This book took me an incredibly long time to read, and I think in the end I only finished it through sheer stubbornness and force of will. While it was competently written, and had a very good style of prose, I found nothing at all to relate to within the whole novel.
The main character, Major Scobie, is an English police officer living and working on the west coast of Africa during the second world war. He has long since fallen out of love with his wife, but has such a sense of honour and responsibility that he goes on pretending and doing all he can to make his wife happy. He is an honest policeman, who never takes bribes even when most of his colleagues do. Then, his unhappy wife leaves for South Africa, and Scobie is left alone. He meets a nineteen-year-old widow and falls in love and becomes torn and tortured because of his strong Catholic beliefs and his desire to make his wife happy.
From the start, the joylessness of the situation made me less than eager to keep reading this novel, and it doesn't get better. Reading more than a page or two at a time had a tendency to either make me depressed, or angry that the characters could not extract any joy out of their life whatsoever. Granted that they are in an unpleasant environment; a long-term stay in Africa in hostile times, when one is used to the climate and routine of England is probably not the most enjoyable start. I understand that these people are living in adverse conditions; but while reading the book I was not given a single cause to smile. Even when the characters were reasonably happy, the dark mood of the whole novel brought it down so that each described smile had an air of falseness and fragility that made happiness seem fake, even impossible. Reading it became a chore. It was something I had to do because of an ingrained sense that once started a book must be finished.
I wish I didn't have that ingrained sense.
I'm sure there are people that could read 'The Heart of the Matter' and get some deep-and-meaningful message from it that transcends mere fiction and turns it into a literary masterpiece. Personally, I very rarely enjoy novels that try to impose their own world-view through fictional people. I read for enjoyment, and most of all I read for a good story and likeable characters. 'The Heart of the Matter' had a dull plot and lots of emotion-filled mood-inducing prose describing tortured people. I would have been much more interested if the story dealt with a hunt for diamond smuggler; a story about a 'tortured soul' in love with two women is not what I look for in my fiction.
It's not always that I prefer a ripping yarn page-turner to masterworks; but usually I need some element of the former to keep me reading. I loved 'To Kill a Mockingbird' because it had a suspense-filled plot, wrapped around a beautiful moral issue and characters that I could really relate to. It was a genuinely 'good book' that was also incredibly readable. 'The Heart of the Matter' for me had nothing. If there was a particular life-changing moral message in it, I failed to spot it. It was just an incredibly depressing novel. I don't even really know why I read it to the end. Really, I'd like back the hours I wasted on it.
Sunday, 26 October 2008
Sunday, 19 October 2008
Review of the 2008 film 'How to Lose Friends and Alienate People'.
Having enjoyed the last two Simon Pegg films I saw, I expected to also enjoy this offering from the British comedy star. While I cannot say that 'How to Lose Friends and Alienate People' is even in the same league as 'Sean of the Dead' or 'Hot Fuzz', it was an enjoyable dig at both Hollywood star lifestyles and sycophantic journalists.
Simon Pegg plays Sidney Young, writer and editor for a failing magazine. He goes to great efforts to get his scoops, and is rarely rewarded. His writing style is sarcastic, bitter and altogether far too honest for most of Hollywood. When he gets a job offer from Sharp's magazine in New York, he thinks he's made it, but he rapidly realises that to succeed, he will have to give up on his honesty and start boot-licking with the best of them.
Simon Pegg has long-since proven his comedy acting ability, and I did enjoy his portrayal of Sidney as the slightly obnoxious English journalist. While he is a jerk at times, and definitely clueless, hapless and clumsy, he does come across as also being likeable to a sympathetic audience. I also found that Kirsten Dunst was better in this film than in many I have seen with her in, with the obvious exception of Claudia in 'Interview with the Vampire' which remains her greatest preformance to date.
Aside from these two characters, there are some other fantastic roles. The magazine owner, Clayton Harding, is fantastically acted by Jeff Bridges. He starts out as a cynical businessman who will play nice and kiss-ass to keep his magazine at the top... but Sidney alludes to his roots writing a sarcastic comedy celebrity magazine, similar to the one that Sidney used to write for. As the film progresses, it becomes clear that Harding hired Sidney through nostalgia for his honest journalism. This character development and interest is one of the most interesting part of the film.
The plot is reasonably predictable, and at any point most people could probably suggest the next plot development, but even so I found this film entertaining and very amusing. It had comic jokes and a large quantity of slapstick, and often it's humour was of the more painful variety, but even so I did enjoy myself at this film.
