Judy and Punch, La belle epoque and 21 Bridges

Maybe a missed opportunity. The idea was excellent, the puppeteers back in their own village in what might be Jacobean times. It is colourful and exciting. But Punch is an alcoholic and the act spills over into real life. So far so good. Unfortunately that is the end of the plot. The writers could have done so much more with this story, but all we get is a wishy washy tale of revenge. A better actor than Damon Herriman might have turned it around.

My favourite film of the year. It reminded me of a classic Hollywood movie from the fifties or sixties, a completely original comedy drama. It was so emotional throughout, so wonderfully manipulative that it sometimes seemed it had just been made for me. Nicolas Bedos has written and directed something really special.

Victor (an awards winning role by Daniel Auteuil) is sixty something and is struggling with a life without a job, his career as a cartoonist has come to a full stop. His wife Marianne has the money and throws him out. His son gives him a present, a company run by a friend Antione will place you anywhere in history with actors and sets to match. Victor chooses 1974 and the day he met his wife at the cafe called, you've guessed it.

So we have a kind of farce as Victor meets a younger version of Marianne. The plot is extremely clever with interludes following Marianne's new freedom and Antoine's own relationship. All the cast were great and the production design and costumes first rate. I was going to give it nine out of ten, but then those songs. Dionne Warwick's "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me", The Monkees' "I'm a Believer", "The Man I Love " by Billie Holiday, "Me and Bobby McGee", "Baby Come Back", "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" and "Rescue Me" and some other French songs. So ten out of ten.

It would have been nice if the plot had taken us to a couple of those 21 bridges. But no. It was just so that someone decided that it would be neat to give it that title. So we never see any of the 21 that are closed to prevent the two criminals from leaving Manhattan. Apart from that, this is a decent enough night time action thriller where the chasing is fortunately on foot and not in cars. Perfectly fine.

Clock Dance, Man at the Helm and Nights at the Circus

Oh Willa, have you never grown up? In those early chapters when she was young, she seems far more mature than the sixty one year old of the second half. We get to know her in a glimpse of how she was at ten, twenty and thirty, a neat literary device. So a book of two halves, setting up our "heroine" for the biggest adventure of her life. Well, Anne Tyler doesn't really do adventures, and this is not her best novel. But still an enjoyable, shortish book. 

I loved the first half of this family comedy drama narrated by an adult Lizzie looking back to when she was nine. There were some very funny moments, especially involving her younger brother Little Jack. Lizzie is close to her elder sister (purposefully un-named throughout) who is only two years older. Their upper class mother has never had a job in her life, but is struggling after her divorce. The novel does run out of steam half way through, but overall an enjoyable read. 

I made it past the first hundred pages, to the end of the section in London. But that was enough. It was weird and fantastical, not my usual kind of book. But I did want to try an Angela Carter novel, having seen her "Wise Children" adapted for the stage. There were parts that were atmospheric and original, but the writing seemed deliberately awkward.

"The toil-misshapen back of the baboushka humbly bowed before the bubbling urn in the impotently submissive obeisance of one who pleads for a respite or a mercy she knows in advance will not be forthcoming, and her hands, those worn, veiny hands that had involuntarily burnished the handles of the bellows over decades of use, those immemorial hands of hers slowly parted and came together again just as slowly, in a hypnotically reiterated gesture that was as if she was about to join her hands in prayer".

If you like this sort of prose. go for it. Otherwise steer clear.          

Le Corsaire by English National Ballet at Milton Keynes Theatre

When English National Ballet opened with Le Corsaire at Milton Keynes Theatre in 2013, it was the first time this had been performed as a full length ballet in the UK. But as it was unknown to us, we gave it a miss. Fortunately ENB have brought it once again to Milton Keynes (the only performances before London) and are still the only company to produce this ballet. Surprisingly so as it was a hugely enjoyable evening.

Act 1 introduces the cast with some energetic dancing from the men. But it is Act 2 where the dancing is extraordinary. The three principals take the stage with pas de deux and solo presentations. Shiori Case (below) as Medora, Brooklyn Mack as Conrad (above) and Daniel McCormick as Ali are amazing and drew huge applause at the end of each of their many routines.

Before Act 3, I mentioned to Alison that we had not seen a corps de ballet. But right at the start we were then treated to a beautifully staged and lit ensemble.

 Perhaps the story is pretty thin and the music (mainly by Adolphe Adam but with pieces by nine other composers), although very nice, was not recognisable. But the huge orchestra is fantastic. We saw five french horns! So the combination of the music and spectacle is amazing. I just hope ENB keep coming to Milton Keynes.

Once Upon A Time In ... Hollywood Additional Footage

I have only seen one movie twice this year and that was Us. Until now. The re-release of One Upon A Time In ... Hollywood with additional footage gave me the perfect opportunity to see this brilliant movie again. If I was going to see the film a third time (and I'm not) I would not bother with the new scenes which only bookend the main feature. 

