The era of the massive Hollywood star may be coming to an end with the news that the latest Tom Cruise movie has flopped.  No longer is the Cruiser a guaranteed success, so why should a studio pay him, or any other star, big money?  Despite former giants like Cruise, Gibson and Willis being unable to put posteriors on seats there is a breed of underdog movie hero that is still bankable.  These are the stars that don’t demand huge blockbuster movies and instead make reasonable money on relatively cheap films.  Adam Sandler has it down to an art as he regularly produces medium budget comedies that gross over $100 million.  The ability to bring a film in at a decent budget means that you can have a couple of failures as long as another couple do well.  Which actress is the leading female star of Hollywood?  Jolie?  Aniston?  I said a few flops, not all flops.  Sandra Bullock is the current Queen of Hollywood and ‘The Proposal’ is great example of why.

Margaret is a high flying book publisher who has little time for anything but eat, sleep and work.  Her suffering assistant, Andrew, just about puts up with her bad attitude as he sees it as a way of getting ahead in the business.  Both of their futures are put in jeopardy when Margaret, a Canadian, fails to apply for a visa and is asked to leave the country.  In a desperate attempt to keep her job she informs her bosses and the authorities that she is to be wed to Andrew, an American citizen.  Unfortunately, this is the first time that Andrew has heard of this and he is forced to go along with the ruse.  Can Margaret and Andrew convince their colleagues, the police and Andrew’s family that they are a real item?

I am a sucker for a half decent romantic comedy and Bullock has had her fair share with the likes of ‘2 Weeks Notice’ and ‘Miss Congeniality’.  As a comedic actress she is very likable and is attractive in a way that seems attainable to most men and believable for women. Add to this, talented comedic timing and a willingness to act the prat and you are on to a winner.  Male star Ryan Reynolds’ back catalogue is a lot patchier as he often comes across as glib and self serving.  His sarcastic charm may work on some people, but it’s just as likely to put people off.  A Rom Com often succeeds or fails on the chemistry of the leads, and in terms of this ‘The Proposal’ is a mixed bag.

The talented Ms Bullock recently won an Oscar and in this film she shows a different side to her acting skills as she falls believably in love.  There is an arc to her feelings as she goes from cold boss to potential lover.  However, as Andrew, Reynolds does little to nothing to make us believe he would fall for Margaret.  This is part down to Reynolds indifferent acting style, but also because the script it so heavily written for the Margaret character, after all this is a Bullock vehicle.  One final area that mutes the chemistry (and may come across a little chauvinistic) is that perhaps there is a slight age gap between the leads that is little unbelievable.  Don’t get me wrong, Bullock is a very attractive women, I just think the character of Andrew is too shallow to fall for the older Margaret. 

With a muted chemistry the film would have to work very hard in terms of comedy to become a classic.  Bullock does some of her best work in the film and is very likable as the harsh on the outside, but soft on the inside, Margaret.  Her various set pieces and pratfalls are worth a few chuckles.  Reynolds plays more of the straight role and is given few laughs leaving the local oddball and the Granma as the only other areas for laughs.  Not really enough to make the film a top comedy.

In terms of structure and direction I’m afraid that director Anne Fletcher makes the film very much in the Rom Com template that has haunted cinemas since Harry met Sally.  The narrative is obvious, although fun to play along with.  Direction wise the film actually suffers a little in the BluRay format as it highlights the use of sets and Green Screen.  For a film based a lot of the time in Alaska there was relatively little use of the landscape that would have looked amazing in HD.  Instead, most of the film could have been shot on a studio set anywhere in the world.

The lack of imagination in direction and script stops a good performance from Bullock making ‘The Proposal’ a must see Rom Com.  However, even with these problems and its lukewarm central relationship the film does remains one of the better examples of the genre in the past few years.  As a comedy actress Bullock has earned our respect and she puts in a good turn here, one that highlights Reynolds’ flat performance (perhaps he has been learning from his wife Scarlett Johansson?)  Despite its numerous flaws the film is still gentle fun and easily good enough for a couple looking for a nice film to settle down and watch together.    

Director:           Anne Fletcher

Year:                2009

Cert:                 12

Starring:            Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds

Price:                Amazon uk       £12.49 (BluRay)

                        Play.com          £16.99 (BluRay)

Extras

As mentioned in the review the BluRay format does little to improve the film and arguably makes some of the poorer special effects stand out.  You can get a copy of the BluRay that also comes with a DVD copy.

In terms of extras there are a fair few with deleted scenes and an alternative ending that does put a slightly different spin on the film.  The bloopers are good value and there is a director’s commentary.

Ask me what I know about the Stasi and I would have probably replied that he was the bloke who partnered with Hutch in a 70s American Cop show.  My knowledge of what happened behind the ‘Iron Curtain’ was as about as much as the Soviets wanted me to know i.e. nothing.  This wasn’t because I could not access some information, more because I couldn’t be bothered.  However, with age come more than just a few grey hairs and an increasing awareness of your own mortality.  The thirst for knowledge becomes more than just a reason to pass an exam, but is actually pleasurable.  Therefore, when German film ‘Lives of Others’ arrived at my house I did not flee the unknown, but embraced it.

