entertainment – Page 2 – The Daily Opinion

Film Review: To Kill a Mockingbird

If I was allowed just one word to sum up this movie it would be, “beautiful”. For it truly is. I caught it recently on TV (mercifully without those dangerously irritating commercial interruptions), and as the end credits rolled, a feeling of what I can only describe as ‘euphoria for being alive’ came over me. I’m sure you know what I mean – when you behold something so incredibly worthy of our world that it just makes you glad to be here, be it a clear night sky riddled with a billion stars or a toddler’s first steps towards your beckoning arms, smiling a smile that just melts your heart.

What possibly makes the film so beautiful is the way that it’s told through the eyes of six year old Scout Finch (Mary Badham) who, together with her older brother Jem (Phillip Alford), lives in the fictional ‘tired old town’ of Maycomb, Alabama with their widowed father Atticus (Gregory Peck) sometime during the Great Depression.

I shall refrain from giving away too much of the plot but the meat of the story can be divided into two parts. Firstly, the children, together with a visiting boy named Dill Harris (John Megna) who comes to Maycomb every summer to stay with his aunt, are fascinated to learn the truth about one of their neighbours, the mysterious and reclusive ‘Boo’ Radley (played by Robert Duvall in his big screen debut). This involves lots of childish antics like spying through the neighbour’s windows and knocking on their front door then running away to hide. All perfectly charming kid’s stuff and you can’t help but love the little rascals for it.

The second part concerns their father – a town lawyer – and his defence of Tom Robinson (Brock Peters), a black man accused of raping a young white woman. With the action taking place sometime in the 1930s at a time when black people were viewed in the town to be inferior than whites, things basically don’t look good for Tom. But Atticus, who believes that all people should be treated equally and fairly, is determined to seek the truth even if it sets the town against him.

For me, the greatness of the film lies in the way it weaves this second storyline (which even though it’s the business of the adults, we, the audience, still receive via the eyes and ears of Scout) so seamlessly with the first. And it’s this innocent person’s perspective of not fully comprehending the reason why things are happening the way they are, that gives the film its power. Racism really doesn’t make any sense.

Of course, such greatness on screen is born out of great writing and To Kill a Mockingbird is Harper Lee’s 1961 Pulitzer Prize winning novel. The book itself is a masterpiece and has since become a modern classic of American literature and Robert Mulligan (director) together with Horton Foote (screenwriter) did one of the best jobs in the history of cinema of turning a novel into a film.

Foote won the Oscar for his screenplay and Peck won the only Oscar of his long and distinguished career for his sublime portrayal of Atticus Finch. The film’s third and final Oscar win was for its Black and White Art Direction-Set Direction. There were five more nominations for it at the 1963 Academy Awards including Best Picture (Alan J. Pakula), Best Supporting Actress (Mary Badham – who at 10 years old held the record for the youngest nominee in this category until Tatum O’Neal won for Paper Moon in 1973), Best Director (Mulligan), Best Cinematography (Russell Harlan) and Best Music Score (Elmer Bernstein). Bernstein’s music is effortlessly moving and the black and white cinematography serves well at placing the film in the time it was set. Of course, there are numerous other awards and honours the film has garnered over the years and to list them would require more space than I have here but perhaps the most significant is this –

The American Film Institute named Atticus Finch the greatest movie hero of the 20th Century. I find this quite remarkable when you think of all the gun-toting, macho types that typify a movie hero these days. Well deserved of the honour he is too. And well deserved was Peck’s Oscar. According to IMDB, he nailed his 9 minute summation speech in one take and if you’ve seen it, you’ll know it’s a seminal courtroom monologue.

On second thoughts, maybe my one word to sum this film up would be, “perfect”. For in cinematic terms, that’s what it is. But there’s been so much praise about this film since its release in December 1962 that a few more words from me mean very little. Therefore, I will let one of the film’s original tag lines have the last word.

If you have read the novel, you will relive every treasured moment…If not, a deeply moving experience awaits you!

Book Review: Atlantis and The Silver City by Peter Daughtrey

Although I found Peter Daughtrey’s book interesting, I have little knowledge of the subject area, while a friend of mine has a firm interest in classical history. Given his intrigue in the book I thought it best to offer him the opportunity to review it. The following is Robin Temple’s review of Atlantis and The Silver City.

