The Shroom Sessions

Maharajah: Palace Building in India 6/08/09 Al, Brian, Christian

A début appearance on the Shroom table for this excellent game. The rules proved easy to teach and learn, so the construction soon got underway. Moving and building was easily accomplished in a 3-player game, which is definitely not the case in the 5-player version. The showdown was between Al and myself with five palaces each after the Maharajah had visited the final city.

The tiebreaker was cash but we both had 11 gold, so than it was down to the ranked characters. Ironically, I has just swapped the winning character with Al and neglected to swap it back, an action which would given me the game. A fine ending, though to a great game.

1st Al 5 palaces; 2nd Brian 5 palaces, 3rd, Christian 4 palaces


Power Grid (Benelux) 31/07/09 Al, Brian, Christos, Christian

The boys visited the Benelux countries for this 'green' session of Power Grid. All was going well for my opponents until they came across my newly constructed Benelux Wall, sort of like the Berlin Wall but in Belgium. Christian, who'd gone to Ostend for a holiday (as you do) , was particularly flummoxed. Gradually, though, they managed to graft themselves back into the game. It was always going to be a tight finish but was even tighter thanks to Al inadvertently ending it by connecting the 15th city. It was a three-way tie in terms of cities being powered up but Al squeezed it with most cash in hand or more probably, up his sleeve.

1st Al 12 and $163, 2nd Christos 12 and $143, 3rd Brian 12 and $133, 4th Christian 11.

Power Grid (USA ) 9/07/09 Al, Brian. Christian, Christos, Stefan

Everyone was looking forward to this great game and it didn't disappoint. Al started in the south, Christian in the west, Christos and yours truly on the eastern seaboard and Stefan in the north east. Stefan elected to go south and Christos headed north, leaving me in the middle of a crunchy sandwich.

Al went for green power most of the way but failed to upgrade at a crucial time. Christian made the same error.

I never never recovered from a poor start and Stefan retired when he couldn't get his chess head around the rules, all of which left Christos being the first to be build and power up 15 cites and claim a rare victory. For once we got most of the rules right, some minor glitches but unfortunately nothing major enough to invalidate Christos' moment of triimph. 1st Christos 15, 2nd Christian 11, 3rd Al 11, fourth Brian, 10, 5th Stefan retired.

Small World 3/07/09 Al, Brian, Christos, Clare

Our first time on the 4-player map and Christos being the newbie. I got off to storming start with the Ghouls scoring loads and generally outstaying their welcome - that could be their special power. The rats followed up and made Christos' introduction to the game a harrowing experience. Clare overlooked her favourites - the Amazons - and never quite got over it. I missed out on the putting ther rats into declince so that leave Al and his elvin friends to clean up and score a narrow victory. 1st Al 103, 2nd Brian 95, 3rd Clare 85, 4th Christos 64.


Small World 26/06/09 Al, Brian, Clare

Clare made her debut at the Shroom table and quickly picked the game up. A bit too quickly for my liking as her Amazons began to stomp all over my plague of rats. Al picked up a lot early points with Giants taking advantage of their mountain ability, coupled with their special power of Alchemy entitling them to 2 VPs a turn. My Ghouls and Clare's skeletons probably appeared a bit too late in the game to be fully utilised. 1st Al 69, 2nd Clare, 67. 3rd Brian

Small World and Fizzzt: 17/06/09.
Al, Brian, Christian

Never mix the partaking of certain substances with trying to learn a new game. Actually, make that two new games. First on the table was this splendid game from Philippe Keyaerts. a revamp of his own, earlier Vinci. It's one of the few games that would appear to be good with any number thanks to inclusion of different mapboards from varying numbers of players. I got to off to a storming start thanks to the Wealthy Trolls, while Christian made progress with the Elves. Al had the west coast to himself for a while and profited with the Ghoul Merchants. Many tribes went into decline and by the end it was hard to name a winner. The scores, as it happened, were misleading as we were playing numerous rules incorrectly (see opening sentence). But as we all played the same rules the result stands: 1st Al, 61, 2nd Christian 60, 3rd Brian 59. A terrific game and one we all look forward to revisiting (with the correct rules).

