If you
are looking for a light hearted film to take away the gloom of this dismal
summer weather, then Red Dog, directed by Kriv Stenders might be just what you
need.
It’s a
big hearted story of a red dog (uncannily enough) set against the beautiful
sunsets and arid deserts of Western Australia. Red Dog is everyone's dig and no
one’s dog, as he has those magical doggie qualities that help to bring people
together in the small mining community of Dampier.
So it’s
a bit Skippy the bush kangaroo, and a bit Carry On – but in a good and generous
way. Our canine hero settles on one master, and as that master is easy on the eye
American John, played by Josh Lucas, frankly, who can blame him? He is also adopted
by the group of miners in the small town. And it is small town in attitude as
well as size.
This
is a funny and unashamed romantic tearjerker of a film, based on a true story. Great
dog, hunks and amazing scenery. What's not to like?
It
sounds a bit implausible as I already know the beginning, end – and lots of the
gory details in between – of this story, and yet this excellent account of the
full extent of the dark arts practiced by Rupert Murdoch and his colleagues at
News International has to be the most page turning, thrilling read of the year.
Labour politician Tom Watson, and Independent
journalist Martin Hickman have written the story of the phone hacking scandal
that shocked us so deeply when some of the more horrendous details emerged last
year, and it is just crying out to be read by any right minded person who cares
about basic human liberties and the abuse of power of any sort.
To be
fair I was expecting something of a biased version of events, considering the
personal experiences of News International that Watson has endured, and his pivotal
role in the Commons Select Committee quizzing of the participants. And the book
does start off by reinforcing some of my prejudices about New Labour politicians.
For example, Watson recounts how he became disenchanted with Tony Blair due to
Cherie's haircuts and the redecoration of their nuclear bunker being charged to
public purse – not a mention of the war in Iraq then! To my mind that is dubious
judgement to say the least.
In
fact parts of the first chapter about Watson are slightly unnecessary and
biased in tone. And also, dare I say it, the writing comes over in a News Of The World manner when discussing
Rebekah Brooks’/Wade’s appearance, describing her 'with her burning ambitious eyes and extravagantly curled red hair
tumbling over her shoulders.'It’s a
little over the top, and to be fair to her, which I am not usually unduly concerned
about, as her curly hair seems quite natural to me even if she is a completely
loathsome individual.
But
these minor details soon pale totally into insignificance as the taut writing
and fast paced account takes hold. The extraordinary arrogance and criminality
of some of the players in the News International stable, and the way all
our politicians (from every party who they would pay any attention to at any
right– hence the Liberal Democrat self righteously stance) has more than an
echo of Watergate.
And
with some of the decisions about who will fall from grace at the final reckoning
and be held to account for the heinous crimes committed in the quest for world
domination via our media, still in the balance - there is more to come still. Some
of the names of the protagonists are kept tantalising hidden (‘a senior executive at Wapping’) due to
ongoing legal proceedings. Later editions should be able to be more candid and
shocking then!
But the
detail that is given is actually extremely frightening and Orwellian. You get
the distinct feeling that Murdoch and his cronies would have, and did, stop at
nothing to get their way. Murder; harassment; wrongful imprisonment; invasion
of the privacy of celebrities, victims of crime, and anyone the intimate
details of whose lives would generate newspaper sales; all this on an
industrial scale is all involved in one way or another. It is extremely scary
stuff.
There
are some unlikely heroes in the shape of Hugh Grant and Tommy Sheridan. And I
have to agree with hacking victim Charlotte Church when she commented of the
Murdochs and their pals that 'they are
not truly sorry, only sorry they got caught'.
This breathtaking book is an abject
lesson in the corruption that comes about with absolute power through control
of our media. I can only hope that the guilty will truly pay the price for their
actions – but somehow I suspect they will not. Well done to Watson and Hickman.
Shame on the Murdochs, Wade, Coulson et al. Read this book, and wait for the next
chapter in this disgusting saga to unfold.
The Hunter captures the dramatic and
hostile beauty of the Tasmanian wilderness fabulously. Willem Dafoe plays a classic
loner who is a hit man on a dubious mission, but whose experiences in the
depths of Tasmania fundamentally change him.
