Tuesday, February 25

Film: The Gentlemen Click for more info

It's safe to say that there's been a lack of gangster movies over the last decade (and perhaps even two decades). Maybe it was a reaction to a rising culture of political correctness, or perhaps people just got bored of the genre. I for one didn't expect those good times to return.

And yet here we are with The Gentlemen. In short, it's a very successful throwback to the Guy Ritchie of the late 90s, with seemingly very little compromise or chopped off (resulting in a well deserved 18 rating). It's almost a statement saying that as a society we've managed to evolve and can be offensive without causing offence. Whatever the case, its a welcome return.

The film itself is otherwise well produced, with the acting, plot and camera work all gelling together smoothly. I would say that at times I thought it was just acting out for the sake of it, but that's a bit of a reach and doesn't affect the enjoyment of the film overall.

Recommended.

Thursday, February 20

Film: 1917 Click for more info

So let's deal with the gimmick straight away. The "single shot" (well, actually, two) was laudable and a great demonstration of technical skill. Yes, there were glaring flaws, with CGI and green screen abound. The depth of field was all over the place too. And yet having such a film like this in obvious real time DID add to it and changed what would have been an okay film to something much, much more.

Because, yes, the film is good. The story is straightforward, and so relies on both the micro drama and characterisation, the winner of which was clearly the former. I felt like there were some audio issues, with most of the film feeling like it was badly dubbed (this may have just been my screening), but then again the musical score was magnificently noticeable. The acting was good enough, and it's a credit to the main roles that they managed to do their part in the whole single shot presentation.

I'm generally ambivalent about war films, but this was one that pulled me right in. Whether it needs to be experienced on the big screen or not, I'm not sure, but a must watch it is.

Sunday, February 16

Karachi 2020

Uncannily it's exactly a year ago that I wrote about my last trip to Karachi, cementing the fact that we have now visited so regularly that our flying dates have been optimised. A case in point - despite having been quite chilly during our stay, it was due to be 34c the day we left. Phew!

Other observations: I have now visited Pakistan three times in a rolling year, which is almost certainly some kind of personal best. Despite that, I still don't see a downside to visiting so frequently. A case in point - two deaths in our close family during and around our stay.

Each year we see changes in both Karachi and the people who live in the city, and every year the rhetorical question arises of whether we could actually live here or not... the question becoming a little less rhetorical with each visit, a little like how our flippant jokes about being chucked out of the UK are becoming less and flippant.

Otherwise it was business as usual in the Karachi sun.

Saturday, February 8

Book: Mistborn: The Final Empire, Brandon Sanderson Click for more info

Above all else it appears that Brandon Sanderson is just plain reliable. Mistborn brings in a world quite different to Elantris, while sharing the accessibility, class subthemes and world-building that made that first title so great. Needless to say I enjoyed the book throughout, enough to convince me that, yes, fantasy is indeed my new sci-fi.

Apart from the magic and lore, the book is well put together too. Sanderson introduces the right things at the right time, while making sure any implied or hanging threads are dealt with in time. In that sense the book is a pleasure to read since you don't have the burden of keeping mental notes or overwork to get to the real juice such world building brings. In short, its rewarding without any of the effort.

I've jumped straight into the next part of the trilogy, The Well of Ascension, so look out for my thoughts on that next.