Citizen of the Galaxy by Robert Heinlein (1957), Audio CD read by Lloyd James (2004)

'Citizen of the Galaxy' is one of many juvenile SF novels written by Robert Heinlein. It tells the story of a boy named Thorby. At the beginning of the novel, Thorby is a child slave on a feudal planet, who is bought by the beggar Baslim. Baslim becomes his surrogate father and teaches him the value of education and hard work. However, Baslim is more than a mere beggar and leads a mysterious second life. When the police arrest Baslim, Thorby flees the planet on a space freighter.

The early part of the story about Thorby's adventures with Baslim on the Arabian-Nights-like planet are moderately interesting. Once the boy begins his journey on the space freighter, the story grinds to a halt as Heinlein brain dumps his study of anthropology on the reader. Perhaps back in the 50s, the idea that there could be societies based on extended families was new and exotic but in this age of the multiculturalism, Heinlein's laborious explanation is tedious. At that point, I gave up continuing the story.

1 out of 5 stars.

Review: Westworld (1973)

Sometime in the future, people can act out their fantasies in resorts populated by human-like robots. Two vacationers, Peter Martin (Richard Benjamin) and his friend John Blane (James Brolin) holiday in the 'West World' theme park, where they get involved in wild west set pieces, including shoot-outs with a particular robot called the Gunslinger (Yul Brynner). Other vacationers go to other parts of the resort, 'Rome World' and 'Medieval World'. Of course, the robots go awry and decide to do away with the guests.

Writer-director Michael Crichton's cautionary tale about technology going bad is surprisingly clumsy at the start, given his prior experience as a film writer and director. There are slabs of dialogue between the vacationers explaining how the theme park and the robots work, followed by even more exposition between engineers as they try to figure out what is going wrong with the robots. One feels that Crichton strayed too far from the technology that he was familiar with because the technobabble is very vague and does not stand up to mild scrutiny.

Where he does well is to create a believable tone and setting on a very tight budget, with parts of the film reminiscent of 'The Andromeda Strain'. The blurred line between humans and robots is illustrated in one striking sequence, the night-time collection of the 'dead' robots by emotionless human technicians. The film also features some of the first CGI effects, showing the Gunslinger's point of view.

Yul Brynner, who has virtually no lines of dialogue, is the most memorable is the implacable Gunsligner. Dressed in a similar costume as his character Chris in 'The Magnificent Seven', Brynner simply dominates all his scenes. The chase through the deserted resort complex is one of the best ever made.

3 out of 5 stars.

Review: Dune (1984)

Adapting Frank Herbert's complex galaxy spanning novel to the big screen was never easy. Since the novel's publication, various film makers, including Ridley Scott, have had a go. This version, adapted and directed by David Lynch, charts Paul Atreides' rise to power as the foretold super human 'Kwisatz Haderach' and leader of the Fremen, the natives of the desert planet Arrakis. Arrayed against him are the traditional enemies of his family, the Harkonnens, the scheming Emperor Shaddam IV, the Guild Navigators who control interstellar flight, and the Bene Gesserit who seek to control Paul. All the parties have a common interest in the spice 'melange', which provide the power to fold space and time, and is only found on Arrakis.

The production is lavish and detailed, with huge sets and elaborate costumes. In this universe, humans are cogs in the machine of empire, genetically modified for computation (mentats), space travel (the whale-like Guild Navigators and their attendants with brain drips) or war (the Imperial Sardaukar soldiers encased in environment suits). Characters are often dwarfed by huge steam-belching machines or starships, giving the film a hellish Victorian industrial atmosphere.

A lot of the casting in the film is spot-on: Kyle MacLachlan's Paul believably matures from the son of a noble to a leader; Francesca Annis is radiant and elegant as Jessica; Siân Phillips is a domineering Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother; José Ferrer is the scheming but weak Emperor Shaddam IV; and Patrick Stewart, who has hardly any lines, is effective as Paul's mentor, Gurney Halleck. Most memorable is Kenneth McMillan as the repulsive and cruel Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, with his pustule-ravaged face and flying suit.

The film is overburdened by the sheer number of ideas in the novel and by the filmmakers, to the detriment of the story. There is an excess of explanation, from the initial voiceover by Princess Irulan (Virginia Madsen), to scenes where the characters discuss some background or detail which are followed by internal monologues from each character explaining what was just shown on screen! Perhaps, as a product of the early 80s, there was a concern that audiences wouldn't understand SF ideas unless it was explained to them two or three times (the initial release of 'Blade Runner' also had a voiceover). There is so much exposition that it isn't until halfway through the film that anything actually happens, following which, there is a sense of inevitability about the ending that drains the rest of the film of any surprise or suspense.

