Film Review – BlacKkKlansman

Posted on August 30, 2018 by simondillon

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I’ll confess upfront that I’ve never been a huge fan of Spike Lee, give or take the extraordinary Do the Right Thing from 1989. That said, he is a very talented and incisive filmmaker, even though some of his work comes off as preachy. Mercifully that isn’t the case – for the most part – in BlacKkKlansman, Lee’s finest film in years.

After a curious prologue with Alec Baldwin as a white supremacist creating a Ku Klux Klan promotional reel (utilising clips of the notoriously racist classic film Birth of a Nation and the much better loved, though still arguably racist Gone with the Wind), a caption informs us at the following film is based on some “fo’ real, fo’ real sh*t”. This incredible story of Ron Stallworth, an African-American Colorado police officer who managed to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan, proves the maxim that truth is stranger than fiction. Yes, some events are fictionalised, but oddly enough it is often the more unbelievable parts of the tale that are actually true.

Stallworth (John David Washington) is aided and abetted by fellow undercover officer Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver). Stallworth speaks to the Klan over the phone, whilst Zimmerman pretends to be him during face to face meetings. What follows is tense, farcical and often hilarious, particularly as Zimmerman is Jewish, making him as unpalatable to the Klan as the real Stallworth. Between them, Stallworth and Zimmerman climb the ranks in the Klan, eventually becoming head of a local branch and interacting with David Duke (Topher Grace), then national head of the Klan.

Both Washington and Driver deliver superb performances, and Lee’s direction is smart and stylish, with great attention to 1970s period detail. However, as I mentioned earlier, it is the fact that the film is so entertaining that really gives it political punch. Allusions are made throughout to present day racism in America, particularly in relation to Trump’s presidency. It is only when Trump’s inept response to the 2017 Charlottesville riots is included in an epilogue that Lee overreaches slightly, tipping the film into (justified) scathing anger at a present day issue which, for me at least, was a little too on the nose and belongs in a different film. That said, perhaps I’ll feel differently on a second viewing, as it was still powerful and arguably worthwhile.

In closing, it is worth giving warnings for very strong swearing and racist language, but the context calls for it. BlacKkKlansman comes highly recommended.

Film Review – Alpha

Posted on August 26, 2018 by simondillon

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Boy and his wolf stories are hardly new, but director Albert Hughes’s Alpha has plenty of heart, even though it treads a very familiar path of survival adventure and coming-of-age.

Set sometime in prehistoric Europe, the story involves the teenage Keda (a near unrecognisable Kodi Smit-McPhee), who is presumed dead by his father and the rest of his tribe when he falls off a cliff during a stampede in a hunting expedition. However, after being injured and swept away in a flood, Keda begins to make a difficult and painful trek home. Along the way he is attacked by a pack of wolves and after injuring one, can’t bring himself to strike the killer blow. Instead, once the other wolves leave, he takes the injured wolf to a cave and nurses it back to health, bonding with it in the process. The wolf then becomes his companion on his journey, but will they make it back alive?

Despite predictability, there is a genuine sense of jeopardy throughout. There are pleasingly sharp edges to this family-friendly tale. It doesn’t patronise its young audience in the slightest. The brutal, occasionally gruesome business of dirt-under-the-fingernails survival is kept front and centre. In addition, none of the dialogue is English, but a made-up Palaeolithic dialect inspired by Icelandic, Faroese and Danish. So young viewers need to be old enough to read subtitles at least.

Despite such positive elements, I did sometimes get annoyed by obvious CGI sky replacements in certain shots. Other times, the cinematography is suitably, sweeping and epic, particularly in the snowy latter half, when the film isn’t art directed to within an inch of its life. Performances are all decent, including from the very well-trained wolves. There’s also a nice bit of narration at the start and end from Morgan Freeman.

In the end, Alpha is hardly a groundbreaking narrative. I’ve seen better boy and his wolf stories (White Fang for instance). Heck, I’ve seen better girl and her wolf stories (The Journey of Natty Gann), but in a bloated summer of sequels, Alpha is at least not part of a mega-franchise, and satisfactorily fulfils the requirements of the genre. My wolf-obsessed nine-year-old loved it, so really that is recommendation enough.

My brain needs a break

Posted on August 10, 2018 by simondillon

My brain needs a break. Here’s a scary picture of me in brain meltdown mode.

IMG_0660(1) Given the rather excessively productive year I have had so far (first drafts on two longer than usual novels, lots of editing on earlier, currently unreleased novels, and a couple of short stories), I have decided to take a short break from writing and from posting on this blog. However, I will be back in the first week of September, and I will still post film reviews of any films I see at the cinema.

In the meantime, if you’re a regular visitor to this blog, or are stumbling on it for the first time, why not buy or download one of my novels?

I write in a variety of genres, so here are five that might interest you:

Children of the Folded Valley – By far my most popular novel to date, this tale of a man looking back on his life growing up in a strange cult has over eighty mostly rave reviews on Amazon, and seems to have struck a chord with a lot of readers. It even seems to have got under the skin of people who didn’t like it (eg “Disturbing, distasteful and fascinating all at the same time” was one “negative” reader comment). I’ve also been told it’s my most “personal” novel to date, whatever the hell that means, although to be fair it is partly inspired by some of my own experiences in a cult during the early part of my life. Check it out here.

