Marty Supreme review

 Does Timothee Chalamet’s latest movie Ping or Pong?

+The film’s remarkable promotional campaign.

 You could say that Timothee Chalamet has been preparing himself for the role of Marty Mauser for some time. I’m not talking about the seven years he’s spent during filming downtime practicing table tennis, more the sort of characters he’s been playing. Mauser, a cocky, self-confident and precocious New Yorker is not really that far removed from the actor’s previous well-known roles. He could be a grown up Elio Perlman, a more earthbound Paul Atriedes. He’s swapped Bob Dylan’s raspy voice and guitar for a paddle and busy feet but the endless self belief is there. And Willy Wonka’s chocolate flavoured obsession is a similar but more family friendly take on someone driven by his belief in his own talent. That’s not to say this role is easy, more the culmination of the actor’s ability to inhabit a character and make you impressed. Marty Supreme is a great film though like it’s protagonist easier to admire than to like.

 

Avatar: Fire and Ash review

Epic series' third instalment goes deeper and darker... 

A lot of online reviews of this third instalment of the Avatar series have been super critical suggesting that it looks the same as the first two which to me is like going to a park and saying “These trees and flowers are the same as last year”. People easily forget how these films have created a sense of wonder, created a world that must surely be one of the most immersive, different places the cinema is ever going to take you. I think Fire and Ash is the best of the Avatar films so far; richer, more exciting and for those who inexplicably find enormous sea creatures and floating mountains boring, there are some new locales and people as well. Though it does have some similarities this is patently not the same storyline as the second film as some have said it is, rather that film was the launchpad for something even bigger. For me this a film whose three and a quarter hours running time never feels overlong and it’s been ages since I saw something this breathtaking and visually inventive in the cinema.

 

Warning- Major Spoilers (and superlatives) after the break!

 

The War Between the Land and the Sea review

 

Doctor Who spin offs are often underrated by fans of the show yet given more generous leeway by those with less concern about canon, lore or continuity. This is the latest in a lineage that includes Torchwood, Sarah Jane Adventures and Class, each of which had their strong points and strayed to places that the main series either can’t or won’t go. The War Between The Land and the Sea (a title so unwieldy let’s just called it War Between) stakes out similar ground to Torchwood, with whom it shares a less fantastical style yet it feels as if it can’t quite grasp what it is reaching for. There are strongly felt messages and moments that impress but the whole production never quite coalesces. As for the war we don’t really see one; just some skirmishes.

Edward Scissorhands (1990)

 A film that cuts deep...

Described as a `Gothic fantasy film`, Edward Scissorhands is one of my favourite movies, definitely in my top 10, of all time. I remember when it came out I went to see it several times at the cinema and since then have re-watched it periodically. Of course it has now been thirty five years since then and time has marched on. Yet the film still weaves a lot of magic for me even if it may not be the overwhelming emotions I felt when I first saw it. I was younger then, less lived. At the time I saw it as a fable for loneliness and not fitting in and while it is those things, now I can appreciate the other aspects more. It’s not just about loneliness or belonging, it’s about generosity, jealousy, misunderstanding and awkwardness. Yeah, it’s still pretty amazing.

Top of the Pops 20 December 1990

 

Words: Chris Arnsby

Bruno Brookes: “Thursday night. Hello. Welcome to Top of the Pops. Here we are in our cuddly studio all over again with the hits. Stay with us, the stereo sound of Radio 1 FM and we're going to kick off with Snap. This is great. Mary Had A Little Boy. Right over there.”

 [8] SNAP: Mary Had A Little Boy. Let's editorialise. This is a poor edition of Top of the Pops. If you are wondering what the Performance of the Week will be, you're watching it. There are no other live studio performances. Video, video, video, video, video, video, repeat, repeat, video. Maybe there are behind the scenes reasons. Maybe everyone was away. Maybe the studio was packed with bands recording songs for Christmas Day. One thing wasn't happening. The production team wasn't preparing any kind of bumper Christmas presence.

 

Love Actually (2003)

Too many characters are all around... 

