MOVIE REVIEW: Rust and Bone

Rust and Bone begins with a father and his son.  Alain, played by Matthias Schoenaerts, is travelling across France.  Times are clearly tough, and desperate measures are called for when it is also clear that Alain is a devoted father who will do whatever it takes to provide for his son.  Whatever they are leaving behind must have been an inferior existence to strive for the situation they have found themselves in at the start of the film.  Their destination is Alain's sister's, where they are being welcomed to stay with her and her husband.  They are only just getting-by themselves and their charity is not going to extend further than putting a roof over the heads of Alain and their nephew.  However, Alain's prospects are thin on the ground and far from promising.  All he seems to have going for him is that he was a boxer when he lived in Belgium.  Nevertheless, he is given a job as a doorman at a nightclub, where he meets our other lead character, Stephanie.  Played by Marion Cotillard, Stephanie is alone at the nightclub when Alain comes to her aid during a fight she is having with one of the establishment's male revelers.  He drives her home and their connection is the seed for the blossoming bond that follows.

We then follow Stephanie.  Just when we're amazed at how she makes her living, captivated even, tragedy strikes.

Cotillard was awarded with her Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role in 2008 and was only the second woman to do so for a non-English-speaking part behind Sophia Loren.  In Rust and Bone, Cotillard gives another acclaim-deserving performance here; exactly what can be confidently expected from her now.  She is one of the finest actresses in the business and is going to have a successful acting career as long as she desires.

Returning to the story, Stephanie makes contact with Alain and it proves to be the best decision she could have conceivably made at the time.  It is a life-changing time for them both.  They become an amazingly positive influence on each other and their relationship becomes far from a straightforward one.  However, Alain still has his own responsibilities to attend to and he becomes involved in illegal, high-stakes street-fighting,  He is fighting, not for the glory, but for the money.  He's good at it and it's his best chance to provide for his son.

Rust and Bone is a powerfully engaging and emotive story about recovery.  It tells the fateful story of a bond between an emotionally handicapped man and a physically handicapped woman, whose support for each other develops and progresses throughout the film's fleeting 120 minutes running-time.  At the end of those two hours, you'll feel ready to go through the experience again despite the abundance of heart-wrenching scenes you've just witnessed.  It's a magnificently engrossing tour-de-force demanding your attention.

(TRAILER)

OSCARS 2013

So, the nominations have been revealed.  This year the field is wider than it's been for a while.  The media is leading with the headline that Lincoln is the favourite to sweep the board because of the amount of nominations it has received, but remember how many nominations Gangs of New York had compared to what it took away.  Still, I'd probably agree that Lincoln is going to win big, even if it wasn't my favourite from what I've seen so far.  Daniel Day-Lewis is a sure thing for Best Actor with nobody else in with a chance.  I would love for Hugh Jackman to win, but you know - it's Day-Lewis and he's going to make history by being the first to win the award three times.  Most of the time, you don't even need to see the films to predict which will win.  A lot of the time it's down to which has the best campaign or the best press.  Do the Academy members who vote have time to watch all of the nominees?  When you see actors interviewed and asked what their film of the year has been, most of them admit they've been too busy working to watch any.

Here's my betting slip for the awards:

Date	Bet Type	Details	Result
12/01/2013	Single To Win	Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook) @ 1.44  Best Actress Best Actress	Pending
12/01/2013	Single To Win	Les Miserables @ 11.00  Best Picture Best Picture	Pending
12/01/2013	Single To Win	Lincoln @ 1.80  Best Adapted Screenplay Best Adapted Screenplay	Pending
12/01/2013	Single To Win	Zero Dark Thirty @ 1.25  Best Original Screenplay Best Original Screenplay	Pending
12/01/2013	Single To Win	Frankenweenie @ 3.00  Best Animated Feature Best Animated Feature	Pending
12/01/2013	Single To Win	Daniel Day Lewis (Lincoln) @ 1.10  Best Actor Best Actor	Pending
12/01/2013	Single To Win	Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln) @ 2.20  Best Supporting Actor Best Supporting Actor	Pending
12/01/2013	Single To Win	Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables) @ 1.10  Best Supporting Actress Best Supporting Actress	Pending
12/01/2013	Single To Win	Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty) @ 3.25  Best Actress Best Actress	Pending
12/01/2013	Single To Win	Lincoln @ 1.25  Best Picture Best Picture	Pending
12/01/2013	Single To Win	Steven Spielberg (Lincoln) @ 1.25  Best Director Best Director	Pending

There are just two categories where I've placed two bets - one for which I think will win and another for which I want to win.  Les Miserables would bring in the biggest return, but that's because it's very unlikely.  Tom Hooper doesn't have a Director nod, so that says a lot.  I'm split between Jennifer Lawrence and Jessica Chastain for Best Actress.  Chastain has worked very hard in the last couple of years and has an impressive body of work already.  Anne Hathaway winning for Supporting Actress will be a very satisfying moment.  I haven't seen all of the nominated films yet - only four of them.  I will have seen all of them by the time the awards arrive, except for Amour as that has come and gone now.  I was hoping that Skyfall would at least get a nomination, but instead I'll settle for the title track winning for Best Original Song.  

