It’s still 2018 as I write this. At least it is in the UK. In some other time zones it might well be 2019 by now. And indeed it will be 2019 here soon enough too. But before that happens, tradition dictates that it’s time, once again, for me to review the year that has…
Month: December 2018
The Fourth Annual Christmas Message from James Proclaims
As it is now a firmly established tradition that I write a Christmas message on Christmas Day, I shan’t eschew that responsibility and let down the odd person who might actually care. It’s true that the person in question is exceptionally odd, but it feels wrong to disappoint them. Normally I write this in advance…
The Second Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 24
It’s Christmas Eve once more and therefore logic would dictate that it’s time for the final entry in The Second Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar Of Christmas(ish) Films. A year ago we rounded off the first James Proclaims Advent Calendar Of Christmas(ish) Films with the awesome movie that is Die Hard. It therefore only seems…
The Second Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 23
Director John Frankenheimer made into last’s years James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films with the, frankly, awful but surprisingly Christmas(ish) Reindeer Games. If that wasn’t representative of his best work then 1998’s action flick Ronin is certainly a better offering.. With a decent cast, led by Robert De Niro and Jean Reno, Ronin…
The Second Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 22
2008’s Hellboy 2: The Golden Army is a pretty decent follow up to 2004’s Hellboy. Both movies were directed by Guillermo Del Toro, who made the not unremarkable Pan’s Labyrinth in between. While that film garnered plenty of recognition and critical acclaim, neither of the Hellboy movies really troubled any major award ceremonies. But they…
The Second Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 21
For a movie that is based on the premise of middle aged men abusing their status and power to conduct extramarital affairs with their younger female employees, 1960’s The Apartment is a surprisingly life-affirming and uplifting film. This is in no small part due to the endearing performances by Jack Lemmon and Shirley Maclaine, and…
The Second Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 20
2011’s cinematic adaptation of John Le Carré’s 1974 novel Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is not the easiest of movies to follow. It might have helped if I had read the book, which I haven’t. I have read other stuff by Le Carré so I imagine I would like the novel, but I generally feel that…
The Second Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 19
David Cronenberg’s Eastern Promises is not the cheeriest of films. Indeed it’s all pretty dark and unpleasant really, dealing with matters such as sex-trafficking, rape and murder. Centered around the Russian Mob in London, it is visceral, brutal and definitely not easy viewing. It is, nonetheless, utterly compelling and not overly long – if you can…
The Second Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 18
In last’ year’s James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films writer/director Shane Black was responsible for no less than 6 of the films included. Some of them were more Christmas(ish) than others, but they all deserved their place. If you missed last year’s compendium of Christmas(ish) classics and need a reminder of the man’s legendary…
The Second Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 17
I first saw The Royal Tenenbaums when it hit cinema screens in 2001. And I hated it. I rarely leave the multiplex angry at a film, but The Royal Tenenbaums disappointed me on visceral level. Which was grossly unfair of me, because The Royal Tenenbaums is generally considered a pretty good film. And I can…
The Second Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 16
When the opening scene of a film concludes with the brutal killing of two prisoners of war, one might assume that it’s not the most light-hearted of movies. But while Stalag 17 certainly deals with the drama, emotional turmoil and brutality of life in a World War 2 German prisoner-of-war camp, it’s balanced with a…
The Second Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 15
1968’s The Lion in Winter is based on a play and in many ways it does feel more like watching a stage performance rather than a movie. But it’s a good play with a strong cast, comprising of Peter O’Toole and Katherine Hepburn, alongside, amongst others, a young Anthony Hopkins and an even younger Timothy…
The Second Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 14
On paper The French Connection appears to be a run-of-the-mill crime thriller, with a protagonist, in Detective Jimmy ‘Popeye’ Doyle (Gene Hackman), who doesn’t play by the rules but who ‘gets the job done’’. In reality, though the odd cliche is apparent intermittently, The French Connection is an intelligent, fast-paced movie with an ending that…