Next up was our first card game at Shroom and one that was new to us all. The rules for Fzzzt took a bit of getting used to thanks to their poor structure and reliance on assumptions. By about halfway through it clicked (make that three quarters for me) and it turned out to be a cracking auction game with some neat features and serious number crunching, if you're so inclined. The object is to collect robots and configure them to build widgets, all parts being available via a series of auctions. Once played it seemed a like a doddle but getting there was hard work. Al made it a double triumph with some shrewd bids. 1st Al, 45, 2nd Christian 39, 3rd Brian 34.

Modern Art 10/06/09. Al, Brian, Christian, TK

All participants in this session, bar Al, were experienced art dealers. The works of Christian P were very popular in the early stages of the game and helped get my New York gallery off to a flyer. As usual Christian (the player) invested heavily in the industrial works of Karl Glitter, while TK’s Moscow gallery remained mysteriously bereft of exhibits. Lite Metal’s work didn’t attract many bids and was the least popular artist come game end. Christian P topped the pops. Unusually, pre counting up, at least three dealers thought they had won. However, there can be only one, and this time it was TK. whose ‘sell only’ strategy made him a comfortable winner. But next time, who’s going to buy?

Result: 1st TK ($452k)’ 2nd (Christian ($425k); 3rd Brian ($398k); 4th Al ($261k).

Modern Art: 21/05/09 featuring Christian, Christos, TK, Brian.

First time out for this classic Reiner Knizia game. In most auction games to it takes a while for players to work out what is what and what it's worth, but no such problem here - the boys plunged right in like poncey art show veterans. TK established an early lead with some shrewd purchases while I bade my time (ie I had no idea what to bid). By the third auction Christos looked to have built a solid lead by taking a fancy to the Lichenstein influenced work of Yoko. Christian invested heavily in the industrial art of Karl Glitter, wisely as he won by a convincing margin. The real winner was the game; thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Result: 1st Christian (£346k), 2nd Christos (£316k), 3rd Brian (£246k), 4th TK (£174k).

Shogun: 07/05/09. Same personnel as the last session, except for TK who went sailing to celebrate his previous first victory. Christian and I quickly signed a non aggression pact, enabling our daimyos to expand in other, less competitive regions. Christos had read up on Japanese history but clearly focused on kamikaze tactics rather than anything by Sun Tzu. Demolition rather than building proved to be a flawed policy for him. Money was very tight throughout and that was ultimately my undoing, that and Christian's treachery in the fall. Al just got on with things, cheerfully minding his own business and generally avoiding messy battles.

Result: 1st Christian, 2nd Brian, 3rd Al, 4th Christos.

Shogun: 23/04/09 featuring Christos, Al, Christian, TK and yours truly. This has to be described as a trial run, not least because TK won. There was a long settling in period as everyone familiarised themselves with the rules, a process not helped by my shambolic explanation. The upshot was that TK was allowed to set up shop in the eastern territories with little opposition and so coast to a Pyrrhic victory. Things will be different next time. Promise.

Result: 1st TK, 2nd Brian 3rd, Al, 4th Christian, 5th Christos.

The Games Cabinet

Fzzzt
Number of Players 3-4
Best with 4
Rating 7.32
Me 8
45 mins

One of the best card games for quite some time, that's Fzzzt to you. It's a game of acquiring robots capable of producing widgets in a 3 stage process: Bidding, assembling and scoring. The auction is fiendishly clever with bids being hard to judge. After each auction, any Robots acquired may be placed on Production units that carry the same symbols - set collection, if you like. It worked well with three players and I suspect it will be even better with the maximum of four.

Small World
Players 3-5
Best with 4
Rating 7.87 (33)
Me 8.5

The French game Vinci has long been well regarded, even before it went out-of-print. Well, it's back with a beautiful new production and cast. It now goes under the name of Small World and is even better than its predecessor.
The armies hitherto were fairly anonymous, but now step forward the Wealthy Ghouls, the Merchant Skeletons and so on. Each tribe is randomly donated a special power allowing it to circumvent normal rules. It's basically a game of territorial conquest but the twist comes in knowing when to let your tribe go into 'decline', a process allowing you to bring a new tribe into play. In its previous incarnation the game was a little dry but the new fantasy element brings a lot of humour into the game with sacrificing strategy.


Modern Art
Number of Players 4-5
Best With 4
Playing time 1 hour
BGG 7.54 (54)
Me 8
1 hour

Reiner Knizia is not one of my favourite designers, his game being too tactical rather than strategic for me. But, as ever, there are are exceptions. Modern Art is an exceptionally clever and beautifully produced auction game, one of a trilogy that comprises Ra and Medici. It's easy to learn but not that easy to get your head around, like many of Knizia's games.

