april film, book and TV review

FILMS

THE HURT LOCKER,2009 D- Katherine Bigelow. It was such a breath of fresh air when they gave the Oscar honours to this offering, rather than Avatar. I mean, they'd already poured every plaudit imaginable on Cameron for Titanic; they didn't need to do it all over again. This is not a great film, but its low budget belies a film of some power and thoughtfulness.
THE YOUNG ONE,1960 D- Luis Bunuel. His only English language film, set in a bigoted deep south, where, shock-horror, a priest actually emerges as a good guy, for perhaps the only time in any of Bunuel's films, where the church is usually excoriated mercilessly. Highly watchable.
NIGHT AND FOG,1955 D- Alain Resnais. A short documentary about the holocaust, made just 10 years after the war ended. The scenes are now familiar to everyone, but as always, the scene which always gets to me most deeply is of the allies using bulldozers to shovel huge mounds of corpses into mass graves. Lest we forget...
SCARFACE, 1932 D- Howard Hawks. It's 1932, and Howard Hughes puts together a stellar cast to tell a story loosely based on the life of Al Capone. In this version, our (anti) hero seems a little too interested in his sister's love life. This dark implication was only possible in the cinema prior to the introduction of the Hays code. Of her (Ann Dvorak)I can only say, hers is the most beautiful smile in the entire history of Hollywood. If, like me, you've overlooked this one so far, do so no longer.
MARRIAGE ITALIAN STYLE, 1964 D- Vittorio de Sicca. Having made, in Bicycle Thieves, quite literally one of the greatest films ever made, one's expectations are high, but we are correspondingly disappointed by this lacklustre showing. Sure, Sophia Loren looks good enough to eat throughout, but even for me that ain't enough. Probably shouldn't bother.
THE BIG KNIFE,1955 D-Robert Aldrich. Based on a stage play, and it shows. Too much talking, not enough real substance. Palance's performance, however, with his bizarre body movements and strange gurning, is somehow arresting.

BOOKS

EVIL UNDER THE SUN, by Agatha Christie. She's been translated into more languages than any other author and has sold over a billion books. So why haven't I read one until now? I couldn't say, beyond admitting there are huge gaps in my literary education. And this book is certainly fun, requiring a minimum of effort in return. Its language is so simple you can see why it is so widely read around the world, yet Poirot still emerges as a powerful force and a highly original creation.
THE FOURTH HAND, by John Irving. Notable American author turns in a workmanlike performance, but there is nothing particularly outstanding about his work. It's more than an airport book, but not much more.
A BIT ON THE SIDE (short stories), by William Trevor. He's compared favourably with his compatriot Joyce (at least on the dust jacket, but then they would, wouldn't they?)but believe me, although his stories have a soft, gentle atmosphere, almost like Irish rain itself, William Trevor is no Joyce. Nor ever will be.
THE CALL OF THE WILD, White Fang and other stories, by Jack London. These days his stories are criticised for their anthropomorphism, but I say, we forgave Walt Disney for it, so we can certainly do the same for Jack London, whose fascinating tales take us on a journey inside the "mind" of a dumb animal. This Penguin edition, oddly, did not include his story "To Light a Fire" which in this writer's opinion is one of the best short stories of the early 20th century.
ON THE YANKEE STATION, by William Boyd (short stories)A notable, if not exceptional collection of stories, which have something of the flavour of Tom Sharpe. More of a diversion than a literary experience.

TELEVISION

MADMEN, created by Matthew Wiener. The third series ended this month, sealing its reputation as the best thing to come out of American TV since "The Wire". A worthy successor to the Sopranos, with very high scores on acting, direction and writing, puts this in a very select category- unforgettable television. I cannot remember the last time I was left so full of anticipation about catching the next series of a TV programme. And even if there isn't at least one horrific scene of violence in each episode, as in its forerunner, The Sopranos, it nonetheless creates a tremendous atmosphere of tension from beginning to end. Marvellous stuff.