Nativity 2 - 17th December 2013

So with Christmas Eve just a week away we take on another new film, but is it second time lucky for;

Nativity 2 - Danger in the Manger

Following on from the success of Nativity back in 2009, Mr Poppy is back at St Bernadette's school for more classroom mayhem. This time he is joined by a new teacher in the form of Mr Peterson AKA David Tennant.

Those of you who have seen the original Nativity with Martin Freeman, will know how Mr Poppy is a classroom assistant, who is more of a kid than the kids are themselves. And in Nativity 2 nothing has changed. Mr Poppy is still seeing off supply teachers with enormous regularity with his outrageous classroom antics. That is until he spots the Song for Christmas competition and is determined to enter his school and win. Of course, the rival school from the first film make an appearance, but to double the tension and give the plot a sufficient twist to make it different from the first film, Mr Peterson's twin brother turns up with another rival school for the Song for Christmas competition.

"What song for Christmas competition?" *shrugs shoulders* - Watch the film, then you will get it.

So that's your plot. A song competition, plenty of rivalry, goodies and baddies, a trek across Wales to reach the venue and a baby and a donkey thrown in for good measure. What could possibly go wrong?

Judging by the reviews on Amazon, Nativity 2 is a bit of a "Marmite movie", they either loved it or hated it. The two most helpful reviews stated; "Christmas magic!" and "Embarrassing drivel".
So it is a difficult one to call. In fairness we at TNiFN Towers are tending toward the "Christmas magic" side of the balance, but only just. However, it is a Christmas movie after all, so lighten up!
OK the antics of Mr Poppy (Marc Wootton) are a health and safety nightmare, but that's the point, it is innocent fun, you know full well that the underdogs will come out on top, but it's how they get there that counts and Nativity 2 has just enough Christmas cheer to keep things ticking over nicely, with plenty of laughs and the occasional sad moment, just to keep you hooked.

The cast are superb, Tennant manages to pull off a double header by playing both the Peterson twins (makes sense really), Marc Wootton is sublimely ridiculous as the irreverent Mr Poppy, clearly ad libbing his way through all his scenes. In fact most of the scenes were improvised with certain key points in a loose script for the cast to "hit".
Adding to the cast are Joanna Page as Mr Peterson's pregnant wife and the brilliant Ian McNiece as the over-bearing father of the Peterson twins. Pam Ferris reprises her role from Nativity as she is still the Headmistress of St Bernadette's. Also Jason Watkins is back, as the pompous teacher; Gordon Shakespeare from rival school Oakmoor. Also making an appearance is the lovely Jessica Hynes as competition host Angel Matthews.

Anyway, all in all Nativity 2 - Danger in the Manger is a pretty good Christmas giggle, it's not going to be a classic Christmas movie, but it is certainly entertaining enough to get you into the Christmas spirit and the music is pretty good too, well as long as you enjoy children singing!

TNiFN Rating 70%

Will You Merry Me? - 10th December 2013

With the 10th door on our Advent calendar open and hanging off it's hinges, it's time to settle down and relax with a mince pie and a festive film.

This week for our viewing pleasure we have;

Will You Merry Me?

Well wasn't that a quaint little Christmas movie? Yes indeed.

Here's the synopsis for this merry little yuletide  tale. Henry and Rebecca, played by Tommy Lioutas and Vikki Krinsky respectively, are young lovers living in New York. Their relationship may only be 6 months old, but everything is just right, almost perfect one could say. And so, the very much in love Henry, decides to pop the question to the lovely Rebecca. All they need to do now is to tell their respective families. And as it is just before the holiday season, what better way to spread the news than to all meet up for Christmas?

Well, that's where the problem lies, Henry's family are mad. Sorry, mad on Christmas, how could they not be as their surname is Kringle! And they live in a small Wisconsin town which is also slightly doolally when it comes to Christmas. Unfortunately, Rebecca's parents are Jewish and not so up on Christmas, preferring as they do to celebrate Hanukkah, then spend Christmas in Aspen. Despite this, they decide to meet up, spend a couple of days with the Kringle's before heading off to Aspen.

However, it was never going to be that simple and the bulk of the film is taken up watching the two families get on, then fall out, then make up, then fall out again. And that previous sentence doesn't do the story line justice at all, but it shows you the approach of the film. It is actually quite a funny film and it was a joy to watch the two very different families try so hard to make the others welcome whilst trying to respect their different beliefs, traditions and foibles.

It is a very entertaining film, but it was never going to be a blockbuster and the cast is made up of mainly unknowns. (Let me just go and check IMDB to be sure of that!)

Henry's parents are Hank and Marilyn, played by Patrick McKenna and Cynthia Stevenson. Whilst Rebecca's parents are; Marvin and Suzie Feine played by David Eisner and Wendie Malick. According to IMDB each actor has been in quite a few films and or TV shows, can't say I have heard of many of them though. However, that is not the point, they are all exceptionally good, funny and not in the least bit wooden in Will You Merry Me. And despite the fact it is a TV movie, it is probably the best one we have seen here at TNiFN Towers (and we've seen our fair share of dire "made for TV" Christmas films). It does stand out as a bit of gem in that regard, in comparison to some.

The other thing that makes Will You Merry Me a decent film is the well written story line. There is just enough Christmas cheer to go round, with a handful of farce, a topping of schmaltzy cheese, a sprinkling of sadness and a modicum of magic to make it a fun, wholesome, family film that should be enjoyed by all ages.

Of course, it all turns out well in the end, that is what Christmas films are about, but it's the journey that you take to get there that counts and Will You Merry Me has sufficient buoyancy to carry you through without getting bored at all. It is akin to Christmas With The Kranks, but not so farcical. It also has just enough pathos to make you sad in places and sufficient pull to ensure you stay with it until all becomes good again.

