Alan Moore: Storyteller

I've just finished the above book, by Gary Spencer Millidge in collaboration with the author, which is probably the best I've read since Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs. As an aspiring writer (not of comics but novels and short stories), I took two important lessons from this book; One - if you feel the need to create then just do it and don't let anything stop you, and; Two - don't compromise on your vision, even if it hurts you financially and professionally. Moore may have fallen out with just about every single comic publisher, perhaps justifiably, perhaps not, but just consider what works resulted from the realisation of his uncompromising vision...

The book covers Moore's writing all the way from its very beginnings up to the latest installment of his on-going series, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century. Any good book about Alan Moore needs plenty of graphics and images to support the text and this book is certainly not lacking in this regard: the pictures enhance the text immensely, demonstrating just what makes Moore stand out from the pack. I could have read a book twice this length but that's not to say that it feels lacking, more that the subject is so interesting. True, I didn't particularly have much interest in Moore's non-comic work, but these sections were still a good read and provided a fuller picture of the man.

The best way to measure the success of a book like this is whether or not it causes the reader to revisit the subject's work. For the past few days I've been frantically catching up on the Moore comics I've either never read or had any intention of reading, and I can't wait to go back over my favourites.

A great read, thoroughly recommended.

When No Means Yes (Apparently)

At the moment it seems like there’s barely a day goes bywithout another rape-related headline. US Missouri Congressman Todd Akin becamea news sensation after idiotically making reference to “legitimate rape”, andnow England’s own Bradford West MP George Galloway has come out in support ofJulian Assange (who also appears to never be out of the headlines these days),stating that his alleged conduct, if proven, would amount to no more than “badsexual etiquette”.

Whatever one believes about the legitimacy of the chargesAssange faces – whether they were politically motivated or genuine, and franklyI couldn’t care less – the simple fact remains that the allegations arenevertheless incredibly serious and no sane person should seek to moderate themin such a manner. To do so legitimises rape – and no, Congressman Akin, not inthe way you think.

 Amazingly, some menstill fail to understand that if a woman fails to give consent or says “No” at anypoint, before or during a sexual act, then to proceed any further is anunequivocal, unjustifiable violation, and it is rape, pure and simple.

How much longer can such idiots – and note that they areboth at differing ends of the political spectrum, proving that there really isno division when it comes to stupidity and ignorance – continue to protest andexcuse their disgraceful point of view? It’s baffling.

The Dark Knight Rises (again)

WARNING: CONTAINS PLOT SPOILERS!

I thought I would give some more detailed thoughts on The Dark Knight Rises, now that I've seen it again, this time on a standard-sized cinema screen rather than IMAX.

The Dark Knight was all about anarchy, whereas The Dark Knight Rises is about hope. TDKR is set eight years after the conclusion of TDK, and Batman has not been seen since taking the blame for several murders and the death of Gotham's fallen District Attorney, Harvey Dent. Bruce Wayne still mourns the death of his beloved Rachel and has become a recluse, only brought out of retirement when he is provoked by Selina Kyle (Catwoman, though never named as such) stealing his fingerprints and his mother's pearls. 

The villain is the mercenary Bane, who bankrupts Bruce Wayne in order to obtain a mysterious clean energy device engineered by Wayne Enterprises, which is then turned into an immensely powerful neutron bomb. Bane holds a city to ransom, pretending to give Gotham a modicum of hope when his bomb's gradual decay means that the city's demise is inevitable. He likewise tortures Batman / Bruce Wayne, breaking his back and leaving him in the third-world prison where Bane himself was born and raised, the only glimmer of hope being the sunlight cascading through a seemingly-unreachable exit. Bruce has to slowly rebuild his body and soul before returning to Gotham to save the city one last time, where it transpires that Bane is actually under the influence of Talia al-Ghul, daughter of Batman Begin's chief villain Ra's al-Ghul, who is bent on achieving her father's aim of destroying Gotham.

No, the film is not perfect. There is a lot of exposition, which is not in itself a bad thing, but there is also not much Batman. The slow build up to his return to action after eight years could have resulted in a spectacular set-piece, but there's not much more than a bit of riding around on the Batcycle. It's hard not feel a little disappointed. Bane also can't quite match the Joker's brilliance as a villain. Many people have raised the issue of Bane's incomprehensible dialogue; I struggled on both viewings to understand everything said, but there was a definite improvement for my second viewing on a standard screen. Perhaps it's because IMAX is so loud that the purposely-distorted dialogue is even more distorted, or that it's partially drowned out by the booming background noises. Whatever the reason, I do think that any home viewings will require use of subtitles to ensure full comprehension of Bane's important speeches. And Marion Cottilard's Talia al-Ghul was not exactly convincing as Gotham's reckoning, but at least her character provided a neat link to the first film and allowed for a satisfying conclusion.

