My Side of the Story (Will Davis, 2008)

In a change of pace from the murky world of occupied Britain the next book I polished off in a matter of days was My Side of the Story, a first person account of the life of Jaz (real name Jarold), a 16 year old gay teenager living in Shepherd’s Bush. It’s a bit like that American ‘classic’ Catcher in the Rye as the story is told in a teenage vernacular and concerns a bit of a social misfit, where it differs is that I found Catcher hard going and not particularly enjoyable, whereas My Side is fun and an easier read.

I was a bit unsure I’d like Davis’ style, as the prose is peppered with ‘likes’ and I hate the way people use the word, as like, filler all the like time, and there are other stylistic devices that really evoke the teenage voice. Davis uses ‘like’ in place of ‘said’ and not too frequently, and so it’s not distracting once Jaz gets going, and some of his language made me smile, such as his acronym LIC GAS, which stands for Like I Could Give A Shit, and descriptions like ‘I was the definition of sorry’. Once I immersed myself in Jaz’s story I warmed to him and enjoyed his way with words.

The plot isn't complex, Jaz has a realistic existence, sneaking out to a gay club with his best friend Al, dealing with school bullies and Goths, and suffering with his dysfunctional parents, and there’s a simplistic joy to the familiarity of the character’s life. I could identify with some of the emotions and experiences Jaz goes through so it was easy for me to sympathise with his views on life, love and being gay. He’s a bit more negative and surly, and typically teenage about some aspects, but unlike the protagonist in Catcher in the Rye, I never found Jaz irritating or unlikable.

Although the story deals with Jaz’s coming out to his parents and at school, it’s never cloying or sentimental. There are real emotions expressed, and Jaz occasionally finds himself bursting into tears for no reason, as the enormity of the things he’s going through dawn on him, revealing chinks in his LIC GAS bravado. Davis has written an honest account of what the internal monologue of a gay teen in Britain today might be like, and while this may not be an earth-shattering literary sensation, it’s a lovely, refreshingly written tale that is deceptively charming.

SS-GB (Len Deighton, 1978)

This book was an impulse purchase in Just Books, and once I started it I was riveted, and I’ve since picked up several more by the same author. It’s a fascinating espionage thriller set in a 1941, and – here’s the fascinating part! – in occupied Britain, in an alternative history where Germany won World War II.

So through the course of the story we find that King George VI is being held prisoner in the Tower of London, the Queen and princesses are in New Zealand, and Winston Churchill has been executed, and as it’s 1941, the USA hasn’t had much involvement, although they are being bothered by the Japanese. All of this is going on in the background of a plot that begins with a murder and extends out into the different branches of the German police force and Nazi government. DS Douglas Archer is the novel’s hero, he’s a British policemen working in Scotland Yard with a German boss, and he’s the one who gets drawn into the murder that turns into a conspiracy around plans for an atomic bomb and an attempt by one unit of the occupying forces getting one over another.

Deighton provides an exciting, pleasurable read, with a cracking story peopled with believable characters, and the backdrop of SS-GB adds an extra layer of detail and intrigue. The novel is more about the story than it is a detailed account of what Britain might have been like, these details are skilfully woven in along the way so that you build up a picture of how bleak life would have been like, without being delivered a history lecture. Towards the end there were a few twists and turns that stretched my interest, and it got a bit confusing with the warring German factions, but on the whole this was a thrilling read.

Shooting Stars: Series 7 (2010)

I remember enjoying the surreal comedy of Shooting Stars on BBC2 back in the mid-90’s, but when it came back the first time in 2002, with Will Self as Team A’s captain, and Johnny Vegas as a permanent Team B panellist, it just wasn’t as funny. I saw the 2008 special episode and thought it was good, but I didn’t bother with series 6 last year. I caught part of the second episode of this recent series following That Mitchell & Webb Look, and found myself laughing my head off, so we decided we’d revisit Shooting Stars and watched the rest of the series.

In series 7, Vic and Bob are as hilariously inventive as they used to be, and Ulrika is as game as ever (which is a good job, considering some of the rhymes that Bob comes out with), now Jack Dee is Team B’s captain and Matt Lucas’ George Dawes scorekeeper has been replaced by a creation called Angelos Epithemiou. Dee is good fun, better than Will Self and original captain Mark Lamarr, and Epithemiou, who I was unsure about at first, is no George Dawes but he’s just as funny, just a different kind of funny, he’s more creepy weird, than man-dressed-as-baby weird…

The guests I’ve seen have mostly gone with the flow, and they do seem to ‘get’ the show, what with it’s dove from above round, the random pair of trousers that walk past the teams uncommented on, and the bizarre songs that Vic sings while burying his face in a sack of tomatoes… It’s an odd mix of guests too, from a Pussycat Doll, to Paloma Faith, and James May to Alex Reid, but it works. I love the sense of fun that you get watching Shooting Stars, Vic and Bob seem to really enjoy what they’re doing, and the guests clearly love it too. I’ll definitely be tuning in to the next series.

My favourite question this series that had me in stitches was something like: ‘What's Swedish, cheap, and thousands of people have entered it?' Ulrika, surely!

Mircotrends: Surprising Tales of the Way We Live Today (Mark J. Penn & E. Kinney Zalesne, 2007)

Microtrends is a non-fiction book that presents 75 different trends that are currently happening in America, and attempts to show that these trends, of 1% of the population, could mean big things for the future of politics, culture or society. Author Penn has been a pollster for various world leaders, including Bill Clinton, and he clearly knows what he’s talking about.

The trends are split into different categories including Relationships, Technology and International, and each Microtrend Penn identifies is given about 4 pages of analysis, including graphs and tables. All of the trends are backed up by polling data and Penn makes some convincing arguments. Inevitably, of the 75 trends some are more interesting than others, while some are just odd. There are Late-Breaking Gays, men who come out later in life in bigger numbers than before, Knitting Teenagers who are bucking the techno, online trend, and LATs, couples who Live Together Apart in two houses rather than sharing a common home.

I picked up the book not realising that it concentrated on US trends, so I was a little disappointed in that respect, but many of the Microtrends are applicable to UK living, and there are the occasional sidebar and 15 final chapters on international variants or specific international trends. Penn’s thesis that Microtrends are changing the face and values of the (US) electorate is persuasive, and the evidence he uses provides much food for thought.

Seraphim Falls (2007)

The last movie I watched was the beautifully shot western Seraphim Falls, starring Pierce Brosnan and Liam Neeson. Set after the Civil War, it’s a cat and mouse chase across country as Brosnan’s beardy, grizzled Gideon is tracked down by Neeson’s Colonel Carver, who has revenge on his mind, and a band of mercenaries in his employ to help him.

Like Summer Magic, this movie doesn’t have a vast amount of plot. It’s a chase movie, and that’s about it, but there is a central mystery concerning why exactly Carver is determined to track and kill Gideon himself. When the answer is revealed late in the movie it didn’t make a whole deal of sense to me, and the characters aren’t fleshed out through much dialogue.

The joy of this movie is in the locations. Beginning in the snow-covered mountains, Gideon is chased down river and across various landscapes, and finally across a parched, arid dessert. It all looks absolutely stunning, in contrast to the tramp-look that Brosnan sports, although even then he still has a sexy glint in his eye. It’s a shame there isn’t a bit more substance to the movie – it must be about 20 minutes before Brosnan says anything other than a grunt – as looking pretty is not enough to sustain my interest in a film for nearly 2 hours.

