elliotpsmoke-blog

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'The Reptile,' directed by John Gilling

Movie, 1966 A couple of twists on the Hammer formula, and while The Reptile can’t be regarded as a ‘classic,’ it’s good entertainment, visually interesting and trips along at a fairly decent pace. Cultural differences are very much presented with an outdated sensibility and the lack of budget sometimes shows, but there are some great atmospheric touches and ideas. Plot-wise, the ludicrous…

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My favourite reads of 2024

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'I Who Have Never Known Men,' by Jacqueline Harpman

Novel, 1995 Part post-apocalyptic, part philosophical exploration of a world, not only devoid of ‘normal’ men, but also boiled down to a group of about forty women, as viewed through the eyes of its youngest member. This is an unrelenting book, looking at gender and social roles, imagining habits, conventions and behaviours, once meaning and society have shifted so radically that so that…

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'Que la bête meure,' directed by Claude Chabrol

Movie, 1969 A good looking thriller mystery, in which a fairly despicable driver involved in a hit and run is chased down by the avenging father of the boy he knocked down. There a few curious plot points – like the absence of the main protagonist’s significant half at the beginning of the film (until someone else takes that place) – but the exploration of morality and the scenes and set pieces…

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'Goodbye' is the hardest thing to say...?

It depends, to a large extent, on context. We are, for example, at the end of another year. Look at the world situation, if you dare. Then look at your personal and family life. Maybe it’s just me and my generation (whatever that, they or it may be…), but as a fifty something year old man, I can’t think of many friends who aren’t looking at 2024 and saying ‘goodbye’ fondly, rather then giving it…

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'Harold and Maude,' directed by Hal Ashby

Movie, 1971 Quirky – almost painfully unwatchable dark film about a young man obsessed with death, trying to navigate the attentions of an overbearing mother. Which he does, after meeting a soul friend at a funeral, whose at least a couple of generations older than he is. Some really great moments and situations which keep the viewers on their toes. Granted, the demonisation of the military and…

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'The Keeper of Lost Things,' by Ruth Hogan

Novel, 2017 Contemporary tale of Laura, managing the estate and business of her former employer, with flashbacks and an interacting cast of characters. A great start and some deft construction, but many may feel a little turned off by the upbeat and positive, shiny inhabitants, and the twists and turns of the story. Fine for a good, trip along read, but the lack of a real kind of threat or grit…

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'Screamtime,' directed by Michael Armstrong and Stanley A. Long

Movie, 1983 Anthology of English horror stories with a linking narrative from New York. The American sections are pretty disposable, and while the stories aren’t entirely interesting or original, the tension in the Punch and Judy and particularly the ghost story of the new home are really well developed. Again, the third story is a little flat, and not helped with some pretty terrible acting,…

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Reading - my formative years

Three months ago, I listed the 100 books which had most shaped my writing practice. More recently, I had a closer look at those from the list I’d read and been inspired by as a kid. If, indeed, kids get ‘inspired;’ inspiration somehow seems a grubby thing to happen to someone who’s not yet hit their mid-teens. Talking of the mid teens, I had a funny relationship with lit crit at school. I can’t…

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'Paris vu Par,' directed various

Movie, 1965 Portmanteau of six films, all with different directors, all showing a series of lost, duplicitous, comic and sad characters. The plots of each segment are, almost by definition, not especially developed, or we’re handed character studies, perhaps, more than anything else. There is, however, a lot to admire in this film, from this wonderful of-its-time Parisian backdrop, to those…

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'Twins of Evil,' directed by John Hough

Movie, 1971 An absolute touchstone and proof, if anyone needed it, that by the time the 1970s came in, Hammer should have moved off and away from horror. Twins of Evil offers nothing new and feels like a kind of desperate attempt to rush something out, with the hook of nudity, eroticism, a little more black magic maybe come to the fore than in other productions, and there’s a hysterical level of…

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Contemporary reading - some suggestions from Rae Leaver Rahman

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'But Beautiful,' by Geoff Dyer

Fiction, 1991 Interesting and effective fictions using facts and factors from the lives of a number of jazz musicians, as well as some thoughts about the wider lives and the jazz form. This is a book with a quite wordy, quirky style, no doubt trying to approximate the musical form itself in the choice of some of the language and metaphors. One by one, these pieces of writing are excellent and…

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Writers' food - The Crisp Sandwich

Many years ago, I started marking the end of the working week with a crisp sandwich. Or, more accurately, a crisp roll. This may or may not have been an epicurean, passive aggressive response to Dress Down Friday, and all those ghastly Disney ties and Looney Tunes socks. I can’t remember. (Incidentally, long-term readers of this blog may remember that I’ve already covered how to dress like a…

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'Leave the World Behind,' directed by Sam Esmail

Movie, 2023 A film which fizzes and sparks with ideas and feels all too prescient in its main premise – a massive cyber-attack which cripples at least the eastern seaboard of the United States. The themes, backdrop and much of the plot are profound, although the foregrounded reactions and responses of the characters feels a bit clumsy and dissatisfying; the racial elements feel a bit overdone,…

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Long readers - Chris Johnson; 'In Search of Lost Time'

A few weeks ago, I asked an old friend of mine about his experience of reading James Joyce’s Ulysses. You can see that blog here. It seemed to be pretty well received, so again, a big thank you to Simon for spending a bit of time and getting his thoughts out there. This week, an even older friend on an even longer piece of literature. I’ve know Chris Johnson as long as he has me. We go WAY…

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'Sophie Scholl,' directed by Marc Rothemund

Movie, 2005 Account of The White Rose group, and their resistance against the Nazi regime, with the focus on Scholl, her brother and Mohr, Sophie’s interrogator. The personal focus, claustrophobic settings and basis in real life all give the film a depth not usually found in films set in the Second World War. The Nazis are played as pure villains for the main part, though rank and file members…