinvention of the theme music as it progresses is a good touch (reminds me of Altman's Long Goodbye) - Michael Kamen. Lesley Walker edited (Shadowlands, All Or Nothing, Gilliam films). Had me thinking of Taxi Driver more than once, particularly in ending.

Charlie Bartlett (2007 John Poll)

An exuberant performance by Anton Yelchin (perhaps not as effective when being winsome) carries well-written tale of popularity and family. Gustin Nash also wrote Youth In Revolt, then didn't.

Well played by Hope Davis, Robert Downey, Kat Dennings, Tyler Hilton (bully), Mark Rendall (suicide).

It's funny.