Survival of the Fittest (Jonathan Kellerman, 1997)

basics...
Psychologist Alex Delaware and Detective Milo Sturgis team up with Inspector Daniel Sharavi of Israeli police to try and uncover the links between several seemingly unconnected murders of disabled children. 

brilliant...
I've read an Alex Delaware novel before (I can't remember which one though) and one of the things I particularly like about them is that the character Milo is gay. He's not the protagonist/narrator, but it's significant that the second lead in an American thriller series is not only a gay cop, but an overweight, unclichéd one at that. It's refreshing too because his sexuality has absolutely no baring on his skills as a detective or on the plot, it's just one aspect of his character. The only time it really comes up in Survival is through comments made by some of the older and Jewish characters who face their own prejudices when they work with him. 

This book features an interesting lead in Alex Delaware, but the focus is really on the story, which takes in eugenics, a Mensa-like killing group, and some top class sleuthing and theorising. Alex's work with Milo is believable in terms of assisting the police rather than being a maverick layman detective, and the character is very intelligent. The multiple threads of this tale are woven together with skill and the subject matter, while a tad squeamish for some, offers real food for thought.

but...
Although the mystery started off and continued strongly I find that thrillers like these can often feel unclimactic once the villains of the piece have been unmasked. This was sort of the case here, particularly as although I didn't guess 'whodunnit', I'd already worked out how everything would be wrapped up.

briefly...
A good, solid crime mystery, with the addition of believable leads and thought-provoking subject matter.

Lead Balloon: Series 4 (2011)

basics...
The final series of Lead Balloon, following hapless, failed comic Rick Spleen (Jack Dee) as he tries his hand on a television shopping channel, before being taken hostage by a prisoner (Robbie Coltrane) and possibly turning over a new leaf...

brilliant...
The undoubted highlight of this series was the Dee-Coltrane two-hander in the prison in episode 5, where Coltrane's angry yet articulate drug dealer tries to find out why exactly Rick lies all the time. Rick admits it's because he likes the life he lives in the stories more than real life. It's quite a touching moment and you hope that Rick will take something from the experience... and then he's back to his usual self, lying about how he overpowered his captor to escape when he actually bored him to sleep and crept out quietly. Anna Crilly as Magda is the best thing in every other episode of Lead Balloon, just one look from her and I'm creased up, and her East European delivery is utterly hilarious. I've enjoyed how cafe-owner Michael (Tony Gardner) has turned from fan to critic of Rick's 'comedy career' this series, it's made him a more interesting, and funnier, character.

but...
In some ways I'm glad that this is the final series, as the first few episodes became a bit predictable and formulaic, and you could see what lies Rick would tell and how he'd be caught out a mile off. Sometimes Rick has a tendancy to come off as just an arse, rather than a pompous buffoon in the vein of Basil Fawlty or Blackadder. And as much as I like Raquel Cassidy, it continues to baffle me as to what her Mel sees in Rick. While Dee is a funny guy, with his dour schtick, he can occasionally turn Rick into an unlikable character both for the viewer and for the other characters.

briefly...
Without the Coltrane cameo this would have been a pretty average send off for Lead Balloon, with it the series picked up pace and offered Rick motivation for his lies, and then offered redemption. Before snatching it away in the final seconds of the series, as Rick punches an 85 year old woman in the face. 

An Education (2009)

basics...
I've been getting through a few films this week on account of being on 2 weeks sick leave, post hernia-op. Next up was An Education, a Nick Hornby scripted comedy-drama set in 1961, following Jenny (Carey Mulligan), a 16 year old school girl who's parents have dreams of her going to Oxford, until she meets David (Peter Sarsgaard) and realises life is about more than text books and university degrees.

brilliant...
It's probably been said a million times before but it's worth reiterating: Carey Mulligan is brilliant here. Her Jenny is self-assured and intelligent, but never annoying or pretentious. She clearly has a sensible head on her shoulders, so even though you know she's not making the right choice with grifter David you want her to make it work. You believe that anything Jenny turns her hand to will turn out well. Even though she speaks French randomly, reads philosophy and is really into 1960's French culture, she's not unlikable, quite the opposite in fact. She's also ably supported by a wonderful comic performance from Alfred Molina as her father (whose character has shades of Roger). I particularly enjoyed Rosamund Pike's very blonde Helen, girlfriend of Danny (Dominic Cooper), and new bestie of Jenny. She is comfortable in the world of David and Danny's dodgy dealings because she chooses to ignore and misunderstand it, while Jenny has a harder time reconciling what they have to do to live the lifestyle they have. 

To call An Education a 'coming-of-age' drama would be accurate but would be a disservice to the finely drawn characters and the intelligence of the script. Jenny's parents and teachers (including a fab extended couple of cameos from Emma Thompson) live in a world of university degrees and proper jobs, while Jenny craves the glamour and excitement of trips to Paris and concerts that David provides. It's a credit to Saarsgard that David is charming and likable... right up until the revelations that puncture Jenny's dreams anyway. 'Cos then he's just a dick.  

but...
I can't really think of any duff moments in the film. It's a shame that Jenny's cute school-boy suitor Graham (Matthew Beard) doesn't get a happy ending but hey ho. 

briefly...
A classy tale, beautifully acted, with an evocative period setting and with a few laughs too. Mulligan and Molina are the undoubted stars, with props to Hornby for a fresh script.

