November book and film review

BOOKS

I'm afraid there are no books to review this month. I am 800 pages into Dickens's classic Martin Chuzzlewit, but there are still 140 pages to go, and I wouldn't be much of a reviewer if I did it now, would I?. See my December review, however, to find out what I thought of it. As an appetiser, consider this: Dickens himself felt that while the semi-autobiographical nature of David Copperfield made it his favourite book, he considered Martin Chuzzlewit his best book. We shall see...

FILMS

GRAVITY (2013) D- Alfonso Cuaron.   There's nothing like making a rule and then breaking it. For the  truth is, I haven't seen Gravity. Why wouldn't I, considering it is a massive world-wide success, with two hyperstars involved in what has been called "the wildest fairground ride in film history"? OK, I'll try to explain. First, it's in 3D (and I have made my feelings plain on that subject more than once) and unlike other films like Thor: The Dark World  (see below) there is no 2D version. Second, I am informed that lovers of physics may have certain objections to its scientific authenticity. Here's the news: I do love physics, and hence I think that would be a problem for me. I prefer space films like 2001: A Space Odyssey, where Kubrick went to extreme lengths to keep it as real as, well, real life in space would be. And it didn't detract one bit from the film's drama- who will ever forget Hal going rogue and attempting to kill the fallible astronauts because they couldn't do a job as well as a computer that was incapable of error? Third: when I want a wild fairground ride I'll go to Alton Towers, or wait for the "Gravity ride" at Disney world- which I'm sure is in the planning stage as we speak.
 I may catch a 2D version when it eventually comes to TV, but right now I am refusing to buy into it.

THOR:THE DARK WORLD (2013) D- Alan Taylor. Everyone's favourite demigod goes into battle again against the forces of darkness and chaos, exemplified on this occasion by a barely recognisable but truly demonic Christopher Ecclestone. In order to win he must ally himself with his evil half-brother, Loki. Now look, Thor, are you sure that's wise? I mean, we all saw Avengers Assemble and we know you can't trust a god with severe BPD. Don't say I didn't warn you... The first Thor was directed in great style by Kenneth Branagh, who played it as much for laughs as anything, and although there are jokes in this too, somehow it just doesn't hack it, despite the fact that the chosen director this time is Alan Taylor, who has distinguished himself superbly in the field of fantasy with his work on Game of Thrones. You know what? I think I've had it with the Thor franchise. In fact I think I've had it with the whole Marvel comics superhero thing. Let's try something new, people!

COME AND SEE (1985) (Belarus) D- Elem Klimov. A teenage lad living in a remote village in the Russian steppe in 1941 is given a harsh choice: join the partisans and fight the Germans, or be branded a coward for life. Not surprisingly, he takes his rifle and goes off with the fighters. But he has a poet's heart, not a warrior's, and soon the things he sees have traumatised him beyond anything imaginable. Then to make matters worse, he is soon captured by the Germans...
 For those of you not familiar with Hitler's Barbarossa campaign, when the German army roiled into Russia in 1941, they had a dedicated group with them, the Einsatzgruppen.  And they weren't there as a military fighting unit, they were there to murder Jews, and anyone else they didn't like the look of. In a couple of years they had killed 800,000, and their activities were only curtailed when it was decided it was too expensive to shoot everybody and that gas chambers were a far more cost-effective method of mass-murder. This film, powerful. moving and containing some of the most shocking scenes ever committed to celluloid (at one point we watch, in intimate detail, as an entire village is crowded into a church which is then torched), is perhaps one of the finest ever to come out of Eastern Europe. Watch it, if your stomach is strong enough.

BRAVE (2012) D- Mark Andrews. A tomboy princess is a whiz with the bow and arrow, but mum wants her to be all demure and get married soon. So our girl hires a witch to change her mum's mind. This she does, though not in a way anyone would have predicted. That's the thing with witches: you just can't trust 'em.
The Disney/Pixar group has been turning out one piece of quality animation after another for some years now, and this is no exception. The voice characterisations (including Kelly McDonald and national treasure Billy Connolly) are first rate and the plot leaps along vigorously throughout. Not bad.

PLEASANTVILLE (1998) D- Gary Ross. A teenage brother and sister from the nineties somehow find themselves transported into a wholesome, 1950s sitcom. At first the denizens are shocked by the modern ways of their two visitors, but they soon learn to adopt some very 1990s behaviours themselves...
Hollywood has had a thing about "timeshift" fantasies for some time (Peggy Sue got Married, The Lake House, Back to the Future et al) and like a not wholly dissimilar effort, The Truman Show, they can make it work rather well. One of the hooks in this picture is the way everyone, even the newcomers, appears in black and white, but as they begin to catch onto the new ways, they transform into technicolour, reflecting their spiritual and emotional growth. But there are some hold-outs, notably the excellent William H Macey. Interesting stuff.

THE LONG MEMORY (1953) D- Robert Hamer. John Mills is framed for a murder he didn't commit and does fifteen years hard time. But his memory is long (geddit?) and once free determines to track down those who screwed him. Filmed in bleak, but immaculate monochrome, this film is in itself memorable, most notably for the stand-out performance of its star. I've always loved John Mills, loved his passion, his total commitment to his role, and the way his face can betray a whole range of conflicting emotions with just a scowl or a furrowing of his eyebrows. Now there's a national treasure for you...

MONSTER'S BALL (2001) D- Mark Forster. Halle Berry's hubbie (Sean "Puffy" Combs) is on death row for killing a cop and what with a compulsive-eater son to look after, we can't blame her if she simply can't cope. Following the execution, she seeks solace in the arms of Billy-Bob Thornton. She has no idea that he's one of the corrections officers who presided over her husband's last moments, and because she didn't attend the execution, he doesn't know who she is either...
A truly heart-wrenching piece, what we might have called a "tearjerker" in another era, though maybe it's too tough and raw to be included in such a category. But everyone concerned acts their heart out, not least a youthful Heath Ledger, who is simply stunning in his cameo performance as Billy-Bob's doomed son. Superior movie making.