Clips
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REVIEW OF SAFE HOUSE
CLAUDIA: I have a soft spot for Denzel, you’ll remember I was the only person who loved Unstoppable. I also love him in this - I love the character of Tobin Frost. The cinematographer is Olivier Stapleton, the guy who did Bourne so you’ll leave and immediately want to go and watch the Bourne films. It’s fast and exciting but it’s a bit Bourne light. I fully recommend it as a Friday night thriller but be warned, it has 9 endings – I counted them.
DANNY: As an action film it does what it sets out to do – it’s full of vim and energy. You’re right to point out the look of the film, everything is bleached out and grainy and it’s that particular handheld camerawork that can only be achieved with really experienced crew and really expensive cameras – the editing is the most insanely fast thing I’ve ever seen – the whole film is like running for a bus for 2 hours. It’s effective but arduous and knackering! At the end of the 2 hours you feel like Denzel’s been stamping on your head for 2 hours – which is kind of a recommendation I think. -
REVIEW OF EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE - Claudia's Film of the Week
DANNY: Hate is a strong word but sometimes it’s the only word that will do. I will say, there are some fine performances here, especially Max von Sydow who doesn’t say a word and walks away with the film. But Oscar, the boy at the heart of the movie is gratingly precocious. He’s a monster in a way, there’s nothing real about him or his story – nothing is like it is in real life. The film has no soul and I felt like I should stand up and boo.
CLAUDIA: A lot of critics have given this film a kicking despite it being up for Best Film at the Oscars but I felt totally caught up in it. I haven’t read the book and for me it wasn’t a film about 9/11, it was about a child who loses his favourite parent and that’s incredibly moving. I love Viola Davies and Jeffrey Wright and I love the way New York is shot.
DANNY: But it’s manically over-sentimental and I disagree, it is a film about 9/11 – there are constant references to it and in the middle of all this kookiness and fakery you have this real, raw tragedy. If you’re going to play that card you have to have something genuine, heartfelt and worthwhile to say at the end of it and this film doesn’t – it’s just cheap buttons being pushed. -
REVIEW OF RED DOG
DANNY: It’s an incredibly simple story, it’s sweet-natured, it’s filled with nostalgia – but it’s Australia’s nostalgia for its own 70s so I’m not sure what it will mean to British audiences. We should point out that in Australia this has been a vast hit, it swept the board at the Australian film awards so it comes recommended by pretty much everyone in Australia.
CLAUDIA: It’s not our story, you’re right. I feel like I’m not part of it. I just wasn’t sure what to make of it - there’s a dog, he wanders off, he looks a bit lost, he meets some people, he meets some other people, he brings them together.
DANNY: To be fair I really like the dog, Cocoa – it’s a unique spell in cinema for dog performances, just look at Uggi in The Artist. Cocoa doesn’t quite outshine Uggi but he’s soulful without being a tart about it. In all seriousness when it’s just the dog and the outback it’s very beautiful, it just dips whenever the humans come in. -
REVIEW OF THE WOMAN IN THE FIFTH - Danny's Film of the Week
CLAUDIA: It’s terribly atmospheric. The director, Pawel Pawlikovwski's earlier work, My Summer of Love, was wonderful and I always love Kristin Scott Thomas especially when she’s being haughty and bi-lingual. I found it very interesting but it was a little too slight for me – there were too many disparate narrative paths.
DANNY: This is proper, old-school, art movie – it’s very European and ambiguous and understated which will have some people pricking up their ears and others breaking out in a rash. It should be a thriller, it should be a noir but it doesn’t do what you expect it to do. Some people will enjoy the ride, others won’t but for my part I really enjoyed it. It’s like the evil twin of Midnight in Paris. -
LIKE THAT? TRY THIS......
CLAUDIA'S TIPS OF FILMS FOR PEOPLE WHO LIKE EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE.
Forrest Gump (1994)
Some people love it, some people hate it but you can’t deny this film’s heart is in the right place. Tom Hanks won 1 of the film’s 6 Oscars for his performance as the titular Gump who despite being a couple of chocolates short of a full box, manages to stumble into some of the key moments in American history. Schlocky but moving it’s well worth a look.
And When Did You Last See Your Father? (2007)
Revealed in our Bafta questionnaire as the last film to make Daniel Radcliffe cry and not surprisingly. This is a tender, complex and at times heart breaking film based on a book by Blake Morrison about the difficult relationship he had with his father. Colin Firth is the adult Blake and as his father, played by Jim Broadbent, lies on his death bed Firth recalls the conflicting memories of their life together. Anyone who has lost a parent will find this film truthful and poignant. It’s beautifully shot with tremendous performances and should have got a lot more recognition when it was released a few years ago.
DANNY'S RECOMMENDATIONS OF FILMS FOR THOSE WHO LIKE THE WOMAN IN THE FIFTH
Repulsion (1965)
If ever you’re alone at home and feeling slightly on edge, it would probably be a bad idea to give Roman Polanski’s Repulsion a whirl around your DVD, but on every other occasion Repulsion is quite simply a must see movie. Made in 1965 and starring the beautiful Catherine Deneuve, Repulsion is probably one of the most psychologically disturbing films you’re ever likely to see. When Deneuve’s character is left alone for a weekend in a London flat, she loses her mind and her journey into a world of paranoia and hallucinations is beautifully captured by Polanski’s brutal eye.
As the viewer we are taken on a terrifying journey and pulled into a weekend of genuine madness. Polanski is at his most shocking here and manages to draw us his audience into a demented world. Just a look at the hand on the DVD cover, may give you some indication of the trauma that’s in store for you in this film….but don’t let that put you off, you will be rewarded beyond your highest expectations.
Last Resort (2000)
Paddy Considine may still be celebrating his BAFTA win for Outstanding debut by a director for his universally well reviewed Tyrannosaur, but you may want to check out one of his earlier performances in Pawlikowski’s
Last Resort. Pawlikowski was at the height of his powers with his debut feature, a tale of a Russian asylum seeker Tanya and her young son, who are forced to live in a detention centre near an abandoned seaside town. Paddy Considine plays Alfie, a local shop worker who befriends the vulnerable mother and son. Last Resort beautifully captures the plight of its characters and manages to be both charming and bleak in tandem. Pawlikowski creates a unique world for his characters to inhabit and the setting for this film feels like one that demands to be watched.
Croupier (1998)
Clive Owen grabbed the attention of America in Croupier which quickly became known as the “sleeper” hit of 1998. Directed by Mike Hodges of Get Carter fame, Croupier sees Owen give one of his finest performances on film. Owen plays an aspiring writer who takes a job as a croupier to help make ends meet, but like other movies in the genre, he gets in too deep and quickly loses control of all boundaries. As his life begins to unravel, you might want to marvel at his great performance and the stylish and cool direction on display. Sometimes described as a “neo noir”, Croupier is well worth setting aside ninety minutes for to savour the joys of a simple story told with flair and aplomb.
Credits
- Series Producer
- Jayne Stanger
- Presenter
- Claudia Winkleman
- Presenter
- Danny Leigh
- Executive Producer
- Basil Comely
