Dakota Blue Richards

While I was watching Endeavour a few weeks ago (series 3 episode 2) I started to get that funny feeling that I had seen one of the characters somewhere before.

WPC Trewlove was a pretty girl who just reminded me of someone. At first I thought it was my late wife (if you swap blonde for dark hair) but it wasn't. After a while I realised that it was more to do with how she spoke than how she looked. She did look familiar, but she sounded more familiar... only occasionally though, as if it were some characteristic of her own accent that just managed to slip through the character's accent from time to time.

As the programme went on I was tempted to go get my laptop and look up the cast during one of the ad breaks. But I didn't. In the spirit of Morse I wanted to work it out myself.

And I did!

It suddenly came to me that if her voice was more familiar than her face then maybe she had been a child actor. As soon as I thought that the next time she appeared on screen it was obvious - Lyra from The Golden Compass. Which I happened to watch over Christmas, so I should have spotted it earlier.

I thought she was rather good in Endeavour. And she is in episodes 3 and 4 too, so I hope she is going to be a regular character in the next series as well.

Here is a photo I found of her,

Which does look quite a bit like Jo, but she had straighter hair.

I am tempted to track down some more of her work. But she doesn't seem to have done many films, mostly teenage TV stuff that I probably wouldn't like.

It's a real shame that the second and third films of His Dark Materials were never made with the same cast from The Golden Compass. I really enjoyed the books and the first movie... which was successful worldwide so why did the sequels fall by the wayside?

Anyway, I hope to see Miss Richards again in the next series of Endeavour and maybe more.

Child 44 (2015) review

Tom Hardy again. Except this time he has plenty of acting to do.

I'd heard bad things about Tom's Russian accent... but I thought it was OK, and I know some Russians!

One thing that soon becomes apparent, if you didn't know it, is that life under Stalin was one big heap of no fun. There are diktats like "there is no murder in paradise" which is a problem for the people who have to investigate when people die "in terrible accidents". And when people are "named" their only way to survive is to confess to whatever they are accused of and to "name" some other people who are involved.

The film does a good job of conveying the relentless grimness of life in Russia at this time. The distrust. The betrayals.

As a result, it isn't exactly entertaining. Educational, maybe.

So when the ending is a bit less grim than the preceding events, I guess we should be happy that the characters we have come to care for a bit do make it out mostly in one piece.

It's definitely a film that you need to be in the right frame of mind to watch. It's certainly not one to see if you need cheering up. But it will certainly make you appreciate the freedoms we have in the West.

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) review

I really like Tom Hardy as an actor, but he's completely wasted in Mad Max: Fury Road. He has hardly any lines... because no-one has many lines. He doesn't do much... because no-one does much.

It's one long car / truck chase.

Quite an enjoyable car / truck chase. But that's all there is to it.

Oh, and Charlize Theron is in it too. And Nick (Boy Beast) Holt.

Fighting Demons (2015) review

This film doesn't seem to know what its title is. Here in the UK it was released as "Fighting Demons", in the US it was released in some places as "Any Day" and in others as "Resentment". I think Fighting Demons is a good title since it is about someone fighting their demons... duh... but maybe that expression doesn't translate in other counties?

I like Sean Bean but don't remember seeing him in a lead role before. Which is odd because he is a good actor. He also does a pretty decent American accent... although I should probably defer to the opinion of any actual Americans on that point.

His "100% Blade" tattoo is clearly visible several times in the movie. I doubt there are many Americans who follow Sheffield United, so I guess people will assume that means something else.

Anyway, to the film. I really liked the pace of it. Vian kills a man in a pointless drunken fight and we pick him up 12 years later as he is released from prison.

He has problems. But doesn't give up trying to get his life back on track. In that sense this is quite an inspirational film. For the most part it is quite believable and heartening. Then there is a tragedy which does knock Vian back and everything gets dark and very emotional... I was in tears.

There is a further twist at the end which I thought was a bit weak, but I don't mind because it lead to a good ending... maybe there was a better way to do it... I don't know.

