The BBC have announced a cutback of one hundred percent.
The Goodies 5.13: The End The Goodies tended to be at their most inventive when they had very little in the way of resources at their disposal. Typically, come the end of a season, bereft of location work, guest stars or expensive props, and so forced to make hay from the central trio (themselves) and office set. Off-the-wall introspection and – curiously – apocalyptic ennui occurred more than once under such circumstances, and possibly the most successful of these, both creatively and in terms of viewing figures, was The End. Corbet Woodall: And finally, a service announcement. The BBC have announced a
apocalypse/end of the world cannibal class comedy conspiracy future hallucination mudflood &/or 1700 event political race religion The Goodies
I don't think Wimpys still exist.
Last Night in Soho (2021) Last Night in Soho is a cautionary lesson in one's reach extending one's grasp. It isn't that Edgar Wright shouldn't attempt to stretch himself, it's simply that he needs the self-awareness to realise which moves are going to throw his back out and leave him in a floundering and enfeebled heap on the studio floor. Wright's an uber-geek, one with a very specific comfort zone, and there's no shame in that. He evidently was shamed, though, hence this response to criticisms of a lack of maturity and – obviously – lack of versatility with female characters. Last Night
body swap &/or consciousness transfer Edgar Wright Empire magazine ghosts hallucination horror period & historical revenge serial killer sexuality &/or gender time travel woke &/or progressive
You discovered so much up there. I just point.
The Midnight Sky (2020) In which George Clooney the director proves his most enduring quality in said role: boring the shit out of the average viewer. Which isn't so different to his acting these days either. He fooled me first time round, since he rose admirably to the challenge of translating Charlie Kaufman's translation of Chuck Barris' Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002) into a movie (albeit, failing to meet with Kaufman's approval). Even with Suburbicon (2017), his more recent, tampering take on an old Coen Brothers screenplay, he brought the original parts to the screen with due conviction (the parts he introduced
apocalypse/end of the world Arctic hallucination Jupiter medicine & health &/or pharma NASA & space &/or Earth shape New World Order predictive programming psychosis &/or trauma &/or PTSD reset science fiction twist
You've got to take me back father! You've got to take me back!
Downhill (1927) Hitchcock had no problem throwing Ivor Novello under a bus for this one (of the source material, Down Hill, by Novello and Constance Collier, under the nom de plume Julian L'Estrange, he said "It was done as a series of sketches. It was a rather poor play" and "the dialogue was pretty dreadful in spots"). Downhill makes for an overlong, plodding melodrama concerning unjustly expelled school boy Roddy (Novello), who embarks on a bleak but instructive rite of passage before finally having his world righted, Job-like. At least, that's how I, and I'm sure most people, read it. Time Out's
Alfred Hitchcock cats coming-of-age drama hallucination sexuality &/or gender silent
We find that monster, we find Skinner.
The X-Files 11.6 Kitten A couple of first timers on the show in their respective roles show the old hands how it should be done, with one of those rare supporting player-focused episodes that can prove indulgently misplaced or surprisingly assured depending on the assembled elements. Skinner takes his place in the spotlight for the first time since… S.R. 819? And there's a fine supporting turn from Haley Joel Osment. Not ground-breaking, perhaps, but a cut above most of the fare of late, and equipped with a suitably cogent coating of conspiracy lore to bed it in. Writer Gabe Rotter
cats chemtrails conspiracy doppelganger hallucination MKUltra possession & mind control science fiction The X-Files Vietnam War
It's a table. You sit at it.
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017) I can certainly see why Guy Ritchie's latest has flopped. Audiences weren't interested in what he was selling, and what he was selling was very clear from the trailers. It's the same with Ghost in the Shell: all these post-mortems offering a list of reasons why really boil down to whether those two-and-a-half minutes are appealing, not whether Charlie Hunnam's a star or Scarlett Johannsson can open a movie. Much weaker movies become hits every year, so it was his take on King Arthur – which, like everything Ritchie gets his paws on,
action & adventure Arthurian legend box-office bomb class Guy Ritchie hallucination magic origin story period & historical ritual sacrifice supernatural witchcraft/sorcery
I don't know about the audience, but I think it's the best thing you've ever done. You son of a bitch.