My Favorite Wife (1940)

basics...
Following on from Gunga Din, My Favorite Wife finds Cary Grant in a more typical role, that of a baffled husband, stuck in a tricky - and funny - situation. Opening in a courtroom where Nick (Grant) asks the judge to declare his wife, missing at sea for several years, legally dead, once accomplished he asks the same judge to marry him to Bianca (Gail Patrick). Naturally who should return in the next scene but his first wife Ellen (Irene Dunn)... What follows involves much bluffing, confusion and tricky conversations as Nick tries to figure out what he should do.

best bits...
The film begins with an intriguing premise, ripe for comedy, in presenting Nick with a number of ethical (not to mention legal) problems, and then continues to develop by throwing new complications into the mix. When it transpires that Ellen spent all those years on the island with an athletic hunk (Randolph Scott), Nick's jealousy kicks in and provides for some excellent verbal sparring between Grant and Dunne. I don't believe I've seen Dunne in anything before but I'll be sure to look out for her since as she more than matches wits with Grant in a strongly written lead role that doesn't cast Ellen as a poor victim, more as a canny broad who plays her husband off against her island companion. When she presents a short, bespectacled shoe-salesman as 'Adam' (to her 'Eve') to Nick in order to stem his jealousy she relishes the moment, as does Grant, who has already seen the real 'Adam' flexing by the pool. Alongside the lead's laughs are some touching scenes between Ellen's two children, who don't recognise her and believe her to be dead, and the young actors give good funny too.

Dunne and Patrick: I love Dunne's dress in this scene.

but...
The film isn't as funny as Bringing Up Baby or other screwball classics, although I do think the genuinely interesting premise and subsequent plot twists make up for that. Nick's poor second wife is a bit badly done too, after all she's in love with him and is only really portrayed as needy and a little selfish in order that our sympathies remain with Irene. The conclusion, a curiously uninvolving sequence in a log cabin where Irene refuses to let Nick share her bedroom, is also a bit of an anticlimax, ending with a forced gag involving Grant in a santa suit.

briefly...
More fun than Gunga Din and with an absorbing plot, My Favorite Wife is a fun addition to Cary Grant's filmography, as well as being a scene-stealer for Irene Dunne.

Ghost (1990)

basics...
Ghost surely needs no introduction, particularly that iconic pottery wheel sex-scene soundtracked by Unchained Melody (so memorably parodied in the Naked Gun) but then before Saturday night Andrew had never seen it. A romantic-comedy-drama with a supernatural, even horror angle, the film sees Patrick Swayze's Sam stabbed to death in the opening 20 minutes. Then he's back as a ghost trying to work out why he's still around, and enlisting the assistance of once-fake medium Oda Mae Brown (Whoopi Goldberg, in an Oscar-winning turn) to protect girlfriend Molly (Demi Moore).

best bits...
One of Ghost's main strengths is the tight script that finally balances the tragedy of Sam's death with the hilarity of Oda Mae, with room for romance and some disturbing visions of souls being dragged off to hell. None of the drama feels cheapened by the humour, which is often laugh out loud funny - it's refreshing to see such a comic role from Goldberg being rewarded by the oft-fusty Academy Awards. Every time she comes on screen she shines a light on some of the sadder moments, mostly those with Demi Moore - she is grieving after all. The ghost/medium device could have been so misjudged, here everything is played perfectly. This isn't just the Whoopi show though, Swayze is brilliant in the lead, going through a range of emotions upon learning he has been killed, and then finding out it's murder, and then the identities of those involved! The murder-mystery element adds yet another dimension, and Tony Goldwyn is a great sweaty, corporate banker villain. I don't think I realised how much I enjoy Ghost until this last viewing, every element is a winner.

but...
The only bits that let Ghost down are a result of age. I like the 1980s computers with their black screens and green text, and the whole yuppie look that bad guy Carl pulls off, but the special effects could do with a polish. I'm sure they were groundbreaking at the time, and they do look pretty impressive - my main problems is with the 'shhhhmf' sound effects that accompany Sam's attempts to move his ghostly body through physical objects. They're unnecessary.

briefly... 
Ghost is one of the most pleasurable, enjoyable multi-hyphenate genre movies I've ever seen, with characters and a script that remains fresh over twenty years later. This must be one of Whoopi Goldberg's finest hours, alongside Sister Act of course. I'd be interested to see what the new musical version is like, especially considering that Dave Stewart has co-written the music.

Junebug (2005)

Junebug has 'indie film' written through it like a stick of rock. Taking place over a few days in the life of a South Carolina family and seen through the eyes of British Madeleine (Embeth Davidtz), there are lots of scenes were not much happens, wry observational moments of humour and then a feeling of not very much having happened by the end. That said, it's a well constructed and played piece, whether there was a point to be found or not. And the main draw, the reason I recorded it, is Amy Adams' sparkly performance as heavily pregnant Ashley, the other woman to have married into the Johnsten household.

Ashley is incredibly perky, none-too-bright, but with a heart of gold, and she desperately wants Madeleine to like her and the rather standoffish family of her new husband George (Alessandro Nivola). His mother Peg (Celia Weston) is suspicious of Madeleine, and feels threatened by her globe-spanning childhood and modern ways, while she and her family have never left their provincial town, and are ardent church goers, much to the bemusement of Madeleine. She sees her new husband in a different light through his interactions with his stoic father (Scott Wilson) and troubled brother Johnny (Benjamin McKenzie, from The O.C.), but there are no grand revelations - this being a small indie film you have to watch the reactions and read between the lines to find the emotion and meaning.

There are no laugh out loud moments, but there are plenty of amusing touches, particularly Madeleine's new artist client, who paints pictures of Civil War battles, but each combatant has a massive cock included. Odd. There are also many smaller, touching moments, often silent, between the characters. Johnny may have a chip on his shoulder and seems to show no interest in Ashley now she's pregnant, but he still attempts to record a TV show on meerkats for her, becoming frustrated when he can't work the video - it's telling that he doesn't explain to her what he was trying to record, because that would be admitting that he was doing it for her.

When Ashley goes into labour events take a sad turn, but it's to the credit of the filmmakers that the movie doesn't end on a low note - there is more inspiration and hope that anything. And perhaps that was Junebug's point all along, to show that family is strong enough to survive anything that stands in the way, and that although lacking in elaborate gestures of love, it's the small things that can count the most.

