Leeds

Spent a lovely short weekend in Leeds, another of those cities which has seen rapid regeneration, especially around the waterfront. Had some time at the Royal Armouries Museum, and a little time looking around the shopping areas - the Victorian quarter being the prettiest. Want to go back and have a longer look!

John Mclane Dies Hard again!

Die Hard 4 of course. How could you not love the all-time classic action movies of the 80s and 90s? And Bruce Willis is still doing it. The lines are cheesey, the badies are so funny, the stunts are incredibly unbeleivable and have of course been done before (stuff with an artic lorry in terminator 2, stuff with a jump jet harrier in True Lies), but you know what?! It's fantastic fun!

See Saw

How on earth did I get into these movies? Anyway, they're sick, horrible, quite dastardly, and in actual fact great fun! Like being on a rollercoaster for 90 minutes or so, it never lets up with the gunk and gore and sick stuff. Don't go and see them if you want to make sense of the world and be all peaceful and tranquil!

Off with your head

A British horror flick, oh no, what could be worse? Low production values, B-list actors, and corny scarey bits? Well, yes, but in fact this is a surprisingly good, and at times surprisingly scarey, horror which delivers shocks and laughs at equal pace. A team-building exercise in a Bavarian wood goes tits-up when members of the crew start to have bits chopped off, and there’s even a back story to explain why the locals are not so friendly towards staff from a weapons company. You’ll be relieved when you get to the end, and some of it is very weird, but a good horror that should have got more attention.

World War II Epic

It’s fascinating how, as the generations have grown up and reassessed the Second World War, different stories rise to the surface and are told which bring a new take on the history-telling. One generation could do nothing but tell stories of heroes and victorious allies against the axis of evil (ring any bells in modern Republican politics?!). Another generation can still tell stories of its heroes, but this time the villains are not only the enemy to be conquered (who are in fact only doing the job), but also the corrupt commanders and spin-doctors of their own armies. Clint Eastwood enters this latter territory with this film, in fact one of two which he made to tell the story of one of the most famous images of World War II – soldiers holding up the stars and stripes victoriously on a battle field. The film is well produced, and masterfully raises all the major moral questions that come with war. The lines between good and bad are blurred, and the after-effects of conflict are a horrible legacy. Perhaps the film is slightly over-done and over-anxious to be virtuous, but that seems to be a temptation Eastwood falls prey to in many of his movies. Nevertheless, well worth the effort.

Yuk!

Ok, there’s funny horror that makes you giggle, there’s sarcastic horror that takes the fun out of other horror, and there’s scarey horror that makes you jump. This is a completely different category though – sick! The mind that comes up with these ideas has seriously been on too much caffeine and other less legal substances. The evil character is on his last legs and has an assistant who is continuing the tradition of putting people in horrific predicaments where they have to choose death or nasty consequences – burn your hand in a bottle of acid in order to free yourself from a rib-cracking death machine, for example. The gore level is very high, but surprisingly the twist in the end and the whole construction of the narrative (yes, it does have quite a good story) is well thought out. Don’t watch if you prefer your heroines not to have their heads exploded by a dynamite collar!

Rats in the kitchen

These digital cartoons, primarily for children but written so well with adults in mind, just get better and better. Oh no there’s a rat in the kitchen – cue for a song, I think. But he’s a rat who has the talents of a master chef, and when teamed up with a witless kitchen hand who needs a break, there’s a recipe for fun, mayhem, true love, and discovering how important friends are in life (in true slushy Hollywood cartoon style). Brilliantly executed, full of laughs, and multi-layered for both adults and kids, another winner.

Der Untergang

The last three days of a dictator’s life, one of the most hated and vilified men in history – how to make a film about this subject, without being false or tokenistic. Well, this film managed to achieve such a task, amazingly. A German production with subtitles, it is initially taken through the perspective of one of Hitler’s secretaries who is successful in securing a job with the Fuhrer which will see her witness his last days through to his suicide in the Berlin bunker. Whilst much of the dialogue between Hitler, his generals, the key SS characters, and the other staff in Berlin is conjecture, the story is well based historically, and follows the main characters until the Russians take the city. When the film was released it took a fair amount of criticism fort painting Hitler in a sympathetic light. However, that certainly has to be its main achievement. In human history it is all too easy to label something as evil and abhorrent, ignoring the fact that Hitler was indeed human. Here is a man, still full of the most awful prejudices and theories, facing his world collapsing, and attempting to maintain his hatred towards the end. He has no choice but to take his own life, whilst those around him are constantly faced with the most terrible moral decisions. A great achievement, but you’ll need a couple of hours of decent attention span to benefit from the movie. Superb.

