A review of the new Netflix movie “The Gray Man”

July 23rd, 2022 by Roger Darlington

This is a film adaptation of a best-selling novel of the same name by Mark Greaney and, since the book is the opening salvo of a (so far) 11-work series, we could well be seeing the start of a new spy film franchise to rival James Bond or Ethan Hunt or Jason Bourne.

The CIA assassin in question is gray – or grey as we write in British English – not because he is dull but because he operates in a grey zone. His actual name is Court Gentry (really) but he is better known as Sierra Six (as he explains, 007 was already taken). I’m a massive Ryan Gosling fan and we haven’t seen him in a movie for four years (“First Man”), so I’m pleased to find him in the eponymous role and to learn that he’s up for sequels. His good looks and laconic manner are perfect for the character.

It’s pleasing to see Billy Bob Thornton as Six’s vaguely honourable mentor and Ana de Armas as Six’s resourceful fellow spook, but the acting honours here go to Chris Evans who clearly had fun switching from being good guy Captain America to becoming Six’s intended nemesis the sociopathic Lloyd Hansen. Smaller roles include Regé-Jean Page (“Bridgerton”) and Afre Woodard (“Clemency”). The locations are varied and exotic, the camerawork is swooping and swirling, and the cutting is frenetic in this fast-paced and stylish thriller.

You’ll perhaps know what to expect from “The Gray Man” when you know that it’s directed by the Russo brothers (Anthony and Joe) who helmed no less than four Marvel movies. In fact, even with this knowledge, be prepared for a mind-blowing level of action. The narrative is exceptionally thin – another case of a chase for sensitive data on a tiny device – with no twists or surprises or even a romance and there are only very short interludes between one explosive action sequence after another after another. Indeed there are nine-set pieces shoot-ups in a variety of foreign settings, most notably in Prague (my favourite foreign city).

“The Gray Man” is Netflix’s most expensive film so far at a reputed cost of some $200M, but I was determined to see it on the big screen before no doubt I view it again on television. For sheer entertainment, this is hard to beat. Just don’t expect any subtlety or sophistication.

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A review of “The Age Of The Strongman” by Gideon Rachman (2022)

July 20th, 2022 by Roger Darlington

Rachman is the chief foreign affairs columnist for the British newspaper the “Financial Times”. He has written a well-researched, immensely informative, very readable and – at least for my liberal sensibilities – insightful and balanced review of the rise over the past two decades of a series of political figures whom he calls the strongmen but who – at least in countries with elections – could be called populist or nationalist politicians.

Who are they? The main individuals profiled are Vladimir Putin of Russia, Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, Xi Jinping of China, Narendra Modi of India, Viktor Orban of Hungary, Jaroslaw Kaczynski of Poland, Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom, Donald Trump of the United States, Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of Mexico, and Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia.

It is a genuinely worldwide spread, but Rachman acknowledges immediately that these strongman leaders are “part of a continuum”. At one end are unchallenged autocrats like Xi and MBS; then there are those who are subject some some kind of constraint such as Putin and Erdogan: and there are those who operate in democracies but subvert them as exemplified by Trump and Modi.

What they have in common are the following behaviours: “the creation of a cult of personality, contempt for the rule of law, the claim to represent the real people against the elites, and a politics driven by fear and nationalism”. They have little or no regard for the truth, they are contemptuous of all opposition, and they have psychotic belief in their own righteousness. As a result of their global power and influence, Rachman asserts: “We are now in the midst of the most sustained global assault on liberal democratic values since the 1930s”.

Why have strongmen come to power in so many countries? Rachman sees economics as a major factor: “the dislocating effects of a period of rapid globalisation – including mass migration of people and industries – have increased the nostalgic appeal of a more stable, homogeneous and nation-centred past”. In many countries – especially in the developing world – there is a sense that “corruption has ensured that the gains of globalisation have gone overwhelmingly to a connected elite”.

But it is not just about economics: “It is when economic grievances are linked to broader fears – such as immigration, crime or national decline – that strongman leaders really come into their own”. So how and when will the age of the strongman come to an end? Rachman looks at the efforts of liberal politicians – notably Angela Merkel in Germany, Emmanuel Macron in France and Joe Biden in the USA – and global leaders – especially George Soros – to provide an alternative agenda.

Although he admits that “All efforts at historical periodisation are slightly artificial”, he opines that post-war politics have tended to follow three distinct eras, each lasting around three decades: the stability and growth of 1945-1975, the stagflation and neoliberalism of the next 30 years, and the age of populism and autocracy in which we now find ourselves. If this model has validity, then the age of the strongman – which he sees beginning with Putin in 2000 – should come to end around 2030.

