A review of the recent film “Jojo Rabbit”
May 17th, 2020 by Roger Darlington
When “Jojo Rabbit” was released at the cinema, I had no wish to see it – for me the idea of a Hitler comedy is an oxymoron. But the film received some excellent reviews and proved popular with viewers. Then I found myself in lockdown during the coronavirus crisis and, with little else new to watch, I decided to give it a go.
Although it is based on a novel, the film is very much the creation of New Zealand comedian Taika Waititi, who is part Maori and a bit Jewish, since he wrote and directed it as well as playing the role of Adolf Hitler as the imaginery friend of the eponymous 10 year old German boy (a remarkable performance by the British Roman Griffin Davis in his first professional role).
I can see what Waititi was trying to do – present a parody of Nazism and anti-semitism – but I’m afraid it just doesn’t work for me. I found it silly, sentimental, surreal – but never convincing. You might feel differently.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
A review of the recent movie “Knives Out”
May 15th, 2020 by Roger Darlington
When “Knives Out’ was released at the cinema, it was both a commercial and a critical success, but I was not sure that it was the film for me. However, when I was subject to lockdown in the coronavirus crisis, I wanted something light and entertaining and decided to have a stab at this old-fashioned ‘who done it?’ murder mystery both written and directed with verve by Rian Johnsone.
I found it fun but (perhaps inevitably) very contrived. The original set-up is simple enough: successful and rich 85 year old American author Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) is found dead, supposedly by suicide, but information from a succession of family gatherings at his grand home increasingly confuse the picture.
A particular delight of the movie is to see Daniel Craig, whom we so associate with the role of James Bond, playing southern sleuth Benoit Blanc and Chris Evans, so often the clean-cut superhero Captain America, as the family’s ‘black sheep’. Other familiar actors include Don Johnson, Toni Colette and Jamie Lee Curtis.
So it is very watchable although hardly special. Nevertheless, it seems that is not the point and that “Knives Out 2” is being unsheathed and Blanc is back.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
Al Capone was finally brought down because of his tax affairs. Could the same thing happen to Donald Trump?
May 14th, 2020 by Roger Darlington
This is an extract from the Wikipedia page on American gangster Al Capone:
“The federal authorities became intent on jailing Capone, and prosecuted him in 1931 for tax evasion. During a highly publicized case, the judge admitted as evidence Capone’s admissions of his income and unpaid taxes, made during prior (and ultimately abortive) negotiations to pay the government taxes he owed. He was convicted and sentenced to 11 years in federal prison. After conviction, he replaced his defense team with experts in tax law, and his grounds for appeal were strengthened by a Supreme Court ruling, but his appeal ultimately failed. Capone showed signs of neurosyphilis early in his sentence, and became increasingly debilitated before being released after almost eight years of incarceration. On January 25, 1947, he died of cardiac arrest after suffering a stroke.”
This is an extract from a BBC report on a current case before the Supreme Court concerning President Donald Trump’s refusal to reveal his tax records:
“The US Supreme Court has heard arguments on whether President Donald Trump should be allowed to keep his financial records secret, in a major showdown over presidential powers. Mr Trump has refused to share documents that could shed light on his fortune and the work of his family company. Two congressional committees and New York prosecutors demand the release of his tax returns and other information. Mr Trump’s private lawyers argue he enjoys total immunity while in office. A ruling is expected within weeks. Unlike other recent presidents, Mr Trump has refused to release his tax returns and a decision against him could result in his personal financial information becoming public in the campaign season. Experts say the ruling will have far-reaching implications for the ability of Congress to scrutinise the activities of sitting presidents and of prosecutors to investigate them.”
At any other time, this court case would be big news internationally, but the coronavirus crisis means that few people outside America – and indeed many in the USA itself – are not aware of this dramatic matter.
Posted in American current affairs, History | Comments (0)
In the UK, it’s Day 50 of lockdown and Mass Observation would like to know about your day.
May 12th, 2020 by Roger Darlington
This year, the Mass Observation Archive will be repeating its annual call for day diaries, capturing the everyday lives of people across the UK. The written diaries will be stored in the Archive at The Keep and be used by a wide range of people for research, teaching and learning. This is the 10thAnniversary of the 12th May Diary project.
If you’d be interested in taking part (come on, you’ve got plenty of time now!), you’ll find the information here.
I’ll be contributing to the project. I’ve kept a daily diary since I was 13 which means I have a complete record for 58 years. During this period of lockdown, it has been a strange comfort to me to record what is happening and how I’m feeling,
Posted in British current affairs, My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Covid rules cleared up
May 11th, 2020 by Roger Darlington
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)
A review the 1948 classic western “Red River”
May 10th, 2020 by Roger Darlington
Directed by the legendary Howard Hawks, this classic western – shot in black and white – is the story of a cattle drive up the Chisholm Trail and includes a series of memorable scenes created with Hawks’ famous eye-level shooting including the river crossing, the stampede, and the Indian attack. More than 5,000 head of cattle were hired for a work which today would use special effects.
It is a western version of the road movie with the central theme being the evolving relationship between the owner of the cattle, Tom Dunstan (John Wayne), and his adopted son, Matthew Garth (Montgomery Clift). Dunstan is an increasingly driven and ruthless leader which eventually leads to a revolt with echoes of “Mutiny On The Bounty”.
