SEPTEMBER 2016 - FILMS + TV

A cracking month's viewing - only one film a DNF - well I kind of finished it as I let it play, but wasn't watching it.

Not a massive fan of the original films though they were enjoyable enough in their day. Watched with my wife and son. I quite like Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron, though I would struggle to name a film I've seen her in off the top of my head. Plenty of chasing around, plenty of action and brutality and a bit less story. Nothing wrong with that - an okay film for an evening in front of the telly.

I'm a self-confessed Jason Statham fan and here he is an adaptation of one of Ken Bruen's Inspector Brant books. Another high energy film with action and a bit of bother to the fore, as he tries to nail a killer. It's funny, I'm quite forgiving of the police bending the rules in books and films. It abhors me when I read about it in real-life! A much better film in my opinion than Mad Max, or at least a much more enjoyable film - Statham 1 Hardy 0

A 1972 Clint Eastwood film and a Western to boot. Clint's the town drunk and a tracker who gets hired by a big shot to track down some troublesome agitating Mexican rebels. A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do....or is that John Wayne? Nevertheless - a really enjoyable watch. Robert Duvall's our big-shot.

Robert Duvall also stars in this 1981 film. I've always been fascinated by the D. B. Cooper story - did he survive or did he perish?  

Believe this and there's no Robin Hood fairytale ending - Has-the-mystery-of-DB-Cooper-been-solved?

An enjoyable romp with a dogged cop tracking down and losing and tracking down and losing and tracking......etc, etc our man.

From IMDB......

Jessica Barden stars in Ellen, a new feature length single drama from Channel 4, developed as part of Channel 4’s commitment to new talent, and marking the debut of breakthrough UK female talent: writer Sarah Quintrell and director Mahalia Belo.

23 year old Jessica (represented by Curtis Brown), one of Screenterrier's original teenage rising stars, was most recently seen in BBC Two's one-hour drama Murder, as well as award-winning feature The Lobster.

The new 90-minute film is a powerful, prescient story of a tough teenager, 14 year old Ellen, trying to take control of her chaotic life, but forced to grow up too quickly.

Newcomer Yasmin Monet Prince stars as Kayla, who is befriended by Ellen and becomes a form of escape. The pair form a deep friendship with the kind of unshakable intensity forged by teenage girls. But just as she’s discovered a sense of fun and freedom with Kayla. »

My take..... extremely hard-hitting, gritty, haunting, disturbing, depressing - highly recommended and one you can't shake off lightly. Topical also - I'll say no more........excellent stuff!

OK film but not a patch on the book. Some books should perhaps be left alone - easy to say with hindsight I suppose! Enjoyable but it was no LA Confidential.

From Wikipedia....The Black Dahlia is a 2006 French neo noir crime thriller film directed by Brian De Palma. It is drawn from a novel of the same name by James Ellroy, the author of L.A. Confidential, and stars Josh Hartnett, Scarlett Johansson, Aaron Eckhart and Hilary Swank. The widely sensationalized murder of Elizabeth Short inspired both the novel and the film. The film's placement as the opening entry at the 63rd Venice International Film Festival on August 30, 2006, was its world premiere. Wide release was on September 15, 2006. Despite its failure — both critically and financially — the film was nominated for Best Cinematography at the 79th Academy Awards, losing to Pan's Labyrinth. Mia Kirshner's performance as the tragic Elizabeth Short was widely praised.

The obligatory horror film in the month and it wasn't too bad all in all. A little bit disturbing and unsettling, but I've seen a lot worse in my time.

A troubled widow (Essie Davis) discovers that her son is telling the truth about a monster that entered their home through the pages of a children's book.

I enjoy watching Philip Seymour Hoffman on screen and Christopher Walken always seems to have a manic,slightly off-kilter persona on screen. (He's the calm one here.) I watched it for these two alone and wasn't disappointed. Not my usual bag - a celebrated string quartet beset by illness and affairs and troubled inter-relationships and lots of friction.

Last in a gripping 4 part drama. 

A horrific double murder rocks the lives of two families living side-by-side in isolated rural Scotland. But instead of focusing on the investigation, One Of Us explores the fallout for the grieving relatives, and the dark consequences that threaten to shatter their lives.

All gets resolved and there are not too many happy ever after stories.

New Blood - BBC or was it ITV crime drama with a couple of cops. I've been limping through this one as a few family members are viewing and we're having trouble getting our stars aligned. 1 episode of a 2 parter watched - 1 to go and we're done. Enjoyable and hopefully it'll be back with a second series. 

Film of the month - Garage!

Synopsis.....Due to a learning disability, Josie's (Pat Shortt) life in a tiny town revolves around a menial job taking care of a garage that could close at any day. Things start to change, however, when David (Conor Ryan), the son of his boss' girlfriend, comes to work with him. Josie hangs out with David and his teenage friends, bringing them beer, and despite being a grown man himself, finds that the new company lifts his spirits. But his simple-mindedness blinds him to some potential legal dangers.

A 2007 film from Ireland - funny, sad, heart-warming, heart-breaking, thought provoking, entertaining - and one that stayed with me long after the closing credits. Utterly brilliant.  

Up There - looked better than it actually was. My wife stuck it for 20 mins, I said I'll watch it later. Put it on a fortnight afterwards and was overcome by CBA syndrome. It was on but I wasn't watching. My dogs might have raised an eyebrow, but I doubt it. DNF! Maybe another time with have caught me in the mood, but not going back.

Here's the plot.........
Martin welcomes the newly dead into the afterlife and he dreams of moving up. His plans of ascension are almost ruined when he and his chirpy teammate lose a soul in a seaside town.

The Third Man. I have the Graham Greene book  which I haven't read yet. Apparently the book-cum-novella was written after Greene had done the screenplay. This was either a Film 4 or TCM film during the month.  Enjoyable but I wouldn't consider it one of the greatest films ever made, which it has sometimes been tagged as. It's not even - the greatest film I ever watched during September, 2016. Trevor Howard's character was irritating.