No Mark
It's Easter. Mark Kermode has done the decent thing and gone on holiday, so I'll be playing his part on Simon Mayo's show this Friday and next Friday on BBC Radio 5 Live, except Colin Murray's in for Simon, not that you'd know it from the at-a-glance 5 Live listings. For the record, I have not been asked to fill in for Mark on Film 24 on BBC News this time. I don't know why, after two years, but that's showbiz. This Friday, on 5 Live, I shall be reviewing 17 Again, Fast And Furious and 50 Dead Men Walking.
posted by Andrew Collins @ 10:51 AM
22 Comments
Contact
Andrew at
22 Comments:
I for one am glad your on. Although I AM a fan of the good doctor, it is mostly for his rants. I occasionally wish he'd go away for the good films and only review the rubbish. I find your reviews more accurate (ok maybe more in line with my critique) while still being "wittertaining". I will always admire the way you stood up for Lives of Others against Pan's Labyrinthingy.
Last week Mark actually said that Unforgiven was Clint's best film. Would you be able to put his listeners right on that one please!
PS what are you going to do with all your free time now that you've stopped covering apprentice? I never ever watched the show, but really lived it vicariously through you.
Best of luck. Remember to say hello to half the planet.
Who was the appalling woman who sat in for Simon Mayo last week? Annoying voice, pointless school-girl giggling and endless name-dropping. Colin Murray has his faults but sounds like Alistair Cooke in comparison. Can you have a word whilst you are there Andrew and make sure she never gets the gig again?
That "annoying woman" was Fiona Phillips (of TVam fame).
I never miss Kermode on Mayo but I find I get out of breath as he tries to squeeze ever more into each sentence before inhaling again. Your appearances on the show are like a calm in the storm and I therefore look forward to this week's broadcast.
Aha that explains it then!
I hope I didn't come across like one of those people who affects ignorance to make a rather laboured point (like Crown Court judges pretending not to know who celebrities are) but I genuinely had no idea. She received no billing at all on the podcast and as far as I could tell MK never refered to her by name. He certainly didn't say "yes that's right Fiona Philips of TV/AM fame" at any point.
I must admit to feeling rather satisfied with myself for reaching the same conclusion about her even when I didn't know who she was.
I'm not keen on Kermode for a bunch of reasons. The main one being that he uses the term 'a bunch' when he means 'a lot', 'a load' or 'many'.
Amongst other awful, cringe-inducing Americanisms.
Not reviewing my film of the year so far, "Let The Right One In" Andrew? I'd be curious to hear your opinion on it.
Missed the screenings of that one, KDH, but on previous experience it's pointless seeing anything more than four films, as my slot is always shrunk down by news and sport and overrunning interviews and we only ever get four reviews in. (I saw six one week and ended up talking at length about three.) Let The Right One In does look good, though. I'll catch it another time.
Are you not going to review Dragonball: Evolution? It's surprisingly not terrible...
17 Again
Fast and Furious
50 Dead Men Walking
The 400 Blows
That is what I am reviewing. It's not an exact science. Mark Kermode is a professional film critic with a number of contracts that require him to see every film that's released each week. I am not. My job at Radio Times does not require me to do this, but I make it my business (and my pleasure) to see as many films as possible. When I fill in for Mark, I attend as many screenings as I can for that given week, but past experience teaches me that in the "hour" slot set aside for Mark, when I'm in his chair, I rarely get to speak for much more than a sum total of 20 minutes, which, when you take away the emails and the UK Box Office Chart, leaves very little actual time for me to review films. So I generally prepare for about four. This is the way it works, until I am contracted to see all the films and then I will call myself a proper film critic.
Let The Right One Is is excellent - saw it at Frightfest last year.
In fact, it's probably the best colour vampire movie I've ever seen.
Here's another cheer for Let The Right One In, which more than made up for having to sit through Twilight.
And I do tend to agree that I listen mostly for Kermode's Rants (tm) nowadays, which means that a proper review is often slightly disconcerting.
