December 2011
5 posts
8 tags
The Last Supper (1995) - 76%
It’s 1909 in Austria, and you meet a young artist named Adolf. Even though he has done nothing wrong yet - hasn’t formed any Reichs, hasn’t killed anyone - would you kill him? What if it’s nothing quite so bad as Hitler, but perhaps this person is just a bigot; just somebody with abhorrant views based on hatred and fear. If you knew the world would be a better place...
8 tags
The Guard (2011) - 78%
Usually when we think of trans-Atlantic film collaborations, we perhaps understandably assume English-American. Here from John Michael McDonagh (the brother of Martin, writer of In Bruges), comes The Guard: a massively cross-cultural delight which brings FBI agent Wendell Everet (Don Cheadle) into the small Irish town jurisdiction of loveable misanthrope Sergeant O’Doyle (Brendan Gleeson)....
7 tags
Black Mirror "15 Million Merits" (2011) - 74%
Part two of the Charlie Brooker-penned Black Mirror trilogy is “15 Million Merits”, a dystopian satire concerning our unhealthy relationship with celebrity - and most pertinently our fascination with the X Factor style judge-contestant panel shows. The show is set in an “alternative” reality (bit of satire of my own there) where the only real occupation is to earn merits...
7 tags
Black Mirror "The National Anthem" (2011) - 88%
Although technically not a film, this hour-long special was the most genuinely gripping, engaging and exciting piece of television I have seen in years. Written and executively produced by the always brilliant Charlie Brooker, Black Mirror part 1 “The National Anthem” concerns a kidnapped people’s princess and a prime minister who has to, well, he has to make sacrifices to save...
5 tags
Sideways (2004) - 82%
This charming, superbly-written gentle comedy snuck up on me a little bit, despite the Oscar. Starring Paul Giamatti as Miles, a frustrated novelist, and his soon-to-be married friend Jack (Thomas Haden Church), Sideways is a real gem which takes in the glories of America’s wine country and the pitfalls of close friendships.
Underpinning the film is the excellent performance of Giamatti....