Movie review - "Help!" (1965) ***

 The colour photography is wonderful, some splendid locations such as the Austrian snowfields and the Bahams and the songs of course are sublime. But this second Beatles film lacks something.

It's got more of a story but the story is tired and racist - a cult tries to retrieve a ring off Ringo's finger. The spoofs of war films and spy movies may have seemed fresh then but haven't aged well. The Beatles don't have individual personalities - John looks bored, Paul grins, Ringo gets more screen time. They don't have particularly funny gags.

Eleanor Bron is the girl, as she often was in the sixties. Leo McKern gets a lot of screen time as the baddie. Lester seems far more interested in him, Bron, Roy Kinnear and Patrick Cargill than the Beatles. In terms of story you could cut three of the Beatles out you only need Ringo.

Movie review - "The Knack... and How to Get It" (1965) **1/2

 One of the main films of swinging London, this has plenty of life and energy - Richard Lester at his "happening" peak, with Charles Wood having adapted Ann Jellicoe's play, and some ideal actors like Michael Crawford as the geek who is determined to to learn how to pick up chicks from his mate Ray Brook. Rita Tushingham is excellent as the main girl. Jackie Bisset, Jane Birkin and Charlotte Rampling make their debuts.

The whole rape subplot - Brook seems to rape Tushingham, she says he raped her - goes on a lot and feels very disasteful. This won the Palm d'Or?

Great visuals.

Book review - "Dean and Me A Love Story" by Jerry Lewis and Jerry Kaplan (2007)

 I enjoyed it. I also wondered how much it was true. Lewis sticks to a consistent line - Dean was an adored elder brother figure, very talented, Jerry worshipped him, no one appreciated Dean, Jerry admits to some faults but it came from love.

Entertaining. I took it with a grain of salt. Maybe that's unfair.

Movie review - "Bye Bye Birdie" (1963) *** (re-watching)

 I saw this again recently. Liked it more the second time around. Maybe I saw it in a better mood.

Apparently the cast got cranky the film went to Ann Margret but do you blame George Sidney? Do we really want more of Dick Van Dyke as a momma's boy, with Maureen Stapleton clearly too young to be his mother, or Janet Leigh as his long suffering fiance, the entire point of her character now gone that she's an Anglo and not a hispanic (surely they could've gotten away with that in 1963), or Bobby Rydell's whimpy boyfriend, or the actor who plays Ann-Margret's mother being this sort of blank slate with her campy husband (I sense the rage building in that woman, as if she's going to poison him), or Jesse Pearson's caricature rock star?

There are some funky numbers, garish colours, the concept of Lynde as a suburban dad is funny, Ann-Margret is sensational and it's not believable for five seconds she'd go back to Rydell. 

Why didn't they cast a pop star as Conrad?

Movie review - "It's Trad, Dad" (1962) ***

 For a few years there were a heap of British rock films which consisted of rock acts and some vague story. Don Sharp did one, so did Michael Winner. This was Richard Lester's effort. (There were American ones too some made by Amicus who did this).

There's some fun Lester touches like the opening sequence. I'd probably enjoy this more if I recognised the acts. There's bands I'd never heard of like The Temperance Seven. I've got to say though their songs, with this slightly absurdist staging and French subtitles, was fun.

It's actually an engaging film, full of energy. More enjoyable than  The Mouse in the Moon. The music acts come fast, there's kind of a story, it's imaginatively staged.

Movie review - "The Mouse in the Moon" (1963) **

This sequel to The Mouse that Roared is probably best remembered as an early work from Richard Lester. Peter Sellers didn't return and his absence is felt - it's simply not as funny to watch Margaret Rutherford as the Queen, or Bernard Cribbins as the daggy love interest and even June Ritchie isn't as good as Jean Seberg. 

Terry Thomas has a glorified cameo as a British spy - maybe they could've tried him in multiple parts? 

There's no real romance like there was between Sellers and Seberg. It takes an hour before the rocket takes off. There's no charm. Some okay jokes. The space race jokes are of their time.

TV review - "Hacks Season 1" (2021) *****

 Nothing much to say. Brilliant. Smart, funny, surprising. I thought tales of comics had been done. I was wrong. Las Vegas setting gives it tremendous freshness.