The Last 10 Movies – May 2025 edition. 

Fargo (1996) 

This is ONE weird movie. It's a bit ‘slow’ at times and complex, but it's just SO clever and SO funny. Frances McDormand is totally brilliant as the VERY pregnant cop investigating an apparent kidnapping. 

Batman Begins (2005) 

I was intending to watch the Christian Bale Batman trilogy but struggled through the first one, so didn’t take it any further. 

Star Trek II – The Wrath of Kahn (1982) 

Still my favourite ST:OS movie. Holds together fairly well even after all this time. 

The Satan Bug (1965) 

One of my all-time favourite films which I think holds up VERY well considering its 60 years. Well-paced, highly tense and with a lasting message. MUCH better than the original book. The 2nd best film of the year – so far. 

The Crow (1994) 

Much worse than I remembered it although it was quite stylish at times. Has NOT aged well! 

Civil War (2024) 

I was put off watching this by all of the associated press & stuff, but I finally took the bait.... I was actually VERY impressed by it! I thought it was a much better story than I thought it would be with some good/great acting – I especially liked the young cub reporter played by Cailee Spaeny. Best film of the year for me. 

Star Trek IV – The Voyage Home (1986) 

Rather hit & miss and badly aged, but it still has (probably) my favourite line in an ST movie: “No, I’m from Iowa, I just work in Outer Space.” 

The Borne Identity (2002) 

A great start to a very good series of films. Matt Damon is outstanding as Jason Borne. 

The Time Travellers (1964) 

I saw this EONS ago and the only thing I remembered was that a time viewscreen somehow turned into a time portal. Although it was VERY old fashioned and not particularly well done (or acted) it had a lot of interesting SF themes – Time travel, Nuclear war, mutants, android robots, a Space Ark....  

Farwell, My Lovely (1944) 

A pretty good Noir movie with Dick Powell as Phillip Marlowe. Lots of wisecracks, hoodlums, dangerous dames and gun play. FUN!  

Happy Birthday: Lady Margaret Beaufort (31 May 1443 – 29 June 1509) was a major figure in the Wars of the Roses of the late 15th century, and mother of King Henry VII of England, the first Tudor monarch. She was also a second cousin of Kings Henry VI, Edward IV and Richard III of England.

A descendant of King Edward III, Lady Margaret passed a disputed claim to the English throne to her son, Henry Tudor. Capitalising on the political upheaval of the period, she actively manoeuvered to secure the crown for her son. Margaret's efforts ultimately culminated in Henry's decisive victory over King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field. She was thus instrumental in orchestrating the rise to power of the Tudor dynasty. With her son crowned Henry VII, Margaret wielded a considerable degree of political influence and personal autonomy. She was also a major patron and cultural benefactor during her son's reign, initiating an era of extensive Tudor patronage.

Margaret is credited with the establishment of two prominent Cambridge colleges, founding Christ's College in 1505 and beginning the development of St John's College, which was completed posthumously by her executors in 1511. Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, a 19th-century foundation named after her, was the first Oxford college to admit women.

[She was an amazing woman that I really need to read more about... So watch this space!]

Just Finished Reading: A Brief History of The Tudor Age by Jasper Ridley (FP: 1998) [303pp] 

The Tudor dynasty is an endlessly fascinating period in our country's history. Not only was it a period of significant change but it was also the start of what would (briefly) become the British domination of the globe and we can still see echoes of this age almost everywhere we look – not just in castles (and ruins) but in beliefs and much else.  

Starting with a fast romp through the Tudor monarchy, the author covers a LOT of ground here. Looking at their impact on London, which wasn’t exactly a world class city when they began their reign, we move swiftly on to transport and the road system, the landed estates of the rich and shameless, house building in general, food, fashion and sport. The era was a turbulent one – to say the least! - so much attention is paid to changes in the political and religious landscape. To be honest I don’t know how people didn’t get philosophical whiplash over the changes in direction depending on who was in power – from Catholic, to Protestant, back to Catholic and then back to Protestant again. It does make the modern (or at least THIS modern) head swim. How did people keep up? Did people get confused about what they were supposed to believe on any particular day? I know that some people refused to change, or change back, which inevitably led to trials, sentences and deaths in various horrible ways. It was NOT a good time to hold firmly held and public views on almost anything without having a ‘flight bag’ pre-packed and a fast horse ready to take you to the nearest port. 