I wouldn't recommend you go to see this film with expectations that it will be as good as Sean of the Dead or Hot Fuzz, and if you are flat against humour-of-embarassment, it's probably something you should miss. However, if you are looking for something to entertain you of an evening, I can think of many worse films.
Simon Pegg plays Sidney Young, writer and editor for a failing magazine. He goes to great efforts to get his scoops, and is rarely rewarded. His writing style is sarcastic, bitter and altogether far too honest for most of Hollywood. When he gets a job offer from Sharp's magazine in New York, he thinks he's made it, but he rapidly realises that to succeed, he will have to give up on his honesty and start boot-licking with the best of them.
Simon Pegg has long-since proven his comedy acting ability, and I did enjoy his portrayal of Sidney as the slightly obnoxious English journalist. While he is a jerk at times, and definitely clueless, hapless and clumsy, he does come across as also being likeable to a sympathetic audience. I also found that Kirsten Dunst was better in this film than in many I have seen with her in, with the obvious exception of Claudia in 'Interview with the Vampire' which remains her greatest preformance to date.
Aside from these two characters, there are some other fantastic roles. The magazine owner, Clayton Harding, is fantastically acted by Jeff Bridges. He starts out as a cynical businessman who will play nice and kiss-ass to keep his magazine at the top... but Sidney alludes to his roots writing a sarcastic comedy celebrity magazine, similar to the one that Sidney used to write for. As the film progresses, it becomes clear that Harding hired Sidney through nostalgia for his honest journalism. This character development and interest is one of the most interesting part of the film.
The plot is reasonably predictable, and at any point most people could probably suggest the next plot development, but even so I found this film entertaining and very amusing. It had comic jokes and a large quantity of slapstick, and often it's humour was of the more painful variety, but even so I did enjoy myself at this film.
I wouldn't recommend you go to see this film with expectations that it will be as good as Sean of the Dead or Hot Fuzz, and if you are flat against humour-of-embarassment, it's probably something you should miss. However, if you are looking for something to entertain you of an evening, I can think of many worse films.
Saturday, 11 October 2008
Amanda Palmer in Concert - 10th October, Koko in London.
I went to see Amanda Palmer playing in London on the basis that I loved the Dresden Dolls. Until a couple of weeks ago, I hadn't heard any of the songs from her new solo record and I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Would she play any songs I would actually recognise? What was she even like playing live? Would the support acts be any good?
What happened was one of the best gigs I've ever been to.
Let us start by describing the venue. If I could describe a place that would be the perfect venue for an Amanda Palmer concert, Koko would be pretty damn close. You enter the auditorium through a red-lit tunnel, and are immediately met by the perfect locale for a production of Phantom of the Opera. There are three galleries, each with their own bar, and standing room around the railings. To each side there are about half a dozen boxes. The walls are painted red, and above the main floor there is a giant silver disco ball. Above it, on the wall above the stage is an ornate carving, centred around a white-painted face. For all I know, this could have been put in place for this concert. But if not, then it was perfect.
The stage was backed by a sepia picture, and when we made it down to the auditorium floor there wasn't as much of the pushing and shoving that I've come to expect from gigs.
The first support act was Jason Webley; one man on stage with an accordion. He was beautifully entertaining and hilariously funny. I immediately have a huge amount of respect for a man that can not only get the audience to shout the word 'aardvark' in time with the Blue Danube's waltz beat, but can also make them spin around on the spot twelve times before singing a drinking song. And then there was the song where half of the audience were the violins and half the trombones.
Second up was Zoe Keating, a cellist. I didn't recognise the name at all, but as soon as she started playing, I realised the unique and haunting cello tones were very familiar. Turning to one of my companions I said “She's not by any chance related to the cellist from Rasputina is she?” “Yes!” she replied. “They have a one-to-one relationship.” Let's quickly pass by the small swell of pride I felt at recognising that purely on the basis of tone and quality and move on to Zoe's performance. She only played three songs, but they showcased her talent and heart. She gets a warm, entrancing tone out of her instrument that isn't quite like anything I've heard before. It is difficult for one girl and one instrument to make a full orchestrated sound, but Zoe used a relatively simple backing medley, introducing each theme on her real cello before the backing picked them up. Her way of playing, and the music she played were beautiful. While many talked through her performance, I stood entranced, watching her play and listening to the sounds she was producing. She was really incredible.
The tour is for an album called 'Who killed Amanda Palmer' so of course, Amanda was dead throughout these early stages... ready to come alive to play for us. The compère came on, telling us of the sadness and joy of the occasion... and then he introduced the man that was to introduce Amanda. Neil Gaiman.
