Quoth a user comment of the IMDb: “If you go, expect punch lines and sight gags regarding all types of sex, killing, religion, sports, business and anything else you might deem politically incorrect.” Which makes it sound like the Farrelly Brothers do Leon. Which it isn’t. In fact, I think that the commentator (who’s featured on the IMDb’s page for the film) did in fact see a different film, (probably the Farrelly Brother’s remake of Leon, which will likely be released as a sign of some coming apocalypse.)

The Matador is funny. But it’s funny because it’s superbly well observed, and because the plotting is perfectly down the line—just twisted round slightly. It is not a laugh-a-minute, but then these aren’t cheap laughs you’re getting. There are no sight gags per se, though there are funny shots; there aren’t really punch lines because there aren’t jokes—just a funny premise and cracking, crackling dialogue. Continue reading →

This film is not haut cuisine. It wasn’t made by a cordon bleu director and it didn’t cost $8M to prepare, but it has been made to a good recipe with fresh actors, and cooked well. It is decent, nourishing, home-made filmmaking. Enjoy it with friends, a big bowl of pasta and a decent bottle of wine. Continue reading →

Stonking film. Really thoughtful, engaging, well-acted, evocative and worthwhile. Go see it—or watch it on video; it doesn’t necessarily need the big screen.

Cineworld have just seen fit to inflate their prices, and they already charged an arm and a leg for food of dubious nutitional value, but Good Night, And Good Luck was worth the £6 ticket and >£5 natchos+small drink. Well, actually, I still resent paying £5 for a stack of natchos and mediocre salsa, but the film did compensate to a large degree.

It’s about Ed Murrow, a CBS broadcaster in the 1950s, whose political investigations helped bring down Senator McCarthy. Filmed in black-and-white, it captures beautifully the mood of the 1950s, from the naff office furniture to the sharp suits, to the every single person smoking continuously.

The parallels with today’s political climate in the U.S. are clear, and Murrow’s eloquent pleas for a more intelligent and principled news media still ring true, even as they seem less and less likely to be heeded. However, it stands up as a piece above and beyond the present political stituation. While it may have been produced in part as a reaction to a stormy political climate, it is also a fascinating story of a particular piece of American history. It is also fundementally a story of a few principled people making a positive difference. It’s rare, in fact, as a gritty, poltitical film which is basically up-beat. The good guys win.

It’s a small film, low budget, unassuming, but it’s also an eloquently constructed piece of entertainment. As eloquent, in fact, as Murrow himself.