Original Broadcast: The Business Of Film
With box office down another 12% and Super Mario Bros. still #1, James Cameron-Wilson gives thanks for The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry at #3. Adapted by the author, it stars Jim Broadbent as a man who goes to post a letter – and keeps walking, and James found it deeply moving. On Apple+ he watched Chris Evans in action thriller Ghosted, which he found disappointingly overfamiliar. But worse still, on Disney+, was Peter Pan & Wendy, a live-action remake of the original cartoon, which he found wrong in almost every regard. Simon Rose found the French version of The Three Musketeers – D'Artagnan a perfectly enjoyable version of the much-filmed story.
Guests: James Cameron-Wilson
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Original Broadcast: The Business Of Film
James Cameron-Wilson takes Simon Rose through the UK box office numbers, down 25% week on week. Super Mario Bros still dominates with Evil Dead Rises (5th in the series) debuting at #2. James found it stupidly predictable and cliched. He was much more impressed by Missing at #6. Another slim-budgeted screenlife movie, he found it gripping and emotionally involving, as well as being an amazing education as to what's possible online. He found Amazon Prime's action thriller Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, directed by Guy Ritchie and with Jason Statham overfamiliar, although he admits that it does look very good. Lastly, he paid his tribute to Harry Belafonte.
Guests: James Cameron-Wilson
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James Cameron-Wilson points out that while weekly box office is down 41%, it's still much healthier than this time last year. Super Mario Bros is still #1 with the highest new film being Renfield at #5. Another Dracula adaptation with Nicolas Cage and Nicholas Hoult, James found it a ridiculous mess, "more ham than Hammer" and one of the bloodiest films he had ever seen, despite its 15 certificate. He much preferred Tetris, the story of the computer game. Streaming on Apple+ and starring Taron Egerton, he found it utterly absorbing.
Guests: James Cameron-Wilson
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Original Broadcast: The Business Of Film
The UK box office shot up by 130%, says James Cameron-Wilson, thanks to the record-breaking opening worldwide of The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Frenetic and aimed at the Tik Tok generation, James was alarmed at the violence and brutality. He found Ben Affleck's Air, with Matt Damon, about Nike and Michael Jordan to be entertaining but unengaging. And although Boston Strangler, on Disney+ with Keira Knightley, was a treat for the eye, again he was not engaged enough to care. He was encouraged, though, by good corporate news from Everyman Cinemas.
Guests: James Cameron-Wilson
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Original Broadcast: The Business Of Film
James Cameron-Wilson tells Simon Rose how surprised he was by Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves (the 29th Hasbro movie spinoff), finding it very funny and bursting with imagination. Still recommending Allelujah he also liked gritty drama The Wife And Her Househusband (a very limited release) and YouTube short film Two Strangers Who Meet Five Times. His home video release of the month is the surreal Oscar-nominated EO, which looks at our world through the eyes of a donkey.
Guests: James Cameron-Wilson
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Original Broadcast: The Business Of Film
James Cameron-Wilson takes Simon Rose through the UK box office chart, which has picked up thanks to the arrival of John Wick: Chapter Four at #1. Almost 3 hours long, James though it assassin porn, repetitive and exhausting. He found 80 for Brady (#8) a major embarrassment for Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno & Sally Field. He adored Zach Braff's A Good Person with Florence Pugh and Morgan Freeman but it only debuted at #18. Fans of Life of Brian should note a re-release on April 7.
Guests: James Cameron-Wilson
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Original Broadcast: The Business Of Film
James Cameron-Wilson takes Simon Rose through the box office charts, dismissing new #1 Shazam! Fury of the Gods as lacking suspense or laughs. However, he waxed lyrical about the Alan Bennett adaptation Allelujah at #4 ("the feel-sad movie of the year"), with Judi Dench & Derek Jacobi in a story about old age and the NHS. He was even more taken with love story Rye Lane at #7 which he found funny & exhilarating, a debut which excited him in the way Trainspotting had. In few cinemas but on Apple+ is French drama Other People's Children, which James adored, thinking it moving and involving.
Guests: James Cameron-Wilson
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James Cameron-Wilson discusses the UK box office numbers with Simon Rose, with total take down 5% despite two big new films. Scream VI takes the #1 slot but James found it boring, unpleasant and full of unbelievable characters. Sci-fi thriller 65, starring Adam Driver, slips in at #3 ("irritating and dull"). James made a plea for discerning cinemagoers to go to charming romcom What's Love Got To Do With It (#7) while they still have the chance. He rounds up the podcast with a discussion of the Oscars, both the results and the ceremony itself.
Guests: James Cameron-Wilson
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Original Broadcast: The Business Of Film
James Cameron-Wilson takes Simon Rose through the latest UK box office numbers, up 22%, largely thanks to the arrival at #1 of Creed III. Taking £5m at the weekend and starring and directed by Michael B Jordan, James found it a polished, well-directed, crowd-pleasing movie. On Amazon Prime, he found Somebody I Used To Know, starring Alison Brie and written by her and her directing husband Dave Franco, watchable but undermined by an abrupt tonal switch from comedy to heavier drama. Netflix's comedy horror We Have A Ghost he found too ambitious for its own good and most definitely over-long.
Guests: James Cameron-Wilson
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Original Broadcast: The Business Of Film
James Cameron-Wilson examines the UK box offie, down 40% on the week. With Ant-Man 3 still #1, the much-anticipated Cocaine Bear enters at #3. Stomach-churningly violent and unsubtle, James's verdict is, "Great trailer, shame about the movie". Romcom What's Love Got To Do With It, written by Jemima Khan and starring Lily James and Shazad Latif, is #4 and James and Simon both recommend it. It's romantic, funny and even educational. South Korean Broker is #8. On Apple TV is Sharper, with Julianne Moore in a con artist film that is entertaining but also too clever for its own good.
Guests: James Cameron-Wilson
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