Watching - December 2021

Christmas on 5th Avenue (2021)

Slightly above average Hallmark (or similar) Christmas TV movie. Entirely predictable but kind of fun. C said she'd read the book on which it is based, so I ordered that from the library and read that too.

Nostalgic Christmas (2019)

Formulaic stuff, with two leads who look way too airbrushed to be real, but the story is sweet and wholesome.

Love Actually (2003)

Probably my favourite Christmas film, despite being the usual, frustrating Richard Curtis mix of terrible, single-use-only jokes and genuinely moving scenes. And in fairness, some of the humour does stand up to repetition - which is probably more than can be said about the fat jibes. There's some great performances, but overall it's probably Emma Thompson who stands out (although in fairness her role has more emotional depth than, say, Hugh Grant's). And great choice of "God Only Knows" as the outro music.

Abominable (2019)

This was on the telly so we watched it, despite having never heard of it before. It's cute but not deserving of the level of critical praise it seemed to get (82% on Rotten Tomatoes): the animation is the same as all DreamWorks films, with no real improvement noticeable over earlier films (unlike Pixar and Disney, whose animation get better each time), the plot is pretty predictable and the deus ex machina of the Yeti's magical powers is over-used. My guess this was aimed at the Chinese market, as it's set in Shanghai and when challenged over the use of a controversial map boundary, Universal refused to remove it - which nails their colours firmly to the mast on this issue.

Encanto (2021)

Disney's big holiday release doesn't disappoint. The story runs on fairly well-worn rails but reliably delivers top quality entertainment - laughs and sighs and a few tears - while the animation is so impressive, not just for the level of detail but for the expressiveness: I don't think I've seen such human faces before. The songs, by Lin-Manuel Miranda, are very musical theatre (and have inevitable shades of Moana) and not really my thing, but the sequences during the musical items are stunning. Family fun, enjoyed by our family.

Frozen II (2019)

Family's suggestion for Boxing Day family viewing. Meh.

The Beatles: Get Back (2021)

I've been listening to The Beatles since before I can remember, I've read plenty of books about them and I've even met and chatted with Mark Lewisohn (at a wedding). I'd consider myself a fan. Yet this was a struggle - a really odd mix of fascinating and really dull. Watching it is a bit like panning for gold: hours and hours (literally) of low-grade musical farting around and then, suddenly, everything coalesces into "Let It Be" or "The Long and Winding Road", and suddenly we're seeing alchemy in action. I think it's important that this material is preserved, but if this is the "Director's Cut", then I wish there'd be a "Studio Cut" that's about a third of the length. Yes, anyone who's been in a band will recognise the interminable tediousness of trying to get everyone to play the same thing (watching this gives me a new respect for Ringo, who waits patiently and then just calmly plays perfectly each time), but I'm not sure I needed to see another band, even The Beatles, doing it in such detail. That said, the last episode, with the concert on the roof, is much better, and it's good to see the songs come together (to coin a phrase). So overall, I'm pleased I made the effort to watch it. But can we have a shorter version please? (Here's an interesting piece that discusses similar points.)

Cruella (2021)

Origin stories are all the rage these days (thanks, Marvel) and why should Disney villains be any different? This is a bit of a hodge-podge of film types but is mostly a heist movie, I think (going by Mark Kermode's masterly analysis). Emma Stone (one of my favourite current actors) is very good in bringing a little depth to a role that doesn't have an awful lot. There's plenty going on to keep our attention but overall the film is a bit unengaging.

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

Excessive, funny, but soulless and morally suspect.

How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014)

New Year's Eve family viewing - a mini-HtTYD-marathon (we don't have the third one for some reason). They're good films, enjoyable and involving, but to anyone familiar with the books - which is all of us in this family, since we have them on audiobook and listened to them in the car a lot when the kids were younger - it's a constant source of puzzlement why the plot was changed so much for the film. Oh well!

