The photos above were taken on my walk last week on my way back from Halton to Weston Turville Reservoir. The brook was completely overgrown and there was no sign of any water. I wanted to compare these pictures with the ones I took in February last year. Then all the banks had been cut back and the bottom had been cleared. Maybe it's time to do it again.
Front Cover
Here is Guillermo del Toro pictured for his new movie Frankenstein.
Editorial
Mike Williams talks about "the enduring appeal of Frankenstein as a source for a movie". He goes on "The Monster's horror stems from it's humanity". Giving a patched up human something of a brain is completely novel in movies. Mike goes back to Bernie Wrightson's illustrated Frankenstein (1983) as a source for del Toro's movie. But then why does Mike tell us about A.I. and chatbot?
Opening Scenes
Isabel Stevens looks at the climate change background to the latest film by Paul Greengrass The Lost Bus. A shame that its only on Netflix.
Editor's Choice
Here are recommendations for the BFI London Film Festival. The only one that caught my eye was The Mastermind from director Reichardt.
In Production
Hurrah! The creator of the brilliant animated film Flow (see my review) that won the Oscar, is working on his new movie Limbo where, apparently he has completed the first thirty eight minutes. Also a Sinead O'Connor biopic is underway.
News
Just about Sudanese cinema.
In Conversation
Hope Rangasuani talks to Derek Cianfrance about his new film Roofman with Channing Tatum that is due out this month. His previous films include Blue Valentine and the terrific The Place Beyond the Pines.
Report
Philip Concannon studies the return of VistaVision that was the 1950's inspiration for IMAX. Just because IMAX was used for One Battle After Another but only shown in this format in very few cinemas. Philip includes lots of technical stuff, all beyond me.
Mean Sheets
This is all about Graham Humphries whose hand drawn posters are quite startling. We see four of these.
Reader's Letters
Nothing of interest.
The Long Take
This month Pamela Hutchinson looks at the rise of audience numbers, especially those of young people.
TV Eye
Andrew Male looks at how the BBC (from 1970 - 1984) commissioned original drama for their series Play for Today. Channel 5 is actually reviving some of these productions. Most notable are the number of the then fairly unknown writers who today are household names. From Caryl Churchill (The After Dinner Joke), Mike Leigh (Abigail's Party) as well as Alan Bennett, Denis Potter, Alan Bleasedale, Willy Russell and others. Andrew talks about "the strange and wonderful diversity of the original Play for Today".
Flick Lit
Nicole Flattery explores the work of novelist Edith Wharton and the film Materialists' director Celine Song. How one of the films that inspired her was Edith's The Age of Innocence that she says "makes absolute sense". Then comparing the book with Dakota Johnson's (professional) matchmaker Lucy in Materialists. Nicole found "a totalising darkness" when I found the rich people and colour palette distracting.
Black Film Bulletin
Nothing familiar.
Bringing out the Dead
Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein gets a nine page feature for it's release on 17th October on ..... Netflix. A two and a half hour epic. Some great stills including Jacob Elordi as the Creature and Oscar Isaac as Frankenstein. Apparently the film is "authentically rooted in the structure of Shelley's novel". Shame I wont be able to see it.
The Art of the Steal
Beatrice Loaza tells us about Kelly Reichardt's movie The Mastermind about a snatch and grab raid on an art gallery in the 1970's. An unemployed family man J. B. Mahoney (played by Josh O'Connor) is not your normal thief and it sounds like his plan is doomed to fail. "A coming undone" film is a clue to how it pans out. And who should play the wife but Alana Haim. Kelly did huge research into 70's culture, and there is an interesting page on her inspirations for this story.
Cinema is breath to him
Rebecca Miller has made a five part documentary called Mr. Scorsese. On Apple TV+ so I will never get to see it. Philip Horne interviews the director.
Venice Film Festival: Portrait of a Lido on Fire
The festival seems more like a damp squid, nothing exciting except one film that was snubbed by the jury: No Other Choice is the latest from the brilliant director Park Chan-wook. A follow up to his superb Decision to Leave (2022) and a "blood and guts black comedy". Right up my street.
Reviews; Films
So many promising films this month after last times disappointing two. Bugonia stars Emma Stone. Is she an alien despite being the CEO of a biomedical company. Yorgos Lanthimos directs a Will Tracy screenplay. A long review from Travis Jeppesen concludes that it "adheres dangerously close to the cliches of horror schlock". But "it's played well" with the "depth brought by the performances of Stone and Jesse Plemons". It seems to be loosely based on the Korean movie Save the Green Planet (2003) and three more English language remakes of Korean films including the terrific Oldboy (2003) from Park Chan-wook that was remade by Spike Lee in 2013.
