December 2008 Archives

SO here it is. December 31, 2008. The last day. The year's finished. No more movies.

Well, not till tomorrow!

To help you to remember just how many films there have been this year, here's a reasonably definitive list of the good, the bad and the very, very ugly.

There's something for everyone to enjoy and quite a few for everyone to avoid.

But, it was ever thus.

For every ten films released, only one will be outstanding and then the rest start to grade themselves quite naturally.

Click on the link below and enjoy the round up.

In the meantime, here's to many more movies in 2009!

GET ready, Bat fans, for one of the silver screen treats of 2009!

Customers were travelling to Millennium Point from as far afield as Devon, Cardiff and London when The Dark Knight opened at the enormous IMAX in late July.

And why not, given that our stupendous screen improved the whole movie by some 20 per cent.

Hot on the heels of this success, Birmingham's IMAX cinema is hoping to go one better in the New Year.

From 7.30pm on January 30 and 31 you'll be able to see Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins at the IMAX for the first time, with The Dark Knight set to follow at the rather late time of 22.15.

Me thinks the Sunday, February 1 screening will be the most popular, with Batman Begins at 4pm followed by The Dark Knight at 6.45pm.

Now that's what I call a Bat Fest!

Book your tickets now! Call 0121 202 2222 or visit www.imax.ac

THE clock starts ticking from midnight tonight... towards the centenary celebrations of the UK's oldest working cinema.

The Electric Cinema on Station Street in Birmingham showed its first performance on December 30, 1909.

After a period of real uncertainty a decade ago, current owner Tom Lawes has to be congratulated for what he has achieved since he bought the cinema in 2004 ready to relaunch it.

Tom has modernised the building to a degree, while remaining faithful ot its more eclectic period touches so that people who wouldn't be seen dead in a mulitplex will still feel most at home here.

For a few dollars more, you can now share a sofa at the back of Screen 1 (something the Odeon New Street should have been willing to try in Screen 8) or you can just watch your film in the old fashioned way.

Upstairs in Screen 2, what is still the best proportioned screen in the whole of the city has also reopened as a digital screen.

Tom has also spent a few bob making the ground floor loo into one suitable for disabled access (but do try to call in advance so they can get the outside ramp in place just so that you can enter the building).

On top of all this, the Electric is now showing an increasingly varies and voluminous mixture of films.

And Tom's band is amazingly good at reproducing classic movie hits like Live and Let Die.

The only things the Electric needs now is to find a way of masking the still distracting emergency exit signs beneath the screen, a telegram for its 100th birthday from the Queen...

And, of course, a reel-ly good birthday cake ready for next year's celebrations!

For more information, visit the cinema's excellent website at www.theelectric.co.uk which includes the following brief summary of its history:

1909 On the 30th of December the cinema shows its first performance.
1922 Renamed 'Select Cinema'.
1931 On the 14th of November the cinema closed and became an amusement arcade.
1937 The building added a gallery upstairs (now screen 2) and became the 399 seat Tatler News Theatre
1970 The cinema becomes 'The Jacey'
1980 A second screen is added upstairs and the cinema becomes 'The Classic'.
1984 The 'Tivoli' opens on a strict diet of soft porn and horror.
1993 The cinema is renamed back to The Electric and becomes a two screen repertory theatre.
2004 Cinema bought by Thomas Lawes Media Ltd and undergoes conversion to a centre for film making and exhibition.

Members of Friction Theatre were have been in mourning this weekend following the death of playwright Harold Pinter on Christmas Eve. He was 78.

Birmingham's newest professional theatre company put on The Homecoming at the Crescent Theatre in November.

And then it staged two more Pinter productions, The Lovers and Landscape, at the Old Joint Stock in December.

Member Geoff Poole says: "I am so glad that I was in The Homecoming and that our little company did those two one acters.

"Pinter was a British force in the various screen plays that he did and I think he will be a great loss on many levels."

