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OUR KIND OF TRAITOR

by Mark'd Commode

3 out of 10

REVIEW COMING SOON

Release date: 21st October 2016

Director: Susanna White (The Deuce (TV) / Parade’s End (TV) / Nanny McPhee 2 – Nanny Mc Phee Returns / Bleakhouse (TV) / Teachers (TV))

Cast: Ewan McGregor, Stellan Skarsgard, Damian Lewis, Naomie Harris, Khalid Abdalla, Saskia Reeves, Velibor Topic, Alicia von Rittberg, Alec Utgoff, Mark Stanley, Jana Perez, Pawel Szadja, Christian Brassington, Marek Oravec, Carlos Acosta and Grigoriy Dobrygin with Mark Gatiss and Jeremy Northam

Writer:  John Le Carre / Hossein Amini

Trailer: OUR KIND OF TRAITOR

WHAT HAVE I SEEN THAT ACTOR IN BEFORE?

  • Ewan McGregor: Birds of Prey, Doctor Sleep, Christopher Robin, Fargo (TV), Beauty and the Beast (2017), American Pastoral (dir), Trainspotting 2 – T2,  Jane Got a Gun, Miles Ahead, Son of a Gun, Mortdecai, August-Osage County, Jack The Giant Slayer, The Impossible, Salmon Fishing In The Yemen, Haywire, Beginners, Perfect Sense, Jackboots On Whitehall (voice), Nanny McPhee, The Ghost, Amelia, The Men Who Stare At Goats, Angels & Demons, I Love You Phillip Morris, Incediary, Cassandra’s Dream, Miss Potter, Scenes Of a Sexual Nature, Alex Rider -Storm Breaker, Stay, The Island (2005), Star Wars III – The Revenge Of The Sith, Valiant (voice), Robots (voice), Big Fish, Down With Love, Star Wars II – Attack Of The Clones, Black Hawk Down, Moulin Rouge, Nora, Eye Of The Beholder, Rogue Trader, Star Wars – The Phantom Menace, Little Voice, Velvet Goldmine, A Life Less Ordinary, Serpent’s Kiss, Nightwatch, Brassed Off, Emma (1996), The Pillow Book, Trainspotting, Blue Juice, Shallow Grave, Being Human, Lipstick On Your Collar (TV)
  • Stellan Skarsgard: Dune (2020), The Painted Bird, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, Chernobyl (TV), Mamma Mia 2 – Here We Go Again, Borg vs McEnroe, Avengers 2 – The Age of Ultron, Cinderella (2015), Hector and the Search for Happiness, In Order of Disappearance, Nymphomanic 2, Nymphomaniac, Thor 2 – The Dark World, Romeo and Juliet (2013), The Railway Man, Avengers Assemble, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2012), Melancholia, Thor, King of Devil’s Island, Angels and Demons, Mamma Mia, Pirates of the Caribbean 3 – At World’s End, Pirates of the Caribbean 2 – Dead Man’s Chest, Dominion, Exorcist- The Beginning, King Arthur (2004), Dogville, Dancer In The Dark, Timecode 2000, Deep Blue Sea (1999), Ronin, Amistad, Good Will Hunting, The Kingdom II (TV), My Son The Fanatic, Insomnia (1997), Breaking The Waves, The Slingshot, The Ox, Wind (1992), The Hunt For Red October, The Unbearable Lightness of Being
  • Damian Lewis: Dream Horse, Billions (TV), Once Upon a Time In Hollywood, Bill, Wolf Hall (TV), Homeland (TV), Romeo & Juliet (2013), The Sweeney, Your Highness, The Escapist, Keane, Chromophobia, Alex Rider – Stormbreaker, Dreamcatcher, Band Of Brothers (TV), The Forsyte Saga (TV)
