jim_skreech Reviews

ITV Saturday Night Theatre: Roll on Four O'Clock (1970) Season 3, Episode 5

This is a boys school. We don't cater for....

[8/10 · 4 February 2024]

Filmed in the industrial east Manchester district of Miles Platting, the tough school culture is very similar to the previous year's Kes. Until the age was raised to 16 in 1974, pupils could leave school at 14, and through economic and social pressure, as well as limited other options, they usually would leave, finding a starter job in one of the local factories, the rest of their learning taking place on the workfloor. We see a Manchester that any 60s revolution passed by - boys schooling was to prepare them for the inevitable life of hard work at the local factories, limited leisure options coming by way of sport and drinking.

We're introduced to Latimer in the lively art class run by Max Fielder, one that engages the boys much more than the others we see, as they're told off and insulted by frustrated elder teachers who'd surely rather be teaching elsewhere. His keenness to stay on after the lesson ends is both an interest in art, and an avoidance the playground, where early on, he's launched into and given a debagging by the other boys. When questioned as to why they single out Latimer, the boys admit later that they don't like Latimer because he looks too long at them in the changing rooms. Following another beating by the school bullies, Latimer is pressured against his will into attending the Christmas party, mainly for the sake of 'joining in'.

That Max and Latimer's sexuality is never confirmed and left ambiguous is a great strength of this play. It can therefore be read both as the difficulty and hostility experienced when growing up gay in an unsympathetic community, a toxic environment fostered by the teachers, but also the culture of working class conformity and peer pressure, the singling out of those who are a bit different, where being artistic or introvert, or just not going with the flow, will have you condemned as 'gay', regardless of your actual sexuality.

Roll on Four O'Clock was initially broadcast in December 1970 as part of ITV's Saturday Night Theatre series, but appears to have gained much of it's reputation as a genuine time capsule of life in a part of Manchester (redeveloped out of all recognition shortly after filming) from a BB2 screening in December 1992. It does not appear to have received an official re-release, but it's from this TV broadcast where you can find the uploads on YouTube.

Stenansiktet (1973)

It's just yukky living here...

[6/10 · 30 December 2023]

A slice of Swedish social satire with an cult exploitation feel to it. Stenansiktet (The Stone Face) begins with a gang of striking looking youths - part Clockwork Orange, part Village Of The Damned, part Bay City Rollers - loitering around the neighbourhood, harassing shoppers, residents, drunks, and a man called Harry whilst driving his car. Harry's son lived in the same neighbourhood, and his infant son had died falling from a swing onto the hard concrete surface of the playground, further causing his wife to have a breakdown. Harry sees he can use the youths, the children of the concrete jungle, to swipe back at it's creators.

Much has been written in the last decade of Sweden's 'vulnerable areas' - peripheral neighbourhoods of low socioeconomical status, with largely migrant populations, blighted by gang activity, criminality and religious fundamentialism. Most of these neighbourhoods were constructed as part of the Million Programme in the 1960s to house the large numbers moving from the countryside looking for work, as well as from inner-Stockholm, to the rapidly industrialising cities. The idea was to create planned communities with modern housing and access to services and surely appeared idyllic in the planners office. However, housing largely consisted of monotonous concrete apartment blocks, with bored parents sat watching TV, whilst bored kids with few facilities caused havoc. Those that had the opportunity to leave, did, ultimately leaving a legacy of isolated and segregated low-income neighbourhoods.

And it's the planners of these neighbourhoods which Harry decides to set the kids upon. Filmed in the Stockholm neighbourhood of Skärholmen, we see them catching up with the planners (who naturally live in bigger houses elsewhere) and dealing with them in rather unique ways.

It's a film which should entertain exploitation/cult fans somewhat, the menacing visual appearance of the gang being quite striking, though it feels more relevant as a piece of social documentation. We see the barely finished, but already rapidly crumbling 'idyllic' suburb, the residents moving out and shops closing, also the scarred landscape of the old city of Stockholm as the Norrmalm district was being demolished for modern office blocks. The one time that we do see the youths having rather more wholesome fun is when they're taken out to a country weekend home by Harry and his partner Eva. Maybe those kids were better off with forests and lakes than steps and ramps.

Stenansiktet is in many ways a revenge film, not against the usual street scum, but urban planners. If you ever wished those that created the concrete jungles, and replaced cosy historic streets with dull glass and steel blocks, then this will give a bit of enjoyment.

We the Ragamuffin (1993)

Don't want no gun or bad boy business in my dance

[7/10 · 17 April 2023]

Directed in 1993 as a short by Julian Henriques who went onto direct the 1998 series Babymother (though not seen his name on further credits since).

Two gunmen burst into the club firing shots and searching for singer Buckey Ranks. Ranks doesn't know why these men are coming for him, but him and us will learn over the coming 26 minutes, through improvised dialogue and musical performances.

Filmed in Peckam, South London, Raggamuffin is an absolute time capsule of a community much changed by gentrification, demolition, and the dispersion of it's then community. It's a neighbourhood usually thought of in terms of crime and poverty, yet we see community of musical talent, supporting and helping each other out, and giving zero tolerance to the gunplay creeping in.

New Town Utopia (2018)

Our Towns Must Be Beautiful...

