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Showing posts from June, 2023

TUNNEL VISION (IRVINE WELSH'S CRIME, SERIES ONE)

© Britbox & ITV It's taken almost two years for 'Irvine Welsh's Crime' to make its way onto terrestrial television. An adaptation of his novel of the same name about a committed Edinburgh cop with a dark secret, the show originally appeared on the Britbox streaming service in November 2021. Welsh's 2008 novel was a sequel to his 1998 book ' Filth' which was made into a movie 15 years later by Jon S Baird with James McAvoy playing the misanthropic, manipulative cop Detective Sergeant Bruce Robinson. That black comedy featured Jamie Bell as a rookie Detective Ray Lennox who benefitted from the fall of McAvoy's corrupt cop. © Britbox & ITV Stepping into the role of Lennox, though, for this six part TV series is Dougray Scott who portrays him as a driven policeman whose career has seen better days. In the show, which has been made available for streaming on ITVx before its terrestrial television debut, Lennox wears the emotional scars of years of po

SPOOKING SNOOK (RUN RABBIT RUN)

© Netflix Ah, the creepy child. There's nothing horror filmmakers love more than children who can spook audiences. Child actors whose characters tap into the paranormal are like gold to directors. Whether it's Damien in 'The Omen' or Regan in 'The Exorcist,' Cole in 'The Sixth Sense,' Carol Anne in 'Poltergeist' or Samuel Vanek in 'The Babadook,' cinema is full of kids delivering icy glares and equally chilling lines. © Netflix Now the Australian actress and director Diana Reid and her fellow countrywoman, the writer Hannah Kent have recruited Lily LaTorre for that purpose in the movie 'Run Rabbit Run'. Acquired by Netflix, the film screened at this year's Sundance Festival after being optioned in 2020. The lead role was originally earmarked for Elisabeth Moss who Reid had worked with before on Hulu's dystopian hit series 'The Handmaid's Tale'. However when she had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts, Reid

AGONISING CHOICES (BEST INTERESTS)

© BBC The rise of screenwriter Jack Thorne continues, with his latest work which is a challenging four part BBC1 miniseries. 'Best Interests' is a drama about a couple divided over the future of medical support for their muscular dystrophy suffering daughter. It's ia typically sensitive treatment of a difficult subject from a writer who has consistently shown a willingness to confront tricky subjects. In previous miniseries like Channel 4's ' National Treasure ,' ' Kiri ,' ' The Virtues ' and ' The Accident ,' Thorne has tackled the #MeToo scandals, child adoption, PTSD from sexual abuse and corporate manslaughter. © BBC In order to win over viewers, 'Best Interests' must, like its predecessors, have a really top notch cast on top of their game. Fortunately, director Michael Keillor has recruited a high calibre of lead actors. Sharon Horgan and Michael Sheen are cast as Nicci and Andrew, the parents of Niamh Moriarty's 13 year

BLOOD BROTHERS (GUY RITCHIE'S THE COVENANT)

© MGM & Amazon Prime Okay, you might need to take a seat for this. Guy Ritchie has actually made a half decent film. Yeah, I know. Even I can't believe it. It's not a stone cold classic. © MGM & Amazon Prime It's far from perfect. However his latest work for Amazon Prime is several furlongs ahead of the usual Mockney guff that he trots out. A war movie about deeds of derring do involving US troops in Afghanistan, 'Guy Ritchie's The Covenant' stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Special Operations Master Sergeant John Kinley whose interpreter is killed during a Taliban bomb attack on his platoon. Set in 2018, Kinley hires Dar Salim's interpreter Ahmed Abdullah as his replacement. © MGM & Amazon Prime It soon becomes clear that Ahmed has more than just decent language skills. He quickly establishes himself as an invaluable member of the platoon which, in typical Ritchie fashion, is full of soldiers with nicknames like Sean Sagar's Charlie 'Jizzy' C

COMMUNITY CHANCE (THE GALLOWS POLE)

© BBC, A24, Element Pictures & Big Arty Productions Have you ever wondered what it would be like if Ken Loach was asked to direct a ' Peaky Blinders ' style costume drama? Then you are kind of in the right ballpark with Shane Meadows' BBC2 series 'The Gallows Pole'. Meadows is, of course, an accomplished English indie filmmaker in his own right. Best known for his film ' This Is England ' and its spin-off Channel 4 TV series, he first burst onto the scene in 1996 with the 60 minute Nottingham comedy drama ' Small Time ' about petty criminals. © BBC, A24, Element Pictures & Big Arty Productions However it was his follow-up one year later, ' Twenty Four Seven ' with Bob Hoskins as a boxing coach working with young people in a struggling community that really elevated him as a home bred English filmmaking talent. Since then, Meadows has steered a resolutely indie path with movies like ' A Room For Romeo Brass ,' ' Once Upon A