Pan's Labyrinth

Why are the French and Germans and Italians and, in this case, the Spanish, so much better at making intelligent films than the British and Americans? I know that's a terrible generalisation, but this film is just another example that makes me at the very least feel that this is true. A second world war movie and a fantasy come fairy tale, with a little ghoulish horror thrown in for luck! The lead female actress is enchanting, and the contrast between the horrors of war and the horrors of our dreams is striking and instructive. Paired with simple but most convincing visual effects, Pan's Labyrinth is a brilliant film. Watch out though... Blockbusters feel obliged to give you a written warning that this film has subtitles, just in case you find reading hard!

The Woman in Black

As a last minute choice to go and see a show, I went for this one as it was close where I happened to be in London, cheap, and they had tickets! Whilst the first half is an interesting piece of theate in the way it explores the theatrical world, it doesn't live up to the hype and promise of the billboards and the history associated with the show. However, in the second half it more than lives up to its reputation, and you are quite literally exclaiming "Oh my God!" and worse every 5 minutes. What is amazing is that a medium which you no longer believe possible to be capable of shocking an audience in the days of CGI horror movies manages to do so, but not only once, but again and again and in quite bowel-weakening force. The surge of emotion almost led to a tear when the culmination of the story is reached, and as a member of the audience I felt strabgely proud that a mere two actors could pull off such an impressive and frightening show. 12.50 well spent.

A Scanner Darkly

Based on a Philip K Dick book, this is perhaps the most faithful adaptation out of all the moves made from his scripts. With a feature film totally transformed into a cartoon, the media itself is fascinating and enthralling. On top of this there is a narrative which explores the ideas of a state which watches your every move and challenges civil liberties. The cast is well chsoen - Keanu Reves in his best role for years, Winona Ryder plays a character who has a surprising twist in her story, Robert Downey Jr is brilliant as ever - all are well scripted and enacted. Humourous and poignant, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.

Notes on a Scandal

Judi Dench rarely seems to fail, and here she puts in another convincing performance in this Zoe Heller penned drama. This time Dench is not a loveable old aunt, rather she is a crafty and slightly derranged teacher on the verge of retirement who stumbles across an affair between a fellow teacher and a student. The forces of attraction (in all directions) are palpable, and the scene is well set for destruction. All the characters are strong, and you're not quite sure where your sympathis should lie until the end. Enjoyable and worth watching.

Hard Candy

Well, this little film could have been predictable and boring, showing an evil abuser being tracked down by some great sleuth who saves the child just at the last minute. Thankfully, it is not that at all, and whilst its not quite role-reversal, it certainly adds a new element to ideas of revenge and justice. The female lead is fantastic, and the fact that the alleged crimes are never represented adds to the mystery. This is the first movie I've seen where a man looses his... well, I won't spoilt it. A tad gruesome at times, it's provocative and also thoughtful as well.

The Wind that Shakes the Barley

Historical movies, especially those about Ireland, can be all too much. Too much history, too much re-writing, and too much assumed knowledge about what actually happened. However, this movie manages all of these difficulties quite well. The setting and the tensions involved in the fight for an independent Ireland after The Great War are re-enacted very powerfully, with a simplicity that makes the moral dilemmas involved stand out even more. The young Irish actors are very able, and the self-destructive nature of sub-groups within groups demonstrates what a hopeless situation the Irish were in. The improvisation of the actors is also enthralling. Unfortunately for domestic reasons I watched this film in three instalments, but it's certainly one to make the time for, and I'll be watching ti again in one whole sitting.

