On the Wrong Planet

The Artist – a must see

Trevor Smith — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 17:55:34 +0000

In the late nineteen-twenties a newspaper publishes a picture of heart-throb silent screen star George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) being kissed by Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo). The young aspiring Peppy has yet to embark on her career in the new “talkies” but in a touching subsequent encounter in George’s dressing room, he gives her a gift. It is the idea of how to make herself memorable and stand out from the other actresses: quite simply, that she should always wear a beauty spot. This is a love story, powered by the ambition and gratitude of Peppy, overcoming the pride George.

George refuses to adapt to the new talkies medium and this soon puts him into decline, losing his wife, wealth and self-esteem. Peppy, now wealthy but living alone in her giant mansion, does not forget him and … well you’ll have to watch this brilliant film to find out what happens.

Whilst deploying all the modern techniques of modern cinema production: camera angles, editing and production, this film cleverly exploits the recursive device of being produced in square aspect ratio black and white silent movie format. Reminding us how powerful and expressive silent movies can be, this emphasises Georges dilemma: why do we need the talkies when the silent movie offers all that is needed. The story is told for the most part from the facial expressions of the actors with a whit and elegance far more sophisticated than the standards of the 1920, it must be said, but the constraints of the medium do not prevent the heart-warming story from bursting through with an impact that defies the budgets of so many modern films.

I suspect that this film is not the start of a new genre but will never-the-less be remembered alongside many seminal cinematographic experiments.

Planning Law Changes Set to Ruin Countryside

Trevor Smith — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 07:14:40 +0000

Last year we visited Ireland and toured the Ring of Kerry, the Dingle peninsular, and then up to Galway and Connemara. In so many beautiful places one thing that stuck me was that so often the skyline was littered with houses. The Irish love to paint their houses, indeed it seems almost obligatory. But this does mean that when ill positioned they so easily spoil beautiful countryside. And so many are ill positioned.

Ireland’s planning regulations are much less stringent that those in the UK and this ruin of beautiful areas of countryside is the consequence. Once housing has been established, it will never be removed.

The government’s proposed new framework on planning regulations streamlines more than 1,000 pages of policy into just 52. One important change is to put decisions into the hands of new local groups. But a YouGov poll, commissioned by the National Trust, found that few people were aware of the government’s proposals to dilute the planning laws radically, and even fewer had the inclination to address planning issues in their local area. Developers will, for sure, find it easier to pressure these new local groups to approve their plans. The well practiced planning departments in local government already know how developers will pester until they get what they want.

Please support the National Trust campaign to get the current government to re-think the changes they are making to UK planning regulations by signing up to their petition.

Best Steak Frites in London

Trevor Smith — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 07:03:03 +0000

French style restaurant chain Chez Gerard offers the exciting rooftop location opposite The Royal Opera House in a beautiful Grade II listed building on the Covent Garden Piazza. This unique al fresco first floor balcony takes you to another world; even though in London you feel as though you are transported to an exotic French ambience.

I had the Steak Frites from the prix fixe menu and was not disappointed. I know there are reports of poor service (see the review sites) but after breaking past the initial French arrogance of our intense waiter, actually service was very good. I used my daring French (“merci Monsieur”) and ordered my steak rare. Maybe that was enough for our waiter to feel more kindly disposed to us.

In a Better World

Trevor Smith — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 23:03:23 +0000

With a comprehendable story, superb cinematography, brilliant acting and a deep moral message, this film should not be missed. Avoiding use of any of the familiar film cliches and with everyone behaving as you might expect, “In a Better World” examines human conflict and violence from a supremely balanced and mature perspective. You are eased into understanding how people react the way they do, based on their experience and background – how in one environment (wealthy Denmark) the rules subtly differ from another harsher place (Sudan). So often we see what we believe to be extreme situations in our own comparatively safe western culture, we forget what life can be like for others. The simple device of contrasting conflict in Sudan with that of two Danish school boys, powerfully allows us to unpick the motives and feelings of the participants. In one case a local war lord will cut open the bellies of young pregnant women in order to settle a bet as to the sex of their children. In reality the conflicts created by a school bully and the mildly violent dominance of a protective father pale into insignificance by comparison, but the violence in both the Sudan and Denmark stem from the same flaws in human nature. In a better world we could all live peacefully, but in the meantime the world plays out its bitter story.

Black Lion in Long Melford – Special Recommendation

Trevor Smith — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 23:07:51 +0000

A genuine Georgian dining room overlooking Long Melford village green is an ideal location for a most enjoyable Sunday lunch; this hotel restaurant, frequented by celebrities and literally a stone’s throw from the delightful NT property of Melford Hall, provides attentive personal service, waist-line worthy portions (without being over-powering) and superb cooking. I thoroughly recommend this as part of a day out to deepest Suffolk.

