Netflix And Chill: Ladies First (2026)

If Ladies First had been made in the 1980s then it might seem like something fun and harmless. It could make use of some comedy stars to have some fun with the deep-rooted problems in a patriarchal society that would seem ripe for an overhaul. As a film released in 2026, however, it's just a depressing reminder of how little progress has been made throughout modern history. And it doesn't have the right lead actor needed to make it an amusing enough distraction.

Sacha Baron Cohen plays a male chauvinist pig named Damien Sachs. Working for a company that needs some better optics, he promotes the talented Alex Fox (Rosamund Pike), but doesn't really want to take note of her good ideas. He doesn't really want her input on anything at all, because he and his colleagues are used to completely ignoring women unless they're trying to sleep with them. That becomes a big problem when Damien hits his head and wakes up in a world where the roles are reversed. Women are in charge, and he will be trapped there until he can figure out a way to get into a top management position.

I actually wondered why I didn't have more fun with this, but writing out that plot summary has clarified things for me. This is a Netflix film based on another Netflix film, "Je Ne Suis Pas Un Homme Facile", which may not seem like a great idea, but there's just about enough talent behind and in front of the camera to make it work. If only anyone involved actually made some effort.

Director Thea Sharrock doesn't do much to liven things up, settling for a reliance on numerous production design gags (various ads using males in very little clothing, Burger Queen, etc.), and writers Natalie Krinsky, Cinco Paul, and Katie Silberman seem so busy having fun with the role reversal concept that they forget to pack in more gags or any storyline that viewers may actually care about. Everything about this, from the obviousness of the jokes to the character names (male character names Sachs, female is Fox, and even a character our lead needs to pursue as he tries to get promotion is named Chase), is lazy.

There are better performances from most of the other players, but Cohen cannot make his main character work, which is a big negative. He can be cocky and rude, believably sexist for most of the runtime, but there's nothing tempering that, either because of the writing or because Cohen cannot manage to add a touch of honey to his sharpness. Pike is much better, but even she is unable to do anything truly great with what she's given. Fiona Shaw presents a riff on a character that she's done a number of times before (she's very good at being the polite Brit who also happens to be struggling to contain a burning passion), Richard E. Grant is amusing enough as he portrays "Pigeon Man", and there are decidedly okay turns from Emily Mortimer, Tom Davis, Charles Dance, Bill Paterson, and Kathryn Hunter, to namecheck the main faces I recognised.

I had heard bad things about this before I pressed play, but I figured that it was just being dismissed by people who weren't in the mood for some silliness. I was wrong. Silly isn't bad. Silly and lazy and unfunny is bad. Did I smirk a couple of times? Yes. Did I laugh enough times to be able to rate this as a comedy? Not even close.

3/10

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Prime Time: Death Of A Unicorn (2025)

Despite the general negative reviews I saw for Death Of A Unicorn, I held out hope that I would enjoy it. There's a decent idea at the heart of it (some people hit a unicorn with their car, and it's not long until some mono-horned revenge seems to be on the cards) and a great cast. In fact, my hopes would have been even higher for this if I'd known in advance that it not only included Paul Rudd, Jenna Ortega, Téa Leoni, and Richard E. Grant, but also Will Poulter, Sunita Mani, Anthony Carrigan, and Jessica Hynes.

Rudd and Ortega play Elliot and Ridley, a father and daughter heading to an important weekend event which could improve Elliot's earning potential. He has to schmooze his super-rich boss (Grant) and his family (his wife, played by Leoni, and son, played by Poulter). Things are complicated by the fact that Elliot hits and kills a unicorn on the drive there. Well . . . he THINKS he has killed it. There's no time to mourn for the beast though, nor appreciate the majesty of it, when the assembled rich folk realise that unicorns have magical healing properties.

The first full feature helmed by writer-director Alex Scharfman, this is full of amateur errors, although it must also be said that Scharfman does well with the visuals and his ensemble cast. He cannot nail down the tone though, starting things off with an emphasis on black comedy, trying to then deliver some scenes of tension and gore, and then swerving back to the comedy, but not without shoe-horning in some unearned emotional moments in the third act. The 107-minute runtime makes the whole thing feel a bit baggy, most of the dialogue lacks a required sharpness, and the very end scenes add to a feeling of the whole thing just being ever so slightly pointless.

