La La Land (2016), directed by Damien Chazelle

Billed as a modern-day, old-fashioned musical, La La Land is clever, often funny and surprising. It’s a contradiction of a film, which pays homage to the Hollywood dream, while at the same time poking fun at it. The primary colour palette is striking and plays well with the visual joke of the seasons passing but the weather never changing. The music is delightful and tells the story perfectly, which is just as well as there is little dialogue. As aspiring actress Mia, Emma Stone is lovely although she could do with a little more meat on her bones – her startling eyes look too big for her face. Ryan Gosling is more subdued as jazz pianist Sebastian, but the pair makes a convincing combination. The unexpectedly bittersweet ending reminds that following your dreams comes at a cost, especially in Hollywood.

A Girl in Time, by John Birmingham

Thoroughly modern gamer-girl Cady finds an unlikely partnership with 19th century cowboy Smith when the two are accidentally lost in time. They are pursued by the murderous Apprentices, who are trying to correct the time anomalies caused by the pair jumping all over the past and possible futures. Can Cady’s brains and Smith’s brawn keep them out of trouble long enough for them to figure out how to return to their rightful times? And how much damage will they inflict in the meantime? This rollicking adventure tale is told with Birmingham’s customary attention to detail, with appealing and relatable characters. The pace is swift enough to quickly bypass the occasional dialogue clunk and plot jar, leaving the reader wanting more. Fortunately a sequel is in the works.

Electra, by Kerry Greenwood

The third in the Delphic Women Mystery series continues looking at ancient Greek legends from a woman’s perspective. This one carries forward the story of Cassandra, prophet of Troy, as much as it tells the story of Electra. It also drops in some of the Odyssey, somewhat gratuitously, in a mish-mash of a tale that doesn’t really hang together as a whole. Cassandra’s search for a home that will accommodate her unorthodox ‘trios’ relationship is the most interesting element. It depicts the strong divide between male and female roles in ancient Greece, naturally championing the cause of women’s freedom. Her two lovers are somewhat pale in comparison, more tagging along for the ride. Electra’s story becomes one of survival after childhood trauma and abuse, in an interesting twist on the old tale. The Gods dip in from time to time to interfere in the lives and loves of mere mortals, for good and for ill. One major flaw of the book is the sloppiness of the publishing. The proofreading was clearly inadequate, if not non-existent, as there are many typos throughout.

Midnight Sun, Canal Plus-SVT

The latest Scandinavian crime drama follows the pattern of cross-country detective work of earlier incarnation The Bridge. This time the crime scene is in the remote Arctic north of Sweden and the visiting detective is French. The exceptionally grisly murders contain a political element that is only gradually revealed as an obstacle to those investigating. The superior technology and resources of France are both a help and a hindrance in this. The fraught personal lives of both lead characters are explored alongside the murder mystery. Mildly incompetent prosecutor Anders Harkness and overachieving Paris detective Kahina Zadi turn out to have quite a lot in common. Each grows, learns and overcomes issues as they develop a working partnership to solve the crime. Woven throughout the story is the interesting element of indigenous culture, with its attendant dispossession and prejudice. The plot gets a little fantastical by the end, but this is easily overlooked with total investment in the frantic race to solve the crime and save some lives.

Weapons of Choice, by John Birmingham

It is 2021 and a huge multi-national naval task force is heading towards Indonesia to deal with an uprising. A covert science experiment goes horribly wrong, wrenching most of the ships into the middle of World War II. After the initial chaos and destruction there is a lot to deal with. Can the future people get back to their own time? If not, how will they fit in to 1942? And how will 1942 cope with the advanced technology and modern social mores of the task force, which has black officers, female officers and even black female officers! Birmingham’s exploration of this culture clash is fascinating and convincing. His research appears impeccable, with weaponry and battles minutely described in sometimes stultifying detail. Non-aficionados can skim through the denser of these sections to reach the more interesting social and political interactions. The breadth of the book is both its strength and weakness. The weakness is that so many characters and points of view can be a bit dispersed and distracting – hard to keep track of. The strength is that it makes the story so well rounded, with insights into heroes and villains on all sides. Two things stand out from the 500+ pages. Firstly regardless of how advanced the technology, war is a always hell in which people are horribly injured and die in agony and leaders face terrible choices. Secondly although the modern world is far from perfect in terms of racism and sexism, boy how far we have come. Female characters are particularly strongly written and even occasionally have conversations with each other that don’t involve men, although they are all from 2021. Perhaps this is not unreasonable as they are in a theatre of war, still it would have been interesting to see interaction between the future people and women of 1942. This book is the first of a trilogy, so this theme may well be explored in the further instalments.

