Shimada, Soji: Murder in the Crowded House.

A closed room mystery in an isolated Japanese mansion on the island of Hokkaido in which the house
which has been deliberately built crookedly plays a special part.  The owner has invited a number of
guests to spend Christmas with him and his daughter but the chauffeur of one of them fails to appear
the next morning.   He is found inside his locked room dead with no external evidence of any intruder
(It being Christmas there is a lot of snow).   Further deaths follow with the guests held in isolation by
the local police who are mystified by the events.   A renowned private sleuth is sent to solve the case
which he does.   The book is very slow-moving with the denouement and explanation of how the
crimes were committed taking some forty pages where the 'classic' detective tales of the 1920s to
1950s of took less than a page.   Certain parts of the elaborate set-up did need extended explanation
though.   Really only for the true addict of this type of crime novel.

Carrisi, Donato: The Whisperer

I finished this excellent novel some time ago but failed to comment on it at the time.   The work has had a world wide success and I consider this to be well-deserved.   Moving relatively leisurely with
occasional detours from the main plot (which turn out in part to be back story), the book deals with
he work of a policewoman who is a specialist in finding missing girls.   She is attached to a special
force  which is dealing with an unusual circumstance - a number of arms arranged in a circle in a
clearing.  The arms are all of girls in the childhood and are of varying ages of detachment.   The
woman is accepted somewhat reluctantly by the team which has been established for some time.   The pace of the novel allows for character development of all the involved police which makes it a
chanage from so many works where all but the lead characters tend to be ciphers.   I know I read
this when it was first issued as a paperback some years ago but found it more than satisfying a read
the second time around.

London Film Festival 2019

JOJO RABBIT was our first film.   Set in the dying days of World War II, Jojo is an inept member of the Hitler Youth whose best friend is an imaginary Adolf Hitler, an hilarious performance by the director,Taika Waititi.   He discovers that his mother, played by the ever-delectable Scarlett Johansson, is hiding a young Jewish girl.   While part of him feels he should expose her, he realises what this would do to his mother and gradually becomes a friend of the girl.   Their time together contrasts with the time in the outside world though this is farcically portrayed until almost the end when the fighting arrives; Johansson is hanged for distributing pacific leaflets and the town all but destroyed with Jojo captured but set free.   The closing scene with the Jewish girl is touching and true.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY is set at a celebration of Catherine Deneuve's birthday en famille.   The discordant family has a wayward son trying to make a film of the event with a new girl friend in tow, a prodigal daughter who turns up with a lot of problems which she unloads during the film and a long-suffering older son who tries to keep things even - played by the director, Cedric Kahn who keeps out of the spotlight.   Over the top at times and reminiscent of some other French family dramas, well played by all.
ONLY THE ANIMALS is another French thriller about a missing woman whose car is found abandoned in a snowdrift, two warrring farmers one of whom finds her and keeps her hidden even though she dies while the other is duped by an African conman who convinces him online that he is sending funds to a beautiful young girl so that she can return to France.   The timeline of the film is anything but straightforward which is probably why I am having trouble now, a month later, remembering just who did what to whom.   Set, apart from the African interlude, in a bleak wintry countryside, it is beautifully photographed and satifactorily acted.
THE DUDE IN ME is a Korean comedy with a CEO gangster finds he has changed bodies with a nerdy student following an accident.   The student becomes super confident but his life is complicated by the fact that his mother and the gangster were once in love. Following several slapstick moments, a further accident reverses the body change with a happy ever after ending.
Takashi Miike's FIRST LOVE was the last film we saw.   A love story of sorts between a boxer dying from a brain tumour and a girl sold into prostitution to pay off her father's debts.   More subdued for
much of the time than many of Miike's films, it allows for the development of the two lovers before
the inevitable explosion of violence.
For once we seem to have made good choices even though the films differ a lot from each other
with the first two benefitting from star casts.   On balance, I think Jojo Rabbit takes first prize.