Watching - October 2021

Schumacher (2021)

Schumacher's dominance coincided with the period when I was most avidly following F1, and unlike some people, I didn't find this unappealing. To see an athlete at the top of his game - and, let's be clear, Schumacher was the best of his generation, by quite a margin - was a wonderful thing to watch. Obviously, in F1, it's not just about the driver and Ferrari used everything they could to obtain and maintain their advantage, but that doesn't take away from the man's brilliance. Oddly, the film doesn't emphasise this as much as I'd expected, although there's plenty about his driving. Instead, it tries to balance this with more about the man and his family. Given the extensive involvement of his wife and friends, this is perhaps unsurprising. And in fairness, it doesn't shy away from addressing some of his more notorious controversies, giving time to Damon Hill to say that he thinks Schumacher deliberately turned into him during the 1994 Japanese GP, and showing that just about everyone thinks he did the same to Jacques Villeneuve in 1997. An interesting film, but as an F1 fan I could have done with more driving and less schmaltzy background music. 

North by Northwest (1959)

I watched this after seeing Mark Kermode's Secrets of Cinema episode about spies. I can't remember the last time I saw it, although the iconic scenes are very familiar of course. It's surprisingly long at over two hours, and the romantic elements are about as believable as Dick Van Dyke's accent in Mary Poppins, but it's a great plot and a classic film of course. The train going into the tunnel at the end made me laugh - I can't believe that symbolism was ever actually used, but there it is!

Free Guy (2021)

For the last few months, YouTube, that reliable barometer of public opinion and taste (ahem) has been pushing Ryan Reynolds videos at me, specifically ones where he is being sarcastic on chat shows - which he is very good at. So I was primed for this I guess, and it popped up on Disney+ so it was a good one to watch with Z. I really liked it: a kind of cross between Ready Player One and The Lego Movie, with ideas not too dissimilar to Christopher Brookmyre's Bedlam. In fact, so good I watched it twice.

Soul (2020)

We watched this when it came available on Disney+ but the rest of the family seemed to be underwhelmed. I really liked it and rewatching it didn't change my opinion. I think there's a message there but I can't decide if it's "make the most of your life" or "play more music".

No Strings Attached (2011)

Oddly, this and Friends With Benefits came out at almost exactly the same time, with pretty much the same plot idea. This is the lesser of the two though, as Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher just don't go well together, and when you start comparing them with the sassiness of Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake ... well, there's a reason I only remembered that I'd actually seen this before when I was about half-way through. Still, ticks most of the right romcom boxes.

Friends With Benefits (2011)

And just to remind myself - I have seen it before, several times - I watched this again. Sure, you can quibble with a couple of bits and pieces but the whole thing just bursts with life.

Summer of Soul (2021)

Fascinating documentary about the Harlem Cultural Festival in 1969 - something broadly concurrent with Woodstock, but not celebrated for some reason. Lots of great footage: Stevie Wonder about to enter his golden period; Nina Simone on imperious form and introducing "To Be Young, Gifted and Black" for the first time ever; Sly and the Family Stone, probably the only act to play both this and Woodstock and as awesome as always. Mixed in with all of this is background and context footage, topped of with some very touching interviews with people who were there but haven't seen it for fifty years. Essential viewing.

Martha - Meet Frank, Daniel & Laurence (1998)

Comfort viewing.

Pretty Woman (1990)

It's a classic, but I wonder how many people watching it really think about the realities of Vivian's life? The film attempts to deal with it, but overall it seems very much of its time. There's something very 80s about the way it glosses over the sordid realities of prostitution and presents it as just another lifestyle choice. Would the story have been any less enjoyable - or successful - if Vivian had been working any other low-rent job? Or was the frisson of illegality and sex required? If you can ignore these aspects of the film then it's a nice story.

Black Widow (2021)

Fairly standard MCU fare. If you strip out the fight scenes, there'd be about twenty minutes of actual plot, and I can't say I followed it that closely anyway. One for the fans, I think (who, as I understand it, had been asking for the Black Widow back-story for a long time).

