XIII Oceans

It’s been a bit lean for a couple of weeks on the terrestrial film listings.  As per usual Film 4 is full of mediocre mainstream American junk or films that we’ve seen ten times before so it’s time to look at films that deserve a second look.  This isn’t to say that there aren’t good films on this week, of course there are, most of which, though,  we’ve seen before.

Steering away from a couple of obvious choices this week, I’ve picked three films that aren’t world beaters by any stretch of the imagination but they’re interesting enough to have a look at.  On Thursday night at 11.25pm on FiveUS is Oliver Stone’s Talk Radio, a film about a radio phone-in ‘shock jock’ that takes some of its inspiration from the case of real life host, Alan Berg.  Sandwiched between Wall Street and Born Of The Fourth Of July, Talk Radio is a compact piece of work based on a Pulitzer nominated play co-written by Eric Bogosian, who also plays the lead in the film.  Bogosian can be annoying, so he’s perfect for this role and it is pretty much his film.  This is more a study of the character than the issues that arise from abrasive broadcasters so it’s less brash than some other Stone efforts.

Friday night on BBC2, just after midnight at 12.35am sees the third instalment of George A Romero’s zombie films, Day Of The Dead and it is clearly weaker than its predecessors although there are still some redeeming factors here.  It’s in this film that the evolution of the zombies is discussed in a bit more depth, sort of explaining how they’ve changed from being grotty mannequins to the sentient life-forms that appear in the poor sequel, Land Of The Dead thanks to Bub the zombie.  Sounds comical and there’s certainly humour in this mixed with a subtext that isn’t as good as the previous two films but is still better than most horror films and Romero has previously rated the film as his best.  Can’t say I’d agree with that but it’s entertaining nevertheless.

Headlining Film4’s Saturday night schedule at 9pm is Bring It On, which is basically an exploitation film if Disney had done it.  Whilst there’s plenty of criticism you can throw in the film’s direction, it’s funny, well shot with some good dance sequences, contains locker scenes and a bikini car wash .  Bring It On is a pleasant comedy, references Bob Fosse, blaxploitation and manages to do a film about cheerleaders that doesn’t completely patronise these oft undervalued lynchpins of society.  A chick flick that had crossover appeal.

The last round of fixtures of the first act for Super League XIII throws up some exceptional games.  From Warrington’s trip to the champions to Castleford’s attempt to leapfrog off the bottom there’s an evenly matched game somewhere for every neutral.

(+4) Castleford v Hull
A true cellar dwellers ding dong this one’s shaped up to be.  The champagne was popping last week for the Tigers and this match-up represents an opportunity to lift themselves off from the bottom for the first time this season before their cup grudge match against Harlequins RL.  With a trip to Perpignan following the cup weekend and a home game for Hull to Huddersfield there might not be a chance as good as this to bring themselves back into the fold and a loss here would put three points between them and the next rung on the ladder.  In contrast Hull continue to exhibit the characteristics of a club that’s lost, with good cause, just but how acceptable is that as an excuse.  In situations like this there are three things that go through your mind as a fan;  the first being the inevitable “The coach who led us to a Grand Final now isn’t good enough” comment;  the positive outlook and patience approach that deems these things even out and “we’ll have our run” at some point, and thirdly;  the least known and subscribed to viewpoint, the competition’s tougher now and we have to re-evaluate our expectations in that context.  Where does it lie for Hull?  There’s elements of all three in but I don’t think the last one can be underestimated anymore by any set of fans and if Castleford win this game with form and confidence suggesting that they should, it will see Hull sat at the bottom of the league and the chopping block out in the Marina.  Should it?  No but when the rabble is having their say the frequency of cool heads decreases disproportionately.  Tigers by 4.

Leeds v Warrington (+10)
Certain game of the week on paper but I’d say that there’s at least three games that will probably be tighter than this tussle promises.  It’s not that this is an uneven contest, far from it, you just fancy that the loss last week for Leeds coupled with the away sides complete loss of attacking form indicates a more comfortable home win than had this game taken place a month ago.  The schedule hasn’t done Paul Cullen any favours here because his side is looking at a possible third defeat in a row and although there can’t be many Warrington fans that would have been expecting a win here there’s still redisdual fallout from the two disappointing losses.  All this will heap pressure onto the heavily backed coach and a third loss here will mean that next week’s Challenge Cup game will be a godsend just to disrupt the losing streak because Round Twelve sees the return fixture with Saints and even with Saints’ current form I don’t think Warrington fans would like to be going into that game looking to turnaround a four game losing streak.  Leeds should find a return to winning ways and form here because Warrington’s defence hasn’t really toughened as we’ve progressed (not that many sides’ have) and if Cullen’s forwards are unable to make good headway up front I can imagine plenty of coughed up ball giving the home side good field position.  Of course, Warrington have pulled off less likely wins than this one but that’s usually with no pressure on them and all the evidence this week points towards a relatively straightforward home win.  Leeds by 10.

