The TV Pick of the Week – 17/02/13

Going to the cinema is expensive, buying DVDs is expensive, renting movies is expensive and torrenting is illegal (and, more importantly, doesn’t guarantee good quality sound and image). Luckily, films sometimes appear on TV. Here’s the best one this week.

Mad Max 2

Sunday 17th February

ITV4: 11.45pm – 1.45am

This week’s pick was an absolute pitch struggle between one of my favourite movies of all time, and one of the most criminally overlooked ever made. On the one hand was Mad Max 2, a film that is one of – if not the – greatest sequel ever made. Yet, in the words of famous Country singer Randy Travis, ‘on the other hand’, there was Brazilian masterpiece Black God, White Devil (Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol).

Following on from the low budget Mad Max, this sequel has more grit, an increased budget and enough action to keep a narcoleptic from falling asleep. In fact, given that Mad Max 2 propelled Mel Gibson’s career into Hollywood overdrive, you’ll be hard-pushed to see it on the TV schedules. Yet for some reason I can’t quite fathom, ITV have a tendency to play the cringe-worthy Beyond the Thunderdome so often you have to wonder if Tina Turner is personally in charge of scheduling the films for the network.

Back before we all found out Gibson was quite fluent in racism, sexism, anti-Semitism and homophobia (indeed, I have the vaguest hope that the past decade of bigotry was all just method-style preparation for a starring role as Hitler – after all, hope springs eternal) he was a charismatic and simply captivating male lead. When he’s on screen, you can’t help but be drawn to the man.

Put simply, the story follows our reluctant hero helping a group of settlers who are beset by a gang of marauding bikers in the aftermath of an almost-apocalyptic third world war, all in the manner of a classic loner-frontier Western. Interestingly, the hunger for oil in the film only becomes more prescient as time goes by. On show is brilliant cinematography, comic book visuals that still pop with life, a thumping, dystopic soundtrack by Brian May (the Aussie composer, not the be-permed guitarist from Queen) and a kind of sinewy self-knowing macho energy that’s sadly missing from mainstream films in the past years (this last decade has seen ‘macho’ somehow become a byword for thumping your chest and being casually homophobic, yes 300, I’m looking at you).

Now, over on Film 4 on Thursday morning (1.10am – 3.45am) is the exquisite and simply incredible Brazilian masterpiece that is Black God, White Devil. Simply by virtue of a coin flip, this narrowly missed out on the spot as a Pick of the Week, but that in no way suggests it’s not deserving of the title. Only available on DVD since 2008, this is a true gem for anyone interested in World Cinema and if you watch one film this week, make it this.

Set in the 1940s, Black God, White Devil is an epic film that follows anti-hero Manuel as he kills his exploitative boss, and then flees with his wife across the plains. Manuel soon finds himself under the sway of a messianic preacher and self-proclaimed saint who actively supports ritualistic violence. Following some rather disturbing scenes, the couple then move on and become embroiled with a gang of ruthless revolutionaries who use their doctrine to murder and rob from rich and poor alike. On it goes until Manuel learns that his destiny is his own hands. A hefty dose of stark imagery and social portent: just right for a graveyard timeslot.

Such is its rarity; I couldn’t actually find a trailer for the film with English subtitles, so here it is in glorious Portuguese. Perfectly timed for the award season, I will actually use this as a deft example of why award ceremonies are pointless: this epic film lost at Cannes to the most vapid dog turd of a musical that has ever been defecated out of the bowels of the French film industry. Let me introduce you to 1964 Palme d’Or winning Les parapluies de Cherbourg (click the link and if you can sit through the whole thing you have my respect and sympathy). Recitative singing (taking dialogue and singing it) is just one of the worst excesses of the genre. Now if you take what is often the most excruciating part of any musical and stretch that insipid rubbish over an hour and a half you get what I like to call ‘a reason to throw a brick at the telly’. Rant over.

This was written by Robert James Taylor. He is, for all intents and purposes, a human.

