As we reach the end of July, I wanted to write a little bit about what I’ve been reading. I’ve started quite a few books, so I haven’t actually finished anything since my last post. My main focus has been on One, Two, Three, Four: Beatles in Time
I’m very close to finishing this one. It’s the quintessential Beatles book. Chronicling with incredible detail from The Quarrymen to the height of their success and beyond. For any die-hard Beatles fan, this is essential. It’s incredibly well detailed with great research. I’m a big Beatles fan and have loved every second of this. One of the best bits about it, is that it will look at something from every possible angle. There’s entire chapters detailing one event, one moment, but with excerpts from every witness or interpretation of the events.
It goes to extreme lengths to be as revealing as possible, there’s a full chapter about the guilt of the driver who killed Julia Lennon, which isn’t something I’d ever thought about before but found it fascinating. If there is a fault with the book, it’s that it does focus on a lot of strange details. There are long passages focused on the tours you can do through Hamburg now, almost 60 years later, and how little of the old stuff remains. It’s interesting, but does go on a bit.
I’m listening to the audiobook version and it would be really nice to have some of the music of the time playing in between sections or chapters. I know there is a rights issue with this, but it was really cool when the stars was books had the music in the background of the audiobook version. Reading the actual book with The Beatles on in the background is probably the way to go.
Overall it’s a really interesting book, it gives a lot of details that I didn’t know before, lots of events, moments and stories. It does a really good job of contextualising The Beatles and where they came from, the impact they had and how people received them at the time. It also gives some what-if moments, about how so many decisions led to them meeting. It’s interesting to think what might have been.
Other Reads
I’ve been reading Dean Koontz’s Elsewhere, which is really good. I’m about 100 pages off finishing that one, so will write more about it once I’ve finished it. I’m also still re-reading Archibald Lox by Darren Shan. I’m hoping to be caught up in August in time for book 6 on September 1st. I’m really enjoying it so far.
I’ve also got Tarantino’s novel version of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which I’m looking forward to reading, just want to have enough time set aside for it. Stephen King’s new book comes out next week, which will probably take my attention once it arrives. I also have Push by Dennis Vogen on my kindle, I’m really looking forward to reading it, but want to finish some stuff up first.
M. Night Shyamalan made The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and Signs one after the other. All three were greatly received by audiences and critics alike. He had his own tone and distinctive style that made him one of the more recognisable names in film at the beginning of the 21st Century.
Signs is about grief and a loss of faith. Graham Hess, played by Mel Gibson (Mad Max) is struggling to come to the terms with the loss of his wife, who died recently in a car crash. He is raising his two children, with help from his brother, played by Joaquin Phoenix (Joker). The loss of his wife leads Graham, previously a reverend, to lose his faith. There’s some strange events happening on Graham’s farm from crop circles to the dogs acting odd. At first, this is passed off as a hoax, but before long the aliens make themselves known and the family has to prepare for a potential invasion.
Compared to other alien invasion films, Signs is more insular in scale. There’s no real mention of the government and armies fighting back. This is a story about one family trying to survive as long as possible. The majority of the story is set in the farm house, with some scenes in the local town. Focusing so deeply on the family gives you time to get to know them on a personal level, from their past to their odd habits. All four of the main characters are well developed and more dimensional than the usual paper thin characters expected from Hollywood alien invasion films. Shyamalan also takes his time in developing the plot, letting you seep into the narrative and the character dynamics.
All of the performances are great, especially from Gibson and Phoenix. The pain and grief on Gibson’s face is evident throughout and is a powerful performance. The children are all great as well, with believable performances and great characters. The interplay between the characters, especially the way in which the children act with the parents after such a great tragedy is really the soul of the whole story. It’s about survival, but not just from aliens, but everything.
While the tone is dark and it’s grappling with some tough themes, there is also a twisted sense of humour throughout with some absolute laugh out loud moments. From the aliens not being able to open doors, to quips between characters it’s some much needed relief that adds an extra element to the film.
