The Silent Child (2017 Chris Overton)

Written by Rachel Shenton, who also plays the therapist, and featuring Rachel Fielding and Maisie Sly, and shot in Panavision by Ali Farahani. Won the Oscar. Fab.

Home Again (2017 Hallie Meyers-Shyer)

Again. (Q turned down Hail Caesar, Grand Budapest Hotel, Fantastic Mr Fox and Great Expectations (Lean)).

The made up film titles are fun - 'Beach Street' and 'Lola In Between', and the fact the former artist's films were released through the defunct and much missed Orion Pictures.

"You're like a theatre detective!"

Pico Alexander, Jon Rudnitsky and Nat Wolff are the likeable trio.

How to be Single (2016 Christian Ditter)

Dakota Johnson, Rebel Wilson, Alison Brie and Leslie Mann relate to each other and several guys, including barman Anders Holm, keen father-to-be Jake Lacy, TV's Happy Endings' Damon Wayans Jr (good).

Notes: John McClane is the character from Die Hard and the Rockefeller Tree is what it says it is.

It frequently doesn't go where you think it will - written by Abby Kohn & Marc Silverstein and Dana Fox.

"Please blink, so I know there's someone in there."

Did Woody Allen invent the awkward New York street meeting scene? Probably.

The Player (1992 Robert Altman)

Won BAFTAs (and Oscar nominations) for Michael Tolkin's script (adapted from his own novel) and Altman. A mighty subtle and intelligent film, it almost begins with self-analysis - it pitches itself as a satirical comedy thriller romance, and whilst in the middle of its long and famous tracking shot talks about 'films being like MTV - cut cut cut'! - and ends up being a film of itself. And the lesson is that the top creative types in Hollywood are murderous bastards, and the product is crap ('No name actors' indeed!)

When not endlessly roaming around, Jean Lépine's camera is zooming in, as Altman is always doing. And Thomas Newman's music has a sort of Japanese bounce, which reflects in some of the subtext (now they'd be wooing the Chinese.) Notice how all the posters are (commenting on the action, and) none newer than the forties, as though to say 'Good films weren't made after that'.

Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi, Fred Ward, Whoopi Goldberg, Peter Gallagher, Brion James (studio head), Cynthia Stevenson (the only one with any integrity), Vincent D'Onofrio (angry writer), Dean Stockwell, Richard E Grant, Sydney Pollack, Lyle Lovett, Dina Merrill and Angela Hall (secretaries) and Jeremy Piven. Plus a mass of guest stars from Lemmon to Cusack.

Many of the pitch ideas are hilarious, as is Goldberg unsettling Robbins with a tampon.

Where Does It Hurt? (1972 Rod Amateau & co-scr, co-prod)

Peter Sellars, Jo Ann Pflug, Rick Lenz, Pat Morita.

Rather crudely made black comedy (almost every scene has a little musical sting after, like it's a TV show) involving money-grabbing medical profession. The patient's given the wrong name, operations are unnecessary, no one's allowed to leave. We made it to 25 minutes. Sort of needs the MASH treatment but is a bit too broad for its own good.

Brighton Rock (2010 Rowan Joffé & scr)

There's something a bit cheesy about this, perhaps because it's based on Graham Greene's 1938 novel, which despite an update to 1964 doesn't overcome the central problem - we neither like nor care anything about 'Pinky' (Sam Riley) - and in fact his girlfriend (Andrea Riseborough) is pretty stupid to boot. Thus leaving the main reason for watching the professionalism of Helen Mirren, Phil Davis, John Hurt, Nonso Anozie, Craig Parkinson, Andy Serkis and Sean Harris (and Steve Evets from Rev).

Music by Martin Phipps, ph, John Mathieson, ed. Joe Walker.

Igby Goes Down (2002 Burr Steers & scr)

We feel for Igby, who suffers a most dysfunctional family (moment where his 'godfather' Jeff Goldblum lays into him is not pretty). Kieran Culkin is the lying, rebellious son, with perfect older brother material Ryan Philippe, tough mum Susan Sarandon and schizo father Bill Pullman. Cast also includes Clare Danes, Amanda Peet and Jared Harris as a gay performance artist!