Mid 80s East Berlin is under the control of various powers sympathetic to the Soviet Union.  Under this regime of repression it is best to get on with the powers that be as those that fight it have a tendency to go missing.  The Stasi are the secret police that keep an eye on suspected dissidents and Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler is one such officer.  His beliefs in the ideals of Communism are so acute that he lives a life obsessed with his job.  Georg Dreyman serves the regime in a different way by producing plays that comply with the Communist ideals, but are still slightly too liberal for some. When Dreyman dates someone that the Stasi disapprove of they send Wiesler to spy on Dreyman and his artistic friends.  Will a glimpse into this new lifestyle instil further his Communist ideals, or will he change?

To be fair my opening paragraph is a little misleading as I actually studied the collapse of the Soviet Union as my dissertation so know a little about the Stasi.  However, if you asked me in person I would probably still try the awful Stasi and Hutch joke, or the equally poor Gavin and Stasi.  In terms of films I have not seen that many set in Berlin, last being the fun ‘Goodbye Lenin’, that was surprisingly short of interrogation.  However, after seeing ‘Lives’ you can tell in just under two hours that life in Berlin was; repressive and frightening.

It is the performances in the film that really make it stand out, with star Ulrich Muhe imbuing what it was to be a true believer in the Communist ideal.  Muhe was not able to see all of the success the film brought as he died soon after.  This only adds to the pathos of the role.  The slow change of Wiesler from devotee to cynic is subtly played out over the entire run of the film.  He is torn between what he believes and the fact that others around him may only be using Communism as a way of gaining power.  There are no moments of Oscar baiting here, but a quiet man slowly going through a breakdown.

Muhe’s portrayal of Wiesler is so dominates the film that the rest of the cast pale in comparison.  Sebastian Koch as the artistic Dreyman is reasonable if a little bland, but it is the other less savoury members of the Stasi who take some of the limelight.  Wiesler and his colleagues contrast brilliantly with the repressed bohemia of the drama set.  They live in two separate worlds, but only one of them holds the power.  The underlying tension between the secret police and the normal citizen is what really makes the film.  Small moments were the police warn a passerby or a neighbour slams a door in fear, highlights some of the terror that people must have existed in on a daily basis.

Although not a true story you can tell that writer/director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck did his research on the period.  Everything seems very real and all the situations the characters find themselves feel like they could have happened.  von Donnersmarck keeps the pace of the film down to allow the performances to breath, but never makes it boring as being captured is always a possibility for any character working on the wrong side of the law.  The central performance of Muhe is enough to make the film a must watch, but it is enhanced by a story that is both compelling an eerily realistic.  If you are not put off by subtitles then this is a film that is a must see.   

Director:           Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck                             

Year:                2006

Cert:                 15

Starring:            Ulrich Muhe and Sebastian Koch

Price:                Amazon uk       £3.99

                        Play.com          £3.99

Extras

The version I saw had subtitles and little else in terms of extras.

Physics and the concepts of time travel are not the sexiest thing to discuss, but I enjoy it none the less.  I have become immune to the glazed expressions that people give me when I talk about Schrodinger’s Cat.  Time Travel as a science is pretty much pure hokum (imo), but is makes for a very compelling concept for film and literature.  Some of my favourite films and books have had time travelling elements from Well’s ‘The Time Machine’, to Gilliam’s ‘Twelve Monkeys’.  Discussing the concepts of parallel universes and time travel may not be sexy, but the actual stories about them can be.  However, can you have the best of both worlds?  A book that looks at the science of time, but also has an interesting narrative?

The year is 2009 (futuristic!) and the Large Hadron Collider at CERN has just been triggered by Dr Lloyd Simcoe.  At the moment that the Higgs particle should have been created everyone in the world blacks out for two minutes.  During these two minutes most people see a time in the future through their own eyes.  Some people see themselves with a new partner, others failing to live their dreams.  Some unfortunates see nothing; does this mean they are dead?  It appears that Lloyd’s colleague Dr Theo Procopides is going to die as people tell of reading his obituary.  Can Theo discover who is killer is before he is killed, and will Lloyd ever get other the guilt of creating a global disaster?

When ‘Flashforward’ was heavily advertised as the new ‘Lost’ on FIVE I felt I should give it a try as I am a fan of science fiction.  However, one hour later I had enough.  The hackneyed acting was not helped by a series of concepts that were too unbelievable even in science fiction.  The book was written in 1999 so I felt safe that it would be different enough from the series to be readable. In terms of intelligence and debate it is better, but there are several similar traps to the TV show that it falls into.

Both the book and TV are loosely based on the same idea that everyone sees their life in the future for a short time.  This immediately affects the whole world.  However, by seeing one’s future you can immediately change it – in 2030 you were in Barcelona, never visit and the future is changed.  Want to be really sure?  Kill yourself, or someone who was in your vision.  The fact is that you cannot see your future, only a possible future.  This in turn undermines a lot of the book as lead character Lloyd sticks to being worried about 2030, when in fact he has the free will to change anything he wishes.

