–
Released 27th November 2009
———–
——–
You’ve got to love writer/director Debbie Isitt’s loose improv style that’s perfectly suited to this very British farcical but nostalgic festive hoot, where the kids are the ultimate shining stars. The improv genius always raises the bar and keeps you on your toes, guessing at just what will happen next? Apart from a bunch of unknown kids - a deliberate choice by Isitt for a more ‘natural’ performance, helping her out in this endeavour is the notoriously unpredictable Marc Wootton (Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel), himself a large, overgrown kid, aptly cast in this film.
——
Released 27th November 2009
—
———
Fans of The Mighty Boosh indulge; this is writer/director Paul King let lose on film in all his eccentricity and imagination - different cast, but same best buddy theme. King’s translation onto the big screen is like watching an indie Brit bromance, starring Edward Hogg and Simon Farnaby, with Farnaby no stranger to the TV series, having played a variety of roles. But this is where TV and film differ, even though some might argue that the series is an ‘acquired taste’ (and this critic agrees). That said through casting two different leads, King has created a refreshingly intriguing new comedy partnership with all the flare of a Michel Gondry film (The Science of Sleep), but retained a true Brit wit slant.
——-
Released 25th November 2009
-
-
Anyone who claims NOT to have been freaked out at any stage throughout this film is lying, pure and simple. The fact is this low-budget film manages to do what Psycho did for showering and Jaws did for open-water swimming; it takes a relatively mundane activity and makes it impossible to participate in it in the same way again, without getting the chills under the right circumstances. This time it’s sleeping in your own bed at home, but not necessarily alone…
One of the main reasons writer-director Oren Peli’s film is undeniably successful
———
Released 20th November 2009
———-
——–
This is a seriously smart and touching dark comedy with gloriously subtle, funny undertones, coupled with outrageous moments, from the seriously smart Academy Award-winning writer/directors Ethan and Joel Coen - even if it is slightly self-indulgent about their faith. That said the brothers really do deliver an absolute gem, here, taking an ordinary man, as usual, and thrusting him into a seemingly ordinary situation in a microcosm to see how he copes. This compelling human interest story set in 1967’s America, the land of opportunity but declining moral standards, follows timid and down-on-his-luck physics professor, Larry Gopnik, who is trying to find the meaning of life and his faith, Judaism, after his family life implodes around him because his wife decides to leave him for a rival in their religious community.