One of the things that did rather surprise me was the number and detail of the regulations of everyday life. Not only were people told who and how to worship but rules – enforced! - around where people could live, how and if they could travel, what they could wear and even how long they could have their hair where on the statute books for years or even generations. Apparently, people just accepted it and got on with their lives. Looking back 5-600 years this seems quite bizarre. But, of course, it was still in the age of the ‘Divine Right of Kings’ which was pretty hard to argue with. 

Although this book had some impressive breadth and that I learnt quite a lot of interesting details of life under various Tudors, I did find this book rather dry overall. It also irritated me at times when the author seemed to cover parts of the subject by essentially translating parts of the Tudor legal codes into modern English with little comment, expansion or explanation. I certainly intend reading (much) more about this period so I’m hoping/expecting that more modern historical works will be more readable and enjoyable. A generally good overview of the period and worth reading if you can source a copy. More to come..

Seems legit....

Just Finished Reading: The Infernal Device by Michael Kurland (FP: 1979) [259pp] 

It was an opportunity that was hard to turn down. American journalist Benjamin Barret would be at the test of Turkey’s latest weapon of war – a submersible that would be the envy of the world. But just as the sea trials began off the exotic city of Constantinople, tragedy struck, and a huge explosion sent the craft to the bottom. Still dazed by the day's events, Benjamin is arrested for murder and espionage, and it sentenced to death. With no friends and with his own embassy now against him he is forced to face his own demise until an unlikely saviour makes his appearance. Professor James Moriarty is there to make Barret an offer he simply can’t refuse – if the journalist consents to give the professor two years of his life in his service – no questions asked, then he will ensure Barret's captivity comes to an end and this he is spirited out of the country. With no other option he says yes and awaits his salvation. Back in London and now working for the professor Barret is given a special task suitable for one with his skill set. He is to use his journalist contacts and experience to help Moriarty to track down a very dangerous man indeed – a rogue Russian agent committed to one vision, to force the British Empire to engage Russia in all-out war. To do that he must goad the British into action by creating an atrocity that simply cannot be ignored. Only one problem stands in the way of Moriarty – his long time enemy and self-proclaimed nemesis: Sherlock Holmes. 

I’ve been looking into and slowly accumulating what I’m calling ‘Sherlock Holmes Adjacent’ (SHA) works for a while now but have delayed reading any of them until I finished re-reading the original works. This is the first one. One of the things that surprised me from my recent re-reads is just how little Moriarty is mentioned in the Sherlock stories despite him being built up as Holmes’ arch-enemy. Rather amusingly, there’s a comment – from Moriarty to Holmes – in this novel on that point exactly where Moriarty chides Holmes on his fixation with the Professor as some kind of ‘Napoleon of Crime’ despite being nothing of the sort. This is summed up by the quote: He who has one enemy will meet him everywhere.  In fact, Moriarty in this world is Sherlocks mirror-image as a ‘consulting criminal’ advising (though not controlling) criminals in their nefarious endeavours merely as a means of gaining money to continue his scientific research.  

Well written, full of interesting characters (including a more than adequate rendition of Holmes himself) and with a delightful slant on the genre, this was a fun read from beginning to end. I understand that there are four more books in the series, and I’ll be searching them out. Recommended to all Holmes fans. More SHA works to come – modern, strange and Classic.              

To say that we have 'mixed' weights & measures.... is a *bit* of an understatement....! [lol]

Happy Birthday: Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Considered one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year career. With an estimated more than 125 million records sold worldwide, he is one of the best-selling musicians of all time. Dylan added increasingly sophisticated lyrical techniques to the folk music of the early 1960s, infusing it "with the intellectualism of classic literature and poetry". His lyrics incorporated political, social, and philosophical influences, defying pop music conventions and appealing to the burgeoning counterculture.

