Posts

Posted on

Movie Advent Calendar #06 – Paddington

Mrs Brown says that in London everyone is different, and that means anyone can fit in. I think she must be right – because although I don’t look like anyone else, I really do feel at home. I’ll never be like other people, but that’s alright, because I’m a bear. A bear called Paddington.

In 2011 I did a musical advent calendar that I posted to Google+ (remember that) and a final summary on this blog. In 2012 I did a cinematic advent calendar of twenty four films. These were films that I really liked and have enjoyed at the cinema. In 2019 I did a televisual advent calendar of twenty four television programmes. These were television programmes that I really liked and have enjoyed watching. This year on a similar theme I will be posting a movie advent calendar of twenty four movies.

I loved the Paddington Bear books and the BBC animated television series based on the books by Michael Bond. That series was broadcast from 1976 to 1980, scripted by Bond himself, and produced by FilmFair. It was narrated by Michael Hordern, who also voiced all of the characters.

So when the Paddington film was announced and released in 2014, I was hesitant and a little sceptical. I was pretty confident that it wouldn’t be as good as the TV series from the 1970s. Well to be perfectly honest I don’t think the film is as good as the series. However, despite that, I really enjoyed the film. I thought all the cast did an excellent job. Ben Whishaw’s characterisation of Paddington was spot on, as Paddington was a young bear, and I can see how the original casting of Colin Firth was probably inspired by the BBC series narration, but didn’t work, as Paddington was a single character, whereas Hordern did all the voices in the BBC series.

The story was certainly cinematic and I think that is why the film worked for me. This wasn’t a TV programme on the big screen, this was a big screen adaptation for the character. The set pieces, from the flooded bathroom, the Geographers’ Guild were fun.

There is one scene which does amuse me, and that is when the Brown family find Paddington at Paddington Station. The scenes set on the platform reflect the reality of Paddington Station. Then they go to the station tea room. Yes you might have seen such a station in the 1950s, but not in 2014, when there was a Caffe Nero and a Costa at the station. I kind of wish there was such a tea room at the station now!

I have to say I also enjoyed the sequel, Paddington 2. Hugh Grant was excellent. I even enjoyed the skitch to celebrate the Jubilee in 2022. I also see that a sequel Paddington in Peru is set to begin principal photography in 2023.

Posted on

Movie Advent Calendar #05 – The Untouchables

“I think I’ll have a drink.”

In 2011 I did a musical advent calendar that I posted to Google+ (remember that) and a final summary on this blog. In 2012 I did a cinematic advent calendar of twenty four films. These were films that I really liked and have enjoyed at the cinema. In 2019 I did a televisual advent calendar of twenty four television programmes. These were television programmes that I really liked and have enjoyed watching. This year on a similar theme I will be posting a movie advent calendar of twenty four movies.

I think I would have probably included The Untouchables in my (first) cinematic advent calendar. The story follows Eliot Ness as he forms the untouchables team to bring Al Capone to justice during Prohibition. 

The film was released in 1987 and I think this was a film I didn’t get to see at the cinema. I actually don’t remember the first time I saw it, it might have been on the television, or could have been an VHS rental from Blockbuster (remember them).

The story of the formation of the team, known as the untouchables, the challenges they faced, in attempting to bring the Chicago gangster, Al Capone, to justice. This was during the age of prohibition, when the US government brought in a law that strictly prohibited the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages from 1920 to 1933. Of course the reality was that there was still a huge demand for alcoholic beverages, so the criminal gangs filled that vacuum with bootlegging and speakeasy illegal bars.

I really enjoyed the strong performances from Kevin Costner as Eliot Ness, Sean Connery as Jim Malone and Robert De Niro as Al Capone.

Of course reading Wikipedia in later years you realise how young Al Capone was when he took control of the crime organisation. He was just 26. De Niro was 44 when he made the film.

Similarly Eliot Ness was just 27 when he was asked to lead his squad. Costner was younger than De Niro, but was 32 when the film was shot.

Aside from these minor inconsistencies, I feel the film really captured the essence of 1920’s Chicago and the story of Eliot Ness and Al Capone.

Get The Untouchables from Amazon.

Posted on

Movie Advent Calendar #04 – Notting Hill

“Whoopsidaisies!”

In 2011 I did a musical advent calendar that I posted to Google+ (remember that) and a final summary on this blog. In 2012 I did a cinematic advent calendar of twenty four films. These were films that I really liked and have enjoyed at the cinema. In 2019 I did a televisual advent calendar of twenty four television programmes. These were television programmes that I really liked and have enjoyed watching. This year on a similar theme I will be posting a movie advent calendar of twenty four movies.

