Book review: Marathon Man

A finished Marathon Man and a cup of coffee,
Pork & Co, Canterbury

Tom ‘Babe’ Levy is a young intellectual living in New York with dreams of being a professional marathon runner. However, Babe’s life takes a dramatic turn following an unexpected visit from his brother. Unprepared, Babe finds himself on a run unlike any other as he is thrown inside the world of villainous assassins and torture.

It may have taken me almost 5 months to the day (a personal best) however I have finally finished the William Goldman novel Marathon Man. As you would expect the initial few chapters aim to establish context whilst familiarising us with key characters. Although the narrative begins slowly and skips from seemingly one unrelated incident to another, we are quickly reassured that these chapters have absolute relevance to the story and this quickly snowballs; Goldman’s characters have a lot of depth and as soon as their paths appear to cross the novel develops into a gripping thriller. Full of story twists and surprises Marathon Man will have the reader thinking ‘what’s next?’, even when the page corner is folded and the book has been put down for the day. Goldman’s storytelling is intense and dramatic scenes are described in teeth grindingly chilling detail.

Please don’t let the fact that it took me 5 months to finish this book put you off - Marathon Man is a thriller of epic proportion.

James Bond Quotes

What's your favourite James Bond quote? There's too many great lines to choose from, being the Bond geek that I am I thought I would comprise a few of the best known phrases - sorry if I didn't include your favourite.

Film review: Café Society (2016)

Directed by: Woody Allen

Written by: Woody Allen

Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Steve Carell & Blake Lively

Set in the back drop of the glitz and glamour of the 1930’s. Tired of working a dead end job for his father in New York, Bobby Dorfman (Jesse Eisenberg) contacts his hotshot movie agent uncle Phil (Steve Carell) who reluctantly takes Bobby under his wing and familiarises him with the Hollywood highlife. Bobby is then introduced to the mesmerising Vonnie (Kristen Stewart), she warns from the start that she has a boyfriend (which happens to be her employer) however helpless Bobby falls madly in love with her. The pair develop a blossoming friendship before lovesick Bobby returns to New York where he meets a beautiful socialite, Veronica (Blake Lively). Things seem to be working out for Bobby until Vonnie visits New York, rekindling Bobby’s original affections.

In typical fashion Woody Allen presents us with a nostalgic peak of the past, Café Society is a beautifully captured picture which explores a romanticised view of the 1930’s. Intriguingly this is Woody Allen’s first collaboration with the cinematographer Vittorio Storaro who convinced him to digitally capture the feature which is a first time for Allen. The golden hue like quality makes this film an absolute delight, the audience is presented with a number of close up shots of Kristen Stewart which are very reminiscent of early Hollywood pictures starring the likes of Rita Hayworth or Donna Reed. Jesse Eisenberg puts in a wonderful performance playing the awkward “deer in the headlights” character which is seemingly the perfect platform to deliver Woody Allen’s writing. This certainly isn’t Woody Allen’s best more recent film and doesn’t quite meet the heights of Midnight in Paris or Blue Jasmine. The relationships between the characters aren’t fully explored, instead we are told about them through Allen’s narration. Steve Carell plays the high flying Hollywood agent well with some excellent scenes between him and Jesse Eisenberg; that said, I couldn’t help thinking his casting in Café Society was a little ill-fitting, perhaps because while his performance is considerable I can’t shake the image of him having his chest hair waxed in The 40 Year Old Virgin. Putting all that aside, Woody Allen’s writing is… Woody Allen’s writing, he sticks with familiar ‘love triangle’ themes however this doesn’t matter at all, the story is romantic and poignant lightly peppered with classic Woody Allen humour. Café Society is no Annie Hall but still remains a thoroughly enjoyable and absorbing watch.

Film review: North by Northwest (1959)

Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Written by: Ernest Lehman
Starring: Cary Grant, James Mason & Eva Marie Saint

Roger Thornhill (Grant) is a New York socialite who falls victim to mistaken identity, pursuing foreign agents believe Thornhill to be a government spy. North by Northwest follows this unfortunate character as he crosses the country eluding capture and seeking to redeem his true identity.

North by Northwest is an absolute silverscreen classic and is one of many gems in the late great Hitchcock crown. The film is shot beautifully and employs some amazing cinematography with intriguing angles like the 'god's eye view' shot as Grant leaves the UN building. The musical score is excellent and really adds to the intensity of the action. North by Northwest is still regarded as one of cinema's greatest suspense thrillers; it certainly doesn't matter that at times (and only at times) Cary Grant's portrayal is not always 100% believable and his character seems to make the 'obvious wrong decisions', he still puts in a charming and iconic performance as Roger Thornhill/George Kaplan. With superb and unique direction from Alfred Hitchcock it's easy to see why this film is still admired today.

