Clips
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REVIEW OF THE THING - Danny's film of the week
DANNY: Everyone is keen to point out this is not a remake, it’s a prequel. Actually I think it’s both, it’s a pre-make. It works hard to knit itself into the story that Carpenter told so amazingly in 1982. For a Friday night movie it does what it’s there to do. The problem I have with it is that it explains far too much, John Carpenter was a master at withholding information. With this you know where The Thing’s come from and what it’s MO is. It doesn’t help the film.
CLAUDIA: I was scared – at one point I hid. If you haven’t seen the original I think it’s probably fine. If you have seen the original I think you’re left feeling like you want more. Also, and this is weird, I much preferred the effects in the original because you didn’t see everything and it was terrifying. This doesn’t have the same amount of suspense. -
REVIEW OF ROMANTICS ANONYMOUS - Claudia's film of the week
CLAUDIA: I love this film. It’ incredibly slight – it’s wafer thin, it could dissolve in your hands but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. It’s adorable, the leads were great but what I almost loved more were the factory workers and her support group, they acted like two Greek choruses. I thought it was an adorable, sweet little film.
DANNY: It’s all about this pair of anxiety riddled, social phobia neurotics and whether they’ll be able to overcome their anxieties to have a happily ever after. It’s sweet in a good sense and a bad sense. There are moments that are very sweet and touching and also moments where you feel like your teeth are about to fall out of your mouth, it makes Amelie look like scum. But the saving grace is the lead actors – they made these cartoon characters human. -
REVIEW OF THE BIG YEAR
DANNY: It’s not actually a comedy – you expect it because of the people that are in it and for the first half an hour there is the zany soundtrack and gurning but after half an hour it gives that up and it is just a film about birdwatchers. It’s one of the most obsessively gentle films I’ve ever seen in my life. You keep waiting for the funny and it doesn’t happen. It pains me a bit because Steve Martin used to be the funniest man on earth.
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REVIEW OF HAPPY FEET 2
CLAUDIA: To begin with I didn’t get what all the fuss was about these films but listen, there are penguins and they dance and the bottom line is I took my kids to see it and every day since then they’ve been asking to see it again, so what do I know?
DANNY: The problem here is that the story really does need to be a bit more important, George Miller doesn’t really care about it – his attention keeps wandering to the crill, who are great – they have a whole existential story – but you have to do the whole film, whole-heartedly. -
REVIEW OF WE HAVE A POPE
DANNY: We have a Pope is the story of a reluctant Pope who does a runner. It suffers slightly from the curse of the brilliant opening scene – it has this great opening scene at the Vatican where all the Cardinals are electing a new Pope and you get a behind the scenes glimpse in this funny, well-timed scene. The rest of the film doesn’t fare quite so well but it’s an occasionally very funny film.
CLAUDIA: I loved the beginning and I loved some of the shots, it’s beautifully filmed and I loved the end, it’s the middle where it sometimes loses its oomph. -
LIKE THAT? TRY THIS...
CLAUDIA'S RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ROMANTICS ANONYMOUS ADDICTS.
Amelie (2001)
Jean-Pierre Jeunet directs Audrey Tatou in a career-defining performance as the titular Amelie. She's a shy but disarmingly charming, optimistic girl who sets out to improve the lives of all around her. Sure, it's sugary but it's also visually inventive, mischevious and romantic.
Lars And The Real Girl (2007)
An endearing, if somewhat quirky film about a cripplingly shy man played by Ryan Gosling and his love affair with a life-size doll. Don't be put off by the description, it's not what you think. Instead it's a geuninely heart-warming story about family, community and love with excellent performances from Gosling, Emily Mortimer and Patricia Clarkson.
Chocolat (2000)
Like films about love and chocolate? Then they don't come much sweeter than this. Juliette Binoche plays a nomadic single mother who sets up a chocolate shop in a small French town. But her way of life is challenged when she meets tall, dark, handsome (obviously) Johnny Depp. It's not to everyone's taste but if you're a fan of Depp this is the ultimate indulgence. Oh, and there are a lot of chocolate- eating scenes so have a few bars standing by. -
SCREENING LOCATIONS
ROMANTICS ANONYMOUS
2nd ODEON COVENT GARDEN
2nd EVERYMAN BAKER ST
2nd PICTUREHOUSE CLAPHAM
2nd GATE NOTTING HILL
2nd PICTUREHOUSE GREENWICH
2nd EVERYMAN HAMPSTEAD
2nd TYNESIDE NEWCASTLE
2nd EVERYMAN WINCHESTER
4th NEW PARK CHICHESTER
9th CURZON RICHMOND
9th PICTUREHOUSE HACKNEY
9th FILM THEATRE GLASGOW
9th PICTUREHOUSE STRATFORD EAST LONDON
9th REGAL HENLEY ON THAMES
9th PICTUREHOUSE BURY ST EDMUNDS
9th PICTUREHOUSE OXFORD
9th PICTUREHOUSE YORK
9th PICTUREHOUSE EXETER
9th CINEMA CITY NORWICH
9th EVERYMAN OXTED
9th DOY BRIGHTON
9th FACT LIVERPOOL
9th CAMEO EDINBURGH
9th LITTLE THEATRE BATH
9th HARBOUR LIGHTS SOUTHAMPTON
9th BELMONT ABERDEEN
WE HAVE A POPE
2nd Dec
Odeon Panton Street
Odeon Holloway Road
Odeon Swiss Cottage
Curzon Wimbledon
Curzon Mayfair
Cine Lumiere
Showroom Sheffield
Glasgow Film Theatre
Cornerhouse Manchester
Watershed Bristol
Broadway Nottingham
Cineworld Dublin
IFI Dublin
FACT Liverpool
9th Dec
Corn Exchange Newbury
Tyneside Cinema
Abbeygate Picturehouse Bury
Phoenix Finchley
Rio Cinema Dalston
16th Dec
Duke of York's Brighton
DCA Dundee
QFT Belfast
Phoenix Oxford
Pictureville Bradford
Greenwich Picturehouse
Gate Notting Hill
Harbour Lights Southampton
Credits
- Series Producer
- Jayne Stanger
- Presenter
- Claudia Winkleman
- Presenter
- Danny Leigh
- Participant
- Tom Hooper
- Executive Producer
- Basil Comely
