Everybody Flies

Everybody Flies

Directed by Tristan Loraine, Beth Moran. Cast: Tristan Loraine, Beth Moran, Vivienne Young

Ex BA Captain and now filmmaker, Tristan Loraine gives an in-depth insight (18 years worth of research ) into the world of aviation as he investigates the claim that the air we breathe on a plane can actually be dangerous. A pollutant called tricresyl phosphate (TCP), which is present in the oil used in plane engines, apparently can leak into cabin air supplies and it can lead to serious damage and even cause cancer. This is pretty explosive stuff and one wonders why this isn’t talked more about. It’s all very throughly researched stuff, clearly explained and laid out, with some good interviews from insiders (thought interestingly all the major airplane companies have refused to take part or to comment), but despite containing some truly terrifying claims and information, I felt it never really hit me as it should have. It was all a bit too tame. As a documentary itself, I thought it did pretty much run out of new things to say after about 20 minutes and the rest was just a confirmation what I had heard previously heard. Also I have to say I found the editing a bit slow and pedestrian (I hated the way the commentary was coming in, with the lowering of the sync sound and a long delay of what felt like at least 3 seconds of silence).

Bit aside from this little technical details, I really felt this should have really been a much more “angry” piece of film-making. Dare-I-say, it needed a Michael Moore type of person to expose the scandal!

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Indiana Jones and the temple of doom ()

Director: Steven Spielberg. Cast: Harrison Ford, Kate Capshaw, Ke Huy Quan, Amrish Puri, Roshan Seth.

What!? 5 stars?! I can hear some of you moaning already.Is this film as good as the first one? Well, of course not. But then again, hardly anything is. However, is this one of the most entertaining, fun, dazzling, un-relentlessly inventive and non-stop action film in cinema history? My answer to this second question is also a resounding YES. I never get tired of watching this film, and tonight introducing son to it, with the lights tuned down and the volume at full-blast, was like re-living it for the first time (despite my wife who kept covering his eyes). And it’s to me being biased for Spielberg (well… a little bit). I just can’t think of many action films that are this exciting, scary and fun all at the same time. Let me just remind you: the completely unexpected musical number, the exchange at the round table, the hilarious fight scene among falling white ballots, running behind the big silver gong, falling off the window, the introduction to Short Round driving a car (and that’s all in the first few minutes at the “Obi Wan Club” in Shanghai), the scene with the beetles and the crashing-room with those spikes, the roller coaster chase in the tunnels, the final moment on the bridge, the relentless scene where Indy tries to save Willie from being dipped in lava… (possibly one of the most tense in the entire series), but also some really funny moments too, the banter between Willie and Indy, the Elephants, night-time in the jungle. I know, the film can be very silly at times (falling off the plane on a dingy??!), but it’s not supposed to be taken too seriously, it never was. It’s just a fun ride. It’s definitely darker too. Probably too dark in places. Some people took really against this: Spielberg and Lucas themselves always regretted going a bit too far, but as far as I’m concerned, that never bothered me, and it still doesn’t. I’ve always been a great fan of scary films and as kid (I know… bit of a disturbed child)and I’ve always loved every second of this, especially the darker scenes. We’ve become much too prudent, and politically correct these days and nobody would ever dare showing a chained-up child being used as slave in a family film. And as for the racist undertone, oh well, I’ve grown up all my life watching Italians being depicted as mafiosi: no big deal. I mean, c’mon, it’s a film, after all, for crying out loud! And also, it was the 80s. Everything was allowed.

Beyond all this, this is another masterwork in direction, pace and staging. It’s just a real pleasure to see how Spielberg moves his camera and how it orchestrates it all. More than anyone he knows how to makes us jump, cover our eyes, how to makes us root for his hero. And while all this happens, John Williams comes up once again with some of his best music.

This is what action film should be like, forget about 99% of anything that we get today!