Sadly this is all building up to one of Shyamalan’s weaker twists. It doesn’t feel justified when it finally happens and is really forced. Not everything can be a classic, but the final sequence is a real let down for everything this film builds up over its running time. It’s sticks to the themes, but could have been handled a lot better. However, the moments before the ending are suspenseful and full of tension in all the best way.
Signs may not be the best Shyamalan film, but it’s still an interesting take on the alien invasion genre. It’s more focused narrative lends itself to a more emotional and captivating story, and this is it’s biggest successful. If the ending was better, than this would be one hell of a film.
It’s time for the last update in July. I want to start by talking about my schedule for posting. As I’m sure some of you have noticed, I’ve been putting up 2 posts a day. That’s my plan going forward. I’m going to be writing 2 posts a day, with a schedule of when they will go up.
Monday – In the morning will be the daily film review followed by a post about what I’m planning on seeing in the cinema that week in the evening. The reasoning for this is that the cinemas close to me announce what they are showing the following week on Monday afternoon, so it’s when I plan my next weekend.
Tuesday – The morning post will be a random post. This could be an extra film review, stuff I’ve been watching on TV, like yesterday, or just anything I write about. In the afternoon/evening will be my daily film review
Wednesday – There will be an update every Wednesday morning, mainly about how writing is going as well as an update on my weight loss journey. In the evening is the daily film review
Thursday – The morning will be split into alternative weeks. One week will be the next Franchise Catch Up, and then the alternate week will be a random post, same as Tuesday morning. The evening will be the dedicated film review
Friday – The morning post will be a list of some kind. I’m currently working through my top 50 films. 7 weeks to go. After that, will be my top 5 hated films, followed by random lists that I’m working on. The evening will be the daily film review as normal.
Saturday and Sunday – For the weekend I plan on putting up 2 reviews each day. One in the morning and one in the afternoon/evening
The times of each post will be between 8am-10am for the morning post and anywhere between 5pm-8:30pm for the evening ones. This is mainly due to work. My shifts are all over the place between 8am-8pm so I can’t guarantee when they will go up. I could schedule them on the site to be published at specific times, but I like doing it personally to make sure nothing goes wrong.
Now onto writing. To be honest it has been slow-going. I’m trying to get ahead on film reviews, to ensure I don’t miss one. I have 5 ready to go right now and want to build a better buffer. As a lot of what I write about is older films, there isn’t really a pressure to get them out straight away. I will be posting more up to the minute reviews for cinema and new releases. Once I’ve got this settled, I’m going to be focusing on my short stories. I’m working on 2, both around half way through. I was hoping to have 1 for this week, but I think it will probably be next week.
Reading is also going slower than I’d like at the moment although I am reading a little every day. I’m going to be uploading a new Reading Pile post tomorrow for Thursday morning to go into more detail about what I’ve been reading and how I’m enjoying it.
On the fitness and weight loss side, I currently weigh 16 stone and 1 pound (102KG), so I’ve lost a pound in the last week. It’s fluctuated a bit since last Wednesday. It’s going in the right direction at least. I’ve barely done any exercise this week, mainly due to the heat and a lack of sleep. My neighbours get up early to get ready for work and as a gardener, makes a lot of noise getting their trucks ready. It wakes me up most mornings around 7ish. I’ve struggled getting to sleep due to the heat, our house seems to have 2 temperatures boiling or freezing and switched between them every 6 months. So I’m averaging about 5 hours a day.
Now that it’s cooled down, I’m going to do 10 minutes a day on my exercise bike and 10 minutes weight lifting. Starting slow and building up. Previously I did 40ish minutes on my bike a day, listening to an album in full and then around half an hour with weights. It took a while to build up to it, so I’m practically starting from nothing again. Also focusing on eating less crap, which is going reasonably well.
