Dating Amber (2020)

 

This overlooked, light hearted film set in 1995 is about two closeted Irish teenagers, Eddie and Amber. Tired of the homophobic jibes they have to endure, they conjure up a plan to pretend to be a straight couple. While initially this eases the pressures on them and also means they are meeting familial expectations it leads to other more complex problems. David Freyne’s delightful film turns what could be a serious topic into something altogether more comedic with some pin sharp observations and two characters whom the viewer soon gets to like. In a way it’s a romcom without the `rom` as the duo’s pretence leads to each of them discovering more about themselves.

 

Top of the Pops 11th July 1991

 Words: Chris Arnsby

Bruno Brookes: “Good evening. Welcome to another sizzling Top of the Pops. All hot stuff on the show tonight. Later on we’ve got Bryan Adams for you. INXS, Billy Bragg, and Bros to name a few. First of all at number twenty eight is D.J.H. featuring Stefy. You need it. And you love it!”

 [28] D.J.H. featuring STEFY: I LIKE IT. The shape of the new-look Top of the Pops is being assembled in the background. We’ve had Michael Hurll’s changes to the way the charts are presented. And, as a side effect of this, the interstitial graphics for the Top 40, Top 10, and Breakers have been retired. Oh, and the Top 5 Albums countdown has been quietly dropped as well. There’s also the green screen and separating the host from the audience.

Enola Holmes 3 review

 

At the beginning of this third instalment of the adventures of Sherlock Holmes’ smart sister, Enola is late, a nod perhaps to the tardy arrival of the film. It’s more than three and a half years since the second in the series so you’d be forgiven for forgetting what happened. Luckily anything you need to know is folded into this brisk, energetic package mostly set in Malta rather than England. The location adds a new character to the tale which may not be as knotty as the cases dealt with by Enola’s older brother but is exciting and involving enough.

 Spoilers after the break

 

Top of the Pops 4th July 1991

 Words: Chris Arnsby

Gary Davies: “Hello. Very good evening to you. Welcome to Top of the Pops. We are in stereo on Radio 1 97 to 99 FM and we have a terrific show for you tonight. In the studio we have Cola Boy and Kim Appleby, but we start off with this week’s highest climber. It’s called Always There, Incognito and Jocelyn Brown.”

 [9] INCOGNITO Featuring JOCELYN BROWN: ALWAYS THERE. I’ve just noticed another small tweak to the title sequence. The little sprite chased by the camera through the title sequence has gone. It was added on the 13/06/1991 and lasted all of one week. It was replaced by some less abstract but more dull numbers; 5,2,4,1. It’s probably Stanley Appel’s PIN.

Top of the Pops 27th June 1991

 Words: Chris Arnsby

Simon Mayo: “Hello this is Top of the Pops. Thirty minutes of songs for your folks to complain about. Question. Give me a singing superstar from Belgium. Yes, yes, yes. Singing nun. Any ideas? Plastic Bertrand. Yes. Any more? Well you can add this lot to the pile because they’re at number twenty two a spooky thing, the band are Cubic 22.”

 [22] CUBIC 22: NIGHT IN MOTION. Please welcome Stanley Appel to the Produced and Directed by credit. He’s been around for years, obviously, but now he is here to shepherd Top of the Pops into the nineties, and beyond. This is awkward. I don’t much like his style. I’ve previously described it as dull. Although, fair play to the man, he directed a storming performance by The Wedding Present on the 27/09/1990 show.

Supergirl review

 

Superhero films are not generally a lot of fun when there’s serious world saving to be done yet Supergirl ,while it does have some darker hues to its story, is light and breezy enough to make you smile. Unlike the most recent Superman its clear his cousin takes her responsibilities a lot less seriously even if tis is covering up for traumatic past issues. The relatively small stakes of the plot compared with the other films of this ilk do make it more amenable to those less familiar with the backstory. In tone Supergirl lines up more with something like Guardians of the Galaxy. And, yes, the music is very loud!

Spoilers after the break.

 

Top of the Pops 20th June 1991

 Words: Chris Arnsby

 Nicky Campbell: “Hello. Good evening. Welcome to the brilliant new look Top of the Pops. Prepare to be engulfed in a fiesta of music and colour. Lights and action. Sound and vision. What a show. Five live acts, the best music videos and what a start. Here is the r-r-r-r-Rebel MC.”

 [20] REBEL MC/TENOR FLY/B.LEVY: TRIBAL BASE. It seems a little over the top for Nicky Campbell to describe minor format tweaks as a new look. However, there’s an interesting snippet of news in the following week’s Stage And Television Today.

That news item would have been written in the week the 20/06/1991Top of the Pops was being prepared and recorded. It is possible Nicky Campbell was asked to describe the small changes made to Top of the Pops as a “new look” to throw people off the scent a bit.

Disclosure Day review

 

I suspect that if proof of aliens really was disclosed at this current febrile time the public reaction would be hysterical with calls for them to be locked up, dropped on the Moon or something similarly draconian. This is not presently a world receptive to `others` of the human variety let along extra-terrestrials. The idea of such a reveal is what drives Steven Spielberg’s latest which returns him to the territory of ET and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Disclosure Day lacks the certainty of those earlier movies though and the sense of wonder they created is in shorter supply. I think it’s potentially a good story presented in a way that doesn’t do it justice.

 Spoilers disclosed after the break...