FOTV – Saturday 2403 to Friday 3003

[sw12expat]

Just a few films you may find of interest (rated * to ****)

Saturday 2403
>>TIMES ARE GMT UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE<<
*** TAXI DRIVER (US 1976) C19, 2100-2315; Robert De Niro, Cybill
Shepherd, Jodie Foster, Peter Boyle, Harvey Keitel, Albert Brooks.
** BRIGHT STAR (UK/Austral 2009) C2ES, 2120-2310; C2W, 2220-0010;
Abbie Cornish, Ben Whishaw, Kerry Fox; In 19th Century London, poet
John Keats (BW) is comforted by seamstress AC when his brother dies,
and the two fall in love. An elegant, carefully made (by Jane Campion)
and photographed movie – but a dead one.
** SYNECDOCHE NEW YORK (US 2008) C2ES, 2340-0240(BST); Phillip Seymour
Hoffman, Samantha Morton, Michelle Williams, Catherine Keener, Hope
Davis, Emily Watson; Theatre director PSH tries an ambitious project:
his own life on stage. Charlie Kaufman’s debut film as director is
typically flaky and confusing, with the grand stage project eventually
suffocating all the more interesting and entertaining subplots.
***½ CARAMEL / Sikkar Bamet (French/Lebanese 2007) C2ESW,
0240(BST)-0410(BST); Nadine Labaki, Joanna Moukarzel, Yasmine Al
Masri; The reason director/star/co-writer Labaki's film works so well
is that it never lets up – the narrative concerns romantic and
familial concerns of young women working in a beauty salon in downtown
Beirut, and the players all do sterling work putting across events
which criss-cross (credibly) throughout.

Sunday 2503
>>TIMES ARE BST (GMT+1)<<
***½ CALAMITY JANE (US 1953) C10, 1300-1500; Doris Day, Howard Keel,
Allyn McLerie, Philip Carey.
**½ THE ILLUSIONIST (US 2006) C4, 2330-0130 (C13, 0030-0230); Edward
Norton, Paul Giamatti, Jessica Biel, Rufus Sewell; Flowery
entertainment, telling a 'mystical' (and contrived) tale as one huge
flashback – the seizure of a magician(EN) by Crown Prince Leopold (RS)
in 19th Century Vienna. Some of ENs's 'stunts' are as intriguing to
the film's audience as to the theatre audience (on film).

Monday 2603
*** ROPE (US 1948) C15, 1720-1900; James Stewart, Farley Granger, John
Dall; Hitchcock's 78-minute dramatisation of the real-life Leopold and
Loeb murder case, though no mention is made here of the protagonists
being, well, h*m*s*xual!

Wednesday 2803
***½ THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (US 1994) C6, 2100-2350 (C27,
2200-0050); Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman.

Friday 3003
**** SENSE AND SENSIBILITY (UK 1995) C14, 2100-2340; Emma Thompson,
Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet.
**½ THE YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY (US/Austral 1982) C2EW~,
2350-0140; Mel Gibson, Sigourney Weaver, Linda Hunt, Michael Murphy;
In 1965 Indonesia, Australian journalist MG is caught amid the build-
up to the coup against President Sukarno. Unfortunately director Peter
Weir lets the melodramatc aspects of his narrative overshadow the
thriller and political elements. SW is rather hesitantly playing
English.
~S to be confirmed