Shogun
Number of players 2-5
Best with 5
Rating and Ranking 7.87 (20)
Me 8.5
3 hours

Shogun is a top class game which bridges the gap between American simulation wargames and the more simpler eurogames. Plenty to think about and lots of unfriendly interaction with your opponents. It's a re-themed and rather sexier version of Wallentstein, which was a critical rather commercial success. Crucially, the innovative dice tower remains.

Wyatt Earp
Number of players 3-4
Best with 4
Rating and Ranking 6.76 (284)
Me 9
45 mins


Wyatt Earp also reacquainted itself with the cabinet. Despite the modest rating on BGG this has always been one of my favourite card games. Much of this is due to the beautiful artwork by Franz Vohwinkel - Germany's best known game artist. The games was designed by two Americans as part of a Mystery Rummy series, though it was first published in Germany by Alea.



Ratings and Rankings 6.96 (271)
Me 8
Boardgame Geek 6.96 (271)


When it comes to mixing strategy and fun, French person Bruno Faidutti has always been one of my favourite designers. Boomtown is a good example of his style but my favourite has to be Citadels. It's unusual in that much of the play is character rather than player driven, so when you steal, assassinate, etc, the target always the character not the controlling player. Bluff, luck and strategy are all present in the mix.

The cards are printed on high quality, linen stock and the artwork emphasises how important this aspect of a game is. Citadels would not be the same without it.

Citadels
Number of players 3-7
Best with 5/6

Ratings and Rankings
Me 9
Boardgame Geek 7.34 (90)

In the 1960s 3M were not mere purveyors of paper clips and the like. They were also publishing games, and great games at that. One of these was Mr President, one of the few titles that has always been in a my game collection. It's a two-player simulation of American electoral politics as two players (President and the Contender) battle it out on the stump. One of the unique aspects of the game is that the game box doubles as the ballot box (see pic). It usually goes cheap on eBay. Get an extra copy, merge the cards and it turns into a good four-player game as the vice-presidents turn up.

Mr President
Number of players 2 or 4
Best with 2
Playing time 90 mins

Ratings and Rankings
Me 8
Boardgame Geek 6.37 (1914)


Another great game from 3M was Win Place & Show. Like Mr President this was published by Avalon Hill after £M decided they'd be better off making sellotape.

As a simulation of horse racing there isn't any better. The level of detail is terrific, even down to the race programs that come with the game. The level of affection for it was such that fans started making giant courses to play at conventions, and replacing the plastic nags that are included with the game with cast iron, painted figurines (see pic).

Win Place & Show
Number of players 3-6
Best with 6
Playing time 2 hours

Ratings and Rankings
Me 9
Boardgame Geek 6.37 (1914)

Games have cult followings just like movies. Um Reifenbreite is a good example. This is another game that inspired such love, it's fans replaced the cardboards bikes with some metal jobbies (see pic). The game is a remake of Homas Tour, which was developed and produced by a Dutch company in 1978. Sadly, their warehouse burned down and only a few copies survived. The artwork in this was far superior to the version published by Jumbo, which has garish colours and cartoon clearly aimed at the family market. The game abides, though, and Pro rules for the game together with new tracks can be downloaded from the web. It can be played as a sim, or as a fun game or, most likely, both.


Um Reifenbreite
Number of players 2-4
Best with 4
Playing time 90 mins

Ratings and Rankings
Me 8
Boardgame Geek 6.37 (1914)

Titles don't come much more evocative than Maharaja: Palace Building in India, and both game artwork live up to the premise.. Players have to race around Rajasthan paying tributes through various edifices. Route planning, cash management play major roles in this game that is almost bereft as luck. This is another game designed by Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling. Wolfgang has hundreds of titles to his name but I don't think he has been involved in a better one than this.

Maharaja: Palace Bulding in India
Number of players 3-5
Best with 5

Ratings and Rankings
Me 9
BGG 7.44 (95)

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Films: The Ones That Got Away

Loved by a few, seen by even less

Seconds (1965) John Frankenheimer's stunning mix of sci-fi and thriller was never likely to attain the audience it deserved. Downbeat from the off, it tells of an elderly business man, disillusioned that the American dream doesn't add up to a hill of beans. Rather than going quietly he instead enters into a Faustian pact with a mysterious organisation that promises a second chance - in this case coming back as Rock Hudson. But the existential angst soon piles up as the now younger man tries to come to terms with the 'transfer'. Ace cameraman James Wong Howe superbly captures the air of menace, while Hudson is unsurprisingly convincing as the man who isn't quite what he seems.