The actors do a believable job in getting across how gruelling and difficult the chase is across the inhospitable landscapes. The ending is a little odd and not particularly satisfying, although the cameo from Anjelica Huston adds some much needed life/fun to proceedings. Seraphim Falls has a pretty title and a stunning location shoot, but the story is too simple, and then too vague to be great, as good as Neeson and Brosnan are.

Oh I just remembered one of the bits that had me groaning aloud! At one point Pierce Brosnan leaps out of a dead horse's belly! Eurgh!

In the Company of Men (1997)

Another movie from the recorder was this inky black comedy-drama about a couple of misogynists played by Aaron Eckhart and Matt Malloy. The pair have recently had their fingers burnt by women in relationships that have ended not on their terms. After an opening sequence of stagey scenes with Eckhart being horribly sexist and Malloy listening, the pair decide to embark on a scheme to hurt a woman they way they’ve been hurt. They agree to choose an unsuspecting victim and then both will date her, before both leave her crushed as they return back home, after 6 weeks on a work placement.

The unfortunate woman they choose is played by Stacy Edwards, and the character turns out to be deaf (I’ve not been able to work out if the actress herself is deaf, I’ve not seen her in anything else), which makes what they’re doing seem even more cruel. Malloy, the more amiable of the two men, begins to fall in love with Edwards for real, and it appears Eckhart may be too, but it turns out he’s just a massive prick who was always going along with the plan. When Edwards learns about the deception she’s been put through, the effect is heartbreaking, especially as she’d fallen for Eckhart. The final scenes add another sadistic twist to Eckhart’s character.

It was never going to have a happy ending, but In the Company of Men had a great script and a trio of genuinely compelling characters, even though Eckhart in particular was a complete bastard. Edwards’ performance was sweet and heart-wrenching, especially as you knew she was being set up for a fall. It shouldn’t make it more evil because she was deaf, but it added an extra layer of sympathy, since Eckhart made fun of her handicap. The abrupt ending of the movie was a bit jarring, and I especially liked the music that accompanied the title cards that told you which week it was, and overall it was a decent film about some indecent characters, who unfortunately were all too believable.

Disney Comics: 75 Years of Innovation (Various, 1930-2004)

As The Gremlins didn’t take more than an hour or so to get through, I next picked up another Disney fictional ‘quickie’ in the form of the anniversary compendium of stories from 75 Years of Disney Comics. Again, there was an interesting introduction covering the history and popularity of Disney comics around the world, before a varied selection of reprinted stories from 1934 to 2003 from the US, South America and Europe.

It was fascinating to see how detailed the artwork was and continues to be, and how the stories are not just enjoyable for children. The language and situations had me chuckling to myself on several occasions, and the simple plots were fun and engrossing. It was particularly interesting to see a strip starring The Gremlins, who apparently had a life beyond Dahl’s book, despite them having no basis in a finished feature film. Other characters included Jose Carioca, from The Three Caballeros, and Uncle Scrooge McDuck – both characters who have thrived in the comics after only brief roles on screen.

Stories involving Mickey Mouse, Horace Horsecollar, Donald and his nephews, Pluto, and Brer Rabbit were all enjoyable and well drawn. The differences in style through the years or between countries were mostly subtle, and it was good to see how times have changed, and how some things have stayed the same. What’s really positive is that the language of Disney and by extension Disney comics is timeless and universal.

The Gremlins: The Lost Walt Disney Production (Flight Lieutenant Roald Dahl, 1943)

After Summer Magic I had a hankering for a bit more Disney magic, so I plucked a book off the shelf called The Gremlins, which is a fictional tale by Roald Dahl, which was originally to have been an animated movie made with Disney during World War II. The movie never came to fruition, so the book was published instead, and it’s an interesting curio.

A meeting between Walt Disney and Roald Dahl would seem to be quite a historic one, but this was before Dahl had published anything, and he was credited as Flight Lieutenant on the book’s cover. It’s as odd as Dahl writing a James Bond movie – he did get around a bit it seems! It’s a long time since I read anything by Dahl, back when I was a child I remember enjoying The Twits and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The Gremlins is an entertaining, brief read – more interesting is the introduction by Leonard Maltin detailing the history of the book and failed movie. I’m glad I have this book and have read it as part of my collection of Disney DVDs and books, as it is part of the interesting way Disney participated in the war effort. The characters in the Gremlins are cute and probably would have translated well into film, but the war themes may have been a bit difficult to handle successfully.

Summer Magic (1963)

I had a few days off work through holiday this week, rather than last week’s illness, and I again caught up on a few movies that were on the DVD recorder. A light, airy, cheery Disney musical, Summer Magic filled a couple of hours nicely. It didn’t stretch my mind or my patience, and it never hits the heights of Mary Poppins, but it’s a nicely put together family musical, if occasionally a little sugary sweet.

The Carey family, mother, daughter and two sons – the only one of whom I recognised was Disney stalwart Hayley Mills – find themselves penniless after the father dies and a series of bad investments, so they move to a yellow house in the Maine countryside. The house is owned by a man who is away in China on business, and local shopkeeper Osh Popham (Burl Ives) lets them Careys have the house for a peppercorn rent, and helps them spruce up the place. That’s pretty much it as far as plot goes, although we find that saintly Popham has not actually been writing to the house’s owner, who inevitably turns up unexpectedly at the end of the movie.

The film is an excuse for some good old-fashioned fun and games with the Carey children taking centre stage. There’s a big Dulux-dog, a cousin who comes to stay, a romance with a local teacher, and a few other none-too-exciting incidents, with a number of fun musical interludes along the way. The songs are good, but not instantly memorable, although I did like The Ugly Bug Ball, which I’ve heard before on a Disney compilation CD… It was interesting to see how it fit in to the film, in that it didn’t really. It was a bit incongruous, but the best, most entertaining song, so it’s ok. After 2 hours, Hayley Mills’ smiley face can be a bit trying, but the look and feel of the whole movie put me in the Disney frame of mind, which is always a good thing.

30 Rock: Season 2 (2007-2008)

30 Rock, the sitcom starring and created by Tina Fey, is a real hoot. Season 2 was a shorter one that the first as it was broadcast during the writers’ strike in Hollywood, which means there’s just not enough of Liz Lemon and co’s antics, particularly since the episodes are barely more than 20 mins each.

In the vein of Arrested Development and, um, Family Guy, 30 Rock isn’t a standard sitcom, it’s a bit wacky and (almost) anything goes. The jokes are made about TV, American, racism, sexism, homophobia… There are no ‘issues’ to ram down your throat, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t the odd emotional or touching moment. Mostly it’s all about the laughs and the great guest stars. Alec Baldwin’s Jack Donaghy is the stand out, and he and Liz Lemon make an excellent team, him with his Republican ways and her with her liberalism.

This season has seen David Schwimmer guest starring as an actor hired to play an environmental superhero, but it all goes to his head, leading to one of the show’s funniest gags and cameos from ex-Vice President Al Gore that had me laughing out loud for a long time after the credits rolled. Nurse Jackie’s Edie Falco had a recurring role as a Democratic Congresswoman and love interest for Jack, while Arrested Development’s Will Arnett continued his recurring role as Devon Banks, Jack’s nemesis at NBC, and one of my favourites – his ongoing commitment to the boss’ daughter is played for laughs considering he’s gay.

