Clips
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REVIEW OF THE IDES OF MARCH - CLAUDIA'S FILM OF THE WEEK
CLAUDIA: I really found this enjoyable. It’s taut and springy, the actors are really good, it’s solid. My only gripe with it is that the basic premise, which is that some politicians are naughty or they can betray people, is no biggie, this is 12 years after Primary Colours after all. However, I would definitely recommend it.
DANNY: It’s like a humidor – it’s a very well built, lovingly crafted box – the question is, is that enough? It’s piled high with great performances - the problem is that this film thinks it’s saying something revelatory, but I don’t know if that’s enough to carry the whole movie. It’s an actor’s movie, it’s beautifully cast and Ryan Gosling is the cherry on the cake. I have a lot of respect for what Clooney’s done here – he has got out of the way of the actors and he knows that a film about men in shirtsleeves requires a little visual flourish. -
REVIEW OF ANONYMOUS
DANNY: It’s so full of melodrama and soap opera and gossip and ruffs and buttocks and hunchbacks and hunchback’s buttocks – it’s flagrant nonsense. It reaches a pitch of absurdity and ludicrousness that it becomes weirdly gripping. Rhys Ifans is the glue that holds this together – he gives the film heart.
CLAUDIA: I haven’t been to a panto but it reminded me of that. It’s absurd. If you go into this film thinking you’re going to find out the truth about Shakespeare you’re going to be livid. However but as a rollicking, good ride – I quite enjoyed it. -
REVIEW OF MISS BALA - DANNY'S FILM OF THE WEEK
DANNY: I think technically Miss Bala is face-slappingly good – the camera work is extraordinary. But this isn’t City of God or Amores Perros –it’s much more something at arms length and distinctive. It’s often disorientating, you never know quite where you are with this film but what I love about it is that it never seems like an audition for Hollywood.
CLAUDIA: It’s an incredibly tense watch, you’re just waiting for the horror and Stephanie Sigman who plays Miss Bala is brilliant.
DANNY: It’s such an unusual character – she’s not a plucky underdog or a villainess, she’s in shock. -
REVIEW OF SKET
CLAUDIA: What I liked about this film is that I really cared about the characters – there is real menace and there’s a murder scene that is truly terrifying. There’s a girl in it called Lily Loveless – who is absolutely brilliant – you can’t take your eyes off her. What’s wrong with it is that it seems quite disjointed.
DANNY: It’s very disjointed and it would be easy to sit here and put the boot into the film but accentuating the positive – it is rooted in authenticity and as you say Lily Loveless is the class act – she really elevates things. But in fairness we do have to point out that the film is rough and ready and there’s a sense of Kidulthood and Byker Grove. -
LIKE THAT? TRY THIS....
Claudia and Danny's recommendations of films to seek out.
IF YOU LIKE...THE IDES OF MARCH
All The President's Men (1976)
Starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman. Conspiracy film specialist Alan J. Pakula directs this seminal dramatisation of journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's best-selling account of their Watergate investigation. One of the best, if not THE best political thriller ever made.
Marathon Man (1976)
Another Hoffman hit, this time co-starring Laurence Olivier in an Oscar nominated turn as an escaped Nazi war criminal. It has a dental scene you'll never forget but seek it out anyway. Is it safe?
The Candidate (1972)
And another Robert Redford hit, this is a brilliant, cynical film about the increasingly unhealthy relationship between politics and the media..and so much more. Redford foreshadowed Clooney as the movie star most people wanted for President.
IF YOU LIKE....MISS BALA
Gomorrah (2008)
Adapted from Roberto Saviano's controversial non-fiction book, this is an extraordinarily powerful look at the wide reach of the Mafia's influence in Naples. Mesmerising, bleak and uncompromising it makes The Godfather look like a tea party.
La Zona (2007)
First time filmmaker, Rodrigo Plá's exploration of what happens when the rich and poor of Mexico come face to face. Intimidating, smart and an extremely good watch.
Maria Full of Grace (2003)
Another debut feature from New York-based writer/director Joshua Marston about a young plantation worker who is lured into the drug smuggling world. An all too true to life story told simply and compellingly. -
MISS BALA SCREENING LOCATIONS
Curzon Soho
Odeon Panton Street
Ritzy Brixton DCP
Vue Islington DCP
Picturehouse Greenwich
Vue East Westfield
ue Westfield
Arts Picturehouse Cambridge
Cornerhouse Manchester
Watershed Bristol
Showroom Sheffield
Glasgow Film Theatre
Edinburgh Film House
Irish Film Institute
Credits
- Series Producer
- Jayne Stanger
- Presenter
- Claudia Winkleman
- Presenter
- Danny Leigh
- Executive Producer
- Basil Comely
