"Journey into Fear", directed Norman Foster

Movie, 1943

Atmospheric, gloomy film which creaks in places with its lack of subtlety and 'few too many characters', but delivers a huge chunk of entertainment nonetheless. Some of the action scenes are a real treat, not least the nightclub scene towards the beginning and the excellent finale, although the tension is occasionally undercut with some over-simplified caricatures. A feeling of anarchy, claustrophobia and underhandedness is, however, gloriously put across - if the film had a little more depth, it could have been a monster.

"The Tiger's Wife" by Téa Obreht

Novel, 2010

Sprawling story mixing a savage mythical series of characters and events in telling the story of a doctor's grandfather, a bombed out zoo and the tiger and wife of the book's title. This is a book of appetites, people who can't die and flashbacks, all of which give the narrative and the reader some hard work to do. Threads can unravel quite easily, in a book which can be powerful and poignant, but at times, a little frustrating too. All in all, a satisfying read and a fresh, brave debut novel.

"Lucy," directed by Luc Besson

Movie, 2014

Science fiction superhero gangster film with too many ideas to sustain and a generally cold outlook and a few less than savoury undertones. The basic idea of a innocent superhero inflicted with powers through to the footage of wild game being hunted by big cats are as tried and tired as they come. While the action scences and the pacing are fine, the disparate parts and their clunky coming together are distracting.  Entertaining, for sure, though this feels like a weird cross between a nerdy school project and a star vehicle for Scarlett Johansson.

"Nightcrawler", directed Dan Gilroy

Movie, 2014

Effective, powerful film charting the rise of a disreputable news collector in LA, superbly played by a suitably other worldly looking Jake Gyllenhaal. While this could have been preachy and one-dimensional, the film pulls you on board with some good characterisations and a compelling narrative, which builds and keeps the interest throughout. Not always easy to watch and possibly stretching credibility at times, but an excellent moral examination and satire of the news and fame business.

"Gaslight", directed by George Cukor

Movie, 1944

Grisly psychological study of a husband's mental greed and cruelty, with enough melodrama to send anyone into a spin. The overall look and feel of the film are both superb, although the build up and back story feel laboured and unnecessary, with an immediate degree of malice in the husband instantly decoupling some of the narrative tension. Still, some of the photography is breathtaking and moody, with the acting split between the vital hysterics required from the leads and one or two redundant, overblown characters. 

"4321," by Paul Auster

Novel, 2017

Epic, sprawling account of the journey into adulthood of Archie Ferguson, or more accurately, the four alternative Archies, determined by events and subsequent consequences. While the writing is excellent, this is a hefty tome which promises more than it delivers, with Auster's penchant for coincidence and meta-fictions relegated behind more straightforward episodic story telling which smoulders without ever fully igniting. The attention to history is detailed, though again, at times, feels just a little claustrophobic. 

"Woyzeck," directed Werner Herzog

Movie, 1979

Intense portrait looking at the disastrous effects of the military and psychological manipulation on a less than stable subject. The Herzog-Kinski combination brings in bucket loads of atmosphere and dread into a combat situation with no fighting, other than the destructive relationships raging through and around the main character. Beautifully shot and with a number of meditative scenes in among the high drama, but still coming up well paced. Brutal viewing tacking dehumanisation and absurdity full on and giving much pause for thought along the way.

"Die, Monster, Die!" directed by Daniel Haller

Movie, 1965

Curious mixture of horror tropes, from a spooky house, innocent virginal female lead, disabled and mad parents and mad scientist, to 60s' surreal and at times psychedelic science fiction feel. Karloff hams but is possibly upstaged by his insane and damaged wife, while the dashing young male lead both looks old enough to have been the heroine's father. Enjoyable hokum which never fully grabs attention but keeps rattling along at a decent pace and throws up plenty of oddities, including the odd genetically mutated giant tomato.  

"A Man Called Ove," by Fredrik Backman

Novel, 2012

Recently and deeply bereaved widower contemplates ending it all but is only happy to do so once all matters in hand are in some sort of order and those around him, in his neighbourhood, start conducting themselves in a fit and proper manner. As easy book to get into which, whenever it feels in an way repetitive or overly formulaic, brings things back round so the reader is given chance to understand and care about the main protagonists. In the end, there's some really effective emotional engagement and story telling which can be ploddy but overall, delivers a good read. 

"Young Frankenstein", directed Mel Brooks

Movie, 1974

Broad affectionate parody of Universal Horror films, with silly gags which feel both of their time and still worthy of a good chuckle, as Wilder, Feldman and co go through their paces. This is also a terrific looking film, wonderfully recreating the atmosphere of the setting of the original movies, nowhere more so than in the village and villager scenes, most ably led by the mechanically challenged Chief of Police. Lovers of the source films may have an advantage watching this and getting the jokes, but there's enough to keep all amused.

"The Informant", directed by Steven Soderbergh

Movie, 2009

A thriller about a whistle blower with a number of twists and turns, as a seemingly principled employee brings a torch of justice to bear on his employers. As a whole, this film will either engage its viewers or not, and while the acting, pace and much of the other component parts of the movie are satisfying, there's a lack of urgency n the narrative, somehow, which is only exacerbated with each twist in the story. Perhaps with a different editor, things could have been improved.