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!

Revisiting A Classic: The Star Wars Saga (Part Three, Episodes VII – IX)

Star Wars is the one go-to franchise for myself when I want to shut off the outside world and feel good. I’ve written about the original holy trinity (Episodes 4, 5 and 6) and the prequel trilogy (Episodes 1, 2 and 3)

But I haven’t as yet chatted about the third trilogy of films (Episodes 7, 8 and 9). So, here’s some quick, concise thoughts on this final act trilogy from a life-long fan!

Episode 7 - The Force Awakens

 OK… wait! Let’s set the scene a little first!

In 2012, the news broke around the world - George Lucas had sold his LucasFilm Ltd. for an undisclosed figure (estimated at $4 billion!)- so he retired! What this meant was Disney bought Star Wars and all other intellectual properties of LucasFilm (including Indiana Jones). 

Kathleen Kennedy - an established producer and well-known to fans of Lucas and Spielberg; the woman has literally produced dozens of modern day classics (such as ET, the Back To The Future trilogy, The Goonies, and the Jurassic Park films)- was appointed the Managing Director of the new Lucasfilm arm of Disney. That same time as the announcement of this sale, Disney announced that a new trilogy of Star Wars was going to be made! That was the news I had been wanting to hear for decades! Episodes 7,8 and 9! The fabled chapters of Star Wars- the continuing adventures of Luke, Leia and Han! Brilliant!

News came thick and fast that the original cast were returning. A photo was released of the cast at the first full read through. We waited….

2015. Episode 7 is released.

OK - first off the bat. Is The Force Awakens a bench mark, an all original adventure and continuation? Well, yes and no. But mostly no.

Now, I like JJ Abrams as a filmmaker- he’s made some cracking TV and films. I love Super 8 which is a love letter to Amblin and the 80s; also, the man and his team did the impossible in 2009 when they reinvented and recast the original bridge of the Enterprise. Star Trek was a respectful update of a franchise that pays respect to what came before. My point is, this filmmaker knows the genre and is a massive Star Wars fan. But, most importantly, he’s a damn good filmmaker.

So the plus points of Episode 7: the new characters are great – well, mostly two of them are great; Finn and Rey are both rounded, interesting characters. The set pieces and action are outstanding and, particularly important, there is the return of a large percentage of practical effects. The set design and cinematography all feel like the original holy trinity!  This episode also is very much great because of the return of writer Lawrence Kasdan (who wrote The Empire Strikes Back and Raiders of the Lost Ark)!

Minus points? Well, Poe Dameron is a cardboard cutout of a ‘hero’ in this episode and pretty much pointless! Then there is the fact that the entire film mirrors Episode 4: A New Hope - lazy! I say lazy but mirroring story/plot points is a theme in Star Wars

In all, Episode 7 sets up some refreshing ideas, characters and a return to a galaxy far, far away. But I have to say the treatment of the original characters was not handled that well at all and I would have preferred to see the original characters be much more involved (Han Solo aside that is; he was back and played a massive part in the plot. Was I upset at his death? Yes, but at the same time, I understood it made sense for the story!)

Episode 8 - The Last Jedi

2017. So JJ Abrams did not return to the director’s chair, nor did Lawrence Kasdan to write this episode. I was a little worried- but surely there is an outline for Episodes 8 and 9 by Abrams and Kasdan? Must be… it’ll be fine… They announced the writer/director: Rian Johnson (whose main credit up to that point was the sci-fi film Looper, which, I’m sorry to say, my opinion of that film is- politely put- pants!) So again, I was worried!

The film releases to critics hailing it the second coming, saying it’s the best Star Wars since The Empire Strikes Back! Well, all I can say is- what are they watching? It cannot be this awful, embarrassing pile of crap!

Johnson threw out any outline from the people who started this trilogy. He then goes ahead and makes a film that is a mess. It has all the action you expect, but it has way too much humour (and I mean slapstick levels of embarrassing moments and stupid jokes at inappropriate moments of drama)! The way the character of Luke is handled is just… well yeah, unforgivable! The subplot that finds Finn hurtling around the galaxy with a new character- Rose- is just pointless and utterly tragic on how tedious it is. 

The main plot is also tedious- Leia (played by the late Carrie Fisher) is wasted and again ‘legacy’ characters are either underserved or written terribly. The reveals of Rey’s parents in under whelming, Snoke being killed off makes no sense! The whole film is style over substance, and I could slag it off for hours.

Positives - The end scenes with Force projection Luke is great. Yep, that’s it!

Negatives – The other 90% of the film! It takes a massive dump on the fandom, what’s canon and basically isn’t a Star Wars film- it’s a cheap knock off (and again, Poe Dameron is basically useless and spends the entire film whingeing)!