As for the omissions. Ben Affleck will have his day (or two) in the future and The Hobbit still has two films left in the trilogy (Lord of The Rings didn't win big until Return of The King).  This year has been the first time that a Christopher Nolan film hasn't received any nominations since Insomnia - but, of course,  he's not done.

MOVEMBER AT THE MOVIES

During November each year, Movember is responsible for moustaches appearing on thousands of men’s faces in the UK and around the world.

The aim of the event is to raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and testicular cancer.

I shall be participating in Movember along with my colleagues at RBS, Brindley Place, Birmingham (click here for more info). To commemorate the occasion, here I’m highlighting some of the most memorable and prominent moustaches from the history of cinema. If you think of any obvious omissions from the list, please leave a comment below.

1. WILFRED BRIMLEY: Probably most famous for his role as Ben Luckett in Cocoon, Wilfred Brimley’s facial hair has graced the screen many times in films such as The Firm, The Natural and Hard Target.

2. TOM SELLECK: Brimley appeared in the Kevin Kline comedy In and Out, which could have resulted in mustachio-overload if Tom Selleck had not gone for his out-of-the-ordinary clean-shaven look. Otherwise, the moustache is what Selleck was famous for on the small-screen asMagnum P.I., and it also featured in his big-screen outings like Three Men and a Baby.

3. BURT REYNOLDS: After stamping his name on the 1970s and 1980s with roles in the classic Deliverance and crowd-pleaser Smokey and The Bandit, Reynolds gained critical acclaim and an Oscar nomination for his role as Jack Horner in 1997’s Boogie Nights.

4. SAM ELLIOTT: Another man you rarely see without a moustache is the classic vision of the American cowboy that is Sam Elliott. With his commanding deep voice, he observed The Dude’s misadventures in The Big Lebowski, assisted Patrick Swayze as a nightclub bouncer in Road House, played a renegade cop in Blue Jean Cop and was Wyatt Earp’s brother, Virgil, in Tombstone.

5. MANDY PATINKIN: Currently appearing as Saul Berenson in the consistently brilliant Homeland, Mandy Patinkin’s mustachio mention is courtesy of what he says is his most favourite of all the characters he’s played; the Spaniard in The Princess Bride, where he utters the ever-quotable line, “Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”

6. DANIEL DAY-LEWIS: The moustache has been a prominent accompaniment to Day-Lewis’ dramatically emotional performances as the intimidating and domineering characters Bill ‘The Butcher’ Cutting inGangs of New York and oilman Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood.

7. BEN STILLER: Sporting a handlebar to behold in Dodgeball as White Goodman, Stiller previously had a mustachioed cameo in Anchorman as Arturo Mendes in the fight between local news teams that escalated quickly. I mean, it really got out of hand fast!

8. PAUL RUDD: Another character from Anchorman is one of Ron Burgundy’s colleagues on the Channel Four news team, Bryan Fantana. Of course, Burgundy’s moustache merits a mention, but Fantana is listed due to his link to Movember. He names his parts; specifically The Octagon, flanked by James Westfall and Kenneth Noisewater.

Once again, if you want to make a donation or learn more about Movember, click here.

Literary Evolution

I noticed over the weekend that one of my novels, 'The Ellroy Deflection,' had received a review on Amazon.com. It was a detailed, fair and honest review courtesy of Leapin' Literary Lurkers from Oregon, who gave the novel a rating of 3 out of a possible 5 stars. It was exactly the kind of feedback that I had been looking for and, whilst criticism can sometimes sting, the constructive comments were gratefully received. Glancing at the reviewer's other reviews, it is clear that this assessment originated from someone who does not exercise a great deal of restraint in expressing their opinion. The brutally forthright analysis was appreciated and will certainly enable me to address what I would agree are atrocious errors in my work. I had re-read the novel several times with a view to eradicate any mistakes before feeling what I thought was a feeling of satisfaction, however slightly deluded. It seems that I was always going to suffer literary blindness when it came to certain verb tenses and embarrassing spelling errors (Santa Clause and Spinal Chord are highlighted as examples by the reviewer). When I've got the money to spare, maybe I could employ the services of an editor or proof-reader to give my work the professional standard that it is currently falling short of. I am also still pursuing an agent, one company at a time.