Dylan was born in St. Louis County, Minnesota. He moved to New York City in 1961 to pursue a career in music. Following his 1962 debut album, Bob Dylan, featuring traditional folk and blues material, he released his breakthrough album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963), which included "Girl from the North Country" and "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall", adapting older folk songs. His songs "Blowin' in the Wind" (1963) and "The Times They Are a-Changin'" (1964) became anthems for the civil rights and antiwar movements. In 1965 and 1966, Dylan created controversy among folk purists when he used electrically amplified rock instrumentation for his albums Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited (both 1965), and Blonde on Blonde (1966). His six-minute single "Like a Rolling Stone" (1965) expanded commercial and creative boundaries in popular music.

In July 1966, a motorcycle crash led Dylan to cease touring for seven years. During this period, he recorded a large body of songs with members of the Band which produced the album The Basement Tapes (1975). Dylan explored country music and rural themes on the albums John Wesley Harding (1967), Nashville Skyline (1969) and New Morning (1970). He gained critical attention for Blood on the Tracks (1975), and Time Out of Mind (1997), the latter of which earned him the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Dylan still releases music and has toured continuously since the late 1980s on what has become known as the Never Ending Tour. Since 1994, Dylan has published nine books of paintings and drawings, and his work has been exhibited in major art galleries. His life has been profiled in several documentaries and the biopic A Complete Unknown (2024).

Dylan's numerous accolades include an Academy Award, ten Grammy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. He was honored with the Kennedy Center Honors in 1997, National Medal of Arts in 2009, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012. Dylan has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He was awarded a Pulitzer Prize special citation in 2008, and the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition".

Thankfully, my hay-fever is 100x better than it was back in my 30's and 40's. These days its just itchy eyes and random sneezes. But I did honestly *think* about wearing a FULL 'gas mask' at times! 

Just Finished Reading: Television Was a Baby Crawling Toward That Death Chamber by Allen Ginsberg (FP: 2006) [55p] 

Coincidentally, this is the second booklet of poetry in a row from my sequential picks from the recently purchased Penguin Classics boxsets. As previously stated, I am not now, nor have I ever really been, anything approaching a fan of poetry. This slim volume has not changed that opinion. Being far more modern than my previous read – covering the poet's output from 1947-1997 – this was certainly more relatable to than the Victorian poems I read a few weeks back and covered far more ‘modern’ topics such as sex, drugs and (no doubt) rock ‘n roll.  

Being a ‘Beat’ poet, I did feel that the booklet should be read whilst slightly drunk, slightly high and probably with some lightly tapping bongos in the background. Ginsberg was a radical of the period and (from Wiki) “vigorously opposed militarism, economic materialism, and sexual repression, and he embodied various aspects of this counterculture with his views on drugs, sex, multiculturalism, hostility to bureaucracy, and openness to Eastern religions”. This philosophy is very evident in his poems which drip with criticism of American culture and lifestyle. Both television and consumerism come in for some very harsh criticism. The last poem in the booklet - ‘C’mon Pigs of Western Civilization Eat More Grease’ - is a case in point, relentlessly pointing to the excessive eating habits of Americans especially as others around the world go hungry. 

There’s LOTS of pop culture and political references here and I’m afraid that most of them went somewhat over my head. I’m reasonably familiar with some US pop culture – especially post 50’s - but I’d have had to spend some time looking up things to even start to understand some of the poems in this collection. 

Whilst not exactly enjoyable reading, I wasn’t sorry that I have finally been introduced to one of the godfathers of Beat. If you’re curious about it/him this might be a useful entry point.  

Happy International Tea Day. Go make yourself a nice cuppa.... 

Well, things like Cubism and Dadaism emerged just before or during the Great War and exploded across the world shortly after, in no small part to the cultural shock of the war itself, in the 'Between the Wars' period rather than the Second World War... Personally, although I do prefer representative art (as regular viewers will no doubt be aware), I do like *some* modern art (or avant-garde) very much indeed. One of my favourite pieces - which I think is a work of pure genius is 'Nude Descending Staircase No 2' by Marcel Duchamp. The first time I saw it I thought it stunning, especially as it was from 1912. Modern art might seem 'easy' compared to previous works... but it's just different. It's still art.   

Just Finished Reading: How Civil Wars Start and How to Stop Them by Barbara F Walter (FP: 2022) [226pp] 

War is Hell, but Civil War takes it to a whole other level. Civil War is NASTY. Part of that is the belief – often by both sides – that the conflict is absolutely existential. Either they win or they are destroyed rather than ‘merely’ defeated. If they lose – they're DONE. But why do they happen in the first place? Some places have had multiple civil wars over the generations, whilst others have had few, only one or missed out completely. Why? This is the authors area of expertise. 