Ah, yes - the end! I liked the ending on the first viewing and even more the second time around. It ties up everything very neatly, with a few little twists to delight and reward fans. Batman gives his life for Gotham - or does he? In one last effort he uses the Bat helicopter to carry off the pivotal bomb into the distance, its explosion apparently signalling the Dark Knight's final sacrifice. I listen to the podcast of Mark Kermode's weekly Radio 5 Live film reviews and for once I have to disagree with his view that the ending is open to interpretation. I don't see where there is any ambiguity - there are frequent references throughout the film to the Bat's autopilot not working (leading us to believe that Batman could not have escaped the explosion), and then it is revealed to Lucius Fox by his engineers that Bruce Wayne had actually fixed the software some months prior. There is the executors' reference to the pearls missing from Bruce Wayne's inventory, which are obviously the same ones that Catwoman stole and the only thing that Bruce really values. And then of course there is that final meeting and silent exchange of glances in Florence between Bruce and Alfred, which links in with a previous conversation regarding Alfred's hopes for his master's escape from a brutal life... There's no suggestion that any of this is a dream and so it must be taken at face value. Bruce Wayne finally managed to escape - through Batman's death he found his salvation.

Perhaps the film should have been called Rise of Robin, as the character of "John" Blake (his real name revealed at the end to be Robin, in a gift to geeks everywhere) slowly loses faith in guns and the police department he works for. Batman's legacy is literally left to him through Bruce Wayne's will, and we see the potential for a new masked crimefighter. Would he also be called Batman? Or just Robin? Or even perhaps Nightwing, as in the comics? Whatever the case may be, a dark knight does indeed rise.

So where does TDKR stand when place alongside the previous two Nolan films? It's certainly not as good The Dark Knight, which was an absolute masterpiece, but it easily ranks alongside Batman Begins. It's a fitting conclusion to an epic trilogy, the likes of which may never be matched. Will there be some Robin films? Who knows. We can only hope...

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Watching Tinker Tailor Solider Spy again at the weekend, I was reminded just how rare such solid, intriguing films are. TTSS was rewarded at the Baftas, and rightly so, because it’s an acting master-class: a showcase for great actors such as Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, John Hurt and Toby Stephens.

The plot is dense and requires complete attention, but this effort pays off because of the rich characters and subtle moods that build to a great finale. Tomas Alfredson’s previous film, the child- vampire  classic Let the Right One In, was similarly well-made, and both films are really about human relationships rather than their superficial subjects of spies or supernatural beings.

I wouldn’t hold my breath for more adaptations of John Le Carre’s other George Smiley novels – it’s not the sort of film to spawn a number of sequels – but fingers crossed!

Barcelona

Barcelona really is a fantastic city. Five nights there wasn’t enough to see a tenth of what was on offer. Highlights were the amazing Gaudi architecture, the characterful Gothic quarter and of course the excellent weather. The interior of Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia is like being inside an octopus – the design was, and is, so far ahead of it’s time that it’s a miracle that building was ever started. With so much sight-seeing I could do with another holiday to recover!

The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises was never going to be as good as The Dark Knight, which is surely the best comic-book movie ever made, but the film is a fitting finale to a great trilogy - possibly the best movie trilogy ever, no less.

I liked the slow build-up to Batman's first appearance, which is something that a few people hated. But the Nolan Batman films have never just been about action, focusing heavily on the characters and their struggles. It takes time for Bruce Wayne to realise that Batman is needed, and when he does indeed return it is heart-pounding stuff.

Bane is a decent villain, although like many people I struggled understanding his dialogue (I reckon I caught about 60% of it, but it's not overly problematic). Marion Cottilard was less convincing in her important role, but you can't have everything. Anne Hathaway as Catwoman was surprising, with the viewer never quite sure which way she would turn. And Joseph Gordon-Levitt's John Blake introduces a potentially exciting direction for some non-Nolan Bat-films... It will be interesting to see what happens in the future in this regard.

The film is perhaps a little too long but the trilogy had to have a proper send-off and there was no need to rush things. The nature of the ending  was also expected (could it really have gone any other way?) but nevertheless contained a few little twists and turns.

Smiles all round then, and I may even be tempted to pop back to the cinema for a second viewing!

The Dark Night

Well, it's not often I get nervous before going to see a film, but tomorrow I have tickets to finally see The Dark Knight, and Manchester's IMAX screen, no less. Fingers crossed it will live up to my expectations, otherwise tomorrow will be a dark night for me...

London 2012 Olympics

I have to admit I wasn't particularly interested in the Olympics before the games started but during the past week I've become a great fan, from the fascinating opening ceremony to the addictive swimming (yay Chad Le Clos and his eccentric father, Bert!).

Team GB are also doing extremely well - with the odd surprise and disappointment keeing it interesting - and indeed the whole hosting task is going surprisingly smoothly. Congratulations all-round!

I almost wish I wasn't heading off to Barcelona on Sunday (hah, almost!), but at least the games will still be going when I come back.