-- David
Thanks Andrew - do understand the time issues, and I'll still be podcasting it regardless, even though I imagine "Fast & Furious" and the new Zac Efron movie are not for me (though I did quite like the first High School Musical...). I'll be going to see "50 Dead Men..." this weekend.
Interestingly enough, I've just got my new Sight and Sound, and Mark K has written a big feature on "LTROI" if you're interested.
Thanks, KDH, although Sight & Sound is one of the very few publications to survive my most recent credit crunch subscriptions cull. That and The Ecologist. (I couldn't live without either!)
Will read the MK piece with interest. All the film critics have been banging on about it this week.
I saw The 400 Blows at a screening last week so I'll be particularly interested to hear your thoughts on that. Will you explaining the title and how literal translations don't always work? I do hope so.
"Sight & Sound is one of the very few publications to survive my most recent credit crunch subscriptions cull. That and The Ecologist. (I couldn't live without either!)"
What about that cat magazine you sometimes get? How will yo know how often to give your cats a brushing?
I've noticed a lot of Guardian writers have a thing about reading both Grazia and The New Yorker...
Full subscription inventory:
Sight & Sound
The Ecologist
The New Yorker
Recently pruned:
Q
Mojo
New Statesman
On contributor mailing list for:
Word
Empire
Once subscribe to Your Cat, when first got cats, but the features are on an annual loop, as there's not that much to say about cats after 12 issues that hasn't already been said. I enjoyed it for a year, though.
Andrew, I find it really hard to listen to you on any radio show now that I am a subscriber to the podcast... how hard is not to slip in a f*ck or a c*nt or (how difficult is it it TO slip in a...for the podcast).
Do you ever wonder if people listen to the Podcast and think differently of you now and taht is why you are not perhaps getting the more conservative (i.e BBC) gigs you might be?
It's a bit of shame about Mark kermode, all this 'Good Doctor' and 'kermodian rant' and 'Wittertainment' nonsense from ther mayo slot has rather turned him into a bit of a cartoon character. I used to really care what MK thought about a film as I know he is very knowledgeable, somehow though his slot which has turned into a bit of a side-show I think, has (for me anyway) lessened his stature slightly.
The show has become less about film reviewing and more about in-jokes and 'the masses' waiting for the next Pirates-style rant.
oh well...
I know I make a joke about not getting any work on the podcast, Jaunty, but I haven't noticed my BBC radio work dwindling as a result. Don't forget, the reason we started the podcast was because I hadn't been on the radio much since my 6 Music contract ran out in March 2007 and I missed it. As it happens, I've been on 5 Live and R4 - and even on R2 with my Goth documentary and now I'm Spartacus - plenty since we started podcasting last February. I'd say it was a good trade-off. And you'd be amazed how professional I am! I can stop myself saying fuck and cunt in real life, and I can stop myself on the radio too. I am a consummate professional.
Absolutely. Though lets face it we should all know when it's appropriate or funny to swear, and when it's not!
And also I have to defend Mark Kermode here just to make it clear we don't ALL think he's an idiot cartoon character. I think MK is excellent, and listen to his reviews for the fun (eg the impressions!) as well as the intensively packed information I want - and it's the same reason I listen to Andrew in that slot. A few in-jokes doesn't make me trust the film reviews any less - once familiar with the reviewer's own tastes (which he is very open about) you can get lots of useful information from the programme.
But it's definitely wrong that Andrew was not asked to do MK's telly slot. I am outraged (well, as outraged as one can get about something which does not involve death or suffering). Cos you are a proper film critic Andrew? - is it really all about the cinema entrance being paid for rather than the review itself?
Look forward to hearing you on Friday Andrew.
Just to let you know, I spent Easter weekend in Hamburg and enjoyed HKIMN during the flights and a brief stop-over in Schiphol. An all-too-real reminder of my own days at University ('85-'88), and funny enough to make me laugh out loud on the plane, rather disturbing the German gentleman sat on my left! TMITC is next up.
David, Liverpool
Post a Comment
<< Home