Next comes The Mastermind from Kelly Reichardt (see above) reviewed by Nicolas Rapolo. It stars Josh O'Connor, Alana Haim and Hope Davis. Set in the 1970's complete with documentary footage from the time. An art theft may not go well.
Then Hedda transports Ibsen's heroine to the mid 20th century and "preserves much of the original story". Kelli Weston describes the main characters (Tessa Thomson is Hedda) and Nia Dacosta has adapted the play and directed the movie. Imogen Poots plays Hedda's old classmate. All the old relationships are there, but Kelli thinks it is "bold and striking, but not wholly convincing".
It's Catherine Bray who reviews Frankenstein (see previous note). She sets out the background to the film and says that the early scenes have an "emotional heft". She added "Jacob Elordi is superb as the Creature" and that Oscar Isaac as Victor "does a fabulous job". It's a shame I won't see it as just on Netflix.
Steve is previewed by Philip Concannon. A star vehicle for Cillian Murphy who plays the head of a boarding school for last chance teenagers. Add in Roger Allam as the local MP and a visiting film crew. Although closure of the school maybe on the horizon.
One Battle After Another
This month the reviews of big films just keep on coming. (See my review of this movie). Nick Bradshaw tells us that after the long prologue, we get "two screen hours of pell-mell, crazy-quilt, cat-and-mice caper". And "there is so much to relish". Even a mention for Johnny Greenwood's score. He ends with the film being "a terrific ride".
The Smashing Machine
Reviewed by Jessica Kiang. I had not realised that this was a biopic of the real life wrestling MMA star Mark Kerr played by Dwayne Johnson, heavily in disguise. I'm not surprised it had a poor showing at the box office even with Emily Blunt playing his long suffering girl friend Dawn.
A House of Dynamite
John Bleasdale reviews this Kathryn Bigelow movie. I'm so disappointed that it's only on Netflix.
Then five more reviews of films that are of no interest before we get to .....
Spinal Tap 11: The End Continues
Even the title is one of the reasons I'm not into these movies. I never got the original though I did give it a go. Leigh Singer does his best to put us in the picture with his review. But as a non-devotee I will let others decide. Leigh says "the basic joke is their crudely overblown, if sometimes charmingly naive insanity".
Honey, Don't
Saffron Mave reviews the second in Ethan Coen's and Tricia Cooke's trilogy following their Drive Away Dolls (see my post). The film is also co-produced by Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner of Working Title. An absurd, brightly coloured thriller starring the striking Margaret Qualley as private eye Honey O'Donoghue. She is like a modern sharp talking Humphrey Bogart. See my review on this blog. The critics were mainly unimpressed, the audience was sparse, but I loved it. Bring on number three.
After the Hunt
The review sounded interesting, but cannot find it's release in cinemas. Julia Roberts stars in a Luca Guadagnino film.
Caught Stealing
This was being shown in local cinemas, but Matt Smith with his punk Mohican haircut put me off. Again reviewed by Philip Concannon, it's the latest from Darren Aronofsky but it sounded too violent for me. The director's films are "not light hearted affairs". Austin Butler stars in "a portrait of a sad and broken world".
DVD and BLU-RAY
Michael Haneke: A Curzon Collection
A box set of eighteen of his films, including those made for TV, are in a box set of 14 discs on Blu-Ray. Geoff Andrew describes them: "The TV films here may not be as immediately personal or brilliant as Haneke's later work".
The Graduate
A three disc box set on Blu-Ray is "a gorgeous transfer".
And lots more reviews.
Lost and Found
The films of Nick Zedd. Pass.
Wider Screen
Nothing.
Books
Darkness Visible: The Cinema of Jonathon Glazer
From Sexy Beast that starred Ray Winstone (with that iconic photo) to Under the Skin and Zone of Interest.
Also Mark Kermode's Surround Sound. The stories of movie music.
From the Archive
We have to be Intimate
At the BFI Southbank in October/November comes Love, Sex, Religion, Death: The Complete Films of Terrence Davies. An extended feature that includes a number of interviews he gave to this magazine over the years. The best part was his piece called On Acting which included a comparison of British and American.
This Month in ...... 1955
Here is Gavin Lambert's feature about Fritz Lang as well as a picture of the front cover which was a still from Jean Renoir's French Cancan. The only review of note from that edition was David Lean's Summer Madness that starred Katherine Hepburn.
