February book and film review

Welcome to this month's culture review. Only one book, but a rich harvest of movies this month. Now read on.

BOOK

BLEAK HOUSE, by Charles Dickens. Behind the struggle for the inheritance of a country estate, a noble family with a dark secret tries, but fails, to keep it under wraps. FR Leavis said that along with "Middlemarch", this was the greatest book to come out of England in the 19th century. You can see why. The characterisations are so powerful they form images in the brain that take on a life of their own, while the plot rips along like a Dan Brown thriller. Its 900 pages will keep you occupied for a while, as it did me, but boy, is it ever worth the effort.

FILMS

THE AMERICAN (2010)D- Anton Corbijn. A CIA hitman hides out in the Italian countryside after a botched assassination, then falls for local tart-with-a-heart. Does that remind you of "In Bruges" at all? Unfortunately this has nothing like the class or polish of that film. If you want to see George Clooney with his kit off, however, this one's for you.
BATTLE: LOS ANGELES (2010) D-Jonathan Liebesman. Brave yank soldiers struggle against an alien threat. Part Independence Day, part Starship Troopers, and not as good as either- this has not persevered in my memory, which is never a good sign.
CHALET GIRL (2011) D-Phil Tralli A talented female snowboarder makes her way in the Alps, but is inhibited by a traumatic past. A Brit film with a good cast and a slick script; somehow it lacks pace and follow-through. Forgettable.
TOY STORY 3 ((2010) D- Lee Unkrich. Along with Reservoir Dogs and Fargo, the first Toy Story was one of the 3 best films to come out of America in the 90s. TS2 was nearly as good, and this too keeps up the standard marvellously. The scene at the climax of the movie where the toys are threatened with incineration is tremendously affecting even for a cynical old git like me. Watch it.
LUDWIG (1972) D- Luchino Visconti. The story of Bavaria's 19th century "mad" king. Or was he? Hard work at over 3 hours, but sumptuously shot with fine attention to detail, it is always worth watching. Visconti, after all, was something of a genius in Italian cinema. This, for instance, is so much better than that other sprawling epic "The Barber of Siberia" (see last month's review) Check it, if you have the time available in your doubtless busy schedule.
ALPHAVILLE (1965) D-Jean-Luc Goddard. A private eye is determined to disrupt a grim new world where emotion has been banned in favour of "science". Absolutely sensational journey into the strange and frightening world that is the mind of JLG. Innovatory throughout, constantly putting the viewer off balance with strange plot twists and novel effects (eg going into negative printing every now and then) this quite simply is cinema at its best.
DANGEROUS METHOD(2011) D-David Cronenberg. In turn of the century Vienna, Jung meets Freud, they become friends but later fall out. Meanwhile Jung is shagging one of his more attractive patients (I guess that's the dangerous bit) Cronenberg has the kind of talent that makes most of his films worth watching, but sometimes the script lets them down. Not this time, Christopher Hampton's adaptation is brilliant, rendering this film arguably Cronenberg's best yet.
THE BLIND SIDE (2009) D- Jon Lee Hancock. Rich middle class housewife with too much time on her hands adopts a black kid with a talent for American football. Sandra Bullock, according to the values of contemporary Hollywood, did everything necessary to win the best actress Oscar for her performance. But it's of a type that doesn't really reflect reality on America's mean streets. In a way it's just as mythical as Toy Story.
BOUND FOR GLORY (1976)D- Hal Ashby. The early life of fabled American folk singer/ political activist Woody Guthrie. Hal Ashby made a series of finely observed films around this time (Bonnie and Clyde, Shampoo, Coming Home) and this is no exception. However, despite the grimly authentic feel and good acting one somehow fails to connect emotionally with David Carradine's protagonist. Look out for Melinda Dillon (the blond whose son is abducted in "Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind")who plays 2 completely dfferent roles in the film. There must have been a reason for this; I, however, have no idea what it might be.