Rachman is ultimately optimistic: “strongman rule is an inherently flawed and unstable form of government. It will ultimately collapse in China and most other places where it is tried. But there may be a lot of turmoil and suffering before the Age of the Strongman is finally consigned to history”. Broadly speaking, I share this analysis, but I suspect that China will the last to embrace liberalism and it will not be in this decade.

Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)

Like movies? Interested in aviation? I have just the films for you.

July 20th, 2022 by Roger Darlington

There are many hundreds for film reviews on my website. But, as someone who is a massive movie fan and has a lifelong passion for aircraft, I have a special section with reviews of 68 aviation films.

Check them out here.

Posted in Cultural issues, Science & technology | Comments (0)

We don’t just need a new Prime Minister or even a new Government. We need a new constitutional settlement.

July 13th, 2022 by Roger Darlington

The Conservative Party is in the process of electing a new leader who will become Britain’s new Prime Minister. The outcome will result in a new personality and perhaps a new style of governance but fundamentally it will be the same set of policies.

This is why people like me – a life-long member of the Labour Party – want a change of government. If Boris Johnson had remained as PM, the next general election would probably have been in 2024 (with a majority in the mid 70s why would one go earlier?). However, a new PM might mean a general election in 2023 as the new leader might feel the need to seek their own mandate.

Whenever it comes, I profoundly hope that Labour forms the next government either through securing an overall majority or through some kind of alliance with the Liberal Democrats and/or some kind of understanding with the Scottish National Party.

But for me a change of PM and a change of government is not enough. Politics as usual is not serving the national interest. The UK may not have a written constitution but it does have a constitutional settlement and that needs to change.

Above all, we need a democratisation of the legislature with the adoption of a system of proportional representation (PR) for election to the House of Commons and the creation of an elected House of Lords (which will need to be renamed).

We can debate the type of PR to be used for the Commons but the additional member system (AMS) used in German federal elections and in elections to the Scottish & Welsh Parliaments would be sensible. We can debate the structure of a new Senate but I would favour something much smaller than the present House of Lords (say 400 members instead of over 800) and election on the basis of nations and regions (say the constituencies used when we had elections to the European Parliament).

These two changes would transform British politics. But many other changes need to be discussed including a stronger and more enforced code of ethics for Ministers and legislators, stronger regulation of lobbyists, extension of the franchise to those aged 16 and above, more power (especially over legislation) to Select Committees of the Commons and the Senate, and more devolution of power to the non-English governments and to English regions and/or cities.

Posted in British current affairs | Comments (2)

When will Britain have a new Prime Minister? It might be sooner than you think.

July 11th, 2022 by Roger Darlington

The new Prime Minister will, of course, be the person who wins the election for the new leader of the Conservative Party. We probably know the list of candidates and we now know the rules of the election.

There are no less than 11 declared candidates, all you might expect (and more) except Ben Wallace (who has ruled himself out) and Priti Patel (who, at the rime of writing, has not announced her intentions). I doubt that Patel will stand: she has left it too late and she will have been under pressure from around half the declared candidates to announce that she will not stand but support one of them (who will, of course, be expected to reward such timely affirmation).

Those 11 candidates will be reduced in number very quickly. To be on the ballot paper for the first round, a candidate needs 20 nominations. Not all of the 11 will meet that threshold.

Then, to go forward to the second round, at least 30 votes will be needed in the first round. Again not all will manage that.

The plan is to reduce the candidates to two by the time the House of Commons rises on 21 July. This will be achieved but it may be that the next stage – a ballot of Conservative Party members to be concluded by 5 September – will not be needed. Why do I say that? Because there are some strong arguments in favour of the weaker candidate pulling out in favour of the stronger candidate.

This election is going to be rancorous. Already public and private briefings and accusations are being made about every candidate with slurs ranging from private tax arrangements to private sexual preferences. There would be real benefit to the reputation of the winner and of the Conservative Party if another six weeks of this could be avoided.
If the members’ ballot were to go ahead, the Party would face a reputational risk. Are there really 200,000 members or is the true number much smaller? What will the turnout be when so many members are on their summer holidays? And what will the media reveal about how unrepresentative the membership is in terms of age, gender, ethnicity and geography?
If the members’ ballot were to go ahead, there would be around a dozen hustings and all sorts of statements that could damage one or both candidates or limit their policy options in No 10. The media would have six weeks to find out all sorts of historic comments and actions that would embarrass or compromise the candidates.
For the stronger candidate, the absence of a members’ ballot would mean becoming Prime Minister six weeks earlier. This would stop Boris Johnson doing too much further damage and enable the new PM to appoint a new team that would have a decent amount of quiet time (Parliament will not be sitting) to establish themselves before the Party conference.
For the weaker candidate, pulling out before a members’ ballot would avoid a miserable summer traipsing round endless meetings where every one is a risk of messing up and give that individual the chance publicly to be serving the party by saving further damage to the party’s image and the chance privately to do a deal with the stronger candidate about an appropriate post in the Cabinet.
There is a precedent for no members’ ballot. When Andrea Leadsom was due to face off with Theresa May, an unfortunate interview so damaged her chances that she pulled out before balloting commenced.