In my post of the 1st October, I included a review of Part 7 of Gregory Doran's My Shakespeare. This was about his production of Macbeth in 1999 that was later filmed for TV. This was what encouraged me to buy the DVD of that same production at The Roundhouse in London. I have to say that I was quite disappointed, mainly because of the "lively" camera that dodged about repeatedly, especially in the first half. I guess that they were trying to make the play more suitable for television rather than a staged theatrical production. For me, it just did not work. Those "artistic" close ups were, if antyhing, quite distracting.
It is a modern dress setting and that was OK, the costumes and make up were fine. However, using the bare stage of The Roundhouse became somewhat tedious. The play was almost saved by Harriet Walter as Lady Macbeth with Anthony Sher as her husband close behind. But I have never seen such a scary Porter as Stephen Noonan. I thought the Porter was meant to be a comedy diversion. Not here. He was just nasty, sneering at the camera. Give me Barrie Rutter any day. Finally, there was one point that Macbeth turns from a quiet ruminative man into a gay loudmouth. What was that all about Greg?
Before I went to see Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another, I was advised to listen to the score composed by Johnny Greenwood. Film Critic Mark Kermode was especially impressed. I have to say that apart from the brilliant opening sequence, I found it OK, but not as good as some of his other film scores. There are a few films that I have seen with Johnny's music, some I found better than others.
Let's start with the best: Licorice Pizza. (Blow me down if Alana Haim wasn't in both movies). Another film by Paul Thomas Anderson. See my review 17th January 2022. Then with the same director: There Will Be Blood , The Master (wasn't impressed), Inherent Vice and Phantom Thread. All because I follow films from Paul Thomas Anderson. I had not realised he has stuck with Johnny Greenwood as composer of the music.
I then found there were two other films that I had seen that Johnny has scored: We Need To Talk About Kevin and You Were Never Really Here. I just did not know.
The Cosmos that I grew from seed are still flowering in the round border. Behind them are the dwarf sunflowers, also grown from seed.
The two plants that were free when I visited Chiltern View Garden Centre months ago, had died off after their first flowering. I moved them to the conservatory border and they are flowering again. I had to go on "plant identifier" to find that they were a Blue Daisy or Felicia amelloides. I will look out for them again next year.
For the first time in years, I have resisted buying any more bulbs. But what I did (on the advice of Monty Don) was buy a dozen Wallflowers Sugar Rush mix. They are not too tall and I hope that will suit them going in pots.
The tallest Silver Birch lost most of it's leaves after those weeks with no rain. Then with all the rain we had at the end of August and into September, the leaves stopped falling, and those that had remained have stayed there. Amazing.
It seems quite incredible that the bedding dahlias are now at their best in October. I spaced them out more than last year, but those in the third photo are still far too close. I must remember for next summer.
I bought this hardback book of When We Were Very Young by A.A. Milne on eBay for just over two pounds. It was in immaculate condition, just like new. The layout was marvelous, the pictures by Ernest H Shepard were great and in colour. Everything was fantastic. First published in 1924, the first coloured edition came in 1989.
There are twenty three poems, some more familiar than others. I have always preferred these to Winnie the Pooh.
Part 10 Much Ado about Nothing
- 2002: Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon and Haymarket Theatre, London
Greg starts with the legacy of the now departed Artistic Director Adrian Noble. His plans to demolish the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and build a brand new theatre sound awful to put it mildly, Thank goodness this never happened, and instead we have this wonderful three and a half year renovation. See my post of 25th August 2011. So who to replace Noble? The two joint Associate Directors are in the running. Greg and the equally excellent Michael Boyd.
On to the play. As Shakespeare set Much Ado in Sicily, Greg and (Tony) Sher are off to Taormina (did they stay at the same hotel as us?). Most productions shy away from Italy, but not this one. He wants to respect the Sicilian way of life for his. He talks about the music, the composer, the sets and costumes. Again there is so much detail about how he interprets the plot (oh to have read this before seeing the play). There is, for instance, one bit where "Nick le Provost, a master of the very serious business of the conventions of comedy, would point out that his Benedict cannot talk directly to the audience unless his line of communication is clear. He cannot address them from upstage centre, for instance, especially if the others are in mid conversation across the stage from either side of him. That would not be credible to the audience".