Watching - September 2021

Ghosts (Season 3, 2021)

Ghosts has been a firm family favourite since Season 1, so we were happy to see another series. I think they're doing a superb job of slowly revealing the back stories of all the characters, while moving the overall story arc forward. Very funny in places and great fun overall.

Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)

An old favourite that I hadn't seen for years, and so was happily able to enjoy it all over again. John Cusack does himself, but very well, and Minnie Driver is cute - although it's not clear why she'd be so ready to get together with him again so quickly. The juxtaposition between the romcom aspects and the violence can be quite abrupt, but I suppose that's what makes it more unusual.

The Hunt For Red October (1990)

Classic cold war thriller that, Sean Connery's accent aside, seems very believable. Compared to the book, the plot is simpler and fewer of the motives are revealed, particularly about why the Russian captain decides to defect. It also has very little of the novel's gung-ho US patriotism, which is no loss. Instead of the sprawling sub-plots of the original then, we get a taut story that kept me interested. I'd never seen this before, despite having had it for ages.

Quiz Show (1994)

First thing that struck me: don't they all look so young? Yeah, I'm getting old, particularly since they are about the right age for the characters. Ralph Fiennes does a particularly good job of someone who has been tempted down a path he didn't really want (the real Charles Van Doren finally broke his silence in 2008); Hank Azaria (in the second film of his I've seen this month) and David Paymer are wonderfully sleazy TV execs; and I love Rob Morrow's Brookline accent (which I assume is authentic ¯\_(ツ)_/¯). Apparently the film strips a lot of detail from the real story of the 1950s quiz show scandals in the name of a clear narrative, but this does make for a compelling film.

Watching - August 2021

Paddington 2 (2017)

The best thing about this hugely enjoyable film is Hugh Grant's gloriously over-the-top luvvie villain, but even without that it's a very funny film. Brought in the whole family.

Apollo 11 (2019)

The NASA footage is amazing, not least because it reminds you how incredibly complex the whole undertaking was. Seeing the shots of the rows and rows of people at consoles at Launch Control in Florida really brought that home to me, and of course that was merely the tip of the iceberg. However, it's a big of a slog as a documentary, and the dramatic music is a bit intrusive (all a bit too Truman Show for me) but well worth seeing.

Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)

Very amusing. I watched this because Mark Kermode said it was one of Hugh Grant's best roles, and he's good, but it's Meryl Streep who stands out.

A Very English Scandal (2018)

I knew very little about the Jeremy Thorpe scandal before this. It was a good watch, but would have been better as a 1½-2 hour film rather than three hours, even when watched with breaks. Hugh Grant is very good but still obviously Hugh Grant (maybe I just know his films too well), and so was Ben Wilshaw, but together they made an odd casting decision - and not just because it's hard to forget that Wilshaw also plays Paddington. The events depicted cover almost twenty years, but Grant always looks to be in his fifties while Wilshaw in his twenties. In real life they were about eleven years apart and Thorpe was always considered young and active for a politician. Still, you can't fault the effort put into the production and I enjoyed it.

Music and Lyrics (2007)

I'll watch Drew Barrymore in most things, but here I think she and Hugh Grant (yes, August has become a bit of a Grant-fest, I'm afraid) make a good and believable couple - and certainly he is preferable to Adam Sandler. The film is sweet, light and fluffy, like a good cake - not exactly good for you, but enjoyable nonetheless.

Yesterday (2019)

An intriguing concept turned into Curtis-by-numbers. Very much like About Time, it takes a really great premise and then squashes it under a conventional romcom, while abandoning any internal consistency when it becomes inconvenient. I enjoyed it and there were plenty of laugh-out-loud jokes, but the original concept, of a man who can't find success despite having all these astonishing songs, would have been more believable and interesting, and knowing that Curtis ripped off someone else's story leaves a bit of a bad taste in the mouth.