Not particularly funny, good performances illustrate quite dark material, photographed by Wedigo von Schultzendorff.

Elizabethtown (2005 Cameron Crowe)

Not the big flop we imagined - took over $50m worldwide and made a small profit.

"If it wasn't this, it would be something else."

"Hello, and welcome to the annual meeting of people who meet annually."

If you're going to call your shoe the Spasmotica, what do you expect?

Our second old-style logo of the day

As 'Rusty' is Jim Fitzpatrick I guess I was wrong about 'Rusty's Learning to Listen' being a real education film

Battle of the Sexes (2017 Valerie Faris and Johnathan Dayton)

Simon Beaufoy has made a good job of imagining a true event wrapped up around a relationship / love story, involving Emma Stone and Andrea Riseborough (Witness for the Prosecution, National Treasure, Nocturnal Animals, Birdman, Resistance, Brighton Rock - didn't take in it was her throughout entire film). Steve Carrell good also. With Natalie Morales, Sarah Silverman, Elisabeth Shue, Alan Cumming, Bill Pullman, Eric Christian Olsen. Stone and Carrell were both Golden Globe nominees - Carrell would play a good psycho. The film is timely.

Carell's antics on court are often funny, visit to gamblers' anonymous. (Though this is awfully similar to a scene from Cracker.)

Shot by Linus Sandgren in Panavision, deliberately shot like it was a 70s film. I was wondering if that tennis match had been worked in from archive footage but it was just deliberately filmed with 70s limitations on celluloid. Hairdressing scene is remarkable - I read that the audio gets closer too as the scene progresses. Edited by Pamela Martin, costumes by Mary Zophres.

Faris and Dayton are married, making them rather unusual in the film world.

I want to watch it again already.

The Red Shoes (1948 Powell & Pressburger)

P&P brought out the best in everyone. For example, the best performances ever given by Roger Livesey, Anton Walbrook, Marius Goring, Kathleen Byron and Pamela Brown are all in their films.  And David Farrar. Jack Cardiff's best photography is in them. Brian Easdale's music has never been better. Junge and Heckroth's sets were never given more creative freedom. Reg Mills never had any better material...

There is an argument that the film goes a little flat after the incredible ballet itself.. but what a film it is. Massine and Helpmann and Basserman wonderful, Moira Shearer so natural... And as Coppelia, displaying nice comic timing. The dancing (Massine especially) is sensational.

"I'm just somebody's mother, and that doesn't mean much around here."

Now, to top 78 / 52 let's make a three hour film just about the ballet sequence.

Maid in Manhattan (2012 Wayne Wang)

Could have done with a bit more of her being really good at her job for it to stack up, and for her to earn (quietly spoken) butler Bob Hoskins' praise at the end. Connection between her son (Tyler Posey) and senator Ralph Fiennes is good. With Stanley Tucci, Natasha Richardson, Frances Conroy (Six Feet Under), Marissa Matrone (feisty friend who sounds like Thelma Ritter). Kevin Wade wrote from a John Hughes story.

Marissa Matrone, Sharon Wilkins, Marilyn Torres (I think), Jennifer Lopez

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002 George Clooney)

Written by Charlie Kaufman, based on Chuck Barris's memoir, results in an odd film.

Sam Rockwell is the game show developer / CIA hit man, Drew Barrymore his girlfriend and mustachioed Clooney the CIA contact. With Julia Roberts, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Rutger Hauer.

Shot in a strangely oversaturated way by Newton Thomas Sigel. Edited by Stephen Mirrione.

La La Land (2016 Damian Chazelle)

Me: What would be your first question to Damian Chazelle?
Q: Why?

Only other film I saw when the camera goes into and out of a swimming pool is Soy Cuba.

"What if I said Miles Davies pissed on it?"

