Thursday January 19
KATE BECKINSALE MISFIRES IN...
Whiteout [M-Net.02.55]
Girl 6 [e.tv.22.35 and 02.10]
Friday January 20
Surrogates [M-Net.09.30]
Saturday January 21
JONAH HILL-MAN OF THE MOMENT
Megamind [M-Net.18.00]
Easy A [M-Net.21.00]
The Green Hornet [M-Net.00.35]
Matilda [e.tv.14.00]
Sunday January 22
Jonah Hex [M-Net.23.30]
Boy A [M-Net.01.10]
Children of the Corn [M-Net.02.55]
MARA WILSON BRINGS MATILDA TO LIFE
Matilda [e.tv.13.30]
Monday January 23
Mallrats [SABC2.22.00]
Tuesday January 24
Twins [M-Net.09.30]
Easy A [M-Net.01.30]
Wednesday January 25
Jonah Hex [M-Net.01.50]
A Private Affair [e.tv.22.35 and 02.05]
***
Before I melt into a large puddle, let me use my last ounce of strength to delve into the world of visual delight; granted to us mere mortals by the miracle of television.
ROALD DAHL
Roald Dahl was a marvelously innovator writer, I can remember exactly where I was when I read Kiss, Kiss for the first time. His work has always held a malevolent quality which is difficult to pin down or define. I was fascinated to dip into a recent biography (Donald Sturrock) over Christmas; Dahl’s private life seems to reflect this dark strangeness over and over again.
WHERE IT HAPPENED-DAHL'S WRITING HUT
But, what a magician that man was with the written word. Today, Dahl is recognized as one of those writers at the forefront of modern science fiction writing; in the day he wrote ‘children’s stories’; the tag was just a convenient way to pigeonhole his completely unique style.
MATILDA AS SEEN BY QUENTIN BLAKE
Matilda [e.tv.Saturday.14.00 and Sunday.13.30] is an adaptation of one of Dahl’s stories; actor/director Danny de Vito does a component job. On the whole, Dahl’s style does transmute to film fairly well, Matilda is no exception, entertainment with an enigmatic face.
MATILDA AS MOVIE
There is a sweet performance from ons eie Embeth Davidtz, while DeVito and Pam Ferris have fun doing a frenetic double deluxe over the top camp out. Mara Wilson anchors the proceedings as a special powers heroine with a vibrant sense of humour and spunky timing.
VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED IN 1960- IT'S IN THE EYES
Stephen King doesn’t really film well at all; The Green Mile, Shawshank and Misery being notable exceptions. Children of the Corn, treads the well worn path of juveniles with a disturbing agenda and/or strange powers. Ever since Henry James’ Turn of the Screw and later, John Wyndham’s The Midwich Cuckoos (filmed as Village of the Damned) these twin themes seem to go hand in hand.
...ALWAYS THE EYES
Children of the Corn was pretty corny (sorry!) when filmed back in 1984, but like all true ghastlies, the movie spawned 6 sequels. This is a 2009 remake [M-Net.Sunday.02.55]; rather reread the short story if you absolutely must.
LILLIAN WEARS THE SCARLET LETTER
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter has been filmed no fewer than 11 times; versions include a Lillian Gish silent, a Colleen Moore early talkie and a very adroit Wim Wenders version from 1973; the content suited his talent very well.
AS DID DEMI MOORE
There was also that hilarious rendition from 1995, the one that Robert Duvall doesn’t like to think about; Demi Moore played Hester Prynne and beat her two sets to love.
AS DOES EMMA STONE
The interlocking themes of forbidden love, deception and woman as scapegoat remain irresistible. Director Will Gluck has given the old story a brand new twist, which works remarkably well.
ANOTHER CLASSY PERFORMANCE FROM STANLEY TUCCI
Emma Stone is finely cast in Easy A [ M-Net.Tuesday.21.00 and 01.30] a crisply cut, thoughtful piece of cinema, with a standout supporting cast, including Patricia Clarkson and Stanley Tucci. New morals for a new century? I wonder; some things don’t really change, do they?
BOY A BECOMES A MAN
Emma Stone so good in The Help, is also in the reboot of Spiderman, cast as Gwen Stacy, opposite Andrew Garfield as the all new, all shiny Spidy. Garfield, who is a fine actor, is excellent in a very difficult role as Boy A [M-Net.Sunday.01.10], which asks the pertinent question; should your past ever stop haunting you?
THE NOVEL
The movie is based on the novel by Jonathan Trigell, which in turn was partly inspired by the aftermath of the Jamie Bulger killing. Sometimes children commit heinous crimes, Garfield plays such a boy, now grown and trying to rebuild his life.