  • Naomie Harris: Venom 2, James Bond – No Time To Die, Black and Blue, Mowgli (voice), Rampage, Collateral Beauty, Moonlight, James Bond – Spectre, Southpaw, Mandela- A Long Walk To Freedom,  The First Grader, James Bond – Skyfall, Sex & Drugs & Rock-n-Roll, Morris – A Life With Bells, Pirates of The Caribbean  3 – At World’s End, A Cock & Bull Story, Street Kings, Miami Vice, Pirates of the Caribbean 2 – Dead Man’s Chest, After The Sunset, Trauma, 28 Days Later
  • Khalid Abdalla: Hanna (TV), Assassin’s Creed, The Square (doc), Green Zone, The Kite Runner, Hush Your Mouth, United 93
  • Saskia Reeves: Belgravia (TV), Shetland (TV), Wolf Hall (TV), Nymphomaniac, Luther (TV), Red Riding – The Year of Our Lord 1983 (TV), Me and Orson Welles, Spooks (TV), The Tesseract, LA Without a Map, Different for Girls, ID, Butterfly Kiss, Traps, The Bridge (1992), Close My Eyes, December Bride
  • Velibor Topic: Dead in a Week (Or Your Money Back), Never Let Go, Convenience, The Smoke, Outpost 3 – The Rise of Spetsnaz
  • Alicia von Rittberg: Fury
  • Alec Utgoff: Stranger Things (TV), The Wrong Mans (TV), Outpost 3 -The Rise of Spetsnaz, The Seasoning House
  • Pawel Szadja: Imperium, Under the Tuscan Sun
  • Christian Brassington: Fisherman’s Friends, Poldark (TV), The Smoke, Hummingbird, Burke and Hare, St. Trinians 2- The Legend of Fritton’s Gold
  • Mark Stanley: Sulphur and White, Run (2020), Sanditon (TV), Hellboy (2019), Dark River, Mr Turner, Kajaki, Game of Thrones (TV)
  • Marek Oravec: Get Lucky
  • Carlos Acosta: Yuli, Day of the Flowers, New York I Love You
  • Grigoriy Dobrygin: Black Sea, A Most Wanted Man
  • Mark Gatiss: Operation Mincemeat, Good Omens (TV), The Favourite, Christopher Robin, The Mercy, Game of Thrones (TV), Dr Who (TV), Taboo (TV), Sherlock (TV), Denial, Absolutely Fabulous – The Movie, Dad’s Army (2016), Victor Frankenstein, London Spy (TV), Wolf Hall (TV), Starter For 10, The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (voice), The League of Gentleman’s Apocalypse, Sex Lives of the Potato Men, Birthday Girl, The League of Gentlemen (TV)
  • Jeremy Northam: Official Secrets, The Crown (TV), The Man Who Knew Infinity, Eye In The Sky, Glorious 39, Creation, Dean Spanley, The Tudors (TV), The Invasion (2007), A Cock & Bull Story, Guy X, The Singing Detective, Cypher, Possession (2002), Gosford Park, Enigma, The Golden Bowl, The Winslow Boy, An Ideal Husband, Happy Texas, The Tribe, Amistad, Mimic, Emma, The Net, Carrington, Soft Top Hard Shoulder, Wuthering Heights (1992), Wish Me Luck (TV)

ONLY YOU (2019)

by Mark'd Commode

4 out of 10

REVIEW COMING SOON

Release date: 12th July 2019

Director: Harry Wootliff

Cast: Laia Costa, Josh O’Connor, Lisa McGrillis, Stuart Martin and Peter Wight

Trailer: ONLY YOU (2019)

WHAT HAVE I SEEN THAT ACTOR IN BEFORE?

