February book and film review

Please see this coming Saturday's blog for some reflections on our trip to Malta. For now, welcome to my regular monthly book and film review.

BOOKS

WONDER WOMAN: LOVE AND MURDER (graphic novel), by Jodie Picoult. Wonder woman comes of age in this updated version of the superheroine, complete with self doubt, complicated love life and a less than simple relationship with her mum. I don't usually do graphic novels, but this was fun and quite thought provoking.
THE LAST TESTAMENT, by Sam Bourne (Jonathan Friedland) A rip-roaring page turner from the well known broadcaster and journo, turned highly successful novelist. Set in the turmoil of the Holy Land, where an ancient clay tablet looted from the Baghdad museum purporting to be Abraham's will, threatens to blow the region apart. Well readable.
THE RADETSKY MARCH, by Joseph Roth. The Gotterdammerung of the Habsburg Empire as the great War approaches, told through the story of 3 generations of one military family. An unbelievably beautiful, deeply moving piece of writing. Perhaps one of the outstanding novels of the early 20th century. Highly recommended.
THE LOST SYMBOL, by Dan Brown. Robert Langdon's latest outing finds him in Washington DC, where, in a now familiar format, the plot proceeds at a dizzying pace as he searches for the key that unlocks the "secret of the ages". Sure, it's pure hocum, but there is some fascinating discourse on the nature of religious thought. If you like Dan's style, you'll love this.
THE MAN ON THE BALCONY (Martin Beck #3), by Sjowell and Wahloo. Now these two have really hit their stride with the 3rd book in their series of 10 stories about a 1960s Stockholm detective. The plot of the last book seemed overly convoluted to my mind, but here the style and narrative has tightened into a first rate thriller.

FILMS

MR NICE (2010), D-Bernard Rose. I've seen Howard Marks in the flesh and heard him speak, so I can confirm Rhys Ifan's portrayal is astonishingly authentic. Pity then, considering how good the book on which the film is based is, that they couldn't have made more of their material. Ultimately disappointing.
HOT FUZZ (2007) D-Edgar Wright. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are brilliant in this hysterically funny take on the "guilty town" theme. I laughed so hard I nearly gave myself an asthma attack!
THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK (1959) D-George Stevens. Sensitive and intelligent adaptation of the famous diary. They wanted Audrey Hepburn for the part, but she'd lived in Amsterdam during the war and it was a bit too close to home for her (besides which, she was 30 at the time, a bit of an ask then, to portray a 14 year-old) But her "replacement" does an excellent job and enjoys strong support from her fellow cast members, especially Shelley Winters, who won the Oscar for best supporting actress.
THE RIVER'S EDGE (1958) D-Alan Dwan. Ray Milland is surprisingly convincing as the psychopath who enlists the support of a reluctant Anthony Quinn and his new wife, (and Milland's former squeeze)Debra Paget, to escape across the border into Mexico following a botched robbery. Quite watchable.
ROAD TO PERDITION (2002) D- Sam Mendes. Highly stylised and atmospheric period piece, with Tom Hanks strong as the gangster who falls foul of his boss, an ageing but still menacing Paul Newman. Even Jude Law is quite believable as the hired assassin. Superior film making.
WILL PENNY (1967) D-Tom Gries. In the late 60s there was a brief vogue for stylish, "realistic" westerns (Jeremiah Johnson, True Grit, The Wild Bunch) into which this fits well. Charlton Heston fills the screen like an army under canvass. Say what you will about his political views: as a screen presence he is a giant.
CLASH OF THE TITANS (2010) D-Louis Leterrier. Here was a great opportunity to do that most unusual thing: a remake better than the original. Despite a great cast, the 1981 film was slow, wordy and so dull that sitting through it was like wading through treacle. Unfortunately however, except for demonstrating how far special effects have moved on in 30 years (the re-creation of the winged horse Pegasus is astonishing, for example), this film suffers from all the same faults as its predecessor: wooden, too long and just awful.

SPECIAL NOTE

I have today finally completed the edit of the 371 blogs I have posted since January of last year. I feel terrible about the huge number of typos I have discovered, and subjected my faithful readers to, but I can now report that I have (hopefully) removed 99% of them, leaving a new, or re-reader, a much more satisfying reading experience. Now read on!