I RECENTLY downloaded the All4 app, and, unlike the iplayer, it works here in Ireland for free with no subscription. It has some great shows and a number of really good films. First up, the movies I think are worth a watch. Next week I will select my picks for the best TV shows.
Local Hero: Is Local Hero the best film ever made? Maybe. It is probably the best British film of all time and is definitely the best film to ever come out of Scotland. When a rep from an American oil company comes to a small Scottish town to buy the land and surrounding area he falls in love with the town and way of life. Sounds a bit naff, it isn’t. It is brilliant. Just watch it. Also has a great soundtrack from Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits.
Maradona: Director Asif Kapadia actually make me care about formula one (a sport I find breathtakingly dull ) with his incredible documentary Senna in 2010. Here he has taken on a topic I actually have a passing interest in - Argentine footballer Diego Maradona and the results are as good as I hoped. This is the gold standard in the genre of sports documentary.
Sexy Beast: Remember when Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels came out and everyone tried to re-create its success and launched a terrible wave of British gangster films? This was the only good one. A career best from both Ray Winston and Ben Kingsley.
Kill List: This film is incredibly grim and creepy. Two ex-army veterans, suffering from PTSD and in financial bother, take on a list of targets to take out. At first they seem unrelated but there is something unusual about each one. This film has one of the most deeply unsettling opening 40 minutes I can remember. Arguably one of the best horror films of the last 10 years.
My Life As A Courgette: If you, and maybe your children, are sick of Disney+ or of all the Ghibli movies on Netflix, this is a great alternative family film. Nominated for an Oscar in 2016, this is a French movie about a boy in an orphanage, it is quite sad, yet also charming and funny. It is written by Celine Sciamma who wrote and directed the best film (so far ) of this year, Portrait Of A Girl On Fire.
