Thursday 31 December 2015

Freeview film choices : thursday 31st of December

The African Queen (1951 100min.) [More4 10.15am &+1]
Classic First World War romantic adventure starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn. East Africa, 1914: when her home is destroyed by invading Germans, a prim missionary finds an unlikely saviour in the scruffy, gin-drinking captain of a small steam-driven riverboat, The African Queen. Together, the indomitable pair begin a treacherous journey downriver to conduct their own private battle against the enemy.

Custer Of The West (1967 135min.) [BBC2 11.15am]
Western starring Robert Shaw. After brilliant military successes in the Civil War, General George Custer goes west to command the Seventh Cavalry and finds himself caught between warring tribes and the political needs of his superiors. The tense situation leads to the fateful Battle of the Little Bighorn.

Rocketeer (1991 104min.) [Ch4 1.10pm &+1]
Fantasy adventure starring Bill Campbell and Jennifer Connelly. In 1930s Hollywood, a young pilot discovers a mysterious rocket-powered backpack and becomes a superhero. But the device soon attracts the unwanted attention of a Nazi spy masquerading as a movie star.

Ice Station Zebra (1968 145min.) [BBC2 1.30pm]
Alistair MacLean's Arctic adventure, starring Rock Hudson, Ernest Borgnine and Patrick McGoohan. When a secret film capsule from a Russian spacecraft lands near Station Zebra, the tiny weather base is plunged into the shadowy world of the Cold War and a potentially cataclysmic confrontation between two deadly superpowers.

Up (2009 92min.) [BBC1 2.50pm]
An old man attaches thousands of balloons to his house so he can fly it to South America, and fulfil his late wife's dream of exploring the jungle. However, once airborne, he finds he has an unwanted stowaway in the shape of an excitable boy scout. Pixar animated adventure, with the voices of Ed Asner, Jordan Nagai and Christopher Plummer.

The Wizard Of Oz (1939 97min.) [Ch5 3.55pm &+1]
Classic musical fantasy starring Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr and Jack Haley. When a huge tornado hits Dorothy's home in Kansas, she is whiskedoff far away into a strange and dazzling world. There she must escape the clutches of the Wicked Witch of the West and find her way to the Emerald City.

Beguiling, bewitching and still brilliant.

The School Of Rock (2003 104min.) [Film4 4.05pm &+1]
Musical comedy starring Jack Black as Dewey Finn, an out-of-work heavy metal guitarist who cons his way into a job teaching at an expensive private school. Introducing the uptight students to the joys of rock music, Finn sets about grooming them for a battle-of-the-bands contest.

It's Jack Black's film as he bumbles, blunders, grins and goofs through the warmhearted script ; he's clearly having a lot of fun with the character and the young cast respond with glee to his grandstanding performance.
Joan Cusack is in fine form as the tightly wound principal who also falls under his spell and the film is littered with moments of verbal dexterity and slapstick which, while aimed squarely at a young audience, means that there's plenty here for the older viewer to enjoy.

Richard Linklater directs with confidence and with the sure handed approach he had previously employed on Slacker and Dazed And Confused - he avoids the obvious pitfall of allowing the story to wallow in sentiment and keeps the energy level high throughout.

Good, well made entertainment with a lot to offer to a wide range of viewers.

ET – the Extra-Terrestrial
(1982 109min.) [ITV2 6.45pm &+1]
Steven Spielberg's classic sci-fi adventure, starring Henry Thomas and Dee Wallace, and featuring Drew Barrymore. Ten-year-old Elliott has a new friend, but he's from another planet and nobody must know he's here.

How To Train Your Dragon (2010 93min.) [BBC3 7.00pm]
Teenager Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) belongs to a belligerent Viking tribe that sees dragons as their mortal enemy. But Hiccup is a secret dragon-whisperer and when he helps, rather than kills, a wounded Night Fury dragon nicknamedToothless, he sets a new course for his family and friends.