Apocalypto

From the previews earlier in the year, and the fact that it came from Mel Gibson, I wasn't expecting much. I haven't got anything against films withy subtitles, but the premise seemed a bit corny. However, the director carries off quite an impressive project, and the story is engrossing and thrilling. Of course, like all such films, the historical accuracy is questionable. But that's not the point, the point is to sit back and enjoy. Thanks Jason for suggesting this one, twas good!

Wicked

Colourful fun that explores and explains the back-story to The Wizard of Oz. Sweet little tunes, jokes that appeal to both those in on the story and novices, and a story line that seeks to answer the origin of evil... Augustine would have been impressed! Inevitably the story feels a little forced at times, and I'm still not sure if it all works out. But enjoyable entertainment that will run for a while yet. www.wickedthemusical.co.uk

Everyman

Old age, ageing, getting older... Inevitable progress towards the limits of our own mortality. In Everyman Philip Roth explores what this feels like for a retired advertising executive, thrice married and with a string of failed relationships behind him. Sad and honest, despairing but realistic, Roth captures much of the anxieties that make us human, and the fictional resolution is the same as that of every man. Death. Powerful writing that reminds me of Martin Amis.

Spidey spins another web

Spiderman 3... cringe, cringe, cringe. As is always the case, "the effects are brilliant", and indeed they are - in fact, I got dizzy at some points, and didn't have a clue where I was. But the story? Contrived. The acting? Corny. And the whole feel? Cringey. But I'm guessing they knew this all along, and so played into it, and I guess for many people that's the fun. As the stars and stripes unfold behind Spidey when he takes on his final challenge, you expect everyone to stand up and take the oath of allegiance to all things American and all things Marvel-lous. Oh dear!

Bath

A short day trip, piggy-backing off a work visit. A complete tourist trap, but understandably so, even if just for the stone of the buildings. However, I had never seen the Minster displaying its beauty at night before, and it intrigued me that only the modern period has been able to benefit from such a display of light. Its architects and builders would only have received a taste of this during a full moon, and even then the effect and orientation of the light would have been completely different. It reminds me of Oxford as a town in a few ways – oddly placed, slightly small for all its claims, and of course hideous modern shopping malls slammed next to the most beautiful architecture. All with a splash of a river or two added to make it look pretty. Of course I’ll go back.

The Big Blue

In writing about this in the same vein as my posting about Cinema Paradiso, I think I have come to the conclusion that this is my all-time favourite. Bizarre, because I’m still not sure what the film is actually about. Ultra-depth divers, free divers who push their bodies to the limit of human endurance, and to the outer realms of experience; adults who live completely for their sport to the exclusion of everything else, even love; and sportsmen who adopt a way of life which they are prepared to die for. But its also about how provincial life can be, about how boring the rest of us make life, and about discovering love and passion in the midst of bitterness, anger and jealousy. Eric Serra’s music is haunting, carrying in sound the massive depth of the blues so dramatically pictured in the movie. As is often the case, the director’s cut is better, and hence worth looking for. Perhaps we all wish we could still live in the time of polar exploration, of discovering new lands even. But since we can’t do that, we explore our own limits.

The cinema paradise

I have been posting reports about films that I have watched since starting this blog, but I feel I am doing them a disservice if I don’t mention some of my all-time favourites. A film about films has to be very self-conscious, without being precocious, and some of the best ones laugh at themselves, or at the Holywood world. However, Cinema Paradiso is just a good old slushy romantic movie. Yes, the culminating scene with all the movie kisses may be a little too sentimental and over-the-top, but it is lovely, and ever since I first saw this film I have to stop myself getting all weepy when I hear Morricone’s music – some of his best, I think. Also the idyll of growing up in and around a picture house, and enjoying the delights of the silver screen in a beautiful Mediterranean climate, make this film so dreamy. The heartache of the love story is moving, and something which most of us could identify with, and the passing of years adds something realistic to the whole film. It’s not perfect, its not even that deep and profound, but it is just beautiful. I could (and do) watch it again and again.

My place

Been here for a couple of months now, but delighted with it. Given the town, it’s something of a find, and whilst its without a garden and any sort of ‘outside’, it has a relaxed and open feel which I am enjoying. Homebase’s current advertising strap-line is ‘Make a House a Home’, and I guess that plays well into what people think a home should be like… but I have felt relaxed and comfortable since I have been here. Oh, and it’s very photogenic too!