All That Jazz (1979) I recall being very impressed by All That Jazz when I first saw it, which must have been in the mid-to-late-80s, all the more so as I'm not an enormous fan of musicals (I may have mentioned this before); it takes something distinctive to do it for me, and I don't mean distinctive in the Baz Lurhmann sense. Its impact is, I have to admit, somewhat diminished upon revisit. It's probably stating the bleeding obvious to suggest that Bob Fosse's highly autobiographical movie is indulgent, but the last half of the picture, an extended, hallucinogenic hospital bed
angels based on actual events Best Picture Oscar Nominee drama dreams drugs hallucination Hollywood & movies mortality musical sexuality &/or gender
When she crossed over, she was just a ship. But when she came back… she was alive!
Event Horizon (1997) It seems to be a commonly held view, retrospectively, that Event Horizon is one of Paul W S Anderson's better movies, which tells you a lot about the kind of standards he's been upholding throughout his career. Its fans wax lyrical about the holy grail of a 130-minute director's cut, as if that would somehow be the saving grace of picture that isn't only dramatically inert once its entirely derivative premise is revealed and it has nowhere to go with it, but which is also bludgeoned into insensibility by its director's graceless, one-note barrage of stylistic (I use
altered states alternate dimension/universe/realm/reality/timeline artificial intelligence box-office bomb future hallucination Hell/underworld/purgatory horror Neptune Paul WS Anderson possession & mind control science fiction supernatural
And you, Holmes, are letting your emotions get the better of you again!
Young Sherlock Holmes aka Young Sherlock Holmes and the Pyramid of Fear (1985) I recalled Young Sherlock Holmes being a more likable Conan Doyle pastiche than it actually is, which is probably largely down to Nicholas Rowe's personable performance in the title role (endearingly, he recently revisited the part by way of a cameo in Mr. Holmes). Unlike the homages of the '70s, this attempt, penned by a young up-and-comer called Chris Columbus, has little real interest in the Holmes character from the stories, either in exploring the sleuth's legendary deductive techniques or in his emotional aloofness. As such, the movie's consistently
action & adventure Ancient Egypt Barry Levinson Chris Columbus cults hallucination mystery origin story pastiche period & historical Sherlock Holmes teen
I'm just a mercenary, fighting for gold.
Hercules (2014) If there's one thing that can be relied on in Hollywood, it's Brett Ratner's aptitude for turning any silk purse he stumbles over into a sow's ear. Ever since he plunged an all-star cast and great script for Red Dragon into pungent mediocrity (it's okay, we've still got Manhunter), there's a fear that each new project will be an opportunity for him to dash someone else's potential. So far, we've escaped lightly. True, he desecrated the X-Men franchise with Last Stand. But then there was the not-bad Tower Heist (at least, it was a sign the old Eddie Murphy still exists, so perhaps I was
action & adventure Brett Ratner comic book/graphic novel God/gods Greek myths hallucination mercenary period & historical revisionist &/or presentism
I believe in… What I believe.
Ace of Wands Season 3 (1972) If Ace of Wands were half as good as its theme song it would be an enduring classic whose legend was alive and well today, rather than a half-forgotten ember in the annals of children's television history. Only the final season of the series exists (transmitted the year I was born), so perhaps I'm doing it an injustice and the previous two were dynamite. After all, loveable cockney rogue Tony Selby appeared in those as a regular. Trevor Preston's idea was to make a kids' show that wasn't obviously playing to kids (hence the leads
Ace of Wands Ancient Egypt fantasy fourth wall gangster/mobster hallucination heist/caper/con hippy &/or counter-culture immortality magic occult PJ Hammond possession & mind control psychic & ESP séance &/or ouija supernatural tarot witchcraft/sorcery