BOOKS
A DANCE TO THE MUSIC OF TIME, by Anthony Powell
Vol V- Casanova's Chinese Restaurant
Vol VI- The Kindly Ones
Vol VII- The Valley of Bones
The Dance goes on. In volume five, our hero, Nick Jenkins, continues to hobnob with the great and good of London society; indeed he has managed to snag Isobel, daughter of an Earl. His long time acquaintance, Kenneth Widmerpool, on the other hand, bit off more than he could chew with his Earl's daughter, whose engagement has collapsed. Volume six, "The Kindly Ones" which, I am informed, was a placatory term used to describe the Furies, is seen by some to be the best of the twelve, and also perhaps the only one that can be read in isolation. And it is true there are some unforgettable scenes, especially when the bright young things gather at a country mansion and the owner (heir to an Earldom of his own), who has developed an interest in photography, is persuaded to photograph a series of human tableaux to illustrate the Seven Deadly Sins.
"The Valley of Bones" brings us finally to the outbreak of the Second World War, when Nick volunteers for a Welsh regiment, and whose first posting is to the less than glamorous, rain-sodden fields of Northern Ireland. Will he ever see action? We'll have to wait and see.
Will I hang in to the conclusion of this classic book of 20th century English literature? Damn right.
FILMS
CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT (1964) D- Orson Welles. A corpulent knight is befriended by the Prince of Wales, and they carouse together uproariously. But when the prince ascends the throne as Henry V, he distances himself from his potentially embarrassing drinking pal. Welles drew from Shakespeare's histories to paint a vivid portrait of Sir John Falstaff, and acts him to a T. But the production is often clumsy, with inexplicable editing and poor sound synchronisation, which is an unforgiveable error. Even so, you can't seem to take your eyes off it, despite the many little annoyances.
JACK AND JILL (2012) D- Dave Dugan. Adam Sandler invites his twin sister (also played by him) for Christmas, but is mortified by her gauche behaviour. But everything changes when, of all people, Al Pacino falls for her. Now Sandler wants Pacino to be in a commercial he's planning, and as his sister cannot appreciate the Great One's charms, he goes into drag to ensnare him himself. A really rather good little offering, with Pacino wickedly funny in his self-portraying cameo role.
CARS (2006) D- John Lasseter, A race-car gets pulled over for speeding, and has to help out fixing the road in a hick town until he has redeemed himself. I tend to have problems with heavily anthropomorphised films, but if you just give that away for 90 minutes you will discover a real gem of 21st century animated features. The graphics are stunning, and the voice characterisations (including Paul Newman in his last film) are spot on. Top marks.
A FANTASTIC FEAR OF EVERYTHING (2012) D- Crispian Mills and Chris Hopewell. Simon Pegg is researching 19th century serial killers, but becomes so consumed by his project he becomes afraid of every shadow. As it turns out, with good reason... Pegg (this time sans Frost) gives good VFM as the paranoid journo, but really there isn't enough substance to sustain a thin script. Pity. I like him.
ROXIE HART (1942) D- William Wellmann. A pretty young thing (Ginger Rogers, and they don't come a lot prettier) is prosecuted for a murder she didn't commit, and a shyster lawyer realises he can make his name by defending her. Sounds familiar? Should be. It's an early version of Chicago, heavy on the irony, and beautifully drawn together by Wellmann, who for my money was one of Hollywood's greatest directors.
SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN (2012) D- Rupert Sanders. Evil queen Charlize Theron hears there's a threat to her "most beautiful woman in the kingdom" status in the shape of Kristen Stewart (that guy in the magic mirror has no taste) and determines to do her in. Unfortunately Snow White turns out to be a superior urban guerrilla, so this project is harder to carry out than she thought... A new take on the old story, competently made, but to this observer lacking in real bite (except out of the apple, of course).
