Gig review- Russell Brand

Hull City Hall, May 2022

By Roger Crow

A comedy gig, at 6pm, on a Sunday? Yes, it looks like an error, but here we all are. Packed to the rafters at Hull City Hall, waiting for Russell Brand, who is late. Fashionably so, obviously. 

The intro music, which is turned up to 11, has my eardrums ringing, so when I think someone asks me what row we’re on, I have no clue.

There are a few latecomers, so when he walks down the aisle and climbs on stage, we know this is going to be a rather different gig.

And this is a very different show to the one I saw in York a few years ago, which still boasted the same sort of verbal gymnastics Russell is famous for, but now he’s a man on a mission. And he’s attracted a lot of followers. Folks who think it’s perfectly fine to record part of the gig and upload to wherever, despite Brand suggesting they don’t. 

Like many comics with kids, there’s the inevitable observations of the things they say and do, only with a spin. There are times he will launch into a breathless line of thought, machine gunned out at stunning speed. There also times this feels less like a comedy gig and more like a political rally. We’re in year one of Russell’s revolution, and apparently by year five, major things will happen, which is very similar to the speech he gave to an incredulous Jeremy Paxman a few years ago. 

The reason for most of his anger is of course Covid, lockdown and some VIPs’ response to it. Powerful people who told us to do one thing and they did another. You can imagine who they are.

Russell has suggested there will be a chance for photos, and he’s not wrong. The fans line up to meet their comedy saviour at half time, and he’s like some messianic leader who takes time for pics with fans, and ensures there’s little chance of me getting an ice cream. 

So half time goes on longer than expected as Russ presses the flesh, and is generally smashing to all his aficionados.

Russell has been off the drugs for a long time now, and his recollections about those times are genuinely funny. While he may be high on life, that sense of Eddie Izzard-style off-piste comedy needs a little more structure. 

One genius move was having some folks fill in a questionnaire before the gig, which gives him a lot of comedy fuel. A gag about ‘Donna the drug dealer’s wife’, mentioned in one fan’s Q and A, is like catnip to Brand. 

By the end of the gig I’ll admit I’m in need of less shouting into a microphone and more dialled down comedy. Ranting about lockdown parties is far funnier if you can actually hear the words. 

Russell Brand is a rocket with a faulty guidance system fuelled by love and anger who was always destined for stratospheric highs. Though he goes off course a few times during the night, he’s still a sight to behold as he zig zags through events of the past two years, but sadly doesn’t mention his performance in Kenneth Branagh’s Death on the Nile, which was one of his most measured turns in years.

As a movie fan I would have loved to hear more about his adventures in Hollywood, but that’s another story for another time. 

Obviously times are hard, but at a fraction of the price of one A-list comedy gig I saw recently, it was a real bargain. 

Russell Brand, Hull City Hall, May 22, 2022. Photo: Roger Crow

If you get the chance to see one of his pending shows, it’s well worth the money and effort. Just check the start time, and throw any expectations of a typical stand-up gig out the window and you should have a great evening.

Film review Top Gun: Maverick

Starring Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly

Directed by Joseph Kosinski

Cert 12A

By Roger Crow

Your mission, Tom Cruise, should you decide to accept it, is craft a sequel to the movie which made you an A-list star. It needs to be more exciting than the original and aside from keeping the fans happy, attract a new generation of aficionados. Good luck Mr Cruise.

And so, 36 years after Top Gun, we have that follow-up, a movie which has been in the pipeline so long, when it was first mooted, kids born in the wake of its success now have teenage kids.

I was there on the opening night of the original. A mate had an argument with his girlfriend in the first few minutes, and they walked out of the cinema. I stayed and soaked up all that glorious action, thinking it was just another well put together action thriller. Sure, the ending felt tagged on, like an afterthought, and the stuff between heroic Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell and Iceman (Val Kilmer) was cringeworthy, but it was a fun adventure that looked and sounded terrific. I didn’t expect the movie would become a phenomenon, leading to many clones like Iron Eagle, and its sequels, and the instantly forgotten Wings of the Apache (Top Gun with helicopters).