It's a delightful Christmas film and has enough of the correct ingredients to make it worth repeat viewings. Although it is formulaic in its approach, it has enough uniqueness to make it stand out from the rest. It was never going to compete with the big Christmas blockbusters, but it definitely holds its own and is to be recommended as a definite one to watch should it appear on a TV channel near you soon.

As we said at the start; "a quaint little Christmas movie" and deserving of praise.

TNiFN Rating 78%

IMDB link

Arthur Christmas - 3rd December 2013

Advent is upon us here at Tuesday Night is Film Night towers and tonight we are putting our feet up and sipping eggnog in front of;

Arthur Christmas

Arthur Christmas is a new (2011) animated feature film from Aardman Animations and Sony Pictures Animation and follows the story of the current Santa (Jim Broadbent) who is getting on in years, but not as old as Grand Santa (Bill Nighy) who is 136 years old! Santa has two sons; there's Steve (Hugh Laurie) a modern, technologically compliant, militaristic leader who has taken Christmas into the 21st and runs the North Pole operation, with his army of trusty elves, who aid the aging Santa with his deliveries. The second and younger son is Arthur (James McAvoy). Arthur is everything Steve is not, he's clumsy, frowned upon by the elves and a little overlooked by his Dad and is resigned to work in the mailroom. That is until a child is missed...........

We really don't want to go into too much detail of the film, the basic premise is simple, a child's present is not delivered and Arthur who believes so much in the Christmas spirit, really doesn't want this child to lose out. Steve on the other hand, feels that they can write it off as a minuscule percentage loss of the whole operation. So Arthur in collusion with Grand Santa fly off with the old faithful sleigh to right this minor misdemeanor and ensure that every child has received their present from Santa.

And that is it, that is the story, beautiful in it's simplicity but the writing of Peter Baynham and Sarah Smith (who also directed the film), take this simple story and project it to another level. There is so much detail within the film, not just with magnificent computer generated animation, which has layers of complexity, not only in the foreground action but what goes on in the background as well. It's the same with the writing there are many references that only multiple viewings will pick up on. The dialogue for each character is spot on; Steve is arrogant and a strong believer in the modern world, but is not good with children and that is reflected in the way Hugh Laurie delivers the lines. The same with Grand Santa, Bill Nighy uses his vocal talents to deliver the script to perfection and he has some of the best lines in the film. You really cannot underestimate the wondrous writing of Peter Baynham. He uses the script to to introduce another level of expression that you would not normally see within an animated film. And it is an animated film, it is not a cartoon, it is so much more than that. The animation is real enough to be believable, but sufficiently animated so you know it's not. There is a special feature on the DVD which will clarify what we mean there, just in case you thought we were talking nonsense! 

There is something magical about Arthur Christmas, it has a real ability to release your inner child and tap into that layer of innocence, taking you back to a time where Christmas was truly magical. What the film also does, is to set out to answer those childish questions that we all asked like; how can Santa visit every child, delivering joy along with the presents? And so much more besides.

The cast is fantastic as well, so much (vocal) talent adding to fun and lots of big names too;

James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Bill Nighy, Jim Broadbent, Imelda Staunton, Ashley Jensen, Eva Longoria, Ramona Marquez, Michael Palin, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Robbie Coltrane and Jane Horrocks, to name but 12!

We really cannot wait to see it again.

You can probably tell that here at TNiFN we love a Christmas movie, however with Arthur Christmas I think we have found a new classic. It's a simple recipe but one that can be so hard to achieve; how do you take a simple story, but make it a complex,  multi-layered, fascinating, gripping, entertaining and funny film? We don't know, but what we do know is that Arthur Christmas does the trick. It will stand the test of time and be a perennial favourite that will be watched over and over again.

Absolutely tinsel-tastic mate!

TNiFN Rating 90%

Christmas Baggage - 26th November 2013

On the penultimate Tuesday Night is Film Night night before Advent, we squeeze in another one of those "made for TV" type films that seem to saturate the obscure movie channels at this time of year. Sometimes you can find a hidden gem, but will we be thinking that after we watch;

Christmas Baggage

No. Think on.

Having said that, the film does star Cheryl Ladd who is at least well known. It also stars Barry Bostwick. Who? Exactly.

Just to clear up some confusion, on TV it was billed as Christmas Baggage, on Amazon it is sold as Holiday Baggage and on IMDB it is labelled just as Baggage. Anyway to the plot. 

Sarah Murphy (Ladd) is a doctor, her estranged husband Pete Murphy (Bostwick) is an older man with an eye for the younger woman and left the marital home some years ago, eventually hooking up with a younger woman who he intends to marry. Pete and Sarah have two daughters who are now both young women; Holly and Lisa. Holly is being a surrogate mother to her sister's baby. Don't looked confused, it does make sense (I think) and we have those inevitable Christmas plot twists; baby being born around Christmas, to someone called Holly. How convenient?

So the crux of the matter is, due to their father's wanderings and splitting up the family, whilst breaking his wife's heart, the daughters are not really speaking to Pete. Pete and Sarah have never divorced and with the intention to marry his young sweetheart, Pete visits Sarah to discuss signing off the paperwork.

Cue farcical plot thread number one; Pete has a massive heart attack, luckily with his medically trained wife at hand and ends up in hospital. However, considering he has had a huge Myocardial Infarction he ends up walking away from hospital a couple of days later, seemingly right as rain. It's a Christmas miracle and no mistake!