Harold Pinter was nominated twice at the Academy Awards, in 1982 for The French Lieutenant's Woman and two years later for Betrayal.

These two films also earned BAFTA nominations along with Accident, The Quiller Memorandum and The Servant.

He did win two BAFTAS, in 1972 for The Go-Between and in 1965 for The Pumpkin Eater.

Perhaps if he hadn't done so much theatre work, acting and campaigning, he might have won an Oscar.

But, if you're good at both, why not do both - especially as you are more likely to be in control of a stage play than you ever are working in the movies.

IT'S Boxing Day... and that means cinemas will be back open ready to tempt you with their wares.

Our special edition of the Birmingham Mail today has reviews of two of the new movies you can see - Adam Sandler's Bedtime Stories and Baz Luhrmann's Australia.

Plus, don't forget, there's also a big spread on my movies of the year.

We're giving Australia three stars... it looks very handsome but is a bit too episodic to really gel as a movie you'd want to see again and again.

And it's so long that, one day, you will probably probably be able to watch all of it in the time it takes to fly Down Under and back.

Which will be rather nice given that it's a very good publicity vehicle for the Australian tourist board.

Also out today is Jim Carrey's new comedy Yes Man, reviewed last Friday when we pointed out that despite its 12A certificate it is not family friendly.

If you want a film that is suitable for younger children, try The Tale of Despereaux.

HAPPY Christmas to every reader!

There is just one day to go before I'll be revealing my top ten films of 2008 in the Birmingham Mail's Boxing Day edition on Friday, December 26.

The two-page spread will also list top tens for categories of films including men, women, comedy, foreign, blockbusters, pick and mix, and, of course, turkeys.

So that means something for everyone, whatever your taste.

Don't forget to pick up your copy if you don't get our great newspaper delivered.

Your local newsagent will enjoy seeing you pop by to say 'Hello' and the fresh air will be magnificent if you don't manage to get out on Christmas Day.

Re JB, as promised I am keeping it zipped.

Meanwhile, I assume a leading figure in a certain well known place in Italy this week will be receiving a record postbag as soon as Europe's posties get back to work.

