The Last Ride - Nick Louth

The fun of reading new thrillers from established and new writers, is that they welcome you into their world so to speak.

Having followed writers from up and down this land ranging from St. Andrews, Scotland to Manchester to the abundance of London set novels, this reader has now had the luxury of reading a new novel set in the vast countryside of Cornwall in the a new thriller by Nick Louth

The second in the Jan Talantire novel - this is a new sort of twist on the thriller. Having read female protagonists by female writers and male protagonists by male writers, here is a female protagonist by a male writer.

The story revolves around a joyriding incident that goes horribly wrong culminating in a chase and a crash that leads to a fatality and critical injuries to other youngsters in the car. Talantire comes in on the night shift and starts the investigation that much like the winding road on which the accident occurred, there are many twists you cannot see coming

As with other Canelo Crime strand releases, there is a plethora of obstacles for Talantire to overcome and most are the office politics at play culminating in decisions and repercussions for all. Another great addition is that you become quickly aware of the difficulty and vastness of the Cornwall landscape and how hard it is to police in that region

This was a thrilling read and one that has piqued my interest to this writer, with this reader looking forward to further releases

The Last Ride is out from Canelo now on all formats.

The Little Christmas Library - David M Barnett

 

New novel by David M. Barnett out now from Orion Publishing

David Barnett is a writer this reader has followed for several years, he is a writer of genuine warmth and kindness, always showcasing the good of his characters writing stories about generosity of spirit and positivity in this age of shaming and blaming.

It is only fitting then that Barnett has written a Christmas story about community, reminiscent of such Capra-corn (Frank Capra films where the good wills out).

The story revolves around our feisty independent female lead, Molly, who returns to her small Northern settlement, Merry-le-Moors, after a bad year in the big smoke of London. She has lost her job and just gone through a heartbreaking end to a promising relationship. She moves back in with her Dad, Jack, who runs the local village mobile library. A source of comfort to many in the town who come in for the warmth of the vehicle as much as the friendly nature Jack dispenses. 

Molly jumps in with both feet, helping to organise the books and soon the library has a new lease of life owing to the influx of youth. There follows funny entanglements about the letters left in books and mistaken identities which is a mainstay of British humour stemming back to Wodehouse and up to date with Richard Curtis.

Molly falls for a council officer, Harry Pink, who threatens the closure of the library and the service it provides the community. This leads to a will-they, won't-they romance culminating in life changing decisions for all.

Previous books by Barnett have this mild political comment running in the undertow of his narrative, but his strength of honest characters being depicted is a joy to watch and devour in reading.

A real gem of a little book by Barnett in time for the festive season. For fans of The Holiday, It's A Wonderful Life and Last of the Summer Wine, there is something for everyone in this Christmas page-turner.

Out now from Orion Publishing and available on Amazon now

My thanks to Compulsive Readers for the review opportunity

Pax and the Forgotten Pincher

 

Second novel from David Barker's London Falling series. 

Out now from Tiny Tree Books

David Barker returns with his YA books which started in 2023 with the first book, Pax and the Missing Head, and is a rip-roaring dystopian set boarding school tale about the eponymous Pax Forby, a workhouse boy who is naturally gifted in robotics and coding. In the first book, he wins a place at the prestigious Scholastic Parliament.

Hoping for a quieter second year, outside the school, New London is as dangerous as ever. Cyber-attacks and drones have intensified causing a climate of fear and uneasiness. During this, Pax and his firm friends - Megan and Samuel - find themselves drawn to the underground resistance movement.

Borrowing from famous English literary titles and evoking the sense of fear and peril that can surround a huge metropolis can towards a young child (aged 9-12) as Pax is meant to be, Barker has again marshalled a story of great thrust and pulsating action.

Keen readers will see nods to the works of Rowling and Tom Brown's Schooldays and the use of Roacher reminded this reader of Batteries Not Included (1986) along with the ever threatening Big Brother-overlord mayor of London who threatens the subjects and citizens of New London.

The Pincher in question is a play on words for youngsters, it actually refers to pensioners, who when people get to an age they are quickly forgotten about and discarded from memory. This is a mark of Barker himself the writer, in his adult thriller series 'Blue Gold' he was very prescient to describe the eventual loss of water that will happen on our planet; and with the heating crisis happening now for our elder population this is a reminder that science fiction always makes the reader have a hard look at their present situation.

Quietly intense and a real joy to read, Barker has again provided a wonderful page turner that is whilst brief does stay with the reader making them look forward to the next instalment with fervour and excitement.

Pax and the Forgotten Pincher is out now from Tiny Tree Books on all formats

My thanks to Tiny Tree Books for giving me a preview copy for an honest review.

Thicker Than Water - Ken Lussey

 

Brand new novel by prolific author Ken Lussey

Lussey has been quite the prolific author since just before the pandemic, this is his 10th novel in nearly six years.

Lussey first came to this reader's attention in the summer of 2018 when he released his first book EYES TURNED SKYWARDS which merged historical fact and detective fiction to create a rip-roaring narrative with a new sort of hero in RAF pilot Bob Sutherland who becomes a Thaw like detective when investigating the actual crash of King George VI's younger brother the Duke of Kent. The intrepid former police officer uses his wits to find out what caused the crash and avoid the cover-up. This is itself the birth of a special branch of Military Intelligence where Bob must come to grips with a new sort of political espionage all while co-operating with a new partner, Madame Monica Dubois, a double agent. Together they forge a passionate and honest relationship of secrets and lies, where the only thing true is their burgeoning love for each other.

Over five books, this reader has followed the paths of Bob and Monica from restricted Scottish highlands to chases in Stockholm and most recently their honeymoon spy tour in Malta in THE EYE OF HORUS.

Whilst writing those books, Lussey has also written two books starring Callum Anderson, a former Metropolitan Police officer who following a bitter divorce has returned to his roots in Scotland to become a private investigator. He is now courting a doctor, Jenny Mackay, who is overcoming her own alcoholic demons and yet the unlikely pair (like Bob and Monica) have found solace together when the chance for love may have gone in their eyes.