Given this shock and the subsequent checking out of the hospital, Sarah invites Pete to stay with her and the girls for the holidays (Thanksgiving through into December) and some time to recuperate, with the proviso that he makes peace with their daughters and tries to reconcile their differences. This is easier said than done. And to be fair the middle section of the film, which concentrates on this element of the storyline, does offer up some hope that the film may be worthwhile watching. Indeed some of the acting from Ladd and Bostwick and some of the supporting cast was actually quite good. However, good acting cannot save a weak story and although there was potential it was let down in some style, by a farcical, nonsensical unclear and possibly ludicrous ending. (Farcical plot twist number two).

You would expect that there would be some real conclusion to the film, as the plot had hotted up in the middle (when I say hotted up, it was lukewarm at best), but no. Although we were held in limbo by the attempted reconciliation between father and daughters, the death of Lisa's father-in-law (and family friend) plus the impending birth of the surrogate child and the imminent wedding of the globe trotting Pete, once the finalisation to the story started it frittered away in a hurried, saccharin sweet, overly complicated, but not thought through way. Which let the film down totally, leaving us confused and scratching our heads, unsure what happens to Pete's wife-to-be as he is seemingly getting back with Sarah. Or is he? We guess so, but can't be certain. No loose ends tied up. They say the devil is in the detail and there was no detail here at all.

A very poor ending, after a mediocre start, albeit with a promising middle.

Next week is the first week of Advent, so we'll have a proper Christmas film!

TNiFN Rating 47%

I'll Be Home for Christmas - 19th November 2013

Tuesday Night is (a Christmas) Film Night continues the festive film and cheesy cheer with;

I'll Be Home For Christmas

Well, where can one start with this film?

It was made in 1988 and stars a young Courteney Cox, Hal Holbrook and Eva Marie Saint, who make up part of the Bundy family; Nora, Joseph and Martha respectively. (Daughter-in-Law, father and mother). It's set in a small American town, during the second world war and follows the family through one Christmas.

The Bundy family also have three sons, two of which are serving in the forces and one younger son who is keen to join. The eldest son; Mike is married to Nora and they are expecting a baby. The middle son; Terrel is at odds with his father. And the youngest son; Davey follows the progress of his elder siblings as they travel the world in the air force and army.

The general premise of the film is; the family will be together and at home for Christmas, as Mike is granted leave after his tour of duty, as is Terrel. However you just know that somebody will not be coming home.

I won't spoil it too much by filling in the detail, suffice to say there will be tears on Christmas Eve.

I'll Be Home For Christmas is an unremarkable film, albeit with a slight dramatic edge that made us avoid the "off" switch for it's 96 minute duration. It's quaint, festive and thought provoking, that is if you wanted to analyse the juxtaposition between the desire for peace at Christmas and the ravages of war. There were moments of pathos, there were moments of fun, but generally there were just moments.

The story held itself together, but only just. And the ending was truly disappointing. They seemed to rush it, attempting to tie up the lose ends very quickly, after building up to this point for most of the film.

We really should research these films more, prior to committing to watching them! Luckily for you, it is not available via Amazon.

Never say that we at TNiFN Towers do not provide a service. We watch these films so you don't have to.

Here's hoping next week's offering is a better one.

TNiFN Rating 45%

IMDB Link

If You Believe - 12th November 2013

Like it or not Christmas is on the horizon and here at Tuesday Night is Film Night we like to get into the spirit nice and early. So to kick off our season of Christmas movies we have chosen;

If You Believe

Like it, loathe it or just put up with it, Christmas is just around the corner and here at Tuesday Night is Film Night we have a penchant for Christmas films and try to squeeze in as many as we can before the big man arrives with his heavily laden sack. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be many new good Christmas films around. We have a few, or we have seen a few already, but they are few and far between now, so we have to make do with the odd classic, the odd new one and the plethora of cheesy, American, schmaltzy films that abound the satellite channels at this time of year! These can be hit or miss, they tend to follow the same formula and are not ratings winners, not by a long way, but sometimes you find one that hits the mark, from a story perspective, even if the acting is more wooden than Santa's sleigh!

Anyway, we watched If You Believe which follows the life of Susan Stone, played by Ally Walker, (who has an impressive list of roles on IMDB, we've not heard of a lot of them though). Susan is a publishing house editor, who is struggling with her writers, struggling with her family, having been recently divorced and fallen out with her brother. So, life is not too rosy for the grouchy, Scrooge-like, curmudgeonly Susan, that is until she discovers a 7 year old girl in her apartment. It transpires that this girl is Susan's inner child, AKA Susan at 7 years old, full of joy and childlike innocent, intent on getting the adult Susan to mend her ways, change her outlook and reconnect with the people that surround her.

So far, so good (ish). Yes it is formulaic and cheesy, but if you can see past this thinly veiled layer of sentiment, Mom's apple pie and the good old American dream and just take the piece for what it is, it does possess an innocent charm, that may not melt the most cold of hearts, but thaw them just a little.

Susan gambles on an unknown writer, whose book is too long, too new and too dangerous to publish, but it is all she has to save her career. When she actually reads it, she loves it and goes off to spend three weeks with the writer to edit the book into a publishable form. Can you guess what happens next, to the single, unloved Susan? It wouldn't be a Christmas film without a modicum of romance now would it? Yes indeed! A little bit of romance to warm your cockles! Susan's writer is Thom Weller played by Tom Amandes, (no, we've never heard of him either) and fight it so she might, she starts to fall for our handsome Prince Charming, all the while being egged on by her constant companion; her 7 year old self.

We really should point out that Susan's 7 year old companion got quite annoying at the start of the film, with her very loud, constant berating of her older form. The child actor playing Susan junior is Hayden Panettiere and was clearly one of those precocious child acting brats that really should be seen and not heard, but she does (like it or not) give a great performance and was clearly made for this role and her involvement within the plot is key to the story.

