"The Martian," directed by Ridley Scott

Movie, 2015

Man in space film, which is entertaining enough, but falls between too many different areas as it tries to tackle and ends up feeling, at times, like an all singy-dancey feel good film. Fine if you like that sort of thing. On the way, there are special effects aplenty and some interesting debates - how to grow food in space, how to PR a disaster and how team dynamics work. All great; all easy on the eye. The main character's constant cheeriness is, however, a little difficult to watch and fully believe, although there are a few odd performances (Jeff Daniels particularly) and the plot and pacing might have been a little more interesting.

"13 Ghosts," directed William Castle

Movie, 1960

Take out the outrageous Illusion-O gimmick, which neatly and effectively removes most of the tension in the film and leads in to some fairly tedious special effects, and 13 Ghosts is a pretty effective haunted house movie. While younger characters and cast members grate, Margaret Hamilton (the witch in The Wizard of Oz) is a sinister, enjoyable presence playing a twisted housekeeper along similar lines to Mrs Danvers in Rebecca. Daft hokum, of course, but  watchable and, where there is no call for the Illusion-O viewing goggles, some moments of genuine tension. A strange picture, overall.

Here's a trailer which hints at daftness.

"Spectre", directed Sam Mendes

Movie, 2015

James Bond as you've seen him before, plenty of times. Yes, this is a film which is easy on the eye and there are thrills aplenty, but this doesn't compensate for the trite references to old films in the series, which come thick and fast. Even the plot's premise  - the danger of big data and surveillance - feels like something half-baked and turned up from a few decades back. Blofeld, Aston Martins, fights with Jaws-like assassins on trains, super-villain lairs and, indeed, Spectre abound, but do little to move the franchise on.

London to Paris

Sorry. This isn't one of my pithy book or film reviews, but a call for help. I'm on a sponsored bike ride from London to Paris in September, in memory of my Mum and on behalf of the National Osteoporosis Society. I have a Just Giving page for those who'd like more information....

"The Field of the Cloth of Gold", by Magnus Mills

Novel, 2015

Another super-real world beautifully crafted from the everyday, in which seemingly innocuous comings and goings suggest seismic undercurrents. This time, Mills sets his action in a field at an unspecified time and looks at the inter-relations of different tribes and individuals as they settle down and get on with each other, or fail to do so. The end of the book, after the hints, suggestions and actions preceding it, is wonderfully underplayed but convincingly uneasy. A real submersive, subversive delight. 

"30 Days of Night", directed David Slade

Movie, 2007

Edgy vampire horror set in Arctic Alaska, in which a Neil Tennant lookalike leads a gang of vampires against a small town's dogs, its police station and then anything else living. There are some decent concepts within this set up, but the film never fully makes the leap from a series of set pieces in which evil usually triumphs over good and various characters crack under pressure. While the vampire characters are pretty menacing, they're not fully convincing and speak in a funny, made-up language. Entertaining if you can stand the gore.

"Watchmen", directed Zack Snyder

Movie, 2009

Clever but disjointed alternative history film, which probably needs some previous knowledge of the characters to appreciate exactly what's going on. This is a super hero film where the superheroes are anything but, and are being picked off by forces unknown. This pathos and the lack of over-CGI'd sequences and crashing soundtrack work in the film's favour, although the muttered dialogue (especially from Rorschach) and the cod-spiritual transportation scenes in Mars don't do as much for the movie as they do, presumably, for the comic series.

"Whirlpool", directed Otto Preminger

Movie, 1949

Tightly plotted film which seems to have been given a slightly Hollywood plot (the leading characters suffer, although would probably have come off a lot worse in 'real life'). This is a tense, atmospheric journey with a wonderful study of a main protagonist hell-bent on doing no good. Granted, there are times when the plot stretches any true suspension of disbelief and the climax is, possibly, a little snappy, but nonetheless, this is an effective and affecting film which nibbles uneasily at the psyche. You'd struggle to call it a classic, although it is pretty classy.

Trailer

"Head", directed Bob Rafelson

Movie, 1968

A patchy film; the acting is patchy (though far from disastrous), the set pieces patch -running from goofy-smart satire to psychedelic nonsense - and most notably the music, which is never outright bad, ranges from the slightly dull to the ridiculously good. To say this is a product of its time is an understatement. Head presents viewers with a disjointed watch which can feel like an ordeal at times. Good fun though, with some wonderful ideas mixed in with all the arch and daft concepts which miss as much as they hit.

Trailer