So… all hope was lost - this was the start of a turbulent time as a Star Wars fan! 

Rogue One had been released December 2016, it was a massive success and now that’s the best Star Wars film since Empire! But there were rumours of reshoots and a change of director during reshoots and post-production on that film - hindsight, and the fact that the original director (Gareth Edwards) hasn’t worked since 2016 can tell you a lot. But that was a success.

The Last Jedi is loved by critics- but importantly fans are divided, with a lot of diehard fans hating it!

They announce that Colin Trevorrow (who made the fourth Jurassic Park film) was working on the script and would be directing Episode 9. OK, I thought, at least the hack from Episode 8 won’t be involved! But again, I was a little worried as Jurassic World stank and was very much a carbon copy of Jurassic Park!

They also had troubles on the next Star Wars story - the original directors were Chris Miller and Phil Lord, who had made The Lego Movie! I mean… what? Who are you hiring to make these films?! Well, they were fired at about 50% the way through filming. Kathleen Kennedy hires Ron Howard (finally a director with a clue and talent) to complete and reshoot the film! Then they released Solo in May 2018 and that doesn’t do well in the box office. 

I liked Solo. It was a by-the-book prequel and the actors who played the younger version of loved characters were great. And the cameo villain at the end? Bravo! Kudos! It all felt like Star Wars - but I think too much of a good thing was what this franchise was and is suffering from! I mean from 1977 to 2015, we had 6 films (six films in 28 years). From 2015-2020, five films in five years. That’s oversaturating your fanbase! Plus, releasing Solo in May 2018 was a stupid idea - there had been less than five months since The Last Jedi stank the cinemas out!

But… there was a new hope! Colin Trevorrow is out (which makes three directors replaced in the last 3 films) and JJ returns! Oh, hope of hope… oh wait, Kasdan isn’t coming back. They’ve got the guy who wrote Batman V Superman… Oh... Wait, he did write Argo as well! OK, all’s not lost then!

Episode 9 - The Rise Of Skywalker 

2019. This is the final film in what Disney has dubbed The Skywalker Saga. I rewatched it today on its BluRay release and it is the third time I’ve seen it.

It’s absolutely fantastic. It is fan service- but it’s the final episode. The film manages to bring to an end not only the complete nine films and also deliver a cracking third act of a trilogy. The film comes in at a staggering two-and-a-half hours, but the speed of the plot is fantastic; action, adventure - everything you want from Star Wars.

Better still is the return of Ian McDiarmid as Emperor Palpatine - this is genius writing, that retcons all of the damage of The Last Jedi and links back to the prequel trilogy (with the story of Darth Plagueis who found a way to cheat death)! Also returning- finally- is the great Billy Dee Williams as Lando - again though, he’s underused!

The films characters are well paid off. Rey’s journey and twists are perfect, Finn shines as a hero and Poe Dameron finally becomes a useful interesting character. I especially loved the bigger inclusion of C3PO in the main core team of heroes. Kylo Ren is a very modern complex villain and is a tour de force of how to make a multilayered character. What was so well done is how the filmmakers managed to have Princess Leia in the film using audio and unused footage from other films! Carrie Fisher is missed but the film is as if she were there to film the scenes! Truly well crafted!

This is how you make a Star Wars film - tragedy, adventure and a very strong villain. Plus, the humour is balanced correctly! I could gush on how great a film this is - but I’ll stop.

Rhys

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! 

* * *

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! 

Countdown: Oscar-Nominated Actors Playing Oscar-Nominated Actors

This is a feature that I initially wanted to call "Cineception" as the idea of Oscar-nominated actors playing Oscar-nominated actors on film feels like something that belongs in a Christopher Nolan film. 

We can even add an extra layer of meta-ness when you consider that several of these actors were nominated for an Oscar for their performance as an Oscar-nominated actor - and have even won Oscars! Honestly, it gets all a bit... metaphysical-like. 

But, anyway, here are ten Oscar-nominated actors who have played ten Oscar-nominated actors.

Annette Bening as Gloria Grahame (Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool)

Bening is a four-time Oscar nominee (three as Best Actress [for American Beauty, Being Julia and The Kids Are All Right], and once as Best Supporting Actress [The Grifters]). 

Grahame won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in The Bad And The Beautiful (1952), and was nominated in the same category for Crossfire (1947)

Bening puts in a superb performance as Grahame in Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool, about her later years in the theatre and her burgeoning relationship with a young Scouse actor (played by Jamie Bell). An Oscar nomination eluded her, but Bening did get a well-deserved BAFTA nod for Best Actress. 

