At top, a frame from a chase sequence in Casino Royale.  Above, a frame from a chase sequence in Quantum of Solace.  Notice the difference?

Quantum of SolaceA preview of our James Bond / Quantum of Solace show.

Something occurred to me while watching ‘Changeling’ yesterday - Clint Eastwood’s films are very old-fashioned. He just tells stories, linear narratives with sparing flashbacks (his most recent three or four films in particular have had a penchant for returning to the scene of the crime long after it happened).  This is not a criticism. It means that sometimes (‘Flags of our Fathers’ – young men being used as propaganda tools by the US Government, ‘Unforgiven’ – an old gunslinger regretting the past, ‘Letters from Iwo Jima’ – the other side of a ‘noble’ war) he makes magnificent cinema, because when good craft is applied to simple stories that tell us something new, what’s not to like? On the other hand, sometimes (‘Changeling’ – serial killer in Los Angeles, ‘Space Cowboys’ – old guys having fun together, ‘Blood Work’ – another serial killer in Los Angeles) his films are monotonous, repetitive, and tell us nothing that we didn’t already know.  ‘Changeling’ is well put together (although the script is predictable and cliched at times), but appears to exist for no other reason than to remind us that sometimes terrible things happen in the world; I’m glad Clint is still making films, and hope he goes on forever, but there’s something missing when all your film does is wallow in the horror of something terrible.

Thanks to TFT listener Kiley for pointing out to us that Ridley Scott has signed to direct a film version of ‘Monopoly’.  I’m surprised cause I always thought of the game as more of a Tony Scott project, but there you go.  

This brings to mind some other possible pics; with ‘Hollywood’ creatively bankrupt as it is I wouldn’t be surprised to see the following:

Battleship: Michael Bay

Snakes and Ladders: Martin Scorsese

Operation: David Cronenberg

Crazy 8s: Paul Anderson

Hungry Hungry Hippos: Kevin Smith / The Pow Brothers

Unfortunately, Stanley Kubrick is no longer with us to direct Risk, (which would probably, most probably, been the best board game to film adaptation ever).

Hello there Dear Listener, the Maestro and I have just finished recording this week’s episode, dedicating ourselves to the dicussion of Kubrick’s first feature film ‘Fear and Desire’ and the new Kevin Smith ‘comedy’ ‘Zack and Miri Make a Porno’ (or simply ‘Zack and Miri’, in these Puritanical times).  My genial co-host is surely beavering away on the ‘raw edit’ as we speak…whereas I am about to sit down and watch two films that have nothing to do with each other, namely Ellen Burstyn and Alan Alda in ‘Same Time, Next Year’ and this year’s ‘Get Smart’, about neither of which I know what to expect.  To the matter at hand: last night I spent 84 minutes in the company of Anthony Edwards and Mare Winningham in ‘Miracle Mile’ - a quite astonishing nuclear threat fim from 1988.  As well as being exceptionally well put together - great theatricl set-ups, elegant art directions, soft and engaging performances, it is, quite simply, one of the most depressing films I’ve ever seen.  It came out toward the end of the Cold War era, and reminds me mostly of the excellent 1983 TV movie ‘The Day After’, which famously ends with a radiation-crazy Jason Robards crying out to heaven on the top of a bomb site; and serves as a rare Hollywood political polemic with the guts to end realistically.  It can’t be said that ‘Miracle Mile’ had any practical effect on policy, in the way that ‘The Day After’ did (its director Nicholas Meyer - pretty wonderful writer too - there’d be no ‘Wrath of Khan’ or ‘Seven Percent Solution’ without him received a letter from the Reagan administration stating that his film had affected public perception to the extent that it was impossible to continue the arms race with popular support), partly because its release was so close to the end of the Cold War, but watching it made me thik of the un-fond memories I have of films that depressed the hell out of me. Let’s try ‘Se7en’, ‘A Short Film About Killing’, and ‘Kiss Me Deadly’ for starters.  Would be interested if any Dear Listener has other examples of films that are either depressing, or actually changed the world.  Please do comment below.

Was lucky enough to catch an extremely rare screening of ‘Fear and Desire’ the other day.  If you have any questions about this ‘lost’ Kubrick film let us know and I’ll do my very best to answer them on this week’s show, (as well as giving our usual trenchant commentary on ‘Zack and Miri Make a Porno’ - a film I’m not looking forward to seeing).

TFT 42 - Fear and Desire / Zack and Miri Make a Porno