At the start we see two fake commercials for Red Apple cigarettes and Chattanooga beer. Both are pretty hammy. The normal film then plays in it's entirety. After the closing credits there is the longest and best of the additional scenes as the filming of Lancer (the TV pilot that we see earlier in production) takes in the two brothers meeting the girl for the first time. This finishes with the director shouting to Julia Butters "Watch Out Hayley Mills".

I just wish that they had placed this scene at an appropriate time in the main movie for one big reason. It takes away the superb last scene of the movie when Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) at last meets Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) and her friends at Polanski's house next door. It doesn't sound much, but in the context of the film together with some great dialogue, it gives us that feeling of closure that was all so important. Especially that  for two and half hours the movie has only one violent moment, only to be followed in the penultimate section by something truly awful. Thank goodness for that very last scene, only for that to dissipate in the mind with that new footage.

However, the movie does stand up to viewing second time around, if only for those scenes where someone is driving around Hollywood. This time I could appreciate more the billboards, the neon advertising and the cinemas advertising the latest films of 1969. There are also two standout scenes that elevate the film to Oscar worthiness. The first, and best, is like a short movie in itself. Cliff Booth (played by a never better Brad Pitt) picks up Pussycat, a hippie girl (played by a terrific Margaret Qualley) and gives her a lift to the Spahn Movie Ranch where he once performed  as a stunt man eight years before. A lot has changed and the tension ramps up as Cliff investigates. A fantastic half hour of real time on one set. Brilliant.

What I also didn't realise was that the film has no original score. Just thirty six songs from the sixties, many I knew, a lot I didn't. Thirty six are listed on Tunefind, although thirty seven are on screenrant (listed below). However there are only thirty one on the soundtrack album. This has one glaring omission. Out  of Time (the movie featuring the track from the 1966 album "Aftermath" by the Rolling Stones and not the number one version from Chris Farlowe that Mick Jagger produced) fails to make the soundtrack album. It was one of my favourite songs from the sixties and brings back vivid memories from that time.

Mary Ramos has apparently been Tarantino's music supervisor for twenty seven years and has tracked down the rights for all the songs in the movie. I was amazed to hear the opening song Treat Her Right by Roy Head and the Traits. I have a feeling that I may have had a 45 rpm recording of the song but I do know it was played a lot at parties in 1965. Although I may not have heard it for over 50 years. California Dreamin' is by Jose Feliciano and not The Mamas and The Papas and Kentucky Woman is the Deep Purple version and not Neil Diamond. Mrs Robinson is there but the songs I have not heard for years include The Letter by Joe Cocker, and Jenny Take a Ride by Mitch Ryder. The website https://ultimateclassicrock.com/once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-music/ is a good place to visit. These are the songs:

1. Treat Her Right - Roy Head & The Traits (1965)
2. The Green Door - Jim Lowe (1956), performed by Leonardo DiCaprio
3. I'll Never Say Never To Always - Charles Manson (1970)
4. Mrs. Robinson - Simon & Garfunkel (1968)
5. The Letter - Joe Cocker (1970)
6. Summertime - Billy Stewart (1966)
7. Funky Fanfare - Keith Manfield (1969)
8. Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man - The Bob Seger System (1968)
9. The House That Jack Built - Aretha Franklin (1968)
10. MacArthur Park - Robert Goulet (1970)
11. Paxton Quigley’s Had the Course - Chad & Jeremy (1968)
12. Hush - Deep Purple (1968)
13. Son of a Lovin’ Man - Buchanan Brothers (1969)
14. Choo Choo Train - The Box Tops (1968)
15. Kentucky Woman - Deep Purple (1968)
16. Good Thing - Paul Revere & The Raiders (1966)
17. Time for Livin' - The Association (1968)
18. Hungry - Paul Revere & the Raiders (1966)
19. The Circle Game - Buffy Sainte-Marie (1967)
20. Jenny Take a Ride - Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels (1965)
21. Can't Turn You Lose - Otis Redding (1967)
22. Soul Serenade - Willie Mitchell (1968)
23. Bring a Little Lovin’ - Los Bravos (1966)
24. Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show - Neil Diamond (1969)
25. Hey Little Girl - Dee Clark (1959)
26. Mr. Sun, Mr. Moon - Paul Revere & the Raiders feat. Mark Lindsay (1969)
27. Don’t Chase Me Around - Robert Corff (1970)
28. California Dreamin’ - Jose Feliciano (1968)
29. Dinamite Jim (English Version) - I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni (1966)
30. Out of Time - The Rolling Stones (1966)
31. Straight Shooter - The Mamas & The Papas (1966)
32. Twelve Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon) - The Mamas & The Papas (1968)
33. Snoopy vs. The Red Baron - The Royal Guardsman (1966)
34. You Keep Me Hangin’ On - Vanilla Fudge (1967)
35. Miss Lily Langtry - Maurice Jarre (1972)
36. Judge Roy Bean’s Theme - Maurice Jarre (1972)
37. Batman Theme - Neal Hefti (1966)

The Lovely Bones at the Oxford Playhouse

Some novels make good plays and some do not. In the latter category I would put The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and Brideshead Revisited. However, the adapter of that book has made a much more thrilling theatrical experience from Alice Sebold's novel. She also adapted Brighton Rock which was equally successful.

