Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Nowadays it seems like the "spy" genre is filled with fast paced James Bond style action. But John le Carré's novel "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" is quite the opposite.

After a blown spy mission behind enemy lines, major shifts in power have taken place in the British spy agencies. When vague but relevant evidence reveals that there may be a Russian mole near the top of the British secret service, retired agent George Smiley is put on the job to investigate. And as Smiley gets closer to the mole's identity, he also gets closer to figuring out what happened on that blown mission and why he was forced into retirement.

The novel's plot is delicately paced, but executed perfectly. It's slow, but it is deliberately slow. The story unwinds - going back and forth through time - until everything has been revealed. To be honest, at times it can wear on the reader's patience, but when the truth is revealed the novel is redeemed.

George Smiley - through whose eyes we see most of the novel, indirectly - is an interesting character. He has his obvious weaknesses, but a keenness with which he uses those weaknesses to his own advantage (if that can be understood and believed).

The book is weakest in terms of its length. There are many sequences in which we're provided detail after detail. Some of those details become quite important, but it's hard to parse those out as you read. Instead, there are huge monologues and flashbacks that the reader must pay attention to, even if the reader is unsure what they are paying attention for. This perspective puts the reader in almost the same position as the protagonist - trying to pull out the meaningful details from a hodgepodge of rumors and hearsay.

In fact, the process of finding out who the spy is dwarfs just about everything else, even to the point that the big reveal - when we finally find out who the Russian mole is - is almost anti-climactic. (This isn't to say that the reveal isn't important or exciting, though.)

Overall, it's an excellent novel. It is unique and well written, and definitely a cut or two above the usual pulp spy novel.

Young Frankenstein

Directed by: Mel Brooks

Written by: Mel Brooks, Gene Wilder (screen story and screen play); Mary Shelley (original novel)

"Young Frankenstein" is one of the highlights of writer-director Mel Brooks's career, showcasing his relationship with actor Gene Wilder. (This relationship, according to the man who runs my local theater's "Classic Film Wednesday" series, thrived on improvisation and off-the-cuff acting, leading to an original cut of nearly six hours!)

Dr. Frankenstein (Wilder) is a biologist who is trying to distance himself from his family's name due to an incident with a mad scientist of a distant uncle. But, when given to opportunity to explore his uncle's castle, he manages to uncover his uncle's greatest discovery - the reanimation of dead tissue. Hilarity ensues.

Although I love this movie, I will say that it has not quite held up over the years. It suffers from odd pacing and uneven levels of humor.

Luckily, Peter Boyle (credited as The Monster) and Marty Feldman (Igor) steal the show! The "Puttin' on the Ritz" sequence is still one of the best scenes in any comedy. Although Feldman's scenes are limited, his mere presence elevates the film. The Gene Hackman cameo itself is worth the price of admission!

"Young Frankenstein" may have lost some of its shine over the years, but it's influence is clear and far reaching, including allegedly inspiring Aerosmith's song "Walk This Way." (That's a schoolyard rumor, so I'm not sure if or how to cite it - just take my word for it because I heard it in eighth grade.) (And, as a philosophical aside, is it that the film has not aged well, or has the world of comedy film changed so drastically that "Young Frankenstein" no longer easily fits into the mold? Must discuss.)

If you've never seen it, you're definitely missing out. I'm very glad that I had the opportunity to see it on the big screen.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Directed by: Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones

Written by: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, Michael Palin

To say that "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" is a classic would be an understatement. The film is a cultural asteroid which destroyed the world of comedy that came before it and reshaped the landscape of cinematic humor forever. (Alright, maybe I exaggerate a bit. But only slightly, in this case.)

For weeks, I anticipated seeing this movie as part of the Classic Film Wednesday series at my local theater. I originally saw it when I was far to young to understand most of the cruder jokes, but could repeat many of the slapstick gags and scenes ad nauseam. It remained a staple of semi-annual viewing all the way through high school, but I hadn't seen it since I went to college and realize that just about everyone I knew had already seen it and could also repeat just about the entire movie. At that point, my special edition DVD (with all the deleted scenes and extras) became a bookshelf decoration and I moved on to experiencing different pop cultural mainstays.

All this to say - the time had come to re-see the film I had memorized by heart, rehearsed a million times, and filed away in the back of my brain.

The good news is that my memory is pretty darn good. I managed to remember just about every line in the film, perhaps fumbling a bit with a few of the words and phrasings.

It was nice to appreciate the film on the big screen for once, having seen it hundreds of times on my parents' postage-stamp television.

For the first time, I was able to appreciate some of the technical aspects of the film, such as the ability of the Monty Python actors to play multiple roles - sometimes even within the same scene. Some of the meta-film features made more sense than before, too. ("Look! It's the old man from Scene 24!") I won't even get into all dirty jokes which went over my head as a kid (and even a few that I missed as a teenager).

I was afraid that I wasn't going to enjoy this film, having never actually seen it in years. I was not disappointed, though.

The Parallax View

Directed by: Alan J. Pakula

Written by: David Giler, Lorenzo Semple Jr.

Novel by: Loren Singer

I'm not sure what inspired me to put this film on my list of movies to watch, but eventually it made its way to the top of the list. Though I was reluctant at first, I figured that I couldn't go wrong if Warren Beatty were in it. Plus, I need to beef up my knowledge of movies from the 1970's.

The movie begins with a political assassination at a campaign fundraiser (eerily reminiscent of RFK's death). As the opening credits roll, a bureaucratic committee concludes that the murder was the work of a lone shooter (eerily reminiscent of JFK's murder and the Warren Commission). But when everyone at the event starts turning up dead, dubious journalist Joseph Frady (Beatty) begins investigating. What he uncovers is the Parallax Corporation, which may or may not be behind basically all the world's major events. Frady tries to infiltrate the organization. But the question is: is he setting them up, or is he setting them up?

For a movie called "The Parallax View," I find it ironic to admit that I have a parallax view of the movie myself. In some moods, I feel like the movie is great - unhindered by the typical styles of film storytelling. In other moods, I feel like the movie failed to live up to its potential.

In the "the movie was great" corner, I contend: the political thriller plot was amazing.

In the "the movie was poor" corner, I contend that the movie took too long to move forward and that the plot was basically strung together from point-to-point.

The climax is the perfect example of my parallax interpretation of the film. On the one hand, it is an incredibly intense sequence with a surprising twist! On the other hand, it plays so incredibly slowly that it tested my patience - even after the twist was revealed.

I'd recommend this movie to those who enjoy political thrillers, but only those who have some time on their hands that can't be used in any other productive way.