The Shield

After watching 89 episodes of 7 seasons of US TV's The Shield DVD box set over the last 4 months, I finally reached the end the other day. It's 'the story of an inner-city Los Angeles police precinct where some of the cops aren't above breaking the rules or working against their associates to both keep the streets safe and their self-interests intact.'


An awesome made-for-TV series, engaging beyond the norm of television. Dating from 2002-08, it was shown on FiveUSA UK Channel at 11pm on Sunday nights, a time guaranteed not to hit the jackpot in our household.

Vic Mackey, the lead character played by Michael Chiklis, is so watchable as the bad-but-good detective who does everything his way. The sub-plots in each episode all wind cleverly around each other - both the writing and the editing are excellent. The visual work, done by two hand-held cameramen, is what is said to give The Shield its unique look and feel.


Forest Whitaker (who won an Oscar for The Last King of Africa) plays an internal investigator Jon Kavanaugh who Mackey consistently manages to stay one step ahead of,  and Glenn Close, who briefly takes over as the police station Captain; both feature in just a couple of the seasons.

IMDB 8.9/10 - and worth every decimal point above the 8. 


89 x 45min episodes (plus the voiceovers and deleted scenes) amount to nearly three days of my life - a sobering thought, but only lost sleep, really. To think I have never even watched a single episode of The Sopranos, yet. Only 5 more seasons to watch of West Wing, too... No wonder TV is so much more 'on demand' nowadays. No adverts, either, if you use the boxed DVD sets.

A Single Man (2009)

Based on the novel by Christopher Isherwood and set around 1962, this is a tour de force for lead actor Colin Firth and was shot in just 21 days. It gained him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor and a 2010 BAFTA win for his performance of a gay professor distraught over his lost love. Mr Darcy doing a skinny dip in Santa Monica doubtless provides some satisfaction and eye-candy for the ladies? Great scene with Colin dancing with Julianne Moore to Booker T's Green Onions. Unusual line about asking an old lesbian whether she was 'hung like a doughnut'. Good performance also from Nicholas Hoult (the young lad in About a Boy with Hugh Grant and in BBC's Skins). First-time direction from fashion designer (Gucci creative director and his own Tom Ford label) Tom Ford.

IMDB 7.7/10

Brothers (2009)

From IMDB (7.3/10): 'Before leaving on his second tour in Afghanistan, Marine Captain Sam Cahill, a leader, an athlete, a good husband and father, welcomes his screw-up brother Tommy home from prison. He'd robbed a bank. In country, Sam's helicopter is shot down and all are presumed dead. Back home, while Sam wastes away as a prisoner in a remote Afghanistan encampment, Tommy tries to take care of the widow and her two children. While imprisoned, Sam experiences horrors unbearable, so when he's rescued and returns home, he's silent, detached, without affect, and he's convinced his wife and brother have slept together. Demons of war possess him; what will silence them?' 

 Good movie, worth watching.

Dead Man Walking (1995)

With an Oscar-winning performance from Susan Sarandon, Dead Man Walking (written and directed by Tim Robbins) is pretty harrowing. It traces the relationship between death-row inmate Matthew Poncelet (Sean Penn) and the local nun to whom he turns for spiritual guidance in the days leading up to his scheduled execution. Matt has been convicted of the rape and murder of two young lovers and is awaiting execution by lethal injection on death row. Sarandon plays Sister Helen Prejean (on whose book the film is based) with all the angst the part requires; she's a nun who has devoted herself to God and to helping the less fortunate, Prejean faces a moral crisis as she tries to reconcile her anti-death penalty views with the truth of Poncelet's actions and the pain felt by the victims' families. Heavy duty, thought-provoking and duly heaped with Oscar nominations.

Bad hair day throughout for Sean Penn. Cameo role for a young Jack Black as one of Poncelet's brothers. Excellent final credits song by Bruce Springsteen.