[8/10 · 27 November 2021]

The planned community is no new concept, rather New Town Utopia focuses on one of the 10 new settlements planned in the UK in the years following WW2, and one of the most notorious, Basildon in Essex. Clement Attlee's Labour government that took power in 1945 carried the aspirations to build a better future out of the ruins, to create new spaces out of the tightly packed, bomb-wrecked and polluted Victorian terraces of the big cities, to give the working class better housing, access to employment, leisure and clean air, and opportunities for the children that became who are now referred to as the 'boomer' generation. 70 years on from Basildon's designation as New Town, this film looks back at a town that started so well but along with fellow new town Harlow, is considered now one of the less desirable places in Essex in which to live.

I was inspired to watch New Town Utopia after reading 'Just Can't Get Enough: The Making of Depeche Mode' by Simon Spence, an account of Basildon's most famous sons focusing especially on their early years in the town. DM are the same age as many of those interviewed here, which includes their friend and contemporary synth musician, Robert Marlow, as well as others involved in the artistic and political scene in the town. The film is somewhat political, in that it focuses on the hypothesis that Basildon was a socialist labour-voting paradise up until 1979, where the east end of London successfully re-created their tight-knit communities, with secure and plentiful employment, much in the way of social and community activity, and modern, futuristic architecture. 1979 saw Thatcher's Conservative government became the Basildonians choice, giving residents the right to buy their council housing, started a divide of what was a harmoniously uniform population, cut the budget for community facilities deemed luxuries, and a steep rise in unemployment, as the factories could not employ both their parents and their children, now that they were leaving school. Basildon developed a reputation as the kind of place where to catch someone's eye walking into a pub, or to walk home in trendy clothing would be to invite violence upon yourself; a look at the local news now would give the impression that the town contains all of London's social problems that Basildon was supposed to be an relief from.

This is a beautifully shot documentary but with a tinge of sadness, giving the viewer a feel of seeing a childhood home of happy memories gone into steep decline. We feel the disillusion of those in the arts and music scene that remained in Basildon, though I rather missed other voices, those of a younger generation or those that did proudly vote for Thatcher in the 80s, though it's questionable who would be satisfied with how Basildon developed over these last 40 years. Despite the neglect and signs of age, there is still a beauty to be seen in the spacious, green neighbourhoods, and there is clearly something about Basildon that has given the interviewees reason to want to remain in the town and do what they can to enrichen the lives of the residents through music and art.

Not the story of New Towns as I expected, more a film focusing on the birth, growing and ageing of Basildon, and like an ode to a hometown, one that points out plenty of faults, but one made with much love.

Dream a Little Dream (1989)

The one Corey

[3/10 · 20 July 2021]

Billed as the third Two Coreys film after The Lost Boys and License To Drive, although Haim takes a lesser supporting role, seemingly due to him breaking his leg shortly before production. So for the bulk of the film, it's Feldman on screen. Feldman's adolescent smartass brat act was a big attraction in his earlier films, The Goonies and Stand By Me, but as he approached adulthood it had rather lost it's charm, and unfortunately Dream is largely a showcase for Feldman's... charms.

There is a sort of old/young body/mind swap plot as was something of a trend at the time (Big, Vice Versa, Like Father Like Son), though this failed to engage me, and I felt instead as though I was watching the nadir of the 80s teen movie, before it took a long break for the first half of the 90s. Simply slap on The Two Coreys, a Hollywood glam metal soundtrack none of the teen characters would likely actually listen to, Corey getting in a fight with bullies and Corey getting the girl (the superb Meredith Salenger), who only in a film like this could he manage to charm with a Michael Jackson 'Smooth Criminal' dance routine (whilst viewers at home may rather want to hurl their footwear at the TV). At just short of two hours, the material feels thinly spread and the film overlong, and needless to say, I switched off at the end credits roll scene of the moonwalking Feldman and co-star Jason Robards doing a rock version of Dream A Little Dream Of Me.

I'm genuinely surprised by the high ratings Dream has been given. I am a big 80s teen film fan and rather a completist, and even some of the lowest rated have their charms (I'm talking about you, Zapped!), but I have to ask myself if it was worth it after sitting through Dream. Heathers and Say Anything were released in the same month and showed the way ahead for the 90s, Dream simply feels dated without any of the nostalgic charm.

Suntan (2016)

Some glow in the sun, others burn

[7/10 · 25 March 2021]

Kostis arrives on the small Greek island of Antiparos in the middle of winter as the new GP, an overweight middle-aged man with an unkempt appearance, a smoker and bad eater, and seems to have resigned himself to singledom for the rest of his years. This would be the story of a depressed rural doctor in an aging island population of 800, rather that the numbers explode during it's life as a hedonistic resort in the summer months, one where inhibitions, and clothes, are keenly shed.

Kostis appears to be a man that's resigned to life having passed him by, and the grey wintery weather he experiences on arrival matches his mood. The crude and sleazy Takis, the kind of man no woman should leave an unguarded drink near, promises that all is different in the summer, giving the disinterested and Kostis lurid tales of the sexual escapades he can expect during peak season.