WRITER JONATHAN TRIGELL
The film is bleakly realistic and grimly moving on many levels, the content stark,disturbing and deeply sad.
A STOUND OUT PERFORMANCE FROM THERESA RANDALL
Another anonymous ‘heroine’ is Girl 6 [e.tv.Thursday.22.35 and 02.10], Spike Lee’s excursion into the world of sex over the phone, a sister profession to underwear modeling and soft-core porn, where dignity is bartered for the elusive chance of fame and success. Theresa Randall is really terrific is the girl with her eyes set firmly on the prize.
SIBLING SONG AND DANCE
Ivan Reitman, very famous for Meatballs and Ghostbusters, is an up and down director; one of his surprising ups was a comedy with Arnie and Danny de Vito co starring as genetically engineered Twins [M-Net.Thursday.09.30], In Twins, Arnie and Danny do an amusing buddy/buddy turn, which hasn’t dated that badly.
MUCH MORE THAN MERE BASEBALL MITTS
Some luminaries, straight from the Golden Globes nomination list; Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill, both nominated for Moneyball, join Will Ferrell and Tina ( I Can See Russia From My House) Fey in Megamind [M-Net.Saturday.18.00],a fantasy romp, with inspiration from Marvel Comics, The Brothers Karamazov and The Holy Bible. This is animation with a laughing face and a serious, well meaning heart.
THE DANCE OF DREAMS FROM MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
I was rabbiting on about Midnight in Paris last week; Woody Allen is high up on everybody’s nominee list for his work on this lovely movie. And… Damn, I’ve got to fit this in somewhere, when Marion Cotillard dances with Owen Wilson, the haunting accordion tune is called Parlez-moi d’amour.
COTILLARD PLAYED EDITH PIAF IN 2007
Cotillard appears this week in a spicy low cut quasi noir, A Private Affair [e.tv. Wednesday.22.35 and 02.05], made in France long before La Vie en Rose brought her an Oscar and fame in America.
SLAVE LABOUR IN SURROGATES
And now for a few favourite themes: Surrogates [M-Net.Friday.09.30] is original and sassy, proving that, given the right role Bruce Willis can be very effective indeed. When I reviewed the movie a while back, I said ‘expect more of the same,’ I didn’t actually mean the same film. Anyway, if you missed it then, here it comes again. For your trivia collection, robot comes from a Czech word meaning slave.
ONE DAY, MY BEAM WILL COME
I have a confession to make; by enlarge, I dislike Superheroes, almost as much as I adore Spacemen; one day, I’m sure, Scotty will do me the ultimate favour and beam me up. I live in hope.
A SHEAF OF SUPERHEROES
Most superheroes have what I call the Compulsive Obsessive Superhero Disorder: You dress in strange clothing and poke your nose into other people’s business.
HE WAS A COMIC BOOK HERO IN THE 40S
If I had to choose a Superhero, I do have a fondness for The Green Hornet, don’t ask me why. He began life in radio in the 30s and later became a comic book hero and serial movie star, that short feature often shown just before Interval.
BRUCE LEE-ONE OF THE MEN BEHIND THE MASK; THE OTHER WAS VAN WILLIAMS
I can remember him and Kato flickering bravely from the screen of the aptly named Bughouse in Bellville about 200 years. In South Africa, we missed The Green Hornet in his TV incarnation, where Kato was famously played by Bruce Lee.
THE GREEN HORNET IN THE 21ST CENTURY
The movie version [M-Net.Saturday.00.35], directed by Michel Gondry works sporadically; Seth Rogan is perfectly cast, and is surrounded by a talented supporting cast, including Cameron Diaz, Tom Wilkinson, Christoph Waltz and Jay Chou as Kato. But somehow, to me, the action is a little flat; I was waiting for the hero ‘who protects the law by breaking it.’
GRAPHIC ANTIHERO
Jonah Hex [M-Net.Sunday.23.30 and Wednesday.01.50], a sci fi cowboy caper which works on (graphic) paper, but fails on film; Josh Brolin is miscast as well as disfigured. Whiteout [M-Net.02.55] is almost as bad; the movie which stars Kate Beckinsale is pointless, witless and a dreadful waste of time, breath, energy… and money.
JUST HANGING OUT IN MALLRATS
If you have feelings of nostalgia towards Mallrats [SABC2.Monday.22.00], indulge them; but be warned, the film hasn't worn well at all.
LET'S FLY AWAY
I’m probably going loco; but just for the hell of it, Megamind [M-Net.Saturday.18.00]