Episode 101:
Top 5 election/campaign films, Happy-Go-Lucky, Slumdog Millionaire, Boy in the Striped Pajamas, DVD releases and more…
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Below the fold are the Show Notes…
Show notes for the Cinecast Episode 101
- Intro music: :00 – 4:00
- Opening B.S.: :00 – :27
- Top 5: 7:10 – 36:49
- Happy Go Lucky: 36:50 – 48:39
- Slumdog Millionaire: 48:40 – 59:39
- Boy in the Striped Pajamas 59:21 – 1:09:44
- Random tangent: 1:09:45 – 1:15:19
- DVD picks: 1:15:20 – 1:18:04
- Closing stuff: 1:18:05 – 1:26:42
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Top 5 Election Movies:
Andrew:
5) The American President
4) Distinguished Gentleman
3) Wag the Dog
2) The Contender
1) Election
Kurt
5) Bob Roberts
4) Secret Ballot
3) Spartan
2) Deterrence
1) Election
Happy Go Lucky:
Slumdog Millionaire:
Andrew’s review
John’s review
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas:
Andrew’s review
Other stuff:
The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana (Amazon)
Time Traveller’s Wife (Amazon)
- Update on the film
Grandfather Paradox short film
DVD Picks for Tuesday, November 4th:
Kurt:
Budd Boetticher Box Set (Amazon)
Andrew:
Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas (IMDb)
Comments or questions?
Leave your thoughts in the comment section below, or email us:
feedback@rowthree.com (general)
andrew@rowthree.com
kurt@rowthree.com
– - Kurt’s BLOG
Andrew wins the DVD Pick of the Week War
I’ve been waiting for them to release Budd Boetticher’s Randolph Scott Westerns (most especially TALL T). SEVEN MEN FROM NOW is the only one currently out, and is an excellent movie. Can’t wait to pick up that box set.
I also remember watching EMMET OTTER’S JUG BAND CHRISTMAS on cable every year around the Holidays. Haven’t seen it in probably 25+ years. It would be interesting to check that out again from a more ‘adult’ perspective. I remember liking it very, very much.
Good to hear you liked Happy-Go-Lucky, Kurt. I thought it was a great film too, let down only by, as you mentioned in the show, by the unecessary explanation at the end.
I can’t see why some people are finding Hawkins annoying – she is quite possibly the best character of any film so far this year. But let’s not forget that the movie isn’t just about her, it’s mainly about her affect on other people. She is sort of the example of how happy and upbeat someone can be and by comparison the people around her are shown to be flawed, as everybody is in real life.
Eddie Marsan is outstanding here, I could watch those driving lesson scenes all day.
Love that movie.
Entirely agree Ross… it is almost a litmus test for what kind of person you are whether or not Poppy annoys you by her sheer presence. Dostoevsky’s The Idiot plays off a similar conceit, creating a character that is the embodiment of the virtues of Christ, which in a realistic setting would almost inevitably make him a kind of Idiot, a fulfilled naive caring person that the rest of the world berates and plays off of, and Poppy is kind of like that. She is fulfilled, and it is the interaction with the world that makes this a problem, the have nots always ready to knock down the haves, and in this case it is not about class but the commodity of happiness. The ‘drama’ derives solely from this inequality, this inability for the insecure to accept other people being secure, being untethered by the weight of the world.
I loved Poppy, even when she was jittery and care-free, she has this zen-like quality to her that draws the right people to her, while at the same time confusing and infuriating those not on her wavelength.
While the perception of this film is that it is drastic change to the Mike Leigh of old, something light and carefree, it is still exactly that universe of naked insecurities, just more often than not it is the secondary characters which possess them.
What would Naked’s Johnny make of Poppy, eh? There are two forces I would like to see encounter one another.
And I am calling it right here and now: Eddie Marsden will get an Oscar nom, and Sally Hawkins as well.
Agree totally. A good example is when she’s in the bookshop and the guy behind the counter is obviously in a bad mood and doesn’t like the way Poppy is acting. “Stay happy,” she says.
And when she goes back to get her bike – ANYONE else would have went crazy if someone had stolen there’s (I’d like to have seen Scott, the driving instructor, in that situation, oh boy:P) but she’s just like, “Oh no…..I didn’t even get to say goodbye.” How fantastic is that! Don’t you wish there were more Poppy’s in the world, if ANY?
And I’m sorry to say I don’t actually think Marsan will even get a nod never mind an Oscar win which I fully believe he deserves. But I could see them nominating Hawkins, although having said that the Best Actress catagory is always highly competitive – it’s always filled with the most talent imo.
I’d love to see either of the Happy-Go-Lucky stars get a nod or two. I’ll be watching Hawkins in whatever she does after her tour-de-force in this. I left the theatre in a pretty happy place (despite the blunt closing scene).
Me too, Kurt. I can’t think of another movie, period, that made me feel as happy as this one did (although Amelie sure comes close). It’s rare for a movie to make you feel something, legitimately feel something, especially nowadays (and particularly in a cinema relased film) and make you carry that feeling after the credits. It happened to me with the phenominal 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days – after watching that movie I felt like the world was total shit.
I’ll wait for H-G-L on DVD. The trailer didn’t annoy me. The use of Lily Allen in the trailer seems appropriate, that character seems like one of her songs come to life.
I can’t say that H-G-L benefits from a big-screen watch. After missing it at TIFF (due to a lost ticket), I simply couldn’t wait to see it as long as Leigh’s films take to get to DVD around here.
As mentioned just about everywhere, H-G-L will make a great double bill with NAKED, a film I might just pick up on the cheap from Criterion this week.