The TV Pick of the Week – 06/02/13

Going to the cinema is expensive, buying DVDs is expensive, renting movies is expensive and torrenting is illegal (and, more importantly, doesn’t guarantee good quality sound and image). Luckily, films sometimes appear on TV. Here’s the best one this week.

Black Death

Wednesday 6th February

BBC1: 11.40pm – 1.15am

Occasionally there are some absolute gems that are heinously overlooked by critics and audiences alike, and Black Death can certainly be thrown into that category. Although one can always hope it finds its niche alongside the classic Witchfinder General and become a cult classic for future generations.

Set in 1348, the narrative sees a young priest named Osmund as he guides a group of soldiers, led by Sean Bean’s Ulric, who are searching for a village that seems to be untouched by the Black Death. Eddie Redmayne’s portrayal of the morally conflicted Osmund is superb – his reason for leaving with the men is so he can rendezvous with a girl he’s fallen in love with, a dilemma that makes him question his own faith as the character is forced to choose between his monastic life, and his love for Averill. When the group arrive at the village they find a witch controlling the villagers through drugs and manipulation, touching on the use of power, cruelty and religion in society. For the absorbing final third alone, this movie is worth the late night price of admission (besides which, do you really have to be awake for work on Thursday? Nothing ever happens on Thursdays. You know it, I know it, and your boss knows it’s just a doss.)

The action is handled by British director Christopher Smith, whose previous films include Creep – the fairly decent horror flick set in the depths of the London Underground and Severance – another fairly decent horror film, although one in which you’ll inevitably find yourself thinking ‘this would be perfection if Danny Dyer – sorry “Dah-knee Doy-er” -  hadn’t been cast in a lead role’.

This week’s pick also allows me to indulge in my love of Sean Bean (although saying that, I’m not half the fan in comparison to whoever curates ‘The Mighty Bean’ fansite). He’s a simply fantastic actor and I’ve religiously watched everything he’s been in, with the sole exception of the recent Silent Hill: Revelations. I love the man dearly, but I’m not such an out-and-out masochist in order to wilfully sit through another turgid mess like the original Silent Hill.

As an aside, anyone want to join me in starting a Kickstarter campaign to make a film where the legendary Sean Bean actually survives to the credits? It’s become so culturally ingrained you just count down the minutes and wonder how inventive they’ll be with the deed. In fact, it’s probably not ruining any suspense to check out this infographic that FHM knocked up – it does give plot spoilers about Black Death, but like Gerard Butler shouting obnoxiously in every film he’s in, it seems as though it’s some unwritten rule that the Bean must die.

This was written by Robert James Taylor. He is, for all intents and purposes, a human.

The TV Pick of the Week – 07/12/12

Going to the cinema is expensive, buying DVDs is expensive, renting movies is expensive and torrenting is illegal (and, more importantly, doesn’t guarantee good quality sound and image). Luckily, films sometimes appear on TV. Here’s the best one this week. 

Scrooged

Friday 7th December

E4: 8.00pm – 10pm

As we lurch and sway ever closer to Christmas, the schedules are starting to get packed with the kind of films that don’t just encourage booze, they necessitate it. For the entirety of this month, I’ll be bringing you the best Christmas pick, and the best alternative, alongside my random (and increasingly long-winded) extra thoughts on the scheduling.

I should mention right here, that I both love and loathe Christmas. Every December I read A Christmas Carol religiously, and every year, without fail, I bemoan that Scrooge becomes a dancing, prancing, singing convert to the season. Alas, Scrooged, being an updated version of Dickens’ work, falls into the same trap of mawkish sentimentality. Before that point though, there are some brilliant quips, and quite frankly, it’s hard not to have sympathy for a man trapped amongst a sea of idiots.

If you want an alternative pick for the week (and this was very nearly the Christmas choice), Die Hard is showing on Film4 on Monday 10^th (9.00pm – 11.40pm). You all know the drill, Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman and a whole lot of killing. Still, it’s the very finest action thriller of all time. Plus, it (like nearly every blockbuster hit of the 80s) is set at Christmas, so you can force your girlfriend to watch it in the name of the festive season (bear in mind, she may later reciprocate the gesture with Marley and Me – so beware).

