Review of "The Bone Clocks" by David Mitchell

An uneven and somewhat unsatisfactory book. Bits of are beautifully written and compelling. The different chapters have different narrators and occupy different time periods; part of the point of the book is that some of the supernatural characters live very long lives and experience time differently from ordinary mortals. Some of the ordinary-mortal characters are well drawn, and either very funny, or very creepy, or sometimes both. The final dystopian chapter, set in a part of Ireland that I have visited (Sheep's Head in West Cork) was mainly very good, and almost stands alone as a piece of writing.

But the overall supernatural frame story wasn't interesting or compelling at all, and the elements of horror (which Mitchell seems to like - see "Slade House" - were a bit repulsive without being interesting.

Review of Howl's Moving Castle

I so wanted to like this - Studio Ghibli, a bit steampunk...but I didn't much. The narrative was confusing and muddled, a bit dreamlike but not in an interesting way. The characters developed relationships with each other, but there didn't actually seem to be any development. One minute they were scared of each other, and then they were best friends and lovers.

It looked great, of course, but that wasn't enough.

Watched on Netflix.

Review of Paris:13th Arrondisment

A black and white, moody and somewhat disjointed French film, about young people and their relationships. For most of the film these seemed doomed and hopeless - lots of energetic casual sex without love or any kind of emotional connection. One of the story threads is about a young woman who is mistaken for a cam girl who performs sex online, and is humiliated by her fellow students as a result.

Surprisingly, but not entirely implausibly, things sort of work out for everyone in the end.

Watched on BBC iPlayer

Review of The Holdovers

A really enjoyable and sometimes moving film about an unlikely subject - the boys who have to stay behind at Christmas in a posh New England private school and the curmudgeonly classics teacher who gets lumbered with looking after them.  Good acting, clever script, some unexpected plot developments, and art direction that convinced my friends who watched it with me that it really was made in the 1970s - rather than being made in 2022 but set in the 1970s. It even had the old-style "British Board of Film Censors" insert at the beginning.

Watched at Lansdown Film Club, and even though the film was two hours long it went by quickly, with no napping at all.

Review of What's Love Got To Do With It?

An arranged marriage romcom that wants to have its cake and eat it - to first make the case for arranged marriages and matchmakers, and then to undermine it, unsatisfactorily, with a plea for true love however incompatible the the lovers seem to be.

Some funny observations about the British Pakistani community, and some nice comic touches every so often. A long middle section in Lahore which felt like it was at least approved, and perhaps funded, by the Pakistan Tourist Board - Lahore looks wonderful and everyone is kind and happy.

Watched on BBC iPlayer. It's theoretically possible to watch iPlayer directly on our internet-connected TV, but in practice it's easier to watch it via phone, app, and Chromecast.

Review of The Boy and The Heron

Miyazaki's comeback film, the one he made after he'd retired. Not entirely sure he should have bothered. It's beautiful to look at, of course, and some of the fantasy landscapes and interiors are amazing. But the narrative and the plot are hard to follow and increasingly silly. A world populated entirely by giant carnivorous parakeets? Vicious pelicans that exist only to devour airborne souls on their way to earth for reincarnations (or is it just incarnation?)?

It's a bit like listening to someone tell you their dream, which is really important to them but makes little sense.

There are lots of explanations online, but none of them feel particularly satisfying.

Oh, and long too, and feeling even longer.