“Atlantis and the Silver City” is Peter Daughtrey’s account of his theory of the location of the mythical land of Atlantis. Born in England, the author now lives in the South of Portugal, pursuing his lifelong interest in ancient civilizations. A serendipitous find in a local museum in the Algarve sparked his hypothesis that the seabed of Southwest Iberia once formed the cultivated plains of Atlantis, the Northern mountains of which still exist in the Algarve. Based on the descriptions in the texts of the greek philosopher Plato, Daughtrey identifies Silves, as the eponymous capital of Atlantis.

The book is hard to categorise: it is partly a report, partly an exposition of the author’s hypothesis, interspersed with fictional accounts of the Atlantean past – akin to a docu-drama in book form. As you might expect, this mix of styles offers an unusual and riveting read. The author might not be a trained historian nor archaeologist, and certainly does not pretend his book is an academic text. Instead, from the word go you are taken on a journey of discovery, based somewhere between fiction and fact, and you are sure to be entertained.

It is a vibrant collection of matches between his interpretation of clues in Plato’s text and the landscape in Southwestern Iberia. However, serious readers should approach with care and skepticism, as much of the supporting arguments come from like-minded laymen and the book does not relate the core hypothesis comprehensively to the academic literature. Much of the matches identified by Daughtrey are based on his correction of supposed mistranslations of Plato’s text. It is not necessary to be a expert in classical languages to imagine that the textual history of two thousand year old manuscripts leaves much for debate, even more so the interpretation and translation of single words. This uncertainty also allows for many different possible interpretations of the clues.

“Atlantis and the Silver City” should be read as the account of someone having fun unearthing clues in a historical detective story. Daughtrey’s writing style is very satisfying to read and he does not distance himself from the reader by using overly complex phrases or terminology. His use of different writing forms keeps the pace of the book interesting and the reader engaged, making it a good book to read even if you have no prior knowledge of the subject area. As a skeptic of the topic unfortunately Daughtrey failed to persuade me of the true location of Atlantis, but perhaps other readers might come to a different conclusion.

Classic TV Review: Secret Army

For anyone who may have cast an inquisitive or nostalgic eye over my review for the TV show Colditz last September, this piece will probably come as no surprise. I did, after all, say it was highly likely I would bring this show up again. Classic British TV pretty much sums Secret Army up.

It was created by Gerard Glaister (that’s the link with Colditz) jointly by the BBC and the Belgian BRT (now VRT) and it originally aired between September ’77 and December ’79 just about at the time my parents ushered me off to bed. I can well remember being awed by – and a little bit afraid of – the atmospheric and rather bleak opening titles and that wonderful, almost Rachmaninoff-like theme tune which does such a fine job of setting the tone for the show. Alan Jeapes, whose other credits include Eastenders, won a BAFTA for his efforts with these opening (and presumably closing) titles while Robert Farnon, who also wrote the music for more than forty films including Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. gave us the theme tune.

Secret Army is a story about a fictional resistance movement in Belgium during the Second World War called ‘Lifeline’. Loosely based on the real life ‘Comet line’ which helped allied soldiers and airmen return to Britain via France and Spain and on through Gibraltar, there is a realism to the show that makes it totally engaging. Indeed, Glaister, who was an RAF pilot during the war and would later be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his services as a photo reconnaissance pilot in the Western Desert, drew on his experiences as inspiration for the series.

The Café Candide is the main setting of the show and it is run by Albert Foiret (Bernard Hepton) and acts as the hub for the characters. It is the Rovers Return (apologies for another soap reference) of the show, where meetings take place and information is passed that drives the plots. The café is situated somewhere around Brussels where the locals as well as the occupying Nazi forces frequent the place while Albert covertly helps Lisa Colbert (Jan Francis) – a doctor’s assistant by day and a leader of the resistance by night – run ‘Lifeline’. Other members of this ‘secret army’ abound such as the waitress Natalie (Juliet Hammond-Hill) and Albert’s mistress Monique (Angela Richards). If this scenario is beginning to ring bells, then those bells are most probably chiming the theme tune to the sitcom ‘Allo ‘Allo!, which was a hugely popular but dare I say it, rather idiotic, parody of Secret Army, which ran from 1982-92.

The rest of the characters are either locals, fellow collaborators like S.O.E. Officer Flight Lieutenant John Curtis (Christopher Neame), Nazis or allied officers trying to get back to Blighty and it’s the job of the resistance to make that happen. Of course, there would be no tension if there wasn’t the opposing force and therefore, it’s the job of Major Brandt (Michael Culver) and Sturmbannführer Ludwig Kessler (Clifford Rose) to capture every single evader, unearth every safe-house and to close down the evasion line. And therein lies the game of cat and mouse, the show’s recipe for excitement, as one side always tries to gain the upper hand on the other. But it’s a game that costs lives.