Lussey has taken the bold and brave decision to melt his two universes (1940s war-time and modern day detective) together in a story about place and how history can tie a place to two separate occasions when one act takes place. This is not a time-travel story but a place-portal story. 

It is the season of Hogmanay, Callum and Jenny visit Sarclet Castle in Caithness where they are asked to investigate the brutal murder of a young woman in 1943, whose ghost is believed to haunt the castle. A cold case to begin with but not the first woman to be stabbed in nearby Sarclet Broch; there was another murder nearly two thousand years earlier. And upon their arrival, a third fatal stabbing occurs. Can Callum prove anything on a case eight decades old while avoiding danger in their hunt for the contemporary killer.

Callum in his third appearance comes across as a more stable protagonist not too dissimilar from Bob Sutherland - methodical, patient and intelligent, yet it is the growth of Dr. Jenny that is the most impressive portion of the book. Jenny is treated as an equal to Callum, they slowly are forming a working as well as a personal partnership that will hold them in good stead in books moving forward.

Lussey has attempted something grand and he has achieved success, crafting a thrilling cat and mouse with his usual admiring travelogue with snippets of history. Like whiskey, this is a wonderful blend of escapism, entertainment and education

Thicker Than Water is published by Arachnid Press on all formats.

The Negotiator - Brooke Robinson

 

Second novel by Robinson out now from Penguin 

Police officer Tia recently failed her exam to become a negotiator: her dream job. But when a peaceful climate change protest at a London museum escalates, and one of the radicalised members takes Tia and others hostage, she realises this is her chance to prove she has what it takes.

Three years later, Asher is being released from prison for the part he played at the museum that day. He’s always maintained his innocence, but when someone starts threatening the survivors, leading one of them to take their own life, Tia isn’t convinced Asher is telling the whole truth. Refusing to have another death on her conscience, Tia begins to investigate

My Review

Robinson writes a gripping and tense drama based around a situation that not many do write about. There is a podcast I listen to where they hypothetically talk about what happens the day after the film ends. In this instance, the film would end with a crescendo and a round of applause. Here Robinson, continues the narrative showing us both Tia and Asher time after while flitting back to the fateful day in question.

This duelling narrative structure at the beginning can be a bit confusing, yet it does not dumb down for the reader, which is a credit to the author, who treats her readership with the credit they deserve.

Observant and making a social comment within the dramatic structure, Robinson crafts a high paced grounded realistic story for our time that will have readers gripped throughout.

The Negotiator is out now from Penguin books.

My thanks to Tracy Fenton (Compulsive Readers) for a copy of book in return for my honest review

Paradise Is Burning

 

Swedish Debut Festival Award Winner released 30th August in UK/Ireland

Winner of the BFI/LFF Sutherland Award for best debut feature at the 2023 London Film Festival, this debut by Mika Gustafson is highly touted and expectation is high for its release from Conic Films on 30th August.

Following a storyline, that is tried and tested, we follow three young Swedish girls who are trying to navigate a summer without parental guidance as a mother is absent from their lives.

We follow the girls get into scrapes and fights, steal food from supermarkets and play truant from school. Their lives are so entwinned that one doing something has a direct impact upon the other two, for instance the middle sister, Mira (12) gets into a fight, prompting the eldest, Laura (16) to intervene forgetting to put in her forged signatory letter in the relevant pigeonhole. This leads to a phone call from Social Services wanting to come and visit their house leading to some desperation from the eldest to make sure they and Steffi (7) do no lose their home.

An embracing film about sisterhood and the power of summer, how that affects your mood shifting from joy to despair, Gustafson has crafted a film of quiet craft featuring three amateur actresses (Bianca Delbravo, Dilvin Asaad, Safira Mossberg) who all conveying unexpexted performances beyond their young years.

Filmed with a real clarity, eliciting those fine performances from that trio of youngsters this is a film of real power and modesty. Filmed during the summer, it is a marriage of a coming-of-age film with that memory of a memorable summer; it calls to mind such films as My Summer of Love yet the parallel to Regan's UK feature Scrapper is so striking.

The children have to learn quickly that with glory there is pain, with unity there is loneliness and with youth there is the fear of growing up, when society can come crashing down on you exponentially rapidly. 

Gustafson cleverly mixes the elements of humour and tragedy - a powerful marriage in Swedish cinema from Bergman to Roy Andersson - with a deftness even mixing different photographic styles from quiet poetic moments to the rave-filled vibrancy of all night parties.

Also a winner of Best Director and Screenwriting at the Venezia 2023 Festival; Paradise is Burning is a film of immense promise from a young filmmaker with a unique voice and vision to share with the world. 

Paradise is Burning is released from Conic Films on 30th August

Nightshift 'Homosapien'

 

Third album from Glasgow quartet out now via Trouble in Mind

Following on from the stellar workings of the sophomore offering, Zoe (2021), the Glasgow based four-piece return with more of the same and something a bit more.

A combination of DIY basement, jam music but with a lyrical melody running throughout; the band have had some changes in personnel and position as Chris White moves from drums to lead guitar and this personality shift has led to a more driving lead sound from his strings.

The best song on the album 'Sure Look' is indicative of this driving statement of intent, pulsating energy coursing through and yet reflective in the same breath.

The lyrical content ranges from self-preservation in these existential times and yet the DNA of post-punk resonates throughout from the slow hum of say 'Cut' to opener 'Crystal Ball' which is at times psychedelic. It is always better when a band shows a different string to their bow without losing sight of their own identity.

A hypnotic album that grows upon you with each listen, this is a band still growing and hopefully garner a greater following in the coming years.

