Watching - August 2026

Rush (2013)

I think I first heard that this film was being made two years before it was released, and at the time I didn't know who Chris Hemsworth was (not having got on board with the MCU thing at that point). I don't remember seeing the F1 races in the mid-70s but it can't have been much later that I was reading everything I could about them, and this was the era I knew about. So the prospect of the film was very tantalising, and I was not disappointed, neither am I still. This is a great film, with layers and enough detail to bear rewatching. Last time I watched this I said that Niki Lauda was the real legend (and he is) but I'll go further this time and observe that this is actually Lauda's film, something reinforced when I watched the extras and the screenwriter, Peter Morgan, said that Lauda was an acquaintance.

Memento (2000)

This is where the Christopher Nolan reputation really started, I think. I'm not a Nolan fan but it's hard not to respect the fact that he makes intelligent films and is successful at it, in a market where that largely seems to have been forgone. I think his films tend to flatter the audience - you think, "oh, I get it, blimey, I'm clever, aren't I?" - but that doesn't mean that they aren't good. I remember seeing this for the first time, with no fore-knowledge, and finding it intriguing. This time round, it's still great seeing how the pieces all mesh into each other. I then watched the DVD extra of all the scenes in chronological order, and it's a pretty decent film that way round too.

The Fast and the Furious (2001)

The title makes no sense, the plot is somewhat sketchy in places, yeah it's transparently Point Break with cars - but it's hard to deny the fun factor.

The Map of Tiny Perfect Things (2021)

Comfort viewing!

The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

Family choice for pizza night - which everyone else had seen before, apart from me, and was enthusiastically recommending. Having watched it, I'm not sure why. The plot follows a very predictable path and the whole thing is set in an environment that I don't find remotely interesting or worth caring about. Some might argue that the film is ridiculing the fashion world (and Vogue and Anna Wintour in particular), but, obviously, it's intentionally glamourising it - the toxic boss, the abused assistant, and the obsession with surface sheen (the film made Wintour an icon when it should have made her an outcast, if this is how she really behaves). And equally obviously, that's what people love - the sequel isn't set in a newsroom, is it? I'm not sure why this offends me more than, say, the glamourisation of illegal street racing in The Fast and The Furious. I think it's probably because while F&F is clearly - to most intelligent adults - just fantasy, this is supposed to be aspirational.

The Odyssey (2026)

I've described editorial immunity syndrome before (although I've just invented the name!): it's when an artist is sufficiently successful that they can't be told to abridge their works, and it rarely results in better art. Christopher Nolan is now clearly suffering from this, unfortunately. The Odyssey is an over-blown, over-sold, over-long, over-loud mess. I can't speak about the film's fidelity to the original story and themes (although Emily Wilson, the author of a recently translation that Nolan claims to have been inspired by, is entertainingly scathing). What I can say is that, once you get past the impressive staging and cinematography, what's left is a few set pieces but nothing to really engage the emotions. If Nolan was less interested in deafening us and showing off his directorial skills in fight and storm scenes, perhaps we'd get a more interesting film.

Deadpool (2016)

Wince-inducingly graphic at times (although actually not as much as an episode of House I watched recently) but never less than very funny. The fourth-wall-breaking could be a little less prevalent and the jumping around the timeline obscures a fairly simple plot, but it's still hugely entertaining.

2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)

The first film was not exactly high art, but this makes no sense at all. Terrible.

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)

Unlike the second F&F installment, which comes across as having been written by 14 year olds, this does at least seem to have been produced by adults - albeit for 14 year olds. There are details that are fudged, but in general it's a much better film. And finally we get Vin Diesel back!

Reading - August 2026

Rush (screenplay) by Peter Morgan (2011)

Once again, reading an earlier version of a script makes for an interesting exercise in spotting the differences and speculating on why they occur. And also, I'm so impressed that someone can read this and then come up with the film.

The Life She Could Have Lived by Laura Pearson (2025)

"One Day meets Sliding Doors" says the blurb, and it's so obviously how it's structured that I wonder if that's how it was commissioned. But where both inspirations have a clear narrative arc, this splits into two and from there, they might as well be separate, slightly dull novels. I suppose the contrast is supposed to the feature here (and every now and then the main character ponders to herself what might have been if she'd made the other choice, just to emphasise this for readers slow on the uptake), but neither story line really goes anywhere interesting. What the book as a whole really lacks is some kind of resolution. The stories don't come back together in any way and the contrast between them doesn't really make a point that I can work out. And then the novel just stops. I was, unfortunately, left with a strong sense of "is that it?", because I'd only really kept reading to find out what it was all leading to.

Save The Cat! by Blake Snyder (2005)

An amusingly enthusiastic and enthusiastically amusing take on the "rules" of screenwriting. The irony here has to be that, even though Snyder had some success in selling scripts, the only films made from them were complete duds. One person said of Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot that "a flatworm could write a better script". The person? Sylvester Stallone - the film's star. Ouch. So why has the book been so successful, having spawned several sequels (ironic for a book subtitled "The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need" ...)? Probably because it boils what is obviously an art down to a formula, thus saving you the trouble of thinking. Still, as a watcher of films rather than a student or wannabe writer, I found it interesting, and it's a nice short read. But do yourself a favour and read William Goldman's classic (and much better) Adventures in the Screen Trade first, if you haven't already, and remember what he said: "Nobody knows anything".

Adventures in the Screen Trade by William Goldman (1983)

Well, I followed my own advice and revisited this classic. I've read it several times and recommended it many, many more - in fact, I'm on my third copy, as previously lent editions didn't come back (grrr). Yes, it's now over forty years old, and it's possible many of Goldman's observations don't hold any more - but I suspect they do. He was already bemoaning the onset of "pre-sold IP" (the whole MCU, anyone?), and his description of how stars have to be "protected" at all costs rings true. It's all wrapped up in such hugely entertaining prose that you don't even realise how much you're learning. Everyone with even a passing interest in film should read this (this means you, Piers!)

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k by Mark Manson (2016)

I very much enjoyed this: a self-help book that is blunt, truthful and doesn't sugar coat things in empty platitudes. Manson manages to convey some thought-provoking concepts in simple (and profanity-strewn) language. What particularly resonated was the idea that we should focus our values on things we can control, not things we can't, and that we are not responsible for other people's actions - but we are responsible for our responses, both in terms of what we do and in terms of how we feel about it. I also like the chapter titled "You Are Not Special" - this is something I often say to myself and to others. It's not a criticism, but a reflection of reality; "specialness" is a  misguided belief behind a lot of ugly entitled behaviour. I think I'd need to read the book again to properly think through the concepts, none of which are overly complex, but do need proper consideration.

A Voyage Around the Queen by Craig Brown (2024)

Another scrapbook biography from the author of One Two Three Four, and suffering from exactly the same problems. Judging by the quotes on the back cover, writers find the approach an exciting novelty. Sadly, as a reading experience the novelty is lost and it's just hard going, because there's no sense of continuity, just 112 disparate sketches. In fairness, it's better suited to Queen Elizabeth than The Beatles, since she was always a cypher, and I certainly learned some interesting bits and pieces. But it's too long and too disjointed.

The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth (1971)

Superb storytelling.