Bukowski: Born Into This (2003): review: 6.5/10

Documentary tracing Bukowski's life through interviews with him, his publisher, ex-girlfriends and wife.

There are also hagiographic accounts from famous fans such as Tom Waits, Sean Penn, and the appalling self-regarding "Bono".

Ergo, the film functions primarily a celebration of the dissolute writer. However, there is one quite shocking piece of footage where, seated on a sofa beside his wife during an interview, he begins first to insult her, and then to kick her with his feet off the sofa. The films passes quickly from this incident as if it reveals nothing.

This shallowness is mirrored by by the films failure to attempt any critical evaluation of Bukowski's writing.

Camera, modem, 'phone

 

Camera, modem, 'phone, oil on card, 12 x 10.5cm

Simple still lives of the things around us.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998): review: 2/10

A journalist and a lawyer drive to Las Vegas where they stay in a hotel which is hosting a police conference.

Other people's drug experiences are never interesting or funny: this film spends spends two hours hammering this point home.

Barfly (1987): review: 6/10

A dissolute writer engages in fist-fights and drinks heavily in the bars he frequents in LA. He meets a woman and moves in with her: they drink a lot and hang about bars.

The film begins very slowly but later picks up thanks to Faye Dunaway's charm.

It can be compared to "Factotum": both feature Charles Bukowski's alter ego, Henry Chinaski, and the plotlines are fairly similiar.

However, "Factotum" is more beautifully filmed, showing considerable sensitivity to urban locations and interiors. Moreover, the plot of "Factotum" is much more varied, and Dillon's acting is subtler: heis more convincing as a successful writer than Rourke.

The Social Network (2010): review: 5.5/10

Creepy Harvard Nerds battle it out between themselves and some posh jocks over the provenance of a successful social networking site.

All the characters are unpleasant, shallow, clever, heartless people. They seem to dislike women especially.

It is difficult to care who originated Facebook, which is little different from any of the other social networking sites, and harder still to care about the characters in this film.

Maria's Lovers (1984): review: 5/10

A traumatised veteran returns from a Japanese POW camp to his town in PA, where he marries his long time sweetheart.

As he suffers from erectile disfunction, the marriage is not a great success and everyone goes a little crazy.

This is a depressing film, whose message seems laboured despite the fine acting and interesting scenes of forties life in a Russian-American community.

Clouds above the dunes; buying work from this site

Clouds above the dunes, oil on card, 12.6 x 9.5 cm

Another painting from the dunes near Praia Joaquina.

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