Freeview film of the day : monday April the 13th

North By Northwest (1959 130min.) [BBC Four 10.00pm]

Classic spy thriller starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason. Advertising executive Roger Thornhill finds his life in deadly peril when he is mistaken for the mysterious "Mr Kaplan" by a ruthless espionage organisation. Failing to convince them of his identity, Thornhill tracks down the one man who can prove his story only to find himself accused of murder.

Thoroughly satisfying action mystery thriller with Hitchcock in typical mischievous form mixing sly innuendo, a well crafted story and outstanding action sequences into a perfectly realised final product.

Cary Grant is outstandingly good in the lead role, by turn suave and sophisticated then mystified and terrified as the nightmare world in which he finds himself spins further and further out of control.
Eva Marie Saint, James Mason and Leo G. Carroll head a top-class supporting cast and the whole thing is delivered with enormous skill, wit and aplomb.

A true giant of fifites mainstream Hollywood film making and one in which deserved to be rewatched on a regular basis.

Freeview film of the day : friday 27th of March

Orphan (2009 117min.) [Film4 11.20pm &+1]

Horror thriller starring Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard, and Isabelle Fuhrman. When bereaved couple Kate and John adopt nine-year-old Esther from an orphanage, their dreams of family happiness soon descend into a nightmare.

Camp, ever so knowing cuckoo-in-the-nest thriller with an outsanding performance by Isabelle Fuhrman and multiplex pleasing direction by Jaume Collet-Serra.
Very stylish and very entertaining.

Freeview film of the day : wednesday 25th of March

13 Assassins (2010 120min) [Film4 10.50pm &+1]

Period martial arts adventure starring Koji Yakusho and Takayuki Yamada. A respected samurai must assemble an elite team of assassins to kill the tyrannical Lord Naritsugu, whose bloody rise to power threatens the peace in feudal Japan. But the brave warriors are vastly outnumbered, and the 13 assassins embark upon a monumental suicide mission.

13 Assassins is a fascinating film : it's a combination of straight ahead martial arts story in the traditional Japanese mould of The Seven Samurai and an arthouse film about notions of honour, loyalty and responsibility in changing times.

It's directed by Takashi Miike (probably best known for the unsettling horror of The Audition etc.) and he handles the material with an enormous amount of skill - the early sections are filled with beautifully shot little scenes as the warriors are recruited and assembled.

He then builds the story slowly towards a fantastic battle-scene payoff that lasts nearly three-quarters of an hour but never becomes boring or cliched. There's a genuine sense of engagement and threat, possibly due to the minimal use of wire work which means that the physical stunts have a 'real' or naturalistic feel to them.

If you enjoyed the likes of Crouching Tiger..., Hero and Red Cliff you are going to absolutely love 13 Assassins.

Freeview film of the day : sunday 22nd of March

Sleep Tight (2011 100min.) [BBC4 10.00pm]

Freeview premiere

Horror thriller starring Luis Tosar. A deranged janitor insinuates himself into the life of one of his tenants with horrifying and traumatic results.

Terrific thriller which takes as it's starting point the primal fear of Something Nasty Under The Bed and spirals it out into a nerve jangling story of obsession, paranoia and desire.

Luis Tosar's Cesar is a superb creation - darkly menacing as he carefully plots the next step in his campaign and utterly ruthless when it comes to dealing with those who stand in his way.
Marta Etura is really good as this object of his fascination : not a weak willed victim but a fully rounded character who reacts in a believable (but tough) way to the chaos in her life.

The film is directed by Jaume Balagueró , known for his work on cult favourites [rec] (2007) and Fear (2010) and he brings the same style to this work, adding flourishes borrowed from Hitchcock and Polanski as the plot twist and turns to it's unexpected conclusion.

Not a blood, guts and gore horror but one that relies on insinuation and psychological menace to create it's air of tension and dread.
A highly recommended euro-thriller that will keep you entertained and engaged for 100 minutes.