Maybe the initial cuts of the film, much longer, are better structured. There is no way of knowing since they were just work prints, nor is a director's cut available. After the film's initial release, a longer version was made for TV without David Lynch's involvement; that version is just unwatchable.

1 out of 5 stars.

Review: Impostor (2001)

In 2079, Earth has been losing a war with aliens from Alpha Centauri for 10 years. The success of the Centaurians and their ability to create human-like robots create a climate of fear and paranoia on Earth, leading to the establishment of a totalitarian regime headed by a Chancellor.

The film starts with physicist Dr. Spencer Oldham (Gary Sinise), a high-ranking scientist in a government weapons organisation, putting the final touches on a new weapon against the Centaurians, and the Chancellor due to pay a visit to the facility. Unexpectedly, Oldham is arrested by Major Hathaway (Vincent D'Onofrio), who accuses him of being a Centaurian robot created to assassinate the Chancellor. Oldham escapes from Hathaway, but cannot turn to either his wife Maya (Madeline Stowe) or his best friend Nelson (Tony Shalhoub) for help. Instead, he flees to a devastated part of the city, where he meets Cale (Mekhi Phifer), a drug dealer, who he convinces to help him find evidence to prove that he is not a Centaurian. Meanwhile, Hathaway has organised a massive manhunt for Oldham in the city.

A surprisingly high-powered team of writers, Scott Rosenberg, Ehren Kruger, David Twohy and Caroline Case, adapted the 1953 short story, 'Imposter' by Philip K. Dick, for the screen. Gary Sinise (who was also a producer) gives Olham's character more depth than a typical hero in an actioner. Maybe they are fans of PKD, because they have kept many elements of the short story, the back story and the themes of identity and paranoia, while embellishing it with just enough flash to appeal to mainstream audiences.

This is not an out-and-out great film, though. The back story is revealed clumsily and you have to tolerate the obligatory sex scene before the action starts. It also seems to suffer from a limited budget and bland production design that makes it look like a TV feature rather than a cinema release.

A solid SF thriller.

3 out of 5 stars.

Review: Blue Collar (1978)

Zeke (Richard Pryor), Jerry (Harvey Keitel) and Smokey (Yaphet Kotto) are three friends who work in the assembly floor of a Detroit car company. The work is hard, and Zeke, the youngest of the three, is frustrated with the unwillingness of the auto workers union to help their members, while his older friends are more equanimous. When Zeke runs into money problems, he convinces his friends to help him burgle the local union office, an act which starts a chain of violent events.

This film has a surprising and effective performance by comic Richard Pryor, sans moustache, in the dramatic role as the voluble and vocal Zeke, who uses colourful language to get his point across. His co-stars don't have such flashy roles: Yaphett Kotto's Smokey is a quiet ex-con while Harvey Keitel's Jerry is an established family man.

The beginning of the film is interesting because it sets the scene to explore some of the social issues of the working class in America, a topic that seems to be completely ignored by mainstream American films. However, once writer-director Paul Shrader and co-writer Leonard Schrader introduce an FBI investigation into union corruption, the premise is effectively forgotten and the film turns into an OK low-key thriller.

3 out of 5 stars.

Review: Between the folds (2008)

Origami, the art of paper folding, is often considered a minor craft to keep kids occupied. Vanessa Gould's documentary Between The Folds shows us what dedicated practitioners can really do with origami. This film takes a broad perspective, showing you models can require hundreds of folds and computer software to design, models that represent the real and the abstract, and linking origami with computational geometry.

Having dabbled with origami all my life, I found the models and demonstrations fascinating, and I am amazed at the possibilities stemming from a single sheet of paper and the act of folding it. Film maker Gould narrates her documentary, and unlike the images and interviewees, her text is rather prosaic and uninspiring, and there are occasions that the narration is redundant and just describes what is on screen.

3 out of 5 stars.

Review: Identity (2003)

On a stormy night, on the eve of a convicted killer's execution, the killer's defence team tries to persuade a judge that the killer is insane and should be committed to an asylum instead of being executed. The case for the defence rests on the judge examining the killer, so he is being transported from prison to the court house. At the same time, ten travellers find that the highway is flooded, so they shelter from the rain in a motel. Among the travellers are Ed (John Cusack), an ex-cop driving a limousine, Paris (Amanda Peet), a call-girl and Rhodes (Ray Liotta), a police officer transporting a prisoner named Robert (Jake Busey). While they wait for the storm to abate, they find themselves being picked off, one by one, by a savage killer.

