... about programming, growing up in the 1970's and 80's, games, science fiction, working in a charity book shop, films, spending too much time watching television, living in Basildon and Essex, and whatever else emerges from my fevered imagination. If you're reading this, it's your fault you clicked on the link: I am not responsible for your actions.
I've been a little busy of late doing an online course in Scala, so I'm doing a bit of catching up.
First up, The Unknown Known, a strange documentary from Errol Morris about the former U.S. Secretary of Defence and Neo-Conservative Donald Rumsfeld.
This can be contrasted, explicitly, with the documentary that Morris did previously about another Defence Secretary, Robert McNamara. Whereas McNamara seemed to be an active participant in the decisions made by himself and the presidents he served, and suffered accordingly, Rumsfeld seems to have merely been an observer, unengaged, just a place-holder until a real decision maker turned up. Intriguingly, Nixon thought of him as unreliable and so he escaped the Watergate scandal.
Next, Dracula Untold, the story of Prince Vlad Tepes (Luke Evans) and his struggles to save his people from the Ottoman Emperor Mehemed II (Dominic Cooper).
A ripping yarn, and an attempt at blending real history (Prince Vlad did defeat the forces of Mehemed in night battle and impaled 20,000 prisoners) with the Dracula story of Bram Stoker, this is a really good pizza movie and worth the watch.
Lastly, Officer Down, a cop movie starring Steven Dorff.
Based on a true story, it's not a bad little film, hampered only by the initial flash-backs, which just confuse rather than add style. The acting isn't bad, with good support by Walton Coggins and James Woods. Better than you would think.
Oooooo, on TV over in the 'States is a new series about us IT people. Called Mr. Robot, it's about a dysfuctional hacker (so no cliches there then) who finds himself embroiled in a shadowy world corporate intrigue.
Yeah, it sounds like clap-trap, but, in the absense of anything better, it might be worth a watch (assuming you can find it amongst all the dross on our networks).
I've been blasting through movies at a fair clip over the past few weeks, so here's the highlights.
Network
A 70's movie, a last great golden age in my view before everything went all blockbuster and sentimental, and also Peter Finch's last. Howard Beale, a veteran news anchor, has a breakdown on live television, but it doesn't have quite the effect anticipated.
Perhaps it's not as shocking now as it was then, what with Celebrity Big Bother and Judge Judy, it does show it's deficiencies in plot and styling, but the acting is still great and not surprisingly won umpteen Oscars the following year.
Out of the Past
A classic film noire from 1946, starring Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer. Jeff Bailey (Mitchum) is running a garage in a backwater town in the California hills when a he's contacted by a past acquaintance with a job offer he can't refuse.
Although the plot is good, it's let down by Mitchum, who hadn't quite got the hang of acting at that time, and Greer who's more neurotic than fatal (she was no Ava Gardner). The highlight is Kirk Douglas, as the menacing Whit Sterling, who could act, and proceeds to do so, stealing the scene from Mitchum every time.
Need for Speed
A vehicle, if you forgive the pun. for Aaron Paul after his success in Breaking Bad. Having been framed for the death of his friend, Tobey Marshall (Paul) drives across America to compete in an unlicensed road race and revenge himself on the man (Dominic Cooper) who set him up.
Not a bad little pizza movie, if undemanding. There's almost no plot and the script sounds like it was written in an afternoon, but this is more than made up for by the car chases, which are breathtaking.
Snitch
Dwayne Johnson plays John Matthews, a construction and transportation owner whose estranged son is arrested in a DEA sting operation and makes a deal.
Dwayne continues his acting lessons, this time with the help of Susan Sarandon as an ambitious D.A., Jon Bernthal as an ex-con who gets unwittingly involved, and Barry Pepper as Matthews D.E.A. handler. Dwayne doesn't do too bad, and it's a good role for him, with a bit of action as well as acting. Give the guy a break: he's really trying!
I, Frankenstein
Dr. Frankensteins creation (Aaron Eckhart) is saved by the Gargoyle army to help save humanity from the demon horde.
Yeah, whatever. I couldn't really summon up the enthusiasm for this. It just seems like a group of media types got in a room and randomly threw Gothic stories around until something stuck. Watch only if you're bored.
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
And finally, one of the best comedy films ever made, and certainly one of the most original. Rigby Reardon (Steve Martin) is asked by Juliette Forrest (Rachel Ward), daughter of a noted cheese scientist, to solve the mystery of her father's death.
Funnier than a pack of hyenas in a laughing gas factory, Martin and Ward spark off each other wonderfully, but it's the "bit" players and the fantastic editing of all the 40's and 50's film clips that make it such a treat. Watch again and again.
Better Call Saul
Ooooo, speaking of Breaking Bad, a new series has started in the 'States about one of the characters. Jimmy McGill a.k.a. Saul Goodman, one-time hustler and con-artist, now tries to keep his head above water as a public defender.
Although I was a little disappointed with the ending of the parent series, this looks a little more promising.
Two films from my LoveFilm subscription. The first is a spy thriller with John Cusack and Liam Cunningham. After failing during an assassination, burnt-out CIA agent Emerson (Cusack) is sent to guard a cipher clerk at a remote radio transmission station.
Although the film has a good premise, it lacks substance. Cusack is good enough, and he has good support from Malin Åkerman and Cunnigham, but there's the feeling that there should have been a proper adversary for him, although the limited budget doesn't really help. An opportunity missed.
The second film is a rather good revenge thriller starring Colin Farrell. The vengeance of a criminal, "Victor" (Farrell), against his fellow gang members is jeopardised by his involvement with a neighbour.
Although the film promises to be quite bleak, and even run-of-the-mill, it's raised by the unlikely and awkward romance between Victor and Beatrice (Noomi Rapace), and good support from Isabelle Huppert and Dominic Cooper. Recommended.
Another from my LoveFilm subscription, Abraham Lincoln (Benjamin Walker) reflects on his secret life in the midst of a bloody civil war.
Yeah, I enjoyed it. Yes, it's silly, but the acting is more than reasonable, with Rufus Sewell and Dominic Cooper adding a touch of class as Lincoln's nemesis and mentor respectively, and it makes a good "what-if" along the lines of Kim Newman's Anno Dracula books. The action scenes are well done, as are the martial arts, and it's not a bad pizza movie. If you want serious, go and watch Daniel Day-Lewis overact: it's not half as much fun!
Oh, the Slaine reference? Yeah, Slaine McRoth's 30 this year and Pat Mills has written "Book of Scars" as a kind of anniversary:
There's an interview with him here. It's a big axe!