The best part for me was that it didn't go for the obvious happy ending where everything works out for Vian. It is all about hope and trying. He is heading in the right direction and he are left hoping that he will keep on the right path.

Memories of Murder (2003) review

I didn't know this film was based on real events until after I had seen it. And once again, not knowing what it is about really adds to the drama of the film.

So if you haven't seen the film, I think it is good, but don't read the rest of this review... especially the end... since you will enjoy it more if you don't know the story in advance.

SPOILERS

This film is based on a real series of 10 murders that happened in South Korea between 1986 and 1991. It is almost comical how inept the local police are at the outset - trying to pin the murders on a local boy who they beat a confession out of.

Only later when the city cop is called in does the investigation start looking hard at the evidence. But the killer is clever and keeps striking without leaving useful evidence.

Remember that this is before DNA testing was common. In fact the cops do send some material to the USA for testing, but it only serves to rule out the prime suspect.

There's not a lot of action here and the movie squashes the time frame to make the pressure on the police seem more acute. But it really paints an interesting picture of the police teams desperately trying to solve the murders before the killer can strike again.

And as the film progresses, suspects come and go, with the locals beating a confession out of anyone they can get their hands on, but you start to get the impression that they just aren't going to catch the guy...

...and they don't. The murders are still unsolved to this day. It's quite nice how the film handles this. It is not an anti-climax at all. You are left feeling that maybe one day justice will be done... even though it hasn't been yet.

(from the extras I learned that one of the murders, the 8th, was solved as it turned out to be a copy-cat murder and not the work of the original killer)

It Follows (2014) review

SPOILERS

There is something that chases people and kills them. The people being chased can see the chaser, but no-one else can. Oh. And the chasers walk, they don't run...

And one more thing. If you are being chased then having sex with someone will make them get chased instead of you... until they die... then you are the chased again.

All very simple. Except that there are quite a few layers to the plot. For a start, when our friend first gets tagged there's the fact that none of her friends believe her. Why would they? They can't see it.

Then she thinks she can outrun it. Then she realises she can't. Then her friends do believe her...

At which point a couple of nice boys are very keen to sleep with her, even at risk of death. Kind huh?

So, it is a slow burning build up of tension with the odd jump thrown in. I quite enjoyed it. Not really a horror film, more suspense... except you know what is going to happen, pretty much.

I really couldn't see how it was going to end. And that was the one real disappointment. There isn't really an ending. It just stops.

Jurassic World (2015) review

Dinosaurs escape and chase people.

Fun if you enjoy that sort of thing.

Shiri (1999) review

Generally I like Korean action films and this one comes highly recommended by various ratings.

But it didn't do anything for me. I think it probably makes more sense to Koreans who understand the details of the divisions between North and South. There may also be things lost in translation.

SPOILERS

One big problem for me was the emphasis placed on the relationship between the Southern secret agent and his fish-expert girlfriend. It was obvious from very early on that she was going to turn out to be the assassin from the North. Because otherwise she had no role in the plot.

That left no suspense factor. It was just a series of not very interesting chases and shoot-outs.

If this film inspired the great Korean action films that followed it then good for it. But by itself it isn't a great film for those of us outside the Korean peninsula.

You, The Living (2007) review

Comedies are such a broad church that risking a foreign-language one might seem foolhardy. Often the humour of another country just doesn't translate (sometimes literally). And for me that includes many American films (I can't stand the works of Will Ferrell and Adam Sandler for example).

But sometimes it pays off. And this Swedish film is one of those examples... I think.

It's not hilarious, roll on the floor laughing, stuff. It's weird. It's odd.

For long periods I was wondering what the hell was going on. But it keeps throwing in the odd chuckle and connecting events back to previous scenes. In that way it is a bit like a good comedian with a set that builds jokes on top of previous threads.

So each scene that I found funny was because of what had come before, rather than just for the scene itself... which applies also to the ending.

Subtle or weird? Clever or silly?

Hard to say. Very much down to personal preference. So I would think twice before recommending this film to a general audience. I can think of people I know who might love it; and also people who I'd bet would hate it.