Interestingly civil wars have patterns. If you study them long enough and use enough examples from different cultures and across the century's patterns begin to emerge. With each stage passed or with each item checked off a list the odds of a country falling into civil war increases. It’s one way, or one metric, to assess foreign nations – to look at their stability, their reliability as allies or trading partners, their vulnerability to destabilisation by enemies and their future prospects. What the author found, much to her surprise, is that the same process, the same metrics, the same checklist, can be applied to her own country – the US - too.  

About 2/3rds of this often fascinating read looks at civil wars throughout the world, from Spain to Ireland, from post-revolutionary Russia to the breakup of Czechoslovakia after the collapse of the Soviet Union pointing out patterns, showing how the process moves from stage to stage until civil conflict breaks out. Although unique elements naturally exist there is a clear evolution being followed here – which, of course, gives those who want to prevent the descent into war an opportunity to break the chain of events and disrupt the process. This is what the author outlines in the final chapters of the book. 

There has, as we know, been much talk, indeed much heated rhetoric, about the possibility of a 2nd civil war in the US (so much so they made a film about it which is actually rather good). Even though I think that the odds of such a thing – at least in the sense of actual battles between competing armies – is rather low (although not zero) there remains the somewhat higher probability of increased low-intensity conflict between the increasingly polarised sides in the present ‘culture war’. Several significant lines have already been crossed, and it is not inconceivable that the remaining lines between the present political posturing and an exchange of more than words could happen in the months/years ahead. If one side or the other losses hope than change – or mere survival – is not possible without violence to defend their position, well, all bets are off at that point. We’re not there yet – and we’re probably still a long way from that point, but as far as I can tell from this side of the pond the momentum is continuing in that direction. If I was a betting person, which I’m not, I’d put the potential tipping point (all other things being equal) in 2026 with the mid-terms or, more likely I think, with the 2028 election. Either way the next 3-5 years are going to be turbulent to say the least! 

I think the most important aspect of this interesting read was the way it highlighted the dangers – no ‘It can’t Happen Here’ head in the sand between these pages – without either salivating at the prospect or losing hope that such a thing is either inevitable or unavoidable because it isn’t. The progress towards or retreat from civil war can be both observed and opposed to ensure it doesn’t happen here. This book will help you to understand why civil wars happen and also give you some tools and some idea of what to do to avoid them. Definitely recommended in these ‘interesting’ times. 

Happy Birthday: Edward Jenner (17 May 1749 – 26 January 1823) was an English physician and scientist who pioneered the concept of vaccines and created the smallpox vaccine, the world's first vaccine. The terms vaccine and vaccination are derived from Variolae vaccinae ('pustules of the cow'), the term devised by Jenner to denote cowpox. He used it in 1798 in the title of his Inquiry into the Variolae vaccinae known as the Cow Pox, in which he described the protective effect of cowpox against smallpox.

Jenner is often called "the father of immunology", and his work is said to have saved "more lives than any other man". In Jenner's time, smallpox killed around 10% of the global population, with the number as high as 20% in towns and cities where infection spread more easily. In 1821, he was appointed physician to King George IV, and was also made mayor of Berkeley and justice of the peace. He was a member of the Royal Society. In the field of zoology, he was among the first modern scholars to describe the brood parasitism of the cuckoo (Aristotle also noted this behaviour in his History of Animals). In 2002, Jenner was named in the BBC's list of the 100 Greatest Britons.

Just Finished Reading: As kingfishers catch fire by Gerard Manley Hopkins (FP: 1918) [53pp] 

The last time I actually read, and indeed enjoyed reading, poetry was over 50 years ago. I had an old, battered hardback containing a smattering of verse and actually liked some of the works to memorize them. Five decades later I still remember bits and pieces of one by John Donne (a love poem) and ‘The Walrus and the Carpenter’ by Lewis Carrol parts of which at least I knew by heart. So, it's been a while...   