OUTLAWED

by Mark'd Commode

2 out of 10

REVIEW COMING SOON

Release date: 10th June 2019 (DVD premiere)

Director: Adam Collins & Luke Radford

Cast: Adam Collins, Ian Hichens, Anthony Burrows, Andy Calderwood, Jessica Norris, Emmeline Hartley, Andre Squire, Phil Molloy, Celiowagner Coelho, Tobias Fries, Ollie Christie, Martin Gaisford, Luke Radford with Zara Phythian and Steven Blades

Writer: Adam Collins & Luke Radford

Trailer: OUTLAWED

WHAT HAVE I SEEN THAT ACTOR IN BEFORE?

ONCE UPON A TIME IN LONDON

by Mark'd Commode

2.5 out of 10

REVIEW COMING SOON

Release date: 19th April 2019

Director: Simon Rumley (Crowhurst / Little Deaths / Red White & Blue / Club le Monde)

Cast: Terry Stone, Leo Gregory, Holly Earl, Justin Salinger, Roland Manookian, Josh Myers, Doug Allen, Kate Braithwaite, Nadia Forde, Andy Beckwith, Joe Egan, Ali Cook, Michael McKell, Adam Saint, Dominic Keating, JJ Hamblett, Simon Nader with Geoff Bell and Jamie Foreman

Writer: Simon Rumley, Will Gilbey & Terry Stone

Trailer: ONCE UPON A TIME IN LONDON

WHAT HAVE I SEEN THAT ACTOR IN BEFORE?

OF GODS AND WARRIORS

by Mark'd Commode

2 out of 10

REVIEW COMING SOON

Release date: 30th July 2018 (DVD premiere)

Director: David L G Hughes (Hard Boiled Sweets)

Cast: Anna Demetriou, Timo Nieminen, Will Mellor, Paul Freeman, Ian Beattie, Andrew Whipp, Murray McArthur, Laurence O’Fuarain, Martyn Ford, Taylor Frost, Victoria Broom and Terence Stamp

Writer: David L G Hughes

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Trailer: OF GODS AND WARRIORS

WHAT HAVE I SEEN THAT ACTOR IN BEFORE?

  • Anna Dememtriou: The Marine 6 – Close Quarters
  • Will Mellor: Broadchurch (TV), In The Line of Duty (TV), Dates (TV), White Van Man (TV), Two Pints Of Lager and a Packet Of Crisps (TV), The Reeds, Hollyoaks (TV), Casualty (TV)
  • Paul Freeman: The Gatehouse, A Very English Scandal (TV), Da Vinci’s Demons (TV), Getaway, Death (2014), A Fantastic Fear of Everything, Centurion, Hard Boiled Sweets, Hot Fuzz, Powers Rangers – The Movie, Just Like a Woman, Indiana Jones and The Raiders Of The Lost Ark, The Long Good Friday
  • Ian Beattie: Papillon (2018), Gangland Revenge, The Journey, Game of Thrones (TV), Line of Duty (TV), A Belfast Story,  Starred Up
  • Andrew Whipp: Emmerdale (TV)
  • Martyn Ford: The Marine 6 – Close Quarters, Robin Hood – The Rebellion, Final Score, Redcon-1
  • Victoria Broom: #Legacy, Stalled, Deranged, Zombie Women of Satan
  • Terence Stamp: Murder Mystery, Crooked House, Crow, Bitter Harvest, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Big Eyes,  Song For Marion, The Adjustment Bureau, Valkyrie, Yes Man, Get Smart, Wanted, Seperate Lies, Elektra, Red Planet, Bowfinger, Star Wars- The Phantom Menace, The Limey, The Adventures Of Queen Priscilla Of The Desert, The Real McCoy, Alien Nation, Young Guns, Wvall Street, The Sicilian, The Company Of Wolves, Superman 2, Superman, Poor Cow, Modesty Blaise, Far From The Madding Crowd, The Collector, Billy Budd

ON CHESIL BEACH

by Mark'd Commode

9 out of 10

Release date: 18th May 2018

Director: Dominic Cooke

Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Billy Howle, Anne Marie-Duff, Adrian Scarborough, Bebe Cave, Mia Burgess, Anna Burgess, Anton Lesser, Andy Burse, Rasmus Hardiker, Bronte Carmichael, Martin Bassindale with Samuel West and Emily Watson

