Splice Movies T.W.A.T.

Weekend Movies T.W.A.T. 27th Feb - 1st March 09

T.W.A.T. means to watch avec telly. This is the Spice Guide to whats on telly thats filmy. Read it and post some comments, what you watched, what you didnt, tell me to stop posting thins crap, your choice.Avec means "with" i know that but rather than "on" and make it T.W.O.T. its T.W.A.T. cos its aesthetically more pleasing.

Another weekend has rolled itself around so here is where to find out what is coming up on the telly if your staying in. Or rather you could probably check the papers too, they have the tv listings, yeah! But it doesnt have the same spin on it you will read here so forget the national press and read on.

Friday 27th Jan 2009

‘normal’ telly has been at it all week and as we come to Friday its no different, absolutely balls all on. The only thing worth a look and only if you cant find the remote to turn it over or you can find the remote but its slightly out of reach and because its friday you deont actually make any effort to get it....oh and the telly is set to BBC1 then you can watch Halloween H20! You know what, that is a right shit name for a film.

Digital is where its at however, Sky3 to be precise and 9pm the time. Aztec Rex is on. What? Never heard of it? me neither i will admit, however get this, its about 16th century Spanish explorers battling dinosaurs in a South American jungle. now you have to put that gem of a synopsis together with the knowledge (or lack of) that none of us have heard of it and realise that this is going to be a steaming pile of dung, and that friends is a reason to rejoice!

Also on and battling out for your 10pm viewing are three films on ITV4, ITV3 and more4 respectively, Cyborg starring JCVD (he is everywhere right now), The Graduate and Millers Crossing being the films shown. Millers Crossing is the Coens stab at American gangster cinema and frankly its cracking, also if your a Spice fan you will know that the slightly neglected guide to the top 100 films of the 90s has it on the slate as the next film to show up on the ever growing list, so this is a great chance to see what we will be talking about as soon as Red gets his finger out!

Sex Pistols doco The Filth and the Fury is on film4 at 11.15 by the way if you can find and hold the remote in your grasp and cant face Halloween H2O, up to you.

Saturday 28th jan 2009

Saturday has basically decided to follow suit with the working days of the week and decided to be pant also. ITV and C4 have films on at nine each and both are worth a look, you may have seen them, Bourne Supremacy and Shawshank Redemption? Midnight on BBC1 has Terry Gillian mind fucking us to a pulp with 13 Monkeys also, so even though its only three choices there all goodies, dont get me wrong there is more stuff on, but on the whole nothing stuck out so if nothing takes your fancy have a can of beer and make a conscious effort to fall asleep during match of the day.

It’s the pure biz on bbc4 on Saturday, a Hitchcock night of sorts, two films; The Lady Vanishes which is hilarious in parts and Rebecca which is absolutely wonderful. But also on is a hour long doco by Paul Merton called Paul Merton looks at Alfred Hitchcock. Its on at 9pm and surrounded by the two films but get this if you miss it then you can see it the other two times its on this very night! Back of 12 and back of 3. It must be mega!

Nearly forgot, fiveUSA’s western double bill. The Shootist and Silverado. The Shootist is John Waynes last ever film so suppose that piece of history is worth a watch, after having missed McLintock last Sat i may just make The Shootist my entry point to ol Marion’s canon.

Sunday 1st Mar 2009

Does Sunday signify a new week or simply the last day of the old one? Something to ponder i suppose, as far as this preview thing goes its the start of the week as there is some good shit on and plenty of it. BBC2 has Connery and Caine, yes Connerya nd Caine in the Man who would be King at 3pm a good afternoon flick and up against a piece of Bond pish on ITV no less! HA! Easy, no Michael Caine in Bond! If thats not yer bag then Wizard of Oz is on five at 10 to 4. Can i just say that i like those new Orange ad’s with the wicked witch of the west in them, there funny. Evening viewing has Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker in Rush Hour 2, now i dont care what anyone says, i bloody like Rush Hour films, i think they are funny, and Chris Tucker isnt irritating, he is funny as shit! oh alright he is a bit irritating, but it doesnt waste my enjoyment of the east meets west hijinks.