Paul Merton's Birth of Hollywood (2011)

Or as our hard disk recorder would have it, 'Paul Merton's Birth', which would be a different show altogether... Luckily we were spared any crying babies and instead enjoyed this 3 part documentary about the very earliest days of filmmaking in America. I think the programme would be better off titled 'Birth of American Film' because I expected more history specifically about Hollywood - Merton never even mentioned how it go its name for example. That niggle aside, the show was very entertaining, with clips of silent movies, interviews with relatives of those around at the turn of the twentieth century (plus Angela Lansbury, who nearly was!), and lots of information about the people who were responsible for turning Hollywood into the massive industry it is today. 

I really only know Merton from Have I Got News For You and other comedy shows, although I'm aware he's made shows about silent movies before. He's a great presenter, peppering his scripts with humour that you can easily miss if you take everything he says at face value. If only all documentaries had this funny approach to filmmaking I might watch a few more, and maybe learn more too. I learnt how filmmaking moved from New York to the West Coast for the weather, and to avoid mobsters; the truth about Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle's wrongful arrest for murder and subsequent fall out; and how the studio system became beholden to producers over writers and directors. The difficult transition from silent to talkies was covered, and Merton packed a lot of trivia in all the way in a tale that spanned the first 20-30 years of the Twentieth Century. 

Based on this documentary I would happily seek out a few silent comedies, as well as looking out for other Merton-fronted shows like this. What really shone through the whole piece was Merton's intense love of this period of filmmaking, and this passion was communicated to me in the imaginative structures of the episodes, and the level of detail he lavished on certain aspects, particularly the tragedy of Arbuckle.

Gunga Din (1939)

Drawn by the presence of Cary Grant I was surprised to find not a screwball comedy in Gunga Din but rather a dubiously politically correct adventure with some comedy, set in colonial India sometime in the late 19th century. Grant and his army buddies, Victor McLaglen and Douglas Fairbanks Jr, are a bit of a rebellious trio who become caught in the middle of a plot by an evil lndian Thuggee cult (as seen in Temple of Doom) with designs on retaking the parts of India that the British have already claimed as their own. 

Cue lots of blacked up actors, white men playing Indian, particularly the titular character Gunga Din, the trio's slave-cum-comrade, played by Sam Jaffe just about on the comfortable side of good taste. The movie is apparently loosely based on Rudyard Kipling's poem and I wouldn't have realised until the cameo from the poet at the end (played by an actor obviously). There are some fun fight scenes between the British and the Thuggee Indians, and some good natured banter between the 3 leads. I found the film fairly badly dated though, both in the racial stereotypes and the oft ropey effects and camera tricks. Gunga Din was an interesting fit in what little I have seen of Grant's filmography, and he makes for a dashing hero, there just wasn't enough comedy in this boy's own adventure. 

Smelling of Roses (Eric Sykes, 1997)

The third and final entry in The Eric Sykes Compendium, Smelling of Roses is easily the most accomplished an enjoyable of Sykes' comic novels. Rather than being set in a fictional northern village as the previous two stories were, Roses takes place in the North African desert during World War II and involves a lot of farce and comic characters running around causing mischief, with something of an anti-war message bubbling beneath the surface. 

I think what lends authenticity and interest to Roses is Sykes' experiences of the war in this part of the world and the realistic historical and geographical settings are evocative of time and place in a way that the other books were not. Privates Spark and Miller inadvertently shoot down a German plane and are inexplicably lauded as heroes, but all they want to do is get the heck out of dodge and away from all the potential death surrounding them. Meanwhile, their incompetent CO Jampton manages to blunder his way through life creating merry mayhem for his General uncle. 

Sykes' style has never been better than here, and although I didn't find the 'belly laughs that luck in ambush behind every dune' that the Mail on Sunday's blurb promised, the writing was amusing yet in a way that wasn't detrimental to the story. The British, German, Italian and French soldiers are all seen as caught up in a war they don't really want to be part of, at the mercy of their superiors, and propaganda is as important at saving lives and mending morale as solid victories. Smelling of Roses presented interesting scenarios concerning the war in North Africa which made me wonder more about this period of history, and this interest helped to sustain the sometimes episodic nature of the book. The curiously downbeat ending was reminiscent of the way Blackadder Goes Forth ended, a comment on the futility of war and the role that sheer luck plays - some come out of events smelling of roses (including, surprisingly, a gay couple), and others whither a whiff of manure.

The Kennedys (2011)

I was expecting The Kennedys miniseries to be sensationalist and over the top, in a similar vein as The Tudors with lashings of gratuitous sex/drugs/violence, especially considering the furore the series created in America where the channel who commissioned it decided not to show it, some say after being leaned on by the Kennedy clan themselves. The resultant 8-part drama turned out to be more respectful than a Tudors taste-free-fest but also came very far from that other pinnacle of US political drama, The West Wing. The writers/directors were previously involved in 24 but there was no action to be found here. 

Instead, The Kennedys presented a quick run down of the salient points in the lives of John F. (Greg Kinnear), Bobby (Barry Pepper), Jackie (Katie Holmes), Joe (Tom Wilkinson) and matriarch Rose (Diana Hardcastle). This covered JFK's elections to Congress and the White House, the Bay of Pigs debacle, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the assassination of JFK and later Bobby, alongside aspects that the Kennedys would probably rather were cut from the drama, including Joe's dealings with Chicago mobsters, Joe's decision to have his daughter lobotomised, JFK's affairs with Marilyn Monroe (among others), and Jack and Jackie's use of drugs to get through the day. Some of these events were familiar to me, others less so. The disclaimer at the end of each episode stated that the show was based on historical fact but that some aspects (such as timings of events) were manipulated for storytelling effect, which is understandable. 