Writer: Ian McEwan

Trailer: ON CHESIL BEACH

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Wait for years then two buses come along at the same time. This is the first of two film adaptations of Ian McEwan novels.  It’s also a good sign that they are both for my favourite McEwan books yet. This and The Children Act. The Children Act is due for release in this autumn so here we have the small and intimate tale of a love affair that is undermined by the conventions of the day, a terminal communication breakdown and a heartbreaking lack of faith that love will prevail.

The two young actors: the very talented Saoirse Ronan (LADY BIRD) and newcomer, Billy Howle (THE SENSE OF AN ENDING) convince utterly as the newly-weds who are on the verge of consummating their relationship.  An uncommon twist of character sets the two characters on different trajectories and to fates that are ill-fitted. The ending – although tweaked from the book – is very sad.  That two people in love can fall apart so absolutely is devastating to watch and there’s more tension in the bedroom scene than most horrors I’ve seen.  This may just not set your world on fire as it’s perhaps, a jot too small for the cinema and better suited to television. However, I commend Channel Four or BBC (I forgot who distributed/produced it) for giving this kind of British film a wide release. It’s a rare commodity these days to see a quality drama with outstanding character work by the writer and actors. Way better than the stilted Atonement and the confusing Enduring Love, this is a good companion piece to The Sense of An Ending from last year. Big emotions that barely cause a tremor yet resound throughout the lives of the characters is what British literary authors do best.

I’m so relieved to report that this is a very impressive adaptation of a superb book, and in my opinion Ian McEwan’s best to date. Here’s hoping his winning streak extends to The Children Act. One point deducted for the crap old-age make-up which undermines so many films. It’s better to recast.

The closing shot is also worth hanging out for.  Will be good to see if any filmmakers clock this and try it out themselves.

9 out of 10 – A miniature to be sure, this is immaculate filmmaking. The kind of movie the British film industry would make throughout the 90s and early 2000s effortlessly.  More of these, and way fewer films like the putrid Hampstead please!

WHAT HAVE I SEEN THAT ACTOR IN BEFORE?

OFF-PISTE

by Mark'd Commode

3.5 out of 10

REVIEW COMING SOON

Release Date: 3rd October 2016 (DVD Premiere)

Director: Glen Kirby (The Pugilist)

Cast: Henry Douthwaite, Lara Lemon, Yvonne O’Grady, Jared Fortune, Paul McGuinness, Mark Crook, Jed Tune, Tony Fadil and Stephen Don

Writer: Glen Kirby

Trailer: OFF PISTE

WHAT HAVE I SEEN THAT ACTOR IN BEFORE?

THE ONES BELOW

by Mark'd Commode

7 out of 10

Release Date: 11th March 2016

Director: David Farr

Cast: Clemence Poesy, Laura Birn, David Morrissey, Stephen Campbell Moore and Deborah Findlay

Writer: David Farr

Trailer: THE ONES BELOW

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If Stephen Poliakoff made thrillers they’d look like this. They wouldn’t quite sound like it (there’s less pretentious dialogue here), but THE ONES BELOW is from the same world as CLOSE MY EYES and HIDDEN CITY. It’s also Hitchcockian and (early) Polanski-ish at times. And very Pinteresque. Unfortunately the one thing it lacks is a Farr-ish/Farrian/Farrovian attitude, which is a shame as it’s the feature debut as writer-director of David Farr. Having written plays (including the football-fan-themed

Elton John’s Sunglasses) and directed modern operas and RSC productions (I saw Coriolanus), he’s also penned scripts for Spooks and the recent Le Carré adaptation The Night Manager. And now he advances into auteur territory with a claustrophobic chamber character study cum psychological thriller. At times it’s quietly impressive, but it falls apart in the final reel.