Last week I mentioned Channel 5’s horrific spattering of films, and I must admit, I had a case of déjà vu when I was looking through the schedules. Superman 2 (the one that’s achieved cult status purely because most people – quite rightly – hate it) is having a repeat showing on Saturday 8^th December (1.10pm – 3.40pm – although in truth, if you follow this column then you probably don’t need to know what time that’s on, as you’ll just avoid it like the clap). I take back what I said about the executives at Channel 5 playing blind man’s bluff, evidently they just have some films pinned to a dart board and take pot shots to decide the day’s offering.

Winner of the inaugural ‘most disgustingly saccharine titled Christmas movie’ is, (drum roll please) Single Santa Seeks Mrs Claus (Saturday 8^th December, 5.25pm – 7.10pm on Channel 5). As a general rule of thumb, if it’s a movie starring Steve Guttenberg and it’s not Short Circuit or the first Police Academy, then it’s going to be about as interesting as Noel Edmunds’ floral-patterned shirts.

This was written by Robert James Taylor. He is, for all intents and purposes, a human. 

The TV Pick of the Week – 01/12/12

Going to the cinema is expensive, buying DVDs is expensive, renting movies is expensive and torrenting is illegal (and, more importantly, doesn’t guarantee good quality sound and image). Luckily, films sometimes appear on TV. Here’s the best one this week. 

The Keep

Saturday 1st December

Film4: 12.15am – 2.10am

If you see someone giving this film any less than five stars, give them a kick in the teeth (I’m looking at you, Radio Times).

The perfect antidote to all that Christmas tripe that’s being pumped through the schedules like chicken brains through a meat grinder in the back of every McDonalds (although at least with McNuggets you don’t feel like you’re getting eye cancer just by looking at them).

You know the drill for this kind of fare by now – someone releases a demonic force and all hell breaks loose in the most literal manner possible. In this case however, it involves Nazis. And Ian McKellan. And quite frankly, I could watch two hours of Ian McKellan talking to a bowl of oxtail soup and still be entranced. Add in some Nazis dying horrific deaths and I’m sold.

Effectively destroying Mann’s directing career for a period of three years (he returned to the screen with Manhunter in 1986), the film’s had an odd history, even as cult films go. In fact, it’s still not been released on DVD or Blu-ray, so this is indeed a rare treat.

I was going to write up my ‘worst movie of the week’ but Channel 5 scuppered that plan by running the gamut of absolute toss on Sunday (Road to Christmas, followed by Jack Frost, Rush Hour 2 and then Superman 2). The only saving grace to all that bilge is Magnum Force that inexplicably rounds off the day at 9pm. You honestly have to wonder if the executives at 5 are playing a game of blind man’s bluff against a board full of deliberately terrible films, and whatever they tag gets played that day in a random order.

This was written by Robert James Taylor. He is, for all intents and purposes, a human. 

The TV Pick of the Week – 25/11/12

Going to the cinema is expensive, buying DVDs is expensive, renting movies is expensive and torrenting is illegal (and, more importantly, doesn’t guarantee good quality sound and image). Luckily, films sometimes appear on TV. Here’s the best one this week. 

Dawn of the Dead

Sunday 25th November

BBC2: 12.30am – 2.50am

Quite frankly, the only serious take on the zombie oeuvre you ever need to watch. Indeed, it seems that with decreasing amounts of tinkering, Romero’s second film in his canon of Dead movies (and most fully-formed in both execution and social commentary) has been copied, rejigged, and flat-out ripped off since its creation to the point of ubiquity and increasing over-saturation. The satire on American consumerism and rampant materialism really (if you excuse the trite pun I felt obliged to work in) gives the film some bite.

If you need a summary of this film then you might need to ask someone to help remove the rock you’ve been living under since the late 70s (although with the successive governments since then you’d be forgiven if you did want to live under a rock both literally and figuratively).

This was written by Robert James Taylor. He is, for all intents and purposes, a human. 