Blinded by the Light (2019)

Oddly, 2019 saw two British films featuring pop music and Asian lead characters (although in Yesterday, this isn't a plot point), so I thought I'd watch this one too. On the surface, it has less appeal for me, as Springsteen - whose music is the inspiration for the story - has never really done it for me. Mostly this is because lyrics don't matter much to me, and so it's only Springsteen's most musical - dare I say, poppiest - moments that I enjoy. But by linking the words to the events, the film gave me a better appreciation for them and for what Bruce means to people. The film itself is moving and well-made coming-of-age story, and of the two films, this is the better. 

A Beautiful Mind (2001)

Ron Howard's award-winning film illustrates the dilemma of making movies based on a real lives: what do you change in the name of dramatisation? John Nash, the Nobel laureate mathematician at the centre of the story, was still alive when this was released, and it must have been odd for him knowing that this version of events would become what he'd be known for in the popular imagination. I can understand why the changes (and simplifications) were made: they increase the drama and make the narrative more understandable, while still being true to the spirit of his life, and as a standalone film it works very well. However, I was disappointed to find out after I'd watched it how much it differs from Nash's real life.

The Imitation Game (2014)

Also full of "dramatic licence", as the fantastic visualisation and analysis at Information Is Beautiful makes clear - somewhere between 17% and 42% accurate, depending on how strict you want to be. Of course, some simplification is necessary in order to tell the story in two hours. But there are dozens of unnecessary changes that feel like they've been made in order to fit the pre-existing Hollywood template of "lone genius saves the world". So although the film was well-made, I knew enough of the subject to know that it was highly inaccurate while I was watching it and this spoiled it for me. Cumberbatch was good though.

Watching - July 2021

The Book of Life (2014)

I'd heard from my kids that Pixar's Coco was basically a replay of this film, but I'd never seen it for some reason. Conveniently it's now on Disney+ so we were able to make the comparison. At least, Z was, as I haven't watched Coco for ages. The themes are very, very similar, as they are based on the same cultural references, but outside of that, I think they're different stories and different films. The animation in this is nicely quirky, avoiding an attempt to be super-realistic, and if the plot is a little predictable and generic, then it's still good fun.

Military Wives (2019)

You don't need to know the story to understand where this is going from about ten minutes in, but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable. A good mix of the affecting - it's particularly good at illustrating the emotions around the partners leaving to go to Afghanistan - and the comedic elements are reliably in place. Good enough to keep watching, but not brilliant.

Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars (2018)

Eric Clapton is one of the reasons I started playing guitar - not the only reason by any means, but definitely a big part of it. Yet for some reason I know little of his music past Derek & The Dominoes, nor much of his history since then either. Interestingly, this biography doesn't actually tell you much past this time either, other than, basically, he was drunk for about twenty years. His albums from about 461 Ocean Boulevard (1974) to Journeyman (1989) are dismissed with the one-liner "I can hear how drunk I was", yet I suspect that much of his wealth comes from the music he made during this period. He's obviously had hard times, some through no fault of his own and some entirely self-imposed. The film ends on happy notes: as well as setting up the Crossroads centres, he finds love and has children (about the same age as mine, incredibly). Moving in places, fairly stark in others, this was an interesting watch but I felt it obscured some things.

Watching - June 2021

Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)

Unanimous choice for our family film night (although I hadn't heard about it before about two days ago and was not really bothered either way), Disney's latest is fairly identikit, well, Disney fare. Modern, ass-kicking Disney princess? Tick. Missing parent? Of course. Cute animal sidekick? Present and correct. Huge big moral being whacked around your head? Absolutely - although in this case the moral is not just about trusting in people, but to me seems to have fairly hefty dose of warnings against isolationism and nationalism, which is a bit subversive for Disney. The animation is superb, although the characters do look a bit like Barbie, as K pointed out - their faces all seem a bit plastic and unlined - the story is involving, if predictable, and the animals cute. What else do you want? An enjoyable evening with the family, unlikely to be watched again for a while though.