Film4 offer up back to back doozies at 11.20 and then 1.05 so if you can stay up there is Office Space from the guy who did Beavis and Butthead and also Altmans The Player, not a too bad double header. Also worth a watch is Kevin and Perry go Large on ITV2 at 11pm. Its basically about ten thousand willie jokes put together but some memories are brought back for me cos there is a scene where you can see the podium thing i danced horribly on when drunk on a boys hol in Ibiza and that makes me happy.

Cheers.

Splice Movies T.W.A.T.

Midweek Movies T.W.A.T. 23th - 26th February 09

T.W.A.T. means to watch avec telly. This is the Spice Guide to whats on telly thats filmy. Read it and post some comments, what you watched, what you didnt, tell me to stop posting thins crap, your choice.

Avec means "with" i know that but rather than "on" and make it T.W.O.T. its T.W.A.T. cos its aesthetically more pleasing.


Well after 1 week just i managed to fuck the Movie T.W.A.T. up, posting the midweek picks a day late, well sorry.

Right, yesterday you missed, well not a lot really, Clint in Pale Rider on STV and newly crowned Best Director in the Oscars Danny Boyles 28 Days Later, Both of which i havent seen, however i have seen City Slickers and i can say first hand its excellent but it was on ITV2 and thus will be on again, no doubt this week some time!

Tuesday 24th Feb 2009

Nothing of note, film wise, on “normal” telly today so i will pojnt you in the direction of Dangermouse which is on BBC2 at 11 in the morning, let me tell you this, this show was wasted on the young, becuase it is hands down absolutely off its tits hilarious, hilarious.
Bloody Young Guns is on fiveUSA tonight, ya dancer, havent seen this in ages, in fact i have no idea what happens in it its been so long. This isnt the one with the Bon Jovi soundtrack though is it? thats Young Guns II: Blaze of Glory i am sure. I liked Bon Jovi when i was younger, a confession i never thought i would make and certainly not in this context. Strange. Manhunter is also on ITV2 at ten tonight, its supposed to be good but i have always been scared of it so haven't seen it, again another confession, what is wrong with me.

Wednesday 25th Feb 2009

Movie connections reaches the end of its series on BBC1 tonight with a whimper if you ask me, Calendar Girls? Really? But i suppose its not bad background telly. Another Danny Boyle film is on tonight and it follows movie connections on the Beeb, Millions, his film from 2004 about a young fella who finds a bag of money, supposed to be good, again another film i havent seen. Thing is, was this intentional to show these things in the week after the Oscars, and what if he got beat to the statue, they wouldnt have pulled the films but then surely its just for a wee ratings boost. I am overthinking this.

Nothing much on digital on Wed except Ghost of Mars which frankly looks pure baws.
No wait, BBC4 has the Zidane movie! Fitba and cinema mixed with balding Frenchmen. A match made in heaven and only on for 90 minutes! 10pm to 11.30 i now know what i am watching.

Thursday 26th February 2009

What a guff week it has been for “council” telly (i love the names terrestial tv gets) I thought there was a hidden gem on BBC2 on Thurs; James Caan’s jobs about the secret life of the man who made Sonny Corleone such a cinema icon but sadly its just a show about the guy from Dragons Den. Boo.

And digital on Thurs seems to suck donkey dong too, ton of stuff that has been on a fair bit in last week or two so not worth mentioning again, fiveUSA has the Will Smith season on again, Men in Black this week, a goody. You know what i am going to highlight, film4, 6.40, Batman and Robin! Joel Schumacher’s second effort and widely regarded as the one that killed the franchise before Chris Nolan ripped it a new one a few years ago. Its mince, yes that is true, but not as mince as everyone goes on and says it is. Watch it eating your tea, sometimes things are better eating your tea. Hollyoaks for instance, annoying most of the time but with a plate of spag bol in front of you and its strangely palatable. Batman and Robin could be looked upon in this manner.

cheers

My Name Is Bruce: The Countdown Theme Music Plays As We Are Nearing The Time

That's right! My palms are sweaty! Amazon just emailed me recommending the My Name Is Bruce DVD at knock down price because it's now less than a week to go.

Seriously, I'm trying not to poo myself with excitement, although a week is a long time to hold in a jobbie so I'll probably just go about doing a few in the regular scheduled manner.

And The Real Winner Is...

