A few years ago a little Australian film involving a sham marriage came along. Muriel’s Wedding was a huge international hit and brought the brilliant Toni Collette to the world’s attention. Fast forward sixteen years …
Forget Paris
12 October 2011 by Leave a Comment
There’s something immensely irritating about people who are much younger than ourselves who are talented and accomplished. Jealousy is so ugly but there’s no other emotion available when faced with twenty-three year old Christopher Presswell, writer and director of the fantastically warped romantic comedy, Forget Paris …
Can Cancer Be Funny?
14 September 2011 by 2 Comments
It’s a thorny subject which can polarise opinions. Is it appropriate to create comic responses to tragic events? Should we really look for the funny side of something that isn’t in any way amusing? Where do we draw the line between edgy humour and being offensive…
A Knight’s Tale
6 September 2011 by 2 Comments
I remember how I felt when Heath Ledger’s death was announced in January 2008. I was numbed, shocked, saddened. I knew straight away that cinema had lost one of its greatest young talents….
Top Ten: Bank Holiday Movies
28 August 2011 by 3 Comments
Here we are – the last Bank Holiday Monday until Christmas. I’m sure there’s lots to do but I’m going to stick with the tradition of sitting watching movies…
Yet another Bridget Jones film given the go-ahead
17 August 2011 by Leave a Comment
EW is reporting that Working Title has confirmed a third Bridget Jones film is in the pipeline. The film promises more tension between Bridget and Mark Darcy and another romp with Daniel Cleaver. I really enjoyed the first film but I found the second instalment frustrating. How much more of Bridget’s pathetic, whiny, self-indulgent bleating can we put up with? I doubt I’ll be rushing to see this one.
Trading Places
4 August 2011 by 2 Comments
An 80s classic to be treasured – not remade with the latest floppy haired teen idol
One of the most well-worn clichés in life is that you know you are getting old when policemen look young. Cliché or not, it’s certainly true. Another sure-fire sign is when you remember chart songs from the first time round and tut angrily at the horrendous cover versions. Yes Black-Eyed Peas I’m looking at you… I know I’m getting old because I’m dreading the inevitable remakes of my favourite 80s and 90s films. There’s a spate of remakes already released including The Karate Kid, Nightmare on Elm Street and Arthur. Others are still only rumours or are stuck in the development stage including Footloose, Overboard and Top Gun. The very thought of some of these new films makes a little bit of my soul die, however it has got me considering my favourite films and how I would feel about any potential remakes.
I’m passionately attached to films and hate the idea of spoiling the magic. I won’t watch It’s A Wonderful Life in colour, I refuse to see the “sequel” to Dirty Dancing – Havana Nights or go to see the apparently brilliant stage version. The thought of a CGI Gizmo in a 3D remake of Gremlins is enough to keep me awake at night sobbing. I think, though, the film I would be most upset to see a remake of is the 1983 John Landis classic Trading Places. Let’s face it though, it’s probably ripe to be remade, particularly in light of all the financial shenanigans going on at the moment. We’d easily believe that a couple of bankers (or brokers, they’re all the same anyway) would be evil enough to wreck the lives of a pair of innocents just for fun.
Father Goose
28 July 2011 by 2 Comments
An amusing WWII romp with Cary Grant unconvincing as an uncouth slob
Whenever Cary Grant is mentioned the automatic image is smooth, suave, sophisticated. A real gentleman. Walter Christopher Eckland, his character in the Oscar winning Father Goose, his 73rd and penultimate film, is as far from sophisticated as it is possible to get. But can Grant really put aside almost 40 years of habit and pull off the unshaven, drunken beachbum role?
Set during the Second World War, Father Goose is the story of Walter Eckland, an American beachcomber who is forced by a Royal Australian Navy Commander (an old friend who definitely has the measure of Eckland) to act as a coast-watcher for the Allies. For his (independently verified) reports on Japanese planes and shops Eckland, now codenamed Mother Goose much to his disgust, is rewarded with bottles of whisky which are hidden around the small island on which he is based. Walter’s quiet life is disturbed by the arrival of Catherine Freneau, played by Leslie Caron, and seven schoolgirls who have been abandoned while attempting to reach safety in Australia. The clash between the sophisticated Mademoiselle Freneau and her charges and the boorish Eckland takes place against the backdrop of increasing danger from the ever-present Japanese.
I’ve always enjoyed Father Goose. It’s a silly, funny romantic comedy. It is however almost impossible to imagine Cary Grant as anything other than a handsome, suave hero and he doesn’t really convince as a slob. The beautifully clean white socks he wears in one scene doesn’t help either – why would he have such clean clothes? He’s just Cary Grant. That’s ok though. Father Goose isn’t a serious drama, it’s a bit of fun. And we Cary Grant fans know and love our man whatever – we know his character isn’t really a hobo…
Julie & Julia
25 July 2011 by 1 Comment
An enjoyable biopic of two women and how cooking changed their lives
There’s an ongoing discussion on film blogs, review sites and magazines – why aren’t there more female directors? Why aren’t female directors recognised for their work? Are too many women shackled by the ghettoisation of making films for other women?