Anyway, we digress. Back to the story, there is not much left to retell apart from the part and this is common to all the films of this ilk, where everything looks fine and dandy, but the rug gets pulled out from under the feet of one of the leading characters and we have that solemn moment when you never know if it is going to be a happy ending or not.

Rest assured, it would not be a good wholesome, heart warming Christmas movie if it didn't have a happy ending! If You Believe follows the formula to the letter and things turn out just fine.

If You Believe isn't a good film by a long stretch of the imagination. However, don't get us wrong; it is entertaining, it provides a great dollop of Christmas spirit, it ticks all the boxes but it would not be a hit at the box office. However, if you want to sit by the fire, with a glass of eggnog, staying warm from the winter chills and be entertained for 87 minutes then If You Believe can do that for you.

Don't expect a high rating though, as one of our number at TNiFN Towers fell asleep halfway through, which is always a good indicator as to a films' content!

See you next time for some more Christmas cheer.

TNiFN Rating 53%

IMDB Link

Indecent Proposal - 5th November 2013

Tuesday Night is Film Night is trying to get back into a rhythm after missing a couple of weeks in October due to other commitments and before we start the countdown to Christmas, there's just time to slip in a quick;

Indecent Proposal

Yes, we go way back to 1993 for this ostensibly three handed interplay between Demi Moore, Woody Harrelson and Robert Redford.

The delightful Demi Moore plays Diane Murphy, who is in a solid relationship with her husband David Murphy (Harrelson). Things are looking up and David starts to live out his architectural dream; his own design for their marital home. Just as things are going well, a recession hits and they start to lose everything; money, jobs and eventually the unfinished dream house looks like it will go too. They beg some money to try to keep up repayments on the mortgage, but it's not enough. Until David hits on an idea and they race off to Las Vegas to gamble away their remaining money in attempt to win more back. At the start they do well and are thousands of dollars up, but it's not enough, they just need to double up. At this point, it starts to go wrong and they end up losing everything, not before Diane is spotted by billionaire John Gage (Redford) who is immediately attracted to her. And this is where the story starts to really unfold.

I will assume that you all know what the indecent proposal is, one million dollars for a night with your wife, but this film is more about the relationship between Diane and David and not the one million dollar night, in fact the sequence of scenes for that night is extremely brief.
The film does take awhile to get to this point and there are several overlaid scenes setting us up to this point, ensuring that sufficient background information is there.

After the indecent proposal is proposed and carried out, after some heartfelt discussion between the Murphy's I might add, we start to see the real crux of this film, where one evening of desperation leads to what could be a lifetime of dishonesty, disloyalty, mistrust and misunderstanding. We see David and Diane's relationship crumble after David loses faith in Diane's honesty and questions her motives. All the while Diane is being pursued by John Gage, who is not relentless in his quest to continue to see Diane, much to the chagrin of David. Eventually David and Diane split up and go their separate ways, but what is to become of them? What happens to Diane and John?

Obviously we have no spoilers here, you'll need to be watch the film for the complete story, let's just say I was slightly surprised by the final result,  not overly displeased, but it was a bit saccharin sweet and schmaltzy, which after a tense drama was a bit of a let down.

As for the film itself, on the whole the story-line is good, believable I guess. The interplay between the characters was extremely good, especially Moore and Harrelson. Nice though it is the number of slow, semi nude scanning shots of Demi Moore was a tad predictable. Yes, she has a cute body, but continued gratuitous panning shots don't really add to the tension, but I guess it added a degree of sexual allure to the love scenes. That's not a complaint, there just seemed to be a lot of them, along with several quick jump shot edits where Moore was filmed from all angles, so was hard to see which end you were looking at. (Again, not complaining!)

As to the peripheral cast members, Oliver Platt provided some levity to the piece, playing a lawyer friend of David's, with some funny lines to lighten the mood somewhat. Also near to the end, we have what is slightly more than a cameo appearance from Billy Connolly, playing himself as a celebrity charity auctioneer, which was nice but didn't really add to the film as a whole and seemed to be a cash in on Connolly's fame at the time, I may be wrong.

All in all, Indecent Proposal was better than mediocre, the TNiFN female contingent enjoying it more than the male. So the scores are going to reflect the female vote, but it's the male contingent that writes the words!

TNiFN Rating 68%

Frost / Nixon - 3rd November 2013

I admit it, this is not a Tuesday Night, so to blog a Tuesday night is Film Night film, on a Sunday is pushing the envelope of sensibility somewhat, but we have been pretty busy here at TNiFN Towers, so a Tuesday film was never really going to happen. However we have caught up and decided to throw in a quick Sunday night version of TNiFN, just because we could.

So this week's film was a departure for us, gone is the chick-flick and rom-com, as we throw down the gauntlet on a gritty political drama;

Frost / Nixon

The subject matter speaks for itself, we all know about the rise and subsequent fall of President Richard Millhouse Nixon, as we are also aware of the varied talents of one David Frost, but do we know much about when they met for a series of interviews in the late 70's? This film follows the drama as the story of the story unfolds.

Writer Peter Morgan manages to capture in his screenplay an incredible tense, dramatic interplay between the disgraced former president and the jet setting TV presenter, in this gritty film. The action, if it can be described as that, is akin to a boxing match, where the underdog is clearly Frost and the supreme champion is Nixon, but can Frost make anything from this battle? Certainly the mainstream US media do not think so, as none of the major news networks are interested in taking the interviews and so the majority of the funding to pull off the recordings, is produced by Frost himself.