Cate Blanchett as Katharine Hepburn (The Aviator)

Blanchett and Hepburn both occupy places in Oscar history, so it's entirely appropriate that Blanchett should play Hepburn in Martin Scorsese's Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator. 

Hepburn still holds the record for most Best Actress wins, with four (Morning Glory, Guess Who's Coming To Dinner, The Lion In Winter, and On Golden Pond) from 12 nominations (all in the Best Actress category)

Blanchett, on the other hand, is one of a select group of actors who has been nominated for a Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress Oscar in the same year (for Elizabeth: The Golden Age and I'm Not There.). Not only that. Blanchett has also won both a Best Actress Oscar (for her stunning turn in Blue Jasmine) and a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for... yep, The Aviator (also making her the first actor to win an Oscar for playing an Oscar-winning actor). Blanchett's performance as Hepburn goes beyond a mere impersonation to capture not only the actress' strident vocal tones but her strength and fragility. 

Kenneth Branagh as Laurence Olivier (My Week With Marilyn)

Just as with Blanchett and Hepburn, there are few actors better to play Sir Laurence Olivier than the man whose career trajectory has so closely followed his: Kenneth Branagh. 

Both men have Oscar nominations in three categories (both acting categories, and Best Director), although Olivier won the Best Actor Oscar for his role in Hamlet (1948). 

Branagh takes on the role of Olivier in the utterly charming My Week With Marilyn, which details the making of The Prince And The Showgirl (1957) where Olivier worked opposite- and directed- Marilyn Monroe. Branagh's performance as Olivier isn't just an impression- he gets under the skin of a great actor who has to deal with an actress of great talent but flaky personal qualities. His exasperation, yet deep respect for Marilyn comes out. 

Robert Downey Jr. as Charlie Chaplin (Chaplin)

Richard Attenborough's 1992 star-studded biopic of the silent movie star garnered the first Oscar nomination for Robert Downey Jr. (his second would come in 2008 for Tropic Thunder, this time as Best Supporting Actor). It's the first time an actor was nominated for an Oscar for playing another Oscar-nominated actor. 

Chaplin was nominated for Best Actor for his performance in The Great Dictator (1940), and there are scenes in Chaplin where he watches speeches of Hitler to prepare for his role in that film. 

[As a nice bonus, Chaplin features a second Oscar-nominated actor playing an Oscar-nominated actor: Diane Lane (a Best Actress nominee for Unfaithful) plays Paulette Goddard (who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for So Proudly We Hail!)]

Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford (Mommie Dearest)

Joan Crawford won a Best Actress Oscar for her role in Mildred Pierce (1945) and had two further nominations (for Possessed and Sudden Fear).

Faye Dunaway won a Best Actress Oscar for her role in Network (1976) and also had two further nominations (for Bonnie And Clyde and Chinatown).

Dunaway truly felt that her performance as Crawford in biopic Mommie Dearest, detailing the traumatic upbringing Crawford's adopted daughter had at the hands of her movie-star mother, was going to net her another Oscar. Nothing could have been further than the truth. It's a campy. larger-than-life, very hammy performance (not helped by such ludicrous dialogue as "NO. WIRE. HANGERS. EVER!"). The reviews were terrible, the Oscars gave it a wide berth, but the newly started Golden Raspberry Awards gave the film an (at the time) unprecedented nine nominations. It "won" five... including Worst Actress for Dunaway.

It's become something of a cult classic in latter years, but- even nearly thirty years later- Dunaway is known to stop interviews if Mommie Dearest gets mentioned. 

Scarlett Johansson as Janet Leigh (Hitchcock)

Like Cate Blanchett, Scarlett Johansson is part of the two-nominations-in-one-year club (garnering a Best Actress nod for Marriage Story and a Best Supporting Actress nod for Jojo Rabbit at the 92nd Academy Awards). Just like buses... you wait ages for one, and two come along at once...

Johansson was part of the ensemble cast of the 2012 biopic Hitchcock, which focuses on the struggles he had to get Psycho (1960) made. In it, she plays Janet Leigh who is famously killed off in the notorious "shower scene". There are moments in the film where Johansson looks so like Leigh, I did a double take, thinking they'd just used stock footage. 

Leigh would receive her only Oscar nomination for Psycho, with a Best Supporting Actress nod for her role as Marion Crane.  

Nicole Kidman as Grace Kelly (Grace of Monaco)

I've long felt that Nicole Kidman is her generation's Grace Kelly, so it's again appropriate that Kidman should play Kelly in Olivier Dahan's 2014 biopic, focusing on her marriage to Prince Rainier of Monaco. 

Kidman won the Best Actress Oscar for her devastating turn as Virginia Woolf in The Hours (and has further nominations for her roles in Moulin Rouge!, Rabbit Hole and Lion).