Without taking everything presented as gospel - since I'm not so gullible - I still found the drama intriguing and if anything will make me seek out more reliable factual sources to discover the truth behind The Kennedys. The cast were all good, although Kinnear and Pepper's efforts to recreate authentic accents and mumbling could be a bit repetitive. Holmes felt a little lightweight as the semi-mythical Jackie O, but she was balanced by a strong turn from ever-reliable Wilkinson as the man behind the family - though he was matched well in later episodes by Hardcastle as his vengeful wife, who dismissed his mistress as his nurse when a stroke left him wheel-chair bound. 

At times the drama was slow and felt too much like a live action text book. I liked the way that events cut-across time lines, so that during 1960 election night there were flashbacks to how Jack got into politics in the first place, following the death of Joe Jr during WW2. It felt like there was a lot packed into these 8 episodes, though I felt that it could have done with a few more in order to let the characters and the story breath before skipping on to the next Big Event. The show looked fairly cheap for a US drama, you could tell a major network wasn't behind it, as each scene took place in a cramped-feeling room. There was no sense of scope - this was provided by real-life news reel footage. Overall I'd say this was a good primer on the Kennedys, but there will be more substance and drama to be found on the family elsewhere. 

Shine (1996)

All I knew about Shine before watching was that Geoffrey Rush bagged an Oscar for it, and it's clear to see why. Not just because he was playing a mental; he brings warmth, humour and great dollops of charming heart to the role of David Helfgott in a film based on the character's real-life experiences in dealing with his psychological condition and his extraordinary piano-playing abilities. 

Australian movies all seem to have a certain look about them, and they have a great sense of humour that I think translates particularly well for a British audience, and while Shine is at times tragic and emotional, dealing as it does with Helfgott's overbearing, abusive father, the film also offers lighter moments. Rush's ramblings following David's breakdown at a piano recital are scattered with funny lines, sometimes gently poking fun of his own state of mind, but never feeling forced or inappropriate. I've read since that certain liberties were taken with the characterisations of the real life figures, particularly David's father, but these criticisms are churlish when the resultant movie is so uplifting and tells a believable story of success, failure and the reemergence of an undeniable talent. 

Possession (Peter James, 1988)

One of the quotes on the inside front cover described Peter James as having found a literary niche 'somewhere between Stephen King and Michael Crichton', who just happen to be two of my very favourite authors, so I was intrigued to say the least. I can see where the King comparison comes in with Possession, a tale of a 'ghost' with unfinished business, but I'm not so sure about Crichton, although I suppose James does explore some of the different theories provided for possession by the church, mediums and sceptics. 

The book follows Alex Hightower in the months following her son's untimely death in a car crash, and the supernatural experiences she encounters, including a vision of Fabian at the moment of his death, strange items appearing or moving around the house, and of course there's a dog who goes mental when inside the haunted home. Many of the typical ghost tropes are invoked, about the only thing not present is a cat jumping out at the heroine, but this isn't just a literary Halloween blockbuster. Because the dead presence is Alex's son there is a strong emotional connection and James also builds an interesting mystery around the purpose of Fabian's inability to cross over. 

There are competing theories as to what the haunting means and whether it really is Fabian or a malevolent spirit. Right until the end, and even at that point, there is ambiguity about Alex's son, his life and his death, and his afterlife. James' easy style kept me hooked on Alex's exploration of the supernatural and his description of a seance was particularly chilling. I was a little let down by the inconclusive ending but the unexplained nature of events is in keeping with the lack of evidence of the haunting.

March of the Dinosaurs (2011)

Aired around the same time as the feature-length documentary Death of the Megabeasts, March of the Dinosaurs looked at a more traditional area of pre-historic life. Coming off a bit like a feature-length Walking with Dinosaurs, this CGI film followed a couple of dinosaurs, Scar (an Edmontosaurus) and Patch (a Troodon) during one autumn-winter transition in the Arctic 70 million years ago. Narrated by Stephen Fry, the rather bleak narrative, that sees a lot of dino-death, follows a rather unoriginal story, as seen in The Land Before Time or Disney's Dinosaur, namely that of a migration. 

Scar and his herd of Edmontosauruses, plus a group of Pachyrhinosauruses (I'm not convinced I have the right plurals here), make the journey from their summer stomping ground to find food in a better location hundreds of miles further south. Patch and his fellow Troodons stay in the same and perpetual night-time and compete with Gorgosauruses for scarce food. None of these dinosaurs are familiar to me or would be to an audience brought up on Jurassic Park and the aforementioned dino movies so the novelty of learning about new species is interesting, especially as a couple of the species sport feathers in line with more modern theories of bird evolution. 

While Fry's narration naturally gives the dinosaurs an anthropomorphic bent in order to engage with the non-speaking CGI reptiles, it doesn't get sentimental. March of the Dinosaurs is an intriguing prospect and appears to be trying to educate as it entertains, and having Fry narrate is an obvious way to unite the themes and lend the film gravitas. There is just something about it all that doesn't make the whole as engaging as it might. Over a 30 minute episode of Walking with Dinosaurs, with Kenneth Branagh's excitable narration learning about dinosaurs was exciting, stretched out to 2 hours (with adverts) with less effective CGI it is difficult to sustain the same interest in the story being told. 

Evita (Leeds Grand, 11/07/11)

Our last theatre trip of the season, and the last thing we've got booked until November, Evita was an excellent way to end a great run of shows at the Grand and WYP. I'd been looking forward to this one for a long time, as I thoroughly enjoyed the Madonna-starring film version and have listened to the soundtrack numerous times since. 