Once the film gets underway, there is a modicum of scene setting, some background information, therefore imparting sufficient information for us to get drawn into the main action, which of course is the interviews themselves and it is a testament to Peter Morgan's writing and Ron Howard's direction that a film that ostensibly deals with two grown men talking in front of some camera's becomes a gripping, dramatic and fascinating production. Obviously, if you know about the history, you will know the outcome, but even so the journey to that inevitability is most entertaining, enlightening and intriguing.

Frank Langella provides a magnificent performance as the jowl wobbling Nixon, who vehemently defends himself of any wrong-doings in front of Frost. Michael Sheen is as always a real treat as the ever smiling Frost, managing to capture the nuances of the TV giant, in almost every way. Supported ably by a talented and well picked cast, notably Kevin Bacon as the ex president's adviser come bodyguard Jack Brennan. Also the supporting team for Frost led by John Birt the producer of the interviews (Matthew Macfadyen) and two researchers James Reston and Bob Zelnick, played by Sam Rockwell and Bob Zelnick respectively.

So, this pugilistic battle between political heavyweight and TV's up and coming chat show host is an odd mix. Nixon clearly plays Frost as a fool and dominates the first three days of filming and it looks to be a lost cause for Frost and Nixon will come away from it and seen a better light as a result. However in the final day's filming the tables are turned and Frost produces body- blow after body-blow, forcing the president to admit his failings, the cover-ups and eventually an apology to the American people over the scandal that was Watergate.

Frost / Nixon journals a very important stage in political history and does so with aplomb. As a gritty political drama, based on reality it is perfection. It has the ability to keep you focused and it's also a movie where the underdog comes up trumps, after facing adversity and we all like that in a film.

TNiFN Rating 75%

By the way, we passed 5,000 page views this week, so thank you to all those that stop by and read our little cinematic bloggage.

Bad Teacher - 22nd October 2013

So after last week's mini break, we are back here at TNiFN Towers to watch yet another Tuesday Night is Film Night film. Did you know, with tonight's film, that makes our grand total of cinematic sensations (or otherwise) to a grand total of 177?

Yes indeed, we are coming up to our 4th anniversary! So look out for a big celebration then. Or not as the case may be.

Anyhoo, to tonight's film and it's a bit of a comedy tonight, from 2011 it is;

Bad Teacher

Let us get straight into the plot here, no shilly shallying!

Cameron Diaz stars as teacher extraordinaire Elizabeth Halsey. I say extraordinaire, she is downright lazy and has no real interest in teaching at her school. However, she wants to get a boob job, (stay with it), but since getting ditched by her rich boyfriend, there's no way that she can pay for that! So her only real option is to stick with the teaching or try to cook up some money making schemes.

OK, the plot seems to be a little weak, but it's a comedy and to be fair it was very funny.

Back to the plot. Elizabeth teaches at John Adams Middle School, which seems to be a right mix of goofy teachers and kids! The love interest for Miss Halsey comes in the form of dishy teacher Scott Delacorte, played by the equally dashing (apparently) Justin Timberlake. However, gym teacher Russell Gettis (Jason Segal) also plays a hand. And rounding off this quadrumvirate of educators is Amy Squirrel, played the extremely funny Lucy Punch. Squirrel is a fantastic character, very funny in a quirky way and provides Elizabeth with some competition for the rights to be close to Mr Delacorte.

So, it is not an overtly complicated scenario, Elizabeth's vanity demands a boob job and she will do what she can to get the money to achieve this. However, the easiest way to get the cash is to win the bonus offered for the best test results in the State tests, but this means teaching, which is not something that Miss Halsey relishes, but it is a means to an end.

So, in this respect, and not trying to give too much away, Bad Teacher is a bit of a feelgood movie. Which is always nice, but don't let that fool you, oh no, the swearing in this film certainly makes up for the cutesie dialogue! Which is also a good thing, it provides a perfect comedic juxtaposition between soft, gentle comedy, with well placed and well delivered verbal filth!

There are some great performances from the leading four actors, but there is also a great supporting cast which really make this film fun to watch, particularly Lynn, played by Phyllis Smith (who was also in Butter). This character provides a perfect foil for the brash Miss Halsey, as Lynn is quiet and unassuming, which makes for some great scenes.

I think this is what really sums up Bad Teacher for us, it's the interplay with the characters, the differing outlooks from them, the opposites and the contradictions that make it so funny. You expect one thing, but get another. Extremely funny film, not one to be taken seriously at all, just sit back relax and enjoy.

So, in summation, a very funny, very watchable film. Great characters, a nice easy story line and some brilliant scenes. Cameron Diaz is at her beautiful best and Lucy Punch is perfect as the goody two shoes Miss Squirrel. We really enjoyed Bad Teacher.

TNiFN Rating 73%

Wonder Boys - 8th October 2013

Tuesday Night is Film Night continues into October with a comedy drama from 2000;

Wonder Boys

First things first, let us take a small pirouette around the cast of this film and hey, why not do it with bullet points? Why not indeed.

• Michael Douglas plays English professor and writer Grady Tripp
• Tobey Maguire plays James Leer, a troubled but brilliant student of Prof. Tripp.
• Robert Downey Jr weighs in as the demanding and voracious editor and literary agent Terry Crabtree.
• Frances McDormand plays Sara Gaskell, love interest to Prof. Tripp and Dean at their university.
• And finally in this mini roundup of the main characters, Richard Thomas plays Walter Gaskell, husband to Sarah and boss to Prof. Tripp. (Who some of you may remember as John Boy Walton, from The Waltons).