Z for Zachariah (2015), directed by Craig Zobel

Based on a classic YA novel written in the 1970s, this film tries to tap in to the current penchant for post-apocalypse stories. Anne is alone, but for her dog, in a hidden valley that has somehow escaped the radioactive contamination seemingly affecting the rest of the world. She struggles to eke out a living on her farm, deserted by her family who left to look for survivors and who are probably dead. Into her world comes John, an engineer and scientist who offers some hope for a future even though they have little in common. Their fragile bond is tested by the arrival of yet another survivor, Caleb, a thief and liar who says he is on his way south to a city of survivors. Enormous plot holes are covered by the competence of the cast: Chris Pine suitably shifty as Caleb; Chiwetel Ejiofor earnest and just a little bit threatening as John; and Margot Robbie totally engaging as Anne. The tone of the film is uneasy and the symbolism a little heavy-handed but it poses some interesting questions about the nature and development of relationships. It may have made a better fist of this if it had stuck to the central themes of the book, rather than introducing a less interesting love triangle.

The Teacher’s Secret, by Suzanne Leal

More a series of vignettes than an actual story, in its first half The Teacher’s Secret brings to mind a Robert Altmann film; a plethora of characters whose lives intersect without connecting. While they eventually all come together at the end, to put on a show – what else? The extended disconnected vignettes can be annoying – 100 pages into the book new characters are still being introduced. Some are not particularly interesting, adding little to the narrative. The asylum-seeker element seems shoehorned into the plot. Character development overall is uneven, building sympathy for some with a long back story while giving others short shrift. It is clear who the villain is – little insight is given into the motivations of the acting principal, who is a cardboard cut-out rather than a credible character. The geography of the novel is confused – ostensibly it is set in a small country town that is magically a $25 cab ride from an international airport. Everyone knows each other, but no-one seems to know what happened to Terry. The tension is built well around the main story of an old-school teacher put in the wrong by modern bureaucracy. He is wonderfully caring with the kids, but does he cross the line? His story is very sad and all-too believable, but it gets a little lost among the multitude of voices and points of view. It could have done with less breadth and more depth.

Citizenfour (2014), directed by Laura Poitras

It is difficult not to despair at the state of the body politic worldwide and it is no wonder that people are increasingly disengaged or voting a protest. Award-winning documentary Citizenfour only adds to this feeling. The film depicts Edward Snowden’s exposure of the US National Security Agency’s systematic and illegal spying on its citizens’ telecommunications. Snowden actually contacted the filmmaker prior to his leak and dramatic escape from the US, involving her in the whole process. The film therefore does not pretend to be an impartial examination of what happened, but is rather an actual documentation of events as they unfolded. Laura Poitras does a good job of sustaining interest in the story despite a lack of visuals other than talking heads. The real-time unfolding of major events adds to the tension, especially coverage of the persecution of the journalists involved in the leak and their families. Snowden comes across as a sincere whistle-blower, motivated by genuine concern about this truly shocking mass invasion of privacy, which turns out to have been authorised right from the top. It is disappointing to discover that President Obama is so much less than he promised to be in this area. This would indicate that murmurings of a last minute Presidential pardon for Snowden are laughable. The film doesn’t touch on the irony of Snowden finding refuge in Russia, which is made all the sharper by revelations of Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election. In the three years since Snowden’s leaks the focus has very much been on shooting the messenger, rather than investigating and prosecuting the original crime – that of the US security services. This film attempts to fan the flames of justifiable outrage, which seems to have died away, but is unfortunately likely just pissing in the wind.

Boyfriend from Hell, by Jamie Quaid

Strange things happen in Baltimore’s radioactive zone, where technology is problematic and the inhabitants have some interesting characteristics. Disabled law student Tina Clancy works part time in the zone as a bookkeeper for dodgy businessman Andre Legrande, because beggars can’t be choosers. A series of shocking events triggers major changes for Tina, who finds unexpected friends and allies as she battles the corrupt chemical company responsible for the zone. All this while trying to graduate from law school and come to terms with some mysterious new powers. Action-packed and funny, Boyfriend from Hell is the first in a series called Saturn’s Daughter. For light entertainment purposes may there be many more.