ALONG CAME POLLY (2004) D- John Hamburg. Newlywed Ben Stiller takes his bride to St Barts for their honeymoon, but they've scarcely hit the beach before she falls for a French SCUBA instructor. Mortified, he comes home alone and hits waitress Jennifer Anniston on the rebound. But is he really over his wife? And do we give a shit? The prospect of an uptight, risk-assessing man maybe/maybe not finding happiness with an anarchic free spirit is the tension around which this film revolves, and all we see on the screen is highly professional. Just not funny enough.
WAR HORSE (2012) D- Steven Spielberg. A thoroughbred horse is requisitioned by the army and sent to the trenches in the Great War. Will Joey survive the most hellish conflict in human history?
Alfred Hitchcock once said that the aim of a movie is to make the audience experience emotion, and though Spielberg is no Hitchcock, his greatest talent is to enable the audience to do just that. From films like Jaws, through ET: the Extraterrestrial (remember how nearly all the shots in that were from the POV of a ten-year-old?) to this offering, Spielberg has cast his spell over the movie-going public to the point where, like his illustrious predecessor, moviegoers, most of whom have little interest in the director of a film, will be attracted to a product made by the bearded one. War Horse is perhaps a typical example of his best work: improbable, fabulous even, but still capable of arousing powerful emotions in those who experience it. It may not be a great film, but its impact is undeniable.
Tuesday, 30 April 2013
Tuesday, 23 April 2013
Sports Report
On Sunday an era came to end when Rafa Nadal was beaten in the final of the Monte Carlo Open by a marauding Novak Djokavic, who ended Rafa's almost incredible run of eight consecutive victories in that prestigious event. Of course the Majorcan prodigy has had his injury problems, nursing a knee injury he picked up last year which kept him out of competition for nearly eight months, and you can't have that long a layoff and hope to stay at the top your game.
I have been accused in the past of writing people off too quickly: after seeing Federer suffer from the effects of EB virus and fall off his number 1 ranking I pronounced him "finished": he later went on to win two more Grand Slam tournaments, including the elusive French Open, setting a new record for Grand Slam trophies and establishing himself firmly as history's greatest player, Notwithstanding this minor error, I now predict Rafa will win no major tournaments this year. He will, after all, always end up playing his Serbian nemesis in order to assume any particular crown, and Nole (as he likes to be called) will be waiting, smouldering like some medieval warrior knight in battle, determined to show he is the most beautiful of them all. Look out Andy is all I can say..
Last night Man U secured their 20th premier League title in grand style, their Arsenal import Robin van Persie scoring a hat trick as well as heading a ball off the line at the other end of the pitch. I'm not sure what Manchester United paid for him, but I'm prepared to bet Arsenal are thinking is wasn't enough. And as for Fergie himself, has Britain, or anywhere else, ever seen a greater manager? .Surely he qualifies at least on the short list of candidates for Greatest Living Brit, on his astonishing record alone, plus the fact that at 71 he seems to have more energy than the average 20-year-old. How does he do it? Is it the elixir of victory, of which he has drunk so deeply over the years? Whatever it is I want some.
Meanwhile, 30 miles to the west, Liverpool continues to have their own problems with their Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez. He was seen by millions biting the arm of a defender, and now faces a lengthy ban, as this is not his first offence of dentitious assault. Yet Liverpool is reluctant to be too hard on him, and perhaps understandably. He is their best player by far, and with 30 goals this season, one of the Premiership's leading goal scorers. But how heinous was his bite? The fact is, not all bites are the same. Did it break the skin, or leave any kind of mark? If not, then the infraction was not as serious as it looked. If however it did, or if any blood at all was drawn, then there is maybe a case for a 6 figure fine, a twelve match ban; even facing a criminal charge of assault or ABH.. Perhaps then he'll learn to control his "anger management issues".
