Now Screening - What Are You Watching Right Now?

[Macca]

I avoid anything which has Chuck Norris, Steven Segal or Jean-Claude Van Damme like the plague. And Jason Statham escapes the list by the skin of his shiny head.

With you on Van Damme.

Steven Segal is the master of 'so bad it's good' though.

[Pigmy Pony]

'The Six Million Dollar Man'

There's a wolf boy running about in the forest so Austin and a Japanese bloke have to go in and get him.

Always makes me laugh in these old shows where they are supposed to be out in the wilderness but are obviously just running about in a patch of scraggy bushes on the edge of some park.

Even in it's heyday I knew his bionic antics were unlikely, I mean how does he lift ton weight cars with one bionic arm? Rotator cuff injuries are inevitable, as well as spinal damage and long term arthritis.

It's his female counterpart the lovely Jaimie Sommers I feel sorry for - having one bionic ear can't be much fun when playing her records or CDs. She'd certainly need a balance knob on her amp, which to be fair was probably pretty standard back then.

[walpurgis]

I avoid anything which has Chuck Norris, Steven Segal or Jean-Claude Van Damme like the plague.

I agree. And you forgot to include Dolph Lundgren!

[Macca]

Even in it's heyday I knew his bionic antics were unlikely, I mean how does he lift ton weight cars with one bionic arm? Rotator cuff injuries are inevitable, as well as spinal damage and long term arthritis.

It's his female counterpart the lovely Jaimie Sommers I feel sorry for - having one bionic ear can't be much fun when playing her records or CDs. She'd certainly need a balance knob on her amp, which to be fair was probably pretty standard back then.

Yes I used to think it was a bit tight of them not to give her two bionic ears. Budget cuts I suppose.

[struth]

Starman, 1984..




The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports an approval rating of 86% based on 35 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "What initially begins as sci-fi transforms into a surprisingly sweet, offbeat drama, courtesy of John Carpenter's careful direction."

[struth]

Enemy of the State, 1998... bluray.



Gene Hackman turned down this movie several times, but was ultimately convinced to sign on after a phone call by director Tony Scott. Will Smith later signed on at a relative post-Independence Day (1996) bargain price because he wanted to work with Hackman.

The picture of a younger Gene Hackman shown in a white shirt and tie, supposedly from his N.S.A. file, was taken from The Conversation (1974). Hackman's character Edward "Brill" Lyle, closely resembles his "Conversation" character, Harry Caul.

The storm drain car chase scene was shot in a large air duct tunnel below the four main bores of the Fort McHenry Road Tunnel in Baltimore, Maryland. Fort McHenry permits Interstate 95 to pass under Baltimore's harbor. The air duct is only accessible via the tunnel's administration building by stairs and a small elevator, so the cars in the scene were chopped into several sections, taken three levels below, reassembled and painted. Once filming was complete they were disassembled once again and removed from the duct. The water was hosed in from a nearby sprinkler main.

The N.S.A. refused to cooperate with the production. Aerial footage of their headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland had to be shot from public air space.

[struth]

A Matter Of Life And Death, 1946... bluray.





The huge escalator linking this World with the Other, called "Operation Ethel" by the firm of engineers who constructed her under the aegis of the London Passenger Transport Board, took three months to make, and cost three thousand pounds sterling (in 1946). "Ethel" had one hundred six steps, each twenty feet wide, and was driven by a twelve horsepower engine.

The first scene shot was David Niven washing up on the beach. Originally planned to fade in from black, Michael Powell decided on the spot that the effect would be too cheesy. When Jack Cardiff told him to look through the camera, Cardiff then deliberately breathed onto the lens, which fogged the glass for a few seconds until it evaporated. Powell loved the idea and had him use it for the shot.

David Niven attempted to mention his friend's name(Michael Trubshawe) in every film he made. On the set of Wuthering Heights (1939). director William Wyler warned him against trying to drop the word Trubshawe into any of the dialogue. He thwarted Niven's attempts on at least one occasion. In the end Niven convinced a prop man to write Michael Trubshawe's name on a tombstone, giving Niven a minor triumph over Wyler. Trubshawe had a part in this film as Niven's radioman.They served in the army together and were great mates.

[Barry]

"Don't Look Now" by Nicholas Roeg. Now showing on BBC4.

An intensely deep psychological thriller that requires several viewings. Each time I watch it I see little details missed.

[struth]

The Rebel, 1961. bluray.




George Sanders had a clause in his contract allowing him to purchase all of Sir Charles Brewer's Savile Row suits for half price. Equally cannily, the character's car was the actor's own, which he leased out to the production for a fee.

In the coffee shop Tony asks for "ten Oliviers": this was a genuine brand of cigarettes manufactured by Benson & Hedges from 1956 and endorsed by noted actor Laurence Olivier - hence Tony's pretensions leading him to order a pack - who received royalties and free packs in exchange for his promotion.

The film was a critical and commercial disaster in the United States.

[struth]

Kind Hearts and Coronets, 1949..