Posted in British current affairs | Comments (1)

The tragedy of Sri Lanka

July 9th, 2022 by Roger Darlington

For months now, Sri Lanka has been in the grip of an economic crisis that has devastated the country and utterly impoverished most of its citizens. The latest news is that the Presidential Palace has been stormed and the Prime Minister’s home has been burned down.

It is something of a joke among my family and friends that, when I visit a country, shortly afterwards there is some sort of catastrophe. You can see what I mean from this blog posting.

I had hoped, when I visited Sri Lanka in 2017, that I was seeing a stable country following the terrible civil war. But recent events have shown how wrong I was. To have an idea of how wonderful this country is, you can read the account of my holiday.

Posted in My life & thoughts, World current affairs | Comments (0)

So what exactly does the name of the rock band Steely Dan mean?

July 8th, 2022 by Roger Darlington

Since just before the global pandemic, I have been a volunteer on the Older Person’s Unit of St Thomas’ Hospital in central London. Every week, I talk to people between 65 and 100 about their lives and I can tell you that everyone has a story and I learn a lot about life.

So this week I was talking to a guy who had an interest in rock music and he told me the origin of the name of the American band Steely Dan. I wasn’t sure whether to believe him, so I checked it out on the web.

To quote the relevant page:

“Now, all they needed was a name. Of course, it would come from a left-field but unsurprising source. As both Becker and Fagen were huge fans of the bizarre world of 1950s ‘Beat’ literature, they chose the name Steely Dan. It was pulled directly from William S. Burrough’s highly controversial 1959 novel, Naked Lunch.

So what or who is ‘Steely Dan’, you might ask? For those of you who haven’t read the meandering, psychotropic book, ‘Steely Dan III from Yokohama’ is the name of an oversized, steam-powered strap-on dildo that is used by Mary during the chapter of the book entitled ‘A.J.’s Annual Party’.”

This explanation is taken from this piece. So now you know …

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A review of the new Australian film “Nitram”

July 7th, 2022 by Roger Darlington

Sadly mass shootings are a common occurrence in the United States, but fortunately Down Under they are rare. This Australian film is based on the worst such incident in the country’s history. It happened in Port Arthur in Tasmania on 28-29 April 1996 when a mentally disturbed loner called Martin Bryant, aged 28 at the time, managed to put together a veritable armoury before murdering 35 people and wounding 23 others.

The work has been controversial in Australia on the grounds that it highlights knowledge and notoriety of the killer at the expense of the memory of the victims and the pain of their family and friends.

However, in a sensitive narrative, director Justin Kurzel and writer Shaun Grant attempt to overcome such objections by never fully naming the shooter (although all Australians know his name and the title is simply Martin backwards) and by not showing any of the actual shooting. Instead we are presented with something of a character study superbly embodied by Caleb Landry Jones in a performance that won him the Cannes Best Actor Award.

Furthermore we are encouraged to consider some basic questions: what gun control restrictions do we need and how do we enforce them? what role do medication and therapy have in dealing with mental illness? what is the responsibility of parents, friends and acquaintances in creating or controlling such behaviours?

These, and other questions, around mass shootings and indeed all shootings are not just for Australia where we are told at the end of the film that, in spite of tougher controls, there are now more guns in the community than in 1996. These are questions for Britain (the film references the massacre at Dunblane) and many countries – most notably the US – around the world. In that respect, this film, while uncomfortable to watch, is compelling viewing and something of a public service.

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The blog is back. Roger that.

July 7th, 2022 by Roger Darlington

About six weeks ago, I found that I could no longer post new items on this blog. It proved to be a really difficult issue that my IT mate Gary worked on a lot. But now he’s cracked it – and I’m back. Many, many thanks Gary.

This is is the longest that I’ve not blogged since I started this blog 19 years ago. I’m back just as British politics is going through a frenetic period of change and no doubt I’ll be commenting on that shortly.

Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)