I have been accused in the past of writing people off too quickly: after seeing Federer suffer from the effects of EB virus and fall off his number 1 ranking I pronounced him "finished": he later went on to win two more Grand Slam tournaments, including the elusive French Open, setting a new record for Grand Slam trophies and establishing himself firmly as history's greatest player, Notwithstanding this minor error, I now predict Rafa will win no major tournaments this year. He will, after all, always end up playing his Serbian nemesis in order to assume any particular crown, and Nole (as he likes to be called) will be waiting, smouldering like some medieval warrior knight in battle, determined to show he is the most beautiful of them all. Look out Andy is all I can say..
Last night Man U secured their 20th premier League title in grand style, their Arsenal import Robin van Persie scoring a hat trick as well as heading a ball off the line at the other end of the pitch. I'm not sure what Manchester United paid for him, but I'm prepared to bet Arsenal are thinking is wasn't enough. And as for Fergie himself, has Britain, or anywhere else, ever seen a greater manager? .Surely he qualifies at least on the short list of candidates for Greatest Living Brit, on his astonishing record alone, plus the fact that at 71 he seems to have more energy than the average 20-year-old. How does he do it? Is it the elixir of victory, of which he has drunk so deeply over the years? Whatever it is I want some.
Meanwhile, 30 miles to the west, Liverpool continues to have their own problems with their Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez. He was seen by millions biting the arm of a defender, and now faces a lengthy ban, as this is not his first offence of dentitious assault. Yet Liverpool is reluctant to be too hard on him, and perhaps understandably. He is their best player by far, and with 30 goals this season, one of the Premiership's leading goal scorers. But how heinous was his bite? The fact is, not all bites are the same. Did it break the skin, or leave any kind of mark? If not, then the infraction was not as serious as it looked. If however it did, or if any blood at all was drawn, then there is maybe a case for a 6 figure fine, a twelve match ban; even facing a criminal charge of assault or ABH.. Perhaps then he'll learn to control his "anger management issues".
Friday, 19 April 2013
Who the fruck do GSK think they are?
Today it has emerged that Glaxo-Smith-Klein, a British drug company and one of the richest and most powerful in the world, is under investigation for trying to persuade their competitors to delay marketing the generic alternative to their brand-name antidepressant Seroxat. Why would they do that? you may ask. The answer is money, stupid. Do try to keep up.
They have reacted with horrified denial to these claims, but then as Mandy Rice-Davies famously put it, well they would, wouldn't they?
They did the same to accusations in the US that they bribed doctors to use the drug in children, despite the fact that they had no licence to use the drug in that age group. Despite that they were found guilty and fined $3 billion, one of the biggest fines ever imposed. This doesn't say a lot for the doctors who took the money either. What kind of monsters were they, that they put a few dollars ahead of the safety of their young patients?
After a brief vogue in the 90s for Seroxat, by 1998 most clinicians had realised it was actually a rubbish drug: no better than other cheaper alternatives but with lots of side effects, including an occasional tendency to develop suicidal violence and worst of all, it is one of the most difficult drugs to withdraw from (always good thing for a drug manufacturer; you have to keep on prescribing it).
So to answer my own question: who do the bosses of GSK think they are? I'll tell you. They think they're better than you. The normal rules of ethical behaviour don't apply to them.They think profit, like winning, is not everything, it's the only thing. And if they have to do a bit of lying and cheating along the way to maximise their profits, who cares, as long as they don't get caught. I've said it before and I'll say it again: capitalism sucks.
They have reacted with horrified denial to these claims, but then as Mandy Rice-Davies famously put it, well they would, wouldn't they?
They did the same to accusations in the US that they bribed doctors to use the drug in children, despite the fact that they had no licence to use the drug in that age group. Despite that they were found guilty and fined $3 billion, one of the biggest fines ever imposed. This doesn't say a lot for the doctors who took the money either. What kind of monsters were they, that they put a few dollars ahead of the safety of their young patients?
After a brief vogue in the 90s for Seroxat, by 1998 most clinicians had realised it was actually a rubbish drug: no better than other cheaper alternatives but with lots of side effects, including an occasional tendency to develop suicidal violence and worst of all, it is one of the most difficult drugs to withdraw from (always good thing for a drug manufacturer; you have to keep on prescribing it).
