A review of “Mission: Impossible -Dead Reckoning Part One”
August 4th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
It’s been a long time coming – and we still don’t have the complete story. Shooting of the latest IMF escapade has been interrupted so many times by Covid that the final budget is a reported $290M, making it one of the most expensive films ever, and delaying its release until five years after the previous movie. This is the seventh impossible mission – the third successive one co-written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie – so that the money-making franchise has now been running for an incredible 27 years and its star Tom Cruise is now 61.This time the villain is a guy called Gabriel (Puerto Rican-American Esai Morales) but he is merely the front-man for The Entity, some kind of super version of artificial intelligence that can take over all the world’s electronic systems, which in turn can only be accessed by possession of a two-part, bejewelled, cruciform key. Sound silly? You bet. But, like all the “Mission: Impossible” movies, this is a triumph of style over substance and you just have to go with it and, if you can do that, you’re in for an exciting and entertaining ride.
Tom gives us a full spectacle of running, jumping, driving, riding and fighting. Sadly his keynote stunt – which is amazing – was signalled too clearly in the trailer, but there is a terrific end-of-movie sequence involving a runaway train racing onto an exploding bridge. This time he interacts with no less than four (much younger) action females: former MI6 agent Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) and criminal broker the White Widow (Vanessa Kirby), both of whom were in “Fallout”, plus ace pickpocket Grace (Hayley Atwell) and French assassin Paris (Pom Klementieff).
This first part of the adventure is an excessive two and three quarter hours but Part Two is still to come. As one of the characters (unnecessarily) tells us “The key is only the beginning”.
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A review of the important book “Empireland” by Sathnam Sanghera
August 1st, 2023 by Roger Darlington
The history of Britain is not simply an account of what has happened in Britain but of Britain’s action’s outside its island borders. We know that when it comes to wars, especially when we were victors, as in the Napoleonic-era battles of Trafalgar and Waterloo and our decisive role in the two World Wars. But we are still reluctant to embrace a full account of Britain’s role in empire and to appreciate – to use the sub-title of this book – “how imperialism has shaped modern Britain”.Sanghera is the son of Indian Punjabi immigrant parents and was brought up as a Sikh in Wolverhampton. He has had a successful career as a journalist on the “Financial Times” and the “Times” and here he has written a balanced and accessible assessment of how Britain behaved over the three centuries that it created and managed the largest empire in world history and how even today that experience profoundly shapes everything from the number of our stately homes, the frequency of celebratory memorials and the content of many of our museums to our attitudes to race, immigration and Brexit to our passion for cricket and public schools.
Sanghera is not an academic, but his research has been prodigious and his bibliography runs to just over 50 pages and then there are another 30 pages of notes. His work is very readable, but he does have a trademark style of writing which frequently involves very long sentences. These sentences are immensely informative and grammatically well-constructed, but they are l-o-n-g.
I learned a lot. I knew about the Indian Uprising of 1857 and the Amitsar/Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919, but I had not heard of such incidents as the Vellore Mutiny of 1806, the Morant Bay Rebellion of 1865, Britain’s incursion into Ethiopia in 1868, and its invasion of Tibet in 1903. I knew that empire had involved brutality, but much of the detail in Sanghera’s book is truly shocking.
Sanghera notes that too many Britons indulge in a kind of “imperial nostalgia”, that empire was overwhelmingly decent, and “imperial exceptionalism”, that we are better than everyone else. He highlights the “imperial amnesia” of opponents of immigration who seem to forget that “we are here because you were there”. He has a whole chapter on “selective amnesia”, so that we take pride in being the first major nation to make the slave trade illegal, while forgetting that this country was the leading proponent and a major beneficiary of that slave trade, and we laud our role in the two world wars, while overlooking the major contribution of our empire’s black and brown citizens in those conflicts.
He insists that: “Our collective amnesia about the fact that we were, as a nation, wilfully white supremacist and occasionally genocidal, and our failure to understand how this informs modern-day racism, are catastrophic.”
Rightly I believe, Sanghera attributes a good deal of British exceptionalism to “the fact that we have not, as a nation, been invaded or occupied in modern times” (in fact, for a millennium – can this be said of any other nation?). He asserts: “If we don’t confront the reality of what happened in British empire, we will never be able to work out who we are or who we want to be”.
As a answer to this lacuna in our understanding of British history, Sanghera toys with the idea of an Empire Awareness Day (he points out that we used to have an Empire Day from 1916 to 1958), but his main call is for a substantial revision of the syllabus in our schools for history and associated subjects. This would be welcome but the impact would gradual and slow. I would like Britain to have a National History Museum in which our colonial enterprise is made plain and set in the wider and longer story of our nation.