Connolly, John: The Whisperers

A Charlie Parker thriller finds him involved with a group of ex-soldiers running a smuggling operation between Maine and Canada.   They also have antique artefacts that they stole while in Iraq
some of which are central to this story.   Parker is hired to investigate an apparent suicide of one of
the soldiers returned from Iraq and he discovers that his subject is not the only one to have died.   He
is discovered by the gang while investigating a disused house and comes close to death as a result but, understandably in the overall context, he manages to get away and discovers that he is definitely
dealing with something more than human.   Reluctantly allying with The Collector whose path he has
crossed more than once previously, he is able to bring matters to a conclusion of sorts.   Well up to
the standard expect of John Connolly, this one has rather more of a supernatural element to go with
the more usual activity.  

Frightfest 2019

We limited ourselves to only four films this year.   On the opening night we saw 'Come to Daddy'
which stars Elijah Wood with Stephen McHattie and Martin Donovan in supporting roles, the latter
two being the reason for our choice.  Wood plays a failed actor visiting an isolated coastal house
where his father has unexpectedly invited him.   He lies about his achievement though it becomes
obvious that his father knows that he is not at all a success and relations between them become more
and mor violent.   Various twists in the narrative (you have to accept that Wood cannot recognise his
father) result in killings before a downbeat ending.   Could have been a lot better.
The next day we saw 'Dachra' mainly because it is a Tunisian film.   College friends go off into the
wilds to complete an assignment, helping a trader to fix his vehicle on the way.   However, he turns
up at the settlement in the wood that they are visiting and seems to be the leader there.   They find that their vehicle is also in need of repair but this requires a part which is promised but does not
arrive.   There is an attempt to set a scary atmosphere which does not quite work until one of the students goes for help but is attacked and killed by a fellow student leaving the only female alone
and in danger.  My recollection after over two months is somewhat more positive than the first impression I had: I did not find it at all scary or particularly well made but I now can see it was an
attempt at low-key horror.   The same day we saw "'Cut Off', a German thriller with the lead actor
playing acoroner who finds a capsule in a badly mutilated corpse which has inside it a phone number
and his daughter's name.   The action moves from the German mainland to Heligoland and there are
several twists in what is perhaps not quite a Frightfest film - it would be equally at home at the       London Film Festival.   Quite enjoyable without really ringing any bells.   Leaving the weekend films
alone, we went on Bank Holiday Monday to see 'Satanic Panic' which was a silly bit of nonsense.   A
girl recovering from cancer ekes out a living by delivering pizzas and takes a late order to an isolated
mansion in the hope of getting well-tipped.   The problem is that a Satanic sect is looking for a
virgin to sacrifice and she fits the bill.   The film does descend into somewhat farcical and bloody mayhem which puts it in the guilty pleasure not to be repeated file.

Talbot, Hake: Rim of the Pit

Another book that I have read based on a reference to it (I can't recall where), this is set in a wintry New England wilderness, thus being a sort of open-air closed room mystery.   Published in 1944, the book is pleasant enough but rather stilted.   The lead is an adventurer who has a flirtatious relationship with the stepdaughter of the women who is murdered.   The plot is straightforward though littered with red herrings.   I was left wondering why the recommendation that led me to the
book.   There is nothing wrong with it but, equally, nothing out of the ordinary which makes it one of
many amateur detective type novels of the 1920/1940 decades.

Herron, Mick: Slow Horses

Having read a review of the latest work by this author, I was curious to find out if the praise is justified.   A spy novel set in London featuring Jackson Lamb as the head of a crew of misfits who have been banished from the main office on Regent's Park to Slough House (the title of the novel is both a play on this and a reference to the supposed limited intelligence of the members).   Faced with the task of finding a kidnapped boy who is to be beheaded on live TV by those holding him captive, the team go through various attempts to trace and save him before their eventual success.   Well-written and well-paced, laced with humour, the book does tempt me to read more.

Fowler, Christoper: Wild Chamber

Another Bryant and May novel which is well up to standard.   The Peculiar Crimes Unit has been under threat of closure for some time with this book continuing its precarious existence. As ever, the eccentric interests of Arthur Bryant are material in the eventual solving of the murder at the heart of
the book.   I read this some moths ago, hence the limited review (which will be the case with some of the ones that follow.