Homosapien is out now from Trouble in Mind Records

What The Dead Want - MJ Lee

 

Tenth book in thrilling Manchester based detective series by MJ Lee

Author Lee burst into this reader's viewpoint in 2019 when the second book of the series Where The Dead Fall was released on NetGalley. From there this reader has looked forward to each release with relish as to how DI Thomas Ridpath, but his friends just call him Ridpath is navigating the delicate balancing act of working for the coroner's office and being seconded to the police office with the melting of law enforcement and investigation of suspicious deaths meeting.

At the end of book nine, What The Shadows Hide, Ridpath was dealing with the tragic injury of his boss Coroner Challinor who was attacked by an assailant and left for dead. The book begins with her still in a coma some months later, with Ridpath working for a new boss who is nothing like his predecessor. 

A good mark of any crime detective series is that the hero detective is only as good as his opponent, and in this new novel What The Dead Want, we have the unlikely return of the evil pathologist Harold Lardner who has planned a series of murders despite being behind bars..

A mysterious disappearance of a young boy in Manchester during the Covid lockdown is investigated and leads to a care home which itself had a spike in suspicious deaths with organs removed from cadavers from being moved from care home to the mortuary slab.

As ever, Lee writes with such efficient fluency and swiftness that you are never left in doubt about the action taking place. Ridpath continues to have to deal with office politics and the new know-it-all detective Helen Shipton brings its own problems, with her being in direct conflict to Ridpath's loyal footsoldiers.

The other notable note of credit to Lee is that he loves writing Ridpath and his characters, and he can still get me with a surprise twist in terms of narrative pull. Something else he does well is elicit correctly the feel and atmosphere of being in February - cold, miserable and dire. 

This is another excellent entry into the Ridpath series; and his second excellent novel of this calender year.

What The Dead Want is out now from Canelo on all formats.

Bedazzled

Bedazzled (2002)

Starring Brendan Fraser and directed by Harold Ramis, the remake of the 1960s cult classic of the same name which starred Peter Cook and Dudley Moore in a rare foray into feature film production following a successful television work. 

This 2002 released film was marketed as a platform for Fraser to cement his ever burgeoning leading man persona with a stab at broad out and out comedy having capably shown his comedic chops in action films such as The Mummy (1999) where his comedic timing and dialogue delivery was key to the film's success.

It was also an attempt to bolster Elizabeth Hurley's leading lady credentials as the well had gone dry since Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. Hurley's casting was less to do with her ability and more to do as a nod of appreciation to the British heritage of the film now appropriated by an American comedic director.

This version of the film stars Fraser as Elliot, a well-meaning computer processor in San Francisco who wants nothing more than to fall in love with Alison (Frances O'Connor), who is cast as the unattainable ideal for him. Elliott meets the devil (Hurley) she grants him 7 wishes for his soul. 

From here the film becomes a showcase for Fraser to don many a hat and make-up in various guises and personas, yet each costume change comes with a catch - as a drug baron he has an unloving wife, Alison - who appears as the object of affection in each wish sequence-  as a sensitive soul he has no sex appeal and as a fantastic athlete he is unfortunately not that well endowed where necessary. 

Elliott's unfortunate shortcomings are an allegory for the film itself  which runs out of gas by the sixth and seventh wish when Elliott knows he is facing a losing battle with the Devil. The film itself was not met with universal praise or acclaim, yet over time Fraser's performance has grown to one of great appeal due to his changing gears from scene to scene - his ability to go from druglord to NBA superstar whilst still remaining essentially himself at the core is very hard to do, yet he is able to find layers amidst the latex.

Take the scene - his second wish - where he wants to be a sensitive understanding man. The scene is at a seashore, he has made a picture perfect picnic for him and Alison. Yet Alison feels drowned and overwhelmed in compliments and sensitivity and would prefer some a man who knows what he is doing in the bedroom department which this version of Elliott, heavily emasculated is lacking in. Yet the scene revolves around a sun setting during the Magic Hour (Terence Malick might approve) and how overcome with emotion Elliott is by this wonderful moment of nature as he bursts into tears everytime he looks at it. As the sun never goes down seemingly, he get more and more emotional with the moment building to a crescendo of tears when he summons the Devil to end this wish. It's the standout moment of the film and for Fraser it became meme worthy as time has past, sadly the remaining wishes could not measure up to this scene particularly.

The third wish sees Elliott as an NBA superstar, in this guise he has weird teeth but the intensity Fraser brings to the role as the boneheaded athlete who is more brawn than brain, establishes this character as lacking in comparison. This is cemented when Alison as a locker-room sports journalist is eager to see how endowed this athlete must be (you certainly would not be able to depict a female character like this in 2023), and beneath Elliott's towel is apparently a very small genetalia prompting Alison to leave for a 'big' story elsewhere.

The fourth wish depicts Elliott as a literary revelation, a maestro of wordplay hosting a swanky launch party at his penthouse apartment, which in his eyes is merely a ruse to woo Alison. As the scene plays out, you do get the impression that Elliott may have finally landed Alison as the party ends and they share longing looks over champagne, Elliott begins his seduction by talking to her about what he may do to her in the boudoir. Alison is a willing partner, and yet Elliott keeps talking they do not clinch and he keeps talking. As they enter the bedroom, fate hits and it transpires that this Elliott is gay with his same sex partner patiently waiting in bed for him. Foiled again, Elliott ends the wish.

The fifth wish has Elliott wanting to be President of the United States, and in the shortest sequence, the devil is clearly having too much fun as she makes him Abraham Lincoln on the way to the Ford Theatre on the night of his assassination. 

The cleverness and brilliance of Fraser's performance is the physicality he brings to it, a tall and broad man in his own right like his predecessor Christopher Reeve and his successors Chris Hemsworth, his presence alone brings so much to his roles from the outset - he is a person to take notice of, none more so than his debut as Encino Man (as a frozen caveman opposite Pauly Shore and Sean Astin), where he is mute for most of the role but his deftness of physicality adds to the slapstick humour of a man out of time as he comes to terms with modern conveniences and electricity.