Trivia: Don't miss Alfred Hitchcock's cameo appearance as the man who tries to get on a bus at the beginning of the film.

E.T the Extra Terrestrial (1982)

Bunking school and smoking.

Film review: Bullitt (1968)

I tried.

Director: Peter Yates
Writer: Robert L. Pike (novelist), Harry Kleiner & Alan Trustman (screenplay)
Starring: Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, Jacqueline Bissett

Following the assassination of a witness in protection, 'do or die' cop Lieutenant Frank Bullitt (best name on the planet) finds himself investigating the San Francisco criminal underworld.

Bullitt is a hard hitting detective thriller that delights gritty film lovers. Steve McQueen is not renowned as the most gifted or versatile actor of his time however excellent at what he does best (being as cool as a cryogenically frozen cucumber that has been brought back to save Christmas). This film certainly puts McQueen in his comfort zone, which happens to be behind the wheel of a 1968 Ford Mustang wearing a roll neck sweater and a snub nose revolver to his chest. If you haven't seen this film then it's one of those you need to see, Bullitt features a car chase scene which wrote the book 'Hollywood Car Chase Scenes', McQueen was always very keen to perform his own stunts, the chase scenes in this film are shared between Steve McQueen and stunt driver Bud Ekins. The iconic shot of Steve McQueen making a wheel spin reverse in the Mustang was not originally scripted, during filming McQueen took a wrong turn, the footage was used in the film and is remembered to this day.

Glider Challenge

Background:

Operation Deadstick. In order for the allied invasion of Normandy on 6th June 1944 to be successful, a number bridges had to be captured to stop a German counterattack, one of those bridges was 'Pegasus Bridge' which stretched across the Caen Canal, this provided an exit for British forces landing on Sword beach. Under the command of Major Howard, 90 British soldiers of the 6th Airbourne Infantry Division were piloted over to northern France, Halifax bombers towed 3 Horsa Gliders over the channel to Normandy where they were released at about 00:07 hours 6th June 1944, using nothing else but a compass and a stopwatch for navigation the gliders were piloted to a landing sight adjacent to Pegasus Bridge. The landing of the gliders is considered one of the most outstanding flying achievements in military history. The bridge was captured by Major Howard and his men who held the bridge from German troops until relieved. 

Challenge:

Design and manufacture a handmade glider predominantly using card and paper, no form of motorised propulsion is allowed. The glider must travel 20 yards and land as close to the designated landing point adjacent to a model of Pegasus Bridge.

A handmade model of 'Pegasus Bridge', Normandy, France

2 days before the challenge - I started work; armed with a dusty book on paper plane designs along with some online tutorials I went in search for engineering genius. Using standard A4 paper I experimented with a few crass prototypes, after rigorous testing and a number of early models landing in the neighbour's pond I was set to begin my glider. I aimed to work on creating a larger wingspan along with an aerodynamic structure.

For better strength against the wind and durability on landing I decided to place a bamboo cane in the nose of the glider to the middle section of the fuselage. Unfortunately gluing this into place was unsuccessful so I stitched the cane into the nose using needle and thread and folding a small section of the nose backwards. 

I'm pretty sure this is how Howard Hughes begun his aviation career.

Conclusion: An excellent attempt however my piloting skills weren't good enough to win the challenge, my glider potentially needed more weight in the nose to counter head winds. Great fun!

Forrest Gump (1994)

The film Forrest Gump has got to be one of the most heart warming films ever made, Forrest Gump is as likeable as Tom Hanks himself... or ice-cream for that matter.

Trivia: According to Tom Hanks, the film's director Robert Zemeckis said to him that he needed to teach Micheal Connor Humphreys (the child actor playing young Forrest) to talk the way Hanks was hoping to portray Forrest Gump, Tom Hanks suggested that he should just teach himself to speak like the child actor instead, he recorded many conversations he had with Micheal Connor Humphreys in order to get the southern accent right.

Tom Hanks' brother Jim Hanks also doubled for many of the wide angled running scenes in this film, others were screen tested however Jim Hanks was the only one who could mimic Forrest's distinctive run.

JAWS (1975)

It turns out I'm no good at drawing people swimming so unfortunately the seagull gets it.

JAWS, directed by a young Steven Spielberg still remains one of the biggest suspense thrillers in cinema history. I don't care what people say about the shark looking rubber, it still scares the bejesus out of me. No shark movie has come close to this classic; although take a look at Jurassic Shark,it's brilliant for different reasons.

Trivia: Steven Spielberg's real dog Elmer had a part in the movie playing Martin Brody's dog.

Film review: "Play it again, Sam" (1972)

(Due to strict copyright law I thought it safer for my bank balance to draw this image rather than pinch one from google.)