In fairness, Robert J Sawyer does tackle the different ideas about time travel as the main cast are all scientists.  The book is at its best when several of them are together and arguing over the concepts of parallel universes, free will, or universal balance.  If this all sounds a little dry and boring, then perhaps the book is not suited for you as I felt these moments were the standout parts of the book and lifted it from being an abject failure  into something worthwhile.  I did enjoy Sawyer’s attempts at creating a working future, but some oddities sneaked in that perhaps say more about him as a person than develop the story; abolishment of the Royal Family, all Newspapers dropping Astrology as lies.  Little asides in the book left me feeling a little uncomfortable as Sawyer perhaps revealed a couple of inner demons.

The book is on the cusp of failure because the central narrative is incredibly weak.  The story of Lloyd is pretty much a none starter as it resolves itself almost before it begins.  This leaves Theo’s chase to discover his killer.  This is pure hokum and below standard crime fiction as Theo uses chatrooms to try and solve his murder, not the most interesting thing to read about.  Other characters are drastically underdeveloped with one woman losing her only child, just to be over it a few hours later.  Lloyd is hugely dull and Theo is unlikable, this means that as a reader you are left cold and the story feels sterile. 

‘Flashforward’ is best seen as a high concept book that gives you an idea to chew upon, but fails to do so itself.  As a book that discusses time travel in an assessable manner, Sawyer succeeds in covering many complex physics problems in a way the layperson can understand.  However, as interesting as these moments are they can only make the book an average read as many other aspects border on the calamitous.  Under developed characters and poor storylines lead to a book that opens huge, but soon dies away.  Sawyer has failed to provide both thrills and science, so this book will never be one of the great time travel novels.  This is best read by fans of science fiction who enjoy their concepts more than their stories.

Author:                                Robert J Sawyer

Year:                      1999

Price:                    amazon uk – £4.49

                                play.com – £4.99

Computers games as art, games as film, games as education.  It appears at times that developers try and sell their games as anything but what they are – a game.  Computer games are meant to be a form of entertainment that is unique to the format, interactive, yet able to tell a narrative.  We should spend less time trying to makes game something they are not and instead make them the best possible in terms of being a game.  Every couple of years a new product comes out that takes a step forwards; be it in online access, co-operative gameplay or any of the other areas of gaming.  For years games have fought to create compelling narratives that impress as much as the best Hollywood films.  The first ‘Bioshock’ came close to this, but ‘Heavy Rain’ cracked it.

Gameplay

Opening a review of ‘Heavy Rain’ with a look at the gameplay is going to highlight the one area that will prove most controversial for traditional gamers.  In many ways ‘Heavy’ is an interactive film that you play a pseudo passive role in.  You play as a series of different characters whose lives have all been affected by the actions of the Origami Killer – a psychopath who has been kidnapping young boys and allowing them to drown over a series of days.  You play as a father whose son is missing, a PI who is investigating the case on behalf of some of the parents, a FBI agent who is involved in the official investigation and a reporter.  Over these four separate narratives the game weaves the stories in and out of one another whilst maintaining the central mystery of the Origami Killer.

The game itself has a mostly relaxed feel and is probably best described as a new generation point and click adventure.  You walk around fully realised 3D environments and interact with objects and people by either pressing a highlighted button of moving the joystick.  At first it feels strange, but a slow tutorial allows you to get the feel for the controls and they become second nature as they mimic the actions on screen e.g. pull down on the joystick to pull open a door.

At first the gameplay may feel too sedate, but ‘Heavy Rain’ has more than its fair share of surprises and fast action set pieces.  During these you must press buttons like your life depended on it, because it does.  If one or more of the characters dies the game carries on without them and their narrative input is over – brilliant.  Knowing that you cannot respawn adds to the tension and makes the gameplay frantic at times.  Once you get used to it the simple controls make perfect sense, although some people may struggle with them.  I urge people to overlook the slightly less than perfect gameplay as other areas by far make up for it.  (4 out of 5)  

Characters/Story

Wow.

I could just write that and give character and story 5 out of 5.  In terms of narration ‘Heavy Rain’ is head, shoulder and most of a torso above the rest of the gaming world.  Creator David Cage tried to create a split narrative crime thriller a few years ago with ‘Fahrenheit’ (Indigo Prophecy in America), but it was a glorious failure.  With the power of the Playstation 3 he has achieved his goal with ‘Heavy’.

As mentioned the game continues no matter what you do branching off on different paths depending on your actions.  A good example is a scene in which an unstable man holds a gun to your characters face.  Do you try and calm him down, or take him out?  How will this affect the mental state of your hero?  Will he fall into the clutches of drug use as the impact of what he has done crushes him, or will he man up?  There are so many different threads in the game that you will want to go back and retry chapters to see what else could happen.