Who cares about who actually won an Oscar. What's more important is who guessed most winners right. On the line is a Mars Bar or chocolate confectionery of the winner's choice.

The scores have been tallied and they stand:

Ruud - 10

Red - 12

Granted that's out of 24 so we're both shite! And naturally we didn't count the technical awards, but nobody, including the Academy, do. Hell they're not even held on the same night never mind televised!

Well I'd like to say that there was great competition this year and that I'd like to thank the forest god Pan for this wonderful thing that has bestown (probably not a real word in any way) me. I'd also like to donate the Mars Bar to Comic Relief, if it doesn't melt in the desert I'm sure some African kid will be chuffed with it.

The Oscars 2009: The Winners

Here's the list of this year's winners.

The Oscars 2009: Red v Ruud

Well the time has come my friends to talk of many things, and the first thing is mars bars and how they will be won through the medium of correct Oscar winning predictions!

Oscars 2009: The nominees

Here is the complete shortlist for the 81st Academy Awards, which are being held at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles on 22 February.

Best picture:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire (Ruud) (Red)

Best director:
Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire (Ruud) (Red)
Stephen Daldry - The Reader
David Fincher - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard - Frost/Nixon
Gus Van Sant - Milk

Best actor:
Richard Jenkins - The Visitor
Frank Langella - Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn - Milk
Brad Pitt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler (Ruud) (Red)

Best actress:
Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie - Changeling (Ruud)
Melissa Leo - Frozen River
Meryl Streep - Doubt (Red, gambling on Blubber Winslet being snubbed for the first time at an awards this year is probably a fool's game but there you go)
Kate Winslet - The Reader

Best supporting actress:
Amy Adams - Doubt
Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Ruud)
Viola Davis - Doubt (Red, even though she's in one scene and Amy Adams is the best thing in the film)
Taraji P Henson - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei - The Wrestler

Best supporting actor:
Josh Brolin - Milk
Robert Downey Jr - Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight (Ruud, but i really want Michael Shannon) (Red)
Michael Shannon - Revolutionary Road

Best foreign language film:
Revanche - Austria
The Class - France (Red)
The Baader Meinhof Complex - Germany (Ruud)
Departures - Japan
Waltz With Bashir - Israel

Best animated feature film:
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
Wall-E (Ruud) (Red, it should be nominated for Best Picture but animation scares those auld bastards at the Academy)

Best adapted screenplay:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Doubt (Red)
Frost/Nixon
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire (Ruud)

Best original screenplay:
Happy-Go-Lucky
Milk
Wall-E
In Bruges (Ruud- ma nap) (Red, it deserves it but the swearing and midget abuse may count against it)
Frozen River

Best original score:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Defiance
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire (Ruud) (Red)
Wall-E

Best original song:
Down To Earth - Wall-E (Red, I don't know why The Boss' The Wrestler didn't get a nomination but this was a cracker too)
Jai Ho - Slumdog Millionaire (Ruud)
O Saya - Slumdog Millionaire

Art direction:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Ruud) (Red)
Changeling
The Dark Knight
The Duchess
Revolutionary Road

Cinematography:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Ruud)
Changeling
The Dark Knight
Slumdog Millionaire (Red)
The Reader

Costume design:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Australia (Ruud)
Milk
The Duchess (Red)
Revolutionary Road

Best documentary feature:
The Betrayal
Encounters at the End of the World
The Garden
Man on Wire (Ruud) (Red)
Trouble The Water

Best documentary short subject:
The Conscience of Nhem En
The Final Inch (Red, wild guess)
Smile Pinki
The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306 (Ruud)

Film editing:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon (Ruud)
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire (Red)

Make-up:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Red, although it should go to Hellboy)
The Dark Knight
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Ruud)

Best live action short film:
Auf der Strecke (On The Line) (Red, another wild guess)
Manon on the Asphalt
New Boy
The Pig Spielzeugland (Toyland) (Ruud)

Best animated short film:
La Maison en Petits Cubes
Lavatory - Lovestory
Oktapodi
Presto (Ruud) (Red)
This Way Up

Sound editing:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Iron Man
Wanted (Ruud)
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E (Red)

Sound mixing:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Wanted
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E (Ruud) (Red)

Visual effects:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Red)
The Dark Knight (Ruud)
Iron Man



Let Battle Commence!