He has
been sent by a very shady biotech corporation to track down and kill the
elusive and near extinct Tasmanian Tiger. (Yes I know - this is now sounding a
bit farfetched). But his mission is somewhat interrupted by the relationships
he starts to form with the family with whom he has been sent to lodge.
It is
a basic morality tale of good versus evil – which is fine, except that the
morals of some of the key protagonists get a bit too blurred to hold the story line
in a convincing enough fashion. Dafoe is his usual deep, brooding and brilliant
self. But Sam Neil’s character, for example, is a bit too much of an archetypal baddie to be equally
compelling.
It is
an evocative and atmospheric piece, but ultimately the story line does not match the haunting
landscape for drama and majesty.
I realise that I really should know better by now,
but rave reviews and ‘contender for thriller of the year’ notices are truly not
a guarantee that I will appreciate a crime novel. And sadly that is very much the case
for Gillian Flynn’s new page turner Gone
Girl.
To be fair it starts off very promisingly, and
unusually for crime fiction, the two main characters are normal happy all
American types with no hint of a misdemeanour in sight. Nick Dunne has moved his
Manhattan born and raised wife Amy back to his native Missouri backwater to
care for his elderly ailing parents. They seemed to have it all as chic
journalists and writers in the Big Apple, but first Nick, then his wife Amy
have lost their jobs in the economic downturn. Amy is not too bothered about their
finances as she has a very healthy trust fund.
But tragedy strikes when Amy suddenly disappears
from their new home. Signs of a violent struggle are evident, and Nick’s
inability to express any emotion leads him to be prime suspect. The first third
of the book is really engrossing, as each partner takes it in turn to tell the story
from their own viewpoint. Nick’s account is of the harrowing days immediately after Amy’s
disappearance – Amy’s is via a diary of the previous few years that she has
kept.
But the horrifying twist when it comes, and you do
know that there will be a twist, turns the whole thing on its head. That sounds
like a good thing in a crime novel – right? Well, no, wrong actually as it
leaves two characters neither of whom are what they seemed to be (not necessarily a literary crime - pardon the pun) or remotely likeable, which is much more problematic. Nick and Amy both emerge
from their toxic wreckage of a life as despicable and weak human beings at best. In the end
all I felt was sullied and defiled as I read the warped and totally preposterous
denouement.
So if this is going to be a bestselling crime A-lister,
then count me out. Now what else is everyone else reading at the moment, something
about shades of grey?
If you’re a fan of an intelligent and interesting
costume drama, (and I confess that I am), then look no further than Nikolaj
Arcel’s A Royal Affair. It is the fascinating
and true story of romantic intrigue and radical political thinking during the reign
of King Christian VII of Denmark in the late 1700’s.
Alicia Vikander plays Caroline
Mathilde, the English princess and sister of King George
III, who is married off to the young Danish monarch, unaware of his mental
frailties and eccentric behaviour. She tries her best to perform her queenly
duties, and indeed is soon pregnant with their son. Christian’s behaviour is so
odd, apparently it is suspected that he had schizophrenia, that the help of a personal
physician is called upon to give him round the clock medical attention.
In comes Mads Mikkelsenas Johann
Struensee with his radical philosophies and fantastic cheekbones. If it was
fiction it would be labelled as far-fetched, that someone who courted the Enlightenment
thinkers like Rousseau and Voltaire would be allowed so much access to and influence
on the king. But Struensee succeeded in getting the childlike Christian to
trust him, and also to exert more of his constitutional powers to introduce
radical reform. And of course he also succeeded in getting very close to
Caroline Mathilde.
You suspect that if his only crime was his passionate
affair with the beautiful young queen, then this would have been overlooked,
but his political influence on the king proved too much of a threat to the old
guard politicians, and tragedy ensued.
Arcel’s film is beautifully shot, and documents a little
known (in this country at any rate) and fascinating period of history. It is perhaps
a little overlong at a shade over two hours, but he elicits wonderful performances
from his two romantically entwined leads, Vikander and Mikkelsen. Both are set to be in the public eye in a much bigger way with their forthcoming
roles in Anna Karenina and The Hunt. And Mikkel Boe
Følsgaard is also outstanding as the half mad king. This sumptuous piece is just
the thing for a wet summer’s day afternoon...
