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KING OF THIEVES (Dir: James Marsh, 2018) My quest to watch as many movies as I can in 2019 continues with movie King of Thieves. Based on the true story of the Hatton Garden safe burglary of 2015, King of Thieves is something of a sweary throwback to the British crime caper films of yore. The Italian Job’s Michael Caine stars as criminal mastermind Brian Reader and, as his criminal cohorts, is supported by a top notch cast including Ray Winstone, Jim Broadbent and various other Harry Potter cast members. The real-life crime was as audacious as its perpetrators were ultimately careless and is neatly told here against the London locations on which it took place. While King of Thieves won’t change cinema history it is stylish, old-fashion (in a good way), frequently humorous and well worth a watch! 100+ movie reviews now available on my blog jinglebonesmovietime.blogspot.com
THE LOVES OF JOANNA GODDEN (Dir: Charles Frend, 1947). I will admit to knowing little about movie number 12 before watching. Yet The Loves of Joanna Godden is an Ealing Studios production of some pedigree, with a screenplay by H E Bates and music by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Somewhat atypical of Ealing, Joanna Godden is a romantic period piece starring Googie Withers as a young woman who inherits a sheep farm and is determined to make it a success without the aid of a husband. This proto-feminist plot is unusual in post-war British cinema and especially so from Ealing whose protagonists are almost always men. This is certainly to be commended. As is the beautiful Romney Marsh locales and the realistic depiction of the devastation caused by an outbreak of foot and mouth disease. It is perhaps here where Joanna Godden most belies its Ealing roots as the studio was paramount in the British documentary and social-realist movement. Watching Miss Withers juggle the duel concerns of lambing and of finding or fending off potential suitors is not exactly thrilling; yet the film is enjoyable and worth a watch as an unusual release from the years when Ealing was at the peak of its powers. 100+ movie reviews now available on my blog jinglebonesmovietime.blogspot.com