Also quite hard to describe. Phrases that sprang to mind whilst watching it were "slow motion slap-stick" and "Tarantino without the violence" ... but neither is very accurate :)

After the explosion

While I was waiting to see Star Wars on the IMAX at the National Media Museum in Bradford over Christmas, I popped into the gallery to see the current exhibition - Revelations: Experiments In Photography.

There was some great ultra-high-speed photography featuring the familiar bullet going through apple sort of thing. And there were some more unusual things too.

One that caught my eye was a vase of flowers exploding. The artist had dipped the flowers in liquid nitrogen to make them brittle, then put a small explosive charge in the centre.

The display was an ultra-slow-motion video of the explosion. It lasted about 5 minutes...

And it was utterly captivating. For me I think that was because there was one stem in the middle that seemed to remain intact. Everything else was flying apart into a million pieces. But in the middle of the carnage there was one stem standing. And it had a single small white flower.

One white flower at the centre of the storm. When everything else had gone, it was still there.

I don't know if that was planned by the artist, or just the way it worked out, but I sat there for the whole 5 minutes watching that flower. Wondering if it would crumble, finally. But it didn't.

At some point, I'm not ashamed to say, I started to cry.

I remembered the part in Little Man Tate where the teacher asks Fred why he thinks Van Gogh painted a single white iris in a bed of blue ones. He replies "because he was lonely".

In those few minutes, watching that exploding vase of flowers, with one still standing, I felt the loneliest I have ever felt in my whole life. Ever.

And yet. Once the video finished. I returned to the world and felt fine again.

Whiplash (2014) review

Both compelling and frightening at the same time. Whiplash tells the story of a young jazz drummer at a top music school.

SPOILERS

Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons play out the story of student and bullying teacher so convincingly that I was totally drawn in. I could hardly look away as Andrew tried harder and harder to impress only for Fletcher to get harder and harder on him.

The bullying scenes were very disturbing for me to watch.

At the end I felt exhausted.

Then, looking back, I was a bit confused and even disappointed about the message the film was presenting.

Put aside some of the contrived situations like Andrew losing the music folder and getting a break in the band as a result. And the silly notion of walking away from an overturned car wreck to then run on stage and try to play drums with a gaping head wound.

No. The key message of the film is that Fletcher believes it is OK to treat students really badly if that pushes them to greatness. Even worse. He believes he has a duty to push them.

But when Andrew does produce a great performance at the end of the film. He shares a smile with Fletcher. So is the film saying that the ends do justify the means?

After a few minutes thought, my enjoyment of the film had turned to dismay. The film justifies bullying. Bullying which we are told has lead to the suicide of at least one student.

So I applaud the performances and the general concept of the film. It was really well done. But I can't accept the conclusion. Bullying is never OK.

Birdman (2014) review

Another Oscar winning film that doesn't live up to the mega-hype.

Famous movie actor wants to be taken seriously by theatre audiences and critics. Boo hoo. Too busy to be a good father. My heart bleeds.

Why should I care about any of these characters? Because I don't. At all.

Is he insane? Don't know, don't care.

And what is the one long camera shot supposed to achieve? For me it made parts of the film unwatchable and I just had to look away to insert cuts manually.

As usual people will pretend they like this because it is supposed to be good...

Save yourself 2 hours and give this a miss. Pretentious navel gazing by Hollywood insiders. Rubbish.

Dryathlon

In the spirit of friendship I agreed to do a Dryathlon in January along with my friend Mike. By which I mean Mike wanted to do it and thought it would be easier if I did it too... since we often drink together.

As far as I can tell, it is supposed to be good for you; so why not?

Anyway, we were out celebrating New Year's Eve with some other friends and told them all about it. As you do. High horse. Moral high-ground and all that.

So just after midnight there is about an inch left in one of the bottles of wine. "Pass that bottle over, Ian" I said. "No. No. No. You said you weren't drinking in January. And it's January now." he replied.