Cocksucker Blues (1973) The Rolling Stones documentary based on their 1972 tour of the US has a background story almost as controversial as the film itself. Shot by former Time/Life photographer Robert Frank (pictured far left) in grainy but very sharp b&w, this is a verite and definitive account of a rock band on tour. A bit too 'verite', in fact, as the film depicts the lads powdering their noses on a local flight, among other excesses

It was such scenes which prompted Mick Jagger, mindful of the effect the film might have on their visas, to apply for and get, an injunction preventing the film from being shown unless in the presence of its maker.

I saw the film at the Castro Cinema in San Francisco where Frank fetched up one day. An announcement was made on the local FM radio station that there would be a screening, and within an an hour Castro Street on which I lived was flooded with people. The manager of the cinema opened the ceremonies, requesting that punters in the balcony treat the seats carefully as they'd not been used for thirty years (this is a very old cinema). Frank came on stage somewhat reticently and introduced the film in compliance with the legal edict.

Its reputation has not been exaggerated by its rarity, it really is a terrific piece of work and completely debunks the notion of rock star glamour, another feature which must have irritated Jagger. Best of all are the musical sequences - after all this was the Stones at their peak. Bobby Keys, Jim Price on formed the horn section augmented the band, which was further enhanced by Stevie Wonder jamming away on some tunes. Cocksucker Blues

Breaking News (2006) Johnnie To's satiric action thriller balances all these elements to perfection. Cops pursue robbers who take refuge in a labyrinthine apartment block, unaware that two hit-men are already holed up there. The real battle, though, is that for favourable media coverage as the press briefings are contradicted by the perps' uploaded images of events to the net.

A very stylish, funny and media savvy film with top performances from Richie Ren as 'Uncle Robber', Yong You as 'Uncle Killer and Kelly Chen as the ruthless, PR obsessed commissioner. The subject matter seems tailor made for a trashy American remake, cf Infernal Affairs/The Departed.



I
Tony Takitani
(2005) Directed by Jun Ichikawa, this is a moving and enigmatic study of loneliness, based on what was though to be an unfilmable novel by Haruki Murikami. A solitary illustrator meets and marries the girl of his dreams. The only problem is, she's a shopaholic with a particular penchant for designer clothes. The artist asks her to desist, with unpredictable consequences for all.
Tony Takitani


Save the Green Planet
(2005) Far from having the eco bent suggested by the title there is nothing green about this planet, except perhaps, there hero who is tarnished, to say the least. He believes aliens are invading earth, a threat he is determined to combat often by brutal yet comic means.
Unsurprisingly, his notion gets short shrift from those around him especially those he decide to torture. But what if he is right? Comedy mixes well with sci-fi and even with some sadism on the way to finding out.













The Edukators (2006) Another fine example of the resurgent German cinema. Three idealists kidnap a German businessman, but then what they ask themselves? Ransom is against their principles, while the state, fearing a Baeder Meinhof comeback, take a dim view of such actions. The story develops into something of a political thriller but one with the lightest of touches. A real delight aided by superb use of Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah. The Edukators



The Apostle (1997) This extraordinary film is written, directed and financed by Robert Duvall, who stumped up the cash when Hollywood rejected his pitch. Costing $6m, the film when on to gross three times that amount. Duvall plays a preacher who goes on the lam after killing his ex wife's lover. Aware of his sin he's torn between keeping his freedom and seeking redemption. Most of the actors, and non actors, are Duvall's pals working for barely per diem. Filmed entirely on location there's much to marvel at in the southern countryside, notably the Tag Team Preachers. This is as spiritual as you'll ever likely to get in an American film.












The Vanishing (1988) There are few films that illustrate the hideous nature of Hollywood remakes than than the 1992 American version of this Dutch classic. Ironically, the same director was responsible for both films. Based on the novel The Golden Egg, this charts a boyfriend's almost endless search for his girl who goes disappears at a Dutch service station. The 'banality of evil' has become something of a cliched phrase now but this film reclaims its true meaning like no other.