An eye for an eye? IMDB 7.6/10

Rather liked the following parody, which I found while picture researching:

Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) wrote the following poem in 1899,  but it is unconnected with the term used in US prisons. They hail me as one living, But don’t they know That I have died of late years, Untombed although? I am but a shape that stands here, A pulseless mould, A pale past picture, screening Ashes gone cold. Not at a minute’s warning, Not in a loud hour, For me ceased Time’s enchantments In hall and bower. There was no tragic transit, No catch of breath, When silent seasons inched me On to this death. . . . A Troubadour-youth I rambled With Life for lyre, The beats of being raging In me like a fire. But when I practised eyeing The goal of men, It iced me, and I perished A little then. When passed my friend, my kinsfolk Through the last Door, And left me standing bleakly, I died yet more; And when my Love’s heart kindled In hate of me, Wherefore I knew not, died I One more degree. And if when I died fully I cannot say, And changed into the corpse-thing I am to-day. Yet is it that, though whiling The time somehow In walking, talking, smiling, I live not now.

Harry Brown (2009)

Darkly violent and poignant movie about endemic drugs and crime amid a London sink estate. Former Marine, Harry Brown (Michael Caine), a widowed Northern Ireland veteran and senior citizen lives on an Elephant and Castle housing estate rapidly descending into serious youth crime. Harry takes up vigilante methods to curb crime after an old friend is murdered. IMDB 7.5/10


From The Grauniad filmblog:


The Tories have taken to presenting Harry Brown as somehow authenticating their "Broken Britain" campaign. "Once in a while, a movie comes along that has genuine social and political content and deserves to be treated as a commentary on contemporary mores," avers former Spectator editor Matthew d'Ancona. Apparently, the Brit vigilante flick "most definitely falls into this category". The film "portrays a society that is utterly disfigured." All Londoners should see it, because it will show them "the brutal reality" of life on their city's "forgotten estates, especially south of the river". (The writer begs to differ ...read on here)

Seabiscuit (2003)

Engaging 2003 film based on the true story of Seabiscuit, an unlikely racehorse winner in 1930s' US. Jeff Bridges plays the owner, Tobey (Spider-Man) Maguire the irrepressible jinja jockey, Red Pollard, and Chris Cooper the quiet but effective trainer.

Rich colours throughout and an equally rich, piano-based soundtrack from Randy Newman. IMDB 7.4/10

Mystic River (2003)

IMDB 8.0/10

Hauntingly successful movie, directed by Clint Eastwood, from 2003. Sean Penn plays moody well and Tim Robbins is bemused (and besmirched), while Kevin Bacon plays the cool cop. Gripped throughout. Eastwood's two-fingered piano approach to the soundtrack served him well, as did his son, Kyle.

The History Boys (2006)

IMDB 6.7/10

Well-written screen adaptation of the play by Alan Bennett. Great interplay between the two teachers and the boys. 

In 1980s Britain, a group of young men at Cutlers' Grammar School all have the brains, and the will to earn the chance of getting accepted in the finest universities in the nation, Oxford and Cambridge. Despite the fine teaching by excellent professionals like Mrs Lintott in history and the intellectually enthusiastic Hector in General Studies, the Headmaster is not satisfied. He signs on the young Irwin to polish the students' style to give them the best chance. In this mix of intellectualism and creative spirit that guides a rigorous preparation regime for that ultimate educational brass ring, the lives of the randy students and the ostensibly restrained faculty intertwine that would change their lives forever. Written by Kenneth Chisholm (kchishol@rogers.com)

The Last King of Scotland (2007)

Really enjoyed this movie, particularly James McAvoy's performance alongside Forest Whitaker's Best Actor 2007 Oscar  performance. Gruesome towards the end - sometimes the truth hurts - and Idi Amin was a brutal dictator.

IMDB 7.8/10: In the early 1970s, Nicholas Garrigan, a young semi-idealistic Scottish doctor, comes to Uganda to assist in a rural hospital. Once there, he soon meets up with the new President, Idi Amin, who promises a golden age for the African nation. Garrigan hits it off immediately with the rabid Scotland fan, who soon offers him a senior position in the national health department and becomes one of Amin's closest advisers. However as the years pass, Garrigan cannot help but notice Amin's increasingly erratic behavior that grows beyond a legitimate fear of assassination into a murderous insanity that is driving Uganda into bloody ruin. Realizing his dire situation with the lunatic leader unwilling to let him go home, Garrigan must make some crucial decisions that could mean his death if the despot finds out. Written by Kenneth Chisholm (kchishol@rogers.com)

The Simpson Movie (2007)

The Simpsons Movie.  Everything you'd expect and more from the Simpsons team. IMDB 7.6/10.
From the great wit and wisdom sayings of Homer: "That was the most incredible experience of my life! And now, to find my family, save my town, and drop ten pounds..."; "I dunno what to tell you, Marge! I don't think about things. I mean, I respect those who do, but... I just try and make the day not hurt until I can crawl back in with you," and fromPresident Schwarzenegger: "I was elected to lead, not read."