So I found that the play was far better than the movie. I liked the way the dead Susie mingles with the living, although they cannot see her. Those passages from the book where she fails to tell them what to find work much better as a result. Susie herself is played with gusto by the excellent Charlotte Beaumont. This is a very physical and engaging performance.

The set also works well with that giant mirror at the back replicating Susie's view from heaven. Director Melly Still and designer Ana Ines Jabares-Pita are responsible for the different effects it made. Sometimes you didn't know whether to watch the action on stage or in the mirror. I guess this unsettling feeling was what they wanted.

The rest of the cast is fine. I particularly liked Leigh Lothian as Ruth and Buckley, and Nicholas Khan was just right as the creepy Harvey. The 70's soundtrack was fun with clips from Top of the World, You Make Me Feel Brand New, Everybody Wants to Rule the World and Starman. For such a tragic story, the play mirrors the book with it's premise that heaven is not such  a bad place to end up.

After the Wedding, The Aeronaughts and Farmageddon

A far more enjoyable film than many critics would have me believe. A good family drama that was well written with great performances from Michelle Williams and Julianne Moore. The ending did slightly spoil the whole thing, if only it had cut off when it had the chance.

The first twenty minutes are as good a spectacle as you would ever want from a historical movie. London looks great and the arena for the balloon launch quite wonderful. Enter Felicity Jones, a super show-woman. Less exciting when we are up in the air, but the visuals are quite something on the IMAX screen. Jones and Eddie Redmayne reprise their double act from The Theory of Everything, this time it's the man who has to rely on his partner's skill. And boy, is it put to the test as director Tom Harper treats us to some giddy moments. So entertaining (the balloon sequences are fortunately interrupted by some back story) and visually stunning.

Aardman Studios have done it again. A wordless but not silent movie with stacks of visual gags, not least the expressions on the faces of the sheep, the alien, the farmer etc. So many references to old space movies I lost count. A great soundtrack with songs I had never heard before such as the up-tempo "Lazy" by The Vaccines and Kylie. Wonderful.

This Is What Happened, When All Is Said and The Wall

This seedy thriller had an ugly plot-line. A vulnerable woman and a monster. What's not to hate. Herron's normal dark humour is sunk in what is not his normal spy story. I guessed the main plot point of the first half early on (not like me), but it was so obvious. The second half picks up a little before the pathetic conclusion. 

Eighty four year old Maurice Hannigan is sitting in a bar talking to his son Kevin, who isn't really there. That concept is only revealed towards the end, but it makes for a hugely entertaining, though sometimes dark, history of his life. Five toasts, five drinks. The writing is top drawer for a first time novelist. "For the life of me, I can't remember the chaps' first name. If you were here you'd know it. I'm sure you would. I steer my way around my memory loss as best I can. It's the faces I remember, no problem, these days but the names have me stumped".

With a light wit Maurice is not distracted from his tale by the comings and goings in the bar. "A gong sounds and true to Irish custom, the horde ignores it's request." There is some outstanding dialogue. All in his mind. There are some pretty sad stories along the way, all for Kevin's benefit as it happens. 

An interesting view of the future with hot topics about climate change, migration and Brexit. Our narrator, Kavanagh, has been brought up in a different world to his parents. And is it all their fault? This is an interesting, exhilarating but not captivating story, as cold as it is on The Wall. Their is little in the way of characterisation but it is an easy, fast read. And with a neat ending. 

Freya Ridings, Dido, Molly Tuttle, Nerina Pallot and Jenny Lewis

The last time I posted music reviews was back in August 2018. These are the latest albums in my collection.

The first album released by Freya Ridings ("Live at Omeara") was recorded at this music venue at London Bridge. Full of good songs with Freya playing keyboard and a small band. "Lost Without You" is the stand out track, as are all her ballads such as "You Mean The World To Me". The best of the up tempo songs is "Castles".

Freya's new self titled studio album contains most of the songs from her live album, so I just downloaded the four brand new tracks. The ballads, again, are great with "Still Have You" her best to date.

"Still on my Mind" is not the best of Dido's albums but still worth a listen. "Give You Up" and "Some Kind of Love" are typical Dido although most of the other tracks are a mixed bag.