Though often critically derided Love Actually is an unusually constructed mainstream film. Richard Curtis originally tried to write two screenplays intended as separate films- one about a new Prime Minister, the other about a writer. Instead, he combined them and added a number of other characters to create a loosely linked anthology. It’s something of a bold gambit to ask an audience to follow so many different stories and while it does mean some remain underdeveloped, others have their moments. It’s only near the end that we realise there are connections between all the characters, some quite tenuous, and a wider theme than we might think the title suggests. In the end there is too much content - to properly fulfil the stories it needs to be Avatar length!

Jack Frost (1998)

 A film that definitely had an icy reception...

People do not like this film, that’s for sure. It flopped at the box office, more than one review has described it as the worst films ever made and it only made $34m, less than its budget which oddly sources describe as being between $40- $85m. So poorly was the movie received that it was never considered significant enough for a blu ray release though pops up on streamers around this time of year for obvious reasons.  Yet it’s a Christmas film (not to be mistaken for an identically titled horror movie) starring Michael Keaton who is always good whatever he’s in. So, can it really be that bad? Let’s find out…

Top of the Pops 13 December 1990

 Words: Chris Arnsby

Simon Mayo: “Hello. Welcome to the Pops. If you're sitting at home wondering as to what the Christmas Number One might be, well study the form over the next half hour. We have for you performing tonight Chris Isaak, we have Black Box, and we also have INXS appearing later. First of all, at thirty four, with his thirty fourth hit, Shaky is back.”

 [34] SHAKIN' STEVENS: The Best Christmas Of Them All. I'm not going to let a statistic like that go unchallenged. How are we defining a hit? Let's say, it's a single that gets into the Top 40. Well, starting from Shaky's first Top 40 single, Hot Dog (1980), I make the total twenty nine. The short answer is, I can't really make the numbers work without going all the way out to singles which entered the Top 75. Still, thirty four Top 75 singles is an impressive number. The Beatles only have thirty two Top 75 hits. Conclusive proof that Shaky> The Beatles. Where's his Anthology series?

Jingle Bell Heist (2025)

 Its time for Mooshy Fox...

One of a raft festive films that pop up on streaming platforms each year, Jingle Bell Heist is better than most offering something slightly different from the Crimbo romcom. The title may suggest some kind of elaborate seasonal operation yet the reality is a small film with just enough warmth and surprises to keep you interested. Plus it’s a film whose second half is better than it’s first.

Violent Night (2022)

Tis the season to be bloody...

A knowing cross between Home Alone and Die Hard, this movie manages to have its Christmas cake and eat it. As the title suggests it is as violent as possible yet it also manages to sneak in a soupcon of seasonal magic at the same time. Played by David Harbour, this Santa drinks too much, is bitterly resentful at the way Xmas has turned yet still lights up when he sees a child’s delight opening presents. In relation to the recent online debate as to whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie, I can state that Violent Night (a title that made me laugh when I first heard it) most definitely is a Christmas movie only maybe for people who don’t enjoy the season as much.

 

Top of the Pops 6 December 1990

 Words: Chris Arnsby

Mark Goodier: “Good evening if you're watching on BBC1 or if you're listening on Radio 1 in FM stereo. It's the weekly hit countdown. Top of the Pops. Tonight we may well see the song which is the Christmas Number One, so stay tuned. And we start with a song by a band who have been in the top forty twice in the last three months, Twenty Four Seven.”

 [25] TWENTY 4 SEVEN / CAPTAIN HOLLYWOOD: Are You Dreaming? A dynamic start to the show when Twenty 4 Seven/Captain Hollywood march on stage from all points of the compass. Someone comes down the stairs and onto the Triangle Stage. Two come up from the back. And the other one steps out from where they were lurking behind a triangle.

Rod Litherland has taken over Lighting this week and he's using all the colours that Chris Kempton hates, green and yellow mainly. The lighting of the Triangle stage looks very much like how the the Film Strip stage was lit last week for Run-DMC and their prerecorded performance of What's It All About.