I am proud of The Ellroy Deflection as my first literary effort. Whilst being pleased with the story and the recognition that its 'twists and turns' has received, I am aware that it has its flaws. I may have been over-zealous with regard to the amount of characters and peripheral storylines, something I was able to address in my second novel, Barren Endeavour, which readers have told me they prefer. So, I'm glad that my writing is improving with age and experience. My third novel should redress the balance with regard to the reviewer's comments highlighting the thread of chauvenism in The Ellroy Deflection, labelling it as disturbing. It was not my intention for the tone of the novel to become the literary equivalent of an early Guy Ritchie movie, but I have since noted the prominence of male characters in The Ellroy Deflection and have focussed on taking remedial action in the process of writing my current novel. The streak of chauvinism was intentionally inserted with the attitudes leading to the downfall of many of the characters. Ultimately, the moderating role is given to a woman. My latest novel is now under the working title 'The Disposition of Adults,' and is an altogether more balanced affair, both gender and theme-wise.

As I say, as long as I can continue to come up with the storylines and plot to keep people interested, I'm not too concerned about the problems identified in The Ellroy Deflection. My style and skills have naturally improved in the years since completing The Ellroy Deflection. We're living in the age of the ebook and print-on-demand, so thankfully the errors are not permanent and can be altered. I welcome further reviews...

From Page To Screen - Movies adapted from novels

It 's probably the same for most but, when I read a book, I see the movie play out in my mind.  Books are a major source for some of the best movies that get made.  Adapted successfully, the transition from page to screen has given us some of the most iconic of movie characters.  Sherlock Holmes, Hannibal Lecter, Harry Potter,  Lisbeth Salander, Bridget Jones, James Bond, Michael Corleone, Jack Ryan - they all began their journeys into our consciousness on the page.  However, as we know, the passage from hit bestseller to blockbuster is not always a smooth one.  One of my favourite books is Philip Pullman's The Subtle Knife, the middle of his fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials.  It was the most emotional and epic of the three novels and would have made an excellent movie.  Unfortunately, the failure to adapt its predecessor into a good movie destroyed any chances of a sequel following.  Hopefully, one day long in the future, someone will decide to take it forward and do justice to the trilogy.

There are some authors whose work always seems to be suitable for film.  Stephen King certainly stands out as probably the most prolific storytellers to have his novels and short stories take to the screen.  I'd be leaving out so much to list The Shawshank Redemption, The Shining, Misery, Stand By Me and The Green Mile amongst the movies adapted from the results of his typing.  For all of the great adaptations of King's, it should also be pointed out that there are plenty of awful movies to have emerged from his work as well. 

John Grisham is another regular on the shelves as well as the multiplexes, his stories generally revolving around the justice system.  Since his novel The Firm headed for the big screen with Tom Cruise as it's star in 1993, his novels have continued to make the journey, with his 1997 novel The Partner currently being adapted by a screenwriter.

One of my favourite authors is Michael Crichton, whose passing in 2008 meant we lost one of the most imaginative writers of modern times.  His high-concept visions leapt from the page, beginning with The Andromeda Strain in 1971 and leading to such diverse experiences as Jurassic Park, Rising Sun amd Sphere. 

Another great writer whose work the movie studios took inspiration from was Philip K Dick, who died in 1982 aged 53.  It's because of him that we ended up with Blade Runner, Minority Report, Total Recall and even The Adjustment Bureau as recent as 2011.

But what about the future?  Which authors are writing the stories that will sell to the studios?  Which established novels are crying out for an adaptation?  Which classics are just unfilmable?

I've read a coupe of Jo Nesbø novels recently, The Redbreast and Nemesis.  Martin Scorsese has signed on to direct an adaptation of the seventh in the series of his novels featuring hardboiled Oslo detective Harry Hole.  There has been a wave of Scandinavian crime on the page as well as on the screen recently with Henning Maskell's Wallander series and Steig Larsson's Millenium Trilogy amongst them,  The second of Larsson's trilogy, The Girl Who Played With Fire, will follow on from the success of David Fincher's version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo with Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara reprising their roles.

It's a dream that a novel of mine one day becomes successful enough that it is adapted into a movie.
For now, if you want to visualise the movies of tomorrow today, check out the following novels:

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The Passage, The Uglies, Fallen, Maximum Ride, Blood Meridian, The Great Gatsby, The Perks of being a Wallflower, Heist Society, The Maze Runner, The Host, Forgotten, The Giver, The Hypnotist, Beautiful Creatures, Ender's Game, Odd Thomas, The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Society, The Devil in the White City, World War Z, The Dogs of Babel, Alfred Hitchcock and The Making of Psycho, Back Roads, The Alchemist, Another Bullshit Night in Suck City, The Big Biazarro, The Boston Stranglers, Cell, The Creed of Violence, The Dark Tower, Beautiful Disaster, The Wolf of Wall Street, City of Bones

If you know of any more, please let me know...