As I said on my previous post about "When You're Ready",  I only came across Molly when this, her first full album was reviewed in The Sunday Times:   

Molly Tuttle is already a phenomenon: she was the first woman to be named guitar player of the year by The International Bluegrass Association then won the award for the second time. But while purists drool over her technique, this debut will introduce her to a wider audience as a singer-songwriter. Take the Journey echoes kd lang, Million Miles calls to mind Laura Viers and Make My Mind Up and Messed With My Mind are superior soft rock. Alison Krauss-style crossover success looks assured. 

The songs described in the article are some of the best on the album, but I prefer "When You're Ready" and "Don't Let Go".

Molly's first release "Rise" was a seven song album where the first song "Good Enough" showcases her guitar virtuosity. Indeed, on all the tracks, Molly's acoustic guitar is at the forefront. My favourite is "You Didn't Call My Name".

The latest in my collection of Nerina Pallot albums is "Stay Lucky". She played quite a few from this album at her live show. The best tracks are the outstanding "Juno", "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" and "All Gold". After her solo performance, it was strange listening to these with her band.

I reviewed Jenny Lewis's album  "Voyager" back in 2015. "On the Line" is her latest recording. No stand out tracks but overall marginally better than that previous album. A little too poppy in places, but a reasonable set of songs.

The Day Shall Come, Terminator - Dark Fate and Official Secrets

As a pastiche on the war on terror, it was hard to say who was more inept, the "good" guys or the "bad" guys. It must be the FBI, the police and Homeland Security as the bad guys were not bad at all, just stupid. But how much more interesting would it have been if the bad guys had been white and the FBI etc black. So in the end, this was a predictable satire with some witty dialogue from writer and director Chris Morris.

After Terminators 1 and 2, I deliberately avoided the next three. However, the latest in the series had better reviews and gained credibility and ingenuity from having three women in the leads.  Basically a re-run of T2, but fortunately there is enough story and dialogue keep us interested. The special effects are predictably monotonous, but Linda Hamilton, Mackenzie Davis and Natalia Reyes interact well and director Tim Miller's focus on their plight is just right. It was great that Arnold does not appear until well into the second half and we have to wait one hour and twenty five minutes before we hear those familiar beats.

I have no memory of the true story of Katherine Gun, the woman who worked at GCHQ  who leaked the memo from the NSA in the USA asking her and her colleagues to find damaging information on certain countries so that they would vote for a war with Iraq in the United Nations. This is therefore a drama documentary about how she was arrested for breaking the official secrets act. I found the best scenes were at The Observer Newspaper. They had originally supported the idea of war with Iraq, but after a gripping story of how they verified the memo, published the document on the front page.

The whole cast is excellent, the three stars (Keira Knightly, Matt Smith and Ralph Fiennes) are supplemented by an array of serious British acting talent: Mathew Goode, Rhys Ifans, Jeremy Northam, Tamsin Greig, Hattie Morahan, MyAnna Buring, Indira Varma, Kenneth Cranham and an outstanding Monica Dolan as Knightly's boss at GCHQ. Director Gavin Hood explains the drama well and the adaptation of the book "The Spy who tried to stop a War" is excellent. I found the tension built along the way to that dramatic finale.

Tring Book Club - A View of the Harbour by Elizabeth Taylor

My third Elizabeth Taylor novel (after "Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont" and "Angel"). This just might be the best of all. A cast of many different characters living by the harbour in the old part of Newby. We hardly ever visit the new part. Just after the end of the second world war, the old part is as run down as some of those who live here.

The author writes with a light wit, sometimes giving us a satirical view of the various personalities. She has a great insight into human behaviour and a distinctive way of expression. Bertram is a visitor who compensates for his lack of talent as an artist with insinuating himself into the lives of the inhabitants, particularly a divorcee called Tory. "Had he begun to discover, as her husband must have discovered, that warmth and wit and loveliness are not enough. Not enough to compensate for the selfishness, the cussedness of her".

The ending is quite superb, in that we are left wondering for some time about what will happen to those who leave and those who are left. 

Stuck on 242

My last parkrun was four weeks ago on 7th October. This was just before I contracted a nasty bout of plantar fasciitis, an inflammation of the fibrous tissue at the bottom of the foot that connects the heel bone to the toes. The pain is under the heel and is not unusual for runners to develop this injury.

My particular case coincided with increasing my mileage and intensity in preparation for the Great South Run on 20th October. Running that race soon became out of the question. Despite having been for two treatments by my soft tissue specialist, it looks like I shall be out of action from running for some time. So stuck on 242 parkruns.

However, it does give me the opportunity to volunteer at parkrun. A beautiful day last Saturday in a perfect spot in Wendover Woods.

Completely different today in the pouring rain and strong winds at Aylesbury. The rough with the smooth.