Trailer Trash: My Cousin Rachel

In a segment I have not done for some time, I am looking at a newly released trailer and wondering what can we expect.

My Cousin Rachel is based on the classic novel by Daphne Du Maurier, whose work - The Birds, Rebecca - has been subjected to cinematic adaptations by the master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock previously. This second cinematic adaptation (previously made in 1952 starring Richard Burton and Olivia de Havilland) is directed by Roger Michell and stars Rachel Weisz and Sam Claflin (Me Before You).

The trailer begins with word that 'she is here' meaning Rachel has landed in Plymouth to visit her cousin Philip. The novel is about an estate that Philip is heir to, but Rachel feels she has a right to as being married to the owner of the estate Ambrose, whilst being eloped in Italy.

Ambrose has passed away and Rachel has come to gain what is hers, Philip is the heir and she bends to his whim, but a connection grows between the two; a kinship that is not as illicit as the title nor trailer makes out as they are not blood relatives and merely related by law.

The film is shot from Philip's point of view and sees Claflin struggling with his emotions towards a woman who only has her own interests at heart.

Whilst Weisz has been able to play this sort of spinster evil woman before her role is one painted by the eyes of Claflin who seemingly goes through the ringer from independent man to fool in love.  Weisz is reunited with the director of Enduring Love and Michell has always been able to generate good chemistry between leads (Notting Hill), ensemble (the under-rated Morning Glory) and odd partnerships (Venus/The Mother). Whilst it has his familiar tropes of love unrequited with a certain streak of National Trust promotional material the trailer shows a tip of the hat to the Gothic tradition of British film-making from the 1950s/60s.

My Cousin Rachel is out on 9th June this summer from Fox Searchlight

El Pastor (The Shepherd)

Winner of Best Film and Director at the 2016 Raindance Festival, Jonathan Cenzual Burley's El Pastor (The Shepherd) starring Miguel Martin is released by Matchbox Films on Friday 2nd June.

Martin plays the titular Anselmo, a middle-aged shepherd, who lives a poor but happy life in a small, run down house in the middle of Spanish plains, but his community is slowly growing. For company, he only has his loyal dog Pillo and his abundance of sheep. This life suits him with no television, and the books from his library to read, yet a construction company wants to buy his land for a new complex.

Anselmo refuses the approaches from the company as is his prerogative, in contrast are neighbours Julian (Alfonso Mendiguchia) and Paco (Maribel Iglesias); two men who both want to sell for opposing reasons and attempt to convince the shepherd to do likewise.

The film tells this morality tale of greed and honour, with stunning consequences set against a magical landscape frozen in time.  The opening scene showing Anselmo going about his daily routine is beautifully shot and realised evoking early Terence Malick coupled with an elegant soundtrack that is both melancholic and inspiring by Tim Walters.

Burley has crafted not only a complex narrative of psychological cul-de-sacs questioning the moral shifts in the three main protagonists; each character is given an arc that is effectively rendered by the plot and the convincing performances. Anselmo goes from lonely man to fighting underdog, Paco goes from short fuse to coward and it is Julian who grows or changes the most within the story as his reasons for selling his land come to the forefront.

Harking back to B-movie Westerns with the lone farmer attempting to save his homestead, however, this film has no hero riding off into the sunset; it could be considered Burley has crafted a critique of the socio-political ramifications facing Spanish homeowners who face an uncertain future in regards to the poisonous financial climate.

El Pastor would be a pleasing pairing with The Olive Tree in a double bill, both are set in modern day Spain but dream of a simpler time in that countries past explaining how money and greed has ruined the industrious past making the present day a darker place.

This is a brilliantly constructed production with superb acting performances across the board that ratchets up the tension prudently to keep your attention gripped.

THE SHEPHERD (El Pastor) is in cinemas 2 June.

Beach Fossils 'Somersault'

The long awaited return of Brooklyn's own Beach Fossils, culminates with the release of Somersault. An album that is their first material since 2013's Clash The Truth and showcases a band that is growing in maturity and refined songwriting together.