The start of the film is intriguing, with each person having a secret and a reason to distrust the others. However, after the first murder, things start to go downhill as the film veers between a slasher flick and an episode from 'The Twlight Zone'. Director James Mangold, who goes on to better things, doesn't handle the material well, relying too heavily on clichéd tricks to scare or horrify the audience. Even so, it could have been a passable popcorn flick ...

... Except that writer Michael Cooney adds one twist which invalidates the entire set up. We expect thrillers to use plot twists to keep you interested and a good twist (some so good that no one else could use it) would delightfully rearrange your perception of earlier scenes. In this film, the twist just made me feel cheated and after that point, I simply didn't care about what happens.

1 out of 5 stars.

Review: The Prestige (2006)

In the beginning of the 20th century in London, two magicians vie to create the most spectacular illusions. Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) comes from an aristocratic family, and he feigns an American accent and background to avoid embarrassing his family with his stage ambitions. His rival is Alfred Borden (Christian Bale), who comes from more humble beginnings. After the death of Angier's wife, the two magicians become enemies because Angier suspects Borden's role in her death. Over the years, the two men create more and more spectacular illusions, culminating in 'The Transported Man'.

The story, based on a novel of the same title by Christopher Priest, is told in two parallel threads. In one thread, Borden is facing the gallows for murder of Angier, is told from the perspective of Borden and Angier's illusion engineer, Cutter (Michael Caine). The other stream traces the careers of the two magicians and their escalating rivalry.

Writer-director Christopher Nolan and writer Jonathan Nolan structure their film like a magic trick, where the audience is drawn into the trick (the promise), the expected happens (the turn) and a surprise is revealed at the end (the prestige). However, they have provided only sketchy information about the two protagonists, which makes it hard to understand the origin and depth of their animosity, and also reduces the impact of the climax. For science fiction fans, one unexpected delight is the appearance of electrical engineer Nikolai Tesla (David Bowie) who provides Angier with a device for the ultimate illusion.

3 out of 5 stars.

Review: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)

After the end of the first film, good Transformers led by Optimus Prime join forces with locals to fight off more bad Transformers, who are looking for a power source called 'The Cube' hidden somewhere on Earth.

It's a Michael Bay film, so there's lots of action and flashy camera work but forget plot and characters. The action scenes are really disappointing because they are so grossly over-edited and a lot of shots are prematurely cut before they are finished, and you never feel the impact of any action.

The leads from the first film reprise their roles: Shia Le Beouf does what he can with his limited role while Megan Fox appears in a lot of embarrassing shots draped over motorbikes while wearing lip gloss and hot pants. John Turturro seems to have a lot of fun as the paranoid ex-government agent.

A struggle, even for popcorn effects and action flick.

1 out of 5 stars

Review: Mystic River (2003)

Three Boston boyhood friends, who have drifted apart over the years, meet again in unfortunate circumstances. Jimmy Markum (Sean Penn), a shopkeeper with a criminal past, and David Boyle (Tim Robbins) still live in the same neighbourhood, while Sean Devine (Kevin Bacon) has become a police detective. Their lives intersect when Sean and his partner, Whitey Powers (Laurence Fishburne), investigate a murder in the neighbourhood.

I found Sean Penn's acting a rather irritating set of twitches (he won the Best Actor Academy Award for this role, so what do I know?), Tim Robbins is great as the damaged David, while Kevin Bacon, who is given some dramatic space in a subplot with his estranged wife, does an acceptable job. Marcia Gay Hayden is incredible as David's frightened wife, Celeste, and Laura Linney has a curiously underwritten but critical role as Jimmy's wife, Annabeth.

With such an A-list of stars, and Clint Eastwood as director, it's not surprising that 'Mystic River', is for the most part, an engrossing drama and mystery. Shot in a prosaic style by Tom Stern, the gloomy inner suburbs of Boston, its surrounding parklands and the titular river, captures the sad mood of characters. All the overwhelming gloom and sadness, with no relief, becomes a bit wearing and the climax is rather inevitable.

4 out of 5 stars.

Review: Life on Mars (American) (2008)

Started well enough with stories based on the original British version, but went downhill quickly. The writers couldn't decide how Tyler's hallucinations should manifest, so they chose whatever prop was convenient, which diminished his fear and made him almost look forward to them. They also made it a device to move the plot forward once too often, like 'Medium', instead of keeping it mysterious and leaving us to wonder if Tyler was really in a coma or just mad.