The problem is it's so big it's impossible to follow.

It was not in competition at Cannes, funnily enough.

Untitled (2000 Cameron Crowe & scr)

Shall we watch Hail Caesar or Grand Budapest Hotel? So we watched this. It's fried solid gold.

Screenplay won Oscar and BAFTA. Frances McDormand is great. Has a hint of The Apartment. (Of course - 'Conversations with Wilder' was being written concurrently.)

After spending some of the day in hospital I concluded that the go to feel-good directors are Crowe, Sturges, Bogdanovich and Anderson.

Must watch the theatrical release some time, out of interest (2 hours 2).

Penny Lane was Pennie Trumbull.

"You'll meet them all again on the long journey to the middle."

Mother - 'Here's that money I owe you. Your father's favourite joke."

"Come back later - I'm in too truthful a mood."

"Righteous weed."

You build the scene up, the audience thinks they know where you're going - then you go somewhere else.

Film took $47m, but cost $60.

Up In the Air (2009 Jason Reitman)

Based on a novel by Walter Kirn, who also wrote 'Thumbsucker', written by the director and Sheldon Turner. Won Golden Globe and BAFTA for screenplay. It's meaty. Very good.

Mother's Day (2016 Garry Marshall)

No.

Timothy Olyphant, Jen, Kate, Jason Sudekis, Shay Mitchell, Hector, Jack Whitehall, Margo, Britt Robertson, Jon Lovitz.

Crazy Stupid Love. (2011 Glenn Ficara, John Requa)

Has a nice visual way of story-telling, e.g. the opening. The shoes under the table, the photo frame broken down the middle, Analeigh's hand on his face.

There are a few patchy moments but it's a splendid cast in Dan Fogelman's clever and funny script. Makes you want to see more of Ryan Gosling in comedy roles.

The Party (2017 Sally Potter & scr)

Kristin Scott Thomas, Timothy Spall, Bruno Ganz, Patricia Clarkson, Cherry Jones, Emily Mortimer, Cillian Murphy.

45 Years (2015 Andrew Haigh & scr)

Based on David Constantine's short story 'In Another Country'.

I'm not against a slow film, by any means, but this one is dull and slow. Tom Courtenay is an arsehole who constantly goes on about this girl he had a fling with fifty years ago, to wife Charlotte Rampling's growing consternation. At the end they pretend all is well at titular celebration event.

45 years feels like running time, also period of time that will elapse before watching again.

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool (2017 Paul McGuigan)

Based on Peter Turner's own book (he appears briefly in the film), adapted by Matt Greenhalgh, sensibly in a way that doesn't follow chronology (particularly in the key bust up scene, which is well done). Matt seems to specialise in Liverpool and true stories (The Look of Love, Nowhere Boy, Control).

Jamie Bell, Annette Bening, Julie Walters, Steven Graham and Kenneth Cranham - all good. But it's no My Week with Marilyn and it's surprising that it found funding, especially as I would have thought not many people would know who Gloria Grahame was, these days.

Interestingly, an EON production produced by Barbara Broccoli. Shot by Polish Urszula Pontikos.

Strangers on a Train (1951 Alfred Hitchcock)

Last seen here and here.

Murder at the funfair - murder scene filmed as romance.

Night scene where Walker calls out 'Guy...'

Enjoyed the performance of the fiancée Ruth Roman. All the supporting performances are good.

Paddington 2 (2017 Paul King & co-scr)

Thoroughly enjoyed this, much more than the first one - King and Simon Farnaby wrote it, with Capra in mind (and Chaplin - Modern Times is clearly referenced at one point).

Has a drop dead cast one after the other from Bonneville to Ayoade.

In the prison scene, with the pink uniforms, it actually becomes a Wes Anderson film.

Hugh Grant is great. (After screening interview: 'Some of them were my costumes'.) There's even a play on the famous Shakespeare stage instruction 'exit followed by a bear', voiced I think by him.