So far, so normal, until Anna and friends, a group of young party animals, come to his practice, Anna with a wounded leg. Anna, thankful for her treatment, invites Kostis to hang out with them sometime, Kostis takes up the invite, looking for them at a local beach. Kostis, a lone male on a clothing optional beach in a bucket hat and zombie-white from high-factor suncream, is the first sign of things looking very awkward.

Anna and friends adopt Kostis as their friend and they have a blast together. They're the spirit of YOLO, what happens on the island, stays on the island, whilst Kostis is no holidaymaker, and will indeed stay on the island. He is anyhow having the time of his life with his new friends during this first summer on the island, somewhat at the detriment to his work as the relied-upon local GP. However, Anna's flirtatious attentions to Kostis, and their lack of perception and awareness, are about make things turn for the worse - Anna does not contemplate what her actions could do to the mind of a man lacking love and intimacy in his life, and Kostis misreading her attention as genuine interest and his inability to then let go.

I'm curious what the perception of female viewers would be, but being a man the same age as Kostis, this is very uncomfortable viewing. For this reason, this is why Suntan has stayed in my mind long afterwards - this review is actually being written as an effort to clear my mind. We meet Orestis, a former med school classmate of Kostis who he chances upon at the beach. This is the friend that was successful, married, remains in good shape, and satisfied enough with his current life, that he can look on at the kissing party next door with shrugged disinterest. He tells Kostis that this kind of party is not for middle-aged men, 'already did that when I was younger', whilst Kostis, clearly feeling his inadequacy, dreams of being able to join in with the younger, beautiful people.

A painful, excruciating watch, but a very well made film that will absolutely make you feel something.

That Summer! (1979)

Anyone ever told you you're a bloody good swimmer?

[7/10 · 17 March 2021]

Sandwiched between the TV and film productions of Scum, Ray Winstone again plays a borstal boy. He even has John Judd, Sands from Scum, playing his swimming coach. But that's where the comparisons end - Ray plays Steve, a young man who on his release, moves down to Torquay on the English Riviera with the intention to find work and to avoid getting locked up again.

Angie and Carole are two northern girls who leave their factory to work in a grand hotel, and Jimmy is another Londoner who leaves his butcher's job for a summer working on the beach.

Steve finds work and lodging in a pub, and complimented by his coach on his strong swimming performance, he puts his energies into practicing to compete a local swimming tournament. Before long, he meets his nemesis, the three yobbish Glaswegians who appear at regular intervals to torment him; by chance, one will also be competing in the swimming tournament. Steve, keen to avoid doing anything rash that may land him back in borstal, has to breathe in deep and instead hope that the tournament will help him settle scores. Steve, Tony, Angie and Carole all end up meeting at Babbacombe beach, and as can happen in a small beach town, run into each other a lot more frequently.

The story is quite predicable, but the appeal of That Summer! Lies within it's nostalgic appeal - it looks exactly as the Torquay I remember from my early childhood, and the acting leads, who, just as their characters do, give off quite the energy of a group of young adults working together over the summer, and you'd imagine they had quite a blast off set as well. The soundtrack is also spot on, making it a must see for fans of late 70s British new wave - a popular soundtrack album was also released.

The appeal of Last Summer may be limited, but this is a charming little time capsule, though as far as I'm aware (at the time of writing) there has been no DVD release, as is often the case with limited-interest films with potentially expensive soundtrack rights (see also SubUrbia (1996), The Wild Life (1984) and Purple Haze (1982). There was a VHS release, and may occasionally pop up on YouTube, which is where I saw it.

Beats (II) (2019)

It's not been done by us pal... dream team and that

[8/10 · 19 March 2020]

Set in West Lothian, Scotland in 1994, Johnno (Cristian Ortega) and Spanner (Lorn Macdonald) are two teens with little control over their own lives. Spanner lives with his drug dealing bully of a brother (parents appear permanently absence) with little future prospects, whilst Johnno is pressured by his mother and police officer stepfather into conforming to the John Major-era world of normal. With the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act and Johnno's enforced move away to a suburban edge-of-town estate imminent, the two friends aim to reach a illegal outdoor rave, their first and possibly last together.

I see this already has mixed reviews, the positive ones coming from those who were out raving at the time Beats is set, just as I was. Despite the rave scene being a key musical and cultural force in the UK during the 90s, there was little representation on the cinema or TV, save for Human Traffic or Danny Boyle's productions, and the club scenes in those felt pretty flat. The rave scenes in Beats on the other hand are the most convincing I've ever seen on film, and I truly felt myself back again on the dancefloor, flashing trippy graphics and sweaty hugs. The grainy monochrome illuminated by flashes of coulour is a superb touch, and highlights how raving gave a bit of colour to people's lives. Even if I felt the first hour was a yawn, Beats would be worth watching for this reason.

The 2019 documentary, Everybody In The Place, has director Jeremy Deller explaining the free party rave scene as modern history with a group of school youths. This is a great companion piece to watch alongside Beats, as they work not just as nostalgia pieces for the over-40s, but as a bittersweet view of what we once had, but let slip due to our loss of freedom, and also our growing acceptance of bleached corporate entertainment. With nightclubs closing for property developments, and a youth disenchanted with a society that gives them fewer opportunities than ever, illegal raves have made a significant return. Beats is therefore a very timely release, a authentic view of what once was and what can be again.