The History Boys

Well, so much praise and so many accolades for this - would it live up to all of that? And it's also sort of trendy to like Alan Bennett, but it's also sort of trendy to pan him. So what would it be like? A film based on a play about 8 boys trying for Oxford, the grammar school system of the late 70s, and lots of pretencious stuff about poetry, literature and history? What would I make of it, when one friend had hated it and one had gone straight out and bought the music CD?

Fantstic, that's what I thought. Sort of Dead Poets Society with brains, and Educating Rita with more attitude. Gay characters that are slightly predictable but believable, teachers that are human and also idealisitc, and writing that is so Bennett - witty, pensive and accurate. Films that pull on the emotions are not a bad thing in my book, and this does that extremely well. I'm going to watch it again, very soon.

Little Miss Sunshine

This is one of those As Good As it Gets and The Royal Tenenbauns movies... life is one long string of disasters, but life is full of real people. Toni Colette is wonderful in this movie, as she is in the many films she has done. There are scenes which are hilarious, and also scenes where you are not sure whether they are funny or should even be considered funny - the final beauty pageant fiasco, for example, but if you think hard about it, the shock nature of the stage show is only making explicit what is underlining the whole idea of such performances. Anyway, the film's beauty is that none of the characters are beautiful. A road movie with a difference (and a yellow VW camper van), and whilst it pretends to be serious at times it is mainly just fun light relief.

Oxford covered market

It has become something of a tourist attraction, but the covered market in the centre of Oxford retains a sense of charm and wonder that most standard retail has lost. Fruit and veg that bursts out of the stalls because of its colour and shape, warts and all; fish that is not suffocated in plastic but that shines and smells and can potentially snap at your fingers; meat which still has heads and legs and that looks like it was running around two hours ago; and a café which isn't a trumped-up coffee franchise but which is a greasy spoon serving good old unhealthy fry-ups. I love the way bicycles are suspended from the roof to keep them out of the way, how the delivery boys still wear white and cycle with their goods in a basket on the front of their bikes, and how so many of the shop owners know their customers. Not quite the old Covent Garden or Spitalfields, but enchanting nevertheless.

Silk

Silk, Alessandro Baricco, translated by Ann Goldstein
It truly is an amazing art to say so much with so little. In a book where no chapter is longer than three pages in length, Baricco paints a beautiful love story focusing on a French silk importer in the nineteenth century. As well as being emotionally vibrant and incredibly colourful, Silk is an antidote to 500 page volumes which seem to try and justify their existence or value because they have so many words. In contrast Baricco demonstrates the power of language, and that the language of love crosses national and cultural barriers. I didn't predict the true source of love in the book, and I was delighted at how something so simple could be so transforming. Thanks for this one Scott.

Going Underground

London is to be enjoyed for so many reasons, but one of the delights is the permission that the tube gives you to watch people. There they are, all lined up for you to look at - where else do you get the opportunity to see and examine so many types and kinds of individual. Race, , orientation, height, nose size... all within the confines of a glass cage with no where else to go but to be looked at. People that you might fancy, faces that intrigue you, sad or happy eyes all with a story which let you see momentarily into another world. It might be a world you envy, one you desire, or one that may even horrify you - but you can have a look, just for a moment. Perhaps 7/11 has changed this ism slightly, so that we are a place where we are more suspicious or judge people more harshly. But we will never know, so I continue to enjoy the delights of people-watching on the underground.

Large Ape Warning...

A marvellous spectacle incredible graphics, true-to-life rendering of an ape... what else can you say about this movie? Well, without knowing it was directed by him, anyone who has seen The Lord of the Rings would know that Kong was also directed by Peter Jackson. He uses the same trade mark methods - slow motion to highlight a significant moment, long aerial shots to show you the amazing panoramas the CGI team have created, silent moments in the midst of battle to heighten the tension, knowing looks from the characters so that we know this is one of their moments of moral tension - these are all Jackson favourites. He has also tried to tell the story of Kong, so that this is not just an effects film. So we feel sorry for the misunderstood beast, and wonder whether the captors should not themselves be caged. The problem is this is just a CGI movie, one which is most impressive, but also one which still has a sort of 'Emperor's New Clothes' feeling. Do these directors think we really can't spot an actor in front of a green screen yet? Or that the character in Kong's hand is a model? The graphics are incredible, and they work best when its just them on their own and Kong is fighting the T-Rexs, but the credibility gap remains because they eye is not always fooled. The movie is good, but for all the fantastic art, it still doesn't work. And if it doesn't work, then this is just a one trick film.

