The Dossing Times

There is a beautifully rich idea at the heart of ‘Ondine’, one which sets a story fused with myth and fairytale in a contemporary, but slightly askew world. The world is one of dysfunctional family cursed by drink, asylum seekers and illness, but also one of sleepy villages, where a fisherman, his life at sea [...]

Last Christmas my Dad, as usual, got me some reading. Among them was ‘Ghost Writer’. As with when I meet new people, I judged it immediately, relegating it to ‘lazy thriller’. Now while my opinions of people change (if somewhat rarely), my opinion of this book did not change, but in fact degenerated and then [...]

Initial thoughts on the list of Oscar nominations released this lunch time is that they represent an eclectic, if rather subdued list.
Most immediately, the mastery of ‘Up’ has been acknowledged, by being included in two fields, that of Best Animated Film and simply Best Film. This, along with the nomination for ‘District 9’, one of [...]

Other than the cliffhanger which saw out Season 5, there are of course some long standing mysteries to be resolved in the final 16 episodes of ‘Lost’ to kick off this week. I still remember the reaction of an old house mate of mine on overhearing a  conversation I was having with her fiancee about [...]

Simon is back to fine posting form on the blog, which I am happy to see. Life is busy but good for me away from the blog at the moment, so much so that I got a Christmas card from Simon and his girlfriend this year, a proper, made of paper, written in pen Christmas [...]

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Despite slushy streets I found myself wanting to walk with more of a swagger on leaving the cinema tonight, trying to carry my umbrella with some air of poise and readiness akin to Robert Downey Jnr’s Sherlock Holmes, so that I could beat up some rougheon in a bowler hat, should one approach me. Guy [...]

10. Gran Torino
A smart, simple, old fashioned tale, with Eastwood on great growling form.
9. (500) Days of Summer
In 2009, someone took the time out to make a romantic comedy with appealing leads, that didn’t patronise or insult and managed to serve both elements of its tag, being both romantic and funny.
8. A Serious Man
An odd, wonderful, comic [...]

Happy Christmas and New Year to you all!
There is no great summative remark I have to capture the quality, or lack thereof, of movies this year gone. I have been away from the blog, and indeed not made as many cinema trips as I would have liked these past few months so that unfortunately [...]