Mainstream Review: Red Dwarf X

Despite all evidence to the contrary, Gorilla Film Magazine is aware of films, television and games that are actually popular. We don’t put a lot of effort into covering that stuff, but we’re definitely aware of it. So here’s the Mainstream review of the week. 

Red Dwarf X
Release Date: 19/11/2012 

If you discount Red Dwarf: Back to Earth (and you probably should) the last proper series of this utterly British sci-fi sitcom ended about 13 years ago, and even then season VIII was hardly considered ‘classic Dwarf’.

Red Dwarf X is a definite and utterly intentional return to the very old days, with Craig Charles, Chris Barrie, Robert Llewellyn and Danny John Jules all having immense fun back in their iconic roles, feeding off the magic of a live audience. The cast, with the notable exception of Danny John Jules, have all aged significantly, but this somehow works in Red Dwarf’s favour, as the series’ focus (if you can call it that) is about a man coping with being utterly alone in a cruel and unusual Universe, save for a neurotic and bureaucratic hologram, an egomaniacal humanoid cat, and a nannying service mechanoid. Craig Charles’s Lister is the bum he’s always been, but there’s a certain weariness about him now that perfectly suits his aged appearance.

Probably the best thing about Red Dwarf X (apart from the fact that it’s very funny) is that there’s a strange sadness underlying everything, which seemed to be a key component of the first few series as well. The crew of the Red Dwarf are tragic characters, indulging in petty squabbles to distract themselves from the awful knowledge that they are essentially lost in space. Although Lister often half-heartedly hopes to return to Earth, which is probably long gone by now, he has come to regard his floating metal prison as a home, and his companions as family, if not exactly friends. The long shots of the big red spaceship (a beautiful model) drifting through the infinite darkness, accompanied by Howard Goodall’s chilling score, juxtapose wonderfully with Red Dwarf’s broad comedy, creating a mood that is totally unique.

Red Dwarf X is indeed a return to form, the jokes are as silly and as broad as they’ve always been, but there’s also that great edge, the gallows humour, the unapologetic grimness that made the original series so great. Many of the best British comedies end in tragedy, probably because we’re all horrible people, but the crew of Red Dwarf don’t get to snuff it like Richie and Eddie, Blackadder, and the Young Ones did, their fate is something far more apt; to fall through space, like sci fi hobos, in search of that ever elusive sandwich, and forever doomed to fail.

This was written by David Knight. 

The TV Pick of the Week – 16/11/12

Going to the cinema is expensive, buying DVDs is expensive, renting movies is expensive and torrenting is illegal (and, more importantly, doesn’t guarantee good quality sound and image). Luckily, films sometimes appear on TV. Here’s the best one this week.  

The Time Machine

Friday 16^th November

More 4: 10.55am – 1.00pm

If this recession has made you unemployed, then one of the few benefits besides the walk to the local Jobcentre and marathons of Come Dine With Me, are the classic films that are liberally spread around the daytime TV schedule. If you’re one of the fortunate few in gainful employment, then you might want to set your Sky+ for this. The classic science fiction story of a Victorian scientist who builds a time machine and ends up in a dystopian future where the cannibalistic Morlocks feed on the childlike Eloi, is one of those ingrained pieces of culture that is shamefully absent in most ‘top’ lists. The time-lapse progression through the years holds up well (and even won an Oscar for Special Effects) and it really does beg the question as to why they bothered to make that insipid remake in 2002.

If that’s the best film of the week, then ‘what’s the worst?’ you may well be asking. Well, if you’re feeling particularly masochistic to the point rubbing sandpaper on your member is like a soak in the tub, then you can always check out Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian on Film 4 on Wednesday 14^th (6.55pm – 9.00pm). Ben Stiller doesn’t so much phone in his performance, but sends it via post. In fact, there are whole scenes where I’m not sure if he’s even lucid, but ultimately, to beat on this film is like kicking road-kill; most people may hate it, but you know for a fact some weirdo will go home and enjoy consuming it with his family.

This was written by Robert James Taylor. He is, for all intents and purposes, a human. 