Rudd is good, even if he is asked to dull his light slightly, while Ortega strives to make more of her part than just being "moody girl who sees the truth ahead of everyone else". Grant and Leoni are effortlessly enjoyable in roles that they could do in their sleep, and Poulter has the most fun of anyone onscreen, playing his part with a hilarious mix of selfishness, stupidity, and attempted menace. Hynes is an interesting choice for her character, and I must admit to being so delighted to see her in such an unexpected role that she didn't have to do any more than be present onscreen to keep me happy, and both Mani and Carrigan are used to highlight the huge chasm that exists between the haves and the have-nots (aka the employees).

This could have been so much more. Some decent creature design aside, it's a visually unappealing film, the main message running through it has been conveyed so much better in a number of better movies released in the past few years, and I would even say that the music by Giosuè Greco and Dan Romer is sadly lacking something. All of the ingredients are here, but only one or two can still be tasted by the time the lacklustre end result is served up.

4/10

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Shudder Saturday: The Spine Of Night (2021)

I tried to watch The Spine Of Night before, but things conspired against me. I ended up busier than expected, had to stop the film, and then just never got back to it. I always thought I was missing out, and I figured that the film might be something I would love. A year or so later, I discover that I was completely wrong. The Spine Of Night is a boring waste of a great cast.

Described on IMDb as an "ultra-violent, epic fantasy set in a land of magic" that "follows heroes from different eras and cultures battling against a malevolent force", this is all about a powerful woman (Tzod, voiced by Lucy Lawless) who battles to retain possession of a mystical flower known as the Bloom. It, or something akin to it, has been guarded by others over many years (with one of those guardians voiced by Richard E. Grant), but it has fallen into the hands of a major baddie named Ghal-Sur (Jordan Douglas Smith).

Co-written and co-directed by Philip Gelatt and Morgan Galen King, this rotoscoped dark fantasy has a number of obvious influences feeding into it, and anyone who enjoys those influences should find something to like here, but they will struggle to maintain that enjoyment as the film makes one mis-step after another. Although the runtime is only 93 minutes, the pacing makes it feel much longer, and makes it feel like quite a slog at times. The characters are hard to care about, the environments shown onscreen feel like disconnected backgrounds, as opposed to a real world, and the central quest never becomes as interesting or involving as it should be.

The animation style also works against it slightly. I appreciate some good rotoscoping, but it works best when it feels like a vital component. This is a choice, and an ill-advised one. There's nothing here that couldn't have been improved by either a different style of animation or, perhaps, a live-action presentation of the unfolding events.

As for the cast, both Lawless and Grant are great picks for their roles, Smith does well as the villain, and there are roles for Patton Oswalt, Joe Manganiello, and Larry Fessenden, as well as quite a few others, but nobody is given good enough material to work with. I don't mind something that mixes in plenty of familiar elements, there's a comfort and fun in enjoying ingredients mixed into a new recipe, but this feels, perhaps as intended, like a tale that was written back in the 1970s and dusted off for modern audiences without any extra re-writing or polishing of the material.

I could recommend you plenty of animated movies to watch ahead of this, from the fantasy, sci-fi, and horror genres, and some of those show a much better way to make use of rotoscoping. I'm sure The Spine Of Night has some fans, but I'm never going to want to revisit it, and I'll probably forget it exists at all within the next few months.

3/10

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Prime Time: Saltburn (2023)

Unoriginal and imperfect throughout, Saltburn has been gaining more of a reputation since it became available to stream, as people share their astonishment at a few key scenes. It also helps that it's a brilliant film, elevated by a cast who are doing some of their best work. Writer-director Emerald Fennell may not surpass her debut feature, the superb Promising Young Woman, but she does well enough to deliver something on a par with it. 