Luca (2021)

The newest Pixar release on Disney+ predictably gets no complaints for pizza night, and predictably provides pleasant passing of time. It looks sumptuous, is heartwarming and sweet, and involving enough to keep us entertained. I'm a little less sure of the way it reduces Italians to stereotypes (I'm fairly certain that "Santa Gorgonzola" is not a real saint, much less one that is invoked in a crisis) and as such it seems like a very US-centric view of the country. Nevertheless, fun enough.

Incredibles 2 (2018)

I'm fairly certain we saw this in the cinema when it came out, and were not impressed enough to bother ordering it on DVD. It's good fun though, with most of the funniest moments centred around Jack Jack and his multifarious powers, and even if the plot twist can be seen coming a mile off, it still gets a bit nail-biting towards the climax. Fun stuff, watched with Z.

Watching - May 2021

Brave (2012)

Family viewing on a Saturday night, and something we probably haven't watched since we first got it. A fun story, well told and (of course) superbly animated.

Gregory's Girl (1980)

Having watched Chariots Of Fire last month, I had to get to this next, as they go together in my mind - in fact, I feel sure I saw them on a double bill once. It's on my list of favourite films, although I can't remember the last time I watched it. It's dated, obviously filmed on a budget and some of the acting's a little ropey, but it's so sweet and charming that it's easy to forget all that. At least, I find it so, but then it's so irrevocably associated with my own adolescence that I can't really judge it impartially. This is why I'm keen for B to watch it and see what he thinks! I'll persuade him eventually ...

The Lego Movie (2014)

Despite having seen this many times, there is so much detail in this film that it's easy to watch again. The animation is spectacularly clever and the script is tongue-in-cheek and witty. Sure, the ending, where the dad realises his mistake, is a touch sugary, but this is splendidly sent up by the final twist: "Now that I'm letting you come down here and play, guess who else gets to come down here and play? Your sister."

Clueless (1995)

B's Sunday afternoon choice, possibly partly because he's reading Emma, but who needs a reason? It's still one of my favourite films, a smart, funny and sweet film, given depth by its literary inheritance and its heart by some lovely performances.

One Day (2011)

The sign of a good book is that you don't want it to end, even while being unable to wait to find out how it ends. The film of the book is a way of extending your time in the book's world and maybe seeing it from a new perspective. In this, the film does very acceptably; seeing the characters and seeing their environment does bring the story to life in a new way. The film continues the grand tradition of British films featuring a US star to try and make it internationally appealing, which in this case is a mistake, I think. Not that Anne Hathaway isn't decent in the role, but she is too recognisable and consequently unbalances the story (look, there's Anne Hathaway pretending to be plain again!). And why did no-one spot that her "Yorkshire" accent keep disappearing (when it's there, she sounds just like Jodie Whitaker, who is also in the film). But a British actress who could actually do the accent would have been better. Still, the story survives, all the right buttons are pressed and I found it moving all over again.

Back In Time (2015)

Documentary about Back To The Future - made, of course, in the year that Marty McFly famously went to in BTTF2. Not as much about the making of as I expected, but there's reams of that on the box set. This is more about the phenomenon, the fans, the cars (lots about the cars). Mildly diverting but entertaining enough.

Watching - April 2021

True Lies (1994)

Seen it for the second time in six months (selection courtesy of Z) and it's still very watchable.

Chariots Of Fire (1981)

Still one of my favourite films - although I know it so well I rarely watch it and haven't seen it for years. Ostensibly a film about striving for your goals and overcoming obstacles, it feels to me as much a testament to lost youth somehow - not sure why. There's an underlying melancholy about it that adds more complexity than a simple "yay we won". Wonderfully constructed and played, even if a critical 21^st century eye might quibble about the authenticity of some of the setting. Just subliminal.

Watching - March 2021

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

As I write this, I am listening to Wayne Newton's "Danke Schoen", which can only mean one thing: we watched the incomparable Ferris Bueller. Z hadn't seen it and no further excuse was needed for us all to watch it again, on our Saturday pizza 'n' movie night. Great fun, as always - I was worried that I wouldn't enjoy it, as I have seen it so many times, but it was and is brilliant. And yes, you can get bogged down with carping about how entitled Ferris is, or about some of the more dated scenes (Ferris dashing past two women in bikinis and then stopping to introduce himself) but I think to do so is largely pointless. It's nearly forty years old, for goodness' sake. Just enjoy it as a slice of eighties escapism.