Starring: Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini, Flavio Bucci, Miguel Bose, Barbara Magnolfi
Rating: ★★★★★
When Dario Argento’s Suspiria was first released in 1977 it received a mixed reaction from critics. They claimed it was a cheap imitation of The Exorcist with bad acting, too much gore and unintentionally funny moments. Over the years Suspiria has gained a cult following and is now considered one of the horror classics of the 1970s and a must see for Italian horror fans. The critics who harshly criticised Suspiria when it first came out, couldn’t be more wrong. Suspiria is an almost perfect horror film and should be as widely known and recognised as The Exorcist, The Omen and Halloween as one of the best of the 1970s and an undeniable classic of all time.
Argento wrote and directed Suspiria, after travelling through Europe. It was inspired by this, as well as the essay Suspiria de Profundis by Thomas De Quincey, a piece on memory written while under the influence of hallucinogenic drugs. He took this idea of the occult, hallucinations and his love of fairy takes and wrote Suspiria. Suzy, the main character played by Jessica Harper (Little Women, Phantom of Paradise) was based upon the classic fairy tale character Snow White.
Suzy, an American ballet student travels to Germany to attend an exclusive ballet school. Upon arriving at the school, in torrential rain, she isn’t permitted entry but is told by someone that they don’t know who she is. Everything from the beginning is a bad omen for her and foreshadows what’s to come. All of this punctuated by the evocative, aggressive and abrasive score by Argento’s regular collaborator prog rock band Goblin. The music is loud, haunting and powerful. It’s a great score and can be listened to outside of the film with the same unsettling and creepy effect. One of the best horror scores ever composed and can be clearly seen as an influence on John Carpenter’s work. While Suzy is travelling to shelter for the night, she sees one of the other students, running away from the school in the rain. Later that night the student is murdered in a brutal and gory fashion.
The next morning Suzy returns to the school to be admitted straight away. There is confusion about where she is staying, whether with one of the other students or at the dorm rooms. It’s clear that the deputy head mistress wants her in the dorm rooms, for unknown reasons. After fainting during class, Suzy finds her belongs moved to the dorm room and is prescribed a nightly meal and glass of wine, that sends her to sleep. There is something not right about the school and Suzy isn’t the first one to notice. The terror and suspense builds slowly to the horrific final act.
The opening sequence, the airport in the rain and arriving for the first time at the school, sets the tone for the film. With the overpowering score and the foreboding and uncanny tone, it’s obvious that things aren’t what they seem. Everything is unsettling and this builds slowly throughout. While there is a moment of extreme gore and violence in the opening, which many critics have ripped the film apart for, this isn’t for the whole film. It’s not a gorefest horror in the style of Saw or Friday the 13 that would come after Suspiria. The true terror comes from the slow building tension through the unsettling scenes and brilliant camerawork.
Every shot of Suspiria could be framed and hung as art. The nightmarish set-design with its use of bright and vivid primary colours give everything a stylish and unique look. It cinematic in a way that makes everything seem unhinged and unsettling. Argento was inspired by the bright colours of Disney’s Snow White and used older techniques when developing the film to create the lush and vivid colours that pop off the screen. Every room in the school, are all lit with a bright a deliberate colour, feel like something out of a dream and that there is secrets underneath. This is further focused on with the motif of mirrors and reflections. Certain rooms are shot with a symmetrical imagery, characters only appear in mirrors, and one of the big reveals later in the film is focused on through the mirror in the room. It feels like there is a hidden world just underneath the surface of the nightmarish world we are seeing.
A lot of the early criticism of Suspiria focuses on the acting. For the most part the acting is perfectly fine, it’s not outstanding but it never fails to be believable or watchable. One of the reasons of this I believe, is the way Italian films were shot during the 70s. Each actor spoke in their native language, with the film later being dubbed into different languages. For the English release, some of the characters are dubbed in English from Italian, while others including Jessica Harper spoke English on set. This isn’t always noticeable but does add to the nightmarish quality of the film when words don’t sync with those speaking.
Suspiria is a tense and horrific film. All the way through it builds to the final sequence perfectly and once that starts the film doesn’t back down. From the moment Sarah, played by Stefania Casini (Lontano da dove) is chased through the school, signally the beginning of the end, you’ll be on the edge of your seat entranced in the hypnotic quality of Argento’s masterpiece.
