Sunday, March 23, 2008

Mar 21st
Green for Danger**
GB 1947. Rank/Individual. 91m. bw

A droll Scotland Yard detective investigates a series of murders in the Operating Theatre of a small country hospital during WWII.
Professionally made medical murder mystery with Launder and Gilliat adding a welcome dose of comedy to the improbable storyline, and an excellent cast.

Written by: Sidney Gilliat, Claude Gurney, from the novel by Christianna Brand.
Producers: Frank Launder, Sidney Gilliat.
Director: Sidney Gilliat.
Starring: Alastair Sim, Leo Genn, Trevor Howard, Sally Gray, Rosamund John, Judy Campbell, Megs Jenkins, Moore Marriott, Ronald Adam, Henry Edwards, George Woodbridge.
Photography: Wilkie Cooper.
Music: William Alwyn.

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Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Laurel & Hardy evening

Mar 15thSaps at Sea*
Manifest Theatre, Manningtree

US 1940. United Artists/Hal Roach. 57m. bw

Stan and a "hornophobic" Ollie recuperate on an old boat, which casts adrift with an escaped convict on board.
Slightly abrasive and routinely directed L&H comedy with some bright moments, their last for Hal Roach, showing signs of the less subtle slapstick that didn't really suit their style.

Written by: Charles Rogers, Felix Adler, Harry Langdon.
Producer: Hal Roach.
Director: Gordon Douglas.
Starring: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson, Richard Cramer, Harry Bernard, Ben Turpin, Charlie Hall.
Photography: Art Lloyd.
Music: Marvin Hatley.

Preceded by:
Two Tars*** (US 1928. 20m. bw. silent; Two sailors on shore leave date a couple of local girls, and proceed to demolish a sweet shop and the highway.; w: H.M. Walker, Leo McCarey; d: James Parrott; s: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Edgar Kennedy, Thelma Hill, Ruby Blaine, Charlie Hall.)

Any Old Port**(US 1932. 20m. bw; Sailors again, preventing a girl from marrying a brute, who inadvertently meets up with them again in the boxing ring. w: H.M. Walker; d: James W. Horne; s: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Walter Long, Jacqueline Wells (later Julie Bishop).)

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Sunday, March 09, 2008

Mar 8th The Other Boleyn Girl**(12A)
Notting Hill Coronet
 GB/US 2008. Universal/Columbia/BBC Films/Relativity Media/Ruby Films/Scot Rudin. 115m.

 King Henry VIII falls in love with Mary Boleyn, who bears him an illegitimate son, but while she recuperates, her jealous sister Ann begins to catch Henry's eye…
Stately, dull looking historical romp (going more for the documentary-style approach than Elizabeth) with stars who are well cast, although it loses its subtlety in the latter half, descending into Royal soap opera characteristic of this scriptwriter. But historically of course, it all really happened.

Written by: Peter Morgan, from the novel by Philippa Gregory.
Producers: Alison Owen.
Director: Justin Chadwick.
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman, Eric Bana, Kristin Scott Thomas, Mark Rylance, David Morrissey, Jim Sturgess, Benedict Cumberbatch, Oliver Coleman, Ana Torrent.
Photography: Kieran McGuigan.
Music: Paul Cantelon.

Monday, March 03, 2008

Mar 1st
My Blueberry Nights* (12A)
Barbican Cinema

Hong Kong/China/Fra 2007. Optimum/Block 2/Jet Tone/Lou Yi/Studio Canal. 111m.

A girl who has been jilted decides to go on the road, and experiences other people's tales of lost love.
Rambling and pretentious but once again haunting paean to the memory of lost love (the title being a metaphor for people making other choices) by this director, in his first American-set film, with a talented cast, some of them against type.

Written by: Wong Kar Wai, Lawrence Block.
Producers: Wong Kar Wai, Wang Wei, Jacky Pang Yee Wah, Stephane Kooshmanian, Jean-Louis Piel.
Director: Wong Kar Wai.
Starring: Norah Jones, Jude Law, David Strathairn, Rachel Weisz, Natalie Portman, Chan Marshall, Frankie Faison.
Photography: Darius Khondji.
Music: Ry Cooder.

Preceded by:
The Crowd
(GB TVM 2007. 3m.; w, d, s: Rowan Sawday.)
+ entrant in the 2008 Big Issue Film Festival at the Barbican.

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Sunday, March 02, 2008

Mar 1st
Underdog (U)
Vue Shepherd's Bush

US 2007. Walt Disney/Spyglass/Have No Fear Productions. 84m.

A ex-police dog is accidentally transformed by a mad scientist into an all-talking, flying superhero.
Mildly amusing series of Superman spoof in-jokes with a canine twist, one of the better live action adaptations of a children's cartoon series. Good, silly fun.

Written by: Adam Rifkin, Joe Piscatella, Craig A. Williams, based on the TV cartoon series by W. Watts Biggers.
Producers: Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum, Jonathan Glickman.
Director: Frederick Du Chau.
Starring: Jason Lee (voice of Underdog), Alex Neuberger, James Belushi, Peter Dinklage, Patrick Warburton, Taylor Momsen, Amy Adams (voice only).
Photography: David Eggby.
Music: Randy Edelman.

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Saturday, March 01, 2008

Feb 29thNight Crossing** US 1982. Walt Disney. 107m.
In 1970s East Germany the Strelzyk and Wetzel families try to fly over the 3-mile border zone into the West by hot air balloon.
Well-meaning true life story with an intriguing premise, which is predictably sentimentalised for Disney (and badly made in some departments), where all the heroes speak in British/American accents, and all the villains speak like Germans. Interesting enough to keep you guessing how it's going to turn out.

Written by: John McGreevey.
Producer: Tom Leetch.
Director: Delbert Mann.
Starring: John Hurt, Beau Bridges, Jane Alexander, Ian Bannen, Doug McKeon, Glynnis O'Connor, Günther Meisner, Kay Walsh, Matthew Taylor.
Photography: Tony Imi.
Music: Jerry Goldsmith.

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