Separate from all the variables in the game is a central murder mystery that everyone will solve no matter what they do in the game.  This is a fantastic noir plot that has such a great ending that my jaw dropped.  The story proved so compelling that my non-game playing partner sat down and watched me play the entire game like a brilliant movie.  (5 out of 5)

Longevity

Playing through the game once is likely to set you back 6-8 hours, but this will not include when you want to return to the game and play the sections differently.  I cannot imagine that many people who will not return and at least play a few of the more compelling set pieces in a different manner.  Saying that, the game is probably a healthy 10 hours and could have perhaps have done with an additional mode or to extend the lifespan.  Just remember that those 10 hours are amongst the best gaming moments of your life  (4 out of 5)

Graphics

When ‘Heavy Rain’ was first previewed some years back at the massive E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) in LA the image of a lifelike woman crying was one of the moments of the year in terms of gaming.  Quantic Dreams were looking to set the benchmark for graphics.  The fact that the game was to be PS3 exclusive would mean that Quantic Dreams could build it to the potential of the console.  I play my 360 most, but I have to admit that graphically the PS3 is the stronger machine and ‘Heavy Rain’ is its new king.

The game is set in present day America, but an America clouded in a constant stream of drizzle and darkness.  The noir look of the world is both mundane and compelling.  Quantic Dreams have captured an almost real life existence and placed it in a game.  There are moments of uncanny valley, were things look slightly off, but for the main part the graphics are simply stunning.

Level Design

‘Heavy’ is less of a game of levels and more about the narrative itself.  However, the whole is split up into a series of vignettes that I suppose could be seen as levels, but are more akin to scenes in a feature film.  What to say about them?  They are fantastic and vary in style and feel.  One minute you are infiltrating a night club, the next you are fighting for your life.  The fact that the game is split into four separate characters means that the levels vary wonderfully and the styles are mixed up constantly.  There are several stand out moments in the game that push the concept of what a ‘level’ is. (5 out of 5)

Sound

In terms of music and sound effects the lavish budget that Quantic Dreams spent on the game is for all to hear.  So much of the atmosphere and heart wrenching emotion is played through the ambient soundtrack and melancholy chords.  To add to the atmosphere is some of the best pitter patter rain sound effects ever heard in a game.  Perhaps the one area that is a little disappointing is the voice acting.  Some of the characters are voiced brilliantly, whilst a couple are a little flat or have accents that make them slightly difficult to understand.  (4 out of 5)

Summary

With the Winter 2010 big hitters still to come I would normally shy away from making predictions, but I have to say that unless something almighty happens ‘Heavy Rain’ is the game of the year 2010.  Just weeks before ‘Heavy’ I played the sublime ‘Mass Effect 2’, but even that game pales in comparison.  ‘Heavy’ has become one of my top 5 games of all time (and that’s over 25 years of gaming since ‘Horace Goes Skiing’ to today).  The storyline is so gripping and the ambience so compelling that it is unlike any game made before it.  I urge any owner of a PS3 to buy this game and those who do not to get a PS3 and the game (with Uncharted 2 as well of course). 

‘Heavy Rain’ is simply gaming genius.

Sammy Recommendation 

(5 out of 5)

Maker: Quantic Dreams RRP £50
Amazon uk £37.99
Play.com £39.99

I read a lot of crime fiction and my friends sometimes ask me if they are all the same.  I reply that within the broad genre of ‘crime’ there are many different nuances.  Which crime book you want to read is probably based on if you prefer:  “The killer stalked his prey whilst they were unaware.  With a flash of steel a crimson arc flew from the victim, their life essence abandoned in a violent second.” Or “Gertrude McTwist wondered whether the Eccles Cake she was partaking of was perhaps the same recipe that had lead to the death of Colonel Smithe.”  Violent crime fiction is perhaps the popular style of the day, but the likes of Agatha Christie proved that you could also produce a compelling murder mystery without resorting to the grisly stuff.  Simon Brett is an exponent of the gentler style of novel, but with a slight edge.  Could he get the balance right in ‘Death on the Downs’.

Recently divorced and retired, Carole expected a quieter life in the village of Fethering.  She meets her new neighbour Jude they get along well, although they are very different, and she thinks life could just be right.  After her dog hurts his paw Carole decides to go for a walk alone on the Downs, were the dog usually plays up.  Unfortunately, her hike is cut short when the skies open and she is forced into the cover of an abandoned building.  Here she stumbles across a pile of old bones that will pique her investigative interest, but also send the local village into rumour mill overload.  Can Carole and Jude investigate the skeleton without annoying the locals or the police?

I have no problem with the gentler spectrum of crime writing and on occasion it is nice to read something that tackles dark issues with a deft touch.  In Carole and Jude, Simon Brett has created a pair of characters that feel like a pair of old slippers, although this is the first in the series that I have read.  Most of the book follows Carole and although she is the more stuck up of the pair I actually found her more interesting. You get the impression that she is an intelligent woman who has spent too many years in the shadow of her husband.  Her investigations allow her to test herself and get to know people.  Jude is more free spirited, but in turn secretive, for this reason I didn’t feel like I got to know her well at all.

The book itself does not attempt to be anything other than a good mystery murder set in Little Britain.  Like with so many books that have amateurs as their protagonist, many elements just don’t work.  Carole and Jude have basically the weapons of tea and gossip to aid their investigations.  In real life they wouldn’t be privy to any information, but in ‘Downs’ Brett is forced to have people confess things to them on a regular basis.  At times this feels natural as a suspect unknowingly lets something slip.  At other times it’s a little clunky e.g. I cannot imagine a police officer ever being so candid as seen in this book.