Uncle Flynn – A story about overcoming fear and the dangers of mollycoddling disguised as a treasure hunt adventure, this is my second most popular novel, and again, Amazon reviews are mostly raves. It is aimed at all ages, so don’t be put off by the “children’s book” label. For example, one reader said “In this day and age I sometimes find myself reading books like this unaware. I loved it and I’m nearly 69 years old. Uncle Flynn is a real treat.”

Film Review – The Meg

Posted on August 9, 2018 by simondillon

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Giant shark versus Jason Statham? Well, I suppose it’s not as ludicrous as a tornado filled with sharks. But that’s almost a shame. The problem with The Meg isn’t that it’s a bad film. It is self-aware enough so that it doesn’t foolishly aspire to be Jaws. But nor is it quite silly enough to belong in the pantheon of outrageous sharksploitation flicks like Deep Blue Sea. It is, alas, deeply average.

The lunatic plot concerns a billionaire and his ought-to-know-better scientific cronies discovering a new deep-sea ecosystem and inadvertently unleashing a huge Megalodon shark. Cue retired diving expert Jason Statham to the rescue, who has the regulation no-one-believed-me “past” with this creature. A cast of stock B-movie characters await to provide shark fodder.

There is absolutely no point applying logic to a film like this, although it is disappointing that the major shocks and twists are so painfully predictable. Director Jon Turteltaub stages the odd mildly effective set-piece (Statham’s attempt to swim to the Megalodon to plant a tracker on its fin, for example), but most of the action lacks anything approaching a sense of peril. That’s also down to the poor dialogue and equally poor acting, particularly in the first half.

The best gag in The Meg occurs in the very last shot, by which point you might smile if you are feeling good natured enough. In the interests of fairness, I must report that my nine-year-old greatly enjoyed the film, so perhaps if you have a monster movie obsessed child, it might prove diverting. Otherwise, there are better blockbusters out there at present.

Film Review – Ant-Man and the Wasp

Posted on August 5, 2018 by simondillon

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Not every Marvel movie needs to be about saving the Universe. Ant-Man and the Wasp is refreshingly small scale, in relative terms of course, following the Universe shaking events of Avengers Infinity War. Or rather before them, as a key mid credits scene makes the chronology clear.

At any rate, Ant-Man and the Wasp is a great deal of fun. Three days shy of completing a two-year house arrest sentence following his government defying antics in Captain America Civil War, Scott Lang aka Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) spends time with his young daughter and generally looks forward to being a free citizen again. That is until he gets entangled in a rescue mission, whereby Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Hope aka Wasp (Evangeline Lily) require his help to rescue Pym’s long-lost wife Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer) from the so-called quantum realm. Attempting to thwart their plans are mysterious villain Ghost, a rich criminal who wants Pym’s quantum technology for his own business empire, and the FBI, who (rightly) suspect Scott of pulling the wool over their eyes regarding his house arrest. All manner of small, normal and giant sized action shenanigans ensue.

The main cast all do well, and there are some good supporting players. Lawrence Fishburne turns up as one of Pym’s former colleagues, and Scott’s criminal pals turned security firm employees are back too, in the form of Michael Pena, David Dastmalchian and TI. Visual effects are appropriately eye-popping, particularly in one early kitchen fight scene and the car chase finale in the streets of San Francisco. Director Peyton Reed stages these scenes with imaginative flair, having a great deal of fun with all the miniaturisation gags. There are also some fine running jokes about card tricks and truth serum. In fact, I laughed a lot in this film, which means I forgave the rather predictable plot.

Ant-Man and the Wasp is arguably a minor entry in the series, and it isn’t top tier Marvel product (Captain America instalments Civil War and The Winter Soldier remain the genuine standouts for my money), but I still enjoyed it a lot. One more thing I must add: there’s a genuinely brilliant gag near the end, involving my all-time favourite 1950s monster B-movie Them! For me, that alone was worth the price of admission.

Update on current projects

Posted on August 3, 2018 by simondillon

2018 is more than half over, so here’s a sort-of mid-term report on how the year is shaping up for me so far.

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Ravenseed – The first few months of the year were spent writing this Dark Ages set fantasy novel. Even though I have yet to test it on any Beta readers, I’m really very pleased with the results. A brooding, melancholy tale of knights, sorcerers and enchantment, Ravenseed simmers with love, lust, betrayal and revenge. However, alongside the Dark Ages narrative is a parallel framing story set in the present, featuring a journey that echoes the quest in the ancient past. It was a very tricky novel to write, but I honestly think my hard work paid off.

Peaceful Quiet Lives (title to be confirmed) – This week, I have just finished making a few final adjustments to the first draft of this dystopian novel set in a future America. I have set out to satirise both sides in the so-called culture wars, and at this point I honestly can’t tell if I succeeded brilliantly, or if the novel is a crash and burn failure. Perhaps looking at it in a few months with a fresh eye and the feedback of Beta Readers will shed a more accurate light on what I actually have here.

The Spectre of Springwell Forest – This ghostly, gothic nail-biter (which I wrote in the early part of last year) will be my next release. The story is set in the 1970s, and involves a sinister painting and an equally sinister abandoned railway tunnel. Full details to follow soon. Watch this space.

In addition, this year I have written a short story which I have just submitted to a publisher in the hopes that it will selected for a horror anthology entitled All Dark Places which his due for release this October. If my story is chosen, more details will follow.

Speaking of short stories, I’m currently writing another, a romantic fairy tale, to submit to a different anthology due for release in December. In fact, I’d better get back to it…

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Monthly Archives: August 2018