The album is a combination of different recordings across New York City and Los Angeles, meaning the tracklisting is a reading of a band both growing but being influenced by their surroundings during the making of the album

Starting with the up tempo stomp of 'This Year', the next song is second single 'Tangerine' (feat. Rachel Goswell) a sumptuous bit of summer that is great to hear as the days get longer and hotter in June. They remind this listener of Foster The People without the grandiose nature of the production, Somersault is more stripped back and open a record.

Throughout the album there is a sense of feel good and summer, but also this overwhelming burden of growing up and how the influences of youth can impact these musicians; a reflection of hopefully being together appears in 'Down the Line' and the pay off is the symphonic splendour of 'Be Nothing'.

Beach Fossils are a band new to my ears, yet this is an album which is at times brilliant and splendid in equal measure. They appear to be a band who are trying to break out by achieving songs that are both universal and yet very personal to themselves at the same time, without negating their electronic and smaller beginnings. This is a great background album for a barbecue on the patio or rooftop as the shimmering compositions will accompany a warm laidback evening.

Somersault is released on June 2nd by Bayonet Records.

My thanks to One Beat PR for the review disc.

Pega Monstro 'Casa de Cima'

Released on June 2nd by Upset the Rhythm, Pega Monstro return with their 3rd album 'Casa de Cima'. The band are a sister two piece from Lisbon, Portugal; Julia Reis (drums) and Maria Reis (guitar) who sing together throughout the album.

They album shares a name with the villa where the majority of the album was recorded, and reflects perhaps the confidence the two sisters are gaining in their musicianship to work secluded and create an album of such vibrancy and effervescence.

Two piece bands have been very much a part of the music landscape for most of the 21st century starting with the White Stripes to the Ting Tings to Royal Blood and Japandroids; yet whilst we have had married then divorced duos can you recall a sisterly union literally breaking out.

Pega Monstro - Sisters in Arms (Julia and Maria Reis)

The sisters have a real grasp on fusing rock and punk together suiting the Portugese lyrics and harmonies that come washing from the stereo. From the mystical water urn that adorns the album cover to the mystery of the lyrics, this is an album full of strong enigmatic quality resonating throughout the record. Listen to their new single: 'Partir a Loica' and be amazed

https://soundcloud.com/upset-the-rhythm/pega-monstro-partir-a-loica-1

Full of boisterous intent and riffs that grab your attention refusing to let go until the conclusion, the album is one that this reviewer will not forget for a long time.

Casa de Cima translates as Upper House, and perhaps Pega Monstro is ready to breakout into the upper echelons of European music with rock music that is both universal and satisfying.


Casa de Cima is released from Upset the Rhythm on 2nd June.
My thanks to One Beat PR

Sweet Baboo 'Wild Imagination'

Sweet Baboo, is Stephen Black, the second album following 2015's The Boombox Ballads. That album passed this reviewer by, however, the second album 'Wild Imagination' is one that will stay with me for sometime.

Baboo (or Black), how should we refer to him. His twitter handle is Sweet Babs, a nod and a wink to national treasure to Barbara Windsor, yet Baboo is a multi-instrumentalist who has summoned up a mixture of American and British sunshine music to make a statement with his sophomore effort.

He calls this album one that represents the joys of travelling and returning home, the lead single 'Wild Imagination' has an end of the pier feel with its harpsichord bursting from the outset (not too dissimilar from Metronomy's 'The English Riviera' and whilst you may laugh at such oldy-worldy instruments the music is heartfelt and romantic in spades.

Some standout tracks are 'Pink Rainbows' and 'Clear the Blue Skies' which show the influence of people from Pet Shop Boys to the Beach Boys and ELO, whilst 'Hold On' with its hooky bass tips a funky hat to Prince's earlier work.

Much like his fellow Welshmen, the Super Furry Animals there is that mixture of psych-pop and experimentia whilst still being injected with a classic song writing streak such as 'Badminton' with it's catchy lyrics and reminisces of youth 'I hope I am lucky, and some of this misfortune carries on'. 