Saints v Harlequins (+12)
I don’t believe that Saints have been lower that Harlequins RL this late in the season since 1997 so the round’s most intriguing head-to-head carries historical as well as current relevance.  There is just one win between the two clubs but a world in expectation and reaction to how this season is already padding out.  McDermott has already won at Knowsley Road before, in last season’s opener, and Saints’ recent run of results will give him reason to believe that victory is not out of the question.  The home side have scraped wins at Knowsley Road against Hull and Wakefield so there’s a suggestion there that their home form just isn’t what you’d expect and I don’t see why Harlequins should be intimidated by that, knowing McDermott that’s unlikely anyway.  However, don’t let Saints seventh position have you believing too much about their frailties because of their five losses, four have been by two (twice), four and six points which are not disasters.  So is it a case of Harlequins work ethic coming into play again and hoping that’s going to be enough to hang onto Saints coat tails?  I don’t think so really because Saints, with one exception, have struggled to put teams away at home and they’re still having problems in the forwards and with their defence so this isn’t the same side that’s been as solid as a rock over the past three seasons.  I expect Harlequins RL to compete although how well will depend upon their ball control.  There is one thing that Saints have punished this season and that’s poor ball retention so a nice, efficient and tidy display from Harlequins RL should see another cracker at Knowsley Road.  Saints by 6.

Wigoon v Catalans Dragons (+
A week after toppling the champions the visit of Les Catalan Dragons presents the home side with the chance to register a fourth win in a row with an easy home cup tie to follow, it’s a good run that should allow ample preparation for the return match against the Bulls in the next round of the competition.  Two of those three wins have been against lower league opposition at home so even after bossing the Rhinos for eighty minutes you’re still looking at that victory as being a springboard rather than an indicator of performance.  The Dragons, alongside their hosts, are one of the form sides of the competition having disposed of Harlequins and Huddersfield on the road, in their recent unbeaten run.  Can they continue that run?  This is a side that has some history of beating their more infamous opponents so there’s little for them to be afraid about and with good ball control I think they can turn this into rough, tough, scrap that might be too much for the home side to deal with.  The law of averages though dictates that this unbeaten run has to come to an end sooner and not later for the lesser lights and this is looking like that time.  Casey McGuire is in the frame for a first game for several weeks, however so is Trent Barrett and although the man of steel contender appears to waiting for the hard tracks to come along you have to expect that his return is likely to boost his side’s confidence further, which given their efforts last week they may well need so that they can lift themselves physically and keep that run going.  Wigoon by 10.

Huddersfield v Wakefield (+6)
Tenth and ninth in the table and defeat here pushes the loser into playing catch up if they’re going to make the top six this year.  It’s not the end of the season for whoever loses, of course it isn’t, but with the way that every team is battling away for each two points you have to expect that teams in freefall are not going to be commonplace and springing back into those playoffs isn’t going to be quite as easy as it has been.  Having backed the Giants for improvement during the year I’m a bit disappointed not only with the results but the feedback from their performances.  Inconsistency is a problem for many teams, however this side just appears to be the most inconsistent thanks predominantly to a series of away results that indicate their league position is not that big a lie.  At home they’ve lost a few close ones and could easily be four points higher up the table with a bit more luck so we’re left wondering whether this Giants side is going to string results together.  An invitation to the travel weary Wildcats might be just the tonic that Sharp’s men need and whilst John Kear masterminded another downfall last week his side have not been able to repeat their heroics on the road.  Kear though will be looking at the Giants and sensing that this is a side that might well fold at home, representing his side’s best chance since Saints stole the two from under their noses.  I see this as a contrast in styles, reflective of their coaches, Wakefield playing carefully planned football against Huddersfield’s more aggressive, modern approach and although Wakefield can contain, sometimes surpass that kind of opponent, their away form just isn’t strong enough to pull support towards them for a win.  Giants by 8.

(+6) Hull KR v Bradford
Two teams going in different directions now and at the start of the season.  Opening up against Leeds and Saints is nightmare scheduling that allowed Rovers to test themselves at the beginning, passing with newfound respect amongst the league before failing to capitalise on those games and a nail-biting derby encounter.  Instead of sitting comfortably in the top six, Hull KR find themselves in eighth and must be wondering how they’ve ended up there when last week’s defeat at Harlequins represented the first time they’d lost by more than six points since the season opener.  Rovers have drawn, lost by two at Wakefield, one to Warrington and by six at Wigoon, tight games and as Saints have found out, losing close ones does nothing for your league position.  Conversely the Bulls started slowly and now have a secure third place in the table, quietly amassing a positive points difference on the way and a tricky away match now looks like it should be two valuable points.  Although the visitors haven’t really clicked matches against the two bottom teams have allowed them to find form and give themselves confidence even when missing key players like Morrisson and Vagana.  Meanwhile Hull KR will be apprehensive about this game because last week’s collapse against Harlequins doesn’t bode well for welcoming a team with the pedigree of Bradford and you have to imagine that the rhythm that was established in earlier rounds has now been replaced by the kind of doubt that creeps into your play when you don’t get the results you’d planned for.  It’s certainly a close game, however I have to think that the Bulls have had breathing space in their last two outings and that can make a lot of difference to the way you handle the ball so it’s going to be up to Rovers to get into the Bradford ranks and ask questions of their visitors because if they don’t take the game to McNamara’s men I can see their own hesitations causing them as much harm as the Bulls.  Bulls by 6.

Last week’s predictions;

Giants by 6 (lost by 4)
Bulls by 2 (won by 16)
Hull KR by 4 (lost by 19)
Leeds by 14 (lost by 4)
Saints by 14 (lost by 6)
Wolves by 4 (lost by 14)

Pretty terrible week of predictions overall, just one from six making it 36-24 in total (60%).  If anyone is interested I included the handicap scores just as a point of reference but last week’s results are a great indicator of just how unpredictable this year’s games are.  In four out of six of the results were against the favourite which is some going in any week and not something that we see very often in this league.

You see that sign up there?  It says apple sauce.