Barry Keoghan is Oliver Quick, a student at Oxford University who stands out for all the wrong reasons. It's obvious from the way he carries himself, the way he dresses, and the way that he has actually completed the recommended reading list, that he's not from the same social strata as many of the privileged and carefree students around him. He soon gets a chance to taste a very different lifestyle, however, when he is befriended by Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi). Felix likes Oliver, and eventually invites him to his family home for the summer holidays. The family home is Saltburn, a huge mansion that houses mother (Elspeth, played by Rosamund Pike), father (Sir James, played by Richard E. Grant), Felix's sister (Venetia, played by Alison Oliver), and an American cousin (Farleigh, played by Archie Madekwe). Oliver soon starts to feel more comfortable in his new surroundings, but some people go out of their way to remind him that he'll always be a tourist reliant on the charity of the rich and the patronising.

Part gothic romance, part sexy vampire movie, part Patricia Highsmith tale, Saltburn is another film that shows how you can take a number of familiar elements to make something that feels vital and fresh. Whether it is the framing of the images (Fennell decided to avoid a widescreen look in order to show the grandiosity of places like the old university buildings and Saltburn) or the moments of kink that will have mainstream viewers reaching for the smelling salts, this is a film that keeps trying to prod and tickle you while taking you towards a seemingly-inevitable finale. It may seem quite blunt and silly at times, especially when certain details are revealed later on, but it’s worth remembering that a lot of the characters are themselves blunt and silly. Money doesn’t buy class or intelligence. It just means that you have money, and probably keep wanting more of it.

Keoghan, although a bit too old for the central role, gives a performance that is rightly winning him a whole new fanbase. He’s so comfortable in his skin, even as he continually adapts and reacts to the situation and people around him, that it’s unnerving. Everything about him feels slightly false, but it doesn’t matter because everything about everyone around him also feels slightly false. Elordi is equally good, albeit in a very different way, portraying his character as someone with bad habits and good intentions, making himself feel better by befriending a “charity case” he can make happy for a fleeting period of time. Grant and Pike are also fantastic, with the latter already in danger of cornering the market in films featuring people deemed sociopathic, at the very least. As for Oliver and Madekwe, it’s hugely entertaining to watch the cracks appear in their facades as things start to come undone in the imposing surroundings of Saltburn. It’s also worth mentioning the glorious supporting turns from Paul Rhys, as a head butler named Duncan, and Carey Mulligan (delivering what is basically a bittersweet cameo that helps to underline the shallow, cold, and crass nature of the central characters).

There’s also a great score and soundtrack accompanying the visuals (okay, one song from The Cheeky Girls makes an appearance, but the placement of it works), a lot of dark humour underpinning even the darkest moments, and numerous references to the main works that influenced Fennell’s script, ensuring that this will reward repeat viewings.

If you have heard too much about this already, and some people have made far too much fuss over one or two scenes that aren’t quite as shocking as the conversation would have you think, maybe try to put all that chatter and noise aside when you get around to watching the film. I think anyone going into this with a rough idea of how playful and twisted and erotically-charged it is will have a good time, but anyone going into it with some of the many hyperbolic exclamations about it running through their mind is more likely to end up disappointed. And nobody wants that. Saltburn is a place where everyone should end up completely satisfied. At least temporarily.

9/10

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Mubi Monday: How To Get Ahead In Advertising (1989)

When writer-director Bruce Robinson reunited with the star of his cult classic, Withnail & I, expectations were obviously high for his sophomore feature. I can imagine. You see, and I think this is important to note here, I was very late to discovering the many pleasures of Withnail & I, which meant that, by the time I was fully integrated into the loyal fanbase, I had pretty much forgotten about this. My hazy memory seems to think it was pretty maligned and dismissed when it was released, but maybe that is just projecting, my teenaged self not yet being interested in more sophisticated and thought-provoking art back then. 

Richard E. Grant plays Bagley, an advertising executive who starts to struggle with a new assignment, all about cream that helps to deal with boils. Bagley becomes so stressed that he develops a boil of his own, one that starts to talk and cause him no amount of insecurity and embarrassment, although maybe it all stems from his new-found realisation of the evils of his work. Bagley’s wife, Julia (Rachel Ward), becomes worried, but perhaps seeing her husband so vulnerable and frightened allows her to see someone who actually still knows how to feel things.

