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...

Invaders from Mars (1953)

 

“Gee Whizz!” Big green men invade a small town in this classic sci fi film

 If the plot of Invaders from Mars seems familiar then that’s likely to be because it’s proven to be hugely influential on subsequent generations of filmmakers. The likes of Joe Dante and John Landis are fans while Martin Scorcese has named it as one of the best uses of lighting and colour in film. While it does appear to fulfil its title admirably it also sets a template for future invasion pictures to follow or extrapolate from. Re-released last month with a fantastic restoration, we can have a more vivid experience watching it than even those 1953 cinemagoers did.

 

Top of the Pops 13th June 1991

 Words: Chris Arnsby

 Jakki Brambles: “Hello. Good evening. And welcome to Top of the Pops. It’s a little bit different tonight but you can still hear us in stereo on 1FM. First up, tonight’s show, we have probably the only ever artist who scored five top twenty singles off her debut album and still got dropped by her record label. You can’t keep a good woman down. Here’s Sonia.”

 [11] SONIA: ONLY FOOLS (NEVER FALL IN LOVE). “A little bit different tonight.” That sounds ominous. I’m getting “Great news for all readers inside!” vibes. It sounds like IPC is about to force Top of the Pops to merge with Roy of the Rovers.