Morecambe & Wise Christmas Specials (1993)

Rating: 80%



(www.telegraph.co.uk)

Although excellent comics, there is too much topical humour for future generations to fully appreciate their wit. A pity since they are genuinely funny performers who could probably get away with even the weak material of which there is very little here. Funny in themselves, not just because they say funny things: A genuine gestalt that makes them a true comedy dream-team.

Being much loved they could, well almost, do no wrong in the public's eyes. They are every bit as good as their idols, Laurel & Hardy, and, for those who remember them (& witness the parlous state of tv comedy today), they shall be sorely and rightly missed for some time to come.

The highlight is the involvement of Andre Previn (Mr Preview), which has to be seen to be believed as the conductor nearly becomes a third member of this great double act.

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Copyright © 2009 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker.blogspot.com) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved.

Singing Detective (1986)

Rating: 80%



(www.npr.org)

A tv series about death and decay that tries hard not to be as iatrogenically-depressing as Librium.

The acting is first-rate and particularly well presents human pleasures - in often-humorous terms. Medical professionals offer patronising advice while sucking the fun out of life; making us wonder if the soulless longevity they tacitly promise is actually worth it.

Well written and thematically interesting, yet indicating its author has run out of plot gimmicks since he just reprises the musical style of his earlier Pennies from Heaven. The song & dance numbers merely tell us how characters feel rather than offering insights into how they got that way.

Ultimately, this detective seeks only himself and why he distrusts women. Without a love story, there is only morbid sex obsession as thin material stretches to repetitious length.

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Copyright © 2009 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker.blogspot.com) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved.

Lonesome Dove (1989)

Rating: 80%



(www.billdeyoung.com)

Elegant and superbly-written drama about ageing cowpunchers on a long cattle drive, portrayed by excellent character actors: Chris COOPER, Robert DUVALL, Danny GLOVER & Tommy Lee JONES.

Although not consistently-brilliant, there are enough good performances to draw us into this elegy. Moreover, the slight plot allows the characters to come to the fore: We get to know them as people - and like them warts ‘n’ all.

Unusually, this contains dark hints that the United States was founded on a so-called civilising holocaust; killing anyone that made the Wild West interesting in the first place.

The old (unlike the young, here) have learned to take pleasure in everyday things and to not dwell too much on their defeats. As in all the best Westerns, women exist to provide men with a justification for their behaviour and reward them in their choosing one man over another.

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Copyright © 2009 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker.blogspot.com) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved.

Untergang (2004)

RATING:	100%
FORMAT:	Cinema

(http://galleryhip.com)

[Downfall]

Although a little too long, this is definitively the best and most historically accurate Hitler movie of them all. Revealing the fuehrer's human face, as a kindly and understanding employer, is the most shocking content. As, indeed, is the realization that White, Western culture can so easily descend into depravity despite its apparently civilized veneer.

Bruno GANZ is superb as the Herrenvolk obsessive trapped by his own delusions – some of which will make you laugh, in spite of yourself. The terror on his subordinates faces as he commands panzer divisions against the advancing Russians in Berlin (that they are too scared to insist are imaginary) perfectly demonstrates his schizophrenic mindset. Alexandra Maria LARA (as one of his secretaries) expertly humanizes what could have been an unedifying trawl through human weakness.

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Copyright © 2009 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker5.blogspot.co.uk) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved.