The Watchers Film Show: Lockdown Special 6

Our sixth Lockdown Special is here!

In this edition, we take a look at the IMDb Top 250 films countdown, and pick one that we haven't watched and report back on it. A film show reviewing films... how unusual!

Biting social satire, the vagaries of a Warwickshire accent, and a long-owned but never-watched DVD all come into play in this edition, which will be the last Lockdown Special as the UK is now starting to come out of lockdown; fear not, we will be returning to our usual audio/podcast shows!

In case you missed them, here are our previous Lockdown Specials:

Lockdown Special 1 - Feelgood Films

Lockdown Special 2 - Release Schedule Changes

Lockdown Special 3 - Moviemind

Lockdown Special 4 - 1980s Decades Chat

Lockdown Special 5 - Guilty Pleasures

Here are also our Feelgood Films posts, if you want some suggestions for cheery films to get you through these trying times:

Part 1 - Introducing... The Watchers Feelgood Films!

Part 2 - Mrs. Doubtfire and Galaxy Quest

Part 3 - Sci-Fi Special

Part 4 - Disney Special

Part 5 - Documentary Special

Part 6 - 1980s Special

Part 7 - Documentary Special (Part 2)

The Watchers' Feelgood Films (Part 7) - Documentary Special (Part 2)

Well, we're still in lockdown... in Wales, at least .So here's a seventh instalment of The Watchers' Feelgood Films, where we'll give you some suggestions or recommendation for films that might cheer you up if you're locked down. 

Today, it's a Matt-Tez sandwich (ooer, missus!) with three more documentary films that'll make you feel good. 

Man on Wire (2008)

Dir: James Marsh
Starring: Philippe Petit, Jean-François Heckel, and Jean-Louis Blondeau 

Man on Wire is a real-life heist film. It’s not money the robbers are after, but “the artistic crime of the century”.

In 1974, Philippe Petit broke into and tightrope walked between New York’s Twin Towers with no safety net, nothing to break his fall, just a 1,780-foot drop. James Marsh’s film is the story of how Petit accomplished this literally death-defying feat.

Everything – the set ups, the pacing, the music – makes Man on Wire feel like a primetime TV thriller. You know Petit achieves what he set out to do, but Marsh creates a real tension throughout. Time and again, Petit and his gang are nearly caught, their plans foiled, but miraculously dodge security.

Man on Wire is emotional as well as thrilling. Several members of Petit’s group bow out because, as one puts it, “I don’t want to be responsible for the death of a friend”. As Petit and his cohorts reminisce, there is the knowing that, tragically, this is a feat that can never be repeated.

While Nixon, Watergate, and the seedy workings of the White House were exposed to the world, here was a man who literally rose above it all to accomplish his dream. It’s no understatement to say that Man on Wire is a film you must see.

Matt

* * *

The Aristocrats (2005)

Dir: Penn Jillette and Paul Provenza
Starring: George Carlin, Whoopi Goldberg, Robin Williams, Bob Saget, and Gilbert Gottfried

What's the filthiest joke you know? I think mine involves a cheating husband and a parrot who used to live in a brothel... but whatever it is, I can guarantee you, it won't be as filthy as 'The Aristocrats'.

A joke that's been told from the early days of vaudeville up to the present day (and apparently Johnny Carson's favourite joke), the set-up and punchline are set. A guy goes into a talent agent's office and says to the agent "Have I got an act for you!". He proceeds to describe an act full of the most vulgar, deviant, disgusting acts known to man or beast (sometimes even involving man and beast, depending on who is telling the joke). When he finishes, the agent- either shellshocked and utterly appalled, or massively intrigued- says "what do you call an act like that?" The punchline is... "The Aristocrats".  

It's the middle section (discussing the content of the act) where comedians can get inventive, creative, and just downright obscene. In this jawdropping documentary, one hundred comedians- including such comic luminaries as George Carlin, Whoopi Goldberg, Robin Williams, and Phyllis Diller- discuss, analyse, deconstruct and deliver their own versions of the world's dirtiest joke. 

The very definition of a one-joke film, the documentary is certainly not for the fainthearted, prudish, conservative, or easily outraged. Some of the acts described are beyond the bounds of acceptable human decency. Some of the topics raised would definitely fall under the category of "things you shouldn't joke about";  as Gilbert Gottfried says "You can put people to death for what goes on in the best versions of this joke!"

But the point is this: this was never meant to be a joke told to an audience as part of a set (audiences would be rightly offended and probably walk out  if even five percent of some of the renditions ended up on stage); instead, it was used as a warm-up exercise and an inside joke among comedians, a playful competition to try and outdo one another. And the variations of the joke between each comic sheds a fascinating light on how comedy works, when and how to push the boundaries, what's acceptable... and what's not. 

Gottfried is, as you'd expect, an exception to the "don't-tell-it-in-public" rule: in fact, the joke became well-known in the mainstream when he delivered a masterclass rendition of it at a Comedy Central/New York Friars' Club roast of Hugh Hefner recorded just weeks after the 9/11 attacks, to win back an audience he'd lost by making a crass joke about the World Trade Center (to boos and cries of "toon soon" from the audience). Of course, when the Roast was broadcast on television, this section was almost entirely censored: as Gottfried himself said "They might have to clean this up". Watching The Aristocrats, you'll see why...

Of course, whilst a lot of the film is fairly base in its relentless litany of bodily fluids, incest, bestiality, and murder (which will be wearying for some), there's some interesting variations- one told by a mime artist, for instance, another by a ventriloquist, and there's an interesting subversion of the joke when Wendy Liebman and T. Sean Shannon describe very genteel acts with very offensive names. There's also some fascinating discussions about the art of crafting a joke. 

This won't be for everyone. You need to have a firm stomach and a fairly lax sense of humour for this to be enjoyable. But for fans of comedy and fans of how comedy works (even for people interested in the psychology of comedians), this is one of the rare occasions where comparing examining a joke to dissecting a frog- i.e. you find out how it works but the frog dies- doesn't come into play. 

Tez

* * *

Searching for Sugar Man (2012)

Dir: Malik Bendjelloul
Starring: Sixto Rodriguez, Stephen 'Sugar' Segerman, Ilse Assmann, Craig Bartholomew-Strydom, and Malik Bendjelloul

Malik Bendjelloul’s documentary is about a musician, but it’s not exclusively for music buffs. Searching for Sugar Man is a mystery, a tale of second chances and redemption.

Back in the sixties, Detroit singer-songwriter Sixto Rodriguez began a promising music career only to vanish, never seen nor heard from again. Rodriguez became a riddle, a puzzle to solve; there were rumours that he killed himself on stage, but there was never any proof. During its 90 minutes, Bendjelloul investigates what happened to this enigmatic artist. Bendjelloul’s journey, where he ends up, is genuinely moving and uplifting. I have seen Searching for Sugar Man several times and have yet to watch it from beginning to end without crying.

Bendjelloul discovers that Rodriguez, the man and his music, became a figurehead, the soundtrack for those in South Africa fighting against apartheid. He was the voice of a generation; loved and understood by people thousands of miles from Detroit.

Searching for Sugar Man would be a brilliant film if it stopped there. What happens next is something that would play out in a soaring, classic Oscar winner.

As well as the film, you need to give the soundtrack a go; Rodriguez’s music is gorgeously laidback and uplifting.

If you have never seen Searching for Sugar Man, avoid the internet and watch it being blissfully unaware of its subject. There is a reason why this film ends up in top ten documentary lists, when the credits roll you will be left beaming and drying your eyes.

Matt

The Watchers' Feelgood Films (Part 6) - 1980s Special

Welcome to this sixth instalment of The Watchers' Feelgood Films, where the three of us discuss films that might help cheer you in these trying times. 

As you'll know if you watched our Moviemind Lockdown Special, our next Special is going to be one of our "decades" chats (where the three of us discuss our favourite films of a given decade). This next chat- which will be released next week- takes us up to the 1980s. It was lovely spending time together, reminiscing about the movies that made us into film fans, and highlighting some of our favourites. 

So, we therefore thought, as a prelude (or a taster) to this chat, we'd also look at three of our 1980s "Feelgood" movies. So here we go...

Rhys recommends...

Cocoon (1985)

Dir: Ron Howard
Starring: Don Ameche, Wilford Brimley, Hume Cronyn, Brian Dennehy, Jack Gilford, Maureen Stapleton, Steve Guttenberg, and Jessica Tandy

From the opening shot of a young boy using a telescope to look up to the stars, to shots of the universe and then dolphins singing to the visitors to our world, you know this is a very rare special film: a film where the aliens have not come to conquer or to destroy. This is where the film starts and what follows if a truly masterful piece of film story telling. 

Ron Howard directs and you can tell: tender, heartfelt and beautiful. The films main cast of characters are all senior citizens who all live in a retirement village - which is hardly ever seen in film, even still today. Within the first few scenes, we see the characters going about their daily lives and suddenly we see a person dying and nursing staff rush to help, but within the same frame are another two nurses drinking water- casual, but daily assurance for the young and all too much of a reminder of where our cast of characters are in life. 

The films centres around the characters at the retirement village and a local boat owner, Jack. 10,000 years ago Atlantis sinks and aliens are left there; now their people return to get them home safe. The aliens rent a house next door to the retirement village and the two worlds collide...

The cast is insane: Don Ameche, Wilford Brimley, Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy, Brian Dennehy and Steve Guttenburg. Ameche received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role of Art Selwyn.

The film is poetic, beautiful and asks the questions: what is life, how do we live, and what is important to us in life. It also is a load of fun and feel good in droves.

If you’ve not seen it- shame on you! I massively recommend you check out this classic, and if you love it as much as I do, then watch Cocoon: The Return.

* * *

Matt recommends...

The Goonies (1985)

Dir: Richard Donner
Starring: Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Corey Feldman, Jeff Cohen, Ke Huy Quan, Martha Plimpton, John Matuszak, Robert Davi, Joe Pantoliano, and Anne Ramsey

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the greatest treasure hunt in the history of cinema!

Richard Donner’s The Goonies is such a great film because, in these safe bet, Marvel and DC-saturated times, you will never see the likes of it again. Few of today’s directors would have the luxury to film on the sets that J. Michael Riva came up with, the scale and the imagination is ridiculous.

The Goonies is one of those rare family-friendly films in the sense that it has an enormous child cast and none of them even start to grate (yes, the female cast provide the screams and go stumbling into trouble, but hey, this is the eighties!). You have classic characters that survive endless re-watches: the scene-stealing Chunk (Jeff Cohen), James Bond in the making, Data (Ke Huy Quan) with his chatterbox teeth on a rope, and the lewd, rude, riotous Mouth (Cory Feldman) to name just a few.

Most films are lucky to have one quotable line, Chris Columbus’s script has dozens. “Hey you guys!” might be the most over quoted dialogue in any film ever, but let’s not forget Brand (Josh Brolin, a.k.a. Thanos) threatening Mikey with, “I’m going to hit you so hard that when you wake up, your clothes will be out of style!”. Or Mouth’s best line, when Chunk breaks Mrs Walsh’s statue of Michelangelo’s David, Mikey yelling, “Oh my God, that’s my mom’s favourite piece!” and Mouth retorts, “You wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t”.

You can’t blame Chunk for reeling off each and every one of his sins (“And I never felt so bad in my entire life!”) when the Fratellis interrogate him, Mama Fratelli (the late Anne Ramsey) is the stuff of nightmares. Mama Fratelli could have been a camp, over-the-top panto villain. Ramsey knew that children enjoy being scared and gives us a frightening antagonist straight out of one of Roald Dahl’s stories.

The hair and the costumes are dated, but The Goonies is as stylish and emotional as any of today’s family films.

* * *

Tez recommends...

Elvira: Mistress Of The Dark (1988)

Dir: James Signorelli
Starring: Cassandra Peterson, W. Morgan Sheppard, Daniel Greene, Susan Kellermann, Jeff Conaway, and Edie McClurg

When horror hostess with the most-est Elvira is left a bequest from her late great-aunt Morgana, she must travel to the small town of Fallwell, Massachusetts, where her outrageous persona is very much at odds with the conservative, uptight townsfolk. Inheriting Morgana's rundown mansion, her poodle (now nicknamed Gonk after a punk makeover), and Morgana's old recipe book, Elvira begins to settle into her new life. But sinister forces in the town threaten her very existence- and that's not just the puritanical town council... 

Hilarious, trashy, and unapologetically camp, the film- much like its utterly captivating lead- never takes itself too seriously. The script is chockfull of saucy quips and one-liners (one of my favourites being Elvira's response to being asked if she wants a Virgin Mary: "Maybe, but, ah... I'll have a couple of drinks first") and there's fantastic support by W. Morgan Sheppard as Elvira's scheming great uncle Vincent Talbot and Edie McClurg as the fabulously-named Chastity Pariah, town busybody whose unhinged rant about Elvira contains some of the best euphemisms for someone you consider to be "easy"; I particularly like "one-woman Sodom and Gomorrah"

You'll be on Elvira's side from start to finish as she battles intolerance, bigotry, hatred, and an eventual attempt to burn her at the stake, all in the pursuit of her goals. The end is a pure punch-the-air moment. Not as child-friendly as some of the other entries on the list, but well worth a watch if you've never seen it. And as Elvira says as she signs off her show.... unpleasant dreams...

* * * 

Our previous "decades" chats can be found by clicking the links below:

Our favourite films of the 1930s

Our favourite films of the 1940s

Our favourite films of the 1950s

Our favourite films of the 1960s

Our favourite films of the 1970s

We look forward to sharing our picks of the 1980s with you shortly!

The Watchers' Feelgood Films (Part 5) - Documentary Special

Welcome to the fifth instalment of The Watchers' Feelgood Films, where the three of us discuss films that might help cheer you in these trying times. 

As you all know, cinema is a broad church that encompasses all forms of storytelling, all genres and forms. Documentary film-making is a vital and sometimes overlooked genre which helps us see into lives very different to our own and experiences we would never otherwise experience. 

So here are three documentaries which The Watchers recommend.

Matt recommends...

Won't You Be My Neighbor? (2018)

Dir: Morgan Neville
Starring: Fred Rogers, Joanne Rogers, François Clemmons

Fred Rogers is a father figure to millions of Americans. His children’s show, Mister Rogers’ Neighbourhood first aired back in 1968 and broadcast its last episode in 2001.

Rogers was a minister who studied child psychology, once describing science as “the greatest gift we have”. Mister Rogers’ Neighbourhood was never about selling toys, or forcing adult expectations down its young audience’s throats, instead it discussed big, weighty subjects in a way that empathised with children, spoke to them in ways that they could understand.

Morgan Neville’s documentary doesn’t reveal a man with sordid secrets like many British TV presenters. The revelation with Won't You Be My Neighbor? is that Rogers really was that gentle, caring man who spoke to America’s children through their televisions.

Through interviews with Rogers’ family and colleagues, Neville shows us how ahead of the times Fred Rogers was. Upset by news footage of black people being segregated in public swimming pools, he responded by having Officer Clemmons – black actor François Clemmons – share a paddling pool with him. Rogers also discussed Kennedy’s assassination, wrote an episode on divorce, and focused an entire week’s programmes on death. To the adults, Rogers seemed like a kindly do-gooder who would make Ned Flanders blush, but his mission was always to teach children about tolerance, accepting others and, most importantly, yourself.

Neville’s film is a wonderful ninety-odd minutes, but it will likely bring a tear to your eye. During animated cutaways, we are shown how the meek and mild glove puppet Daniel was Rogers’s anxieties that he could never quite express outside the studio. A clip from Mister Rogers’ Neighbourhood has an actress singing to Daniel; she loves him exactly the way he is. Most children’s programmes would take the easy option and have Daniel agree with her, instead Daniel continues singing about his self-doubt. It is a beautiful song that simply and brilliantly explains mental health.

With British television it feels that no children’s programme is safe from having its creators outed for being charlatans, nothing like who they are on screen. Won't You Be My Neighbor? is extraordinary because Fred Rogers absolutely deserves the praise and hero worship from the Americans who grew up with him. Neville reaffirms Rogers’ lifelong message that each and every one of us is special, capable of kindness, and doing incredible things.

* * *

Rhys recommends...

Becoming (2020)

Dir: Nadia Hallgren
Starring: Michelle Obama, Barack Obama, Phoebe Robinson

Well, I didn’t think I would be writing this! If you want a real life, inspiring, feel good documentary, this film will do all the above.

Becoming is a inside look at the life of former First Lady Michelle Obama in an intimate documentary looking at her life, hopes and connection with others during her 2019 book tour for ‘Becoming.' 

Yes, not the typical film I would normally go for- but it was on Netflix and I am in lock-down and so I pressed play. It is a fantastically made documentary, very insightful and full of hope. An amazing woman. Watch it!

* * *

Tez recommends...

Nothing Like A Dame (2018)

Dir: Roger Michell
Starring: Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright, and Maggie Smith

Have you ever seen a group of good friends having a right old catch-up, gossiping, and putting the world to rights, and thought "I'd love to listen in"? Well, that's exactly what Nothing Like A Dame does.

The four titular dames- Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright, and Maggie Smith- have been friends for decades. At a combined age of 342 years old (at the time of filming), they've had careers most actors could only dream of and have trod the boards throughout the UK and around the world.

In this wonderfully intimate portrait, these four amazing women discuss (amongst other things) working with one's spouse- Plowright was married to Laurence Olivier, whilst Atkins had been married to Julian Glover, Dench to Michael Williams, and Smith to Robert Stephens-, playing Shakespeare, taking part in major movie franchises, how to deal with critics, and growing older (gracefully or otherwise). Judi Dench, in particular, has a wonderful reaction to director Roger Michell's question about ageing. 

It's hard to pick any one feelgood moment that stands out in a film full of them, but a moment towards the end sums it up perfectly. Ruminating on chances missed or passed over, Maggie Smith rather gloomily says that "it's too late". Joan Plowright- at the age of nearly 90 and suffering from degenerating eyesight which impairs her ability to work- responds with "oh, it's never too late". 

What a fantastic philosophy. It's never too late to do that which you've always wanted to. Seize the opportunity.

The Watchers' Feelgood Films (Part 4) - Disney Special

Welcome to the fourth instalment of The Watchers' Feelgood Films, where the three of us discuss films that might help cheer you in these times. Today's instalment are our favourite films from Walt Disney Studios.

Matt recommends...

Beauty And The Beast (1991)

Dir: Gary Trousdale & Kirk Wise
Voice cast: Paige O'Hara, Robby Benson, Richard White, Jerry Orbach, David Ogden Stiers, and Angela Lansbury

Everyone has their favourite Disney film, for me it is the original Beauty and the Beast. The House of Mouse has given us numerous classics for nearly a century, but Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise’s film was the first that felt like it could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Hollywood’s golden age: Casablanca, Gone With The Wind, or The Wizard of Oz (Beauty and the Beast was the first full-length animated feature film to be nominated at the Academy Awards for Best Picture).

1989’s The Little Mermaid saw Disney Studios return to its former glory after losing its way during the eighties, struggling to catch children’s imagination while Spielberg, Lucas, and Zemeckis were churning out blockbusters, but Ariel cannot hold a candle to Belle. Unlike previous Disney leading ladies, Belle does everything right here. Belle is fierce, she questions and stands up to those around her, and refuses to be labelled or put in a box – she is Disney’s first flesh-and-blood protagonist thanks to Linda Woolverton’s first-class writing.

The songs in Beauty and the Beast are all killer and no filler. Every one of composer Alan Menken and lyricist Howard Ashman’s musical numbers will stay in your head for the rest of your life. However, the standouts are "Beauty and the Beast" and "Be Our Guest". "Beauty and the Beast" is a masterwork in character development. Neither Belle nor the Beast say a word or sing a single lyric, but that scene pushes their bond, their characterisation further. Accompanied by Dame Angela Lansbury’s voice, the song – those two-and-a-half minutes on screen – are tender and heartfelt. For Beauty and the Beast’s 25th anniversary screening, Lansbury surprised the audience by singing the title song. The video is available here and you will struggle not to well up whilst watching it.

"Be Our Guest", I would argue, is Disney Studios’ first music video. It is a melting pot of 80’s MTV (Peter Cristopherson, Derek Burbidge, and Steve Barron to name three directors), the Moulin Rouge, and Broadway musicals, all given a good stir. Every frame grabs hold of your eyes; it is beautiful, wondrous stuff. Whenever I put on Beauty and the Beast, I cannot go past "Be Our Guest" without watching it again.

Hand-drawn animation probably looks weird to today’s children, when compared to something that was conjured up on a computer, but Beauty and the Beast’s animation and background design still stands the test of time and deserves to be watched on the biggest, most high-tech TV you can find.

Disney has many classic films, but Beauty and the Beast is a masterpiece that can be watched over-and-over and its magic never diminishes.

* * *

Rhys recommends...

Aladdin (1992)

Dir: Ron Clements & John Musker
Voice cast: Scott Weinger, Linda Larkin, Jonathan Freeman, Gilbert Gottfried, and Robin Williams

Back in 1992, I was a teenager and not interested in musicals and definitely done with cartoon films from Disney! On a day out with family, we ended up at the cinema and they chose Aladdin. I was not happy and went in to watch it in a right grump! 

The film began and my eyes were opened to how Disney in the early 90s had changed things! Aladdin reintroduced me to enjoying animated films and, if I'm honest, musicals too! 

This film is one of my favourite films of all time, it is definitely one of my go-to feel good films of choice. It will whisk you off to a whole new world on a magic carpet ride! The film is pitch perfect; fun, uplifting and- for a child- it has one of the all time scariest villains in Jafar! It is massive in scope, from the "Friend Like Me" number to the ending with a giant gene looming overhead. This film is just plain brilliant! And, of course, the late, great Robin Williams' voice performance of the Genie made big name actors suddenly all want to be a voice in a cartoon! 

Just watch it if you haven’t already - and if you have, well time to watch it! 

Oh, and a final bit of fun trivia, Frank Welker- who is the voice of the Cave of Wonders- played Megatron in all the Transformers cartoons and films! 

* * *

Tez recommends...

Lilo & Stitch (2002)

Dir: Dean DeBlois & Chris Sanders
Voice cast: Daveigh Chase, Christopher Michael Sanders, Tia Carrere, David Ogden Stiers, Jason Scott Lee, and Ving Rhames

From an enchanted French chateau via the desert lands of Agrabah to the sun-kissed shores of Hawaii for our final feelgood choice. Lilo & Stitch might seem like a bit of an odd choice, but for me it's second only to Beauty And The Beast for a Disney film that can make me feel good. 

Lilo is a bit of a misfit, being looked after by her older sister Nani after the death of their parents. As they try and rebuild the family unit, into their life comes Experiment 626, a genetically-modified alien bent on destruction which crashlands on Earth after going on the run. When he's found (after being hit by a fuel tanker), 626 ends up at a dog pound where he is adopted by Lilo and renamed Stitch. With threats both extraterrestrial and all too real, this dysfunctional little family must band together, demonstrating the true meaning of ohana.

Much like with Galaxy Quest and several of my other feelgood choices, what makes them feelgood to me is the philosophy behind them. In Lilo & Stitch, it's all to do with the Hawaiian concept of ohana. Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten. When the chips are down and it's all looking grim, your family- whether by blood or the family you create- are there for you. It's that sentiment, borne out by the events at the end of the film, that give me the warm fuzzies.

Also, there's a great deal of humour from the odd-couple antics of Dr. Jumba Jookiba (a superb voice performance by the late, great David Ogden Stiers) and Agent Pleakley (a similarly strong turn by Kevin McDonald) who are sent to Earth to find Stitch and bring him back and some truly inspired visual gags- such as Stitch and Jumba passing a soon-to-explode plasma gun back and forth like a demented game of pass-the-parcel, or a running gag involving a tourist and his ice-cream. 

When advertising Lilo & Stitch, Disney took an unconventional but inspired approach (which neatly links into the idea of ohana and a slightly dysfunctional family) where Stitch was inserted into several iconic Disney moments and causes mischief- including two scenes from the films mentioned above. These can be seen here, and are definitely worth a watch.

There's also a cracking soundtrack which takes in everything from traditional Hawaiian music through to several of Elvis Presley's most iconic songs. 

Lilo & Stitch is well worth a try if you've not seen it before. 

The Watchers Film Show: Lockdown Special 1

We're not letting a minor inconvenience like the COVID-19 lockdown stop us from chatting about films!

In this first Watchers Film Show: Lockdown Special, we chat about how we're dealing with life under the new rules, and highlight some more of our Feelgood Films! You might be surprised by some of our choices...

Check out the video above!

We've also done some maintenance work on the Watchers Productions page, and our entire past archive of Watchers Film Shows (both video and audio) are available to watch there. So if you fancy seeing how Rhys, Tez, and Matt looked nearly ten- TEN!- years ago (and hearing our contemporary opinions of the films of the time), check them out!

The Watchers' Feelgood Films (Part 3) - Sci-Fi Special

It is Friday, so we are back with another instalment of The Watchers' Feelgood Films, to guide you through the weekend. 

This one is a sci-fi special! We look at a clutch of films featuring aliens, cyborgs and creatures from galaxies far, far, away which help make The Watchers feel a little bit better. 

Matt recommends...

Aliens (1986) and Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)

Dir: James Cameron
Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen and Bill Paxton; Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong and Robert Patrick

As Sarah Michelle Gellar says in Scream 2, “You got a hard-on for Cameron”. I am pairing these two together because, while they both feature some savagely creative violence (Aliens’ chest bursting scene – just as repulsive as Hurt’s – and the T-1000’s many talents with liquid metal), they both make you feel like punching your fist in the air when the credits roll.

You forget, sadly, with Titanic and Avatar, what a great writer Cameron once was. A master of big budget effects and filmmaking, certainly, but the man could also craft a great story.

Aliens is perfectly written. It is the go-to textbook for any horror film with a cast who will all eventually be killed off: make them likeable, attention-grabbing, relatable (Aliens’ influence is all over Neil Marshall’s Dog Soldiers). When a marine bites the dust, a tiny lump forms in your throat. Bill Paxton’s Hudson being dragged away, or Vasquez and Gorman blowing themselves up are heartrending scenes.

What makes Aliens stand out as a classic, however, is Ripley’s transformation; she stops running and literally fights her monsters. You are on her side one-hundred-percent, and when Ripley destroys the aliens’ nest and goes toe-to-toe with the Alien Queen, it’s supremely satisfying to watch.

Many directors have tried to imitate Terminator 2, but fall at the first hurdle; they forget that T2 is not just about fighting cyborgs. James Cameron and William Fisher’s script is faultless. Making Schwarzenegger’s T-100 the sequel’s hero was a massive gamble; there must have been many a heated discussion at TriStar. Cameron and Fisher confidently deliver complex and emotional character arcs, with John Connor and the T-100 both complementing each other. The role of father figure frequently swaps between the two characters; Connor teaches the T-100 how there is more to his existence than just killing, while the T-100 becomes a better father and friend than any human.

Linda Hamilton’s impact as Sarah Connor cannot be downplayed. She transforms from a frightened mass of hair in the first film, to a complex mother/soldier who must start from scratch in connecting with her son. When John goes to hug his mother for the first time in years, rather than hug him back, she pats him down to check he has not been wounded.

There is a tension in Terminator 2 that none of the sequels have been able to replicate. This is largely down to Robert Patrick’s T-1000. Patrick might be a matchstick compared to Schwarzenegger, but you watch the film wondering how the hell Sarah, John, and the T-100 are going to terminate this thing! Patrick’s cold stare is frightening, and the liquid metal effects – an 8-bit SNES game compared to the CGI saturated blockbusters of today – still hold up.

Both films have brilliant, quotable dialogue. Most of Aliens’ one-liners are courtesy of the fantastic Bill Paxton (“Game over, man! Game over!” “Stop your grinnin’ and drop your linen!”), while you’re never more than a minute away from a sound bite in T2 (“Say, that’s a nice bike.”).

With Aliens and Terminator 2, Cameron gave us two of the most iconic sequels to ever grace the screen. Dust them down and you will realise just how immaculate they are: films that, tragically, cinema audiences will never see the like of again.

* * *

Rhys recommends...

The Star Wars Saga (1977-2019)

Dir: George Lucas (I-IV), Irvin Kershner (V), Richard Marquand (VI), J.J. Abrams (VII, IX), Rian Johnson (VIII)
Starring: Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver and Oscar Isaac

For me, there is one go to franchise for myself when I want to shut off the outside world and feel good- that, of course, is Star Wars! I grew up watching the original holy trinity and then I was in my 20s when Lucas brought us the prequel trilogy. You can take a look at the old blog items I did on both of these for hints and tips- if you need them! 

My top tip for a feel good escape- go check out or rewatch the Star Wars saga. Lockdown was made for this franchise of films! Once you’ve done that, watch Rogue One, and Solo, and all eight episodes of The Mandalorian! 

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So, these recommendations will keep you busy. This is also a heads up- Rhys has been able to write up his thoughts about the Star Wars sequel trilogy (Episodes VII-IX) so they'll be coming to the blog very very soon! 

The Watchers' Feelgood Films (Part 2)

Good afternoon! We hope this finds you well - as (in the UK, at least) the lockdown has been extended by "at least" another three weeks, we thought you might like some suggestions for something feelgood to watch over the weekend. So here are two more recommendations from The Watchers for films that'll give you the warm fuzzies.

Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)

Dir: Chris Columbus
Starring: Robin Williams, Sally Field, Pierce Brosnan, Harvey Fierstein, Lisa Jakub, Matthew Lawrence, and Mara Wilson

As a child, Disney’s Aladdin introduced me to Williams’s mighty vocal talents – and had me counting down the minutes until the Genie was next on screen – but Mrs. Doubtfire put a face to that voice, and I’ve been a Robin Williams fan ever since.

Just like Aladdin, this is Williams’s show. Whether it’s a one liner from Randi Mayem Singer and Leslie Dixon’s script (“Winston liked a drink; it was the drink that killed him… He got hit by a Guinness truck.”) or a moment of off-the-cuff improvisation (Williams reeling off impressions at the job centre), Williams is Mrs Doubtfire’s multi-million-dollar CGI special effects.

Williams is mostly remembered as a masterful comic actor, but anyone who has seen Dead Poets Society, Good Morning Vietnam, or Patch Adams knows the man had heavyweight acting chops. Mrs. Doubtfire will have you grinning from ear-to-ear, but it isn’t two hours of sickly-sweet optimism. Daniel Hillard’s love for his family never changes, but he comes to realise that their situation has changed, and there is nothing he can do to stop it, despite his best efforts in some Oscar-winning make-up. Williams makes the drama, the tears, both heartfelt and believable. Williams won the Best Supporting Actor award for Good Will Hunting at 1998’s Academy Awards, but he absolutely deserved a win back in 1993 with Mrs Doubtfire, if not earlier.

The supporting cast are all excellent: Sally Field is brilliant as a mother who first appears cold and detached, but is really trying to spare her children from the hurt of a family break up; Pierce Brosnan oozes oily charm as the new boyfriend on the scene; Polly Holliday is on typically fine form as the Ernie Wise to Williams’s Eric Morecambe; and none of the child actors (Lisa Jakub, Matthew Lawrence, and Mara Wilson) come across as annoying or petulant, a trap that many family films fall into.

Special mention to the soundtrack: B.B. King, Frank Sinatra, James Brown, Frankie Valli, and the song that got me into Aerosmith, 'Dude (Looks Like A Lady)', just some of the artists on an impressive list.

Mrs. Doubtfire is faultless; it is the perfect starting point for anyone who has never seen a Robin Williams film.

Matt

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Galaxy Quest (1999)

Dir: Dean Parisot
Starring: Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, Justin Long, and Robin Sachs

Galaxy Quest is an exceptionally affectionate tribute/parody/spoof of 1960s Star Trek, and rabid sci-fi fandoms in general.

In the eighteen years since Galaxy Quest last aired on TV, the cast have been reduced to doing electronic store openings, and travelling to conventions to meet fans and do signings. When the egomaniacal lead Jason Nesmith agrees to do a solo gig, it causes outrage amongst the rest of the cast. However, due to a mix-up, instead of doing a fan video, Nesmith and- eventually- the rest of the cast find themselves on board a real alien ship and helping a polite race of aliens known as Thermians in their ongoing battle against the evil alien warlord General Sarris. But can the crew put their personal issues aside and survive to help the Thermians? 

The script, by David Howard and Robert Gordon, is full of great one-liners and quips and gives the actors some meaty stuff to deal with. Tim Allen is fantastic as the Shatner-esque Nesmith (a.k.a. Commander Peter Quincy Taggart), slicing the ham thick as he relives his glory days. He's not just a one-note character and you can't help but be on his side as the absurdities start to mount. Sigourney Weaver adds a great level of sass as Gwen DeMarco (a.k.a. Lieutenant Tawny Madison, whose job was just to repeat what the computer said in slightly different words) whilst Alan Rickman gives one of the best and most fun performances of his career as Alexander Dane (a.k.a. Dr. Lazarus), a Shakespearean actor reduced to playing an alien on television, despite getting five curtain calls for Richard III... 

Tony Shalhoub is great as Fred Kwan (a.k.a. Tech Sergeant Chen) who has become a bit of a space cadet in the intervening years, whilst Sam Rockwell gives an absolutely hilarious performance as Guy Fleegman, an actor who appeared in one episode of Galaxy Quest and died before the first ad break. He gets involved in the escapade and is in mortal fear that (as a literal red-shirt) he'll be the first to die. His hysteria mounts throughout, giving shades of Bill Paxton's amazing "game over, man" rant from Aliens. 

There's often a problem with satires or parodies/spoofs if their treatment of their source material is cruel or mean-spirited. Luckily, the parody in Galaxy Quest never feels like its just being done for a cheap laugh or to take the mick for the sake of doing so. It highlights some of the more ridiculous tropes of the sci-fi genre- such as inexplicably dangerous machinery placed randomly in a hallway (serving no logical purpose except to cause peril)- but also makes some sly points about the sexism female sci-fi stars get to face; Gwen's comment that her TV Guide interview spent six paragraphs talking about her breasts and little about her talent is still prescient even now (see Scarlett Johansson's frustration at constantly being asked about her underwear when playing Black Widow). 

So, what makes it feelgood? First of all, Rickman's performance. He's on top form as the bumptious luvvie who feels this is beneath him, yet there's an undeniable punch-the-air moment when he slips back into being Dr. Lazarus. The parody is funny but affectionate and never punches low. It's an ideal film for comedy and sci-fi fans and is considered something of a cult classic, twenty years from its original release. 

Perhaps the thing that makes it feelgood the most? Its philosophy. Never give up. Never surrender. 

Tez

Introducing... The Watchers Feelgood Films!

Things feel pretty grim at the moment, don't they? So much worry. So much stress and anxiety. The endless cycle of news and social media posting can leave you feeling drained and (frankly) joyless.

There's not much we can do to help, but we can do a little. So today, we start a new blog feature which we hope will help spread a little happiness during these trying times. Introducing...

The Watchers' Feelgood Films!

In this feature, the three of us are going to showcase our "feelgood films". These are films that we enjoy, that give us that nice warm cozy feeling, and we feel good after watching them (something which, given the current state of the world, we sorely need!)

So, for our first choices, Matt recommends...

Batman: The Movie (1966)

Dir: Leslie H. Martinson

Starring: Adam West, Burt Ward, Cesar Romero, Burgess Meredith, Frank Gorshin, and Lee Meriwether

Are there better Batman films out there? Yes (Mask of the Phantasm and Batman Begins, especially), but none are as much fun, or put a massive smile on your face, like this bonkers and joyous hundred-odd minute.

This is camp fun that cannot be replicated (Joel Schumacher tried and failed with 1997’s Batman and Robin): West trying to dispose of a bomb without harming women, children, or nuns; the Bat Copter complete with “Bat Ladder”; that shark!

Everyone gives it all, performance-wise. Lee Meriwether over Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman any day. Danny DeVito is a dad’s Sunday five-a-side team compared to Burgess Meredith’s Premiership-topping Penguin. And Chris O’Donnell’s Robin isn’t singing from the same hymn sheet, in the same ballpark, or even playing the same sport as Burt Ward.

Bat fans often mention Hamill, Nicholson, or Ledger as their favourite Joker, but there’s a strong argument for Cesar Romero. Of all the actors who have played the Clown Prince of Crime, Romero is the only actor who portrayed him as someone without an agenda, he breaks the rules because he can, no other reason. Ledger tapped into the same vein with his remarkable performance, however there is reasoning behind his Joker’s actions: he is an anarchist. Hamill is probably the closest anyone has got to Romero’s madness and unpredictability.

I will also happily argue with anyone down the pub that Adam West has the best Batmobile – it is a thing of unsurpassed beauty.

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Tez recommends...

Monty Python And The Holy Grail (1975)

Dir: Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones

Starring: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, and Terry Gilliam

Not quite as family-friendly as Matt's suggestion, but I defy anyone not to laugh (at least once) during what is- for me- Monty Python's finest film. 

So much of this film has passed into the cultural landscape; it's a rare person who doesn't know The Knights who say "Ni!", the Killer Bunny of Caerbannog, or the insult "Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries". Even now, after many repeated viewings, I can watch the Bridge of Death scene ("What is your name?") or the Black Knight fight ("None shall pass"), and still be chuckling like a fool. 

Of course, in Python tradition, the main six play lots of different roles. Chapman plays an admirably straight Arthur (against the mounting absurdities around him), whilst Cleese goes gung-ho as the swordhappy Sir Lancelot, gives what can only be described as "an eccentric performance" as the Scottish Enchanter named Tim, and layers ze outraygeous accent on thick as the Taunting French Guard. Palin plays the belligerent villager Dennis, who challenges Arthur's authority as king, brilliantly and also gives voice to the lead Knight who says "Ni!" and the grasping King of Swamp Castle.   

Idle's "brave Sir Robin" is a masterclass in cowardice, whilst he adds to the humour straight off as the man collecting the dead. Jones is simply superb as the simpering Prince Herbert whilst also playing Bedevere (who has some odd ideas about science), whilst Gilliam rounds the cast off nicely with his trademark animations and also plays the Bridgekeeper in Scene 24. There's lovely support from Connie Booth, Carol Cleveland, and Neil Innes too. 

It's a brilliantly bonkers slice of fun that will help chase the blues away. Give it a try if you haven't before. And if you have... then watch it again!