January book and film review

BOOKS

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, LENNY BRUCE!! by Albert Goldman (based on the journalism of Laurence Schiller) Written 10 years after his death in 1967, its post-hippy style has since gone out of fashion, but this remains a fascinating and detailed insight into the great improvisational comedian whose irreverent style of political commentary inspired some of the best known comedians that came after him: Bill Hicks and Dennis Leary in the States, and at home Billy Connelly and Ross Noble. A wild ride, suitable for the untamed, doomed genius Lenny was.
HOLLYWOOD'S BABYLON WOMEN, by John Austin. In a rather carelessly written book, there is nonetheless much intriguing detail on the demise of such stars as Natalie Wood, Carole Landis, Lupe Velez, and, especially interesting for me, Inger Stevens. Austin uses the word "oligarchy" several times to describe the Hollywood establishment, who are more interested in preserving their box office takings than revealing the often tawdry truth. These days of course the word is inseparable from the likes of Putin and Abramovich...

FILMS

THE WRECKING CREW (1967)D- Phil Karlson. Dean Martin is Matt Helm, secret agent and lady's man. Truly appalling essay in sexism and poor taste. Martin leers and croons tunelessly in almost every scene. Even the sultry Elke Sommer, sheathed in clingy outfits, fails to save this bomb. Typical lines:
Colleague (indicating Sommer): "That's his girlfriend."
Helm: "I like his style."
Colleague: "Be careful, Matt. She may look beautiful, but she has a bite like a barracuda!"
Helm: "I really like his style!"
PAUL (2010)D- Greg Mottola. 2 British nerds discover an alien escaping from Area 51. Hilarity ensues. Or does it? I like "Fregg", or "Prost" (you choose) a lot, but here they have over-reached themselves and made a film that just isn't funny enough. The main problem is Paul himself, the alien who seems to be less from outer space than the lower east side of Manhattan. Despite other good characters, the film fails because a believable identity for Paul is never found.
RANGO (2011) D-Gore Verbinsky. In a variation on the Grimm fairy tale "The Brave Little Tailor", an chameleon (well voiced by Johnny Depp) kills the local villain (an eagle) by pure accident and becomes a hero. Anthropomorphising aside, this is actually a pretty good effort.
LA TERRA TREMA (1948) D-Luchino Visconti. In post war Italy, poor fishermen struggle to free themselves from the exploitation of the wholesalers. This moving and beautiful, if tragic, film attracted the ire of critics from the left who considered it "overly interested in aesthetics". What bollocks. Visconti is an artist: are they asking him to make a film that isn't a work of art? Strikes me those critics should stick to politics, and leave the movie making to people who know what they're doing.
BLACK GOD, WHITE DEVIL (1964) D- Glauber Rocha. In pre-revolutionary Brazil, a group of uncompromising rebels fight for justice. Set in the devastated landscape of north-eastern Brazil, the mood is unremittingly bleak, as terrible deeds are done in the name of freedom. Recommended, but steel yourself for a grim ride...
OSSESSIONE (1943) D- L Visconti. The original "Postman Always Rings Twice", but with more style and panache than the 2 subsequent Hollywood remakes put together. One of Visconti's best.
127 HOURS (2011) An overconfident young man is rock climbing when he falls into a ravine and his hand is wedged behind a boulder which has fallen with him. Slowly he realises he will die of thirst unless... Terrific, deceptively simple account of a true story about the dangers of hubris.
THE BARBER OF SIBERIA (1998) D- George Malekov. A somewhat reluctant soldier makes his painful way through officer training in fin de siecle Russia. One of those lavish, multinational productions which looks wonderful on the screen, but which lacks pace and dynamism. There are just 2 stunning scenes in its 3 hours: when our hero goes berserk and attacks his fellow officers, and when the "Barber of Siberia" a terrible behemoth of a machine meant to automate the process of tree-felling, runs amock and panics the local villagers. Otherwise, the film drags and drags.
HEROES FOR SALE (1932) D- William Wellman. A shell-shocked soldier returns from the trenches and seeks solace in opium. Later he gets his act together and makes a fortune, only to lose it again... Fine film by one of the giants of early Hollywood, banned because of its drug references.
WILD BOYS OF THE ROAD (1933) D-William Wellman. In depression hit America, a bunch of impoverished street kids decide anywhere's better than where they are, and take to riding the rails to find food and work. Once again Wellmann's gritty, realistic touches were too much for the censors who banned this humane and powerful film.
THE ARTIST (2011) D-Michael Haganacius. A fading silent movie star is redeemed by a younger starlet on the rise. A marvellously inventive film, and, something very unusual, a true otiginal. Just when you thought the movie industry was getting tired, something like this comes along, and you can forgive them almost anything...