Absolutely loved the animation featuring the 'popping book' of London, supervised by Dale Newton, who also oversaw the 'Three Brothers' scene from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

"I've raised the neighbourhood panic level to wild hysteria."

King on being asked if it was all he wanted it to be: "I'm caught between lying and lying in a different way." He reveals that Grant would ad lib some of the lines such as in court - the entrails line.

Good newspaper lines in end credits e.g. daughter's newspaper expanding ('now accepting boys'). And the end musical number... (actually the first day of filming).

Cinnamon in marmalade?

Pablo Grillo at Framestore is the lead animator, Dario Marienelli the composer. Great production design too (Gary Williamson). Shot by Erik Wilson (Submarine and The Double).

Is this a reference to that Eichenberg Jane Eyre cover?

The Florida Project (2017 Sean Baker & co-scr)

Had me thinking more than once of American Honey... Not on the same page, though.

Bria Vinaite and Brooklyn Prince are the unfortunate mother and daughter, with Willem Dafoe, Christopher Rivera and Valeria Cotto.

I don't know what to say. It was both quietly impactful and kinda dull at the same time. We really didn't like her at all. It was good, though.

About Time (2013 Richard Curtis & scr)

And there comes yer Domhnall Gleason fellow along again (and, coincidentally - or not coincidentally - Margot Robbie) and as the Irish won a grand slam (whatever that is) in rugby on St Patrick's Day yesterday, that was indeed apt, to be sure, to be sure.

Jimmy Fontano 'Il Mondo' from 1965 is the wedding song!

The Terminal (2004 Steven Spielberg)

Inspired by a true story, written by Andrew Niccol, Sacha Gervasi and Jeff Nathanson.

Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Stanley Tucci, Barry Shabaka Henley, Diego Luna, Kumar Pallana and Zoe Saldana.

I don't know if it's just me today but I failed to be moved by this one either. It's a bit of a non-story, really, professionally made by the usual team. Somewhat far-fetched but enjoyable in the way everyone becomes his friend.

Goodbye Christopher Robin (2017 Simon Curtis)

Who is this guy playing AA Milne, I pondered. He's good. It's only Domhnall Gleeson - the son of Brendan. Margot Robbie is the unsympathetic wife, Will Tilston and Alex Lawther are C.J. and Kelly Macdonald his beloved nanny. With Geraldine Somerville, Stephen Campbell Moore, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Richard McCabe.

'm afraid I found Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Simon Vaughan's screenplay a little dull.

Shot by Ben Smithard.

Wonder Wheel (2017 Woody Allen & scr)

Starts out in familiar territory, then we're dazzled by 1950s Coney Island, then we're in an incredibly beautiful play comprising long, perfectly acted scenes between Kate Winslet, Jim Belushi, Juno Temple and Justin Timberlake. I don't know Eugene O'Neill, but it does seem like we're in some classic American theatrical experience like Streetcar... We feel so sorry for Kate's character - she gives an extraordinary performance. Excuse me? No Oscar nomination?? Nor for Vittorio??

So yes - he's done it again. It's not funny but it's not stagebound either (like September) - and we're completely teased by the ending, which features Tony Sirico and Steve Schirripa from The Sopranos.

The lighting as an emotional underscore, e.g. in beach scene with Kate and Justin, is extraordinary.

Thematically, had me thinking of The Purple Rose of Cairo - without the funny bits.

And - I was sure that tape recorder was going to figure in the story. somehow...

Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993 Steven Zaillian & scr)

"Trick or treat."

Where is our original copy, and why is the replacement issued under the name Innocent Moves? 1) No idea. 2) It's the English release title.

Good review here. 'Pools of light' is right. Plus, put the chess board in the light (sometimes), leave the actors in the shadow - Joan Allen in particular - but, do you notice that even when in the shadow of the half light they are always perfectly lit. (Conrad lost to Janusz Kaminski for Schindler's List, which Zaillian also wrote.) It's not exactly a masterclass in cinematography, it's a masterclass in Conrad Hall's cinematography.