I can’t tell you what happens to the characters as the show progresses through its 43 episodes (3 seasons) because I haven’t seen them all yet. But what I have seen has been enough to make me cross my fingers and hope that it gets a rerun on TV soon. There’s nothing gratuitous in the writing, as there is with many contemporary shows; it’s just damn fine storytelling inspired by real-life events. In fact, according to the trivia on IMDB, every one of the scripts were based on real events and thoroughly researched to the point that on more than one occasion, the BBC had to reject a script on the basis that it was deemed too accurate and therefore potentially upsetting to audiences or too politically sensitive. How’s that for reality TV.

Film Review: My Man Godfrey

I hope you haven’t had a complete bellyful of the Oscars just yet because I’ve got one more little fact I’d like to share with you which I stumbled upon while reading up for this review. It’s no game changer and nothing that’ll have you losing sleep so don’t worry but, here goes – The 9th Academy Awards ceremony which was held in March 1937 was the first time that supporting actors and actresses had their own categories. Prior to this, all lead and supporting acting nominations were pitched together. There you go. Well, I did say it wasn’t going to change your life!

The reason I inflict this snippet of info upon you is because My Man Godfrey was the first film in Oscar history to receive nominations in all four acting categories. Of course, one could argue that it would have been impossible for an earlier film to have beaten it but that would just be facetious. Fact is, it might not have happened for years. That it didn’t win any of them also makes history because it’s the only film to receive these four nominations and not win at least one. And as if that isn’t enough, it’s also the only film to have these four nominations and not have the Best Picture nomination as well. It was nominated for Best Director and Best Writing, Screenplay as well and, not winning anything there either, means it also goes down in history as the only film to be nominated for those six and to lose them all. And they say it’s just the winners that are remembered. Poppycock!

Anyhoo, I forget why this title came to me but, a few days ago, come to me it did and with my mood suited for an early screwball comedy, I thought I’d give it a look and see what all the fuss is about, of which there seems to be plenty.

The film is interesting for a number of reasons, not least because it teamed William Powell and Carole Lombard who had three years previously been husband and wife. Powell had apparently insisted on his ex-wife being his co-star saying that their real life romance had been similar as it was for their characters in the film. They had starred together twice before in 1931, Man of the World (where they met and soon married) and Ladies’ Man.

It’s also interesting because although it’s classed as one of the great screwball comedies, I found it less screwball than a lot of others from the era. Yes, Lombard is completely in the zone as the zany, young, spoiled heiress and Powell plays the straight man against her with aplomb but it’s the movie’s theme that raises it above the multitude and saves it from just being fun but daft. This film is set (and was made) during The Great Depression and as its story unfolds we receive its serious and rational and socially aware message. It turns out that not only is this movie hilarious on the surface both visually and with its sparkling dialogue but it’s rather clever under the skin as well.

The film opens with Godfrey Parke (Powell) living on a city dump alongside other men who are finding life tough. Actually, the film opens with some lovely opening credits, the titles zapping up in gaudy neon signs stretched across a city roofscape as the camera pans right. Back to the dump though and spoiled rich girl Cornelia Bullock (Gail Patrick) climbs out of her limousine and offers him five dollars to be her “forgotten man” at a scavenger hunt. Annoyed that the wealthy find amusement in the plight of the needy and the homeless, Godfrey tells her where to go and in doing so causes her to fall on a pile of ashes. She leaves in a fury with her chaperone much to the delight of her younger sister, Irene (Lombard) whom also wants a “forgotten man”. Godfrey talks to Irene and finds her to be a nicer person than her sister and offers to help her so she can beat her sister.

They arrive at the swanky hotel ballroom where the scavenger hunt is taking place and, after proving to the judges that he is a bonafide homeless man by answering their inane questions, he addresses the crowd and condemns their pointless game. Irene, realising she has hurt his pride, offers him a job as their family butler.

And there, in a nutshell, you have it; the foundation of a wonderful plot.

Godfrey’s first morning, he turns up all suited and booted and is welcomed by the Bullocks’ smart-mouthed, cynical maid, Molly (Jean Dixon). Molly is the only servant who has been able to put up with the bizarre antics of the family, antics which quickly become apparent to Godfrey once he calls on each family member with their breakfast tray. Luckily though, he appears to be a gifted butler and so all the family, especially Irene, who appears to be besotted with him, is glad to have him around. All except Cornelia whom he made fall into the ash pile. She has a grudge that simply won’t be buried.

