http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Wed, 2 Nov 2005 06:18:47 EST http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/ Phillip WinnSunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding. Administration0@blogcritics.org Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/11/02/061847.php Maura McHughRecently released on DVD is Neil Jordan's dreamy fairy-tale film, The Company of Wolves (1984), which was co-written by Angela Carter, and is based on her short story collection The Bloody Chamber. I was impressed at how well this film stands up to the passage of time. It is a series of interpolated stories, which are told as the dreams of a pretty young girl, Roseleen (Sarah Patterson). Angela Lansbury is terrific as the crotchety grandma with the fox fur that snarls. There is no linear narrative; this film replicates dream-time, with its recurring characters, themes, and its setting in the dark forest with the ever-present howling of the wolves.Grandma's three rules: "Never stray from the path, never eat a windfall apple, and never trust a man whose eyebrows meet in the middle" establishes the underlying strict morality that permeate most fairy tales, and the film enjoys breaking each of these restrictions with some disturbing results.The DVD is presented in an attractive box, and has a nice interactive menu, but beside the interview/commentary by Neil Jordan, there is nothing more in the way of features. Jordan's commentary is interesting, and he details a lot about the casting, the production, and his and Carter's ideas about the film. He constantly states that his film is not a horror film, and I think the boy doth protest too much. There are definite horror tropes in the film (despite Jordan's opinion to the contrary): sexual awakening, fear of the unknown/stranger, and the primal forest, and the transformation sequences are blatantly gory and horrific.The production and design are wonderful. There are stunning sequences, such as the transformation of a party of well-heeled toffs into a pack of wolves--seen mostly through a shattered mirror--and the decapitation of a werewolf where the head flies through the air, lands in a bucket of milk, and the human head floats up out of the liquid, now tinged pink from blood. Fantastic! In his second film Jordan revealed his talent for the macabre, the surreal, and the odd, along with a true visual instinct. It reminds me that Jordan is one of the better Irish directors in the world today. (This review refers to the new UK/Irish release of the DVD) Video38932@blogcritics.org Wed, 2 Nov 2005 06:18:47 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/07/18/105604.php Maura McHughThere's an interesting story on Yahoo about the discovery of a previously-unknown novel from the 19th-century novelist, Alexandre Dumas (he wrote such thrillers as The Count of Monte Cristo and The Man in the Iron Mask).Claude Schopp, an expert on Dumas, tracked down a story that was serialised over nine months in the defunct journal, The Universal Monitor. Schopp called the work Le Chevalier de Sainte-Hermine, and it "charts the life of a dashing young nobleman, Hector de Sainte-Hermine, whose father and brothers all die guillotined or by firing squad in an heroic fight for the restoration of the monarchy and the fall of the republic."It is now in the best-sellers' list in France, and the print run is expected to hit 100,000 by October. I wonder who is getting the royalties?The 61-year-old Schopp now plans to write the sequel to the book. Dumas died before he could complete the series, but he had outlined the adventures of Hector de Sainte-Hermine to include his escapades during Napoleon's campaigns. Schopp owns this hand-written outline, and plans to use it as a road-map for the sequel. He believes that Dumas would have wanted it this way: "From the outset, when I saw the work was unfinished, I said to myself Dumas was telling me: 'I had ghost writers, you will be my last ghost writer, I'll give you the plan'," Schopp said. Dumas wrote some of his best-known works with Auguste Maquet. Schopp's take on the Dumas story is due out in France in June, and it is expected to weigh in at 800-1,000 pages.It will become apparent next year if Schopp has the ability to take the Dumas material and craft a entertaining book out of it. Edited: PC, REF:Aaman Books32776@blogcritics.org Mon, 18 Jul 2005 10:56:04 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/07/11/092212.php Maura McHughThe new UK horror film from Neil Marshall, the creator of Dog Soldiers (2002), is a dark and chilling film called The Descent. The plot is simple: six women meet to go on their annual extreme sports weekend. Potholing/spelunking is selected. While squeezing through tunnels a cave-in occurs that