Dickson Carr, John: The Hollow Man

This is one of the classic locked-room mysteries of detective fiction first published here in 1935.   The
action takes place in and around the Russell Square area of Bloomsbury in London even though the
author was American.   In fact, many of his works are set in England.   This particular one features
Dr Gideon Fell, one of Carr's two main protagonists, eccentric, large and highly intelligent, a great
friend with Inspector Hadley of Scotland Yard.   The latter is called to the scene of the crime while
visiting Fell who accompanies him on his investigation.   Despite the acclaim which the novel has
received, I found it a little on the tedious side with overmuch elaboration of the possible explanations
that are offered, particularly a rather long exposition by Fell of different ways of purportedly undetectable murders.   The solution is ingenious and unexpected though I confess I am not one of
those who claim to know who the murderer is almost before the corpse is cold!

Mozart: Die Zauberflote at La Monnaie

I have several dvd recordings of 'Die Zauberflote' from celebrated opera houses such as The Met in
New York and La Scala, Milan.   I have never reviewed any of them or any other opera I have recorded but this one is special.
Staged at La Monnaie (Die Munt in Flemish) in Brussels between 25 and 27 September 2018, this is
in some ways a stripped down performance.   There is minimal scenery and a competent cast though
Sabine Devieilhe is introduced in the programme note as a leading performer of the Queen of the Night' role.   What makes this so different from all other versions is the addition of 10 amateur non-singers.   In a moving sequence, five blind women recite their personal histories, one after the other with a matter of fact tone whether their blindness has been
from birth, later illness or accident.   This is followed by five men relating their experiences as victims of fire which has disfigured their bodies and faces though not grotesquely so.   There is then
interaction between them with the blind women feeling the naked upper bodies of the men in what
is decidedly non-erotic fashion.   Even with these sequences and earlier actions on stage, the length
of the opera is less than that of some I have and much the same as others.   Not having the language
skills to follow why what happened did happen in relation to the normal unfolding of the opera (the broadcast was on ARTE German channel), I found the inclusion very moving as I am sure those who
saw the live performances did.