To be honest, poetry really isn’t my ‘thing’ and the reason I read it (although I did skim bits) was that it’s the next booklet in the Penguin Little Black Classics set. One of the reasons I bought this 80-booklet collection was to expand my reading especially beyond my comfort zone. Mission accomplished. Despite its size this volume contained around 30 short poems by the author. According to the minimalist blurb on the back they were considered unpublishable in his lifetime (he died in 1889) and were only published by his friend, and fellow poet, Robert Bridges in 1918. I’m guessing (very much) that they were considered too ‘modern’ or ‘experimental’ at the time and had to wait for the world to catch up. 

The poems largely fell into three categories – nature (which I liked the best although saying ‘liked’ is somewhat of an exaggeration), God (he was a priest after all) and dark depressing rumination. Even though I only read this less than two weeks ago I can barely remember any of them – except I know one was about a copse of Aspens that had been cut down where he normally took his local walks. Somewhat strangely the last 14 pages consisted of extracts from the poet's journals where he recorded the weather and the occurrences on his walks in the country plus a hiking trip with a friend in Switzerland. I thought this was the best and most interesting part of the booklet [grin]. 

So, not for me I think, although others might enjoy. More much more modern poetry to come – soon!   

Just Finished Reading: The Escape Artists – A Band of Daredevil Pilots and the Greatest Prison Breakout of WW1 by Neal Bascomb (FP: 2018) [267pp] 

Most of us will be familiar with the PoW camp breakouts of WW2 popularised by such films as ‘The Great Escape’ but what about the Great War? One thing that I hadn’t realised, until reading this interesting narrative, was the fact that prisoners at that time where not covered by what we now think of as the Geneva Convention. The Third Geneva Convention "relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War" was only adopted in 1929, so any prisoners taken from 1914-1918 would have been covered under the earlier, and much less precise or robust, Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907. This meant that at least some of the captured could be forced to work for the opposing side and could have their freedoms restricted on top of their actual captivity. Indeed, they could be denied all of the ‘rights’ including their right to life itself with only the possibility of retribution after the war or the fear of reprisals against their own soldiers in captivity to stop them. The running or various camps – in Germany in this case – was, by and large, up to the officer in charge under whatever direction he had been given from his superiors. 

What was also clear, as we were still in the era of Edwardian sensibilities and the (mostly) rigid class system, was that officers and ‘other ranks’ were treated VERY differently within the PoW system. Although not actually in the regulations of the British Army it was considered the duty of an officer to at least try to escape. If an enlisted man did likewise, and was caught, it was entirely possible that he would either be shot or, at the very least, sent somewhere to serve out the rest of his captivity doing hard labour for the enemy. If an officer successfully escaped and was later recaptured, they might very well be punished – usually be a period of solitary confinement and loss of any privileges – but they would, by and large, be physically safe. So, it’s no surprise that any escape, attempted or successful, was undertaken by officers only although assisted by their enlisted men who were essentially ‘escaping’ by proxy. 

The main thrust of the narrative was the escape of around 30 captives – Army and RFC in the main – from the Holzminden camp where the most persistent and hardened escapees from other camps were held. [Side note: Its always amused me the way that the authorities kept the most dangerous people in the same place so that they could plan things together and learn from each other's mistakes and who, eventually, expressed shock and surprised when the best of the best managed to break out of supposedly escape proof facilities]. The place did have a ‘Colditz’ feel to it which helped with visualisation and the author made a valid point when pointing out that the escape ‘philosophy’ often felt familiar (from the arguably much more famous WW2 escapes) because the escapes of WW1 actually informed the escape and evasion training given during WW2. 

I won’t give too much away about the escapes and how they were accomplished (from various camps before Holzminden as well as the place itself) but needless to say they were as various and as excentric as the officers devising them. This is/was one of the aspects of war that I haven’t really thought about or read about previously, but I think I’ll see if I can pick up a bit more on the subject. Although obviously written by a non-historian this was still an interesting and sometimes moving tale of fortitude, grit and determination under often extreme circumstances. Recommended if you’re interested in this aspect of warfare or just want some ideas of how to get out of a secure facility. 

"It's not likely to be a coincidence that the global shift away from democracy has tracked so closely with the advent of the Internet, the introduction of smart phones, and the widespread use of social media."

Barbara F Walter, How Civil Wars Start and How to Stop Them.