Films on Freeview TV : wednesday 24th of December

WALL-E (2008 94min.) [BBC1 11.00am]
Animated sci-fi comedy featuring the voices of Sigourney Weaver, Ben Burtt and Elissa Knight. On a refuse-covered Earth of the future, a lonely robot called WALL-E is carrying out its function to compress and form litter into towers, a task it was programmed to do by the humans who abandoned the barren planet centuries ago. Then a visit from a probe called EVE brings hope that Earth could be populated once more.

Pixar's Oscar winning eco-message animation starts with a very long dialogue free section that is absolutely beautiful to watch. The 'love' story between is Wall-E and Eve is touching and the film only sags a bit when the human characters turn up. A absolute joy and a pleasure.


Wallace & Gromit in The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit (2005 81min.) [BBC1 1.45pm]
Animated comedy adventure featuring the voices of Peter Sallis, Ralph Fiennes and Helena Bonham Carter. As the annual Giant Vegetable Competition approaches, enterprising Wallace and Gromit cash in with their humane pest-control outfit, "Anti-Pesto". But business turns sour when a huge, mysterious beast begins destroying every garden in the area.

Wallace and Gromit are as charming as ever in this affectionate horror movie send-up. The cheese-loving inventor and his dog (not just a loyal hound but business partner, housewife, fixer) try to catch the mutated rabbit that's threatening to devour the village's annual crop of giant vegetables.
The painstaking stop-motion, Peter Sallis' Yorkshire accent, vicars and village fêtes all hark back to Watch with Mother, though children’s TV was never this stuffed with puns, double entendres and so many pop culture references you'd need several viewings to catch them all.

The Adventures Of Robin Hood (1938 101min.) [Ch5 1.50pm&+1]
Classic swashbuckling adventure starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. Robin Hood and his band of followers fight to protect King Richard's throne from evil Prince John and his villainous accomplice Sir Guy of Gisbourne.

The Grinch (2000 100min.) [Ch4 2.45pm &+1]
Comedy fantasy based on the book by Dr Seuss, starring Jim Carrey. It's Christmas in Whoville and preparations are well underway. Meanwhile, up in his mountain lair, cold-hearted hermit the Grinch sits alone resenting the Whovians' happiness. But then he's befriended by a little girl.

Scrooge
(1951 86min.) [Ch5 3.50pm &+1]
Classic British version of Charles Dickens's Christmas tale, starring Alastair Sim. On Christmas Eve, a tight-fisted businessman is visited by three ghosts who remind him of the true spirit of Christmas.

Says here they are showing the black and white original rather than the vile ‘colorised’ version which keeps popping up elsewhere. In which case it’s pretty much unmissable.

It’s A Wonderful Life (1946 125min.) [More 4 4.10pm&+1]
Frank Capra's classic fantasy drama, starring James Stewart, Donna Reed and Lionel Barrymore. George Bailey is a small-town businessman who believes he has been a failure. Contemplating suicide, George meets his guardian angel and discovers what life in his home town of Bedford Falls would have been like had he never lived.

One Hundred And One Dalmatians (1960 76min.) [BBC1 4.45pm]
Freeview premiere
Disney's classic animated adventure based on the novel by Dodie Smith, featuring the voice of Rod Taylor. When love blossoms between Londoners Roger and Anita, the same also occurs for their dalmatian dogs Pongo and Perdita. But when the two pooches have a litter of puppies, Anita's old schoolfriend Cruella De Vil is determined to have them at any cost. Her purpose: to make a coat from their pelts.

Cruella De Vil is one of the great Disney character creations and the ‘midnight bark’ sequence is an absolute joy. This is a film made by a studio working at the top of their game and a stand-out work in their canon. Despite the advances in animation technology since there still lots to enjoy in this hand-drawn classic and, at 76 minutes, hardly a moment is wasted.

Muppet Christmas Carol (1992 85min.) [Ch4 4.50pm &+1]
The inimitable puppets are joined by Michael Caine for their own special interpretation of the classic Dickens Christmas tale in which miserly Scrooge is visited by ghosts to help him mend his selfish ways.

Genuinely funny retelling of the Dickens classic with the added bonuses of some great songs and Michael Caine as Scrooge.

Toy Story 3 (2010 98min) [BBC1 6.25pm]
Animated comedy adventure sequel, with the voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen. Andy's heading off to college and plans to give most of his toys to a day-care centre. But when Woody and the gang are accidentally donated, too, they must embark on a daring and dangerous mission to escape.

