Movie review - "His Girl Friday" (1940) *****

 I've read the two most influential Broadway comedies where What Price Glory? and The Front Page - certainly it's easy to see the influence of the latter on journalism movies. This remake would be highly influential on rom coms.

Every change improves it - making it a romance, giving the journos more humanity, bringing in Walter and Hildy to start.

Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell have the time of their lives, Ralph Bellamy is perfect. Wonderful cast and film. The Nazi-Soviet pact at the time meant the anti-commie jokes could be kept.

Movie review - "The Adventures of Gerard" (1970) *

 Terrible movie. Arthur Conan Doyle's short stories are apparently quite fun and George MacDonald Fraser was a huge fan - it sounds as though they influenced Flashman. But this movie is stupid. I never got a sense of Gerard, Peter McEnerey was just... whatever in a moustache. Claudia Cardinale is beautiful and can have chemistry with anyone but she's not in it much.

Jack Hawkins is in it, ditto John Neville and Eli Wallach as Napoleon. I couldn't follow what was going on, I didn't care. This just annoyed me. 

Movie review - "Blindfold" (1966) **

 Bland Universal programmer. Dull. Rock Hudson tries. Best thing about it is Claudia Cardinale and her outfits. Ended Phil Dunne's directing career. 

Movie review - "A Girl in Australia" (1971) ***

 Sweet riff on They Knew What They Wanted. Benefits from Alberto Sordi and Claudia Cardinale bringing full star power and Australian locations.

Movie review - "Mountainhead" (2025) ***1/2

 Strong writing and playing. Feels very much like an episode of Succession (terrible men, small roles to servants). Maybe would've worked better as a play. The cutaways to the real world feel forced. Not saying they wouldn't have happened. Just feel a little clunk.

Movie review - "The Shining" (1980) ****

 Jack Nicholson starts at nine and keeps going higher. Shelley Duvall magnificient. Ditto Danny Lloyd. I get why Steven king is upset, the film skips the essential human tragedy of Jack Torrence, but offers other pleasures. Wonderful atmosphere.

Movie review - "Sinners" (2025) ****

 Terrific movie. Slow burn build up, which pays off in the second half with big character impacts - the deaths matter. Satisfying love story resolutions. Splendid production design, music, etc.

Movie review - "Coup de Chance" (2023) **1/2

 Woody Allen ran out of ideas a while ago - this has novelty in that it's in French but the ingredients are the same: chattering classes, nice restaurants and houses, some narrative. A married person has an affair (here a woman), murder results (here the husband of the woman who is jealous), guilt results.

The actors are fine, I guess - Lou de Laage is very pretty though seems not that interested in what is going on, whether it's having an affair, the guy going missing or wondering if her husband is a killer. The character of her mother feels undercooked, potential robbed.

Woody just should have made the film about a man persecuted by his daughter, son and ex wife, you sense that's the film he really wanted to make. 

Play review - "The Front Page" (1928) by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur (1928)

 Walter Burns doesn't appear til half way but when he does this really flies because he's so irredeemibly sociopathic - but you don't mind because the evilness of the mayor and sheriff are established they're willing to let someone die so anyone against them is good. Finale solved by deux ex machina. Takes a while to get into gear then flies. Lot of cynicism and racism.

Movie review - "Mission Impossible - The Final Reckoning" (2025) **

Thoughts: 

- Leathery. Felt like a lot of leather, Actors like Henry Czerny, Esai Morales, Holt McCallany, Nick Offerman, Shea Whigham - and all the old henchman.

- So much exposition. I can't think of a film where it's been done with less finesse. So much Huey, Dewey and Louie dialogue.

- The Hayley Atwell romance so undercooked despite her efforts.

- Cruiser in great physical shape but felt old.

- Most showy role: Katy O'Brian. She should've joined the team.

- Decent sense of camraderie.

- Annoyingly reemphasised how everyone's going to die, and then how important the lives of the team are.