If I wasn't already having a fantastic time, having Neil Gaiman come on to introduce the main act just about made my night. He read a piece that he'd written about people asking the question 'who killed Amanda Palmer'. And it was beautiful, and he read it perfectly. As you'd expect of a writer of the talent of Neil Gaiman. Gosh I need to read more of his stuff...
As I've already stated, the crowd was pretty friendly. So when someone comes past me around the outside of the auditorium wearing a purple veil, I didn't think too much of it. After all, this was an Amanda Palmer concert... I was one of the most 'normally' dressed people there, and I was wearing stripy fingerless gloves with mitten-tops. Corsets, pill-box hats, white-painted faces and black lacy skirts were pretty much the norm. Then one of the people to my right pointed and said to one of their friends “She's here.” Then, listening to Neil's speech from the front, I watched the veiled figure slowly make her way forward. On the stage, four people slowly made their way onto the stage, their expressions glassy and their movements robotic.
Amanda Palmer arrived... and came back from the dead to play 'Astronaut'; the one song from her new album that I had already heard. It was incredible.
Alongside her were Zoe Keating on cello and Lyndon Chester on violin. Both are amazingly talented musicians, who complemented Amanda's style perfectly, shining without overwhelming the lady herself. The four people on stage with glassy expressions were the physical theatre group the Danger Ensemble. Throughout the show they provided visual aid, dancing and mood-enhancement to the whole experience. They were fantastic.
Amanda herself was, of course, the highlight and centrepiece. Performing with one foot in a cast and being carried to and from the front of the stage by one of the Danger Ensemble, she was incredible. As well as singing live as well if not better than she does on her albums, she managed to convey comedy and drama and emotion with every song. It was interesting listening to her talk about her songs, talking about the people with her, and talking about the things she was doing. She was genuinely funny, and she seemed to be really enjoying herself on stage, which always makes tonnes of difference to the amount the audience enjoy a show.
As well as songs from her new album, Amanda performed some of the hits from the Dresden Dolls, including my personal favourite coin-operated boy. I was laughing out loud during the first verses, watching the performances of the Danger Ensemble, and I was almost in tears during the bridge. I also almost started crying during a song she wrote about the Columbine high school shootings. At the beginning of the song, Lyndon read out a list of the injuries and deaths from that event... it made all the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck stand up on end.
For one song, Neil Gaiman and Jason Webley came back out on stage; Jason on guitar and Neil on tambourine. Neil also wrote the lyrics to one of the songs that Amanda sang; a jazz-style song that she described as the modern answer to the Sinatra-era songs describing heart-sick people in smoky bars being counselled by their bartender. (Paraphrased) “When you're in the last part of a relationship, and you're in that dark place, you're sitting at home doing something... you all know what it is...” Then she moved on to sing “I google you...” and it had such comedic and tragic punch. It was absolutely beautiful.
In the final stages of the concert, Amanda also sang a couple of covers; most notable 'livin' on a prayer' by Bon Jovi, with the whole audience singing along at the top of their lungs. It was an incredible moment.
Until I went to this concert, I never really understood what 'punk cabaret' was all about. Until I heard Amanda sing for real, and saw the comedy she could inject into tragic songs just with her facial expressions, I didn't know what Amanda really represented, aside from a fantastic musical talent. She stayed cool through what she described as her 'first ever wardrobe malfunction' and she took off her corset (leaving a very pretty lacy upper) to sing the last song to prove a point to her record label that she's happy with her appearance and doesn't want to pander to current trends. I had a tremendous amount of respect for her as a musician already and this has grown exponentially after seeing her in the flesh.
Her music may not appeal to everyone, but dammit if she doesn't know how to put on a fabulous show. I can't *believe* I was considering not going.
What happened was one of the best gigs I've ever been to.
Let us start by describing the venue. If I could describe a place that would be the perfect venue for an Amanda Palmer concert, Koko would be pretty damn close. You enter the auditorium through a red-lit tunnel, and are immediately met by the perfect locale for a production of Phantom of the Opera. There are three galleries, each with their own bar, and standing room around the railings. To each side there are about half a dozen boxes. The walls are painted red, and above the main floor there is a giant silver disco ball. Above it, on the wall above the stage is an ornate carving, centred around a white-painted face. For all I know, this could have been put in place for this concert. But if not, then it was perfect.
The stage was backed by a sepia picture, and when we made it down to the auditorium floor there wasn't as much of the pushing and shoving that I've come to expect from gigs.
The first support act was Jason Webley; one man on stage with an accordion. He was beautifully entertaining and hilariously funny. I immediately have a huge amount of respect for a man that can not only get the audience to shout the word 'aardvark' in time with the Blue Danube's waltz beat, but can also make them spin around on the spot twelve times before singing a drinking song. And then there was the song where half of the audience were the violins and half the trombones.
