TSAJS: 05/09/2010 'The Girl Who Played With Fire' and 'This is England' and much more!

From Sweden to the North of England, this week Simon and Jo for the main review, both discuss the new film from Daniel Alfredson  -The Girl Who Played With Fire starring Noomi Rapace.

Our shout-outs this week to many people, but Mad Hatter's MatineeCast features a review of The Disappearance of Alice Creed, whereby he states that Jo is incorrect stating J. Blakeson makes an amateur-looking film. Additionally, we mention Richard Bourne and his Brain Bafflers which should come soon enough ... but alas, I feel Richard is committing the precious time he has to his own blog on football called The Beautiful Game?

The London Box-Office is discussed and Simon and Jo choose their release recommendations and discuss the trailers for The Freebie and Nice Guy Johnny.

To finish, we celebrate the release of Channel 4's This is England '86 and go back to where it all began with Shane Meadows This is England. So, obviously, all the music this week is from the soundtrack for This Is England available on Amazon, itunes and any decent music store.

This Is England (Shane Meadows, 2007)

"Lovely, lovely, love you for that, that's fucking great. A proud man, learn from him; that's a proud man. That's what we need, man. That's what this nation has been built on, proud men. Proud fucking warriors!"

Introduction

This is Shane Meadows masterpiece. Even since, with Somers Town and Le-Donk and Scor-Zay-Zee, he hasn't managed to top the epic-nature of This is England. Even now, a four-part drama, renuniting the cast of This is England is due to start of Channel 4. It has got rave reviews and does look awesome, but this is an ideal time to flash back to what started it all and what started real respect for Shane Meadows from the mainstream crowd. Having watched the film many times - and indeed I shall watch it moreso in the future - I have collected many notes on the film so I shall try not to ramble and keep them as concise as possible. Seriously, I beg all of you - especially the Americans and Canadians who may not know much about Shane Meadows - hunt this film out because it is a testament to British Cinema. One of the best films of the decade.

From 1983, we have reality ...

Documentary-footage from '83 shows footage of the policitcal climate - the Falklands war, Margaret Thatcher, etc, before cutting to Shaun (Turgoose) and angry and aggressive 11 year-old (same age as the two lads in A Room for Romeo Brass) who is the Son of a soldier killed during the Falklands War. Clearly he is a bit of a social outcast and we see him begin a friendship with Woody and his group. Woody and Co are older boys who clearly enjoy joking around with Shaun as much as he enjoys there company - rough boys who break into houses and fool around, give the impression that, although they are having fun, they are rebelling to some extent themselves. But who doesn't at that age? Its not long into the film before we meet Combo (A flawless performance from Stephen Graham) an ex-prisoner, recently released from prison with his own views on what he believes England is. This is where the film gets exceptionally sinister - and the lack of intelligence of the minor characters, and emotions of Shaun, gain a small few acceptance into Combo's elitest group of racist skinheads.

Combo's Deep Rooted Character

Shane Meadows neo-realist style mean that you can truly dig deep into the characters portrayed. Combo alone has such intricate plot details that fuel his jealousy and rage against immigrants. Akin to Paddy Conside's 'Morell' to Romeo in Romeo Brass, Combo becomes a semi-father-figure to Shaun and, through this very strong bond, Combo begins to let slip small details about his own father - someone who was clearly aggressive towards Combo. The finale, between Combo and Milky, reveals Combo's real frustration - the famiyl unit Milky has, the love between members is what supports Milky, whilst Combo never had such support. The friends he has, have SEN (Special Educational Needs), specifically Gadget and the older fella with the rimmed glasses.

The improvised acting forces the realism to a deeper level - as viewers you cannot help but feel that what you are watching is rooted in reality. Nothing is hidden - not the awkward moments as Shaun first interrupts Combo's stories from prison, not the awkward realisation that Shaun wants to stay friends with Combo rather than stick with Woody. Milky himself clearly wants to be accepted in society, but his naivety and brotherly-love is what places him in danger.

The Title

Named 'This is England', the title provokes anger into the situation Thatcher potentially created - the deaths of soldiers on the front line (a fascinating parrallel with soldiers in Afghanistan perhaps?) and the ignorance of some and influence they have on the minds of the uneducated. Combo's Nationalists use the term 'England' as a front - as the focus - of their racist campaign. 'England needs proud men', etc. This is, quite clearly, not England but it does explore deep-rooted racism and I know personally of how this continues today - simplistic attitudes towards immigration and no consideration for the country that believes in multi-culturalism. This is England shocks and appalls - and yet forces you to consider the national concerns raised. It is Meadows style that brings it to the forefront as we cannot escape the reality of the situation.

This bring us to the end of the Shane Meadows reviews but, suffice to say, I strongly recommend watching these films. If unsure, 'Netflix' (as you folks across the Atlantic say) This is England because I can guarantee - you won't look back.

Twenty Four Seven (Shane Meadows, 1997)

"You have to go to court now, or they'll come here and they won't you to court, they'll take you straight to jail."

Introduction

Having garnered positive praise from the English press - a five-star review in Empire - Twenty Four Seven managed to pick up a bunch of awards. This small-scale, rugged Nottingham-based film was the real starting point for Shane Meadows. Though Shane Meadows has directed Small Time one year prior, Twenty Four Seven was what placed him in the public spectrum and got him the clout to then move onto A Room For Romeo Brass two years later. He cast Bob Hoskins as the lead actor alongside well-known Brit-Actor Frank Harper - whilst the majority of the young lads were up-and-coming actors - who'd have thought that after Twenty Four Seven, the actors would establish themselves in British television - such as Emmerdale, Coronation Street, The Lakes and little James Cordon became exceptionally successful with Gavin and Stacey ... but less successful with Lesbian Vampire Killers.

A Simple Story with a Complex Community

The story shows Darcy (Bob Hoskins) as a community man trying to get the tear-away youths to actually take part in something - so he sets up a boxing club. So far, so good. It is Shane Meadows writing -alongside regular collaborator Paul Fraser. His writing explores more than the rise of this boxing club -

A Room For Romeo Brass (Shane Meadows, 1999)

"I knew there and then that there was a spirit in the room and it was trying to attack me. So what unfolded then was a fight between me and this unseen entity."

Introduction

So, to continue with a celebration of films by Shane Meadows, we move onto the film that propelled me to actually commit to this blog-a-thon of sorts. I was travelling to Birmingham to see young Richard and thought, 'Hey - I should watch another film from the Shane Meadows boxset I was given' so, with Sarah inserting the right earbud into her ear, I placed the left earbud into my own and as we travelled the Chiltern service between London and Birmingham we watched A Room For Romeo Brass. And, as previously stated, this simply confirmed how great a filmmaker Shane Meadows is...

Before Secondary School, Before Life ...

We follow Gavin (Ben Marshall) and Romeo (Andrew Shim from This is England) as they muck about as young boys do. Romeo has a broken family, whereby his Father has left his family and his Mother and sister

Dead Man's Shows (Shane Meadows, 2004)

"Well you should be. If I were you, i'd get in that fuckin' car and i'd get out of here man. I'd gather them goonies and get whatever you've got comin' mate... 'cause i'm gonna fucking hit you all."

Introduction

Many years ago I watched Dead Man's Shoes and I can vividly remember coming away from the film and thinking that clearly it didn't take much budget to create an incredible film. This was before I knew Shane Meadows and Paddy Considine. I was fortunate enough to have the 'This is Shane Meadows' boxset bought for me as a present (thanks to The Beautiful Game? blogger Richard) after I realised - and he realised - that I may be a Shane Meadows fan - having loved Dead Man's Shoes many years ago, and hailing This is England as a British masterpiece. Put it this way, I am watching more and more Shane Meadows films and this man is a incredible filmmaker and you folk across the atlantic need to hunt him out. The less you know about this film the better and, I would advise, that you hunt the film out before reading further because - like usual - this is more an analysis of specific aspects and this film would be much better without you reading everything before watching it. But, if you are one of the lucky ones who has watched this film - keep going...

A Western in the Midlands

When I watched this recently, a close friend noted that is almost a western as it introduces Richard Paddy Considine) as the 'stranger' who comes to town. If you push this logic further, you can see how the