For two hours, this is a wonderful film but then the last five minutes spoils it with a magical character transformation that – unlike that of the other John Wayne western “The Searchers” – simply does not work. Borden Chase, who wrote the original story on which the film is based and the screenplay for the movie itself, wanted to use his own ending, a dark but convincing finale; however, Hawks was not prepared to Wayne die, leaving us with a flawed classic.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
VE Day – we need to remember ALL who died and suffered
May 8th, 2020 by Roger Darlington
For those who lived through the Second World War, when it started and when it ended depended on where you lived. For Europeans, we date the commencement of the war as 1 September 1939 with the invasion of Poland and we date the conclusion of the war as 8 May 1945 with the surrender of the Germans.
So today we celebrate Victory in Europe (VE) Day. Victory in Japan (VJ) Day will not be until 15 August. But, for the Chinese, the war began much earlier with the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931 and, for the Americans, it started later with the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Philippines at the end of 1941.
Also the scale of the suffering depended vastly on where you lived. Today rightly we will commemorate the experience of the British and may remember that of other European nations, but we are unlikely to recall the enormous sacrifice of the then Soviet Union.
In one history of the Second World War in Europe, the author opines: “the Soviet role was enormous and the Western role was respectable but modest”. He adds: “All in all, the open-minded observer will be tempted to view the war effort of the Western powers as something of a sideshow.”
Unfair? Look at the figures in my review of the book. And remember ALL who died and suffered for the peace and freedom we enjoy today even in a time of global pandemic.
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)
A review of the 2012 film “The Company You Keep”
May 8th, 2020 by Roger Darlington
The Weather Underground was a radical left militant organisation active in the United States in the late 1960s and 1970s. It was a revolutionary body that was responsible for a series of riots, bombings and jailbreaks. As a subject for a mainstream film, therefore, it is not obvious that this is a sympathetic proposition for American audiences and it is an essentially unknown topic for non-American viewers.
So it is something of an oddity that Robert Redford in his mid 70s should choose to produce and direct this work and take the lead role as a former Weatherman exposed many decades later by an ambitious local reporter. Another surprise is to see Julie Christie (in her early 70s) coming out of retirement to play a co-conspirator.
It is an amazing cast list which includes four Oscar winners – Redford and Christie plus Susan Sarandon and Chris Cooper – and five Oscar nominees – Anna Kendrick, Richard Jenkins, Nick Nolte, Terrence Howard, and Stanley Tucci. Add Shia LaBeouf, Sam Elliot and Brendan Gleeson and you have almost as many stars as the Milky Way.
So it is disappointing that the film, though workmanlike and watchable, is not more exciting. It probably worked better as the novel on which it is based.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
Who should presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden choose as his running mate? (1)
May 7th, 2020 by Roger Darlington
Assuming that Joe Biden survives the allegations of sexual harassment – which is not certain – he will be the nominee of the Democratic Party in the election for the next President of the United States. His first big decision is to choose a running mate.
Traditionally this decision – somewhat particular to US politics – has involved ‘balancing the ticket’. Balancing it ideologically means that, if the candidate is moderate, he might want to elect more a radical running mate. Balancing it geographically would mean choosing a partner from a different part of the country.
In the Democratic Party, recent times have favoured balancing the ticket in gender and ethnic terms. In the particular case of Biden – who would be the oldest ever person to assume the office for the first time – balancing would strongly suggest a significantly younger vice-presidential candidate and someone with sufficient talent and experience to become president in a heart beat.
So there is a lot to consider. Biden has already declared that he will choose a female running mate so that is one factor settled.
Black Democrats have joined in a concerted effort to urge him to pick a black woman as his vice-presidential nominee. Also some liberal groups and activists, who have long had an antagonistic relationship with the presumptive nominee, are pressing Biden to select a liberal woman.
Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams has been extraordinarily blunt in saying she would accept the job. By contrast, Kamala Harris of California has taken the opposite tack, remaining low-key while others advocate for her.
Some liberals are backing Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who ranks far above others on the left as a potential running mate. But rancour from the primaries has led to schisms on the left: Senator Bernie Sanders, the final competitor to cede to Biden and the liberal figure best positioned to push for concessions, has declined to support Warren despite their ideological alliance. Also many regard Warren as too old as well as coming from the same region of the country as Biden.
Other names in the frame are Amy Klobuchar, a senator from Minnesota, who performed creditably in the primaries plus Tammy Baldwin, a senator for Wisconsin, and Tammy Duckworth, a senator for Illinois.
There is even speculation about former First Lady Michelle Obama, but she has made it very clear that she would never want political office.
My personal preference would be Kamala Harris. She is aged 55 with six years experience as Attorney-General of California and three years membership of the Senate. She is a woman of colour: her father is from Jamaica and her mother is a Tamil Indian. She is progressive, fluent and confident.
By the way, it is by no means certain that Donald Trump will keep Mike Pence as his running mate. Trump likes to shake things up and could well pick a new partner.
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
How often are British general elections?
May 5th, 2020 by Roger Darlington
In theory, they are held every five years but, in practice, they tend to be held after about four years. The longest interval was occasioned by the Second World War: 1935-1945. Sometimes, however, general elections have been held with surprising frequency.
I was reminded of this from my current lockdown reading of the 900 page biography of Winston Churchill by Roy Jenkins. I have reached the point in which there were two general elections in the same calendar year: January/February 1910 and December 1910. Churchill was a Liberal at this time.
Only on one other occasion in British political history have we had two general elections in the same calendar year and the interval of time between the two was even shorter: February 1974 and October 1974. I was a Labour candidate in both these elections.
But there have been other occasions when general elections were held in close proximity: 1806 and 1807; 1830, 1831, and 1832; 1885 and 1886; 1922, 1923 and 1924; and 1950 and 1951.
You can find a full list of United Kingdom general elections here.
Posted in History | Comments (0)