The Razzies Winners (Or Losers)

It's the biggest night in cinema's calender, no not tonight and that bloody bore-fest that is the Oscars. No, last night the Razzies were held and here's the winners. I have to admit to having only seen one of these movies, and worse, I now want to see all of them! There, are you happy Razzie Awards judges? These films weren't even on my radar until now! You're promoting crap, not chiding it!

Sorry, I just had an episode thanks to wanting to see The Hottie And The Nottie.

Anyway, the real big night, as shite as it may be, is later on so Splice will be posting our predictions, not to show how great we are at working out Hollywood politics but because we have a bet with each other on who can guess the most correctly.

Splice Movies T.W.A.T.

Weekend Movies T.W.A.T. 20th - 22nd February 09

T.W.A.T. means to watch avec telly. This is the Spice Guide to whats on telly thats filmy. Read it and post some comments, what you watched, what you didnt, tell me to stop posting thins crap, your choice.

Avec means "with" i know that but rather than "on" and make it T.W.O.T. its T.W.A.T. cos its aesthetically more pleasing.

Friday 20th Feb 09

Afternoon off and absolutely hundereds of time on your hands? Cleopatra is on Channel 4 starting at 10.20 and finishing at half three it even has a break for the news just like a classic ITV monday night movie! See a young Liz Taylor and Richard Burton in a lavish excuse of a movie and go make yourself a piece in between, excellent! I will be working though. Boo.

At night; Micky Rourke is a guest on Jonathan Ross, anyone who saw his appearance on Graham Norton will be both worried and excited about the prospects of this. BBC4 has a doco on Motown called Standing on the Shoulders of Motown which is in amongst its Motown night (too much use of Motown?) and More4 has a decent De Niro film (15minutes) both at 10pm.

Crap films for you on friday: Bringing Down the House on BBC1 (11.40) has the magic pairing of Steve Martin and Queen Latifah so that will be crap but it made the cinemas in the UK. STV has How High (12.05) which stars Wu tang Clan member Method Man starring, rap stars as movie stars usually means pish, rap stars as movie stars in movies you have never even heard of before doesnt bode well. Finally Dave (dave?) has a film on, usually its wall to wall Top Gear and Mock the Week but no, Friday the 20th has Code of Silence at 1am adn it stars Chuck Norris! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS!

Saturday 21st Feb 09

Another afternoon film on Saturday, 3.25 sees Mclintock shown on BBC2, John Wayne! I am going to make a confession, i have never seen a John Wayne film in my life, not one. Is this the place to start, should i start at all? As evening falls 9pm has many channels vieing for your attentions, virgin1 has De Niro flick Flawless, fiveUSA has Spiderman, ITV has Bourne Identity with old school 10o'clock news in between. Remember the LYNX monday night movie or the monday night movie sponsored by Diet Coke, ah those were the days! BBC3 has the actually quite excellent The Girl Next Door which has the double whammy of a plot about porn starring Elisha Cuthbert totally usurped by a film stealing performance by Timothy Olyphant.

Later on, Scottish film alert on BBC2 True North (10.45) has Peter Mullan in it so must be alright, Peter Jackson pre LOTR in Heavenly Creatures (Midnight, BBC1), Channel4 has Heartbreak Ridge (11pm) with Clint which is good fun and ITV4 has This is Spinal Tap which i genuinly dont get, im sure i will sometime but from memory of seeing it, i simply thought it was one of the most overrated films ever.

Ok, hard to believe i am saying this (especially after my Spinal Tap outburst) but stand out for Saturday is on fiveUSA at 11.20. RoadHouse II: Last Call. A sequel to the best ever film about bouncers, need i say more?

Sunday 22nd Feb 09

Some James Bond flick is on in the afternoon (yawn) but fuck that cos Short Circuit is on five at 6.15! Johnny 5 is alive indeed!

The 9pm battle is between Ray (ITV3) Entrapement (E4) My Super Ex Girlfriend (CH4) and Attack Force (Seagal pish on five) but never mind them cos Top Gun is on at 10 on ITV2 and you dont want to miss any of that! who can tell me off the top of their heads what Mavericks real name is by the way? More Cruise on CH4 at 11.25 in cameron Crowes Vanilla Sky, a true mind fuck. and on film4 at five to one Che Guevarra film The Motorcycle Diaries, heard its good.