Mentioning physicality you have to note that Fraser's natural stance and build is quite imposing, this is used to great effect in the film as he towers over the supporting players and cast and this gives Elliott a gentle giant quality that might have been lost on others. In other films it serves well, his underrated performance in The Quiet American opposite Michael Caine where he is shot a lot from underneath to give him this arresting presence in the Graham Greene adaptation, he comes across as akin to Orson Welles' Harry Lime from The Third Man, an enigmatic ingenue with his cards close to his chest.

Which all in all, it is a shame that this film did not connect as well as it was hoped for and perhaps began the slowdown of Fraser's ride to A-list stardom, and the years in the wilderness that would seemingly follow. The film may be called Bedazzled but if you have never seen it, do seek it out as Fraser's performance alone is worth the admission money.

The Eye of Horus - Ken Lussey

Fifth book by Ken Lussey released by Arachnid Press released 18th June 

Ken Lussey returns with another tale in his RAF series featuring Bob Sutherland and secret agent Monique

Starting the series in 2019 and based around the true story of the mysterious death of King George VI's cousin, Duke of Kent, Lussey took historical fact and weaved in an interesting premise of a detective with life skills imperative to tracking down the truth and one not without his obstacles to overcome. Bob Sutherland our loyal captain and main protagonist was a fine pilot with many messerschmidts as notches on his belt, yet a flight one night during the Battle of Britain cost him the sight in his left eye grounding him permanently from the war effort but still able to fly in daytime. 

Sutherland found his calling belonged in the Military Intelligence Service, and so the series of books have found him investigating cases amidst the rich Highland landscape with his now wife, Monique for company.

The problem any writer of a series would attest to, is the restrictions of their limited landscape has upon a character's growth, the confinement of war and the familiarity of problems may restrict other writers. However, Lussey has overcome this with great initiative. 

One book in the series was entitled, The Stockholm Run, where Bob and Monique took on the guises of Mr and Mrs Cadman to take over 

The new book starts us off with the couple in good spirits having just got married in secret. They are in the midst of enjoying their honeymoon - time away from work, relaxing as best you can during a war - yet that tranquility gets disrupted when an old friend of Bob's tells him of a missing relative on the island of Malta. Having been missing for nearly a week with no rhyme, reason or body to show; the colleague asks Bob and Monique to go to the island via Gibraltar and investigate.

Combining elements of war-time set films such as The Guns of Navarone and The Third Man; Lussey weaves another welcome addition to the Sutherland Series. Lussey's eye for historical period detail gives the reader a history lesson (such as the note that a third of young children died in Malta in 1942 due to the aerial bombardment and lack of medical supplies entering the island - sounds familiar as war carries on in the Middle East) and a reminder of how privileged we are to live in peace time in our country currently.

By the book's end, Lussey has again concocted a thrilling cat and mouse thriller helped by the limitations of the small island's geography and the ever impending threat of an aerial attack by the German air force.

For fans old and new, my hope is that these books do find the larger audience they so richly deserve.

The Eyes of Horus is out from Arachnid Press on Tuesday 18th June on all formats. 

Sorcery

 

Feature length film from Christopher Murray

Based upon actual 19th century witchcraft trials in Chile, Sorcery features a stunning lead performance from Valentina Veliz Caileo, a young girl using the title of the film to avenge her father's brutal death.

A wonderful premise of a film featuring enigmatic mystery and a key lead performance from a young adult, there is so much potential for this film to succeed and yet it fails to land unfortunately.

The use of landscape as a mystery to itself does not evoke the required atmosphere - long moments of quiet elicit feelings of monotony instead of haunting. 

When the trailer was issued of this title, it was sold as a forebearer and successor to Pan's Labyrinth - a mythical parable where a young girl must overcome the adversity of the German settlers amidst the Chilean landscape maintaining the truth to herself in her quest to avenge her father's passing. And yet when the moments of action come not as a shock to the system but a welcome change from moments of stillness that instead of offering moments of resonance instead make for an unwanted plodding to proceedings. 

Imagine all the council meeting scenes of Killers of the Flower Moon for an hour and a half, when a lot is said and not much done, and you would rather return to the threat and menace put upon the indigenous people to help thrust the momentum of the narrative which stagnates and treads water when it should be flourishing.

The intention is there but it just fails to match expectations of the trailer, and that is a shame as there are so many elements to make a great statement here on the Chilean spirit. However, the end product is lacking that one element of the spell to be magical.

Sorcery is distributed by Sovereign Distribution and on limited release from Friday 14th June

SheffDocFest 2024: The Boy and the Suit of Lights

First documentary feature from Edinburgh based film director set in Spain 

Inma De Reyes has crafted a fine modern-day document of an almost antiquated artefact of a bygone era in her hometown of Castellon, Spain. The Spanish title is El Nino Y El Traje De Luces.

Bullfighting is one of the most identifiable elements of Spanish heritage and yet it is a dying form of entertainment in the modern world with animal rights activists fighting for better care of the poor animals and also the stardom that came with the pastime waning due to the rise of better money in more mainstream sports such as football and basketball. 

De Reyes over the course of five years follows a young boy, Borja, as he navigates his puberty into young manhood with the dream of becoming a bullfighter while helping his single mother who works hard to provide for her and brother Erik. The other mainstay in his life is his grandfather, Matias, a man who could not fulfil his dream of bullfighting and so vicariously lives through his grandchildren.

The five year format - reminiscent of Linklater's Boyhood (2014) - does not use intertitles to inform the audience of a new year, instead we have the raising of a musical score to signify a movement in time sometimes bringing light to a new year or a dark cloud such as the passing of a loved one during the global pandemic. 

In terms of the lead character, Borja's expressive eyes allow us to see how he takes in this awe-inspiring arena of sport. He is very much aware of the opportunity to be something else in the world is being afforded in contrast to the underprivileged nature he finds himself in.