Charting the life and death of Eva Peron, who became First Lady of Argentina in the 1940/50s, the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice score features non-stop music and singing to tell an extraordinary true story of ambition and Latin American politics. The large ensemble cast was lead by three wonderful leads, in Susie Griffin (Eva), Earl Carpenter (Juan Peron) and Mark Powell (narrator Che) who were barely ever off stage, particularly in the case of Griffin and Powell. The staging was exceptional, particularly in the use of simple staircases that moved around the stage to evoke varying settings

Act I

1. Junin July 1952 – Crowd
2. Requiem For Evita – Chorus
3. Oh What a Circus – Che and Crowd
4. On This Night Of a Thousand Stars – Magaldi
5. Eva Beware of the City – Eva, Magaldi and Family
6. Buenos Aires – Eva and Crowd
7. Good Night and Thank You – Che, Eva, Magaldi and Lovers
8. The Art Of The Possible – Perón, Generals and Eva
9. Charity Concert – Perón, Che, Magaldi and Eva
10. I'd Be Surprisingly Good For You – Eva and Perón
11. Another Suitcase in Another Hall – Perón's Mistress and Men's Chorus
12. Peron's Latest Flame – Che, Aristocrats, Soldiers and Eva
13. A New Argentina – Eva, Che, Perón and Crowd

Act II

1. On The Balcony Of The Casa Rosada – Perón, Che and Crowd
2. Don't Cry For Me Argentina – Eva
3. High Flying Adored – Che and Eva
4. Rainbow High – Eva and Dressers
5. Rainbow Tour – Perón, Advisers and Che
6. The Actress Hasn't Learned The Lines (You'd Like To Hear) – Eva, Aristocrats and Che
7. And The Money Keeps Rolling In (And Out) – Che and Crowd
8. Santa Evita – Children and Chorus
9. Waltz For Eva and Che – Eva and Che
10. She Is A Diamond – Perón and Officers
11. Dice Are Rolling – Perón and Eva
12. You Must Love Me - Eva
13. Eva's Final Broadcast – Eva
14. Montage – Eva, Che, Perón and Chorus
15. Lament – Eva

Every one of the many songs has a purpose in telling Eva's story, and each is memorable, with stand outs being Buenoes Aires, Peron's Latest Flame, Rainbow High, And the Money Keeps Rolling in, and of course, Don't Cry for Me Argentina. Watching this show I finally understood that the 'crying' in this song is not weeping, rather shouting, with Eva advising the adoring public not to shout for her and idolise her since she's one of them. It's a sentiment that fades as Eva gets more power and influence. I learned afterwards that You Must Love Me was actually written for the movie and has since been inserted into the theatrical production, which perhaps explains why its inclusion here is rather shorter than I remembered.

The production was so full of energy and emotion, dark as well as light - it opens with Eva's funeral and a mournful requiem - and tells a complex story that bears repeated viewing as it's easy to miss the odd line here or there or to read more into some of the action. Evita leaves me wanting to learn even more about this fascinating character, and wanting to listen to the soundtrack album over and over again!

The Journey of Natty Gann (1985)

Disney's name drew me to The Journey of Natty Gann when it was shown one afternoon on TV, and although it was made in 1985, the film has a real timeless quality that means it could sit quite comfortably alongside older Disney movies like The Incredible Journey (1963). The plot is encapsulated perfectly in the title - young Natty Gann makes her way across America with the aid of a wolf to find her father, who has gone to find work in Washington state during the depression of 1935. 

For a Disney movie with a plucky young heroine and her animal companion, I thought it was quite a dark tale. Depression-era Chicago looks grimey and unemployment is rife, while Natty is slapped, shoved in an orphanage and even falls prey to a potential rapsit. At her father's logging work one of his co-workers is seen falling from a tree to his death, while Sol Gann is apparently blown up at the film's climax. Of course, Natty has life easier than most and manages to avoid many pitfalls and is reunited with her father at the end, mainly because of her wolf friend's assistance (in another darker moment, she meets the wolf when it is being used in a dog fight). 

Meredith Salenger is a solid lead as Natty, and Ray Wise emotes well as her troubled father, who thinks Natty may be dead and knows nothing of her journey. The movie was promoted in the review as starring a young John Cusack, and he is in it, for maybe 30 mins in total, more than halfway through, as Harry a bum who happens to be travelling on many of the same railroads as Natty. 

I enjoyed The Journey of Natty Gann as a part of the Disney canon, and as a gentle yet 'realistic' portrayal of the era, well as realistic as a tame wolf allows. I liked that it didn't shy away from the seedier parts of life, and Natty was a good companion in a journey-with-an-animal movie much as the Iron Will or White Fang Disney movies of the same decade.

Johnny English (2003)

Something compelled me to rewatch Rowan Atkinson's 2003 comedy Johnny English last week, I'm not sure what it was, a desire for something light and familiar perhaps. It's not quite as good as I remember, it doesn't really hold together as the sum of it's parts, but it's not the worst movie ever. Atkinson is reliably hilarious, with physical comedy, perfect timing and utter buffoonery. 

Johnny English is the best/only agent MI7 has after all the others are blown up and it's up to him to foil a ludicrous plot by John Malkovich's over the top French villain to become King of England. As if that would come with much power! English is ably assisted by the much more competent Bough (Ben Miller, in a role that is wasted but priceless whenever he appears) and the mysterious Lorna Campbell, another agent, from Interpol, who has been tracking Sauvage and his plot. She happens to be played by Natalie Imbruglia, and though she's perfectly competent, the role is underwritten and for a Bond girl parody has a distressingly ordinary name, completely pun free. 

The plot is nonsensical tosh, yet Atkinson holds everything together with a great comic performance that is only hampered by a lackluster script and jokes that are too easily signposted. The best action sequence involves a car chase with the bad guys in a hearse and Johnny in a car dangling from a recovery vehicle, with the film's best gag - English is photographed by a speed camera, so he uses the rocket-equipped car to blow it up. Still, watching Johnny English has whetted my appetite for the oddly-timed sequel that is out later in the year, featuring Gillian Anderson!

Easy A (2010)

It would be too easy to describe Easy A in the same breathe as Mean Girls, but I'm going to do it anyway! They both feature incredibly smart scripts and star-making central performances, in Easy A the star of the show is Emma Stone - I'm hoping she's going to be big in the way that Lindsey Lohan failed to be. 