Some great new characters, especially the villainous Lotso the bear, and a strong script helped the Toy Story franchise end (or pause) with some style.

Stand out moments include Barbie’s growing frustration with Ken and Buzz Lightyear becoming stuck in Spanish language mode.

Nightmare Before Christmas (1993 73min.) [ITV2 7.20pm &+1]
Animated musical drama featuring the voices of Chris Sarandon and Catherine O'Hara. Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, longs to escape the routine of Halloweentown. Through a door in a tree, he stumbles upon Christmastown where he engineers the kidnapping of Santa Claus and wreaks havoc among the inhabitants.

Top quality stop-motion animation with some great songs, sets, characters and voice work. Not just for kids and goths!
Superb set of songs by Danny Elfman too.

The Raid (2011 96min.) [Film4 11.40pm &+1]

A cop joins a SWAT team as they undertake a deadly mission - to infiltrate the tenement that contains the lair of a powerful drug kingpin. However, they soon learn they have walked into a trap - all routes out of the building are blocked, the gangster's henchmen are surrounding them and they will have to fight their way out. Action thriller, starring Iko Uwais and Joe Taslim.

Gareth Evans film is a superbly constructed mixture of Die Hard, Assault On Precinct 13, the Hong Kong action films of John Woo and any number of role-playing shoot em up video games.

Every second of the running time is filled with action : there's no attempt at telling backstory or character development ; the plot is lightweight and there's minimal dialogue.
But the film still has the ability to grip the viewer from beginning to end ; there are some superb action sequences and a genuine air of peril and danger.

It's bloody and violent and, if that's not your sort of thing, you should steer well clear as you won't enjoy The Raid at all.
However if you think you would enjoy a tense thriller with a pounding electronic soundtrack set in a claustrophobic space with some dazzling martial arts sequences and superbly done shoot outs then you'll have to go a long way to find a better recent example than this film.


Rare Exports From The Land of the Original Santa Claus (2010 79min.) [Ch4 1.55am &+1]
Dark seasonal fantasy starring Jorma Tommila and Onni Tommila. Santa Claus's tomb is unearthed in Lapland, just before local children begin disappearing. It seems he isn't quite the jolly soul of Christmas legend.

Wonderfully bonkers Finnish horror-comedy that messes around with the Santa Claus story and creates a brilliantly realised alternative universe in which an evil Santa rules despotically over a world of ensalved elves and helpers.

Terrific fun!

Films on Freeview TV : Tuesday 23rd of December

Chicken Run (2000 80min.) [BBC1 1.45pm]
Animated comedy adventure, with the voices of Julia Sawalha, Jane Horrocks, Miranda Richardson and Mel Gibson. A clutch of hens, led by head chick Ginger, suffers life on a grim 1950s egg farm. When the avaricious owners decide to move into the meat-pie business, the chickens fear the worst. With the help of American rooster Rocky, the birds start to plan a prisoner-of-war-style escape.

Made by Aardman Animation but lacks the warmth and grace of the Wallace & Gromit stories : still, it’s fun for a young audience although I do wonder how many of the references to POW camp films like The Great Escape and Stalag 17 will mean anything to them.

Destry Rides Again (1939 90mins. ) [ITV4 1.50pm &+1]
Western comedy drama starring Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart. Mild-mannered lawman Tom Destry is mocked by the inhabitants of Bottleneck when he tries to clean up the town. He comes up against Frenchy, a brassy showgirl and girlfriend of Kent, corrupt owner of the local saloon.

Wonderfully entertaining comedy western with the two leads in sparkling form – Dietrich sings ‘See What The Boys In The Back room Will Have’, Stewart makes hte absolute most of his first lead role in a western and there’s a superb supporting cast including Brian Donlevy as the black hat and Mischa Auer, Charles Winninger and Allen Jenkins.
Great fun.

The Lavender Hill Mob (1951 77min.) [Film4 2.35pm &+1]
Classic Ealing crime comedy starring Alec Guinness. Meek, respectable Henry Holland supervises gold bullion deliveries to the bank where he is a trusted employee. But behind his modest exterior lurks a criminal mind harbouring unbounded ambition. His dream of stealing one million in gold bars starts to assume reality when he teams up with foundry owner Pendlebury and two professional crooks.

