Film nite 24: Emma's pick Jaws

Film nite 23: Bryan's pick - Beyond the Fringe

Whistle and I’ll Come to You (1968) Dir: Jonathan Miller



A university professor, confident that everything which occurs in life has a rational explanation, finds his beliefs severely challenged when, during a vacation to a remote coastal village in Norfolk, he blows through an ancient whistle discovered on a beach, awakening horrors beyond human understanding.

Bedazzled (1967) Dir: Stanley Donnen



Stanley is a short order cook, infatuated with Margaret, the statuesque waitress who works at Wimpy Burger with him. Despondent, he prepares to end it all when he meets George Spiggott AKA the devil. Selling his soul for 7 wishes, Stanley tries to make Margaret his own first as an intellectual, then as a rock star, then as a wealthy industrialist. As each fails, he becomes more aware of how empty his life had been and how much more he has to live for.

Film Nite 22: Graham's pick

Brought to you by the dark recesses of my mind, Film Nite 22 promises to be the 'worst' yet.

We'll kick things off with perhaps the most awful eighties action flick of them all: Deadly Prey. I've had the pleasure of writing up this bad boy for my blog, so I'll bore you on my site, rather than here, if you'd like to find out more: http://www.filmgumbo.com/2012/01/they-made-me-view-it-deadly-prey-1987.html

The second film is perhaps the greatest aerobics-based movie ever made in 1984, Heavenly Bodies: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087399/. Emma and I had the pleasure of watching it with over 100 knowing LA-residents at the infamous New Beverly Theatre and loved every dreadful second of it.

Film nite 21: Lizzie's pick - KUNG w00o!!

My double bill of martial arts comedy nonsense. There will be Drunken Master, an early and very silly Jackie Chan film; and there will be Kung Fu Hustle, Stephen Chow’s cartoony and perhaps sillier still chopsocky homage. Both are a lot of fun and feature quite dazzling feats of acrobatic falling-over.

Film Nite 20: Kate's choice "The (Hollywood) Hills are alive with the sound of music..."

Film nite #20 is a (faintly seedy) music double bill. First up is 'Gainsbourg' (2010), a Serge biopic. Biopics can faul foul of being overly detail-orientated and lacking spark, this film (for me) succeeds due to a decent injection of imagination and is also visually stunning. Much of its success is also down to the superb leads. Eric Elmosnino dazzles as Serge, Lucy Gordon (Birkin) and Laetitia Casta (Bardot) are both perfect, charming and very charismatic. Whilst the film is reasonably accurate in terms of Serge's life, it doesn't slavishly follow the details preferring a more characterful, loose approach, somewhat reflecting the man himself. Oh and it's stylish as fook.

Second up is Dig! (2004). A documentary detailing jaw-dropping levels of ego, rivalry and obsession is about two bands who started off as friends and peers, The Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre. A righteous-indignation-off unfolds between the two bands, focussing on main protagonists, BJM's frontman, fantasist and a*hole Anton Newcombe and The Dandy's possibly even more odious and opportunistic frontman, Courtney Taylor. The results are both hilarious and appalling in equal measure. Mostly hilarious....

Film Nite 19: Emma's choice "bought to you by the letter E, an Ealing double bill"

It's the fag end of winter: it's cold and grey; you're skint; you've not seen the sun for months and your skin is so pale it glows in the dark. What better counterpoint to this abject misery than some rollicking, charming and cheeky Ealing comedies: "Kind Hearts and Coronets" (1949) followed by "The Lavender Hill Mob" (1951).

Both star everyone's cinematic surrogate grandfather, Alec Guiness, on top form.

To fully restore your faith in humankind and the world in general, look out for the scene in Lavender Hill Mob where Stanley Holloway and Alex Guinness are descending the Eiffel Tower - it's magic!

Film Nite 18: Jimmy's choice "Terror Beyond the Stars"

Film Nite 17: Kev & Elisa's "Fake Musicians"

Sweet and Lowdown:

 This is Spinal Tap: