XIII Oceans

Tonight on Channel 4 at 9pm sees the premiere of Nick Broomfiel’s drama documentary Battle For Haditha.  Broomfield takes his documentary skills and applies them to create a dramatisation of the events that lead up to the massacre of 24 Iraqi cilivians by US soldiers.  If you’ve enjoyed either of Paul Greengrass’ United 93 or Bloody Sunday then this is for you.

Thursday night on Film 4 offers a chance to catch Rian Johnson’s  Brick, a kind of drug noir that transplants the genre into an American high school.  Starring Third Rock From The Son’s Joseph Gordon-Levitt it’s one of those films, like Memento, that gives your mind a bit of a workout, keeping you on your toes throughout.  Levitt shines, adding another good performance to an increasingly interesting list and the film was nominated for several independent film awards.

Film of the week is Friday night’s Shampoo (midnight, BBC2).  It’s 24 hours in the life of a Los Angeles hairdresser on the eve of the 1968 American election.  Directed by one of my favourite directors, Hal Ashby, it’s a funny social, sexual and political satire full of wonderful acting performances.  Jack Warden steals the show but Warren Beatty really holds the film and its essence together as the hairdresser keen to set up his own business.  The film rarely gets mentioned amongst the great comedies and although I would never suggest it’s right up there at the top there are few that can match its comedy and its intelligence.