Devon has a crush on Jack McBrayer’s hilarious page, Kenneth, a character who gets funnier and funnier. I’m less keen on Tracy Morgan’s Tracy Jordan, who’s a bit of a loud-mouth and isn’t as likable as the other characters, much better is Jane Krakowski’s wonderfully vain Jenna, the other star of the fiction TGS show they all work for. Krakowski is incredibly game and a really gifted comic actress. I do wonder what she’s like in real life. The other, more minor characters are fun too, including Jack’s cute secretary/PA and Liz’s writer colleagues, but it’s Tina Fey’s show, despite many scene-stealing turns from Alec Baldwin. As 30 Rock goes from strength to strength I look forward to watching Season 3.

Apocalypto (2006)

I wasn't sure I wanted to watch Apocalypto. As intrigued as I was by the concept - it's set in 16th Century South American, and features a cast of ancient Mayans, speaking, well, ancient Mayan - Mel Gibson's last movie as director was the gory (and boring) Passion of the Christ, and within the first 5 minutes of Apocalypto, a wild boar is killed bloodily and graphically. Unsure whether to continue watching (especially as I was eating my tea at the time) I determined to stick with it, occasionally holding my hand up to the screen when anything too bloody was going on. I didn't realise I was so squeamish, but I really don't see the point in dwelling on gore for the sake of it, it does nothing for a plot - my idea of hell would be watching a gore-filled movie like Saw or its ilk.

Once I got past the gore I found Apocalypto to be fascinating and compelling. It's unlike anything I've seen before - perhaps it's a little bit like Avatar's Na'vi, who live in the jungles and speak a foreign language, and they do say the past is like another country. It was refreshing to watch a movie devoid of technology (and much CGI) and that rested on the strengths of the performers, none of whom were recognisable. I think it often helps to get lost in a movie when you're distracted by stars or thinking 'where do I know him/her from?'.

Gibson showed the Mayans as normal people, making fun of each other, with love and death and grief - and there was a lot of death, as the main character, Jaguar Paw, sees his village destroyed and he and his friends are taken as slaves to a 'city' with massive temples and human sacrifices. At this point it became even more like Avatar as the sacrifcial Mayans were daubed with blue paint. Up to here, half way through the movie, Jaguar Paw watches most of the goings on, but he eventually runs free and the last half of the movie is a pulse-pounding frenetic footchase throught the jungle.

Jaguar Paw's motive is to get back to his village where he hid his heavily pregant wife and son down a hole they can't climb out of, before they starve, or drown. Along the way he is chased by vengeful baddies who lob spears and arrows at him, and who are taken out by snakes, waterfalls, jaguars (one has his face bitten off in one of the more disturbing, bloody scenes, this was a real GOL moment, or Groan Out Loud!), and ingenious traps. I really felt for Jaguar Paw and urged him on, silently cheering everytime a baddie was poisioned or impaled.

I'm glad I watched Apocalypto, it was different and made me think about how these races may have existed (I know it's not a documentary and that there is artisitic licence), and to see the world from a none European, Westernised, twenty-first century viewpoint is intriguing. I suppose the bloodyness was necessary to show how savage some of the practices were, but they were a bit too graphic in parts. Why can't that nice(!?) Mr Gibson make a movie without gore - even Braveheart had it's bloody moments.

Bedroom Farce (16/08/10, Leeds Grand)

I first saw Alan Ayckbourn's Bedroom Farce at the West Yorkshire Playhouse last year as part of the under 26's free ticket scheme, and it was one of the funniest plays I've seen. When we heard that it was coming to Leeds Grand Theatre we were only too happy to pay to see it again! This version had a different cast, set and production company to the last, but of course Ayckbourn's sparkling script was the same so there was much to enjoy. 

There were a few differences between the two performances: WYP's had Denis Black on hilarious form, while the Grand's big name was Maxwell Caulfield, who I'm reliably informed is the lead in Grease 2, as well as being in Emmerdale - in fact most of the cast had been in the Yorkshire soap, although I only recognised one of them. I preferred the actor who played Caulfield's part in the WYP production, but overall there wasn't much to tell between the 8-strong cast. 

Bedroom Farce is like Camp in that it does what it says on the tin, namely it's a farce set in 3 bedrooms, all of which are on stage at once with the action taking place in each. All 3 bedrooms house 1 couple, while another couple moves between the 3, and really, there's not a great deal of plot. Bedroom Farce deals with the relationships between the characters - there's an older couple (the funniest in my opinion, particularly the actor playing the husband) who are seen getting ready for dinner, and coming back from it later in the evening; a newly married younger couple in their first home who are holding a house-warming; a bed-bound man (Caulfield here) and his wife; and an argumentative couple who visit the house-warming, then she visits her inlaws (the older couple) and he visits his ex (the wife of the bed-bound man). 

There is lashings of laughter to be had from the misunderstandings, physical comedy and keenly-observed relationship humour. Much of the comedy comes from Aykbourn's witty script, while the actors bring their own flourishs to reactions and the physical stuff. I don't think that there is any great message behind the drama, which is not to say that the play is lightweight. It deals with issues of marriage and love and sex with genuine warmth, while providing a hilarious night of entertainment. I'll gladly go see this again.

The Old Guys: Series 2 (2010)

Against my better judgement, I really like The Old Guys, the fairly old fashioned sitcom starring Roger Lloyd-Pack and Clive Swift in the title roles, with Jane Asher as their lusted-after neighbour. Lloyd-Pack is best known as the hilarious dim Trigger in Only Fools and Horses, while Swift played Richard Bucket, wife of Hyacinth in the classic Keeping Up Appearances... Asher used to bake cakes I think, and was in the new Crossroads - I'm not really familiar with her work! 

Lloyd-Pack and Swift, as Tom and Roy, are well matched as the old guys who refuse to act their age, although not in an embarrassing way, and it's great to see older actors given some actual comedy work to do that isn't Last of the Summer Wine. And the material they have to work with is frequently laugh-out-loud hilarious, other times the observational comedy is knowing and very modern. In the current climate where there are few really good British sitcoms of this nature that aren't mock-documentaries, laugh-track free drama-coms or just plain rubbish (My Family). This set-based sitcom, along with the similar styled Miranda, are breaking the mould and showing that good writing doesn't need a gimmick or a film-style look. 

I've come to really appreciate the underestimated comic talents of Jane Asher, who's got so many great one-liners in The Old Guys that she delivers with such a dead pan, innocent look, such as when she's telling Roy about the nest-egg she has made from investing in arms - she says at least someone has profited from the war in Afghanistan! Not the sort of comment and humour you'd expect from a seemingly-cosy comedy or from Jane Asher. As much as I'm enjoying shows like Getting On, Roger and Val Have Just Got In and their ilk, it's nice to just watch a comedy that's there to make me laugh, without getting me to think or emote, but which doesn't insult my intelligence by using jokes a 5 year old wouldn't find funny. I hope that there is more of The Old Guys to come. Oh and  I love a sing-along theme tune too! 'I'm happy, I'm happy...'

Camp (2003)

Camp is a Ronseal movie: it does what it says on the tin. So it's set in a summer camp, and features many camp, gay characters. It is 100% better than the dismal Camp Rock, although the songs are unfortunately just as unmemorable. Where Camp scores points over it's Disney Channel successor is that it presents a much more realistic and less happy-happy-twee vein of American teenager. 