Apollo 11 (I) (2019)

When all the people on this Earth were truly one

[10/10 · 22 February 2020]

Recent decades have not been so kind in retrospect to the moon landings. That the money could have been better spent on fighting poverty and sickness on Earth, that whilst no great gains for mankind were made, rather this being a Cold War vanity project, and there is the popular theory that man never went to the moon and that the landings were mocked up in a TV studio.

Apollo 11 does not address any of the criticism, however, neither is it a propaganda piece. It consists entirely of archive footage, without voiceover, from the astronauts being brought to the rocket, to them facing huge jubliant crowds after their release from quarantine.

This is the strength of Apollo 11 and why I have given it a 10. It takes the viewer back to 1969, and whilst we all know how the mission played out, we are made to feel as one of the public back on Earth, watching as the mission unfolded, hearts in our throats. This is made more resonant by the incredible, crystal clear footage, really quite a feat considering it was filmed 50 years ago. I'd highly recommend to see this on a big screen if you get the chance.

I'd consider myself fairly sceptical of the moon landings, however, having taken me back to 1969, for it's duration, Apollo 11 made me one of the believers. Seeing the huge crowds gathered around Cape Canaveral, having grabbed a coveted vantage point and slept rough overnight, simply to grab a first hand encounter of this historic moment, we feel swept into the excitement, and the optimism of what may be to come.

In 2020, we are more cynical and divided than ever, so what gave Apollo 11 for me a big emotional punch, was to see the thousands watching the take off and welcoming the astronauts back during their coming home parades. We see what seems to be all the people on Earth coming peacefully together to say 'go for it!' and 'we are proud of you!' on their return. Even whilst there were Americans dying in Vietnam, or denied access in their homeland because of poverty or race. These are scenes I feel I will not be seeing in my lifetime, only the World Cup victory parades can come close these days.

Switch any cynicism off, believe and join this exceptional journey.

Blue Movie (1971)

Blue in Bijlmer

[5/10 · 31 October 2019]

The main reason I watched Blue Movie was for the archive Bijlmer footage. No, really! I pass Amsterdam's Biljmer neighbourhood each day by train and see the block where the film's protagonists live. Now a very built up high-rise suburb on the edge of Amsterdam, Blue Movie was filmed just as the first blocks were completed, but isolated on the edge of the city, surrounded by muddy fields and the neighbourhood's infrastructure still an afterthought at the planner's office, and contains some priceless footage.

Curiously enough, this is also the 4th most successful ever Dutch film, released at a time that onscreen nudity and sex (with proper actors) was something new and quite daring, the sign of the modern liberated times, and drew an enthusiastic audience. It gave the Bijlmer also a reputation for supposely being full of bored and frustrated housewives. Such a genre of films did not last long into the 70s, since those that wanted to watch sex on screen could watch dedicated sex films without the boring talky bits, and the proper actors realised they were making straight exploitation films rather than art.

As is typical of exploitation films of the 70s, whether sex, horror, or crime, there are the 'good bits' and there is padding inbetween. A few decades later however, it is actually the padding that is interesting, whilst it's the sex scenes (naked people writhing about to a parping elevator music soundtrack) that are a bore to watch. Blue Movie is absolutely a time capsule, the new Bijlmer flats, the clothes and interiors, and the attitudes towards the new era of sexual liberation.

The film is also oddly downbeat and not at all erotic - few of the characters seem to be really enjoying themselves, and with the dim lighting and damp pallor of a wintery Amsterdam, you can almost sense the actor's cold toes. The sex party later in the film is barely watchable. As with the downbeat tone of the film, there does appear to be some attempt to make a message, but I was at a loss as to what this was supposed to be.

Watch if you want to see what the Bijlmer looked like in it's first few years or what the Dutch flocked to see at the cinema in 1971, but you might feel a bit bored and depressed towards the end.

Eurotrash (1993–2016)

Naked Germans

[8/10 · 18 May 2019]

The 22:30-midnight slot on Friday/Saturday evenings on British TV was reserved in the 90s for what was popularly called 'after the pub TV'. It's doubful that anyone who'd been out at the pub that evening would already be back home to watch any TV, but for those that stayed in home, especially those too young for the pub, it was the slot where TV got rowdy. Ideally watched with a group of friends over with a few drinks and smokes. Shows broadcast during this slot were The Word (reviled, but worth watching for the music), The Girly Show (like The Word, but without any music), and Eurotrash - even more lowbrow, but loved equally by fans and critics. Eurotrash premise was to present the subjects by telling the viewers 'just look at those decadent shameless foreigners!' whilst French presenters Antoine de Caunes and Jean Paul Gaultier mocked the British viewers back for their weather, their food, their early closing times, and that they were watching mainly for the naked people, about the only chance they'd get to see any on terrestrial TV. And there was indeed nudity, loads of it, but it was more hilarious than erotic, thanks to the voice translations, read out in regional English. Cue the German naturists or the Italian sex actress dubbed with a broad Lancashire or Brummie accent. But there was also the really weird stuff, the penguin man, Lolo Ferrari, the Romeo Cleaners, Eddy Wally, the latex twins and countless others that left a long imprint on the memory. There was also the chance to glimpse the fabulous continental cities that prompted me to buy an Interrail ticket once I was a little older. Friday evenings in the 90s could be a stay-in night due to the unmissable comedy on TV - Father Ted, The Fast Show, Alan Partridge, and whilst Eurotrash tends not to appear on the same list of the aforementioned programmes, it was just as reliable for big laughs.