Ouch. Got me. No arguing with that.

4 days on and still going strong!

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) review

OK, it's been out for a while now so anyone who's bothered about SPOILERS shouldn't be reading blogs with Star Wars in the title.

But just in case; this post contains SPOILERS.

Are we safe now? Yes; good; I'll carry on.

Firstly, I am still excited about this film. A few people I know have seen it and said "Yeah, it was OK" but most of my friends thought it was great. Even people who don't really like Star Wars that much have said they really enjoyed it.

So that's probably point 1 in it's favour. As a film on it's own it is a good watch.

And point 2 is clearly that it is a hit with fans because it has recaptured the qualities that made the original trilogy great; and were so badly missing from the pr*quel trilogy. Yes, you are right, I am being childish and refusing to even type prequ*l trilogy any more... maybe if we all just pretend it never happened it can finally be forgotten?

The new stars are great. Rey and Finn carry us along with an enthusiasm and vitality that makes us care about them almost instantly. The bad guys Kylo Ren and General Hux have a youthful zeal about them that makes you slightly sympathetic and at the same time fearful for what you know they will become.

I really loved Kylo Ren's temper tantrums. And even though I saw the conclusion of his chat with Han Solo coming a mile off, it was still shocking when it happened - even the second time I saw it.

I was wondering how quickly this new trilogy would hand over from the old to the new. The pace is just right for me, but I can see that it may be a little slow for others. Bringing back old characters and then killing them off one by one might wear thin, and "not another Death Star" is a charge that needs addressing in episodes VIII and IX.

Are we in for some double bluffs, I wonder? The new "emperor" character who projects himself as a giant must surely turn out to be Yoda-sized, no? And there were so many hints that Rey might be a sibling of Kylo Ren that we surely need that to be a red herring?

I still remember my shock on hearing Darth Vader's "I am your father" speech. So I hope that we are in for a few surprises in the future.

There are plenty of things for us to find out. There's no rush...

A couple of things occurred to me on the second viewing. The little orange woman says that the light-sabre she has was Luke's and his father's. So that's the one that Obi-Wan gave to Luke. Which he later dropped down the huge hole in the middle of the cloud city when Vader cut his hand off. So presumably it was found by someone on the planet... which is believable. Originally I was wondering why Luke would throw his light-sabre away... so it's good to know he probably didn't.

Also, I didn't hear it clearly the first time, but Han Solo calls his son "Ben" on the bridge. Presumably named after "Ben Kenobi" but then he changed his name when he turned dark, like the Darths. I guess we have a lot to learn about the new Jedi order that Luke was training and how Stokes came into the picture.

There are some very cool things in this film like the temporary freezing of the blaster bolt in mid-air by Kylo Ren. But also some very dumb things, like the whole fire-breathing planet weapon. The more I think about that the dumber it seems. So it is testament to how good the rest of the film was that it didn't spoil the atmosphere too much. I do wonder what alternatives there are to planet-destroying space mega-machines... bigger certainly isn't better in terms of story.

Obviously, as a long-term fan of Star Wars, I've been thinking about it a lot lately. And particularly why I like it. I think I've come to something of a realisation. It's something that's true of a lot of action films; but particularly of Star Wars.

When I watch Star Wars I feel like I am there with them taking on a terrible foe. We are small and weak at first, but we get stronger, and with right on our side we win. There are hurdles on the way, sacrifices, losses, but we win in the end. The bad guys can never be completely defeated, but when they come back we win again... eventually.

After the film I feel like a better person. Like I could go out and do something positive myself. Make a difference. Get involved. But I don't. Slowly I start to feel weak again. Like I can't possibly make a difference. Shouldn't get involved. I do nothing.

Then I go watch another film. Or read a book. Or watch TV.

I do nothing.

I feel like I could do something if I was pushed into a situation where I had to. But I never have been. I've never had to do anything significant to survive. So I've never done anything significant.

Film's like Star Wars keep a small pilot light inside me burning... so that maybe I could still step up to the plate if I really had to... even though I know I probably never will.