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… And…Dads’ Lives Matter. We have a new theme for the oldsters to contemplate from the other end of the age band tick boxes . And for those of us … Continue Reading A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)
CRUMBLIES… Well, this is lovely! And in a shiny upshot of Lockdown, really really new. A film released back in January has hit Amazon Prime with solid subtitles and delicious … Continue Reading Jawaani Jaaneman (2020)
CRUMBLIES… I know it’s a remake, so shut up. It’s a Steve Martin film and – back in the day – I bloody loved him. Planes, Trains and a dash … Continue Reading Father of the Bride (1991)
CRUMBLIES… Have you ever been scared to jump into life? Timid, shy, perhaps cowardly, but presenting a cheery smile and a gay demeanour to the world? I have. It took … Continue Reading Late Spring / Banshun (1949)
CRUMBLIES… Sometimes the TV room offers up something so gentle, good-natured, surprise-free and a bit meh that you can’t help but get swept along by it. Nothing unexpected, every comedy … Continue Reading Like Father (2018)
CRUMBLIES… This movie is glorious. Better than that – sublime. This is Robert Donat at his most brilliant, combining the cool with the sympathetic. It is the story of the … Continue Reading The Winslow Boy (1948)
CRUMBLIES… Now here is a lovely, lovely film. Dump this review and get your arse over to Amazon Prime and watch it. Are you an ageing father? Are you a … Continue Reading Piku (2015)
CRUMBLIES… Oh, the joy! Another sports film from Aamir Khan, but this time he’s the Dad and has had the decency to pile on a ton of weight for the … Continue Reading Dangal (2016)
CRUMBLIES… There are more telling insights into an old man taking a piss in the first ten minutes of this film than the last hundred years of cinema. And, ooooooooohhhhhhhhh, … Continue Reading Trouble with the Curve (2012)
CRUMBLIES… There are some things a parent should never have to do. Look under their beds, listen to their music or bury them – that’s my top three. And I’ve … Continue Reading The Way (2010)
CRUMBLIES… Old Jack can be a bit slow sometimes. I popped this on the box expecting a story of family fun, Frank Langella as comedy grandpa, Christina Applegate as gorgeous, … Continue Reading Youth in Oregon (2016)
CRUMBLIES… Here’s a film that could’ve been, should’ve been brilliant. Imagine the meeting: let’s do a watered down About Schmidt, with a watered down de Niro, trying to connect with … Continue Reading Everybody’s Fine (2009)
CRUMBLIES… Earnest Ed, still serious about the world and its brutalities in his 98th year, lurched into my room one morning waving the Fences DVD. “We have to watch this!” … Continue Reading Fences (2016)
CRUMBLIES… Now here’s a tale for widowers. A lyrical, funny, gentle film that bored the still-loved, still-seen amongst the newspaper smugerati. For they did not understand the solace of Mr … Continue Reading Mr Morgan’s Last Love (2013)
CRUMBLIES… IBS Ivan often sat opposite at breakfast, looking cool and cruel. He had been a man of achievement, he’d told me, often, and a lot. He had risen from … Continue Reading The Judge (2014)