The New World (2007) It seems odd to include a 2007 film by a major director on this list, and yet this work by Terence Malick truly did go missing, thanks to some appalling marketing and curious casting. Colin Farrell stars and does a good job though not one, perhaps, to appeal to his fans. The story is a reworking of the Ponchanotas tale, essentially a love story with English settlers battling it out with native Americans in the background. It's shot and edited in Malick's trademark style: ie exquisitely beautiful, and is worth seeing for that alone. The box office disaster that it became is the best illustration of the opening statement to this blog. The New World

The Driver (1978) This homage to Jean-Pierre Melville is arguably Walter Hill's best film. Like most of Melville's films this places a criminal loner centre stage. Hill goes one further, however: none of the characters have names. They are simply 'the driver', 'the player' and 'the cop', and as played by Ryan O'Neal, Bruce Dern and Isabelle Adjani respectively, it's enough. The dialogue is sparse - Ryan O'Neal's character only says 350 words in the entire movie - and the cars are fast.



Prime Cut (1972) Another 70s classic, notable for Gene Hackman playing a bad guy called Mary Ann. Presumably to compensate for this less than masculine moniker he minces his enemies into sausages down on his Okie farm, while running a white slave trade to complement more conventional agricultural operation, Mob enforcer Lee Marvin from Chicago travels down to sort this, and pretty soon there's blood rather than a bright golden gaze on the meadow.

The Abominable Dr Phibes (1971)
Camp classic from 1971, with Vincent Price as the mad doc who seeks revenge on the physicians he believed were responsible for his wife's death. The real star of the show is the art direction, especially the use of colour, which produced fantastic sets even by today's standards. Clearly a deranged film. If only there were more like it. The Abominable Dr Phibes



Mortelle Randonee (1983) Based on Eye of the Beholder, a terrific novel from Marc Behm this transposes the setting from California to provincial France. Ironically, there was a vastly inferior US remake which retained the original title and the location. Isballe Adjani, seen here in many disguises, plays a serial killer being pursued by 'the eye', a private detective (Michel Serrault) who believes her to be his long lost daughter. It's darkly comic and two of France's greatest actors are superb.



Blind Beast (1969) An astonishingly erotic film from Yasuzo Masumura, more so considering it was made way back in 1969. The eponymous beast is a sculptor who arranges, through his mum, to kidnap a beautiful young girl so he can use her as a basis for his next creation. More base desires soon come to the fore and tension erupts when mum gets jealous. Fantastic art direction adds to the increasingly lurid and s&m driven story.







3 Iron (2006) Perhaps the world's first existential golf film. And it's from S Korea, a country where the term 'bunker' conjures up images of the communist north. In truth, it's a love story and it's a ghost story with a bit of golf thrown in. Ki-duk Kim's previous films, Bad Guy and Samaritan Girl similarly were non genre pieces but neither prepared you for this.

The central character, Sun Hwa, has an unusual hobby: he likes breaking into people's homes and rearranging the furniture. On one such incursion the occupiers return, and he's given cause to reveal himself when the husband starts abusing his wife. The story develops from there and is unaided by dialogue, so don't worry about subtitles. It's a beautiful film both funny and sad, the very definition of a 'mood' piece. 3 Iron

92 In The Shade (1975) A wonderful but very hard to find film. It's written and directed by Thomas McGuane with the emphasis very much on the former. The script really crackles along and is helped no end by a terrific cast. Warren Oates, Peter Fonda, Burgess Meredith, William Hickey, Margot Kidder and the great Harry Dean Stanton. Ostensibly it's a about a fishing dispute in Florida, but with this cast and script it really doesn't matter.



Dersu Uzala (1975) A rare co-production from Kurosawa, this time with the Russians on board, but still firmly in keeping with his humanist tradition.The location is the stunning Siberian tundra. Toshiro Mifune plays a hunter who rescues an army explorer in the wilds. Three years later the explorer returns and their friendship blossoms but the hunter has inadvertantly killed a tiger, an animal he holds in the highest reverence. The death of the tiger continues to haunt him, even when he seeks redemption in the 'civilised' world. A great story accompanied by beautiful cinematography. It's shot in 'scope so a widescreen is essential to see this at its best. Dersu Uzala








La Parfum d'Yvonne (1994) A deeply romantic film with no real plot in sight and one that floats along almost of its own volition. The characters have no history, and in the case of the enigmatic beauty known as Yvonne, no future either. She meets a fellow guest called Victor in a Swiss hotel, has an erotic fling with him and then promptly disappears, much to the chargrin of the lovestruck Vic. Neither her uncle nor Rene, the predatory homosexual also staying at the hotel, can offer anything other than a gallic shrug. The tone is witty and omantic with a touch of melancholy and is maintained throughout.