Olive is a smart kid, but after lying about having sex she is quickly branded a harlot at her school, a role she decides to run with, especially after her classmates line up to get her to lie about their sexual conquests (because they're in the closet, bullied or fat). Like Mean Girls, Easy A is packed full of excellent supporting turns, from Patricia Clarkson and Stanley Tucci's wonderfully progressive parents to Lisa Kudrow's cheating guidance councillor, married to Thomas Haden Church's unfortunate teacher. 

Never sentimental and always knowlingly subversive, Stone's Olive is surprisingly likable - she could easily have been annoying Juno - and her relationship with Penn Badgley's hunk is well played, since they've been crushing on each other for years at school. Easy A is incredibly easy to love and I look forward to rewatching it as often as I have that other smart school-set comedy about being cool. 

Desperate Housewives: Season 7 (2010-11)

I can't believe that Desperate Housewives has just completed (in the UK) it's 7th season! It only seems like yesterday I was gripped on the first run of the show's mystery revolving around the creepy Paul Young... Maybe I'm confused because he was this season's overarching 'villain' too? Though I suppose the real baddie this time was Felicia Tilman, out to avenge her sister's death at Paul's hands several years earlier (not seven years earlier, there's been a jump forward in time to consider). 

This season benefited from the demise of Ugly Betty by casting Wilhemina (Vanessa Williams) as the new 'Edie', Renee, who was softer than her Betty incarnation, but with a biting tongue and a penchant for killer one liners. Unfortunately, like Edie before her, Renee was given a lot more to do than provide the laughs, although she did reveal her long-held crush on Tom Scavo. The latter's marriage to Lynette, a solid rock, despite all of the upheavals of previous seasons, finally began to falter and break down. Susan got trampled half to death and lost a kidney during a surprisingly thrilling midseason cliffhanger, and Bree dated first a young stud and then a cop. Gabby got some meaty material in her revelation of child abuse at the hands of her stepfather, who turned up at season's end, and he only turned out to be Ugly Betty's Tony Plana! 

I think this season of Housewives lacked a truly compelling continuing storyline, particularly after last year's serial killer and the drama surrounding Angie's ex-husband. There were only so many times Paul could be knocked out or poisoned and they played that card once too often. It was nice to see gaybours Lee and Bob graduate to 'starring' roles and they began to play a bigger role in Wisteria Lane's drama, particularly Kevin Rahm's Lee who's adorable and hilarious. I was sad to witness the demise of the Scavo's as a couple and I hope there is a reconciliation to look forward to next season.

Exile (2011)

A three part drama starring John Simm, Jim Broadbent and Olivia Colman? How could this not be anything other than unmissable? Luckily the whole was most definitely the sum of it's parts, as Exile turned out to be a moving, engrossing and surprisingly witty little mystery drama. Set in a sleepy Lancashire town, the plot sees prodigal son Tom (Simm) return home for the first time after walking out 18 years earlier, when Sam (Broadbent) almost beat him to death for reasons that Tom is soon to begin uncovering. As Tom digs around in Sam's past, he is thwarted in his quest for answers by the leader of the town council, a jealous husband, and most of all by Sam's Alzeheimer's disease. 

The central mystery of why Sam beat his son and what he was investigating all those years ago is enthralling and drew me in but the character work and the realistic dialogue kept me emotionally involved. Simm's confusion about the events of the past and his decision to take solace in the local barmaid (Claire Goose) make him confront his need for love as much as answers. Broadbent is incredibly subtle in what could have been a show role as the dementia stricken Tom - he lives in his own world, there's no struggling to try to remember or to get a grip on the present, he merely slips in and out of the past without means of control. At no point is the disease played for laughs, nor is it sentimentalised. The heart at the centre of Exile is Colman's Nancy, Tom's sister who was stuck behind at Sam's full time carer and has missed out on relationships, children and a life outside Lancashire. She faces the challenges of Sam's illness with good humour, but she is ready for Tom to take over and play his part now. When she finds out she's pregnant after a date with the most boring man in the world, it is the final straw when Sam pushes her to the ground, endangering the new life she has unexpectedly found inside her. 

Danny Brocklehurst's script is warm and wryly amusing - Nancy has a go at Britney on karaoke, Sam takes a moment to contemplate garden gnomes - and he keeps the mystery ticking along nicely while the central trio of actors show just how fantastic they are. A mini-series like this shows season long series like Rubicon how a well-crafted mystery can be pulled off in less than half the time, without detriment to character or an emotional core. This drama continues the run of cracking British drama of 2011 so far, what with The Shadow Line, Case Histories and The Crimson Petal and the White already proving that the genre is far from dead. 

American Psycho (Bret Easton Ellis, 1991)

My second choice of holiday read was also turned into a Hollywood movie, although a slightly different one. American Psycho is a film that I'm sure I watched on the plane to Florida back in 2000 and there are only a few moments in it that stick in the mind. The same could be true of the book. Written from the perspective of Patrick Bateman, Ellis' novel follows him and his friends through the 80's as they live the Yuppy lifestyle - everytime a new scene is featured Patrick lists the brand of each character's clothes, none of the objects in his life come without brand name qualifiers to show you how expensive and image conscious everyone is. The first 100 pages or so consist of Patrick and his awful friends going out to various hip clubs and restaurants and discussing the right way to wear a particularly type of tie. 

And then just when this gets rather boring, Ellis begins to make things more interesting. And sick. Bateman casual drops lines into his narration about violence, and occasionally says these thoughts out loud among company, who never bat an eyelid. Later he begins killing people - or continues, it's noted later on that he's being doing this for some time - and in very graphic manners. Ellis details the explicit sex Bateman has with up to 2 women at a time, and then the graphic way he tortures and eventually kills them, slicing parts off, using a rat imaginatively and doing vile things with acid. It's a fairly horrific set of chapters, but following one of these episodes Bateman's behaving normally, or there's a lengthy chapter on the works of Whitney Houston or Huey Lewis and the News.