After the Screaming Stops (2018)

Destruction or the genesis of new beginnings.

[8/10 · 8 February 2019]

There's footage from their peak where the Goss twins are surrounded by 100s of screaming girls, plus the one boy. Him being quite the unexpected fan as boys, including 10 year old me, absolutely did NOT like Bros. However, as an adult, I do find myself revisiting stories from my early years that I was too young at the time to fully comprehend, and I watched 'After' wanting to know how the biggest phenomena of 1988 fell out of favour so quick.

'After' follows the Goss Bros reuniting for their first performance together since their initial split, and the doc follows the preparation for their comeback gig (at the London 02 Arena no less), interspersed with archive footage and the brothers looking back at their childhood and the peak years of their success.

Within the first 10 minutes, Matt is giving us a tour of his home, showing us, completely irony free, a commissioned painting of his bulldog with a pint of beer. There seems to be little change from their 80s selves, ludicrous with no apparant sense of self-awareness, but this is actually what makes the film a hugely entertaining watch, for the fan and non-fan. The prize quotes from the film and have been plastered all round the internet, so I don't need to repeat them here - there are some real laugh out loud moments, and I'm left thinking that the brothers are in on the joke but they won't show any cracks in their facade.

My bigger disappointment in the film was that there is little insight into their decline. They had a hugely successful first year, followed by a more muted comeback in 1989, and a barely noticed third clutch of singles and an album in 1991. There was the departure of Craig Logan (the rumour mill at the time suggested the boys kicked him out, not true), mockery and hostility from the press, competition by way of Jason Donovan and New Kids On The Block, and no especially memorable songs after 'I Owe You Nothing' and 'When Will I Be Famous'. They touch on Luke quitting, their financial troubles, and the stress of the sheer venom unleashed upon them, however, by the end of the film, I was left non the wiser as at the start - what actually happened?

As the boys arrive at the airport, they receive an enthusiastic and emotional greeting from the grown-up Brosettes, showing that 30 years later, they still mean a great deal to some of their fans. These same fans would wait all day outside the family house in Peckham for a glimpse of the twins - a major intrusion into their personal lives - but they (and their mother) took it well, happy to go outside hug fans and give autographs, whilst other stars would hide behind their bodyguards. This invites cynics like me to want the twins to deliver a knockout comeback performance, whilst the decades apart from each other in a studio has not softened their clashing personalities, and we're left wondering if the twins reunion will indeed lead to destruction or the genesis of new beginnings.

For a fan, this naturally is a must, but there is plenty of reasons for the non-fan to watch. And to imagine they nearly called themselves Caviar...

Columbus (I) (2017)

Could not hold my attention span as it was not interesting

[4/10 · 24 January 2019]

There is a scene early in the film where Rory Culkin's character is telling Haley Lu Richardson's character about the professor and son. The son could play his video games for hours, and the professor could likewise read his books for hours. On the other hand, the son could not read the books for more than a few minutes as they did not capture his attention, whilst the professor could not play the video games for more than a few minutes because it also did not interest him. The argument is that it's not a case of a short attention span, but more a case of personal interest.

This rather sums up my feelings towards Columbus. It's a beautifully shot film with a cast who've been great in the other films I've seen them in, and are also good here, but the inconsequential dialogue, gaps of silence and slow pacing resulted in me losing my interest. Due to this, whatever was profound about this film was subsequently lost on me, and the climax to the film, one that on paper should have been emotional, did not make me feel anything. The reviews on IMDB so far have been quite polarised - some love it, some hate it - read the reviews and you'll decide if it's for you or not. It's beautifully shot and well acted, but there was no click to get me more involved with the characters.

Gomorrah (2014–2021)

La not so Bella Italia

[9/10 · 4 December 2017]

The Godfather Trilogy, especially the third chapter, despite the grisly subject matter, revels in La Bella Italia. Brutal assassinations are interspersed with scenes of sleepy Sicilian village life, big bowls of pasta and immaculate tailoring. Gomorrah is the flip of the coin, filmed on a brutalist public housing district in the north of Napoli.

The skies are as grey as the flats, tracksuits and bomber jackets are the clothing of choice, and the honour between families has been replaced with a ruthless 'who dares wins' mentality. Gomorrah is tough, thrilling and often upsetting viewing, especially as whilst we may side with the main characters in some situations, they all carry out such despicable acts that we can't empathise with them. This makes the series feel less like a drama and more like an exhilarating and nerve-racking trip right into the heart of Camorra territory.

Filmed around the neighbourhood of Scampia (which surely cannot have been unnoticed by the local clans), and with a cast that look as though they're been plucked straight from the local parks and cafes, Gomorrah receives top marks for authenticity. Much of the series is also based on real events that took place over recent years in and around Napoli, and helps illustrate how deep the Camorra have their tentacles in Neapolitan life.