It would normally be at this juncture that the blog would turn to the plot of the film and start chronicling the storyline, but there hangs a bit of an issue, a problemette if you will. After 30 minutes of this 107 minute slog, there was no real plot, no real story and no real cohesion between one piece of dialogue and the next. Some information was presented in a narrative from the central character; Prof. Grady Tripp, as if he were proffering his story from his own book (which was probably true). However, it did not get much better in the remaining 77 minutes.

In a effort to outline a bit of the story let us say that the thinly veiled plot encompasses the following threads; Grady Tripp's wife leaves him. Tripp is struggling with a new book. His editor Crabtree fly's in to take a look, with a view to publication. Tripp is in a relationship with his boss's wife. An introverted student of Prof. Tripp is a prolific and gifted writer. A jacket worn by Marilyn Monroe makes an appearance and is subsequently stolen.

And someone shoots a dog.

And this all happens over a disastrous weekend.

That really is about it. Some positive notes; the acting was marginally better than OK. There were some funny moments. I know this for a fact as I counted them on the fingers of one hand.

What else to say about the film? It's based on the 1995 novel, of the same name, by Michael Chabon. Having not read the book, I cannot comment as to whether it is better than the film, but it would be hard pressed to be any worse.

Reading some of the reviews on Amazon, it seems our view is in the minority and some people enjoyed this film, one reviewer states;

".... if you are looking for an intelligent, quirky comedy then you will be delighted and dazzled by this little gem."

I would counter this with; in our opinion it was awful. It seemed to be a disjointed, ramshackle affair, where a thin, weak and insipid plot was bolstered only by some talented actors doing their jobs properly.

I would quite enjoy an intelligent, quirky comedy / drama, but this was not one of them.

As for the all important scores;

TNiFN Rating 40%

The Adjustment Bureau - 1st October 2013

Tuesday Night is Film Night rolls into October with;

The Adjustment Bureau

Oh lordy lordy! Where to start with this film? I'm not sure that any dalliances here to provide a detailed synopsis, or even a basic one will do this story justice. It's totally out of left field and is one of those weird fantasy fiction films, with it's feet firmly planted in reality, that you can never be sure if you love it, hate it, or just tolerate its reverie.

OK, let me give the normal spiel about the origin and plot-line of the film; The Adjustment Bureau is based upon the short story by Philip K. Dick (Adjustment Team) which introduces us to David Norris, played by Matt Damon, who is a young New York congressman running for Senate. However a few twists in his campaign trail lead him to lose out to his rival, but are these twists; life dealing David a bad hand, fate or some other forces at play?

At this point, we meet the love interest in this fantasy, romantic, thriller; Elise Sellas played by the delightful Emily Blunt. David clearly falls head over heels in love with Elise, with a "love at first sight" moment, but again is this chance meeting fate or a chance to adjust the destiny of these two characters?

It transpires that it is the latter. We learn this, when an "adjustment" fails to occur and the "plan" for David Norris is again twisted by true fate, rather than planned adjustment.

Confused? I thought you would be, but stick with it. Although in reality it would be better to watch the film and see for yourself what I am struggling to put into words!

Anyway, after an adjustment failure, it is deemed necessary for David to meet the Adjustment Bureau who turn out to be an agency working for The Chairman. Now, the film leaves you to make your own mind up who The Chairman is, some may draw the conclusion that he / she is God and the Adjustment Agents are angels, that is certainly alluded to, but in fairness to the screenwriters this is not confirmed and you can judge for yourself. The point being; this is the fantasy part of this thriller, where this agency is tasked with continually making adjustments to the lives of the mere mortals of earth, to ensure that they continue down the path that was destined for them. Some deviation is allowed for some decisions that are made, but these do not include what route one's life takes or what doors may open for you. And it is pertinent to note the mention doors there, as the Bureau's agents travel through doors to stay one step ahead of their assigned cases. The doors are normal doors, but their exits are not where one would expect them to be, i.e you can enter a door in one location, but you exit in another. Oh and you will need a hat!

Even more confused?

Yes, all the Bureau's agents wear hats, it's the way that The Chairman limits movement for them! I did say you need to watch the film to understand.

Back to the plot. So, David Norris the up and coming politician has his route to the White House planned. This is the path his life should lead. However, a second chance meeting with Elise, after the failed adjustment, changes this and this is when he learns of the Adjustment Bureau. They tell him all about their plans for his plan and he needs to maintain this secret for fear of being erased. However Norris being the tough cookie as he is, he is not going to take this lying down and thus begins the search for Elise despite of the Bureau's warnings.

There is a lot more to the film than the above, but this should give you some idea of the story and it isn't as absurd as it may sound. At first we did start to wonder what we had left ourselves in for, but it was well worth sticking with, as the fantasy story-line was underpinned with a firm grounding in reality and if you can accept that life will always take twists and turns based on fate, then perhaps you can allow a little credence to a creative and original tale of life adjustments made by men wearing hats.

It's difficult to pigeon hole The Adjustment Bureau into any one genre. It was certainly a thriller, as there were moments that made us gasp with surprise, but it was also a feelgood movie, as although the adjustments were meant to keep Elise and David apart, his sheer determination had to win out and for all that commitment it was clearly a romance as well.

So hopefully this will have intrigued you enough to perhaps seek the film out and make you own mind up, we certainly enjoyed it. As for the all important TNiFN rating...............

At this point, I feel I need to raise the issue of the scores, we normally have 3 scores, which are a value out of 10 and then an average is taken. Some say that averaging may bias the scores, thus not reflecting a true value. Perhaps we should score a total out of 30. I'm not so sure, but I take on board the suggestion. So this week I am going to take the total score and produce a percentage result, thus providing a rating based on the scores which would not matter on the numbers of viewers scoring, whilst still adding a higher degree of granularity above and beyond that of a mark out of 10.

Has the rating system confused you more than tonight's film?