The last two songs are somewhat tongue-in-cheek with its tracklisting from #9 'Humberside' embracing Richard Hawley to the sign off 'Californ-i-a' which, well we would all like to move there.

Throughout the album there is a real energy that comes out of the speakers, it makes you smile and makes you glad that such a thing as happy music still exists. 

An album full of influence but all the richer for it, rather than one that shows a lack of ambition. For Sweet Baboo the clear blue skies are the limit.

Wild Imagination is released from Moshi Moshi on 2nd June

My thanks to One Beat PR for the listening link

Live By Night

Released to much critical derision the fourth film directed by Ben Affleck, Live By Night is adapted for the screen by the leading actor from a novel by Dennis Lehane, tells a fictional story of booze running during prohibition era America which starts in Boston (Affleck's home town) and ends in Tampa, Florida following Joe Coughlin who works for an Irish firm but after falling for the boss' girl he ends up in prison before turning to the Italian mafia which leads him to the South.

Following the lambasting aimed at Ben Affleck for taking on the role of Batman in the much reviled Dawn of Justice directed by Zach Snyder, there has been a slow step of backlash at Affleck who had become a darling after winning an Oscar for Argo.

Affleck does not do many favours with this adaptation, which could have done with perhaps a co-writer to help shape the script better and not have it become the Affleck show has he ticks off ladies man, charmer, good in a fight, good with a gun; he ends up as the gentleman who has to raise his son and will not kill someone who needs to be killed for his job because he all of a sudden grows a moral fibre.  Either Affleck had to give his character a little bit of nastiness or conflict instead of being able to leave the gang at film's end or he should have asked another actor to play the leading role.

It is a shame because the film is a victory as a production itself with gorgeous photography by Robert Richardson, vintage costumes and note perfect set design. This is married with some fine supporting work by Chris Messina as Dago and Elle Fanning who instills some real layers in her born again Christian envangelist Loretta Figgis becoming the performer her innocent self wanted to be.

Based on Dennis Lehane's novel

Running at close to two hours there is a sharper more efficient film somewhere here if Affleck had not been given the world to act, write, produce and direct, much like Orson Welles, Affleck has been given the world's biggest train set to play with but has failed to build up a significant head of steam on this occasion.

You cannot fault his ambition when movie making sometimes falls prey to remakes, rehashes and retreads in this age of instant gratification. Affleck aimed to make a film about failed ambition and belonging, following the box office failure of the film he finds himself ironically producing his own failure, which is a shame.

Live By Night is released on DVD and Blu-Ray from Warner Bros. on Monday 22nd May

Spaceship

Released on Friday 19th May from Trinity Media, this is writer/director Alex Taylor debut feature length feature , and it is a work of independent spirit coupled with an unflagging desire to make a film of a unique voice and identity that is rarely seen in British cinema.

Taylor speaks of how he has made a film about teenagers by teenagers, encountering young people and giving them the platform to make a movie based on their own stories with them forming the narrative flow and thrust without pandering or patronising their role in society.

Using improvisation, Taylor follows his young cast and this enables him to tell a film that is in their own language engaging in several social groups from goths to punks to those who hang out in the YMCA.

Lucidia is a teenage cyber-goth, who fakes her own alien abduction, forcing her father Gabriel to search for her in a kaleidoscopic world of parallel universes, black holes and unicorns.

Enthused with the power of youth, bristling with colour and energy, Spaceship is unlike anything you have ever seen before nor probably see again. Touching on how teenagers search for a sense of belonging in an ever-changing, frustrating world this touches on the boundaries of fact and fiction, control and chaos, normality and hallucinatory.

Featuring a strong ensemble cast, wonderful sound design and a soundtrack featuring Appaloosa, Best Coast and East India Youth, Spaceship could well be one of the most unsung films of 2017

Spaceship is released on 19th May from Trinity Media
@spaceshipfilm on Twitter

Interview with Sam Walker

Sam Walker, is the author of the newly released book The Captain Class from Penguin Random House (in the US) and Ebury Press (in the UK), and he granted me the opportunity to ask him some questions about the process of writing the book and thoughts about the book ranging from Tom Brady to Didier Deschamps, and which teams today could join the elite level of team sports.