The film is perfectly shot, each camera angle and movement perfectly and deliberately framed. From its horrific and gory moments to the impeccable and flawless set design Suspiria is a captivating and magical piece of art. It’s a masterpiece of horror cinema. The music by Goblin is one of the striking and creepiest scores of all time. The effects, while dated now, are fantastic and still look creepy and unsettling. (There are a lot worse from films made almost half a century later). The lighting and set design is magical and the final sequence is breath-takingly tense. The whole film is spectacular nightmare of horror.
It feels like a very long time since I’ve gone on about the shows I’ve watched recently. That’s because I haven’t been watching much. I’ve been put off TV, mostly because I’m fed up with things being cancelled before finishing and partly because of the recent trend of so many episodes being an hour long at least, even if the story/script doesn’t justify it.
This year, I’ve re-watched 3 shows that mean a lot to me. Buffy and Angel were my first exposure to TV that wasn’t cartoons or comedy. I loved them as a kid and watched them religiously on video. I used to go to car boot sales with my mum and hunt down the next set of Buffy or Angel, it took a long time to see the end of Angel because of this. I remember Buffy in particular being very emotional and gripping and Angel being darker. Now I’ve finally gotten Tabby to watch them, and she loved it just as much I did.
Buffy is an excellent show that still holds up today. There are some bad episodes, but over the 7 seasons there’s a lot more to love. I found it a lot funnier this time around, probably most of it going over my head the first time. It’s on Disney +, and if you haven’t seen it, but like things like Supernatural then it’s worth a go. The first season is dated, but it really gets going in season 2. I think the writing is superb for the whole 7 seasons and there is some of the best episodes of TV throughout. ‘The Body’ from season 5 is a masterpiece in grief and emotion. ‘Hush’ is creepy and sinister.
Angel I was more disappointed with. I remember liking this more than Buffy, but this time around after season 1, which is great, it seems to go off the rails. Season 2 is okay, but 3 and 4 are poor. Season 5 does bring it back around, but I don’t think this is the classic I remembered it being. The storyline, especially in season 4 is a mess. Recent reveals by the cast, especially Charisma Carpenter, who played Cordelia, seem to explain why and it’s a real shame they had to go through that.
The other show that I’ve re-watched is How I Met Your Mother, which I first started watching just as I started university almost 10 years ago. I loved it at the time, filling the Friends shaped hole in my life. This time around I loved it just as much. I do think some of the humour, especially in the early seasons is a bit cringy and dated now, but overall it’s good and the emotional arcs are better than most other sit-coms. This is something I’ve tried watching with Tabby a few times, but her hatred of Ted always stopped us. Coming at it after Buffy, Tabby had an affinity for Lilly, played by Alison Hannigan (Willow from Buffy), and just ignore Ted.
The only other thing I’ve watched this year was WanderVision. It took a few episodes to get going, but was good by the end. It’s still pretty standard Marvel at this point, and I did find it forgettable after finishing it. I mean it came out 6 months ago, and I haven’t really thought about it since. I did binge watch it, after the first 2 not really grabbing me and I waited for the whole show to finish. I haven’t watched Falcon and the Winter Soldier or Loki. They just don’t appeal to me. Even though I’m a big comics fan and I do think that some of the films are fantastic, in general I find the MC throwaway entertainment and just don’t want to invest the time into the series. I’m sure I’ll get round to them eventually.
We’ve also started The X Files, another show that’s important to me from childhood. Tabby’s never seen it, so started that on Disney +. About half way through season 1. Enjoying it and looking forward to the more lore based episodes later on. I don’t remember a lot about the overarching story and looking forward to re-discovering that. Also re-watching Neon Genesis Evangelion, my favourite anime. It’s dark, full of big monster fights and incredible character arcs.
I’m also looking for a new sitcom to watch on lunch breaks. I’m thinking of starting New Girl. I started it way back when, but didn’t get very far. I think it’s time to give it another shot. 20 minute comedies are ideal for our lunches while working from home.
Ashley Manning 