But - it is also a great example of very visual screen writing. Also I love the way he wins using the influence of both teachers (Fishburne and Kingsley). Zaillian's been working on The Night Of (crime drama with Riz Ahmed) and The Irishman, Scorsese's latest (Zaillian co-wrote Gangs of New York).

Great cast with Max Pomeranc a very expressive kid, Tony Shaloub in one of his interesting cameos, Joe Mantegna, Austin Pendleton, Robert Stephens.

The Theory of Everything (2014 James Marsh)

Stephen Hawking died yesterday. For someone who was given two years to live at the age of 21, he did all right - and had a good celebrity career too in things like Star Trek and The Simpsons.

This is a well acted film, not just by the exceptional leads, but also by Charlie Cox (who plays the choir master), David Thewlis, Emily Watson (arguably an underwritten part), Harry Lloyd (great as Stephen's college friend), Simon McBurney and Maxine Peake (her character did become Mrs Hawking).

Writer Anthony McCarten has sensibly focused on Stephen's whole life and relationships, not just on his work or illness. He also wrote Joe Wright's The Darkest Hour and Death of a Superhero (2011), Show of Hands (2008). He hails from New Zealand, began as a novelist. He was Oscar nominated (lost to Graham Moore for The Imitation Game) but won the BAFTA.

That last montage by Jinx Godfrey isn't just the whole film - it's the whole film backwards - which is a great idea and must have been a lot of fun to work on. It's overall quite an edited film - very few long takes.

It's also gorgeously shot by Benoit Delhomme, in Panavision.

78 / 52: Hitchcock's Shower Scene (2017 Alexandre O. Philippe)

Well - you can make a whole film about one scene... Does anyone else find fault in the notion that there were 78 camera set-ups but only 52 cuts? Surely the number of set-ups can't exceed the number of cuts?

With its Psycho recreation footage, it begins like an episode of a new Fargo series. Then all sorts of weird and wonderful people give their views, some more interesting than others. Who the hell is the guy in the hat, for example?

I think some of them tend to over-read Hitch. It reminds me of studying Shakespeare at school - the thought - 'How do you know that's what he intended / this subtext is all about?' etc. Did Shakespeare use subtext? Anyway, if you read Hitch's interviews or consult a thorough book like McGilligan's, it seems more likely that Hitch's first thoughts were about entertaining and manipulating audiences through story-telling and suspense, rather than having preoccupations about 'killing the American mom' or 'showing that the universe is random'. Also, all these people that dwell on Hitch's 'obsessions' should remember that he was brought up in a normal and loving family household and is no more obsessed than I am.

Only Bogdanovich seems to understand he studied the Russians and in that respect the editing in the shower scene wasn't 'something that had never been seen before'; nor is it fair to give too much credit to Tomasini, because Hitch was always all over every technical aspect of his films; nor can you claim the timing of when the music ends was 'all Herrmann - not Hitchcock' - how could you know that?

Still, there's no arguing that the film as a whole and the scene in particular did change films and film-making and become culturally ingrained, and it's interesting to hear especially voices of reason like Walter Murch take us through it shot by shot (which break all the rules) - a scene done 'in bits and pieces' - let's remind ourselves - to circumvent censorship problems - by suggesting explicit violence whilst actually showing none. And liked the sound effects melon bit... And the art guy talking about the painting on voyeurism!

P.S. I did later happen to see most of the scene with no sound - it maybe does work better...

Once Upon a Crime (1992 Eugene Levy)

Based on the 1960 Crimen (Mario Camerini) with Alberto Sordi, the type of Italian farce involving missing dogs, bodies in suitcases and the Riviera, adapted from the original by Steve Kluger and 'quickly rewritten' by Charles Shyer and Nancy Meyers*. A big mess, it's largely the responsibility of actor Levy (his only theatrical feature, I'm pleased to report), who pushes for embarrassing over-acting from most of the cast - Richard Lewis (who's not a starring actor), John Candy, James Belushi, and Sean Young, leaving only Cybill Shepherd and Giancarlo Giannini with some dignity. With Ornella Muti and George Hamilton, in eyebrow-raising mode.