High School Musical (2006)

HSM first entered our lives when K was about five, I think, and so is forever known in our house as "Highsical Musical", because that's what she called it at the time. I have sometimes described my relationship with it as being down to a kind of Stockholm Syndrome but, crassness aside, I really do love this film now - as does the whole family, and we can basically all talk and sing along with the whole thing.

High School Musical 2 (2007)

... and so the following evening we watched the second HSM. Notably less keen-ness from the family (two of whom disappeared from the living room half-way through), and possibly because it's not quite as good as the first one. Still, plenty to smile about.

High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008)

The dining room was still out of action (being decorated) so we were eating dinner in the living room and that was apparently reason to continue our theme of the last few nights. Enough excuses though - once you're in the HSM world this is a great finish to the trilogy and ties off all ends satisfactorily. I don't think we'll go on to Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure though.

Friends With Benefits (2011)

I watched this about a year ago on a whim (on Now TV iirc), not because I knew anything about it but because it sounded like a cool film. I really enjoyed it, bought the DVD and wanted to come back to it. It's sparky, sassy, sexy and probably a bunch of other things beginning with 's' that I can't think of right now; Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake (neither of whom I knew anything about, as actors anyway, before this) are great together, and if there are couple of slightly disjointed moments on second watching, it doesn't detract from the film for me. A bit cliched perhaps (it's a very standard romcom story arc) but no worse for it - great fun.

The Muppets (2011)

For some reason this has 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, which was partly why we watched it (on B's suggestion). It's not that good (TMDB's 66% is more realistic) but it's pleasingly meta to begin with, even if the plot becomes pretty standard ("we can do it if we all pull together!"), and it's a nice family film. For adult, there's enough cameos to make spotting them entertaining - my favourite was Dave Grohl as a substitute Animal - and B and I were happy to realise that the reason we knew the main song was because Sara Cox uses it in her show.

The Truman Show (1998)

I showed this to Z last year on the off-chance and was slightly surprised he liked it. But he did, and it was his choice this evening. A classic, of course, even if (as always) the details don't bear too much thinking about (so Meryl says she wants a baby, but actually she's an actor, so really that makes her ... errr).

Watching - February 2021

The Firm (1993)

John Grisham's source novel is one of my favourites, but I only vaguely remembered this - so having just read the book, it seemed logical to watch this. I got over my usual irritation with Tom Cruise fairly quickly, and for the first half of the film it's pretty faithful to the source material. However, it goes downhill in the second half when they start changing the plot for no obvious reason, and ends up with Mitch McDeere (Cruise's character) gathering evidence for the FBI to be able convict the firm for (wait for it) over-billing. Yawn. William Goldman, in Adventures In The Screen Trade (read it, kids, it's brilliant) says that stars can't bear to appear weak, and I think that's what's happened here. In the book, McDeere breaks his legal oath and then runs away - but leaves enough evidence to smash the firm and the mob wide open. In the film, however, he ends up walking right up to the mob bosses and blackmailing them into leaving him alone. Maybe the producers, the writers or even the star felt this was a better look. Really, while it's superficially "brave" (gasp, walking right to the lion's den!), actually it's more selfish - and it's a less satisfying story, in my opinion.

The King's Speech (2010)

A nice, gentle film for my day off. It's beautifully made, of course, and although I thought the accents (particularly Guy Pearce's) sounded a bit over-done, it's worth listening to Edward's real abdication broadcast and to that made by George VI at the declaration of war - The King's Speech of the film's title - to hear that they really did talk like that. If there's one problem with the film, it might be that it is so successful at telling the story that its version of events, which are necessarily compressed and simplified, will probably become what people remember (although no-one seems to be complaining about this in the same way that they are about The Crown).