traps them in the unknown system. They have to negotiate their way out, and fend off a race of blind albino mutated humans, who move super fast, and eat the flesh of any living creature.Initially the tension simmers slowly by relying on the rivalries and problems between the characters combined with the natural claustrophobia of the caves and the physical problems facing the women. Once the gollum-like creatures make an appearance the action rachets ups and it's one scare after another.Neil Marshall is at the top of his game on this film. It's a superb atmospheric horror/thriller film, and easily one of the best of its type I've seen in a number of years. It's also fantastic to see an all-woman cast. Inevitably, with six people on-screen it's difficult to establish any in-depth characterisation, and this is the only weak spot in the film. The movie is meant to be powered by tensions between two characters: Sarah (Shauna MacDonald) and Juno (Natalie Jackson Mendoza). Sarah's husband and child died in a car crash a year earlier (the establishing scenes in the film), and Juno is a super-competitive woman whose attempts to help Sarah get over her trauma might be fuelled by guilt as much as friendship. Mendoza is a charismatic actor who puts in a stellar performance; whenever she is on-screen she dominates the scene. Juno is the only one who keeps the group together initially, and who risks herself to get them back to safety. (Some of this is because it's her fault they are stuck in an unknown cave system in the first place.) But, it add complexity and interest to her character. Sarah, unfortunately, because of her trauma, is weaker and more insipid at the beginning. This changes dramatically in the latter half of the film when Sarah is warped into a Kali-like avenger who becomes a single-minded survivor, capable of any act, in order to beat off the attackers. MacDonald displays an incredible performance at this point in the film, but for me the shift of interest to her came a little too late. This is a rather picky observation to make, as otherwise it's a fantastic, creepy, and engaging horror film that is sharply directed and uniformly well-acted. Even though the main action is meant to occur in the Appalachians in the USA, the exteriors were shot in Scotland, and all the cave scenes were done on a set in Pinewood Studios in the UK. This is astonishing when you watch the movie because other than one or two creaky matting moments, it's impossible to tell. Marshall has proven himself as an innovative and inventive director who knows the horror genre intimately.Bad luck to the US makers of The Cave, which features a similar plot and is also due out this year. Marshall's excellent gem of a film will be a hard act to follow. Video32367@blogcritics.org Mon, 11 Jul 2005 09:22:12 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/07/08/091539.php Maura McHughOn a Clear Day is directed by newcomer Gaby Dellal, from a first script by Alex Rose. It stars Peter Mullan as Frank, a newly unemployed worker from the shipbuilding industry in Glasgow. With nothing to do, he seizes on the idea of swimming the English channel. His mates rally round, but he conceals the endeavour from his wife Joan (Brenda Blethyn) and his estranged son Rob (Jamie Sives). While completing the task Frank is forced to confront the long-ignored tragedy of his other son's death by drowning twenty-five years earlier.The film shows great promise for Dellal's future as a director. She has a talent for nuanced montages that evoke emotion via visual imagery. The beginning of the film is particularly strong, and indicates considered and thoughtful editing. Mullan, as ever, dominates the screen with his simple and charismatic performance of a man who experiences an emotional awakening. The piece could easily devolve into sentimentality, but thankfully it's pulled back just at the right moments, and there is plenty of humour and laughs in the story. Mullen is helped by a stellar cast and fine performances all around, from actors such as Irishman Sean McGinley, Benedict Wong, Billy Boyd and Ron Cook.Although serious issues are explored there is a strong feel-good element in this film, which is designed to uplift you by the end. My only criticism is that the film is a little too tidy: all the characters have obstacles that they overcome because of Frank's inspiring action. Everyone develops and changes his or her life for the better; I think even Mad Bob the crazy skipper has a minor epiphany. However, it's a small quibble. I suspect this will be a popular film when it is released--and deservedly so.This film was seen in Ireland at the Galway Film Fleadh. Video32245@blogcritics.org Fri, 8 Jul 2005 09:15:39 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/07/08/085703.php