The book is an amazing piece of research and journalism, that is both fascinating and eye-opening to how team sports work and why the best gain the greater results.

How long did the whole book take to write?

Funny you should ask that. When I decided to try to figure out what makes great teams great, I knew I first had to come up with an objective sample of the greatest teams in sports history to study. I set a side a couple of weeks to do that. Let’s just say it turned out to be a little more complicated... Like 11 years more complicated!

What was your favourite part of the process; the researching or the plotting?

I don’t want to bang on about how much time it took me to write this book. The truth is that it was completely engrossing and fascinating. The most fun was trying to put all the pieces together. The more evidence I found that captains were the secret ingredients of elite sports dynasties, the more obsessed I became with solving the puzzle of why.

How much fun did you have looking into the history of team sports?

The research was a slog at times. Try finding reliable match records for Brazilian domestic football! I also had to comb the world for out-of-print books then line up translators to read them for me. I think I used nine translators in all, from Russian and Japanese to Spanish and Hungarian. But you’re right: I had a blast. I’d been covering sports for 20 years and was shocked by how much I didn’t know. And every time I found an elite team, I would find a captain who fit the mold. That never got old. And then there were the interviews: Carles Puyol, Carlos Alberto Torres, Pele, Didier Deschamps, Phillipp Lahm, etc. Those were incredible.

What is your favourite sport and teams for the major US sports?

I know that people in the UK don’t get it, but I grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, which is the home of the University of Michigan (my alma mater). So my favorite teams are that school’s teams, with college (American) football being my greatest passion. It was hard to cut college sports from my study, but I had to face facts. The level of play in college football isn’t higher than the NFL. So I really did come to this without any tribal biases. (Of course, Tom Brady of the New England Patriots went to Michigan, which made leaving him out of the final list kind of excruciating).

One more ring and Brady joins Walker's elite

Was it hard to stick to your methodology when trying to keep Michael Jordan out of the Tier One teams?

Yes and no. Obviously, people love to read about the Bulls, so if I simply wanted to sell books, I probably should have found a way to include them. But I felt that I had to be objective, and to stick to my criteria no matter what. In the end, the Bulls weren’t the toughest cut. They didn’t win the most championships, and they didn’t achieve the longest streak of sustained success, either. Also (I devoted a chapter to this) Michael Jordan did not fit the profile of an elite captain. In fact, the team didn’t achieve its full potential until another player, Bill Cartwright, became the co-captain in 1991. So I was able to write a lot about that team in the book, anyhow.

In my review, I spoke about the absence of cricket. I felt as a sport it is more dependent on captain input than others, yet you omitted any cricket side including the great West Indies side(s) of the 1970s/80s. Can you explain?

The toughest teams to cut were the current New England Patriots and the three best cricket sides in history. You’re right about West Indies. They were amazing, and Clive Lloyd is a model of the captain type I’ve identified. The trouble is that the Windies’ records, in both test and ODI, were mostly matched or exceeded by the later Australian sides led by Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh. But while Waugh’s team was a test machine, it was uneven in ODI. Ponting had the reverse problem. So in the end, I just couldn’t say that any one of these teams was uniquely outstanding.  

Is there a team that is currently knocking on the door of Tier One, say the Golden State Warriors, or a more obscure sports team at the moment?

The Warriors are probably the best bet. I don’t think most people realize that the team’s leader (and co-captain) is Andre Igoudala, a classic water-carrier who doesn’t care about individual accolades. If the Patriots win another Super Bowl, they’re in. Another team that’s on the cusp is the U.S. Women’s water polo team, which is probably arguably already the best in that sport’s history.

Is Curry and the Warriors joining the Tier One?

What is your take on the NBA, it is driven by player power than tactical systems, hence the end of Phil Jackson's Triangle in New York?