Dinnerladies (Series 1) (1998)

Here's another series I didn't watch at the time - my loss, of course. It's a brilliant sitcom, with some fantastic one-liners and Victoria Wood's characteristic descriptions and metaphors - but what keeps you watching over multiple episodes is the interplay between the actors. While all clearly comedy characters, they are believable and easy to like. The only real exception to this is the Julie Walters character, which feels like it's come out of a different (and worse) programme - it's too broad and doesn't ring true at all. Occasionally it threatens to unbalance the whole thing, which is a shame. 

Doc Hollywood (1991)

This is one of my favourite romcoms. It's a bit dated: nowadays the scene with Julie Warner emerging naked from the lake would surely be dropped (she's gorgeous, but I do feel worried that she would have been pressured into this); and the way the Michael J Fox so blatantly hits on her would have been been softened, I think. But that's in the first, more comedic half of the film. The second half is an involving, gentle, tender romance that I find genuinely moving. The scene where Warner and Fox dance to "Crazy" and everyone else melts away is wonderful. The depiction of small-town America is unashamedly rose-tinted and cliched, but no less charming for it, and the surrounding cast of characters are so well filled in. Just great.

Serendipity (2001)

Stylistically this seems deeply in debt to When Harry Met Sally, but it has enough of its own character to be distinct, and in any case the style is good enough to stand another story. John Cusack is great to watch, as always, and Kate Beckinsale is pretty good too. The chemistry between the two of them is just about enough to believe that they'd ditch their fiancés to chase a romantic dream, and the story of intertwined fates is sweet, if a bit fantastical - but that's OK too, because it gives the film a sort of magical feel. And finally, we have to note that with this and High Fidelity, John Cusack has been in two films that have the most perfectly chosen pieces of end music: Nick Drake's gorgeous "Northern Sky" and Stevie Wonder's ecstatic "I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)" respectively. 

Zootropolis (2016)

Movie & pizza time with the family! It took a while getting everyone to agree on a film, but this hit the mark nicely. It's very good: lots of detail, great parallels with real life of course, and a satisfying story.

Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle (2017)

Just bought on DVD and watched again to, you know, check the rip was OK and not because I actually like it or anything. Well, maybe a bit. Jack Black is surprisingly restrained for him (he says he's channelling his inner teenage girl, but I think he's actually channelling a token gay character from an 80s sitcom), and you wouldn't guess that Karen Gillan is actually Scottish. What makes the film for me as much as anything are the tongue-in-cheek moments, like when Dwayne Johnson does a "smoulder" but doesn't realise it. Great fun.

Le Mans (1971)

Since the "plot" covers barely ten minutes of screen time, I'm assuming that the reason this was made was because Steve McQueen fancied driving at Le Mans on somebody else's dollar. The action sequences are great - mostly filmed at the previous year's actual 24 Hours of Le Mans - and there's plenty of it to watch if you're an enthusiast. I grew up reading about the legendary Ford GT40 and the mighty Porsche 917, so it was great for me. I can't imagine what the average McQueen fan made of it at the time, though.

Watching - January 2021

Big (1988)

Watched this for the first time in ages and was reminded what a sweet, good-hearted film it is. However, I watched it alone because the kids weren't interested and C doesn't like it; she objects to the romance element between Elizabeth Perkins and Tom Hanks (playing, of course, a 13 year old in a man's body). I can see why, and I wonder whether a film made today would feature it as heavily, or at all. At best, that section is kind of a male fantasy (the "older woman" thing) and, as ever with these kind of films, it doesn't bear thinking about too much. Would Susan (the Perkins character) really be so understanding, or would she actually be horrified? I think probably the latter. Still, it's very funny in places and the central message is unaffected: we should all keep hold of the child within. Or something. I'm not very good at subtext!

Tangled (2010)

I'm told we watched this in early January but I don't remember. I've watched it before, of course, so maybe that's why it didn't register. I really like the film, it's got a great sense of humour. For B & K it was a prelude to watching Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure, but I drew the line at that.