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A review of the new money-making movie “Barbie”
July 30th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
This is clearly a movie aimed at a young female demographic and, as an elderly man, I am way outside the target audience. But I wanted to see it because it has already become a massive success, about which so many are talking and writing, and because I so admire many of those involved in it. I am a fan of the work of Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach (I have seen most of their films) and this is a work that they co-wrote with her as director. Also I always enjoy the performances of Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling who here play (Stereotypical) Barbie and (Beach) Ken respectively.But this is a film unlike any that any of the four have previously been associated with – effectively a two-hour commercial for a brand of dolls (manufacturer Mattel actually funded the whole enterprise) and a light-hearted feminist tract. Robbie is perfect casting as the titular toy and Gosling is brave to take on such an emasculated role. There is lots of smart casting in this ensemble production.
I loved the opening sequence with its referencing of the sci-fi movie “2001”. Throughout it is looks gorgeous, with lots of bright colours (including pink!), and there is an endless stream of visual and aural gags.
The problem is that the script is such an uncomfortable balancing act. If the real world is a patriarchy characterised by misogyny, Barbie is a matriarchy with something approaching misandry. I am reminded of the observation by the feminist Germaine Greer: “The opposite of patriarchy is not matriarchy but fraternity”. In the end, “Barbie” does not know where it stands and how it should end. But maybe I’m taking it too seriously …
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Where is everybody? It’s called the Fermi paradox.
July 30th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
This week, various people in the United States Congress became very excited about possible evidence for extraterrestrials visiting Earth. I don’t believe it for a moment. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence – and so far there’s none.
It is a paradox associated with the Italian-American Enrico Fermi (who makes an appearance in the current blockbuster movie “Oppenheimer”): there ought to be many cases of intelligent life in such a vast universe, but so far we have absolutely no clear evidence that there is – or has been – even one such civilisation, still less than they have visited us.
My own view, based on the current evidence, is that intelligent life elsewhere in the universe is probably extremely rare and that, even if there is (or was) such life, communication – let alone transport – between us would be so difficult as to conversationally meaningless but philosophically mind-blowing.
You can read a brief discussion of the Fermi paradox here.
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A review of the new blockbuster film “Oppenheimer”
July 29th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
“Oppenheimer”- or “Symbol Of Pacifism” as it is called in Poland, through which I passed recently – is the 12th film made by British director Christopher Nolan and I’ve seen (and admired) all of them, except the first, very low-budget work which I’ve never caught. Nolan is a director of exceptional talent and originality, every film he makes is a must-see phenomenon, and “Oppenheimer” is no exception.Based on the 2005 biography “American Prometheus”, this is the story of J Robert Oppenheimer, the ‘father of the atomic bomb’, the brilliant Jewish scientist who determined that the United States would beat Nazi Germany in creating this weapon of mass destruction and was then wracked by guilt about the existential force that he had unleashed.
The wartime building of the first atomic bomb, an operation codenamed the Manhattan Project, was a huge technological and logistical enterprise, perhaps comparable only to the first landing on the moon. But the Apollo 11 project was blatantly public, whereas Manhattan had to be conducted in total secrecy.
Nolan’s three-hour epic has a vast collection of characters, including scientific giants of the time such as – besides Oppenheimer himself, of course – Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, Edward Teller, Enrico Fermi and Richard Feynman, all of whom have featured in my study and reading of physics, plus many military and political figures.
Most of these characters are played by members of a talented ensemble of well-known actors, starting with Cillian Murphy who is simply outstanding in the eponymous role, capturing wonderfully the intense, gaunt ‘black hole’ at the centre of this universe, and including Matt Damon and Robert Downey Jr.
Sadly, I am advised by a half-Danish friend that Kenneth Branagh’s accent as Bohr is pretty terrible and the female roles in this quintessentially male world – Emily Blunt as Oppenheimer’s wife and Florence Pugh as his lover – are somewhat underwritten.
The cinematography is splendid: increasingly Nolan’s work demands to be seen in IMAX which how I viewed “Oppenheimer”. And the music by Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson – who also provided the soundtrack to Nolan’s previous work “Tenet” – is urgent and insistent.
Nolan’s trademark as a director is his fascination with playing with timelines, classically in “Dunkirk” where the land, sea and air segments deploy different timescales. Here, in “Oppenheimer”, Nolan uses a triptych of time lines: a chronology of Oppenheimer’s life starting in 1926 and running all the way through to 1963, a review of Oppenheimer’s security clearance in 1954 and a Congressional hearing in 1959 on a possible cabinet post for Oppenheimer’s one-time boss at the Atomic Energy Commission.
Most of the film is in colour, representing the subjective view of Oppenheimer himself, while the Congressional hearing is in black and white, apparently representing a more objective viewpoint (incidentally this is the first use of black and white film in IMAX).
