Devil in a Blue Dress

This is a 1995 film noir movie, directed by Carl Franklin, and based on a novel by Walter Mosley.  

It's set in Los Angeles, 1948, and stars Denzel Washington as Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlings, recently fired from his job at an aircraft manufacturer, who is hired to find the missing girlfriend of an aspiring politician. Of course it's not long before Easy finds himself caught up in a web of murder, deception and corruption.  

It's a film about someone becoming a private detective, rather than already being a full P.I. The film sticks by and large to the rules of the genre, but it does have important points to make about race relations in that time and place. There is a strong sense of place and some cool hard-boiled dialogue. Denzel Washington is perfect as the charismatic Easy Rawlings, with strong support from Tom Sizemore as his shady employer. Don Cheadle almost walks away with the film, making the most of every second of his brief screen time as Easy's murderous friend Mouse. The only caveat is that Jennifer Beals doesn't have much to do as the mysterious femme fatale.

This is an enjoyable, strong film, well worth checking out.

Delicatessen

I went out today and saw the 1991 French movie Delicatessen, directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro.   It really is an amazing film, a surreal, dark comedy, fantasy, set in a post-apocalyptic world about the various bizarre and grotesque inhabitants of an apartment building, where new tenants often find themselves being carved up and sold in the butcher shop owned by the landlord (played by Jean-Claude Dreyfus).  The latest tenant is good-natured ex-circus clown Louison (played by Dominique Pinon).   Louison attracts the attention of the butcher's daughter, Julie (Marie-Laure Dougnac), who determines to save him from being turned into the Sunday roast.   

Despite  a murky palette of mostly browns and greens, it's visually stunning.   It's often very funny as well, with some beautifully choreographed physical comedy.  It creates an entire world of it's own inside this apartment block, while the world outside is, more or less, just hinted at.  Despite the subject matter and bleak world, it is a film that is full of joy.  

Ring 0: Birthday

Last night I saw the 2000 movie Ring 0: Birthday, directed by Norio Tsuruta, and based on a short story, "Lemonheart", by Koji Suzuki, who created the Ring franchise.

It's a prequel set about thirty years before the events of the first Ring film and tells how troubled psychic Sadako Yamamura (played by Yukie Nakama) changed from a promising actress in a theatre troupe to a vengeful spirit. For most of the film, it's more of a backstage melodrama with supernatural overtones. It feels like pretty much an oddity in the Ring series, for one thing the cursed video tape is only ever mentioned once, briefly in a modern day set prologue.  Obviously, video tapes did not exist in the late sixties, where the film is set, so it doesn't answer the question of where the tape came from.  The film takes a real turn in it's last half hour or so, and has some quite bizarre plot revelations.  That don't really make a lot of sense. 

It's very slow, and I can imagine a lot of people will get really quite bored by it, but it is atmospheric and there is enough to keep watching.  Also the series deserves points for at least trying new things.  

Ring 2

Last night I watched the Japanese movie Ring 2 from 1999, directed by Hideo Nakata. 

The Ring series began as a novel by Koji Suzuki.  The series is about a VHS video tape.  After some unfortunate person has viewed it they are condemned to die in exactly seven days.  The 1998 film adaptation was a sensation both in Japan and internationally and kickstarted the popularity of "J-horror" in the west.

Suzuki wrote a sequel to Ring called Spiral, which was turned into a film that was originally intended to be the official sequel to the 1998 film, the two were shot back to back.  However, Spiral did very poorly at the box office, and so they decided to shelve it and make this film to replace it.  This film has no connection to the Suzuki novel.   This film also has nothing to do with The Ring Two, the sequel to the US remake of Ring (confused yet?)  

This film picks up several days after the conclusion of the first film, and reunited the first film's director, Nakata, and many of the cast.   Mai Takano (played by Miki Nakatana) is a young research assistant, who is investigating the mysterious fate of her boss, and, with the aid of a newspaper reporter, comes into contact with the cursed video and her boss's young child Yoichi (Rikiya Otaka) who has a powerful psychic ability and whose strong feelings of rage and fear have the ability to summon the vengeful spirit Sadako Yamamura (Rie Ino), who is behind the Ring curse. 

The film really seems to have divided people, and a lot of people really don't seem to like it, but I did, it's not as good as the first one, and there is nothing in this film that is as iconic as the conclusion of Ring.  It's not a scary film, it's more of a supernatural mystery, but it is atmospheric.

Seoul Station

An elderly man stumbles into Seoul Station, bleeding profusely from his neck.  He joins the anonymous homeless community living in and around the large railway station.  This man proves the catalyst for a zombie plague that threatens to wipe out South Korea's capital city.  A young runaway finds herself caught up in the madness, so to does her boyfriend and her father who desperately search the chaos to find her.  Although, they may not have her best interests at heart.