Well, folks, Christmas is almost upon us.
It's a time to show peace and goodwill to all men. Women, too!
And no matter what anyone may have written about me on this site, I send you all my very best wishes for a Happy Christmas and a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.
I kid you not, but such benevolence is wholly within my character.
Contrary to some of the comments about me, I never bear grudges and I don't feel bitter.
Even when my Editor (rightly) tells me to remove a couple of lines posted yesterday.
In JB's words on Loose Women, 'we move on'.
My sole intention was to illustrate how the once mightiest of stars who take a wrong turn can be hit by their own fast-rolling snowball on the other side of the hill.
Some readers were quick to read far more into my words in the very same way I have been criticised for reading too much into a panto.
As for me having a 'dislike of pantomime', I wouldn't go year after year if I didn't want to enjoy it. As I do. Enormously.
As I did with Robin Hood. Four stars, remember!
Paul Zerdin... the star of the future.
Don Maclean... his best performance yet at 64. And on what look more like the (hairy) legs of a 34-year-old... How does he do that?
Since its launch, the purpose of this blog has been to try to inform, educate and entertain.
And to try to help us all to understand more of the world in which we live.
Whether I succeed or not is up to you, the reader.
What has fascinated me about the whole Barrowman saga this week is that it has been interpreted as 'a relentless attack on his sexuality... demeaning to you and to the newspaper you write for'.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
JB is the one who brings sex into the mix at every opportunity.
My job is to ask: 'Why?'
And then: 'Does it affect the show?'
What would have happened, for example, if a rather different type of Scot - let's say Gordon Brown - had unzipped in a BBC studio before an interview on Radio 4's Today programme and then declared in that unique, jaw-dropping way of his: "It's just for a laugh, John (Humphrys), so nobody will mind.
"Especially as you had the webcam off."
GB might need to lighten his image, in the eyes of some, but there are ways and means.
And he's generally respected for knowing where to draw the line (even if some might argue he's thrown the economy over a cliff).
If Robin Hood has beaten the Hipp's 'record for ticket sales' that must be, in part, due to inflation, not the actual number of punters given that a certain Ken Dodd didn't pack his bags at the start of February like the stars of today always do.
Lots of great work by my colleagues on the Mail and our sister titles must help with sales, too, because we are the first to realise how wonderful it is to have theatres like the Hipp and we fill pages promoting their work accordingly.
The USA has 'no positive gay influence in the entertainment industry', says Rick.
I can see how JB can be a good role model for people who need to feel more positive about themselves. He has enough self-confidence to send an army into battle.
But does his super-human level of self-belief then make some others feel more inadequate than they might otherwise, I wonder?
Like the colour of one's skin, I don't think anyone's personal sexuality is relevant to anything in showbusiness as long as you can act, sing, dance or whatever and play the character.
But I do wish the BBFC would tighten up on its film certification policy so that children are less likely to be sexualised before they are ready - watch Yes Man (12A) as an example of a film you wouldn't want your eight-year-old to see.
Barack Obama won his election because he did NOT bang on about his colour every five minutes, so the electorate was then able to judge him at face value.
Prior to his radio station antics so near to a panto show, which then made me question his decision-making, this was exactly how I've always treated John Barrowman.
Almost a year ago, I willingly gave up a Saturday to listen to JB talking to a group of children at the Hippodrome.
I then went home and wrote about it in my own time.
I was interested to see how children would respond to JB.
And I was even more keen to learn a few of the secrets of showbusiness success so that I could share them with our readers who then might want to follow in his footsteps.
JB was great value that day.
And my willingness to go the extra mile to cover this story earned him a two-page spread in the Mail which could only have enhanced his reputation.
Click on the link below and you can read it.
But first, one final thought.
If anyone takes any more offence at any of the above then I'll just have to take it on the chin.
From now on, when it comes to JB, I think I'll keep it zipped.
Happy Christmas.

+ + + + +

PS. Seen the review from today's Metro?
It says: 'Barrowman's showmanship just about keeps the proceedings afloat'.
Three stars.
How Scrooge-like! And doesn't it make my four stars seem positively overflowing with praise?

My, my, my... we are a touchy lot today!

I get lambasted for suggesting that John Barrowman has gone over the top with Robin Hood, whereas JB gets off scot free for relentlessly flaunting himself in front of more than 1,000 people, many of whom will be children at every show.

Fancy that! But then that's the world we live in today, where people like soccer 'star' Joey Barton (coincidentally another JB) earn too much money, start to believe in their own success and then think they can not only step over the line, but stay there.

Well, the harsh truth of showbusiness history is that your sexuality can snowball to the point that it gets in the way of your act, and in my opinion that's where Barrowman is.

To set the record straight, some of my best friends are gay and I don't care whether their weather vane swings east, west, north or south.

For all I know, many other people I know and love might be gay.

But, since they don't make a song and dance about it every time they appear in public, they can get on with their lives quietly and with their self-respect intact.

The embarrassment with Robin Hood comes not with the fact that it contains 'gay' gags per se, but that they are so relentless that all subtlety is lost.

It's as if the only thing that matters is Barrowman's sexuality when we're actually supposed to be watching Robin Hood.

After the relentless 'gay' theme, how can it then make sense for JB to sing 'Everything Little Thing She Does is Magic' with a straight face?

Barrowman is a good showman and Robin Hood is an exciting, colourful panto with brilliant sets, fully worth the four star rating I've given it. I wish the show and everyone connected with it all the best for a hugely successful run.

But the fact is that JB lacks the subtlety needed to truly engage an audience on anything other than a superficial level. Hence the one-joke persona.

Will he still be at the forefront of the nation when he's as old as Bruce (81 in February) Forsyth? I think not.

John Barrowman can be fun, but he isn't hilarious, Dee.