Despite being a light hearted book, it does take a dark twist towards the end that is perhaps a little out of character.  This tonal shift means that the book may frighten off fans of ‘Agatha Raisin’, but it was never dark enough for fans of the more hard boiled crime fiction.  Brett is trying to create a series that sits in between the two camps and never manages to pull it off in this particular title.  The characters, setting and murder mystery itself all seem trapped in a world of niceties, only to plunge into darkness on occasion.  I never got the sense that any one in the book really knew one another and this is certainly the case with the main characters of Carole and Jude.  They are an odd couple, but at times I felt they were almost incompatible.  I imagine that future books in the series will flesh out their relationship and this should give the entire series a better balance.

‘Death in the Downs’ is a decent read that should entertain the more traditional crime fiction lovers out there.   I praise Brett for trying to bring a little shade into the sunny world of small village Britain, but it doesn’t quite work.  The mystery itself is a good one, but the way in which it gets solved all seemed a little far fetched to me.  Cake is nice, but offering it to countless people is not likely to uncover a homicidal maniac. 

Author:                                Simon Brett

Year:                      2001

Price:                     amazon uk – £4.49

                                play.com – £5.49

Comparing any one to a Nazi is rarely a good idea (just ask Jon Gaunt), but when that person is the director of two of the highest grossing films of the past 10 years, it’s an even more misguided adventure.  Perhaps if you were a stranger and you shouted this abuse as your victim passed by you would get away with it.  However, if you were the leading lady of the films then kiss goodbye to your role.  This is exactly what Megan Fox was forced to do after allegedly calling Transformers director Michael Bay a member of the National Socialist Party.  The once hot star has turned ice cold in the world of Hollywood after her recent change of looks and role in Jonah Hex (by far the biggest flop of summer 2010), but the problems began earlier with the failure of Fox star vehicle ‘Jennifer’s Body’.  Did this film deserve to be buried, never to rise again?

School pals Jennifer and Needy are not the most likely of chums.  Jennifer is the bitchy cheerleader, whilst Needy is the bookish girl next door.  However, in small town America you stick with the friends you have.  When a big city metal band come to town the girls sneak into the gig, but unbeknownst to them the band are looking for a virgin to sacrifice so that they can become huge stars.  Although Jennifer talks big they still think she’s a virgin, big mistake.  What happens when you sacrifice a non-virgin to Satan?  The men folk of Devil’s Kettle are about to find out.

The level of pedigree on show with ‘Jennifer’s Body’ should make you feel pretty secure that the film will work.  Diablo Cody was fresh off the back of winning the Oscar for ‘Juno’, Amanda Seyfried is popping up everywhere after her break through role in ‘Mama Mia’ and Megan Fox was the hottest girl in Hollywood.  However, look a little closer and things start to unravel.  The rest of the cast are unknowns and director Karyn Kusama proved she could make strong female characters with ‘Girl Fight’, but that she could also make absolutely abysmal films with ‘Aeon Flux’.  Unfortunately, for all involved in ‘Jennifer’s Body’ it is far more Flux than Fight.

There are several elements that are wrong with the film and they are pretty much spread evenly amongst all those involved.  Diablo Cody is clearly a fan of horror films and she has proved that she can write a decent film, but does the same type of pitter patter language seen in ‘Juno’ work twice?  The dialogue is actually quite fun, but not grounded in the real world.  I don’t have any personal knowledge of school age American girls, but I bet they don’t talk like in a Cody film.  It is the story itself and the tone that Cody has really failed.  It is a linear plot in which not much happens.  It then fluctuates from being a dark comedy into be quite a depressing look at shared grief.  I find it hard to chuckle along when a film dwells on grief.  The dark tone worked in the likes of ‘Donnie Darko’, but the misplaced humour seemed naïve to me.

Next up is director Kusama who aggravates the problems with the tone by lingering on grief and darkness, then jumping to an irreverent scene.  ‘Heathers’ was a similar film, but that was able to balance shades of light and dark.  Kusama is also unable to hide some of the lower budget aspects of the film and when the special effects are introduced they all feel a little tacky.

The final part of the blame must go to Fox.  I thought that Seyfried and the rest of the cast did a good job in the film, but it was Fox’s film to carry and it highlights everything that is wrong with her.  She is attractive to look at, but any interest pretty much stops there as she incredibly bland and dry – she makes the likes of Scarlett Johansson look animated.  As a screen presence I almost feel that she has a look of contempt towards the audience as if she deserves to be on there.  Just because you have a tattoo of Marilyn Monroe does not mean that you will ever emulate her.  I have the feeling that Fox’s career will go the way of Lindsay Lohan’s in the next few months.

With a poor central performance and a tonal imbalance that tries to make abject misery amusing, ‘Jennifer’s Body’ is a misfire.  Only Seyfried comes out of the film with reputation intact as the combined relative inexperience of star, writer and director join to make a film that is not funny, not scary and in parts depressing.