For the most part this is an interesting animated Korean zombie film.  Mostly it's another zombie film, of the type that will be familiar to anyone who has ever seen Dawn of the Dead or any of the other innumerable zombie movies that had cropped up over the years, or indeed anyone who has ever seen an episode of The Walking Dead.  There is some tension and there are some pretty effective action scenes, but it kind of falls flat at the end.

It's still worth watching though.

    

Ready Player One

Ready Player One is a science-fiction novel published in 2011. It's set in a nightmare 2044, where people escape from their miserable everyday existence in a virtual reality simulated universe called OASIS. Upon his death, the reclusive creator of OASIS triggers the world's biggest treasure hunt, with the prize being worth millions of dollars and control of OASIS. Years later, OASIS devotee Wade Watts, stumbles upon a clue that launches him on a life and death quest that will take all his courage, skill, intelligence and encyclopedic knowledge of 1980s pop culture to survive.  

It's a good book, exciting and entertaining. The book has some good characters and it's well paced. The action moves along at a brisk pace It's very funny and likeable. If you enjoy the movies, video games, TV and music of the 1980s than you'll probably enjoy the books frequent references to the pop culture of the period.

Shoot the Pianist

Shoot the Pianist is a French film from 1960, directed by the great Francois Truffaut.

It stars singer Charles Aznavour as a once famous pianist, reduced to playing piano in a seedy bar, trying to escape his shady past. However one night his brother comes in, pursued by a pair of gangsters, and the pianist finds himself involved once again in the world he seeks to escape from. 

Following Truffaut's celebrated debut film The 400 Blows (1959). the director wanted to make a film which paid tribute to his love of American crime films, and pulp fiction, as opposed to the "very French" (in Truffaut's opinion) 400 Blows.  He found his subject with the novel Down There by David Goodis.  The storyline of a man trying to escape his past being drawn into a dangerous criminal world is familiar enough, but Truffaut's French New Wave style elevates it to another level entirely.  Utilising a range of techniques (extended voice overs, out of sequence shots, jump cuts, and a grainy kinetic filming style) and paying tribute to the world of thrillers and film noir, this is a film which crackles with life and energy, and is often very funny.  However,l there are moments and elements in the film that are incredibly dark, and in amongst all the fun and vibrancy, there is a string tragic element.  As the shy, haunted, heavy eyed piano player, Charles Aznavour is perfect.

  

Osaka Elegy

Osaka Elegy, a 1936 Japanese film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. 

It tells the story of telephone operator Ayako Murai (played by Isuzu Yamada), whose father is in serious trouble:  he is unemployed and facing arrest for embezzlement.  In order to help her father avoid jail, as well as pay for her younger sister and older brother's education, Ayako agrees to become the girlfriend of her unhappily married employer, Sumiko Asai (Yoko Umemura).  A decision which will have devastating consequences.

This is a dark and powerful drama.  Elegantly shot, composed mostly of long takes with the action often taking place at some distance from the camera.  The film deals with the inequalities and double standards facing women in Japan, and the conflicts between modernity and tradition, and men and women:  Ayako is very much a modern woman while her family are very traditional and judgemental; the Asai family are completely dysfunctional, there is no love between Mr. Asai and his wife, he doesn't even try to hide the fact that he married her for her money, and all their interactions are argumentative and humiliating.

   

The Conjuring 2

In 2013 The Conjuring was a surprise hit, a supernatural horror film based on the allegedly true exploits of ghost hunters Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga).  This time round, after a prologue dealing with the famous "Amityville Horror" case, the investigation centres on the "Enfield Haunting" case, supposedly the best documented case of alleged supernatural activity.  In 1977, in the Enfield area of London, the Hodgson family are plagued by bizarre events, and the Warrens are called in from the US to investigate whether or not there is sufficient evidence for the church to get involved.  Lorraine is initially reluctant because she has had premonitions of Ed's death.  

The original was notable for being a slow-burning, subtle, creepy story.  This one however is more like a ghost train ride, with at least three different ghosts or demons, and more liberal use of special effects.  Director James Wan has a good eye for detail, and the 1970s suburban English setting is well realised, even if the 1970s detail is sometimes laid on a little too thick, and for the most part, certainly in the first half of the film, the jump scares are choreographed pretty well.  The main problem is that it is just too long, at over two hours, and it loses a lot of it's impact in the second half.  There is a very strong religious element which is laid on too thickly, and didn't really work for me.