Oh aye, its kinda breaking the rules but if you have the chance and the insomnia try watching the Oscars which is on at 1am.

Remember and leave a wee comment if you watch any of these recommendations or have any more to add. or think i waffle a proper load of shit.

Cheers

JCVD

When talking about Cinema it's doubtful that the names Jean-Luc Godard and Jean-Claude Van Damme have come up in the same sentence all that often, unless it's to point out that Jean forms a bit of both their names. One is an exponent of hyper-kinetic filmmaking that changed Cinema whilst the other is Jean-Luc Godard (HA HA HA!). Lame puns aside, ol' JCVD has just went and played a beat-up version of himself, that judging by recent interviews, may not be too far from the truth, in a film that plays a lot like something that would have come out of the French New Wave.

Now I'm not a fan of that particular school of filmmaking, it was too up itself for my liking, but there's no denying its importance and many of the things that it influenced have been great, although they tend not to go as gung-ho with breaking the conventions of movies as those original films. JCVD does. In fact it positively revels in the creative freedom preached by those 60's Gallic flicks featuring a plot told in broken chronology, flamboyant camera work and an astonishing six minute monologue delivered to camera by the central protagonist. This scene alone is worth seeing JCVD for. Throughout the movie Van Damme plays a version of himself who appears broken, done in by a career that he is not proud of and that has now destroyed his family life. He's getting too old to keep doing it but it's the only thing open to him. The prospect that he may die in the Post Office heist he is caught up in makes him confront the choices he has made in life and the monologue acts as a confessional. His performance has already been striking up until this moment and the raw emotion he shows during it further proves that Van Damme may have all along been a brilliant actor forced into having to do action movies to make a living. The fact that he is also allowed to speak in his native tongue instead of the second language he usually does clearly helps him achieve this level of intensity.

In an attempt to sell the film to his usual audience JCVD has been made to look like an action film. Instead this is an arty European movie that plays like Godard making Dog Day Afternoon. It serves as an interesting character study of a man famous for a career he may not have ever wanted, the twist being that the subject of the picture is himself just that and happens to also share his name with the protagonist. It's by no means perfect but what JCVD is is an interesting curio that deserves to be seen by fans of Van Damme and those who have little time for him. No matter your preconceptions about him this film, and in particular his stunning performance, will go a long way to changing them.

Splice's Greatest Films Ever Made To Come Out In The 90's (the 1990's): An Update

Well our super-duper list has been on hiatus for a while but I went and upgraded all my Coen Brothers films to DVD and I'm in the process of re-watching them all so there's going to be a few new entries on the list. Thought I'd post this to explain why there'll be a number of Coens ones in a row. Next one coming soon.

Splice Movies T.W.A.T.

Midweek 16th - 19th Feb 09

Splice from now on brings you a regular update on movies and the like of sort of thing that you can watch from the comfort of your own settee. Movie T.W.A.T. means movies to (T) watch (W) avec (A) tv (T). Now i know what your thinking, avec means with, well yes it does but TWOT with the o for on but really TWAT is far more childishly funny so avec it is. Movies to watch with tv: Movie T.W.A.T. See?

basically it will cover all films wortha look on terrestial tv and also freeview, plus anything else which might be deemed worthy by us. Also your attention will be brought to whenever a cheese hero of the movies makes a appearance on the box. seagal, JCVD, Swayze, etc.

soon i will boil all that info down into something much more managelble but for now...

Right here goes, Monday the 16th is tonight and tonight we have a rake of good stuff, American Cousins is on BBC1, its a cracking wee scottish movie written by a guy i and red have met, a certain Sergio Casci. We met him at university, (he did a lecture, he wasnt a clasmate) and he was a top bloke. Truth is we were asked to watch the film before we met him so my thoughts on it are based on own opinion and not simply cos the Casci is a cracking guy. Its on after midnight though so it'l be a late one. Also on late is John Woo's the Killer which is dove releasingly amazing, if you cant wait up all night watch the opening scene just until he recovers his hidden guns in the plant pots. Stunning.

earlier at a more prime time Vinny Jones plays a footballer in Mean Machine (CH4 10pm) which isnt all that bad, jason Statham is the tits and the more movies you see him in you more realise that he will be the JCVD of years to come. Seagal as a cook on a boat is Under Seige on E4 with that burd from Baywatch jumping out a cake and Tommy Lee Jones good as the baddie. Fiver (possibly the gayest name for a tv channel ever) has Go at 9pm and its def worth a watch but if you miss it no biggy, these channels show the same pump every couple of days or weeks.