Director:           Karyn Kusama

Year:                2009

Cert:                 15

Starring:            Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried

Price:                Amazon uk       £9

                        Play.com          £7.99                   

Extras

Deleted scenes are the major extra on the disc, but why prolong the agony of watching the film?

After BP’s latest faux pas mentioning  drilling for oil and oil rigs is about as popular in America as telling die hard fans of ‘The X Factor’ that they are deluded.  Luckily for Christopher Brookmyre his oil rig based book came out in 1999, way before the recent crisis, but not before the numerous other rigs, ships, floating platforms et al have done their damage.  Oil is a nasty addiction that the world has become hooked on and for the foreseeable future little is going to change.  Not only are emissions created, resources plundered, habitats destroyed, crises created, but once the rigs are finished with they become giant sea garbage.  What can you do with an oil rig once it has been decommissioned?  Perhaps converting one into a hotel complex miles away from any police assistance?

Gavin was never very popular at school, but neither was he unpopular.  In fact, he flew so much under the radar that is ex class mates don’t even know that he exists.  However, Gavin has set out to change this by creating a class reunion on his soon to be opened hotel complex built on an old oil rig off the coast of Scotland.  When some undesirables hear of this complex they start to wonder how easy it would be to capture the rig and force the people onboard to pay a random.  Perhaps they should have chosen a more competent set of allies, or a day when rich people were around rather than the Glaswegian locals.  Can the former classmates make it to their next reunion?

As an author Brookmyre has written several books that have been based around groups of people with a shared past.  In this case this is the shared experience of going to the same school.  In the right hands this is a great way of adding flesh to characters and making the relationships they have far deeper and more meaningful than in most books.  ‘One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night’ does have some great character dynamics as ex lovers, former friends and personal enemies meet up again for the first time in 15 years.  In the case of depressed stand up Matt Black and Gavin’s put upon wife the format really works as their relationship developed before and during the book.

However, Brookmyre also has the habit of going into unnecessary detail with too many characters in his ensemble books.  The likes of ‘Boiling a Frog’ and ‘The Sacred Art of Stealing’ work because they concentrate on the one main character and some amusing writing.  Meanwhile, the likes of ‘A Tale Etched in Blood and Hard Etched Pencil’ and ‘One Fine Day’ lose out as there are too many people with too many pasts.  In the case of ‘One Fine Day’ we spend so much time reading about the past that the parts of the book set in the present are constantly interrupted.  I don’t mind knowing great detail about one or two characters, but after six or seven you end up bogged down and not all of them actually become that important.

When the book is allowed to settle into a rhythm and the comedy crime capers occur, you are in for a treat.  Brookmyre has a very dark sense of humour and it shows brilliantly in his writing.  Not only are some of his intelligent one liners a joy to read, but he creates some of the best bizarre violence scenes.  This won’t be to everyone’s taste, but they are certainly meant to be tongue in cheek.  The problem is that the book does not flow well as characters keep reminiscing.  In the end a series of action set pieces feels rushed and nowhere near up to the quality of some of the writing earlier in the book.

There was also a slight issue with how Brookmyre portrays his characters.  He is a Scottish author who writes about mostly Scottish characters.  To distinguish between different characters and their varied upbringings he likes to write accents into the dialogue.  When this means writing broad Glaswegian it is at times unreadable.  I would prefer to be told what a character was like and imagine their accent rather than be forced to read phonetically.  If some of the less salubrious characters spoke in phonetics why where the posher characters, or those who had lived abroad, not treated the same?

‘One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night’ is a cracking crime comedy that is trying to get out of an overly wordy reminisceathon.  It jumps back and forth between the present and the past and is only given free reign towards the end, and by this time the action feels rushed.  The character development of some of the leads is exceptional and you feel for them, but others were fleshed out, but never actually used in the story.  This felt a little like wasted effort for me.  This is not the best book by the author, but neither the worst; it is an average slice of fiction from a good author.      

Author:                                Christopher Brookmyre

Year:                      1999

Price:                     amazon uk – £5.49

                                play.com – £5.49

There is one or more in nearly every family – the eccentric.  Most of the time they are pretty harmless and sometimes they are even charming and funny.  Not all families are blessed with a batty auntie or odd uncle, whilst others are cursed with an overabundance of oddballs and lunatics.  The problems arise when you meet a new partner and their family is not like yours.  How do you introduce your sensible partner to the Grandfather who liked to collect fossilised dinosaur poop?  Just remember as bad as things get at least they don’t go around killing people … 

Ladies man Mortimer Brewster has finally settled down with neighbourhood sweetheart Priscilla and on their way to the honeymoon they decide to pop in and see Mortimer’s elderly aunts before they leave.  What should be a straight forward hello and goodbye turns into a far more complicated matter when Mortimer discovers a body in the house.  Which of the family if to blame?  The eccentric aunts, potty brother, psychotic brother or his weasely friend?  Can Mortimer hold it together whilst keeping everyone safe and himself sane?

I have spent the last couple of years watching black and white movies from the 40s and 50s, but mostly the dramas and thrillers.  I had avoided the comedy genre as I feared humour would not translate over 50 plus years.  Therefore, I was unsure what ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’ was going to be like.  I have seen several of the British Ealing Comedies and enjoyed the majority, but are the Americans able to pull off the same charm, if anyone could, Frank Capra could?