And so, as the plot thickens, to coin an overused phrase, we learn more about this man Godfrey and we discover, after a friend from his past pops up, that he’s not what we first assumed. The socio-economic hardship of the time also plays its part almost as a character and as such, it’s influence is never far from the screen. Overall, My Man Godfrey is an extremely engaging film but impossibly lighthearted too.

As is so often the case with these classics, the cast is without fault. Gail Patrick as the sister, Alice Brady as the mother and Eugene Pallette as the father are nothing short of wonderful, as is Jean Dixon who plays the maid. Mischa Auer as Mrs Bullock’s sponging and constantly hungry “protege” is ideally cast too. But it’s Powell’s and ultimately Lombard’s show and with Lombard’s life being cut tragically short when she perished in a plane crash in 1942, it leaves one wondering just how much more she might have left for us. Having said that, it makes me want to celebrate all that she did leave for she was, without question, a unique talent.

My Man Godfrey was directed by Gregory La Cava, a former animator for William Randolph Hearst’s newspapers who had begun directing silent comedies in the early ’20s. Although this is arguably his best known work he had a reasonable success the following year with Stage Door, starring Katharine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers.

My Man Godfrey was adapted from the short novel, 1101 Park Avenue, by Eric Hatch and was a huge hit upon release in September 1936. In 1999, it was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry as being “culturally significant” by the United States Library of Congress. It frequently turns up in Top 100 lists as the greatest this or that too and having finally watched it, it’s easy to see why.

For me, it’s simply a flawless gem from Hollywood’s past. Although, I think perhaps I should say, another flawless gem, because as I continue to write these reviews for The Daily Opinion, I continue to discover amazing movies from yesteryear. Some are well-known and respected while others are often overlooked but either way, my joy is in finding them.

Grumpy Old Menopause – Carol E. Wyer Blog Tour & Giveaway!

Hello and welcome to the Grumpy Old Menopause blog tour! Having taken the world by storm and rocketed up the charts to become the #1 best selling book on Amazon, this light and humorous guide to beating the more unpleasant symptoms of the menopause is essential reading for anyone going through or simply preparing themselves for this unavoidable change. So buckle up and let Carol E. Wyer show you how it’s done!

What they say:

‘Have you started to write post-it notes with your kids’ names on them? Do you need to change your underwear after every sneeze? Guess it’s time to read this book then. It’ll help you get through “that” time in your life with a spring in your step and a smile on your face.

With numerous suggestions, sensible advice and amusing anecdotes, Grumpy Old Menopause will help you sail through that tricky part of a woman’s life with ease and humour. It should prevent you from turning into Mrs Crabby or worse still, a demonic monster.’

“An excellent mix of humour and sound advice. This book is a must-read for all women … I highly recommend Grumpy Old Menopause. It is the perfect blend of humour and excellent advice to help all women sail through the menopause.” – Nicky Snazell, Fi STOP Consultant Physiotherapist in Spinal Pain, Fellow of Institute for the Study and Treatment of Pain. International Lecturer in Pain and Health.

Click Here To Buy This Book – UK

Click Here To Buy This Book – US

Review by Elizabeth Wright:

When it comes to women’s issues and comedic honesty I am all ears, so I knew I would love Carol E Wyer’s latest book even before I picked it up. And I wasn’t disappointed. The title may suggest that the book is only suitable for women of a certain age, but in reality the ideal audience is considerably wider. Although I doubt many men would read it, I’d recommend this book to men and women of all ages.

If you’re going through the menopause it will ease your worries and give you a good belly laugh in the process. If you are younger, or male then this book will give you an insight into a very natural aspect of life and help to dispel the taboo that has accompanied it for so long.

All comedy aside, it is evident from the outset that this book has been written with female experience and emotion in mind and it is some of the sincerest writing I have read in a long time.

Author Bio

I have always written stories. My early stories were for children and sported silly titles like Humphrey and the Dustbin Cats, Hurrah for Hugo! and Noir and Blanc – Two Naughty Cats. They taught French language to younger children and were accompanied by a tape of French songs, mercifully not sung by me.

I began writing for adults after my son left home. I converted his old bedroom into an office and set about writing humorous novels largely aimed at women of a certain age.

The rest is history. Following much media success with Mini Skirts and Laughter Lines, I signed the Amanda Wilson novels with Thornberry Publishing. In 2012, I was lucky enough to be offered a three book deal with Safkhet Publishing. They have published How Not to Murder Your Grumpy and Just Add Spice, and released Grumpy Old Menopause, the sister book to How Not to Murder Your Grumpy, in December 2013.