All of the Camp kids are flawed, or are misfits in their own ways. Vlad, the film's straight lead, played by cute Daniel Letterle, has OCD and an uncontrollable urge to please everybody; his roommate Michael attended his prom in drag and was beaten up; Ellen is the frumpy fag-hag best friend who fancies Vlad; the rest of the characters are gay, black, overweight, overbaring, or sadled with a name like Fritzi. Despite every character having a bit of an 'issue', the movie is not about coming out or racism or sexism, all of these aspects are incidental to the yearning of sexuality and fancying inapproriate or unreciprocated people. In Camp, characters have sex for fun - you'd never get that in Camp Rock! - but no one is chastised for it. There is no real happy ending for the leads either - there's an ending, but Vlad doesn't suddenly realise his gay feelings or anything false. Instead the ending is true to life in that sometimes people just accept feelings and deal with them. 

Michael (played by Robin de Jesús) is a gay character among several, and at no point is his sexuality made fun of or becomes an issue for his friends, they all accept him. His parents don't, and this is not resolved during the movie, again there is no neat bow to wrap everything up. There's a refreshing honesty here without being depressing: sometimes people's parents don't come round. 

Camp is funny, and full of pretty and normal people, enjoying themselves, being themselves, without any of the sugary Disney-coating that mars Camp Rock. Director Todd Graff has crafted a surprisingly touching movie about summer camp and the people who go there to escape and be themselves. I enjoyed it. 

Treasure Island (Robert Louis Stevenson, 1883)

The next Classic Adventures to come off the shelf was Treasure Island, following on from the nautical adventures of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Reading Stevenson's classic tale in 2010 is an odd experience, especially since the only knowledge I have of the story comes from the hilarious Muppet Treasure Island movie (oh and the under-rated Disney animation, Treasure Planet). I was surprised to note how strongly the Muppet movie draws from the book, with particular reference to the character names, although there's a good deal less murder in the film.

I didn't find Treasure Island's style or language to be as gripping as in 20,000 Leagues, and the story is incredibly familiar. What makes it odd reading this book today is that it comes off like a massive pirate cliché... but really, it's the book that started all of the clichés - the one-legged pirate, parrot on the shoulder, the song 'yo ho' etc. In fact, it's surprising just how much of this book has become common parlance when people think of pirates today. Without Treasure Island there would be no Pirates of the Caribbean ride or movies! I suppose it's similar to how the novel Dracula has informed nearly all vampire myths, books, TV and movies that followed it.

Talking of Dracula, I loved that novel, despite my familiarity with vampire-lore (thanks Buffy), because there is a great deal of depth to it. Treasure Island I was less enamoured with. There were no surprises and the plot was fairly simple. The narrator, Jim Hawkins, is pretty non-descript, but Long John Silver is the star, the one-legged pirate/ship's cook of legend. The pirates are shown as a blood thirsty lot, and the bodies pile up more than I'd expected, but Silver comes out of it alright and there's a happy ending. It was probably exciting in 1883, today it's a bit tame. So Treasure Island is a good story, peopled with strong although not too exciting characters, yet I feel it's greatest strength is as a source for all the pirate literature and media that followed it.

The First Great Train Robbery (1979)

I've read a lot of Michael Crichton's novels, and I've seen quite a few movies based on his work (Jurassic Park, The Lost World, Congo, Sphere and Disclosure) but I'd not seen any of the handful of movies he directed in the late seventies/early eighties. Based on his 1975 novel, The Great Train Robbery (the movie apparently acquired the 'First' to differentiate it from the more recent historical Great Train Robbery), is a fun, highly entertaining period piece starring Sean Connery and Donald Sutherland (and Wayne Sleep!) as a pair of 19th Century gentlemen thieves determined to be the first men to steal from a moving train.

The film looks beautiful, with period costume and sets that Crichton films without the gloss of more recent movies, whether that's because it's from 1979 or not I'm unsure, but rest assured, it all looked great. Connery and Sutherland clearly appear to be having a ball in their roles - Connery is the mastermind behind the scheme to steal gold from the train taking it from London to a channel crossing as payment for soldiers fighting in the Crimea; Sutherland is the expert in lock-breaking and making copies of keys. 

Four keys are needed to open the safe holding the gold on the train, so the first half of the movie shows how the thieves manage to locate and copy these, while the second half features the train robbery itself, along with a brief aftermath. It's a breezy romp of a movie with enjoyable performances all round, and Crichton's directorial skills are as good as his writing (he scripted this too), I particularly liked the sepia-toned, news-reel style of the opening narration. 

There are several tense moments during the pilfering of the keys, and when Connery is walking across the tops of train carriages in a pleasingly pre-CGI, minimal stunt-man sequence. The humour is at times quite broad, as in the Bondian exchange between Connery and a lady friend discussing erections... of buildings of course. I don't think I've ever seen Connery in a role where he appears to be enjoying himself so much. Sutherland's English accent is kept up for most of the running time, and he has some very funny moments disguised as a corpse on the train. I'd quite happily search out other Michael Crichton directed movies in future, otherwise I'd watch this one again.

Eastern Promises (2007)

Another movie I watched on this last week off working suffering with a hell of a head cold was David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises. It's the second film he's made with Viggo Mortenson, after A History of Violence, and it's similar in that it eschews science-fiction/horror elements in place of a real-world drama, albeit with trademark Cronenberg blood and gore. 

Set in London, Naomi Watts plays a British midwife who is present when a 14-year old Russian girl is brought in and gives birth, before the mother dies. Watts attempts to find out who the girl is and thus who to send the baby to, and in doing so she crosses paths with Mortenson's Russian crime syndicate driver, who is not what he appears to be... Set in the murky world of Russian organised crime, Cronenberg presents a part of London I didn't know existed. 

Eastern Promises is a strange film, and not an easy one to like. It's not as weird as Spider or eXistenZ, and is somehow free of much incident. There is a twist towards the end that I didn't see coming, but it's nothing too difficult to grasp. Watts and Mortenson spend little time together in the movie, and their plots only cross intermittently. A fine cast that includes Vincent Cassel and Armin Mueller-Stahl makes an interesting alternative to tales of the Italian (American) mafia, but I never really cared enough about what was going on.

The infamous scene in which Mortenson fights off two attackers in a sauna, where he's naked throughout, is brave and utterly unerotic, especially at the end when Mortenson stabs one of the attackers in the eye. Horrible. I don't really like gore, but I like Cronenberg, particularly his The Fly remake, so occasionally I had to cover my eyes - in the first 5 minutes a young assassin slices open a victim's jugular... I say 'slices' but 'saws' is more accurate, in a scene of spurting crimson blood... It's a bit much. Eastern Promises has its intrigues then, but perhaps not as much promise as it might have had.

Sherlock: Series 1 (2010)

The first series of Sherlock was short but sweet, very sweet in fact. One of the best dramas this year. I enjoyed the contemporary reworking, with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman making a superb team as the Doctor and his companion... sorry Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. It's quite easy to see the show in terms of Doctor Who since it was co-created by Steven Moffatt and Mark Gatiss, and there are similar dynamics between the leads, which just goes to prove that Doctor Who's companion does not need to be a woman. 