I need not have worried as they certainly can.  Based on a stage play ‘Arsenic’ is very much a one set farce that on occasion goes elsewhere, but spends the majority of its time within the confines of the eccentrics Aunts’ house.  Making an interesting film that keeps someone occupied for 90 minutes with minimal sets is no easy task, but the film does it with ease.  This is because the script and the cast are brilliant.

The film stars Cary Grant as the straight man.  Grant is a great actor and he is able to use all his comedy chops to his best potential in the film.  Although he has to act more normal than most of the cast, he actually gets a lot of the funnier moments as he reacts in the way that you or I might.  He criticised his own performance in the film as being too hammy, but I think this is an injustice.  The co-stars were also rightly praised when the film was released.  Josephine Hull and Jean Adair are are pitch perfect as the kind hearted, but misguided, Aunts.  The actresses reprised their roles from the theatre production.  Raymond Massey plays a wonderfully sinister part as Jonathan that is just the right level of menace and humour.  Finally Peter Lorre as the unsettling Dr Frankenstein is a classic piece of character acting that has been mimicked for years. 

The wonderful cast would not have been for anything had the script not been able to handle the numerous twists and turns.  The film is a broad comedy with a dark sense of humour.  This is combined with one of the best farce storylines that I have ever seen.  The complexities that Mortimer gets himself into means that the situation spirals further and further out of his control.  With so much going on at once an ill judged script could have made the story confusing and overly eccentric, but script writers Julius and Philip Epstein, who adapted Joseph Kesselring’s play, did a brilliant job of balancing ludicrous characters with believable situations.  It is film that is truly up with the best of Ealing comedy in terms of its farcical nature and characters.

The biggest praise that I can give ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’ is that it has opened my eyes to US comedies of the 40s and 50s.  My assumption that they would have dated badly could not have been further from the truth.  This film shows as the years pass they highlight how comedy films used to be made for a seemingly more intelligent audience.  ‘Arsenic’ does ask you to suspend your disbelief and the nature of the sets means that it feels like the adapted play that it is.  However, when the one major set contains so many quality comedy moments and great performances it makes you wish that more modern films would concentrate on characters and intelligent lines.  This film is easily good enough for anyone to enjoy and not just fans of black and white movies.

Sammy Recommendation 

Director:           Frank Capra

Year:                1944

Cert:                 PG

Starring:            Cary Grant

Price:                Amazon uk       £3.99

                        Play.com          £3.99         

Extras 

The only extra on the DVD version that I saw was the trailer.

Cinema is full of epic battles; Freddy vs. Jason, Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus, Joe vs. the Volcano.  Ok, perhaps they are not the best examples and they are not as epic as I would like.  In fact, these all seem pretty personal affairs and will have little impact on the human race as a whole.  A Mega Shark may be huge, but I’m pretty sure that I am out of harms way several miles inland.  There needs to be a film that tackles a battle between two foes that could hold the world to random.  How about an army of Earth based monsters versus space based aliens?

Susan is about to get married when disaster strikes – she is hit by a meteorite.  Far from being dead, Susan actually starts to grow and grow.  Whisked away from her apparent perfect world she is now part of a crack (pot) team of monsters that include an intelligent cockroach, a blob and the missing link.  The newly renamed Ginormica is thrust straight into work when an Alien robot lands on the planet.  No longer can the governments of the world keep the knowledge of these monsters secret, they must use them as the only weapon that can defeat the nefarious Gallaxhar and his plan to take over the world.

The modern CGI cartoon is no longer a guaranteed hit.  During the late 90s to mid 00s you could pretty much watch any CGI film and know it would be quality.  This was because most of the noticeable work came from the likes of Pixar and DreamWorks.  However, as the skills improved and the costs fell more CGI films got made and the quality took a nose dive.  Pixar alone have managed to create great work (although ‘Cars’ came close to being bad).  DreamWorks Animations showed themselves extremely fallible with the likes of the awful ‘Shark Tales’ and ‘Over the Hedge’, but they also made ‘Shrek’ and supported ‘Flushed Away’.  Luckily ‘M vs. A’ falls into the category of their good work.

In terms of plot the film is pretty thin, but the set up is excellent.  The idea of an underground monster taskforce was well realised in ‘Hellboy’ and it works again here.  The alien menace is also good fun with Gallaxhar being an egotistical maniac who is fun to dislike and is voiced by a quality comedic actor in Rainn Wilson.  It is perhaps not the plot itself that makes the film so fun, but the scenarios and characters that are within it.

In terms of creating the characters and casting them DreamWorks have done brilliantly.  The studio was in the habit of hiring named actors for role such as Bruce Willis in ‘Over the Hedge’ and various unfortunates in ‘Sharks Tale’.  What this showed was that straight actors have pretty bland voices that don’t record well.  It is the comedians who voice act for Pixar and in the better DreamWorks films that give life to the over the top characters.  Therefore, when you look at the cast of ‘M vs. A’ you know that you are in safe hands; Seth Rogan, Hugh Laurie and Will Arnett.  Even Reece Witherspoon as Susan has proven a good comedic actress in the first ‘Legally Blonde’.

