June book and film review

BOOK

THE BEAR AND THE DRAGON, by Tom Clancy. President Jack Ryan finds an improbable bedfellow when China, covetous of a huge oil and gold find in nearby Siberia, decides to invade Russia to plunder its new-found riches. But in a post cold war world, the two unlikely allies find their armies seriously depleted... I only read this one book in June, but give me a break. I've been quite busy finishing off my own book and it is 1140 pages long, dammit. Tom is strong on technical detail, and the plot fairly races along; indeed, the ;ast 50 pages winds up into a genuinely thrilling climax. But his characterisations are weak, even juvenile, which detracts from one's enjoyment of this potentially fine book. Even his great creation, Jack Ryan, the ex-CIA agent become president, is worryingly one-dimensional. But perhaps I shouldn't knock it. Clancy has sold millions of books and made millions more from his high-octane narratives. So he can certainly be said to be tapping into some sort of zeitgeist...

FILMS

XALA (1975)D- Ousmane Sembene (Senegal/France). While Senegal celebrates its independence from France, a government minister expropriates funds to buy a new wife. Then he finds himself under a curse, or "Xala", which renders him impotent. A highly watchable film which provides a fascinating insight into the frightening world of West African domestic and political life. Recommended.
JOHNY MAD DOG (2008) D- Jean-Stephane Sauvaine. (Liberia/France) Inspired and encouraged by an amoral commander, a platoon of boy-soldiers slash, burn and murder their way through a Liberia torn apart by civil war. A truly terrifying portrayal of the lives of children who should be playing soldiers, but find themselves doing it for real. No wonder they put Charles Taylor away for life for his promotion of this most terrible form of warfare.
IN A BETTER WORLD (2010)D- Susanne Bier (Denmark) A Danish doctor divides his time between his family and his work in an African refugee camp. Meanwhile, his son decides to wreak terrible vengeance on the children who have been tormenting him at school. A sensitively made and gripping film about divided loyalties and when to make a stand. Watch it.
BATTLEGROUND 1949) D- William Wellmann. In 1945, a detachment of the US 101st Airborne division finds itself cut off behind enemy lines during the Battle of the Bulge. Wellman had already established himself as one of Hollywood's most thoughtful directors with films like "The Ox-Bow Incident", which is believed by some to be one of the finest Westerns ever made, and in this film he continues to show the human side of great events in his uniquely authentic and affecting style. As war movies go, this was one of the best at the time, and even today stands the test of time superbly.
A CRY IN THE DARK (1988) D- Fred Shepisi. A deeply religious Australian family takes a camping holiday near Ayer's Rock, but in the dead of night a dingo creeps up and steals their baby. Or was she murdered? A highly authentic portrayal of one of Oz's most famous trials, and one that only received its final disposition a few weeks ago when a coroner ruled that Lindy Chamberlain (brilliantly played by Meryl Streep) did indeed tell the truth more than 30 years earlier. My take: the price you pay when the media don't like the way you come over. We've seen it before and we'll see it again.
MARRIED TO THE MOB (1988)D- Jonathan Demme. An attractive woman (Michelle Pfeiffer) is pursued by a gangland boss, while an FBI agent (Matthew Modine), tasked with bringing him down, also falls for her. Modine had a brief time in the sun with his strong performance in "Full Metal Jacket", but this film really marked his last spell in the big league. I'm not sure why, because he was really pretty good, but other faces came along whose faces fitted more, I guess. But like other of Demme's films of this era ("something Wild", "Silence of the Lambs") this is highly entertaining stuff.
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (2010) D- Chris Sanders and Dean de Blois. Viking kids grow up in a World where dragons are a constant threat, and they are trained to kill them. Then one nerd makes friends with one of them and realises they ain't so evil after all... Superior animation from the Dreamworks stable, with excellent graphics and unusually good characterisation. Watch it with a kid as an excuse to see a rather good little effort.
X MEN: FIRST CLASS (2011) D- Matthew Vaughn. During the Kennedy administration, an evil genius uses his mutant super-powers to create the Cuban missiles crisis, hoping to plunge the world into nuclear megadeath. Prequels are all the rage these days (we're off to see "Prometheus" tomorrow, geddit?) and the X Men series are always fun. But what's with all these super-villains wanting to start WW3? It's the plot of countless movies, including several in the James Bond series, but it's never explained just why, and how they hope to profit from world-wide destruction. Just don't think about it too much I say, and sit back to enjoy this film's pace and ripping special effects.