So to answer my own question: who do the bosses of GSK think they are? I'll tell you. They think they're better than you. The normal rules of ethical behaviour don't apply to them.They think profit, like winning, is not everything, it's the only thing. And if they have to do a bit of lying and cheating along the way to maximise their profits, who cares, as long as they don't get caught. I've said it before and I'll say it again: capitalism sucks.
Wednesday, 17 April 2013
John Sweeney takes on North Korea and... not a lot happens
After all the hype and protests from the powers that be within the LSE, their students cruelly duped so that we may learn more about the secretive society that is North Korea, the result was a bit of a damp squib (or squid, as a friend insists on saying). The ethics of John Sweeney's methods have come under fire, not least from my own wife, who, as an academic, visits trouble spots in the Middle East on a regular basis, and is of the view that he did indeed endanger the other members of his party, and by implication puts other purely academic travel groups in jeopardy also.
I'm a big fan of first class under-cover reporting: it can be one of the best ways to reveal the truth when that is being denied by normal methods of investigation. But, having compromised the safety of a number of more or less innocent students, the result, shown on Panorama on Monday night, was scarcely earth shattering. Sure he found out that North Korea is a country ruled by fear, where no one, except those have fled the tyranny and are living in safety in the West, is prepared to say a word against the regime for fear of being dragged off by the thought police. But we knew that already. For me, there were just two points of real interest in Sweeney's film. The first was when they visited a gleaming new hospital that remained, for reasons unknown, completely shy of patients. The reason given was that the patients had all been treated that morning and had now gone home. That makes it radically different from any hospital I know of anywhere in the world. That, or someone was lying.
The other moment was when they visited a library and Sweeney asked if there was a copy of "1984" to be had. Of course there wasn't. But it showed that the same thing must have occurred to him as it has to me for some time: that the set-up in North Korea is the nearest equivalent to the oligarchical society proposed by George Orwell in his great book: the state controlling every aspect of people's lives, right down to shaping the thought processes of the ordinary individual. That's what is wrong with North Korea, and John Sweeney did little to add to our sum of knowledge on that score.
All we can hope is that a society like that is inherently unstable, and that eventually, like Assad's regime in Syria, it is bound to come tumbling down as the people find the power to oppose it. Good luck to you the people of NK: you'll certainly need it!
I'm a big fan of first class under-cover reporting: it can be one of the best ways to reveal the truth when that is being denied by normal methods of investigation. But, having compromised the safety of a number of more or less innocent students, the result, shown on Panorama on Monday night, was scarcely earth shattering. Sure he found out that North Korea is a country ruled by fear, where no one, except those have fled the tyranny and are living in safety in the West, is prepared to say a word against the regime for fear of being dragged off by the thought police. But we knew that already. For me, there were just two points of real interest in Sweeney's film. The first was when they visited a gleaming new hospital that remained, for reasons unknown, completely shy of patients. The reason given was that the patients had all been treated that morning and had now gone home. That makes it radically different from any hospital I know of anywhere in the world. That, or someone was lying.
The other moment was when they visited a library and Sweeney asked if there was a copy of "1984" to be had. Of course there wasn't. But it showed that the same thing must have occurred to him as it has to me for some time: that the set-up in North Korea is the nearest equivalent to the oligarchical society proposed by George Orwell in his great book: the state controlling every aspect of people's lives, right down to shaping the thought processes of the ordinary individual. That's what is wrong with North Korea, and John Sweeney did little to add to our sum of knowledge on that score.
All we can hope is that a society like that is inherently unstable, and that eventually, like Assad's regime in Syria, it is bound to come tumbling down as the people find the power to oppose it. Good luck to you the people of NK: you'll certainly need it!
Tuesday, 9 April 2013
Demented old lady croaks
The world is still buzzing 24 hours on from the demise of the most significant woman of the 20th century. History will mark her first and foremost for what was perhaps her greatest achievement: becoming the first female prime minister in Britain.