The problem is that, with so many characters coming and going and this tangle of timelines plus the difficulty in catching some of the dialogue, the viewer is overwhelmed and it is really hard to stay on top of all the activity and intrigue. Also the science is inadequately explained and some scientists have argued that the test explosion does not show the heat and the violet hues that were key characteristics of this gargantuan fireball.
Furthermore, while accepting that this is essentially a bio-pic, I would like to have seen more consideration of the political decision to drop the bomb, which arguably is a greater moral question than the actual building of the bomb, and some representation of the dropping of the bomb and its enormous toll (I have seen the ‘Enola Gay’ B-29 bomber and visited the city of Hiroshima).
In short, “Oppenheimer” is a magnificent production but not without its flaws.
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A review of the David Lean film that you’ve never heard of: “Summertime”
July 26th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
In 1955, just two years before acclaimed British director David Lean began turning out a series of hugely successful epic movies, he made “Summertime”, a small romantic comedy-drama shot entirely in the glorious city of Venice. In spite of being a massive Lean fan since “Lawrence Of Arabia” (1962) and visiting Venice three times, I had never heard of this film until 2023 when the British Film Institute screened a restoration, with an introduction by Lean biographer Kevin Brownlow, as part of its seniors’ free matinee offering. It was a delight to see.Based on the 1952 play “The Time Of The Cuckoo” by Arthur Laurentis, it was scripted by Lean himself and the novelist H E Bates. It tells the story of Jane Hudson (the wonderful Katherine Hepburn), a lonely, spinsterish American who travels to Venice for a vacation and falls in love with both the city and one of its inhabitants (the charming Rossano Brazzi). Hepburn is splendid at portraying Janes’s initial aching loneliness and subsequent playfulness, but the motivation for Jane’s final decision is never made clear.
In his biography of Lean, Brownlow writes: “‘Summertime’, or ‘Summer Madness’ as it was called in Britain, was David’s favourite film, starring his favourite actress. It was made in Venice, one of his favourite places in the world. As he told a friend: ‘I’ve put more of myself in that film than any other I’ve ever made.'”
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Eight lifestyle changes that can add 20 years to your life
July 25th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
- Eat well.
- Avoid cigarettes.
- Get a good night’s sleep.
- Be physically active.
- Manage stress.
- Avoid binge drinking.
- Be free from opioid addiction.
- Have positive social relationships.
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Holiday in the Caucasus (17): conclusion
July 23rd, 2023 by Roger Darlington
Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia have a common 20th century history as parts of the former Soviet Union and are all modestly-sized countries with small populations in a minor and compact region of the world. Yet they are so different politically, culturally, religiously, linguistically.
Azerbaijan is the most modern and confident, aided by plentiful oil and authoritarian leadership. It has the powerful support of Turkey in its territorial conflicts with Armenia.
Georgia has no problems with Azerbaijan or Armenia, but has lost control over a fifth of its territory as a result of intervention by Russia. It is the most western-orientated, very much hoping for entry to the European Union and NATO.
Armenia suffers from a lonely, victim complex, having lost a major part of its original land to Turkey and losing in its recent and still current conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Each of the three has different offerings for tourists in terms of terrain and buildings. The most common visits were to churches and monasteries in Georgia and Armenia but the venerable age of these and their often spectacular locations made each a unique experience. The Heydar Aliyev Centre in Azerbaijani, the Stalin Museum in Georgia and the Genocide Museum in Armenia could not be more different from one another.
Throughout the two and a half weeks of the trip, the temperature was consistory hot (high 20s to low 30s centigrade) but tolerable, even pleasant, while Britain had poor weather and southern Europe sweltered in excessive heat.
So another very successful trip which brings the total of countries that I have visited to 88. One of our group had clocked up 98 countries, so I have a way to go and I plan to keep going as long as I can manage these journeys. I learn so much.
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Holiday in the Caucasus (16): more in and round Yerevan, Armenia
July 23rd, 2023 by Roger Darlington
On the last day of our tour of the Caucasus, again there was much less travelling because we were either in or around Yerevan.
We made a late start of 9.30 am and drove around the city centre while Garik pointed out key locations such as the parliament building and the presidential palace.
Since we had been in Armenia, there had not been a morning or an afternoon when Garik had not mentioned the Armenian genocide and the loss of Armenian land to surrounding nations. All this sorrow and victimhood came to the fore as we visited the Genocide Museum and Memorial.
The massacre of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire took place from 1915 to 1922 and the number of victims is estimated at 1.5 million. The museum has been compared to Israel’s Yad Vashem or Holocaust Museum which I have visited.