Saint Maud

Saint Maud

Director: Rose Glass. Cast: Morfydd Clark, Jennifer Ehle, Lily Knight

“Saint Maud” is almost the opposite of film about “demonic possessions” as it follows the breakdown of a young live-in nurse (a terrific performance by Morfydd Clark) as she becomes obsessed by her diving mission to save the soul of a terminally ill patient.Make no mistakes, this is a horror film right from the start, but beyond the scary and sinister images, the very creepy atmosphere and a few gruesome moments, “Saint Maud” is first and foremost a character study: a film about loneliness. It’s no secret that director Rose Glass was inspired by Taxi Driver: there’s a lot of that same sense of claustrophobia and psychological unease here. But watching it unfold I was also reminded of Carrie, or rather the mother in that film, another obsessive religious devotee who thinks she’s doing God’s work but actually she’s slowly descending to hell.As the mental breakdown of the young nurse becomes more and more apparent and she gets madder and madder, so is the visual style of the film-making, the camera moves and the soundtrack.I must confess I didn’t love the film as much as many critics did. I found the pace quite slow and a bit indulgent, also I also didn’t think the ending was as shocking as it should have been (especially since you know exactly where it’s all heading to, so there’s no really any surprise, or at least I wasn’t surprised), but there’s no denying that this is an impressive and stylish debut from a new British director which we must watch closely.

Underwater

Underwater (2020)

Director: William Eubank. Cast: Kristen Stewart, Vincent Cassel, Mamoudou Athie

What better film to “inaugurate” the start of a second lockdown than one where people are living in isolation 6 miles under the sea?I remember the trailer looks rather good, so I gave it a go.Well, the start was rather promising and actually quite intriguing: creepy atmosphere… charismatic lead, a mysterious event…Unfortunately after about 20 minutes at the most… it all sunk (pun intended) and became predictable, badly done and actually very boring. There is really not a single original idea in this! I can hear the pitch in Hollywood:- “It’s like Alien meets the Abyss with a bit of the Poseidon adventure”… – “That’s good… And then?” – “Well, that’s it”.Really. That was it! Instantly forgettable and interchangeable characters die one after the other (Vincent Cassel is completely wasted here) while actually very little happens on the screen. Also, a decision was made to film everything in dark murky waters. I don’t know whether that was a stylistic choice or maybe to hide the low budget, but whatever the reason, the result is that I couldn’t really see much. In fairness, “not seen what’s going on” can sometime help to enhance the tension and it can be a pretty effective tool for film-makers… if your name is Ridley Scott, that is.Alas director William Eubank is no Ridley and this is as far away from Alien as you can imagine, despite trying very hard to copy every single thing about it. In the end it’s all very boring and rather predictable. Kristin Stewart, with short bleached hair has a great screen presence and she does her best with the little “material” (if we can call it such) she’s given. She alone manages to lift this up slightly from a complete disaster to a half-watchable B-movie … but really only just.On a positive note: it’s only just over 90 minutes… After this my lockdown looks like a lot more fun.

Available on Sky

Audition (1999)

Audition (Ôdishon) ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Director: Takashi Miike. Cast: Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Tetsu Sawaki 

Tarantino named it a “masterpiece” while many critics consider this a cult classic of Japanese “horror” cinema, and yet somehow “Audition” had always escaped me.

It is fairly slow film that build to its final mad climax and which by the time the credits roll you know it’ll be the thing you’ll remember for the rest of your life. 

Like some of the best from the genre (Rosemary’s baby, just to name one), it all starts off as a “normal” film taking its time to establish the characters and setting up the stage. The film does it pretty well, creating a tense mood and getting inside of the head of our protagonist (though some of the secondary characters end up being slightly irrelevant by the time you get to the end).

It’s finally about 50 minutes into it that you realise “Audition” may actually not be the “romantic” movie they’ve been trying to sell you. Without giving much away (the less you know, the better)I feel I may have to give you note of warning in case you haven’t seen it: this is not for the squeamish people!

I knew I was in for a tough climax and to be honest I have a strong stomach and am quite used to this sort of stuff so I was able to keep my eyes on the screen (… only just).

In fact I thought it would be harder to watch. In the end I felt it all got wrapped up a bit too quickly, especially considering the time it took to get there.

Needless to say, I don’t quite agree with Tarantino. Masterpieces of cinema are well others. I was told this is one of those films that you either love or hate. Well, weirdly I’m right in between. Though I will certainly remember it for quite a while.