Director: Herbert Ross

Writer: Woody Allen

Starring: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts

As a lover of all things cinema I have been rifling through some old movies and came across "Play it again, Sam"; A nervous and tense film critic Allan (Woody Allen) is forced back onto the dating scene following the breakdown of his marriage. Allan idolises his on screen hero Humphrey Bogart (more specifically his character in the 1942 film Casablanca).  With support from his married friends Linda (Diane Keaton) and Dick (Tony Roberts) as well as helpful advice from Bogie himself, residing in Allan's neurotic subconscious, Allan is set up on a series of blind dates in order to get over his wife, unfortunately he faces a dilemma as his relationship with Linda develops.

"Play it again, Sam" intriguingly begins with Allan sat in a theatre watching Casablanca, as the camera pans out we are presented with a big close up shot of Allan; hooked by Humphrey Bogart's performance, this is apparent as Allan's jaw drops slowly as he observes the final scenes of Casablanca, we also see the reflection of the movie in Woody Allen's trademark glasses, it's shot beautifully allowing the premise of the film becoming apparent to the audience quickly. Through the clever and witty use of personal monologues we quickly understand Woody Allen is at his best, playing the jittery and neurotic over-thinker. Diane Keaton's performance is excellent and the chemistry between her, Tony Roberts and Woody Allen makes them a very comfortable trio. One of my favourite scenes in the movie shows Allan being introduced to a blind date by his friends Dick and Linda, he ensures his apartment portrays an excellent impression of himself by leaving intellectual books open around the place along with his 100 yard dash medal (which he bought for 20 dollars); with "tremendous poise" he is introduced to his date, Allan encaptures first date nervous in this one hilarious scene which I always find myself rewinding (yes, I am one of those movie watchers).  

"Play it again, Sam" shares similar themes with the later multi-academy award winning film Annie Hall, originally Woody Allen wrote the script for Broadway which was later adapted into a movie screenplay in the early 1970's. Woody Allen's natural flare for comedy coupled with the idolisation for Bogart is an interesting and relatable dynamic which keeps the audience fascinated until the end. This is definitely a timeless romantic comedy which is either a MUST SEE for those who have never watched it, or a MUST SEE AGAIN for those who forget it's sat on the DVD shelf.

Vintage Vinyls

It's funny how trends come and go (and then come back round again), especially in the music industry. Although music downloads seems to be the quickest and easiest way to enjoy music there's still something nice about buying tangible albums. Vinyls are making a huge comeback with more and more artists releasing their new albums on LP. The nostalgic in me means I can't walk past an independent record store without paying it a visit, proprietors range from the trendy hipster types to the bearded pipe smokers accompanied by an aged jack russell. There's a fantastic record store in Whitstable, Kent called Rock Bottom Records - if you ever find yourself in the town be sure to pop in.

Rock Bottom Records - Whitstable, UK

Over the past year or so I have managed to collect a few eclectic records myself. The great thing about starting an LP collection is that most stores maintain an excellent and diverse range. Also a collection like this can suit all budgets, you can easily pick up great records for relatively low cost, that said expect to sell your grandmother on ebay if you're looking for an original release of 'Dark Side of the Moon'. Don't be afraid to take a look in the 'all records £2 box' for some real hidden gems although you may need to sift through the Cliff Richard albums. I find the best way to start a collection is to browse all the genre sections, I've gone into a record store in search of The Jam and walked out with British Motown Chart Busters. Most reputable stores do their best to source records in good condition however it may be worth just taking a quick look over the vinyl to make sure there are no major scratches... Remember, a lot of the albums are some years old so expect the odd imperfection but that's part of the charm. The attraction of vinyl albums is the background noise and the ability to establish between the variety of voices and instruments, sometimes it can feel like you're sat in the recording studio as the track is being recorded.

Top tip - Make sure you store vinyl albums upright and not flat, sometimes vinyls are prone to warping if they are stored flat too long.

Frank Sinatra LP and Crosley player

Prologue

In 2011 I decided to buy myself a leather bound notebook, in this book I was to write any notable observations I made, topics I found amusing or ideas that may pop into my head, I was to take this notebook everywhere, ensuring that I was prepared for a sudden spell of inspiration that may hit me at any moment; needless to say my notebook remained empty til early 2012. After 18 months in the desk drawer I blew away the cobwebs and had a quick read through, I have never taken drugs before, nor have I ever been a big drinker however the incoherent non-sense I read would suggest differently. Upon reading further I noticed infrequent sensible considerations however this was largely peppered with various crude sketches of male genitalia, presumably where I have left my book unattended in the university library - I wonder whether Ernest Hemingway had to put up with stuff like that. So why the blog? This is my journal.  

M. Putley