As the book goes on Bateman's psychosis appears to get worse, he takes more risks, but he rarely comes close to being caught. While reading about these nasties, it's hard to find Ellis' point, although I figure it's about the crass commercialisation and numbing of society that the greed of the 1980's personified. With the bodies piling up (or rotting away under quicklime) it is odd that Bateman can continue to kill at whim. Towards the end doubt is cast on whether or not the explicit events are all in the narrator's sick and twisted mind, and actually he hasn't been acting out his fantasies at all, hence why he hasn't been sought out. I find that hard to believe though, and I think that Bateman did carry out these episodes, but that the world around him is so wrapped up in themselves to give a damn. Either way, American Psycho is gripping, filled with vivid, disturbing imagery and a confident style that doesn't spoon feed answers or make itself easy to read.

Rubicon (2010)

It's unsurprising that Rubicon didn't make it past one season, and there were moments during the first couple of episodes when I wondered whether to stick with it. Moving glacially slowly through a conspiracy that eventually turned out to involve leaders of the intelligence community manipulating catastrophic world events for financial gain, the show at first eked out the tiniest bits of the overarching plot. And then towards the end of the 13 episode run it felt like someone knew that cancellation was coming and the revelations came thick and fast and the show became much more exciting. 

James Badge Dale played lead Will Travers, an analyst with API (American Policy Institute) who fit in somewhere among the NSA, CIA and FBI, who was our window into this world and the conspiracy he slowly, ever so slowly, began to uncover. His team included an alcoholic, a nervy beardy bloke and a guy who was being harassed by his wife, while Will's creepy boss Kale Ingram (Arliss Howard) played the requisite 'is he bad or is he good' part that Skinner held for early seasons of The X-Files. Miranda Richardson was Katherine Rhumor, Will's sort of civilian counterpart, in that she was uncovering secrets following her husband's suicide that eventually segued into Will's investigations. 

By far the most compelling character was the API boss and leader of the conspirators Truxton Spangler (what an ace name!) who was played by Michael Cristofer, initially as a sort of neurotic nut, but then the character's evil intentions were revealed and he became even more interesting. Occasionally hard to follow, the many snippets of information and the ongoing terrorism plot held my interest alongside the personal lives of the main players. Maybe the story would have worked better as a mini series or a feature film, with a trimming of extraneous red herrings. Miranda Richardson could have done with a bit more to do as well. Rubicon started around the same time as The Shadow Line and had a similar slow paced, oft-confusing plot, but the British series pulled it off with much more style and substance in only 7 episodes.

Jaws (Peter Benchley, 1974)

Wanting an easy read to take on holiday, I picked up Jaws, the novel that launched the movie, and by the second day in Portugal I'd finished it. A very easy read (perhaps not a good one for the beach!) the writing put me in mind of Stephen King, with the concentration on a small community (Amity), a malicious threat (shark) and the addition of some rather explicit and unnecessary sex scenes. 

Benchley's shark is a serious threat not just to lives but to the financial stability of the town, which is home to thousands of summer-vacationers every year, and so protagonist Chief Brody not only has to contend with a vicious killer but also with angry store owners who fear ruin if the beaches are closed. The threat to the community is just as interesting as the story of the shark and it's mindless pursuit of food, and I found it more exciting than the affair between Brody's wife and shark expert Hooper which takes up a good chunk of space in the middle of the book. The mysterious shark hunter, Quint, is also under written at the expense of the sordid liaison, and I'm not entirely sure what point the episode serves. Still, Jaws is a rip-roaring page-turner that held me gripped, for two days at least!

Footloose: The Dance Musical (Leeds Grand, 28/06/11)

The night after seeing The Wiz we were at the theatre once more (The Grand this time) for another musical. This one we'd only booked the week before, taking advantage of a 2 for 1 offer on tickets. I'd hesitated to book this earlier as I've never seen the 80's movie on which it's based, and I'd just lumped it alongside Flashdance/Fame/Dirty Dancing as one of those movies women bang on about but I suspect probably aren't very good if you didn't catch them when young and female. 

I was surprised then to find Footloose (subtitled, The Dance Musical) was a really enjoyable show. While not as joyfully uproarious as The Wiz it still left me buzzing and singing the many top songs, the best of which were taken directly from the movie, and which I'm familiar with from student disco nights. The plot tells of how Ren (stupid name) moves from Chicago to Bomont, a small town where everyone knows everyone and dancing has been banned by the town council. Naturally Ren likes to dance and you can tell where it's all leading within 5 minutes. The predictable nature of the plot doesn't do anything to detract from the fun song and dance numbers, and there's a bit of humour thrown in the mix too.

Act 1

1. Footloose - Ren McCormack and Company
2. On Any Sunday – Reverend Shaw Moore and Company
3. The Girl Gets Around – Chuck, Travis, Lyle, Ariel
4. I Can't Stand Still – Ren
5. Somebody's Eyes – Rusty, Urleen, Wendy Jo, and Company
6. Learning to be Silent – Vi, Ethel, and Ariel (after revison)
7. Holding Out for a Hero – Ariel, Rusty, Urleen, Wendy Jo
8. Heaven Help Me – Rev. Moore
9. I'm Free / Heaven Help Me - Ren McCormack, Reverend Shaw Moore, and Company

Act 2

1. Still Rockin' – Cowboy Bob and his Band
2. Let's Hear it For the Boy – Rusty and the Girls
3. Can You Find it in Your Heart? – Vi
4. Mama Says (You Can't Back Down) – Willard, Bickle, Garvin, Jeter, Ren
5. Almost Paradise – Ren and Ariel
6. Heaven Help Me (Reprise) – Rev. Moore
7. Can You Find it in Your Heart? (Reprise) – Rev. Moore
8. Footloose (Finale) – Company

One of the hottest numbers was Holding Out for a Hero, which love interest Ariel and her mates belt out in a diner, along with a host of hot, mostly topless hunks, dressed like straight Village People. It was a heck of a performance. I also really liked Mama Says, a funnier number from comic relief Willard, who also got to show off some killer dance moves during Let's Hear it For the Boy. The whole thing ended like a party remix, in much the same vein as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat with a number of hi-energy reprises of the show's most popular songs. It was a fittingly energetic end to a non-stop sing and dance 'classic'.