London Film Festival 2018

As in previous years, we made a modest selection from the many films being shown, each year
bringing more than before.
Our first selection on Friday 12 October was 'They'll Love Me When I'm Dead', a documentary
about Orson Welles' attempts to finance and make 'The Other Side of the World' which remained
unfinished at his death though there is now a final cut being shown.   An interesting though somewhat
disjointed depiction of his efforts to raise funds to complete the film which starred John Huston as
the director whose last day on earth was the subject matter of the film.   Susan Strasberg plays an
acerbic critic (possibly modelled on Pauline Kael, with cameos from numerous  directors and a larger
role for Peter Bogdanovich.   Welles' then current companion, Oja Kodar, is also prominent.   With
its reliance on footage shot at the time, there is not quite the coherence expected in documentaries
but what is there tells the story effectively and leave one wondering whether the film, if finished by
Welles himself, would have lived up to his earlier masterpieces.
The following day we saw the latest Coen Brothers film, 'The Ballad of Buster Scruggs', an episodic
film in six parts, the underlying theme being death.   The framing is the use of the eponymous book
of tales whose pages intersperse the sections.   The first and title tale has Tim Brook Nelson as a
famed gunslinging singer who gets his come-uppance after some lively and humorous moments.
'Near Algodones' has James Franco trying to rob and bank and paying the penalty, again humorously
done.  'Meal Ticket' has Liam Neeson as a travelling showman with a legless and armless reciter of
Shakespeare and other works which went on too long and was singularly unfunny.   "' All Gold Canyon' tells of a prospector who finds gold, is attacked but kills his attacker.   Zoe Kazan in 'The
Girl who Got Rattled' is travelling on a wagon train with her brother who is killed by Red Indians;
she stays with the wagon train and accepts a proposal of marriage from one of the wagon masters
only for her to meet the same fate as her brother.   The final episode, ' The Mortal Remains' has
a varied set of passengers in a stagecoach which is obviously bound for Purgatory or worse.   As
with most such films, the episodes are of varying quality, length and content with the first being
definitely the most amusing and the Liam Neeson segment the most tedious.
Our next visit took us back to the South Bank to see 'Lights of Old Broadway', a charming silent
film from 1925.   Marion Davis plays twins separated at birth, one raised by a wealthy family, the
other in an Irish shanty area of New York.   The latter has most of the screen time and Davis again
shows how good she was at both comedy and drama.   The climax of the film is a colour sequence
showing the inauguration of electric lighting with Davis helping to save the day when the lights
fail to work.
Then a long day with two films of which the first was the remake of 'Suspiria'.   Very long and very
glossily produced, this was a great disappointment.   Chloe Grace Moretz in a brief opening sequence
was probably the best thing in it, Tilda Swinton's triple parts being something of a gimmick.   The film's location has been moved to 1970s Berlin which makes one wonder why a cutting edge dance
academy would appear in skimpy costumes spoilt by the granny pants noticeably on show.   A
sequence with a dancer being contorted and broken by unseen forces in time with the music from the
practice dance next door is effective but, this apart, there was no tension nor any thrills.   The later
film was 'The Man Who Killed Don Quixote', the one Terry Gilliam had tried to make for decades
losing Jean Rochefort and John Hurt along the way.   Adam Driver is a director making a film of
Don Quixote following up an earlier short black and white version set in the same location.   Quixote
is played by Jonathan Pryce and, as one would expect, he is the best thing in what is something of a
mess of a film.   Further viewing may change my mind about it and I can see it becoming a cult
favourite.
'The Favourite' is a well-acted potential box-office hit about the lesbian activities of Queen Anne,
played by Olivia Coleman with Rachel Weisz playing Sarah Churchill whose favours lose out to
thos of her conniving cousin, Emma Stone.   This is an enjoyable film which could be looked on as
an historical rom-com with a difference.    The male roles provide excellent support but the joy of
the film is a quick interchanges between the three leading ladies.
Our final visit took us to see 'Shadow', a Chinese martial arts film in which Zhang Yimou again shows his cinematic mastery.   The story of adjoining kingdoms, Pei and Jing, in an uneasy peace broken by the Pei Great Commander who objects to his nation's subservience to Jing, turns on the
fact that he is actually a shadow of the real leader, a role often held in ancient China to avert the
assassination of the true ruler.   In some ways this is irrelevant as the delights of the film are the
gloriously filmed scenery and the brilliantly filmed fighting.   Wth the latter, the highlight is possibly
the use of umbrella-like weapons with the spokes opening out as deadly swords while, in one sequence they are used like mobile one person tanks careering down a muddy street with the soldier
sitting on the inside having little control over where he is going.   I think this was the film of the
Festival for me.

 