Map of the Human Heart (1993) Vincent Ward's previous film, The Navigators, broached the subject of time travel but compared to this it barely left first base. Starting off in the Arctic circle and continuing via Dresden and the Albert Hall, this romantic drama is as heartbreaking as it is breathtaking. Jason Scott Lee and Anna Parillaud are superb as the couple separated only by time. Ward manages to keep things real, when patently they are not.



Shock Corridor (1963) Directed by former tabloid hack Sam Fuller this was banned in the UK for many years, and in truth there's never been anything like it before or since. It tells the story of a reporter desperate to get a scoop, a Pulitzer even. There's been a murder at the local asylum but the only way he gain access to report on this is to pretend he's mad himself. It soon becomes clear that the institution and its inmates are a metaphor for America itself. There's the 'street', for example, a central corridor where the inmates let it all hang out. Blacks who think they are white rail against racism in psychotic fits. There's a saying that madness is contagious and the reporter soon discovers the truth of this, to his cost. It's brilliantly shot in black and white, noir style, though some of the nightmare sequences are in colour. Shock Corridor











Le Samourai (1967) Alain Delon as a contract killer, France 1960 but the influence is 40s noir, with a nod to the Japanese for good measure. Jean Pierre Melville directing. Films don't come much cooler than this.

Solaris (1971) Under pressure from the Kremlin to produce a Russian equivalent to Kubrick's 2001, Tarkovsky instead jettisoned hard-wired sci-fi and came up with this meditation on the conflict between art and science. Don't even think about the remake. Solaris




Coup de Torchon (1981) Bertrand Tavernier superbly transposes Jim Thompson's pulp classic Pop. 1280 from a Texan Town to French North Africa. Phillipe Noiret is terrific as the worm that turns, as is Stephane Audran as his bitchy wife. Note: the film is in colour.












Two Lane Blacktop (1971) Imagine how the pitch for this went: "It's about two guys in an old car racing coast-to-coast against a guy in a new car and, er, that's it". And, in fact, that is it. But the car is a souped-up '55 Chevy and the new car is a Pontiac Trans-Am and the respective drivers are James Taylor and Dennis Wilson plus Warren Oates. Oh, and there's a girl. Monte Hellman's existential journey is the road movie to end them all.


Trilogie (2004) In Lucas Belvaux's masterpeice the art comes from the form as much as the content. Its three chapters cover twenty-four hours in the life of Marc, a political criminal on the lam, and the characters he encounters during this period. The first chapter deals with the escape and his attempts to contact old comrades, whose revolutionary fervour has now given way to domestic bliss. It's hard-edged, violent and leaves you quite unprepared for the second chapter. In this, it is the hitherto background characters of the first chapter who are now to the fore, as the camera follows their steps within the twenty-four hour time frame. Unfortunately, this is played as a traditional farce that feels trival and inappropriate after the drama of the first chapter. The third part of the trilogy returns sees a return the tension of the first as all the multi-layered relationships are resolved. When the curtain come down you are left with a feeling that is rare in films: a sense of totality and an understanding of all the characters and their motivations, and not just the principals. Because of the length - close to 5 hours - this is best watched at leisure on DVD. The disc includes an excellent commentary by Belvaux, in which he explains the challenges of maintaining continuity in a film of such structural complexity.

Le Diner du Con (1998) The 'seen by even less' comment in the intro doesn't apply to the French in this instance; they went to see this in droves. It's based on the play of the same name, though never feels overly theatrical. Thanks to a great script and performances this is one of the funniest films of for a long time, with the language proving no barrier to the laughs. A group of snobs select an 'idiot of the month' and invite him to a dinner party so that can demonstrate their cultural superiority. Only one month, they choose an idiot who happens to be a tax inspectorand whose every utterance causes panic and paranoia. A farce ensues, though everybody manages to retain their clothes, if not their dignity.