In the case of the Holocaust, few doubt that it was a genocide and Germany acknowledges culpability. But, in the case of the massacre of the Armenians, not all states (including Britain) formally recognise it as a genocide and Turkey vehemently denies that it was such a crime against humanity. The academic consensus, however, is that it was such tragedy.
The museum opened in 1995 and it is an impressive and moving presentation of the history and conduct of the genocide with some 50 sections arranged chronologically, each labelled in Armenian, Russian, English and French. We had a young female guide who set out the information calmly and persuasively. I was reminded of a recent film called “The Promise” which features the genocide as background to a love story.
The memorial was completed earlier in 1968 and consists of a tall, pointed edifice split in two to symbolise the current and lost provinces of Armenia and 12 huge tilted slabs set around an eternal flame of remembrance with a recording of a lament.
From here, we drove to the town of Vagharshapat which is the home of what is known informally as the Vatican of the Armenian Apostolic Church and is called formally the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. Before doing the holy bit, in the grounds of the complex, we found a restaurant, “Agate”, where we planned to have a drink and finished up having lunch sitting outside but in the shade.
Etchmiadzin may be a site of special spiritual significance but “The Lonely Planet” guide calls it “underwhelming” and the main cathedral – originally consecrated between AD 301-303 – was closed. What is more, the temperature was now 38.5C.
We headed back to Yerevan. First, we went on a tour of a brandy company called “Noy” (which is Armenian for Noah). This distillery originally began operation in 1887 and, following the break-up of the Soviet Union, it was reopened in 1999. We had samples of three products.
Finally, in the city centre, we were scheduled to visit the National History Museum in Freedom Square very close to our hotel. In fact, of the 14 in our group, 12 had set out this morning, only seven started on the guided tour of the museum, and a mere two of us were there at the end. I stuck it out for the displays of the Stone Age, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age because I wanted to see the section on the democratic government of 1918-1920, only to find that this section was closed for renovation.
The formal tour of the Caucasus was over, but we still had an evening in Yerevan. Most of us went for an excellent meal with lots of wine in a nearby restaurant called “Mansoor”. Then we strolled over to Freedom Square where all the surrounding buildings were illuminated and a huge fountain area had waters ‘dancing’ to stirring music – a wonderful send-off to a fascinating tour.
It was a short night, however, as we had to leave the hotel at 2 am (!) to be at Yerevan airport for a night flight to Warsaw and then a connecting flight to London.
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Holiday in the Caucasus (15): in and around Yerevan, Armenia
July 21st, 2023 by Roger Darlington
On the penultimate day of our tour of the Caucasus, there was much less travelling because we were either in Yerevan or in the district about an hour to the east of the city.
Over a period of centuries, Armenia has had no less than 14 capitals. The current capital – since the Soviet days of 1918 – is Yerevan which is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world (most of the other claims to longevity are cities in Syria and Lebanon, both of which I have visited). Its current population is just over 1 million which is about 35% of the country’s total population.
First, we drove up to a hill overlooking the city – not a particularly pretty sight. We were there to see the 22 metre (72 feet) high Mother Armenia memorial commemorating the country’s losses in the Second World War. Our guide claimed that, proportionate to its population, Armenia suffered the greatest loss of any of the Republics in the USSR. He also pointed that the designer of the MiG jets Artem Mikoyan – one of these aircraft was on display at the foot of the monument – was an Armenian.
Then we drove down into the city centre to see a building that is of special pride to all Armenians.
The Matenadaran (literally book depository) is the nation’s Manuscript Museum containing some 3,000 manuscripts dating from as far back as the 5th century. We had a museum guide who spoke excellent English and astonished us with the wonder of the museum’s displayed items which are, of course, a tiny fraction of the collection.
After we has-beens had indulged in a cafe called “The Green Bean”, we drove east for about an hour to a garden restaurant in a place called Geghard. The, having viewed a demonstration of the making of local bread using a kiln in the ground, we ate lunch in the shade (the temperature was 34C).
Suitably refreshed, we then toured the Geghard Monastery which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. This was founded in the 4th century with most of the current buildings dating from the 12th century and carved out of a cliff. In one of the vaults, we were treated to the singing of a number of Armenian songs by a quartet of two men and two women. Their singing was divine and the acoustics amazing. I have not been so moved by sound since I visited a village just outside Damascus before the civil war and heard the Lord’s Prayer delivered in Aramaic.
It was only a short ride to an unusual site: an Hellenic-style temple. Garni Temple was originally built in the first century AD, largely destroyed by an earthquake in 1679, and rebuilt between 1969-1975. As with so many of the ancient churches of both Georgia and Armenia, the location was impressive – in this case, on the edge of a deep gorge.
It had been an easier day with much less travelling than previously, but it was still a nine-hour day by the time we returned to our hotel in Yerevan.
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