Maura McHughThe Dying Gaul is directed by newcomer Craig Lucas, who is an experienced and award-winning screenwriter and playwright. It's based on the successful play of the same name. Set in 1995 the film follows screenwriter Robert Sandrich (Peter Sarsgaard) as he struggles to get made his highly personal film, The Dying Gaul. Robert is also grieving over the death of his partner, and agent, Malcolm. To his surprise his film is bought by Jeffrey (Campbell Scott), a persuasive studio executive who not only talks Robert into making fundamental changes to his script, but succeeds in seducing him. Jeffrey's wife, Elaine (Patricia Clarkson), is the perfect LA wife and mother to two children, and is also a frustrated scriptwriter. She and Robert hit it off and she admires his talent and openness.After discussing chat rooms with Robert, Elaine logs on and begins a conversation with him under a pseudonym. She discovers the affair between Robert and her husband. Elaine engages in a series of incredibly intimate chats with Robert--after obtaining information on him--in which she draws out his guilt about Malcolm's death, and his own fears and desires about his relationship with Jeffrey. These instant message conversations are filmed in a fashion that is both emotionally engaging and establishes the sense of collapsed private space that can elicit profound and touching exchanges. This is a rare feat so far in cinema. This is a gripping and compelling film about human frailty, unconditional love, deceit, and retribution. Lucas has proved himself an assured director the first time in the chair, and the cinematographer, Bobby Bukowski, should be congratulated for his combination of lush photography with a theatrical flourish. His use of colour to indicate mood is beautiful. All the actors are at their best, and this results in a strong American psychodrama. It's quite astonishing to discover that the budget for the film was a mere $2 million.This is a movie about adult themes and serious emotional issues, but its dark core is offset by humour, and touches of ecstatic grace. At one point in the film Jeffrey tells Robert, "No one is going to make a film called The Dying Gaul, which typifies the self-referential observations that lace the film about the movie business: Jeffrey's seduction is also Hollywood's seduction. This is the kind of film that deserves awards, and it will be a huge shame if it is overlooked in the coming year.This film was seen in Ireland at the Galway Film Fleadh. Video32244@blogcritics.org Fri, 8 Jul 2005 08:57:03 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/07/18/105247.php Maura McHughBrian Flemming's dramamentary, Nothing so Strange, is an innovative satirical film that pretends to be a documentary exploring the fictional assassination of Bill Gates in December, 1999.The film follows the grassroots organisation, Citizens for Truth for a year. The group is formed to investigate why a black man, Alek Hidell, shot by a rookie LAPD officer minutes after the death of Gates, is blamed for the murder. Hidell, a social activist, is accused of wanting to start a class war by executing Gates. Citizens for Truth is headed up by two co-Presidents, the organised and efficient Debra Meagher (Laurie Pike), and the dedicated but hotheaded David James (also the actor's name). The group sets up focus meetings and determines to agitate for the release of the files by the LAPD, and to counter the Garcetti Report--the official internal report conducted by the LAPD about the shooting of Gates and Hidell.Flemming proves himself a master of the conventions of documentary filmmaking. What is fascinating is how quickly the film sucks in the viewer. Flemming does this by creating a self-consistent world, keeping the subjects and their attempts to uncover the conspiracy behind the deaths totally serious, and allowing the viewer to delight in the rich multi-layered satire without any obvious winking on the part of the director. We follow the group recreating the crime scene, investigating the confused testimony by Julia Serrano that is pivotal to the case, appearing on local public television debating the issue, setting up a three-day conference for their members to present the facts they have uncovered, and the inevitable implosion of the group and the scattering of its members. It's an incredibly clever film that examines group dynamics, the obsession of conspiracy theories, and how information is distorted. In the ultimate post-postmodern trick, it even questions the integrity of the Nothing so Strange documentary itself. All the websites linked above create a network of information about these fictional events. This adds depth and reality to the constructed parallel world Flemming creates in which Bill Gates was