I've reached the end of season 1, and judging by the reviews of the next two, there has been no flagging in quality. I'll just catch my breath back before I start with season 2.

Badge 373 (1973)

Goofy rather than gritty

[4/10 · 6 August 2016]

Being a huge fan of gritty New York films from the 70s and 80s, I was quite excited to chance upon this film. Starring Robert Duvall, a stalwart of this era, and involving an angry cop in 70s NYC, I had my aims set high. Unfortunately, aside from some nice footage from the era, this felt to be a waste of time.

Robert Duvall is a racist, grizzled cop, suspended from the force after a suspect falls off a roof whilst escaping arrest. Following his suspension, his partner Gigi turns up dead in Brooklyn with his throat cut. Turns out that Gigi had been doing some sneaky deals relating to a shipment of arms going to Puerto Rico.

Badge 373 was notable for upsetting some of the Puerto Rican community, who had called for the film not to be released. Duvall's character is unpleasant, racist and not at all sympathetic, however, the Puerto Rican characters are mainly made up of hoodrats, petty criminals, crime bosses and junkie hookers, often Caucasians in brown make-up, and none at all redeemable. In the film's defence, the scene where Duvall visits a 'libra Puerto Rico!' rally does give valuable screen time to portray the pressures and frustrations that mainland US Puerto Ricans were facing at that time, and I get the feeling from this that the director did not intend to make a racist film, possibly even sympathetic towards Puerto Ricans, but just made an incredibly clumsy effort at portraying racial relations at that time.

Coming from the year that gave us Serpico and The Seven-Ups, Badge 373 also feels very dated, even in comparison to Bullitt or Point Blank some 5 years earlier. The soundtrack and Batman-style fight scenes hark back to family friendly 60s TV shows like Dragnet or The Untouchables, the bus chase scene, for some the highlight of the film was well conceived, but is just goofy in practice, more reminiscent of one of the Smokey And The Bandit films.

Badge 373 is a rather embarrassing watch, especially for Duvall who was in his prime as an actor at this time. Strictly only for genre completists.

Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

The 'interim' Bond

[5/10 · 11 January 2016]

Following the previous On Her Majesty's Secret Service, the Bond series was in a state of flux, having lost both it's key star, and it's new successor. George Lazenby famously turned his back on the Bond franchise, looking at the brave new counter culture films like Easy Rider as the way forward, and Bond as a rapidly moulding relic of the 60s. We know now that Bond has continued to pack out cinemas on each release, but following Lazenby's departure, the question was a troubled 'what now?'.

Bond traditionalists are still crying out 'bring back Connery!'. And for DAF, they did. Connery was tempted back with a record-breaking 1.25 million, which he did donate in full to the Scottish International Education Trust, but this is rather the only positive that can be said about this involvement here. Connery was tired with the Bond franchise, and it's clear from his performance that he did not have his heart in the film, and gives a rather cynical performance. He had also visibly aged and put on weight. Ironically, he looked far fresher in his return in Never Say Never Again some 12 years later.

Just like the decade itself, DAF is much more violent than it's predecessors, with some pretty grisly deaths (immolation, drowning, and a scorpion dropped down the back of the neck), however, the brutal fight in the elevator with Peter Franks is superbly choreographed, and in an era where Bond appeared to stroll through his fights with ease, this scene showed Bond meeting a true equal, fighting with a real sense of grit and intensity not seen elsewhere.

One of the real weak points of DAF are the locations. Whilst other films in the series were set in places that the audience dreamed of going to (or sometimes didn't dare to go to), 1970s Las Vegas looks naff and lacks any kind of glitz, giving the film rather a cheap wood-panelled 'made for TV' veneer.

However, what I really found unforgivable about DAF was it's continuity following OHMSS, something that has given some Bond fans cause to rather consider DAF to be a sequel to You Only Live Twice, and OHMSS to follow on from DAF. Following the murder of his wife, Theresa, on his wedding night, Bond should be explosive with anguish and rage. Although the opening scene shows Bond roughing up a few suspects, he seems to regard Blofeld, now a camp caricature better suited to a 1970s sitcom, little more than an old rogue, seemingly no more angry with him for murdering his wife, than he would be for keying his car. This was such an opportunity missed, and leaves me wondering how it would have been if Lazenby stayed and DAF intentionally scripted as a direct follow- up.

DAF for me is the 'interim Bond, lost between the optimistic pop- Bond of the 60s, and the escapist romps of the later 70s. Fortunately the follow up, Live And Let Die, tapped into a new fun, playful Bond, and gave the franchise a lifeline, one that was later cemented with The Spy Who Loved Me. Connery on the other hand was finally allowed to act his age, and followed up DAF with 1973's The Offence, in my opinion the most intense and outstanding performance of his career.

Spectre (I) (2015)

Flawed, but improves on the second viewing

[6/10 · 11 January 2016]

Skyfall finished on a cliffhanger. The final scene, hinting at a return to the formula, where Ralph Fienne's M is introduced, and Bond's statement that he was returning to work 'with pleasure', had us salivating, hanging for the next instalment. And it came with Spectre, but this time I left the cinema feeling a bit underwhelmed.

