What I Watched This Week (w/e May 18th 2008)

Having finished Uni for the summer, I've been catching up with my social reading and therefore haven't watched as many films as usual. They consisted of review discs and two films that were at least three hours long! My V+ box is still pretty full so I'm working my way through that backlog of recorded films. Off to read a bit more now.

DVD

Doctor Zhivago - A brilliantly directed epic with some breathtaking scenes and wonderful performances by Julie Christie and Omar Sharif. The location shooting is memorable as is the 'Ice Palace' dacha, which was actually decorated by beeswax! The script isn't as tight as The Bridge on the River Kwai or Lawrence of Arabia (in which Sharif is more impressive) and this is inferior to those masterpieces, but a fine film nonetheless. The commentary, with Sharif, Lean's widow and Rod Steiger suffers from too much dead air. :)

Mutiny on the Bounty - I have to admit that I hadn't seen the supposedly superior 1935 version with Charles Laughton, but this is beautifully shot and benefits from using a real ship. Trevor Howard is excellent as Captain Bligh and is well supported by Richard Harris and Hugh Griffith but Marlon Brando's completely unbelievable preening, effete and foppish Fletcher Christian lets the whole film down. :|

Charlie Wilson's War - Review on the site.

Eyes Without a Face - Review on the site.

What Have They Done To Your Daughters? - Review to follow shortly.

Cinema

Iron Man - Saw it again and enjoyed it again, staying for the little bit after the (extremely lengthy) credits this time - what sort of job is a 'reserve painter'? :)

Doomsday - A strange mix of Mad Max, Apocalypse Now and Escape from New York at 100 mph. It doesn't really work with any consistency and isn't in the same league as Dog Soldiers or The Descent but is entertaining in its own barmy way. :|

Television

The English Patient - Turgid does not even describe how thoroughly dull this film is. Apparently the book is boring so maybe Anthony Minghella wasn't completely at fault. Looks great but that's about all. >:(

Music and Lyrics - This is the sort of material that Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore can sleepwalk through and they practically do just that. It's not the best film that either has appeared in but it's not as dreadful as I had feared. :|

Little Children - A strange twist on Madam Bovary with Kate Winslet as a bored housewife who begins seeing Patrick Wilson who is similarly unhappily married. The film has some interesting and controversial things to say about the treatment of sex offenders and is an involving watch. :)

Colin Lynes vs. Gianluca Branco - A foreign fighter loses in Italy - what a surprise! I thought Lynes won the first half and deserved the win, especially with the knockdown in his favour but he lost by a split decision, Branco reclaiming his European Light Welterweight title.

Wasps vs. Bath - Wasps did what they do best, timing their end of season run to perfection and negating the opposition's strengths. Bath never got their high tempo offloading game going and Wasps basically won it on the strength of the defence.

Gloucester vs. Leicester - Leicester left it late, an Andy Goode drop goal two minutes from time winning the best of the two semis. With Wasps severely depleted in the fly half position - Cipriani joining Walder on crutches - they might have to play a semi-fit Staunton, Van Gisbergen or Flutey out of position in the final. You can never write Wasps off and the game in two weeks should be an excellent encounter between two of the biggest teams in Europe.