On motors and mobiles

The car may be death-proof, but the film's not above criticism (see my review here). Getting a less bumpy ride from this reviewer is Cell Phone Culture by Gerard Goggin.

The fallen

My Spiked-online review of the movie Seraphim Falls, recently released in the UK, appears here.

I have known few people tough enough to get through the real life equivalent of the fictional ordeal inflicted on Gideon (Pierce Brosnan) in Seraphim Falls. One of them was my late grandfather, Bert Allton; another was my friend Dave Hallsworth, an inspirational figure who died last week. He will be much missed.

This link takes you to Dave commenting on Grandpa's war diary. Dave Hallsworth, Presente!

The Reisz stuff

Still reviewing for 7 Days newspaper. Here's the latest, albeit truncated book review.
The last paragraph would have read:
Reisz’s work tended more towards the “art house” end of the film business. When he was allowed to helm Hollywood movies – Isadora, The Gambler, Dog Soldiers – they often lost money and audiences found them hard to comprehend. Author Colin Gardner explains exactly what each of these movies is about and helps readers to appreciate the director’s interesting but uneven career.


Still mainly a factual synopsis of the book, hence my questioning of the worth of capsule reviews.