Like the Doctor, Sherlock is preternatually smart, finds it hard to fit in with humankind and is envigorated by mysteries. John Watson is a great companion, more than capable of holding his own and working out Sherlock's approach to the world. The three episodes, 90 mins each, had enough room for both the characters and the plots to breathe. Each mystery was impressive, though the final episode with Moriarty piling up clues and life-or-death puzzles to test Sherlock was particulaly nerve-testing. There were some real nail-biting moments, such as when Moriarty chose to use a blind woman to convey one of his tests. 

Sherlock worked well because of the good dose of humour running throughout. Not every joke was a laugh at Sherlock's expense either - I really enjoyed the continuing gag of people presuming Sherlock and John are a couple. I can't wait for the next series, which I hope retains the episode length but increases the number of them. Until then there's a Doctor Who special on at Christmas to fill the gap!

Identity: Series 1 (2010)

For some reason I watched all 6 episodes of Identity. Out of these, I'd say maybe 2 at a push were worth watching, the others were just tosh. ITV's answer to Spooks starring Keeley Hawes (who everyone kept calling 'Martha' when her name is 'Bolly'!), Aiden Gillen, and a trio of cookie-cutter clichés, namely the techie one, the black one, and the mildly attractive one. I didn't learn their names because I didn't care about their identities... ironic?

Hawes runs a newly created 'identity' unit at New Scotland Yard, which basically means they can muscle in on any crime, since everyone has an identity. Starting off with an episode involving identity theft, the series seemed promising, but the wooden dialogue and clunky direction, not to mention the absolute boredom on Gillen's face served to remind that this is an ITV drama, therefore it's not very good because there's no time for such things as character development, since there needs to be an ad break in a minute. But this is a silly accusation - US dramas are 40 minutes long, due to 20 mins of adverts, why are they so much better? Ah but US dramas have 22 episodes in which to flesh out characters, British dramas have to make do with 6. Having said that, the 3-episode long first series of Sherlock was an absolute belter, but more on that later...

Back to Identity then. Keeley Hawes, who has been well served by Spooks and Ashes to Ashes, deserves better material to work with than this. Aiden Gillen I've only seen before in Queer as Folk (I've not seen him in The Wire yet) and he was good in that, but I don't think he's much of an actor. Maybe he just needs the work, but he's supposed to be the star of Identity, inexplicably Hawes' character seems to have a crush on him whereas I just couldn't care. Are we supposed to sympathise with this man, who still continues a secret identity with a Turkish girlfriend with connections to organised crime, whilst almost single-handedly solving each case of the week? I hope this doesn't get renewed because Andrew seemed to like it, and I might have to watch it again. 

Welcome to Collinwood (2002)

This morning I was off work again, so I decided to watch Welcome to Collinwood, which I'd recorded earlier this year. After yesterday's Hunger and Cry_Wolf, this was something of a disappointment, but then not every movie can be great. Welcome... isn't a bad movie, it isn't a great movie, it's ok. Being ok isn't really good enough, it makes for a forgetable film I think. 

The cast of Welcome to Collinwood are the strongest recommendations for the movie: Sam Rockwell (who I find strangely attractive), Patricia Clarkson, William H. Macy and an extended cameo from George Clooney, an absolute hoot as a wheel-chair bound, tattooed safe-cracking expert (strangely the poster, above, gives prominence to Clooney's character, a rather underhand way to market this movie, and the quote that reads 'absolutely hilarious' is just wrong). This is an ensemble piece that aspires to the cool of Ocean's Eleven (it's produced by Steven Soderbergh) and the quirk of the Coen brother's ouevre, but doesn't manage either. A heist movie about a rag-bag collection of criminals, brought together by greed and a lack of anything else better to do, Welcome to Collinwood features the lead up to the job, and the job itself. 

Not a lot actually happens. I think this is supposed to be one of those films that's a little bit quirky, but which comes off as pedestrian, perhaps even a little dull in places. The fault lies with the script - it's just not funny enough. There is an excellent cast and an ok premise, but both are wasted by try hard oddball antics. I didn't dislike the movie, I just didn't care enough about the characters or the outcome of the heist. At least Sam Rockwell got a gratuitous just-clad-in-pants shot, and got to show off some hot guns.

Cry_Wolf (2005)

That underscore is not a mistake, the movie is called Cry_Wolf. In need of something a bit lighter, or at least less dramatic, than Hunger, my afternoon movie was a movie that a thought would be a breezy throwaway werewolf horror flick, with American 30-somethings playing teenagers getting picked off one by one. It turned out that Cry_Wolf was altogether a better movie than I was expecting, and it had a subversive take on the genre. 

Featuring a cast of unknown young American actors (plus Supernatural's Jared Padalecki), the film's lead is actually a hot young Brit named Julian Morris, who I hope to see in something else soon. He had me from the first moment he appeared on screen as Owen, the new kid at posh Westlake Preparatory Academy. He falls in with a redhead preposterously named Dodger who draws him into her friends' midnight game of Cry Wolf, where someone is named 'wolf' and the rest have to accuse each other to try to determine who is said 'wolf'. Bored with life on campus, and following a death off campus, Owen and his friends concoct an email that suggests a serial killer has been roaming the country's colleges, killing students in a certain pattern, and that he is due to strike again soon. 

The email is sent around the college and soon it appears that the rumour has become reality as Owen instant messaged by someone claiming to be the killer... As suspicion falls on various of Owen's friends, eventually they begin getting killed off, in the exact ways mentioned in the fake email. As a synopsis I realise none of this sounds particularly different or interesting from other slasher pics out there, but Cry_Wolf really is. The underscore for one thing indicates how this is a very 21st century tale, using email, instant messaging, texts, etc to generate the plot and to keep the identity of the killer or killers concealed. Just when you think you know where this is all going, your expectations are subverted, and the twists feel real and believable. 

Julian Morris is a great lead, not just easy on the eyes (he is), and although the other characters are probably a little underdeveloped, there are some interesting relationships. The adult cast includes Jon Bon Jovi, a teacher who's seeing far too much of Dodger, Anna Deveare Smith and Gary Cole (those last two West Wing alumni, so I was happy), although they're not much more than cameos. The young cast carries this, and the first time director, Jeff Wadlow, gives the movie an autumnal, New England look to Westlake Academy, and keeps the suspense ratched up throughout. He avoids horror clichés effectively, or when you think he's left one in, it turns out you were wrong (e.g. just who is the creepy janitor the camera keeps lingering on watching our teen stars?). Once the ending comes, along comes another sucker punch twist that makes you reassess all that has gone before. This is a superior teen thriller, along the lines of the first 2 Screams, albeit with less self-referential/knowing nods.

Hunger (2008)

Off sick this week I've been catching up on a couple of recorded movies. Yesterday morning I gave Steve McQueen's Hunger a go. It's quite a powerful film to watch after breakfast, with some disturbing imagery, but it was well worth it. Michael Fassbender stars as Bobby Sands, an IRA 'terrorist' who staged a 66 day long hunger strike in 1981 to protest the way that Thatcher's government wouldn't treat those arrested in Northern Ireland as political prisoners. 