While filmed through the documentary medium, this is essentially a coming-of-age story for Borja and his younger brother; as they come to terms with the pressures of the decisions made in teenage years to better themselves and the hard work your parents do to keep the negativity of the world away from their children, and yet these obstacles cannot be ignored the older you become.

Empathetic in its tone and delicate handling of the complex sport while embracing the romantic notions bullfighting elicits in the Spanish cultural landscape; The Boy and the Suit of Lights is a film with lessons to learn and where even the best laid plans get changed. 

Financed by Screen Scotland, Chicken and Egg, Rustic Canyon and Women Make Movies; 

The Boy and the Suit of Lights receives its World Premiere at Sheffield DocFest on Friday 14th June in the International Feature Competition.

Sheffield DocFest: Sheffield International Documentary Festival (sheffdocfest.com)

Every Spy A Traitor - Alex Gerlis

 

First book of brand new series by prolific Alex Gerlis

Published by Canelo, Every Spy a Traitor, is the first in a prospective four part Double Agent espionage series by Alex Gerlis. The series will cover a dramatic 20 year period from the start of WW2, to the freezing of relations resulting in the Cold War .

It is 1937, as fascism is on the rise across continental Europe, fear is equally in the ascendancy. British Intelligence is trying to work out who the enemy is; whilst they have a spy amongst their own ranks named simply 'Archie'. 

Charles Cooper, a young British writer, is travelling through Europe seeking a story for his next novel. Yet his quest for research means that fact and fiction are going to merge together sharply and put him at the forefront of his next story.

Gerlis who came to prominence with the Spies series in books, is a passionate historian as well as a good yarn teller; those two passions finding a marriage together as the story of Cooper is relayed.

The first half of the book, which shows Cooper travelling the European railways and countries before the Second World War commences when Poland is invaded by Hitler's Germany; Cooper's journey is a romantic one full of notions and impulses of freedom. 

The second half when we become privy to Archie's true identity is heart-racing as Gerlis navigates the political landscape and ever shifting questions of loyalty abound in the back rooms. Little morsels of details such as an assassin dressed in a Cambridge University gown so as not to warrant suspicion on the school grounds is a delight especially; as are the ability to embrace historical fact with a highly digestable story much like Ken Lussey does in his Bob Sutherland novels. 

This is a whip-crack entertaining read full of nuggets of historical detail and full of great characterisation that while of the time also feel relevant to today's day and age. Top notch stuff from an established writer in total command of his powers seemingly.

Every Spy A Traitor is released from Canelo on 6th June on all formats.

My thanks to Canelo for the review opportunity.

Here

New film by Bas Devos out 7th June from New Wave Films

The story revolves around a Romanian construction worker in Brussels, Belgium who is considering going home until he encounters a Chinese specialist in moss. This unexpected connection between two wondering souls sparks the possibility of new beginnings for both in this 

The film was winner of the 2023 Encounters at the Berlin Film Festival and Best International Film at the 2023 Galway Film Festival

The film takes its time in bringing the two people together - they have a brief encounter about half an hour into the film, but the true connection does not take place until nearly an hour into proceedings. The attention to detail and our maintaining of attention upon the two leads is partly down to the restrained and nuance both convey. Stefan Gota has such an expressive face in the same vein as Matthias Schoenaerts, one that can be vacant yet also say so much with his presence alone.  Liyo Gong provides a performance of assuredness and calm nature.

The film, reminded me of Ralph Waldo Emerson's poem 'Nature' where Emerson relays about the essence of transcendentalism and gaining a divinity through nature, you can only understand reality through studying nature. Both of these souls like for instance Bob and Charlotte in Lost in Translation, are seeking answers in this mystery of life and find each other in this fleeting moment.

However, the star of the show is the director Bas Devos, a deliberate and methodical director, who is able to film wonderful images and allows the film time to breathe and not rush proceedings, much like the moss which as the forefront of the narrative for both of our protagonists.  These things take time.

But every night come out these envoys of beauty, and light the universe with their admonishing smile. In the woods, is perpetual youth - Ralph Waldo Emerson

The film is about connection and finding a place in this world that you can call home, when faraway from the first one; it will remind you of films you have seen before and yet is unlike anything you may have seen before. Reminiscent of the Dardennes naturally, a smidgen of the methodical technique of Tarkovsky and yet something of its own making and minute uniqueness.

Here is released by New Wave Films on Friday 7th June, my thanks to them for the review opportunity.

A House in Jerusalem

 

Enticing feature set in Jerusalem produced by Wellington Films

Directed by Muayad Alayan, this is a telling and delicate tale about how the past is always with us no matter how far we run from it

Young Rebecca, with her father, relocate to Jerusalem following the tragic death of her mother in a car crash that she survived. Their move into an old family home in the Valley of the Ghosts which becomes the setting for mysterious events and a friendship between Rebecca and Rasha, a young Palestinian only she can see. Following the template of young females becoming more of themselves by delving into mysterious gardens and households, this tale slowly becomes a ghost story being lived in now.

As the friendship grows, is Rasha a figment of Rebecca's imagination and the film makes a statement upon how grief is processed as the two young girls are binded by tragedy. Poignant and delicately handled in its production, A House in Jerusalem is a film for today but about yesterday and the days ahead.

Rebecca seeks solace in the ghostly apparition of Rasha, partly because they have a shared language or understanding, as she struggles to learn Hebrew in her new school. The friendship grows due to a fear of authority - for Rasha it is the police, for Rebecca the military - but never her father who is vulnerable and grieving himself throughout and traversing the single parent wasteland he finds himself in. 

Featuring performances by veteran stalwart Johnny Harris as the father, Michael, and featuring the up and coming Miley Locke as Rebecca, this is a talent to watch out for in future years. Showing maturity beyond her years in moments such as dishing up a plate for her departed mother at dinner time and listening to voicemail to hear her voice, Locke channels such as Ivana Baquero from Pan's Labyrinth (2006).

