Interview with Sidney Gilliat 1990

 Fabulous interview - here.

Even better there's a transcript - here.

Interview with Don Sharp 1993

 Done by the British Entertainment History Project. A fabulous resource. This covers Sharp's whole career - early years in Hobart, war service, theatre, JC Williamsons.

The link is here - https://historyproject.org.uk/interview/don-sharp

Movie review - "The Lego Movie" (2014) ****

 A delight. Funny, clever, inventive. Great characters, doused in jokes. A really good movie.

Movie review - "Fast and the Furious 6" (2011) *** (warning: spoilers)

 Not as good as the 5th...  But some wonderful moments like a fight with a tank. Vin Diesel has a fake girlfriend Elsa Pataky who seems very understanding when he drops her like a tonne of bricks to chase after Michelle Rodriguez who has hooked up with Luke Evans. Jordana Brewster's kidnapping seems like an afterthought as does Gal Gadot's death... I think that should've happened earlier. Dwayne Johnson's character gave up his principles very easily! Gina Carano could've done more.

Terrific teaser epilogue.

Movie review - "Fast Five" (2011) ***1/2

 This is more like it. Looks fantastic with Brazil settings (shot in Puerto Rico, apparently). Terrific action. Strong emotion because Paul Walker is now on the run with Jordana Brewter and trying to get along with Vin Disel. 

Dwayne Johnson gives the series a jolt of energy as a Tommy Lee Jones style Fugitive hunter. Jordana Brewster's character is pregnant so she has more stakes. It's fun.

Movie review - "Fast and the Furious" (2009) **1/2

 The fourth in the series, the one that brought back Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Paul Walker and Jordana Brewster, and threw in Sung Kang for a bit. It's really the first "proper" sequel, picking up the story of the first.

I wasn't wild about this. Rodriguez and Kang disappear too quickly, we don't see Rodriguez die so it's very hollow. 

Gal Gadot is an excellent addition to the fun - she suits this world to a tee. Jordana Brewster is a debit... maybe it's not her fault but her relationship with Walker seems really under-serviced. The film should be about him turning to the dark side but we never really get a sense of that.

Something about the film didn't work. Good action, looks great. John Ortiz is always reliable as a baddy. The ending teaser felt as though it should have been the actual climax. Maybe that's it. Also the Rodgriguez-Paul Walker plot needed to play out on screen. That too.

Movie review - "Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" (2006) *** (re-watching)

 Poor Lucas Black. Had the lead in this and has kind of been forgotten by the franchise. He's not bad. Could've fixed his teeth.

It's very well directed. Looks fantastic - Tokyo locations, shops, bright colours. These films are actually quite coy about sex for all the butts on display.

The script can't quite get the crime element right - I was confused by what Han was doing. But the relationship with Han is great - Sung Kang is good. Brian Tee and leonardo Lam are great villains and Nathalie Kelly was sweet.

Love the Vin Diesel cameo at the end... it shows though that he had the charisma which Black doesn't have (or to be fair Paul Walker).

Movie review - "The Female Jungle" (1955) **

Super low budget but it actually works in a way because it's set in a studio and shot at night... there's a surreal, nightmare quality to it. 

Lawrence Tierney is a cop investigating a crime which he might've committed because he was too drunk. There's elements of Laura - the dead girl was a model, adored by a pompous columnist (John Carradine).

Jayne Mansfield is a trampy blonde. she's fun as is Carradine and Tierney. No real leading person - it keeps changing. 

This was an early AIP release. I couldn't pick the killer.

Movie review - "2 Fast Too Furious" (2003) **1/2

 Vin Diesel is missed but Tyrese Gibson and Ludacris add some decent star power as does Eva Mendes (a surprising amount of female leads in this films went on to stuff eg Mendes, Gail Gadot). 

The basic story isn't as strong because it doesn't have the personal component. Paul Wallker and Gibson were childhood friends but fell out when Gibson went to prison - but there's no real betrayal, no deception, no woman who comes between them. They kiss and make up pretty quickly. Walker's romance with Mendes is undeveloped.

Interesting characters like Devon Aoki and Ludacris look like they're going to do stuff but then have relatively minor roles. Why don't they kill off a support character to give it some heft? It's like the film is too scared of conflict.

It's bright and colourful with some decent car action. The finale with all the street racers becoming involved is quite rousing and I like the car driving on to a boat. But the bit I remember is Gibson asking Walker about "the guy he let go in LA"... because that had emotional stakes lacking here.

Movie review - "Ned Kelly" (1970) **

 A famous misfire. But clearly made by someone with talent.

Mick Jagger is simply miscast. He doesn't have "it". Imagine original choice Albert Finney. Or just an actor.

Waylon Jennings' music score is a stunning misjudgement. Shocking. If they couldn't go Aussie at least go Irish or British.

It starts well. Kelly being hung. The locations are beautiful. The costumes.