I don't like prime ministers very much. They're only there, as Alistair Campbell has pointed out recently, to look good on television. Hence you know never to believe a single word they say- ever, because it's all been so carefully manicured in advance by people like, well, Alistair himself in his day. However, of all the prime ministers I have not liked over the course of my life (and remember, my vintage takes me right back to a post-war Winston Churchill), the Iron Lady stands out above all others as the figure I most revile. There were so many things unforgivable things I couldn't begin to list them, yet there was a sort of grudging respect too, for her passion and determination.
One of my strongest memories of her was in November 1990, in the moments after she had sat down in the House of Commons, having delivered her resignation speech. The SNP leader Alex Salmond was given the floor:
"I know we have had many profound differences over the years, but I will say this of the honourable lady: you always knew you were dealing with a genuine heavyweight, unlike the lightweights in her cabinet who plotted her downfall."
Coming from a man of Salmond's perspective, to me those words were breathtakingly impressive. She was indeed a class act all the way; just the wrong way.
I don't like prime ministers very much. They're only there, as Alistair Campbell has pointed out recently, to look good on television. Hence you know never to believe a single word they say- ever, because it's all been so carefully manicured in advance by people like, well, Alistair himself in his day. However, of all the prime ministers I have not liked over the course of my life (and remember, my vintage takes me right back to a post-war Winston Churchill), the Iron Lady stands out above all others as the figure I most revile. There were so many things unforgivable things I couldn't begin to list them, yet there was a sort of grudging respect too, for her passion and determination.
One of my strongest memories of her was in November 1990, in the moments after she had sat down in the House of Commons, having delivered her resignation speech. The SNP leader Alex Salmond was given the floor:
"I know we have had many profound differences over the years, but I will say this of the honourable lady: you always knew you were dealing with a genuine heavyweight, unlike the lightweights in her cabinet who plotted her downfall."
Coming from a man of Salmond's perspective, to me those words were breathtakingly impressive. She was indeed a class act all the way; just the wrong way.
Friday, 5 April 2013
Thanks a lot, Andy
A measles outbreak is sweeping the country, and we all know why. In the 90s, immunisation rates with the MMR vaccine were approaching the 95% level which the WHO has estimated to be the percentage required to eradicate the diseases completely in a few years. Then along came Andy Wakefield with his research suggesting a link with the development of autism. And with the active co-operation of a twisted and frankly intellectually moribund press, the immunisation rate had fallen to 10% or less. I remember talking to a journo about it at the time and saying how crossing the road or driving on a motorway for half an hour was much more dangerous than the MMR, and being told: Look, the public aren't interested in comparisons like that."
And let's not forget Tony Blair's culpability in all this. When he was asked if his new son Leo had had the MMR, he refused to divulge what had been done on the grounds of "confidentiality". Yet here was brilliant opportunity for our great leader to set an example for the population by saying ; "I have the right not to tell you my medical secrets, but in this case I am breaking that rule and telling you we did have him done, because my wife and I think it's so important that we, and everyone else eligible, should have the vaccine."
When it emerged that Wakefield's research had been funded by the law frim which was preparing a class actions suite on behalf on a group of parents with autistic children, the GMC took a hand and now Dr Wakefield is a doctor no longer. Too late. The damage had been done, and it took years for the immunisation rate to recover.
Now the principle at-risk group is the cohort of children who missed out on their vaccine in the years 2000-2005, and they're the ones going down like flies right now. Measles is a very unpleasant disease which always causes a lot of misery and suffering. In some cases it is much worse, with permanent lung disease, brain damage and even death as consequences. Right now, hundreds of children are suffering, all because of one ambitious and corrupt doctor and the media who took him on as their hero. Damn him, and damn them too!
And let's not forget Tony Blair's culpability in all this. When he was asked if his new son Leo had had the MMR, he refused to divulge what had been done on the grounds of "confidentiality". Yet here was brilliant opportunity for our great leader to set an example for the population by saying ; "I have the right not to tell you my medical secrets, but in this case I am breaking that rule and telling you we did have him done, because my wife and I think it's so important that we, and everyone else eligible, should have the vaccine."