But Don Maclean and Paul Zerdin certainly are. Without them, the show would be in danger of falling on its...

As for Elaine's view about pantos being 'tongue in cheek', this show is too overt for that. Where's the class of past Hippodrome panto stars like Danny La Rue or even Julian Clary?

The fallout from the Ross-Brand debacle carried on for weeks after it first happened but should still have been fresh enough in JB's mind for him to keep it zipped in a radio studio just prior to starring in a panto for children. He's lucky he wasn't fired (but then theatres can act like football clubs when they want to and ignore potential trouble).

The audience which subsequently roared its approval at JB's token 'apology' on ITV1's Loose Women has a lot to answer for.

They should have stayed almost silent so that he would have got the message: 'calm down, or sling your hook back to Glasgow'.

Copying fellow Scotsman Tony Blair, he excitedly gives us things in triplicate to make sure we understand a trite message ('hot, hot, hot' / 'fantastic, fantastic, fantastic' etc) which might not stand up in the long run.

Perhaps JB needs to spend a month as a hospital janitor to bring his ego back down to ground level.

WE all know that John Barrowman has arguably the biggest ego in British showbusiness right now.

So much so, he recently unzipped himself in a BBC Radio 1 studio for a supposed laugh - just days after the Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand controversy,

It was hardly a big sacrifice for him to go on to Loose Women ready to admit that he 'had made a mistake' (so that's all right then).

Especially as it doesn't seem as if he's learned anything from the episode if Barrowman's new panto at the Birmingham Hippodrome today is any guide.

I saw the colourful production today and... guess what!

Robin Hood The Pantomime Adventure might be a cracking panto for the most part, but it's embarrassingly overloaded with 'gay' gags.

And this is supposed to be a family show?

Not only that, but the Scot thinks he's a superstar who resembles a Hollywood legend.

Described as 'tall, dark, handsome... sort of looks like Tom Cruise', Barrowman adds: 'But I've got the full package'.

In your dreams, son! In your dreams!

My full review of the Robin Hood The Pantomime should be in our sister paper, The Birmingham Post, on Monday.

Colleagues Roz Laws and Diane Parkes will be giving their respective verdicts in the Sunday Mercury tomorrow and in the Birmingham Mail on Monday.

Don't miss 'em!

"Freestyle" Your Way To Stardom!

Revolver Entertainment is teaming up with the social networking site Bebo and the National Basketball Association (NBA) in a unique initiative to search for talented individuals who can not only act but also bust some moves on the dance floor and master a ball on the basketball court.

The winning contestants will go on to take the lead roles in Freestyle, a British urban drama set in the competitive world of freestyle basketball.

Regional auditions will be held throughout January in London (10th), Manchester (17th) and Birmingham (18th), and lucky contestants who impress the judges will be invited to compete in the grand finals, which take place in London on the 24th January.

The "Search For A Star" competition will be judged by a panel of experts that includes Kolton Lee (Freestyle director and ex-professional basketball player), Kenrick "H20" Sandy (ace choreographer who has worked with the likes of Dizzee Rascal, Misteeq, Sugababes, Big Brovas and Fergie) and a special celebrity guest.

The NBA, which has made a long-term commitment to grow the game of basketball in the UK, will support "Search for a Star" by providing audition venues, talent scouts and basketball product for participants.

Kolton Lee, director of Freestyle said: "Basketball is the fastest growing sport in the UK and extremely popular with urban youths.

"Freestyle shows urban youth culture in the UK as it really is and we are keen for the cast of the film to reflect this.

"We are not just looking for actors but for young people who can relate to the subject matter, and we hope that Freestyle will provide a unique opportunity for their voices to be heard."
All entrants must register for their audition spot via the film's Bebo profile:

www.bebo.com/FreestyleMovie

Freestyle has been financed by Film London, BBC Films and the UK Film Council, and will be released in the UK in autumn 2009 by Revolver Entertainment.