Kate and Justin are what would once have been called a yuppie couple, working in cushy media-type jobs in London. Justin’s played by Stephen Campbell Moore in earnest new-dad fashion (and perfectly good he is apart from the bit where he’s meant to fall apart – alas the actor rather than the character does so), whilst Kate’s played by Clémence Poésy with a slight level of mystery (she has a secret). All is well, she’s expecting (a baby) and they live in a nice old-fashioned flat which forms the top half of one of those old London townhouses which were surely built for giants. (Yes, it’s a film in which pregnant women face peril, but at least it’s a film about that peril, rather than just using it as a minor plot/character point.) We join them as the tangled garden is being cleared for the arrival of new tenants downstairs. By a spooky coincidence, the newcomers (Theresa, played by Laura Birn, and Jon, played by David Morrissey) are surprisingly similar to the current tenants (if you glance at the DVD cover you’d assume it was the same couple twice in the image), one of them’s even pregnant (Theresa, obviously). But they’re less cinematically wholesome than our initial duo – he’s some sort of international banker and she sunbathes in her bra and is therefore untrustworthy.

Part of the film’s thematic background is the idea of being alone in the metropolis, so Kate and Justin try to be companionable towards their peripatetic neighbours (she’s a Finn I think, and he’s been working in China and Germany). Justin and Jon don’t get on (which in man terms probably means they’re best pals) but the two women bond tentatively. Then catastrophe ruins a kitchen supper due to a malfunctioning lightbulb, a wandering cat, an alcoholic overload, some discarded shoes, and a poorly positioned staircase. (It’s a little excessive.) There follows a Hitchcockian build-up of suspicion, but somehow the suspense doesn’t quite build up with it. There’s a recurring visual motif: Jon and Theresa leave their shoes outside the door. This starts off as a simple device to show if they’re in, but later becomes a symbol of danger (or safety). But it never quite attains the sinister edge that it wants to imply (I suspect it’s inspired by that bit in FRENZY where the camera silently leaves the crime scene). Following the disaster, the couples become hostile, but then merely remote, before rapprochements and olive branches are proffered. But secrets, lies, schemes, betrayals and conspiracies swirl about and it all ends in tears.

Harold Pinter is thanked in the credits, and there’s certainly a hefty dose of Pinterishness present, particularly the Losey stuff: mysterious people confined to mysterious rooms, voyeuristic glances through windows; it’s all very sixties in a way: both chic and faded. And there’s lots that’s left unsaid and unexplained. But where with Pinter you can argue the ambiguities forever, with THE ONES BELOW too much ends up being pretty straightforward. The film reaches its climax when someone is seen staring at someone else; the film then fast-forwards a little before reeling back to show what happened. Unfortunately, although the film wants you to think that Terrible Thing A has happened, any reasonably seasoned thriller-viewer will be guessing that Terrible Thing B has occurred. A really good thriller would then reveal that Terrible Thing C had happened. The film unspools some of its secrets and, in fairly pedestrian, procedural fashion, unveils the fact that, yes, Terrible Thing B did indeed happen. There are still questions unanswered (the exact source of the coldness between a protagonist and her mother; the exact contents of a significant wrapped-up thrown thing) though those answers aren’t too difficult to hazard reasonable guesses at. But there’s an interesting question about how and when a plan is hatched which might cause a few debates. One other negative: the film closes with the most atrocious Gene Pitney track I’ve ever encountered; please, please, serious films (yes, you TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY) stop putting ironically-intended pop songs on over the credits – it’s hideous.

