Category Archive: FILM
Our Mother’s House
(Dir. Jack Clayton) (1967) This is a film of definite morbid interest, the kind of dark, small, quiet, quintessentially English film we’ve come to expect from Dirk Bogarde. Here he is the totally useless dad, Charlie Hook, who answers a letter from one of his children (at least, we think it’s his), living together (all eight of them), in their late mother’s house. What happened to mum? Well, she was ill and passed on, you see, “gone to join Jesus,” so naturally they buried her in the garden. And continue cashing her welfare cheques. Their scheme to ‘carry on’ is subverted…
Continue Reading →Prisoners
(Dir Denis Villeneuve) (2013) A disclaimer is probably in order – The Varnished Culture has spent quite a bit of time, trouble and ingenuity avoiding Hugh Jackman. That’s right: we’ve managed to dodge his horse-opera, Australia; we’ve shied away from his faux opera, Les Misérables; we contrived to avoid Wolverine’s psychotic clutches in the 900 odd versions of X-men in which Hugh has appeared. And if we are to watch Professor Van Helsing tackle Count Dracula, we’ll take Edward Van Sloan, thanks. As a matter of fact, we recall seeing Hugh only once before, as a very shadowy character in Scoop, in which he was,…
Continue Reading →The Other Boleyn Girl
The other, other Boleyn girl (Anne, 1501-1536)
(Dir. Justin Chadwick) (2008) Anne Boleyn died on 19th May, 1536, in the Tower of London. We remember her and her lost head, and refer you to our account of a visit to Henry’s and her happy home at Hampton Court. We also recall this film (adapted from Philippa Gregory’s novel) about her, her younger sister Mary, and King Henry VIII. A Reformation Days of Our Lives, the inevitable expository dialogue, hey nonny nonny nonsense and sumptuous set pieces cloy early, and while the acting is earnest and worthy, these are historical manikins. Historians generally agree that Mary was not…
Continue Reading →Anatomy of a Murder
(Dir. Otto Preminger) (1959) Former D.A. Paul Biegler (James Stewart) would rather go fishing than push paper around his law office, divorcing Jane from John Doe, threatening a few deadbeats – but when a juicy murder trial comes his way, he is persuaded to take it on: his drinking buddy (Arthur O’Connell) needs the action and his secretary (Eve Arden) needs the fee to pay her wages and get some new typewriter ribbon (the ‘P’ and ‘f’ are wonky – her contracts keep saying “The arty of the irst art“). But prospects of an acquittal look pretty bleak – the accused, Lt. Manion…
Continue Reading →Safety Last
Safety Last...Todd Russell 'clocks off' (checks in his personal safety tag)
9 May 2016 10 years ago today, Todd Russell and Brant Webb left the Beaconsfield mine in northern Tassie, where they had been trapped for two weeks. We honour them and their not-so-lucky comrade, miner Larry Knight, who perished far underground. However, their dramatic story remains ripe for political and commercial exploitation – there’s a TV mini-series in the offing, and a photo-opportunity has already availed itself on the campaign trail. See our updated link to Ace in the Hole for more details.
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