Before the movie gets to Sands and his hunger strike, the scene is set through minimal dialogue and beautifully shot imagery of some pretty nasty prison conditions and behaviour. Initially the movie follows the character of Davey (Brian Milligan) who is new to prison. He refuses to wear the prison uniform and so is stripped and issued with just a blanket before being led to his cell, which his long-haired, scraggy cellmate has been smearing with excrement as a dirty protest. McQueen then shows the prisoners rebelling, by simultaneously pouring pottyfuls of piss under their doors, and the guards reacting through beatings. It is after one such beating that we are introduced to Sands, who is forciblably held down as his hair is roughly chopped off. 

McQueen doesn't shy away from showing the horrors the prisoners had to endure, nor does he excuse the behaviour that put them in prison in the first place. This is clearly depicted in the first 5 minutes as a prison guard gets ready to leave home for work, before first checking beneath his car for bombs. He is later summarily executed as he visits his elderly mother. Sands' reasoning for his hunger strike is memorably discussed in a static, 16 minute long single take, featuring him and his priest. The only movement as they sit at a prison visiting table is the patterns made by their cigarette smoke, focussing all your attention on the dialogue. The scene works wonderfully, and wordy scene presages a near-wordless final half hour as Sands endures his hunger strike. 

Michael Fassbender is harrowing in the role, and he quite clearly takes a method approach to the hunger strike as he lets himself become skin and bones. It's difficult to watch some of the scenes as Sands has his bed sores moisturised for example. The conclusion of the film is expected, but the final title cards explaining the effect of the strike are hard hitting. Hunger is a very good piece of cinema, very well shot, and it's a thought-provoking piece. I know very little about the Irish troubles, except what I've seen through films such as this really, so to me this was powerful. I don't think the movie picks sides, and I think it does a good job of showing what happened and letting the audience decided who the heroes and villains of the events were, or even if there were any.

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Last weekend we settled down to watch The Silence of the Lambs, the big-5 Oscar winner (see It Happened One Night) and all round masterpiece, with genuine scares and twists. It was the 3rd or 4th time I've seen it Andrew had managed to miss it in 26 years! So although he'd seen the ubiquitous parodies (such as in our recently watched Loaded Weapon 1) he'd not enjoyed this slice of quality cinema. 

As you can tell, I like it. Watching it again after many years, I found more qualities to enjoy. It always surprises me how little Anthony Hopkin's Hannibal Lecter actually appears in the movie, and how his story is not the one driving the plot, that honour goes to Buffalo Bill and his truly creepy intent to make a human suit out of human skin. Pleasant. Jodie Foster is phenomenal as Clarice Starling, and I can't help but see her as a proto-Scully, being a massive X-Phile and all. There's so much going on beneath the surface with Foster, and every uncomfortable moment makes you squirm watching her, particularly when Hannibal is psyching her out. 

I've never really noticed the camera techniques that director Jonathan Demme uses. The close, straight on shots of Hannibal or Clarice, or the Clarice-POV shots, where everyone who's staring strangely at the young FBI cadet is also staring at the audience, are effective and unnerving. Demme really draws the audience in. It's also surprising how un-graphic some of the more horrible sequences are. Sure there are spurts of blood here and there and at one point Hannibal wears someone else's skinned face... but the camera doesn't dwell on the gore like some of today's gornography-fests. A lot of the gruesomness is got across by using graphic wordplay and suggestion, which is always a lot scarier since you have to use your imagination. 

For my money, the scariest moment in any movie I've seen - and by scary I don't mean a shock or something that jolts you out of your seat, there are so many of those! - occurs during the last 15 minutes of the movie. As Clarice fumbles about in the pitch-black basement of Buffalo Bill's house, we see from Bill's POV through green-hued night-vision goggles as he watches her. And then he reaches out, almost touching her... Every time it sends shivers through my spine. Again, it's the fear of the unseen horror, rather than a gory, nose-biting splurge that terrifies. After watching the film, we viewed the (brief) outtakes on the second DVD, which does a lot to disperse any left over tension. This is one of my top 10 favourite movies.

Bubble Boy (2001)

Andrew wanted to watch Bubble Boy because he has a thing for Jake Gyllenhaal. Which is fair enough as he's looking mighty fine here, 9 years before he muscled up to play The Prince of Persia. Released the same year as Donnie Darko, Bubble Boy is very far removed from that strange, dark, excellent movie. This is a broad comedy that while strange, is bright and funny and despite my reservations and the ridiculousness of it all, I found myself enjoying it a lot. It helps that it's only 80 mins long too, there's no padding and it doesn't outstay its welcome. 

Gyllenhaal is Jimmy, the Bubble Boy, a boy born with no immunities who is forced to live in a plastic bubble world, sealed off from any potential infection by his crazy Christian fundamentalist mother. Out his window he spies the 'whore next door' Chloe who becomes his friend, and who he inevitably falls for. She gets engaged to someone else and when Jimmy realises he loves her and she may feel the same about him, he sets off on a trip from California to New York state to stop Chloe's wedding. 

Jimmy's journey across the states involves him getting kitted out in a mobile bubble, and sees him meeting a scary religious cult, a gang of bikers, an Indian ice-cream and curry seller and various other weird and wacky groups, including a travelling freak show. The journey is a non-stop collection of gags and set pieces that pretty much all hit the mark. There's probably myriad opportunities to be offended if you were so inclined, but I thought it was great fun. There was one bad taste bit where a cow is run over by a truck, but mostly the movie shies away from any unnecessary gross out humour. Gyllenhaal's performance as Jimmy, experiencing the real world for the first time, is exuberant and perfectly pitched, he has a real knack for comedy that he's not really explored in his more recent movies. I'd recommend Bubble Boy to anyone who wants a fun diversion for an hour or so.

For Your Consideration (2006)

From Christopher Guest, the man behind This is Spinal Tap and Best in Show, For Your Consideration is an improv comedy about the movie business and Oscar buzz. It stars Catherine O'Hara as a washed up older actress who's starring in a worthy drama called Home for Purum (a Jewish holiday) as a terminally ill woman. Someone hears a rumour that her performance could be Oscar material and speculation and Chinese-whispers go into overdrive and suddenly there's a massive buzz around the movie that continues through filming, and on to the release date. 

This is a movie that is only intermittently funny. It's got a brilliant cast of comedians, including Eugene Levy, Harry Shearer, Parker Posey, Jennifer Coolidge and Jane Lynch, the usual Guest gang, plus Ricky Gervais. And it's got some great ideas, but I think it would be funnier if you actually worked in the industry yourself. O'Hara is brilliant as the faded actress, who, on hearing Oscar buzz, gives herself a drag-queenesque make over and plastic surgery. I liked the movie, I just wish it could have lived up to expectations, what with it's movie pedigree. 

The Big Bang Theory: Season 3 (2009-2010)

For my money, The Big Bang Theory is the funniest sitcom successor to Friends that there could be. Every week it has me guffawing, chortling, LOLing... It's just one of the best written, superbly cast shows on TV, and it astounds me that the writers keep the consistency over so many episodes, and 3 seasons thus far. It's even weirder that the show is so successful since it features a cast of geeky, not particularly attractive young scientists. And pretty Penny, who lives across the hall. 

Penny, as played by Kaley Cuoco is the ace in the hole of The Big Bang Theory. Once you get past her beauty she's 100% hilarious. She and Jim Parson's Sheldon are the funniest double act on TV in a long time. Every scene they have together is comedy gold, with Sheldon belittling or condescending to Penny while she gets in a smart retort and just takes the abuse. There is absolutely nothing malicious in anything Sheldon does, he's just a total geek who doesn't really get human interaction. Penny knows this and so their relationship has a real sweet side to it as well, especially when either of them are upset and the other sings 'Soft Kitty' to them. Awww. 