Final Cut

Another futuristic flick with a brain, and like its kin this movie asks its audience to think ethics. If humans were implanted with a device that recorded video of all they ever saw, who would have the right to view and ultimately edit those tapes when the person had died? Robin Williams, who seems to be much more suited to serious roles than his tired comical types, plays a 'cutter' who is so good at creating rememberances of peoples' lives with all the bad bits taken out that he doesn't notice that he is rewriting history. Until, that is, his own past comes to haunt him and he has to find out the truth about his culpability in the death of a childhood friend. Whilst the film doesn't ask you to think that hard (there is truth, after all), it nevertheless questions the value of our camcorder world versus personal memories and the freedom we maintain to remember or forget. Perhaps forgetting is key to the moral of this film, rather than remembering, but when atrocities are forgotten then justice may also be abandoned. This is more Gattaca rather than The Truman Show, and Williams puts in a suitably moody performance (as in Photolab). Worth a gander.

May Day

What a wonderful and yet bizarre tradition. Up at 4.00 am, drive into Oxford to get a good spot and take some early photograps as the light breaks on the city.


Students are drunk, or have just got up and are very serious. Police presence to stop the jumpers, but generally a wonderful atmosphere, and the groups of international research students steady the mood. And then just in time the locals pop out of the woodwork, ready to hear the choristers at the top of Magdalen bridge.


They sing three times, and there is a prayer and then the pealing of bells. A pagan festival that has been baptised in the traditions of the Church, and yet when I walk back to the car the pagans are peforming a most entertaining jig on the steps of the Bod!


A beautiful morning, and strangely I have to stem tears when the first chorus gets into full swing. Next time I know I won't have to get up so early!

The Page Turner

As I said, I wanted to read more by David Leavitt as soon as I could, so after finishing Martin Bauman I ordered two more titles of the net. The Page Turner is such a clever title. The themes are familiar already, unfortunately, but this little novel doesn't disappoint, and generally works incredibly well. Whilst the characters may be predictable, it nevertheless reflects the ways in whcih we do so easily step into roles and follow stereotypes.

What a place to study

I was so fortunate, and yet I hardly realised it at the time. St Mary's church tower provides the ideal vantage point to take some stunning photographs of the Radcliffe Camera, and the building has so many memories. It's a bit of a predictable view of Oxford, but then the whole city is something of a cliche... at least in the minds of those who don't know it.

Never Let Me Go

Kazuo Ishiguro became famous for his portrait of English class. This time he begins to stray into the sci-fi world, or perhaps the edges of it anyway. The story does not race along... instead it takes its time to draw characters, and to leave us guessing as to what actually is going on. I becasme impatient, but was glad that I had persevered, and was left wishing there had been more at the end - always a good thing I guess. It deserved allthe coverage it received, and it was featured in the ever-useful and enlightening Guardian bookclub.

Martin Bauman

Another gift, and now an author I want to read as much as I can of. Martin Bauman, by David Leavitt, brought fresh air to my reading nostrils... if you can write such a thing? There was a page of this book, in the first chapters, that could have been describing me and my life down to a 't'... but I'd be fool to give away which page it was. Only rarely do the layers of your soul become opened in such a deep and revealing way, and I was scared I was about to scratch the surface for the first time in my life.
A novel about writing and authors, and it pokes great fun at the literary world. At the same time it is sad for all its striving and failure, and describes the moral twists we all get ourselves into, straight or gay, educated or stupid!

Winter Morning

On an early morning cycle ride, the simplest-looking part of the Oxfordshire countryside can be inspiring. Two forms of transport criss-cross this image, and draw you in and through the sunshine.