I think there’s a misguided notion that because NBA teams are so small, with only five players, that the best strategy is to have one or two superstars who can put the teams on their backs and win games almost singlehandedly. But the Celtics and the Spurs, the two best NBA teams, were great because of the way the players played without the ball. Even on a small team, you need people setting picks, hustling back on defense, diving for loose balls, rebounding and blocking shots. All of that stuff, added up, is more important than scoring. And superstar scorers tend to be lousy at those things.

Do you feel your book can be read by business leaders who can learn from sportsmen, and vice versa?

I’ve gotten tremendous feedback from people in the business world, so yes—I think so. A lot of businesses, like sports teams, are doing away with this kind of leadership structure. These captains were basically middle managers, intermediaries between the manager and the other players. A lot of teams and businesses are trying to get rid of middle managers so the stars and managers can communicate without any interference. I just don’t think that works in the long run. In the book, I’ve also used a ton of research done on business teams to show why the unusual methods these captains used were so effective. In the end, I think teams are teams. So these lessons can be universal.

Based on your book, where does the Ryder Cup stand as you have a Captain albeit non-playing leading a team of 12 individuals yet the good captains get lauded more than the team say Paul Azinger, Sam Torrance and Tony Jacklin?

I think the Ryder Cup is an anomaly. Golf is not a “team” sport in the fullest sense, because the athletes don’t interact with their teammates on the course, and they don’t have to defend against opponents directly. And because the captain is really more of a coach, it’s hard to compare it to anything else. I do think captains make a difference in the Ryder Cup, though, mainly because golfers are used to playing for themselves. It takes a certain kind of personality to get them to gel into a collective.

Paul Azinger is he Captain Class?

What has the response been to the book in America thus far?

Really overwhelmingly great and humbling, thanks for asking! I’ve had excerpts run in The Wall Street Journal, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Fast Company, and the sports site Deadspin, and the feedback has been tremendous. Both Amazon and Apple iBooks chose it as one of the best books of the month and I’ve had great early reviews and mentions in the Washington Post, Time, Kirkus and Publisher’s Weekly. Best of all is the social media traffic. People have said some really flattering things, which I won’t repeat for fear of sounding like a braggart.  I’ve also heard from a bunch of sports team executives and Olympic team officials who’ve asked me to come to speak to their groups. They’re a tough crowd, so I’m thrilled they’re connecting with the material.

What are you working on next?

I wish I had an answer for that! There are so many angles I’ve found during this project that I would love to follow up on. I’ve decided to wait and see which things people seem most curious about before picking one. Right now, frankly, I’m just looking forward to a beach chair, a margarita, and a really long nap.

The Captain Class is released from Ebury Publishing on 18th May in all formats.

Lab Coast - Album review

Based in Alberta, Canda, Lab Coast are an eclectic collective of musicians who are proud to release their first UK release of material in a self-titled album which is more a greatest hits picked from the band's extensive back catalogue.  The album is an invitation to listen to a prolific band with their punchy, sharp pop rock songs.

Since 2008, Lab Coast has been delivering hazy bursts of hook-laden guitar pop via a string of critically acclaimed, award-winning albums, EPs, and singles. From their basement studio in Calgary, Alberta, the song writing team of singer David Laing & multi-instrumentalist Chris Dadge (Chad VanGaalen, Bug Incision, Samantha Savage Smith) carve out detailed analogue productions; these recordings draw from the wealth of instruments that friends leave at the Lab Coast practice space, and the ever-evolving recording techniques that they've been honing since day one.

The sequencing of the album starts high and rarely lets up, maintaining a form of elation and joy in the catchiness of the hooks and lyrics most notably in lead single 'As Usual' and 'Really Realize'.  Utilising the influences of Tom Petty and recalling contemporaries such as Broken Social Scene and Arcade Fire; the band builds up a head of steam and never eases off.

Lab Coast are a band that have remained under the radar somewhat on these shores despite their consistent output, however, their music is fun and radio friendly, hopefully they will not be on the outside much longer in the UK. They are touring the UK at the end of the month playing the Shacklewell Arms on 22nd May, full listings on their website.

The album is available from Faux Discx for £8.00 online and there are limited edition of 500 vinyl LPs also which would not go amiss at any house party.

