Now Screening - What Are You Watching Right Now?

[struth]

Michael Crichton's 1953 film The Titfield Thunderbolt starring Stanley Holloway, John Gregson, Godfrey Tearle and Sid James. Great cast, and nicely directed this.

[struth]

Next is going to be............

"Wilt"... the 1989 film of Tom Sharpe's novel. Starring Griff Rhys Jones, Mel Smith and Alison Steadman.

[Barry]

Michael Crichton's 1953 film The Titfield Thunderbolt starring Stanley Holloway, John Gregson, Godfrey Tearle and Sid James. Great cast, and nicely directed this.

Nice little film that. Did it come from the Ealing stable?

[struth]

Nice little film that. Did it come from the Ealing stable?

It did Barry.. It was also their first in Technicolor

[Barry]

Whale Rider



A deeply moving, but life-affirming film:

(From Amazon.co.uk)
One of the most charming and critically acclaimed films of 2003, the New Zealand hit Whale Rider effectively combines Maori tribal tradition with the timely "girl power" of a vibrant new millennium. Despite the discouragement of her gruff and disapproving grandfather (Rawiri Paratene), who nearly disowns her because she is female and therefore traditionally disqualified from tribal leadership, 12-year-old Pai (Keisha Castle-Hughes) is convinced that she is a tribal leader and sets out to prove it.

Rather than inflate this story (from a novel by Witi Ihimaera) with artificial sentiment, writer-director Niki Caro develops very real and turbulent family relationships, intimate and yet torn by a collision between stubborn tradition and changing attitudes. The mythic whale rider--the ultimate symbol of Maori connection to nature--is also the harbinger of Pai's destiny, and the appealing Castle-Hughes gives a luminous, astonishingly powerful performance that won't leave a dry eye in the house. With its fresh take on a familiar tale, Whale Rider is definitely one from the heart. --Jeff Shannon

[jollyfix]

Whale Rider

Great film.

[Barry]

Hotel Rwanda




Harrowing drama set during the Rwandan conflict of the 1990s. The Rwandan conflict of the 1990s marked one of the bloodiest chapters in recent African history. Over the course of 100 days, almost one million people were killed. The streets of the capital city of Kigali ran red with rivers of blood, but no one came to help. There was no international intervention in Rwanda, no expeditionary forces, no coalition of the willing. There was no international aid for Rwanda. Rwanda's Hutu extremists slaughtered their Tutsi neighbors and any moderate Hutus who stood in their way, and the world left them to it. Amidst the horrendous violence and chaos that swept the country, one of the many heroes to emerge was Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle), an ordinary man who, out of love and compassion, managed to save the lives of 1268 people. The manager of a hotel, Paul offered shelter to these refugees at considerable risk to his own safety.

From Amazon.co.uk
Solidly built around a subtle yet commanding performance by Don Cheadle, Hotel Rwanda emerged as one of the most highly-praised dramas of 2004. In a role that demands his quietly riveting presence in nearly every scene, Cheadle plays real-life hero Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager in the Rwandan capital of Kigali who in 1994 saved 1,200 Rwandan "guests" from certain death during the genocidal clash between tribal Hutus, who slaughtered a million victims, and the horrified Tutsis, who found safe haven or died. Giving his best performance since his breakthrough role in 'Devil in a Blue Dress', Cheadle plays Rusesabagina as he really was during the ensuing chaos: "an expert in situational ethics" (as described by critic Roger Ebert), doing what he morally had to do, at great risk and potential sacrifice, with an understanding that wartime negotiations are largely a game of subterfuge, cooperation, and clever bribery. Aided by a United Nations official (Nick Nolte), he worked a saintly miracle, and director Terry George (Some Mother's Son) brings formidable social conscience to bear on a true story you won't soon forget. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

[struth]

I liked Hotel Rwanda a lot when i saw it... It did hit deep and not for everyone though. Whale rider ive not seen

[Barry]

Saw both films when they first came out. Have the DVDs, but I'm wanting to thin out my collection, so I'm re-watching several films to decide what to keep and what to pass on.

Those that I have decided to pass on, so far, are:

Oscar and Lucinda



The Golden Compass


The Constant Gardener



The Machinist


And both Sherlock Holmes films with Robert Downey Jr.

[struth]

Yeah ive a big box to find a home for... Great films but i my not watch them again.. Probably just stick them back in loft.