killed. There is extra footage on the DVD, and more available if you want to use the BitPass system to download the footage for a couple of bucks. The director's commentary is hilarious. In total deadpan, Brian Flemming describes the making of the film (including some amusing notes about what he hates about directors' commentaries), and then patches Debra Meagher in "live" to describe what's happened with Citizens for Truth in the intervening years. After she finishes, Flemming does the same with David James. James gives his opinion of the film, and how he feels he was portrayed in the documentary. Much is made of the director's ability to pare down the information (80/90 hours of footage) and edit it to give the spin he wants. What adds yet another dimension to this already multi-faceted film is that Flemming has made the footage of the film open source. While the current edit of the film is copyrighted, anyone can obtain the original footage and re-cut the film to their liking. Flemming has set up a Creative Commons license to facilitate this. It's hilarious to listen to Flemming, on the commentary, encouraging the irate James to edit his own version of the events.This is independent filmmaking at its best: intelligent, funny, and challenging. The viewer is warned of the dangers of trusting authorities without question, while being alerted that the medium by which we get our information is inherently biased. It's an excellent message delivered with panache and sophistication. Video17563@blogcritics.org Sun, 18 Jul 2004 10:52:47 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/07/14/112349.php Maura McHughJonathan Lethem's slim volume, As She Climbed Across the Table, examines the relationship between Alice Coombs, a physicist at Berkeley university, and Philip Engstrang, an anthropologist who specialises in observing the rites and rituals of fellow academics. Their future is placed in doubt when an experiment to create a Farhi-Guth Universe succeeds, and a false vacuum bubble is created. Over time the bubble is named Lack, and he is discovered to have developed tastes. Some items that pass through Lack disappear, while others are rejected. Lack is absolute in his rejections: once an object is rejected, it will never be accepted. Alice becomes increasingly obsessive in her study of Lack, to the point where she leaves Philip and tells him that she is in love with Lack. She offers herself to Lack, but is rejected. She continues in her pursuit to understand Lack, while Philip doggedly attempts to win Alice back from her intellectual and perfect love affair with an abstraction.The premise of this book is strange, and yet alluring in its own way. Lethem's style of writing is gorgeous and evocative, and suits the short nature of his novel. If he were to write more I think it would become tiresome. Since the story revolves around the academic world of ideas and theories, the book itself operates on many levels: from the basic examination of a relationship in crisis, to the surreal humour of a woman falling in love with a wormhole, to the obvious metaphorical readings of the story about a woman called Alice who falls through a hole that will not accept her.Yet, I found myself strangely uninterested in the story as it unfolded. There is an objective distance discernible in the story that reflects the academic's perspective when studying a subject. The same distance that, ironically, Alice is unable to achieve in her examination of Lack. What carried me was Lethem's writing, and the absurd nature of the story itself. The denouement of the novel is fulfilling, in the same charming and intangible way the story unfolds. At its core As She Climbed Across the Table is about a fancy, a nonsense, and this conceit permeates the story so at the end the reader is left feeling as if she has eaten, but not gained any calories. It's terrific if you're on a diet. Books17440@blogcritics.org Wed, 14 Jul 2004 11:23:49 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/07/14/110627.php Maura McHughStarfish, the first novel by Peter Watts, is the kind of science fiction story I enjoy the most: it is exceptionally well-written, with complex characters, and possesses a vision of the future that feels real. That's because Watts grounds his story and characters in a coherent, and darkly-imagined, world.Starfish is set, primarily, on Bebe station, a facility that extracts gothermal energy from the Juan de Fuca Ridge at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean and uses it to power towns and cities on the mainland. In order for Bebe station, and the others like it, to remain intact, it requires people to maintain it. Thus, the corporation running the energy programme selects people to bio-engineer so they can breath water and