Book review - "Nora Ephron: Everything's Copy" by Liz Dance (2015)

 I was hoping for an indepth bio - this is more of an academic work, an analysis of text which is always dangerous with filmmakers because texts change so often due to external factors. I guess in Ephron's case she was a director with power (most of the film) so her films can be taken more as texts and of course she wrote. There's a lot of analysis of Ephron's essays, scripts and prose... not so much unfilmed scripts which I think would have been interesting. It also looks at the work of her parents and sister. Not bad, I think I was just looking for something more.

Movie review - "HealtH" (1980) **

 Robert Altman does a Nashville on a health food convention - apparently there are such things - only I think it's a metaphor for a political convention. The various candidates include Glenda Jackson and Laura Bacall, with people like James Garner, Paul Dooley Alfre Woodard and Carole Burnett helping and/or running interference. Dick Cavett has quite a large role as himself.

It is bright and lively but I couldn't get into it. It's like watching some stage play where the jokes fly across my head. I didn't mind it - it's colourful, the actors are good, I enjoyed the Florida locations (the budget was $6 million which isn't bad) - but it was meh. I don't think it's held in high regard amongst Altman fans but I could be wrong. As Patrick McGilligan said in his Altman bio, it feels like a first draft.

This was the last of five films Altman made for 20th Century Fox. After this he did Popeye then it was off to independence land.

Movie review - "Fuzz" (1972) **

 One of the its-hard-to-run-a-police-station-in-the-grimy-inner-city sub genre, later familiar on TV shows like Hill Street Blues. It's an ensemble piece although it features three icons, Burt Reynolds, Yul Brynner (a small role) and Raquel Welch. There's a variety of subplots, various crooks, sleaze, and lots of politically incorrect humour like Tom Skerritt molesting Welch on stake out, Reynolds and Jack Weston dressed as nuns.

I didn't like it. The tone is bleak and smart arse. I know exactly the sort of people who would like this movie. I felt really sorry for Welch who was trying to do a good job.

Book review - "Captain Blood" by Rafael Sabatini

 A cracker of a book. Once I got used to Sabatini's slightly old time-y prose (his dialogue was first rate) it was a great yarn - establishing Blood, getting him falsely convicted quickly, shoving him out to the West Indies and turning pirate etc etc.

I thought the 1935 Warner Bros adaptation was first rate - keeping the early structure and lots of dialogue, but wrapping it up early. In this one Blood finds a guy who has come out to offer him a commission... but this new bloke likes Arabella and there's all this extra section where Blood goes to serve the King of France and fights with a dodgy Frenchman (it repeats the section with the pirate) and serves the kind of Spain.

A very good pirate book.

Book review - "Songs of Spiderman" by Glen Berger

 The story of this famous Broadway fiasco is an interesting one because of the talent involved - US, Julie Taymor, Spiderman... Berger co wrote the book with the director so was ringside for the action. 

The book is very easy to read, I finished it quite quickly, while listening to the soundtrack. The songs weren't great - some are but not all. Bono and the Edge come out of the book fantastically - talented, collaborative, enthusiastic, kind. Taymor is more erratic but sympathetic. Berger tries to be fair, but I think he's a little unfair - she wouldn't compromise, but is that good or bad. I was empathetic to Berger - I've been in situations like this not knowing when to bend and when to break.

My own two cents on what went wrong: Taymor was really jazzed by a villain she thought up herself, Arachne, who isn't in the comics. I think they needed to go with that (and a smaller budget) or a new director, from inception. But I guess that's in hindsight.

Neil Jordan wrote the original treatment! Berger hates Michael Riedel, gossip columnist for New York Post.

Movie review - "Fool for Love" (1985) **

 Sam Shepherd plays aren't really for me but this might've worked really well on stage, with the actors right there, going for it. As adapted for film it's just a long slog - there's not much story and it's 100 minutes, taking 10 minutes for Shepherd (who plays the male lead) knocking on Kim Basinger's door.

The actors try. Robert Altman puts some scenes outside in a car park and in an empty diner to open it up but it's still slow moving and dull. So dull. Randy Quaid is in it, and Harry Dean Stanton. The actors are fine. The motel burns at the end. Great. Whoopee. Sorry this film put me in a bad move. Good on Cannon for trying to be arty but what about something more cinematic?

Movie review - "The Day of the Jackal" (1973) ****

 You see this is how you adapt Fred Forsyth - respect the research, do it as a quasi documentary, film on location, respect the source material if it's good. This is a procedural thriller, where the joy is in the detail, benefiting from Forsyth's decade plus experience as a journalist.

Edward Fox's relative anonymity works for him. The support cast features vaguely recogniseable faces like Michael Lonsdale (I like how he's not introduced until later it feels more real), Delphine Seyrig (as the woman who can't resist the Jackal's bod... a trashier element of the novel), and Derek Nimmo. 

I will admit at 140 minutes director Fred Zinnemann maybe pushes it a little but the climax is terrifically entertaining and it's a very good movie.