'Hot Fuzz'
19 April 2007
I hadn't been to the cinema for ages: perhaps I'm showing my age but our local multiplex doesn't appeal to me - it always seems very loud and littered with popcorn and teenagers. I've missed a few films I fancied seeing recently when the lure of the movie didn't quite overcome the drawbacks of the venue. It would be great if we had a nice little independent cinema nearby but we do have the recently refurbished Library Theatre in Leighton Buzzard which shows a limited programme of films once or twice a week. Last Friday we made the effort and ventured to Leighton Buzzard to see 'Hot Fuzz' - the British comedy by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright. It was brilliant! Simon Pegg plays a super-efficient police officer from the Met who is transferred to a sleepy Gloucestershire village and brings big city policing to the country. His new partner, played by Nick Frost, is fascinated by American cop movies and wants to know all about Pegg's exciting London experiences - particularly the guns! What follows is a wonderful parody of movie genres including westerns, cop movies and all manner of action thrillers. It is incredibly violent (with plenty of blood and 'look away' moments) but carries this off because much of the violence is hysterically ridiculous. And there is loads of fun to be had in trying to spot the enormous number of well-known British actors and comedians making (often very fleeting) appearances. (There is even a very hard to spot uncredited cameo by Cate Blanchett.) But it is a massively enjoyable film primarily because it is extremely funny and exquisitely plotted. Every casual remark and every seemingly insignificant feature in the background in the early scenes comes back to play a significant part later in the story. And the brooding sense of evil lurking beneath the surface of apparently innocent village society is truly scary. It was quite disconcerting to glance around the middle-aged middle-class audience in Leighton Buzzard Library Theatre and realise how closely we resembled the slightly sinister Neighbourhood Watch Alliance in the film!
posted by Robin Simpson @ 6:05 pm
2 Comments:
Yep, always thought of you as slightly sinister.
7
Robin, it's not exactly local to you, but you may be interested in Pinewood Club 7 (note no 'S'). I've only been there once, but a friend of mine was a member. It's in the preview cinema for the studio and is a film enthusiast's delight. No popcorn, no teenagers, but it does have a bar. The decor is seventies orange and brown and I believe the interior featured in some iconic TV programmes such as the Persuaders.It hasn't changed! Altogether a grown up and civilised place to watch a film.
Post a Comment
<< Home