withstand the immense pressure down by Channer Vent on the Pacific floor. The biological change is just one aspect: there is also the psychological impact of working in such a dangerous environment.What Watts explores is the kind of person who might flourish in such an environment. His answer is that they would be "pre-adapted": people who are no stranger to trauma, stress and danger. They are people like his main protagonist, Leni Clarke, who was abused by her father as a child, but discovers on Bebe Station that she not only tolerates the dangerous assignments on the ocean floor, but discovers a strength and determination she never possessed on the surface. The corporation recognises this trait, and soon the station is full of borderline psychotics, some of whom get on well together, and others who do not.Considering that Watts hops from the point of view of several different characters in the story, we get the inside scoop on this diverse group of broken and damaged people who are operating in a difficult and challenging environment. The characters are real: with severe personality problems, and erratic behaviour, but described in such a way that it gives the reader an understanding of their reactions. As the story progresses, the group bonds in unusual ways: mainly due to their shared experience of the odd peace that existing in the living ocean can bring.The book is let down slightly in how it uncovers a sub-plot about a microscopic danger to which the Bebe crew are exposed. It is introduced in the last third of the book, and brings a new direction to the book that initially feels artificial. I think if it has been introduced earlier this transition would have been smoother. However, it is an excellent idea, and once it gets going rushes the story to a satisfying conclusion. Watts is one of the best sf authors I have read recently, and I look forward to exploring more of his dark visions of a future in which the world's oceans hold the key to life, as well as our possible demise. Books17438@blogcritics.org Wed, 14 Jul 2004 11:06:27 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/07/07/042511.php Maura McHughKen Loach's Ae Fond Kiss is a superb drama about the tensions and divisions that surround the issue of inter-racial love.Cassim (Atta Yaqub) is a young entrepreneur living in Glasgow, Scotland, whose parents emigrated from India. He's engaged to a young Muslim woman from Pakistan, who he has never met, and his father is building an extension to the family home for the couple. Then he meets Roisin (Eva Birthistle), a pretty divorced Irish Catholic teacher, and they both fall in love--with disastrous results for Cassim's family.It's a tough challenge for any writer to approach this subject without falling into the trap of criticising Muslim culture. Paul Laverty does an astonishing job of showing the deep bonds of love and affection in Cassim's family, and how his love for a white girl threatens to destroy it. Cassim's seasawing love for Roisin causes her huge anxieties, and, as a white woman, she finds his loyalty to this family baffling. It's not until she loses her job at the Catholic school because the local priest disapproves of her living with a Muslim that Roisin gets some inkling of the problems the relationship will bring to her as well.This is a powerful film because it handles touchy subjects in a skilful and sensitive manner. All the elements in the film--the dialogue, the acting, the direction, and even the sex scenes--are naturalistic and realistic. That's a tough trick to carry off in a movie, and speaks of dedication, experience and excellent craftsmanship. What the film ultimately says is that love is not enough for a relationship to endure if it crosses cultural and racial divides. It's hard work; the couple must be willing to face major obstacles, and to withstand the rifts in their families, for that love. And it points to how easy the alternative is: to love (or to settle for) someone of your own race or religion.Loach and Laverty don't sugar the pill, but the film does end on a somewhat optimistic note. This is a gem of a film that looks honestly at the different, and often clashing, expectations of cultures, and wonders if there is a way to mediate them. Video17186@blogcritics.org Wed, 7 Jul 2004 04:25:11 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/07/06/083307.php Maura McHughI've been looking forward to seeing Bubba Ho-Tep since I first heard about the movie. After all, it stars Bruce Campbell as the real Elvis Presley finishing out his days in a Texas retirement home, who fights an evil mummy, Bubba Ho-Tep, along with his buddy, John F. Kennedy Jr., played by Ossie Davis. It's directed and written by Don Coscarelli (of Video17147@blogcritics.org Tue, 6 Jul 2004 08:33:07 EDT