Monday, 30 January 2017

"The Case of the Late Pig," by Margery Allingham

Novel, 1937

Lively novel combining crime and mystery, with the familiar characters Campion and Lugg on the side of good, with an unfolding set of events and circumstances which lead to an ever-increasing sense of the inhuman and the grisly. The dead seem to come back to life, local police are found wanting in capability and there are other twists and turns en route. This is a light read mixing dappy behaviour with the macabre and jolly entertaining into the bargain. Nothing hugely compelling, but excellently diverting, all the same.

Tuesday, 24 January 2017

"Several Perceptions", by Angela Carter

Novel, 1968

Pithy, unsentimental and wonderfully charged romance of sorts in a very down at heel late 1960s England. A book in which Carter presents psychologically spoiled tramps, prostitutes and other folk struggling but firing off an undeniably vitality, even when they're at their most lonely and vulnerable. The opening is superbly wordy-evocative and the book maintains a tension and intrigue throughout. A possible case of a sketch of characters rather than exploration of society, but this is too good a book to unduly criticise in such a way. 

Monday, 16 January 2017

"Look Who's Back," by Timur Vermes

Novel, 2012

A book about Hitler's exploits after the Fuhrer wakes up on a patch of ground in Berlin in 2011. This is a confusing and frustrating book, translation or both; the early scenes and situations flicking too awkwardly between those where Hitler realises nearly 70 years have passed since his incarceration in his bunker to those where he forgets. The satire picks up as the book goes along and delivers a cautionary tale - it just doesn't seem particularly well written, which dampens its impact.
Image by Source (WP:NFCC#4), Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41382026  

Wednesday, 11 January 2017

"Shock", directed by Alfred Werker

Movie, 1946

Effective if modest film about a woman who enters a state of shock after witnessing a murder committed by the doctor who's then entrusted with treating her. While this is a film easily classifiable as a 'B movie' which contains no real surprise and some rather wooden acting and stereotypes, the story is well delivered and Vincent Price subtly and suitably unhinged. All in all, an entertaining film noir-cum-psychological horror, which maintains and builds a tension throughout.



Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3416901

Tuesday, 10 January 2017

"Dallas Buyers Club", directed by Jean-Marc Vallée

Movie, 2013

Story of a rodeo star struck down with AIDS in the 1980s and his reactions and responses to the treatment prescribed by the state and the more progressive, less virulent drugs he researches and which actively ease symptoms. As a "warts and all" film, there's a fair amount of physical drama, incomprehensible grunting in dark rooms and falling over, but by and large, this is a well told story, which is sentimental without being cloying. It also asks some poignant questions about early attitudes towards and treatments of AIDS.

By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40373913

Thursday, 5 January 2017

"R.I.P." by Nigel Williams

Novel, 2015

Exploration of the unsightly behaviours and undignified actions following the death of the main protagonist. Through George, a retired bank manager's eyes, a story slowly - sometimes too slowly, especially at the beginning - evolves, exposing a good deal of suburban middle-class rot, which ends up, almost, as a 'whodunnit'. That the book isn't a whodunnit, nor magical realism or more straightforward social satire, but a rather ungainly mixture of all three, is problematic and while the prose is skillful it does little, at times, to engage the reader. A good book in places; though not so in others.


Tuesday, 3 January 2017

"Saving Mr Banks", directed by John Lee Hancock

Movie, 2013

One of those schmaltzy films about a meeting of strong personalities which treads an historical and so entirely mapped outcome (Mary Poppins was made), but whose story and setting skillfully manipulate some strong emotional feelings and shine a light on alcoholism and its effects on families. A film far harder to like than to dislike; while the audience is played and scenes around the genesis of songs like "A Spoonful of Sugar" may have been and occasionally are a little awkward, the vision is illuminating and quite compelling.

Image by Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40060295

    "Albert Nobbs", directed by Rodrigo Garcia

    Movie, 2011

    Story of a female Irish hotel worker passing herself as a man in order to keep in employment, encountering a load of bad behaviour until finding a soulmate in a similar position. This is a film whose serious themes could perhaps have been visited more imaginatively, as Nobbs the "man" looks curious rather than believable and the story plods rather than sparkles and so fails to really hit home. Some nice detail and poignant scenes, but all in all, a little hammy and predictable.

    Image by Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34076487

      Sunday, 1 January 2017

      "Sideways", directed by Alexander Payne

      Movie, 2004

      Effective buddy and road type movie, in which old friends at very different stages of their personal journeys seek out wine and women. This is an effective, gentle film which prods away at some pretty hefty themes around infidelity and loneliness, while fitting in a decent number of laughs and capers along the way. The warmth towards all the characters shines through, however, as middle age is approached through different perspectives. The film isn't especially novel, with most viewers probably feeling they're covering some relatively well trodden ground, but this is, nonetheless, a generous, funny and watchable film.
      Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1390847




      "Our Friends From Frolix 8", by Phillip K Dick

      Novel, 1970

      Well-written, well-paced novel, looking at how power corrupts, carves up society and is destroyed. This is a book with a brutal, elegiac quality, as the action shifts from the personal all the way up to the intergalactic, with vulnerable characters apparently doing whatever they can to 'get by', whether its regrooving tyres, printing tonnes of elicit political literature or fretting about personal appearance and hygiene. There's plenty of commentary and satire too, although the sadness of the book takes a little energy out of the narrative. But still, a great way into Phillip K Dick.