Archive for May, 2024


A review the 1953 classic film “Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday” 

May 17th, 2024 by Roger Darlington

In only his second film as a director, Jacques Tati introduced us to the character with whom he was to become synonymous. M. Hulot is the shy, gentle, unassuming, but constantly bumbling, Frenchman who is immediately recognisable with his long-stemmed pipe, his leaning forward awkwardly, and elbows pointing out with hands in the small of […]

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A review of the new movie “Challengers”

May 16th, 2024 by Roger Darlington

I have a much younger female friend who is a great tennis enthusiast and, when we saw the tennis movie “King Richard” (2021) together, she really enjoyed it. So I felt on firm ground when I suggested that we see “Challengers” – it features a considerable amount of tennis and has been both a critical […]

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My next book is on its way

May 15th, 2024 by Roger Darlington

Over the last year, I’ve interviewed 42 people – all staff or residents in my block of flats – for a series of personal profiles which I’ve drawn together for a book to be launched on 19 June 2024. Everyone has a story and each of these is fascinating in its own way.

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A review of the 2022 movie “Jurassic World Dominion”

May 11th, 2024 by Roger Darlington

After the “Jurassic Park” trilogy, we now have the third (and final?) segment of the “Jurassic World” three-hander. Unlike all the other movies in this franchise, none of the action is on the island of Isla Nublar. Now all the dinosaurs are running round continental America and Europe and the genetic playing of the wicked […]

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A review of the novel “The Three-Body Problem” by Cixin Liu

May 11th, 2024 by Roger Darlington

This is the first novel in the ‘Remembrance of Earth’s Past’ trilogy by the noted Chinese science fiction writer. It was first published as a book in 2008 and, when translated into English, won the Hugo Award for Best Novel, the first work by an Asian writer to win this award. It achieved even more […]

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A review of the classic 1946 movie “Notorious”

May 10th, 2024 by Roger Darlington

The first film to be produced as well as directed by Alfred Hitchcock, this is striking for being both a taut espionage thriller and a moving romance. It has a wonderful cast, led by Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman and Claude Raine in a triangular relationship in which each is both a spy and a lover. […]

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A review of the new film “The Fall Guy”

May 7th, 2024 by Roger Darlington

This action comedy is a kind of homage to stunt performers, the unseen and unsung heroes of so many movies. It is very loosely based on the 1980s television series of the same name (the lead actor from that series, Lee majors, makes a cameo appearance in a mid-credits sequence) and the director David Leitch […]

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