At the Flicks

Welcome to our spin off review show – Darren’s Dash.

Regular listeners to our shows will know that Darren’s Dash used to be a regular feature in our monthly review round up. In that section, Darren would talk about four films most of the other members either never got out of their chair to watch or were unable to view because of limited release. The Dash has become so popular that we have now decided to give Darren his own monthly slot. But wait, that’s not all. Because of the extra time we have in the new slot, the number of films being reviewed has been increased from four to five. As always there is a challenge to the rest of us to see if we can watch them before they are reviewed by our Northern contributor. Not much of a competition as we expect Phil to win this hands down every month.

For this first show, we have managed to annoy Jeff (a relatively easy thing to do) with not one but two foreign language movies. As for the films being reviewed they are

Jolt: Starring Kate Beckinsale and can be found on Amazon Prime

Another Round: Starring Mads Mikkelsen (and in Dutch)

Guns Akimbo: Starring Daniel Radcliffe and can be found on Amazon Prime

The Forever Purge: Starring Ana De La Reguera and can be found on Video On Demand

Minari: Starring Steven Yeun (and in Korean and English)

I am sure you will agree that this is an excellent and varied selection. As always, if you have any comments on these movies, or anything talked about on the show, please let us know.

Until next time, Darren says “see you at the flicks”

A warning for all listeners. Maybe against our own best judgement, we have allowed Neil to present his own quiz. A little-known fact about Neil. In real life there has been many a time Neil when he has been mistaken for Jeremy Paxton. Until this quiz we were unaware of much he wanted to emulate his doppelganger. This can be the only reason why Neil has created a movie quiz in the style of University Challenge! Yes, it is a strange listening experience. Good luck to any listener trying to answer the random questions, and well done to the rest of the team for not trying to kill him while going through this painful experience.

After the quiz (yes, it does eventually end), we have our reviews. As usual we almost completely fail to agree – except for one movie. This month we have been very privileged to get a sneak peak at Swedish director Jimmy Olsson’s new short film Notes. Watch out for this one during the upcoming awards season. This incredible and uplifting film has real power – it certainly united the team in praise of it.

As for the rest of the reviews:

Old: M Night Shyamalan returns with another story that could have dropped out of the Twilight Zone. Did it work for our reviewers and what phobia did it invoke for one of the panel?

Boss Level: Graham insisted so we had to include the latest from The Mel. But is it any good?

The Last Mercenary: Jean Claude Van Damme’s latest is showing on Netflix. It certainly split the review team, although only one went full Brexit and insulted most European nations

Jungle Cruise: Who would have thought that a family adventure from Disney could have brought the team to near blows?

The Suicide Squad: James Gunn returns and is almost universally liked. Well, except by one reviewer who seems to have a grudge against superhero movies.

As packed and controversial as always.

Wait I hear you cry, where is Darren’s Dash? Well, that segment has now becomes so popular we have decided to promote it to its own show. Check us out in a few days’ time for the new, revamped Darren’s Dash, or even better, why not subscribe to the At The Flicks show. You won’t be disappointed.

Trust us, Darren’s Dash is well worth the wait.

And while you are waiting, see you At The Flicks.

Welcome to the At The Flicks review show, no film is too good or too bad for this motley team.

Although, it is safe to say never had a show where the team disagree as strongly as they do here about some of the films discussed. Two of the reviews are the subject of hot debate, as is one of those under discussion for Darren’s Dash. In fact, Jeff, hated one film so much, it has forced him to change his whole philosophy on the world of movies! Needless to say, Neil takes the opposite position to Jeff (as always). Although, we do find out in this episode that Neil has a prejudice. A prejudice so bad, the rest of the team have to shame him. Just in case you think Graham is quiet this episode, then wait until he discusses the physics deployed in one of the films we talk about.

And just what are these films up for review this month?

Luca : The latest from Pixar. Is it any good and why was it just sent to straight to streaming?

Black Widow : A new Marvel to review – Jeff’s wish comes true.

In The Heights : A new musical – Graham, the musical hater’s wish comes true.

America : The Motion Picture : The latest animation from Netflix. This review / rant has to be heard to be believed.

F9 : The Fast Saga : The latest in the series and more split opinion.

And an added film this month

Brighton : In show 172 we interviewed Brighton writer / director Stephen Cookson. Now the team (with one exception) has seen it. Our view? You will have to listen to find out.

After that we have the legendary Darren’s Dash, which this month includes Freaky, Dinner In America and The Tomorrow War. I bet you can’t work out which one led to a violent disagreement within the team.

With all this split opinion I guess it is time for you, our listeners, to pick a side. Is it Team Jeff or Team All The Rest? You decide. Please let us know which side you pick, we would love to hear from you.

Until next time, see you At The Flicks.

Steve Knibbs is the top BBC reporter in Gloucestershire (certainly in our opinion). A very busy man who was able to squeeze in some time to talk to your At The Flicks team.

You see, Steve is a huge film fan.  When we found that out we just had to chat about his favourite movies.  It turns out Steve is a MASSIVE Star Wars fan.  In the interest of fairness and the generally annoying way At The Flicks works, we excluded that immediately from Steve’s top five.  What then followed was a wonderful conversation about movies in general, film watching during Lockdown and why Steve selected these particular five favourites.  Check out the show and tell us what you think of the choices.  As for us, we are still in awe at this excellent crop of movies.

But of course we couldn’t leave Steve without talking about Star Wars.  Check out his stories and also the interview Steve did with Oscar winner Norman Reynolds about Star Wars which we link to below

As well as a fascinating discussion about movies, Steve also spoke to us about magic and music.  If you check out some of links below, you will Steve’s musical talents as part of Swimming With Alice.

We hope you have as much fun listening to this show as we had making it. 

Enjoy and see you At The Flicks.

Welcome to the At The Flicks review show, with a show this good, why would you ever need anyone else?

This month Jeff goes all Welsh on us in not one but two movies! Darren believes we sent him to review one movie as a joke, Phil gets very worried when he starts agreeing with Jeff, Graham does the quiz and Neil is, well, Neil. So the usual mayhem prevails and we only get serious when we talk movies. This month our reviews are

- A Quiet Place Part II : Yes!!! We got Neil to a horror film – what did he think of it, especially as he was too scared to watch part 1?

- Army Of The Dead: We got Neil to another horror – and by that I don’t just mean Dave Bautista’s acting. Have we scared Neil for life?

- The Father: A very serious discussion for a very serious film. Did you think Anthony Hopkins deserved that Oscar?

- Dream Horse : Jeff’s dream karaoke soundtrack and something we all surprisingly enjoyed

- Peter Rabbit 2 : Never review a film based in Gloucester with Cheltenham snobs!

Oh, but there’s more. An excellent Dash from Darren this month including Oxygen, Cruella and Nobody. Great movies all.

In other news, Neil, so overawed by the Welsh nature of some of the films, tries to claim he is Welsh. Also one of our favourite people is listener of the month. No shark movies though.

Let us know if you want to be a future listener of the month.

As always we hope you enjoy (even if you don’t agree with) our take on some of the big hitters released in the last few weeks. Please let us know what you think, as we do like to hear from you.

Until next time – see you at the flicks.

Welcome to the June edition of At The Flicks movie news.

This month :

Graham gives us an update on David Cronenberg’s latest film

Neil tells us what is coming from the world of animation.

Enjoy

The first decade of our James Bond retrospective comes to a close as we discuss the last of the 1960’s films – On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

Given the gravity of this episode, Elijah, Jeff, Graham and Neil have all turned up in their tuxedos. Together they give their views on the film and the new actor playing James bond. Yes, Sean Connery has left the role and been replaced by newcomer George Lazenby. This was his one and only time of playing Bond. Was he any good? Why only one? We have views on both of these questions which, even if Goldfinger’s laser was hanging over us, we are not afraid to share.

Neil has also turned up to the discussion with his bumper book of James Bond facts as every now and again he throws, grenade style, another one in. So prepare to be challenged by fact checker Neil on this episode.

Things we and fact checker Neil will answer for you

· Did George Lazenby and Diana Rigg get on during filming?

· Who was the second Avengers actress in the movie (the TV series not some overblown film series)?

· Why was some of the back projection so out of control?

· What happened to the great Ilse Steppart who played Irma Bunt?

Just some of the many things we discuss on a James Bond film, which has often wrongly been perceived as a financial flop – it was in fact one of the most successful films of 1969.

As I said at the beginning, with this show, we conclude our look at the James Bond films of the 1960’s. Coming soon – the 1970’s. Before that we have one more special Bond surprise for you. In an upcoming episode we will be talking to a James Bond expert about how the super spy defined that decade.

Until then, see you at the flicks.

Welcome to the At The Flicks review show, the only review show you will ever need. Our batch of films were mainly selected before that joyous day when cinemas reopened. Not that this is a reflection on our selection. Most are given high praise from the team. Even Jeff seems sane until his meds faded out and then he goes full straight jacket for his last review. Don’t worry listeners, we have him back under full control now. In fact, we have even given him a day out to the cinema – more on that next time.

For this month, here are the movies being reviewed:

Godzilla Vs Kong: Big creatures, big review and possibly our most divisive film of the month.

The Mauritanian: Great cast and a powerful true story, so why did it fall short for some of our reviewers?

Promising Young Woman: Powerful film which certainly had an impact on this review team. We recommend watching the film first before listening to this review.

Nomadland: The winner of the Best Film Oscar recently. A worthy winner? Check out what the team think.

Sound Of Metal: Another highly praised feature and the one where Jeff has a meltdown.

Oh, but there’s more. An excellent Dash from Darren this month including Mitchells Vs The Machines, The Counterfeiter and Stowaway. Great movies all.

In other news, Darren takes over the quiz, and catches out a number of the team with his questions, and we have a very special shout out for our listener of the month.

Let us know if you want to be a future listener of the month.

As always we hope you enjoy (even if you don’t agree with) our take on some of the big hitters released in the last few weeks. Please let us know what you think, as we do like to hear from you.

Until next time – see you at the flicks.

Stephen Cookson’s excellent film Brighton is the closing film at this year’s Cheltenham International Film Festival on 5th June.

The At The Flicks team were given the opportunity of interviewing Stephen about his film, which is based on the play Brighton Beach Scumbags, written by Steven Berkoff. This is a powerful slice of life as a group of 4 sixty somethings return to Brighton, the place where they all met in the 1960’s. The seaside town has changed, but the attitudes of this group has not, setting up the dramatic core of the movie.

Stephen tells us about bringing together his fantastic cast of Lesley Sharp, Marion Bailey, Larry Lamb and Phil Davis. How filming a Summer set movie caused problems when production was in February as well as the hilarious story of when and where he was first told the story by Steven Berkoff.

For us, Brighton is a must see and we have already booked our tickets for the showing at the Cheltenham International Film Festival. As this is an online festival, the film will be available to screen at home from 5th June for 7 days. Also if you book using your At The Flicks discount code of ATF25, you can get 25% off the cost of the screening. A bargain for a brilliant British feature.

See you at the flicks.

Welcome to the May 2021 edition of At The Flicks movie news.

This month we are calling the show our exclusive edition, as most of the news is indeed, exclusive. The team have split their original assignments accordingly

- Jeff talks to Last Chancers director Phil Stubbs about his new project

- Graham speaks to Cheltenham International Film Festival director Leslie Sheldon about the delights of the upcoming 2021 on line festival

- Neil talks horror (nice one Jeff, getting him to do that!). He looks at some of the horror movies currently filming around the UK and gives the first reveal on the horror short Tea With The Reaper.

Plenty of new and original content there. A shame that can’t be said about Jeff’s jokes. That aside his recommendations this month includes a blast from radio past that everyone should be checking out.

So, if you want to keep up to date in the world of the movies then you should be listening to At The Flicks. It is indeed your one stop shop for movie news, as this episode proves.

If you have half as much fun listening to this as we did putting it together, then you will be enjoying a real treat.

We look forward to your views on the episode and hope to catch you on the next one.

Bye for now.