Second up was Zoe Keating, a cellist. I didn't recognise the name at all, but as soon as she started playing, I realised the unique and haunting cello tones were very familiar. Turning to one of my companions I said “She's not by any chance related to the cellist from Rasputina is she?” “Yes!” she replied. “They have a one-to-one relationship.” Let's quickly pass by the small swell of pride I felt at recognising that purely on the basis of tone and quality and move on to Zoe's performance. She only played three songs, but they showcased her talent and heart. She gets a warm, entrancing tone out of her instrument that isn't quite like anything I've heard before. It is difficult for one girl and one instrument to make a full orchestrated sound, but Zoe used a relatively simple backing medley, introducing each theme on her real cello before the backing picked them up. Her way of playing, and the music she played were beautiful. While many talked through her performance, I stood entranced, watching her play and listening to the sounds she was producing. She was really incredible.
The tour is for an album called 'Who killed Amanda Palmer' so of course, Amanda was dead throughout these early stages... ready to come alive to play for us. The compère came on, telling us of the sadness and joy of the occasion... and then he introduced the man that was to introduce Amanda. Neil Gaiman.
If I wasn't already having a fantastic time, having Neil Gaiman come on to introduce the main act just about made my night. He read a piece that he'd written about people asking the question 'who killed Amanda Palmer'. And it was beautiful, and he read it perfectly. As you'd expect of a writer of the talent of Neil Gaiman. Gosh I need to read more of his stuff...
As I've already stated, the crowd was pretty friendly. So when someone comes past me around the outside of the auditorium wearing a purple veil, I didn't think too much of it. After all, this was an Amanda Palmer concert... I was one of the most 'normally' dressed people there, and I was wearing stripy fingerless gloves with mitten-tops. Corsets, pill-box hats, white-painted faces and black lacy skirts were pretty much the norm. Then one of the people to my right pointed and said to one of their friends “She's here.” Then, listening to Neil's speech from the front, I watched the veiled figure slowly make her way forward. On the stage, four people slowly made their way onto the stage, their expressions glassy and their movements robotic.
Amanda Palmer arrived... and came back from the dead to play 'Astronaut'; the one song from her new album that I had already heard. It was incredible.
Alongside her were Zoe Keating on cello and Lyndon Chester on violin. Both are amazingly talented musicians, who complemented Amanda's style perfectly, shining without overwhelming the lady herself. The four people on stage with glassy expressions were the physical theatre group the Danger Ensemble. Throughout the show they provided visual aid, dancing and mood-enhancement to the whole experience. They were fantastic.
Amanda herself was, of course, the highlight and centrepiece. Performing with one foot in a cast and being carried to and from the front of the stage by one of the Danger Ensemble, she was incredible. As well as singing live as well if not better than she does on her albums, she managed to convey comedy and drama and emotion with every song. It was interesting listening to her talk about her songs, talking about the people with her, and talking about the things she was doing. She was genuinely funny, and she seemed to be really enjoying herself on stage, which always makes tonnes of difference to the amount the audience enjoy a show.
As well as songs from her new album, Amanda performed some of the hits from the Dresden Dolls, including my personal favourite coin-operated boy. I was laughing out loud during the first verses, watching the performances of the Danger Ensemble, and I was almost in tears during the bridge. I also almost started crying during a song she wrote about the Columbine high school shootings. At the beginning of the song, Lyndon read out a list of the injuries and deaths from that event... it made all the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck stand up on end.
For one song, Neil Gaiman and Jason Webley came back out on stage; Jason on guitar and Neil on tambourine. Neil also wrote the lyrics to one of the songs that Amanda sang; a jazz-style song that she described as the modern answer to the Sinatra-era songs describing heart-sick people in smoky bars being counselled by their bartender. (Paraphrased) “When you're in the last part of a relationship, and you're in that dark place, you're sitting at home doing something... you all know what it is...” Then she moved on to sing “I google you...” and it had such comedic and tragic punch. It was absolutely beautiful.
In the final stages of the concert, Amanda also sang a couple of covers; most notable 'livin' on a prayer' by Bon Jovi, with the whole audience singing along at the top of their lungs. It was an incredible moment.
Until I went to this concert, I never really understood what 'punk cabaret' was all about. Until I heard Amanda sing for real, and saw the comedy she could inject into tragic songs just with her facial expressions, I didn't know what Amanda really represented, aside from a fantastic musical talent. She stayed cool through what she described as her 'first ever wardrobe malfunction' and she took off her corset (leaving a very pretty lacy upper) to sing the last song to prove a point to her record label that she's happy with her appearance and doesn't want to pander to current trends. I had a tremendous amount of respect for her as a musician already and this has grown exponentially after seeing her in the flesh.