Tuesday 17th is a bit lighter, Drama with her from saved by the bell that got her bits out in Showgirls years ago (what one?) in Student Seduction is on BBC1 at quarter to 2, dunno whether its worth staying up for mind you. Film 2009 is on earlier though it still has Jonathan Ross, not that i dont like him, i do, however i thought the Splice effort at taking over wasnt given the chance it deserves, one mans opinion thats all. The Culture show on BBC2 at 10pm has kermode talking Oscars so thats worth a look.

KickBoxer is on Five USA (renamed from fiveus aas of Monday weirdly) at nine, always wortha look even if your only tuning in back and forward. Silence of the Lambs is on ITV2 too at 10.

Wednesday 18th has sleeping with the Enemy on five at 10pm. I remember this being huge in the 90s, probably is pants though, Julia Roberts as a abused wife and crazy guy who fixes the tins in the cupboard, aye, prob is pants. BBC has there cracking series Movie Connections on tonight and this week its Local Hero. I only watched this for first time a few weeks ago and it is fantastic! So i shall watch this with interest. Bowfinger is worth a look on ITV2.

I should also tell you that Patrick Swayze's new series starts tonight on FiveUSA. Beast its called and thats all i know, but its Swayze as an FBI agent, what can go wrong? BBC4 has Oscar winner Tsotsi from a few years ago. Powerful South African Stuff.

Thursday 19th. Here we go, holy mince film alert, True Identity on BBC1 is an early 90s film starring Lenny Henry at the peak of his popularity, we thought he was Eddie Murphy so we made him play awhite guy and a black guy, genuis. So bad its bad. half 11 is when to get the telly turned over. Apart from that a JCVD double bill on ITV4 from 9pm has Hard Target and Nowhere to run and Five USA kicks off its Will Smith season with Bad Boys II which while not as good as the first one is alright. Word of warning though, it has adverts and was already far too long, this will seem like Once Upon a Time in America with the N word said loads and sunsets galore. God bless Michael Bay.

Damned United: An Update

Here is the trailer, not exactly an exclusive i suppose, you have probably seen it already but nevertheless.



It comes out 27th March! go on ya beauty!

Doubt

It's that time of year when the release schedule offers up its "worthy" films, and I'm sure it's a total coincidence that the Oscars happen about now. Doubt is a perfect example of one of those types of films, all brilliant acting and weighty subject, with barely a squeak of humour to be found. In this case it's the issue of sexual abuse in the Catholic church and the nature of faith, and obviously doubt. One look at the main players will tell you what to expect on the acting front; Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams. Throw in that it's an adaptation of a heralded play and you have awards bait.

And that's probably Doubt's main problem. Like so many films released around about awards season it feels designed to garner them, to the extent that it's difficult to connect to it. The same can be said for films such as The Reader or Changeling, they feel more like exercises than emotional experiences. Doubt does manage to rise above these film's sterility, but it's almost in spite of itself. The direction, by the writer who also penned the stageplay John Patrick Shanley, is poor to say the least. He relies too heavily on weird camera angles and visual metaphors as blunt as a well used pencil to try and convey his point.

Thankfully the acting rises above the shoddy direction. Hoffman is as good as he always is as charismatic priest Flynn while Streep is a whirlwind as the head Nun suspicious of his approach to children. This is a woman so sure of her convictions that she doesn't need proof, she just knows. It's an award worthy performance from one of the business' bona fide legends. The problem is that the confrontations between the two feel stagy, another of Shanley's shortcomings as he fails to make this theatrical adaptation feel cinematic, no matter the visual attempts mentioned previously. It means that although these two are acting their arses off, we know it. They feel like actors playing these parts as opposed to the characters themselves. Be thankful for Amy Adams then, one of the best actresses around at the moment. Her Sister James is a timid soul and the one character who feels totally natural.