One thing I can't stand are the 'Bond traditionalists', stuck dreaming of a return to the old Connery/Moore films of their youth, watching for a re-run of their favourite clichés, the 'Bond, James Bond', and 'Shaken Not Stirred', reeled out like an ageing rock band bashing out their greatest hits. And Craig's Bond era has been incredibly refreshing, one that has sought to up the ante, and to distinguish itself as more daring, original and thrilling than it's competitors. And at least for the first part, Spectre matched the standards set by the previous films. Just the car chase in Rome wasn't quite as 'edge of the seat' as it should be, the snow chase saw Bond totally at ease with chasing three cars in a wingless plane, the train fight saw the human-terminator defeated after falling out of a carriage (I was fully expecting him to return at the end), the villain's lair destroyed by a few gunshots, and the finale saw Bond rescue the girl and get the baddie with as much ease as it would take to nip to the shops for some milk. It seems like Spectre was a return to the formula, unfortunately the one intended to win the 'Bond traditionalists' back.

What I dislike about many modern action films is that the bad guys are simply dispatched without any tension during the fight, with no creative send off, and Spectre at times does nothing to elevate itself above this 'action by numbers' fodder. But looking at the positives, the opening helicopter battle scene above Mexico City celebrating 'Day of the Dead' is fantastically shot (and worth the entry on it's own), Bond's cheek and insubordination gives a good few laughs, and the cinematography looks fantastic. I even found Sam Smith's much maligned theme tune a bit of a grower. And on second viewing, knowing that it wasn't going to be as good as Skyfall, but at least a little better than it's competitors, I rather enjoyed it. However, the final scene in London was very poorly done. The newly facially scarred Blofeld's takeover of the old M15 building, the predictable 'rescue the girl before the building blows', and the ensuing CGI explosions aped the worst elements of the Brosnan era. It was obvious that Blofeld was going to get to live to trouble Bond in the next film, but Bond declaring that he had 'better things to do' before turning to Swann (cue the uplifting music) was jaw- dropping in what a cop-out it was. It seemed as though the script could simply not be bothered to find a sticky situation for Blofeld to get himself out of, or for any more original way for the slimy C to meet his maker, other than to fall off a ledge.

Fortunately, the strength of the Bond team lies in its' ability to have kept it's finger on the pulse for the last 54 years, to be savvy enough to pick up on the critics' and fans' opinion, without simply caving in and giving them what they want. Whilst Craig is showing his age, and we're lucky to get one more film, let's hope that the team learn from the reception that Spectre has received, and let his final film be one to be proud of.

Casino Royale (1967)

An incoherent mess.... with touches of genius

[6/10 · 28 December 2014]

There was little that was duller than a Sunday in late 80s rural southwest England. And being at a boarding school from Monday to Saturday meant Sunday was my only free day - bookended by church in the morning, the Top 40 on the radio in the evening, and not much to do in-between. The video shop was far away, and the Arnie and Sly films that my schoolmates raved about were most definitely banned by my mother. Bond films were permitted though, and until the next film would get an airing on TV, I took to the films and TV shows from the 1960s that trailed on 007's success. The mapcap psychedelia displayed in the Flint and Matt Helm films was a colourful zany antidote to the greyness of the current era, and to the perplexed reaction of my 80s fixated classmates, I developed a real hunger for that specific genre. As it turned out, these films tended to be a Sunday afternoon TV staple, and became the colourful highlight to my weekend.

Casino Royale has been viewed negatively by critics - incoherent, chaotic, indulgent, and worst of all, an unfunny comedy. It was certainly more enjoyable as a 12 year old than it is now. Much of the humour seems to stem from the older generation trying to lampoon Bond and the swinging mid-60s counterculture, whilst not really understanding their targets and subsequently coming out somewhat fusty and out of touch. As for the plot, there really doesn't appear to be one - with 6 directors working on the film, the story has no flow or point, and the film is best considered instead as a series of sketches.

So why my 6 out of 10? The film still looks as great as is did when I first watched it, and is a real monument to the bigger-is-better creativity of mid-60s. My personal favourites are the darkly psychedelic scenes in East Berlin, the hugely stylish villain's lair at the end of the film, and especially the seductive meeting of Peter Sellers and Ursula Andress, soundtracked by Dusty Springfield's 'The Look Of Love', which stands out simply as a piece of 60s cinematic genius. It is a scene that certainly left 12 year old me frustrated that I had not been born a few decades earlier; I'd have the chance to be a dapper playboy when I'd be older, but not in such fine style.

As I grew older I moved on from worshipping the 1960s, and it became clear to me that for 99% of the population, that decade was probably even more drab than the 1980s. But there is a 12 year old me still there that feels joy at catching zany old swinging films from the 60s, and whilst Casino Royale certainly did not represent the youthful, modish zeitgeist of the mid-1960s, it is a stunning display of that era's 'sky's the limit' visual flair and creativity, and for 60s aficionados, it's absolutely worth sitting through the poor jokes.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)

The shape of things that sadly didn't come

[10/10 · 2 October 2014]

General consensus states that this is the worst Bond film. Why? Because it starred George Lazenby. Who wasn't Sean Connery. The film is too long and Bond cries at the end. If you take a look at any one of the one star reviews on IMDb, the reviewers usually have a point, even if they have focused in on the worst elements of the film. However for OHMSS the one star reviews stink of ignorance, an inability to appreciate cinema that dares to stray from a narrow formula, or to understand that there was more to Bond than Connery and his gadgets.