Lab Coast's self-titled album is released on Thursday 11th May from FauxDiscx.

My thanks to OneBeatPR for the review link.

Blue Gold - book review

Published by Urbane Publications and due for release on 11th May, the debut author by David Barker Blue Gold tells the story of a future world where water is at a premium, a commodity that territories fight over and lives are lost over the ability to drink clean water.

Barker is a part-time economist, who has turned his hand at novel writing and he has successfully crafted a page-turning tub thumping action adventure that is fun to read and shows a real potential. 

Our hero is Sim Atkins, (he goes into why he is called Sim and not Simon) a data analyst for OFWAT, the Government agency for Water regulation, who gets summoned to the Overseas Division after becoming aware of unusual activity from his satellites.  Swiftly Sim is thrust into an odd couple/buddy relationship with Freda, an older female who has a limp as well as emotional baggage and does not welcome the burden of a bothersome partner.

In the same vein of Indiana Jones, James Bond and Bourne, the pair globe trot from Biggin Hill to Brazil to Mount Rushmore to China to the Himalayas.  They encounter many individuals including the brilliantly monikered Bo Brunswick, where swords are crossed and backs stabbed.

Author David Barker's debut

Being British, Barker writes with a particular tongue in cheek imbued by the youthfulness of Sim - who is not familiar with any film from before Star Wars quoted by his partner - coupled with the older more mature Freda, who acts like she has seen it all before yet still keeps her cards close to her chest.

The set pieces and fight scenes are easy to follow and have a zip that reminds you not only of Dan Brown but the far superior work of Matthew Reilly who wrote huge elaborate action adventures with subtle characterisations in unison.

Urbane Publications are a new voice in the big world of publishing, but they continue to strike gold with these new authors with voices and stories to share not only on a small scale but ones that can travel and translate. 

Blue Gold informs us of a world where water levels will rise, water will be in such high demand that people will store ice from each other and it is thought over like oil has been in the late 20th century.  It is a neat twist on a familiar geopolitical tension in the current climate.

Blue Gold will be published by Urbane Publications on 11th May

The Captain Class

Written by Wall Street Journal writer, Sam Walker, The Captain Class is a look at how the captain of a given great side can have the influence on a team's performance perhaps greater than the more heralded coach or manager.

Using a mixture of in-depth research, statistical analysis and psychological studies, Walker has looked at team sport across the spectrum and attempted to nail a theory that perhaps the Captain is the focal point of these Tier One (elite) sides that separates them from the Tier Two sides that fail to break through; this difference leads to dynasties and dominance instead of one-season wonders.

In the first part of the book, Walker breaks down what makes a great team; was this team in the sport far and away the best side, did they beat equally great sides, was this dominance sustained over a period of time sometimes with managerial/coaching changes occurring. This analysis includes win percentage and record against equally high percentage win sides in playoffs and championship matches.

Walker is good in bringing light to some unheralded sports, the most distant team he selects is the Collingwood Magpies who ruled Australian Rules Football between 1927-1930.  Other teams selected are from Cuba's women's volleyball team (1991-2000), the women Hockeyroos of Australia (1993-2000) and the French men's handball team (2008-15) whose captain Jerome Fernandez led the team to a European Championship win knowing his father was on his deathbed.

In an early chapter, Walker makes the point that the teams he notes are not led by a supreme talent as their captain but within that side may be contain an elite or illustrious talent yet having an elite talent does not mark it out as a Tier One team, hence why Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls side is absent.

However, within these great teams selected by Walker are the Brazil soccer side which had Pele, the Barcelona football side of this millennium which contains Lionel Messi and Dan Carter in the New Zealand All Blacks of 2011-15.

Yet by the end Walker brilliantly deconstructs the legend of Jordan as a leader and why he does not make the cut. Walker's ideal leader is one who shies away from the limelight off the court, would rather fold laundry and get 12 hours sleep a night; they lead by example, bending not breaking the rules to gain a distinct advantage in flashpoints, using both verbal and non-verbal communication to instil motivation into their teammates. 