The TV Pick of the Week – 08/11/12

Going to the cinema is expensive, buying DVDs is expensive, renting movies is expensive and torrenting is illegal (and, more importantly, doesn’t guarantee good quality sound and image). Luckily, films sometimes appear on TV. Here’s the best one this week. 

The Inbetweeners

Thursday 8^th November

Channel 4: 9pm – 11.05pm

If you missed the enormously successful feature film debut of the The Inbetweeners last year,then fear not, the film premieres on Channel 4 this week. Unless you’ve been living under a rock the size of Gibraltar then you’ll know the premise of the TV show: four awkward teens navigate through life trying to get the attention of girls and failing comprehensively at every step. Employing the tactic borrowed from nearly every sitcom of the 60s and 70s (when you run out of ideas, take your characters on a trip abroad) the film finds Will, Jay, Simon and Neil travelling to Crete and causing their own-brand of awkward mayhem. A lot of the jokes are either riffed off, or completely ripped from classic Carry On and On the Buses story lines, but that’s somewhat by-the-by when the target demographic wasn’t even the twinkle in their father’s eye when the jokes were first made.

This was written by Robert James Taylor. He is, for all intents and purposes, a human. 

Wastelander Panda

Epic Films is an independent production company based in South Australia. They’re currently working on a series set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, using Pozible (Australia’s version of Kickstarter) to raise funds. If you’re looking for a good example of a bunch of talented filmmakers earning support from the public, then look no further. Hoping to hit their target of $20,000 by the 14th of March, Epic Films have promoted the Hell out of their project with great success. The plan is to make a series of web episodes, and this $20,000 is the minimum amount of money they’d need to make it work.

So what is this series actually about? Well, the title should give you a clue as to what to expect. Wastelander Panda is a story about a world after the breakdown of society, along the lines of Mad Max, or Cormac Mccarthy’s The Road. Also, the protagonist is a Panda.

It’s an inspired premise, and wonderfully executed in Epic Films promotional videos, which show off a great deal of what to expect should the series go ahead. To show your support for Wastelander Panda, head over to the crowdfunding website Pozible and donate. There’s 6 days to go, and they’ve already raised $16,900 (although if they don’t raise the full $20,000 by the 14th, they’ll lose it all). There’s also a Facebook page you can like for updates about the project.

Basically, if you want to see some new and interesting projects, you’re going to have to get involved. It’s no good sitting on your hands and waiting for Hollywood to come up with something original, you have to show your support for new talent. Crowdfunding sites are an excellent way for people to show they care, and really help keep truly independent filmmakers alive.

All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace

Adam Curtis’s documentaries have always been as much about fables and mythology as left-wing politics and philosophy. Curtis is a storyteller at heart, and as complex and insightful as All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace is, the most intriguing part of the series is how it’s presented as an epic narrative.

The documentary tells the story of how computers were built to liberate us from our heavily controlled drone-like lives. Weaving through recent history like the expert storyteller that he is, Curtis introduces us to influential (but ultimately misguided) characters like Ayn Rand and Bill Clinton, who each contribute to the point of the fable: that the computers that were built to free us, will ultimately distort and simplify the world around us, trapping us in a system of control ruled by meaningless numbers and statistics. The story takes us around the world, introducing us to new characters and killing them off, presenting us with short (un)controlled experiments and demonstrating how the masses can be treated as numbers, and how the individual can be perceived as a machine.

All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace is the story of mankind’s self destruction, told with a visual flare, brilliant editing and an inspired soundtrack. It feels like a myth, like fiction, or else a future account of the failings of humanity, as if a baby robot had said “tell me about those silly humans again daddy”.

All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace aired in May 2011, but if you missed it you can watch the series online by clicking on this link.
Adam Curtis is a documentary film maker, whose work includes The Power of Nightmares, The Century of the Self, The Mayfair Set, Pandora’s Box, The Trap and The Living Dead.

Check out more of Adam Curtis’s films on his blog: http://adamcurtisfilms.blogspot.com/