What does separate Doubt from those other "worthy" pictures is its refusal to give easy answers. It's central premise is a touchy subject and the film asks the audience to side with a man who may be touching up kids against the person who wants to stop him for good. It would have been very easy for Doubt to have hamfistedly tackled this subject and made all the points that people want to hear. Instead it revels in making you question everything without necessarily giving you the answers to those questions, prepare to be frustrated if you're the type who needs closure in a film. It means that despite its many failings Doubt is still worth seeing.

BAFTA Winners

Just in case you care here's the winners of this year's BAFTA awards. Now I've already ranted about this piss poor excuse for a back slapping shindig when the nominations came out so I won't repeat myself. Instead I'll take the positives:

Slumdog cleaning up, hopefully it will at the Oscars now too,

In Bruges earning Martin McDonagh an award for Best Original Screenplay,

Er...that's it, really.

One point though, going back to the point I made about having separate Best Film and Outstanding British Film categories; if Slumdog's the best film of the last year how is it not the best British film? Or is that why it's worded as "outstanding", but then if that's the case then it shouldn't be nominated for the two awards.

Sorry, I'll shut up now as that's the tinpot Academy Awards over for another, underwhelming year. Roll on the Oscars so I can moan some more about that!

My Name Is Bruce: Update

Empire has reviewed it. They gave it 2 stars (out of 5). Personally I'm glad. Why? Because a Bruce Campbell film shouldn't be a 5 star getter, that's why. It bodes well for me that "serious" reviewers don't like it.

To quote:

"(Campbell has turned) in a clumsy comedy-horror...that squeaks through on the force of his personality alone. For Deadites only."

Sounds bloody brilliant to me!

The (Non)Blockbuster Season Is Upon Us!

It's winter and to form Britain's transport system has ground to a halt thanks to "extreme conditions" that others call wintery weather. It's also the time where things are a bit chilly on the hot movie front (see what I did there?) with it being a long way off until the summer blockbuster season. It's also the post-Xmas fantasy movie period so the trailers before films aren't quite as CRASH, BANG, WALLOP as they are at other times. Of course this is actually a time when a number of cracking films, mainly subtle dramas, comedies and Oscar chasers, appear. So hears a wee look at the trailers that were on before a few of the films out in January, let's put it this way there ain't a Transformers!

Revolutionary Road



Looks bleak din't it? Fuckin' hell man. It's freezing out and the World's falling apart so let's go for some escapism at the cinema. That's escapism if your life's so shite that a couple stilted by their suffocating surroundings shouting at each other for two hours seems like bliss.

Looks like the acting's a bit good though, eh?

Vicky Cristina Barcelona



In which a bunch of smarmy people act smarmy because their lives are great and the Credit Crunch means nothing. Why would you want to watch that for two hours? Cinema's not about escapism, it's about reflecting how shite my life is and I want to see others suffering!

Oh, and how about Javier Bardem? What better way to leap back from having to sport a Dora The Explorer haircut in No Country than getting it on with Penelope Cruz, Scarlett Johannson and that tasty yin from Frost/Nixon? Jammy bastard!

Gran Torino:



FUCKIN' YAAAAS!!!! Clint's rocking the shit in this one. Many hacks will say "it's Dirty Harry after he retires" and frankly I'm just as lazy. This looks bloody brilliant, kind of like if Dirty Harry was a pensioner and went mental.

Is it wrong that the sight of an aged Clint Eastwood made me as exited as seeing big CG robots beating the hell out of each other? Yes, yes it probably is.

Christian Bale goes Ape

I have done this, actually we have all done this, you know, not because of lights on a set or that obviously, no more like when your dinner isnt on the table when you get in from work. Admit it, im right? and also, when we all do it, lets all admit that we flip between an american and english accent, go on admit it. going ape shit is terrific fun.



oh, and how totally shite is this news anchor team? ooft! in the words of Tommy Sheridan, PISH!

The young turks ma baws.

My Name Is Bruce: The Countdown Begins

ONE MONTH! ONE MONTH until My Name Is Bruce finally appears on Region 2 DVD. It could be shite, Bruce is directing and he ain't Raimi, but it could be fuckin' brilliant in that cheesy bad excellent type way:



There's also a boxset with four of Bruce's films. That's a night of cheese right there!

The countdown begins!