Peopled by unlikable and unbelievable characters and situations, the film keeps aiming for farce but succeeds only in invoking the playground, with increasingly frantic music to match.

Belushi realising his career may be over..

It was shot by Giuseppe Rotunno, too little in Rome, and then in the Monte Carlo that doesn't look terribly appealing.

Still there are one or two moments that make you smile, and it's good to see really crap films now and then, to realise it's not as easy as it looks, and learn from the mistakes (like, 'Will this kind of story work in 1992?' - No).

* According to 'Nancy Meyers' by Deborah Jermyn (2017).

Endeavour - Season Five (2018 Created by Russell Lewis)

'Muse'. Unpleasant murders surround auction of Fabergé egg. Fancy joins band of cryptic names - Morse, Thursday, Truelove, Strange, Bright...

Thursday: They're all wanting something they couldn't have, I suppose.

Morse: Doesn't everyone?

You've gotta love the Fabergé egg within the Easter egg!

'Cartouche'. With Phil Daniels as Fred's brother. Egyptology meets horror movie star. Morse definitely getting grumpier...

'Passenger'. Body found next to railway track. Lout from Robbery has a go at Truelove - CS Bright is having none of it.

'Colours'. Murder of a model at a photo shoot on an army base. Thursday utters the line 'Well if you will go around getting shot at'. And to Thursday Jr. 'Off, now?' Very exciting episode with Morse in big danger.

'Quartet'. Murder at 'Jeux Sans Frontières'! Morse ignores instructions to leave it to Special Branch. Fred's threatening to retire. So's Morse's girlfriend... Ellie Haddington on good form as Ministry agent.

'Icarus'. Filmed at Reading School, there's a real feel of Unman, Wittering and Zigo, with Morse undercover as teacher; meanwhile gang warfare is hotting up, the station is closing, and we learn why Bright's always had a soft spot for Truelove...

Dr DeBryn: "I'll deal with George first, if I may. No reason why he should lie in this company any longer than he has to."

Always the TV highlight of the week. Great long plotting - Joan, station closure, gang warfare, Fancy, Fred's retirement.

American Sniper (2014 Clint Eastwood)

Long film both celebrates and criticises American involvement in Iraq war via a man who becomes dehumanised through becoming a 'legend'. The sucker punch is the ending - Kyle and his colleague Chad were killed by a schizophrenic ex-soldier they were trying to help at a firing range - the irony of that is enormous...  And underlined by the absence of play out music over the end credits.

Spielberg was going to direct, came up with the idea of the sniper on the other side.

The skull symbol we see more and more in evidence is from Marvel's The Punisher graphic novel.

Clint is my Dad's age... Has just directed another true story, The 15.17 to Paris. He seems single-handedly to be celebrating American courage...

Cooper ate 8000 calories a day to bulk up - those massive weights he's lifting are real. Off camera he would chat to Clint about directing, it being an ambition of his own - and look, here comes another Star Is Born!

Sully - Miracle on the Hudson (2016 Clint Eastwood)

A brilliantly well structured film - Todd Komarnicki is the screenwriter. Cunningly well crafted, in fact.

Editor Blu Murray - in usual Malpaso style, he had been an assistant editor on many other of their productions.

To answer my own question, the rescue boats were shot on the Hudson and the plane in Universal's artificial lake.

A film that makes you want to hug life.

Trouble with the Curve (2012 Robert Lorenz)

Lorenz looks like another Malpaso graduate having worked as first / second unit director in many of Clint Eastwood's films, American Sniper the most recent. This was Randy Brown's debut as a writer.

Clint is fabulous as grizzled baseball scout, Amy Adams his persistent daughter, Justin Timberlake an underwritten love interest. With John Goodman, Matthew Lillard, Bob Gunton, Scott Eastwood.

Shot by Tom  Stern - who else?

Young Clint is from Firefox - the film that came in handy eventually!