Another big difference with the original series is the power dynamic between Sam Tyler and his boss, Lieutenant Gene Hunt. In the original series, Tyler was second-in-command, so Hunt had to tolerate him and the other detectives had to at least follow his orders. In this series, Tyler is just another detective, so why doesn't tough-guy Hunt just side-line or transfer him?

Other problem: Harvey Keitel, a great actor, is badly miscast Gene Hunt; he's simply too old to be running around bashing heads in.

2 out of 5 stars.

Review: The Thin Blue Line (1988)

In 1976, Dallas police officer Robert Wood is shot to death by the driver of a car that he had pulled over. A month later, the police receive a tip off from teenager David Harris and charge Randall Adams with the murder. Adams is subsequently convicted of the crime.

Film maker Errol Morris retells the events using his now-famous style of interviews, re-enactments, montages, and Philip Glass' minimalist music. The impact of the documentary comes from the participants telling their story and letting the viewer decide on the truth or falsity of the matter, so when Morris interjects editorially, for example, when he intercuts one witness' interview with a movie clip to demonstrate their self-delusion, it weakens the strength of his presentation.

The documentary starts strongly with the murder and investigation but drifts after the end of the trial, as Adams appeals his sentence through various courts but there is no one to guide us through the process or explain the significance of each court decision.

4 out of 5 stars.

Review: House of Sand and Fog (2003)

What happens when your memories and dreams are worth more than anything else in the world.

Ben Kingsley is just wonderful as the proud but inflexible Iranian exile Colonel Bahrani, while Jennifer Connelly looks appropriately depressed as the divorced Kathy. Weakest of the trio is Ron Eldard's deputy Lester, whose motivations aren't made clear until too late in the film.

Camerawork and editing are a bit hum-drum, and James Horner's score is over the top.

Superior tear-jerker.

3 out of 5 stars.

Review: The King of Marvin Gardens (1972)

After David Staebler (Jack Nicholson), a late-night radio host, receives an urgent call from his older brother, Jason (Bruce Dern), he rushes to Atlantic City to find Jason in jail. Jason has been living with Sally (Ellen Burstyn) and Jessica (Julia Anne Robinson) in a hotel room while wrangling a deal to build a casino in Hawaii. However, Jason's employer, Lewis (Scatman Crothers), a shady developer, feels he's been left out of the deal, and has contrived a felony against Jason.

Nicholson has a atypical subdued role, being the shy uptight sibling who tries to keep his brother grounded, while Dern is the impulsive and manic Jason who drags his initially reluctant brother deeper and deeper into his schemes, all the while keeping one step ahead of creditors and holding his entourage together.

This film is a series of loosely connected, noisy, and sometimes pointless scenes. Why does Jason need David to accompany him? Why does David go along with his brother? Why doesn't Lewis simply shut down the whole deal?

Not my cup of tea.

1 out of 5 stars.

Review: Casino Royale (2006)

New Zealand-born director Martin Campbell gets a second call (his first was 'Goldeneye' in 1995) to direct a reinvented James Bond, this time with Daniel Craig as Bond. The villain this time is Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), a banker for terrorists' funds. When MI5 learn that Le Chiffre is going to the Casino Royale in Montenegro to raise funds, Bond is sent to thwart him at the poker table. Accompanying him is Vesper Lynd (Eva Green), who's more intriguing than the usual Bond Girl and provides this film's love interest.

Writers Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Paul Haggis restart Bond's career, though it's not clear why. Early scenes establish that Bond is already a government-appointment assassin, so giving him a double-O license to kill seems superfluous. They also drop the terrorism and tinpot dictator premise, rendering the plot rather twee and removed from our post-9/11 reality.

Where the film excels are the high-impact and innovative action scenes, especially the parkour chase through a construction site and the bombing in an airport. Daniel Craig certainly has the right physique to suggest a much more athletic Bond in future films of the series.

A so-so outing for a new Bond.

3 out of 5 stars.

Review originally published in Morva House.

Review: All That Jazz (1979)

In this semi-autobiographical musical, written and directed by Bob Fosse, his alter-ego, Joe Gideon (Rob Scheider) is a chain-smoking, hard-drinking, workaholic choreographer, simultaneously directing a new Broadway musical 'NY/LA' and re-editing his over-budget and overdue film 'The Standup'. Fosse is also pretty harsh on Joe (and perhaps himself) by making Joe a serial womanizer. Joe's wife Audrey (Leland Palmer) had left him because of his repeated infidelity, and his present girlfriend Kate (Anne Reinking) soon discovers that he is bedding one of his dancers, Victoria (Deborah Geffner). The story starts realistically, but fantasy scenes where Joe chats with an angel (Jessica Lange) are used to fill in his background. As Joe's health deteriorates, the fantastic comes to the fore, culminating in rock opera-style performance of 'Bye Bye Love' by Scheider and Ben Vereen.