While Tom went off and made a load of other movies, fans wanted that follow-up. They needed a sense of closure to the demise of Maverick’s best friend Goose (Anthony Edwards), but by the end of the eighties, it looked like they would have a long wait.

One genius aspect of the sequel, and there are many, is that Tom takes the key elements of Mission: Impossible and uses it for the obligatory training scenes.

But first, don’t stop him now, he’s having such a good time with an opener that mirrors the first movie, and then owes a debt to The Right Stuff. That 1983 classic about pilots and the space race was a forerunner of sorts to Top Gun anyway, and the scenes of Maverick trying to become the fastest man alive are a taster of what is to come. Incurring the wrath of Ed Harris’s VIP is just one of the rules of the franchise. Our hero is called Maverick after all.

Jon Hamm’s other VIP, Simpson (no doubt named after original TG producer Don Simpson), also gets to play the same outraged official, like one of those police chiefs who gives the hero 48 hours to solve a case.

Act one is unpacking a lot of baggage from the first movie’s payload. Our hero’s guilt over the death of his mate; Goose’s pilot son (Miles Teller) who ‘Mav’ wanted to protect from a similar fate, and THAT mission. Seeded early on, with a nifty computer simulation, this is invaluable exposition for what follows. It’s basically the Death Star run, only on Earth, with more twists, turns, and near-impossible walls of rock to navigate. Oh, and missiles. And enemy aircraft. And blacking out. Even Ethan Hunt would have shook his head and said “No way.”

So there’s the inevitable ‘introduce the rookies’ scene, where they (amazingly) don’t know who Maverick is, and they insult their future trainer.

Maverick picks up with old barmaid girlfriend Penny (Jennifer Connelly – fabulous as ever), and there’s an on-the-nose flashback to the first movie, which borders on parody, but tells everyone what they need to know, whether they saw the first film or not.

Once all that is unpacked, and we know who the mostly generic young pilots are, then things get really interesting. There’s the emotional heart of the drama with a glorified cameo from an integral character from film one; Pete getting a ready-made family to slot into, if he survives the mission, and that constant reminder of how impossible the job is. And a scene of bonding where the new crew get to play on the beach while Tom bravely shows off his dad bod, while flashing that million dollar smile. Unable to grasp the concept of beach sports when such an important mission is pending, Hamm’s VIP is soon put in his place by a man who knows how important beach sports are when flying multi-million dollar aircraft.

And then there’s that third act where all of that behind-the-scenes tech development so IMAX cameras can capture the cast in fighter planes REALLY pays off.

Master editor Chris Lebenzon has been responsible for some of the greatest action films ever made, and he pulls out all the stops here. Director Joseph Kosinski shoots the whole film like the much-missed Tony Scott is standing over his shoulder, and those familiar clangs of Harold Faltermeyer’s original score permeate the soundtrack, as well they should. Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe also do a fine job on the music/scoring front.

While there’s a hint of Lady Gaga’s love theme, Hold My Hand in a bar sequence, it naturally pays off later. Yes, it’s infectious and may land her another Oscar.

But it’s all about that third act, which is hands down the most exciting thing you’ll see in a cinema all year, maybe all decade. I was pushing back in my seat so hard, I thought I’d pull a muscle. It’s the first movie featuring aerial scenes where I’ve actually felt like G-forces are assaulting me.

And though there are thematic echoes of Jerry Bruckheimer’s Pearl Harbor, the huge mistakes with that movie, especially the last half hour, are put right here. The multi-layered finale gets everything so right, it’s a pleasure to behold.

Seriously, if you only watch this on a phone, you’re missing 99% of the experience. It’s what IMAX was invented for, and Cruise and his team deserve all the applause that comes. Yes, we privileged few did clap the ending during the UK premiere, it was that good.

Top Gun: Maverick is that rarest of sequels which improves on the original, and then some. As the closing credits rolled, the atmosphere in the cinema was electric, like seeing your favourite band on top form after decades of waiting.

I wouldn’t need much of an excuse to see it again, as long as it’s on the biggest screen possible. Did it take my breath away? Absolutely.

Cast 8

Score 8

Editing 9.5

Cinematography 9.5

Direction 9

Script 8

Rewatchability 9.5

* Roger saw Top Gun: Maverick at Cineworld York.

Film Review-Ghosts of the Ozarks

Certificate 15

Starring: Thomas Hobson, Tara Perry, Phil Morris, Tim Blake Nelson

Directed by Matt Glass and Jordan Wayne Long

By Roger Crow

If 1987 indie Ghostriders is an example of how not to make a low budget spooky Western, then this is the polar opposite. Smart, weird, beautifully made and with a terrific cast of folks you might recognise, and many you won’t. 

A feature-length version of a 2016 short, Matt Glass and Jordan Wayne Long’s seemingly had no trouble stretching a seven-minute story to 107 mins. 

If you’re a fan of High Plains Drifter, The Wicker Man and a certain other movie which shall remain nameless in case it spoils the twist, then you’re in for a treat.

Though the set-up feels like old Twilight Zone episode The Passerby, this version of post-Civil War Arkansas benefits from full colour, though I’m guessing a monochrome version would work just as well.

Thomas Hobson is terrific as James McCune, the maimed doc seeking Norfork, a fortress town. Following an attack by a stranger, who is yanked into an eerie fog, James luckily finds where he needs to be… and the locals are lovely. A little too nice in fact, which usually means they have something to hide. 

They include a blind barman, attractive medic/huntress Annie and her Hodor-style brother, William.

Matthew McCune is James’s engaging uncle and town VIP. A man of substance and clearly someone to respect. So while locals mine for gas, James tends to the sick, and that strange fog attacks the townsfolk occasionally. 

The multi-skilled Glass and Long wore many hats on this production, as did Ms Perry (one of the producers and writers), who I imagine will be catapulted to stardom in some major franchise. 

And don’t be surprised if the foot-tapper On This Mountain gets under your skin, especially as it’s reprised during the closing credits.

Look out for Scream veteran David Arquette (another producer) among the supporting cast, and yes, that pay-off might be reminiscent of a mainstream 2004 chiller, which I still won’t reveal the name of, but this is still a compelling watch regardless. 

Cast 8

Script 8

Direction 8

Score 8

Rewatchability 8

Film review-Fire Sale (1977)

Starring Alan Arkin, Ron Reiner, Sid Caesar

Directed by Alan Arkin

Certificate 12

By Roger Crow

Comedy is such an art form that when done right it operates like a Swiss watch. There are lots of moving parts, from the cast, script, pacing, editing, score, direction and obviously that magic quality which takes all of those elements and creates something hilarious. 

With opening titles that look like it was crafted circa 1969, what’s remarkable is that Alan Arkin’s Fire Sale was made in 1977. And what a strange creature it is. 

Aside from Arkin himself, one of the greatest comedy actors of his generation, the movie also boasts Rob Reiner, a few years before helming and starring in the iconic This is Spinal Tap, and directing a string of blockbusters. Oh, and there’s comedy legend Sid Caesar, who a year later starred as the coach in Grease. 

But the thing about great comedy movies is they often happen by accident, and Fire Sale is anything but a great comedy movie, which is why you’ve probably never heard of it. Some of the gags are so laboured and annoying that you’ll be rolling your eyes at the Ill-judged scenarios. 

It centres on Benny, who owns a department store – and he’s approaching bankruptcy. As he prepares to go on vacation, Benny concocts a scheme to solve his financial problems: he’ll get his mentally ill brother-in-law to burn down the store and then he’ll collect the insurance money.

Meanwhile, Benny leaves his sons, Ezra and Russell in charge of the store. When they discover the cash problems, his kids develop their own solution. 

There’s a sub plot involving a basketball genius, and the sort of knockabout gags that really worked in a sketch comedy like Kentucky Fried Movie around the same time, but here just fall flat. 

On the plus side it clocks in under the 90-minute mark, which for some reason is the perfect length for most comedies, but even a 30-minute version would have outstayed its welcome. 

Cast 8

Script 4

Direction 4

Score 5

Editing 6

Rewatchability 1