I did go and see Notting Hill at the cinema, I think I saw it in Leeds of all places. I have always enjoyed comedies by  Richard Curtis. In my previous calendar I did choose Four Weddings and a Funeral, which is probably my favourite Richard Curtis comedy. For me Four Weddings and a Funeral was the first time I thought to myself and recognised that there was a British film industry that could make great films. There were lots of films that echoed the success of Four Weddings, but though good in their own right, for me none compare to Four Weddings.

I enjoyed Hugh Grant’s portrayal of his character, Will Thacker. Richard Curtis described the starting point as “the idea of a very normal person going out with an unbelievably famous person and how that impinges on their lives”.

I also enjoyed Hugh Bonneville as Bernie, Tim McInnerny as Max and Gina McKee as Bella. Though there are two leads, the other cast are essential to make this film whole and act as a foil to the actions of Will and Anna.

On the surface this is very much a romantic comedy, but under that surface is an examination of “celebrity”. Many of the comic moments are about how people persevere and interpret the concept of celebrity. 

The film was (rightly) criticised for not reflecting the real diverse character of Notting Hill. It failed to reflect the demographic of the area. As a journalist said “only Curtis could write a movie about Notting Hill, London’s most diverse borough, and not feature a single black face in it.”

This is a film I enjoyed at the time and I do watch again now and then.

Get Notting Hill at Amazon.

Posted on

Movie Advent Calendar #03 – Rogue One

“I’m one with the Force. The Force is with me.”

In 2011 I did a musical advent calendar that I posted to Google+ (remember that) and a final summary on this blog. In 2012 I did a cinematic advent calendar of twenty four films. These were films that I really liked and have enjoyed at the cinema. In 2019 I did a televisual advent calendar of twenty four television programmes. These were television programmes that I really liked and have enjoyed watching. This year on a similar theme I will be posting a movie advent calendar of twenty four movies.

As a young kid I didn’t go to the cinema very often, but one film I did go and see, and had to queue all around the market square in Cambridge for, was Star Wars. I didn’t go to the cinema very often when i was young, but I never remember really long queues for films, the queue for Star Wars was unprecedented, it was huge. I have never seen anything like this again. Star Wars was, and still is, an amazing piece of cinema. 

If you were to ask me what my favourite Star Wars film was before 2016, I would have had to say Star Wars: A New Hope. Now days though I would say Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Rogue One details the Rebel Alliance’s first effective victory against the Empire, first referenced in Star Wars’ opening crawl. The film is essentially the story referenced in that crawl.

This is not a hero film, in the way that the Skywalker films were, this is a spy film, a war film and an adventure film. It is in the Star Wars universe, but this is nothing like the trilogies. I like the roughness of the characters, but you still have that element of humour that makes a Star Wars film, a Star Wars film. The K-2SO droid is an example of this, with their characterisation and dialogue.

The assault on Scarif was very much filmed like a war film. The tropical beach setting was a change from the deserts of Tatooine and the ice of Hoth. I also through the cinematography of this section of the film was excellent.

I have also enjoyed Andor the prequel series on Disney+.

Get Rogue One at Amazon.

Posted on

Movie Advent Calendar #02 – The Final Countdown

“We’ve been through it once. We can do it again. Prepare for Approaching Storm!”

In 2011 I did a musical advent calendar that I posted to Google+ (remember that) and a final summary on this blog. In 2012 I did a cinematic advent calendar of twenty four films. These were films that I really liked and have enjoyed at the cinema. In 2019 I did a televisual advent calendar of twenty four television programmes. These were television programmes that I really liked and have enjoyed watching. This year on a similar theme I will be posting a movie advent calendar of twenty four movies.

The Final Countdown was released in May 1980 and was one film that I did in fact go to the cinema to see. As a young kid I didn’t go to the cinema very often. The reason for going was we had a French exchange student over to stay with our family. Not sure how much he enjoyed the film, but I certainly enjoyed it.

This time travel romp was just as much an advert for the US Navy at the time as it was a science fiction story. There were plenty of shots of Navy aircraft flying, taking off and landing on the USS Nimitz.

The plot was quite simpler and without too many spoilers, the USS Nimitz is sent back in time to December 1941, the day before the attack on Pearl Harbour.

It had an impressive cast including a young Martin Sheen and Kirk Douglas.

I think this was one of the first time travel movies I saw, though having watched Doctor Who, I was aware of time travel. What was different about this film was the fact that though the USS Nimitz travelled back in time, nothing was changed that hadn’t already happened, then they travelled back to the present. It provided a different perspective of time travel that I don’t at the time remember seeing in Doctor Who. Certainly peaked my interest in time travel movies.

It was very much a cinematic experience this film, and I have enjoyed seeing it again on the smaller screen.

Get The Final Countdown at Amazon.