Author: Gabriella Incalza Kaplanova

The mastermind behind the Great British Train Robbery finally speaks out after over 50 years of silence. And this documentary is his chance to set a few things straight. Including identifying the elusive Post Office inside man who walked away and disappeared with an absolute fortune.

The biggest robbery ever carried out in Britain has been extensively documented by the media and the story of the 15 unarmed men swarming onto the Glasgow to London mail train stealing 120 bags full of cash is widely known. However, this is the very first time that 84-year-old Douglas Gordon Goody recounts his version of the events.

Aptly referred to as the Swingin’ Sixties, what we need to take into consideration is that this robbery took place during a historic period when social boundaries were pushed, taboos challenged and citizens began to rebel to the social norms on clothing, music, drugs and sexuality. In the 60s, new, radical trends flourished, subversive events in the name of change took place and the dark corners of the conservative establishment were exposed.

In 1963, when the Great British Train Robbery took place, Martin Luther King was writing his I Have A Dream Speech and the Profumo affair was shedding light on the corruption permeating British politics, which eventually led to the resignation of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. People were far more inclined to support civil disobedience and that’s probably how the Great British Train Robbery thieves became somewhat unlikely heroes of a society that was finding its own awakening with anti war and civil war movements. And perhaps this is why a documentary with an explosive revelation can still generate interest today, over fifty years on.

Directed by Chris Long, A Tale Of Two Thieves is a subjective first person account of Gordon Goody, one of just two surviving members of the Great British Train Robbery gang. Gordon is now a softly spoken, quiet man living a simple life in Spain and this gripping documentary features the tall, self confessed “thief, never a gangster” in a straight to camera interview. Curiously, the documentary intercuts with a young actor impersonating Gordon but not adding much to the tale, as his testimony is much more riveting. Thanks to Gordon’s help, and a great deal of hard work, the team behind the documentary manages to identify the mystery man.

Just over an hour long, A Tale Of Two Thieves is out now on DVD and it is an unmissable piece of the puzzle on the Great British Train Robbery.

4/5

Nicholas Sparks’ novel adaptation is a poorly written romantic comedy about two former high school sweethearts reunited by the death of a loved one.

Twenty years have passed since Dawson (Gerald McRaney/ Luke Bracey) and Amanda (Michelle Monaghan/ Liana Liberato) have seen each other.

The Best Of Me opens with Dawson working on an oil platform risking his life to save a colleague following an explosion and surviving against all odds. Shortly after, he receives the news that someone has passed away and travels to his small hometown to attend the funeral. This is where he runs into Amanda, who is unhappily married to an alcoholic and very reluctant to spend any time with Dawson. Nevertheless, neither has forgotten the passionate love they once shared.

Spanning two decades, the film is all about the unfolding of the events that drove the two apart and exploring whether there can be a second chance.

The Best Of Me features all the worst romantic clichés rolled into one, which makes it unintentionally comical. Clearly well shot, it is fairly obvious that a big budget has been spent to achieve great photography.

However, the story is terribly weak and painfully predictive, the dialogues are cringing and the casting choices so poor that the younger version of the male lead seems to share the same age as the older version.

As a fan of rom coms, I was sadly very, very disappointed. One to avoid.

0/5

Fasten your seatbelts and get ready to time travel all the way back to the mid Eighties. And if you weren’t around then, don’t worry, Eternity will certainly fill you in.

Fabulously cheesy, a rag to riches and back kind of story, it documents the rise and fall of an imaginary band and its founding members Todd and BJ. Set in sunny California, Eternity sports all the unforgettable 80s clichés of questionable fashion, synthesized riffs and power ballads.

Todd Lucas (Barrett Crake) is a fluffy-haired and irresistibly naive musician from the Midwest who moves to Los Angeles to follow his grand dreams of stardom. He lands a job at BJ Maxx as a glamourist and that’s where he meets smug saxophonist BJ (Myko Oliver), who shares his passion for rhythm and blues ballads.

When Todd gets his heart broken, he finds inspiration to write new songs. BJ looks after the music and together they form a band called Eternity. But despite the name, their group, brought together by fate and shot to stardom in no time, is pulled apart by love and jealousy.

Eternity is deliciously predictable and the duo, a la Starsky and Hutch, are absolutely fantastic. One of those movies you will watch again and again on a rainy, wintery day. Perfect.

Screened at the Raindance Film Festival in London as well as the Shanghai International Film festival this year, The Ninth Cloud is Jane Spencer’s latest indie drama about a woman, her strange friends and their existential dilemmas.

Zena (Megan Maczko) is a vulnerable and naive young woman who lives her life in a daze. She’s chosen to move to London “to seek a new life, after something terrible happened in my old life”. We are not quite sure what happened, but we understand something is not quite right as we learn of her manic obsession with Bob (Michael Madsen), a struggling American artist.

The Ninth Cloud is all about Zena’s childlike inner world, her bizarre interactions with extravagant and poor bohemian lowlifes and wealthy, decadent British aristocrats. Often looking up the sky, wondering “if dying is like falling out of the sky backwards” and other similar dilemmas, occasionally Zena addresses the camera with her deep, beautifully large, dark eyes, trying to bring us into her wanderings. We follow her mediocre, delusional existence with confused disbelief as she falls in love, seeks to make a change in a young boy’s life and struggles with the misunderstandings that her mental health brings about on a daily basis.

Overall, The Ninth Cloud felt a bit too surreal for me; its constant drive to existentialism over mediocrity is at times irritating. However, there is something quite original in the way it brings its characters to a close and often homages glorious cinematic movements from the past. If you are looking for something different, give it a try.

A bittersweet, surprisingly funny drama about the pressures of family, marriage and old rivalries, from the creators of BBC Comedy series Outnumbered.

What We Did On Our Holiday is a must-see British film about Doug (David Tennant) and Abi (Rosamund Pike), an unhappy couple travelling to the Scottish Highlands with their three children to visit Gordy (Billy Connolly), Doug’s father, who’s preparing to celebrate his 75^th birthday.

Gordy’s health is deteriorating quickly and, as a result, the couple agree to hide their intention to divorce, although the kids seem to struggle with keeping their secret under wraps.

The real protagonists of this funny, touching and candid comedy are the little ones, with sensible big sister Lottie (Emilia Jones), who keeps a journal to keep track of the lies she’s supposed to keep up, irresistible four year old Jess (Harriet Turnbull), whose best friends are two heavy rocks called Eric and Norman, and six year old Mickey (Bobby Smallbridge), whose obsession with Vikings will eventually come in really handy.

As we experience a breathtakingly stunning cinematography, giggle at the all the outrageous things the children say or do, a darker and morbid plot twist keeps you glued to the screen, moving you into uncomfortable territory where you won’t know whether to laugh or cry, or both at the same time.

When the children take matters into their own hands, the adults end up tangled up in a web of lies, feuds and bickering, proving that maturity doesn’t always come with age.

Deeply moving and hilarious at the same time, What We Did On Our Holiday manages to strike an incredibly skilled balance between comedy and tragedy, with outstanding performances by Billy Connolly, Ben Miller, Rosamund Pike, David Tennant and, of course, all the young actors. An unmissable British jewel.

What We Did On Our Holiday opens today in UK cinemas.