Author Archives: Ben Gould

Jojo Rabbit (2019) has the lol factor.

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Third Reich satire has at its apex the twin OTT delights of The Great Dictator (1940) and The Producers (1967), two films so unabashedly barmy it’s easy to overlook the human element beside (or within) the bawdy farce. Jojo Rabbit (2019) is made, I presume, in the vein of these crackers.

It is a riot at times, taking the piss out of the ludicrous ideology and its glaring contradictions yet outlining its attractions for subscribers. Among the things most difficult to attain in cinema is the seamless veering between comedy and drama and this is the picture’s most impressive achievement, a mastery of tone.

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And an imaginary der Führer karate-kicked through a window in rather cathartic fashion by a 10-year-old member of his own Hitler Youth is quite the enduring image.

Further reading/viewing:

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jan/05/jojo-rabbit-review-taika-waititi-hitler-scarlett-johansson-sam-rockwell

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/jojo-rabbit-review-taika-waititi-nazi-hitler-comedy-cast-director-scarlett-johansson-a9264151.html

https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/jojo-rabbit-between-daring-and-bad-taste-in-nazi-germany-1.4115985

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Edinburgh’s London Road like you’ve seldom seen it before.

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Lunch-time wanderings again but on this occasion with a twist. The COVID-19 calamity presented the chance to obtain a soulless, way-too-sharp semi-decent snap of London Road from the roundabout. And yes, I was ‘distancing’ as I ordinarily do (for people in this part of the world generally stink), and also donning ‘Corona Clobber’, i.e., latex gloves and surgical mask.

In any other age, the frame would be rammed with our clunky buses. But not today.

2020 is historical.

 

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Edinburgh lockdown – week four.

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Just dropped in (to see what condition my condition was in).

The recently departed Kenny Rogers will for me always be synonymous with The Big Lebowski (1998) and that triumphant dream sequence.

Yeah, yeah, oh-yeah, what condition my condition was in ….

Rock on, Kenny.

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Edinburgh lockdown – week two.

 

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Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness.

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I am fond of the cheese that is alliteration – the bombast of these doc titles grabs my attention. You are usually guaranteed a slice of the surreal, and Tiger King features some of the oddest (real-life) characters Netflix has ever plucked from the fringes. One baffling subplot after another shocks as it entertains, and there are moments that are so … frankly nuts one questions the verisimilitude of it all. The resultant memes have been off the scale.

And this song is an addiction:

Further reading:

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/tiger-king-netflix-joe-exotic-carole-baskin-theories-a9421711.html

https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/film-tv/a31925589/tiger-king-netflix-tweets-memes/

https://www.gamesradar.com/tiger-king-netflix-true-crime-documentary-joe-exotic/

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