The Hurt Locker (2008)

BAFTA- and Oscar-winning (2010 Best Film/Motion Picture), impressive Iraq war movie in the same vein as HBO's Generation Kill. Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, who won Best Achievement in Directing 2010 Oscar. A cast of mainly unknown actors (although Ralph Fiennes puts in a short-lived appearance as a Brit). Only 7.8/10 on IMDB, but maybe that's because the subject matter - about the operations of a US army bomb squad (Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit) and their reckless sergeant leader played by Jeremy Renner (Sergeant First Class William James) - is not everyone's cup of tea. Right up my street, though. Highly recommended.

Enemy At The Gates (2001)

Captivating WWII movie from 2001, starring Jude Law (Vassili Zaitev)), Joseph Fiennes (Danilov), Rachel Weisz (Tania) and Bob Hoskins (Kruschev). The story involves the sparring between a Russian and a German sniper on either side of the 1942 bloody Battle of Stalingrad, plus an undercurrent of Law and Fiennes sparring for the love of Tania. 'Inspired by a true story', which gives it an edge. 

IMDB 7.4/10
http://www.2worldwar2.com/stalingrad.htm
BBC: Hitler's Invasion of Russia in World War Two

Up (2009) - Disney animated

IMDB 8.4/10


Maybe I wasn't in the right mood, but Disney's highly-acclaimed 2009 animated movie Up didn't quite ignite the fire of delight that I was expecting. Perhaps it would have been more impressive in the cinema large screen? As it was, the quality on TV was exceptional - like nothing I've seen before. But I enjoyed Ratatouille more. Maybe it was the subject matter...


Official Disney site is here.

Up In The Air (2009)

Enjoyable movie. Eye candy for the boys (Vera Farmiga) and girls (George Clooney). Nice twist, as expected. Subject matter close to us all at one time or another, I guess: redundancy. Worthy of an Oscar for Clooney? Not really.

IMDB 7.9/10

36 - Quai des Orfèvres (2006)

Just caught up with this excellent French thriller starring Gerard Depardieu (as Denis Klein) and Daniel Auteuil (as Leo Vrinks) and a proper plot.

From the BBC website: Admit it: we live in a world full of mediocre crime thrillers. Still, that means that when a film such as Olivier Marchal's 36 comes along, it's all the more exhilarating. In this near pitch-perfect study of ambition and revenge, two battle-worn alpha policemen - French masters Gérard Depardieu and Daniel Auteuil - go head to head in Paris, to catch a gang of murderous armed robbers. A stellar cast, a great story, and some momentous shoot-outs; what more could you want?

IMDB 7.2/10

The Kingdom (2007)

The Kingdom (dir Peter Berg) IMDB 7.1/10 - well earned, for an action movie.

Four FBI agents (inc Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Garner)) fly into Saudi to investigate a terrorist attack and get mixed up in a whole lot of trouble. Bullets flying everywhere, but nobody gets hurt (well, actually, lots of people do). Rather poppy, guitar-based soundtrack by Danny Elfman.

An Education (2009)

A coming-of-age story about a teenage girl (beautifully played by Carey Mulligan) in 1960s' suburban London, and how her life changes with the arrival of a suitor nearly twice her age. BAFTA-nominated. Quite captivating in its own way; low-budget, with BBC funding and obviously good PR behind it, but, really, is it that special? 
IMDB 7.7/10 is an accurate assessment, I feel.

The Passenger - animation short

http://chrisj.com.au/thepassenger/

and here's another Passenger:

Green Mile (1999)

Green Mile: IMDB 8.3/10 - how come it's taken me 11 years to see this film?

Seriously long (3 hours), good v evil, man v mouse (TomKat's catering got the food credit), great mouse theme from composer Thomas Newman, some good come-uppances, great twists. Great in HD bluray. Different, yet damn good. No numb bum syndrome, either.

The Hangover (2009)

The Hangover - at last a really funny movie. Las Vegas-based, road movie with good twists, real laugh-out-loud moments and fast-paced.

IMDB 8.0/10 here