Not a film made for people who are at all wary of the concept, Bruce Robinson has made something that is a scathing attack on the world of advertising and also a comedy that skewers the notion of dinner table conversations that so often tiptoe around real problems in favour of light and inoffensive chit chat. There is no sugar coating around the bitter pill here, although Grant being as wonderful as ever definitely helps, but it’s fairly easy to be onside with something that has the central message of “advertising executives are heartless bastards who want to keep the world full of people buying stuff they don’t need”. That message hasn’t really changed in the decades since this was released, which makes this film, as crazy as it is, a surprisingly evergreen one. Similar premises have been done before, and since, but nothing has shown the ugliness and discomfort of a developing conscience in such a literal fashion.

Grant is used well here, allowed a number of moments that make use of his unsubtle and flamboyant style. Whether being cynical and heartless or weak and bullied, he is constantly watchable and entertaining, and the man can deliver a sneering insult better than any other living British actor I can think of. Ward has to convey her suffering, but also shows that she is used to being with someone she knows will throw away politeness and acceptable social graces in favour of making a strong point, and she does a very good job, particularly when you consider how easily she could have been as unpleasant as her husband. Richard Wilson has a small role, playing Grant’s boss, Jacqueline Tong is fun as a friend who is often on the receiving end of an unnecessarily angry tirade, and Tony Slattery appears often enough for viewers to say “ooooh look, it’s Tony Slattery”.

Did I enjoy How To Get Ahead In Advertising? I’m not sure that I did, and I can certainly see why it didn’t find an immediate audience when it was first released. Robinson is determined in his refusal to make anything light or optimistic, even ending the whole thing with a masterful sequence that is as wholly depressing as it is quite glorious. I loved what was being attempted though, and admire the commitment of those involved who decided not to go for any easy options. 

This is a sharp, smart, bleak, and horrifying, black comedy. It’s not fun, and at times seems to be deliberately encouraging viewers to give up on it, but it’s worth your time. And it’s certainly a unique piece of work.

7/10

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Netflix And Chill: Robin Robin (2021)

I was really looking forward to seeing Robin Robin, and even the first announcement had me excited. A Christmas film from Aardman Animation dropping straight on to Netflix. Sign me up. Unfortunately, I failed to realise that this is a short film. It only lasts about 32 minutes, and I mention that here to help anyone else avoid my disappointment. 

Robin Robin is, unsurprisingly, the tale of a robin (Bronte Carmichael). Unlike other robins, however, this little bird has been raised by a family of mice. The mice try to teach Robin how to stealthily pinch leftover nibbles from human households, but Robin is far from stealthy. That doesn’t stop her from trying again and again, which puts her in the path of a dangerous cat (Gillian Anderson) and has her befriending a magpie (Richard E. Grant).

Let’s get the disappointment out of the way first. No, I am not once again on about the short runtime. While the animation style and detailing here are still quite delightful, they don’t feel up to the usual high standard that we have come to expect from Aardman. That may well be due to my attachment to their other, well-known, creations, but it was a disappointment nonetheless.

The next disappointment was the realisation that this short film also features a few depressingly unenergetic songs interspersed throughout. I enjoy an animated film that also features some musical moments, as many of them do, but nothing here felt tuneful or worthwhile, sadly.

The voice cast works quite well, with highlights being Grant and Anderson, the latter adding an appropriate hint of her Thatcher portrayal to her vocal performance. Carmichael may not be a familiar personality, but her voice works perfectly for a central character who is typically innocent and optimistic for this kind of fare.

Co-directed by Daniel Ojari and Michael Please (who both co-wrote the film with Sam Morrison), I don't want people to think that my own negative comments outweigh the positives. Although not to my preferred taste, the animation is cute and fluffy, the pacing is as brisk as you'd expect, and the short runtime makes it a perfect choice if you're looking for something to keep younger viewers seasonally entertained for a short time.

The very best of Aardman Animation is up there with the very best of animation, full stop. The fact that Robin Robin doesn't rival their best output isn't really a big surprise. It's just a shame that it sometimes didn't feel even close to their usual high standard.

6/10

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Yule Love It: The Nutcracker In 3D (2010)

Obviously, first of all, watching The Nutcracker In 3D in 2D feels like it's diminishing the experience slightly. Never fear, however, because this film being in 3D is the least of the "selling points". Oh, it has such sights to show you. I almost didn't include it in my roster of festive film reviews, but the recent thoughts of people losing their minds over Cats reminded me that other people deserved to hear about it.

Essentially a telling of the classic tale, with Elle Fanning in the role of Mary, the main young girl who finds herself going on an adventure with a nutcracker who comes to life, this is a wild fever-dream interpretation of the material, with additions that just genuinely boggle the mind. Don't believe me? You will, by the time you have sat through a musical number which allows Albert Einstein (played by Nathan Lane) to sing a song about relativity to a famous melody from the suite. Yes, that happens. And it's one of the most memorable moments.

Director Andrey Konchalonskiy (AKA Andrei Konchalovsky) also co-wrote the screenplay with Chris Solimine. Konchalovskiy, director of such '80s hits as Runaway Train and Tango & Cash, THAT Konchalovskiy. He has mixed things up over the years, and I'm not saying that making those action movies means he should give us nothing but more films in the same vein, but this seems like a wild departure, even when considered alongside his more varied films from the past couple of decades. It's so unrelentingly bizarre, in relation to the main choices made, that it becomes something you need to see, just to give yourself a badge of honour. I haven't even mentioned the talking monkey, or any of the other supporting characters who help to make up the bizarre menagerie populating this cinematic world.

There's also a good cast in place for the main roles. Fanning is good as Mary, Aaron Michael Drozin does just fine as her brother, Max, and Lane is at least fun in the role of "Uncle Albert". Richard E. Grant is the father, Shirley Henderson is the voice of The Nutcracker, and John Turturro and Frances de la Tour provide nightmare fuel with their portrayals of, respectively, The Rat King and The Rat Queen. Turturro takes the first prize for terrifying children, especially in the one or two moments that have him snarling in a way that turns his face more ratty while his civil facade slips a la Bilbo Baggins in The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring.

Despite the oddness of it all, The Nutcracker In 3D (in 2D) somehow manages to stay fairly uninteresting throughout most of the runtime. The direction from Konchalonskiy is on par with that of an ambitious festive special for the BBC (to be fair, they probably could do something much more impressive than this nowadays). Perhaps the problems lie with the tale itself, which is better suited to a theatrical performance than any attempted narrative film, but that doesn't let anyone off the hook when they come together to have a stab at it.

3/10

You CAN buy it here. But don't.

Mubi Monday: Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018)

Based on a true story as amusing as it is quite tragic, Can You Ever Forgive Me? is the film that may finally convince those who go out of their way to avoid Melissa McCarthy movies to finally give her some of their time. Because, and I'm saying this as someone who has been a fan of her comedy work for a long time now, this is easily her best movie performance so far. I hope that it allows her to mix it up with the roles that she picks, but only time will tell.

McCarthy is Lee Israel, an author who isn't doing too well. Her cat is ill, she is behind on her rent payments, and her apartment has a fly problem (and smells pretty bad too). When she finds a letter by Fanny Brice, the subject of a biography that she is attempting to write, she makes a little bit of money by selling it on, but learns during the exchange that the price would have been considerably more if the content had been more exciting. That gives her the idea of creating exciting letters, claiming that they were recently discovered, and getting herself a great payday for each one. What could possibly go wrong?

This is only the second feature film from director Marielle Heller, working here from a script by Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty, but this puts her at two for two (I recommend checking out The Diary Of A Teenage Girl). The two central characters are great (the other lead performance coming from Richard E. Grant) and it clearly shows how Israel quickly put the pieces together when she realised that she had an opportunity to improve her life with what she probably viewed as a bit of a victimless crime. Indeed, it's something that Israel finds she has an actual talent for, a way with words while she is emulating others that supersedes her own writing style, and that is a silver lining that accompanies the crime-clouded majority of the movie.

I have already praised McCarthy at the very start of this review so won't repeat myself. She works very well alongside Grant, who gives the kind of brilliant performance that reminds you of just how good he can be, given the chance. There's a small, but absolutely hilarious, role for Jane Curtin (playing an agent who suffers whenever Israel wants to lash out in anger over her current situation) and Dolly Wells is very sweet in her role as the book dealer who inadvertently starts Israel off on her criminal endeavour. The fact that her character also clearly likes Israel for who she is ends up being another big plus for the movie.

Although this is a film about a peculiar, and particular, "crime spree", it's also simply a look at two people who have a chance to make themselves feel like human beings again, rather than nobodies either ignored by people or looked down upon. It manages to do that without ever becoming too downbeat and dreary, although a couple of moments come close, and without feeling as if it is glorifying the activities of Israel. Because, no matter how satisfying or well-crafted her forgeries were, she knew that her best moments as a writer were all thanks to celebrated writers of the past.

Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but it replaces originality and individuality (obviously). So the title Can You Ever Forgive Me? may apply to those Israel ended up affecting with her crimes, but may equally apply to herself, a woman played by McCarthy as someone who lost her own voice and went too far when she found that she had a knack for emulating others.

8/10

You can buy the book here.
Americans can order the film here.

Spice World (1997)

Yes, I absolutely agree with you. Why would I do this to myself? Why, when I no longer feel the need to fill up my blog every single day with ramblings about what I've been watching, why do I choose to expend my time and energy on a bit of a ramble about Spice World? Well, maybe it's because I actually enjoy Spice World. And maybe it's because it's a film that needs more defending than most.

Before I go any further, and before I lose you (if I haven't already), let me emphasise that I don't actually view Spice World as a good, or great, movie. It's not really supposed to be. The Spice Girls aren't the best actresses in the world, at least one or two of them aren't even that good at the actual singing part of their job, but they don't have to be. And the script isn't that clever or deep or witty. Guess what, it doesn't have to be.

If you view Spice World as a movie then you'll be sorely disappointed. It's a time capsule, and when it was first released it was an opportunity for fans to have some fun in the company of The Spice Girls. And that doesn't mean Emma, Mel, Melanie, Geri, and Victoria. No way. This is a film that goes out of its way to strengthen their brand, a film that keeps viewers in the company of Baby Spice, Scary Spice, Sporty Spice, Ginger Spice, and Posh Spice. The personalities are heightened, sometimes being mocked but more often than not being embraced, and the other characters around them (mainly a manager played by Richard E. Grant and a documentarian played by Alan Cumming, who must have relished the chance to help skew similar material in Josie & The Pussycats) are just there to set up every scene for the girls.

Cameo roles abound, with the list of a-to-z celebrities including, but not limited to: Elton John, Jonathan Ross, Meat Loaf, Bill Paterson, Roger Moore, George Wendt, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Jennifer Saunders, Jason Flemyng, Bob Geldof, Kevin Allen, Michael Barrymore, and Bob Hoskins. You can have plenty of fun just spotting the familiar faces. You can also have plenty of fun, honest, if you allow yourself to applaud the stars of the shows for at least livening up the screen with their usual mix of energy, humour, and sheer will.

You can judge me and laugh all you want. The Spice Girls left their mark on the world of modern pop because of the perfect mix of product and packaging. There was something for everyone, aesthetically speaking, and the songs were upbeat and catchy. This movie captures that appeal, gives a little taste of what it felt like when Girl Power took over the UK in the late 1990s (hey, don't shoot the messenger, I'm referring to the band and their ethos). And that's what it set out to do. If only I had such a perfect movie snapshot for Carter USM, dammit.

6/10.

Go on. Treat yo'self - http://www.amazon.com/Spice-World-Alan-Cumming/dp/0767808673/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1449527985&sr=8-1&keywords=spice+world

L.A. Story (1991)

The funny thing about L.A. Story is that I always quite liked it when I saw it back in the early '90s, but a lot of it was unfamiliar to me. Whether L.A.-centric or just soaked in the nuances of modern Americana, this comedy depicted an alien world. That's what it was always supposed to do. There are wonderful modern fairytale elements blended in there, but it's mainly a look at a strange culture/subculture/way of life. Funnily, and some might say depressingly, enough . . . . . . . . . . . . none of it seems so strange any more. None of it seems so absolutely American and/or Los Angelean. Hell, I now know more about the different flavours and types of coffees sold at Starbucks and Costa then I ever thought I would. I hate myself for that fact, but I usually hate myself while enjoying a medium caramel latte. To go.

Steve Martin plays Harris K. Telemacher, a resident of L.A. and a minor celebrity thanks to his whacky weather reports. He takes a lot of the stranger aspects of L.A. in his stride, but is also able to look around him and remember how bizarre his city is. The differences between his world and the world outwith L.A. are highlighted when he meets Sara McDowel (Victoria Tennant), an English newspaper reporter and also spends some time the the young and carefree SanDeE* (Sarah Jessica Parker).

Mick Jackson directs this sun-bathed slice of surreal-tinged comedy from a script written by Martin, and both men do their best by the material. The majority of the film is little more than observational comedy shoehorned into movie form, but it works brilliantly. The other main element, involving Martin receiving advice from a wise freeway sign, may be too ridiculous for some to enjoy but fair play to Martin for using it as something that turns the tone of the whole movie from one that could have been mean and sour to something playful and affectionate.

The cast is overflowing with great choices. While I've never been the biggest fan of Tennant, she's good enough in her role here. Martin is great, as always, and Sarah Jessica Parker gives a spirited and lovely performance. It's so good that I actually had to look back over that sentence after putting the words spirited and lovely so close to her name. Richard E. Grant is enjoyable enough, and Marilu Henner, Frances Fisher, Kevin Pollak and Susan Forristal all do well. Cameos from Patrick Stewart, Rick Moranis, Woody Harrelson and Chevy Chase also add to the fun.

L.A. Story allows people to laugh at L.A. and its many quirks, but it also makes an effort to remind viewers that magic CAN happen there. It might just be movie magic, but magic is magic.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/L-A-Story-Blu-Ray-DVD-Combo/dp/B0082X0XF4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1376570881&sr=8-2&keywords=l.a.+story

The Iron Lady (2011)

There are many times when I watch a movie because I am keen to see it, many times when I just watch a film that I know nothing about and many times when I watch something that has been recommended to me and sit there, hoping that I will like it as much as whoever gave me the heads up. The Iron Lady is a film that I didn't really want to watch, but circumstances have kind of pushed it up my "to view" list and I decided to bite the bullet and give it a go.

It stars Meryl Streep, almost unrecognisable at times, as Margaret Thatcher (played in her younger incarnation by Alexandra Roach), the Conservative MP who became the first female Prime Minister of Great Britain and changed the country, for better or worse (I know how I feel about her changes, but I'm going to do my best to avoid getting into any potential heated debate here). Jim Broadbent plays her husband, Denis (younger version - Harry Lloyd), and Olivia Colman is daughter, Carol.

Anyone expecting a warts 'n' all look at the life of a highly controversial figure will end up highly disappointed. This is a film designed to show its main character bathed in a warm glow, showing her as a tough woman who may have made some mistakes, with emphasis on the word "may". In fact, it skirts around so many big moments that there are many scenes which may leave you wondering just what the point of the film is until you remember that the point is to remind everyone of how great Margaret Thatcher was.

Streep is superb in the main role. She nails the voice - though anyone who has read my review of Lincoln will know that I don't rate any performance that I feel is JUST an impression - but also gets the mannerisms and strength of character just right. In fact, she made me like the character (which I certainly didn't expect). Broadbent is a cheery supporting figure throughout, giving a typically Broadbentian (which is now a word) performance. Olivia Colman does well and the supporting cast contains great names such as Richard E. Grant, John Sessions and Anthony Head.

The script by Abi Morgan is safe and sweet at every turn, and the direction from Phyllida Lloyd goes exactly the same way. This is a film made by people who watched The King's Speech a few too many times and just decided that they could insert Margaret Thatcher into the template and get away with it. Well, that's easier than actually making something that actually has some substance and thought-provoking moments. The end result doesn't impress, certainly not this viewer anyway.

I'm sure that this will play well in America, where people seem to love this portrayal of Britain onscreen (the absurdity of British politics, the conversations that take place with tea and biscuits, etc). It will also play well to fans of Margaret Thatcher. But it won't appeal to those who don't like the woman all that much and it won't appeal to fans of great movies. Because it isn't one. Streep deserves all of the praise heaped upon her performance, it's just a shame that she wasn't given a better film around her.

4/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Iron-Lady-Blu-ray-Meryl-Streep/dp/B008MUJ9S4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1366083248&sr=8-3&keywords=the+iron+lady