Sheldon and Penny often eclipse Johnny Galecki's more socially adjusted Leonard for laughs. This is quite a different role for Galecki since his days as David on Roseanne, and I especially like it when Sara Gilbert a.k.a. Darlene a.k.a Leslie Winkle turns up for a mini Roseanne reunion - and when Sheldon's mom is around - she's only Jackie  a.k.a. Laurie Metcalf. This season has seen Penny and Leonard's relationship grow and grow, and then sadly, as these things must do in long-running sitcoms, it ended pretty swiftly. Thankfully the comedy continued and they became friends again, but it's not easy for Leonard. Hopefully they'll patch things up next season. Occasionally Leonard can be a bit whiny and less sympathetic than even Sheldon, though these occasions are few. 

Howard and Raj (Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar) are the other main characters, and while Leonard and Penny's relationship formed the A story most episodes, these two often get relegated to the B story. They're a wonderful pair, Howard with his woeful womanising ways, and Raj with his social awkwardness around women - he can't even talk when there's one present unless slightly drunk - a conceit I've not seen the writers botch yet, even with Penny present. These two have a sweet bromance going on and provide as much comedy as the others, only with not as much screentime.

This season has been just as good as the 2 that preceded it. I love all the geeky science stuff, and I recognise myself in quite a few situations. The Big Bang Theory is a sitcom than manages to be both side-achingly funny and brain-scratchingly intelligent, while being accessible to all. It's also got a cracking theme song to sing-along to. In the last episode of season 3 it appeared that Sheldon had found a potential mate... I can't wait to see how that turns out!

Seinfeld: Season 5 (1993-1994)

I found the first few series mildly amusing and interesting at best, but season 4 raised the bar a little. I've just finished season 5 on DVD and it's easily the best yet. The best parts of Seinfeld are George (Jason Alexander), Kramer (Michael Richards) and Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). The weakest bit is Jerry Seinfeld himself. I find him to be watchable most of the time, but generally he's irritating - his acting ain't great and he's OTT delivery can spoil jokes for me. This should be a problem in a show called Seinfeld, yet because I really like the rest of the cast I keep watching. 

George is brilliant, he's such a sad-sack misanthrope, and everything goes wrong for him. If I believed in karma I'd say it's because he brings everything on himself. This season made George an even better character to watch as, jobless, he moved in with his parents, played hilariously by Estelle 'Mrs Potato Head' Harris and Jerry 'Mr Pinky' Stiller. Their interactions provide many of the show's biggest laughs. 

The other big laughs come from Kramer, who's so wacky and out there he could be from a different show. He's much like Friends' Phoebe, the odd one out who also happens to be the funniest, and therefore doesn't seem to get as much screentime as the others. Elaine's great too, although sometimes, as much as I love Louis-Dreyfus, she can be a bit annoyingly OTT too. 

I noticed this season how many girlfriends and boyfriends the characters get through - there's often at least a new one between the 4 of them every episode, i.e. every week! What hussies they all are! This confuses me about the time scales of the show since the new girlfriend often seems to have been around weeks/months before the show begins. Haven't they gone out with everyone in New York yet?? This leads to revisiting past girlfriends as George did this season when he took Lisa Edelstein out twice. Jerry's taken out Courtney Cox this season, while Elaine got Judge Reinhold. Kramer doesn't get enough girlfriends, but he has been trying to promote a coffee table book, about coffee tables. Hehe. I will watch the next series, because once I've seen Seinfeld I'll be better informed to revisit Curb Your Enthusiasm, in particular reference to the more recent season I haven't seen that has the Seinfeld reunion episodes.

Brendan Wolf (Brian Malloy, 2007)

I polished off Malloy’s first novel, The Year of Ice, in 2 days, but Brendan Wolf took me twice as long – I must be slipping. The main reason I get through his books is not just because they’re short (they’re not especially) but they’re so easy to read and written with an economy of style, and the plots are so good. Having said that though, I’ve had to pop on to Amazon to read a review of The Year of Ice to remind myself what it was about! I couldn’t remember any of it – maybe that’s the problem of reading a book too quickly, you don’t have time to absorb the characters into your subconscious.

Anyway, I enjoyed Brendan Wolf. It reminded me a little of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, for no real reason other than each has a young male protagonist, and there are aspects of living in the wilderness featured in both in different ways. Brendan Wolf is not the 35 year old homosexual star’s real name, that’s not something you find out until the last chapter. This is a main theme of the book as Brendan tries to choose an identity he can live with. He has been sacked from myriad jobs and always has his head in a book, his particular favourite is Into The Wild (a book I know little about other than a vague knowledge of the Sean Penn directed movie adaptation) from which he tries to take life lessons. He was abandoned by his birth parents when they were arrested for swindling people out of their savings, and moved between foster families before running away from his adopted parents as his sexuality emerged.

From this messy background it’s a wonder that Brendan has turned out so well. But his lack of job leaves him homeless and he ends up staying with a predatory older man named Marv, who promptly has a stroke, with Brendan becoming his carer, assuming the identity of Marv’s incarcerated boyfriend to stay with the older man against his will. At the same time Brendan has been co-opted by his brother (in prison for defrauding old people) and sister-in-law to take part in their scheme to rip off a charity during a fundraising walk, but it’s alright because the charity is for Christian fundamentalist anti-abortion activists…

Alongside all this, Brendan finds time for a relationship with Sean. To Sean he is Pierre, who lives with his parents and can’t bring Sean to the house because they disapprove of his sexuality. To the anti-abortionists he’s the widower of a woman who died during childbirth and so he attends the fundraising group for the memory of his dead wife. To Marv he’s responsible for his stroke, but then he’s also caring for him during his recovery. Brendan Wolf is many things to many people, but he’s certainly never boring. A conflicted soul, I think it could be easy for a reader to dislike the character. I found his flaws and his constant struggle for identity really interesting. His sexuality is almost incidental to his other issues, but it is important in many ways. While Brendan is not an easy character to warm to straight away, Malloy has crafted an intriguing, often troubling tale that throws up all sorts of ethical and moral issues without feeling issue-driven.

Rev: Series 1 (2010)

I’ve optimistically titled this post ‘series 1’ because I hope this delightful series does get a second run! If I was a religious man I’d have a voice-over monologue asking God for a second series, á la Tom Hollander’s titular Rev. Adam Smallbone. Rev is one of those sitcoms that has gives you as many thoughtful moments as it does laughs. There’s a top notch cast, including one of my favourites, Olivia Colman, and some great cast stars including Alexander Armstrong and Colin Salmon.

Adam Smallbone is a typically flawed sitcom protagonist: he often suffers crises of faith and conscience; he has an inappropriate crush on his head teacher friend; and he’s battling his London parish’s apathy for religion. He also has an over-amorous congregant, Adoha, an unhelpful ‘deputy’ in Nigel, and the series best supporting characters, Colin and the Archdeacon. Colin treats the vicarage like a café, the church as a hotel and Adam as his best mate, and unfortunately for Adam, Colin is one of his only friends in the parish. The Archdeacon is a sarcastic figure, whose appearances usually cause Adam grief and the audience mirth. He’ll not consume any food and drink prepared for him, always looking distastefully into his coffee cup before swilling the contents down the sink in a small running gag.