Entertaining and rather fun. Visually it's top notch CGI animation but the script and some of the voice work falters at times.
Not essential viewing but a nice way to pass an hour and a half.

Toy Story 2 (1999 88min.) [BBC3 8.30pm]
Animated comedy adventure sequel, featuring the voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen. When his young owner, Andy, goes off to summer camp, Woody is stolen by a toy collector who recognises him as a valuable doll. Woody's erstwhile rival, Buzz Lightyear, leads a rescue party to save him - with chaotic results.

My personal favourite of the Toy Story films.

Pitch Perfect (2012 107min.) [Film4 9.00pm &+1]
A new student finds herself a social outcast during her first year of college, but soon acquires a new circle of friends in a band of misfits with a shared talent for singing. She joins their a cappella group and leads them to compete in the campus music competitions. Comedy, starring Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson and Elizabeth Banks.

Light hearted (but not lightweight) campus set big sister to the Glee TV series. High paced and bursting with energy; the story may not amount to much and the plot takes a fairly straight line from A to C but it's all done with such wit and performed with charm and verve that it's difficult not to get swept along.

Made In Dagenham (2010 108min.) [BBC4 10.55pm]

Comedy drama based on a true story, starring Sally Hawkins, Bob Hoskins and Miranda Richardson. In 1968, workers at the Ford auto plant in Dagenham - one of the biggest employers in the UK - go on strike, demanding equal rights for female staff. The unassuming Rita O'Grady finds herself at the centre of a movement that is destined to change the lives of women for years to come.

A timely reminder of what the British film industry can do apart from frocks'n'bonnets literary adaptations, alleged comedy films with floppy haired posh people and soft-hearted dramas about the elderly.

The always excellent Sally Hawkins leads a solid gold cast : Bob Hoskins, Miranda Richardson (note perfect as Labour legend Barbara Castle), Daniel Mays, Rosamund Pike, John Sessions (as Harold Wilson), Rupert Graves, Geraldine James and even Toby off of The West Wing and Trigger off of OFAH all pop-up at various points.

A warm, witty, affectionate slice of social history focussing on one of the pivitol moments in the development of British society with a well-realised sense of time and place and a script that makes its points well without feeling the need to bash you about the head with them constantly.
Thoroughly recommended.

Silver Linings Playbook (2012 117min.) [Film4 11.10pm &+1]
Romantic comedy drama starring Bradley Cooper and an Oscar-winning Jennifer Lawrence. Thirty-something Pat is discharged after a mandatory stay in a mental-health institution imposed on him after he assaulted his wife's lover. After moving back in with his parents, Pat continues to struggle with his bipolar disorder - a situation made worse by his refusal to take medication. When he meets young widow Tiffany, they form an uneasy friendship, despite Tiffany having problems of her own.


Goldfinger (1964 105min.) [ITV1 12.40am friday &+1]
Spy adventure starring Sean Connery. Agent 007 James Bond investigates ruthless criminal Auric Goldfinger, a man with an insatiable appetite for gold and a desire to become the most powerful man on Earth.


20,000 Days On Earth (2014 93min.) [Film4 1.30am friday &+1]
Documentary about Nick Cave, exploring his creative process by following him over the course of one day. The film explores Cave's personal archives and features recordings of his sessions with a psychoanalyst, and includes contributions from friends, family and musical collaborators, including Kylie Minogue and Ray Winstone.

Strictly speaking not a documentary : it's an imagined 'typical day' in Cave's life, during which he reflects on his life up to that point.
As well as his own recollections we also see him at work with some of his collaborators and in conversation with showbiz friends.
There's a wealth of anecdote, some great performance footage and a hilarious story about meeting Nina Simone.

Although uncritical in it's approach it's a very well constructed film and Cave is certainly an engaging host.

Even if you don't know or care for his music there's more than enough entertainment value here : for the fan it's an absolute treat.

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