Book review - "Space Odyssey: The Making of a Masterpiece" by Michael Benson

 Exhaustive, detailed, surely definitive. Kubrick comes out of this very well but the movie shows him at his best - all the attention to detail paid off. The critics come out of it badly most missed the point.

I like the human touches - Keir Dullea's contributions, William Sylvester stuffing his lines take after take, Arthur C Clarke having to pay off the debts of his dodgy married boyfriend caused by a Sri Lankan James Bond spoof. I like the tribute to the fighting qualities of Robert O'Brien at MGM too. 

TV series - "Platonic Season 1" (2023) *****

 Just a great show. Funny, smart, with heart, different. Magnificent chemistry of the leads and the support are wonderful.

Movie review - "The Bulldog Drummond" (1960) **

 These Norman Wisdom films are getting me down. This one starts with a decent idea - love sick Wisdom is about to kill himself and decides to enlist in the Navy - but what follows is slapshash. There's two extended sequences which don't lean into the navy idea - him mountaineering and at the end launched into space.

Michael Caine and Oliver Reed can be glimpsed. 

Lon Chaney Jnr Top Ten

 1) The Wolf Man (1941) - what else? I'm not allowed to do a sequel, but I love them all

2) Of Mice and Men (1939) - before he was a horror star he got plaudits for this

3) High Noon (1952) - probably the best film he was in

4) Spider Baby (1964) - splendid late period stuff

5) One Million Years BC (1940) - makes a great cave person

6)  Son of Dracula (1943) - he's not good but the film is

7) The Black Sleep (1956) - very moving 

8) Witchcraft (1964) - brisk late period horror 

9) Man Made Monster (1941) - pulls out all stops, great fun 

10) Pillow of Death (1945) - one of the inner sanctum films 

Movie review - "Killers of the Flower Moon" (2023) ***1/2

 Scorsese gets off on people being executed. Period detail wonderful. Acting can't be faulted. Didn't have to be this long. Sorry but it didn't. Second half is better as it focuses on the investigation and there's story progression and less genocide. 

Keir Dullea top ten

 

1) 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) - he's actually perfect for this part

2) 2010: The Year We Made Contact (1984) - entirely decent sequel, no not as good but it tries, a lovely to see Dullea back

3) David and Lisa (1962) - the film that really launched his career, a little bit 'Simple Jack' but a sleeper hit

4) Mail Order Bride ((1964) - cute Burt Kennedy/Buddy Ebsen Western with Dullea as the romantic lead

5) The Thin Red Line (1964) - before the 1999 version of this novel there was this one... it's interesting, not as good as Malick, but worth a watch

6) Bunny Lake is Missing (1965) - Dullea was horrendously bullied by Otto Preminger, and received an almightly sledge from Noel Coward ("Keir Dullea, gone tomorrow") but the film is interesting

7) Madame X (1966) - one of many Ross Hunter remakes, this has Lana Turner camp it up and Dullea has her son - no way near a good movie but it is prime camp

8 ) The Fox (1967) - racy adaptation of the Lawrence novel with Dullea breaking up a tryst between Anne Heywood and Sandy Duncan

9) De Sade (1969) - Dullea's big chance after 2001, it had an excellent subject, writer and director but something went wrong (I think director Cy Endifeld went ill and seemed to have a nervous breakdown or something )

10) Black Christmas (1974) - fun early slasher. Dullea is a great creep.

I made it to ten films! Honorable mention to the Aussie TV movie Because He's My Friend (1978) where Dullea stars.

Movie review - "Make Mine Mink" (1960) **1/2

 Bright comedy which like so many British comedies from this era is about some thieves - Terry Thomas and some old ladies. It's based on a play and feels like that at first but gets better once it's up and running.