CRUMBLIES… So, every Spider-Man boils down to Uncle Ben and Auntie May. How well do they represent their age group? Are they warm and convincing or a tad American-Evangelist-country-singer. Well, … Continue Reading The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
CRUMBLIES… Oh wow. I saw Ray McAnally’s name in the credits, this film made during his late, gruff years of power and threat. Grrr, old Jack thought. It’ll be full … Continue Reading Taffin (1988)
CRUMBLIES… Some actors represent the ruffty-tuffty men of the world. Some even avoid the hideous men-being-men schtick the Americans love (Chicago Fire, The Shield… I’m looking at you). They walk … Continue Reading The Ice Road (2021)
CRUMBLIES… Old Jack here actively need to watch this film. I’d just got through The Incredible Hulk (2008) and Made in Italy (more on that later…may be a while to summon … Continue Reading Iron Man 2 (2010)
CRUMBLIES… So, the start of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (the MCU, kids) popped up on Steve’s list of things to watch before the surgeons have plugged my remaining orifices. Not … Continue Reading Iron Man (2008)
CRUMBLIES… There’s something about Victorian moralising that grates the soul; not least because that vilifying crap has come back. Old Jack here was pretty much on Lockdown before the rest … Continue Reading Ten Nights in a Barroom (1926)
CRUMBLIES… … Ooooohhhhh – perfect! Do you need more of a review than that? This – second only to Goodbye, Mr Chips (1939) – is Robert Donat’s best film. And it’s … Continue Reading The 39 Steps (1935)
CRUMBLIES… Some films have all the right ingredients: an angry old bugger, a new neighbour with instant tension, a kid who needs the grumpy support of the old bugger and … Continue Reading St. Vincent (2014)
Ok. Look. There are some things an old old man like Jack here shouldn’t see. They disrupt the blood pressure by coming at you with challengingly feel-good stories, properly weird … Continue Reading Scottish Mussel (2015)
CRUMBLIES… Oh, wow. This is brilliant. I know having half your insides cut out and changing your physique from slouching oldster to gutted-fish will test your intellect and view of … Continue Reading Knives Out (2019)
CRUMBLIES… You know, there’s not a lot left of Old Jack. I’ve spent much of the last year being fingered by professionals, getting passed from probe to probe, excision to … Continue Reading Charlie’s Angels (2019)
CRUMBLIES… “Knock knock…” You know what, I was in the mood for brash, bewigged and silly. A hint of 1970s cop thriller and a big dose of the Duke…and, a … Continue Reading Brannigan (1975)
CRUMBLIES…Â I have become that irritating thing: the pupil that suggests a few things to the master. Vibrant Vinay stared at me with an air of disbelief as old Jack … Continue Reading Happy New Year (2014)
CRUMBLIES…Â Vibrant Vinay took me aside and said, no matter the proximity to her exit from the planet, we owed Sridevi‘s legacy a bit of respect. And he’d found the … Continue Reading Mom (2017)
CRUMBLIES…Â Silent Steve was on fire! He suggested a film about an old grump, a faux doctor showing off a somnambulist at a town fayre, evil, cold-hearted and full of … Continue Reading The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari / Das Kabinet des Dr. Caligari (1920)
CRUMBLIES… Old Jack here has noticed a few themes that run through Bollywood movies. They can be clunky plotted, with coincidence and about-turns hidden in the sumptuous photography, use of … Continue Reading Dilwale (2015)