The various voice actors give real life and humour to an already quality script.  The story is just the right balance of humour that adults will enjoy and action the kids like.  My favourite CGI films are always those with a slightly off balance sense of humour that borders on the serial.  ‘M vs. A’ is in the same vein as the likes of ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs’ and ‘Meet the Robinsons’, two great family films.

The CGI itself is also of the brilliant quality you now expect from the DreamWorks animation studio.  Out of all genres of film available in High Definition the CGI cartons are perhaps the ones that benefit most.  This film looks amazing on BluRay and the colours really stand out.  The additional extras on the BluRay are also good fun, especially if you know a youngster who would like to watch all of them.

Overall, ‘Monsters versus Aliens’ is one of the best animated films of the past couple of years.  Its not really up there with the very best that the genre has provided in its relatively short lifespan, but it takes the quirky humour of the past DreamWorks films and packages it in a high quality way.  There is plenty of zany humour on offer and the animation and voice acting is of top quality.  If you are a fan of CGI films that I would certainly recommend this light hearted family comedy.

Director:           Rob Letterman and Conrad Vernon

Year:                2009

Cert:                 PG

Starring:            (Voices) Seth Rogan, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett and Reece Witherspoon

Price:                Amazon uk       £15.93 (BluRay)

                        Play.com          £16.99 (BluRay)           

Extras

There are loads of extras on the disc including several featurettes.  The BluRay also comes with free 3D glasses that work on the short film that is on the disc.  The 3D is ok, but there it is the old style Red/Green 3D of yore, rather than the new RealD.

Crime writers have a thing for the past.  Some of them base nearly all their books on a character’s pasts – Harlan Coben in particular does this with the themes of redemption running throughout his work.  Eventually all authors who write about the same characters have a ‘past’ book that is written in the present, but denotes the past.  Agatha Christie did it, so did Christopher Brookmyre.  The problem is that not only did these books have the past in common; they also had not being very good in common.  I find novels of reflection are slower than the usual books in a series and basing any investigation on flawed memories is never good.  To my mind authors should avoid doing them, but if one writer can get it right its top crime noir exponent Michael Connelly, but did he second time around?

Harry Bosch has had a long and hard career and his time in the Unsolved Cases squad has not been any easier.  When a case that he failed to close some years earlier is reopened he wants to make sure that he gets another chance to catch the killer.  It may be too late for this as the man accused of a series of serial murders has offered the whereabouts of the missing body and several others in the hope of avoiding the death penalty.  Despite this being a slam-dunk case something does not sit right with Bosch and he is not the type of detective that goes against his gut.  Can he convince the rest of the force that there is more to this confession than first meets the eye?

In my opinion Michael Connelly is the best mass market crime writer that is currently working.  For over two decades Connelly has consistently produced a book a year that is top quality, and the trend remained so with ‘Echo Park’.  Bosch has been trapped in unsolved crimes for a while now so I feared that Connelly would have written the dreaded novel about the character’s past.  He tried this once before when Bosch looked into the murder of his own mother and it was perhaps the weakest book the author had written at the time.  ‘Echo Park’ manages to avoid this from happening again as although it is about the past, the events are really about the present. 

There are different types of crime fiction and Connelly falls into the camp of police procedure.  He goes into depth into how Bosch solves a crime, how a police station works and the politics involved.  In the wrong hands this could be incredibly dull as you go over the minutia that no one really cares about.  Connelly is a master of making even the day to day life of a police officer interesting.  This is because his characters are so well rounded; the people that Bosch goes up against are not just colleagues but former lovers, enemies and allies.

Once again the character of Bosch himself is the star.  For fans of the books he is once again the jaded detective who sense of justice is stronger than those around him.  If you are coming to this book fresh you can read it and still enjoy yourself, but you will miss out on the rich history of the character and how it improves each novel.  I do fear that Bosch is consistently becoming a lone wolf in the later books as partners fall by the wayside.  He is enough to carry a book, but having someone with a lighter take on life is a good way of balancing the tone.

What makes ‘Echo Park’ stand out over many other books in the Bosch series, and perhaps puts it in the top three of all time by the author, is the great mystery that underpins it.  There is far more going on in the book than first meets the eye and as a reader you are kept guessing until the very end.  You also feel a real sense of dread as you are unsure that any character is safe from being killed off, a skill that few modern crime writers are able to pull off in a satisfying manner.

I felt that ‘Echo Park’ was one of the best in the series as it had an excellent central mystery, but also drew out Bosch’s inner self.  It has a complete narrative and could be read by veterans of the series or debutants.   If you are new to crime fiction and are thinking of some great names to start with then Connelly should be added to the list, I would probably suggest starting from book 1, but there is no really issue starting here.  Connelly is an evocative writer of crime fiction whose peak has latest longer than many author’s careers. 

Sammy Recommendation

Author:                                Michael Connelly

Year:                      2006

Price:                    amazon uk – £5.58

                                play.com – £4.99