The comedy is sometimes quite gentle, but at other times it’s clear why this show is on post-watershed! One episode was written by Beautiful People’s Jonathan Harvey, and naturally this was one of the racier shows. Tom Hollander gives Adam a vulnerable side that makes for quite touching moments. I’m an atheist but even I am touched by Adam’s often futile attempts to get people interested in the church. In his quiet moments, when he speaks to God in voice-over, Hollander really articulates the struggle that he, and presumably the majority of inner-city vicars, faces in reconciling his vocation with 21^st century apathy and entertainment.

Educating Rita (1983)

Educating Rita is one of the funniest, warmest, best acted British movies I’ve ever seen – the script sparkles while Michael Caine and Julie Walters showcase their best performances, I don’t think I’ve seen either do better. Written by Willy Russell and adapted from his 2-hander stage play (also starring Walters), and directed by James Bond-helmer Lewis Gilbert, the movie sees Caine’s university professor tutoring Walter’s Open Uni student ‘Rita’ (real name Susan) for an English course.

The synopsis of the movie is deceptively simple, for the movie takes in Caine’s alcoholism, his cheating girlfriend, Rita’s growth from hairdresser to summer-school student, with the dissolution of her marriage and the suicide attempt of her flat mate thrown in for good measure (flat mate played beautifully by Maureen Lipman). A lot of ground is covered and there’s plenty of time for some big laughs and a couple of very strong character arcs. There’s an inevitable will-they-won’t-they undercurrent running through Caine and Walter’s relationship, but the movie never takes you anywhere predictable. Thankfully there is no May to December romance on the cards, but it is clear that while Caine longs for Rita, she has no romantic interest in him.

Rita is on a quest to ‘find herself’ through literature and the Open University, but as her rough edges are knocked off and she becomes more ‘studenty’, Caine comes to believe that he has created a monster, as the subtle reference to Frankenstein makes clear during one of his drunken bouts. He makes a very convincing drunk, and his affection for Rita is heart-breaking, as is his reluctance to take Rita’s compliments for his poetry on board. Rita may have taken steps towards finding herself, I found a wonderful, near flawless gem of a movie that I’d happily revisit.

Mary Queen of Shops: Series 3 (2010)

I first saw Mary Queen of Shops when she worked on improving the fortunes of a charity shop in a London suburb but I didn’t watch them all, I took an interest as Andrew watched. The more I saw though, the more I quite enjoyed Mary Portas’ style and approach.

I recently managed to catch the last episode of the most recent series, and I had to wait for a (signed!) repeat at 2am as I couldn’t record the original broadcast and don’t like/missed it on iPlayer. This series has been fun, and Mary’s had some highs and lows as she’s attempted to bring 6 failing independent businesses back to life. The range of businesses has been diverse, including a bakery, a village corner shop, a hairdressers, greengrocers, furniture shop, and a hardware shop, and the owners have all had varying reactions to Mary’s suggestions.

 

In the first programme Mary came up against a bakery owner who just wouldn’t listen to Mary’s sensible suggestions, because she thought she knew best. The hardware shop owner was similarly stubborn, and it made me wonder why they’d bother applying to be on the programme if they were resistant to change. Other programmes had Mary making businesses into successes , and these made the best shows.

Mary Portas, my favourite TV lesbian, makes the show unmissable. In her chunky jewellery, striking clothes and red power-bob, she can knock people aside with a single backhanded compliment. If she didn’t mean so well she’d probably come off as rude, but as it is she’s just a marvel. She’s incredibly inspirational and makes great TV, and I will certainly watch her next time around.

Party in the Park (25/07/10) & Leeds Pride (01/08/10)

Last weekend was Party in the Park, a free pop concert at Temple Newsam that Leeds Council puts on. The lineup wasn't as good as last year, so we were dubious about whether we'd bother going. I'm glad we did though, as we had a fun day out. We didn't see the first couple or the last 2 acts (missing The Saturdays, who we've seen in concert back when they were amazing, and Dizzee Rascal, who headlined last year) as we wanted to get the bus home, but we saw the following:

Project A, Skepta, Fugitive, Beat Bullies, Rox, One Night Only, Scouting For Girls, Jedward (who were booed and thankfully just did 1 song), The Baseballs, Eliza Doolittle, Damage, Dane Bowers (who had a surprisingly good voice), Craig David (who should just give it up), Lee Ryan & Anthony Costa (Costa and Jedward were the 'surprises' we were promised during the show...), Vanessa Amorosi (amazing Australian lady whose latest album I've already bought and fallen in love with), Beverley Knight (best voice at Party, but next time please sing 'Come As Your Are'!), Starman, Gabriella Cilmi (just me and Andrew up dancing for her), Basshunter (got the crowd going and took his top off, so I was easily pleased), The Hoosiers, Alesha Dixon (always worth the admission, with some great dancing, evidence above, and smashing new single 'Drummer Boy'), Professor Green (just shite), Example, The Wanted (hot), Tinchy Stryder, Pixie Lott (yawn), Alexandra Burke (very good), and The Script.

Today I attended another free music event, Leeds Pride in Millennium Square. Featured were a whole host of drag acts, including the brilliant Bears Aloud, Cheryl Hole, the Dame Shirley Bassey Experience and the winner of Drag Idol performing Gaga's Telephone. 

The none drag performers were: Laura Steel, Inju5tice (a new boyband who probably won't trouble The Wanted's rise to the top of the charts), Tameka, Scarlette Fever, and the head line act... 90's Corrie sensation, Adam Rickitt! Adam was looking might fine, as the accompanying pic will attest, and although his voice wasn't the strongest, he still put in a memorable performance of his new single Tonight, and old favourites Everything My Heart Desires and of course I Breathe Again! The encore featured the old version of I Breathe Again with a topless Adam throughout. Call me an easily pleased horny homosexual, but it worked for me! :)

First Knight (1995)

I thought that First Knight was going to be a fun film. I knew it starred Sean Connery, who didn't turn up until 30 mins in, but I didn't realise Richard Gere was in it too (or Rob Brydon, who was an uncredited extra in the Wales-filmed first 10 mins!). The movie has Connery's King Arthur marrying Julia Ormond's young Guinevere, while Gere's sometimes American, sometimes sort-of English Lancelot falls for her, and she for him. There's also a bad guy with a funny name who's trying to take over Guinevere's old kingdom, but who's easily foiled by Lancelot everytime he tries to do something like kidnap Arthur's new bride. 

Unlike the BBC TV series, Merlin, there is no magical wizard here, and also a distinct lack of fun. It's all a bit plodding and obvious, and the action scenes of swordfights and horse-mounted battle are pretty pedestrian affairs. How odd that Jerry Zucker, the director, was one of the men responsible for Airplane! because there's barely a wry grin nevermind a laugh to be found. The knights of the round table are little more than faceless extras. Gere's Lancelot looks like he's in a shampoo advert half the time, and I kept confusing Ormond's insipid Guinevere with Maid Marian. The baddie, whose name I can't remember, was a great villain when he appeared and whoever portrayed him brought some sorely missed relish to his performance. I've never rated Gere or Connery as great actors, Gere often just looks smug, as he does here. Connery has the right gravitas as an older statesman King Arthur here. It's just a shame he doesn't get much screentime compared to Gere. It's not an awful film, just a boring one.