It's not bad though, and fans of the original will probably enjoy it.

      

Deadpool

There has been no shortage of comic book movies this year, but this must rank as one of the strangest.  Based on the Marvel comic book created by writer Fabian Nicieza and writer/artist Rob Liefeld, the film stars Ryan Reynolds as anti-hero Wade Wilson, a mercenary who describes himself as a "bad guy who is paid to beat up worse guys".  However, Wade's life falls apart when he is diagnosed with terminal cancer.  As a last resort, he submits himself to an experimental procedure, run by the villainous Francis (Ed Skrein).  The procedure is basically an extended program of torture designed to trigger a mutation.  Wade does find himself cured with an advanced "healing factor" which allows him to heal from almost any injury, unfortunately he is also left hideously disfigured and almost insane.  Wade dons a black and red suit and styles himself as "Deadpool".  Then he goes out to find Francis searching for a cure and revenge, not necessarily in that order.

This is technically part of the X-Men universe, and features X-Men Colossus (voiced by Stefan Kapicik), a Russian giant with a body of living metal, and Negasonic Teenage Warhead |(Brianna Hildebrand), a moody teenager who can generate atomic blasts with her body.  However, in style it is a world away from the essentially straight-laced, serious X-Men movies.  For one thing it is much more violent, filled with more or less wall to wall stylised carnage.  Also it is very funny.  One of the conceits in the comic series is Deadpool's awareness that he is a character in a comic book.  This is transferred to the film which not so much breaks the fourth wall as smashes it to pieces with a sledgehammer.  It makes frequent jokes about itself, and the X-Men movie franchise.

This has the effect of making it hard to engage with, but you'll probably be having too much fun to care.

Theatre of Blood

This 1973 film is a hilarious blend of comedy and horror.  Edward Lionheart (played by the great Vincent Price) is a Shakespearean actor who, nevertheless, has had some less than stellar reviews.  When he is passed over for the prestigious Critic's Circle Award, he is humiliated and his career is ruined.  Seeking revenge, he starts to murder the critics one by one, in methods taken from Shakespeare's more bizarre and gruesome murders.

This film really is non-stop entertainment.  It's less of a conventional horror film and more a gruesome, campy, melodramatic, dark comedy.  Price was attracted to the role because he had always wanted to play Shakespeare, but his typecasting in horror roles stopped him from being chosen.  In this film, he gets to deliver a number of Shakespeare's greatest speeches, and adopt some hilarious personas (one hilarious sequence has Price playing a flamboyantly camp hairdresser with a massive afro).  In fact, for any actor this would be a career highlight, playing so many different roles, and doing comedy, drama and action in one film.  Diana Rigg plays Lionheart's daughter and partner in crime, and also turns in a hugely entertaining performance in a number of different disguises.  A number of familiar British thespians, such as Ian Hendry, Michael Hordern, Arthur Lowe, Robert Morley, Eric Sykes and Diana Dors,  join in the fun.

It also features the funniest fencing sequence ever seen in film.        

Mistress America

This is a comedy-drama film from 2015, directed by Noah Baumbach and co-written by Baumbach and the film's star Greta Gerwig.  Set in present day New York City, eighteen year old student and aspiring author Tracy (played by Lola Kirke) is not enjoying her first semester at college, struggling both academically and socially, she is rejected by the university's literary society.  One night she heads out to meet Brooke (Gerwig) her thirty year old soon to be step-sister.  Tracy is fascinated by the free-spirited Brooke, and soon finds herself caught up in Brooke's impulsive, exciting lifestyle and crazy schemes.  

This is a very good film, but I saw it as more  light-hearted dramatic film than an out and out comedy.  It's not really a laugh out loud hilarious film.  It provides a fair few chuckles though and it's consistently entertaining.  Some may find the milieu of Manhattan hipsters not to their taste, but their are a few affecting moments about ageing and finding a place in the world, and their are some very funny jabs at writers and critics.  Greta Gerwig shines as Brooke, a character who is often not particularly likeable (she's feckless and rude), but Gerwig makes you care about her, giving her an air of brittle vulnerability and in the end making her seem almost heroic. Lola Kirke  is good as the quiet unhappy Tracy.    

The Night Manager

Meet Jonathan Pine, night manager of a luxury hotel in Cairo, his job is to provide is to provide his wealthy guests with whatever they require, to be servant, best friend and confidant.  One night, Sophie,  a beautiful female guest asks him to safeguard some documents. Reading though them, Pine passes the documents to British Intelligence and, despite Pine's best efforts, Sophie is murdered. A year later, a guilt-stricken Pine is working in a hotel in Switzerland, when he comes face to face with charismatic, multi-millionaire arms dealer Richard Roper,  the man who ordered the murder. Seeking revenge, Pine comes into contact with Leonard Burr of British Intelligence, and accepts a deadly assignment.  Pine destroys his old life to create a new one, and enters a murky world of betrayal and espionage where no-one can be trusted, to bring down Richard Roper, the "worst man in the world".