It's one of the two totemic non plus ultra of the Ealing comedy films, starring Alec Guinness as Henry Holland and Stanley Holloway as the holiday souvenir manufacturer who helps him melt down the loot and refashion it as scale models of the Eiffel Tower - but then the plan to smuggle them out of the country goes horribly wrong.

Watch out for a young Audrey Hepburn, who has a tiny role in the opening scene as a Latin American ingenue called Chiquita.

Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964 117min.) [BBC4 7.00pm]
The Chicago underworld is shaken when a racketeer and a corrupt sheriff conspire to kill the biggest gang boss in town. A mobster strives to keep his territory out of the killers' hands, but when he uses some of his ill-gotten gains to help an orphanage, he finds himself becoming a local legend. Comedy, starring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, Bing Crosby and Peter Falk.

It’s the Rat Pack Gangster Movie – what more do you need to know?
Great songs, some decent acting and plenty of laughs. Enjoy!

Independence Day (1996 138min.) [Film4 9,00pm &+1]
A fleet of vast flying saucers launches a devastating and unprovoked attack on Earth. As survivors try to flee the seemingly unstoppable alien invaders, the courageous US president, an ace pilot and a computer genius come up with a plan to take the fight to the enemy and save the human race. Roland Emmerich's sci-fi adventure, starring Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Mary McDonnell, Randy Quaid, Robert Loggia and Harry Connick Jr.

Sometimes what you want from a film is to be able to park your brain in neutral and be entertained by an adventure story with lots of explosions and some cool special effects. (What sniffy film theorists call "an empty experience").

If tonight is such a night then you're in luck.
"Independence Day" has a story of sorts but it's mainly an excuse for some "oooooh!" moments as well known global landmarks (mainly in the US!) are blown to bits by pesky aliens.

There's some bits and bobs of acting in there : the always reliable Bill Pullman as the gung-ho action hero POTUS, Jeff Goldblum doing his nutty professor turn, Will Smith as the wise cracking pilot and Vivica A Fox as the token kick-ass female.
Director Roland Emmerich handles the CGI elements well and obviously enjoyed the experience as he reprised the trick with varying degrees of success in "Godzilla" (1997) "The Day After Tomorrow" (2004) "10,000 BC (2008) and last year's godawful "2012".

Carlito’s Way (1993 138min.) [ITV4 10.15pm &+1]
Gangster drama starring Al Pacino, Sean Penn and Penelope Ann Miller. Heroin dealer Carlito Brigante is released from prison after serving five years of a 30-year sentence, and wants to go straight. But old acquaintances conspire to turn him back to crime.

Director Brian De Palma makes the absolute most out of the New York location and he has great fun placing the characters in seedy bars and nightclubs. David Koepp’s script is sharp and witty and there’s a sly, restrained turn from Pacino.
The 15 minute subway chase is visually thrilling and there’s plenty of other moments to keep you interested. A really entertaining film that suffers only from being a touch too long.

The Sixth Sense (1999 [Film4 11.50pm &+1]
Supernatural drama starring Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment. On the same night that he receives an award for his achievements, child psychologist Malcolm Crowe is injured after a confrontation with disturbed ex-patient Vincent Gray. Nevertheless, several months later he decides to take on the case of a nine-year-old boy, who claims he can see dead people, just as Gray had done.

Willis is excellent as Dr Malcolm Crowe, a psychologist who tries to compensate for past professional errors and a crumbling marriage by helping an eight-year-old boy who claims to see ghosts.
Haley Joel Osment's performance as the child with issues is quiet extraordinary.

A film stands up to repeated viewing - mainly because, unlike most of the rest of his output, there is a great deal more to it than just a (fairly obvious) narrative twist.
SPOILER : "She" is actually a sledge!

Films on Freeview TV : Monday 22nd of December

White Christmas (1954 115min. ) [Ch4 11.50am &+1]

Musical starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye. Old army buddies Phil Davis and Bob Wallace travel with the glamorous Haynes sisters to the Columbia Inn in Vermont. There, Phil and Bob are reunited with their old commanding officer, General Waverly, who is now struggling to keep the hotel going. The visitors decide there's only one answer - to put on a show.