TNiFN Rating 73%

Love and Other Drugs - 24th September 2013

The Tuesday Night is Film Night film tonight was

Love and Other Drugs

I am in a bit of a dilemma with tonight's film. The reviews I read beforehand didn't look too good. The synopsis, although interesting didn't inspire confidence. Anne Hathaway and some gratuitous nudity was a plus point though.

Let us just spin around the plot before making too much of a judgement. Love and Other Drugs is based on the non-fiction book; Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman by Jamie Reidy. It traces the story of Jamie Randall (Jake Gyllenhaal) a gifted sales rep. who nurtures his talents selling electronic equipment, up until the time when he and a female colleague are caught in flagrante so to speak! Fired after this misadventure, he takes up a position with Pfizer. the pharmaceutical giant, selling drugs to hospitals and it is in this field that Jamie starts to excel.

Whilst trying to persuade a hospital doctor (Hank Azaria) the benefits of his company's drugs over a competitors, he chances upon Maggie Murdoch (Anne Hathaway) who is in clinic to top up on her medication. After this brief meeting they end up back at Maggie's apartment for the first of the sex scenes. And I thought Anne Hathaway was a nice girl!

Maggie is suffering with Stage One Parkinson's and is dependent on her medication. Her relationship with Jamie is purely sexual, this is all she wants, she cannot handle commitment. And so they continue with this frequent and passionate relationship, whilst Jamie gets more successful selling drugs.

So far, so what? The basic plot is weak and the movie did not start too well, 30 minutes in and you're thinking; "is this it?" It does get better, but only just. We have some developing side plots that traverse into the main story, purely for comedy. Jamie's brother; Josh (Josh Gad) makes an appearance early on. Josh is a rich, but gormless geek and seems to have entered into the fray purely to lighten the story. In honesty though, the character was extremely annoying and was initially superfluous to the plot. Although his involvement in later scenes was more worthwhile.

There are several other mini plots and sub stories that traversed the main thread and these added some weight to the somewhat meagre main narrative.

If we depart from the story from a moment, the real deal with Love and Other Drugs is the fact that it cannot decide whether it is a comedy, a romance, a farce, a drama, or a feelgood movie and as it cannot decide, it tries to be all of the above and more. Over compensating for the lack of real story, with farcical, weak willed and sometimes dire overtones. It really should have simplified halfway through rather than diversify. It easily could have created a simplified main plot and capitalised on that, instead of trying to be all things to everyone, which it failed at.

However after halfway, things started to improve. The plot moved on to the introduction of Viagra as a Pfizer product line, so the comedy value and interest on that twist, improved the film. We also see Maggie and Jamie's relationship take a turn when she attends a Parkinson's convention. The scene with the Parkinson's sufferers is really rather good and was very funny, but also with a serious undercurrent.

This was a more memorable part of the film, as the weak comedy took a back seat and the love and romance side of this film then took the lead. This section of the film starts to redeem the weak first part, which is a good thing. The film also starts to obey the laws of romantic-comedies, in that the couple need to split up, before the inevitable pink and fluffy finale. Yes, it all comes good in the end!

In summation; very weak start which picks up after halfway. Allied with a weak but funny story makes this an adequate film, but not one to be overly grandiose about. The plus points must be; Anne Hathaway, she does have the most amazing pair of eyes! She does. Along with other assets and of course she is a really fantastic actress and she plays the part of Maggie so well. Jake Gyllenhaal is also very good and fits the role of smarmy drug rep. so well.

One other note and I have picked up on this before; another good soundtrack. Not sure what it is about American rom-com's but they do have a penchant for British popular music, which again can only be a good thing.

We round off this week's review with the all important TNiFN scores. Love and Other Drugs started with a 5, scraped to a 6 after halfway, but managed to win the audience over, in the last 45 minutes to end with a passable 7 out of 10.

As an aside, it is going to be interesting to see how the words; Viagra, nudity, sex and Anne Hathaway are going to do to the number of hits this website gets!

Until next time.

The Full Monty - 17th September 2013

Tonight there will be no half measures with our film choice, as we are going for;

The Full Monty

Where to start with this 1997 classic? We all know the story, do we not? A mixed bunch of unemployed Sheffield steel workers take it upon themselves to dance and strip their way to some ready cash, emulating The Chippendale's, who had recently set the hearts of the Sheffield womenfolk a-flutter with their erotic, honed and toned display of their Terpsichorean muse.

So, we know the story, well we should do, unless you are very young or have managed to avoid classic British cinematography consistently for the last 16 years! So let us not dwell on the story too much, although in essence, the story is what makes this film so popular. The film was written by Simon Beaufoy, who provided the screenplay for 127 Hours and Slumdog Millionaire by the by. And it is a well rounded story, with many, many different aspects, view points and levels that it keeps you entertained, enthralled and gripped throughout.

Filmed with the gritty backdrop of a forlorn 1990's Sheffield, The Full Monty brings together a strange mixture of characters led by Gary (Robert Carlisle), who tries to be a good Dad to Nathan, struggling to maintain dignity whilst unemployed and estranged from Nathan's Mother.

Gary is mates with Dave (Mark Addy), who is dealing with his unemployment situation and the fact that he is; "a fat bastard!" Along with Lumpor (Steve Huison), this trio open the film with some very funny, but also poignant moments which sets the tone for this comedy. It is a comedy, with some melancholic and sad overtones. Each characters' back story lending gravitas to the comedic front that we see. And this is what appeals so much with this film, you can, and will be laughing one minute and shedding a tear for the same character the next.

