Tag: Pete Postlethwaite

Killing Bono / Oranges and Sunshine

A quick trip to the cinema mid-week to chill out towards the end of term. I picked two random movies and ended up with:

Killing Bono

“You made the worst decision of my life!”

Plot-in-a-nutshell: Some schoolfriends in Ireland form a band and completely fail to become U2

I didn’t realise until the opening titles appeared that this was written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, a great writing partnership with an excellent pedigree. I also didn’t twig until he appeared that Pete Postlethwaite was in it, and that this was his last film.

While not a classic, it’s a decent enough high to go out on for him. He plays a small, but highly entertaining part amongst the predominantly younger cast. Said cast is headed by Ben Barnes and Robert Sheehan who play brothers Neil and Ivan McCormick. Back in the day, they went to school with a bunch of kids who decided to make a band and became U2. This is the story of the also-rans.

The chemistry between the brothers is superb, especially as Neil carries a couple of secrets that Ivan doesn’t know about. We pass through their late school years to financial problems and a move to get an album published. It’s all told with the usual pace we’ve come to expect from a Clement/La Frenais script with quite a few laughs and some unexpected yet still believable scenarios.

It’s not a classic by any stretch, but I’ve seen far, far worse films. I certainly didn’t begrudge my time watching it, though I’d not rush out and get a copy to keep when it comes out on DVD as I did with Still Crazy which the pair also wrote.

Rock and roll.

Oranges and Sunshine

Plot-in-a-nutshell: Social worker uncovers government plot… and it’s all true. Based on a biography.

You know how social workers get a bad rep these days? Well, back in the 80’s, one very industrious one stumbled up on a government-run scheme whereby “unwanted” children in care were ferried from the UK to Australia. It gets worse, but I’ll save that for when you go and see the film. Which you should.

That social worker was Margaret Humphreys and she’s played by Emily Watson in this directorial debut from Jim Loach (yes, he is related). The film flits between the UK and Australia as Humphreys attempts to reunite these now-grown children with their pasts while experiencing disbelief and outright threats from some of the bodies involved.

The film is suitable gritty, particularly in the UK scenes, and covers a lot of the story as it takes place over a couple of years. Hugo Weaving gives probably the best performance I’ve ever seen from him as one of the so-called “child migrants”. In fact, there’s not a bad performance in the whole thing. Don’t expect all the events unfolding to have a happy ending, either. It’s just not that kind of story.

The pick of the performances, in my opinion, are from some of the incidental characters – the now-adult children specifically. I swear there are a couple of scenes which look more like they’ve come from a documentary than a scripted film.

A great (if that’s the word) story that only loses out by focussing a little too much on a couple of the characters. I’d have liked more detail on the government angle, though the small number of scenes featuring government officials do manage to get across what a bunch of inept, corrupt ******** they were.

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Solomon Kane

Solomon Kane (film)
Solomon Kane

I saw this last week, but haven’t had time to draft up a review. So here it is. Better because it’s had time to mature. Or something.

Plot-in-a-nutshell: Bad man turns good then turns bad because badder men make him only it’s a good thing.

Robert E. Howard is most famous for bringing Conan to the world of fantasy. He did create a few other characters, such as King Kull, Sailor Steve Costigan and the Puritan warrior Solomon Kane.

Kane makes for an interesting hero. A sailor and soldier who has fought under Admiral Drake. He turns to a life of treasure hunting and greed, caring not a jot for the lives of anyone. Until he finds out that Satan’s decided that his soul would make a very tasty morsel, renounces all evil and locks himself away in a monastery.

The very opening scene is incredibly Indiana Jones-esque as Kane (James Purefoy) and his band of not-so-merry men find a temple ripe for the ransacking. As the men are plucked off, Kane concentrates on only gold and glory. This is the turning point in his life.

The character we encounter shortly afterwards is a changed man, hiding so that his soul won’t be nabbed and used as a toothpick by the Lord of Darkness. Kane can no longer lead the life he did. Kill another man and his soul is forfeit.

Kane is soon befriended by a small family (including Pete Postlethwaite), travelling home by horse and cart. Unfortunately for Kane, or actually more unfortunately for the family, nasty men are busy killing menfolk and enslaving their women. One such party provokes Kane to such a degree that blood is spilt and he finds himself on a quest while trying to keep the devil off his back.

It’s a simple plot, but played well. There are no great surprises and it follows sword and sorcery rules – which it should as Howard pretty much wrote the book on them. There are witches, mutants, wizards, devilspawn, lackeys, maidens, lords, intrigue, betrayal, swords, axes, zombies… it’s all there.

Like The Wolfman which I saw a short while before, this is as good an example of this genre as you’re likely to get in this modern day. Well made, well acted and lovely effects. Just right for switching the brain off and enjoying a little brutal action.

It really has me hoping that someone has the guts to make a new Conan film with a decent cast and a proper budget. As long as they stick closely to one or other of the books.

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