There’s two really good thing on show here : Danny Kaye’s show stealing performance and the direction by Hollywood veteran Michael Curtiz (who also directed Casablanca). Bing gets to sing That Song and Vera-Ellen’s dancing is seriously impressive.

Red River (1948 127min.)( [5USA 12.10pm)
Conflict grows between a tough Texan rancher and his foster son during a long-distance cattle drive to Missouri. The older man's uncompromising methods and unyielding outlook lead his workers to mutiny - and finally pit father against son. Howard Hawks' Western, starring John Wayne, Montgomery Clift, Walter Brennan, Joanne Dru and Coleen Gray.

Not only one of the greatest Westerns ever to be made by Hollywood but also one of the classics of twentieth century mainstream US film making.
You have John Wayne’s best ever performance, Howard Hawks’ startling direction, Russell Harlan’s sumptuous photography, a mesmerising turn from a yong Montgomery Clift and a stirring Dimitri Tiomkin score.
A fantastic film that can be watched and enjoyed by those who don’t think they like westerns or John Wayne films and repays repeated watching by those who do. Superb.

The War Of The Worlds (1953 81min.) [Film4 12.50pm &+1]
Science-fiction adventure, starring Gene Barry and Ann Robinson. With their civilisation on the verge of extinction, the Martians scan the solar system and conclude that only the Earth is fit for colonisation. The human race faces its greatest challenge as a Martian invasion force is launched.

Terrific 1950s US sci-fi genre telling of the classic HG Wells story. Gene Barry is a confident, rugged leading man well used by skilled director Byron Haskin who also makes the very best of Gordon Jennings' well done special effects as well as getting believable performances from the cast and many extras, who have to react to the effects that they (obviously) can’t see.

The Railway Children (1970 104min.) [ITV 2.55pm &+1]
Classic period drama based on the novel by E Nesbit, starring Jenny Agutter, Sally Thomsett and Gary Warren. When a government official is arrested on suspicion of treason, his wife and three children are forced to leave their London home and move to a small cottage in Yorkshire. While their mother fights for her husband's release, the children have marvellous adventures.

"Daddy! My Daddy!" blub

Cinderella (1950 74min.) [BBC1 4.00pm]
Freeview premiere
Classic animated romantic fantasy from Disney, based on the popular children's story by Charles Perrault. The beautiful Cinderella endures a life of hardship with her malicious stepmother. But when the downtrodden girl loses her shoe at a ball, Prince Charming is determined to find its owner.

Not in the first rank of Disney Golden Age films but the songs are good ( Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo and Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes) and younger viewers will get pleasure from seeing the familiar story told in a slightly different way thanks to the Disney additions of an evil cat and singing mice.

Guys And Dolls (1955 143min.) [BBC4 7.00pm]
Musical comedy based on Damon Runyon's short stories, starring Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons and Frank Sinatra. Hustler Nathan Detroit searches for a new location for his dice game while being pursued by the police. When he finds a suitable garage, he makes a $1,000 bet with slick gambler Sky Masterson to raise the necessary finance. However, that means Sky must persuade a pious young missionary to go to Havana to have dinner, or else he loses the wager.

A spectacular success that could so easily have been a total disaster. Everything about the film is perfect – from the incorporation of Runyon’s heavily stylised speech patterns & use of slang in the original stories – through the casting of a non-singer and a non-dancer in roles that required them to sing and dance and the fantastic use that’s made of Jean Simmons .
There’s Stubby Kaye’s amusing comedy turn in the supporting cast, some wonderful Frank Loesser songs, great chorography from Michael Kidd and Joseph L Mankiewicz’s confident, assured, light touch direction.
A real treat.

The Tree Of Life (2010 133min.) [Ch4 1.55am &+1]
Drama from director Terrence Malick, starring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn and Jessica Chastain. The origins of life on Earth provide a backdrop to a middle-aged man's musings about his upbringing in Waco, Texas, in the 1950s.
Critics and audiences had wildly different views of Malick’s ambitious fifth film.
For the record : I loved it.