I now write full-time. When I am not working on a novel, I’ll be writing articles for magazines such as Woman’s Weekly, or blog posts for The Huffington Post and Indies Unlimited.

My books aim to encourage as many people as possible to age disgracefully and enjoy life. After all, life is short and ‘he who laughs…lasts!’

Find Carol

A Grumpy Old Success

Since its release, Grumpy Old Menopause has been featured on no less than 28 radio stations and the Staying Young Show over in the US. Magazines have come-a-knocking too, with articles in Take a Break, Women’s Weekly, Women and Golf Magazine, Wolverhampton Magazine and Staffordshire Life, while the bright lights of prime time TV also beckoned when Carol was interview on BBC Breakfast Television in November 2013 – click here to watch the interview.

***GIVEAWAY***

Win a signed copy of Grumpy Old Menopause and an edible Chocolate Scrabble board game – ‘helps improve your brain and when you’re angry eat the pieces,‘ says Carol.

Easy Entry via the Rafflecopter below:

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Carol E. Wyer and BestChickLit reserve the right to cancel or amend the giveaway at point.

Checking Inn – Emily Harper Blog Tour and Giveaway!

Welcome to the Checking Inn Blog Tour!

After storming up the Amazon charts with the brilliantly funny White Lies, Emily Harper has now released her second rom-com novel Checking Inn. Find out all the details, read reviews, guest posts and enter the tour giveaway as the book visits a selection of fantastic blogs . . .

What they say:

‘Kate Foster runs the Summerside Inn (and her life) by well-organized checklists.

Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000032_00025] Make sure the caterers don’t serve devil’s food cake to the Christian Women’s Alliance– check.

Tell my mother that having a séance to get rid of any unwanted spirits in the kitchen during dinnertime is not okay- check.

Send a friendly reminder to all staff that the pens are colour coded for everyone’s enjoyment, and therefore it is not a good idea to put them all in one jar in order to “spice things up” as was anonymously suggested– check.

But, when an acclaimed hotel critic dies at the Inn, just before she’s about to publish a scathing review that would ruin the business, Kate’s life and checklists are thrown into disarray. And it doesn’t help matters that the detective assigned to the case is messy, unorganized, and too charming for his own good. Now Kate has to prove her innocence and save her Inn, or else the only thing that she’ll be organizing is the prison’s next bake sale.’
Click Here To Buy This Book – UK

Click Here To Buy This Book – US

Review by Elizabeth Wright

Emily sets out to create unusual protagonists that tap into something different in each reader and in Checking Inn she has certainly succeeded. Unless you have OCD it is fairly difficult to empathise with someone who does, yet somehow the main character, Kate, slowly gets into your head and before you know it you are completely on her side. Throw in a little murder mystery intrigue and a roguishly handsome detective to balance her out and you have the perfect escape after a busy week.

Harper’s writing is easy to read and her characters are believable. Some you’ll love and some you’ll hate, but you will certainly find yourself invested in several of them. The small town Kate lives in sounds idyllic, but the descriptions of Summerside Inn make it a dream destination. If only it were real and I could visit (although I wouldn’t be so interested in the Botox offer!). Overall this is a lovely weekend read and ideal for anyone wanting to relax and forget about their own problems for a while.

Author Bio:

Emily Harper has a passion for writing humorous romance stories where the heroine is not your typical damsel in distress. Throughout her novels you will find love, laughter, and the unexpected!

Originally from England, she currently lives in Canada with her wonderful husband, beautiful daughter, mischievous son, and a very naughty dog.

Emily is also the author of the funny and charming novel White Lies, which has proven to be a huge hit with fans. The book will even be appearing on The Marilyn Denis Show as a giveaway next month! For more information on the book please visit Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com.

Ways to ~~stalk~~ follow Emily

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

***GIVEAWAY***

Emily Harper has generously donated some amazing prizes for 3 lucky winners! Take a look at what is up for grabs with easy entry via the below Rafflecopter:

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1st prize: Kate spade clutch, nail polish and signed copy of checking inn

2nd prize: signed copy of checking inn

3rd prize: ebook of checking inn

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Terms and Conditions

This is an international giveaway. Three winners will be drawn through the above Rafflecopter widget and prizes will be awarded in the order they are selected. BestChickLit and Emily Harper reserve the right to amend or cancel the giveaway at any point without prior notification to entrants.

Emily Harper Books