Finally....

What can I say - I've been busy organising Richard Attenborough events, trips to the Panopticon, and finishing off my post grad. Anyway here we are so let's catch up - first things first, Choke.

Choke symbolises a lot of what is wrong with indie movies these days. It tries to tick too many boxes - casting Sam Rockwell, playing with narrative structure, daring themes, graphic sexual content - and ends up not actually making a lot of sense.

The film takes its title from a sub plot in which Rockwell scams people by pretending to choke, allowing them to save him, and then leech off them for the rest of his life. But of course he's not a real scam artist, he's only doing it to raise the cash he needs to keep his mother in an institution where she can be cared for in the advanced stages of dementia.

There's also a bizarre sub plot about Rockwell's real dad, an affair with the increasingly engaging Kelly Macdonald, and some nonsense about Rockwell's pal and his stripper girlfriend. There's altogether too much going on to be completely satisfying and as a result the ending seems arbitrary and unearned.

On the plus side it features one of the only two Rockwell performances I've enjoyed and Kelly Maconald is always good value.

Speaking of unearned and aribitrary endings, I also saw Body of Lies which squanders a lot of talent in a story that doesn't so much end as stop in its tracks. I've recommended it to Richard so he can use it as an example of how not to write a film; there's no third act and none of the characters has a dramatic arc.

Also this week I caught up with Gomorrah, an Italian film which invokes the neo-realist tradition in its story of the Mafia in modern Naples. The action is brutal and arbitrary - rapidly becoming the word of the day - but as in all neo-realist films it is neither glamourised or dwelt one. A terrific piece of work and definitely one to recommend to DFTV3 given that we have just started on Italian cinema.

And speaking of terrific work, Mickey Rourke is just marvelous in The Wrestler. Being old enough to remember Rourke at the start of his career I always thought he was the one among all his contemporaries who would have a lasting career. As it happened he didn't, largely through surrendering to a variety of demons. The character he plays in this film has done much the same thing and some of Rourke's longer speeches are surely meditations on his own life and career. Whatever the reason it's a hugely satisfying film which should get at least an Oscar nomination for Rourke.

Speaking of Oscars, Frost/Nixon is on the radar this week so in that apples vs. oranges way it will be interesting to see if Frank Langella is a better bet than Mickey Rourke.

Catching up

After more than 25 years in the private sector I still can't quite get used to public holidays but loving the experience. So, long weekends leave lots of time for catching up on viewing including Quantum of Solace.

It was good but not great; there was no narrative to speak of, just a long and increasingly incoherent collection of set pieces. The Tosca scene in particular was where you could audibly hear the audience lose interest - it felt more like tying up loose ends and setting the groundwork for the rest of the Craig franchise than a film in its own right. Was however fortunate enough to see a digital projection and the clarity of image is very impressive.

Much better was The Brave One which I caught on Sky; a perfect example of how a genre movie can rise above the confines of its class with intelligence and talent. This could have been a Death Wish remake but Neil Jordan's examination of the nature of grief and the part of us which we do not admit to made it constantly absorbing. Jodie Foster was remarkable in the lead with a performance which played like an exposed nerve. The title sucked - obviously decided by a focus group.

Also caught the first two episodes of the new series of Spooks. Goobye Rupert Penry Jones, hello Richard Armitage who is bound to make an impression before his inevitable dramatic farewell. I love the style and look of this show which manages to out-American the Americans. A perfect example of how not to do that came with Flood which I also caught up with. Mesmerically bad and with a cast that includes Bobby Carlyle and Tom Courtenay a salutary reminder that even the best actors have mortgages.

The perfect end to a weekend

I've just watched my recording of the Burt Bacharach concert as part of the BBC Electric Proms season. (Either ask your parents or check out the red interactive button for highlights if you need to know who he is) The man is a genius and I couldn't help reflecting (see what I did there?) as I was watching that he defined the cinematic sound of the sixties and seventies. A guilty pleasure but a treat nonetheless.