Monsters – the War on Terror Re-analysed

Trevor Smith — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 05:42:33 +0000

Technically, Gareth Edwards movie “Monsters” breaks new ground in production methods and animation. It was shot on a shoestring budget in Guatemala and Mexico, with a professional actor cast of just two (Whitney Able and Scoot McNairy) using improvised dialog and extras hired in at each location. With Adobe Creative Suite to edit the film shot on a Sony EX3, Edward’s visual effects engineer background allowed him personally to deliver all the “Monster” animation with five months of work; with 250 effects shots that is a phenomenal rate of 2 per day. The monsters were created with a software package called “3ds Max”: “It was the hardest challenge of the whole film because I had never done proper creature animation before,” says Edwards.
Edwards also wrote the script and this is what sets him apart from so much of the SF genre. Much of the film is an emotional journey between the principle characters, Kaulder, a news photographer and Able, who he is ordered to escort safely back home to the USA by her father who is also his boss. Various convincing mishaps result in their needing to cross the “infected zone,” a route used only by the desperate. On another level, this is a movie about how real people might actually cope with an alien invasion. In northern Mexico, the locals have accepted life coexisting with the aliens: they are only dangerous when the US air force is delivering their chemical warfare over the infected zone. From the US perspective, the approach is containment and then destruction: a massive wall to defend the US border and then chemical attack.

Parallels with the war on terror and indeed the general approach of the Western world to any perceived threat, are disturbingly evident. When we encounter the aliens close up, however, we witness behaviour you might reasonably expect from humans. Yes they will destroy you if you shoot at them, but we also see inquisitiveness (tentacles touching a TV screen to try to understand it) and an encounter between two of the aliens that is evidence of a bond between them, maybe even love. Perhaps these aliens would be no threat to us if we only tried to understand them and treated them reasonably!

Ultimate Irony

Trevor Smith — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 07:03:26 +0000

The foreign secretary, William Hague, has been sharing hotel rooms with 25 year old Christopher Myers, as reported in the Times. Myers, in a £30,000 a year researcher post for the last 18 months, has now resigned after internet allegations over his relationship with Hague. Hague has told all about the struggle of he and his wife to start a family, in an attempt to divert opinion. It could all be innocent, even if naive on Hague’s part.

UK politicians are now in the trail of grief over the expenses scandal. Most will be nervous of making genuine expenses claims. Some, no doubt, will be trying to minimise their claims so that, now that these are more public, they can regain political kudos with their electors.

Could Hague and Myers sharing a hotel room be an attempt to save tax payer’s money on expenses?

I’m afraid I did

Trevor Smith — Sat, 15 May 2010 04:01:01 +0000

This is that moment: when David Cameron admits to Nick Clegg that he did say “Nick Clegg” in reply to the question “What is your favourite joke?” Need I say more?

Gillian Duffy

Trevor Smith — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 03:21:02 +0000

It’s very easy to criticise Gordon Brown’s gaff captured by Sky News when he drove off with one of their microphones, but more respectable reporting would not spy on someone’s private conversation in this way. I’m quite sure that any politician will have said equally damning things in private. In fact we all have. The real question for me is what did Gillian Duffy actually say. Here is a transcript:

“But there’s too many people now who aren’t vulnerable but they can claim and people who are vulnerable can’t claim, can’t get it…..You can’t say anything about the immigrants because you’re saying that you are … But all these Eastern Europeans what are’ve comin in, where are they flocking from… And what are you going to do about students that are coming in now….”

Is this bigoted? Or to put it another way, do you think she would be a suitable recruit into our immigration department?

Three Ghosts for Your Money

Trevor Smith — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 21:13:45 +0000

In Roman Polanski’s film “The Ghost” (renamed “The Ghost Writer” when released in USA; presumably so that that particular audience would be able to understand the title), you get three ghosts. Based on Robert Harris’ novel, the naive unnamed narrator is appointed to ghost write the memoirs of Adam Lang, ex-prime minister of the UK. Lang is taking refuge at the holiday home of his publisher, on Martha’s Vineyard, whilst charges of war crimes are being levelled. Our second ghost is the previous ghost writer, Mike McAra, who drowned in suspicious circumstances following a row with Lang. The third ghost is the UK prime minister, who has ghost-written the justifications for invading Iraq, in support of the US president. This film has a worrying credible plot and a curious twist at the end. What was not credible to me was why our narrator would reveal what he discovers near the end of the story and so put himself in such jeopardy. A desire to show off your deductive powers for me would be outweighed by a desire to survive.