Much venom had been aimed at Lazenby before the film's release - he did not have acting experience, he'd become arrogant from his instant fame, and most importantly, he was not Sean. Lazenby was not outstanding, but for a first timer he made a solid Bond, and it's a real shame that he opted out of the series, as I think he really would have thrived in the role with a little more experience. Instead the fans got what they wanted and Connery returned overweight and fatigued in Diamonds Are Forever.

The reason the OHMSS haters have no credibility is because they fail to appreciate that, Lazenby aside, this is an outstanding film. Diana Rigg as the troubled, but fiery, Tracy; Telly Savalas not playing Blofeld as a bug-eyed lunatic, but a suave cultured Eurovillain, and Gabriele Ferzetti and Ilse Steppat are excellent. John Barry's pioneered the use of electric guitar and synthesiser in the superb soundtrack, and Louis Armstrong's swansong 'We Have All The Time In The World' adds deep resonance to Bond and Tracy's doomed romance.

The action scenes come thick and fast in the second half, and whilst the generic Bond would effortlessly dispatch the villains with one of his new gadgets, Bond actually looks like he's up against a challenge this time. His escape from Piz Gloria and finally to safety showed a Bond that was vulnerable, that had to use all his cunning and adrenaline to escape from Blofeld's mob.

One of the most critiqued scenes is the final shot where Bond and Tracy are fired upon straight after the wedding, Tracy hit and killed by the gunfire. Lazenby had the right amount of sensitivity to break down and cry at that scene, it's hard to imagine macho Connery being able to do the same with any credibility. The greatest disappointment with the follow up, Diamonds Are Forever, was that Bond should have acted with uncontrolled rage against Blofeld; instead, he displays all the anger of a man who's been rickrolled, and Blofeld has all the menace of the cast of Rainbow.

It is a great tragedy that Lazenby walked away from the Bond franchise, and despite box-office success, the audiences were not ready for this new era of Bond. Lazenby's no-nonsense Bond would have fit in perfectly with the meaner, less-optimistic hangover of the 1970s; the audiences however wanted Roger Moore's feel-good brand of light comedy, and the stripped-down, serious Bond only got to make a return in For Your Eyes Only.

This is a fine film, and one of the only ones that I will gladly come back to watching. For all that have been put off by the negative press, ignore it and make sure you watch what is my personal favourite from the Bond franchise.

A Respectable Life (1979)

No thanks, I don't use the horse.

[8/10 · 14 March 2013]

Wow, a very heavy, deeply affecting documentary film. We first met Kenneth 'Kenta' Gustafsson and Gustav 'Stoffe' Svensson in 1968's Dom kallar oss mods (They Call Us Mods). Escaping from their abusive, chaotic family lives and into the streets of Stockholm, Kenta and Stoffe were homeless young party animals, high on life (as well as alcohol and weed), rampaging around like an unstoppable two man party. Anyone could image it being a blast hanging round with the two, who were evidently not short of drinking friends or female admirers. The film ended on a darker note, Stoffe breaking into a building and sleeping drunk on the steps, whilst Kente marches off after a row with Stoffe and gets duly picked up by the police. Cut to 10 years later, and the party of the 60s has become the long drawn-out hangover of the 70s. All the free-spirited optimism of the previous decade has gone, and we see the street people of Stockholm ravaged by heroin and alcohol. This portrayal of Stockholm was quite surprise to me, the Sweden of the popular imagination being comfortable, crime and trouble free, and just a little boring, where drug use is heavily penalised and alcohol is far too expensive. We see footage of the drugs scene around Sergels Torg (including some real grim footage of one of the interviewees junking up), and new interviews with some characters from 'Mods', such as Jajje and Kenta Bergquist. Also two prostitutes and the horrendous stories of violence committed again them by their clients. But the main focus is, again, on Kenta and Stoffe, and we are informed already quite early on the film that Stoffe had died during filming. Kenta and Stoffe (as well as some of the re-occurring characters) may only be in their late 20s, but appear far older, weathered by alcohol and substance abuse. We see their family life, Kenta and his parter Eva have a son Patric, drink far too much, but appear to be holding it together; whilst heroin user Stoffe has a small son and a turbulent relationship with his parter, Lena, who later in the film throws him out of the house for being too frequently wasted and abusive (which he doesn't remember anyway). Kenta, a musician and professional rebel, and the one with the more buoyant personality, meets Stoffe later in the film, they hang out together and Kenta tries to convince him to stop using heroin, before the two fall out again. By Stoffe's death being reported earlier in the film instead of at the end, we are being given the sad spectacle of him digging his own grave, trying to delude others that he's doing just fine, when he know he's about to crash. The viewer is not offered the hope of him beating his addiction and being a good father and partner, we are instead watching a man slowly destroying and killing himself. Heroin chic this ain't. Despite the films age (I was born in it's year of release), the impact of the film has not lessened, and we are shown that this country (like many others) of Abba, Volvos, saunas and Ikea, has a grim and frequently untold darker side that we need to be a little more aware of.