When Beatrice is hiding in the shrubbery that Harriet then begins to water, Beatrice comes out soaked to the skin. There are so many scenes like this that are similarly described. These may be the longest in the book, such a detailed dissection of how they were performed. Michael Billington in The Guardian gave the play three stars at Stratford and then four when it transferred to London.
There are then another four pages, partly a diary, of the ramifications of Adrian Noble not renewing his contract as Artistic Director. (" He had faced hostile abuse from the press and attacks on his family"). Quite an emotional section as Michael Boyd is selected for the top job. He becomes Artistic Director from 2002 to 2012. Greg's disappointment is tempered only by knowing that he became Artistic Director from 2012 to 2022.
20th October 2014 - Royal Shakespeare Theatre
28th February 2025 - Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
Part 11 The Taming of the Shrew
-2003: Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon; Eisenhower Theatre, John F Kennedy Center, Washington, DC; Queen's Theatre, London
With Michael Boyd not programming his first season as Artistic Director until 2004, we have an interim season. Greg proposes, among others, The Taming of the Shrew. "Not so much to direct .... as try to solve it". The play had fallen out of favour, but Greg says "I thought I may have found the solution". His plan was to use the same cast for another play, The Tamer Tamed, a sequel to the other by John Fletcher, to be performed in The Swan Theatre. The cast was thrilled. They included in smaller roles Rory Kinnear and Eve Myles. Both now big stars.
On to the play. Greg thinks that he knows Kate. He presents a long passage about his family background that ends with "So I knew who Kate was. I saw a young women in pain". Next up comes Greg's detailed interpretation of the text. Later on this includes a piece about an encounter between Kate and Petruchio, and "how a single stage direction changed the meaning of the whole play". This they felt was a mistake and changing it made far more sense. Doran then compares the first half of the play (pages of discussion) with the second half which only gets a half page. That is because he feels that this is "at best mean, at worst sadistic".
The pairing of the two plays opened to great reviews leading to the transfer to Washington DC and later a season at The Queen's Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue. Tony tells Greg "All's well that ends well".
10th July 2008 - Royal Shakespeare Theatre
Pert 12 All's Well That Ends Well
-2003: Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon: Gielgud Theatre, London
Judi Dench is invited to play the Countess. The last time she was in Stratford was twenty five years ago in Cymbeline (1979). They visit Wilton House near Salisbury as the inspiration for the setting and "where the co-incidences with the play are too extraordinary to ignore". Again lots of background to the play before we get to the rehearsals. Here Greg concentrates on Judi's "masterclass in Shakespearian verse. He tells us "the art is to hide the technique, to marry application with inspiration, and balance concentration with relaxation".
When we get to exploring the text, sometimes line by line, he calls Judi devastating. "But I can't tell you how she does it". In amongst the detailed account of how they interpreted the plot, there is one amazing fact. The costume designer isn't happy with how Helena looks. She comes back with a simple black dress. Judi spots the label (as all the RSC costumes do have them) of a previous production The label has her name and "Lady Macbeth 1976. The new actress could not be more thrilled.
19th July 2011 - The Globe Theatre, London
On our holiday in Chichester last year, I walked a short stretch of the city walls. This year I found the above free leaflet in Tourist Information and bought the thirty two page souvenir guide that describes each section of the walls in great detail, what to look for on the way round and some history of their construction. Each quadrant has it's own part together with lots of photographs and sketches.
We started at the Promenade Quadrant which starts at West Street, our entry to the old city from our accommodation. The walls have been rebuilt using the old stonework.
The guide told us to "keep an eye out for an unusual object in one of the gardens. What appears to be a large mass of rubble is actually the core of a Roman bastion". See photo below.
We enjoyed our week in Chichester so much last September that we booked the same bungalow for this year, albeit a week later.
Friday 26th September
An easy drive to our stopping off at Cowdray Park. No polo this year, but the same excellent cafe for a superb lunch.
A walk around the grounds, deserted unlike last year. Then Alison took some time buying some lovely stuff in the shop, while I toured the display of plants for sale, noting quite a few that looked promising for our garden.
It was then a short drive to Chichester to find our accommodation. A cloudy day with a quite cool 14C.
Saturday 27th September
Monday 29th September
Chichester Walls Walk - see separate post.
Dinner at ASK Italian. Another lovely sunny day, clear blue skies and a warm 18C.
Tuesday 30th September
Our day in Portsmouth. Parked in a pretty empty car park in Southsea, (that is actually two miles from Portsmouth) just back from the seafront. Sat on a bench looking out to sea and all the ships in and out of the harbour. No breeze and the flag above the castle was completely still.