- Esai Morales dull villain, ditto entity. They should've killed Morales in the previous film and brought in a new human antagonist.

- Two great sequences: the sub and the plane. 

- I'm glaad McQuarrie got to riff on his favourite films like Ice Station Zebra, 200, Seven Days in May, etc. I just think he bit off more than he could chew with this one.

Book review - "Ready When You Are, Mr. Coppola, Mr. Spielberg, Mr. Crowe" by Jerry Ziesmer

 Memoir of an assistant director has some decent moments but needed an edit. Too much Apocalypse Now and schedules not enough personalities. Fun sketches of Sly Stallone (nutty but endearing), Cameron Crowe (all positive), Tom Cruise (hyper), Robert Redford (charming but a c*nt), Babs (into everything), Peter Bogdanovich (didn't expect Illegally Yours to be made), Otto Preminger (a bully who was a pussycat).

Most memorable bit is fact Ziesmer's son killed himself. I did like him schmoozing extras on The Way We Were. I guess interesting how they did Superbowl in Black Sunday.  

Michael J Fox Top Ten

 Why not?

1) Back to the Future (1985) - I'll just do the first one

2) Family Ties - when you push down to it, Alex Keaton types caused a lot of drama in the world but he's very winning

3) Doc Hollywood (1991) - perfectly cast

4) The Concierge (1993) - no one seems to remember this film but I liked it

5) Casualties of War (1989) - I'll be honest, I don't really like this movie but I love how Fox spent his movie star chits on stuff like this, Bright Lights Big City and Light of Day

6)   Class of 1984 (1982) - great trashy vigilante movie with Fox very good

7) Poison Ivy (1985) - he's typically charming in a film I loved as a kid I wonder if it holds up

8) Teen Wolf (1985) - not a good movie but he's very good 

9) The American President (1995) - during that post-film star pre-TV star phase 

10) Stuart Little (1999) - great voice 

Movie review - "Venus in Furs" (1969) **1/2

 Not a lot of story but plenty of style and sexiness. James Darren is obsessed with dead Maria Rohm. He also has an affair with Barbara McNair (black singer) and Klaus Kinski is in there. Enjoyed this.

Movie review - "Jaws" (1975) ***** (re-watching)

 Saw it on the big screen. Just wonderful. Perfect. Maybe could lose the Ben Gardner boat scene and the dock feeding scene... but possibly because I know what happens whereas new viewers would be more settled. Beautifully structured script. First half you go "how did this go over budget?" Second half you go "okay wow". All on screen. Truly epic. Wonderful actors. The kids, the mum of Alex Kitridge, the lead three. Unselfish Roy Scheider, funny Richard Dreyfuss, mad Robert Shaw. Just perfection.

Book review - "The Magic Hours: The Films and Hidden Life of Terrence Malick" by John Beasdale

 Beasdale runs a terrific podcast on film books and here is his own - a solid book on Malick, the most enigmatic and experimental of the movie brats. Well researched, decent insights - the main problem isn't Beasdale's fault it's that Malick isn't that interesting. A few divorces and a suiciding brother hints at something. None of the films included a memorable disaster. I'll be honest - also I'm not super familiar with Malick's ouvre. It s a very good book.

Article on Rank quitting films

 Front page of Evening Standard June 7, 1980

 

TV series - "Andor Season 2" (2025) ***

 Random thoughts:

- some knock out episodes. Suspenseful ones like the massacre of civilians and getting Mon Mothma away.

- characters blended in. I'm sure the show runners and stuff could explain how they're different. But did Blix have much of a character? Did Stellan S's sidekick. Revolutionaries were ruthless. Fascists were fanatical.

- loved the ending where the brilliant fascist was punished for her maverick nature and put in prison. This felt very real.

- some stuff too Hollywood and dump. Like when they're walking out of the institution and they click on an explosion and don't look just walk on being cool. I think that's what annoyed me about it. It was a movie moment. Not a real moment. And to do rape again. Sigh.

Sorry I just got a bit tired and negative about it.