Frightfest 2018

Having failed to make my comments immediately after the Frightfest weekend, I have been less than
speedy in dealing with this.   We saw only fewer films this year apart from the year at Shepherd's Bush.
24 August Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich.   A nazi-style puppet is found in his dead brother's
room by a man who has returned home after a divorce.   He decides to sell it at a small town convention which is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the infamous Andre Toulon murders.   His
boss and the girl next door go with him to the convention where the spirit of Toulon somehow brings
both his and other puppets to life.   The puppets embark on a killing spree which leads to lots of
bloody mayhem until the lead actor works out that he has to deal with Toulon's malevolent spirit.
Enjoyable hokum with no real merit.
24 August The Most Assassinated Woman In The World.   Paula Maxa was the headline star of the
Grand Guignol Theatre in Paris during the 1930s.   She was graphically murdered more than 10,000
times in over 60 different ways.   This fictional tale based on her life there is atmospheric and
evocative.   It combines real life murder and its investigation with the stage happenings in a very
real way.   The acting is sound and the cinematography excellent.
25 August The LaPlace's Demon refers to a mathematical theory that if someone knew the precise
loaction and movement of every atom in the universe they could predict everything down to the
smallest detail.   A group of scientists are invited to a remote island where the host who only appears
on video asks them to prove the theory.   He tells them they have become a part of his experiment
which requires them to work it out before being killed - which they are, one by one.   A very moody
Italian drama which failed to hold my attention.
26 August The Man Who Killed Hitler and then Bigfoot.   Sam Elliot plays an unsung hero who
decades before, assassinated Hitler in an undercover operation that was so secret that no records
of it exist.   Decades later he is approached to find and kill Bigfoot which is the carrier of a deadly
disease that could wipe out mankind.   After a leisurely build-up showing his regular quiet life, he
agrees and does hunt Bigfoot down.   Elliot is, as ever, first-rate and the elegiac tone of the film
makes for anything but a scaring film: it is almost a gentle evocation of life in the Canadian wilds.
We might have seen more films but a determination not to overload the weekend coupled with the
necessary omission of some possibles because of their timing, e.g. `Gaspar Noe's 'Climax' which
closed the weekend, kept our viewing to these four.   The last was by far the best of the four, the
first the worst though an enjoyable worst, the second the most stylish and the third possibly one
that I am under-rating.

Black, Benjamin: The Black-Eyed Blonde

Written by John Banville under the pen-name he uses for thrillers, this is one of several attempts to
update Raymond Chandler by continuing the Philip Marlowe story.   Marlowe has a new client, the
blonde of the title, who wants him to find her former lover, Nico Peterson.   This is just the start as
he tangles with hoodlums and gang bosses as well as bedding his client.   An old friend who was
obliged to relocate in Mexico to escape prosecution is also involved.   After being beaten up more
than once ( this does raise the question of why he is not simply killed though this would end the
book), Marlowe works things out with the denouement seeing his old friend who is the real
villain killed and the blonde taken into custody.   Black captures the world-weariness that came to
pervade the Chandler books and does turn some Chandleresque phrases effectively.  Well written
as would be expected of the author and a fine salute to the originals.

Fuller, Samuel: Brainquake

I had not known that Samuel Fuller had been a novelist in the 1930s before turning to film after the
Second World War.   He then returned to writing novels later in life and this 'lost' novel was written
at the start of the 1990s.   In some ways this is a classic noir with a beautiful woman leading a man
astray but it is rather more than that.   The opening with a baby shooting its father startles and is an
unusual introduction to the two main characters.   Paul who suffers from blackouts, hence the title
of 'Brainquake' witnesses the shooting from the park bench where he has been in the habit of
watching the beautiful woman who is the baby's mother.   He is a bagman while she, unbeknownst
to him, is having an affair with the dead man's brother.   He has been delivering flowers to her which
he bought himself and, on one delivery, saves the baby's life which leads to an apparently idyllic and
passionate affair.   This is against the bagman 'code' but he ignores this, steals a large delivery and
flies, with his love, Michelle, and the baby to France.   She was raised there and is able to find refuge
with an old friend.   The mob, however, are after them with a Father Flanagan, their main enforcer
soon on their trail.   There are, however, many twists before the final chapter.   The writing is not
as spare and taut as that of some writers of noir but the additional words fill in the background an
the characters to make this a really fine example of the genre.

Fforde, Jasper: Shades of Grey

Set in an unspecified future on a planet where one's colour designation, which is set by the
colours one is able to see, determines one's rank in life though upward and downward
mobility is possible by marriage.   The story tells of a Red, Eddie Russett, who accompanies
his father to what is supposed to be a locum position in an area of the planet well away from
the civilised centre.   Here he meets and falls in love with a Grey called Jane who is rebellious
and anything but friendly at first.   However, a series of events including his volunteering for
what is expected to be a deadly expedition changes this.   This is a definitely eccentric world
with deadly trees, a self-mending road which absorbs anything left on the surface and a
single rather un-roadworthy van.   Quite enjoyable though I missed a lot of the satire, I am
sure.   it has made me interested in reading the two sequels should they still be available.