This is indicative in the chapter concerning Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs, an NBA side that has made the playoffs for the 19 nineteen seasons Duncan was a professional in the league before his retirement last summer.  Duncan is a man who does not waste his movement on the court, hence his high efficiency numbers, he is a presence without being overbearing and he speaks to his teammates in platitudes instead of shouting. At times he may have been boring, but his winning record would suggest that if it wins 5 NBA titles do not knock it.

One criticism I would aim at this list is the absence of one cricketing side from across the vast history of the sport when there have been periods of dominance in the Test match arena by either the West Indies of the 1970s/80s to the Australian sides led by either Don Bradman in the 1940s or the 1990s side captained by either Mark Taylor or Steve Waugh.

My argument would be that Walker has concentrated on team sports and has not given attention to the sport not requires a strong captain as a necessity for success; an individual that can inspire and yet not break out with record scores or statistics.  Much has been made in the past about the leadership of Mike Brearley for England Cricket side in the late 1970s/early 1980s, a captain who was the best captain but definitely not the best player who could motivate some failing troops. 

However, Walker decides to ignore the achievements of Don Bradman, still one of the greatest cricketers of all time who retired with the highest average in Test cricket whilst overseeing a dominant period in their history. On the other side of the coin, you have Clive Lloyd, captain of West Indies, who was not the best player but inspired with great innings and was tactically astute to make big differences on the field of play. 

Cricket is a game that requires in-game tinkering and leaves a coach very much impotent to the on-field action; the captain dictates field positions, bowler rotations and tactical tinkering to combat an ever-changing batting line-up and the captain is always the most prized wicket of any bowling side. Whilst Walker makes an explanation in his discourse nevertheless it is something this reader should not have been ignored.

Author Sam Walker

Nevertheless, this is a brilliant book that is both page-turning, entertaining with the stories of these legendary characters who may shrink from the limelight off the court but shine brightly once they are on it with their leadership and influence that lives on in their sport and their clubs/national team histories. 

With his amazing research Walker has himself led by example as to combine the best of both worlds, the acumen of the academic world married with the all encompassing passion of sports and competition convincingly shining a light on the unsung heroes of team sports in recent history.

The Captain Class is released in the UK by Ebury Press on 18th May in Hardback

Lady Macbeth

William Oldroyd's feature length debut feature following an extensive career in opera, is an adaptation by Alice Birch of a 'Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk by Nikolai Leskov. They have transplanted the story to 1865 Victorian England where women were marginalised.

Katherine (Florence Pugh) has been bought to be a wife to an unlovable coal miner's son, Alexander (Paul Hilton) who is drab and hates his tyrannical father, Boris (Christopher M).  Katherine is a much younger women in comparison to her new husband, and in the first twenty minutes she is treated as more of a prisoner as she wanders around this ghastly home with no means of escape - no piano to tinkle and no book to read unless she is partial to the bible, which she is not.

One morning she walks across the Pennines and feels free in touch in nature returning to a period before she had been purchased.  She even has no social outlet except her black maid, Anna (Naomi Aike), who is not a confidant more a rival.

When both men of the house are away on business, Florence hears noises from the stables and Anna being victimised by the stable hands and servants.  Upon saving her from further embarrassment, Florence asserts a flirtation with a new groomsman, Sebastian (Cosmo Jarvis) which ultimately becomes a dangerous affair which will have serious consequences on the household.

Once the men return, and it becomes clear that Florence has been sleeping around, she slowly morphs into an angel of death on all those who will keep her and Sebastian apart.  This leads to moments that are both harrowing and traumatic to witness yet perhaps due to the gothic nature of the period it encapsulates the psychology of the protagonist feeling imprisoned.

Oldroyd marks himself as a talent due to the deftness of shot composition coupled with some sumptuous cinematography by Ari Wegner showcasing the beauty of Northern England landscapes.

Along with some intense performance especially by Pugh who benefits from the chronological order of shooting, her development of the character arc from naïve ingénue to malevolent femme fatale is delicately handled in a production of genuine efficiency.

Lady Macbeth is distributed by Altitude Films and is out now.