Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, Sully: Miracle on the Hudson and Passengers

Despite all the hype, I was rather disappointed with Fantastic Beasts. It seemed to me Ghost-busters meets Harry Potter. There was just nothing original about chasing fantasy creatures around New York. The story and the screenplay left a lot to be desired, sorry JK. Stick to writing books. And Eddie Redmayne, well. He didn't seem to hit the right pitch for his character. That reticent whispering was at times unintelligible which meant I didn't catch all he was saying.

However, it was great to see Alison Sudol. I have been a big fan of A Fine Frenzy for a long time but her strong performance means her music will probably take a back seat, which is a shame. But then I hear she has made a new album. Playing opposite her, Dan Fogler was very good. Director David Yates did his best with the flimsy plot and the costumes and sets were outstanding. But the only chuckles came from some of the antics of the beats. So reasonable fun, but not for me.

I was very impressed by Sully. The way the movie was constructed was remarkable. Thanks to director Clint Eastwood, what could have been a ten minute wonder turned out to be a captivating and perfectly timed hour and a half. Of course, there was no-one else who could have played Sully except for Tom Hanks and he was excellent. Tense and highly enjoyable.

I went to see Passengers on the first day it opened and had not read a single review. As it turned out, I was more positive about the movie than most of the critics. A decent enough story, given the limitations of the plot setting, and an acceptable, if a little too serious, screenplay. Thank goodness for the performance of Michael Sheen as the android bar tender. His lines may have not been that witty, (and we certainly could have done with more) but his delivery certainly was. I would give him the Oscar for best supporting actor just because he elevated the script way beyond what it deserved.

Jennifer Lawrence is always worth watching but the film suffered badly from an amazingly dull Chris Pratt. The lack of chemistry with his co-star was all his fault. A better choice of actor in his role, and I'm certain that the film would have been better received.

The American Lover, The Heart Goes Last and Unfaithfully Yours

I rarely read a book of short stories, but this collection from Rose Tremain was not to be missed. Some had been published previously in various journals, I liked "The Jester of Astapovo" from 2009 and "21st Century Juliet" from 2007. The four new stories are all good, but "The Housekeeper" and "Lucy and Gaston" are exceptional. Rose Tremain is such a great writer.

A sizzling delicious novel, Margaret Atwood at her best. The Heart Goes Last is far better concoction that her other four futuristic books, in fact possibly the best of all of her novels that I have read. Her writing is that modern, fearless, darkly comic, almost slangy prose that I love, one word sentences and all. How does she write in the third person and make it feel as if that character is talking to us?

Her imaginings of this particular (near?) future is more like a parallel universe. Almost farcical at times, the pace is hot as we follow Charmaine and Stan on a surreal and thrilling adventure. I was so disappointed when it ended, but not with the ending.

Unfaithfully Yours was the funniest book I have read for ages. Nigel Williams' humour is just the kind I love. "I am writing this in my living room, Mrs Price and the man next door seems to be trying to run over his dog with his lawnmower". Then later "I don't see many people now. I took early retirement from the BBC. Which is virtually indistinguishable from working for it".

The dry wit that punctuates this novel is at times quite rude. But you cannot help laughing. Behind the hilarity is a serious story about late middle age, or is that early old age. I'm just too old to be a baby boomer as these Putney "friends". If I had one criticism, it sags a little towards the end. Otherwise, five star fun.

1606: William Shakespeare and the Year of Lear

Too much history, not enough Shakespeare. Although, to be fair James Shapiro put in as much as he could about the background of the three plays Shakespeare wrote in 1606: "King Lear", "Macbeth" and "Anthony and Cleopatra". These passages were very interesting, especially when he relates quotations to the circumstances of the times. Gunpowder plot and it's aftermath, the new Scottish King James and his plan for union and the ever present plague. The deconstruction of "Lear" and it's comparison with the earlier "Leir" by Geoffrey of Monmouth is, for me, the best section of the book. "Robes and furred gowns hide all" is as relevant today as it was then. The "Blow wind, and crack your cheeks" speech is explained in detail. But there could have been more of the same when we get to "Macbeth" and "Anthony and Cleopatra", but it was in short supply.

But then the history. The gunpowder plot of 5th November 1605, it's background and aftermath is set out in mind blowing detail. OK, it was very nearly the greatest terrorist outrage ever, but this was not the book I wanted to read. Then we had pages and pages about the masque of January 1606. There was just too much boring historical detail for my liking. The author does save his best for the last three pages of the Epilogue when we are back to Shakespeare. But by then I had lost interest.

10 Years of blogging

It was ten years ago today I published my first post on this blog. Apparently, I still had six days left at work before I retired and wanted to get the blog up and running.

So, ten years and 980 posts later, I continue to write about books, cinema, theatre, tv and anything that interests me. I have added bits about my various projects: the screenplay, family history and more recently the East Fen in Lincolnshire.

Apart from enjoying the whole process, I always wanted to keep my brain active once I retired, and the discipline of writing helps to do just that. I guess I always wanted to write. My place at Hull University to read Economics was, I thought, an entry to journalism. Thankfully my "A" Level grades were never good enough as I now know my actual career in construction provided a better outlet for my limited creativity.

So thank you to Alan Yentob who, in his programme "Imagine" in 2006, described all the new things on the internet like YouTube, Facebook and blogs. And to Google for the free platform. Here's to the next ten years.