It never comes to life. There's a lot of brogues. Kelly doesn't seem to have a relationship with anyone that develops. His mother yells. He has a sister. I couldn't tell his gang apart. Or what was going on.

It's not without interest. I just wish Karel Reisz had made it with Albert Finney.

Book review - "The Great Gatsby" by F Scott Fitzgerald

 I didn't like this at high school because I was forced to study it. But it was a joy to read again - short, decent story, lovely prose. I got it more now. Nick was dull but Jordan Baker is interesting - sport, a cheat, impulsive. I'm surprised more people don't get behind her.

Movie review - "Fast and the Furious" (2001) ***1/2

 I saw this after number seven... a different sort of film... very influence by Point Break but extremely effective. Paul Walker and Vin Diesel are extremely well cast, the story is simple but effective, decent complications (eg fall in love with sister), Jordana Brewster is sweet, Michelle Rodriguez is X factor, the action is colourful.

It doesn't quite crack the finale - the baddies feel tacked on as if they figured truckers defending themselves were kind of entitled. A very solid, decent movie which I enjoyed more than I thought I would.

Movie review - "Furious 7" (2015) ***1/2

 The one where Paul Walker died.

Big, loud, fun cartoon which goes there - cars jump out of planes and jump from skyscraper to skyscraper. It's like a movie brainstormed by 12 year old boys with some butts thrown in to appeal to 14 year old elder brothers. Those things are harder to do than they look though - in particular there are so many characters to service.

Paul Walker kind of gets overlooked... that may have been because of his death but Vin Diesel pulls focus, as do Michelle Rodriguez (amnesiac drama), Tyrese Gibson (comic relief I), and Ludicrous (comic relief II).

There's pleasing acknowledgement of the series continuity with appearances by Lucas Black (the forgotten lead of the third film, who gets one scene), Jordana Brewster.

People like Rhonda Rousey and Djimon Hounsou pop up and Kurt Russell has a decent sized role. And there's Nathalie Emmanuele and Elsa Pataky... oh and Dwayne Johnson has a small part and Jason Statham is a villain. Oh and there's an Iggy Azalea cmaeo.

 Something for everyone, really.

Sometimes the action is too cartoony to be effective... a scene with Paul Walker on a bus hanging off a cliff felt better because it seemed vaguely real.

The death of Paul Walter is very well handled at the end.

Movie review - "Moneyball" (2011) ***1/2 (re-watching)

 This is like an indie cover version of what should be a pop song. It kind of misses the drama/fan of the central concept - you get to figure out how to beat the system, you use stats instead of gut feel and talent worship, players get a chance again.

Yet it does work on its own level with languid takes, dark photography, long scenes, all that stuff.

Movie review - "The Trial of the Chicago Seven" (2020) **** (re watching)

 Saw it again. Lots of fun. Bright dialogue. Didn't quite nail the ending. Excellent acting and period re enactment.

Movie review - "Blackhat" (2015) **1/2 (warning: spoilers) (re-viewing)

 Gave this another go. It looks great. Love the locations. I assume the technology stuff is accurate ish. Fantastic fights - knife fights and action. Love how everyone stands around looking cool with sunglasses.

It's flabby. No sense of urgency. I guess there is when Hemsworth is on the run. The girl character could be cut out of the movie in terms of story. Really she should've been combined with her brother. 

The most effective bit is when the rest of the team get wiped out leaving Hemsworth and the girl alone.

I like the actor who played the main villain - actually I like all the actors. Climax in Indonesia is different.

It doesn't work but it's interesting.

Movie review - "The Hoodlum" (1951) **

 Lawrence Tierney back to being a Bad Apple. His ethnic mother worries about him (the actor plays it as "ethnic type") his brother is a boring you-should-do-the-right-thing type. There's a lot of moralising and not enough action. Tierney steals a girl off his brother and another girl associated with a bank (Tierney played a lot of stud muffins - women were always finding him irresistible). There's some deaths and melodrama (Tierney impregnates his brother's finance who kills herself, the mother dies of a heart attack). The low budget hurts the production value and quality of the support cast. It's cheap and not a lot of fun.

Movie review - "Kill or Be Killed" (1950) **1/2

 Lawrence Tierney reunites with his Dillinger director. Max Nosseck for an Eagle Lion Picture (they also made The Hoodlum) and it's an entertaining low budget Alan Ladd/Bogart type film with Tierney as an engineer in South America who is falsely accused of murder. He falls in love with a married woman and goes to work as an overseer. There's a scene where someone dies and the camera pans around all these villagers while the music plays this Enrico Morricone-style score which is cool. George Coolouris gives the support cast some class.

Not a bad "C" type movie. I think this had some location filming in Portugal? Lacks the polish of something in this genre of a studio "B" but I enjoy junky tales of adventure in the Hollywood third world.