The film is like an hyperactive and edgy vaudeville show, entertaining, surprising and shocking us at the same time. Wonderful stuff.

5 out of 5 stars.

Review: Bitter Medicine by Sara Paretsky (1987)

During a hot August month in Chicago, private detective V. I. Warshawski investigates a murder which may have been triggered by a tragic event. In the course of her work, she runs into street gangs, pro-lifers, her ex-husband and the shady side of private medical care.

In this novel, the fourth featuring VIW, Paretsky has an accomplished, no-nonsense style befitting her tough-as-nails protagonist. Paretsky's style does make VIW seem a little cold blooded and sometimes a bit petty. It also makes VIW appear to be inordinately concerned about dressing correctly, which probably makes sense given that she usually relies on other characters' preconceptions to gain evidence.

One weakness is that the villain hardly features in the novel and, given what we are told, it makes the motivation for the crime a little far-fetched. Still, the pages turn quickly, there's some suspenseful moments and all loose ends are tied up in the end.

Stars: 3 out of 5

Review was original published in Morva House

Review: Human Nature (2001)

An especially hirsute woman, Lila Jute (Patricia Arquette), falls in love with uptight scientist Dr Nathan Bronfman (Tim Robbins). One day in a forest, they come upon a man (Rhys Ifans) who had been living as an ape in the forest since he was a child. Nathan believes he can make animals more intelligent by teaching them table manners, and the ape-man becomes an ideal subject for his research. His laboratory assistant, Gabrielle (Mirando Otto), sensing an opportunity for fame and fortune, seduces Nathan.

This fantasy, written by Charlie Kaufman, has a dismal view of human nature. The main characters, other than Lila, are little more than selfish chauvinistic hairless apes, ready succumb to their base desires, or to torture or betray their fellows at the drop of a hat. Director Michel Gondry, who also directs music clips, delivers some imaginative set ups and montages.

Somewhat interesting and amusing but slightly underdone.

2 out of 5 stars.

Review was originally published in Morva House.

Review: How to Read Novels Like a Professor: A Jaunty Exploration of the World's Favorite Literary Form (2008) by Thomas C. Foster

If you read novels for leisure, can you find a more enjoyment from reading? Thomas C. Foster thinks so. His book takes you through the elements of a novel, a brief history, narrators or voices, style and authors.

I oriented myself using the early chapter on a potted history of novels. Novels, as we recognise them, started from 'Robinson Crusoe' and 'Pamela' (and the first parody, 'Shamela'), became voluminous in the Victorian era due to serialization, took on stream of consciousness ideas in the early 20th century, were declared 'dead' in the late 60s, and were reborn soon after. While the history of the novel is incidental to the subject of reading, it often gives the reader some economic or social reason for the subsequent discussion about the stucture, subject and style of novel.

Foster's tone, as indicated by the blurb, is disarmingly light and chatty, but it continuously informs you of the benefits of analysing text as you read. There's some criticism that Foster overuses the same examples, such as 'Huckleberry Finn' and 'Ulysses', it is obvious that he loves those books and it is hard to imagine writing as enthusiastically about novels that you don't care as much about.

I found this a delightful book about the pleasures of reading.

5 out of 5 stars.

Review: The Front Page (1974)

On the eve of the biggest story in Chicago in the 1920s, star journalist Hildy Johnson (Jack Lemmon) tells his editor, Walter Burns (Walter Matthau), that he's quitting his job to get married to Peggy (Susan Sarandon). Burns is as determined to keep his best journalist as Johnson is to leave, and tries various schemes to get him to write the story and keep him in the paper.

This is one of the many film remakes of a Broadway comedy by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, and unfortunately, the stage origins of this film are rather obvious in this version. The acting is exaggerated and is uncomfortably shrill in moments, and the staging is obvious. It's only in the frantic climax does the film go beyond its origins.

Still, it's always fun to watch Lemmon and Matthau bounce off each other like the old pros that they are. Credit should also go to Jordan Cronenweth's luminous cinematography which brightens what would have otherwise been a dingy setting.

3 out of 5 stars.