Review: Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Alaskan Dog-Racing

Paulson's Winterdance is the story of one man's attempt to take part in a dog sled race across the snowy wastes of Alaska from Anchorage to Nome.

Winterdance is extremely funny at times - especially when Paulsen is learning how to sled and training the dogs.  But there are also moments of sadness and even horror. But always the cold. It's like an additional character. Biting, needling, cruel, stabbing.

This is a book to read snuggled up under a duvet and preferably in front of roaring fire with a hefty helping of comfort food. It's a perfect Autumnal or Winter read.

You don't get to know all of the dogs - but a few leave a clear impression. There's Cookie - a profoundly smart and loyal dog, and the kill/eat anything dog called Devil who leaves impressions of a rather different kind.

The book isn't without a few faults. I got deja-vu a few times with some of the phrasing. A sentence or a turn of phrase would appear in one chapter and then reappear perhaps twenty or thirty pages later.  I guess there are only so many ways you can describe some things.  It is also leans towards prep - rather than the Iditarod race itself. More than half of the book is on the lead up.  Perhaps that was the right choice as the race itself feels in some ways less impactful on the author.


Verdict: Beautiful and bleak. 

Review: The Night of the Hunter

Laughton's directorial debut is the tale of a preacher (or is he) and two children who may or may not know the location of the proceeds of their bank robbing father.

With it's focus on silhouettes, creepy angular compositions and sleep walking like nightmarish quality I was more than once reminded of German expressionist classics like Nosferatu and The Cabinet of Dr Caligari.  It also brings some iconic imagery of it's own.

Performance wise, Mitchum's preacher is of particular note - never less than compelling, charismatic and monstrous.

Verdict: Dark fairytale.

Review: The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society

The little known story of the German invasion of Guernsey forms the backdrop to this cozy romantic mystery drama.

The romance is fairly humdrum (almost as soon as you see two characters you'll guess their destiny) - but it's significantly elevated by appealing performances from all of the cast, glimpses of what British life under German occupation would have been like had they managed to invade mainland Britain and the slow unfolding of the mystery behind the titular society's reluctance to tell their story.

Verdict: Unusual setting for a wonderfully romantic drama.

Review: Whatever happened to Baby Jane?

"Made for TV 90s remake of the 60s classic" should tell you all you need to know about this. Well it should do, but I hadn't seen the original and so assumed this was it when I fired up this grainy copy on Amazon Prime - especially when it featured two Redgrave sisters.

It's a well acted (essentially two hander) psychological thriller but has some seriously melodramatic music to bludgeon you into anticipating every twist and turn.  I'd have liked to have seen more back story on the sisters rivalry and relationship deterioration as what you see here is pretty thin.

Verdict: Competent rather than classic coercive control shocker.

Review: Sicario: Day of the Soldado

Visceral followup to the 2015 heart in the mouth blockbuster. Unfortunately, Blunt isn't back to add some needed emotional heft to this largely male dominated and consequently more brutal action-thriller.  Brolin and del Toro return and develop their respective characters.

The story which crosses boundaries in more ways than one, and dealing with international terrorism, people smuggling, Mexican cartel wars and US political intrigue remains highly engaging and near less than credible.

Verdict: Brutal but strong follow up to the original

Review: Kidnapped

Kidnapped is a highly engaging boy's own adventure classic once you get past the archaic Scottish slang that forms much of the dialogue. Even Stevenson is obviously aware of the barrier it potentially forms as he provides a few translations of key words as footnotes.  But it does give the whole enterprise another layer of authenticity (as does his interweaving of historical characters and events around his fictional ones).

The main protagonist, David Balfour, only adds to the appeal. His plucky naivety feels absolutely right for a nineteen year old.  You feel every step of his fatigue, share his dawning sense of horror or rejoice in justice served.

Verdict: Classic fun.

Review: Elysium

Wonderfully realised vision of a dystopia where the bulk of the population live nasty, brutish and short lives on a ruined earth while rather less billionaires float around in a flying donut in outer space. In it, they've near eliminated disease and their world looks very much like the posher regions of Hollywood - only with more robots.

If I'm being honest, I find this has more rewatch value than director Blomkamp's debut District 9. It explores some of the same ideas, but benefits from a bigger budget for cast and special effects. The cast is a good range of upcoming, can't quite put a name to and A-listers like Damon & Foster.  Damon makes for a good beefy everyman, while Foster is a perfectly judged obnoxious politician.

Verdict: Only the last act falls slightly flat. 

Review: Moon

Low key and rare example of hard science fiction that's also a tip of the hat to films like Silent Running from the 1970s.  Jones and Rockwell have done a fine job with this near one hander (Spacey provides some company for Rockwell's lonesome astronaut in the form of a grimly stained robot).

Rockwell is excellent at conveying the different facets - and especially the routine, loneliness and isolation - of his character's life.  The authentic looking model work, set design and lighting only enhances the feeling.

Verdict: Fly me to the Moon, but make sure I've got a return ticket. 

Review: The Commuter

Serviceable actioner addition to Neeson's now considerable post-Taken catalogue. Opening, and beautifully edited, sequence aside (which manages to convey the mind-numbing routine of commuting) - the cast are probably a bit better than the material.

Neeson's solidly excellent as a washed up insurance salesman, of course, and Farmiga's short spot memorably sets up the core premise with a Twilight Zone like vibe.  A sprinkling of recognisable faces provide enough red herrings to keep you guessing as to who his real focus should be.

Verdict: Enjoyable and never boring. 

Review: Terminator 2

An outing for the UHD of this, and contrary to established opinion I thought it looked quite stunning on our projector. The bad news, however, is that only the theatrical edition is on offer in 4K.

I have such a long history with this film that it's hard to be truly objective (I can even remember seeing it at a special preview one summer afternoon at the local cinema).   To my eyes, it remains one of the best action movies of certainly the 90s, if not all time.

Schwarzenegger was born for this part. Furlong makes a good foil, while Hamilton's transformation from unambitious waitress to driven combatant remains astounding.

Verdict: Perhaps the definitive action movie.

Review: Leave no trace

Leave no trace is a touching and moving study of the relationship between a veteran and his daughter both of whom live off grid together. Refreshingly, there are no bad guys in this movie - just gentleness, compassion and love (even from those associated with the authorities).

Actingwise, it's some of Foster's best work. Portraying someone broken by war, he could have been a lot less restrained.  McKenzie, however, has the makings of a real superstar.  She's extraordinarily good - especially considering her relative youth.

Lastly, a word on the scenery and cinematography. The forest looks absolutely beautiful and near mystical in this film. Some shots are worthy of Planet Earth.

Verdict: Deeply moving and compassionate.