Sunday, 29 October 2017

"Nocturne", directed Edwin L Marin

Movie, 1946

Moody whodunnit-cum-thriller, which feels a little restrained in terms of its settings and action, but which nonetheless puts over some good ideas and looks great in places. While the action and the film swiftly slip into formulae, the central character just about keeps the interest, despite George Raft not being 100% convincing in the role. Some good expressionistic lighting, noir atmospherics and pretty entertaining overall, though never really hitting the absolute pinnacles of similar films of the time and genre.

    Sunday, 22 October 2017

    "THX 1138", directed by George Lucas

    Movie, 1971

    Brutal, good looking dystopia from a student film re-shot by Lucas, covering similar ground to "1984", though doing so by stripping even humanity out of the nightmare world he's created. What this gives us is a film it's hard to engage with or immerse in, which isn't helped by the slow narrative pushing along a rather opaque, threadbare script. Undeniably a visual stunner with an equally bleak soundtrack. A film to admire and ponder rather than enjoy.

    Sunday, 15 October 2017

    "The Guest", directed by Adam Wingard

    Movie, 2014

    A film which flits between thriller, horror, mystery and teen romp but ends up being none of these things. Some good atmosphere and ideas early on, though these are subverted through clumsy foreshadowing, obvious plotting and a weird sense of non-anticipation as incident follows incident with indecent haste. A film which isn't so many things, it's tricky to say what it is. Hokum and entertaining to a point, but the sort of shameless sequel baiting fodder which really doesn't deserve a franchise.

    Saturday, 7 October 2017

    "Four Souls" by Louise Erdrich

    Novel, 2004

    Family story of native American Indians and the dispossession and dissolution of their land and fortune. While this is a story which deals with gambling and drink, there's a sense of legends in the making, awe and power, often magical, in the rituals and activities of the women and the savage buffoonery of the men. If the switching of the narrative between characters occasionally stymies the overall flow, there's a wonderful atmosphere of loss, hope and retribution built and sustained throughout.

    Tuesday, 3 October 2017

    "They Made Me a Criminal", directed Busby Berkeley

    Movie, 1939

    Boxing movie which looks tired and dated, even if the opening premise, at least, is intriguing. After a while, the plot, acting and narrative all flop, leaving a pretty mundane picture with a few baffling scenes which do little to carry the action forward or comment on the main plot (borrowed from an earlier film). Difficult to know who this film was aimed for, and although not impossible to watch, it's quite a struggle. Some interesting character developments - not least in the central protagonist - though not enough to sustain interest.

    Monday, 2 October 2017

    "The Forensic Records Society", by Magnus Mills

    Novel, 2017

    A book, like others by the author, in which a scene is set - quite an odd, quirky but essentially familiar, humdrum scene - and then nothing really seems to happen in quite brisk, glorious fashion. The establishment, growth and fall of different shades of seven inch vinyl appreciation and their nuances and power struggles within and between give this novel more of an allegorical feel than some of its predecessors. This is glorious stuff indeed; easy, odd, perplexing in places and, for all its inbuilt mundanity, hugely entertaining.

    Sunday, 1 October 2017

    "The Mystery of the Yellow Room", by Gaston Leroux


    Novel, 1907

    Early example of a locked room mystery and for all the labyrinthine plot twists, fairly easy to read and follow. The use of red herrings and characters not essential to the plot help measure rather than drag the narrative and the setting up of situations and cliff hangers makes for an absorbing read. Some may find the precociousness of the main character a little hard to entirely stomach, but the reminder of the boy detective helps with context and interest into wildly unfolding developments which often defy adult logic.