Mulan (1998)

For some reason, Mulan is one of the Disney Princesses even though surely the point of the story is that she very much isn't a princess. Anyway, this original version of the Disney story can't quite make up its mind whether it's a dramatic re-telling in the vein of other classic Disney princess films, or a more comedic take. The presence of Eddie Murphy's Donkey Mushu unbalances the film somewhat and frankly it could have done with someone less identifiably playing themselves, but perhaps it needed the star name. Overall, good-natured and undemanding, although probably reflecting attitudes of the time (23 years ago!) that wouldn't make it into a film now.

Amazing Grace (2018)

Somehow the existence of Aretha's 1972 album Amazing Grace has passed me by until now, to my shame, despite the fact that it is Aretha's best-selling ever. This is the film of it being recorded and is done in classic 70s documentary style, all shaky cameras and random focus - very similar in feel to Woodstock or The Last Waltz. It's a great watch though - it's not just an album being recorded, it's a gospel performance. Whether it's a great or true one is not really for me to judge (my entire exposure to gospel is the James Brown scenes in The Blues Brothers) but it seems authentic to me. I also love that two of the musicians, Chuck Rainey and Bernard Purdie, are also on Steely Dan's Aja - now that's versatility. (It also "features" Mick Jagger, who appears for all of five seconds; the edit cheekily includes him noticing the camera, elaborately and unconvincingly pretending not to notice the camera and then starting to clap along.)

The Sound of TV With Neil Brand (2020)

This three-part exploration of the use of music on TV - through theme tunes, advertising jungles and accompanying music - ought to have been a lot more interesting than it was. By forcing the content into the usual (unnecessarily) hour long episodes, it ended up being fragmented instead of joining dots. Brand tries to make an argument that because TV music is so pervasive, it shapes our lives more than we realise, but this feels like overstating the case to try and justify the fancy locations. This would have been more effective as a single programme, showing progress through more examples and fewer interviews and location changes. Or, to put it another way, by being more like Mark Kermode's superb Secrets of Cinema programmes.

Captain Marvel (2019)

If I'd known the MCU better, or paid more attention during Avengers: Endgame, I probably wouldn't have been surprised by the reversal about halfway through this. But that said, if it was that obvious to aficionados, what would be the point at all? So maybe it wasn't obvious. Anyway, I didn't see it coming. The film overall is reasonably good fun, although by far the most impressive special effect is the de-aging of Samuel L Jackson.

Secret Society of Second Born Royals (2020)

As the kids pointed out, this plays out a bit like someone binge-watched Sky High, followed by MI High and then tried to sort of munge them together with The Princess Diaries (or any of a number of other royal-obsessed Disney Channel films). Diverting enough, but I only watched to the end to see how it ended - although it was predictable, I still like seeing how things play out. Recommended to us by one of K's friends, who has now been reprimanded and ordered to go and watch Sky High instead.

Yes, Minister (Series 1) (1981)

One of the first things I looked for on Britbox was this, because I never watched it at the time, as far as I can remember. Having gone through the seven episodes, I'm pretty certain I didn't. So although the general framework is familiar, the plots weren't, which made discovering it a new joy for me. Obviously there is a risk in watching it forty years after it was made, but aside from the obvious things that date it (don't desks look odd without a computer on them?), it absolutely stands up. The mindless bureaucracy ("Minister for Administrative Affairs" always made us laugh) and the private scheming is obviously something that is always with us. Fantastically well-observed and performed throughout, and if a couple of the episodes dipped slightly they were never less than entertaining.

Sky High (2005)

Rotten Tomatoes review of Sky High is surprisingly tone deaf: it describes the film as "highly derivative [and] moderately entertaining". Did they actually watch the film? It's clearly an affectionate spoof as well as very funny throughout (Kurt Russell's constant super hero posing is hilarious). RT saves themselves with an editorial from last year that describes it as "ahead of its time", which is much more on the mark. Its been a favourite in this house for several years; highly recommended.