Gerald (Tom Wilkinson) joins the throng. Gerald used to be the foreman at the steel works and is living a continual lie as he leaves his Wife every morning on the pretense of going to work, when in fact he is attending the local Job Club with the other unfortunates. Despite this Gerald lives a modest middle class life, with access to his Wife's sunbed, a nice house in a nice area and also goes dancing, so is ideal for a bunch of hapless wannabe strippers to provide guidance, grace and choreography.

On route to the full monty they pick up a couple more hopefuls, namely Horse (Paul Barber) and Guy (Hugo Speer), who bring certain talents to the troupe! And there we have our band  complete and we follow their ups and downs throughout the film. Each one providing some very funny moments, but also displaying some sadder moments.

I could pick out a few favourite funny moments now;

Gerald's interview where his gnomes make an appearance at the window.

Dave getting a child's toy stuck on his wrist.

Dave sitting in the shed wrapping himself in cling film whilst eating a Mars Bar. Also, if you notice in that scene, there is a faux Rocky theme going on, drawing comparisons between the two characters as they prepare for battle.

The opening scene where Gary Dave and Nathan are trying to steel a couple of girders.

Lomper trying to gas himself in his car, but it won't start.

The gentle build up of the dancing in the dole queue to Donna Summer.

Brilliant!

On the flipside to this, you have those moments that move you to tears;

Lomper's Mum dying and the funeral thereafter.

Dave being confronted by his Wife, as she thinks he is cheating on her.

Gerald coming home to the repo. men removing all his belongings.

Gary not being able to see Nathan.

Some brilliant scenes.

Mark Addy and Robert Carlisle are excellent as the lead characters, young Nathan played by William Snape is also particularly good. Tom Wilkinson as the straight-laced Gerald is also worth a mention. Plus all of the other contributing cast, who all bring something to the piece making The Full Monty a classic film that can and should be enjoyed time and time again. It has that quintessential quality that makes it viewable many times and not many films have the ability to say that.

Now, to the all important TNiFN factor, we give it, drum roll please, not quite The Full Monty, but a hearty and well deserved 9 out of 10. And you can keep your hat on!

Bridget Jones's Diary - 10th September 2013

Tuesday Night is Film Night is back to the genre that is, in its shortened form, the rom-com, for tonight we open;

Bridget Jones's Diary 

Can I start with a problem? Can I?

The problem with Bridget Jones's Diary is that it is very popular. It has been seen and applauded by many. (Not by us at TNiFN, I might add). And so therein lies our little problemette, we have to deal with the preconceived idea that it is a good film. And alongside that preconception is the worry that we might not like it, all that glitters and all that. What if everybody was wrong, can we make a mini stand and say; "no! We don't like it"? Can we?

So we need to need to remove the preconceptions, take the movie at face value and make an honest critique of its content thereafter.

We needn't have worried, it has been lauded as a good film, because it is a good film.

So there we are. Problem solved, let us now take a look at the film.

Of course we know that Bridget Jones's Diary, is about Bridget Jones; single, thirtysomething, slightly fat, smoker of too many cigarettes and drinker of too much wine. And we know that this character is portrayed by the fabulous, narrow eyed loveliness that is Renée Zellweger. Bridget yearns for a better life and one new year decides to keep a diary, to help get her life back on track, but her honesty with her diary doesn't help too much.

She soon falls slightly in lust over her reprobate of a boss, Daniel Cleaver, played by Hugh Grant (who is actually just playing Hugh Grant, as that is really the only character he does play. Ooooh! Controversial, but true). However, the thing is Hugh Grant is perfect for this role, so that's fine and it fits in perfectly well with the big-knicker'd Bridget. Unfortunately, this love pairing is skewed by the introduction of some sideline shenanigans from Daniel and his fling with Bridget ends in a flurry with an accusation, a discovery of the 'other woman' and a disgruntled waggle of a fluffy bunny tail!

As one door closes, another one opens and interests are turned to Mark Darcy (Colin Firth). Another ideal casting. Firth plays an old childhood friend of Bridget's, who re-enters her life at one of her Mum's famous 'turkey curry' parties. "Anyone fancy a gherkin?" And from here a strange on off friendship develops.

Ally all of this with a fantastic supporting cast and you have the makings of a really great film. To spin around the notables in the credits, we have the consistently brilliant Jim Broadbent as Bridget's father. The most wonderful Celia Imrie as Una (Bridget's aunt, I think. Don't quote me on that). Sally Philipps as Bridget's friend Shazza, who has a penchant for the "F" word! Some of you will know Sally Philipps from Miranda. Another friend of Bridget's is Jude, played by Shirley Henderson, who maybe better known as Moaning Myrtle in the Harry Potter films. There is a small appearance from John Clegg who was on our small screens regularly back in the 70's and early 80's as La-di-dah Gunner Graham in "It Ain't Half Hot Mum".

So far we have a great cast. A cracking storyline, based on the Helen Fielding novel, some brilliant acting and a fantastic soundtrack. I will say soundtracks are often overlooked as a key element to a movie. The incidental music adds much to the ambiance of any film and it is no exception here. And of course a romantic comedy must have some laughs and they are plentiful in Bridget Jones. Some cracking one liners, some brilliant scenes and laughs all the way, but it is done in such a way that you have multiple layers of story packed in, so you may have a laugh, but it comes on that back of a more melancholic moment.

In summation then and with reference to the first paragraph above, although the preconceived notions abound about the quality of this film, for the ones among us who have not come to terms with the notion of big knickers revealed in the throes of passion, Bridget Jones's Diary is a very good film and it's is a good film for the reasons listed here and more. We like a nice, warming story, with a few laughs to keep us amused on a miserable September eventide and this was ideal.

What about the TNiFN scores I hear you cry? We give it a pink and fluffy 8 out of 10.

See you next time.