Her music may not appeal to everyone, but dammit if she doesn't know how to put on a fabulous show. I can't *believe* I was considering not going.
Review of the 2007 film 'Ghost Rider'
Johnny Blaze and his father are a motorcycle stunt duo. When he finds out that his girlfriend is leaving town, he makes plans to run away with her until he finds out that his father is dying of cancer. And then a stranger arrives telling him that he can cure his father's disease if he makes a deal. A deal for his soul that will turn young Johnny Blaze into the Ghost Rider.
Ghost rider is an amusing film, with spectacular effects, but it is by no means the best film I have ever seen. The lead role, Johnny Blaze, played by Nicholas Cage, has a classic redemption storyline. He acts it well, but as with many films of the same ilk, I find myself far more interested by the antagonist leads. Mephistopheles, the devil (Peter Fonda) has a great blend of charm and evil. He pulls off the helpful stranger looking to make a deal, and then he pulls of the ironic trickster that causes the lead to fall. Likewise, the devil's son, Blackheart (Wes Bentley) plays a convincing evil bastard.
Roxanne, the female lead, lets the side down massively with her vacuous why-don't-you-love-me expression and her collagen face. Her role as journalist and love interest give her little opportunity to make a positive impact on the plot, and she mostly gets in the way. I found her very annoying, making the obvious observations and the very obvious responses to every situation that she finds herself in. Perhaps I found her more annoying having read quite a few Heroine Content reviews recently, but even so, Roxanne was far too typical of the superhero genre to be a very good character.
The plot of ghost rider is somewhat predictable, but still entertaining. The devil's son is seeking one of the devil's contract, which will give him the power of a thousand evil souls, which would give him horrendous amounts of power on Earth. Obviously, his father does not want this to happen, so he calls the ghost rider back into existence and sends him out to take his son and send him back to hell. Along the way, the rider fights the lackeys, upsets the female lead, has to show off his motorbiking skills to their grandest extent and of course there is the inevitable police chase. The police, of course, aren't put off by the fact that they are chasing a flaming skeleton riding a bike which is also on fire.
I think the main problem I had with this film was that it didn't have much substance beyond looking cool. There was no real underlying tension, and there was never any doubt that the good guy was going to win. Even the ending cue-for-a-sequel sequence was predictable, even though it didn't make a huge amount of sense. However, maybe I expected too much... Ghost Rider was a silly comic-book action flick, and operated very well within those borders. For cheesy entertainment, Ghost Rider is very watch-able.
Ghost rider is an amusing film, with spectacular effects, but it is by no means the best film I have ever seen. The lead role, Johnny Blaze, played by Nicholas Cage, has a classic redemption storyline. He acts it well, but as with many films of the same ilk, I find myself far more interested by the antagonist leads. Mephistopheles, the devil (Peter Fonda) has a great blend of charm and evil. He pulls off the helpful stranger looking to make a deal, and then he pulls of the ironic trickster that causes the lead to fall. Likewise, the devil's son, Blackheart (Wes Bentley) plays a convincing evil bastard.
Roxanne, the female lead, lets the side down massively with her vacuous why-don't-you-love-me expression and her collagen face. Her role as journalist and love interest give her little opportunity to make a positive impact on the plot, and she mostly gets in the way. I found her very annoying, making the obvious observations and the very obvious responses to every situation that she finds herself in. Perhaps I found her more annoying having read quite a few Heroine Content reviews recently, but even so, Roxanne was far too typical of the superhero genre to be a very good character.
The plot of ghost rider is somewhat predictable, but still entertaining. The devil's son is seeking one of the devil's contract, which will give him the power of a thousand evil souls, which would give him horrendous amounts of power on Earth. Obviously, his father does not want this to happen, so he calls the ghost rider back into existence and sends him out to take his son and send him back to hell. Along the way, the rider fights the lackeys, upsets the female lead, has to show off his motorbiking skills to their grandest extent and of course there is the inevitable police chase. The police, of course, aren't put off by the fact that they are chasing a flaming skeleton riding a bike which is also on fire.
I think the main problem I had with this film was that it didn't have much substance beyond looking cool. There was no real underlying tension, and there was never any doubt that the good guy was going to win. Even the ending cue-for-a-sequel sequence was predictable, even though it didn't make a huge amount of sense. However, maybe I expected too much... Ghost Rider was a silly comic-book action flick, and operated very well within those borders. For cheesy entertainment, Ghost Rider is very watch-able.
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