On limited release from May, this film is an enticing enterprise with a great premise that will help viewers understand the notions of racism and how it takes hold upon those who allow it to manifest in society - similar to The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - a young protagonist interacts with someone from a different faith to better appreciate their background and become a better person themselves

A House in Jerusalem is produced by Wellington Films and released by Peccadillo Pictures from 31st May 

Cowtown 'Fear Of...' - Album Review

 

New album from Leeds based trio, out via Gringo Records 31st May

Made up of a born and raised three piece, Hilary Knott (keys/vocals), Jonathan Nash (guitars/vocals) and David Shields (drums); the band return with their first new record in eight years. They have always fallen back into each other, able to tour without much fanfare and yet be a great support band for those touring the northern settlements of England.

Nash is noted for being drummer of Hookworms which became Holodrum and Knott experimented with Basic Switches. And these bands DNA help ferment the DIY feel of Cowtown; the experimental fervour of Devo mixed with the punk-tastic tunes of White Denim.

Take for instant previous single, 'Can't Talk Now' which has the big chorus feel; or 'As Close To Town As I Like It' which takes Knott's measured vocals in unison with the melody. There are indie tunes here peppered with punchy works such as 'Total Engagement' or 'Thru Being Zuul' which provide that indie pop power that recalls Tokyo Police Club's apex.

 

There is a mixture of power and precision running throughout ending with the rousing 'Currently Unavailable' as the album's last track - yet this is a credit to a band that has worked the circuit for twenty years honing their craft, this is not a band but friends making music together winningly.

Lasting for that period of time in the underground scene, is reason enough to celebrate, yet to return with perhaps their best work and an album of positivity and jams to fill up any indie dancefloor is reason to be shouted from the rooftops.

Fear Of... is out from Gringo Records on 31st May 

My thanks to One Beat PR for the review opportunity.

In Camera - Film Review

Released on 13th September by Conic Films, highly intriguing British film by Naqqash Khalid starring Nabhaan Rizwan

In Camera follows the path of a young actor, Aden, portrayed by Nabhaan Rizwan caught in a cycle of nightmarish auditions and rejections across the industry. Directed by Naqqash Khalid, the film has won awards at Dinard and Thessaloniki film festivals and was nominated for two British Independent Film Awards.

Aden shares a flat with his long-time flatmate Bo, a junior doctor and a new roommate, Conrad (Amir El-Masry), who is a fashion influencer.

The film is attempting to make a statement on actors especially minority actors and the difficulties they have in breaking through to be taken seriously as actors in general and not on the periphery of situations and productions.

At times, Kafkaesque in the sense that our lead actor is lost in the vacuum of endless repeatable auditions and the notion that his ambition is being lost amidst the surreal nature of this all - this is a film full of ideas that is attempting to make semblance of it.

Over time as Aden struggles to gain work in the creative industry, he takes on a freelance role portraying the son of a grieving set of parents, taking on the guise of a white son for a middle-class family. Following this incident, when he feels more real and human, Aden slowly becomes jealous of Conrad's ability to gain what he wants by manipulating people and moments to his advantage and by being perhaps a more acceptable brown face - clean shaven, smartly dressed, clear English diction.

Taking inspiration from Conrad's Instagram feed, Aden morphs into the roommate, almost fooling Bo that he is him, adopting his mannerisms and image to play a new role in a single white female homage per se. Aden gains greater work by becoming less a deliberate actor and more an accidental person in the acting world. 

There is an interesting sub-plot involving Aiden's room-mate Bo, portrayed by Rory Fleck-Byrne, a junior doctor who is constantly hounded/harassed by a vending machine and the grind of his work load is taking over him. One set piece shows him being dunked by the blood on him by lives lost supposedly, he cannot stop the blood flowing and feels useless. He admits to drowning in the blood and this statement on the pressures junior doctors feel relevant and real. His story is a political statement, whereas the minority actor looking for recognition is the plot A strand. Roles are reversed seemingly for these protagonists. 

A revealing portrait of the male psyche struggling to adapt to the social media landscape, the pressures males find themselves under in this society - to look good, and be better than they are - in contrast to others who have it easy in comparison. Image is everything but what to do when your face just does not fit. 

For this reviewer though, In Camera is a film with a lot of ideas  and succeeds in wanting to say everything on its mind. It also cements the promise of Nabhaan Rizwan; a chameleon type actor who himself is doing away with pigeon-holing and type casting in his own career having recently starred as Dionydus in the recent Netflix series, Kaos opposite Jeff Goldblum and Janet McTeer. Rizwan is a highly talented actor who will grow into greater and bigger things.

Released by Conic Films.

The Small Back Room

Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of its first release, the Powell and Pressburger WW2 set film about political intrigue and psychological drama. The 4K restoration will be available on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital from 3rd June and will have a premiere at BFI Southbank on 28th May

Starring David Farrar and Kathleen Byron - two actors who worked with P&P on Black Narcissus in 1940. Farrar portrays Sammy Rice, the finest bomb disposal expert in the army who was injured during the war. He begins an affair with Byron's Susan, a secretary in the war office. However, Sammy is haunted by his failings as a man owing to the injuries he has sustained, and his ability to be a lover to Susan due to his inferiority complex. He drowns his sorrows in whiskey nightly to the detriment of his ability to perform a great service to the continuing war effort.

Nazi Germany is still dropping booby-bombs on Britain, a bomb has exploded causing catastrophic results and another has been found which has not yet exploded. This opportunity provides Sammy with a chance of retribution and to face down his demons.

Based upon the 1943 novel of the same name by Nigel Balchin, the film was received as another win for The Archers, and when released in 1949 it was marked as a slow down for the team after the triumph and masterwork that was The Red Shoes in 1948.

