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All Nighter (2017)
An actual MOVIE...
Yes, "All Nighter" (2017) is a MOVIE.
ORIGINAL - it is not a remake, re-imagining, reboot - or sequel, prequel or whatever.
It has no comic-book characters, video-art, SFX and aside from one well-timed punch in the face, no action.
But what it does have is a PLOT, CHARACTERS - and J.K. Simmons.
And he has charisma, style, that voice and that FACE.
It is HE who drives this film.
An odd-couple piece, where a busy businessman who has lost contact with his daughter teams up with her dopey ex-boyfriend to try to locate her (Simmons is the businessman).
And so the mismatched pair spend the night cruising her haunts and friends...
Simple enough - and this would only be a time-passer, were it not for J.K.
At one point, a young girl describes him as "do-able" - a sentiment I can live with, given he is only two years younger than me and has the same hairstyle (none).
Plus, he is one HELL of an actor.
Of course, this indy movie has made no money at all - being ABOUT something - and one wonders how much longer such films will continue to be made.
The answer is likely - not long.
So check out this gem while you still CAN.
The Saint (2017)
More like the BOOKS...
"The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there." L.P. Hartley.
And this fact means that any attempt to lift the Saint from the period his books were written ('29-ish to '63-ish) to the present, is doomed to failure.
But "The Saint" (2017 TVM). has a damn fine go at it. Indeed it owes more to the books than the various small and big screen outings that have peppered the years.
For a start, Simon's on/off girlfriend (live-in; advanced for the time) from the early books – Patricia Holm – features strongly. And Rayt Marius appears (somewhat younger than the original character). While Fernack turns up and even Teal is referenced (but sadly, not seen).
Templer is played by stubbly-chinned Adam Rayner. Thus far, after a Shakespearian background, he has starred in the short-lived mini-seasoned "Tyrant" (from the same stable as "Homeland") and featured in "Notorious" (another cancelled mini-season series).
Pat is played by the gorgeous Eliza Dushku. American, with Albanian, Danish, Irish, German and English roots, she has been around for a quarter-century (despite only being 36). She is currently dancing around the edge of "Bull" as his love-interest.
Also featured are Ian Ogilvy (now 64) who played the Saint in the Seventies reboot series. And Sir Roger Moore, who co-produced this effort and starred in (and occasionally directed) the classic Sixties series, has a tiny cameo; aged 86, this was fittingly his last film rôle.
The music is more than adequate – and includes the musical signature written by Charteris himself. And in a cheeky touch, the theme is also Templar's ring tone! The direction is fine and the editing tight. The swish international locations hide the modest budget. The action scenes are well performed – particularly by Eliza. And the dialogue occasionally crackles. So all in all, a worthy effort. Well worth a look if you are in an undemanding and naustalgic mood.
But what if you are not? Well, the film does have its problems. Like the "goofs" – Simon fires around twenty bullets at a chopper from an automatic handgun without a reload – and if the gold bricks featured near the film's start were real, they would weigh far more than they clearly do. And the whole enterprise is just a little lame.
But then, this was never intended as a feature film. It was made in 2013 as a TV pilot and when it (deservedly) failed to get picked up it languished for a couple of years, before having extra footage (filmed in Romania) added – to turn it into a TV movie.
However, these days TV movies are passé – and it was only when Sir Roger fell off the twig that the film finally emerged through various digital media.
According to Wiki, the film runs 116 minutes. But IMDb lists it at only 91 mins – and that is the version which is currently available free, on YouTube.
With English language, scope and stereo, the quality is quite good – so enjoy!
The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer (1970)
A Sixties Gem
Satirical comedy. A PR puke rises through Britain's political system to become its virtual dictator.
Much has been written and said about this film; it was devised (and ultimately funded) by David Frost – initially scripted by John Cleese and Graham Chapman (who wrote much of "Monty Python's Flying Circus") – and starred Peter Cook, who added much to the writing.
It has also been said – both then and since – that Rimmer is a thinly disguised satire on Frost himself, created by Cook.
However, this writer disputes that. Certainly Cook later claimed it to be true. And it is also true that the two men had something of a love-hate relationship, with Frost loving Cook and Cook hating Frost (Frost always wanted to be a performer – but lacked the ability).
Nonetheless, while Cook may have intended his performance to ape Frost, it seems to have only succeeded in Cook's own head.
The fact is, his acting was much as it always was, in films. The late comedy actor/director Mel Smith has described it as, "a sort of non-acting acting style – which isn't really a style at all – he was always just slightly removed from it – detached."
But this is not to belittle Cook's performance. In those days, the man was gorgeous – and when he is on screen, it is impossible to take your eyes off him.
No, the thing that did for this film was the very thing it was about – the British political system.
In those days, film and television companies were forced to lay off political satire during the run-up to a general election, for fear of Undue Influence. Ironically, this had killed Frost's "That Was The Week That Was" in 1964, which had seen the beginning of Harold Wilson's career.
And it killed "
Rimmer" at the end of that career.
This writer was a young man living in London, when the film was being made. He looked forward to it eagerly.
But in the event, it did not emerge until after the 1970 election, by which time it was irrelevant.
Imagine a film today (late June, 2016) starring John Goodman as a blustering showman – a property tycoon and reality show host, with designs on the US presidency
you get the idea.
Now imagine that same film released next March.
In the event, Wilson lost the election due to a "pirate" radio station called Radio Northsea International, which broadcast propaganda to SE England, despite the best efforts of a corrupt government minister called John Stonehouse (Wiki him).
However, it is unlikely that "
Rimmer" would have made a lot of difference to the result; Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 911" exposed the ineptitude and corruption of Bush, but failed to prevent his re-election, in 2004.
All the delay meant was that one of the best films of the late Sixties ended up being buried. And given the pace of that decade, when the film was finally released, it was little more than a curio.
Which is what it remains today – although now it is also something of a time-capsule.
But there is still much to enjoy here, including the aforementioned enigmatic performance of Peter Cook – and fine turns by a roster of Sixties comedy acting talent, including Ronnie Fraser, Denholm Elliot and Arthur Lowe.
Plus a cameo by playwright Harold Pinter who bizarrely, actually does play a character much like that of David Frost