Feb 12, 2017Walking Tall — The secret of small actorsWednesday, March 20, 2002 The movie’s reaching its climax — a man is being led through a filthy jail to see his friend who’s been incarcerated for two years; our hero is about to volunteer to serve his own sentence to save his friend’s life — and the only question…Movies3 min readMovies3 min read
Feb 12, 2017Oscar War — What should really happen at awards ceremoniesTuesday, April 02, 2002 In our playground there were simple rules of engagement. Three boys would link arms and stride around the playground chanting ‘Who wants a game of War?’, or if we were feeling cheeky, ‘Who wants a game of Kiss Chase?’. Soon others would join in, and then…Movies4 min readMovies4 min read
Feb 12, 201724-hour plot people — 24 reviewedSunday, April 28, 2002 It’s 8am in 24, and we?re a third of the way through the day. How’s it working out for you? On the plus side, the plot’s gripping and has more twists and turns than Robert Pires on the dodgems. And there’s some good use of technology…Movies2 min readMovies2 min read
Feb 12, 2017Attack of the Clones — One of our heroes is missingThursday, May 23, 2002 It’s difficult to garner much sympathy when everyone knows you’re Darth Vader. Especially when you’re a snot-nosed teenager in a sulk. George Lucas has been watching Harry Enfield — in Attack of the Clones, Annakin Skywalker is the teenager Kevin. With a light sabre. The film…Star Wars2 min readStar Wars2 min read
Feb 12, 2017Ray Mears: Practical VisionaryMonday, July 22, 2002 Ray Mears is that rare and perfect combination — a practical visionary. When he’s talking you through the challenges of surviving in the world’s wildernesses, you trust his judgement and expertise, but you also warm to his more philosophical side. I’ve always been disappointed they make…Television2 min readTelevision2 min read
Feb 12, 2017All Grown Up — Minority Report reviewedWednesday, August 14, 2002 ‘What happened to our sense of wonder?’ mumbles Van Morrison in his song ‘On Hyndford Street’, and Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report answers that question with a degree of pain and pessimism we’ve not seen from him before. Spielberg was famously the Peter Pan of Hollywood, his…Movies2 min readMovies2 min read
Feb 12, 2017Real Drama — reality vs. fictionMonday, September 02, 2002 Channels here and in the US are fighting to outdo themselves with variants of the reality TV idea. At first unknown people were made famous just by showing them on TV doing their jobs — Hotel, Airport, that one about the cruise ship. Then it became…Television2 min readTelevision2 min read
Feb 12, 2017Losing the Ryder CupMonday, September 30, 2002 Spare a thought for Steve Ryder, the journeyman sports broadcaster for the BBC. He’s just spent the last three days covering the Ryder Cup (no relation), without being able to bring us any live coverage, because the Sky Sports schemers had the rights. Poor Steve, normally…Sports2 min readSports2 min read
Feb 12, 2017Papa’s got a brand new blag — Britain’s Favourite Hoaxer reviewedWednesday, October 09, 2002 ‘Do you think there’s something wrong with us, doing this, like?’ asks Tommy, just before he and his mates blag their way onto the podium at the British Grand Prix, for a spot of Riverdancing. Nothing wrong at all. They’re just living a low-budget heartwarming British…Sports3 min readSports3 min read
Feb 12, 2017The Rules of ComedyMonday, October 21, 2002 So you want to write a radical situation comedy? It’s got to be ground-breaking and edgy with new settings and scenarios, unlike anything seen before. Father Ted, Seinfeld and Will and Grace all rolled into one. In that case, you just have to follow the rules…Comedy3 min readComedy3 min read