When it emerged that Wakefield's research had been funded by the law frim which was preparing a class actions suite on behalf on a group of parents with autistic children, the GMC took a hand and now Dr Wakefield is a doctor no longer. Too late. The damage had been done, and it took years for the immunisation rate to recover.
Now the principle at-risk group is the cohort of children who missed out on their vaccine in the years 2000-2005, and they're the ones going down like flies right now. Measles is a very unpleasant disease which always causes a lot of misery and suffering. In some cases it is much worse, with permanent lung disease, brain damage and even death as consequences. Right now, hundreds of children are suffering, all because of one ambitious and corrupt doctor and the media who took him on as their hero. Damn him, and damn them too!
Monday, 1 April 2013
March book and film review
BOOKS
A DANCE TO THE MUSIC OF TIME, by Anthony Powell. Vol 3: THE ACCEPTANCE WORLD; Vol 4: AT LADY MOLLY'S.
Nick Jenkins's voyage through the 20th century continues. Widmerpool has gone into the city, specialising in financial deals known as "Acceptance Transactions". Powell points out that as we grow older, acceptance is the inevitable course of all our lives. In Vol 4, Widmerpool announces he has snagged, improbably, the daughter of an earl, but she has baggage: two children by a previous marriage. Will it happen? Powell takes us on his sedate, meticulously worded journey and this reader, on the strength of what he has seen so far, is glad to go with him.
BLOOD RIVER, by Tim Butcher. A South African journalist decides to re-create Stanley's epic 19th century voyage, tracing the course of the great Congo river through highly dangerous territory in the heart of the lawless "democratic" Republic of Congo. Very few people would be brave, or foolish enough to undertake such a journey, so Butcher does it for us in order that, thank God, we don't have to. If the mosquitoes or foul water doesn't get you, the stoned-out children toting AK47s will. This is a journalist's book, and as so often in these cases the writing is not necessarily of the best. But the tale told is gripping and, at times, truly terrifying. A good, quick read.
FILMS
ARGO (2012) D- Ben Affleck/ During the Iran hostage crisis of 1979, six Americans hide out in the Canadian embassy, and the CIA devise a fiendishly cunning subterfuge to recover them. Americans being brave and getting one over on the Iranians was doubtless part of the film's appeal to the Academy folks as an ideal vehicle to win an Oscar, but really this film is no great shakes: exciting in parts (the most nail-biting scene, at the airport, where the crew must blag its way through security, never actually happened, but what the hey?), but ultimately unsatisfying.
DARK WATER (2002) D-Hideo Nakata. You watch a video. then 1 week later you die horribly. As people start dying off like flies, a mum desperately tries to prevent her child from seeing it. Remade in Hollywood, this Japanese original is far better; genuinely scary and gripping, and indeed the movie turned out to be highly influential.
BIUTIFUL (2010) D- Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu. A man slowly dying of cancer (Javier Bardem) has the gift of communicating with the recently deceased. He is also deeply involved in a sweat shop turning out counterfeit handbags. An interesting, if over-long film, which holds the attention through to the end, partly on the strength of Bardem's performance. Not bad.
4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS ((2007) D- Cristian Munglu. In the dying days of the Caucescu regime in Romania, where abortion is illegal, a young woman helps her friend to procure a back street abortion. A deeply moving and beautifully crafted film, full of humanity and devastating honesty. Excellent.
BLACKBALL (2012) D- Mel Smith. Into the hidebound ranks of top flight bowls, an audacious new talent emerges, but manages to upset everyone along the way. Fairly amusing Britcom, reminiscent of films like Blades of Fury in its content, but somehow lacking real flair.