Think of the Coens' A Serious Man or Scorese's Bringing Out The Dead; films that are not as highly thought of in the director's oeuvre yet they are deeply personal and intuitive to the sense of their overall body of work. In The Small Back Room, P&P look at an individual and the psychological complexity that the war will have upon individuals and how it seeped into everyday life and following on from Billy Wilder's The Lost Weekend in 1945, this is a serious depiction of alcoholic dependency.

Yet there are archetypes of P&P motifs here - location shooting, issues of class and status, off the wall moments such as Sammy's final descent and lush production design. A film that that serves as a reminder that even a flawed film by masters can still maintain attention and suspense.

Released by Studiocanal in a new restoration led by Martin Scorsese and Thelma Schoonmaker (Powell's widow) from the Film Foundation. The digital release features documentaries on restoring The Small Back Room, Kevin MacDonald on the Small Back Room, Ian Christie 'Defusing the Archers', an audio commentary by film scholar Charles Barr and an interview with the film's cinematographer Christopher Challis.

Out from June 3rd from Studiocanal

Slow - Film Review

This Lithuanian-Swedish joint production tells of a blossoming relationship between a man and a woman, who attempt to find a level of acceptable intimacy when the man reveals himself to be asexual - not attracted to anybody/anyone sexually. The film won World Cinema Directing Award at Sundance 2023.

Dovydas (Kestutis Cicenas) is a sign language interpreter - in his world - his language is sacroscant, his interpretation cannot be challenged as that is the universally accepted language for those fluent in it. He is restricted by these dogmatic ways, it is his way and he cannot be swayed by it.

Elena (Greta Grineviciute) is a dancer, a world where everything is open to interpretation and is objective from one person to the next. Dovydas s is a world of subjectivity it is what it is.

A two-hander for the majority of the film, the director has expressed she entrusted the two leads fully to find the truth within the the two protagonists and their stories.

Shot like many a small film, medium close-ups like a Ken Loach film for example, this film is an intimate film - one where the pace is deliberate and rewards the audience to stick with the narrative, and this is helped by the warm lead performances.

There is an intimate intensity to the scenes that is handled delicately and maturely with a subject that is alien to many an audience, yet in this age of people being more pronounced with their sexual behaviour and types of identity, this is a film that asks questions from Elena's position while respecting Dovydas' at the same time.

Film history is littered with famous love stories - Jack and Rose, Rick and Ilsa - yet they all had the clinch at the film's conclusion to state that finality, however, the two partnerships mentioned are apart at the end. Sometimes in film, love means not being with the one you want to be with most and in life, finding that common ground through exploration and togetherness.

The balance between soft and strong coupled with a very good soundtrack by Irya Gmeyer and Martin Hederos give credence to the film's plot and narrative.

Released by Conic Films, who are in a rich vein of form at the moment with their niche independent releases, Slow is another winning film that will garner attention due to the off-beat subject matter but will win acclaim due to its realistic portrayal of such matter.  A film that does not have an agenda about identity politics and instead is more about love and how to find it and keep hold of it.

Shared Remains - Rachel Lynch

 

New thriller in DI Kelly Porter series out now from Canelo

Following on from last year's bestseller Silent Bones, Lynch returns to her ongoing series of DI Kelly Porter who surveys and polices the Cumbrian landscape with her team while balancing a new relationship when not on duty.

This story revolves around the discovery of a body in a quarry one morning and from there a can of worms very much gets opened involving a nearby elderly home. At the home, mysterious deaths are mounting up, and then the paper trail leads to the discovery that the funeral directors are the main beneficiaries of the recently deceased. The only snag is that the quarry body is the funeral director, Vince, and there-in lies a problem.

Falsifying death certificates, grave digging and fraud all come to head for Porter and her team. This macabre set of narrative junctions lead to a less than breezy feel to the reading of the story that stops and starts on occasion with some emphasis put upon the domestic situation for Kelly at home which at times is a bit distracting.

As ever with Canelo Crime reads, the final quarter of the book - when the evidence comes to the fore and exhumations begin - is when the book kicks into gear with a gratifying conclusion for this reader.

The atmosphere of the book with the greys and dismal weather of late summer becoming that unimpeachable autumn is evoked effectively by Lynch, with the old adage grim up north ringing true.

And yet through the gloom, there is a ray of sunshine coming to the surface for Kelly with the hopes of a new relationship ready to bloom as snow falls on the ground

SHARED REMAINS is out now from Canelo

My thanks to them for the pre-approval on NetGalley for my review 

Nezouh

 

Double winner at 2023 Venice Film Festival released 

Written and directed by Soudade Kaadan, it tells the story of a family wanting to stay put in their house in war torn Damascus, rather than flee as refugees. While devastation and danger surround them, love and idealism keep them grounded and safe, even as a bomb hits them directly and their roof comes crumbling down. As they are held captive by their situation, they somehow find personal freedom.

Shot by celebrated cinematographer Hélène Louvart (La Chimera, Happy as Lazzaro, The Lost Daughter), the film contains a magical realism in its look and feel, that suspends reality while also never shying away from the atrocities that surround them. Co-cinematographer Burak Kanbir contributes to the authentic sense of time, place and space.

The film is in Arabic and stars Syrian actors Samer Al Masri and Kinda Alloush, alongside newcomers Hala Zein and Nizar Alani.

Kaadan says of the film and of her own experience: “It is only after the bombing started in our neighbourhood in Damascus that I left the house with my sister. Damascene society was conservative, even in liberal families. With the new wave of displacement, it became normal (for the first time) to see young Damascene women living alone and separating from their families. Myself, and many of my friends, started to make decisions we would never make before. Now, sadly, there is no more society, something new has occurred.” 

Kaadan’s filmography includes feature documentary Obscure (CPH:Dox 2017), narrative feature The Day I Lost My Shadow (Lion of the Future award for Best Debut at Venice Film Festival 2018) and short film Aziza (Sundance Grand Jury prize 2019).

