Over the last two weekends we have watched, as a family, the most recent pair of James Bond movies, “Skyfall” (2012) and “Spectre” (2015). They were broadcast on ITV2 (lots of ad-breaks), we recorded them on our multi-channel box and watched each of them within 24 hours of recording. The children, aged 11 and 13,… Continue reading James Bond and me
On Sunday night “The Shape of Water” won the Best Picture Oscar for 2017. The Oscars ceremony always rewards films that were released the previous year. Last year’s ceremony rewarded films that were released in 2016. “The Godfather” (Best Picture Oscar 1972) was the big winner on 27 March 1973. Robert de Niro collected his… Continue reading Oscars, Trivia and a minor quibble about dates
My parents were both born in Ireland in the 1930s. They moved to London, separately, met here and were married in the 1950s. In the years that followed they had three children: my older brother, my younger sister, me in the middle. As the 1970s began the three of us were all at the same… Continue reading 1970s Date Nights
More than once on these pages I have referred to the “movies by post” service that helped me to catch up with scores of films. Many of them were part of my “Oscars Project”, to watch all the major Academy Award winners of my lifetime (Best Picture, Best Director and the four awards for acting).… Continue reading Farewell LoveFilm
Back in the 1970s we often heard the word nostalgia in the following one-liner: “Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be”. Etymologically that turns out to be true. The word is derived from the Greek “nostos” (return home) and “algos” (pain), so it used to mean homesickness (like “Heimweh” in German), or a longing for… Continue reading Word of the week: nostalgia
Last Saturday I stayed up late watching “The Chase”. For once “The Chase” in question was not the ITV quiz show hosted by Bradley Walsh, which has had plenty of mentions on these pages this year (starting with this piece), but a movie from 1966, starring Marlon Brando. Brando has also had plenty of mentions… Continue reading “The Chase” (1966)
Back in August, in this piece, I wrote about some dialogue from a couple of Debra Winger films that I first saw in the 1980s, “Black Widow” and “Terms of Endearment”. Recently I watched both movies again, as planned, to check if I’d remembered them correctly. I can report that the scene that originally prompted… Continue reading A Debra Winger Double Bill
Last weekend I began a rather long piece about the 1979 movie “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square”, which features Gloria Grahame, one of my favourite actresses. I noted: “She died in 1981 and her relationship with a young actor, Peter Turner, is recorded in his book “Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool”. You’re likely… Continue reading Gloria Grahame and me
Last weekend, at 1.35am on Sunday, BBC2 screened the little-known 1979 movie “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square”. I say “little-known” but at least 20 people know about it thanks to my efforts over the years. It was filmed all around the part of West London where I, and many of my friends, grew up,… Continue reading “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square”
Does anyone remember a 1987 film called “Black Widow”? It starred Debra Winger and Theresa Russell and was directed by Bob Rafelson, as you can see here on this IMDB page. There’s certainly one person who saw it back then and has no memory of it: my brother. We were discussing it earlier this month… Continue reading “I can’t believe you’re buying this”
The Compartments 