Tuesday (29/3) 23:50 Film4
Buried (2010)
Ryan Reynolds stars as a US soldier serving in Iraq who awakes in a coffin-esque box, buried underground, with no memory of how he got there. With a gas lighter and a phone with a rapidly dwindling battery, he must somehow contact the outside world for rescue, before running out of oxygen. The film's entire runtime takes place within the snug man-sized confines, and is still a reasonably effective drama.
Monday (28/3) 23:40 BBC2 Spotlight (2015)
This superbly crafted drama follows a small, crack team of journalists who specialise in major community stories for the Boston Globe newspaper. They fervently investigate claims that local clergy have been sexually abusing children, which takes them into the lives of the clergy, victims and lawyers involved. Spotlight is wonderfully directed and acted across the board and rightly won the best picture Oscar, it is the kind of important film that should be protected for future generations to learn from.
See my full Spotlight review previously posted
Sunday (27/3) 14:00 BBC1 Monsters vs. Aliens (2009)
A middling children's animated adventure of a team of monsters (including a blob called Bob and the ginormous insectosaurus) defending earth against a hoard of invading aliens. There may be none of the wonderful Pixar or Ghibli visual inventiveness and beauty or story depth here, but it should keep the kids quiet for 90 minutes.
Sunday (27/3) 21:00 Film4 Kingsman: The Secret Service(2014) (also Friday 21:00)
Action comedy about a young tearaway, 'Eggsy', who is recruited into Kingsman, an elite branch of UK Secret Service. He must complete a series of tasks to become an agent, as Samuel L Jackson's villainous, sneaker wearing Valentine plots to enslave the entire human population using a high-tech virus. Besides some impressive high action cinematography, for me, Kingsman only reaches mediocre levels of action or comedy.
Sunday (27/3) 23:05 BBC1 La La Land (2016) (also Thursday BBC4 21:00)
Damien Chazelle's bright, intoxicating, effervescent La La Land serves as a love letter to musicals and a stand alone musical of great control and accomplishment. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone team up again in the simple story or romance under pressure from their careers and their art. The top notch performances (Stone took home the Best Actress Oscar) and directing ensure that the character engagement is never lost in the singing or dancing, (which itself is greatly performed) the quiet moments hit home just as much or more than the big musical numbers.
There were other Oscar wins for music, director and cinematography.
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