Category: 42 Word Retrospectives

American History X

American History X

dir. Tony Kaye (1998)

Film poster: “American History X” dir. Tony Kaye (1998)

A confronting and uncomfortable film that depicts extreme racism head-on, exploring its manifestation, causes and, above all, perpetuation. Ed Norton puts in a powerful performance as a full-fledged then reformed neo-Nazi skinhead, subtly complemented by Edward Furlong as his idolising younger brother.

Blake & Mortimer: The Time Trap

Blake & Mortimer: The Time Trap

by Edgar P. Jacobs; trans. Jerome Saincantin (Cinebook, 2014)

[from Le piège diabolique, 1962]

Graphic novel cover: “Blake & Mortimer: The Time Trap” by Edgar P. Jacobs; trans. Jerome Saincantin (Cinebook, 2014) [from Le piège diabolique, 1962]

Three Boy’s Own time travel adventures, unleavened by humour and heavy with in-story exposition—in addition to which, Jacobs keeps up a narrative voiceover that reads suspiciously like illustration notes-to-self inadvertently left pasted alongside each picture. Artistically accomplished but a real slog.

The Mountain of Adventure

The Mountain of Adventure

by Enid Blyton (Macmillan, 1949)

audiobook read by Thomas Judd (Bolinda, 2021)

Book cover: “The Mountain of Adventure” by Enid Blyton (Macmillan, 1949); audiobook read by Thomas Judd (Bolinda, 2021)

Alternatively ‘The Magic Mushrooms of Adventure’. Blyton’s framing story is a delight and features quite the menagerie: Kiki the parrot plus lamb, slow-worm, donkeys and Alsatians. Then she reaches the point where she has to extemporise a mystery/escapade… and goes utterly bonkers.

Groundhog Day (1993)

Groundhog Day

dir. Harold Ramis (1993)

Film poster: “Groundhog Day” dir. Harold Ramis (1993)

Perfectly executed, its scenario grounded in the real-world town of Punxsutawney and its annual Groundhog Day festival, the story riffing through loops that, while sometimes as dark as they are funny, reveal a surprising measure of philosophical depth. High re-watch value (appropriately).

Death of Mr. Dodsley

Death of Mr. Dodsley

by John Ferguson (The Crime Club, 1937)

audiobook read by David Thorpe (Soundings, 2023)

Book cover: “Death of Mr. Dodsley” by John Ferguson (The Crime Club, 1937); audiobook read by David Thorpe (Soundings, 2023)

Ferguson affords the reader meticulous access to the discoveries, theories and reasonings of both MacNab and the police, yet still manages to spring a surprise of two (albeit in part due to glassy-eyed oversaturation). The prose is pleasant enough, its deployment underwhelming.

Father Brown: The Absence of Mr. Glass

Father Brown: The Absence of Mr. Glass

by G.K. Chesterton; dramatised by John Scotney; (BBC Radio 4, 1987)

Radio adaption cover: “Father Brown: The Absence of Mr. Glass” by G.K. Chesterton; dramatised by John Scotney; (BBC Radio 4, 1987)

A single-episode addendum to Scotney’s two series of radio adaptations. Where Chesterton playfully mocked the Holmesian method, Scotney and Bernard Archard (portraying Holmes) go a little too far in demeaning the man himself. The concluding explanation of ‘Mr. Glass’ proves sadly facetious.

A Princess of Mars

A Princess of Mars

by Edgar Rice Burroughs (A. C. McClurg, 1917)

audiobook read by Scott Brick (Tantor, 2008)

Book cover: “A Princess of Mars” by Edgar Rice Burroughs (A. C. McClurg, 1917); audiobook read by Scott Brick (Tantor, 2008)

A freewheeling adventure aimed very much at an adolescent male market. Burroughs affects an erudite narrative voice (for pulp), and has invested sufficient thought to fudge a depiction of Martian culture. Events, however, transpire in an extemporised cavalcade, dreamlike and dramatically untethered.

Derelict Space Sheep