The Wiz (WYP, 27/06/11)

The last WYP show we've got booked for this season, The Wiz was a phenomenally upbeat way to start the summer. It was incredibly infectious both in getting my toe tapping and in making in laugh a whole heap, I came out grinning from ear to ear. I enjoyed the flop movie version, which starred Diana Ross and Michael Jackson, and so I was eager to see the show live on stage. This co-production by WYP and Birmingham Repertory Theatre completely blew the movie out of the water. 

Opening in contemporary Leeds, Dorothy is a young teen who is more interested in her mobile phone than communicating with her Aunt Em. A freak storm takes her off to Oz where she meets... well everyone knows the basic story of The Wizard of Oz, but The Wiz adds a fresh sound featuring an all black cast (aside from some of the ensemble) alongside a grungy, New York style Oz. Setting Dorothy's hometown in Leeds makes for some pretty funny revised dialogue, and the Wiz cannot fathom why the young girl would want to go back there... and then it's later revealed he's from Bradford! 

Wayne Robinson's floppy scarecrow showed off an amazing voice, and Horace Oliver was funny as the Tinman, while Clive Rowe's Lion was cuddly and a big ole Mummy's boy. The sets and costumes were all top notch and the story zipped along the yellow brick road at a fair rate of knots, song after song with barely time to pause for thought, but that's to the show's credit and really added to the energy of the whole thing. 

The songs in this production ran as follows:

Act 1

1. The Feeling We Once Had – Aunt Em
2. Tornado Dance – Company
3. He's the Wizard – Addaperle, Dorothy and Munchkins
4. Soon as I Get Home – Dorothy
5. I Was Born on the Day Before Yesterday – Scarecrow, Crows and Dorothy
6. Ease on Down the Road – Dorothy and Scarecrow
7. Slide Some Oil to Me – Dorothy, Scarecrow, and Tin Man
8. Mean Ole Lion – Lion
9. Be a Lion – Dorothy and Lion
10. So You Wanted to Meet the Wizard – The Wiz and Ensemble

Act 2

1. No Bad News – Evilene and Ensemble
2. If I Could Feel – Tinman and Ensemble
3. Funky Monkeys – Monkeys
4. Brand New Day – Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion, and Ensemble
5. Y'all Got It! –The Wiz and Ensemble
6. Believe in Yourself – Glinda and Ensemble
7. Home – Dorothy

Each of the character's songs had amusing choreography, with great work by the busy ensemble as crows, munchkins, or stylish citizens of Oz, while the best numbers were the impossibly danceable Ease on Down the Road and the glorious Brand New Day. I find it hard to find fault with this show as produced and I am not convinced that Andrew Lloyd Webber's recent revival of the 'regular' version of the story could be any better.

The Snows of Kilimanjaro (Ernest Hemingway, 1939)

Following my epic trek through Gormenghast I wanted to read something that wouldn't take a month to finish, so I picked up Ernest Hemingway's collection of stories, The Snows of Kilimanjaro, which I bought as part of a set from the Book People some time ago. 

Within 2 days I'd finished all 18 shorts, and now a week later I'm hard pressed to remember much about any of them. The title story is probably the best and most memorable. It has a protagonist who's dying on the mountain of title, regretting not writing down his past experiences. And that's it really. Hemingway uses very sparse prose, gets swiftly to the point and so the stories fairly rattle along. 

The rest of the stories seem to share the same protagonist, Nick, but involve different locations and characters, so they don't really follow on sequentially. Each one begins with a couple of paragraphs in italics too, which appear to link across each story. The book didn't leave much of an impression, but it was a nice easy read to mark time after Gormenghast and before I went away on holiday with 2 new books.

X-Men: First Class (2011)

I love an X-Men movie so there's no surprise that I enjoyed the latest in the series, First Class, just as much as the others. While it doesn't beat X-Men 2 as the best of the bunch, it's certainly a credit to the X-Men name, full of spectacular effects and action, with a massive cast of mutants. I especially like the gay/mutant allegory, which is occasionally made explicit such as when 'don't ask don't tell' is uttered by Hank (The Beast) here in reference to the fact that his mutation cannot be seen, so he keeps quiet about it. Don't ask don't tell being the US Army's old method of dealing with gay soldiers. 

First Class is a prequel to the rest of the series, featuring a young Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik (Michael Fassbender), plus Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) and a hilarious cameo from Wolverine himself (not to mention 'older' Mystique, Rebecca Romijn), along with a whole host of previously unseen mutants both young and old. It's a shame that there's almost too much plot going on for a few more meaty character scenes would have added to the whole, but everything breezes along with laughs, thrills and spills. 

Kevin Bacon is a fun bad guy, and he really seems to enjoy the role, while Fassbender is tremendous as pre-Magneto, his trek around the world to find the man who murdered his mother giving a Bond-like air to proceedings that is not dispelled by the 1960's stylings. First Class is not a perfect movie, but it's a thoroughly enjoyable one, faults and all. 

Interestingly, First Class shares an actress, Rose Byrne, with Bridesmaids, which we saw a couple of days previously. Plus, here's Mad Men's Betty Draper (January Jones), and who was that bedding the lead in Bridesmaids? Oh yes, Don Draper (Jon Hamm)!