She adds: “The word ‘nezouh’ means in Arabic the displacement of souls, water and people; it is the displacement of light and darkness. NEZOUH tries to talk about this inevitable invasion of light and hope in the midst of this chaos.”

Filmed in a style reminiscent of documentary and hand-held cinema, the film is a celebration of life and valuing that which you hold dear within that life; in this instance the father (Samir Al Masri) will not vacate his home despite the bombing, he is too proud of the legacy he has created in his home as Zeina says, 'my father is ready for anything, except leaving'

The film tellingly, in the magical realism mentioned previously, acts as it is upon a different spectral form, the clever device of the bombing essentially breaks down the wall for the characters - by expanding their space more story is available and the world is now open to them.

Incorporating styles such as Kiarostami who consistently balances that line between fact and fiction and the eccentric work of Roy Andersson, the Swedish absurdist, there is always life in dull moments of existence; this is a film that tells so much about the human condition.

Screenings can be found here

NEZOUH is out from Modern Films on limited release from 3rd May around the country

That They May Face The Rising Sun

New Irish award-winning film based upon the novel of the same name by Irish author, John McGahern's final novel

Patrick Collins, an audio-visual poet who has created works of quiet solitude set against the picturesque setting of the lush Irish landscape has found the means to create a faithful adaptation to McGahern's work and a love letter to that beautiful countryside reflecting upon a simpler time without mobile phones and other modern day distractions.

Joe (Barry Ward) and Kate (Anna Bederke) have returned to their homeland to live the good life - to borrow from a late 70s cultural artefact - and what we would describe nowadays as off the grid. Joe is a writer (a conduit for McGahern himself), experiencing the place he lives in and soaking that into his daily writing. Kate owns and runs an art gallery in London, a reason for her to still return to the capital on occasion to visit friends. Yet they are living at a pace of their own making, with no children on the horizon seemingly, they are content to live in this happiness - the building of a shed or timber outhouse painstakingly over the year with little or no progression indicative of a life being lived slowly.

The couple, who would be described as bohemians I suppose, have an open door policy welcoming visitors, neighbours and family whenever ready for a cup of tea and sympathetic ear. These interactions with the community works as a sort of social currency, in exchange for information and conversing, the couple are thought of highly in that community.

This is Collins' third feature film and he is a vaunted documentarian, his keen eye of observation and minute detail works in perfect harmony with that of the relationship of the couple who fit perfectly within a suburban setting yet are finding solace with their lot in life, a path that they have made for themselves. The film is finding that balance between the rituals of life and work along with the passing seasons; we bare witness to one year in the life of this couple but it could be any year over a ten year period with the added fork in the road moments of someone's passing - world events do not occur in this world of County Galway, where principal photography taking place near the Mayo border.

Credit for the film's feel and look goes to Richard Kendrick, who has shot both of Collins' first two films Silence (2011) and Song of Granite (2017), there are moments when Joe and Kate are embracing and the film looks like an Austen adaptation per excellence and that is the general feel of the film as something approaching a comfort watch like All Creatures Great and Small or Doc Martin; a lovely teatime viewing that is nostalgic without feeling cheesy with a tone of maturity that is not patronising.

Collins in conjunction with Kendrick and the score by Irene and Linda Buckley which is soft and ambient yet very much in keeping with Irish heritage has crafted a film that is intelligent, adult and beguiling.

The film has just won Best Irish Film at the Irish Film and Television Awards this month, and is about to have a limited release at select repertory cinemas across the country. This is recommended viewing for those who miss those slow paced films that teach us a lot about the world we used to know, love and mostly miss; a film that rewards its audience for its patience. A virtue lacking in today's age. 

That They May Face The Rising Sun is out from Conic Films on 26th April

Kind Hearts and Coronets

 

Vintage Ealing Studio comedy released on 4K UHD from Studiocanal on 22nd April

In a series of re-releases and new prints upon the Vintage Classics label from Studiocanal, the company has taken the legendary series of post-World War 2 films from the Ealing Studios archive.

These films are long-established in the canon of British public consciousness and yet they remain vintage in every sense of the word - regal from a bygone era, original in their gestation and witty still despite the advancement of culture and society. This film appears as a satire upon the British fascination of nobility and the pursuit of social mobility.

After spending an hour and a half in the mere presence of Dennis Price's serial killing cousin, one will feel quite jolly and wish for the days when people would harken back to the days full of lavish production design and featuring the well-equipped acting of an ensemble who went from film to film delivering exquisite performances. 

While Price is the figurehead of the film and upon repeated viewings, his role is one of quiet restraint that is befitting a sociopath who is more in need of social ambition he feels is owed rather than earned. Yet this film remains most memorable as a showcase for the ever growing reputation of Alec Guinness. This is after his double bill of appearing in David Lean's Charles Dickens' adaptations most notably as Fagin in Oliver Twist. In this he portrays the D'Ascoyne family - those who Price as Louis - wants to dispose of so his lineage to the Duke of Chalfont can be obtained.

Guinness embues so much character into each of the family, it led to his scaling the heights of British film with The Lavender Hill Mob and The Ladykillers to follow before Hollywood and his Award winning role as Captain Nicholson in Lean's The Bridge over the River Kwai.

What is most striking though along with the performances is the erudite script that while based upon a novel is witty and astute in its understanding of social class, aspiration and norms in the post-war era. Credit also to Robert Hamer for marshalling proceedings with such precision and care.

If film fans have not heard nor seen this film, they should seek it out and enjoy the darkly black comedy that became familiar from the Ealing Studios, in a post-war world which should have been full of optimism, there remained those grains of doubt and pessimism that maybe good times may never return and you have to set out and make your own path in life perhaps to better yourselves.

The film is released on UHD on 22nd April, it features an introduction by fan John Landis, an audio commentary by film critic Peter Bradshaw, director Terence Davies and Matthew Guinness, an alternate US ending, gallery and trailers.

Kind Hearts and Coronets is released on UHD from 22nd April