A BUNCH OF AMATEURS (2012) D- Andy Cadiff. An ageing American superstar (Burt Reynolds, virtually playing himself) agrees to play Lear at a theatre in the UK because his agent thinks it will re-boot his career. But then he realises the play is being mounted, not by the RSC, but by a strictly amateur village crew. Initially reluctant, he soon immerses himself in the role. A superior offering, thoughtfully written and very well acted, especially by Reynolds himself, who shows himself to be a considerable trooper. Great fun.
TELL NO ONE ( 2006) D- Guillaume Canet. A man believes his wife has been murdered, but then years later begins to doubt she is really dead. A long, highly involved story that at one point had me wondering if I really cared what happened (never a good sign), but in the event I hung in with to the really quite intriguing denouement.
PROJECT A (1983) D- Jackie Chan. The leader of a special police task force in 80s Hong Kong (Jackie Chan) makes it his business to bring down a cadre of bad guys. In this he is ably assisted by his friend Sammo Hung. With these two adepts of the martial arts, we can only be in for a high-kicking, acrobatic slugfest, and we are not disappointed. Chan and Hung started out in the Shanghai circus school, and the skills learnt there held them in good stead for decades of films like this before Hollywood eventually discovered them years later, and made them learn a sort of English. Pretty good if you enjoy a top class kick-and-punch movie. Which I do, as it happens.
.
A DANCE TO THE MUSIC OF TIME, by Anthony Powell. Vol 3: THE ACCEPTANCE WORLD; Vol 4: AT LADY MOLLY'S.
Nick Jenkins's voyage through the 20th century continues. Widmerpool has gone into the city, specialising in financial deals known as "Acceptance Transactions". Powell points out that as we grow older, acceptance is the inevitable course of all our lives. In Vol 4, Widmerpool announces he has snagged, improbably, the daughter of an earl, but she has baggage: two children by a previous marriage. Will it happen? Powell takes us on his sedate, meticulously worded journey and this reader, on the strength of what he has seen so far, is glad to go with him.
BLOOD RIVER, by Tim Butcher. A South African journalist decides to re-create Stanley's epic 19th century voyage, tracing the course of the great Congo river through highly dangerous territory in the heart of the lawless "democratic" Republic of Congo. Very few people would be brave, or foolish enough to undertake such a journey, so Butcher does it for us in order that, thank God, we don't have to. If the mosquitoes or foul water doesn't get you, the stoned-out children toting AK47s will. This is a journalist's book, and as so often in these cases the writing is not necessarily of the best. But the tale told is gripping and, at times, truly terrifying. A good, quick read.
FILMS
ARGO (2012) D- Ben Affleck/ During the Iran hostage crisis of 1979, six Americans hide out in the Canadian embassy, and the CIA devise a fiendishly cunning subterfuge to recover them. Americans being brave and getting one over on the Iranians was doubtless part of the film's appeal to the Academy folks as an ideal vehicle to win an Oscar, but really this film is no great shakes: exciting in parts (the most nail-biting scene, at the airport, where the crew must blag its way through security, never actually happened, but what the hey?), but ultimately unsatisfying.
DARK WATER (2002) D-Hideo Nakata. You watch a video. then 1 week later you die horribly. As people start dying off like flies, a mum desperately tries to prevent her child from seeing it. Remade in Hollywood, this Japanese original is far better; genuinely scary and gripping, and indeed the movie turned out to be highly influential.
BIUTIFUL (2010) D- Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu. A man slowly dying of cancer (Javier Bardem) has the gift of communicating with the recently deceased. He is also deeply involved in a sweat shop turning out counterfeit handbags. An interesting, if over-long film, which holds the attention through to the end, partly on the strength of Bardem's performance. Not bad.
4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS ((2007) D- Cristian Munglu. In the dying days of the Caucescu regime in Romania, where abortion is illegal, a young woman helps her friend to procure a back street abortion. A deeply moving and beautifully crafted film, full of humanity and devastating honesty. Excellent.
BLACKBALL (2012) D- Mel Smith. Into the hidebound ranks of top flight bowls, an audacious new talent emerges, but manages to upset everyone along the way. Fairly amusing Britcom, reminiscent of films like Blades of Fury in its content, but somehow lacking real flair.
