"The Lobster", directed by Yorgos Lanthimos

Movie, 2015 Relentless, surreal film in which single people have forty-five days, under a strict regime in a strange hotel, to find a loving relationship or be turned into an animal. Events unfold and are, at turns, striking and brutal, with a few jaw dropping moments, but more often , an uneasy sense of a fil trying to be too odd and profound. The mood, … Continue reading "The Lobster", directed by Yorgos Lanthimos

"Watchmen", directed Zack Snyder

Movie, 2009 Clever but disjointed alternative history film, which probably needs some previous knowledge of the characters to appreciate exactly what’s going on. This is a super hero film where the superheroes are anything but, and are being picked off by forces unknown. This pathos and the lack of over-CGI’d sequences and crashing soundtrack work in the film’s favour, although the muttered dialogue (especially from … Continue reading "Watchmen", directed Zack Snyder

"Chalcot Crescent", by Fay Weldon

Novel, 2009 A novel set in a crumbling London not so far in the future, in which political and counter political oppressions are played out against the backdrop of entangled family relationships. While the evocations of a ghoulish capital are strong, the complex inter-relationships and the hugely unreliable narrator make it difficult to follow what’s going on and how characters related to each other. This … Continue reading "Chalcot Crescent", by Fay Weldon