Argo (2012 Ben Affleck)

"This is the best bad idea we have." Written by Chris Terrio, based on material authored by Tony Mendez and Joshuah Bearman. Tense film is rapidly edited - doesn't have a shot longer than five seconds.

Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Victor Garber (Canadian ambassador), Tate Donovan, Scoot McNairy, Kerry Bishé, Clea DuVall...

Shot by Rodrigo Prieto. William Goldenberg's editing won the Oscar.

Something's Gotta Give (2003 Nancy Meyers & scr)

A double bill of Nancy Meyers kitchens. With conversational interruptions the film took about three hours to watch and maybe that's the reason it seems too long... The other overriding thought is that Keanu Reeves was quite the wrong choice and no doubt when next in the mood I could come up with twenty more suitable actors who could hold their own in a scene with the effortlessly good Nicholson - though Keaton is super, also (and Frances McDormand, whose character sort of disappears, unfortunately. Like the previous film, some of the plotting is a bit patchy).

I was just thinking the Man Who Came to Dinner when playwright Keaton pre-empts the suggestion by referring to 'Kaufman and Hart'.

Ah! So I had heard Trenet's 'Que Reste T'Il' before! Paris ending is somewhat superfluous, though it's good to see the finished play.

"I have never lied to you. I have always told you one version of the truth."

Michael Ballhaus is the glossy cinematographer this time. Superb editing by Joe Hutshing - but it is a quite edited film - Nancy doesn't favour long takes. Does she draw from her own experience of being divorced (in 1999)?

The Intern (2015 Nancy Meyers & scr)

Sometimes you want hermetically sealed, Nancy Meyers unreality land, just as you do an old Hollywood black and white. Even the office is a beautifully designed space (it happens to be de Niro's old office). Stephen Goldblatt is her pick of photography for gloss varnish. It's not just kitchens - it's linked to that perfect world - Nancy just positions her films in that world.

Amusing to wonder what Aki Kaurismaki would have made of it. In his version, the old intern would have made a hash of things, to begin with, misunderstood things, created catastrophes - here, Robert de Niro is too good and cherished by everyone from the word go. But the above applies - sometimes you just want that. He virtually becomes Anne Hathaway's father (in substitute for uncaring parents).

Some if it feels a bit underdeveloped - what's the point of introducing the office bike ride thing if not to use it again later? Still, thoroughly enjoyable in neutral - after a particularly tough week it was just what the doctor ordered.

Wasn't he in Taxi Driver? More reminds me of the character in Up!

"God, I wish your expressions weren't so transparent."

'Additional editing' by Kevin Tent, eh?

Irreconcilable Differences (1984 Charles Shyer)

An underrated film, quite painful in the horrible way the parents Ryan O'Neal (himself a questionable father) and the under-appreciated Shelley Long treat their daughter. Sharply scripted by then husband and wife Nancy Meyers (only her second after - in my mind - the inferior Private Benjamin) and Shyer.

The US Olive Films 'special edition' is in the right shape; Bill Fraker's lighting is now honoured respectfully.

Drew was the daughter of John Drew Barrymore and Ildiko Jaid Mako, a Hungarian refugee.... Yes, the story continues. The son of John and Dolores Costello, he claimed to have only seen his father once... was jailed often for drunkenness and drugs and wife abuse and became a recluse....

Well reviewed here, but some additional notes, jottings, if you will:

The way Shelley pulls her socks up before addressing her boyfriend in the motel room (a great scene - does he even say anything?). A lovely touch.
The way Drew lets go of her balloons after drinking a glass of champagne at New Year's Eve party.
"Bad liars - how refreshing."
In the Atlanta filming - "Get the flies back!" (You have to pay attention.)

Ah! So, 'Mamacita' is a generic term of endearment, it seems... ('Mummy'.)

Shot by William A Fraker - Bullitt, Cuckoo's Nest (one of them), Rosemary's Baby, Rancho Deluxe, The President's Analyst, the Day of the Dolphin.