If I was being charitable (and today I am) I’d suggest the whole film feels like it’s a penultimate draft: the influences are all very much in the foreground; it just needed Farr to push them back a bit and let the film be a Farr film (that’s tricky to say). The actors are all good, though David Morrissey seems ill at ease, though that may be the character (or it may be the Curse of Morrissey striking – I think he’s an excellent TV and theatre actor, but never seems right in films) (then again his role seems to be the least well thought-out: is he meant to be aloof and cold, or dark and smouldering?) (and surely if he’s as rich as he claims he could afford a whole house – even in London?) (or is that a clue?). Meanwhile Laura Birn and Clémence Poésy behave almost like mirror/twin versions of the typical Hitchcock blonde. But again, I’m referring back to the influences on the film rather than the film itself. It’s intriguing and stylishly done, but ultimately lacking in suspense and (its own) personality.

WHAT HAVE I SEEN THAT ACTOR IN BEFORE?

  • Clemence Poesy: The Tunnel (TV), Mr Morgan’s Last Love, Heartless, In Bruges, Harry Potter – parts 4, 7 & 8, 127 Hours
  • Laura Birn: The Girl King, A Walk Amongst The Tombstones
  • David Morrissey: The Walking Dead (TV), Welcome To The Punch, Blitz, Nowhere Boy, Centurion, Is Anybody There?, The Reaping, The Other Boleyn Girl, Derailed, Basic Instinct 2, Hilary & Jackie, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, Born Romantic, Some Voices, Fanny & Elvis, Waterland, Drowning By Numbers
  • Stephen Campbell Moore: Burnt, The Lady In The Van, Man Up, Johnny English 2, Season Of The Witch, The Bank Job,  The History Boys, Bright Young Things
  • Deborah Findlay: The Lady In The Van, Truly Madly Deeply

ORTHODOX

by Mark'd Commode

6.5 out of 10

REVIEW COMING SOON

Release Date: 19th February 2016 (DVD Premiere)

Director: David Leon 

Cast: Stephen Graham, Michael Smiley, Rebecca Callard, Giacomo Mancini, Sidney Kean and Christopher Fairbank

Writer: David Leon

Trailer: 

WHAT HAVE I SEEN THAT ACTOR IN BEFORE?

ONE NIGHT IN ISTANBUL

by Mark'd Commode

5.5 out of 10

REVIEW COMING SOON

Release Date: 11th September 2014 (DVD Premiere)

Director: Richard Marquand (Dead Man’s Cards)

Cast: Steven Waddington, Paul Barber, Mark Womack, Lucien Laviscount, Marc Hughes, Gamze Seber, Sedat Mert, Ayhan Eroglu, Robbie Fowler with Samantha Womack and Ingvar Sigurosson

Writer: Nicky Allt

Trailer:  ONE NIGHT IN ISTANBUL

WHAT HAVE I SEEN THAT ACTOR IN BEFORE?

  • Steven Waddington: Waterloo Road (TV), A Little Chaos, When The Lights Went Out, The Sweeney, Largo Winch, Breakfast On Pluto, The Parole Officer, The Hole (2001), Face, Carrington, Sleepy Hollow, The Last Of The Mohicans, Edward II
  • Paul Barber: The Magnificent Eleven, Dead Man’s Cards, The Virgin Of Liverpool, The 51st State, The Full Monty, Brookside (TV), Priest (1994), Only Fools and Horse (TV), Chancer (TV), The Brothers McGregor (TV), The Terence Davies Trilogy, The Long Good Friday
  • Mark Womack: Babylon (TV), Kelly + Victor, Uwantme2killhim?, Route Irish, Liverpool 1 (TV), Under The Skin, Dancin’ Thru’ The Dark
  • Lucien Laviscount: Waterloo Road (TV), Honeytrap, Coronation Street (TV), Grange Hill (TV)
  • Samantha Womack: Eastenders (TV), Kingsman – Secret Service, The Baby Juice Express, Dead Man’s Cards, Liverpool 1 (TV), Up and Under, Game On (TV), Pie In The Sky (TV)
  • Ingvar Sigurosson: Everest,  Jar City, Cold Light, K-19 – The Widowmaker, Devil’s Island