Sunday, December 7, 2008
Last night's movie
Watched "Two Men Went to War" last night. We had four dvds from Netflix - a virtual plethora of possibilities - but two were dreadful, basically unwatchable. Kings in Grass Castles proves that angry Irish farmers emigrating to Australia are annoying, uninteresting and not entertaining, even if they might have been historically interesting. Peep Show was billed as terrific by viewers who'd liked The Office and Black Adder but we found it entirely unfunny and, worst of all, mean-spirited.
Two Men, on the other hand, was a surprise. (Spoiler alert : if you want no details, read no further....) This is the true story of two British army dentists who decide, in 1942, to take the war (World War II) into their own hands. They sail a very small boat to France armed with some grenades and wire cutters and, most importantly, a lot of gumption. They manage to make two German transport trains crash into each other (although they don't know it) and then they knock over part of a radar station before they hightail it back to England. They're almost court-martialled as deserters but Winston Churchill himself is so pleased with them that, instead, they are awarded the Military Cross along with a brief absent-without-leave sentence. Definitely an intriguing pair and a nice film for a Saturday evening.
The older of the stars of Two Men is Kenneth Cranham. He was married to Diana Quick (who was subsequently and for a long time has been Bill Nighy's partner and mother of their child) and was Helen Mirren's companion for many years (and father of their child). If his onscreen personna conveyed a sort of rugged sex appeal, I guess I must say it's borne out by his biography. The other star, Leo Bill, a mere 28 years old, played his part with a bit of goofiness that I could have done without, but he held his own well. The real character went on to become mayor of Newcastle-on-Tyne, interestingly enough.
Two Men, on the other hand, was a surprise. (Spoiler alert : if you want no details, read no further....) This is the true story of two British army dentists who decide, in 1942, to take the war (World War II) into their own hands. They sail a very small boat to France armed with some grenades and wire cutters and, most importantly, a lot of gumption. They manage to make two German transport trains crash into each other (although they don't know it) and then they knock over part of a radar station before they hightail it back to England. They're almost court-martialled as deserters but Winston Churchill himself is so pleased with them that, instead, they are awarded the Military Cross along with a brief absent-without-leave sentence. Definitely an intriguing pair and a nice film for a Saturday evening.
The older of the stars of Two Men is Kenneth Cranham. He was married to Diana Quick (who was subsequently and for a long time has been Bill Nighy's partner and mother of their child) and was Helen Mirren's companion for many years (and father of their child). If his onscreen personna conveyed a sort of rugged sex appeal, I guess I must say it's borne out by his biography. The other star, Leo Bill, a mere 28 years old, played his part with a bit of goofiness that I could have done without, but he held his own well. The real character went on to become mayor of Newcastle-on-Tyne, interestingly enough.
Labels: modern culture, movies, warfare
Post a Comment