Dumplings (2006) This comes served in two portions: a main course, feature length film, or as an abridged starter as part of the Three Extremes colllection. I've only seen the former and for me it was definitely a case of the more the merrier.
Like many recent Asian releases it sits comfortably in the niche betwen thriller and horror while making some sharp social comments along the way. The title comes from a dish served up to women seeking a cure for ageing. The ingredients are top secret, and you soon come to realise why. It's directed by Fruit Chan, one of many pseudonyms used by Peter Chan, one of Hong Kong's top and most prolific directors. His Going Home on another of the Three Extremes packages is particularly outstanding. Dumplings

Suspiria I'm not a big fan of Dario Argento but it had to said that this is one of the very best horror films. Set in a dance academy, of all places, it immediately unsettles you even before you learn the true purpose of this establishment. You're never quite sure whether the whole thing is an extended dream of the protagonist, Suzy. The film veers dreamily between the baroque sets and lurid colours, and stark reality, adding to the uncertainty. The cinemaography and set design contribute greatly to the tension as does the music
provided by Argento's own rock band The Goblins. A remake was recently touted but mercifully the idea has now been scrapped because the would-be makers couldn't see anything inherently evil in a dance academy. Suspiria





Going Home (2003) Like the aformentioned Dumplings this comes as part of a Three Extremes package, though not the same one. The other two films that acccompany it are okay but unmemorable. The running time is barely fifty minutes and yet it packs twice the emotional punch of many full length features.
Essentially it's a two-hander featuring two of Hong Kong's top actors. Eric Tsang plays the cop who, when looking for lost son, stumbles across an unusual household in which a man (played by Leon Wai) may have murdered his wife. True, there's a corpse, but is she really dead and what's Chinese medicine got to do with this? Going Home

Zabriskie Point (1969) Antonioni's masterpiece is still in DVD limbo, causing poor quality VHS versions to go for $100 in the US. Ironic, because when it was released cinematically you practically had to pay people to and see it - it cost $7m to make and took only $800,000 at the box office. Some of this can be attributed to scathing reviews from US critics (hopeless as ever) who didn't take kindly to an Italian taking their country's social and economic values to task. Much blame was attributed also to the castting of two non actors in the lead roles, and it's true they come across as stiff and awkward but they also appear incredibly naive, making them a perfect representation of the period. Indeed, there are few films that capture the socio/political zeitgiest as this ZP does. This isn't to say that it's dour and didactical, though the student speeches come close.

Vittorio Storaro's cinematography is outstanding, whether in LA or in the Death Valley desert, while the ending suggesting that American materialism will go up in flames, literally, is truly spectacular. The soundtrack also helps things along with tracks from Pink Floyd, Grateful Dead and The Youngbloods. This probably grossed more than the film. Zabriskie Point

Space is the Place

When Sun Ra, the jazz musician, was asked by a German interviewer
whether he really believed he was from Jupiter, he replied "No, but I've been to Saturn". After viewing this film in which he stars, you're probably inclined to be believe him.
Sun Ra's band - the Arkestra, sounded like nobody else in their 70s heyday, even though they comprised of musicans who went on to find fame with more conventional outfits, such as Art Blakey's Jazz Messangers. His musical philosophy was cosmic and pre-dating George Clinton, both he and band members wore space suits to reflect this. Ancient Egypt also played a part and both these influences play a key role in this amazing film. Sun Ra and his cohorts believe their only salvation lies in space the taking of the space station was the first step in their mission.

The Shout

The backdrop to this startling tale is that bastion of English civility: the cricket match. Going to the wicket here are the staff and inmates at a mental asylum. Keeping score is a young intern and Crossley (Alan Bates) a man whose needs are special and very possibly insane. During the course of the game he describes to his fellow scorer how his life have come to such a pass. He claims to have been living amongst Aborigines for eighteen years, and to have learned to kill by shouting. In flashback we are taken to Devon where he takes up with a young rural couple (John Hurt and Susannah York) who are sceptical of this and most of his other scary stories. Unsurprisingly considering that, as narrators go, they don’t come much more unreliable than mental patients.

Thematically this is similar to The Wicker Man with its challenge to Christian beliefs, though it’s much more layered and with less of a narrative thrust. Bates gives a performance of great power, rather then the quietly smouldering persona we are used to. Hurt and York are both excellent, particularly the latter as she succumbs to the madman’s charms. Director Jerzy Skilomoski’s takes Robert Graves’ story at face value and introduces an east European art-film aesthetic into what could have been a Hammer horror. Like much of the best of ‘British’ - Withnail and I, The Ruling Class, Summer of Love and Skilomoski’s own Deep End - The Shout benefits greatly from an outsider’s perspective.