A BUNCH OF AMATEURS (2012) D- Andy Cadiff. An ageing American superstar (Burt Reynolds, virtually playing himself) agrees to play Lear at a theatre in the UK because his agent thinks it will re-boot his career. But then he realises the play is being mounted, not by the RSC, but by a strictly amateur village crew. Initially reluctant, he soon immerses himself in the role. A superior offering, thoughtfully written and very well acted, especially by Reynolds himself, who shows himself to be a considerable trooper. Great fun.
TELL NO ONE ( 2006) D- Guillaume Canet. A man believes his wife has been murdered, but then years later begins to doubt she is really dead. A long, highly involved story that at one point had me wondering if I really cared what happened (never a good sign), but in the event I hung in with to the really quite intriguing denouement.
PROJECT A (1983) D- Jackie Chan. The leader of a special police task force in 80s Hong Kong (Jackie Chan) makes it his business to bring down a cadre of bad guys. In this he is ably assisted by his friend Sammo Hung. With these two adepts of the martial arts, we can only be in for a high-kicking, acrobatic slugfest, and we are not disappointed. Chan and Hung started out in the Shanghai circus school, and the skills learnt there held them in good stead for decades of films like this before Hollywood eventually discovered them years later, and made them learn a sort of English. Pretty good if you enjoy a top class kick-and-punch movie. Which I do, as it happens.
.
In the presence of greatness
I am wrenching my attention from the television screen for a few moments to report on a special occasion: BBC2, just reincarnated in HD, is celebrating the fact by showing two of the greatest movies ever made back to back: Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons.
Watching Kane again, after a gap of many years, is like standing in front of a Michelangelo: one is almost struck dumb by its immense stature: the light and shade (down in large part to the brilliant cinematography of Greg Tolland), the pace, the writing, but above all Welles's huge mind standing behind and in front of it all. It also launches me back nearly forty years to when I first saw it at my university film club on a scratchy print with a defective soundtrack, neither of which detracted in the slightest from its extraordinary and unprecedented impact.
Welles never realised fully the potential expected following two such amazing early offerings, but in a way, how could he? How can you improve on perfection? It's like the promising young batsman, playing for his country for the first time at Lords and scoring 100 not out on the first day of an Ashes Test. Where can he go from there?
Where could Welles go? He shone in The Third Man, he won great praise in Chimes at Midnight, and his role in Touch of Evil transformed that film into a minor masterpiece. But truly, Welles could have retired comfortably after the wrap party for Ambersons and left it at that. His place in history would have been assured, like Thomas Chatterton, who wrote a handful of deathless poems aged seventeen then killed himself when he was still a teenager.
If you haven't seen both of these films yet, don't get any older before you do. You won't regret it, I promise.
Watching Kane again, after a gap of many years, is like standing in front of a Michelangelo: one is almost struck dumb by its immense stature: the light and shade (down in large part to the brilliant cinematography of Greg Tolland), the pace, the writing, but above all Welles's huge mind standing behind and in front of it all. It also launches me back nearly forty years to when I first saw it at my university film club on a scratchy print with a defective soundtrack, neither of which detracted in the slightest from its extraordinary and unprecedented impact.
Welles never realised fully the potential expected following two such amazing early offerings, but in a way, how could he? How can you improve on perfection? It's like the promising young batsman, playing for his country for the first time at Lords and scoring 100 not out on the first day of an Ashes Test. Where can he go from there?
Where could Welles go? He shone in The Third Man, he won great praise in Chimes at Midnight, and his role in Touch of Evil transformed that film into a minor masterpiece. But truly, Welles could have retired comfortably after the wrap party for Ambersons and left it at that. His place in history would have been assured, like Thomas Chatterton, who wrote a handful of deathless poems aged seventeen then killed himself when he was still a teenager.
If you haven't seen both of these films yet, don't get any older before you do. You won't regret it, I promise.
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