Published in 1993, this was le Carre's first post-Cold War novel and is one of his most full on entertaining works. A beautifully written, involving thriller, full of glamorous high-living this globe-trotting tale focuses more on psychological complexity than conventional thriller action and violence. It was adapted into a BBC miniseries earlier this year starring Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie.

The Nice Guys

This afternoon I went out to see The Nice Guys a buddy comedy, neo-noir thriller set in Los Angeles in 1977.  The movie tells the story of Holland March, (played by Ryan Gosling), a sleazy, inept, booze-sodden private investigator and a single father to his thirteen year old daughter (Angourie Rice), who reluctantly partners up with heavy Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe), who basically gets hired to beat people up, to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a young woman, and it's connection to the mysterious death of a porn actress.

It's a hugely entertaining film co-written and directed by Shane Black (who you may know as the writer of Lethal Weapon and writer / director of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Iron Man 3).  It balances laughs and thrills very well, Russell Crowe providing gruff wisecracks and Ryan Gosling proving adept at physical comedy (the scene in the toilet stall is a hilarious stand-out).  However the action is played straight enough that there is the feeling of genuine threat.  There is also, crucially, a level of emotion to the film, it gets pretty dark at times, aside from all the carnage, and the deaths in the film mostly do have a degree of weight to them.  Holland March bears a lot of guilt and Jackson Healy has a real world-weariness to him, and to be honest they may be the "Nice Guys" but they are not very nice guys, they both do some pretty horrible things in the course of the film.  However there are moments, fleeting as they are, of heart and tenderness here.  That being said, even if the pace flags in the middle of the film, it remains constantly entertaining throughout.  It is a total joy.  

Barbarella

Last night I watched the 1967 movie Barbarella based on the comic book by Jean-Claude Forest.  The movie was directed by Roger Vadim and stars Jane Fonda as intergalactic agent Barbarella who is ordered to investigate the mysterious disappearance of scientist Durand-Durand and his latest invention, a weapon called the "Positronic Ray".  Along the way, Barbarella faces feral children, carniverous robot dolls, a labyrinth which absorbs people into it's walls and the Great Tyrant (Anita Pallenberg).  However she has help from a hunky blind angel (John Phillip Law), and a dim-witted revolutionary (David Hemmings).

This film is so sixties.  The whole tone is set in the famous opening credits sequence where Barbarella peels off a spacesuit in a zero gravity striptease in her fur-lined spaceship, to a cheery song (called "Barbarella Psychadela"). The film mixes science-fiction, fantasy, comedy mild eroticism into sexy, campy, fun nonsense.  At times it feels like a big budget porn film with all the sex scenes cut out.   It's fun if you're in the mood for it, the special effects are ropey, and some of the acting is pretty hammy, but it is fun.  Also in Barbarella, you have a female lead character, who enjoys and very much takes control of her own sexuality.

It's a massive cult film now and very much part of popular culture.  By the way, the 1980s band Duran Duran took their name from this film.

A Small Town in Germany

I finished reading A Small Town in Germany by John le Carre. The book, first published in 1968, is set in Bonn, West Germany during the 1960s, a town in turmoil with radical groups and riots in the streets. When Leo Harting, second secretary at the British Embassy in Bonn, goes missing along with over forty confidential files, embittered Foreign Office agent Alan Turner is sent from London to investigate. As Turner learns more about Harting's secret life, he finds himself increasingly drawn into the murky, dangerous world of Cold War espionage.  

The story is predominately told in a series of abrasive confrontations and interrogations between Turner and members of the Embassy, with a minimum of action. The book vividly depicts the enclosed world of the British Embassy (le Carre himself worked at the British Embassy in Bonn for several years, so he knew what he was talking about). It may be slow moving for some, and the nominal "hero" is pretty much a complete dick to everyone he encounters, but it is a beautifully written novel and paints a powerful, deeply cynical portrait of the 1960s spy world.

I'm a huge le Carre fan, and this isn't really his best, but it is still worth checking out, and as it goes along it becomes quite involving.

Hello

Hi,

Welcome to my new blog.

I'm a cartoonist and I have a couple of blogs for my webcomics Landslides and Tales of the Weird.  In this blog I'm going to be talking about books, movies, and anything else that comes into my mind really.

Enjoy!