Kelly received her first Oscar nomination in the Supporting Actress category for Mogambo (1953) and won Best Actress the following year for her performance in The Country Girl. According to rumour, there were only half-a-dozen votes separating Kelly from her nearest rival, which was... Judy Garland. 

Grace Of Monaco is not a great film. It's soapy, melodramatic and (like many biopics) plays fast and loose with historical events. Dahan's version, which opened the Cannes Film Festival to what might be charitably called "mixed reviews", doesn't really do anyone any favours. That said, Kidman does a solid job bringing Kelly to life. 

Geoffrey Rush as Peter Sellers (The Life And Death Of Peter Sellers)

It might come as a surprise to some people, especially if they only know him from things like The Goon Show or The Pink Panther films, to realise that Peter Sellers is a double Best Actor Oscar nominee. He was nominated for his three roles in Kubrick's scabrous Cold War satire Dr. Strangelove (1964), and for his turn as the simple-minded gardener turned political adviser in Being There (1979). 

Scenes which feature the filming of Being There are included in Stephen Hopkins' 2004 biopic, The Life And Death Of Peter Sellers, in which the British funnyman is played by Oscar-winning Australian actor Geoffrey Rush who does a good job to encapsulate the various facets of Sellers' character- even the less than palatable ones.

Rush won the Best Actor Oscar for his role as pianist David Helfgott in Shine (1996) and received further nominations for Quills, Shakespeare In Love and The King's Speech (the latter two in the Supporting Actor category). 

Kevin Spacey as Bobby Darin (Beyond The Sea)

There's a scene in Beyond The Sea, Kevin Spacey's 2004 biopic of crooner Bobby Darin (clearly a passion project for Spacey as he directs, stars, and co-wrote the film) where Darin rants about losing the Best Supporting Actor to Melvyn Douglas (who won for playing Paul Newman's father in Hud). 

Darin, better known as a singer ("Beyond The Sea", "Mack The Knife"), played Jim Tompkins, a young Corporal traumatised after his aircraft was shot down, in Captain Newman, M.D. (1963) opposite Gregory Peck and Tony Curtis. It was his only Oscar nomination. 

Spacey is a two-time Oscar winner (Best Supporting Actor for The Usual Suspects, and Best Actor for American Beauty). Beyond The Sea is an entertaining enough biopic, but Spacey is far too old to play Darin, and the relationship between Darin and his wife Sandra Dee (played by Kate Bosworth) just looks wrong because of the two-decade age difference.

Renée Zellweger as Judy Garland (Judy)

Judy Garland was nominated for two competitive Oscars during her career- a Best Actress nod for A Star Is Born (1954) [which she lost out to Grace Kelly, in a result which Groucho Marx called "the biggest robbery since Brink's"] and a Best Supporting Actress nod for her role in Judgment In Nuremberg (1961)- but was given a special Juvenile Award in 1940 for "her outstanding performance as a screen juvenile during the past year" (which would cover her performance as Dorothy in The Wizard Of Oz)

Zellweger is, like Cate Blanchett, an actress who has won both a Best Actress and a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. After two Best Actress nods (for Bridget Jones' Diary and Chicago), she won the Supporting Actress award for Cold Mountain (2003), and won Best Actress this year for her superlative performance as Judy Garland in Judy, which focuses on Garland's time in London in 1968 to do a series of sold-out concerts. 

Whilst Judy is a bit patchy (which seems to be a running complaint when it comes to biopics), Zellweger's performance is just sublime, encapsulating the strength, inner turmoil and turbulent life of this great performer. 

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

* * *

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

Watchers Productions Presents... Strange Tales: Deliver Us From Gee

Watchers Productions are delighted to announce the release of our seventh Strange Tale!

We are incredibly pleased and proud to present, in co-production with our friends and colleagues at Dramatic Moose Productions and featuring a very special guest actor...

DELIVER US FROM GEE

Written by Matthew Fisher and directed by Rhys Jones

Starring: Gareth David Lloyd (Gee), Matthew Fisher (James), Jennifer Higgins (Tina), Stephanie Back, Samuel Rush, Linda Bailey, Kelvin Dale-Greaves, with Kell Dommage and Shaz Lancaster

James is on his own for the night, as his girlfriend is away. He orders pizza, which is delivered by a cheery delivery man named Gee. When a delivery mix-up means Gee gets fired, James takes pity on him and invites him in. But when James asks Gee what his real name actually is, he gets a response he really wasn't expecting...

Filming took place during November and December last year, with some pickups done in January this year. The script that this is based on was written some years ago, so any similarities to current world events are utterly coincidental...

Watch here!

For more information about the project and the other films already released and those currently in production, please see the Watchers Productions website.

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!