The Second Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 13
2010’s Red is ostensibly a ‘by-the-numbers’ action flick. Bruce Willis barely needs to get out of second gear in his performance as lead character Frank Moses – he’s perfectly fine in the role but Moses is the sort of sardonic wise-cracking action hero that Willis could play in his sleep. The main antagonist for much…
The Second Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 12
2015’s The Hateful Eight is the eighth film by Quentin Tarantino and it is not untypical of his oeuvre, containing, as it does, extreme violence, offensive language and a plot that only really makes any sense by the time you get to the end of the film. It’s also not untypical of his movies in…
The Second Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 11
When Jurassic Park hit the big screen in 1993, it was pretty pioneering stuff. For the first time dinosaurs on screen looked like real dinosaurs. Insofar as we have any idea what dinosaurs actually looked like. And it’s fair to say there is still some debate in that area. The dinosaurs in Jurassic Park don’t…
The Second Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 10
Many film franchises that begin with a great first outing often deliver sequels of diminishing returns. But few decline quite so rapidly with each edition as the Jaws movies. The 1975 original regularly does well in polls that (rather futilely) try to determine the greatest films ever made. Jaws 2, by contrast, never troubles such…
The Second Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 9
1994’s The Ref is not the longest film ever made at 97 minutes. Nonetheless it might well be slightly longer than it really needs to be. The premise is relatively simple – following a heist that goes wrong, career criminal Gus (Dennis Leary) takes married couple, Caroline and Lloyd (Judy Davis and Kevin Spacey) hostage…
The Second Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 8
I had relatively high hopes for 2001’s Behind Enemy Lines. On paper it looks like it should be pretty good. A pilot gets shot down ‘behind enemy lines’ and needs to find his way back to safety while avoiding enemy soldiers who are looking for him. It should be a ‘switch-your-brain-off-at-the-door’ roller coaster ride of…
The Second Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 7
On the cover of the DVD case that contains my copy of 1999’s comic crime caper Go, it’s Katie Holmes who appears to be the star of the movie. On the original promotional poster, however, that honour fell to Sarah Polley, who arguably plays the film’s lead character Ronna. There’s no doubt that Holmes’ star…
The Second Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 6
Objectively I can see that 1991’s Hook is not an especially good film, but I still can’t help but like it. As intriguing as the idea of a grown-up Peter Pan should be, the movie doesn’t really make enough of the concept. Instead the central theme seems to be a distant father rediscovering his inner…
The Second Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 5
1989’s When Harry Met Sally is one of the few romantic comedies that I’ll openly admit to liking. It is a romantic comedy in the truest sense in that romance is clearly a central theme but it’s also actually funny. Director Rob Reiner, screenwriter Nora Ephron and leading man Billy Crystal all add value to…
The Second Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 4
Peter Jackson’s 2005 remake of King Kong is a bit on the long side at 187 minutes. This is an impressive feat given that the 1933 original came in at a 100 minutes. Where Jackson manged to find an additional 87 minutes of story to tell is anyone’s guess but making the most of relatively…
The Second Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 3
The Life of Brian was my introduction to the world of Monty Python, though the first time I watched it, while I found it fairly diverting, much of it was probably lost on me as I was a prepubescent teen, and my friends and I had rented it alongside a few other films (on glorious…
The Second Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 2
I had intended to include 2002’s Catch Me If You Can in last year’s ‘Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films’ but alas I was unable to actually ‘catch it’. During one of its myriad outings on TV that is. Because it is the kind of film that is seemingly on all of the time. Except, apparently,…
The Second Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 1
And so December is upon us and The Second Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films is officially underway. But just what is the film that’s going to kick of this year’s semi-seasonal selection of silver-screen spectacles? Why it’s none-other than the sublime Submarine – Richard Ayoade’s 2010 directorial debut. Ayoade is probably better…
James Proclaims! 